A/N: This chapter is slower in terms of action and narrative but I thought to give some breathing space for conversation and character build.
daughterofthechief and wickedgreene13 - thank you for your kind reviews! This one goes to you.
He opened his eyes, his surroundings still barely discernible. As his vision cleared, more sensations followed. Pain - yes, there was pain. Dull at first but growing in intensity with every moment. His head felt as if it would leave his shoulders, a sharp ache to the right side making itself known. It was also cold. He felt a hard, humid surface beneath him. Stone. He could now discern a dark rocky ceiling. A cave. I am in a cave he thought bitterly.
'Thank the Valar!' he heard her voice and felt her warmth at his side. The elf looked to where her voice came from and saw his bonded kneeling beside him, her features marred by worry. Short lived relief washed over him before he remembered the recent turn of events.
'Nee,' he whispered faintly 'Are you unharmed, did they-'
'Aye I am well,' she replied reassuringly and he felt her palm on his face, small and warm. 'They must have carried us... here. Wherever here is. You were struck and fell. They took you and spared me also, for whatever reason. I thought that was to be my end there and then.'
Closing his eyes, he tried to raise himself and managed, though not without considerable effort. His side was stiff and heinously throbbing with pain. He pulled himself upward to rest his back against the nearest wall. He felt for the leather strap holding his daggers. Taken my weapons of course. He did not want her to sense how weak and powerless he actually felt. How hopeless their situation seemed. But she had been utterly rash and thoughtless in her actions.
'For whatever reason?' he snapped. 'Nienor, they spared you to torture me, should they sense our connection,' he then spoke quietly, staring ahead into the darkness. 'I can think of no other reason than to have their fill of you once they have finished.' He knew his words were heavy and regretted them as they were uttered. They felt like sand in his mouth. But that was the truth of it. No mercy was to be expected from these foul creatures.
Being female was often the worst of it. She had seen this first hand the time the orc had captured her during the hunt in Lasgalen. She should have known better. Anger. Yes, there was anger. At her or at himself, he was not sure.
Nienor regarded him closely, as much as the darkness allowed. His hair was mottled with dry blood and dirt. His face was no better. The wound in his side still bled fresh through his tunic. She bit her lip to prevent the heavy feeling in her chest threatening to break her. Remember yourself Nienor, he does not need to see your weakness as well. Instead she continued speaking.
'They carried us through a passage within these mountains, but I know not where, as I was blindfolded. I only felt the light dissipate and knew we went deeper into the cliffs and in the bowels of the mountain when the air suddenly turned cold.'
The ellon felt his heart clench in a vice at seeing her kneel in this cursed place. She was trapped. She should have been far away.
'Please, do not be upset,' the woman placated. 'I feel the disappointment behind your words. I am at fault I admit, but I...' she trailed off, realizing she had no excuse in actuality.
'Why did you not do as I said?' he countered then so harshly it startled her. But his resolve weakened upon seeing the tremble to her lip and the welling in her eyes.
'I could not,' she murmured as she regarded her hands.
'You could not? Follow my lead? You thought you would do better,' he added mockingly. He tried to control his simmering anger at the futility of her actions. 'Now nobody knows what had passed or even where to start looking.'
She kept silent. The ellon sighed heavily and let his head rest against the rough wall.
'Perhaps...perhaps others still live. If so they will surely venture to Lasgalen to warn the king.'
'Surely,' Legolas added bitterly, his voice seeping with regret.
'I see your stand, but you are being unfair.' Undeterred by his smoldering gaze, she continued. 'How could I leave you to your fate, wounded and alone?' she said when it was clear he would not continue. 'It would be the death of me. Perhaps not immediately, but it would follow me for the rest of my days.' She edged closer to him, reached and tucked a strand of bloodied hair behind his ear. 'I will meet whatever end-'
'You acted like a foolish child,' he insisted. Her touch was akin to a balm, a relief he sorely missed. She would have reacted in defense at his words, had it not been for his eyes which spoke of the worry he felt. So she chose to accept his chastisement.
'How is your side?' she instead tried and her eyes skimmed over his injury.
'I have had worse wounds,' the ellon muttered grimly. But Nienor was undeterred.
'I must dress it somehow. There is no light but I can try. Please,' she insisted seeing as he might refuse 'before the beasts return.'
Without waiting for an answer, she placed her hands on him and started to slowly remove the soft material of his tunic and shirt. He complied in the end, grimacing when she removed the cloth that stuck to the open gash. His eyes could discern it was dark and fairly deep.
They were mostly enveloped in darkness, the only source of light being a dull torch at the end of what seemed to be a corridor hewn in the stone. The entrance to their confinement was held by thick crude bars which blocked their escape. As she worked, the ellon scanned everything, trying to capture any detail that might aid an escape. There is fire, thus clearly we will not be alone for long. Yet indeed his hearing could not discern the sound of footsteps or anything living other than they. His senses felt smothered and dull in this place below the world.
Having removed his tunic and shirt, Nienor made a makeshift dressing by ripping narrow strands from the latter. She then bound his wound around as best she could to curb further bleeding.
'There, this is all I can do. Oh how I wish I had dried athelas weed at hand! You must fasten your tunic back on.' Legolas complied once more, part of him proud at all she had learned of the healing methods employed by his kin.
'It will heal. Our bodies regenerate at a much faster pace, tis one of the gifts bestowed upon us.'
Nienor nodded, a trace of a smile making its way on her visage as she placed a hand on his forehead. 'So I have been told.' Her smile left her face when she remembered Eredhel. What had become of her friend? Moments passed in silence before she ventured to speak.
'I do wonder what they will do with us. I hear no sound, nor do I know how much we traveled to reach this place. It is as if we were abandoned here.'
'I can only assume the worst. They were looking for me. Knew my identity and whereabouts. I shudder to think of it, but the enemy seems to have a strategy beyond skirmishes and terror displays. ' He lowered his head in defeat. 'I have failed them. I was supposed to lead them home, but I did not see the signs. We should never have stopped.'
Nienor shuddered in memory of Sonruil and most of their companions, their lifeless forms upon the ground adorning the forest floor. Timeless beings whose lives had been savagely cut short. Have any managed to escape? Even now her insides churned in remembrance of the screams.
'You could not have known. Is it not pointless to blame yourself for the malice of the enemy?' she hedged in weak consolation.
Icy blue eyes bore into hers.
'You of all beings I know ought to be aware of the weight of responsibility your blood carries. To lead is to surrender to sacrifice as well as both the victory and the blame of one's people. I am not my father and never will be. Nor do I wish it. However, I am bound to part of my destiny and I accepted this long ago. Only I...' he trailed off, seemingly hesitant, and looked away.
'Aye?' How unusual it was that she felt his feelings. For the life of her she did not understand how, but they were surely coming from him. A state of joy, regret and determination surged through, making her consider the actual depth of their bond. It was strong, if the overwhelming need to keep him safe was anything to go by.
'Only I never expected you,' the elf added quietly.
'Then I have also failed them,' she looked away.
He darkened at the implication of her words. 'You assume... and correctly so,' he reasoned, 'that Ereldur will dissolve the alliance between your people, rendering your land alone and crippled in front of the onslaught.'
'And yet... I hold no regrets about you and I,' Nienor said, her averted gaze studying the cavern walls.
'None at all?' the ellon dared, a faint smile gracing his features.
'None,' she said determinedly. 'My conscience tells me I should, and I do feel guilt to some degree. But naught else. I only want you by my side.'
The words kindled the fire of devotion in his chest. He reached for her hand and pressed it with his own. 'Nienor of Garolin, remember this. You are not alone, I will do everything in my power to ensure this. You have the name and protection of my House. Provided we escape this ordeal with our lives, of course.' Promises easily given. He had little hope they would, but she did not have to see any more of it. And there was something else requiring their attention. 'With regards to our current predicament I must ask that you listen to me closely. And do as I say. Can you promise me this?'
Her head had come to rest against his chest, the sound of his voice a pleasant music to her senses. But at the question she found that words remained trapped in her throat.
'Nee, do I have your word?' She noted the frustrated edge to his tone as he took her by the shoulders to face him. 'That you will listen to me and do as I say in the matter I am about to discuss. You once asked me how old I was. In over a thousand years I have learned much and while I loathe to use this in support of my argument, I know not what else to tell you to make you understand. I have seen many battles, and have had dealings with these wretches many a time. There are patterns always followed.'
Her eyes met his as the meaning sunk in and the elf almost smiled at her perplexed expression.
She blinked in disbelief. Nienor knew he must be far older than she owed to his race, though still young compared to others of his kin. But to number a thousand years? The enormity of it erupted in her mind. Trapped as they were in the sunless bowels of the mountain, the woman realized just then what this elf chose when he bonded with a mortal. When they chose each other. She was fleeting compared to him. How could he love her? She was imperfect, weak, prone to illness and old age will take her. A sudden surge of humility filled her.
As if reading her thoughts, his hand moved to cup her face. 'Do not,' he smiled, stilling her distressing thoughts. After a while he continued. 'They surely want information, which they must not obtain under any circumstances. This implies by threat of torture- no, do not be frightened,' he added when he sensed the woman tense in his hold. 'This is more important than my life. Whatever they threaten to do, you must not give them what they seek. You and I are nothing to each other, do you understand?'
'I understand,' she offered meekly. How would she achieve this?
The elf was about to continue when they heard the familiar sound of footsteps. Multiple and heavy. Nienor froze with fear. With one last embrace the ellon shifted away from her. 'Be strong, young one. I am here.'