Category: Lord of the Rings
Rating: M
Couples: Elrond/Thranduil, maybe Legolas/Glorfindel and hinted/relived ?/others
Warnings: AU, Slavery with every terrible aspect of it, Slash
Chapter: 9
Copyright: Characters & places © By Tolkien, Plot & OC´s © by me
Author's Note: the name Harkáno means Southern Commander (According to the name generator on the site of The Mellon Chronicles).
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"Their minds are closed from me…" Galadriel stood next to Thranduil, both overlooking the Haradhrim-encampment on one of the plains of Imlandris. "I cannot enter them."
"Carran?" Thranduil turned his gaze towards the Harad. "Is he doing that? Preventing you to enter, I mean."
"Most likely." Both didn't turn when the door of the room opened. A curt nod was the only acknowledgement the other elf got upon joining them. "And?"
"Nothing." Celeborn looked at the youngsters playing below. "Apparently they are sworn to secrecy or they simply don't know."
"But who could it be anyway?" Thranduil drummed the balustrade with his fingers. "There aren't that many elves in Imlandris who once lived in Second Age-Lindon. Even fewer of those have unaccounted origins from before their settlement there."
"Why doesn't he simply tell us?" Galadriel gestured towards Elrond, who had just joined the Harad. "Does he distrust us? Why does he not give a proper reason for his silence? 'I prefer not to imagine what it would do to him.' Of all the things he could have come up with."
"Fear makes people do irrational things." Celeborn leaned slightly forward when he noticed that the talk between the Half-Elven-Lord and the Haradhrim-Lord grew more heated. Carran was gesturing wildly by now.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"I respect you, Elrond, but they are going too far!" Carran gestured towards the children playing just a few feet away from them. They were playing a game commonly played in the South. One of the children stood in the middle with his eyes closed while the others danced around him. The dancers are singing while the one in the middle counted up to twenty. As soon as he reached it, the others stopped singing. If the child guessed right who had kept on singing after he had stopped counting and he also could tell exactly where that person is, they exchange places. If not, another round of the game begins. "They are questioning them, Elrond. Questioning six-year olds! Galadriel is snooping in their minds!"
"What would you have me do?" Elrond turned his gaze back from the children towards the other man. "What could I do?"
"Stop them! I will not have them interrogate my people! I will not have them wreak havoc among those that are MY responsibility!" Carran's voice grew ever louder. "If they continue I will have no choice but to counter, you know this. You know the laws of my people as well as I do. They are trespassing into my territory, my domain."
"They try to, but they have yet to succeed."
"That makes no difference. They are attacking the border. It is the same as if they crossed it. And soon they will, Elrond. I have not the power, the blood to hold her off forever. She is too powerful; already the barriers I erected are crumbling. She has tried it seven times. Twice she nearly succeeded. You know I would die for you, Elrond, I truly would. But not like this. Not by bleeding to death, because a certain elf-witch has meddled so long in other person's business she knows no more which is hers!"
"I will speak to them." Elrond turned towards the balcony on which all three of his recent problems stood. "I will make them see sense."
"Hurry, my friend. Lest all is laid bare. May the clouds find you."
"May the clouds find you too." Elrond turned and walked inside again.
After barely setting foot inside, one of his guards came to him.
"Harkáno, what brings you here?"
The other bowed before gesturing outside. "The same as what made Carran call you, Elrond. They are snooping. They are – although very subtly – asking questions to the ones of your army that served Ereinion before you. They are determined to find out the identity of the elf."
"Great Valar…" For a moment Elrond buried his face in his hands. "And this while I hoped it all would be over."
"Don't we all? Anyway, I came here on behalf of THE group of guards and myself. We wish you to know that we would protect that knowledge with our lives. But we are facing problems. Your sons are asking those questions. Lord Glorfindel is asking them. They outrank us and soon they will find a way to make us tell them." Harkáno gently gripped the shoulders of the other elf. "We swore to Ereinion an oath that we would be silent, we swear it to you now, Elrond. We wish not the hard work to be for naught. "
"Hannon le, my friend. I see why Ereinion took you with him to the South and I am grateful for it. Now if you excuse me, I have to prevent a war… Again…"
The other bowed as Elrond made for the place he knew all six of his recent problems to be. Would he ever have a day without them?
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Legolas bolted up when the door was flung open. Swiftly he turned to face the new arrival. Immediately he wished he had NOT decided to join his father. The elf in the door looked just about ready to slay everyone in the room and he finally understood why Elrond was considered so mighty. The Half-elf was fuming and it seemed as if at any moment he could explode.
"What exactly were you thinking?" The voice was calm, too calm for the body that accompanied it. "Do you by any chance have a death wish?"
"No." Galadriel's face belied none of her inner terror. Never before had she seen Elrond like this. "Why?"
"Why? Why? You tried to enter the minds of Haradhrim!" The grin appearing on the face of the Imlandrian Lord after Legolas' horrified gasp was deeply unsettling. "At least some one understands the severity of the situation. You tried to cross the line which is never to be crossed except by its' Lord. I very nearly have a war on me because I protect you from the punishment Carran could deal you because of that."
"Which would be?" Elladan couldn't prevent the slight shake in his voice.
"You don't want to know, Ion-nin."
"Yet I wish it, Elrond." Erestor leaned forward slightly. "What kind of punishment would you need to protect them from? What kind of punishment can't they deal on their own with?"
"The loss of their Fea. You trespassed into a territory where that is punishable with the complete annihilation of the trespasser. And trust me, I personally wouldn't mind, but I did NOT go through a near dead-experience so Legolas could be reunited with his father only to have that father in question die." Elrond fixed every person in his shocked audience with a cold glare. "I asked you to let the matter rest with a good reason. This is one of them. So I would appreciate it when you would heed my advice and stop trying to find out that elf's identity."