Chapter 10

SILIVRINATH'S JOURNEY

Silivrinath had continued on her way, keeping to the cover of the forest as much as possible One question occupied her thoughts now: "How did the Orc she had felled with her sling come to have an Elven pendant in his hands? From whom had he taken it? Was that Elf still alive?"

She had no answers and pressed on making her way closer and closer to Fangorn Forest, dodging Orcs and continuing slowly.

"These Orcs are amazingly bold," she thought. "I always believed that they only traveled at night!"

There was no answer readily available and Silivrinath continued her journey. After several more times of having to hide from Orc bands, Silivrinath noted something. They were traveling from the direction of Fangorn. Her unease growing, she continued, keeping watch on their progress.

"I don't like this!" she thought. "Oh, how I wish I weren't alone!"

- - - - - -

Legolas was worried, as he forced his horse to ride on, only stopping short periods of time to allow Feandril rest and water, he would not have the beautiful animal die because he wanted to reach Sili as soon as possible. She had not covered her tracks well, and thanks to Aragorn who had taught him all he needed to know about tracking, it was not difficult to follow her.

She still had a night and morning ahead of him, since she was no doubt
riding on as well He only hoped he would not run into Orcs or any other
foul creature, There was simply no time for that.

- - - - - -

Silivrinath found a place to stop for a rest in the center of a grove of alders. She hoped the thick young trees would give her the cover she needed while she let Ninim rest and refresh herself. She herself was too tense to relax. She had seen too many Orcs during her journey.

She quietly ate some lembas as she waited for Ninim to finish. She felt an urgent need to move on but she had learned that it was unwise to push her mount past all endurance.

Her mind wandered, thinking of Legolas. "I wonder if he is well?" she thought as she finished the lembas.

There was a sudden snapping of brush and guttural voices. Silivrinath ran to Ninim and mounted, her hand going to her sword. She would not be taken easily.

- - - - - -

He had been riding one day now, and though the tracks were getting more fresh, there was still no sign of the slender Elf. She must have been riding hard herself, or else he had caught up with her by now.
The worry was wearing on him, he could not help to have a feeling that
something was about to happen, and not to him, but to his friend.

- - - - - -

Silivinath's hand tightened on her sword as the noise in the bushes got louder. She felt Ninen tense, her powerful hindquarters bunched.

With an almost explosive sound, the last of the brush gave way and three large Uruk-hai stood barring her way. They grinned at the sight of the lone elf maiden clutching a sword and moved forward...

- - - - - -

Legolas was close to the fight, though he did not know that yet, he was not expecting to run into Sili that fast. Of course he hadn't been held up by Orcs or Uruk-hai's. He was tired, which was not normal for him, Elves could usually go on for a week. It was probably because of his still healing head wound that was making his head throb as well.

- - - - - -

The Uruk-hai continued to close in on Silivrinath, grinning cruelly. This lone elf would be no trouble at all for them...

Silivrinath's hand tightened on her sword and she clapped her heels to Nimin's sides as she shouted "Elbereth!!!" making a desperate attack and bid for freedom.

The Uruk-hai were startled, pausing for just an instant. Silivrinath and Nimin surged forward, the elf maiden slashing with her sword, the horse attacking with flying hooves

"A Elbereth Gilthonel!" Silivrinath cried, as she continued to fight

The sounds of battle drew more and more Uruk-hai to the grove. As the numbers increased, so did Silivrinath's desperation.

"Heb amdir" she told herself as she fought on.

Large rough hands reached for her, dragging her from Ninim's back…..

"I do not think so," a cold voice commented from behind the Uruk-hai as a blade was driven into the back of the foul creature, killing it in an
instant. When it fell, Legolas ripped out his knife, slashing already to
another one, he had not even had the time to make sure Silivirnath was
unhurt.

He had stumbled upon the fight and not hesitated when he saw who it was the Uruk-hai were after. There were many of the creatures; he saw as he slashed his way through them He took no time in worrying, not when he needed all of his attention on the fight to survive. Soon he was covered in the black blood, some of his own mingling with it.

It was because of his old and not completely healed head injury that he did not see the large Uruk-hai coming towards him from behind.

"Legolas!!" Silivrinath screamed. "Behind you!!!" Her voice was lost in the roar of the Uruk-Hai.

Desperately she twisted out of the reach of the one she faced, drew a dagger and hurled it at the one threatening her friend. She spun back to the one nearest her, just in time to fend off a blow from his wicked sword.

"Heb amdir!" She cried, her sword gleaming blue as she slashed at the Uruk Hai.

An angry roar reached her ears. Greatly daring, she risked a look in the direction of the cry. The Uruk-Hai threatening Legolas had staggered--her dagger had struck home

Legolas's eyes widened when he saw the large Uruk-hai behind him fall, a dagger protruding from his thick neck. He had never heard him coming.
He threw a grateful glance to Sili, before savagely ending the lives of the
remaining two, knowing none could escape. He did not even wait to catch his breath, but turned to the she Elf immediately.

"Stubborn Elf! Next time you go on a dangerous journey all by yourself, be sure to warn me, for I would not have let you go. Do you not know how worried your father is? You could have died now if..." His eyes
softened, as his voice trailed off.

"I was worried"

Silivrinath bowed her head, chastened at Legolas' scolding. It took a moment, but realization came...

Silivrinath's silver-blond hair flew as her head snapped up. She searched her friend's face for a moment, then a smile appeared on her face. She reached up, gently touching the Prince's cheek saying excitedly, "You have regained your memories! I am so glad!" Nothing his still stern expression, she said softly, "I am sorry, Legolas I should have waited as Father wished, but--but--if there is even a small bit of truth in this rumor, I have to know! And I think there might be. I took this off of an Orc that I struck down with my sling." And she showed him the medallion

"Legolas," she said, her voice unsteady. "Please do not be angry with me."

"I can never be mad at you," he said with a smile, silently scolding himself now for the fact that one apology from her was enough for his anger to die down. He took a look at the medallion, not recognizing it, but it was Elven. It was too much of a coincidence to be just an Elven medallion.

"Let us leave."

Silivrinath smiled as relief flooded her. Legolas's anger had always upset her more than that of any other elf, why she did not know.

"Yes, let us go," She agreed. "This grove has become a place of death--I wish to leave it far behind."

As they mounted their horses, Silivrinath asked, "Legolas? Have you seen any sign of Elladan and Elrohir? I am worried that they may be in trouble. You see, all the Orcs that I saw--and hid from--seemed to be coming from the direction of Fangorn and Father did send Elladan and Elrohir to investigate..." her voice trailed off as she turned to her friend.

Legolas glanced up ahead, seeing the dark outline of where Fangorn forest began. They would have no other choice then to go there, though he wished not to. The forest was old, and would speak to them, it would be wise to leave it and never return.

"I have not heard from them" he admitted, mounting his horse. "We will go to Fangorn now, it will be another two days ride, and I do wish to clean myself."

There was a river not far from where they were, where he could wash off the dark Uruk-hai blood and see to his own minor injuries

"Good," Silivrinath said, "I, too, long to be clean again. And then perhaps we can rest and talk for a while. Then, I hope you will tell me how your memories returned." She smiled, "That alone makes your scolding worthwhile!"

She did not mention to her friend that she was becoming dizzy and feeling weak. She did not think she had taken any serious hurts from the Uruk-hai, but something was not right.

Instead she said, "Let us hurry, Legolas. I wish to be far from this place as quickly as possible!"

"I do not scold," he said with a snort. Though he knew he had been scolding the moment he had been running into her. When he was worried, he would always scold, Aragorn usually found it amusing, to see such a fair creature as the Prince of Mirkwood actually behaving like a worried mother.

"Aye, we will leave, Sili. We will bathe in the river and make camp there We will need to look at each other for wounds as well, I fear."

It was well known that most Uruk-hais used poison, and he would not be able to heal her if they were not in time. He would never forgive himself if anything happened.

"Of course you do not scold," Silivrinath said lightly, thinking, 'unless you are very worried--and I deserved THAT scolding!'

Wounds--in all the excitement and desperation of the recent past, the though of being wounded had faded from her mind. Her hand went to her side and she smiled.

"Legolas--it will be all right--I have my herb pouch," she told him.

She thought worriedly, "Did I remember to replenish it? I was in such a hurry to leave--"

He nodded, as they set off, mindful of not running into more of the foul creatures. It still took them the rest of the day to reach the river, but they had not run into creatures He smiled when he jumped off his horse, letting it loose so he could drink and eat some grass. They would have to build a fire, but now his mind was more set to clean himself and his clothes They still had a few hours before darkness would fall.

"Let us clean first, Sili. I will gather wood after that."

He started to undress without feeling awkward, he was used to being undressed with Sili, they grew up together after all, and elves did not know such a thing as embarrassment about this.

Silivrinath felt safer than she had at any time since she left Rivendell. Legolas was with her and he was himself again! The scolding he had given her had proved that. She smiled, remembering his affronted face and flat denial "I do not scold". "Of course not, Legolas," she thought, and her smile widened. When she hoped that Legolas was not looking, Silivrinath checked her herb pouch and sighed in relief. She had some of every herb they might need, even though there wasn't much of each. Perhaps, if the Onodrim would permit it, she could gather more when they reached Fangorn…. Silivrinath laughed with delight as she watched Legolas spring from his horse and prepare to swim the foul Orc stench from him.

"That sounds like a wonderful plan," she said, jumping off her horse in turn and freeing her to graze. She, too, began to remove her clothing, unashamed and unabashed in front of her childhood friend

She was ready for the swim almost at the same time as Legolas. She ran for the water saying, "I'll race you!"

Legolas laughed, removing the last of his clothes as he darted off behind
Sili. He already felt better now that he was not suffering from the foul
reeking clothes. He would wash them after his bath. He soon caught up with his friend, grabbing her around the waist and dived with her into the cold water. It felt pleasant to his skin, Elves were not hindered by the cold.

"That was not a fair race nin melleth." he smiled, releasing her while he
started to rub off the blood staining him, revealing a few scratches on his
chest, a superficial scratch on his forehead and a deeper gash on his
upper arm, none were life threatening, and none held the green tinge of
poison. If there had been, there was not enough to endanger his life.

Silivinath laughed in delight as Legolas dove into the water with her. She also washed away the last of the orc blood. She had a long scratch on one arm, another on her ankle (a product of being pulled off of Ninim, no doubt) and she had the beginnings of a black eye.

Silivinath flipped her long hair out of her eyes and grinned at her friend. "Who says the race was to be fair, Legolas?" she asked mischievously. "I merely made sure I had a good lead--after all, I am smaller than you..." and she laughed

"Aye, for a small person you can run hard, as you know well."

He started to wash out the blood in his hair, feeling refreshed now that he was clean of the foul Orc blood. He took a step closer to shore, only to yelp in pain when he stepped into something sharp. He shot a glare at the water, as if it was at fault and limped to shore, to see what it was he stepped into. What he found was not what he had expected,--a small silver ring, beautifully crafted, but it also had sharp edges, which caused him his new small wound in the sole of his foot. He did not know it was he ring of Silivirnath's mother, as he turned to her to show what he had found. Or rather, what found him.

Silivrinath moved quickly to Legolas at his cry. She stayed close to him as they moved to shore She paled when she saw what had cut Legolas's foot. She looked up at her friend, her voice just above a whisper, "Father gave that ring to Mother on the day I came of age."