Author's Note: Thanks to Jedi Sapphire for your wonderful review! This one's for you and Lady Ambreanna by two faithful, and first, reviewers on the last chapter. :D Thank you both!
Two chapters in one day! And this is quite a long one! :D
Enjoy!
Aragorn stood for a few minutes more, just looking at the little boat. The creature had probably found help in Rivendell but, judging from the amount of blood, they would need Lord Elrond himself to help the poor thing.
Nerea was still moaning pitifully over her scratches. Before taking this trip she had never seen her own blood. She had never been physically hurt before, her mind had always protected her from all hurts and diseases that could have damaged her.
She couldn't use her mind now. She didn't want to give the Ranger more reasons to be suspicious but, although she didn't know it, the way she was acting about a few mere scratches was attracting more suspicions than if she had received none at all.
Nerea was fed up with acting around this Ranger. She wanted control once more and the sight of Rivendell had renewed her patience and tolerance for the Man.
'Only a little longer!' She thought, her face lighting with a gleeful smile of what was to come.
Aragorn tore his gaze away from the boat, ignoring his instincts to swim the river and see if the injured creature was still there.
'They must have been an Elf.' He mused. No other would have survived a journey such as this with so much blood lost.
He smiled. He hadn't met an Elf more stubborn than Legolas before but this one looked as if it could be tough competition.
Aragorn gestured for Nerea to follow and he lead the way to the bridge.
If he had taken a closer look at her he would have noticed the Elvish twin knives she now wore on her back and the evil smirk on her face.
Legolas lay, unable to move half in and half out of the boat, and prayed for Aragorn to swim across and find him. He tried to reach out to him but he refused to command him, even knowing he might die if he didn't. He would never do that to Estel.
He lay listening and hoping for a little while longer then heard footsteps moving away.
They were heading to the bridge.
Waves of panic and adrenaline flowed through him and he desperately tried to move onwards, towards one of the many back entrances to Rivendell, but all he managed to do was cause the boat to be pushed back into the river, splashing the water over his face and blinding him for a few precious seconds.
When he felt gentle but firm hands on his arms he fought weakly, in his disoriented and blinded state, believing it was Nerea come to take him back again. He felt his arms being pulled and weak moans of pain escaped his lips as he continued to struggle.
"Peace brother." One worried, melodic voice instructed.
"You are safe now." Another, almost identical, voice soothed.
Yes he was safe, but his Estel wasn't.
Elladan and Elrohir came quickly at their father's summons.
"Someone has come for aid. Around the back way." Their father had a haunted expression on his face that scared the twins. All haste was needed.
Without another word they sprinted down the halls and out the one of the many exits. They burst out into the sunlight and glanced around, their breathing heavy and their hearts pounding hard, desperately searching for the person that needed their Ada's help.
On seeing nothing on the left side, they rounded the corner to search the right. Elladan sighted his boat, perched on their side of the river, and noted how it was turned on it's side. Something was weighing one side down he realised. Maybe the person was still in there.
He grabbed Elrohir's arm and pointed to the boat.
"It may just be a leak. We can't waste our time looking after our boat." He said.
Then the boat moved. The water splayed in all directions as the boat righted itself and drifted out into the river.
Even before the splash had settled the twins were already moving towards the fallen person. The water splayed across their face and hair, cleaning it enough for the twins to see the blonde hair, delicate pointed ears, and features marred with bruises and cuts. They recognised the Elf instantly, dread and fear mounting in their minds.
Legolas.
They caught him, still trying to move towards the house, and gently pulled him to his feet. Each twin pulled one of his arms over their shoulders, realising with great regret and sadness, how much this simple move hurt their friend. They heard his moans and were horrified by how weakly he tried to get free from them.
"Peace, brother." Elrohir whispered gently into one ear, unable to stop the worry for his friend spilling into his speech.
"You are safe now." Elladan soothed, doing better to control the worry he felt.
Yes Legolas was safe, but their Estel wasn't.
Aragorn led the way across the bridge, Nerea close behind. Very close behind.
There was a rumbling to his left, coming from upriver. He stopped in the middle of the bridge, confused.
"What are you waiting for?" Nerea snapped.
Lord Elrond was unsure who she was talking to. If this were anyone else other than Estel the river would have swept them off their feet and carried them far away, where they couldn't harm Rivendell.
Guilt ran through him as he realised that even if it was Elladan or Elrohir that was before him with this evil woman, he would have allowed the river to wash them away. But Aragorn was the hope of Man. He couldn't let that hope die.
He ground his teeth. He couldn't let Rivendell die either.
He released the river.
Nerea was shocked. She didn't expect Lord Elrond to value Rivendell over his son.
"But this is your son!" she cried desperately.
The rumbling of the approaching waves grew louder as it came closer.
Aragorn was frozen. He wanted to run but his legs wouldn't let him move. He could feel icy blood flow though his veins accompanied by fear and hatred for this woman.
Nerea glanced up at the majestic Elf Lord, now standing at the doorway.
Lord Elrond looked down on the two with a stoic face, hating himself for what he was doing. He watched, in disguised surprise, as the woman suddenly smirked.
"You would destroy the hope of Man to protect yourself." She said.
His anger grew, as did the approaching might of the river.
"You are a coward and a traitor. You would betray the whole of Arda, even your own, real, sons, to protect this little Elven village. You are no Elf Lord. You are a mockery to everything you stand for."
"You said you were here to help!" Aragorn blurted out as he found a shred of warm determination in himself.
"I never said I was here to help you." She snapped back and increased her concentration over the Man.
Aragorn could let out no cry at the pain that coursed through his head. He felt so icy cold he believed, almost hoped, his father would send the waves crashing down on them, end them and end this new unbearable pain.
Aragorn found himself on all fours with no recollection of how, or when he had got there, with a roaring in his ears that was not caused by the river's fury alone.
Lord Elrond's rage intensified as he saw his son fall but so did the doubt in his mind. The river's ferocity weakened slightly as he realised she, for all he hated her, was telling some bit of the truth. He couldn't do this to Aragorn, for all his selfish reasons.
He closed his eyes, the picture of defeat as the river calmed and stilled. But only wallowed for a moment.
There was still something to fight for.
His eyes snapped open once more and he glared at the smirking Nerea.
The smirk found it's way onto her face as the river died and the Elf Lord's eyes closed. She had done it. She had found what all other's couldn't.
She had found the Elf Lord's weakness.
She was startled when his eyes snapped open again. He was still going to fight her, after all she had said he still believed in himself? She sighed, exasperated. Elves were so stubborn.
She released the Man from her clutches and he almost collapsed on the stone bridge. She looked down on the pitiful Ranger.
She smiled and kicked him, with one pointed boot, painfully in his stomach.
"Get up Ranger." She snapped. "Don't you want to greet your daddy?"
Translation
Ada - father