Wow... I can't believe I haven't updated for 2 weeks... sorry! Hope this makes up for it!
P.S. Thanks for catching that little tidbit about Sindarin, HazleSilver... I've changed it!
Chapter 13
Lost in the Darkness
Estel awoke to darkness, his eyes refusing to adjust.
Groaning slightly, he realized how heavy his eyelids were and that there was a throbbing pain pounding at the back of his head, which weighed more than his horse. The headache drove nausea in waves to the front of his face, where it gathered between his eyes and at his temples. The cool stone behind his head was heaven against his raging body temperature, and he turned to rest his hot cheek on the blissful rock pillow.
It was only then that he realized his hand sand feet were bound painfully tight, with a length of rope running from his wrist bonds to his ankles. It was virtually impossible to move any limb without moving his entire body.
As he turned on his side, the pressure in his hands, which had been behind his back, lifted, and slowly, tiny shots of pain raced through his fingers as blood circulated into his hands.
It is strange how the mind reacts to physical abuse. After repeated blows, even the sharpest pains may not register with the brain. Even pain has a limit. However, sometimes, a light caress or a lover's kiss may wake the tormented mind to the world again.
With Estel, it was the waking of his hands that brought back his senses. As if waking from a dream, he lifted his head. With his next breath, he could smell the stench of stale urine and rotten meat that permeated the area. Opening his mouth to groan in disgust, he tasted the sour flavor of bad whiskey on the rough, cloth gag in his mouth. The muslin was knotted painfully at the back of his head, pulled tight across his cheeks so that they strained.
His nausea overpowered his self-will and bile escaped his esophagus into the back of his throat.
It was almost enough to send him into unconsciousness again. Weakly, he turned his head, but he may as well have been blind in the utter darkness for what good it did him.
Sluggishly, his wits churned and finally permitted a single thought to escape his mind.
By the Valar, where am I?
"We have to keep going!"
Elladan sighed.
Despite how much he wanted to find his youngest brother, he knew it was useless to continue pressing on, lost, in the darkness. It was especially dangerous now, as the small band had decided to separate, three in each group to go on their different ways.
"No," he said, remembering what the wood-elf Ranien had said about the forest after nightfall. At any rate, he did not want to deal with the spiders, Orcs, and other creatures of the night in Mirkwood. "Ranien was right. It is too dark to keep going. We may wander off the path at this rate."
"But Estel and Morwen…" Cuiladan protested. Despite everything, he had come to believe that Morwen was innocent. He had judged too quickly and his mind had been clouded by the battle. There was after all, as he said, no evidence that she had not been kidnapped as well.
The others believed otherwise.
By the sound of his voice, Elladan knew he was getting farther away, going against his conscience, further into the woods. "Cuiladan, come back!" he commanded. He heard the man falter as his footsteps slowed. Then, dragging feet began to make their way back to the two elves.
"They might not be alive by tomorrow!" the man cried indignantly.
Even with his elf eyes, Elladan could not see in the complete darkness, and not having his sight for so long made him nervous and anxious. This, in turn, made him snappish and irritated.
"For the Valar's sake, use your head, Cuiladan!" he shouted before he could stop himself. "They won't be, and getting ourselves killed in the process of finding them is not going to help anybody!"
The man fell silent, stunned at the normally good-natured elf's outburst.
Pacing, Elladan muttered, "I knew splitting up was a bad idea."
Elrohir blew air out of his mouth and shook his head. "That's the fifth time you've said that, muindor."
"And I'll say it again, because it's true! Splitting up was a bad idea, and now, we don't even have the protection of numbers!" the oldest elf cried. "And we can't even light a fire for fear of those damned spiders!"
The other elf stepped towards the sound of Cuiladan's breathing and put a hand on his brother's shoulder. Obviously, the man had never seen Elladan so worked up about anything. "Don't worry," he whispered. "Of all things, Elladan can't stand the dark."
Their brother growled. "I'm fine with the dark. I just can't stand being in it, not being able to see, with the two of you—"
"Grumbling at my back," Elrohir finished along with his brother. He paused as Elladan's menacing silence filled the air. The darkness around them seemed to gain more mass at this.
Despite nightfall and the eaves of Mirkwood covering the moon, Elrohir knew that his brother was bothered by more than just his lack of sight and their own peevishness. The fear was in him as well.
This close to Dol Guldur, the Shadow had control of the very air they breathed, and with its evil, made the night even more unnaturally dark. It was enough to put fear into the heart of the bravest elf.
Very quietly, Elrohir said soothingly, staying off of his sarcasm for once, "Well, since we can't go forward, now is a good time to reflect on what we know and figure out where to go next."
"All I know is that my brother and a woman who has helped us to get this far has been kidnapped by the Shadow," Cuiladan said, Elladan's bad mood having rubbed off.
His oldest brother snorted. "What do we have to do to convince you that Morwen has just been the plant all along? The Orcs didn't take her. She went with them willingly."
Before Cuiladan could come back with a fitting remark, Elrohir cut in, "We can't be sure of any of that. But we do have a clue to where they may be."
Elladan furrowed his brows at this. It was not like him to miss details. "What clue?"
Elrohir smiled. "Think, muindor. When we first exposed Morwen, back near the Highaeglir."
"What?"
"She left something with us."
"That is?"
"Her journal."
TBC...