Chapter 14: Rising Hope

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

- Dale Carnegie

"Lord Elladan? Lord Elrohir?"

"Lady Gilraen!"

"Haldan!!"

"We'll never find them out here. They could be anywhere," Taren mumbled.

Despite the man's dark words, after what the elves and ranger had done for them, he desperately hoped they would find them.

"Don't say that, you want to jinx us?" Leodry grumbled back.

Both men were tired after the long nights ventures and apt to grumbling about it.

"We'll find them," Sarnor stated confidently.

"I wish I had as much faith as the boy there," another man said.

"Arphenhiril will guide us," the boy said simply.

"What?" the same man asked.

"Arphenhiril guided me to the next village and back safely, she'll find her master again."

Sarnor reached out from his seated position on the elvish roan and stroked the horse's neck. The horse responded with a very content look. In the couple of short days Sarnor had rode the roan; he was quite fond of the horse.

The small group of six men had been looking for signs of Gilraen and her companions for almost two days now. Some were beginning to lose hope, thinking that perhaps the orcs had caught up with her and her son after all. It was still early morning as the group rode farther from the village searching the area. Leodry pushed a low hanging branch out of the way. Still wet from the early morning due, and chilly water dripped onto his hand and down his sleeve. He sighed in frustration. He was about to suggest a short rest when the elven roan stopped and pawed the ground.

"They're close!" Sarnor called, "she can sense him!"

"But it's just a horse, lad," Taren reasoned.

Sarnor shook his head confidently.

"Arphenhiril can sense her master," the boy said with an air of finality.

The others had nothing better to suggest, so when the boy and roan started trotting away, they followed.

There before him sat his home. The very valley he had fought to protect for centuries. A safe heaven for his people and one of the last in Middle Earth since the shadow had been creeping back into the land. Filled with its many rivers, gardens, as well as elves and travelers. Elladan loved Imladris. So much so he and his brother Elrohir were bound to it, as they were each other. The dark haired elf nimbly sprung out of a tree and landed lightly on the ground.

With all its love and beauty, something was not right this day. The sun seemed less bright, the air more stale, and the forest creatures quiet. The elf took off at a run for the Last Homely Home. Surely if something were amiss his father would know about it. Nothing that happened in Rivendell was unknown to the watchful eye of its keeper.

As the elf approached the intricate structure it finally came to him that there were no elves about the place as usual. Where is everyone? He thought. Elladan began searching the long hallways and many rooms calling for his father or siblings. The search never seemed to end; no matter how many rooms he looked in there was always more. And not a trace of a living soul in any of them. The dark haired elf, usually one to stay calm, began to panic the more he searched. He knew something was not right before, but now it loomed over him, weighed him down with the certain truth that he was all alone in this desolate and lonely place. Where had the travelers and elven inhabitants gone? More importantly, where was his father and siblings? His panic only fueled his fear until it completely consumed him.

"It's a dream," the elf whispered frantically, "it has to be. Please Valar let it be."

The elf collapsed to his knees and wrapped his arms around himself trying to find some warmth in the empty corridor.

"Please let me wake," he whispered over and over.

But if the empty house heard his plea, it did not answer.

Gilraen heard a feint rustle and startled awake. Her tired eyes went wide as she remembered she should have been on watch and not asleep at all.

"Oh no…" she barely breathed as she pushed herself up.

They could have all been slain and it would have been entirely her fault.

"Do not worry," said a calm voice behind her.

The woman turned from her seated position near the entrance to see the ranger already awake and kneeling beside their elven companion.

"The noise you heard was Lord Elladan moving around," explained Haldan.

Gilraen stretched her weary muscles and moved to go to the elf's side as well.

"He's been restless for the past while," explained the ranger.

Gilraen reached out to brush a dark strand of hair from her companions pale face. When her hand made contact with the elf's skin she almost drew it back in shock and turned pleading eyes to the man before her.

"I do not understand it either my lady. He moves around as if he were caught in fevered dreams. But he does not burn with fever, instead Elladan is cold to the touch. It is beyond my understanding of elves."

"Is there nothing we can do?" the woman asked unconsciously taking a hold of the elf's cold hand.

"Make for Bree with all haste. Elrohir may yet know what ails our companion. And if not, we will go all the way to Rivendell."

"How are we to get there?"

Haldan opened his mouth to respond his uncertainty when something caught his hear. The ranger held up his hand at the woman's questioning look and listened. For a glorious and brief second, the ranger could have sworn he heard someone call his name. But as he listened he started to think it was his imagination and shook his head.

Then he heard it again. This time it was Gilraen's name… he was sure of it.

"Stay here," he instructed his companion.

"What is it?"

"I am not sure, but stay here and I will find out."

The ranger quickly left the cave and stepped out into the brightening day. He listened once more and in the open air could plainly hear someone calling for him and his companions. Haldan's heart soared at that moment. He did not know all the voices, but it did not matter. They all sounded glorious to him. The ranger took off in the direction of the calls and very soon found the group of six men shouting out for their lost friends.

"By the Valar, what are you doing out here?" the ranger asked coming up behind the group.

The six startled riders turned to see the ranger come out of the brush right behind them and they could not believe their eyes.

"See? I told you they were close," Sarnor said proudly.

"How…?" was all the ranger could manage to say.

"Well, we almost made it to the village before the orcs caught up with us," Leodry began, "but then they encircled us. Lucky for us though, the lad there had managed to gather the neighboring villagers. It was a long, hard night, but we showed 'em that not all humans are pushovers. We took some heavy loses. But we are free and are alive for the most part. Homes can be rebuilt."

"I am glad, that uplifts my heart," the ranger said warmly.

"But what of you?" Taren asked, "How do you and your elven companion fair? We would have thought his elven ears would have heard us first."

Haldan's shoulders visibly fell at the mention of Aranel and he took a deep breath to push past the sudden knot in his throat.

"I'm afraid I do not have as uplifting news. I have caught up with Gilraen and the others. The lady Gilraen and myself are fine, but much has happened that I do not have time to explain right now. Lord Elrohir took flight with the young Aragorn for Bree at Gilraen's bidding. We do not yet know their fate. Lord Elladan lies grievously injured not far from here. And as for Aranel…"

The words caught in the ranger's throat before he could say them. Haldan swallowed hard and looked Taren in the eye.

"Aranel fell defending me on the night we parted," he said, voice soft.

A silence fell over the small group as everyone cast their eyes to the ground. The six searchers had expected the worst, but it still grieved them to hear it.

"You said Lord Elladan was injured," Leodry began quietly, "what is it we must do to keep another elf from dying here?"

"We are to meet up with Elrohir in Bree. I only hope he'll know what to do. Elladan is not inured grievously in body. Elves can endure quite a bit. It is an ailment of the spirit. Something that is beyond my knowledge to deal with."

"Take us there, quickly, then you take the horses you need. Take them all if you must. We are not that far from our home and there are worse things than a hike through the woods."

"Thank you," Haldan said, and Leodry could tell he meant it.

Gilraen hadn't let go of the elf's cold hand since she first moved to his side. She worried what was keeping the ranger, but he had proven he could take care of himself. Elladan's eyes almost seemed to flicker and for a brief moment the woman was hopeful, but she could tell it was his dreams that was causing the restlessness. Despite the elf's restless movements she was more afraid now than she had been alone in the cave when he had not moved at all. She didn't know how she could tell, but she felt he was slipping into darkness, that she was sure of. And she had not the knowledge or wisdom to stop his decent. All she could do was hold his hand in hopes it provided some sort of comfort.

The whine of a horse brought the woman out of her thoughts and she turned to the entrance in time to see Haldan and three others enter. There in front of her was her dear friend Leodry. And the young Sarnor… and Taren.

Tears of joy came unbidden to the fair gray eyes of Gilraen.

"How could this be? That you would find us in this darkest hour?"

"Sometimes its best not to question lass," the elder man answer kneeling down next Gilraen.

"How do the others fair? Did you make it to the village alright?" Gilraen couldn't help but ask.

"Aye lass, we did… we did."

Looking at the mud caked, exhausted, woman still clutching the unconscious elf's hand, Leodry didn't think it necessary to go into detail about what had happened. The villagers had survived, and that was enough.

"Now is not the time for words my lady. We must get Lord Elladan, and yourself to Bree," the ranger spoke up, "your friends are willing to lend us horses to get there. We will cut our journey down to two days."

The news uplifted Gilraen's heart. Not only would they get their friend to the help he needed faster, but she would also see her son sooner than she hoped. Despite herself, Gilraen smiled. She placed her free hand on the still elf's chest and gave the limp hand a squeeze.

"Hear that Master elf? You'll meet up with your brother in two days time."

Elrohir could have shouted for joy as he saw the sight of Bree in the distance. He had finally made it. The elf was tired and his arm and leg ached painfully, but they had made it. In his mind, the dark-haired elf knew his brother and the others could not have made it to Bree before him, but the irrational hope still remained. With his good arm Elrohir reached up to pull the hood of his cloak up. It was just about midday as he rode slowly up to Bree's gate with the little sleeping child perched in front of him. Bree's gate was opened during the daylight hours and the elf rode in with only a slight nod to the ever-present gatekeeper.

"Aragorn," the elf called softly, not wanting to startle the child.

Sleepy, gray eyes opened to fix wearily on the elf.

"We have made it to Bree, little one."

"Is momma here?" the little one asked excitedly.

"Not yet Aragorn, not yet. Everyone should be here soon though, do not worry child. We are merely the first ones to arrive. But just think, won't it be fun to greet them when they get here?" Elrohir forced a comforting smile to his face as he spoke.

Aragorn was disappointed, but smiled and nodded all the same. Elrohir had to admit he was quite surprised by the amount of strength this small boy's spirit held. The elf rode to the Inn of the Prancing Pony and hopped lightly down from the horse. The dark-haired elf had to hold steadily onto the horse for a moment as the world stopped spinning. The blow to the head he had received earlier was still wreaking havoc on his senses. Elrohir took a deep and steadying breath, then reached to help the boy down from the horse. Remembering how much his horse had hated the stables the first time, the elf and Aragorn walked Aethaenyn there personally this time round. Elrohir stiffly grabbed his bag from the horse and he and Aragorn walked toward the inn.

"Have you ever been in Bree before, little one?"

The boy, holding tightly to Elrohir's tunic, shook his head 'no.' Elrohir was about to say more when a shout broke his train of thought. The elf turned to see a very excited little human girl skipping toward the pair.

"You're back! You're back!" Glelisa was shouting.

She ran right up to Elrohir and hugged the elf almost barreling him over. The sudden jolt did not sit well with his already jarred head and the world spun bringing the elf to his knees. Glelisa gasped in surprise and backed off.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it," she whispered, voice quivering.

Elrohir brought his good arm to his head to block out the spinning world. He could feel Aragorn holding onto his arm in uncertainty.

"It's alright Glelisa, it's not your fault," he managed to slur out.

"Child, what are you doing to the travelers?"

Elrohir looked up enough to see a graying elderly woman rushing towards them. The resemblance Glelisa shared with her was unmistakable. Somewhere in the back of the elf's tired mind it registered that this was most likely the girl's grandmother she had mentioned. He felt more than saw the woman kneel down beside him and put her hand on his back.

Glelisa stepped in so only the small group could hear.

"This was the traveler I was telling you about grandma," she said quietly.

The elderly lady looked at the fair face peaking out of the hood and caught a glimpse of a gently pointed ear in the shadow.

"As I live and breath…" she said throatily.

Not that she hadn't believed her granddaughter, but children did tend to have a strong imagination. There was also something hauntingly familiar about the elven face looking a bit dazedly back at her. A memory she could never forget to the end of her days.

"Who is your father Master Elf?" the woman asked a bit shaky.

Elrohir now put his hand to the ground in an attempt to hold himself up. He heard the human's question, but could not answer. He felt the darkness of unconsciousness creeping upon his mind. He had only just made it to Bree, but he had also pushed his body past its limits to get here and had no strength to push the unwelcome void back.

The last thing the dark haired elf heard was the woman and Glelisa's startled gasp and Aragorn's cry as he sunk towards the ground. Elrohir was unconscious before he landed.

If you have stuck with this story despite the long pause in updates, then I definitely thank you. Very much so.
Lynn-G – I had a break in writing for my own reasons. But I never forget any of my stories. I apologize for the long wait. But I am back now.

ArticulateAntagonist – Heh, thanks! I'm glad you like it. I guess a lot of LotR's stories do generally have to same type of plots. You're review made me laugh, thank you!

Daeomae – I'm afraid it turned out to be even longer. Sorry for your wait. But the update is here now. And hopefully it won't be another long haul to the next one.

Boppy – Thanks a bunch for the comment. It means a lot. I hope you continue to enjoy it!

merlyn1382 – I'm afraid it was a long one, and I'm sorry. I hope you like the continuation though.

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Beling – Wow, thank you so much! It's appreciated. It's taken a lot longer than planned, but here is the continuation. I hope you continue to enjoy it and any others!

Tychen – I am, yes, thank you! That reunion just might be coming up in the next chapter. I say everyone has their work cut out for them, ne?

linnet – Thanks! I was going for a bit different feel than the rest of my stories. I'm really glad you like it. And yes, 'Truckin' is a Greatful Dead song. A good one indeed!

Alariel – Heh, I think you are right! And I think you may be right, the next chapter should be interesting.

Melda Amarie – Thank you. And it is supposed to be sad, so double thanks!

Amlee – Hehe, I think the hard part is thinking up the ideas. P Glad ya like!

Leggylover03 – Hehe, yes, I know you do.

Elven kitty – Thanks!! I shall try. Though without the long pauses from now on. oO

Red Tigress – Hey Red! Lookit this! An update! Happy dear? Hehe, I definitely agree, him and his PMS are coming! w00t!

Beck – (heh, too lazy to write out your full name P) Haha, I almost forgot about that. The soundtrack does fit this story well though, ne? I guess I do write the sad ones, don't I? oO

Neoinean – Oh duh, I can't believe I didn't get that earlier. I am a Star Trek fan, always have been. Especially of the original series. I'm very glad you like! And hope you keep liking it. Thanks for the review!