PART 21
Elrond looked over at the frightened human sitting across from him and sighed. He was really no closer to having a plan to rescue Elrohir and Aragorn and it was making him frustrated.
"Look," Manet said nervously, the gag now out of his mouth. "Why don't you just let me go? I promise I won't reveal this place to anyone and…"
"Be quiet!" Elrond shushed as another noise outside their cave caught his ears. Manet immediately shut up, not wanting to be gagged again, and watched as Elrond moved slowly towards the mouth of the cave.
The elf lord paused just inside the mouth of the cave and quickly drew his sword, listening for the sound he had heard before.
Suddenly Elrond jumped forward and Manet watched as Elrond dragged a young man inside the cave, his sword at his throat. The man was thrown to the floor by the fire and Manet felt a twinge of sorrow at the look of terror on his face.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Elrond asked loudly, his sword pointed at the man's throat.
"I-I'm just a m-messenger," the man stuttered, terrified at being held captive by an elf.
"And what is your message?" Elrond inquired, not lowering his sword. "Speak quickly!"
"It's a m-message for l-lord Elrond, sir," the man said, holding out a brown leather bag.
"Well then you are in luck for I am lord Elrond," Elrond said, sheathing his sword. He took the bag from the messenger before motioning to the man that he could go.
He watched as the young man scrambled to the mouth of the cave and chuckled to himself before turning back to look at the bag. There really wasn't anything extraordinary that the elf lord could see; it looked to be a simple drawstring bag.
"What have you got there elf?" Manet asked, trying to look around the elf with his hands and feet still tied.
"That is none of your business," Elrond said coolly, tucking the bag away for the moment until he could figure out what to do with Manet.
"Fine, fine," Manet said, shrugging as best he could with his hands bound. "But if you want to get rid of me you could let me go too."
"I don't know," Elrond said slowly. "I really can't have you messing up my plans you know, so I might just leave you here." Manet's face paled and Elrond had to use all of his practice as a father and ruler not to burst out laughing at the look of terror on the man's face.
"You wouldn't," Manet said, not sounding sure. Elrond looked at him for a moment, as if contemplating what to do, before answering.
"No," Elrond said slowly. "I wouldn't leave you here without some food and water. But I'm still going to leave you here until I get back with my sons. It's only fair that they decide what to do with you after all you put them through." Manet's face paled even more than it had before and he shook his head slowly.
"Wh-what about w-wild animals?" Manet stuttered, trying to find a reason for the elf to not leave him behind in the cave.
"What about them?" Elrond asked innocently as he began to get ready to leave.
"Well what if one finds me tied up like this?" Manet asked looking at his hands. "They won't hesitate to eat me and I won't be able to defend myself."
"I'll leave you a small dagger when I go," Elrond said, not bothering to look up from the bag he was packing.
"Oh," Manet said slightly surprised at the elf's response.
"Yes. If you need it I'm sure you'll be able to find where I've hidden it," Elrond continued as he laid some venison strips and an extra water flask next to the bound man.
"I hate elves," Manet muttered quietly under his breath as Elrond walked back over to his bags.
"It's not usually a good idea to insult one's captor," Elrond said casually pulling out his sword. "Especially when that person has a very sharp sword that they are not afraid to use."
Manet scooted slowly away and wisely kept his mouth shut, not wanting to have to come in contact with the elf's lethal looking sword. Elrond nodded once, as if satisfied with the sword's condition, and put it away with the rest of his bags.
"Hey, before you go," Manet said quietly, keeping his eyes trained on the elf's sword. "Shouldn't you see what was in that bag? Maybe it's a message from Gavin."
Elrond sent the man a withering glace before heading towards the mouth of the cave. In truth the small bag had nearly slipped his mind, but he knew that Manet was right. He just didn't want the human to see what was inside.
When he was far enough away Elrond pulled out the bag and examined it again. He still didn't see anything unique or telling about the bag, but he knew it could still be important anyway.
He gently opened up the bag and dumped the contents onto the palm of his hand, confusion clouding his face as what looked like bundles of hair fell out. He gently set the bag down on the ground and proceeded to separate the bundles. Two were braided and he immediately recognized the third unbraided one as Aragorn's hair, but the braided ones confused him. They were identical and for a moment Elrond thought they both belonged to Elrohir until a gleam of silver caught his eye on the bottom braid. He gently removed the clip and examined it, sorrow clouding his face as realization hit him.
"Elladan," he whispered, closing his fist around the three bundles of hair. "Why didn't you listen to me ion-nin?"
He sighed as his anger flared up and he ran back into the cave to where Manet was still leaning back against the cave wall. He grabbed the human and lifted him up off his feet, his eyes spitting fire as he glared at the terrified man.
"I believe there's something you forgot to tell me," Elrond said angrily, shoving the bloody hair in Manet's face. "Why am I just now finding out that you gave Gavin all three of my sons?!"
Manet cringed away from the bloody hair and looked at Elrond in confusion. "B-but I thought y-you knew," Manet said slowly. "We found the other elf following us. He's the one we beat up."
Elrond quickly dropped the human to the ground and went over to his bags; grabbing everything he needed. He turned away from the cowering human and headed towards the mouth of the cave, ignoring the shouts of Manet who remained bound by the dying fire.