A/N: Thanks for all of the great reviews; I am glad everyone is enjoying the story.
Disclaimer: With the exception of original characters, Cilinwё belongs to my beta Ravenswing, and storyline, this belongs to the estate of the great J.R.R. Tolkien. Unfortunately I make no profit from my efforts.
Previously:
A malicious grin spread across the large brute's face, pleased with his revenge, "Die!" he said.
Suddenly he heard a noise in the brush; he loosened his grip, as he turned to see what was coming towards him. A look of surprise spread across his face as he saw Raun step from the bushes, sword drawn and pointing at his throat.
"Let him go!" yelled Raun.
"You are too late," answered Jobel, as he released his grip on Estel's throat and threw him aside like a rag doll.
"NO!" cried Elrond, as the vision started to dim and fade. The last thing he saw was Estel lying on the ground, not moving.
Chapter 21—Raun and Jobel
An eerie quiet fell over the clearing as Raun stood in front of Jobel, shaking with anger, his chocolate eyes turned black with hate. Every fiber of his being wished to destroy the monster in front of him but first he needed to know if the child still lived.
He feared what he would find, once he got the chance to look at Estel. When he came crashing into the clearing, Raun noticed the child was blue. He saw no movement from the little one and dreaded finding the boy dead.
"Estel!" yelled Raun, desperate to receive an answer from the small body lying under a large old oak tree. The dense green undergrowth seemed to offer the child its protection, hiding him from view, and leaving only one tiny leg visible. No sound was heard from the boy.
The wind started blowing amongst the trees, moving the branches, swaying them from side to side, shaking the leaves. It almost felt to Raun as if the trees were angry and the glen took on an unnatural, haunted quality.
A wicked laugh broke the silence, a deep belly laugh from the very core of Jobel's being; a cackle filled with rage and hate. Raun looked at the ogre in front of him. The man had the audacity to laugh after he killed a child. He had no heart or soul and deserved no compassion or mercy.
A depraved smile spread across Jobel's ugly visage, as he said, "I told you; you are too late!"
"You had better pray he still lives," stated Raun, his sword still pointed at the unkempt man.
"What are you gonna do about it?"
"I will do what I must," answered Raun, "but you should fear what our lord will do about it."
"I do not fear him," sneered Jobel, "He is a weak kneed old fool!"
"An old fool you owe your allegiance to, for he is your lord."
"Your lord, not mine," hissed the larger man.
Surprised, Raun faltered, as the shock passed through him. He had not known the foul man was a traitor, a fool yes, but not a traitor. He began to think of the others within their group, would they uphold their oaths to Lord Dírhael or follow Jobel down the road of treachery, he did not know who was loyal.
Jobel took advantage of Raun's lax moment, knocking the sword aside, stepping back and drawing his own blade. He wished to quickly dispense of Raun and make sure the little elf was in fact dead. The thought of the elf's blue face brought a smile to Jobel's bloated countenance. Revenge was sweet!
Pointing the sword tip at Raun, Jobel taunted, "Let us make this quick, I wish to make sure the brat is dead."
Anger flashed through Raun, but he was more seasoned than to allow his temper to control his actions.
"I will cut you down," guaranteed Raun, "and I will show you the same mercy you showed Estel."
Laughing contemptuously, Jobel said, "Cut me down, methinks you have that backwards little man."
"And I shall enjoy it!" yelled Raun, as he jabbed at Jobel's right shoulder, and he meant every word. He did not enjoy killing but he would make an exception this one time.
With little effort Jobel blocked the jab, knocking the sword downwards. Caught off balance, Raun was forced to fly by him. 'This was going to be easy,' thought the conceited big man.
The awkward move left Raun with his back to his adversary; quickly he spun around, bringing his sword to bear, blocking a swipe from Jobel. The two continued to dance around one another, each looking for a break in the other's defenses.
As they circled each other, Raun feinted a jab at Jobel's stomach but instead slashed his left arm. A small red gash appeared on Jobel's forearm, and blood began to drip down to his hand.
"I will get you for that," growled Jobel.
"Try it," replied Raun, as he continued to circle, "I will take you piece by piece."
Enraged the big man charged, but Raun saw it coming and at the last second, he stepped out of the way. A root seemed to reach out and trip the large man and he fell on his face.
Taking advantage of the situation, Raun moved towards the fallen man, kicking him in the abdomen and head, splitting his lip. As Jobel struggled to get up, he spit blood, as Raun dodged out of his reach.
Jobel slowly came to his feet, blood dripping down his chin. He looked straight at Raun, an evil grin on his face, and a feral look in his eyes, as he spit blood at the smaller man. Raun stepped back and the spittle missed him. Frowning Raun's fear went up a notch, and a sick feeling passed through his stomach. The beast in front of him was pure evil; he must win this fight, no matter what!
Looking around Raun realized the wind had picked up and was stirring up dust into the air. The branches of the trees seemed to close around them, attempting to cut off avenues of escape. Glancing in Estel's direction, he noticed that the foot was now barely visible, as if the tree had moved. 'Odd,' thought Raun.
Sighing, knowing he must press his advantage, Raun circled to the left, and moved under Jobel's defenses, getting close he punched the big man in the stomach but found it was like striking solid rock. An evil laugh pierced the air and Jobel solidly back handed the smaller man, knocking him to the ground. Disoriented, laying with his face in the dirt, it took a moment for Raun to clear his head. Suddenly he heard Jobel start towards him and he knew he needed to get up or risk the large man putting the boots to him.
"Damn it!" he heard Jobel scream.
Raun scrambled to his feet and looked in the direction of the scream. He saw Jobel, with a vine tangled around his ankle, holding him in place.
Again he stalked towards the larger man, being extremely careful, as Jobel attempted to free himself. The vine kept a strong hold on his ankle, not allowing the horrible man to get away.
Raun swung his sword furiously at the other's head. Jobel was able to block the blow, parrying and attempting his own slash at Raun. He cut a gash across the smaller man's stomach. Gasping, Raun held his free hand to his gut and moved out of the other man's reach. Growling, Jobel was frustrated he could not press his advantage.
Looking down, Raun saw his shirt was slashed and pulling his hand away, found it was red with blood. He could feel the fluid slowly draining down his side. With a quick look, he saw the long cut, across his abdomen but luckily it did not appear too deep.
A wicked look passed across Jobel's face, pleased to have hurt the other man, he found sick pleasure in the blood staining his shirt. With a quick flick of his wrist, the brute managed to cut the vine and free his trapped ankle.
"Hurt?" taunted the massive man, nodding at Raun's wound.
"I will not let it stop me," replied Raun, though he knew that may not be true. The longer the fight went, the more blood he would lose and the weaker he would become. He could also feel the arrow wound in his back, pain radiating from it, threatening to pull open, weakening him.
The two men resumed circling one another again, each looking for a weakness in the other's defenses, probing and blocking, each wished to end this and kill the other.
Finally, thinking he saw an opening, Jobel attempted to stab Raun in the chest. Continuing to circle to the left, Raun dodged the blade, and turning his own sword he struck the brute across the back with the broad side, knocking the wind from him. As Jobel attempted to breathe, Raun used the butt end of his sword, striking the depraved man on the back of the head, multiple times, knocking his opponent to the ground. As Jobel lay writhing on the ground, Raun kicked him in the head several times, wanting, for the first time in his life, to truly harm another. He would end this fight now, or grind Jobel into the ground trying.
As Raun again kicked him in the head, Jobel grasped his ankle and pulled, causing his opponent to fall and lose his sword. Jobel grappled with Raun, punching him in the ribs as they rolled around on the ground, each trying to get the upper hand. As they continued Raun tried reaching the dagger on his belt but failed.
Jobel however, succeeded in reaching his knife. Unsheathing the blade he attempted to stab his smaller opponent in the heart. But Raun was too fast, and blocked his attempt by grabbing Jobel's knife arm, and the two continued to fight for control of the dagger. As they fought over the small blade Raun used his elbow and struck Jobel in the face, breaking his nose. Jobel was momentarily stunned, seeing only stars in front of his eyes and he lost grip on the blade. Elbowing the broken nose one last time, Raun wrested the blade from him and broke away, scrambling to his feet.
As Jobel climbed to his feet, Raun searched for his sword, finding it near a tree. Waving the small dagger in front of him, he attempted to reach his sword, trying to keep out of the angry man's reach.
Jobel swayed on his feet, blood running down his face, dripping to the ground, and he smiled, blood running into his mouth. Looking down he found his sword had fallen at his feet. Reaching, he picked it up as Raun reached his blade.
Bloodied, both men once again, began circling each other. Injured and suffering from blood loss they were weaker and greatly wished to end it.
The wind seemed to pick up and dirt blew into Jobel's face, temporary blinding him. As he tried to get the dirt out his face, Raun made a last ditch effort, charging at his opponent, feinting to the left and charging to the right. In one swift movement he sunk his blade into the maniac's right shoulder, twisting it to do as much damage as possible.
Grunting, the traitor refused to cry out in pain, as he broke out in a sweat. He would not give the little man the satisfaction.
"Gotcha," Raun gloated, as he viciously pulled the blade out.
Pain engulfed him as the blood started to freely flow down Jobel's shoulder, staining his tunic but he refused to allow it to stop him.
A sound from the bushes diverted Raun's attention. Listening closely, he attempted to locate the noise and what it was. Suddenly recognizing the noise, he silently prayed to Eru he was right. Could it possibly be?
Taking advantage of the other man's momentary distraction, Jobel picked up a stone and silently approached Raun. Using it he struck the smaller man on the back of the head and watched as he fell to his knees with one hand grabbing his head.
Seeing his opportunity Jobel dropped the stone, turned and fled, pushing his way through the trees and bushes. As he ran, the frenzied man pushed the branches out of his way but they seemed to snap back and strike him in the face. Stumbling as all of the roots and vines seemed to jump and try to trip him; fear leapt in his heart as he felt that even the trees were trying to punish him.
Eventually Jobel made his way to his horse. He quickly saddled the beast and climbed up, only wishing to flee as quickly as possible, thinking Raun was following him. Turning his horse, he galloped away from camp. As he headed down the trail, the trees seemed to reach out towards him, hitting him in the face and causing more wounds. Finally man and horse faded from view.
Back in the clearing, Raun continued to hold his head, his hand making its way to the wound. Touching the injury, his hand came away damp with blood. Groaning he felt pain from each of his wounds.
As he knelt in the clearing the wind seemed to die down and the trees appeared to straighten up and move back. The moon reappeared in the sky bathing the area in its light.
Finally Raun remembered the noise and he looked in Estel's direction. The bushes seemed to have receded, losing their protectiveness. Though more of the boy's leg was visible, the rest of him was still hidden amongst the foliage.
He looked for any movement but the child's body lay devastatingly still. He nearly cried, fearing the little one was truly dead. A catch in his breath, Raun slowly closed his eyes, buried his face in his hands and tried to regain control of his emotions. He'd failed!
He failed his lord. He would not return with his charge and he allowed Jobel to destroy his plans.
More importantly, he failed Estel. He was not there to protect the child. He allowed Jobel to kill him.
Tears slowly made their way down his face. Pain tore through his body and ripped through his heart.
He failed!
As grief threatened to overwhelm him, he heard the sound again. It came from the bush near Estel. Listening closely he heard it again. Oh Elbereth, could it be?
Paying close attention, Raun heard it again, barely audible.
"Ada...," was softly whispered…
A/N: Sorry I know this chapter is short but I thought this was a perfect place to stop. Catch you next time…