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Chapter 24 – Using The Force
As they traveled to Gondor, Gandalf gave Legolas a full explanation as to why Alania had left the security of Rivendell. As Legolas listened, he was astonished to discover from Gandalf what Alania had been up to while he was at council all that time, and how she had earned the respect and trust of everyone after he left. He was still upset that she had just made these decisions, but even as he had these thoughts he kept envisioning their final morning together, when Alania expressed how she slighted she felt because of his silence. Now he understood completely why she had been so upset.
Although he knew that Alania and Roxy would have no better escort and protection than Georn, Elladan and Teleris, he was still anxious to confirm her safety himself and he urged the group on at a brisk pace. Soon the White City itself was in view and the group pushed that much harder.
Always welcome, the group easily passed each gate and as they approached Aerdin's keep, they noticed a large group in one of the larger gardens. It seemed as though there was quite a ruckus over a few sparring warriors in the center of the crowd. At Elrohir's insistence, the group made their way through the crowd to watch.
With much resignation, Legolas followed Elrohir and Gandalf. When they reached the center he was astonished to see Roxy, Georn and Teleris watching from the sidelines as Alania took on Elladan and several of Aerdin's guard while blindfolded. Shocked to his very core that her friends would allow her to do this, and ridiculously happy at seeing her for the first time in several months, he started forward only to be held back by Gandalf, who whispered "Do not be so hasty Legolas. She has much improved since last I watched her spar with Teleris. He has taught he exceedingly well and would not allow her to participate in something he was not confident she could handle. Be patient and watch."
Furious that Teleris would tutor Alania in this elvish technique of combat without his knowledge, he watched as Alania defended herself against four opponents. As Alania slowly took each of her opponents down until only Elladan was left, it occurred to Legolas that she was very good. Further, he realized that had he bothered to ask her, Alania certainly would have told him what she had been doing with her days at Rivendell. It was his was his own fault he had not been aware of it. Finally allowing the vision of her sparring with Elladan to sink in fully, he was reminded of the grace she had when he had first seen her dance. With a small smile, Legolas decided to see for himself how well Alania had been trained. Giving Elladan a small nod and receiving one in return, he entered the center of the circle.
Teleris had noticed them since their arrival. Though surprised that word wasn't sent ahead of them, he said nothing as he watched Legolas's reactions. Joy, anger, frustration, resignation and finally admiration crossed the elf's face as he slowly realized Alania's talent. Knowing his ability as a teacher was about to tested as much as his student, he said nothing when Legolas pulled out a short sword and joined Elladan against Alania.
Georn and Roxy gasped when Legolas walked into the center of the crowd to spar with Alania. Neither had noticed their arrival, and Georn had to physically stop Roxy from warning Alania. "Why are you stopping me Georn?" Roxy asked vehemently. "It is unfair of him to do this to her."
"Yes it is, my love. But truly it will be the first real test of her abilities. Alania has done very well knowing beforehand how many opponents and who she would face. Now we will see if she is truly combat ready" replied Georn. Then with a laugh he continued "Besides, if she doesn't defeat him now she will certainly throttle him later for surprising her."
Alania focused her entire being on battling Elladan. Because of his light footing he was always her greatest challenge, and she had had to develop her hearing to listen for the movement of his sword and arms as she couldn't hear his steps. She had defeated him only rarely and it frustrated her to no end. She was determined to defeat him this time.
She had taken down her human opponents easily enough, and as she parried and blocked Elladan's attack, she heard another sword drawn behind her. Somewhat surprised at this new development in her training, she did not put it past Teleris to have secretly joined in to test her attention. Now having to deal with two elves, Alania redoubled her efforts.
As she had been sparring with Elladan for sometime now Alania recognized his patterns well enough, but her new attacker was completely unpredictable. The only certainty Alania had about him was that he was an elf as she could hear nothing of his footfalls. Wondering if Teleris had managed to find another elf passing through the city, she blocked and defended and realized she needed to be rid of Elladan so that she could fend off her new attacker with more zeal.
Cautiously pacing herself for the right moment when her two attackers were at either end of her, she pulled off something she had kept up her sleeve for sometime. Waiting until she heard Elladan's thrust of his sword, she pulled a quick backwards somersault landing in a crouch to sweep Elladan's legs out from under him. Quickly jumping up and deflecting an attack from the other elf, she gave Elladan a small kick even as she maintained her defense and said "Had you been an orc you know I would have sliced your legs rather than kick them. Yield if you know what's good for you." Grudgingly Elladan had to admit defeat. Truly Alania had surprised him, and though his ego was bruised he was tremendously pleased at her success. He knew how focused she had become on winning against him and how much practice she had put in.
With Elladan out of the picture, Alania put all her energy on defending herself. Her method was to allow her opponent attack her at his will, and as she defended herself she would note his fighting style and weaknesses. Her attacker's skills were extremely strong and he was easily the most difficult opponent she had ever dealt with. She knew she had no chance against this new opponent, especially as she was beginning to get tired.
Though she was becoming exhausted and it must have been clear to him, he still continued to tease her. At least that was how Alania observed his actions until she realized otherwise. At first she had assumed he was toying with her because he enjoyed the upper hand, but as they continued it occurred to her that though he knew he was the better fighter he was holding back. It was as if he wanted her to quit rather than defeat her. This was the weakness she was looking for. His caution against fighting her would be his defeat.
The crowd had been raucous and noisy with cheering, but as the two dueled the intensity of their fight had silenced them all. Now they all watched avidly to see who would win.
He knew she was tiring, but he hadn't the heart to actually take her down. He continued to purposefully antagonize her hoping that she would call it a draw, but as a slow grim smile spread across her face, Legolas realized she had come to some kind of conclusion. He was tremendously impressed with her. Teleris had taught her well and he would have to remember to thank the elf for teaching her. It was in this instant, when his mind was not solely focused on his swordplay that Alania took advantage of.
As Legolas thrust forward, Alania twisted with the flow of his sword to dodge the attack. As she twisted back she dropped her own sword and grabbed her attacker's wrist and pulled him forward. Startling him with this, her first and only attack, he found himself on his knees with his back against her. The hand that had grabbed his wrist had pulled his arm painfully behind him in this kneeling position and her other hand held a blade she had concealed in her waist at his throat, almost cutting him.
Both breathing heavily at their exertions, Alania leaned down and whispered in her opponent's ear "You have lost because your caution got the better of you. I would recommend that next time you hold nothing back, for it is far better to lose to a true warrior than to win against one who is afraid of hurting a woman, Master Elf. You were clearly the stronger. I should not have defeated you. Drop your sword if you yield."
Eyes wide with astonishment and pride at her defeating him, Legolas dropped his sword. As it hit the ground, the crowd erupted in applause. Loosening her hold on her opponent, Alania stepped back to catch her breath. Bent over, with her hands on her knees, she was shocked beyond all reason to hear Teleris laughingly say "Congratulations Alania. You have just managed to kill the Prince of Mirkwood."
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Chapter 24 – Using The Force
As they traveled to Gondor, Gandalf gave Legolas a full explanation as to why Alania had left the security of Rivendell. As Legolas listened, he was astonished to discover from Gandalf what Alania had been up to while he was at council all that time, and how she had earned the respect and trust of everyone after he left. He was still upset that she had just made these decisions, but even as he had these thoughts he kept envisioning their final morning together, when Alania expressed how she slighted she felt because of his silence. Now he understood completely why she had been so upset.
Although he knew that Alania and Roxy would have no better escort and protection than Georn, Elladan and Teleris, he was still anxious to confirm her safety himself and he urged the group on at a brisk pace. Soon the White City itself was in view and the group pushed that much harder.
Always welcome, the group easily passed each gate and as they approached Aerdin's keep, they noticed a large group in one of the larger gardens. It seemed as though there was quite a ruckus over a few sparring warriors in the center of the crowd. At Elrohir's insistence, the group made their way through the crowd to watch.
With much resignation, Legolas followed Elrohir and Gandalf. When they reached the center he was astonished to see Roxy, Georn and Teleris watching from the sidelines as Alania took on Elladan and several of Aerdin's guard while blindfolded. Shocked to his very core that her friends would allow her to do this, and ridiculously happy at seeing her for the first time in several months, he started forward only to be held back by Gandalf, who whispered "Do not be so hasty Legolas. She has much improved since last I watched her spar with Teleris. He has taught he exceedingly well and would not allow her to participate in something he was not confident she could handle. Be patient and watch."
Furious that Teleris would tutor Alania in this elvish technique of combat without his knowledge, he watched as Alania defended herself against four opponents. As Alania slowly took each of her opponents down until only Elladan was left, it occurred to Legolas that she was very good. Further, he realized that had he bothered to ask her, Alania certainly would have told him what she had been doing with her days at Rivendell. It was his was his own fault he had not been aware of it. Finally allowing the vision of her sparring with Elladan to sink in fully, he was reminded of the grace she had when he had first seen her dance. With a small smile, Legolas decided to see for himself how well Alania had been trained. Giving Elladan a small nod and receiving one in return, he entered the center of the circle.
Teleris had noticed them since their arrival. Though surprised that word wasn't sent ahead of them, he said nothing as he watched Legolas's reactions. Joy, anger, frustration, resignation and finally admiration crossed the elf's face as he slowly realized Alania's talent. Knowing his ability as a teacher was about to tested as much as his student, he said nothing when Legolas pulled out a short sword and joined Elladan against Alania.
Georn and Roxy gasped when Legolas walked into the center of the crowd to spar with Alania. Neither had noticed their arrival, and Georn had to physically stop Roxy from warning Alania. "Why are you stopping me Georn?" Roxy asked vehemently. "It is unfair of him to do this to her."
"Yes it is, my love. But truly it will be the first real test of her abilities. Alania has done very well knowing beforehand how many opponents and who she would face. Now we will see if she is truly combat ready" replied Georn. Then with a laugh he continued "Besides, if she doesn't defeat him now she will certainly throttle him later for surprising her."
Alania focused her entire being on battling Elladan. Because of his light footing he was always her greatest challenge, and she had had to develop her hearing to listen for the movement of his sword and arms as she couldn't hear his steps. She had defeated him only rarely and it frustrated her to no end. She was determined to defeat him this time.
She had taken down her human opponents easily enough, and as she parried and blocked Elladan's attack, she heard another sword drawn behind her. Somewhat surprised at this new development in her training, she did not put it past Teleris to have secretly joined in to test her attention. Now having to deal with two elves, Alania redoubled her efforts.
As she had been sparring with Elladan for sometime now Alania recognized his patterns well enough, but her new attacker was completely unpredictable. The only certainty Alania had about him was that he was an elf as she could hear nothing of his footfalls. Wondering if Teleris had managed to find another elf passing through the city, she blocked and defended and realized she needed to be rid of Elladan so that she could fend off her new attacker with more zeal.
Cautiously pacing herself for the right moment when her two attackers were at either end of her, she pulled off something she had kept up her sleeve for sometime. Waiting until she heard Elladan's thrust of his sword, she pulled a quick backwards somersault landing in a crouch to sweep Elladan's legs out from under him. Quickly jumping up and deflecting an attack from the other elf, she gave Elladan a small kick even as she maintained her defense and said "Had you been an orc you know I would have sliced your legs rather than kick them. Yield if you know what's good for you." Grudgingly Elladan had to admit defeat. Truly Alania had surprised him, and though his ego was bruised he was tremendously pleased at her success. He knew how focused she had become on winning against him and how much practice she had put in.
With Elladan out of the picture, Alania put all her energy on defending herself. Her method was to allow her opponent attack her at his will, and as she defended herself she would note his fighting style and weaknesses. Her attacker's skills were extremely strong and he was easily the most difficult opponent she had ever dealt with. She knew she had no chance against this new opponent, especially as she was beginning to get tired.
Though she was becoming exhausted and it must have been clear to him, he still continued to tease her. At least that was how Alania observed his actions until she realized otherwise. At first she had assumed he was toying with her because he enjoyed the upper hand, but as they continued it occurred to her that though he knew he was the better fighter he was holding back. It was as if he wanted her to quit rather than defeat her. This was the weakness she was looking for. His caution against fighting her would be his defeat.
The crowd had been raucous and noisy with cheering, but as the two dueled the intensity of their fight had silenced them all. Now they all watched avidly to see who would win.
He knew she was tiring, but he hadn't the heart to actually take her down. He continued to purposefully antagonize her hoping that she would call it a draw, but as a slow grim smile spread across her face, Legolas realized she had come to some kind of conclusion. He was tremendously impressed with her. Teleris had taught her well and he would have to remember to thank the elf for teaching her. It was in this instant, when his mind was not solely focused on his swordplay that Alania took advantage of.
As Legolas thrust forward, Alania twisted with the flow of his sword to dodge the attack. As she twisted back she dropped her own sword and grabbed her attacker's wrist and pulled him forward. Startling him with this, her first and only attack, he found himself on his knees with his back against her. The hand that had grabbed his wrist had pulled his arm painfully behind him in this kneeling position and her other hand held a blade she had concealed in her waist at his throat, almost cutting him.
Both breathing heavily at their exertions, Alania leaned down and whispered in her opponent's ear "You have lost because your caution got the better of you. I would recommend that next time you hold nothing back, for it is far better to lose to a true warrior than to win against one who is afraid of hurting a woman, Master Elf. You were clearly the stronger. I should not have defeated you. Drop your sword if you yield."
Eyes wide with astonishment and pride at her defeating him, Legolas dropped his sword. As it hit the ground, the crowd erupted in applause. Loosening her hold on her opponent, Alania stepped back to catch her breath. Bent over, with her hands on her knees, she was shocked beyond all reason to hear Teleris laughingly say "Congratulations Alania. You have just managed to kill the Prince of Mirkwood."
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Now you MUST review!