Thanks for all the reviews on the previous chapter:)
Cheysuli: great! you actually like it! Whiiiiiii, I'm a great admirer of your stories as wel *g* Deb: thanks for reading anonymous: thanks for having so much faith in me ( I'll try not to disappoint you. Kelly: I'm sorry if this wasn't the next chapter to my other story, but that has been posted in the meantime. Hope you enjoy this one as much too ;)
And finally to canon police. I'm very sorry if you took offence of the artistic liberty I have taken with this story. I didn't mean to bother anybody with it. It is true that Legolas never referred to himself as a half- Elven, and this is obviously an AU story, but look at it this way: if you were half a creature that everybody else believes does not exist, would you tell them? Especially if it is supposed to be a secret! Also, Legolas does not have wings! Please, like I would do that! The reason he doesn't use magic is also because that would reveal him. I do not (of course) claim to follow Tolkien to the letter, and more references to Middle - Earth will have to wait until later chapters. But eventually the scene will shift to the Middle Earth we all love and cherish. So if you can't stand this, then please don't read it. But a lot of the stuff would be explainable even if this wasn't an AU story.
If anybody else is bothered with the fact that the story is a far-driven AU please tell me, and I'll just stop writing.
But now, without any further ado, chapter 2:
CHAPTER 2 : TRAINING
Moments later they arrived at their dormitories. There were three rooms with four beds, and two with two beds in them. "I suggest we get one with two beds." Thanin said, referring to herself and the only other girl in the group: Canirch. "Sure, who would want to sleep with a girl?" Khînu reacted sarcastically. "I will take the other room with two beds," he continued. Looking at one of the others he said, "Rhâvin, you can sleep with me." Rhâvin grinned broadly, seemingly overwhelmed with joy. In a split second it seemed the others had divided over the remaining rooms. The only option Legolas had was to move in with the group that only had tree persons. He sighed, entering the room, knowing that his presence wouldn't be very appreciated. Looking around, he saw that the others had already picked their beds. Legolas headed for the free one and was pleasantly surprised to see it was located under a window, one without glass. It looked out over the yard and behind that a forest. Behind him he could hear Daggor shout something, and a wave of laughter from the other two. He looked at them, identifying his roommates. Beside Daggor there was Nîhun and a tall young man called Zhinouk. Legolas dropped the bag he had brought from the hall where all their luggage had been brought, onto the bed.
At the sudden silence he looked behind him. The three Demons were staring at him, neither friendly nor threatingly, more like estimating his strength. "What?" Legolas asked, meeting their eyes without any sign of fear or weakness. "Your time to clean yourself up, Elven boy." Daggor laughed, tossing him a towel. He had already changed, as had the other two, and with most of the time given them already gone, Legolas disappeared into the bathroom. Behind him he could hear laughter again.
When the door closed behind him, Legolas let his breath out slowly, exercising self-control. He re-opened his eyes, seeing a basin in the ground, fed by an underground source. The water felt warm to his touch and he took his tunic of and quickly washed himself before putting it back on. Opening the door to the dormitory he saw the others were waiting for him. They silently trotted through the corridor into the open air.
The mess was a low building carved out off thick stone. Inside there were lots of benches and tables, neatly ordered in rows. A separate table was put in front of the others. Rhûgan had already taken place there together with some other officers Legolas hadn't met yet. Seeing some of his apprentices looking rather lost, their teacher pointed at their places. As other groups entered Daggor turned around on his chair at Legolas' left. "Hey, " he said we're organised by year. There are the lastyears on the other side of the room." Zhinouk, opposite of Legolas, gave a dark glance at Khînu who had come to sit at his left. For some reason he didn't like the upstart any more than Legolas did.
On the officer table a Demon stood. Surveying the gathered students, he smiled. "Good evening everyone. For those in their first year who have just started today: welcome and good luck. For those who have 'survived' the past years: good work. As you have undoubtfully noticed you are organized by year and by training group. After tonight you can sit at any position at the table of your year. But for now: welcome again and let's eat." At that, servants came to the tables and put plates of food on them. There was fresh bread, soup and fruit for dessert. Daggor smiled "Oh this is great!", and began to help himself to a bowl of soup and half a bread. Legolas looked surprised at the amount of food that everybody around him ate. Because he was half Elvish (from his father's side) he had never eaten much, certainly not at evening meals. He reached for an apple and took a firm bite from it.
"You're not going to stay upright tomorrow if you won't eat more than that." a voice said at his right. Startled Legolas turned towards the sound to find that Thanin had taken that seat. She smiled to him from above her own spoon of soup. Legolas smiled back. "Thanks for the warning, but I've never been able to eat much so late on the day." Thanin shook her head still smiling, returning her concentration to her food. The others had all dug in and for about ten minutes the mess was relatively quiet. Daggor was looking thoughtfully at the officer who had addressed them before supper. "What is it, Daggor?" Nîhun asked. "That's my father." Daggor stated proudly, bowing over the table towards him. "His name's Targoth, and he's one off the closest advisors of the King." Legolas smiled as he recognized the name: Ramin had used it a couple of times when talking to his mother about strategies. So that was the man Daggor was hoping to equal. Not the easiest job but he had faith in the young man: there was something about him that he respected without being able to tell what it was.
Supper was over, plates were passed to the beginning of the rows where the servants picked them up and brought them back to the kitchen. People began to scatter again, going back to their sleeping quarters. Staying seated for a moment longer, Legolas looked around: most of the crowd was Demonic, with occasionally a Minotaur or a Viashino. As far as he could see, he was the only Elven in the bunch. "We're going back," Nîhun's cheerful voice sounded, "you coming?" Nodding he rose, following to their room. Once there they each sat on their beds, occupied by their own thoughts. "Well," Zhinouks deep bass rumbled, "since it seems we're in this together, we might as well get to know each other a little better." Looking at them he continued: "I'll begin. My name you already know. I come from the Kashimir province where my father is mayor of a small town. I came here because I always admired the guards when they trained. I know this is going to be heavy and especially so for those without friends to help them out occasionally. So I hope I've found some friends in you guys to have some fun with." he ended, cracking a wicked grin at them. Nîhun and Daggor laughed in response, Legolas gave a friendly smile, trying hard to think up a plausible story in just a few minutes.
"My turn," Nîhun stated. "I'm also from the Kashimir province. My parents have a farm and I still have two other brothers. We have a tradition of sending the youngest to undergo military training, so here I am." he finished with a raise of the shoulders. "As good a reason as any, if you ask me." Zhinouk said. "What about you Daggor, I heard you're here because of your father." Daggor nodded. "He's the officer that spoke to us at supper. Because he had such a good career he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. I don't know if I'll be able to do that but I'll certainly try." Bowing his head, Daggor sighed. "You'll do it." Nîhun said sounding convinced of his own point of view.
"So that brings us to our very own Elven." Zhinouk said, "Legolas, anything you want to share with us?" "We understand if you don't want to." Nîhun said compassionate. Legolas gave them a quick smile: they offered him an easy way out but he decided to tell them as much as possible without either lying or revealing who he was. "My father is Elvish, I never met him." The others gave him a sad look, but he continued. "My mother is half Demonic and half Terran. She is a powerful woman in our community that lies in Immryr. She decided I should be trained before taking over the family business." The others nodded. "We're sorry for you. . ." Daggor started but Legolas laughed it away. "Why?" he asked, "because I don't know who my father is? Don't be: if you never had something you just don't know if you're missing it." "That's a weird way to look at it." Zhinouk rumbled. "But it's true, I think." Nîhun added thoughtfully. "Maybe it's better we went to bed now," he continued, "I don't think they 'll let us sleep out tomorrow." Daggor laughed, then threw his pillow at the younger Demon. They went to sleep, Nîhun refusing to give Daggor his pillow back, lest he throw it at him again. Mumbling goodnight Zhinouk turned his back to the others. Legolas curled up in his own bed, tired enough to sleep.
Nîhun proved to be right about the sleeping time they got. The sun wasn't even up when a trumpet blast shook everybody awake. Groaning, the Demons were up in a few minutes, seeing Legolas sitting in the windowsill, already awake and dressed. "Oh my," Daggor yawned, " how does anybody manage to be awake at this hour?" After a lot of rushing and fighting for the use of the bathroom, the four were just in time for breakfast at the mess. Slipping into the same places as yesterday evening, they greeted their teammates, some of which were more awake than others. Thanin looked pretty fresh, smiling at them. "Hey, had a good night?" Zhinouk gave her a smile of his own, but didn't answer. "I never noticed a night to be so short," Nîhun complained. The others laughed, leaving him to feel pretty stupid.
Rhûgan passed by their table, leaning towards them. "You have about an hour to eat and gather. I'll expect you at the three were we discussed tactics yesterday." Khinu dropped in ten minutes late, looking for someone to bug, Rhâvin as a loyal dog right at his heels. "Hey Elven," he jeered, "You still alive after a night in such 'terrible circumstances'?" Legolas ignored him, fully intending not to let the annoying idiot ruin his time here. Although some at the table laughed at Khînu's remark, most paid no attention.
Together with the girls the four went to the training field. They still had some minutes before the rest showed up and they spent them talking about the things that had already happened to them so far. The fellow students joined them and they laughed about some of Nîhun's jokes until Rhûgan showed up and put them to work, ordering them to repeat the moves they had learned yesterday. The only difference was that now he was much harsher. He corrected more and drove them on until they almost had a heatstroke from the burning sun. Only then did he allow them to sit down. "As you have undoubtfully noticed, I'm not so nice anymore, but that, I'm afraid is needed to make good warriors of you. Remember that you can always give up when it becomes too hard on you. Now everybody, take a break and get something to eat. You have half an hour."
Moaning they stood up. "This can't be happening," Nîhun whispered, "I'm never going to hold on if every day will be like this." The others said nothing: he had just spoken their every thought. It was very well possible that none of them would pass this training, no matter how hard they tried. They all still ached from the day before and the new strain on their muscles seemed to leave even Khînu with little desire to do anything but drag himself to the mess.
In the afternoon, they had more strategy and sword fighting, no slouching allowed. When Legolas let himself fall onto his bed to get some sleep that night, he wondered how his mother had made it through her training. "She could have at least warned me," he thought, moving his shoulders to find out in how many places they actually hurt. Looking round to his roommates he saw he wasn't the only one with sore spots: Nîhun was dead to the world, snoring lightly, Daggor moaned as he shifted to his other side and Zhinouk rubbed his shoulders in an attempt to have most of their stiffness gone against the following morning.
They trained for weeks like that, handing in their training swords for metal ones, falling asleep with painful muscles, wishing it was over already but knowing the worst still lay ahead of them. Amazingly only one person quit those first weeks: Dardân, a young man of a rich family. Khînu snorted as he left, marking him as too less to pay any attention to. The others shook his hand, wishing him all the best and asking to write once in a while. In the short time they had known each other a firm band had already been formed because of the shared suffering and dreams. As Dardân rode off, the rest flung themselves back onto the training field, parrying and striking as well as they could.
If anything kept them going through those days, it was the evening conversations they had. Gathering in one of the bedrooms, they sat and talked about what they thought of Rhûgan and the other officers, their dreams and hopes, things they had seen or achieved. They also spoke about their parents, family and friends that they had left at home. Legolas thought that if these were the people he would later rule, he was a very lucky man. Their warmth and friendship were things he appreciated a lot. Even Khînu didn't taunt him that much anymore. "Probably because I wasn't the first one to stop the training." Legolas mused.
After 3 months, Rhûgan had a surprise for them. They had come on the field, heading for the swords as usual when he stopped them. "Today," he said, seeing everyone was present; "we are going to add another dimension to our strategy- training. As part of finding an enemy, I'm going to teach you the skills of a ranger. Reading signs and marks you find on the ground can help you a lot in this, so we're going to hike today." He led the way towards the forest, going at a strong pace.
They reached the edge of the forest and Rhûgan made them stop signalling them to make a circle around him. He pointed at a spot in the grass. "What do you see, Rhâvin?" he asked. Rhâvin thought for a while but couldn't see anything special. "Uhm, a patch of grass?" he tried. "Good try. Anybody else." His students stood silent, looking at the grass. Nobody seemed to know the answer and after a few moments they began to shift uneasily. Rhûgan sighed. "Legolas?" he asked. Moaning innerly, Legolas answered. "Deer tracks, probably a young because the tracks aren't very deep and probably male cause the females aren't that audacious to go to the edge." The others began to snicker. Daggor gave him a punch in his side. "Great story, Leg, maybe he'll even buy it." Rhûgan stood up, looking around with raised eyebrows. "What are you all laughing about?" he inquired, "He's right you know, about all of it." A respectful murmur arose from the Demons. "But then again, he has already been trained for this as his mother told us. You will still have to attend each class though." he said with a smile towards Legolas, "Wouldn't be fair otherwise." Legolas nodded and the party moved on.
They spent the whole day in the forest, moving cautiously so as not to step on any tracks by incident. As the day drew to an end, Rhûgan made up a game for them. Dividing the group in 3, the task was to find and sneak up on the other groups without being caught themselves. Legolas, Daggor, Zhinouk and Nîhun were together as always, seeking their way through the trees with caution, trying to make as less tracks as possible. They found traces of another group and followed them, Legolas leading them when the traces were all but erased. At the end of the way, Khînu, Rhâvin and Canirch sat crouched under some shrubs. The smile on Nîhun's face as he saw them stated clearly the pleasure he had in being one of the best for a change. "Are we going to scare them?" he nearly begged, continuing as he saw Zhinouk frown, "Come on, it would be fun. And they do deserve it for teasing Legolas!" Daggor's grin was nearly wicked as he nodded his head. He held out his hand. "Revenge!" he whispered. "Revenge!" the others agreed. Legolas had another look at the threesome under the shrubs and then motioned his companions to move backwards. Quickly they crawled to the other side of the shrubs, making less sound than the wind. There they crouched down and waited, listening to the conversation of their prey.
"This is fun!" Khinu leered, "I've never had this much fun in my life!" His sarcastic expression betrayed his hatred for what he was doing. "Be quiet," Canirch demanded, " you'll give us away." She looked out of their hiding to find possible trackers. "This is a typical thing for that Elf, not for a Demon!" her companion continued as though the girl had not spoken. Canirch sighed and glared at him. "If we're discovered it's your fault. I hope that Legolas," she added, emphasizing the fact that he had a name, "takes you in personally."
Legolas grinned at the others. "This is to beautiful an invitation to leave." he smiled, "are you coming?" The others had similar grins plastered across their faces. "Let's get them!" Nihûn hissed. Together they sprang on their enemies from behind. Zhinouk and Legolas took Khînu, while Daggor grabbed Rhâvin and Nîhun collided with Canirch. The 'battle' was over before it began, and the losers where sent back to Rugan to admit defeat. "That'll teach him." Nîhun said happily. "Teach them what?" Daggor asked his young comrade-at-arms. "To not treat Legolas that way." he answered intensely, surprising the Elf. He gave Nîhun a smile. "I can take it, it's nothing big." "If you need somebody to help you, we're here for you." Zhinouk said with quiet confidence. Legolas looked at his friends thankfully, feeling at home among them for the first time. These three years wouldn't feel like an eternity after all.
So love, hate, like or just break the whole thing down and never talk about it again? Review please !
Cheysuli: great! you actually like it! Whiiiiiii, I'm a great admirer of your stories as wel *g* Deb: thanks for reading anonymous: thanks for having so much faith in me ( I'll try not to disappoint you. Kelly: I'm sorry if this wasn't the next chapter to my other story, but that has been posted in the meantime. Hope you enjoy this one as much too ;)
And finally to canon police. I'm very sorry if you took offence of the artistic liberty I have taken with this story. I didn't mean to bother anybody with it. It is true that Legolas never referred to himself as a half- Elven, and this is obviously an AU story, but look at it this way: if you were half a creature that everybody else believes does not exist, would you tell them? Especially if it is supposed to be a secret! Also, Legolas does not have wings! Please, like I would do that! The reason he doesn't use magic is also because that would reveal him. I do not (of course) claim to follow Tolkien to the letter, and more references to Middle - Earth will have to wait until later chapters. But eventually the scene will shift to the Middle Earth we all love and cherish. So if you can't stand this, then please don't read it. But a lot of the stuff would be explainable even if this wasn't an AU story.
If anybody else is bothered with the fact that the story is a far-driven AU please tell me, and I'll just stop writing.
But now, without any further ado, chapter 2:
CHAPTER 2 : TRAINING
Moments later they arrived at their dormitories. There were three rooms with four beds, and two with two beds in them. "I suggest we get one with two beds." Thanin said, referring to herself and the only other girl in the group: Canirch. "Sure, who would want to sleep with a girl?" Khînu reacted sarcastically. "I will take the other room with two beds," he continued. Looking at one of the others he said, "Rhâvin, you can sleep with me." Rhâvin grinned broadly, seemingly overwhelmed with joy. In a split second it seemed the others had divided over the remaining rooms. The only option Legolas had was to move in with the group that only had tree persons. He sighed, entering the room, knowing that his presence wouldn't be very appreciated. Looking around, he saw that the others had already picked their beds. Legolas headed for the free one and was pleasantly surprised to see it was located under a window, one without glass. It looked out over the yard and behind that a forest. Behind him he could hear Daggor shout something, and a wave of laughter from the other two. He looked at them, identifying his roommates. Beside Daggor there was Nîhun and a tall young man called Zhinouk. Legolas dropped the bag he had brought from the hall where all their luggage had been brought, onto the bed.
At the sudden silence he looked behind him. The three Demons were staring at him, neither friendly nor threatingly, more like estimating his strength. "What?" Legolas asked, meeting their eyes without any sign of fear or weakness. "Your time to clean yourself up, Elven boy." Daggor laughed, tossing him a towel. He had already changed, as had the other two, and with most of the time given them already gone, Legolas disappeared into the bathroom. Behind him he could hear laughter again.
When the door closed behind him, Legolas let his breath out slowly, exercising self-control. He re-opened his eyes, seeing a basin in the ground, fed by an underground source. The water felt warm to his touch and he took his tunic of and quickly washed himself before putting it back on. Opening the door to the dormitory he saw the others were waiting for him. They silently trotted through the corridor into the open air.
The mess was a low building carved out off thick stone. Inside there were lots of benches and tables, neatly ordered in rows. A separate table was put in front of the others. Rhûgan had already taken place there together with some other officers Legolas hadn't met yet. Seeing some of his apprentices looking rather lost, their teacher pointed at their places. As other groups entered Daggor turned around on his chair at Legolas' left. "Hey, " he said we're organised by year. There are the lastyears on the other side of the room." Zhinouk, opposite of Legolas, gave a dark glance at Khînu who had come to sit at his left. For some reason he didn't like the upstart any more than Legolas did.
On the officer table a Demon stood. Surveying the gathered students, he smiled. "Good evening everyone. For those in their first year who have just started today: welcome and good luck. For those who have 'survived' the past years: good work. As you have undoubtfully noticed you are organized by year and by training group. After tonight you can sit at any position at the table of your year. But for now: welcome again and let's eat." At that, servants came to the tables and put plates of food on them. There was fresh bread, soup and fruit for dessert. Daggor smiled "Oh this is great!", and began to help himself to a bowl of soup and half a bread. Legolas looked surprised at the amount of food that everybody around him ate. Because he was half Elvish (from his father's side) he had never eaten much, certainly not at evening meals. He reached for an apple and took a firm bite from it.
"You're not going to stay upright tomorrow if you won't eat more than that." a voice said at his right. Startled Legolas turned towards the sound to find that Thanin had taken that seat. She smiled to him from above her own spoon of soup. Legolas smiled back. "Thanks for the warning, but I've never been able to eat much so late on the day." Thanin shook her head still smiling, returning her concentration to her food. The others had all dug in and for about ten minutes the mess was relatively quiet. Daggor was looking thoughtfully at the officer who had addressed them before supper. "What is it, Daggor?" Nîhun asked. "That's my father." Daggor stated proudly, bowing over the table towards him. "His name's Targoth, and he's one off the closest advisors of the King." Legolas smiled as he recognized the name: Ramin had used it a couple of times when talking to his mother about strategies. So that was the man Daggor was hoping to equal. Not the easiest job but he had faith in the young man: there was something about him that he respected without being able to tell what it was.
Supper was over, plates were passed to the beginning of the rows where the servants picked them up and brought them back to the kitchen. People began to scatter again, going back to their sleeping quarters. Staying seated for a moment longer, Legolas looked around: most of the crowd was Demonic, with occasionally a Minotaur or a Viashino. As far as he could see, he was the only Elven in the bunch. "We're going back," Nîhun's cheerful voice sounded, "you coming?" Nodding he rose, following to their room. Once there they each sat on their beds, occupied by their own thoughts. "Well," Zhinouks deep bass rumbled, "since it seems we're in this together, we might as well get to know each other a little better." Looking at them he continued: "I'll begin. My name you already know. I come from the Kashimir province where my father is mayor of a small town. I came here because I always admired the guards when they trained. I know this is going to be heavy and especially so for those without friends to help them out occasionally. So I hope I've found some friends in you guys to have some fun with." he ended, cracking a wicked grin at them. Nîhun and Daggor laughed in response, Legolas gave a friendly smile, trying hard to think up a plausible story in just a few minutes.
"My turn," Nîhun stated. "I'm also from the Kashimir province. My parents have a farm and I still have two other brothers. We have a tradition of sending the youngest to undergo military training, so here I am." he finished with a raise of the shoulders. "As good a reason as any, if you ask me." Zhinouk said. "What about you Daggor, I heard you're here because of your father." Daggor nodded. "He's the officer that spoke to us at supper. Because he had such a good career he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. I don't know if I'll be able to do that but I'll certainly try." Bowing his head, Daggor sighed. "You'll do it." Nîhun said sounding convinced of his own point of view.
"So that brings us to our very own Elven." Zhinouk said, "Legolas, anything you want to share with us?" "We understand if you don't want to." Nîhun said compassionate. Legolas gave them a quick smile: they offered him an easy way out but he decided to tell them as much as possible without either lying or revealing who he was. "My father is Elvish, I never met him." The others gave him a sad look, but he continued. "My mother is half Demonic and half Terran. She is a powerful woman in our community that lies in Immryr. She decided I should be trained before taking over the family business." The others nodded. "We're sorry for you. . ." Daggor started but Legolas laughed it away. "Why?" he asked, "because I don't know who my father is? Don't be: if you never had something you just don't know if you're missing it." "That's a weird way to look at it." Zhinouk rumbled. "But it's true, I think." Nîhun added thoughtfully. "Maybe it's better we went to bed now," he continued, "I don't think they 'll let us sleep out tomorrow." Daggor laughed, then threw his pillow at the younger Demon. They went to sleep, Nîhun refusing to give Daggor his pillow back, lest he throw it at him again. Mumbling goodnight Zhinouk turned his back to the others. Legolas curled up in his own bed, tired enough to sleep.
Nîhun proved to be right about the sleeping time they got. The sun wasn't even up when a trumpet blast shook everybody awake. Groaning, the Demons were up in a few minutes, seeing Legolas sitting in the windowsill, already awake and dressed. "Oh my," Daggor yawned, " how does anybody manage to be awake at this hour?" After a lot of rushing and fighting for the use of the bathroom, the four were just in time for breakfast at the mess. Slipping into the same places as yesterday evening, they greeted their teammates, some of which were more awake than others. Thanin looked pretty fresh, smiling at them. "Hey, had a good night?" Zhinouk gave her a smile of his own, but didn't answer. "I never noticed a night to be so short," Nîhun complained. The others laughed, leaving him to feel pretty stupid.
Rhûgan passed by their table, leaning towards them. "You have about an hour to eat and gather. I'll expect you at the three were we discussed tactics yesterday." Khinu dropped in ten minutes late, looking for someone to bug, Rhâvin as a loyal dog right at his heels. "Hey Elven," he jeered, "You still alive after a night in such 'terrible circumstances'?" Legolas ignored him, fully intending not to let the annoying idiot ruin his time here. Although some at the table laughed at Khînu's remark, most paid no attention.
Together with the girls the four went to the training field. They still had some minutes before the rest showed up and they spent them talking about the things that had already happened to them so far. The fellow students joined them and they laughed about some of Nîhun's jokes until Rhûgan showed up and put them to work, ordering them to repeat the moves they had learned yesterday. The only difference was that now he was much harsher. He corrected more and drove them on until they almost had a heatstroke from the burning sun. Only then did he allow them to sit down. "As you have undoubtfully noticed, I'm not so nice anymore, but that, I'm afraid is needed to make good warriors of you. Remember that you can always give up when it becomes too hard on you. Now everybody, take a break and get something to eat. You have half an hour."
Moaning they stood up. "This can't be happening," Nîhun whispered, "I'm never going to hold on if every day will be like this." The others said nothing: he had just spoken their every thought. It was very well possible that none of them would pass this training, no matter how hard they tried. They all still ached from the day before and the new strain on their muscles seemed to leave even Khînu with little desire to do anything but drag himself to the mess.
In the afternoon, they had more strategy and sword fighting, no slouching allowed. When Legolas let himself fall onto his bed to get some sleep that night, he wondered how his mother had made it through her training. "She could have at least warned me," he thought, moving his shoulders to find out in how many places they actually hurt. Looking round to his roommates he saw he wasn't the only one with sore spots: Nîhun was dead to the world, snoring lightly, Daggor moaned as he shifted to his other side and Zhinouk rubbed his shoulders in an attempt to have most of their stiffness gone against the following morning.
They trained for weeks like that, handing in their training swords for metal ones, falling asleep with painful muscles, wishing it was over already but knowing the worst still lay ahead of them. Amazingly only one person quit those first weeks: Dardân, a young man of a rich family. Khînu snorted as he left, marking him as too less to pay any attention to. The others shook his hand, wishing him all the best and asking to write once in a while. In the short time they had known each other a firm band had already been formed because of the shared suffering and dreams. As Dardân rode off, the rest flung themselves back onto the training field, parrying and striking as well as they could.
If anything kept them going through those days, it was the evening conversations they had. Gathering in one of the bedrooms, they sat and talked about what they thought of Rhûgan and the other officers, their dreams and hopes, things they had seen or achieved. They also spoke about their parents, family and friends that they had left at home. Legolas thought that if these were the people he would later rule, he was a very lucky man. Their warmth and friendship were things he appreciated a lot. Even Khînu didn't taunt him that much anymore. "Probably because I wasn't the first one to stop the training." Legolas mused.
After 3 months, Rhûgan had a surprise for them. They had come on the field, heading for the swords as usual when he stopped them. "Today," he said, seeing everyone was present; "we are going to add another dimension to our strategy- training. As part of finding an enemy, I'm going to teach you the skills of a ranger. Reading signs and marks you find on the ground can help you a lot in this, so we're going to hike today." He led the way towards the forest, going at a strong pace.
They reached the edge of the forest and Rhûgan made them stop signalling them to make a circle around him. He pointed at a spot in the grass. "What do you see, Rhâvin?" he asked. Rhâvin thought for a while but couldn't see anything special. "Uhm, a patch of grass?" he tried. "Good try. Anybody else." His students stood silent, looking at the grass. Nobody seemed to know the answer and after a few moments they began to shift uneasily. Rhûgan sighed. "Legolas?" he asked. Moaning innerly, Legolas answered. "Deer tracks, probably a young because the tracks aren't very deep and probably male cause the females aren't that audacious to go to the edge." The others began to snicker. Daggor gave him a punch in his side. "Great story, Leg, maybe he'll even buy it." Rhûgan stood up, looking around with raised eyebrows. "What are you all laughing about?" he inquired, "He's right you know, about all of it." A respectful murmur arose from the Demons. "But then again, he has already been trained for this as his mother told us. You will still have to attend each class though." he said with a smile towards Legolas, "Wouldn't be fair otherwise." Legolas nodded and the party moved on.
They spent the whole day in the forest, moving cautiously so as not to step on any tracks by incident. As the day drew to an end, Rhûgan made up a game for them. Dividing the group in 3, the task was to find and sneak up on the other groups without being caught themselves. Legolas, Daggor, Zhinouk and Nîhun were together as always, seeking their way through the trees with caution, trying to make as less tracks as possible. They found traces of another group and followed them, Legolas leading them when the traces were all but erased. At the end of the way, Khînu, Rhâvin and Canirch sat crouched under some shrubs. The smile on Nîhun's face as he saw them stated clearly the pleasure he had in being one of the best for a change. "Are we going to scare them?" he nearly begged, continuing as he saw Zhinouk frown, "Come on, it would be fun. And they do deserve it for teasing Legolas!" Daggor's grin was nearly wicked as he nodded his head. He held out his hand. "Revenge!" he whispered. "Revenge!" the others agreed. Legolas had another look at the threesome under the shrubs and then motioned his companions to move backwards. Quickly they crawled to the other side of the shrubs, making less sound than the wind. There they crouched down and waited, listening to the conversation of their prey.
"This is fun!" Khinu leered, "I've never had this much fun in my life!" His sarcastic expression betrayed his hatred for what he was doing. "Be quiet," Canirch demanded, " you'll give us away." She looked out of their hiding to find possible trackers. "This is a typical thing for that Elf, not for a Demon!" her companion continued as though the girl had not spoken. Canirch sighed and glared at him. "If we're discovered it's your fault. I hope that Legolas," she added, emphasizing the fact that he had a name, "takes you in personally."
Legolas grinned at the others. "This is to beautiful an invitation to leave." he smiled, "are you coming?" The others had similar grins plastered across their faces. "Let's get them!" Nihûn hissed. Together they sprang on their enemies from behind. Zhinouk and Legolas took Khînu, while Daggor grabbed Rhâvin and Nîhun collided with Canirch. The 'battle' was over before it began, and the losers where sent back to Rugan to admit defeat. "That'll teach him." Nîhun said happily. "Teach them what?" Daggor asked his young comrade-at-arms. "To not treat Legolas that way." he answered intensely, surprising the Elf. He gave Nîhun a smile. "I can take it, it's nothing big." "If you need somebody to help you, we're here for you." Zhinouk said with quiet confidence. Legolas looked at his friends thankfully, feeling at home among them for the first time. These three years wouldn't feel like an eternity after all.
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