Kudos to a couple of you who have guessed quite wisely on whom our mystery guest is. Thanks for the emails!
Sue – Are you an old friend from another universe? If so, thank you for following me here. If you are not, well, new friends open up new possibilities. Please don't leave me in suspense, where did the arrow come from? Did it give you a hint as to who the dark creature is? ;-) Your ideas may be better than mine!
Lassemista – You are constant as the northern star. I promise to let the evil cliffie plot genie out of the bottle a few more times before this tale is through.
Aralondwen – I hope that the one behind yon tree will meet with your approval. Naw, I'm not sure that I would know how to write slash though I've seen some really good writers pull off some really great, well rounded, slash fic. One of the draws to writing these two characters is the deep respect and affection that they develop (it was so totally evident on screen in Two Towers).
Slea – Your wish is my command… thanks so much for taking the time to review. Each one is a little push towards finding a writer's inspiration and just getting on with it!
Chapter 7 – Revelations and Compromises
The first impression he had as he came to consciousness was that of a small cylinder being pressed firmly into the palm of his hand. Another's fingers closed his tightly around the object. Confused, Strider fought to open his eyes, which seemed unnaturally heavy. As he drew breath, to ask what had happened, the same gentle fingers touched his lips, cautioning him against speech. As he finally opened his eyes, the knife in his hand and the elf at his side came in to bleary view. The ranger realized he was lying behind a tree not far from the path. The dappled light of late afternoon in the forest had given way to early evening gloom. Before the elf could prevent it, the young man attempted to sit up. Placing his left hand on the ground, it immediately gave way as he tried to push up into a sitting position. A small gasp escaped his lips and he would have fallen back if Legolas is keen reflexes had not caught him and lowered him back to the ground.
"Be still, my friend. You are hurt. There may be others about who would like to do more of the same to both of us." The wound, barely bleeding while the Ranger was pinned to the tree, immediately started flowing once Legolas freed him. Tearing strips of cloth from his tunic, the elf folded two pads that he held to the entrance and exit wounds to try and stem the blood. Taking the other strips, he wound them several times to maintain the pressure. Strider gasped once. Then the only hint of the pain he was feeling was in his ragged breathing and the tight, grim line of his lips. Once the bandage was secure, the man made as if to rise yet again.
Legolas could see that he would not be able to stop the injured man from regaining his feet, so he decided to help him. Grasping the Ranger's right arm and pulling it over his shoulder, he hauled the ranger up and unceremoniously propped him up against the tree. Shaking his head, the elf thought that this man's impetuousness must stem from a desire to hasten the end to an already comparatively short life.
"Try to stay out of sight. I need to find out who favored us with that well placed arrow. He was behind us when he dispatched that foul being and now seems to have circled over to where the thing fell in the brush."
As if to confirm Legolas's statement, the two heard the softest of rustling coming from the area opposite the path. Legolas took one forlorn look at where he dropped his bow in his rush to dismount and get to the ranger. Squarely in the middle of the path, it might as well be twenty leagues away rather than the scant twenty feet it was in fact.
Strider followed the elf's glance and understood how he felt as his gaze lighted on his sword impaled on an orc a few feet even further than the bow. He looked down at the knife in his hand and glowered at it. "Not much help to cover your retreat."
"It is not intended to be. It is all I have to offer you in your own defense. Surely you did not think to follow me? You will have all you can handle just holding this tree up until I return." Turning, Legolas proceeded down the woods, following alongside the path to stay under cover.
Before he had gotten out of sight of the Ranger, the elf's sensitive hearing caught a gently grumbled, "infuriating elf" coming from the direction where he left the Ranger. And he smiled.
***---***---***---***
Legolas crossed the path after passing a bend in the trail and doubled back to the place where he saw the pale archer shot and collapse. As he had surmised, their would-be rescuer was already looking for the same thing. And by the growing noise coming from that direction – getting more agitated by the moment. Circling behind the hooded figure in front of him, Legolas scaled a tree and inched his way noiselessly across a limb that took him directly above it. For a moment, the elf paused to watch the figure poke at the underbrush like it was looking for a lost brooch. Then suddenly, he stiffened. Where was the evil creature that led the orcs in attacking them? With an arrow to the throat, he should have dropped like a stone where he stood. He did fall; I saw it before going to Strider, Legolas thought to himself.
Legolas dropped almost soundlessly to the ground behind the cloaked one and wrapped a arm around its throat in a grip of iron. He almost lost his grip in surprise when he heard a decidedly feminine gasp before his choke hold cut off all other sound. He released her almost immediately and then took hold of her shoulders and spun her around.
"Arwen Undomiel! What…?"
"Legolas Greenleaf, unhand me this very instant!" Arwen's chin tilted up and her eyes had narrowed. Legolas let loose a broad grin as she attempted to use her most outraged, unhand-me-this-minute-you-knave look.
"Do not tell me that this look of yours ever worked with any of your brothers?" Legolas tweaked her.
Ignoring the teasing tone of the elf, Arwen shook her head baffled, "I saw him fall, my arrow piercing his neck, yet he is not here and I can not even find a hint of blood."
Legolas had already taken all this in from his vantage point above Arwen. "We will look for more clues at first light."
The emotions of the last fifteen minutes caught up with Arwen as she collapsed into his arms and folded him in a tight hug. "Now that I am found out, where is Estel? I assume he will have some words for me that you are too kind to say."
Legolas held her at arm's length to better see her face. "Arwen, did you not see him?" And then, in answer to his own question, he added, "Of course not, you fired from behind the tree."
"See what? Legolas?" Arwen's eyes went wide and she desperately scanned the elf's face. Though he had schooled his features, suddenly Arwen feared the reason for her foster brother's absence.
Legolas took Arwen's elbow and started to guide her out of the bushes. "We must go to him…"
A soft voice called out from across the path. "Legolas? Fare you well?" Then almost to himself, the ranger added, "I can wait no…longer."
As they broke though the dense underbrush, Arwen gasped. Estel had worked his way around the tree. His right arm holding a limb above his head for support. As he attempted to take a step beyond the support of the tree, he fell to his knees. Estel's shirt was open to the waist. Blood stained the material almost to his waist. The impromptu bandage was also already soaked through with blood.
Strider didn't feel his knees give out. He was only aware that the ground seemed to be coming closer. He heard his name, as if from a great distance. Odd that. Legolas's voice had never seemed so high pitched before, he thought. Then two faces, seeming lit from within and filled with concern, swam in front of his bleary eyes. How silly, he thought abstractly, that all three of them would be kneeling on ground where only a short while ago they had been…Three? Arwen?
He shook his head to clear his senses and looked directly at Arwen. Bemused, he gave voice to his confusion. "Arwen is angry with me. Arwen… Arwen is in Rivendell." At this, the man slowly fell into the arms of the figment of his imagination.
***---***---***---***
Two sets of elven hands flew over the ranger. One pair trying to make him more comfortable and the other unwrapping the hasty bandage Legolas had earlier constructed. Even as her deft hands cleaned and tended the wound, Arwen gave voice to her confusion at Estel's last statements.
"Why would he believe that I was upset with him?" Arwen's eyes were liquid pools that looked to Legolas as if they would overflow at any moment. Elves were a strong and steadfast people. But they were a race of great feeling for their environment and those within it. They had an empathic relation to the world around them, which made them champions for preserving the delicate balance. Injuries to the land or those who walked it were absorbed in their own deep-felt elven way.
Yet Legolas's best guess would be that Arwen's unshed tears were that of a sister feeling the pain of a family member and her own pain at knowing that her brother believed that she was angry or disappointed in him. Legolas was unsure of what words would ease her pain.
"I was under much the same assumption when you did not come to bid us safe travel." Arwen looked down. Legolas tipped her chin up so that he was looking him in the eye again. "And then I remembered, your kind and gentle nature… and concluded that you were probably up to something."
Arwen greeted this last statement with a tremulous smile and added, "I waited, hidden near the city gates so that I could better follow you."
"It was our good fortune that your did."
"You call this good fortune? It feels like she's trying to push her fingers right though my shoulder." Strider murmured these words, while his eyes still remained shut.
"Obviously, you are better than we thought if you have the energy to babble nonsense." Arwen new that there was little truth to her words. Estel had begun to shiver and his skin as pale and clammy to the touch.
"We need to get him to shelter and a fire as soon as possible. The bleeding has slowed, but the wounds need to be cleaned and stitched as soon as possible."
Legolas was not keen about building a fire so soon after being attacked, but he saw few options. Strider seemed to feel the cold more than elves did under normal circumstances. Injured, they could loose him if they were not able to keep him warm.
Arwen stood and motioned down the path. "I seem to remember that there were some caves not far down this path. Do you think that you could help him mount in front of me?"
"Yes, of course." Legolas turned to the ranger. "Strider, do you think that you could ride with Arwen and keep your seat? We do not have to far to go."
Strider set unfocused eyes upon the elf. "I can do what I have to." He reached his right arm up and Legolas grasped it and pulled him to a standing position as Arwen brought her horse closer to the pair. Arwen mounted the horse first, a dappled gray mare whose delicacy mirrored that of her lady's. Gesturing to put the injured man in front of her, Arwen wrapped her legs tightly around the mare in preparation to assist Legolas to haul up the injured rider. If he passed out again, she wanted to be able to hold him steady with both arms. Well schooled, her horse would know what direction she intended by a simple squeeze from one knee or the other.
Legolas wove his fingers together and the ranger placed his left foot atop them to be boosted up onto the horse. Grasping the horses mane to give himself some leverage, the ranger felt small, deceptively strong hands circle his waist and tug him in position.
As they proceeded forward, Arwen was unreasonably annoyed at Estel. He held her mare's mane in an iron grip in an attempt to hold himself straight on the horse. Within a few minutes she could see that that even this small effort was taking its toll. His head nodded loosely and slowly his shoulders hunched closer and closer to the mare's neck.
"For pities sake Estel, lean back against me and rest. Mir* is becoming restless with all your bobbing and swaying." She reached out her hands and grasped his shoulders to pull him back against her.
Estel made a token resistance, adding. "I am heavy, Arwen. I feel the darkness closing in on me again and would not unbalance you or cause you harm."
"Arrogant boy," Arwen chuckled softly, "Though big for a man, you are only of a fair to middling size in relation to an elf and I am not some weak-kneed Dunedain lass. It would take something bigger than the likes of you to unseat me." She reached for him again and pulled him back with no resistance this time.
An almost imperceptible sigh escaped the ranger's lips as he rested against her, soaking in her warmth. "Thank you, Undomiel," he breathed softly. Within a few moments, Estel had given in to that threatening darkness, his head leaning back. Arwen brushed a stray lock of hair out of his face and wrapped an arm about his waist, securing him against her, happy that he could not see how she struggled to keep her chin above his broad shoulders as she tried to keep an eye on the trail.
Legolas took one last sweeping look at their surroundings, trying to assure himself that they were alone. Then he too mounted his horse, swinging himself onto Taurtathar in one smooth movement. She knew her caretaker's desire and headed out to follow the others ahead of her.
***----***----***----***
When they finally arrived, the cave that they settled on was little more than a hollow in the side of the cliff rising above them. But it offered good ventilation for a fire and shelter from the shrill wind that stole down from the nearby mountains. Strider gamely lifted his left leg over Mir's neck and attempted to slide off. Fortunately, Legolas was near to prevent the rest of the man following his feet as they hit the ground. He grabbed Strider's good right arm and tugged it securely over his shoulder. Arwen tucked his injured left arm into his tunic and wrapped her arm once again around his waist. Though not fully conscious, the ranger's legs seemed to know what was expected and planted themselves doggedly, one in front of the other, until they reached the cave.
Creating a simple pallet, Arwen brushed leaves into a pile that had blown into the cave and spreading a blanket over the soft crackling mound. They lowered Strider onto the makeshift bed and covered him with blankets.
Arwen went to gather wood for the fire that they would need for light and heat before they could do anything about suturing the ranger's wounds.
Legolas turned out the horses, admonishing them to stay nearby for their own safety. The elven horses, having no intention of becoming an orc's dinner, agreed. Taurtathar knew well that her companion relied on her to sound an alarm if something unexpected drew near. The four horses settled in front of a clump of sweet grass and munched contentedly.
Arwen took out her healer's kit and threaded a fine spider silk. Methodically, she drew the angry edged sides of the wound together and stitched them together, grateful that Estel was still unconscious. Legolas helped her hold the ranger as she sowed the exit wound. After placing healing herbal poultices on each wound, she bandaged the whole securely. Legolas then tenderly laid the man back on the pallet.
Placing a warm cup of tea in Arwen's trembling hand, he realized that under her quietly competent façade, Arwen was quite shaken by the events of the day.
When she finally spoke, Arwen's careworn features grew animated. "You two are not gone two full days and look at what has happened."
The elf tried to interrupt, "Arwen…"
"Legolas, this is exactly what I feared. He is ill prepared for the dangers that you two will face." Almost to herself, she added, "I must think of a way to get him back to Rivendell safely."
His voice more stern this time, Legolas broke though Arwen's thoughts. "What you saw today does not paint the entire portrait of what transpired, princess. Did you not look to see how many orcs lay rotting because of a swordsman's cut rather than an archer's shaft?"
Arwen looked intently at her friend. Not sure where this conversation was leading, she pulled a shaky hand through her hair that had escaped it's now loosened braid. Taking a breath to interrupt - she was stopped when Legolas placed his hand on her shoulder.
In a more quiet voice, he continued, "Hear me out Arwen. Your fostered brother fought valiantly and with amazing skill. I would not be alive to tell you this if not for his sacrifice."
Starting at the beginning, Legolas laid out the entire battle and did not spare the details. She even gasped when he told of how the ranger launched the sword at the elf and how even he was not sure of Strider's intent until it flew past and impaled the orc intent on killing the elf. He then described the dark one and how he held the man's life hostage. Pulling the broken pieces of the arrow, the only clue to the stranger's identity, Legolas passed them over to Arwen. Arwen's eyes widened as she noted the metal spikes amongst the fletching.
"Even knowing that sure death waited for him at the end of that arrow, he was ready to pull himself off that shaft to prevent me from surrendering to the dark one. It was only your arrow flying over his shoulder and hitting the creature that prevented him from carrying though with his deed."
Arwen turned to look at Estel. Laying there, his face in repose, she could almost see the face of the child that had been left in her father's care so many years ago. As she, tenderly pulled up the covers over his chest, the vision of youth vanished and only the man who pledged himself to the elven prince remained. Sadly she let go of the child and accepted the man.
Legolas once more interrupted her thoughts. "He is a man of great heart that I have rarely encountered amongst men, Arwen. I am honored that he travels at my side."
"You're not so bad with that bow and all, either."
"Infuriating man." Legolas echoed Strider from earlier in the evening. "I imagine now that you will be insufferable to travel with. Will we need the spare horse to carry your ego along with us?"
"One horse will be quite adequate." The ranger felt his left arm tightly bound to his chest. The sharp pain had dulled to a softer throb no doubt due to Arwen's herbs. "We leave on the morrow."
"For Rivendell?" Arwen asked half-heartedly.
Two masculine voices chorused, "No!"
For the first time, it seemed, Arwen turned to Estel and tried to reason with him instead of negotiating with Legolas. "Estel, you need time to heal before you are ready to continue."
"I will be ready to ride on the morrow. It's my shoulder and not my rear that took the arrow,' he teased her.
"We will stay here for this night and one more, to give you time to gain your strength. Your sister may think you are a lightweight, but by all that is sacred, I will not be carrying your swooning carcass across the Misty Mountains." Strider did not have time to respond, for Arwen dropped her ultimatum. The faces of the elf and man mirrored the same disbelief – as if someone had dropped an orc in front of the fire and asked him to take tea with them.
"Then I go with you or follow behind. It's your choice." After Arwen's simple statement, you could have cut the silence with Strider's broadsword. In the silence and her nervousness, she added hastily, "It would not go against Cassia's prophecy. You did only leave Rivendell with one male of the house of Elrond."
The ranger swiped a shaky right hand over his face. "This has all the marks of Elrohir's plotting. I should have known he was far too quiet while Elladan was arguing with Elrond."
Arwen gasped. "Estel, how…?"
"I know my brothers. Although when I see Elrohir, he will be sorry that he ever made my acquaintance."
Arwen's laughter trilled throughout the cave and its sound wrung smiles from the two weary fighters.
Legolas shook his head. "I hope to Valar that taking two bickering siblings along will indeed guarantee our victory, for I am sure that sanity will be forfeit to assure our success."
Arwen and Strider look at each other and for once were in total agreement as they laughed heartily at the elven prince's expense.
TBC…
*Mir is Sindarin for "Jewel"
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