The Difference
by Leafy
Rating: PG-13 for violence, bad attitudes, and tense situations.
Author's Note: This fanfic is loosely inspired by an episode of the television show "Deep Space Nine", and is much more drawn from the movie of FOTR, than the book.
I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing Tolkien or DS9.
First off, I want to thank Sailor Mystic, Raider314, Ainchoiriel, Europa, Marissa, and Tiggivon for your reviews of my last fanfic. They were wonderful to read. :o) Thank you, I'm happy you like how it turned out, and the whole thing. :o)
Enigma Jade: Thanks! I'm glad you like it! :o)
Ecri: Thank you! Yeah, I don't remember much about the episode I'm referencing, but the ideas were interesting, so I thought I'd use them. :o) I'm glad you like it so far, and thanks for the compliment! :o)
Tiggivon: You're back! :o) Yeah, Legolas as ringbearer, not a good assumption. :o) I'm happy you like it so far, hopefully it will continue to be exciting for you. :o) Thank you for the review! :o)
Europa: You're back, too! :o) Thank you for the review, I'm glad you like it. :o)
Onward!!
* * *
Chapter 2
'The Wrong Answer'
"What have you done?" Aragorn cried, leaping forward, his sword drawn.
"Not a thing," the strange Elf said, keeping his distance, and keeping his knife in plain sight.
Aragorn lunged in fury at this obvious lie, the tip of his sword just managing to graze the Elf's collarbone, before his enemy stumbled back, crying out in alarm and pain. He clamped his hand over the wound and looked down at it as blood seeped through his fingers. He glared back up at Aragorn with a hatred so intense that it startled the ranger, though he couldn't say that the feeling wasn't mutual.
"You'll tell me what you've done, now--" Aragorn began with soft animosity.
"Or what?" the Elf demanded fiercely. "You'll kill me? Then, you'll never know."
As he said this, he stepped past Aragorn, approaching the unconscious Elf, still lying at the base of the tree.
"Leave him," Aragorn demanded quickly, redirecting his sword as the Elf made his way behind the other's head.
The active Elf looked up at Aragorn, swiping his own small, sharp blade through the air and jamming it underneath the other Elf's chin, just in front of his neck.
"Make me," the impudent Elf shot back.
Aragorn looked between the two Elves. He could make no move now, without the cost of the helpless one's life. Knowing this, the Elf smiled cruelly, turning the other Elf around on the ground and beginning to drag him back toward the other side of the clearing, all the while, his eyes remaining fixed on Aragorn, who was able for the other Elf's sake only to watch this escape. His mind was reeling. Legolas was gone, at the hands of an apparently-unstable Elf, and who was this victim? He could not imagine.
As the Elf neared the trees, he glanced down at the ground, meaning to pick up the now-empty, dubious flask there. He stopped moving, though, as his eyes fell on a light patch in the leaves, composed of the fair, wiry hairs he'd sliced from Legolas' head in his earlier attack. At the center of the cluster lay a matching braid, about six inches in length, tied off at one end.
Forgetting the flask, the Elf used his clean, free hand to snatch up the braid, holding it up before Aragorn, dangling it before him mockingly.
"This will have to do," the Elf said sinisterly, "until I bring your corpses back as a trophy, instead. For, a ringbearer is necessary, but a ringbearer and his friend are a bountiful find."
Aragorn opened his mouth to respond to this seemingly-ludicrous statement, but the Elf gained sudden speed, seizing his prisoner by the shoulder once more, and dragging him out of the clearing.
As the murky shadows of the fog and the trees swallowed the Elves from sight, Aragorn bent down, scooped up the empty flask from the ground, then straightened up, turned, and ran out of the clearing the opposite way, back to the camp.
He ran straight back to the camp, though he did not know for sure whether or not he would find the entire rest of the fellowship back by now.
Luckily, he did. Everyone else had come back to the camp, with or without something to serve as breakfast. They all looked up in near-unison as Aragorn burst into the clearing.
"What wrong?" asked Frodo, fearfully noting the expression on Aragorn's face.
Aragorn matched the hobbit's look.
"It's Legolas," he said softly.
**********
Legolas brushed through the trees, moving toward the castle, which was quite close, by now.
As he got closer to the castle, it began to seem more likely that the building was occupied. Noises of what sounded like speech reached Legolas' ears, and forms seemed occasionally to flit past the upper windows.
Legolas found himself approaching a sturdy side wall, with a small window in it. The shutters were open, but it was dark and silent within. Legolas craned his neck, cautiously peering inside. He strained his eyes, observing a weak, thin light far, far down an invisible hallway.
Suddenly, a figure appeared, blocking the light altogether, and, before Legolas could move, his upper half was doused with lukewarm, filthy washing water. He stumbled backward, surprised and sputtering. This place was definitely occupied…
"Oh dear," a female voice sounded suddenly. A middle-aged human woman's face surfaced from the darkness, looking concernedly at Legolas. "I'm sorry…" she began.
"It's alright," said Legolas, wiping his hand across his eyes.
"I just didn't see you," she said, seeming either to have not heard or to have ignored Legolas' statement. "I suppose I didn't look--"
"It's fine," Legolas repeated, looking earnestly at her.
The woman furrowed her brow in grateful sympathy.
"What are you doing all the way over here? You might come inside."
Legolas stopped himself from letting the shock register on his face. How hospitable…
"Forgive me," he said. "I wasn't sure if there would be a point to doing that."
"I don't see why there wouldn't be," the woman replied frankly, drawing her arm, which held an empty, dripping wash basin, up from her side and out of the window. She gestured with the bowl toward what Legolas supposed to be the front of the castle. "Detarmor is on duty now. I believe you may come in."
"Thank you," said Legolas, though he did not see why he should know who was "on duty" at the moment. All the same, he turned and made his way briskly in the direction the woman had indicated.
"Oh, I'd go the long way around," the woman said suddenly. "In case Detarmor changes his mind.
Further confused, Legolas turned around and walked back past the window, thanking again the woman as he went.
The back of the castle was relatively uninteresting in appearance, except for the fact that, while the parapets above were filthy, as if quite old, the whole of the wall itself, from top to bottom, was devoid of any and all foliage, as if someone had cleared it all away.
Turning the corner, Legolas noticed three Elves standing at the far end of the wall, up near the front of the entire structure. They were armed with swords and bows, though they had no armor, only quivers. One of them, obviously sensing Legolas' appearance, looked his way, but the prince ducked quickly back behind the back wall, before he was seen. Despite the woman's odd invitation to go inside, Legolas was more inclined to be wary of strangers, particularly stranger Elves, after his encounter with the one back in the forest. He did not want them knowing he was there just yet.
Legolas placed his hands lightly on the wall next to him for balance as he hid himself once more, and found his fingers resting on the side pole of a stone ladder, hidden against the stone of the wall. Legolas leaned forward. On closer examination, he could see that it was actually built into the side of the castle, though not to obviously, so as not to attract attention. He saw that it led straight up, to the roof of the castle. Without another thought, Legolas gripped the sides of the ladder and climbed noiselessly up, away from the guards.
The castle was not especially tall, so Legolas had a good view from his new position, but not an altogether safe one. If he leaned down a bit to look, the guards would be little more than arm's reach from him.
"It's getting colder," one of them murmured, looking about agitatedly.
"That's in your head, too," another spoke up. Along with 'intruders'. Anyway, don't say anything about the cold to-"
"I wasn't going to," the first one interrupted. "Surely, you don't think me that unintelligent."
"Besides, what can be done about it," the third Elf-guard added.
"Nothing," the first one agreed sullenly. "But, there's nothing to take our minds off of it, either."
"Do you want there to be?" the second Elf asked.
"Not especially," the first one admitted. "Only, I--"
Suddenly, Legolas realized that it had lately begun to snow, the small, delicate white puffs silently descending.
"Brilliant," the first Elf muttered, extending his hand to catch the falling flakes. He glanced up to see how much it was snowing yet, and Legolas knew he'd been discovered.
Getting rid of the few flakes that had accumulated there, the Elf stepped forward nad clamped his hand down on the shoulder of the guard closest to him.
"Look," he said, his gaze fixed on the spot where Legolas had just been.
"You," the guard called, "who are you? What are you doing up there?"
Not much in the mood for a game of hide-and-seek, Legolas straightened up slowly, moving into full view.
"Forgive me," he faltered, slightly embarassed. "I--I saw the ladder. My curiosity got the better of me. I did not mean to spy on you."
"Who are you?" the first Elf demanded, still mildly hostile, but much encouraged by the friendliness Legolas had displayed.
"I am Legolas," answered Legolas, not knowing what else might be useful to add. "Son of Thranduil."
The expressions on the faces of the Elves below Legolas changed to a mixture of being distressed and being insulted.
"Who?" the guard repeated.
"Legolas," said Legolas, sensing trouble.
The second Elf stepped forward, looking up critically at the prince.
"Come down here," he said.
Legolas complied with this command, partly because of the civility with which it was made, but mostly because all three of the others seemed most effectively armed, and Legolas wanted no bloodshed, if he could avoid it.
Two of the guards made their way to the base of the ladder as Legolas descended to the lightly-powdered earth. They looked at him questioningly.
"Come with us," one of them said. "Lord Frodo will want to see you."
~~End of Part 2