A/N: Oh my god. An update. Yes. Apologies to both those who mourned my
death, and those who plotted my death. My life has just been crazy at the
mo. I swear, the truck that hit me was huge. A big thanks to all reviewers
especially Vanessa. To Lily, congrats on your graduation, should be done by
then. I hope.. on with the goodies.
A Divided Duty
I had failed him. It was my first and only clear thought. I had failed a brave man of Gondor, the throne I was soon to claim. As he took his last breath, I kissed him before closing his eyes. His last words, though a whisper I had heard clearly, and I was determined this man would be honoured in his home city.
I would have sunk deeper into my reverie were it not for the cries of Gimli. He came running over the hill, he cast a look over the fallen man, grief swept across his features. But his concern lay elsewhere.
"Where is the elf?"
I still stared blankly down at the still figure. I have a feeling the dwarf repeated himself a number of times. With a chilling intelligence, he rephrased his last demand.
"Where is your husband?"
Now that did get my attention, I could not fail to respond. Strange, though Gimli had already highlighted Legolas' absence, I still stood, searching desperately with my eyes. I was still surprised and horrified not to see him.
From now on my duty was divided, I owed it to Boromir, to see he was dealt with respectfully, to give him a ritual goodbye, yet my spouse needed me. The decision should have been a hard one, but I made it quickly.
All the orcs were dead, and my lover was a more than competent warrior, plus a wood elf wandering a forest should not feel very endangered. I feared too for the hobbits, Sam and Frodo had to face the evils of Mordor alone. They were capable, but I worried deep down in my heart. The fate of the other hobbits was unsure; I had lost sight of them, and hoped they were with Legolas. Wherever he was.
I motioned to Gimli to aid me; he saw my grit determination and did so without question. We shifted Boromir into a boat, removing arrows and as much blood as we could. I placed his faithful sword as his chest it had served him well. Silently, we pushed the boat out into the water. I watched it edge closer to the falls, but then travel safely over it, remaining upright and intact. I smiled at the marvel of elven craftsmanship.
Legolas still had not returned as I hoped he would, I considered what may be preventing him, taken, injured? I refused to accept each grim option, banishing them to the utmost corners of my mind. Surely he could not be lost, the idea seemed ludicrous. Yet I clung to it.
The dwarf and I went back into the trees, calling as we went. We came back to when Boromir had fallen into shadow. I thanked whatever lords watched over us; that orcs cared little over the tracks they left.
Deep scars lay in the mud, evil feet mocking the delicate ground it clambered ungracefully over with no consideration. Some of these marks ran deeper than others, rainwater and blood filling the cracks as if Middle Earth herself had been wounded. These deep tracks suggested that the orcs who made them were burdened with something not overly heavy, yet difficult to carry. The tread was uneven, unsure clawed feet had slipped at times. A burden that was difficult to carry; or a burden that made itself difficult to carry. These creatures undoubtedly had carried off the hobbits. Legolas would have given chase without a second thought, suddenly the bile rose in my throat, as the possibilities I had discarded earlier at the stream became that bit more realistic.
Gimli went to race on ahead, I stopped him with a strangled cry. Currently, these mangled tracks were all I had of Legolas; I would not have them lost amongst the hurried path of a dwarf.
"Tread carefully, walk on the sides, on the grass." I growled a command and led the way.
With our careful tracking of the winding tracks, our pace was frustratingly slow. My thoughts wandered from the hobbits and Legolas, to Sam and Frodo, and to Boromir. My mind so cluttered my feet and senses worked calmly on autopilot. It was only when Gimli made a broad gesture that I raised my head.
"Someone has fought here." A reasonable assumption. The tracks culminated in a garbled, chaotic mess. The bodies of near a dozen orc lay strewn without thought on the ground. All died through a wound from a sword. I wandered over to the central tree where something caught my eye. It glittered in the mud, I picked up the brooch, and stowed it away. My heart missed a beat as I saw the trunk of the mighty tree was tarnished by a small red streak. It shone faintly silver. Elvish blood. I heard a loud thud from behind.
"We will never be able to track them now."
For the first time I looked around to see that there were no tracks leading off in any direction. It was possible that Legolas had carried the hobbits, but surely he would have enough thought to leave some sign of his passing.
I watched as Gimli futilely paced. "They did not go left." He paced more. "They did not go right." He turned. "They did not go back." At that moment something made me turn back to the tree.
The bark was damaged at regular intervals.
"They went up." With that I followed suit and climbed with less grace up to the higher branches. From here Legolas, could see out over the forest, and get his bearings. He would no doubt return to the rest of the fellowship, back at the river. From here I could see it and searched for the next tree Legolas would have jumped to. There was an obvious choice, directly ahead, at a distance that Legolas could have jumped alone. But now he likely carried hobbits. I chose a closer tree, slightly to the left and leaped.
I made it, much to my relief. Then something amazing happened. I thought perhaps I was going mad.
Then it happened again.
I thought I should ask just to be on the safe side, so I shouted down to my companion.
"Gimli, did this tree just move?"
A/N: Cliffhangers are back! Should be able to update on Tuesday. Merry Christmas to all readers and reviewers.
A Divided Duty
I had failed him. It was my first and only clear thought. I had failed a brave man of Gondor, the throne I was soon to claim. As he took his last breath, I kissed him before closing his eyes. His last words, though a whisper I had heard clearly, and I was determined this man would be honoured in his home city.
I would have sunk deeper into my reverie were it not for the cries of Gimli. He came running over the hill, he cast a look over the fallen man, grief swept across his features. But his concern lay elsewhere.
"Where is the elf?"
I still stared blankly down at the still figure. I have a feeling the dwarf repeated himself a number of times. With a chilling intelligence, he rephrased his last demand.
"Where is your husband?"
Now that did get my attention, I could not fail to respond. Strange, though Gimli had already highlighted Legolas' absence, I still stood, searching desperately with my eyes. I was still surprised and horrified not to see him.
From now on my duty was divided, I owed it to Boromir, to see he was dealt with respectfully, to give him a ritual goodbye, yet my spouse needed me. The decision should have been a hard one, but I made it quickly.
All the orcs were dead, and my lover was a more than competent warrior, plus a wood elf wandering a forest should not feel very endangered. I feared too for the hobbits, Sam and Frodo had to face the evils of Mordor alone. They were capable, but I worried deep down in my heart. The fate of the other hobbits was unsure; I had lost sight of them, and hoped they were with Legolas. Wherever he was.
I motioned to Gimli to aid me; he saw my grit determination and did so without question. We shifted Boromir into a boat, removing arrows and as much blood as we could. I placed his faithful sword as his chest it had served him well. Silently, we pushed the boat out into the water. I watched it edge closer to the falls, but then travel safely over it, remaining upright and intact. I smiled at the marvel of elven craftsmanship.
Legolas still had not returned as I hoped he would, I considered what may be preventing him, taken, injured? I refused to accept each grim option, banishing them to the utmost corners of my mind. Surely he could not be lost, the idea seemed ludicrous. Yet I clung to it.
The dwarf and I went back into the trees, calling as we went. We came back to when Boromir had fallen into shadow. I thanked whatever lords watched over us; that orcs cared little over the tracks they left.
Deep scars lay in the mud, evil feet mocking the delicate ground it clambered ungracefully over with no consideration. Some of these marks ran deeper than others, rainwater and blood filling the cracks as if Middle Earth herself had been wounded. These deep tracks suggested that the orcs who made them were burdened with something not overly heavy, yet difficult to carry. The tread was uneven, unsure clawed feet had slipped at times. A burden that was difficult to carry; or a burden that made itself difficult to carry. These creatures undoubtedly had carried off the hobbits. Legolas would have given chase without a second thought, suddenly the bile rose in my throat, as the possibilities I had discarded earlier at the stream became that bit more realistic.
Gimli went to race on ahead, I stopped him with a strangled cry. Currently, these mangled tracks were all I had of Legolas; I would not have them lost amongst the hurried path of a dwarf.
"Tread carefully, walk on the sides, on the grass." I growled a command and led the way.
With our careful tracking of the winding tracks, our pace was frustratingly slow. My thoughts wandered from the hobbits and Legolas, to Sam and Frodo, and to Boromir. My mind so cluttered my feet and senses worked calmly on autopilot. It was only when Gimli made a broad gesture that I raised my head.
"Someone has fought here." A reasonable assumption. The tracks culminated in a garbled, chaotic mess. The bodies of near a dozen orc lay strewn without thought on the ground. All died through a wound from a sword. I wandered over to the central tree where something caught my eye. It glittered in the mud, I picked up the brooch, and stowed it away. My heart missed a beat as I saw the trunk of the mighty tree was tarnished by a small red streak. It shone faintly silver. Elvish blood. I heard a loud thud from behind.
"We will never be able to track them now."
For the first time I looked around to see that there were no tracks leading off in any direction. It was possible that Legolas had carried the hobbits, but surely he would have enough thought to leave some sign of his passing.
I watched as Gimli futilely paced. "They did not go left." He paced more. "They did not go right." He turned. "They did not go back." At that moment something made me turn back to the tree.
The bark was damaged at regular intervals.
"They went up." With that I followed suit and climbed with less grace up to the higher branches. From here Legolas, could see out over the forest, and get his bearings. He would no doubt return to the rest of the fellowship, back at the river. From here I could see it and searched for the next tree Legolas would have jumped to. There was an obvious choice, directly ahead, at a distance that Legolas could have jumped alone. But now he likely carried hobbits. I chose a closer tree, slightly to the left and leaped.
I made it, much to my relief. Then something amazing happened. I thought perhaps I was going mad.
Then it happened again.
I thought I should ask just to be on the safe side, so I shouted down to my companion.
"Gimli, did this tree just move?"
A/N: Cliffhangers are back! Should be able to update on Tuesday. Merry Christmas to all readers and reviewers.