Note, sadly, I don't speak Elvish, and I'm too butt-lazy to go and translate what I want using Tolkien's work, so for anything spoken in Elvish, I've used Welsh (although I've forgotten most of what I used to know since I don't use Welsh anymore…other than to drop the odd insult to my English friends-hehe, sorry guys!)
….dammit, where's my welsh dictionary when I need it?!?!?!?!?!?!
~#~#~#~#~#~
Stand Not Alone: Chapter 2.
"Knowing the size of your ears, what ever cry it was you heard probably came from a hundred leagues away." Although it was openly said, there was obvious doubt at his own words in his voice. He gave up on his Dwarvish to Elven kind line of thinking for another moment. "Can you hear anything else?" Legolas' dark eyes continued to search.
"Over there" he said, his voice ever calm and showing little sign of what he thought they should do.
"Well" grumped Gimli, raising his heavy brow in the direction the elf had indicated, "are we going to just stand here pondering or are we going to do something?!" Why he expected an immediate answer, he couldn't think, it was not like anything that resembled a straight answer came from his elf-friend. The moment of silence passed swiftly, and Gimli snapped back to reality when a bur to his side almost knocked him from his feet. Legolas sat on Arod's back, his hand outstretched to his friend below. Gimli let out what resembled a grunt as he grasped the hand and between them, Gimli was hauled onto the animals back and seated behind his partner.
"Gwybedyn gwyn ceffyl*," Legolas spoke to the ears of Arod, as if using the Elven magic on the creature. "Gwynbedyn!" Gimli was almost thrown from its back when it jerked and swiftly carried them both in the direction they had been distracted to. Gimli kept a strong grip on the hose and on his friend as they swept across the land. He had to have been the only Dwarf in Middle-earth who could say he had ridden, not only a horse, but a horse of Rohan, and if that wasn't enough, it was always in the company of an Elf… and not only a Mirkwood Elf, but the son of the King (although neither himself or Legolas was ever reminded of the last fact, and when Legolas had his way, it was known to no one). They kept their pace for a few minutes as Legolas continued to listen. They passed the boarders of the village and came across a small piece of land not out of site of the main village gate.
"There?" asked Gimli. Legolas tipped his head and nodded. Legolas could see long before Gimli, but the dwarf's eyes were still keen and could make out much in the closing distance. A man was standing with his hand held outstretched before him as the riders approached.
"Hail, friends of Gondor!" he called,
"I don't like him" spat Gimli; usually quick to make his mind up about people he met on his journeys. Legolas remained silent; the dwarf was quick to judge, but something inside the elf said that he agreed, although he did not know why. "Hail, friends of Gondor and of the Lady of Lórien!" the man called again. He was tall, and was clad in black and brown leather, embroiled with thread of rich, dirty red and green.
"Is all well here?" Called Legolas on their final approach to the man.
"It is well, my Lords" he said. Legolas and Gimli looked far from convinced.
"Then tell us how you know of our ties to Gondor and of the Lady" said Gimli, showing his obvious dislike of the man.
"Because I told him," said the lady who walked to his side. Her voice was calm and confident as she looked at them and then to the man. Not even Legolas had seen her on their approach, and both riders were at a loss as to where she had come from. Surely Legolas, if not them both, would have seen if there was more than one figure before them before they had gotten this close. She wore a long robe of blue and velvet, which looked regal but was beginning to show threadbare in places. Her hair was light brown and coiled at the sides of her head. Her features were pale, but her cheeks were red in the bite of the afternoon air.
"And who would you be" said Gimli, stating rather than asking. For a moment there was no answer, and neither rider expected one.
"I am your fate, Son of Gloin, Lord of the Grey Mountains, heir to the land of Moria." Gimli bit back a comment at that. There were few outside of his circle of people who knew of his lineage and his connection to the Lordship of Moria. "And you, son of Thranduil, prince of Mir-
"-Why did you call us here?" Legolas interrupted, his usual tone of patience lost in his voice. Far be it for either of them to carry such a manor in the presence of a lady, but something about the pair sent doubt flowing through both the figures on the horse. "Who are you?"
"This is my lord, Gawl*" she gestured towards the man with her hand. "And I am Mailena, daughter of Felin."
"You travel to Gondor, we would ask for your purpose in doing so." Said Gawl, breaking his short silence, but not taking his attention from the two.
"Our business is that of our own," said Legolas, beating Gimli to the comment.
"It can not be your own as it is also that of the King of Gondor" smiled Gawl "tell me, why would the King call for his subjects from so far East without commanding why? It would seem foolish."
"The King is great, but we are his friends and not his subjects, and disrespecting a mans friend is far more perilous than disrespecting his King." Said Gimli, warning Gawl to be careful with his words.
"Yet, you do not think it strange that your King calls you to him without any word as to why?" Anger flared up in the dwarfs eyes again, but Gawl did not back down his gaze, or the smug look held on his face. Although, it would seem unusual for Aragorn to call them without sending a reason, Gimli thought. He really didn't like these people.
"So it would seem," said Mailena, seeming to be able to read the dwarf's thoughts. She shared her gaze between Gimli and Legolas before speaking again. "Times are troubled in these lands" she said, "Blood will be spilled and a race will be wiped from this Middle-earth forever." Her face became dark and her eyes black. "Although which race that is, I can not yet tell." She looked from the Dwarf to the Elf, and then back and forth for a moment. Our fates are tied, Lords of the East, the threat of Mordor is long dead, the Fellowship saw it done and Gondor is united from the threat of war." Her eyes again fell upon Legolas. "But the war of Sauron is not the only war to fall upon this land."
"You speak in riddles," said Gimli, anger and confusion married in his voice.
"It is, if I may," said Gawl, "most unusual-"
"-Unheard of" said Mailena,
"-For a dwarf to travel in the company of an elf."
"Tell me, Lord Gimli" Mailena spoke, "Is it wise to be so long in the company of such a Wood-elf?" Gimli's face burst into rage, but he was not given the opportunity to say what he was about to.
"Any you, Elf," said Gawl, "would you be so foolish as to forsake the un written laws of your people and trust a dwarf?" Even Gimli was surprised by the speed at which Legolas moved his blade from the sheath on his back and held it to Gawl.
"With my life." He said. "Let me warn you that I do not take kindly to such words." Gawl didn't move as the cold Elven blade held firm beneath his Jaw.
"An elf that would trust his life to a dwarf" he smiled, eyeing in the Lady's direction.
"Then there is hope yet" she smiled. "But is it enough?"
"This, we are yet to see" he said, dropping a nod to her, which she returned in confirmation. The air around them froze, Arod stumbled and was pushed at the force of the unseen power. Legolas' hand moved, but the blade refused to and the elf almost lost the grip he held on the handle, he could not strike the man in front of him, with all his might he tried to slash the blade, but Gawl just smiled. Nothing short of magic would have allowed Legolas to strike him down. In these seconds, Arod again rose high on his legs, the second time throwing Gimli from his back. The dwarf landed with (an unusually graceful for his kind) thud on the ground, rolling to his knees immediately. He looked up at the lady who stood now only a little in front of him. Her eyes were white, with power that seemed to radiate from her.
"A witch" sighed Gimli, half amazed, half furious.
"You could say that" he heard her say, although her face and mouth were still, the voice was in his head, but it did not seem as deadly as he would have expected from such a being. He looked in the direction of Legolas, who's hand was blue and ready to bleed from the grip on the handle of his blade, which seemed to be frozen in the air and beyond the strength of even the elf to move. He rose to his feet and looked back to Mailena, but found that he was unable to take any steps forward. He could feel a heavy weight on his shoulders and around his feet, which was refusing to let him move. His ears caught sound of a voice, but this time it wasn't the woman's. Gawl was chanting, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes fixed on Legolas. The elf's shoulders seemed thrown back, his elbows pinned at his side, his face showing all the strength he was using to try and break the invisible hold, but he was failing miserably. Mailena began the same chant as Gawl, and when Gimli looked back, her arms were also crossed over her chest, her hands over her shoulders, her head tilted back. Then she began so speak words different to those of Gawl, although Gimli had no idea what they were and doubted that Legolas would either, but he had worked out that the other chant was what was disabling both of them and, it seemed, the movements of Arod. He noticed though, when her words switched to those of the common speech.
"-The blood of enemies to flow as one, friend and brother in spirit, stand as enemies! -" Then she switched back to the language Gimli could not understand.
Legolas fought to move, his entire body burned and the weight upon him felt as though it would crush both him and his horse any moment. He could see that Gimli was also unable to move, let alone reach for his axe. As his sight moved from Gimli back to the man in front of him, he watched as he lowered his arms from his chest.
"The blood of enemies, flow as one" he smiled, taking the white blade from the fingers of the Elf who was still unable to move to stop him. The spell on Legolas began to waver, but still held enough in place to stop him moving as Gawl moved away from him, holding his knife, and towards Mailena and Gimli.
"-Flow as one" he heard her say again, catching out of the corner of his eye the dark man with the beautiful blade walking towards him.
"Gawl!" he heard Legolas shout from his horse, he seemed to be able to move ever so little, although it seemed Arod could not. Then, with every spark of strength he could find within himself, Legolas seemed to break the invisible bonds holding him and dropped from the horse's back. He lunged forward as Gawl turned the blade towards Gimli and slashed at him, as Legolas was almost close enough to reach him.
"Ahh" Gimli cried out, not in the most extreme amount of pain, but the gauge in his side was enough to make even this warrior take notice. Out of the corner if his eye, he noticed Legolas flinch, the same time he did, before falling to his knees and hands as he has been lunging forward in the moment before he seemed to stumble. Legolas was able to half pick himself up when he realised that the spell was back in place and he no longer had control over his body.
Mailena's chanting ceased and for a moment there was silence.
"It is done" she sighed, looking exhausted as she turned to Gawl. He nodded and she took a step backwards.
"There is a bond between you" he spoke to the two, "such as you did not have ere this afternoon. You fates are tied, as are the fates of your people, if one were to die, then both were to die." With that, he too, took a step back and placed a hand on the Ladies shoulder. Gimli and Legolas were blinded for a moment, as darkness fell over both of their eyes, and when their sight returned, they were alone.
~#~#~#~#~#~
*Gwybedyn gwyn ceffyl – Fly white horse (…I think gwynbedyn is the Welsh for fly…repeat *think*, now I really wish I'd paid more attention in Welsh class).
*Gawl is pronounced 'Gal'.
~#~#~#~#~#~
I promise, there will me some kick-arse action in the coming chapters; these two are a little slower than I would have liked.