The next evening everything being prepared for their journey was packed and already on the horses that were waiting in the courtyard. Legolas and Aragorn were dressed in their normal traveling clothes and had their weapons ready just like old times. Aragorn had already gone to the horses as Legolas checked to be sure they didn't forget anything. Reaching to feel for his bow, his eyes widened when he didn't feel the weapon at his back. Turning in horror he stopped and relaxed upon seeing his father holding his bow.
"Can't leave without this can you?" he asked, slowly walking up to this only son.
"No, I can not," he said with a faint smile and grasped the bow his father held out to him.
"If I may offer you a bit of advice Legolas, from father to son."
"Of course father."
"Heed Assyrian's words and take them to heart. If she says run, do it for she knows well. Valar knows she saved me more than once," Thranduil chuckled recalling an old memory before sadly looking up at Legolas. "When all of this ends, I will be awaiting your return."
"I shall look forward to that day father."
Legolas turned and left the room making his way towards the courtyard where Aragorn and the horses were waiting. Legolas ran his hand down Arod's face and murmured a few soft words in Elvish to the horse before lightly jumping onto the horse's back. He looked over to Aragorn as he pulled up his hood and felt comfort knowing that his friend was by his side. With a last glance to his father he gently tapped Arod's flanks and rode towards the gate with Aragorn by his side. The gates opened and both horses galloped out and into the darkness away from the palace and into the surrounding forest. They rode through the forest with Legolas in the lead and Aragorn staying close behind him. Reaching the top of one of the many hills where only a few trees stood, Legolas slowed Arod and eventually stopped to look back at the palace. He could see his father still standing in the courtyard watching him on the hill. With a deep sigh he committed the sight of the palace to memory in hopes that he'll see it again.
"Come Legolas, we must ride swiftly," Aragorn said quietly.
Tearing his gaze away, he nudged Arod ahead and rode down the opposite side of the hill without a word. The two rode the entire the night and part of the morning doing everything they could to hide their tracks. By noon they stopped to rest their horses and rest themselves.
"Do you believe Assyrian will be able to track us?" Legolas wondering out loud as Aragorn sat down across from him.
"If she's as good as they say she say then she shouldn't have troubles. I'm more worried about Dalimer and his companions. He might have someone experienced in tracking and even though I have faith in the extent of hiding our tracks, he might stumble over something we missed," Aragorn said sipping from his flask.
"No one is a better tracker than you Estel."
"Assyrian is. I've tried to track her, once a while ago before I knew it was she I tracked. Needless to say, I failed miserably," Aragorn chuckled slightly remembering his attempt.
"What if you two ever combined forces? No one would be able to hide any longer," Legolas smiled as Aragorn laughed.
"No they would not. But it would never happen. Assyrian doesn't let anyone grow close to her. The last person that was held close to her was her brother."
"Do you know anything of her brother?" Legolas asked trying to picture some who was that close to Assyrian.
"Only tales that made it this far into Middle-Earth. Most I heard in Rohan but what I did hear was impressive. A brother and sister that were both experienced Rangers, knew the land as good as anyone possibly could, and always faced evils together. Never ran into them myself but I heard of their adventures," he said as he took a few bites of their provisions.
"We should get her to tell us sometime. I hear of nothing past Rohan and all of that comes from you."
"One night, but we must be moving again. We are still too close to Thranduil's palace for my liking," Aragorn said as he stood up and dusted off his cloak.
Hiding all evidence of their short rest they quickly rode on again and moved farther away from Mirkwood. They rode up the streams and sometimes doubled back to confuse any followers and did this for several days. Eventually they reached the edge of Fangorn Forest and set up camp. Surprisingly, they ran into few Orcs and few travelers during their ride and everything was relatively peaceful.
Legolas was lying by the fire staring up at the night sky one night and realized how peaceful he was at that moment. He was out in the open air with a close friend and his trees. No she-elves that pushed themselves on him, no royal formal dinners, no one always calling him lord, or highness, or any title for that matter. The only thing that could make this perfect was if his close friend Gimli the dwarf was here with them. His contented sight caught the attention of Aragorn who was brushing Hasufel.
"What is it mellon (friend)?"
"Nothing Estel; just realizing how much I've missed this. Traveling distant lands, hiding from danger or riding right into it. I only wish Gimli was here to join us."
"Then neither of us would sleep for his snoring," Aragorn said and Legolas brightly smiled. "Honestly told, it feels like the Fellowship all over again. Except this time you and I are Frodo and Samwise."
"I do so miss those hobbits," Legolas said as his ears caught a faint sound towards Aragorn.
He slowly reached for his bow before slipping into the edge of the forest without even Aragorn realizing he had departed. Not seeing his friend's bow, Aragorn grasped the grip of his sword and strained his eyes to see in the darkness.
"I strongly urge you to not shoot that arrow Legolas," a voice called out from the darkness.
Aragorn relaxed when he recognized Assyrian's voice and he stepped out from behind Hasufel to watch the horse and rider appear from the shadows. Legolas dropped from the branch he had been perched on and walked into the fire's circle of light.
"That is the second time you've almost shot me. I think I need to start a tally," Assyrian smiled weakly from atop Aurora.
"If you insist on surprising people then maybe you should be shot," he replied as she slowly moved to climb off Aurora.
Landing beside Aurora she visibly flinched in pain as her legs almost gave out on her. Aragorn reached out and steadied her as she held onto Aurora's gray mane for support.
"You're injured," Legolas said seeing the glint of blood from the fire's light.
Assyrian brushed Aragorn's hands away from her side trying to find her wound. Giving Aurora a pat on the neck she slowly moved towards the warm fire and slipped her bow off her back before carefully sitting down. Aragorn and Legolas watched her carefully as she slowly slipped off her quiver before looking up to the two of them.
"I am well; it is but a mere scratch," she assured them as she reached to pull out her blades.
Unlike other Elves who kept their blades in their quiver she did not. The blades crisscrossed her back with the handles at her lower back for quick and easy access if she needed them. Slowly sliding the blades out she laid them by her quiver and bow and lifted her shirt a bit to look at the wound. Looking up slowly at Aragorn she sighted tiredly as his concerned gaze.
"If you so desire to tend to it so be it," she said and Aragorn quickly moved closer to her.
"Legolas get my pack for me please," Aragorn said as he gently lifted Assyrian's tunic.
Legolas brought the leather bundle to Aragorn and glanced at Assyrian's wound. It was almost completely healed but the slash was still partially open and seeping a bit of blood that her tunic absorbed.
"You call this a mere scratch," Aragorn mumbled as she faintly smiled.
"What happened?" Legolas asked as Aragorn mixed some herbs and roots together in a small bowl.
"Dalimer happened. The humans with him are stronger than they should be. Faster too; they are almost as agile as an Elf. He has some new minions with him, some Orcs with Wargs. Even a few Uruk-Hai."
She flinched as Aragorn cleaned the wound with the mixture he had made. It angered her that someone had gotten the best of her. The fact that it was a human irked her more than she would have liked. If it had been Aragorn she wouldn't have cared that much for she knew of his abilities and was a worthy opponent. She thought Dalimer must have put a spell on them of some sort; actually she knew he must have. They lived far longer than any other humans she encountered. Aragorn finally finished to his tending and went back to his previous seat by the fire. Assyrian looked down at her wound and nodded in respect to him. He had applied a salve to speed the healing but chose not to wrap it.
"You haven't lost your abilities as a Ranger Estel. I experienced a bit of difficulty tracking you a few times," she said as she dropped her tunic over the wound.
"I shall try a bit harder next time," he smiled and she chuckled a bit before looking over at Legolas.
He had picked up her bow and was casually looking it over. The wood was so pale it looked almost white except for a black streak that seemed to run in, through and around the wood. Other than the black streak it was flawless in color. Designs were carved lightly in the wood except for the handle so nothing would be worn away from frequent use. His fingers drifted over at inscription at the upper limb of the bow and he tilted it to read it better. It was written in Elvish but a few of the words meant nothing to him so the phrase was lost on him.
"This is a beautiful bow," he said running his fingertips along the string.
"Thank you. My brother made it for me as a present."
"What does the inscription say?"
Assyrian faintly smiled before saying it in Elvish and Legolas looked over at Aragorn to see if he understood it. The confused look told him no and he turned back to Assyrian.
"Some of the words you used I do not know of. What is it in the Common tongue?"
"It's in the dialect from my city and it reads: 'Tis not the size of the Elf I the battle, but tis the size of the battle in the Elf'. My brother always said that it reminded him of me," she said as her finger tips slowly caressed the inscription.
"Your brother and you must have been very close," Legolas said as she gently set her bow beside her.
"We were."
A soft snore brought their attention to Aragorn who was asleep against his pack. His arms were crossed across his chest and his head was bowed with his chin resting on his chest. With a smile Legolas stood up and went to Aragorn and gently moved him to lie down. When Aragorn was more comfortable Legolas went back to site next to Assyrian.
"You care for him deeply," she stated looking over to Legolas who watched Aragorn sleep.
"He is a good friend of mine, probably one of the best. We would do anything for the other if asked," he replied honestly and Assyrian nodded.
"It is good to have a friendship like that," she said softly to the young prince. "I think that I shall follow your friend's actions. Good night Legolas."
Assyrian shifted a bit and leaned against a travel pack as Legolas did the same. The two Elves' eyes glazed over in sleep as Luna slowly traveled across the night sky.
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Okay everyone there is the new chapter. A little note to add in here. The quote that reads: 'Tis not the size of the Elf in the battle, but tis the size of the battle in the Elf'. It is not mine but an adaptation of Mark Twain's quote that really reads: 'It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but it's the size of the fight in the dog'. I just adapted it because I thought it would work nicely in my story so I changed it a bit so just to put that out there. A HUGE thank you goes out to Narwenya and again to The Lady Sorcha of Sevenwaters who reviewed at Chapter 2. I'll keep writing as long as I get beautiful reviews from the readers. Okay so everyone take care now. Peace.