**A/N: Oh goody, more reviews. Thanks to all who wrote something, I'll try to churn out those chapters as often as I can. This is strangely amusing for me. Also, anyone wanna inform me on what a Mary-Sue is? I am so uninformed…..
BTW (Aireroswen): About the way that elves "sleep", now that you mention it, I vaguely remember reading about that a while ago. Thanks for reminding me!**
"No. I said I was by myself, I do not know who they are," Legolas said defensively.
"Maybe you're right, from the looks of it they are Bragil's men. They are no doubt coming to find me, they knew he was meeting with me the other night. I suppose my departure from the town didn't go as unnoticed as I had wished," she said, once again lowering her bow, "if they find me the consequences will not be favourable. I should leave, and I think you should too. If they find you they will probably interrogate you. Men here are always suspicious of elves."
She quickly gathered her belongings and mounted her horse. The riders were fast approaching and had surely caught sight of the two figures on the edge of the valley by now. Legolas was still standing there, deciding what he should do in this unexpected situation.
"You are not going to stand there and let them catch you are you? Unless you really are part of their company and plan to tell them what little information you know," she asked, without attempting to hide her contempt.
"As I already said, I do not know them...... and I do not wish to meet them," he said as he started to hastily collected everything.
"If that is true, then I'd advise you to choose your road well. Bragil's men know I am of elvish-kind. Now they will be questioning any elves they meet," she said, "He had many on his side, who will be searching everywhere. Hide your features as best you can until you get out of Gondor." With that, she urged her horse forward, away from him and the oncoming men.
So she is an elf, Legolas thought to himself. But now wasn't the time to think more about it. He mounted his nearby steed, and keeping Raneth's advice in mind and sped off after her. As he glanced back, he saw that the horsemen had closed in on them somewhat. He gradually caught up with her, seeing that the riders pursuing them were neither closer nor farther, but the same distance away as before.
"What are you doing?" she asked, surprised that he was there alongside her.
"I do not know this area well," he told her, "it seems you are more familiar with this land and its people. Your path is no doubt much safer than what mine would have been."
Raneth gave no reply; instead she shifted her course slightly, heading towards a forest in the distance. As the pair neared the tall trees, Legolas looked back again and saw that the men were still after them, and closer than ever.
"I'm going to take cover and wait for them in the forest. Men may be weak, but they are stubborn and will not give up looking for me," she said to Legolas, "you may join me if you wish, or continue on your own through the cover of the trees." Legolas wondered briefly what she meant by waiting for them as the two entered the forest.
Raneth dismounted and lead her horse behind some trees where he would not be seen easily. She then swiftly climbed up one of the trees to a sturdy branch high off the ground, hidden among the thick foliage. Legolas followed her lead and climbed up a nearby tree where he could see her and the ground below. He watched as she readied her bow with an arrow. After several moments, the sound of the men and their horses indicated they had reached the edge of the woods.
"Did you see where they went? Can't be too far off now," they heard one of the men say, as he came into view. Legolas watched as another five riders appeared on the ground below.
"If we find that she-elf and bring her back, we'll be sure to gain favour with Bragil's rich friends. Let us hope they are not too far off," another man responded. Suddenly from somewhere in the trees, Legolas's horse gave a slight snort that could be heard by everyone.
"Must be one of the horses, sounds like it's close by," said the same man, "spread out, we'll be sure to catch th-..." But his sentence never came to an end for an arrow struck him dead in the neck. By the time the others fully realized what had happened, another one of them had fallen to the ground with an arrow deep in his chest. Legolas caught a glance at Raneth and saw that the arrows were from her bow. Just before the attack, she had thrown her hood back in order to have a better view of the men below and Legolas could see her face clearly now for the first time. He had no doubt she had done this many times before judging from the look on her face. It was brutally cold and had the blankness of a professional killer as she concentrated on releasing the arrows.
"Up in the trees, they're coming from above in the trees," one of the men shouted. Of the four who were still alive, only two had bows with them. One of them took a wild shot into the canopy, the arrow skimming Legolas's right leg and leaving a deep gash. The man reached for his quiver, except an arrow found its way into his chest and ended his life in an instant The other man with a bow began taking aim in the general direction of Raneth, but slumped over, lifeless upon his horse before his eyes could search her out. The other two turned around desperately trying to escape, but were stopped in their tracks by two deadly, well-aimed arrows.
The horses of the riders were moving about fearfully, some with the dead men still on their backs. Raneth slid down from the tree with ease and slowly approached the frightened animals, speaking to them with gentle words. When the horses had calmed down a bit, she pulled the dead men off their backs, leaving their bodies strewn on the ground. She bade the horses to return to their homes, and sent them on their way. She stood there unmoving for a moment, watching the horses run off with empty saddles and contemplating on what her next move would be. Legolas descended with difficulty from where he was and hobbled over to her, though she gave no acknowledgement of his presence.
**A/N: I'm at a bit of a dead end here so I realize this chapter ended rather abruptly. Oh well. I wonder how I can get it so that Legolas ends up tagging along. Hmmmmm.**
