Disclaimer: For full disclaimer, please see chapter 1.
A/N:
Yes, finally the chapter in which Legolas will arrive in Rivendell is drawing nearer and nearer! *g* I know, it's hard to believe, but trust me: Next chapter he'll get there - probably...
If nothing ... unexpected happens to our dear elven prince... *evil smile*
Well, I have to announce something which has absolutely _nothing_ to do with the story: I have just signed my first tenancy agreement! Yay Nili!!
I will move into my new flat in a month and I'm SO looking forward to it!! My own flat ... an own computer ... enough time to write "weird, silly stories" - that's my own personal definition of heaven! *g*
Okay, I'm sorry to annoy you but I'm really proud and happy and proud and ... *grins sheepishly*
And because I AM so proud and because you have written so many _lovely_ reviews, I'm posting this now and not tomorrow evening!
Well, it IS a cliffy, but that's better than nothing, isn't it? *ducks several projectiles aimed at her head* Ah, you don't agree, I assume? *g*
Okay, enough rambling, on to the chapter!
In which ... well, Aragorn's situation quickly goes from bad to worse, Elrond's guilt trip continues and Legolas ... ah well, Legolas is about to run into even more trouble... *shaked head sadly* That elf...
Enjoy!!! And review, if possible! *g* If might prompt me to post the next bit on Tuesday, even though I _really_ don't have the time.
Chapter 9
Aragorn suppressed a yawn and tried to stretch his aching body a bit, only to freeze when the muscles in his chest protested against such an action resolutely. He eased himself up on the tree trunk he had been leaning against for the whole night, not really voluntarily since Addramyr, Donyc's second-in-command, had seen it not only necessary to assign one of his men to guard him, but also thought it prudent to tie the young ranger to one of the tree trunks at the edge of the camp they had pitched last night.
'Which is in all likelihood only a way to make my life even more miserable than it already is at the moment,' he mused dryly, surveying the waking camp in front of him.
His captors had indeed chosen the way he had thought they would, travelling north for most of the day before turning east, into the direction of the Misty Mountains, giving Rivendell a wide berth in the process. The heavy rain that had only abated a few hours ago had made sure virtually no tracks remained, and the elves had carefully chosen smaller and scarcely used paths, drawing nearer and nearer to the broad road that turned into the Old Forest Road on the other side of the mountains.
He shuddered when he thought of the long ride yesterday, which had only ended when darkness had fallen and the horses had begun to stumble with weariness.
Well, he decided, at least he felt better than yesterday evening, which was not really hard, because he could remember few times when he had felt worse than that.
'Including the beech incident,' Aragorn opted, 'At least that time I had ada to look after me. And the sight of a thoroughly embarrassed Elrohir to cheer me up.'
The thought of his family brought him back to the situation he was currently stuck in. He tried, once again, for he had done little else than that and watching the actions of the men around him, looking for a way to escape, to remember where he had heard Cornallar's name before. He was sure someone had mentioned it to him during one of his rather boring history lessons, but since he had quite often not paid attention, he found it very hard to remember when that had been, or in what context, or even by whom.
'Glorfindel was right after all,' Aragorn mused frustrated, 'Not listening to his lessons has indeed got me into more trouble than even he could imagine.'
Sighing, he decided that the answer would probably come to him when he did not expect it, just like these things always happened.
'But this time,' he thought, 'It could be a bit too late. It won't help me in the slightest if I remember where I know Cornallar from just in the moment he finally decides he has no use for me anymore. Or the moment he captures Elrond. O Ilúvatar, if he would be harmed because I was too stupid to keep my balance, I would never forgive myself. This is all my fault, just like it always is…'
The heavy sounds of an approaching human interrupted the ranger's thoughts. Looking up, he saw the boy he had seen earlier approach him, nodding at his guard who had been sitting to the left of him on a log and carrying a small loaf of bread and a water skin.
Exchanging a few words, both of them made their way towards him, stopping just in front of his boots. As the boy stepped around the trunk to cut the rope that secured the young ranger to the tree, the other man stepped closer and grabbed Aragorn by the hair, holding a short dagger under his chin and pressing his head back against the bark.
"He will cut your bonds and tie your hands in front of you so you can feed yourself, ranger. You heard Addramyr, if you cause any trouble, I am to kill you. Don't think I would hesitate to carry out that order," the guard warned him, pressing the sharp blade of the knife a little harder against his throat.
That was as good a method as any to make sure he didn't try anything, Aragorn decided grumpily and complied reluctantly, allowing the young man, who couldn't be more than two or three years his junior, to tie his hands in front of him. Once the boy was done, the guard patted the young ranger's cheek, grinning at him before moving off towards the camp.
"See, it wasn't that bad, was it? Hold on to that attitude."
Entertaining himself with vivid visions of what he would do with that one once he managed to get out of here, Aragorn accepted the bread and water from the young human, nodding his thanks. Only now did he realize how hungry he was, he couldn't even remember the last time he had eaten something.
Wolfing down the meagre ration with a speed that would have put Elladan to shame, he returned the now empty water skin and smiled at the human.
"Thank you."
"You are welcome, ranger," the boy answered, smiling back, and added after a moment's hesitation, "My name is Seobryn."
"I am called Strider. 'Tis a pleasure to meet you, Seobryn," Aragorn told him, somewhat sarcastically.
"Are you really part elf? The others said so, because you managed to escape them and climb that tree so quickly, which they are not happy about, I can tell you! I have seen your weapons as well, and they look definitely elvish and…" Seobryn asked so quickly that the questions seemed to blur slightly together, looking at him with reverence.
Aragorn laughed lightly and was just about to answer, when a voice to his right nearly made him jump.
"Many questions, young human, but unfortunately none of them can be answered right now. I need to see to my patient."
Seobryn, he noted as his head wheeled around to the right, had indeed jumped, namely off his log and onto the grass, staring at the person who had managed to approach them without making a sound.
Aragorn knew that it was Nólad seconds before his eyes fixed on the fair haired elf; he didn't sense the dark, ominous presence he felt whenever the elf's companion was near.
Nólad looked at Seobryn, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"You are needed, edan. I will take care of the captive for you."
Seobryn looked decidedly unhappy having to leave now, but nodded at the elf in respect and turned, walking back into the direction of the camp.
Aragorn eyed the fair haired elf closely, a humourless smile on his lips.
"'Patient' you say, Master Elf? It seems a bit strange to me to care for the very wounds one has inflicted earlier oneself."
Ignoring the human's sarcastic remark, Nólad kneeled down next to him, pushing the bloodied shirt out of the way and examining the side wound. After nodding in satisfaction at what he saw and rewrapping the injury, he met the dark haired human's eyes.
"We wouldn't profit from your death, ranger. At least not yet."
He turned to leave, but stopped dead when he saw the sun's rays catch on something glittering on the ranger's hand. When Aragorn realized what the elf was looking at, he tried to cover it, but too late: Nólad had already turned round and grasped the human's bound hands, taking a look at the ring on the forefinger of his left hand.
The fair haired elf just kept staring at the intricately wrought ring. He knew that design, the two silver serpents under the three golden flowers, the sparkling emerald eyes…
"The Ring of Barahir," he breathed, turning unbelieving eyes on the young ranger who tried to pull away from the elf's firm grasp. Nólad ignored the human's attempts and grabbed the ranger's chin, forcing him to look him in the eye, studying the silver eyes closely.
Letting go of Aragorn as quickly as he had grabbed him, he looked around him and switched his speech to Elvish, making sure the men would not understand what was spoken.
"Well, that explains a lot, I think. At least now I know why Lord Elrond accepted a human so willingly all those years ago, you are kin after all, however distant. I should have seen it earlier though; your eyes are just too elvish. You even look somewhat like Elendil when one looks closely enough, tall for a human, just like he was…"
Aragorn was trying very hard to suppress the panic that was threatening to overtake him when he heard the elf's words; being the captive of a crazy elf was bad enough, but being the captive of a crazy elf who knew his true identity, that was a situation he really did not want to face.
He swallowed nervously and tried to speak with some conviction.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he stated, attempting to remain calm.
Nólad just laughed, an amused sparkle in his eyes.
"Ah, please, dúnadan, I'm not that stupid! I am not focused only on revenge and the past, I pick up quite a few things. For example the tale that the last of the House of Elendil was slain about twenty years ago and apparently no child of his survived. Then I see a young edan in front of me, raised in the House of Lord Elrond Half-Elven, with eyes definitely too elvish for a human, approximately twenty years of age and wearing the Ring of Barahir, and you expect me not to draw conclusions? Besides, I do not even need to do that to recognize the Heir of Isildur when I see him."
Aragorn just looked at him, not bothering to deny what the elf had said, for what could he possible say to invalidate what they both knew to be the truth?
"What do you plan to do then?" he asked as calmly as he could.
Nólad sat down on the log previously occupied by Seobryn and gazed at the young ranger thoughtfully.
"Nothing, young dúnadan, nothing. I would advise you to take off the ring and hide it though, there are others who might recognize it or desire it purely for its monetary value. I will keep this secret, for your sake."
"Why?" Aragorn asked, puzzled, "Why are you not reporting this to your lord? Why are you protecting me?"
The fair haired elf rose and prepared to leave, his light grey eyes boring into the young human's darker ones.
"Because, ranger, I do not hate you. I do what I have to do to serve my lord and friend, but I do not relish your pain or that of others. And because," he interrupted himself, his eyes adopting a look of sadness and hopelessness, "He would kill you if he ever found out you are of Elendil's bloodline. And it would be a slow and agonizing death, something which I do not wish on my worst enemy. You should be extremely careful, ranger. I can only keep this secret, I cannot protect you from Donyc or Cornallar should he discover who you are."
Giving him a mock bow, Nólad turned round and made his way back to the camp, assigning the duty to guard Aragorn to another human about thirty feet from them, telling the men to break camp and prepare to leave as soon as his lord had returned from his scouting trip.
Before his new guard could come close enough to see what he was doing, Aragorn slipped the ring off his finger and hastily hid it in one of the smaller pockets of his overcoat, hoping it would avoid detection there. Even if Nólad was right and Cornallar would kill him should he find the ring, for whatever reasons, he would not just throw something away that had been forged before the War of the Jewels and survived as an heirloom to his House for more than 6500 years.
Leaning back against the tree and closing his eyes once more, the ranger exhaled slowly and tried to calm his still racing heart. He did not feel at all comfortable knowing that someone other than his family and his closest friends knew about his heritage, but now he had no choice than to trust the fair haired elf to keep his promise.
'Ilúvatar!' he thought as he heard the man settle down onto the much used log, 'This is just getting steadily worse! Every time I think it's as bad as it can possibly get, something happens that proves me wrong. I don't even want to think about what will happen next! Legolas is right, as soon as he takes his eyes off me for a second, I somehow find myself in more trouble than either of us can possibly imagine!"
He opened his eyes again as he heard someone come closer, fixing a tired gaze on Donyc, who walked up to the tree the ranger was leaning against, grinning at him.
'A Elbereth! That's not fair!' He complained inwardly, suppressing the loathing and fear he felt every time the human commander approached him and meeting his gaze with calm composure, 'They could really hurry up a bit.'
Elrohir walked into his father's room to let him know they were ready to leave, just to be greeted by an empty room and a bed that looked as if it had not been used for quite some time.
The younger twin shook his head and turned on his heel, leaving the room and heading down the corridor into the other direction.
'I think we should force him to drink some of his own tea for a change,' he mused darkly, 'Or we should bribe the kitchens to slip some sleeping potion into his food.'
Elrohir made his way down the airy corridor, stopping in front of the room he knew his father would chose to stay in now: Estel's chambers. Every time Estel was out in the wilds or involved in another one of their hair-raising adventures with the Prince of Mirkwood, Elrond could be found on his human son's balcony, gazing at the night sky and worrying, even though he would not admit doing so.
'And sometimes,' Elrohir thought as he pushed open the door that led to his brother's room, 'He even forgets to return to his own room after a few hours. If we did that, he would have our hides!'
Walking soundlessly across the sunlit room that was relatively tidy for once, he pushed aside the curtains that moved lightly in the morning breeze and stepped onto the balcony.
Just like he had expected, he found Elrond there, leaning against the balustrade, his grey eyes gazing at nothing, looking tired and dejected.
Not wishing to startle him, Elrohir stepped next to his father, resting his elbow on the wooden railing and addressing him in a soft voice.
"We are ready to leave, ada. Isál and the others are already waiting in the courtyard. We have decided to travel back northwards to the beginning of the wilds and spread out, perhaps one of us will find a clue to which direction they took."
Elrond kept staring straight ahead and nodded soundlessly.
Elrohir sighed and decided that his father had spent more than enough time blaming himself. Placing a hand on his shoulder, the younger twin told Elrond,
"We will find them, ada, and we will make sure they regret having attacked him. Estel will be alright, father, he always is. You were right in what you told us yesterday evening; this was not our fault, and neither was it yours. You could not have known."
At that Elrond turned to look at his younger elven son, raising a dark eyebrow in disbelief.
"How could I not have known? I knew something was drawing close, I knew danger was approaching, and still I let you go! Estel was still not back to full strength, I should have forbidden him to leave the house! If it's not me who is to blame, then who is?"
Elrohir sighed and tightened his hold on his father's shoulder, smiling sadly.
'Isál is right,' he decided, 'The tendency to blame oneself is truly widespread in this fair house. The whole family does it, and even Legolas seems to have caught it. It's contagious.'
"That's not true, father, and you know it," he said aloud, gazing into his father's eyes, "We agreed yesterday that whoever has taken him has been planning this for a long time. They picked just the right spot at the right time, the ambush was laid too perfectly to have been a mere coincidence. If you had kept him back, they would just have waited a bit longer before striking; they knew what they were doing.
This was not your fault, ada. You could not have prevented it knowing as little as you did."
Elrond looked at his son and smiled at him with loving eyes.
"Just when have you grown so wise, Elrohir?" he asked softly, grasping his son's hand that still lay on his shoulder.
Elrohir gave his father a slightly forced grin as they turned round and went inside to meet with the search party in the courtyard.
"Well, after more than 2800 years something like this was to be expected, wouldn't you agree?"
"I had almost lost hope of it ever happening," Elrond told his son, giving him another smile.
"While there's life, there's hope. Never give up hope, father."
"I won't," Elrond whispered, following Elrohir out of the room.
Legolas moved swiftly down the road leading to Rivendell, enjoying the sunlight on his face. Sunlight, he decided, was truly something to be cherished, even though it made him feel uncomfortably warm, something to which he was not accustomed. Surprising how strongly the sun could still shine this time of year, the fair haired prince mused, shifting slightly in the saddle and biting back a gasp of pain that threatened to escape him when his side screamed in protest.
''Tis not the sun you feel, stupid elf,' a more realistic part of his mind stated, 'Elves are not bothered by the sun. It's the infection, the blade was poisoned after all.'
The rest of Legolas' mind reluctantly agreed; it was very unusual for him to feel hot, and the fact that he had slept until the sun was well on her way across the sky was not quite normal either. One more reason to make his way to Imladris as quickly as possible, he decided, wiping away the perspiration that had somehow accumulated on his brow.
Despite the fact that he felt rather weary despite the long rest he had taken, he forced himself to remain alert. An hour ago he had stopped at Amon Siril to refill his water skin, and had to his surprise found signs of a rather large party of riders that had camped there only a few days ago.
That fact would have been not too unusual, since Amon Siril was quite a popular camping place among elven hunting parties due to the spring and the easily defendable terrain, but this party had definitely been human, at least the majority of the tracks suggested so. Legolas had found a few signs that pointed to elvish presence, but he abandoned that theory quickly, since the humans had very obviously not been rangers, and why should an elf mix with ordinary humans? He was probably sicker than he thought and was beginning to misinterpret the simplest tracks.
The elven prince tried to imagine what Glónduil would say if he heard that he had thought an elf would travel with a human, and suppressed the wave of anger that swept over him. It would take him some time to get over his friend's words, that much was clear. And Legolas was not sure if he could ever forgive him, he had been hurt too deeply by Glónduil's collected prejudices against his human friend.
At the thought of Aragorn Legolas spurred his horse on again; he had not even noticed it had fallen into a slower gait. He shook his head slightly and thought,
'Lord Elrond will not even speak with me. He will only give me that look he usually reserves for Estel and the twins, and act as if I had done this on purpose, just to annoy him. Yet all know that nothing ever happened to me before I met Aragorn in the first place! Hundreds of years of existence without major disturbances and now, during the few years that I have known him, I have experienced more near-death situations than elves thrice my age!'
He shook his head sadly and decided that even though he sometimes acted as if the young human was to blame for this, he would give everything to be at his side now and help him.
'Without me,' he mused, 'That human is completely lost. And that is exactly what I'm going to tell him once I arrive in Imladris.'
Legolas lifted his head to study the road in front of him, just about a league away it disappeared into a little wood, the trees growing too densely for him to make out what was concealed by the dark trunks. He unconsciously reached for the bow on his back when he surveyed it more closely; something didn't feel right about the wood. Just as if something was in there, waiting for him to come within its grasp, something definitely hostile …
He tried to shrug off the feeling, accrediting it to the slight confusing that seemed to have infected his thoughts. The heat was causing him to see things that weren't really there, just like at Amon Siril.
'Well,' the prince decided and adjusted the position of the quiver on his back, 'It can't hurt to be prepared for all eventualities.'
Keeping a close eye on his surroundings, he made his way down the road, approaching the dark trees of the wood in front of him and trying to get rid of the feeling that he was missing something important.
Nólad leaned back against the trunk of the tree he was hiding in, barely able to believe his luck. Somehow, and he really had no idea how, the fair haired elf had missed his presence. He ran a hand through his own blonde hair, forcing himself to calm down and get off this tree as quickly as possible. His lord had asked him to go ahead of the rest of the men to scout the area; they didn't want to meet anyone to whom they would have to explain the presence of a bound ranger in their midst.
He was about half an hour ahead of the main group, and when he had reached the edge of the small wood the road was crossing, he had stopped his horse to climb a lone tree that stood on top of a small hill and offered an excellent view over the next few leagues. He had barely reached the top branches when he had seen a single rider approach, an elf, as he had soon found out, and to make things worse, an elf he knew only too well, even if they had never met face to face.
Nólad had frozen where he was when he had seen the prince lift his head and survey the small wood, but, to his unending surprise, he was sure he had not been detected. Shaking his head and climbing swiftly down the tree, he wondered what would cause Legolas Thranduilion to miss him in a position that should have been clearly visible to an elven eye.
'Well, I'm not complaining,' he thought as he rode down the path he had come only minutes ago, 'That should give me enough time to warn the others.'
After what felt like mere moments, he saw the first of the men appear, a questioning look on his face when he noticed the urgent expression on the fair haired elf's face. Nólad ignored him and continued to the end of the column, ordering the men to stop as he passed them. Finally reaching his friend's side, he told him, a bit breathless,
"We have a problem."
Cornallar took blazing eyes off the bound human who had very obviously just said something that had displeased him and turned to his companion.
"What do you mean? Is someone approaching?"
"Yes," Nólad nodded, fixing troubled grey eyes on his friend, "An elf is coming this way. He will have reached us in about twenty minutes, I think."
Aragorn felt the colour drain from his face as he heard the elf's words. A lone elf, that could only be Legolas, for the times grew dark and elves did scarcely stray too far from their realms alone. And the only elf they had been expecting had been his friend, travelling from Mirkwood to visit him. He suppressed the panic that was beginning to wrap itself around his heart, his friend wouldn't expect anything like this in his path, he would not be prepared for battle …
He barely heard the rest of the conversation, but listened closely when he heard Legolas' name being mentioned.
"…Prince Legolas. I don't know what he wants here, but he didn't see me, of that I'm sure. But he knows him," Nólad nodded in the direction of the still stunned human, "And he will cause trouble should he see him with us."
Cornallar stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Are you sure he didn't detect your presence?"
His friend nodded.
"Yes, my lord, I'm sure, but he will be here soon. What shall we do?"
"It's very simple, Master Elf: Kill him. Let him approach, wait for him to come close enough and then an arrow in the back. Quite easy, really," Donyc interrupted, an expectant gleam in his dark eyes.
Aragorn's head swivelled into the human's direction, eyes blazing with fury and hurting muscles tensing for action. He didn't care if he was killed in the process, but he would not allow them to just murder his friend like this.
"No, Master Human, I don't think that will be necessary," the dark haired elf told the human commander, giving him a cold stare, "I will not kill another elf, and royalty for that matter, without good reason. I think I have a better idea. Dismount and make camp, all of you, as quickly as possible."
Giving the humans that were just staring at him in confusion an authoritative glare, he jumped off his horse.
"Now!!"
The men were quick to obey, and soon they were in the process of hastily making camp on a small meadow to the left of the road. As Aragorn was roughly pulled off his horse, causing his side to protest fiercely, he could hear Donyc ask in confusion,
"Why? Why pitch camp here? He will be passing right through it in a few minutes!"
"Exactly, Donyc, and since there's no way we can avoid him, you will just be in plain sight, camping by the road like a group of huntsmen on their way home. Nólad and I will hide in the trees deeper in the forest," Cornallar explained quickly, whispering to his horse in Elvish, asking it to hide in the wood and return to them later.
Two of the men were just lighting a fire, and the rest was unsaddling the horses and spreading bed rolls out on the grass. Aragorn had to admit that it looked quite authentic, and since some larger hunting parties used to hunt in the twilight hours or at night, it wouldn't attract attention that they camped in broad daylight. He didn't know whether he should feel relieved or not by this last development, on the one hand he was glad they wouldn't try and kill Legolas, on the other hand, well, he had had just enough of Donyc's hospitality.
'Oh, and there's the fact that this crazy elf wants to capture my father, but otherwise I'm fine, no problem…' he thought sarcastically as he was pushed into Donyc's direction, who reached out and grabbed the young ranger's overcoat, pulling him closer.
When the dark haired elf saw the two elven horses disappear between the trees, he turned back to the human commander, gracing him with a stern glance.
"You must not harm the prince unless you have absolutely no other choice, and I mean no other choice, Donyc. We will be watching, and if I see that you hurt him unnecessarily, I will be most displeased. Do you understand?" he said, a threatening undertone in his voice.
Donyc averted his eyes and nodded, turning to the young ranger whose arm he'd still grabbed and who looked at him with undisguised hatred.
"What about him?"
Cornallar gave the young human a cold stare.
"Hide him. Make sure he keeps quiet until his little friend has passed through."
Donyc frowned and grinned at the young ranger, malicious glee shining in his eyes.
"That could be difficult, don't you think? I'm sure our intrepid hero here will seize every opportunity to alert his dear friend to his presence," he told the elf, an unspoken question in his eyes.
Cornallar flashed the dark haired man an evil smile before he turned and made his way quickly into the trees, Nólad right behind him.
"Alright then. Don't hit him too hard though," he called over his shoulder, disappearing in the colourful foliage.
Aragorn clenched his jaw and winced inwardly when he saw Donyc draw his sword and turn to him, clearly enjoying himself immensely.
He had just enough time for the thought that he was really getting tired of being hit this way before the hilt of the sword connected with the side of his head and sent him into unconsciousness.
TBC...
ada - father (daddy)
edan - human, man
dúnadan - 'Man of the West', ranger
What will happen? Will Aragorn suffer irreparable brain damage from being continuously hit on the head? (Readers: What?) Why is this evil elf so bloody angry? And will Legolas be harmed?? (Readers: WHAT????) All this and more here on FF.net, the more reviews I get the sooner! But I'll even ask nicely: Please? Just a few lines?
Additional A/N:
Alexa - I PROMISE that he'll get there in chapter 10! Really! I didn't say in what condition, but get there he will... *evil grin* And yes, you guessed it, the wound _is_ poisoned, and this time it wasn't even my fault! I never thought about poisoning the poor prince, but since a lot of people have asked if he was - who am I to disappoint my reviewers? Besides, it even explains a lot of things later on... *g* Well, I don't know... I have an idea for a sequel, but I don't know if I'll have the time for another story, but I'll think about it. And since this story will take some time yet (I think about 8-10 more chapters), I have lots of time! Thanks for the review!!
Carrie - Carrie - how many times have I told you not to do that? Elrond is always so upset when I get him back, it's impossible to work with him! *g* *narrows eyes* So you've been sick? Well ... poor ... you, then.... *huggles her* Great idea, btw! Blame Tolkien and not our unstable states of mind!! Speaking of which: Are you feeling well? "Leave them alone"?? Why should I? It's soooo much _fun_ writing this!! *evil grin* Well, not really though, I'll have to start ch12 tomorrow, and I'm NOT looking forward to it - I'm not C&S!!! But well, I'm doing my best... *evil cackle*
E - *sighs* Phew, I'm glad you don't eat stuff like that. But hey, you never know... *g* You're right, he's perfectly sweet! *huggles her baby Estel* And don't worry, he won't be sorry if/when (I haven't decided yet) Donyc gets killed, not after this ... and chapter 11 ... and chapter 12 ... Well, the letter will be there next chappie, I think, and I wholeheartedly agree: I would run as fast as possible in the opposite direction if I had done even a third of what THEY have done to Estel and Elrond finds out about it... *shudders* Angry elven lords. Not good.
Jitterbug - So you would die if you fell off your chair? Must be a pretty high chair, then... I would miss you though, and there are never enough reviews! NEVER!!! *shakes fist* Ahem, okay... *clears throat* Thanks a lot for the compliments, I try to update as quickly as possible! I hope you liked, ahm, loved this one as well!
Lievre - *glares at her* Cornallar is _not_, and I repeat, NOT a strange name for an elf! It is a _perfect_ name, especially since I invented it myself! It even means something, but NOW I'm not going to tell you! *gives Evil Glare Of Death* Yeah, Legolas is a bit strange (*ducks several things angry Legolas fans throw at her*), but since Estel is stubborn (*wink*), he will tease him mercilessly! Or he would, if he were at home and not with a troupe of evil men and elves... *evil grin* Thanks for the review! *hugs her* I'm always glad to 'see' a familiar face in the review crowd!
Acacia - *pats her back* No, you haven't ... Only the right review for this story, don't worry... Yup, Lord Elrond is NOT a happy camper right now - hmm, I don't think that will change for the rest of the story either... *evil grin* Yes yes yes, you'd wnat to know, wouldn't you? *smirks* Sorry, I can't tell you what's going to happen, I took an oath not to tell anything ... my lips are sealed... *g*
Aurienia - *looks at her suspiciously* How do you know they are gonna get hurt more? HOW? Did Elrohir tell you? I've told him so many times to keep quiet, but does he listen? NO! I will have to think of a suitable punishment... *g* Phew! *relieved* You won't choke me? That's always nice to hear... Thanks for reviewing!!!
Mouse - *bows* Thank you!! Thank you!! *latches onto her and hugs her* I'm glad you like it! Thanks! Well, yes, the what-did-Elrond-do-to-them-thing: More about that is coming up in the next chapter, but a full explanation (well, most of it) is in ch 11, I've just finished it. Poor elvies... *sobs*
ThE iNsAnE oNe - Calms down, breathe ... I only said that I would have to hurt him a bit more, not send him into a coma or something... Hm, coma...interesting idea though... *evil grin* Well, Estel is relatively unhurt if you ask me - I mean really, a few scrapes and bruises, a few cracked ribs and a concussion - that's nothing!!! There's more to come! Mhahahaha!! And write more of your story! More more more!! I have to know what happens!! Please?
Kaeera - *g* Wer hat die beiden denn nicht gern? *knuddelt sie* Tja, koennte vielleicht wirklich daran liegen, dass ich keine Orchesterprobe viermal die Woche habe... Ich schreibe so ungefaehr drei Tage an einem Kapitel, manchmal aber auch vier oder fuenf. Ich versuche aber, mind. 2 Kapitel voraus zu bleiben, falls mir mal was dazwischenkommen sollte... Danke fuer all die lieben Worte *laesst die Zwillinge los und knuddelt Kaeera stattdessen*! Mehr Drama kommt ... eigentlich in jedem Kapitel, also keine Angst! *g*
Alilacia - *grins smugly* Yes, Donyc is NOT a nice person, is he? I do love writing him though - does that make me evil? I guess so... LOL, Legolas attracts trouble better than a high powered searchlight? *snickers* You could say that... Oh, and I'd advise you not to go after them, I wouldn't like it, Elladan wouldn't like it, and, last but not least, I don't think Cornallar would like it! Nor would Donyc... *g*
Miss Undastood - Thank you! Well, Estel is about 22/23 years old, this takes place about III 2953. Thanks for all your lovely reviews, hope you liked this one as well!
Shandrial - Yes, there are not a lot stories about our favourite elf lord, huh? Well, I decided a long time ago that that was very unfair - even though he looks suspiciously like Agent Smith. That's not his fault, I guess... *g* Later on he might even get to do something else than worry or patch them up, imagine! *g*
Halo - *makes a wild grab for the plushie* Gimme that!! I posted, so ... *huggles Frodo plushie* Owww, you made him, just for me? That's soooooo sweet! *lets go of Frodo plushie and hugs Halo instead* I post as fast as I can! *pouts* _You_shouldn't be complaining! But I'm glad you like it!! *huggles her again* Thanks!
Stasia - Well, a few of them might die indeed a very painful death - I mean, Legolas's got to kill one or two of them once he finds them! Hasn't he? *snickers* About the body parts ... my sister really wanted me to have Cornallar cut off a finger! Can you believe that? She said otherwise it wouldn't be serious enough... And don't worry, there are at least eight more chapters coming, perhaps even ten or twelve ... knowing me, perhaps even more. I _tried_ to get Legolas to Rivendell by ch 8, and you see how that one worked out... *g* Thanks for reviewing! *huggles her* I LOVE long reviews!
Lina - LOL, 'unrestrained, but manly sobs'?? Only a Rohirrim could manage that... *g* Hey, I'm glad you liked the little dwarves! Later in the story they even get reinforcements... *evil grin* Hm... *strokes chin thoughtfully* ... right now I don't know which one I hate more, Cornallar or Donyc ... They are both evil, I guess ... *g* Don't be too hard on Éomer, he is a little stupid - but you have to admit, he stopped you every single time you wanted to kill one of the villains! Good work!!! *g*
Zam - *looks at confetti* Not again ... I can still remember what my mother said about the last party you've thrown me... *shudders at mere thought* But thanks, I guess!! *huggles Zam and orc horde* Thanks! And don't give my baby a 'nudge'! He cannot do anything!! He's hurt and injured and there are mean evil men and elves all around him and ... *takes a deep breath* Let's just say he can't. *glares at Zam* Don't even _think_ about saying "Pornallar". Don't think it! It's a forbidden term, from now on... *g* Legolas in a mother hen costume? Uhm, an ... interesting thought ... *g* The review was great! Nice and long and perfect and ... Thanks!!
Jenny - Yes, his delay will prove useful - it will make him feel guilty to no end!*cackles evilly* Ooops, I didn't say that, just ignore it, okay? Thanks for all your reviews!
Ciria - *ducks a pineapple* What the heck? Well Stan is Stan because ... do you know Monty Python: The Life of Brian? If you do, then you'll know... *g* Well, our fav evil elf has only two elves and a lot of nasty mercenary men, and about his motives: It's all coming in the next two chapters, I figured that you'd all kill me if I didn't tell you after more than ten chapters... *g* Dammit, I'd hoped nobody would notice... Well, I'm not really sure about the visions - I just felt that Legolas needed some extra motivation ... Let's just say that it's a singular event and won't repeat itself, he's not Elrond after all... Owww, thank you! *huggles fluffy bunny* Can you it fluffy bunnies? Hey, just kidding!! *g*
ManuKu - *schnippisch* Ja, und IHR seid schon bei Kapitel 6 und der arme Legolas vegetiert noch immer mit Galadriel Fuessen vor sich hin! Was ist besser, frage ich dich??? *g* *guckt sich stolz um* Ja, meine beiden Fieslinge mag ich auch... *taetschelt Elben den Kopf* Donyc allerdings kann ich nicht leiden, diesen Fiesling... *denkt an das, was mit Aragorn noch passiert* Na ja, Cornallar eigentlich auch nicht.... Danke fuer deine lieben reviews, ich freue mich immer ganz doll!! *knuddelt ManuKu* Danke!
Dragonsgirl22 - Owww, thank you, the greatest reward is to get so many nice reviews! LOL, I love reviews, I know, surprise, you'd never have guessed... *g* And, actually, this chapter is 9 ½ pages long. I tried to write each chapter in about 8 pages, but have given up long ago, now I'm happy when they are no longer than ten each! But I update frequently!! *g*
Trustingfriendship - That's a nice name! Very sweet! *grins happily* I'm glad you like it, and don't worry, they will pay them back for every single bruise - eventually ... Thanks a lot for the review!
Imbefaniel - Yes, a lot of people liked the green hair - all but Elladan. Don't ask me, I don't get it either. He's a very weird elf... *g* Thanks for your kind words and I hope you liked this bit as well!
*huggles all reviewers* Thanks a lot for the encouragement! It's great to know what people think about your story - and sometimes they even give you wonderful ideas - like poisoning poor innocent elven princes... *evil grin*
A/N:
Yes, finally the chapter in which Legolas will arrive in Rivendell is drawing nearer and nearer! *g* I know, it's hard to believe, but trust me: Next chapter he'll get there - probably...
If nothing ... unexpected happens to our dear elven prince... *evil smile*
Well, I have to announce something which has absolutely _nothing_ to do with the story: I have just signed my first tenancy agreement! Yay Nili!!
I will move into my new flat in a month and I'm SO looking forward to it!! My own flat ... an own computer ... enough time to write "weird, silly stories" - that's my own personal definition of heaven! *g*
Okay, I'm sorry to annoy you but I'm really proud and happy and proud and ... *grins sheepishly*
And because I AM so proud and because you have written so many _lovely_ reviews, I'm posting this now and not tomorrow evening!
Well, it IS a cliffy, but that's better than nothing, isn't it? *ducks several projectiles aimed at her head* Ah, you don't agree, I assume? *g*
Okay, enough rambling, on to the chapter!
In which ... well, Aragorn's situation quickly goes from bad to worse, Elrond's guilt trip continues and Legolas ... ah well, Legolas is about to run into even more trouble... *shaked head sadly* That elf...
Enjoy!!! And review, if possible! *g* If might prompt me to post the next bit on Tuesday, even though I _really_ don't have the time.
Chapter 9
Aragorn suppressed a yawn and tried to stretch his aching body a bit, only to freeze when the muscles in his chest protested against such an action resolutely. He eased himself up on the tree trunk he had been leaning against for the whole night, not really voluntarily since Addramyr, Donyc's second-in-command, had seen it not only necessary to assign one of his men to guard him, but also thought it prudent to tie the young ranger to one of the tree trunks at the edge of the camp they had pitched last night.
'Which is in all likelihood only a way to make my life even more miserable than it already is at the moment,' he mused dryly, surveying the waking camp in front of him.
His captors had indeed chosen the way he had thought they would, travelling north for most of the day before turning east, into the direction of the Misty Mountains, giving Rivendell a wide berth in the process. The heavy rain that had only abated a few hours ago had made sure virtually no tracks remained, and the elves had carefully chosen smaller and scarcely used paths, drawing nearer and nearer to the broad road that turned into the Old Forest Road on the other side of the mountains.
He shuddered when he thought of the long ride yesterday, which had only ended when darkness had fallen and the horses had begun to stumble with weariness.
Well, he decided, at least he felt better than yesterday evening, which was not really hard, because he could remember few times when he had felt worse than that.
'Including the beech incident,' Aragorn opted, 'At least that time I had ada to look after me. And the sight of a thoroughly embarrassed Elrohir to cheer me up.'
The thought of his family brought him back to the situation he was currently stuck in. He tried, once again, for he had done little else than that and watching the actions of the men around him, looking for a way to escape, to remember where he had heard Cornallar's name before. He was sure someone had mentioned it to him during one of his rather boring history lessons, but since he had quite often not paid attention, he found it very hard to remember when that had been, or in what context, or even by whom.
'Glorfindel was right after all,' Aragorn mused frustrated, 'Not listening to his lessons has indeed got me into more trouble than even he could imagine.'
Sighing, he decided that the answer would probably come to him when he did not expect it, just like these things always happened.
'But this time,' he thought, 'It could be a bit too late. It won't help me in the slightest if I remember where I know Cornallar from just in the moment he finally decides he has no use for me anymore. Or the moment he captures Elrond. O Ilúvatar, if he would be harmed because I was too stupid to keep my balance, I would never forgive myself. This is all my fault, just like it always is…'
The heavy sounds of an approaching human interrupted the ranger's thoughts. Looking up, he saw the boy he had seen earlier approach him, nodding at his guard who had been sitting to the left of him on a log and carrying a small loaf of bread and a water skin.
Exchanging a few words, both of them made their way towards him, stopping just in front of his boots. As the boy stepped around the trunk to cut the rope that secured the young ranger to the tree, the other man stepped closer and grabbed Aragorn by the hair, holding a short dagger under his chin and pressing his head back against the bark.
"He will cut your bonds and tie your hands in front of you so you can feed yourself, ranger. You heard Addramyr, if you cause any trouble, I am to kill you. Don't think I would hesitate to carry out that order," the guard warned him, pressing the sharp blade of the knife a little harder against his throat.
That was as good a method as any to make sure he didn't try anything, Aragorn decided grumpily and complied reluctantly, allowing the young man, who couldn't be more than two or three years his junior, to tie his hands in front of him. Once the boy was done, the guard patted the young ranger's cheek, grinning at him before moving off towards the camp.
"See, it wasn't that bad, was it? Hold on to that attitude."
Entertaining himself with vivid visions of what he would do with that one once he managed to get out of here, Aragorn accepted the bread and water from the young human, nodding his thanks. Only now did he realize how hungry he was, he couldn't even remember the last time he had eaten something.
Wolfing down the meagre ration with a speed that would have put Elladan to shame, he returned the now empty water skin and smiled at the human.
"Thank you."
"You are welcome, ranger," the boy answered, smiling back, and added after a moment's hesitation, "My name is Seobryn."
"I am called Strider. 'Tis a pleasure to meet you, Seobryn," Aragorn told him, somewhat sarcastically.
"Are you really part elf? The others said so, because you managed to escape them and climb that tree so quickly, which they are not happy about, I can tell you! I have seen your weapons as well, and they look definitely elvish and…" Seobryn asked so quickly that the questions seemed to blur slightly together, looking at him with reverence.
Aragorn laughed lightly and was just about to answer, when a voice to his right nearly made him jump.
"Many questions, young human, but unfortunately none of them can be answered right now. I need to see to my patient."
Seobryn, he noted as his head wheeled around to the right, had indeed jumped, namely off his log and onto the grass, staring at the person who had managed to approach them without making a sound.
Aragorn knew that it was Nólad seconds before his eyes fixed on the fair haired elf; he didn't sense the dark, ominous presence he felt whenever the elf's companion was near.
Nólad looked at Seobryn, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"You are needed, edan. I will take care of the captive for you."
Seobryn looked decidedly unhappy having to leave now, but nodded at the elf in respect and turned, walking back into the direction of the camp.
Aragorn eyed the fair haired elf closely, a humourless smile on his lips.
"'Patient' you say, Master Elf? It seems a bit strange to me to care for the very wounds one has inflicted earlier oneself."
Ignoring the human's sarcastic remark, Nólad kneeled down next to him, pushing the bloodied shirt out of the way and examining the side wound. After nodding in satisfaction at what he saw and rewrapping the injury, he met the dark haired human's eyes.
"We wouldn't profit from your death, ranger. At least not yet."
He turned to leave, but stopped dead when he saw the sun's rays catch on something glittering on the ranger's hand. When Aragorn realized what the elf was looking at, he tried to cover it, but too late: Nólad had already turned round and grasped the human's bound hands, taking a look at the ring on the forefinger of his left hand.
The fair haired elf just kept staring at the intricately wrought ring. He knew that design, the two silver serpents under the three golden flowers, the sparkling emerald eyes…
"The Ring of Barahir," he breathed, turning unbelieving eyes on the young ranger who tried to pull away from the elf's firm grasp. Nólad ignored the human's attempts and grabbed the ranger's chin, forcing him to look him in the eye, studying the silver eyes closely.
Letting go of Aragorn as quickly as he had grabbed him, he looked around him and switched his speech to Elvish, making sure the men would not understand what was spoken.
"Well, that explains a lot, I think. At least now I know why Lord Elrond accepted a human so willingly all those years ago, you are kin after all, however distant. I should have seen it earlier though; your eyes are just too elvish. You even look somewhat like Elendil when one looks closely enough, tall for a human, just like he was…"
Aragorn was trying very hard to suppress the panic that was threatening to overtake him when he heard the elf's words; being the captive of a crazy elf was bad enough, but being the captive of a crazy elf who knew his true identity, that was a situation he really did not want to face.
He swallowed nervously and tried to speak with some conviction.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he stated, attempting to remain calm.
Nólad just laughed, an amused sparkle in his eyes.
"Ah, please, dúnadan, I'm not that stupid! I am not focused only on revenge and the past, I pick up quite a few things. For example the tale that the last of the House of Elendil was slain about twenty years ago and apparently no child of his survived. Then I see a young edan in front of me, raised in the House of Lord Elrond Half-Elven, with eyes definitely too elvish for a human, approximately twenty years of age and wearing the Ring of Barahir, and you expect me not to draw conclusions? Besides, I do not even need to do that to recognize the Heir of Isildur when I see him."
Aragorn just looked at him, not bothering to deny what the elf had said, for what could he possible say to invalidate what they both knew to be the truth?
"What do you plan to do then?" he asked as calmly as he could.
Nólad sat down on the log previously occupied by Seobryn and gazed at the young ranger thoughtfully.
"Nothing, young dúnadan, nothing. I would advise you to take off the ring and hide it though, there are others who might recognize it or desire it purely for its monetary value. I will keep this secret, for your sake."
"Why?" Aragorn asked, puzzled, "Why are you not reporting this to your lord? Why are you protecting me?"
The fair haired elf rose and prepared to leave, his light grey eyes boring into the young human's darker ones.
"Because, ranger, I do not hate you. I do what I have to do to serve my lord and friend, but I do not relish your pain or that of others. And because," he interrupted himself, his eyes adopting a look of sadness and hopelessness, "He would kill you if he ever found out you are of Elendil's bloodline. And it would be a slow and agonizing death, something which I do not wish on my worst enemy. You should be extremely careful, ranger. I can only keep this secret, I cannot protect you from Donyc or Cornallar should he discover who you are."
Giving him a mock bow, Nólad turned round and made his way back to the camp, assigning the duty to guard Aragorn to another human about thirty feet from them, telling the men to break camp and prepare to leave as soon as his lord had returned from his scouting trip.
Before his new guard could come close enough to see what he was doing, Aragorn slipped the ring off his finger and hastily hid it in one of the smaller pockets of his overcoat, hoping it would avoid detection there. Even if Nólad was right and Cornallar would kill him should he find the ring, for whatever reasons, he would not just throw something away that had been forged before the War of the Jewels and survived as an heirloom to his House for more than 6500 years.
Leaning back against the tree and closing his eyes once more, the ranger exhaled slowly and tried to calm his still racing heart. He did not feel at all comfortable knowing that someone other than his family and his closest friends knew about his heritage, but now he had no choice than to trust the fair haired elf to keep his promise.
'Ilúvatar!' he thought as he heard the man settle down onto the much used log, 'This is just getting steadily worse! Every time I think it's as bad as it can possibly get, something happens that proves me wrong. I don't even want to think about what will happen next! Legolas is right, as soon as he takes his eyes off me for a second, I somehow find myself in more trouble than either of us can possibly imagine!"
He opened his eyes again as he heard someone come closer, fixing a tired gaze on Donyc, who walked up to the tree the ranger was leaning against, grinning at him.
'A Elbereth! That's not fair!' He complained inwardly, suppressing the loathing and fear he felt every time the human commander approached him and meeting his gaze with calm composure, 'They could really hurry up a bit.'
Elrohir walked into his father's room to let him know they were ready to leave, just to be greeted by an empty room and a bed that looked as if it had not been used for quite some time.
The younger twin shook his head and turned on his heel, leaving the room and heading down the corridor into the other direction.
'I think we should force him to drink some of his own tea for a change,' he mused darkly, 'Or we should bribe the kitchens to slip some sleeping potion into his food.'
Elrohir made his way down the airy corridor, stopping in front of the room he knew his father would chose to stay in now: Estel's chambers. Every time Estel was out in the wilds or involved in another one of their hair-raising adventures with the Prince of Mirkwood, Elrond could be found on his human son's balcony, gazing at the night sky and worrying, even though he would not admit doing so.
'And sometimes,' Elrohir thought as he pushed open the door that led to his brother's room, 'He even forgets to return to his own room after a few hours. If we did that, he would have our hides!'
Walking soundlessly across the sunlit room that was relatively tidy for once, he pushed aside the curtains that moved lightly in the morning breeze and stepped onto the balcony.
Just like he had expected, he found Elrond there, leaning against the balustrade, his grey eyes gazing at nothing, looking tired and dejected.
Not wishing to startle him, Elrohir stepped next to his father, resting his elbow on the wooden railing and addressing him in a soft voice.
"We are ready to leave, ada. Isál and the others are already waiting in the courtyard. We have decided to travel back northwards to the beginning of the wilds and spread out, perhaps one of us will find a clue to which direction they took."
Elrond kept staring straight ahead and nodded soundlessly.
Elrohir sighed and decided that his father had spent more than enough time blaming himself. Placing a hand on his shoulder, the younger twin told Elrond,
"We will find them, ada, and we will make sure they regret having attacked him. Estel will be alright, father, he always is. You were right in what you told us yesterday evening; this was not our fault, and neither was it yours. You could not have known."
At that Elrond turned to look at his younger elven son, raising a dark eyebrow in disbelief.
"How could I not have known? I knew something was drawing close, I knew danger was approaching, and still I let you go! Estel was still not back to full strength, I should have forbidden him to leave the house! If it's not me who is to blame, then who is?"
Elrohir sighed and tightened his hold on his father's shoulder, smiling sadly.
'Isál is right,' he decided, 'The tendency to blame oneself is truly widespread in this fair house. The whole family does it, and even Legolas seems to have caught it. It's contagious.'
"That's not true, father, and you know it," he said aloud, gazing into his father's eyes, "We agreed yesterday that whoever has taken him has been planning this for a long time. They picked just the right spot at the right time, the ambush was laid too perfectly to have been a mere coincidence. If you had kept him back, they would just have waited a bit longer before striking; they knew what they were doing.
This was not your fault, ada. You could not have prevented it knowing as little as you did."
Elrond looked at his son and smiled at him with loving eyes.
"Just when have you grown so wise, Elrohir?" he asked softly, grasping his son's hand that still lay on his shoulder.
Elrohir gave his father a slightly forced grin as they turned round and went inside to meet with the search party in the courtyard.
"Well, after more than 2800 years something like this was to be expected, wouldn't you agree?"
"I had almost lost hope of it ever happening," Elrond told his son, giving him another smile.
"While there's life, there's hope. Never give up hope, father."
"I won't," Elrond whispered, following Elrohir out of the room.
Legolas moved swiftly down the road leading to Rivendell, enjoying the sunlight on his face. Sunlight, he decided, was truly something to be cherished, even though it made him feel uncomfortably warm, something to which he was not accustomed. Surprising how strongly the sun could still shine this time of year, the fair haired prince mused, shifting slightly in the saddle and biting back a gasp of pain that threatened to escape him when his side screamed in protest.
''Tis not the sun you feel, stupid elf,' a more realistic part of his mind stated, 'Elves are not bothered by the sun. It's the infection, the blade was poisoned after all.'
The rest of Legolas' mind reluctantly agreed; it was very unusual for him to feel hot, and the fact that he had slept until the sun was well on her way across the sky was not quite normal either. One more reason to make his way to Imladris as quickly as possible, he decided, wiping away the perspiration that had somehow accumulated on his brow.
Despite the fact that he felt rather weary despite the long rest he had taken, he forced himself to remain alert. An hour ago he had stopped at Amon Siril to refill his water skin, and had to his surprise found signs of a rather large party of riders that had camped there only a few days ago.
That fact would have been not too unusual, since Amon Siril was quite a popular camping place among elven hunting parties due to the spring and the easily defendable terrain, but this party had definitely been human, at least the majority of the tracks suggested so. Legolas had found a few signs that pointed to elvish presence, but he abandoned that theory quickly, since the humans had very obviously not been rangers, and why should an elf mix with ordinary humans? He was probably sicker than he thought and was beginning to misinterpret the simplest tracks.
The elven prince tried to imagine what Glónduil would say if he heard that he had thought an elf would travel with a human, and suppressed the wave of anger that swept over him. It would take him some time to get over his friend's words, that much was clear. And Legolas was not sure if he could ever forgive him, he had been hurt too deeply by Glónduil's collected prejudices against his human friend.
At the thought of Aragorn Legolas spurred his horse on again; he had not even noticed it had fallen into a slower gait. He shook his head slightly and thought,
'Lord Elrond will not even speak with me. He will only give me that look he usually reserves for Estel and the twins, and act as if I had done this on purpose, just to annoy him. Yet all know that nothing ever happened to me before I met Aragorn in the first place! Hundreds of years of existence without major disturbances and now, during the few years that I have known him, I have experienced more near-death situations than elves thrice my age!'
He shook his head sadly and decided that even though he sometimes acted as if the young human was to blame for this, he would give everything to be at his side now and help him.
'Without me,' he mused, 'That human is completely lost. And that is exactly what I'm going to tell him once I arrive in Imladris.'
Legolas lifted his head to study the road in front of him, just about a league away it disappeared into a little wood, the trees growing too densely for him to make out what was concealed by the dark trunks. He unconsciously reached for the bow on his back when he surveyed it more closely; something didn't feel right about the wood. Just as if something was in there, waiting for him to come within its grasp, something definitely hostile …
He tried to shrug off the feeling, accrediting it to the slight confusing that seemed to have infected his thoughts. The heat was causing him to see things that weren't really there, just like at Amon Siril.
'Well,' the prince decided and adjusted the position of the quiver on his back, 'It can't hurt to be prepared for all eventualities.'
Keeping a close eye on his surroundings, he made his way down the road, approaching the dark trees of the wood in front of him and trying to get rid of the feeling that he was missing something important.
Nólad leaned back against the trunk of the tree he was hiding in, barely able to believe his luck. Somehow, and he really had no idea how, the fair haired elf had missed his presence. He ran a hand through his own blonde hair, forcing himself to calm down and get off this tree as quickly as possible. His lord had asked him to go ahead of the rest of the men to scout the area; they didn't want to meet anyone to whom they would have to explain the presence of a bound ranger in their midst.
He was about half an hour ahead of the main group, and when he had reached the edge of the small wood the road was crossing, he had stopped his horse to climb a lone tree that stood on top of a small hill and offered an excellent view over the next few leagues. He had barely reached the top branches when he had seen a single rider approach, an elf, as he had soon found out, and to make things worse, an elf he knew only too well, even if they had never met face to face.
Nólad had frozen where he was when he had seen the prince lift his head and survey the small wood, but, to his unending surprise, he was sure he had not been detected. Shaking his head and climbing swiftly down the tree, he wondered what would cause Legolas Thranduilion to miss him in a position that should have been clearly visible to an elven eye.
'Well, I'm not complaining,' he thought as he rode down the path he had come only minutes ago, 'That should give me enough time to warn the others.'
After what felt like mere moments, he saw the first of the men appear, a questioning look on his face when he noticed the urgent expression on the fair haired elf's face. Nólad ignored him and continued to the end of the column, ordering the men to stop as he passed them. Finally reaching his friend's side, he told him, a bit breathless,
"We have a problem."
Cornallar took blazing eyes off the bound human who had very obviously just said something that had displeased him and turned to his companion.
"What do you mean? Is someone approaching?"
"Yes," Nólad nodded, fixing troubled grey eyes on his friend, "An elf is coming this way. He will have reached us in about twenty minutes, I think."
Aragorn felt the colour drain from his face as he heard the elf's words. A lone elf, that could only be Legolas, for the times grew dark and elves did scarcely stray too far from their realms alone. And the only elf they had been expecting had been his friend, travelling from Mirkwood to visit him. He suppressed the panic that was beginning to wrap itself around his heart, his friend wouldn't expect anything like this in his path, he would not be prepared for battle …
He barely heard the rest of the conversation, but listened closely when he heard Legolas' name being mentioned.
"…Prince Legolas. I don't know what he wants here, but he didn't see me, of that I'm sure. But he knows him," Nólad nodded in the direction of the still stunned human, "And he will cause trouble should he see him with us."
Cornallar stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Are you sure he didn't detect your presence?"
His friend nodded.
"Yes, my lord, I'm sure, but he will be here soon. What shall we do?"
"It's very simple, Master Elf: Kill him. Let him approach, wait for him to come close enough and then an arrow in the back. Quite easy, really," Donyc interrupted, an expectant gleam in his dark eyes.
Aragorn's head swivelled into the human's direction, eyes blazing with fury and hurting muscles tensing for action. He didn't care if he was killed in the process, but he would not allow them to just murder his friend like this.
"No, Master Human, I don't think that will be necessary," the dark haired elf told the human commander, giving him a cold stare, "I will not kill another elf, and royalty for that matter, without good reason. I think I have a better idea. Dismount and make camp, all of you, as quickly as possible."
Giving the humans that were just staring at him in confusion an authoritative glare, he jumped off his horse.
"Now!!"
The men were quick to obey, and soon they were in the process of hastily making camp on a small meadow to the left of the road. As Aragorn was roughly pulled off his horse, causing his side to protest fiercely, he could hear Donyc ask in confusion,
"Why? Why pitch camp here? He will be passing right through it in a few minutes!"
"Exactly, Donyc, and since there's no way we can avoid him, you will just be in plain sight, camping by the road like a group of huntsmen on their way home. Nólad and I will hide in the trees deeper in the forest," Cornallar explained quickly, whispering to his horse in Elvish, asking it to hide in the wood and return to them later.
Two of the men were just lighting a fire, and the rest was unsaddling the horses and spreading bed rolls out on the grass. Aragorn had to admit that it looked quite authentic, and since some larger hunting parties used to hunt in the twilight hours or at night, it wouldn't attract attention that they camped in broad daylight. He didn't know whether he should feel relieved or not by this last development, on the one hand he was glad they wouldn't try and kill Legolas, on the other hand, well, he had had just enough of Donyc's hospitality.
'Oh, and there's the fact that this crazy elf wants to capture my father, but otherwise I'm fine, no problem…' he thought sarcastically as he was pushed into Donyc's direction, who reached out and grabbed the young ranger's overcoat, pulling him closer.
When the dark haired elf saw the two elven horses disappear between the trees, he turned back to the human commander, gracing him with a stern glance.
"You must not harm the prince unless you have absolutely no other choice, and I mean no other choice, Donyc. We will be watching, and if I see that you hurt him unnecessarily, I will be most displeased. Do you understand?" he said, a threatening undertone in his voice.
Donyc averted his eyes and nodded, turning to the young ranger whose arm he'd still grabbed and who looked at him with undisguised hatred.
"What about him?"
Cornallar gave the young human a cold stare.
"Hide him. Make sure he keeps quiet until his little friend has passed through."
Donyc frowned and grinned at the young ranger, malicious glee shining in his eyes.
"That could be difficult, don't you think? I'm sure our intrepid hero here will seize every opportunity to alert his dear friend to his presence," he told the elf, an unspoken question in his eyes.
Cornallar flashed the dark haired man an evil smile before he turned and made his way quickly into the trees, Nólad right behind him.
"Alright then. Don't hit him too hard though," he called over his shoulder, disappearing in the colourful foliage.
Aragorn clenched his jaw and winced inwardly when he saw Donyc draw his sword and turn to him, clearly enjoying himself immensely.
He had just enough time for the thought that he was really getting tired of being hit this way before the hilt of the sword connected with the side of his head and sent him into unconsciousness.
TBC...
ada - father (daddy)
edan - human, man
dúnadan - 'Man of the West', ranger
What will happen? Will Aragorn suffer irreparable brain damage from being continuously hit on the head? (Readers: What?) Why is this evil elf so bloody angry? And will Legolas be harmed?? (Readers: WHAT????) All this and more here on FF.net, the more reviews I get the sooner! But I'll even ask nicely: Please? Just a few lines?
Additional A/N:
Alexa - I PROMISE that he'll get there in chapter 10! Really! I didn't say in what condition, but get there he will... *evil grin* And yes, you guessed it, the wound _is_ poisoned, and this time it wasn't even my fault! I never thought about poisoning the poor prince, but since a lot of people have asked if he was - who am I to disappoint my reviewers? Besides, it even explains a lot of things later on... *g* Well, I don't know... I have an idea for a sequel, but I don't know if I'll have the time for another story, but I'll think about it. And since this story will take some time yet (I think about 8-10 more chapters), I have lots of time! Thanks for the review!!
Carrie - Carrie - how many times have I told you not to do that? Elrond is always so upset when I get him back, it's impossible to work with him! *g* *narrows eyes* So you've been sick? Well ... poor ... you, then.... *huggles her* Great idea, btw! Blame Tolkien and not our unstable states of mind!! Speaking of which: Are you feeling well? "Leave them alone"?? Why should I? It's soooo much _fun_ writing this!! *evil grin* Well, not really though, I'll have to start ch12 tomorrow, and I'm NOT looking forward to it - I'm not C&S!!! But well, I'm doing my best... *evil cackle*
E - *sighs* Phew, I'm glad you don't eat stuff like that. But hey, you never know... *g* You're right, he's perfectly sweet! *huggles her baby Estel* And don't worry, he won't be sorry if/when (I haven't decided yet) Donyc gets killed, not after this ... and chapter 11 ... and chapter 12 ... Well, the letter will be there next chappie, I think, and I wholeheartedly agree: I would run as fast as possible in the opposite direction if I had done even a third of what THEY have done to Estel and Elrond finds out about it... *shudders* Angry elven lords. Not good.
Jitterbug - So you would die if you fell off your chair? Must be a pretty high chair, then... I would miss you though, and there are never enough reviews! NEVER!!! *shakes fist* Ahem, okay... *clears throat* Thanks a lot for the compliments, I try to update as quickly as possible! I hope you liked, ahm, loved this one as well!
Lievre - *glares at her* Cornallar is _not_, and I repeat, NOT a strange name for an elf! It is a _perfect_ name, especially since I invented it myself! It even means something, but NOW I'm not going to tell you! *gives Evil Glare Of Death* Yeah, Legolas is a bit strange (*ducks several things angry Legolas fans throw at her*), but since Estel is stubborn (*wink*), he will tease him mercilessly! Or he would, if he were at home and not with a troupe of evil men and elves... *evil grin* Thanks for the review! *hugs her* I'm always glad to 'see' a familiar face in the review crowd!
Acacia - *pats her back* No, you haven't ... Only the right review for this story, don't worry... Yup, Lord Elrond is NOT a happy camper right now - hmm, I don't think that will change for the rest of the story either... *evil grin* Yes yes yes, you'd wnat to know, wouldn't you? *smirks* Sorry, I can't tell you what's going to happen, I took an oath not to tell anything ... my lips are sealed... *g*
Aurienia - *looks at her suspiciously* How do you know they are gonna get hurt more? HOW? Did Elrohir tell you? I've told him so many times to keep quiet, but does he listen? NO! I will have to think of a suitable punishment... *g* Phew! *relieved* You won't choke me? That's always nice to hear... Thanks for reviewing!!!
Mouse - *bows* Thank you!! Thank you!! *latches onto her and hugs her* I'm glad you like it! Thanks! Well, yes, the what-did-Elrond-do-to-them-thing: More about that is coming up in the next chapter, but a full explanation (well, most of it) is in ch 11, I've just finished it. Poor elvies... *sobs*
ThE iNsAnE oNe - Calms down, breathe ... I only said that I would have to hurt him a bit more, not send him into a coma or something... Hm, coma...interesting idea though... *evil grin* Well, Estel is relatively unhurt if you ask me - I mean really, a few scrapes and bruises, a few cracked ribs and a concussion - that's nothing!!! There's more to come! Mhahahaha!! And write more of your story! More more more!! I have to know what happens!! Please?
Kaeera - *g* Wer hat die beiden denn nicht gern? *knuddelt sie* Tja, koennte vielleicht wirklich daran liegen, dass ich keine Orchesterprobe viermal die Woche habe... Ich schreibe so ungefaehr drei Tage an einem Kapitel, manchmal aber auch vier oder fuenf. Ich versuche aber, mind. 2 Kapitel voraus zu bleiben, falls mir mal was dazwischenkommen sollte... Danke fuer all die lieben Worte *laesst die Zwillinge los und knuddelt Kaeera stattdessen*! Mehr Drama kommt ... eigentlich in jedem Kapitel, also keine Angst! *g*
Alilacia - *grins smugly* Yes, Donyc is NOT a nice person, is he? I do love writing him though - does that make me evil? I guess so... LOL, Legolas attracts trouble better than a high powered searchlight? *snickers* You could say that... Oh, and I'd advise you not to go after them, I wouldn't like it, Elladan wouldn't like it, and, last but not least, I don't think Cornallar would like it! Nor would Donyc... *g*
Miss Undastood - Thank you! Well, Estel is about 22/23 years old, this takes place about III 2953. Thanks for all your lovely reviews, hope you liked this one as well!
Shandrial - Yes, there are not a lot stories about our favourite elf lord, huh? Well, I decided a long time ago that that was very unfair - even though he looks suspiciously like Agent Smith. That's not his fault, I guess... *g* Later on he might even get to do something else than worry or patch them up, imagine! *g*
Halo - *makes a wild grab for the plushie* Gimme that!! I posted, so ... *huggles Frodo plushie* Owww, you made him, just for me? That's soooooo sweet! *lets go of Frodo plushie and hugs Halo instead* I post as fast as I can! *pouts* _You_shouldn't be complaining! But I'm glad you like it!! *huggles her again* Thanks!
Stasia - Well, a few of them might die indeed a very painful death - I mean, Legolas's got to kill one or two of them once he finds them! Hasn't he? *snickers* About the body parts ... my sister really wanted me to have Cornallar cut off a finger! Can you believe that? She said otherwise it wouldn't be serious enough... And don't worry, there are at least eight more chapters coming, perhaps even ten or twelve ... knowing me, perhaps even more. I _tried_ to get Legolas to Rivendell by ch 8, and you see how that one worked out... *g* Thanks for reviewing! *huggles her* I LOVE long reviews!
Lina - LOL, 'unrestrained, but manly sobs'?? Only a Rohirrim could manage that... *g* Hey, I'm glad you liked the little dwarves! Later in the story they even get reinforcements... *evil grin* Hm... *strokes chin thoughtfully* ... right now I don't know which one I hate more, Cornallar or Donyc ... They are both evil, I guess ... *g* Don't be too hard on Éomer, he is a little stupid - but you have to admit, he stopped you every single time you wanted to kill one of the villains! Good work!!! *g*
Zam - *looks at confetti* Not again ... I can still remember what my mother said about the last party you've thrown me... *shudders at mere thought* But thanks, I guess!! *huggles Zam and orc horde* Thanks! And don't give my baby a 'nudge'! He cannot do anything!! He's hurt and injured and there are mean evil men and elves all around him and ... *takes a deep breath* Let's just say he can't. *glares at Zam* Don't even _think_ about saying "Pornallar". Don't think it! It's a forbidden term, from now on... *g* Legolas in a mother hen costume? Uhm, an ... interesting thought ... *g* The review was great! Nice and long and perfect and ... Thanks!!
Jenny - Yes, his delay will prove useful - it will make him feel guilty to no end!*cackles evilly* Ooops, I didn't say that, just ignore it, okay? Thanks for all your reviews!
Ciria - *ducks a pineapple* What the heck? Well Stan is Stan because ... do you know Monty Python: The Life of Brian? If you do, then you'll know... *g* Well, our fav evil elf has only two elves and a lot of nasty mercenary men, and about his motives: It's all coming in the next two chapters, I figured that you'd all kill me if I didn't tell you after more than ten chapters... *g* Dammit, I'd hoped nobody would notice... Well, I'm not really sure about the visions - I just felt that Legolas needed some extra motivation ... Let's just say that it's a singular event and won't repeat itself, he's not Elrond after all... Owww, thank you! *huggles fluffy bunny* Can you it fluffy bunnies? Hey, just kidding!! *g*
ManuKu - *schnippisch* Ja, und IHR seid schon bei Kapitel 6 und der arme Legolas vegetiert noch immer mit Galadriel Fuessen vor sich hin! Was ist besser, frage ich dich??? *g* *guckt sich stolz um* Ja, meine beiden Fieslinge mag ich auch... *taetschelt Elben den Kopf* Donyc allerdings kann ich nicht leiden, diesen Fiesling... *denkt an das, was mit Aragorn noch passiert* Na ja, Cornallar eigentlich auch nicht.... Danke fuer deine lieben reviews, ich freue mich immer ganz doll!! *knuddelt ManuKu* Danke!
Dragonsgirl22 - Owww, thank you, the greatest reward is to get so many nice reviews! LOL, I love reviews, I know, surprise, you'd never have guessed... *g* And, actually, this chapter is 9 ½ pages long. I tried to write each chapter in about 8 pages, but have given up long ago, now I'm happy when they are no longer than ten each! But I update frequently!! *g*
Trustingfriendship - That's a nice name! Very sweet! *grins happily* I'm glad you like it, and don't worry, they will pay them back for every single bruise - eventually ... Thanks a lot for the review!
Imbefaniel - Yes, a lot of people liked the green hair - all but Elladan. Don't ask me, I don't get it either. He's a very weird elf... *g* Thanks for your kind words and I hope you liked this bit as well!
*huggles all reviewers* Thanks a lot for the encouragement! It's great to know what people think about your story - and sometimes they even give you wonderful ideas - like poisoning poor innocent elven princes... *evil grin*