Disclaimer: For full disclaimer, please see chapter 1.
A/N:
*grins evilly*
Wow, Cornallar and Donyc are _really_ popular at the moment, aren't they? I have stopped counting the reviews that essentially said "Kill them slowly"... *g* It's understandable. They are evil, after all - but it's so much fun writing them!! I'm not normal, I know...
Well, for those who didn't know already: On March 19th I'll go and visit some friends in good ol' England, and will stay for about a month.
No, don't panick, and put down your weapons!! Now!!
*swallows nervously* Okay, don't worry, I will not stop posting, and I'll try to finish the story before that date. At the very worst I'll have to take it with me and post when I'm there, but since I don't know if I'll have access to the 'net, I can't promise to update as frequently as I do now.
It's just a friendly little warning, I hope to finish it before then. But hey, you never know, especially with these characters, they just refuse to shut up... *g*
Okay, here is chapter 14, which has lots of Legolas and the twins. *Legolas fans do happy little dances*
But ... well ... it's a bit of a cliffhanger ... I don't know what happened either ... you know Legolas, it's as if he's LOOKING for trouble ... *Legolas fans take out various weapons and advance angrily upon shaking author*
*shrugs and grabs her pink earmuffs*
Hey, it's sooo much fun to write cliffies!
Have fun and review, please!
Chapter 14
The bright sunlight that was only being amplified by the soft white blanket of snow that covered everything in sight caused Nólad to squint and almost wish for a nice, dark snowstorm. He quickly abandoned that thought though; while he would be fine by himself, a snowstorm this high up the mountains would prove disastrous for a lot of the humans. Not that he would feel particularly sorry for the edain, he thought, pulling his cloak a bit tighter around himself, but the horses had done nothing to deserve freezing to death or plummeting down a frozen mountainside.
He took a quick glance behind him to make sure all the men were still following; after he'd nearly lost the last two of the column about an hour ago, he wasn't prepared to take that risk again.
'Well,' he thought with a small grin as he turned back to keep an eye on the road, 'At least that incident has given me an excuse for sending that insufferable human to the back. Valar, sometimes I truly feel tempted to listen to Cornallar and have some 'fun' with Donyc. And somehow I'm sure he wouldn't last as long as the dúnadan did.'
These thoughts reminded him of the unconscious body he held up in front of him with his left arm, and he reached round to place his hand on the ranger's forehead. It was a little hot, but not alarmingly so. It had been almost unavoidable that the young human would get a slight infection, at least with the simple treatment the elf had been able to give him and without the rest his body needed.
'That is not my problem,' he decided inwardly, 'As long as he survives, I don't care.'
A second later he felt the unconscious man in front of him begin to stir. Nólad raised an eyebrow as he guided his horse around a sharp bend in the path; he was curious if the ranger would manage to stay awake for a longer period this time. Donyc and his men had succeeded in waking him this morning, but judging by the glazed look of his eyes he hadn't been really there. When they had hoisted him on top of the horse, the young human had uttered a small cry of pain and collapsed again, falling unconscious over the neck of the horse.
They were really a weak race, humans.
'Perhaps that's not really fair,' a more rational part of the fair haired elf commented when he heard a small moan and saw the human struggle to open his eyes, 'Donyc has probably hit him in the ribs again. That'd be just like him.'
Aragorn's body was on fire. He didn't really know how, or why, but what he knew for certain was that every single fibre of his being hurt. Even his hair. He didn't know that one's hair could hurt. After a while he sensed a jolting movement that seemed to increase the discomfort he was in considerably, and concentrated his jumbled thoughts on finding out what it was. His first thought was that the cave trolls behind his forehead had relocated and were banging him against a solid rock wall enthusiastically. He quickly abandoned that silly idea though, for it was clear that they were still busy smashing his brain to bits, supported by the dwarves who had apparently invited all their friends and family and had exchanged their pick-axes for sledgehammers.
Remembering from experience that it would get better once he had managed to open his eyes, he struggled with his eyelids that determinedly refused to cooperate and finally managed to pry them open a bit. When the first stab of bright white light sliced through his brain, he hurriedly squeezed his eyes shut again as he fought down the nausea that rose inside him, deciding that for the first time in his life his eyelids had proven to have more common sense than the rest of him.
Slowly more and more information managed to get past the dwarves and trolls through to his brain, and he found that he was apparently on horseback, which explained the jarring motions from earlier. There was something that kept him upright though, something that right now pressed down on his ribs, sending waves of pain up and down his chest. The pain in combination with the touch of someone on his ribs brought back blurred images of sneering faces and fists that smashed into him, accompanied by a blinding pain that seemed to consume every bit of his back…
In an instant remembering what had happened, he jerked upright, adrenaline surging through his body and giving him enough strength to open his eyes and lift his head. What he had identified by now as an arm that was wrapped around him tensed and shifted slightly to keep him on the horse, tightening around his abused chest and sending a stab of pain through his ribcage that caused him to double over and moan in pain. Still intent on escaping, he tried to move his arms just to find them once again secured behind his back. Only now he noticed that this position made his right shoulder ache fiercely and that the weight of his arms and hands on the torn skin of his back did nothing to lessen the pain there.
'Besides, I am cold. Elbereth, I have never felt so cold in my life! Oh, and hungry. But other than that, I am fine, thank you very much,' he thought ironically as he wriggled around, ignoring the pain and trying to get a look at the person's face that sat in the saddle behind him. The last thing he needed now was to be on a horse with Donyc.
He relaxed a bit when he heard a soft elven voice in his ear.
"Naa sal', dúnadan. Uuma karna amin fain lle."
Obediently he stilled his movements, taking a good look at his surroundings. Now that he saw the stony terrain to his left and the bottomless chasm to his right, he suddenly wasn't so intent on getting off the horse as quickly as possible.
He tried to find his voice, which sounded hoarse and weak, even to his own ears.
"Where are we?" he asked in the grey tongue, both because he didn't want the men he had seen behind them to understand what he said and because it was easier right now to concentrate on the language of his childhood, considering that he felt as if he had angered a wizard and faced the consequences.
"In the Misty Mountains, young one. Tomorrow evening we will have crossed them, and the day after that we will reach our destination," Nólad explained.
"That is … not good," Aragorn mumbled softly, his mind going in circles.
He wasn't sure what would happen once they got to wherever they were going, but he was quite sure he didn't want to find out either. Taking a good look around, he counted the horses that rounded a fallen boulder behind them, suppressing a shiver when Donyc looked at him and gave him a grin, and frowned. Cornallar and four men were missing. Deciding that he could hardly worsen his situation by asking, he turned back to the fair haired elf.
"Where are the others?"
The elf behind him smiled slightly.
"Inquisitive yet again, ranger? You are stubborn, Donyc is correct there. Although he didn't quite put it in such … polite terms."
"I can imagine," the young human said softly, wincing inwardly and closing his eyes against the not so faint echoes of the vivid pain he still felt when he remembered Donyc's face towards the end, when he had still refused to plead him to stop. He had been in too much agony then to even think clearly, let alone had enough air to say something, but he could still see the rage in the other man's eyes that shone brightly with the promise that he would make him beg, sooner or later.
'And if he ever gets his hands on you again, he will pick up exactly where he left off,' the part of his brain Aragorn was beginning to loathe told him.
"To answer your question: They have gone to meet with your ada . They will join us again in a few days, if everything goes according to plan," the elf explained patiently.
Aragorn froze in fear, pondering the elf's words while fighting the panic that rose inside of him.
'Well done. Now father is walking into a trap because of me, and I will not be able to warn him. That crazy elf is going to do Valar-know-what to him, and I can't help him. Had I only been swifter, or stealthier, then I would have managed to escape and would be well on my way home right now! I have failed him, once again…'
Nólad noticed the way his arm was digging into the other's side and moved it slightly so it wouldn't press onto the human's ribs with every step the horse took. Watching the man take an easier breath, he said,
"We have a long journey ahead of us, dúnadan. We will not stop till nightfall, if the humans can keep up, that is. Try to move as little as possible, I do not want to topple down the mountain because of you, nor do I want my bandages to tear. Understood?"
Aragorn nodded slowly, the memories he had of last night – and he thanked the Valar they were few – making more sense now. He could remember waking up to a world of pain and darkness, and the face of Legolas, swimming in and out of focus, soothing him and telling him that everything would be alright. So it hadn't been Legolas after all, but he had already known that, for the first thing he had done after waking was to make sure if his friend was still with him, and Legolas would never have left him behind. He hadn't imagined things then last night, it had been Nólad, caring for his wounds.
Inclining his head slightly to the fair haired elf, he said softly,
"Thank you."
"You are welcome, ranger," Nólad replied, taken aback, and to his surprise he found that he meant it.
Elrohir sat next to the small fire they had kindled some time ago, staring into the dancing flames. His mind was completely absorbed in the play of the flames that licked at the dry wood, consuming the fuel greedily bit by bit. It was almost like a plague, the twin decided, spreading and never stopping until all it touched had been turned into cold grey ashes.
At the sound of a soft rustling noise in the trees behind him he turned, expecting to see Legolas return from his turn to keep watch over the camp their father and his "guide" had pitched. When he could see nothing, he turned back to the fire, only to jump up in shock and grasp his knife when he saw a figure crouched in front of him.
Drawing the dagger with his right, he was just about to challenge the creature and more than willing to cut its throat should it be necessary, he blinked and took a closer look at said creature that broke into a wide grin and started chuckling merrily. Wondering for a moment if anyone would believe him if he killed him now and claimed that had been an accident to be blamed to the fact that he had been startled later, he returned the blade to its sheath and dropped back to the ground, glaring at the being across the fire.
"By the Valar, Legolas, will you stop that insane giggling already!" he exclaimed after a few seconds when the other elf showed no inclination to stop laughing any time soon.
"I-I am sorry, m-my friend, but y-you should have s-s-seen the look on your f-face!" the elven prince gasped in between fits of laughter.
The younger twin didn't look amused at all.
"One of these days, my friend, you will find that someone will exercise less restraint than me and will kill you where you stand."
Legolas didn't look too impressed at that threat.
"Oh, I don't know, mellonamin. Celylith said just the same thing a short while ago, in exactly the same tone of voice I might add, and I'm still alive, am I not? Besides, killing a prince is considered high treason. "
Elrohir mumbled something undistinguishable under his breath; all the prince was able to catch was "No, it isn't, not without any witnesses present" and "… proof that sometimes, crime does pay".
Aloud he said,
"Now I see what happened to you on your way to Rivendell, my friend. You tried to sneak up on the goblins, and since they are not of our kind and not bound by our laws, they decided to do the rest of Arda a favour and get rid of you for us. Remind me to thank the survivors later… Really, Legolas, I thought you had outgrown that childish urge when you turned 2000!"
The other elf shook his head, flicking a braid out of his face.
"Nay, there are some things you never grow too old for!"
Both of them turned serious again, staring into the flames. After a while the dark haired twin raised his head and looked at his friend.
"Has anything happened while you were there? And, more importantly, did father sense you?"
Legolas returned the gaze, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
"I wouldn't be here if he had, would I? No, I would already be on my way to the Halls of Mandos to join my forefathers, trying to come up with a way to explain to my grandfather why Lord Elrond Peredhil had seen it fit to strangle me."
Elrohir chuckled at that, turning serious rather quickly when he realized that getting strangled was a real possibility if his father detected their presence.
"He wouldn't," he said weakly, his voice lacking any conviction whatsoever.
The fair haired elf looked at him, raising the eyebrow even higher.
One day, Elrohir decided grumpily, the brow would disappear into the prince's hairline, never to be seen again.
"Very well, you are right. He would," he amended quickly. "And you left Elladan alone? Are you sure that was a good idea?"
Legolas glowered at his companion as he remembered the little incident that had occured a few hours earlier. It was truly a miracle those two had survived their first millennium at all…
"I don't think this is a good idea," Legolas announced, watching his friends fidget in the trees next to his, once in a while sending a shower of golden leaves to the ground. The twins were more than capable in a tree, even if not to the same extent than wood-elves, but right now they appeared to be too nervous to sit still for even a minute. They shifted around, reminding the prince a lot of Estel when this high up a tree.
While Elrohir ignored him and didn't take his eyes off the road their father would need to take, Elladan kept mumbling under his breath, something which he had done for the past two hours they had spent here, waiting for the Lord of Imladris to pass through.
While normally any escort Lord Elrond could have brought with him wouldn't have known where they needed to hide themselves, the three young elves knew exactly which way the kidnappers would take. Or they hoped they did, thanks to the fact that Legolas had stumbled over the main group that had been heading into the direction of the Misty Mountains.
So they had given the fork a wide berth to the north and had hidden here, a few leagues to the west, where they could watch the road and follow the elf lord and those who would accompany him.
Actually, it was a rather good plan, were it not for the fact that the twins and especially Elladan couldn't keep still, too deep ran their worry for their brother and father.
Sighing, Legolas turned to Elladan, finally losing his patience.
"Alright, my friend, what is it?"
Elladan turned to his friend after sending a fearful glance down into the direction of the road.
"This cannot be normal!"
That statement caught even his twin's attention.
"What cannot be normal, brother? Hiding in a tree like highwaymen waiting for our own father to appear in an attempt to save our little brother from a crazy elf lord with a vendetta against said father? What do you mean, 'not normal'?"
Ignoring his brother's attempts at sarcasm, the older twin brushed aside the words as invalid.
"No, that's not what I meant, that's normal enough. But it cannot be normal that I'm sitting here and should be worried for Estel, and father, and for us if that Cornallar catches us, and all I can think of is what we will say if ada gets a hold of us!
That cannot be normal! I mean, I would gladly face orcs, or trolls, or even an úlair or two, but to tell father that we, or let's say I, since he put the responsibility for the whole of Rivendell on me, have knowingly disobeyed his orders … No, I think death is much more desirable."
That statement, in connection with the grave tone of Elladan's voice, caused the other two to burst into laughter, shaking the trees and causing them to shower their leaves.
Once he had regained his breath somewhat, Legolas straightened up again, still holding onto the tree for support, and was just about to reply when his keen eyes came to rest on two figures that approached them, coming swiftly closer.
"Hush, calm yourselves!" he hissed to his two friends. "They are coming! If they catch us because of you, I will shift all the blame on you and claim diplomatic immunity!"
After a second he added, thoughtfully, "But I think it is normal, mellonamin. Everything is better than facing your own father having to admit that you disobeyed his orders!"
Legolas hid the grin that was threatening to show on his face. They had very nearly got caught by Lord Elrond, but he was sure the human had not noticed anything.
He fell silent again, staring into the flames. After a while he heard his friend's soft voice, telling him,
"You did the right thing, you know."
The prince shook his head doubtfully.
"I don't know, Elrohir. Your father asked me not to leave Rivendell, he told me to keep an eye on you and that he would be most displeased if I ripped open his stitches. He trusted me to keep my word, and I have broken it at the first opportunity that presented itself. Why do I always do that?" he asked, despair in his eyes. "Why do I always disappoint those who are dear to me? Aragorn, and my father, and your father, and…"
His monologue was interrupted when his friend sighed loudly.
"Please, mellonamin, not again! Elladan claimed he had talked with you about that! Very well then, let me repeat it once again: It – was – not – your – fault. Nothing of this was your fault! If even I and Elladan have understood by now that we are not to blame for all this, then a prince like yourself should be more than capable of doing the same! Thanks to you we were able to follow them in the first place! And, concerning the word you have broken to my father: How are you feeling?"
"What?" Legolas asked, perplexed.
"How are you feeling? Does your side hurt? Have you ripped your stitches?"
"Well, no, and thank you, it does not hurt much, but I don't see what…"
"Excellent, that is dealt with then!" Elrohir interrupted him, not listening to his sounds of protest. "You feel well and you didn't rip your stitches. He won't be able to hold that against you. And the other thing: He told you to keep an eye on us, didn't he?"
The prince nodded mutely, impressed by his friend's skill to reason himself out of anything.
"Very good, my friend, so you did exactly what he told you to do! Since there was no way you could have stopped us, you did the only thing possible and accompanied us, in the hope of dissuading us or in the very least to make sure we don't get ourselves in trouble or do anything foolish."
Elrohir frowned in thought, rethinking what he had just said.
"No, that sounds a bit too exaggerated, we need to polish that up a bit…"
With that the younger twin leaned back in thought, trying to come up with the perfect excuse for his friend should his father catch them.
Legolas watched him for a while before he turned his attention back to the dying embers of the fire, shaking his head and wondering for a moment if it was not maybe a good thing that the twins didn't have control over Rivendell all by themselves.
Elrond was watching the man closely, fully aware of the fact that this made the human feel extremely nervous. He had done nothing else for the past day, and even though it gave him a certain satisfaction to see the man squirm, it was not really productive. While they had been camping yesterday evening the elf lord had tried to get some information out of him by all means available to him, including the look that tended to have some effect even on Glorfindel, but without success: The human kept silent as if Cornallar himself was sitting behind him, ready to cut his throat lest he made any attempts to speak.
'Well, whatever has happened during the last few millennia, Cornallar certainly hasn't lost his ability to make an impression on people, especially humans. This one wouldn't tell me anything even if I threatened to cut him into little pieces and feed him to a bunch of orcs.'
Elrond stifled a sigh and looked around himself, assessing if there was anyone nearing their position. They had stopped next to an old tree by the road a little more than three hours away from Amon Siril, and the man had informed him that his orders were to bring him here and wait for his employer to meet with them. The Lord of Rivendell shifted his gaze back onto the human, who hastily dropped his eyes and studied his dusty boots. Fighting down the anger and fear for the well being of his human son, he closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree trunk behind his back. Despite the man's assurances that Estel was fine, Elrond knew that this was a lie, or at least glossed over. He was sure that he had been truthful when he said that his human son was alive, but there had been a flicker in the human's eyes that belied any other statements he made about the young man's health.
'Ilúvatar, please let him be alright! I could never forgive myself if something happened to him because of a vendetta against me that has its beginnings long before his last 38 ancestors were even born! I couldn't bear losing him so soon, and the consequences for all of Middle-Earth would be disastrous if Elendil's line ended now…'
Elrond's musing were cut short when he heard the sounds of approaching horses, and he opened his eyes and got to his feet, startling the human who hadn't heard anything.
The dark haired elf straightened himself and locked all his feelings, including the overwhelming worry he felt for his son into a remote corner of his mind in an attempt to concentrate on the present. He would not give Cornallar the satisfaction to see how much he suffered.
Soon five horses came into view, and Elrond's eyes wandered quickly over the faces of four humans before locking onto the familiar face of his old advisor. He looked just the way he remembered, apart from the fact that he was not wearing the precious robes indicating his status as he had done in Imladris. But then again, they might prove to be a bit impractical when one was riding through Arda kidnapping people, Elrond told himself wryly.
The horses stopped just in front of them, the humans hanging back a bit, eyeing the two elves warily. For a long time the two dark haired elves just stared at each other, grey eyes boring into dark ones. After a while the silence grew heavy, and finally, Cornallar opened his mouth to speak.
"Lord Elrond," he nodded his head in mock respect, "Such a joy to see you after all this time."
Elrond didn't respond to that, not being in the mood for any of the other elf's games.
"Where is my son?" he asked, his voice cold enough to freeze the fires of Mount Doom.
Cornallar, however, seemed to be quite unimpressed, for he laughed loudly and dismounted, his burning eyes not leaving Elrond's face.
"Ah, you mean the little edan, I guess? He's not here, though I have to admit that he's quite resilient, for one of their kind. Stubborn, too."
The Lord of Rivendell had to force himself not to step forward, take a hold of the other's tunic and shake him till he told him what he wanted to know.
"What have you done to him?" he asked, his eyes darkening with the promise of instant death should anyone admit to having hurt the ranger.
The dark haired elf grinned, a cold, amused grin that Elrond could remember only too well.
"I? I have done nothing to him, my lord," he stressed the title mockingly. "I have left that to my dear friend Donyc, you know who he is? I'm sure our dear little prince has told you all about the men he encountered on his way to you. Well, Donyc has taken a certain dislike to your son, I'm afraid – he doesn't like to beg, does he?"
Elrond clenched his teeth and took a step closer to Cornallar, hands balling to fists at his sides.
"If you have harmed him, Cornallar, I swear by Eärendil's light that I will…"
Cornallar's grin faded, the hatred etched on his face intensifying as he stepped closer until their faces were only inches apart.
"Yes? You will do what?" he hissed tauntingly. "You have no power over me, o Master of Rivendell! You cannot order me around like you used to do in the past! I am the one in control now, do not forget this! With one word I can make sure your beloved son dies a painful death and you can do nothing to prevent it! How does it feel to know someone else holds the life of your son in his hands and is about to crush it?"
The Lord of Imladris took several deep breaths, trying to combat the hatred that was beginning to fill his whole being. He would make sure his former counsellor paid dearly for what he had done to Aragorn.
"But you will not," he stated with more confidence in his voice than he really felt.
Cornallar blinked at this statement, regaining his control somewhat.
"How very perceptive of you!" he teased the elf lord, another smile spreading across his face. "No, my lord, I will indeed not, at least not yet. It would be cruel not to let you say goodbye to your little edan , wouldn't it?"
Turning away from the Elrond, he fixed his eyes on the human who had brought the other elf here and who dropped his eyes to the ground quickly, deciding that after this thing was over, he never wanted to see an elf again. Beautiful they might be, but that was no compensation for the rest of their habits, for example their attempts to burn holes into others with their eyes.
"Are you being followed?" he asked the man, studying him closely.
"No, sir, not that I know of," the human stated without raising his eyes. "He was alone when I came to meet with him, and I would have been able to see anyone for miles."
"His weapons?" Cornallar inquired, knowing full well how much it irked the other elf to be spoken about as if he were a mindless object or a child.
The man stepped closer to his employer and handed him the blades he had just removed from his horse's back, stepping back again quickly. Cornallar pulled the sword out of its sheath a few inches, admiring the craftsmanship. Turning back to Elrond, he gave him a humourless smile and asked,
"You just had to take this one, hadn't you? Well, Gil-galad had a sense for beautiful weapons, that much I grant him. Such a pity he got himself killed, isn't it? I should probably feel honoured that my son has such illustrious company, shouldn't I?" he asked the other elf mockingly, watching with satisfaction as the Lord of Rivendell fought for composure when he heard the degrading comments about his dead friend and king.
He stepped closer, drawing the blade and letting the bluish metal of the blade rest against Elrond's neck, drawing a little blood.
"Let me make one thing clear, my lord: If you try to escape or get help, I will kill you and then your beloved human son. If you attack me or one of my men, exactly the same will happen. If you want to see him one last time, I advise you to do exactly as I say. Understood?" he asked, the hatred on his face distorting the fair features.
Elrond nodded slowly, glaring back at him, oblivious to the steel that was still biting into his flesh.
"Understood," he echoed, his eyes dark with hate.
Cornallar wheeled on his heel, a look of disappointment flashing across his face, stowed Elrond's weapons away and mounted his horse, looking down on the other elf who hadn't moved an inch.
"Well, after you, my lord," he spat, motioning Elrond to mount his horse.
Elrond complied and rode on into the direction of the Misty Mountains, encircled by the five humans and feeling Cornallar's heated gaze bore into his back, praying to Elbereth that he would arrive in time to somehow save his youngest son.
The sounds of the forest quietened for the second time in less than an hour, but they didn't hush completely and the birds soon began their song anew, as if they tried to convince the slowly setting sun to linger above the horizon a little longer. Soon the reason for this short interruption of nature's song could be seen when three elves rode up the path that led through the little wood, two dark haired and resembling each other to the point of total identity while the other was as fair as the others were dark.
One of the dark haired elves turned towards his identical companion, frowning at him.
"And I still say, brother, that they behave too carelessly! They have been riding on like this ever since they met with each other, without sending out scouts or anything! From what I remember about Cornallar, he was one of the most intelligent advisors father ever had! It is not like him to act like this!"
Before the other elf had time to reply, their fair haired companion spoke up, obviously intent on preventing an argument.
"You are right, Elrohir, but we cannot get any closer without your father or Cornallar noticing anything. We are quite high up the mountains already, and in the open terrain it will get even worse. If my memory serves me right, we should shortly reach the abandoned mines, the ones we call Nogrodrim in Mirkwood. Have you ever been there?"
His other companion interrupted him, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.
"No, Legolas, he has not, and neither have I. Have you? I did not know our Silvan brethren were so fond of caves! But then again, I seem to remember a friend of yours, who was it, Glónduil? He was wild about spiders, if I remember correctly…"
"You do not, mellonamin," Legolas corrected him. "It is Celylith you speak of. And he is … a special case," he added with a smile. "But yes, I have been there, once, when I was an extremely foolish young elfling. I nearly broke my neck in there, it is a miracle I ever came out again!"
"Let me guess: King Thranduil was not happy when he heard about it," his dark haired friend chuckled.
"Fathers never are when you disobey them, are they, Elladan?" Elrohir added gloomily when the elven prince shook his head.
"O Ilúvatar, stop it already!" Elladan snapped at his younger twin. "He won't find out, alright? And when he finally does, he will be too happy to see us alive to kill us! You start sounding like Erestor!"
"What did he say?" Legolas asked, curiosity in his voice. He had wondered for the past day how Elladan had managed to convince Lord Elrond's chief advisor to actually let them go.
"Oh, something like: 'Absolutely not, my lord, you cannot! Your father has told me where he is going, and he expressly wished for you to stay here! Think of your responsibility!'" Elladan managed to imitate the older elf's tone of voice so perfectly that his companions burst out laughing.
"I told him that everything would be fine with him and the council looking after things, and that they should send word of what we were doing to Lórien to grandmother. There he grew quite … agitated, I'm afraid. I'm not sure what frightened him more: The prospect of having to tell ada that he let us go, or to tell the Lady Galadriel that he lost her son-in-law and three of her grandchildren, and the only heir to the throne of Mirkwood. He was not happy, believe me!" the older twin recounted, starting to grin as well.
Elrohir looked at his brother, raising a dark brow in question.
"And how did you convince him to let us go?"
At that Elladan looked quite uncomfortable and began to shift in his saddle.
"Well, if you have to know … I ordered him. Since father had stated in no uncertain terms that I was to be considered Lord of Rivendell, there was nothing Erestor could do once I ordered him to let us go and stop wringing his hands."
Elrohir closed his eyes and moaned, while Legolas was laughing so hard that he was almost sliding off his horse.
"Elbereth, no! Father is going to kill us! You didn't say that to him, did you?"
Before the older twin could answer, they rounded a bend in the road and reached a small clearing, on whose one side a dark, looming hole in the mountainside could be seen. To the left and right of it there were other openings, but smaller and not accessible anymore, rock slides had closed them off countless years ago.
As if on cue the three reined in their horses, surveying the scene in front of them. Something was off, a feeling of concealed danger permeated the whole area.
Legolas looked at his friends quickly.
"Let us get off the path. There is something wrong he…"
He never got to finish that sentence, since right at that moment an arrow whistled past his head and imbedded itself in the neck of Elrohir's horse, felling the shrieking animal in an instant and burying its rider under it as it fell.
Elrond narrowed his eyes and decided to finally swallow his pride and ask. Since they had stopped an hour ago and the men had disappeared the way they had just come, he had been mentally debating if he should ask the other elf what was going on. Even though he didn't want to give him the satisfaction to hear him beg him for an answer, the feelings of dread that had taken up residence in the pit of his stomach demanded answers, now.
"Where have they gone?" he asked, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible.
At the sound of his voice Cornallar looked up, a snide grin on his face.
"Finally!", he exclaimed and rose to his feet, walking up to his horse and fiddling with his saddle bags. "And I was beginning to fear that you'd never ask! Well, they have gone to lay a little trap for your dear twin sons and their friend, the esteemed Prince of Mirkwood."
Elrond just stared at him, his heart plummeting into his stomach with a frightening speed.
Cornallar turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow in mock surprise.
"What, you didn't know? They've been following us for the whole day. You didn't really think that they'd let their precious ada leave to face the evil Cornallar all by himself, now did you? When I first set eyes on them I realized that they'd never leave their beloved little edan behind."
He walked up to the elf lord whose face had turned an almost ashen grey by now.
"Well, you know the cave system of Nogrodrim, don't you? We passed it an hour ago, and right now they will do the same, or should I say, not quite? Because my men will be there, distracting them and driving them into the caves."
Elrond blinked, his mind slowly grasping the concept that he was not about to loose one, but all three of his sons and Legolas as well.
"No…" he whispered softly, desperately searching Cornallar's face for a sign that this was nothing but another cruel game of his.
Cornallar grinned, relishing the pain he saw in the other elf's eyes.
"Oh yes, my lord. And you know what the best part is? Two of the men I sent back were stonemasons down in the south before they had an … argument with some of the other workers. Something about stolen tools, I believe. However, these two have taken a look at the stones of the entrance when we passed the caves for the first time, and have prepared a little surprise for our three friends."
The dark haired elf watched as the pain turned into anger and Elrond took a step forward, eyes blazing with fury.
"You…" he growled and tried to lunge at Cornallar, who side-stepped him and turned around, sword appearing in his hand.
"Well, come on, Lord Elrond," he told him, eyes shining with hatred, "Attack me! Even without weapons I believe you would be a formidable adversary, no doubts about that. But if you do, you condemn your little edan to a slow and painful death. You cannot outride a carrier pigeon, and Donyc would be only too pleased if he were allowed to continue his 'conversation', as he calls it. The last one was not really satisfactory for him I'm afraid, as I said: The boy doesn't like to beg," the elf teased Elrond, watching as his whole face seemed to darken like the sky right before a storm breaks loose when he heard Cornallar's words.
Before the elf lord could take another step forward, the other elf raised his blade a bit higher, pointing it right at Elrond's chest.
"How does it feel? Choose, my lord! If you do something, you might overpower me and help your sons and the prince, but if you do that, you will condemn the ranger to certain death. What do you choose? How much are you willing to risk in this little game?" Cornallar asked scornfully, locking eyes with him.
Elrond just stood still and glared at the other elf, feeling as if his heart was breaking in his chest, leaving him hopeless and weak. Perhaps it was breaking, he mused dazedly, no one should ask a parent to do such a thing. How could he make a choice? He shook his head, not really aware of his surroundings. He couldn't. He just could not figure out what to do. Whatever he did, he would lose Estel, or the twins.
He closed his eyes, defeated. There was nothing he could do, nothing that would make a difference. As if his senses were dulled by a dark cloud, he felt the blade of the sword slide up against his cheek, carving a thin red line into the pale skin.
He opened his eyes to look into the dark, burning eyes of Cornallar.
"You lose, Peredhil."
Legolas and Elladan watched stunned as the horse fell, before jumping into action quicker than one would have thought possible.
"Elrohir!" his twin screamed and jumped off his own horse, trying to free his brother of the dying animal that lay across his chest, pinning him to the ground. Legolas followed suit and grabbed his bow, notching arrows and letting them fly into the direction the projectile had come from in rapid succession. Soon however he found that more arrows began to rain down on them from at least two more directions, making it hard for him to concentrate on the targets he couldn't even see.
"Elladan!" he yelled as he loosened an arrow at a man who had hidden himself behind a large tree trunk, "Get him out of here and into the caves! We cannot stay here, they have us pinned down!"
Elladan nodded and helped his dazed brother into the direction of the dark opening, trusting the elven prince cover them as they ran, his and Legolas' horse close behind. The elven prince retreated carefully into the direction of the cave, firing arrows once in a while when one of the men showed themselves. When he had reached the shelter, he suppressed the claustrophobic fears that welled up inside him and quickly made his way inside, looking for his friends. Elladan was just settling his twin who was still gasping for breath down onto the floor, mumbling soothingly under his breath, the horses, though clearly frightened, standing behind them. Legolas was just about to make his way over to them, when he heard the sound of the humans who were closing in on them.
Sighing inwardly, he returned his bow to his back and drew his knives. If they wanted a fight they could have it; sweet Eru, he would teach them to kidnap and attack his friends!
What he wasn't prepared for was the sound of rumbling stones as the men withdrew a few small wedges they had skilfully driven between the cracks above the entrance. The rumbling grew louder, and the elven prince who had frozen in fear when he had heard the groaning stone was sharply brought out of his thoughts when the first boulders began to fall all around him. Legolas tried to get deeper into the caves where he had left the twins, when the ground beneath his feet shifted and creaked, almost throwing him off balance.
Through the chaos of falling stones and the billowing clouds of dust he thought he saw a figure try to make its way towards him and a voice cry his name when a sharp edged rock struck his head and he fell into darkness.
TBC...
edain - humans, men (pl.)
dúnadan - 'Man of the West', ranger
Naa sal', dúnadan - Be still, ranger
Uuma karna amin fain lle - Don't make me drop you
ada - father (daddy)
mellonamin - my friend
úlair - Ringwraith
edan - human, man (sg.)
*cackles evilly* Mhahahaha! You didn't think I'd only hurt Aragorn, did you? No, I like hurting our dear elven prince as well!! *looks at Legolas fans who have dug up a cave troll somewhere and are coming after her* Hey, come on, it's only fun!! *turns to run away* Oh, if you want to find out what happens to our beloved elves and human, send me a review and I'll see what I can do! Please? Please Please Please??
Additional A/N:
Evil Strasse - *blinks* Uhm, okay, if that's 'verboten', I won't say it - especially because it would be "_Die_ Evil Strasse", it's female... *blinks again* Ah well. Whatever. I'm glad you liked it so much, two reviews! *grins happily* Reviews are great! Thanks so much!
Tbiris - Suspense... Ah... *grins evilly* Well, it would be really boring otherwise, wouldn't it? Thanks for the review!
Tao - *blinks* Well, you are a blood-thirsty one, aren't you? *grins* It's perfectly understandable... I'm not yet sure who kills whom in the end, but I'm thinking about it - and lots of pain and blood sounds about right!
Stasia - Wow, huge review! Thanks! *huggles her* *points at her accusingly* I am NOT worse than C&S, that's nothing!! Do I need to remind you of this crazy uncle, what's his name, Doriflen, or their newest villain, Dryryn and and and... Besides, don't worry, why do you think I made sure Elrond is following them? I couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to his face!! *g* And I would never kill him ... I think ... *evil grin* And for the worst beating of his life: I don't think it will be his last in this story, but I'll think I won't give Donyc that much time again. So, not quite as bad, I guess... *g* Yeah, Estel's got quite a weird sense of humour. I think that's because I have this particular sense of humour, I wouldn't survive five minutes in that camp, I would have antagonized Donyc so much he'd have killed me already! Oh, and the torture was 'born' during a really boring lecture on Roman History. You can come up with a lot of good methods to hurt someone when you have to listen to that teacher! Thanks so very much for your great reviews, I'm very happy you like my story. Oh, and about Nólad: You can hope all you want, my friend. I'm not saying anything! *g*
Alilacia - What, you don't like death threats? *clueless expression* There's nothing better than knowing that there are people you like your story so much that they are actually willing to 'kill' you to find out what's happening next - knowing that there's probably one kind of ocean or another between you and them helps, too... *g* Yeah, well, Elrond is a bit worries right now ... not thinking clearly ... all very hard on the poor elf ... Poor Estel, indeed. And poor Elrond - let's just say poor everybody, okay? It's easier. You managed to catch your own wargs? Impressive! The Insane One gave Fred to me - but she has a lot more, so you could just ask her if you need more... Thanks for all your reviews! *huggles her*
DarkPhoenix - Okay okay okay, here's the next bit! Happy now? I am writing as fast as I can, honestly! But even I need seven or eight hours sleep once in a while, and I'm paiting my new flat and and and... *takes breath* Well, at least college's over for now, otherwise my head would have exploded a long time ago! *g*
ThE iNsAnE oNe - LOL, we really have to get a therapist or Sigmund Freud to have a look at Legolas and Thranduil. I just don't know if that obsession with sticks and poking people is normal... *g* And you had just the right idea... *grabs Elrond's chainsaw (You'd better ask Zam about that!)* Where is your next chapter???? I mean, the second part of "Two Men ..." was nice enough *jumps up and down giggling insanely, which, in combination with the chainsaw, is NOT something you want to see*, but WHERE is ch3 of "Inside the Beast"? Hmm? Where??? Thanks a lot for reviewing and _don't_ forget the chainsaw... *g*
CrazyLOTRFan - *blushes* Thanks! I'm glad you like it! Well, I'm thinking about the end right now, I'm writing ch17, and everything is slowly working towards it - but I'm not sure yet. We'll see. Thanks a lot for reviewing!
Alexa - Well, to be honest, I wanted to put it in anway, but I wanted it to be a lot shorter. But because I knew how much you wanted to see Legolas/Elrond scenes, I wrote a longer one. Really. LOL, 'wicked worried'? Come on, nothing BAD happens to Legolas, it's just a little bang on the head, nothing more - among other things... *evil grin* And yes, you guessed right, I'm definitely an Aragorn fan. I like Legolas as well, but he is nothing compared to my favourite ranger - okay okay, in MY opinion! *ducks evil glare of death* Calm down, calm down... Anyway, thanks for the 'fantabulous' reviews!!
Mouse - Ah, my friend, but you just assuming that they ARE in fact getting back home and that everything will be fine! Who said that? Mhahahaha! *runs off cackling evilly* I hope you'll like Elrond in this part as well, I find it quite hard to imagine what he would be like if _really_ furious... *takes M&M's* Thanks? What colour are they? I like blue best, and then yellow, I think... *g*
Lotrmatrixstarwarsfan - Me? Sadistic!? You hurt me deeply, madam! How can you _say_ such a thing? Do you think I _liked_ writing that bit? Well, I did NOT! I was closing my eyes all the time because I couldn't stand it! *g* Well, let's say it that way: No. They aren't getting to Estel for a bit. But Cornallar has Elrond now to keep him company, so don't worry about Aragorn - worry about his father!! *evil grin*
E - Happy now? Now Elrond has confronted his arch-enemy - but he hasn't killed him - yet. I'm not sure who will kill Cornallat in the end, but someone will, don't worry. But yes, I agree, he _must_ die. No ones hurts one of Elrond's children like that and lives to tell the tale! I hope you don't overreact again after this chapter - remember: Breath in ... breath out ... breath in ... breath out ... *g*
Jadaa's Angel - Oh, thanks! I'm glad you like it! I'm updating as fast as I can! Thanks a lot for the reviews!
Anonymous - Well, if you had shown a bit more patience and had actually read more than the first six pages out of 150 (now, ch 17), you would have found more action. Sorry.
Kaeera - Ja ja ja, wer haette das bloss gedacht? Wo sie doch sonst immer so lieb sind und tun, was ihr Vater ihnen sagt... *g* Tja, ich nehme an, Elrond sagt da erst mal gar nix - das setzt nur den look. Und wenn Estel danach noch am Leben ist, kriegt er wahrscheinlich 'ne Standpauke. *g* LOL! Donyc & Co. mutieren zu kleinen quietschenden Zwergen! Ich gebe zu, das ist mal 'ne neue Vorstellung!! Und Euer Wunsch ist mir Befehl: Mehr Zwillinge in diesem und im naechsten Kapitel!
Ciria - Yes, I agree, it would be horrible if PJ cut the twins out, but I have the bad feeling that he will. To be honest, they are not really essential, are they? *stares* Well, you know, that's exactly the kind of reasoning that Elrohir uses for Legolas. That's scary. You think just like him. *g* Nólad is from Eregion as well, like Cornallar. Where Seobryn hails from, you will find out in the next chapter, and Donyc: I dunno. I don't care, honestly. From a nameless human settlement somewhere to the south, I guess. Somewhere where they teach their children to become psychopaths. *g* Nólad has no secret motives, but he knows what his friend is planning to do. Which is - as you have already guessed - not good for Aragorn. Well, I'm afraid there's not so much of you fav elf in the next chapters, but I'll see what I can do. Thanks for the huge review!!!
Marissa - O-kay, if I stop writing you will stop reading the story? We can't have that, can we? Here's the next bit! *g* Thanks a lot for the review!
Miss Undastood - Well, frankly, no, I didn't put him in because of you. BUT I wrote a Aragorn-Seobryn scene for the next chapter, just for you. Happy now? This will have about 20-23 chapters, I think. Probably about 20, but you never know. Thanks a lot for revieweing, and I'll think about not killing your darling. THINK about it. *evil grin*
Lina - *pats Lina's back carefully* Now, don't cry, Lina... I'm not angry ... I know you have lots to do ... riding around with Éomer takes time, I understand that... LINA!! Don't yell at me!! You know I can't stand that! I get terribly upset and then just something terrible happens! Just take yesterday, for example! I was _really_ upset because of something (I don't know what anymore *shrugs*), and I finished ch 15, and there was that scene with Addramyr and Aragorn and I just ... No. I won't tell you. It's too horrible. *evil grin* Don't worry, nothing bad happens. Really. Compared to what Donyc did it's nothing... Thanks for reviewing again! *hugs her*
Zam - *giggles* Yes, Elladan as Lord of Imladris is quite scary, isn't it? Thank the Valar they left as well... Shhhh!! *looks around her* Don't let Lina hear that about Estel and the head! I don't think even Éomer would be able to hold her back... And the Atlantic wouldn't be a problem for her either, she'd swim if she had to in order to get me for killing "her Estel"... *shudders* LOL, a Darth Vader moment? "Snikdul, I am your father?" *falls off her chair laughing* Uh, Zam ... I don't think it was a good idea with the chainsaw... *watches Elrond who is running around giggling insanely brandishing the chainsaw* Nope, definitely not a good idea.... *g*
Lizabeth - Uhm, okay, here you go! *g* Thanks for reviewing!
Reginabean - Spring has arrived!!! Yay Nili!! We had 10°C here today! Can you believe that! No rain, or ice, or snow, nothing but glorious blue sky!! *does a happy dance* Yay!!!! *giggles* Pamphlets? You _have_ been busy... But you are right! I don't know who would be better suited for 'Secret Ally of the Year'! *holds up sign as well* Nólad for secret ally!! Nólad for secret ally!!
Aurienia - *stares* You are really in France? Whoah!! *rubs her head* What do you mean? It isn't a relapse or something! I am just fine! I am torturing my favourite characters and annoying my readers to no end and feeling great!! *g* Well, the horse idea - don't ask me. Really. These things just keep popping into my head, it's real scary sometimes... And I think you are quite right there - Glorfindel _would_ probably have taken Elrond to the healers. And locked him in his rooms for the next few centuries. *gulps* Mad chimpanzees? Well, that's something I really want to see... But don't worry, I won't kill him - yet ... *evil cackle* Mhahahaha!!
Lurker - *hands Lurker a cookie* Good guess, really! Of course Cornallar isn't so stupid to bring Estel, which is probably quite a good thing. Elrond would probablly get himself killed if he saw his son like this right now... Yes, I know, Elrond is acting a little bit strange here - but, uhm, yes, he's worried out of his mind. That's it. *g*
TrustingFriendship - Owww, thanks! I'm glad you like it so much, that's always nice to hear! And don't worry, they will all get the change to get even with the kidnappers, sooner or later - hmm, later, I think... *g* Well, Estel should get some payback? Okay, then I'll have to stop beating him up. Dammit. *g*
Firnsarnien - *stomps feet as well* Was not!! Not a real one, anyway! I mean, no one was in immediate mortal peril or falling off trees or getting attacked by mountain goblins or something!! *g* Yeah, well, Nólad is quite a nice guy, isn't he? I don't really know what to do with him, but I have an idea, and that's never good!! *cackles maniacally* But I'm glad you like him. Poor elf. *pats his head* Thanks for the review!
ManuKu - Armes Wesen, du! Wie alt ist denn der Wurm? Alles jenseits von 2 ist dann wieder ertraeglich... *g* Tja, das mit dem Anketten hoert sich theoretisch nach einer guten Idee an, obwohl ich irgendwie glaube, dass es einen kleinen diplomatischen Zwischenfall geben koennte, wenn der Lord von Rivendell den Prinzen von Mirkwood ankettet... *fieses Grinsen* Na, freut mich doch, dass du die Szene mochtest! *froehliches Grinsen* Ich habe auch ein bisschen geseufzt, als ich sie geschrieben habe - aber sag's keinem weiter! *betet verzweifelt, dass hier keiner Deutsch kann*
Arwen-Evenstar - Don't worry - I would never kill Estel! I wouldn't survive it, since I know lots of craz... uhm, I mean, rather obssessive fangirls who would come after me if I ever did... Dammit. *g* Thanks a lot for reviewing!
AngelsofLight - Oh no - I don't use knives. I just ask my good friend Elrond and ... borrow his chainsaw!! *evil grin* Uhm, the blood on the tree was not from the tree! Nor from a squirrel. That was supposed to be Aragorn's blood, you know - he and being tied to that tree and ... but you knew that, didn't you? And since I don't want you to die: Here's the next chapter!
Salara - 'Beruhigender Einfluss'?? Du erwartest wirklich einen beruhigenden Einfluss, wenn du mich zwingst, sechs Stunden lang "Sissi" zu gucken??? Du kannst von Glueck sprechen, dass ich noch nicht beschlossen habe, alle Charaktere und _ganz besonders_ Elrond einen langsamen und schmerzvollen Tod sterben zu lassen!!! Und dein Lieblingselb ist nicht leichtglaeubig, er glaubt nur keine Wahl zu haben, und da er denkt, es sei alles seine Schuld (was zu einem gewissen Punkt ja auch stimmt), geht er eben. Und die Qual ist - im Moment, da habe ich mich noch nicht zu schlimmerem entschlossen - eher psychisch. Aber auch da ist Cornallar ziemlich gut, das muss man ihm lassen... *g* Und ihr wollt hierdrauf mit 'vereinter Kreativitaet' reagieren? Na, dann mal gute Nacht... *g*
*does a happy dance* Thanks so much! Every time I just want to go to bed instead of posting another chapter, I think of your lovely reviews and what you would do to me and I change my mind! *g*
A/N:
*grins evilly*
Wow, Cornallar and Donyc are _really_ popular at the moment, aren't they? I have stopped counting the reviews that essentially said "Kill them slowly"... *g* It's understandable. They are evil, after all - but it's so much fun writing them!! I'm not normal, I know...
Well, for those who didn't know already: On March 19th I'll go and visit some friends in good ol' England, and will stay for about a month.
No, don't panick, and put down your weapons!! Now!!
*swallows nervously* Okay, don't worry, I will not stop posting, and I'll try to finish the story before that date. At the very worst I'll have to take it with me and post when I'm there, but since I don't know if I'll have access to the 'net, I can't promise to update as frequently as I do now.
It's just a friendly little warning, I hope to finish it before then. But hey, you never know, especially with these characters, they just refuse to shut up... *g*
Okay, here is chapter 14, which has lots of Legolas and the twins. *Legolas fans do happy little dances*
But ... well ... it's a bit of a cliffhanger ... I don't know what happened either ... you know Legolas, it's as if he's LOOKING for trouble ... *Legolas fans take out various weapons and advance angrily upon shaking author*
*shrugs and grabs her pink earmuffs*
Hey, it's sooo much fun to write cliffies!
Have fun and review, please!
Chapter 14
The bright sunlight that was only being amplified by the soft white blanket of snow that covered everything in sight caused Nólad to squint and almost wish for a nice, dark snowstorm. He quickly abandoned that thought though; while he would be fine by himself, a snowstorm this high up the mountains would prove disastrous for a lot of the humans. Not that he would feel particularly sorry for the edain, he thought, pulling his cloak a bit tighter around himself, but the horses had done nothing to deserve freezing to death or plummeting down a frozen mountainside.
He took a quick glance behind him to make sure all the men were still following; after he'd nearly lost the last two of the column about an hour ago, he wasn't prepared to take that risk again.
'Well,' he thought with a small grin as he turned back to keep an eye on the road, 'At least that incident has given me an excuse for sending that insufferable human to the back. Valar, sometimes I truly feel tempted to listen to Cornallar and have some 'fun' with Donyc. And somehow I'm sure he wouldn't last as long as the dúnadan did.'
These thoughts reminded him of the unconscious body he held up in front of him with his left arm, and he reached round to place his hand on the ranger's forehead. It was a little hot, but not alarmingly so. It had been almost unavoidable that the young human would get a slight infection, at least with the simple treatment the elf had been able to give him and without the rest his body needed.
'That is not my problem,' he decided inwardly, 'As long as he survives, I don't care.'
A second later he felt the unconscious man in front of him begin to stir. Nólad raised an eyebrow as he guided his horse around a sharp bend in the path; he was curious if the ranger would manage to stay awake for a longer period this time. Donyc and his men had succeeded in waking him this morning, but judging by the glazed look of his eyes he hadn't been really there. When they had hoisted him on top of the horse, the young human had uttered a small cry of pain and collapsed again, falling unconscious over the neck of the horse.
They were really a weak race, humans.
'Perhaps that's not really fair,' a more rational part of the fair haired elf commented when he heard a small moan and saw the human struggle to open his eyes, 'Donyc has probably hit him in the ribs again. That'd be just like him.'
Aragorn's body was on fire. He didn't really know how, or why, but what he knew for certain was that every single fibre of his being hurt. Even his hair. He didn't know that one's hair could hurt. After a while he sensed a jolting movement that seemed to increase the discomfort he was in considerably, and concentrated his jumbled thoughts on finding out what it was. His first thought was that the cave trolls behind his forehead had relocated and were banging him against a solid rock wall enthusiastically. He quickly abandoned that silly idea though, for it was clear that they were still busy smashing his brain to bits, supported by the dwarves who had apparently invited all their friends and family and had exchanged their pick-axes for sledgehammers.
Remembering from experience that it would get better once he had managed to open his eyes, he struggled with his eyelids that determinedly refused to cooperate and finally managed to pry them open a bit. When the first stab of bright white light sliced through his brain, he hurriedly squeezed his eyes shut again as he fought down the nausea that rose inside him, deciding that for the first time in his life his eyelids had proven to have more common sense than the rest of him.
Slowly more and more information managed to get past the dwarves and trolls through to his brain, and he found that he was apparently on horseback, which explained the jarring motions from earlier. There was something that kept him upright though, something that right now pressed down on his ribs, sending waves of pain up and down his chest. The pain in combination with the touch of someone on his ribs brought back blurred images of sneering faces and fists that smashed into him, accompanied by a blinding pain that seemed to consume every bit of his back…
In an instant remembering what had happened, he jerked upright, adrenaline surging through his body and giving him enough strength to open his eyes and lift his head. What he had identified by now as an arm that was wrapped around him tensed and shifted slightly to keep him on the horse, tightening around his abused chest and sending a stab of pain through his ribcage that caused him to double over and moan in pain. Still intent on escaping, he tried to move his arms just to find them once again secured behind his back. Only now he noticed that this position made his right shoulder ache fiercely and that the weight of his arms and hands on the torn skin of his back did nothing to lessen the pain there.
'Besides, I am cold. Elbereth, I have never felt so cold in my life! Oh, and hungry. But other than that, I am fine, thank you very much,' he thought ironically as he wriggled around, ignoring the pain and trying to get a look at the person's face that sat in the saddle behind him. The last thing he needed now was to be on a horse with Donyc.
He relaxed a bit when he heard a soft elven voice in his ear.
"Naa sal', dúnadan. Uuma karna amin fain lle."
Obediently he stilled his movements, taking a good look at his surroundings. Now that he saw the stony terrain to his left and the bottomless chasm to his right, he suddenly wasn't so intent on getting off the horse as quickly as possible.
He tried to find his voice, which sounded hoarse and weak, even to his own ears.
"Where are we?" he asked in the grey tongue, both because he didn't want the men he had seen behind them to understand what he said and because it was easier right now to concentrate on the language of his childhood, considering that he felt as if he had angered a wizard and faced the consequences.
"In the Misty Mountains, young one. Tomorrow evening we will have crossed them, and the day after that we will reach our destination," Nólad explained.
"That is … not good," Aragorn mumbled softly, his mind going in circles.
He wasn't sure what would happen once they got to wherever they were going, but he was quite sure he didn't want to find out either. Taking a good look around, he counted the horses that rounded a fallen boulder behind them, suppressing a shiver when Donyc looked at him and gave him a grin, and frowned. Cornallar and four men were missing. Deciding that he could hardly worsen his situation by asking, he turned back to the fair haired elf.
"Where are the others?"
The elf behind him smiled slightly.
"Inquisitive yet again, ranger? You are stubborn, Donyc is correct there. Although he didn't quite put it in such … polite terms."
"I can imagine," the young human said softly, wincing inwardly and closing his eyes against the not so faint echoes of the vivid pain he still felt when he remembered Donyc's face towards the end, when he had still refused to plead him to stop. He had been in too much agony then to even think clearly, let alone had enough air to say something, but he could still see the rage in the other man's eyes that shone brightly with the promise that he would make him beg, sooner or later.
'And if he ever gets his hands on you again, he will pick up exactly where he left off,' the part of his brain Aragorn was beginning to loathe told him.
"To answer your question: They have gone to meet with your ada . They will join us again in a few days, if everything goes according to plan," the elf explained patiently.
Aragorn froze in fear, pondering the elf's words while fighting the panic that rose inside of him.
'Well done. Now father is walking into a trap because of me, and I will not be able to warn him. That crazy elf is going to do Valar-know-what to him, and I can't help him. Had I only been swifter, or stealthier, then I would have managed to escape and would be well on my way home right now! I have failed him, once again…'
Nólad noticed the way his arm was digging into the other's side and moved it slightly so it wouldn't press onto the human's ribs with every step the horse took. Watching the man take an easier breath, he said,
"We have a long journey ahead of us, dúnadan. We will not stop till nightfall, if the humans can keep up, that is. Try to move as little as possible, I do not want to topple down the mountain because of you, nor do I want my bandages to tear. Understood?"
Aragorn nodded slowly, the memories he had of last night – and he thanked the Valar they were few – making more sense now. He could remember waking up to a world of pain and darkness, and the face of Legolas, swimming in and out of focus, soothing him and telling him that everything would be alright. So it hadn't been Legolas after all, but he had already known that, for the first thing he had done after waking was to make sure if his friend was still with him, and Legolas would never have left him behind. He hadn't imagined things then last night, it had been Nólad, caring for his wounds.
Inclining his head slightly to the fair haired elf, he said softly,
"Thank you."
"You are welcome, ranger," Nólad replied, taken aback, and to his surprise he found that he meant it.
Elrohir sat next to the small fire they had kindled some time ago, staring into the dancing flames. His mind was completely absorbed in the play of the flames that licked at the dry wood, consuming the fuel greedily bit by bit. It was almost like a plague, the twin decided, spreading and never stopping until all it touched had been turned into cold grey ashes.
At the sound of a soft rustling noise in the trees behind him he turned, expecting to see Legolas return from his turn to keep watch over the camp their father and his "guide" had pitched. When he could see nothing, he turned back to the fire, only to jump up in shock and grasp his knife when he saw a figure crouched in front of him.
Drawing the dagger with his right, he was just about to challenge the creature and more than willing to cut its throat should it be necessary, he blinked and took a closer look at said creature that broke into a wide grin and started chuckling merrily. Wondering for a moment if anyone would believe him if he killed him now and claimed that had been an accident to be blamed to the fact that he had been startled later, he returned the blade to its sheath and dropped back to the ground, glaring at the being across the fire.
"By the Valar, Legolas, will you stop that insane giggling already!" he exclaimed after a few seconds when the other elf showed no inclination to stop laughing any time soon.
"I-I am sorry, m-my friend, but y-you should have s-s-seen the look on your f-face!" the elven prince gasped in between fits of laughter.
The younger twin didn't look amused at all.
"One of these days, my friend, you will find that someone will exercise less restraint than me and will kill you where you stand."
Legolas didn't look too impressed at that threat.
"Oh, I don't know, mellonamin. Celylith said just the same thing a short while ago, in exactly the same tone of voice I might add, and I'm still alive, am I not? Besides, killing a prince is considered high treason. "
Elrohir mumbled something undistinguishable under his breath; all the prince was able to catch was "No, it isn't, not without any witnesses present" and "… proof that sometimes, crime does pay".
Aloud he said,
"Now I see what happened to you on your way to Rivendell, my friend. You tried to sneak up on the goblins, and since they are not of our kind and not bound by our laws, they decided to do the rest of Arda a favour and get rid of you for us. Remind me to thank the survivors later… Really, Legolas, I thought you had outgrown that childish urge when you turned 2000!"
The other elf shook his head, flicking a braid out of his face.
"Nay, there are some things you never grow too old for!"
Both of them turned serious again, staring into the flames. After a while the dark haired twin raised his head and looked at his friend.
"Has anything happened while you were there? And, more importantly, did father sense you?"
Legolas returned the gaze, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
"I wouldn't be here if he had, would I? No, I would already be on my way to the Halls of Mandos to join my forefathers, trying to come up with a way to explain to my grandfather why Lord Elrond Peredhil had seen it fit to strangle me."
Elrohir chuckled at that, turning serious rather quickly when he realized that getting strangled was a real possibility if his father detected their presence.
"He wouldn't," he said weakly, his voice lacking any conviction whatsoever.
The fair haired elf looked at him, raising the eyebrow even higher.
One day, Elrohir decided grumpily, the brow would disappear into the prince's hairline, never to be seen again.
"Very well, you are right. He would," he amended quickly. "And you left Elladan alone? Are you sure that was a good idea?"
Legolas glowered at his companion as he remembered the little incident that had occured a few hours earlier. It was truly a miracle those two had survived their first millennium at all…
"I don't think this is a good idea," Legolas announced, watching his friends fidget in the trees next to his, once in a while sending a shower of golden leaves to the ground. The twins were more than capable in a tree, even if not to the same extent than wood-elves, but right now they appeared to be too nervous to sit still for even a minute. They shifted around, reminding the prince a lot of Estel when this high up a tree.
While Elrohir ignored him and didn't take his eyes off the road their father would need to take, Elladan kept mumbling under his breath, something which he had done for the past two hours they had spent here, waiting for the Lord of Imladris to pass through.
While normally any escort Lord Elrond could have brought with him wouldn't have known where they needed to hide themselves, the three young elves knew exactly which way the kidnappers would take. Or they hoped they did, thanks to the fact that Legolas had stumbled over the main group that had been heading into the direction of the Misty Mountains.
So they had given the fork a wide berth to the north and had hidden here, a few leagues to the west, where they could watch the road and follow the elf lord and those who would accompany him.
Actually, it was a rather good plan, were it not for the fact that the twins and especially Elladan couldn't keep still, too deep ran their worry for their brother and father.
Sighing, Legolas turned to Elladan, finally losing his patience.
"Alright, my friend, what is it?"
Elladan turned to his friend after sending a fearful glance down into the direction of the road.
"This cannot be normal!"
That statement caught even his twin's attention.
"What cannot be normal, brother? Hiding in a tree like highwaymen waiting for our own father to appear in an attempt to save our little brother from a crazy elf lord with a vendetta against said father? What do you mean, 'not normal'?"
Ignoring his brother's attempts at sarcasm, the older twin brushed aside the words as invalid.
"No, that's not what I meant, that's normal enough. But it cannot be normal that I'm sitting here and should be worried for Estel, and father, and for us if that Cornallar catches us, and all I can think of is what we will say if ada gets a hold of us!
That cannot be normal! I mean, I would gladly face orcs, or trolls, or even an úlair or two, but to tell father that we, or let's say I, since he put the responsibility for the whole of Rivendell on me, have knowingly disobeyed his orders … No, I think death is much more desirable."
That statement, in connection with the grave tone of Elladan's voice, caused the other two to burst into laughter, shaking the trees and causing them to shower their leaves.
Once he had regained his breath somewhat, Legolas straightened up again, still holding onto the tree for support, and was just about to reply when his keen eyes came to rest on two figures that approached them, coming swiftly closer.
"Hush, calm yourselves!" he hissed to his two friends. "They are coming! If they catch us because of you, I will shift all the blame on you and claim diplomatic immunity!"
After a second he added, thoughtfully, "But I think it is normal, mellonamin. Everything is better than facing your own father having to admit that you disobeyed his orders!"
Legolas hid the grin that was threatening to show on his face. They had very nearly got caught by Lord Elrond, but he was sure the human had not noticed anything.
He fell silent again, staring into the flames. After a while he heard his friend's soft voice, telling him,
"You did the right thing, you know."
The prince shook his head doubtfully.
"I don't know, Elrohir. Your father asked me not to leave Rivendell, he told me to keep an eye on you and that he would be most displeased if I ripped open his stitches. He trusted me to keep my word, and I have broken it at the first opportunity that presented itself. Why do I always do that?" he asked, despair in his eyes. "Why do I always disappoint those who are dear to me? Aragorn, and my father, and your father, and…"
His monologue was interrupted when his friend sighed loudly.
"Please, mellonamin, not again! Elladan claimed he had talked with you about that! Very well then, let me repeat it once again: It – was – not – your – fault. Nothing of this was your fault! If even I and Elladan have understood by now that we are not to blame for all this, then a prince like yourself should be more than capable of doing the same! Thanks to you we were able to follow them in the first place! And, concerning the word you have broken to my father: How are you feeling?"
"What?" Legolas asked, perplexed.
"How are you feeling? Does your side hurt? Have you ripped your stitches?"
"Well, no, and thank you, it does not hurt much, but I don't see what…"
"Excellent, that is dealt with then!" Elrohir interrupted him, not listening to his sounds of protest. "You feel well and you didn't rip your stitches. He won't be able to hold that against you. And the other thing: He told you to keep an eye on us, didn't he?"
The prince nodded mutely, impressed by his friend's skill to reason himself out of anything.
"Very good, my friend, so you did exactly what he told you to do! Since there was no way you could have stopped us, you did the only thing possible and accompanied us, in the hope of dissuading us or in the very least to make sure we don't get ourselves in trouble or do anything foolish."
Elrohir frowned in thought, rethinking what he had just said.
"No, that sounds a bit too exaggerated, we need to polish that up a bit…"
With that the younger twin leaned back in thought, trying to come up with the perfect excuse for his friend should his father catch them.
Legolas watched him for a while before he turned his attention back to the dying embers of the fire, shaking his head and wondering for a moment if it was not maybe a good thing that the twins didn't have control over Rivendell all by themselves.
Elrond was watching the man closely, fully aware of the fact that this made the human feel extremely nervous. He had done nothing else for the past day, and even though it gave him a certain satisfaction to see the man squirm, it was not really productive. While they had been camping yesterday evening the elf lord had tried to get some information out of him by all means available to him, including the look that tended to have some effect even on Glorfindel, but without success: The human kept silent as if Cornallar himself was sitting behind him, ready to cut his throat lest he made any attempts to speak.
'Well, whatever has happened during the last few millennia, Cornallar certainly hasn't lost his ability to make an impression on people, especially humans. This one wouldn't tell me anything even if I threatened to cut him into little pieces and feed him to a bunch of orcs.'
Elrond stifled a sigh and looked around himself, assessing if there was anyone nearing their position. They had stopped next to an old tree by the road a little more than three hours away from Amon Siril, and the man had informed him that his orders were to bring him here and wait for his employer to meet with them. The Lord of Rivendell shifted his gaze back onto the human, who hastily dropped his eyes and studied his dusty boots. Fighting down the anger and fear for the well being of his human son, he closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree trunk behind his back. Despite the man's assurances that Estel was fine, Elrond knew that this was a lie, or at least glossed over. He was sure that he had been truthful when he said that his human son was alive, but there had been a flicker in the human's eyes that belied any other statements he made about the young man's health.
'Ilúvatar, please let him be alright! I could never forgive myself if something happened to him because of a vendetta against me that has its beginnings long before his last 38 ancestors were even born! I couldn't bear losing him so soon, and the consequences for all of Middle-Earth would be disastrous if Elendil's line ended now…'
Elrond's musing were cut short when he heard the sounds of approaching horses, and he opened his eyes and got to his feet, startling the human who hadn't heard anything.
The dark haired elf straightened himself and locked all his feelings, including the overwhelming worry he felt for his son into a remote corner of his mind in an attempt to concentrate on the present. He would not give Cornallar the satisfaction to see how much he suffered.
Soon five horses came into view, and Elrond's eyes wandered quickly over the faces of four humans before locking onto the familiar face of his old advisor. He looked just the way he remembered, apart from the fact that he was not wearing the precious robes indicating his status as he had done in Imladris. But then again, they might prove to be a bit impractical when one was riding through Arda kidnapping people, Elrond told himself wryly.
The horses stopped just in front of them, the humans hanging back a bit, eyeing the two elves warily. For a long time the two dark haired elves just stared at each other, grey eyes boring into dark ones. After a while the silence grew heavy, and finally, Cornallar opened his mouth to speak.
"Lord Elrond," he nodded his head in mock respect, "Such a joy to see you after all this time."
Elrond didn't respond to that, not being in the mood for any of the other elf's games.
"Where is my son?" he asked, his voice cold enough to freeze the fires of Mount Doom.
Cornallar, however, seemed to be quite unimpressed, for he laughed loudly and dismounted, his burning eyes not leaving Elrond's face.
"Ah, you mean the little edan, I guess? He's not here, though I have to admit that he's quite resilient, for one of their kind. Stubborn, too."
The Lord of Rivendell had to force himself not to step forward, take a hold of the other's tunic and shake him till he told him what he wanted to know.
"What have you done to him?" he asked, his eyes darkening with the promise of instant death should anyone admit to having hurt the ranger.
The dark haired elf grinned, a cold, amused grin that Elrond could remember only too well.
"I? I have done nothing to him, my lord," he stressed the title mockingly. "I have left that to my dear friend Donyc, you know who he is? I'm sure our dear little prince has told you all about the men he encountered on his way to you. Well, Donyc has taken a certain dislike to your son, I'm afraid – he doesn't like to beg, does he?"
Elrond clenched his teeth and took a step closer to Cornallar, hands balling to fists at his sides.
"If you have harmed him, Cornallar, I swear by Eärendil's light that I will…"
Cornallar's grin faded, the hatred etched on his face intensifying as he stepped closer until their faces were only inches apart.
"Yes? You will do what?" he hissed tauntingly. "You have no power over me, o Master of Rivendell! You cannot order me around like you used to do in the past! I am the one in control now, do not forget this! With one word I can make sure your beloved son dies a painful death and you can do nothing to prevent it! How does it feel to know someone else holds the life of your son in his hands and is about to crush it?"
The Lord of Imladris took several deep breaths, trying to combat the hatred that was beginning to fill his whole being. He would make sure his former counsellor paid dearly for what he had done to Aragorn.
"But you will not," he stated with more confidence in his voice than he really felt.
Cornallar blinked at this statement, regaining his control somewhat.
"How very perceptive of you!" he teased the elf lord, another smile spreading across his face. "No, my lord, I will indeed not, at least not yet. It would be cruel not to let you say goodbye to your little edan , wouldn't it?"
Turning away from the Elrond, he fixed his eyes on the human who had brought the other elf here and who dropped his eyes to the ground quickly, deciding that after this thing was over, he never wanted to see an elf again. Beautiful they might be, but that was no compensation for the rest of their habits, for example their attempts to burn holes into others with their eyes.
"Are you being followed?" he asked the man, studying him closely.
"No, sir, not that I know of," the human stated without raising his eyes. "He was alone when I came to meet with him, and I would have been able to see anyone for miles."
"His weapons?" Cornallar inquired, knowing full well how much it irked the other elf to be spoken about as if he were a mindless object or a child.
The man stepped closer to his employer and handed him the blades he had just removed from his horse's back, stepping back again quickly. Cornallar pulled the sword out of its sheath a few inches, admiring the craftsmanship. Turning back to Elrond, he gave him a humourless smile and asked,
"You just had to take this one, hadn't you? Well, Gil-galad had a sense for beautiful weapons, that much I grant him. Such a pity he got himself killed, isn't it? I should probably feel honoured that my son has such illustrious company, shouldn't I?" he asked the other elf mockingly, watching with satisfaction as the Lord of Rivendell fought for composure when he heard the degrading comments about his dead friend and king.
He stepped closer, drawing the blade and letting the bluish metal of the blade rest against Elrond's neck, drawing a little blood.
"Let me make one thing clear, my lord: If you try to escape or get help, I will kill you and then your beloved human son. If you attack me or one of my men, exactly the same will happen. If you want to see him one last time, I advise you to do exactly as I say. Understood?" he asked, the hatred on his face distorting the fair features.
Elrond nodded slowly, glaring back at him, oblivious to the steel that was still biting into his flesh.
"Understood," he echoed, his eyes dark with hate.
Cornallar wheeled on his heel, a look of disappointment flashing across his face, stowed Elrond's weapons away and mounted his horse, looking down on the other elf who hadn't moved an inch.
"Well, after you, my lord," he spat, motioning Elrond to mount his horse.
Elrond complied and rode on into the direction of the Misty Mountains, encircled by the five humans and feeling Cornallar's heated gaze bore into his back, praying to Elbereth that he would arrive in time to somehow save his youngest son.
The sounds of the forest quietened for the second time in less than an hour, but they didn't hush completely and the birds soon began their song anew, as if they tried to convince the slowly setting sun to linger above the horizon a little longer. Soon the reason for this short interruption of nature's song could be seen when three elves rode up the path that led through the little wood, two dark haired and resembling each other to the point of total identity while the other was as fair as the others were dark.
One of the dark haired elves turned towards his identical companion, frowning at him.
"And I still say, brother, that they behave too carelessly! They have been riding on like this ever since they met with each other, without sending out scouts or anything! From what I remember about Cornallar, he was one of the most intelligent advisors father ever had! It is not like him to act like this!"
Before the other elf had time to reply, their fair haired companion spoke up, obviously intent on preventing an argument.
"You are right, Elrohir, but we cannot get any closer without your father or Cornallar noticing anything. We are quite high up the mountains already, and in the open terrain it will get even worse. If my memory serves me right, we should shortly reach the abandoned mines, the ones we call Nogrodrim in Mirkwood. Have you ever been there?"
His other companion interrupted him, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.
"No, Legolas, he has not, and neither have I. Have you? I did not know our Silvan brethren were so fond of caves! But then again, I seem to remember a friend of yours, who was it, Glónduil? He was wild about spiders, if I remember correctly…"
"You do not, mellonamin," Legolas corrected him. "It is Celylith you speak of. And he is … a special case," he added with a smile. "But yes, I have been there, once, when I was an extremely foolish young elfling. I nearly broke my neck in there, it is a miracle I ever came out again!"
"Let me guess: King Thranduil was not happy when he heard about it," his dark haired friend chuckled.
"Fathers never are when you disobey them, are they, Elladan?" Elrohir added gloomily when the elven prince shook his head.
"O Ilúvatar, stop it already!" Elladan snapped at his younger twin. "He won't find out, alright? And when he finally does, he will be too happy to see us alive to kill us! You start sounding like Erestor!"
"What did he say?" Legolas asked, curiosity in his voice. He had wondered for the past day how Elladan had managed to convince Lord Elrond's chief advisor to actually let them go.
"Oh, something like: 'Absolutely not, my lord, you cannot! Your father has told me where he is going, and he expressly wished for you to stay here! Think of your responsibility!'" Elladan managed to imitate the older elf's tone of voice so perfectly that his companions burst out laughing.
"I told him that everything would be fine with him and the council looking after things, and that they should send word of what we were doing to Lórien to grandmother. There he grew quite … agitated, I'm afraid. I'm not sure what frightened him more: The prospect of having to tell ada that he let us go, or to tell the Lady Galadriel that he lost her son-in-law and three of her grandchildren, and the only heir to the throne of Mirkwood. He was not happy, believe me!" the older twin recounted, starting to grin as well.
Elrohir looked at his brother, raising a dark brow in question.
"And how did you convince him to let us go?"
At that Elladan looked quite uncomfortable and began to shift in his saddle.
"Well, if you have to know … I ordered him. Since father had stated in no uncertain terms that I was to be considered Lord of Rivendell, there was nothing Erestor could do once I ordered him to let us go and stop wringing his hands."
Elrohir closed his eyes and moaned, while Legolas was laughing so hard that he was almost sliding off his horse.
"Elbereth, no! Father is going to kill us! You didn't say that to him, did you?"
Before the older twin could answer, they rounded a bend in the road and reached a small clearing, on whose one side a dark, looming hole in the mountainside could be seen. To the left and right of it there were other openings, but smaller and not accessible anymore, rock slides had closed them off countless years ago.
As if on cue the three reined in their horses, surveying the scene in front of them. Something was off, a feeling of concealed danger permeated the whole area.
Legolas looked at his friends quickly.
"Let us get off the path. There is something wrong he…"
He never got to finish that sentence, since right at that moment an arrow whistled past his head and imbedded itself in the neck of Elrohir's horse, felling the shrieking animal in an instant and burying its rider under it as it fell.
Elrond narrowed his eyes and decided to finally swallow his pride and ask. Since they had stopped an hour ago and the men had disappeared the way they had just come, he had been mentally debating if he should ask the other elf what was going on. Even though he didn't want to give him the satisfaction to hear him beg him for an answer, the feelings of dread that had taken up residence in the pit of his stomach demanded answers, now.
"Where have they gone?" he asked, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible.
At the sound of his voice Cornallar looked up, a snide grin on his face.
"Finally!", he exclaimed and rose to his feet, walking up to his horse and fiddling with his saddle bags. "And I was beginning to fear that you'd never ask! Well, they have gone to lay a little trap for your dear twin sons and their friend, the esteemed Prince of Mirkwood."
Elrond just stared at him, his heart plummeting into his stomach with a frightening speed.
Cornallar turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow in mock surprise.
"What, you didn't know? They've been following us for the whole day. You didn't really think that they'd let their precious ada leave to face the evil Cornallar all by himself, now did you? When I first set eyes on them I realized that they'd never leave their beloved little edan behind."
He walked up to the elf lord whose face had turned an almost ashen grey by now.
"Well, you know the cave system of Nogrodrim, don't you? We passed it an hour ago, and right now they will do the same, or should I say, not quite? Because my men will be there, distracting them and driving them into the caves."
Elrond blinked, his mind slowly grasping the concept that he was not about to loose one, but all three of his sons and Legolas as well.
"No…" he whispered softly, desperately searching Cornallar's face for a sign that this was nothing but another cruel game of his.
Cornallar grinned, relishing the pain he saw in the other elf's eyes.
"Oh yes, my lord. And you know what the best part is? Two of the men I sent back were stonemasons down in the south before they had an … argument with some of the other workers. Something about stolen tools, I believe. However, these two have taken a look at the stones of the entrance when we passed the caves for the first time, and have prepared a little surprise for our three friends."
The dark haired elf watched as the pain turned into anger and Elrond took a step forward, eyes blazing with fury.
"You…" he growled and tried to lunge at Cornallar, who side-stepped him and turned around, sword appearing in his hand.
"Well, come on, Lord Elrond," he told him, eyes shining with hatred, "Attack me! Even without weapons I believe you would be a formidable adversary, no doubts about that. But if you do, you condemn your little edan to a slow and painful death. You cannot outride a carrier pigeon, and Donyc would be only too pleased if he were allowed to continue his 'conversation', as he calls it. The last one was not really satisfactory for him I'm afraid, as I said: The boy doesn't like to beg," the elf teased Elrond, watching as his whole face seemed to darken like the sky right before a storm breaks loose when he heard Cornallar's words.
Before the elf lord could take another step forward, the other elf raised his blade a bit higher, pointing it right at Elrond's chest.
"How does it feel? Choose, my lord! If you do something, you might overpower me and help your sons and the prince, but if you do that, you will condemn the ranger to certain death. What do you choose? How much are you willing to risk in this little game?" Cornallar asked scornfully, locking eyes with him.
Elrond just stood still and glared at the other elf, feeling as if his heart was breaking in his chest, leaving him hopeless and weak. Perhaps it was breaking, he mused dazedly, no one should ask a parent to do such a thing. How could he make a choice? He shook his head, not really aware of his surroundings. He couldn't. He just could not figure out what to do. Whatever he did, he would lose Estel, or the twins.
He closed his eyes, defeated. There was nothing he could do, nothing that would make a difference. As if his senses were dulled by a dark cloud, he felt the blade of the sword slide up against his cheek, carving a thin red line into the pale skin.
He opened his eyes to look into the dark, burning eyes of Cornallar.
"You lose, Peredhil."
Legolas and Elladan watched stunned as the horse fell, before jumping into action quicker than one would have thought possible.
"Elrohir!" his twin screamed and jumped off his own horse, trying to free his brother of the dying animal that lay across his chest, pinning him to the ground. Legolas followed suit and grabbed his bow, notching arrows and letting them fly into the direction the projectile had come from in rapid succession. Soon however he found that more arrows began to rain down on them from at least two more directions, making it hard for him to concentrate on the targets he couldn't even see.
"Elladan!" he yelled as he loosened an arrow at a man who had hidden himself behind a large tree trunk, "Get him out of here and into the caves! We cannot stay here, they have us pinned down!"
Elladan nodded and helped his dazed brother into the direction of the dark opening, trusting the elven prince cover them as they ran, his and Legolas' horse close behind. The elven prince retreated carefully into the direction of the cave, firing arrows once in a while when one of the men showed themselves. When he had reached the shelter, he suppressed the claustrophobic fears that welled up inside him and quickly made his way inside, looking for his friends. Elladan was just settling his twin who was still gasping for breath down onto the floor, mumbling soothingly under his breath, the horses, though clearly frightened, standing behind them. Legolas was just about to make his way over to them, when he heard the sound of the humans who were closing in on them.
Sighing inwardly, he returned his bow to his back and drew his knives. If they wanted a fight they could have it; sweet Eru, he would teach them to kidnap and attack his friends!
What he wasn't prepared for was the sound of rumbling stones as the men withdrew a few small wedges they had skilfully driven between the cracks above the entrance. The rumbling grew louder, and the elven prince who had frozen in fear when he had heard the groaning stone was sharply brought out of his thoughts when the first boulders began to fall all around him. Legolas tried to get deeper into the caves where he had left the twins, when the ground beneath his feet shifted and creaked, almost throwing him off balance.
Through the chaos of falling stones and the billowing clouds of dust he thought he saw a figure try to make its way towards him and a voice cry his name when a sharp edged rock struck his head and he fell into darkness.
TBC...
edain - humans, men (pl.)
dúnadan - 'Man of the West', ranger
Naa sal', dúnadan - Be still, ranger
Uuma karna amin fain lle - Don't make me drop you
ada - father (daddy)
mellonamin - my friend
úlair - Ringwraith
edan - human, man (sg.)
*cackles evilly* Mhahahaha! You didn't think I'd only hurt Aragorn, did you? No, I like hurting our dear elven prince as well!! *looks at Legolas fans who have dug up a cave troll somewhere and are coming after her* Hey, come on, it's only fun!! *turns to run away* Oh, if you want to find out what happens to our beloved elves and human, send me a review and I'll see what I can do! Please? Please Please Please??
Additional A/N:
Evil Strasse - *blinks* Uhm, okay, if that's 'verboten', I won't say it - especially because it would be "_Die_ Evil Strasse", it's female... *blinks again* Ah well. Whatever. I'm glad you liked it so much, two reviews! *grins happily* Reviews are great! Thanks so much!
Tbiris - Suspense... Ah... *grins evilly* Well, it would be really boring otherwise, wouldn't it? Thanks for the review!
Tao - *blinks* Well, you are a blood-thirsty one, aren't you? *grins* It's perfectly understandable... I'm not yet sure who kills whom in the end, but I'm thinking about it - and lots of pain and blood sounds about right!
Stasia - Wow, huge review! Thanks! *huggles her* *points at her accusingly* I am NOT worse than C&S, that's nothing!! Do I need to remind you of this crazy uncle, what's his name, Doriflen, or their newest villain, Dryryn and and and... Besides, don't worry, why do you think I made sure Elrond is following them? I couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to his face!! *g* And I would never kill him ... I think ... *evil grin* And for the worst beating of his life: I don't think it will be his last in this story, but I'll think I won't give Donyc that much time again. So, not quite as bad, I guess... *g* Yeah, Estel's got quite a weird sense of humour. I think that's because I have this particular sense of humour, I wouldn't survive five minutes in that camp, I would have antagonized Donyc so much he'd have killed me already! Oh, and the torture was 'born' during a really boring lecture on Roman History. You can come up with a lot of good methods to hurt someone when you have to listen to that teacher! Thanks so very much for your great reviews, I'm very happy you like my story. Oh, and about Nólad: You can hope all you want, my friend. I'm not saying anything! *g*
Alilacia - What, you don't like death threats? *clueless expression* There's nothing better than knowing that there are people you like your story so much that they are actually willing to 'kill' you to find out what's happening next - knowing that there's probably one kind of ocean or another between you and them helps, too... *g* Yeah, well, Elrond is a bit worries right now ... not thinking clearly ... all very hard on the poor elf ... Poor Estel, indeed. And poor Elrond - let's just say poor everybody, okay? It's easier. You managed to catch your own wargs? Impressive! The Insane One gave Fred to me - but she has a lot more, so you could just ask her if you need more... Thanks for all your reviews! *huggles her*
DarkPhoenix - Okay okay okay, here's the next bit! Happy now? I am writing as fast as I can, honestly! But even I need seven or eight hours sleep once in a while, and I'm paiting my new flat and and and... *takes breath* Well, at least college's over for now, otherwise my head would have exploded a long time ago! *g*
ThE iNsAnE oNe - LOL, we really have to get a therapist or Sigmund Freud to have a look at Legolas and Thranduil. I just don't know if that obsession with sticks and poking people is normal... *g* And you had just the right idea... *grabs Elrond's chainsaw (You'd better ask Zam about that!)* Where is your next chapter???? I mean, the second part of "Two Men ..." was nice enough *jumps up and down giggling insanely, which, in combination with the chainsaw, is NOT something you want to see*, but WHERE is ch3 of "Inside the Beast"? Hmm? Where??? Thanks a lot for reviewing and _don't_ forget the chainsaw... *g*
CrazyLOTRFan - *blushes* Thanks! I'm glad you like it! Well, I'm thinking about the end right now, I'm writing ch17, and everything is slowly working towards it - but I'm not sure yet. We'll see. Thanks a lot for reviewing!
Alexa - Well, to be honest, I wanted to put it in anway, but I wanted it to be a lot shorter. But because I knew how much you wanted to see Legolas/Elrond scenes, I wrote a longer one. Really. LOL, 'wicked worried'? Come on, nothing BAD happens to Legolas, it's just a little bang on the head, nothing more - among other things... *evil grin* And yes, you guessed right, I'm definitely an Aragorn fan. I like Legolas as well, but he is nothing compared to my favourite ranger - okay okay, in MY opinion! *ducks evil glare of death* Calm down, calm down... Anyway, thanks for the 'fantabulous' reviews!!
Mouse - Ah, my friend, but you just assuming that they ARE in fact getting back home and that everything will be fine! Who said that? Mhahahaha! *runs off cackling evilly* I hope you'll like Elrond in this part as well, I find it quite hard to imagine what he would be like if _really_ furious... *takes M&M's* Thanks? What colour are they? I like blue best, and then yellow, I think... *g*
Lotrmatrixstarwarsfan - Me? Sadistic!? You hurt me deeply, madam! How can you _say_ such a thing? Do you think I _liked_ writing that bit? Well, I did NOT! I was closing my eyes all the time because I couldn't stand it! *g* Well, let's say it that way: No. They aren't getting to Estel for a bit. But Cornallar has Elrond now to keep him company, so don't worry about Aragorn - worry about his father!! *evil grin*
E - Happy now? Now Elrond has confronted his arch-enemy - but he hasn't killed him - yet. I'm not sure who will kill Cornallat in the end, but someone will, don't worry. But yes, I agree, he _must_ die. No ones hurts one of Elrond's children like that and lives to tell the tale! I hope you don't overreact again after this chapter - remember: Breath in ... breath out ... breath in ... breath out ... *g*
Jadaa's Angel - Oh, thanks! I'm glad you like it! I'm updating as fast as I can! Thanks a lot for the reviews!
Anonymous - Well, if you had shown a bit more patience and had actually read more than the first six pages out of 150 (now, ch 17), you would have found more action. Sorry.
Kaeera - Ja ja ja, wer haette das bloss gedacht? Wo sie doch sonst immer so lieb sind und tun, was ihr Vater ihnen sagt... *g* Tja, ich nehme an, Elrond sagt da erst mal gar nix - das setzt nur den look. Und wenn Estel danach noch am Leben ist, kriegt er wahrscheinlich 'ne Standpauke. *g* LOL! Donyc & Co. mutieren zu kleinen quietschenden Zwergen! Ich gebe zu, das ist mal 'ne neue Vorstellung!! Und Euer Wunsch ist mir Befehl: Mehr Zwillinge in diesem und im naechsten Kapitel!
Ciria - Yes, I agree, it would be horrible if PJ cut the twins out, but I have the bad feeling that he will. To be honest, they are not really essential, are they? *stares* Well, you know, that's exactly the kind of reasoning that Elrohir uses for Legolas. That's scary. You think just like him. *g* Nólad is from Eregion as well, like Cornallar. Where Seobryn hails from, you will find out in the next chapter, and Donyc: I dunno. I don't care, honestly. From a nameless human settlement somewhere to the south, I guess. Somewhere where they teach their children to become psychopaths. *g* Nólad has no secret motives, but he knows what his friend is planning to do. Which is - as you have already guessed - not good for Aragorn. Well, I'm afraid there's not so much of you fav elf in the next chapters, but I'll see what I can do. Thanks for the huge review!!!
Marissa - O-kay, if I stop writing you will stop reading the story? We can't have that, can we? Here's the next bit! *g* Thanks a lot for the review!
Miss Undastood - Well, frankly, no, I didn't put him in because of you. BUT I wrote a Aragorn-Seobryn scene for the next chapter, just for you. Happy now? This will have about 20-23 chapters, I think. Probably about 20, but you never know. Thanks a lot for revieweing, and I'll think about not killing your darling. THINK about it. *evil grin*
Lina - *pats Lina's back carefully* Now, don't cry, Lina... I'm not angry ... I know you have lots to do ... riding around with Éomer takes time, I understand that... LINA!! Don't yell at me!! You know I can't stand that! I get terribly upset and then just something terrible happens! Just take yesterday, for example! I was _really_ upset because of something (I don't know what anymore *shrugs*), and I finished ch 15, and there was that scene with Addramyr and Aragorn and I just ... No. I won't tell you. It's too horrible. *evil grin* Don't worry, nothing bad happens. Really. Compared to what Donyc did it's nothing... Thanks for reviewing again! *hugs her*
Zam - *giggles* Yes, Elladan as Lord of Imladris is quite scary, isn't it? Thank the Valar they left as well... Shhhh!! *looks around her* Don't let Lina hear that about Estel and the head! I don't think even Éomer would be able to hold her back... And the Atlantic wouldn't be a problem for her either, she'd swim if she had to in order to get me for killing "her Estel"... *shudders* LOL, a Darth Vader moment? "Snikdul, I am your father?" *falls off her chair laughing* Uh, Zam ... I don't think it was a good idea with the chainsaw... *watches Elrond who is running around giggling insanely brandishing the chainsaw* Nope, definitely not a good idea.... *g*
Lizabeth - Uhm, okay, here you go! *g* Thanks for reviewing!
Reginabean - Spring has arrived!!! Yay Nili!! We had 10°C here today! Can you believe that! No rain, or ice, or snow, nothing but glorious blue sky!! *does a happy dance* Yay!!!! *giggles* Pamphlets? You _have_ been busy... But you are right! I don't know who would be better suited for 'Secret Ally of the Year'! *holds up sign as well* Nólad for secret ally!! Nólad for secret ally!!
Aurienia - *stares* You are really in France? Whoah!! *rubs her head* What do you mean? It isn't a relapse or something! I am just fine! I am torturing my favourite characters and annoying my readers to no end and feeling great!! *g* Well, the horse idea - don't ask me. Really. These things just keep popping into my head, it's real scary sometimes... And I think you are quite right there - Glorfindel _would_ probably have taken Elrond to the healers. And locked him in his rooms for the next few centuries. *gulps* Mad chimpanzees? Well, that's something I really want to see... But don't worry, I won't kill him - yet ... *evil cackle* Mhahahaha!!
Lurker - *hands Lurker a cookie* Good guess, really! Of course Cornallar isn't so stupid to bring Estel, which is probably quite a good thing. Elrond would probablly get himself killed if he saw his son like this right now... Yes, I know, Elrond is acting a little bit strange here - but, uhm, yes, he's worried out of his mind. That's it. *g*
TrustingFriendship - Owww, thanks! I'm glad you like it so much, that's always nice to hear! And don't worry, they will all get the change to get even with the kidnappers, sooner or later - hmm, later, I think... *g* Well, Estel should get some payback? Okay, then I'll have to stop beating him up. Dammit. *g*
Firnsarnien - *stomps feet as well* Was not!! Not a real one, anyway! I mean, no one was in immediate mortal peril or falling off trees or getting attacked by mountain goblins or something!! *g* Yeah, well, Nólad is quite a nice guy, isn't he? I don't really know what to do with him, but I have an idea, and that's never good!! *cackles maniacally* But I'm glad you like him. Poor elf. *pats his head* Thanks for the review!
ManuKu - Armes Wesen, du! Wie alt ist denn der Wurm? Alles jenseits von 2 ist dann wieder ertraeglich... *g* Tja, das mit dem Anketten hoert sich theoretisch nach einer guten Idee an, obwohl ich irgendwie glaube, dass es einen kleinen diplomatischen Zwischenfall geben koennte, wenn der Lord von Rivendell den Prinzen von Mirkwood ankettet... *fieses Grinsen* Na, freut mich doch, dass du die Szene mochtest! *froehliches Grinsen* Ich habe auch ein bisschen geseufzt, als ich sie geschrieben habe - aber sag's keinem weiter! *betet verzweifelt, dass hier keiner Deutsch kann*
Arwen-Evenstar - Don't worry - I would never kill Estel! I wouldn't survive it, since I know lots of craz... uhm, I mean, rather obssessive fangirls who would come after me if I ever did... Dammit. *g* Thanks a lot for reviewing!
AngelsofLight - Oh no - I don't use knives. I just ask my good friend Elrond and ... borrow his chainsaw!! *evil grin* Uhm, the blood on the tree was not from the tree! Nor from a squirrel. That was supposed to be Aragorn's blood, you know - he and being tied to that tree and ... but you knew that, didn't you? And since I don't want you to die: Here's the next chapter!
Salara - 'Beruhigender Einfluss'?? Du erwartest wirklich einen beruhigenden Einfluss, wenn du mich zwingst, sechs Stunden lang "Sissi" zu gucken??? Du kannst von Glueck sprechen, dass ich noch nicht beschlossen habe, alle Charaktere und _ganz besonders_ Elrond einen langsamen und schmerzvollen Tod sterben zu lassen!!! Und dein Lieblingselb ist nicht leichtglaeubig, er glaubt nur keine Wahl zu haben, und da er denkt, es sei alles seine Schuld (was zu einem gewissen Punkt ja auch stimmt), geht er eben. Und die Qual ist - im Moment, da habe ich mich noch nicht zu schlimmerem entschlossen - eher psychisch. Aber auch da ist Cornallar ziemlich gut, das muss man ihm lassen... *g* Und ihr wollt hierdrauf mit 'vereinter Kreativitaet' reagieren? Na, dann mal gute Nacht... *g*
*does a happy dance* Thanks so much! Every time I just want to go to bed instead of posting another chapter, I think of your lovely reviews and what you would do to me and I change my mind! *g*