Disclaimer: For full disclaimer, please see chapter 1.
A/N:
Wohoooo!! I'm back!!! *big fat grin*
A very merry Hello to all of you from this beautiful island, home of Shepherd's Pie, Mint Sauce, Marmite and Bovril (*shudders at mere thought of the latter two*). How can people actually eat that? One of my friends ate a toast with Marmite and peanut butter today! Don't look at me like that, I actually _saw_ it!!! *g*
For anyone who doesn't know about English culinary peculiarities, Marmite is a, well, a .... thing. It's yeast extract, and you can drink it or eat it as a breakfast spread. That's what English people say, anyway... *winks*
Uhm, okay, enough of that...
Thank you all soooo much for your lovely reviews! I managed to go online twice last week, and they all made me laugh! With happiness, of course... *g* That was when I discovered C&S had stolen one of my names! *face darkens* Seobryn is _my_ name!! Ah well, theirs is still a great story, so I won't complain - much.
I am indeed having a great time here in good ol' England, wheather's been great, believe it or not! That is also the reason why I can't promise to update as regularly as I did at home, but I'll try not to let you wait longer than five days, okay? Okay then. *g*
Here we go, chapter 19 is here!! *audience claps* Thank you, thank you, thank you!
It's a lot longer than I would have wanted, but I just had the last paragraph in my head, and I just _had_ to end it like that. I doubt you'll be complaining about the length, anyway... *g*
Read on and you'll understand why I haven't posted this before I left.
*mutters under her breath* God, you'd have killed me, England or not...
Enjoy and review, please!!
Chapter 19
"Brother?"
"Yes, Elladan?"
"If I ever use the words "cave", "Legolas", "not too bad" and "goblins" in one sentence again, feel free to shoot me. In fact, do it now and get it over with, agreed?"
Elrohir sighed softly, trying to peer over his older brother's shoulder to catch a look at whatever had triggered another round of Elladan's smart comments, but since they were of the exact same height, it was a hard thing to accomplish.
"Agreed. Later. Now what is it?"
Legolas who stood next to the older twin turned around slightly, flashing Elrohir a sympathetic smile.
"The exit is blocked."
"Blocked? What? How?" Elrohir asked, a sinking feeling spreading in his stomach. "Just tell me it's not goblins. Please?"
Elladan turned as well, shooting the elven prince a dark look as if it was Legolas' fault that a bunch of goblins had chosen the only exit that led out of this maze of tunnels for their camp fire.
'It's not that I have invited them or anything!' the fair haired elf thought irritated, returning the glare in kind.
"Of course there are goblins, Elrohir. What did you expect?" he heard Elladan ask in a tired voice which he could understand only too well. Since their last encounter with the foul things a day ago they had pressed on with only very few rests in between, and to find the only way out blocked by another horde of the creatures, now that they could see the stars and smell the fresh air, was slightly frustrating.
'Slightly?' the annoying voice asked, chuckling unbelievingly.
Very well, he amended, then he felt very frustrated. To be perfectly honest, he couldn't remember having felt quite this frustrated in his whole life, and that included several of the most boring council meetings within living memory.
He looked up as Elrohir tried to push past him, hugging his injured left arm to his body.
"What are you doing?" he asked confused, eyeing the younger twin closely. The dark haired elf's light was dimmed to an almost non-existent glow now; perhaps he was losing it.
"I have had enough. I am going over there, and if they don't let me pass, they will regret it, that I swear by Eärendil's light. And if I don't see mentioned light soon, I will go insane, right here, right now," Elrohir stated, gazing grimly at Legolas and his brother.
Elladan gave his brother a stern look.
"If you do that, I am not going to be the one who drags what will be left of you back to father. Think, Elrohir! You wouldn't get further than ten feet before they would simply shoot you."
Elrohir glared back, but relented quickly.
"You are right. I'm sorry. I just can't stand this darkness for much longer."
Legolas nodded, placing a slender hand on his friend's shoulder.
"I know, my friend. But we need a plan, or no-one of us is leaving this cursed hole."
"Do you have an idea?" the older twin asked, studying the other elf closely. He knew that wicked sparkle in the prince's eye, and, in his experience, it was never a good thing if that sparkle was directed against you.
"I have indeed, mellonamin. Listen to me for a second…"
When he had finished his explanations a few minutes later, Elrohir gave him an indignant glare.
"I am not staying here with … with that thing! I absolutely refuse!!" He pointed at the white horse behind them, which looked even unhappier than the dark haired elf, if such a thing was even possible.
Legolas sighed, rolling his eyes. Why had he known that Elrohir would react exactly like this?
He opened his mouth to argue, but Elladan spoke first, coming to his friend's aid.
"Hush, Elrohir. It's a good plan. Legolas is right. You wouldn't be much help to us with your arm. Stay here and keep them off our backs."
"And your wrist is so much more helpful, is it?" the younger twin shot back, but dropped his eyes to the ground quickly. "Very well, you are right. Both of you. I will cover you, but rather from that beast than from any goblins."
The other two looked at each other, nodding slightly.
"This won't take long. There are only six or seven of them," Legolas said, smiling at Elrohir before turning around and sneaking off into the shadows, leaving the wide space of the passageway to Elladan.
"Tell me again why I have to be the bait," the older twin complained as he walked up to the foul creatures, trying to make as much noise as possible and cursing softly when they still didn't hear him. "I am not going further than to this rock. There is no cover beyond that point."
The elven prince snickered as he readied his bow and flattened himself against the wall, making sure once again that his hair was covered.
"You are perfect, my friend. Nobody can tramp as noisily as you. Besides, I am the archer, remember?"
Elladan cursed some more.
"Just you wait, Legolas, just you wait. I'll get you for this entire episode, one of these days I will get you…"
At this point the twin's ranting was interrupted when he had to dive for cover rather abruptly as a crude arrow flew over his head, hitting the rocks behind him.
Very good, Legolas thought as he aimed at the first of the yelling goblins that came rushing into view now that they had seen the dark haired elf, just like I thought.
Waiting for them to come a bit closer, he finally released the projectile, hitting the creature in the heart. The others didn't even realize that there had to be a second adversary before Legolas had killed two more, taking aim carefully for he wasn't really sure of his eyesight right now. The world tended to sway and swim in and out of focus in a rather annoying fashion.
The attacking goblins were decimated even more when Elladan's sword started to aid Legolas' efforts, and soon only two of them were left. The fair haired elf killed his adversary with a swipe of his knives, grimacing in disgust as dark blood splattered all over his hands, when he heard a panicked shout from behind him. Identifying it as Elrohir's voice, he quickly scanned his surroundings to see Elladan struggle with a big goblin that was slowly preparing to plunge a thick knife into his chest. Under normal circumstances it wouldn't have been a problem for the older twin, but right now he was exhausted, and his weakened wrist wouldn't obey his commands.
Legolas let himself drop to the ground, ignoring his head that screamed in pain, and grabbed the bow he had dropped seconds earlier when the creatures had identified his position. At a later time he could remember few times when he had notched and fired an arrow faster or with more determination, and he watched with satisfaction as the last goblin's eyes grew large as the arrow hit right it in the forehead, killing it instantly.
Elladan fell back against the wall, breathing heavily. That had been close. That goblin had very nearly killed him, he had felt how his strength had given out, little by little…
He looked up a second later when he saw Legolas approach, grinning down at him.
"It is a good bow," the prince said simply.
The older twin laughed shakily, reaching out for his friend's hand.
"It is, mellonamin," he stated as Legolas pulled him to his feet, "And never have I been more thankful that I have given you something. And that includes that time when I put the shovel in your hands after putting worms in Estel's boots last year."
The other elf laughed at the memory.
"Elbereth, he very nearly killed me!"
Before the twin could reply, Elrohir came into view, looking worried and disgruntled at the same time.
"Are you alright, brother? And you, Legolas? Is one of you hurt?"
Elladan shook his head, smiling at his twin.
"Nay, don't worry. We are both fine. What about you? Were there goblins?" he asked with a pointed look at a blood stained piece of cloth that covered Elrohir's right hand.
Elrohir shook his head quickly to reassure his brother.
"Only one. It wasn't the problem. It's that demon horse!" he added with an accusing look at Legolas. "It bit me! It waited till you were out of sight and then it bit me!! Stop grinning, it's not funny!!"
He glared at the horse that came up behind him, looking happier than any of them could remember in a long time.
The three of them began to make their way to the exit, breathing in the cold air deeply and watching the twinkling stars that shone brightly in the night sky.
"I don't know, Elrohir, I'm sure it didn't mean it," Legolas tried to defend his horse as they settled down on a small ledge a few hundred feet away from the cave entrance, simply enjoying the fact that they had managed to escape the mountain.
The twins turned and gave him an identical stare.
"Very well, perhaps it did," he amended quickly.
"What are we going to do now?" he asked, trying to change the topic before the twins could decide to avenge themselves on the animal. "I think Cornallar and your father will come down here tomorrow in the early evening. I can try and travel to Mirkwood to get some reinforcements."
Elladan nodded slowly, smiling softly when he surveyed his surroundings. He would never have though he could be so happy to see the Misty Mountains.
"That would be wonderful, my friend. But the only option we have is to wait for them and follow them when they have passed by. No one knows where Cornallar's home is, and the elves will be careful that nobody sees them with Estel or the other humans."
At that Legolas frowned. It reminded him of a thing he had asked himself numerous times during their long journey under the mountains: How was that possible? If these elves had lived near his father's realm for the past millennium or longer, how was it possible that no one ever encountered them? That no one knew of their existence, or where they lived? How was it possible that they moved around as they pleased, in the company of human mercenaries no less, and never even got caught by a patrol once? How?
Suddenly an idea began to form in his mind, an idea too frightening to consider, but too logical to ignore. Cornallar would need help, he would need an informant amongst the warriors, someone who told him about the scheduled patrols and things like that… Someone who didn't like humans overly much and wouldn't have a problem with Cornallar's opinions about them…
The prince gasped out loud when he finished that thought. It couldn't be, could it? His heart grew cold when he remembered Glónduil's words that he had spoken as a matter of good-bye over a week ago.
Let him be, Celylith, if he doesn't want our help, we won't force him to accept it. There are strange things abroad, dwarves, men and elves, and sometimes even both travelling together…
Men and elves…
Legolas closed his eyes, fighting down the pain and guilt he felt. If he was right, then this was his fault, in a sense. If he had seen what his former friend really felt like, he would have been able to somehow prevent all this. There would have been a way, perhaps…
He barely heard Elrohir's worried voice ask,
"Legolas? Are you alright?"
The prince didn't open his eyes for a while, his face frozen in an emotionless façade.
"'No one knows where their home is'," he repeated softly, slowly opening tired silver-blue eyes and fixing them on the anxious faces of the twins.
"I know somebody who does. And, by the Valar, I will make sure he tells me."
Elrond watched the nervous horse in front of him in the early sunlight. The human on top of it felt anything but comfortable in this frozen environment, and this feeling slowly communicated itself to the animal as well. It was obvious the beast hadn't much experience with ice or snow, let alone ice or snow in quantities such as these.
'Five minutes,' he mused thoughtfully, 'Five minutes and then they are going to fall.' He watched as they drew closer to a particularly narrow spot and amended quickly. 'Three minutes.'
Just as he had thought took the horse one look at the narrow passage that glittered with ice and stopped, snorting and shaking its head in a way that rather clearly said that it didn't intend to set one foot forward in the near future. The rider cursed and hit his heels in the beast's flanks, forcing it to resume its walk, which proved to be a mistake quickly. The horse started to slide to the side at almost the exact same moment its hooves touched the ice, and its desperate attempts to get back to safe ground only caused it to skid down into the direction of the frozen mountainside faster, from which it would plummet down into the bottomless chasm to their right, taking its rider with it.
Before it could come that far though, Elrond had spurred on his elven horse that had a lot less trouble on the ice and had grabbed the horse's reins, stopping its slide and helping it back to the snow covered path a few feet ahead. Handing the leather reins back to the man who had let go of them in an attempt to hold on to the animal, he gave him a cautioning glare.
"The next time your horse doesn't want to go somewhere, listen to it. It knows a lot better where to step and where not to."
The man nodded, his eyes wide with surprise and terror. He was still breathing hard, having just narrowly escaped certain death. Ignoring the teasing comments of his companions, the human rode on, vowing not only never to look at an elf again after this was over, but also never to set foot in the Misty Mountains again either. Both were just too unpredictable.
The Lord of Rivendell watched the retreating back of the human; he had the certain feeling that this one hadn't learnt anything from his little near-death experience.
"Why did you do that?" a soft voice asked to his left, and Elrond turned to look into the truly surprised face of his former advisor. "Why didn't you let him fall?"
"Because I had no reason to," Elrond answered seriously, looking at Cornallar in surprise. "I had to help him, if I hadn't, I wouldn't be better than a common murderer. He didn't deserve this."
"How do you know that?" the other elf asked, looking at the men in disgust. "You would have had to worry about one man less if you had let him die."
"It would have been wrong not to help him," Elrond retorted simply.
"Sweet Eru, 'wrong'? It would have been one piece less to trouble you, you would have been one step closer to victory!"
"There are rules you have to follow in every game, Cornallar."
The dark haired elf snorted.
"Not in this one, Peredhil. There are games you have to win, no matter the cost."
Elrond raised his head at this, his gaze determined.
"There we disagree. The end never justifies the means, which is something I though you knew. Haven't you learned anything in Rivendell?"
Cornallar didn't seem to mind the other elf's words. Elrond wondered for a moment if this was a good thing or a bad thing, and then decided that it wasn't good. Cornallar was either too busy planning his death or already so far-gone that he only heard what he wanted to hear.
The dark haired elf smiled jovially at the Lord of Rivendell, telling him,
"Oh, I have learned a great many things under your tutelage, o great and mighty Lord of Imladris! One is that you can never trust lower races like men, for they will bring about your ruin, consciously or unconsciously. Another is that you, my lord, are so busy cuddling your beloved edain that you forget about the needs of your own people. And third, that exactly this is your weakness, Peredhil: You are not willing to make sacrifices. You cannot win if you don't change that, and so the initiative lies with me. All you can do is react to everything I do, and therefore are always one step behind."
At those words the elf lord leaned forward slightly, his grey eyes boring into Cornallar's.
"This game is not over yet, Cornallar, never forget that. It has only just begun, and you are already planning the victory celebration. This is your weakness, and it always has been: Your arrogance. You are overconfident, you just assume that everything will go according to the plan you have laid in the beginning. And that is, as every player can assure you, a grave mistake.
Your plan may be good, it may even be very good, but it is not perfect, for no game plan can ever be perfect. You can't plan for every eventuality, all it takes is one un-foreseen move, one situation you haven't thought of, one piece that is taken when you don't expect it or is not taken at all, and your plan crumbles. Then you lose the initiative, and before you even know what's just happened, you are in the defensive, watching your pieces get taken one by one."
Elrond leaned even closer, so that now only inches remained between the two elves' faces.
"As you said, you risk all you have. But so do I, because you have forced me to. One thing I swear to you, Cornallar, and I swear it by my father's star: I will see this game to the end. And when you least expect it, I will make my move. I will watch you fall, you and your pieces, and I will make sure you can never play such games again."
He turned abruptly, spurring on his horse again slightly. He shouldn't have let Cornallar get under his skin again, but, one way or the other, this was going to end soon. He knew these mountains quite well, and this evening they should finally get off them. Then he would get some answers, answers to questions that threatened to drive him insane with worry.
Cornallar watched the dark haired elf lord ride on, and, for the first time since they had met again, he asked himself if he hadn't underestimated the Lord of Rivendell after all.
The woods came finally into reach, and the lone elf on the white horse let out a huge sigh of relief. Since he had parted company with the twins, it had seemed to him that the woods of his home drew nearer and nearer, only to take a giant jump backwards when he wasn't looking. When he had crossed the Anduin, the sun had just risen in the east, casting a soft golden glow over the lands and causing him to once again thank all the Valar that might be listening that they had escaped Nogrodrim, in his case for the second time. There had been times when he hadn't really believed they would make it.
By now he had reached the edges of the forest, and when he felt the gloom of Mirkwood surround him, he smiled happily. It was good to be home, even if it was under these circumstances.
'Well, the only thing I need now is a patrol,' Legolas thought, hoping that Glónduil was still with his men and had not returned to the palace. The time he would need to get there was something neither Aragorn nor Lord Elrond had.
The prince's smile grew a little wider when he remembered the twins' reactions when he had told him of his thoughts and suspicions concerning his former friend. Especially Elladan had voiced his plans for him loudly, and Legolas was really hoping that nothing serious had befallen his friend or the Lord of Imladris, and be it only for Glónduil's sake. The twins' eyes had adopted an identical look of coldness and fury when he had told them about the other elf's actions and words, a look that didn't bode well for the dark haired elf's future.
He and the twins had agreed that someone needed to ride ahead and get Glónduil to tell them where the elves' hideout was located, if it truly was him that was passing information on to Cornallar as Legolas suspected, but about the identity of said person a heated debate had broken out. While Legolas had argued that he was the healthiest (at which the two had broken out in rather insulting laughter) and the only one that stood a chance of getting the horse to cooperate without ending up in several pieces, the twins had claimed that they would get Glónduil to cooperate.
When he was finished with him, Elladan had claimed, his eyes flashing grimly, he would tell him everything he wanted to know. And a lot more after that.
In the end, Legolas had managed to convince them and they had agreed that, once he had found out where Estel was being kept, he would send as many warriors as possible westwards to meet them, while they would follow him east as fast as they could.
At the thought of his former friend hot fury washed once again over his senses, colouring his slightly fuzzy vision a bloody red for a second or two.
'It's fortunate they didn't accompany me,' he thought wryly, 'If even I cannot control my temper, what would they have done?'
He hadn't really been paying attention to his surroundings, and so it came that he looked up to see a figure on the road, blocking his path, bow drawn and pointing unwaveringly at him.
"Halt! Who enters the Elven King's realm?"
Legolas smiled as he identified the voice as belonging to one of the younger captains who served in the same guard as Celylith and Glónduil.
Throwing back his hood, he reined in his horse and said,
"Mae govannen, ohtar en ataramin!"
The reaction was instant, and, from Legolas' point of view, quite amusing. The young elf's eyes grew wide when he saw at whom he pointed his weapon, and he returned it to his back with a speed that did a warrior of Mirkwood justice.
"Your Highness! I didn't know … I mean, I'm sorry … forgive me …" the elf stuttered, his face paling rapidly.
The prince laughed and jumped off his horse, holding onto the beast for a second as he waited for the world to stop spinning.
"There's nothing to forgive," he said when the trees had returned to the places nature had assigned them and had stopped dancing around each other, "It's my fault; I should have paid attention. But please, tell me: Are you alone? I need to speak to Celylith and…"
He closed his mouth with an audible snap when he saw Glónduil step around the large tree trunk he had been hiding behind. The dark haired elf looked at him in surprise.
"Legolas? What are you doing here? I thought you were in Rivendell with your little…"
Before he could say another word, Legolas had closed the distance between them and grabbed him by the shirt.
"Where are they, Glónduil? Where have they taken him?"
The other elf looked at him in shock, green eyes growing wide when the prince shook him slightly to emphasize his point.
"Where is who? What are you talking about? Are you alright?"
Legolas' eyes grew cold at that, reminding Glónduil of wells of ice-cold water that seemed to burn with an inner light.
"No," Legolas spat, "I am not alright! I have rarely been farther away from alright than I am now! Where are they? The elves that live somewhere around here, no more than three or four, their leader someone who doesn't like humans too much? Does that ring a bell?"
The fair haired prince watched the other elf's eyes closely, and really, there was the small flicker of understanding that was quickly masked by indignation and confusion.
"I don't know what you're talking about, your Highness," Glónduil said as neutrally as possible.
Legolas had to stop himself from doing some of the things Elladan had suggested, starting with slowly strangling this pathetic liar.
"Listen to me, Glónduil," he said in a low, dangerous tone of voice, tightening his grip on the other's shirt, "Listen to me very carefully. You know exactly of what and whom I speak, I can see it in your eyes. Those … elves have kidnapped Strider, and do you know why? To get through him to Lord Elrond, and they have succeeded! Right now he is on his way over the Misty Mountains to stop them from killing his son, and once they arrive, which should happen sometime tomorrow, they will kill them both, if they are lucky. Do you understand? This is no longer about a few humans! It is my friend and Lord Elrond we speak of!!"
The dark haired elf looked at him with wide eyes.
"But they … they said they wouldn't …"
"Excuse me, my lord?" the young captain asked, confusing plain to see on his face. "What is going on here? What has happened to Strider?"
Legolas took his eyes off his former friend for a second to fix them on the confused elf. He had forgotten all about him for a while.
"What's going on here, captain, is rather simple," he explained in a far too calm voice, "Glónduil has been passing on information about patrolling schedules and similar topics for years, to people who have taken captive Strider and the Lord of Rivendell. And who have tried to kill me and the Lords Elladan and Elrohir as well," he added as an afterthought, glaring at the dark haired elf he spoke of.
"That is treason!" the young warrior exclaimed horrified, studying the prince unbelievingly.
"That it is," Legolas agreed quietly. "You have betrayed your own people, Glónduil, and you have betrayed me as well. Why? It can't be because of your dislike for Strider, it has started a long time before that. What did Cornallar tell you?"
The dark haired elf looked at his prince in shock.
"I didn't mean it like that, you have to believe me! They said they just wanted to be left alone, especially by edain and others like them. I haven't even met Cornallar more than half a dozen times; it was mostly Nólad with whom I had contact."
Legolas looked at him unconvinced, but relaxed his hold on his shirt slightly. At last, this was an opportunity to gather some information about the mysterious elves.
"Nólad?"
Glónduil nodded.
"He is one of Cornallar's friends, the only one that is left now. The other two were killed about thirty years ago when they were trapped by orcs in a landslide, I think."
The fair haired prince narrowed his eyes in thought. So there were only two elves left, and Cornallar was still with Lord Elrond. That was good. The fewer elves there were around, the easier it would be to get Aragorn out of there, wherever he was.
"Where are they?" he asked again, silver-blue eyes boring into green ones.
When Glónduil hesitated and dropped his eyes, he grabbed his shirt tighter and dragged him closer until their faces were only inches apart.
"This is the last chance you will get, Glónduil. If you don't do it for me, then do it for yourself. If you tell me now where they are hiding, I will tell the king that you have shown goodwill and will plead him for mercy. Your first loyalty lies with this kingdom, and it is your duty to protect Mirkwood and its allies. Protect them, not betray them to the enemy! Please, if our friendship ever meant anything to you, then tell me!!"
The other elf swallowed, his breath coming in laboured gasps now. After a few seconds he closed his eyes, and all the tension seemed to leave his body, like a puppet whose strings had abruptly been severed.
"North," he whispered so softly the other two elves could barely understand him. "They live in a valley to the north called Eskadol. It's about half a day's ride from here, if you hurry. Just follow the road leading into the direction of the Grey Mountains just west of the Great River, and look out for a small hidden path leading to the north-west. Follow that and you will reach Eskadol."
Legolas let go of him, looking at him with a mixture of slowly fading anger and pity.
"Very well. Captain?"
The other that had stared at his companion in disgust snapped to attention.
"Yes, my lord?"
"You two are alone?"
"Yes, my lord, we are. We separated into different groups two days ago, six groups with three men each. Celylith was with us as well, but he, well, he…" the young elf trailed off, shooting a furtive glance at his prince.
"He did what?" the fair haired elf asked in slight exasperation. He needed to get to Aragorn, now, he just knew his human friend needed him. Urgently. Right now.
"Well, your Highness, you know him. We found an empty spider's nest yesterday, and the tracks of a baby leading off into the southern woods…"
Legolas held up his hand, silencing the blushing warrior. It wasn't his fault his commanders were a pair of lunatics, he decided, rubbing his aching forehead. The one betrayed his own people, his oaths and everything he stood for, and the other ran off chasing baby spiders.
'If ada ever finds out about all this, we are doomed. All of us.'
"Please, stop. I don't want to know. Alright, this is what we are going to do: You," he looked at Glónduil, who seemed to have shrunk to half his size since Legolas' arrival, "You will travel to the groups further away from here, and get all the warriors you can back here. If possible, get some from the other patrols as well, if you can find them on such short notice. You," the prince nodded at the young captain, who still stood to attention. One of these days he would have to talk with him about that, he decided with an inward sigh.
"You," he repeated, "Will gather all those within a radius of a few miles. Then you will return to the edges of the forest and wait for the Lords Elladan and Elrohir to arrive. They should get here this night. When Glónduil and the others have joined you, you will follow me."
"Follow you? Where are you going? And wouldn't it be a lot quicker if I helped notify the others as well, not to mention safer?" the younger elf asked with a pointed look at Glónduil.
Legolas returned to his horse and mounted, careful not to move his head too much.
"I will be travelling to Eskadol. I do not intend to allow them to kill my friend just like this. And to answer your other question: Yes, it would be quicker, and probably safer. But I wouldn't want to be responsible for what the twins would do once they found Glónduil alone, waiting for them. They are not in a very forgiving mood right now, believe me."
He turned his horse and was just preparing to leave again when Glónduil stepped up to him, looking at him with pleading eyes.
"Please, you have to believe me, Legolas. I didn't know what they were planning. I would never have harmed Strider or Lord Elrond intentionally! I didn't know what would come of this!"
"That is the problem: You didn't think. You acted out of your silly, ill-founded prejudices instead of using your head. Besides, it is not me who you have to convince or whose forgiveness you have to seek. Ask Lord Elrond's pardon, and that of his sons. I will keep my word and plead my father for mercy, but let me promise you one thing: If Strider or Lord Elrond have taken any serious harm, I will demand satisfaction. And that is only if the twins let you live to even face trial," Legolas answered coolly.
Turning to the younger warrior, he gave him a slight nod.
"I will wait for your arrival tomorrow. With Elbereth's help Strider and I will already meet you on your way there."
The captain nodded.
"We will be there. Namárië, my lord."
With one last look at his former friend Legolas urged the horse onwards, north into the direction of the nearest crossing.
It was truly a strange thing, he mused sadly as he spurred on his horse to an even faster gait, that the last bonds of an already broken friendship would now help him to save the life of another friend.
Some things were truly stronger than even the deepest wounds life could inflict on one's soul.
Nólad hid a smile when he looked at the young ranger, who was sitting at the entrance of the main cavern, clearly enjoying the sunshine. Yes, he thought, it had been a wise decision to have him brought out here. The elf didn't know if it was because the human had grown up in Imladris, because of his life as a ranger or because of his elven blood, but he had taken only one look at him this morning and decided that the boy needed to get out of the small cave he was being held in, or Cornallar would return to find him dead.
'Which wouldn't make him so unhappy either,' he mused dryly, idly flicking some blades of grass from his shoulder. 'But he ordered me to keep the dúnadan alive, so that's what I will do.'
The elf stood and walked over to one of the wooden shelves, retrieving his weapons and strapping his quiver to his back. After a second he grabbed a thick cloak as well; if he knew anything about the weather here, it would snow soon. He shouldered his pack after he had made sure that he had indeed packed his healing utensils; the trip with the ranger had taught him to be prepared for everything, especially with this family.
Soundlessly he returned to the young human who was being closely monitored by Donyc who stood next to him, an arrogant sneer on his face. When the fair haired elf drew closer, the ranger cocked his head to the side and turned around, fixing dark grey eyes on him.
"Enjoy it while you can, ranger," Nólad advised him, taking one last look at him. The man's injuries were healing, slowly, but he was still weak and the slight fever hadn't let go of him yet. In addition to that he was looking a lot paler and thinner than the first time the elf had seen him.
A mild sadness stole over his features when he remembered that day. He had been at the edges of Mirkwood with his lord, meeting with the young warrior that supplied them with information, when, just visible to their elven eyes, two horses had appeared on the Old Forest Road, their riders laughing helplessly about something one of them had said second ago. Cornallar had asked who they were, surprise on his face when he realized that one of them was human.
The fair haired elf sighed softly, he could still hear Glónduil's response ring in his head: "That is Legolas, the Prince of Mirkwood, my liege's son. And that edan is called Strider, a ranger of the north, foster son of Lord Elrond of Rivendell."
Nólad shook his head, it was amazing how much a simple sentence could effect so many lives. Cornallar hadn't said anything to that, which wasn't unusual, for he left the talking to Nólad if possible, but the second he had heard Lord Elrond's name, a fire had been kindled in his dark eyes, a fire that had only intensified over the past months and that was slowly spreading to consume everything the fair haired elf knew and loved.
Shaking his head again, he forced himself to concentrate on the present. It wouldn't help anyone if he lost himself in memories or contemplations of what-could-have-been-if-only. Lifting his head, he beckoned the human commander to follow him as he turned around and started to descend into the valley. Donyc complied after assigning another human to the duty of guarding the ranger, and followed the elf after giving Aragorn a malicious look that promised the ranger that he would return.
A few minutes later, Nólad had reached his horse that stood at the foot of the rock face, waiting for him. Stroking its nose gently, the elf began to stow away the things he had brought. When he had finished with that, he leaned against the animal and sighed in exasperation. It was truly astonishing how slow and clumsy humans could behave, he mused. His keen ears noted a crashing sound, followed by a blood-curdling curse. Smiling broadly, Nólad thought that what Donyc threatened to do to the steep mountain path was rather improbable, but amusing to hear nonetheless. A second later the dark haired human appeared, rubbing his grazed hand and glaring at the elf, who quickly masked his smile.
Nólad turned serious again, taking a step forwards.
"I have to meet with my lord and the others; they will get off the mountains this evening. I leave the ranger in your care, but remember: If you harm him, you will regret it. If he has one new injury when we return, I will be most unhappy. Understood?"
Donyc nodded quickly and dropped his eyes. There was no sense in reasoning with the elf now. He would be gone in a few minutes anyway.
"Yes, Master Elf. When will you return?"
The fair haired elf studied the man closely as he mounted his horse, musing that his friend had been right: These humans were not to be trusted. For a second he contemplated if he should take the ranger with him, but abandoned that idea quickly. The young man would only hinder his progress, especially in the condition he was in now. He would have to trust Donyc to keep his word.
Ignoring the little voice inside his head that started to roar with laughter at that, he said,
"Tomorrow in the morning, I think. Remember my words and make sure the sentinels stay on the posts we have assigned them. It is important that no one enters this valley without our permission."
Donyc nodded again, impatience on his face. How stupid did that elf think he was? He was perfectly capable of securing a valley, for Eru's sake!
"I will, Master Elf. We will await you tomorrow."
Nólad narrowed his eyes as he looked hard at the human. Sighing inwardly, he nodded at the man and spurred on his horse, deciding that he had met a multitude of orcs that had appeared a lot more trustworthy than Donyc. And they had been better liars as well.
Donyc grinned and settled down to wait until he was entirely sure that the elf had left the valley. After half an hour he rose again, giving Addramyr, Gwaer and several other men that were close by a sign to follow him. This was going to be fun.
When the small troupe of humans made their way back up the path that led to the main cave, Aragorn closed his eyes and tried to suppress the feelings of helplessness and fear that started to wrap themselves around his heart. He had picked up a few words today that suggested that the elf would be leaving to meet with Cornallar and his father, and when he had seen Nólad mount his horse and disappear the path they had come a few days ago, he had known that it was only a matter of time till Donyc would decide to pay him a little visit and continue their 'conversation'. He would never miss a chance just as this one, no matter what the elf said.
He could hear the men enter the cavern, stumbling over rocks and small cracks in the stone and overall giving a very good impression of a horde of incompetent orcs.
'A Elbereth, this is not fair!' he thought furiously, holding onto that emotion rather than let himself be consumed by a new wave of terror, 'Not for a second time in a week! Besides, ada is less than a day away, and Legolas and the twins…'
The thought of his friend and brothers fuelled the small glow of fury to a roaring fire, a fire that gave him enough strength to open his eyes and glare fiercely at Donyc who had stepped closer and was roughly pulling him to his feet.
"Well, ranger," he said mockingly, smiling pleasantly at Aragorn, "We are alone once more. Just you and me – oh yes, and a lot of helpers. Simply pretend they aren't here, alright? They won't disturb us a bit, I promise you that."
Aragorn gave the other man a look that was colder than the coldest lake at winter, but didn't answer. He had learned the hard way to keep his mouth shut, besides, he didn't know if he would be able to speak in a firm voice anyway. His mind was overcome with memories of the last time Donyc had looked at him like that, memories of pain and fear and terror that blocked out all reason…
Some of this must have reflected in his eyes, for the man's smile grew even wider as he produced a knife and began to slowly cut open the ranger's overcoat.
An annoyingly calm and reasonable part of Aragorn's mind noted that they had finally managed to ruin his favourite overcoat, while the rest of him was busy fighting off the panic and concentrating on Donyc's words.
"Not so talkative anymore, are we, ranger? Well, don't worry, that will change soon, just remember the last time. There you voiced your feeling quite loudly after a while, wouldn't you agree?"
With a quick slash he cut away the bandages, and while the dark haired human was inspecting the arrow wound and the multicoloured bruises that seemed to cover every single inch of the young ranger's chest, that detached part of Aragorn's brain stated calmly that Nólad would not be pleased to see his bandages ripped like this.
While Aragorn was trying very hard to pretend he was somewhere else and at the same time attempting to silence that annoying little voice, Addramyr shuffled nervously, taking in his commander's gleaming eyes and the excitement on his face.
"You heard the elf, Donyc. No new injuries."
Donyc turned around, his grip on the knife tightening.
"Who said anything about new injuries, Addramyr? We have plenty of old ones to work with, don't you think?"
When the human commander turned back to him, knife in hand and a sadistic gleam in his dark eyes, Aragorn found that there was no fury hot enough to keep the panic and fear in check that rose inside him now, pulling him into their paralysing embrace and filling his heart with darkness.
Legolas studied the valley in front of him with a keen interest. The humans' small campfires burned brightly in the night, shining like tiny pinpricks of starlight through the dark trees. The fair haired prince shifted slightly on his tree, careful not to disturb the colourful foliage. He was quite sure that the human guards wouldn't notice him even if he jumped around like a crazed squirrel and shook every branch he could reach, but you could never be too careful.
He had arrived a few hours ago, and Glónduil had been right: When one knew what one was looking for, Eskadol was quite easy to find.
It had been easy enough to get past the sentinels, because the men had talked so loudly that even a deaf person would have been able to notice them, cleverly posted as they may have been. From their talk he had learned that his friend was being kept in the caves themselves and that he was still alive, even though several comments made his blood run cold with with worry and anger.
Checking the positions of the guards once more, Legolas decided that he had waited long enough. To know that his friend was somewhere in that … cave and be forced to wait until all the men had fallen asleep, something which had taken hours, that was an experience the young prince didn't want to repeat. Ever.
He dropped down to the forest floor, making his way soundlessly to the rock face and, careful to blend in with his surroundings as far as possible, began to climb up the stony path as quickly and stealthily as he could.
While he was looking for safe spots to place his feet, Legolas mused that, if he had still needed proof that these elves were insane, it had just presented itself.
'What kind of elf would chose a cave, a cave for Elbereth's sake! They are as insane as you can possibly get…'
Having reached the entrance, Legolas stood still, his head covered by his hood and eyes half-lidded to blend into the darkness as far as possible. The pale light of the moon illuminated the spacious cavern, and as the prince surveyed the room, he grudgingly admitted that it was the homeliest cave he had ever seen. The walls were covered by long shelves on which there lay weapons, tools, dried herbs and countless other things, and the wooden tables and sleeping places were carved and neat. Tearing himself out of his reverie, he quickly scanned the walls for openings. There were three of them. The left one he ignored, it would lead to the other caverns whose entrances he had seen from his hiding place in the tree. Quickly making his way over to the openings, he stood very still and tried to calm his wildly racing heart that was beating far too fast in his chest.
Cocking his head to the right, he listened closely. He wasn't sure, and he wouldn't bet on it, but he thought he had heard the breathing of a human down that right corridor. He shrugged lightly, it was as good a bet as any. Drawing his knife with his right, he ignored the discomfort that move caused and made his way inside, gliding over the stone floor as soundlessly as an avenging ghost. If anyone had seen his face right now, he wouldn't have questioned that for a second either.
After a few hundred steps he stopped and listened again; there was definitely someone in here. As he rounded a bend in the tunnel, he saw the soft glow of a torch ahead, and soon his eyes fixed on the figure of a very bored looking human who sat leaned against the wall, eyes closed and dozing lightly, his hands resting on a big wooden club. Legolas stepped closer and, taking aim carefully, let the hilt of his silver knife crash down on the man's skull, sending him into unconsciousness instantly.
Stepping over the slumped body of the human, he moved over to the entrance of a very small cave. Carefully peering inside, Legolas felt how the breath caught in his throat and his whole body seemed to freeze in shock.
Inside this cave was Aragorn, his arms bound behind him and secured to one of the metal rings that were set into the rock, secured in a manner that kept the young man on his toes and had to very nearly wrench his arms from their sockets. His body was slumped to the one side in an attempt to take some of his weight off his arms and stay on his feet at the same time, his chest bare and bruised horribly.
'Ilúvatar, what weight?' the prince thought horrified, studying the tall frame of his human friend. He had never seen him looking so thin and frail.
That thought seemed to bring him out of his temporary paralysis and he rushed over to the young human. Now that he stood right in front of him, he was almost afraid to touch him, afraid that he had been too late after all…
Anxiously the prince reached out and carefully tipped up his friend's head.
"Strider? Strider!" He fought to keep his voice calm and soft as he saw the bruises on his friend's face. There was a long cut as well, running over Aragorn's cheek down to his chin that looked as if it had been healing and had been opened again. Not having the time to dwell on this, Legolas tried to straighten the young man with one hand while with the other trying to get to the ropes that bound him to the ring.
At Legolas' soft voice Aragorn had begun to stir, and just as the prince brought the softly gleaming knife up in front of his face to cut his friend loose, he opened his eyes, obviously struggling to focus on something. His gaze fell on the weapon in his friend's hand, and he clenched his eyes shut, recoiling from the person he though to be one of the men.
"No … please …" His voice was so soft that Legolas could hardly understand him.
Alarmed, the elven prince let the knife sink to his side, the ropes forgotten for the moment.
"Strider? Estel, it is me, don't worry, I will not harm you. It is I, Legolas!"
When he heard the soft, worried elven voice Aragorn opened his eyes again, confusion and carefully masked hope in his eyes.
"Legolas?" he asked, blinking several times to make sure that this wasn't Nólad again or some other kind of hallucination. When his friend's image didn't shift into anyone else's, he repeated, unbelievingly,
"Legolas? Is that really you?"
The fair haired elf smiled gently, reaching out slowly so he wouldn't startle his friend again, and placed a slender hand against his friend cheek.
"Of course it is me, reckless human. I have never been anyone else in my whole life and I don't intend to change that now."
The young ranger stared at his friend with wide, frightened eyes.
"But … Donyc … Cornallar, they said you were dead! Crushed in a cave! Elladan and Elrohir, are they…"
Legolas interrupted him quickly, understanding dawning on his face. He might have known that Cornallar would find a way to inform his men of what had happened in the mountains, as well as the fact that that accursed human would promptly tell Aragorn of their "death".
"They are fine. Both of them."
When he saw the still slightly panicked looks Aragorn gave him, he placed his other hand against the side of the human's face, looking him in the eye.
"We are fine, Estel. Cornallar and his men tried to crush us, but, as you can see, they didn't succeed. Your brothers are alive and well."
Aragorn looked at him for a second longer, before slumping against the prince in relief.
"Thank the Valar," he muttered quietly. "I thought you were dead, I thought you were all dead…"
Legolas shook his head, shocked at how fragile his friend felt against him.
"Nay, my friend, it's not so easy to get rid of us. Let's get you out of here, shall we?"
The young ranger nodded soundlessly, his face pressed against the elven prince's shoulder. Legolas quickly drew his knife again and severed the rope that secured Aragorn to the wall, trying to catch his friend as gently as possible when he slid forwards as the strain on his arms was removed.
"Can you walk, Strider?" he asked, steadying the human and reaching around to cut the ropes between his hands.
"Are there any more guards? Where is that Nólad and…"
He trailed off before he had even begun to cut the coarse rope that secured Aragorn's hand behind him as his gaze fell onto his friend's back that had been facing the rock wall up until now.
Legolas' swallowed twice before he could find his voice again. If he had thought Aragorn's chest looked bad, then his back looked terrible. Deep cuts that still bled slightly criss-crossed his back, cuts that looked as if they had been closing and healing nicely but had been torn open again, not too long ago. Dried and drying blood covered the whole area from shoulders to waist.
Legolas drew in a sharp breath.
"Elbereth, what happened, Estel? Who did this? By all the stars in the heavens, who did this to you?"
He felt the man stiffen under his touch and heard at the same time a sneering voice, a voice that he had been hearing for the past week in his dreams night after night, mocking and laughing at him.
"Well, I think that would be me, Master Elf."
The prince whirled around, only to come face to face with the figure of Donyc, who stood in the entrance, grinning evilly at him.
And behind the dark haired human he could see three men, each of them pointing a loaded crossbow at Aragorn and him.
TBC...
mellonamin - my friend
edain - humans, men (pl.)
Mae govannen, ohtar en ataramin - Well met, warrior of my father
ada - father (daddy)
dúnadan - 'Man of the West', ranger
edan - human, man (sg.)
*grins sheepishly* You see what I mean? I'm a responsible author, I just couldn't let you hang like this for twelve days! *looks at readers* Uhm, guys, somehow I have the feeling that you don't really appreciate that ... what are you doing with that warg? I don't think that's a good idea, folks, I think you're overreacting a bit ... HELP!
*g* Whatever. Hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think!
Meaning: Review? Yes? Please? Pretty please??
Additional A/N:
Well, guys, I'm sorry, but the computer crashed halfway through replying to those WONDERFUL reviews, and I just don't have time to do it again. So it's either to post now without personal comments or later tomorrow with them. I'm sorry, but I can't stay in front of the screen for much longer, so please forgive me for not replying once.
Rest assured that I loved and cherished every single one of them, and I mean that quite literally. *g*
I will of course reply after the next chapter again, if there are any reviews. *hint hint*
Thank you all so much for the reviews, they just ... absolutely make my day! It's great to know there are people out there who like your story, especially when you are in a strange country where people eat steak-and-kidney-pie, drink warm beer and drive on the wrong side of the road! Just kidding, just kidding! England is great!!
Thanks again for all your support!
A/N:
Wohoooo!! I'm back!!! *big fat grin*
A very merry Hello to all of you from this beautiful island, home of Shepherd's Pie, Mint Sauce, Marmite and Bovril (*shudders at mere thought of the latter two*). How can people actually eat that? One of my friends ate a toast with Marmite and peanut butter today! Don't look at me like that, I actually _saw_ it!!! *g*
For anyone who doesn't know about English culinary peculiarities, Marmite is a, well, a .... thing. It's yeast extract, and you can drink it or eat it as a breakfast spread. That's what English people say, anyway... *winks*
Uhm, okay, enough of that...
Thank you all soooo much for your lovely reviews! I managed to go online twice last week, and they all made me laugh! With happiness, of course... *g* That was when I discovered C&S had stolen one of my names! *face darkens* Seobryn is _my_ name!! Ah well, theirs is still a great story, so I won't complain - much.
I am indeed having a great time here in good ol' England, wheather's been great, believe it or not! That is also the reason why I can't promise to update as regularly as I did at home, but I'll try not to let you wait longer than five days, okay? Okay then. *g*
Here we go, chapter 19 is here!! *audience claps* Thank you, thank you, thank you!
It's a lot longer than I would have wanted, but I just had the last paragraph in my head, and I just _had_ to end it like that. I doubt you'll be complaining about the length, anyway... *g*
Read on and you'll understand why I haven't posted this before I left.
*mutters under her breath* God, you'd have killed me, England or not...
Enjoy and review, please!!
Chapter 19
"Brother?"
"Yes, Elladan?"
"If I ever use the words "cave", "Legolas", "not too bad" and "goblins" in one sentence again, feel free to shoot me. In fact, do it now and get it over with, agreed?"
Elrohir sighed softly, trying to peer over his older brother's shoulder to catch a look at whatever had triggered another round of Elladan's smart comments, but since they were of the exact same height, it was a hard thing to accomplish.
"Agreed. Later. Now what is it?"
Legolas who stood next to the older twin turned around slightly, flashing Elrohir a sympathetic smile.
"The exit is blocked."
"Blocked? What? How?" Elrohir asked, a sinking feeling spreading in his stomach. "Just tell me it's not goblins. Please?"
Elladan turned as well, shooting the elven prince a dark look as if it was Legolas' fault that a bunch of goblins had chosen the only exit that led out of this maze of tunnels for their camp fire.
'It's not that I have invited them or anything!' the fair haired elf thought irritated, returning the glare in kind.
"Of course there are goblins, Elrohir. What did you expect?" he heard Elladan ask in a tired voice which he could understand only too well. Since their last encounter with the foul things a day ago they had pressed on with only very few rests in between, and to find the only way out blocked by another horde of the creatures, now that they could see the stars and smell the fresh air, was slightly frustrating.
'Slightly?' the annoying voice asked, chuckling unbelievingly.
Very well, he amended, then he felt very frustrated. To be perfectly honest, he couldn't remember having felt quite this frustrated in his whole life, and that included several of the most boring council meetings within living memory.
He looked up as Elrohir tried to push past him, hugging his injured left arm to his body.
"What are you doing?" he asked confused, eyeing the younger twin closely. The dark haired elf's light was dimmed to an almost non-existent glow now; perhaps he was losing it.
"I have had enough. I am going over there, and if they don't let me pass, they will regret it, that I swear by Eärendil's light. And if I don't see mentioned light soon, I will go insane, right here, right now," Elrohir stated, gazing grimly at Legolas and his brother.
Elladan gave his brother a stern look.
"If you do that, I am not going to be the one who drags what will be left of you back to father. Think, Elrohir! You wouldn't get further than ten feet before they would simply shoot you."
Elrohir glared back, but relented quickly.
"You are right. I'm sorry. I just can't stand this darkness for much longer."
Legolas nodded, placing a slender hand on his friend's shoulder.
"I know, my friend. But we need a plan, or no-one of us is leaving this cursed hole."
"Do you have an idea?" the older twin asked, studying the other elf closely. He knew that wicked sparkle in the prince's eye, and, in his experience, it was never a good thing if that sparkle was directed against you.
"I have indeed, mellonamin. Listen to me for a second…"
When he had finished his explanations a few minutes later, Elrohir gave him an indignant glare.
"I am not staying here with … with that thing! I absolutely refuse!!" He pointed at the white horse behind them, which looked even unhappier than the dark haired elf, if such a thing was even possible.
Legolas sighed, rolling his eyes. Why had he known that Elrohir would react exactly like this?
He opened his mouth to argue, but Elladan spoke first, coming to his friend's aid.
"Hush, Elrohir. It's a good plan. Legolas is right. You wouldn't be much help to us with your arm. Stay here and keep them off our backs."
"And your wrist is so much more helpful, is it?" the younger twin shot back, but dropped his eyes to the ground quickly. "Very well, you are right. Both of you. I will cover you, but rather from that beast than from any goblins."
The other two looked at each other, nodding slightly.
"This won't take long. There are only six or seven of them," Legolas said, smiling at Elrohir before turning around and sneaking off into the shadows, leaving the wide space of the passageway to Elladan.
"Tell me again why I have to be the bait," the older twin complained as he walked up to the foul creatures, trying to make as much noise as possible and cursing softly when they still didn't hear him. "I am not going further than to this rock. There is no cover beyond that point."
The elven prince snickered as he readied his bow and flattened himself against the wall, making sure once again that his hair was covered.
"You are perfect, my friend. Nobody can tramp as noisily as you. Besides, I am the archer, remember?"
Elladan cursed some more.
"Just you wait, Legolas, just you wait. I'll get you for this entire episode, one of these days I will get you…"
At this point the twin's ranting was interrupted when he had to dive for cover rather abruptly as a crude arrow flew over his head, hitting the rocks behind him.
Very good, Legolas thought as he aimed at the first of the yelling goblins that came rushing into view now that they had seen the dark haired elf, just like I thought.
Waiting for them to come a bit closer, he finally released the projectile, hitting the creature in the heart. The others didn't even realize that there had to be a second adversary before Legolas had killed two more, taking aim carefully for he wasn't really sure of his eyesight right now. The world tended to sway and swim in and out of focus in a rather annoying fashion.
The attacking goblins were decimated even more when Elladan's sword started to aid Legolas' efforts, and soon only two of them were left. The fair haired elf killed his adversary with a swipe of his knives, grimacing in disgust as dark blood splattered all over his hands, when he heard a panicked shout from behind him. Identifying it as Elrohir's voice, he quickly scanned his surroundings to see Elladan struggle with a big goblin that was slowly preparing to plunge a thick knife into his chest. Under normal circumstances it wouldn't have been a problem for the older twin, but right now he was exhausted, and his weakened wrist wouldn't obey his commands.
Legolas let himself drop to the ground, ignoring his head that screamed in pain, and grabbed the bow he had dropped seconds earlier when the creatures had identified his position. At a later time he could remember few times when he had notched and fired an arrow faster or with more determination, and he watched with satisfaction as the last goblin's eyes grew large as the arrow hit right it in the forehead, killing it instantly.
Elladan fell back against the wall, breathing heavily. That had been close. That goblin had very nearly killed him, he had felt how his strength had given out, little by little…
He looked up a second later when he saw Legolas approach, grinning down at him.
"It is a good bow," the prince said simply.
The older twin laughed shakily, reaching out for his friend's hand.
"It is, mellonamin," he stated as Legolas pulled him to his feet, "And never have I been more thankful that I have given you something. And that includes that time when I put the shovel in your hands after putting worms in Estel's boots last year."
The other elf laughed at the memory.
"Elbereth, he very nearly killed me!"
Before the twin could reply, Elrohir came into view, looking worried and disgruntled at the same time.
"Are you alright, brother? And you, Legolas? Is one of you hurt?"
Elladan shook his head, smiling at his twin.
"Nay, don't worry. We are both fine. What about you? Were there goblins?" he asked with a pointed look at a blood stained piece of cloth that covered Elrohir's right hand.
Elrohir shook his head quickly to reassure his brother.
"Only one. It wasn't the problem. It's that demon horse!" he added with an accusing look at Legolas. "It bit me! It waited till you were out of sight and then it bit me!! Stop grinning, it's not funny!!"
He glared at the horse that came up behind him, looking happier than any of them could remember in a long time.
The three of them began to make their way to the exit, breathing in the cold air deeply and watching the twinkling stars that shone brightly in the night sky.
"I don't know, Elrohir, I'm sure it didn't mean it," Legolas tried to defend his horse as they settled down on a small ledge a few hundred feet away from the cave entrance, simply enjoying the fact that they had managed to escape the mountain.
The twins turned and gave him an identical stare.
"Very well, perhaps it did," he amended quickly.
"What are we going to do now?" he asked, trying to change the topic before the twins could decide to avenge themselves on the animal. "I think Cornallar and your father will come down here tomorrow in the early evening. I can try and travel to Mirkwood to get some reinforcements."
Elladan nodded slowly, smiling softly when he surveyed his surroundings. He would never have though he could be so happy to see the Misty Mountains.
"That would be wonderful, my friend. But the only option we have is to wait for them and follow them when they have passed by. No one knows where Cornallar's home is, and the elves will be careful that nobody sees them with Estel or the other humans."
At that Legolas frowned. It reminded him of a thing he had asked himself numerous times during their long journey under the mountains: How was that possible? If these elves had lived near his father's realm for the past millennium or longer, how was it possible that no one ever encountered them? That no one knew of their existence, or where they lived? How was it possible that they moved around as they pleased, in the company of human mercenaries no less, and never even got caught by a patrol once? How?
Suddenly an idea began to form in his mind, an idea too frightening to consider, but too logical to ignore. Cornallar would need help, he would need an informant amongst the warriors, someone who told him about the scheduled patrols and things like that… Someone who didn't like humans overly much and wouldn't have a problem with Cornallar's opinions about them…
The prince gasped out loud when he finished that thought. It couldn't be, could it? His heart grew cold when he remembered Glónduil's words that he had spoken as a matter of good-bye over a week ago.
Let him be, Celylith, if he doesn't want our help, we won't force him to accept it. There are strange things abroad, dwarves, men and elves, and sometimes even both travelling together…
Men and elves…
Legolas closed his eyes, fighting down the pain and guilt he felt. If he was right, then this was his fault, in a sense. If he had seen what his former friend really felt like, he would have been able to somehow prevent all this. There would have been a way, perhaps…
He barely heard Elrohir's worried voice ask,
"Legolas? Are you alright?"
The prince didn't open his eyes for a while, his face frozen in an emotionless façade.
"'No one knows where their home is'," he repeated softly, slowly opening tired silver-blue eyes and fixing them on the anxious faces of the twins.
"I know somebody who does. And, by the Valar, I will make sure he tells me."
Elrond watched the nervous horse in front of him in the early sunlight. The human on top of it felt anything but comfortable in this frozen environment, and this feeling slowly communicated itself to the animal as well. It was obvious the beast hadn't much experience with ice or snow, let alone ice or snow in quantities such as these.
'Five minutes,' he mused thoughtfully, 'Five minutes and then they are going to fall.' He watched as they drew closer to a particularly narrow spot and amended quickly. 'Three minutes.'
Just as he had thought took the horse one look at the narrow passage that glittered with ice and stopped, snorting and shaking its head in a way that rather clearly said that it didn't intend to set one foot forward in the near future. The rider cursed and hit his heels in the beast's flanks, forcing it to resume its walk, which proved to be a mistake quickly. The horse started to slide to the side at almost the exact same moment its hooves touched the ice, and its desperate attempts to get back to safe ground only caused it to skid down into the direction of the frozen mountainside faster, from which it would plummet down into the bottomless chasm to their right, taking its rider with it.
Before it could come that far though, Elrond had spurred on his elven horse that had a lot less trouble on the ice and had grabbed the horse's reins, stopping its slide and helping it back to the snow covered path a few feet ahead. Handing the leather reins back to the man who had let go of them in an attempt to hold on to the animal, he gave him a cautioning glare.
"The next time your horse doesn't want to go somewhere, listen to it. It knows a lot better where to step and where not to."
The man nodded, his eyes wide with surprise and terror. He was still breathing hard, having just narrowly escaped certain death. Ignoring the teasing comments of his companions, the human rode on, vowing not only never to look at an elf again after this was over, but also never to set foot in the Misty Mountains again either. Both were just too unpredictable.
The Lord of Rivendell watched the retreating back of the human; he had the certain feeling that this one hadn't learnt anything from his little near-death experience.
"Why did you do that?" a soft voice asked to his left, and Elrond turned to look into the truly surprised face of his former advisor. "Why didn't you let him fall?"
"Because I had no reason to," Elrond answered seriously, looking at Cornallar in surprise. "I had to help him, if I hadn't, I wouldn't be better than a common murderer. He didn't deserve this."
"How do you know that?" the other elf asked, looking at the men in disgust. "You would have had to worry about one man less if you had let him die."
"It would have been wrong not to help him," Elrond retorted simply.
"Sweet Eru, 'wrong'? It would have been one piece less to trouble you, you would have been one step closer to victory!"
"There are rules you have to follow in every game, Cornallar."
The dark haired elf snorted.
"Not in this one, Peredhil. There are games you have to win, no matter the cost."
Elrond raised his head at this, his gaze determined.
"There we disagree. The end never justifies the means, which is something I though you knew. Haven't you learned anything in Rivendell?"
Cornallar didn't seem to mind the other elf's words. Elrond wondered for a moment if this was a good thing or a bad thing, and then decided that it wasn't good. Cornallar was either too busy planning his death or already so far-gone that he only heard what he wanted to hear.
The dark haired elf smiled jovially at the Lord of Rivendell, telling him,
"Oh, I have learned a great many things under your tutelage, o great and mighty Lord of Imladris! One is that you can never trust lower races like men, for they will bring about your ruin, consciously or unconsciously. Another is that you, my lord, are so busy cuddling your beloved edain that you forget about the needs of your own people. And third, that exactly this is your weakness, Peredhil: You are not willing to make sacrifices. You cannot win if you don't change that, and so the initiative lies with me. All you can do is react to everything I do, and therefore are always one step behind."
At those words the elf lord leaned forward slightly, his grey eyes boring into Cornallar's.
"This game is not over yet, Cornallar, never forget that. It has only just begun, and you are already planning the victory celebration. This is your weakness, and it always has been: Your arrogance. You are overconfident, you just assume that everything will go according to the plan you have laid in the beginning. And that is, as every player can assure you, a grave mistake.
Your plan may be good, it may even be very good, but it is not perfect, for no game plan can ever be perfect. You can't plan for every eventuality, all it takes is one un-foreseen move, one situation you haven't thought of, one piece that is taken when you don't expect it or is not taken at all, and your plan crumbles. Then you lose the initiative, and before you even know what's just happened, you are in the defensive, watching your pieces get taken one by one."
Elrond leaned even closer, so that now only inches remained between the two elves' faces.
"As you said, you risk all you have. But so do I, because you have forced me to. One thing I swear to you, Cornallar, and I swear it by my father's star: I will see this game to the end. And when you least expect it, I will make my move. I will watch you fall, you and your pieces, and I will make sure you can never play such games again."
He turned abruptly, spurring on his horse again slightly. He shouldn't have let Cornallar get under his skin again, but, one way or the other, this was going to end soon. He knew these mountains quite well, and this evening they should finally get off them. Then he would get some answers, answers to questions that threatened to drive him insane with worry.
Cornallar watched the dark haired elf lord ride on, and, for the first time since they had met again, he asked himself if he hadn't underestimated the Lord of Rivendell after all.
The woods came finally into reach, and the lone elf on the white horse let out a huge sigh of relief. Since he had parted company with the twins, it had seemed to him that the woods of his home drew nearer and nearer, only to take a giant jump backwards when he wasn't looking. When he had crossed the Anduin, the sun had just risen in the east, casting a soft golden glow over the lands and causing him to once again thank all the Valar that might be listening that they had escaped Nogrodrim, in his case for the second time. There had been times when he hadn't really believed they would make it.
By now he had reached the edges of the forest, and when he felt the gloom of Mirkwood surround him, he smiled happily. It was good to be home, even if it was under these circumstances.
'Well, the only thing I need now is a patrol,' Legolas thought, hoping that Glónduil was still with his men and had not returned to the palace. The time he would need to get there was something neither Aragorn nor Lord Elrond had.
The prince's smile grew a little wider when he remembered the twins' reactions when he had told him of his thoughts and suspicions concerning his former friend. Especially Elladan had voiced his plans for him loudly, and Legolas was really hoping that nothing serious had befallen his friend or the Lord of Imladris, and be it only for Glónduil's sake. The twins' eyes had adopted an identical look of coldness and fury when he had told them about the other elf's actions and words, a look that didn't bode well for the dark haired elf's future.
He and the twins had agreed that someone needed to ride ahead and get Glónduil to tell them where the elves' hideout was located, if it truly was him that was passing information on to Cornallar as Legolas suspected, but about the identity of said person a heated debate had broken out. While Legolas had argued that he was the healthiest (at which the two had broken out in rather insulting laughter) and the only one that stood a chance of getting the horse to cooperate without ending up in several pieces, the twins had claimed that they would get Glónduil to cooperate.
When he was finished with him, Elladan had claimed, his eyes flashing grimly, he would tell him everything he wanted to know. And a lot more after that.
In the end, Legolas had managed to convince them and they had agreed that, once he had found out where Estel was being kept, he would send as many warriors as possible westwards to meet them, while they would follow him east as fast as they could.
At the thought of his former friend hot fury washed once again over his senses, colouring his slightly fuzzy vision a bloody red for a second or two.
'It's fortunate they didn't accompany me,' he thought wryly, 'If even I cannot control my temper, what would they have done?'
He hadn't really been paying attention to his surroundings, and so it came that he looked up to see a figure on the road, blocking his path, bow drawn and pointing unwaveringly at him.
"Halt! Who enters the Elven King's realm?"
Legolas smiled as he identified the voice as belonging to one of the younger captains who served in the same guard as Celylith and Glónduil.
Throwing back his hood, he reined in his horse and said,
"Mae govannen, ohtar en ataramin!"
The reaction was instant, and, from Legolas' point of view, quite amusing. The young elf's eyes grew wide when he saw at whom he pointed his weapon, and he returned it to his back with a speed that did a warrior of Mirkwood justice.
"Your Highness! I didn't know … I mean, I'm sorry … forgive me …" the elf stuttered, his face paling rapidly.
The prince laughed and jumped off his horse, holding onto the beast for a second as he waited for the world to stop spinning.
"There's nothing to forgive," he said when the trees had returned to the places nature had assigned them and had stopped dancing around each other, "It's my fault; I should have paid attention. But please, tell me: Are you alone? I need to speak to Celylith and…"
He closed his mouth with an audible snap when he saw Glónduil step around the large tree trunk he had been hiding behind. The dark haired elf looked at him in surprise.
"Legolas? What are you doing here? I thought you were in Rivendell with your little…"
Before he could say another word, Legolas had closed the distance between them and grabbed him by the shirt.
"Where are they, Glónduil? Where have they taken him?"
The other elf looked at him in shock, green eyes growing wide when the prince shook him slightly to emphasize his point.
"Where is who? What are you talking about? Are you alright?"
Legolas' eyes grew cold at that, reminding Glónduil of wells of ice-cold water that seemed to burn with an inner light.
"No," Legolas spat, "I am not alright! I have rarely been farther away from alright than I am now! Where are they? The elves that live somewhere around here, no more than three or four, their leader someone who doesn't like humans too much? Does that ring a bell?"
The fair haired prince watched the other elf's eyes closely, and really, there was the small flicker of understanding that was quickly masked by indignation and confusion.
"I don't know what you're talking about, your Highness," Glónduil said as neutrally as possible.
Legolas had to stop himself from doing some of the things Elladan had suggested, starting with slowly strangling this pathetic liar.
"Listen to me, Glónduil," he said in a low, dangerous tone of voice, tightening his grip on the other's shirt, "Listen to me very carefully. You know exactly of what and whom I speak, I can see it in your eyes. Those … elves have kidnapped Strider, and do you know why? To get through him to Lord Elrond, and they have succeeded! Right now he is on his way over the Misty Mountains to stop them from killing his son, and once they arrive, which should happen sometime tomorrow, they will kill them both, if they are lucky. Do you understand? This is no longer about a few humans! It is my friend and Lord Elrond we speak of!!"
The dark haired elf looked at him with wide eyes.
"But they … they said they wouldn't …"
"Excuse me, my lord?" the young captain asked, confusing plain to see on his face. "What is going on here? What has happened to Strider?"
Legolas took his eyes off his former friend for a second to fix them on the confused elf. He had forgotten all about him for a while.
"What's going on here, captain, is rather simple," he explained in a far too calm voice, "Glónduil has been passing on information about patrolling schedules and similar topics for years, to people who have taken captive Strider and the Lord of Rivendell. And who have tried to kill me and the Lords Elladan and Elrohir as well," he added as an afterthought, glaring at the dark haired elf he spoke of.
"That is treason!" the young warrior exclaimed horrified, studying the prince unbelievingly.
"That it is," Legolas agreed quietly. "You have betrayed your own people, Glónduil, and you have betrayed me as well. Why? It can't be because of your dislike for Strider, it has started a long time before that. What did Cornallar tell you?"
The dark haired elf looked at his prince in shock.
"I didn't mean it like that, you have to believe me! They said they just wanted to be left alone, especially by edain and others like them. I haven't even met Cornallar more than half a dozen times; it was mostly Nólad with whom I had contact."
Legolas looked at him unconvinced, but relaxed his hold on his shirt slightly. At last, this was an opportunity to gather some information about the mysterious elves.
"Nólad?"
Glónduil nodded.
"He is one of Cornallar's friends, the only one that is left now. The other two were killed about thirty years ago when they were trapped by orcs in a landslide, I think."
The fair haired prince narrowed his eyes in thought. So there were only two elves left, and Cornallar was still with Lord Elrond. That was good. The fewer elves there were around, the easier it would be to get Aragorn out of there, wherever he was.
"Where are they?" he asked again, silver-blue eyes boring into green ones.
When Glónduil hesitated and dropped his eyes, he grabbed his shirt tighter and dragged him closer until their faces were only inches apart.
"This is the last chance you will get, Glónduil. If you don't do it for me, then do it for yourself. If you tell me now where they are hiding, I will tell the king that you have shown goodwill and will plead him for mercy. Your first loyalty lies with this kingdom, and it is your duty to protect Mirkwood and its allies. Protect them, not betray them to the enemy! Please, if our friendship ever meant anything to you, then tell me!!"
The other elf swallowed, his breath coming in laboured gasps now. After a few seconds he closed his eyes, and all the tension seemed to leave his body, like a puppet whose strings had abruptly been severed.
"North," he whispered so softly the other two elves could barely understand him. "They live in a valley to the north called Eskadol. It's about half a day's ride from here, if you hurry. Just follow the road leading into the direction of the Grey Mountains just west of the Great River, and look out for a small hidden path leading to the north-west. Follow that and you will reach Eskadol."
Legolas let go of him, looking at him with a mixture of slowly fading anger and pity.
"Very well. Captain?"
The other that had stared at his companion in disgust snapped to attention.
"Yes, my lord?"
"You two are alone?"
"Yes, my lord, we are. We separated into different groups two days ago, six groups with three men each. Celylith was with us as well, but he, well, he…" the young elf trailed off, shooting a furtive glance at his prince.
"He did what?" the fair haired elf asked in slight exasperation. He needed to get to Aragorn, now, he just knew his human friend needed him. Urgently. Right now.
"Well, your Highness, you know him. We found an empty spider's nest yesterday, and the tracks of a baby leading off into the southern woods…"
Legolas held up his hand, silencing the blushing warrior. It wasn't his fault his commanders were a pair of lunatics, he decided, rubbing his aching forehead. The one betrayed his own people, his oaths and everything he stood for, and the other ran off chasing baby spiders.
'If ada ever finds out about all this, we are doomed. All of us.'
"Please, stop. I don't want to know. Alright, this is what we are going to do: You," he looked at Glónduil, who seemed to have shrunk to half his size since Legolas' arrival, "You will travel to the groups further away from here, and get all the warriors you can back here. If possible, get some from the other patrols as well, if you can find them on such short notice. You," the prince nodded at the young captain, who still stood to attention. One of these days he would have to talk with him about that, he decided with an inward sigh.
"You," he repeated, "Will gather all those within a radius of a few miles. Then you will return to the edges of the forest and wait for the Lords Elladan and Elrohir to arrive. They should get here this night. When Glónduil and the others have joined you, you will follow me."
"Follow you? Where are you going? And wouldn't it be a lot quicker if I helped notify the others as well, not to mention safer?" the younger elf asked with a pointed look at Glónduil.
Legolas returned to his horse and mounted, careful not to move his head too much.
"I will be travelling to Eskadol. I do not intend to allow them to kill my friend just like this. And to answer your other question: Yes, it would be quicker, and probably safer. But I wouldn't want to be responsible for what the twins would do once they found Glónduil alone, waiting for them. They are not in a very forgiving mood right now, believe me."
He turned his horse and was just preparing to leave again when Glónduil stepped up to him, looking at him with pleading eyes.
"Please, you have to believe me, Legolas. I didn't know what they were planning. I would never have harmed Strider or Lord Elrond intentionally! I didn't know what would come of this!"
"That is the problem: You didn't think. You acted out of your silly, ill-founded prejudices instead of using your head. Besides, it is not me who you have to convince or whose forgiveness you have to seek. Ask Lord Elrond's pardon, and that of his sons. I will keep my word and plead my father for mercy, but let me promise you one thing: If Strider or Lord Elrond have taken any serious harm, I will demand satisfaction. And that is only if the twins let you live to even face trial," Legolas answered coolly.
Turning to the younger warrior, he gave him a slight nod.
"I will wait for your arrival tomorrow. With Elbereth's help Strider and I will already meet you on your way there."
The captain nodded.
"We will be there. Namárië, my lord."
With one last look at his former friend Legolas urged the horse onwards, north into the direction of the nearest crossing.
It was truly a strange thing, he mused sadly as he spurred on his horse to an even faster gait, that the last bonds of an already broken friendship would now help him to save the life of another friend.
Some things were truly stronger than even the deepest wounds life could inflict on one's soul.
Nólad hid a smile when he looked at the young ranger, who was sitting at the entrance of the main cavern, clearly enjoying the sunshine. Yes, he thought, it had been a wise decision to have him brought out here. The elf didn't know if it was because the human had grown up in Imladris, because of his life as a ranger or because of his elven blood, but he had taken only one look at him this morning and decided that the boy needed to get out of the small cave he was being held in, or Cornallar would return to find him dead.
'Which wouldn't make him so unhappy either,' he mused dryly, idly flicking some blades of grass from his shoulder. 'But he ordered me to keep the dúnadan alive, so that's what I will do.'
The elf stood and walked over to one of the wooden shelves, retrieving his weapons and strapping his quiver to his back. After a second he grabbed a thick cloak as well; if he knew anything about the weather here, it would snow soon. He shouldered his pack after he had made sure that he had indeed packed his healing utensils; the trip with the ranger had taught him to be prepared for everything, especially with this family.
Soundlessly he returned to the young human who was being closely monitored by Donyc who stood next to him, an arrogant sneer on his face. When the fair haired elf drew closer, the ranger cocked his head to the side and turned around, fixing dark grey eyes on him.
"Enjoy it while you can, ranger," Nólad advised him, taking one last look at him. The man's injuries were healing, slowly, but he was still weak and the slight fever hadn't let go of him yet. In addition to that he was looking a lot paler and thinner than the first time the elf had seen him.
A mild sadness stole over his features when he remembered that day. He had been at the edges of Mirkwood with his lord, meeting with the young warrior that supplied them with information, when, just visible to their elven eyes, two horses had appeared on the Old Forest Road, their riders laughing helplessly about something one of them had said second ago. Cornallar had asked who they were, surprise on his face when he realized that one of them was human.
The fair haired elf sighed softly, he could still hear Glónduil's response ring in his head: "That is Legolas, the Prince of Mirkwood, my liege's son. And that edan is called Strider, a ranger of the north, foster son of Lord Elrond of Rivendell."
Nólad shook his head, it was amazing how much a simple sentence could effect so many lives. Cornallar hadn't said anything to that, which wasn't unusual, for he left the talking to Nólad if possible, but the second he had heard Lord Elrond's name, a fire had been kindled in his dark eyes, a fire that had only intensified over the past months and that was slowly spreading to consume everything the fair haired elf knew and loved.
Shaking his head again, he forced himself to concentrate on the present. It wouldn't help anyone if he lost himself in memories or contemplations of what-could-have-been-if-only. Lifting his head, he beckoned the human commander to follow him as he turned around and started to descend into the valley. Donyc complied after assigning another human to the duty of guarding the ranger, and followed the elf after giving Aragorn a malicious look that promised the ranger that he would return.
A few minutes later, Nólad had reached his horse that stood at the foot of the rock face, waiting for him. Stroking its nose gently, the elf began to stow away the things he had brought. When he had finished with that, he leaned against the animal and sighed in exasperation. It was truly astonishing how slow and clumsy humans could behave, he mused. His keen ears noted a crashing sound, followed by a blood-curdling curse. Smiling broadly, Nólad thought that what Donyc threatened to do to the steep mountain path was rather improbable, but amusing to hear nonetheless. A second later the dark haired human appeared, rubbing his grazed hand and glaring at the elf, who quickly masked his smile.
Nólad turned serious again, taking a step forwards.
"I have to meet with my lord and the others; they will get off the mountains this evening. I leave the ranger in your care, but remember: If you harm him, you will regret it. If he has one new injury when we return, I will be most unhappy. Understood?"
Donyc nodded quickly and dropped his eyes. There was no sense in reasoning with the elf now. He would be gone in a few minutes anyway.
"Yes, Master Elf. When will you return?"
The fair haired elf studied the man closely as he mounted his horse, musing that his friend had been right: These humans were not to be trusted. For a second he contemplated if he should take the ranger with him, but abandoned that idea quickly. The young man would only hinder his progress, especially in the condition he was in now. He would have to trust Donyc to keep his word.
Ignoring the little voice inside his head that started to roar with laughter at that, he said,
"Tomorrow in the morning, I think. Remember my words and make sure the sentinels stay on the posts we have assigned them. It is important that no one enters this valley without our permission."
Donyc nodded again, impatience on his face. How stupid did that elf think he was? He was perfectly capable of securing a valley, for Eru's sake!
"I will, Master Elf. We will await you tomorrow."
Nólad narrowed his eyes as he looked hard at the human. Sighing inwardly, he nodded at the man and spurred on his horse, deciding that he had met a multitude of orcs that had appeared a lot more trustworthy than Donyc. And they had been better liars as well.
Donyc grinned and settled down to wait until he was entirely sure that the elf had left the valley. After half an hour he rose again, giving Addramyr, Gwaer and several other men that were close by a sign to follow him. This was going to be fun.
When the small troupe of humans made their way back up the path that led to the main cave, Aragorn closed his eyes and tried to suppress the feelings of helplessness and fear that started to wrap themselves around his heart. He had picked up a few words today that suggested that the elf would be leaving to meet with Cornallar and his father, and when he had seen Nólad mount his horse and disappear the path they had come a few days ago, he had known that it was only a matter of time till Donyc would decide to pay him a little visit and continue their 'conversation'. He would never miss a chance just as this one, no matter what the elf said.
He could hear the men enter the cavern, stumbling over rocks and small cracks in the stone and overall giving a very good impression of a horde of incompetent orcs.
'A Elbereth, this is not fair!' he thought furiously, holding onto that emotion rather than let himself be consumed by a new wave of terror, 'Not for a second time in a week! Besides, ada is less than a day away, and Legolas and the twins…'
The thought of his friend and brothers fuelled the small glow of fury to a roaring fire, a fire that gave him enough strength to open his eyes and glare fiercely at Donyc who had stepped closer and was roughly pulling him to his feet.
"Well, ranger," he said mockingly, smiling pleasantly at Aragorn, "We are alone once more. Just you and me – oh yes, and a lot of helpers. Simply pretend they aren't here, alright? They won't disturb us a bit, I promise you that."
Aragorn gave the other man a look that was colder than the coldest lake at winter, but didn't answer. He had learned the hard way to keep his mouth shut, besides, he didn't know if he would be able to speak in a firm voice anyway. His mind was overcome with memories of the last time Donyc had looked at him like that, memories of pain and fear and terror that blocked out all reason…
Some of this must have reflected in his eyes, for the man's smile grew even wider as he produced a knife and began to slowly cut open the ranger's overcoat.
An annoyingly calm and reasonable part of Aragorn's mind noted that they had finally managed to ruin his favourite overcoat, while the rest of him was busy fighting off the panic and concentrating on Donyc's words.
"Not so talkative anymore, are we, ranger? Well, don't worry, that will change soon, just remember the last time. There you voiced your feeling quite loudly after a while, wouldn't you agree?"
With a quick slash he cut away the bandages, and while the dark haired human was inspecting the arrow wound and the multicoloured bruises that seemed to cover every single inch of the young ranger's chest, that detached part of Aragorn's brain stated calmly that Nólad would not be pleased to see his bandages ripped like this.
While Aragorn was trying very hard to pretend he was somewhere else and at the same time attempting to silence that annoying little voice, Addramyr shuffled nervously, taking in his commander's gleaming eyes and the excitement on his face.
"You heard the elf, Donyc. No new injuries."
Donyc turned around, his grip on the knife tightening.
"Who said anything about new injuries, Addramyr? We have plenty of old ones to work with, don't you think?"
When the human commander turned back to him, knife in hand and a sadistic gleam in his dark eyes, Aragorn found that there was no fury hot enough to keep the panic and fear in check that rose inside him now, pulling him into their paralysing embrace and filling his heart with darkness.
Legolas studied the valley in front of him with a keen interest. The humans' small campfires burned brightly in the night, shining like tiny pinpricks of starlight through the dark trees. The fair haired prince shifted slightly on his tree, careful not to disturb the colourful foliage. He was quite sure that the human guards wouldn't notice him even if he jumped around like a crazed squirrel and shook every branch he could reach, but you could never be too careful.
He had arrived a few hours ago, and Glónduil had been right: When one knew what one was looking for, Eskadol was quite easy to find.
It had been easy enough to get past the sentinels, because the men had talked so loudly that even a deaf person would have been able to notice them, cleverly posted as they may have been. From their talk he had learned that his friend was being kept in the caves themselves and that he was still alive, even though several comments made his blood run cold with with worry and anger.
Checking the positions of the guards once more, Legolas decided that he had waited long enough. To know that his friend was somewhere in that … cave and be forced to wait until all the men had fallen asleep, something which had taken hours, that was an experience the young prince didn't want to repeat. Ever.
He dropped down to the forest floor, making his way soundlessly to the rock face and, careful to blend in with his surroundings as far as possible, began to climb up the stony path as quickly and stealthily as he could.
While he was looking for safe spots to place his feet, Legolas mused that, if he had still needed proof that these elves were insane, it had just presented itself.
'What kind of elf would chose a cave, a cave for Elbereth's sake! They are as insane as you can possibly get…'
Having reached the entrance, Legolas stood still, his head covered by his hood and eyes half-lidded to blend into the darkness as far as possible. The pale light of the moon illuminated the spacious cavern, and as the prince surveyed the room, he grudgingly admitted that it was the homeliest cave he had ever seen. The walls were covered by long shelves on which there lay weapons, tools, dried herbs and countless other things, and the wooden tables and sleeping places were carved and neat. Tearing himself out of his reverie, he quickly scanned the walls for openings. There were three of them. The left one he ignored, it would lead to the other caverns whose entrances he had seen from his hiding place in the tree. Quickly making his way over to the openings, he stood very still and tried to calm his wildly racing heart that was beating far too fast in his chest.
Cocking his head to the right, he listened closely. He wasn't sure, and he wouldn't bet on it, but he thought he had heard the breathing of a human down that right corridor. He shrugged lightly, it was as good a bet as any. Drawing his knife with his right, he ignored the discomfort that move caused and made his way inside, gliding over the stone floor as soundlessly as an avenging ghost. If anyone had seen his face right now, he wouldn't have questioned that for a second either.
After a few hundred steps he stopped and listened again; there was definitely someone in here. As he rounded a bend in the tunnel, he saw the soft glow of a torch ahead, and soon his eyes fixed on the figure of a very bored looking human who sat leaned against the wall, eyes closed and dozing lightly, his hands resting on a big wooden club. Legolas stepped closer and, taking aim carefully, let the hilt of his silver knife crash down on the man's skull, sending him into unconsciousness instantly.
Stepping over the slumped body of the human, he moved over to the entrance of a very small cave. Carefully peering inside, Legolas felt how the breath caught in his throat and his whole body seemed to freeze in shock.
Inside this cave was Aragorn, his arms bound behind him and secured to one of the metal rings that were set into the rock, secured in a manner that kept the young man on his toes and had to very nearly wrench his arms from their sockets. His body was slumped to the one side in an attempt to take some of his weight off his arms and stay on his feet at the same time, his chest bare and bruised horribly.
'Ilúvatar, what weight?' the prince thought horrified, studying the tall frame of his human friend. He had never seen him looking so thin and frail.
That thought seemed to bring him out of his temporary paralysis and he rushed over to the young human. Now that he stood right in front of him, he was almost afraid to touch him, afraid that he had been too late after all…
Anxiously the prince reached out and carefully tipped up his friend's head.
"Strider? Strider!" He fought to keep his voice calm and soft as he saw the bruises on his friend's face. There was a long cut as well, running over Aragorn's cheek down to his chin that looked as if it had been healing and had been opened again. Not having the time to dwell on this, Legolas tried to straighten the young man with one hand while with the other trying to get to the ropes that bound him to the ring.
At Legolas' soft voice Aragorn had begun to stir, and just as the prince brought the softly gleaming knife up in front of his face to cut his friend loose, he opened his eyes, obviously struggling to focus on something. His gaze fell on the weapon in his friend's hand, and he clenched his eyes shut, recoiling from the person he though to be one of the men.
"No … please …" His voice was so soft that Legolas could hardly understand him.
Alarmed, the elven prince let the knife sink to his side, the ropes forgotten for the moment.
"Strider? Estel, it is me, don't worry, I will not harm you. It is I, Legolas!"
When he heard the soft, worried elven voice Aragorn opened his eyes again, confusion and carefully masked hope in his eyes.
"Legolas?" he asked, blinking several times to make sure that this wasn't Nólad again or some other kind of hallucination. When his friend's image didn't shift into anyone else's, he repeated, unbelievingly,
"Legolas? Is that really you?"
The fair haired elf smiled gently, reaching out slowly so he wouldn't startle his friend again, and placed a slender hand against his friend cheek.
"Of course it is me, reckless human. I have never been anyone else in my whole life and I don't intend to change that now."
The young ranger stared at his friend with wide, frightened eyes.
"But … Donyc … Cornallar, they said you were dead! Crushed in a cave! Elladan and Elrohir, are they…"
Legolas interrupted him quickly, understanding dawning on his face. He might have known that Cornallar would find a way to inform his men of what had happened in the mountains, as well as the fact that that accursed human would promptly tell Aragorn of their "death".
"They are fine. Both of them."
When he saw the still slightly panicked looks Aragorn gave him, he placed his other hand against the side of the human's face, looking him in the eye.
"We are fine, Estel. Cornallar and his men tried to crush us, but, as you can see, they didn't succeed. Your brothers are alive and well."
Aragorn looked at him for a second longer, before slumping against the prince in relief.
"Thank the Valar," he muttered quietly. "I thought you were dead, I thought you were all dead…"
Legolas shook his head, shocked at how fragile his friend felt against him.
"Nay, my friend, it's not so easy to get rid of us. Let's get you out of here, shall we?"
The young ranger nodded soundlessly, his face pressed against the elven prince's shoulder. Legolas quickly drew his knife again and severed the rope that secured Aragorn to the wall, trying to catch his friend as gently as possible when he slid forwards as the strain on his arms was removed.
"Can you walk, Strider?" he asked, steadying the human and reaching around to cut the ropes between his hands.
"Are there any more guards? Where is that Nólad and…"
He trailed off before he had even begun to cut the coarse rope that secured Aragorn's hand behind him as his gaze fell onto his friend's back that had been facing the rock wall up until now.
Legolas' swallowed twice before he could find his voice again. If he had thought Aragorn's chest looked bad, then his back looked terrible. Deep cuts that still bled slightly criss-crossed his back, cuts that looked as if they had been closing and healing nicely but had been torn open again, not too long ago. Dried and drying blood covered the whole area from shoulders to waist.
Legolas drew in a sharp breath.
"Elbereth, what happened, Estel? Who did this? By all the stars in the heavens, who did this to you?"
He felt the man stiffen under his touch and heard at the same time a sneering voice, a voice that he had been hearing for the past week in his dreams night after night, mocking and laughing at him.
"Well, I think that would be me, Master Elf."
The prince whirled around, only to come face to face with the figure of Donyc, who stood in the entrance, grinning evilly at him.
And behind the dark haired human he could see three men, each of them pointing a loaded crossbow at Aragorn and him.
TBC...
mellonamin - my friend
edain - humans, men (pl.)
Mae govannen, ohtar en ataramin - Well met, warrior of my father
ada - father (daddy)
dúnadan - 'Man of the West', ranger
edan - human, man (sg.)
*grins sheepishly* You see what I mean? I'm a responsible author, I just couldn't let you hang like this for twelve days! *looks at readers* Uhm, guys, somehow I have the feeling that you don't really appreciate that ... what are you doing with that warg? I don't think that's a good idea, folks, I think you're overreacting a bit ... HELP!
*g* Whatever. Hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think!
Meaning: Review? Yes? Please? Pretty please??
Additional A/N:
Well, guys, I'm sorry, but the computer crashed halfway through replying to those WONDERFUL reviews, and I just don't have time to do it again. So it's either to post now without personal comments or later tomorrow with them. I'm sorry, but I can't stay in front of the screen for much longer, so please forgive me for not replying once.
Rest assured that I loved and cherished every single one of them, and I mean that quite literally. *g*
I will of course reply after the next chapter again, if there are any reviews. *hint hint*
Thank you all so much for the reviews, they just ... absolutely make my day! It's great to know there are people out there who like your story, especially when you are in a strange country where people eat steak-and-kidney-pie, drink warm beer and drive on the wrong side of the road! Just kidding, just kidding! England is great!!
Thanks again for all your support!