OMG! Thank you so much for the pics that you guys had sent to me!! They were awesome! Like your reviews!
I won't babble much today, so read on!
They had been walking for almost two hours, with Legolas guiding them through confusing mazes of tunnels and narrow passageways. Aragorn and the twins were trying to memorize the way, albeit with much difficulties. Then Legolas led them into a room. The Rivendell brothers stared in awe at what they were seeing.
"This is the old armory," Legolas told them.
"I can see that. Wow!!" Aragorn was looking wide-eyed at the assortment of weapons that filled the space; swords, curve sabers, daggers, arrows, longbows, spears…and what is that? A tomahawk? Aragorn was like a child in a candy house, touching each and every weapon that caught his interest.
The twins also looked as if they were in heaven. "This is incredible!" Elladan cried out, grabbing a magnificent looking saber. "How long have all these been here?"
"Since the tunnel was finished," Legolas replied as he picked a longbow and a quiver of arrows. Strapping the weapons to his back, he then took a beautiful crafted sword, testing it for balance and grip. "These weapons are old, from the Great War. We stock the latest made weapons in the palace armory. But these are still usable."
"Usable?" Elrohir cried out. "These are fantastic! They are still in good condition!"
"Yes, I know." Legolas smiled proudly. "Come along, now. We need to get to the…" At this Legolas stopped. His keen ears had caught some sound coming from the dungeon tunnel. He led his friends through it, moving stealthily.
The sound came again. Someone was banging at the cell bars. "Let us out! Cayel, damn you, you traitor! Let us out!"
When Legolas and his companions reached the end of the tunnel, they saw that all the cells were occupied by the Mirkwood noble elves and warriors. Astonished, the Mirkwood elves stopped shouting instantly as they caught sight of their prince coming towards them. "Your highness!!"
Legolas immediately rushed forward to the nearest cell, reaching his hands out to his people. They immediately grabbed him through the bars, hugging him in great relief. "You're alive! Oh, your highness, you're still alive!!"
Aragorn and the twins watched in respectful silence as Legolas was engulfed in his people's embrace. It was not a usual sight to see such fierce and powerful warriors succumb to emotional displays.
"Is everyone all right? Did he harm you?" Legolas asked in concern as he pulled away, scanning the familiar faces in front of him.
"We are fine, your highness. Well, almost everyone," Sir Jaden, one of the captive elves, replied. "Gared here was stabbed by a sword when he refused to be taken, but his wound is not too serious. The others only suffered cuts and bruises."
"They've only taken us, the ones brave enough to stand up against Cayel's orders. He did not harm our families. Yet," said the other elf.
"Cayel has brought along many Redwood warriors into our realm. All our royal guards are in confusion now that Commander Linden is missing and that the king…is dead," Sir Jaden continued, looking directly into the prince's anguished eyes. "They are losing directions."
Legolas returned the look with pure determination. "Then I'll give them directions." He touched the lock to the cell door and glared at it. "I wish I had the key to this."
"Ah, that won't be a problem with me around." Aragorn stepped forward. He took out a short string of wire from around his belt. Legolas frowned. "What are you going to do?"
"Just watch," Aragorn answered, winking at his brothers. The twins only grinned back. Shrugging, Legolas joined the captive elves looking at the ranger as he knelt down and started to poke around the lock hole with the wire. After a minute of twiddling and jiggling, the lock snapped open.
"Ta-da!" Smiling, Aragorn pulled the cell door open to let the prisoners out.
"I didn't know you can pick locks," Legolas commented, still watching as Aragorn went to the next lock, then the next, and the next, until all the cell doors were unlocked and the prisoners walked free. They all then gathered around the prince, waiting intently for his order.
Legolas stared at his people's faces, one by one. They were looking up to him expectantly. Legolas felt nervous and determined at the same time. These are my people. I need to lead them all to take back what's ours. Valar, help me!
"I'm not good with words," Legolas finally started after a long tense silence. "That's because I'm neither a poet nor a minstrel. I'm a warrior, just like you. And a warrior should never become a traitor. Mirkwood is not only a realm or a kingdom, but it's also a close-knit family. We all have been living together peacefully for thousands of years, Silvans and Sindarins alike. And to me, nothing is more dishonorable than a warrior betraying his own family. Cayel has done that and he must be stopped. I'm going to get rid off him, one way or another. Are you all with me?"
He was greeted by silence at first, but then one by one, the Mirkwood elves cried out, "I'm with you, my lord!"
"So am I, my lord!"
"So will I!"
"As will I!"
It was beginning to become a loud roar that Legolas had to raise his hands and asked for silence. "Good. Now, we need to get to the old armory and gather all the weapons that we'll need. But first, here's the plan"
The prince then divided them all into two groups. One group was led by Sir Jaden, who was also one of Commander Linden's right hand man, that will backtrack through the tunnel and out into the woods. Legolas himself led the group that would venture up into the palace through the dungeon's entrance. "And I need you with me, Estel. I believe the key to the new locks has already fallen into Cayel's hands."
Aragorn grinned back at his friend. "I would never leave your side even if you told me to."
The twins volunteered to go with Sir Jaden. "See you both up there," Elrohir said as the four companions hugged one another.
"Just promise us one thing, Estel, Legolas," Elladan pointed out. "Don't get dead!"
******************
They were about a hundred yards toward the dungeon entrance when Legolas thought of something. "Wait, give me a minute. I need to check on something," he uttered before he vanished into one of the tunnels.
Puzzled, Aragorn followed the prince. He found that Legolas had entered a vast chamber, and in the middle of the chamber was an underground pool. Legolas was already kneeling by the pool, staring intently.
"What are you looking for?" Aragorn asked as he also looked into the crystalline water. Then he saw it, a small bundle placed in the bottom of its knee-high depth. Legolas reached down and pulled the bundle out. He glared at it before he tossed it away to the corner. Without opening the bundle, he knew what had been inside it.
"Care to explain?" Aragorn asked as they straightened up.
"It was mallaaien powder, a kind of mild poison," Legolas replied as they went to rejoin the waiting Mirkwood warriors. "Cayel's other dirty works. The pool there was connected to the spring and Mirkwood water system. He's been feeding poison to us all along, to make us sick, weakening us so that we cannot defend ourselves when he launches his attack. But then, the guards had stumbled upon him by the dungeon's entrance, and he'd lied by telling us he was looking for his missing grandchildren while he was actually doing something else, that piece of…!!!!"
Legolas was actually trembling with fury. Aragorn grasped his friend's shoulder in support. "Then we'd installed the new locks on the dungeon gates," Legolas added. "And the security around the spring sources were enhanced. And he'd taken the drastic measure…by killing my father..."
Aragorn tightened his hold on Legolas's shoulder, hearing the tremor in his friend's voice. "Come, Legolas. This is not a good time to break down. Not right now, okay? Wait until this is all over."
The prince closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm down, trying to pull himself together. "You're right, my brother," he said, opening his eyes and staring back at the ranger. "Not until this is all over."
TBC…