The Choices We Make
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Chapter 6 Out of the frying pan...
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"Now they show you how detergents take out bloodstains, a pretty violent image there. I think if you've got a T-shirt with a bloodstain all over it, maybe laundry isn't your biggest problem. Maybe you should get rid of the body before you do the wash."
-Jerry Seinfeld-
******
'Sweet Eru,' Aragorn thought wearily as he prepared to defend himself, 'if it's not one thing, it just has to be another, doesn't it?'
Legolas fired off two consecutive arrows in a flash then had to curse under his breath for the pain it caused in his shoulder and the fact that because his shoulder was still stiff he missed both spots he was aiming for. One arrow thunked into one of the charging orcs arms making him stop and clutch his arm. The other arrow ricochetted off the side of a tree to smack into the face of the unlucky orc who just happened to be running by that particular tree and it dropped to the ground. Although he wasn't actually aiming for that orc or even the tree, Legolas was satisfied one of his arrows had at least killed one of them. He glanced at Aragorn in time to see the ranger give him a disbelieving look for actually seeing an elf miss. His aim didn't seem to be to effective right now, so with a shrug he replaced his bow and drew his two hunting knives. The two didn't have time to gawk anymore as the remaining four crashed into them.
Aragorn caught the arm of the closest orc trying to run him through and in a very unelven like fashion head butted the creature and threw him in line to intercept the other orc's scimitar. The other orc as he stabbed his kin just stood there with its mouth agape as he tried to figure out what had just happened. Aragorn on the other hand didn't hesitate and shoved his sword through the orc's open mouth. The orc barely had time to gurgle in disbelief before Aragorn removed his sword and the thing dropped to the ground quite dead. Two more orcs drawn by the commotion crashed through the bushes directly next to the ranger and charged him. Aragorn deflected one of the orcs attacks with his sword and punched the other in the face with his fist. He swung his sword with all his might and nearly hacked the first orc in two at its mid-section and with elvish trained reflexes brought his sword back around to block a blow that was aimed for his head. He quickly dispatched the creature and risked a glance toward his elven friend. Legolas was holding his own even without the use of his bow. He realized their current situation was the same problem they had had before. 'Too many,' he thought as more charged towards him. What worried him the most was that hatred was now fueling many of the orcs actions and a great deal seemed to be charging for their elven foe. They needed to get moving before the orcs completely surrounded them.
*****
Legolas meet the charge of the first orc by ducking under its blow and delivering a precise cut to the orc's neck with his knife. The creature dropped its weapon to grab at its slit throat only to be trampled by its companion as he tried to get to the elf. Hatred burned in his eyes as he tried to kill the stupid elf that had shot him moments ago. Legolas easily sidestepped the enraged creature, caught his arm, and shoved him face first into the nearest tree. He heard the sickening crunch as the orc's nose broke and he mercifully put the thing out of its misery with his blade. Legolas thought that if he lived through this little ordeal he was really going to have to apologize to these trees for shooting them so and hitting them with orcs. He glanced over and saw that his friend had dispatched the first two orcs and was preparing to deal with two more that appeared out of the bushes. He could hear the orcs moving and calling to each other out in the darkness and knew that it was going to get very crowded in this little space very quickly. Before he had a chance to call for Aragorn to follow him five more of the annoying creatures showed up and he had to concentrate on parrying blows as they all turned and attacked him. Legolas parried and thrust with great speed and his movements were too quick for the orcs to keep up with. Two orcs were down before even they realized it. He had to redouble his efforts, though, as more came and they started to surround him. Legolas whirled on the orc that tried to sneak up behind him using his cloak to temporarily disorient the orcs in front of him and wrapped it around the head of the startled orc in the rear effectively blinding him. Before the orc could recover and fight back Legolas with a quick precise motion, now abandoning finesse for effectiveness snapped the orc's neck. He reeled back around to face the orcs in front of him.
He brought his left arm up to parry a strike, but his injured shoulder couldn't support the force and he lurched sideways as his knife slide out of suddenly numb fingers. The pain and shock from the sudden move made dark spots dance in his vision momentarily and for a second he became lightheaded and stumbled. He recovered quickly and looked up just in time to see a scimitar heading for his head in a blow that he knew would surely end his life.
*****
Aragorn could see that the foul creatures were cutting him off from Legolas, but as he worked to terminate their miserable lives he couldn't break free. After Aragorn completely beheaded one he again risked a glance to the side and what he say was not encouraging and made his heart skip a beat. He saw the elf lurch to the side as his shoulder gave out and saw the swarm close in around his friend. Aragorn knew he couldn't get there in time to save his friend and his heart filled with fear. But Aragorn was never one to give up without trying and as the rational part of his mind screamed in terror, he ignored it and charged with a yell head long into the crowd of orcs separating the two friends harking at them with abandon.
The dense creature above Legolas looked over at the crazy human as he charged the crowd and the momentary distraction was all Legolas needed to react. He grabbed his fallen blade from the ground and thrust them both into the orc's chest as he rose and used his momentum and the orc's body to push the surrounding creatures back.
Aragorn used his greater mass and momentum to plow through the startled creatures to try and reach his friend. Some of the orcs were too afraid of the obviously insane human to try and stop him and as for the rest Aragorn used his brute strength and sword to push through. He eventually pushed all the way through and reached his friend's side. Legolas gave his friend a grateful smile and nod of the head and Aragorn responded with ones of his own.
Orcs began to circle around the two and they used the reflexes of each other to keep them a bay. A sword came in to strike at Aragorn's side, but Legolas sliced at the orc's forearm severing the muscle causing the orc to yelp in pain and withdraw. While Legolas did that Aragorn covered the elf's exposed side with his sword as another orc tried to take advantage of the opportunity. He brought his sword up and cut a deep gash along the side of its face. They had to continue this sort of intertwined dance just to keep the seemingly never-ending flow of foul creatures back. The two companions were bruised and nicked in places, but as of yet neither had received any series injuries. 'Which won't last long if we don't get the hell out of here,' Aragorn thought as the two fought back to back.
"Legolas..."
"I know, Aragorn. You provided the distraction last time it is now my turn. If you can, run, and I will catch up with you."
"But."
Before Aragorn had time to protest Legolas sheathed his knives in a blur, lightly jump up, grabbed a hold of a branch, and nimbly pulled himself up into the foliage and disappeared. The orcs, after being deprived of their hated prey, angrily stared up into the canopy shaking their fist. With a smile and slight shake of his head Aragorn stabbed the nearest orc behind him, punched another, and bowled through the remaining orcs and ran towards the north. Some of the orcs gave chase to the ranger and he could hear their guttural voices yelling behind him. He could also still faintly hear angry orc voices yelling what he could only guess as curses as a slightly amused fair elven voice echoed down to them from above.
*****
Aragorn bolted through the forest not sure of were he was going only that he was getting away from here. He kept hoping that anytime now Legolas would silently, in that annoying habit that elves had, drop down in front of him. 'Come on, my friend, do not tease them too long, hurry up.' He did know he was getting tired of running and especially from orcs, o.k. a lot of orcs he corrected himself, and he hoped that dawn was not far off. Sounds of pursuit eventually died down from behind and he stopped to catch his breath. He had lost all track of the time during the course of the night and wondered what time it was. He tried to look to the sky to discover his answer, but the canopy was too thick and he couldn't see the night sky. As Aragorn stood there he became vividly aware of how dark it really was in these woods. The trees, that had just a second ago had seemed normal, now seem dark and almost threatening. Aragorn wished he had the eyes of an elf, for then he might be able to see more of his surroundings. 'Hurry up Legolas,' he thought and then scolded himself for actually being afraid of being alone in a forested area. 'Pull yourself together Aragorn, you're a ranger.' Aragorn felt quite silly for feeling uneasy alone, but no matter how much he lectured himself the feeling wouldn't go away. 'Maybe not so silly,' he thought as he remembered his elven friend's reluctance from earlier this night to enter these woods. 'And look what happened to him when he did.' Aragorn frowned at the memory of his friend's two spells of sickness. With this line of thought Aragorn became afraid that maybe that was what was delaying his friend. What if the elf was sick again or dying or worse and he wasn't there to help? 'Oh yes, a lot of assistance you provided before,' he thought dryly as he remembered his inability to do anything. He looked back the way he had come and then up into the trees, but he couldn't see or hear anything. Which when dealing with an elf wasn't surprising. He had lost count of the number of times he had turned around to see one of the twins standing there seemingly out of the blue. Or when he was younger and his father would always manage to silently materialize out of thin air to catch him doing something he probably shouldn't have. 'Well, he will not suffer alone anyway,' he thought with determination and headed back toward the south.
*****
Aragorn carefully picked his way back toward the south with as much caution as he could. He was careful to listen for the sound of trampling orcs. If he ran into them, they could start this whole cat and mouse game all over again and if Legolas needed his help he wouldn't be able to provide it if he lead a pack of elf hating orcs right to his elven friend. He picked his way all the way back to were they had been forced to make a stand earlier and to his amazement did not encounter a single orc anywhere. 'Where are they all at?' The bodies of orcs littered the ground and the surrounding area was trampled. He found the tracks of the orcs that had chased him leading away to the north. It was too dark for him to pick out individual trails easily, but he managed to find a few tracks of lone orcs heading away in all directions. He found no sign of his friend, but he was not dismayed. Elven tracks, especially a wood elf in the woods, were extremely hard to find and most likely Legolas had stayed in the trees and not returned to the ground for sometime. He found the trail of a group of orcs leading away to the east and figured they were probably led in that direction by Legolas from the trees. 'Why could you not just let them be?' As he scanned the area as best as he could he found the tracks of another group of orcs approaching from the south. There was nothing odd about that since that was the direction the orcs had followed them into the woods from. What did seem kind of odd was that the tracks then led away in the opposite direction in which he guessed his friend and the rest of the orcs had headed. 'Odd,' he thought to himself, 'why would they not pursue one of us? They had to have known which directions we both had taken.' Aragorn was beginning to think that nothing in this accursed land could make any sense. 'One more thing to think about,' he thought with a sigh and headed off after his friend.
*******
Legolas, safe in the trees, threw down every taunt he could think of. Coming from an elf it had the desired effect and the orcs were so furious with him they completely forgot about Aragorn. To his relief he saw his friend break away with a small band of orcs in pursuit. He stayed put and continued to anger the mob of orcs below until he was sure the ranger was probably some distance away. 'Now, to get out of here,' he thought. Legolas wheeled around and headed off through the canopy. There was a small break in the trees cutting off his progression to the west and in case the orcs were bright enough to follow him he did not want to lead them towards Aragorn. So he headed towards the east with every intention of turning north after he was sure the orcs could not follow him, but fate it seemed did not like that idea.
*****
Grimnosh, in the lead of his more elite band, approached the angry mob of his kin. He had sent this over-ready and incompetent bunch ahead of him to chase the two quarry into the forest at Valdumus's bidding. He knew that Valdumus was probably watching over them all at this very moment. As he drew near he could see that many of the group had been killed. He fully expected this for even he did not think they could overtake an elf and a ranger and was somewhat pleased his assumptions were correct. The group of buffoons was even now gathered under a tree whooping and hollering up into it. 'Why me?' thought the burly orc. As he came up to the group he went over to the orc who he had put in charge.
"Well?"
"The human wents that way," said the orc as he pointed to the north.
"And the elfsy is up in the tree," he finished almost drooling.
'Why me?' Grimnosh thought for the second time.
"Did anyone go after the human?"
"Oh yes, boss. Thatch and some others went after him."
"Good," the burly orcs said out loud.
'But it makes little difference,' he silently thought to himself. Grimnosh was sure the human would not go too far to the north without his elf. 'The weakness friendship brings,' he thought with a snigger. As his bunch of idiots was occupying themselves around the tree he was aware that he didn't hear anything coming back down from the tree above. 'Idiots.'
"Stop that you numbskulls! He is no longer there. Now go after him!"
"Which way boss?" asked one of them.
"That way," Grimnosh replied as he pointed to the east.
"How do yous know boss?"
Grimnosh grabbed the smaller orc by the collar and hoisted him up to bring him nose to nose with him.
"Because you blockhead," he growled.
"Unless the elf flew over the break in the trees right above your head and you didn't see him he didn't go that way. And he won't run the same way as his human, he also won't leave the human alone in the forest, so that only leaves one way idiot. Now go!" he said as he threw the orc to the ground.
"Y, Yes, boss!"
With that the group dispersed from the tree and ran off to the east.
"Whats is we to do?" asked one of the smarter orcs designated as Grimnosh's second in comand.
"We head west and circle back around to the north and cut them off."
"Why west first, boss?"
"Because we's don't want to run into the human when he backtracks to find his elf and it will be easier if they are both together. So we wants to keep the path open. Also, there's a place that way to hold up during the day."
"What abouts the others?"
"Theys heading for the mountains so they can hold up there. Those nitwits are only fodder to cut off the southern pass anyway. Those doorknobs couldn't capture a slow-moving old man with two broken legs if they tried. And Lord Valdumus will make sure the other two don't get too far during the day. Now, let's move."
*****
For Legolas the moving was slow up in the trees. They were large enough for him to move from branch to branch, but many of them had grown twisted and it was hard to go from tree to tree swiftly. Legolas hadn't heard any of the orcs follow him when he left so he took his time to carefully pick his way through. He knew Aragorn would grow worried soon and decided to start heading to the north to catch up with him. The thought of silently dropping down to startle his friend brought a smile to his fair face. Aragorn had grown up around elves and after all this time it still worked.
Legolas nearly fell out of the tree from surprise when he orc voices materialize in the distance again. 'That's impossible,' he thought, 'they did not seem smart enough to guess which direction I was heading.' Legolas tried to speed up his pace, but in the trees he could not go much faster. The sounds behind him were starting to get louder by the minute. Legolas considered abandoning the idea of moving through the trees and taking to the ground for speed. As Grimnosh so eloquently put it, the pack of doorknobs behind Legolas would never catch up with the elf, but Lady Luck certainly could. His decision to abandon the trees was made up for him as he lightly leaped to the next tree and the old dying branch snapped. Legolas instinctively reached out to another branch and caught himself. Only to realize, too late, that he had grabbed hold of the branch with his left hand. His injured side and shoulder screamed in protest as Legolas's weight jerked down on them and his grip faltered. Legolas felt a brief period of weightlessness as he fell from the tree which was replaced by pain a second later as he crashed into a couple of branches on the way down and slammed into the ground below. When he hit the ground the impact on his shoulder made him swoon and he was sure he was going to black out. His vision darkened and the sounds around him went silent. The part of his mind that hadn't got knocked senseless screamed at him to get up before the orcs caught him or he would never arise again, but his confused mind couldn't force his body into action and all he could do was lay there face down on the ground.
*****
From close by a soft hiss apparently came out of nowhere when the elf fell from the tree and slammed into the ground face first.
"How in Middle Earth do these two manage it?" said Nadina out loud.
Just then an orc broke through the trees and spotted the prone elf. He gave a whoop and ran over to the dazed elf, raised his blade for a killing blow, and stopped in confusion as his weapon hit him on the top of the head and dropped to the ground. Funny, he didn't feel himself drop it. He looked up to discover to his extreme horror that he didn't have a hand left to hold his weapon anymore. With a cry he lowered his arm and cradled the bloody stump next to his body. As he did a ghostly form began to take shape in front of him and he stared with terror filled wide eyes as a familiar female form materialized. Sudden recognition dawned in the frightened creature's eyes as it realized what had happened and what was about to happen.
A wicked lopsided grin broke out on Nadina's lovely face as she watched the orc cower in front of her. She watched as recognition flashed in its eyes and then quickly turned to dread as it realized just whom it was that hovered in front of it. Oh, how she enjoyed this part! The orc looked at her with disbelieving eyes and she could see a bit of hope well up in them for the fact that she hadn't killed him yet.
"Yous the master's mistress, right? Rezack also here for master," it said as it grew more confident in the fact that maybe she wasn't going to kill him after all.
Nadina put on a dazzling smile and floated in close to the orc. The orc mistaking her wintry smile for a genuine one kept babbling on and in its error didn't back away.
"Shh, Rezack, the others draw near and we don't want them to hear you, do we?" she purred as she put a ghostly finger up to his lips.
The contact made his whole face go numb and he did indeed stop his babbling because he could no longer feel his lips to make them move. It was then the orc noticed the sheer evilness in Nadina's eyes and her smile suddenly did not seem so welcoming anymore. Its error finally dawned on the slow-witted orc that he would find no mercy from her and he tried to bolt.
With a delighted laugh Nadina's translucent form melted away and she whirled up and around the orc with lightning speed. The excruciating coldness locked him in place and his lungs froze up so much they burned like fire and he could not even scream out his anguish and terror.
*****
As Legolas lay dazed on the ground he remotely thought he heard something drop to the ground near him. Voices then floated around his mind followed by a short cut off cry and then silence. Legolas forced his eyes to focus and in time the ground in front of his nose came into to view. He pushed himself up into a sitting position with unsteady arms and had to pause there as the world tilted and swayed. After a brief pause the world stopped moving and he swiftly checked himself over. 'Nothing broken at least, except my pride' He was glad Strider was not there right now. He hadn't fallen out of a tree in at least a thousand years and he was glad no one was there to witness an elf being bested by a tree. As Legolas glanced to the side he noticed a crude sword lying on the ground. 'That must have been what I heard drop. But were by Illuvitor did it come from?' he thought as he looked around for its wielder and saw nothing. As voices echoed through the trees he didn't have time to wonder about it anymore and he forced himself to his feet. 'That has been happening too much lately,' he thought wearily.
Legolas set out on the ground this time and desperately hoped it was getting close to dawn. He looked up at the sky and could see glimpses of the sky through the trees. The sky was still dark, but to his relief it was taking on a lighter tint and the stars were disappearing signifying the dawn was readily approaching. He figured the orcs might be even now giving up their chase to seek shelter from the sun that would rise shortly. Legolas halted his run and listened carefully. He did not hear any sound from behind him anymore and hoped it was because his pursuers had retreated for the night. 'Now what to do?' He needed to find Aragorn that was for certain, but were could the ranger be? He desperately wished his friend had kept going and then stopped and stayed put to wait for him, but somehow he knew that would not be the case. He had spent to long avoiding those annoying foul creatures and knew that Aragorn had probably grown worried by now and was probably looking for him even now. The ranger would have backtracked to the spot were they split up and if he had not run into any problems, which knowing their luck worried Legolas, he would be tracking the orcs who had almost caught up to the elf. Now that he was not being chased Legolas's adrenaline wore off and he was again reminded of how tired he was. They had been in Angmar less than a day and already he was weary of it.
Legolas had still not answered his own question about were to head next. If he backtracked himself Aragorn and he might miss each other, but on the slight chance the ranger was smartly waiting for him and he stayed here that wouldn't bring them any closer to meeting up either. He still didn't think Aragorn would stay put and figured the smartest option was to wait here. When the sun rose shortly Aragorn was bound to find him. Legolas was not one to wait around though and decided that after the sun rose he would head back the direction he came. There was still a chance they would miss each other, but as soon as the forest lightened a little Legolas's elven eyes would be able to see great distances through the trees and it was not likely he would miss something as large as his friend moving around. He had only to wait a little while for the sun to rise. Mind made up; he sat his battered and bruised body down next to a tree and leaned up against it to await the coming of the dawn. Legolas rested his heavy head against the tree, closed his tired eyes, and turned his senses outward.
****
As he sat there the very distinct feeling of being watched returned to him, but this time it was much stronger and menacing than before. If he concentrated enough he could almost feel a presence with him. Or did it seem to be more than one? This feeling was much more disturbing than the one he felt earlier and he found he could no longer rest, so he got back up and looked around. Nothing. 'Nothing is here,' he thought as he started to grow frustrated again. What was going on? 'What is wrong with me?' he thought as he questioned his sanity again.
He started to go ahead and venture back to the west when for no particular reason he turned and kept heading east instead. Legolas had no idea why he was walking eastward when he meant to go west. It's not like he didn't know what direction he was walking and his good judgement told him he should probably turn around. He just felt like he needed to go this direction. 'Considering how this night is going, I should learn to listen to myself more often,' he thought dryly. He was just about to force himself to turn around when he saw what looked like a clearing up ahead. His curiosity won out over his better judgement and he walked up to it not knowing what to expect, but expecting the worst. As he looked out he could see that the area was not very large. He noted that there was actually grass growing here and it was quite tall. To his amazement he didn't feel the oppressive heaviness in this place that was so ever present under the canopy. The air was fresh and crisp like it had been before they entered the woods. Legolas looked up and was never so happy to be able to the see the sky so clearly before. And even though he wanted the sun to rise his elven soul wished the stars were still out. He took a deep breath of the fresh air and soaked in the open and free feeling of the place. This place seemed like a sanctuary compared to the surrounding woods. It was like the evilness that had so entrapped the woods had no power here. He decided this was a much less oppressive spot to wait the dawn and couldn't help but search around the small area.
****
When he walked out into the clearing he noticed there was something that looked like a pile of some sort on the other side. As he headed toward it he noticed it was the remnants of a small stone structure. 'A dwelling? In this horrible forest?' Legolas walked over and stopped in front of the structure. For some reason this suddenly all seemed familiar and he could almost picture the place whole and intact in his mind although he had no idea why. As he stood there he was overcome with such crushing sorrow that it forced him to his knees. He brought his hand up to his grieving heart and was momentarily afraid that he was about to have another one the frightening attacks. But even though this new feeling was surely not pleasant, it was not threatening and he found he was not afraid. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them back up only to have them widen in amazement.
When Legolas opened his eyes he expected to see the scene he was looking at before he closed his eyes and not a different one, but when he opened his eyes the fully risen sun was there to greet him and it shone warmly down into the clearing. 'What the...?' He looked up to see the stone cottage intact with the sun reflecting off of a metal weathervane attached to the roof. The grass underneath him was lush, green, and cool to the touch. Patches of flowers grew in abundance on each side of the cottage. The flowers were quite fragrant and his sensitive nose could pick out many of the different types planted. This strange place seemed perfect to him and it was very peaceful. Even though he knew this could not possibly be real he found himself enjoying its tranquility. As he sat there on the cool grass a female voice gently drifted into his thoughts and to Legolas it sounded as fair as what he imagined Elbereth herself would sound like. The message it had to deliver was not quite as glories as he would have hoped, though.
'Leave this place now,' it begged.
The tone was not threatening or demanding as far as Legolas could tell and he was confused.
"Why?" he asked out loud.
"Am I intruding?"
Legolas was confused as to why she would show him this place, and the only reason he found for seeing it was that she was, and then tell him to leave. What was the point? The response he received only added to his confusion.
'Before it's too late.'
"Before what's too late, lady?"
Before he received an answer another female voice jarred into his thoughts, but this one held not the kindness or gentleness of the first one.
'Not this time!' it almost screamed.
Legolas was amazed at how very similar the two voices were and at the same time so completely different. He didn't have long to think about it because with the intrusion of the other female voice the strong presence he thought he felt earlier in the woods also came.
A black curtain slammed down over his eyes abruptly shutting out the peaceful scene in front of him and the intense weight knocked him over. Legolas became panicked when his vision didn't clear and all he could see was a bleak empty void and he felt extremely alone. A shiver went down his spin as the familiar coldness started to spread throughout his body. After going through this twice already Legolas knew what was coming and dreaded what was about to happen. 'Not again,' he begged. He also knew that he was helpless to stop it, but prepared himself to try and resist it anyway. The cold spread down to his limbs and they became numb and started to tingle. A great pressure landed on his chest and he found it hard to breathe. Legolas fought back with all of his strength but he was slowly losing the battle as the pressure increased. This time a new sensation was added to the attack. Pain. Intense pain flared inside his head and chest that both seared and froze him at the same time. Legolas couldn't tell if he was going to melt or freeze and didn't really care as long as something happened. The sensation became so keen that if he had the breath he was sure he would have probably screamed. Right now the thought of suffocation seemed immensely better than this new torture. Legolas could have cried in joy when he felt the warm flame that drove off the attack last time ignite and try to cleanse his mind and body once more. As he felt the light spread out it melted away all of the coldness it came into contact with and illuminated the darkness. Legolas was hopeful this horrible experience was soon going to be over, but the chilling darkness didn't back down so easily this time and redoubled its efforts. The cold became so intense it threatened to stamp out the flame and Legolas felt chilled to his very soul. The liquid warmth flared back up again with resilience, but with considerably much less strength this time and Legolas despaired they were going to lose and he would be trapped in this unspeakable place forever. As this tug of war raged on he felt as if the two were going to sunder him in half or drive him mad and he mentally screamed for them to stop. His only answer was cruel and mocking laughter that resounded throughout his head.
*****
Aragorn continued to head east, as he found no indication to change direction. The trampled trail the orcs made was fairly easy to follow even in the dark. The tracks showed that the mob had eventually broke up and spread out. Aragorn decided to head due east and keep heading generally in a straight line. He was rewarded some time later when he found his first sign of the elf, which wasn't encouraging. He found a crude sword lying on the ground, but found no sign of the orc that had wield it. He also found the spot were Legolas had hit the ground and he became fearful. What on earth had happened to knock an elf out of a tree? He was slightly relieved when he found no other orc tracks and he didn't see any sign that his friend was carried or drug off. So he reasoned the elf must have gotten back up by his own free will. Even if Legolas had took to the ground after this he knew very well he wasn't going to be able to track the light elven steps in the dark, so he just continued on in the same direction.
Aragorn approached what looked like a clearing just as the sky began to take on the luminescent pale blue hue of early morning. Aragorn was sure the dawn never looked so beautiful and wished the mountains weren't blocking the sunrise. Aragorn slowed as he came upon the clearing and stopped at the edge. The clearing looked peaceful and serene and he breathed deep of the refreshing crisp air. This very night, had it only been a night, he was grumbling about the cold, but now the crisp air never seemed so welcome. With the sun rising he was certain the orcs were probably dashing for the protection of the mountains and they could finally get a break from them at least till night fell again. If Legolas had come this way he knew he would find his elven friend here around the clearing where he could see the sky. Aragorn walked into the clearing and scanned the area with his eyes. Because of the tall grass he would never had spotted the elf had he been lying on the ground, but Lady Luck smiled on the two for the first time that night. Aragorn just happen to be looking around at the same time his friend toppled over and he saw the movement out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't tell what it was he saw, but he had a sinking feeling that he had caught a glimpse of golden hair before whatever it was disappeared. Aragorn took off at a run for the area he had seen what he hoped wasn't his friend, although he knew he was just kidding himself, drop. He reached the area and fervently searched for his friend's form. His eyes came to rest on the prostrate form of the elf and he rushed over. Legolas was lying on his back with his eyes closed and Aragorn, even though he didn't know what to do anyway, feared he was too late. He dropped down next to his friend and felt for a pulse. It was very erratic, but at least it was there. Legolas complexion was ashen and dark circles were visible under his eyes. The almost luminescent glow his friend usually gave off at night was practically non existent.
He gripped the elf's shoulders and shook him while repeatedly calling his name. The other two times Legolas had been completely unaware but he was not rendered totally unconscious and this new turn of events did not help Aragorn's nerves in the least. One small thing he had to be thankful for was that even though his friend's breathing was labored it appeared that he could still breath and he was not turning blue from the lack of air like the last time. Aragorn placed a hand on the elf's forehead and was alarmed by how cold he was to the touch. He then raised an eyelid and saw that the azure eye was dilated. Elves were not too effected by the cold and could withstand temperatures that would kill a mortal, but even elves were as fair game as the rest when going into shock and Aragorn had a sickening suspicion that was what was happening. He had seen enough elves and men suffer from it to recognize the symptoms. He didn't know whom or what was causing it, but if he couldn't stop his friend from losing any more body heat Legolas wouldn't be around to find out. Aragorn whipped off his pack and quiver throwing them into a pile and quickly dug a blanket out of his bag. He lifted the slender form of the elf up by his shoulders and gently removed his quiver and bag. Aragorn pulled the elf's cloak tighter about him, wrapped the blanket around him, and despite the chill removed his own cloak and bundled the elf up in that as well. Aragorn was so pumped with adrenaline he was pretty sure he could lie in the snow naked right now and not feel it. He cradled the elf to his chest using his hands to rub at the slender arms trying to build up heat. Aragorn was dismayed when he noticed his friend's lips turning blue signifying that his effort was not working.
"Come on, come on. Fight it my friend or you won't be able to get me back for all the teasing I intend to do for finding signs that a wood elf fell out of a tree," Aragorn said in a strained voice as he doubled his efforts.
*****
That mocking laughter made Legolas angry and he poured every once of strength he had left into trying to make it shut up. The molten white light inside of him flared brightly along with his resolve and illuminated the dark void. It seared through him and he felt heat slowly start to return to his very soul and knew that they had won.
'For now,' said a smug and competent voice inside his head.
After that a pair of dark liquid brown eyes flashed briefly in his mind and disappeared. Did they just hold sympathy or regret? As they disappeared his consciousness came careening out of the darkness and the world suddenly awakened around him as his mind exploded back into reality. Too suddenly. It was too much for his exhausted mind and body to absorb and his body convulsed and he caught a brief glimpse of Aragorn before darkness claimed him once more and he slumped back down into his friend's arms. The last thought that flashed through his mind was that he didn't care if he was sinking into unconsciousness, insanity, or death just as long as it was peaceful. . . . . .
TBC...
*****
Whew! Now do you see why I had to break this chapter apart and leave you hanging the last time?
I have begun to realize that I am entirely too mean to elves. I really should stop picking on them, but it's just too much fun ;) I will probably end up giving our poor Estel a coronary if we keep this up. But, he should feel lucky my evil ravings haven't turned on him. Yet! Man, three chapters, isn't this the longest night ever? With all the trouble they manage to find in one night will they ever make it through the day, let alone another night? And a semi-intelligent orc? Look out Middle Earth!
Note: I know elves are graceful and precise, but I am an equal opportunity blunderer in battle. Wasn't it just fun to see an elf miss with a bow and fall out of a tree?
******
Thanks to everyone who keeps reviewing at the end of each chapter, please keep it up!
Sprout - I'm anxious to find out what's happening also, because I don't even know! All this excitement! I don't know if I can continue. Just kidding. Thanks again for reviewing.
Karri - You may just have another Rivendell chapter coming up soon. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much. As the plot thickens, dun, dun, dun.
Tithen Min - Well things definitely didn't calm down. Our poor elf! I hope I didn't push too hard ;) I'm glad your stress level was going down. How's it now? ;)
Ruth - Thank you very much for the praise!! I hope no one pushed you over : ) I'm very glad you are enjoying the story. Please keep reading and thanks for reviewing. Keep it up!
****
Chapter 6 Out of the frying pan...
*****
"Now they show you how detergents take out bloodstains, a pretty violent image there. I think if you've got a T-shirt with a bloodstain all over it, maybe laundry isn't your biggest problem. Maybe you should get rid of the body before you do the wash."
-Jerry Seinfeld-
******
'Sweet Eru,' Aragorn thought wearily as he prepared to defend himself, 'if it's not one thing, it just has to be another, doesn't it?'
Legolas fired off two consecutive arrows in a flash then had to curse under his breath for the pain it caused in his shoulder and the fact that because his shoulder was still stiff he missed both spots he was aiming for. One arrow thunked into one of the charging orcs arms making him stop and clutch his arm. The other arrow ricochetted off the side of a tree to smack into the face of the unlucky orc who just happened to be running by that particular tree and it dropped to the ground. Although he wasn't actually aiming for that orc or even the tree, Legolas was satisfied one of his arrows had at least killed one of them. He glanced at Aragorn in time to see the ranger give him a disbelieving look for actually seeing an elf miss. His aim didn't seem to be to effective right now, so with a shrug he replaced his bow and drew his two hunting knives. The two didn't have time to gawk anymore as the remaining four crashed into them.
Aragorn caught the arm of the closest orc trying to run him through and in a very unelven like fashion head butted the creature and threw him in line to intercept the other orc's scimitar. The other orc as he stabbed his kin just stood there with its mouth agape as he tried to figure out what had just happened. Aragorn on the other hand didn't hesitate and shoved his sword through the orc's open mouth. The orc barely had time to gurgle in disbelief before Aragorn removed his sword and the thing dropped to the ground quite dead. Two more orcs drawn by the commotion crashed through the bushes directly next to the ranger and charged him. Aragorn deflected one of the orcs attacks with his sword and punched the other in the face with his fist. He swung his sword with all his might and nearly hacked the first orc in two at its mid-section and with elvish trained reflexes brought his sword back around to block a blow that was aimed for his head. He quickly dispatched the creature and risked a glance toward his elven friend. Legolas was holding his own even without the use of his bow. He realized their current situation was the same problem they had had before. 'Too many,' he thought as more charged towards him. What worried him the most was that hatred was now fueling many of the orcs actions and a great deal seemed to be charging for their elven foe. They needed to get moving before the orcs completely surrounded them.
*****
Legolas meet the charge of the first orc by ducking under its blow and delivering a precise cut to the orc's neck with his knife. The creature dropped its weapon to grab at its slit throat only to be trampled by its companion as he tried to get to the elf. Hatred burned in his eyes as he tried to kill the stupid elf that had shot him moments ago. Legolas easily sidestepped the enraged creature, caught his arm, and shoved him face first into the nearest tree. He heard the sickening crunch as the orc's nose broke and he mercifully put the thing out of its misery with his blade. Legolas thought that if he lived through this little ordeal he was really going to have to apologize to these trees for shooting them so and hitting them with orcs. He glanced over and saw that his friend had dispatched the first two orcs and was preparing to deal with two more that appeared out of the bushes. He could hear the orcs moving and calling to each other out in the darkness and knew that it was going to get very crowded in this little space very quickly. Before he had a chance to call for Aragorn to follow him five more of the annoying creatures showed up and he had to concentrate on parrying blows as they all turned and attacked him. Legolas parried and thrust with great speed and his movements were too quick for the orcs to keep up with. Two orcs were down before even they realized it. He had to redouble his efforts, though, as more came and they started to surround him. Legolas whirled on the orc that tried to sneak up behind him using his cloak to temporarily disorient the orcs in front of him and wrapped it around the head of the startled orc in the rear effectively blinding him. Before the orc could recover and fight back Legolas with a quick precise motion, now abandoning finesse for effectiveness snapped the orc's neck. He reeled back around to face the orcs in front of him.
He brought his left arm up to parry a strike, but his injured shoulder couldn't support the force and he lurched sideways as his knife slide out of suddenly numb fingers. The pain and shock from the sudden move made dark spots dance in his vision momentarily and for a second he became lightheaded and stumbled. He recovered quickly and looked up just in time to see a scimitar heading for his head in a blow that he knew would surely end his life.
*****
Aragorn could see that the foul creatures were cutting him off from Legolas, but as he worked to terminate their miserable lives he couldn't break free. After Aragorn completely beheaded one he again risked a glance to the side and what he say was not encouraging and made his heart skip a beat. He saw the elf lurch to the side as his shoulder gave out and saw the swarm close in around his friend. Aragorn knew he couldn't get there in time to save his friend and his heart filled with fear. But Aragorn was never one to give up without trying and as the rational part of his mind screamed in terror, he ignored it and charged with a yell head long into the crowd of orcs separating the two friends harking at them with abandon.
The dense creature above Legolas looked over at the crazy human as he charged the crowd and the momentary distraction was all Legolas needed to react. He grabbed his fallen blade from the ground and thrust them both into the orc's chest as he rose and used his momentum and the orc's body to push the surrounding creatures back.
Aragorn used his greater mass and momentum to plow through the startled creatures to try and reach his friend. Some of the orcs were too afraid of the obviously insane human to try and stop him and as for the rest Aragorn used his brute strength and sword to push through. He eventually pushed all the way through and reached his friend's side. Legolas gave his friend a grateful smile and nod of the head and Aragorn responded with ones of his own.
Orcs began to circle around the two and they used the reflexes of each other to keep them a bay. A sword came in to strike at Aragorn's side, but Legolas sliced at the orc's forearm severing the muscle causing the orc to yelp in pain and withdraw. While Legolas did that Aragorn covered the elf's exposed side with his sword as another orc tried to take advantage of the opportunity. He brought his sword up and cut a deep gash along the side of its face. They had to continue this sort of intertwined dance just to keep the seemingly never-ending flow of foul creatures back. The two companions were bruised and nicked in places, but as of yet neither had received any series injuries. 'Which won't last long if we don't get the hell out of here,' Aragorn thought as the two fought back to back.
"Legolas..."
"I know, Aragorn. You provided the distraction last time it is now my turn. If you can, run, and I will catch up with you."
"But."
Before Aragorn had time to protest Legolas sheathed his knives in a blur, lightly jump up, grabbed a hold of a branch, and nimbly pulled himself up into the foliage and disappeared. The orcs, after being deprived of their hated prey, angrily stared up into the canopy shaking their fist. With a smile and slight shake of his head Aragorn stabbed the nearest orc behind him, punched another, and bowled through the remaining orcs and ran towards the north. Some of the orcs gave chase to the ranger and he could hear their guttural voices yelling behind him. He could also still faintly hear angry orc voices yelling what he could only guess as curses as a slightly amused fair elven voice echoed down to them from above.
*****
Aragorn bolted through the forest not sure of were he was going only that he was getting away from here. He kept hoping that anytime now Legolas would silently, in that annoying habit that elves had, drop down in front of him. 'Come on, my friend, do not tease them too long, hurry up.' He did know he was getting tired of running and especially from orcs, o.k. a lot of orcs he corrected himself, and he hoped that dawn was not far off. Sounds of pursuit eventually died down from behind and he stopped to catch his breath. He had lost all track of the time during the course of the night and wondered what time it was. He tried to look to the sky to discover his answer, but the canopy was too thick and he couldn't see the night sky. As Aragorn stood there he became vividly aware of how dark it really was in these woods. The trees, that had just a second ago had seemed normal, now seem dark and almost threatening. Aragorn wished he had the eyes of an elf, for then he might be able to see more of his surroundings. 'Hurry up Legolas,' he thought and then scolded himself for actually being afraid of being alone in a forested area. 'Pull yourself together Aragorn, you're a ranger.' Aragorn felt quite silly for feeling uneasy alone, but no matter how much he lectured himself the feeling wouldn't go away. 'Maybe not so silly,' he thought as he remembered his elven friend's reluctance from earlier this night to enter these woods. 'And look what happened to him when he did.' Aragorn frowned at the memory of his friend's two spells of sickness. With this line of thought Aragorn became afraid that maybe that was what was delaying his friend. What if the elf was sick again or dying or worse and he wasn't there to help? 'Oh yes, a lot of assistance you provided before,' he thought dryly as he remembered his inability to do anything. He looked back the way he had come and then up into the trees, but he couldn't see or hear anything. Which when dealing with an elf wasn't surprising. He had lost count of the number of times he had turned around to see one of the twins standing there seemingly out of the blue. Or when he was younger and his father would always manage to silently materialize out of thin air to catch him doing something he probably shouldn't have. 'Well, he will not suffer alone anyway,' he thought with determination and headed back toward the south.
*****
Aragorn carefully picked his way back toward the south with as much caution as he could. He was careful to listen for the sound of trampling orcs. If he ran into them, they could start this whole cat and mouse game all over again and if Legolas needed his help he wouldn't be able to provide it if he lead a pack of elf hating orcs right to his elven friend. He picked his way all the way back to were they had been forced to make a stand earlier and to his amazement did not encounter a single orc anywhere. 'Where are they all at?' The bodies of orcs littered the ground and the surrounding area was trampled. He found the tracks of the orcs that had chased him leading away to the north. It was too dark for him to pick out individual trails easily, but he managed to find a few tracks of lone orcs heading away in all directions. He found no sign of his friend, but he was not dismayed. Elven tracks, especially a wood elf in the woods, were extremely hard to find and most likely Legolas had stayed in the trees and not returned to the ground for sometime. He found the trail of a group of orcs leading away to the east and figured they were probably led in that direction by Legolas from the trees. 'Why could you not just let them be?' As he scanned the area as best as he could he found the tracks of another group of orcs approaching from the south. There was nothing odd about that since that was the direction the orcs had followed them into the woods from. What did seem kind of odd was that the tracks then led away in the opposite direction in which he guessed his friend and the rest of the orcs had headed. 'Odd,' he thought to himself, 'why would they not pursue one of us? They had to have known which directions we both had taken.' Aragorn was beginning to think that nothing in this accursed land could make any sense. 'One more thing to think about,' he thought with a sigh and headed off after his friend.
*******
Legolas, safe in the trees, threw down every taunt he could think of. Coming from an elf it had the desired effect and the orcs were so furious with him they completely forgot about Aragorn. To his relief he saw his friend break away with a small band of orcs in pursuit. He stayed put and continued to anger the mob of orcs below until he was sure the ranger was probably some distance away. 'Now, to get out of here,' he thought. Legolas wheeled around and headed off through the canopy. There was a small break in the trees cutting off his progression to the west and in case the orcs were bright enough to follow him he did not want to lead them towards Aragorn. So he headed towards the east with every intention of turning north after he was sure the orcs could not follow him, but fate it seemed did not like that idea.
*****
Grimnosh, in the lead of his more elite band, approached the angry mob of his kin. He had sent this over-ready and incompetent bunch ahead of him to chase the two quarry into the forest at Valdumus's bidding. He knew that Valdumus was probably watching over them all at this very moment. As he drew near he could see that many of the group had been killed. He fully expected this for even he did not think they could overtake an elf and a ranger and was somewhat pleased his assumptions were correct. The group of buffoons was even now gathered under a tree whooping and hollering up into it. 'Why me?' thought the burly orc. As he came up to the group he went over to the orc who he had put in charge.
"Well?"
"The human wents that way," said the orc as he pointed to the north.
"And the elfsy is up in the tree," he finished almost drooling.
'Why me?' Grimnosh thought for the second time.
"Did anyone go after the human?"
"Oh yes, boss. Thatch and some others went after him."
"Good," the burly orcs said out loud.
'But it makes little difference,' he silently thought to himself. Grimnosh was sure the human would not go too far to the north without his elf. 'The weakness friendship brings,' he thought with a snigger. As his bunch of idiots was occupying themselves around the tree he was aware that he didn't hear anything coming back down from the tree above. 'Idiots.'
"Stop that you numbskulls! He is no longer there. Now go after him!"
"Which way boss?" asked one of them.
"That way," Grimnosh replied as he pointed to the east.
"How do yous know boss?"
Grimnosh grabbed the smaller orc by the collar and hoisted him up to bring him nose to nose with him.
"Because you blockhead," he growled.
"Unless the elf flew over the break in the trees right above your head and you didn't see him he didn't go that way. And he won't run the same way as his human, he also won't leave the human alone in the forest, so that only leaves one way idiot. Now go!" he said as he threw the orc to the ground.
"Y, Yes, boss!"
With that the group dispersed from the tree and ran off to the east.
"Whats is we to do?" asked one of the smarter orcs designated as Grimnosh's second in comand.
"We head west and circle back around to the north and cut them off."
"Why west first, boss?"
"Because we's don't want to run into the human when he backtracks to find his elf and it will be easier if they are both together. So we wants to keep the path open. Also, there's a place that way to hold up during the day."
"What abouts the others?"
"Theys heading for the mountains so they can hold up there. Those nitwits are only fodder to cut off the southern pass anyway. Those doorknobs couldn't capture a slow-moving old man with two broken legs if they tried. And Lord Valdumus will make sure the other two don't get too far during the day. Now, let's move."
*****
For Legolas the moving was slow up in the trees. They were large enough for him to move from branch to branch, but many of them had grown twisted and it was hard to go from tree to tree swiftly. Legolas hadn't heard any of the orcs follow him when he left so he took his time to carefully pick his way through. He knew Aragorn would grow worried soon and decided to start heading to the north to catch up with him. The thought of silently dropping down to startle his friend brought a smile to his fair face. Aragorn had grown up around elves and after all this time it still worked.
Legolas nearly fell out of the tree from surprise when he orc voices materialize in the distance again. 'That's impossible,' he thought, 'they did not seem smart enough to guess which direction I was heading.' Legolas tried to speed up his pace, but in the trees he could not go much faster. The sounds behind him were starting to get louder by the minute. Legolas considered abandoning the idea of moving through the trees and taking to the ground for speed. As Grimnosh so eloquently put it, the pack of doorknobs behind Legolas would never catch up with the elf, but Lady Luck certainly could. His decision to abandon the trees was made up for him as he lightly leaped to the next tree and the old dying branch snapped. Legolas instinctively reached out to another branch and caught himself. Only to realize, too late, that he had grabbed hold of the branch with his left hand. His injured side and shoulder screamed in protest as Legolas's weight jerked down on them and his grip faltered. Legolas felt a brief period of weightlessness as he fell from the tree which was replaced by pain a second later as he crashed into a couple of branches on the way down and slammed into the ground below. When he hit the ground the impact on his shoulder made him swoon and he was sure he was going to black out. His vision darkened and the sounds around him went silent. The part of his mind that hadn't got knocked senseless screamed at him to get up before the orcs caught him or he would never arise again, but his confused mind couldn't force his body into action and all he could do was lay there face down on the ground.
*****
From close by a soft hiss apparently came out of nowhere when the elf fell from the tree and slammed into the ground face first.
"How in Middle Earth do these two manage it?" said Nadina out loud.
Just then an orc broke through the trees and spotted the prone elf. He gave a whoop and ran over to the dazed elf, raised his blade for a killing blow, and stopped in confusion as his weapon hit him on the top of the head and dropped to the ground. Funny, he didn't feel himself drop it. He looked up to discover to his extreme horror that he didn't have a hand left to hold his weapon anymore. With a cry he lowered his arm and cradled the bloody stump next to his body. As he did a ghostly form began to take shape in front of him and he stared with terror filled wide eyes as a familiar female form materialized. Sudden recognition dawned in the frightened creature's eyes as it realized what had happened and what was about to happen.
A wicked lopsided grin broke out on Nadina's lovely face as she watched the orc cower in front of her. She watched as recognition flashed in its eyes and then quickly turned to dread as it realized just whom it was that hovered in front of it. Oh, how she enjoyed this part! The orc looked at her with disbelieving eyes and she could see a bit of hope well up in them for the fact that she hadn't killed him yet.
"Yous the master's mistress, right? Rezack also here for master," it said as it grew more confident in the fact that maybe she wasn't going to kill him after all.
Nadina put on a dazzling smile and floated in close to the orc. The orc mistaking her wintry smile for a genuine one kept babbling on and in its error didn't back away.
"Shh, Rezack, the others draw near and we don't want them to hear you, do we?" she purred as she put a ghostly finger up to his lips.
The contact made his whole face go numb and he did indeed stop his babbling because he could no longer feel his lips to make them move. It was then the orc noticed the sheer evilness in Nadina's eyes and her smile suddenly did not seem so welcoming anymore. Its error finally dawned on the slow-witted orc that he would find no mercy from her and he tried to bolt.
With a delighted laugh Nadina's translucent form melted away and she whirled up and around the orc with lightning speed. The excruciating coldness locked him in place and his lungs froze up so much they burned like fire and he could not even scream out his anguish and terror.
*****
As Legolas lay dazed on the ground he remotely thought he heard something drop to the ground near him. Voices then floated around his mind followed by a short cut off cry and then silence. Legolas forced his eyes to focus and in time the ground in front of his nose came into to view. He pushed himself up into a sitting position with unsteady arms and had to pause there as the world tilted and swayed. After a brief pause the world stopped moving and he swiftly checked himself over. 'Nothing broken at least, except my pride' He was glad Strider was not there right now. He hadn't fallen out of a tree in at least a thousand years and he was glad no one was there to witness an elf being bested by a tree. As Legolas glanced to the side he noticed a crude sword lying on the ground. 'That must have been what I heard drop. But were by Illuvitor did it come from?' he thought as he looked around for its wielder and saw nothing. As voices echoed through the trees he didn't have time to wonder about it anymore and he forced himself to his feet. 'That has been happening too much lately,' he thought wearily.
Legolas set out on the ground this time and desperately hoped it was getting close to dawn. He looked up at the sky and could see glimpses of the sky through the trees. The sky was still dark, but to his relief it was taking on a lighter tint and the stars were disappearing signifying the dawn was readily approaching. He figured the orcs might be even now giving up their chase to seek shelter from the sun that would rise shortly. Legolas halted his run and listened carefully. He did not hear any sound from behind him anymore and hoped it was because his pursuers had retreated for the night. 'Now what to do?' He needed to find Aragorn that was for certain, but were could the ranger be? He desperately wished his friend had kept going and then stopped and stayed put to wait for him, but somehow he knew that would not be the case. He had spent to long avoiding those annoying foul creatures and knew that Aragorn had probably grown worried by now and was probably looking for him even now. The ranger would have backtracked to the spot were they split up and if he had not run into any problems, which knowing their luck worried Legolas, he would be tracking the orcs who had almost caught up to the elf. Now that he was not being chased Legolas's adrenaline wore off and he was again reminded of how tired he was. They had been in Angmar less than a day and already he was weary of it.
Legolas had still not answered his own question about were to head next. If he backtracked himself Aragorn and he might miss each other, but on the slight chance the ranger was smartly waiting for him and he stayed here that wouldn't bring them any closer to meeting up either. He still didn't think Aragorn would stay put and figured the smartest option was to wait here. When the sun rose shortly Aragorn was bound to find him. Legolas was not one to wait around though and decided that after the sun rose he would head back the direction he came. There was still a chance they would miss each other, but as soon as the forest lightened a little Legolas's elven eyes would be able to see great distances through the trees and it was not likely he would miss something as large as his friend moving around. He had only to wait a little while for the sun to rise. Mind made up; he sat his battered and bruised body down next to a tree and leaned up against it to await the coming of the dawn. Legolas rested his heavy head against the tree, closed his tired eyes, and turned his senses outward.
****
As he sat there the very distinct feeling of being watched returned to him, but this time it was much stronger and menacing than before. If he concentrated enough he could almost feel a presence with him. Or did it seem to be more than one? This feeling was much more disturbing than the one he felt earlier and he found he could no longer rest, so he got back up and looked around. Nothing. 'Nothing is here,' he thought as he started to grow frustrated again. What was going on? 'What is wrong with me?' he thought as he questioned his sanity again.
He started to go ahead and venture back to the west when for no particular reason he turned and kept heading east instead. Legolas had no idea why he was walking eastward when he meant to go west. It's not like he didn't know what direction he was walking and his good judgement told him he should probably turn around. He just felt like he needed to go this direction. 'Considering how this night is going, I should learn to listen to myself more often,' he thought dryly. He was just about to force himself to turn around when he saw what looked like a clearing up ahead. His curiosity won out over his better judgement and he walked up to it not knowing what to expect, but expecting the worst. As he looked out he could see that the area was not very large. He noted that there was actually grass growing here and it was quite tall. To his amazement he didn't feel the oppressive heaviness in this place that was so ever present under the canopy. The air was fresh and crisp like it had been before they entered the woods. Legolas looked up and was never so happy to be able to the see the sky so clearly before. And even though he wanted the sun to rise his elven soul wished the stars were still out. He took a deep breath of the fresh air and soaked in the open and free feeling of the place. This place seemed like a sanctuary compared to the surrounding woods. It was like the evilness that had so entrapped the woods had no power here. He decided this was a much less oppressive spot to wait the dawn and couldn't help but search around the small area.
****
When he walked out into the clearing he noticed there was something that looked like a pile of some sort on the other side. As he headed toward it he noticed it was the remnants of a small stone structure. 'A dwelling? In this horrible forest?' Legolas walked over and stopped in front of the structure. For some reason this suddenly all seemed familiar and he could almost picture the place whole and intact in his mind although he had no idea why. As he stood there he was overcome with such crushing sorrow that it forced him to his knees. He brought his hand up to his grieving heart and was momentarily afraid that he was about to have another one the frightening attacks. But even though this new feeling was surely not pleasant, it was not threatening and he found he was not afraid. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them back up only to have them widen in amazement.
When Legolas opened his eyes he expected to see the scene he was looking at before he closed his eyes and not a different one, but when he opened his eyes the fully risen sun was there to greet him and it shone warmly down into the clearing. 'What the...?' He looked up to see the stone cottage intact with the sun reflecting off of a metal weathervane attached to the roof. The grass underneath him was lush, green, and cool to the touch. Patches of flowers grew in abundance on each side of the cottage. The flowers were quite fragrant and his sensitive nose could pick out many of the different types planted. This strange place seemed perfect to him and it was very peaceful. Even though he knew this could not possibly be real he found himself enjoying its tranquility. As he sat there on the cool grass a female voice gently drifted into his thoughts and to Legolas it sounded as fair as what he imagined Elbereth herself would sound like. The message it had to deliver was not quite as glories as he would have hoped, though.
'Leave this place now,' it begged.
The tone was not threatening or demanding as far as Legolas could tell and he was confused.
"Why?" he asked out loud.
"Am I intruding?"
Legolas was confused as to why she would show him this place, and the only reason he found for seeing it was that she was, and then tell him to leave. What was the point? The response he received only added to his confusion.
'Before it's too late.'
"Before what's too late, lady?"
Before he received an answer another female voice jarred into his thoughts, but this one held not the kindness or gentleness of the first one.
'Not this time!' it almost screamed.
Legolas was amazed at how very similar the two voices were and at the same time so completely different. He didn't have long to think about it because with the intrusion of the other female voice the strong presence he thought he felt earlier in the woods also came.
A black curtain slammed down over his eyes abruptly shutting out the peaceful scene in front of him and the intense weight knocked him over. Legolas became panicked when his vision didn't clear and all he could see was a bleak empty void and he felt extremely alone. A shiver went down his spin as the familiar coldness started to spread throughout his body. After going through this twice already Legolas knew what was coming and dreaded what was about to happen. 'Not again,' he begged. He also knew that he was helpless to stop it, but prepared himself to try and resist it anyway. The cold spread down to his limbs and they became numb and started to tingle. A great pressure landed on his chest and he found it hard to breathe. Legolas fought back with all of his strength but he was slowly losing the battle as the pressure increased. This time a new sensation was added to the attack. Pain. Intense pain flared inside his head and chest that both seared and froze him at the same time. Legolas couldn't tell if he was going to melt or freeze and didn't really care as long as something happened. The sensation became so keen that if he had the breath he was sure he would have probably screamed. Right now the thought of suffocation seemed immensely better than this new torture. Legolas could have cried in joy when he felt the warm flame that drove off the attack last time ignite and try to cleanse his mind and body once more. As he felt the light spread out it melted away all of the coldness it came into contact with and illuminated the darkness. Legolas was hopeful this horrible experience was soon going to be over, but the chilling darkness didn't back down so easily this time and redoubled its efforts. The cold became so intense it threatened to stamp out the flame and Legolas felt chilled to his very soul. The liquid warmth flared back up again with resilience, but with considerably much less strength this time and Legolas despaired they were going to lose and he would be trapped in this unspeakable place forever. As this tug of war raged on he felt as if the two were going to sunder him in half or drive him mad and he mentally screamed for them to stop. His only answer was cruel and mocking laughter that resounded throughout his head.
*****
Aragorn continued to head east, as he found no indication to change direction. The trampled trail the orcs made was fairly easy to follow even in the dark. The tracks showed that the mob had eventually broke up and spread out. Aragorn decided to head due east and keep heading generally in a straight line. He was rewarded some time later when he found his first sign of the elf, which wasn't encouraging. He found a crude sword lying on the ground, but found no sign of the orc that had wield it. He also found the spot were Legolas had hit the ground and he became fearful. What on earth had happened to knock an elf out of a tree? He was slightly relieved when he found no other orc tracks and he didn't see any sign that his friend was carried or drug off. So he reasoned the elf must have gotten back up by his own free will. Even if Legolas had took to the ground after this he knew very well he wasn't going to be able to track the light elven steps in the dark, so he just continued on in the same direction.
Aragorn approached what looked like a clearing just as the sky began to take on the luminescent pale blue hue of early morning. Aragorn was sure the dawn never looked so beautiful and wished the mountains weren't blocking the sunrise. Aragorn slowed as he came upon the clearing and stopped at the edge. The clearing looked peaceful and serene and he breathed deep of the refreshing crisp air. This very night, had it only been a night, he was grumbling about the cold, but now the crisp air never seemed so welcome. With the sun rising he was certain the orcs were probably dashing for the protection of the mountains and they could finally get a break from them at least till night fell again. If Legolas had come this way he knew he would find his elven friend here around the clearing where he could see the sky. Aragorn walked into the clearing and scanned the area with his eyes. Because of the tall grass he would never had spotted the elf had he been lying on the ground, but Lady Luck smiled on the two for the first time that night. Aragorn just happen to be looking around at the same time his friend toppled over and he saw the movement out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't tell what it was he saw, but he had a sinking feeling that he had caught a glimpse of golden hair before whatever it was disappeared. Aragorn took off at a run for the area he had seen what he hoped wasn't his friend, although he knew he was just kidding himself, drop. He reached the area and fervently searched for his friend's form. His eyes came to rest on the prostrate form of the elf and he rushed over. Legolas was lying on his back with his eyes closed and Aragorn, even though he didn't know what to do anyway, feared he was too late. He dropped down next to his friend and felt for a pulse. It was very erratic, but at least it was there. Legolas complexion was ashen and dark circles were visible under his eyes. The almost luminescent glow his friend usually gave off at night was practically non existent.
He gripped the elf's shoulders and shook him while repeatedly calling his name. The other two times Legolas had been completely unaware but he was not rendered totally unconscious and this new turn of events did not help Aragorn's nerves in the least. One small thing he had to be thankful for was that even though his friend's breathing was labored it appeared that he could still breath and he was not turning blue from the lack of air like the last time. Aragorn placed a hand on the elf's forehead and was alarmed by how cold he was to the touch. He then raised an eyelid and saw that the azure eye was dilated. Elves were not too effected by the cold and could withstand temperatures that would kill a mortal, but even elves were as fair game as the rest when going into shock and Aragorn had a sickening suspicion that was what was happening. He had seen enough elves and men suffer from it to recognize the symptoms. He didn't know whom or what was causing it, but if he couldn't stop his friend from losing any more body heat Legolas wouldn't be around to find out. Aragorn whipped off his pack and quiver throwing them into a pile and quickly dug a blanket out of his bag. He lifted the slender form of the elf up by his shoulders and gently removed his quiver and bag. Aragorn pulled the elf's cloak tighter about him, wrapped the blanket around him, and despite the chill removed his own cloak and bundled the elf up in that as well. Aragorn was so pumped with adrenaline he was pretty sure he could lie in the snow naked right now and not feel it. He cradled the elf to his chest using his hands to rub at the slender arms trying to build up heat. Aragorn was dismayed when he noticed his friend's lips turning blue signifying that his effort was not working.
"Come on, come on. Fight it my friend or you won't be able to get me back for all the teasing I intend to do for finding signs that a wood elf fell out of a tree," Aragorn said in a strained voice as he doubled his efforts.
*****
That mocking laughter made Legolas angry and he poured every once of strength he had left into trying to make it shut up. The molten white light inside of him flared brightly along with his resolve and illuminated the dark void. It seared through him and he felt heat slowly start to return to his very soul and knew that they had won.
'For now,' said a smug and competent voice inside his head.
After that a pair of dark liquid brown eyes flashed briefly in his mind and disappeared. Did they just hold sympathy or regret? As they disappeared his consciousness came careening out of the darkness and the world suddenly awakened around him as his mind exploded back into reality. Too suddenly. It was too much for his exhausted mind and body to absorb and his body convulsed and he caught a brief glimpse of Aragorn before darkness claimed him once more and he slumped back down into his friend's arms. The last thought that flashed through his mind was that he didn't care if he was sinking into unconsciousness, insanity, or death just as long as it was peaceful. . . . . .
TBC...
*****
Whew! Now do you see why I had to break this chapter apart and leave you hanging the last time?
I have begun to realize that I am entirely too mean to elves. I really should stop picking on them, but it's just too much fun ;) I will probably end up giving our poor Estel a coronary if we keep this up. But, he should feel lucky my evil ravings haven't turned on him. Yet! Man, three chapters, isn't this the longest night ever? With all the trouble they manage to find in one night will they ever make it through the day, let alone another night? And a semi-intelligent orc? Look out Middle Earth!
Note: I know elves are graceful and precise, but I am an equal opportunity blunderer in battle. Wasn't it just fun to see an elf miss with a bow and fall out of a tree?
******
Thanks to everyone who keeps reviewing at the end of each chapter, please keep it up!
Sprout - I'm anxious to find out what's happening also, because I don't even know! All this excitement! I don't know if I can continue. Just kidding. Thanks again for reviewing.
Karri - You may just have another Rivendell chapter coming up soon. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much. As the plot thickens, dun, dun, dun.
Tithen Min - Well things definitely didn't calm down. Our poor elf! I hope I didn't push too hard ;) I'm glad your stress level was going down. How's it now? ;)
Ruth - Thank you very much for the praise!! I hope no one pushed you over : ) I'm very glad you are enjoying the story. Please keep reading and thanks for reviewing. Keep it up!