Thanks to everyone for the reviews! I live it! Please keep them coming and
for anyone who hasn't done so, despite how I treat Legolas and Aragorn, I
am a lot nicer to reviews. Promise. ; )
*************
The Choices We Make
**********
Chapter 14 Patience and Motion
It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
- Eleanor Roosevelt
********
As Legolas gave up hope and fell into his stupor a lonely being in a dark placed cried. She had been so close at one time. The both of them had an unspoken agreement to combine strength to push that fiend's will out of the young elf. But the time before last he had pushed her back instead and the last time she could only reach him in his dreams by a memory that burned a little brighter than the rest. He was losing the battle she could tell. He didn't know it but each time a little more of the things that made him distinctly elven were being chiseled away piece by agonizing piece. His joyous spirit, inner light, patience, wisdom, hope, and innocence were all at risk. She watched as his patience had crumbled and he became uncharacteristically angry. She watched now as what was left of his hope was replaced by despair and she despaired with him. She had tried to warn them not to come into this place. The elven one had felt the warning but still they came. She even told him directly when he wondered into her home. If only they would have stayed there long enough for the both of them to regain strength. She could have protected them there, but not now. Their connection was growing so weak that she couldn't help him now. She took some solace in the fact that his companion still grasped onto his hope. She had tried to connect with him also, but humans were to guarded in their thoughts. They were not as open to the things around them as the elves where and she had failed.
There was another. He could help; she could feel it. Although she had no idea how she had made contact with him in the first place. She had tried to make him see. Had used her connection with the elf named Legolas and directed it to him in hopes that he would understand. That attempt had failed too. She couldn't control the intensity of emotion she had directed and had unintentionally hurt him instead. Now his thoughts were extremely guarded as well.
But losing hope leads to despair and despair leads to giving up and that she couldn't do. She had originally connected with the fair-haired elf in his dreams and it had worked again earlier this night. If she were lucky perhaps the other one would accept her through his dreams as well. All she could do was be patient, try, and hope.
********
Elrond woke to a soft touch on his shoulder. He raised his head and realized he had fallen asleep in his favorite chair in the Hall of Fire. Elrond blinked a few times in confusion. It had been a very long time since he had dozed off like that. 'You must be getting too old,' he thought with a slight smile. He looked up into the concerned face of Celaviel. She was a long time friend of Glorfindel and had the same annoyingly serene look that he liked to give Elrond. He remembered seeing her in the crowd he had drawn upon his inspection of the floor, as Glorfindel had called, yesterday.
"Lle tyava quel, heruamin?" //Do you feel well, my lord?//
"Ays, mellonamin, hantalle," he reasured her. //Yes, my friend, thank you.//
"Lle creoso," she smiled. //You're welcome//
Celaviel left Elrond only after he assured her he would not hesitate to call her if he needed anything and that he would not tax himself. 'If she only knew,' he mused. He still didn't know how he let Glorfindel talk him into such things. Neither of them knew if their plan was going to actually work. Shielding Imladris from unfriendly eyes was one thing, but to his knowledge Vilya had never been tested against trying to protect something or more precisely someone so far away. Elrond didn't know if it was even possible. If not his sons and Glorfindel were riding right to what was endangering Estel and Legolas. With all five of them there it was sure to be a confusing mess anyway, with or with out his aid. His three sons combined with the young prince had a history of leaving destruction behind in their wake. He almost felt sorry for whatever was waiting for them in Angmar. That thought brought a smile to Elrond's ageless face.
He unconsciously looked out the window towards the north and noticed the sun was rising. Remembering the dream he was having before Celaviel aroused him made Elrond frown. He couldn't remember all of it. He was fairly certain there were a forest and a maid in the dream. The feeling he received from the images was akin to what he had felt the other night, but not as overbearing. He had a feeling someone was calling to him again. The problem was he did not know who or exactly what he was supposed to understand. The Lord of Rivendell closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Whatever the answers maybe and whatever the outcome fate had in store for his sons all he could do was wait. Millennia of experience had taught him patience. As he rose from his chair to start his pacing anew he realized with a smile that wearing a hole in the floor never hurt.
*******
In the Elven Kings halls deep in Mirkwood someone else who was not as tolerant of waiting was pacing also. King Thranduil was making circles around a chair in his room. A messenger had returned not more than two hours ago informing him that Glorfindel and Elrond's twin sons were riding with all haste toward Angmar on the other side of the Misty Mountains. By pure luck they had run into one of Mirkwood's scouting parties. They had been tracking the trail of a large number of orcs in the mountains and followed the tracks all the way to the other side. Three of his warriors had lent the three riders their horses so that they might speed their journey with fresh mounts. The other three's horses were in Mirkwood even now while arrangements were being made to return them to Rivendell. Thranduil had no idea what was going on which made him impatient. He did know that they were riding to the aid of his son and his human friend and that for some reason none of the Mirkwood warriors could accompany them because it would only put Legolas and his friend in more danger. Had he been there Thranduil would have had a thing or two to say about that, but as it was he had not been there and his kin had full trust in Glorfindel's word. With a sigh he realized that he would have accepted the wise elf's word as well as long as it was in the best interest of his son. What caused him the deepest worry was that Glorfindel had been there at all. By the Valar what could Legolas and the Dunedain have done this time that the twins or his own men couldn't help them without the aid of the older elf?
Thranduil paused in his pacing and gripped the back of the chair. He had to take a deep breath to fight the urge to pick the chair up and fling it across the room from the stress. Oh, how he hated waiting! He had learnt a fair bit of patience over his long life, but waiting for word about his only son who was obviously in danger was quite onerous on the nerves. Thranduil realized that the three elves would not even reach that accursed land for another day and that the next couple of days were going to be rigorous at best waiting for word of what had transpired. Why did his son have to attract everything foul thing in creation after him? He had heard many things over the centuries; but ada Elrohir thought the thing wasn't venomous when we tried to help it, or we didn't know a whole colony of spiders lived there, or who would have thought the bite from a warg could be so foul, or ada we honestly did not mean to run right in the middle of the band of orcs it was an accident. Every incident would usually end up in a trip to Imladris if that wasn't already were Legolas dragged himself back to. 'That's it!' he thought as he clutched the chair even harder. That elfling was never going to leave the palace again! Ever. If that human or, which one was it? Elrohir, whomever, wanted to see him they would simply have to come here to do it. Because if his son ever got out of this he was going to...
Thranduil stopped his mental tirade right there after he realized what he had just thought. He realized he had used 'if' and not 'when.' He closed his eyes and sighed. His head bowed down causing his golden hair to fall over his face. At the thought of losing his only son Thranduil had to sit down in the chair he nearly heaved a minute ago. Assuming he ever made it to Valinor how could he possibly ever tell Laurrina and, if not, how could he ever live with the both of them gone? Thranduil already knew the answer to that question, though. It was quite simple. He couldn't.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*
It had only been a few minutes since Legolas was led into the caves and secured, but the darkness was already suffocating him. His hands were left tied behind his back and the tight bonds had long since made his hands lose all feeling. The rope around his neck had been tied to the warg he now knew was called Radoc. The same warg that had delayed him long enough for the ghostly woman and that foul Grimnosh to recapture him. The human that traveled with the wargs name, he had heard, was Jeridan. Every time he walked over to say something to Radoc the human glared at Legolas. With some satisfaction Legolas noted that the humans nose was badly swollen and probably broken. 'Good,' he thought, 'maybe the next time he taunts about someone being hurt he will think twice about whom he tells it to.' Legolas also noticed how Radoc's eyes appeared to twinkle whenever the human glared at the elf. Legolas could sense the intelligence that this particular warg possessed and the fact that the orcs went about their business and were not bothered at all that he was the only guarding their captive.
Legolas' heart was pounding in his ears so loudly he could barely hear the conversations of the orcs moving around. Not that they were particularly interesting. Legolas could care less about the different ways to cook a troll's brain or the precise skills it required to be a good warg rider. Listening to this bunch as they prepared to spend the day here Legolas quickly surmised that the only one who had any resemblance of intelligence was Grimnosh. The only reason he was listening to them at all was to hear any hint of what had happened to Aragorn. This at least gave him something else to concentrate on beside the dark, which was making its presence more insistent by the minute. Legolas had to mentally remember and force himself to remain calm. This process was growing harder all the time, though, as his patience wore thin. The last time the human was by to glare at him Legolas remembered why he had chose to run the human into a tree, but as the minutes passed he could remember no longer. Aragorn was his friend and he was deeply concerned for him now, but try as hard as he could Legolas couldn't remember what had happened to the ranger to illicit such concern.
Scuffling in front of him made Legolas look up. He could make out the outline of a warg heading toward him and that it was hauling something on its back. As it drew closer Legolas realized something that made his breath catch. The warg was carrying Aragorn. Forgetting his bond Legolas rose and tried to rush to his friend's side only to be snapped backwards by the rope around his neck. Coughing and chastising himself for an implosive fool he shakily rose to his knees. The orc beside the warg unceremoniously dumped the ranger on the ground and Legolas' eyes narrowed at the orc. Grimnosh walked smugly up beside the orc and looked into the elf's blazing eyes.
Grimnosh sauntered over to Legolas, "Whats the matter elf? Don't like your human treated like the filth theys are?"
Legolas tried not to fall for the provocation, but uncontrollable anger flared inside him.
"The only filth I see here is standing in front of me," he glowered threw his dry throat.
Grimnosh's hand came up and stars exploded in Legolas' vision. For a brief second he realized he must have been knocked down because he was being hoisted up into the air again by his throat. Legolas looked through bleary eyes into the face of his capture. He expected to see a scowl or a frown, but was surprised when he saw the orc smirking instead. Just as Legolas was growing lightheaded he was roughly dropped to the ground. After a brief coughing fit, which hurt his bruised throat immensely, he was able to finally compose himself enough to look up. He wished he hadn't when Legolas saw the orc walking pointedly toward Aragorn with that evil smirk still on his face.
"I's warned you once before elf about the punishment for disobedience," he said casually as he stood above the ranger and pulled out a cruel looking knife.
"No!" Legolas yelled and despite the pain it caused to his throat he tried to pull his way toward the pair. Despite all of his struggling, though, the very heavy warg he was tied to didn't budge. Grimnosh smiled at his useless attempt and lowered the knife to the ranger's face.
"You cannot! He is not even aware of what is happening! I am the one who said it. It is me you wish to torment!" Legolas pleaded still furiously trying to break free.
Realizing reasoning was not going to get him anywhere Legolas tried to draw attention back to himself another way.
"Nadorhuan! Amin feuya ten' lle!" he yelled.
Grimnosh didn't know what the elf just said, but he could guess it was an insult. The thought of being insulted by an elf in their ugly language made him angry and he abandoned his pose above the ranger to fume in front of the elf.
"What did yous say?" he growled threateningly.
Nakash who had led the warg in that was carrying the human saw what was coming and backed away. His boss was way too calm and he suspected Grimnosh had finally lost his patience or something worse.
"Well it worked Legolas, are you happy now?' Legolas asked himself dryly. At least the loathsome beast had forgot about Aragorn. He looked into the angry orc's eyes with as much defiance as he could muster.
"I said - Cowardly dog. You disgust me," Legolas stated coolly.
Grimnosh was snarling now.
"Oh, yous did, did you? Have anything else yous want to say?" he asked surprisingly calm.
"As a matter of fact, mayhap I do, saurar. Dolle naa lost," Legolas replied with the most contemptible smile he could form. //foul one. Your head is empty//
Grimnosh didn't understand the last part and right now didn't care. Before the rational part of his mind could tell him that if he killed the elf now he would suffer the consequences his balled fist smashed into the elf's head.
Legolas stumbled backward when he was struck. He was prepared for it this time, though, and he didn't fall. 'Oh no...,' he thought as he saw the blurry image of the orc pick up the rope tied around his neck and prepared himself. 'At least he forgot about the knife and dropped it,' he thought. Which right now wasn't much of a consolation.
****
Nadina was hovering outside of the cave as the orcs prepared themselves for their retreat from the sun. The foul beast didn't really bother her. After all none of them except Grimnosh would even look her in the eyes. All of the wargs except Radoc, who was guarding the elf, were outside curled up. The cave was a fairly large one, but it was too small to accommodate all of the orcs and wargs and since the wargs didn't mind the sunlight they settled down outside for a rest.
Although she would never admit it to herself Nadina was out here to watch the sun rise. One couldn't really see the sun actually rise above the horizon with the mountains in the way and the dense canopy. She could, however, see the forest lighten up as the sun shone down onto it. The forest was growing brighter with each passing minute and the ghost of a smile pulled at the edges of Nadina's mouth.
A commotion inside the cave brought her out of her reverie and she turned toward the cave. The wargs outside also heard it and pricked their ears up in curiosity. Nadina sighed to herself. She knew the trip back to the tower was going to be difficult trying to keep the orcs off of their elven captive.
She soured into the gloom and into the chamber were the elf was being kept and stopped. She was prepared to see one or more of the orcs causing trouble, that was to be expected. She was also prepared to find the elf being battered. She was not prepared, however, to find Grimnosh himself doing the battering with the other orcs cheering him on. The elf was being swung around by his leash into the cave walls and Radoc, obviously not happy about the elf being untied from him, was in an uproar. Had it not involved killing the elf that her master wanted the whole scene might have been extremely hilarious to observe. Nadina, though, was not laughing. Her comment earlier about not letting the orcs play with the elf too much came to mind. This she decided was a little too much and she intended to make good on her threat.
*****
Thud! That was the first thing Aragorn heard. He didn't know where it came from and it disturbed him out of the blissful darkness. He tried to sink back into it comforting embrace, but the blasted voices wouldn't be silent. He stubbornly tried to remain where he was. A cold touch on his cheek brought him farther awake. It was when the voices became annoyingly loud that he decided to push through the haze so that he could tell Elladan and Elrohir to be quite. Aragorn opened weary eyes and shut them immediately for the extreme pain the process caused in his head. As his hearing began to make sense of the racket around him Aragorn suddenly realized he wasn't in his room and his brothers weren't causing the noises. He heard a smack and a stifled moan followed by cheers. With sickening realization he recognized that moan. Despite the pain Aragorn forced his eyes open once more. His pain strained eyes adjusted to the dimness and went wide when they did. Memories flooded back to Aragorn as he remembered what had happened last. No! The orcs had gotten them after all! After he vowed not to let them get a hold of Legolas, for the exact reason in which he was staring at now. He had to do something! He quickly noticed his hands were tied and shrugged. At least they were in front of him. Pushing past the massive headache and the weakness he felt Aragorn clumsily and determinedly pushed himself up.
******
Legolas had noticed the crowd gathering behind Grimnosh as they talked and as he smacked into the wall he could hear that same crowd cheering right now. The stunned elf really couldn't feeling it anymore, although, he knew he would later. When he hit the wall he heard a groan and dazedly realized it came from him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that this orc was smarter that he look. Legolas was sure that if he could still feel anything he would realize he wasn't being thrown into the walls hard enough to do any series injury. For a time before he went numb it had just been really painful.
*****
As Aragorn gritted his teeth and sat up turmoil broke out as a chain of event gathered momentum.
Radoc who had become fed up with being ignored lunged in front of the elf and clamped his massive jaws down on the rope.
Grimnosh tugged on the rope and suddenly did not have any resistance. He overbalanced, stumbled backwards, tripped over Aragorn who had just sat up, and fell into Nakash.
Nakash who had thought he was a safe distance away after backing up was slammed in the stomach by his stumbling leader and tipped backwards right into Nadina's path as she soared into the chamber. Icy cold seared through him and he fell to the floor trembling and gasping.
Nadina who was about to teach Grimnosh a lesson adjusted her path, after she passed through the dolt orc who stepped in front of her, when she saw one of the overexcited orcs in the crowd get caught up in the moment and raise his sword up to throw without realizing what he was doing.
Fear from the sight of Nadina appearing right in front of the unfortunate orc froze him in place. The others around him, though, could move quite well and they did. They scrambled over each other to get away from the obviously furious deadly being.
Legolas who was no longer being flung around hadn't the strength to stand up without the support of the rope and weakly slid down the wall to the ground.
Aragorn after being knocked back to the ground noticed Legolas between the wargs legs as he slid limply to the ground. His groggy brain couldn't follow what was happening around him. All he knew was that he had to reach Legolas. He steeled himself once more and sat up. He had just managed to get unsteadily to his feet when a human appeared right in front of him.
"Where do you think you are going?"
As the elf behind him slid to the ground Radoc noticed an orc trying to sneak up to the unsuspecting elf with a club in his hand. He was losing his patience with these stupid beings and considered just ripping out the thing's throat.
The orc was almost up upon the elf when the large warg in front of him turned its vicious teeth on him. All thoughts of the elf gone the orc retreated blindly backward.
Jeridan would normally never have the nerve to take on the ranger in front of him, but the other human was plainly still stunned from waking up. He was just getting ready to attack when he was roughly bumped from behind causing him to lurch forward.
Grimnosh arose and looked at the confusion around him. How by Morgoth did this happen? And how by Morgoth to get everyone to stop? He needed something to break threw all the noise and looked over to Radoc. As he stomped over to the warg he noticed the ranger was finally up. He took no heed of him and passed by. Jeridan lurched forward at him suddenly and the burly orc took pleasure in half hitting and half pushing him out of the way by his nose. The human yelped and staggered out of the way. Grimnosh approached the warg.
"Do something!"
Radoc looked up at the orc with a look that said 'you have to be kidding me' and 'this is your fault.'
Grimnosh growled irritably, "Howl dolt, theys will all hear you!"
Radoc not thrilled about being called a dolt by a dullard orc never the less complied.
As the earsplitting howl cut threw the chaos everyone did indeed stop what they were doing and look at the two, everyone except Aragorn who covered his ears at the sound. The loud sound rung threw his aching head, rattling his teeth, and making him dizzy. The rude awaking, the commotion, and the deafening sound on his sensitive ears were too much on the ranger.
As everyone's startled gaze fell on Radoc it shifted after a moment as everyone watched the ranger sway. A dozen and a half orc heads, one warg, and one spectral head tilted downward in unison as they followed the human as he fell to the ground with a thud that echoed around the still cave.
********
TBC...
*******
I told Estel way back around chapters 6 that he should feel lucky my ravings weren't on him yet. I guess his luck at dodging me finally ran out! Sorry this chapter took soooo long to post. I will try to have the next one much sooner. :)
******
orion - Thank you ever so much to adding me to your favorites list! I'm honored! Really! It makes my day when someone does. Thank you, thank you! And nifty name!
pupulupk - I am very glad you do!!!! Welcome to the story! Feel free to keep reviewing and letting me know what you think. I appreciate it!
Sprout - Actually, I wasn't being sarcastic. :) Come on... that wasn't so bad. I have left you with far worse ones, really. *Hides from the angry glare* I was beginning to wonder if you were still there! *sighs with relief* Since you asked ever so politely and sweetly here you go. Maybe this will reduce your stress levels, or then again maybe not. ;) And I like the Thranduil eyebrow! He, he, he!
goblz - Thank you kindly. I agree that would be sad! Yes, poor Legolas. Why all the looong : ( faces? Angst is so much fun and this is a suspense story. ;) Cheer up! To let you in on a little secret *looks around suspiciously and wispers* - I don't like stories that don't end like they should.Have faith mellonamin!
Karri - I'm glad yoy think chapters can't be too long! I have a feeling when the time comes, the ending ones will be quite lengthy. It is going to take a lot of space to incorperate everybody. That won't be for a little while though. Ah, the poor lovely elf's soul. What will happen to it? The three musketeers? I really like that!! Ha, ha, ha! It made me laugh. I had to stop myself from refering to them by that name when I was writing this chapter. ;) How very cute! And yes, I immensly enjoy the wee Aragorn stories. Any more in the work? *Bats eyes hopfully*
Tithen Min - I hope I elliviated some of your stress levels. Or maybe not. ;) As a nurse I'm sure your aware that high levels are not good for you. ;) But as a senior Bio major I assure you moderate ones aren't bad! Raises the awarness and burns a few calories I say! Te he he, just kidding. Bravo, you had Thranduil back in one piece just in time for me to use him. That settles it - you are a mind reader. :) See Aragorn is alright, well sort of I guess. I've been meaning to ask you, if you don't mind me being nosy *bats eyes sheepishly* - where did the name Tithen Min come from? It's a cool name. Don't worry, I'm not asking to be mean or anything. ;) I like it. And I never thank you for adding me to your favorites! You made my day! Thank you! I do hope you recieved all three reviews I wrote. Hopefully they will be posted in time for you to read them today. ;)
Lyn - Thank you Lyn and thank you very much for reviewing!! I really appreciate it! I'm sory if I didn't make myself clear. I did put in the authors note at the end that the Hall of Mandos are were the spirits of the elves go. I did not put, however, that it is uncetain where men go when they die and I appologize. Thank you kindly for pointing that out. I am aware that that is what is says in the Silmaillion and that Aragorn was not worried upon his death. ;) The comment at the end of chapter 12 is stricly through Legolas' point of veiw. Since it is not known where men go I think Legolas would have faith that they would go to the Halls of Awaiting also. It would seem unfair for Illuvator to simply not want his second borns around at the end of everything. But that is just a personel oppinion and one I gave to Legolas as well. It just my interpretation of his thoughts built on friendship and nothing more. Anyway, I know, I ramble on too much.;) Thank you again and keep reviewing!! I love to know what people think, thank you!
*************
The Choices We Make
**********
Chapter 14 Patience and Motion
It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.
- Eleanor Roosevelt
********
As Legolas gave up hope and fell into his stupor a lonely being in a dark placed cried. She had been so close at one time. The both of them had an unspoken agreement to combine strength to push that fiend's will out of the young elf. But the time before last he had pushed her back instead and the last time she could only reach him in his dreams by a memory that burned a little brighter than the rest. He was losing the battle she could tell. He didn't know it but each time a little more of the things that made him distinctly elven were being chiseled away piece by agonizing piece. His joyous spirit, inner light, patience, wisdom, hope, and innocence were all at risk. She watched as his patience had crumbled and he became uncharacteristically angry. She watched now as what was left of his hope was replaced by despair and she despaired with him. She had tried to warn them not to come into this place. The elven one had felt the warning but still they came. She even told him directly when he wondered into her home. If only they would have stayed there long enough for the both of them to regain strength. She could have protected them there, but not now. Their connection was growing so weak that she couldn't help him now. She took some solace in the fact that his companion still grasped onto his hope. She had tried to connect with him also, but humans were to guarded in their thoughts. They were not as open to the things around them as the elves where and she had failed.
There was another. He could help; she could feel it. Although she had no idea how she had made contact with him in the first place. She had tried to make him see. Had used her connection with the elf named Legolas and directed it to him in hopes that he would understand. That attempt had failed too. She couldn't control the intensity of emotion she had directed and had unintentionally hurt him instead. Now his thoughts were extremely guarded as well.
But losing hope leads to despair and despair leads to giving up and that she couldn't do. She had originally connected with the fair-haired elf in his dreams and it had worked again earlier this night. If she were lucky perhaps the other one would accept her through his dreams as well. All she could do was be patient, try, and hope.
********
Elrond woke to a soft touch on his shoulder. He raised his head and realized he had fallen asleep in his favorite chair in the Hall of Fire. Elrond blinked a few times in confusion. It had been a very long time since he had dozed off like that. 'You must be getting too old,' he thought with a slight smile. He looked up into the concerned face of Celaviel. She was a long time friend of Glorfindel and had the same annoyingly serene look that he liked to give Elrond. He remembered seeing her in the crowd he had drawn upon his inspection of the floor, as Glorfindel had called, yesterday.
"Lle tyava quel, heruamin?" //Do you feel well, my lord?//
"Ays, mellonamin, hantalle," he reasured her. //Yes, my friend, thank you.//
"Lle creoso," she smiled. //You're welcome//
Celaviel left Elrond only after he assured her he would not hesitate to call her if he needed anything and that he would not tax himself. 'If she only knew,' he mused. He still didn't know how he let Glorfindel talk him into such things. Neither of them knew if their plan was going to actually work. Shielding Imladris from unfriendly eyes was one thing, but to his knowledge Vilya had never been tested against trying to protect something or more precisely someone so far away. Elrond didn't know if it was even possible. If not his sons and Glorfindel were riding right to what was endangering Estel and Legolas. With all five of them there it was sure to be a confusing mess anyway, with or with out his aid. His three sons combined with the young prince had a history of leaving destruction behind in their wake. He almost felt sorry for whatever was waiting for them in Angmar. That thought brought a smile to Elrond's ageless face.
He unconsciously looked out the window towards the north and noticed the sun was rising. Remembering the dream he was having before Celaviel aroused him made Elrond frown. He couldn't remember all of it. He was fairly certain there were a forest and a maid in the dream. The feeling he received from the images was akin to what he had felt the other night, but not as overbearing. He had a feeling someone was calling to him again. The problem was he did not know who or exactly what he was supposed to understand. The Lord of Rivendell closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Whatever the answers maybe and whatever the outcome fate had in store for his sons all he could do was wait. Millennia of experience had taught him patience. As he rose from his chair to start his pacing anew he realized with a smile that wearing a hole in the floor never hurt.
*******
In the Elven Kings halls deep in Mirkwood someone else who was not as tolerant of waiting was pacing also. King Thranduil was making circles around a chair in his room. A messenger had returned not more than two hours ago informing him that Glorfindel and Elrond's twin sons were riding with all haste toward Angmar on the other side of the Misty Mountains. By pure luck they had run into one of Mirkwood's scouting parties. They had been tracking the trail of a large number of orcs in the mountains and followed the tracks all the way to the other side. Three of his warriors had lent the three riders their horses so that they might speed their journey with fresh mounts. The other three's horses were in Mirkwood even now while arrangements were being made to return them to Rivendell. Thranduil had no idea what was going on which made him impatient. He did know that they were riding to the aid of his son and his human friend and that for some reason none of the Mirkwood warriors could accompany them because it would only put Legolas and his friend in more danger. Had he been there Thranduil would have had a thing or two to say about that, but as it was he had not been there and his kin had full trust in Glorfindel's word. With a sigh he realized that he would have accepted the wise elf's word as well as long as it was in the best interest of his son. What caused him the deepest worry was that Glorfindel had been there at all. By the Valar what could Legolas and the Dunedain have done this time that the twins or his own men couldn't help them without the aid of the older elf?
Thranduil paused in his pacing and gripped the back of the chair. He had to take a deep breath to fight the urge to pick the chair up and fling it across the room from the stress. Oh, how he hated waiting! He had learnt a fair bit of patience over his long life, but waiting for word about his only son who was obviously in danger was quite onerous on the nerves. Thranduil realized that the three elves would not even reach that accursed land for another day and that the next couple of days were going to be rigorous at best waiting for word of what had transpired. Why did his son have to attract everything foul thing in creation after him? He had heard many things over the centuries; but ada Elrohir thought the thing wasn't venomous when we tried to help it, or we didn't know a whole colony of spiders lived there, or who would have thought the bite from a warg could be so foul, or ada we honestly did not mean to run right in the middle of the band of orcs it was an accident. Every incident would usually end up in a trip to Imladris if that wasn't already were Legolas dragged himself back to. 'That's it!' he thought as he clutched the chair even harder. That elfling was never going to leave the palace again! Ever. If that human or, which one was it? Elrohir, whomever, wanted to see him they would simply have to come here to do it. Because if his son ever got out of this he was going to...
Thranduil stopped his mental tirade right there after he realized what he had just thought. He realized he had used 'if' and not 'when.' He closed his eyes and sighed. His head bowed down causing his golden hair to fall over his face. At the thought of losing his only son Thranduil had to sit down in the chair he nearly heaved a minute ago. Assuming he ever made it to Valinor how could he possibly ever tell Laurrina and, if not, how could he ever live with the both of them gone? Thranduil already knew the answer to that question, though. It was quite simple. He couldn't.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*
It had only been a few minutes since Legolas was led into the caves and secured, but the darkness was already suffocating him. His hands were left tied behind his back and the tight bonds had long since made his hands lose all feeling. The rope around his neck had been tied to the warg he now knew was called Radoc. The same warg that had delayed him long enough for the ghostly woman and that foul Grimnosh to recapture him. The human that traveled with the wargs name, he had heard, was Jeridan. Every time he walked over to say something to Radoc the human glared at Legolas. With some satisfaction Legolas noted that the humans nose was badly swollen and probably broken. 'Good,' he thought, 'maybe the next time he taunts about someone being hurt he will think twice about whom he tells it to.' Legolas also noticed how Radoc's eyes appeared to twinkle whenever the human glared at the elf. Legolas could sense the intelligence that this particular warg possessed and the fact that the orcs went about their business and were not bothered at all that he was the only guarding their captive.
Legolas' heart was pounding in his ears so loudly he could barely hear the conversations of the orcs moving around. Not that they were particularly interesting. Legolas could care less about the different ways to cook a troll's brain or the precise skills it required to be a good warg rider. Listening to this bunch as they prepared to spend the day here Legolas quickly surmised that the only one who had any resemblance of intelligence was Grimnosh. The only reason he was listening to them at all was to hear any hint of what had happened to Aragorn. This at least gave him something else to concentrate on beside the dark, which was making its presence more insistent by the minute. Legolas had to mentally remember and force himself to remain calm. This process was growing harder all the time, though, as his patience wore thin. The last time the human was by to glare at him Legolas remembered why he had chose to run the human into a tree, but as the minutes passed he could remember no longer. Aragorn was his friend and he was deeply concerned for him now, but try as hard as he could Legolas couldn't remember what had happened to the ranger to illicit such concern.
Scuffling in front of him made Legolas look up. He could make out the outline of a warg heading toward him and that it was hauling something on its back. As it drew closer Legolas realized something that made his breath catch. The warg was carrying Aragorn. Forgetting his bond Legolas rose and tried to rush to his friend's side only to be snapped backwards by the rope around his neck. Coughing and chastising himself for an implosive fool he shakily rose to his knees. The orc beside the warg unceremoniously dumped the ranger on the ground and Legolas' eyes narrowed at the orc. Grimnosh walked smugly up beside the orc and looked into the elf's blazing eyes.
Grimnosh sauntered over to Legolas, "Whats the matter elf? Don't like your human treated like the filth theys are?"
Legolas tried not to fall for the provocation, but uncontrollable anger flared inside him.
"The only filth I see here is standing in front of me," he glowered threw his dry throat.
Grimnosh's hand came up and stars exploded in Legolas' vision. For a brief second he realized he must have been knocked down because he was being hoisted up into the air again by his throat. Legolas looked through bleary eyes into the face of his capture. He expected to see a scowl or a frown, but was surprised when he saw the orc smirking instead. Just as Legolas was growing lightheaded he was roughly dropped to the ground. After a brief coughing fit, which hurt his bruised throat immensely, he was able to finally compose himself enough to look up. He wished he hadn't when Legolas saw the orc walking pointedly toward Aragorn with that evil smirk still on his face.
"I's warned you once before elf about the punishment for disobedience," he said casually as he stood above the ranger and pulled out a cruel looking knife.
"No!" Legolas yelled and despite the pain it caused to his throat he tried to pull his way toward the pair. Despite all of his struggling, though, the very heavy warg he was tied to didn't budge. Grimnosh smiled at his useless attempt and lowered the knife to the ranger's face.
"You cannot! He is not even aware of what is happening! I am the one who said it. It is me you wish to torment!" Legolas pleaded still furiously trying to break free.
Realizing reasoning was not going to get him anywhere Legolas tried to draw attention back to himself another way.
"Nadorhuan! Amin feuya ten' lle!" he yelled.
Grimnosh didn't know what the elf just said, but he could guess it was an insult. The thought of being insulted by an elf in their ugly language made him angry and he abandoned his pose above the ranger to fume in front of the elf.
"What did yous say?" he growled threateningly.
Nakash who had led the warg in that was carrying the human saw what was coming and backed away. His boss was way too calm and he suspected Grimnosh had finally lost his patience or something worse.
"Well it worked Legolas, are you happy now?' Legolas asked himself dryly. At least the loathsome beast had forgot about Aragorn. He looked into the angry orc's eyes with as much defiance as he could muster.
"I said - Cowardly dog. You disgust me," Legolas stated coolly.
Grimnosh was snarling now.
"Oh, yous did, did you? Have anything else yous want to say?" he asked surprisingly calm.
"As a matter of fact, mayhap I do, saurar. Dolle naa lost," Legolas replied with the most contemptible smile he could form. //foul one. Your head is empty//
Grimnosh didn't understand the last part and right now didn't care. Before the rational part of his mind could tell him that if he killed the elf now he would suffer the consequences his balled fist smashed into the elf's head.
Legolas stumbled backward when he was struck. He was prepared for it this time, though, and he didn't fall. 'Oh no...,' he thought as he saw the blurry image of the orc pick up the rope tied around his neck and prepared himself. 'At least he forgot about the knife and dropped it,' he thought. Which right now wasn't much of a consolation.
****
Nadina was hovering outside of the cave as the orcs prepared themselves for their retreat from the sun. The foul beast didn't really bother her. After all none of them except Grimnosh would even look her in the eyes. All of the wargs except Radoc, who was guarding the elf, were outside curled up. The cave was a fairly large one, but it was too small to accommodate all of the orcs and wargs and since the wargs didn't mind the sunlight they settled down outside for a rest.
Although she would never admit it to herself Nadina was out here to watch the sun rise. One couldn't really see the sun actually rise above the horizon with the mountains in the way and the dense canopy. She could, however, see the forest lighten up as the sun shone down onto it. The forest was growing brighter with each passing minute and the ghost of a smile pulled at the edges of Nadina's mouth.
A commotion inside the cave brought her out of her reverie and she turned toward the cave. The wargs outside also heard it and pricked their ears up in curiosity. Nadina sighed to herself. She knew the trip back to the tower was going to be difficult trying to keep the orcs off of their elven captive.
She soured into the gloom and into the chamber were the elf was being kept and stopped. She was prepared to see one or more of the orcs causing trouble, that was to be expected. She was also prepared to find the elf being battered. She was not prepared, however, to find Grimnosh himself doing the battering with the other orcs cheering him on. The elf was being swung around by his leash into the cave walls and Radoc, obviously not happy about the elf being untied from him, was in an uproar. Had it not involved killing the elf that her master wanted the whole scene might have been extremely hilarious to observe. Nadina, though, was not laughing. Her comment earlier about not letting the orcs play with the elf too much came to mind. This she decided was a little too much and she intended to make good on her threat.
*****
Thud! That was the first thing Aragorn heard. He didn't know where it came from and it disturbed him out of the blissful darkness. He tried to sink back into it comforting embrace, but the blasted voices wouldn't be silent. He stubbornly tried to remain where he was. A cold touch on his cheek brought him farther awake. It was when the voices became annoyingly loud that he decided to push through the haze so that he could tell Elladan and Elrohir to be quite. Aragorn opened weary eyes and shut them immediately for the extreme pain the process caused in his head. As his hearing began to make sense of the racket around him Aragorn suddenly realized he wasn't in his room and his brothers weren't causing the noises. He heard a smack and a stifled moan followed by cheers. With sickening realization he recognized that moan. Despite the pain Aragorn forced his eyes open once more. His pain strained eyes adjusted to the dimness and went wide when they did. Memories flooded back to Aragorn as he remembered what had happened last. No! The orcs had gotten them after all! After he vowed not to let them get a hold of Legolas, for the exact reason in which he was staring at now. He had to do something! He quickly noticed his hands were tied and shrugged. At least they were in front of him. Pushing past the massive headache and the weakness he felt Aragorn clumsily and determinedly pushed himself up.
******
Legolas had noticed the crowd gathering behind Grimnosh as they talked and as he smacked into the wall he could hear that same crowd cheering right now. The stunned elf really couldn't feeling it anymore, although, he knew he would later. When he hit the wall he heard a groan and dazedly realized it came from him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that this orc was smarter that he look. Legolas was sure that if he could still feel anything he would realize he wasn't being thrown into the walls hard enough to do any series injury. For a time before he went numb it had just been really painful.
*****
As Aragorn gritted his teeth and sat up turmoil broke out as a chain of event gathered momentum.
Radoc who had become fed up with being ignored lunged in front of the elf and clamped his massive jaws down on the rope.
Grimnosh tugged on the rope and suddenly did not have any resistance. He overbalanced, stumbled backwards, tripped over Aragorn who had just sat up, and fell into Nakash.
Nakash who had thought he was a safe distance away after backing up was slammed in the stomach by his stumbling leader and tipped backwards right into Nadina's path as she soared into the chamber. Icy cold seared through him and he fell to the floor trembling and gasping.
Nadina who was about to teach Grimnosh a lesson adjusted her path, after she passed through the dolt orc who stepped in front of her, when she saw one of the overexcited orcs in the crowd get caught up in the moment and raise his sword up to throw without realizing what he was doing.
Fear from the sight of Nadina appearing right in front of the unfortunate orc froze him in place. The others around him, though, could move quite well and they did. They scrambled over each other to get away from the obviously furious deadly being.
Legolas who was no longer being flung around hadn't the strength to stand up without the support of the rope and weakly slid down the wall to the ground.
Aragorn after being knocked back to the ground noticed Legolas between the wargs legs as he slid limply to the ground. His groggy brain couldn't follow what was happening around him. All he knew was that he had to reach Legolas. He steeled himself once more and sat up. He had just managed to get unsteadily to his feet when a human appeared right in front of him.
"Where do you think you are going?"
As the elf behind him slid to the ground Radoc noticed an orc trying to sneak up to the unsuspecting elf with a club in his hand. He was losing his patience with these stupid beings and considered just ripping out the thing's throat.
The orc was almost up upon the elf when the large warg in front of him turned its vicious teeth on him. All thoughts of the elf gone the orc retreated blindly backward.
Jeridan would normally never have the nerve to take on the ranger in front of him, but the other human was plainly still stunned from waking up. He was just getting ready to attack when he was roughly bumped from behind causing him to lurch forward.
Grimnosh arose and looked at the confusion around him. How by Morgoth did this happen? And how by Morgoth to get everyone to stop? He needed something to break threw all the noise and looked over to Radoc. As he stomped over to the warg he noticed the ranger was finally up. He took no heed of him and passed by. Jeridan lurched forward at him suddenly and the burly orc took pleasure in half hitting and half pushing him out of the way by his nose. The human yelped and staggered out of the way. Grimnosh approached the warg.
"Do something!"
Radoc looked up at the orc with a look that said 'you have to be kidding me' and 'this is your fault.'
Grimnosh growled irritably, "Howl dolt, theys will all hear you!"
Radoc not thrilled about being called a dolt by a dullard orc never the less complied.
As the earsplitting howl cut threw the chaos everyone did indeed stop what they were doing and look at the two, everyone except Aragorn who covered his ears at the sound. The loud sound rung threw his aching head, rattling his teeth, and making him dizzy. The rude awaking, the commotion, and the deafening sound on his sensitive ears were too much on the ranger.
As everyone's startled gaze fell on Radoc it shifted after a moment as everyone watched the ranger sway. A dozen and a half orc heads, one warg, and one spectral head tilted downward in unison as they followed the human as he fell to the ground with a thud that echoed around the still cave.
********
TBC...
*******
I told Estel way back around chapters 6 that he should feel lucky my ravings weren't on him yet. I guess his luck at dodging me finally ran out! Sorry this chapter took soooo long to post. I will try to have the next one much sooner. :)
******
orion - Thank you ever so much to adding me to your favorites list! I'm honored! Really! It makes my day when someone does. Thank you, thank you! And nifty name!
pupulupk - I am very glad you do!!!! Welcome to the story! Feel free to keep reviewing and letting me know what you think. I appreciate it!
Sprout - Actually, I wasn't being sarcastic. :) Come on... that wasn't so bad. I have left you with far worse ones, really. *Hides from the angry glare* I was beginning to wonder if you were still there! *sighs with relief* Since you asked ever so politely and sweetly here you go. Maybe this will reduce your stress levels, or then again maybe not. ;) And I like the Thranduil eyebrow! He, he, he!
goblz - Thank you kindly. I agree that would be sad! Yes, poor Legolas. Why all the looong : ( faces? Angst is so much fun and this is a suspense story. ;) Cheer up! To let you in on a little secret *looks around suspiciously and wispers* - I don't like stories that don't end like they should.Have faith mellonamin!
Karri - I'm glad yoy think chapters can't be too long! I have a feeling when the time comes, the ending ones will be quite lengthy. It is going to take a lot of space to incorperate everybody. That won't be for a little while though. Ah, the poor lovely elf's soul. What will happen to it? The three musketeers? I really like that!! Ha, ha, ha! It made me laugh. I had to stop myself from refering to them by that name when I was writing this chapter. ;) How very cute! And yes, I immensly enjoy the wee Aragorn stories. Any more in the work? *Bats eyes hopfully*
Tithen Min - I hope I elliviated some of your stress levels. Or maybe not. ;) As a nurse I'm sure your aware that high levels are not good for you. ;) But as a senior Bio major I assure you moderate ones aren't bad! Raises the awarness and burns a few calories I say! Te he he, just kidding. Bravo, you had Thranduil back in one piece just in time for me to use him. That settles it - you are a mind reader. :) See Aragorn is alright, well sort of I guess. I've been meaning to ask you, if you don't mind me being nosy *bats eyes sheepishly* - where did the name Tithen Min come from? It's a cool name. Don't worry, I'm not asking to be mean or anything. ;) I like it. And I never thank you for adding me to your favorites! You made my day! Thank you! I do hope you recieved all three reviews I wrote. Hopefully they will be posted in time for you to read them today. ;)
Lyn - Thank you Lyn and thank you very much for reviewing!! I really appreciate it! I'm sory if I didn't make myself clear. I did put in the authors note at the end that the Hall of Mandos are were the spirits of the elves go. I did not put, however, that it is uncetain where men go when they die and I appologize. Thank you kindly for pointing that out. I am aware that that is what is says in the Silmaillion and that Aragorn was not worried upon his death. ;) The comment at the end of chapter 12 is stricly through Legolas' point of veiw. Since it is not known where men go I think Legolas would have faith that they would go to the Halls of Awaiting also. It would seem unfair for Illuvator to simply not want his second borns around at the end of everything. But that is just a personel oppinion and one I gave to Legolas as well. It just my interpretation of his thoughts built on friendship and nothing more. Anyway, I know, I ramble on too much.;) Thank you again and keep reviewing!! I love to know what people think, thank you!