A/N: I'm very sorry for the length of time in between updates. It must have
been almost 2 weeks? If you are wanting updates on how I'm doing with each
chapter, or if I haven't updated for ages and you want to know why, try my
livejournal. There's a link on my profile.
My problem at the minute is that I've got all these ideas for later chapters, but am having trouble with these in between chapters. Still, I've written the entire epilogue, and quite a bit of several later chapters. And I've planned out the whole Galadriel/Celeborn thing.
I've also been distracted by the imminent release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Anyone else counting down the days?
* * * * *
Squelch.
My boot sunk ankle-deep into wet mud. Not that it really matters - Aragorn and I were already so wet and muddy we could have fallen into a swamp and come out looking no dirtier. Gandalf was somehow repelling mud, but I'd expected that. He was, after all, a wizard.
Legolas, however, I was not happy with. Somehow, he had so far escaped any deep puddles, mud patches and boggy bits, and was looking as if he'd just walked down a dirt track, not over a swamp! I glared fiercely, disappointed when he didn't notice.
Still, Aragorn noticed, sending me a sharp look and clearing his throat. "We should be running into a patrol any time now.. Gandalf, are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Oh, yes." Was I being paranoid, or did he sound slightly gleeful? "It should be very interesting, I'm sure. For all involved." He said that last bit as an afterthought, raising an eyebrow in my general direction. Or it could have been Legolas'. He was standing right behind me, which gave me an idea..
"Ow!" Legolas yelped as my pack connected sharply with his thigh. "That hurt, you clumsy dwarf."
"Clumsy?! Elf, I'll have you know that I meant to do that.."
"Oh, so you meant to hurt me."
"Is it so surprising?"
"Gentlemen!" Gandalf's voice, sterner than usual, cut into our argument. Aragorn gazed at him with something approaching awe.
"Now you have alerted Rivendell warriors to our presence, I would appreciate it if you would stay quiet," the wizard said, with such a fierce glare I felt I had to obey him.
"They know we're here?" Aragorn sounded worried, and after a while, when I heard the hoof-beats, I started worrying as well. After all, it wasn't exactly a plan. More like a suicide attempt, but it was too late to reconsider. Already riders were appearing on the not so distant horizon.
Aragorn turned to Legolas and I. "Please, let Gandalf and I talk. We know of their customs, so will be able to avoid offending them."
I would've snapped a reply defending my skills of negotiation, but the riders were too close. Besides, it was probably just the Elves. After all, Legolas took offence at nothing, and was always starting arguments.
"You! Halt! Who are you and what is your business here?"
"Surely you can guess who I am? But, in case you cannot, I will tell you. I am Gandalf the Grey. This here is Aragorn, friend of Rivendell, and this is Gimli son of Gloin, and Legolas."
"He is a Sindar Elf, and will be taken prisoner. The rest of you will be taken to Rivendell to be questioned as to what you were doing consorting with a Sindar. You will not be bound if you come freely, as you are all known as allies to the Noldor."
"And Legolas?" Gandalf sounded as if he were merely commenting on the weather.
"He is Sindar, and will be treated as so."
Already, I noted, two had dismounted and had circled round behind us, approaching Legolas with swords drawn and ropes in their hands. I wanted to yell, attack, do something as his hands were bound behind him, but didn't. This was after all, the plan, but that didn't mean I had to like it.
"Will you come with us?" Again, I didn't like it, but felt bound into silence by the plan.
However, when I was told to ride behind one of the Elves, I felt I had to protest. "There is no way I am getting.." Two of the Elves made to dismount, obviously planning to tie me up on their leader's orders. "Fine. But make sure that whichever of these wretched animals I have to travel on understands that I don't like it, and that it better not drop me."
And off we went.
At a careless, reckless, break-neck speed. Truly, this was only something only Elves would consider a good idea. We were all going to die, I was sure of it, and the hurt in my leg muscles was fast becoming unbearable. Soon all I could do was hold on, and pray that the stupid, crazy, reckless, unthinking Elf in front of me had some idea of how to stay on this bloody animal.
I barely noticed when we started our descent into a valley, but couldn't help but notice when buildings started to spring up out of nowhere, and even though I was praying for the ride to end safely, when it did, I felt it was all too soon.
We clip-clopped noisily through some ornate wooden gates, coming to an abrupt stop in front of a stern-looking Elf. Instinctively, I felt that he was not someone to vex.
His frown deepened as the warrior Elves dismounted, pulling us sliding after them. (Or me, really - the others, even Legolas with both hands tied behind his back, somehow managed fine.)
The Elf's lips pursed as he slowly surveyed us, displeasure plain on his face. His words were deep, and seemed to be dragged from his mouth, as if speaking to us was some task he was reluctantly forcing himself to do.
"Welcome to Rivendell, old friends and enemies. I am Lord Elrond, and am most curious as to what you all may have to say."
* * * * *
Reviewer Responses.
MoroTheWolfGod - Yeah! Use any excuse to dress up as an Elf, that's what I do.
Dragon-of-the-North - Thanks! I'm really happy to know that you think I'm good at details, because that's one of the things I really admire about some of my favourite authors. And, thanks for the idea (which was better than a lot of mine) but I've decided to just abandon the twins. Too much trouble!
Lady Thwen - Umm.. As interesting as your idea is, somehow I just can't see it working, lol. Though, you never know. An evil spirit could possess my body and write it in.
P. Rico - Ooh, interesting idea. But, although I thought about it for v. long, I just really don't want to introduce another character, with another back-story. So, the twins are not appearing. Sorry!
Dy - My idea was that the Noldor and Sindar started fighting when the Noldor returned to Middle-Earth from Valinor. And I hope that's spelled right. And, anyway, have scrapped the twins. (. And yes, Legolas is v. brave.
SperryDee - Nice idea! Though, not sure how I'd make it work. And 5'4" is not short, not by my standards! My family is v. weird, height wise - one aunt is 4'11", and her sister is 6'3"!
Ellen the Trickstar - Yeah, I'm also sad about the whole no Elladan/Elrohir thing, but, oh well. And no, no one is going to die. I am very opposed to character deaths. Deaths of all kinds, in fact.
Nina - Peace is good, and I like happy endings. That's all I'm telling you!
Jen - Yeah, Legolas' idea is bad. Mainly because I have no good ideas, and am not a military strategist.
Sha'Lane - Thanks! And yeah, isn't it annoying when stories do that?
tenshiamanda - I thought about slash and mpreg (am a big, big, big fan of both.) but decided no. When I started writing this, I swore to myself there would be no slash, making it unique among my fics!
Kit Cloudkicker - I think Tolkien said his Elves reach physical majority about 50, but in this AU they're not considered adults till much later. I think that being immortal, they would value childhood, and not want to rush it.
not_a_hobbit - Actually, that idea is quite close to my original idea, which doesn't factor Elladan, Elrohir, Arwen or Celebrain at all. And, thanks for reviewing!
AA Battery - Yes, evil can be good! Evil can be better than good. However, this is not an evil fic. I can be evil, but I feel like this having a happy ending, and not taking over the next year of my life or so. And yeah, glad you understand the travelling thing, but it has been dragging, hasn't it.
Ele - lol! But, how can I type with a fox on my keyboard? That has to be about the strangest review yet..
Tari Evenstar - I'm glad you like it! And, thanks for reviewing.
Andmetwen - Suspense? I can do suspense! Too well, some people say. Or scream.
Dis Thrainsdotter - Yep, Rivendell is here. And if you like Galadriel, good. There's a whole chapter centred almost entirely on her.
Arifel - Thanks! And yes, they have now arrived in Rivendell. I'm glad you like it!
Whitecoyote - No way, that was a good idea. One of the better ones, in fact. And don't be sorry for not reviewing sooner! It's wonderful that you're reviewing at all. Thanks, I'm glad you like the way I portray Gimli. He is fun to write.
killslay - I'm hoping it doesn't get too complicated as well! And yes, Gimli and Legolas do like each other really. As things get more serious, that should become more obvious. There is also a touchy-feely (but not too much) moment in the epilogue. And, I'm glad you thought it was funny!
My problem at the minute is that I've got all these ideas for later chapters, but am having trouble with these in between chapters. Still, I've written the entire epilogue, and quite a bit of several later chapters. And I've planned out the whole Galadriel/Celeborn thing.
I've also been distracted by the imminent release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Anyone else counting down the days?
* * * * *
Squelch.
My boot sunk ankle-deep into wet mud. Not that it really matters - Aragorn and I were already so wet and muddy we could have fallen into a swamp and come out looking no dirtier. Gandalf was somehow repelling mud, but I'd expected that. He was, after all, a wizard.
Legolas, however, I was not happy with. Somehow, he had so far escaped any deep puddles, mud patches and boggy bits, and was looking as if he'd just walked down a dirt track, not over a swamp! I glared fiercely, disappointed when he didn't notice.
Still, Aragorn noticed, sending me a sharp look and clearing his throat. "We should be running into a patrol any time now.. Gandalf, are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Oh, yes." Was I being paranoid, or did he sound slightly gleeful? "It should be very interesting, I'm sure. For all involved." He said that last bit as an afterthought, raising an eyebrow in my general direction. Or it could have been Legolas'. He was standing right behind me, which gave me an idea..
"Ow!" Legolas yelped as my pack connected sharply with his thigh. "That hurt, you clumsy dwarf."
"Clumsy?! Elf, I'll have you know that I meant to do that.."
"Oh, so you meant to hurt me."
"Is it so surprising?"
"Gentlemen!" Gandalf's voice, sterner than usual, cut into our argument. Aragorn gazed at him with something approaching awe.
"Now you have alerted Rivendell warriors to our presence, I would appreciate it if you would stay quiet," the wizard said, with such a fierce glare I felt I had to obey him.
"They know we're here?" Aragorn sounded worried, and after a while, when I heard the hoof-beats, I started worrying as well. After all, it wasn't exactly a plan. More like a suicide attempt, but it was too late to reconsider. Already riders were appearing on the not so distant horizon.
Aragorn turned to Legolas and I. "Please, let Gandalf and I talk. We know of their customs, so will be able to avoid offending them."
I would've snapped a reply defending my skills of negotiation, but the riders were too close. Besides, it was probably just the Elves. After all, Legolas took offence at nothing, and was always starting arguments.
"You! Halt! Who are you and what is your business here?"
"Surely you can guess who I am? But, in case you cannot, I will tell you. I am Gandalf the Grey. This here is Aragorn, friend of Rivendell, and this is Gimli son of Gloin, and Legolas."
"He is a Sindar Elf, and will be taken prisoner. The rest of you will be taken to Rivendell to be questioned as to what you were doing consorting with a Sindar. You will not be bound if you come freely, as you are all known as allies to the Noldor."
"And Legolas?" Gandalf sounded as if he were merely commenting on the weather.
"He is Sindar, and will be treated as so."
Already, I noted, two had dismounted and had circled round behind us, approaching Legolas with swords drawn and ropes in their hands. I wanted to yell, attack, do something as his hands were bound behind him, but didn't. This was after all, the plan, but that didn't mean I had to like it.
"Will you come with us?" Again, I didn't like it, but felt bound into silence by the plan.
However, when I was told to ride behind one of the Elves, I felt I had to protest. "There is no way I am getting.." Two of the Elves made to dismount, obviously planning to tie me up on their leader's orders. "Fine. But make sure that whichever of these wretched animals I have to travel on understands that I don't like it, and that it better not drop me."
And off we went.
At a careless, reckless, break-neck speed. Truly, this was only something only Elves would consider a good idea. We were all going to die, I was sure of it, and the hurt in my leg muscles was fast becoming unbearable. Soon all I could do was hold on, and pray that the stupid, crazy, reckless, unthinking Elf in front of me had some idea of how to stay on this bloody animal.
I barely noticed when we started our descent into a valley, but couldn't help but notice when buildings started to spring up out of nowhere, and even though I was praying for the ride to end safely, when it did, I felt it was all too soon.
We clip-clopped noisily through some ornate wooden gates, coming to an abrupt stop in front of a stern-looking Elf. Instinctively, I felt that he was not someone to vex.
His frown deepened as the warrior Elves dismounted, pulling us sliding after them. (Or me, really - the others, even Legolas with both hands tied behind his back, somehow managed fine.)
The Elf's lips pursed as he slowly surveyed us, displeasure plain on his face. His words were deep, and seemed to be dragged from his mouth, as if speaking to us was some task he was reluctantly forcing himself to do.
"Welcome to Rivendell, old friends and enemies. I am Lord Elrond, and am most curious as to what you all may have to say."
* * * * *
Reviewer Responses.
MoroTheWolfGod - Yeah! Use any excuse to dress up as an Elf, that's what I do.
Dragon-of-the-North - Thanks! I'm really happy to know that you think I'm good at details, because that's one of the things I really admire about some of my favourite authors. And, thanks for the idea (which was better than a lot of mine) but I've decided to just abandon the twins. Too much trouble!
Lady Thwen - Umm.. As interesting as your idea is, somehow I just can't see it working, lol. Though, you never know. An evil spirit could possess my body and write it in.
P. Rico - Ooh, interesting idea. But, although I thought about it for v. long, I just really don't want to introduce another character, with another back-story. So, the twins are not appearing. Sorry!
Dy - My idea was that the Noldor and Sindar started fighting when the Noldor returned to Middle-Earth from Valinor. And I hope that's spelled right. And, anyway, have scrapped the twins. (. And yes, Legolas is v. brave.
SperryDee - Nice idea! Though, not sure how I'd make it work. And 5'4" is not short, not by my standards! My family is v. weird, height wise - one aunt is 4'11", and her sister is 6'3"!
Ellen the Trickstar - Yeah, I'm also sad about the whole no Elladan/Elrohir thing, but, oh well. And no, no one is going to die. I am very opposed to character deaths. Deaths of all kinds, in fact.
Nina - Peace is good, and I like happy endings. That's all I'm telling you!
Jen - Yeah, Legolas' idea is bad. Mainly because I have no good ideas, and am not a military strategist.
Sha'Lane - Thanks! And yeah, isn't it annoying when stories do that?
tenshiamanda - I thought about slash and mpreg (am a big, big, big fan of both.) but decided no. When I started writing this, I swore to myself there would be no slash, making it unique among my fics!
Kit Cloudkicker - I think Tolkien said his Elves reach physical majority about 50, but in this AU they're not considered adults till much later. I think that being immortal, they would value childhood, and not want to rush it.
not_a_hobbit - Actually, that idea is quite close to my original idea, which doesn't factor Elladan, Elrohir, Arwen or Celebrain at all. And, thanks for reviewing!
AA Battery - Yes, evil can be good! Evil can be better than good. However, this is not an evil fic. I can be evil, but I feel like this having a happy ending, and not taking over the next year of my life or so. And yeah, glad you understand the travelling thing, but it has been dragging, hasn't it.
Ele - lol! But, how can I type with a fox on my keyboard? That has to be about the strangest review yet..
Tari Evenstar - I'm glad you like it! And, thanks for reviewing.
Andmetwen - Suspense? I can do suspense! Too well, some people say. Or scream.
Dis Thrainsdotter - Yep, Rivendell is here. And if you like Galadriel, good. There's a whole chapter centred almost entirely on her.
Arifel - Thanks! And yes, they have now arrived in Rivendell. I'm glad you like it!
Whitecoyote - No way, that was a good idea. One of the better ones, in fact. And don't be sorry for not reviewing sooner! It's wonderful that you're reviewing at all. Thanks, I'm glad you like the way I portray Gimli. He is fun to write.
killslay - I'm hoping it doesn't get too complicated as well! And yes, Gimli and Legolas do like each other really. As things get more serious, that should become more obvious. There is also a touchy-feely (but not too much) moment in the epilogue. And, I'm glad you thought it was funny!
