Author's note: argh…I keep finding more things I hafta go over before we get to the action! *sighs* owell…next chapter we'll get a little action...but after that I think things will really pick up.
Summary: When Rivendell is awakened one night by screams, Legolas, Aragorn, and the twins are plunged into an adventure that very may well cost them their souls as well as their lives and prove how much their willing to sacrifice for friendship.
Rating: PG-13—for blood and intense moments…do not say I didn't warn you
Warnings: not for the faint of heart
Disclaimer: world domination is on my list priorities…but cleaning the house, feeding the dog, and making my dinner comes first.
//review comments at the bottom//
Descent into Darkness
By eck
Legolas sat with his head in his hands watching Aragorn sleep. It was times like this when he was reminded how young the ranger actually was. A mere 18 summers had passed since the babe, only a few months old at the time, had been brought to Rivendell; 18 summers since Legolas' had pledged his life to protect the Heir of Isulidir.
{Flashback}
Prince Legolas stared disbelievingly at Elrond. "You're telling me that you are going to take Aragorn as your own son?"
Elrond nodded. "He has no other family since Arathorn was killed in the orc raid." He winced as he saw the raw pain that flashed through Legolas' eyes. "I'm sorry, I knew how close you were to the king."
Legolas nodded curtly. "Do not think of it."
A long moment of silence passed as each contemplated the days that lay ahead of them.
"May I see him?"
Elrond turned his quizzical eyes on Legolas. "You mean Aragorn?"
Legolas nodded.
"Of course." Elrond had led the trembling prince to the small nursery they had fashioned for the baby human.
Legolas approached the cradle and knelt down to view the sleeping child. With one hand, he stroked the dark hair. "Your father was my best friend," he finally began in a broken voice. "When I met him over a hundred years ago, I swore that I would protect him with my life. I failed him…" Legolas choked but then continued. "I swear the same to you but this time I will not fail." Planting a chaste kiss on the small brow, Legolas stood and quickly wiped the wetness lingering in his eyes.
{End of flashback}
Legolas resisted the urge to reach out and stroke the dark hair. Little Aragorn had grown into a fine man and Legolas' best friend. He had never told the man of the oath he had sworn long ago, but it still rested in his heart.
A moan from the sleeping man brought Legolas back to the present.
It had been five days since they had been to the scene of the brutal attack against the group of elves. Since that time, Aragorn had not stopped having nightmares every time he closed his eyes.
The first time he had staggered into Legolas' room and after talking his friend, he had fallen asleep on the floor next to Legolas' bed. Since that time, Legolas' had taken to sleeping in the chair next to Aragorn's bed despite the human's protests.
Legolas' countered that it allowed them both more sleep as Aragorn did not have to stagger down to Legolas' room every time he had a nightmare and Legolas did then not have to escort him back. What Legolas did not tell his friend, was that the same nightmares haunted his own sleep as well and he slept better when he knew he was near his friend.
The blonde prince was just beginning to doze when a gurgled cry rose from the man on the bed.
Shaking the cobwebs from his mind, Legolas reached forward to place a hand on the scrunched forehead. "Aragron, wake up, mellonamin. It is merely a dream. Open your eyes."
A few moments passed and the gray eyes blinked open and stared up at Legolas. A shaky hand reached up and touched the elf's face. "You're alive?"
Legolas forced a laugh as he leaned back. "Of course, you cannot get rid of me that easily."
Aragorn's face crumpled in relief. "I thought, I mean…" his voice trailed off as he scooted himself into an upright position on the bed.
"Do you wish to speak of it?"
After studying the elf before him for another moment, Aragorn shook his head. "No, it was nothing." He gave a wan smile. "Just the product of an overactive imagination."
Legolas arched his right eyebrow in skepticism. "Dreams can sometimes be far more than that the product of an overactive imagination. Often they are harbingers of things to come in the future."
For a moment a look of horror passed over Aragorn's face. Then it was replaced by a calm façade. "It is nothing, mellonamin, go back to sleep."
Legolas looked wary but nodded as he settled back in the chair. "Wake me if the need arises."
Aragorn nodded and watched as Legolas' eyes glazed over with the sleep of the elves. Stirring restlessly, he tried to fall back asleep but every time he closed his eyes, the ghastly images from his dreams appeared before his eyes. Finally he lay staring out the window of his room watching as the sun rose over the eastern sky.
()()()()()
Elrond had fallen asleep in his study when a young servant burst through the heavy doors that led to his study.
When the young elf saw that his Lord was fast asleep he slowed his pace. Moving on silent feet, he reached out to Elrond. "My Lord?" he asked, shaking him ever so slightly.
The dark eyes focused on the elf's face. Stifling a yawn, Elrond peered up at his awakener. "Yes?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep. Dimly, he recognized the elf as one of the ones that worked in the Healer's Ward. "What is your name?"
"Corin, mi'lord. The Master Healer bid me to fetch you. The elf has awoken at last!" He gestured towards the door. "Come quickly! He fears he will not last much longer."
Elrond shoved himself to his feet and followed the younger elf at a quick run through the still quiet hallways of the house.
The Healer's rooms buzzed with activity as Elrond quickly pushed his way to the injured elf's side.
Pain glazed eyes turned to look at him, fear etched in every line of the elf's face. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"
Elrond made a slight hushing noise. "I am the Lord of Rivendell, we found you lying outside our gates a few nights before this."
The lines eased imperceptibly on the elf's face. "Rivendell? I am safe then?"
"Yes, you are safe."
The elf laughed loudly even though it ended in a gasp of pain. "I made it." His voice was almost hysterical with something Elrond could not place. "I ran away and it didn't catch me." Just as quickly the elf sobered. "What about the others?"
Elrond grimaced, he had hoped this question wouldn't come up. "They were all dead when we found them, can you tell me what happened?"
Wide eyes stared at him. "Dead? It killed all of them?" When Elrond did not respond the elf tried to sit up. "Tell me!"
Gently, Elrond pressed the tense elf back into the bed. "All of them," he confirmed softly.
The light blue eyes of the elf took on a glazed appearance. "And I escaped. Fate was cruel when it allowed me to escape when I was…" his voice trailed into nothingness as his eyes continued to stare at some point out the window.
"Can you tell us what happened to them?" Elrond asked softly.
The elf did not answer. "We thought it would save us," he continued in a singsongy voice, "It would save us from the sea. Feralon said it would, I heard him say it. We wouldn't hear the sea anymore, he said, it would save us. And it did. It did. They're all dead, they can't feel the sea-longing anymore because they're all dead. Feralon was right." The elf stiffened then and turned his eyes that were beginning to show the edges of insanity back towards Elrond. "Have you seen him?" he asked in a conspiratorially tone. "He said he would come here."
Elrond shook his head wordlessly.
The elf blinked and his brow furrowed in confusion. "Not yet, he said, but he will come! Soon he will be here!" the elf laughed manically. "They better watch out, he is coming."
Elrond noted with concern that the elf's pulse was racing to fast and the breaths were getting hoarser. He motioned to one of the healers and a cup filled with a strange liquid was placed into his hand as the strange elf continued to ramble.
"You won't come out after dark; you won't let their children play outside. All because he has come."
Elrond held the cup to the trembling lips. "Drink."
The elf peered skeptically at the elf lord but obeyed and drank all the liquid in a single gulp. "Better watch your back, he is coming…" and then he was fast asleep as he sagged bonelessly back into the pillows.
Elrond sighed and tried to erase the image of the eyes filled with madness.
()()()()()
Elrohir heard the rapid whisk of arrows and the muffled elvish curses of his brother before he even saw the archery range that the elite guards of Rivendell employed as their training grounds.
The other dark haired elf was shooting arrows in rapid succession at the targets lined up at the end of the field. Even though each arrow landed neatly at the center of the target, a curse accompanied each one.
"Elladan?" Elrohir called. "Isn't it a little early to be out doing target practice?" he glanced at the sky that was just beginning to show the signs of dawn on the eastern horizon.
Elladan turned dropping his bow to his feet. "I couldn't sleep." Then he turned back the targets. "I could ask you the same. Isn't it a little early to be taking a walk in the forest?"
"Any time is a good time to commune with nature," Elrohir answered primly.
Elladan shot his brother an incredulous look.
"And I couldn't sleep," the older twin amended.
Chuckling softly, Elladan nodded. "That's what I thought." He shot another arrow.
"Dreams?" Elrohir watched the flight with keen eyes.
"Aye." The reply was so soft—anyone but one of the first born would have been unable to hear it.
"About the attack?"
"Aye."
Another silence passed as another arrow drove itself straight into the target.
"Do you wish to talk about it?"
Elladan shrugged his slender shoulders and walked with a quick pace towards the targets to retrieve the arrows. Elrohir flipped his dark hair over one shoulder and followed a few steps behind.
"It seems so senseless," Elladan finally said as he fingered the first arrow's feathery tip. "Two hundred elves brutally murdered with no apparent reason in sight. What kind of monster would do such a thing?"
Having no response, Elrohir simply shrugged and turned his eyes to the lightening sky. "It's a cold world," he at last said. "The time of the elves is coming to an end faster than father or either of us would like to admit. Soon all of our kind will be left to fade into the West and man will be left to deal with his own problems, its own monsters. But until then, I suppose we must deal with the monsters too."
Elladan pulled the arrow from the target with enough force that the end snapped off. He stared at the broken arrow a look of shock on his handsome face. "I want to kill all the ones who did that." He turned shining eyes toward Elrohir. "It's not right for immortals to die."
Elrohir shook his head in agreement.
"I want to bring the ones who did that to justice." Elladan ran his finger along the fine wood, pausing when he came to jagged edge he had just broken. "Is that wrong, 'Roh?"
"If we bring them to justice, that is not wrong. But if we murder them out of blind lust for revenge, that would be wrong."
Elladan nodded and looked back towards where the spires of the Last Homely House rose above the trees. "I'm hungry," he announced then turned to his twin. "Care to join me for breakfast?"
Smiling lightly, Elrohir nodded and hurried after his brother.
They would deal with the unpleasantness of life and the monsters of the world after breakfast.
()()()()()
Galadriel's soft footsteps did not make a sound as she moved through the solitude of the Golden Wood. Her infinite eyes seemed to bear the heavy sadness of the ages and her shoulders were stooped under some great weight.
Celeborn watched from the balcony of their quarters and he felt his heart breaking for his beautiful wife. She did not deserve to have the cares of Middle Earth place upon her so.
The message had arrived the day before from Rivendell with the news of the attack.
Galadriel had been out riding when it had come. He had gone to tell her when she returned only to stopped by the raising of one of her slender hands.
"Stop," her voice was quiet and heavy with grief. "I know, the winds and the trees cried it to me when it first happened several nights ago. I just did not know what exactly until today." Her deep eyes turned on her husband and he was surprised by the deep sadness in them. "A great darkness has descended upon this land, the likes of which have not been seen in ages. But I fear it is only the beginning."
Allowing himself to return to the present, Celeborn slowly made his way down to where she was walking in the forest. "Is there anything I can do for you?" He reached out a hand to rest on one trembling shoulder then began to steer them both back towards their quarters a few yards away, quickly ushering her through the slim doorway and in to the comfortableness of their bedroom.
She smiled wanly up at him. "Just stand by my side as you have always done. If that is done, then I know I shall make it through this dark night." Her eyes grew distant. "And the many to come." She sank down to the soft bed, her arms coming up to wrap around her chest as if to ward off some inward chill.
Gently, he lowered himself to sit beside her. Reaching out he enfolded the slim frame in his arms, allowing her to support her weight against his chest.
She closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax, breathing in her husband's rich pine scent.
Resting his chin upon her head, Celeborn stared out the window at the greenery of the Golden Wood. His face bore the look of a warrior guarding a priceless treasure that had been entrusted to his keep; but inside he was cursing whatever had brought this weight upon his beloved in the first place.
Much time went by before Galadriel spoke again. "I must journey to Rivendell immediately."
Celeborn nodded. "I will prepare a band of warriors. Shall I accompany you?"
Resting a hand on her husband's arm, she nodded. "I want you with me. Arwen is old enough now to watch the Golden Wood without us for awhile, I believe I have trained her well enough for that."
Celeborn eased himself out from beneath Galadriel. "I shall go read the horses. We leave before nightfall?"
Galadriel motioned her consent and then her eyes grew distant again. "I must warn Elrond as soon as possible. This evil has visited Middle Earth before and I fear it shall not be defeated easily."
//not much of a cliffhanger I know…but owell…cliffhangers will come, I already got planned a really good one…*evil grin*//
Thanx for all of your reviews!!! They mean a lot to me!!!
Review Responses:
Arwen-Evenstar: ya…it is pretty sad isn't it. Poor elves *sniff* actually as you'll see that it isn't that tragic, well it is. But it isn't…you'll see.
Legolas-fanatical-fan-girl: i guess the name says it all….lol…
Enigma Jade: thank you. This story really just came out of nowhere and begged me to write it. Hopefully it's up to par with the rest of the marvelous works on here.
Gwyn: much angst? To put it mildly….ya there will be a lot of angst. O and don't worry about the Legolas torture, there's plenty of that too. But it's not really the…owell..you'll see.
Pinto: thank you, I really enjoyed writing the arrival scene. Some scenes I write feel natural and others I have to struggle through, that scene was one of those ones that just came easily.
Ymmas Sirron: ok…more it is then!
Pilot3001: thanx, I checked your favs and saw that you did! Thanx for the encouragement!
Alexa: thanx for the compliment. I try to proofread my own work and I try to catch everything but sometimes I miss stuff. I guess a proofreader would help but I've never found one that I really respect. Lol. I always thought the twins were sort of the "older brother figures" to Aragorn and Legolas.
Melissa Greenleaf: well…the injured elf did live…but can will he be sane enough to ever tell what happened? *jumps up and down* I KNOW!!! But you'll hafta wait and find out.
YunaDax: well…um…dark elf is um…this elf named..something….he's in Rivendell because this…um…thing…is try to kill him…and the injured elf is the one that is mentally wacked.
Imbefanial: well..a certain someone would….i'm not sure about your ex…lol…though if he would send me a resume…jk.
LeggyLover03: I hope this is soon enough for you! The Aragorn angst will be here…just not yet…bwahahaha!
Well, here's eck, signing out until next time!
