Hi everybody this will be the last chapter for a while because I am having surgery on April 2nd and I am going to be lying in bed for a week and a half. I hope that you enjoy and please R&R. Thanks.
Also I would like to thank all the wonderful people who reviewed, it is great to know that some people actually read my story, thanks for the support, and I will take your suggestions into consideration.
Chapter 12
Legolas was tired from the continues riding, but he was determined to find Elwin. Rimini had taken him to the edge of the woods with confidence, but Legolas knew that the horse was now unsure of the trail, because Elwin had dismounted where the forest ended. Legolas used his tracking skills and ended up at an old branch-less tree. From here there were no more footprints, the rain must have washed away the prints. Legolas had been surprised that he could see her prints, because elves usually trek lightly, but she had been so tired that she had not been picking up her feet. Another set of tracks left from the tree, but they were made by heavy men's work boots, certainly not what Elwin was wearing.
Suddenly a horrible idea struck him! Had Elwin been so ill or injured that she had to be carried away? If so, he must find her as soon as possible. He urged Rimini into a canter, following the tracks of the work boots. He saw a small town in the distance, no more than a few buildings, but he thought he might be able to get some information on Elwin. Perhaps they had seen her, or the man with the work boots, or even better perhaps someone in the town had taken her in.
Legolas guided Rimini to the biggest building, which looked like a bar, store, and meeting hall all in one. He slid gracefully off Rimini, and raised the hood of his cloak against the howling wind.
"Stay near by, please," he whispered to Rimini, who unproturbed by the wind trotted off to graze on the plains. Legolas spotted a woman in the building, and set off to speak with her.
"Stay away stranger!" Someone yelled from within the building as soon as he stepped inside. "We don't want to have anythin' to do with yer." Legolas balked slightly at the rude reception, but he supposed he should have guessed as much.
"I am no stranger, but a humble elf seeking news of one of my friends who has been lost in the area near here. I fear that she may be badly injured, and need elvin medical care. Please if you know anything of her, please speak. If you give me information I will leave as soon as I can, if not I will take it upon myself to investigate." Legolas looked intimidating and stern, and he heard voices whispering urgently.
"We suppose that we can help you, as long as you pay for it. And take off your cloak, we want to see if you are really an elf." The person in the corner sounded just as demanding as Legolas, so Legolas decided to look for a compromise.
"You may have one or the other- a view of my face or a single silver coin, for any information that you have," because Legolas was unsure if they had any valuable information, he did not offer more. The whispering began again, but was this time cut short.
"If he is really an elf, then he will be able to hear our whispers," said one voice eagerly, "tell him we will whisper what we want him to do, because if he hears us we can tell he's an elf and get the money." Legolas smiled at their plot, because they were right, he could hear every word.
"We have decided that we want," he began and added the last word as a whisper, "Money." The corner shadows began to shuffle, and he could tell that someone was coming forward. Legolas allowed himself to be outsmarted, because he figured that it couldn't do any harm to be on their good side. He drew a single coin from his bag and put it in the flat of his palm.
Elwin awoke to the sounds of a whimpering hobbit that was lying beside her. She opened her eyes to see blood soaking the straw beneath her. She tried to roll on to her back, but she found that it was immensely painful. She began to remember being whipped and beaten, although at the time she was hoping it was all just a bad dream. Apparently it had not been a dream, she though as she felt a searing pain tear through her.
She looked towards the hobbit, and found that she was not as close as she had originally assumed. She knew that he had been beaten after her, she heard his cries cut through the black depths of her unconscious state. She felt so sorry for the hobbit, because he did not deserve the punishment he received. She that he was also lying on his stomach, and that his back was covered with blood.
"Are you suffering little one?" she asked lovingly, trying to calm him as you would a frightened child. He looked over at her, and a look of horror appeared on his face.
"How come your not screaming, I have never seen someone beaten so badly. You have lost so much blood, most would be dead." He cried, looking at her as though she must be a god.
"Elves heal faster than men, and we have a greater tolerance for pain. We would rather die than ruin our honor by crying out in pain. Elves don't show as many emotions as men, we find it very unrefined." She spoke calmly, although she began to wonder if she would actually survive the beating. She knew that she had lost much blood, her body was shutting down. Soon she would fall into a black sleep, probably never to wake. She tried to hide her feelings, to put on a brave face for the sake of the hobbit.
"I am not a child. You don't need to treat me like one. I saw my mother and my infant children slain. I saw my wife carted off to be used as a prostitute for men, who are twice her size. I have seen many horrors, you do not need to act brave in front of me, I will not weep or anything." The hobbit spoke with such vigor, and such horrible truth, Elwin did not doubt his words.
"Those are very courageous for a hobbit, and I am grateful that I have met such a brave and sensitive being. I am shocked to hear of the horrors you endured, and I wish that I could do something to ease your pain. I am sorry I treated you like a child, I did not resize that you were made of such fine material." Elwin felt as sincere as she sounded, and the hobbit understood.
"There is something that you can do for me. If someone comes for you, the Legolas, would you take me with you. I swore to my wife that I would find her, or avenge her name." Elwin was shocked, he knew about Legolas.
"How do you know about Legolas?" She asked.
"Oh, he's a person. You were calling out to him in your sleep. Was he your husband?"
"No," Elwin smiled sadly, "he was the one that I loved. I was dreaming about him coming and saving me. I don't think that he will actually come. I ran away and I don't think that he would bother to come look for me." The hobbit looked confused.
"But isn't he your love? Why wouldn't he want to find you?" Elwin decided that telling him the story would pass the time, and keep her mind off the pain. She started at the very beginning.
"I was exiled from the elvin community because I was a troublemaker, and I caused problems in everybody's lives. I went to live in the mans world and I quickly found that I was going to have trouble living there. All men wanted from me was my body, not my skills as a crafts woman, so I was broke and starving. I heard somebody say that they wanted to get back at the king of Mirkwood by doing something horrible to him. Somebody suggested that he hire a killer to kill the crown prince, which is the king's most prized possession. Because I had a little grudge against the King I offered to the job, as long as they paid me half in advance and pay for my traveling gear. They agreed and I set off to kill the prince, whose name is Legolas." As she stopped to take a breath she saw that the hobbit looked even more confused. "I was unfortunately caught before I could complete the task, and my punishment was to be the personal servant of Legolas. He made me do everything, meaningless chore just to keep me busy. His friend a dwarf named Gimli sided with me and got Legolas to act nicer to me. We ended up as friends, and we had a small romantic," Elwin paused searching for the right words, "a romantic event. We had a fight afterwards and I ran away. So I got really tired and fell asleep on the plains and a man picked me up, and that's why I am here now." She finished in a rush, willing the painful memories out of her mind.
"But why do you love him? Does he love you? What was the fight about?" The hobbit was so curious, Elwin thought that she should satisfy his questions.
"I din not realize how much I cared for him until he was out of my life. Sadly, this is the case with many things. I don't think that he loves me, I wasn't the nicest person to him. The fight was about many things, I don't want to burden you with my troubles." Elwin felt like telling the hobbit everything about her life because she felt so much better after telling someone, but she didn't want to be pitied.
"Shh," the hobbit whispered, "I think I hear someone coming." They waited for a moment, the footsteps were barely audible. The door handle turned, and a cloaked figure walked into the room.
"Elwin," cried Legolas, throwing back his hood and running to her. Her dropped to his knees, his eyes full of concern and worry. "My love, what has he done to you?" Legolas cut the bounds on her hands and feet, cradling her in his arms. "I was so worried for you."
Elwin sighed with contentment, before letting herself slip into darkness.
Also I would like to thank all the wonderful people who reviewed, it is great to know that some people actually read my story, thanks for the support, and I will take your suggestions into consideration.
Chapter 12
Legolas was tired from the continues riding, but he was determined to find Elwin. Rimini had taken him to the edge of the woods with confidence, but Legolas knew that the horse was now unsure of the trail, because Elwin had dismounted where the forest ended. Legolas used his tracking skills and ended up at an old branch-less tree. From here there were no more footprints, the rain must have washed away the prints. Legolas had been surprised that he could see her prints, because elves usually trek lightly, but she had been so tired that she had not been picking up her feet. Another set of tracks left from the tree, but they were made by heavy men's work boots, certainly not what Elwin was wearing.
Suddenly a horrible idea struck him! Had Elwin been so ill or injured that she had to be carried away? If so, he must find her as soon as possible. He urged Rimini into a canter, following the tracks of the work boots. He saw a small town in the distance, no more than a few buildings, but he thought he might be able to get some information on Elwin. Perhaps they had seen her, or the man with the work boots, or even better perhaps someone in the town had taken her in.
Legolas guided Rimini to the biggest building, which looked like a bar, store, and meeting hall all in one. He slid gracefully off Rimini, and raised the hood of his cloak against the howling wind.
"Stay near by, please," he whispered to Rimini, who unproturbed by the wind trotted off to graze on the plains. Legolas spotted a woman in the building, and set off to speak with her.
"Stay away stranger!" Someone yelled from within the building as soon as he stepped inside. "We don't want to have anythin' to do with yer." Legolas balked slightly at the rude reception, but he supposed he should have guessed as much.
"I am no stranger, but a humble elf seeking news of one of my friends who has been lost in the area near here. I fear that she may be badly injured, and need elvin medical care. Please if you know anything of her, please speak. If you give me information I will leave as soon as I can, if not I will take it upon myself to investigate." Legolas looked intimidating and stern, and he heard voices whispering urgently.
"We suppose that we can help you, as long as you pay for it. And take off your cloak, we want to see if you are really an elf." The person in the corner sounded just as demanding as Legolas, so Legolas decided to look for a compromise.
"You may have one or the other- a view of my face or a single silver coin, for any information that you have," because Legolas was unsure if they had any valuable information, he did not offer more. The whispering began again, but was this time cut short.
"If he is really an elf, then he will be able to hear our whispers," said one voice eagerly, "tell him we will whisper what we want him to do, because if he hears us we can tell he's an elf and get the money." Legolas smiled at their plot, because they were right, he could hear every word.
"We have decided that we want," he began and added the last word as a whisper, "Money." The corner shadows began to shuffle, and he could tell that someone was coming forward. Legolas allowed himself to be outsmarted, because he figured that it couldn't do any harm to be on their good side. He drew a single coin from his bag and put it in the flat of his palm.
Elwin awoke to the sounds of a whimpering hobbit that was lying beside her. She opened her eyes to see blood soaking the straw beneath her. She tried to roll on to her back, but she found that it was immensely painful. She began to remember being whipped and beaten, although at the time she was hoping it was all just a bad dream. Apparently it had not been a dream, she though as she felt a searing pain tear through her.
She looked towards the hobbit, and found that she was not as close as she had originally assumed. She knew that he had been beaten after her, she heard his cries cut through the black depths of her unconscious state. She felt so sorry for the hobbit, because he did not deserve the punishment he received. She that he was also lying on his stomach, and that his back was covered with blood.
"Are you suffering little one?" she asked lovingly, trying to calm him as you would a frightened child. He looked over at her, and a look of horror appeared on his face.
"How come your not screaming, I have never seen someone beaten so badly. You have lost so much blood, most would be dead." He cried, looking at her as though she must be a god.
"Elves heal faster than men, and we have a greater tolerance for pain. We would rather die than ruin our honor by crying out in pain. Elves don't show as many emotions as men, we find it very unrefined." She spoke calmly, although she began to wonder if she would actually survive the beating. She knew that she had lost much blood, her body was shutting down. Soon she would fall into a black sleep, probably never to wake. She tried to hide her feelings, to put on a brave face for the sake of the hobbit.
"I am not a child. You don't need to treat me like one. I saw my mother and my infant children slain. I saw my wife carted off to be used as a prostitute for men, who are twice her size. I have seen many horrors, you do not need to act brave in front of me, I will not weep or anything." The hobbit spoke with such vigor, and such horrible truth, Elwin did not doubt his words.
"Those are very courageous for a hobbit, and I am grateful that I have met such a brave and sensitive being. I am shocked to hear of the horrors you endured, and I wish that I could do something to ease your pain. I am sorry I treated you like a child, I did not resize that you were made of such fine material." Elwin felt as sincere as she sounded, and the hobbit understood.
"There is something that you can do for me. If someone comes for you, the Legolas, would you take me with you. I swore to my wife that I would find her, or avenge her name." Elwin was shocked, he knew about Legolas.
"How do you know about Legolas?" She asked.
"Oh, he's a person. You were calling out to him in your sleep. Was he your husband?"
"No," Elwin smiled sadly, "he was the one that I loved. I was dreaming about him coming and saving me. I don't think that he will actually come. I ran away and I don't think that he would bother to come look for me." The hobbit looked confused.
"But isn't he your love? Why wouldn't he want to find you?" Elwin decided that telling him the story would pass the time, and keep her mind off the pain. She started at the very beginning.
"I was exiled from the elvin community because I was a troublemaker, and I caused problems in everybody's lives. I went to live in the mans world and I quickly found that I was going to have trouble living there. All men wanted from me was my body, not my skills as a crafts woman, so I was broke and starving. I heard somebody say that they wanted to get back at the king of Mirkwood by doing something horrible to him. Somebody suggested that he hire a killer to kill the crown prince, which is the king's most prized possession. Because I had a little grudge against the King I offered to the job, as long as they paid me half in advance and pay for my traveling gear. They agreed and I set off to kill the prince, whose name is Legolas." As she stopped to take a breath she saw that the hobbit looked even more confused. "I was unfortunately caught before I could complete the task, and my punishment was to be the personal servant of Legolas. He made me do everything, meaningless chore just to keep me busy. His friend a dwarf named Gimli sided with me and got Legolas to act nicer to me. We ended up as friends, and we had a small romantic," Elwin paused searching for the right words, "a romantic event. We had a fight afterwards and I ran away. So I got really tired and fell asleep on the plains and a man picked me up, and that's why I am here now." She finished in a rush, willing the painful memories out of her mind.
"But why do you love him? Does he love you? What was the fight about?" The hobbit was so curious, Elwin thought that she should satisfy his questions.
"I din not realize how much I cared for him until he was out of my life. Sadly, this is the case with many things. I don't think that he loves me, I wasn't the nicest person to him. The fight was about many things, I don't want to burden you with my troubles." Elwin felt like telling the hobbit everything about her life because she felt so much better after telling someone, but she didn't want to be pitied.
"Shh," the hobbit whispered, "I think I hear someone coming." They waited for a moment, the footsteps were barely audible. The door handle turned, and a cloaked figure walked into the room.
"Elwin," cried Legolas, throwing back his hood and running to her. Her dropped to his knees, his eyes full of concern and worry. "My love, what has he done to you?" Legolas cut the bounds on her hands and feet, cradling her in his arms. "I was so worried for you."
Elwin sighed with contentment, before letting herself slip into darkness.
