SHADOW IN THE TREES
By : mirkwood-elf-2931 & Thala
CHAPTER 24
On the fifth day of their stay in Caras Galadhon, Thalawen awoke with a new
sense of being. Though she once went through life avoiding others, she now
wished to be interactive with every being she came across; maybe this would
fill the void Legolas had left in her. Before she'd met him, there'd been a
hole in her heart, a place that was closed off and ignored to even the persons
she was most intimate with, but somehow Legolas had snuck into this gaping hole
inside her and left it bigger than before.
When she spent time with the Elves of Lorien, she'd found that she thought of Legolas much less.
She was alone in her room, sitting in the middle of her bed, surrounded by the
sheets when Arwen came in unannounced.
"Thala," she said softly, speaking entirely in Elvish. "The
Fellowship has left and I think it is time for us to go home, sister."
Arwen noticed something new in Thalawen's features. A new light that shone
brighter than ever before. The scars had finally faded, leaving the skin as
smooth and clear much as her own. Was that truly all?
No, she seemed...happier in a way. Like she couldn't wait to get out of bed and
be with her new friends. Maybe Lorien was good for Thalawen and they should
stay longer. The disagreement within her must have shown on her face, for
Thalawen smiled and sad, "Indeed, little sister, it is time we went to our
true home."
Smiling all the while, she got out of bed and began dressing; first putting on
her under tunic, followed by her green jerkin. Sitting on the bed, she laced up
her boots and had Arwen tie on her vambraces. "Do you think we'll have any
problems on the way home?" asked Thalawen.
Arwen looked up into her beautiful smiling green eyes and smiled herself.
"Nothing we can't handle."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Nearing the point where the three she-Elves were to split, Thalawen turned to
Landailyn, saddness in her eyes. "I will miss you, my new-found friend. We
will see eachother soon, but home beckons to me and I must rest my weary head
upon my own pillow."
She grasped Landailyn's hand, her grip tight and warm with love. Landailyn was
the first to draw her into the hug. She wrapped her strong arms around
Thalawen's form and all she had to say was communicated in that one single
embrace.
"May the road be kind to you, friends," said Landailyn after she
squeezed Arwen tightly. "Have a safe journey."
"And you," said Arwen, a small jewel of a tear in her eyes.
"Are you sure you do not want some of my men to escort you to
Rivendell?" asked Landailyn jokingly.
At this the three laughed and Landailyn watched the two turn away and head west on the path to their home. When she could see them no more, she turned to the group behind her.
Slapping one of them on the shoulder, her grin grew, as did the ones on the
faces of those around her. "What do you say, boys? Ready to go home?"
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"One down, eight to go." Saruman said to
himself. "There is only one who carries the Ring."
There maybe only one of them that held it now, but there were four Hobbits to
choose from and four other larger beings that were protecting them.
He stood on a ledge in one of his fire lit, earthen caverns. He still had plans
for the Fellowship and the uncovering of these new creatures was how he
intended to bring them down. He ordered the Orcs to suit the Uruk-hai with the
armor and weapons they had put so much work into forging. He looked over the
large group with satisfaction.
"Hunt them down! Do not stop until they are found! You do not know pain, you do
not know fear. You will taste man flesh!" They roared with much excitement at
this new mission to track down the beings of good.
Beside him, stood the largest and the first they had uncovered, Lurtz. "One of
the Halflings carries something of great value. Bring them to me alive and
unspoiled. Kill the others." He explained only to him, then dismissed them all.
Lurtz as their leader, charged up the ramps out of the ground with his army
right behind him.
"They will get what is coming to them." A smile crossed the dark minded Istar's
face. "All of them."
~ THE END ~
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Notes from the authors ...
mirkwood-elf-2931 :
Ok, as you all know some of that dialogue and action with Saruman was from
the first movie and that ending might have sounded like I was gonna come up
with a whole other scheme involving him in the sequel, like he would get
revenge because the Elves escaped or something, but I'm not...that ending was
just basically saying that if he killed the Fellowship by sending the Uruk-hai
out after the Ring (Legolas especially) it would hurt Thalawen and
Landailyn more than anything because he knows that they love him.
Sorry too that we didn't make Legolas love either of them! Basically he's
suppose to love Landailyn, but he's not quite sure yet. We know some of you
wanted it to be one or the other that he loved, but we just really didn't want
to make it a mary sue fic, but we did want it to be something that you guys
weren't expecting!
Also, my brother has different weapons like Ninja swords and stuff and we used
a pair of his Sai's (not sharp ones of course) as Landailyn's Elvish
knives and Kendo sticks for Thalawen's new sword and Carafang for Landailyn to choreograph
our fights in my backyard! haha If that sounds kinda weird, sorry, but it was a
good idea for us since the fighting scenes were long and it made it more
realistic so that they weren't moves that sounded impossible to do! Plus it was
just really cool! ;)
Well, that story was fun to write! For me anyway...I don't think Thala liked
writing it sometimes as you can probably see by a few of her
reviews...hehe...but I'm so glad everyone enjoyed it! You don't know how much
all of your reviews mean to me, as I've been trying to finish just one story (out
of a bunch I've started and can't get anywhere on, they're not all Lord of the
Rings though) for a really long time and I didn't think I was that great of
a fanfiction writer in the first place! And writing it with someone always
helps of course, so this time I actually got it done! So, enough rambling....I
would like to thank my friend Thala for all her parts in this fic!
Thanks again everyone and see you next story!!!
Thala :
Well, I write this at mirkwood-elf-2931's computer while she absently
shaves her legs with an electric shaver that sounds like a weed-eater! Anyways,
all joking aside, I had a lot of fun writing this with her! Even in those times
when I was completely blank and could come up with nothing to write,
mirkwood-elf-2931 would sit me down and yank my character's side of the story
out of me. There was much cursing and mumbling on my part, but we finally got
it done. It's amazing really, because she'll be explaining something to me and
I'll interject with a comical...inter..jec..tion...(like Austin Powers and "Where..about..s")
EXAMPLE :
mirkwood-elf-2931: "...then
we finally reach Lothlorien..."
Thala: "Where the crap's
that!?"
I also LOVED actually acting out
the fighting sequences. Yes, readers, that was all acted out and then put into
words! It was just easier to do it, get a notepad, go through it several times,
and then describe what we were doing.
Anyways, thanks to all you reviewers who said our story was one of the best on
the net! It meant more to us than you could possibly imagine!
Now, on to the next adventure!
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
SEQUEL TO SHADOW IN THE TREES IS COMING SOON!
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
It has been five months since the incident involving the three she-Elves and
the White Wizard.
And now, after receiving a message from the newly crowned king of Gondor, Arwen
and Thalawen have set south so the princess can be with Aragorn in Minas
Tirith. Though on the way, they meet up with Landailyn, who just happened to be
on her way to visit them in Rivendell and joins them on their journey to the
White City.
But the three get more than they bargained for, when they are attacked by the
Corsairs of Umbar and are being taken back in a ship to their land to be
enslaved!
Though their chance comes, when one of them 'accidentally' escapes and now it
is up to she to free her two friends! Can she do it alone? Or will she be
helped by others who arrive unexpectedly?
