Now we're getting into the good stuff. We've had disguises and lies and
action, but now we have betrayal, lots of plot twists and lots and LOTS of
action. With some H/C just a little bit later cause everyone knows elf
torture is fun. I may be able to put in a good deal of Aragorn torture as
well, tell me if you'd like that. Anyway, here's the next chapter, enjoy.
The Stone of Malinya
"Risorine, what is the meaning of this?" Aragorn asked. His head was starting to ache from so much happening in so little time. They had been attacked by wargs, had found the Stone of Malinya and now the three stood point blank with over a dozen sets of arrows aimed at their hearts.
Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas did not draw their weapons for they were trapped nicely and did not think escape would be possible at the moment. They could not fall back, the door to the cavern had shut behind them, and if they did move to draw their weapons or attacked they would undoubtedly be shot, despite how quickly they could move. For the moment they had few options, and decided to concentrate on figuring out what Risorine was up to.
"You look surprised, Lord Elessar, and here I thought you were known for being able to read men's emotions and intentions so well." Risorine gloated. "Drop your weapons now or they will be forced from you by arrowheads." He was clearly in command of the men before them and they raised their bows higher at his words. The friends exchanged a brief glance and dropped their weapons to the ground, sword, axe and bow respectfully.
Several of the swordsmen broke free from the group and picked up their weapons as others advanced toward the trio, pushing them away from the rock wall. Aragorn and Legolas exchanged a brief look, assuring each other that they still held a weapon; Legolas had his long knife hidden beneath his cloak, and Aragorn a dagger in his boot. Risorine smirked and walked up to the three casually, not even bothering to draw his own sword.
"You are the leader of these outlaws that have been plaguing this city?" Aragorn asked, clearly confused.
"I am, and have been for years. I've lived here all my life but left this place several years ago and travelled to Gondor, to learn of its secrets and ways of life. Very quickly though I found myself a member of your guard and rising in stature as the Great War drastically lowered the soldiers under your command. I was not sure what I was hoping to accomplish when I first became a member of your company; I had not planned on staying long after all, and I had my duties here in Brelan. But eventually I found it was almost nothing to rise to the rank of captain of your guards and decided to stay longer than planned." Risorine explained, obviously very pleased with himself.
"And once in this position you used your influence to suggest I come here, to Brelan." Aragorn reasoned, "For what final purpose, may I ask?"
"At first I wished you to influence our king. Our laws must be changed as well as our economy. Gondor is strong and I knew you would have the strength to do this. If the two countries align Brelan would eventually adapt the greater laws of Gondor. But then I heard of another more pressing reason to bring you here." Risorine continued, his smiling never leaving his face.
"The Stone." Aragorn said. His eyes narrowed and he glared daggers through the man he had trusted with his life, but had never really gotten to know. Perhaps if he had taken the time to speak with him he could have seen this coming.
"Yes," Risorine's eyes twinkled and his voice became wistful, "The Stone of Malinya, a treasure of the rarest sorts. I also heard word from the company you sent here months ago relating the tale of the Stone, for those men think of me as a dear and trusted friend. I knew you could not resist Malinya's temptation and I was right." Risorine opened his mouth to say more but was interrupted when he heard a soft curse from Legolas.
"Traitor." The elf whispered, fully aware the man had heard him. When Risorine looked toward him and their eyes locked he continued, "You are a traitor twice over. A man has a duty to hold to his homeland and you have broken this duty by harming your own kindred inside Miscalanth's walls. But worst of all you took an oath when you became Aragorn's captain. An oath that should not be taken lightly, you have sworn upon honor and pride to protect him at all costs. Now it is clear that you have none of the virtues necessary for such a post."
Legolas's words were answered with a swift backhand from Risorine. The elf's head flew back but his stance remained firm. He stood up tall and unharmed, seemingly not even dazed from the blow. This angered Risorine. Several of the men around them stepped closer and drew their swords but Risorine stopped them with a wave of his hand.
"You lecture me of honor and pride. The three that would hold secret meetings and lie to kings of countries in order to gain what they wish. You come to Brelan only to steal the Stone from us and bring it back to Gondor in triumph."
"It was you, the people of Brelan that stole the Stone from the peoples of Middle-Earth. We intend only to return it." Gimli said growling, not at all pleased by his friend's treatment.
"We did not steal the Stone. It was the elves of this land, they stole it for themselves and hid it but told us not where." Risorine defended, but was not entirely convincing.
"We have learned much in our time here, Risorine, and uncovered many lost truths, but that is not one of them." Aragorn said calmly but there was a silent rage burning in his eyes.
"You speak of things of which you know nothing. We have long known the Stone to be in Brelan and have searched for it for many years. The Elves hid it well and we could not recover it."
"And if you had found it what would you have done? I have doubts of its safe return." Legolas replied.
Risorine glared hard at him, his teeth grinding, "You have been a nuisance from the moment you stepped foot in my business and my patience is all but spent, so I suggest you watch your tongue." Risorine swiftly pulled a knife from his belt and held the tip to the elf's throat. Legolas met the man's gaze, never flinching, and nodded only slightly. Risorine smirked triumphantly.
"It is as you ask," Legolas said after the knife was pulled away, "I will watch my tongue closely." With this he let out a sharp whistle, so loud and shrill that it surprised the men around them. The three friends moved into defensive postures as did their captors, expecting them to attack. It was a great surprise when the attack came from behind.
With amazing speed and a great whinnying the two horses attacked the men surrounding their masters. Jarinel rushed into the circle of attackers, pushing back those in his way and stepping over those that leapt away in surprise. Hasufel did much the same and charged through without regard for the men in search of his master, Aragorn.
The horses could do little damage but their presence was distraction enough to allow Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas to surprise the men before them. As the outlaws turned to the horses the three rushed forward; Aragorn and Gimli picked up their weapons from the ground, but Legolas moved straight ahead, his knife unsheathed, not needing his bow at the moment.
For several moments the valley floor became a mass of confusion. Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli went forth, attacking those in their way and putting them to the ground. Aragorn swept around and locked swords with a man, then twisted away and hit him hard under the chin with the hilt. Gimli swung his axe, but his target leapt back and fell to the ground. The dwarf lifted his axe once more to strike but it was unnecessary as a hoof landed on the man's chest, effectively knocking the wind from his lungs.
Legolas ducked under a man's arm, swung his knife without looking and then continued on as he felt his blade connect. He was making his way to the horses. Their attackers would quickly realize the horses were simply a distraction and he did not wish to see them hurt in their attempts to help their masters.
Suddenly more men appeared. Aragorn realized they had been keeping watch just around the great hill in which they had stepped from. They were being surrounded quickly and had to get away as soon as possible. Legolas saw this as well and at the same moment the two friends once more let out a sharp whistle. The horses reacted immediately, with Hasufel racing toward Aragorn and Jarinel pushing his way to Legolas.
"Thank you my friend." Aragorn said as he took a hold of Hasufel's saddle and jumped upon his back. The horse neighed with pleasure to see his rider was well and immediately began to gallop away to get him to safety. Aragorn reined the horse in though, just as they reached the outskirts of the group of men and turned to spot his friends.
Legolas was gracefully getting on Jarinel, using the horse as leverage to kick a man in the jaw before he hopped on. Once seated on his horse the elf spotted Gimli nearby and then saw Aragorn quite a distance away.
"Aragorn, go! I have Gimli!" He shouted as he urged Jarinel forward. The horse replied immediately, pounding through the rows of men once more. Jarinel sped through the crowd as if it didn't exist, focussing on the small figure fighting off attackers left and right. Legolas leaned dangerously far to the side as he rode and as they raced past Gimli the elf snagged him by the neck of his cloak, stopping him in mid-swing and struggled to pull him onto the horse's back.
Aragorn hesitated a moment at Legolas's call, reluctant to leave without assuring his friends' safety. As he waited several men approached him, swords high, but Aragorn was the better swordsman and had the advantage of horseback. With several quick sword strokes he dispatched of the men then turned to see Legolas and Gimli safely upon Jarinel's back. Only then did he turn and speed his own horse deep into the woods, only too aware of the arrows now falling around him.
Gimli grunted as he was tossed onto the back of the horse. The ride started out oddly, with both him and Legolas attempting to gain their balance, but eventually they steadied themselves and rode on smoothly. Their pursuers were close behind, as were their arrows. Gimli turned to look back at them and only then realized that instead of being in his usual position behind Legolas, the elf had foolishly placed him at the front of the horse.
Arrows now fell all around them, some coming dangerously close but many missing and falling short for it was hard to aim in the dim light of morning. Legolas charged the horse ahead faster, weaving him through the increasingly dense forest. He looked down at Gimli, pleased that he was safe and holding on tightly to the horse's mane. He could see Aragorn some ways ahead of them, managing to navigate the forest quite well, but their pursuers were close behind Jarinel. They would not be for long though. They had no horses that Legolas had seen and would quickly be lost behind them while on foot.
A grunt of frustration huffed out of Gimli as he tried to become accustomed to the unusual seating on the horse. He had never before sat at the front and very few times had they ridden at such speeds, through woods. Normally he would hold on to Legolas and wait for the ride to end, but now he had to take a hold of Jarinel's mane and even found himself trying to help in directing the beast, but Legolas needed no such assistance.
{Crazy elf. Would it have taken so long to put me in my usual seat?} Gimli wondered. Then he turned, startled as an arrow suddenly imbedded itself deep into the base of a tree they were passing. Legolas easily maneuvered Jarinel away from the tree, trying to zig-zag through the woods to confuse the archers.
Aragorn turned to check on his friends, causing his horse to slow slightly. Legolas noticed this and waved to him to continue their retreat. Aragorn seemed to accept this, turned his horse again and continued away from the field as fast as Hasufel could take him through the dark woods.
It was at this moment that two things struck. First realization struck Gimli that Legolas had not placed him in this position by chance. No, that sneaky elf had put him in front so that he may use himself to shield his friend from the arrows that were raining down upon them. Gimli growled, not appreciating being treated as one who needed protecting and turned to give Legolas a good, long, loud lecture on the subject, but all that came from his mouth was a warning of "Look out!"
The second strike was that of an arrow finding its mark.
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The pain began in his left shoulder, there was a brief feeling of weightlessness and then a whole new pain ignited within his entire left side. Legolas knew he had been shot. This hadn't been the first time, or the worst as far as injuries go, but it was the chance with the worst timing.
The arrow landed deeply in Legolas's left shoulder, and the force of the hit combined with Jarinel's speed sent the elf flying helplessly from the horse's back to land hard on his side with his head banging roughly against a jutting rock. The arrow went in deeper as the impact broke off the shaft and the only thing keeping him from crying out was the lack of air in his lungs.
"Legolas, no!" Gimli called out helplessly as he tried to reach for his friend too late and could only watch him tumble painfully to the ground. Jarinel immediately stopped when he lost his rider, sending Gimli pitching forward slightly. The horse back-tracked immediately and stood before the elf, scratching his hoofs on the ground in an attempt to get him to rise.
Legolas looked up from his sprawled position on the ground and tried to blink away the pain and confusion. His shoulder radiated with pain that would not be silenced and he found himself staring blankly at Gimli as the dwarf's lips moved but he heard no sound.
"Get up you blasted elf. Hurry!" Gimli said, his voice sounding more panicked than it had in recent memory. Legolas responded and slowly attempted to rise to his feet, only to find that he had injured his knee as well and fell back against a tree, shocked by the new stabbing pain. Gimli was not satisfied with his friend's lack of progress in rising and attempted to free himself from Jarinel's back to assist him.
Legolas saw Gimli trying to climb off the horse's back, and then he turned and in the dim light saw that their pursuers were closing in on them and they had rage on their tongues and blood in their eyes. The elf knew he would not make it back on the horse before they came, and could barely stand as it was, let alone ride. If Gimli did get down to help him they would not be able to escape without a fight, and Legolas knew he was in no condition for a battle. Assessing their situation as quickly as his muddled mind allowed, and taking into account the still falling arrows, Legolas decided.
"Go Gimli, meet up with Aragorn." He commanded, trying to make his voice firm as he once more tried to stand.
"Are you mad? I shall not leave you here." Gimli seemed genuinely shocked and even stopped his struggles for a moment.
The men were almost upon them now and an arrow landed dangerously close to Gimli's head. Legolas could spend no more time arguing with the dwarf and called out to Jarinel.
"Caw hortha! Celeg hon o si, Jarinel. Aphad Aragorn. Im iest ha.*"
Gimli knew little elvish but what he had just heard angered him. What angered him more was when the horse reluctantly obeyed Legolas. With a neigh of protest Jarinel set his sights straight ahead and away then raced off after Aragorn. Gimli shouted in protest but could not free himself from his seat and was forced away along with the horse. He shouted curses at the elf for he knew he would be far from him by the time he slowed the horse and managed to climb off and by then he would be overtaken by Risorine and the men pursuing them.
Legolas sighed in relief as Jarinel obeyed his wishes and raced off with an infuriated Gimli desperately trying to get off. He knew his friend was mad and had every right to be, but he saw no point in risking both of them being captured, or even killed. Legolas now had to worry only about himself. Cradling his left arm against his chest he pulled his knife free from his belt as he hobbled to the other side of the tree to protect himself from falling arrows.
The approaching men stopped before the tree, clearly not planning on going after Gimli and Aragorn, who were quickly becoming lost in the distance. With a smirk several of Risorine's men made their way around the tree, flanking all positions in order to completely surround their prey. Legolas tensed from his position, ready for attack.
Bows drawn and notched the men converged around the tree, only to find there was no one behind it. The men shared a confused look.
"Where did he go?" One asked.
Suddenly the slightest rustle of leaves drew their attention above and a great cloaked figure dropped onto them.
Legolas hadn't been sure he would be able to climb the tree with an arrowhead in his shoulder, but desperation had driven him up the tree's limbs. He had thought to escape through the tree tops but in his current state he could not be as silent as he needed and would not have gone unnoticed. Jumping from the tree he at least decided he would fight them until the end. He landed atop a rather large man, whose arrow shot high into the air as he fell. The jump jarred Legolas's twisted knee but he ignored it and faced the other men around him. He counted twelve in his sights now, and undoubtedly more behind the tree's base.
His pursuers made the first move, and a smart one as they all attacked at once. The elf managed to twist out of the way of the first two, causing them to slam into one another, but as he turned to swipe away a man approaching on his left, he was tackled to the ground from the right. He landed once more on his shoulder and bit his tongue to keep from crying out as he kicked at his attacker. The man who had tackled him was sent flying away but two more took his place and rushed the elf, keeping him on the ground and pinned on his stomach.
"Stop struggling. You only make this harder on yourself." One of the men commented, but Legolas continued to wrestle them off.
The fight was quickly draining from the elf though. The pain from his shoulder and knee was so excruciating he wanted to scream, and his knife had been forced away from him. Rough hands held him to the ground, too many to count but he continued to struggle, landing several blows and knocking off many of the men. Finally one man grew so impatient that he took hold of the shaft of arrow protruding from Legolas's shoulder and twisted the arrowhead mercilessly. The pain was so exponential that Legolas's body bucked with its force and a great moan escaped his throat. When the pain went down suddenly the elf found his whole body was now wracked with tremors from the shock.
"That's better." The foreign voice commented as his hands were tied roughly behind his back, "You have courage but you're a fool. You are but one man. Did you hope to escape from us all?"
The energy was gone from Legolas now, and his eyes were glazed over from pain. The men hauled him to his feet and dragged him through the forest, uncaring about the blood dripping from his back or the obvious limp afflicting his left side.
"Come on, Risorine's waiting, and he's not going to be happy." One man said, tugging at Legolas's arm.
"What about the other two?" Another asked.
"There's nothing to be done now. We'll take this one to Risorine and find out what he wishes to do next." The first replied, frowning deeply as Legolas was continually unable to keep up.
The men talked little during the walk back to the hilltop, and Legolas found himself wishing they had not gotten so far away before being caught again. After several minutes the pain died down in his shoulder since his captors had stopped pushing him forward, and Legolas spoke for the first time in their meeting.
"This is an ill course of action, for all of you." He said calmly, skilling his voice to sound wise and logical.
"Why is that? You seem to be the one in an awful fix." The first man remarked, laughing at his own words. But he listened when it became clear Legolas meant to continue.
"I am a companion of Lord Elessar, King of Gondor who has open to him the ear of Lord Vecery. You will be found eventually and punished for your crimes. You will be hanged at the very least for the crime of treason towards your country, for that is without question what you have done. Your only chance of living through this is to turn away from Risorine, and this path of destruction. It does nothing but cause chaos in fear in the streets which you claim to fight for." Legolas said, his voice sounding reasonable and his eyes meeting no one's as he walked, being careful not to stumble.
There were a few moments of silence among the men before the man at his side tugged roughly on his arm once more, "You have a smooth tongue young man, but you are being taken to Risorine and we will not be persuaded from our goals."
Legolas suddenly stumbled as he walked, his mind too jumbled to be disappointed he hadn't reached his captors.
{Young man?}
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"Stop you damn horse! I do not know what Legolas told you but you will stop and let me down immediately!" Gimli cried, infuriated. His best friend was back there, injured and practically defenceless and he could not help him because he was being kidnapped by a blasted horse. Minutes had passed and still Gimli could not get Jarinel under control. What he wished the horse to do was to turn around and speed back to Legolas, but he would gladly settle for the beast to simply stop so he could get down.
Of course he could get down, but not easily. If the horse would not stop then Gimli would receive a worse fall than Legolas if he jumped off, especially at the speed in which the horse was moving as it tried to catch Aragorn. All Gimli could do was shout and had even pulled at its mane but it still would not stop.
When he noted that they were beginning to catch up to Aragorn he took in a deep breath and shouted as loud as he could, "Aragorn stop this horse!"
Aragorn actually jumped in his seat and reined Hasufel in at the call. Jarinel raced toward him, seeming only too happy to stop now that he had caught up with the King of Men. Gimli could see the shocked horror on Aragorn's face as he took in that the horse had only one rider.
"Where is Legolas?" He asked immediately, looking behind them in hopes of spotting the elf.
"He was shot and has most likely been taken by Risorine by now. Quickly, help me off this beast and speed us back to him." Gimli said, once more trying to escape the horse's back.
"Was he all right? How bad was he hurt?" Aragorn asked, unable to keep himself from scanning the woods, expecting Legolas to pop up at any moment.
"He was shot, as I said. Beyond that I do not know but he took an arrow to the shoulder and appeared to have injured his leg as well for he could not stand. Aragorn!" Gimli cried as he received no help in getting off the horse.
"How could I not have seen?" Aragorn mumbled to himself, sliding off Hasufel and moving to help the dwarf.
"How indeed?" Gimli asked, not truly angry but wishing Aragorn had noticed the elf was missing, for it would have made things much easier for all of them.
"I turned only twice for these woods are hard to navigate on horseback. I saw the white of Jarinel's coat through the darkness and assumed all was well." Aragorn said softly, looking for an explanation for his lack of observation.
"What is done cannot be undone. Now hurry, we have an elf to get back to." Gimli pointed out, grimacing as he was lifted onto the back of Hasufel.
{At least this beast is under control.} He thought to himself as Aragorn climbed on once more, swiftly and gracefully. With no more words Aragorn sped the horse forward through the thick trees once more. Jarinel followed silently behind, not forgetting Legolas's order to follow Aragorn as he wished.
"How did you come to be a horse-master Gimli?" Aragorn asked as they rode, very much feeling the long minutes between them and their friend.
"The crazy elf. After he fell from the horse he persuaded it somehow to ride off without him, with me stuck upon its back. I swear that elf's immortality will end with the blade of my axe if he does not stop acting so foolish." Gimli grumbled from his usual position, now behind the rider.
Aragorn frowned, worried that Legolas's immortality could end at all. He only now realized how little he knew about the man who had protected him for so long, Risorine. He did not know what this man's motivations were, or even how his mind truly operated for Aragorn had missed his opportunity to learn these things. One thing Aragorn did not like was not knowing his enemies or what they might do, especially ones that held his friends captive.
The forest was becoming clearer in the light of morning but this also changed the look of the forest from what they had seen shortly before.
"Where did he fall Gimli?" Aragorn asked, not slowing Hasufel's gallop.
Gimli looked over his surroundings, not yet recognizing anything. "Nothing here seems familiar, it must have been further into the woods." They continued to ride until Gimli spotted the tree that he recognized Legolas to have leaned against after he fell, "There! It was there!"
Aragorn stopped and jumped swiftly and smoothly from the horse's back to quickly sweep the ground. Gimli remained in the saddle, knowing he would be getting back on shortly and would only step on any tracks Aragorn might find.
Aragorn knew they had lost precious time for Gimli said he had been forced upon Jarinel's back for long minutes and they had then had to ride back into the forest. Searching the ground Aragorn easily read the signs and frowned; the blood in the grass told him the most.
"There was a fight about a quarter of an hour ago, which Legolas did not win for he was gravely over-matched." He followed the footsteps slightly farther, making sure of their path, "They headed back to the field with the hilltop." He announced. He began to walk back to Hasufel and stopped as a glimmer in the grass caught his eye. Stooping down he picked up Legolas's long knife and suppressed a growl of rage. Gimli did not though and his eyes spoke of murder when he saw the elf's discarded weapon.
Aragorn tucked the knife away in his belt and wordlessly joined Gimli on Hasufel. They charged forth once more, Jarinel beside them, heading back into a battle they had just left.
TBC
*Top speed. Swift him from here, Jarinel. Follow Aragorn. I wish it.
Chapters will be coming much faster now, promise. To my great reviewers, I love you first off. But on a more personal note:
Jay of Lasgalen - I can't believe you read the whole story in a couple days. It's getting to like novel length, thanks for sitting down and reading.
Bill-the-pony - Good to hear from you again, I don't mind the late reviews, just glad you're enjoying the fic.
Sunchaser - no more long waits, I promise. Really!
Shopndrop85 - Here's my fave new scene in the extended. Well I have two; where he speaks Elvish (yeah) and this line "Why doesn't that surprise me?" I can see why they took it out cause it's not easily understood without reading the books but it's a great line.
Gwyn - glad you found the story and are enjoying it. Yes there's more and good job on the Legolas backwards thing, only a couple of peeps picked that up.
Mulberry - thank you for reading all the little details, it's good to know people don't just pass over them.
Shadie - they don't know he's an elf. The Mist of Concealment's still working . but only for a few more hours!
Larus - I don't think you've reviewed before, but welcome to 'Stone of Malinya' land. Thanks for reading.
Miranda Crystal-Bearer - I've got those mistakes all fixed up and will post the revisions as soon as I get a second. If I made anymore please tell me, because the horses play a rather large part in this chapter.
Thank you all for reviewing. I can't believe TTT comes out in a week. I've been reading up so much on it. Did you know LotR made the cover of time magazine????? Oh, and just to let you all know Orlando (hotness) is on the cover of YM magazine this month. I bought two copies; one's for reading the other is for cutting out pictures and sticking them on my wall. You should all get a copy. Be back in a few days with a new chapter Diana ^_^
The Stone of Malinya
"Risorine, what is the meaning of this?" Aragorn asked. His head was starting to ache from so much happening in so little time. They had been attacked by wargs, had found the Stone of Malinya and now the three stood point blank with over a dozen sets of arrows aimed at their hearts.
Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas did not draw their weapons for they were trapped nicely and did not think escape would be possible at the moment. They could not fall back, the door to the cavern had shut behind them, and if they did move to draw their weapons or attacked they would undoubtedly be shot, despite how quickly they could move. For the moment they had few options, and decided to concentrate on figuring out what Risorine was up to.
"You look surprised, Lord Elessar, and here I thought you were known for being able to read men's emotions and intentions so well." Risorine gloated. "Drop your weapons now or they will be forced from you by arrowheads." He was clearly in command of the men before them and they raised their bows higher at his words. The friends exchanged a brief glance and dropped their weapons to the ground, sword, axe and bow respectfully.
Several of the swordsmen broke free from the group and picked up their weapons as others advanced toward the trio, pushing them away from the rock wall. Aragorn and Legolas exchanged a brief look, assuring each other that they still held a weapon; Legolas had his long knife hidden beneath his cloak, and Aragorn a dagger in his boot. Risorine smirked and walked up to the three casually, not even bothering to draw his own sword.
"You are the leader of these outlaws that have been plaguing this city?" Aragorn asked, clearly confused.
"I am, and have been for years. I've lived here all my life but left this place several years ago and travelled to Gondor, to learn of its secrets and ways of life. Very quickly though I found myself a member of your guard and rising in stature as the Great War drastically lowered the soldiers under your command. I was not sure what I was hoping to accomplish when I first became a member of your company; I had not planned on staying long after all, and I had my duties here in Brelan. But eventually I found it was almost nothing to rise to the rank of captain of your guards and decided to stay longer than planned." Risorine explained, obviously very pleased with himself.
"And once in this position you used your influence to suggest I come here, to Brelan." Aragorn reasoned, "For what final purpose, may I ask?"
"At first I wished you to influence our king. Our laws must be changed as well as our economy. Gondor is strong and I knew you would have the strength to do this. If the two countries align Brelan would eventually adapt the greater laws of Gondor. But then I heard of another more pressing reason to bring you here." Risorine continued, his smiling never leaving his face.
"The Stone." Aragorn said. His eyes narrowed and he glared daggers through the man he had trusted with his life, but had never really gotten to know. Perhaps if he had taken the time to speak with him he could have seen this coming.
"Yes," Risorine's eyes twinkled and his voice became wistful, "The Stone of Malinya, a treasure of the rarest sorts. I also heard word from the company you sent here months ago relating the tale of the Stone, for those men think of me as a dear and trusted friend. I knew you could not resist Malinya's temptation and I was right." Risorine opened his mouth to say more but was interrupted when he heard a soft curse from Legolas.
"Traitor." The elf whispered, fully aware the man had heard him. When Risorine looked toward him and their eyes locked he continued, "You are a traitor twice over. A man has a duty to hold to his homeland and you have broken this duty by harming your own kindred inside Miscalanth's walls. But worst of all you took an oath when you became Aragorn's captain. An oath that should not be taken lightly, you have sworn upon honor and pride to protect him at all costs. Now it is clear that you have none of the virtues necessary for such a post."
Legolas's words were answered with a swift backhand from Risorine. The elf's head flew back but his stance remained firm. He stood up tall and unharmed, seemingly not even dazed from the blow. This angered Risorine. Several of the men around them stepped closer and drew their swords but Risorine stopped them with a wave of his hand.
"You lecture me of honor and pride. The three that would hold secret meetings and lie to kings of countries in order to gain what they wish. You come to Brelan only to steal the Stone from us and bring it back to Gondor in triumph."
"It was you, the people of Brelan that stole the Stone from the peoples of Middle-Earth. We intend only to return it." Gimli said growling, not at all pleased by his friend's treatment.
"We did not steal the Stone. It was the elves of this land, they stole it for themselves and hid it but told us not where." Risorine defended, but was not entirely convincing.
"We have learned much in our time here, Risorine, and uncovered many lost truths, but that is not one of them." Aragorn said calmly but there was a silent rage burning in his eyes.
"You speak of things of which you know nothing. We have long known the Stone to be in Brelan and have searched for it for many years. The Elves hid it well and we could not recover it."
"And if you had found it what would you have done? I have doubts of its safe return." Legolas replied.
Risorine glared hard at him, his teeth grinding, "You have been a nuisance from the moment you stepped foot in my business and my patience is all but spent, so I suggest you watch your tongue." Risorine swiftly pulled a knife from his belt and held the tip to the elf's throat. Legolas met the man's gaze, never flinching, and nodded only slightly. Risorine smirked triumphantly.
"It is as you ask," Legolas said after the knife was pulled away, "I will watch my tongue closely." With this he let out a sharp whistle, so loud and shrill that it surprised the men around them. The three friends moved into defensive postures as did their captors, expecting them to attack. It was a great surprise when the attack came from behind.
With amazing speed and a great whinnying the two horses attacked the men surrounding their masters. Jarinel rushed into the circle of attackers, pushing back those in his way and stepping over those that leapt away in surprise. Hasufel did much the same and charged through without regard for the men in search of his master, Aragorn.
The horses could do little damage but their presence was distraction enough to allow Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas to surprise the men before them. As the outlaws turned to the horses the three rushed forward; Aragorn and Gimli picked up their weapons from the ground, but Legolas moved straight ahead, his knife unsheathed, not needing his bow at the moment.
For several moments the valley floor became a mass of confusion. Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli went forth, attacking those in their way and putting them to the ground. Aragorn swept around and locked swords with a man, then twisted away and hit him hard under the chin with the hilt. Gimli swung his axe, but his target leapt back and fell to the ground. The dwarf lifted his axe once more to strike but it was unnecessary as a hoof landed on the man's chest, effectively knocking the wind from his lungs.
Legolas ducked under a man's arm, swung his knife without looking and then continued on as he felt his blade connect. He was making his way to the horses. Their attackers would quickly realize the horses were simply a distraction and he did not wish to see them hurt in their attempts to help their masters.
Suddenly more men appeared. Aragorn realized they had been keeping watch just around the great hill in which they had stepped from. They were being surrounded quickly and had to get away as soon as possible. Legolas saw this as well and at the same moment the two friends once more let out a sharp whistle. The horses reacted immediately, with Hasufel racing toward Aragorn and Jarinel pushing his way to Legolas.
"Thank you my friend." Aragorn said as he took a hold of Hasufel's saddle and jumped upon his back. The horse neighed with pleasure to see his rider was well and immediately began to gallop away to get him to safety. Aragorn reined the horse in though, just as they reached the outskirts of the group of men and turned to spot his friends.
Legolas was gracefully getting on Jarinel, using the horse as leverage to kick a man in the jaw before he hopped on. Once seated on his horse the elf spotted Gimli nearby and then saw Aragorn quite a distance away.
"Aragorn, go! I have Gimli!" He shouted as he urged Jarinel forward. The horse replied immediately, pounding through the rows of men once more. Jarinel sped through the crowd as if it didn't exist, focussing on the small figure fighting off attackers left and right. Legolas leaned dangerously far to the side as he rode and as they raced past Gimli the elf snagged him by the neck of his cloak, stopping him in mid-swing and struggled to pull him onto the horse's back.
Aragorn hesitated a moment at Legolas's call, reluctant to leave without assuring his friends' safety. As he waited several men approached him, swords high, but Aragorn was the better swordsman and had the advantage of horseback. With several quick sword strokes he dispatched of the men then turned to see Legolas and Gimli safely upon Jarinel's back. Only then did he turn and speed his own horse deep into the woods, only too aware of the arrows now falling around him.
Gimli grunted as he was tossed onto the back of the horse. The ride started out oddly, with both him and Legolas attempting to gain their balance, but eventually they steadied themselves and rode on smoothly. Their pursuers were close behind, as were their arrows. Gimli turned to look back at them and only then realized that instead of being in his usual position behind Legolas, the elf had foolishly placed him at the front of the horse.
Arrows now fell all around them, some coming dangerously close but many missing and falling short for it was hard to aim in the dim light of morning. Legolas charged the horse ahead faster, weaving him through the increasingly dense forest. He looked down at Gimli, pleased that he was safe and holding on tightly to the horse's mane. He could see Aragorn some ways ahead of them, managing to navigate the forest quite well, but their pursuers were close behind Jarinel. They would not be for long though. They had no horses that Legolas had seen and would quickly be lost behind them while on foot.
A grunt of frustration huffed out of Gimli as he tried to become accustomed to the unusual seating on the horse. He had never before sat at the front and very few times had they ridden at such speeds, through woods. Normally he would hold on to Legolas and wait for the ride to end, but now he had to take a hold of Jarinel's mane and even found himself trying to help in directing the beast, but Legolas needed no such assistance.
{Crazy elf. Would it have taken so long to put me in my usual seat?} Gimli wondered. Then he turned, startled as an arrow suddenly imbedded itself deep into the base of a tree they were passing. Legolas easily maneuvered Jarinel away from the tree, trying to zig-zag through the woods to confuse the archers.
Aragorn turned to check on his friends, causing his horse to slow slightly. Legolas noticed this and waved to him to continue their retreat. Aragorn seemed to accept this, turned his horse again and continued away from the field as fast as Hasufel could take him through the dark woods.
It was at this moment that two things struck. First realization struck Gimli that Legolas had not placed him in this position by chance. No, that sneaky elf had put him in front so that he may use himself to shield his friend from the arrows that were raining down upon them. Gimli growled, not appreciating being treated as one who needed protecting and turned to give Legolas a good, long, loud lecture on the subject, but all that came from his mouth was a warning of "Look out!"
The second strike was that of an arrow finding its mark.
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The pain began in his left shoulder, there was a brief feeling of weightlessness and then a whole new pain ignited within his entire left side. Legolas knew he had been shot. This hadn't been the first time, or the worst as far as injuries go, but it was the chance with the worst timing.
The arrow landed deeply in Legolas's left shoulder, and the force of the hit combined with Jarinel's speed sent the elf flying helplessly from the horse's back to land hard on his side with his head banging roughly against a jutting rock. The arrow went in deeper as the impact broke off the shaft and the only thing keeping him from crying out was the lack of air in his lungs.
"Legolas, no!" Gimli called out helplessly as he tried to reach for his friend too late and could only watch him tumble painfully to the ground. Jarinel immediately stopped when he lost his rider, sending Gimli pitching forward slightly. The horse back-tracked immediately and stood before the elf, scratching his hoofs on the ground in an attempt to get him to rise.
Legolas looked up from his sprawled position on the ground and tried to blink away the pain and confusion. His shoulder radiated with pain that would not be silenced and he found himself staring blankly at Gimli as the dwarf's lips moved but he heard no sound.
"Get up you blasted elf. Hurry!" Gimli said, his voice sounding more panicked than it had in recent memory. Legolas responded and slowly attempted to rise to his feet, only to find that he had injured his knee as well and fell back against a tree, shocked by the new stabbing pain. Gimli was not satisfied with his friend's lack of progress in rising and attempted to free himself from Jarinel's back to assist him.
Legolas saw Gimli trying to climb off the horse's back, and then he turned and in the dim light saw that their pursuers were closing in on them and they had rage on their tongues and blood in their eyes. The elf knew he would not make it back on the horse before they came, and could barely stand as it was, let alone ride. If Gimli did get down to help him they would not be able to escape without a fight, and Legolas knew he was in no condition for a battle. Assessing their situation as quickly as his muddled mind allowed, and taking into account the still falling arrows, Legolas decided.
"Go Gimli, meet up with Aragorn." He commanded, trying to make his voice firm as he once more tried to stand.
"Are you mad? I shall not leave you here." Gimli seemed genuinely shocked and even stopped his struggles for a moment.
The men were almost upon them now and an arrow landed dangerously close to Gimli's head. Legolas could spend no more time arguing with the dwarf and called out to Jarinel.
"Caw hortha! Celeg hon o si, Jarinel. Aphad Aragorn. Im iest ha.*"
Gimli knew little elvish but what he had just heard angered him. What angered him more was when the horse reluctantly obeyed Legolas. With a neigh of protest Jarinel set his sights straight ahead and away then raced off after Aragorn. Gimli shouted in protest but could not free himself from his seat and was forced away along with the horse. He shouted curses at the elf for he knew he would be far from him by the time he slowed the horse and managed to climb off and by then he would be overtaken by Risorine and the men pursuing them.
Legolas sighed in relief as Jarinel obeyed his wishes and raced off with an infuriated Gimli desperately trying to get off. He knew his friend was mad and had every right to be, but he saw no point in risking both of them being captured, or even killed. Legolas now had to worry only about himself. Cradling his left arm against his chest he pulled his knife free from his belt as he hobbled to the other side of the tree to protect himself from falling arrows.
The approaching men stopped before the tree, clearly not planning on going after Gimli and Aragorn, who were quickly becoming lost in the distance. With a smirk several of Risorine's men made their way around the tree, flanking all positions in order to completely surround their prey. Legolas tensed from his position, ready for attack.
Bows drawn and notched the men converged around the tree, only to find there was no one behind it. The men shared a confused look.
"Where did he go?" One asked.
Suddenly the slightest rustle of leaves drew their attention above and a great cloaked figure dropped onto them.
Legolas hadn't been sure he would be able to climb the tree with an arrowhead in his shoulder, but desperation had driven him up the tree's limbs. He had thought to escape through the tree tops but in his current state he could not be as silent as he needed and would not have gone unnoticed. Jumping from the tree he at least decided he would fight them until the end. He landed atop a rather large man, whose arrow shot high into the air as he fell. The jump jarred Legolas's twisted knee but he ignored it and faced the other men around him. He counted twelve in his sights now, and undoubtedly more behind the tree's base.
His pursuers made the first move, and a smart one as they all attacked at once. The elf managed to twist out of the way of the first two, causing them to slam into one another, but as he turned to swipe away a man approaching on his left, he was tackled to the ground from the right. He landed once more on his shoulder and bit his tongue to keep from crying out as he kicked at his attacker. The man who had tackled him was sent flying away but two more took his place and rushed the elf, keeping him on the ground and pinned on his stomach.
"Stop struggling. You only make this harder on yourself." One of the men commented, but Legolas continued to wrestle them off.
The fight was quickly draining from the elf though. The pain from his shoulder and knee was so excruciating he wanted to scream, and his knife had been forced away from him. Rough hands held him to the ground, too many to count but he continued to struggle, landing several blows and knocking off many of the men. Finally one man grew so impatient that he took hold of the shaft of arrow protruding from Legolas's shoulder and twisted the arrowhead mercilessly. The pain was so exponential that Legolas's body bucked with its force and a great moan escaped his throat. When the pain went down suddenly the elf found his whole body was now wracked with tremors from the shock.
"That's better." The foreign voice commented as his hands were tied roughly behind his back, "You have courage but you're a fool. You are but one man. Did you hope to escape from us all?"
The energy was gone from Legolas now, and his eyes were glazed over from pain. The men hauled him to his feet and dragged him through the forest, uncaring about the blood dripping from his back or the obvious limp afflicting his left side.
"Come on, Risorine's waiting, and he's not going to be happy." One man said, tugging at Legolas's arm.
"What about the other two?" Another asked.
"There's nothing to be done now. We'll take this one to Risorine and find out what he wishes to do next." The first replied, frowning deeply as Legolas was continually unable to keep up.
The men talked little during the walk back to the hilltop, and Legolas found himself wishing they had not gotten so far away before being caught again. After several minutes the pain died down in his shoulder since his captors had stopped pushing him forward, and Legolas spoke for the first time in their meeting.
"This is an ill course of action, for all of you." He said calmly, skilling his voice to sound wise and logical.
"Why is that? You seem to be the one in an awful fix." The first man remarked, laughing at his own words. But he listened when it became clear Legolas meant to continue.
"I am a companion of Lord Elessar, King of Gondor who has open to him the ear of Lord Vecery. You will be found eventually and punished for your crimes. You will be hanged at the very least for the crime of treason towards your country, for that is without question what you have done. Your only chance of living through this is to turn away from Risorine, and this path of destruction. It does nothing but cause chaos in fear in the streets which you claim to fight for." Legolas said, his voice sounding reasonable and his eyes meeting no one's as he walked, being careful not to stumble.
There were a few moments of silence among the men before the man at his side tugged roughly on his arm once more, "You have a smooth tongue young man, but you are being taken to Risorine and we will not be persuaded from our goals."
Legolas suddenly stumbled as he walked, his mind too jumbled to be disappointed he hadn't reached his captors.
{Young man?}
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"Stop you damn horse! I do not know what Legolas told you but you will stop and let me down immediately!" Gimli cried, infuriated. His best friend was back there, injured and practically defenceless and he could not help him because he was being kidnapped by a blasted horse. Minutes had passed and still Gimli could not get Jarinel under control. What he wished the horse to do was to turn around and speed back to Legolas, but he would gladly settle for the beast to simply stop so he could get down.
Of course he could get down, but not easily. If the horse would not stop then Gimli would receive a worse fall than Legolas if he jumped off, especially at the speed in which the horse was moving as it tried to catch Aragorn. All Gimli could do was shout and had even pulled at its mane but it still would not stop.
When he noted that they were beginning to catch up to Aragorn he took in a deep breath and shouted as loud as he could, "Aragorn stop this horse!"
Aragorn actually jumped in his seat and reined Hasufel in at the call. Jarinel raced toward him, seeming only too happy to stop now that he had caught up with the King of Men. Gimli could see the shocked horror on Aragorn's face as he took in that the horse had only one rider.
"Where is Legolas?" He asked immediately, looking behind them in hopes of spotting the elf.
"He was shot and has most likely been taken by Risorine by now. Quickly, help me off this beast and speed us back to him." Gimli said, once more trying to escape the horse's back.
"Was he all right? How bad was he hurt?" Aragorn asked, unable to keep himself from scanning the woods, expecting Legolas to pop up at any moment.
"He was shot, as I said. Beyond that I do not know but he took an arrow to the shoulder and appeared to have injured his leg as well for he could not stand. Aragorn!" Gimli cried as he received no help in getting off the horse.
"How could I not have seen?" Aragorn mumbled to himself, sliding off Hasufel and moving to help the dwarf.
"How indeed?" Gimli asked, not truly angry but wishing Aragorn had noticed the elf was missing, for it would have made things much easier for all of them.
"I turned only twice for these woods are hard to navigate on horseback. I saw the white of Jarinel's coat through the darkness and assumed all was well." Aragorn said softly, looking for an explanation for his lack of observation.
"What is done cannot be undone. Now hurry, we have an elf to get back to." Gimli pointed out, grimacing as he was lifted onto the back of Hasufel.
{At least this beast is under control.} He thought to himself as Aragorn climbed on once more, swiftly and gracefully. With no more words Aragorn sped the horse forward through the thick trees once more. Jarinel followed silently behind, not forgetting Legolas's order to follow Aragorn as he wished.
"How did you come to be a horse-master Gimli?" Aragorn asked as they rode, very much feeling the long minutes between them and their friend.
"The crazy elf. After he fell from the horse he persuaded it somehow to ride off without him, with me stuck upon its back. I swear that elf's immortality will end with the blade of my axe if he does not stop acting so foolish." Gimli grumbled from his usual position, now behind the rider.
Aragorn frowned, worried that Legolas's immortality could end at all. He only now realized how little he knew about the man who had protected him for so long, Risorine. He did not know what this man's motivations were, or even how his mind truly operated for Aragorn had missed his opportunity to learn these things. One thing Aragorn did not like was not knowing his enemies or what they might do, especially ones that held his friends captive.
The forest was becoming clearer in the light of morning but this also changed the look of the forest from what they had seen shortly before.
"Where did he fall Gimli?" Aragorn asked, not slowing Hasufel's gallop.
Gimli looked over his surroundings, not yet recognizing anything. "Nothing here seems familiar, it must have been further into the woods." They continued to ride until Gimli spotted the tree that he recognized Legolas to have leaned against after he fell, "There! It was there!"
Aragorn stopped and jumped swiftly and smoothly from the horse's back to quickly sweep the ground. Gimli remained in the saddle, knowing he would be getting back on shortly and would only step on any tracks Aragorn might find.
Aragorn knew they had lost precious time for Gimli said he had been forced upon Jarinel's back for long minutes and they had then had to ride back into the forest. Searching the ground Aragorn easily read the signs and frowned; the blood in the grass told him the most.
"There was a fight about a quarter of an hour ago, which Legolas did not win for he was gravely over-matched." He followed the footsteps slightly farther, making sure of their path, "They headed back to the field with the hilltop." He announced. He began to walk back to Hasufel and stopped as a glimmer in the grass caught his eye. Stooping down he picked up Legolas's long knife and suppressed a growl of rage. Gimli did not though and his eyes spoke of murder when he saw the elf's discarded weapon.
Aragorn tucked the knife away in his belt and wordlessly joined Gimli on Hasufel. They charged forth once more, Jarinel beside them, heading back into a battle they had just left.
TBC
*Top speed. Swift him from here, Jarinel. Follow Aragorn. I wish it.
Chapters will be coming much faster now, promise. To my great reviewers, I love you first off. But on a more personal note:
Jay of Lasgalen - I can't believe you read the whole story in a couple days. It's getting to like novel length, thanks for sitting down and reading.
Bill-the-pony - Good to hear from you again, I don't mind the late reviews, just glad you're enjoying the fic.
Sunchaser - no more long waits, I promise. Really!
Shopndrop85 - Here's my fave new scene in the extended. Well I have two; where he speaks Elvish (yeah) and this line "Why doesn't that surprise me?" I can see why they took it out cause it's not easily understood without reading the books but it's a great line.
Gwyn - glad you found the story and are enjoying it. Yes there's more and good job on the Legolas backwards thing, only a couple of peeps picked that up.
Mulberry - thank you for reading all the little details, it's good to know people don't just pass over them.
Shadie - they don't know he's an elf. The Mist of Concealment's still working . but only for a few more hours!
Larus - I don't think you've reviewed before, but welcome to 'Stone of Malinya' land. Thanks for reading.
Miranda Crystal-Bearer - I've got those mistakes all fixed up and will post the revisions as soon as I get a second. If I made anymore please tell me, because the horses play a rather large part in this chapter.
Thank you all for reviewing. I can't believe TTT comes out in a week. I've been reading up so much on it. Did you know LotR made the cover of time magazine????? Oh, and just to let you all know Orlando (hotness) is on the cover of YM magazine this month. I bought two copies; one's for reading the other is for cutting out pictures and sticking them on my wall. You should all get a copy. Be back in a few days with a new chapter Diana ^_^