SW-Hi ya! Hope ya like it so far. Well here's HC.
HC: Hello people. I know chapters 3 and 4 were a bit boring (okay, really boring), but they were the original story before I turned it into a LotR fic. But before you read chapter 5, here is a quote that I think Kat lives by. Shadow Wolf found it on some random website so…it's not ours~
"Remember it takes 42 muscles to frown, but only 4 to extend your arm and 'whack 'em upside the head."
Also, you will meet Tenchi and the Head Guard of Mirkwood, who is also the Royal Guard of the Prince of Mirkwood. That sounds really official, doesn't it?!
Enjoy the chappie…R/R…~
Disclaimer: I (H.C.) own Kat, Sal, the Head Guard of Mirkwood whose name I will not mention for later purposes, all the Melethron elves and Melethron itself, and the Elven Riders (they will be explained later). Everything else belongs to Tolkien. Shadow Wolf owns Tenchi.
Chapter 5: An Old Friend and Two Elven Riders
The following morning I got up well before dawn and changed into a blue-silver tunic. I was surprised that I actually slept some, because usually my sleep was plagued by nightmares. Usually, when they don't come (the nightmares) it's because I either block them out (on very rare occasions) or I am at ease (another rare occasion.) I brushed my hair and made sure my daggers were in their correct places-one in each boot. I made sure my sword was in place before sliding my other dagger (A/N: The secret weapon!!!) into place next to it. My hand would hide the dagger if I took off my cloak. The dagger's blade was solid silver, crafted in such a way so that the only way it would break would be by the use of sorcery. There were no inscriptions in the blade. The hilt was solid mithril like my twin daggers and sword, and the jewels embedded in it were unusual. On one side, diamonds and rubies formed a small yet distinct letter "M". On the other, the layout of diamonds and rubies was reversed. I then pulled on my black cloak, fastening it with a silver lightning bolt. (A/N: Does the same thing as the leaves of Lothlorien that Aragorn picks up in TTT. You know, the one that either Merry or Pippin dropped. I don't remember which one though!) I pulled the hood over my head, masking my face. I then strapped my quiver and bow to my back and went to find the Lord and Lady of Lorien.
When I found the Lord and Lady, they were talking to Lord Gimli and the wood-elf whose name was…Legolas…yes, that was it. Lady Galadriel turned when she saw me, and the others followed suit. I bowed regally (or so I hoped) and Lord Celeborn, Galadriel, and Gimli all nodded their heads. The wood-elf, handsome as he was by Elven standards (and probably Sal's), was very confused. He said nothing as I spoke, "My lord, my lady, thank you-again-for the. er. visit," I saw the faintest of smiles cross Galadriel's face, "Now, although I regret it because my stay here was far too short, I must leave. Diola lle again. Thank you" 'Wow, I need to work on my departing speech. That did not sound well,' I thought as I turned to Lord Gimli.
I spoke in Dwarvish, "Lord Gimli, I regret that in this meeting we did not get a chance to talk," I paused and looked around. The Lord and Lady were quite calm, as were Haldir and Gimli, but the wood-elf was-how to describe this… was in the least bit, very shocked, for not many-other than Dwarves-could speak Dwarvish. His eyes were slightly wide and his jaw was slack. I ignored him, as hard as it was and continued, "Our paths will cross again, you can be sure of that," I glanced at Lady Galadriel. "And it might be sooner than you think."
"Thank you, my friend. I should very much like to know what you meant in that letter. I'd also like you to meet a certain prince," Gimli replied, chuckling.
I raised my eyebrows, but wisely kept my mouth shut. Galadriel gave me a hug and Celeborn bowed. I bowed and turned to leave. I stopped dead in my tracks, for an elven dagger was a mere few inches away from me, and it belonged to Haldir. It was a greeting, or goodbye, used only by the Elven Riders. I smiled and reached for the dagger in one of my boots, making sure to cover the hilt with my hand completely. My blade struck his, and the two blades locked for an instant, and then Haldir put his dagger away and bowed. I slid my dagger back into my boot and bowed as well. As I walked to the stables, I felt the eyes of a certain wood-elf following me. I mounted Fyre and galloped out into the trees, thinking no more of the wood-elf.
Even though I was only a half-a-day's ride from Rivendell, I stopped for the night. It had been a few days since I had left Lorien, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was being followed. Nevertheless, I managed to fall into a light slumber. I awoke with a start and strained my elven ears for the slightest sound. Something wasn't right. I slowly made sure all my weapons were still with me, which they were. Then I searched out Fyre, and in an instant was on his back riding hard away from the camp. I had no idea what had disturbed me, and wasn't exactly overjoyed about fighting in the dark-not that I mind.
*~Back at the Camp~*
Two figures emerged from the darkness of the trees. They were cloaked in black and were on foot, having left their horses a mile or so back. One of them, always the joker, said, "Well, that went well."
The other one, who was mostly serious, replied, "We should have known we wouldn't sneak up on Kat like that."
"But we didn't make a sound!" The other protested.
"We probably did. Anyway, it's nearly impossible to sneak up on her-she is the leader of the Elven Riders. I've never seen anyone sneak up on her before," said the serious one.
"We are Elven Riders, too," the joker reminded.
"So we are, my brother-" the serious one didn't get to finish his sentence for they both heard hoof beats coming from the direction of Lothlorien.
They faded back into the trees, hands on the hilts of their swords, ready for action, both of them tense and alert. They waited, not moving, as two horses came into view. One had his hand on the hilt of his sword. The two figures dared not to breathe, for the three riders had yet to sense their presence. Or so they hoped. The two horses stopped at what had been the edge of Kat's camp. A voice spoke softly, "You can come out now. We will do you no harm, for we know you, twin sons of Elrond." The voice was commanding, yet softly confident.
The figures smiled as they recognized the elven prince, his guard, and the dwarf. They did as the prince commanded and the serious one spoke, "Quel lome, Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood; Tirig, Royal Guard of the Prince of Mirkwood; and Gimli, son of Gloin." Good evening
The dwarf grunted in acknowledgement but said nothing, for he still couldn't remember the names of the sons of Lord Elrond. The elven prince spoke in his captivating voice, "Quel lome, Elladan and Elrohir." At the mention of their names, the figures lowered their hoods and whistled for their horses. The four horses walked side by side, carrying the riders in silence. The silence was broken by Legolas, whose heart was yearning and whose mind was thinking of the mysterious maiden in the trees of Lothlorien, "How many Elven Riders are there?" Gimli seemed to be interested as well.
Elladan scrunched up his nose in thought, "Six, I think. No-seven." Elrohir nodded in agreement.
The heir to the throne of Greenwood the Great asked, "Who are they?"
Elrohir answered, "Sorry, mellonamin my friend, but we don't' have the authority to tell you that."
"Understandable, but who does?" asked the persistent elf.
"The Leader of the Elven Riders, Legolas. Who else?" Gimli let out a chuckle and almost fell off the horse (again) when it moved into an easy canter.
Legolas laughed, "Next time, Master Dwarf, remember not to laugh at the one whose horse you are on." The dwarf had no reply to that comment, and the rest of the ride to Rivendell was silent, each lost in their own thought. The Prince of Greenwood the Great was still thinking about the maiden, his heart yearning for her, yet this the elven prince did not know-yet. But he knew that he would recognize the maiden if he ever saw her again-and his heart would as well.
I watched the sunrise from the edge of the woods that looked over the massive gates. As far as I could tell, our presence had gone unnoticed, for we had not moved in a while. I felt myself stiffen as three riders emerged from the cover of the trees. Well, five riders and four horses. Lord Gimli was riding behind the wood-elf I remembered from Lorien…Legless was his name? No, Legolas. Two were Elven Riders-the twin sons of Elrond-Elladan and Elrohir. A stride or so behind them was a guard, presumably either the Head Guard of Rivendell or a messenger. It was then I recognized the horse, I felt my jaw go slack. He was he Head Guard of Mirkwood-and personal guard for the Prince of Mirkwood. Then it hit me. The wood elf that I had first laid eyes on in Lothlorien-the very same elf that Sal would fall out of a tree if she saw him, but not thinking about herself. Sal and Arwen were always trying to find someone to find a way to get through the walls of my heart. To melt the ice and cool the fire. They have yet to succeed. The elf currently riding in front of Gimli was the Prince of Mirkwood. Oh dear, I'd better stay away from Arwen, and Sal-if she's here.
I watched as the five passed under the massive gates of Rivendell and I leapt onto Fyre's back and galloped him towards the gates.
Arwen and Sal laid eyes on me as soon as I walked up. Lord Elrond was in the middle of welcoming the handsome Prin-I mean Legolas and Gimli. There was a smirk on Arwen's face-I should be very, very afraid. Lord Gimli got off the horse with some difficulty and I had to suppress a smile. Arwen cleared her throat and Lord Elrond glanced at her, and seemed to realize I was here. His eyes were laughing. Legolas began to get off his horse when Arwen spoke up, "Legolas, I would like you to meet the Princess of Melethron." No sooner were the words out of her mouth when the Prince froze, halfway off his horse. His mouth moved like he was trying to say something, but then he promptly shut his mouth and fell off his horse. I groaned inwardly when Arwen motioned for me to lower my hood, but I did as she asked-the wrath of Arwen is not fun to endure. I cringed slightly, remembering the first and last time I faced the wrath of Arwen…
******flashback******
"You WILL wear a dress!" Arwen was chasing me around the palace, trying unsuccessfully to catch me and force me to wear a green dress. Now, I was grateful for the fact that my brother Tirig had always kept me on my toes and that chasing after him had made me fast. I came to the end of that hallway and saw Sal running towards me from another hallway. They had me cornered, so I did the only thing I could think of. I place my hands on the rail of the balcony (A/N: How convenient to have a balcony thing nearby when you need a quick exit!) and swung over, meeting the ground on my feet with my knees bent.
They peered over the rail, obviously not coming after me. "You won't get to meet the Prince!" Sal hollered down.
I smirked, "Did you ever consider that maybe I didn't *want* to meet the Prince of who knows where?!"
"He's the Prince of-" They shouted after me, but I didn't get to hear the rest of their sentence because I ran to the stables to go for a ride.
I returned from my ride sometime after midnight. They were waiting for me. Arwen spoke first, "He was most disappointed. He's leaving tomorrow morning-" I cut her off by slamming my door in her face and locking it. I didn't get much sleep that night. The following morning, I stood on my balcony and watched the Prince leave with the other elves that had come with him. Our eyes locked until he had to get on his horse. His flawless face plagued my thoughts for many days and nights thereafter.
******end flashback******
That had been before my heart had built it's walls, and before my two years of mostly torture in Isenguard. Since then my sleep had been plagued by nightmares. The Prince's face looked vaguely familiar, although I couldn't remember who he looked like.
I risked a glance at Arwen, who was smirking and looking quite pleased with herself. I looked at Sal, who was looking at Arwen with a scared look on her face. And then I finally looked at the Prince, who was still on the ground. Our eyes locked-my green and his blue-and I found myself staring at the elf whose face had plagued my mind long ago. He was the Prince I was supposed to meet that day. I found my voice, "It is not often I get to look down on a Prince."
Sal suppressed laughter, but her eyes were not on us. I felt the Prince of Greenwood's eyes on me-he had picked himself off the ground. My eyes followed Sal's gaze. All emotion left my face as I found where Sal's blue eyes rested. They were on the Head Guard of Mirkwood-the Prince's personal guard. His brown eyes matched his brown hair perfectly, and he was well built standing just a shade less than six feet tall. He saw me and almost choked-he was that surprised to see me. He forced all emotion off his face and nodded to me-but I noticed his chocolate eyes held amusement and joy at seeing me again. He was my brother, but not many knew that.
I smiled and returned my gaze to Arwen. I smirked, "I will NOT wear a dress!" Arwen and Sal (who'd finally torn her eyes off of my brother), began laughing. I shook my head in an effort not to laugh and turned Fyre towards the stables. "Hello, Lord Gimli," I said as I rode by him, taking a glance in Legolas' direction. He was staring at me.
Gimli grunted, "We meet again, Lady Kat, and under better. uh. Circumstances."
"So we do, old friend, so we do," I whispered softly.
A/N: So, what'd ya think? Do tell! Next chapter you meet Tenchi, and Leggy makes a move. What will Kat's reaction be? *laughs evilly: muhahahaha.*
I'm so evil. Not really, but you might think so after next chapter. Hahaha. My Harry Potter fic MIGHT be up soon for those of you that like HP. Review!!!!!!!!!
SW-It seems I can't get this to show up with indentations at the beginning of each paragraph. Gomen, but I tried.
JA!
P.S.~ R&R!!
