DISCLAIMER: Lord of the Rings, and its characters, sadly, do not belong to me. They are the property of JRR Tolkien, et al. No money is gained from the writing of this story. Its sole purpose is for the enjoyment of myself and all who read it.
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Destinies Entwined
Chapter
Eight
Part
One
"Something
is wrong," Ranien says, pacing the small glade where the hunting
parties were to meet. "It isn't like Legolas to not keep his
word. We all agreed to meet here this morning and yet he isn't here.
He should have arrived hours ago."
"I agree," Trelan says, fear for his friend consuming him. "The only way he wouldn't be here is if something has happened," he adds anxious to find out what is keeping the prince.
"Tinioril, Bainien, you and your hunting parties will stay here in case Legolas and the others show up. The rest are to follow me. We will go to the area in which Legolas said they were going to be hunting. Perhaps we will find something that will tell us what has happened," Ranien says as he mounts his horse and waits for the others to do so as well. After they are all mounted, they leave the glade heading for the area of the forest the prince and his companions were supposed to be hunting in.
Several hours later, they arrive at the campsite and are instantly concerned. The campsite is in shambles and there is no sign of the elves or the young ranger. Swearing softly, Ranien tells them to search the surrounding area for any clues as to the whereabouts of Legolas and the others.
"Sweet Elbereth," Trelan murmurs at the sight of an arm entangled in the underbrush on the other side of the camp.
"What is it Trelan? What have you found?" Ranien asks, approaching him.
"It is the young edain Strider," he says, removing the young human from the underbrush. "He's alive," he adds, sighing with relief.
"Let's get him back to base camp. We have no way of knowing what happened and he's in no condition to tell us anything right now," Ranien says, looking down at the human. There is blood caked on one side of his face where it has dried in rivulets.
Swearing under his breath, Ranien climbs onto the back of his horse and motions for the edain to be handed up to him. Placing Strider in front of him to support his unconscious body, Ranien urges his horse forward.
Riding off, they make it back to the base camp in less time it took to get to what was left of the camp where they found Strider. Their concern for the elven princes is still strong, but Ranien knows that if he does not help the young Dunedain, his prince would never forgive him.
"What in Varda happened?" Banien asks when they ride into view with the young human.
"It seems they were attacked, most likely in the night," Ranien says as he hands an unconscious Strider to Trelan.
"What?", Isorfir says, angry and worried at the same time. "Prince Legolas... what..?"
"Prince Legolas was not there," Ranien says, cutting him off. "Neither were Prince Elladan nor Prince Elrohir of Rivendell," he adds, fear for his friends clouding his eyes. "We will look for them," he says in response to the reactions of the other elves around him. "But we first have to make sure Strider is all right. It will do us no good if he dies. Nay, I think it would only make matters worse," he adds.
Grabbing his pack, Ranien gets out his healing supplies. After cleaning and bandaging the gash on the side of the edain's head, he proceeds to check him for other injuries and finds only minor scrapes and bruises. The one that concerns him the most is the wound on the young edain's head. The only way the edain could have been injured that way was if he had been on watch and his attacker snuck up on him. There are very few things that can sneak up on a ranger, even one so young as Strider. The implications that the attackers were either dark elves or rogue rangers do not sit well with Ranien.
Doubling the guards around the camp, Ranien then posts someone beside the injured ranger should he awaken while he and the others are gone.
Returning to the camp where Strider's unconscious body was found, Ranien and his scouts search vigilantly for any sign of who has taken the elven princes and which way they have gone. Noticing a faint indentation in the ground, with no other signs of passage, he knows it could only have been caused by a struggling elf, and it makes Ranien's blood run cold. He now knows what has befallen the elven princes.
Seeing the look in Ranien's eyes, Trelan approaches him with concern. "What is it mellon nin? What have you discovered?" Trelan asks, fear lacing his voice.
"I know who has taken Legolas, Elladan and Elrohir," he says quietly, so as to not alarm the others.
"Who?" Trelan asks just as quietly.
"Look," Ranien says, pointing to the spot that even he almost missed.
"By the Valar," Trelan hisses. "How are we supposed to follow that. There is nothing to track," he adds, keeping his voice low.
"You're only half right Trelan." Ranien says, moving back over to his horse. "We can't follow the tracks. But there is one who can. We have to get Strider awake, and lucid enough to help. He's the only one who can track them down, who can find the elven princes before it's to late."
Giving the order for them to mount up, Ranien leads the way back to the base camp where he hopes he can awaken Strider. They ride hard and fast, fear lending them speed. Returning to the base camp, Ranien is relieved to find the young ranger awake, even if he is uttering dwarvish curses that one his age should not know.
"That's quite a colorful vocabulary you have there Strider," Ranien says, taking a seat near the young ranger. "Where in varda did you pick that up at?" he adds, laughing at the uncomfortable look in the young human's eyes.
"My brothers," Strider grumbles, biting back the pain in his head.
"Here. Take this. It will help with the pain," Isorfir tells him, handing him a cup with liquid in it. Drinking it down, Strider grimaces at the bitter taste. "You learned all that from your brothers huh? I wonder where they learned it from. You know, I didn't think rangers could be caught off guard so easily," Isorfir says, overhearing the two talking.
"Enough Isorfir," Ranien says, seeing the flash of anger in the edain's eyes. "Your teasing is ill-placed this night."
Looking around, Strider realizes that his brothers and friend are missing from the scene. "Legolas. 'Dan. 'Ro. Where are they?" he asks, concerned. As the elf in front of him remains silent, his fear begins to mount. "Damn you! Tell me! Where are they?" he demands.
"We don not know," Ranien says quietly.
"WHAT? What do you mean you don't know?" the young ranger counters, his anger rising along with his fear.
"When the four of you didn't meet here at the appointed time we grew concerned. Trelan and I along with several warriors, went to find you. When we reached your campsite, we thought all four of you were lost. But then Trelan found you in some underbrush. We brought you back here as quickly as we could, and went back to search for a trail. We found none. Or, almost none," Ranien says dejected. "There is one spot, where it appears someone was struggling, but no tracks were found," he adds.
"No tracks? But that's impossible! Unless...," Strider trails off, not liking the implications.
"Exactly. I hate to admit it, but I think you have a better chance of tracking them than any of us have. You're a ranger. Albeit a young one, but a ranger none the less. And there's a connection between you and Prince Legolas. Something the rest of us do not share with him. If anyone can find him it's you," Ranien says with confidence. "We'll head out in a few hours, at first light," he adds, moving away from the young ranger.
"No. We will head out now," Strider says getting up, despite the pounding in his head. "Legolas and my brothers are in trouble. We will leave now," he adds, determinedly.
"Very well," Ranien says, deciding not to argue with the young human. Walking over to one of the other elves, Ranien speaks with him quietly. "Gil-Ganduil, I need you to ride back to the palace and tell Lord Thranduil of what has happened. He needs to know. Also tell him that we are searching for them with the aid of the ranger."
"Yes Ranien. I'll leave at once," Gil-Ganduil says, packing his things quickly. Going over to the line of horses that have been hobbled for the night, he removes the bindings keeping his horse from running, climbs onto the horse's back and canters off.
Shouting orders to the other elves, Ranien collects his own things and replaces them in his pack. Soon after, the camp is completely deserted as they race back to where the elven princes were abducted.
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Watching his young friend from the other side of the small camp, Legolas suppresses a small smile. The young edain has come a long way in the short time he has been in Mirkwood. Just before his eyes glaze over in sleep, Legolas feels a small twinge of unease but brushes it off on the fact that they are further south than he has come in a long time.
Sometime later, he is awakened by the soft rustle of leaves without the company of a breeze. Jolting awake, he finds Elladan, Elrohir and himself surrounded by cloaked figures.
Out of the corner of his eye he sees two more figures dragging the still form of the young ranger over to the underbrush. Though weapons are trained on him, Legolas is overcome with an intense anger and he draws his daggers, trying to reach his friend. "Strider!" he bellows, trying to fight his way through the enemy who has him surrounded.
Suddenly,
there is a sharp, searing pain in his shoulder and he falters.
Glancing over his shoulder, he sees the shaft of an arrow protruding
from his skin. Realizing that the arrow must have been drugged, he
struggles in vain to remain awake. As the
drug races through his
veins, and his body begins to shut down, all he can think about is
his young friend. As he begins to collapse, he feels strong arms grab
and support him.
"Legolas!" Elladan yells as the younger elf starts to collapse. Reaching for his own daggers, he plans on fighting his way over to his friend. Before he can do that however, he is stopped by a strangled cry behind him. Turning, Elladan is utterly shocked. His twin is no longer right behind him but on his knees with a knife at his throat.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the figure says. "Unless of course, you want your twin brother here to go to the Halls of Mandos," the figure adds with a harsh laugh.
Dejected, Elladan turns his weapons over to the nearest cloaked figure. There is still a great deal of defiance in both his stance and the deadly gleam in his grey eyes. As he is being bound and gagged he realizes that Estel is not there. He does not realize that Estel was severely injured and that that was the reason for Legolas' dismay. He sends a silent thank you to Illuvitar that his brother wasn't captured as well and a prayer that Estel will find some help.
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As the sun is beginning to lighten the horizon, Strider, Ranien and the others arrive back at the remains of the camp. Dismounting, Ranien leads Strider over to the area he found earlier that night. As Strider searches the area for signs to follow, Ranien and the others stay back to keep the risk of destroying any evidence down to a minimum.
After a few minutes, the young ranger stands up and turns to them. "Let's go," he says as he gets back onto his horse and rides off in the direction he senses that his friend has been taken, without waiting to see if the others are following because he knows they are. They ride for hours before they finally have to stop to allow the horses to rest.
"Are we still on the right track?" Ranien asks as he watches the ranger scout around for any trace.
"Yes. They came this way. They have a good start on us but we are closing the gap, slowly," he tells the elf. "We have to move quickly though if we hope to catch them by night fall," he adds, anxious to be on the way again. Ten minutes later, they are off again and he sends up a prayer of protection for his brothers and his friend.
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"Blindfold them," the figure who seems to be the leader says gruffly. As the others do as they are commanded, Elladan struggles against his bonds. Their gags have been removed, long enough for them to get a sparse drink of water, but he knows that they will be returned shortly.
Having his hands bound behind him is bad enough, but to be blind as well was intolerable. A blow to his shoulder stuns him, stopping his struggle. Angry over being blindfolded, Elladan does not go willingly until he hears a moan of pain off to his right.
"'Dan, just do as he says," Elrohir says through gritted teeth. When his brother began to struggle, one of the men imbedded a dagger into Elrohir's arm, causing him to moan, because they knew it would get the desired response and that it was the only way to get the other elf to cooperate.
"Unless you want my men to hurt your twin again, I would suggest you quit fighting. They are very good at causing pain," a harsh voice says in his ear.
Seething with rage, Elladan nods and allows himself to be pulled along. Not knowing where they are going or who has taken them, all he can do is wait for a chance for the three of them to escape. Feeling a sharp prick to his arm he flinches but is soon unable to move for fear of falling. As he collapses into darkness, he wonders if Elrohir too has been drugged.
Part Two
Riding hard, Gil-Ganduil reaches the underground palace by late morning. Springing from his horse before it has a chance to stop, he rushes into the palace looking for Lord Thranduil. Seeing Maeloren, Thranduil's private aid, he rushes over to him. "Where is Lord Thranduil? I need to speak with him immediately," he says, huffing.
"He is in his private study," Maeloren says, wondering why the younger elf is so winded.
Without another word, Gil-Ganduil takes off down the corridor and heads for Thranduil's study. Reaching the door, he stops to catch his breath before knocking.
"Minno," Thranduil says to the knock on his study door.
As Gil-Ganduil opens the door, he dreads having to tell his elf lord what has happened to the prince and his friends.
"Gil-Ganduil? I thought you were part of the hunting party that Legolas is on?" Thranduil says to the elf standing there.
"I am my lord but I had to return with most haste. I have terrible news to impart my lord," he says, not sure how to continue.
"Terrible news? What has happened?" Thranduil asks, a feeling of dread spreading over him.
"It's about Prince Legolas. And the two princes from Rivendell. They were attacked my lord, and kidnaped, it seems. The young human was left for dead but he is alive and is at this moment following the trail of the attackers. Ranien sent me back to inform you of what has happened," he says, watching the elf lord's face.
As he was listening to Gil-Ganduil, the dread that had taken hold deepened to intense fear for his son and for the sons of Lord Elrond. Never before has anyone ever attacked them together and been able to succeed, which serves to heighten his fear. "I will send out warriors to aid them at once," he says, not liking the feeling of helplessness that has taken hold.
"Of course my lord. And I will take them there when all is ready," Gil-Ganduil says, bowing before leaving the room.
As the warrior elf leaves the room, he bumps into Elendil and Meoi who were walking down the corridor. "Sorry my lady," he says, steadying her.
"It's all right Gil-Ganduil. Wait a minute. Weren't you with Legolas and the others out hunting?"
"I was, but..." he says, not wanting to upset her so soon after her encounter with the orcs.
"But what?" Elendil asks, not liking the look in his eyes.
"Maybe you should speak with Lord Thranduil," he says, not wanting to be the bearer of bad news any longer.
"I do not want to speak with my uncle Gil-Ganduil. I want to speak with you. You are the one who brought it up. So please, just tell m,e, Elendil says, not letting him off that easily.
"Legolas and the Rivendell Princes have been kidnaped," the elf answers.
"Kidnaped?" Elendil asks, her already pale elven face growing paler. "How? By who?"
"We do not know who. As for how... well.. It seems the young edain was on watch. Who ever it was had enough skill at stealth to sneak up on him and render him unconscious. He suffered a pretty severe blow to the head but he's alive and tracking the princes. Ranien seems to think he is the most capable to do that, since there weren't any discernable tracks to follow. I have my doubts though."
"No tracks? How is that possible?," Meoi asks, confused.
"Maybe I shouldn't say any more," Gil-Ganduil starts. Seeing the look in Elendil's eyes, he quickly changes his mind. "Then again... It seems their attackers were elves," he informs them quietly.
As understanding dawns on the she-elves faces, their concern deepens to a mixture of fear, loathing and anger.
"I am sorry my lady. I have to go. I have to replace a few things in my pack and meet the warriors that Lord Thranduil is sending out so that I can take them to where I left Ranien and the others," he says, bowing to her.
"Of course. I'm sorry to have kept you so long," Elendil says, giving the elf a small smile.
After he leaves, Meoi turns to her friend and cousin. "Do you think they are going to be okay, Elendil?" she asks, really concerned.
"I don't know Meoi. But I pray to Illuvitar that they will be. It is all we can do," Elendil says in response. "I would go with the warriors, but I know we will only be putting ourselves at risk, and if the others were rescued but we were lost... it would make the attempt a useless one."
As the she-elves continue their walk their thoughts go to the three elven prince, praying they will not leave Middle Earth for the Halls of Mandos any time soon.
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Slowly coming too, Elladan opens his eyes to the dizzying sight of the ground speeding past him. For a few brief moments he is completely disoriented. As his memory clears and realization dawns, he tries to look for both his brother and his friend, but is unable to see much at all because of his position.
Realizing that he is draped across the front of a speeding horse, he swears silently. The memory of his brother's moan of pain causes his rage to resurface. The fact that he can see the ground momentarily confuses him until he remembers having been blindfolded after the attack.
Wondering why the blindfold was removed, he tries again to look for Elrohir and Legolas but is unsuccessful. Reigning in his fear, he tries to formulate a plan of escape but stops until he knows exactly who it is that has them and where they are headed.
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Standing on the steps outside the palace, Elendil and Meoi watch as the search party prepares to set out. Elendil recognizes many of the elves that are going and is grateful that her uncle choose only ones who were not unjustly prejudiced against the young ranger. Seeing a face among them that she has not seen in some time, she quickly descends the steps.
"Cali?" Elendil says, approaching an elf whose hair matches the color of her own. "Mae govannen. It has been too long cousin."
"Yes it has," the other elf says as he swings her into his arms, twirling as he hugs her.
"But tell me. What brings you all this way from Lorien?" Elendil asks, smiling as he sets her down.
"Am I not allowed to visit my cousin, whom has chosen not to come to visit us in some time?" he asks teasing.
"Of course you can," she says, sorrow in her grey green eyes. "Though I wish it were a more joyous occasion that you had arrived to."
"I know tellele. And I have offered my assistance in searching for Legolas, Elladan and Elrohir. And no, I did not travel alone tellele. I traveled with several others, including Rumil, and they are also offering to assist in the search," he adds, knowing that his cousin was worried that he might have run into trouble along the way.
Seeing Meoi come down the steps, he gives her a warmsmile. "Mae govannen Meoi. It has been quite some time," he says to her.
"Yes it has Calil," she says, trying to smile in return.
"Cali. It seems that quite a few things have happened recently. Of course I can't go into the details, but Meoi and I are cousins. Her father and Lord Thranduil were cousins, so it seems that you two are cousins as well, though more distantly than she and I are. And you know Cali, you really should get a new nickname for me. I am not such a little elf anymore!"
"You will always be tellele to me, no matter how old you are," he says, a twinkle in his eyes.
Before Elendil can say anything, the rest of the search party mounts their horses and prepares to leave. "Are you coming or what Calil?" Rumil asks, knowing full well that his friend's answer is yes.
Giving Elendil a quick hug, Calil-Gandion mounts his horse and rides out with the others.
"Lelya o hiraetha. Lotesse Illuvitar varya enni ar lavarna entulesse ilyanna", Elendil whispers as she watches them ride out of the gates of Mirkwood in search of the missing elves.
(Loosely translated, the above says: "Go with grace. May Illuvitar protect you and grant a safe return of all.")
TBC...
