Disclaimer: For full disclaimer, please see chapter 1.
A/N:
*g* Yeah, well, the wine incident was quite funny... (Thranduil: Was not! Elrond: Oh, do be quiet! We didn't force you or anything!)
Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what _exactly_ they have done, they refused to tell me. And believe me, I tried, but I think they'd rather let themselves be cut into tiny little pieces and fed to a cave troll than tell me... *shrugs* They are a little bit shy, I guess...
Yes, Wilwarin IS an adorable little spider, and this chapter we will see quite a lot of her and Celylith. More than everybody else would like, actually... *evil grin*
This chapter is a little bit more serious than the other two; we have a little bit of Legolas angst and a little bit of Thranduil/Elrond angst (not what YOU think, for cryin' out loud!), a fact which I solely blame on the TTT soundtrack. Never hear songs such as "The Leave Taking" or "Isengard Unleashed" while writing fanfics. It doesn't exactly create a ... cheerful mood. *g*
Very well, on to chapter 3, which is this story's first cliffy! Yay me! *readers growl and begin to take out various weapons, sharp tools, etc.* BUT it's not as bad as many others in "AEFAE", so don't worry. We also have lots about the little spider, a little bit about demon-horses and very anxious fathers. Oh, and did I mention a cliffy? *grabs her pink earmuffs and runs away cackling evilly*
Enjoy and review, please!
Chapter 3
'To the left, idiot, to the left!' an insistent voice in his head screamed, and with a silent curse Aragorn obeyed, crouching low and rolling to the left to escape the silver gleaming blade that cut through the air just above his right shoulder. He quickly gained his feet again and brought his sword up in front of him, retreating slowly to buy himself some more time to catch his breath. His wrists hurt, as did some of his ribs, but he resolutely ignored his body's discomfort.
'And just for how much longer do you think you can keep him at bay?' the voice said, raising a mental eyebrow in amusement. 'If you're really lucky, I think it will be … half a minute?'
The young ranger growled annoyed.
"Then why don't you come out and take over the fight?" he asked, for the moment oblivious that he was talking to himself.
His opponent threw a confused glance at him.
"What?"
Aragorn ignored the question and attacked, feinting to the left, but the other quickly realised what his intentions were and pushed him back.
Before any of them could make another move, a voice interrupted their fight.
"Elrohir! Stop it! Can't you see that Aragorn's ready to drop any second now?"
As if on cue the two brothers lowered their weapons, turning into the direction of the voice.
"I am not, Legolas!" the human protested, running a from the exertion slightly shaking hand over his face, wondering about the amount of perspiration that had somehow accumulated on his brow. Before his little encounter with Cornallar and his men he could have gone on like this for at least another half an hour before tiring this much.
Legolas rolled his eyes as he idly ran his fingers over the fletchings of an arrow whose tip he had just sharpened.
"Oh, please, of course you are and…"
"He is right, Estel. I should have noticed, I'm sorry," Elrohir apologised, cutting the prince off and sheathing his sword as he stepped closer to his human brother. "Why don't you sit down?"
Aragorn turned dark, reproachful eyes on his elven friend.
"See what you've done."
The prince just grinned down at him from where he sat on top of a pole that was used for teaching different sword moves to the novices. Any human would look ridiculous up there, Aragorn mused darkly, but Legolas just looked his usual, graceful self. How it could be comfortable though was a mystery to him. Then again, his race didn't sleep in trees either.
"I mean it, Estel," Elrohir repeated and pressed the young human down on a bench just to the left of Legolas' pole. "You have done well today, for the first sparring match in months. But it won't help any if you collapse from exhaustion now. Father might decide to stay here after all, and I think the news that Elladan and I were staying would be enough to push poor Hithrawyn over the edge."
His young brother grinned at that. Elrohir was probably right there, the only thing that seemed to prevent the master healer from going insane was the fact that the twins were leaving the day after tomorrow.
He absent-mindedly rubbed his wrists as he remembered his brothers' faces when their father had told them that there was absolutely no way they would be allowed to stay as well.
"I couldn't do that to them!" Elrond exclaimed, looking scandalised at the mere thought. "Hithrawyn and the other healers ... King Thranduil ... Mirkwood itself ... definitely not, my sons! We need the wood-elves as allies, not enemies!"
"Ada!" Elladan complained, "We are not that bad!"
Elrond just looked at his oldest and raised an eyebrow.
"Let me phrase it like this, my sons – and you two as well," he nodded into the direction of Legolas and Celylith who were keeping back a little, grinning broadly at the identical look of indignation that Aragorn and his elven brothers wore, "If Sauron ever does something truly unforgivable – and I do not mean trivialities such as trying to conquer all of Middle-Earth – I will allow all five of you to pay him a visit. After a week he will come crawling to the front door of the Last Homely House, begging for mercy! I would wager he'd even be willing to trade in all of the úlairi to get rid of you."
The Lord of Rivendell gave a mock shudder.
"It would have to be a terrible transgression though, not even the Dark Lord deserves that..."
"Father!!" the three of them exclaimed with wide eyes.
Elrond gave them a quick smile before turning serious again.
"The answer remains the same: Elladan and Elrohir will accompany me home while Estel will remain here for the winter and follow in the spring as soon as the weather permits. And that is final."
"Are they hurting again?" Elrohir's softly spoken question brought him back to reality.
The young ranger looked up from where he had been rmassgaing his hands and quickly shook his head.
"No. No, I was just thinking."
Legolas hopped down from his seat, landing soundlessly on the stone tiles that covered this remote corner of the courtyard. He leaned his refilled quiver against the stone bench and turned to his friends.
"Let me see, Strider," he demanded, grabbing the human's left wrist.
Aragorn opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again without having said a word. Legolas was far stronger than he was, and if the blonde elf wanted to inspect his wrists, then he would do it, no matter how much he assured him that they were fine. He rolled his eyes as his friend gently turned his hands palms-up; sometimes it could be really annoying how much his family and Legolas fretted over him when he was injured.
'Ha', he thought, 'The next time he is hurt, I will make sure he knows exactly what being mothered to no end feels like!'
The fair haired elf lightly touched the slowly fading scars that wound round the ranger's wrist. When they had finally got to Aragorn, he had been tightly bound for over a week, because his captors hadn't wanted to take the risk of untying him for even a second after an escape attempt. By the time they had tried to get the bonds off him, they had cut into the flesh of the man's wrists and forearms so deeply that it had taken Lord Elrond quite a long time to loosen them. The result had been that Estel hadn't been able to really hold anything on his own for about a week, and the wrists were still weak and hurt.
"Ada said the scars would disappear completely in a few weeks," Elrohir said softly, "And your wrists haven't taken any permanent harm. Just give it time."
"I know, I know," Aragorn sighed, trying to twist his hands out of Legolas' grip and shooting him a dark glare the other didn't even seem to register when he failed. "It's just frustrating." He gave Legolas another look before turning back to his elven brother. "Why don't you go and see where Elladan and Celylith are with the 'sweet little spider's' lunch? We'll wait here."
Elrohir gave his fair haired friend a quick glance and nodded at his brother, disappearing quickly into the direction of the palace.
"Legolas?" Aragorn asked when the younger twin had passed out of earshot, "What is it? And could I possibly have my hands back now?"
Legolas' head shot up and he quickly released the human's wrist.
"Forgive me, mellonamin, I was in thought."
"And where exactly were you?" Aragorn prompted, giving him a slight smile that was not returned.
Legolas didn't say anything for a while before admitting softly,
"Back in that forest in the little clearing where I left you in Cornallar's hands without doing anything to help you."
The young man shook his head, suppressing a shudder of fear that raced down his spine when the elf's name was mentioned. He really didn't want to remember him or Donyc, the commander of the humans Cornallar had hired to help him capture him...
Aragorn blinked quickly, returning to the present. Elladan had warned him that something like this might happen, that Legolas wouldn't be able to easily put behind him that he had left his best friend behind, as he saw it…
"You didn't know I was there, Legolas," he said slowly, closely eyeing his friend. "And how could you have? Cornallar may have been insane, but he wasn't stupid, he knew exactly what he was doing. You had no reason to suspect that I was in the camp and besides, you were injured. You weren't thinking clearly."
His friend bowed his head at his words and his fair hair fell forwards over his shoulders, framing his face with soft golden tresses.
"I did. I was."
"What do you mean?" Aragorn questioned, his forehead wrinkling in confusion.
Legolas slowly raised his head again and looked him in the eye.
"I was suspicious," he said, his usually bright eyes dark with self-accusation, "I suspected Donyc kept something from me; I just didn't know what it was. I should have known they weren't hunters, I should have known what they were up to, I … I should have done something, anything. But I rode on, and left you there. Had I only done something, everything would have been different, and you would probably be in a much better shape than you are now. It is all my fault. I should have known."
For a moment the young human was just stunned by his friend's statement, but he quickly recovered and shook his head vigorously.
"Legolas, what are you talking about?" he asked, grabbing the elf's forearm and shaking him lightly. "This doesn't make any sense!" He shook his head when Legolas made a move to say something and added, "Now you listen to me for a second, you stubborn elf!"
He put a finger under his friend's chin and raised his head until their eyes met.
"First, you were delirious. Elladan has told me everything about your memorable arrival in Rivendell, and as a qualified healer I can assure you that you were not thinking clearly.
Second, if you really had noticed anything, Donyc would have killed you. I heard them talking about it, Cornallar told him not to harm you until he had no other choice, but if you found out something, he was authorised to shoot you. And in the condition you were in, he would have succeeded.
Third, nothing would have been different. The only thing Donyc wanted was to break me, and he would always have found an excuse or opportunity to try exactly that, believe me, Legolas.
And Forth, this – was – not – your – fault. Nothing of it was. You saved my life, once again. You shouldn't have known, you couldn't have known, and I have thanked Ilúvatar many times that you didn't. I choose hurting wrists over a dead friend at any time."
Slowly, very slowly the prince's face broke into a smile as he accepted what his friend had said.
"If it were only your hands…" he began, but stopped quickly when he noticed the long-suffering look Aragorn gave him. "Peace, my friend, I have heard your words. Thank you."
"No," Aragorn said, giving the elf's arm a squeeze before letting go of him, "Thank you, Legolas."
Legolas only nodded, still smiling at the ranger who noticed with satisfaction that some of the guilt and pain in the blonde elf's eyes had disappeared. It would take the other a while to really believe that he was truly not at fault and that no-one blamed him, but in the end he would.
'Elves,' Aragorn smiled inwardly, 'Always so keen to take all the blame on their shoulders…'
At this point a hushed conversation met their ears which chased the sombre mood away in an instant.
"Where is the boy? I thought you wanted to ask him if he wanted to come as well? You know Estel would be happy if he came, the boy's leaving in two weeks after all."
"And that's a very good thing if you ask me, Elrohir. If he hadn't been accepted as an apprentice and would have had to remain here, I think he would have gone insane. I have asked him, by the way, but all he did was stare at me as if I was about to eat him, shake his head, slowly back away and slam the door in my face."
A muffled snicker could be heard.
"Well, but I still don't understand what took you so long, brother. It can't be so hard to get enough meat from the kitchens for a giant spider, can it?"
"Hush, Elrohir!" Celylith's voice hissed softly, "Do you want anyone to overhear us?"
"Frankly? Yes."
"Careful, Elrondion, careful," Celylith threatened. "If anyone finds out about Wilwarin because you couldn't keep your voice down, I will not rest until I have located her mother and set her on you."
"And we wouldn't want that," Elladan's snickering voice interjected, "I would not only lose my dear twin brother but a treasured pet as well! It would be a tragedy indeed if anyone found out that the noble Lord Celylith, captain of one King Thranduil's guards, is keeping a giant, ugly, hairy, black, malicious, ill-tempered, in short, a perfect, adorable spider as his pet!"
Right then the three of them rounded the corner, and Legolas' grin widened when he saw the mock fury on his friend's face who couldn't do anything but glare at the brothers because he was carrying various very heavy-looking bags that were obviously filled with Wilwarin's lunch.
"Shhh, Elladan!" the silver haired elf said a little louder this time, scowling at the older twin. "Not so loud! If I weren't carrying all this, I would hurt you for talking about her like that."
"She is a spider, Celylith!" Legolas said, rising to his feet and pulling his human friend with him who quickly masked his grin when Celylith shot him a dark glare. "A spider whose family is coming ever closer if one can believe the sentries!"
His elven friend gave him a hurt look while they were quietly making their way out of the gates to a remote, half-forgotten shack that had served as a barn some decades ago and that was far enough away from the palace to guarantee that no-one stumbled over the elf's little 'butterfly'. By now Aragorn wondered how such an encounter would end, since Wilwarin was now big enough to eat anyone unfortunate to cross her way unprepared.
"That is hardly fair, my lord," the elf complained, tightening his hold on the bags when they threatened to slip out of his grasp. "There is no proof that the increased spider activity is connected to Wilwarin in any way."
Legolas rolled his eyes while they directed their steps down the half-overgrown path that led to the shack.
"Well, let me see," he began, frowning in mock concentration. "It began about three weeks ago, that is only a few days after we arrived here with her, and it has been getting worse ever since. Really, Celylith, what other reason could there be? And don't tell me the spiders just want to play a little with our warriors!"
Noticing Aragorn's unbelieving look, he added, "He claimed that once when a dozen of them were about to have us for dinner."
"I am sure we would have found a way to communicate if you hadn't shot the last one of them, Legolas!" the silver haired elf insisted.
"That spider was about to eat you, my friend!" Legolas exclaimed, ignoring his now openly laughing friends from Rivendell.
"That's what you think," Celylith replied curtly. "Besides, there is no way they could have followed my tracks back here, I didn't touch anything besides that branch."
"Was it part of the nest?" Elladan asked slightly alarmed, fighting off a renewed fit of giggles.
"Only of the little one Wilwarin had built for herself, and you should have seen it! It was perfect; she is such a very clever little spider…"
The three brothers and Legolas traded a helpless look. You couldn't tell Celylith anything about spiders, it was just a waste of time to try and reason with him.
"But, Celylith," Aragorn began, carefully choosing his words, "I know I am very young and un-experienced, especially concerning things in Mirkwood, but I do seem to remember that spiders can have an exceptional sense of smell. And if you touched that branch, especially after taking one of their young, the whole colony will take up the scent and follow you, you know that. From what I've heard females don't take kindly to people who try to snatch one of their offspring."
"I didn't snatch her!" the elf protested, putting down the bags and taking out the key to the small hut they had reached by now. "I just couldn't leave her there all alone! Something could have eaten her!"
Elrohir snickered again.
"Uhm, Celylith, spiders are the ones that eat other things here. She would have been the menace to others, not the other way round."
Celylith glared at the highly amused twins.
"And what about wargs? A warg could eat a baby spider! Even a wolf could! Or a troll!"
"You are right, mellonamin, it was your duty to protect it," Legolas said quickly and laid a hand on the irate elf's shoulder. Celylith took such remarks personal.
"Wilwarin's not an 'it', Legolas, she's a she," his friend growled quietly and pushed the door open. "How would you like it if someone called you 'it' and 'the elf' all the time?"
Legolas didn't answer for he was far too busy fighting the urge to take one of the knives that hung in two leather sheaths on his belt and simply kill the spider that became visible now that the door swung open. Or kill Celylith if he didn't come to his senses soon, that still remained to be seen.
He could feel the twins next to him stiffen and Aragorn take a deep breath. True, he mused dryly, if one didn't see it quite as often as he did, then the sight could be rather alarming.
Celylith's sweet little spider was now at least five feet high and, with legs and all, about twice as wide. Four large, black legs could be seen on each side of its body, and the older it became, the more it began to become covered in black bristly hairs. The worst though were in the prince's opinion the eyes, the luminous compound eyes that were the most memorable part of its face. The rest of the space was covered with the large mouth and more pinchers than Legolas ever wanted to see at close quarters.
The spider began hissing and screeching as soon as it set eyes on them, straining against the leash that wound round its neck and secured it tightly to the wall.
"Wicked!! Wicked!! Nasty, evil elves, let me go! Nasty, wicked, nasty!!"
Celylith took a step closer to it.
"Don't worry, my little butterfly, it's only me! I've brought you some delicious bloody deer for lunch!" When the beast wouldn't calm down, he shot his friends a reproachful look. "See? You are scaring her! Get back a little!"
Only too willingly the three elves and the human complied, eyes fixed unwaveringly on the spider that really seemed to quieten down a little once they retreated and was now busy tearing through the bags with its pinchers and claws to get to the meat.
"These eyes…" Elladan muttered. "They just invite a knife, don't they?"
"My thoughts exactly, my friend," Legolas replied, smiling nervously.
"I never knew they grew the hair when they matured," Aragorn said, obviously fascinated against his will. "And I didn't know their eating habits were quite as disgusting," he added as the spider raised its head and hissed at them as if to challenge them to come closer, a piece of meat still dangling from its mouth.
"Neither did I, little brother," Elrohir stated, unconsciously taking a step backwards and reaching for his sword he had left at the palace. "I have happily lived for more than 2800 years without that knowledge and I could have happily done without for another 2800." He shot Celylith a dark look. "Another thing I have to thank him for."
"You have to do something, Legolas," Aragorn said, watching the silver haired elf that began to pat the spider's head now. Surprisingly, it didn't stop him, but that might have been because it was so busy grinding the bones of its meal. "Do something as long as we can still control it. Spiders aren't stupid, and it knows it's not yet strong enough to take on all of us. In a month or two that might be different though … and just think of what your father will say once he hears that his warriors are having that much trouble with the things because Celylith had to take one as a pet! We cannot deceive the others indefinitely, sooner or later someone will find out about all this…"
All of them shuddered. King Thranduil probably wouldn't be too pleased.
"You are right, mellonamin," Legolas said grimly, watching as the spider raised its head and eyed his elven friend as if it was contemplating eating him next. "This has gone far enough. As long as if its presence threatened no-one else, it was tolerable, but I will not have it endangering my people. Celylith!" he called, giving him a stern look.
"Yes, my lord?" he replied and stepped closer, neatly escaping a sharp claw that was trying to fasten around his ankle.
"We need to talk, my friend. About it."
"You mean her."
"That too, Celylith, that too."
That same evening, Elrond was walking with King Thranduil through the king's gardens, admiring the sight the autumnal parks presented. Even though they had already shed most of their leaves, the trees were still beautiful, the branches dark and slim and stretching towards the heavens like giant fingers. This part of Mirkwood, the part right around the woodking's halls, was truly beautiful, a last memory of what the whole forest had looked like before Sauron in the guise of the Necromancer had taken up residence in Dol Guldur, far to the south of here.
Quickly the Dark Lord's evil had spread throughout the once fair forest, and orcs, spiders and wargs began to multiply and harass the elves of Greenwood the Great. After only a few centuries the entire forest had fallen into darkness, its tress gnarly and bent, growing thicker and thicker as if to smother and suffocate all life that they could reach, the paths cutting through the wood like tunnels amidst a sea of hostile darkness. And the wood-elves had become suspicious and somewhat xenophobic, the foul things had turned the merry Silvan folk into warriors that were always hard-pressed to defend their home from the creeping darkness that sought to encroach them, even now that the tower was empty and Sauron gone.
"I would very much like to know where your thoughts are, my friend," the king's melodious voice cut through his contemplations.
Elrond turned from where he had stared into nothing and smiled sadly at the King of Mirkwood.
"I was remembering, Lord Thranduil, remembering things that once were."
Thranduil understood his guest's meaning almost instantly.
"I do the same," he admitted softly, stepping up to the Lord of Imladris and looking over the gardens. "I come here often to listen to the trees and remember what once was. That what was when my father was still alive and our people carefree and safe. But it's no use," he said grimly, giving Elrond a resigned look. "There are things that will never come back, things that are never going to be like they were before."
"Don't say that, Lord Thranduil," the dark haired elf to his left shook his head, "For not even the wisest of us can tell what the future will bring. A great storm is coming, and none knows what it will leave in its wake."
The woodland king shook his head in disgust, his eyes dim with memories.
"Death and pain, as these kinds of storms always bring. Destruction and loss for the younger races and suffering for the firstborn, for whatever will come to pass, the days of the elves are all but over. We will either leave these shores or stay and die where we have lived for so long."
Elrond inclined his head, his face stony and sad.
"We will need to fight once more for what we hold dear, your Majesty, and, Valar willing, for the last time before we can leave for the Blessed Realm. I for my part do not intend to desert Arda before I have seen Aragorn fulfil his destiny."
"Neither do I," Thranduil replied and smiled thinly when he saw the surprise on the other elf's face. "I will not leave before I have witnesses him becoming the leader you tell me he will become, because you know as well as I do that Legolas will not follow unless he has made sure that the Dúnadan will live in peace. And, Elbereth, I will not lose my only child to death or heartache, not if I can prevent it!"
"We cannot make such choices for our children, I fear," Elrond replied solemnly, shaking his head. "I pray to all the Valar that I will not experience of what you speak, but I have the premonition that…"
He took a deep breath and blinked, as if coming out of a deep trance.
"However, these things are still in the future, and there they should remain for the time being, for we can do nothing to prevent them now. Besides, there is still the question whether or not they will even survive this winter."
The golden haired elf laughed, gladly welcoming the direction the conversation was taking now.
"I cannot guarantee for anything, my lord. As I said, trouble is never far behind when your sons and Legolas get together. And now that Estel is able to move around freely, I fear the worst. There is a tiny ray of hope though, and that is that you are leaving in a day. I meant no offence, my lord," he quickly assured the dark haired elf lord next to him who had raised an amused eyebrow.
"None taken, mellonamin," Elrond smiled, inviting the king with a move of his hand to walk back towards the main building. "I know perfectly well of what you speak. I think the prospect of our now imminent departure is the only thing that has kept some of your people alive and sane, even though I think they haven't quite grasped the implications of the fact that I am taking only the twins with me."
"They will learn quickly enough," Thranduil sighed as they walked up the garden path. "Oh, they will."
"Come now, my lord, they are not that bad," Elrond said. "They are rather accident-prone, yes, but I do not think they are doing these things on purpose."
"Do you have proof for that assumption?"
"No," the Lord of Rivendell admitted, wrinkling his forehead in thought. "No, I don't, but I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt."
Thranduil laughed incredulously.
"You are far too trusting, Lord Elrond! Let me tell you one thing I have learned during these past twenty-something centuries: Things are never as they seem, especially not with my son or yours."
Elrond smiled slightly, stopping on the cobbled area just in front of the big window doors that led from one of the woodking's rooms to the gardens.
"Then you will have to keep a close eye on them for me, my friend."
Before the blonde elf at his side could reply, Galion, the king's butler, appeared in the doors, looking at them questioningly.
"Pardon my intrusion, my lords, but do you know where your sons are? Hithrawyn is looking for Estel, I believe."
"Isn't he in his quarters?" Elrond asked, slightly worried.
"No, Lord Elrond," the butler replied, giving the two pained-looking elf lords a sympathetic look. "He is nowhere to be found, and neither are the Lords Elladan and Elrohir, Captain Celylith or Prince Legolas."
Thranduil closed his eyes, trying to remember when he had seen them last. It had been about an hour ago, he decided finally, the five young ones had excused themselves after dinner… He sighed inwardly. He hadn't expected them to do anything before the twins had left.
'That was your first mistake,' a chuckling voice inside his head told him, 'The second was not to chain the two of them to the walls of their rooms until the twins had left.'
The golden haired king opened his eyes again and looked at his guest who had apparently come to the same conclusion as he had.
"An hour is a very long time," Elrond stated calmly. "Judging by that mischievous sparkle in my sons' eyes I saw earlier, I would think that they have already left the grounds."
"I think you are right, my lord," Galion sighed. Bowing slightly before the two of them, he added, "With your Majesty's permission I will go and ask the gatekeepers if they have left."
The elven king nodded, trying to remain calm.
"Please do that, Galion. And inform them also that I wish to see the prince and his companions in my rooms once they come back. No matter what hour it will be."
The other elf nodded and, with a last look at his lord's stricken face, he turned and quickly walked back the way he had come. The way things were going, he mused as he closed the door behind him, it was going to be a long and very interesting winter.
Elrond stifled a grin when he looked at his companion's slightly twitching face. Thranduil was really rather easy to incense.
"Somehow, your Highness, I am having doubts whether or not you will be able to keep an eye on them on your own."
"'Tis already too late for that, my lord, as you can see," the King of Mirkwood muttered as they were making their way inside the palace. "And this is only the beginning. May the Valar help us all."
The Lord of Imladris hid his grin behind one hand and put the other comfortingly on the other elf's shoulder. He was so unbelievably glad that Aragorn and Legolas were staying in King Thranduil's house for this winter and not in his…
With only the twins it would be almost peaceful, and if he could keep them inside the house, stopped them from going on any hunts, scouting trips or walks and locked away all sharp tools which could somehow cause any damage, they should be just fine.
He would have liked to assure the king that he was sure that the five young ones weren't up to anything foolish and that everything would be just fine, but that would have been an outright lie.
And one could say what one wanted about the Master of Rivendell, he did never lie, not even to comfort a so obviously despairing elf.
A few miles to the south, the forest was dark and quiet, its stillness only interrupted by an occasional shuffle in the dark trees high above the grassy ground or the sounds of almost inaudible steps that soon disappeared in the distance.
That quiet, however, did not last for much longer, for on a path that led further southwards there appeared a group of six beings, and it had been a long time since a more curious group had passed through here.
It consisted of four elves and a human that talked quietly among each other and a giant spider that put up quite a fierce resistance while being dragged along with them. It really wasn't very happy with its current situation, judging by the almost continuous hissing that emanated from under the hood that was fastened on the beast's head.
The group stopped for a second and one of the elves, with dark hair and an annoyed expression on his fair face, said exasperatedly,
"If it doesn't stop that soon, I will kill it. Right now and right here, without even giving it a second thought."
"I will gladly offer you my sword for this noble deed, brother," the human said, wiping his sweat-covered face with a dark shirtsleeve. "I still don't understand why we couldn't take a torch with us. I know you four don't have problems in the dark, but we humans are usually not able to see at night as clearly as in the light of day."
The silver haired elf looked outraged at the elf that had spoken earlier.
"Kill 'it'? Well, sons of Elrond, let me tell you one thing: If any of you harms as much as a single hair on Wilwarin's head, you will regret it."
"I seriously doubt that," the dark haired elf's twin grinned. "The only thing I would regret would be not having taken off the whole head." He quickly took a few steps backwards to avoid the clout Celylith had aimed at him. "The answer to your question, Estel, is very simple: You just don't light fires in Mirkwood at night. Sometimes it's better not to see your surroundings clearly, believe me. What I don't understand is why we couldn't take any horses."
At that the last member of the group grinned wickedly, his blonde hair shining like flowing silver in the sparse moonlight.
"Well, Elrohir, I think I can answer that: First, because we could never have explained to the guards just why we wanted to take a walk with our horses, and second: Do I really need to explain to you what would happen if my horse saw you ever again?"
The younger twin winced while the others broke out in laughter.
"It's not a horse, it's a demon," he muttered under his breath. "It doesn't even have a name. May I suggest one? What about … let me think … 'Goroth'?"
Legolas' face darkened and he took a step closer to the dark haired elf, a threatening expression on his face that didn't seem to disturb the other in the slightest, for he only jumped behind Aragorn and continued.
"No, that's doesn't sound quite right, what about 'Wethrinaer'? Not bad, but 'Anca' is better, I think…"
The young ranger tried to look at his elven brother who was hiding behind his back before fixing a pleading stare on his irate friend who was coming closer, obviously trying to figure out how to get to the other elf without hurting the human in the process.
"'Jaws?'" he asked in confusion. "Why 'jaws'? It's a horse, not a bear, isn't it?"
Legolas stopped in front of them, a malicious light shining in his eyes.
"Didn't he tell you, Strider? Didn't your dear brother tell you just what happened in those caves? Well, if that's the case, I think it is my duty to enlighten you…"
"Don't you dare, Legolas!" Elrohir said quickly, peeking out from behind his younger brother's shoulder. "I was just wondering why it didn't have a name, that's all."
"It does have a name," Celylith interjected, patting the hissing spider to calm it some. "It's called Rashwe, that's at least what Legolas told me once we arrived back at the palace. But I have to admit I don't really understand what it has done to deserve that name. It always seemed to be quite a nice horse."
Legolas nodded grinning. It wasn't uncommon to wait with naming a horse or weapon until a suitable name had presented itself, and after their little journey under the mountains, 'Trouble' seemed to be more than fitting indeed.
Elladan laughed loudly while his twin grumbled,
"A nice horse!? Rashwe, indeed! But I still think that Thaurer or Anca would have been a more fitting name."
"Wait!" Aragorn demanded, thoroughly confused now. "What happened? You said it didn't like you, but why 'jaws'? You're an elf, which horse would not at least tolerate you?"
Elladan put an arm around the ranger's shoulders.
"'Tis a long tale, brother. It's sufficient to say that the demon-hor… I mean Rashwe," he amended quickly, smiling at Legolas' scowling face, "is a very special case. I will explain everything later."
"Oh no, you won't!" Elrohir stated threateningly, glaring darkly at his brother.
Legolas rolled his eyes.
"Could we possibly go on now? I really do not want to spend the entire night out here."
"Right," Celylith agreed. "Wilwarin might get scared with that horrible hood over her head."
Elrohir shook his head unbelievingly while they walked down the dark path leading to the south.
"She won't get scared, Celylith. She is a spider, spiders aren't afraid of the dark. And you know as well as I do that without that hood she would bring the whole forest down on us with her screeching."
"She wasn't screeching, Elrohir!" Celylith complained, a hurt look in his dark blue eyes. "She was talking."
"Talking?" Legolas repeated, arching an eyebrow in amusement. "Well, I think 'Nasty, wicked elves, nasty!', 'Let me go!' and 'Bad Leafie, bad Leafie, bad bad bad!' qualifies as screeching."
The others chuckled at that, but were quick to hide their mirth when they looked at the prince's constantly darkening face. Aragorn had called Legolas 'Greenleaf' earlier today, which the spider had picked up quickly to swear at the elf, telling him repeatedly what a 'bad Leafie' he was, much to the ranger's amusement.
"Is there something funny, Estel?" Legolas asked in a friendly tone of voice, pulling fiercely at his rope when Wilwarin once again refused to move.
"No, not at all," Aragorn assured his friend and added after a moment, "Leafie."
The fair haired prince ignored the laughing voices of his friends and trudged on. Oh, how he hated that spider! With the greatest of pleasures he would take his knives and simply…
He was just envisioning all the things he wanted to do to Celylith's 'butterfly' when they reached a small clearing from which there led two paths into the dark woods, one to the south-west and one to the south-east.
"Very well, mellonamin," he said and turned to his silver haired friend, "Which way now?"
Celylith looked at him, a stubborn gleam in his eyes.
"I still don't see why we have to abandon her! She wouldn't harm a fly, would you, Wilwarin?"
The spider hissed and made a move as if to bite off the elf's hand through her hood before he quickly withdrew it.
"No, she wouldn't harm a fly," Aragorn commented dryly. "But with an elf or a human, it's an entirely different thing."
"And the answer is, my friend," Elladan spoke up, "That we are not 'abandoning' her. We are setting her free. She is a giant spider, not a pet!"
"Why can't she be both?" Celylith asked persistently. "It's only in her nature to hiss and try to eat us. She doesn't know any better."
Legolas sighed tiredly.
"Because she is leading her colony right to the palace, Celylith. You have heard reports of the other warriors, there haven't been this many spiders near my father's house for several centuries! And I for my part do not want to wait until her mother comes looking for her, we should get rid of her as fast as possible."
Legolas stopped as Aragorn tugged on his sleeve, silver eyes gleaming in the moonlight, fixed on something behind the elven prince's shoulder.
"I think it is already too late for that," he said with forced calmness, eyes growing wider by the second.
The four elves turned slowly around and froze instantly when they saw the silver threads that wound through the canopies of the trees and the many dark, hairy bodies that began to make their way down to the ground.
Before the little group could retreat, the little glade filled with a mass of black, multi-legged creatures that stared at them with large, hungry, luminous eyes, but they were strangely silent, something which made the five young beings even more nervous.
"You might be correct there, my friend," Legolas whispered wryly, his hands quietly nearing his quiver and his eyes darting from one potential target to the next.
If they ever got out of this, he would kill Celylith, he promised himself darkly as he closed his left hand around the handle of one of his blades. He would simply kill him, and every sane person would understand his motives…
The other four grabbed the hilts of their knives and swords tightly, looking at each other with grim eyes while the black flood rolled even closer, cutting off their escape and closing in on them, the bulky dark bodies seemingly swallowing the pale light of the moon that filtered through the trees and leaving them in darkness under the starless sky.
TBC...
ada - father (daddy)
úlairi - the Nazgûl, Ringwraiths
mellonamin - my friend
The Dúnadan - Chieftain of the Rangers (one of Aragorn's many titles)
goroth - horror, dread
wethrinaer - deceitful one
*rubs hands* Finally! A cliffy! I was beginning to think that I was ill or something - I have missed them sooo much! *evil laugh* Well, my friends, what will happen? Will the spiders eat our intrepid, uhm, quintet? Will Celylith let his little pet go? And will their fathers kill them IF they manage to escape? All this and much more will be revealed in the next post, coming up in a few days, the more reviews I get the sooner! So, please review? It's for your own good, you know! *g*
Additional A/N:
Coreinha - You hop up and down, huh? Well, that's an interesting reaction, that much is sure... *g* As I said, they refused to tell me. BUT I have some wine here that could very well losen their tongues - so, just wait a little, perhaps I'll be able to tell you in a few decades! *g* *giggles with you* Yes, a drunk Elrond IS an interesting thought, but hey, the poor guy deserves some fun once in a while (about once every two millennia!), doesn't he?
Xsilicax - Me too! I have the world's biggest arachnophobia! *grins sheepishly* Yeah, well, the wine incident... Let's just say part of it is personal experiance. A while ago, when the Extended DVD had just come out, a few friend and I decided to watch it and play a little drinking game. With Vodka. And it was, like, "Drink a shot every time the Ring is shown", or "every time Frodo looks around with those huge blue eyes of his", or "every time Merry and Pippin do something stupid". Ah, as you probably can imagine, we didn't last very long. I lasted longer than most, and after they get to Rivendell everything gets blurry even for me. *shrugs* I still can't remember much about that night, but I _think_ we ate cold rice at some point or other. No-one else can affirm that, but they don't know if it's wrong either... *g* Owwww.. *blushes* Thanks so much for the compliments! Huh? *confused look* "That" who was alright? I couldn't find that! Were is the mistake, come here precious, I'll find you... Thanks a lot for the review!!
TrinityTheSheDevil - *grins* Perhaps I even will, one day. But I have to get them to tell what they did, I don't know myself. They are quite stubborn when they want to be, and Erestor can't remember anything. 'C' word? Which 'C' word? *clueless expression* Oh, you mean the cliffy? Come on, it's not that bad - there are worse yet to come! Mhahahaha! *evil cackle*
Carrie - *glomps back* CARRIE! Nice to see you! Nope, they didn't want me "up there", they sent me back. Now I'm stuck here... *grins evilly* Right you are, m'dears, you are quite doomed. But I will have so much fun!! *hurt look* No, I don't want to bang them into trees! I'm not that uncreative! I have come up with new and exciting things to do to them! Mhahaha! Oh, yes, Hithrawyn is quite stressed right now, don't pay him any heed. He will be alright once the twins are back in Rivendell. I think. LOL, there is still hope! Indeed there is! but not much, Ara-kins, not much... *huggles Carrie* And YOUR reviews make me laugh! Besides, they make me sit in front of my computer, grinning like a maniac, but that's beside the point. Thanks so much for the loooong review!!
Acacia - Ho! Acacia! *huggles her* Great to 'see' you! Yes, well, you might be correct there, there is much fun ahead - for us, but not necessarily for our intrepid duo... *evil grin* Yup. He probably SHOULD know better, but Thranduil _is_ a stupid blonde wood-elf, after all... Cliffy's here, don't worry! Since I know how much you LOVE them... *g*
Mouse - *innocent puppy-dog eyes* Me? Planning? Why, nothing! I am not planning anything! This will be a nice, calm fic, nothing serious will happen, no violence, torture, caves - nothing! Mhahahaha! Well, you know, about the cliffy ... there is a tiny one here, nothing horrible, just a noce little... put down that sword, now! It's not _that bad_, is it?
Alilacia - *g* Yeah, Celylith is quite ... unusual, for a wood-elf. (Elrohir: Insane! I'm telling you, he is three sandwiches short of a picnic!) YOu fear for Mirkwood's Halls? Me too, my friend, me too.... Well, 'this guy' is the guy the guy from the last chapter hired to do what he wanted. *frowns* Does that make any sense? Probably not... And yes, he will wreak some havoc, but I think that'll be another story to be told another day, or in another fic. We'll see.
ThE iNsAnE oNe - Thranduil: Am not! *hic* Elrond: Righr, m'friendsch ischn't drrunck. Me neitscher. LOL, yup, the two are definitely a little inebriated... *g* ROTFL! Legolas and his friend Mulmu, huh? Now _that_ is interesting... So Nólad is now living with you, is he? Poor him, I really DO pity him - but then agian, I think it's better than having to spend an eternity with Cornallar in the Halls of Mandos... And he has a stuffed cat? O-kay, why not... Fine, now I will ask: WHAT IS A SQUARG? A mix between a warg and ? *grins a little* I kinda figured that Gwandath Annath is a future story, but still, it's EVIL to mention it now! But hey, whay did I expect anything else from you... *shrugs* Poor you, science finals? That IS bad, as bad as it gets... Thanks a lot for the huge review! *huggles her*
Kaeera - Weiist du was? Nach Tolkiens Logik (eine betonte Silbe wie á ist das gleich wie aa, also Namárie ist gleich Namaarie) koennte man dich eigentlich auch Kaéra nennen - sieht doch auch chic aus, oder? Ignorier' mich, ich bin seltsam drauf... Puh! Keine weitere Mary-Sue-Schreiberin! Das ist beruhigend... *heult* Ha, reib Salz in die Wunde! Nein, ich habe X2 noch nicht gesehen, werde ich aber diese Woche! Und Matrix: Reloaded, uind beides in OV! Ich kann's kaum erwarten! *huepft auf und nieder* Ich? Angst schreiben? Wie kommst du senn darauf? *unschuldiger Blick* *grinst verschlagen* Was denkst du denn, fuer wen ich erwaehnte Szene eingebaut habe? Wann hast du Geburtstag? Vielleicht schaffe ich es ja, bis dahin eine kleine Story zu basteln... *g*
Lina - Yeah, you're right - 'erotic' ... 'erratic' ... same difference... *g* So you like the "Harbinger of Doom"? I thought you might... *g* Not again! Get off the poor boy! I mean, really, Seobryn isn't even evil! He is officially Estel's friend, so you better behave yourself! *evil grin* Yeah, a drunk Thranduil is quite a sight, isn't he? You know what, somtimes I really pity Éomer, who is still riding 'hopelessly, pointlessly South'. Poor guy, really. I think one of these days he's going to lose it. No-one can endure so much torture and remain sane in the process... *g*
Halo - *glomps back* Great to see you! And the pics I've already seen are just perfect! Really! I am soooooo jealous... Wow, so you've got a new obsession? The EKATOH? Uhm I haven't seen Matrix: Reloaded yet, but I will! Thurday or Friday! In English of course, there arwe movies (such as this one and LOTR) that you just can't watch in any other language... *snickers* That's exactly what I think every time! I mean, when Frodo regains consciousness in Rivendell and Elrond greets him, I always expect him to say, "Welcome to Rivendell ... Mr. Anderson!" Don't tell me, I'm weird...
Nilbrethiliel - Okay, now you've got me thoroughly confused. English or German, you've got to make a decision, or what's left of my brain will implode right here, right now. I know, that's not really much anyway, but still ... I've grown quite attached to it, in a way. And I will have you know, ma'am, that I haven't written any real angst just yet. I mean, there will be some in this chapter and in chapter 5, but not yet. Hmmm, and in ch 6, and... *g* Yup, Seobryn'll definitely be in this story, I haven't quite decided to what extent, but he will play an important role. *pats his head* He is cute, isn't he? Okay, thanks for the review, whatever language you may prefer.
Helen T - *grins evilly* Yes, poor Thranduil, you could say that. And OF COURSE they will all get into trouble, you could even say _because_ of Celylith... Thanks so much for reviewing! It really helps to keep writing!
Zam - Yeah, well, you might have a point there. But then, I would have to write several prequels, and I can't write more than one story at a time. Perhaps after this one, we'll see. Uh-oh, now you've done it! Legolas has remembered the tree incident! *closes eyes* May your sould find peace in the Halls of Mandos. Haldir: *shrieks* She is NOT staying here! LOL, whatever... *winces as well* Poor Feanor. Lina can be quite ... forceful sometimes, huh? Estel: *rubs his chest* Tell me about it. Uhm, actually, it says in "The Hobbit" that Thranduil liked silver better, sorry. Thranduil: Ah well, okay, then I LIKE SILVER!!! *g* Yes, Celylith really likes Wilwarin very much, and we'll see quite a lot of them in this chappie. Well, another Nólad....I don't think so. Nólad was unique, I think. But we'll see. Maybe. *g*
NaughtyNat - Glad you like it so much! Well, I try to update about every four or five days, if possible. No, don't be sorry for asking, initially I was quite cross with C&S, really! BUt it was an accident, they didn't do that on purpose - or so I hope! Thanks a lot for your review! They really help me! Yes, precious, they do!
Alexa - I never said Aragorn would get off worse! You are jumping to conclusions, my friend... Rest assured that your elfling will get his fair share of injuries. Never fear, I'm too sadistic and evil to let him get away unscathed! Unfortunately I have to admit that the twins and Elrond will leave in ch 5 and won't make an appearance again after that. Sorry, but I was running out of ideas to hurt all of them, Legolas and Aragorn are more than enough!
E - Well, who cursed Thranduil ... Mhahaha, I did! I'm evil, I know... Hm, Thranduil didn't really choose to get into trouble with them, nor did he want to, he was just a little too drunk to think straight. Happens to the best of us. *blushes slightly* And I absolutely agree with you. Somhow they manage to attract touble, I don't know how either... *blinks slowly* Uhm ... okay ... Gandalf's fault ... or rather Magneto's ... whatever you say, my friend... *g* Thanks for the review!
CrazyLOTRfan - Uhm, frankly, no, it can't be good. It ISN'T good, just you wait. I'll try to update every four days or so, depends on my college work how long I will be able to keep that up. Thanks for reviewing!
One15 - *nickt ernsthaft* Jajaja, so sind die Vaeter halt. Denken immer, nur weil sie Maenner sind, haetten sie 'ne Ahnung von Technik - was ja allgemein definitiv NICHT so ist, nech wahr? - und dann zerstoeren sie alles, was nicht bei drei auf den Baeumen ist... *schuettelt Kopf* Maenner. *grosse Augen* Du gehst extra meinetwegen rueber zu deiner Freundin? Och, das ist ja suess, danke... *rot werd* Vielen Dank fuer all die Komplimente, ist eigentlich nicht gut fuer mein Ego, aber ab und zu mal schoen zu hoeren. Danke fuer die review und moege deion Computer bald gesunden! *g*
Shandrial - *blushes* That's great to hear! That you enjoyed the other story, I mean... I have to agree, Elrond is VERY good at hiding his feelings. But then again, he is the Lord of Rivendell and the Keeper of Vilya and all that... *shrugs* Whatever. Thanks fot reviewing! It's very nice to 'see' you again!
Sr - Hmm, good question. I guess the twins were still quite ... let's say 'upset', shall we? I mean, you know how they are, and with Estel and Legolas half-dead... *shudders at mere thought* I has probably tkaen some time for them to realise that Seobryn isn't the enemy - and elven stares can be quite uncomfortable... Oh, and I try to post every four days. *shrugs* I don't know for how long I can keep that up, but I'll try.
Firnsarnien - *grins guiltily* Now how did you know that? Actually, my toes and finger and every crossable part of my body. Ah, that does sound so ... wrong, somehow, just ignore me, will ya? Thanks. *points* See? It's not a real cliffy, it's a baby cliffy, kind of... Thanks for reviewing! Hope you liked it despite the cliffy...
Arwen-Evenstar - *g* Thanks! Great you like it, the twins my favourites, too - well, some of them, anyway. This is soon enough? I'm doing my best!
Kandice - Wow! Two very ... interesting reviews, just for me! Thanks! *huggles her* Well, MY life is fine, I think, but yours sounds quite stressing somehow. Whatever gave me that idea? I don't know, must have been something you said... Oh, your brother got you cherry pie? My brother would NEVER do that! *sighs* Life's not fair, I don't know why I even expected it to... Oh, yes, rub it in, will you? No, I haven't seen Matrix: Reloaded yet, thanks for asking! *grrrr* but I WILL! *shakes fist threateningly* Tomorrow or Friday, I will see it, that I swear by Ilúvatar himself! Hmm, okay, that was a little weird. Whatever, thanks for the review!
Salara - Och, die sind doch gar nicht so kompliziert, oder? Ich find sie immer am einfachsten... Na ja, ich praktizier sie ja auch schon ne Weile... LOL, ich habe also Rivendell verwanzt? Das ist auf jden Fall mal eine interessante Idee... Waere wirklich sehr praktisch, das muss ich schon zugeben... Tja, mit Celylith's kleinem Schmetterling ... das war alles seine Idee! Ich hatte daran keinen Anteil! Aha! Eine weitere Anhaengerin der mysterious-hints-Philosophie! Lass mich dich umarmen, Schwester! O-kay, das war seltsam, ignoriert' mich einfach... Und das Unheil dauert noch ne Weile, ich brauche immer ewig, bis ich auf den Punkt komme... *g*
Firniswin - Oh, okay. Here's the next bit! Happy? *g* Thanks a lot for the compliments, and you just HAVE to love Estel, haven't you? He is so cute! *huggles him* Thanks for the review!
LOTRMatrixStarwarsFan - Woho! Hi! *huggles her* Nice to see you again! Elrond acting OOC? *innocent smile* Why? Because he got drunk and himself, his advisors and Prince of Eryn Lasgalen almost killed? Could that be the reason? *g* Sorry, I really can't tell you what they did since I don't know either. But whatever it was, Gil-galad and Oropher weren't happy about it... Thanks for the review!
Marbienl - Oh, don't worry, FF.net is doing that to me all the time... I think it hates me though. That's just fine with me, since I hate it too. Hey! Atop poking me, that won't help either! And I really think I will save that part of the plot for the next dtory, it kind of a two-for-one-deal... *g* LOL, Celyith has spidernapped Wilwarin? Yes, you could say so, I guess. I thought so, too, the height, I mean. Around seven or eight feet tall, I think. *blinks* A red haired, overgrown, middle-aged dwarf? I have to agree there, my friend. That definitely IS disturbing! And better not tell Legolas about that little vision... *evil grin* Well, Hithrawyn would probably like a drugged estel, I'm quite sure of that. And don't worry, we will hear more about the nightmares. Later. Okay, thanks a lot for the huge review!
Aurienia - Oww, that's sweet, you have to study and still remember me! Thanks! *huggles her* Well, I guess Thranduil would have liked to faint, but that would've been rather un-kingly behaviour, wouldn't it? Oh, don't worry, I will keep dropping some hints, but I doubt you'll be able to fully understand him before the next story. *hugs Aurienia back* Thanks! I missed you too! Well, and yes, there is a cliffy, but only a tiny little one. Not even a real one, really... *g*
Miss Understood - Well, I don't think so. Lina isn't exactly fond of Seobryn I think, she hasn't quite forgiven him for not rescuing Estel yet... *g* Huh? OF COURSE 'flabbergasted' is a real word, just look it up in a dictionary! I wouldn't just think of a convenient word! Well, maybe I would, but I didn't! *g*
Well, that's it for now. Thanks a lot for all the reviews, and I'll try to update Sunday, but I don't know yet. Friends of mine are coming to stay over Ascension Day and the weekend, and we are going to have so much fun! So I can't promise I will be able to do _anything_ on Sunday, but I'll try!
A/N:
*g* Yeah, well, the wine incident was quite funny... (Thranduil: Was not! Elrond: Oh, do be quiet! We didn't force you or anything!)
Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what _exactly_ they have done, they refused to tell me. And believe me, I tried, but I think they'd rather let themselves be cut into tiny little pieces and fed to a cave troll than tell me... *shrugs* They are a little bit shy, I guess...
Yes, Wilwarin IS an adorable little spider, and this chapter we will see quite a lot of her and Celylith. More than everybody else would like, actually... *evil grin*
This chapter is a little bit more serious than the other two; we have a little bit of Legolas angst and a little bit of Thranduil/Elrond angst (not what YOU think, for cryin' out loud!), a fact which I solely blame on the TTT soundtrack. Never hear songs such as "The Leave Taking" or "Isengard Unleashed" while writing fanfics. It doesn't exactly create a ... cheerful mood. *g*
Very well, on to chapter 3, which is this story's first cliffy! Yay me! *readers growl and begin to take out various weapons, sharp tools, etc.* BUT it's not as bad as many others in "AEFAE", so don't worry. We also have lots about the little spider, a little bit about demon-horses and very anxious fathers. Oh, and did I mention a cliffy? *grabs her pink earmuffs and runs away cackling evilly*
Enjoy and review, please!
Chapter 3
'To the left, idiot, to the left!' an insistent voice in his head screamed, and with a silent curse Aragorn obeyed, crouching low and rolling to the left to escape the silver gleaming blade that cut through the air just above his right shoulder. He quickly gained his feet again and brought his sword up in front of him, retreating slowly to buy himself some more time to catch his breath. His wrists hurt, as did some of his ribs, but he resolutely ignored his body's discomfort.
'And just for how much longer do you think you can keep him at bay?' the voice said, raising a mental eyebrow in amusement. 'If you're really lucky, I think it will be … half a minute?'
The young ranger growled annoyed.
"Then why don't you come out and take over the fight?" he asked, for the moment oblivious that he was talking to himself.
His opponent threw a confused glance at him.
"What?"
Aragorn ignored the question and attacked, feinting to the left, but the other quickly realised what his intentions were and pushed him back.
Before any of them could make another move, a voice interrupted their fight.
"Elrohir! Stop it! Can't you see that Aragorn's ready to drop any second now?"
As if on cue the two brothers lowered their weapons, turning into the direction of the voice.
"I am not, Legolas!" the human protested, running a from the exertion slightly shaking hand over his face, wondering about the amount of perspiration that had somehow accumulated on his brow. Before his little encounter with Cornallar and his men he could have gone on like this for at least another half an hour before tiring this much.
Legolas rolled his eyes as he idly ran his fingers over the fletchings of an arrow whose tip he had just sharpened.
"Oh, please, of course you are and…"
"He is right, Estel. I should have noticed, I'm sorry," Elrohir apologised, cutting the prince off and sheathing his sword as he stepped closer to his human brother. "Why don't you sit down?"
Aragorn turned dark, reproachful eyes on his elven friend.
"See what you've done."
The prince just grinned down at him from where he sat on top of a pole that was used for teaching different sword moves to the novices. Any human would look ridiculous up there, Aragorn mused darkly, but Legolas just looked his usual, graceful self. How it could be comfortable though was a mystery to him. Then again, his race didn't sleep in trees either.
"I mean it, Estel," Elrohir repeated and pressed the young human down on a bench just to the left of Legolas' pole. "You have done well today, for the first sparring match in months. But it won't help any if you collapse from exhaustion now. Father might decide to stay here after all, and I think the news that Elladan and I were staying would be enough to push poor Hithrawyn over the edge."
His young brother grinned at that. Elrohir was probably right there, the only thing that seemed to prevent the master healer from going insane was the fact that the twins were leaving the day after tomorrow.
He absent-mindedly rubbed his wrists as he remembered his brothers' faces when their father had told them that there was absolutely no way they would be allowed to stay as well.
"I couldn't do that to them!" Elrond exclaimed, looking scandalised at the mere thought. "Hithrawyn and the other healers ... King Thranduil ... Mirkwood itself ... definitely not, my sons! We need the wood-elves as allies, not enemies!"
"Ada!" Elladan complained, "We are not that bad!"
Elrond just looked at his oldest and raised an eyebrow.
"Let me phrase it like this, my sons – and you two as well," he nodded into the direction of Legolas and Celylith who were keeping back a little, grinning broadly at the identical look of indignation that Aragorn and his elven brothers wore, "If Sauron ever does something truly unforgivable – and I do not mean trivialities such as trying to conquer all of Middle-Earth – I will allow all five of you to pay him a visit. After a week he will come crawling to the front door of the Last Homely House, begging for mercy! I would wager he'd even be willing to trade in all of the úlairi to get rid of you."
The Lord of Rivendell gave a mock shudder.
"It would have to be a terrible transgression though, not even the Dark Lord deserves that..."
"Father!!" the three of them exclaimed with wide eyes.
Elrond gave them a quick smile before turning serious again.
"The answer remains the same: Elladan and Elrohir will accompany me home while Estel will remain here for the winter and follow in the spring as soon as the weather permits. And that is final."
"Are they hurting again?" Elrohir's softly spoken question brought him back to reality.
The young ranger looked up from where he had been rmassgaing his hands and quickly shook his head.
"No. No, I was just thinking."
Legolas hopped down from his seat, landing soundlessly on the stone tiles that covered this remote corner of the courtyard. He leaned his refilled quiver against the stone bench and turned to his friends.
"Let me see, Strider," he demanded, grabbing the human's left wrist.
Aragorn opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again without having said a word. Legolas was far stronger than he was, and if the blonde elf wanted to inspect his wrists, then he would do it, no matter how much he assured him that they were fine. He rolled his eyes as his friend gently turned his hands palms-up; sometimes it could be really annoying how much his family and Legolas fretted over him when he was injured.
'Ha', he thought, 'The next time he is hurt, I will make sure he knows exactly what being mothered to no end feels like!'
The fair haired elf lightly touched the slowly fading scars that wound round the ranger's wrist. When they had finally got to Aragorn, he had been tightly bound for over a week, because his captors hadn't wanted to take the risk of untying him for even a second after an escape attempt. By the time they had tried to get the bonds off him, they had cut into the flesh of the man's wrists and forearms so deeply that it had taken Lord Elrond quite a long time to loosen them. The result had been that Estel hadn't been able to really hold anything on his own for about a week, and the wrists were still weak and hurt.
"Ada said the scars would disappear completely in a few weeks," Elrohir said softly, "And your wrists haven't taken any permanent harm. Just give it time."
"I know, I know," Aragorn sighed, trying to twist his hands out of Legolas' grip and shooting him a dark glare the other didn't even seem to register when he failed. "It's just frustrating." He gave Legolas another look before turning back to his elven brother. "Why don't you go and see where Elladan and Celylith are with the 'sweet little spider's' lunch? We'll wait here."
Elrohir gave his fair haired friend a quick glance and nodded at his brother, disappearing quickly into the direction of the palace.
"Legolas?" Aragorn asked when the younger twin had passed out of earshot, "What is it? And could I possibly have my hands back now?"
Legolas' head shot up and he quickly released the human's wrist.
"Forgive me, mellonamin, I was in thought."
"And where exactly were you?" Aragorn prompted, giving him a slight smile that was not returned.
Legolas didn't say anything for a while before admitting softly,
"Back in that forest in the little clearing where I left you in Cornallar's hands without doing anything to help you."
The young man shook his head, suppressing a shudder of fear that raced down his spine when the elf's name was mentioned. He really didn't want to remember him or Donyc, the commander of the humans Cornallar had hired to help him capture him...
Aragorn blinked quickly, returning to the present. Elladan had warned him that something like this might happen, that Legolas wouldn't be able to easily put behind him that he had left his best friend behind, as he saw it…
"You didn't know I was there, Legolas," he said slowly, closely eyeing his friend. "And how could you have? Cornallar may have been insane, but he wasn't stupid, he knew exactly what he was doing. You had no reason to suspect that I was in the camp and besides, you were injured. You weren't thinking clearly."
His friend bowed his head at his words and his fair hair fell forwards over his shoulders, framing his face with soft golden tresses.
"I did. I was."
"What do you mean?" Aragorn questioned, his forehead wrinkling in confusion.
Legolas slowly raised his head again and looked him in the eye.
"I was suspicious," he said, his usually bright eyes dark with self-accusation, "I suspected Donyc kept something from me; I just didn't know what it was. I should have known they weren't hunters, I should have known what they were up to, I … I should have done something, anything. But I rode on, and left you there. Had I only done something, everything would have been different, and you would probably be in a much better shape than you are now. It is all my fault. I should have known."
For a moment the young human was just stunned by his friend's statement, but he quickly recovered and shook his head vigorously.
"Legolas, what are you talking about?" he asked, grabbing the elf's forearm and shaking him lightly. "This doesn't make any sense!" He shook his head when Legolas made a move to say something and added, "Now you listen to me for a second, you stubborn elf!"
He put a finger under his friend's chin and raised his head until their eyes met.
"First, you were delirious. Elladan has told me everything about your memorable arrival in Rivendell, and as a qualified healer I can assure you that you were not thinking clearly.
Second, if you really had noticed anything, Donyc would have killed you. I heard them talking about it, Cornallar told him not to harm you until he had no other choice, but if you found out something, he was authorised to shoot you. And in the condition you were in, he would have succeeded.
Third, nothing would have been different. The only thing Donyc wanted was to break me, and he would always have found an excuse or opportunity to try exactly that, believe me, Legolas.
And Forth, this – was – not – your – fault. Nothing of it was. You saved my life, once again. You shouldn't have known, you couldn't have known, and I have thanked Ilúvatar many times that you didn't. I choose hurting wrists over a dead friend at any time."
Slowly, very slowly the prince's face broke into a smile as he accepted what his friend had said.
"If it were only your hands…" he began, but stopped quickly when he noticed the long-suffering look Aragorn gave him. "Peace, my friend, I have heard your words. Thank you."
"No," Aragorn said, giving the elf's arm a squeeze before letting go of him, "Thank you, Legolas."
Legolas only nodded, still smiling at the ranger who noticed with satisfaction that some of the guilt and pain in the blonde elf's eyes had disappeared. It would take the other a while to really believe that he was truly not at fault and that no-one blamed him, but in the end he would.
'Elves,' Aragorn smiled inwardly, 'Always so keen to take all the blame on their shoulders…'
At this point a hushed conversation met their ears which chased the sombre mood away in an instant.
"Where is the boy? I thought you wanted to ask him if he wanted to come as well? You know Estel would be happy if he came, the boy's leaving in two weeks after all."
"And that's a very good thing if you ask me, Elrohir. If he hadn't been accepted as an apprentice and would have had to remain here, I think he would have gone insane. I have asked him, by the way, but all he did was stare at me as if I was about to eat him, shake his head, slowly back away and slam the door in my face."
A muffled snicker could be heard.
"Well, but I still don't understand what took you so long, brother. It can't be so hard to get enough meat from the kitchens for a giant spider, can it?"
"Hush, Elrohir!" Celylith's voice hissed softly, "Do you want anyone to overhear us?"
"Frankly? Yes."
"Careful, Elrondion, careful," Celylith threatened. "If anyone finds out about Wilwarin because you couldn't keep your voice down, I will not rest until I have located her mother and set her on you."
"And we wouldn't want that," Elladan's snickering voice interjected, "I would not only lose my dear twin brother but a treasured pet as well! It would be a tragedy indeed if anyone found out that the noble Lord Celylith, captain of one King Thranduil's guards, is keeping a giant, ugly, hairy, black, malicious, ill-tempered, in short, a perfect, adorable spider as his pet!"
Right then the three of them rounded the corner, and Legolas' grin widened when he saw the mock fury on his friend's face who couldn't do anything but glare at the brothers because he was carrying various very heavy-looking bags that were obviously filled with Wilwarin's lunch.
"Shhh, Elladan!" the silver haired elf said a little louder this time, scowling at the older twin. "Not so loud! If I weren't carrying all this, I would hurt you for talking about her like that."
"She is a spider, Celylith!" Legolas said, rising to his feet and pulling his human friend with him who quickly masked his grin when Celylith shot him a dark glare. "A spider whose family is coming ever closer if one can believe the sentries!"
His elven friend gave him a hurt look while they were quietly making their way out of the gates to a remote, half-forgotten shack that had served as a barn some decades ago and that was far enough away from the palace to guarantee that no-one stumbled over the elf's little 'butterfly'. By now Aragorn wondered how such an encounter would end, since Wilwarin was now big enough to eat anyone unfortunate to cross her way unprepared.
"That is hardly fair, my lord," the elf complained, tightening his hold on the bags when they threatened to slip out of his grasp. "There is no proof that the increased spider activity is connected to Wilwarin in any way."
Legolas rolled his eyes while they directed their steps down the half-overgrown path that led to the shack.
"Well, let me see," he began, frowning in mock concentration. "It began about three weeks ago, that is only a few days after we arrived here with her, and it has been getting worse ever since. Really, Celylith, what other reason could there be? And don't tell me the spiders just want to play a little with our warriors!"
Noticing Aragorn's unbelieving look, he added, "He claimed that once when a dozen of them were about to have us for dinner."
"I am sure we would have found a way to communicate if you hadn't shot the last one of them, Legolas!" the silver haired elf insisted.
"That spider was about to eat you, my friend!" Legolas exclaimed, ignoring his now openly laughing friends from Rivendell.
"That's what you think," Celylith replied curtly. "Besides, there is no way they could have followed my tracks back here, I didn't touch anything besides that branch."
"Was it part of the nest?" Elladan asked slightly alarmed, fighting off a renewed fit of giggles.
"Only of the little one Wilwarin had built for herself, and you should have seen it! It was perfect; she is such a very clever little spider…"
The three brothers and Legolas traded a helpless look. You couldn't tell Celylith anything about spiders, it was just a waste of time to try and reason with him.
"But, Celylith," Aragorn began, carefully choosing his words, "I know I am very young and un-experienced, especially concerning things in Mirkwood, but I do seem to remember that spiders can have an exceptional sense of smell. And if you touched that branch, especially after taking one of their young, the whole colony will take up the scent and follow you, you know that. From what I've heard females don't take kindly to people who try to snatch one of their offspring."
"I didn't snatch her!" the elf protested, putting down the bags and taking out the key to the small hut they had reached by now. "I just couldn't leave her there all alone! Something could have eaten her!"
Elrohir snickered again.
"Uhm, Celylith, spiders are the ones that eat other things here. She would have been the menace to others, not the other way round."
Celylith glared at the highly amused twins.
"And what about wargs? A warg could eat a baby spider! Even a wolf could! Or a troll!"
"You are right, mellonamin, it was your duty to protect it," Legolas said quickly and laid a hand on the irate elf's shoulder. Celylith took such remarks personal.
"Wilwarin's not an 'it', Legolas, she's a she," his friend growled quietly and pushed the door open. "How would you like it if someone called you 'it' and 'the elf' all the time?"
Legolas didn't answer for he was far too busy fighting the urge to take one of the knives that hung in two leather sheaths on his belt and simply kill the spider that became visible now that the door swung open. Or kill Celylith if he didn't come to his senses soon, that still remained to be seen.
He could feel the twins next to him stiffen and Aragorn take a deep breath. True, he mused dryly, if one didn't see it quite as often as he did, then the sight could be rather alarming.
Celylith's sweet little spider was now at least five feet high and, with legs and all, about twice as wide. Four large, black legs could be seen on each side of its body, and the older it became, the more it began to become covered in black bristly hairs. The worst though were in the prince's opinion the eyes, the luminous compound eyes that were the most memorable part of its face. The rest of the space was covered with the large mouth and more pinchers than Legolas ever wanted to see at close quarters.
The spider began hissing and screeching as soon as it set eyes on them, straining against the leash that wound round its neck and secured it tightly to the wall.
"Wicked!! Wicked!! Nasty, evil elves, let me go! Nasty, wicked, nasty!!"
Celylith took a step closer to it.
"Don't worry, my little butterfly, it's only me! I've brought you some delicious bloody deer for lunch!" When the beast wouldn't calm down, he shot his friends a reproachful look. "See? You are scaring her! Get back a little!"
Only too willingly the three elves and the human complied, eyes fixed unwaveringly on the spider that really seemed to quieten down a little once they retreated and was now busy tearing through the bags with its pinchers and claws to get to the meat.
"These eyes…" Elladan muttered. "They just invite a knife, don't they?"
"My thoughts exactly, my friend," Legolas replied, smiling nervously.
"I never knew they grew the hair when they matured," Aragorn said, obviously fascinated against his will. "And I didn't know their eating habits were quite as disgusting," he added as the spider raised its head and hissed at them as if to challenge them to come closer, a piece of meat still dangling from its mouth.
"Neither did I, little brother," Elrohir stated, unconsciously taking a step backwards and reaching for his sword he had left at the palace. "I have happily lived for more than 2800 years without that knowledge and I could have happily done without for another 2800." He shot Celylith a dark look. "Another thing I have to thank him for."
"You have to do something, Legolas," Aragorn said, watching the silver haired elf that began to pat the spider's head now. Surprisingly, it didn't stop him, but that might have been because it was so busy grinding the bones of its meal. "Do something as long as we can still control it. Spiders aren't stupid, and it knows it's not yet strong enough to take on all of us. In a month or two that might be different though … and just think of what your father will say once he hears that his warriors are having that much trouble with the things because Celylith had to take one as a pet! We cannot deceive the others indefinitely, sooner or later someone will find out about all this…"
All of them shuddered. King Thranduil probably wouldn't be too pleased.
"You are right, mellonamin," Legolas said grimly, watching as the spider raised its head and eyed his elven friend as if it was contemplating eating him next. "This has gone far enough. As long as if its presence threatened no-one else, it was tolerable, but I will not have it endangering my people. Celylith!" he called, giving him a stern look.
"Yes, my lord?" he replied and stepped closer, neatly escaping a sharp claw that was trying to fasten around his ankle.
"We need to talk, my friend. About it."
"You mean her."
"That too, Celylith, that too."
That same evening, Elrond was walking with King Thranduil through the king's gardens, admiring the sight the autumnal parks presented. Even though they had already shed most of their leaves, the trees were still beautiful, the branches dark and slim and stretching towards the heavens like giant fingers. This part of Mirkwood, the part right around the woodking's halls, was truly beautiful, a last memory of what the whole forest had looked like before Sauron in the guise of the Necromancer had taken up residence in Dol Guldur, far to the south of here.
Quickly the Dark Lord's evil had spread throughout the once fair forest, and orcs, spiders and wargs began to multiply and harass the elves of Greenwood the Great. After only a few centuries the entire forest had fallen into darkness, its tress gnarly and bent, growing thicker and thicker as if to smother and suffocate all life that they could reach, the paths cutting through the wood like tunnels amidst a sea of hostile darkness. And the wood-elves had become suspicious and somewhat xenophobic, the foul things had turned the merry Silvan folk into warriors that were always hard-pressed to defend their home from the creeping darkness that sought to encroach them, even now that the tower was empty and Sauron gone.
"I would very much like to know where your thoughts are, my friend," the king's melodious voice cut through his contemplations.
Elrond turned from where he had stared into nothing and smiled sadly at the King of Mirkwood.
"I was remembering, Lord Thranduil, remembering things that once were."
Thranduil understood his guest's meaning almost instantly.
"I do the same," he admitted softly, stepping up to the Lord of Imladris and looking over the gardens. "I come here often to listen to the trees and remember what once was. That what was when my father was still alive and our people carefree and safe. But it's no use," he said grimly, giving Elrond a resigned look. "There are things that will never come back, things that are never going to be like they were before."
"Don't say that, Lord Thranduil," the dark haired elf to his left shook his head, "For not even the wisest of us can tell what the future will bring. A great storm is coming, and none knows what it will leave in its wake."
The woodland king shook his head in disgust, his eyes dim with memories.
"Death and pain, as these kinds of storms always bring. Destruction and loss for the younger races and suffering for the firstborn, for whatever will come to pass, the days of the elves are all but over. We will either leave these shores or stay and die where we have lived for so long."
Elrond inclined his head, his face stony and sad.
"We will need to fight once more for what we hold dear, your Majesty, and, Valar willing, for the last time before we can leave for the Blessed Realm. I for my part do not intend to desert Arda before I have seen Aragorn fulfil his destiny."
"Neither do I," Thranduil replied and smiled thinly when he saw the surprise on the other elf's face. "I will not leave before I have witnesses him becoming the leader you tell me he will become, because you know as well as I do that Legolas will not follow unless he has made sure that the Dúnadan will live in peace. And, Elbereth, I will not lose my only child to death or heartache, not if I can prevent it!"
"We cannot make such choices for our children, I fear," Elrond replied solemnly, shaking his head. "I pray to all the Valar that I will not experience of what you speak, but I have the premonition that…"
He took a deep breath and blinked, as if coming out of a deep trance.
"However, these things are still in the future, and there they should remain for the time being, for we can do nothing to prevent them now. Besides, there is still the question whether or not they will even survive this winter."
The golden haired elf laughed, gladly welcoming the direction the conversation was taking now.
"I cannot guarantee for anything, my lord. As I said, trouble is never far behind when your sons and Legolas get together. And now that Estel is able to move around freely, I fear the worst. There is a tiny ray of hope though, and that is that you are leaving in a day. I meant no offence, my lord," he quickly assured the dark haired elf lord next to him who had raised an amused eyebrow.
"None taken, mellonamin," Elrond smiled, inviting the king with a move of his hand to walk back towards the main building. "I know perfectly well of what you speak. I think the prospect of our now imminent departure is the only thing that has kept some of your people alive and sane, even though I think they haven't quite grasped the implications of the fact that I am taking only the twins with me."
"They will learn quickly enough," Thranduil sighed as they walked up the garden path. "Oh, they will."
"Come now, my lord, they are not that bad," Elrond said. "They are rather accident-prone, yes, but I do not think they are doing these things on purpose."
"Do you have proof for that assumption?"
"No," the Lord of Rivendell admitted, wrinkling his forehead in thought. "No, I don't, but I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt."
Thranduil laughed incredulously.
"You are far too trusting, Lord Elrond! Let me tell you one thing I have learned during these past twenty-something centuries: Things are never as they seem, especially not with my son or yours."
Elrond smiled slightly, stopping on the cobbled area just in front of the big window doors that led from one of the woodking's rooms to the gardens.
"Then you will have to keep a close eye on them for me, my friend."
Before the blonde elf at his side could reply, Galion, the king's butler, appeared in the doors, looking at them questioningly.
"Pardon my intrusion, my lords, but do you know where your sons are? Hithrawyn is looking for Estel, I believe."
"Isn't he in his quarters?" Elrond asked, slightly worried.
"No, Lord Elrond," the butler replied, giving the two pained-looking elf lords a sympathetic look. "He is nowhere to be found, and neither are the Lords Elladan and Elrohir, Captain Celylith or Prince Legolas."
Thranduil closed his eyes, trying to remember when he had seen them last. It had been about an hour ago, he decided finally, the five young ones had excused themselves after dinner… He sighed inwardly. He hadn't expected them to do anything before the twins had left.
'That was your first mistake,' a chuckling voice inside his head told him, 'The second was not to chain the two of them to the walls of their rooms until the twins had left.'
The golden haired king opened his eyes again and looked at his guest who had apparently come to the same conclusion as he had.
"An hour is a very long time," Elrond stated calmly. "Judging by that mischievous sparkle in my sons' eyes I saw earlier, I would think that they have already left the grounds."
"I think you are right, my lord," Galion sighed. Bowing slightly before the two of them, he added, "With your Majesty's permission I will go and ask the gatekeepers if they have left."
The elven king nodded, trying to remain calm.
"Please do that, Galion. And inform them also that I wish to see the prince and his companions in my rooms once they come back. No matter what hour it will be."
The other elf nodded and, with a last look at his lord's stricken face, he turned and quickly walked back the way he had come. The way things were going, he mused as he closed the door behind him, it was going to be a long and very interesting winter.
Elrond stifled a grin when he looked at his companion's slightly twitching face. Thranduil was really rather easy to incense.
"Somehow, your Highness, I am having doubts whether or not you will be able to keep an eye on them on your own."
"'Tis already too late for that, my lord, as you can see," the King of Mirkwood muttered as they were making their way inside the palace. "And this is only the beginning. May the Valar help us all."
The Lord of Imladris hid his grin behind one hand and put the other comfortingly on the other elf's shoulder. He was so unbelievably glad that Aragorn and Legolas were staying in King Thranduil's house for this winter and not in his…
With only the twins it would be almost peaceful, and if he could keep them inside the house, stopped them from going on any hunts, scouting trips or walks and locked away all sharp tools which could somehow cause any damage, they should be just fine.
He would have liked to assure the king that he was sure that the five young ones weren't up to anything foolish and that everything would be just fine, but that would have been an outright lie.
And one could say what one wanted about the Master of Rivendell, he did never lie, not even to comfort a so obviously despairing elf.
A few miles to the south, the forest was dark and quiet, its stillness only interrupted by an occasional shuffle in the dark trees high above the grassy ground or the sounds of almost inaudible steps that soon disappeared in the distance.
That quiet, however, did not last for much longer, for on a path that led further southwards there appeared a group of six beings, and it had been a long time since a more curious group had passed through here.
It consisted of four elves and a human that talked quietly among each other and a giant spider that put up quite a fierce resistance while being dragged along with them. It really wasn't very happy with its current situation, judging by the almost continuous hissing that emanated from under the hood that was fastened on the beast's head.
The group stopped for a second and one of the elves, with dark hair and an annoyed expression on his fair face, said exasperatedly,
"If it doesn't stop that soon, I will kill it. Right now and right here, without even giving it a second thought."
"I will gladly offer you my sword for this noble deed, brother," the human said, wiping his sweat-covered face with a dark shirtsleeve. "I still don't understand why we couldn't take a torch with us. I know you four don't have problems in the dark, but we humans are usually not able to see at night as clearly as in the light of day."
The silver haired elf looked outraged at the elf that had spoken earlier.
"Kill 'it'? Well, sons of Elrond, let me tell you one thing: If any of you harms as much as a single hair on Wilwarin's head, you will regret it."
"I seriously doubt that," the dark haired elf's twin grinned. "The only thing I would regret would be not having taken off the whole head." He quickly took a few steps backwards to avoid the clout Celylith had aimed at him. "The answer to your question, Estel, is very simple: You just don't light fires in Mirkwood at night. Sometimes it's better not to see your surroundings clearly, believe me. What I don't understand is why we couldn't take any horses."
At that the last member of the group grinned wickedly, his blonde hair shining like flowing silver in the sparse moonlight.
"Well, Elrohir, I think I can answer that: First, because we could never have explained to the guards just why we wanted to take a walk with our horses, and second: Do I really need to explain to you what would happen if my horse saw you ever again?"
The younger twin winced while the others broke out in laughter.
"It's not a horse, it's a demon," he muttered under his breath. "It doesn't even have a name. May I suggest one? What about … let me think … 'Goroth'?"
Legolas' face darkened and he took a step closer to the dark haired elf, a threatening expression on his face that didn't seem to disturb the other in the slightest, for he only jumped behind Aragorn and continued.
"No, that's doesn't sound quite right, what about 'Wethrinaer'? Not bad, but 'Anca' is better, I think…"
The young ranger tried to look at his elven brother who was hiding behind his back before fixing a pleading stare on his irate friend who was coming closer, obviously trying to figure out how to get to the other elf without hurting the human in the process.
"'Jaws?'" he asked in confusion. "Why 'jaws'? It's a horse, not a bear, isn't it?"
Legolas stopped in front of them, a malicious light shining in his eyes.
"Didn't he tell you, Strider? Didn't your dear brother tell you just what happened in those caves? Well, if that's the case, I think it is my duty to enlighten you…"
"Don't you dare, Legolas!" Elrohir said quickly, peeking out from behind his younger brother's shoulder. "I was just wondering why it didn't have a name, that's all."
"It does have a name," Celylith interjected, patting the hissing spider to calm it some. "It's called Rashwe, that's at least what Legolas told me once we arrived back at the palace. But I have to admit I don't really understand what it has done to deserve that name. It always seemed to be quite a nice horse."
Legolas nodded grinning. It wasn't uncommon to wait with naming a horse or weapon until a suitable name had presented itself, and after their little journey under the mountains, 'Trouble' seemed to be more than fitting indeed.
Elladan laughed loudly while his twin grumbled,
"A nice horse!? Rashwe, indeed! But I still think that Thaurer or Anca would have been a more fitting name."
"Wait!" Aragorn demanded, thoroughly confused now. "What happened? You said it didn't like you, but why 'jaws'? You're an elf, which horse would not at least tolerate you?"
Elladan put an arm around the ranger's shoulders.
"'Tis a long tale, brother. It's sufficient to say that the demon-hor… I mean Rashwe," he amended quickly, smiling at Legolas' scowling face, "is a very special case. I will explain everything later."
"Oh no, you won't!" Elrohir stated threateningly, glaring darkly at his brother.
Legolas rolled his eyes.
"Could we possibly go on now? I really do not want to spend the entire night out here."
"Right," Celylith agreed. "Wilwarin might get scared with that horrible hood over her head."
Elrohir shook his head unbelievingly while they walked down the dark path leading to the south.
"She won't get scared, Celylith. She is a spider, spiders aren't afraid of the dark. And you know as well as I do that without that hood she would bring the whole forest down on us with her screeching."
"She wasn't screeching, Elrohir!" Celylith complained, a hurt look in his dark blue eyes. "She was talking."
"Talking?" Legolas repeated, arching an eyebrow in amusement. "Well, I think 'Nasty, wicked elves, nasty!', 'Let me go!' and 'Bad Leafie, bad Leafie, bad bad bad!' qualifies as screeching."
The others chuckled at that, but were quick to hide their mirth when they looked at the prince's constantly darkening face. Aragorn had called Legolas 'Greenleaf' earlier today, which the spider had picked up quickly to swear at the elf, telling him repeatedly what a 'bad Leafie' he was, much to the ranger's amusement.
"Is there something funny, Estel?" Legolas asked in a friendly tone of voice, pulling fiercely at his rope when Wilwarin once again refused to move.
"No, not at all," Aragorn assured his friend and added after a moment, "Leafie."
The fair haired prince ignored the laughing voices of his friends and trudged on. Oh, how he hated that spider! With the greatest of pleasures he would take his knives and simply…
He was just envisioning all the things he wanted to do to Celylith's 'butterfly' when they reached a small clearing from which there led two paths into the dark woods, one to the south-west and one to the south-east.
"Very well, mellonamin," he said and turned to his silver haired friend, "Which way now?"
Celylith looked at him, a stubborn gleam in his eyes.
"I still don't see why we have to abandon her! She wouldn't harm a fly, would you, Wilwarin?"
The spider hissed and made a move as if to bite off the elf's hand through her hood before he quickly withdrew it.
"No, she wouldn't harm a fly," Aragorn commented dryly. "But with an elf or a human, it's an entirely different thing."
"And the answer is, my friend," Elladan spoke up, "That we are not 'abandoning' her. We are setting her free. She is a giant spider, not a pet!"
"Why can't she be both?" Celylith asked persistently. "It's only in her nature to hiss and try to eat us. She doesn't know any better."
Legolas sighed tiredly.
"Because she is leading her colony right to the palace, Celylith. You have heard reports of the other warriors, there haven't been this many spiders near my father's house for several centuries! And I for my part do not want to wait until her mother comes looking for her, we should get rid of her as fast as possible."
Legolas stopped as Aragorn tugged on his sleeve, silver eyes gleaming in the moonlight, fixed on something behind the elven prince's shoulder.
"I think it is already too late for that," he said with forced calmness, eyes growing wider by the second.
The four elves turned slowly around and froze instantly when they saw the silver threads that wound through the canopies of the trees and the many dark, hairy bodies that began to make their way down to the ground.
Before the little group could retreat, the little glade filled with a mass of black, multi-legged creatures that stared at them with large, hungry, luminous eyes, but they were strangely silent, something which made the five young beings even more nervous.
"You might be correct there, my friend," Legolas whispered wryly, his hands quietly nearing his quiver and his eyes darting from one potential target to the next.
If they ever got out of this, he would kill Celylith, he promised himself darkly as he closed his left hand around the handle of one of his blades. He would simply kill him, and every sane person would understand his motives…
The other four grabbed the hilts of their knives and swords tightly, looking at each other with grim eyes while the black flood rolled even closer, cutting off their escape and closing in on them, the bulky dark bodies seemingly swallowing the pale light of the moon that filtered through the trees and leaving them in darkness under the starless sky.
TBC...
ada - father (daddy)
úlairi - the Nazgûl, Ringwraiths
mellonamin - my friend
The Dúnadan - Chieftain of the Rangers (one of Aragorn's many titles)
goroth - horror, dread
wethrinaer - deceitful one
*rubs hands* Finally! A cliffy! I was beginning to think that I was ill or something - I have missed them sooo much! *evil laugh* Well, my friends, what will happen? Will the spiders eat our intrepid, uhm, quintet? Will Celylith let his little pet go? And will their fathers kill them IF they manage to escape? All this and much more will be revealed in the next post, coming up in a few days, the more reviews I get the sooner! So, please review? It's for your own good, you know! *g*
Additional A/N:
Coreinha - You hop up and down, huh? Well, that's an interesting reaction, that much is sure... *g* As I said, they refused to tell me. BUT I have some wine here that could very well losen their tongues - so, just wait a little, perhaps I'll be able to tell you in a few decades! *g* *giggles with you* Yes, a drunk Elrond IS an interesting thought, but hey, the poor guy deserves some fun once in a while (about once every two millennia!), doesn't he?
Xsilicax - Me too! I have the world's biggest arachnophobia! *grins sheepishly* Yeah, well, the wine incident... Let's just say part of it is personal experiance. A while ago, when the Extended DVD had just come out, a few friend and I decided to watch it and play a little drinking game. With Vodka. And it was, like, "Drink a shot every time the Ring is shown", or "every time Frodo looks around with those huge blue eyes of his", or "every time Merry and Pippin do something stupid". Ah, as you probably can imagine, we didn't last very long. I lasted longer than most, and after they get to Rivendell everything gets blurry even for me. *shrugs* I still can't remember much about that night, but I _think_ we ate cold rice at some point or other. No-one else can affirm that, but they don't know if it's wrong either... *g* Owwww.. *blushes* Thanks so much for the compliments! Huh? *confused look* "That" who was alright? I couldn't find that! Were is the mistake, come here precious, I'll find you... Thanks a lot for the review!!
TrinityTheSheDevil - *grins* Perhaps I even will, one day. But I have to get them to tell what they did, I don't know myself. They are quite stubborn when they want to be, and Erestor can't remember anything. 'C' word? Which 'C' word? *clueless expression* Oh, you mean the cliffy? Come on, it's not that bad - there are worse yet to come! Mhahahaha! *evil cackle*
Carrie - *glomps back* CARRIE! Nice to see you! Nope, they didn't want me "up there", they sent me back. Now I'm stuck here... *grins evilly* Right you are, m'dears, you are quite doomed. But I will have so much fun!! *hurt look* No, I don't want to bang them into trees! I'm not that uncreative! I have come up with new and exciting things to do to them! Mhahaha! Oh, yes, Hithrawyn is quite stressed right now, don't pay him any heed. He will be alright once the twins are back in Rivendell. I think. LOL, there is still hope! Indeed there is! but not much, Ara-kins, not much... *huggles Carrie* And YOUR reviews make me laugh! Besides, they make me sit in front of my computer, grinning like a maniac, but that's beside the point. Thanks so much for the loooong review!!
Acacia - Ho! Acacia! *huggles her* Great to 'see' you! Yes, well, you might be correct there, there is much fun ahead - for us, but not necessarily for our intrepid duo... *evil grin* Yup. He probably SHOULD know better, but Thranduil _is_ a stupid blonde wood-elf, after all... Cliffy's here, don't worry! Since I know how much you LOVE them... *g*
Mouse - *innocent puppy-dog eyes* Me? Planning? Why, nothing! I am not planning anything! This will be a nice, calm fic, nothing serious will happen, no violence, torture, caves - nothing! Mhahahaha! Well, you know, about the cliffy ... there is a tiny one here, nothing horrible, just a noce little... put down that sword, now! It's not _that bad_, is it?
Alilacia - *g* Yeah, Celylith is quite ... unusual, for a wood-elf. (Elrohir: Insane! I'm telling you, he is three sandwiches short of a picnic!) YOu fear for Mirkwood's Halls? Me too, my friend, me too.... Well, 'this guy' is the guy the guy from the last chapter hired to do what he wanted. *frowns* Does that make any sense? Probably not... And yes, he will wreak some havoc, but I think that'll be another story to be told another day, or in another fic. We'll see.
ThE iNsAnE oNe - Thranduil: Am not! *hic* Elrond: Righr, m'friendsch ischn't drrunck. Me neitscher. LOL, yup, the two are definitely a little inebriated... *g* ROTFL! Legolas and his friend Mulmu, huh? Now _that_ is interesting... So Nólad is now living with you, is he? Poor him, I really DO pity him - but then agian, I think it's better than having to spend an eternity with Cornallar in the Halls of Mandos... And he has a stuffed cat? O-kay, why not... Fine, now I will ask: WHAT IS A SQUARG? A mix between a warg and ? *grins a little* I kinda figured that Gwandath Annath is a future story, but still, it's EVIL to mention it now! But hey, whay did I expect anything else from you... *shrugs* Poor you, science finals? That IS bad, as bad as it gets... Thanks a lot for the huge review! *huggles her*
Kaeera - Weiist du was? Nach Tolkiens Logik (eine betonte Silbe wie á ist das gleich wie aa, also Namárie ist gleich Namaarie) koennte man dich eigentlich auch Kaéra nennen - sieht doch auch chic aus, oder? Ignorier' mich, ich bin seltsam drauf... Puh! Keine weitere Mary-Sue-Schreiberin! Das ist beruhigend... *heult* Ha, reib Salz in die Wunde! Nein, ich habe X2 noch nicht gesehen, werde ich aber diese Woche! Und Matrix: Reloaded, uind beides in OV! Ich kann's kaum erwarten! *huepft auf und nieder* Ich? Angst schreiben? Wie kommst du senn darauf? *unschuldiger Blick* *grinst verschlagen* Was denkst du denn, fuer wen ich erwaehnte Szene eingebaut habe? Wann hast du Geburtstag? Vielleicht schaffe ich es ja, bis dahin eine kleine Story zu basteln... *g*
Lina - Yeah, you're right - 'erotic' ... 'erratic' ... same difference... *g* So you like the "Harbinger of Doom"? I thought you might... *g* Not again! Get off the poor boy! I mean, really, Seobryn isn't even evil! He is officially Estel's friend, so you better behave yourself! *evil grin* Yeah, a drunk Thranduil is quite a sight, isn't he? You know what, somtimes I really pity Éomer, who is still riding 'hopelessly, pointlessly South'. Poor guy, really. I think one of these days he's going to lose it. No-one can endure so much torture and remain sane in the process... *g*
Halo - *glomps back* Great to see you! And the pics I've already seen are just perfect! Really! I am soooooo jealous... Wow, so you've got a new obsession? The EKATOH? Uhm I haven't seen Matrix: Reloaded yet, but I will! Thurday or Friday! In English of course, there arwe movies (such as this one and LOTR) that you just can't watch in any other language... *snickers* That's exactly what I think every time! I mean, when Frodo regains consciousness in Rivendell and Elrond greets him, I always expect him to say, "Welcome to Rivendell ... Mr. Anderson!" Don't tell me, I'm weird...
Nilbrethiliel - Okay, now you've got me thoroughly confused. English or German, you've got to make a decision, or what's left of my brain will implode right here, right now. I know, that's not really much anyway, but still ... I've grown quite attached to it, in a way. And I will have you know, ma'am, that I haven't written any real angst just yet. I mean, there will be some in this chapter and in chapter 5, but not yet. Hmmm, and in ch 6, and... *g* Yup, Seobryn'll definitely be in this story, I haven't quite decided to what extent, but he will play an important role. *pats his head* He is cute, isn't he? Okay, thanks for the review, whatever language you may prefer.
Helen T - *grins evilly* Yes, poor Thranduil, you could say that. And OF COURSE they will all get into trouble, you could even say _because_ of Celylith... Thanks so much for reviewing! It really helps to keep writing!
Zam - Yeah, well, you might have a point there. But then, I would have to write several prequels, and I can't write more than one story at a time. Perhaps after this one, we'll see. Uh-oh, now you've done it! Legolas has remembered the tree incident! *closes eyes* May your sould find peace in the Halls of Mandos. Haldir: *shrieks* She is NOT staying here! LOL, whatever... *winces as well* Poor Feanor. Lina can be quite ... forceful sometimes, huh? Estel: *rubs his chest* Tell me about it. Uhm, actually, it says in "The Hobbit" that Thranduil liked silver better, sorry. Thranduil: Ah well, okay, then I LIKE SILVER!!! *g* Yes, Celylith really likes Wilwarin very much, and we'll see quite a lot of them in this chappie. Well, another Nólad....I don't think so. Nólad was unique, I think. But we'll see. Maybe. *g*
NaughtyNat - Glad you like it so much! Well, I try to update about every four or five days, if possible. No, don't be sorry for asking, initially I was quite cross with C&S, really! BUt it was an accident, they didn't do that on purpose - or so I hope! Thanks a lot for your review! They really help me! Yes, precious, they do!
Alexa - I never said Aragorn would get off worse! You are jumping to conclusions, my friend... Rest assured that your elfling will get his fair share of injuries. Never fear, I'm too sadistic and evil to let him get away unscathed! Unfortunately I have to admit that the twins and Elrond will leave in ch 5 and won't make an appearance again after that. Sorry, but I was running out of ideas to hurt all of them, Legolas and Aragorn are more than enough!
E - Well, who cursed Thranduil ... Mhahaha, I did! I'm evil, I know... Hm, Thranduil didn't really choose to get into trouble with them, nor did he want to, he was just a little too drunk to think straight. Happens to the best of us. *blushes slightly* And I absolutely agree with you. Somhow they manage to attract touble, I don't know how either... *blinks slowly* Uhm ... okay ... Gandalf's fault ... or rather Magneto's ... whatever you say, my friend... *g* Thanks for the review!
CrazyLOTRfan - Uhm, frankly, no, it can't be good. It ISN'T good, just you wait. I'll try to update every four days or so, depends on my college work how long I will be able to keep that up. Thanks for reviewing!
One15 - *nickt ernsthaft* Jajaja, so sind die Vaeter halt. Denken immer, nur weil sie Maenner sind, haetten sie 'ne Ahnung von Technik - was ja allgemein definitiv NICHT so ist, nech wahr? - und dann zerstoeren sie alles, was nicht bei drei auf den Baeumen ist... *schuettelt Kopf* Maenner. *grosse Augen* Du gehst extra meinetwegen rueber zu deiner Freundin? Och, das ist ja suess, danke... *rot werd* Vielen Dank fuer all die Komplimente, ist eigentlich nicht gut fuer mein Ego, aber ab und zu mal schoen zu hoeren. Danke fuer die review und moege deion Computer bald gesunden! *g*
Shandrial - *blushes* That's great to hear! That you enjoyed the other story, I mean... I have to agree, Elrond is VERY good at hiding his feelings. But then again, he is the Lord of Rivendell and the Keeper of Vilya and all that... *shrugs* Whatever. Thanks fot reviewing! It's very nice to 'see' you again!
Sr - Hmm, good question. I guess the twins were still quite ... let's say 'upset', shall we? I mean, you know how they are, and with Estel and Legolas half-dead... *shudders at mere thought* I has probably tkaen some time for them to realise that Seobryn isn't the enemy - and elven stares can be quite uncomfortable... Oh, and I try to post every four days. *shrugs* I don't know for how long I can keep that up, but I'll try.
Firnsarnien - *grins guiltily* Now how did you know that? Actually, my toes and finger and every crossable part of my body. Ah, that does sound so ... wrong, somehow, just ignore me, will ya? Thanks. *points* See? It's not a real cliffy, it's a baby cliffy, kind of... Thanks for reviewing! Hope you liked it despite the cliffy...
Arwen-Evenstar - *g* Thanks! Great you like it, the twins my favourites, too - well, some of them, anyway. This is soon enough? I'm doing my best!
Kandice - Wow! Two very ... interesting reviews, just for me! Thanks! *huggles her* Well, MY life is fine, I think, but yours sounds quite stressing somehow. Whatever gave me that idea? I don't know, must have been something you said... Oh, your brother got you cherry pie? My brother would NEVER do that! *sighs* Life's not fair, I don't know why I even expected it to... Oh, yes, rub it in, will you? No, I haven't seen Matrix: Reloaded yet, thanks for asking! *grrrr* but I WILL! *shakes fist threateningly* Tomorrow or Friday, I will see it, that I swear by Ilúvatar himself! Hmm, okay, that was a little weird. Whatever, thanks for the review!
Salara - Och, die sind doch gar nicht so kompliziert, oder? Ich find sie immer am einfachsten... Na ja, ich praktizier sie ja auch schon ne Weile... LOL, ich habe also Rivendell verwanzt? Das ist auf jden Fall mal eine interessante Idee... Waere wirklich sehr praktisch, das muss ich schon zugeben... Tja, mit Celylith's kleinem Schmetterling ... das war alles seine Idee! Ich hatte daran keinen Anteil! Aha! Eine weitere Anhaengerin der mysterious-hints-Philosophie! Lass mich dich umarmen, Schwester! O-kay, das war seltsam, ignoriert' mich einfach... Und das Unheil dauert noch ne Weile, ich brauche immer ewig, bis ich auf den Punkt komme... *g*
Firniswin - Oh, okay. Here's the next bit! Happy? *g* Thanks a lot for the compliments, and you just HAVE to love Estel, haven't you? He is so cute! *huggles him* Thanks for the review!
LOTRMatrixStarwarsFan - Woho! Hi! *huggles her* Nice to see you again! Elrond acting OOC? *innocent smile* Why? Because he got drunk and himself, his advisors and Prince of Eryn Lasgalen almost killed? Could that be the reason? *g* Sorry, I really can't tell you what they did since I don't know either. But whatever it was, Gil-galad and Oropher weren't happy about it... Thanks for the review!
Marbienl - Oh, don't worry, FF.net is doing that to me all the time... I think it hates me though. That's just fine with me, since I hate it too. Hey! Atop poking me, that won't help either! And I really think I will save that part of the plot for the next dtory, it kind of a two-for-one-deal... *g* LOL, Celyith has spidernapped Wilwarin? Yes, you could say so, I guess. I thought so, too, the height, I mean. Around seven or eight feet tall, I think. *blinks* A red haired, overgrown, middle-aged dwarf? I have to agree there, my friend. That definitely IS disturbing! And better not tell Legolas about that little vision... *evil grin* Well, Hithrawyn would probably like a drugged estel, I'm quite sure of that. And don't worry, we will hear more about the nightmares. Later. Okay, thanks a lot for the huge review!
Aurienia - Oww, that's sweet, you have to study and still remember me! Thanks! *huggles her* Well, I guess Thranduil would have liked to faint, but that would've been rather un-kingly behaviour, wouldn't it? Oh, don't worry, I will keep dropping some hints, but I doubt you'll be able to fully understand him before the next story. *hugs Aurienia back* Thanks! I missed you too! Well, and yes, there is a cliffy, but only a tiny little one. Not even a real one, really... *g*
Miss Understood - Well, I don't think so. Lina isn't exactly fond of Seobryn I think, she hasn't quite forgiven him for not rescuing Estel yet... *g* Huh? OF COURSE 'flabbergasted' is a real word, just look it up in a dictionary! I wouldn't just think of a convenient word! Well, maybe I would, but I didn't! *g*
Well, that's it for now. Thanks a lot for all the reviews, and I'll try to update Sunday, but I don't know yet. Friends of mine are coming to stay over Ascension Day and the weekend, and we are going to have so much fun! So I can't promise I will be able to do _anything_ on Sunday, but I'll try!