Disclaimer: For full disclaimer, please see chapter 1.
A/N:
*groans* I shouldn't have got up this morning, I knew it was a mistake from the very beginning... But then again, I DO have an obligation to you or something of that sort, so I did it anyway. *g*
Oh, btw, have any of you seen "Matrix: Reloaded"? I mean, hey, the movie is great, especially Agent Smith ("Mr. Anderson. Surprised ... to see me?"), but am I the only one who is a. confused and b. feeling betrayed? I mean, they can't stop there! They just can't! *wails*
Okay, I feel better now...
*grins* I agree, Celylith IS quite strange, but hey, I know a person who thinks scorpions are the most adorable and perfect things on this planet, so such people really do exist. And yes, I have to confirm that Elrond and the twins will leave next chapter and - never - come - back. *hits herself* Sorry, another Gollum moment, happens all the time... *g*
Anyway, they won't be back this story, I think, and I'm not sure about the next one yet. I'm sorry, but I was running out of ideas to hurt all of them. Legolas and Aragorn are bad enough.
Well, next chapter's here even though I'm still half-asleep (we had _very much_ fun yesterday evening, I think. Can't remember much of it, but that's what I've been told *g*). Yay me! Okay, we see ... spiders - who would've guessed, I know - ... worried elves and rangers ... _very_ annoyed elven kings and more of the evil men. And some action in between, of course. *g*
Have fun and review, please!
Chapter 4
Elrohir watched the crawling things all around them, inwardly cursing alternately his luck, that horrid spider and Celylith. Especially Celylith. He couldn't be a proper elf, the elven twin decided, no elf would behave like this. Not even a dwarf could behave so foolishly, for Eru's sake!
The spider right in front of him shifted another inch closer, and Elrohir grasped his sword a little bit more tightly. This was not good. Not only were they surrounded by giant arachnids, but said arachnids were also disconcertingly quiet, something which he didn't like at all. He moved a little to the left, shifting closer to his twin who stood next to him in the circle they had formed to protect themselves.
"Does anybody has an idea what to do?" he whispered, not taking his eyes off their silent foes.
"Except for not talking, not moving and pretending to be both bad-tasting and far away from here? No."
Elrohir sighed, giving his older brother an annoyed look. While he could sympathise with Elladan's dry humour, especially facing a potentially deadly situation such as this one, it could be terribly annoying.
"We could give them the spider and run when their attention is diverted," Aragorn suggested, eyeing a spider that was taller than him and about five times as wide.
"Give them Wilwarin? Are you mad?" Celylith hissed, holding onto the rope that wound round the spider's neck with both hands. Now that the animal heard and sensed others of its kind, it strained against its restrains and generally did all in its power to break free.
Legolas glared at the silver haired elf, his patience finally spent.
"A better question would be, are you mad? We are surrounded by these foul things and you still want to keep her? She is a spider, Celylith, and they are spiders! By the Valar, I will order you to set her free if I have to!"
Celylith grimaced.
"They could be of a different colony, perhaps they want to harm her…"
"Celylith!" four exasperated voices hissed.
"'Tis enough now!" Legolas added tensely. "You will let that spider go, now!"
Their argument was interrupted when the black mass of spider bodies parted at the far side of the clearing and a dark … something began to glide forwards, fast approaching their position. Aragorn squinted and tried to make out the outline of the being that was coming their way, but keen as his eyes might be for a human, he just couldn't identify what it was in the near-complete darkness that filled the glade. All he could see was that it was surely more than twelve feet tall and apparently just as wide.
Finally giving up, he asked Elladan,
"Brother? What is that?"
The older twin didn't answer, his wide eyes fixed on the form that was now only a few dozen yards away.
"Trouble, mellonamin," Legolas answered for the twin, unsheathing one of his knives that rattled softly against the sheath. "And by the looks of it, big trouble."
"What is it?" the young ranger demanded again, gripping the hilt of his sword so tightly that his knuckles showed white through the skin, the pain in his wrists forgotten now that the adrenaline coursed through his body.
"It appears," the elven prince answered lightly, "that Wilwarin's mother has just arrived."
Aragorn's mouth nearly fell open.
"You mean that's a spider?" he asked unbelievingly, his eyes as wide as saucers now. "That monster is as tall as a house!"
"Taller," Elladan muttered dryly, having finally regained his ability to speak. "Legolas, let me tell you one thing: If we survive this, I will have to kill that poor excuse for an elf that is standing right behind me. I thought you, as his lord, should know."
"No, mellonamin," Legolas muttered, not being able to avert his eyes from the giant female spider that came ever closer. "You will not kill him. I will."
"Only if I don't get to him first," Elrohir and Aragorn said simultaneously, causing the elf in question to grimace. Perhaps it was better to volunteer for a long-time scouting mission sometime in the near future, Celylith mused, eyeing his companions warily. He would gladly go anywhere, as long as it was far, very far away from his irate friends. Mordor sounded very nice, as did Harad…
The giant black thing stopped right in front of them, towering over the five young beings that gazed at her grimly, determined not to let their fear show. But it was quite hard not to appear afraid when you were surrounded by spiders that were obviously trying to decide whether they should even bother to weave you into a cocoon before they ate you, Aragorn thought, swallowing hard.
'King Thranduil is right,' he thought wryly, 'Every time Legolas and I are together, something like this seems to happen. It's a law of nature, I think.'
The spider's huge eyes seemed to wander over the small group, dismissing them instantly when they came to rest on the hissing "butterfly" Celylith still tried to hold back. It opened its mouth and gave a low, hissing sound, something more than just an animal sound, but just less than understandable words.
At this the smaller animal squealed and began to trash around, trying to escape the elf's restraining grasp. Celylith had his trouble avoiding the legs and sharp claws, and only with all his considerable elven strength did he manage to hold his pet back.
"Celylith!" Legolas hissed threateningly. "Let her go!"
"But Legolas…" the other elf began, but was cut off quickly when the fair haired prince whirled to face him.
"Enough now!" Legolas said, glaring at his friend. "I know how much you like these abominable things," he stopped shortly to give the still fighting spider a deadly glare when it once again began to tell him what a "bad, bad, bad Leafie" he was, "but this is enough! If we don't give her up now, none of use is leaving this clearing alive! Do you understand?"
Celylith looked at his prince, but when it became apparent that he wouldn't budge an inch and that neither one of elven twins nor Aragorn was willing to back him up, he relented.
"As you command, your Highness," he said, looking at Legolas with hurt blue eyes, reaching for his dagger and carefully cutting the ropes that secured the hood on the spitting spider's head.
As soon as the cloth came off, the animal hissed and tried to bite off the silver haired elf's head, a fate which he only escaped by letting go of the rope he held and rolling to the side. The spider skittered away, quickly disappearing in the mass of moving, hissing bodies all around them, making its way quickly over to its mother, half of the time hissing, half of the time talking in its high, screechy voice.
"Wicked, wicked!! Evil elves, wicked, nasty Leafie, wicked!!"
Legolas smiled blissfully, ignoring the thing, deciding in an instant that the turned back of this creature was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen in his long life. He would never have to lay eyes on this horrible spider again, and if he by some chance did, he would kill it, and not even Celylith would be able to stop him.
He shook his head as he heard his friend tearfully whisper behind him,
"Goodbye, Wilwarin. I will miss you."
He came to the decision not to turn; if he saw tears in the eyes of his childhood friend now, he would very likely really kill him.
"Uhm, Legolas?" the tense voice of his human friend asked, causing him to focus once more on the spiders that were closing in on them. "I really do not think that this has solved any of our problems. In fact, I think that it has just made matters worse."
Legolas surveyed the scene in front of him, and as much as he hated to, he had to agree.
The giant female spider, obviously the matriarch of this particular colony, bent down to sniff the younger spider, and after a few seconds filled with hissing and unarticulated sounds, she slowly turned and moved back the way she had come, Wilwarin in tow.
The other spiders however came ever closer, a mass of moving, crawling dark bodies that seemed to scramble over each other in their attempt to get closer to their prey.
"Did you see that?" Celylith asked, sounding awed and on the brink of being moved to tears. "She really is the mother, their behaviour is fascinating…"
"Celylith," Elrohir growled, turning burning eyes on the elven warrior. "If you utter another word, just one other word, I swear by the Valar and Ilúvatar himself that I will kill you! I never make idle threats nor break my promises, son of Celythramir, you should keep that in mind."
To his credit and their relief, the silver haired elf really closed his mouth and contended himself with glaring darkly at them.
Aragorn had just opened his mouth to ask how in Elbereth's name they should ever get out of this when a claw came out of nowhere and fastened itself around Elrohir's ankle, dragging him to the ground. With a cry of pain the younger twin went down, his hands grasping his leg, vainly trying to dislodge the hold one of the creatures had on him. Elladan gave a shout of rage and hurled himself at the spider that seemed intent on dragging his twin away from them, and all of the sudden the whole clearing erupted in frantic action as Aragorn, Celylith and Legolas raised their weapons and began to fight their way through the mass of spiders that seemed to fill every bit of space in the clearing.
The spiders quickly realised that they had to keep their distance from these so very tasty-looking delicacies if they didn't want to lose their legs or worse, and changed their tactics from rushing them to trying to immobilise them by shooting thick, silver, sticky threats at them, trying to catch one of the five young beings.
"Legolas! Behind you!" Aragorn's voice sounded over the chaos of hissing, shrieking spider bodies, alive and dying, and the noises of swishing blades that found flesh, causing the hit spider to give a loud cry and collapse to the ground, legs and pinchers twitching.
Legolas didn't even waste time trying to discern what it was that was behind him but dropped instantly to the ground and rolled to the side, rolling back to his feet in one fluid motion and coming to a full stop when he came face to face with another spider. Moving quicker than the arachnid could react, the elven prince had somersaulted backwards and thrown one of his knives in the same move. The spider gave an unearthly shriek and fell to the ground, the dagger sticking out of one of his huge compound eyes.
The elf regarded the dying beast without pity, his hands unconsciously straying to the quiver on his back when he saw even more spiders appear at the edge of the glade. He found only air and empty space, and with a sinking feeling the prince remembered that he didn't have a bow anymore. His beloved, decades old bow was gone, buried under countless rocks in a cave in the Misty Mountains, and he hadn't had the heart to get a new one yet. Which might have been a mistake, he realised wryly.
Not having time to dwell on this, he quickly retrieved his dagger just in time to dance to the side and bury it in the hairy body of another spider that had apparently given up on trying to trap this agile prey with its silk and was rushing at him at full speed now. The beast fell as the first, but this time the prince was not fast enough to escape the flailing legs completely and a claw ripped through his tunic, leaving a long, ragged cut just over his breastbone.
Legolas hissed and drew back, doing his best to ignore the pain and finding a way out of their predicament. He quickly looked around him, and what he saw didn't please him in the slightest. Aragorn and Elladan were apparently still trying to free their brother from a small cluster of spiders that had managed to drag Elrohir out of their midst and were now trying to carry the younger twin off into the woods. Both Elrohir's elven and human brother were desperately trying to reach the unmoving elf's side, hacking at the spiders with wild ferocity. Even Celylith was holding his own, even though Legolas thought he saw a wince on his friend's face every time his sharp elven blade connected with a spider's body.
'At least he's not trying to communicate with them again,' he thought dryly, trying to force his way through the mass of crawling foes to Aragorn's and Elladan's side. He reached them just in time to bury his left dagger in a beast that was descending on his friends from the trees above them, and it fell to the ground with a scream, knocking the young ranger to the ground.
Legolas gave a furious dwarven curse, called for Celylith to cover them and rushed forwards, using all his strength to free his trapped friend. Aragorn lay under the fallen spider, trying with all his might to push the body off himself that was pressing down on his freshly healed ribs, a bleeding cut from either a pincher or a claw running over his forehead. A second later Legolas arrived at his side and, grabbing one of the now still black legs, he began to pull the still body aside, grimacing in disgust as he did so.
After what appeared to be an eternity he finally managed to free his human friend, grabbed him tightly by the arm and pulled him to his feet, steadying the gasping human who doubled over, attempting to force air into his uncooperative lungs. With a quick look making sure that Aragorn wasn't seriously hurt, he let his eyes wander over the clearing. Even though they had killed or at least immobilized a great deal of the foul things, even more started to appear from the trees all around them. For every fallen spider there seemed to pop up at least two new ones that scurried into their direction.
Legolas noticed out of the corner of his eye that Elladan had finally managed to skewer the last spider that had been trying to separate him from his unconscious brother, and he grimaced, not at all liking the command he would have to give. He was a wood-elf, and as that hated the spiders and other foul things that sought to destroy his home with a fierce passion. Besides, wood-elves rarely fled before their foes, and everything inside of him screamed in refusal to such an action.
But sometimes fleeing was the only option one had, and he was sensible enough to understand the need to live to fight another day.
He grabbed Aragorn's arm tightly and began to drag the still winded ranger backwards.
"Retreat!" he yelled, lashing out at a spider that wanted to cut off their escape. "Elladan! Celylith! Get back to the path! We need to leave, now!!"
The older twin nodded and took up his brother that was lying unmoving at his feet, trusting Celylith to cover them which the other elf did, striking out at every dark, furry body that blocked their path. His love for spiders was obviously not so strong that he was willing to let himself or his friends be eaten by them.
The small group carefully retreated back out of the clearing, bringing swift death to all those of the spiders that were not willing to let this tasty meat escape. When they had put some distance between them and the beasts that had, after a lot of hissing, screeching and threatening screams, decided that these five were more trouble than they were worth and had stopped their pursuit, they finally stopped, still glancing warily around them.
Aragorn let himself sink to the ground that was covered with dark brown leaves in utter exhaustion. He grimaced as he wiped the blood out of his eyes that trickled down from his head wound. 'Eru, when I said I needed exercise I didn't mean it quite like this…'
His older brother's voice quickly drew him out of his idle considerations.
"Elrohir! Wake up! Come now, brother, open your eyes, please!"
The twin's voice sounded on the verge of a full-fledged panic now, for he had tried to rouse his brother during the whole time they had run to save their lives, without success however.
Aragorn quickly moved over to his brothers' side, swiftly followed by Legolas who was trying to free his clothing of spider silk.
Elladan, unscathed except for a few scratches and a lot of spider blood that clung to his arms, chest and even his face and dark hair, had placed his twin on the ground and was now carefully cutting away the other's legging to reveal the freely bleeding gash that the spider's claw had left in the young elf's leg.
"He is not waking!" he said, looking at the friends with frightened eyes, barely controlled panic clear to hear. "He should not even be unconscious! Why is he not waking?"
Aragorn and Legolas traded a look, and the young ranger shifted closer to his oldest brother and grabbed his shaking hand, trying not to let his mounting worry show. Fierce warrior and versed healer that Elladan may be, when it came to his family and especially to his twin, he was not capable of remaining calm and assessing a situation with the necessary detachment.
"Calm down, Elladan," he said sternly, forcing himself to smile at his elven brother and giving his hand a squeeze. "You need to focus. Elrohir needs you, you cannot panic now."
The young ranger smiled slightly as he watched the older twin take a deep breath. This worked every time.
"You are right, Estel," the dark haired elf said, giving the other a brief smile before fixing his eyes on his brother once more. "Forgive me." He looked at Legolas who had used the opportunity to examine the fallen elf more closely. "What is wrong with him then?"
Legolas grimaced and gently turned the unconscious elf's head to the side, revealing a red, slightly bleeding bite mark that had been concealed by Elrohir's long hair.
"One of them bit him," he said simply, rummaging through the small pack he had insisted they took with them and pulling out a bandage.
Elladan's eyes grew wide as he obviously tried to remember what he knew about spider bites, the panic in them only increasing.
"Bit him? But he will live, won't he? Won't he, Legolas?"
Legolas smiled at his friend reassuringly.
"Yes, of course he will. He simply sleeps, and when he wakes up he will be back to his annoying self in no time. As soon as you two have bandaged his leg, we can leave."
The prince didn't mention to his friend that, sometimes, spider bites could indeed kill. No-one knew why, but sometimes they caused a severe reaction in the victim's body, and the agent in the spider's poison that usually paralysed and rendered unconscious worked in a different way, bringing him or her close to death's doors, and without help, even beyond these dark gates. If that happened, elves had a far better chance of survival than men or dwarves did, and so Legolas truly wasn't very worried. Elrohir was young and strong, he was an elf and they were less than two hours away from his father's halls. He would be just fine. He hoped.
While he carefully wrapped the long strip of white linen around the dark haired elf's neck, he remembered with a shudder how exactly this had happened to him about a year ago. He could very clearly remember how the poison had burned in his veins while he had been dragging himself back home after a spider's nest had dropped out of the trees right in front of him and his horse.
His father had indeed not been pleased when he had arrived at the palace two days after he had left for Rivendell, a little bit worse for the wear. He was still of the opinion that the terms his father and king used for his appearance instead, mainly "barely alive", "delusional" and "about to pass into the Halls of Waiting" were a gross exaggeration, but it hadn't been very pleasant, that much he did indeed remember.
Once he had bandaged the bite wound, Legolas stiffly rose to his feet and was just about to tell Celylith who had been keeping watch over the little clearing that they would leave now, when a hand grabbed his long-sleeved tunic that had once been of a beige colour but was now more or less completely covered with dark spider blood and stopped his movements. He looked down, perplexed, to see the stern face of his human friend.
"Sit," Aragorn ordered, pointing with his other hand at a spot right next to him.
Legolas raised lifted an eyebrow in question, with one hand trying to untangle his matted braids that were dark with the foul creatures' blood now.
"Excuse me?"
"Sit," the young ranger repeated, pulling at the sleeve he held insistently. "Sit down, Legolas, and let me have a look at that cut."
Legolas glanced down his body, already having forgotten about his injury.
"'Tis nothing serious, Estel. It's truly just a scratch, and we need to get your brother back to the palace now. We don't have time to linger here."
Estel gave him a very good version of his father's look, and Legolas wondered dazedly how it was possible that a human could reproduce elven stares so perfectly. He could never glare at someone like that, he decided, allowing his friend to pull him to the ground; you probably needed either a lot of practice or had to be a blood relative of Lord Elrond, however distantly. Probably both, he thought with a slight smile.
"This is not funny, Legolas," Aragorn said accusingly, unbuttoning his friend's shirt and swatting at his hands that were trying to do the same thing. "Stop that and let me work."
Legolas blinked at the human who was inspecting the long, ragged, bleeding cut that ran across his chest. If Aragorn had added a "young prince" to that last sentence, he could have sworn he had just heard the Lord of Rivendell and not his adopted son, so much did the ranger sound like the elf lord.
Aragorn looked at his elven friend with eyes full of indignation.
"So this is only a scratch?" he asked unbelievingly, poking the other in the chest just above the cut. "Legolas, that thing cut open your chest from one shoulder to the other!"
"And your point is?" Legolas shot back, trying not to hiss in pain when the human grabbed their only water bottle and poured a generous amount of water over the wound. "It is a shallow cut, nothing more!"
Aragorn only snorted, a sound that removed the last doubts from Legolas' mind that some kind of foul magic had to be at work here. That snort had sounded exactly like the Lord of Imladris, and it should not be possible for one of the Second People to imitate one of the eldar thus. Carefully the elven prince eyed the young human in front of him who was just finishing covering his chest in bandages. Perhaps he was Lord Elrond after all and he was merely hallucinating?
He closed his eyes and counted to three. When he opened them again, Aragorn was still there, looking at him with worried eyes.
"Legolas? Are you alright? Is there another wound?"
The fair haired elf just kept looking at him.
"No," he said slowly, "No, I am fine."
"Well, you don't look fine," Aragorn told him, climbing to his feet and offering the prince a hand up. "In fact, you look as if you had just discovered that I was the Dark Lord in disguise."
Legolas looked at him, shaking his head as he grabbed the offered hand and stood up.
"No, mellonamin," he said gravely. "Rather someone much, much worse than the Lord of Mordor."
The ranger looked back at his friend, wondering if the elf had got a hit on the head as well. He gave Legolas a careful smile and patted his arm.
"Of course, Legolas. Can you walk?"
"Of course I can walk!" Legolas exclaimed, sounding rather offended.
"Very well," Aragorn replied and sank to his knees next to his two elven brothers. "Elladan? Can you carry him or should we help you?"
Elladan slowly looked up from where he had been gently brushing errant strands of dark hair out of his twin's tightly closed eyes. He gave his human brother a slightly confused look, as if for the first time noticing that he and Elrohir weren't alone in the tiny glade where they had stopped.
"Elladan?" the young man replied, catching his eye. "Did you hear what I said?"
The older twin blinked slowly and finally nodded.
"Yes," he said, gathering Elrohir in his arms and standing up, "Yes, of course I can carry him. Let us go."
Legolas motioned Celylith to take the lead, and the silver haired elf complied, avoiding his friend's gaze. The prince sighed. Celylith would need some time to get over his beloved pet's loss, that much was sure.
He turned back to his human friend who was still kneeling on the ground, shaking his head slightly.
"Strider?" he questioned softly, crouching down next to him. "Are you alright? That spider didn't do any damage when it fell on you, did it?"
Aragorn shook his head, silver eyes dancing with silent laughter.
"No."
"Then what is it?" Legolas asked as he carefully pulled the young man to his feet and they began to follow the others.
"I have a question for you: Is there any other way to get into the palace than to walk through the gates? A way that doesn't take longer than a few hours?"
The blonde elf looked at him in confusion.
"No, not that I know of, and believe me, I know all of them."
Aragorn just grinned at his friend as he ducked slightly to avoid a low-hanging branch.
"Then we are in trouble."
Legolas quickly saw his friend's point.
"Elentári," he whispered, his face paling rapidly now. "They will kill us."
"We will have to think of a plausible story, my friend."
"It is a pity Elrohir is unconscious," Legolas commented dryly. "That elf can talk himself out of nearly anything."
"Well," Aragorn said and turned serious again, renewed worry shining in his grey eyes, "We will have to do without him. I am sure there are many good reasons we can come up with for the state we are in."
"If you say so," the elf retorted doubtfully. "We will have to come up with something credible, or we can go back to Celylith's friends and let them finish what they've begun. That would be quicker."
"Not to mention less painful," the ranger added, giving a mock shudder of fear. "How is it that you always drag me into these situations?"
"Oh, be quiet, reckless human."
"As you wish, stubborn elf."
And, smiling at each other, they hurried to catch up with the twins and Celylith, feverishly trying to come up with something they could tell their fathers.
"So."
The King of Mirkwood watched with more satisfaction than he should rightly feel how the three elves and the ranger flinched at his soft, almost tranquil tone of voice.
"So," he repeated, smiling friendly at the four young beings in front of him that looked very much as if they had taken a prolonged bath in spider blood.
Legolas looked as if he wanted to say something, but obviously thought better of it and closed his mouth again without uttering a word.
Thranduil let them squirm for another minute before he chose to say some more.
"A walk," he said, giving the young ones a mild smile. "You took a walk."
His son nodded hesitantly.
"Yes, ada."
"Which you couldn't tell anyone because you decided to do it … what was the exact word again? Oh yes, because you decided spontaneously."
The elven king received another careful affirmative.
"And on that walk that took you hours away from the palace, you were attacker by spiders," Thranduil continued, still smiling politely at them.
Aragorn swallowed and hurried to nod with his friend. This was most unsettling, he decided. Legolas' father bore a disconcerting resemblance to a cat that was playing with a mouse before finally pouncing and eating it with one bite.
"And these spiders that attacked you this close to the palace without reason bit Lord Elrond's younger son and injured my own."
Legolas smiled hesitantly at his far too calm father.
"That is correct, ada."
The king merely looked at him blankly before adding,
"So you escaped from them and made your way back here."
All four of them nodded now, and Elladan said,
"That is what happened, your Majesty."
Thranduil inclined his head to his friend's son in his unique regal way, but his blue eyes gleamed dangerously.
"Very well, you four. But could you possibly explain to me why you attempted to sneak back into the palace without anyone noticing?"
Legolas, having been elected spokesman before their arrival, took a deep breath. This was a little bit tricky, but it had been a risk they had had to take. If their attempts to avoid the guardsmen had been successful, they wouldn't even be in this situation but safely in their own rooms. But, alas, the guards had caught them, which the elven prince blamed solely on the fact that Elrohir was a lot heavier than he looked.
"We didn't want to disturb anyone," he lied, looking at his father with big, innocent eyes. "Besides, Hithrawyn would have had a fit if we had come to him dragging Elrohir behind, asking him to heal him. He might even have harmed us, he is quite stressed out lately."
"This way Lord Elrond had a fit when he saw his son," Thranduil countered, looking sternly at all of them.
Elladan and Aragorn hung their heads. Their father truly hadn't been very pleased to see his younger elven son in such a condition, and the look he had given them while he had taken Elrohir to the healing wing had been full of promises of what would happen to them once he got a hold of them.
The golden haired king looked at them a minute longer, studying their guilty faces.
"And that is all?" he asked in a syrupy tone of voice. "There is nothing more you would like to tell me?"
Legolas swallowed nervously and slowly shook his head.
"No, father. Nothing more of interest happened."
'Well,' he reasoned silently, 'Wilwarin wasn't really that fascinating a creature after all.'
"I see," his father said quietly, looking closely at all four of them. "Then I have only one last question, I think."
Legolas almost closed his eyes when he saw the older elf rise to his feet and narrow his eyes. This was not good; this was not a good sign…
Thranduil raised a blonde eyebrow and asked in a mere whisper,
"Do you honestly expect me to believe a single word of that?"
The fair haired prince gulped slightly, shooting his equally petrified friends a brief, panic-stricken look.
"Well … yes."
That much was true, he thought, there were some parts that sounded more trustworthy than others. About one or two phrases had even sounded quite realistic.
The King of Mirkwood was spared a response when the door of his study opened and Lord Elrond entered, looking not too amused himself.
"My lord," Elrond nodded at the other elf lord and shot his sons and the other two occupants of the room a scathing glare.
"Lord Elrond," Thranduil inclined his head, "How is your son?"
"He will be well, thank you. Your healers kindly provided an antidote that will help his body to get rid of the poison more quickly. He will wake in a few hours."
"I am glad to hear that, my friend," the golden haired elf said, smiling slightly. He turned serious again and looked at the four young beings that still stood in front of his desk, shooting each other nervous glances, but looking very relieved after hearing that Elrohir would be alright.
"They were just explaining what has transpired," he added, smiling at them.
Aragorn shuddered. No, he had been mistaken, he thought, Thranduil wasn't like a cat. After all, he had never seen such a sadistic cat, but then again, cats liked to eat mice bit by bit as well, always giving them some time to regain their strength and get up their hopes for escape once more.
The Lord of Rivendell nodded slowly, looking the three elves and the human over.
"I see."
For a second he contemplated leaving and coming back in an hour to collect whatever was left of them once King Thranduil was finished with them, but his heart softened when he saw the identical pleading stares his eldest and youngest son gave him, grey eyes urging him to help them.
Elrond turned to the elven king who stood behind his desk, face twitching slightly.
"I see, my lord," he repeated, trying to stifle a smile when he saw the hopeful looks the four gave him. "But this will have to wait, I'm afraid."
Legolas beamed at the elf lord's turned back, noting the way Celylith, Aragorn and Elladan relaxed in relief. Ilúvatar be praised that Lord Elrond had such a kind heart, he really didn't want to hear what his father had to say right now.
Elrond turned and gave them the look, an odd sparkle in his eyes. The young prince winced; perhaps he had been mistaken. Perhaps Lord Elrond didn't act out of kindness but simply wanted the pleasure of killing all of them himself. Unfortunately, one could never tell with him.
"I would like to have a look at all of them, especially your son. Injuries caused by spiders, however superficial and shallow, tend to become infected rather easily," the dark haired elf lord continued.
King Thranduil narrowed his eyes and surveyed the other elf, but nodded his head, mild worry in his eyes when he turned to his son.
"Very well then, my son, we will continue this tomorrow, after you have rested. Is there any other injury I should know about?"
Legolas smiled at his father.
"Nay, father, it is truly only a cut. I am fine."
His father returned the smile, arching an elegant eyebrow.
"Just how many times have I heard that statement?"
Elrond laughed lightly, beckoning his sons and Celylith to leave the room.
"About as many times as I have heard it from my own sons, I reckon."
The blonde elf shook his head in mock sadness.
"You might be correct there, my lord," he said, smiling at the elf lord who was just urging the three others out of the room. Turning back to his son, he added, putting an arm around the younger elf's shoulder and walking him to the door, "And I will hear it many more times, I think." He wrinkled his forehead slightly, giving the prince an admonishing look. "Legolas, you could at least try and be a bit more careful."
Legolas cast down his eyes, the guilt he felt for worrying his father clearly visible in his very stance.
"I know, ada. I am sorry, it just … happened."
Thranduil smiled.
"It always does, my son. And always to you."
Legolas gave him a brief smile and walked down the corridor to join his friends that stood next to Elrond, waiting for him, when his father's voice reached his ears.
"Tomorrow morning, Legolas. In my study."
The younger elf winced, but turned and nodded.
"Yes, father."
Ignoring his grinning friends, he followed Lord Elrond into the direction of the healing wing.
Behind him, Elladan stated, sounding very glad at having escaped the elven king's wrath,
"Well, it could have been worse."
Snorting softly, Legolas fell into step next to him.
"For me, dear Elladan, it is worse. Now my father has time to come up with a lecture I will surely remember for the next few decades."
The older twin nodded in mock sympathy.
"Yes, my prince, that is the burden of your position. After all, we are merely simple lords, rangers or captains of guards, while you, as a prince, and the crown prince at that, should really know better than to run off and get yourself injured like this…"
Legolas scowled at the other elf and gave the snickering human next to him a dark glare.
"I am so glad I can amuse you, Strider. Let's see how amused you will be after three months as a guest in my house, shall we? Many things can happen around here… Many painful things that happen without reason or warning…"
Aragorn quickly swallowed his laughter, deciding not to irritate his friend any further. He was right after all, three months could be a very long time...
Just then they reached the healing wing, but when Aragorn and Elladan wanted to follow their friends that had already made their ways over to some extremely grumpy, tired and ill-tempered-looking healers that had apparently already been awaiting their arrival, a tall figure moved in to intercept them.
The two brothers traded a pained looked before raising their eyes to meet their father's who stood in the doorway, smiling friendly at them. Far too friendly, Aragorn decided with a shudder.
"Estel, you may go inside. Hithrawyn will give you something that will help you sleep. We will talk tomorrow. I have some things to discuss with your far older and more mature brother," Elrond said quietly, the soft sound of his voice sounding as grim and threatening in the brothers' ears as the shrieking of a Ringwraith.
Aragorn nodded quickly, not even protesting about the sleeping draught. That was both because he really didn't think that his father would be open to reasonable arguments right now and because he honestly didn't mind sleeping without the danger of having nightmares. In the past few weeks he had come to appreciate his father's brews, mainly because they guaranteed a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Besides, Elrond would force him to drink the potion anyway, no matter how strongly he objected.
With a last look at Elladan's face who looked as if he had just been sentenced to a millennium in prison with only a balrog for company, he quickly slid inside, thanking all the Valar that he had got off this lightly. He winced as he caught the look Elrond gave him before he firmly shut the door from the outside, a hand on the shoulder of his oldest son. Maybe not.
Well, at least he had a short reprieve, he thought as he tried to convince Hithrawyn, whose face had assumed a rather interesting red colour, that he was perfectly alright. With any luck at all Elrond would have calmed down once he had ripped Elladan's head off his shoulders for allowing them to get themselves into such a situation.
'Yes,' he thought, trying not to hiss in pain when the master healer cleaned the cut on his forehead with quite a lot more force than necessary, 'Thank Ilúvatar for small favours.'
Adruran sent a dark glare to the equally dark heavens, wondering how it was possible that the weather had changed that quickly. A mere hour ago the night sky had been cloudless and starry, and now they were in the middle of a downpour. Within minutes he and his men had been drenched as effectively as if someone had emptied multiple large buckets of ice cold water over their heads. At least it didn't snow yet, but that small measure of comfort didn't really do anything to soothe his flaring temper.
He didn't want to be here, he had never wanted this particular assignment, especially not at this time of year, but his lord had commanded it and that was it. Nobody refused his lord and lived to tell the tale.
The man sighed, wiping a strand of wet brown hair out of his eyes. Everywhere there was water, all around them, but then again, that was only logical, considering they were moving along the shores of the Long Lake.
Suddenly Adruran halted his horse, gesturing for the following men to do the same. In front of them, spreading across the horizon like a broad, shimmering band of stars, lights were appearing, shining in the darkness and promising the travellers shelter and a dry place at a fire.
The man felt his companions relax, and unconsciously did the same. It had taken them nearly ten days to reach their destination, and even though the weather had been more agreeable most of the time, it was still not a very convenient time to travel, especially in the eastern parts of Wilderland.
Before his men could spur on their horses to reach the promising lights, he turned his horse, piercing them with a stern glare.
"We don't want any trouble," he said, looking at each of his troupe of twenty men in turn. "Do you understand? The first one who can't keep his mouth shut or starts any quarrel for which reason whatsoever will get sent back before he can even open his mouth to protest and can take on the questionable pleasure of explaining his behaviour to our lord."
The men winced in unison. This was not something any of them wanted to experience.
"We are here to carry out our orders, nothing more." Adruran shot the youngest member of the troupe a warning glare. "Tomorrow we will begin. Try to draw as little attention to yourselves as possible, but if anyone asks too many questions or makes any trouble, silence them. Make sure they won't get in our way and guarantee they don't talk. Ever again. Understood?"
The others nodded, more than a few of them grinning openly, including the youngster.
'Yes,' their commander thought tiredly, looking at the young man's gleaming brown eyes, 'Geran will cause trouble if I don't keep an eye on him.'
The leader gave a last nod, turned his horse and quickly made his way towards the brightly shining lights of the town, intent on getting out of this rain.
He really didn't like this assignment at all, but now that he had it, he would make sure that it was carried out properly and as quickly as possible. He would find the people his lord's informant had spoken of, make them tell him all he wanted to know and then make sure his liege got what he wanted.
That was the only option he had anyway; no-one returned to his lord in disgrace and failure, and he would definitely not be the first one stupid enough to try.
TBC...
mellonamin - my friend
eldar - 'People of the Stars', elves
Elentári - a title of Varda (Elbereth), meaning 'Queen of the Stars'
ada - father (daddy)
See? Everybody's safe and at home and generally fine! *evil laugh* Not for long though... Okay, the next chapter should be here soon, I think, even though I really _should_ be studying. *shrugs* It's highly overrated, anyway. If you want to encourage me in that rather reprehensible attitude, just send me a review! I will work wonders, believe me! *g* Please?
Additional A/N:
Coreinha - *hastily* Don't worry, they will be fine... Hey, wait! You threatened that wuite a lot of times and have never done it! Methinks you are bluffing, my lady! but still, I have updated! See! No need for swimming exercises... *g*
TrinityTheSheDevil - You know what? You sound a little bit like Wilwarin... *g* Huh! You are giving me 'the look'? Ack! Fly, you fools! *smirks* No, you are definitely not killing me, because then you would never learn what happens! You want a spider then? *suspicious look* Well, okay then, here, you can have Wilwarin's little sister, but remember: I have a per balrog called Stan, just in case you get any funny ideas... *g* *pokes back* See? I DID update!
E - Well, see I am updating, but I really hope I'll be finished with replying to the reviews soon ... the typing is awfully loud and I think my head wants to part company with the rest of me... *g* Well, you know me, I couldn't write an entirely serious chapter to save my life. Let me tell you one thing: I hate spiders! I really do, there's nothing worse than those eight-legged creatures of hell, if you ask me. I have to agree, Elrond and Thranduil probably weren't much of friends or anything like that, but I couldn't have them stay in the same palace and disloke each other. *thinks* Well, it's a nice idea though... too late now, I'm afraid. *confused* More wit into the comedy scenes? What exactly do you mean? Was it witless? *paniced look* WAS IT WITLESS? Tell me? Please?
Firnsarnien - *puts finger together, like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons* Excellent... I would hate not being able to write cliffies! Oh, I did throw you off your chair? SO sorry! *evil grin* Well, yes, in all fairness I actually think that Elrond and Thranduil wouldn't get along in reality, but they had to in this story. I didn't want them to be at odds all the time. Great you like it! Thanks a lot!
Kandice - Your graduation is Wednesday? Congratulations!! You have a faithful vampire-cat? Well, that's ... interesting! I have two cats which both think I am nothing but a human tin-opener and a balrog called Stan who isn't much better. You are right! Matrix is indeed great! I just loved Agent Smith and the twins! (Twin 1: We are getting aggravated. Twin 2: Yes, we are.) Great! I will see Bruce Almighty asap, but it doesn't come out here for another two weeks or something, I think. So I'll have to wait. Great. I _love_ waiting. Thanks for your great long review! *huggles her again to make her feel even more loved*
Gwyn - I'm trying, I'm trying! In fact, I'm even _doing_ it! *g* Thanks a lot for the review!
Mouse - *laughs* I'm glad you liked 'Leafie', even though I have the distinct feeling that Legolas isn't too thrilled about his new nickname. Bad for him, I guess... *g* Well, just read on, my friend, I don't want to spoil anything for you! But your guess isn't a bad one, considering how many spiders and how few elves/rangers there are... *evil grin* was this quick enough? *nervous look* I hope so...
Miss Understood - Yes, waiting is quite stressing, actually... *evil grin* Not for me, though! *runs away cackling maniacally* Well, how to break this to you... Hewon'tbeinanotherchapteruntilchapter7. Okay? Gottagobye. *runs off* Sorry!! *from a distance* Don't kill me!
Kaeera - Tja, ich kenne die Akzente vom Altgriechischunterrricht. Gravis, Akut und Zirkumflex. Die Franzosen haben doch mal wieder alles geklaut... *g* Und das auf Kaeera war 'n Akut. Tja, Ich geb's ja zu, Nightcrawler war nicht schlecht, aber ich stehe eher so auf Wolverine. Ich liebe die Krallen! *hinschmelz* Okay, ich wuerde das echt schreiben, nach dieser Story wenn ich mal ein bisschen Zeit haben sollte. Vielleicht so 3-4 Kapitel oder so. Sag mir nur, wann du im Nov. Geburtstag hast, dann kann ich ja gucken, was sich machen laesst... *g* Tja, wie ich sagte: viel Spass bei deiner Elrohir-hurt-Szene!
Ciria - Well, I'm always that quick! About five days, that's me! Well, Glorfindel killed at least one blarog, back during the destruction of Gondolin. He did get killed in the process himself, though... *g* Huh, the last elf in ME? legolas was one of the last, but there is the question of what the twins did. Nobody really knows, so they might have been the last ones, either because they decided to chose the Doom of Men like their sister or because they journeyed West very late (Tolkien said in the Appendixes that they remained in ME for a long time after their father had set sail). *shrugs* Who knows.Well, Celylith isn't exactly in love with Wilwarin, but she's his pet and he likes her very much. And she likes Celylith more than other elves, but that doesn't say much. And he found its tracks during a patrol and followed her. *huggles Ciria* Thanks a lot for the double review! It was great and long! Thanks!
NaughtyNat - *g* Yes, I would pity Suaron, actually... The five of them would destroy Barad-dûr in a matter of hours, I think... *g* Well, yes, Legolas _might_ get hurt in the story. Later. Only a little bit. You know me, I would never hurt a character, let alone _torture_ them! *evil laugh* You are right, in the movies Elrond is really not very nice, but I always imagined him totally different. But then again, all this here is befor Arwen, so... *shrugs* I like him better this way. Thanks for reviewing! Reviews really help and encourage a lot!
Alilacia - *nods and kicks FF.net as well* Somtimes it does that. I will never understand how and why and things like that, but ... it just does. *shrugs* We hate it, Gollum, Gollum, yes we does, precious... Well, usually I hear things like Metallica or Limp Bizkit, but also Robbie Williams, Eminem and Live. Weird, I know, but do you know 'Live'? They are great, they really are! Try "Feel the quiet river rage" or "The dolphin's cry". Great songs, really. *g* Yup. Aragorn has lots of opportunities to practice his 'console a guilty mellon' skills... *grins evilly* Bad leafie, that's Legolas. He isn't so thrilled about it, I don't know why either... *g* You too? Trin already wanted a spider as well ... what are you guys planning? Hm? What? *suspious look*
Halo - I have seen Matrix! Yes, I have! And the twins are SO cool! I mean really! I just love them! They are awesome! (Twin 1: We are getting aggravated. Twin 2: Yes, we are.) Great! Well, I'm glad you like it so much, despite the spiders. But where is your story, huh? And that other one, what's-its-name-again? "Save him if you can"? Huh? Where?
Xsilicax - *innocent expression* What? Don't you like spiders? *leans closer and whispers* Me neither, but the things I do for you guys... *g* 'How could you?
How could you end it there? How could you let it be spiders! How are they going to escape?' Hoi! Many questions, my friend... Okay, first: easily. I'm evil, that helps a lot. Second, see first. Third, see second and first, besides, spiders were the logical choice. Forth, read on, dear friend, and ye shall see... *g* Yeah well, you should really choose a drinking game where you don't have to drink just that much - I mean, we didn't even get past Rivendell! What a shame! *g* Thanks for the review!
Kirsten - *smiles evilly* Thanks a lot. I love writing evil cliffies. They're so much fun. Funny, most people don't seem to enjoy them as much... *g* Thanks a lot for reviewing! It really helps!
Zam - LOL! Elrond's rading elf porn? Well, that is an interesting idea - disgusting, but interesting, like so many others... *g* Yeah well, I'd already noticed your obsession with Austin Powers, the chapter about your interview with Thranduil was kind of a give-away. Besides, where is your next interview? Huh? Or have you abandoned the story? *teary-eyed* No, you haven't! Just say you haven't! *tries to imagine the shark-horse and falls off her chair laughing* Okay, that was funny! *grins evilly* If you think they have a bad week now, just wait a few chapters... Oh, I love dropping mysterious hints! *cackles evilly*
Lina - *offended* Seobryn is not a 'lil' whiny, useless boy who couldn't do jack to help (your) baby'. I resent that! And he is most definitely NOT SCUM!! *growls threateningly* I kinda like him! You have an Estel-kitty? Not fair! But then again, I will call my kitten Estel if it's male. *prays that is IS male* LINA! Stop licking his hands, for cryin' out loud! ÉOMER! She ... she ... she ... licked Estel's hands! Enough is enough! *shrieking* Take her away! And, for heaven's sake, take away her spork of doom! - Éomer: Rohirrim! No need to shout at me! - LOL, btw, I think you should treat your bodyguard a little better. Now he is riding 'pathetically' south. That's not a good development... *g*
Alexa - Uhm, so you liked the ending? *sarcastic smile* Don't worry, this is only the beginning, I wouldn't want to hurt your Leafie or anyone else badly just now - I will save that for later... *g* Thanks so much for your reviews, and don't worry, I would never let your elven prince die. I may be evil, but I'm not stupid! *g*
Nilbrethiliel - Tja ja, mein Gehirn ist mein groester Schatz - und mein einziger, neben meinem 19'' Monitor... *g* Und du hast Recht, unser kleiner Schmetterling wird mit der Familie wiedervereinigt - das Problem ist nur, dass es eine ziemlich grosse Familie ist... *g* Tut mir leid, *betreten guck* aber die Zwillinge und Elrond muessen weg! Da laeest sich ncihts machen! Aber keine Angst, es gibt ja noch mehr Stories! *g* Na ja, noch ist mit leiden noch nicht so viel, das kommt alles noch, ist doch schliesslich erst der Anfang! Danke fuer die review!!
Nikara - *nods in sympathy* Yes, I know, FF.net is horrible. It hates me, I think... Huh, you're writing a story! Great! Post it soon! About Legolas family/age: That's a hard question. Legolas age isn't known, and neither is his mother's fate. Some movie-people have figured out something like 2900 years, but I have no idea where they got that from. In Tolkien's main works he never lost a word about that, so nobody really knows. I just thought him to be younger than the twins who are 2889 years old at the Fall of Barad-dûr (ROTK). We don't know anything about his mother, neither her name nor her origin, so we don't know whether she is dead or had passed into the West. But the fact that Tolkien never mentioned a Queen of Mirkwood indicates that she, well, isn't there. So it's all up to you, really. Thanks for the review, and I'll definitely look out for that story of yours!
Reviewer - *blushes* Thanks so much! I'm doing my best!
Marbienl - Yes! Write more! Lots more!! Well, I don't prefer 'one chapter', but chapters that are longer than a page are very nice! *hint hint* About the wine: I think I know what you mean, I think it's called wine-cooler in English, although I don't really know - it's very nice though! Especially with strawberries! LOL, I really don't think that Wilwarin is in the danger of the Stockholm-syndrome! She ... uhm, well, doesn't really like elves! *blinks* Yes, I do indeed get the hint, but don't get your hopes up just yet. This is only the beginning, I wouldn't want to hurt my ranger just yet. It would set back his recovery which in term would ruin the whole schedule... *g* Do I still get the plushies? Please? Please Please Please?? *puppy-dog eyes* Oh, and thanks for not poking me!
Tapetum lucidum - Yeah well, Celylith does fit in, you are right there - but who did give Lord Elrond a spider? That's a story I would very much like to hear! And I agree, wars are entirely unnecessary - just send them over for a visit and Sauron would capitulate in a week! Huh? I could join the Stargate project? Sure! There is the problem that I'm not an US citizen though - besides, I think now that Daniel's gone (or is he already back? ), it's not as funny as it used to be - though I really would love to meet Selmac. I love Jacob/Selmac, don't ask me why...
Arwen-Evenstar - *grins* I'm evil, don't remind me... *g* Thank you so much for your kind words and all your great reviews! They really encourage me to keep writing! Thanks! *huggles Arwen*
CrazyLOTRFan - *wide eyes* You like cliffies, then? Then you are just right here, mate - I _love_ them! I'm glad you like it so much, thanks for reviewing!
Mer - Thanks, I did indeed have a lot of fun! And I will try to keep updating regularly, there is the question whether or not I can keep that up though, college exams are drawing closer... Thanks for the review!
ManuKu - Du hast ein Glueck mit deinen Kurzurlauben! Aber na ja, momentan ist das Wetter hier so toll, dass man gar nicht weg will! Wirklic, durchgehend blauer Himmel und Sonne - einfach toll! LOL, Winter um Winter? Recht hast du ja irgendwo! Ah, Adruran als Nólads 'Bruder im Geiste'? Na ja, sagen wir mal so: er moechte den Auftrag nicht und will das ganze prefessionell erledigen, aber das mit dem Gewissen ist zumindest nicht bewiesen... Oh, ich wuerde nicht sagen, dass Celylith durchgeknallt ist - eher so was wie 'ungewoehnlich'. Ich gebe mich sowieso nicht mit 'normalen' Leuten ab, also, ich mag ihn! *g* Und Stan und ich verweigern da jeden Kommentar - wir sind naemlich nicht durchgeknallt, nur ... 'anders'. Genau, anders ist gut. LOL, so kann man das auch sehen, Aragorn will ja leiden! Tja, ich fand 'Leafie' auch gut, aber Legolas irgendwie nich' so - keine Ahnung warum! Vielen Dank fuer die beiden reviews! Danke!!
Cestari - *blushes* Thanks! There's no need to be sorry, I mean, some people DO actually have a life, unlike me... *g* But I'm glad you're reviewing now! *huggles her* Thanks so much!
Salara - Oh, die Spinnenszene? Wem sagst du das, ich habe naechtelang Albtraeume durchstanden! Ich _hasse_ Spinnen! Und keine Angst - nicht mal die Boeslinge wuerde ich als Spinnensnack enden lassen - das ist zu grausam! Und die Thranduil-Szene ist hier, nur ein bisschen weiterlesen! Ich bemitleide den guten Mann, aeh, Elb wirklich, er kann einem ja auch leidtun, nech? *fieses Grinsen* Du hast es echt mit Elrond, nech? Na ja, jeden das seine, und er hat ja was, das muss ich zugeben! Na ja, danke fuer die review! *knuddelt sie*
ThE iNsAnE oNe - LOL, so squargs are warg/squirrel hybrids? That is _definitely_ an interesting idea! What do they look like? But I have to admit that wariderels sound very ... nice as well! I mean, they just have to be adorable, being part spider... *g* Sorry, but I can't read your review, the email just stops and FF.net won't show me the rest! *kicks FF.net* We hates it, yes precious, we does... Anyway, I gotta post now, thanks a lot for reviewing!! *huggles TiO and her new pet* Are they ferocious? If yes, then I want one!
Thank God, that's it. I never knew typing was that loud! *holds head* No, j/k, I'm alright actually, just a bit tired... Thanks a lot for the lovely reviews! You guys are the best!
A/N:
*groans* I shouldn't have got up this morning, I knew it was a mistake from the very beginning... But then again, I DO have an obligation to you or something of that sort, so I did it anyway. *g*
Oh, btw, have any of you seen "Matrix: Reloaded"? I mean, hey, the movie is great, especially Agent Smith ("Mr. Anderson. Surprised ... to see me?"), but am I the only one who is a. confused and b. feeling betrayed? I mean, they can't stop there! They just can't! *wails*
Okay, I feel better now...
*grins* I agree, Celylith IS quite strange, but hey, I know a person who thinks scorpions are the most adorable and perfect things on this planet, so such people really do exist. And yes, I have to confirm that Elrond and the twins will leave next chapter and - never - come - back. *hits herself* Sorry, another Gollum moment, happens all the time... *g*
Anyway, they won't be back this story, I think, and I'm not sure about the next one yet. I'm sorry, but I was running out of ideas to hurt all of them. Legolas and Aragorn are bad enough.
Well, next chapter's here even though I'm still half-asleep (we had _very much_ fun yesterday evening, I think. Can't remember much of it, but that's what I've been told *g*). Yay me! Okay, we see ... spiders - who would've guessed, I know - ... worried elves and rangers ... _very_ annoyed elven kings and more of the evil men. And some action in between, of course. *g*
Have fun and review, please!
Chapter 4
Elrohir watched the crawling things all around them, inwardly cursing alternately his luck, that horrid spider and Celylith. Especially Celylith. He couldn't be a proper elf, the elven twin decided, no elf would behave like this. Not even a dwarf could behave so foolishly, for Eru's sake!
The spider right in front of him shifted another inch closer, and Elrohir grasped his sword a little bit more tightly. This was not good. Not only were they surrounded by giant arachnids, but said arachnids were also disconcertingly quiet, something which he didn't like at all. He moved a little to the left, shifting closer to his twin who stood next to him in the circle they had formed to protect themselves.
"Does anybody has an idea what to do?" he whispered, not taking his eyes off their silent foes.
"Except for not talking, not moving and pretending to be both bad-tasting and far away from here? No."
Elrohir sighed, giving his older brother an annoyed look. While he could sympathise with Elladan's dry humour, especially facing a potentially deadly situation such as this one, it could be terribly annoying.
"We could give them the spider and run when their attention is diverted," Aragorn suggested, eyeing a spider that was taller than him and about five times as wide.
"Give them Wilwarin? Are you mad?" Celylith hissed, holding onto the rope that wound round the spider's neck with both hands. Now that the animal heard and sensed others of its kind, it strained against its restrains and generally did all in its power to break free.
Legolas glared at the silver haired elf, his patience finally spent.
"A better question would be, are you mad? We are surrounded by these foul things and you still want to keep her? She is a spider, Celylith, and they are spiders! By the Valar, I will order you to set her free if I have to!"
Celylith grimaced.
"They could be of a different colony, perhaps they want to harm her…"
"Celylith!" four exasperated voices hissed.
"'Tis enough now!" Legolas added tensely. "You will let that spider go, now!"
Their argument was interrupted when the black mass of spider bodies parted at the far side of the clearing and a dark … something began to glide forwards, fast approaching their position. Aragorn squinted and tried to make out the outline of the being that was coming their way, but keen as his eyes might be for a human, he just couldn't identify what it was in the near-complete darkness that filled the glade. All he could see was that it was surely more than twelve feet tall and apparently just as wide.
Finally giving up, he asked Elladan,
"Brother? What is that?"
The older twin didn't answer, his wide eyes fixed on the form that was now only a few dozen yards away.
"Trouble, mellonamin," Legolas answered for the twin, unsheathing one of his knives that rattled softly against the sheath. "And by the looks of it, big trouble."
"What is it?" the young ranger demanded again, gripping the hilt of his sword so tightly that his knuckles showed white through the skin, the pain in his wrists forgotten now that the adrenaline coursed through his body.
"It appears," the elven prince answered lightly, "that Wilwarin's mother has just arrived."
Aragorn's mouth nearly fell open.
"You mean that's a spider?" he asked unbelievingly, his eyes as wide as saucers now. "That monster is as tall as a house!"
"Taller," Elladan muttered dryly, having finally regained his ability to speak. "Legolas, let me tell you one thing: If we survive this, I will have to kill that poor excuse for an elf that is standing right behind me. I thought you, as his lord, should know."
"No, mellonamin," Legolas muttered, not being able to avert his eyes from the giant female spider that came ever closer. "You will not kill him. I will."
"Only if I don't get to him first," Elrohir and Aragorn said simultaneously, causing the elf in question to grimace. Perhaps it was better to volunteer for a long-time scouting mission sometime in the near future, Celylith mused, eyeing his companions warily. He would gladly go anywhere, as long as it was far, very far away from his irate friends. Mordor sounded very nice, as did Harad…
The giant black thing stopped right in front of them, towering over the five young beings that gazed at her grimly, determined not to let their fear show. But it was quite hard not to appear afraid when you were surrounded by spiders that were obviously trying to decide whether they should even bother to weave you into a cocoon before they ate you, Aragorn thought, swallowing hard.
'King Thranduil is right,' he thought wryly, 'Every time Legolas and I are together, something like this seems to happen. It's a law of nature, I think.'
The spider's huge eyes seemed to wander over the small group, dismissing them instantly when they came to rest on the hissing "butterfly" Celylith still tried to hold back. It opened its mouth and gave a low, hissing sound, something more than just an animal sound, but just less than understandable words.
At this the smaller animal squealed and began to trash around, trying to escape the elf's restraining grasp. Celylith had his trouble avoiding the legs and sharp claws, and only with all his considerable elven strength did he manage to hold his pet back.
"Celylith!" Legolas hissed threateningly. "Let her go!"
"But Legolas…" the other elf began, but was cut off quickly when the fair haired prince whirled to face him.
"Enough now!" Legolas said, glaring at his friend. "I know how much you like these abominable things," he stopped shortly to give the still fighting spider a deadly glare when it once again began to tell him what a "bad, bad, bad Leafie" he was, "but this is enough! If we don't give her up now, none of use is leaving this clearing alive! Do you understand?"
Celylith looked at his prince, but when it became apparent that he wouldn't budge an inch and that neither one of elven twins nor Aragorn was willing to back him up, he relented.
"As you command, your Highness," he said, looking at Legolas with hurt blue eyes, reaching for his dagger and carefully cutting the ropes that secured the hood on the spitting spider's head.
As soon as the cloth came off, the animal hissed and tried to bite off the silver haired elf's head, a fate which he only escaped by letting go of the rope he held and rolling to the side. The spider skittered away, quickly disappearing in the mass of moving, hissing bodies all around them, making its way quickly over to its mother, half of the time hissing, half of the time talking in its high, screechy voice.
"Wicked, wicked!! Evil elves, wicked, nasty Leafie, wicked!!"
Legolas smiled blissfully, ignoring the thing, deciding in an instant that the turned back of this creature was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen in his long life. He would never have to lay eyes on this horrible spider again, and if he by some chance did, he would kill it, and not even Celylith would be able to stop him.
He shook his head as he heard his friend tearfully whisper behind him,
"Goodbye, Wilwarin. I will miss you."
He came to the decision not to turn; if he saw tears in the eyes of his childhood friend now, he would very likely really kill him.
"Uhm, Legolas?" the tense voice of his human friend asked, causing him to focus once more on the spiders that were closing in on them. "I really do not think that this has solved any of our problems. In fact, I think that it has just made matters worse."
Legolas surveyed the scene in front of him, and as much as he hated to, he had to agree.
The giant female spider, obviously the matriarch of this particular colony, bent down to sniff the younger spider, and after a few seconds filled with hissing and unarticulated sounds, she slowly turned and moved back the way she had come, Wilwarin in tow.
The other spiders however came ever closer, a mass of moving, crawling dark bodies that seemed to scramble over each other in their attempt to get closer to their prey.
"Did you see that?" Celylith asked, sounding awed and on the brink of being moved to tears. "She really is the mother, their behaviour is fascinating…"
"Celylith," Elrohir growled, turning burning eyes on the elven warrior. "If you utter another word, just one other word, I swear by the Valar and Ilúvatar himself that I will kill you! I never make idle threats nor break my promises, son of Celythramir, you should keep that in mind."
To his credit and their relief, the silver haired elf really closed his mouth and contended himself with glaring darkly at them.
Aragorn had just opened his mouth to ask how in Elbereth's name they should ever get out of this when a claw came out of nowhere and fastened itself around Elrohir's ankle, dragging him to the ground. With a cry of pain the younger twin went down, his hands grasping his leg, vainly trying to dislodge the hold one of the creatures had on him. Elladan gave a shout of rage and hurled himself at the spider that seemed intent on dragging his twin away from them, and all of the sudden the whole clearing erupted in frantic action as Aragorn, Celylith and Legolas raised their weapons and began to fight their way through the mass of spiders that seemed to fill every bit of space in the clearing.
The spiders quickly realised that they had to keep their distance from these so very tasty-looking delicacies if they didn't want to lose their legs or worse, and changed their tactics from rushing them to trying to immobilise them by shooting thick, silver, sticky threats at them, trying to catch one of the five young beings.
"Legolas! Behind you!" Aragorn's voice sounded over the chaos of hissing, shrieking spider bodies, alive and dying, and the noises of swishing blades that found flesh, causing the hit spider to give a loud cry and collapse to the ground, legs and pinchers twitching.
Legolas didn't even waste time trying to discern what it was that was behind him but dropped instantly to the ground and rolled to the side, rolling back to his feet in one fluid motion and coming to a full stop when he came face to face with another spider. Moving quicker than the arachnid could react, the elven prince had somersaulted backwards and thrown one of his knives in the same move. The spider gave an unearthly shriek and fell to the ground, the dagger sticking out of one of his huge compound eyes.
The elf regarded the dying beast without pity, his hands unconsciously straying to the quiver on his back when he saw even more spiders appear at the edge of the glade. He found only air and empty space, and with a sinking feeling the prince remembered that he didn't have a bow anymore. His beloved, decades old bow was gone, buried under countless rocks in a cave in the Misty Mountains, and he hadn't had the heart to get a new one yet. Which might have been a mistake, he realised wryly.
Not having time to dwell on this, he quickly retrieved his dagger just in time to dance to the side and bury it in the hairy body of another spider that had apparently given up on trying to trap this agile prey with its silk and was rushing at him at full speed now. The beast fell as the first, but this time the prince was not fast enough to escape the flailing legs completely and a claw ripped through his tunic, leaving a long, ragged cut just over his breastbone.
Legolas hissed and drew back, doing his best to ignore the pain and finding a way out of their predicament. He quickly looked around him, and what he saw didn't please him in the slightest. Aragorn and Elladan were apparently still trying to free their brother from a small cluster of spiders that had managed to drag Elrohir out of their midst and were now trying to carry the younger twin off into the woods. Both Elrohir's elven and human brother were desperately trying to reach the unmoving elf's side, hacking at the spiders with wild ferocity. Even Celylith was holding his own, even though Legolas thought he saw a wince on his friend's face every time his sharp elven blade connected with a spider's body.
'At least he's not trying to communicate with them again,' he thought dryly, trying to force his way through the mass of crawling foes to Aragorn's and Elladan's side. He reached them just in time to bury his left dagger in a beast that was descending on his friends from the trees above them, and it fell to the ground with a scream, knocking the young ranger to the ground.
Legolas gave a furious dwarven curse, called for Celylith to cover them and rushed forwards, using all his strength to free his trapped friend. Aragorn lay under the fallen spider, trying with all his might to push the body off himself that was pressing down on his freshly healed ribs, a bleeding cut from either a pincher or a claw running over his forehead. A second later Legolas arrived at his side and, grabbing one of the now still black legs, he began to pull the still body aside, grimacing in disgust as he did so.
After what appeared to be an eternity he finally managed to free his human friend, grabbed him tightly by the arm and pulled him to his feet, steadying the gasping human who doubled over, attempting to force air into his uncooperative lungs. With a quick look making sure that Aragorn wasn't seriously hurt, he let his eyes wander over the clearing. Even though they had killed or at least immobilized a great deal of the foul things, even more started to appear from the trees all around them. For every fallen spider there seemed to pop up at least two new ones that scurried into their direction.
Legolas noticed out of the corner of his eye that Elladan had finally managed to skewer the last spider that had been trying to separate him from his unconscious brother, and he grimaced, not at all liking the command he would have to give. He was a wood-elf, and as that hated the spiders and other foul things that sought to destroy his home with a fierce passion. Besides, wood-elves rarely fled before their foes, and everything inside of him screamed in refusal to such an action.
But sometimes fleeing was the only option one had, and he was sensible enough to understand the need to live to fight another day.
He grabbed Aragorn's arm tightly and began to drag the still winded ranger backwards.
"Retreat!" he yelled, lashing out at a spider that wanted to cut off their escape. "Elladan! Celylith! Get back to the path! We need to leave, now!!"
The older twin nodded and took up his brother that was lying unmoving at his feet, trusting Celylith to cover them which the other elf did, striking out at every dark, furry body that blocked their path. His love for spiders was obviously not so strong that he was willing to let himself or his friends be eaten by them.
The small group carefully retreated back out of the clearing, bringing swift death to all those of the spiders that were not willing to let this tasty meat escape. When they had put some distance between them and the beasts that had, after a lot of hissing, screeching and threatening screams, decided that these five were more trouble than they were worth and had stopped their pursuit, they finally stopped, still glancing warily around them.
Aragorn let himself sink to the ground that was covered with dark brown leaves in utter exhaustion. He grimaced as he wiped the blood out of his eyes that trickled down from his head wound. 'Eru, when I said I needed exercise I didn't mean it quite like this…'
His older brother's voice quickly drew him out of his idle considerations.
"Elrohir! Wake up! Come now, brother, open your eyes, please!"
The twin's voice sounded on the verge of a full-fledged panic now, for he had tried to rouse his brother during the whole time they had run to save their lives, without success however.
Aragorn quickly moved over to his brothers' side, swiftly followed by Legolas who was trying to free his clothing of spider silk.
Elladan, unscathed except for a few scratches and a lot of spider blood that clung to his arms, chest and even his face and dark hair, had placed his twin on the ground and was now carefully cutting away the other's legging to reveal the freely bleeding gash that the spider's claw had left in the young elf's leg.
"He is not waking!" he said, looking at the friends with frightened eyes, barely controlled panic clear to hear. "He should not even be unconscious! Why is he not waking?"
Aragorn and Legolas traded a look, and the young ranger shifted closer to his oldest brother and grabbed his shaking hand, trying not to let his mounting worry show. Fierce warrior and versed healer that Elladan may be, when it came to his family and especially to his twin, he was not capable of remaining calm and assessing a situation with the necessary detachment.
"Calm down, Elladan," he said sternly, forcing himself to smile at his elven brother and giving his hand a squeeze. "You need to focus. Elrohir needs you, you cannot panic now."
The young ranger smiled slightly as he watched the older twin take a deep breath. This worked every time.
"You are right, Estel," the dark haired elf said, giving the other a brief smile before fixing his eyes on his brother once more. "Forgive me." He looked at Legolas who had used the opportunity to examine the fallen elf more closely. "What is wrong with him then?"
Legolas grimaced and gently turned the unconscious elf's head to the side, revealing a red, slightly bleeding bite mark that had been concealed by Elrohir's long hair.
"One of them bit him," he said simply, rummaging through the small pack he had insisted they took with them and pulling out a bandage.
Elladan's eyes grew wide as he obviously tried to remember what he knew about spider bites, the panic in them only increasing.
"Bit him? But he will live, won't he? Won't he, Legolas?"
Legolas smiled at his friend reassuringly.
"Yes, of course he will. He simply sleeps, and when he wakes up he will be back to his annoying self in no time. As soon as you two have bandaged his leg, we can leave."
The prince didn't mention to his friend that, sometimes, spider bites could indeed kill. No-one knew why, but sometimes they caused a severe reaction in the victim's body, and the agent in the spider's poison that usually paralysed and rendered unconscious worked in a different way, bringing him or her close to death's doors, and without help, even beyond these dark gates. If that happened, elves had a far better chance of survival than men or dwarves did, and so Legolas truly wasn't very worried. Elrohir was young and strong, he was an elf and they were less than two hours away from his father's halls. He would be just fine. He hoped.
While he carefully wrapped the long strip of white linen around the dark haired elf's neck, he remembered with a shudder how exactly this had happened to him about a year ago. He could very clearly remember how the poison had burned in his veins while he had been dragging himself back home after a spider's nest had dropped out of the trees right in front of him and his horse.
His father had indeed not been pleased when he had arrived at the palace two days after he had left for Rivendell, a little bit worse for the wear. He was still of the opinion that the terms his father and king used for his appearance instead, mainly "barely alive", "delusional" and "about to pass into the Halls of Waiting" were a gross exaggeration, but it hadn't been very pleasant, that much he did indeed remember.
Once he had bandaged the bite wound, Legolas stiffly rose to his feet and was just about to tell Celylith who had been keeping watch over the little clearing that they would leave now, when a hand grabbed his long-sleeved tunic that had once been of a beige colour but was now more or less completely covered with dark spider blood and stopped his movements. He looked down, perplexed, to see the stern face of his human friend.
"Sit," Aragorn ordered, pointing with his other hand at a spot right next to him.
Legolas raised lifted an eyebrow in question, with one hand trying to untangle his matted braids that were dark with the foul creatures' blood now.
"Excuse me?"
"Sit," the young ranger repeated, pulling at the sleeve he held insistently. "Sit down, Legolas, and let me have a look at that cut."
Legolas glanced down his body, already having forgotten about his injury.
"'Tis nothing serious, Estel. It's truly just a scratch, and we need to get your brother back to the palace now. We don't have time to linger here."
Estel gave him a very good version of his father's look, and Legolas wondered dazedly how it was possible that a human could reproduce elven stares so perfectly. He could never glare at someone like that, he decided, allowing his friend to pull him to the ground; you probably needed either a lot of practice or had to be a blood relative of Lord Elrond, however distantly. Probably both, he thought with a slight smile.
"This is not funny, Legolas," Aragorn said accusingly, unbuttoning his friend's shirt and swatting at his hands that were trying to do the same thing. "Stop that and let me work."
Legolas blinked at the human who was inspecting the long, ragged, bleeding cut that ran across his chest. If Aragorn had added a "young prince" to that last sentence, he could have sworn he had just heard the Lord of Rivendell and not his adopted son, so much did the ranger sound like the elf lord.
Aragorn looked at his elven friend with eyes full of indignation.
"So this is only a scratch?" he asked unbelievingly, poking the other in the chest just above the cut. "Legolas, that thing cut open your chest from one shoulder to the other!"
"And your point is?" Legolas shot back, trying not to hiss in pain when the human grabbed their only water bottle and poured a generous amount of water over the wound. "It is a shallow cut, nothing more!"
Aragorn only snorted, a sound that removed the last doubts from Legolas' mind that some kind of foul magic had to be at work here. That snort had sounded exactly like the Lord of Imladris, and it should not be possible for one of the Second People to imitate one of the eldar thus. Carefully the elven prince eyed the young human in front of him who was just finishing covering his chest in bandages. Perhaps he was Lord Elrond after all and he was merely hallucinating?
He closed his eyes and counted to three. When he opened them again, Aragorn was still there, looking at him with worried eyes.
"Legolas? Are you alright? Is there another wound?"
The fair haired elf just kept looking at him.
"No," he said slowly, "No, I am fine."
"Well, you don't look fine," Aragorn told him, climbing to his feet and offering the prince a hand up. "In fact, you look as if you had just discovered that I was the Dark Lord in disguise."
Legolas looked at him, shaking his head as he grabbed the offered hand and stood up.
"No, mellonamin," he said gravely. "Rather someone much, much worse than the Lord of Mordor."
The ranger looked back at his friend, wondering if the elf had got a hit on the head as well. He gave Legolas a careful smile and patted his arm.
"Of course, Legolas. Can you walk?"
"Of course I can walk!" Legolas exclaimed, sounding rather offended.
"Very well," Aragorn replied and sank to his knees next to his two elven brothers. "Elladan? Can you carry him or should we help you?"
Elladan slowly looked up from where he had been gently brushing errant strands of dark hair out of his twin's tightly closed eyes. He gave his human brother a slightly confused look, as if for the first time noticing that he and Elrohir weren't alone in the tiny glade where they had stopped.
"Elladan?" the young man replied, catching his eye. "Did you hear what I said?"
The older twin blinked slowly and finally nodded.
"Yes," he said, gathering Elrohir in his arms and standing up, "Yes, of course I can carry him. Let us go."
Legolas motioned Celylith to take the lead, and the silver haired elf complied, avoiding his friend's gaze. The prince sighed. Celylith would need some time to get over his beloved pet's loss, that much was sure.
He turned back to his human friend who was still kneeling on the ground, shaking his head slightly.
"Strider?" he questioned softly, crouching down next to him. "Are you alright? That spider didn't do any damage when it fell on you, did it?"
Aragorn shook his head, silver eyes dancing with silent laughter.
"No."
"Then what is it?" Legolas asked as he carefully pulled the young man to his feet and they began to follow the others.
"I have a question for you: Is there any other way to get into the palace than to walk through the gates? A way that doesn't take longer than a few hours?"
The blonde elf looked at him in confusion.
"No, not that I know of, and believe me, I know all of them."
Aragorn just grinned at his friend as he ducked slightly to avoid a low-hanging branch.
"Then we are in trouble."
Legolas quickly saw his friend's point.
"Elentári," he whispered, his face paling rapidly now. "They will kill us."
"We will have to think of a plausible story, my friend."
"It is a pity Elrohir is unconscious," Legolas commented dryly. "That elf can talk himself out of nearly anything."
"Well," Aragorn said and turned serious again, renewed worry shining in his grey eyes, "We will have to do without him. I am sure there are many good reasons we can come up with for the state we are in."
"If you say so," the elf retorted doubtfully. "We will have to come up with something credible, or we can go back to Celylith's friends and let them finish what they've begun. That would be quicker."
"Not to mention less painful," the ranger added, giving a mock shudder of fear. "How is it that you always drag me into these situations?"
"Oh, be quiet, reckless human."
"As you wish, stubborn elf."
And, smiling at each other, they hurried to catch up with the twins and Celylith, feverishly trying to come up with something they could tell their fathers.
"So."
The King of Mirkwood watched with more satisfaction than he should rightly feel how the three elves and the ranger flinched at his soft, almost tranquil tone of voice.
"So," he repeated, smiling friendly at the four young beings in front of him that looked very much as if they had taken a prolonged bath in spider blood.
Legolas looked as if he wanted to say something, but obviously thought better of it and closed his mouth again without uttering a word.
Thranduil let them squirm for another minute before he chose to say some more.
"A walk," he said, giving the young ones a mild smile. "You took a walk."
His son nodded hesitantly.
"Yes, ada."
"Which you couldn't tell anyone because you decided to do it … what was the exact word again? Oh yes, because you decided spontaneously."
The elven king received another careful affirmative.
"And on that walk that took you hours away from the palace, you were attacker by spiders," Thranduil continued, still smiling politely at them.
Aragorn swallowed and hurried to nod with his friend. This was most unsettling, he decided. Legolas' father bore a disconcerting resemblance to a cat that was playing with a mouse before finally pouncing and eating it with one bite.
"And these spiders that attacked you this close to the palace without reason bit Lord Elrond's younger son and injured my own."
Legolas smiled hesitantly at his far too calm father.
"That is correct, ada."
The king merely looked at him blankly before adding,
"So you escaped from them and made your way back here."
All four of them nodded now, and Elladan said,
"That is what happened, your Majesty."
Thranduil inclined his head to his friend's son in his unique regal way, but his blue eyes gleamed dangerously.
"Very well, you four. But could you possibly explain to me why you attempted to sneak back into the palace without anyone noticing?"
Legolas, having been elected spokesman before their arrival, took a deep breath. This was a little bit tricky, but it had been a risk they had had to take. If their attempts to avoid the guardsmen had been successful, they wouldn't even be in this situation but safely in their own rooms. But, alas, the guards had caught them, which the elven prince blamed solely on the fact that Elrohir was a lot heavier than he looked.
"We didn't want to disturb anyone," he lied, looking at his father with big, innocent eyes. "Besides, Hithrawyn would have had a fit if we had come to him dragging Elrohir behind, asking him to heal him. He might even have harmed us, he is quite stressed out lately."
"This way Lord Elrond had a fit when he saw his son," Thranduil countered, looking sternly at all of them.
Elladan and Aragorn hung their heads. Their father truly hadn't been very pleased to see his younger elven son in such a condition, and the look he had given them while he had taken Elrohir to the healing wing had been full of promises of what would happen to them once he got a hold of them.
The golden haired king looked at them a minute longer, studying their guilty faces.
"And that is all?" he asked in a syrupy tone of voice. "There is nothing more you would like to tell me?"
Legolas swallowed nervously and slowly shook his head.
"No, father. Nothing more of interest happened."
'Well,' he reasoned silently, 'Wilwarin wasn't really that fascinating a creature after all.'
"I see," his father said quietly, looking closely at all four of them. "Then I have only one last question, I think."
Legolas almost closed his eyes when he saw the older elf rise to his feet and narrow his eyes. This was not good; this was not a good sign…
Thranduil raised a blonde eyebrow and asked in a mere whisper,
"Do you honestly expect me to believe a single word of that?"
The fair haired prince gulped slightly, shooting his equally petrified friends a brief, panic-stricken look.
"Well … yes."
That much was true, he thought, there were some parts that sounded more trustworthy than others. About one or two phrases had even sounded quite realistic.
The King of Mirkwood was spared a response when the door of his study opened and Lord Elrond entered, looking not too amused himself.
"My lord," Elrond nodded at the other elf lord and shot his sons and the other two occupants of the room a scathing glare.
"Lord Elrond," Thranduil inclined his head, "How is your son?"
"He will be well, thank you. Your healers kindly provided an antidote that will help his body to get rid of the poison more quickly. He will wake in a few hours."
"I am glad to hear that, my friend," the golden haired elf said, smiling slightly. He turned serious again and looked at the four young beings that still stood in front of his desk, shooting each other nervous glances, but looking very relieved after hearing that Elrohir would be alright.
"They were just explaining what has transpired," he added, smiling at them.
Aragorn shuddered. No, he had been mistaken, he thought, Thranduil wasn't like a cat. After all, he had never seen such a sadistic cat, but then again, cats liked to eat mice bit by bit as well, always giving them some time to regain their strength and get up their hopes for escape once more.
The Lord of Rivendell nodded slowly, looking the three elves and the human over.
"I see."
For a second he contemplated leaving and coming back in an hour to collect whatever was left of them once King Thranduil was finished with them, but his heart softened when he saw the identical pleading stares his eldest and youngest son gave him, grey eyes urging him to help them.
Elrond turned to the elven king who stood behind his desk, face twitching slightly.
"I see, my lord," he repeated, trying to stifle a smile when he saw the hopeful looks the four gave him. "But this will have to wait, I'm afraid."
Legolas beamed at the elf lord's turned back, noting the way Celylith, Aragorn and Elladan relaxed in relief. Ilúvatar be praised that Lord Elrond had such a kind heart, he really didn't want to hear what his father had to say right now.
Elrond turned and gave them the look, an odd sparkle in his eyes. The young prince winced; perhaps he had been mistaken. Perhaps Lord Elrond didn't act out of kindness but simply wanted the pleasure of killing all of them himself. Unfortunately, one could never tell with him.
"I would like to have a look at all of them, especially your son. Injuries caused by spiders, however superficial and shallow, tend to become infected rather easily," the dark haired elf lord continued.
King Thranduil narrowed his eyes and surveyed the other elf, but nodded his head, mild worry in his eyes when he turned to his son.
"Very well then, my son, we will continue this tomorrow, after you have rested. Is there any other injury I should know about?"
Legolas smiled at his father.
"Nay, father, it is truly only a cut. I am fine."
His father returned the smile, arching an elegant eyebrow.
"Just how many times have I heard that statement?"
Elrond laughed lightly, beckoning his sons and Celylith to leave the room.
"About as many times as I have heard it from my own sons, I reckon."
The blonde elf shook his head in mock sadness.
"You might be correct there, my lord," he said, smiling at the elf lord who was just urging the three others out of the room. Turning back to his son, he added, putting an arm around the younger elf's shoulder and walking him to the door, "And I will hear it many more times, I think." He wrinkled his forehead slightly, giving the prince an admonishing look. "Legolas, you could at least try and be a bit more careful."
Legolas cast down his eyes, the guilt he felt for worrying his father clearly visible in his very stance.
"I know, ada. I am sorry, it just … happened."
Thranduil smiled.
"It always does, my son. And always to you."
Legolas gave him a brief smile and walked down the corridor to join his friends that stood next to Elrond, waiting for him, when his father's voice reached his ears.
"Tomorrow morning, Legolas. In my study."
The younger elf winced, but turned and nodded.
"Yes, father."
Ignoring his grinning friends, he followed Lord Elrond into the direction of the healing wing.
Behind him, Elladan stated, sounding very glad at having escaped the elven king's wrath,
"Well, it could have been worse."
Snorting softly, Legolas fell into step next to him.
"For me, dear Elladan, it is worse. Now my father has time to come up with a lecture I will surely remember for the next few decades."
The older twin nodded in mock sympathy.
"Yes, my prince, that is the burden of your position. After all, we are merely simple lords, rangers or captains of guards, while you, as a prince, and the crown prince at that, should really know better than to run off and get yourself injured like this…"
Legolas scowled at the other elf and gave the snickering human next to him a dark glare.
"I am so glad I can amuse you, Strider. Let's see how amused you will be after three months as a guest in my house, shall we? Many things can happen around here… Many painful things that happen without reason or warning…"
Aragorn quickly swallowed his laughter, deciding not to irritate his friend any further. He was right after all, three months could be a very long time...
Just then they reached the healing wing, but when Aragorn and Elladan wanted to follow their friends that had already made their ways over to some extremely grumpy, tired and ill-tempered-looking healers that had apparently already been awaiting their arrival, a tall figure moved in to intercept them.
The two brothers traded a pained looked before raising their eyes to meet their father's who stood in the doorway, smiling friendly at them. Far too friendly, Aragorn decided with a shudder.
"Estel, you may go inside. Hithrawyn will give you something that will help you sleep. We will talk tomorrow. I have some things to discuss with your far older and more mature brother," Elrond said quietly, the soft sound of his voice sounding as grim and threatening in the brothers' ears as the shrieking of a Ringwraith.
Aragorn nodded quickly, not even protesting about the sleeping draught. That was both because he really didn't think that his father would be open to reasonable arguments right now and because he honestly didn't mind sleeping without the danger of having nightmares. In the past few weeks he had come to appreciate his father's brews, mainly because they guaranteed a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Besides, Elrond would force him to drink the potion anyway, no matter how strongly he objected.
With a last look at Elladan's face who looked as if he had just been sentenced to a millennium in prison with only a balrog for company, he quickly slid inside, thanking all the Valar that he had got off this lightly. He winced as he caught the look Elrond gave him before he firmly shut the door from the outside, a hand on the shoulder of his oldest son. Maybe not.
Well, at least he had a short reprieve, he thought as he tried to convince Hithrawyn, whose face had assumed a rather interesting red colour, that he was perfectly alright. With any luck at all Elrond would have calmed down once he had ripped Elladan's head off his shoulders for allowing them to get themselves into such a situation.
'Yes,' he thought, trying not to hiss in pain when the master healer cleaned the cut on his forehead with quite a lot more force than necessary, 'Thank Ilúvatar for small favours.'
Adruran sent a dark glare to the equally dark heavens, wondering how it was possible that the weather had changed that quickly. A mere hour ago the night sky had been cloudless and starry, and now they were in the middle of a downpour. Within minutes he and his men had been drenched as effectively as if someone had emptied multiple large buckets of ice cold water over their heads. At least it didn't snow yet, but that small measure of comfort didn't really do anything to soothe his flaring temper.
He didn't want to be here, he had never wanted this particular assignment, especially not at this time of year, but his lord had commanded it and that was it. Nobody refused his lord and lived to tell the tale.
The man sighed, wiping a strand of wet brown hair out of his eyes. Everywhere there was water, all around them, but then again, that was only logical, considering they were moving along the shores of the Long Lake.
Suddenly Adruran halted his horse, gesturing for the following men to do the same. In front of them, spreading across the horizon like a broad, shimmering band of stars, lights were appearing, shining in the darkness and promising the travellers shelter and a dry place at a fire.
The man felt his companions relax, and unconsciously did the same. It had taken them nearly ten days to reach their destination, and even though the weather had been more agreeable most of the time, it was still not a very convenient time to travel, especially in the eastern parts of Wilderland.
Before his men could spur on their horses to reach the promising lights, he turned his horse, piercing them with a stern glare.
"We don't want any trouble," he said, looking at each of his troupe of twenty men in turn. "Do you understand? The first one who can't keep his mouth shut or starts any quarrel for which reason whatsoever will get sent back before he can even open his mouth to protest and can take on the questionable pleasure of explaining his behaviour to our lord."
The men winced in unison. This was not something any of them wanted to experience.
"We are here to carry out our orders, nothing more." Adruran shot the youngest member of the troupe a warning glare. "Tomorrow we will begin. Try to draw as little attention to yourselves as possible, but if anyone asks too many questions or makes any trouble, silence them. Make sure they won't get in our way and guarantee they don't talk. Ever again. Understood?"
The others nodded, more than a few of them grinning openly, including the youngster.
'Yes,' their commander thought tiredly, looking at the young man's gleaming brown eyes, 'Geran will cause trouble if I don't keep an eye on him.'
The leader gave a last nod, turned his horse and quickly made his way towards the brightly shining lights of the town, intent on getting out of this rain.
He really didn't like this assignment at all, but now that he had it, he would make sure that it was carried out properly and as quickly as possible. He would find the people his lord's informant had spoken of, make them tell him all he wanted to know and then make sure his liege got what he wanted.
That was the only option he had anyway; no-one returned to his lord in disgrace and failure, and he would definitely not be the first one stupid enough to try.
TBC...
mellonamin - my friend
eldar - 'People of the Stars', elves
Elentári - a title of Varda (Elbereth), meaning 'Queen of the Stars'
ada - father (daddy)
See? Everybody's safe and at home and generally fine! *evil laugh* Not for long though... Okay, the next chapter should be here soon, I think, even though I really _should_ be studying. *shrugs* It's highly overrated, anyway. If you want to encourage me in that rather reprehensible attitude, just send me a review! I will work wonders, believe me! *g* Please?
Additional A/N:
Coreinha - *hastily* Don't worry, they will be fine... Hey, wait! You threatened that wuite a lot of times and have never done it! Methinks you are bluffing, my lady! but still, I have updated! See! No need for swimming exercises... *g*
TrinityTheSheDevil - You know what? You sound a little bit like Wilwarin... *g* Huh! You are giving me 'the look'? Ack! Fly, you fools! *smirks* No, you are definitely not killing me, because then you would never learn what happens! You want a spider then? *suspicious look* Well, okay then, here, you can have Wilwarin's little sister, but remember: I have a per balrog called Stan, just in case you get any funny ideas... *g* *pokes back* See? I DID update!
E - Well, see I am updating, but I really hope I'll be finished with replying to the reviews soon ... the typing is awfully loud and I think my head wants to part company with the rest of me... *g* Well, you know me, I couldn't write an entirely serious chapter to save my life. Let me tell you one thing: I hate spiders! I really do, there's nothing worse than those eight-legged creatures of hell, if you ask me. I have to agree, Elrond and Thranduil probably weren't much of friends or anything like that, but I couldn't have them stay in the same palace and disloke each other. *thinks* Well, it's a nice idea though... too late now, I'm afraid. *confused* More wit into the comedy scenes? What exactly do you mean? Was it witless? *paniced look* WAS IT WITLESS? Tell me? Please?
Firnsarnien - *puts finger together, like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons* Excellent... I would hate not being able to write cliffies! Oh, I did throw you off your chair? SO sorry! *evil grin* Well, yes, in all fairness I actually think that Elrond and Thranduil wouldn't get along in reality, but they had to in this story. I didn't want them to be at odds all the time. Great you like it! Thanks a lot!
Kandice - Your graduation is Wednesday? Congratulations!! You have a faithful vampire-cat? Well, that's ... interesting! I have two cats which both think I am nothing but a human tin-opener and a balrog called Stan who isn't much better. You are right! Matrix is indeed great! I just loved Agent Smith and the twins! (Twin 1: We are getting aggravated. Twin 2: Yes, we are.) Great! I will see Bruce Almighty asap, but it doesn't come out here for another two weeks or something, I think. So I'll have to wait. Great. I _love_ waiting. Thanks for your great long review! *huggles her again to make her feel even more loved*
Gwyn - I'm trying, I'm trying! In fact, I'm even _doing_ it! *g* Thanks a lot for the review!
Mouse - *laughs* I'm glad you liked 'Leafie', even though I have the distinct feeling that Legolas isn't too thrilled about his new nickname. Bad for him, I guess... *g* Well, just read on, my friend, I don't want to spoil anything for you! But your guess isn't a bad one, considering how many spiders and how few elves/rangers there are... *evil grin* was this quick enough? *nervous look* I hope so...
Miss Understood - Yes, waiting is quite stressing, actually... *evil grin* Not for me, though! *runs away cackling maniacally* Well, how to break this to you... Hewon'tbeinanotherchapteruntilchapter7. Okay? Gottagobye. *runs off* Sorry!! *from a distance* Don't kill me!
Kaeera - Tja, ich kenne die Akzente vom Altgriechischunterrricht. Gravis, Akut und Zirkumflex. Die Franzosen haben doch mal wieder alles geklaut... *g* Und das auf Kaeera war 'n Akut. Tja, Ich geb's ja zu, Nightcrawler war nicht schlecht, aber ich stehe eher so auf Wolverine. Ich liebe die Krallen! *hinschmelz* Okay, ich wuerde das echt schreiben, nach dieser Story wenn ich mal ein bisschen Zeit haben sollte. Vielleicht so 3-4 Kapitel oder so. Sag mir nur, wann du im Nov. Geburtstag hast, dann kann ich ja gucken, was sich machen laesst... *g* Tja, wie ich sagte: viel Spass bei deiner Elrohir-hurt-Szene!
Ciria - Well, I'm always that quick! About five days, that's me! Well, Glorfindel killed at least one blarog, back during the destruction of Gondolin. He did get killed in the process himself, though... *g* Huh, the last elf in ME? legolas was one of the last, but there is the question of what the twins did. Nobody really knows, so they might have been the last ones, either because they decided to chose the Doom of Men like their sister or because they journeyed West very late (Tolkien said in the Appendixes that they remained in ME for a long time after their father had set sail). *shrugs* Who knows.Well, Celylith isn't exactly in love with Wilwarin, but she's his pet and he likes her very much. And she likes Celylith more than other elves, but that doesn't say much. And he found its tracks during a patrol and followed her. *huggles Ciria* Thanks a lot for the double review! It was great and long! Thanks!
NaughtyNat - *g* Yes, I would pity Suaron, actually... The five of them would destroy Barad-dûr in a matter of hours, I think... *g* Well, yes, Legolas _might_ get hurt in the story. Later. Only a little bit. You know me, I would never hurt a character, let alone _torture_ them! *evil laugh* You are right, in the movies Elrond is really not very nice, but I always imagined him totally different. But then again, all this here is befor Arwen, so... *shrugs* I like him better this way. Thanks for reviewing! Reviews really help and encourage a lot!
Alilacia - *nods and kicks FF.net as well* Somtimes it does that. I will never understand how and why and things like that, but ... it just does. *shrugs* We hate it, Gollum, Gollum, yes we does, precious... Well, usually I hear things like Metallica or Limp Bizkit, but also Robbie Williams, Eminem and Live. Weird, I know, but do you know 'Live'? They are great, they really are! Try "Feel the quiet river rage" or "The dolphin's cry". Great songs, really. *g* Yup. Aragorn has lots of opportunities to practice his 'console a guilty mellon' skills... *grins evilly* Bad leafie, that's Legolas. He isn't so thrilled about it, I don't know why either... *g* You too? Trin already wanted a spider as well ... what are you guys planning? Hm? What? *suspious look*
Halo - I have seen Matrix! Yes, I have! And the twins are SO cool! I mean really! I just love them! They are awesome! (Twin 1: We are getting aggravated. Twin 2: Yes, we are.) Great! Well, I'm glad you like it so much, despite the spiders. But where is your story, huh? And that other one, what's-its-name-again? "Save him if you can"? Huh? Where?
Xsilicax - *innocent expression* What? Don't you like spiders? *leans closer and whispers* Me neither, but the things I do for you guys... *g* 'How could you?
How could you end it there? How could you let it be spiders! How are they going to escape?' Hoi! Many questions, my friend... Okay, first: easily. I'm evil, that helps a lot. Second, see first. Third, see second and first, besides, spiders were the logical choice. Forth, read on, dear friend, and ye shall see... *g* Yeah well, you should really choose a drinking game where you don't have to drink just that much - I mean, we didn't even get past Rivendell! What a shame! *g* Thanks for the review!
Kirsten - *smiles evilly* Thanks a lot. I love writing evil cliffies. They're so much fun. Funny, most people don't seem to enjoy them as much... *g* Thanks a lot for reviewing! It really helps!
Zam - LOL! Elrond's rading elf porn? Well, that is an interesting idea - disgusting, but interesting, like so many others... *g* Yeah well, I'd already noticed your obsession with Austin Powers, the chapter about your interview with Thranduil was kind of a give-away. Besides, where is your next interview? Huh? Or have you abandoned the story? *teary-eyed* No, you haven't! Just say you haven't! *tries to imagine the shark-horse and falls off her chair laughing* Okay, that was funny! *grins evilly* If you think they have a bad week now, just wait a few chapters... Oh, I love dropping mysterious hints! *cackles evilly*
Lina - *offended* Seobryn is not a 'lil' whiny, useless boy who couldn't do jack to help (your) baby'. I resent that! And he is most definitely NOT SCUM!! *growls threateningly* I kinda like him! You have an Estel-kitty? Not fair! But then again, I will call my kitten Estel if it's male. *prays that is IS male* LINA! Stop licking his hands, for cryin' out loud! ÉOMER! She ... she ... she ... licked Estel's hands! Enough is enough! *shrieking* Take her away! And, for heaven's sake, take away her spork of doom! - Éomer: Rohirrim! No need to shout at me! - LOL, btw, I think you should treat your bodyguard a little better. Now he is riding 'pathetically' south. That's not a good development... *g*
Alexa - Uhm, so you liked the ending? *sarcastic smile* Don't worry, this is only the beginning, I wouldn't want to hurt your Leafie or anyone else badly just now - I will save that for later... *g* Thanks so much for your reviews, and don't worry, I would never let your elven prince die. I may be evil, but I'm not stupid! *g*
Nilbrethiliel - Tja ja, mein Gehirn ist mein groester Schatz - und mein einziger, neben meinem 19'' Monitor... *g* Und du hast Recht, unser kleiner Schmetterling wird mit der Familie wiedervereinigt - das Problem ist nur, dass es eine ziemlich grosse Familie ist... *g* Tut mir leid, *betreten guck* aber die Zwillinge und Elrond muessen weg! Da laeest sich ncihts machen! Aber keine Angst, es gibt ja noch mehr Stories! *g* Na ja, noch ist mit leiden noch nicht so viel, das kommt alles noch, ist doch schliesslich erst der Anfang! Danke fuer die review!!
Nikara - *nods in sympathy* Yes, I know, FF.net is horrible. It hates me, I think... Huh, you're writing a story! Great! Post it soon! About Legolas family/age: That's a hard question. Legolas age isn't known, and neither is his mother's fate. Some movie-people have figured out something like 2900 years, but I have no idea where they got that from. In Tolkien's main works he never lost a word about that, so nobody really knows. I just thought him to be younger than the twins who are 2889 years old at the Fall of Barad-dûr (ROTK). We don't know anything about his mother, neither her name nor her origin, so we don't know whether she is dead or had passed into the West. But the fact that Tolkien never mentioned a Queen of Mirkwood indicates that she, well, isn't there. So it's all up to you, really. Thanks for the review, and I'll definitely look out for that story of yours!
Reviewer - *blushes* Thanks so much! I'm doing my best!
Marbienl - Yes! Write more! Lots more!! Well, I don't prefer 'one chapter', but chapters that are longer than a page are very nice! *hint hint* About the wine: I think I know what you mean, I think it's called wine-cooler in English, although I don't really know - it's very nice though! Especially with strawberries! LOL, I really don't think that Wilwarin is in the danger of the Stockholm-syndrome! She ... uhm, well, doesn't really like elves! *blinks* Yes, I do indeed get the hint, but don't get your hopes up just yet. This is only the beginning, I wouldn't want to hurt my ranger just yet. It would set back his recovery which in term would ruin the whole schedule... *g* Do I still get the plushies? Please? Please Please Please?? *puppy-dog eyes* Oh, and thanks for not poking me!
Tapetum lucidum - Yeah well, Celylith does fit in, you are right there - but who did give Lord Elrond a spider? That's a story I would very much like to hear! And I agree, wars are entirely unnecessary - just send them over for a visit and Sauron would capitulate in a week! Huh? I could join the Stargate project? Sure! There is the problem that I'm not an US citizen though - besides, I think now that Daniel's gone (or is he already back? ), it's not as funny as it used to be - though I really would love to meet Selmac. I love Jacob/Selmac, don't ask me why...
Arwen-Evenstar - *grins* I'm evil, don't remind me... *g* Thank you so much for your kind words and all your great reviews! They really encourage me to keep writing! Thanks! *huggles Arwen*
CrazyLOTRFan - *wide eyes* You like cliffies, then? Then you are just right here, mate - I _love_ them! I'm glad you like it so much, thanks for reviewing!
Mer - Thanks, I did indeed have a lot of fun! And I will try to keep updating regularly, there is the question whether or not I can keep that up though, college exams are drawing closer... Thanks for the review!
ManuKu - Du hast ein Glueck mit deinen Kurzurlauben! Aber na ja, momentan ist das Wetter hier so toll, dass man gar nicht weg will! Wirklic, durchgehend blauer Himmel und Sonne - einfach toll! LOL, Winter um Winter? Recht hast du ja irgendwo! Ah, Adruran als Nólads 'Bruder im Geiste'? Na ja, sagen wir mal so: er moechte den Auftrag nicht und will das ganze prefessionell erledigen, aber das mit dem Gewissen ist zumindest nicht bewiesen... Oh, ich wuerde nicht sagen, dass Celylith durchgeknallt ist - eher so was wie 'ungewoehnlich'. Ich gebe mich sowieso nicht mit 'normalen' Leuten ab, also, ich mag ihn! *g* Und Stan und ich verweigern da jeden Kommentar - wir sind naemlich nicht durchgeknallt, nur ... 'anders'. Genau, anders ist gut. LOL, so kann man das auch sehen, Aragorn will ja leiden! Tja, ich fand 'Leafie' auch gut, aber Legolas irgendwie nich' so - keine Ahnung warum! Vielen Dank fuer die beiden reviews! Danke!!
Cestari - *blushes* Thanks! There's no need to be sorry, I mean, some people DO actually have a life, unlike me... *g* But I'm glad you're reviewing now! *huggles her* Thanks so much!
Salara - Oh, die Spinnenszene? Wem sagst du das, ich habe naechtelang Albtraeume durchstanden! Ich _hasse_ Spinnen! Und keine Angst - nicht mal die Boeslinge wuerde ich als Spinnensnack enden lassen - das ist zu grausam! Und die Thranduil-Szene ist hier, nur ein bisschen weiterlesen! Ich bemitleide den guten Mann, aeh, Elb wirklich, er kann einem ja auch leidtun, nech? *fieses Grinsen* Du hast es echt mit Elrond, nech? Na ja, jeden das seine, und er hat ja was, das muss ich zugeben! Na ja, danke fuer die review! *knuddelt sie*
ThE iNsAnE oNe - LOL, so squargs are warg/squirrel hybrids? That is _definitely_ an interesting idea! What do they look like? But I have to admit that wariderels sound very ... nice as well! I mean, they just have to be adorable, being part spider... *g* Sorry, but I can't read your review, the email just stops and FF.net won't show me the rest! *kicks FF.net* We hates it, yes precious, we does... Anyway, I gotta post now, thanks a lot for reviewing!! *huggles TiO and her new pet* Are they ferocious? If yes, then I want one!
Thank God, that's it. I never knew typing was that loud! *holds head* No, j/k, I'm alright actually, just a bit tired... Thanks a lot for the lovely reviews! You guys are the best!