Hi, again!!!!! Wow, I have more time to type now, thanks to the oncoming vacation. Yeah, I can't wait till Christmas vacation!!!! More readers!!! LOTR2 is coming out tomorrow!!! (I'm typing this on Dec. 17, 02) Well, I don't have much time now so I'll start typing...
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Kasumi kept her head down, staring at the stone floor, as she followed the feet in front of her. She was too scared to look up, in fear of meeting a pair of unfriendly eyes. She could just imagine the many bystanders around them, stopping what they were doing, and watching their odd company, amusing themselves with the sight of two more, of probably many, captives.
Her hand was still held in Manwein's, and he squeezed hers gently. He put a single finger under her chin, and raised her head.
"Do not bow your head, show that you are unafraid," he told her softly.
Kasumi opened her mouth to say, "But I am afraid," but before she could he put his finger over her mouth.
"If it is not so, then pretend. Lie to them without saying a word," he told her, and she shut her mouth, and her face shifted into a solemn, yet defiant face, and he nodded in approval. His face changed as well, into the same appearance, showing no emotion.
Although his eyes showed no a gleam of fear, Kasumi could tell that inside his mind was screaming in dread. She could imagine that just like her, he was fighting the urge in his legs to run, dash out of the door, and run, praying that they did not shoot them down. But no matter how difficult it was to remain bold, Manwein was right, to show fear was cowardly of them, and it would be shameful for them to be remembered as cowards.
Kasumi gulped as she looked around, everything around them was carved out of stone, and polished to a magnificent shine. She wondered if the palace was even built out of the very Misty Mountains themselves, for that was where the city was located. In a hidden pocket of the mountains, concealed from all the world.
'Maybe it will not be too bad,' she thought with fake hope. 'They could be nice. After all, Haydn was kind, so there has to be other kind elves as well.'
From down the hallway, Kasumi could hear the clatter of swords, and the murmuring of onlookers. They finally reached the place the clatter had been coming from, and Kasumi wondered why they had stopped.
They had paused in front of an open courtyard, the entrance cut from the wall, and the ceiling held up by stone columns. She followed Aegnorion out into the open courtyard, the stars shone down on the marble floor, and torches added to the light. In the center of the courtyard were two elves, each equipped with a slender sword. Around them, a crowd was gathered, all watching in awe as they fought, showing off their skills.
Also among the crowd were guards standing atop a small platform, and on a lavish throne sat an elf. At the sight of Aegnorion, he raised his hand, and the fighting, and cheering stopped. The fighters stepped back leaving the courtyard open for them to step through. As their little procession moved ahead, Kasumi found it hard to pick up her feet, and she would not budge. The others thought it was because of confusion, but Manwein could tell that it was out of fear.
He stopped and looked back at her, walking quickly back he grabbed her hand. "Come on," he told her aloud, and his eyes commanded her silently to be brave. She cleared her throat and followed.
They stopped as they met the rest of their group, and waited fearfully for their fate.
Aegnorion stepped forward and bowed before the platform. Kasumi looked up at the elf seated on the throne, he was just as Haydn had described to her. His eyes were cold and dark, and his face showed not a care for anybody's troubles. He carried no staff like she had imagined him to, but then again he probably needed no staff to perform the magic he was so told to do.
"Aegnorion," he said coldly. "You have returned. What news have you brought me from the outside world?"
Aegnorion stood once again before him and answered, "Everything is as they were before. Though we caught a large band of orcs traveling across the borders of our territory."
"Yes, and what has become of them?" he questioned.
"Dead, my lord, all of them," Aegnorion pronounced proudly.
The king nodded, and after a moment of silence uttered. "Very good."
Now Aegnorion stood taller, and cleared his throat.
The king looked at him, "More news do you have for me?"
"Not news, my lord. I would rather call them...," he paused and looked back at Kasumi and Manwein. "...Gifts." He nodded to the other elves and they grabbed the captives and pushed them forward.
Kasumi grunted as she was thrown onto her knees before the platform. She did not know why Manwein had told her not to struggle or fight back, but she listened anyway. She sat on the ground, her legs folded under her, Manwein beside her seated in the same fashion.
"A two little trinkets we stole from that band of orcs," Aegnorion told the king. He waited, and watched, as the king looked them over.
"Ah, from where in the world did they come?" the king asked, looking at them.
Kasumi struggled to keep from looking down, and instead looked straight ahead. Suddenly his eyes caught hers, and she struggled to pull her gaze away from his. He seemed to hold her still, keeping her from turning. She stood still, her face calm, but yet, inside her heart was pounding louder than any drums she had ever heard, and it took all of her might to keep her from shaking in fear.
He stood up from his seat and walked off of the platform. He stopped in front of her, and bended down. He lifted her chin with his finger, and looked her in the eyes once more. Her face remained calm, and defiant, and her eyes tried to match his coldness. "From where were you taken from?" he asked her, his voice now sounding more natural, and less cold.
Kasumi hesitated, thinking of what she could say to from getting killed. "I am from nowhere," she told him, her eyes staring up at his, piercing his thoughts. His face showed no emotion, but she pried inside his mind, and she found the strongest emotion inside of him. Amusement.
He smiled coldly. "Now where is nowhere? For I have not heard of such a land," he asked her, entertaining himself. "Please, educate me on the land of nowhere."
Kasumi frowned and did nothing but glare at him callously. He met her glare fiercely and attempted to snoop into her thoughts, as she had done to him. He could not open her mind, and he finally gave up.
"Maybe your friend would like to educate me on the whereabouts of nowhere," he said instead, turning to Manwein, who had much rather liked him talking to Kasumi instead of him.
"What she had meant to say is that we live no where," he told the king simply, not wanting to make their conversation any longer than it had become.
"Very well," he said, sitting back onto his throne. "Thank you, Aegnorion for your report, you may leave."
Aegnorion looked at him confused, he had not punished the captives in anyway, and merely taunting them was all he had done. "What of the captives, my lord?" he asked curiously?
The king thought, and Kasumi gulped nervously. "Give them their own rooms, and tell Lauriana to dress them for dinner," he told him.
Aegnorion's mouth dropped, the king had never done this before, but he could not object. Horrible things had happened to people who defied the king, and he did not want to become another. "Yes, my lord," he said, bowing as he exited the room. "Follow me," he told them, and Kasumi and Manwein got up and rushed to follow him, not wanting to spend another moment in the king's presence.
As she walked out of the courtyard, and back into the palace, Kasumi smiled, there was still hope, and if there was none, at least she had a longer time to pretend there was. She followed Aegnorion down the hall, and smiled up at Manwein, who too, looked very grateful.
They stopped and entered a room, where several she-elves gathered sewing.
"Lauriana, the king has a chore for you," he said, and one of the ladies stood up and walked toward them.
"Ah, yes. One of the ladies who had stayed to listen to report has already told me what the king had ordered," she said. She looked at Kasumi and Manwein and smiled. "Yes, I already have your rooms ready," she said to them, and they followed her down the hall.
They scaled a set of stairs and two more corridors before she finally stopped. She opened the door of one of the many rooms, and looked at Manwein. "These shall be your rooms, I believe there is a fresh set of clothing on your bed, and if you should need anything there are many of my helpers rushing about, so just call for them if the need should arise. There is a hot bath ready in one of your chambers," she told him. Then instructed him to be ready for dinner in a few hours.
Manwein nodded and entered the room, before he closed the door, he looked at Kasumi, and smiled. He had never been treated this finely before.
Kasumi smiled back, then trailed after Lauriana down the hall. At the next door they stopped, and Lauriana opened the door.
"Step inside, dear lady. There are several handmaidens waiting to fix you up. If you have any questions please feel free to ask," she told her.
Kasumi opened her mouth, wondering if she should ask what was on her mind.
"Yes, I already know what you have been thinking, and the answer is no. You are now guests here, no longer captives," she assured her.
Kasumi smiled and thanked her, then entered the room.
"I will back soon with a choice of clothing for you," Lauriana said, as she shooed Kasumi into her chambers.
She stepped into the room, and closed the door behind her. She gaped in awe, the room she was in was beautiful. There was silvery-blue drapery everywhere, and when a breeze came through the window, every inch of material fluttered. On every tabletop there were candles, and their glow was ample, and flooded every corner of the room, yet as if by magic the light was soft on the eyes.
The room seemed to be a sitting room, and there stood several wooden chairs, adorned with silk pillows in different hues of blue, silver, and lavender. She walked into the room on the right, and she was even more amazed. Even her bedroom in he palace was never as lush as this one was. The bed was covered in silken sheets in the same shades as the sitting room was adorned in, and everything else, she discovered, were in the same shades.
There were pillows on the floor next to the bed, and a large bay window that let the moonlight shine on everything, giving the room an enchanting glow. Steam floated out of a door to her left, and she entered it cautiously...
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Wow, I wish my room was like that. Well, will they be fortunate to survive another day? Or will the king amuse himself with their suffering?
Well, as I told you Becca (ElVeNdEsTiNy) I have a small birthday present, so...well, I wouldn't really call it a b-day present, more like...an advertisement: Hi everyone!!!! Well, if you haven't read it yet, there's a really, really, really, really good fic called Blood Red Rose For Legolas, by ElVeNdEsTiNy, so check it out! Or die!! Lol.
Well, I know it's not much Becca, lol...Namarie!
~*~*~Cutheniel Yavadren~*~*~