Author: Mirrordance

Title: Sacred Betrayal

Summary: Elrohir forfeits the life of his brother Elladan for a secret price and Aragorn and Legolas go to unspoken dangers to discover the cause of this most sacred of betrayals…

PART 5: Roads

* * *

The Road to Mirkwood

* * *

      The last time Elrohir had ridden a horse so furiously as this was quite a few days ago.  In his sights now was the speedy riding of Estel, but days ago it had been an orc upon a warg.

      The hunt was progressing incredibly well, and they trailed their prey madly, until it soon became apparent that they were vastly outnumbered, and were in fact soon overpowered.

      Rough hands had pushed them all to the ground, and an uruk-hai with a disturbingly keen eye had looked at Elrohir and Elladan, knowing who they were.

      "They could be useful," said the uruk, grinning at them.  "This would please our masters."  He made quick orders, and the fastest rider was soon dispatched ahead of everyone else to bear a message to the Nazgul of Dol Guldur that the twin sons of Elrond had been accosted.

      And then the host began to move laboriously toward the stronghold south of Mirkwood.  The elves were roughly handled, and it was plain to see that most if not all of them would die along this journey.

      Elladan and Elrohir, like the eight elves that had traveled with them, were blindfolded and tied together.  But each time the blindfolds were removed for one reason or another, they would find their number diminished and the orcs feasting some distance away.

      Midway through their journey, they made camp and Elrohir did not need to have his blindfolds removed to know that only he and Elladan were left.  The cries of the last elf soldier were hastily silenced by merry orc laughter, and the resounding sigh of a blade's brutal, lethal arc.

      The perceptive uruk had come to their corner of the camp and happily told them that one of them will soon die, and that another would be set free.

      "My master told me," he told them maliciously, his foul breath close to their faces, "that one of you will be set free to send word to Lord Elrond of a ransom.  Whoever remains will die five days hence, if the Heir of Isildur is not brought before Dol Guldur.  I have not decided who between you stays and goes.  You will know in the morning."

      With a cruel laugh at what he presumed would be anguished waiting on their part, he turned and walked away, kicking up dust behind him.

      ~They are fools if they think this will work,~ Elladan said, finding the heart to chuckle, ~Ada will never allow it.  And he will never bargain with any servant of Sauron's.~

      ~Either way, it is a certainty that one of us will die,~ said Elrohir, ~Whether the bargain is struck or not.  I do not trust the word of a cursed orc.~

      ~Then…~ said Elladan tentatively, ~Then whoever is sent to give word to ada must promise not to.  Because it is ultimately useless.  Ada shouldn't have to choose between his sons, or ever wonder if he could have done anything to save us.  And Estel shouldn't have to feel the anguish that this is all his fault.  Whoever is left is dead anyway, it is unnecessary to make Ada or Estel feel guilt, and worry.~

      ~I understand,~ said Elrohir, ~I am prepared to make this vow.~

      ~And I,~ said Elladan.

     

      --

      ~So tonight would be the last night I would have to bear your presence for a very long time,~ mused Elladan.

      ~Please, do not cry,~ said Elrohir wryly, though his eyes seemed to water beneath his blindfolds, and this time he was pleased that his brother could not see him.

      Elladan laughed, and in the silence of the dark that enveloped them, they fell into quiet, familiar companionship and warmth.  Time seemed to slow and extend, even as it sped and past them in a way that was too fleeting, too little.  Hours later, Elladan would break the silence and ask his brother,

      ~How far would you go to keep a promise?~

      ~Until it's fulfilled,~ Elrohir replied, ~You know this.~

      Silence.

      ~You talk as if you know it's going to be you,~ Elrohir commented worriedly.

      ~Just in case,~ said Elladan, though somehow, he knew in his heart of hearts that he would be the one left behind, ~If you think about it, our resolution is really quite practical, isn't it?~

      ~What do you mean?~ asked Elrohir.

      ~Pay one life to save not only Estel, the brother that we adore,~ replied Elladan, ~But also just one life to pay for the survival of a race, the life of his kingdoms.  It's actually quite economical.~

      Elrohir laughed, ~I suppose.~

      But he was no longer laughing come the morning, when he was dragged away to fulfill the promise, to keep the secret.  The uruk sadistically tore at their blindfolds and told them to say goodbye.  And then he threw a ragged, bloody sack at Elrohir's face, tossing the hideous contents about the ground, and told him to pick them up and give them to his father, to remind Lord Elrond of the fate that could befall his captive son if he did not cooperate.

      Allowing him a final, anguished glance at his brother, they dragged him away and pushed him in the direction of his home, leering at him and their eyes hungry and evil, practically promising him his brother's doom.

      Elladan, his heart wrenched, I have kept my word to you as much as I was able.  I am sorry it is not enough.  But I will vehemently try to save Estel from his grief and madness. 

      Reckless human.

      He kept his eye on the furious rider meters and meters ahead of him, recalling the ending of the conversation that had ultimately brought the two of them here,

      "If you go there," Elrohir had seethed, "Elladan would die for nothing."

      --

      "Then he better not die," snapped Aragorn.

      Reckless as he was, Elrohir found that Estel ignited a fire in him; indeed the name suited the human, for he rekindled a hope that Elrohir thought he had long lost, even as his mind guaranteed him not to hold fast to it.

      I hope you are right, Estel, and not I.

* * *

Southern Mirkwood

* * *

      Legolas had felt its first effects numbing his bitten hand, and that absent and all at once sluggish feeling crawled its way up along his arm as the day progressed.  Every once in awhile, he found himself glancing at it, just to assure himself that his affected limb was indeed still there.  Beside him, the profoundly weary Elladan had grown silent, as if he moved solely to put one foot in front of the other, though Legolas' constant stirring would make his head turn now and then, casting a worried glance at his friend. 

      Legolas would smile at him reassuringly, though his heart was troubled.  He would try to clench his bitten fist, but it just trembled and shook, his fingers barely managing to touch his palm.  When along the path that he and Elladan took he spotted a familiar shrub, he felt so relieved he knew he could not have found the cure any sooner. 

      ~Sit still awhile,~ Legolas murmured, settling Elladan upon the ground, who seemed to sink against it gratefully.  They have been traveling continuously since their last close call, and it was taking its toll on the battered elf. 

      ~What are you doing?~ Elladan asked Legolas, curiously watching as the other elf approached a shrub with strange round leaves the color of burnished honey, ~Is that the antidote?~

      ~Nay,~ replied Legolas as he gathered two twigs of leaves, ~But 'tis the next best thing.~

      He tucked the twigs into his tunic, and sat beside Elladan, who had by now noticed that he was making use solely of his right hand, the other hanging loosely upon his side.

      ~It hurts?~ Elladan asked.

      ~I almost wish it did,~ said Legolas wryly, ~The venom is a paralytic.~ He decided not to mention that the numbness resting heavily along his arm, was beginning to crawl dangerously close to his heart.  He shifted his position to look at his ragged work of Elladan's sprained ankle.

      ~The swelling is worse,~ Legolas commented, ~I suppose it is stupid to ask if it hurts.  I'm sorry for pushing you.~

      ~We both know it is necessary,~ said Elladan with a small smile, ~Can we afford this rest at all?~

      ~Aye,~ replied Legolas, ~We are nearing the road where we had found you.  Up a gentle hill, then some meters north, and there lies one of our outposts, where Amadis and some of our soldiers await my return.  Things are indeed looking up.  Even the rain is beginning to slow some.~

      ~Amadis let you run off on your own?~ grinned Elladan as he remembered his friend's aging, rock-stern guardian, ~I cannot believe it.~

      ~I bet neither can he,~ chuckled Legolas, patting the area along his tunic where he had kept the leaves, as if he was reassuring himself that they were there.  The action was not lost to Elladan.

      ~Aren't you going to take them already?~ he inquired.

      Legolas shook his head.  ~It's not the most convenient thing in the world, you see.  It's going to dull my senses and you and I need them all at the moment.~  He smiled, ~Besides, it is going to make me almost half as ill as my luck, and I will not be the most stealthy of travelers.  Not to mention it is a sight I do not wish to subject you to, mellon.  Maybe later, at the camp.~

      His humor would not reach Elladan, though.  ~Then we had best get there soon,~ he said, struggling to rise to his feet, grunting with his pain.  Legolas assisted him and slung his arm over his shoulder.

      ~We're near, eh?~ breathed Elladan.

      ~Very,~ Legolas said boldly, as he took the first step forward.  Laboriously they moved towards their goal, and for every step forward that they took, their hearts hardened even as their bodies struggled.  More and more, Legolas found himself leaning against the elf he was supposed to be supporting.

      ~We are like two logs,~ he chuckled, ~cut up and precariously balanced against each other.~

      It was no longer so funny some time later, when Legolas realized the poison had reached his heart and had from there moved to the rest of his body after he felt the world tilt, and he and Elladan came crashing to the ground.

      Elladan bit back a yelp and blinked at the blackness that crossed his vision as the fall impacted against his multitude of injuries.  Catching his breath on the ground, he pushed himself to his elbows and found Legolas beside him on his back, blinking slowly and almost absently at the cloudy, grey-dark skies with his glassy blue eyes unseeing, his chest alarmingly not rising and falling.

      "Legolas!" Elladan exclaimed, shaking his friend's arm with his good hand, ~Return!~

      Legolas' eyes drifted towards his, and grew wide in realization and fear for a moment, before he opened his mouth and struggled to take a shuddering breath.

      ~Give me a moment,~ he rasped, taking a few more breaths and closing his eyes in relief and weariness, before forcing them open to meet Elladan's worried, disapproving stare.

      ~You are eating those blasted leaves Now,~ the elf said with finality, booking no arguments.

      ~I will,~ grinned Legolas lazily, ~If you move ahead of me.~

      ~That's ridiculous,~ retorted Elladan, ~I can shove them down your throat, how would you like that?~

      ~Please,~ insisted Legolas, ~Orcs are about.  They will be upon us soon.  But we are so near the camp, Elladan.  You just have to leave ahead of me.~

      ~You mean leave you,~ said Elladan flatly, ~No. I'll carry you the rest of the way if I have to, mellon.~

      ~You can barely keep yourself upright,~ argued Legolas, ~It must be done.  I can't go anywhere whether I take the herbs or not.  You know it as well as I.  And if you stay here you will only perish with me.  We are so near.  If you reach the camp soon, you may even return here with help in time.  And either way, as long as you reach camp, Rivendell can be informed of your safety at the soonest time, and Estel wouldn't have to run off and do something honorable and still undeniably stupid.  Think of Estel, Elladan.  Go.~

      ~You have your heart set on dying here,~ Elladan scowled at him.

      ~I don't have my heart set on dying anywhere,~ Legolas sighed, pushing himself off the ground to a sitting position, to meet Elladan's eyes evenly, ~What Elrohir had the heart to do, so must you. 'One life to purchase kingdoms.  It hardly even deserves thought.'  Remember?~

      Growling in displeasure that his own words were used against him, Elladan rose to his feet with a grimace. 

      ~Stay out of trouble,~ Elladan told him, before turning away.

      Why does everyone keep saying that?, Legolas wondered as he watched the other elf move away in his best, limping pace.

TO BE CONTINUED…