Krystal's jaw tightened as the man's gaze wandered appreciatively over her
body. Thankfully, she was dressed in several layers due to the cold and
nothing much was visible. Grabbing her waist, and wretched her down from
her mount and swung her to the ground. She slipped in the slick mud and
fell to her knees, before struggling to stand again.
The man grabbed her shoulder and tossed her towards Aragorn, who had watched the affair with barely contained fury. He caught her as she stumbled backwards, mud flying up into her face. "Are you alright?" he whispered as they kneeled, so their captors could see that they had no hidden weapons. "Who are these guys?" Krystal whispered shakily. Aragorn shook his head at her for a moment, pleading her to keep silent as one of the men stepped forward.
It wasn't the same oaf from before, no. This man was tall, and built. His muscles rippled under his cloak as he moved through his men towards the captives, his light brown hair swishing across his face in the punishing wind. He surveyed the elves and 2 humans before him, his lips pursed in distaste.
"I am Annore, I command these armies and these lands. Who are you, to trespass on my land of men with bows and arrows, knives and such insolent attitudes?" He asked coldly, his eyes raking over the kneeled captives. Their heads were all raised defiantly, staring him in the eyes, but the swords at their backs kept their knees bent.
"I am of Rivendell of the Elves. We came in peace, hunting only the white deer. Rivendell's supplies of venison run low and we came out to replace them. Nothing more. We had no intention of intruding on your land, but it is not clearly marked and we did not know. However, trespassing deserves only a rebuke and not an outright assault, so you, Annore of these lands, are in the wrong. Release me and my company and we shall go, bearing not ill will towards you and your men. Continue to assail us as so and you are in danger of bringing the wrath of Rivendell, and of far distant Mirkwood upon you." Elladan answered swiftly, careful not to give his real name. This man did not seem foolish, and if he lived near Rivendell like they said, he must have heard the heir to Rivendell was named Elladan. His tone was commanding and bold, and he began to stand but cold steel was brushed up against his back and he paused. "Don't move," one of the men muttered and Elladan glared.
"And what gives Rivendell the right to hunt our deer?" Annore shot back, his mouth placed into a firm line of displeasure. His eyes were cold and bleak, but the weary movements of his body betrayed him and showed that he had been in the wild for several days and wished only to return home.
"What gives you the right to lay claim to something wild and free?" Elladan answered promptly. "They belong to no one and nothing except Illuvator, and you shall answer to him, not to me or to Rivendell if you lay claim to what is rightfully his."
Annore stared at him for a moment, contempt in his gaze. He studied each captive before him carefully. Each met his gaze with a defiant one of his own, but when his eyes landed on Krystal's, they stopped.
His brow furrowed in confusion and he studied her critically, taking several steps closer. "What is your name?" He asked, his voice flat and impartial. He noticed that her gaze was strong, but a flicker of fear betrayed her thoughts of terror. Next to her, Aragorn stiffened and Elladan let out a frustrated breath. He never should have let her be allowed to come.
"Krystal." She answered him finally, her voice low but still firm.
"Krystal..what are you doing with a group of elves?" he asked, slight curiosity in his voice as he regarded her.
"Hunting." She answered shortly, her eyes latched on the man in front of her and Legolas barely hid his smirk, though his body was tense with fury. It seemed her sharp tongue would come in handy.
Annore frowned, displeased and he leaned back, as if to strike her before taking a calming breath. "You best watch your tone, young one. You may appear bold but your eyes betray you and I see your fear." His voice was low in warning and Krystal cursed inwardly, willing her face and eyes to remain blank, but the critical eyes of the man saw the slight glimpse of pure terror pass over her face before she could force it into an impartial mask.
"Now, I ask you again. What were you doing with a group of elves?"
Her eyes met his. "You don't seem like a fool, so I don't see why you insist I treat you as one," she said quickly, her tone mocking and her voice low. "but if I must, I must. I was hunting. " She said her last sentence slowly and deliberately, as if talking to a very small child. His face contorted in rage and he raised his hand, slapping her viciously. Stars burst into color before her eyes as pain ricocheted through her skull, her eyes closed tight against the ache. She bit her lip frantically, her head snapped to the side as she breathed heavily. Aragorn let out a cry of outrage and Legolas made a furious motion to stand up, but two guards soon pressed the cool steel against the thin skin of their throats. Elrohir's face was pained and he strained against the sword pressed against his back as he tried to get her attention to see if she was okay.
Turning to Elladan, Annore scowled. "You'd best teach that wretch to watch her manners, or I will teach her some and they will not be a lesson she will enjoy. I, however, will."
Elladan's face was a mask of fury. "Leave her alone, she is young and naïve," he spat at him. "Are you such a despicable of a person that you take to assaulting a lone female in a group of men? Are you such a coward that you must batter the member of our group least qualified to deal with your blows? Any other one of us can match you in strength, leave her alone." He fired, his words digging under the skin of the cold hearted man.
"Your words are folly, elf, and the more you speak the more I determine your suffering. Yours and the bitch." He shot at the elf, smirking as, despite Elladan's attempts, his face paled. Why had he let her come?!
Elrohir finally got Krystal's attention and she waved him off. "I'm fine," she whispered to him, though her face was aching and cold fear was running through her veins. Legolas moved closer to her, adjusting his position ever so slightly that their arms brushed and she met his eyes.
His face was etched in a mask of mixed concern and worry and she shook her head yes slightly. "I'm fine," she whispered again as Anorre turned to one of his men to talk about something. Legolas nodded, but he wondered for a moment who was she trying to convince...him? Or herself?
"Bind them. I wish to return home," Anorre said finally. "We'll bring them there and let the elders decide what to do with them. I care not anymore." His voice was tired, but the memory of the stinging blow he had dealt her forced her eyes to remain on the ground, not in obedience but in fear.
He turned towards his horse as his orders were carried out, but paused, as another thought struck him.
"Separate them, so they cannot communicate with each other." He called, over his shoulder, stopping as he glanced at them again.
"You, take foolish one..no, not him, the other foolish one...yes him...you..grab the blonde one..Gabrial, you take the human.." he continued to give orders until each was bound, except for Krystal. She tried to stand up, but one of the guards waved a dagger in her face. She brushed him aside, to his surprise, and stood up anyway. She was most definitely pissed off.
Legolas dug his heels in, and stared, as did Elladan - the foolish one-. Both glared daggers at Annore, while Aragorn and Elrohir began counting heads. There was about 50 men there, all armed, and once they got to the village there would be more. However, under the cover of darkness, they would have a better chance of escaping.
"Hmm. Give the girl to me, I need some amusement," Annore said with a dry smirk. Legolas's eyes widened with fury and he braced himself against the bounds that held him. Elladan opened his mouth to begin his tirade but Annore held up his hand. "Anything you say right now will only prove folly for her; she will bear the punishment, understand?"
Elladan was coldly furious. His body began to shake with rage and his eyes were clouded over. His fingers unconsciously formed a tight fist and he ached to smash this man's face, but he refrained from saying anything. He would bear the punishment, but he wouldn't let Krystal.
Satisfied, Annore nodded, and the guard pushed Krystal violently towards him. She stopped her skid as the guards bound her hands tightly, and her mind flashed back to that night in the woods...the only other time in her life she had ropes restricting her movement.
Annore interrupted her thoughts but lifting her by the waist, hoisting her up on his horse. It appeared that the men of her party were being made to run behind the horses, but Krystal was getting to ride along with Annore. Oh, joy.
She leaned forward on the horse as he mounted, so that she wouldn't be in contact with him, but with her hands bound that wasn't very possible. Quickly, and intentionally, he kicked the horse into a trot, moving to the front of the men, so that Legolas, Elladan, Elrohir and Aragorn were all out of her sight. Her fear began to prickle at the cool resolve she had tried to form, and she fought to keep it back.
Soon they were moving out of the woods. If she listened intently, she could almost hear the footsteps of Aragorn, heavier than that of his elven friends as they stomped behind them and it gave her slight courage.
"Where are you taking us?" she asked defiantly, the wind biting away her words as her black hair whipped in front of her. The fierce wind snatch her hood off her head and she noticed dully that it had stopped raining.
Annore said nothing and she sighed. "Never mind then."
A few minutes later, she was curious again, and with a slight glance behind her, noticed his face was set in a dull, concentrated mask. "What are you going to do with us?" she tried again. Again, so answer.
With childlike delight, she quickly figured out he was not going to answer her and saw a perfect chance to make fun of him at his expense.
"Do you not remember, my lord?" she asked sympathetically, turning around to make sure she had his attention.
She did.
"Oh, my my. How old are you then? I mean, you don't look that old and everything but dear me, if you can't remember...they say the brain cells are the first things to go."
His face contorted in she wasn't sure what emotion, but she was on a roll, and even as it began to rain, she wasn't going to stop. In fact, she raised her voice so the sharp hearing of the elves behind her could pick it up and know she was okay.
"Let me help you remember. You see, my friends and myself were off hunting..hunting? You know what that is don't you? Of course you do! You shoot pointy things at the animals and then you eat them? Well, I'm pretty sure we established back there that we were hunting," she said, her voice purposely loud, but at the same time filled with pity, but with an underlying tone of mockery as if talking to one very very old. She gestured back towards the clearing that they came from as she spoke. When he said nothing, she took it as her cue to continue.
"Oh my..you do remember our conversation about hunting, don't you?" she paused, as if she expected an answer. "Of course you do! Anyway, moving on, my friends and I were hunting, in your forests, I suppose, when you charged at us. Do you remember that?"
She turned to him and shot him an inquiring glance. The rider to the left of them hid a snicker in his cough at the menacing glance from Annore. Back behind him, the elves were listening and replaying the conversation to Aragorn, who couldn't hear. Legolas could not get the smile off his face and Elladan was silently cheering for her.
"You remember..bunch of men on horses..this is a horse, this thing we ride on now, in case you need reminding, yes and your men were shouting all types of horrible things?"
A flicker of amusement sparkled in his dark eyes, but she didn't see it as she didn't turn around as she continued her tirade. Her voice was becoming strained, and the fear she fought to conceal was breaking it's smooth surface.
"Yes, you charged at us and then yelled quite a lot and shot at us with arrows! Arrows indeed! You know, those pointy things you shoot at animals when your hunting..and we know what hunting is, don't we? Of course you do! But we're not things to be hunted, are we? No, no indeed. We're people too, and we can reason and logic and understand and love and have all the same emotions you can. Except we seem to be able to understand mercy and you cannot." Her voice was bitter now, and her cheek began to burn. Unconsciously, her hand reached up to touch it, and felt the burning of the hot skin there. "We are free people, and you are a free person, so we're not all that different are we? No, I don't think so. But then again, you're the hunters. Do you remember that?"
His gaze was hardened, and the village was in sight. He didn't want to admit it, but every word the girl spoke was prickling at his conscience.
"You remember hate though, huh? And how to inflict pain? You remember that quite well."
Elladan exchanged looks with Legolas. It seemed that her fear was beginning to get to her and she couldn't make jokes anymore. Krystal sighed. What had started out as a joke on him was beginning to seem like a joke on her. She opened her mouth for one last comment, when he finally spoke.
"That's enough." He said clearly into her ear. She stiffened, and didn't understand what that comment was supposed to mean, but fell silent. She could only contain herself so much, and knew if she opened her mouth, she'd betray herself with her sobs of fright.
The man grabbed her shoulder and tossed her towards Aragorn, who had watched the affair with barely contained fury. He caught her as she stumbled backwards, mud flying up into her face. "Are you alright?" he whispered as they kneeled, so their captors could see that they had no hidden weapons. "Who are these guys?" Krystal whispered shakily. Aragorn shook his head at her for a moment, pleading her to keep silent as one of the men stepped forward.
It wasn't the same oaf from before, no. This man was tall, and built. His muscles rippled under his cloak as he moved through his men towards the captives, his light brown hair swishing across his face in the punishing wind. He surveyed the elves and 2 humans before him, his lips pursed in distaste.
"I am Annore, I command these armies and these lands. Who are you, to trespass on my land of men with bows and arrows, knives and such insolent attitudes?" He asked coldly, his eyes raking over the kneeled captives. Their heads were all raised defiantly, staring him in the eyes, but the swords at their backs kept their knees bent.
"I am of Rivendell of the Elves. We came in peace, hunting only the white deer. Rivendell's supplies of venison run low and we came out to replace them. Nothing more. We had no intention of intruding on your land, but it is not clearly marked and we did not know. However, trespassing deserves only a rebuke and not an outright assault, so you, Annore of these lands, are in the wrong. Release me and my company and we shall go, bearing not ill will towards you and your men. Continue to assail us as so and you are in danger of bringing the wrath of Rivendell, and of far distant Mirkwood upon you." Elladan answered swiftly, careful not to give his real name. This man did not seem foolish, and if he lived near Rivendell like they said, he must have heard the heir to Rivendell was named Elladan. His tone was commanding and bold, and he began to stand but cold steel was brushed up against his back and he paused. "Don't move," one of the men muttered and Elladan glared.
"And what gives Rivendell the right to hunt our deer?" Annore shot back, his mouth placed into a firm line of displeasure. His eyes were cold and bleak, but the weary movements of his body betrayed him and showed that he had been in the wild for several days and wished only to return home.
"What gives you the right to lay claim to something wild and free?" Elladan answered promptly. "They belong to no one and nothing except Illuvator, and you shall answer to him, not to me or to Rivendell if you lay claim to what is rightfully his."
Annore stared at him for a moment, contempt in his gaze. He studied each captive before him carefully. Each met his gaze with a defiant one of his own, but when his eyes landed on Krystal's, they stopped.
His brow furrowed in confusion and he studied her critically, taking several steps closer. "What is your name?" He asked, his voice flat and impartial. He noticed that her gaze was strong, but a flicker of fear betrayed her thoughts of terror. Next to her, Aragorn stiffened and Elladan let out a frustrated breath. He never should have let her be allowed to come.
"Krystal." She answered him finally, her voice low but still firm.
"Krystal..what are you doing with a group of elves?" he asked, slight curiosity in his voice as he regarded her.
"Hunting." She answered shortly, her eyes latched on the man in front of her and Legolas barely hid his smirk, though his body was tense with fury. It seemed her sharp tongue would come in handy.
Annore frowned, displeased and he leaned back, as if to strike her before taking a calming breath. "You best watch your tone, young one. You may appear bold but your eyes betray you and I see your fear." His voice was low in warning and Krystal cursed inwardly, willing her face and eyes to remain blank, but the critical eyes of the man saw the slight glimpse of pure terror pass over her face before she could force it into an impartial mask.
"Now, I ask you again. What were you doing with a group of elves?"
Her eyes met his. "You don't seem like a fool, so I don't see why you insist I treat you as one," she said quickly, her tone mocking and her voice low. "but if I must, I must. I was hunting. " She said her last sentence slowly and deliberately, as if talking to a very small child. His face contorted in rage and he raised his hand, slapping her viciously. Stars burst into color before her eyes as pain ricocheted through her skull, her eyes closed tight against the ache. She bit her lip frantically, her head snapped to the side as she breathed heavily. Aragorn let out a cry of outrage and Legolas made a furious motion to stand up, but two guards soon pressed the cool steel against the thin skin of their throats. Elrohir's face was pained and he strained against the sword pressed against his back as he tried to get her attention to see if she was okay.
Turning to Elladan, Annore scowled. "You'd best teach that wretch to watch her manners, or I will teach her some and they will not be a lesson she will enjoy. I, however, will."
Elladan's face was a mask of fury. "Leave her alone, she is young and naïve," he spat at him. "Are you such a despicable of a person that you take to assaulting a lone female in a group of men? Are you such a coward that you must batter the member of our group least qualified to deal with your blows? Any other one of us can match you in strength, leave her alone." He fired, his words digging under the skin of the cold hearted man.
"Your words are folly, elf, and the more you speak the more I determine your suffering. Yours and the bitch." He shot at the elf, smirking as, despite Elladan's attempts, his face paled. Why had he let her come?!
Elrohir finally got Krystal's attention and she waved him off. "I'm fine," she whispered to him, though her face was aching and cold fear was running through her veins. Legolas moved closer to her, adjusting his position ever so slightly that their arms brushed and she met his eyes.
His face was etched in a mask of mixed concern and worry and she shook her head yes slightly. "I'm fine," she whispered again as Anorre turned to one of his men to talk about something. Legolas nodded, but he wondered for a moment who was she trying to convince...him? Or herself?
"Bind them. I wish to return home," Anorre said finally. "We'll bring them there and let the elders decide what to do with them. I care not anymore." His voice was tired, but the memory of the stinging blow he had dealt her forced her eyes to remain on the ground, not in obedience but in fear.
He turned towards his horse as his orders were carried out, but paused, as another thought struck him.
"Separate them, so they cannot communicate with each other." He called, over his shoulder, stopping as he glanced at them again.
"You, take foolish one..no, not him, the other foolish one...yes him...you..grab the blonde one..Gabrial, you take the human.." he continued to give orders until each was bound, except for Krystal. She tried to stand up, but one of the guards waved a dagger in her face. She brushed him aside, to his surprise, and stood up anyway. She was most definitely pissed off.
Legolas dug his heels in, and stared, as did Elladan - the foolish one-. Both glared daggers at Annore, while Aragorn and Elrohir began counting heads. There was about 50 men there, all armed, and once they got to the village there would be more. However, under the cover of darkness, they would have a better chance of escaping.
"Hmm. Give the girl to me, I need some amusement," Annore said with a dry smirk. Legolas's eyes widened with fury and he braced himself against the bounds that held him. Elladan opened his mouth to begin his tirade but Annore held up his hand. "Anything you say right now will only prove folly for her; she will bear the punishment, understand?"
Elladan was coldly furious. His body began to shake with rage and his eyes were clouded over. His fingers unconsciously formed a tight fist and he ached to smash this man's face, but he refrained from saying anything. He would bear the punishment, but he wouldn't let Krystal.
Satisfied, Annore nodded, and the guard pushed Krystal violently towards him. She stopped her skid as the guards bound her hands tightly, and her mind flashed back to that night in the woods...the only other time in her life she had ropes restricting her movement.
Annore interrupted her thoughts but lifting her by the waist, hoisting her up on his horse. It appeared that the men of her party were being made to run behind the horses, but Krystal was getting to ride along with Annore. Oh, joy.
She leaned forward on the horse as he mounted, so that she wouldn't be in contact with him, but with her hands bound that wasn't very possible. Quickly, and intentionally, he kicked the horse into a trot, moving to the front of the men, so that Legolas, Elladan, Elrohir and Aragorn were all out of her sight. Her fear began to prickle at the cool resolve she had tried to form, and she fought to keep it back.
Soon they were moving out of the woods. If she listened intently, she could almost hear the footsteps of Aragorn, heavier than that of his elven friends as they stomped behind them and it gave her slight courage.
"Where are you taking us?" she asked defiantly, the wind biting away her words as her black hair whipped in front of her. The fierce wind snatch her hood off her head and she noticed dully that it had stopped raining.
Annore said nothing and she sighed. "Never mind then."
A few minutes later, she was curious again, and with a slight glance behind her, noticed his face was set in a dull, concentrated mask. "What are you going to do with us?" she tried again. Again, so answer.
With childlike delight, she quickly figured out he was not going to answer her and saw a perfect chance to make fun of him at his expense.
"Do you not remember, my lord?" she asked sympathetically, turning around to make sure she had his attention.
She did.
"Oh, my my. How old are you then? I mean, you don't look that old and everything but dear me, if you can't remember...they say the brain cells are the first things to go."
His face contorted in she wasn't sure what emotion, but she was on a roll, and even as it began to rain, she wasn't going to stop. In fact, she raised her voice so the sharp hearing of the elves behind her could pick it up and know she was okay.
"Let me help you remember. You see, my friends and myself were off hunting..hunting? You know what that is don't you? Of course you do! You shoot pointy things at the animals and then you eat them? Well, I'm pretty sure we established back there that we were hunting," she said, her voice purposely loud, but at the same time filled with pity, but with an underlying tone of mockery as if talking to one very very old. She gestured back towards the clearing that they came from as she spoke. When he said nothing, she took it as her cue to continue.
"Oh my..you do remember our conversation about hunting, don't you?" she paused, as if she expected an answer. "Of course you do! Anyway, moving on, my friends and I were hunting, in your forests, I suppose, when you charged at us. Do you remember that?"
She turned to him and shot him an inquiring glance. The rider to the left of them hid a snicker in his cough at the menacing glance from Annore. Back behind him, the elves were listening and replaying the conversation to Aragorn, who couldn't hear. Legolas could not get the smile off his face and Elladan was silently cheering for her.
"You remember..bunch of men on horses..this is a horse, this thing we ride on now, in case you need reminding, yes and your men were shouting all types of horrible things?"
A flicker of amusement sparkled in his dark eyes, but she didn't see it as she didn't turn around as she continued her tirade. Her voice was becoming strained, and the fear she fought to conceal was breaking it's smooth surface.
"Yes, you charged at us and then yelled quite a lot and shot at us with arrows! Arrows indeed! You know, those pointy things you shoot at animals when your hunting..and we know what hunting is, don't we? Of course you do! But we're not things to be hunted, are we? No, no indeed. We're people too, and we can reason and logic and understand and love and have all the same emotions you can. Except we seem to be able to understand mercy and you cannot." Her voice was bitter now, and her cheek began to burn. Unconsciously, her hand reached up to touch it, and felt the burning of the hot skin there. "We are free people, and you are a free person, so we're not all that different are we? No, I don't think so. But then again, you're the hunters. Do you remember that?"
His gaze was hardened, and the village was in sight. He didn't want to admit it, but every word the girl spoke was prickling at his conscience.
"You remember hate though, huh? And how to inflict pain? You remember that quite well."
Elladan exchanged looks with Legolas. It seemed that her fear was beginning to get to her and she couldn't make jokes anymore. Krystal sighed. What had started out as a joke on him was beginning to seem like a joke on her. She opened her mouth for one last comment, when he finally spoke.
"That's enough." He said clearly into her ear. She stiffened, and didn't understand what that comment was supposed to mean, but fell silent. She could only contain herself so much, and knew if she opened her mouth, she'd betray herself with her sobs of fright.