Disclaimer: Gee, I'm sick of disclaimers. Let's just say that anybody who
didn't appear in any of the works by Tolkien belongs to me. The End.
Echoes of the Narbeleth Spirit Star
Chapter 11: In which dawns the Night for Revelations
It was dark. Very, very dark and Adariel didn't like it. It sort of reminded her of the stuffy kind of darkness that she had found in Moria. She felt that she couldn't breath, and started taking big deep breaths in. There was no end to the darkness, and Adariel felt like she could reach her hand out and touch it.
"Is anybody out there?" she called desperately, but her voice sounded thin and it was an effort for her to open her mouth and let breath out. There wasn't enough air.
Nobody answered, and still, the darkness closed in. Adariel felt danger prickle at the edge of her senses, but when she looked around about her, there was nothing but unending night. Suddenly, she felt something change. It was still dark, and no light showed through, but Adariel felt change in the air. It was like the swirls upon the water when the winds of change skimmed across its surface.
A wind blew, but it was not comforting. It both chilled Adariel and scorched her. It pounded against her skin and she grit her teeth, eyes narrowing. "Who are you?" she called out, expecting no answer. And then from her left a voice sounded.
"Dartha Galadel. Patience, Brightstar."
The voice echoed. It was neither male nor female and it sounded both warm and cold. The echoing continued, making the darkness swell a little. "Patience, patience, patience, patience, patience." the echo sang out.
"Where are you?" Adariel called, tears blinding her eyes. A different voice was directly in front of her. It was deeper than the first, but it had no boundaries between male and female.
"Annon le tolo al-si. Your time will come."
There were now two echoes. "Patience, patience, patience." to Adariel's left, and "Come, come, come, come ." from in front of her.
They wove around each other, tangling and untangling in the gloom. The air grew a little thinner and breathing became easier. Still, danger prickled at the edge of her mind. Adariel couldn't shake it off, with the echoes still flowing around her like a mixture of air and water, alike but different. And then a third voice joined in with the din creating a triad, almost like a chord of sound.
"Siila galad. Shine brightly."
"Brightly, brightly, brightly, brightly." the third echo cried, reaching out to join its sisters. It was like a melody of echoes that surrounded Adariel, and still she felt uneasy. Then the echoes fell silent as if obeying an order from their masters. The harsh wind stopped blowing. All was still in the smothering darkness. And then one by one, the voices repeated themselves, first from the left and lastly from the right.
"Dartha Galadel. (Patience, Brightstar)."
"Annon le tolo al-si. (Your time will come)."
"Siila galad. (Shine brightly)."
And then they repeated themselves again, and Adariel looked about the triad of voices in front of her.
"Dartha Galadel."
"Annon le tolo al-si."
"Siila galad."
As the last voice contributed to the chord, the outline of a circle formed at Adariel's feet and light emitted from it. It was Living Light, and it wrapped its rays like a spiral about Adariel. It rose up for a little while, circling about her and some reached out and formed a soft layer that laid itself upon the surface of her skin and hair so it seemed that she herself was glowing. And then the spiraling light curved outwards, no longer about her and rays of it pierced the darkness. She still glowed.
The stronger the light, the shriller the three mysterious voices until it was impossible to tell where they came from. They filled up the whole space and the echoes had come back to join the chorus. The sound rose higher to a pitch near screaming, but still melodic. The light continue to puncture the darkness. The voices rose higher still and Adariel's head pounded. It seemed now that they were inside of her as well as outside.
"Patience, Brightstar, your time will come. Shine brightly" One voice came silkily in common tongue, then once again in Elven tongue. "Dartha Galadel, annon le tolo al-si. Siila galad."
The voice repeated again, smoothly, soothingly over the others. One voice that was woven of all the voices that Adariel knew. There was Eltheran, Elbesth, Elderen, Arwen, Galadriel, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, the voices of all the maids she'd ever had and still there were many more.
And then Adariel woke up.
It was very early, and a long time before the gray of dawn was to emerge. The others were not up yet, and even Legolas was still in the last stages of deep sleep as he lay a little way off where she was. She sat up, staring a little into the distance, trying to clear her head. The echo of the last voice was still with her in her mind and she kept hearing it over and over again.
What did it mean?
Pushing the thought to the back of her mind along with the other jumbled dreams of darker nights, she bound her hair tightly with the twine she had discarded the night before when she had been talking to Legolas. Sighing as she finished braiding the last strands, she stood up in one swift movement and stretched. By the look of the lightening clouds, it was going to be a fine day. Her head turned toward the direction of the trail and she frowned a little. There seemed no end to this plain.
There was a slight frost on the blades of grass around her that had not yet melted to become dew droplets. She hardly felt the cold, as there was no wind that blew. All was calm in the hours before the day came. She noticed that the clouds no longer covered the sky. It was dark blue, fading into the soft colors of the light, making it look purple. The stars were still visible, and so was the soft outline of the moon that faded with the coming light.
"O Elbereth. Erin le hin, dad siila. Tog ammen tri i fuin." She murmured to the sky absently. (O Elbereth. Shine down on your children. Lead us through the darkness)
Adariel sighed and looked back down around her. That dream was still a shadow upon her mind, weighing it down. It was the only dark dream that night; one that came just before she awoke and it lingered still. What she really needed was a distraction, or at least something to occupy her with for a while.
The men beyond her lay sprawled on the ground in cautious sleep, weapons at hand. The slightest obtrusive movement and they would spring up. For men of hardened ways, they seemed almost peaceful lying there on the grass. Perhaps nature's beauty had that effect on everybody.
The hours before the dawn were coming soon. There was a change in the air as the far away, birds woke and beat the still of night with their wings to welcome the new day. Adariel looked out toward the distance, and frowned. Something wasn't right. She gazed northwards into the darkness.
Something was different from yesterday. She tried to picture everything in her mind. The wind still blew, the air still calm. All was peaceful in the early hour of day, a time of change between darkness and light. Too peaceful. Adariel frowned. Where was the presence that weighed down on her heart the day before? The shadow that drew caution in her mind? Adariel searched for it both with her eyes and her mind, and she found it finally teetering on the edge of both her senses.
The Orcs had not rested in the night and were now far ahead of them.
Her eyes opened with realization. At the rate that they were going, it would be nearly impossible to catch up. She ran over to the nearest body that lay in the grass, which happened to be that of Legolas'. Already, he was stirring with the sound of her purposefully heavy footsteps on the ground. She shook him by the shoulders gently, then roughly.
"Wake up!"
His eyes (he slept with them open) cleared and he bolted straight up, startled. The movement flung Adariel backwards. Adariel, whose hands were still upon his shoulders, tugged back with the momentum and he fell forward. Adariel felt a little dazed as she fell back onto the grass, her neck snapping back and her head hitting the ground. Something heavy landed on top of her.
There was a brief stillness, and then Adariel glared up at the form on top of her who wasn't moving.
"Get off me!" she shot at him, then pushed up roughly.
"My apologies, Lady Adariel." Legolas said, a faint blush tinting his cheeks. He stood up quickly and offered her his hand. She ignored it and got up herself.
"Oh," said a voice behind her, "am I interrupting something?"
"No!" They both said. Adariel turned to see who it was. It was Aragorn, who stood behind them with a bemused smile upon his lips. Then Adariel remembered what she was originally going to say, and her eyes turned serious. Aragorn and Legolas noted the change in her expression and looked at her expectantly.
"They (meaning the ones they were chasing) are far, far away." She said. "I do not feel their presence anymore."
A troubled look came over all their faces. Legolas gazed to the North and fell thoughtful and silent. "She is right," he said at length, "I know in my heart that they have not rested this night. Only an eagle could overtake them now."
"But still, onwards we must go," Aragorn concluded. "Let us wake the others from their peaceful rest. I fear the dawn will catch up with us if we tarry longer."
They walked to where the other two lay, and Aragorn stooped over Gimli to shake him awake. The Dwarf sprang up with his ax in hand. Seeing that it was Aragorn who stood over him, he relaxed his grip on the weapon.
"Easy, Friend Dwarf," Aragorn said grimly. "Though danger does not pass our sights yet."
Next he came to Boromir. He shook Boromir awake, but Boromir did not stir. Aragorn shook him again, harder, but still Boromir slept. Aragorn raised his eyebrows. "I wonder if there is anything under the stars that could wake him," he wondered aloud.
Suddenly, Boromir stirred on his own account, and his face became troubled. "No! Frodo! What have I done? Come back Frodo!"
Aragorn drew back and stared, as did Legolas and Gimli. Adariel raised her eyebrows. 'Well,' she thought to herself, 'it looks as if he gives himself away on his own accord, although I'm sure it is his consciousness speaking through his dreams.'
Boromir continued to speak in his dream-like state. "I did not mean to take the Ring! Truly, something had come over me! I was not myself!"
They all started when he said that. Aragorn leaned forward once more with a grim look upon his face and shook Boromir once more. Hard. Boromir jerked awake, groaning. He rubbed his temple with his hand and looked around to see all the grim faces that looked down at him. He sat up immediately and said, "What is it?"
"Perhaps," Aragorn said, "You can tell us."
Boromir looked surprised. "Tell me, what is it that you speak of. If I know it, I will tell it."
"A strange tale we heard," Gimli spoke up, "while you were asleep. It came from the mouth of a man not yet conscious. And we heard him say: 'No! Frodo! What have I done? Come back Frodo!' and just as we were about to wake him with a question, he added, 'I did not mean to take the Ring! Truly, something had come over me! I was not myself!' What can you make of this situation?"
Boromir paled visibly and turned his eyes on Adariel. A look of anger flamed in his eyes and for a moment or two it was laced with hatred that made her flinch. He leapt at her, growling. Adariel calmly dodged to the side, narrowly being pounce on. Boromir struck once more. She tried to leap away again but failed and found herself pinned down with a face twisted with anger on front of her. Boromir's hands dug into her arm and it she felt it twist and the bone complain angrily.
Boromir showed no signs of having felt her pain, and Adariel noted somehow that the link between them worked only one way. So it looked like she'd have to do this the hard way. Her face was calm although the pain from the twist was sinking in. Aragorn and Legolas were trying to pull Boromir off her.
"You!" roared Boromir, "You told them! Once I'm through with you, you scoundrel of an Elf.!"
Adariel said nothing. Her arm hurt too much, but her hand strained down to her side where she could feel the hilt of her knife rubbing against her hip bones. A little bit further.a little more.and she had it. In one swift movement, she put all the strength she had on call into a sudden jerk of her arm and drew the knife out. It cut shallowly into Boromir's leg, and he loosened his arm at the sudden pain.
Aragorn and Legolas jerked him off. Adariel winced at the sudden bolt of pain in her leg. The knife cut wasn't deep, she knew, but it had probably drawn blood. Aragorn's hand was on the hilt of his knife and he was talking seriously to Boromir in quiet, hushed tones. Boromir appeared to be weeping, his head in his hands, whist being held down by Gimli. But it seemed that Gimli didn't really need to hold him down at all. Boromir seemed to have given up and the fire had gone out of his eyes.
Adariel shuddered inwardly. She had never really trusted Men anyway with maybe the exception of Aragorn. But then again, he had be Elf raised. He was the only human that she actually respected. Her leg had stopped hurting so badly now and there was only a dull ache left.
A hand was thrust in front of her, disturbing the melancholy of her thoughts. "May I help you up?"
"Normally, I wouldn't let you," Adariel said, her head raised up with narrowed eyes that peered at Legolas. "But thank you for the offer. I suppose I'd have to take it."
Legolas pulled her up and Adariel couldn't help but wince at the shift in muscle and the weight put on her leg. But it was gone in an instant, and her face cleared.
"Are you hurt? Did he harm you?" Legolas asked anxiously, gazing down where her hand was clasped against her thigh. Adariel shook her head.
"It's probably just a scrape from the ridge."
Legolas didn't look convinced, but said, "You knew about what Boromir had done? And you didn't tell us?"
Aragorn had joined him with Boromir in tow and Gimli trailing behind. "Yes," Aragorn said, peering at Adariel, "I should well like to know that too."
'What can I say?' Adariel thought frantically to herself, 'What is there TO say?'
Out loud, she spoke, "It was not my place to tell, as it was not my place to have seen it in the first place."
"I'm beginning to wonder," Legolas said, "Just what else that you saw. I had thought that rustle of leaves back outside the Moria to be you and I am sure that I am right. Tell us of your journey, as it may well be information that may help us on our way."
"Tell us as we make our way down the trail once more," Aragorn cut in, "It may be true that the enemy has fled far, it is not our place to decide whether to stay or whether to go. That decision is up to Frodo and Sam wherever they may be. The sooner the Ring is destroyed the better. Let us be off once more!"
They followed him single file, and Aragorn was at he front. They placed Boromir after him followed by Gimli, Adariel and Legolas. Aragorn stopped to press is ear to the earth. The others waited in anxious silence for his judgment. It was still dark so they were forced to trust his lead. Aragorn lay motionless for quite some time and Adariel had begun to wonder if he was still awake when at last he rose straight again with the dawn that came glimmering over them.
His look did not comfort or assure them. His eyes were troubled.
"The rumor of the earth is dim and confused," he said. "Nothing walks upon it for many miles about us. Faint and far are the feet of our enemies. But loud are the hoofs of the horses. It comes to my mind that I heard them, even as I lay on the ground in sleep, and they troubled my dreams: horses galloping, passing in the West. But now they are drawing ever further from us, riding northward. I wonder what is happening in this land!"
"Let us go on!" said Boromir, anxious to be away from the plain.
The third day of the pursuit began, and in the early morning, Adariel was forced to give up her own account her adventures, leaving out the part that of her heritage apart from the fact that she came from Lakewood. The Company listened with as much attention as they could spare, often asking her to repeat scenes. When her story had faded with the rising of the sun near the mark of late morning, Aragorn spoke.
"Lakewood? You came from Lakewood? Were you not haunted by the shadow of the Maiden of Lakewood that Elves seldom speak about?" he asked. He had only heard the title, and not the name that went with it.
Adariel blushed. "She has change much. She was not the like the one you have come to know."
Aragorn looked slightly surprised. "Lakewood was a dark place. I speak no ill of the people, but of the one who rules it. There are whispers that ride the breeze that he had been acting not like one of his own. His mind seeks the darkness, and all will be lost, soon."
"Eltheran?" Adariel asked, her tongue betraying her for a while.
"You call him by name!" Aragorn exclaimed. "You know him well?"
This confused Adariel. What did he mean? Did he not know that she was Princess of Lakewood? Surely Arwen must have told him! Then she remembered that not many even knew of her title as Princess. Even Legolas couldn't seem to make the link. Most knew her name in link to the Maiden of Lakewood. The Princess was a rare sight, and although most knew she existed, the association between the Maiden of Lakewood and the Princess of Lakewood was not present, as of yet. They were talked about as two separate people.
"I knew the Princess." Adariel answered, finally.
"Oh!" Aragorn exclaimed, "Once my adopted brothers, Elladan and Elrohir had told me of her, but they seemed to do it reluctantly. And I, myself, had been to Lakewood but saw no living sign of her."
"I am not surprised," Adariel said honestly, but cryptically.
"Another thing that puzzles me," Gimli joined in, "concerns why a daughter of Elrond resided in such a dark place as Lakewood, if Aragorn is indeed right."
"Another time, maybe. I beg of you, Sirs, ask of me no more!" Adariel exclaimed, growing flustered. "Why do you examine me so?"
"But you must know that we are drawing near to Isengard, which is the way the Orcs are heading. Surely you remember where your own city is?" Aragorn said, giving her a surprised look over his shoulder. "Is it not on the border of the Fangorn?"
On the surface, Adariel remained perfectly calm, years of practice paying off. But inside, she was panicked. She was appalled and horrified at the thought of being recognized, and her father, the only one she had known, dragging her back inside the society she had just risked her life to escape from.
'Fate is cruel!' Adariel thought. 'How pitiless She is!'
Never having remembered traveling out of Lakewood, Adariel naturally had no idea where Lakewood actually was. The trees had different names for different places, and depending on which breed, they varied slightly. And what was it that Aragorn had said? That Eltheran had led Lakewood further into the Darkness? Was that why nobody ever went through Lakewood without good purpose to? And Eltheran had said that it was because of the Maiden of Lakewood, herself!
Adariel grit her teeth angrily, a frown marring her features. That was a problem that she would worry about later. Right now, she had to figure out a way to redirect them so that their course would take them far from Lakewood without damaging their cause. She searched for a plausible plan, but none came to mind and she fell into troubled silence.
Aragorn was apparently blind to this and asked, "I wonder how far in the city has fallen. I had been there once in my youth, although I know not if you remember it, and it was already failing. You say you know the Princess, and therefore you knew Eltheran. How do you assess this situation, Lady Adariel?"
Adariel took some time to think carefully before forming her answer, and her reply was hesitant. "Eltheran was heartless but had a tongue of honey, and for a while, the Princess was much deceived by him but when I left she had escaped from the web of lies. Her heart has cleared since then. I know it is so."
"What of the Maiden of Lakewood?" Aragorn asked, "What news of her? Can it be that she was the conviction behind Eltheran's choices?"
Adariel could not help herself; she was angered. A fire unlike Boromir's kindled through her and if any had turned they would have seen it sparkling in her eyes. "She would never do a thing of like that!"
"Ah, then you knew her as you did the Princess," Aragorn said. "And I see that you are loyal to them both. What proof have you of her intentions other than your loyalty?"
Legolas, who had stayed silent through the trip and listened, chose to speak up. "She may have valid reasons yet, Aragorn. Lady Adariel would not speak so strongly if she did not have good insight to the character in question. She was the adopted daughter of Elthloir, advisor of Eltheran."
That struck Adariel as a strange thing to say. He did not really know her, but he had actually defended her, although it may have been unconsciously. A trill of something strange wavered through her but she shook it off. It reminded her of what she had felt up in the branches of the tree outside Moria and when she had woken up in Lothlorien to find him standing over her. Now was not the time to analyze herself.
She felt a pang of guilt about lying to him about her father. It wasn't in the nature of the Elves to lie, although they did keep many secrets. To Aragorn's question, she answered quietly, "What more proof do you want? I have her body, mind, and heart."
Aragorn's stride faltered but did not stop. They fell silent, and they seldom spoke afterward in their trek. Over the wide solitude they passed and their elven-cloaks faded against the background of the gray-green fields; even in the cool sunlight of mid-day few but elvish eyes would have picked them out until they were close at hand. Often in their hearts they thanked the Lady of Lorien for the gift of lembas, which they could eat and find new strength as they ran.
All day the track of their enemies led straight on, going north-west without a break or turn. As once again the day wore to its end they came to long treeless slopes, where the land rose, swelling up towards a line of low humpbacked downs ahead. The orc-trail grew fainter as it bent north towards them. The ground became harder and the grass shorter. Far away to the left the river Entwash wound. No moving thing could be seen. Often Adariel, and Aragorn as well, wondered that they saw no sign of beast or man. The dwellings of the Rohirrim were for the most part many miles away down south, under the wooded eaves of the White Mountains; yet the Horse lords had formerly kept many herds and studs in the Eastemnet, this easterly region of their realm. But now all the land was empty and there was a silence that was not the quiet of peace.
At dusk, they halted. The young moon was glimmering in a misty sky, but once more it gave small light. The stars were again, veiled.
"I fear the Orcs have run before us as if the whips of Sauron were behind them. I fear they have already reached the forest and the dark hills and even now are passing into the shadows of the trees." Legolas said.
"But is that not good?" Adariel asked, "Can you not ask for tidings from the trees?"
"Only some have that power, to ask and not just listen." Aragorn answered. "And one has not been know for many centuries."
"So I see." Adariel replied icily. She had not quite forgiven Aragorn for the conversation and what had passed between them earlier. Aragorn had apologized before, but Adariel found it hard to accept it although it was rather from stubbornness than ill wishes.
Gimli ground his teeth. "This is a bitter end to our hope and to all our toil!"
"To hope, maybe, but not to toil!" Aragorn said. "We shall not turn back this far along this traitorous road. Yet I am weary." He gazed back along the way that they had come. "There is something strange at work in this land, and I distrust the silence. I distrust even the pale Moon. The stars are faint; and I am weary as I have seldom been before, weary as no Ranger should be with a clear trail to follow. There is some will that lends speed to our foes and sets an unseen barrier before us."
"Saruman!" Boromir said out of his silence, "But he shall not turn us back! Halt we must once more; for see! Even the Moon is falling into gathering cloud. But north lies our road between down and we should go on when the day returns."
They went about on their own business. Gimli and Boromir slept first and Aragorn, Adariel and Legolas were left up. Aragorn was brooding with troubled eyes, and Adariel thought it best to leave him be. Her mind still hadn't come up with any plan to avoid Lakewood yet, and she had to trust the judgment of Aragorn and the wild rumors to lead them away from there. There seemed like nothing she could do.
Legolas watched Adariel sitting a little way off where Aragorn was. Her face was as troubled as Aragorn's, if not more. It seemed as if a heavy weight had fallen onto her, and she was different from how he remembered her last night. He surprised himself by coming up with a mental picture that was incredibly detailed.
He wondered what troubled her so much. He'd been used to Elves who were carefree by nature and although they could be serious at times, even his father laughed freely once in a while. This girl did neither. She was always so sober as if something was haunting her. Whenever she spoke, she had a look of caution as if anything she said could be held against her name.
Then again, he didn't blame her, being the Maiden of Lakewood.
So she was the daughter of Elthloir, advisor of Eltheran. He thought about Elthloir. He was an old Elf, maybe the age of his father or older. Certainly older than Eltheran. What Legolas HADN'T known was that he'd been keeping Elrond's daughter for all these centuries. It seemed a strange thing to do.
His gaze wandered to Adariel again. Her skin seemed creamy under the pale moonlight, and her eyes looked glazed with her mood. Her hair was still bound, and he stopped to remember it as he had seen it the night before, spread out like rays of moonlight, kissing the lush grass. Her hair was never totally unbound. Even in Lothlorien, she left her fringe plaited and tucked behind her ears. He wondered how she would look with all her hair out and flowing.
He saw Aragorn turn to her and tap her lightly on the shoulder. She turned. He could see that she had just been snapped out of deep thought and was startled. Aragorn said something with a sincere expression on his face, and Legolas saw Adariel nod. She stood and they walked a little way off and started talking quietly.
Legolas wondered what they were talking about. Something bubbled up inside him. Something that he recognized as an emotion somewhere between angry and sad. He hadn't felt like this since.since.he was sure he hadn't felt like this at all.
Watching Adariel talking to Aragorn was making him feel confused. In fact, being around Adariel nearly always made him confused. He remembered talking to her the night before. What had he said? He couldn't even remember what he had said! Something about Mirkwood, and how he didn't really like it there as everybody thought he would. He'd never told anybody that before, and she was a complete stranger yet he had somehow poured his heart out to her.
What was happening to him? Could it be..? Legolas shook his head. He gazed up at Adariel, talking with a frown to Aragorn, and felt the odd swell in him somewhere between anger and sadness. The emotion, he now recognized as envy. Legolas breathed out deeply, and raised his eyes up to the cloudy sky as if pleading.
Why this? Why now? And most importantly, why her?
Adariel was surprised when she felt the light tap on her shoulder. She turned to see it was Aragorn, with a contemplating look on his face. He motioned her to come closer, and stepped away from the others. Adariel followed, curious as what he had to say. His face was sober and sincere, although his eyes were still troubled.
When they were well away from hearing distance, Aragorn said, "I'm truly sorry, Lady Adariel, that I had treated you thus earlier to-day. I was merely surprised, and ignorant of your position."
Adariel shook her head. "You are still pondering about that, Lord Aragorn? You were forgiven in my heart a long time ago, when I saw you talking with Lady Arwen."
Aragorn smiled a weary smile. He seemed relieved at her response, and said, "Please, Lady Adariel. I am not high and mighty yet. Do my position justice and call me Aragorn. No formality is needed."
"Then I, Sir, am merely Adariel. I have nor deserve a title at all. Such as it is. Such as it always will be." Adariel's expression remained smooth. Where any other creature would have at least hinted a small smile, her face remained expressionless as if she were merely listening to a long tale that she was indifferent to.
"Is that all you pulled me out to say?" She added.
Aragorn looked more serious, the weary smile seemingly wiped off his face. "Actually, it wasn't. My mind has been troubled for many days, and I fear that what Legolas had said is true. The orcs may be out of our grasp for now if we do not find a short-cut. For now, we must journey forward. I do not yet trust the tidings this land brings. You are from Lakewood, are you not? I fear that we may need to journey in that direction. Tell me, what news have you of Lakewood and its people. There are dark rumors abroad, ones I dare not repeat to your ears."
Adariel sort of had a feeling that this was the real reason that he had pulled her aside. She wouldn't lie directly anymore; the strain from doing that to Legolas was enough. No, she would just leave things out. "Lakewood may not be the same as I remembered it last." She cautioned.
Aragorn replied that he understood, and only asked for information that her memory allowed her.
"Well," Adariel said slowly, "I remember the message coming from Rivendell to Eltheran. He seemed deeply disturbed by it, and he said afterward some words, the exact ones I do not remember, somewhere along the lines of 'Not again.' I did not know what he was talking about."
"You talk of yourself in first person. You were present when he read this letter?" Aragorn interrupted, looking at her suspiciously. Adariel cursed herself for her slight of tongue.
"The Princess told me of this," Adariel quickly said, trying to cover up her tracks. "I am merely repeating what she had said."
"I see," Aragorn looked back down at the grass, musing. "Continue please."
"Lakewood was getting darker, the sunlight not as bright as it used to be and the trees not as open as they were. Not many animals came any more and the Elves that resided there were restless. I had often felt that something was approaching, for good or for evil I knew not then. It hung upon the tongues of the leaves and the grass and dulled the sound of the water in the Lakes."
"Was there anything else?" Aragorn dug further, "Did the Princess say anything to you?"
"Oh, I doubt she knew much." Adariel said with a gleam in her eye. "She most likely only knew as much as I do. I am sorry that I do not remember more, but Lakewood is a place that I do not want to keep going back to. It weighs heavy upon my mind. Was that all?"
"There was another thing," Aragorn said.
"Oh? Yes?"
"It's about.Legolas."
"What about Legolas?" Adariel asked, struggling to keep the nervousness out of her voice.
"Adariel," Aragorn turned and put a hand on her shoulder, "I know not about your past, nor how you came by your title. But listen now, to what I say although whether or not you follow my counsel will be up to you."
He paused and looked at her earnestly. Adariel felt suspicion creeping up her back. She tilted her head slightly and waited.
"I can not speak for Fate, but I can see that you may yet play a part in this war. Your mother's mother, Galadriel of the Light, once said to Frodo that even the smallest person can change to course of the future, and for my part, I now say to you that even the smallest act, the smallest will, can change the tidings of the land. It must be a heavy burden that you carry, for I see now that the Lady Galadriel has leant her your name, as Galadel, Brightstar."
Aragorn drew a breath and continued, his tone was thoughtful. "Your test may be yet to come when you will be called upon to stand against the darkness. Sauron is strong, although not without weakness and for that reason I hope the favor of Fate rides with Frodo and Sam in that wretched land of Mordor. But it is not without reason that the Lady of the Woods bestows names. When that time comes, you must not stand alone."
He repeated the last sentence. "You must not stand alone. I will not allow it as long as I may be by your side. For your sake, and for the sake of your kindred in Rivendell that you have yet to meet. But I am not immortal. Your folk have great perspective, but I see that you lack their experience of the world. You have been separated from your emotions?"
The last part was a question. Here, Adariel opened her mouth and then closed it. He was right. Being shut up for most of her life, she was not too knowledgeable in the ways of the world. Physically, and emotionally. Whatever Aragorn had to say, it would be from his own observations.
"There is something not quite right about you." Aragorn continued, holding up a hand at her protest. "Let me finish, please Adariel. You knew not even where Lakewood was. The birds back in the woods outside of Lothlorien died for you. There is something about you that I do not know. You seem to know things before any of us, yet when we were out in the plain, you seemed to know nothing. There are things about you, Adariel Galadel, that does not seem to fit in my mind."
Adariel tried to divert the attention away from herself. "You said this was about Legolas."
"It is. But I see that you would rather I be frank with my advice. I shall give it to you now. You are wise with the wisdom of the years, but neither of you can see what is in front of your eyes. Remember, when the time comes, you can not and will not stand alone. Walk not the roads of life by yourself. You will tire of it, as I have and long for company again." So saying, Aragorn strode away again and laid himself down for sleep to take him.
"What has that got to do with Legolas?" she asked, but he was already beyond hearing in his exhaustion. Adariel sat down where she was and leaned back onto the ground. Sleep soon took her away from her troubled thoughts.
Legolas had been up all through the night. He didn't need to sleep; he rarely did it, and he spent some of the time pondering why Adariel slept like mortals all the time. She certainly didn't need it. Perhaps it would be something to ask her when he could muster up the courage to talk to her.
Ever since his revelation, he seemed to be more confused than ever. His friends had been wooing maidens for as long as he could remember, but he'd only laughed at them and rode out with his bow on the lookout for adventure. Of course, there wasn't any. The Third Age had only just been established and it was peaceful. His head and heart were filled with the longing to ride off against some evil, and he had not time even to glance at the women who would try to capture his attention. He left that to his friends.
But now that he had his adventure, he also found that it came with a price: his heart.
He remembered how Aragorn had laid his hand on Adariel's shoulder and suddenly felt a little gloomier, his eyes looking down dejectedly onto the ground. It was ridiculous of him to think that Aragorn felt anything for Adariel apart from a brother's love, after all, he knew her first as Arwen's sister. But he couldn't fight down the shadow that doubt had cast on him.
It was the early hours of the new day now. Just a few more hours and they would be off again. He thought it strange that Adariel would not even know where Lakewood was. Surely she would have realized that Lakewood was the closest Elven city to the dwellings of Man. She said she was had been living as the daughter of Elthloir, advisor to Eltheran. But that didn't make sense. Elthloir loved knowledge and would have told her everything about Lakewood and the forest surrounding it.
There was something that she was hiding.
Legolas frowned. What was it?
Adariel was woken by Legolas. "Awake! Awake!" he cried, "It is a red dawn. Strange things await us by the eaves of the forest. Good or evil, I do not know; but we are called. Awake!"
They sprang up immediately and almost at once, they set off again. Slowly the green slopes rising to bare ridges that ran in a line straight towards the North. At their feet the ground was dry and the grass was short. A long strip of sunken land, about ten miles wide, lay between them and the river wandering deep in dim thickets of reed and rush. Just to the West of the southernmost slope there was a great ring where the turf had been torn and beaten by many heavy trampling feet. From it, the orc-trail ran out again, turning north along the dry skirts of the hills. Aragorn halted and examined the tracks closely.
"They rested here for but a while," he said, "but even the outward trail is already old. I fear that our Elven friends were right. It is thrice twelve hours, I am guessing, since the Orcs stood where we now stand. If they held to their pace then at sundown yesterday they would have reached the borders of Fangorn."
Turning to Adariel, he added, "I hope that your people in Lakewood have not fallen to shadow yet, for all our sakes."
"I can see nothing away north or west but the grass dwindling into the horizon." Said Gimli. "Could we see the forest, if we climbed up the hills?"
"Nay, it is still far away," said Aragorn. "If I remember rightly, these downs run eight leagues or more to the north and many more northwest to the issuing of the Entwash.
"Well, let us go on," said Gimli. "My legs must forget the miles. They would be more willing, if my heart were less heavy."
The sun was sinking when at last they drew near to the end of the line of downs. For many hours they had marched on without rest. They were slowing now, and Gimli's back was bent. Stone-hard are the Dwarves in labor or journey, but this endless chase began to tell on him as all hope fled his heart. Aragorn walked behind him, grim and silent, stooping now and again to scan some print or mark on the ground. Boromir walked in front of Adariel, muttering to himself. Only Legolas seemed to step as lightly as ever, his feet hardly seeming to press the grass, leaving no footprints as he passed; Adariel's steps were weighed down by her worries.
"Let us go up onto this green hill!" Legolas cried. Wearily they followed him, climbing the long slope until they came out upon the top. It was a round hill that was smooth and bare, much to Adariel's disappointment. She had hoped for tidings from the trees, but none grew there.
The sun sank and the shadows of evening fell like a curtain. They were alone in a gray formless world without mark or measure. Only far away north- west there was a deeper darkness against the dying light: the Mountains of Mist and the forest at their feet.
"Nothing can guide us to-night." Said Gimli. "We must halt again and wear the night away. It is growing cold!"
"The wind is north from the snows of the mountains," said Aragorn.
"And in the morning, it will be in the East," observed Legolas. "But rest, if you must. Yet do not cast all hope away. Tomorrow is unknown. New glimmers are often found in the rising of the Sun."
"Three suns already have risen on our chase and brought no counsel." Boromir muttered. "But I will not give up, if only for the sake of the Little Ones."
The night grew colder, Aragorn, Boromir and Gimli had slept fitfully. Adariel stayed up that night, for she enjoyed the refreshing winds that blew the hard coldness upon them. It was crisp in its calling. Legolas, as he usually did she guessed, showed no signs of sleep. His eyes were clear but he remained silent. The wind swirled about her, making the edge of her tunic flap a little.
The silence wore roughly on her, but she bore it with little bitterness. She'd decided that this was a night to let her thoughts flow away with the wind. Tonight, she would let her worries go and just sit and enjoy the night. Maybe she would get a sudden inspiration in her calmness. She closed her eyes as she stood against the wind.
There were soft footsteps on the grass that stopped near her. She ignored them. They didn't move away.
"Why do you sleep like the Mortals?" came a musical voice intruding on her mind. Adariel opened her eyes and looked around for the owner of the voice. He was standing beside her.
"I was not asleep." Adariel retorted, gesturing down at herself. She was standing.
"I observed that." His voice had a smile in it. "I only meant previous nights."
Adariel thought about it. Of course he'd notice. He wasn't used to sleeping unless need called for it. To her, it was an old habit when the night would take her away from the troubles and the darkness surrounding her and whisk her off away on the roads of starlight where she would tumble upon beams of moonlight. The sky was rich with dreams and the horse of Sleep took her to their halls.
"I sleep out of habit." Adariel answered "It was something that I did often in Lakewood."
They said no more between them until Legolas broke the silence once again. "I fear for our cause."
"The Ring?" Adariel responded.
"Nay, for the tormentors of Pippin and Merry. They are beyond our speed, although if we meet them again in Isengard, it may already be too late. A darkness is nearby. It lays heavy upon my mind."
Adariel whirled, annoyed. "Do not speak so! I had cast out tonight as a night when I drifted away from such thoughts and worries. Do you deny me that single pleasure?"
Legolas bowed immediately. "For that, I am truly sorry."
"It is too late now, I suppose," Adariel said. "My thoughts have fled back to my body and the night is ruined for my purpose. Speak on. I can not sleep in peace and shall stay up and stray with the dawn. Until then I do not protest company. Especially one who asked it of me in the first place."
They talked softly of Mirkwood and Lakewood, each having been overcast once with bitter darkness. Adariel admitted that she was worried for Lakewood. "It was always a beautiful place, even when the shadow was upon it. I would hate to see it destroyed by betrayal."
The conversation broke up then, and Adariel was not willing to let on any more. Legolas paced near the sleeping forms of their friends, sometimes singling softly to himself in his own tongue and as he sang the white stars opened in the hard black vault above. So the night passed.
They were all up for the dawn and saw it grow slowly in the sky, now bare and cloudless until at last the sunrise came. It was pale and clear. The wind was in the East as Legolas had predicted and the mists rolled away. Wide lands lay bleak about them in the bitter light.
Ahead and eastward they saw the windy uplands of Rohan. All apart from Adariel had caught a glimpse of it many days ago as they traveled from the Great River. North-westward stalked the dark forest of Fangorn; still ten leagues away stood its shadowy eaves, and its further slopes into the distant blue. Lakewood lay hiding there.
The orc-trail turned from the downs toward the Entwash that flowed from the forest to meat them.
Following with his keen eyes the trail to the river, and then the river back towards the forest, Aragorn saw a shadow on the distant green, a dark swift-moving blur. He cast himself upon the ground and listened again intently. But Adariel stood beside him, shading her bright eyes with her lender hand, and she saw not a shadow, nor a blur, but the small figures of horsemen, many of them, and the glint of morning on the tips of their spears. Far behind them a dark smoke rose in thin curling threads. There was a silence in the empty fields.
"Riders!" cried Aragorn, springing to his feet. "Many riders on swift steeds are coming towards us!"
"Yes," said Legolas, "there are one hundred and five. Yellow is their hair and bright are their spears. Their leader is very tall." He too had followed Adariel and looked into the distance and seen the riders that approached.
Aragorn smiled at them. "Keen are the eyes of the Elves."
"Nay," Adariel spoke for the first time that day. "The riders are little more than five leagues distant."
"Five leagues or one," Gimli said, "we cannot escape them in this empty land. Shall we wait for them here or go on our way, still?"
"We will wait." Aragorn said. "I am weary and our hunt has failed. Or at least others were before us. These horsemen are riding back down the orc- trail. We may get news from them. They are not Elves of Lakewood, but Men."
"There are empty saddles, but I see no Hobbits," Legolas said, gazing out across the grassland.
"I did not say that we will hear good news," said Aragorn. "But good or evil will await it here. Stand fast but be on your guard."
They went down from the hill to avoid being easy target and halted a little above the hill's foot, wrapping themselves in their cloaks. They sat huddled together upon the faded grass. The time passed slowly and heavily. The wind was thin and searching. Gimli was uneasy.
"What do you know of these horsemen, Aragorn?" he said. "Do we sit here waiting for sudden death?"
"I have been among them," answered Aragorn. "They are proud and willful, but they are true hearted and generous in thought and deed; bold but not cruel; wise but unlearned, writing no books but singing many songs. But I do not know what has happened here of late, nor in what mind the Rohirrim may now be between the traitor Saruman and the threat of Sauron, nor the tidings from Lakewood. They have long been the friends of the people of Gondor, though they are not akin to them. At least they will not love Orcs.
"But Gandalf spoke of a rumor that they pay tribute to Mordor," said Gimli.
"They pay tribute to Mordor?" Adariel asked, eyes narrowing.
"It is but a rumor," assured Aragorn. "And I believe it no more than Boromir does." Boromir nodded in agreement.
"You will soon learn the truth," said Legolas. "Already they approach."
Adariel felt uneasy. She did not like the company of Men and did not wish to find herself in a large crowd of them, unarmed. Reaching in front of her, she plucked several bows from Legolas' quiver and put them in her own. He turned around and looked at her questioningly. She shook her head in answer.
She could hear the distant beat of galloping hoofs. The horsemen, following the trail, had turned from the river and were drawing near the downs. They were riding like the wind. Something was familiar about one of the hoof beats but Adariel was too nervous to dwell upon it. She bit her lip, deep in the back of her hood and looked out with anxious eyes.
Now the cries of clear strong voices came ringing over the fields. Suddenly they swept up with a noise like thunder and the foremost horseman swerved, passing by the foot of the hill and leading the host back southward along the western skirts of the downs. After him they rode, a long line of mail- clad men, swift and shining.
Their horses were of great stature, strong and clean-limbed; their gray coats glistened. There was a flash of white that caught Adariel's eye. It was a darker horse, almost brown. Its mane was unbraided and its tail was matted. It was being led by one of the horsemen and it galloped easily, almost in a canter. It passed by quickly as they all did. In pairs, they galloped by and though every now and then one rose in his stirrups and gazed ahead and to either side, they appeared not to perceive the three strangers sitting silently and watching them. The host had almost passed when Aragorn stood up and called in a loud voice:
"What news from the North, Riders of Rohan?"
It was like a chain reaction. There was a ripple from the front of the line and all the horses
End of Chapter 11
Reviews please! NO FLAMES but constructive criticism is very welcome! -Spirit Star
Sorry I've been a BIT slack with the romance.it just didn't fit in with the plot until this half of the story, that's all. Besides, Elves are immortal so I have a feeling it's kinda OOC for them to rush things. Plus, I live in the southern hemisphere so I use the British version of spelling. But since my spellcheck's set to American (I'm too lazy to change it) I'll just make everything spelt the American way so 'grey' is now 'gray', etc.
PS Just out of pure curiosity, about how old do I sound to you?
Echoes of the Narbeleth Spirit Star
Chapter 11: In which dawns the Night for Revelations
It was dark. Very, very dark and Adariel didn't like it. It sort of reminded her of the stuffy kind of darkness that she had found in Moria. She felt that she couldn't breath, and started taking big deep breaths in. There was no end to the darkness, and Adariel felt like she could reach her hand out and touch it.
"Is anybody out there?" she called desperately, but her voice sounded thin and it was an effort for her to open her mouth and let breath out. There wasn't enough air.
Nobody answered, and still, the darkness closed in. Adariel felt danger prickle at the edge of her senses, but when she looked around about her, there was nothing but unending night. Suddenly, she felt something change. It was still dark, and no light showed through, but Adariel felt change in the air. It was like the swirls upon the water when the winds of change skimmed across its surface.
A wind blew, but it was not comforting. It both chilled Adariel and scorched her. It pounded against her skin and she grit her teeth, eyes narrowing. "Who are you?" she called out, expecting no answer. And then from her left a voice sounded.
"Dartha Galadel. Patience, Brightstar."
The voice echoed. It was neither male nor female and it sounded both warm and cold. The echoing continued, making the darkness swell a little. "Patience, patience, patience, patience, patience." the echo sang out.
"Where are you?" Adariel called, tears blinding her eyes. A different voice was directly in front of her. It was deeper than the first, but it had no boundaries between male and female.
"Annon le tolo al-si. Your time will come."
There were now two echoes. "Patience, patience, patience." to Adariel's left, and "Come, come, come, come ." from in front of her.
They wove around each other, tangling and untangling in the gloom. The air grew a little thinner and breathing became easier. Still, danger prickled at the edge of her mind. Adariel couldn't shake it off, with the echoes still flowing around her like a mixture of air and water, alike but different. And then a third voice joined in with the din creating a triad, almost like a chord of sound.
"Siila galad. Shine brightly."
"Brightly, brightly, brightly, brightly." the third echo cried, reaching out to join its sisters. It was like a melody of echoes that surrounded Adariel, and still she felt uneasy. Then the echoes fell silent as if obeying an order from their masters. The harsh wind stopped blowing. All was still in the smothering darkness. And then one by one, the voices repeated themselves, first from the left and lastly from the right.
"Dartha Galadel. (Patience, Brightstar)."
"Annon le tolo al-si. (Your time will come)."
"Siila galad. (Shine brightly)."
And then they repeated themselves again, and Adariel looked about the triad of voices in front of her.
"Dartha Galadel."
"Annon le tolo al-si."
"Siila galad."
As the last voice contributed to the chord, the outline of a circle formed at Adariel's feet and light emitted from it. It was Living Light, and it wrapped its rays like a spiral about Adariel. It rose up for a little while, circling about her and some reached out and formed a soft layer that laid itself upon the surface of her skin and hair so it seemed that she herself was glowing. And then the spiraling light curved outwards, no longer about her and rays of it pierced the darkness. She still glowed.
The stronger the light, the shriller the three mysterious voices until it was impossible to tell where they came from. They filled up the whole space and the echoes had come back to join the chorus. The sound rose higher to a pitch near screaming, but still melodic. The light continue to puncture the darkness. The voices rose higher still and Adariel's head pounded. It seemed now that they were inside of her as well as outside.
"Patience, Brightstar, your time will come. Shine brightly" One voice came silkily in common tongue, then once again in Elven tongue. "Dartha Galadel, annon le tolo al-si. Siila galad."
The voice repeated again, smoothly, soothingly over the others. One voice that was woven of all the voices that Adariel knew. There was Eltheran, Elbesth, Elderen, Arwen, Galadriel, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, the voices of all the maids she'd ever had and still there were many more.
And then Adariel woke up.
It was very early, and a long time before the gray of dawn was to emerge. The others were not up yet, and even Legolas was still in the last stages of deep sleep as he lay a little way off where she was. She sat up, staring a little into the distance, trying to clear her head. The echo of the last voice was still with her in her mind and she kept hearing it over and over again.
What did it mean?
Pushing the thought to the back of her mind along with the other jumbled dreams of darker nights, she bound her hair tightly with the twine she had discarded the night before when she had been talking to Legolas. Sighing as she finished braiding the last strands, she stood up in one swift movement and stretched. By the look of the lightening clouds, it was going to be a fine day. Her head turned toward the direction of the trail and she frowned a little. There seemed no end to this plain.
There was a slight frost on the blades of grass around her that had not yet melted to become dew droplets. She hardly felt the cold, as there was no wind that blew. All was calm in the hours before the day came. She noticed that the clouds no longer covered the sky. It was dark blue, fading into the soft colors of the light, making it look purple. The stars were still visible, and so was the soft outline of the moon that faded with the coming light.
"O Elbereth. Erin le hin, dad siila. Tog ammen tri i fuin." She murmured to the sky absently. (O Elbereth. Shine down on your children. Lead us through the darkness)
Adariel sighed and looked back down around her. That dream was still a shadow upon her mind, weighing it down. It was the only dark dream that night; one that came just before she awoke and it lingered still. What she really needed was a distraction, or at least something to occupy her with for a while.
The men beyond her lay sprawled on the ground in cautious sleep, weapons at hand. The slightest obtrusive movement and they would spring up. For men of hardened ways, they seemed almost peaceful lying there on the grass. Perhaps nature's beauty had that effect on everybody.
The hours before the dawn were coming soon. There was a change in the air as the far away, birds woke and beat the still of night with their wings to welcome the new day. Adariel looked out toward the distance, and frowned. Something wasn't right. She gazed northwards into the darkness.
Something was different from yesterday. She tried to picture everything in her mind. The wind still blew, the air still calm. All was peaceful in the early hour of day, a time of change between darkness and light. Too peaceful. Adariel frowned. Where was the presence that weighed down on her heart the day before? The shadow that drew caution in her mind? Adariel searched for it both with her eyes and her mind, and she found it finally teetering on the edge of both her senses.
The Orcs had not rested in the night and were now far ahead of them.
Her eyes opened with realization. At the rate that they were going, it would be nearly impossible to catch up. She ran over to the nearest body that lay in the grass, which happened to be that of Legolas'. Already, he was stirring with the sound of her purposefully heavy footsteps on the ground. She shook him by the shoulders gently, then roughly.
"Wake up!"
His eyes (he slept with them open) cleared and he bolted straight up, startled. The movement flung Adariel backwards. Adariel, whose hands were still upon his shoulders, tugged back with the momentum and he fell forward. Adariel felt a little dazed as she fell back onto the grass, her neck snapping back and her head hitting the ground. Something heavy landed on top of her.
There was a brief stillness, and then Adariel glared up at the form on top of her who wasn't moving.
"Get off me!" she shot at him, then pushed up roughly.
"My apologies, Lady Adariel." Legolas said, a faint blush tinting his cheeks. He stood up quickly and offered her his hand. She ignored it and got up herself.
"Oh," said a voice behind her, "am I interrupting something?"
"No!" They both said. Adariel turned to see who it was. It was Aragorn, who stood behind them with a bemused smile upon his lips. Then Adariel remembered what she was originally going to say, and her eyes turned serious. Aragorn and Legolas noted the change in her expression and looked at her expectantly.
"They (meaning the ones they were chasing) are far, far away." She said. "I do not feel their presence anymore."
A troubled look came over all their faces. Legolas gazed to the North and fell thoughtful and silent. "She is right," he said at length, "I know in my heart that they have not rested this night. Only an eagle could overtake them now."
"But still, onwards we must go," Aragorn concluded. "Let us wake the others from their peaceful rest. I fear the dawn will catch up with us if we tarry longer."
They walked to where the other two lay, and Aragorn stooped over Gimli to shake him awake. The Dwarf sprang up with his ax in hand. Seeing that it was Aragorn who stood over him, he relaxed his grip on the weapon.
"Easy, Friend Dwarf," Aragorn said grimly. "Though danger does not pass our sights yet."
Next he came to Boromir. He shook Boromir awake, but Boromir did not stir. Aragorn shook him again, harder, but still Boromir slept. Aragorn raised his eyebrows. "I wonder if there is anything under the stars that could wake him," he wondered aloud.
Suddenly, Boromir stirred on his own account, and his face became troubled. "No! Frodo! What have I done? Come back Frodo!"
Aragorn drew back and stared, as did Legolas and Gimli. Adariel raised her eyebrows. 'Well,' she thought to herself, 'it looks as if he gives himself away on his own accord, although I'm sure it is his consciousness speaking through his dreams.'
Boromir continued to speak in his dream-like state. "I did not mean to take the Ring! Truly, something had come over me! I was not myself!"
They all started when he said that. Aragorn leaned forward once more with a grim look upon his face and shook Boromir once more. Hard. Boromir jerked awake, groaning. He rubbed his temple with his hand and looked around to see all the grim faces that looked down at him. He sat up immediately and said, "What is it?"
"Perhaps," Aragorn said, "You can tell us."
Boromir looked surprised. "Tell me, what is it that you speak of. If I know it, I will tell it."
"A strange tale we heard," Gimli spoke up, "while you were asleep. It came from the mouth of a man not yet conscious. And we heard him say: 'No! Frodo! What have I done? Come back Frodo!' and just as we were about to wake him with a question, he added, 'I did not mean to take the Ring! Truly, something had come over me! I was not myself!' What can you make of this situation?"
Boromir paled visibly and turned his eyes on Adariel. A look of anger flamed in his eyes and for a moment or two it was laced with hatred that made her flinch. He leapt at her, growling. Adariel calmly dodged to the side, narrowly being pounce on. Boromir struck once more. She tried to leap away again but failed and found herself pinned down with a face twisted with anger on front of her. Boromir's hands dug into her arm and it she felt it twist and the bone complain angrily.
Boromir showed no signs of having felt her pain, and Adariel noted somehow that the link between them worked only one way. So it looked like she'd have to do this the hard way. Her face was calm although the pain from the twist was sinking in. Aragorn and Legolas were trying to pull Boromir off her.
"You!" roared Boromir, "You told them! Once I'm through with you, you scoundrel of an Elf.!"
Adariel said nothing. Her arm hurt too much, but her hand strained down to her side where she could feel the hilt of her knife rubbing against her hip bones. A little bit further.a little more.and she had it. In one swift movement, she put all the strength she had on call into a sudden jerk of her arm and drew the knife out. It cut shallowly into Boromir's leg, and he loosened his arm at the sudden pain.
Aragorn and Legolas jerked him off. Adariel winced at the sudden bolt of pain in her leg. The knife cut wasn't deep, she knew, but it had probably drawn blood. Aragorn's hand was on the hilt of his knife and he was talking seriously to Boromir in quiet, hushed tones. Boromir appeared to be weeping, his head in his hands, whist being held down by Gimli. But it seemed that Gimli didn't really need to hold him down at all. Boromir seemed to have given up and the fire had gone out of his eyes.
Adariel shuddered inwardly. She had never really trusted Men anyway with maybe the exception of Aragorn. But then again, he had be Elf raised. He was the only human that she actually respected. Her leg had stopped hurting so badly now and there was only a dull ache left.
A hand was thrust in front of her, disturbing the melancholy of her thoughts. "May I help you up?"
"Normally, I wouldn't let you," Adariel said, her head raised up with narrowed eyes that peered at Legolas. "But thank you for the offer. I suppose I'd have to take it."
Legolas pulled her up and Adariel couldn't help but wince at the shift in muscle and the weight put on her leg. But it was gone in an instant, and her face cleared.
"Are you hurt? Did he harm you?" Legolas asked anxiously, gazing down where her hand was clasped against her thigh. Adariel shook her head.
"It's probably just a scrape from the ridge."
Legolas didn't look convinced, but said, "You knew about what Boromir had done? And you didn't tell us?"
Aragorn had joined him with Boromir in tow and Gimli trailing behind. "Yes," Aragorn said, peering at Adariel, "I should well like to know that too."
'What can I say?' Adariel thought frantically to herself, 'What is there TO say?'
Out loud, she spoke, "It was not my place to tell, as it was not my place to have seen it in the first place."
"I'm beginning to wonder," Legolas said, "Just what else that you saw. I had thought that rustle of leaves back outside the Moria to be you and I am sure that I am right. Tell us of your journey, as it may well be information that may help us on our way."
"Tell us as we make our way down the trail once more," Aragorn cut in, "It may be true that the enemy has fled far, it is not our place to decide whether to stay or whether to go. That decision is up to Frodo and Sam wherever they may be. The sooner the Ring is destroyed the better. Let us be off once more!"
They followed him single file, and Aragorn was at he front. They placed Boromir after him followed by Gimli, Adariel and Legolas. Aragorn stopped to press is ear to the earth. The others waited in anxious silence for his judgment. It was still dark so they were forced to trust his lead. Aragorn lay motionless for quite some time and Adariel had begun to wonder if he was still awake when at last he rose straight again with the dawn that came glimmering over them.
His look did not comfort or assure them. His eyes were troubled.
"The rumor of the earth is dim and confused," he said. "Nothing walks upon it for many miles about us. Faint and far are the feet of our enemies. But loud are the hoofs of the horses. It comes to my mind that I heard them, even as I lay on the ground in sleep, and they troubled my dreams: horses galloping, passing in the West. But now they are drawing ever further from us, riding northward. I wonder what is happening in this land!"
"Let us go on!" said Boromir, anxious to be away from the plain.
The third day of the pursuit began, and in the early morning, Adariel was forced to give up her own account her adventures, leaving out the part that of her heritage apart from the fact that she came from Lakewood. The Company listened with as much attention as they could spare, often asking her to repeat scenes. When her story had faded with the rising of the sun near the mark of late morning, Aragorn spoke.
"Lakewood? You came from Lakewood? Were you not haunted by the shadow of the Maiden of Lakewood that Elves seldom speak about?" he asked. He had only heard the title, and not the name that went with it.
Adariel blushed. "She has change much. She was not the like the one you have come to know."
Aragorn looked slightly surprised. "Lakewood was a dark place. I speak no ill of the people, but of the one who rules it. There are whispers that ride the breeze that he had been acting not like one of his own. His mind seeks the darkness, and all will be lost, soon."
"Eltheran?" Adariel asked, her tongue betraying her for a while.
"You call him by name!" Aragorn exclaimed. "You know him well?"
This confused Adariel. What did he mean? Did he not know that she was Princess of Lakewood? Surely Arwen must have told him! Then she remembered that not many even knew of her title as Princess. Even Legolas couldn't seem to make the link. Most knew her name in link to the Maiden of Lakewood. The Princess was a rare sight, and although most knew she existed, the association between the Maiden of Lakewood and the Princess of Lakewood was not present, as of yet. They were talked about as two separate people.
"I knew the Princess." Adariel answered, finally.
"Oh!" Aragorn exclaimed, "Once my adopted brothers, Elladan and Elrohir had told me of her, but they seemed to do it reluctantly. And I, myself, had been to Lakewood but saw no living sign of her."
"I am not surprised," Adariel said honestly, but cryptically.
"Another thing that puzzles me," Gimli joined in, "concerns why a daughter of Elrond resided in such a dark place as Lakewood, if Aragorn is indeed right."
"Another time, maybe. I beg of you, Sirs, ask of me no more!" Adariel exclaimed, growing flustered. "Why do you examine me so?"
"But you must know that we are drawing near to Isengard, which is the way the Orcs are heading. Surely you remember where your own city is?" Aragorn said, giving her a surprised look over his shoulder. "Is it not on the border of the Fangorn?"
On the surface, Adariel remained perfectly calm, years of practice paying off. But inside, she was panicked. She was appalled and horrified at the thought of being recognized, and her father, the only one she had known, dragging her back inside the society she had just risked her life to escape from.
'Fate is cruel!' Adariel thought. 'How pitiless She is!'
Never having remembered traveling out of Lakewood, Adariel naturally had no idea where Lakewood actually was. The trees had different names for different places, and depending on which breed, they varied slightly. And what was it that Aragorn had said? That Eltheran had led Lakewood further into the Darkness? Was that why nobody ever went through Lakewood without good purpose to? And Eltheran had said that it was because of the Maiden of Lakewood, herself!
Adariel grit her teeth angrily, a frown marring her features. That was a problem that she would worry about later. Right now, she had to figure out a way to redirect them so that their course would take them far from Lakewood without damaging their cause. She searched for a plausible plan, but none came to mind and she fell into troubled silence.
Aragorn was apparently blind to this and asked, "I wonder how far in the city has fallen. I had been there once in my youth, although I know not if you remember it, and it was already failing. You say you know the Princess, and therefore you knew Eltheran. How do you assess this situation, Lady Adariel?"
Adariel took some time to think carefully before forming her answer, and her reply was hesitant. "Eltheran was heartless but had a tongue of honey, and for a while, the Princess was much deceived by him but when I left she had escaped from the web of lies. Her heart has cleared since then. I know it is so."
"What of the Maiden of Lakewood?" Aragorn asked, "What news of her? Can it be that she was the conviction behind Eltheran's choices?"
Adariel could not help herself; she was angered. A fire unlike Boromir's kindled through her and if any had turned they would have seen it sparkling in her eyes. "She would never do a thing of like that!"
"Ah, then you knew her as you did the Princess," Aragorn said. "And I see that you are loyal to them both. What proof have you of her intentions other than your loyalty?"
Legolas, who had stayed silent through the trip and listened, chose to speak up. "She may have valid reasons yet, Aragorn. Lady Adariel would not speak so strongly if she did not have good insight to the character in question. She was the adopted daughter of Elthloir, advisor of Eltheran."
That struck Adariel as a strange thing to say. He did not really know her, but he had actually defended her, although it may have been unconsciously. A trill of something strange wavered through her but she shook it off. It reminded her of what she had felt up in the branches of the tree outside Moria and when she had woken up in Lothlorien to find him standing over her. Now was not the time to analyze herself.
She felt a pang of guilt about lying to him about her father. It wasn't in the nature of the Elves to lie, although they did keep many secrets. To Aragorn's question, she answered quietly, "What more proof do you want? I have her body, mind, and heart."
Aragorn's stride faltered but did not stop. They fell silent, and they seldom spoke afterward in their trek. Over the wide solitude they passed and their elven-cloaks faded against the background of the gray-green fields; even in the cool sunlight of mid-day few but elvish eyes would have picked them out until they were close at hand. Often in their hearts they thanked the Lady of Lorien for the gift of lembas, which they could eat and find new strength as they ran.
All day the track of their enemies led straight on, going north-west without a break or turn. As once again the day wore to its end they came to long treeless slopes, where the land rose, swelling up towards a line of low humpbacked downs ahead. The orc-trail grew fainter as it bent north towards them. The ground became harder and the grass shorter. Far away to the left the river Entwash wound. No moving thing could be seen. Often Adariel, and Aragorn as well, wondered that they saw no sign of beast or man. The dwellings of the Rohirrim were for the most part many miles away down south, under the wooded eaves of the White Mountains; yet the Horse lords had formerly kept many herds and studs in the Eastemnet, this easterly region of their realm. But now all the land was empty and there was a silence that was not the quiet of peace.
At dusk, they halted. The young moon was glimmering in a misty sky, but once more it gave small light. The stars were again, veiled.
"I fear the Orcs have run before us as if the whips of Sauron were behind them. I fear they have already reached the forest and the dark hills and even now are passing into the shadows of the trees." Legolas said.
"But is that not good?" Adariel asked, "Can you not ask for tidings from the trees?"
"Only some have that power, to ask and not just listen." Aragorn answered. "And one has not been know for many centuries."
"So I see." Adariel replied icily. She had not quite forgiven Aragorn for the conversation and what had passed between them earlier. Aragorn had apologized before, but Adariel found it hard to accept it although it was rather from stubbornness than ill wishes.
Gimli ground his teeth. "This is a bitter end to our hope and to all our toil!"
"To hope, maybe, but not to toil!" Aragorn said. "We shall not turn back this far along this traitorous road. Yet I am weary." He gazed back along the way that they had come. "There is something strange at work in this land, and I distrust the silence. I distrust even the pale Moon. The stars are faint; and I am weary as I have seldom been before, weary as no Ranger should be with a clear trail to follow. There is some will that lends speed to our foes and sets an unseen barrier before us."
"Saruman!" Boromir said out of his silence, "But he shall not turn us back! Halt we must once more; for see! Even the Moon is falling into gathering cloud. But north lies our road between down and we should go on when the day returns."
They went about on their own business. Gimli and Boromir slept first and Aragorn, Adariel and Legolas were left up. Aragorn was brooding with troubled eyes, and Adariel thought it best to leave him be. Her mind still hadn't come up with any plan to avoid Lakewood yet, and she had to trust the judgment of Aragorn and the wild rumors to lead them away from there. There seemed like nothing she could do.
Legolas watched Adariel sitting a little way off where Aragorn was. Her face was as troubled as Aragorn's, if not more. It seemed as if a heavy weight had fallen onto her, and she was different from how he remembered her last night. He surprised himself by coming up with a mental picture that was incredibly detailed.
He wondered what troubled her so much. He'd been used to Elves who were carefree by nature and although they could be serious at times, even his father laughed freely once in a while. This girl did neither. She was always so sober as if something was haunting her. Whenever she spoke, she had a look of caution as if anything she said could be held against her name.
Then again, he didn't blame her, being the Maiden of Lakewood.
So she was the daughter of Elthloir, advisor of Eltheran. He thought about Elthloir. He was an old Elf, maybe the age of his father or older. Certainly older than Eltheran. What Legolas HADN'T known was that he'd been keeping Elrond's daughter for all these centuries. It seemed a strange thing to do.
His gaze wandered to Adariel again. Her skin seemed creamy under the pale moonlight, and her eyes looked glazed with her mood. Her hair was still bound, and he stopped to remember it as he had seen it the night before, spread out like rays of moonlight, kissing the lush grass. Her hair was never totally unbound. Even in Lothlorien, she left her fringe plaited and tucked behind her ears. He wondered how she would look with all her hair out and flowing.
He saw Aragorn turn to her and tap her lightly on the shoulder. She turned. He could see that she had just been snapped out of deep thought and was startled. Aragorn said something with a sincere expression on his face, and Legolas saw Adariel nod. She stood and they walked a little way off and started talking quietly.
Legolas wondered what they were talking about. Something bubbled up inside him. Something that he recognized as an emotion somewhere between angry and sad. He hadn't felt like this since.since.he was sure he hadn't felt like this at all.
Watching Adariel talking to Aragorn was making him feel confused. In fact, being around Adariel nearly always made him confused. He remembered talking to her the night before. What had he said? He couldn't even remember what he had said! Something about Mirkwood, and how he didn't really like it there as everybody thought he would. He'd never told anybody that before, and she was a complete stranger yet he had somehow poured his heart out to her.
What was happening to him? Could it be..? Legolas shook his head. He gazed up at Adariel, talking with a frown to Aragorn, and felt the odd swell in him somewhere between anger and sadness. The emotion, he now recognized as envy. Legolas breathed out deeply, and raised his eyes up to the cloudy sky as if pleading.
Why this? Why now? And most importantly, why her?
Adariel was surprised when she felt the light tap on her shoulder. She turned to see it was Aragorn, with a contemplating look on his face. He motioned her to come closer, and stepped away from the others. Adariel followed, curious as what he had to say. His face was sober and sincere, although his eyes were still troubled.
When they were well away from hearing distance, Aragorn said, "I'm truly sorry, Lady Adariel, that I had treated you thus earlier to-day. I was merely surprised, and ignorant of your position."
Adariel shook her head. "You are still pondering about that, Lord Aragorn? You were forgiven in my heart a long time ago, when I saw you talking with Lady Arwen."
Aragorn smiled a weary smile. He seemed relieved at her response, and said, "Please, Lady Adariel. I am not high and mighty yet. Do my position justice and call me Aragorn. No formality is needed."
"Then I, Sir, am merely Adariel. I have nor deserve a title at all. Such as it is. Such as it always will be." Adariel's expression remained smooth. Where any other creature would have at least hinted a small smile, her face remained expressionless as if she were merely listening to a long tale that she was indifferent to.
"Is that all you pulled me out to say?" She added.
Aragorn looked more serious, the weary smile seemingly wiped off his face. "Actually, it wasn't. My mind has been troubled for many days, and I fear that what Legolas had said is true. The orcs may be out of our grasp for now if we do not find a short-cut. For now, we must journey forward. I do not yet trust the tidings this land brings. You are from Lakewood, are you not? I fear that we may need to journey in that direction. Tell me, what news have you of Lakewood and its people. There are dark rumors abroad, ones I dare not repeat to your ears."
Adariel sort of had a feeling that this was the real reason that he had pulled her aside. She wouldn't lie directly anymore; the strain from doing that to Legolas was enough. No, she would just leave things out. "Lakewood may not be the same as I remembered it last." She cautioned.
Aragorn replied that he understood, and only asked for information that her memory allowed her.
"Well," Adariel said slowly, "I remember the message coming from Rivendell to Eltheran. He seemed deeply disturbed by it, and he said afterward some words, the exact ones I do not remember, somewhere along the lines of 'Not again.' I did not know what he was talking about."
"You talk of yourself in first person. You were present when he read this letter?" Aragorn interrupted, looking at her suspiciously. Adariel cursed herself for her slight of tongue.
"The Princess told me of this," Adariel quickly said, trying to cover up her tracks. "I am merely repeating what she had said."
"I see," Aragorn looked back down at the grass, musing. "Continue please."
"Lakewood was getting darker, the sunlight not as bright as it used to be and the trees not as open as they were. Not many animals came any more and the Elves that resided there were restless. I had often felt that something was approaching, for good or for evil I knew not then. It hung upon the tongues of the leaves and the grass and dulled the sound of the water in the Lakes."
"Was there anything else?" Aragorn dug further, "Did the Princess say anything to you?"
"Oh, I doubt she knew much." Adariel said with a gleam in her eye. "She most likely only knew as much as I do. I am sorry that I do not remember more, but Lakewood is a place that I do not want to keep going back to. It weighs heavy upon my mind. Was that all?"
"There was another thing," Aragorn said.
"Oh? Yes?"
"It's about.Legolas."
"What about Legolas?" Adariel asked, struggling to keep the nervousness out of her voice.
"Adariel," Aragorn turned and put a hand on her shoulder, "I know not about your past, nor how you came by your title. But listen now, to what I say although whether or not you follow my counsel will be up to you."
He paused and looked at her earnestly. Adariel felt suspicion creeping up her back. She tilted her head slightly and waited.
"I can not speak for Fate, but I can see that you may yet play a part in this war. Your mother's mother, Galadriel of the Light, once said to Frodo that even the smallest person can change to course of the future, and for my part, I now say to you that even the smallest act, the smallest will, can change the tidings of the land. It must be a heavy burden that you carry, for I see now that the Lady Galadriel has leant her your name, as Galadel, Brightstar."
Aragorn drew a breath and continued, his tone was thoughtful. "Your test may be yet to come when you will be called upon to stand against the darkness. Sauron is strong, although not without weakness and for that reason I hope the favor of Fate rides with Frodo and Sam in that wretched land of Mordor. But it is not without reason that the Lady of the Woods bestows names. When that time comes, you must not stand alone."
He repeated the last sentence. "You must not stand alone. I will not allow it as long as I may be by your side. For your sake, and for the sake of your kindred in Rivendell that you have yet to meet. But I am not immortal. Your folk have great perspective, but I see that you lack their experience of the world. You have been separated from your emotions?"
The last part was a question. Here, Adariel opened her mouth and then closed it. He was right. Being shut up for most of her life, she was not too knowledgeable in the ways of the world. Physically, and emotionally. Whatever Aragorn had to say, it would be from his own observations.
"There is something not quite right about you." Aragorn continued, holding up a hand at her protest. "Let me finish, please Adariel. You knew not even where Lakewood was. The birds back in the woods outside of Lothlorien died for you. There is something about you that I do not know. You seem to know things before any of us, yet when we were out in the plain, you seemed to know nothing. There are things about you, Adariel Galadel, that does not seem to fit in my mind."
Adariel tried to divert the attention away from herself. "You said this was about Legolas."
"It is. But I see that you would rather I be frank with my advice. I shall give it to you now. You are wise with the wisdom of the years, but neither of you can see what is in front of your eyes. Remember, when the time comes, you can not and will not stand alone. Walk not the roads of life by yourself. You will tire of it, as I have and long for company again." So saying, Aragorn strode away again and laid himself down for sleep to take him.
"What has that got to do with Legolas?" she asked, but he was already beyond hearing in his exhaustion. Adariel sat down where she was and leaned back onto the ground. Sleep soon took her away from her troubled thoughts.
Legolas had been up all through the night. He didn't need to sleep; he rarely did it, and he spent some of the time pondering why Adariel slept like mortals all the time. She certainly didn't need it. Perhaps it would be something to ask her when he could muster up the courage to talk to her.
Ever since his revelation, he seemed to be more confused than ever. His friends had been wooing maidens for as long as he could remember, but he'd only laughed at them and rode out with his bow on the lookout for adventure. Of course, there wasn't any. The Third Age had only just been established and it was peaceful. His head and heart were filled with the longing to ride off against some evil, and he had not time even to glance at the women who would try to capture his attention. He left that to his friends.
But now that he had his adventure, he also found that it came with a price: his heart.
He remembered how Aragorn had laid his hand on Adariel's shoulder and suddenly felt a little gloomier, his eyes looking down dejectedly onto the ground. It was ridiculous of him to think that Aragorn felt anything for Adariel apart from a brother's love, after all, he knew her first as Arwen's sister. But he couldn't fight down the shadow that doubt had cast on him.
It was the early hours of the new day now. Just a few more hours and they would be off again. He thought it strange that Adariel would not even know where Lakewood was. Surely she would have realized that Lakewood was the closest Elven city to the dwellings of Man. She said she was had been living as the daughter of Elthloir, advisor to Eltheran. But that didn't make sense. Elthloir loved knowledge and would have told her everything about Lakewood and the forest surrounding it.
There was something that she was hiding.
Legolas frowned. What was it?
Adariel was woken by Legolas. "Awake! Awake!" he cried, "It is a red dawn. Strange things await us by the eaves of the forest. Good or evil, I do not know; but we are called. Awake!"
They sprang up immediately and almost at once, they set off again. Slowly the green slopes rising to bare ridges that ran in a line straight towards the North. At their feet the ground was dry and the grass was short. A long strip of sunken land, about ten miles wide, lay between them and the river wandering deep in dim thickets of reed and rush. Just to the West of the southernmost slope there was a great ring where the turf had been torn and beaten by many heavy trampling feet. From it, the orc-trail ran out again, turning north along the dry skirts of the hills. Aragorn halted and examined the tracks closely.
"They rested here for but a while," he said, "but even the outward trail is already old. I fear that our Elven friends were right. It is thrice twelve hours, I am guessing, since the Orcs stood where we now stand. If they held to their pace then at sundown yesterday they would have reached the borders of Fangorn."
Turning to Adariel, he added, "I hope that your people in Lakewood have not fallen to shadow yet, for all our sakes."
"I can see nothing away north or west but the grass dwindling into the horizon." Said Gimli. "Could we see the forest, if we climbed up the hills?"
"Nay, it is still far away," said Aragorn. "If I remember rightly, these downs run eight leagues or more to the north and many more northwest to the issuing of the Entwash.
"Well, let us go on," said Gimli. "My legs must forget the miles. They would be more willing, if my heart were less heavy."
The sun was sinking when at last they drew near to the end of the line of downs. For many hours they had marched on without rest. They were slowing now, and Gimli's back was bent. Stone-hard are the Dwarves in labor or journey, but this endless chase began to tell on him as all hope fled his heart. Aragorn walked behind him, grim and silent, stooping now and again to scan some print or mark on the ground. Boromir walked in front of Adariel, muttering to himself. Only Legolas seemed to step as lightly as ever, his feet hardly seeming to press the grass, leaving no footprints as he passed; Adariel's steps were weighed down by her worries.
"Let us go up onto this green hill!" Legolas cried. Wearily they followed him, climbing the long slope until they came out upon the top. It was a round hill that was smooth and bare, much to Adariel's disappointment. She had hoped for tidings from the trees, but none grew there.
The sun sank and the shadows of evening fell like a curtain. They were alone in a gray formless world without mark or measure. Only far away north- west there was a deeper darkness against the dying light: the Mountains of Mist and the forest at their feet.
"Nothing can guide us to-night." Said Gimli. "We must halt again and wear the night away. It is growing cold!"
"The wind is north from the snows of the mountains," said Aragorn.
"And in the morning, it will be in the East," observed Legolas. "But rest, if you must. Yet do not cast all hope away. Tomorrow is unknown. New glimmers are often found in the rising of the Sun."
"Three suns already have risen on our chase and brought no counsel." Boromir muttered. "But I will not give up, if only for the sake of the Little Ones."
The night grew colder, Aragorn, Boromir and Gimli had slept fitfully. Adariel stayed up that night, for she enjoyed the refreshing winds that blew the hard coldness upon them. It was crisp in its calling. Legolas, as he usually did she guessed, showed no signs of sleep. His eyes were clear but he remained silent. The wind swirled about her, making the edge of her tunic flap a little.
The silence wore roughly on her, but she bore it with little bitterness. She'd decided that this was a night to let her thoughts flow away with the wind. Tonight, she would let her worries go and just sit and enjoy the night. Maybe she would get a sudden inspiration in her calmness. She closed her eyes as she stood against the wind.
There were soft footsteps on the grass that stopped near her. She ignored them. They didn't move away.
"Why do you sleep like the Mortals?" came a musical voice intruding on her mind. Adariel opened her eyes and looked around for the owner of the voice. He was standing beside her.
"I was not asleep." Adariel retorted, gesturing down at herself. She was standing.
"I observed that." His voice had a smile in it. "I only meant previous nights."
Adariel thought about it. Of course he'd notice. He wasn't used to sleeping unless need called for it. To her, it was an old habit when the night would take her away from the troubles and the darkness surrounding her and whisk her off away on the roads of starlight where she would tumble upon beams of moonlight. The sky was rich with dreams and the horse of Sleep took her to their halls.
"I sleep out of habit." Adariel answered "It was something that I did often in Lakewood."
They said no more between them until Legolas broke the silence once again. "I fear for our cause."
"The Ring?" Adariel responded.
"Nay, for the tormentors of Pippin and Merry. They are beyond our speed, although if we meet them again in Isengard, it may already be too late. A darkness is nearby. It lays heavy upon my mind."
Adariel whirled, annoyed. "Do not speak so! I had cast out tonight as a night when I drifted away from such thoughts and worries. Do you deny me that single pleasure?"
Legolas bowed immediately. "For that, I am truly sorry."
"It is too late now, I suppose," Adariel said. "My thoughts have fled back to my body and the night is ruined for my purpose. Speak on. I can not sleep in peace and shall stay up and stray with the dawn. Until then I do not protest company. Especially one who asked it of me in the first place."
They talked softly of Mirkwood and Lakewood, each having been overcast once with bitter darkness. Adariel admitted that she was worried for Lakewood. "It was always a beautiful place, even when the shadow was upon it. I would hate to see it destroyed by betrayal."
The conversation broke up then, and Adariel was not willing to let on any more. Legolas paced near the sleeping forms of their friends, sometimes singling softly to himself in his own tongue and as he sang the white stars opened in the hard black vault above. So the night passed.
They were all up for the dawn and saw it grow slowly in the sky, now bare and cloudless until at last the sunrise came. It was pale and clear. The wind was in the East as Legolas had predicted and the mists rolled away. Wide lands lay bleak about them in the bitter light.
Ahead and eastward they saw the windy uplands of Rohan. All apart from Adariel had caught a glimpse of it many days ago as they traveled from the Great River. North-westward stalked the dark forest of Fangorn; still ten leagues away stood its shadowy eaves, and its further slopes into the distant blue. Lakewood lay hiding there.
The orc-trail turned from the downs toward the Entwash that flowed from the forest to meat them.
Following with his keen eyes the trail to the river, and then the river back towards the forest, Aragorn saw a shadow on the distant green, a dark swift-moving blur. He cast himself upon the ground and listened again intently. But Adariel stood beside him, shading her bright eyes with her lender hand, and she saw not a shadow, nor a blur, but the small figures of horsemen, many of them, and the glint of morning on the tips of their spears. Far behind them a dark smoke rose in thin curling threads. There was a silence in the empty fields.
"Riders!" cried Aragorn, springing to his feet. "Many riders on swift steeds are coming towards us!"
"Yes," said Legolas, "there are one hundred and five. Yellow is their hair and bright are their spears. Their leader is very tall." He too had followed Adariel and looked into the distance and seen the riders that approached.
Aragorn smiled at them. "Keen are the eyes of the Elves."
"Nay," Adariel spoke for the first time that day. "The riders are little more than five leagues distant."
"Five leagues or one," Gimli said, "we cannot escape them in this empty land. Shall we wait for them here or go on our way, still?"
"We will wait." Aragorn said. "I am weary and our hunt has failed. Or at least others were before us. These horsemen are riding back down the orc- trail. We may get news from them. They are not Elves of Lakewood, but Men."
"There are empty saddles, but I see no Hobbits," Legolas said, gazing out across the grassland.
"I did not say that we will hear good news," said Aragorn. "But good or evil will await it here. Stand fast but be on your guard."
They went down from the hill to avoid being easy target and halted a little above the hill's foot, wrapping themselves in their cloaks. They sat huddled together upon the faded grass. The time passed slowly and heavily. The wind was thin and searching. Gimli was uneasy.
"What do you know of these horsemen, Aragorn?" he said. "Do we sit here waiting for sudden death?"
"I have been among them," answered Aragorn. "They are proud and willful, but they are true hearted and generous in thought and deed; bold but not cruel; wise but unlearned, writing no books but singing many songs. But I do not know what has happened here of late, nor in what mind the Rohirrim may now be between the traitor Saruman and the threat of Sauron, nor the tidings from Lakewood. They have long been the friends of the people of Gondor, though they are not akin to them. At least they will not love Orcs.
"But Gandalf spoke of a rumor that they pay tribute to Mordor," said Gimli.
"They pay tribute to Mordor?" Adariel asked, eyes narrowing.
"It is but a rumor," assured Aragorn. "And I believe it no more than Boromir does." Boromir nodded in agreement.
"You will soon learn the truth," said Legolas. "Already they approach."
Adariel felt uneasy. She did not like the company of Men and did not wish to find herself in a large crowd of them, unarmed. Reaching in front of her, she plucked several bows from Legolas' quiver and put them in her own. He turned around and looked at her questioningly. She shook her head in answer.
She could hear the distant beat of galloping hoofs. The horsemen, following the trail, had turned from the river and were drawing near the downs. They were riding like the wind. Something was familiar about one of the hoof beats but Adariel was too nervous to dwell upon it. She bit her lip, deep in the back of her hood and looked out with anxious eyes.
Now the cries of clear strong voices came ringing over the fields. Suddenly they swept up with a noise like thunder and the foremost horseman swerved, passing by the foot of the hill and leading the host back southward along the western skirts of the downs. After him they rode, a long line of mail- clad men, swift and shining.
Their horses were of great stature, strong and clean-limbed; their gray coats glistened. There was a flash of white that caught Adariel's eye. It was a darker horse, almost brown. Its mane was unbraided and its tail was matted. It was being led by one of the horsemen and it galloped easily, almost in a canter. It passed by quickly as they all did. In pairs, they galloped by and though every now and then one rose in his stirrups and gazed ahead and to either side, they appeared not to perceive the three strangers sitting silently and watching them. The host had almost passed when Aragorn stood up and called in a loud voice:
"What news from the North, Riders of Rohan?"
It was like a chain reaction. There was a ripple from the front of the line and all the horses
End of Chapter 11
Reviews please! NO FLAMES but constructive criticism is very welcome! -Spirit Star
Sorry I've been a BIT slack with the romance.it just didn't fit in with the plot until this half of the story, that's all. Besides, Elves are immortal so I have a feeling it's kinda OOC for them to rush things. Plus, I live in the southern hemisphere so I use the British version of spelling. But since my spellcheck's set to American (I'm too lazy to change it) I'll just make everything spelt the American way so 'grey' is now 'gray', etc.
PS Just out of pure curiosity, about how old do I sound to you?