Author's Note: Another slightly lengthy update, but I think most of you
will be pleased with the results of the wait. I won't say too much, I love
you guys for the reviews as always and now you can go ahead and read on.
Chapter 14
The elf and dwarf spent the whole of the day uneventfully within Legolas' chambers. They took turns pacing about, but Gimli often did this more so than Legolas. Legolas would be content to merely sit cross-legged on the bed, leaning against the headboard, and not move for about two hours.
Gimli commented on his friend's behavior after one such two hour interval. "How you can sit there so still for so long is beyond me. You elvish folk are indeed set in your strange ways."
To which Legolas let a small smile shape his lips. "It would not be such a bad trait for you to learn, friend. There is no sense in tiring out the body with ceaseless pacing. The mind can think more clearly when there is no other activity happening."
Of course, Legolas did not tell Gimli what he was thinking about. He may have looked calm on the outside, but inside his thoughts were continuously churning over his plight. He was still desperately trying to remember what had happened the nights of the first two murders, and then he would go over every detail of the night of the third murder. Why he could clearly remember one and not two others was beyond him.
And then his mind would shift and take him back to the feelings of betrayal and imprisonment from Aragorn. He would fiercely remind himself that Aragorn could not be blamed, he was only doing his duty, but that was little comfort. And he was always fighting the small condemning voice that always tried to present itself in his mind.
Presently, night slowly crept over the land.
The coming of night found Legolas perched this time on the windowsill, his eyes sweeping out into the cool darkness, and Gimli still pacing about behind him. Legolas had almost come to the brink of annoyance with the dwarf's incessant movement, but he did not wish to say anything about it. His friend was probably going stir-crazy, but he had not complained. He was doing this for Legolas' benefit, and Legolas had not the heart to say anything about it.
So he preoccupied his mind with gazing out into the deepening darkness. He had long since ago shut off the destructive thoughts in his mind, not wanting to keep going over events he apparently could do nothing about. So he kept an old song running through his mind, occasionally humming a few lines of it.
"Aragorn should be coming back soon," Gimli muttered aloud. Legolas gave a small nod to acknowledge he had heard the dwarf but did not turn away from the window.
Gimli finally paused in his movements and leaned against the bed, watching his friend. Legolas was sitting easily upon the small sill, one leg in the room and the other dangling out on the other side. His eyes were turned far away, but Gimli could not shake the odd sense that was trying to come over him. He was reminded of the first night when he had come to Legolas and the elf had been seated upon the windowsill. His eyes had been so distant and alien to the dwarf, and Gimli had not liked the odd sensations that had accompanied the elf's gaze.
Gimli tried to shake the feeling away. In its place came the questions he had been wanting to ask Legolas all day. He knew that Legolas had told him much in the prison house, but Gimli still had more questions as to what was going on with the elf. Yet every time he tried to bring out the questions, they died in his throat when he would turn to actually look at his friend. Legolas looked positively calm and serene on the outside, but Gimli knew his friend well enough to know that it was not so on the inside. Legolas himself was going over questions he did not know the answers to, and Gimli did not want to further disturb the elf.
But now Gimli thought that perhaps this would be a good time to question him. He would just have to be careful with phrasing himself. He did not want risk Legolas feeling anymore betrayed, he knew that Aragorn's actions had already caused Legolas a deep hurt.
Before Gimli could bring himself to say anything, there was a small knock on the door. Both Gimli and Legolas turned their heads toward it, but it was Gimli who got up and went to the door. Legolas remained where he was, not bothering to stand yet.
The opened door revealed Bergel standing on the other side, his features twisted in nervousness. When he saw it was Gimli who opened the door however, a small grin of relief twisted his already crooked features.
"My Lord Aragorn asks of me to come get you so that he can talk with you," Bergel told Gimli in his broken speech.
Gimli frowned in surprise. "Aragorn is back already? He must have met Faramir closer than he anticipated."
Gimli turned to Legolas. "Come Legolas, it seems Aragorn is back early."
Bergel took a step forward when he heard Gimli. "No Gimli," he said frantically. Gimli turned back to him, puzzled at his small outburst.
Bergel bit his lip and looked over at Legolas who had stood up smoothly but had not yet moved. Bergel whispered to Gimli, as if Legolas could not hear him anyway. "The Lord wants to talk with you by yourself, not with sir Legolas too."
Gimli frowned again. That seemed like an odd request to him. Aragorn had told them before he left that he would speak with them as soon as he was back and had filled Faramir in with all the important information.
Gimli glanced back at Legolas. He was sure Legolas had been able to hear Bergel, and his suspicions were confirmed as Legolas had already sat back down, unconsciously taking up the exact same position he had been sitting in, as if he had not stood at all.
Legolas gave Gimli a small nod before turning his face back to the open window, his eyes once again far seeing. He understood that Aragorn wanted to speak with Gimli alone, and that it probably meant ill news for Legolas. Perhaps Faramir had had reports of murders as well, more mysterious elvish murders. Legolas sighed.
"I will be back as soon as I can," Gimli told Legolas.
Legolas gave another nod but did not bother to turn to look at him as he did so again. Gimli took a breath and turned back to Bergel. "Well, let's go but go quickly. I want to be back as soon as possible."
"The Lord is in his council room," Bergel told Gimli, "I's can't go with you because he told me to go talk to someone else with a message."
Gimli nodded. "Alright, I will not keep you from your duties any longer. You can go deliver your message."
Bergel broke out in another crooked grin and turned to hurriedly shuffle away.
Gimli took one last look at Legolas before he left. "I am sure it is nothing important," he said then repeated, "I will be back as soon as I can."
Legolas only gave another nod, and Gimli wished that his friend would just look at him. But Gimli only lingered for a moment longer before turning and leaving the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Then he hurried on down the hall. He had a mind to tell Aragorn that he should not continue to be keeping secrets from Legolas, that they were damaging his spirit. If he suspected Legolas at all he should just tell him, not continue to run about and try to keep things from him. Gimli knew Legolas would be more grateful with simple, direct information.
Legolas heard Gimli leave the room and close the door. He even heard him walking away for a good distance until he tuned the sound out. Legolas let out another sigh into the fresh air. He could only imagine what news Aragorn held this time. But the real frustration was Aragorn not thinking that he could tell Legolas at the same time. Likely he thought he was trying to spare the elf's feelings, but being left in the dark about things was much worse.
Legolas picked up where Bergel's visit had interrupted his song, but this time he sang it aloud rather than merely in his head. Nobody was around to hear it anyway. He knew that Gimli did not particularly mind his singing, but he was not sure just how much the dwarf could take, so he tried to not do it too often in his presence.
Legolas stopped singing.
He was not sure, but he thought he had heard a sound from outside.
Legolas sat extremely still and strained his ears, trying to pick up the sound again.
Almost immediately, he heard it again.
It was the sound of a woman screaming.
Not even pausing to think, Legolas leapt free from his seat and out of the window. He already knew the general direction of the sound, but needed more before he could pinpoint the exact location. The scream came again as Legolas bolted in the direction it was coming from, it was coming right from the edge of town, near the woods.
Legolas was on the scene in no time, he had not held back in his running at all. His hand went for his belt right before he got there, but he came up with nothing. He had forgotten, but Aragorn had never returned his long elvish knife.
The next moment after the realization that he had no weapons with him found him where the screams had been coming from. Legolas stopped his run and paused, considering that he would be weaponless if he should perhaps come upon the murderer. But what Legolas saw quickly wiped away his fears.
Laying face down on the ground before him was the body of a young woman, just as he had suspected. But there was nobody else around.
Legolas quickly scanned the immediate area with his eyes and strained his ears. He could not see or hear anybody around. That was indeed odd, as he had heard the screaming while he was running. The attack had to have just happened, and the killer should not have had the time to get away that fast.
Legolas' attention was diverted when he heard the woman let out a soft moan. She was still alive.
Legolas went to her and knelt on the ground next to her. She was laying on her stomach and Legolas hesitated a moment, not wanting to risk her anymore harm. But he could not see any wounds from this position so after brief consideration he pulled her gently by the shoulders and turned her onto her back.
Legolas saw immediately that her throat had been laid open, just like the others had. She also had various other wounds but this one was the most severe he knew and the one that was causing her to rapidly lose her life. Though she was still alive, her open eyes were sweeping the dark sky above her back and forth and her strained breath was still lifting her chest. Legolas knew she was not far from death.
Legolas thought rapidly of what to do. But even if he could bind her neck well enough he knew that it would buy her minutes only. Not even Aragorn would be able to save her.
For some reason, the thought of another death was greatly disturbing to Legolas. He did not even know this woman, but he could easily smell the terror coming from her and the tears running free from her eyes affected the elf. Despite enduring the War of the Ring, he still could not bring himself to understand mortal death. Their lives were so easily taken, and in this case it was taken senselessly. There was no reason for this young woman to be ending her already short life so soon.
Finally, Legolas did the only thing he could do. He began to sing to her.
The song and the sound of the elf's voice immediately worked to put the woman at ease and her gasping breaths slowed. Her eyes stopped their frantic sweeping and her face relaxed from the terror that had been contorting it. Her hands stopped clawing at the ground and her whole body seemed to relax.
Legolas kept up his song and saw that her eyes drifted shut. But she continued to breathe and if it were not for the blood that persisted in draining from her neck Legolas would have thought she were merely going to sleep. Eventually, the blood slowed, matching the pace of the breath. And then they both stopped.
Legolas stopped his singing as well and said a few elvish words when she was dead. They were words meant to guide the soul safely to the Halls of Mandos and even though she was mortal that was all that Legolas knew to say. He did not know what prayers humans said at death so he kept with what he knew.
Carefully, Legolas laid her body down from where he had been cradling her in his arms while he sang. He absently noted that her blood had dripped onto him and covered a fair amount of his hands and arms. Legolas sighed and sat back on his heels, passing his hand over his brow. He found that he could not take his eyes off of the woman's still form. He guessed that she could not have been over twenty years of age, she had not had a chance to accomplish anything in her life, she was still a mere babe in comparison to him.
Legolas forced himself to stop thinking about her death, so he turned his thoughts back to her murderer. He still could not fathom how the attacker had managed to flee from the area before Legolas had arrived. He should have been able to at least hear the person running from the area.
Legolas looked around again. The woods were about twenty paces in front of him. They were right on the edges of Gondor.
Something caught the elf's eye.
Leaning over the woman's body so that he could reach it, Legolas grabbed a white-handled object. It was an elvish knife, the blade covered in blood, no doubt the murder weapon. Legolas turned it over in his hands and let out a small cry of surprise.
It was his knife.
And that was when he heard the footsteps behind him. He had not been the only one to hear the woman's cries.
Legolas immediately stood and turned to face the crowd, the knife still in his hand. A small mob was coming towards him, their torches and weapons raised high. Legolas glanced down and saw that he still held his knife. Instantly, Legolas realized that he had just been caught in a bad situation. And that he had been undoubtedly framed.
"Drop the weapon elf," one man in the forefront of the mob called out.
Legolas did not move.
"We've got him this time," another man yelled out.
Legolas decided that the best thing to do would be to try to comply with the mob. He knew they would not listen to a word he said and he also did not want to fight them. Just the thought of fighting them made him feel uneasy. Not because he feared taking them on, but because he did not want to cause any more deaths.
'A trained killer knows only one way to get out of this.'
Legolas shook his head. Fitting that his condemning thoughts would choose to come back now.
Legolas dropped the knife. He was weaponless.
'They are so young, all of them are so young.'
The first man in the mob reached him, a wooden staff held high and ready to strike.
'No,' Legolas thought to himself, 'I do not wish to fight anymore.'
Legolas ducked under the heavy swing of the staff and sidestepped as he brought himself up. The man was thrown off balance and staggered away from Legolas, trying to regain his balance. But Legolas' focus was already turned from him, he was locked on another man coming towards him. This one had a sword with him and he gave all his effort in trying to take Legolas' head off. Legolas ducked this blow too but the man was too close to merely sidestep him. Legolas instead met him headlong in the man's mid-section before standing, effectively throwing the man free over his head.
'Stop,' Legolas continued to have a one-track mind, 'I do not want to fight.' But he said nothing aloud, only continued to try to avoid as many blows as he could while not inflicting any of his own.
By this time, most of the mob had caught up to him and it was becoming harder to remain unscathed. If he avoided one blow something else was coming at him the next second.
Finally, one such blow found its mark.
Legolas was dancing out of the way of a thrust sword when a large branch caught him high on his back. Legolas went down to one knee.
He still kept his vision focused on the most immediate threats to him, but this time there were two men on either side of him. He managed to avoid the next swing of the one who had undoubtedly caught him on the back, but the other man held a staff and cracked Legolas on his ribs.
Legolas bit through the pain and rolled out of the way. His mind was still screaming for them to stop, that he did not want to risk hurting any of them, for he himself could hardly blame them for the attack. He had been foolish to leave the room.
'They are so young, they know not what they do.'
But another part of him was steadily growing angry.
'If they are convinced they have the killer then they might as well have their actions justified.'
'No, I am not a killer.'
'To them you are.'
Legolas was up again. The man with the staff tried to land another blow, but this time Legolas did not merely try to avoid it. Legolas grabbed the wooden staff.
The man grunted and tried to free it from the elf's iron grip, but Legolas would not let him. Jerking his own arms back, Legolas easily yanked it from the man's grasp. Legolas quickly twirled the staff over his head, finding better positions for his hands as he did so, and then stopped with it held in front of him, his knees bent and in a defensive position. He did not want to fight them, but he had no choice.
The men closest to him paused when they saw him holding the large staff, but it was not long before another sword came at him. Legolas parried easily with his staff and threw the sward off, taking the man to the ground with the force of the momentum.
Legolas heard the snap of a bow-string.
Throwing his shoulder back, Legolas lifted the staff with the movement of his body and felt it jerk in his arms when an arrow slammed into the staff. Legolas did not bother to marvel at the closeness of the arrow before bringing it over his head again and then back down on a man in front of him. He caught the man on his side and the man went down instantly.
Legolas hesitated when he saw the man go down.
'No, you are not their killer. They are too young, far too young.'
Legolas' hesitation cost him. He himself was caught from behind as a large object slammed into his temple.
For one second, Legolas' world exploded before him in bright colors. And when the world came back into focus, it was much dimmer than what it had been a moment before. Absently, Legolas realized that he had lost his hold of the staff.
Another blow caught him on the back of his knees and he dropped down to them. In the back of his mind he was screaming at himself to get back up, to turn and face them again. But something else was holding him back. He had landed facing the body of the young woman. He once again took in the fact that she was so young, that she was not an elf and had no Halls of Mandos to go to. Truthfully, he did not know what happened to mortals when they died, but he did know that they did not often get the chance to revisit life again.
'How many have you already killed? How many lives have been ended because of you?'
Legolas felt another blow land on his chest, effectively laying him out on his back and clearing his vision of the dead woman. Now he instead saw the stars overhead.
'So many stars.'
'Almost like the number of lives you have taken.'
'No more.'
Vaguely, Legolas heard the sound of shouting. And then he noticed that no more blows were continuing to come down upon him.
'Are they tired of death too?'
And then Legolas recognized the voice that was shouting. It was Gimli.
Chapter 14
The elf and dwarf spent the whole of the day uneventfully within Legolas' chambers. They took turns pacing about, but Gimli often did this more so than Legolas. Legolas would be content to merely sit cross-legged on the bed, leaning against the headboard, and not move for about two hours.
Gimli commented on his friend's behavior after one such two hour interval. "How you can sit there so still for so long is beyond me. You elvish folk are indeed set in your strange ways."
To which Legolas let a small smile shape his lips. "It would not be such a bad trait for you to learn, friend. There is no sense in tiring out the body with ceaseless pacing. The mind can think more clearly when there is no other activity happening."
Of course, Legolas did not tell Gimli what he was thinking about. He may have looked calm on the outside, but inside his thoughts were continuously churning over his plight. He was still desperately trying to remember what had happened the nights of the first two murders, and then he would go over every detail of the night of the third murder. Why he could clearly remember one and not two others was beyond him.
And then his mind would shift and take him back to the feelings of betrayal and imprisonment from Aragorn. He would fiercely remind himself that Aragorn could not be blamed, he was only doing his duty, but that was little comfort. And he was always fighting the small condemning voice that always tried to present itself in his mind.
Presently, night slowly crept over the land.
The coming of night found Legolas perched this time on the windowsill, his eyes sweeping out into the cool darkness, and Gimli still pacing about behind him. Legolas had almost come to the brink of annoyance with the dwarf's incessant movement, but he did not wish to say anything about it. His friend was probably going stir-crazy, but he had not complained. He was doing this for Legolas' benefit, and Legolas had not the heart to say anything about it.
So he preoccupied his mind with gazing out into the deepening darkness. He had long since ago shut off the destructive thoughts in his mind, not wanting to keep going over events he apparently could do nothing about. So he kept an old song running through his mind, occasionally humming a few lines of it.
"Aragorn should be coming back soon," Gimli muttered aloud. Legolas gave a small nod to acknowledge he had heard the dwarf but did not turn away from the window.
Gimli finally paused in his movements and leaned against the bed, watching his friend. Legolas was sitting easily upon the small sill, one leg in the room and the other dangling out on the other side. His eyes were turned far away, but Gimli could not shake the odd sense that was trying to come over him. He was reminded of the first night when he had come to Legolas and the elf had been seated upon the windowsill. His eyes had been so distant and alien to the dwarf, and Gimli had not liked the odd sensations that had accompanied the elf's gaze.
Gimli tried to shake the feeling away. In its place came the questions he had been wanting to ask Legolas all day. He knew that Legolas had told him much in the prison house, but Gimli still had more questions as to what was going on with the elf. Yet every time he tried to bring out the questions, they died in his throat when he would turn to actually look at his friend. Legolas looked positively calm and serene on the outside, but Gimli knew his friend well enough to know that it was not so on the inside. Legolas himself was going over questions he did not know the answers to, and Gimli did not want to further disturb the elf.
But now Gimli thought that perhaps this would be a good time to question him. He would just have to be careful with phrasing himself. He did not want risk Legolas feeling anymore betrayed, he knew that Aragorn's actions had already caused Legolas a deep hurt.
Before Gimli could bring himself to say anything, there was a small knock on the door. Both Gimli and Legolas turned their heads toward it, but it was Gimli who got up and went to the door. Legolas remained where he was, not bothering to stand yet.
The opened door revealed Bergel standing on the other side, his features twisted in nervousness. When he saw it was Gimli who opened the door however, a small grin of relief twisted his already crooked features.
"My Lord Aragorn asks of me to come get you so that he can talk with you," Bergel told Gimli in his broken speech.
Gimli frowned in surprise. "Aragorn is back already? He must have met Faramir closer than he anticipated."
Gimli turned to Legolas. "Come Legolas, it seems Aragorn is back early."
Bergel took a step forward when he heard Gimli. "No Gimli," he said frantically. Gimli turned back to him, puzzled at his small outburst.
Bergel bit his lip and looked over at Legolas who had stood up smoothly but had not yet moved. Bergel whispered to Gimli, as if Legolas could not hear him anyway. "The Lord wants to talk with you by yourself, not with sir Legolas too."
Gimli frowned again. That seemed like an odd request to him. Aragorn had told them before he left that he would speak with them as soon as he was back and had filled Faramir in with all the important information.
Gimli glanced back at Legolas. He was sure Legolas had been able to hear Bergel, and his suspicions were confirmed as Legolas had already sat back down, unconsciously taking up the exact same position he had been sitting in, as if he had not stood at all.
Legolas gave Gimli a small nod before turning his face back to the open window, his eyes once again far seeing. He understood that Aragorn wanted to speak with Gimli alone, and that it probably meant ill news for Legolas. Perhaps Faramir had had reports of murders as well, more mysterious elvish murders. Legolas sighed.
"I will be back as soon as I can," Gimli told Legolas.
Legolas gave another nod but did not bother to turn to look at him as he did so again. Gimli took a breath and turned back to Bergel. "Well, let's go but go quickly. I want to be back as soon as possible."
"The Lord is in his council room," Bergel told Gimli, "I's can't go with you because he told me to go talk to someone else with a message."
Gimli nodded. "Alright, I will not keep you from your duties any longer. You can go deliver your message."
Bergel broke out in another crooked grin and turned to hurriedly shuffle away.
Gimli took one last look at Legolas before he left. "I am sure it is nothing important," he said then repeated, "I will be back as soon as I can."
Legolas only gave another nod, and Gimli wished that his friend would just look at him. But Gimli only lingered for a moment longer before turning and leaving the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Then he hurried on down the hall. He had a mind to tell Aragorn that he should not continue to be keeping secrets from Legolas, that they were damaging his spirit. If he suspected Legolas at all he should just tell him, not continue to run about and try to keep things from him. Gimli knew Legolas would be more grateful with simple, direct information.
Legolas heard Gimli leave the room and close the door. He even heard him walking away for a good distance until he tuned the sound out. Legolas let out another sigh into the fresh air. He could only imagine what news Aragorn held this time. But the real frustration was Aragorn not thinking that he could tell Legolas at the same time. Likely he thought he was trying to spare the elf's feelings, but being left in the dark about things was much worse.
Legolas picked up where Bergel's visit had interrupted his song, but this time he sang it aloud rather than merely in his head. Nobody was around to hear it anyway. He knew that Gimli did not particularly mind his singing, but he was not sure just how much the dwarf could take, so he tried to not do it too often in his presence.
Legolas stopped singing.
He was not sure, but he thought he had heard a sound from outside.
Legolas sat extremely still and strained his ears, trying to pick up the sound again.
Almost immediately, he heard it again.
It was the sound of a woman screaming.
Not even pausing to think, Legolas leapt free from his seat and out of the window. He already knew the general direction of the sound, but needed more before he could pinpoint the exact location. The scream came again as Legolas bolted in the direction it was coming from, it was coming right from the edge of town, near the woods.
Legolas was on the scene in no time, he had not held back in his running at all. His hand went for his belt right before he got there, but he came up with nothing. He had forgotten, but Aragorn had never returned his long elvish knife.
The next moment after the realization that he had no weapons with him found him where the screams had been coming from. Legolas stopped his run and paused, considering that he would be weaponless if he should perhaps come upon the murderer. But what Legolas saw quickly wiped away his fears.
Laying face down on the ground before him was the body of a young woman, just as he had suspected. But there was nobody else around.
Legolas quickly scanned the immediate area with his eyes and strained his ears. He could not see or hear anybody around. That was indeed odd, as he had heard the screaming while he was running. The attack had to have just happened, and the killer should not have had the time to get away that fast.
Legolas' attention was diverted when he heard the woman let out a soft moan. She was still alive.
Legolas went to her and knelt on the ground next to her. She was laying on her stomach and Legolas hesitated a moment, not wanting to risk her anymore harm. But he could not see any wounds from this position so after brief consideration he pulled her gently by the shoulders and turned her onto her back.
Legolas saw immediately that her throat had been laid open, just like the others had. She also had various other wounds but this one was the most severe he knew and the one that was causing her to rapidly lose her life. Though she was still alive, her open eyes were sweeping the dark sky above her back and forth and her strained breath was still lifting her chest. Legolas knew she was not far from death.
Legolas thought rapidly of what to do. But even if he could bind her neck well enough he knew that it would buy her minutes only. Not even Aragorn would be able to save her.
For some reason, the thought of another death was greatly disturbing to Legolas. He did not even know this woman, but he could easily smell the terror coming from her and the tears running free from her eyes affected the elf. Despite enduring the War of the Ring, he still could not bring himself to understand mortal death. Their lives were so easily taken, and in this case it was taken senselessly. There was no reason for this young woman to be ending her already short life so soon.
Finally, Legolas did the only thing he could do. He began to sing to her.
The song and the sound of the elf's voice immediately worked to put the woman at ease and her gasping breaths slowed. Her eyes stopped their frantic sweeping and her face relaxed from the terror that had been contorting it. Her hands stopped clawing at the ground and her whole body seemed to relax.
Legolas kept up his song and saw that her eyes drifted shut. But she continued to breathe and if it were not for the blood that persisted in draining from her neck Legolas would have thought she were merely going to sleep. Eventually, the blood slowed, matching the pace of the breath. And then they both stopped.
Legolas stopped his singing as well and said a few elvish words when she was dead. They were words meant to guide the soul safely to the Halls of Mandos and even though she was mortal that was all that Legolas knew to say. He did not know what prayers humans said at death so he kept with what he knew.
Carefully, Legolas laid her body down from where he had been cradling her in his arms while he sang. He absently noted that her blood had dripped onto him and covered a fair amount of his hands and arms. Legolas sighed and sat back on his heels, passing his hand over his brow. He found that he could not take his eyes off of the woman's still form. He guessed that she could not have been over twenty years of age, she had not had a chance to accomplish anything in her life, she was still a mere babe in comparison to him.
Legolas forced himself to stop thinking about her death, so he turned his thoughts back to her murderer. He still could not fathom how the attacker had managed to flee from the area before Legolas had arrived. He should have been able to at least hear the person running from the area.
Legolas looked around again. The woods were about twenty paces in front of him. They were right on the edges of Gondor.
Something caught the elf's eye.
Leaning over the woman's body so that he could reach it, Legolas grabbed a white-handled object. It was an elvish knife, the blade covered in blood, no doubt the murder weapon. Legolas turned it over in his hands and let out a small cry of surprise.
It was his knife.
And that was when he heard the footsteps behind him. He had not been the only one to hear the woman's cries.
Legolas immediately stood and turned to face the crowd, the knife still in his hand. A small mob was coming towards him, their torches and weapons raised high. Legolas glanced down and saw that he still held his knife. Instantly, Legolas realized that he had just been caught in a bad situation. And that he had been undoubtedly framed.
"Drop the weapon elf," one man in the forefront of the mob called out.
Legolas did not move.
"We've got him this time," another man yelled out.
Legolas decided that the best thing to do would be to try to comply with the mob. He knew they would not listen to a word he said and he also did not want to fight them. Just the thought of fighting them made him feel uneasy. Not because he feared taking them on, but because he did not want to cause any more deaths.
'A trained killer knows only one way to get out of this.'
Legolas shook his head. Fitting that his condemning thoughts would choose to come back now.
Legolas dropped the knife. He was weaponless.
'They are so young, all of them are so young.'
The first man in the mob reached him, a wooden staff held high and ready to strike.
'No,' Legolas thought to himself, 'I do not wish to fight anymore.'
Legolas ducked under the heavy swing of the staff and sidestepped as he brought himself up. The man was thrown off balance and staggered away from Legolas, trying to regain his balance. But Legolas' focus was already turned from him, he was locked on another man coming towards him. This one had a sword with him and he gave all his effort in trying to take Legolas' head off. Legolas ducked this blow too but the man was too close to merely sidestep him. Legolas instead met him headlong in the man's mid-section before standing, effectively throwing the man free over his head.
'Stop,' Legolas continued to have a one-track mind, 'I do not want to fight.' But he said nothing aloud, only continued to try to avoid as many blows as he could while not inflicting any of his own.
By this time, most of the mob had caught up to him and it was becoming harder to remain unscathed. If he avoided one blow something else was coming at him the next second.
Finally, one such blow found its mark.
Legolas was dancing out of the way of a thrust sword when a large branch caught him high on his back. Legolas went down to one knee.
He still kept his vision focused on the most immediate threats to him, but this time there were two men on either side of him. He managed to avoid the next swing of the one who had undoubtedly caught him on the back, but the other man held a staff and cracked Legolas on his ribs.
Legolas bit through the pain and rolled out of the way. His mind was still screaming for them to stop, that he did not want to risk hurting any of them, for he himself could hardly blame them for the attack. He had been foolish to leave the room.
'They are so young, they know not what they do.'
But another part of him was steadily growing angry.
'If they are convinced they have the killer then they might as well have their actions justified.'
'No, I am not a killer.'
'To them you are.'
Legolas was up again. The man with the staff tried to land another blow, but this time Legolas did not merely try to avoid it. Legolas grabbed the wooden staff.
The man grunted and tried to free it from the elf's iron grip, but Legolas would not let him. Jerking his own arms back, Legolas easily yanked it from the man's grasp. Legolas quickly twirled the staff over his head, finding better positions for his hands as he did so, and then stopped with it held in front of him, his knees bent and in a defensive position. He did not want to fight them, but he had no choice.
The men closest to him paused when they saw him holding the large staff, but it was not long before another sword came at him. Legolas parried easily with his staff and threw the sward off, taking the man to the ground with the force of the momentum.
Legolas heard the snap of a bow-string.
Throwing his shoulder back, Legolas lifted the staff with the movement of his body and felt it jerk in his arms when an arrow slammed into the staff. Legolas did not bother to marvel at the closeness of the arrow before bringing it over his head again and then back down on a man in front of him. He caught the man on his side and the man went down instantly.
Legolas hesitated when he saw the man go down.
'No, you are not their killer. They are too young, far too young.'
Legolas' hesitation cost him. He himself was caught from behind as a large object slammed into his temple.
For one second, Legolas' world exploded before him in bright colors. And when the world came back into focus, it was much dimmer than what it had been a moment before. Absently, Legolas realized that he had lost his hold of the staff.
Another blow caught him on the back of his knees and he dropped down to them. In the back of his mind he was screaming at himself to get back up, to turn and face them again. But something else was holding him back. He had landed facing the body of the young woman. He once again took in the fact that she was so young, that she was not an elf and had no Halls of Mandos to go to. Truthfully, he did not know what happened to mortals when they died, but he did know that they did not often get the chance to revisit life again.
'How many have you already killed? How many lives have been ended because of you?'
Legolas felt another blow land on his chest, effectively laying him out on his back and clearing his vision of the dead woman. Now he instead saw the stars overhead.
'So many stars.'
'Almost like the number of lives you have taken.'
'No more.'
Vaguely, Legolas heard the sound of shouting. And then he noticed that no more blows were continuing to come down upon him.
'Are they tired of death too?'
And then Legolas recognized the voice that was shouting. It was Gimli.