Chapter Five :: Cliffhangers
Elrond rushed down the stairs and saw Elrohir standing by the gates.
"What bothers you, son?" he asked, noting the worried look that seemed to stay on his son's face.
"Elladan left several minutes ago, when I told him that I felt something was wrong, he rushed off," responded Elrohir, sighing heavily.
"I'll go get the bandages ready," the elf-lord said with a laugh, turning back to walk up the stairs.
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Hillith stopped running to catch his breath. Since he grabbed Estel several minutes ago, the warrior had not stopped running. He was afraid that they had overcome Legolas and were now attempting to follow him.
He set the child down and smiled softly, "Do not worry, little one. You will be home soon."
"Hillith!" yelled a familiar voice.
He turned as Elladan rode into the clearing. A bright smile came to his face as he saw his little brother. Estel ran and hugged the twin.
"Where is Legolas?" asked Elladan as he looked back up at Hillith.
"He stayed behind...to make sure no one followed. I have not seen him since then."
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Another punch pushed Legolas back against the tree. He was mistaken to think that he could take on four at a time, especially Rymir. He was short-tempered and extremely powerful. Each punch from him was almost equal to two of the others.
Rymir delivered a powerful kick to his gut and the prince fell. He pulled himself to his hand and knees, coughing up a little bit of blood. This beating had been going on for several minutes now, at Ryldor's request for Legolas to suffer greatly before he died.
"Do you recall the month you spent in that prison? Isn't this what they did to you almost everyday?" asked Ryldor in a cold tone.
Legolas growled and ducked a swing from one of the henchmen only to be met by a kick from another one. Rymir pulled him to his feet by the collar of his shirt then punched him again.
Ryldor stood over the prince as he attempted to cling to consciousness.
"'Twas a shame you decided to develop emotions," he said coldly, kicking the elf in his already bruised ribs.
He nodded to Rymir who picked up a large rock.
Elladan rushed through the trees and tackled Rymir; the rock fell less than an inch from the prince's head. Since Elladan had the element of surprise, overpowering the brute was easy. He hit the murderous psycho in the head with the butt of his dagger.
The twin jumped to his feet and turned to the three henchmen. "Rush me! I challenge you! Come now, are you scared?"
"He thinks that we're scared of an elfling like him. What a laugh!" said one in a boisterous tone.
Of course, in the spirit of a true fight, he was the first to rush Elladan. Sadly, he was the first to fall. The other two decided not to risk anything and fight him at the same time. It was not a fierce battle, but a drawn out one. Elladan would go to strike one, but the other would swing at him and he would be forced to block. The elf gained the advantage, however, when Legolas was able to pull himself to his feet and knock out one of the men. Elladan quickly dispatched of the other and turned to face Ryldor.
He wasn't there.
Elladan turned back to Legolas; "He's gone!"
"I see that," responded Legolas dryly.
"Now is not the time to start this, Legolas," said the twin.
The prince laughed and started walking the way Hillith had gone.
"Where are you going?" asked Elladan.
"To find Ryldor."
"Do you think you can fight him in your condition?" remarked the other as he followed the prince out of the clearing and through the forest.
"I fought you," answered Legolas stubbornly.
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"Elladan! Come quick! Legolas needs help!" cried Elrohir, looking through the window.
Elladan jumped through and started to run alongside his brother. "What happened?"
"He got into a fight with Celondir, but he has all his friends with him! I came to get you because I knew we would have to hold off all the other boys!"
They hurried through the halls and over to the falls where Elrohir had last seen Legolas and Celondir. The twins' suspicions were sadly correct. The prince was already on his knees, looking pretty beat up while Celondir and another boy kept pushing him around. It looked as though the elf had put up a good fight, because Celondir had a bloody nose while one of the other boys had a cut across his cheek from a rock Legolas had thrown at him when he attempted to grab the prince.
"You dirty, cheating bastard!" exclaimed Elladan as he punched Celondir in the face, causing the boy to stumble back.
"Stop it!" cried Legolas, forcing himself to his feet. "Our fight isn't over, Celondir!"
"Legolas, this is pointless! You can hardly stand up."
"I'm standing now, Elladan. Move."
"No!" retorted the eldest twin as he stood in front of the prince.
"Elladan, I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't move I will," threatened Legolas.
"Give it up!" responded Elladan angrily. "I know this is a matter of pride, but is it worth the beating?"
"Now it's revenge," said Legolas, pushing Elladan out of his way.
He rushed at Celondir, but Elladan tackled him.
"I warned you," said Legolas as he was pulled to his feet. "Get off me!"
Elladan threw him down on the ground again, "I'm protecting you, you insolent elf!"
Elrohir stood between the two as they tried to go at the other's throats. He tried to calm them down, but they weren't listening.
"He's too stubborn!" said Elladan.
"I don't need a mother, 'Dan! Now stay out of my way!" responded Legolas.
Elladan pushed Elrohir out of the way and swung at Legolas, who ducked the blow and hit him the gut. The twin brought up his knee and hooked Legolas in the face, then kicked him away.
"What's going on here?"
Everyone turned to see Elrond rushing over. Celondir and his group fled the scene while Elladan and Legolas continued to fight. Only when Elrond stood in the middle did they stop.
"Legolas, your father is not going to be pleased with your behavior. I am not pleased with you two either," he began with is lecture. "You should not have been fighting, Legolas. Elladan, you should not have been fighting Legolas. Elrohir, you should have come and gotten me instead of your brother. It is unlikely that I am going to beat Legolas up because he won't listen to me." He had to stop however, when the prince collapsed against Elrohir. The beatings he took from Celondir, his group, and Elladan tore him up very badly.
As Elrohir helped him walk back to Elrond's home, he looked at Elladan.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I just got carried away after his friends jumped into the fight. I could have easily taken Celondir."
Elladan laughed, "You do not need to apologize, but next time you need to let me help you. I might not have to beat you so hard."
"You make a great older brother," said Legolas with a smile.
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Ryldor tossed Hillith's body aside and grabbed Estel. He smirked and started to walk away. His attempt was halted when Legolas came out of the forest before him and stood with an evil smirk on his face.
"Thought you could run away from me, didn't you?" remarked the prince with a cold laugh.
"You thought I was insane," muttered the elf. He put a knife to the child's throat. "Any closer, I'll kill him."
Legolas grabbed the knife from him quickly and tossed it to the side. Elladan started to come up behind Ryldor, but the elf suddenly took off. With a loud curse, the prince ran after him. Despite his injuries, he was gaining on the kidnapper.
Elladan was not far behind them, but it had taken him a very small moment to gather what had happened. He assumed they were heading for the falls, as he could hear the sound of running water nearby.
Ryldor had lead them to the Terrace Path and continued to follow the Bruinen west. Several minutes later, they were at Stone Bridge, but he did not cross it. Instead, he kept running towards the falls, as Elladan had suspected.
Several times during the chase had Legolas come close to just being bale to reach and grab his tunic. Every time, however, Ryldor would turn and swing at the prince, each time targeting a stab wound he had gained from Rymir or another injury that could be aggravated in such a way. He had actually succeeded in hitting him three times.
Finally, they stopped at the edge of the falls. Legolas took his bow and fired two arrows into the air. One found its way into the madman's shoulder and the other into his arm. He was forced to drop Estel.
"You're a nuisance, Legolas Greenleaf," said Ryldor angrily.
The elf smiled at those words; "I was waiting for you to say that."
He had been backed to an edge that jutted out over the falls. There was no place for him to go besides down. Legolas suspected that he was too much of a coward to jump, therefore he lowered his weapons. Then, a cracking sound alerted the both that the ledge was far too unstable to hold him much longer. Having not the heart to let the bastard fall, either, the prince offered his hand to Ryldor.
"That ledge is unstable. You'll fall," he explained.
The elf was reluctant, but he took Legolas's hand. He pulled Ryldor off the ledge just as the part he had been standing on collapsed.
Ryldor looked down, then up at him.
"Your heart is too big," he said.
Legolas nodded solemnly then grabbed Ryldor's neck. "I'm sorry, but I can't have you attacking me anymore," said the elf with a frown. After he had passed out, Legolas laid Ryldor off to the side.
Elladan came over to the prince and sighed, "I thought you were going to stay evil."
"Eventually, I become like him. I couldn't do that."
"HELP!"
The two elves turned and saw Estel hanging off a small ledge just off the edge of the cliff. When Ryldor dropped him, he had rolled off the cliff and onto the small ledge. He had been unconscious then, but when he woke up, he panicked and fell off the edge. Now the small child was holding on for dear life.
Legolas dropped to his knees near Estel and reached for him.
"Take my hand," he said softly.
"But you scare me!" cried Estel defiantly.
"I will not hurt or scare you, alright?" he said with a smile. It was the first time Elladan had seen him smile since the prince had arrived in Rivendell.