Chapter five. Thanks to everyone who hung in there with me after chapter
three. It got better, didn't it?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
"What is it, Aragorn? Tell me!" Legolas had turned on his friend as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Legolas, shh, do not use that name here."
"I'm sorry, Strider. Please tell me what you know."
"Well, I don't know. It's interesting."
Legolas raised his eyebrows. "So are you going to tell me, or do I have to guess?"
Aragorn rolled his eyes. "They are not from Evandael, that is for certain. They are from Gondor."
"How do you know?"
"I'm a ranger, Legolas. I know how people from Gondor are. They dress a certain way, they act a certain way. They are from Gondor."
Legolas nodded. "And why would the make up where they are from?"
"Well, for one, Gondor needs no name to associate themselves with. Secondly, if they did, they certainly would not seek to do it with elves. They are angry about the last alliance."
"What do you know about Evandael?"
Aragorn shook his head, his voice dropping a tone. "It's a wicked town, Legolas. The men there are evil, and they torture all who come into it. Not too far from here, either."
"But why would someone from Gondor lie about that?"
Aragorn shrugged. "They could have been exiled. Evandael is where most exiles flee. Other than that, I have no answers. I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing. You've given me plenty of information. Thank you."
Legolas sighed, frustrated. The new information he got from Strider made no sense. It did not fit into any plan he could devise himself.
Maybe the answer was simple. Maybe they had been exiled from Gondor. It would explain the act and speech. But why would a town such as Evandael want to make good with elves?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Legolas cringed at the look his father was giving him. "Ada, I don't trust them." He had to break the silence.
"I know you don't, and you do present a very strong case. But why, onya? That you have not yet told me."
"I'm not sure of that. We know their intentions are not to form an alliance. Could they be plotting our destruction? Strider says that Evandael is a wicked town. Little known, but very deadly."
"So near to us?"
"Perhaps."
Thranduil sighed. "We will send them away in the morning, Legolas. No alliance. . . nothing. Hopefully they will break all contact."
Legolas nodded. "And if they don't?"
"We don't need an ally, Legolas. We are managing Mirkwood just fine on our own, you and I. When I leave for the Undying Lands, I want to give you Mirkwood, not Mirkwood with a town of men attached. They still have not said clearly why they want an alliance. It is well, I believe you. I know you don't trust them, and I have my suspicions as well."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Merithol pulled back into the shadows. Night had fallen, and he was discovered. He turned to his companions. "We rush our plans a bit. Haron, Dinivul, you will both go to that man's room, the young one. He is too closely linked with the prince. I will take the elf by myself. We will meet outside the gates before the king seals them for the night. Our men should be waiting for us. Go now, we have little time. Do not wait for me, I will meet you there."
The two nodded, running off. Merithol smiled, preparing himself for what was to come.
He waited until the prince had gone to bed. . . long after. He had a plan, and oh what a good plan it was.
The only thing that he relied on now was that Dinivul and Haron had succeeded.
He entered the prince's bedchambers.
Legolas, for once, was sleeping deeply and peacefully. He did not become aware of the man's presence until it was too late.
The prince woke with a start, feeling steel biting into his skin. He put his arms up in surrender, pushing against the blade to sit up.
"Get up," the man growled. "We have to hurry."
"Merithol," Legolas hissed.
The blade bit closer to his throat. "You remembered my name."
He pulled Legolas, who had fallen asleep in his day attire, out into the corridor. "Make so much as a noise and I will slit your throat." Legolas nodded. He mentally kicked himself for the situation he was in. Why was it ALWAYS when he was tired and unaware?
"Open the gates," the man hissed.
"No," Legolas said, a bit more defensively than he meant to.
The blade pressed so close that is Legolas breathed too deeply, it would cut his skin. "Dinivul, are you out there?"
"Yes sir, we're here."
"Do you have him?"
"Yes sir."
He smiled. "Hear that, prince? They have your friend out there. Open the gates, or I will order to have him killed."
It was happening all over again. He mumbled a few words in elvish, and the gates flew open.
"That's better. Now close them."
Legolas was now in the forest surrounding his home. He felt the presence of many men, and shuddered.
"Scared? You should be. Close the gates."
He said the words to close them, but not to seal them. If his father woke and found the gates unsealed, he would suspect something and search for his son.
"Strider, are you all right?"
"Didn't I tell you not to make a sound!" It wasn't a question- it was threat. Legolas looked to his friend, who shrugged apologetically in response.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
An hour later, when they were far enough into the woods, Merithol stopped. "Now, I'm going to explain something to the both of you. Listen well, for your lives may very well depend on it." He paused, looking at the two captives standing before him.
"From now on, you are our slaves. We are your masters."
Nothing happened. Haron leaned forward. "It's customary for slaves to bow to their masters when being addressed."
Aragorn sighed, but figured that now was not the time to be resistant. He dropped to the ground.
Legolas did not look at Aragorn as he bowed. He held a steady gaze with Merithol. His whole body suggested defiance.
Merithol shook his head. "Do you realize how easy it would be for me to just kill you and be done with it? I'm giving you a break! Take advantage of it."
Still, the elf did not move. Haron and Dinivul started forward, but Merithol put out his hands to stop them. He was testing the elf, and in the same way, the elf was testing him. 'Keep pushing it,' he thought to himself. 'I'll push back when the time is right.'
Legolas felt Aragorn grab his arm, and pull down. The elf finally complied, but did not lower his gaze.
"Secondly," Merithol continued, ignoring the glare from Legolas. "I have a hundred of my men in the forest around you. Go ahead and try to escape. It'll be fun for them. Now get up, we have a lot of ground to cover in the next few days."
Legolas rolled back on his heels as Aragorn rose. Defiance glowed in his eyes. "No."
Merithol spun around. The elf had pushed him too far. "Excuse me?!"
"I am not listening to you. I will do nothing you say. Kill me if you will."
There was a very pregnant pause in which nothing happened.
"I know you won't kill me. You need me alive for your plans."
"Legolas," Aragorn hissed. "Now is not the time!"
Dinivul came up behind the young ranger, holding a dagger to his throat.
"Get up or we will kill him. We have no use for him."
Legolas did not move. "If you kill him, then you have no way of controlling me."
Merithol let out a frustrated breath. "If I had known you were going to be this difficult. Dinivul, do it."
Legolas panicked. They wouldn't actually kill Aragorn, would they? Merithol smiled at the look on the elf's face.
Aragorn was pushed to the ground, and Dinivul had taken a long leather strip from Haron. He raised it above his head and struck the ranger.
Legolas winced.
"We'll do it for as long as it takes, Legolas."
The leather cracked a second time. By the third, Legolas was on his feet. "Stop it! Stop. I'm coming."
Dinivul looked to his leader, who nodded once. The man brought the leather down once more.
He was surprised when it did not hit his intended target. Legolas had seen it coming and covered his friend's body with his own. He held his breath as the leather hit him in a blinding flash of pain, then turned and grabbed it from Dinivul, unsheathing the man's sword at the same time.
He swung the sword with expertise, effectively creating a circle around himself and the ranger, for men were appearing from the forest.
Aragorn took a breath of composure. "Don't, Legolas. Not now."
Merithol lazily pulled out his own sword. "You are only making it harder on yourself. You cannot win."
"You have obviously never encountered an elf before."
"I have. You forget the men that are with us." He gestured into the darkness of the trees.
Aragorn laughed despite himself. "You've never encountered Legolas, then."
"Stay out of this, unless you wish to make it hard for yourself as well." Merithol turned his attention back to Legolas. "Come fight me. I'm waiting."
Legolas stepped forward, barely aware that two men had come up to hold Aragorn.
Merithol made the first move. Legolas blocked it easily, and counterattacked. "You fight well," the man said. Legolas said nothing. The man smiled wickedly.
Suddenly, Legolas was spinning full circles, fighting two dozen men.
Aragorn shouted. "There are rules to combat, Merithol! You're not playing by them!"
A sword hilt was brought down harshly. Legolas locked eyes with a struggling Aragorn before falling unconscious.
"No!" Aragorn cried out, but the men held him back.
"Bind his hands. Bind both their hands. Wake the elf up."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Legolas woke slowly, against his will. He had a terrible headache, and his body hurt. He couldn't remember why.
"He's waking, sir."
Even the voice was harsh to his ears.
Legolas was vaguely aware of his body being jerked forward. He focused his eyes on the man before him. Memory came rushing back, and with it, a flood of pain.
"Do not try that again."
Legolas wanted to retort, but could form no words in his mind.
"Get up."
If the prince had wanted to comply, his own body would not allow him. There were a few minutes of silence.
"I will not carry you. The drug wasn't that strong. Get up."
'Drug?' Legolas thought to himself. He did not have the energy to try and figure it out.
He was pulled to his feet, then left alone.
"Come Legolas," a voice whispered. "You can lean on me for support."
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Leggylover: Well, he doesn't know Estel yet. And the owies are on the way! (This chapter was kinda owie, but not really, huh?)
Angel With No Wings: Lol, I just wasn't sure how you were gonna react to that last chapter. Lol, not to point or name names, but I hate when people wait forever to update, cough cough. Lol, j/k. Uhm, hm, I guess you had reason to be suspicious, huh?
SPEoD: Lol, it's okay, calm down, I forgive ya! Wow, uhm, Aragorn's choking was just hearing what the men said, because he wasn't expecting that answer. This story is really long, comparatively. I can't say for sure, but it should be somewhere around 12 chapters. Thanks for da review!
Lulu Bell: Thanks for the compliments. I have at least four or five more stories after this one, so no worries. And yeah, they're evil, lol. When has a human, other than Estel, ever been good to Leggy? Uh, it doesn't technically get cold here, only to the natives. Like, 70 is freezing to us. Then again, it gets really really cold at night. And yes, we play inside. What's a bye?
HalandLeg4ever: Then you must have really hated my last story. Every frickin' chapter was a cliffie. Heck, I hated it. Anyway, yeah. . . Estel is all knowing like that ::wink::
Luthien: First time I've been threatened with fireballs. Does that count as a death threat? I'll say yes. That makes my fourth death threat, lol.
Lomiothiel: Doesn't Leggy always feel like men bring evil? It's kind of been drilled into him, hasn't it, by past experiences? Haha, what's really funny is that I wrote this chapter, where Merithol wakes him up in the middle of the night, before I read your review. And there's a story down the line where he gets woken up in the middle of the night too, lol. So yeah, I guess he does. . . hadn't noticed before though!
Dimostiel: That cover up was slightly better than the one he tried about the cave when they returned from their trip, at least, lol. What other words are there for restroom that don't sound out of place? Oh well. Well there, are you happy? There's some action for you in this chapter. (It needed a set up though!)
Sky: Thank you. No, I haven't read them yet, and I am so sorry. They're in my list of things to do, seriously, I just have not had the time yet. Maybe this weekend. I can't wait to read them though! Please forgive my slowness!
Bill the Pony: Ah, thanks! I hope this was soon enough!
Lyn: You're right. I think that's the first time I've screwed a word up like that. What was I thinking of? There's a word for a brawl or a quarrel that starts with s, isn't there? Or maybe I just confused that one with meaning something else. Very nice, you're the only person that caught that. Never mind, you just answered that question. Scuffle. (Maybe I should read the whole review before I start my reply.) See, ally I knew. I think that was just a typo. My beta missed that one too. Scuffle. I can't believe I did that. Thank you so much for pointing that out! Greatly appreciated!
F h c: That sounds like something from the X-Files. "Trust no one." I can see Legolas saying that to Estel, lol.
Das Blume: I love how the actual review was in the three lines of P.S., lol. Yes, I am really happy you didn't kill me! Haha, "Kodak moment. . ." Oh jeez. He's got a poster of Oliver Wood Quidditch Captain up too. (I like him too, lol.) Well, my elvish to human ratio it 100:1 years. So when Legolas hit 100, it was like a human's first birthday. (I figured this out from movie verse.) So now that he's, 3,000 years old, he's the equivalent of 30. Aragorn IS thirty. So while Thranduil should view them as being equal, his prejudices make him view Aragorn as young. Not, baby young, but still. Did that make sense? No, it was just, "They never served the good wine to humans again. It suddenly wasn't as good when you were wearing it." Lo,, thanks for that very funny review. I was cracking up!
Bec: Lol, yeah, can you imagine what Thranduil must be thinking while he's choking at the table? Poor guy. No, it's cool, have fun house sitting ::wink:: I don't have a problem eating breakfast that early, but he would never be able to get me out of bed, lol!
Anolinde: Lol, thanks. I like the sarcasm between them too. Lol, haha, your reviews are hilarious. Can't you just see Elrond groaning at the thought of MORE orcs and his sons, in the same sentence? Nope, haven't written about Fal (Mithfalas) yet. ::smiles:: Yay! You caught on! Lol! Seriously, I love your reviews.
Nenya: Lol, uhm. . . the book hadn't originally been anything more than something he enjoyed, but that was originally. The second draft came out somewhat differently, but that's all I'm going to say. (I usually end up giving too much away when people ask questions. I just can't say no, lol.) Yes, there will a lot more of Mithfalas, not only in this story, but in stories still in the works. This will definitely not be the last in the series, I have one more already written after this, and several more in the process of being written. Yeah, I was trying to prove that Thranduil wasn't a bad guy, he just made ONE mistake, so that scene was actually quite crucial. I'm glad you liked it. Also, just because I'm feeling generous, something that Elrond said about Mithfalas in passing turns out to be very crucial later on, a few stories down the line. ::wink:: Thank you so much for the review!
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"What is it, Aragorn? Tell me!" Legolas had turned on his friend as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Legolas, shh, do not use that name here."
"I'm sorry, Strider. Please tell me what you know."
"Well, I don't know. It's interesting."
Legolas raised his eyebrows. "So are you going to tell me, or do I have to guess?"
Aragorn rolled his eyes. "They are not from Evandael, that is for certain. They are from Gondor."
"How do you know?"
"I'm a ranger, Legolas. I know how people from Gondor are. They dress a certain way, they act a certain way. They are from Gondor."
Legolas nodded. "And why would the make up where they are from?"
"Well, for one, Gondor needs no name to associate themselves with. Secondly, if they did, they certainly would not seek to do it with elves. They are angry about the last alliance."
"What do you know about Evandael?"
Aragorn shook his head, his voice dropping a tone. "It's a wicked town, Legolas. The men there are evil, and they torture all who come into it. Not too far from here, either."
"But why would someone from Gondor lie about that?"
Aragorn shrugged. "They could have been exiled. Evandael is where most exiles flee. Other than that, I have no answers. I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing. You've given me plenty of information. Thank you."
Legolas sighed, frustrated. The new information he got from Strider made no sense. It did not fit into any plan he could devise himself.
Maybe the answer was simple. Maybe they had been exiled from Gondor. It would explain the act and speech. But why would a town such as Evandael want to make good with elves?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Legolas cringed at the look his father was giving him. "Ada, I don't trust them." He had to break the silence.
"I know you don't, and you do present a very strong case. But why, onya? That you have not yet told me."
"I'm not sure of that. We know their intentions are not to form an alliance. Could they be plotting our destruction? Strider says that Evandael is a wicked town. Little known, but very deadly."
"So near to us?"
"Perhaps."
Thranduil sighed. "We will send them away in the morning, Legolas. No alliance. . . nothing. Hopefully they will break all contact."
Legolas nodded. "And if they don't?"
"We don't need an ally, Legolas. We are managing Mirkwood just fine on our own, you and I. When I leave for the Undying Lands, I want to give you Mirkwood, not Mirkwood with a town of men attached. They still have not said clearly why they want an alliance. It is well, I believe you. I know you don't trust them, and I have my suspicions as well."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Merithol pulled back into the shadows. Night had fallen, and he was discovered. He turned to his companions. "We rush our plans a bit. Haron, Dinivul, you will both go to that man's room, the young one. He is too closely linked with the prince. I will take the elf by myself. We will meet outside the gates before the king seals them for the night. Our men should be waiting for us. Go now, we have little time. Do not wait for me, I will meet you there."
The two nodded, running off. Merithol smiled, preparing himself for what was to come.
He waited until the prince had gone to bed. . . long after. He had a plan, and oh what a good plan it was.
The only thing that he relied on now was that Dinivul and Haron had succeeded.
He entered the prince's bedchambers.
Legolas, for once, was sleeping deeply and peacefully. He did not become aware of the man's presence until it was too late.
The prince woke with a start, feeling steel biting into his skin. He put his arms up in surrender, pushing against the blade to sit up.
"Get up," the man growled. "We have to hurry."
"Merithol," Legolas hissed.
The blade bit closer to his throat. "You remembered my name."
He pulled Legolas, who had fallen asleep in his day attire, out into the corridor. "Make so much as a noise and I will slit your throat." Legolas nodded. He mentally kicked himself for the situation he was in. Why was it ALWAYS when he was tired and unaware?
"Open the gates," the man hissed.
"No," Legolas said, a bit more defensively than he meant to.
The blade pressed so close that is Legolas breathed too deeply, it would cut his skin. "Dinivul, are you out there?"
"Yes sir, we're here."
"Do you have him?"
"Yes sir."
He smiled. "Hear that, prince? They have your friend out there. Open the gates, or I will order to have him killed."
It was happening all over again. He mumbled a few words in elvish, and the gates flew open.
"That's better. Now close them."
Legolas was now in the forest surrounding his home. He felt the presence of many men, and shuddered.
"Scared? You should be. Close the gates."
He said the words to close them, but not to seal them. If his father woke and found the gates unsealed, he would suspect something and search for his son.
"Strider, are you all right?"
"Didn't I tell you not to make a sound!" It wasn't a question- it was threat. Legolas looked to his friend, who shrugged apologetically in response.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
An hour later, when they were far enough into the woods, Merithol stopped. "Now, I'm going to explain something to the both of you. Listen well, for your lives may very well depend on it." He paused, looking at the two captives standing before him.
"From now on, you are our slaves. We are your masters."
Nothing happened. Haron leaned forward. "It's customary for slaves to bow to their masters when being addressed."
Aragorn sighed, but figured that now was not the time to be resistant. He dropped to the ground.
Legolas did not look at Aragorn as he bowed. He held a steady gaze with Merithol. His whole body suggested defiance.
Merithol shook his head. "Do you realize how easy it would be for me to just kill you and be done with it? I'm giving you a break! Take advantage of it."
Still, the elf did not move. Haron and Dinivul started forward, but Merithol put out his hands to stop them. He was testing the elf, and in the same way, the elf was testing him. 'Keep pushing it,' he thought to himself. 'I'll push back when the time is right.'
Legolas felt Aragorn grab his arm, and pull down. The elf finally complied, but did not lower his gaze.
"Secondly," Merithol continued, ignoring the glare from Legolas. "I have a hundred of my men in the forest around you. Go ahead and try to escape. It'll be fun for them. Now get up, we have a lot of ground to cover in the next few days."
Legolas rolled back on his heels as Aragorn rose. Defiance glowed in his eyes. "No."
Merithol spun around. The elf had pushed him too far. "Excuse me?!"
"I am not listening to you. I will do nothing you say. Kill me if you will."
There was a very pregnant pause in which nothing happened.
"I know you won't kill me. You need me alive for your plans."
"Legolas," Aragorn hissed. "Now is not the time!"
Dinivul came up behind the young ranger, holding a dagger to his throat.
"Get up or we will kill him. We have no use for him."
Legolas did not move. "If you kill him, then you have no way of controlling me."
Merithol let out a frustrated breath. "If I had known you were going to be this difficult. Dinivul, do it."
Legolas panicked. They wouldn't actually kill Aragorn, would they? Merithol smiled at the look on the elf's face.
Aragorn was pushed to the ground, and Dinivul had taken a long leather strip from Haron. He raised it above his head and struck the ranger.
Legolas winced.
"We'll do it for as long as it takes, Legolas."
The leather cracked a second time. By the third, Legolas was on his feet. "Stop it! Stop. I'm coming."
Dinivul looked to his leader, who nodded once. The man brought the leather down once more.
He was surprised when it did not hit his intended target. Legolas had seen it coming and covered his friend's body with his own. He held his breath as the leather hit him in a blinding flash of pain, then turned and grabbed it from Dinivul, unsheathing the man's sword at the same time.
He swung the sword with expertise, effectively creating a circle around himself and the ranger, for men were appearing from the forest.
Aragorn took a breath of composure. "Don't, Legolas. Not now."
Merithol lazily pulled out his own sword. "You are only making it harder on yourself. You cannot win."
"You have obviously never encountered an elf before."
"I have. You forget the men that are with us." He gestured into the darkness of the trees.
Aragorn laughed despite himself. "You've never encountered Legolas, then."
"Stay out of this, unless you wish to make it hard for yourself as well." Merithol turned his attention back to Legolas. "Come fight me. I'm waiting."
Legolas stepped forward, barely aware that two men had come up to hold Aragorn.
Merithol made the first move. Legolas blocked it easily, and counterattacked. "You fight well," the man said. Legolas said nothing. The man smiled wickedly.
Suddenly, Legolas was spinning full circles, fighting two dozen men.
Aragorn shouted. "There are rules to combat, Merithol! You're not playing by them!"
A sword hilt was brought down harshly. Legolas locked eyes with a struggling Aragorn before falling unconscious.
"No!" Aragorn cried out, but the men held him back.
"Bind his hands. Bind both their hands. Wake the elf up."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Legolas woke slowly, against his will. He had a terrible headache, and his body hurt. He couldn't remember why.
"He's waking, sir."
Even the voice was harsh to his ears.
Legolas was vaguely aware of his body being jerked forward. He focused his eyes on the man before him. Memory came rushing back, and with it, a flood of pain.
"Do not try that again."
Legolas wanted to retort, but could form no words in his mind.
"Get up."
If the prince had wanted to comply, his own body would not allow him. There were a few minutes of silence.
"I will not carry you. The drug wasn't that strong. Get up."
'Drug?' Legolas thought to himself. He did not have the energy to try and figure it out.
He was pulled to his feet, then left alone.
"Come Legolas," a voice whispered. "You can lean on me for support."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Leggylover: Well, he doesn't know Estel yet. And the owies are on the way! (This chapter was kinda owie, but not really, huh?)
Angel With No Wings: Lol, I just wasn't sure how you were gonna react to that last chapter. Lol, not to point or name names, but I hate when people wait forever to update, cough cough. Lol, j/k. Uhm, hm, I guess you had reason to be suspicious, huh?
SPEoD: Lol, it's okay, calm down, I forgive ya! Wow, uhm, Aragorn's choking was just hearing what the men said, because he wasn't expecting that answer. This story is really long, comparatively. I can't say for sure, but it should be somewhere around 12 chapters. Thanks for da review!
Lulu Bell: Thanks for the compliments. I have at least four or five more stories after this one, so no worries. And yeah, they're evil, lol. When has a human, other than Estel, ever been good to Leggy? Uh, it doesn't technically get cold here, only to the natives. Like, 70 is freezing to us. Then again, it gets really really cold at night. And yes, we play inside. What's a bye?
HalandLeg4ever: Then you must have really hated my last story. Every frickin' chapter was a cliffie. Heck, I hated it. Anyway, yeah. . . Estel is all knowing like that ::wink::
Luthien: First time I've been threatened with fireballs. Does that count as a death threat? I'll say yes. That makes my fourth death threat, lol.
Lomiothiel: Doesn't Leggy always feel like men bring evil? It's kind of been drilled into him, hasn't it, by past experiences? Haha, what's really funny is that I wrote this chapter, where Merithol wakes him up in the middle of the night, before I read your review. And there's a story down the line where he gets woken up in the middle of the night too, lol. So yeah, I guess he does. . . hadn't noticed before though!
Dimostiel: That cover up was slightly better than the one he tried about the cave when they returned from their trip, at least, lol. What other words are there for restroom that don't sound out of place? Oh well. Well there, are you happy? There's some action for you in this chapter. (It needed a set up though!)
Sky: Thank you. No, I haven't read them yet, and I am so sorry. They're in my list of things to do, seriously, I just have not had the time yet. Maybe this weekend. I can't wait to read them though! Please forgive my slowness!
Bill the Pony: Ah, thanks! I hope this was soon enough!
Lyn: You're right. I think that's the first time I've screwed a word up like that. What was I thinking of? There's a word for a brawl or a quarrel that starts with s, isn't there? Or maybe I just confused that one with meaning something else. Very nice, you're the only person that caught that. Never mind, you just answered that question. Scuffle. (Maybe I should read the whole review before I start my reply.) See, ally I knew. I think that was just a typo. My beta missed that one too. Scuffle. I can't believe I did that. Thank you so much for pointing that out! Greatly appreciated!
F h c: That sounds like something from the X-Files. "Trust no one." I can see Legolas saying that to Estel, lol.
Das Blume: I love how the actual review was in the three lines of P.S., lol. Yes, I am really happy you didn't kill me! Haha, "Kodak moment. . ." Oh jeez. He's got a poster of Oliver Wood Quidditch Captain up too. (I like him too, lol.) Well, my elvish to human ratio it 100:1 years. So when Legolas hit 100, it was like a human's first birthday. (I figured this out from movie verse.) So now that he's, 3,000 years old, he's the equivalent of 30. Aragorn IS thirty. So while Thranduil should view them as being equal, his prejudices make him view Aragorn as young. Not, baby young, but still. Did that make sense? No, it was just, "They never served the good wine to humans again. It suddenly wasn't as good when you were wearing it." Lo,, thanks for that very funny review. I was cracking up!
Bec: Lol, yeah, can you imagine what Thranduil must be thinking while he's choking at the table? Poor guy. No, it's cool, have fun house sitting ::wink:: I don't have a problem eating breakfast that early, but he would never be able to get me out of bed, lol!
Anolinde: Lol, thanks. I like the sarcasm between them too. Lol, haha, your reviews are hilarious. Can't you just see Elrond groaning at the thought of MORE orcs and his sons, in the same sentence? Nope, haven't written about Fal (Mithfalas) yet. ::smiles:: Yay! You caught on! Lol! Seriously, I love your reviews.
Nenya: Lol, uhm. . . the book hadn't originally been anything more than something he enjoyed, but that was originally. The second draft came out somewhat differently, but that's all I'm going to say. (I usually end up giving too much away when people ask questions. I just can't say no, lol.) Yes, there will a lot more of Mithfalas, not only in this story, but in stories still in the works. This will definitely not be the last in the series, I have one more already written after this, and several more in the process of being written. Yeah, I was trying to prove that Thranduil wasn't a bad guy, he just made ONE mistake, so that scene was actually quite crucial. I'm glad you liked it. Also, just because I'm feeling generous, something that Elrond said about Mithfalas in passing turns out to be very crucial later on, a few stories down the line. ::wink:: Thank you so much for the review!