CHAPTER 8 - Threats From The Dark
Thellind and his brothers were walking back to the palace in silence, after hunting down any orcs that had fled the earlier skirmish. They had, apparently, infiltrated the Mirkwood defences by killing any guard they saw, before the guard saw them. How they had managed it, Thellind was unsure. The Mirkwood warriors were some of the best in Middle Earth, but yet they had not been fast enough to kill a gang of lowly orcs. There had to be something else that they could not see.
He bit his lip, trying hard to concentrate on the problem. King Thranduil had sent them back to see Legolas and sent other scouts out. Thellind frowned. Most likely the king was worried about them, but they were old enough to look after themselves. It just wasn't fair!
Whilst he was thinking, the image of Legolas lying unconscious by the pool, when he had been first dragged out, sprang in to his thoughts. The prince blanched, feeling guilty.
"What is it little brother?"
Thellind looked up to see Oroweth, cleaning his sword on his sleeve. Their ada would not be pleased, but he could wait.
"I was thinking about Legolas," he muttered, "He could have been killed . . .and all because of me," his eyes strayed to the dark trees, and his slender fingers wrapped around the hilt of his sword. Something was still not right.
"'Twas not you who set the dare. I feel just as guilty as you do, or as I think you do, but how were we to know the foul orcs would attack?"
"We did not know. Do you think Nilwethion will still go in to the forest tonight? Ought I take back the dare?"
Oroweth nodded gravely.
"The game has done enough damage. Tell him as soon as we get back to the . . . what was that?" his head snapped around as he heard a 'crack' from the forest. Fitting an arrow to his bow, he stared hard in to the blackness.
"What was what?" asked Astaler, unsheathing his sword faster than a hungry hobbit could move. The other four elves also drew their weapons.
"I am sure I heard something. Something that should not be there," muttered the eldest of the group. Focusing on a point, he aimed his arrow, and then let go of the string. From quite close by, the princes heard a squawk of pain.
Exchanging looks, Oroweth and Astaler blended in with the undergrowth, making their way towards where the sound had come from. A few moments later they re-emerged.
"It was an orc," said Astaler grimly, "I think he was following us. Look," he held up a thick, black arrow with "Mirkwood," scrawled on it in untidy elvish runes. At the point where the feathers were attached was the symbol of their house. Nilwethion gasped.
"How did it get this close? It could have killed us - or at least one of us!"
Oroweth shrugged, looking around at the forest surrounding them.
"I do not know. We must ask adar as soon as he returns. Perhaps he knows something. Why else would he be so keen to send us back to the palace? Come on, we had better go. There may be others with their arrows trained on us."
As soon as the words had left the princes' mouth, a black arrow, similar to the one that they had just found, thudded in to the Thellind's shoulder. The prince fell over from the force of the arrow, and then pulled it out, wincing.
As he did, a thin black piece of parchment unrolled itself and dropped to the floor, which Nilwethion picked up.
"It is written in the common letters, but the language is the dark speech. I cannot read it. I say we get back to the palace as quickly as we can, and then we can ask adar,"
His brothers nodded and began walking back to the palace, much more quickly than they had been walking previously, and with their weapons out.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The princes were relieved when they were safely within the palace grounds again, but still on alert until they were right inside the stone halls. The first thing they noticed was the amount of warriors and guards scurrying about.
"I say we go and see Legolas," whispered Thellind, as they stood aside to let a group of three female warriors pass, nodding at them.
"I say we get you to a healer, you are still bleeding. That arrow may have been poisonous, and most likely was. Besides, what about Calensil?"
"I am here," a little voice from behind them startled the princes. They looked around to see Calensil frowning at them from the shoulders of Elladan. Nuryávië raised an eyebrow, but kept his mouth shut. So Calensil and found new prey? He wondered if the twins were as taken with the little princes as all the elves of Mirkwood, or if they had just given her a piggyback because it was her realm . . .in a way.
"Thellind! What happened?" she squealed, jumping down from Elladans back. The twins frowned as they, also, noticed the wound. Thellind shook his head, looking about at all the passing elves.
"I got hit in the shoulder by an orc," he muttered faintly, not liking the attention.
"You look pale," said Elrohir, "Was the arrow poisoned? We must find a healer. We could find my adar, if you like,"
Thellind shook his head.
"No, my shoulder does not need tending to. I doubt it was poison . . ."
Which is when he collapsed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Oroweth found himself holding the unconscious form of a sibling for the second time in a day. First it had been Legolas, on the side of the pool, and now it was Thellind. Who would it be next? Astaler? Nilwethion? Calensil? He shuddered at the very though of it.
"Open the door Astaler," he said, as the small group arrived at one of the infirmary rooms. The one that Legolas and Aliela were in.
Astaler opened the door, but just stood on the threshold and sighed. The reason soon became obvious,
"Legolas, Aliela, will you ever leave each other alone?" cried Nilwethion, as soon as he saw what was happening. Legolas, who was perched on the edge of a bed, looked at his feet, his face bright red.
"We were not doing anything," he muttered, taking hold of Aliela's hand. She smiled nervously and looked away.
"Only kissing . . . again!" cried the older prince in mock despair, "Anyway, I hope there are more than two beds in here," he said, looking around.
"Of course there are. Why?"
Oroweth walked through the doorway, carrying the limp form of Thellind. Legolas and Aliela gasped, and the young prince ran over to the bed where Oroweth put him.
"What happened?" he demanded, sitting down on the edge of the covers.
"The orcs. They followed us until we were away from the main group and then shot him. There was a message on the arrow. Take a look, if you like."
Astaler threw the piece of black parchment to Legolas, who looked at it but could not understand it. Aliela looked at the paper of his shoulder and covered her mouth. She grabbed the piece of paper and thrust it at the twins, who were sitting on the small table next to the bed. They reacted in a similar way.
"What is it? Can you read it?" asked Nilwethion. Nuryávië disappeared out of the room to find a healer.
"Yes we can read it, although I am not sure I want to," admitted Elladan, quiet for once, "Would you like to know what it says?"
The royals looked at each other, then nodded.
"Death to the house of Oropher," read Elrohir solemnly. He handed the note back to the shocked Oroweth.
"They want you dead. All of you," said Aliela.
Calensil began to cry loudly, and wrapped her arms around Legolas who lifted her up to comfort her. She carried on crying, making the only sound to break the stunned silence. The door banged open and Nuryávië hurried in with the healer. The stopped when they saw the faces of the assembled party.
"Find Adar," commanded Astaler, "And find him NOW,"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: I'm really sorry I didn't update last week, but I was swamped under with coursework and extra dance lessons. I just didn't get time. Besides, I had to re-write the chapter because I didn't like the first draught at all.
~~Personal Review Thingy~~
IMBEFANIEL~~ I hope you get over the writers block soon. I wasn't that lembas recipe!!!
GREENLEAFGRL ~~ There are cookies this time. There are always cookies for reviewers.
DAW THE MINSTREL ~~ I know, sorry. I'm not doing too well on the humour front. I should change 'humour' for 'angst' or 'action/adventure'
DOT ~~ Hehe, you're cruel! Legolas doesn't learn lessons like that very quickly. Our little prince quite likes being in a dangerous position.
ELFAER GILIELL ~~ So glad you like it. Sorry I took so long to update.
JUKIA ~~ they're glad they aren't dead too . . .
FIREANGEL ~~ Actually, I think it was quite funny. How could I have killed off either of them so early on? How could I kill them at all, come to think of it?
So yeah, thanks y'all for reviewing, or not reviewing, to you lurkers who I know are still there. Everyone has a coupla lurkers, and one day I will find you all. I've got y'all cookies, as usual, my wonderful muses are handing them out.
Lots of luv,
==X=X==EMQU==X=X==
Thellind and his brothers were walking back to the palace in silence, after hunting down any orcs that had fled the earlier skirmish. They had, apparently, infiltrated the Mirkwood defences by killing any guard they saw, before the guard saw them. How they had managed it, Thellind was unsure. The Mirkwood warriors were some of the best in Middle Earth, but yet they had not been fast enough to kill a gang of lowly orcs. There had to be something else that they could not see.
He bit his lip, trying hard to concentrate on the problem. King Thranduil had sent them back to see Legolas and sent other scouts out. Thellind frowned. Most likely the king was worried about them, but they were old enough to look after themselves. It just wasn't fair!
Whilst he was thinking, the image of Legolas lying unconscious by the pool, when he had been first dragged out, sprang in to his thoughts. The prince blanched, feeling guilty.
"What is it little brother?"
Thellind looked up to see Oroweth, cleaning his sword on his sleeve. Their ada would not be pleased, but he could wait.
"I was thinking about Legolas," he muttered, "He could have been killed . . .and all because of me," his eyes strayed to the dark trees, and his slender fingers wrapped around the hilt of his sword. Something was still not right.
"'Twas not you who set the dare. I feel just as guilty as you do, or as I think you do, but how were we to know the foul orcs would attack?"
"We did not know. Do you think Nilwethion will still go in to the forest tonight? Ought I take back the dare?"
Oroweth nodded gravely.
"The game has done enough damage. Tell him as soon as we get back to the . . . what was that?" his head snapped around as he heard a 'crack' from the forest. Fitting an arrow to his bow, he stared hard in to the blackness.
"What was what?" asked Astaler, unsheathing his sword faster than a hungry hobbit could move. The other four elves also drew their weapons.
"I am sure I heard something. Something that should not be there," muttered the eldest of the group. Focusing on a point, he aimed his arrow, and then let go of the string. From quite close by, the princes heard a squawk of pain.
Exchanging looks, Oroweth and Astaler blended in with the undergrowth, making their way towards where the sound had come from. A few moments later they re-emerged.
"It was an orc," said Astaler grimly, "I think he was following us. Look," he held up a thick, black arrow with "Mirkwood," scrawled on it in untidy elvish runes. At the point where the feathers were attached was the symbol of their house. Nilwethion gasped.
"How did it get this close? It could have killed us - or at least one of us!"
Oroweth shrugged, looking around at the forest surrounding them.
"I do not know. We must ask adar as soon as he returns. Perhaps he knows something. Why else would he be so keen to send us back to the palace? Come on, we had better go. There may be others with their arrows trained on us."
As soon as the words had left the princes' mouth, a black arrow, similar to the one that they had just found, thudded in to the Thellind's shoulder. The prince fell over from the force of the arrow, and then pulled it out, wincing.
As he did, a thin black piece of parchment unrolled itself and dropped to the floor, which Nilwethion picked up.
"It is written in the common letters, but the language is the dark speech. I cannot read it. I say we get back to the palace as quickly as we can, and then we can ask adar,"
His brothers nodded and began walking back to the palace, much more quickly than they had been walking previously, and with their weapons out.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The princes were relieved when they were safely within the palace grounds again, but still on alert until they were right inside the stone halls. The first thing they noticed was the amount of warriors and guards scurrying about.
"I say we go and see Legolas," whispered Thellind, as they stood aside to let a group of three female warriors pass, nodding at them.
"I say we get you to a healer, you are still bleeding. That arrow may have been poisonous, and most likely was. Besides, what about Calensil?"
"I am here," a little voice from behind them startled the princes. They looked around to see Calensil frowning at them from the shoulders of Elladan. Nuryávië raised an eyebrow, but kept his mouth shut. So Calensil and found new prey? He wondered if the twins were as taken with the little princes as all the elves of Mirkwood, or if they had just given her a piggyback because it was her realm . . .in a way.
"Thellind! What happened?" she squealed, jumping down from Elladans back. The twins frowned as they, also, noticed the wound. Thellind shook his head, looking about at all the passing elves.
"I got hit in the shoulder by an orc," he muttered faintly, not liking the attention.
"You look pale," said Elrohir, "Was the arrow poisoned? We must find a healer. We could find my adar, if you like,"
Thellind shook his head.
"No, my shoulder does not need tending to. I doubt it was poison . . ."
Which is when he collapsed.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Oroweth found himself holding the unconscious form of a sibling for the second time in a day. First it had been Legolas, on the side of the pool, and now it was Thellind. Who would it be next? Astaler? Nilwethion? Calensil? He shuddered at the very though of it.
"Open the door Astaler," he said, as the small group arrived at one of the infirmary rooms. The one that Legolas and Aliela were in.
Astaler opened the door, but just stood on the threshold and sighed. The reason soon became obvious,
"Legolas, Aliela, will you ever leave each other alone?" cried Nilwethion, as soon as he saw what was happening. Legolas, who was perched on the edge of a bed, looked at his feet, his face bright red.
"We were not doing anything," he muttered, taking hold of Aliela's hand. She smiled nervously and looked away.
"Only kissing . . . again!" cried the older prince in mock despair, "Anyway, I hope there are more than two beds in here," he said, looking around.
"Of course there are. Why?"
Oroweth walked through the doorway, carrying the limp form of Thellind. Legolas and Aliela gasped, and the young prince ran over to the bed where Oroweth put him.
"What happened?" he demanded, sitting down on the edge of the covers.
"The orcs. They followed us until we were away from the main group and then shot him. There was a message on the arrow. Take a look, if you like."
Astaler threw the piece of black parchment to Legolas, who looked at it but could not understand it. Aliela looked at the paper of his shoulder and covered her mouth. She grabbed the piece of paper and thrust it at the twins, who were sitting on the small table next to the bed. They reacted in a similar way.
"What is it? Can you read it?" asked Nilwethion. Nuryávië disappeared out of the room to find a healer.
"Yes we can read it, although I am not sure I want to," admitted Elladan, quiet for once, "Would you like to know what it says?"
The royals looked at each other, then nodded.
"Death to the house of Oropher," read Elrohir solemnly. He handed the note back to the shocked Oroweth.
"They want you dead. All of you," said Aliela.
Calensil began to cry loudly, and wrapped her arms around Legolas who lifted her up to comfort her. She carried on crying, making the only sound to break the stunned silence. The door banged open and Nuryávië hurried in with the healer. The stopped when they saw the faces of the assembled party.
"Find Adar," commanded Astaler, "And find him NOW,"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: I'm really sorry I didn't update last week, but I was swamped under with coursework and extra dance lessons. I just didn't get time. Besides, I had to re-write the chapter because I didn't like the first draught at all.
~~Personal Review Thingy~~
IMBEFANIEL~~ I hope you get over the writers block soon. I wasn't that lembas recipe!!!
GREENLEAFGRL ~~ There are cookies this time. There are always cookies for reviewers.
DAW THE MINSTREL ~~ I know, sorry. I'm not doing too well on the humour front. I should change 'humour' for 'angst' or 'action/adventure'
DOT ~~ Hehe, you're cruel! Legolas doesn't learn lessons like that very quickly. Our little prince quite likes being in a dangerous position.
ELFAER GILIELL ~~ So glad you like it. Sorry I took so long to update.
JUKIA ~~ they're glad they aren't dead too . . .
FIREANGEL ~~ Actually, I think it was quite funny. How could I have killed off either of them so early on? How could I kill them at all, come to think of it?
So yeah, thanks y'all for reviewing, or not reviewing, to you lurkers who I know are still there. Everyone has a coupla lurkers, and one day I will find you all. I've got y'all cookies, as usual, my wonderful muses are handing them out.
Lots of luv,
==X=X==EMQU==X=X==