Chapter 10
Here it is people. I hope you enjoy it.
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Narrator's POV
It was noon and the East-West road was empty as travelers sought respite from the scorching heat.
One of the main roads in Middle Earth, it connected to every other main highway; long dusty tracks that stretched for mile upon endless mile. Towns stood like sad old men, their eyes shuttered against the heat and dust, age cracking their supports.
Some distance away, at the foot of the South Downs was another town.
Was it a travelers town?
No.
Vanerr was a forgotten, not many knew of it, and not many cared. It was ideal in a sense.
The town itself was quiet, and not a soul could be seen walking in the overwhelming heat.
The wind would occasionally pick up and blow puffs of dust across the town square, little ghosts of life. Ghosts….
As the sun set, and darkness bled across the sky, whispers of sound would float to Bree. And the patrons sitting in the White Horse tavern would hear the sounds of laughter and music carry in the wind, from where they knew not.
It was an eerie haunting music that sought to call the dead from their graves, and the life from the living.
A town of cutthroats men said. A town of whores and thieves women whispered. And the old men sitting outside smoking their pipes shook their heads sagely. A town of ghosts.
Superstitious folk whispered about demons.
Rational folk didn't need an explanation. They stayed away from the South Downs.
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The moon had long since set on the lonely road to Fornost, leaving only bitter darkness to pave the way. The only sounds that could be heard was the furious pounding of the horses' hooves as they flew across the moor. The head of the guards fixed his eyes on the road ahead, cursing the greed that had lead him to accept Girond's proposition.
When the old merchant had approached him it had seemed simple. Deliver ten talents worth of merchandise, one twentieth of which would be his pay, to Fornost by mid-week. They were to stop under no conditions, and he was to hire fifteen men to guard the transport.
The whole mission from start to finish had been shrouded in the utmost secrecy for fear of the Ghost. Although he repeatedly told Girond that the bandit had never gone as far as Fornost, this did nothing to alleviate the merchant's fear.
He himself had only been given the details the night before. He had gone out and celebrated his good fortune immediately with an alluring green-eyed wench, whose price had been more than fair for her services. As he remembered that so skilled mouth he groaned in frustration as heat rushed to his groin and he pushed his mount harder.
It was a bad night to ride; he felt it like an itch under his skin and perhaps that was the reason for his unease. Ever since they'd left he felt something….off. He glanced around again, briefly scanning ahead. To his right was a densely wooded area, about a kilometer away, and save for a shallow patch of bush up ahead, all was flat for miles around.
But it was still far too quiet. On a whim he glanced back towards the forest, and the breath died in his lungs as the tableau unfolded before him.
Like wraiths of the night the black horses came, the dark spitting them out like one of hell's own. Flowing smoothly over the flat ground, like water over stone, they rapidly began to eat up the distance as they dashed towards the train.
There were only five that closed in, but it wasn't the number but their manner that stole the air from his lungs. They worked in complete unison, their actions smooth and controlled, as if they could hear each other's thoughts; the effect was so unnerving. As they drew closer, he found his voice, and drawing back towards the center right to face them, he yelled, "UNDER ATTACK!" As he smoothly drew his sword from its scabbard, his men quickly drew tightly around the wagon, the standard square defense formation perfectly locked. Five against fifteen highly trained mercenaries were losing odds he thought viciously, even for hell.
Before his thought had finished however, and before he even managed to formulate the word victory, hell did in fact break loose. A feathered arrow buried itself in the shoulder of the driver who controlled the horse drawn wagon. That in and of itself would not have been a catastrophe, if the shallow patch of bush he'd glimpsed earlier had not suddenly begun to move. Turning to slowly to react, he saw three figures quickly move the barricade directly in the path of the charging steeds. And although the first two horses cleared it, the second two did not, and neither did the wagon, which like a slow moving colossus, trembled and then as the wheels gave way under the pressure, toppled over to the left with a resounding crash, taking out the left flank. And no sooner did this register than the five horsemen were upon them, their swords flashing like serpent tongues.
And that was all he knew before he locked swords with one of them, his face covered by a black mask, and only his eyes visible over the dark cloth.
Desperately trying to maintain his hold on the horse and his sword, he quickly found himself outclassed by the other who used both his sword and horse as mere extensions of himself, manipulating both with an astounding fluidity. He could barely keep his eyes training on the quicksilver movements that danced before his eyes.
It was over in a matter of minutes, and he found himself flat on the ground, the sword pushing against his throat. His men were on the ground trussed, surrounded by ten men, all swathed similarly.
One, a smaller figure detached himself from the rest and came towards the captain, his steps quick and light.
The man bent close, and the captain could hear the triumphant smile in his voice as he said, "Never trust a whore Captain. Especially one who sleeps with you for half the going price."
Laughter rose among the group as he stared angrily into the man's eerily gold eyes.
And with a small nod to his captor, the slim one walked away, swallowed back into the dark.
That was all he remembered before the sword was lifted from his throat, and blinding pain split through his head, bringing blissful blackness.
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"Fresh fruit! Fresh fruit ripe from Elynos! Fresh fruit!" The young boy shouted himself hoarse as he stood at his stall. And the noise rose as each sought to draw buyers to their wares.
"Your mother's riper! Tastes better too!" One man said, his companions laughing around him.
As the boy reached for him angrily, still to young to learn caution, a hand restrained him.
He looked at the woman grasping him strongly, her face tanned and lined around the eyes, with dark hair threaded thinly with white.
"I'll buy a bushel" she said quietly, calm authority adding to an already rich voice.
He hurried to fill her order as she quietly pointed out the fruit and vegetables she desired.
"Whats the news about town boy?" She said surreptitiously, examining a cabbage wilting from the heat.
He spoke as he packed everything into the sack, dousing the fruits with lukewarm water. He spoke animatedly and she absorbed everything with an absentminded interest.
"And did you know ma'am that only yesterday the Ghost robbed another caravan off the East-West Road? There were a hundred guards all armed and he defeated them, killing fifty and leaving the rest to die of thirst! They just found empty boxes ma'am, overturned every which way. But no footprints or anything else. Nothing because it was the Ghost," He said in a hushed whisper.
She looked at him with a slight smile, amusement evident in her eyes, "How interesting."
As he finished she thanked him and giving him more coins than necessary, she walked away and melted back into the crowd.
Others also separated themselves and followed her; their paths casually intersecting. Saddling her mule, the woman slowly plodded away. Some six miles from town they all met up.
One man, with a dirty bandanna tying back his hair looked at her, "Did you get everything you wanted."
"Yes," she said, her hands tightening across the reins as he reached on tightly muscled arm across her to relieve her of the heavy packages.
The others stayed behind, occasionally making lewd jokes, or talking animatedly amongst themselves, always in a hushed whisper.
"Good news or bad?" He spoke again.
She nodded her head noncommittently
"Are you ever going to look at me? Am I that terrifying?" He said with good humor, and she turned and looked at him for a long while.
Heavily browned skin with gleaming white teeth. Kind warm eyes, a melting brown that could become as cold and hard as riverbed stones with the draw of a sword. She had seen him change and she hadn't forgotten. It had after all been in her defense. Raveyn's right hand man. Tivaer.
She smiled.
"A smile by God. My dear lady, someday you will make my heart stop," he said good-naturedly, his warm chuckle lifting her.
Leia turned her head towards Vanerr.
Raveyn's POV
I opened weary eyes, as the ceiling above me gradually came into focus. My head felt like a thousand dwarves were pounding away at it. Splashing water on my face, I stayed in doors, propping my legs on the table and letting my shirt fall open.
I tried to recall last night and couldn't. Rubbing my eyes I kept my mind blissfully blank as I tried to still the hammering in my head.
"I warned you," Leia said from the doorway, her voice clipped and prim.
She always hated seeing me drink too much. I had too though. Sometimes I just needed to forget.
"You always do love. You always do," I said returning my legs to the ground and massaging my head.
"Then why? You were so pissed you could barely crawl," She said angrily, bustling around
"I was crawling? Amazing," I thought, " I'll have to remedy that in the future." I noted seriously, grimacing from the pain.
"Being a vegetable has its appeal does it?" She said crossly as she moved busily around the small space.
"I always did wonder what it would be like to be a cabbage. Just sit there fat and happy under the sun. Quite-" The world began to dip and move around me and I cradled my head as agony hit again.
"Leia," I said between clenched teeth, "Stop. Moving. Around."
She tut-tutted muttering a quiet 'I told you so.'
After a little while I asked her warily, "How did the trip to Bree go?"
She patted the dust from her skirt, and billowed around her, a soft cloud of gray.
"I got all the supplies we needed if that's what your asking. There wasn't any trouble and nobody saw so don't worry."
I waited.
"Oh yes. Apparently, in the raid yesterday, you singlehandedly slaughtered fifty men."
My eyebrow rose in incredulity, "Fifty? A single day and the number has already jumped to fifty? How many did they say were in the bloody caravan?"
"One hundred" Leia said smiling.
I laughed clutching my stomach, "One hundred. By the end of the week it will be me blindfolded with one arm tied behind my back hopping on one leg against 300 men."
"Don't forget the broken sword" Leia added.
I kept laughing as I slid to the ground, stretching out on the hay, "Well the rumors only help."
"Quite a reputation you have Ghost. And they think you're a man."
"Men generally do. The concept of a competent women is foreign to everything but their pricks."
She chuckled softly but it was forced. She was holding something back.
"The news Leia. What is it?" I asked quietly.
Hesitation and concern weighed heavily about her.
"There will be an elvin train staying at Bree in a month's time. On its way to the Shire," she said troubled.
After the first few moments of silence I sat up and casually asked, "Who?"
"I don't know."
I glanced at her carefully, and nodded.
"An elvin caravan. Bound to be a rich one. They don't come this far from Rivendell without good cause," I said reasonably.
He couldn't be on it I told myself.
"No Raveyn. Humans are one thing. Elves are quite another. They can fight and you damn well know that better than I," Leia said tremulously.
Could he? What would he be doing so far from Mirkwood?
"Raveyn" Leia said worriedly.
There really was no choice to be made and I knew it. That caravan would be taken. IT was inevitable I mused; the magic words.
"Your reason Raveyn. I need to know your reason."
I opened my eyes innocently, "Why Leia, what other reason but money?"
It was worth it. It had to be worth it. That was my only reason.
"Our greatest asset Leia is that elves underestimate humans. They will never conceive of the possibility that they would be attacked en route. And they won't. Because we most definitely won't attack them on the road. No no…." I said my thoughts trailing away as I fought to restrain exploring other long forgotten paths in my mind.
Leia shook her head and frowned.
"Relax love, its not about him. I am not doing this because of him," I said seriously.
Its not because of him. It never was. Never.
She didn't believe me. Her shoulders were tensed as she stared at me, worry practically pouring off her. I became irritated.
"Its been two years. Two years is a long time for forgetting," I said tamping down my anger.
A long time for anything, even for pain.
"And have you?" She asked those piercing eyes regarding me.
"Yes." It came fluidly to my lips, so much so that I didn't even have to think. It had become so practiced.
She held my gaze for a moment longer.
"Is the inspection over?" I asked drily.
She turned away and ran her hands through her hair putting away strands.
"Anything else Leia?"
"Only a rumor," she said wrapping her hair up.
I traced idle patterns on the ground.
"Legolas is marrying Cassandra."
Silence.
"How quaint. I am sure once he overcomes her murderous impulses they can have a meaningful relationship," I said caustically.
Two years, and I would be damned if I would still let his life affect mine. He cut me off without a word as one would a dog.
I wasn't about to forget that night. I hated him for that night. With a few callous words he stripped away everything I had so carefully built over the years. He didn't need an explanation, I was only a servant after all. I didn't matter. What he did…. My teeth clenched as I fought back the memories. I was nobody's bitch.
"You still care. You still do and don't deny it," Leia said. Leia who had been watching me closely, those sharp eyes searching for something.
I laughed angrily, all my frustration echoing in that sound. "He can go to hell and roast for all I care," I said, my patience fast wearing thin.
"You care enough to hate," she said.
Two years and Leia had become my quiet voiced pillar of strength. She had grown into her own, wisdom residing in those warm eyes. The time had erased some of the pain that had etched crows feet at the corners of her eyes. She smiled now at least, occasionally laughing. Usually it was Tivaer that made her laugh.
She was happy. As happy as Leia could get.
But she didn't understand right now. She couldn't. The years had weighed too heavily on me, and some days it just hurt to push on. Why did she think I drank? For the singular pleasure of my head being hammered in two?
It was for forgetting. The blissful peace of oblivion, and the cooling darkness it brought.
It was as if I lived my life under a blistering sun that ripped away all pretense and falsity, leaving only white boned ugliness. I needed my darkness, I needed my shadows. I drank them hungrily, because in them I could relax and forget, if only for a little while.
But there was always a price I thought grimly, as pain redoubled in my head.
Rubbing my temples tiredly I asked Leia to leave.
She quietly complied, shutting the door firmly behind her.
The noise echoed for a little while in the lofty barn.
I sighed heavily and my eyes watered in frustration.
Damn you, you bastard. Damn you. Two years and you wont go away.
I slammed my knife into the table, driving it in to the hilt.
Two years and your eyes are still the last thing I see at night.
I reached for the tankard of stale wine.
"Well Cat? You want to get down to business or should I let you stab the rest of the furniture and drink yourself into your grave?"
I turned to see Tivaer leaning lazily against the doorway, his limbs deceptively relaxed, and that easy smile ever present on his face.
"I'll take the grave".
"Oh its another one of these moods is it? My life is terrible, my past is terrible, I have suffered cruel horrors you could never know. I am terrible. Oh woe is me," He said dramatically raising a hand to his brow, his tone a horrible falsetto.
"You are such a bastard" I said smiling as I slumped in my seat.
"Practice makes perfect," he responded easily.
"Did Leia say the same?" I asked.
He grimaced, "You know better than I that Leia rarely says much."
I smiled, "She's a tough broad Tivaer. Many men have tried and crashed miserably on the sharp rocks of failure."
"Better men?" He asked, with a slight eyebrow raised, that rakish gleam lighting those wicked eyes.
I shook my head, and he nodded as if satisfied.
"What's the target?" He asked back to business.
"Elvin caravan passing through Bree. Don't know how many guards. Don't know the escort. Don't know the time. Don't know much save for the fact that they will be relieved of their belongings some time during the night."
He grunted in dissatisfaction, "That's a lot of I-don't-knows Cat. The men won't like it. Especially since its elves. I don't think so."
He said it with such surety and finality that I was moved to anger.
"You always trusted me before. Why not know? Have I ever steered you or your men wrong? When I make promises Tivaer, I damn well keep them. Just give me time," I said pounding my fist on the table.
"And you have kept all of them, but," He sighed and ran a hand through his loosely tied hair.
He was silent for a while.
"You trusted me before," I said quietly, watching him carefully.
"I always did. You inspired trust lass. But do you know why?" He asked seriously.
"Because I came through every time," I said. Of that I was proud, in more than a year I had lead dozens of successful raids, each executed brilliantly; diamonds with edges that ripped.
"No. I trusted you because of your fire. You had balls Cat, you strutted in as cool as you please and laid down the rules amongst men who would have skewered you for breakfast and don't say that they couldn't have," he said.
I remained silent, holding back tears of gratitude. Without Tivaer….
"You were honorable Cat, and among thieves honor is rarer than red gold."
"Then trust me this time Vae. This time, please. I need you."
He remained silent, and then with a sudden sparkle in his eyes, spoke.
"Did you know the picture you made that day Cat? The day we met." He asked, his mind already traveling back.
"I have no doubt you will tell me. Again. For the thousandth time," I said glumly, already knowing what was coming. I sat down and again reached for the wine, but he took it out of my grasp and began talking.
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Flashback a year and a half ago. It's a small tavern at the very end of town. Prostitutes, mercenaries, and gamblers plied their trades on the filthy tables, and the air was filled with the smell of bad beer, urine, and sex. The bar was at the very center of the large tavern, which was packed full. Chairs and tables were crammed all around, and a few very large waitresses, with amply heaving bosoms served the men, who raucously called out their orders.
"Bloody brillian' Tivaer," Rono said slapping him on the shoulder, "Couldna ha' done better me self."
Beer sloshed over the mugs as the men rowdily congratulated themselves. Tivaer smiled broadly as he basked in the praise. It had been amazing that they had even pulled off such a large catch. A caravan rich enough to satisfy some of the larger more experienced groups.
He glanced around the tavern headily, spying a buxom redhead eyeing him from one of the far corners of the room. He glanced at her appreciatively. He did need company tonight, and she looked like just the right sort.
"Excuse me" a small voice said to his left, and turning he saw a smallish woman in nondescript shift standing close to the table. He hadn't seen her approach, and glancing her over he knew why. She was plain, and that was putting it kindly. When he would think about her later, he would find it odd how she blended so easily. Indistinguishable from the patrons and the woodwork she stood statue still, as if movement itself would endanger her.
"Run away little girl, I have no time to play" he said dismissingly and turned toward his men who hadn't noticed anything.
She just stood there, and although he was determined not to turn, he could feel her presence like a weight at his back.
She stood there stock still, not moving, as if she had all the time in the world.
His men noticed his anxiety and they glanced questioningly at him, the table slowly hushing.
Turning angrily toward her he hissed angrily, "What?"
With those eyes trained on him, Tivaer realized suddenly that he had made a mistake earlier. Those eyes saved her from plainness.
Doe slanted, thickly lashed yellow eyes that glanced musingly at him. Eyes that weren't those of a girl's; there was too much pain and too much…knowing. She looked at him with a subtle superiority as if she knew what kind of man he was. Knew what drove him, knew what he desired. It infuriated him.
"Your attack earlier" she began…
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He struck the table so hard in his mirth it jilted the tankard. I watched sadly as all the wine poured into the cracks.
He was still talking animatedly, "We were such a thoroughly disreputable looking lot, that anyone approaching us would have been a surprise. But you did. A scrawny scrap of girl with blazing gold eyes coming up and telling me all the faults of the raid I had carried out. All the ways I could have gotten caught. And then detailing exactly how it should have been carried out," he said, and then mimicking me, " 'If the left flank had been more heavily guarded, as any competent commander would have immediately seen to, your so called brilliant attack wouldn't just have failed, you would all have been imprisoned and then rightly tortured horribly for your stupidity.'" He laughed so hard tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, "Imagine!" He said, his rich baritone carrying to the rafters.
"I can't possibly imagine Tivaer. Its not as if I was there or anything," I said sarcastically.
"Telling me I could have done better!" He said incredulously ignoring me. He always did this. Always. The story never bored him.
"Well you most certainly could have done better. That had to be the worst caravan robbery I ever witnessed. You should thank the stars the captain was a bumbling idiot, otherwise your freedom would have lasted about as long as Donnor's stamina." I said loudly, smiling as I turned to face Donnor's dimpled eavesdropping visage.
He protested loudly as Tivaer burst into fresh peals of laughter.
"That's what you get for trying to sneak up on your betters" I said tying my shirt which had drawn his attention downwards.
"I wasn't listening! I was…er…trying to….uh er…catch the chickens," he stammered.
Tivaer and I glanced around the chickenless barn.
"The imaginary ones I suppose?" I said drily.
Donnor was no Tivaer. Tavaer with his quick quips and quicker blade. A magnificent swordsman, a keen planner, and a loyal friend, Tivaer was unreplaceable.
Donnor, our latest recruit was still green and too clumsy by half. But put a bow and arrow in his hand, and he was in his element. I had seen him shoot a parrot's tether at over three hundred and fifty paces, on a dare. We needed a good marksman, and Donnor was one of the best.
"What's the plan?" Donnor asked.
"Elves" we responded in unison, and calling the rest, we set to planning.
Narrator (Legolas POV)
The Shire he thought pleasantly. They were going to the shire. It had been a long time since he had visited his little friends. Affairs of state had kept him much preoccupied for some time.
Slowly untangling himself from the sheets, and slipping out from underneath that milk pale arm thrown across him, he swiftly dressed and moved toward his work chambers. Sitting behind the ornately carved desk, he looked at the signature seal of Mirkwood emblazoned across the fine dark wood. It had been good to return home but…there was a restlessness in him that Mirkwood couldn't satisfy. It always beat under his skin, an incessant pounding that couldn't be dulled; it ate away at everything, even lovely, cool, Mirkwood.
For a while though, for a little while that beat had been dulled. For a very little while it had faded away, melting back into the cracks of his soul, leaving him whole. He laughed mirthlessly as he shuffled papers across his desk, while in his minds eye an arched gold gaze stared knowingly. Those pert wide lips quirked in that small smile.
It had been two years since that day. Time had passed differently since her.
He sat still for a while, enjoying the silence. Nothing could be heard but the wind rustling the leaves.
"Mmm love awake so soon?" Cassandra said huskily, a sheet loosely wrapped around her.
He looked at her slim loveliness, once again struck by the woman's sheer beauty. The cream sheets wrapped around her lovingly, showcasing long slim legs and offsetting that glorious black hair. Tilting violet eyes regarded him.
She sauntered toward him, the sheet slowly falling away as she came to stand before him.
Shoving the papers off the desk, she settled onto it, her legs slowly falling apart as she pulled him in between them. Deftly she untied the laces of his shirt.
He remained motionless as she slipped it off him, merely watching her with that unsettling heated gaze. Tilting the corners of her lips, she slid one arch foot up his thigh, rubbing gentle insistent circles that increased in pressure as her foot moved towards his groin. She casually brushed her foot across, an arch smile on her face.
He moved.
Pushing her foot away he stepped between her legs cupping her face as he angled his lips over hers, kissing her hotly as his hands tangled in the masses of her hair. Bowing her backwards he laid her flat on the desk, her feet dangling above the ground as he slid calloused hands over her smooth aching body. His lips and teeth grazed across her skin as he slid them across one perfect breast, the pink aureole beading hard under his attentions. She could feel the points of the Mirkwood emblem digging themselves into her back as he slowly pressed himself in between her legs, spreading them widely.
Gripping onto him strongly, she roughly held his quick rhythm, moving her hips to time with his as she arched into his heat, raking sharp nails down his back.
Afterwards, she excused herself and left immediately to the bathroom eager to see it. Closing the door after her, she looked over her shoulder at the looking glass.
There, on her back, was the perfect imprint of the Mirkwood seal.
Narrator's POV
The weeks passed slowly in Vanerr, the days spent planning, and the nights spent boozing and drinking. Occasionally Raveyn would have Orpheus play a tune on his fiddle, and the sweet haunting sounds would pour across the room, sliding over the floorboards and through the cracks into the wide open sky where it was carried on the vast whistling wind. The music would wrap around her, and its sadness spoke to her. She would drink and drink and drink silently, thinking. Everyoneknew not to bother her then.
Slowly though, the time drew close to the caravan's arrival.
They would section into two groups. The caravan cargo would be held in the basement of the inn at which the Elves would stay, the King's Arms. The first group led by Raveyn would create a distraction in the south end of town, drawing as much attention as possible to the brawl. Tivaer would then unlock the cellar gate with the help of a friend he had made in the tavern. Only the most valuable things would be taken, so as not to burden them with heavy weights. The guard changed every hour and that only took a short time. Raveyn gained some more time by giving one of the tavern wenches a few coins to slip a powder into the guards' soup.
The powder, needless to say, required frequent bathroom breaks.
*********
An hour to midnight
The night finally arrived and Raveyn and her men were already situated at the bar in the south end. Dressed in a provocative outfit, with an illfitting black wig, she coarsened her language and jutted her breasts. Glancing around at the customers she searched for the one she needed.
Too thin, too mild, too spoiled, too ill; one by one she crossed them off, her patience never wavering as she searched.
And then she found him. He was perfect, glum looking with a puckered scar across one eye and a chip on his shoulder that just screamed to be taken advantage of.
Nodding to the rest of her crew she threw her shoulders back and sauntered across the room.
If there was one thing that could drive men to throw caution and sanity to the winds, woman was it.
Tivaer
He and four others waited quietly in the foliage their swords tense at their hips. They barely moved as they watched the guard fidget with his breeches. It was half an hour to midnight and he was shifting back and forth. Tivaer smiled as he heard the shouting and yelling coming from the South end of Bree. Nobody could start a fight like his hellcat.
The guard turned nervously peering around, trying to see any hint of trouble.
Twenty to Twelve.
The guard was getting more restless and Tivaer could almost see the thoughts running through his head.It was a cold miserable night, his bowels were aching and he was forced to stand guard for some pointy eared hoity toity elves from Rivendell.
At barely fifteen to Twelve the guard took one last glance around the deserted clearing, and then took off for the bushes on the other end of the tavern.
This was it. Moving silently they slipped in, Tivaer working deftly at the lock. Slowly the tumblers opened and the lock clicked open.
Half Past Twelve
She had changed quickly, the wig and clothing quickly discarded for male garb. The place was a complete madhouse, with men, women, and animals joining the fight. Earlier she had seen a chicken steadfastly latched to a screaming man's head. As they left out the door she turned back for one last glance at the scene before her, as a bubble of laughter rose in her throat.
What easy fools men could be.
Most of the furniture was broken and in pieces scattered around the wooden floor. People were being launched around like paperweights; she watched a slim young man sail through the air to crash into the bar, glass shattering in his wake. Her man, the one with the scar, was blindly slugging anything that came too near. The tusked boar head on the wall was knocked off, slamming into some poor bystander's head.
She laughed happily; mayhem certainly had a beauty all on its own.
Tivaer
There were chests of gold, and boxes filled with myriad silks and brocades. It was an enormous amount of wealth, compared to their recent pickings. Taking his pack he scooped up equal portions of gold from all the chests to make sure the change wouldn't be noticed. His men did the same with the other belongings; a little bit here and there. As they had snuffed all the torches and were ready to leave, they heard a soft footfall at the door.
His men glanced fearfully at him. It couldn't be the guard, Tivaer thought. It was far too soon he should have had at least another ten minutes before he arrived.
Carefully making his way to the steps leading to the door he flattened himself against the wall and silently drew his sword.
They had no time. They had to leave now, whoever it was would simply hinder them. By the time the guard came it would be too late to leave and they would be trapped till morning. Tivaer had no desire to explain how he came to be in such a compromising position.
On the other hand, if Tivaer attacked the guard then his absence would be noted and the alarm would be raised. They couldn't afford that.
The door opened slowly, but before whoever it was could step in, another voice joined in. A woman's voice.
Tivaer cursed his luck; he would have to do this quickly. They were both by the door he noted, and if he surprised them they might not have time to yell and alert the guards.
He was going to throttle Raveyn for pushing him into this insanity.
Motioning to one of his men, they crept closer to the door.
The two voices were heated in argument and he thanked the stars that at least something was going his way.
Slamming through the door, his man crashed into the woman and took her down, one hand over her mouth.
Turning to face his opponent, he grinned in anticipation. A pretty boy, with long blonde hair and such delicate features, Tivaer almost scoffed in disgust.
That however was before the boy's stance hardened; the lines of his body changed as he stepped back to face Tivaer, his hard eyes glinting in the moonlight. Those weren't a boy's eyes. Not by a long shot.
In an instant the man was on him, swiftly disarming him and tackling him to the ground.
As they wrestled, limbs thrashing, Tivaer realized, that for perhaps the first time in his long life, he was fighting a losing battle. The man above him, gripping his arms like a vice, was faster and far stronger than he.
His elbow pressed against Tivaer's throat, closing off his air supply and choking him slowly.
But whoever he was, he didn't react quickly enough to avoid the blow Donor gave him from behind the head. He crumpled and slid to the side, his hair curtaining his face.
Tivaer quickly stepped up and surveyed the problem, rubbing his aching throat as he glared down at the man before him.
What a mess he thought angrily. What a goddamned bloody mess.
They couldn't leave them here, they had to take both of them; he knew that. Hopefully they wouldn't be important enough to be missed in the morning.
He had to get to Raveyn. Raveyn would know what to do. Raveyn always knew what to do.
Gathering the two bodies, his men quickly locked the door again. Erasing any signs of a struggle, they quickly slipped away leaving nary a swaying branch.
Tivaer's POV
She was going to be so mad, I thought grimly, trying to arrange the young man comfortably in front of me, as he tilted to the side again. He was still knocked out cold I noted absently; not dead though. The woman had fainted and her black hair whipped wildly in the wind; he could see Donor struggling to maintain his hold on her; her silks were making it rather difficult.
Vanerr's gates loomed up ahead and I thanked the Gods. Stopping I turned and glanced behind me, as the rest of my crew rode in. We hadn't been followed, there was nothing for miles and miles on end.
Tethering my horse, I hoisted the blonde one off the horse and dragged him to the barn.
"What are we going to do Tivaer? What are wegoingtodo?" Donor said panicking, his words blurring as he forgot to breathe.
I was amused that he thought so highly of me, because I had no goddamn idea.
Actually I did. Sort of.
"Tie the girl. Rope her hands and feet," I said as I dragged the man and clasped the iron manacles over his wrists and ankles.
"Now what do we do?" He asked looking at me trustingly.
"Now we go hang ourselves" I said bravely, smoothing my hair back and squaring my shoulders.
"What?" Donor said, his eyes huge.
"I said now we go tell Raveyn." This was going to be fun. Leaving the boy trailing behind me, I knocked on her door.
Leia opened the door, and in one movement threw her arms around me, "Your back!"
Surprised I closed my arms around her, "maybe I should leave more often."
She looked up at me, her eyes beaming, and I felt a curious tightness in my chest as I held her, "You horrid man. I was worried about you," she said, suddenly looking at my shirt, drawing tiny circles with her fingers as I held her. It felt magnificent. Simply amazing.
"Leia…" I began hesitantly.
"Yes?" She said, those warm inviting eyes open.
"Leia, I - I - " What should I say? What could I say? How do you tell an angel you love her? Especially one you are so undeserving of.
It turned out I wasn't destined to find out.
"Tivaer, how did it go?" Raveyn said smiling.
Narrator's POV
They had latched him to the wall, iron cuffs around both wrists as they went for their leader.
He could hear loud voices raised outside as they attempted to explain his capture. He pulled angrily at the metal braising his wrists, but it held fast, and he cursed his stupidity and dulled wits. He glanced at Cassandra, who was practically spitting fire with her eyes.
"Do SOMETHING" she hissed, her body bent awkwardly as she glared at him.
He ignored her as he ran through various options in his head. Whoever did this had to either be very smart at what they were doing, or very very stupid. If he could persuade them….
Cassandra's piercing screams abruptly ended that line of thought as he turned to the enraged woman lying on the hay. She put voice to her outrage, and her eyes were wild as she hoarsely began to speak, "I am going to KILL THEM. HOW DARE THEY! I am nobility, I can trace my lineage back to before humanity BEGAN-"
The doors opened and they stepped in, a band of disreputable ill looking ill matched compatriots.
Cassandra ceased her screaming as suddenly as it had begun, and Legolas glared coldly at them all.
They still had not realized the gravity of their situation, and he strained against the chains, a smile fixed on his face as he regarded them unflinchingly It unsettled them and they turned away as they started to whisper amongst themselves.
Because they were finally beginning to see. Even manacled to a wall, his clothing disheveled and torn, there was an unmistakable air about him; that of a man who knew exactly how so very high he was in the world.
"Let me speak to your leader," he said, soft menacing a promise in his voice.
The crowd slowly began to part, as the men made way for the slim figure stepping surely forward.
And that's when he heard it. Soft and echoing, her laughter filled the barn.
His eyes widened in shock as he stared stupefied.
"Ever the Prince highness. But," she said as she stepped into the lamplight her lips curved sardonically, "Not quite the king. Not quite." And as she glanced at him, and turned her attention to Cassandra, that mouth he knew so well, that soft tender coral mouth curved open, and she threw her head back and laughed wildly.
Her men glanced at her with consternation, but she just laughed and laughed, because fate had done it again. The bitch just wouldn't leave her alone.
Legolas just stared, his body tightening as his eyes drank her in hungrily.
To each man their own salvation, and he recognized, as he stared at the mocking nymph before him, that she was his. He hated himself for it, and he cursed his weakness but looking at her brought everything back. Like a man in the desert, traveling under the heat of a thousand suns, he had found again his eternal spring.
She was dressed in coal black his mind noted absently; snug leggings encased slim legs, and her tunic opened at the throat, revealing a wide V of tanned flesh that hinted at the curves of her breasts. Her arms were flung behind her gripping her hair as she turned in circles laughing still, a loud mocking bitter laughter that pulled at him. That tore at his heart and made bile rise in his throat as her betrayal came back before him in all its black glory.
When she looked at him again she was biting her lip, her eyes bright as black eyebrows winged over them.
She turned towards her men briefly, "Leave us and take her," she said pointing at Cassandra. Protestations arose quickly, a buzzing of flies.
"I should have known you'd come up somewhere," Cassandra said, twisting her head to fix her eyes on her nemesis, "Betrayal wasn't enough of a crime for you? Now you stoop to kidnapping? How dare you, you peasant filth, treat me like THIS! You who are nothing, and will never amount to anything you who aren't- " Cassandra's voice rose in outrage, as she struggled to properly formulate her wrath.
Raveyn didn't give her the chance.
She walked swiftly to her, and grasping her by the front of her robes, she hooked her fist across her face; Cassandra's heads snapped backwards, as her hair fell across her face.
Surprise raised the voices of many, as Raveyn lifted her again by the front of her silks and slammed her against the wall, her knife glinting in the light as she pressed it against that smooth alabaster throat, her hand shaking with fury. Her entire body was tense and coiled, as gold eyes drove hard into violet. Anger against hate against rage against jealousy against the past. It all came together in a heady potent mix boiling underneath her skin. Raveyn trembled as she pulled hard on that long black hair, snapping Cassandra's neck back and pulling the skin of her neck taut against the knife.
"Raveyn don't," Leia said softly, so softly as if anything more might provoke her to driving the weapon in to the hilt.
There was no response, just Raveyn pressing the knife bit by bit harder as it finally drew blood. Cassandra made no noise; fear made her eyes large and glassy with tears as she finally realized the gravity of her situation and under whose power she now lay.
"Raveyn." It was him this time. Him. She turned those snarling eyes in his direction, and he saw blood trickle from the corner of her lips, from where she had been biting them.
Silence.
Everybody kept absolutely still as Raveyn looked at Legolas, and Legolas at Raveyn.
Leia watched them, and wondered again at how curious it was that with them two, it was so easy for the rest of the world to slip away. The intensity of their focus…
Cassandra slid to a boneless heap as Raveyn released her without another glance.
"Leave." She said, anger tightly reined in her voice.
They filed out, Tivaer roughly heaving Cassandra onto his shoulder. Leia looked at her worriedly and, clasping her arm shortly, left.
Raveyn followed them out and closed the door behind them.
When she turned back toward him, her stance was deliberately relaxed, and one slim hand was perched atop her hip.
"Well well well," she said with an acid smile.
Cocking her head she looked at him with mock sympathy, "Look what the dogs dragged in."
She walked tauntingly toward him as he clenched his jaw.
Time had changed her, he realized. Before there had been at least some vestiges of softness, in the way she sometimes held herself, and in her eyes. Now it was if they had been thoroughly ripped away, leaving only hardened bone.
"How careless Legolas," she tut tutted a vicious satisfaction filling her as she tasted the poison sweetness of revenge, "Champion warrior manhandled and brutalized by vagabonds" she said spitting her words out .
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AUTHORS NOTE:
First offs My apologies. This story took such a damn long time to write and for a month I couldn't do anything because I had finals to study for and it was such a bitch. I am sorry guys it wont happen again. The next chapter will be up in two weeks tops. I promise. Thank you to everybody that reviewed I got a tremendous number for the last chapter and I truly appreciated it. Thank you thank you! This chapter is the longest so far, a huge 30 pages and I hope you guys enjoyed it. I bet most of you will be surprised about where I took the story. I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing but thank you for reading.
I couldn't thank everybody that reviewed there were far too many so I just want to say thank you to everyone. There were so many fabulous reviews and I truly appreciated them all.
Rebekkah- You reviews literally make me blush. My heartfelt thanks.
Gertidoo - I AM SO SORRY!!! Your email was lovely, I truly appreciated and I am sorry I couldn't work in what Legolas was thinking atthat moment. I am going to intersperse flashbacks however from his POV. Thank you for being so patient.
North-Star- Again, my apologies. I hope you enjoy this chapter as compensation, its immensely long. Thank you for your reviews.
Katsy - I am so evil. I didn't answer many of those questions hehe. Next chapter though will be more revealing. Hope you like this one though : )
Rinlossien - That's fascinatig, I really hadn't thought of that, that Legolas in fury mode might parallel the Isengaard people. Thank you for bringing that up, I might touch up on that. As for the second part of your question, I dare say Legolas will be just the tiniest bit mad when he finds out he was lied to. Just the tiniest….hehe. Thanks for the review.
Treklet - No I haven't read Mara but my sister has, and she told me that yes the two scenes were very similar. I am going to have to pick the book up. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Lilena - Australia huh? How is the weather this time of year? It must be great. As for the pregnancy idea I did briefly consider it, but children would have complicated the issue tremendously. Hope you like what I have done with Raveyn though.
Darma Druid- Darma I am so sorry. I am saying so many apologies to everyone I feel so bad. Your emails encouraged me to write and I thank you for that. Hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for your reviews.
Weather Witch - Here is your sequel. Or continuation rather. Your review made me laugh, it was great. Thanks.
Divajen - No the whole baring process never goes smoothly. Most men can't cope, and as you can see from Raveyn's reaction, she is none too happy with the situation. This chapter I understand is an almost radical departure from the rest of the novel. Hope you like it.
Rina - This chapter comes quite close to your personal request Rina…I wont say anything more than that hehe. Hope you liked it.
Jadecat66 - The Basilisk was not invented by the inestimable J.K. Rowling. If you look in the dictionary you will see that it is a mythical creature of old, and has actually been around for a long time. Hope that clears it up.
Visions of Time - For as long as I live, my heart will not change - you were very close though do you speak French by any chance? I love that language it is so beautiful. Thank you for your review. It really was amazing and I truly appreciated it. Sorry for the long wait, I hope this chapter makes it worth it.
Kathryn Mason Sykes - She came very close to slitting the bitch's conceited throat Kathryn. She drew blood at least. One of my fav scenes. Your reviews as always are a pleasure. Thanks.
BladeSwinger - Well Raveyn has become a tough ass bitch again. She was getting to close to the damn daisies. Besides yellow isn't her color. Black is more like it. And yes Legolas in dark mood is rather disturbingly sexy…
Sunshine - I am ashamed Truly ashamed. Sorry for the long wait…
Snow Devil - No Raveyn did not sleep with Saruman, and yes Leia was sort of becoming like Cassandra. I wanted to make their relationship with Raveyn as the very strong one, but whenever she falters, Leia rises to the fore. Glad you enjoyed that chapter.
Princess Istawen -I am really happy you liked the last chapter. It was a pleasure and a pain to write. Thank you for your lovely review.
Fruity - Do I even have to tell you your review was great? Thank you so much, and yes the last chapter was rather dark. This chapter was mainly catch up on what has happen in the two years and I wanted to end it with them two meeting. Now the scene is set for their showdown.
Solitarian - You have a very good understanding of what is happening in the plot - it makes me feel better because I was wondering if I was being clear enough. Some people think Raveyn was raped. She was not. Not at all. As for the sad or happy ending bit..welll you will just have to wait and see J Your review was great, thanks.