Thank you to all my faithful readers & reviewers!!! I crossed the 200 – yay!!!
As it took me so long to update again there is a longer chapter this time…
A big thank you to Little My for beta reading… she has her own story up at ff.net now,
so if you like to read a lighthearted L/G story go to
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1007653 and check it out!!!
So on with the story, and let me know if you like it…
___
They were further away than Gimli had thought. He stood still, waiting for them to
break through the underbrush, feeling the elves silent presence behind his back.
When the first dwarf finally appeared Gimli stepped forward to see him flinch in
surprise, his axe coming up with amazing speed. But as soon as he recognized Gimli
he relaxed, a wide grin breaking out on his face.
'Gimli!'
His cry was answered from other voices behind him and two other dwarves soon
joined them. It was with some chagrin that Gimli noticed that only three of them had
made all that noise.
'Well met, Gudin,' he greeted his friend before turning to the other two. Cerin and
Furli, both friends as well. All three had chosen to leave the Lonely Mountain and
follow him to the Glittering Caves. He did not miss the look of unease directed at the
two silent figures behind him. He moved so he half-faced the elves, motioning with
his hands for them to step closer.
'These are the sons of Lord Elrond from Rivendell,' he introduced them. 'Elladan and
Elrohir.'
He did not point out who was who, as he could not see their hands and had no way
of telling them apart himself. Polite words of greeting were exchanged but they
lacked any warmth.
'What brings you here?' Gimli asked, for he had wondered what might cause them to
wander the woods in this area.
The dwarves exchanged a look ere Gudin spoke to answer him.
'A message from Gondor was sent, telling us that you had been attacked. We were
on our way to come after you.'
'And you chose to take the long way through the woods?' Gimli wondered, his sharp
eyes not missing another quickly exchanged look.
'We wanted to make sure the way was safe,' Cerin answered.
It was only now that Gudin realized what it was that seemed wrong here. That Gimli
was accompanied by two elves, the twin sons of Lord Elrond, was not so much a
surprise as the fact that one particular elf was not with him.
'And what about you, Gimli?' he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. 'The
message we received spoke of grievous wounds, but you seem much recovered to
me. I would not have excepted to meet you here, traveling the same path as we do.'
'My quick recovery was only due to the healing powers of Lord Elrond's son,' Gimli
answered. He could see the reaction to his words as the coldness towards the elves
seemed to wane a bit. But Elrohir shook his head in denial.
'It was your own stubbornness as well as Legolas's, not my weak attempt to help.
What I did was minor compared to what the two of you achieved.'
'Were is Legolas?' Gudin finally voiced the question that had been burning on his
tongue ever since he noticed the elf's absence.
A flicker of pain showed in Gimli's eyes ere he looked away, but it was enough to tell
the other dwarf that something was seriously wrong.
'He has been taken captive by the men we both seem to look for,' Elladan spoke. He
was deeply surprised by the looks of dismay and worry that crossed the dwarves'
faces upon hearing his words.
'Why?' Cerin asked, a question Gimli had asked himself before.
Why indeed? Why take the elf captive and take him into these woods? He still had no
answer and a short look around only showed blank faces.
'We know not,' Elrohir answered. 'All we can do is guess and this will not help us in
finding him.'
'We followed a trail to come here, but it was made by only one horse and seemed to
come from the village south from here. We lost it though, not too long ago.' Furli's
words evoked sudden hope in Gimli. A trail was more than they had come to find until
now. Maybe the elves had known where to go, after all.
'We know not if this will lead us to those we are looking for,' Elladan cautioned.
'Yet it is better than naught,' Gimli answered. 'Or would the trees tell you more?'
His tone might have been sarcastic but something in his eyes told Elrohir the
question was not made entirely in jest. So he refrained from giving a sharp answer,
merely shrugging.
'We will follow it then,' Elladan decided, seeing his brother seemed not to have any
objections.
For the keen eyes of the elves, the trail was not hard to follow. The silent movements
of the elves caused the dwarves to take more caution as they followed them, without
any word needing to be uttered. Maybe the fact that Gimli himself moved without too
much sound did help. Conversations were held only in whispers as the small group
slowly but steadily made its way through the woods.
Gimli was slightly startled from not too pleasant thoughts when he noticed a sudden
change in Elladan's pace. He watched as the elf rushed towards a spot and crouched
down, studying the ground.
'It is the right trail,' he finally said, his voice hard.
The others had stopped, not stepping closer in fear of destroying the tracks they
could see clearly imprinted on the ground.
'The horse shied here,' Elladan explained, pointing with a hand at the place where
the ground was trampled. 'Two kinds of footprints, one of them a man.'
He motioned towards another place. 'A fight has taken place, and it's the man's
footprints that return to the horse and he dragged someone with him. The tracks are
a few hours old. We need to make haste.'
There was no need to mention that the other prints were made by an elf. Six pairs of
eyes scanned the ground as they walked over it, and Gimli could feel great relief at
not seeing blood here. That the elf should have lost a fight against a mere man
seemed unlikely, but from the look of it he was still alive.
@@@
It was the sound of a horse that made the woman look up from her sewing, to see
who it was that had entered the camp. With disappointment and even a slight feeling
of unease she recognized the man dismounting. He looked over, and her unease
grew when he started to make his way over to her, leading the horse. Her eyes
widened as she noticed the bundle thrown over the back of the horse was indeed a
human form, and for the shortest moment fear filled her heart as she could not see
the head of the still figure. But then she saw the rope binding the ankles together and
knew it was a captive.
She cast a quick glance around, taking notice of where her children were. She could
see them sitting next to the small hut they called their home now, playing in the dirt.
As if feeling her eyes on him, her son looked up, meeting her gaze for a moment,
then he shot a short look at the approaching man and she could see something close
to contempt cross his face. He might be a child still, but he had started to show a
great protectiveness towards his little sister as well as his mother when his father was
absent. So the questioning look in his eyes when they met hers again came as no
surprise. She shook her head, indicating that he should stay with his sister.
Then she leveled her gaze on the approaching man. To see him like this made her
shudder. He had been a good man once, just like her husband, but now she hardly
recognized him anymore.
He stopped in front of her, giving her a smile. It could have been charming if not for
the strange flicker in his eyes.
'My dear Clardyn, how do you fare?'
She could not help but snort, making a sweeping gesture with her hand that took in
all of their surroundings.
'This is a strange question to ask, Surdim. Have you taken a good look around lately?
We live hidden away in the middle of thieves and murderers. My children grow up in
the wilderness and the first thing my son will learn is how to fight. How do I fare? You
tell me.'
His eyes flashed back at her as he was not used to be spoken to in such manner. But
amusement won over annoyance and he let out a chuckle at seeing her lose her
composure for once.
'I see,' he grinned. 'Is Lian here?'
She sighed, shaking her head.
'He left in the morning and I know not when he will be back.'
Her eyes flickered to the still form on the horse but she knew better than to ask.
He noticed her glance and his grin broadened.
'Do you know who this is?' he asked, gesturing at the limp form.
She shook her head. Whoever it was, she held not much hope for his life.
'He is the one who is responsible for all this.' His eyes gleamed and she felt sickened
at the hate that shone in them.
He reached out and grabbed hold of one leg, pulling the still form from the horse,
making no move to break his fall. The horse shied away, its legs only narrowly
missing the fallen body.
She took in the long golden hair, the slender form. When she caught sight of one
pointed ear, she could feel a deep fear well up inside of her.
'An elf?' she whispered.
'Not any elf. He is the one that caused us to lose everything, to live as outcasts. The
one who forced us to leave our homes.'
Clardyn stared at him in quiet shock. Ever since the day she had been forced to
leave her house to go with the man she loved, she had felt a deep anger at the hard
punishment the king of Gondor had dealt the two men. She had been there before
the king's palace. She had seen the elf's back and had felt deep shock at the cruelty
done to him. She would never have thought her own husband capable of committing
such brutality. Still, she had not believed that a mere beating would justify so hard a
verdict.
'He is the one who did this to us,' Surdim hissed and he held up his right hand. She
had gotten used to seeing the mutilation on both him and Lian. She knew it was the
one thing that bothered both men the most, for they had been warriors before. They
had learned to use the left hand, but the skills they once possessed could never
again be reached.
It made them useless as warriors, and it was next to impossible for them to find any
kind of work. Fighting was all they had ever known, but now, driven by necessity to
steal and rob, they could no longer even fight honorably as soldiers.
With swirling emotions, she watched as he dragged the unresisting figure to his feet.
Golden hair fell away from a pale face and she felt a pang as she caught sight of his
face. The fairness of elves was beyond the measuring of men, and even disheveled
and pale he still held such beauty that she could not stay unaffected. She was a kind
woman by heart, and as much as she loved her husband she knew quite well that it
had been the elf who had been wronged that night as he was attacked. He had
sought retribution as was his right, and she had always been grateful that he had
refrained from taking Lian's life.
Even living like this was better than losing the man she loved.
'He is the one who maimed Papa?'
Her son's voice startled her and she looked down to see him standing next to her, his
gaze glued to the limp form Surdim was dragging towards a tree.
'Yes, he is the one,' the man answered. 'If you bring me the rope from my saddlebag,
I can make sure that he will not get away.'
The boy obeyed but his eyes never left the elf. Clardyn's heart clenched at seeing the
expression in her son's eyes. He adored his father and had never been told the
whole story of what had transpired that fateful night so many days ago. He only knew
his father had been wounded and forced to leave his home. Now he was confronted
with one who was called responsible for this, and she could see the hate in his eyes.
She almost cried out when Surdim drew a knife, but he only used it to cut away the
bindings from the elf's hands. Then he brought him into a sitting position, his back
against the trunk of the tree.
'Does he live?' the boy asked.
'Yes, he does. And he will for a while longer. I need to have your father with me when
I take my revenge,' the man answered as he secured the elf to the tree, forcing his
arms around the trunk as far as they would go ere he tightly bound the rope around
his wrists. Satisfied that his captive would not be able to free himself, he took a step
backwards.
'You will take good care of him while I am gone?' he asked and was rewarded with
an enthusiastic nod. Pride showed in the boy's eyes at being trusted with so
important a task.
'I will go and get your father,' Surdim spoke. 'If he wakes, give him some of this
water.' He handed a water skin to the boy. 'It contains something that will keep him
quiet.'
The boy nodded again and settled down on the ground, a small distance away from
the captive elf to keep watch over him.
'I do not like this,' Clardyn hissed. 'I do not wish my son involved in something like
this, and Lian either. Did you not get into enough trouble messing with him in the first
place?'
His gaze turned cold and she took a quick step backwards, remembering why she
feared him.
'Do not concern yourself with matters you know naught about, woman,' he warned.
'This is a matter that needs to be settled by men, and it will be done.' A feral grin lit
his face. 'And Lian deserves to enjoy it as much as I will.'
With that he turned away and left her standing. She could feel fingers touching her
and a small warm body wriggling against her skirt. She waited until he had mounted
his horse and left the camp once more ere she looked down at her daughter. Big blue
eyes looked up at her and she forced herself to smile reassuringly.
'Is he a bad man?' the little girl asked, and she could not help but wonder if she
meant the captive elf bound to the tree or the man who had just rode away. Without
giving an answer she picked the little one up, ignoring the curious stares directed at
them from all over them camp. The others, women and men alike, had watched
quietly but she knew questions would not be asked. Surdim was feared even among
these people.
As it took me so long to update again there is a longer chapter this time…
A big thank you to Little My for beta reading… she has her own story up at ff.net now,
so if you like to read a lighthearted L/G story go to
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1007653 and check it out!!!
So on with the story, and let me know if you like it…
___
They were further away than Gimli had thought. He stood still, waiting for them to
break through the underbrush, feeling the elves silent presence behind his back.
When the first dwarf finally appeared Gimli stepped forward to see him flinch in
surprise, his axe coming up with amazing speed. But as soon as he recognized Gimli
he relaxed, a wide grin breaking out on his face.
'Gimli!'
His cry was answered from other voices behind him and two other dwarves soon
joined them. It was with some chagrin that Gimli noticed that only three of them had
made all that noise.
'Well met, Gudin,' he greeted his friend before turning to the other two. Cerin and
Furli, both friends as well. All three had chosen to leave the Lonely Mountain and
follow him to the Glittering Caves. He did not miss the look of unease directed at the
two silent figures behind him. He moved so he half-faced the elves, motioning with
his hands for them to step closer.
'These are the sons of Lord Elrond from Rivendell,' he introduced them. 'Elladan and
Elrohir.'
He did not point out who was who, as he could not see their hands and had no way
of telling them apart himself. Polite words of greeting were exchanged but they
lacked any warmth.
'What brings you here?' Gimli asked, for he had wondered what might cause them to
wander the woods in this area.
The dwarves exchanged a look ere Gudin spoke to answer him.
'A message from Gondor was sent, telling us that you had been attacked. We were
on our way to come after you.'
'And you chose to take the long way through the woods?' Gimli wondered, his sharp
eyes not missing another quickly exchanged look.
'We wanted to make sure the way was safe,' Cerin answered.
It was only now that Gudin realized what it was that seemed wrong here. That Gimli
was accompanied by two elves, the twin sons of Lord Elrond, was not so much a
surprise as the fact that one particular elf was not with him.
'And what about you, Gimli?' he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. 'The
message we received spoke of grievous wounds, but you seem much recovered to
me. I would not have excepted to meet you here, traveling the same path as we do.'
'My quick recovery was only due to the healing powers of Lord Elrond's son,' Gimli
answered. He could see the reaction to his words as the coldness towards the elves
seemed to wane a bit. But Elrohir shook his head in denial.
'It was your own stubbornness as well as Legolas's, not my weak attempt to help.
What I did was minor compared to what the two of you achieved.'
'Were is Legolas?' Gudin finally voiced the question that had been burning on his
tongue ever since he noticed the elf's absence.
A flicker of pain showed in Gimli's eyes ere he looked away, but it was enough to tell
the other dwarf that something was seriously wrong.
'He has been taken captive by the men we both seem to look for,' Elladan spoke. He
was deeply surprised by the looks of dismay and worry that crossed the dwarves'
faces upon hearing his words.
'Why?' Cerin asked, a question Gimli had asked himself before.
Why indeed? Why take the elf captive and take him into these woods? He still had no
answer and a short look around only showed blank faces.
'We know not,' Elrohir answered. 'All we can do is guess and this will not help us in
finding him.'
'We followed a trail to come here, but it was made by only one horse and seemed to
come from the village south from here. We lost it though, not too long ago.' Furli's
words evoked sudden hope in Gimli. A trail was more than they had come to find until
now. Maybe the elves had known where to go, after all.
'We know not if this will lead us to those we are looking for,' Elladan cautioned.
'Yet it is better than naught,' Gimli answered. 'Or would the trees tell you more?'
His tone might have been sarcastic but something in his eyes told Elrohir the
question was not made entirely in jest. So he refrained from giving a sharp answer,
merely shrugging.
'We will follow it then,' Elladan decided, seeing his brother seemed not to have any
objections.
For the keen eyes of the elves, the trail was not hard to follow. The silent movements
of the elves caused the dwarves to take more caution as they followed them, without
any word needing to be uttered. Maybe the fact that Gimli himself moved without too
much sound did help. Conversations were held only in whispers as the small group
slowly but steadily made its way through the woods.
Gimli was slightly startled from not too pleasant thoughts when he noticed a sudden
change in Elladan's pace. He watched as the elf rushed towards a spot and crouched
down, studying the ground.
'It is the right trail,' he finally said, his voice hard.
The others had stopped, not stepping closer in fear of destroying the tracks they
could see clearly imprinted on the ground.
'The horse shied here,' Elladan explained, pointing with a hand at the place where
the ground was trampled. 'Two kinds of footprints, one of them a man.'
He motioned towards another place. 'A fight has taken place, and it's the man's
footprints that return to the horse and he dragged someone with him. The tracks are
a few hours old. We need to make haste.'
There was no need to mention that the other prints were made by an elf. Six pairs of
eyes scanned the ground as they walked over it, and Gimli could feel great relief at
not seeing blood here. That the elf should have lost a fight against a mere man
seemed unlikely, but from the look of it he was still alive.
@@@
It was the sound of a horse that made the woman look up from her sewing, to see
who it was that had entered the camp. With disappointment and even a slight feeling
of unease she recognized the man dismounting. He looked over, and her unease
grew when he started to make his way over to her, leading the horse. Her eyes
widened as she noticed the bundle thrown over the back of the horse was indeed a
human form, and for the shortest moment fear filled her heart as she could not see
the head of the still figure. But then she saw the rope binding the ankles together and
knew it was a captive.
She cast a quick glance around, taking notice of where her children were. She could
see them sitting next to the small hut they called their home now, playing in the dirt.
As if feeling her eyes on him, her son looked up, meeting her gaze for a moment,
then he shot a short look at the approaching man and she could see something close
to contempt cross his face. He might be a child still, but he had started to show a
great protectiveness towards his little sister as well as his mother when his father was
absent. So the questioning look in his eyes when they met hers again came as no
surprise. She shook her head, indicating that he should stay with his sister.
Then she leveled her gaze on the approaching man. To see him like this made her
shudder. He had been a good man once, just like her husband, but now she hardly
recognized him anymore.
He stopped in front of her, giving her a smile. It could have been charming if not for
the strange flicker in his eyes.
'My dear Clardyn, how do you fare?'
She could not help but snort, making a sweeping gesture with her hand that took in
all of their surroundings.
'This is a strange question to ask, Surdim. Have you taken a good look around lately?
We live hidden away in the middle of thieves and murderers. My children grow up in
the wilderness and the first thing my son will learn is how to fight. How do I fare? You
tell me.'
His eyes flashed back at her as he was not used to be spoken to in such manner. But
amusement won over annoyance and he let out a chuckle at seeing her lose her
composure for once.
'I see,' he grinned. 'Is Lian here?'
She sighed, shaking her head.
'He left in the morning and I know not when he will be back.'
Her eyes flickered to the still form on the horse but she knew better than to ask.
He noticed her glance and his grin broadened.
'Do you know who this is?' he asked, gesturing at the limp form.
She shook her head. Whoever it was, she held not much hope for his life.
'He is the one who is responsible for all this.' His eyes gleamed and she felt sickened
at the hate that shone in them.
He reached out and grabbed hold of one leg, pulling the still form from the horse,
making no move to break his fall. The horse shied away, its legs only narrowly
missing the fallen body.
She took in the long golden hair, the slender form. When she caught sight of one
pointed ear, she could feel a deep fear well up inside of her.
'An elf?' she whispered.
'Not any elf. He is the one that caused us to lose everything, to live as outcasts. The
one who forced us to leave our homes.'
Clardyn stared at him in quiet shock. Ever since the day she had been forced to
leave her house to go with the man she loved, she had felt a deep anger at the hard
punishment the king of Gondor had dealt the two men. She had been there before
the king's palace. She had seen the elf's back and had felt deep shock at the cruelty
done to him. She would never have thought her own husband capable of committing
such brutality. Still, she had not believed that a mere beating would justify so hard a
verdict.
'He is the one who did this to us,' Surdim hissed and he held up his right hand. She
had gotten used to seeing the mutilation on both him and Lian. She knew it was the
one thing that bothered both men the most, for they had been warriors before. They
had learned to use the left hand, but the skills they once possessed could never
again be reached.
It made them useless as warriors, and it was next to impossible for them to find any
kind of work. Fighting was all they had ever known, but now, driven by necessity to
steal and rob, they could no longer even fight honorably as soldiers.
With swirling emotions, she watched as he dragged the unresisting figure to his feet.
Golden hair fell away from a pale face and she felt a pang as she caught sight of his
face. The fairness of elves was beyond the measuring of men, and even disheveled
and pale he still held such beauty that she could not stay unaffected. She was a kind
woman by heart, and as much as she loved her husband she knew quite well that it
had been the elf who had been wronged that night as he was attacked. He had
sought retribution as was his right, and she had always been grateful that he had
refrained from taking Lian's life.
Even living like this was better than losing the man she loved.
'He is the one who maimed Papa?'
Her son's voice startled her and she looked down to see him standing next to her, his
gaze glued to the limp form Surdim was dragging towards a tree.
'Yes, he is the one,' the man answered. 'If you bring me the rope from my saddlebag,
I can make sure that he will not get away.'
The boy obeyed but his eyes never left the elf. Clardyn's heart clenched at seeing the
expression in her son's eyes. He adored his father and had never been told the
whole story of what had transpired that fateful night so many days ago. He only knew
his father had been wounded and forced to leave his home. Now he was confronted
with one who was called responsible for this, and she could see the hate in his eyes.
She almost cried out when Surdim drew a knife, but he only used it to cut away the
bindings from the elf's hands. Then he brought him into a sitting position, his back
against the trunk of the tree.
'Does he live?' the boy asked.
'Yes, he does. And he will for a while longer. I need to have your father with me when
I take my revenge,' the man answered as he secured the elf to the tree, forcing his
arms around the trunk as far as they would go ere he tightly bound the rope around
his wrists. Satisfied that his captive would not be able to free himself, he took a step
backwards.
'You will take good care of him while I am gone?' he asked and was rewarded with
an enthusiastic nod. Pride showed in the boy's eyes at being trusted with so
important a task.
'I will go and get your father,' Surdim spoke. 'If he wakes, give him some of this
water.' He handed a water skin to the boy. 'It contains something that will keep him
quiet.'
The boy nodded again and settled down on the ground, a small distance away from
the captive elf to keep watch over him.
'I do not like this,' Clardyn hissed. 'I do not wish my son involved in something like
this, and Lian either. Did you not get into enough trouble messing with him in the first
place?'
His gaze turned cold and she took a quick step backwards, remembering why she
feared him.
'Do not concern yourself with matters you know naught about, woman,' he warned.
'This is a matter that needs to be settled by men, and it will be done.' A feral grin lit
his face. 'And Lian deserves to enjoy it as much as I will.'
With that he turned away and left her standing. She could feel fingers touching her
and a small warm body wriggling against her skirt. She waited until he had mounted
his horse and left the camp once more ere she looked down at her daughter. Big blue
eyes looked up at her and she forced herself to smile reassuringly.
'Is he a bad man?' the little girl asked, and she could not help but wonder if she
meant the captive elf bound to the tree or the man who had just rode away. Without
giving an answer she picked the little one up, ignoring the curious stares directed at
them from all over them camp. The others, women and men alike, had watched
quietly but she knew questions would not be asked. Surdim was feared even among
these people.