Once more I have to thank you all not only for the many reviews but also for the email
I received. I can not find the words to tell you how much your encouragement means
to me.
So – in lack of better words: THANK YOU!!!
Special thanks go to Little My for beta reading.
So, on with the story… and keep telling me if you like it!!! Please :-)))))
___
As soon as they were out of the hearing range of even an elf, Gimli felt a hand touch
his shoulder. Looking up he found Elladan walking next to him, his silver eyes gazing
at the dwarf with intensity.
'There is a question I would like to ask you, friend Gimli.' the elf spoke. He paused
until a short nod from Gimli urged him to speak further. 'I have heard the name
Surdim mentioned several times now. Would this be the same Surdim we
encountered before?'
The dwarf's face was grim as he answered. 'I think so. It would explain why Legolas
was taken.'
'Aye,' Elladan nodded. 'With the twisted way the minds of men sometimes work, I
doubt not that he thinks he has reason to hate him. Although it was Legolas who was
wronged then.'
The anger in his voice was reflected in Gimli's eyes as they remembered what had
been done to their friend so many nights ago.
'Whatever he has planned to do,' the dwarf vowed, 'it will not come to pass. And this
time I will make sure that he will never get the chance to hurt anyone again.'
The short tightening of the elf's hand on his shoulder told Gimli without words that he
had his full support.
'Elrohir and I will move ahead and take care of the guards,' Elladan said, and then he
was gone from the dwarf's side.
@@@
Only several minutes had passed and Calenuial found himself checking on Legolas
again. Long fingers touched his brow as he called his friend's name in a low voice.
For a moment he thought he could see some kind of reaction, and his heart beat
faster as hope filled him. Even if his wounds were minor, it was unnerving to see
Legolas so still.
But nothing happened, no further sign of awareness came, and once more Calenuial
settled down. Their surroundings were peaceful. The trees still whispered of violence
and bloodshed in their midst, but were calmed by the presence of elves.
The smallest sound, no more than a soft rustling of grass, brought Calenuial's
attention back to Legolas. He stared hard at his friend, trying to find what had made
the small noise. The slightest movement caught his eye and a smile broke out on his
face as he saw Legolas's fingers move again.
His own hand captured the cold one of his friend as he whispered fiercely, 'Legolas?
Wake up, my friend, you have rested long enough.'
Eyes blinked open, fighting against heavy eyelids, and it took some heartbeats until
Legolas's gaze focused as his vision slowly cleared.
When the dark eyes turned to look at him, Calenuial could not hold in the laughter at
seeing the completely confused look in them.
Indignation replaced confusion and Legolas's eyes narrowed. He did not like to be
laughed at, especially when he had no idea where he was and why.
Laughter faded to a broad grin and Calenuial offered a hand to help Legolas into a
sitting position. It was pointedly ignored, but the sudden movement of sitting up
caused a wave of dizziness to wash over the wounded elf. He blinked again to
remove the black spots from his vision, while he noted that his back and arm hurt.
For long moments he sat unmoving and Calenuial could feel worry starting to stir in
his insides.
'Legolas?' he asked, not sure what was the cause of his stillness.
Legolas looked once more at his friend, taking in that the laughter had faded from his
eyes and had been replaced by worry.
'I am well,' he mumbled, his gaze wandering over his surroundings to come to rest on
the bound man. For a moment his eyes widened in surprise, then his memory
rushed back.
His capture. Surdim. Clardyn and Dian. The draught that had been given to him. But
then… his brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of the pieces of memories of
what had happened then. He could remember trying to flee and being caught again,
but when and where he could not recall. It was no more than a tumble of pictures,
unclear and fogged. It was unnerving for an elf, who was used to his perfect memory,
to be unable to recall what had happened to him.
His wide eyes searched for Calenuial, and even as he did so he realized he had no
idea how his friend came to be here, but he hoped the elf would be able to tell him
more.
'What are you doing here?' he asked finally.
Once more an amused grin appeared on his friend's face. 'Doing what I always seem
to do--getting you out of trouble,' he answered with a trace of laughter in his voice. 'It
seems that every time I find you, you are deeply asleep.'
Legolas grimaced at that for there was hardly anything he could say to counter this.
'I came here with Eomer and the riders of the Mark,' Calenuial added.
A quick glance around confirmed what Legolas had seen before--apart from the
bound man and some horses, they were alone.
'And where would everyone else be?' he asked.
'What happened to you?' The other elf countered his question with one of his own.
'That is of no matter. Where is everybody?'
'It is of matter if I find you wounded and unconscious once again,' Calenuial's voice
held some anger now.
'It is a long story,' Legolas sighed. He did not wish to tell it for he knew it would only
cause more questions. Questions that would touch on a matter he had never spoken
of with any of his own people. Not even Calenuial.
'That I have heard before, for this was what your friends told me when I asked them.'
'I was captured,' Legolas answered in a tight voice. 'I was held captive. That is all I
remember.'
For a moment his friend stared at him, as if trying to read his mind.
'By whom?' he asked finally. 'And why?'
'By a man. And explaining why would take more time than I wish to waste on this.
Now tell me where everyone has gone, although I can imagine the answer.' Legolas's
voice had changed now, taking on an edge of command that Calenuial knew well.
There was no further use in asking and probing; he would receive no more answers
to the questions plaguing his mind.
'They went to the bushranger's camp.'
A frown appeared on Legolas's face.
'This is where I was held captive,' he spoke. He remembered well the tree he had
been bound to and could not help but wonder how he had been freed. A hand
reached out to stop him as he moved to rise, but one hard look and Calenuial
withdrew.
In silence he watched as Legolas got to his feet with less than his usual grace.
'You do not wish to go after them?' His voice held some trepidation for he knew his
friend fairly well.
'I will not stay behind,' Legolas answered, 'while others fight my battles.'
'But our aid will not be needed,' Calenuial tried to persuade him. 'Eomer's men count
almost twenty, and the dwarves…'
'Dwarves?' Legolas interrupted him, confused once more.
'Aye, Legolas, four of them.' He suddenly remembered something. 'And I would really
like to know why Gimli changed the color of his hair.'
'Gimli did what?' The look with which he regarded Calenuial spoke of doubt over his
state of mind.
'He has dark brown hair--I hardly recognized him until I heard his voice.'
Legolas only shook his head. 'I know not of what you speak. The last time I saw him,
he was the only dwarf in my company and his hair was red. Do you wish to tell me
Elladan and Elrohir have blonde hair now?'
Picturing this Calenuial could not help but snigger. 'Nay, they are as dark as ever.'
He met Legolas's amused glance. 'Your arm will hinder you in a fight,' he said softly.
'I know,' Legolas answered. 'It is not a fight I seek.' But he explained himself no
further, turning away before Calenuial could ask what he meant.
His eyes searched the ground for tracks and he started to follow them, feeling his
friend following close behind. Whatever objections Calenuial might have, he would
not leave his side. After a few steps Legolas could feel the lightheadedness recede
and his steps became surer.
Silently they walked, leaving the bound man and the horses behind without a second
glance.
@@@
The group had halted, waiting for the elves to return. When they did they wore
matching grins of satisfaction on their faces, leaving no doubt that their task had
been fulfilled successfully.
'You know the camp best of us all,' Eomer spoke. 'How shall we attack it?'
'We observed it once more,' Elladan answered. 'Only a few men are there, and most
of them are sitting at the fire in the middle of the clearing. I would think it best if we
move in from several sides at once.'
Eomer nodded his consent. He might be King and the leader of his men but he knew
when to listen. The sons of Elrond had been warriors for longer than he could even
imagine, and it would be folly not to heed their counsel.
'One group should use the path leading to the camp. They will think them to be their
own people and it will cause a distraction for the others,' Elrohir added.
'It should be you, Gimli, and your companions for you have gone there before and
you know the way.' Elladan did not comment on his doubt of the dwarves' ability of
moving with the stealth needed to approach the camp without being noticed too
soon.
'We will lead two groups to locations on the other side of the camp,' he continued.
'From there we will enter as soon as the attention has turned to the dwarves. It will
give us the advantage of surprise, and we might be able to win this fight without
much bloodshed.'
He turned his gaze on Gimli. 'The cry of a screech owl three times repeated will tell
you when my group has reached its location.'
'Three times the cry of a hawk will be our signal,' Elrohir spoke. 'Then it is up to you.'
No protest arose and the men were quickly divided in two groups. One set out with
Elrohir leading them, the other moved after Elladan in the opposite direction. Eomer
chose to go with the elder twin, his men moving silently through the woods, louder
than the elves but still hard to hear.
I received. I can not find the words to tell you how much your encouragement means
to me.
So – in lack of better words: THANK YOU!!!
Special thanks go to Little My for beta reading.
So, on with the story… and keep telling me if you like it!!! Please :-)))))
___
As soon as they were out of the hearing range of even an elf, Gimli felt a hand touch
his shoulder. Looking up he found Elladan walking next to him, his silver eyes gazing
at the dwarf with intensity.
'There is a question I would like to ask you, friend Gimli.' the elf spoke. He paused
until a short nod from Gimli urged him to speak further. 'I have heard the name
Surdim mentioned several times now. Would this be the same Surdim we
encountered before?'
The dwarf's face was grim as he answered. 'I think so. It would explain why Legolas
was taken.'
'Aye,' Elladan nodded. 'With the twisted way the minds of men sometimes work, I
doubt not that he thinks he has reason to hate him. Although it was Legolas who was
wronged then.'
The anger in his voice was reflected in Gimli's eyes as they remembered what had
been done to their friend so many nights ago.
'Whatever he has planned to do,' the dwarf vowed, 'it will not come to pass. And this
time I will make sure that he will never get the chance to hurt anyone again.'
The short tightening of the elf's hand on his shoulder told Gimli without words that he
had his full support.
'Elrohir and I will move ahead and take care of the guards,' Elladan said, and then he
was gone from the dwarf's side.
@@@
Only several minutes had passed and Calenuial found himself checking on Legolas
again. Long fingers touched his brow as he called his friend's name in a low voice.
For a moment he thought he could see some kind of reaction, and his heart beat
faster as hope filled him. Even if his wounds were minor, it was unnerving to see
Legolas so still.
But nothing happened, no further sign of awareness came, and once more Calenuial
settled down. Their surroundings were peaceful. The trees still whispered of violence
and bloodshed in their midst, but were calmed by the presence of elves.
The smallest sound, no more than a soft rustling of grass, brought Calenuial's
attention back to Legolas. He stared hard at his friend, trying to find what had made
the small noise. The slightest movement caught his eye and a smile broke out on his
face as he saw Legolas's fingers move again.
His own hand captured the cold one of his friend as he whispered fiercely, 'Legolas?
Wake up, my friend, you have rested long enough.'
Eyes blinked open, fighting against heavy eyelids, and it took some heartbeats until
Legolas's gaze focused as his vision slowly cleared.
When the dark eyes turned to look at him, Calenuial could not hold in the laughter at
seeing the completely confused look in them.
Indignation replaced confusion and Legolas's eyes narrowed. He did not like to be
laughed at, especially when he had no idea where he was and why.
Laughter faded to a broad grin and Calenuial offered a hand to help Legolas into a
sitting position. It was pointedly ignored, but the sudden movement of sitting up
caused a wave of dizziness to wash over the wounded elf. He blinked again to
remove the black spots from his vision, while he noted that his back and arm hurt.
For long moments he sat unmoving and Calenuial could feel worry starting to stir in
his insides.
'Legolas?' he asked, not sure what was the cause of his stillness.
Legolas looked once more at his friend, taking in that the laughter had faded from his
eyes and had been replaced by worry.
'I am well,' he mumbled, his gaze wandering over his surroundings to come to rest on
the bound man. For a moment his eyes widened in surprise, then his memory
rushed back.
His capture. Surdim. Clardyn and Dian. The draught that had been given to him. But
then… his brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of the pieces of memories of
what had happened then. He could remember trying to flee and being caught again,
but when and where he could not recall. It was no more than a tumble of pictures,
unclear and fogged. It was unnerving for an elf, who was used to his perfect memory,
to be unable to recall what had happened to him.
His wide eyes searched for Calenuial, and even as he did so he realized he had no
idea how his friend came to be here, but he hoped the elf would be able to tell him
more.
'What are you doing here?' he asked finally.
Once more an amused grin appeared on his friend's face. 'Doing what I always seem
to do--getting you out of trouble,' he answered with a trace of laughter in his voice. 'It
seems that every time I find you, you are deeply asleep.'
Legolas grimaced at that for there was hardly anything he could say to counter this.
'I came here with Eomer and the riders of the Mark,' Calenuial added.
A quick glance around confirmed what Legolas had seen before--apart from the
bound man and some horses, they were alone.
'And where would everyone else be?' he asked.
'What happened to you?' The other elf countered his question with one of his own.
'That is of no matter. Where is everybody?'
'It is of matter if I find you wounded and unconscious once again,' Calenuial's voice
held some anger now.
'It is a long story,' Legolas sighed. He did not wish to tell it for he knew it would only
cause more questions. Questions that would touch on a matter he had never spoken
of with any of his own people. Not even Calenuial.
'That I have heard before, for this was what your friends told me when I asked them.'
'I was captured,' Legolas answered in a tight voice. 'I was held captive. That is all I
remember.'
For a moment his friend stared at him, as if trying to read his mind.
'By whom?' he asked finally. 'And why?'
'By a man. And explaining why would take more time than I wish to waste on this.
Now tell me where everyone has gone, although I can imagine the answer.' Legolas's
voice had changed now, taking on an edge of command that Calenuial knew well.
There was no further use in asking and probing; he would receive no more answers
to the questions plaguing his mind.
'They went to the bushranger's camp.'
A frown appeared on Legolas's face.
'This is where I was held captive,' he spoke. He remembered well the tree he had
been bound to and could not help but wonder how he had been freed. A hand
reached out to stop him as he moved to rise, but one hard look and Calenuial
withdrew.
In silence he watched as Legolas got to his feet with less than his usual grace.
'You do not wish to go after them?' His voice held some trepidation for he knew his
friend fairly well.
'I will not stay behind,' Legolas answered, 'while others fight my battles.'
'But our aid will not be needed,' Calenuial tried to persuade him. 'Eomer's men count
almost twenty, and the dwarves…'
'Dwarves?' Legolas interrupted him, confused once more.
'Aye, Legolas, four of them.' He suddenly remembered something. 'And I would really
like to know why Gimli changed the color of his hair.'
'Gimli did what?' The look with which he regarded Calenuial spoke of doubt over his
state of mind.
'He has dark brown hair--I hardly recognized him until I heard his voice.'
Legolas only shook his head. 'I know not of what you speak. The last time I saw him,
he was the only dwarf in my company and his hair was red. Do you wish to tell me
Elladan and Elrohir have blonde hair now?'
Picturing this Calenuial could not help but snigger. 'Nay, they are as dark as ever.'
He met Legolas's amused glance. 'Your arm will hinder you in a fight,' he said softly.
'I know,' Legolas answered. 'It is not a fight I seek.' But he explained himself no
further, turning away before Calenuial could ask what he meant.
His eyes searched the ground for tracks and he started to follow them, feeling his
friend following close behind. Whatever objections Calenuial might have, he would
not leave his side. After a few steps Legolas could feel the lightheadedness recede
and his steps became surer.
Silently they walked, leaving the bound man and the horses behind without a second
glance.
@@@
The group had halted, waiting for the elves to return. When they did they wore
matching grins of satisfaction on their faces, leaving no doubt that their task had
been fulfilled successfully.
'You know the camp best of us all,' Eomer spoke. 'How shall we attack it?'
'We observed it once more,' Elladan answered. 'Only a few men are there, and most
of them are sitting at the fire in the middle of the clearing. I would think it best if we
move in from several sides at once.'
Eomer nodded his consent. He might be King and the leader of his men but he knew
when to listen. The sons of Elrond had been warriors for longer than he could even
imagine, and it would be folly not to heed their counsel.
'One group should use the path leading to the camp. They will think them to be their
own people and it will cause a distraction for the others,' Elrohir added.
'It should be you, Gimli, and your companions for you have gone there before and
you know the way.' Elladan did not comment on his doubt of the dwarves' ability of
moving with the stealth needed to approach the camp without being noticed too
soon.
'We will lead two groups to locations on the other side of the camp,' he continued.
'From there we will enter as soon as the attention has turned to the dwarves. It will
give us the advantage of surprise, and we might be able to win this fight without
much bloodshed.'
He turned his gaze on Gimli. 'The cry of a screech owl three times repeated will tell
you when my group has reached its location.'
'Three times the cry of a hawk will be our signal,' Elrohir spoke. 'Then it is up to you.'
No protest arose and the men were quickly divided in two groups. One set out with
Elrohir leading them, the other moved after Elladan in the opposite direction. Eomer
chose to go with the elder twin, his men moving silently through the woods, louder
than the elves but still hard to hear.