Series: Whispers in the Dark – Part 2
Pairing: Legolas/Aragorn
Rating: Overall, NC-17 but this is PG
Warnings: AU, You may not understand what Legolas is saying coz you're not supposed to, but I assure you it is really Elvish he is speaking in.
Summary: The shadow has a face…
The Kill
It was not until later in the night that Faramir realized that it was not Aragorn who was asleep by his side, but his brother. The King and Boromir must have switched places during the night because a few feet away from where they laid down to rest, he could make out the tall figure of the King standing with his head thrown back towards the heavens.
Faramir sat up, blurry eyed before noticing that light had once more came to the forest where a few hours before, darkness had dwelled. The moon shone once again and in her soft light, Aragorn's sharp features were put into relief, his face beautiful and severe at the same time. His head was cocked to one side, a clear indication that he had heard some noise in the dark that had nothing to do with the wind blowing in the trees.
Something was watching them. And it was close. Very close. And a deep anger filled the woods, its intensity so terrible that the Men could sense it in their very bones. Even Boromir, who was asleep, could feel it, his body stirring as he resurfaced to the realm of consciousness, coming awake in a matter of seconds.
Aragorn turned towards where the brothers lay, putting a finger to his lips in a clear warning for them to be silent.
"The white moon has awakened and all that lay in the shadows shall be revealed. Be on your guard," the King warned as he silently motioned his men to get to their feet and pick up their weapons.
"Where are we going?" Boromir asked, his voice thick with sleep and exhaustion.
"We are going to find food. We will see if our traps have caught any beast fit to be eaten. But be alert, I fear our escort is near and I found this embedded in the tree close to where we were resting," Aragorn continued, holding up an arrow for the brothers to see.
"What does this mean?" Faramir asked, bewildered.
"It means our escort is armed and he wants us to know that. But come along now and do not fret over such trifling matters. We must look for food or we will not have the strength to make our way back to Minas Tirith."
And with that the Men set out with weapons in hand, their eyes warily surveying their surroundings while their feet moved quickly and silently over the forest floor.
Some hours passed and dawn was fast approaching. Yet the men once more found their devices dismantled and any hopes of feasting upon meat dashed as they gazed at the ropes that had been cut and wooden traps shattered to let the captured creature lose.
"We must look for food, my lord. We have lingered too long here in the wilderness and whatever rations we have brought with us will not be enough to sustain us for the journey home," Boromir said, his voice calm despite the anger that festered in his heart.
The King was silent, quietly surveying what was left of the trap before his quick eyes noticed the drops of blood that had dried upon a splinter of wood. He smiled, his face mirroring relief and hope. He bent down, his fingertips lightly running over the sharp edge of the splinter and he looked at the blood that had come off upon his finger pads.
"This is fresh blood. A creature had been ensnared in this trap not too long ago and had only just been released. It cannot have gone far for it is injured. Come, my friends! We must track it down!" he cried and dashed off, disappearing into the thick undergrowth leaving the brothers to follow him.
And followed him they did – Aragorn taking them deeper into the forest, their paths zigzagging through the trees before reaching a clearing where they saw, resting upon the ground, a deer.
It was indeed injured, its hind legs bloodied by the trap making it impossible for it to escape should the men come upon them. Victory was theirs and the King drew out his bow and arrow, the deadly weapon pointing straight at the animal's heart.
It happened too quickly. The whistle of an arrow leaving its bow. The sickening sound of the sharp tip sinking into warm flesh. The sudden, shrill sound emitting from the deer as it struggled to escape, its hind legs buckling uselessly as it tried to run away… But not before there was a loud exclamation from the brothers as something leapt down from the trees, trying but failing to deflect the path of the King's arrow before it reached the deer's heart.
"N'uma! N'uma!" it cried, the Men only registering a blur of green, brown and silver before it sprinted away towards the direction where the deer escaped to.
"After him!" Aragorn said, his brows furrowing in incredulity before running off in hot pursuit of his prey. Despite the state of utter confusion, the brothers followed the King's orders, the three men scurrying after the lithe figure before them that ran as swiftly as the wind.
The figure seemed to disappear amongst the thick vegetation after a moment, and the men might not have been successful in tracking their strange attacker if it had not been for the piteous sound made by the dying deer amidst the clearing.
They approached with caution, Aragorn taking the lead while he carefully parted the barriers that the plants imposed upon them. And there, so close to where they were hiding, they could see – see something that seemingly surpasses belief as their eyes were fixed upon the sight before them.
It was a Man … yet not a man for it was shaped more delicately than any Gondorian male that had ever walked the earth. His skin was fair, seeming as though he had never felt the warmth of the sun upon his skin and his hair a strange shade of silver and gold.
He was kneeling before the deer, cradling the head tenderly in the crook of his arms as if he were tending to a baby and whispered into its ear while the animal panted in pain, every breath it took rattling in its chest. And the Men watched in increasing disbelief as the deer appeared to be listening to the strange, melodious tilt of his voice, its trashing slowly subsiding as if it were calmed by the very sound of the stranger's voice.
Then with a sudden stiffening of the figure's shoulder a loud crack was heard as he snapped the deer's neck, instantly ending the beast's misery. The slight shoulders trembled for a moment, its nose pressing into the deer's neck while the Men looked on, silent and wary.
And then came the silence, thick and uncomfortable as the stranger continued to cradle the dead animal's head in his arms, gently rocking it and singing his strange song…
"*Nadorhuan*," a voice hissed, the anger lacing it making it tremble. The figure sprang to his feet, his eyes glittering with fury and teeth bared in aggression.
"Aragorn, look out!" Boromir roared, grasping his sword while the stranger charged towards the King with a gleaming knife clutched in his fist…
to be continued…
Pairing: Legolas/Aragorn
Rating: Overall, NC-17 but this is PG
Warnings: AU, You may not understand what Legolas is saying coz you're not supposed to, but I assure you it is really Elvish he is speaking in.
Summary: The shadow has a face…
The Kill
It was not until later in the night that Faramir realized that it was not Aragorn who was asleep by his side, but his brother. The King and Boromir must have switched places during the night because a few feet away from where they laid down to rest, he could make out the tall figure of the King standing with his head thrown back towards the heavens.
Faramir sat up, blurry eyed before noticing that light had once more came to the forest where a few hours before, darkness had dwelled. The moon shone once again and in her soft light, Aragorn's sharp features were put into relief, his face beautiful and severe at the same time. His head was cocked to one side, a clear indication that he had heard some noise in the dark that had nothing to do with the wind blowing in the trees.
Something was watching them. And it was close. Very close. And a deep anger filled the woods, its intensity so terrible that the Men could sense it in their very bones. Even Boromir, who was asleep, could feel it, his body stirring as he resurfaced to the realm of consciousness, coming awake in a matter of seconds.
Aragorn turned towards where the brothers lay, putting a finger to his lips in a clear warning for them to be silent.
"The white moon has awakened and all that lay in the shadows shall be revealed. Be on your guard," the King warned as he silently motioned his men to get to their feet and pick up their weapons.
"Where are we going?" Boromir asked, his voice thick with sleep and exhaustion.
"We are going to find food. We will see if our traps have caught any beast fit to be eaten. But be alert, I fear our escort is near and I found this embedded in the tree close to where we were resting," Aragorn continued, holding up an arrow for the brothers to see.
"What does this mean?" Faramir asked, bewildered.
"It means our escort is armed and he wants us to know that. But come along now and do not fret over such trifling matters. We must look for food or we will not have the strength to make our way back to Minas Tirith."
And with that the Men set out with weapons in hand, their eyes warily surveying their surroundings while their feet moved quickly and silently over the forest floor.
Some hours passed and dawn was fast approaching. Yet the men once more found their devices dismantled and any hopes of feasting upon meat dashed as they gazed at the ropes that had been cut and wooden traps shattered to let the captured creature lose.
"We must look for food, my lord. We have lingered too long here in the wilderness and whatever rations we have brought with us will not be enough to sustain us for the journey home," Boromir said, his voice calm despite the anger that festered in his heart.
The King was silent, quietly surveying what was left of the trap before his quick eyes noticed the drops of blood that had dried upon a splinter of wood. He smiled, his face mirroring relief and hope. He bent down, his fingertips lightly running over the sharp edge of the splinter and he looked at the blood that had come off upon his finger pads.
"This is fresh blood. A creature had been ensnared in this trap not too long ago and had only just been released. It cannot have gone far for it is injured. Come, my friends! We must track it down!" he cried and dashed off, disappearing into the thick undergrowth leaving the brothers to follow him.
And followed him they did – Aragorn taking them deeper into the forest, their paths zigzagging through the trees before reaching a clearing where they saw, resting upon the ground, a deer.
It was indeed injured, its hind legs bloodied by the trap making it impossible for it to escape should the men come upon them. Victory was theirs and the King drew out his bow and arrow, the deadly weapon pointing straight at the animal's heart.
It happened too quickly. The whistle of an arrow leaving its bow. The sickening sound of the sharp tip sinking into warm flesh. The sudden, shrill sound emitting from the deer as it struggled to escape, its hind legs buckling uselessly as it tried to run away… But not before there was a loud exclamation from the brothers as something leapt down from the trees, trying but failing to deflect the path of the King's arrow before it reached the deer's heart.
"N'uma! N'uma!" it cried, the Men only registering a blur of green, brown and silver before it sprinted away towards the direction where the deer escaped to.
"After him!" Aragorn said, his brows furrowing in incredulity before running off in hot pursuit of his prey. Despite the state of utter confusion, the brothers followed the King's orders, the three men scurrying after the lithe figure before them that ran as swiftly as the wind.
The figure seemed to disappear amongst the thick vegetation after a moment, and the men might not have been successful in tracking their strange attacker if it had not been for the piteous sound made by the dying deer amidst the clearing.
They approached with caution, Aragorn taking the lead while he carefully parted the barriers that the plants imposed upon them. And there, so close to where they were hiding, they could see – see something that seemingly surpasses belief as their eyes were fixed upon the sight before them.
It was a Man … yet not a man for it was shaped more delicately than any Gondorian male that had ever walked the earth. His skin was fair, seeming as though he had never felt the warmth of the sun upon his skin and his hair a strange shade of silver and gold.
He was kneeling before the deer, cradling the head tenderly in the crook of his arms as if he were tending to a baby and whispered into its ear while the animal panted in pain, every breath it took rattling in its chest. And the Men watched in increasing disbelief as the deer appeared to be listening to the strange, melodious tilt of his voice, its trashing slowly subsiding as if it were calmed by the very sound of the stranger's voice.
Then with a sudden stiffening of the figure's shoulder a loud crack was heard as he snapped the deer's neck, instantly ending the beast's misery. The slight shoulders trembled for a moment, its nose pressing into the deer's neck while the Men looked on, silent and wary.
And then came the silence, thick and uncomfortable as the stranger continued to cradle the dead animal's head in his arms, gently rocking it and singing his strange song…
"*Nadorhuan*," a voice hissed, the anger lacing it making it tremble. The figure sprang to his feet, his eyes glittering with fury and teeth bared in aggression.
"Aragorn, look out!" Boromir roared, grasping his sword while the stranger charged towards the King with a gleaming knife clutched in his fist…
to be continued…