Muse's notes: Nimraug: Ummmm… I hate to say this… but… Nimenel: Mariana is indisposed of right now. Actually… Nimeril: She's on a guilt trip. Merkarell: She's hiding under her bed in our vacation home. Raug: Merka… Merka: What? *Is pounced on by Raug. They start to fight* Morisikil: NE way… I should take charge here. She's a little upset now because she killed Chanarin. Celebmaranwe: So Mariana told us to take charge while she recovers. Lindehyanda: Which we should do so right now. So lets get going. Mori: *looks at fighting Raug and Merka* Looks like I'll be taking charge. If you don't mind, Enel. Enel: Oh, be my guest. I have other things to do anyway. Mori: Okay. Thanks. So let's start.
Response to Reviewers
Jaden: I won't stop, don't worry.
For complete disclaimer and such, see first chapter.
Italics denote thoughts.
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Legolas ducked the blow and backed off from the man that had thrown it at him. I can't believe this! He caught me off guard! He had almost no time to dodge the man rushed him. Where does his strength come from?! And his speed… A flash of metal appeared in the man's hand. A dagger! Legolas reached for the knife that would have been in his belt had he not forgotten it. This is getting worse by the second. Now why did I leave my weapons at home? He had no time to do anything about it, so he would have to try to get through this fight without his weapons. The man charged again, this time with the dagger in his hand. Legolas moved to dodge the strike but found that his opponent had anticipated his move and threw out his arm to catch the elf in the shoulder, sending him off balance. The prince went crashing into the undergrowth. He sprang to his feet to meet the next rush. But before he could completely rise, he was grabbed roughly from behind and then everything faded to black.
* * *
Legolas groaned as he came to. There was a blurry figure leaning over him. He started to rise, but the figure held him down.
"Legolas, relax. It's only me." The figure said softly.
"Mariana?" Legolas' focus was improving. He was beginning to see the features on the figure's face.
"Yes. Now lie still. You were in pretty bad shape when they threw you in here." She spat the word out like a curse.
"Wait. They? You mean those two men?" Legolas was starting to wonder what exactly was going on. His hand moved absently up to his forehead, but Mariana stopped him.
"Don't. You have quite a bruise there. And yes, the two men that apparently attacked you. What are you doing here anyway?"
"I didn't have a choice. It just happened. One minute I was fighting one of the men, and the next I wake up here. Sore, I might add." Legolas started to sit, and Mariana reached out to stop him. He brushed off her hands and gave her an amused look. "Mariana, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me." Suddenly, the door was roughly opened and the figures of two men appeared. "But I think we have something to worry about now." He whispered too low for the men to hear.
"Up, both of you. And don't try to struggle." One of them snarled at the elves. They both obeyed without question. The other one started towards them, uncoiling a length of rope. He tightly bound both of the elves' hands behind their backs and shoved them towards the door. They were both led down a long, roughly hewn stone corridor, through another door, and into what looked like a great hall. Legolas looked around, searching the shadows for the presence he felt within the room. He was mildly surprised when a shadow detached itself from one of the walls. The figure moved out into the light and removed his hood. Legolas' eyes narrowed as he saw the face of the man standing before him. There was something about the man that was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"These the ones you wanted?" one of the elves' captors asked the other man, who only nodded. "Good. Now for our agreement…"
"One more thing. She had weapons, didn't she?" the man in the dark cloak nodded toward Mariana. The elves' captors nodded and one of them left the room in search of Mariana's weapons. He came back later with a large bundle and handed it to the man in the cloak.
"Is that all you wanted?" he asked. The cloaked man said nothing and just tossed a bag of coins to one of the men, turned, beckoned the elves to follow him, and left the room.
* * *
Legolas winced and rubbed his wrists as the circulation was painfully restored. He glanced across the wide plain that they were now on, wondering where they were. The prince turned back to the man and looked him up and down, trying to remember where he knew the man from.
"My name is Aragorn." He said, catching Legolas' curious glance.
"Strider? Is that really you?" Legolas took a step towards the ranger, grinning.
"Legolas. It's good to see you." Aragorn closed the distance between them with a few steps and greeted the elf before turning to Mariana. "You must be Mariana. Legolas has told me some about you."
"But he has told me a lot about you. He's always going on about a ranger called 'Strider'." Mariana took the hand he offered to her. Legolas shot a look at Mariana and she grinned.
"Oh, Legolas, I think these belong to you." Aragorn said, releasing Mariana's hand, turning around and picking up a bundle. He handed it to Legolas.
"How did you get this?" Legolas asked after unwrapping the bundle. It was his quiver, still with the bow attached and with his knives still within their sheaths. He eyed Aragorn suspiciously, who only snorted with amusement. Mariana laughed at Legolas' expression.
"Your friend Talkerm helped me out. Along with Kasmerc." The ranger replied. The Elven prince snorted with annoyance and rolled his eyes. He hasn't changed at all, except for aging some. He's still as secretive as he was a few years ago. And as mischievous. The corners of the man's mouth were twitching and unshed tears of mirth were glistening in his eyes. Legolas raised one eyebrow, which caused the human to start snickering. The elf raised his eyes to the heavens and muttered something that the human couldn't catch, but Mariana, who was leaning forward to catch the words, almost fell over backwards laughing. Aragorn turned to her and demanded "What did he say?"
"Oh, nothing short of: Ai, Valar help me. Save me from my human tormenter." Mariana snickered. Aragorn turned to Legolas in shock. The prince gave the ranger a look of pure innocence, and started to laugh at the expression of his face.
"Legolas…" the ranger warned, then forgot about what he was going to say. He had decided that it would only make matters worse. "Never mind. We should be moving on. What I gave your captors had little worth in this area, so I don't want them to come after us. There are more men in there than you know. I've seen most of their force, and it is a rather large one." The elves stopped laughing instantly.
"What chance do we have against their force?" Mariana asked.
"None what-so-ever. I would tell you what they do to elves and cheats, but it's much too gruesome. I can't even stand the thought of it, and I've seen it happen." Aragorn sighed sadly, stood up, and moved on towards the woods on the other side of the plains. The elves followed after.
"How much time do you think we have before they come after us?" Legolas questioned, moving up to walk next to the ranger.
"Not much more than an hour. We can reach the forest in a little more than that, if we travel at this pace. But we can hide our trail within the forest." The ranger replied gravely.
"Nay. You forget. This is their land. They know it better than we do."
"Ah, but I have found a safe spot for us to hide in until the danger passes."
"Then take us there, and quickly, oh great ranger. Our enemies are out hunting us now." Mariana kept her voice steady as both the prince and the ranger glanced back at what she was pointing at.
"Have they spotted us yet?" Legolas questioned his friend. Mariana shook her head. Meanwhile, Aragorn was cursing under his breath.
"I didn't think that they would find out that fast." He muttered.
"Forget about that. They have spotted us. Let's go!" Mariana pushed past the man and started towards the forest at a sprint. Legolas shrugged and followed her example, beckoning the man to do the same.
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TBC*grins as she returns from guilt trip* Hi, all you readers. I hope my muses haven't bored you yet. I've recovered from my lapse into the Sea of Guilt. I have this nagging thought of guilt that's tormenting me, but that's all. I'm fine now. And I thank my muses for filling in for me while I tried to recover.
NE ways… R&R! The comments help me recover and post faster, so make sure to leave me a note on my story! You are all wonderful because you helped me get over my guilt. Thanks a lot.
Namarie!
~*Mariana Nimeneth*~