We Never Know the Worth of Water
...until the well is dry
Please note: ELROHIR IS DEAD. THERE WILL BE NO SAVING HIM unless I decide that I feel like saving him, and reviews might help...(hint, hint)
Thank you for the reviews! I love reviews!
Leafy - thank you for the review. I'm glad you like it. How do you *think* Elrohir's death will affect every one? Elladan, in particular.
RM - thanks, I'm glad you deemed it worthy.
Mariana Nimeneth - I'm really glad to be your partner in crime, too. Can I have your wings?
Angel - thanks so much for the review.
blue alien - thank you for the review. I personally am not a fan of coffee, (except in ice cream form) but I like your stories. I knew reviewing my reviewers would help!
I'm glad you all liked it!
Clarification: italics denotes thought
This is a short chapter, but that's because I found a wonderful way to end it...enjoy!
Chapter 2
Estel
No. Not Elrohir! No! The thoughts whirled in Estel's mind. Elladan's sobs barely registered; all Estel could hear were Elrohir's last words, and the image of the dead twin was burned into his memory forever. No! Elrohir!
~ ~ ~memory~ ~ ~
"C'mon, Estel! Can't you catch me?" Elrohir joked as his horse pulled ahead of the human's.
"Well..." Estel began, appearing uncertain.
Elrohir laughed, spotting the finish line in the twilight. "Little brother, I think I've won. Again." Much to the elf's surprise, Estel put on a burst of speed, crossing the finish line first. The look on the elf's face ws priceless, as, once again, Elrohir vowed not to be so cocky next time. There was a snort from one of the nearby trees. Swiftly scooping up an unripe apple from the ground, Elrohir hit Elladan square on the forehead, knocking him out of the tree.
"Ouch! Elrohir..."
"Elladan, you really need to learn how not to give away your hiding place, especially when we have unripe apples at hand."
An orc arrow whizzed by Elrohir's ear. A little too late they realized they had not brought their weapons with them. Unarmed, all the twins and the human could do was hop on the horses and go. "I can't believe we didn't bring our weapons!" the human exclaimed, taking off. "C'mon you two!"
The twins were right behind him, both on Elrohir's horse. "For our camp or for Imladris?" asked Elladan.
"Camp," replied Elrohir, "Where our weapons are. We'll never make it to Imladris, even at this pace. That way, we'll be armed. We can take this many orcs."
Reaching camp, they grabbed their weapons and turned to meet the oncoming wall of orcs. There were less than twenty of them, and they all looked rather dismayed to find that the elves and human had weapons after all. They came any way, and Elrohir was proved right. The fray lasted all of five minutes.
Sometime toward the end of it, Elrohir caught a glancing blow on the head and went down. The other orcs were dead before they could even consider using their advantage. Elladan was immediately at his brother's side. Feeling the fallen elf's neck, he sighed with relief. "There's a pulse."
Estel, who had been standing over the two, jumped when Elrohir's eyes popped open. Elrohir snorted. "As if mere orcs could kill Elrohir the Great, Elrohir the Wise, Elrohir the Talented, Elrohir the..."
"You'll be Elrohir the Unconscious if you keep that up," Elladan growled. "You scared us."
Elrohir's face quickly became serious. "I wouldn't die on you, brothers."
~ ~ ~ ~end~ ~ ~ ~
"You promised," Estel whispered. "You told us that you wouldn't, but you did." Elrohir, he thought, You promised, you promised, but you did not keep it. How did it happen? How could it happen? Elves were supposed to be immortal, Estel was supposed to die first. Not Elrohir. If only Elrohir had not gone on that wild goose chase after the nonexistent deer...
There could be no "if onlys" now. Elrohir had gone, and he was dead because of it. Why had he gone after it? Surely he hadn't seen it go that direction, even Estel had seen it go the other way.
~ ~ ~memory~ ~ ~
Brother, it is you that have gone blind. The deer went right. Didn't it, Estel?
"I didn't see which way it went," announced the human., shooting meaningful glances at his brothers. Don't drag me into it.
Elrohir spotted the lie at once. Estel, you saw it. Which way did it go? It went right, didn't it.
I said not to drag me into your bickering, Estel snapped.
~ ~ ~ ~end~ ~ ~ ~
He should have told Elrohir that it had gone the other way. He should have sided with Elladan. He had known which way the deer went, but thought it would be funny to see Elrohir chase after nothing. To see if he could track a deer that didn't exist. Some joke it turned out to be. By playing that joke on his brother, he had killed him. He had caused Elrohir's death.
The tears flowed faster and more freely down the humans face. He had caused it. He had caused it...
Eventually, after what seemed like years, Estel's spinning mind reached a state of general numbness. Elladan was silent; he had cried himself out. His body shuddered occasionally, but otherwise was still.
It was a sound that brought the human back to the real world. His mind was so foggy at first that he couldn't identify it. He heard it again, a long, howling noise. He stood up, and a brief stab of pain in his left thigh almost knocked him over again. He hadn't noticed when he had gotten hurt, he had been so fixated on Elrohir. He steadied himself, walked a few steps, and decided he could handle it.
He tried to put his brain into action. He tried to recall what that was. He heard it again, closer, this time accompanied by several shrieks. His mind clicked into focus. Orcs! He let out a moan. And Wargs. And in greater numbers, unless I'm much mistaken, he thought wildly. He gazed around the clearing. The night was dead silent, except for the wargs and orcs. He heard the noise again, from the north. Good. At least I know which direction they're coming from, he thought grimly.
He heard it yet again, and even closer. "Elladan, I think we should get out of here. I'll carry Elrohir." There was no reply. "Elladan," said Estel, sharply. "Elladan, answer me!" Frightened, he turned to look at the elf. He gasped. "No," he whispered.
TBC....
Mwahahaha!
I bet you're all saying to yourselves, "Wow, that was a great ending, it really doesn't leave anything hanging, does it." Told you it was great!
Remember, reviews might just save Elrohir! Although, you should be concerned about Elladan, too... *laughs evilly* I AM the author, and I CAN and probably WILL kill one or both of them, if I don't get enough reviews...
with that in mind, please r/r!
