Hello there!

Was busy over the weekend - here´s the 11th chapter, I hope you´ll like it.

PLEASE let me know what you think, your comments are so appreciated!

Thanks so much to everybody who reviewed already!! It is wonderful to read your commets!

Review response:

Gozilla: Thanks!! And here´s your update :)

Luntetuurewen: You are so correct about Daramus - he has no intention of dying, oh no...On the contrary...And he still needs to know what that parchment said...Well, but that´s for future chapters!

Red Tigress: Thank you!! I´m so happy with the reviews I have, honestly ... but of course more would be great, we´ll see. Hope you continue to enjoy!

Invisigoth3: You are just as curious as Aragorn? Then this chapter will help - a little ;-)

That´s it for today, on with the story!

Alinah

Rating: PG 13

Disclaimer: Far from mine...

Memories and fears

"Our story is long to tell", she began hesitantly, "too long for now, as danger lingers closer than ever. I will not bother you with all the tragedies, betrayals and disappointments it contains." She grew quiet, and Aragorn waited as she weighted, selected . Another deep sigh broke from her, but this one carried determination that overrode all pain. When she spoke again, her voice was strong and her pace brisk..

"There are many sorry fates to be found among the inhabitants of this village, but one is shared by all. Once upon a lifetime, we were on our road to wherever our lives bid us to go. We were never meant to arrive, but instead met with a sudden fog, filled with danger that pursues but never strikes for a kill. Desperation and fear quicken the steps and cloud the mind. A sweet voice promises deliverance, guiding the steps into a cave. And then, the wood, the village, the prison."

Aragorn could sense her tense eyes on him as images flickered across his memory, still elusive but much closer than they ever had been. He thought he could feel the oppressive wet air on his skin, the horse´s laboured breathing filling his ears and fear his thoughts. He glanced up at her, silently bidding her to continue.

"We were all selected, some for knowledge they possessed, some for items they carried. Most of us gladly shared what we had with our saviour. Some even counted their blessings to have found his able help in so dire a danger."

Her voice turned bitter at this, her eyes hard, and Aragorn saw anger and guilt struggle on her features, having by now lost all their gentleness. With an effort she pushed on.

"He was most civil to us. He healed our wounds, he allowed our troubled minds to rest, he provided us with housing and food and protection. Never, however, did he offer us a road to continue our lives on. Unless this road led into the waters."

Silence again. Silence and pain. Aragorn remembered clearly how frightened Telias had seemed of the harmless little brook, and the sight of Legolas drowned on dry ground had burned itself into his soul. He could feel himself tense at the prospect of some answers to his questions, although he feared that these answers might bring more danger than he could now contemplate.

"We should never have come here!" Telanna´s outburst caught the ranger by surprise. She rose from her seat, tears streaming down her face freely. "I should have kept him from ever searching the truth behind his lucky find. Lucky! His death is was, and not his alone..." Her voice broke and she sobbed, turning away from Aragorn.

He rose as well, unsure how to proceed. Desperation radiated from Telanna´s shaking form like heat from a fire, and as much as he wanted to, he found no words of solace. Breaking away from the table, the woman hastened up the stairs and vanished from sight, her heavy footsteps crossing the kitchen, then fading away.

Aragorn was stunned. He had sensed Telanna´s distress beneath her strength, but had not expected it to break lose like this. Wordlessly, he crossed the room to Legolas side, seeking comfort in his sleeping friend´s company.

He put his head into his hands wearily as he sat down on his bed. For the first time since he had arrived in this eerie place, he caught a glimpse at the true situation he found himself in. It did not bode well, not at all.

Daramus´ own words and the information Telanna had provided combined to verify his instinctive reaction to the old man, but he took no pleasure in being proved correct. It was obvious that though human, this creature was old beyond the measure of any man. If the elves had imprisoned him and taken away his knowledge of their tongue, this could only mean that he had secretly risen to a level of power that had never been meant for him. And in his prison, he had plotted his escape, drawing in those he considered to he helpful to his purposes.

Even though Aragorn was far beyond understanding it all, he had some insight into his own role in this ploy. Only too well he remembered the words the parchment had held, and he silently thanked Legolas´ quick thinking setting it one fire.

The words he had read would have called forth a creature of old, one Aragorn felt sure he knew something about, but once again memory eluded him. All he could get a hold of was the image of a hooded figure in a boat shrouded in swirls of darkness. From what Daramus himself had said, this creature would be able to free him, and that alone was enough to convince the ranger of its evil.

Still, he was at a loss at what to do next. His urge was to get a sword and attack Daramus head-on, but he knew in his heart that this was a most foolish thought. He sighed deeply.

"Dim, mellon-nin?" //Sad, my friend?// a soft voice inquired. Aragorn started out of his dark musings and felt a huge grin spread over his face.

"Less now that you are back to share the load with me." Relief washed over him when he looked into Legolas clear blue eyes. There was some pain in them, but much less than he had feared, and no signs of confusion. A weight he had not realized he had been carrying dropped away from him, and his mood lifted. He was no longer alone in his struggles.

Very gingerly, the elf pushed himself into a sitting position, unable to hide the flicker of pain that crossed his face in the process. Aragorn resisted the impulse to grab his friend and hold him steady, knowing how much he valued his independence and confident that nothing could happen even in the case he failed to overcome his obvious dizziness.

For a moment, Legolas sat still, eyes closed and hands clasping the sides of his bed, but when he opened them again, they were full of mirth. "Tirado, al-úmarth." //See, no mishap.// When the ranger snorted dismissively at this, he added for good measure: "Im mae. And you seem to agree with me for once, or else you would not ask me to carry any loads upon awakening." //I´m fine.//

"Don´t you turn the words around in my mouth", Aragorn growled good-naturedly, only slightly annoyed at being bested by the elf´s wit before he was even fully awake - unless, of course, his friend had been aware for some time already. "Tell me, just how long have you been lying around lazily, playing tricks on poor humans?"

Legolas looked honestly surprised for a moment, but then caught on to the ranger´s bluff and rolled his eyes, considering the score even for now. "I heard some of what you and Telanna talked about" he confessed, "but I did not feel like intruding. She might have been even more upset in my presence. I must have slumbered some more after she left, I only just became aware of you brooding right in front of my face."

Aragorn passed on the chance of bantering this time, nodding his consent to Legolas´ reasoning about Telanna. "You may be right, but I did not do very well as it was. I failed to see how deeply troubled she was. I might have eased the pain a bit had I known."

"And how, my friend?" Legolas shook his head gently, stopping in mid-motion and closing his eyes for a heartbeat but never breaking stride in his friendly scolding. "You should not take it upon yourself to ease every pain around you, Aragorn. Especially not here, where it is present in such abundance. Telanna seemed like a strong soul to me, and she will return once she is ready to. She has lost so much, her reaction shows more compassion than weakness."

Sensing more behind the words, Aragorn raised a questioning eyebrow. "Is there anything you know about her losses, my friend, beyond their existence?"

Legolas´ eyes grew distant for a moment before he answered. "Aye, my friend. This very room reeks of her hurt. She does not bear it alone, however, even though she may conceive it so. The souls that were taken have not passed from this village. They are as caught here as the living, and as desperate. Some have lost all hope and cry with the storms at night, others have lost their minds and try to laugh their terror away." Sadness glistened in his look. "Many were killed in the stream, too many to count. They are walking its shores begging for deliverance. There were three voices breathing Telanna´s name last night."

He fell silent, allowing Aragorn to come to terms with what he had said. The ranger shivered, vividly recalling last night. He believed the elf without question, no doubt about his sanity troubling his mind. He couldn´t help but wonder at how the elf could so calmly relate to this horror, and he felt gratitude for his friend´s strong presence.

Out loud he mused: "This would also explain Telias` fear of the brook, although he does not seem to know what is behind it. " A sudden thought hit him then, and he looked up at Legolas sharply. "What about your encounter with the water? Do you recall what happened yesterday?" He could not believe himself for not asking this question right away, but Legolas only smiled at him.

"That depends on when yesterday you mean. I´m afraid I have lost some hours, though I feel sure that I will not miss them." He did not openly react to Aragorn´s shaking head, indicating how little the human could comprehend the traces of humor in his voice, but continued more solemnly: "I do remember waking up after you left. I heeded your advice to rest, even tough I felt better. I took out your pouch and had only just started to look at what it contained when Daramus walked in."

A shudder passed over the elf, all mirth erased. "His evil soaks the air around him, Aragorn. And his hate. He was furious to find me holding the items he had obviously come to inspect. He demanded them to be given to him." Legolas paused, reflecting. "I had had no time to truly understand what I was looking at, but I was sure that he should never have it."

"And so you refused", Aragorn cut in with a sigh.

"What else could I have done? I dimly remembered the pain it had caused him to touch me at the riverbank, and I hoped that he would not resolve to open violence just yet. Alas, I was wrong." Legolas held on again, head slightly tipped to the side, clearly searching for a way to word his next memories. "It already knew me, you see." His voice was distant again. "It even called my name. I cannot tell you where it came from at that moment, but a wave of dark water jumped at me. It was so strong it threw me against the wall. There was a rush of wind accompanying it. Then there was darkness and cold wrapped around me, and no matter how I struggled I could not break its grip. It knew me."

He looked up at Aragorn questioningly. It was clear that recalling his helplessness pained him, and the ranger was relieved that he could offer a thought on part of the riddle.

"When I found you in the clearing, one of your hands was trailing in the water. Blood from your shoulder wound was dripping into the brook."

Legolas nodded, deep in thought. "That may explain how it knew me", he said, sounding satisfied, "but not what this creature really is..."

They remained silent for a while, both lost in thoughts, until the sound of steps over their heads alerted them. Aragorn stood, knife in hand, and motioned for the elf to stay seated behind him. The trap-door creaked open and light steps nimbly descended, followed by heavier ones. Aragorn had his knife out of sight before Telias and Telanna entered the room.

The boy started when he saw Legolas looking at him and almost dropped the bowl with fruit he was carrying. Curiosity, fear and joy warred on his round face, and he wisely resolved to his manners . "Well met, Master Legolas", he said with a bow, glancing uncertainly up through his shock of black hair.

"Well met indeed, Master Telias", the elf responded graciously, "I am glad to meet such a valiant young man and future hunter." Obviously having overheard part of the boy´s conversation with Aragorn, Legolas easily struck the right chord with the child. In a matter of moments, the boy was sitting at the edge of the bed, sharing the bowl of fruits with this new friend.

Aragorn smiled at Telanna, noting her red eyes as well as her straight pose. He followed her to the table where she placed bread and cheese.

"I apologize", she said under her breath, "I had thought all my tears spend, and I was wrong." "There is no need for apologies", the ranger responded just as quietly, "I would like to thank you for your pains. If you meant to persuade me to help you in your struggles, you need say no more. All I ask is for you to help me recall what I know. Maybe my memories hold a key out of our prison."

Telias´light laughter drifted over to them, mingled with Legolas´ melodic chuckle, and Telanna´s eyes misted. "Aye, I will help you. There is little time. You must have hurt him badly last night, for I could not detect any movement in the mill today. But he will come after you soon, and he will look here first."

She drew herself up, all doubt wiped away. "I will prepare the drink for you, Master Aragorn, and you should prepare your soul. There is hardly any light in the memories I help retrieve."

TBC