I'm back!!! ^_^ So, here we go with yet another chapter of this story... now, I can't help but think you wonderful readers of mine seem to think I was a little... mean, in that last chapter... what can I say? Evil is what I am and Evil is what I shall always be... =)
Crystal Cold Tears; Faramir huh? Hmmm... I've never ever written anything with Faramir in before... I see what I can do... ^_^
Deana; =) Thanks for the review!!! Yup, they're in trouble... I'm enjoying this!
LEGOLAS; What, you're enjoying making, not only mine and Aragorn, but Arwen and her baby's lives a misery as well?!?!
ARAGORN; You should be ashamed of yourself...
Well... oh shut up you two; get back in your hamster cage!!! =( That's double torture for you both now... when my favourite chapter of this comes up... =)
LEGOLAS; *gulp* What makes me think we've just made life worse for ourselves?
Dha-Gal; More Skittles?! Woah... o_O Hyperactivity Sugar Overload!!! BWUHAHAHAHA!!! ^_^ Yes, a cool stunt... but it didn't make up for Lack of Elf, as me and my mates now call it!
Gwyn; Who, me?! *sniff* Why Gwyn, I'm hurt! It was the plot NazgĂșl!!! He made me do it!!! True, but Conyc not warning Arwen is going to be quite essential... I'll say no more...
Sirithiliel; I'm not stopping! ^_^ LOADS more chapters to come yet! ^_^ There will be more Legolas angst... I can promise you that... =)
LEGOLAS; Gwyn was right... you are evil...
Read the top line Legs... Evil is as Evil does...
LEGOLAS; Wha-?!
Estel Elven Enchantress; Jo. No. You CANNOT have a conscience if we're going to carry on with that joint fic!!! *reads rest of review* WHAT?!?!?! JO, HOW COULD YOU?!?!?! You and your $*%^%*$ typos!!! Now I look like a prat... wait... no one says it doesn't mean that... I say it does! There, sorted! ... Then some Tolkien know-it-all comes on and tells me 'the land' is translated as something stupid like Dpkhpnhoiwkfpafnsgn... --- look! Random lettering!!! Sorry... hyper...
~*~*~*~BTW, JO AND I HAVE A JOINT ACCOUNT HERE WHERE WE'VE BEGAN A LOVELY LEGOLAS ANGST STORY UNDER THE NAME MISTRESSESOFEVIL SO IF YOU WOULD CHECK IT OUT WE WOULD BE VERY PLEASED! THE STORY IS CALLED TWILIGHT!!!~*~*~*~
XM6; Thanks!
Anarya; ^_^ Thanks! Oh, 'Fighting the Darkness'... well, I've written some of it. I haven't started posting it yet, I've got so many stories on the go at the moment, and I can't handle having to worry about another one. ^_^ It WILL be up soon though!
Darcy Took; Thanks Darc!!! ^_^
So, without further ado... chapter 9...
.:Chapter 9:.
"Aragorn!!!"
The young king bolted upright in his chair. Gimli had just finished what he'd said, and the three friends had been sitting in silence, when Arwen's scream had reached his ears. He jumped up and flew out of the room like a shot, Legolas and Gimli staring from the room with shock.
The Elf moved to get up and follow his friend, but the Dwarf's hand clamped onto his skinny arm.
"No lad," said Gimli seriously. "You're not well. You stay here, I'll go."
Legolas frowned grimly as he was left alone in the room, only the sound of Gimli hobbling down the hallway with the large stick to keep him company, and even that was for but a short time...
~*~*~*~
The darkness was sweet compared to the harsh realities of the real world, but she couldn't stop herself from waking up. Arwen felt herself being jolted as she was carried in brutish hairy arms. Her large brown eyes slowly opened to reveal a hideous Orc just above her.
The Queen tried to scream, but only now realised that a filthy rag had been stuffed into her mouth. Glancing downwards, she found her hands were bound in front of her. Tears welled up, forcing her to blink them back.
"Aragorn..." she thought desperately. "Help me..."
She managed to glimpse, past the hulking great Orc's arm, the great white city of Minas Tirith, and unbeknownst to her, subconsciously opened her hands and held them protectively over the baby...
~*~*~*~
Aragorn ran down the hallway, his heart beating fast and his breath coming in harsh gasps. As he ran, he opened every door, and received panic-inducing disappointment at each turn of the knob.
Finally reaching the last room, he burst in through the door. He was shocked at what he saw...
Young Conyc sat in the darkened corner of the room, shaking and sobbing into his bony knees. Tearful, puffy brown eyes looked over to him. They widened as they beheld who had come into the room, and hurried back to watch their owners knees again.
Concerned, Aragorn walked over to the apprentice and sat beside him. "Conyc, what happened?"
Conyc gasped, choking slightly on the lump now fully formed in his throat. "I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely. Aragorn had a growing feeling of dread.
"Sorry for what?" he asked tentatively. The boy didn't reply. Instead, he returned to looking at his knees. Aragorn sighed. "Is this something to do with the Queen?" Slowly, Conyc nodded.
Aragorn suddenly gripped the boy by the shoulders. "What?! What happened?!" He watched as Conyc's face crumpled up again.
"I'm sorry!" he sobbed. Aragorn couldn't take it anymore.
"Just tell me what happened!" he shouted desperately, shaking the youngster's shoulders slightly. Conyc stared at him in fear, more tears rolling down his cheeks.
Gimli limped into the room just as Aragorn had let loose. He frowned, somewhat angry at his friend for his shouting. "Aragorn," he said loudly. The king turned back to see the Dwarf standing in the doorway. Gimli walked in slowly. "Let him go laddie, look at him, he's terrified."
Aragorn, ashamed at what he'd just done, let go of the child's shoulders. Conyc sat on the floor, shaking slightly.
"On the door," he croaked, looking down towards the floor. "On the door..."
Aragorn turned around, and retraced his footsteps to the thick oaken door. Gimli followed him. The former Ranger pushed the door gently, and it swung shut. Gimli inhaled sharply at what he saw...
~*~*~*~
In the darkness of the cave, the shadowy figure looked into the ruby eyes of his snake-headed staff with glee. "So it all goes to plan..." he smirked, talking to himself. He coiled his fingers around the serpent's golden cast head, and the vision of the despairing King faded away.
As he silently stalked down the stairs that had been crudely cut from the blackened rocks, the fifty or so Orcs around him stopped their gruff incoherent chatter and looked up towards their leader.
The man smiled, not a happy smile, but a twisted, dark, evil smile. "My friends!" he cried. He paused, looking round at the yellow, black and red eyes that were fixated upon him. "Tonight, your fellows have successfully captured the Queen of Gondor!"
Gravelled, coarse cries filled the air as the Orcs hoisted their spears and scimitars in malicious celebration. The man atop the stairs held up his hands, gesturing for silence. A hush descended in the Mordorian cave.
"As I said before, the Elf that is his friend should, by now, be dead. The Dwarf? Well, I don't believe he will be able to come, not with that injury. Now, they have left our note for the King," he told them. Some of his soldiers sniggered darkly. He sneered. "Shut up!" They immediately became quiet again. Their leader coughed, clearing his throat, before continuing. "You all know what you must do when he arrives, do you not?"
A lone Orc cackled happily and held his own knife to his throat, pretending to slice it open. "We get him..."
~*~*~*~
To the King
You may have noticed your dear wife is gone. I have her here with me; both she and her child are quite well. Safe however, that is a different story. You will come to the caves in Mordor, the same ones your friends attempted to investigate. You will come alone. If you do not, I will slit this pretty lady's throat. You wouldn't want that, would you?
Kindest regards...
Your Worst Nightmare.
Aragorn dropped the yellow parchment to the floor, his hands trembling. The note had been stuck onto the door with a bloodied dagger; a blade of Mordor. He had seen enough of them in his lifetime.
Gimli frowned. He had read the note as well, peering over his friend's arm. He was shocked.
"What are you going to do?" he asked. Aragorn just stood in silence for a moment.
"I... I guess I'll..."
"You'll what Aragorn?" said a voice from behind them. They looked to see Legolas standing in the doorway, leaning against the wooden post, his injured arm hanging loosely at his side. They were surprised to see the Elf fully dressed.
"I was fed up being on my own." he told them simply, reading their expressions. As he looked at Aragorn, he noticed something wrong with his friend. "What happened?"
Aragorn didn't answer him. Frowning, the Elf glanced down and saw the note on the floor. He bent down and picked it up with his good arm. He turned it over and read the words, his eyes widening at each sentence. Finally he looked up.
"You're not going, are you?!" he asked the Man, worried. Aragorn met his gaze with a furious glare.
"Of course I am!" he cried. "If I don't..." He trailed away, breathing harshly. "If I don't they'll kill them... Arwen and my child! I'm not going to risk that Legolas!"
Legolas' expression turned to fear. "Aragorn, you can't!" He went to put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder, but the human just pushed him away and went back to fretting by himself. Legolas sighed, exasperated. "Aragorn, please, listen to me. You saw yourself what happened to us. What if that happened to you?! You'd be up there on your own..."
Aragorn listened to his friend's words. True, they seemed to be spoken in wisdom, and his heart bade him to listen to it... but his head told him otherwise. "I cannot risk it." he repeated, and walked out of the room.
Legolas watched in despair as his friend of many years walked away. Suddenly, he felt a jolt of pain in his stomach. He hissed and leant heavily against the wall, gripping his sides with his good arm. Gimli was by his side in a flash.
"You alright lad?" he asked. He knew the Elf was still ill; there were dark circles lingering under his eyes and he was still too pale.
Legolas took a moment to regain his balance before nodding. "I'm fine," he told the Dwarf. In truth, he was only half-lying; he still felt bad, but now he had the antidote... he would be fine in a few days. But what was that? That had never happened before... he shook his head. No; right now, he had more to worry about with Aragorn and, of course, Arwen...
~*~*~*~
Aragorn was about to leave when he remembered; he hadn't left the City under any rule. Thankfully Faramir was in nearby Ithilien. On his way, he could stop and ask the Steward to take care of the throne in his absence.
He double checked that Anduril hung at his side, held in its sheath. Pulling on a coat, he saddled Brego and mounted. With a glance back at Minas Tirith, he spurred the horse on with a few lines of Elvish; "Noro lim Brego, noro lim..." [Ride hard Brego, ride hard...]
The dust flew up behind him as he faded from the sight of those who watched from the great watch-towers...
~*~*~*~
Legolas strapped on his quiver, his white knives secured in place in the leather holders. He looked up at his reflection in the mirror of his room. He was just wondering if this was the right thing to do, when without warning the pain in his stomach started up again. He leant forward on the wooden desk, squeezing his eyes shut, just waiting for it to stop.
After a few agonising minutes, he was gradually able to stand upright again. This was starting to trouble him; Aragorn hadn't mentioned it. He would have to ask him when he found him.
He pulled the cork out of the pottery flask his friend had presented him with earlier and drank a small mouthful of the medicine inside. It left a disgusting taste in his mouth, and he couldn't help but pull a face. The sooner he was fully well, the better.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" quizzed a gruff voice from the doorway. Gimli entered the room, his arms folded. He had been able to cast aside his makeshift crutch and now limped along. He strode up to the Elf's side. When he received no reply, he raised a bushy eyebrow. "Well laddie?"
Legolas relented. "I'm going after Aragorn." Gimli rolled his eyes.
"Aragorn told you to stay here. You, Master Elf, are not well, and I know it. Don't try and fool me!"
Legolas looked down at the Dwarf. Quickly, he thought of something to make Gimli see sense. "Since when did you do what other people told you? Aragorn told you to stay here as well."
Gimli shifted. "Well, I-"
"And what's this?!" cried the Elf, motioning to the axe strapped firmly to Gimli's back. "Now then, you surely weren't thinking of going after our friend by yourself, did you?!"
Gimli now looked down towards his feet and grumbled.
"And anyway, since when did a Dwarf ride a horse?! And not just any horse, no, a horse owned by an Elf?!"
"Well, actually-" began Gimli.
Legolas cut him off again. "Especially when that Elf could refuse to let him ride the horse!"
"Alright!" cried Gimli, exasperated. "You can come..."
Legolas simply grinned madly to himself. Gimli rolled his eyes once more. "You'll be the death of me laddie..."
~*~*~*~
Woah! I wasn't even expecting this chapter to be this long!!! If I'm honest, I was only going to write a short chapter, but I got caught up in the plot! ^.^ Ha ha, looks like I'm as anxious to get to the end as you lot are! =) Well, please R&R, I really do appreciate and treasure every review! ^_^
