Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR or any thing affiliated with Tolkien enterprises!
Okies, so I'm continuing this one! lol! Anyway, here's the elvish:
Gerich veleth nin - "I love you" (lit. you have my love)
Meleth nin - "my love"
Adar - "father"
Nâ pen-theled si, bedim - "it does not matter anymore, we are leaving" (lit. It is without meaning now, we go)
Henion - "I understand"
Elleth - female elf
Ellon - male elf
Thanks to gwendeth over on CoE for the translation help! Gwen's my hero! ^_^ lol
Notes: I know this chapter is a little on the romantic side, actually so is the next one, but I promise it'll pick up soon! I have a lot of ideas tumbling around in my little brain, and hopefully it won't take too long to get them all written out and posted, but we'll see how it goes! I hope you guys like this chapter as much as the other one! ~ Celeb Gwilwileth ~
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As the hours passed, Laeriel allowed her mind to drift to memories of happier times. She remembered the last day she and Elladan had spent in peace and happiness all those years ago. In those days she had been nothing more than your average elleth, and nobody, not even she herself, could have even guessed that she would become the hardened warrior she was now.
Laeriel sat on a wooden bench in the garden of Imladris singing a tuneful melody to herself as she watched the stars fade and the sun rise. Her long brown hair, which was worn down, shone in the twilight, and was decorated with occasional braids and small flowers. A happy glint could be seen in her sparkling hazel eyes as she stared up at the colourful canopy of fading stars and rising sunlight. She wore a beautiful silver trimmed rich blue dress with ties at the back that caused the dress to hug her body in just the right way.
She chuckled gaily as a small yellow bird sat next to her and began to twitter. Another smile graced her fair features when the small bird perched on the finger she held out for him. Stroking the birds feathers, Laeriel began to sing to it, seemingly to the bird's delight as its happy chirping became more insistent. She was so engrossed with the beautiful little bird that she did not hear Elladan as he approached.
"It seems that we elves are not the only ones who appreciate your wonderful voice, Laeriel," Elladan chuckled lightly from a short distance away.
"Elladan!" she exclaimed, startled by the voice, as she turned to face him. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Only a moment, my lady," he assured her. He was dressed in a light brown tunic, and dark brown pants. His dark brown hair was tied back with braids that extended from his temples to meet at the back of his head, and his grey eyes flashed with happiness.
The young lord sat down beside her, and began stroking the birds feathers as well, cooing happy words to it.
They spent the rest of the day together, as well as the night, for that night was a night of feasting and song in the Hall of Fire.
After the celebration, Elladan and Laeriel returned to the bench they had been seated on that morning, and watched the stars. Though at the time she did not know the reason, Laeriel clung tightly to Elladan that night, knowing only that something felt wrong. Her arms encircled his waist, and she buried her head in his chest.
Suddenly she felt his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up to look into his beautiful grey eyes. For a while neither one moved or spoke as they gazed into one another's eyes. Then Elladan leaned towards her and captured her lips in a passionate kiss - their first.
When they pulled apart their eyes were filled with a strange almost unnatural fire and passion. Neither knew what urgency and passion driven them that night, but they somehow found their way to Laeriel's bedroom, and made love.
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When Elladan awoke a short time later, he looked to the sleeping elleth on his right and reached out to caress her face. His gentle touch had awoken Laeriel, who offered him a lazy, but content smile. They laid next to each other, the sheets only coming up to their waists, and simply smiled happily at one another for a few moments before Elladan broke the silence.
"I must go, meleth nín, before somebody discovers me here." He leaned forward and captured her lips in a hungry, passionate kiss, using his right arm to brace himself as he hovered over her, his left hand resting gently on her hip. Then he pulled back and trailed kisses down her neck, between her breasts, and down to her belly button, which he teased for only a moment before bringing his lips back to her mouth, all the while his hands had remained in the same position. When he pulled back to stare at her he smiled, then kissed the tip of her nose. "Gerich veleth nín," he whispered.
Laeriel smiled as she watched him running around her room looking for where his clothes had fallen earlier that night. She watched him dress with love in her eyes, her smile never fading. "Meleth nín," she whispered.
Once he had dressed, Elladan crossed the room and sat beside her on the bed, while Laeriel sat up. His right hand found its way to her hip, while his left hand cupped her cheek. "I shall see you in the morning, meleth nín." He planted a tender kiss on her lips, then stood and crossed the room to her door. "Until tomorrow," he bid her with a smile as he left her room.
Laeriel smiled and whispered to the door, "until tomorrow." She dressed in her night clothes and returned to the comfort of her bed.
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Once again, Laeriel felt consciousness begin to beckon her. She tried to ignore it until she heard an unfamiliar voice - someone was in her room. Her eyes flew open, and she screamed at the sight that greeted her - an orc face hovering above her. She pushed the orc with a strength she never knew she had and scrambled out of her bed on the other side. It was then that she saw the other orc, it was then that she began to wonder how one orc, let alone two, had gotten into Imladris, and it was then that she finally remembered the terrible feeling that had taken her earlier in the garden. Her heart sank as she looked around her room for a way out, only to realize that she had to go through the two orcs.
She looked frantically around her room for anything she could use as a weapon, and settled on the wooden chair nearby. She grabbed the chair and swung it with all her might at the orcs, sending them toppling to the ground, then ran to her door. As she reached the door, she felt one of the orcs gripping her ankle, and she frantically tried to pull herself free from its grasp. When she realized that tugging was not working, she kicked backward with all her might, and was rewarded with a satisfying crack as her foot connected with the orc's face - the result of the orc's pulling and her kicking. Then she ran out the door, pulling it shut behind her and trying not to think about what the orcs might have had planned for her, and ran toward Elladan's room.
As she rounded a corner, she felt her body come into contact with another body. Assuming it was another orc, Laeriel closed her eyes, screamed and raised her fists when it grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Laeriel," she heard Elladan's voice calling.
She looked up and saw that it was Elladan that had grabbed her, and collapsed into his arms in relief. "How could orcs have gotten into the city?" she asked, though the question came out muffled as her head was buried in the shoulder of his tunic.
"I do not know, meleth nín," he replied, kissing the top of her head. "We must go, though. They have overrun Imladris, and adar has ordered his guards to defend the palace while we escape."
"The guards are not to come with us?" she gasped as she pulled back to look in his eyes - she could not imagine leaving them behind.
"We shall travel to the Golden Wood, where we shall be safe," he said, trying to distract her from the though of leaving the guards behind. "I promise, meleth nín." Elladan kissed her quickly, then lead her to where his family would be waiting, and away from Imladris.
Now Imladris was nothing more than a wasteland, overrun by orcs and uruk-hai and goblins, among other foul things. The once lovely and elegant house of Elrond now burnt to cinders, the lush forest cut down until only a few tree trunks remained scattered about, the elves gone. The lovely garden where Laeriel and Elladan had sat was now nothing more than a memory. How different not just Laeriel, but everyone, had been before that night, how happy, how idealistic - that night when Laeriel had lost her purity and her innocence in more ways than one. But it comforted her to know she had gained something infinitely more important in the form of Elladan.
Laeriel slowly opened her eyes again as the sounds of screaming brought her back to the cruel, torturous reality she now lived in. She became immediately alarmed when she realized that Elladan was not beside her. Her alarm, however, faded when she noticed him at the front of the cell, picking the lock.
Slowly curiosity replaced panic as she started to realize that the screams she was hearing were not screams of pain, but battle cries. Elated by the possibility of escape, Laeriel hopped up on the bench and looked out the window to see a legion of men, elves, and dwarves attacking the prison.
She hopped back off the bench and stared at Elladan as he continued trying to pick the lock. The sounds of battle spilled into the jail, and just down the hall Laeriel heard someone asking the whereabouts of Lord Elladan. A smile - her first one in weeks - crept its way onto her face as a realization dawned, and she continued to gaze at Elladan. Somehow, even in the gravest of circumstances, Elladan was always able to make her smile. "Your escape plan was to be rescued?" she chuckled.
"It worked, did it not?" he responded cheekily as the bars finally swung open and he turned to smile at her. "And it took less than a day."
"I have never been able to tell how much time passes here," Laeriel muttered, her gaze travelling to the ground.
"Nâ pen-theled si, bedim," he assured her as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. He was rewarded for his reassurance when Laeriel smiled faintly at him.
"Lord Elladan!" one of the elves called as he neared. "We must go!"
Elladan nodded and grabbed Laeriel's hand, following the elf from the prison. Though it pained them, they knew that they could not take the other prisoners with them as they fled. Pleas for help and mercy arose throughout the prison as the other prisoners noticed the escape. But their pleas fell ears that were forced to shut them out as the trio of elves made to escape.
As they wound their way through the halls, they say all manner of beings in heated battle. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was on their side and who was not, as beings from every race, except elves, were on both sides of the conflict.
Laeriel slowed, but did not stop, as she noticed bodies of people she knew littering the halls of the prison, but Elladan wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her along with him.
"We cannot linger," he whispered into her ear as he urged her forward.
"Henion," she replied as she shook off her sadness and resumed running.
When they were almost out of the prison, sounds of battle cries and clanging metal arose from behind them.
"Those that stayed behind have freed the prisoners to draw their attention away from us," the elf in front of them explained as he lead them stealthily through the prison yard. They ran until they met another elf and two humans, who lead them away from the prison, toward Emyn Muil. The elf and humans had been chosen for the mission because they were the only ones able to navigate through the rock formations.
Anguished screams reached their ears as they ran, knowing that out of all who had been involved in the rescue, only they would survive.
Laeriel felt a single tear slide down her cheek as she thought of those who had fought so bravely to rescue her Elladan being left behind - for she was certain that the rescue mission had not intended to include her. It felt strange to cry, even if it was just one tear, after all she hadn't allowed herself to shed a tear in years.
Suddenly, arrows began whizzing past their heads as the prison guards realized what had happened. Elladan fell back a little and ran behind Laeriel, trying to put himself between her and the arrows, though he knew it would do no good. Just in front of them the elf who had lead them from the prison was felled by an arrow, and Laeriel and Elladan were forced to leap over the ellon's body, and keep running, unable to mourn the loss.
They reached the entrance to Emyn Muil and ran quickly into the rocky maze, attempting to lose their pursuers amongst the jagged stones.
