Author's Note: Alright everybody! Here we go with the next chappie, I really hope you like it! It's got angst, a wee bit o romance, (hey, I'm a sap,), and some weird going-ons. Auw yea! This chapter will be centered on some new characters, and I OWN THEM!!!!! aah, that felt good....... Here we go!

Disclaimer: AAAAAARRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!! I don't own LOTR, alright? (*sob....)

Reviewers to thank: Oh, you all are so nice! Thank you!!

Happy Molecule: Um......well, I kinda lost you on all the questions, but let's say, yes to the first half and no to the second! Haha! Thanks for the review!

HotDini: Ooh! I just love your story, and thanks for the nice review! Keep going, bye!

Grumpy: Tee-hee, Elrond probably does have grey hairs already, but he dies his hair to hide them! E-hehe!! Thanks for the really nice review!

Amlee: Gweahahahahhaa! I am evil, but thanks for such a kind review!


Quickie: Ok, the conversations will be mostly in the common tongue in this chapter. All elvish will be enclosed in these ~ Marks. Okie-day?


Childhood Curiosity

Ch. 9: Traveling Gypsies?

Sitting by the crackling fire, Rathue watched absentmindedly as glowing embers erupted into the clear night sky, radiating their reddish light as if to mock the stars above. It had been a very interesting day indeed, and after such odd occurrences, even the lively music of Thalia's lute nearby couldn't rouse him from his thoughts

~*_~*_~*_~ Flashback ~_*~*_~*_~*_

As the line of canvas wagons crept as quietly as possible past the valley of Imladres, the tension was not the only thing stirring in the air. Looking back at his group, Rathue the thief grunted in frustration as the howling wind wildly buffeted this way and that. The trees were being lashed, the roaring waters of the nearby-by Brunien were roiling erratically, and for the life of him, he could not ever remember such tempestuous weather as the what was going on now. The group, of course, were the notorious band of thieves that had been plaguing the entirety of the world of men for some time now. The band of about 27 thieves were all young, and had very early on formed together as a kind of family, caring for one another when there was no one else there to look after them. Rathue had been elected leader, but was currently wishing someone else had the job as his head throbbed uncomfortably with a headache. They had been traveling for about eight days now, and were almost to their base, that was concealed deep within the rock walls of the misty mountains. But that was far from their minds as the passed by Imladres, home of the Rivendell elves, and a great power that none wished to witness. So, in the wild weather, the small party made their way as inconspicuously as possible through the forests.

Rolling his eyes as the horses continued to whinny and stop walking uneasily, Rathue knew that he was losing this battle against the elements quickly. He didn't want to halt the party, especially when they were so close to Elrond's home, but it looked as if he would have no choice. Great Arda, he thought angrily. This is just perfect! Reaching down, he proceeded to pull out a crude silver whistle on a string from the inside of his simple cotton tunic. Halting his wagon, he brought the warm metal up to his lips and gave a long, shrill blast of sound. As the ringing noise echoed all around him, he heard the rumble of the wagons behind him stop, and strangely, the wind die down ever so slightly. Looking about himself worriedly, Rathue could not help but feel uneasy himself about this whole situation. The strange weather, the unease of Imladres' forests, what in Mordor was going on? Shaking his head, he tied up the reins of his horses, and jumped down from the rough, wooden drivers seat of his wagon. Like clockwork, his group of thieves had already gathered to the left, awaiting orders from their leader's signal. From this, he allowed himself a small smile. Walking over to them, he cleared his throat, and the wind began to pick up once again.

"My friends, we must rest here for a while. Our horses are tired from battling the extreme elements on this day, and we cannot fight it anymore. It is only shortly after sunrise, but still be wary of your surroundings if you must venture away from the wagons. We are in elvish territory, and we do not want to do anything that may arouse their anger. Understood?" Rathue finished, feeling battered as another gust of wind swept him.

Hearing a general murmur of assent, He nodded as a few of the women asked to go gather water from the river. Watching them walk away into the forest, he felt his heart skip a beat as he noticed the slim figure of Thalia, an excellent thief and swords woman. Trying his hardest to ignore the odd flutter of his stomach, Rathue turned to one of his friends standing nearby. Marcus was a taller man, looking slightly older than his 27 years. His kind features and lanky build held only a note of his skills as a thief, but Rathue knew better, having been friends with this man for almost 18 years. Seeing Marcus's bright green eyes focused skyward, he shook his head with a smile and walked over to stand by his friend's side.

Without even saying hello, Marcus began to speak to Rathue. Somehow, he just knew who was standing next to him. "Can you feel it, my friend? Surely all of nature is screaming it's discontent. I feel the very foundations of Middle Earth moving, Rathue. This odd weather, it is all somehow.............connected...............What in Mordor is going on?"

Listening to his friend with his own puzzlement running through his mind, Rathue spoke softly as another gust of wind pushed them impatiently. "You should have been born an elf, my friend. I cannot feel these things, but this weather does puzzle me. I have never experienced such wind."

Marcus did not answer, but continued to stare into the confused sky above, causing Rathue to cast his green eyes upwards to survey his surroundings. The sky above was a heavy grey, with thick, creamy clouds laying upon the canvas of the sky. Not a drop of sunlight showed through, like earlier in the day. The land was simply bathed in a warm, monotone grey light. It was an eeire sight indeed. The light foresting that they were currently traveling through seemed like another land altogether in this light......... not even the leaves of the trees that were wildly dancing in the wind held a gleam of light. Were they truly in Rivendell, the land that was said to glow with eternal light? Cut off from his musings, Rathue's gaze was torn from the sky to the direction of the Brunien as a bone chilling scream erupted into the air. Ringing around the winds and trees, he felt his hand immediately fly to the sword at his side. Drawing it's steel length fluidly out of the sheath with a ringing tone of metal, he cried, "The women!!"

Hearing others draw their swords around him, Rathue began immediately racing towards the river. Even though his vision was a blur of forests and trees, all he felt was the wind rushing alongside him, and the leather covering of the sword in his hands. The women of his group were in trouble, and nothing was going to stop him from helping them. Crashing through the underbrush, Rathue came into the river clearing to witness an odd scene. As the rushing waters of the Brunien lapped at it's banks at a lightning rate, the wind seemed to increase slightly. With his hair and clothes blowing this way and that in the spectral wind, he ran to the banks, where the women were clumped around something whispering and talking loudly.

" Is he alive?"

"Someone get Arayune the healer!"

"He's battered up bad, poor little thing!!"

"He's barely breathing!!"

"What's going on here, who screamed?" Rathue demanded, pushing through the women to see what they were talking about. Finding Thalia sitting in the center of the group, he stopped dead in shock at what he witnessed her holding. It was a child.

She held the young boy closely, her tears spilling unchecked down her pale cheeks. He looked about six or seven, or maybe younger, but one could hardly tell by his state. The boy's clothes were ripped and shredded, missing pieces here and there, making it look as though he had been dragged a great distance. He was sopping wet, and covered in mud and his own blood, which was seeping steadily out of the many wounds that covered many places on his young body. His skin was bruised, and he looked like his ribs and right hand were broken. God Almighty, it was a wonder that they young boy was even drawing in the raspy, watery breaths that he was. For a moment, Rathue felt himself frozen in pure shock. Kneeling by the boy's side, he stared at the mangled body for a moment more, before reaching a tentative hand out to touch the boy's cheek. As his shaking touch came in contact with the boy's cold, clammy skin, the whole of Middle Earth seemed to react. The Brunien swelled up, it's water roaring furiously at their brimming banks, and the winds gave one all powerful blast, causing he men to cry out and the women to scream as it ripped past them, knocking many off balance. And then, just as soon as everything had began, it was over. Looking up into the sky, Rathue felt his confusion thicken as the wind settled to a light breeze, and the clouds began to slowly roll away. What in Mordor? Looking back to the young boy, he called to Arayune, and then spoke quickly to the rest of his group.

"Everyone back to the wagons, and carry the child. We must leave this place, now! I do not know what just happened, but every sense in my body is telling me that we must flee this place, lest we incur the wrath of powers beyond ours.................................Move out!"

~*_~*_~*_~

" ADA!!!!!"

Snapping out of his own memories, Rathue looked around in alarm as the frightened scream echoed loudly into the night, ringing it's discontent for the entire world to hear. Looking to his other thieves, they stared back to him with equal confusion etched into their young faces. The fire's light illuminated the night's campsite, creating an almost eerie atmosphere as a scuffling noise was heard from inside the wagon behind Thalia and the others. With the music of her lute long since died off after the scream, Thalia's apprehensive face suddenly melted into an expression of joy as she looked into the wagon and cried, " he's awake!"

"What?" Rathue questioned quickly, standing up and walking briskly over to the crowd of his thieves that were gathered around the stilled wagon. Pushing through people impatiently, he made his way to the opening of the canvas wagon, it's cloth cover fluttering lightly in the night's breeze. Thalia stood with a happy expression etched into her porcelain features as she made to climb into the wagon with the boy, before Rathue reluctantly pulled her back to the ground. Ignoring the odd beating of his heart, he spoke to her softly to ease her confusion.

"We do not know this boy, he may well be dangerous. That is why as leader, I will go in to talk with him first." (A/N: I know he's only 6, but those were different times!) He said solemnly, trying his hardest to ignore the critical stare that her hazel eyes were giving him. Glancing around at his thieves that were waiting quietly around him, he nodded at them to disperse back to what they were doing before, and then lifted the canvas flap to climb into the empty wagon. As his eyes adjusted to the warm darkness that enclosed all around him, Rathue remained on his hands and knees to avoid the low ceiling of the wagon top. Looking down and around, he found the young boy frantically heading for the exit on the other side, dragging himself determinedly despite his various injuries. He's already moving? After all that he's been through? He thought to himself with amazement. Suddenly the boy reached out a trembling hand for the exit flap, and Rathue snapped back to the situation. "Oi!" He cried, crawling forward and pulling the boy gently back by his waist. If he kept this up, the kid would kill himself!

~ No!! Let go of me!! ADA!!!!!! ~

Flinching as the boy wretched himself out of his grasp and turned around, the child screamed hoarsely at him in another language. What? Rathue wondered, only able to understand the fear and pain that was laced into his small voice. " What did you say?" Rathue said in a slow clear voice. The child did not respond, but continued to stare at him with the most expressive silver eyes Rathue had ever seen. Suddenly the child flinched, looked down at his hip, and began patting his waist as if looking for something.

~ My daggers, where are they? Why am I wearing these strange clothes? What's g-going o.....on? ~

The child began speaking rapidly in another language, looking at his clothes with shaking hands, his eyes sparkling with more tears more by the minute. Indeed, the young boy began to choke on his last few words, suddenly looking up at Rathue with huge eyes and bursting into a loud sob. Taken aback by the sudden burst of crying, he quickly began to realize that he had no experience with children whatsoever.

" What in Mordor is going on in here?" Cried the sudden voice of Thalia. Jumping again and looking behind him, he was just in time to see the young woman crawl in the tent, and move past him to comfort the sobbing child before him.

~*_~*_~*_~*_~

Estel's POV

Allowing the sobs to simply wrack through his small body, Estel cried for everything he was worth, not even caring that his bitter, salty tears were running painfully into the healing wounds upon his face. Here he was with a broken, bruised body, wearing strange clothes in a strange place, with a huge man grabbing onto him and yelling in a strange, garbled language. Trying to think straight as tears continued to pour down his cheeks, he lay down upon the hard, wooden floor to rest his already aching knees. I miss Ada, he thought with another sob. He's probably gonna be really mad at me when he rescues me from this place.......he is coming, right? Redoubling his crying at the thought of his Ada leaving him here, Estel felt himself suddenly being swept in to a warm, soft embrace. Pressed against a soft cotton tunic, Estel continued to cry, allowing the radiating warmth and steady heartbeat of the person to calm him slowly. He didn't know how long he stayed like that, or how long he continued to sniffle before he took a deep breath, and settled into the person holding him. This person smells nice, like Ada's summer blossoms........Sighing, Estel fell asleep quickly from his confused thoughts, not caring anymore about the strange man, or the pain he now only dimly aware of........

~*_~*_~*_~

Looking angrily into the confused eyes of Rathue who sat in the wagon before her, Thalia wanted desperately to scream her head off at the idiotic man. Feeling herself trembling in rage, she cuddled the now sleeping child in her arms tighter, feeling him sigh and snuggle into her chest. This poor thing, she thought with pity. So young, so innocent to be subjected to this pain. To have survived, his destiny must be great indeed. Looking up again at Rathue who was still speechless, Thalia began to speak in a low whisper.

"How could you come in here and scare this child in such a manner? He is gravely injured for Valar's sake! What in middle earth were you thinking of, fool?" She hissed vehemently.

He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it agin with an odd gulping noise. Turning his eyes up to meet hers, Thalia flinched slightly. Feeling her rage oddly draining away, her confusion grew instead. Why did he affect her this way?? Do NOT look into his eyes, and keep going! She told herself quickly. "Well," he began softly. "I did not mean to scare him! He was trying to escape! And the he started screaming at me in some strange language! It sounded like elvish, damn it! I don't understand elvish! Do you?" Finishing in an accusatory tone, Rathue looked angrily at the young woman sitting before him.

Rolling her eyes, Thalia reprimanded him gently. "You must be gentle with children, Rathue. If he is speaking in elvish, we will ask Marcus to translate what he can. You know he speak some elvish."

Rathue nodded mutely. Turning on his knees to leave the wagon, Thalia called out to him softly before she caught herself. He turned with a surprised look, and answered, "yes?" Finding no words at first, she opened her mouth and smiled. "I think that this young one came to us for a reason. I can feel it in his heartbeat. He is different. And we must do everything that we can to protect him."

Rathue hid his surprise at her statement, and smiled. Ducking under the flap, he disappeared outside, leaving Thalia with the sleeping child. Looking down into his healing face, she gently brushed a lock of dark hair away from his face. Where had those words come from? It didn't seem like something she would say at all............ Scooting over to the child's blankets, Thalia spread a woolen blanket over herself and the boy in her arms. Leaning back against the canvas backing, she closed her eyes and lost herself in her own thoughts. It had been a long day, after all.

~()~()~()~()

Author's Note: Yep, that's it! Alright, next chapter, we'll check up with the elves, and let Estel have another go at waking up! Hehe, thanks for reading, and please leave me a review on your way out! Bye!