****I do not own any of the Tolkien characters, only the ones that
have nothing to do with the actual books are mine....****
Agreeing with Lila, Jasel decided it was time to return home. "Race you home, sis!" and with that said he took off running toward home. "Hey, no fair, you cheater!" Lila yelled to her younger brother, as she took off after him. As they approached their house from the side they were instantaneously aware that something was wrong. No more than a few seconds later they heard a piercing scream from inside their home. "Mom!" Jasel whispered to his sister. And before Lila could respond he was gone, racing to aid their mother.
As he got to the front of the house, he noticed that the front door had been knocked off of its hinges. He saw them. The largest and by far the ugliest Uruk-Hai he had ever seen. They were looming over his mother, watching the blood of her lifeless form seep through her body in almost every imaginable pore. This was the chance he had been waiting for months to come, vengeance for what had happened before. Without hesitation he grasped for the axe that they kept by the door to split firewood. Holding it in common battle stance, he attacked the nearer of the two. He managed to get the axe through the enormous creature's throat and split his head off before the other of the beasts attacked him. The last image he saw was his mother dead, and head of the Uruk-Hai he had slain and the other Uruk- Hai hate filled face right before his. The last thing he thought was that finally he had been able to avenge the past, but thinking about the past he remembered his sister outside and with that his final words were "Lila... no... run..." and his life was over. The Uruk-Hai had not heard his last words fortunately just seen that he had been trying to say something. He looked over at the three dead creatures, one his brother, the other two stinking elves. He wished he could eat them, but he had received his orders and would follow them precisely, seeing what had happened to other Uruk-Hai when they failed to follow an order. Satisfied that his job was done he turned and saw her. She was just a fair she-elf, carrying a bow with a drawn arrow. He chuckled as if to say, what a she-elf kill me? But before the chuckle was over, the arrow had pierced his head, and he was gone.
Running to her mother and brother, she had to push the second dead Uruk-Hai off of her brother; she saw that there was no chance for them. She was not able to save them. Had she been courageous enough to stand up and help before, her brother might have been saved. If they had not been out in the meadow, her mother would still be alive. It was her fault and she would never forgive herself for letting them down. Kissing their heads she bowed and left, carrying with her only her bow and arrows and her knives. She kissed her hand as she left her home, and placed it over the broken door. Pausing for a moment to remember the happy times that would never be forgotten, and then she was gone, passing quickly to the stable to retrieve her horse. Once atop him, she took off at a full gallop, wanting to put as much distance between her and the massacre that had taken place as quickly as possible.
:-: MINUTES LATER IN RIVENDELL:-:
Lord Elrond of Rivendell shuddered, his mind floating from the vision he had just received. Lady Arwen, his daughter, helped him to his chair a few feet away. "Ada, are you ok?" she whispered patiently, kneeling at his side, clasping his left hand in between her own two. Hesitantly he whispered, "She is gone, they must find her. Gather a messenger, the best to be had, now!" Without questioning him further Arwen took off for the stables at full speed, running as fast as her feet would carry her. Through the halls, down the grand stairs, through the dinning hall, through the kitchen and out the door, not bothering to look at the stares she was surely receiving, as she flew to the stables, on the other side of the gardens. Seeing her running toward them, a few of the stable hands started to move forward. The horses in the valley seemed to sense something was wrong, and moved silently and briskly toward the gate to the padlock. Lady Arwen raced to them calling for all near to draw around her. "Please, my father has need for the swiftest messenger to deliver an urgent message, will one of you take the message?" she looked around, gathering eye-contact with every elf before her. Then a fair haired, tall and lean one looked at her and said, "Aye, Lady Arwen, I will go. Where is the Lord?" With a quick nod of her head she said "follow me." She turned quickly on her unshod feet and started running back on the same path she had just come from. Quickly no more than a few paces behind her as was customary, the messenger followed. Meanwhile his horse was readied by one of the other stable hands and brought to the front gate to wait for the messenger. As Lady Arwen and the messenger came to the study, where Lord Elrond was waiting, the messenger realized how important this message must be, when the Lady did not even knock to acknowledge their presence before entering the room. Wish a sudden intake of breathe the messenger entered the room. The Lord was hunched over his desk, pale and breathing rapidly as was unusual as elves rarely have difficulty breathing. "L-Lord Elrond? How may I be of service to you?" and dropping to one knee he knelt in front of the desk that the ill Lord himself was supporting himself on. Drawing up all the strength he seemed to have left, the Lord passed the messenger elf a letter. "This letter MUST be delivered before nightfall, it must reach Mirkwood, and only to the hands of King Thranduil or Prince Legolas. It is imperative that no one else fall privy to what is written inside it. Please hurry, and go now." With that he seemed to faint, and Lady Arwen rushed forth to him. Sensing he had to leave the messenger quickly took the letter the lord had given to him and left. Racing though the halls and down the stairs but through the front door this time, not bothering as the Lady had not, to look at the confused faces of the other elves, at the audacity to run in the home of the Lord.
Gathering speed as he reached the gate he quickly hopped atop his horse and with a quick nod of thanks to the stable hand who had readied him he was off. Gathering his horse into a gallop he raced toward Mirkwood, not daring to stop in fear that he might be wasting precious needed time, he was drained and thirsty by the time he reached the outer borders of the famed Mirkwood woods. As he breached the first 15 feet of the forest, two elves clad in brown and green tunics seemed to fall from the sky, but had indeed just jumped down from the trees. "Who are you, and your business in Mirkwood is?" the taller of the two asked him. "I am a messenger from Lord Elrond, sent to deliver this letter to the King or Prince of Mirkwood, for only they, was I told should be privy to its contents, and if you do not believe me, then the seal of the envelope should prove my story." Holding up the envelope, the guards could see that indeed this was Lord Elrond's seal if not his messenger. "Precede forward messenger-elf" they said to him. With a quick and courteous nod at the guards for their understanding, he moved swiftly forward, trotting as quickly as he could in a forest toward the castle, where the King and Prince live. The sight of the castle always brought a feeling of awe over the messenger and this time was no different. The large stone towers seemed to loom over the sky itself, and the stone work of the castle was so exquisite that it seemed to be seamless. There was nothing more well made than this castle in this part of the world, or so that he knew of. By then he reached the stairs and a stable boy held onto the reigns of his horse, because of course horses were not allowed to walk the stairs. Leaving the horse at the bottom, he raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Pushing the large doors open, he asked the first elf he saw where he could find the king, as he had an urgent message for him. Following the directions given to him, he climbed up two more flights of stairs on his left, and ran down the hallway to the 5th door on his right. Knocking 3 times quickly, he waited until he heard "Come in!" before he pushed the doors to the room the king was in, open. Walking in 5 steps, he dropped to one knee and pulled the letter given to him by Lord Elrond from his cloak. Holding it up toward the king in his right hand, he said, "An urgent message is sent from Lord Elrond, I was told to deliver it only to the king or prince, and not to let any others eyes fall privy to it. Here King, I present to you the note given to me." The king took the letter from the messengers hand, thanked him for his discretion and sent him down to the kitchen to get some food and to tell the staff he would be a guest tonight, and to have a room prepared for him. When he was alone, the tall but heavy set king took the letter to the chair he had been sitting in when the messenger knocked. Thinking that this was possibly very bad news he told himself that no matter what was in this envelope to look on it with an open mind, and to not be too judgmental in the case of the Lord Elrond. He tore the top of the envelope off, careful not to ruin the seal that Elrond had put on it. Opening the letter he saw.
"To the King and Prince of Mirkwood,
There is no time for pleasantries, so I hope you excuse my rashness as I get to the point. Located near to Mirkwood is a small village, and near that a family of a mother, brother and sister live. Something has occurred that I can not write down, but the sister is in need of dire help, please go and find her. She is an important piece in the trials to come. There is to be a council in Rivendell in 3 days time. If you find her I ask that Prince Legolas, bring her to me so that he can be here in time for the council. It is more than imperative that the girl Lila be found. Her brother's name is Jasil, and I am unsure of what her mother's name is. Do not under any circumstance try to find them by the father. I am asking you this as a favor to me personally. And I hope that you will do it, If Legolas does not appear in Rivendell in time for the council I will take it as you will not help me with this.
-Lord Elrond"
Once he read the letter through twice he went to the door to his library and called out to everyone, "send in Legolas, and prepare 10 of our best fighters immediately!" there was nothing else to do but wait...
Agreeing with Lila, Jasel decided it was time to return home. "Race you home, sis!" and with that said he took off running toward home. "Hey, no fair, you cheater!" Lila yelled to her younger brother, as she took off after him. As they approached their house from the side they were instantaneously aware that something was wrong. No more than a few seconds later they heard a piercing scream from inside their home. "Mom!" Jasel whispered to his sister. And before Lila could respond he was gone, racing to aid their mother.
As he got to the front of the house, he noticed that the front door had been knocked off of its hinges. He saw them. The largest and by far the ugliest Uruk-Hai he had ever seen. They were looming over his mother, watching the blood of her lifeless form seep through her body in almost every imaginable pore. This was the chance he had been waiting for months to come, vengeance for what had happened before. Without hesitation he grasped for the axe that they kept by the door to split firewood. Holding it in common battle stance, he attacked the nearer of the two. He managed to get the axe through the enormous creature's throat and split his head off before the other of the beasts attacked him. The last image he saw was his mother dead, and head of the Uruk-Hai he had slain and the other Uruk- Hai hate filled face right before his. The last thing he thought was that finally he had been able to avenge the past, but thinking about the past he remembered his sister outside and with that his final words were "Lila... no... run..." and his life was over. The Uruk-Hai had not heard his last words fortunately just seen that he had been trying to say something. He looked over at the three dead creatures, one his brother, the other two stinking elves. He wished he could eat them, but he had received his orders and would follow them precisely, seeing what had happened to other Uruk-Hai when they failed to follow an order. Satisfied that his job was done he turned and saw her. She was just a fair she-elf, carrying a bow with a drawn arrow. He chuckled as if to say, what a she-elf kill me? But before the chuckle was over, the arrow had pierced his head, and he was gone.
Running to her mother and brother, she had to push the second dead Uruk-Hai off of her brother; she saw that there was no chance for them. She was not able to save them. Had she been courageous enough to stand up and help before, her brother might have been saved. If they had not been out in the meadow, her mother would still be alive. It was her fault and she would never forgive herself for letting them down. Kissing their heads she bowed and left, carrying with her only her bow and arrows and her knives. She kissed her hand as she left her home, and placed it over the broken door. Pausing for a moment to remember the happy times that would never be forgotten, and then she was gone, passing quickly to the stable to retrieve her horse. Once atop him, she took off at a full gallop, wanting to put as much distance between her and the massacre that had taken place as quickly as possible.
:-: MINUTES LATER IN RIVENDELL:-:
Lord Elrond of Rivendell shuddered, his mind floating from the vision he had just received. Lady Arwen, his daughter, helped him to his chair a few feet away. "Ada, are you ok?" she whispered patiently, kneeling at his side, clasping his left hand in between her own two. Hesitantly he whispered, "She is gone, they must find her. Gather a messenger, the best to be had, now!" Without questioning him further Arwen took off for the stables at full speed, running as fast as her feet would carry her. Through the halls, down the grand stairs, through the dinning hall, through the kitchen and out the door, not bothering to look at the stares she was surely receiving, as she flew to the stables, on the other side of the gardens. Seeing her running toward them, a few of the stable hands started to move forward. The horses in the valley seemed to sense something was wrong, and moved silently and briskly toward the gate to the padlock. Lady Arwen raced to them calling for all near to draw around her. "Please, my father has need for the swiftest messenger to deliver an urgent message, will one of you take the message?" she looked around, gathering eye-contact with every elf before her. Then a fair haired, tall and lean one looked at her and said, "Aye, Lady Arwen, I will go. Where is the Lord?" With a quick nod of her head she said "follow me." She turned quickly on her unshod feet and started running back on the same path she had just come from. Quickly no more than a few paces behind her as was customary, the messenger followed. Meanwhile his horse was readied by one of the other stable hands and brought to the front gate to wait for the messenger. As Lady Arwen and the messenger came to the study, where Lord Elrond was waiting, the messenger realized how important this message must be, when the Lady did not even knock to acknowledge their presence before entering the room. Wish a sudden intake of breathe the messenger entered the room. The Lord was hunched over his desk, pale and breathing rapidly as was unusual as elves rarely have difficulty breathing. "L-Lord Elrond? How may I be of service to you?" and dropping to one knee he knelt in front of the desk that the ill Lord himself was supporting himself on. Drawing up all the strength he seemed to have left, the Lord passed the messenger elf a letter. "This letter MUST be delivered before nightfall, it must reach Mirkwood, and only to the hands of King Thranduil or Prince Legolas. It is imperative that no one else fall privy to what is written inside it. Please hurry, and go now." With that he seemed to faint, and Lady Arwen rushed forth to him. Sensing he had to leave the messenger quickly took the letter the lord had given to him and left. Racing though the halls and down the stairs but through the front door this time, not bothering as the Lady had not, to look at the confused faces of the other elves, at the audacity to run in the home of the Lord.
Gathering speed as he reached the gate he quickly hopped atop his horse and with a quick nod of thanks to the stable hand who had readied him he was off. Gathering his horse into a gallop he raced toward Mirkwood, not daring to stop in fear that he might be wasting precious needed time, he was drained and thirsty by the time he reached the outer borders of the famed Mirkwood woods. As he breached the first 15 feet of the forest, two elves clad in brown and green tunics seemed to fall from the sky, but had indeed just jumped down from the trees. "Who are you, and your business in Mirkwood is?" the taller of the two asked him. "I am a messenger from Lord Elrond, sent to deliver this letter to the King or Prince of Mirkwood, for only they, was I told should be privy to its contents, and if you do not believe me, then the seal of the envelope should prove my story." Holding up the envelope, the guards could see that indeed this was Lord Elrond's seal if not his messenger. "Precede forward messenger-elf" they said to him. With a quick and courteous nod at the guards for their understanding, he moved swiftly forward, trotting as quickly as he could in a forest toward the castle, where the King and Prince live. The sight of the castle always brought a feeling of awe over the messenger and this time was no different. The large stone towers seemed to loom over the sky itself, and the stone work of the castle was so exquisite that it seemed to be seamless. There was nothing more well made than this castle in this part of the world, or so that he knew of. By then he reached the stairs and a stable boy held onto the reigns of his horse, because of course horses were not allowed to walk the stairs. Leaving the horse at the bottom, he raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Pushing the large doors open, he asked the first elf he saw where he could find the king, as he had an urgent message for him. Following the directions given to him, he climbed up two more flights of stairs on his left, and ran down the hallway to the 5th door on his right. Knocking 3 times quickly, he waited until he heard "Come in!" before he pushed the doors to the room the king was in, open. Walking in 5 steps, he dropped to one knee and pulled the letter given to him by Lord Elrond from his cloak. Holding it up toward the king in his right hand, he said, "An urgent message is sent from Lord Elrond, I was told to deliver it only to the king or prince, and not to let any others eyes fall privy to it. Here King, I present to you the note given to me." The king took the letter from the messengers hand, thanked him for his discretion and sent him down to the kitchen to get some food and to tell the staff he would be a guest tonight, and to have a room prepared for him. When he was alone, the tall but heavy set king took the letter to the chair he had been sitting in when the messenger knocked. Thinking that this was possibly very bad news he told himself that no matter what was in this envelope to look on it with an open mind, and to not be too judgmental in the case of the Lord Elrond. He tore the top of the envelope off, careful not to ruin the seal that Elrond had put on it. Opening the letter he saw.
"To the King and Prince of Mirkwood,
There is no time for pleasantries, so I hope you excuse my rashness as I get to the point. Located near to Mirkwood is a small village, and near that a family of a mother, brother and sister live. Something has occurred that I can not write down, but the sister is in need of dire help, please go and find her. She is an important piece in the trials to come. There is to be a council in Rivendell in 3 days time. If you find her I ask that Prince Legolas, bring her to me so that he can be here in time for the council. It is more than imperative that the girl Lila be found. Her brother's name is Jasil, and I am unsure of what her mother's name is. Do not under any circumstance try to find them by the father. I am asking you this as a favor to me personally. And I hope that you will do it, If Legolas does not appear in Rivendell in time for the council I will take it as you will not help me with this.
-Lord Elrond"
Once he read the letter through twice he went to the door to his library and called out to everyone, "send in Legolas, and prepare 10 of our best fighters immediately!" there was nothing else to do but wait...