*Thoughts*
Chapter 28
Hope
He was right side up, in relatively good shape and he could smell ... horses? As the elf listened to the sounds around him, he remained motionless, eyes closed and feigning unconsciousness. To the right of where he was tied, he could hear a number of horses milling around in some type of enclosure. Could these animals possibly be the missing horses of the Rohirrim? Perhaps.
He raised his head and opened his eyes when he heard two sets of footsteps approach him. Before he could say a word to the two men now standing in front of him, one of the two threw a bucket of ice water over his body. The resulting chill caused his teeth to chatter as his body shivered, trying to warm itself by doing so. *Elves do not shiver!* He began to wonder how long he had been tied where he was and how sick he was getting.
The two humans, both smelling as if they had not bathed in ages, stood in front of him, smiling at his discomfort.
"Well, it looks like our guest has finally decided to grace us with his presence!"
The human who had just spoken had expected some kind of answer but when he did not get one, became somewhat irritated. Stepping closer to the elf, he grabbed him by his long, blonde hair, and painfully yanked his head backward until Legolas was forced to look at him.
"You had better be grateful to us for saving your lousy hide Mr. Elf, because if we hadn't found you and brought you back here," he gestured to the cave behind him, "you would have died last night! Now, what do you say to that?"
"If you went to such lengths to save my life then why am I tied here, in the cold, while you languish in the warm comforts of your little cave? Perhaps when I am warm and fed, I shall be more inclined to be "grateful", as you put it."
His reply had been a fair one. However, the largest and the drunkest of the two humans standing in front of him did not seem to care for the elf insulting his home by referring to it as a cave. For a moment he stared at the fair being in front of him and a dark, ugly look slid over his features. Without warning, he slammed one of his big fists into the elf's stomach forcing all the air out of his lungs, leaving him breathless and gasping.
This did not pacify his tormentor. Again and again, he hit the elf battering and bruising his entire rib cage and stomach though he did take some care not to touch the area where the tree branch had been imbedded. Then the beating stopped as the second human had put his hand on his companion's arm.
"We ain't supposed to kill him, Derik. His Lordship said so."
"But He didn't say we couldn't have a little fun with the elf, now did he?" Derik smiled maliciously. "I'm just having me a little fun."
The one called Derik bent over the slumped, beaten figure of the elf and whispered drunkenly into his ear. "We're gonna have us a lot of fun, ain't we, Mr. Elf?"
Derik raised his hand to slap the elf and when he saw the creature flinch, lowered his hand until he was able to pat the elf gently on the cheek. Apparently satisfied for the moment, the drunken human chuckled to himself and staggered away.
* * * * * *
The young she-elf had ridden hard through the night and early morning, arriving back at the site of the avalanche in the early afternoon. She was pleased, not only because she had made such good time, but also because she had arrived in broad daylight which meant there would still be a few hours before full dark in which she could find Legolas's tracks.
The clouds seemed to be darkening, threatening an oncoming storm which caused Anayah to frown as she realized she did not have as much time to find and rescue Legolas as she had originally thought. The storm, if she guessed correctly, was only about a day away and coming on fast. It was going to be a big storm and it was also going to be an ugly one.
Knowing that time was now going to be an important factor, Anayah got down to the business of searching for evidence that might indicate that Legolas had escaped the avalanche. While searching the opposite side of the avalanche area she finally found what she wanted.
Anayah gently and lightly dusted a small layer of old snow and debris from the tracks so she could better read the story they told. There was uneven pressure on the edges of the different footprints she found, sometimes to the outside, sometimes on the inside or even the ball of the foot which indicated the elf was injured and had been staggering as he walked. Judging by the amount of the blood that she found along his path, the elf's injury was significant.
She continued to follow the tracks down to the base of the mountain where it appeared Legolas had turned south instead of north. She frowned. Apparently his injury was severe enough to disorient him. Did Legolas have a fever, a head wound, or something else? These were questions that could only be answered once she found her friend.
As she continued to walk beside the tracks, she became increasingly worried. There had been a sudden drop in the temperature. Apparently, the storm wasn't going to wait for 24 hours.
Just before the sun slipped behind the mountains, Anayah found the spot where Legolas had fallen and had been found by someone else. Rather than feeling relief, something about the appearance of two more sets of footprints, seemingly from out of nowhere, disturbed her. She scanned the mountain range and the horizon for signs of life but found none.
Shakir called to her from overhead and she called him to her. When the falcon had come to rest on the ground next to the tracks, Anayah asked the falcon to search the mountains for a sign of the elf, explaining that a storm was coming and it was very important to find Legolas before it arrived. With a small cry to his Lady that he would do as she asked, the bird took to the air and was soon lost from sight.
* * * * * *
Legolas remained slumped in his bonds for some time. He knew that at some point after he had been found, and while he had been unconscious, someone had removed the piece of tree branch that had been imbedded in his side. Though the wood was now gone, he could feel there was still something wrong. More than likely, the humans had failed to remove all the tiny bits and pieces of the branch which was causing a severe infection. There was also the probability that he was still bleeding inside. Regardless of the cause, the burning pressure in his left side was steadily getting worse. He knew he was running a fever and if his wound was not tended properly, and soon, the combination of the fever, infection and internal bleeding would kill him. It was getting harder for him to draw breath and he could feel himself weakening. Legolas knew he would receive no additional help from whoever was holding him as it was their haphazard and inadequate care as well as the beating he had endured earlier that was responsible for his present condition.
The pain he was feeling was growing worse and he groaned as he unsuccessfully tried to shift his position to ease his left side. Having his hands tied over his head was preventing any type of movement that would ease his discomfort.
Suddenly, movement in the trees on the other side of the horse enclosure caught his eye. As it was almost dark, it was only because of his elvish eyesight that he was able to detect the movement at all. A surge of hope went through his body when he recognized the black falcon sitting in the tree watching him. Anayah was somewhere nearby and that meant there was a chance he might survive this after all. Suddenly, the falcon took off and soon disappeared from sight.
Then the hope that he had momentarily felt, fled, as several more humans arrived at the cave.
TBC
Chapter 28
Hope
He was right side up, in relatively good shape and he could smell ... horses? As the elf listened to the sounds around him, he remained motionless, eyes closed and feigning unconsciousness. To the right of where he was tied, he could hear a number of horses milling around in some type of enclosure. Could these animals possibly be the missing horses of the Rohirrim? Perhaps.
He raised his head and opened his eyes when he heard two sets of footsteps approach him. Before he could say a word to the two men now standing in front of him, one of the two threw a bucket of ice water over his body. The resulting chill caused his teeth to chatter as his body shivered, trying to warm itself by doing so. *Elves do not shiver!* He began to wonder how long he had been tied where he was and how sick he was getting.
The two humans, both smelling as if they had not bathed in ages, stood in front of him, smiling at his discomfort.
"Well, it looks like our guest has finally decided to grace us with his presence!"
The human who had just spoken had expected some kind of answer but when he did not get one, became somewhat irritated. Stepping closer to the elf, he grabbed him by his long, blonde hair, and painfully yanked his head backward until Legolas was forced to look at him.
"You had better be grateful to us for saving your lousy hide Mr. Elf, because if we hadn't found you and brought you back here," he gestured to the cave behind him, "you would have died last night! Now, what do you say to that?"
"If you went to such lengths to save my life then why am I tied here, in the cold, while you languish in the warm comforts of your little cave? Perhaps when I am warm and fed, I shall be more inclined to be "grateful", as you put it."
His reply had been a fair one. However, the largest and the drunkest of the two humans standing in front of him did not seem to care for the elf insulting his home by referring to it as a cave. For a moment he stared at the fair being in front of him and a dark, ugly look slid over his features. Without warning, he slammed one of his big fists into the elf's stomach forcing all the air out of his lungs, leaving him breathless and gasping.
This did not pacify his tormentor. Again and again, he hit the elf battering and bruising his entire rib cage and stomach though he did take some care not to touch the area where the tree branch had been imbedded. Then the beating stopped as the second human had put his hand on his companion's arm.
"We ain't supposed to kill him, Derik. His Lordship said so."
"But He didn't say we couldn't have a little fun with the elf, now did he?" Derik smiled maliciously. "I'm just having me a little fun."
The one called Derik bent over the slumped, beaten figure of the elf and whispered drunkenly into his ear. "We're gonna have us a lot of fun, ain't we, Mr. Elf?"
Derik raised his hand to slap the elf and when he saw the creature flinch, lowered his hand until he was able to pat the elf gently on the cheek. Apparently satisfied for the moment, the drunken human chuckled to himself and staggered away.
* * * * * *
The young she-elf had ridden hard through the night and early morning, arriving back at the site of the avalanche in the early afternoon. She was pleased, not only because she had made such good time, but also because she had arrived in broad daylight which meant there would still be a few hours before full dark in which she could find Legolas's tracks.
The clouds seemed to be darkening, threatening an oncoming storm which caused Anayah to frown as she realized she did not have as much time to find and rescue Legolas as she had originally thought. The storm, if she guessed correctly, was only about a day away and coming on fast. It was going to be a big storm and it was also going to be an ugly one.
Knowing that time was now going to be an important factor, Anayah got down to the business of searching for evidence that might indicate that Legolas had escaped the avalanche. While searching the opposite side of the avalanche area she finally found what she wanted.
Anayah gently and lightly dusted a small layer of old snow and debris from the tracks so she could better read the story they told. There was uneven pressure on the edges of the different footprints she found, sometimes to the outside, sometimes on the inside or even the ball of the foot which indicated the elf was injured and had been staggering as he walked. Judging by the amount of the blood that she found along his path, the elf's injury was significant.
She continued to follow the tracks down to the base of the mountain where it appeared Legolas had turned south instead of north. She frowned. Apparently his injury was severe enough to disorient him. Did Legolas have a fever, a head wound, or something else? These were questions that could only be answered once she found her friend.
As she continued to walk beside the tracks, she became increasingly worried. There had been a sudden drop in the temperature. Apparently, the storm wasn't going to wait for 24 hours.
Just before the sun slipped behind the mountains, Anayah found the spot where Legolas had fallen and had been found by someone else. Rather than feeling relief, something about the appearance of two more sets of footprints, seemingly from out of nowhere, disturbed her. She scanned the mountain range and the horizon for signs of life but found none.
Shakir called to her from overhead and she called him to her. When the falcon had come to rest on the ground next to the tracks, Anayah asked the falcon to search the mountains for a sign of the elf, explaining that a storm was coming and it was very important to find Legolas before it arrived. With a small cry to his Lady that he would do as she asked, the bird took to the air and was soon lost from sight.
* * * * * *
Legolas remained slumped in his bonds for some time. He knew that at some point after he had been found, and while he had been unconscious, someone had removed the piece of tree branch that had been imbedded in his side. Though the wood was now gone, he could feel there was still something wrong. More than likely, the humans had failed to remove all the tiny bits and pieces of the branch which was causing a severe infection. There was also the probability that he was still bleeding inside. Regardless of the cause, the burning pressure in his left side was steadily getting worse. He knew he was running a fever and if his wound was not tended properly, and soon, the combination of the fever, infection and internal bleeding would kill him. It was getting harder for him to draw breath and he could feel himself weakening. Legolas knew he would receive no additional help from whoever was holding him as it was their haphazard and inadequate care as well as the beating he had endured earlier that was responsible for his present condition.
The pain he was feeling was growing worse and he groaned as he unsuccessfully tried to shift his position to ease his left side. Having his hands tied over his head was preventing any type of movement that would ease his discomfort.
Suddenly, movement in the trees on the other side of the horse enclosure caught his eye. As it was almost dark, it was only because of his elvish eyesight that he was able to detect the movement at all. A surge of hope went through his body when he recognized the black falcon sitting in the tree watching him. Anayah was somewhere nearby and that meant there was a chance he might survive this after all. Suddenly, the falcon took off and soon disappeared from sight.
Then the hope that he had momentarily felt, fled, as several more humans arrived at the cave.
TBC