**** Double Take Chapter 2 **** I'm really happy I got reviews! And they
were all great with good advice in one or two! Replies are at the bottom!
Thanks so much! * blows kisses * A/N: I'm going to try to every other
day!**** Oh, and yes, it will be angsty, but that all will be on a
reviewer's level: What do you guys want? *****
"Oi, Strider," Pippin poked the ranger in the arm, "How far until we get there?"
The ranger squinted, not daring to ask either of the Legolas's for their vision. He could barely see the eaves of the golden wood, as they had covered many leagues since arousing. The landscape was the same so far, a valley dotted with trees.
"I do not know, Peregrin," He frowned and looked back to where Sam and Frodo were sulking along. Gimli used his axe as a walking stick next to them. Merry stood a couple feet away from them, staring ahead into the already setting sun.
"Aragorn, either pick the pace up or we will have orcs jesting about our attempt to outrun them," Said the Aggressive Legolas with a temper. Aragorn snorted a bit. Legolas would have never said that, for that was a complement for the orcs, almost, and anything to complement an orc would have been death for the elf.
The nice Legolas slipped behind to the ranger and whispered in his ear, "The hobbits tire, Aragorn. You should let them rest. Frodo carries a heavy burden."
Aragorn nodded grimly, not looking forward to the protests that would come. "Legolas, we need to get to Lothlorien. Only another league, and I will let us cease."
"What are you saying without my consent?!" The testy Legolas counterpart rounded on the ranger and his exact image.
"Nothing, Legolas. Calm. We are merely discussing that we must rest. The hobbits deserve it, and I have nearly forgotten that they tire easier," Aragorn calmly said, waiting for Legolas's determination to get his way, which had always been pushed down, usually, before, to come out.
"Why do we not merely invite the orcs to a tea party, and save them the chase, then?!" Legolas shouted. Nice Legolas cringed and shook his head distastefully. How could such a temper have ever been part of him?
"Legolas, the hobbits are going nowhere!" Aragorn took his turn to shout. "They will fall over more likely! We will go one more league and then we will rest!"
"Fine, if you wish to serve the orcs hobbit-meat on a silver platter!" Legolas glared. "I won't intervene, then, when they come. Which will be soon, if we do not speed up!"
Boromir, whom had been lagging behind a bit, took his turn and spoke up, "Legolas, this is not your quest to lead. Besides, perhaps these halflings lack your physical skills," The man of Gondor said, hoping to use flattery as a way to quite the stubborn and nagging elf.
"By the Valar they do!" Legolas grumbled, but Boromir's tactics had worked. He quieted.
Frodo sighed, happy that he would gain some rest for his tired eyes. Samwise put a comforting hand on his Master's shoulders. "Aye, this is no adventure for a hobbit, Mr.Frodo! I would like nothing more than a goose down pillow, some nice rabbit stew..."
"Stop it, Sam! You're making me hungry!" Pippin whined. "Strider, when do we eat?"
Aggressive Legolas turned on the youngest member of the Fellowship and said acidly, "If we do not watch you, you will eat all of our food. But I do not mind, for after we fatten you up a bit we can sell you to Aragorn's orcs that he invited in exchange for some more."
Pippin whimpered and Merry scowled at the elf, protecting over his best friend. Aragorn turned around and spoke in a tone that chilled even Boromir's and Gimli's bones. "Legolas, cease, for Valar's sake! You are helping no one!"
Gimli turned to the elf. "That didn't sound like an elf at all," the dwarf observed after the shock of the ranger's words silenced Legolas.
They walked in silence for the next league. At last, when Merry and Pippin nearly feinted from exhaustion, Aragorn gave the word to make camp. Lothlorien was maybe three or four leagues away, but the hobbits would go no longer.
"Sam, Frodo," Aragorn said. "Merry, Pippin," he turned to the hobbits. "Do not unpack your stuff. Take only a blanket out. We will rest for little time, and then we shall set off again."
Boromir and Gimli lay on the valley floor already, and Gimli was already asleep, in need of no blanket. Nice Legolas sat down next to them and waited for Aragorn and the other Legolas to join them.
"Are you not going to sleep, mellon-nin?" The elf asked the ranger.
"I am going to keep watch first," Aragorn said.
"When the goblins get here, make sure they have their own teacups; I do not think we have much to spare," Aggressive Legolas hissed. He lay down on the ground, staring at the stars.
The ranger looked at him for a moment, then turned and looked out into the valley. It was such a peaceful scene: The quiet valley, some lone trees swinging in the wind, the sun dipping below the Misty Mountains in the distance.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
An hour passed. The sun had dipped completely out of view. The ranger looked at Boromir; it was his turn. "Boromir!" He walked over lightly and woke him. "Wake Gimli in an hour."
Boromir nodded, stood up and yawned. Stretching a bit, he took over the elf-friend's post.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Nice Legolas dwell in dreams of what no mortal knew, but something aroused him. He awoke fully, his eyes open already, and looked around him. Aggressive Legolas lay in the same sort of sleep he had been dreaming in minutes ago.
/Wake, elf, dangers approach!/
Legolas snapped his head up. What had said that? Legolas reached for his bow, but, no, Aggressive Legolas had that safely tucked under his arm.
/They approach! Leave!/
The trees! There was one near him, one a little further away, and one peeking over the hill only feet away.
/Leave!/
The tree's voices urged him. Leave? To where? Legolas stood, his elven feet making no indent nor a sound. He was confused! What were the trees telling him?
/To the west they lie! To the golden wood they head!/
Legolas turned West. Then, almost unconsciously, as if a source of magic unknown drew him, he walked in that direction. He climbed the first hill (For the campsite was in a little nook between two hills) and observed nothing dangerous, just more hills.
The scent of nighttime was strong as he walked, the moon uncovered, the stars bright. The elf padded silently, in his light shoes, across the landscape.
For how long, he knew not, but he just kept walking. Past little white flowers in the valley grass, past more urging trees, toward--- toward what?
As Legolas climbed a rolling hill gracefully, nearly two leagues away from the campsite already, he found out.
~*~*~*~*~*
Boromir had not noticed Legolas's departure. Drowsy and hungry, his lids were half closed and he was facing the East. The wind blew rather hard in his face as the moon was uncovered from a cape of clouds once again.
Had it been an hour? He didn't know. The Steward's son turned toward his companions, his eyes adjusting to a new scene.
Gimli lay protectively by his axe, guarding it like a child. The man walked over to the dwarf and gave him a gentle shove. "Gimli, wake up!"
Boromir jumped back in time to avoid the heavy swing of an axe. "I'll cleave your necks!" Came a shout from the crazy dwarf.
"AH!" The man backed away as the dwarf began to wake up.
"What?" The dwarf said rather drousily.
Boromir looked around. Had anyone awoken? Aragorn, Aggressive Legolas, and Frodo were sitting upright.
"Now look what you have done, you crazy dwarf!" The Aggressive Legolas said. "Just wake up everybody and ring the bell for tea!"
"Will you *drop* that?! It is getting boring!" Boromir groaned. Not to mention clichéd, he thought with a growl. The evil side of Legolas has clichés?
"Wait," Frodo spoke up. "Where is Legolas?"
"I am right here!" Legolas wove a hand in front of the halfling as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"No, I mean—"
"Ah. You mean the nice, pathetic, vulnerable one," Aggressive Legolas sneered.
Aragorn sat up further. "Legolas?"
"Yes?"
"Hush," The ranger scolded. "Legolas! Legolas!"
This succeeded in waking the rest of the Fellowship, including a very grumpy Pippin.
"What do we do?" Asked Gimli, ignoring the hobbit's awakening.
"We have to find him," The ranger said. "He is vital, if we wish to get Legolas one again." He unsheathed Anduril.
"Who needs the old Legolas?" Aggressive Legolas demanded. "That pathetic creature was never part of me! He is disgusting!"
Again, he was ignored. "Hobbits! Stay here! Legolas," He nodded toward him. "You and Gimli stay here with the hobbits. Boromir, come with me, take your sword."
Legolas opened his mouth to object, but Boromir and Aragorn, had already left, disappearing over the hill, leaving no instruction whatsoever. Wait a minute—Legolas smirked. No instruction? Every good, assertive person knew that when rules were not set, loose construction was to be used. And yes, Legolas was assertive: he knew that at least.
Silence, for a moment. All stared at eachother, and mainly at the faraway look and smirk on Legolas's face warily.
Pippin sighed. "I'm hungry."
~*~*~*~*~*
"Valar!" Legolas gasped. Instantly, he was scared. Fear clenched his muscles like a deathly spirit as it traveled around his body.
Orcs! Hideous, mutated, mocked orcs! Hundreds of them, dressed in foul chain mail and scale mail and the skin of who knows what animal? At this point, the hills had flattened out, and the orcs had a wide field to camp on. It was too late to evade back into the hills. The orcs had already spotted him.
Several orc archers bent their bows threateningly. A large orc at the head snapped orders in his fowl tongue. Legolas was frozen with fear. His arms fell numbly at his side as tears gathered in his blue eyes.
"No! The Fellowship!" He whispered, shocked. Why hadn't he taken weapons? Why had he gone at all? Now he couldn't even run to warn them!
"Surrender, elf, and we might spare you," The large, hideous orc said. He wore a leather jerkin worn away to the point that it looked less protection than silk. His teeth were a disgusting yellow, his face scarred to the point of sickness.
Legolas stared, not knowing what to do. He wanted to run-every bone in his body wanted to flee, but that was useless. He would be dead running, if only by a lucky arrow. His conscious fought with himself: Surrender, live only to die most likely with much pain, or Run, only to die anyways. Never once did "fight" appear in his mind. He stepped forward, held out his hands peacefully, and hung his head in defeat.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Well? PLEASE REVIEW!!! My stories will be up every other day: I'll type on each night and post it the next. If I can, I'll try to make it sooner!!!
Replies to Reviews:
"Oi, Strider," Pippin poked the ranger in the arm, "How far until we get there?"
The ranger squinted, not daring to ask either of the Legolas's for their vision. He could barely see the eaves of the golden wood, as they had covered many leagues since arousing. The landscape was the same so far, a valley dotted with trees.
"I do not know, Peregrin," He frowned and looked back to where Sam and Frodo were sulking along. Gimli used his axe as a walking stick next to them. Merry stood a couple feet away from them, staring ahead into the already setting sun.
"Aragorn, either pick the pace up or we will have orcs jesting about our attempt to outrun them," Said the Aggressive Legolas with a temper. Aragorn snorted a bit. Legolas would have never said that, for that was a complement for the orcs, almost, and anything to complement an orc would have been death for the elf.
The nice Legolas slipped behind to the ranger and whispered in his ear, "The hobbits tire, Aragorn. You should let them rest. Frodo carries a heavy burden."
Aragorn nodded grimly, not looking forward to the protests that would come. "Legolas, we need to get to Lothlorien. Only another league, and I will let us cease."
"What are you saying without my consent?!" The testy Legolas counterpart rounded on the ranger and his exact image.
"Nothing, Legolas. Calm. We are merely discussing that we must rest. The hobbits deserve it, and I have nearly forgotten that they tire easier," Aragorn calmly said, waiting for Legolas's determination to get his way, which had always been pushed down, usually, before, to come out.
"Why do we not merely invite the orcs to a tea party, and save them the chase, then?!" Legolas shouted. Nice Legolas cringed and shook his head distastefully. How could such a temper have ever been part of him?
"Legolas, the hobbits are going nowhere!" Aragorn took his turn to shout. "They will fall over more likely! We will go one more league and then we will rest!"
"Fine, if you wish to serve the orcs hobbit-meat on a silver platter!" Legolas glared. "I won't intervene, then, when they come. Which will be soon, if we do not speed up!"
Boromir, whom had been lagging behind a bit, took his turn and spoke up, "Legolas, this is not your quest to lead. Besides, perhaps these halflings lack your physical skills," The man of Gondor said, hoping to use flattery as a way to quite the stubborn and nagging elf.
"By the Valar they do!" Legolas grumbled, but Boromir's tactics had worked. He quieted.
Frodo sighed, happy that he would gain some rest for his tired eyes. Samwise put a comforting hand on his Master's shoulders. "Aye, this is no adventure for a hobbit, Mr.Frodo! I would like nothing more than a goose down pillow, some nice rabbit stew..."
"Stop it, Sam! You're making me hungry!" Pippin whined. "Strider, when do we eat?"
Aggressive Legolas turned on the youngest member of the Fellowship and said acidly, "If we do not watch you, you will eat all of our food. But I do not mind, for after we fatten you up a bit we can sell you to Aragorn's orcs that he invited in exchange for some more."
Pippin whimpered and Merry scowled at the elf, protecting over his best friend. Aragorn turned around and spoke in a tone that chilled even Boromir's and Gimli's bones. "Legolas, cease, for Valar's sake! You are helping no one!"
Gimli turned to the elf. "That didn't sound like an elf at all," the dwarf observed after the shock of the ranger's words silenced Legolas.
They walked in silence for the next league. At last, when Merry and Pippin nearly feinted from exhaustion, Aragorn gave the word to make camp. Lothlorien was maybe three or four leagues away, but the hobbits would go no longer.
"Sam, Frodo," Aragorn said. "Merry, Pippin," he turned to the hobbits. "Do not unpack your stuff. Take only a blanket out. We will rest for little time, and then we shall set off again."
Boromir and Gimli lay on the valley floor already, and Gimli was already asleep, in need of no blanket. Nice Legolas sat down next to them and waited for Aragorn and the other Legolas to join them.
"Are you not going to sleep, mellon-nin?" The elf asked the ranger.
"I am going to keep watch first," Aragorn said.
"When the goblins get here, make sure they have their own teacups; I do not think we have much to spare," Aggressive Legolas hissed. He lay down on the ground, staring at the stars.
The ranger looked at him for a moment, then turned and looked out into the valley. It was such a peaceful scene: The quiet valley, some lone trees swinging in the wind, the sun dipping below the Misty Mountains in the distance.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
An hour passed. The sun had dipped completely out of view. The ranger looked at Boromir; it was his turn. "Boromir!" He walked over lightly and woke him. "Wake Gimli in an hour."
Boromir nodded, stood up and yawned. Stretching a bit, he took over the elf-friend's post.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Nice Legolas dwell in dreams of what no mortal knew, but something aroused him. He awoke fully, his eyes open already, and looked around him. Aggressive Legolas lay in the same sort of sleep he had been dreaming in minutes ago.
/Wake, elf, dangers approach!/
Legolas snapped his head up. What had said that? Legolas reached for his bow, but, no, Aggressive Legolas had that safely tucked under his arm.
/They approach! Leave!/
The trees! There was one near him, one a little further away, and one peeking over the hill only feet away.
/Leave!/
The tree's voices urged him. Leave? To where? Legolas stood, his elven feet making no indent nor a sound. He was confused! What were the trees telling him?
/To the west they lie! To the golden wood they head!/
Legolas turned West. Then, almost unconsciously, as if a source of magic unknown drew him, he walked in that direction. He climbed the first hill (For the campsite was in a little nook between two hills) and observed nothing dangerous, just more hills.
The scent of nighttime was strong as he walked, the moon uncovered, the stars bright. The elf padded silently, in his light shoes, across the landscape.
For how long, he knew not, but he just kept walking. Past little white flowers in the valley grass, past more urging trees, toward--- toward what?
As Legolas climbed a rolling hill gracefully, nearly two leagues away from the campsite already, he found out.
~*~*~*~*~*
Boromir had not noticed Legolas's departure. Drowsy and hungry, his lids were half closed and he was facing the East. The wind blew rather hard in his face as the moon was uncovered from a cape of clouds once again.
Had it been an hour? He didn't know. The Steward's son turned toward his companions, his eyes adjusting to a new scene.
Gimli lay protectively by his axe, guarding it like a child. The man walked over to the dwarf and gave him a gentle shove. "Gimli, wake up!"
Boromir jumped back in time to avoid the heavy swing of an axe. "I'll cleave your necks!" Came a shout from the crazy dwarf.
"AH!" The man backed away as the dwarf began to wake up.
"What?" The dwarf said rather drousily.
Boromir looked around. Had anyone awoken? Aragorn, Aggressive Legolas, and Frodo were sitting upright.
"Now look what you have done, you crazy dwarf!" The Aggressive Legolas said. "Just wake up everybody and ring the bell for tea!"
"Will you *drop* that?! It is getting boring!" Boromir groaned. Not to mention clichéd, he thought with a growl. The evil side of Legolas has clichés?
"Wait," Frodo spoke up. "Where is Legolas?"
"I am right here!" Legolas wove a hand in front of the halfling as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"No, I mean—"
"Ah. You mean the nice, pathetic, vulnerable one," Aggressive Legolas sneered.
Aragorn sat up further. "Legolas?"
"Yes?"
"Hush," The ranger scolded. "Legolas! Legolas!"
This succeeded in waking the rest of the Fellowship, including a very grumpy Pippin.
"What do we do?" Asked Gimli, ignoring the hobbit's awakening.
"We have to find him," The ranger said. "He is vital, if we wish to get Legolas one again." He unsheathed Anduril.
"Who needs the old Legolas?" Aggressive Legolas demanded. "That pathetic creature was never part of me! He is disgusting!"
Again, he was ignored. "Hobbits! Stay here! Legolas," He nodded toward him. "You and Gimli stay here with the hobbits. Boromir, come with me, take your sword."
Legolas opened his mouth to object, but Boromir and Aragorn, had already left, disappearing over the hill, leaving no instruction whatsoever. Wait a minute—Legolas smirked. No instruction? Every good, assertive person knew that when rules were not set, loose construction was to be used. And yes, Legolas was assertive: he knew that at least.
Silence, for a moment. All stared at eachother, and mainly at the faraway look and smirk on Legolas's face warily.
Pippin sighed. "I'm hungry."
~*~*~*~*~*
"Valar!" Legolas gasped. Instantly, he was scared. Fear clenched his muscles like a deathly spirit as it traveled around his body.
Orcs! Hideous, mutated, mocked orcs! Hundreds of them, dressed in foul chain mail and scale mail and the skin of who knows what animal? At this point, the hills had flattened out, and the orcs had a wide field to camp on. It was too late to evade back into the hills. The orcs had already spotted him.
Several orc archers bent their bows threateningly. A large orc at the head snapped orders in his fowl tongue. Legolas was frozen with fear. His arms fell numbly at his side as tears gathered in his blue eyes.
"No! The Fellowship!" He whispered, shocked. Why hadn't he taken weapons? Why had he gone at all? Now he couldn't even run to warn them!
"Surrender, elf, and we might spare you," The large, hideous orc said. He wore a leather jerkin worn away to the point that it looked less protection than silk. His teeth were a disgusting yellow, his face scarred to the point of sickness.
Legolas stared, not knowing what to do. He wanted to run-every bone in his body wanted to flee, but that was useless. He would be dead running, if only by a lucky arrow. His conscious fought with himself: Surrender, live only to die most likely with much pain, or Run, only to die anyways. Never once did "fight" appear in his mind. He stepped forward, held out his hands peacefully, and hung his head in defeat.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Well? PLEASE REVIEW!!! My stories will be up every other day: I'll type on each night and post it the next. If I can, I'll try to make it sooner!!!
Replies to Reviews: