A/N: I really want to thank Cathy for beta'ing this specific chapter
(although she has beta'd my past chapters) because this chapter in
particular gave me so much trouble to write. Thank You for the suggestions
and helping me! I would also like to thank Cor for helping me translate
those lines into elvish.hehe. You're a lifesaver! Now onto Chapter 6!
Chapter 6
Legolas eyed the elf standing before him, his deep blue eyes locking on to the guard's. "Tell your men that I will see to them shortly."
The guard nodded his head and quickly rushed down the hall the way he had come, eager to tell the waiting elves the prince's message.
Legolas watched as the elf disappeared around a corner. Feeling the man's gaze boring into him, he turned to face the ranger who appeared completely confused by what had just transpired.
"Aragorn, I must go to my father. I have questions that need answers and he is the only one that can help me." The elf stared at his friend a moment longer before taking off down the halls, but stopped shortly when he heard the ranger following him.
Legolas turned to face his friend, his face fixed with determination. "No Aragorn, you must stay here for now. My father does not know you are here and it should be left that way."
"Legolas, I can help," Aragorn replied, his eyes pleading with the elf to let him follow.
The elf eyed the man, urging him to understand. "If my father finds out you are here, he might think that we're up to no good and then I will surely get no answers."
Reluctantly the ranger nodded his head, backing away slowly, caught in indecision.
"Do not worry about this Estel, I will be back soon, and hopefully with answers." Legolas gave the man a reassuring smile as he continued down the hall to his father's chamber.
*****
Walking back into the guest room, Aragorn strolled over to his bed and laid down on it. Sighing loudly, he placed his hand onto his right pocket and pulled out the now wrinkled note that he had pocketed earlier. He had previously planned on waiting until Legolas came back, but now he couldn't resist his curiosity. Flipping onto his stomach, he slowly unfolded the note and laid it out before him on the bed.
The first thing Aragorn noticed was that the note was written in elvish, which struck him as curious. It was written so quickly that the handwriting was barely legible
His eyebrows furrowed as he scanned the odd assortment of hastily drawn figures. At the bottom left corner was a crude drawing of an elf with an arrow pierced through his heart.
'This person must really hate elves,' Aragorn thought to himself as he saw similar drawings near the edges of the note.
He breathed in deeply slowly looking over the words, pondering on whether he should wait until Legolas was here to read it. He couldn't help himself as he began reading out loud:
You thought you could be rid of me, but guess who
is back. Surprised? Well you should be... I have come
come back to you now after thousands of years and
I am thoroughly enjoying inflicting the same pain upon
your people that you have inflicted upon me. I am back,
and now that I am, I will never leave. Thank your little human
messenger for me. His weapons are most useful...
Aragorn re-read the last sentence, his heart beating faster by the second. He feared what this new evil was, and couldn't help but shudder at what this thing had used his weapons for. Shaking slightly, he slowly folded up the note and placed it in his pocket once more.
His hunger having come back, he got up and gathered his pack off the floor, and placed it onto the bed. Pulling out a couple of berries and nuts, having nothing else to eat, he began eating and was disappointed to find that there was not much left. Tossing his pack back onto the floor, he stood up and walked over to the small chair in the corner of the room.
The moonlight was shining in through his windows along with that of the stars, which glowed brightly in the sky. Sitting down, he began rubbing his half-lidded eyes not wanting to fall asleep until Legolas had come back. Turning his body sideways he propped his legs on one arm of the chair and his head on the other, placing his folded hands onto his stomach.
Closing his eyes, he reflected on the happenings of that day and the strange note that had mysteriously appeared in his pack. He tried desperately to find clues or even hints that he might have missed before, hoping to piece together some of the mystery.
The ranger had heard nothing, not even the slightest footfall that would've indicated that something drew nearer. Usually he would have but he was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even worry about anything else.
The next thing Aragorn knew was that a knife blade was positioned dangerously close to one of the major veins that ran down his throat and a hand covered his mouth. The man was dragged out of his chair not even give the chance to stand up by himself. His captor did not loosen his grip on the knife, yet tightened it more than needed. In his mind the ranger was trying to think of a way to escape, but the odds didn't look good.
"You are coming with me *human*." His captor spat at the helpless man in his arms. "I see that you and the prince are very close."
The ranger tried to struggle. Bringing his hands up he tried to push the knife blade away so that he could maneuver around his captor and bring him down, but his captor was too quick. Taking his hand off the man's mouth, he quickly grabbed the hilt of a hidden sword and brought it hard against the ranger's skull making the man lose consciousness and fall limp into his arms.
******
Legolas reached his father's room within minutes and this time he did not hesitate to enter. Upon entering the room, he saw that his father was sitting in the exact same place in front of the fire. It looked as if he had not moved since he was last here.
Walking over to middle of the room, he cleared his throat loudly hoping to get his father to notice that he was there, but Thranduil didn't so much as bother to look up.
Clenching his fists, the elf prince walked over to his father, positioning himself so that he stood in front of the elf king, blocking his view of the dancing flames into the fireplace.
"Father, there has been another attack. Have you done nothing yet to protect our people?" Legolas' deep blue eyes flashed with anger.
The only answer the younger elf received was the crackling of the fire behind him. Not knowing what else to do, he kneeled so that he was level with his father, forcing Thranduil to look him in the eyes. Legolas was taken aback as he saw the lines of worry that creased his father's face and the sadness that was easily read in his eyes.
"Ada?" Legolas knew that whatever Thranduil kept from his only son was eating him up inside. The elven-king's expression did not change when he had spoken. Frustrated, the elven-prince placed his hands on his father's shoulders and shook him gently, but he didn't even blink. It was if his spirit had gone and all that was left was his lifeless body.
"Ada, you must tell me what is going on. You cannot keep whatever is bothering you bottled-up. Look what it is doing to you.what it already has done. Let me help." His last words were spoken in despair. How would he ever get through to his father? Tears slowly spilled from eyes down his fair cheek and he lowered his gaze to the floor, not wanting his father to see his anguish.
A soft touch on his right shoulder made the prince raise his gaze from the floor to his father. Turning his head, he could see that it was Thranduil's hand that was clasping his shoulder.
"Caru annam, ion nin." Thranduil's voice was quiet and raspy as he spoke. *Do not despair, my son*
"Ada, trenarenni man le isto." Legolas did not wipe away the tears that were now streaming down his face. He no longer cared if his father saw them or not. *Ada, please tell me what you know."
It hurt Thranduil to see his son's sorrow, but he could not bring himself to tell him what was haunting Mirkwood.not yet.
"Legolas, dangweth nin inna u onif." *Legolas, my answer will not change.*
The younger elf's face tensed with anger and he quickly stood up from where he knelt on the floor. He tried to control the frustration that was building in his mind, but it was just too much to keep in.
"Father, I need to know. Not only have you put our own people in danger by not telling us what is out there, but also the travelers in our woods are threatened by this *thing*." Legolas' voice rose in volume as he continued. "You are letting Mirkwood fall into the very hands of evil."
"Mirkwood is not falling into anyone's hand other than my own. It is best that you not know what is out there, for the sake of your life and mine!" Thranduil's voice was firm and unyielding.
Legolas furrowed his eyebrows skeptical of his father's replies. "What is happening to you?"
The king squeezed his eyes tightly shut. "I do not know, ion nin, but I need to rest." His last sentence was meant to finish the discussion. Slowly getting up from his chair, Thranduil walked over to the water basin that was in the far-side of his room. Cupping his hands, he filled them with water and slowly began washing his face.
"Ada." Legolas was not going to give up so easily.
"No, Legolas," Thranduil replied, turning so that he faced his son. He knew that if he let Legolas continue to question he might not be able to keep his secret hidden. "Go.please."
The prince stared at his father in disbelief before turning to leave the room. He knew in his heart that no matter how hard he tried, he would never get an answer from his father.
******
Thankful to reach the guest room and find comfort with his friend, Legolas was surprised to find that the man was nowhere in the room. Smiling to himself he walked out of the room and down the hall to his own room, hoping to see the man waiting for him, but he found no one. Legolas knew that Aragorn had not followed for he had seen the man walk back into the guest room before he left. Where else could the ranger have gone? His concern growing more by the second, he rushed back down the hall and into the guest room once more hoping to find any hints or clues to indicate where the man had gone.
Though not as skilled as Aragorn, he scanned the room for any signs of the human's whereabouts, yet found nothing.
Unknowingly falling into the same chair Aragorn had sat in before, the prince brought his left hand up to his face and began to vigorously rub his temples. Too many things had happened today and now to deal with looking for the ranger was too much. He needed to rest and just lay his troubles aside. Legolas was sure that wherever the ranger was that he was fairing just fine.
Getting up from the chair, he walked over the doorway, but stopped suddenly when from the corner of his eye he saw something lying on the floor. Walking over to it, he saw that it was the same note Aragorn had showed him earlier but had never got the chance to read.
Seeing that he had nothing else to do, he unfolded the note and began reading the note to himself. The last sentence looked as if it were written just recently because of the difference in the handwriting and in reading it made his heart clench.
Your human friend is with me. I see that he won't live that long whilst in my hands, but I surely don't mind. If you care to see him again, come and find him and come alone.
TBC..
**************************************************************************** *********************************** Sorry for the long wait. Hope you guys liked this chapter! From now on I'll start posting responses to reviews at the end of each chapter. It's such a good idea *bangs head on desk* I wonder why I never thought of it before. Thank you: PokethePenguin, Iawen, Elwen, Elendil, Computer, Tc, Lauriena, WeasleyTwinsLover112, Nilbrethiliel, Grumpy, leggylover03, Thranduilion, Cestari, szhimine, daw the minstrel, and Jessie-Greenleaf. I just want to let you all know that I really appreciate your reviews. **************************************************************************** ***********************************
Grumpy- I'm glad that you have liked the fic so far!
WeasleyTwinsLover1112- LOL.hmmm.the suspense! (
leggylover03- It took a while to write up Chapter 6 and another while for it to be beta'd. Sorry it took so long to update! ( *you've just got to love these happy faces*
Thranduilion- I will update soon.lol.
Cestari- I'm glad that you decided to read my fic. Now as to those questions..lol.I hope this chapter helped. Yup, you have to love Cassia's characters. *blushes* and nope, Arquen is not a pen name for Sio.although I wish I could write as good as her. Thank You for reviewing!
szhimine- LOL.I hope your questions were answered in this chapter.and if they weren't.*looks around*.I'll be hiding behind my plot bunnies.(
daw the minstrel- Yup, cliffhangers are inevitable. I'll try to name my chapters, but I am so bad at coming up with names.0_o. I'll try, really I will. It's a good idea, though. Glad you like!
Jessie-Greenleaf- I'm sorry that it took a while to post chapter 6.*hides*.but it's here now. Hmm.you're probably right about something not being just right. This is my first fan-fic so I'm just developing my writing skills. I'm glad you liked it so far and thank you for reviewing.
Thank you *all* for reviewing and I'll make sure to keep up with responding from now on.lol
Chapter 6
Legolas eyed the elf standing before him, his deep blue eyes locking on to the guard's. "Tell your men that I will see to them shortly."
The guard nodded his head and quickly rushed down the hall the way he had come, eager to tell the waiting elves the prince's message.
Legolas watched as the elf disappeared around a corner. Feeling the man's gaze boring into him, he turned to face the ranger who appeared completely confused by what had just transpired.
"Aragorn, I must go to my father. I have questions that need answers and he is the only one that can help me." The elf stared at his friend a moment longer before taking off down the halls, but stopped shortly when he heard the ranger following him.
Legolas turned to face his friend, his face fixed with determination. "No Aragorn, you must stay here for now. My father does not know you are here and it should be left that way."
"Legolas, I can help," Aragorn replied, his eyes pleading with the elf to let him follow.
The elf eyed the man, urging him to understand. "If my father finds out you are here, he might think that we're up to no good and then I will surely get no answers."
Reluctantly the ranger nodded his head, backing away slowly, caught in indecision.
"Do not worry about this Estel, I will be back soon, and hopefully with answers." Legolas gave the man a reassuring smile as he continued down the hall to his father's chamber.
*****
Walking back into the guest room, Aragorn strolled over to his bed and laid down on it. Sighing loudly, he placed his hand onto his right pocket and pulled out the now wrinkled note that he had pocketed earlier. He had previously planned on waiting until Legolas came back, but now he couldn't resist his curiosity. Flipping onto his stomach, he slowly unfolded the note and laid it out before him on the bed.
The first thing Aragorn noticed was that the note was written in elvish, which struck him as curious. It was written so quickly that the handwriting was barely legible
His eyebrows furrowed as he scanned the odd assortment of hastily drawn figures. At the bottom left corner was a crude drawing of an elf with an arrow pierced through his heart.
'This person must really hate elves,' Aragorn thought to himself as he saw similar drawings near the edges of the note.
He breathed in deeply slowly looking over the words, pondering on whether he should wait until Legolas was here to read it. He couldn't help himself as he began reading out loud:
You thought you could be rid of me, but guess who
is back. Surprised? Well you should be... I have come
come back to you now after thousands of years and
I am thoroughly enjoying inflicting the same pain upon
your people that you have inflicted upon me. I am back,
and now that I am, I will never leave. Thank your little human
messenger for me. His weapons are most useful...
Aragorn re-read the last sentence, his heart beating faster by the second. He feared what this new evil was, and couldn't help but shudder at what this thing had used his weapons for. Shaking slightly, he slowly folded up the note and placed it in his pocket once more.
His hunger having come back, he got up and gathered his pack off the floor, and placed it onto the bed. Pulling out a couple of berries and nuts, having nothing else to eat, he began eating and was disappointed to find that there was not much left. Tossing his pack back onto the floor, he stood up and walked over to the small chair in the corner of the room.
The moonlight was shining in through his windows along with that of the stars, which glowed brightly in the sky. Sitting down, he began rubbing his half-lidded eyes not wanting to fall asleep until Legolas had come back. Turning his body sideways he propped his legs on one arm of the chair and his head on the other, placing his folded hands onto his stomach.
Closing his eyes, he reflected on the happenings of that day and the strange note that had mysteriously appeared in his pack. He tried desperately to find clues or even hints that he might have missed before, hoping to piece together some of the mystery.
The ranger had heard nothing, not even the slightest footfall that would've indicated that something drew nearer. Usually he would have but he was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even worry about anything else.
The next thing Aragorn knew was that a knife blade was positioned dangerously close to one of the major veins that ran down his throat and a hand covered his mouth. The man was dragged out of his chair not even give the chance to stand up by himself. His captor did not loosen his grip on the knife, yet tightened it more than needed. In his mind the ranger was trying to think of a way to escape, but the odds didn't look good.
"You are coming with me *human*." His captor spat at the helpless man in his arms. "I see that you and the prince are very close."
The ranger tried to struggle. Bringing his hands up he tried to push the knife blade away so that he could maneuver around his captor and bring him down, but his captor was too quick. Taking his hand off the man's mouth, he quickly grabbed the hilt of a hidden sword and brought it hard against the ranger's skull making the man lose consciousness and fall limp into his arms.
******
Legolas reached his father's room within minutes and this time he did not hesitate to enter. Upon entering the room, he saw that his father was sitting in the exact same place in front of the fire. It looked as if he had not moved since he was last here.
Walking over to middle of the room, he cleared his throat loudly hoping to get his father to notice that he was there, but Thranduil didn't so much as bother to look up.
Clenching his fists, the elf prince walked over to his father, positioning himself so that he stood in front of the elf king, blocking his view of the dancing flames into the fireplace.
"Father, there has been another attack. Have you done nothing yet to protect our people?" Legolas' deep blue eyes flashed with anger.
The only answer the younger elf received was the crackling of the fire behind him. Not knowing what else to do, he kneeled so that he was level with his father, forcing Thranduil to look him in the eyes. Legolas was taken aback as he saw the lines of worry that creased his father's face and the sadness that was easily read in his eyes.
"Ada?" Legolas knew that whatever Thranduil kept from his only son was eating him up inside. The elven-king's expression did not change when he had spoken. Frustrated, the elven-prince placed his hands on his father's shoulders and shook him gently, but he didn't even blink. It was if his spirit had gone and all that was left was his lifeless body.
"Ada, you must tell me what is going on. You cannot keep whatever is bothering you bottled-up. Look what it is doing to you.what it already has done. Let me help." His last words were spoken in despair. How would he ever get through to his father? Tears slowly spilled from eyes down his fair cheek and he lowered his gaze to the floor, not wanting his father to see his anguish.
A soft touch on his right shoulder made the prince raise his gaze from the floor to his father. Turning his head, he could see that it was Thranduil's hand that was clasping his shoulder.
"Caru annam, ion nin." Thranduil's voice was quiet and raspy as he spoke. *Do not despair, my son*
"Ada, trenarenni man le isto." Legolas did not wipe away the tears that were now streaming down his face. He no longer cared if his father saw them or not. *Ada, please tell me what you know."
It hurt Thranduil to see his son's sorrow, but he could not bring himself to tell him what was haunting Mirkwood.not yet.
"Legolas, dangweth nin inna u onif." *Legolas, my answer will not change.*
The younger elf's face tensed with anger and he quickly stood up from where he knelt on the floor. He tried to control the frustration that was building in his mind, but it was just too much to keep in.
"Father, I need to know. Not only have you put our own people in danger by not telling us what is out there, but also the travelers in our woods are threatened by this *thing*." Legolas' voice rose in volume as he continued. "You are letting Mirkwood fall into the very hands of evil."
"Mirkwood is not falling into anyone's hand other than my own. It is best that you not know what is out there, for the sake of your life and mine!" Thranduil's voice was firm and unyielding.
Legolas furrowed his eyebrows skeptical of his father's replies. "What is happening to you?"
The king squeezed his eyes tightly shut. "I do not know, ion nin, but I need to rest." His last sentence was meant to finish the discussion. Slowly getting up from his chair, Thranduil walked over to the water basin that was in the far-side of his room. Cupping his hands, he filled them with water and slowly began washing his face.
"Ada." Legolas was not going to give up so easily.
"No, Legolas," Thranduil replied, turning so that he faced his son. He knew that if he let Legolas continue to question he might not be able to keep his secret hidden. "Go.please."
The prince stared at his father in disbelief before turning to leave the room. He knew in his heart that no matter how hard he tried, he would never get an answer from his father.
******
Thankful to reach the guest room and find comfort with his friend, Legolas was surprised to find that the man was nowhere in the room. Smiling to himself he walked out of the room and down the hall to his own room, hoping to see the man waiting for him, but he found no one. Legolas knew that Aragorn had not followed for he had seen the man walk back into the guest room before he left. Where else could the ranger have gone? His concern growing more by the second, he rushed back down the hall and into the guest room once more hoping to find any hints or clues to indicate where the man had gone.
Though not as skilled as Aragorn, he scanned the room for any signs of the human's whereabouts, yet found nothing.
Unknowingly falling into the same chair Aragorn had sat in before, the prince brought his left hand up to his face and began to vigorously rub his temples. Too many things had happened today and now to deal with looking for the ranger was too much. He needed to rest and just lay his troubles aside. Legolas was sure that wherever the ranger was that he was fairing just fine.
Getting up from the chair, he walked over the doorway, but stopped suddenly when from the corner of his eye he saw something lying on the floor. Walking over to it, he saw that it was the same note Aragorn had showed him earlier but had never got the chance to read.
Seeing that he had nothing else to do, he unfolded the note and began reading the note to himself. The last sentence looked as if it were written just recently because of the difference in the handwriting and in reading it made his heart clench.
Your human friend is with me. I see that he won't live that long whilst in my hands, but I surely don't mind. If you care to see him again, come and find him and come alone.
TBC..
**************************************************************************** *********************************** Sorry for the long wait. Hope you guys liked this chapter! From now on I'll start posting responses to reviews at the end of each chapter. It's such a good idea *bangs head on desk* I wonder why I never thought of it before. Thank you: PokethePenguin, Iawen, Elwen, Elendil, Computer, Tc, Lauriena, WeasleyTwinsLover112, Nilbrethiliel, Grumpy, leggylover03, Thranduilion, Cestari, szhimine, daw the minstrel, and Jessie-Greenleaf. I just want to let you all know that I really appreciate your reviews. **************************************************************************** ***********************************
Grumpy- I'm glad that you have liked the fic so far!
WeasleyTwinsLover1112- LOL.hmmm.the suspense! (
leggylover03- It took a while to write up Chapter 6 and another while for it to be beta'd. Sorry it took so long to update! ( *you've just got to love these happy faces*
Thranduilion- I will update soon.lol.
Cestari- I'm glad that you decided to read my fic. Now as to those questions..lol.I hope this chapter helped. Yup, you have to love Cassia's characters. *blushes* and nope, Arquen is not a pen name for Sio.although I wish I could write as good as her. Thank You for reviewing!
szhimine- LOL.I hope your questions were answered in this chapter.and if they weren't.*looks around*.I'll be hiding behind my plot bunnies.(
daw the minstrel- Yup, cliffhangers are inevitable. I'll try to name my chapters, but I am so bad at coming up with names.0_o. I'll try, really I will. It's a good idea, though. Glad you like!
Jessie-Greenleaf- I'm sorry that it took a while to post chapter 6.*hides*.but it's here now. Hmm.you're probably right about something not being just right. This is my first fan-fic so I'm just developing my writing skills. I'm glad you liked it so far and thank you for reviewing.
Thank you *all* for reviewing and I'll make sure to keep up with responding from now on.lol