Chapter 7
Aragorn awoke to a pounding headache as consciousness slowly came back to him. His muscles were sore and he felt as if a ten-pound rock lay on his head. He tried to keep silent, though, ignoring his pain in hopes to hear something that would betray the presence of another, yet heard nothing except the normal drone of the insects.
Aragorn cautiously opened his eyes, blinking several times to adjust to the darkness, and saw that he was alone and in the very depths of Mirkwood.
'How is it that I always find myself in these predicaments?' Aragorn would have laughed, but he dared not make a sound.
In the pit of his stomach, he knew there was something thoroughly wrong about this situation. His hands were not bound and his captor was nowhere to be seen.
'It's a trap,' Aragorn thought, as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. Blinding pain shot through his head at the exertion he was forcing upon his body; moving closer to the tree behind him he leaned back, using it as a support.
He cursed himself as his head banged against the tree trunk, not improving the throbbing pain pulsating in his head. Bringing his hand to the back of his head he absently rubbed the spot where a large tender knot was forming.
Hissing softly, the ranger brought his hand back down so that it rested on his thigh, the blood from his head staining his fingers and making them sticky.
Sighing mentally, Aragorn opened his eyes once more into the overwhelming darkness. In his mind he knew he had two choices to consider. To make a run for it and pray to Illuvatar that he did not run into a trap, or wait for his captor to come back and torture him to his end. Both ways imposed a risk on his life.
Making up his mind, he slowly got to his feet, his head wound threatening to throw him into unconsciousness once more. Eventually standing up straight he took off, slowly at first then faster, as adrenaline and fear spurred him on.
The ranger had not the slightest clue to where he was headed. He had been running, or half stumbling and jogging, for barely three minutes yet the oppressive heat made beads of sweat form on his forehead. He wiped his sweat hurriedly on the sleeve of his tunic, not daring to slow down.
Aragorn's breath came in short gulps as he continued running, forcing himself not to stop until he reached Mirkwood's gate. The morning light that was filtering through the trees as the sun rose into the sky made his sense of direction clear, and it was then that he knew he was going the wrong way. Instead of heading towards Mirkwood he unknowingly ran deeper into the forest.
He quickly spun around, half-way hoping that his captor had not found out that he had already left, and turned to go the opposite direction. Just then an arrow flew through the air, missing him by mere inches and falling into the dirt a few feet behind him. It was too late.
******
Legolas growled in frustration as he flipped the note over, hoping to find anything else that would hint to where Aragorn's captor had taken him. Crumpling the paper, he threw it against the far wall, needing to vent his anger.
"My lord?"
The elven prince, startled, slowly turned recognizing the voice that spoke to him.
"Turion told us you were going to meet us shortly. It's been nearly an hour." Raniean paused as he looked at the prince before him. The normally determined face of his friend was now etched with anger and fear. "What is wrong?"
Looking down at the floor just behind Legolas, the warrior saw the crumpled note which he had seen the prince throw. He started towards it but was stopped as Legolas clasped his shoulder.
"Who was attacked?"
Raniean gazed intently at the prince before answering. "Well, my lord, it was not exactly an attack. One of the elflings has been reported missing." The elf guard looked at Legolas as he slowly lowered his hand from his shoulder.
"Aragorn was also taken, surely by the same person." Legolas said grimly. "We must find them."
******
Aragorn ducked behind a tree, glancing around at his surroundings as he tried to find whoever was responsible for shooting the arrow.
"And where do you think you're going?" A bodiless voice spoke, echoing strangely throughout the forest.
Aragorn's grey eyes flashed with anger as he stared about him. He was caught.again.
Feeling the presence of someone behind him, he turned quickly to face his captor, not keen to be caught off guard. He furrowed his eyebrows as he saw his captor before his very eyes, blinking several times to make sure his mind was not playing tricks on him.
Before him stood an elf that resembled Legolas in nearly every possible way. His eyes, hair, and face, everything was identical.
"Surprised?" His captor's lip curled disdainfully. "You will go back with me, or you can blame yourself for the murder of an elfling I have in captivity. It's amazing how easy it is to capture humans and elflings.almost too easy."
It took a while for the ranger to overcome his initial shock, but it began to wear off as he heard that it was not only his own life that was at stake, but another's as well. Gazing intently at the elf before him, he hoped to see that it was just a lie, that no one else was in danger, but the elf hid his emotions very well.
"You're bluffing," Aragorn said, his hands moving absently to the side where his sword would have been.
The elf snickered, coldly. "You care to find out, or do you intend on fighting me?" His jet blue eyes pierced Aragorn's own, making the man turn away. "I thought so."
******
Legolas walked back to his room, Raniean following close behind. Picking up his weapons, he shouldered his quiver, sheathing two identical daggers and attaching them to his back. Flinging his bow over his head and under his shoulder he started off towards the door of his bedroom where his friend still stood.
"Legolas, you must not leave without a plan. Whoever is out there is dangerous and will do anything to hurt you." The warrior paused, letting what he said set in before continuing. "I'm going with you."
"Raniean, you must not go with me. I will not risk losing anymore people." Legolas looked to the floor, tears filling his eyes as he remembered Trelan. "No," the prince said resolutely, turning his gaze back to his friend's, "you will not go."
The two of them stared at each other neither backing down. The elven prince couldn't help but admire the determination of his friend, and he knew no matter what he said that the warrior would follow him.
"Very well, Raniean, we leave now," Legolas replied, turning to move around the warrior only to be stopped by his outstretched hand.
"You should rest, my lord. You will need your strength and right now it looks as if you would fall over any minute. Trust me about this."
Legolas found it hard to agree with Raniean; to just back down while Aragorn could be dying was inconceivable to him, yet his friend had a point. He was in no condition to fight if the need arose, which it most likely would.
Sighing loudly he glared at his friend, his jet blue eyes catching on the warrior's only this time his eyes no longer showing anger and fear; only weariness.
Watching his prince lay down his weapons and stroll over to his bed, Raniean made sure that Legolas would not make any early morning escapades.
Satisfied that Legolas was resting well, the elven warrior turned around and walked back to his command to inform them of the prince's news. Hearing what had happened, many immediately agreed to join Raniean to help assist the prince in rescuing Strider and the elfling.
"Very well," Raniean said, standing in front of the group of elves, "we will leave by mid-morning."
******
"Running from me," the elf said mockingly, shaking his head. "Stupid humans, they only learn the hard way."
Aragorn said nothing, staring at the elf as he approached closer to him.
"You are part of a plan, and if you run away the plan would not work. Maybe I should just cut off one of your legs. You won't live long anyway." The elf smiled insanely as he unsheathed Aragorn's stolen sword, licking his lips as he looked down at the ranger's legs. "Now which leg should it be?"
Before Aragorn had the chance to react, his captor had him in a head lock with his sword raised threateningly in front of him.
"This is going to be fun," the elf said menacingly. He saw the ranger's face turn a slight shade of purple and released his hold on the man's neck, not wanting to kill him just yet. He watched as Aragorn fell to his knees, clutching his throat as he gasped for air.
After a few minutes, Aragorn's breathing returned to normal but now all he could register was the endless throbbing in his head. It was so loud that he unknowingly covered his ears as if to block out the sound of the endless pounding.
The Silvan elf raised an eyebrow, thoroughly amused with the human's actions. Re-sheathing the man's sword he kicked the ranger, grinning when the man fell to his side clutching his stomach in pain.
Laughing maniacally, the elf leaned over and grabbed the front of the man's tunic pulling him upwards. The pain in the ranger's eyes pleased the elf more than he could imagine, but his thirst for pain was not thoroughly quenched. Thrusting Aragorn against a tree, he watched as the man fell to the ground, not to rise again.
**************************************************************************** *********************************** A/N: Thanks again Cathy for beta'ing and to those of you who helped me with this chapter!!
*g*.so.like the cliffie? ^_^
**************************************************************************** ***********************************
To the reviewers:
Iawen Londea- If you thought chapter 6 had an intense ending.what do you think about this one.^_^
Cestari- Evil forest guy.*snort* Hey you just gave me a major plot bunny (Balrogs, rope, and Elven Kings ^_^) I'm glad you're back, and well, the elf..*cough*.you'll see.
Jazmine- I'm very happy you like my fic. Again, it's my first attempt and I'm very happy on how it's progressing. (
LegolasLover2003- I try to update as fast as I can. I haven't exactly written my whole fic, I'm going chapter by chapter so you all must bear with me.hehe. *runs and hides* Sorry about the whole computer crashing and site overload thing. Let's just hope it'll stop doing that.hehe
AbbiCat14- *Slaps head* So many questions!! ( Let's just hope I answered a few of them in this chapter so you don't go totally insane.
szhismine- No!!! Don't shoot the plot bunnies!!! *sniff* Well, I must say, in a way you did help me. Now I can focus on this fic and not on making other ones.hehe.
WeasleyTwinsLover1112- Lol, you're right about the headache... (
Twisted Fool- Hey Twisted. I'm glad you reviewed my fic. Hope-boy.*snort*
Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews!!! ^_^
Aragorn awoke to a pounding headache as consciousness slowly came back to him. His muscles were sore and he felt as if a ten-pound rock lay on his head. He tried to keep silent, though, ignoring his pain in hopes to hear something that would betray the presence of another, yet heard nothing except the normal drone of the insects.
Aragorn cautiously opened his eyes, blinking several times to adjust to the darkness, and saw that he was alone and in the very depths of Mirkwood.
'How is it that I always find myself in these predicaments?' Aragorn would have laughed, but he dared not make a sound.
In the pit of his stomach, he knew there was something thoroughly wrong about this situation. His hands were not bound and his captor was nowhere to be seen.
'It's a trap,' Aragorn thought, as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. Blinding pain shot through his head at the exertion he was forcing upon his body; moving closer to the tree behind him he leaned back, using it as a support.
He cursed himself as his head banged against the tree trunk, not improving the throbbing pain pulsating in his head. Bringing his hand to the back of his head he absently rubbed the spot where a large tender knot was forming.
Hissing softly, the ranger brought his hand back down so that it rested on his thigh, the blood from his head staining his fingers and making them sticky.
Sighing mentally, Aragorn opened his eyes once more into the overwhelming darkness. In his mind he knew he had two choices to consider. To make a run for it and pray to Illuvatar that he did not run into a trap, or wait for his captor to come back and torture him to his end. Both ways imposed a risk on his life.
Making up his mind, he slowly got to his feet, his head wound threatening to throw him into unconsciousness once more. Eventually standing up straight he took off, slowly at first then faster, as adrenaline and fear spurred him on.
The ranger had not the slightest clue to where he was headed. He had been running, or half stumbling and jogging, for barely three minutes yet the oppressive heat made beads of sweat form on his forehead. He wiped his sweat hurriedly on the sleeve of his tunic, not daring to slow down.
Aragorn's breath came in short gulps as he continued running, forcing himself not to stop until he reached Mirkwood's gate. The morning light that was filtering through the trees as the sun rose into the sky made his sense of direction clear, and it was then that he knew he was going the wrong way. Instead of heading towards Mirkwood he unknowingly ran deeper into the forest.
He quickly spun around, half-way hoping that his captor had not found out that he had already left, and turned to go the opposite direction. Just then an arrow flew through the air, missing him by mere inches and falling into the dirt a few feet behind him. It was too late.
******
Legolas growled in frustration as he flipped the note over, hoping to find anything else that would hint to where Aragorn's captor had taken him. Crumpling the paper, he threw it against the far wall, needing to vent his anger.
"My lord?"
The elven prince, startled, slowly turned recognizing the voice that spoke to him.
"Turion told us you were going to meet us shortly. It's been nearly an hour." Raniean paused as he looked at the prince before him. The normally determined face of his friend was now etched with anger and fear. "What is wrong?"
Looking down at the floor just behind Legolas, the warrior saw the crumpled note which he had seen the prince throw. He started towards it but was stopped as Legolas clasped his shoulder.
"Who was attacked?"
Raniean gazed intently at the prince before answering. "Well, my lord, it was not exactly an attack. One of the elflings has been reported missing." The elf guard looked at Legolas as he slowly lowered his hand from his shoulder.
"Aragorn was also taken, surely by the same person." Legolas said grimly. "We must find them."
******
Aragorn ducked behind a tree, glancing around at his surroundings as he tried to find whoever was responsible for shooting the arrow.
"And where do you think you're going?" A bodiless voice spoke, echoing strangely throughout the forest.
Aragorn's grey eyes flashed with anger as he stared about him. He was caught.again.
Feeling the presence of someone behind him, he turned quickly to face his captor, not keen to be caught off guard. He furrowed his eyebrows as he saw his captor before his very eyes, blinking several times to make sure his mind was not playing tricks on him.
Before him stood an elf that resembled Legolas in nearly every possible way. His eyes, hair, and face, everything was identical.
"Surprised?" His captor's lip curled disdainfully. "You will go back with me, or you can blame yourself for the murder of an elfling I have in captivity. It's amazing how easy it is to capture humans and elflings.almost too easy."
It took a while for the ranger to overcome his initial shock, but it began to wear off as he heard that it was not only his own life that was at stake, but another's as well. Gazing intently at the elf before him, he hoped to see that it was just a lie, that no one else was in danger, but the elf hid his emotions very well.
"You're bluffing," Aragorn said, his hands moving absently to the side where his sword would have been.
The elf snickered, coldly. "You care to find out, or do you intend on fighting me?" His jet blue eyes pierced Aragorn's own, making the man turn away. "I thought so."
******
Legolas walked back to his room, Raniean following close behind. Picking up his weapons, he shouldered his quiver, sheathing two identical daggers and attaching them to his back. Flinging his bow over his head and under his shoulder he started off towards the door of his bedroom where his friend still stood.
"Legolas, you must not leave without a plan. Whoever is out there is dangerous and will do anything to hurt you." The warrior paused, letting what he said set in before continuing. "I'm going with you."
"Raniean, you must not go with me. I will not risk losing anymore people." Legolas looked to the floor, tears filling his eyes as he remembered Trelan. "No," the prince said resolutely, turning his gaze back to his friend's, "you will not go."
The two of them stared at each other neither backing down. The elven prince couldn't help but admire the determination of his friend, and he knew no matter what he said that the warrior would follow him.
"Very well, Raniean, we leave now," Legolas replied, turning to move around the warrior only to be stopped by his outstretched hand.
"You should rest, my lord. You will need your strength and right now it looks as if you would fall over any minute. Trust me about this."
Legolas found it hard to agree with Raniean; to just back down while Aragorn could be dying was inconceivable to him, yet his friend had a point. He was in no condition to fight if the need arose, which it most likely would.
Sighing loudly he glared at his friend, his jet blue eyes catching on the warrior's only this time his eyes no longer showing anger and fear; only weariness.
Watching his prince lay down his weapons and stroll over to his bed, Raniean made sure that Legolas would not make any early morning escapades.
Satisfied that Legolas was resting well, the elven warrior turned around and walked back to his command to inform them of the prince's news. Hearing what had happened, many immediately agreed to join Raniean to help assist the prince in rescuing Strider and the elfling.
"Very well," Raniean said, standing in front of the group of elves, "we will leave by mid-morning."
******
"Running from me," the elf said mockingly, shaking his head. "Stupid humans, they only learn the hard way."
Aragorn said nothing, staring at the elf as he approached closer to him.
"You are part of a plan, and if you run away the plan would not work. Maybe I should just cut off one of your legs. You won't live long anyway." The elf smiled insanely as he unsheathed Aragorn's stolen sword, licking his lips as he looked down at the ranger's legs. "Now which leg should it be?"
Before Aragorn had the chance to react, his captor had him in a head lock with his sword raised threateningly in front of him.
"This is going to be fun," the elf said menacingly. He saw the ranger's face turn a slight shade of purple and released his hold on the man's neck, not wanting to kill him just yet. He watched as Aragorn fell to his knees, clutching his throat as he gasped for air.
After a few minutes, Aragorn's breathing returned to normal but now all he could register was the endless throbbing in his head. It was so loud that he unknowingly covered his ears as if to block out the sound of the endless pounding.
The Silvan elf raised an eyebrow, thoroughly amused with the human's actions. Re-sheathing the man's sword he kicked the ranger, grinning when the man fell to his side clutching his stomach in pain.
Laughing maniacally, the elf leaned over and grabbed the front of the man's tunic pulling him upwards. The pain in the ranger's eyes pleased the elf more than he could imagine, but his thirst for pain was not thoroughly quenched. Thrusting Aragorn against a tree, he watched as the man fell to the ground, not to rise again.
**************************************************************************** *********************************** A/N: Thanks again Cathy for beta'ing and to those of you who helped me with this chapter!!
*g*.so.like the cliffie? ^_^
**************************************************************************** ***********************************
To the reviewers:
Iawen Londea- If you thought chapter 6 had an intense ending.what do you think about this one.^_^
Cestari- Evil forest guy.*snort* Hey you just gave me a major plot bunny (Balrogs, rope, and Elven Kings ^_^) I'm glad you're back, and well, the elf..*cough*.you'll see.
Jazmine- I'm very happy you like my fic. Again, it's my first attempt and I'm very happy on how it's progressing. (
LegolasLover2003- I try to update as fast as I can. I haven't exactly written my whole fic, I'm going chapter by chapter so you all must bear with me.hehe. *runs and hides* Sorry about the whole computer crashing and site overload thing. Let's just hope it'll stop doing that.hehe
AbbiCat14- *Slaps head* So many questions!! ( Let's just hope I answered a few of them in this chapter so you don't go totally insane.
szhismine- No!!! Don't shoot the plot bunnies!!! *sniff* Well, I must say, in a way you did help me. Now I can focus on this fic and not on making other ones.hehe.
WeasleyTwinsLover1112- Lol, you're right about the headache... (
Twisted Fool- Hey Twisted. I'm glad you reviewed my fic. Hope-boy.*snort*
Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews!!! ^_^