Chapter 4
Elrohir looked up, hearing a slight rustling in the tree above him. Quietly, he drew an arrow from his quiver and strung his bow.
A strand of blond hair poked through the leaves. The half elf found himself looking into familiar deep blue eyes. "Legolas!" he hissed, lowering his bow and arrow.
The wood-elf leapt from the tree, landing silently, cat-like on the forest floor. "Seen anything?" he asked his friend in a low voice, as he straightened.
Elrohir shook his head. "This isn't like usual orc behavior. They usually leave a path of destruction behind them. These have left tracks, but they end up going in a circle."
Legolas nodded, as what Elrohir said was consistent with what he had found. He furrowed his brows in thought. "They must be taking orders from someone," he said.
"Of course, but who?"
"Someone who might know who Estel is," came Elladan's voice from behind. Adrahil, Brethilorn, and Thalion were with him.
Elrohir sighed sharply. "You don't think-" he began.
"Usual orcs would not be this careful, or this intelligent if they were only hunting for fresh meat," said Elladan.
"You are right of course," agreed his twin. "But to think that He as grown to this much power? That He knows?" Elrohir said in a distressed voice.
All the while the four Mirkwood Elves were having trouble following the twins' cryptic conversation.
"Who is Estel really?" Thalion asked.
Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other, sharing a look of grim agreement. Elladan said gravely to his friends, "What we are about to tell you is a matter of life and death. It is a secret bigger than all of us. Reveal this to no-one, until it is time. And you will know when it is time."
The four brothers looked at each other. There was no jest in Elladan's eyes. "We swear upon pain of death and eternal banishment from Mandos' Halls that we will never speak of this secret to anyone."
"Alright then," said Elladan, after looking deeply into each of his friends' eyes. His voice was barely audible, "You know of the tale of the One Ring of power, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron?"
"Yes," said Legolas. "It was cut from the Dark Lord's hand by Isildur, son of the King of Gondor."
Elrohir nodded. "Then you know also that Isildur refused to destroy the Ring, despite our father's urging, and put it down that it should be an heirloom to his line?"
The four brothers nodded.
"The Dark Lord is gathering power, as you know all to well," said Elrohir, speaking of the shadow that grew over Mirkwood. "And he now is searching for his most prized and powerful possession, the One Ring."
"He searches ever for the heir of Isildur," continued Elladan. "He believes that he may have in his possession the Ring, and that the heir alone has the power to destroy Him – to finish what his ancestor could not. Estel was born Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir to the throne of Gondor, and he will know this name once more when the time comes."
Adrahil, Brethilorn, Thalion, and Legolas drew breath collectively, realizing the full burden of the secret they now shared.
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Elladan, Brethilorn, and Thalion sat in a clearing, waiting for the others to return from scouting out the road. They sat in the dark, without a fire, for they could not risk being seen.
"We will be out of the woods and heading towards the Mountains by dawn if we continue East," said Brethilorn. "Do you think we are going in the right direction?"
"I believe we are," said Elladan quietly. "They must be headed that way. To Dol Guldur."
"Then we must intercept them before they can travel as far as that," said Thalion.
"That is not the problem, for that is easy enough. The problem is, what will we do then, after we intercept them?" pointed out Elladan. 'Kill them all and bring Estel home?"
"You wish," came a deep, growling voice from behind the elves. They were knocked into dark unconsciousness before any of them could react.
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Deana – hi again! :D yes, the classic bell…
sielge – lol. wait no longer…
grumpy – yes, ironic isn't it? lol
Haldir's Heart and Soul – thnx for the reviews ;) yes, they should have supervised him, but i guess, they really didn't feel the need to since they're in rivendell. nice name, btw :D
Amthramiel – maybe… ;) i guess that's kind of answered in this chappie, tho.
Amlee – happy you like it! thnx! :)
Velvet12 – thnx :D glad you're enjoying this
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Yes, I know I said I'd have it up sooner, sorry! I haven't had much time to get around to the fic recently.
Please leave a review . Thank you!
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