Hey again everyone! JUST THOUGHT I MIGHT MENTION THAT I FINALLY UPDATED FIGHTING THE DARKNESS YESTERDAY, SO IF YOU WERE DESPERATE TO READ THE NEXT BIT THERE YOU GO!!!
Anyway...
Lexial147; Yup, torture!!! =) Lol! Yeah, I guess they need hugs... I'll have to charge though!
Estel; MWUHAHAHAHAHA!!! Ruthless is my middle middle middle name... after evil, Crazy and Nutter... =) I ONLY HAVE 1 MORE WEEK OF SCHOOL!!! =) WOOHOO!!!
Terreis; whistles Phew! I take it you don't like Garvorg very much then?! Lol!!! dies of the M-S-dom Ack! X-p Lol!!! I know; I'm rather worried about Elladan too; I just hope I've done my timing right otherwise I'll have a VERY angry Elf Lord on my back... imagines the scene
ELROND: WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!?! YOU KILLED HIM!!!!!!
STAR: Erm... just a... minor miscalculation on my part... thought he had an extra hour there... =S My bad!
ELROND: =( Grrrrrrrr...
Not nice you see...
Deana; Yup, you've got it! =) Come on, you know you loved the angst, really... =)
shadowfaxgal7; Yup, but coming from my mind, I guess it WOULD be painful... after all, I invented 3 bladed spinning swords laced with poison... nods slowly Yeah, I'm mad btw... Hmmm, you may well be over optimistic on the no-character-death thing... read on to find out why... =)
Dha-Gal; Thwackity-thwack-thwack?! 8-. I think someone needs to lay off the crackity-crack-crack!!! LOL, I'm JOKING!!! JOKING!!! Sorry... rolling, rolling, rolling... RAW HIGH!!!!!!!!
ahem
Excuse me... =S
CSI3; LOL!!! ROTFLMAO!!! Yeah, I think it hurt!!! Thanks for reviewing though!!!
galadriel evenstar; I might. Not sure yet... depends how kind I'm feeling... =)
Anarya; Oh yes; when I give a warning like that in capitals, bold type, AND with 3 exclamation marks, you can be damn sure that I MEAN IT!!! --- As an example there... lol! DON'T jump to conclusions!!! It may have more significance than you think... ;-)
Celebrean; Yes, I wrote that last chapter when I was in a SERIOUSLY bad mood... Yes, I think the more you write then the more people take notice of your work... well, normal people anyway; for me it was probably like "Oh jeez, there's that kid writing yet ANOTHER story... shall I read just to shut her up?!" Lol! Quality is a high grader as well, and often quantity is too; nobody wants to read a three lined chapter... that's just a waste of time and it's a bit boring; I mean, how much action can you fit into 3 lines?!?! Lol, but I know you don't have that problem. I used to get a VERY small amount of reviews but now I've been writing a while, it's gone up a lot! Yeah, that was one of the darkest things I've ever written, apart from the ending of A New Shadow... I surprise myself how I can go from humour to drama to humour to drama so quickly!
leggylover03; YAY!!! I'm SO happy you loved it!!! =D
eruve tinwen; Oh. =S Sorry 'bout that... Hal will get there when his time comes; for now, accept that the Elf is on his way!!! =)
Stoneage Woman; Was it THAT obvious?!?! Lol, I'm just messing with you!!! ;-)
Karushna5; Evil is one of my many middle names... =) To be honest, I don't think I've EVER done so many evil smileys about 1 chapter before!!! I love that you love it!!! Thanks for reviewing!
Mellaithwen; Thanks Amy! Mmmm; Benny Hill – NOT my no. 1 choice of soundtrack for this series... ;-)
Gozilla; Thanks!
Lainfaer; Me?!?! A meanie?!?!?! sniffle How could you say such a thing?! Lol, joke! Pretty please with Leggy on top?! That's a new one... I'll see what I can do...
Joslin; WOW!!! blushes Thank you SO much! Here's an update just for you...
luvguurl; bows low Thank you, thank you... ;-)
Astievia; Poor everyone then!!! =) Look, they're in one of MY fanfics... what did you expect?! Lol!
boppy; Hellooooooo!!! reads review 8-. sits like that for 10 minutes before... REALLY?!?!?!?! =D WOW!!!!!! THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!! That's such a nice compliment!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I'm on a high (THANK YOU BOPPY!) =) I'll write the rest of the chapter!!! Here it is...
.: Chapter Five :.
Glorfindel leaned against the balcony barrier, staring out across the valley as darkness descended. A strong breeze blew up from below and his long blonde hair swayed slightly in the wind. Apart from that, he made no movement.
He knew that there was something wrong. He also knew that it somehow involved Elladan, Elrohir, Estel, and Legolas.
A pair of birds flew out of a tree beneath his balcony, flying in darting moves this way and that, dancing together. Glorfindel was, for some reason, reminded of the twins. He watched them as they flew upwards and seemed to disappear, dark bodies silhouetted against velveteen indigo night.
Suddenly it hit him. The birds had faded away, to his eyes anyway. Faded...
Glorfindel's eyes widened and he ran out to the stables, ignoring anyone who questioned him in their confusion or asked him where he was headed. It was strange, but true; the Valar worked in mysterious ways. That was why the birds had reminded him of Elladan and Elrohir, why his heart had been uneasy for a while now...
The two Elves were fading.
-=-=-=-
He had such a short time left, yet his last five hours seemed to be dragging out almost unbearably slowly. Elladan tried to swallow, but a sore dry throat made that impossible. Everything swam in front of his eyes, the colours far more vivid than they should be.
How had it come to this? He had almost lost all feeling, yet he still felt. It was a strange unnatural sensation. It seemed as though his soul had become numb, yet his body was still clinging on, grasping life with desperate clutching fingertips.
Elladan now knew how mortals felt. Elves never felt the span of years; a decade was like a week to them. But for mortals, waiting and knowing that every day that passed brought them a day closer to their death... now he lay, unmoving, waiting in agony for his own demise...
-=-=-=-
Legolas blinked slowly. He couldn't remember much of what had happened after the cruel beating; just a collection of muddled pain-wrought thoughts. Now he was tied to the tree again, bound and gagged.
His heavy lidded eyes caught sight of particularly bad gash across his stomach. It bled freely, the red blood dripping down his side. Somehow though, he didn't feel it; something stopped from doing so. He had heard of numbing poisons; could this be what was happening?
Estel was also tied to a tree, still unconscious. Would he feel the same way when he woke up?
A short way away, Elrohir was also tied up. His head lay limply on the tree's bark and he listened to the soft soothing melody of the tree's inner song. Only Elves could hear it, and it comforted them greatly.
The tree was worried about Elrohir, and rightfully so. The Elf hadn't moved or spoken for hours now, not since Legolas and Estel were beaten up. Elrohir was feeling too guilty and sick to care what else happened to him, and the tree, with its good pure heart, knew that it shouldn't be that way.
The poison was slowly killing him, and only Elrohir and the tree knew it.
It lowered its branches slightly to protect the Elf as best it could...
-=-=-=-
He didn't like the feel of the woods, an unusual feeling for Imladris. Hallataulë frowned as he looked around at the surroundings. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary...
Yet everything was wrong.
The world seemed too dark, like a permanent cloud had passed over the moon. There were no birds, and the trees seemed silent. It was almost as though they were too afraid to talk...
-=-=-=-
His head hurt.
That was the first thought that registered in Estel's mind as he awoke. The second was that Garvorg towered over him.
Estel tried to squirm away, but the ropes cut into his wrists. It was only then that he realised he was bound again.
Garvorg leered over, smiling uncharacteristically sweetly. The look did not suit the ugly Orc's face; it was false and bared his disgusting yellow teeth.
"I want you to tell me something," said Garvorg quietly. Estel frowned; he didn't trust the Orc one bit. "Just a little thing... where is Rivendell?"
Estel didn't answer. He knew that the Orc's intentions weren't good; he wasn't about to tell it where his home was.
Garvorg began to grow angry. He needed to know this! "Tell me, now!" he told the human firmly.
Estel shook his head, refusing again to divulge the secret.
"Tell me where Rivendell is, boy!" barked the Orc angrily, brandishing the whip once again.
Estel stared at the hooks with wary eyes. There was a mixture of feelings inside of him; fears of being whipped again, rage at Garvorg for treating him and his brother and friend the way he had, and the feeling of choice. If he told, the Orc wouldn't use his whip on him...
No. That was not an option. Estel knew enough about Orcs to know that even he did tell, Garvorg would whip him anyway. Orcs were like that... cruel.
He kept his mouth firmly shut.
Garvorg sneered. Suddenly he grabbed Estel's collar, pulling his inches from his face. Estel's nose crinkled slightly as he smelt the putrid breath.
"I said tell me where Rivendell is..." hissed Garvorg, his eyes alight with impatient rage. He held the whip up clearly to Estel. "Or else..."
-=-=-=-
The silence was driving Hallataulë to insanity. Finally, being an Elf of the woods, he couldn't take it anymore.
Dismounting his horse, he strode up to the nearest tree and placed his thin hand on its bark.
"Tell me what is going on, please," he asked it desperately.
He was met with silence. Something had triggered fear so deep in the trees that they refused to talk, laugh, sing...
It must have been something terrible indeed.
Hallataulë was becoming increasingly frustrated; not with the trees themselves but with the lack of answers he was receiving to his many questions. "Please, talk to me!" pleaded the prince. He needed this tree to tell him what was going on in Rivendell.
The tree finally gave in, realising that this person wouldn't harm it if it gave away any secrets... unlike the others it was trying to hide them from.
"They are nearing..." it whispered, its soulful voice a blend of song and words.
Hallataulë shook his head, not understanding the tree's cryptic clue. "Who? Who's nearing?!"
"Orcs," whispered the tree fearfully. "With captives!"
Hallataulë's eyes widened. "Who?! Do you know who?!"
The tree made a noise, like a musical note, yet filled with ancient sadness and despair... a tree's sigh was a very complicated thing.
"News has spread fast through the wood. Those closer have said that the Orcs hold two Elves and a human..."
"T-two Elves? And a human?!" repeated Hallataulë, stunned. But that meant...
He ran back to his horse hastily, calling a quick thanks to the tree, and mounted it quickly, new panic driving him on. He had to find them... Estel was with the Orcs, plus two others, and he could bet anything, due to the amount of trouble the pair got into, that Legolas was probably there too...
-=-=-=-
After riding for what felt like hours, Glorfindel noticed a mysterious and unsettling thing. He had reached a grove where the trees were utterly silent. In the middle of the clearing was a hole, but that was all.
He was about to ride on, still searching for the twins, Estel, and Legolas, when a soft groan alerted his attention. There was only one place it could possibly have come from.
He gasped as he caught sight of what lay at the bottom of the hole.
"Elladan!"
The wounded Elf made no reply. The rope the others had used earlier, which he could now see snaking down, was still attached to the rock it had been tied to. Gripping the coarse rope in his hands, Glorfindel lowered himself down.
Seeing Elladan properly in the moonlight, Glorfindel stared in shock at the blood pouring from the wound on the younger Elf's arm. The red liquid ran in tiny rivulets through the cloth of his clothing.
The body of the dead snake still lay on the floor. The blonde Elf thought about what he could do; he didn't know how long Elladan had been here, but the quicker he could get him back the better. Glorfindel knew about Covri poison well, and he was scared about what this could mean.
Another thought that struck him was that Elrohir, Legolas and Estel were nowhere to be seen. Much as he wanted to, he couldn't worry about that just yet; Elladan was his top priority, but as soon as the younger Elf was comfortably safe in his father's halls, the advisor would go and search for the other three.
"Hang on Elladan," said Glorfindel quietly, picking the unconscious Elf up gently. He noticed with alarm that Elladan had a high fever. This meant that time was rapidly dwindling. "You'll be alright."
He pulled Elladan out of the hole with some difficulty. Finally though, he was able to get him out and carried him to Asfolath.
"Noro lim Asfolath!" he whispered in Elvish. "Noro lim!!!"
Asfolath's hooves kicked up small dirt clods behind him as he galloped away, heading for Rivendell, bearing two Elves. Speed was crucial now; if not, there was the high chance that Elladan would die.
The trees that they passed were already deep in mourning...
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