No one noticed that there was no letter in the last chapter!
Sorry this chapter is so short. . . it's about half the length as normal, but that's the way it broke up. There isn't much action, just a much needed conversation between. . . well, you'll see. And take heart! The Spring Festival is next!
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A word in a strange language was shouted, and the men turned and fled. Aragorn instinctively shouted at Mithafals in Elvish to follow the one in the front of the group. Without a word, the elf obeyed.
Just as quickly as it had been occupied, the bar was emptied. There were a few moments of stunned silence. "Are you all right, Nifren?"
"Aye, are ye?"
"Aye."
"I am sorry about yer girl."
Aragorn shrugged, hiding the sadness in his calm manner. "Live and learn, I suppose."
"Who was that man who brought you in? Why did you surrender to him?"
"It was an elf. A friend of mine. He's on our side."
Nifren shook his head. "When all of this over, I'm goin' home and relaxing for a good long time before I start another bloody adventure."
Aragorn laughed. "Sounds good. Maybe I'll do the same." He did miss his family and the comfort of his own bed. He looked at Berylla, lying on the floor, and sank into a nearby chair. Neither man moved until the front door was opened again.
Out of reflex, Aragorn was on his feet and had the tip of his sword against the person's throat before they could react.
Hands rose in a peaceful manner. "Mithfalas."
Aragorn lowered the sword just as quickly. "Sorry. Just paranoid."
The elf laughed. "Really? I couldn't tell! Sorry to tell you, but he got away. He has a habit of disappearing like an elf when he wants to."
Nifren spoke up, "Why are you helping us?"
"A self appointed mission, if you will. I help those who are in need of it."
"Is that because of Legolas? Because you couldn't protect him?" Nifren raised his eyebrows at his younger friend, but said nothing. He knew this conversation was not meant to reach his ears.
"Yes, but not for the reason you think. Be careful, Edan, you do not know half of Legolas' past. Do not assume so."
"I meant no disrespect, and I apologize. Indeed, I am very grateful for your help."
"I suggest you find another place to stay. He'll be back, and now he'll be able to get to you."
"Or if all three of us stay in my room, we can avoid attack that way."
"Do not think that he'll come alone. He is far too wise to think that we would be so stupid."
Aragorn sighed, nodding. "Why is he trying to take over the town?"
"Militaristic strategy."
"I see. So there are more that he wants to take over, and this is just the first?"
"Aye."
"I beg yer pardon, Mithfalas, was it? But who are ye?"
The elf smiled. "I am Mithfalas, a simple elf with no homeland. I'm a wanderer, and it is my self-appointed duty to protect those in need. That is all you need know about me, good sir."
"I beg to differ. A mysterious elf drags my partner in and convinces him to give up his weapons, then suddenly switches sides? How can I be sure the traitor did get away, and ye didn't let him get away?"
"You can trust him, Nifren," Aragorn interjected. "He's saved many lives, including my own, twice now." He looked pointedly at the elf. "I would trust him with my life."
Mithfalas smiled. "Hannon lle, edan."
"Legolas has been asking about you."
Nifren excused himself at the point, realizing that a personal conversation was about to take place. He was more insightful than most gave him credit for.
"I've seen his bird at times, so I assume he is not here?"
"Nay. Have you seen him?"
The elf shook his head. "You know that I can't. It was a risk seeing him in the Golden Wood as I did."
"I wish he could have come with me here."
Mithfalas shook his head. "If Thranduil has held to tradition, it is almost time for the Spring Festival. Legolas would not be allowed to leave."
"That's what he told me. So what couldn't you do to protect Legolas?"
"If he hasn't told you, then it's not my place to get involved. If I were still his brother, I would tell you, but it is his own decision now."
"But you are! A law cannot change blood! Sometimes you elves kill me with your beliefs."
"You're hurt."
Aragorn sucked in a breath at the change of conversation. "I'm not."
"No wonder Legolas likes you. You're just like him. Please let me tend to that wound."
"It's just a scratch. Really."
"Indeed. Were you like this always, or did you learn it from my brother?"
"You contradict yourself," the man breathed. "You say that you are not related to him, and yet you call him 'brother'."
A pained looked crossed Mithfalas' eyes. "A habit I have not yet broken. Now, about your wound," he said, trying to probe Aragorn's side.
Aragorn laughed. "Trust me, I'll deal with it on my own."
There was an awkward silence before Aragorn spoke again. "How did you know to come here?"
"I keep in close contact with many rangers. They tell me where I most need to be."
"You should be a ranger, for what it's worth."
The elf shrugged. "So I've been told." He watched as Aragorn fell into a nearby seat, leaning his head back in exhaustion.
He spoke so much without ever opening his mouth. At least, it seemed so to Mithfalas, but he had grown quite use to reading people's emotions. The human's were displayed across his face like a banner. He would never be successful in hiding them, should he ever need to.
"Why are you friends with my. . . with Legolas?"
The question caught the ranger off-guard. He leaned forward. "I befriended your brother because he saved my life."
"I was told that you saved his."
Aragorn shrugged. "It worked both ways. You can't be saved by someone without feeling differently about them."
"Protect him for me, Ranger. He will need you."
Aragorn narrowed his eyes in slight confusion, but did not voice his question. "I would lay my life down for Legolas."
"Aye, as I'm sure he would do the same." He leaned back, lifting the front legs of his chair off the ground. "You should rest. I have a feeling that tomorrow will be a long day."
Aragorn nodded as Mithafalas left, his eyes trained solely on Berylla.
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Reviewers: See? No cliffie! And neither of them died! And by the way, that very important detail that you all forgot was that I said Fal was gonna make an appearance in the next few stories AND that I wouldn't kill him for at least three more stories. See? If I killed him, I would have been a liar.
Angel With No Wings: Lol, I'll take that as a compliment anyway. See above. :-D
Lady of Nimrodel: Uhm. . . kind of missed the heaps. . . sorry. Don't worry though, he and Legolas meet up pretty soon and then ANGST GALORE! Oh, the things I have planned. . . Thanks for the awesome compliments!
Silvertoekee: I swear my updates are so much faster when I actually have the story already written out. The next few are all ready to go, so after this, my updates will be somewhat regular. Yeah, I liked Aldarion. . .
SPEoD: I'm sorry, what's confusing? I'll explain. I liked Dar too. ( Unfortunately, someone had to die, and he created the most angst for our dear Leggy. :-D Yeah, you and maybe two other people voted for that story. I was sad.
Dragonfly: Thranduil isn't making him go to make him celebrate, he just doesn't want Legolas to hide himself away in his room for the rest of his immortal life. I get into this in another story, but Legolas has a habit of distancing himself from people when things like this happen, and Thranduil's just worried about his son. He's doing a good thing, really.
Lauren: Haha, don't worry, there's plenty of hurt/comfort on both sides coming up! That I can guarantee! Thranduil is worried that his son is going to do something stupid and he doesn't want Legolas to get hurt anymore than he already is. Oh I screamed when Shelob came on. I hate spiders. ::shivers:: Haha, I can't even spell Sera's full name, I have to copy and paste it, lol. Thanks so much for your wonderful reviews!
Wildfire2: Uhm, well, one of his *two* best friends, actually. He still has one of them. . . Hm, you think he should huh? I think we know Legolas well enough to know that he probably will :-D Thranduil's not trying to be mean, he's just being protective!
Deana: Hm, Thranduil and Mithfalas will have to deal with each other sooner or later, I suppose, but keep in mind that we don't know ALL of what happened to exile Fal, just what Leggy knows. Thranduil isn't the only one to blame. ::GASP!:: Does this mean Mithfalas may not be the hero everyone thinks he is? We shall see. But no, he won't die anytime soon.
Gozilla: Thanks so much! Sorry this update wasn't very quick!
Coolio02: I liked Dar too. You're the first person to hit on it- Legolas feels like a total failure right now. Poor guy!
Gwyn: Hm, do me a favor and read my response to Deana (she's three review responses above you,) but yes, he does deserve life. That's why I didn't kill him! Which leads to another question. . . what's going on with Legolas' dreams?
Lady Aqawondel: An evil grin from me is usually a fairly bad sign. . . lol! Yes, Sera's an OC. Not a Mary-Sue by any means, though! She's not gonna be around very long though. . . ::another evil grin:: Aren't I awful?
Nenya: Yeah, I've been getting that a lot. I'd tell you more, but right now, every little detail is a huge plot development! When it gets slow again, I'll start being more liberal. Yes, where Fal showed up was totally real, just him dying was a dream. And yeah, I'll have to lighten up on our dear little elf. . . he'll go North soon, no worries! Uhm, hm, interesting thoughts on Tel. You'll find out next chapter, but he doesn't deal with grief by tears, I'll say that. Hm, and your guess. . . BINGO! Oh, in Hidalgo, when he was about shoot the horse. . . I swear I started crying and I was gonna boycott Disney for the rest of my life if he had actually pulled the trigger! I love that movie!
Das Blume: What was wrong with it????? THERE WAS NO LETTER! ! ! I can't believe no one caught there. I guess there was too much angst to really notice. Did I really have bad spelling? Ah, no, as far as we know, Legolas can NOT see into the future. Others just think he can because of his dreams. No, I wasn't going to kill the loser, I just wanted to see if I had developed Dar enough. Nearly everyone picked Tel! I couldn't go back and kill Tel instead though, because he wasn't the one engaged! Oh yeah, we've got those Urban Legends too. Nope, nothing stupid or heroic this time. . . but my Lord wait for chapter 12!
Arayelle Lynn: Yes, I figured there was WAY too much angst to add a cliffie in there too for you guys. I'm not THAT evil.
Jazi: Haha, I was laughing so hard at this. . . Yeah, in my first story when Leggy and Arwen were dating, someone told me it wasn't logical because they were actually related somehow, very distantly, and my response was, what, she and Aragorn aren't? Isn't Aragorn Elrond's nephew's son, and Arwen his daughter? That's not THAT distant. . . that's sick. . . Hey, you can take a month to review, it's okay, cuz I take forever to update!
F h c: China! That's so cool! How was it? Lol, hey, Legolas' life isn't all daring stunts! He's got responsibilities too! Trust me, it gets dramatic. That's a whole story in itself, Legolas/Arwen/Aragorn. Thank you so much, your reviews are so kind!
Nanar: Ah, I liked Dar too! Sorry. . . Now I miss him . . . Thanks for the review!
Sorry this chapter is so short. . . it's about half the length as normal, but that's the way it broke up. There isn't much action, just a much needed conversation between. . . well, you'll see. And take heart! The Spring Festival is next!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
A word in a strange language was shouted, and the men turned and fled. Aragorn instinctively shouted at Mithafals in Elvish to follow the one in the front of the group. Without a word, the elf obeyed.
Just as quickly as it had been occupied, the bar was emptied. There were a few moments of stunned silence. "Are you all right, Nifren?"
"Aye, are ye?"
"Aye."
"I am sorry about yer girl."
Aragorn shrugged, hiding the sadness in his calm manner. "Live and learn, I suppose."
"Who was that man who brought you in? Why did you surrender to him?"
"It was an elf. A friend of mine. He's on our side."
Nifren shook his head. "When all of this over, I'm goin' home and relaxing for a good long time before I start another bloody adventure."
Aragorn laughed. "Sounds good. Maybe I'll do the same." He did miss his family and the comfort of his own bed. He looked at Berylla, lying on the floor, and sank into a nearby chair. Neither man moved until the front door was opened again.
Out of reflex, Aragorn was on his feet and had the tip of his sword against the person's throat before they could react.
Hands rose in a peaceful manner. "Mithfalas."
Aragorn lowered the sword just as quickly. "Sorry. Just paranoid."
The elf laughed. "Really? I couldn't tell! Sorry to tell you, but he got away. He has a habit of disappearing like an elf when he wants to."
Nifren spoke up, "Why are you helping us?"
"A self appointed mission, if you will. I help those who are in need of it."
"Is that because of Legolas? Because you couldn't protect him?" Nifren raised his eyebrows at his younger friend, but said nothing. He knew this conversation was not meant to reach his ears.
"Yes, but not for the reason you think. Be careful, Edan, you do not know half of Legolas' past. Do not assume so."
"I meant no disrespect, and I apologize. Indeed, I am very grateful for your help."
"I suggest you find another place to stay. He'll be back, and now he'll be able to get to you."
"Or if all three of us stay in my room, we can avoid attack that way."
"Do not think that he'll come alone. He is far too wise to think that we would be so stupid."
Aragorn sighed, nodding. "Why is he trying to take over the town?"
"Militaristic strategy."
"I see. So there are more that he wants to take over, and this is just the first?"
"Aye."
"I beg yer pardon, Mithfalas, was it? But who are ye?"
The elf smiled. "I am Mithfalas, a simple elf with no homeland. I'm a wanderer, and it is my self-appointed duty to protect those in need. That is all you need know about me, good sir."
"I beg to differ. A mysterious elf drags my partner in and convinces him to give up his weapons, then suddenly switches sides? How can I be sure the traitor did get away, and ye didn't let him get away?"
"You can trust him, Nifren," Aragorn interjected. "He's saved many lives, including my own, twice now." He looked pointedly at the elf. "I would trust him with my life."
Mithfalas smiled. "Hannon lle, edan."
"Legolas has been asking about you."
Nifren excused himself at the point, realizing that a personal conversation was about to take place. He was more insightful than most gave him credit for.
"I've seen his bird at times, so I assume he is not here?"
"Nay. Have you seen him?"
The elf shook his head. "You know that I can't. It was a risk seeing him in the Golden Wood as I did."
"I wish he could have come with me here."
Mithfalas shook his head. "If Thranduil has held to tradition, it is almost time for the Spring Festival. Legolas would not be allowed to leave."
"That's what he told me. So what couldn't you do to protect Legolas?"
"If he hasn't told you, then it's not my place to get involved. If I were still his brother, I would tell you, but it is his own decision now."
"But you are! A law cannot change blood! Sometimes you elves kill me with your beliefs."
"You're hurt."
Aragorn sucked in a breath at the change of conversation. "I'm not."
"No wonder Legolas likes you. You're just like him. Please let me tend to that wound."
"It's just a scratch. Really."
"Indeed. Were you like this always, or did you learn it from my brother?"
"You contradict yourself," the man breathed. "You say that you are not related to him, and yet you call him 'brother'."
A pained looked crossed Mithfalas' eyes. "A habit I have not yet broken. Now, about your wound," he said, trying to probe Aragorn's side.
Aragorn laughed. "Trust me, I'll deal with it on my own."
There was an awkward silence before Aragorn spoke again. "How did you know to come here?"
"I keep in close contact with many rangers. They tell me where I most need to be."
"You should be a ranger, for what it's worth."
The elf shrugged. "So I've been told." He watched as Aragorn fell into a nearby seat, leaning his head back in exhaustion.
He spoke so much without ever opening his mouth. At least, it seemed so to Mithfalas, but he had grown quite use to reading people's emotions. The human's were displayed across his face like a banner. He would never be successful in hiding them, should he ever need to.
"Why are you friends with my. . . with Legolas?"
The question caught the ranger off-guard. He leaned forward. "I befriended your brother because he saved my life."
"I was told that you saved his."
Aragorn shrugged. "It worked both ways. You can't be saved by someone without feeling differently about them."
"Protect him for me, Ranger. He will need you."
Aragorn narrowed his eyes in slight confusion, but did not voice his question. "I would lay my life down for Legolas."
"Aye, as I'm sure he would do the same." He leaned back, lifting the front legs of his chair off the ground. "You should rest. I have a feeling that tomorrow will be a long day."
Aragorn nodded as Mithafalas left, his eyes trained solely on Berylla.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
Reviewers: See? No cliffie! And neither of them died! And by the way, that very important detail that you all forgot was that I said Fal was gonna make an appearance in the next few stories AND that I wouldn't kill him for at least three more stories. See? If I killed him, I would have been a liar.
Angel With No Wings: Lol, I'll take that as a compliment anyway. See above. :-D
Lady of Nimrodel: Uhm. . . kind of missed the heaps. . . sorry. Don't worry though, he and Legolas meet up pretty soon and then ANGST GALORE! Oh, the things I have planned. . . Thanks for the awesome compliments!
Silvertoekee: I swear my updates are so much faster when I actually have the story already written out. The next few are all ready to go, so after this, my updates will be somewhat regular. Yeah, I liked Aldarion. . .
SPEoD: I'm sorry, what's confusing? I'll explain. I liked Dar too. ( Unfortunately, someone had to die, and he created the most angst for our dear Leggy. :-D Yeah, you and maybe two other people voted for that story. I was sad.
Dragonfly: Thranduil isn't making him go to make him celebrate, he just doesn't want Legolas to hide himself away in his room for the rest of his immortal life. I get into this in another story, but Legolas has a habit of distancing himself from people when things like this happen, and Thranduil's just worried about his son. He's doing a good thing, really.
Lauren: Haha, don't worry, there's plenty of hurt/comfort on both sides coming up! That I can guarantee! Thranduil is worried that his son is going to do something stupid and he doesn't want Legolas to get hurt anymore than he already is. Oh I screamed when Shelob came on. I hate spiders. ::shivers:: Haha, I can't even spell Sera's full name, I have to copy and paste it, lol. Thanks so much for your wonderful reviews!
Wildfire2: Uhm, well, one of his *two* best friends, actually. He still has one of them. . . Hm, you think he should huh? I think we know Legolas well enough to know that he probably will :-D Thranduil's not trying to be mean, he's just being protective!
Deana: Hm, Thranduil and Mithfalas will have to deal with each other sooner or later, I suppose, but keep in mind that we don't know ALL of what happened to exile Fal, just what Leggy knows. Thranduil isn't the only one to blame. ::GASP!:: Does this mean Mithfalas may not be the hero everyone thinks he is? We shall see. But no, he won't die anytime soon.
Gozilla: Thanks so much! Sorry this update wasn't very quick!
Coolio02: I liked Dar too. You're the first person to hit on it- Legolas feels like a total failure right now. Poor guy!
Gwyn: Hm, do me a favor and read my response to Deana (she's three review responses above you,) but yes, he does deserve life. That's why I didn't kill him! Which leads to another question. . . what's going on with Legolas' dreams?
Lady Aqawondel: An evil grin from me is usually a fairly bad sign. . . lol! Yes, Sera's an OC. Not a Mary-Sue by any means, though! She's not gonna be around very long though. . . ::another evil grin:: Aren't I awful?
Nenya: Yeah, I've been getting that a lot. I'd tell you more, but right now, every little detail is a huge plot development! When it gets slow again, I'll start being more liberal. Yes, where Fal showed up was totally real, just him dying was a dream. And yeah, I'll have to lighten up on our dear little elf. . . he'll go North soon, no worries! Uhm, hm, interesting thoughts on Tel. You'll find out next chapter, but he doesn't deal with grief by tears, I'll say that. Hm, and your guess. . . BINGO! Oh, in Hidalgo, when he was about shoot the horse. . . I swear I started crying and I was gonna boycott Disney for the rest of my life if he had actually pulled the trigger! I love that movie!
Das Blume: What was wrong with it????? THERE WAS NO LETTER! ! ! I can't believe no one caught there. I guess there was too much angst to really notice. Did I really have bad spelling? Ah, no, as far as we know, Legolas can NOT see into the future. Others just think he can because of his dreams. No, I wasn't going to kill the loser, I just wanted to see if I had developed Dar enough. Nearly everyone picked Tel! I couldn't go back and kill Tel instead though, because he wasn't the one engaged! Oh yeah, we've got those Urban Legends too. Nope, nothing stupid or heroic this time. . . but my Lord wait for chapter 12!
Arayelle Lynn: Yes, I figured there was WAY too much angst to add a cliffie in there too for you guys. I'm not THAT evil.
Jazi: Haha, I was laughing so hard at this. . . Yeah, in my first story when Leggy and Arwen were dating, someone told me it wasn't logical because they were actually related somehow, very distantly, and my response was, what, she and Aragorn aren't? Isn't Aragorn Elrond's nephew's son, and Arwen his daughter? That's not THAT distant. . . that's sick. . . Hey, you can take a month to review, it's okay, cuz I take forever to update!
F h c: China! That's so cool! How was it? Lol, hey, Legolas' life isn't all daring stunts! He's got responsibilities too! Trust me, it gets dramatic. That's a whole story in itself, Legolas/Arwen/Aragorn. Thank you so much, your reviews are so kind!
Nanar: Ah, I liked Dar too! Sorry. . . Now I miss him . . . Thanks for the review!