Reviewer responses for Chapter 13:
Mornflower: No no no! It was Glorfindel that 'Ro and 'Dan glued to a saddle, silly! Read on for the story.
Deana: Is this soon enough for you! And there is more Legolas...I think.
Aranna Undomiel: No Orcs...right then! I hope this was a bit longer...I don't rightly know if it was though! You WERE right about the cave though! I thought Elrohir needed to be a hero for once...
Beling: I was thinking that Legolas/leaf thing...but chose not to touch on that pun! And yes, I think Elrohir needs a hero moment too...
Sielge: I am glad you liked...here is the update.
SirNotAppearingInThisFilm: You got a name thingy? Great...well, where is it? I didn't know you were Pippin anonymously. Cool. Here is the update...soon enough??
Shadowfax2931: Hey again...and yes I can leave Legolas in there. BUT he is in good hands, do not fret! grins wickedlyI did tell the Glorfindel story though...enjoy that.
Lirenel: Hey...Legolas can survive nearly anything! just kiddingHe shall be fine...I think...perhaps...not telling.
Me: Hello you. LOL. Glad you liked the chapter...and hope you enjoy the Glorfie story.
InsanePirate624: Hehe...I don't know WHERE those stories come from...I just make them up on the spot. Not too much ACTION per se in this chapter, but there is a little...I think this is a little longer too. But I should be in BED now! Glad I taught you some Elvish, mellon nin! Namarie!
AM: Welcome to the fic! Glad you liked what you read and that you liked the character portrayal. If you happened to notice something not quite right, please tell me!
Star Wars Forever: Twin torture? Hmmm...maybe I will incorporate some emotional torture a bit later or something. i'm not sure where I am going with this right now! You get your desire in this chapter....the Glorfie/saddle story. I hope THAT makes up for the last cliffie!
Marbienl: Yeh...another noticed the Legolas shaking like a leaf/connection to his name thing! Great! I liked ur idea about whats in the cave. Read on.
Kelsey: Uhm...yup. I didsend Legolas in that cave near to death and then brought it down! HEHE. Ur...you mixed my stories a bit...Cellnen was from the other...the warrior/friend of Legolas in this is Celronen. THEY ARE quite close!! LOL. Glad you liked it and to answer your question with another..."What'll you gimme if I tell you!?" LOL....enjoy!
Chapter Fourteen: Elrohir to the Rescue
"Me and my bright ideas."
Elrohir picked his way along the dark tunnel, trying not to fall or stumble, but failing miserably. Without the light from the cave entrance, there was nothing but the natural glow of Elves to guide him.
And right now, he wished he glowed brighter.
Stumble, grumble, walk, stumble, grumble, walk, sigh.
"We are you two? I saw the horses and the tracks; I did not see tracks coming out. You have to be in here somewhere!"
He was about to sigh again in frustration when he smacked into a wall. "Now where did that come from, I wonder?" the Elf commented dryly, rubbing his forehead lightly. No blood, just a bruised pride.
Lucky no one saw that.
Elrohir continued on, moving as quickly as possible. He felt as though he was not alone, yet he did not know who or what the presence was. It did prompt him to put on more speed. As much as he dared in this inky blackness.
Dratted caves. I don't know how those Mirkwood Elves live in things in the same family as caves.
"Legolas! Look out!"
Elrohir's heart leapt into his throat. It had been Celronen's shout. And it was not far ahead.
And it was panicked.
Pain. He hadn't been in pain before. But now he wasn't just cold, wasn't just shivering like a leaf, he was in pain. His stomach was on fire. The wounds Estel had inflicted were burning like mad and he knew it was the poison.
Seeing Cel slow and turn toward him in the dim light from the torch, Legolas headed off his question. "I am all right, Cel."
"No, you are not all right, but unless I am mistaken, I heard a cave-in from behind us. We might be in here a while. This greatly worries me."
Cave-in? When had that happened? And why didn't I hear it? Have my senses been affected that badly? As a matter of fact, he was beginning to feel as though he was drowning in silence.
Even Cel's voice had seemed distant; light.
"Legolas, perhaps we should rest a while. There is no use pushing yourself to the brink. You need to survive this or Estel will never forgive himself. Nor will I. And your father...I do not want to think how he would react."
Legolas nodded. "I know, Cel. A little further, we should be in the cavern in moments. It is so close, mellon nin."
And close it was.
The two Elves entered the chamber and Legolas sighed in relief. It was much as they had left it. The Orcs appeared to have made a bit of a mess of their own camp in their haste to follow their escaped toys.
But not a single Orc remained.
Immediately, Legolas hurried, as fast as his wounds would let him, over to where Urghartz had slept. He knew the spot well. The Orc leadership had situated himself near to the prisoners, despite the distaste Orcs found in being near to Elves.
Stooping down, he sifted through the Orcs things. Not that there were many. The Orc carried only weapons and armor, plus a canteen-like apparatus that carried whatever it was Orcs drank for sustenance.
He didn't, however, find a dagger.
"Cel, look for a dagger with a serrated edge, about 10 inches long. The handle is crudely carved metal, black; all black. It has got to be around here somewhere."
Soon, a full-on hunt was afoot as the two searched every inch of the cavern. Finally, Legolas found a niche in the cave wall and peered into it. There, lying still on the ground was a spider.
For a moment, Legolas thought it was about to pounce; the way its legs were drawn up underneath it. But then, he saw the reason it had not attacked him.
A black dagger was imbedded in its torso.
"I've found it, Cel!" The Elf Prince called triumphantly, reaching forward and pulling the dagger from the spider's body. He turned and held up the weapon, still dripping lightly with spider blood.
Celronen smiled.
But the smile faded into a gasp of horror. "Legolas! Look out!"
Seeing the chance of expression, Legolas turned around, looking for the danger. He was immediately hit in the chest and knocked onto his back.
The wind knocked out of him, he found the weight of the attacking spider was making it difficult to draw in the much-needed oxygen. Celronen, rooted to the spot, frantically ripped an arrow from his back and prepared to shoot it as the spider moved to sting Legolas.
There was no need.
An arrow soared past the warrior. Straight into the heart of the spider, a difficult target to hit in broad daylight, even harder in the waning torchlight.
"What the?"
Celronen spun around, only to find himself face to face with an unfamiliar Elf.
The Elf, however, took no notice of Celronen, instead hurrying forward and kicking the vile creature off his friend. Seeing the Prince's eyes closed, Elrohir took his face into his hands and spoke forcefully.
"Legolas, mellon nin, it is I, Elrohir, wake now."
For a moment, there was still, tense silence. Then Legolas stirred. "El?"
A smile broke out on Elrohir's face and Celronen let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Yes, Legolas. El is here, have no fear!"
Legolas frowned. "That so?"
Celronen chuckled. "It was not my arrow that slew the spider about to make you its snake, Legolas. That honor is owed to our sudden arrival here." He looked pointedly at Elrohir.
Realizing explanations were in store; the dark-haired Elf nodded and helped Legolas to his feet, steadying the Elf. "Elladan and King Thranduil found the snake. We all decided Middle-Earth need not retain this vile hole and we sought to take down the cave's entrance. When I saw your horses and tracks outside leading in, the cave was already falling in. I ... well ... jumped in."
"You what?" Cel asked incredulously as they looked around the cavern, hoping to find another way out then the one they had come in.
"Yes, enlighten me, mellon nin. Why did you jump into a crumbling cave?" Legolas said, wheezing a little from his close call with the spider. And the growing pain.
Elrohir laughed. "Well, I was thinking of you, actually. You see, Elladan and I have apprenticed under our father. I knew if you were trapped in here with just Cel, and the antidote needed to be administered, Cel didn't have the knowledge to make it."
Smiling wanly, he turned to the warrior. "No offense meant of course."
"None taken."
Legolas nodded. "We might have need of your talent, Elrohir. I did not wish to worry you needlessly Cel, but my wounds are burning something fierce now. I fear the poison is proceeding to the next level."
Both Elves looked at him closely, seeing the sweat beaded on the Prince's pale forehead. Elrohir reached forward before Legolas could protest. "How long have you been running such a high fever, Legolas?"
Cel looked down. He had known about the fever, but nothing he could do would lower it. Not even the athelas he had slipped the Prince. "He's been like this since we left the palace. Not long after you three left."
Legolas nodded in agreement. "But the burning sensation is a new development. And since we have been in the cave I have been shivering and I can't seem to warm up."
Since Elves didn't normally feel cold, this was a major development. Elrohir set about trying to lower Legolas' fever while Celronen backtracked down the tunnel to try to find an exit they might have passed by.
He promised to be wary, knowing the two others worried of more spiders. But Legolas needed to get out of here and it was worth the risk. "I will return shortly. Hopefully with good news."
Elrohir and Legolas nodded. Then, the Noldor Elf gathered wood and started a fire in hopes of warming his friend up. Legolas was now shivering almost non-stop.
"This seems to affect you differently," Elrohir commented. "Estel did not shiver so. But he may have progressed while we were all away. I do hope he is all right."
The younger Imladris twin was silent now.
"He is all right for the moment, El. I know it. I can feel him."
Elrohir smiled. "You and Estel are so very close. Nearly like blood brothers. Nearly as close as twins would be." He held a forlorn look on his face at the last comment.
Frowning, Legolas sat up a bit. "You miss Elladan. Don't you? Even being parted for a short while is hard for the two of you."
Nodding, Elrohir sighed. "Yes. It wasn't always so. But since Naneth sailed...we have been rather inseparable."
"Then I am sorry."
The other elf looked up. "Whatever for, Legolas?"
"For being the cause of this separation."
Smiling now, Elrohir laughed. "You are a thorn in our sides, Legolas. But we wouldn't have it any other way. Now, drink this...it might lower that fever of yours. I will set to work on this dagger, just in case there is a chance of getting the antivenom from it."
The two remained in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
"So...when Glorfindel got into his saddle after the nights rest, he had no idea that Elladan and Elrohir had concocted that glue we use to upholster chairs with and had spread it on his saddle."
"Ada?" Estel interrupted. "Why was Glorfindel using a saddle in the first place?"
Elrond laughed. "Oh yes. I forgot that part. You see, Glorfindel was responding to a dare from your conspiring brothers and Legolas. Our dear Mirkwood Prince bet that Glorfindel could not ride a whole day in a human-made saddle without becoming sore in the...uhm...backside."
Estel nodded, too fatigued to laugh really. "That's so like them," he said quietly, eyes bright with fever, but also delight. He was enjoying the story and it was keeping him conscious.
"Anyway, Glorfindel was determined to win and prove he could do it. So not once during the day did he move from that saddle. Nothing could tear him from it."
Bardon chuckled at that, also enjoying this tale.
"No...uhm...pun intended!" Elrond added, smiling. "Anyway, as you can imagine at the end of the day, when we were all about to dismount for the night, Glorfindel suddenly because very quiet."
Estel was listening halfway now, despite his best efforts to stay focused. Everything just burned so much.
"When we finally got him off that saddle, he had very little skin left on his behind. He was seething mad. I had to send El and El away from camp with a few warriors so that he didn't murder them in their sleep!"
Bardon and Elrond were laughing now and Estel managed a wane smile.
"Thank you, Ada, but I think I will get a little sleep now. I am burning up and I just want to rest some."
The Elf Lord sighed. "I know; the poison is not dissipating. You are likely beginning to feel like your body is on fire. It is entering its final stages. Hopefully our friends will hurry back."
Estel didn't reply, he had already drifted back to sleep.
"I can't believe we just left them in there; trapped like that! What was Elrohir thinking? How could he risk his life like that, jumping into that falling cave!"
Thranduil gritted his teeth. They were nearly at the palace already and he was about ready to snap at the elder Imladris twin's constant grumbling. Instead, he looked over at Elladan and said quietly, "He was saving my son's life, Elladan."
That shut the dark-haired Elf up. "I...I'm so sorry, hir nin. I am just worried sick about everyone. I'm not really paying attention to what I'm saying. I know that Elrohir did the right thing, he needed to go to Legolas, Celronen can't prepare antivenom."
The king smiled. "I know you are worried, Elladan. I do not expect that you were speaking truth, or that you really wished for Elrohir to leave Legolas to die. But you were beginning to get on my nerves you know."
"Oh...sorry. Don't want to be doing that!"
"Oh? And why is that? What has that wayward son of mine been telling you about me?"
"Not much...just that you are a grumpy, arrogant, pig-headed..."
He ducked at the swipe the King sent at his head, half surprised to find himself jesting with the famed King of Mirkwood.
This was definitely something he would have to relate to Legolas and Estel at a later date!
A/N: Was it longer? I hope it was to your liking. I have to go cover the county fair for the newspaper tomorrow and I really SHOULD be sleeping right now. So I have to finish this post and then go to SLEEP. Please, please, please R/R...(that's mostly to some lurkers...because I can count on many of my repeat reviewers!!!) grinsI know you are out there lurkers! If you wanna wait til the end...ok then...but I like to answer questions and what not! sometimes
-Gwenneth
