Sindarin words will be in italics.
Chapter 18
Sacrifice of Love
Elrohir coughed as the smoke filled air irritated his throat and lungs, making it hard for him to breathe. The smoke was so thick that it was difficult to see anything or anybody anywhere and he knew he just had to trust to hope that he could make it to the stairs and up to the second floor without hurting himself. His little brother was up there and was being hurt by someone and that meant that particular person did not have much longer to live.
When he reached the upper story of the house, he began to search every room, cubbyhole, and closet between the top of the stairs and the room with the window on the rare chance that Aragorn's captor had moved him. Though all but one room had been searched, there was still no sign of either human and no sigh that either human was still alive.
Finally reaching the last room, Elrohir first felt the door for heat and finding none, kicked it open with his foot. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight that met his eyes.
He saw a large human male kicking his unconscious little brother who, from what he could see of the Ranger, was nothing but a mass of bruises and bloodied flesh and would be extremely lucky if the other man had not already killed him.
Enraged, Elrohir moved forward, drawing his sword, fully prepared to put the human down for what he was doing to Estel. Sensing the younger twin's approach the man stood from where he had been crouching over the still body in front of him and turned.
The younger twin gasped and almost dropped his sword, for the face looking back at him was no more than a skull with red, glowing eyes. This was it - this was the demon they were all trying to find. Before he could take another step toward the creature, the human body that was housing it fell face first on the floor and as Elrohir continued to watch, the vapor-like body of the demon rose from the corpse then disappeared into thin air.
The air began to vibrate and the ground trembled for a few moments before the house finally stilled once more.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
Elrohir ran to where his little brother lay on the floor, first feeling for and finding a pulse then gently turning the man over onto his back. Finding his brother alive even though he had been badly beaten, had so relieved Elrohir that tears came unbidden to his eyes, though he knew that in order to keep the human alive, he had to find an avenue of escape. Looking desperately around him for a way out, he saw that all exits, excluding the window, were now in flames. For a moment, he almost panicked then, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm himself, he looked around the room once again and this time when his eyes fell on the bed and its large covering, he knew he had discovered a way to get Aragorn out of the house.
Jerking the spread off the bed, he laid it beside Aragorn's body. He looked down on the human one last time then bent over and kissed him tenderly on the forehead.
"You are destined for greatness, my brother, not I. May the Valar protect you until the end of your days for it appears that I cannot."
Quickly rolling the unconscious man in the spread, he picked the bundle up and carried it to the window. On the other side of the panes of glass, he could see both the Mirkwood Prince and his twin, standing and waiting for he and Aragorn to exit the building.
He caught his twin's eyes one last time, the look that passed between the two enough to break even the stoutest heart. Then, breaking eye contact, Elrohir kicked the glass out of the window and threw the blanket-wrapped Aragorn through it and into the waiting arms of the two who were waiting below.
It was as if the fire had been waiting for the Ranger to leave for when he did the flames quickly engulfed the entire window casing shielding it from all eyes. Inside the room, Elrohir was quickly being overcome by the smoke. He coughed and tried desperately to find another way out but when it became apparent that exits no longer existed, he gave up and fell to the floor, then, barely conscious, he sensed more than felt the strong arms that picked him up and carried him away.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
Legolas was having a hard time restraining the elder twin who was almost mad with grief.
"No, Legolas, let me go to him!" Elladan held out both arms towards the building and screamed. "Elrohir!"
Legolas was also crying and could barely see to restrain Elladan - no matter how hard he tried, there was no reaching the grief-stricken elf as he still tried to go to his twin though his eyes had told him there was no longer any hope that he was alive. When he could think of nothing else to do he shook the elf hard.
"Elladan, stop it! Daro! Daro mellon-nín! Daro!"
When the twin still refused to listen, and after begging his forgiveness, Legolas slapped him hard then drew him close as the two still stared at the blazing inferno that had once been someone's home. Though an extreme measure to take, the slap seemed to work, in a fashion, for at least the elder twin was no longer trying to get to the house.
Suddenly, Elladan sank to the ground, sobbing as though his heart had been torn in two. Dropping to his knees, Legolas drew the grieving twin into the comforting circle of his arms and held him, then rocked him as he sobbed. Finally, after a time, Elladan regained control of himself and patted Legolas on the shoulder as a wordless sign that he was himself once more.
"We must see to Aragorn and get him away from all this."
Legolas rested his forehead briefly against Elladan's then the two moved to where Aragorn lay, still wrapped in the bed spread and very carefully unwrapped him. When they finally got a good look at the young ranger, Elladan stepped back for a moment and Legolas placed one hand over his mouth. There was not one spot on the man that was not injured or covered with blood. The two knew they had to get him out of there as quickly as they could.
Elladan whistled for their horses and all four came running to him. Seeing that they had already been saddled did not seem out of the ordinary for it could only mean that the stable keeper, who had a genuine love for horses, had saddled them when he first detected the fire then had turned them loose. After Elladan had mounted his horse, Legolas handed the still unconscious human up to him then after mounting his own horse, the two elves rode towards the Inn. When they reached the building, Legolas jumped off his horse before it had come to a complete stop and ran up the stairs to their rooms, grabbed their belongings and weapons, paying special attention to the healing supplies, then ran down the stairs and out to his waiting horse.
Trying to save anyone at this point was not something that could be accomplished, and with that in mind, the four horses, two elves and the injured human headed for anywhere but Naur.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
Legolas remembered a little spot about a mile from the outskirts of town that had a small stream running through it. When they had passed it on their way to Naur, he had remarked to himself that it seemed like such a welcoming place.
The two elves decided to make camp in the little glade, close to the stream and while Legolas quickly started a fire and placed a kettle of water over the fire to boil, Elladan set about making Aragorn as comfortable as possible. The twin had still not spoken and Legolas was positive that if it were not for Aragorn, Elladan would more than likely have already followed Elrohir to the Halls of Mandos.
All extraneous thoughts were put aside for the moment as the two of them saw to the bruised and bloody human. They were both surprised when they found that though his wounds were serious, with the proper attention he would recover quickly. His injuries were severe, but not nearly as life threatening as they had at first thought them to be.
There was a deep gash and a large lump over his left temple, massive bruising over just about every spare piece of skin they could see; his rib cage was bruised; his hip and thigh were one masive bruise; he was suffering from smoke inhalation, a slight case of pneumonia and his fever was on the rise again.
When Elladan had done everything he could for his brother, he sat back while Legolas coaxed the young human to drink the tea that would help not only his breathing, but would bring down his fever as well. When the grieving twin walked off and after making sure that Aragorn was sleeping deeply and well, Legolas went in search of him.
He found Elladan sitting in the grass of a small hillock overlooking the valley and staring at what was left of the still burning town of Naur. The two sat for hours until even the dying embers could not be seen and it was only then that the eldest twin finally broke down and began to grieve for what he had lost.
Legolas helped his friend stand then took him to sit beside the stream where he held him and rocked him and bathed his face with cool water. As he felt it might, the sound of the stream as it wandered on its way to wherever it was going, soothed the elf until finally he lay still against his friend's chest, too exhausted by his grief to move, cry another tear, or sleep. Picking him up, Legolas walked back and sat Elladan on his bedroll then, after fixing him a calming tea, got him to finally go to sleep.
There was no doubt in his mind or heart that it would not be long before Elladan faded from his grief and followed his twin into death. He just prayed to the Valar that he could at least get him back to Rivendell in time so his father would have a chance to say goodbye.
TBC
COMING NEXT: Little Girl Found: Naur was gone. They could still smell the smoke of the previous night's fire as it lingered in the air but though their noses told them there had been a fire, their eyes told them a different story. There were no burnt out hulks of houses or any of the town's businesses; there was no scorched earth, no bodies, and no ashes - nothing. The grass, where the town had once stood was lush and green and tall with no evidence of having seen or felt the presence of man, or elf, in a very long time.
Grumpy (): Thanks for the review. Rangernapped - That one had me about falling out of my chair I was laughing so hard. But he was, wasn't he! LOL!! But was he kidnapped by a nutcase? Hmmmm. You might just be surprised. The little girl just keeps popping up. I kind of enjoyed writing her part in this story. Yes, Legolas had just about enough of the "I don't care attitude." Thank goodness the twins were there to hold him back! Well, here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it.
DesolateAznVamp: I missed you but I'm glad you are back! Thanks for the review!
Chapter 18
Sacrifice of Love
Elrohir coughed as the smoke filled air irritated his throat and lungs, making it hard for him to breathe. The smoke was so thick that it was difficult to see anything or anybody anywhere and he knew he just had to trust to hope that he could make it to the stairs and up to the second floor without hurting himself. His little brother was up there and was being hurt by someone and that meant that particular person did not have much longer to live.
When he reached the upper story of the house, he began to search every room, cubbyhole, and closet between the top of the stairs and the room with the window on the rare chance that Aragorn's captor had moved him. Though all but one room had been searched, there was still no sign of either human and no sigh that either human was still alive.
Finally reaching the last room, Elrohir first felt the door for heat and finding none, kicked it open with his foot. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight that met his eyes.
He saw a large human male kicking his unconscious little brother who, from what he could see of the Ranger, was nothing but a mass of bruises and bloodied flesh and would be extremely lucky if the other man had not already killed him.
Enraged, Elrohir moved forward, drawing his sword, fully prepared to put the human down for what he was doing to Estel. Sensing the younger twin's approach the man stood from where he had been crouching over the still body in front of him and turned.
The younger twin gasped and almost dropped his sword, for the face looking back at him was no more than a skull with red, glowing eyes. This was it - this was the demon they were all trying to find. Before he could take another step toward the creature, the human body that was housing it fell face first on the floor and as Elrohir continued to watch, the vapor-like body of the demon rose from the corpse then disappeared into thin air.
The air began to vibrate and the ground trembled for a few moments before the house finally stilled once more.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
Elrohir ran to where his little brother lay on the floor, first feeling for and finding a pulse then gently turning the man over onto his back. Finding his brother alive even though he had been badly beaten, had so relieved Elrohir that tears came unbidden to his eyes, though he knew that in order to keep the human alive, he had to find an avenue of escape. Looking desperately around him for a way out, he saw that all exits, excluding the window, were now in flames. For a moment, he almost panicked then, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm himself, he looked around the room once again and this time when his eyes fell on the bed and its large covering, he knew he had discovered a way to get Aragorn out of the house.
Jerking the spread off the bed, he laid it beside Aragorn's body. He looked down on the human one last time then bent over and kissed him tenderly on the forehead.
"You are destined for greatness, my brother, not I. May the Valar protect you until the end of your days for it appears that I cannot."
Quickly rolling the unconscious man in the spread, he picked the bundle up and carried it to the window. On the other side of the panes of glass, he could see both the Mirkwood Prince and his twin, standing and waiting for he and Aragorn to exit the building.
He caught his twin's eyes one last time, the look that passed between the two enough to break even the stoutest heart. Then, breaking eye contact, Elrohir kicked the glass out of the window and threw the blanket-wrapped Aragorn through it and into the waiting arms of the two who were waiting below.
It was as if the fire had been waiting for the Ranger to leave for when he did the flames quickly engulfed the entire window casing shielding it from all eyes. Inside the room, Elrohir was quickly being overcome by the smoke. He coughed and tried desperately to find another way out but when it became apparent that exits no longer existed, he gave up and fell to the floor, then, barely conscious, he sensed more than felt the strong arms that picked him up and carried him away.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
Legolas was having a hard time restraining the elder twin who was almost mad with grief.
"No, Legolas, let me go to him!" Elladan held out both arms towards the building and screamed. "Elrohir!"
Legolas was also crying and could barely see to restrain Elladan - no matter how hard he tried, there was no reaching the grief-stricken elf as he still tried to go to his twin though his eyes had told him there was no longer any hope that he was alive. When he could think of nothing else to do he shook the elf hard.
"Elladan, stop it! Daro! Daro mellon-nín! Daro!"
When the twin still refused to listen, and after begging his forgiveness, Legolas slapped him hard then drew him close as the two still stared at the blazing inferno that had once been someone's home. Though an extreme measure to take, the slap seemed to work, in a fashion, for at least the elder twin was no longer trying to get to the house.
Suddenly, Elladan sank to the ground, sobbing as though his heart had been torn in two. Dropping to his knees, Legolas drew the grieving twin into the comforting circle of his arms and held him, then rocked him as he sobbed. Finally, after a time, Elladan regained control of himself and patted Legolas on the shoulder as a wordless sign that he was himself once more.
"We must see to Aragorn and get him away from all this."
Legolas rested his forehead briefly against Elladan's then the two moved to where Aragorn lay, still wrapped in the bed spread and very carefully unwrapped him. When they finally got a good look at the young ranger, Elladan stepped back for a moment and Legolas placed one hand over his mouth. There was not one spot on the man that was not injured or covered with blood. The two knew they had to get him out of there as quickly as they could.
Elladan whistled for their horses and all four came running to him. Seeing that they had already been saddled did not seem out of the ordinary for it could only mean that the stable keeper, who had a genuine love for horses, had saddled them when he first detected the fire then had turned them loose. After Elladan had mounted his horse, Legolas handed the still unconscious human up to him then after mounting his own horse, the two elves rode towards the Inn. When they reached the building, Legolas jumped off his horse before it had come to a complete stop and ran up the stairs to their rooms, grabbed their belongings and weapons, paying special attention to the healing supplies, then ran down the stairs and out to his waiting horse.
Trying to save anyone at this point was not something that could be accomplished, and with that in mind, the four horses, two elves and the injured human headed for anywhere but Naur.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
Legolas remembered a little spot about a mile from the outskirts of town that had a small stream running through it. When they had passed it on their way to Naur, he had remarked to himself that it seemed like such a welcoming place.
The two elves decided to make camp in the little glade, close to the stream and while Legolas quickly started a fire and placed a kettle of water over the fire to boil, Elladan set about making Aragorn as comfortable as possible. The twin had still not spoken and Legolas was positive that if it were not for Aragorn, Elladan would more than likely have already followed Elrohir to the Halls of Mandos.
All extraneous thoughts were put aside for the moment as the two of them saw to the bruised and bloody human. They were both surprised when they found that though his wounds were serious, with the proper attention he would recover quickly. His injuries were severe, but not nearly as life threatening as they had at first thought them to be.
There was a deep gash and a large lump over his left temple, massive bruising over just about every spare piece of skin they could see; his rib cage was bruised; his hip and thigh were one masive bruise; he was suffering from smoke inhalation, a slight case of pneumonia and his fever was on the rise again.
When Elladan had done everything he could for his brother, he sat back while Legolas coaxed the young human to drink the tea that would help not only his breathing, but would bring down his fever as well. When the grieving twin walked off and after making sure that Aragorn was sleeping deeply and well, Legolas went in search of him.
He found Elladan sitting in the grass of a small hillock overlooking the valley and staring at what was left of the still burning town of Naur. The two sat for hours until even the dying embers could not be seen and it was only then that the eldest twin finally broke down and began to grieve for what he had lost.
Legolas helped his friend stand then took him to sit beside the stream where he held him and rocked him and bathed his face with cool water. As he felt it might, the sound of the stream as it wandered on its way to wherever it was going, soothed the elf until finally he lay still against his friend's chest, too exhausted by his grief to move, cry another tear, or sleep. Picking him up, Legolas walked back and sat Elladan on his bedroll then, after fixing him a calming tea, got him to finally go to sleep.
There was no doubt in his mind or heart that it would not be long before Elladan faded from his grief and followed his twin into death. He just prayed to the Valar that he could at least get him back to Rivendell in time so his father would have a chance to say goodbye.
TBC
COMING NEXT: Little Girl Found: Naur was gone. They could still smell the smoke of the previous night's fire as it lingered in the air but though their noses told them there had been a fire, their eyes told them a different story. There were no burnt out hulks of houses or any of the town's businesses; there was no scorched earth, no bodies, and no ashes - nothing. The grass, where the town had once stood was lush and green and tall with no evidence of having seen or felt the presence of man, or elf, in a very long time.
Grumpy (): Thanks for the review. Rangernapped - That one had me about falling out of my chair I was laughing so hard. But he was, wasn't he! LOL!! But was he kidnapped by a nutcase? Hmmmm. You might just be surprised. The little girl just keeps popping up. I kind of enjoyed writing her part in this story. Yes, Legolas had just about enough of the "I don't care attitude." Thank goodness the twins were there to hold him back! Well, here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it.
DesolateAznVamp: I missed you but I'm glad you are back! Thanks for the review!