Alright, new chapter! And only eighteen pages to go...
Juvenile delinquent: As long as I get a review or two per chapter, I remember that I'm supposed to be updating--if I get something in my e-mail, I remember this story. Nea and I spent a weekened a while ago brainstorming and then polishing this sucker, so I just have to remember to get it posted. Unlike her, this isn't where I get the majority of my amusement. Then again, I have too many siblings bartering for computer time.
"Legolas, I don't understand!" Eirthriel exclaimed, looking around them in ill-concealed fear. "This isn't the way we usually go to Rivendell," she protested, scanning the forest warily.
Legolas looked around them, and slowly drew his sister to a stop. He listened carefully for a moment, then let out a sharp whistle. Above them Zetea called back. He smiled faintly. "You must trust me, Eirthriel," he murmured softly. "Come down."
"Legolas?" she asked, holding tightly to her mare's mane. He held a hand up, and she slowly took it, frowning as he helped her to the ground.
"Shh," he soothed, fastening a pouch to his horse before giving them their instructions. The two burst forward, running quickly to Imladris. "Come with me," he murmured, taking her hand. After a few minutes of walking he saw one of Nenya's favorite wolves. He tightened his grip on Eirthriel's hand when she would have backed away. "It's all right, Eirthriel. I promise it will be fine."
"What's going on?"
"Long story, of which I know only pieces. We must hurry." He gave her a pair of leggings but refused to turn entirely, keeping a watch on her from the corner of his eyes since he felt too keenly how open to attack they were while in this part of the forest, practically unprotected. When she had readied herself, he nodded to the wolf, who knocked Eirthriel onto his back. "Hold on," he warned her with a smile. "And don't worry."
Eirthriel's eyes were wide as she looked at the large silver beast beneath her. "Right," she agreed slowly. "Don't worry. My brother has lost his mind, but I shouldn't worry."
Legolas chuckled softly and began running. Her wolf followed, nearly leaving her behind. Soon he felt the others close, and three more wolves closed in on them.
"Legolas!"
"Don't worry," he reminded her, pausing only for the wolf he had ridden before to accept his weight. They stopped for a while only when Eirthriel was unable to continue, needing to rest.
"About time we stopped," she muttered.
Legolas shook his head. "We must make haste, dear sister."
"Why?"
"To be safe," he answered.
"I think that she-elf has distorted your sense of judgment."
He sighed softly. "You're probably right, but it is better to be a little cautious than dead." He handed her some of the odd waybread Nenya made. "Eat, and then prepare for rest."
"Where is the wonder elf? And why are we riding wolves when we had two perfectly good horses?"
A soft chuckle sounded above them. Legolas tilted his head, finding her quickly. "Come on down and join us, Nenya."
She dropped to the ground soundlessly. "Things have gone well."
"The horses?"
"Shall be fine. They worry at their watchers, but do not fear."
"Good." Legolas nodded slightly as he glanced ahead. "What now?"
"You go back. I continue."
He frowned. "Wait a minute. What do you mean, you continue? This is a group effort."
"Not anymore. Their responsibility now likes in keeping the royal family alive. My duty is to the cessation of the attacks, which I cannot assist in while in the southern part of the forest. I head north."
"Then I—"
"No!" Nenya shook her head, her hair already bound back for the coming adventure. "You cannot help me now. To try would be to face certain death, Legolas."
"You two are so gloomy," Eirthriel muttered. "I take it we aren't going to Rivendell?" she asked tartly, turning on Legolas.
"No. You two needed to be away from the palace while I try and prove what I suspect." Nenya watched the princess intently as she tried to absorb that information.
"What about the rest of our family?" Legolas asked, frowning.
Nenya looked at him for a long moment. "I believe there is danger there as well, but the both know well how to handle themselves." Her eyes grew cold.
Eirthriel shivered to look at her. "Why do you have black eyes?"
Nenya looked at her for an instant, lifting a brow. "A legacy from my mother."
The princess looked away. "And black hair, too."
"Again, from my mother."
"Don't you know of your father?" Legolas asked even as Eirthriel commented again.
"It's like Teraien."
"No," Nenya murmured to Legolas. Then she lifted solemn eyes to Eirthriel. "I know," she answered softly, before she moved from her crouch to her feet. "I should be off. Many days have to pass before I can get there, and the sooner the better, now."
Legolas looked up at her, and for a moment, he wasn't looking at Nenya, the she-elf who had saved his life and put him in a dress as he slept. He was looking at a black-haired, black-eyed elf with short black hair… he shivered slightly, seeing too much there when he should see nothing. "The bond between us?" he asked softly, pausing her escape.
She glanced back at him over her shoulder, her eyes dimmed for an instant before determination settled over her features, brightening her eyes with a cold fire as the slight light of the forest clung to her, making her seem to glow. For the first time he noticed the bow, quiver and blades on her back, the sword at her side.
"Shall I wish you luck and blessings?" he asked softly, moving to stand beside her.
Slowly she shook her head. "No. It would be wrong for you to do so, considering my anticipated prey."
"Do you plan to return?"
"I hope to," she agreed softly. "But it is uncertain." She took a deep breath and looked at Eirthriel for an instant before facing north again. "Take care of her, Legolas. She you can trust above all others. She who holds no secrets from you, who does not harbor any evil in her veins or heart. Do not forsake her to help a stranger." Before Legolas could respond she walked away, her steps quickening to a loping run. Soon the majority of the wolf pack flowed past their camp. Only a few were not going, the two he and Eirthriel would ride back, and the pups that were not yet old enough for such a war. For an instant he fancied he could hear a soft skittering above him, and silently sent a prayer to the stars for his friends good fortune despite her insistence he should not do so.