The Wrong One

By Nefhiriel

A/N: Yes, yes, I know it was evil not to tell you what the chapter title was lest time... But really I thought "Just in Time" was just a bit too spoilerish : ) Besides, you all might have started to relax too much, which (as you'll see by the end of this chapter) would have been quite premature. (eg)

This is an EXTREMELY short chapter, and for this I do apologize. I know it's only half the usual size, but a lot does happen even this short amount of writing.

Oh, and there's a cliffy warning for this chapter. (eg) I do believe this will be my best cliffy yet...

See first chapter for disclaimers. Review responses at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 16: Just In Time

There was something about the elf... Acharndil knew he was being foolish, but he decided to let the elf do what he wanted. He ordered Magog to untie him, and then to give him water.

He went a little way off and continued his scrutiny.

The blond elf lowered himself and gently, ever so gently, lifted the ranger's head into his lap. The amount of familiarity they shared reminded him of...brothers? Yes, brothers. They were opposites in all physical appearances, and not of the same race, but in all the things that really mattered they agreed. Just watching them together you knew that they were brothers in everything but blood.

Acharndil knew he was being pathetically sentimental, but right now he didn't really care. All he wanted was to watch them interact. He envied their relationship. The ranger didn't have any natural brothers, he'd learned that much in Rivendell. But here he was, with three elves ready to die for him. They were as close as family, closer than some. None of them cared about each other's differences. They loved each other, and that was enough.

Family...That was something he hadn't experienced in long time. Vague memories of a warm fireside in a small cottage, sitting on his fathers knee, being tucked in by his mother, playing with his brother. Those memories were all that he had left of family. Wrapped up in his revenge, he'd forgotten how much he missed it. He was only ten then, but he still remembered the warm feelings.

Acharndil watched jealously as Legolas shielded Aragorn from his men and treated his wounds. Hadron had died so young; he'd never really experienced what it was like to have a brother. There was no one who looked after him. There was no one who cared if he died now or lived another million years. There was no one.

Dagron returned. As the blonde elf faithfully guarded his friend, Acharndil stood rooted to the ground, mesmerized by his fierce defense. Dagron struck the elf down and then—then something unexpected happened.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Legolas expected a torrent of blows to descend on him. Instead he heard a commotion, and from the sounds of it not far away and drawing closer.

"We are under attack!"

"Every man to his weapons!"

The cry was taken up and it spread through the camp, but not soon enough. Before the men were armed, or even completely alert, elven warriors were in their midst. Like ghosts, they seemed to appear out of nowhere, knocking men unconscious before their presence was fully recognized. Elves flooded the clearing, Lord Elrond at their head.

Legolas smiled at the confusion on Dagron's face, and took the opportunity to swiftly kick his legs out from under him. Dagron fell, stunned for the moment. Legolas spun around just in time to knock the sword out of Magog's hands and deliver a blow to his stomach. Another blow to his head and he was out cold. Dagron had gathered himself together and was now pulling out a dagger. Legolas reached for Magog's sword and turned at the same time that the dagger was thrown. Moving to the right, Legolas missed getting stabbed in the heart, but momentarily sacrificed the use of his left arm instead. He gasped, but hastily pulled out the dagger. Aragorn was just pulling himself up, and he thrust it to into his hands.

"Quick, get them untied!" Legolas called out, but unnecessarily, for Aragorn was already feeling his way to the tree.

Dagron charged, sword drawn, and Legolas redirected his attention to his adversary. Blood was slowly seeping from his wound, but anger blotted out the pain. With steady, decisive movements, Legolas wielded his sword. He blocked without difficulty each blow aimed at him, advancing relentlessly, never giving ground. He was rewarded by a look of alarm on Dagron's face, but it was only fleeting. Dagron's self-possession returned and he was master of his emotions once more. A mask of fearless cruelty slid down to hide the passing weakness and he began to hold his own ground just as furiously as his opponent.

Aragorn finally reached the tree, guided by his brothers' voices and his sense of touch. He cut the ropes and Elladan and Elrohir sprang to their feet.

"Estel, stay here." Elladan directed Aragorn and hurried to join his brother.

Aragorn slumped against the tree. He wanted to join the fight, but it was impossible. At the moment it would appear that he was useless.

Legolas continued to combat Dagron. Back and forth they blocked and parried, neither one able to push forward, or willing to move backwards.

Resolving to end the fight as soon as possible, Legolas quickened his pace. Used to using lighter weapons, he was finding the broadsword to be extremely unwieldy in comparison and would have given anything to have his white knives back. Awkward though it was, he was able to pick up speed. He swung his sword downward just as Dagron brought his up. With annoyance he noticed that his left arm was shaking, making every stroke more precarious. His sword slid to the side and Dagron lunged.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Elladan and Elrohir jumped into the fight, each picking an opponent and going at him with indomitable strength of will. Elrond was battling close by with Glamdil by his side.

All around, the brief struggle was coming to an end. Not wishing to kill where it wasn't necessary, and by their Lord's order, the elves always knocked their defeated opponent unconscious, showing them a mercy that would never have been reciprocated by their enemy. Now the sprawled forms of their recent opponents covered the clearing. A few last skirmishes were still taking place, as rebellious men refused to surrender.

Aragorn could hear the conflict coming to an end. The ring of sword upon sword diminished, one by one cries of rage, or triumph, were silenced. A few yards away he could now clearly hear the voice of his brother, Elladan, trying to convince some desperate, half-crazed man to relinquish his weapon. He smiled as he heard his brother give up arguing for the more conventional and persuasive use of the sword. The sound of their swords clashing rang out as the man put up his last defense. But Aragorn had quit listening to them. There were voices, whispering voices behind him.

"Aim for his heart. I will bring down one, at least, of my family's murderers. If you miss you forfeit your own life. Do you understand?"

He would have known Acharndil's voice anywhere.

"I understand, chief, but I never miss."

"If your shot is as good as you boast, then I will be content."

"I always make my boasts good."

"Then do it. Quickly. We don't have all day."

With a start, Aragorn recognized the voice of the second man. He was one of them men from camp. The man had always carried...He froze. The man had always carried a bow. He always boasted that he was the finest archer for miles around.

Elladan.

Aragorn's heart began to race. Elladan was out there. They were going to shoot him. He heard the distinct sound of an arrow being notched, a bow being pulled back...

"Elladan!"

He tried to get his brother's attention, but he knew that by the time Elladan was alerted it would be too late.

There was only one thing to do.

The question was, could he do it—blind?

He only had seconds to figure out in his mind were Elladan was, where the archer was, and jump away from the tree, praying to Valar that he was in the right place.

To Be Continued...

Yay! Elrond is finally there! (sighs happily) Now everything's alright. (notices readers glaring at her) Or not... Hey, you guys wouldn't REALLY miss Estel or Elladan THAT much... would you? (readers begin brandishing sharp objects) Hehe, guess so. (backs away nervously) Who'd have thought they were so attached to them?

Reviewer responses:

Tinorial Peredhil: You make me feel so guilty, mellon-nín! Here I am, a lousy writer who's eloquence in a review seems to be limited to about a measly five lines - and then you go and write me a beautiful tome of a review! I promise, I'll try to be a little more talkative in my next review... (giggles) Oops! Perhaps I should have put quotation marks around "charming" in that paragraph referring to Dagron : ) Hehehe, guess what? You've already have a dim-wit friend – ME! LOL. Yeah, I'll admit, there was that one moment where I liked Acharndil (OK, so maybe two or three – I mean, an author can't help but like all her OCs, if only a little ; ). But I do agree with you, he is rather pathetic. How could I grant your "request" not to hurt any characters? I thought the definition of fanfiction was basically: seeing just how much trouble you can possibly get your favorite characters into, and still have them survive. (or in your case, not survive. Yes, I'm never going to let you forget that you actually KILLED Estel! ) LOL. I really like what you said here: "Lesson #1: Always keep your mouth shut when dangerous, murderous, psychopathic people are wondering what to do to you. Surprisingly, IT HELPS!!" Truer words were never spoken! Unfortunately, that annoying little voice in Aragorn's head (and a REALLY annoying author hovering over his shoulder) are always telling him to say stupid things at all the wrong times... Poor guy, he's so trusting : ) Do I hear a hint of violence towards Dagron and the other villains? Hmm, I'll tell you what, I'll do for you what I've done for some of my other friends. (scans crowd of villains) Yup, that one will do nicely. (points to one of the superfluous guards) You! (guard cringes and begins to run) Not so fast! (grabs him and hurls him into Tinorial's room) There you go, mellon-nín – you're very own superfluous guard! You can do ANYTHING you want to him! (eg) Hope that helps with any of the stress I'm creating with all this angst... Hey! I can kill characters too! If I want to, that is... : ) I agree with you 100, Elladan has the very best temper of them all – I absolutely LOVE it when he goes into "defend little brother" mode!! I think that's one of the reasons I enjoy beating up on Estel so much...(sick, I know, but Elladan is so wonderful when he's angry) LOL, OK, I don't mind being Mora. Only problem is...I'm not that handy at tracking... : b (sigh) Well, RL is calling... Thank you SO much for that wonderful, long review! It really makes my day! Hope you enjoyed the cliffie! (eg)

Lady Leeanne: But of course I had to end it there, mellon-nin! How else would I keep up my reputation for evilness? (gasp) Death by dust bunnies and dirty socks?!? Wow, are you sure even Acharndil deserves that? Of course, the elves, noble beings that they are, couldn't possibly be as cruel as all that : ) I'm really curious to see what you think when you hear what actually does happen to him. But for now, you're just going to have to sick your bunnies on that superfluous guard. I still have...(clears throat) "plans" for Acharndil. (eg) Oh, by the way, Polly tells me you finally got a chance to actually wear a cravat recently for your Bach skit. Who did you act out? It sounds like it was a lot of fun : ) Thanks so much for reviewing, mellon-nin!

Star-Stallion: LOL, trying to guess what another insane author is thinking can be very interesting, can't it? Yeah, I know what trying to go back to school after having some time off can so to the brain... : P We took a two week vacation just a few weeks into our school year, and my mind had a few... problems coping when we got back to school : b Hmm, well it would appear that Legolas is still in trouble – just not quite the same trouble he was in last time : ) Thanks you so much for the review!

jacquelinestel: LOL, yeah, it's probably a good thing for us fanfic authors that they don't have rights! Otherwise we could get in some real trouble with all the things we do to them. But they're "fictional" (convenient word, huh?)! Too bad for them : ) Um, it might not have been the best idea to tell them that though... How exactly do you intend to find them now? (panicked look) If you don't find them... (looks stricken) Then I won't be able to read any more JE/L/E dialogue! AHH! Find them! Send out Search and Rescue! Anything, but find those renegade characters! LOL. Thank you for the review, mellon-nin!

Karri: Oh, I'm really sorry if you think that. I've tried extremely hard to make things realistic, and I'm sorry you don't like it : ( I'm an inexperienced and untried writer, and I know that I still have a lot to learn. (sigh) Thank you very, very much for your honest opinion!

HarryEstel: Hehe, is that a death threat I hear? YAY! Um, yes, I am quite aware that I'm insane : ) LOL, I hope this update was soon enough to preserve my life... at least until I've finished posting the story. Just remember – if you kill me now... well I wouldn't be able to post the rest then, would I? LOL, thanks for reviewing!

Troubles8806: LOL, well, now you finally know who's going to show up – and when : ) Hmm, yes I suppose you're right: being lost in your work, and being confused in general are two very different things... I think that I experienced a little of both while working on this story. At one point, I had the times so mixed up, that the only way to explain the days would have been to say that each of the characters was in a different time-zone! I thank God for the wonderful sister/editor he gave me – without Imbecamiel, I would NEVER have gotten everything straightened out! But I'm so glad that I'm not confusing you, at any rate (Nefhiriel: her stories make sense with a lot of work from her editor, but her reviewer responses are so confusing that no one knows what she's talking about, not even herself). LOL. Thank you for reviewing for a thoroughly confuddled (my mutilation of the words confused and befuddled) author!

Lizzie Blakeney: Thank you VERY much for reviewing. Just knowing that you're still reading and enjoying my story is extremely – I repeat EXTREMELY – encouraging!

Naesse: Evil? Me? But of course! LOL, I'm so glad you're enjoying it. Thanks for the review!

Errhos: Hannon le, mellon-nín! I'm glad you're liking it so much! (huggles)

Mornflower: Yes! Evil vagueness! YEAH! Um... I mean... sorry... sort of... not too sorry though (eg). I love cliffies - when I'M writing them : ) A squirrel, eh? Well, I've heard of seeing stars, and spots, and even birds – but squirrels? Hmm... That is really something that I never imagined anyone imagining... (I guess it's one insane person talking to another, hm?) LOL, you can see whatever you want, mellon-nín ; ) Thank you so much for the review!

elitenschweinSo glad that the last chapter made you so happy! Yes, I agree, I like twin angst/pain, but making them stand helplessly by while I throw all this emotional pain at them is even more fun. (evil laughter) You like Aragorn's annoying mental voice? Yay! Personally, I always loved it, so it's really fun to see other people enjoying it too : ) I know exactly what you mean about the villains. You always hate the dumb, vicious ones, but it's the smart, calculating ones like Acharndil that are really scary. (shudders) LOL, you're right, they should have thought things through more before attacking the camp, just like Acharndil should have thought things through before he decided to take on all the elves of Rivendell. But then, things wouldn't be nearly as interesting if the characters always did what they should, would they? LOL, fanfiction authors can't be nice all the time, it's in the rules! (flips through fanfiction rulebook unsuccessfully) Um, or not... But it's so much more FUN to be evil! Hehe, at least now you know when Elrond will be coming : ) I'm so sorry to hear about your computer : P They can be so frustrating, can't they? I hope you get it fixed soon. And yes, I would really like to see your list of elvish curses when (not "if"! think positive here!) you get it fixed. Here it is, updated on Friday! I hope it was early enough in the day that you were able to read it. Today's been really busy, and I wasn't able to update quite as early as I'd hoped : P Yes, I am definitely planning on writing more stories! In fact, I'm working on two right now. One is the direct sequel to this story and takes place in Mirkwood. The other isn't really related to this story. It's mostly about Elrond and the twins, but Estel and Legolas will definitely make an appearance as well. Thank you VERY much for the review!

Hyperactive ForeverOh no! We can't have the balance of Good, Evil, and... (does double take) Bob the donut salesman?... get upset now, can we? I guess I'd better update on time... LOL, yes, it is rather... worrying when your "good" hype is just as evil and sadistic as your "evil" hype... You like the twins, huh? I'd have never guessed : ) Well, I'm afraid I can't be giving away whether there'll be and physical Elladan pain, author's code, you know ; ) But if you like him so much, you'll probably really like my next story - LOTS of twins there! Not to worry though, there's plenty of twins to come yet in this story : ) Let's see... your favorite elves are the twins, Orophin, and Rumil? Obviously I know who the twins are, but Orophin and Rumil are... Haldir's brothers, right? (I know, as a LotR fanatic I SHOULD know these things...) I'm so glad you're enjoying my story! Thank you so much for reviewing!

Special thanks to aaecien for adding me to your authors alerts, and to Hyperactive Forever for adding me to your favorite authors list!

Ok, you know the drill: next chapter should be out on Tuesday or Wednesday. Unless I decide to be REALLY evil, and leave you on this cliffie for a while... (eg) It will be called "Killing the Characters" LOL, J/K. I can't tell you the title of the next chapter – and this time it's not just to be evil! I'm afraid it's because I forgot to think of a good title (again : P) for this one, so you'll just have to wait to find out.

- Nefhiriel

Vice President and co-founder of the SNWCG & member of the F.F.F.F.F.