TaniaNZ Be assured, I will write one. The wedding is going to be a…how shall I put it? Yes, A disaster. And it has everything to do with a certain famous dwarf.
Sesshyangel I'm keeping you up past 12? Oh, how sweet. Ah, campus life. How I still miss it.
BitterLee Poor Legolas indeed. Oh, I totally love what you put here: "My bum is already numb". Ha! Ha! It rhymes! Hilarious!
Kuriei137 Your address only appeared halfway. Is it at Yahoo or Hotmail or AOL?
Acacia59601 It's true. I'm addicted to cliffies. (Stands up and says out loud, "Hi. I'm Adromir. I'm a cliffieholic.") So, be warned. The cliffies are getting more and more ridiculous, especially for this chapter.
Sabrina I'm glad you like Kel. The character just pops up in my head without warning, like a jack-in-the-box.
Mellaithwen That nosey lil bugger will never learn from his mistakes. I'll make sure he won't.
Aly K : Too short, eh? Hmm. I'll make the font bigger then. LOL!
NessaThranduiliel Indeed, I can't stop! It's a sickness. I have to make you all wait and wait and…
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Shakmi was an angry man. He was not used to being ridiculed or contradicted by anyone.
Having been known as the town's only medicine man, the people had always looked up to him whenever there was sickness or injury. He lived alone in a small hut at the edge of town. The people would bring him food and supplies as payment for his services. They didn't actually fully respect him, but at least they had enough sense to fear him. With his long graying hair, sharp obsidian eyes and grim features, he looked quite intimidating and overpowering. The people even thought he could work magic or curses that could bring the town to its doom if he was crossed.
But now everything had changed in just one afternoon, all because of an unknown elf who dared to interfere in his affair. Shakmi hated interference. He hated obnoxious, snobby elves even more. And what kind of a creature was the elf that he held such remarkable power of healing? Shakmi had never seen anything like it.
Truthfully, the medicine man was deeply envious. He knew his own healing skill was nothing compared to the elf's. He also knew how the elf had already caught the people's admiration through his amazing beauty and grace. But worst of all, the strange being had made Shakmi look like a fool in front of everyone.
The man couldn't stand the derision. He would not tolerate such insults! Now was the time to regain his self-respect. The elf must be taught a lesson, right here, witnessed by all the townspeople.
Ronin, the town mayor, had been questioning Shakmi's decision for the coming event, wanting to know if it was really necessary. So the medicine man had hotly responded, loud enough for the entire town to hear, "If you want this town to be spared from evil's claws then do as I say! Our lives and our souls will be in danger if we let that creature live! The Power Above has just spoken to me. They told me the elf is a witch in disguise who shows kindness and beauty on the surface but wreaks malice in his black heart and has rotting flesh behind his mask. You are a fool to fall for his treachery!"
Just like a clump of tall weeds that bent to whichever directions the wind blew, the not so bright people—including the mayor—accepted Shakmi's words with no more questioning. They now waited with anticipation in the town square where the platform had been set up earlier that day. But the platform was now gone, only to be replaced by a thick wooden post made of strong birch. A heap of kindling and firewood had been gathered around the post, the centre of everyone's current attention.
If Shakmi's hired thugs succeeded in their given task, the coming ceremony would begin in a very short while. Right after his failed attempt to burn the ailing children, the medicine man had quickly carried out a plan for revenge before the elves could leave the town for good. He had ordered six men to hide in the woods to wait for the elves and ambush them. But their actual mission was to capture the golden haired elf and kill his three accomplices.
The night was already late but more people kept streaming into the square. Someone had been spreading the rumors that the medicine man was going to punish an evil witch. It was another exciting event not to be missed, now that the burning of the children had been totally rescinded.
A slight commotion suddenly erupted from down the street, alerting everyone that Shakmi's hired men had returned with their captive.
When the pale and wide-eyed golden haired elf in their custody finally came into view, the medicine man smiled inwardly.
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The moment he caught sight of Shakmi, Legolas instantly knew he was in trouble. Very deep trouble.
The elf prince had awakened to find himself draped belly down on top of a horse, his arms bound behind his back. To add to his misery, he was also gagged, so no one understood the garbled curses that he was yelling—or rather, trying to yell—at them.
Legolas swore again, this time at himself for his absolute stupidity. Previously at the creek—while he was standing there stiffly, waiting for his gut to stop churning—he suddenly heard the curious sound of a snapping twig coming from downriver. Alone and armed with only a dagger, the smart thing for him to do was to directly head back to camp and alert his brother and the twins. But Legolas had not been thinking at the time. He had been royally pissed off!
With clenching fists, he had approached the area where the sound had come from. He had expected someone to come screaming at him, wielding a sword or crossbow of some kind. So when a rock had hit him in the forehead instead—with enough force to make him see stars, no less—Legolas had been completely stunned. He didn't remember blacking out but the next thing he knew, several men were wrestling him to ground, trying to tie him up.
He had quickly regained his senses to yell for help, but the men had promptly stuffed a wadded cloth into his mouth, choking him and nearly cutting off his breath. They pummeled him repeatedly as he resisted, kicking and throwing punches left and right. But, still dizzy from the impact with the rock, he was slow to avoid a vicious kick swinging towards his face.
The ugly boot was the last thing Legolas saw before he found himself bumping uncomfortably on his stomach on the back of a horse as the men rode at breakneck speed towards the town. It had been the worst and longest ride of his life, and the most degrading too considering the way his rump had stood up in the air the entire time, much to the men's amusement.
Now they were dragging him towards a burning stake in the middle of the square. Shakmi and a large crowd were already waiting there, ready to carry out and witness the elf's execution. Some of the people were jeering and laughing at Legolas' plight, but others—the women, mostly—were crying out loud protests. Shakmi ignored it all but stared calmly at the elf.
Angry and a bit terrified, Legolas growled as he stood before the medicine man, mumbling incoherently as he demanded explanation. His head was aching terribly, and his body was black and blue with bruises. But, miraculously, the upsetting churn in his stomach had completely gone. Must be the adrenaline then. It had chased away his indigestion, thank the Valar.
Yet, what he was about to face now was even more disturbing. He hastily looked around him, noting the grim faces and hard gazes of the humans. There were men and women and children alike, jostling at one another to get a good look at the captured elf.
And there was no sign of Keldarion and the twins.
Kel, where are you? Legolas began to panic as the men shoved him to the stake at Shakmi's signal. Without untying the bond on his wrists, they wrapped a length of chain around his chest to the pole. Afterwards, they rearranged the kindling and firewood around him so that he was covered by the pyre up to his thigh. He struggled and heaved mightily but he was totally stuck. There was no way he could free himself.
As the crowd grew quiet, Shakmi reached over and yanked the gag out of Legolas' mouth. The elf instantly exploded, "What the heck do you think you are doing?!"
The medicine man smiled slightly. "Forgive us, master elf. But we need to do what we thought best for this town."
"What the blazes are you talking about?" Legolas fumed. "Get me off this thing!"
"You see, you are a lost soul, searching for unknown purposes…"
"WHAT?!"
"There is an evil being within you, a great evil that hides behind your beauty and is rotting beneath your skin," Shakmi continued as if Legolas had not responded. For dramatic effect, the man turned towards the crowd. "The evil that will destroy us all if it is left ignored, The evil that tries to trick us and lure us towards our end, pulling us away from our faith and beliefs, tainting our souls and our hearts, the evil that must be exterminated before we cease to exist!"
"What a load of crap!" Legolas glared at the medicine man. "What is it with you and this evil business? Have you lost your ultimate senses, human?"
"Silence!" Shakmi shouted, pointing a finger at the elf. "You are not only an elf but also an evil witch. No one could possibly have such healing powers if one does not make a pact with the demon!"
"A pact with the demon…?" If Legolas had not been so stunned, he might have broken up laughing hysterically.
"True." Shakmi nodded solemnly. "The demon that cheats our eyes, and tempts us with your pleasant features and honey-sweet words. The demon that knows our weakness and uses them to its advantage. The demon that yearns to control us and make us its slaves."
"Oh, for the love of Elbereth…" Legolas sighed in exasperation with a roll of his eyes. Shakmi's speech was beginning to drive him crazy!
"And for the sake of everyone in this town, you are to be sacrificed to the Power Above." The medicine man was now clutching his staff in front of him, his eyes closed as he grew deep in thought, as if he was listening to some voices that only he could hear. "With you dead, the demon will die. And our life will be at peace."
Legolas snorted. He just couldn't believe what he was hearing. Gazing at the crowd, he spoke in earnest, "I don't know what kind of poison this man has been feeding you but I have to tell you that he is wrong. A demon hungry for human souls? Come on! You are not stupid enough to believe such bloody nonsense, are you?"
Shakmi whirled and swung his staff, hitting the elf on his face. With a sharp cry, Legolas' head snapped to one side. His already cut lips split even wider, spilling more blood to trail down his chin.
"Enough delaying. Let's get this thing over and done with," said Shakmi before he ordered for a torch to be brought forward.
Shaking his spinning head, Legolas then stared at Shakmi through a haze. "You are not going to succeed," he hissed painfully.
"The Power Above is with me. I will succeed," Shakmi responded. "Any last words, master elf?"
"Yes. You are digging your own grave, human. You'll see what I mean," Legolas responded, and then he frantically searched the crowd. Oh, please, Kel! Where are you? I need you now!
There was an acute silence as the man, Mordred, came to stand in front of the pyre with a burning torch in his hand. Shakmi nodded, and Mordred threw down the torch.
The dry kindling caught fire instantly. Within seconds, Legolas was engulfed by the inferno!
TBC…
I know. Bad cliffie.
Bad, bad, evil cliffie.
So sue me.