Reviewer responses for Chapter 3:
Deana: Hey...thanks for the review. Yeah, I just HAVE to injure Legolas...that's my style. I might try to injure others instead next time...who knows!
Sielge: Yeh, they both need help. The twins are on their way, but help is coming in many forms...
Natasha AKA: Tash: Sorry, mellon nin, but sad/angsty/torture/injury stories are my style. I will make it happy, I promise...and it won't be a terribly long, drawn out angst either. There will be an exciting rescue coming soon. And then, no more sadness...I hope.
Marbienl: Yeh, I will have to detail the Legolas mother murder later on. Right now, they have to survive this ordeal!! LOL. Glad you liked the Estel crying harder. A lot of people liked the bit about Estel showing a bit of his future as a healer.
Tinnuial: Fast...hehe...I usually am, but lately...I just don't have the time. Yes, it seems LEgolas and Aragorn do get short changed all the time. Perhaps I will expand my horizons and write someone ELse getting hurt...and they remaining relatively unscathed!
Beling: Hehe...that lines was supposed to instill feeling in readers. Glad it worked!
SirNotAppearingInThisFilm: Gosh that's a handful to type correctly! Anyhoo...glad you like...
Mornflower: ROTFLMAO! That skit was hilarious. Estel hyperventilating...Legolas mumbling. LOL. Nuts really, but great!
Kelsey: Thanks for the kind words Kelsey! After a recent rejection in regards to stories, knowing I have loyal fans is really heartwarming! Thanks so much!!! I don't rightly know if the Orcs picked up Legolas things...I don't think they enjoy touching Elvish anything...so I am guess not...LOL...I'm beating around the bush here as you can tell! As for the extra weapon...hmm...I wonder. We shall see in later chapters, but not this one. Glad you like the athelas thing and the I will go first scene!
Kurafoxgirl: Updating, updating, updating! LOL.
Aranna Undomiel: You flatter me, mellon nin! I'm so glad you like my writing...and that you do not seem turned off by the fact that I'm not an expert in Tolkien canon...grumbles about someone who WAS. Anyway, glad you like!
Grumpy: No, things rarely go well for Legolas and Estel. Perhaps one of these days I'll write a good, nice, uninjury-prone fic. OR...maybe not...who knows! Thanks for dropping a review!
Chapter Four: Truth and Trial
"'Dan? Do you have any idea how angry Ada is going to be when he finds out we lost Estel and Legolas? I mean, the King trusted us with his only son's life and we lose him in the wilds."
Elrohir was picking his way through the bushes, looking for any sign of his young Human brother. But so far, there was nothing. He sighed. "Perhaps we should head in the direction Legolas went in. He seemed to think he was right, perhaps he was."
Elladan nodded in agreement, standing from where he had been stooped down to examine a print in the earth. "Yes, I see no evidence of Estel here. And I do not even think we came this way in our chase of the stag."
The twins hurried off to where they had split paths with Legolas. Then, they began to track the young Wood-Elf. He was very light-footed, even for an Elf, and they had to move slowly to keep his trail.
Elrohir was peering closely at the ground when Elladan thrust his hand out in front of his brother, effectively halting him in his tracks. "What is it, 'Dan?" He asked, only now looking up.
He need not have asked.
Legolas' bow and quiver and his two bone-handled white knives lay discarded on the forest floor. There was a grand cacophony of footsteps here, not light imprints like Elves, but heavy ironshod prints of Orcs. And intermingled with these were the prints of men.
"Oh no..." Elladan whispered. Oh Legolas? What has happened to you? You would have fought these creature; you wouldn't have surrendered unless you had a good reason.
He suddenly faltered in his thoughts. There, mixed with the Orc tracks, were the small, barely noticeable impressions of a small child. "Estel!" He cried, stooping down to examine the print. It was unmistakable. The print of an Elvish child's shoe, worn by a Human.
"Oh 'Ro! They've taken them. They've taken Estel and Legolas! Those vile creatures, I will hunt them down and tear them limb from limb if they harmed one hair on our brother's head!"
Elladan was seething with anger, images of a beaten and battered Celebrian flooding his mind. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, so tightly that his hand turned white. Looking toward his brother, he saw much the same expression on other Elf's face.
"We will find them, 'Dan. We will find them both and free them from the Orcs."
Looking back at the ground, they saw that the trail would not be difficult to follow. Orcs were not stealthy in the least, so that would not be a problem. What would be was the sheer numbers of their adversary. And the fact that Orcs were not the only enemy made it a complicated situation.
"Wake up, Elf!"
Legolas groaned as he was roughly shaken. He was groggy, his eyes felt like they were glued shut, and he felt burning pain in his side. He could feel Estel's grip on him tighten and the child begin to tremble again.
Forcing himself to open his heavy eyes, he looked up to find Ciydan staring down at him. The man's eyes were hard and impatient. "I don't have all day, Elf. If you wish to continue breathing, get yourself up and carry that boy."
Carry Estel? How does he think I'll manage that in this condition? Legolas frowned at the thought. The child didn't weigh much, but still, in his current state of health there was little chance Legolas would get far carrying Estel.
"I can walk!"
Ciydan stared down at the trembling boy now. Brave little one, he thought to himself, a momentary lapse of remorse crossing his face. But it was only that, momentary. "Fine, walk then. But you fall behind, the Orcs get you."
He spun on his heel, leaving Legolas to rise on his own. The Elf was slightly surprised he was being left free. But that only lasted for a second. In no time, another man had approached holding rope.
"Don't gimme any trouble, Elf, and I won't have to hurt ye."
Legolas glared at him, his own hands trembling slightly as the man pulled his arms roughly behind his back. The Elf cringed as his muscles were pulled and strained at the harsh treatment.
Estel watched silently, his thumb stuck into his mouth. For a 10-year-old, this was abnormal behavior. Legolas' eyes furrowed in confusion. Estel is brave. Why is he reverting to such a childish act? He studied the boy more closely, looking in particular at Estel's eyes.
They were petrified.
It finally clicked for the Prince. Estel must have heard Ciydan's threat. If he fell behind, he was game for the Orcs. That would be a frightful thought for a full-grown Elf, let alone a small Human child.
And he, Legolas, the adult figure that Estel undoubtedly looked to for protection, was unable to do anything to help him. Legolas was having a time just trying to stay standing. He looked away from Estel, shame and guilt shining on his face. He had failed the boy in his own mind, been unable to save him from this cruel treatment. Unable to whisk him away to safety like the stories of old often related.
No, Legolas had not saved Estel. He had just given him a friend to suffer with. But that, at least, was something. If I could not save his body, perhaps I can save his mind.
"Estel?" The Elf said quietly as they began to move at a semi-fast clip. "Please, Estel, speak to me...I do not like that you are so quiet. I need you."
That did it. "Need me? What can I do?" Estel looked up now, his thumb wavering near his face, threatening to return to its former position.
"I need you to talk to me, Estel. Keep me alert. I fear that all this blood loss is making me dizzy and I may pass out. But mayhap if you keep me alert, I will be all right." Legolas spared a glance at the child, pleading in his eyes.
Estel straightened up a bit. "Okay, Legolas. I'll tell you stories. About 'Dan and 'Ro and the pranks they pull!"
The Elf smiled wanly. "I'd like that very much, mellon nin."
And so the boy told him stories and the Men around them listened, though they tried to pretend they were not. And this worried Ciydan. Worried him greatly. If his men were to suddenly become compassionate, things would go hard for him. Orcs were ruthless either way, but it was difficult to keep them at bay. They did not take well to the orders of men.
"Hey boy...no more talking. You are distracting me and you might draw attention to us. Wouldn't want any foolhardy rescue attempts, now would we?"
But his action was too late, someone had already heard wisdom calling.
The Elf was faltering, swaying dangerously on his feet, stoically trying to stay awake and mobile for the small child. Such devotion. Why was he doing it? What did the Elf owe the little human boy?
Where did this friendship come from? Why an Elf and a Human child together in the woods, each hopelessly devoted to each other? And why am I allowing this to continue? What have they done to deserve such treatment? To deserve going to slave traders?
These thoughts, and many others, had been formulating in Marken's mind for hours now. Probably ever since that Orc had wounded the Elf.
The Elf...I wonder about him. How old is he? Where is he from? That elf city in the valley? Somewhere distant? Does he have a family? Father, mother...or perhaps he is a father himself.
He looked to the Orcs. Will they make him one of them? Like the stories tell, Elves mutilated, beaten and tortured into the vile creatures walking behind us? He couldn't imagine the blonde-haired warrior transforming into an Orc, but he knew it happened. He knew the origin of these mercenaries for hire.
No, he would not let this go on much longer. He would do something about it. He would find a way to free these two and then he would find away to escape. He had been party to kidnappings, killings and slave trade for too long. Nothing could save his soul now, but he could do this last good deed and hopefully find himself welcomed into the Next World.
He began to hatch a plan.
A/N: Well well....look who updated! I hope this wasn't a disappointing chapter, there wasn't much action. I had little inspiration to write this chapter at the moment. I'm anxiously awaiting news of an x-ray I had done on my hand. Stupid thing might have been fractured for 4 weeks and I didn't do anything about it...just kept right on writing. Mumbles incoherently about stupid, brittle bones...
-Gwenneth