Oh, and for some reviewers who do not know the deal about Faramir in Ithilien, I give to you this passage. "Aragorn gave to Faramir Ithilien to be his princedom," (Tolkien 948). Sooo, there you go, Aragorn gave Faramir Ithilien to reign over and dwell in. For more details, se the afore sited page.
I TAKE BACK THE COMMENT ABOUT 'YALL BEING LAZY BUMS! IT WAS MERELY A SHALLOW AND UNFAIR TACTIC IN ORDER TO GAIN YOUR REVIEWS, DON'T KILL ME!
Chapter four:
It's all coming together
Aragorn sighed in relief as the gates of Faramir's city at last came into view. Inwardly, he had to admit that his relief was not entirely due to the fact that he was that much closer to finding Legolas, but also, it was the fact that his rear end felt as though it would fall off at any moment. It seemed that he had spent to much time on his throne as of late, and not enough on his horse. As he and his companions reigned in their mounts, they experienced mixed emotions when they saw that the remaining Ithilien elves had made it safely to the city. They were glad to find them well, but saddened at how few they were in comparison to what their numbers had been.
Faramir came running out to meet them as soon as he was informed of their arrival and immediately went to Aragorn who was in the process of dismounting from his horse. "I hoped it would be you that came, my friend, for my news, as you see, has become even more horrifying than previously," he said as his friend dismounted.
"Yes, I know, we received a visitor the same day that we received your message, and he had quite a distressing tale to tell." As Aragorn spoke, he gestured to another figure dismounting. At first, Faramir supposed it was one of his men, but, upon further inspection, he discovered that it was another elf. Legolas's butler if he remembered his visits to the elven colony correctly. He should have known Legolas would have sent someone to warn Aragorn, and the butler was one of his most trusted servants.
"Yes, so I see. I must say, however, that I've got you beat as far as numbers go," Faramir said, motioning to the elves that had come from his halls when they heard Aragorn's company approaching.
"Oh, good, they made it. I was worried over their wearabouts," Aragorn said with a sigh of relief. "At least when we find Legolas he will be able to breath easier with the knowledge that his people have made it to safety." He purposely failed to mention that they may never see Legolas again, and that it was very likely that they would never see their elven friend breath again.
"Aye, and he will also be glad that his butler made it to Gondor to warn you. After all, he does care deeply for you, Aragorn," Faramir added, giving his king a sad smile, for what he said was true. It was obvious to even the most simple of people the deep bond that the man and elf had shared. Their obviously inside jokes and the way they communicated without words from time to time made it clear that the two had a long history, and thought of each other as brothers would. Faramir's heart clenched at that thought, his mind straying to the loss of his own brother and the grief it had caused him. He then decided that he would do anything within his power to make sure that Aragorn wouldn't have to live through the same loss.
"Fear not, my friends, I will see that you two are not separated, just hang on."
~~~~~~~~~~
At that particular moment, hanging on was not as appealing an option to Legolas as he swallowed a cry of pain as his leg was brutally snapped for the second time. His other limbs hung uselessly about him, all of them having been broken. Even the bones in his hands, that were so prized by the talented archer, had been savagely broken in two. Legolas tried not to despair when he thought of his now mutilated hands. He tried to convince himself that help would come in time for them to be set, for the damage to be repaired, but he knew it was not possible.
The thought of no longer being able to be an archery was a difficult thought to bare, and Legolas almost cursed himself for his stubbornness. If he had only given in they would not have gone that far, for, though Voldaril was most certainly no longer an elf that believed in their values, even he cringed at the thought of thus debilitating this one. Legolas's lack of response to even that treatment, however, had released the vile creature of any compassion, and he cruelly ordered the limbs broken once more, though in a different place, and Legolas was now experiencing the agony all over again.
Oh why did he have to be so hard headed! But then he remembered, Aragorn. If he gave in now it would be betraying his best friend and brother in heart. With those thoughts, Legolas grit his teeth once more, just as his other leg was again broken.
Voldaril had grown beyond anger and it only rose when he looked down at the prone elf who had, when his left arm was rebroken, had lapsed into unconsciousness. He could not understand why this child had such loyalties to that filthy trouble causing ranger, that had somehow managed to become the King of Men. Honestly, he had never liked the creature, not even if he was his princes best friend. He had always been open about his displeasure, trying to convince Thranduil that the young edain was not to be trusted, but Thranduil would not listen, saying it was nonsense and to not doubt his son's ability to judge one's character. This would teach Thranduil to not listen to his advisors.
Growing tired of the inactivity of his, "guest," Voldaril decided to speed up Legolas's waking process. All it required was a bucket of water and plenty of salt. Legolas nearly jumped to his feet as the mixture was pored over his abused body, causing the various wounds and welts he had acquired to burn anew.
"It was growing rather dull around here, so I decided that you and I should have a little talk. No whips, no beating. At least until I grow tired of the conversation," the last part was added almost as an after thought, and Legolas wondered vaguely how long it would take for Voldaril to, "grow tired of the conversation." He had a suspicion that it wouldn't be long.
"Of what do wish to speak, traitor?" Legolas asked, venom dripping from every syllable. Voldaril chose to ignore the young one's anger for the moment, and instead answered his question.
"Well, I have always wondered what drives a young elf in his prime to forsake his people, his father, his king, and go live among mortals," Voldaril said in a voice that seemed to hold actual curiosity.
"Why would you wonder at that when you know first hand how close me and Estel are, you were, after all the one that seemed to hate it the most?" Legolas said still letting his anger shine through. Again, Voldaril ignored him. "Now I have a question of my own. Do not feel the need to answer, I shall simply work it out out loud, and you can tell me if I'm on the right track," Legolas continued, smiling at the way Voldaril stiffened.
"How does an elf become the leader of orcs?" Legolas asked himself, pondering. "It was probably not something the orcs would have normally submitted to, considering that they hate all of our kin intensely. No, you would have had to have something pretty good to offer them, and seeing how dependent these creatures are on you, I would guess it was a while ago, before you decided to use them to destroy my colony and slaughter my people. But if that was the case, then what did they have to offer you in exchange?" Suddenly, Legolas's eyes widened with realization and he whipped his head around to look right at Voldaril.
"It was when you went missing ten years ago for about a week. You were captured by them, and in exchange for your miserable life, you used our people as a bargaining chip. That is why all those elves have turned up dead! You told the orcs where to find them and when. They then grew dependent on the food they stole from our patrols and started calling you their master!" Legolas shouted triumphantly, having pieced together two mysteries at once.
"That is not true!" Voldaril cried, losing all pretense of calmness.
"It is! You begged them to spare you and in return offered the lives of your own people! You disgust me, coward," Legolas shouted back, smugness and disgust mingling on his features.
"You would have done the same had you any intelligence and only the resources at my disposal!" Voldaril shot back in a feeble attempt to justify what he had done, even if in his heart he knew it wasn't true.
"No, Voldaril, I would never beg, nor would I place my people up as a bargaining chip, just to maintain my own life!" Legolas would have said more, but was silenced by a punch full in the face. He was mildly surprised to see that it had been Voldaril himself who had administered the punishment, instead of one of his lackeys.
"I do believe that I have grown tired of this conversation, Legolas," Voldaril said icily, even as he subtly nursed his hurting hand. "I think I'm ready for some entertainment."
Alrighty then, I know it was a bad ending, but trust me I'm working on 'em. So there's your next chapter, hopefully that answered any questions you might have had about my poorly named villain. I hoped you liked it, and always remember....uhhh...oh yeah! REVIEW, PLEASE I NEED AN E-MAIL THAT ISN'T LAME!
Hey, what did those of you that got it think of the extended edition of The Two Towers? Wasn't it sweet?
Hey, 30 days 'til Christmas!
(no offense to non-Christians.)
Peace
Hobbit Killer