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Chapter 13: OnbekendEstel moaned and opened his eyes slightly. He winced when a shaft of sunlight struck him full in the face and regretted his decision of waking up. His arms burned and felt like they had been cut by numerous threads.
Threads?
A stifled groan from behind him informed him that at least one of his twin brothers was in the same room as him. Estel looked around as best as he could without moving, and noted that they were lying in the centre of what looked like a hut. Gingerly, the Human sat up, trying not to aggravate the throbbing headache he had from crashing into the unyielding cliff.
They were in a rather large hut, or so it seemed. It was round and had a high roof made of thatch. The doorway was simply an open hole over which a piece of cloth was pulled for privacy. His brothers were both with him, even though he did not remember seeing them before he lost consciousness.
"Where are we?" he asked after the pounding had subsided and the twins had reached the stage of consciousness where they could speak coherently.
Elladan fingered the lines left on his neck left by the threads. "Apparently we're not dead, otherwise I suppose this wouldn't hurt as much. Which leaves the option of being held captive."
"Captive? By whom?" Estel looked at his hands and feet. "And, why aren't we bound?"
"Because there is no need to bind you." A dry voice spoke from the doorway of the hut.
The three prisoners immediately looked over to find a tall man leaning casually against the frame. He had hair so light that it was almost white, yet his skin was dark, and he had amber eyes that were unnaturally bright. They had never seen anyone like that before.
He scrutinized them for a moment longer before speaking over his shoulder to someone else, "I'm glad you didn't overdo it, Hectrix. Mother wouldn't be pleased if you accidentally strangled them to death."
"Get out of my way and get lost, Zykon." A young woman with long brown hair and dark green eyes pushed past him impatiently.
He bowed mockingly. "As you wish, my lady." He strolled away, leaving the woman alone.
Hectrix stopped a few paces away from them and dropped a bag on the floor together with a water skin. "Eat. The Lamia will see you after sunset."
She turned and walked back towards the entrance. "Don't try to escape. You may not be bound, but you will never get out of this place without our permission."
She swept out of the hut, pulling the thick cloth down over the entrance.
Elladan, Elrohir and Estel stared at each other.
"What was that all about?"
X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.XTrue to her word, as soon as the sun had set, Hectrix had come back for them and led them out of their prison. Why they followed her willingly was a mystery to them - their limbs seemed to move on their own accord, and they made no break for freedom.
The hut they found themselves in was very large and spacious. It, too, was circular, and had a raised platform of wood surrounding a large circle of earth, in the middle of which a large fire burnt. The roof directly over the fire had a hole in it, thus allowing the smoke to waft away from those gathered. A sea of strange faces greeted them as they entered, and they could hear the spectators talking to each other in a strange tongue.
Hectrix left the Elves and the Human standing before a pedestal with their backs to the fire, before she melted away into the crowd without saying a word to them. Upon the pedestal was an ornate chair carved from dark wood and inlaid with ivory - a throne. Zykon sat on the right of the throne, at the feet of its occupant, smiling a predatory smile at them.
Upon the throne sat a woman who was now staring at them with her piercing eyes. She was not old, yet her hair was pure white and was coiled around her head like a crown. She too had dark skin and amber eyes; it was obvious that she was related to Zykon.
"Why are you here, strangers?" Her voice was low and husky. Estel felt his hair standing. Somehow... he did not like the tone of her voice.
Elladan cleared his throat. "We are looking for the village of Onbekend."
"You have found it. So what do you propose to do about it?" Zykon drawled as he fiddled with a dagger and a whetstone.
"We are looking for someone. We - "
"You should not have come," the woman interrupted, her hard gaze silencing Elladan's attempt at explaining. "You shouldn't even have thought of finding this place."
"Who are you anyway?" Estel blurted out, unable to hold back his curiosity. He had never seen his elder brother so easily silenced before.
Two pairs of amber eyes drilled into his silver gaze. He stuck out his chin defiantly and refused to back down. Finally, the woman flicked her eyes away from him and ran a skeptical gaze over the three of them.
"You would speak with more care and respect, young man, if you knew what's good for you. I am the Lamia, and whether you live or die is my decision alone."
Zykon stood up and stalked towards them, circling them like they were his prey. "No one enters Onbekend unless it is fate. Your fate has brought you here, and, unfortunately, we cannot change that."
He reached out a hand and brushed aside the hair covering Elrohir's ear. The Elf flinched away and glared darkly at him, but he ignored him.
"Just as I thought, Mother. A Human travelling with two Elves." He resumed his position by the Lamia's feet and continued to sharpen his dagger as the crowd started to chatter excitedly at the revelation that the three captives were two-thirds Elven-kind.
The Lamia frowned, her amber eyes glinting in the firelight. "Speak truthfully. Why are you here?"
Elladan bowed his head slightly in respect. "We seek an Elf, my lady. His name is Danin."
The Lamia shrugged nonchalantly even though her gaze seemed to sharpen. "You have come to the wrong place. We are not an Elven settlement."
"He is a mage. At least, we believe he is a mage."
"Oh?" Zykon raised an eyebrow and examined the gleaming blade. "And why do you say so?"
Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other, wondering how much they should tell her. Estel simply stepped forward and started to speak. "Because he cast a spell on a friend of ours and that friend is now dying."
"It is none of our concern."
"He stole our friend's soul."
Immediately, there was a buzz as the other occupants of the hut began talking excitedly among themselves. The Lamia held out a hand and silenced them. "To accuse one of my people of doing that," she began in a flinty voice, "is a grave insult to me. And one punishable by death."
Elrohir shot his Human brother a look and hastily intervened. "My apologies, my lady. My brother is young and lacks tact. The Elf we seek, was not one of your people when he committed this horrendous deed. When we set out to find him and bring him to justice, he disappeared completely from our sight. We believe that he sought refuge with your people, as we wouldn't be able to find him easily this way. The name Onbekend is not known to many, and it was as a last resort that my brothers and I set out to find a village that is not supposed to exist."
The Lamia sat back and smiled slightly. Apparently his explanation and subtle flattery had pleased her. "We take great pains to hide our village from the eyes of others, of course you wouldn't be able to find it easily."
Elladan nodded. "That is why we suspected that Danin has fled here. Please, my Lady, I beg you to help us. Our friend is the only child, and his father has already lost his mother. It would kill him to lose his son as well."
The Lamia laid a hand on the Zykon's head even as his eyes narrowed and he readied himself to retort with another rude comment. "Peace, child. It is not that we refuse to help you, but..."
She beckoned to someone in the crowd. A robed figure and hooded figure rose and glided over to the Lamia, bowing respectfully before approaching her to stand on the left of the throne.
The Lamia continued, "We can tell your words are sincere and it is apparent that you speak the truth. As for this Elf named Danin, well, Firga will tell you the rest."
Firga nodded to them and spoke in a musical voice that was undeniably female, "This Elf you speak of, he did come to us, about 700 years ago. He stayed with us, never telling us what brought him here. I could see that a darkness hung over him, and assumed that he had been hunted because he was a mage. He spoke little and had few friends. I never raised the subject of why he came to us with him, but from what I observed, he was good at bearing grudges."
Elladan raised an eyebrow at the way her sentences were phrased. Firga smiled and pushed the hood off her head. "Yes, I am one of the Eldar. That was one of the reasons why I did not question Danin. There are few Elves among us, and we value each other's presence greatly."
"What happened?" Estel asked anxiously. "You speak as though he is no longer here."
"He isn't." The Lamia said. "There is none here, by that name, of that race."
"But, Lady Firga just said - !" Elrohir protested.
"Lady Firga?" Elladan questioned.
Firga was silent for a moment. "Danin is dead. He killed himself barely a century ago."
X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X
TBC
Author's notes:
Oh, another update? Nope, it's not my birthday again, though I wish it was. And I didn't calculate wrongly, considering that this is only due next Tuesday. So, it can only mean one thing...
I FINALLY FINISHED WRITING THE STORY! XDXD
Yep, it's mission accomplished for me! ((streamers and balloons)) So updates will be more often, up to twice a week, 'cos I need time to get the replies done. But regular updates will be on Tuesdays, as usual, with additional ones over the weekend.
About this chapter, ooh... evil cliffie! And a twist!! The plot thickens and everyone wonders what the heck I'm writing. XD It'll sort itself out, just wait and see. As I said before, the REAL story starts here, the first 10 chapters are just for show. And for those who remember me complaining about a certain irritating OFC? Well, all my OCs have made their appearance, so now, it's time to play 'Guess The OFC!' Who do you think was the one giving me the headache? Hectrix, Firga, or the Lamia?
I've exhausted all my crap writing the notes about the entire story, so on to review replies. Thanks for reading and please review! Reviewer number 200 gets... hmm... ah! Your own psychotic and hot mage. How's that? Hahaha. I'll think of something better by next Tuesday, so REVIEW!!!
Someone Stupid: Cough, spontaneous lovemaking. Well, there's a chapter coming up soon where you can insert your own scene. I call it a fill-in-the-blank moment. ((wink)) Your summary of the previous chapter was very... accurate. ((rofl)) Everyone was unconscious while the mages did the war dance! I don't mind being allies in lunacy, considering I already have a partner in corruption. But I'm kinda bad at keeping in touch so... ((sheepish grin)) And I like the greeting "may your twisted mind flourish and your pen spread lunacy"; maybe I should add it to my e-mails as a signature. XD
Lillybeth1: Oh dear, another person who speaks Dutch... I think I'll add another foot to the pit I've been digging to hide myself in. But I'm glad you find it entertaining and that you like the story. Btw, what's the weather like over there? Is it very wet or something? And at least there's 4 seasons... over here, it's either sunny or rainy, and when I say rainy, I mean it suddenly just rains and then stops kind of rainy. XP
Child of Magick: AAAHH!!! ((flying glomps)) SEPHIROTH FANGIRL!!! ((bounces madly)) I agree, it's all in the hair... and the evilness... and the Masamune... and his general HOTNESS!!!! ((off in lalaland)) Ahem. Excuse the hyperness. It's just that I haven't fangirled over him for a long time. Yay! Another computer gamer!!!
Marbienl: ((lol)) I agree, fic-reading is the best medicine for the stressed. And I managed to finish my essay at last. ((sigh of relief)) I ended up waffling lots of stuff. My other language is Mandarin (you get a... cookie for guessing correctly) and nope I don't live in Hawaii... unfortunately. I feel like I'm playing some trivia thingy here... tee hee, I get easily amused so. Ahem. Anyway, before I cause your sanity to deteriorate further, thanks for the review and good luck for the results!
The-Serious-Padfoot: Relax, relax, Legolas is going to live... Because if he dies, then Estel will sing sad love songs until I'm forced to resurrect the Elf to spare my eardrums. XD Hope you didn't fall off your seat with the ending for this chapter! ; D
Nienna Coamenel: They found Danin! Sort of. But nothing happened to them, so I guess everyone's happy? Hee hee, hope you liked the chapter!
Dawn: Glad you liked the magic, I was afraid it'd be a little too off the wall for some people to handle... ((crosses fingers cos it's going to get more bizarre)) The dental clinic sounds cool, but if there actually was one in my country, people would think the docs and nurses were mental institute escapees. ((shakes head)) I don't recall seeing an easy bake oven before, but the food it produces sounds very scary... Must go and haunt a toy store one day to see how it looks like.
Lady Laswen: ((rofl)) Well, in my previous stories (which are all manga and anime-related) the names for my OCs were easy. I didn't HAVE OCs. XD But when I did, I'd just key the root word into a Japanese-English dictionary and pick one... but Japanese names in this category just wouldn't fit and I couldn't find a good Elvish name generator so... ((shrug)) Anyway, happy convincing yourself to write!
Grumpy: ((roflm)) I so agree with that observation! I think he just has an... affinity for cliffs... given what happened in TTT... poor accident prone Estel. ((grins madly))
Padfoot n' Moony: Forgiven! XD I'm a bad reviewer myself so. Hee... And... I dunno why it reminds me of hamsters... I just get an image of two little balls of fur running around a cage whenever I see your name... maybe cos hamsters are small (padfoot) and... blur (moony)? Dun ask what the connection is... I don't know myself. : S
Losing Grip: Hmm... yeah, you could say that. It was fated for Estel to find the village, so he managed to get through the barrier. The twins had to get in the hard way, poor things. Legolas will be dropping very unsubtle hints in the near future, trust me, the Ranger would have to be a rock not to understand those. ((evil laughter))
Crazyrabidfangirl01: ((lol)) I like your name. May craziness and rabidness and fangirlism thrive!!! And chocolate is G-O-O-D for the soul!!! ((crazy evil laughter)) Ahem, thanks for the review and stay tuned for more slash!
High-Queen-Tashi: Welcome back! And congrats about the results! ((gives chocolate as prize)) Omg, your teachers actually drink in school??? I know that there's lots of good stuff hidden in the staff room (I found Cadbury Hot Chocolate mix and loads of sugar biscuits during my stint as a relief teacher) but ALCOHOL??? Hmm... you can figure out endings pretty well? Give this one a shot! Tell me how you think it ends, I want to see how predictable I am. ((bounces eagerly)) And don't worry, I know I'm insane. I'm just trying to delude myself. XD
That's all the review for the chapter! Thanks for reading, got to crash now. Night folks!