Chapter 9: Welcomed Visitors, Unwelcomed Enemies
Night crept over the lands and forest that was Mirkwood. Virgin snow was layed out before the trees that hovered over the ground, providing the creatures with minimum shelter and less food.
High in the trees that night there was a stillness, as if life itself had been suspended. Neither bird or animal spoke and the only sound was the sporadic soft thud of snow from overladen boughs.
Sleepy grey eyes watched the clear night as it passed, they blinked but refused to close for long periods or glaze over in a waking dream. This had been happening for the past few nights, Legolas would rest during the day period but would fight the night like a wounded animal refusing to let death conquer it's misery.
The five-year-old shivered and snuggled further down into his bed, while feeling Marilla curl herself tighter against his side. He took a deep breath, hardly wincing as his ribs complained gently. Exhaling slowly he watched as the cloud of breath floated up and disappeared into nothingness.
The soft glow of a candle flickered crazily as his breath disturbed it's stillness, than steading itself again and casting it's reassuring glow about the otherwise completely black room.
Legolas sighed tiredly and scratched Marilla's white and pink velvet ear, which twitched at being touched. Again he ignored his now heavy eyes, yawning and stretching again.
Invading sleep was becoming harder now, but Legolas was determined to betray his body's needs rather than face the demons that continued to haunt him, now being filled with crying wolves who's lives were being destroyed in the cave.
Marilla stretched and yawned loudly, then layed still besides Legolas, turning her head around to look at her sleep deprived baby. She meowed at him gently, sensing his depleted energy and need for rest. Legolas smiled down at her, trying to reassure her that he was fine.
She could see through his lie.
The cat gracefully stretched again and leaped lightly off of the child's bed and gently padded away. Marilla always disappeared during the night, to wander the forests or inspect her surrounding home. Legolas took this time to re-read he letter that had come for him from the children of Elrond.
'Dear Legolas,
Father says that we are to see you within the next fortnight, so by the time you receive this letter we'll most likely see you the very next day.'
This was in neat scrawl most likely Elrohir was writing, his right hand not smudging the wet ink. Not that Elladan was a messy writer but the curious things about twins was that when they were born one was a right hand writer while the other left.
'We're bringing Arwen with us also, Father says that she enjoys being with us 'boys' and that she wants to meet you again. Between us three, Elrohir included, we believe that she likes you more than a friend.'
'I do not,' came the handwriting of a distinctly feminine hand.
'Don't worry, Legolas,' it was Elladan again, 'we'll protect you from Arwen trying to marry you.'
Legolas could see the twins giggling as Arwen stamped her foot and went for Elrond to stop picking on their youngest sister.
'We have to end the letter here, our dear friend, as Arwen has gone to get ada.
Your favourite friends
Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen.'
Sitting back in his deep pillows, Legolas looked out to the stars again, noticing that a lightened hue began to hang on the horizon, meaning that dawn was creeping up on the world of Middle-Earth again. Putting the letter aside, the elfling snuggled back into his covers, shifting a wide yawn and grimacing in pain as he avoided his knee and gently layed on his favoured side.
Tired grey eyes with just a hint of past sorrow and terror watched as the light came to bid him hello.
The blessed golden morning would come, as it always would.
Shivering slightly, even under his thick warm blankets, Legolas came back to consciousness only because a forgotten window lay opened, allowing a few snowflakes to drift in and land upon the elflings rosy soft cheeks and smooth forehead. Blinking the fuzzy and various cobwebs from his sleepy mind, Legolas realised his first mistake.
He'd fallen asleep, thus leaving himself vulnerable to the nightmares that had plagued him for the last few weeks on end.
This slight panic took over as he realised that he didn't also recognise the unknown figures standing in his entrance-way. Still blinking the sleep gunk out of his slightly glazed eyes, Legolas blindly grasped for any form of defensive tool or weaponry, while trying not to let his panic over take his coherency.
What he found was a wooden toy sword.
His injuries, which were extensive all over and still recovering, prevented him from moving off of the bed and into a fighting position. His knee, that was bound to minimise further damage or bruising, was continually being jarred from the elflings hurried movements, but Legolas bit back the squeal of pain that tried to escape through his clenched teeth, instead it came out as a nervous sob of desperation.
The orc's had come to kill his family and then him.
And he was positive that he wasn't going to let them do it without a fight.
"It's good to play fights in the bedroom, Legolas," came a familiar voice, "but when you're stuck there it's a bit hard to attack the opposition."
By this point his grey eyes had cleared enough to see that no orc was standing and his chamber door, only two dark haired elflings, one with piercing blue eyes, her brother soft grey. The boy stood there in a soft yellow jerkins that had elvan leaves woven into the fabric, with silver riding breeches. His sisters outfit was much the same, except her own jerkin was lilac with iris woven into it.
"I can defend myself, whether I'm injured or not." The elfling prince replied, mocking anger. "I don't need your protection."
The two elves looked at their friend for a moment, Legolas was confused at this sudden quietness of the usually loud three . . . wait, there was only two!!
"Where is Elrohir?" Legolas suddenly asked, noticing which twin was finally missing.
A sudden joyous smile lit Arwen's features. "Oh, we completely forgot, Elrohir heard about Jewel, and went to see her. . ."
Even though the twins were the twins were a few hundred years than Legolas, more closer to Cassageln's age, they had found the five-year-old intelligent and full of energy to make even them exhausted, they were like close brothers to the prince.
"No," the Mirkwood elfling gasped, a wave of fear watching over him. "They didn't . . . not after what she and I went through!"
Elladan and Arwen glanced at each other for a few seconds in confusion. Why was their friend so upset at Jewel? What had she done to him to make him act in such a way? "She is still in the stall, if that is what worries you, Legolas."
"She is?" he asked and missing colour replaced the paleness of his complexion once more. "Then why bring her name up amongst us?"
"Well, our dumb brother, who loves any type of horses, heard that you haven't seen her since your brothers and sister found you. And he thought . . ." Arwen glanced towards the door, where their said brother, Elrohir, was standing, with a loose piece of leather hanging from behind his hands.
Before Legolas could question Elrohir's lateness with greeting him, a beautiful white head poked itself around the doorframe and the animal nickered in greeting.
"JEWEL!!" screamed Legolas in pure delight at having seen the white mare again. With the help of the other two elves, Legolas hopped over and threw his arms around the mares neck, weeping with happiness and thankfulness. "I heard you speak to Lanthur, and Marilla in turn. They led everyone to me. You all saved me. Thank you."
The white mare lowered her great head to allow the child to hug her closer to himself. Pulling his head away from her neck, Legolas kissed her cheek gently.
"Uume the ni mae, min fain mellon?" he whispered quietly into her ear that was close to his mouth. The only answer that he received from her was a soft nickering deep within her throat, assuring him that she was safe and glad to see him awake again.
"This is a happy reunion," Elrohir remarked to his twin, who just smiled back.
"The power of horsemanship." His brother added.
Suddenly an older voice broke into the small gathering of children.
"Legolas!" came the panicked voice of Lúrin as he came into the room. "What are you doing out of bed? You'll tear yourself up, tithen-min!"
Confused, Legolas looked down at himself, from what he could see none of his limbs were sewn onto his body or torso. What was Lúrin so worried about? He wasn't falling apart, was he?
"But I have no cuts on me, Lúrin." He protested as his brother scooped him up and carried him back to his huge bed. "What are you so worried about?"
"I meant inside of you, your ribs need to heal, so does your knee." Lúrin assessed the bruising on his brothers small chest as well as his hand that was also now splinted, his brother squirmed in annoyance as his fingers probed still tender spots on the tiny body. Satisfied, Lúrin looked into his brothers determined grey eyes, smiling he just ruffled Legolas's hair, making it become messy and stand on-end. "Your tummy also needs to rid itself of the bruises and blood inside, so sit tight, alright?"
Legolas just sighed boredly, and then looked over Lúrin's shoulder. Turning around Lúrin spotted the twins, Arwen and Jewel within the large room.
"I think you should take Jewel back out to her stall, she should be getting her barn mash in a few minutes."
Nodding the three left.
"What do I do now!" Legolas whined. "It's boring, Marilla's gone off to catch mice and the other pets won't come near me. I haven't seen Lanthur in a solid week!"
"That wolf's been here?" Lúrin asked shocked.
"Of course!" Legolas replied as if everyone should have a wild wolf as a loving companion. "I let him in through the window." Suddenly the mood changed and he wend quiet and looking down he mumbled. "He keeps the dreams away."
Lúrin pulled a wooden box out of a cupboard. "This should keep you happy." And he left.
"But my hand is broken!" the five year old yelled after his brother, holding up the said limb for emphasise. Looking down at the box on the bed, he grumbled. "And I hate puzzles."
"And then Elrohir brought Jewel in!!" it was now late in the night, all the elves had already gone to bed and Thranduil had come into his sons room, esquiring how the puzzle was going, he received a glare of attempted anger, but Legolas broke up in a fit of giggles at the raised eyebrow of his father.
Now they were snuggled up on the huge bed, under the covers and retelling the days events. Thranduil confessed that he was as bored as Legolas was, except it was with a meeting about the crops.
"I don't know what it is about the talk, but I was nearly sent to sleep."
"Get Rogan to become boss of these things." Was his sons wise idea.
"But then the others would have to swap jobs around," his father replied. "They would have no idea what to do."
"That's what makes it fun."
They lapsed into silence and soon Legolas was in a slight doze. Without hardly making a sound an unknown elf came in and whispered to the king that Thranduil was needed to sign some important papers.
Nodding, the king rose and tucked his son in more comfortably.
"Ada?"
"Shh," he replied, kissing his son's forehead. "Nathon ad."
"Tulad rato, ada." Was Legolas's groggy reply. "Nathon tirthe."
"I will be, go back to sleep." A last kiss on the cheek and a another fussing with the blanket, Thranduil left intending to be back with his youngest as soon as possible so as he wouldn't wake up alone and become frightened at his fathers absence.
Many hours passed and Thranduil was unfortunately kept up most of the night filling out the paper work and did not think to return to his sons chamber or send in a servant to report on his young son.
Translation:
1. Uume the ni mae, min fain mellon? = Will you be well, my white friend?
2. Tithen-min = little-one.
3. Nathon ad. = I will be back.
4. Tulad rato, ada. Nathon tirthe = Come back soon, daddy. I will be waiting for you.
I'm back.
Nothing much has happened, still miss my little computer companion. Don't know when the next chapter will be up as I'm busy with year 11.
Oh has anyone read The Delinquents? It's by an Aussie, and I suck with reviews. Please help.
This also ties in with me going back to school, it's holidays here in good ol Australia, so here's a present for ya.
Also, anyone got any ideas for any future fic's? I'm not running out of ideas, but I'm trying to write fic's that people are gonna read.
Wish me luck on my exams.
Love to all,
Smego Baggins
Night crept over the lands and forest that was Mirkwood. Virgin snow was layed out before the trees that hovered over the ground, providing the creatures with minimum shelter and less food.
High in the trees that night there was a stillness, as if life itself had been suspended. Neither bird or animal spoke and the only sound was the sporadic soft thud of snow from overladen boughs.
Sleepy grey eyes watched the clear night as it passed, they blinked but refused to close for long periods or glaze over in a waking dream. This had been happening for the past few nights, Legolas would rest during the day period but would fight the night like a wounded animal refusing to let death conquer it's misery.
The five-year-old shivered and snuggled further down into his bed, while feeling Marilla curl herself tighter against his side. He took a deep breath, hardly wincing as his ribs complained gently. Exhaling slowly he watched as the cloud of breath floated up and disappeared into nothingness.
The soft glow of a candle flickered crazily as his breath disturbed it's stillness, than steading itself again and casting it's reassuring glow about the otherwise completely black room.
Legolas sighed tiredly and scratched Marilla's white and pink velvet ear, which twitched at being touched. Again he ignored his now heavy eyes, yawning and stretching again.
Invading sleep was becoming harder now, but Legolas was determined to betray his body's needs rather than face the demons that continued to haunt him, now being filled with crying wolves who's lives were being destroyed in the cave.
Marilla stretched and yawned loudly, then layed still besides Legolas, turning her head around to look at her sleep deprived baby. She meowed at him gently, sensing his depleted energy and need for rest. Legolas smiled down at her, trying to reassure her that he was fine.
She could see through his lie.
The cat gracefully stretched again and leaped lightly off of the child's bed and gently padded away. Marilla always disappeared during the night, to wander the forests or inspect her surrounding home. Legolas took this time to re-read he letter that had come for him from the children of Elrond.
'Dear Legolas,
Father says that we are to see you within the next fortnight, so by the time you receive this letter we'll most likely see you the very next day.'
This was in neat scrawl most likely Elrohir was writing, his right hand not smudging the wet ink. Not that Elladan was a messy writer but the curious things about twins was that when they were born one was a right hand writer while the other left.
'We're bringing Arwen with us also, Father says that she enjoys being with us 'boys' and that she wants to meet you again. Between us three, Elrohir included, we believe that she likes you more than a friend.'
'I do not,' came the handwriting of a distinctly feminine hand.
'Don't worry, Legolas,' it was Elladan again, 'we'll protect you from Arwen trying to marry you.'
Legolas could see the twins giggling as Arwen stamped her foot and went for Elrond to stop picking on their youngest sister.
'We have to end the letter here, our dear friend, as Arwen has gone to get ada.
Your favourite friends
Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen.'
Sitting back in his deep pillows, Legolas looked out to the stars again, noticing that a lightened hue began to hang on the horizon, meaning that dawn was creeping up on the world of Middle-Earth again. Putting the letter aside, the elfling snuggled back into his covers, shifting a wide yawn and grimacing in pain as he avoided his knee and gently layed on his favoured side.
Tired grey eyes with just a hint of past sorrow and terror watched as the light came to bid him hello.
The blessed golden morning would come, as it always would.
Shivering slightly, even under his thick warm blankets, Legolas came back to consciousness only because a forgotten window lay opened, allowing a few snowflakes to drift in and land upon the elflings rosy soft cheeks and smooth forehead. Blinking the fuzzy and various cobwebs from his sleepy mind, Legolas realised his first mistake.
He'd fallen asleep, thus leaving himself vulnerable to the nightmares that had plagued him for the last few weeks on end.
This slight panic took over as he realised that he didn't also recognise the unknown figures standing in his entrance-way. Still blinking the sleep gunk out of his slightly glazed eyes, Legolas blindly grasped for any form of defensive tool or weaponry, while trying not to let his panic over take his coherency.
What he found was a wooden toy sword.
His injuries, which were extensive all over and still recovering, prevented him from moving off of the bed and into a fighting position. His knee, that was bound to minimise further damage or bruising, was continually being jarred from the elflings hurried movements, but Legolas bit back the squeal of pain that tried to escape through his clenched teeth, instead it came out as a nervous sob of desperation.
The orc's had come to kill his family and then him.
And he was positive that he wasn't going to let them do it without a fight.
"It's good to play fights in the bedroom, Legolas," came a familiar voice, "but when you're stuck there it's a bit hard to attack the opposition."
By this point his grey eyes had cleared enough to see that no orc was standing and his chamber door, only two dark haired elflings, one with piercing blue eyes, her brother soft grey. The boy stood there in a soft yellow jerkins that had elvan leaves woven into the fabric, with silver riding breeches. His sisters outfit was much the same, except her own jerkin was lilac with iris woven into it.
"I can defend myself, whether I'm injured or not." The elfling prince replied, mocking anger. "I don't need your protection."
The two elves looked at their friend for a moment, Legolas was confused at this sudden quietness of the usually loud three . . . wait, there was only two!!
"Where is Elrohir?" Legolas suddenly asked, noticing which twin was finally missing.
A sudden joyous smile lit Arwen's features. "Oh, we completely forgot, Elrohir heard about Jewel, and went to see her. . ."
Even though the twins were the twins were a few hundred years than Legolas, more closer to Cassageln's age, they had found the five-year-old intelligent and full of energy to make even them exhausted, they were like close brothers to the prince.
"No," the Mirkwood elfling gasped, a wave of fear watching over him. "They didn't . . . not after what she and I went through!"
Elladan and Arwen glanced at each other for a few seconds in confusion. Why was their friend so upset at Jewel? What had she done to him to make him act in such a way? "She is still in the stall, if that is what worries you, Legolas."
"She is?" he asked and missing colour replaced the paleness of his complexion once more. "Then why bring her name up amongst us?"
"Well, our dumb brother, who loves any type of horses, heard that you haven't seen her since your brothers and sister found you. And he thought . . ." Arwen glanced towards the door, where their said brother, Elrohir, was standing, with a loose piece of leather hanging from behind his hands.
Before Legolas could question Elrohir's lateness with greeting him, a beautiful white head poked itself around the doorframe and the animal nickered in greeting.
"JEWEL!!" screamed Legolas in pure delight at having seen the white mare again. With the help of the other two elves, Legolas hopped over and threw his arms around the mares neck, weeping with happiness and thankfulness. "I heard you speak to Lanthur, and Marilla in turn. They led everyone to me. You all saved me. Thank you."
The white mare lowered her great head to allow the child to hug her closer to himself. Pulling his head away from her neck, Legolas kissed her cheek gently.
"Uume the ni mae, min fain mellon?" he whispered quietly into her ear that was close to his mouth. The only answer that he received from her was a soft nickering deep within her throat, assuring him that she was safe and glad to see him awake again.
"This is a happy reunion," Elrohir remarked to his twin, who just smiled back.
"The power of horsemanship." His brother added.
Suddenly an older voice broke into the small gathering of children.
"Legolas!" came the panicked voice of Lúrin as he came into the room. "What are you doing out of bed? You'll tear yourself up, tithen-min!"
Confused, Legolas looked down at himself, from what he could see none of his limbs were sewn onto his body or torso. What was Lúrin so worried about? He wasn't falling apart, was he?
"But I have no cuts on me, Lúrin." He protested as his brother scooped him up and carried him back to his huge bed. "What are you so worried about?"
"I meant inside of you, your ribs need to heal, so does your knee." Lúrin assessed the bruising on his brothers small chest as well as his hand that was also now splinted, his brother squirmed in annoyance as his fingers probed still tender spots on the tiny body. Satisfied, Lúrin looked into his brothers determined grey eyes, smiling he just ruffled Legolas's hair, making it become messy and stand on-end. "Your tummy also needs to rid itself of the bruises and blood inside, so sit tight, alright?"
Legolas just sighed boredly, and then looked over Lúrin's shoulder. Turning around Lúrin spotted the twins, Arwen and Jewel within the large room.
"I think you should take Jewel back out to her stall, she should be getting her barn mash in a few minutes."
Nodding the three left.
"What do I do now!" Legolas whined. "It's boring, Marilla's gone off to catch mice and the other pets won't come near me. I haven't seen Lanthur in a solid week!"
"That wolf's been here?" Lúrin asked shocked.
"Of course!" Legolas replied as if everyone should have a wild wolf as a loving companion. "I let him in through the window." Suddenly the mood changed and he wend quiet and looking down he mumbled. "He keeps the dreams away."
Lúrin pulled a wooden box out of a cupboard. "This should keep you happy." And he left.
"But my hand is broken!" the five year old yelled after his brother, holding up the said limb for emphasise. Looking down at the box on the bed, he grumbled. "And I hate puzzles."
"And then Elrohir brought Jewel in!!" it was now late in the night, all the elves had already gone to bed and Thranduil had come into his sons room, esquiring how the puzzle was going, he received a glare of attempted anger, but Legolas broke up in a fit of giggles at the raised eyebrow of his father.
Now they were snuggled up on the huge bed, under the covers and retelling the days events. Thranduil confessed that he was as bored as Legolas was, except it was with a meeting about the crops.
"I don't know what it is about the talk, but I was nearly sent to sleep."
"Get Rogan to become boss of these things." Was his sons wise idea.
"But then the others would have to swap jobs around," his father replied. "They would have no idea what to do."
"That's what makes it fun."
They lapsed into silence and soon Legolas was in a slight doze. Without hardly making a sound an unknown elf came in and whispered to the king that Thranduil was needed to sign some important papers.
Nodding, the king rose and tucked his son in more comfortably.
"Ada?"
"Shh," he replied, kissing his son's forehead. "Nathon ad."
"Tulad rato, ada." Was Legolas's groggy reply. "Nathon tirthe."
"I will be, go back to sleep." A last kiss on the cheek and a another fussing with the blanket, Thranduil left intending to be back with his youngest as soon as possible so as he wouldn't wake up alone and become frightened at his fathers absence.
Many hours passed and Thranduil was unfortunately kept up most of the night filling out the paper work and did not think to return to his sons chamber or send in a servant to report on his young son.
Translation:
1. Uume the ni mae, min fain mellon? = Will you be well, my white friend?
2. Tithen-min = little-one.
3. Nathon ad. = I will be back.
4. Tulad rato, ada. Nathon tirthe = Come back soon, daddy. I will be waiting for you.
I'm back.
Nothing much has happened, still miss my little computer companion. Don't know when the next chapter will be up as I'm busy with year 11.
Oh has anyone read The Delinquents? It's by an Aussie, and I suck with reviews. Please help.
This also ties in with me going back to school, it's holidays here in good ol Australia, so here's a present for ya.
Also, anyone got any ideas for any future fic's? I'm not running out of ideas, but I'm trying to write fic's that people are gonna read.
Wish me luck on my exams.
Love to all,
Smego Baggins