Chapter Seven: Searching

Eldarion strained against the rocks, but succeeded only in tiring himself. Grimly, the boy gritted his teeth and tried to kick, but his legs would not move. He stretched and pushed until they trembled, but he could do little more than wiggle his toes with the weight of rock pressing down on him.

In the innocence of childhood, Eldarion did not think to be grateful that he had not been crushed, and that the rocks were piled in such as way that they were only resting on and restraining him. Instead of falling limp with relief at his close call, the boy frowned in frustration. He knew only that he could not get out, and he did not like it. Digging his small hands into the pebbly, cold floor beneath him, he pushed upwards with his legs with all the might of his young body, but there was not even the faintest sound of shifting.

Panting, the boy relaxed weakly on the hard stone. He did not stop to think that in moving the rocks, he could very well do himself serious injury. He did not stop to think that rocks often supported other, far distant rocks that could come tumbling down at the slightest provocation. He did not burden himself with guilt over causing the collapse, because he did not see the connection between his exuberant jumping and the suddenly avalanche of rock. He did not tremble in fear because he knew his uncles were out there and would be coming for him as soon as they could, and he did not worry for them because Uncle Gimli and Uncle Legolas were invincible. Nothing could hurt them, least of all a cave-in.

No, there was only one simple thought going through the young prince's mind as he lay alone in the endless, almost physical darkness of the cramped and lonely cave: Valar, he was bored!

……………………………

Gimli was now confident that the cave-in had been more of a rockslide than an actual collapse, and that it was highly unlikely that there would be a repeat. As long as he could keep Eldarion from jumping on unstable piles, no further problems should arise.

There were more than enough problems already. For starters, he could hardly stop Eldarion from doing anything, as he had no idea where the child was. He also had no idea where Legolas was, and no clue as to their fate. Now sure that the ceiling would not come tumbling down at any loud noises, Gimli had shouted for his friends until his voice was hoarse from dust and strain.

But he had received no answer.

The dwarf cursed himself in every tongue he knew how to do so in—which was quite a few, and often very creative. Éomer in particular could be a bit hot-headed at times, and little of Gimli's grasp of Rohirric was acceptable among polite company. But there weren't enough words for his stupidity. Why had he taken them into this accursed cave? He should have known better! Neither elves nor children belonged in caves! Had he taken leave of his senses? Aglarond was one thing, but this half-explored maze of caverns was something completely different.

Gimli knew the risks inherent in exploring new underground openings, he knew how to deal with them safely! What had made him think it was a good idea to take an excitable, headstrong human child down here? Especially a part-elf human child! Of course the boy was going to go climbing and jumping all over the place—why hadn't Gimli thought to test the stability of the rock piles first? He should have known that disrupting those stones was a recipe for disaster! He should have known that the floor was a fragile shelf between them and the lower levels, ready to shatter under the tumbling stones! He should have known better than to bring them in here!

If they were hurt because of him...or worse…

Gimli shook his head, as if trying to drive out the images. He couldn't dwell on that now. He had to find them. They would be fine; he just had to find them. They had to be close—they had to be! The collapse hadn't been that large. It was only a small section of floor that had given way underneath the falling rocks. Gimli had thrown small rocks upwards to test it, and the hold overhead was only a few meters across. With some judiciously piled stone—of which there was plenty lying around to work with—it would be easy to clamber out. But the dwarf wasn't going anywhere without his friends.

Now all he had to do was find them.

He had already cleared a good portion of the lower cave he found himself in of rubble, having piled it against the far wall while he searched. So far, though, he had found nothing. Granted, there was still a lot of rock cutting him off from the other sides of the cave. His friends could very well be beyond those piles. But why had they not answered him? Why had he not even heard a moan? The dwarf shuddered and returned his attention to the heavy stones in front of him.

Gimli did not want to dwell on the possibilities.

………………………

Legolas stood, staring around wildly. He was doing his best not to panic, but had a sinking suspicion that it was a battle he would inevitably loose. Should he stand here and wait for someone to find him, rather than risk wandering into some un-explored part of the caverns where Gimli had never been? But what if Gimli were injured, and unable to search for him? Should he not try to find him? A sudden thought chilled the elf even more: what if Eldarion was hurt?

Legolas knew that there was blood in his hair although he could not see it, seeping from a stinging gash on his head—bleeding overmuch, as head wounds always did, but not a serious injury. He was battered and bruised, of course, and he thought perhaps that he had sprained his left ankle, although he could not be sure of the extent of the damage. But he was in relatively good shape for having been in a cave-in—surely better shape than after the last one he had suffered. The elf shuddered at the memory.

But it was not his own injuries that worried him. Rather, it was the thought that if he were hurt, his friends very well could be. Gimli was hardy and used to caves—and Legolas would not allow himself to think that the dwarf was in danger—but Eldarion was a child! He had always been carefully sheltered, protected by everyone. King Aragorn and Queen Arwen had trusted their precious son to he and Gimli, and they had failed! Now the boy was lost somewhere in the dark void of this cave, possibly hurt, almost certainly scared.

Legolas would not allow himself to think of the worst possibilities. He was barley keeping the panic that was threatening to overwhelm him from doing so; thinking such dark thoughts about his friends would break the thin control that he had managed to create.

Of course, he had managed to calm himself—well, perhaps "calm" was the wrong word, as he was certainly not calm, but he was at least collected now—only after an initial frantic search. He no longer had the slightest idea where he was, or where to get back to where he had awoken, which would at least have given him somewhere to start from. He had been certain that another cave-in was only seconds away, and the walls were already starting to close in on him. The darkness was so thick it was almost tangible and seemed to rob his lungs of air.

And now he could not even find a wall. He was afraid to step forward and reach for one, for fear of finding only endless blackness, but he knew that he could not simply stand here in the middle of the dark. He had a strange sense of vertigo—very unusual and discomforting to an elf used to near-perfect balance. Mustering what courage he could, Legolas stretched his hands out in front of him and stepped forward cautiously. Rocks slipped and shuffled beneath his feet, but he did not fear tripping on them. Now that he had started, he found it nearly impossible to stop or slow. He knew that in a moment he would be running blindly, and tried desperately to restrain his terror. There was a sudden shifting of stone.

Then there was only air beneath his feat.

Air and darkness.

Reviewer Responses: More than 40 reviews! I'm so excited! This is double my previous record! Whoo-hoo! does a little happy ewok dance of joy!

I was thinking about waiting on this chapter for a month or so, but it seemed to me like you wanted an update soon, and I live to serve!

Deana – this soon enough?

Drone – the Elf tells me he appreciates the advice, and he'll do his best!

Alma – so, you thought last chapter was too long, then? Well, if you really want, I'll make the rest of them shorter…no? I don't know, maybe this chapter surprised you…let me know! As for Eldarion…well, we'll have to wait and see… Hope you feel better about the maiming! As long as nobody does anything stupid he should be okay—er…of course, with these three… I'm sorry, just trying to keep things suspenseful for you! As always, thanks for your reviews, and let me know how your story of children and caves is coming along! Anyone who doesn't have issues with slash, head over and check it out!

Nozzers – you cannot have him. Don't make me take your frying pan. I'll give it to Sam; I hear his last one got horribly mangled from orc-bashing and he's looking for a replacement. I'm terribly sorry, but if you take my—er, the elf, then how am I supposed to finish this story? Huh? But you may give as many sympathy huggles as you want. I'm sure he appreciates them.

BanbieBunny – thank you very much for all your reviews! I'm glad I made you happy. Thank you for passing on everyone's messages; you can tell Legolas and Gimli that I love them too. But you can tell Aragorn and Boromir that they already each got a poem from me, and I would never have the arm strength to lift a shield like that! And if Mister High and Mighty King Elessar will just hold his horses (Hasufel, Brego, whoever he's riding now), he gets a nice juicy roll in an upcoming fic that is most unfortunately operating under the working title TwoCity right now (ah, the shame!) and if anyone wants to peruse the first couple chapters and come up with a name for me so I can begin posting that, let me know. Until then, Mister Ranger is just going to have to practice some of that elvish patience he learned from Elrond and the Twins and sit tight. Smirk! And feel free to take the line; I'm not greedy! There aren't enough words in the English language as is (sigh, what's an overly descriptive girl to do?), I'm not going to try to steal any. And besides, I wouldn't kill you. You can only kill someone once—unless that someone is Glorfindel, but that's an entirely different matter… Although if Gimli keeps asking, Legolas might be happy to oblige him in his death wish…lol. Anyway, I'm glad you like it! And sign in next time, so I can check out your work! I'm too lazy to search, but if I can point and click I'll be glad to look at your work. Thanks for the reviews!

Katatonia – Auuuugh! Not more plot bunnies! Keep your Nuzgûl, evil person! Glerfindle—make yourself useful for once and fry 'em! And don't you dare tell me they're too cute to eat! Ahem. Anyway, glad you're enjoying.

Altariel – comma party? Heh. Glad you were so "surprised" by the developments… Soon enough for you? I really was thinking, I ought to wait a month, but I decided not to at the last minute…um, don't kill me? I'm kidding! I promise not to make you wait a month for the next chapter! Really!

Quiet Infinity – Aw! I don't mind at all! I love you!!! BIG HUG! I'm so glad you liked them! Thank you so much! And everyone, feel free to use the glare's new name; I share! grin! Change for the worse indeed…like those bloody upgrades…seethes for a moment, before getting on with the response… I'll be hinting at the cause of the collapse, but I want to keep it as something very fast and confusing to them, so I won't be going into detailed flashbacks or anything, unless people get really confused. And no, I never foreshadow anything… Funny thing is, I didn't mean to! This was just going to be a four-chapter story. Then I ended up closing with that line, and as soon as I saw it—well, that was it. Back into the cave we went! And again, thank you so much!

Drone – thanks. I'm so glad you decided to post! I'm hoping over to read your story right now. Good luck! :)

Lindele – do you know how hard it is to comb that child's hair? What are you doing messing it up—do you want him to grow up as messy as his father? lol But now, now, if I told you what would happen next, why would you need to bother reading the rest of the fic? grin!

I am just thrilled beyond belief at the level of response I have gotten, from everyone. Thank you all! Hugs and kisses and lembas to everyone who reviewed!

For everyone who's dying to hear about the crown, you'll just have to be patient. For now, the best I can do is tell you to check out A Prince's Question for more Eldarion hilarity. I really will try and concoct something about the crown incident though, just because you all asked! Ah, the power of reviews! First a quick update, then a crowning story! Heh…