Yes! I got it, I got it, I got it! It's short, but it's done! Take that, writer's block! does happy ewok dance of "take that!"
…now as long as it doesn't come back, I'm good…
Hey, Glerfindle, think you can chase off writer's block better than you can Nuzgûl? Oh crap, I forgot, Avalon Estel kidnapped you and locked you up…I'm doomed!
Chapter Nineteen: A Sense of Precarious Balance
Slowly, as the Dwarf's solid weight pressed on the axe blade, the boulder was levered upwards. It only moved a few inches, despite Gimli nearly climbing onto his axe, but those few inches would be enough.
They would have to be.
"Do not fear, Eldarion," Legolas absently repeated the whispered litany over and over as the stone slowly lifted. Eldarion just nodded confidently, completely trusting in his uncles' promise to rescue him. Despite being the one under the boulder, Eldarion was not the one nearly trembling in anxiety. He was perfectly calm. The Elf and the Dwarf, on the other hand, were terrified.
Gimli knew that at any moment the rock could slip a little too far to one side or the other, and if it went to the one it would mean death for both his friends while if it went to the other it would at the least mean grave injury to the boy's legs and the archer's hands. Despite the chill conditions of the cave, sweat rolled down Gimli's taunt face as fear gripped his heart.
Legolas knew that at any moment the boulder could decide to roll backwards with the lever, and that would mean Gimli's death. He had every confidence in the Dwarf, but accidents could happen, and if one did he knew that Gimli would never allow it to harm the boy—or the Elf. He would sacrifice himself before that happened and the thought terrified Legolas.
The child flinched and bit his lip as the weight lifted off his legs but made no other sign of distress. Legolas tugged sharply on Eldarion's legs and the child moved a few inches—
But just as relief passed across the faces of Elf and Dwarf the boy stopped. He was stuck. Somehow both Gimli and Legolas kept from crying out in dismay, but it was evident on both their faces. Legolas flashed a glance at Gimli and the Dwarf nodded shortly; he would hold the stone in place. If it killed him to do it, he would not let that boulder budge.
Quickly turning back, Legolas, now lying nearly prone in an attempt to practically wriggle into the small gap between rock and floor, squeezed his thin fingers in as far as they would go along Eldarion's legs as he searched for the impediment. He found a large rock that was lying on Eldarion's trousers—although fortunately not on the boy himself—that was pressed tightly between boulder and floor. Whispering a swift prayer to Elbereth that this rock was not one on which the stone was resting, and hoping that his act was not about to have dire consequences for both Eldarion and himself, Legolas forced it aside.
The boulder quivered almost imperceptibly but did not otherwise move. Letting out a breath he had not known he was holding, the Elf wrapped his fingers around the boy's knees and pulled again. The child was almost free when there was another snag. Legolas felt carefully with his fingers but could not find the source of the hindrance, yet Eldarion would not come out. The Elf pressed himself as close to the floor as he could and peered under the boulder.
The flickering torches gave Elvish eyes just enough light to dimly make out the problem. The boulder was not entirely round and one of the protrusions was directly in line with Eldarion's right foot. It had not stopped the boy's leg, although doubtless it had grazed the knee slightly, but it would not allow the child's booted foot to pass. Glaring at the piece of rock with all the power an Elf could muster, Legolas mentally cursed everything about caves, stones, rocks, Dwarves—however that related—and most especially boulders who thought it amusing to pin innocent children beneath them.
Squirming further under the rock, the lithe archer's fingers strained to carefully ease the child's foot around the outcropping of rock. Holding his breath for fear of disturbing the precariously balanced boulder, the Elf gradually slid back out from under the stone with Eldarion. He froze when he felt the rock quiver above him.
………………….
Gimli strained with all his might to hold the boulder perfectly still. He barely breathed, barely blinked; just stared fiercely at the haft of his axe that was serving as a lever to raise the large rock from its precarious position. The slightest tremor could send the whole thing crashing down onto his friends.
He dared not watch the desperate rescue attempt going on to the side, for that would mean taking his eyes from the frail balance point and that he would not do. His friends were depending on him, and he would not fail them through inattention, no matter how much he wished to see how they were faring.
Instead, with all the famed stubbornness of Dwarves' stiff necks, he focused solely on the thin axe and heavy rock to the exclusion of all else around him. But inside his mind he was screaming for the Valar to guard Legolas and Eldarion. Let Mahal keep my hand steady, he begged. And let neither of them be harmed. The litany repeated itself in his mind over and over until it reached the point of obsession. His muscles strained and his eyes burned, but Gimli did not flicker. He was as unmovable as the cursed rock; neither of them would flinch, neither of them would shift, neither of them—
The rock quivered. Fear making Gimli's heart hammer in his ears louder than all his kin in Aglarond and Erebor combined, the Dwarf tried to balance the boulder and still it. For a moment, it seemed that he had succeeded.
Then, with a horrid grinding sound, it shifted slowly—painfully slowly—from the axe haft. Before the agonized eyes of the helpless Dwarf, the boulder fell as if through thick honey. The sound of its crushing impact with the stone floor of the cave was echoed by the raw cry that burst from Gimli's throat.
From the Elf and child, there was no sound.
Bwahahahahaha! Yes, I reeeeeeaaaaally am evil, aren't I? Tee hee! Yes, yes, cruel cliffie, we know, we know… Isn't it pretty? Bwahahahaha! And Sauron thought he was a Dark Lord? Bah! I know how to really cause suffering…
Reviewer Responses:
soshort! – I know, it was, and this one was even worse, I'm sorry! That's what happens when you let a cliffie/suspense junkie like me write a story…it gets near the climax, and the chapters get really tiny so I can torment you! Uh…I mean, so I can build dramatic momentum!
Jebb – Rhys helps Jebb off the floor and offers some athelas for fingernails/elbows. Hmm, bat them about the ears, not a bad thought…but I'm really quite protective of those pretty pointy ears…(warning: do not ever read chapter ten of Isengard's Captives if of a weak constitution when it comes to Elf-ear-injuries!) But I suppose Arwen could, as she's an Elf and would know not to hurt the pretty pointy ears… Home? Safe? Jebb, Jebb, Jebb…shakes head…what do you take me for? A complete and utter evil monster? What do you think? …Wait…that didn't come out right… Plot nunnies for all! Yay!
permetaform – whoah—sugar rush much? lol I love it! So many questions, so few answers…heh heh heh! Aw…my plot bunnies thank you—but they say no way in Melkor's Void. blink. Hey! Bloody bunnies…
Star-Stallion – well, by now you've hopefully figured out what the Elf was up to. You'll see if it was a good idea or a stupid, reckless, foolhardy one in the next chapter. Or at least, if it was a stupid, reckless, foolhardy plan that got lucky…or didn't. Bwahahahaha! …I'm sorry, I took my evil-pills today…blame the webcomics…why? Because I can? I dunno…
Alatariel – thankfully there were enough carrots left over with which to beat the bunny back into work. I mean bribe. No beating bunnies, of course, heh heh…la la la…I am so innocent… ;) Gotta love that "best friend telepathy" stuff, huh? BamfChica and I kick butt at Taboo…
Deana – Why thank you! It didn't? Strange…unless I'm thinking of Shadows Creeping…I thought one went out… (I have myself set to it so that I can check and make sure it sends one, and I think I got an alert…maybe I didn't…I was kinda outta it… Anyway, your wish is my command! At least in this case…I don't really know magic (if I did, I'd have pointy ears!) so I can't promise anything else… You know, I think I still might be kinda outta it…lol. Update yourself! I must have my Elf safe—that way I can torment him in good conscious… (sorry this didn't go up when I said it would; not my fault the site wouldn't work!)
Dark Lady – heh. Don't we all, mate, don't we all…
Alma – wow, thankee! Happiness! :)
Katatonia – YAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kat's back! Rhys does a maniacally happy dance all around the room and screams a bit until she remembers that the walls of her dorm really aren't that soundproof, blushes, and bounces back to the laptop. Aw, major bummer about the house! Hope it's all sorted out now? Heh, unfortunately—or maybe fortunately, actually—for our Elf and Dwarf, they aren't supposed to be back for days yet…so nobody is coming to help them…dun dun dun! Yay, I'm so glad you're back! beams! :D
Cosmic Castaway – thank you! And welcome to the story, I'm glad you like it! Heh, guess I wrote it and you came, neh? Ignore me, I don't know either… Good luck with your writer's block and may it never plague you again! (Yeah, like that'll ever happen.) Actually, if I let it go, nothing will happen. I have to force my way past writer's block—usually with Nightwish, Loreena McKennit, Howard Shore (for obvious reasons!), or fanfiction. Fortunately, it worked fast this time! Sometimes I have to agonize for ages before the bloody Nuzgûl get back to work. I think Glerfindle spoils them. Hee hee, friend telepathy fun!
Banbie – um, just a question but, how much sugar did you have before you wrote that review? I'm not even going to ask…lol. I love you guys and your craziness.
Kawaii – okay! ;)
Sorry that was so short. But I have been typing up work for psychology literally all day, and my brain is totally fried now. You get that because it was already written. But there is no way in any hell or heaven that I'm going to be able to work on the next chapter this evening. I'm going to put in a DVD and curl up with lots and lots of chocolate. So, yeah. Anyway, I want to apologize to anyone who didn't get an author alert who'se signed up for them. I sent one out manually to everyone whose e-mail I could find, but not all of you had one and some of them didn't, for whatever freaky reason, work for me. I don't know, and I'm sorry about that. I'm also sorry for updating while the e-mail alert system was down…but it was either that or wait who knows how long, and I figured at least this way it was up, right? Okay. Need…chocolate…now…!
Oh, and hey Avie? Tomorrow, I'm going on a mission to break Glerfindle out. I have yanked Fett and Gambit to help me in my endeavor. No maximum security prison can hold a mini-Balrog against the wills of Boba Fett and Remy LeBeau! Especially when those wills have been bought with a brand new shiny rocket launcher and lots and lots of spicy Cajun food… Operation: Balrog Break-Out commence!
Wow. Psych has totally fried my brain. Pleasant dreams everyone.
--Okay, I tried to post this last night, but I couldn't get it to load, so I'm posting now. And I've just realized how truly insane my Psych book made me, but I figure I'll leave that there for your amusement.--