THE SPACE BETWEEN
Author's note: Hi! I know I have taken way too much time to update this! I am sorry! But fear not! If it is any comfort to you, the next chapter is already well under way, so hopefully the waiting period won't be as long. A month is definitely way too long for you guys! I hope this chapter isn't too weird, we are sort of getting somewhere, you can easily guess what's to come in the next chapter, I think. Anyways I'm really not certain about this chapter, I think its weird. Oh well I hope you like it despite its weirdness! But first thank you very much for the reviews! They make me smile:)
To Treehugger, Yeah those Uruk Hai weren't too friendly with Legolas, but it could have been much worse! It's not easy trying to fit the book with the story, I spend almost as much time looking at the book to fit it with my fic than I spend time thinking about it. "Someday my Prince will come" Maybe I should use that as one of my quotes… Hehehe Saruman's going to figure out that it's not everyone's objective to gain power, and well you'll see what's to come! But I think Willow's luck may be running out. "These are dark times… " I hope it works… By the way I've been wanting to tell you I love the pictures you post on your bio page! They are so ADORABLE! And for Thranduil? Well hey everyone deserves a second chance… or an explanation as to why he is the way he is! I'm trying to avoid the 'evil Thranduil' plot that has been running around I guess it could work for some stories, but not all!
A-mon Andne, it was nice of Willow to remind Saruman what he's like… It's true we don't get a real idea of what he was like and what he did while he was evil… I guess its better that way… He was pretty much insane! I'd love to give Pixy a kick, but she's really stuck with that story. I'm trying to get her to write more but now she's writing a Merry and Pippin story, some sort of 'Groundhog Day' type story (based on the film… Merry and Pippin relive the same day over and over again…) Should be interesting if she finishes it! Thanks again for your support!
Mysticmoon, Hi! Thank you so much for you review! I'm glad you liked the chapter! I hope this next one will please you too! I am trying to write faster, I'm in my final exams now but I do have a bite of time between them so I write then!
Well that's all for now folks! The next chapter is started and I fear we shall be taking a walk on the dark side. You'll know what I mean at the end of this chapter! Let's just say this fic will be painted black… (don't mind me… I'm just naturally weird) Thank you so much again! Have a lovely day!
Chapter Twelve
Wilted Flowers, Fading Trees
The small elven child had yet another nightmare, this time she knew it was unwise for her to disrupt the Lord and Lady in their bedchamber. She had done so on many occasions when nightmares of her parents' demise, which she never witnessed, would haunt her in the darkness. Although the Lord and Lady welcomed the small child with open arms, she always felt as though she was intruding, in her heart, she knew she did not belong there. With this faulty assumption in mind, Laiella wandered through the woods of Lothlórien in the middle of the night, alone and unaware of her whereabouts. She walked for what seemed to be hours and hours, until she reached the edge of the Golden Wood. She soundlessly climbed up the flet where Lórien's guards kept watched on the western side. As she reached the top she noticed a blond haired figure staring out in the open before him. Suddenly he turned around after his sharp elven ears picked up an unexpected sound.
"Tithentasar! In all that is holy! What are you doing here, child?" He exclaimed a little too loudly for 'little Willow' who bursted into tears. Haldir realised a little too late, that was not the correct way to react to a small child. In all his years he had very few dealings with children, he was never certain of the proper way to treat one. He crouched down to her eye level lifting her chin, A Tithentasar, cry not. I am sorry." Laiella sniffled, her sobs slowly diminishing. Haldir took out a handkerchief to wipe away her little tears.
"You cannot sleep?" He asked as gently as he could. He was rewarded by a soft nod. He shifted uncomfortably, unsure what to do. "Look over there, do you see?" He said gently, his finger pointing towards the East where he could see the sun rise. "There is a pale light lingering in the East. The sun is waking. Do you wish to stay here and watch the sun come up?" Laiella nodded the fear from her nightmare slowly dissipating. She sat next to Haldir and the two watched as the sun rose. Moments after first light, Lórien's guard brought the now sleeping Elf child back to her room.
Willow felt safe. She was in Lothlórien again, surrounded by people she loved, Haldir, Celeborn Galadriel, Legolas. Then suddenly all their faces faded away, she was in a dark tower now confronted with unfriendly faces, Makowyl, Wormtongue, Saruman. Their ugliness was overwhelming, it was almost choking her, she could not breath, their was no air. Now she didn't see Orthanc anymore, she was in a dark land surrounded by Orcs, evil looking Orcs, some of them regarding her in the strangest fashion, she could almost feel, recognition?
Willow awoke, startled. It was yet another dream. She was not the small child in Lothlórien who crept out at night to sneak upon Lórien's guard to keep him company until the sun rose. No, she was kept in the darkness of Orthanc unable to breathe inside the stuffy cell, completely deprived of any light. At length the door swung open and Wormtongue's evil face popped in. "The Master wishes to see you now.'
"Wonderful." Muttered Willow.
Wormtongue smirked as he dragged the Elf. "I do not believe that sort of behaviour will be tolerated any longer."
"We shall see." Replied the Elf with astounding confidence.
Saruman the White stood before Willow, Sauron's unwilling heir. AI ask you again, join me! Let our forces be united. Imagine the possibilities: legions of Orcs at your command, ready and willing to listen to your every word. You have the strength to control them. That has already been proven against Mordor Orcs, I must admit I was quite impressed by your skill."
"It was not of my own accord." Spat Willow, the memory of that dark moment when she destroyed the Orcs still fresh in her mind, she did not want to live through anything of the sort ever again.
"It matters not. I will give you all you need! You shall lead armies of Orcs! With our joined powers, there will be nothing to hinder us! Middle Earth shall be at your finger tips, nothing to obstruct your desires." Continued the wizard.
The Elf rolled her eyes. "Legions of Orcs? Wonderful!" She said sarcastically. "What good shall they accomplish? Orcs are mindless; they cannot think for themselves or accomplish anything. Look at yourself! True you have thousands of Orcs and Uruk-Hai at your disposal; still what have they done to prove their worth? Nothing, they have lost your precious hobbits, they did not overtake the refuge of Helm's Deep. If you wish to have something done, you must do it yourself. If by some given miracle, the Orcs do as you command, your orders are not followed exactly as you wish it. Besides, Orcs are terrified of their own shadow, their cower away in fear at the first sight of danger. It is clear you waste your time with them. It is sad you cannot have anything done. Pitiful indeed."
The wizard glowered, he was highly displeased. AI would choose my words carefully Elf, it would not be pleasant other wise."
"Otherwise what? What shall you do? Will you kill me? You know you cannot! As much as your evil heart may desire it, there is no possible way you could kill me. You know very well if harm should come to me, the Dark Lord himself shall seek retribution on however has caused scathe to his Heir. You are afraid. I see your fear, you fear me! I shall not join you ever! You waste your time! You know what is to come, your demise is imminent! You have failed Saruman." She exclaimed as she spat in his face.
Wiping away the spit from his face, Saruman lost his temper, angrily backhanding the Elf. Her head violently snapped to the left, her lips spraying blood over the Wizard's face and robe as she fell to the floor with a crash. "You have stretched my patience far too thin! I promise you, you shall get a taste of your bitter words. You will have the chance to feel my wrath!" He lifted his staff, a wry smile of satisfaction as he saw the Elf on the ground, recoiling away from him. Just then Wormtongue entered the room, worn out of breath.
"Milord Saruman! We are under attack!"
"What is it Wormtongue!" Shouted Saruman, his ire raised to its fullest.
"Trees are gathered outside the tower! They are attacking Isengard!"
Saruman glanced at his servant, a look of puzzlement across his face, then understanding dawned on him. "Of course, the Ents have to come to pay their respects. We shall fight back Wormtongue fear not." He said as he began to leave the room. He cast a quick glance at the Elf sprawled on the floor. AI am not done with you! We shall continue our discussion at a later date." He said cryptically.
Willow allowed herself to relax once the Wizard was gone. She closed her eyes and prayed to the Valar that she was right, Saruman could not kill Sauron's heir, could he?
Child, come here." Ordered Saruman as he returned from his battle with the Ents, it was far from over, but he had given all the orders he could for the time being. Now all he could do was wait so he chose to pay a visit to the little Elf in his keeping. Willow refused to come forward hence Saruman seized her arm and drug her to the centre of his throne room where rested a circular object hidden by a black velvet cloth. He removed the cloth to reveal a black shining orb.
"You see this?" He inquired, his hand pointed towards the sphere. "Do you know what this is?"
The moment Saruman uncovered the globe, Willow's eyes were transfixed on it, she was strangely attracted to it. "Yes I know, a Palantír, one of the seeing stones of the Elder days." She spoke mechanically as though the Palantír had taken control of her mind.
"Yes, then you know of its power." Saruman smiled.
AI do. That is your link to Mordor, that is how you are aware of the progress of Darkness."
"Exactly." Stated the Istar.
Willow could tell Saruman was speaking to her but she did not hear his words. She was mesmerised by the stone, her eyes peered deeply within its depths. The stone revealed itself to her, she could see the dark tower from her dream, and then a great eye was glaring back at her. The eye spoke to her, telling her not to let go, to return where she belonged. Willow's eyes turned red as fire, as she looked up from the Palantír directly into Saruman's eyes. A shadow crept up, settling itself on Willow as the darkness in the throne room deepened. A great chill gripped Saruman. Something had gone awfully wrong. He could tell the stone had entranced her, but what happened next startled him greatly.
The Elf opened her mouth to speak. As she did so, Willow's voice was completely distorted. She did not speak in her usual sweet melodic voice, instead one so ominous and cryptical replaced it.
"Return my Heir." Said the dark venomous voice speaking through Willow. "Return her to me or I shall claim her myself."
Saruman stood in the centre of him throne room, completely bewildered, his face registering surprise and reverence. The Orcs that had been there fled in fear, shrieking in their horrible language.
Willow's gaze returned to the Palantír, where she now spoke in Black Speech. AI await you. Send me the Nazgûl, I await them."
Fear spiked through the Wizard as he understood what the Elf had said, she was speaking to the Dark Lord himself and he was calling her. What had he done? He never knew to what extent the Palantír would have an effect on the Elf, it was certainly not what he had seen. She was right! Sauron would come for him! If he had harmed the Heir in any way, the Dark Lord would seek retribution. The shadow remained on the Elf for a few moments longer. At last it retracted itself a great scream of agony emanated from Willow. Once the shadow completely gone, she collapsed on the ground. Unsure what to do, Saruman called for Wormtongue.
"Take away the Elf, we have much to discuss." He commanded his voice unnaturally shaky for the Head of the Istari.
"Yes, Master." Wormtongue bowed low and pulled Willow unceremoniously out of the room. By the time he dropped her in the dark cell, she had regained consciousness. "Your master does not treat you with equity does he?" She said, her soft voice having returned, however it ached for her to speak.
"That is of no concern to you Elf!" Spat the man.
"Of course not, why should I be bothered by your mistreatment. Listen not to my advice." She replied almost amused, she could barely keep her eyes focussed, it hurt her them to fix on something.
"You advice means nothing."
Willow attempted a smile. "Of course. Nothing holds any meaning for you save for what your little master says."
"You know nothing of him!" Exclaimed Wormtongue, why was she wasting her time with such foolishness. He did not understand how Willow had a small plan in her mind.
"No, no." She said, shaking her head. AI only know how he commands your every word, every movement everything. Hence, you cannot even think without his permission!"
"You speak for nothing. This is nonsense!" Shouted the man. With every word the Elf said, he was losing more and more of his sanity. He did not want to give in to what she was saying, even though it was not far from the truth.
"Is it? Then why do you remain here and listen?. I know you would never go against his word, despite your desire to do so. Your fear of him is too great."
"It is not!" He raised his hands to his ears. "This is folly!"
"Then prove it! Show me you are not afraid of him. Do something to show your defiance that you no longer wish to be pushed around!"
"What should I do?" He asked, he did not understand what made him say those words, they simply fit very well with hers.
"Do you recall the black stone your Master favours?" She said, smiling as she noticed Wormtongue's face twisted itself into a conniving smile.
There was a horrible shrieking sound coming from all around. It penetrated the Tower of Isengard, the shriek seemed to be coming from everywhere. All beings within Orthanc were forced to cover their ears for the sound was too horrible to support. All save for one. Willow was soundly asleep when the winged creature swept through the Istar's home. It stopped at the main entrance where Saruman stood. "Where is the Heir?" Hissed the cloaked being, his voice sending irrepressible chills up and down anyone who was close enough to hear, the Orcs that stood behind Saruman shivered with fear as the Black Rider approached.
However Saruman stood on his ground proudly and said not a word. Noticing there was no way to get through the Istar, the Nazgûl searched within the tower for the Heir and called to her, preventing all obstacles from hindering her way towards him.
In her moment of weakness, the Shadow easily took hold of the Elf's mind, Willow came out of Orthanc, and into the arms of evil itself. The wraith waved his hand over the mesmerised Elf letting her fall unconscious on his steed. He shrieked again as he mounted his winged beast and fled back towards the Darkness he had come from. He now possessed what he had come for.
Gandalf hid the small sphere that was thrown from the Tower, within his cloak. He had taken it from Pippin, who picked it up, a very near fatal error on the halfling's part. Fortunately all would be well now that Gandalf possessed the stone. He walked away from the Tower of Orthanc, satisfied with his encounter with Saruman, yet something still lingered in his mind, an uncanny feeling was present, as if there was a very important element that was missed. He had dismissed it quickly when he saw Treebeard and other Ents at the gates of Isengard.
Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli marvelled at the great tree like creature that had already spoken length with Gandalf. "So you have come all the way from Mirkwood, my good Elf?" Said Treebeard, his eyes setting last on Legolas. "Pleased I am to see that you have been liberated from your captivity in Orthanc."
Legolas stared hard at the Ent, utter confusion shining in his eyes. "I beg your pardon?"
Treebeard stretched his arm like branches. "Yes, were you not the Elf taken captive in Orthanc? I was told by one of my kin, an Elf was indeed brought to Saruman. It is very strange, true we have not seen any of your kin in a while, yet the Ents rarely mistake an Elf for another creature. I have been told the Elf was no longer in the Tower, he was gone, so I believed it was you who was taken. Hum! Wait a moment! I will verify." He turned to one of the Ents behind him and spoke quietly yet, lengthily.
Legolas shifted uncomfortably, he could feel all eyes on him. Aragorn turned to Merry and Pippin who shrugged at him, just as confounded. "Merry, Pippin, did any of you know of an Elf confined in Orthanc?"
"No, not at all, we had no idea! Who could the Elf be?" Replied Merry.
"Certainly not I." Answered Legolas. A sickening feeling grew inside him, he did not like the idea of one of his kin trapped inside that dark tower. An involuntary shudder ran down his spine.
Pippin tried hard to think of anything he might have missed to believe there was a prisoner in Orthanc. AI feel sorry for whoever it was." He said softly. He shivered that could have been him and Merry trapped in there. Much to the relief of the Three Hunters, the hobbits had succeeded in escaping from the Orcs that had taken them captive. Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli were overjoyed to have found the young hobbits in Isengard, safe and virtually unscathed and not imprisoned in that tower.
Treebeard returned from his lengthy conversation with the other Ent. "Yes of course, it could not have been you! A black rider on a winged creature removed the Elf from Orthanc. I suppose that you were not taken by a Black Rider!"
At the name of the Nazgûl, realisation dawned on Legolas, all the colour from his face drained instantly as he realised what was bothering his mind all this time. "No I was not." He replied, his voice sounding suddenly small and childish.
"If you wish I will verify who this Elf was. For I am curious myself." Said the Ent.
"There is no need." Legolas answered very quietly, his voice was barely audible.
Treebeard turned to the Istar. "Gandalf, where did you say was the Aryon O Huine? I would have desired to meet this fabled being."
Marking the sudden lack of colour in the Elf, Gandalf spoke hastily. "In Edoras, in King Théoden's hall. I assure you, if nothing ill comes to pass, I will return and present you. I am sorry, Treebeard, we must take our leave."
Treebeard bowed. "Very well, Gandalf! I hope we shall meet again soon! Worry not Master Elf! I know in your heart you wish to see Fangorn, you are welcomed to come anytime you wish! Even your friend, the Dwarf is welcomed, mind his axe of course."
As they left Isengard, Legolas turned to Aragorn. AI must leave, it is crucial that I make for Edoras immediately. Something terrible has happened."
"You believe the Elf Treebeard spoke of is Willow?" Replied the ranger.
Legolas closed his eyes. "Yes, I am certain. Please understand, if it is as I fear, than time presses on, I must go."
"Yes of course, but Legolas, what if Willow was freed and she searches for us now?"
"Aragorn, please, I cannot take that risk, what if it is not so? Treebeard says it was a Nazgûl! I must go to Edoras, if it is not Willow than she will be there waiting for me."
"And if not?" Asked Aragorn.
"Then I know not what I shall do." He answered his eyes pleading.
"Very well then go! We shall be right behind you."
Legolas pressed his hand on Aragorn's shoulder. "Thank you!" He swiftly hopped on Arod, imploring the horse to ride as quickly as possible.
Noticing the Elf's impromptu departure, Gandalf questioned the ranger, although he already knew the answer. "Where goes Legolas?"
Aragorn stared at the Elf ridding far away with sad eyes. "He rides to Edoras, to find Willow."
"If Treebeard is right, then we have much to fear. I for one did not feel Laiella's presence in Orthanc at all, she was not there."
"You did not search for her." Replied Aragorn.
"True, but an Elf as unique as the Aryon O Huine is hardly unnoticeable. Treebeard spoke true, she was the Elf in Orthanc. I am not surprised Saruman attempted to sway her into darkness."
His desire for the Ring has poisoned his mind. Certainly he saw Willow as a way to gain the power he seeks. I pray he was unsuccessful." Said the Ranger.
"Do not worry Aragorn, if Saruman would have been successful is swaying Willow than we would have know right away. He would have been much stronger. He would also have gloated on the fact that he has corrupted the Aryon O Huine to join him over the Dark Lord."
"Then we should fear what is to come, if Willow is now on her way to Mordor." Horror iced through Aragorn at the thought of the Elf in such a dark place to be converted to evil.
"Yes, I only hope Saruman's treachery towards Willow shall not prove itself to be devastating against her."
"As do I." Said Aragorn. "However, Gandalf, if you know Willow is no longer in Edoras, why let Legolas ride there?"
Gandalf sighed. "An Elf as stubborn as Legolas needs to see it for himself. Besides I know where else he intends to ride."
"To Mordor." Finished Aragorn. "And so he must pass by Edoras. It is imperative for us to reach the Golden Hall before he leaves."
"Exactly, that is why we must depart immediately. I will take Pippin with me to Minas Tirith." As he spoke he slipped out the Palantír that was thrown by Wormtongue. "Take this, I fear it shall not be safe with me for young Master Peregrin has felt its power, he shall be drawn to it, if it is close. I trust you implicitly, Aragorn."
The Ranger took the cloth, hiding it in his pack. AI know. Thank you. We shall ride right behind Legolas. If his fears come to be, he shall need a friend."
Gandalf smiled. "He could not have found a better one." He said. Soon after Shadowfax was readied, he and Pippin left for Minas Tirith as Aragorn and the others road hastily back to Edoras, fearful of what they would find.