Chapter ten
Legolas simply breathed. With every breath he took he thought he could hear Lanthir speak. "We're not dead. We're not dead. We're not dead." The words sang through his body, healing the wounds of his heart and soul. He thought about Lainfea, and how she had seen the stars. He thought about Limloeth, and how she had put her hand upon him, healing him with her touch, and how he had missed her, his strong sister. How could he have ever doubted they would make it? How could he have thought he failed them? As if his siblings would have let him fail them. As if Lainfea would have given up on life in the cave after surviving twenty years in Mordor. As if Lanthir would have died by the hands of a mere corsair. He had been stupid to think so.
Then a woman screamed, distubing his dreams, forcing him to wake up. The world crept into focus and he realized he was not where he had fallen asleep anymore. The room he was in was dark and small and for a moment he thought that he was back with the corsairs. But then he noticed he was lying on a bed.
No corsair would lay a slave on a bed.
He heard little feet run down the hallway and the door of the room cracked open. Lainfea dived in his bed, hiding behind his back, her eyes wide.
"What is it, Lainfea?" He wispered as he looked through the room, trying to find some kind of weapon. His little sister was not easily afraid. She was far too used to torture to fear it. For twenty years pain had been a part of her daily routine. Seeing her afraid and cowering sent shivers of fear through Legolas' body.
The door was opened once again. Legolas made himself as big as he could, trying to hide his little sister, and he braced himself for whatever would come through the door. Then his jaw dropped.
He had expected orcs, or corsairs, or a Balrog even, judging Lainfea's reaction,
but not the middle-aged smiling human woman that walked in.
"Hello!" the woman said. "I can see you are finally awake, and looking a lot better than you did yesterday, I might add. Oh! Please don't look at me that way, boy! I'm not a monster! Now… were is that little girl?" Legolas said nothing, but continued to stare. The only humans he had ever seen where the slaves and the corsairs. This lady, however was very different from both of them.
She was tall, slender and dark haired. A few of her dark locks had turned grey, and she had a few wrinkles on her face.
"You don't understand a word I say, do you, boy?" the lady continued. "I had hoped that at least one of you... Well nevermind, We'll have to work it out with hands and feet then. Or teeth, like that girlie did. I have never been bitten by an elf before, it would be quite a story to tell my grandchildren about if I had any… but I never had childeren, so… Oh poor sheep!
You still look exhausted. You four must have been through a lot, I don't even want to think about it. Four elven children found on the borders of Mordor, wearing slave clothes… poor, poor sheep. Just to imagine what you must have gone through makes my heart break. No wonder the little one is a little skittish. Though I mean her no harm of course. I only wanted to bathe her. She just lookes like she could use it. I could easily say there is at least ten years of Mordor filth on her little body…
You can hardy see the color of her hair through all that dust!
Oh look at me! I'm just babbling on, and nobody here to understand me. You must all think I'm crazy by now. Jammering on to children that can't even understand me. And now look. I might have woken the others as well."
Legolas shook his head. "I don't think you are crazy. And I do understand."
he spoke in the Westron he had picked up during his years of captivity. The woman smiled, relieved.
"Ah. Thank Iluvatar. I wondered how I was going to make you understand. I didn't start very well with the little girl... I only wanted to give her a bath you see, but the little girl was very scared. She bit me," she said, showing a bite mark on her hand as proof.
Legolas nodded. He understood now why Lainfea had been so scared. "In Mordor, bath tubs are used to boil prisoners. The orcs consider it fun."
The woman paled.
"So you really were in Mordor then. Poor, poor sheep. But you are safe now. Well, you can tell that little girl I mean to do no such thing. The idea! But I can hope you can convince your sister-
is she your sister? I just assumed she was your sister.. You look so alike! The same blue eyes… same haircolor…
- that you can convince the girl that she could use a bath. All that Mordor dust does not seem very healthy to me. I'm Biddy. Well actually, my name is a lot longer, but everybody calls me Biddy. So you too may call me Biddy.
Legolas didn't say anything, he just waited for her to stop talking. He had never met anyone who talked so much. He wondered what to think of her. Who was she? Why had he woken up in her house? He could feel Lainfea's hands upon his back. The little girl used the silence to whisper something in elvish. "She was there when I woke up, Legolas. She said all kinds of things
and then she tried to push me into a boil tub!" Lainfea's voice still sounded very scared. Legoals smiled a little and turned towards her.
"And you bit her," Legolas finised her story in elvish. Lainfea nodded. He smiled and stroked her hair. Biddy was right. It was rather filthy. Legolas looked at his own hands and fingernails. Black. He had never noticed his hands were that filthy. He figured they really could use a bath.
"Lainfea?" he asked, still speaking elvish, ignoring the woman in the doorway. "Do you know where Limloeth and Lanthir are?"
Lainfea nodded. "They were with me in the other room."
"Go get them for me, Little one. We are in need of a family meeting. The elfling jumped off the bed, and ran towards the door, moving as far away from Biddy as she could.
Legolas looked at the woman. "I just told my sister to fetch my other siblings. I don't know why you are keeping us here, but I promise you, if any of them are hurt during our stay here, you will pay for it.
In blood."
Biddy looked at him, her face suddenly very stern. Her voice changed, it now sounded kingly and mature.
"My husband, Artamir, found the four of you lying on the riverbank. You looked hurt, cold and hungry. From the kindness of our hearts we offered you a place here. To heal and to gather strength. You may stay here as long as you wish, but I will not be spoken to thus. I mean you, or your siblings no harm. Do you understand?"
Legolas did not look away. He glared into her eyes, trying to see what was hidden beneath, trying to understand the hidden meaning behind her words.
When he found none he nodded.
"Well," Biddy said, back to her cheerful self. "This would all be much easier if I had names to call you by."
"My name is Celeborn," Legolas said, using the first name that popped into his head that had nothing to do with him or his family. Then he nodded at Limloeth and Lanthir, who had entered the room shortly before with Lainfea. "That is my sister Galadriel, and my brother Finrod. The little one is Melian."
He might have seen no hidden meanings in Biddy's eyes, but it didn't mean he would trust her.
"Oh, and one more thing," he added, imitating his fathers kingly voice. "We will never, ever be reffered to as sheep.
Now, let us see that bath you spoke of."
TBC
Aly K : Thank you so much for your kind words.. and of course, the reason I don't make you wait long for the next chapter is because I hunger for reviews.
Roguish Smile: Don't worry, I will tell you how.. sooner or later.
moonshine44: Yes I like cliffhangers.. I like to stopat bad places and imaging the looks of my audience.. (grin)
CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: No, I'm sorry, Aragorn wasn't born yet. But Artamir and Biddy a re good people as well.
Karone Evertree: Thanks, Thanks,Thanks!AND yes.. really like clifhangers.. There are much more to follow..
Trista: I'm glad I made your day! Hope you like this chapter too.
Moriarwen : Well the waiting is over.
Nessa Ar-Feiniel: They are from Osgiliath... as for the rest.. I'm not telling
kel: You be the judge.
That was it.. see you tomorrow!