Disclaimer: See chapter 1.
Author's Note: Well I guess now we get to go on to where they all live a peaceful, quiet life in beautiful Rivendell, right? Yeah right! Warning trouble will start in the next couple of chapters.
Another Note: I have gone back and changed a few things in a couple of the previous chapters. I am a stickler for detail, and have discovered a few discrepancies in my own work. Number 1: Atavus could not have been raised at Barad-dúr, because it had not been rebuilt yet, so that has been changed to Minas Morgul. Number 2: Everything has been moved back 10 years, because the time period I had based this in, Aragorn was posing as Thorongil in Rohan and Gondor. So this little fic. Is based 67 years before the LOTR started, and Aragorn was only 20 years old. Not really a lot of difference, but it bothered me. If anyone wants to know where I get all this great info about LOTR time-line and such check out the Encyclopedia of Arda site.
A Hard Sacrifice
For the next two years Atavus spent most of her time learning to speak Elvish, and reading many of the history books that Elrond kept in his library. She of course remained fast friends with Legolas and Aragorn, but refrained from leaving Rivendell when they would go on their many adventures, though the times when they were gone seemed to last forever.
Elladan and Elrohir still remained aloof towards her. She had hoped to change their minds concerning her, but when she heard the story of their mother she was not surprised that they did not like her. Lord Elrond was of course polite as always, and he did at least seem interested in her healing abilities, and ran many tests on her blood. He hoped to find someway to duplicate the healing affect somehow, though how she was not sure. She also managed to learn many of the normal healing arts that Lord Elrond was willing to teach her.
It was a bright spring day, and Aragorn and Legolas had been back for a little over a month this time. Atavus knew that they would want to leave again soon. It was becoming harder to watch them go. She loved Rivendell's beauty, but she could not stand the feeling of being alone.
She found her two friends on the archery field practicing. Legolas was flawlessly placing one arrow after another in the center of the target. Aragorn was not so flawless, but doing well anyway. She enjoyed archery, but had not thought to bring her own bow with her, so she was content just to watch her friends.
"So how do your studies go, Atavus?" Legolas asked as he made another dead center shot.
"Fine, fine." She said with little enthusiasm. Lord Elrond had noticed her interest in elvish history and took it upon himself to direct her studies, which meant she could no longer choose what she would read about next, and though most of the books she read were quite fascinating, some where downright boring.
"Is it just me or does Atavus not seemed so thrilled with her studies anymore?" Aragorn jested sending a small smile Legolas' way.
"Maybe she's just getting bored with elvish history." Legolas suggested.
"No not really bored with elvish history." She answered thoughtfully twisting her fingers in her long red curls. It was a nervous habit she had that the friends had become accustomed to. "Maybe just bored with inactivity." She said sighing deeply.
"Inactivity. You are one of the most active beings I know. Your up before dawns first light, and most nights you never even make it to bed. If your not studying, you're on the practice fields trying to perfect, what is already perfect. How can you say that you are inactive?" Aragorn wished to know.
"Well maybe it's not inactivity she is bored of. I think she just wants for a change of scenery." Legolas suggested. At his words her ears perked up. Maybe this time………
"Well we were thinking about heading to Mirkwood for a visit with your father. But I doubt she would want to go with us." Aragorn said in an offhand manner.
"When do we leave?" She asked barely able to hold her excitement. If they had said they were going to Mordor she would have agreed at that moment.
"Well I don't know. Maybe we need to check with Lord Elrond to see if she is up on her studies?" Legolas suggested. He noticed the dark look she gave him. "Or maybe we just won't tell him."
"Don't worry about Lord Elrond. He knows I've wanted to get away for a while now. I think he would probably enjoy being rid of me. My temper sometimes gets the best of me when I'm bored." She admitted.
"Yes, my ada did say something last week about dwarvish curses coming from such a pretty mouth didn't seem quite decent." Aragorn said teasing. "I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about at the time, but now I can guess."
Atavus was turning quite red at his statement. She hadn't thought anyone had heard her. She remembered the incident he was speaking of. She had spent half the day looking for the book on dwarvish history that Lord Elrond had given her to study, only to find that Estel had borrowed it to use as a doorstop. Needless to say some of the colorful language she had learned as a slave had come back to her.
"Where did you learn dwarvish curses Atavus?" Legolas was surprised to hear this news.
"Dwarves can be taken as slaves too Legolas." Was her quiet answer. They had been avoiding the subject of slavery ever since she decided to stay with them. But every once in a while it would come up. She didn't speak much about it.
"I'm sorry." Legolas began to apologize for bringing up the painful subject.
"No that's okay Legolas. This memory is actually a good one. There was one particular dwarf at Minas Morgul who I actually enjoyed spending time with. He added quite a lot of relief to the normal drudgery. He was very good at causing trouble for the orcs, but never getting caught at it. It was really comical at times." She smiled remembering.
"What happened to him?" Legolas wasn't sure he wanted to know.
"The same as what happens to most all Mordor slaves. He died." That was a memory she didn't want to remember, especially the how and why. She wanted to turn and walk away, but Aragorn took her hand and held her back.
"Atavus we know you hold a lot of painful memories. The only way you can get past them is to share them. I know it's hard, but we are here for you when you want to talk." Aragorn said hoping she wouldn't run away this time.
"Estel, I would be willing to tell you and Legolas almost anything, but this…….." She began to say, but stopped not sure if she could go on.
"Remember we're not here to judge you, we're here just to listen." Legolas said sitting on a bench next to where she stood.
"I don't want you to think less of me." She admitted quietly.
"We won't." Legolas tried to assure her.
She nodded then began to speak, keeping her eyes down. "He died because of me. I told you that he was good at causing trouble for the orcs, but never getting caught. Well I wasn't so good at it. But I tried several times. I got away with it sometimes, other times I didn't. When I didn't the orcs would take me down to the torture pits. It wasn't anything new for me, but after a couple of times of them taking me he couldn't stand it. He saw what I looked like when they brought me back. He had only been down there once. The memory I guess was too much. So the last time I got caught he took the blame for me. I tried to tell him not too. It mattered not to the orcs. They took both of us." She stopped talking for a moment remembering that horrible day. "I could hear his screams from over 200 feet away. I was always able to shut the pain out. By that time it was second nature to me, but I can still hear his screams to this day. I never let the orcs see me cry in all of my time there, but that day they did. I never saw him again. When I asked where he was they would just smile and say he was tasty." She sank down to her knees covering her face with both hands, wishing she had never met the dwarf.
"Did he consider you to be his friend?" Legolas asked placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes. I suppose so. He wouldn't have done what he did otherwise." She answered not looking up, but pulling her hands away from her face.
"Did you count him as a friend?" He asked softly rubbing her shoulder.
"More than any other I met in Minas Morgul." She answered still looking down.
Legolas took her chin in his hand and pulled her face up so she could meet his gaze. "If your places had been exchanged and it was he that was in trouble, would you have taken his place?"
"Of course." She answered.
"Why?"
"Because he would have done it for….me." She stuttered over her own words.
"Atavus we cannot control what others do for us out of friendship, but we can control how we feel about their actions. You shouldn't feel sad that he would sacrifice for you, but happy because you meant enough to him to make that sacrifice worthwhile. I'm sure he would want you to remember him fondly. He wouldn't want your memories of him to bring you pain. Am I right?" Legolas asked pulling her up to sit beside him on the bench.
"Yes your right. He would." She smiled for the first time when remembering the dwarf. "His name was Garin, and his memory deserves proper respect from me. Some day I would like to find his kin. They don't know what happened to him. They deserve to know." She said drying the tears she had begun shedding, and then adding that to the long list of things she would like to do during her long life.
"Do you know who his kin are?" Aragorn asked.
"He mentioned a few names." She answered.
"Well the Lonely Mountain is not very far from Mirkwood. Maybe we could make a little side trip." Aragorn began to suggest.
"Estel don't even think of it. If you two want to go visit the dwarves you go alone." Legolas warned.
"Legolas you need to have a more open mind when it comes to the dwarves." Aragorn suggested jokingly.
"You can have an open mind for both of us." Legolas said scowling at his friend.
"Don't worry Estel. I'll convince him." Atavus whispered knowing full well that Legolas had heard her.
"I think not." He said standing and resuming his target practice.
Author note:I know this chapter was pretty slow, but I promise you will see action in the next chapter. I'm not quite sure where this chapter came from actually. I originally just intended for them to decide to go to Mirkwood then leave soon after, but the part about the dwarf just popped into my head, and it will work nicely in a much later chapter. Man you think you got a whole story planned out and then those plot bunnies attack. Oh well it is getting close to Easter. I promise to update soon. I'm as anxious to write the next part as you are to read it.
