Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR.
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Reviews are keeping me alive. Thank you reviewers!
I would like to thank SailorOrion11 for reviewing Into the Light. It's rare to find someone who appreciates Gilraen stories! I did read yours after I received word from you, and it is very good! ;) Thank you for reviewing!
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by Kasmi Kassim
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From Twilight to Dawn
Chapter 2: An Unknown Enemy
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"Are you ready?"
Arwen nodded, patting her horse's neck. Legolas nudged his horse to stand next to her, and together they looked toward the far horizon. The sun was rising.
"Be careful," said Elrond, coming nearer. Morning frost crunched softly under his feet. He looked up at them with an affectionate smile, and reached out his hand. Arwen leaned forward to grasp it.
"Give my regards to your grandparents," said the elvenlord, squeezing his daughter's hand. She bent down to kiss his cheek, nearly wobbling off of her mount. Legolas' hand shot out to steady her. A light-spirited giggle escaped her throat, bubbling into the pale blue sky.
Elrond stepped back. "And Legolas," he called, turning to the blond elf, "you will come back to visit sometime soon? Longer than a day, I hope." His smile broadened as Legolas murmured a sheepish apology.
Sweeping his gaze over the small assembly of elves in the courtyard, Legolas bowed with his hand at his heart. He turned to Elrond, and smiled. "Please give my regards to Elladan and Elrohir," he said sincerely. Elrond nodded, and stepped out of the way. He touched his heart, whispering a silent prayer, as the horses neighed and shook their manes. Then they galloped away, into the rising sun. Elrond watched with a pensive expression.
The morning was still young; it would be a long day.
"Secrecy does not become our young Thranduilion," mused a voice from behind, as Erestor stepped up to join the elvenlord. Elrond nodded thoughtfully.
"He will return."
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It was midday when they stopped for a break. Leaping off of their mounts, they allowed their horses to wander, and rested in the shades of the trees that dotted the land. They had crossed half of the distance to Lorien, but the trip was not a short one. They would need their strength.
"How long has it been?" asked Arwen, drinking from a water skin. She leaned back against a trunk of a tree.
Legolas looked down from his perch on a branch over her head, and fell into contemplation. "Seven years, I believe," he mused, swinging a leg. "I promised to return within five."
"You will get an earful," observed Arwen with a good deal of humor, and Legolas sighed melodramatically.
"Probably."
After he had forged that difficult path to friendship with the guardian trio of Lothlorien, he had promised to return in five years. Haldir had wanted to see him taller. Legolas had protested that there was no way for him to grow in height in only five years, but Haldir had persisted. So now, he was off to Lorien, two years late, and barely any taller. But Haldir was right; elves did grow fast at this age. He smiled at the memory of his exasperated protests, and Haldir's persistence. Those days had been trying times. But the pain had been worth it after all.
Arwen closed her eyes, humming softly to herself. When she felt a shadow loom across her face, she opened her eyes. Legolas was standing by her, his hair brushing gently against his shoulders in the wind. His eyes were focused sharply on the plains.
"Hide," he whispered. In a flash, Arwen leaped up into the foliage above, and disappeared from view.
Legolas stood still, looking straight ahead, as if turned to stone. His green and brown apparel camouflaged him against the trees, and his piercing blue eyes were all that betrayed that he was a separate life form from the whispering woods.
Looking down from her hiding, Arwen frowned. Why was he not moving? His hands were empty, and his bow rested on his back. What was he thinking?
A sudden twang rang in the air. Arwen flinched. Quivering on the tree trunk next to Legolas' arm was a small dart. And that blasted elf still did not move.
With a roar, the bushes to the left spilled forth. Men.
Arwen clutched the tree branches tightly as Legolas leaped into action. She did not join the fray. She did not know what Legolas had in mind, but something was suspicious about this attack. Legolas seemed to know how to handle it – seemed to know who they were. So she stayed where she was, waiting for Legolas to call for her help should he need it. Though the Mirkwood elf was confident of his abilities, his confidence came not with brashness of youth, but with experience. He had good sense to judge whether or not he needed help, an intuition that swiftly crossed borders of life and death, acquired from fighting for survival since a tender age. And so far, he seemed to prefer her to stay up in the tree. So she remained silent, unmoving.
He was fast. His young body twirled around here and there, nearly invisible, as the dark-clad men attacked. They were dressed as rangers. Arwen narrowed her eyes. There were six on the ground. And only one more was standing.
Legolas dashed forward with his knife, zooming in. But the man was fast; he thrust his arm forward. Arwen froze. A small black dart embedded itself into the hollow joint of Legolas' shoulder and collarbone.
The elf staggered, and together they both fell, rolling and wrestling on the grass. And soon, they were stationary, locked in a deadly grip; the man was on top of Legolas, and Legolas' knuckles whitened as the two strained against each other. But Arwen could see a losing battle; the elf's eyes were beginning to lose focus; his breaths were becoming shallow. With panic evident in his eyes, he struggled against the man, seeking to throw him off, but his movements were sluggish. It was now clear: he had been poisoned with a tranquilizer.
Seeing that resistance was weakening, the man allowed a small grin. Viciously pushing down the arms that struggled to push him away, the man pinned the elf to the ground. The pale arms strained some more; and then, they fell weakly onto the ground.
Arwen's breath hitched.
The other men lay around the clearing, motionless, as Legolas had swiftly knocked them out of consciousness. Legolas' eyes were blinking slowly, lethargically, as the man smiled in triumph. Straddling the elf, the mortal began to dig his hands underneath the elf's jerkin, as if searching for something. When he saw the smooth, unmarred skin, he frowned, as if confused. He began to unclasp the jerkin, the frown deepening. He was muttering something under his breath.
Arwen, hiding among the foliage, felt her blood becoming colder and colder. What was that man doing? What did he seek to find? Was he trying to see if Legolas was indeed the elf the mortal savages had tortured weeks before?
Unsheathing her long sword, Arwen soundlessly leaped down from the tree. The elf's hands were now stilled, lying limp on the forest floor. Arwen stepped forth. A bird trilled in a distance.
As if sensing another's presence, the man's searching hands abruptly stopped; with a suspicious frown, he swung his head around in Arwen's direction – when Legolas' hand shot out and grabbed his chin, forcing his eyes away from her with all his might. The man's eyes widened. Dark brown and intense blue locked gazes. Arwen raised her sword.
Suddenly, a calm, dangerous voice broke from Legolas' lips. His eyes did not leave the man.
"Look away, Arwen."
The bird's trill echoed again, much softer this time, before fading away.
A splash of crimson hurled against the sky.
Arwen stood frozen, a hand halfway shielding her terrified eyes. Legolas slowly pushed the limp body off of himself and sat up. His arms were shaking from the strain. His eyes were blank as they looked down upon the man, the blood that pumped out of the eyes. He then blankly stared at his bloodied knife.
He slowly turned to meet Arwen's petrified stare. Blinking a few times, he shook his head, and stood. His steps were unsteady.
"Let us be on our way." He whistled toward the trees, and horse hooves could be heard approaching. "They will follow us."
Arwen took a sharp inhalation of breath. Legolas grasped the reins of his horse, and leaned heavily against the strong body of the animal. Arwen stood where she was, unable to move.
"You...I have never seen..." Her whisper faded, her eyes frozen in disbelief. Legolas slowly turned, and Arwen's heart clenched upon the sad smile on his face.
"I had hoped you never would," he said softly.
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To Be Continued
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Deana: Thank you! I hope this was soon enough for you! ;)
Mornflower: Ah, you make me happy! And yes, you will find out eventually. ;)
Rede: Thank you so much for telling me what you liked about the chapter! It is always gratifying to the writer. ;) And as you say you adore my work, I adore your reviews! ;)
Brazgirl: Haha, isn't Legolas usually quiet? ;)
K'lara7: Oh, really? That means I must try to get better then! I hope I un-confuse you soon! ;)
kisstheraingirl12489: You don't like Legolas stories? Well, I am glad you looked into mine – isn't it a lucky coincidence that I have Elrond here! But about Elrond's seeming alienation from slash or mary sue...if only you knew, my dear, if only you knew...(chuckle) but anyway, I am sorry to say I don't know many Elrond fics, let alone Elrond torture fics. You may want to look for stories where he must part with Celebrian. Thank you for reviewing!
elvingirl3737: Ooh, thank you! I am excited! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!
merrymagic26: Haha, I updated despite it being a weekday. I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you for your review!
Unsung Heroine: I am touched that you try over and over again to review even when the site is being mean to you. And it's such a relief to hear that you like my Arwen! Thank you!
Beling: Did I manage to confuse you? Hehehe. I am so evil. Mwahahaha. Anyway, your mention of Middle Earth Disneyworld had me smiling with my own memories. So sweet. You understand the psychological turmoil of the young and old so well, you are surprising me with each review! ;) I am already anticipating what you would say about my next chapters when I write each one! (Not that I am pressuring you into reviewing...hahaha) Thank you for your beautiful review once again!
Templa Otmena: My, to lose that long wonderful review to a site crash...that is definitely tragic! I feel for you, mellon. But my, sleeping at 3 in the morning? You are one impressive lady! ;) And I am touched all the more that you wrote me that incredibly long review again despite the frustration you must have felt. Did you know that you broke your record in review length already? Hohoho. I was gratified to no end that you think so highly of my beloved latest work....and to hear that you liked my barely-glimpsed Haldir! I am excited to show his story to you already! ;) And my last chapter...I was quite nervous about my Arwen, as many female characters tend to be more critically scrutinized when read by female readers. ;) And as always, you surprise me with your sharp recollection of my earlier works that are hinted here and there, and I was so surprised to hear that you remembered my words on not writing about Arwen and Legolas' meeting...wow! And your pinpointing of my very last sentence's foreshadowing! Applause to you for catching that one, mellon nin! ;)
And Washington...yes, it is the Evergreen State (pine trees everywhere;), but it does have its share of Autumn foliage, and a bit of snow if lucky ;) I'd be happy to show you around, if only you would come; and we can discuss the finer points of fanfiction writing...hahaha, I sound obsessed now. (I think I am, at the rate your reviews are enlarging my head ;) Anyway, I'm happy to hear that you had a job interview! It sounds so exciting. And lucky you were, that the lady was nice! Heh. I was answering a survey phone call for the Associated Press regarding the election, and was giving my age and candidate choice and reason and all that...and among countless other questions, I was asked, 'What are your priorities in voting for a president? Strong stand on issues, religious preference, honesty, care and concern, or intelligence?' I mumbled, 'Intelligence.' Now we all know what Kasmi thinks of a certain someone's intelligence, don't we? ;) Haha. Well, anyway. I thank you for again for another beautiful review. And you always tell me to take care – it moves me every time. ;) Thank you and take care!
