SofiaB – You'll get to read about Thranduil's reaction soon. Just need to tie up one loose end in this chapter. Hope you enjoy.
Romy – Can't…stop…writing…Haha. Sorry I'm making you nuts with my updates. Nah, I'm not sorry at all. :o)
Slshadowfox – Thanks for reading. You'll see that I update pretty quickly. Not that I don't have a life, I just have to write to maintain my sanity.
Linilya Elf – I find it pretty hard to write Thranduil. There isn't much information about him out there and I don't want to base him on what others have written in their fanfics. I don't want him to be a wimp, but I also don't want him to be an ogre either. I hope I'm portraying him in an interesting way. What are your thoughts on Thranduil's disposition? I'm curious to know.
123456789 – Thanks for reading. Here's more.
Legolaslover – Yep, after this chapter, we're off to Mirkwood.
A/N – After reading something about Aragorn and Arwen, I learned that they actually met in Lothlorien and not in Rivendell. With that in mind, I decided to alter the history a little bit, otherwise I'd have to go back and change a whole lot more and that just won't work in this story. Besides, this is fanfiction and I can do whatever I want, right?
Chapter 16 – Deep Fosse
Elves preferred to ride their horses bareback and because of this, five additional horses would be used to carry personal effects and supplies for the fifty-three in the procession. The travelers consisted of Legolas, Aleera, Aragorn, Arwen, Elladan, Elrohir, Glorfindel, Celeborn, Haldir, Galadron, Nórui, Celegmin, Brithla, the original twenty elves from Rivendell and now an additional twenty Lothlorien elf warriors.
Aragorn had wanted Arwen to remain in Lothlorien, but she would not hear of it. The day before, they wandered through the glades together and ended upon a hill known as Cerin Amroth. There they vowed to each other that they would marry one day soon. They had not decided on any particular date, only that it would be done. Aragorn feared that something would befall her, with the inevitable Kozari and Orc invasion of Mirkwood. But he knew that Arwen was very formidable with her sword and he worried for no reason.
Legolas tightened the cinch around the horse carrying Aleera's personal effects. Luckily she decided not to take much after he promised he would give her anything she desired once they reached Mirkwood. But it still seemed like a lot of items and clothing. Galadron stood beside him as he turned away from the horse. "I hope this is it," he told Aleera's father, lightheartedly.
Galadron chuckled and took the reins of the horse, guiding it to where the other four horses stood patiently waiting.
Legolas glanced around the mass of elves in the glade, preparing for departure. Aragorn and Arwen were standing with Celeborn and Galadriel. Elladan and Elrohir were loading bundles of additional arrows they had made onto one of the pack horses. Glorfindel was speaking to Haldir and several other elves. Nórui and Brithla were braiding Celegmin's hair in warrior plaits. Legolas casually began to walk around, looking for Aleera and paused near her family. "Have you seen Aleera?" he asked Nórui.
"Aye, hir nin. She rushed back to our talans after realizing she had forgotten something of value to her." (my prince)
"What more of value can she possibly have? She has taken everything but the tree."
Celegmin laughed. "She may surprise us yet."
Legolas laughed in return and continued walking around. But upon leaving the presence of Aleera's mother, brother and sister, he began to feel a sense of unease grow within him. He felt the usual pain in his chest so he knew she was not close. After a moment of concern, he decided to trek in the direction of the family's mallorn. As he approached it, however, his pain did not ease, telling him that she was not there. He even called out to her to make sure and received no answer. His uneasiness began to grow. For a moment he paused to listen to the sounds around him, blocking out the familiar sounds of the trees, birds and rustling leaves. And then he heard it.
"No, please, do not do this," said the distant voice.
Legolas recognized Aleera's voice and immediately sensed the fear in her words. Out of instinct, he pulled his bow from his back and drew two arrows as his feet carried him in the direction of Aleera's pleading voice. There was no doubt in his mind who caused her fear.
Aleera was helpless with her wrists bound as Seledred dragged her. When she would not keep silent, he gagged her mouth to prevent her from saying anything further. Why had she left the safety of the others and gone off on her own? The minute she had neared her family's mallorn, Seledred jumped out and grabbed her, holding his hand over her mouth to prevent her from calling out for help.
Seledred was furious with the way things turned out. His punishment was banishment. It was certainly not a horrible one, but to an elf…being banished from the clan was like a death sentence. No other elf clan would accept him and he would be forced to fend for himself. Not to mention that he would be free game for any of the foul creatures that lurked wherever he went. Without any weapons, he would not survive long if attacked. He blamed his predicament on the elleth he currently dragged against her will. Aleera…he had loved her once. He had bonded with her and she refused to accept him in any way other than friendship until she was ready. His lust for her led him into the arms of Tofniâ, a devious human woman who dwelled in the forest of Fangorn. Even though Seledred knew she was not to be trusted, she enchanted him in every way possible, leading him to break his bond with Aleera. The evil temptress willed him to kill Aleera if she did not agree to break their bond. And so he ended up giving her to a band of Orcs traveling north to the Grey Mountains. Everyone would believe she had been taken by them and no one would suspect that she had in fact died of a broken heart that he had caused. But then she ruined everything by miraculously reappearing in Lothlorien under the protection of a wood elf from Mirkwood. He had expected the Orcs to repeatedly violate her, the worst kind of torture for an elf and then kill her if she did not die from their foul ministrations. The Orcs had failed to complete what he had asked of them.
Aleera's eyes grew wide as they neared the green wall surrounding the mound. On the other side of the wall was the Deep Fosse, an impassable ditch dug around the entire perimeter of Caras Galadon. It consisted of sharp rocks that cut the feet of anyone or anything attempting to cross through. The only way into Caras Galadon was via the bridge at the southern gate. Upon reaching the wall, Seledred knocked her off her feet and quickly bound her ankles with leather, even as she kicked out at him, trying to scream through the gag around her mouth.
Seledred delivered a blow to her face to knock her senseless and immobile so she would not fight him as he slung her over his shoulder and began to climb the wall using one hand. A moment later he had her lying on the top of the wall where she remained breathing heavily and staring at him through wide, frightened eyes. He would have his vengeance. If he was to suffer, then she would die for it.
Aleera turned her head and stared wide-eyed down the opposite side of the wall. It was a drop of over fifty feet onto the sharp rocks of the Deep Fosse. She would never survive the fall if he intended to push her over the side.
Seledred pulled her up on her feet and she found it difficult holding her balance with her ankles bound tightly together. He held her in place and then slowly removed her gag. "Navaer, meleth nin." (farewell, my love)
Aleera narrowed her tear-filled eyes furiously and spat into Seledred's face. "Mîbo orch!" (go kiss an Orc)
Seledred sneered. "Such spirit for one who faces death. Perhaps I should take you once and for all, right here upon this wall. You will know the true meaning of pleasure, unlike what you think you have had with your cursed wood elf."
"I will find no such pleasure in your rotted corpse," she said with venom. Then she uttered a cry as he yanked her toward him to bring his lips to her throat.
"Seledred!" came a cry from below.
Seledred pulled away from Aleera and glared down the side of the wall. It was the wood elf, two arrows notched in his bow and aimed directly at him.
"Release her! Now!" yelled Legolas.
Seledred laughed. "I certainly plan to, but she will be falling down the other side of this wall."
"I warn you, I will not hesitate to kill you this time around!"
"Very well, then shoot me. If I go down, she will go down with me."
Legolas clenched his teeth, very aware that Aleera had no way of maintaining her balance on her own. If he fired his arrows at Seledred, he would fall and she would end up falling with him.
"Hold fast!" came a shout from one of the trees on Legolas's right.
Legolas turned to the source and found Rúmil standing on a mallorn branch, his bow aimed at Seledred. A sound to his left made Legolas turn to find Orophin atop another branch, his bow also aimed. Haldir's brothers had come to aid Legolas.
Seledred laughed again. "I am not surprised that the two of you have showed up. But I am surprised that it took you this long to discover me gone from my dwelling."
"Release Aleera slowly, Seledred," said Orophin.
"Then kill me."
Rúmil edged closer on his branch. "We will indeed kill you, for death is all that is left for you. But we will see that Aleera is safely set down first."
"I will release her if we can renegotiate my punishment."
"There is nothing to renegotiate," said Orophin. "It is apparent that the punishment of banishment previously served to you failed to make you see your flawed ways."
Legolas allowed them to continue debating while he kept his eyes firmly on Aleera. Her eyes were on him and he sensed her undeniable fear. Finally he decided to break into the debate. "What is it you seek, Seledred?"
"I want amnesty and forgiveness for a crime I was under duress to commit."
"It will be done," replied Legolas, knowing that there was no way Seledred would get what he wanted. "Now release her carefully."
Seledred slowly shook his head. "Nay, I think not. I place no trust in wood elves. I will see you fall to your knees and beg me, oh great prince of Mirkwood."
Aleera watched Legolas's expression. His eyes narrowed in anger. She could almost feel the tension with which he held the bowstring back and how intensely he wanted to release the two arrows he had notched on it.
"I did not think you would do it. No son of a king would bow to a commoner." Seledred locked eyes with the wood elf. There would be no good outcome from this confrontation. But he would have the satisfaction of taking Aleera down to her death with him. "I grow weary of this," he said as he finally pushed Aleera over the side of the wall. Seledred heard her scream just as two arrows lodged deep into his chest and then two other arrows, coming from opposite directions, joined the others. Instead of falling backward into the Deep Fosse, he leaned and fell forward from the wall to land on the soft grass below.
The second the arrows left his bow, Legolas dropped it and quickly scaled the wall. He expected to find Aleera's broken body lying in the sharp rocks below. Instead he found her dangling precariously from the leather binds on her wrists that were lodged on a rock jutting out sharply. Her frightened eyes raised to meet his. But he quickly saw that the sharpness of the rock was beginning to cut into the leather. She tried to reach her hands up to grab the rock, but had no leverage. Legolas lowered himself on his stomach and reached his hand down to her. "Reach for my hand!"
Aleera looked up at his hand. It was a good two feet above her. How did he expect her to reach it? "I cannot reach!"
Legolas pushed himself further over the side, reaching as far as he could without tumbling off the wall. Then he heard movement beside him. Orophin and Rúmil were on either side of him. As he pushed himself even further, the two other elves grabbed his legs so he would not fall.
The leather ripped and Aleera screamed as she felt herself falling. Legolas hurled himself down and quickly grabbed her wrist firmly. Orophin and Rúmil quickly pulled Legolas back up on the wall while he had a hold of Aleera. She was light so he had no trouble pulling her up the rest of the way by himself.
Aleera threw her arms around Legolas and could not stop her uncontrollable sobbing. So many times did he come to her rescue. His selfless acts to protect her were endless. He loved her unconditionally, risking his life and everything for her.
Legolas comforted Aleera as best he could, caressing the back of her head and whispering gentle words in her ear. "You are safe, meleth. Everything will be fine. He will never harm you again. I promise." As he continued to hold Aleera close to him, he glanced at Orophin and Rúmil. "Hannon le," he said to them and they nodded in response. (love) (thank you)
After several moments, Legolas cut the leather binds around Aleera's ankles and she managed to slowly climb down the wall. Legolas did not bother with the tedious task, he simply jumped from it and landed in a crouch. Orophin and Rúmil were standing over Seledred. The elf was still alive.
"His fate is in your hands, Legolas," said Rúmil.
Legolas sneered at the dying elf before him, coughing up blood in spasms. "If he survives long enough to make the trek, feed his dying carcass to the wolves of Isengard." He put an arm around Aleera's shoulder and led her away, stopping only to pick up his bow from the ground.
Aragorn was about to go in search of Legolas and Aleera, hoping that they had not stopped somewhere to engage in their favorite pastime of late. He exchanged a glance with Celeborn as the elf lord walked up to him.
"We are ready to depart. What holds up Legolas and Aleera?"
Aragorn sighed and tried to think of an excuse he could make for his friend. He was about to tell the biggest lie of his life when he suddenly spotted Legolas and Aleera returning to the glade. He had an arm around her shoulders and she looked as if she had been dragged through the mud.
Legolas released Aleera into her mother's care and turned to a confused Galadron. Aragorn and Celeborn approached, as did Glorfindel and Haldir.
"What happened?" asked Aragorn.
"Seledred escaped the confines of his dwelling and managed to snatch Aleera. He threatened to push her over the wall of Caras Galadon to her death upon the sharp rocks of the Deep Fosse."
"Why was Seledred left unguarded?" asked Haldir.
"I know not," replied Legolas.
"I will have the hides of my brothers for their lack of attention."
Legolas put a hand on Haldir's shoulder. "Nay, do not put the blame on them. If not for their help, Aleera would be lost to us."
Haldir was still angry that Orophin and Rúmil had left Seledred's dwelling unguarded. He would still have words with them upon his return from Mirkwood. "What has become of Seledred?"
"He still lives, even with four arrows in his chest. But he will not survive if he does not receive the attention of a healer."
"He will receive no such attention," said Celeborn. "I will convey this request to Galadriel." He walked away from them and headed in the direction of his wife.
Aragorn pulled Legolas off to the side, seeing the sudden look of utter despair on the elf's face. "What is it? Are you all right?"
Legolas glanced in Aleera's direction, watching her quietly talking to her mother and sister about the incident. He looked down, willing his troubled heart to slow its rapid beating. "I was very close to losing her, Aragorn." He looked up into Aragorn's eyes. "I vowed to protect her and I nearly failed."
"Do not blame yourself, mellon nin. You cannot be at her side every moment." (my friend)
"I am regretting my decision to take her to Mirkwood, knowing that an assault is eminent. Perhaps it would be best if she remained here with her family until the battle is over."
Aragorn smiled and clasped his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Do you truly believe you can convince her to stay here while you go off to battle in Mirkwood without her? I am certain she is as stubborn as Arwen in that capacity."
"Aye, you are right. There is nothing I can say that would convince her to stay behind."
"Come, let us be off. I look forward to your father's pleasing face and cheerful countenance."
Legolas knew Aragorn spoke with sarcasm. Thranduil was not known for his kindness to any of Legolas's friends. He wondered how his father would behave before the elf maiden he unknowingly took as his wife.