Disclaimer: I own nothing, though Gimli's on my Christmas list.
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The companions took their leave of the tiny town as the sun sank behind the horizon and the shadows lengthened. Legolas shook his head, trying to keep his mind from wandering as they left the small shop that served the entire town's population.
His friend he had discovered could spend more time bartering with shopkeepers than a market wife. The elf frowned disapprovingly at Gimli as he stumped out of the store still grumbling under his breath about thieves and swindlers. Inara, her hand resting on the dwarf's shoulder, touched Legolas' face reading his expression and laughing.
Gimli's head came up and he glanced suspiciously from one to the other before loading their supplies on the horse and heading to the edge of town. As the buildings grew few Legolas stopped catching the attention of a passerby.
The man he chose was not the most appealing specimen of the race of men. Lank and greasy gray hair hung about his shoulders, framing a crooked nose and squinting eyes, all shadowed by a shapeless, colorless hat and cloak.
"Might we trouble you for directions to the home of your Lord?" He smiled hoping to appear as friendly as possible. He had no desire to foster another dispute with the town's folk. After all, one mud bath a day was more than enough where the elf was concerned.
The man glanced fearfully around him, coughing into his hand, "What sort of business would one of the elves have wit 'im?"
"We were invited," Legolas responded. Gimli could hear the slight arrogance creep into the elf's voice. Despite the change in his feelings toward humans the elf would sometimes forget. He none to subtly nudged the elf. Legolas glared at him then looked down, realizing what he was doing.
Completely oblivious the man replied, "Well, if that's it. Just wondering, strange folk appearing 'round the town and all the Uruk-hai on the plains. Thought it best to inquire, not just everyone can speak wit 'is Lordship, you know." The man matched exactly the elf's tone of arrogance.
Legolas just stared at him aghast, but Gimli laughed, catching the shine of intelligence beneath the man's dirt caked appearance. "Your lord surely appreciates your caution good sir. But now that we are clear might you not tell us the way? Night is drawing near, and we have no desire to stay in the inn as it is run by a robber."
At this the peasant threw back his head in a howl of laughter so different from his first fearful appearance, "That he is! That he is! Well then me good sirs and ma'am," he nodded to Inara. She smiled at him in return. "Just 'ead to the end of this street and at the top of the hill you'll find 'im and that 'ouse of 'is. I wish you luck."
"Thank you." Legolas managed to recoup some of his dignity, saying this with a straight face and grasping the reins of the horse to lead it away.
Gimli just sighed, and he and Inara followed the elf. The man watched them go and laughed quietly, though whether at himself or at another thing entirely he was not entirely sure. This probably more than anything else distressed him.
Before them the house rose at the crest of the 'hill.' Only a Rohirm would go so far as to refer to it as a hill. This however did not in anyway decrease the magnificence of the house. It's thatched roof gleamed in the dying light, glowing nearly as brightly as that of Theodyn's own hall. It's thick oaken timbers collected from some far off place appeared able to withstand any attack.
As they drew near Legolas put his hand on one of the ancient timbers.
"These trees were ancient. Very ancient once, now they have seen more turning of the seasons than even I have witnessed." His hand traced the whorls in the wood, "And have witnessed many great things."
Gimli just snorted, "Here? I think not my friend unless you feel an escaped cow is a 'great thing.'" He chuckled, having to jump back as Nodin, who had been resting quietly in Inara's arms reached with tiny but surprisingly strong hands for the dwarf's braided beard.
"Now none of that little sir. You are to be on your best behavior here." Gimli admonished him. Nodin simply giggled though, and reached again towards the dwarf.
"Now you know the agony I have experienced during this journey!" Legolas teased.
Before Gimli could entertain a suitable reply the thick door creaked open. A man in worn but serviceable cloth in the somber red of the house stepped out. Lady Marja stepped carefully out, and ushered them into her home. Here within the hall torch-like flickered off the wooden walls leaving fanciful shadows to play all around the darkened hall.
"If it pleases you he will guide you to your rooms, when you are refreshed we shall eat." She curtsied, glancing quickly over her shoulder into the deepest of the shadows before striding quickly from the hall to disappear into the strange darkness.
"Odd sort of welcome." Gimli mumbled.
"Shhh." Inara put her hand on his arm so that he could guide her.
The servant looked at them in disdain, taking in their travel worn clothes and in the case of the elf the liberal mudstains. The torchlight reflected in his eyes almost making them seem alight with flames of their own. "You would do well not to insult the mistress of this house." His voice was a sibilant hiss that made Gimli's grip tighten on his ax.
The man just smiled and turned his back on them. He led them down the winding corridor passing a number of small rooms each with a door as thick as the one that had given them entry to the hall. At no time did Gimli loosen his hold on his axe. He was amused to note though that for all his calm Legolas' hand rested on the hilt of his belt knife.
They finally came to two doors across from each other. The man bowed mockingly before walking off with the torch leaving them alone. The corridor stretched away on both sides. They paused for a moment. Inara put her hand out feeling the door. She let it drift down until it rested on the handle.
"I will see you shortly." She smiled reassuringly before pulling it open to enter.
"Wait!" Gimli reached out after her, catching the door.
"Yes, Gimli?" They could both hear the laughter in her voice though she kept a straight face.
"Humph, uh, l was just going to say," He broke off, glaring at the Legolas who just laughed out loud, "I was just going to say we ought to go together, it would appear, rude, to do otherwise." As he said this he glanced down the hall in the direction the servant had disappeared. His fingers gently traced the haft of his axe.
The mirth vanished from Inara's face, leaving it tired and sad, "Yes, Gimli, what you say is true. We would not wish to appear rude." She too knew his true meaning.
Gimli
dropped his burdens to the floor of the bare room they found themselves in.
Even the furniture seemed to be older than the age of the earth. Gimli eyed one
of the two beds, dropping his heavier armaments onto it. He winced as the
ancient wood groaned.
Legolas dropped his burdens to
the ground as well. His attention though was focused on the pitcher of water
and the basin beside it. He stripped off his muddied cloak and over coat, and proceeded
to remove as much of the dirt as he could from his person.
Gimli hoisted himself into the
oversized chairs muttering. He then rested his muddy boots on the small table
beside the basin. The elf glared at him, but continued what he was doing. Gimli
couldn't help but think that should such a gaze be turned upon another it would
surely turn them to stone. Luckily it had no effect on the dwarf.
"Lad, I do not see the
reason for all your efforts. You are going to be as dirty again when we begin
our travels again."
"No, you will be dirty, I
however am able to avoid landing in every mud puddle we happen to come
across."
"Arrgh! Elves!" Gimli swung his feet to the ground, stomping
off to the other side of the room. Legolas just grinned. This round at least
was his.
A knock came at their door,
Gimli still mutering under his
breath flung it open ignoring Legolas' curse as he pulled his still damp shirt
over his head.
The dwarf wasn't even able to
enjoy the elf's embarrassment as the sight that met his eyes sent all other
thoughts from his head.
Inara
reached out tentatively relaxing and blushing slightly as her fingers met Gimli's face. She let them slide tentatively down his face.
Gimli put his hand over hers as it came to rest on his shoulder.
Behind them Legolas finally
managed to pull his shirt on correctly and smoothed it down, observing the pair
without comment. He turned his eyes towards the floor not wishing to invade
what was clearly a private moment.
Inara
wore a simple deep blue dress that swept down to the floor. It's
only decorations was a silver trim and a simple silver belt.
"You are very beautiful my
lady," Gimli murmured quietly, even his rough voice softened with emotion.
"You are as kind as ever
Master Dwarf, but it is Lady Marja you have to thank for the dress." She squeezed his shoulder, "I have never
owned such a thing, and I do not believe I could have brought it on such a
journey as we have had."
Gimli laughed, taking her hand to guide her into the room. Inara reached out with her other hand to touch the elf's face, she smiled when she found it still damp.
"Have you rid yourself of the mud already Legolas? You should have left it a little longer, it is supposed to be healthy."
"I do not think I could have managed to remain that way for any longer, Inara." Legolas shook his head, "Elves unlike the races of men and dwarves do not enjoy wearing a layer of dirt wherever they go."
"You forget master elf that both of your companions are of those races." Inara's tone did not change, but Gimli grinned fiercely at his speechless friend. This round was hers. Legolas took a breath and reached out, bowing over her hand.
"I surrender Inara, I cannot hope to compete with one such as you."
"Enough of that!" Gimli brushed him aside, "What of the babe Inara? Where has the little one got to?"
"He has finally worn himself out. One of Marja's servants watches him as he sleeps."
"Are you certain of their loyalty? Enough of the men we have met so far have had no qualms about betraying us to the Uruk-hai."
"This house is a fortress Giml, none will come here. Let Nodin sleep, the journey has been difficult for one as young as he."
The three made their way through the darkened passageways to the dining hall. Legolas carried a lamp taken from one of their rooms and Inara walked with her hand on Gimli's shoulder. The lamp light flickered over the moldering tapestries depicting the glories of men long turned to dust. Even immortalized in the images they seemed like something of myth rather than fact and in some cases perhaps they were.
They entered the hall to find Lady Marja waiting her hands clasped before her at one end of the table. On the other stood a man dressed in fine clothes of flaming red. He smirked at the three.
"So this is what you bring me? Three beggars?" His voice grated on Gimli's ears, seeming not to match his elegant features and thick brown hair.
"Three travelers M'Lord, they were attacked in the village, I offered them shelter."
"I see. So we must welcome strangers to our home? A dwarf and an elf? Are they a traveling show? I suppose that would be more interesting then beggars."
Legolas' face darkened and his hand slid to the knife at his belt.
"I would not do that master elf." The man was on his feet, a knife in his own hand, poised to throw before Legolas could move.
"Not all of the race of men are as slow as you would think."
"M'Lord!" Marja reached for his hand, but he swung his fist back to strike her. She ducked the blow, pulling a knife of her own, resting it just beneath his chin. "Now my lord, if you could be so kind…"
He smiled slowly, swallowing carefully and dropped the knife. "And you, master elf, guests should not pull knives on their hosts." Marja waved at him.
Legolas slowly lifted his hand, confusion showing in his eyes.
"My husband and I enjoy our little games." Marja slipped her knife back into its hiding place and her husband took a bow.
"And now we shall eat." The conversation was very weak throughout the meal. Marja talked of the village and the seasons. Never did the conversation stray to the past of either the travelers or their hosts.
The Lady would often look to her husband. It seemed strange, the two were carefully polite now, but it was a dangerous politeness, each word razor sharp. Neither though appeared to have the advantage, Gimli could not help to wonder what would happen when that delicate balance was upset. When the painful meal finally drew to a close. The lord rose to his feet, offering his hand to Marja and helping her up.
"I will bid you good night, the Lady and I will retire. Can you find your rooms?"
"We can." Gimli's voice was flat, and suspicious, Inara nudged him, "Thank you for your, hospitality, my lord."
None of them spoke as Legolas picked up the lamp, already lit by one of the silent servants who had attended them during the meal. The elf was just about to comment on how Gimli's table manners had improved substantially while he sat beside Inara when a hand touched his shoulder.
He whirled around, but it was only the lady Marja, standing demurely in the shadows as if she normally ghosted silently through the halls.
"I wish to apologize for my husband's behavior." She kept her strange eyes ahead, but looked directly at none of those she spoke to. For a moment Gimli was reminded of Inara's gaze when she searched for a speaker.
"There is no apology necessary, my lady." Gimli said sympathetically, "It was no fault of yours."
She shook her head, "No, my husband feels the end of this coming. The age changes." Her eyes came to rest on Legolas, "Your people leave us and a new time comes." She gestured to take in the hall. "We too have been here for the long years, we have seen many kings and many battles. My father governed this house and his before him. It was left to me to chose their successor. Not all families are as willing to accept a girl child as your people, lady." This last was spoken to Inara, who looked to the ground, Gimli glanced at her sharply.
"Perhaps that is the reason why they dealt with my people as they did." Her voice was quiet and Marja spoke no more of that.
"I would be happy to remain here, to preserve some of the past so that it may be learned from and remembered. This has long been our task here where no others find cause to visit." Gimli was reminded of the moldering tapestries and the weight of the age that seemed to cling to every part of the house and hall.
"My husband though, dreams of a bright future. A future without the beauty of ancient things, a future that cannot wait or take the time to remember, but as I have told him, what is a future without a past?"
When she spoke again, she spoke only to the elf, "You understand, I may not have seen the years pass as your people have, yet my family instills within us as children the memories. I know the tales of my people from the beginning of the age. We remember before the Rohirrim, we remember before the lady's people vanished, but what good does it do us?"
"As long as it is remembered the past can never die, there is more than one form of immortality." Legolas' voice was quiet, almost sorrowful.
She sighed, "Your visit was well timed, on the morrow we will celebrate the end of the third year since my father's passing, it is on this day my husband shall take up his title. I beg you to be cautious of your words even to one another tonight you know naught of who may listen."
"It serves me naught. I live only to remember, for me there is no tomorrow, only the yesterdays an every growing number of them. Once…" She shook her head, "But no more."
Another figure appeared from the darkness, this time the lean muscular form of the lord, he smiled at his guests, gently taking Marja's hand. "So this is where you have got to. Surely our guests must be tired, give them leave to seek their beds and so shall we."
He drew her away, but Marja turned back, "Good night my friends."
Gimli whispered, "She is no more than a girl. How could she have wed such as that?"
"Head her warning Gimli," Legolas nodded down the passage where eyes gleamed in the darkness like those of rats, and a flicker of candle flame shone and then disappeared.
Inara shifted uneasily, gripping Gimli's hand more tightly, "I do not like this. Let us return. I want to hold Nodin. Something here makes me uneasy."
What she said was true, the air seemed close, as if weighted by spirits of those whose lives and deeds were recorded on every surface in the building. Gimli could almost imagine he could hear them whispering and scuttling in the ever present darkness. The sun would bring more than just the breaking of the balance between the lord and his lady. He felt that even it's light would not sweep away all the shadows that seemed to be hidden here in the land of the horse lords.
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Virag ran the whet stone over his blade. It was time to call his followers. He had had enough searching. He would take this land and as he scoured it clean he would find the child he needed.
The failure of Poshnak disappointed him. He would have to chose his second more carefully this time. But then maybe such was no longer necessary. No longer would he be the leader of a simple band of thieves and beasts. No, now was the beginning, now he would bring this age of Middle Earth to a close.
He straightened, waving the lighter weight Uruk-hai who crouched away from the cold wind to him. They came slowly, not pleased with their coming task. It would never have been easy, but now in the cold it was nigh impossible.
"You will go, find the bands and bring them here. From within the winding depths of the mountains in passages never seen by dwarves or men we shall begin our task."
"What task is that?" One of them sneered.
Virag grabbed him by the throat, slamming him against the wall, grinding his long, talon-like nails into the runner's neck, "Our crusade." He dropped the runner, leaving him gasping on the ground.
"Now, run as if all the whips of the wizard were at your heals! For when you return our time shall begin!" The last came as a roar which followed the racing of the runners foot falls as they disappeared into the wind.
Sauron and the wizards had believed they knew of power, but they were wrong. The ancient magic and old runes and songs were of no purpose. The growing, the quiet, the slow, all were to be burned away as shadows with the coming of a new day.
And what a glorious day it would be. Already the flames of that would consume the grasslands of Rhohan and then spread shone in his eyes. Perhaps he was not the great evil that consumed souls, perhaps he had not the power of the Ring the half-ling had burned, but he held the power of change, of development. No more would it be growth now the world would be forged and built, designed as a reflection of his will, and his people.
Virag's fingers ran lovingly down the length of his sword, the waiting was over, it would begin. He felt a twinge of worry, like that of an old wound, long healed. What of the child? He would have to have the child before his plans could succeed. But Virag pushed the thought from his head. When all of Rhorrim was his, he could find the child with ease. What could a dwarf, an elf, and a daughter of man do to stop the gathering of the Uruk-hai?
The winds howled around the rocky entrance where Virag stood, and away to sweep across the plains, bringing a chill warning with them. This season the winds from the mountains would bring more than storms.
Author's Note:
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See! I updated! And now the debate season's over so updates will be a lot faster. And only 2 days to the opening! I'll be there at midnight in full costume, (I will be Eowyn (sorry for the spelling, can't find my LOTR book) disguised as a soldier, and my brother will be a Nazgul. Should be fun!) Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter though it was a bit long…
Lady Jaina: Thank you very much! I hope you enjoyed this very *long* chapter.
Star-Stallion: Hmm, do you think Santa could fit Legolas *and* Gimli in his bag without over-burdening the reindeer? I don't think Gimli would much care for the reindeer, but an elf on a flying reindeer would certainly be fun to see… Also, I don't abandon fics, I just get distracted, ;) I always get back to it! Sorry for being slow!
Coolio02: Well I posted, not exactly soon, but it's here and it will be faster now that the season's over.
MidnightMidlight: I'm glad you agree, it's easier this way. Now that things are picking up there will be more fun action scenes. I need to go practice writing battle scenes, they aren't really my strong point…
itarilde-elenastar: This chapters a bit on the dark side, I mean creepy, not the Force. I've been writing Star Wars fan fics, can you tell? Sorry… Oh sleep would be nice, not exactly rational, stupid homework, it's *really* going to be fun going to school after 4 hrs of sleep after the opening of ROTK, but hey, can't miss *that*!!!
Roseblade22: See! I updated, and I did Star Wars updates, so now just got to do the other LOTR, and I'll be all set, but now I have to go, I have to finish my costume for ROTK.
Impatient: Sorry, sorry sorry!!! It's being updated really! Please don't hurt the author! *hides behind a big shield* I promise to update faster!
