Chapter 4
The orcs were larger than usual. All were at least normal human height, with sharp teeth and bulking muscles. Picking two targets Legolas pierced then both with a single arrow. As Elenwen began to slash at the orcs with her sword she found the orcs all bore tougher armor, more thick with a large white hand on their chests, faces and shields. Slowly she pushed her way through the mass of them to keep them from surrounding her in a circle.
Callnen fought hard, stabbing an orc behind the neck he crossed his blade about the head and pulled outwards severing the orcs head so it tumbled to the ground.
"Callnen! Your aid!" Aragorn shouted. Twisting around to locate Aragorn, Callnen spied Gimli atop the elevated platform.
"Khazad!" Gimli yelled and leapt from the platform to land on three bloody orcs. Callnen smiled at Gimli's bravery and forced his way over to Aragorn.
Slicing an orcs arm clean off Elenwen began to notice the sweat trickling down her brow. Snarls filled her ears and she was dimly aware of a large gash on her shoulder as a loud low sound rang out.
"The horn of Gondor!" Legolas yelled out. All at once the company forced themselves towards the edge of the ill. Orcs poured down the stairs towards the sound. Without speaking everyone forced a path as Aragorn ran through to aid Boromir.
As soon as Aragorn was gone the group proved to be strong even without Aragorn, causing the orcs to flee in fear or for another reason unknown.
"Come." Legolas called. "Let us aid out friends." He said and started down the stairs.
Aragorn groaned slightly under the weight of Boromir's dead body. The Gondorian Captain was placed in one of the remaining boats with his sword and shield as well as a few of the weapons taken from the orcs he slew.
Elenwen shed a few silent tears out of respect as she folded the Lothlorien cloak to place behind Boromir's head.
"Three arrows it took to slay him. I avenged his death yet I do not find it enough to put Boromir's soul to rest." Aragorn said solemnly.
"When Gondor has returned to its former glory he shall rest, knowing his lands and people are safe." Elenwen told. With that they pushed the boat from the shore and watched as it slowly went down the river to the falls.
Elenwen sighed. Merry and Pippin had been carried off and Frodo with Sam had been spotted across the river. All faces were creased with dirt. Sweat dampened clothes, blood caked fresh wounds.
"These orcs are not natural. I must speak of this and report what has happened to Lord Celeborn." Callnen frowned kicking a large dead orc.
"These are Uruk-hai, and there may be more on the shore across. Hurry we must help Frodo." Legolas said walking towards a boat. Aragorn looked grief stricken as he gazed across the river.
"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands." Aragorn sighed as he repaired a small hole in the length of his bracer.
"Then it has all been in vain. The fellowship is broken." Gimli said form behind his tangled beard.
"There is still hope. We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death. Not while we have strength left. Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light." Aragorn told and a flame of determination lit his eyes as he strapped his sheath tighter about his waist.
"Lets hunt some orc!" Aragorn cried.
"Yes!" Gimli agreed and followed Aragorn up the path.
Callnen looked to his sister. "Go Elenwen, for I know there is nothing I can do to stop you." Elenwen hugged her brother.
"Farewell for now." She called and ran up the path.
"Take care of her." Callnen told Legolas and clapped a hand on the prince's shoulder.
"I will. May we meet again." Legolas grinned. Callnen nodded and ran along the riverbank towards his home. Legolas smiled quickly and followed the group with a lighter heart.
The four ran hard and fast all day and half the night. Finally when the moon began to sink in the sky Aragorn called for a halt. They fell to the grass, chest heaving.
"I have not seen orcs travel in sunlight, much less full sunlight!" Elenwen gasped and leaned heavily on Legolas. Aragorn lay down and pressed his ear to the ground.
"They have halted. We cannot take all of them on our own; much less attempt a rescue un-rested. Who shall take first shift?" Aragorn asked quietly. He opened a small bag and pulled out some Lembas.
" I shall. I believe I am the most rested at this point." Elenwen offered upon hearing the translation.
"You are on your honor then Legolas." Aragorn told.
"Must I be the only bachelor on this trip?" Gimli growled. Legolas smiled,
"We have a long journey yet Gimli." The dwarf grunted and curled up with his axe in reach. Aragorn slept like a guard dog with one eye open.
Watching through the dark shadows Elenwen sat stiffly as her ears twitched for any sign of movement. Something warm pressed against the back of her neck and strong arms wrapped around her waist.
"You look as beautiful as ever at night." Legolas whispered warmly in her ear.
"I could look better." Elenwen hinted as she leaned back into Legolas's strong chest. He smiled and kissed Elenwen's head, "Someday, I will have you all to myself and you can show me how beautiful you can be." Legolas whispered and kissed her just below the ear. Elenwen shivered wonderfully at the heat in the elf's voice.
"Elenwen I think I will take first watch as my mind is not yet settled by its thoughts." Aragorn said suddenly.
Elenwen jumped, "Yes of course Aragorn, if you will it." She said quickly and moved away from Legolas's arms to curl up at a distance. Aragorn looked to Legolas.
"It is unfair you are the only one with the one that you love on the journey, how ever fleeting you romance may be." Aragorn teased.
"Perhaps if you stopped interrupting I may be able to get to know Elenwen a bit better. My feelings for her are not fleeting I assure you." Legolas replied and turned away from Aragorn silently. Aragorn let out a small chuckle and took his watch.
"Their pace has quickened." Aragorn told softly as he lay on the ground with his ear pressed to the dirt listening to the groans of the earth. "They must have caught our scent. Hurry!" Aragorn jumped up and started running. Legolas and Elenwen hurried after.
"Come Gimli!" Legolas called as he looked back.
"Three days and nights pursuit…no food…no rest –and no sign of our quarry but what bare rock can tell!" Gimli groaned.
"Hobbits." Elenwen spoke slowly. Legolas smiled at her,
"You are quick to learn the tongue of men." He told. Elenwen grinned proudly.
"You are a handsome one Legolas."Elenwen smiled as she spoke again.
"And you are a gorgeous maiden." He told her.
Ahead Aragorn was bent over the ground and a look of puzzle swept over Elenwen's face. As she drew nearer she saw he clutched a Lothlorien leaf brooch.
"Not idly do the leaves of Lothlorien fall." Elenwen spoke.
"They may yet be alive." Legolas said with hope. Aragorn examined the tracks more closely.
"Less than a day ahead of us, come!" Aragorn yelled. Elenwen turned in time to see Gimli stumble and roll down a hill.
"Come Gimli! We are gaining on them!" Legolas yelled as he stifled a chuckle.
"I am wasted on cross-country. We dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances." Gimli called. As Legolas translated for Elenwen she grew more respect for the dwarf. He may be stubborn but his spirit was strong, she thought and followed the dark haired Dunedain ahead of her.
After much running the four approached a hill that overlooked a rocky plain.
"Rohan, home of the horse-lords." Aragorn informed. "There is something strange at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures, sets its will against us."
Elenwen followed Legolas to a taller hill up ahead to gaze at the sloping, yellow fields of Rohan. All across the land lay large rocks that looked as though some giant threw them.
"Legolas! Elenwen! What do your elf eyes see?" Aragorn called.
Elenwen looked once again at the landscape and saw a small dusty cloud in the northeast.
"The Uruks turn northeast." Elenwen yelled.
"They are taking the hobbits to Isenguard!" Legolas added.
The pace quickened still, long into the day.
"Keep breathing, that's the key! Breathe! Hooh!" Gimli panted as he tried to keep up with the weight of his armor and weapons weighting him down.
Legolas turned to Elenwen, "They run as if the very whips of their masters are behind them." He commented.
"And we run as if fear of loosing our friends is tracking us down." Elenwen mentioned and sped up even more.
The sun began to set and Aragorn called a halt.
"This pace will be the death of me!" Gimli wheezed heavily and collapsed in a patch of dry grass. Aragorn took a huge gulp of water from his flask.
"Lets hope the hobbits have not been running this pace or they will be worse off than Gimli." Elenwen managed to say before she too collapsed. Legolas and Aragorn felt the corners of their mouths twitch ever so slightly in a smile.
"I heard my name, yet I am too tired to care." Gimli placed his head down. Elenwen yawned and promptly fell asleep.
The sun rose red in the sky the next morning, casting an eerie glow.
"I do not like this omen." Elenwen said down-heartedly.
"A red sun rises. Blood has been spilt this night." Legolas said aloud and Elenwen shivered with worry.
As the day progressed Elenwen paid close attention to the hard earth that had begun to show sign of riders. Soon her ears caught the sound of muffled hoof beats coming towards them.
"Rocco." Elenwen told Aragorn. The man nodded and ushered everyone behind a huge boulder.
Over the rise came lines of horses and mounted riders. Two thousand men galloped past wearing green, trimmed in gold with a flag similarly colored with a horse in the center. Aragorn kept an assessing gaze on the riders before they all past then rose to his feet and walked towards them.
"Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?" Aragorn yelled. Before Elenwen could blink the riders had circled around them and lowered their spears to neck level. Instinctively Legolas drew Elenwen behind him and she held gently onto his arm. A single rider made his way through the crowd. His elaborately plumbed helmet signified he was the commander.
"What business does an elf, a man, and a dwarf have in Riddermark? Speak quickly!" The rider demanded. Elenwen could understand very little of his speech but knew better then to ask for a translation now.
"Give me you name, horse master, and I shall give you mine." Gimli bargained arrogantly. Aragorn rolled his eyes and braced Gimli's shoulder with a rough hand. The rider dismounted and stood before Gimli.
"I would cut off your head…dwarf …if it stood but a little higher from the ground." The rider spat. Within seconds Legolas drew his bow.
"You would die before your stroke fell." Legolas warned. The riders tensed ready to defend their master. Elenwen squeezed Legolas's arm and he relaxed slightly.
"I am Aragorn son of Arathorn. This is Gimli son of Gloin, and Legolas along with Elenwen from the woodland realm." Aragorn introduced. The rider's eyes flickered.
"This forth member of your party is female yes?" He asked. Elenwen looked around Legolas at the mention of her name.
"She is beautiful! Too fair to be on such a journey…" The rider began. Legolas drew in front of Elenwen again.
"Leave her out of this." Legolas growled. Aragorn rolled his eyes for the second time.
"We are friends of Rohan, and of Theoden, your king." Aragorn told as he tried to change the subject. The rider looked to Aragorn.
"Theoden no longer recognizes friend from foe," he began, and drew off his helmet, "Not even his own kin." The spears were withdrawn slowly. "Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over this land. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished. The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked." The rider told and gave Legolas a hard assessing glare. "And everywhere his spies slip past our nets." He finished.
"We are no spies. We track a band of Uruk-hai westward across the plains. They have taken two of our friends captive." Aragorn mentioned. The rider Eomer frowned.
"The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night."
"But there were two hobbits, did you see two hobbits with them?" Gimli interrupted.
"They will be small, only children to you eyes." Aragorn described as he watched Eomer's face for any sign of recognition. Eomer shook his head.
"We left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them." Eomer pointed in the distance.
"They are dead?" Gimli said in disbelief.
Eomer nodded, "I am sorry."
Legolas put a hand on Gimli's shoulder. Elenwen saw the look of grief on the three faces and grasped Legolas's arm. He turned his head, "Dead as far as they know. They slaughtered the Uruks during the night and left none alive." Legolas summed up quickly. Elenwen bit her lip and blinked back a few tears.
"Hasufel! Arod!" Eomer called. A great chestnut horse drew forth followed by a white gelding. "I will gladly lend you these horses if I may have but one favor, a kiss from the beautiful maiden." Eomer said looking at Elenwen. Legolas's brow knit slightly in anger as he felt it was best not to portray much emotion. Seeing Legolas's fury Aragorn translated for Elenwen.
"He will lend us horses if you give him a kiss." Aragorn told. Elenwen frowned as she thought about placing her lips upon the face of the rough looking rider. Running was tiresome and on horseback speed would be much improved. Walking calmly to Eomer she asked "Where?"
Eomer raised his brow enticingly and pointed to his lips. Closing her eyes Elenwen stood on her tiptoes to kiss the stranger. His lips were dry and rough, not like Legolas's warm, soft lips that she wanted pressed to her own every second or trace down her neck… Snapping back into reality Elenwen remembered whom she was kissing and quickly backed up finding herself pressed against Legolas's chest. He put his arms around her waist and drew her in so closely and tightly Elenwen thought she could choke. She almost turned around right then and kissed Legolas for being so protective and loving.
Eomer chuckled and handed the reins to Aragorn.
"May these horses bear you to better fortune than the former masters. Farewell. Look for your friends, but do not trust hope. It has forsaken these lands. We ride north!" Eomer yelled. As quickly as they'd come the riders disappeared. Once out of ear shot Elenwen started to gag.
"May we find a stream so I can wash my mouth?" Elenwen retched. Aragorn chuckled.
"You have earned it. We should refill our drinking pouches." Aragorn said and pulled out an empty flask of water. The group found a stream off to the right and Elenwen eagerly washed her face.
"Mount up Elenwen. Lets ride!" Aragorn told and kicked his horse into a trot. From the back of the white gelding Legolas looked glumly down at Elenwen. She grinned slightly, "Legolas, get off the horse." She ordered. As soon as both of his feet touched the ground she wrapped her arms about his neck and kissed him thoroughly on the lips. Her heart beat quickly as he responded with his own passionate embrace. After a few seconds Elenwen wanted to do more than just kissing she realized and pulled away slowly, startled at herself.
"We should follow before we get left behind." Elenwen said letting out a small sigh absentmindedly. Legolas offered her a hand and helped her onto the horse's back.
"That was all I wanted." He said and kissed her quickly again before swinging into the saddle. "That's all I wanted for now." He said and brushed his open lips on the back of Elenwen's lips. Elenwen shivered desiring. If she had learned one thing this day it was that love had a force to be reckoned with.
Elenwen could see the smoke before she could actually smell it. Once she did catch its scent of pungent, decaying aroma she realized she had not been quite ready for the horrid stench that now filled her nose. Sensing her worry Legolas whispered,
"The hobbits have surprised me with their courage and strength. Let us not give up hope." He told and gently kissed the back of her neck.
The smell got stronger as they neared the huge, charred pile. Gimli was the first to slide from the horse behind Aragorn and began to poke through the mangled bodies with the head of his axe. Leading the horse Aragorn started to nudge limbs while Legolas handed the reins to Elenwen as he too kicked helmets and legs.
"It's one of their little belts." Gimli cried holding up a Lothlorien weave belt. Elenwen solemnly collapsed in Legolas's arms and he bowed his head and closed his eyes.
Hiro hyn hidh ab 'wanath." He whispered. Elenwen looked up startled as Aragorn kicked at an orc helmet as he fell to his knees in despair.
"We failed them." Gimli said slowly. Aragorn looked to his side, in thought. Minutes passed before Aragorn said, "A hobbit lay here, and the other." He told and placed his hands in the dry yellow grass that had bent under weight. The three others approached the ranger. Sure enough the grass was bent in the shape of a small person.
"A rock could have been sitting there!" Gimli growled pointing at the same spot.
"Do not forget Aragorn is a Dunedain ranger my friend. You forget his experience." Legolas pointed out. Aragorn paid no notice to what was being said and stayed focused on the ground.
"They crawled. Their hands were bound." Aragorn said holding up a roughly cut rope. "They ran over here and were followed." Aragorn leapt to his feet and followed the tracks. "Tracks leading away form t the battle…Into … Fangorn Forest…" Aragorn finished. Elenwen looked to the looming dark forest before them.
"Fangorn? What madness drove them in there?" Gimli asked.
"Madness or not they may yet be alive. We must find them." Legolas told strongly. With that they ran into the forest.