I am really sorry these chapters are so short but this is just how I typed them up a while ago. I didn't plan on posting it so I didn't make the chapters long. Enjoy!
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Chapter 3- Changing Faces
Legolas hopped off of his mare and stroked her long neck. She sighed heavily and nudged the elf with her snout and he smiled. Norui came up behind him and put an arm on his brother's shoulder. Legolas turned to face him and smiled slightly.
"You still worry for Nendir?" Norui asked quietly.
"Yes, I do. He is not acting right, have you not noticed?" Legolas asked thoughtfully and Norui nodded.
"I agree. Something is troubling him, but he won't say what."
"Maybe it has something to do with what happened last night?" The older prince shrugged, then reached over to stroke Legolas's horse.
"That is possible." Legolas sighed, then moved to the other side of his horse to brush her out.
After being ordered by their oldest brother, Nendir, the two princes made their way back to the palace with heavy hearts. Something had happened to the Crown Prince, but no one could get it out of him what exactly happened.
The two brothers noticed that as they were making their way home, dark clouds began creeping up into the sky. Birds cried out nervously as they flew through the eerie sky and roosted in their nests. In the distance, the two elves could make out the flashes in the sky from the lightening and the booming of thunder reached their pointed ears. They shivered. Hopefully Nendir would make it back before the storm, they wished.
Just as they thought, a storm came upon Mirkwood and a strong one at that. Norui and Legolas stood at the gates of the stables with their arms crossed over their chest and the cloaks wrapped tightly around their bodies. Their faces with both set with a frown as they gazed out into the pouring rain, hoping to see their brother to appear over the hill. But he never did.
Legolas growled, his temper beginning to flare. He wrapped the cloak even tighter around himself and glared.
"He is dead once he gets back." He mumbled. Norui smiled slightly and looked over to him.
"Patience, Legolas. You are starting to become like Ada." He chuckled quietly. Legolas shrugged.
"I do not care." The two princes then stared back out into the howling rain in silence. They waited and waited, but their brother never appeared over the hill. By the time the storm had ended, they were completely drenched and were shivering. Their hair hugged their fair faces and their clothing gripped their lithe bodies. Nendir still had not come.
"Perhaps we should go look for him." Norui thought aloud.
"Do you think that is necessary?" Legolas asked, sighing.
"Maybe not, but it is better to be safe then to be sorry." With that, Norui turned and strode back into the stables to fetch his stallion, shortly followed by his brother.
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Once again, they found themselves riding with all speed to where they knew their brother probably was. The mud mad it harder for the horses to get through and they could not go as fast as they would have liked to.
The glade appeared in sight and they urged their horses on, despite better judgment. The water could be seen clearly, but they looked on in confusion. Instead of the clear, pure water that was once there, it was now completely black. It was eerily quiet. There were no birds or other creatures about. Just complete silence.
The two elves hopped off their horses and gazed around.
"What has happened here?" Legolas asked.
"I do not know." Norui replied, kneeling down at the black water. He dipped his fingers in, but nothing happened and he sighed. "He does not appear to be here."
"What if he is under the water?" Legolas asked quietly. Norui's eyes widened and he stood, trying to pierce the water with his eyes. Sure enough, the faint outline of his brother at the bottom of the lake could be seen.
"Nendir!" Norui cried and plunged into the water. Legolas was behind him quickly. They reached down into the water and picked him up, then raced to the shore. Norui pressed his ear to his chest, but found no beat. "He is not breathing, Legolas!"
"Well, do something!" He shouted. Norui tried to calm himself and not let his panic take hold.
"Brother, please do not wake up until I am finished!" Norui whispered. He then leaned over and pinched Nendir's nose, then placed his lips upon his and gave him his breath. Occasionally, he would stop and listen to his heart.
"It's not working, Norui!"
"Legolas, just be quiet!" He shouted, then began pushing on Nendir's chest.
'Please, Nendir, wake up.' Norui thought. He was about to stop and listen again, but a sudden sputtering stopped him and he looked down at his brother's face.
Nendir's eyes were wide and wild. They darted every which way until they finally focused on his brother's face. Norui sat him up and rested him against his chest and Legolas dropped down in front of him.
"Norui, it worked!" He shouted, grinning.
"Yes, Legolas, I noticed." He replied, chuckling. Nendir took deep gasps of breath as the last bit of water left his lungs. "Easy, brother, just breathe in and out." Norui whispered.
Soon, Nendir had calmed down and looked upon his brothers with a smile.
"Thank you." He said, and the other two just smiled.
"My pleasure." Norui said. "But what happened?" Nendir furrowed his brow and looked to the ground.
"I am not sure. I heard something in my head, and then I just fainted." He explained. Norui opened his mouth to speak again, but Legolas beat him to it.
"Nendir, what happened to your back!" He exclaimed. Norui looked to his older brother and nodded. Nendir frowned.
"I do not know that either, Legolas, but it is very painful. It happened last night. That is why I was in the healer's." They didn't say anything else, but nodded.
They sat like that for a few moments until they decided to head back. Ada would be worried, they thought, and it is best not to provoke the king's wrath.
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Night had fallen over Mirkwood once again. Not one soul was out of their rooms. Everyone slept, except one certain prince.
Nendir stared up at the ceiling with a troubled look on his face. Ethiriel lay beside him with one arm up his night tunic, deep in sleep. The prince looked over at her and smiled. He brushed one finger over her cheek and kissed her forehead. Looking back up the ceiling, he sighed.
The welts on his back didn't hurt anymore, but he could still feel them there and this bothered him. With another sigh, he sat up and situated his wife more comfortably. He swung his feet off the bed and stood, stretching. Slowly, he walked into his private bathroom and stared into the mirror. But he didn't see himself. He saw another. His eyes widened and he felt his heart skip a beat.
Instead of his normal mahogany hair, it had turned a brilliant white with streaks of deep black. His eyes were pure white and slit like a cat's. His skin had turned even paler and his fingernails had grown longer. His now pointed teeth gleamed back at him and he cried out.
He rushed from the bathroom and leaped onto the bed, waking Ethiriel from her sleep. Nendir leaned down over here.
"Ethiriel, what do I look like!" He asked frantically. The elleth sat up and furrowed her delicate brow.
"Nendir, you look like you always have." She reached up and ran her fingers down his cheek, "Same eyes, same hair, same everything. Why, what is wrong?" Nendir's heart raced as he jumped off the bed again and into the bathroom again.
He glanced in the mirror again and the same reflection stared back at him. His white eyes glared back at him and his teeth glinted. He fingered his face with a look of shock.
Ethiriel came running into the bathroom with a silk robe tied around her and she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"See? The same elf who I love." She said quietly, but that did not comfort him. This was not him. It could not be! He turned away from the mirror in disbelief. Suddenly, a strange yet familiar voice entered his mind.
'Tomorrow will bring those you love
Yet that day the red bird calls.
Over hill and under tree you will play
Until the day the red bird calls.'
With that, the voice was gone. He looked back at his reflection with mouth agape. The same strange person was there, grinning back at him.
And then it was gone to be replaced with Nendir's mahogany hair and bright eyes. He gazed back at the mirror with wild eyes.
"Come, Nendir, let us sleep." Ethiriel said, clasping his hand in her's and leading him back to bed.
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The hall was eerily quiet except for the soft blow of wind and the quiet cackling of one drifting down the empty corridor.
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See? Verrry short. Eek. My apologies again. I will try to make the next one longer.
Swasti- Hehe. Here is more! Not a lot but more! I hope you liked it. Thank you for reading and reviewing!
That is about it. My apologies for not updating on Saturday. I was…attending some other matters. :shifty eyes: Namarie!
Until Next Time,
Manwathiel