Author's Note: First off, thanks to SakuraSun for finding all my typos in all my chapters. J You want a job as a beta? As for the animosity towards Elves, I'll explain…later. And, yes, I will most likely being going into the lovely world of angst, but if any of you readers are die-hard true angst fans, you might not like my version of it. I have a compulsive habit to add in sarcastic little remarks to half the serious lines. Oh, and you were right. I did miss a translation from the first chapter: Saes please.
New translation: amin naa wanwa - a horrible conjugation of the phrase "I am lost."
"Hey, kid, you want some food?" Dabryn asked, holding out a plate to Aragorn.
It smelled delicious…a little more crude than what he was used to, but he wasn't about to complain since he hadn't eaten since he was home. Aragorn stared at the plate, trying to figure out how to grasp it with tied hands and not spill everything on the ground.
"Looks like he's not hungry after all, Dab," Rhoran noted from the opposite side of the fire ring.
"Shut up, Rhoran," Tyn snapped. "He just can't grab it with his hands tied up like that."
It was true. While they were no longer bound behind him, the ropes fit snugly over his hands so they rested atop one another, not side to side.
"I promise I won't run," Aragorn said hopefully, holding out his hands to Dabryn, who looked over to Kendak.
"Come on, boss," Dabryn said, "we don't want the poor kid to starve to death, do we?"
"Untie his hands, but make sure if he tries to make a break for it, you can catch him," Kendak answered around a mouthful of stew.
As soon as Tyn had pulled off the ropes, Rhoran shoved the younger boy out of the way, grabbing the rope from him. "Give me that. You'll tie it too loose."
He bent down and looped the rope roughly around Aragorn's ankles, making sure that he couldn't even shift his feet.
"There," Rhoran said smugly, "that oughta do it."
"Yeah. Ten year old kid is gonna be a real threat if he can actually move," Corbin muttered. "Anyone ever accuse you of being paranoid?"
Rhoran shot the younger man a scathing look, but didn't comment.
Aragorn couldn't have cared less - he had food. Of course, now that he thought about it, he also didn't have any silverware. A knife was probably out of the question, considering Rhoran's continued paranoia that someone half his size was going to berserk and kill them all with a shoelace. A spoon, on the other hand…
Aragorn carefully cleared his throat, "Um, could I possibly have a spoon?"
"What do you need a spoon for?" Rhoran demanded, slurping loudly from his bowl, which he had pressed to his lips.
Aragorn tried not to cringe at the lack of manner, but still didn't hide the slight curled lip of disgust. Disgusting. Ada would have a fit if I ate like that, and I'm not even thirteen.
Rhoran caught the look of disgust and lowered his bowl. "You got a problem with the way we eat, boy?"
"And you accuse me of being raised by savages. What were your parents, wolves?" Aragorn shot back. "Only the dogs in Rivendell slurp out of the bowls like that, and even they're quieter."
Tyn almost choked on his soup trying not to laugh.
Tyn tried to cover his smile behind his own bowl, sipping quietly at the soup as Estel insulted Rhoran's manners. His Common seems to be improving, he thought in amusement.
"You're saying I'm no better than a dog?" Rhoran asked, his voice dropping to a hiss.
"No, I'm saying you're worse," Estel said, jutting out his chin defiantly.
"Kid, don't go making things worse for yourself," Dabryn tried to caution the boy. He'd already had a taste of what Rhoran was capable of when he lost his temper, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.
"Worse?" Estel shrieked. "How can it possibly get any worse? I was supposed to be back yesterday afternoon, you kidnapped me under the ridiculous idea that was under some delusion by Lord Elrond, who, by the way, is probably tearing Rivendell apart looking for me, and I'm stuck here, tied to a stake because you think I'm going to kill you with a pine cone, and expect me to be grateful for your 'hospitality'!" To emphasize his point, Estel grabbed the bowl and hurled it at Rhoran, causing the hot soup to splatter on his face. As the giant of a man howled in pain, leaping to his fit trying to wipe the scalding liquid away from his face.
Dabryn and Corbin jumped to their feet, trying to catch Rhoran enough to wipe away the burning soup and keep him away from the fire as Tyn sat, staring dumbly at the chaos. He didn't even notice when Estel darted forwards and grabbed the partially burnt stick Dabryn had used to stoke the fire from time to time out of the embers where it had been slowly smoldering. Using the glowing red embers on the tip of the stick, Estel stabbed downwards through the ropes binding his feet, burning and breaking through them.
Kendak made a grab for the boy, but Estel swatted his hand away with the glowing tip of the stick, singeing the man's hand. As Kendak jerked his hand back with a quick bark of pain, Tyn noticed Estel's expression change from fury to regret, back to grim determination. With one final glance at Kendak and the howling Rhoran, Estel flung the burning stick into the group of tents not far away before bolting from the campsite.
Aragorn jumped the fallen logs and gear in his way, steadily making his way towards the horses, but stopped short in dismay and mentally kicked himself. The horses, tied on the tree line, were saddle-less, and to a twelve-year-old who was already short for his age, they might as well have been oliphants.
Veering off to the side and down the trail the clumsy men had made through the tall grass of the clearing off the main trail to get to the campsite, Aragorn frantically tried to come up with a plan. He knew what he'd done to Kendak and Rhoran was wrong, and he felt a little guilty about burning the leader's hand, but only a little. Rhoran he actually wasn't all that sorry at all. He stumbled onto the main trail, glancing first left, than right.
Aragorn cursed in frustration. He didn't actually remember which way they had entered from, because for the last few miles of the journey, he was thinking of home instead of where he was going. That was why he wanted the horses in the first place: they probably knew their way back without a problem, and once they got to the point Aragorn remembered, he could've sent the horse back.
No, wait.
Aragorn sunk to the ground, fighting back tears of anger and frustration. He didn't know the road back to Imladris and his family. The hunters had knocked him unconscious for at least a few hours during the journey. He was days away from any part of the woods he knew, and had no idea how to get back. Which meant that when the hunters came looking for him, he'd have nowhere to go, and he had no illusions that they would ever let him go now after what he'd done in the campsite. He would be lucky if they didn't kill him outright to save themselves hassles further down the road.
Aragorn rubbed furiously at his eyes, sniffing softly. Well, if they were going to kill him, they'd have to catch him first. At least he knew enough from his brothers that if he was already lost, he would become even more lost if he just bolted aimlessly into the woods. Glancing upwards, Aragorn picked one of the larger trees before scrambling upwards a good thirty feet, separating himself from anyone beneath him that might want to try and shoot him down rather than climb after him with a net of concealing branches. "Amin naa wanwa," he whispered, as tears stung his eyes once more.
Tyn had quietly slipped away from the campsite while Corbin and Dabryn had seen to the mild burns on Kendak's hand and Rhoran's face. Truth be told, Rhoran's pride was much more damaged than his slightly pink face. The burn couldn't be much worse than a mild sunburn. He was more worried about Estel, that he'd take the wrong path or worse, stumble on something much bigger than he was in the dark. Which, given Estel's current size, could be anything larger than a stray dog.
His keen eyes picked out the boy's stumbling trail and saw a movement in the shadows beneath the boughs of one of the highest trees. Even from here he could here the somewhat stifled sobs the boy emitted. Stopping just short of the base of the tree, Tyn cautiously looked up, remembering what even such a young boy was capable of in anger.
"Estel?" he called softly, knowing the boy could hear him. Abruptly, the sniffling stopped and Tyn could see movement in the branches as Estel scurried higher.
The boy sort of reminded Tyn of a squirrel.
"Estel, I just wanted to talk to you. You don't have to talk back, just listen. I know we haven't been the best of people to you…we've probably been the worst, actually. I just…" Tyn paused, already feeling guilty for what he was going to do. "Estel, have you ever met people before? Humans?"
"No," came a cautious reply.
"I know we haven't been model hosts, and going further from Rivendell is probably the last thing on your mind. Especially with us." Tyn drew in a steadying breath. "But I really, honestly think you should come to the town with us. We're not that bad, on a whole. Rhoran is just mean spirited and doesn't like anything smarter than him. Which, between you and me, is pretty much everything, including pine needles. And Kendak's not so bad either, not when you get to know him. He's just…he lost someone very close to him and he's never really been the same, you know?"
A faint rustling in the branches told Tyn Estel was coming out of his hiding place.
"I mean, wouldn't you like to meet someone like you? There are other kids in the village, some even younger than you. Haven't you ever wished for someone your own age to play with? You wouldn't even have to stay, if you don't want to. We go back to the Rivendell border in two weeks time, and if you still want to go…home…we can take you back with us. No tricks. We won't tie you up again, and you can ride with me or Corbin if you want to. You wouldn't have to worry about Rhoran anymore."
Estel had climbed down several feet, but was still out of reach, perched in the branches and studying Tyn carefully with serious eyes. "What about Ada? And my brothers? How will they know where I am? I meant what I said when I told the others they were probably tearing Rivendell apart looking for me."
"We'll send a messenger to them as soon as we reach the village. We're closer now that it would be faster than turning around and going back," Tyn explained. He could kick himself. Kendak would never let Estel return. Not once the Lady Adelle saw him. Somehow this felt worse than kidnapping the poor boy in the first place. "We'll reach the village late tomorrow, just after nightfall. You'll have a place to stay. I know a really nice family that would be more than happy to have you for the fortnight." Or forever.
Estel slid a little further down the tree. "Are there really children in the village? Human children?"
"Lots. You'll love them, they're all really nice. So are their families."
"You won't tie me up? And you'll let me come with you when you return to Rivendell?" Estel pressed.
Tyn swallowed. "I swear." I'm going to hell. "So what say we go back to the camp, huh? Rhoran's probably in is tent, assuming that wasn't the one you set on fire with that stick of yours. And Corbin has first watch tonight."
Tyn half-hoped the boy would stay in the tree, but, even though he hated himself for it, he wanted Estel to return to the village with them. He knew Marcus's wife well, and remembered how she used to smile until she lost Galen. She was a sweet, beautiful woman, and Tyn knew she deserved to be happy, along with her husband. He knew how much it hurt them to see the other children in the town, running and laughing when their own son was dead.
Estel will like it there, Tyn said to himself furiously. He might even forget about the Elves.
As Estel slowly climbed down the last few feet of the tree and landed quietly beside him, wide silver eyes watching him trustingly, Tyn had to bite his lip to keep his mouth shut as he led the boy back to the camp and away from his family.
I am so going to hell.
And tada! A chapter in a day! Hmm…tells you how much I hate housework, doesn't it? Anyway, drop me a line. Viggomaniac, you said you got an update e-mail for chapter three and assumed it meant this one. I actually revised the last part of chapter three, so it coincides more with this chapter. You might want to reread like the last few paragraphs between Tyn and Corbin, just to make sure.