The twins decided the picnic things and horses could be left alone that night. The most important thing was to get Katie back to Rivendell. She was shaky from the emotional distress of her ordeal, and her hand trembled in Elrohir's. She was white as parchment.
They headed straight for the Ford. Once they reached it, Elrohir turned to Katie and helped her down to sit on the bank for a moment. Elladan removed his cloak, and both twins unstrapped their quivers and knives and Elrohir his sword, and wrapped them all up into a neat package with the cloak. Then Elrohir helped Katie up again.
"Get on my back," he said, bending his knees so she could reach. She obeyed, continuing to hold his handkerchief over her left cheek, and he picked up her legs and waded into the water. It was fortuitous that she had worn leggings beneath her skirt that day, so that she could ride astride. Elladan followed them into the river, holding the bundle over his head and out of the water.
Even with Elrohir, who was pretty tall, carrying her, Katie was soaked to the ribs by the time they climbed the other bank. But she didn't utter a word of complaint. Elrohir assumed her throat was hurting her too much to talk at present.
Once they had reached level ground, Elrohir set Katie down again and took her elbow, checking over his shoulder to see where his brother was. Elladan had followed them out of the water, and was now tucking the bundle under one arm. He nodded to Elrohir and they began walking again. It was going to be a long trudge to their father's house.
Katie leaned more and more on Elrohir's supporting arm as they continued, finally beginning to stumble. Elrohir stopped her.
"How do you feel?" he asked her.
Katie blinked a few times. "My head is killing me," she rasped out, "and my vision is kind of… blurry. And I'm so tired…"
The twins exchanged looks. "You may have a concussion," Elladan said gently. He paused. "Tell me the names of the groups of the Teleri."
Katie gave him an incredulous look. "What?"
"We need to check your alertness. Tell me the names."
Katie took a deep breath. "The Falmari, the Sindar, the Falathrim, the Nandor and the Laiquendi."
"Good," Elladan said. "I am glad to see you listen to Erestor better than you listened to me!"
Katie gave him a small smile. But when they started off again, her walking was obviously unsteady. Wordlessly, Elrohir stopped her and then smoothly picked her up. If Katie was surprised by the action, she didn't show it, only putting her arm around his neck (while still holding the handkerchief to her cheek).
They certainly moved faster that way, as the twins were able to extend into their longer stride. They carried on in silence again, the stillness of the late afternoon only broken by the sounds of their movement.
After a way, they stopped again, and Elladan checked Katie's eyes. "Tell me the names of the Aratar," he said, a he pulled the handkerchief away to examine her cheek.
"Manwë, Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna, Aulë… um…" she furrowed her brows in concentration as Elladan replaced the handkerchief. "Mandos," she finally continued, "Oromë. I can't remember the last one."
The twins looked at one another, and Elrohir shrugged. "She might not have remembered, anyway."
000
When they finally reached the house, the shadows were beginning to lengthen, and Katie was obviously becoming very drowsy. Her head was beginning to nod and she kept blinking owlishly as if she were trying to clear her vision. Elrohir figured she was probably rather dizzy, and his guess was confirmed when she laid her head down and shut her eyes tightly.
"You have to stay awake," he said, giving her a little shake. "We are almost there."
Elladan ran ahead to fetch their father, and Elrohir carried Katie into the house. They were met in the corridor by Lithorniel.
"Oh, dear!" she exclaimed in dismay. "What happened?"
"The bandits have returned," Elrohir answered, trying to keep his tone neutral. "My father may wish some help; could you go assist him?"
"Of course, my lord," she answered immediately, and set off quickly down the corridor.
Elrohir carried Katie into her room and set her gently down on the edge of her bed. She gripped the blankets and stared at her knees, refusing to look up at him. Her shoulders began to shake, and he could hear her start to sob.
"Ai, gwethel-nín," he said, sitting down next to her and putting his arm around her shoulders. She had repressed her fear all this time, and now she was finally releasing all the tension. She leaned in to him and cried on his shoulder.
"You are safe now, penneth," he said, setting his cheek on the top of her head. "You will be fine." He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her arm briskly. "Here," he added, putting his hand gently over the back of her head.
In a moment, the tension began to leave her shoulders and her sobs quieted. Elrohir had extended a little bit of healing power to ease the pain in the back of her head and sooth her. Katie sat up and wiped the tears off her cheeks.
"I would lend my handkerchief, but you already have it," Elrohir said. Katie gave a watery chuckle in response.
Both of them looked up as Elrond strode into the room. Elrohir jumped up and pulled a chair up for his father next to the bed. "Tell me exactly what happened," Elrond said, beginning to examine Katie's cheek.
"Well, Elladan and Elrohir went off after some deer, and I was just sitting there, and all of a sudden this guy just grabbed me. I was gonna scream, but he—he choked me and told me not to make a sound." She swallowed hard, as if all this talking were making her throat sore. "And then he punched me twice in the face, and I hit my head against this tree." Elrond turned her head gently and looked carefully at her pupils as she continued to talk. "It really made my head spin. I was fine while I was on his horse" (the twins didn't miss her shudder of revulsion at the thought,) "but now I feel dizzy, and I'm really tired."
Elladan took a good look at her. Katie's face was pale, and the red and purple bruises that were appearing on her cheek stood out starkly against them. Her eyes were red-rimmed; he assumed she had indulged in a little cry. That was for the best; her silence on the way back to the house had worried him a bit. He watched as Elrond, assisted by Elrohir, rubbed something on Katie's cheek to numb it and then put three neat stitches over her cheekbone. Katie only flinched a little, and when she turned her head, Elladan could see the red bands across her throat standing out on her pale skin. Hot anger burned inside him. Abruptly, he turned on his heel and left the room, making for his own quarters. Elrond and Elrohir exchanged glances, and Elrohir went after his brother.
He caught up with him in Elladan's room. The elder twin was strapping back on his quiver and knives.
"What are you doing?" Elrohir asked.
"I am going to fetch the horses, and then I am going to find that bandit and make sure he never harms anyone again," Elladan said coldly, pulling his sword out of his closet.
Elrohir shook his head and took another couple steps toward his brother. "You are too angry."
"Too angry?" Elladan turned to him incredulously. "That man threatened Katie, tried to kidnap her—he struck her, Elrohir, he even choked her!" Righteous anger blazed in his eyes. "This has to end. He has to be stopped."
"He will be," Elrohir said, soothingly yet firmly. "But not tonight. Not by you."
Elladan locked eyes with him a moment, then dropped his gaze in tacit concession. His shoulders slumped. Slowly, he began to put away his weapons. Elrohir moved to help him. "The man shall be brought to our father's justice," he continued. Elladan nodded wordlessly. Elrohir put his hand on his shoulder, and Elladan looked up. "Knight-errantry in the never-ending war against the orcs is one thing. They are irredeemably evil, and death is the only justice. Vengeance against a man is another. We walk a fine line, muindor-nín."
Elladan nodded, and pulled his brother into an embrace. "Hannon le. What would I do without you, brother?"
000
"There," Elrond said, as he finished rubbing a little salve into Katie's cheek. "You have a mild concussion; I want you to stay in bed tomorrow until I decide you can be up. Do you understand?" Katie nodded dutifully and Lithorniel, who stood nearby, nodded as well. "Then I will leave you to get out of your wet clothes and go to bed," he said, and left the room.
"Hannon le, hîr-nín," Katie murmured after him. He smiled at her over his shoulder.
Elrond made his way to Elladan's room and found the twins sitting silently, waiting for him. He paused on the threshold, then came in and took the remaining chair. "I will raise the awareness of the river immediately," he said, glancing from one to another. "These kidnappers must be found and stopped."
Elrohir nodded. "I will take care of it, Ada."
"Good." Elrond glanced at his other son, having guessed what had gone on between the two of them. Elladan gazed back calmly with clear eyes. Elrond rose. "You should both get some sleep," he advised them, pausing at the doorway. "It has been an eventful day."
TBC
AN: Extra credit! Can you, without looking, name the Arata Katie missed? (Okay, you can look… If you must… :)
IwishChan: lol No, Arwen is definitely a grown-up child. We have rarely seen the twins at their most solemn in this series of fics (although you'll see it if you read Two Towers and Return of the King), and you witnessed Arwen's snowball-fighting capabilities.
Laer4572: lol True! And look at my roomie! (Don't tell her I said that…)
theycallmemary: Sorry, no real excitement getting back to Rivendell. I know people were expecting it, thinking that Katie's kidnapping was the beginning of the real adventure. Actually, it hasn't started yet… —giggles evilly— Yes, I think it's safe to say Katie had a very bad day.
werewolflemming: Yeah, I think it's safe to say, that's the most frightened Katie's ever been, though I think she handled it quite well.
crazycatluver: No cliffy this time!
Hermione at Heart: Ow! —pokes back—
Ravens Destiny: I agree, definitely not as fun.
Darkened Dreams: You're right, it probably should have been longer. But like I said, the action is starting a little later than expected. Unfortunately, I don't have it quite all planned out yet, so I'm hoping I can keep the tension up when I really raise it. Thank you for the hint on concussions. Yes, I was planning for her to be slightly concussed, but your review reminded me to go look up the precise symptoms.
Thanks also to Princess Siara (I enjoy chatting with you!)
Elves would be naturals at ballet… Sorry, the mind is wandering. Please review and get me back to reality!