A/N Hello people! Another chapter? Ok then!
Chapter 35- Revelations
Legolas stood on a small hill looking out over the plains. He shaded his eyes with a slender hand and frowned.
"What is it Legolas?" asked Gimli gazing up at his friend.
Legolas shook his head. "They run as though the very whips of their masters are behind them!" he muttered. "The Urgals are almost over taking us. If we do not hurry on they will catch us. At the rate we are going we should be able to reach the Varden within three days according to Eragon's reckoning. Though I fear we only have but a day. If we do not make haste and reach them I think Arya will be beyond aid and the Urgals will be upon us."
"Oh, wonderful!" said Gimli exasperatedly. "Why is it that this seems all too familiar to me?"
"Because it is my friend," Legolas replied. "Though rather than being the hunters, we are the hunted."
-:0:-
Saphira landed beside the travelling horses and Eragon got off her back. Arya was strapped to her belly as usual. He mounted Snowfire and rode up next to Murtagh.
Urgals are gaining on us," he stated.
"We know," he said. "Legolas has seen them. You have until tomorrow to get Arya to the Varden by his reckoning."
Eragon stiffened and pursed his lips, he had not spoken to the Elf all through their riding in the night, or that morning. "He would be right. They are travelling faster than we can on horseback. It isn't natural," he sighed.
"So what shall we do?" asked Murtagh.
"The only way we can reach the Varden in time is to travel without stopping, at all. Not even for sleep. That is our only choice."
Murtagh laughed acrimoniously. "Are you joking? The horses could not make! And we already haven't had a decent sleep for- I can't remember! So, unless Riders possess some greater strength then mere mortals such as myself, it's impossible."
"No, only Elves can do that," Eragon said cuttingly. 'Like they can kill without a second thought.' He thought spitefully.
Eragon!' scolded Saphira. 'You know that isn't true. This has been explained to you. How much justification do you need?' she said acidly.
He didn't answer her. "We must go on. We have no choice if we want to help Arya," he said to Murtagh.
"I know," Murtagh thought for a moment. "I suppose, you could go on with Saphira and Arya. You would make it. Me, Legolas and Gimli could go a different way of something. That would force the Urgals to divide their troops. You would have a far better chance of reaching the Varden."
"It would be suicide. Especially for you and Gimli," Eragon said tartly.
'Eragon that is enough!' snapped Saphira.
"No, we could more than handle ourselves when finally faced with these Kull creatures," said Gimli. "My axe would have no problem with that!
Legolas had fixed a hard glance on Eragon. He knew exactly what Eragon's problem was. But he ignored it.
"No Gimli, Eragon is right. These Kull are not just like Urgals- the ones we are used to encountering anyway. I fear they may be even more ferocious then the Uruk Hai of Saruman. It would be death, even halved we are no match for them," said Legolas.
"Ferocious? Would you have a problem killing them Legolas? Is it just defenceless young men you consent to slay?" Eragon burst out.
'Eragon!' Saphira yelled.
Legolas stood his ground. Eragon tried to hold his gaze, but it was so intense he had to drop his eyes. Though he thought he saw a flicker of hurt flash in the Elf's eyes.
"Eragon, I have explained to you why that happened. Will you not accept my decision?" he asked.
"I will not. It was unnecessary!!" Eragon yelled.
"Eragon, Legolas made the same decision that myself and Gimli would have had no problem making either," said Murtagh. "It was Them or Us. We chose to defeat them, not the other way around. When will you understand sometimes taking lives is the only way?"
"Exactly," agreed Gimli. "Those bandits were going to sell us into slavery. If w had left him, he would have only given us away to the Urgals."
"As I have already explained," said Legolas.
"But-"
'Leave it Eragon. They are all right. If it was up to me I would slay every single one of them, whether they had threatened our lives or not,' said Saphira.
Eragon didn't know what to say to that, so he reined Snowfire on to ride ahead of the others. "We will stay together. It would be too dangerous to split up with the Urgals around," he called back.
'He does not mean it you know, he just does not understand battle. He is young. He will forgive and forget,' Saphira comforted Legolas.
'I am not sure. But whatever his ideas maybe about battle, it would appear he is mistaken,' replied Legolas.
-:0:-
They rode through the night, Eragon and Legolas were guiding the horses while Murtagh and Gimli got some sleep.
They both rode in silence through the night. Both deep in thought. After about two hours of silence, Eragon gave a cough to clear his throat. He turned to the Elf and spoke quietly.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Sorry I said those things, those things directed at you. It was childish of me. I have been thinking about it for a long time, and I have spoken with Saphira. I feel like an idiot for thinking as I did. I am sorry. Forgive me"
Legolas smiled slightly. "Ú-moe edaved Eragon. You are forgiven. I understand why you felt that way. You are young, and I am not just comparing you to my years. You are young even in the years of men. You should not have to encounter such things yet. You have little understanding of war, other than what you have been told in epic tales. The reality is harsh, nobody could wish to face that."
"I do understand. I know I am young, and I know I can never understand the things you and Gimli have been through. But I begin to understand that battle is cruel and terrible and I do not like it. I suppose I over reacted at the death of that boy. I reacted badly too. Murtagh and Gimli are right; you did do the right thing. Now all that matters is getting to the Varden, as hassle free as possible."
Legolas nodded. They continued on for a while in silence.
After a while, Legolas spoke again. "I shall tell you a tale of my people, and when they went to battle. My people were a peaceful folk who had no wish to meddle in the affairs of the Noldor and Sindar Elves, or any of the other peoples, Dwarves, Men or Orcs. And so all was peaceful with my people, the Silvan Elves of Greenwood the Great, after known as Mirkwood. Until that is, the War of the Last Alliance. Their King Oropher had the wisdom to foresee that peace would never truly return unless the Dark Lord Sauron was overcome. He therefore assembled a great army of his now numerous people and joining with the lesser army of Malgalad of Lórien he led the host of Silvan Elves into battle. My people were hardy and valiant, but ill-equipped with armour or weapons in comparison with the Eldar of the West; also they were independent, and not of a mind to place themselves under the supreme command of Gil-galad, the last High King of the Noldor in Middle earth. Their losses were thus more grievous than they need have been, even in that terrible war. My people were not used to great wars, and they feared it. Malgalad and more than half his following perished in the great battle of the Dagorlad, being cut off from the main host and driven into the Dead Marshes. Oropher was slain in the first assault upon Mordor. Thranduil, his son, and when the war ended and Sauron was thought to be slain, he led back home barely a third of the army that had marched to war. that was a sad day for my people," Legolas paused for moment and bowed his head.
"A long peace followed after in which the number of my people grew again, and Thranduil became king," he continued. "But there was still in Thranduil's heart a still deeper shadow. He had seen the horror of Mordor and the battle fought there and he could not forget it. If ever he looked south its memory dimmed the light of the Sun, and though he knew that it was now broken and deserted and under the vigilance of the Kings of Men, fear spoke in his heart that it was not conquered for ever; it would rise again.
"For my people, that had been one of the most terrifying battles in our history, none who survived forgot it," Legolas finished.
"That sounds awful," Eragon breathed.
"It was. Though when I was young I never understood the fear in the eyes of those who survived the battle of the Dagorlad, until of course, I experienced it for myself. Nobody can ever get used to war Eragon, or the bloodshed that it brings," said Legolas.
"I see you are right. I will be more mindful of my approach to battle in future," said Eragon.
Legolas smile. "I am glad to hear it," he said. "Now let us rouse Gimli and Murtagh so that we may get some rest before morning."
Eragon fell asleep quickly on Snowfire's back, the gentle rocking motion lolling him to sleep and he was not cross at Legolas anymore either. He understood now. No more justification was needed.
-:0:-
By late morning the next day Eragon had spotted the narrow valley which the Beartooth River flowed out of. That was where they needed to go.
Unfortunately, the Urgals were now less than a league behind them. They had to slip down the valley quickly and without being seen, that may confuse the Urgals a bit. They hoped.
As they approached the valet they passed under the knotted branches of the Beor Mountains' forest. The trees were tell, with creviced bark that was almost black, dull needles of the same colour and knobbly roots that rose from the soil like bare knees. Cones littered the ground, each the size of a horse's head. Squirrels chattered from the treetops, and eyes gleamed from holes in the trunks. Green beards of tangled wolfsbane hung from the gnarled branches.
"The air is stuffy in here, not so much so as Fangorn though," muttered Gimli.
"This forest is old, very old. So old that I almost feel young again as I have not felt since journeyed with you children. It is full of memory, and anger." He peered with wide eyes into the shadows. "Though this wood is not evil, though I catch only the faintest echoes of dark times these trees remember. They will be watchful of us, and wary."
Murtagh cast Legolas a curious glance. "How can you tell all that? All I sense is hostility."
"he is a Wood-elf, Prince of Mirkwood no less. He has spent all his long years beneath that stuff canopy!" said Gimli.
Eragon and Murtagh abruptly stopped their horses.
"A Prince!?" they said in disbelief.
"You never told us you were a Prince!" said Eragon.
Legolas stopped Loshîth. "Hush! Speak more softly!"
"But we had no idea!" said Murtagh. "We were travelling with an Elven Prince all along!"
Legolas rolled his eyes. "A minor detail."
Gimli chuckled. "There is much you still do not know about us. Even after all this time."
"What? Like you are a Dwarven Lord?" said Eragon light-heartedly.
Gimli's eyes twinkled and he flashed a smile from beneath his beard.
Eragon and Murtagh gaped in astonishment as Legolas and Gimli rode forth on Loshîth. The others followed in stunned silence.
A/N Mwhahaha! Nice little shock for Eragon and Murtagh wasn't it?
Moonyasha- Hey, well done! Uh oh! Don't get lost in the Beor Mountains Malthen! Well, they found out Legolas was the Prince of Mirkwood in this chapter, thanks for the prompt, I'd been looking to see where I could slip that part in successfully!
TrekkieGreenieShannaraElfOgMe- Haha! I like that. Dragons for our Air Force! Do they have woolly mammoths in Middle earth? We could just use Oliphaunts and horses for Calvary. Hmm, Navy, Corsairs? They would make a good Navy (if we pay them well so they don't start a mutiny). Arya's going to get a green egg? Cool! Lol. Eragon! Arya- get a room for god's sake! That goes for you too Saphira and Greenie!
Hey, those books sound right up my street! Hmmm, £70 worth of Waterstone's vouchers to blow…. yay! Wow, they sound kind of funny, I wanna read them! Thanks. But Elladan and Elrohir are cute twins (hehe 2 for the price of 1!). hey, they would be pretty handy to take over the world wouldn't they? We should get them on our side.
Cylliel- Thanks. Hmmm, what will they teach him next? No idea! Yeah, I will have to have a good look for the Deluxe Edition, arrg, no fair! I can't wait until August!
Kait1991- Thanks!
Lestatlover1784- Heya! Yup, taking over ME. Yeah, we could add you to our ranks! Cool! Keep going with the randomness, it rocks! Hey you update SID yet? Better go take a look. The Freaky Friday thing sounds freaky… but very cool! Yeah, do that. It would be funny.
Tim, Digidestined of Loyalty- Yeah :sob: will be coming to an end soon! NOOO! I know, can't wait till the sequel. If it's LOTR, course I'll read it! Just have to fill me in a little on the Digimon characters since I'm not entirely familiar with them (though I have seen Digimon before, just the odd episode.) So, tell me when you post it and I will read it, all you have to so is ask me!
Theo Gray- Yep, it is isn't it? Eragon's view of Legolas did become slightly tainted, but it has been explained to him over and over why he killed that bandit guy so he understands a little now and everything is cool between them now. Legolas' little tale was also meant to help him understand a little to, though I couldn't find anything else really that gave the message that battle was always hard so I hope that sufficed.
Zammy- No, I haven't read those. Though I have heard they are very good! What are they about?
Well, thanks everyone! Hope you enjoyed that chapter. A little tense in the beginning, but more light hearted towards the end! :flicking through book: hehe, next chapter will be fun! Until then!
Laters
Lolly pop