So, anyway, here's chapter six! Enjoy and don't forget to post your reviews! Don't expect two updates in one day, either. This won't be the norm (sorry, POTC fans!). However, this is my favorite chapter so far, so...
6. Betrayal
Elladan slowed his horse to a trot when he noticed that Glorfindel had stopped riding. They had entered the forest some time ago. While Elladan usually enjoyed trees, he felt a sense of dread.
"What is it?" Elladan asked softly. His horse shifted nervously.
"I think we're close," Glorfindel answered, looking the younger Elf in the eye. "Don't you feel it?"
Elladan nodded. "Now that you've mentioned it, I do. Let's continue."
They moved forward slowly, now riding at a trot. Soon, they could hear the sounds of a very enraged horse and a very enraged Elf.
"I can hear Legolas!" Elladan said excitedly, preparing to rush forward. Glorfindel put a restraining arm in front of him.
"Don't be so eager. We don't know what's going on with him; he could be dangerous."
Legolas being dangerous? Elladan highly doubted that. Then again, he had almost killed Elrohir...
Elladan nodded. They slid off of their horses and drew their swords, walking forward slowly. The closer they got, the louder Legolas's shouts seemed to be.
"Hurry up, animal! We don't have all day."
Elladan could hear Varda whinny in protest. He wondered what could possibly be going on.
They moved into a clearing. Elladan could see the dead bodies of men lying around, some with arrows sticking out of their bodies and some hacked with blades. Legolas was standing near a pit, looking rather rough. He had several wounds. His hands were on Varda's mane as he tried to force her to climb out of the pit. Elladan was taken aback when he noted that she was wounded as well. Legolas knew better than to treat any horse so roughly, especially a wounded horse at that. The only way to get her to come out would be by coaxing her.
They stood there for some time, waiting for the prince to notice them. He never did.
"Um...Legolas?" Elladan said, his voice hoarse.
Legolas whirled around and grabbed his bow, his eyes fierce. When he saw who it was, he scowled and walked over to them. "What are you doing here? I told you not to follow."
"We need you back at camp," Glorfindel said, even more concerned for the elf now that he saw him.
"Sure you do. Now, leave me alone and go. Can't you see that I'm busy?" He turned back to Varda, his lips curling and his nostrils flaring. "That blasted animal has gotten herself injured."
Elladan and Glorfindel glanced at each other. "Do you know how severe the wound is?"
The prince shrugged. "I don't know. She won't get out of the pit. I need to leave very soon."
"Where are you going?" Elladan asked, trying to hide the concern in his voice.
"I'm tracking the Wild Men. I thought that was obvious."
"Why are you tracking them?"
Legolas glared at the oldest twin, so Elladan stopped pressing for answers. The elf turned to look back at Varda again, sighing. He was silent for a moment.
-
Legolas knew that he had come to a crucial point. He had two decisions to make right now. One would speed him on, and hinder him later, perhaps ending in his own destruction. One would hinder him for the present, and speed him on in the future, perhaps ending in victory. He took a deep breath. He had decided.
-
"I'm going to slaughter every single one of the Wild Men in order to avenge Estel," Legolas answered calmly, pulling out one of his knives and wiping away blood. "In order to do that, I must track them, and in order to that, I must have a horse. Thus, Varda must get out of the pit whether she likes it or not, for I am her master, and she must do what I say. That is the order of things."
"Legolas, that's madness!" Elladan cried, wishing he could smack him right then and there. "Have you gone insane? Estel would never want you to do something like this, in his name, no less!"
"It is the only way I can bring glory to Estel's name." Legolas turned to face them, his expression one of someone who is fulfilling a duty that they no longer want to do. "His body was never found. There will be no memorial service, no funeral. He died a death that shall not be honored. It is my duty to be sure that he is."
Glorfindel gripped the young prince's shoulders. "Legolas, Estel would not do this, and you know that. If you had died, he would have found a better way."
Legolas was silent, his eyes pain-filled. "But I swore an oath that I would..."
Glorfindel shook his head. "I'm sure that Estel would understand if you broke this oath, saving your life and the lives's of others."
The prince of Mirkwood hesitated, his face doubtful. Elladan spoke up.
"We can still have a funeral without the body," he said. "We could always take a belonging that was important to Estel and use it in his stead. That has been done in Imladris in other situations similar to this one."
Legolas smiled sheepishly. "I suppose you're right. I was quite foolish..."
Glorfindel patted him on the back. "Don't worry." He glanced at the prince, who suddenly seemed quite tired. "Can you make it to the caves?"
Legolas shook his head. "I am exhausted, and Varda is injured. I need to rest today."
Glorfindel nodded knowingly. "All right; You two can stay out here."
"Two?" Elladan asked. "Where are you going?"
Glorfindel mounted his horse. "I'm going to go tell Elrohir that Legolas is all right, and make sure that he's sent out a messenger. I also need to get some others to help us with Varda." He looked down at Legolas for a moment, as if gazing into the elf's soul. He sighed. "Be careful, both of you. Always have someone on watch."
Before Elladan could answer, the Balrog-slayer rode off.
-
Elladan looked over to Legolas, who was already lying down and breathing deeply. His friend looked quite content. Elladan put a blanket over him and sat up, ready to take watch.
A whinny reminded him of the wounded horse. Elladan hastily ran over. Varda looked at him, her eyes large and scared.
"Don't worry," Elladan said softly, scratching behind her ears. "We're going to get you out of here soon enough, and Legolas is fine now. He's back to normal." 'I hope.'
Elladan glanced over at Legolas again. He was still sleeping. The twin thought that it had seen awfully easy to get Legolas to stop his killing-spree. Something just didn't seem right about it...
"You've been going on too many adventures with Estel," he said to himself. "Everything is difficult then..."
He stopped. Didn't mean that everything had been difficult?
It was hard for him to remember that Estel was no longer with them. Sometimes, he could barely believe it.
Elladan finished petting Varda. "I need to take watch now."
Varda snorted indignantly, wincing at the pain in her thigh.
"I can't pet you all day!" Elladan cried. "But don't worry, I'll be back later."
-
Elladan watched late into the night. He was watching the last of the stars appear in the sky when he heard Legolas stir behind him. He turned around. He seemed to be all right...
"What time is it?" the prince yawned, stretching.
"A few hours after nightfall," Elladan answered, still examining him. "How are you feeling?"
Legolas shrugged. "I'm all right. I'm a bit thirsty, though."
Elladan handed him a water keg. "Here you are. It's almost empty, though."
Legolas drank the last swallow and sat for a moment, thoughtfully. "There's a pond not too far away from here," he said. "I'll go fill it up again."
"Oh, no, that's..."
Legolas smiled wryly. "Don't worry. I'm not going to run off."
Elladan sighed. "If you insist..."
"And I do." Legolas turned and walked off into the shadow of the trees.
Each second that the elf was away felt like an hour to Elladan. He started wondering if Legolas had been lying and he really didn't intend to come back. Perhaps he had run off to fulfill his oath. Elladan wrung in his hands, frowning, as he imagined all of the things that Legolas could be doing at that moment. He was about to get up and leave when he heard the Elf walk over.
"Where were you and what were you doing?" Elladan asked quickly, standing up.
Legolas rolled his eyes. "I was filling up the keg. What did you think that I was doing?"
Elladan smiled. "I guess that I'm still a bit worried about you."
"Don't worry about me." Legolas waved it away. "Here, have a drink. You look parched."
"Thank you." Now that he mentioned it, Elladan did feel thirsty. He opened the keg and put it to his lips, taking a drink. Legolas's eyes gleamed at him in the night.
"What are you looking at?" Elladan asked.
"Nothing," Legolas replied, "nothing at all."
Suddenly Elladan's head began to spin. He glared at Legolas, who was already walking over to him and helping him lay down.
"You put sleeping herbs in here," Elladan heard himself slur. "Why did you...?"
"Sleep, just sleep," Legolas said soothingly. He watched the oldest twin's eyes slip shut. When he was positive that he was truly asleep, he walked over and climbed onto Elladan's horse, smirking down at the sleeping Elf.
It had been so easy to fool all of them. Legolas had never known that lying was this effortless, and that the fruits that he would reap were so sweet. He sighed wistfully, thinking of all the other times in his life when things could have been made easier, and then dug his heels into the steed. They shot off.
Yes, that's the end, and here's the responses: