-Romen
You know where the responses are!
PS- Who watched the Academy Awards yesterday? (Raises hand) Who liked when Orlando Bloom announced? (Raises hand) Who didn't like Kirsten Dunst when she made fun of him for her mistake? (Raises hand)
13. Capture
Klia could feel soft, ragged breaths on the back of her neck. She shivered.
"Please, sir," she said, swallowing. She was afraid that the knife would slip from his hand and slit her throat.
"Listen to me," the voice growled. "If you do not help me, I will kill you. Do you understand?"
Klia nodded. "Y-yes."
"Good." She could see his hand slightly lower the knife. "I am going to let go of you, but if you try to run, I will kill you. You must listen to me."
"I...I will."
The man lowered his knife. Klia stood absolutely still, afraid that if she dared to move that the knife would go into her back.
"Turn around," the voice commanded.
Klia took a deep breath and did as she was told. She slowly pitted on her heel. She was surprised at what she saw.
An Elf stood before her. There was black blood-stains all over his clothes, and red splotches that were from fresh blood. He had minor cuts and scratched all over his face, and dark circles under his eyes. Even in the darkness of the night she could tell that his skin was unnaturally pale.
"Come on." He grabbed her arm tightly and began to pull her along behind him. "We'll make our way back to your horse..."
Klia felt her throat begin to close in on her. She was extremely frightened. She was out here alone in the forest with this mad and wounded Elf, no protection and no weapons. He could do anything he wanted to her.
The elf turned around and paused, staring at her for a moment. "If you listen to me, I will have no cause to harm you," he said gruffly, as if sensing her thoughts.
"I know," Klia heard herself saying, "but how many others have heard that before your knife found their throat?"
He gripped her arm tighter. Klia swallowed a small yelp of pain.
"It wasn't a knife," he muttered. He stopped again, glancing at her. "What's your name, woman?"
It took a while for Klia to find her voice again. "M-Meg," she lied, hoping that he couldn't read of the signs of dishonesty in her face.
"Legolas," he said, glaring at her.
"Pardon?" Klia narrowed her eyes, wondering if she had heard right.
"My name is Legolas," he repeated, still staring at her. His cold blue eyes made her shiver.
"Why are you telling me this?" she whispered.
Legolas's eyes narrowed, as if he hesitated in answering.
"Because I may be the last person that you ever see in your life, and I want you to know my name."
He began dragging her behind him again.
-
The rain still came down just as hard. Legolas didn't loosen his grip any. Klia's arm began to go numb.
When they came upon the gelding, Legolas turned around to look at her again. "Get on the horse," he hissed.
Klia's knees were shaking so hard that she feared that she couldn't move. Her tongue felt thick in her mouth. She was frozen through and through. Her lungs stopped working. She wasn't breathing.
"Get on the horse," Legolas repeated, flinging her forward. Klia's legs still weren't working. She slipped on the ground and fell. She could taste mud and blood in her mouth. Her head rang. The world was spinning.
For a moment, Klia felt herself black-out. She couldn't see, couldn't feel, couldn't think. The next thing she knew, she was back on the ground. She gingerly pushed herself up and looked at Legolas. He was glaring at her.
"I...I'm sorry," she said softly, pushing herself back up. "I...I didn't mean..."
"Get on the horse."
Klia put her foot in the stirrup. She felt it slip. "It's...It's so wet," she apologized. Legolas didn't look amused, but he remained silent. She climbed up the rest of the way. Legolas nimbly joined her, grabbing the reins.
She could feel Legolas move as he dug his heels into the gelding. They started off at a run.
-
Klia felt her stomach lurch. She gripped the gelding's neck. It had nearly lost its footing on the slippery ground. It had not yet stopped raining, and it was still going just as strong.
Even though Klia hadn't traveled many places, she knew enough about traveling to know that it wasn't safe to be riding on a horse during this kind of weather. She wondered if Legolas had noticed.
The gelding tripped again. Klia's eyes grew wide, hoping that he could steady himself. Klia turned around to look at Legolas. His eyes were closed, his head slumped forward. Klia wondered if he was conscience.
'Run,' a small voice seemed to say to her. 'Get down and run now!'
Klia paused. No, he would probably wake up and kill her.
Klia looked forward. The gelding was walking on the path and didn't seem to be heading for anything. She turned back to look at Legolas. His head was now lolling back, his mouth slightly open. He swayed back and forth on the horse.
"Legolas?" Klia reached out to touch him. "Legolas, are you awake?"
The elf jumped, alert. She felt him grab both of her arms tightly again. She uttered a small cry, looking away.
"What are you doing?" he snarled, his nostrils flaring.
"You were sleeping," Klia said softly. "The horse...he's slipping. We're going to get hurt if we continue riding today."
Legolas looked around, as if noticing for the first time that it was still pouring rain. He nodded. "We may stop." He tightened his hands again. "But if you run..."
"I know," Klia said quickly, not wanting to hear the threats again. She swallowed, turning back around. She felt Legolas grab the reins.
They continued riding for a while. She supposed that Legolas wanted to wait until he saw a cave, but it was becoming obvious that they were gong to have to pull over and search for one. As if reading her mind again, Legolas slipped off of the gelding, sighing. He held out his hand. Klia just stared.
"Meg, get off of the horse," he commanded. "Now."
Klia grabbed his hands, sliding off of the horse. Water was up past her ankles. Legolas grabbed a hold of her wrist and gelding's reins. They began to walk through the forest.
They walked for quite some time. There wasn't a single star to light the night sky. The only way that Klia knew that Legolas was still there was the fact that his hand was still gripping her wrist. She wished that he'd let go. He was cutting off her circulation.
"There."
Klia looked up. "What? Did you find shelter?"
Legolas nodded. "There's a rock fissure over there." He looked at her. "Come on; hurry up."
They picked up their pace a little. As they grew closer, Klia could see what Legolas meant. There were several rocks jutting out from a hill that formed a shelter. They could rest there that night, protected from the freezing rain. She could feel Legolas's grip loosen as they drew nearer.
When they stood in front of their shelter, Legolas turned to face her again. "I will let go now, but you must sit down under the rocks and stay perfectly still."
Klia nodded. "I promise."
"Good." He led the gelding over to a rock jutting out of the ground and tied his reins around it while Klia sat under the shelter and watched. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering uncontrollably. She was so cold.
Klia felt something hard under her sleeve. She looked up at Legolas quickly. He wasn't paying any attention to her. Klia slid her arm up under the sleeve. She had forgotten all about it! She always kept a dagger under her sleeve. She sighed, now feeling safer.
Legolas walked under the shelter and observed her. "You are cold," he noted.
Klia nodded. "I'll be fine, though. I've been cold before."
"I wasn't asking whether you'd be fine or not," Legolas spat out. "I was just noticing that you seemed cold."
Klia looked down, biting her lip. She cuddled up to the wall that she was leaning against and laid her head back, staring back at Legolas, who was sitting with his legs crossed and watching the rain fall. He seemed so sad.
"I could have killed you when I found you," he said, not turning around.
"I know," Klia replied softly. "You could kill me now."
"But I won't yet." He turned back to her, his face even more pale. His voice sounded slurred. "I won't kill you until I've killed all of the men. Then I will kill the women." Tears were sliding down his cheeks. "So enjoy your life while you can."
"Where are we going?"
Legolas looked down, pursing his lips. He didn't answer.
Klia sighed, shutting her eyes and allowing herself to slip back into sleep.
TBC.
Okay, not much happened. Here are your responses though:
Freak Goddess of the Crypt: You're right, they are all in trouble. Klia does need major help. She is friggin nuts! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Not much happened in it, but we did get to see what was going on with Leggy and Psycho-woman.
Deana: I hope that you liked this chapter. Once again, no Ro or Estel (they both glare at her). We'll get back to them soon, but not in the next chapter. I think in chapter 14, maybe.
IwishChan: Yup, Estel is really with Elrohir. It will take him a while to help Legolas though. It's not all up to Estel. He can help with Leggy's recovery, but Legolas really has some decisions that he needs to make if he wants to come back.
CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: Fanfare You were right! Unfortunately, Haldir is busy being march-warden so I don't think he can stop by for a visit. Elrohir's busy pouting with Estel, so unless you want to hear him whine, LOL. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.
Ridicully L: Wow, you just gave me another idea (the plot puzzle pieces are shifting)! Perhaps she will. Right now she's stuck with a mad and crazy Elf, though, so she should probably just concentrate on escaping (which WILL happen.
Thanks for your reviews they really are a joy to read.
-Romen