Disclaimer: Not mine!! :(
Title: To New Mutiny
Rating: R
-
-
Chapter 17
"Legolas!" Aragorn and Narso cried out as the archer went limp.
"He is alright," Elrohir assured them, "He just passed out. He is exhausted."
"We should get them back to town," Narso suggested, helping Cedir support Ran as he stood from the ground.
Elrohir gently slid his arms under Legolas, pulling the younger Elf protectively against him as he rose. The group made their way back to town in sombre silence, the only sounds being their footsteps and the fall of the horses' hooves.
Narso kept glancing over at Legolas, open concern in his eyes. Inwardly, he was fuming. He had had no idea that Legolas was the abused prince, and all he wished to do now was find the lad's real father and teach him a lesson for hurting the Elf that the man considered his own.
Aragorn walked silently beside them, looking uneasily at Narso and Legolas. He knew from the look on Narso's face that it would take some fast talking on the prince's part to convince Narso not to inflict serious harm on Thranduil after what he had just learned. But seeing as Legolas now presumably remembered the centuries of abuse at his own father's hands, perhaps he would not wish to try and talk the lake man out of it.
Anger flashed in his eyes. If the Elf king was the one who had attacked Legolas and stolen his memory…
"Estel!"
Aragorn turned at the hissed summons and found Elladan walking beside him.
"Estel, what is wrong with you?"
Aragorn frowned. "What makes you think anything is wrong?"
Elladan snorted loudly. "Do not play the innocent with me, gwador nìn! You forget I have known you your whole life."
Aragorn raised an eyebrow, "And?"
"And right now," Elladan retorted quietly, "You are fidgeting so much even the hunters are beginning to notice!"
Aragorn blushed and, grunting a vague reply, moved over to walk next to Narso. It took the preoccupied older man a few minutes to acknowledge his presence.
"Oh, hello Strider." He mumbled offhand, seeming to forget his own distrust of the Ranger in the face of all that had happened. The lake man looked thoughtfully at the blond Elf for a while, before turning back to Aragorn.
"Did his father really…"
Aragorn nodded sadly.
"How long?" Narso choked out.
"Centuries." The younger man replied vaguely, "He got away a few times, but he always went back. He believes far too much of the good in people."
When no response came, Aragorn looked over to find Narso staring at him in thinly veiled scepticism and amazement and raised his eyebrows in question.
"Centuries?" The hunter squeaked, "Just how old is he then?"
"Almost two and a half millennia. Only a child by the standards of his people." Aragorn replied, enjoying the amazement playing across the older man's face.
Narso stopped dead and Gimli ran into the back of him, almost sending them both to the forest floor. He glared over his shoulder at the Dwarf before returning his attention to Aragorn.
"Millennia?! But he is— he only looks so young! I would think he is barely old enough to be out on his own."
Aragorn chuckled. "Do not let him hear you say that."
They had been travelling slowly to accommodate the two weakened members of the group, but the lights of the houses of Lake Town could finally be seen through the trees, which were gradually becoming less dense.
They emerged from under the trees into a clear twilight, all remnants of the rain clouds gone and the stars shining brightly, reflecting off the surface of the lake, which gave to town its name.
The hunting party said their goodbyes and began to disperse, all heading towards their own homes. Narso wanted Ran to stay at his house for the night, where Betha could keep an eye on him, but the young hunter refused, insisting he was fine. Narso let them go with a promise that they would call on him if the effects of the venom showed any sign of returning.
Ran pressed a hand to Legolas' forehead. "Be well, Legolas. I shall try to visit you tomorrow." He glanced over his shoulder at Cedir, "If the warden lets me out, that is."
"Goodnight," Elves, men and Dwarf called quietly as they went their separate ways.
As Narso reached out to open the door to his house, it swung open, flooding light out into the darkening evening.
"Where have you been?" Betha demanded sharply, "I thought you would be back hours ago! Your dinner is ruined by now. Come in before I decide to leave you out there all night!"
Narso slunk in the door, looking guiltily at his wife. "Betha…darling?" He gestured towards the door, shrinking under the woman's glare, "We have a few more to feed tonight than just us two…"
Betha whirled and noticed for the first time the mismatched group that stood in the doorway. The scowl melted from her face.
"Welcome! Come in, come in from the cold! I shall just go and ready some— " She caught sight of the familiar form in the arms of the dark haired Elf and froze. She blinked several times, testing her vision, but it was real.
"Legolas?" She breathed, reaching out to touch his pale face. "Oh dear…what happened to him?"
She looked between Aragorn and Narso, seeking answers.
"Tis a long tale, Betha." Narso said, "But before we tell you, we had best get the lad to bed. He is exhausted."
Betha nodded silently, leading Elrohir to Legolas' room and lighting a few candles. She watched as the tall Elf gently laid Legolas on the bed, covering him with a blanket. They then blew out all the candles but one, and retreated, leaving the door open slightly so they could hear him if he awoke.
"He has fire in him," Narso was saying as they joined the others.
"Aye," Strider agreed quietly, "He does. He will be alright."
Elrohir squeezed Betha's shoulder and smiled reassuringly, silently agreeing with them. She smiled nervously at him, still unsure, as she did not yet know who he was, although obviously an Elf and a friend to Legolas.
She moved across the room and took the seat next to her husband, as Elrohir dropped into a chair between his brothers.
"It is good to see you well, Lady Bethaline." Aragorn spoke from his seat.
Betha smiled at him. "As it is to see you, Strider. Thank you for bringing him back to us."
Aragorn shook his head slightly. "Allow me to introduce my companions; these are my foster brothers, Elladan and Elrohir, and our friend Gimli, son of Glòin. They are all great friends of Legolas' and you have nothing to fear from them."
Betha and Narso smiled and greeted each in turn, eyeing with interest and curiosity the Dwarf who ran with Elves. Narso turned to his wife as she turned questioning eyes on him.
"I came across them a couple of miles inside the borders of the Great Forest while we were searching for Conran. He was with them, but they were having some trouble with the great spiders that now roam those parts. Legolas saved me from one of them, but Ran was injured by one. And then Legolas…what was it he did, Strider?"
"He possesses a rare and ancient power which allows him to channel his own energy to heal others. Because we had no way to treat the deadly spider venom out there, Legolas used his ability to heal Ran. As you can imagine, the power saps his own energy, which is why he is exhausted now. He merely rests."
She nodded. "I am glad he has come to no harm. And Ran? He is alright?"
Narso nodded. "He is well,"
Betha's mind dwelled in worry over her foster son, but she remembered her duty to her guests. "I am sure you all need refreshment after all that. Allow me to make you some tea." The twins and Aragorn agreed readily, and she turned to Gimli. "Would you prefer some ale, Master Dwarf?"
Gimli's face lit up. "If it is not too much trouble, ma'am."
"None at all," She assured, and disappeared into the pantry.
"Why did you not tell her of Legolas' father?" Aragorn asked Narso curiously.
The older man shook his head. "Such things will be discussed when the lad is awake and able to join us. He would be none too happy if we carried on a conversation on such matters while he was not present."
Aragorn smiled wryly. "You know him well,"
Narso nodded absently.
As Betha returned with the drinks, they settled into their chairs, talking quietly amongst themselves, and awaiting Legolas' return to the waking world.
-
Strange place to end it I know, but couldn't think of anything else!! ;) More soon!
-
Review replies::
Cheysuli: You know what? I have no idea what Tanda means!! *gulp* If it does mean anything, it probably means something totally un-spiderlike and I'll have to change it… ;) Well, the men only knew about the abuse because Rezad is a rather large gossip by the sound of things! I don't know why I made him like that, it just happened… Remember at the beginning he says 'you know there are rumours the king beats his own son'. :) Hope you liked this chapter, although it was a bit slow! More soon!! =)
MoroTheWolfGod: He's not mad at Legolas, don't worry! He's mad at Thranduil! Ooh nice! PotC t-shirt! Sounds funky all skeletal and stuff. Of course, because of the amount of anatomy study my course drills into us, if I had something like that, I'd sit there all day going 'that bone's not supposed to be there and that's the wrong shape…' :) I think too much! Anyway hope you liked this chapter and will have more up soon! ;)
Lefty: Hmmm…how old is Ran…Um…I didn't have any specific age in mind, but if I had to put one on him, I'd say about eighteen or nineteen; young enough that his parents still worry about him but also old enough to be out on his own. What do you think? Aha, he knows that his people are looking for him, but does he know what happened to him…? *evil smile* I'm glad you're resting easier now!! More soon! :)
DXPrincess: I do that sometimes, don't I?? Nothing happens for like four chapters and then everything happens at once! *sigh* Oh well, we'll see what happens. I haven't even decided exactly how much he's remembered yet, but I'll get to it! Thank you for being so patient with me even though I'm so slow! I'm slipping from the days of Grudge, when I updated every day… Oh well!! Once I've figured out where to take the next chapter I'll have it up! Shouldn't take too long! :)
Ivory Novelist: I was trying to find a way to link it in with my previous story cos it hasn't really seemed like a sequel so far, so taa daa!! Healing powers to the rescue! Ah…I can't tell you that yet!! ;) Would ruin the surprise!! We'll have to wait till he remembers enough to say so! Hehehe!! Yeah, it was subtle fluff, but I had to get it in there somewhere, didn't I? ;) You've definitely rubbed off on me… I agree, flaff is great! More flaff very soon!! =)
Shandrial: Perhaps we do think similar…and I'm quite the oddball as well! Some of my patients think I'm mad! Hehehe!! I agree completely, Legolas should stay away from spiders!! Actually, he should wrap himself up in bubble-wrap to avoid being beaten by all us writers and our bad guys… Speaking of which, how's Grimnosh the gnat by the way? Staying away from moving car windscreens I hope? I did warn him… ;)
Lady Lenna: Now there ya go, you ask nicely and I get out a new chapter quickly! Everyone should take a lesson from you… :) *blush* Glad you like it so much, that's what keeps me writing you know! I'm happy when my readers are happy!! More soon as I can write it down! =)
Alice: Really?? Cool…poor Elvis…I have a theory that he's alive, but he's been 'covered up' by the government cos he's actually an alien from another planet…how else could you explain the hair?? ;) Hehehe!! But obviously he gets out sometimes if you saw him in Tesco… You're right, I am very random aren't I?? :) Anyway I couldn't kill him yet, I need him for at least five more chapters…maybe more depending on how much I can squeeze out of my overworked and underpaid brain… More soon!! (and don't worry, I'm almost finished the next chapter of SoS) =)
Sirith: You fall up the stairs too?? I thought that was just me!! I used to do it in work all the time and everyone always found it highly amusing…Gald your holiday was great!! And yeah, poor Legolas…I really have to stop being so mean to him…After a few more chapters! ;) Yes. Elvis lives. He's outside my house right now…But not really!! *looks around* I think… Hehehe! More soon!! =)
angelbird1224: Aw thank you!! I'm gonna get a really big head with complements like that you know!! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, but I know it's a bit slow at the moment!! I'll get to the good stuff soon, I promise! :)
tamara: Yeah, I nearly forgot about it as well, but I was going over the prequel to this the other day and I was like damn I never used that… ;) I hope this update was soon enough for you! I know this chapter was a little slow, but it'll get better soon! :) Hope you liked anyway and will have more up soon! =)
kawaiishinichan: Wow…that is a funky name! I feel sorry for poor Legolas as well. I'm not very nice to him am I?? *sigh* We'll know who beat him up soon enough, but not too soon, cos then I wouldn't have people wondering, would I? Hehehe!! :) I am evil personified…Glad you're enjoying the story though and I'll have more up as soon as I have it written and uploaded! ;)
Shaan Lien: Well, no one's objected, so I'm guessing it's okay to say that on a review. ;) I'm sorry that chapter was so short, it's the best I could come up with at short notice! Glad you liked the healing thing, I wasn't sure about putting it in, but people seem to like it. I always did as well, so I was like ooh I can use that!! :) Anyway I hope this chapter was long enough for you and no evil cliff-hangers or anything… Hehehe! More soon! =)
Kit Cloudkicker: Repressed memory and all that! I thought it would be dramatic or something if he didn't remember right away…maybe it didn't work but it sure surprised everyone! ;) Hope you liked and I'll have more up soon! :)
-
Wow…those replies were a tad longer than usual… Anyway more's in the works so I'll have it up as soon as it's finished!
.:Tithen Min:.
-