Yes, believe it or not, I am still alive and finally able to write again! I can tell you, one month without it made me restless (and, according to my dear editor San, prompted me to make some rather "funny" spelling mistakes, hehe).
I hope you are still with me on this story. Updates should come regularly again form now on. Thanks for reading and of course to San for editing. Please review, any comment is appreciated.
Alina
Rating: PG 13
Disclaimer: Not mine
Mistakes
Legolas listened. His sense of dread was rising and his stance drew tense where he sat, as his muscles prepared for a fight. But a fight against whom or what? The elf shook his head lightly, as if hoping to set things right again this way. It annoyed him that he seemed unable to read his own instincts. He had heard the human boy´s voice and a grown man´s snarled words, and he found that the sounds distracted him greatly. He tried to remind himself that mortals often sounded harsh to his ears but his unease remained.
A few paces off, the horses had grown restless, pawing the ground and snorting as they huddled together for protection. Every few moments the beasts shied and made for another corner of their small paddock. Legolas smiled grimly when he recognized that he was in a similar situation as the animals. He did not know where to turn either.
"Will you tell me what approaches us?"
Léod´s silent question made the elf flinch. It spoke of his poor condition that he had momentarily forgotten all about the young ranger who sat beside him. The human had only just put away his small healing pack and was now looking questioningly at the elf.
The man´s eyes had lost their mirthful sparkle and his hand was on the hilt of his sword. Before Legolas could answer, the air seemed to freeze. The horses halted, their whinnies dying away to leave nothing put panting breaths. Whiffs of clouds drifted from their snouts in the cold.
It was only now that the world itself was holding its breath that the elf´s senses finally sharpened. He heard what he had been straining to detect. Splashes in the water announced the arrival of several beasts, and a snarl rose from the depths of night.
"Droeg!" /Wolves/ Legolas spat out the word with all the derision he felt towards himself for failing to see the danger earlier. "Beraid droeg!" /Cursed wolves/
He was on his feet in a flash, his bow appearing in his hand so quickly that it almost seemed as if it had materialised out of thin air.
"What? Wait!" Léod tried to reach out for him but missed when the elf ran for the path leading towards the river. "Tell me so I understand!" the young man yelled in frustration. "What is out there?"
Legolas did not bother to stop while he called back to the human. "Werewolves, you fool! Werewolves by your safe river!"
With that the elf turned all his senses towards the stream, completely disregarding everything that went on behind him. Ranger should protect his own people.
In front of him he heard Estel yell in fear but he was not yet close enough to see what was happening. A man called for the boy to stop and Legolas suddenly feared that there was more than one foe to worry about. Valar, he should have known better than to place his trust into a camp full of humans.
He sensed how the winter trees called out their silent warnings and then he saw the man, an arrow trained onto the river. Estel´s retreating form could only just be seen as he stumbled into the stream.
His resolve hardening, the elf came to a complete stop, drawing his bow at the same time. The pain that shot through his side sharpened his senses. The steal tip of his weapon found the spot in the back of the human that would lead it straight to its victim´s heart. He forced himself to wait and take a steadying breath to ensure his aim would be true.
Just when his fingertips began to loosen their hold on both arrow and string he saw the human turn slightly away from the direction in which the child had run. From the corner of his eye Legolas could see a dark shape appear close to the bank. Even in the poor light that reflected off the snow, fierce eyes shed a red glow.
With a breathed curse the elf shifted his bow as much as he still could before the arrow took flight. "Nu!" /Down/ he called, realizing the moment that the word left his mouth that the man would not understand him. Startled by the sudden cry behind him, the human turned. His movement just took him out of the arrow´s path, causing the sleek weapon to streak by beneath his armpit.
Legolas stared on, his heart thundering in his throat. He barely took in the thud and yelp that announced his arrow had found its aim after all.
The disbelief he felt was mirrored in the human's eyes when he realized what had just happened. To the elf´s shame the man´s expression quickly turned to one of awe and he called out: "That was the shot of a lifetime, Master elf! We could use more of those!" Then he turned his back on Legolas again, drawing his own bow anew.
"It was the shot of your lifetime, my friend." Hearing his own words made bile rise in the elf´s throat, but he quickly disciplined himself. Now was not the time to ponder mistakes, for any distraction would only breed new ones. He could hear horses splash down the river, and to his immense relief the sound was accompanied by Elvish shouts to spur on the steeds.
Making his decision in a heartbeat, Legolas swiftly grabbed a low branch of a near tree and hauled himself up. Nimbly making his way up, the archer soon found a perch that allowed him to see the stretch of river beneath him. His heart soared when he made out Erestor at the head of a whole party of Imladris warriors. His black hair fluttering behind him, his own bow drawn, the advisor expertly guided his horse with nothing more but his weight to come up behind the dark shape of a wolf.
The beast fell with a strangled yelp that died when the horse´s restless hooves found it and pushed it into its icy grave.
Legolas shuddered, an image of his childhood nightmare coming alive with the black-haired warrior´s precise killing moves. Yet there was a real child to worry about, not one whose trust in the world had been shattered so long ago. A child who should be saved from a similar fate.
Legolas followed the stream with his eyes, hoping to discover his young charge, yet there was nothing but snow and black waters. And another wolf.
It was hidden still from Erestor´s view by a bent in the river, but Legolas could clearly see the beast edging closer to the shore. Its head was up as if it was following a scent - the thought had not even completed itself when Legolas´s bow sang, yet he only managed to nudge the beast across the back.
The wolf reached a small mount in the bank with a strangled snarl that was carried to the archer on a breeze that seemed intent to mock him for his repeated failure. Legolas could see the head of the beast disappear in what had to be a cave and he breathed a prayer when he aimed again.
In the river beneath him, Erestor had just rounded the curve and the young elf could see the advisor draw his bow also. When the wolf suddenly yelped and withdrew, the two arrows took flight simultaneously, almost colliding in the air before both struck the beast in the heart. It was dead before its head hit the water.
Legolas watched on as Erestor dismounted, calling out for the boy, and his breath caught with relief when he saw the child safe within the older elf´s arms.
He had to force himself to scan the river and camp behind them for more foes and was glad when he found none. The danger had passed.
His knees suddenly gave way beneath him and he sat down most unceremoniously. The tree whispered in concern and Legolas reached out and stroked the rough bark reassuringly. Yet his heart did not feel the peace he tried to convey. Shakily, his hand traced the back of his bow. He knew the designs that were carved into the dark wood so well he would be able to draw them in the dark.
Never had he gotten this close to betraying the trust that had been placed in him by his father, his commanders and all his fellow warriors. He knew well that archers carried the utmost trust in battle. They had to, for often they would stand behind their own people to fire at their enemies through the lines of their comrades.
He knew the first rule for any archer.
Never shoot unless you are sure to hit the enemy.
Never shoot unless you are sure.
The problem was that when he had aimed for the human´s back, he had been sure.
Beneath him, the mortals gathered together after the short skirmish. He could hear women calling out names and men answering. No mourning cries rose to the blackened skies, assuring the elf that none had been killed. Even though one had gotten so close that there might now well be a ghost wandering these shores, a twin to the man that the Valar had spared in their mercy.
Cold began to creep into Legolas' bones and he could feel his injuries protesting against his prolonged stay in the tree. He angrily pushed away the urge to ease his pains. They were a price far too low for what he had done.
"Hello up there!"
Once again it was Léod´s voice that startled Legolas, and he had to grab hold of the tree to keep himself from slipping. Maybe, he decided, the Valar had sent this persistent human as his true punishment. He certainly proved much more suitable torture than mere injuries.
"Are you alright?" There was true concern in the question, and the elf sighed.
"Yes", he answered, "I was merely making sure that no more beasts are approaching. I will be down shortly."
"I assure you that our sentinels are out again, and we are lucky to have been joined by some Imladris warriors who now strengthen our ranks. Lord Erestor has asked me to fetch you." Léod paused thoughtfully before continuing: "He gave me a rather precise description of your location."
Of course, Legolas thought. He should have known.
Léod was relieved when he heard the elf climb from the tree. Knowing just how badly the archer had really been hurt even before this fight, he had worried for his newly found friend. He was nervous just how the elf would react to him now, however. It was true that his misjudgement had endangered the human boy, and it was nothing short of a miracle that the child had indeed survived.
The ranger heard steps on the path towards the village and moved closer, halting the three men that carried a human form wrapped in a blanket.
"Let me see", the young man quietly demanded. He knew well that he might find one of his former friends beneath the rough fabric, but that was precisely why he needed to know. The villagers allowed him to see the body, and Léod let out a shaky breath when he did not recognize the man.
Taking a closer look, he saw that two arrows had taken the man in the heart. They had been snapped off to ease carrying the corpse. But despite the blood that had spilled from these wounds, there was a third visible. The ranger frowned at the small hilt that produced from the dead man´s chest, and he pulled it out to slip into his pocket. He had the feeling that he knew whom it belonged to.
When the men had resumed their way towards the camp, Léod turned to find Legolas standing beside the tree he had sat on, an almost vacant expression in his eyes. The lost look quickly disappeared though, when the ranger approached him, and together they walked towards the buzzing voices of the settlement.
An uneasy silence hung between them, weighting their steps. Léod watched the elf warily, hoping that the immortal would address the reason for his obvious anger. The young man hated leaving matters unresolved, and when it became clear that the elf had no intention of tackling the subject, the ranger did.
"We all make mistakes, don´t we?" he began quietly. He had intended the phrase as a mere opening and was startled when Legolas stopped dead in his tracks, an expression of first shock and then doubt crossing his features.
Unsure what this reaction meant, the young man ploughed on more swiftly and less subtly than he had intended.
"I certainly did not intend to endanger the boy, and neither was any danger visible to me. Please forgive me, I meant no harm. I wish I had the instincts of your race and could thus have prevented this, but as a mortal I have to live on what I have, and in this case my experiences lead me astray."
Legolas stared at Léod´s flushed features as the words gushed forth. He could see the true sorrow in the man´s eyes. What was worse, humiliation shone beneath the words, and the elf could not help but feel that it should be his place to apologize.
Suddenly realizing that the ranger had stopped talking, he looked up into the expectant young face and sighed. "It was not your fault. You did what you considered best. Sometimes that is all we can do." He allowed himself a grim smile. "And as you can tell, my instincts are not that superior, for I failed to sense the danger also."
Relief was quick to spread on the young man´s face, and Legolas was glad to see a true smile grace his features. "But you did! And do not forget that you are injured and therefore..."
"Injured?" The melodious voice that had uttered the word slipped into an amused chuckle. "I should have known, tithen ernil." /little prince/
Legolas could just hide the flinch at his old nickname. Erestor had a habit of coming up with most unwelcome ways to call the young, but somehow none would surely take this against Lord Elrond´s advisor.
Before the young archer could reply with anything but a bow, Léod had turned to the tall, dark elf. "Ah, my lord, there you are. And here´s Legolas, as you have asked. And do not worry about those injuries, my lord. I have taken care of them, my lord. They were nothing really, my lord. Bad for a human, but nothing for an elf, my lord."
"Indeed." Erestor stepped closer, eyeing the Mirkwood prince before turning to Léod. "There were a few too many "my lords" in your explanation to truly convince me, good ranger." There was a twinkle in his eye that betrayed the seriousness of his tone. "But seeing that ernil Legolas is still standing, I will let this matter rest for now." /prince/
His gaze turned warm when he looked at Legolas again. "My heart rejoices seeing you alive, my friend. Know that both Elrohir and Elladan are on the mend. There is hope yet." He looked behind himself suddenly, as if he had heard something. "Speaking of whom, let us go, for you were gravely missed by a certain young man. Let us set his heart at ease."
Following Erestor through the camp, Legolas shot Léod a quick look of gratitude. The young man grinned widely, obviously pleased with himself. Suddenly, however, his face turned questioning. Understanding his confusion, Legolas said: "Lord Erestor, it looks as if these people are breaking camp..."
"Aye." The warrior was back in the older elf´s voice. "They do so at my advice. The storm still gathers, and we need to unite our forces before it truly breaks. We are not safe here, for the battle has only just begun."
TBC