Gimli woke cold and cramped on the stone floor of Lasselanta's home. Celebrindal was curled up on one of the wooly rugs next to the tile stove, which was still radiating heat. Laureaquen and the hill pony both dozed, three-legged, in a corner. No natural light pierced the solid rock, but Fëanor's lamps, glowing softly, illuminated the large room. The fire in the tile stove was dying, so Gimli searched for some fuel and stoked it. Celebrindal lifted his head to watch, but didn't get up. He straightened to look about the room for Legolas, and finally found him folded into one of the room's many carved alcoves. Gimli sighed and plopped into the wooden chair that stood next to the table. His weapons were still strewn about the floor where they had fallen after he'd dozed off. Now that he was more comfortable on the chair (which, funnily enough, was uncommonly comfortable for a wooden chair), Gimli was less inclined to gather his weapons and put them away. They were clean at least. Lying on the floor for a few hours more wouldn't hurt them. He sighed and closed his eyes, ready to doze blissfully off once again, when he heard something at the head of the stair. He froze in place and stared at the stairway. Celebrindal growled low in his throat, tensed on the floor with his ruff standing on end. The horses nickered softly and fidgeted, obviously just as aware of the danger as Celebrindal. Gimli listened closely and heard a loud snuffling, then a pair of voices urgently speaking the Black Tongue. He knew that orcs had found their hideout. How, he knew not, but he was sure that Lasselanta had protections to keep them from discovery. He warily got up and grabbed his favorite pair of axes, and glanced back at Celebrindal, who stood up. It was then that Gimli realized his folly in stoking the fire in the tile stove. The smoke had to go somewhere, didn't it? And now he didn't dare douse it, because not only would that send up more smoke, but it would alert the orcs even more if the smoke were to abruptly stop.
Gimli paused to think, then went to shake Legolas awake. The elf woke at his touch and was about to speak when Gimli gestured for silence, then cupped his ear and pointed toward the stair. Legolas listened intently for a moment, then his eyes widened in shock.
"We must wake Lasselanta," he whispered urgently. Gimli merely jerked his head in the direction of her room, confident that the elf could move more silently than he ever could. He was proven right when Legolas fluidly rose from his place in the alcove and practically flew down the hall to Lasselanta's room. Gimli listened again toward the stair, and was distressed to find that the conversation had stopped and the scrape of metal on stone had replaced it. He took a stance to one side of the entrance and raised his axes, ready to surprise anyone who came down the stair.
Lasselanta woke instantly when she felt a cool touch on her shoulder. Her open eyes helped her realize that she had somehow gotten to her bed and into her favorite black sleeping robe last night. But the fact that Legolas was quietly and forcefully speaking her name made her realize that something was wrong.
"What," she whispered as she rose from the alcove. "What is it?"
"Orcs have found us," he replied in a low voice, stepping away from the bed so she could get out and get dressed.
Lasselanta was already halfway toward her armoire when he words stopped her dead in her tracks. "What?" she breathed incredulously. "They are here? Now?"
"Yes," he replied. "And Gimli is going to have to hold them off alone if we don't hurry."
"They'll never get in," Lasselanta negated, sure of herself. "They aren't smart enough." She rummaged through the armoire, pulling out a pair of charcoal grey leggings and a dark, dark green tunic.
"These are not normal orcs," Legolas argued. "They are Uruk-Hai, faster, stronger, smarter than the orcs you have dealt with before."
"If you could not find a way in, do you think they can?" she hissed and dropped her robe, beginning to dress.
Legolas hastily turned his back and retorted, "I was not trying to force my way in!" Lasselanta wordlessly grabbed her swords from the wall and brushed past him and out the door. He stifled a sigh of frustration and quickly followed.
They found Gimli pressed against the wall on one side of the stair, Celebrindal on the other. Both were tense and silent, listening to the orcs' efforts against the stone. Lasselanta and Legolas joined them, weapons ready and poised for attack. Finally the scraping noises ceased, and the orcs argued unintelligibly. Finally their voices began to fade away until they could not be heard. Everyone in the room, animals included, relaxed visibly. Lasselanta ran a tired hand through her tangled hair and said, "We have to leave." Legolas and Gimli looked at her in shock. "They know someone is here," she said quietly. "We are no longer safe; this place is no longer secret." She sighed, "Pack your things, we head out as soon as we are ready," and she walked back to her room.
Legolas and Gimli exchanged long glances, then did as she asked.
Lasselanta's hands shook as she stuffed her sturdy traveling clothes into a large pack. After decades of safety, they had finally found her. She could no longer afford to stay, but where would she go? Worries and questions flitted through her mind as she found he sturdiest pair of boots, her soft stealth pair, a heavy felted-wool cloak, and her hunting knives. It pained her to leave most of her things behind, but they had to be sacrificed for speed. She did include one nice dress in her pack. One never knew who one might have to impress.
When finished in her bedroom, she went to the forge and took her best and most beloved stoneworking tools, as well as her most delicate metalworking tools, wrapping them in their leather cases. They would be heavy, but she couldn't leave them behind if she was never to return. They were added to her leather clothes pack, which she lung over her shoulder, travel boots in hand, and headed for the great room. Legolas and Gimli were there, waiting. Gimli was sharpening his axes while Legolas saddled the horses. They looked up when she entered, and Legolas looked slightly worried. She barely noticed as she went to the cupboard and packed her favorite soapstone tea cups and a lightweight copper kettle. This she packed into a small satchel, wrapping the tea cups in some small but very absorbent towels. She added a few pounds of mixed grains, some dried fruit, and jerky. She left her things in the great room, then briskly walked down the corridor to her apothecary. She grabbed her medicinal kit, several cloth bags of nutritious and medicinal teas, as well as some extra bandages and antiseptic healing salves which she added to the medicinal kit. She paused momentarily, sad to leave the apothecary, which contained all her knowledge of the indigenous plants and everything she'd ever learned about medicine. She inhaled the crisp clean scent of herbs with undertones of wet stone and sighed loudly.
"Is something wrong?" Lasselanta jumped and spun, heart pounding. She laughed nervously, "You frightened me, Legolas."
He looked worried, "My apologies." He gave her a penetrating look with those clear blue eyes of his. "Are you all right? Because we do not have to leave here if you do not wish it."
She laughed harshly, "I do not seem to have much of a choice!" She leaned back against the slate counter, looking down at her nervously twining fingers. "I do not want to leave," she said quietly. "This is my home, however isolated and crude." Her eyes misted slightly and she blinked rapidly to prevent tears.
"Where will you go?" Legolas asked softly.
"I know not," she replied. "I'd thought to go to Bree and perhaps west from there, but I do not look forward to starting over."
"Why don't you come with us?" he asked, suddenly inspired. "Yes! You could return with us to Mirkwood and see that not all Elves are like those who have treated you so terribly! Or we could go to Rivendell. There you would surely be welcome. Elrond is powerful and wise, you could surely find a place within his household!"
Lasselanta was shocked. She had not expected such kindness from this elf. He had disproved the proverb "like father, like son," on more than one occasion. She looked at him in surprise and suddenly found her eyes filling with tears. Then, quite unexpectedly, even to herself, she dropped her face into her hands and sobbed outright.
As Legolas looked into her wide, stormy grey eyes, he was surprised to see her welling tears change suddenly into a torrent of weeping. Momentarily floored by this abrupt change of emotion, he paused, then gently folded her shaking form into his arms. The moment he touched her, the sobbing paused, then continued, quieter and less hysterically. Her arms slowly wound themselves around his torso and Lasselanta buried her face in his shoulder. He could tell she was desperately trying to compose herself, so he said quietly, "Do not hold it in, cleanse yourself." So her weeping continued, growing continually quieter, and he boldly stroked her hair, saying nothing, intent on simply being a comforting force. Gradually she quieted, reduced to sniffling, and began to draw away. He found himself releasing her quiet reluctantly.
She sniffed and said, "I'm sor-"
He cut her off. "No apologizing. I understand what it is to feel the pull to leave, and yet wish to stay home." She smiled wanly through her tears, furtively wiping her face with her hands. His mouth quirked into a lopsided smile and he handed her a piece of stray gauze. She smiled outright at that and thanked him, scrubbing at her tearstains. Then she noticed his tunic.
She gestured toward his shoulder and said ruefully, "I'm afraid I've gotten you a bit damp."
Legolas looked down and saw that his tunic was indeed quite splotchy with her tears. He smiled, "No harm done, it'll dry quickly. The real question is, will you come with us?"
Lasselanta let out a half laugh, half sob. "Your kindness seems to know no bounds, Legolas. Even after my harsh words." She looked at her feet, embarrassed at her previous reaction.
Legolas raised her chin with a few fingers and replied, "It is you who have been kindness incarnate, Lasselanta. First rescuing two strangers, then risking your life for a rather rude horse, and treating us all like kings!" He winced at the analogy. "Sorry. And I apologize for doubting your faith in the protections of your own home. I should've known better."
"No," she replied softly. "You were right. Eventually they will find a way in. I am only sorry that I cannot bring everything with me." She sighed sadly, "They will destroy it all, you know."
"If you come with us, maybe some day we can return," Legolas suggested. "With a proper squadron of Elven warriors and a nice caravan to collect your things."
Lasselanta laughed sadly at that, "Your optimism is endearing, Legolas, but I don't think I shall ever return, even if I could." She sighed and then gathered her confidence about her like a cloak. "I think I shall go with you and Gimli. As far as Rivendell, if not Mirkwood."
Legolas felt a slow smile spread across his face. "Good, I'd like that." Then he seemed to remember the situation at hand. "I think Gimli is perhaps wondering if we've left out some back door without him!" Lasselanta smiled and he reached over to take up the medicine kit and placed his hand lightly on the small of her back to reassure and guide her as she picked up the tea and they returned to the great room.
When they entered, Lasselanta saw Gimli tentatively patting his hill pony on the nose, and she grinned. She also smiled to see Celebrindal curled safely at the feet of a curious Laureaquen. She was glad Celebrindal had made peace with the horses. If they were to travel together, they couldn't afford conflict to hinder their speed.
"Oh good," Gimli said, looking rather too relieved. "I thought perhaps you'd needed another tumble!" Lasselanta snickered, and Legolas gave her an amused look of surprise. She merely raised a mocking eyebrow and began to stow the teas.
"We're nearly ready to go, Gimli," Legolas answered, since Lasselanta had once again abruptly changed moods in that strange way of hers.
"Ah," Gimli said, giving the pony one last pat. "Good to hear. I am anxious to avoid those orcs and continue our journey. Though I must say that I have learned a bit more of stonework from your skills, Lasselanta, than I ever expected to on the way to Mirkwood." Lasselanta reddened slightly, and smiled.
"Thank you Gimli, that means a great deal to me."
"Well," he replied gruffly, "'tis true!"
Legolas had been fastening packs to Laureaquen (and soothing him for having to be a pack animal) when he thought of something rather important. "Lasselanta?" he asked. "What are we going to do about Fëanor's lamps?"
"Well," she replied slowly. "I suppose we'll just have to leave them, won't we?"
"Surely we cannot!" exclaimed Gimli. "There are not this many Fëanorian lamps left in existence in the whole of Middle Earth!"
"Gimli is right," Legolas agreed. "We cannot merely leave them. They are not breakable, are they?"
"They've been encased in thick, sanded glass, which could crack, but I do not think the crystals themselves are breakable," Lasselanta replied. "They are very old, older than my mother, possibly older than her mother."
"Have you any soft leather or furs?" Gimli asked. "If we could wrap them they would be safe. They are possibly the most valuable Elvish stonework to be had anywhere."
Lasselanta could not fathom the value placed on such trivial things as lamps, and her puzzlement was evident in her face, but she went to her storeroom and came back with an armful of leathers. "Will these do?" she queried.
"Perfectly," Legolas said with a smile as he took them from her arms. Lasselanta smiled in return as she went to take down the lamps. Gimli merely 'humphed' and helped Legolas wrap the precious objects as Lasselanta handed them to him (rather carelessly, he thought, but then, they were her lamps).
"There, all done!" Lasselanta said as she handed down the last one. Legolas wrapped it up and they were suddenly plunged into darkness.
After a bit of a pause, Legolas said slowly, "Perhaps we'll leave this one out for now," and uncovered the last lamp, which shone brilliantly, nearly lighting the entire room. Lasselanta chuckled and they packed them into a large leather bag she'd brought with, securing it all to Laureaquen's back with the food and other necessities. She and Legolas would carry their clothing and such, Gimli would ride the hill pony, despite his vehement protestations to the contrary. They needed speed if they were to escape notice on the bare plain.
Everything was packed, and they were just about to leave, when Lasselanta cried, "Wait!" and rushed back to the apothecary. Legolas and Gimli were puzzled when she returned with a stone jar the size of an apple and stowed it in her pack. She looked up and slung her pack on her shoulder, "We can go now."
"Care to explain what exactly it was you forgot?" Legolas asked.
"Oh! That!" Lasselanta answered with a laugh. "That is the stuff that allows me to blend into the landscape." She smiled at the looks on their faces, "It colors my hair dun brown. Bright copper is not the best color to have fluttering in the wind when you don't want to be seen."
Gimli chuckled and Legolas smiled, loading their packs onto their own backs. Lasselanta threw on her cloak, and turned once more to look at her home. She wrapped her arms around herself and felt her eyes misting up.
"I truly will miss this place," she said thickly.
"Ah, there, there now," Gimli said, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder. "It's not forever."
"It may as well be," Lasselanta said dejectedly, then apologized, "I'm sorry," she shook off the sadness, "Come, let us go," and she strode for the stair, Celebrindal by her side.
Legolas followed, leading Gimli's pony, Fëanorian lamp in hand. Laureaquen followed his elf-friend and Gimli brought up the rear.
"Such a shame," he said to himself, shaking his head, as he took one final look back and they headed into the crisp autumn air.