I know, I know, I'm late. I'm sorry, but I just can't seem to get a chapter out in anything less than a week! What's wrong with me? Anyway, the last chapter ended with Aragorn kind of being hung, so lets see what kind of casket…/notices Aragorn lovers approaching with sharp weaponry/ I mean…let's find out how he gets out of that rather unpleasant situation. :)
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Legolas whipped a dagger from his belt even as Aragorn fell, preparing to fling the weapon and sever the rope that held his friend. To his horror, a man leapt up from the crowd onto the gallows platform, putting himself between the prince and his goal. Legolas could have howled in rage. But wait…
The man in question was already drawing his own blade. With one quick slice, he chopped through the rope. Aragorn's body fell to the ground with a very final thud. Legolas did not stop to question who this man was. He did not care. All his attention was focused on the young ranger lying motionless underneath the gallows platform. Ignoring the shrill protests that rose in his wake, the lissom elf dove forward, pushing humans violently out of his way.
The fair prince fell to his knees in a skidding halt beside Aragorn. The young man's eyes were closed. He did not seem to be breathing. What if the fall had snapped his neck? With trembling hands, Legolas pressed his long fingers against his friend's neck, praying he would feel the pulse…
He did.
Gasping in relief, the elf all but ripped away the noose still encircling Aragorn's neck. Pulling the human into his arms, Legolas cradled his friend protectively against his chest, calling to him anxiously. "Strider, wake up!" The elf's head jerked up as he realized several men were coming towards him. In his haste, he had forgotten that his friend was supposed to be hanged.
Fury rose in the icy blue eyes. For a moment, the men were daunted by the ferocious glare aimed in their direction. Finally, one stepped forward, a weapon in his hand. His intent was clear. He would slay the ranger even as he lay in Legolas' arms!
"Daro!" Control stretched to the absolute limit, Legolas reverted to elvish. His tone was cold and harsh, even in the musical language of the elves. Years of authority from his position of the Prince of Mirkwood gave him a commanding edge, though the man most definitely could not understand what he was saying.
The man stopped, confused. His weapon wavered in his hand for a moment.
Legolas made an imposing sight, even in his crouched, awkward position. The fair elf's eyes were blazing in his pale face. Teeth bared in a snarl, the elven prince carefully laid his friend down and drew his own slender blades. They gleamed, even in the shadow of the gallows. Gripping the hilts tightly, Legolas pointed the wickedly sharp steel at the man closest to him. "Chebo byr lin ello mellon nin, adan!"
Frightened, the men stepped backwards. Even as they did so, someone leapt from the platform above, and pushed his way through towards Legolas. Perceiving the new threat, Legolas rose with cat-like grace, his weapons at the ready. So swift was his movement, he would have had his blade embedded in the newcomer's throat if the man had not cried out.
"Stop! Wait! I'm a friend of Strider's!" The man held his hands up in a placating gesture, showing that he was unarmed. His dark eyes were wide as he gazed at the elf. "I'm the one who cut him down."
Legolas eyes the man warily, unsure of whether to trust him or not. "Man eneth lin?" he asked coldly. The elf was halfway into his battle mode, ready to attack anything that moved towards his friend.
Confusion filled the man's weather beaten face. "What?"
"Your name," Legolas snapped, annoyed that he had made the mistake of speaking in his own tongue. "What is your name?" Behind the man, the fair elf could see several other humans persuading the crowd to depart. They were dressed much like the man before him, and from the glances they threw in his direction every so often, the prince assumed this was their leader. He relaxed somewhat now that there was not a bloodthirsty mob after Aragorn's head, but continued to eye the human before him with undisguised distrust.
"Halith, I am called."
"Legolas…"
Legolas looked down sharply at the weak voice. A wave of relief crashed over him as he saw silver eyes gazing up at him blearily. A brief smile stretched Aragorn's mouth. "I thought I saw you," he rasped. His voice was hoarse and choked. A red ribbon of raw skin circled his throat. He tried to push himself into a sitting position, but his hands were still bound behind his back.
Immediately, both Legolas and Halith moved toward the young ranger to aid him. Halith quickly stepped back when Legolas very nearly snarled at him. The elf quickly dropped to his knees, his sharp blades making quick work of the thick rope wrapped around Aragorn's hands.
"It is all right, mellon nin," Aragorn whispered, seeing the fair prince's look of distrust as his blue eyes latched onto Halith. "He is a friend."
Legolas stared down at the dark haired man in disbelief. Now that the initial fear and adrenaline rush were leaving, he found his worry being rapidly replaced with fury. An overwhelming urge to wrap his hands around Aragorn's throat and finish the job the humans could not accomplish was rising within him. He had disappeared for weeks! No message! Nothing! Not for his family nor his friends. The prince ground his teeth together as he glared at Aragorn. The twins had been nearly sick with worry for their younger brother. He could only imagine what Lord Elrond must have gone through when his youngest did not return when he said he would! And he, Legolas, the Prince of Mirkwood had gone almost insane wondering if he would ever see his friend again, only to arrive just in time to watch the young ranger hang!
And he had not been able to stop it.
Aware of Halith's eyes upon him, Legolas swallowed the furious diatribe he longed to hurl at the prone form of his friend. He rose, gazing down at the ranger coldly. "Can you walk?" he managed to grind in an almost civil tone through clenched teeth.
Aragorn's eyes widened in surprise at Legolas' voice. But he quickly pulled himself to his feet. "I believe so."
"Good." Again, the terse, clipped tone.
"I have spoken to the town official," Halith smiled ruefully at the young man. "Believe me, when I sent you to catch a thief, I had no idea you yourself would be caught!"
"Nor I," Aragorn returned the grin.
"Thank you for your help," Legolas said cooly. He did not trust this man. Not after what he had seen in the villages and what he had heard of those Aragorn traveled with. The prince turned icy eyes on his friend. "Your brothers will meet us outside the town." Before Aragorn could even think to protest, Legolas had seized his arm and was very nearly carrying him away.
The prince's expression was so fierce, there was none left in the remaining crowd that dared halt him. The humans cleared a path quickly for the irate elf. Though he tried to ignore it, Legolas knew that Halith and his men were following in his wake. This made him uneasy. He did not want this man to be anywhere near where he and Strider were going to be meeting the twins.
Also, he wished to be alone with his friend. If nothing more than to have no witnesses when he killed the young man with his bare hands! But now, even the anger was slowly fading. It was replaced with the hurt that had haunted his footsteps since he realized Aragorn had walked off without even thinking of the promise he had made to greet Legolas when he entered Lord Elrond's valley. Legolas winced slightly at the memory. It was the first time, in his recollection, that his friend had not been there to make some good natured jibe as to how late the elf was. It hurt more than he though it could. He felt…forgotten.
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Aragorn walked swiftly to keep up with Legolas' quick strides, thanking the Valar that they had seen fit to bless him with long legs. The young man cast a quick glance at the elf out of the corner of his eye. Legolas fair features were set in a stony expression. His blue eyes were cold and hard.
He looked…tired. It surprised Aragorn that this word came to his mind. But indeed, that was what struck him the most. There was an air of fatigue that surrounded the prince. It was etched on his face. His limbs moved as gracefully as ever…but there was something about Legolas' posture that suggested a deep weariness, and pain. Aragorn reached out and touched the prince's green sleeve gently. "Legolas," he whispered, keeping his voice low enough that Halith could not hear him. "Are you all right?"
Shock spread across the elf's face like ripples on a pond. "Am…I…all right?" he choked, though his voice was no louder than Aragorn's had been. "Eru! Strider…" To Aragorn's horror, his friend's voice actually broke. Looking closely, the ranger realized that the fair prince was shaking with some repressed emotion.
Legolas came to an abrupt stop. "Here," he snapped. "This is where your brothers agreed to meet. Please excuse me." Without waiting for a reply, the elf stalked away, leaving a very confused group of humans behind.
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Elrohir frowned slightly as he strolled through the town's market. This was very unusual. The stalls were occupied only by the merchants that ran them and a very few customers. What was going on? In every other town the three elves had stopped in, the market was always jammed with humans.
"Business is not very good today," the young elf lord remarked mildly to a fruit vendor.
The young man shook his head as he rearranged the apples at his stand. "No. And for once, I don't mind."
"Why is that?" Elrohir's tone was curious, but did not not sound overly interested.
"The hanging of course."
"Hanging?" Trouble. He would bet his best dagger that Estel had found some way to be involved in it.
"Are you just arrived, that you don't know of what's happened?" The human's light eyebrows were raised, almost connecting with the fuzzy halo of blond curls falling over his brow. He could not see Elrohir's face very clearly in the depths of the elf's hood, but took his silence as an affirmative.
"Last night, we caught one of the thieves breaking into the baker's shop." There was a smug air about the youth as he recounted the event. "He was taken to be hung this afternoon. Half the town was probably out there to see it." He scowled for an instant. "But my master said that I had to watch our stall."
Elrohir fought hard not to let his mouth drop open, revealing his shock. "He had no trial?"
"Of course not!" The tow-headed boy leaned his elbows against the counter and stared hard at his customer. "He's one of them." Anger shook his voice. Getting no reaction from the elf, his eyes widened. "You have not heard of them?"
The hood swayed slightly. It could have been a head shake, or an errant breeze, but it was good enough for the youth. " A few months back, a group of men started coming around. They were ruffians, out for bad sport, or so we thought. Then they started to demand money from the inns and such. When they were not paid, they started to get violent. Of course, when that happened, we joined up and drove them out. We thought that was the end of it." The boy paused for a moment, and his face became grim. "Then one night they came back. A building was burned to the ground. By their hands. There were people inside. The next morning, while we were all tired and covered with soot from fighting the flames, they walked into the square, bold as brass, and said that if we did not pay them, more destruction would follow. Ever since then they have harrassed us. It is not often we can catch one of them in the act, but when we do, you can bet we don't let them get away."
Elrohir swallowed hard. He had suspected something like this. All through the journey to find his brother it had haunted the back of his mind. He remembered the fear that shone from dark eyes as he questioned the inn keeper's wife in the first village they had stopped at. And Estel was caught up in the middle of it. "How did you catch him?"
The boy shrugged. "Someone was awake. Came pounding on doors in the middle of the night yelling about a thief in the baker's shop."
Perhaps it was Halith that had been caught. One could only hope. "And the man who was taken to be hung? Who was he?"
Elrohir knew that the question was odd, and received a sideways look from the boy. He bit his lip. If the vendor thought that he was in any way connected to the group of ruffians, he could very well be finding himself on the way to the hangman's noose. "I ask," he said roughly, "Because I am searching for a thief myself. If this is the one I seek, then I need look no further."
"Good luck with your search, stranger," Came a gruff voice behind him. Elrohir spun, to nearly break his nose on the chest of a very large human. The elf's eyes widened as he looked up. He was tall himself, but the man that stood before him was at least a foot above his own respectable height.
"Ah…Theon!" The boy's eyes lit up as he saw the new arrival. "How went the hanging?"
"It didn't." The giant known as Theon continued to look down on Elrohir very suspiciously. Elrohir could not blame him. If what the boy said was true, these people had good reason to be wary of strangers. "It was incredible. Just as the man dropped, someone leapt from the crowd and cut the rope. A few men tried to go under the platform to fetch him back and try again, but this elf…"
Elrohir started violently. "An elf!"
Two pairs of eyes glanced at him curiously. "Aye," Theon continued. "An elf got there first. He wouldn't let anyone near. I swear to," the giant shook his head in wonder. "I do not believe I have ever seen anything so frightening in all my days. He would have killed any man that stepped within reach of his blades."
Blades. Legolas. Legolas had come to the man who had been about to be hung. Which could only mean one thing…Elrohir felt nauseated as he realized what had happened. "So…he was allowed to just walk away?" He heard his own voice, but could not believe it sounded so steady. He was anything but steady. In fact, he would have very much liked to collapse into a heap on the ground, as his knees did not feel like they would hold him much longer.
"Actually, it turned out he wasn't a thief after all." The giant shrugged. "The man who cut him down said he could vouch for him. Says, that they saw someone in the baker's shop last night. He went for help while Strider tried to catch the roughneck. Strider just had the bad luck to get caught himself in the thief's place."
"Strider?" Elrohir croaked.
"The man who was almost hung."
Ignoring the inquisitive eyes that followed him, Elorhir quickly murmured something about having to go and staggered away. He had to find Elladan.
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"Legolas?"
The Prince of Mirkwood crouched on a branch, his eyes staring off into the distance, wrestling with the mire of emotions that wanted to explode within him. He heard the soft voice calling his name, but did not respond.
"Legolas, I know you are up there!"
Legolas' eyes narrowed angrily. That…human! He was more than furious. He was enraged. And he did not trust himself not to vent on his friend the moment he saw the adan's stubbly face. The fair elf sighed softly, trying desperately to get a hold of himself. It was not easy. He was so angry with the ranger. Beneath his anger however, he was hurt. And he knew, that as the hot rush of rage disappeared, the hurt would become more painful.
It made him even angrier.
"If you are not coming down, then I will come up!"
Legolas snorted softly. Fat chance. If he, a wood elf, could barely make it to his present perch, there was no way Strider would ever be able to complete the climb. He had chosen his current position for that very reason.
A scuffling sound below let him know that Aragorn was trying his best, however. He was meanly pleased to hear the 'thud' a few seconds later that informed him he had made an accurate calculation of the ranger's climbing ability. A slightly malicious smile curled the corners of his mouth, only to to disappear a second later as Aragorn's (winded) voice reached his ears.
"Legolas! This is ridiculous! Come down at once and stop sulking! This is childish!"
Those words were like putting a torch to a barn full of dried hay.
Legolas did not even bother climbing down. He simply rolled to the side and allowed himself to fall. He did not look before he leapt, half hoping he would land on his friend. As luck would have it, he dropped to the ground directly in front of the young ranger. Rising from his crouched position, the elf saw the pleased expression on Strider's face die a quick death as the human realised just how angry the prince truly was.
The dark haired man quickly took a step back, his hands rising in a placating gesture. "Legolas…"
"Childish?" Legolas hissed evilly, his soft boots making no sound as he advanced on his friend. "I am being childish!" One long, slender hand snaked out, catching hold of Aragorn's worn leather coat and pulled him forward until his face was barely an inch from the elf's. "This from you who left without a word to your family for weeks! Three weeks since you left Rivendell to be exact, Strider. Three weeks! Your brothers have been worried to the point of insanity!" Legolas gave Aragorn a hard push, releasing his collar at the same time. He watched with cold eyes as the ranger stumbled backwards.
"You do not understand," Aragorn regained his balance quickly. His silver eyes glared back at the blond prince. "How could you? You are an elf, like them."
"I am also your friend, or I thought I was. As such, I have no compunction in telling you that you are out of line. And since when does my being an elf have anything to do with understanding! Legolas eyed the young man before him shrewdly. He suddenly realised that he was very close to discovering what had happened between the twins and their younger brother the night before Aragorn left Rivendell. Aragorn's words had the taste of an old grieviance that he had nursed for weeks, allowing it to grow into an ugly monster.
"Do not speak to me as if I were a small child in need of correction!" The words were fierce as they left Aragorn's lips. "I have heard it from my brothers, and I do not need to hear it from you too!" He drew his breath in sharply. "When will any of you understand? I am grown! I can make my own decisions! I do not need you to follow after me or to hold my hand!"
"Do you honestly think," Legolas said in a dangerous voice, "that I would follow you because I thought you were incapable of making your own decisions? No, ranger. I joined with the twins because they, and I were worried out of our minds for your safety! And I have traveled with Elladan and Elrohir for weeks now and watched them grow more and more concerned with each step they took! Do you have no conception of how much pain you have caused them!" The prince was yelling now, his normal composure abandoned. But within his anger still lurked the heart of his rage. He was hurt. The twins had been hurt. Legolas bit his lip hard. He recalled the moment he had seen a noose slip over Aragorn's head. He felt he would be sick. Thanking the Valar that the twins had not been there, he turned away from his friend, trying desperately to calm himself.
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As if a spear had entered his heart, Aragorn saw the truth of the elf's words as Legolas turned away. His actions came crashing down upon him like a physical weight. "Legolas…" Valar. What had he done? How would he have reacted if the twins had simply disappeared one day, and did not return for weeks? What would he have done if he had arrived in a town just in time to see someone slip a noose over Legolas' head?
"I…I am sorry, mellon nin."
Legolas turned slowly. His eyes were still fiery. "You should be."
Aragorn sighed softly in frustration. He was sorry. "Legolas, I did not mean to hurt them, trust me. I…I am just so tired of the way they look at me! As if I were still the toddler that was brought to them after the death of his parents. They do not seem to realise that I have grown."
"Perhaps if you acted as if you had matured…" the fair prince's voice was half kidding, half very serious. "If it were respect you were looking for, Strider, do not think you have gained it with this stunt."
"Stunt?" Aragorn was surprised, and a little hurt by his friend's words. Had he not explained what was happening in the message Ian had delivered? "Legolas I am helping these men. They need me."
The fair elf snorted. "Oh yes. We have heard a lot of their…need."
Perplexed by Legolas' dark tone, Aragorn remained silent. Why had not Legolas shared his message with Elladan and Elrohir? Surely the twins would not have been so worried if they knew their younger brother was helping someone. It was not like the fair elf to forget something as important as that.
"The next time you decide to run off," Legolas said in a tired sort of voice, "at least let someone know where you are going."
A small trickle of ice slipped down the ranger's spine. "What are you talking about Legolas? I told you."
The prince's head turned toward Aragorn sharply. His eyes were wide. "Strider, I do not know what hallucigenic plant you have consumed, but I have no idea what you are speaking of."
"The message!" Seeing Legolas' blank look, he elaborated. "I sent you a message to explain where I was going and why. Ian said that he delivered it to you…" Aragorn's voice trailed off as he saw Legolas shaking his head.
"I received no message."
"And there was a very good reason for that," Halith remarked casually as he stepped out of the trees with the rest of his men, plus several more that Aragorn did not recognize. Halith grinned nastily, his dark eyes glittering in cruel amusement. "You see, it was never delivered."
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Adan-humanDunadan- Man of the west
Chebo byr lin ello mellon nin, adan!- Keep your hands from my friend, human!
Mellon nin- my friend.
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Ainu Laire- Indeed. Resuable cliffies are the best thing since sliced bread. Oh I know what it's like to have school eat up your time.
Stoneage Woman- Pay no attention to those heros and do please remember that if you kill the authoress, there will be no resolution to the very evil cliffies. /hopeful smile/ I write incredibly evil cliffies/blushes/ why thank you!
QueenofFlarmphqal- Heh heh heh heh, if you think that Aragorn is in severe pain now, just wait till the later chapter. /evil laughter/ There is going to be some SERIOUS ranger whomping. And thank you for the well wishing, I am now free of school! Woohoo!
Saerwen- Gah! Not irresistable puppy eyes! Who could resist/notices that she is posting two days later than she said she would/ oh. /embarrassed chuckle/ apparently I can. Sorry! I did not mean to update late! But it took me forever to find the interdimensional grocery store…looks into ward and sees the chaos Saerwen has wrecked/ …oh dear… you know, I think I'm just going to back up slowly now…:) Hmm. Any more late updates and I may have to send the wardwraiths an apology and nice fruit basket.
Evergreene- Okay, I'm updating/sees Evergreene passed out on the floor from holding breath/ oops. Not what I meant to do. But look! I have another chapter! It fixes the evil cliffie…and ends with another one. Sorry! Well…not really, but I could be if I tried really hard. /smiles sweetly/
Aranna Undomiel- Seeing as I have not kept my promise…/runs away from the noose Aranna is holdingCome on! If I hang I won't be able to write any more, and I left this chapter on a cliffie too! Not as bad as the last one, but a cliffie nonetheless. Glad you liked it though.:)
Ithil-Valon- I'm evil? Why thank you! Gosh, that's one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. Sorry to leave you 'hanging' but it was neccesary. Well, not really, but I thought it would be fun. After all, what's a good story without angst, pain, and cliffies? Boring. :) Of course, I only enjoy the cliffies when I already know what's going to happen…
SilentBanshee-Close, but no. Not this time. I did think of that however. /Puss in Boots imitation/ Already our minds are becoming one… Hey, and in this chapter we got to see an angry Legolas. Not as hot as a really torked off Thranduil…but close.
Viggomaniac- Right where we want him indeed. I take no joy in the torture, angst, pain, and sufmling…/pauses to wipe her mouth/ stupid drool. Okay, I admit it. I love to cause these character pain. Twisted, no? But fun. Glad you liked the suspense, and thank you for the compliment on my language skills. I really appreciate it. I did TRY to get this out on Monday, but it just didn't work this week. Maybe next time. Shades of Fear, you say? I'll certainly take a look at it.
Singingharp- Okay, it is not that I didn't TRUST you with Estel, it's just that I know your love for torture angst and all that good pain stuff and I really need the ranger for the rest of this story. If I let you have him, he'd disappear and we would never see him again! Don't try to deny it, you know it's true. I've even seen the little cell you've prepared for him. But don't worry, the torture and angst for our ranger is not far off! And it's just around the next chapter for the elf... Anyway, thank you as always for your wonderful review and do not let my muse or my siblings alter ego see you going into that cell. :)
Iccle Fairy- hey! Long time no see! Glad to hear you are enjoying the story though. Thanks much for the feedback. :)
Alexandra-But I thought cliffies were our friends…:) Just kidding. I am fully aware of how evil I am being. I just love being evil. Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad you are liking the story!
Deep Sorrow- /Wereauthoress takes a small break from chasing her elusive sibling, just long enough for the moon to go behind a cloud/ Ah, that's better. Anyhoo, thanks for the delightful nagging, harping and general prodding to make me get my chapters out on time. Who know where this story would be without you? (Legolas, wistfully) Not being written? (Me) quiet. Just because you're going to get whomped in the next chapter. /twins and Estel pat Legolas sympathetically on the back./ I don't know what you guys are doing dispensing sympathy for, it's not like you're going to get off… anyway, thanks again and about the whole being late thing, I forgive you for that little comment…/moon comes back out/ hold that thought. /turns back into a wereauthoress and resumes chasing of beta with the hopes of devouring./
Allright! In the next chapter, there will be whomping! Finally/notices reviewers are backing away/ oh come on! If your reviews are anything to go by, most of you people are even more bloodthirsty than I am. And that's saying something. Anyway, I will try once more to get this out by Monday, if it's not up by then, it WILL be up by at least Wednesday. PLEASE REVIEW! I love reviews…they are my life's blood…my reason for writing…/authoress descends into shamless groveling/