Disclaimer: (In the Spirit of Crimson Starlight)
Erika: watches Glory and Shana go running by followed by Haldir with Erin slung over his shoulder Ok. rubs eyes I MUST be dreaming.
group runs past going in the other direction
Erika: Ok, I'm NOT dreaming. pulls Shana into side room, pushing Jan out in her place as group goes by again Gotcha!
Jan: EEEp! runs
Shana: Thank you! gasps I thought I'd NEVER get away from them.
Erika: pulls woman close, smirking You know I like having you all to myself.
Shana: Oh my. I own nothing and no one other than my original characters. This is definitely AU so don't get pissy over me not sticking to canon. I don't do 10th walker stories.
Erika: waggles brows No you do not. Shall we? drags Shana away
Shana: wide-eyed Oh dear.
Chapter 4: The Foundling
By the time the Last Homely House was roused and search parties organized and dispatched at least an hour had passed. More than a few eyebrows were raised by the noticeable absence of a certain golden-haired seneschal who would normally have been the one coordinating such an effort.
Still reeling from the shock he had received at his awakening, Legolas' patience had run out and he had departed within half an hour, much to the annoyance of Erestor who was left to coordinate the remaining elves in Glorfindel's stead.
This put Janessa an hour ahead of the main body of searchers, half an hour ahead of Legolas and only minutes ahead of the balrog slayer.
Consciously putting aside the discomfort his leggings caused him Glorfindel stepped out into the rain, pulling the hood of his cloak up over his ever-shining hair. For not the first time the Elda was glad he had made the effort to fashion the long leather garment. It had taken him some time to gather pieces of hide large enough to form the panels that reached from his shoulders to his ankles and then work and treat them until they were thin, light, and naturally water repellant. The resulting article not only kept him dry but served to conceal his presence from others. The fact that he quite literally glowed in the dark, having been one of very few elves in Middle Earth to have gazed upon the light of the Two Trees had proven to be more of an annoyance than anything else. It marked him as a true Eldar and yet made him an outsider at the same time.
The golden-haired elf considered himself more infamous than famous. That he was the only person before whom the Nazgul would flee had proven both blessing and curse, making him appear even more unreachable. Many had vied for his favor and attention, all he found somehow… lacking. The seneschal had earned the respect of all, but had only a few close friends, preferring to keep to himself. Dying had a way of changing a person.
Glorfindel began his search on the ground beneath Legolas' balcony, his keen eyes picking out the tracks the woman had left in the mud. It was lucky that Janessa was human. With every step her foot sank into the mud, leaving behind a track that the rain did not immediately wash away. Had it been an elf the Elda was tracking, his job would have been that much more difficult, the light footfalls leaving little mark, ones easily erased by the downpour.
Glorfindel easily followed the trail she left into the surrounding forest. Once under the canopy Janessa's footprints were more distinct, the filtered drizzle not enough to wash away the imprints. Thoughts, inappropriate for this time and place, kept threatening to distract him. Wisps of the previous night's imagery flitted about the edges of his consciousness. The balrog-slayer kept his head bowed, following the trail until it abruptly ended.
Brows knitted, the seneschal found himself staring up the trunk of a large pine tree. What is this now? He stepped carefully around the base of the tree looking for any more tracks. He found himself back where he had started, the muddy smudges leading partway up the tree's bark confirming his suspicion. She climbed up this tree, but not down. Could it be this easy? He pulled his cowl back, gazing up through the misty precipitation into the tree's branches. Is she hiding in this tree?
Hesitating barely a moment, the elf threw his cloak back off his shoulders and began to make his way up through the branches, moving in a spiral pattern around the trunk to be sure he didn't miss a potential hiding place. Where is she? Frustrated, the elf proceeded higher until he realized she must have leapt to another tree before returning to the ground. She probably came up here to get a better vantage point and check for pursuers.
Glorfindel finally stopped and surveyed the area around and below. Stymied, he swiftly descended back down. Assuming that the woman had moved from tree to tree, then back to the ground in an effort to elude anyone following, the Elda began looking for more tracks, moving outward in a spiral with the pine at the center of his search pattern.
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High above the ground Janessa lay nestled in a naturally formed hollow. Foliage draped around the space, entirely shielding her from view. She'd caught sight of a faint shimmering glow in the distance when she'd peeked out moments before. She couldn't be sure of the source, but she had no intention of taking any chances.
Somehow, some way someone was pulling the most elaborate of pranks on her and she was NOT laughing. As real as everything and everyone seemed she just could not accept that she had just woken up in Middle Earth. THIS isn't happening. I'm having a very elaborate and realistic dream. Damn my overactive imagination!
Feeling relatively secure in her hiding spot, the woman drew her legs in to her chest, letting her head drop to rest against her knees. This semi-relaxed state allowed the throbbing in the back of her skull to come to the forefront, growing to encompass the whole of her head with even her face hurting. Janessa checked herself as she almost let out a pained groan. Turning her focus inward, the redhead tried to consciously subjugate the pain but failed miserably. Unable to handle the combination of pain, fatigue and stress Janessa's mind chose to shut down. The woman proceeded to blackout where she sat, losing all awareness of the outside world.
In the meantime…
Down below, Glorfindel was becoming increasingly agitated, annoyed and frustrated by his inability to ascertain where Janessa had descended from the trees. He had even backtracked twice, making sure he had not missed anything. In between, half an hour had passed and the seneschal found himself at the base of the tree she'd originally ascended.
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Now thoroughly irritated, Legolas veritably stormed out of the Last Homely House, weapons in hand, only to be immediately drenched by the renewed downpour. The Prince strode out to the place where he had seen Janessa enter the woods, stopping just inside the treeline. Instead of looking for tracks Legolas had decided to search for the woman another way.
Closing his eyes, the slender archer reached out with his mind, attempting to use their connection as a kind of homing beacon. Granted, had you asked the elf what a homing beacon was he would have been clueless, but the concept was there.
Sorting through all the various stimuli he was receiving, Legolas identified the feeling he'd come to associate with the woman. Assuming that the strength and clarity of the feeling would increase as he got closer to her he set out, focused on that distinct buzzing in the back of his head.
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Losing his swiftly diminishing patience Glorfindel literally growled out loud, giving voice to his frustration. Where are you woman? You did not have sufficient enough of a head start to get very far so you MUST be hiding, and somewhere very nearby.
Closing his eyes, the Elda took several deep and centering breaths. I must place myself in her boots. As a human I know I cannot outrun the surely pursuing elves so I must hide. Now I must retrace her steps, taking into account her size.
Glorfindel opened his eyes and looked up the trunk of the tree he knew she had climbed, once again spotting the smudges of mud on the bark. Carefully, he began to move up into the tree, following every move she had made, essentially becoming her, as much as possible, as he proceeded.
Moving slowly and meticulously he began noticing things he had previously missed in his haste, a bent branch here, another smudge of mud there. Heartened that he was on the right track the balrog-slayer followed the indicators from tree to tree, amazed that a human could apparently feel so comfortable so high off the ground.
Being an elf he had the ability to move through the trees with relative ease yet preferred to keep both feet on solid ground. For a human, and a woman no less, to willingly take to the trees was telling, most likely indicative of her desperation to escape.
That gave him pause. For a second he stilled in his search considering how desperately the woman clearly wanted to get away and mulling over the wisdom of the search that surely was being planned and implemented at that moment. She is scared and has run away, again.
Looking ahead, it was then that the Elda spotted what he had been looking for. Hanging from a branch was a long, iridescent strand of red hair. Now he knew he was definitely on the right track. Catching sight of movement below him, Glorfindel glanced down to see Legolas on the forest floor. So the body of the search begins.
He watched the Prince halt for a moment, head uplifted, eyes shut, clearly concentrating on something. He is using their connection to find her. Something about that thought added urgency to the balrog-slayer's movements. For some reason he felt like he had to find her first.
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Legolas strode along the forest floor with surety and purpose. He stopped every several feet, closing his eyes to reassure himself he was following the right trail. Granted his was trail not visible to any eye. Unknowingly he passed below the tree Glorfindel was in and in his certainty, utterly bypassed the pine in which Janessa was hidden. The Prince had gotten just a hair too cocky in his ability to master his new ability.
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Glinting between the foliage surrounding her hiding place Janessa was unaware in her unconscious state that a lock of her flaming hair had come loose from its concealment. It was this one lock that would prove her undoing.
Crossing over into the next tree the seneschal froze as from the corner of the eye he caught sight of something out of place from its surroundings. Turning his head he focused his keen eyesight on the anomaly, his pulse racing at what he discovered.
Moving quickly and silently the Elda advanced on the position and in one swift motion moved aside the branches concealing the woman's hiding place. What he found made his stomach clench painfully, apprehension sweeping through him. Glorfindel knelt before the unconscious woman, balancing carefully on the curved branch.
The hollow she had found just barely held her contorted form, her knees drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs, her weapons pressing what must have been painfully into her back. She had drawn one of her knives and held it clenched tightly in her right hand, the blade pressing against the tree's bark. Her forehead rested on her knees, slight discoloration showing at the edges of her hairline at the back of her head. The betraying lock of hair trailed from the side of her left temple to the ends twisted in the concealing branch's needles. She was clearly insensate.
Carefully the elf lifted the woman's arms, retrieving the knife and returning to the sheath in her boot. He then gently lifted her face, taking in the mud smeared on her cheeks and the unhealthy pallor revealed where tracks of tears had washed away the grime. Something was very, very wrong.
Somehow already knowing the futility of it he decided to try anyway. Murmuring softly he called out to the redhead, "Janessa… Janessa… Can you hear me? Janessa, please come back to me…" Anything else he might have said died on his lips there. Come back to ME? Realizing he had no time for introspection, the elf carefully hoisted the still unresponsive woman into his arms and began to make his way down out of the canopy.
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Legolas had been quite literally running around in circles. He had been able to follow his senses to a point, but now found himself at a loss. He knew she had to be somewhere in the near vicinity but could not pinpoint her exact location. Frustrated, he clenched his teeth and literally growled out loud.
Nerves on edge, he spun about as he heard a soft thump from behind him. Turning, he found himself confronted with the sight of Glorfindel, crouched before him, Janessa in his arms, having clearly dropped out of the canopy. The Prince was about to step forward and take the redhead from the seneschal when the golden-haired elf stood and spoke.
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The balrog-slayer made his way to the ground, dropping into an open space to find himself faced with Legolas. Seeing the intent in the younger elf's eyes the Elda found himself suddenly filled with a reluctance to relinquish the redhead. Standing and speaking quickly in a voice that brooked no argument he stated, "Something has happened. We need to get her to Elrond immediately."
Without another word or acknowledgement from the Prince the seneschal turned on his heel and began sprinting back to Imladris, his cloak whipping out behind him, looking very much like he had grown wings and was flying away.
Glorfindel made a conscious effort to push away the thoughts and feelings swirling through him, moving with expediency to get the rather frail looking form in his arms to safety and help, whether she wanted it or not.
Legolas had no choice but to follow in the wake of the retreating balrog-slayer, annoyance rising in the back of his mind that he carefully schooled from his thoughts and features. She was his and for some strange reason he felt like the elder elf was trying to steal her away.
A/N: Much more to come. Sorry to leave it there, but you deserved and update, so here it is! Please, please review!