daw the minstrel; glad to see you are sticking with this quite possibly very long tale !
Sylvie; glad to hear you found this story, even happier to hear that you like it !
Chapter Nine ; Ponderings
The camp was cleared with precise elven efficiency and each wood elf did their best to make sure the area did not suffer as a result of their brief stay, such being the level of respect they held for the trees and woodland creatures. By the time the party was ready to leave for home, the clearing was left as they had first found it.
Many of the warriors that had spent time with Gimli during the night and following morning were now gone. It was now their duty to scout ahead, secure the perimeter and guard the rear. They had been replaced by a small group of new elves just at the end of breakfast.
They greeted their Prince warmly and cast several curious glances at his stout companion. But once again Legolas made a show of introducing Gimli and extolled his brave deeds to all the new elves, from his efforts the warriors could easily deduce that this dwarf was very important to their Prince and so like the others, they accepted Gimli's presence in their precious woods.
By now Gimli believed he had been introduced to everyone, in fact he couldn't recall being formally introduced to so many elves in his entire life.
His head was spinning with a multitude of strange sounding names. To be honest he found all elvish names a little odd, not that he was about to reveal that particular opinion to his friend….well not just yet….maybe later, he would save it for one of their frequent "discussions".
He appreciated the efforts the young Prince had made to make him feel more comfortable amongst the strong, silent warriors. As he observed them he could not help but mark how different these strange elves were from the ones he had come across in Imladris.
These wood elves were a real mystery. Their pale countenances revealed nothing and were totally devoid of emotion. One had to look to their piercing eyes for any hint of what was going on inside behind the calm exteriors.
Gimli knew they were suspicious and wary of him, but then their people's history together did not run smoothly and dealings had been kept to an absolute minimum, therefore he found that he could not fault them for their reactions.
But he found their collective silence strange, dwarves by their very nature were loud beings. All dwarves spoke loudly, it was a habit one developed when working in the mines, to be heard over the clamour of dozens and dozens of swinging pick axes impacting against stone, one needed to bellow stridently.
Yet these elves seemed to deem noise as offensive.
As he pondered further on the matter it suddenly came to him why.
Their silence is one of their greatest weapons.
When used in conjunction with their stealth abilities and archery skills, this disturbing stillness allows them to creep up on any enemy and dispatch them from above before they realise they are dead.
Where as noise can give away positions, noise can get people killed, in this respect he could begin to understand their quiet ways, after all they had probably been taught from early on in their warrior careers that silence was paramount for survival.
Even as he thought about it, he recalled Legolas signalling the other elves last night not with words but with bird-like calls, another form of disguise. His friend had probably been conditioned in the very same manner of thinking.
Gimli smiled to himself as he remembered what he had initially thought of the Prince's silent and seemingly distant behaviour.
He believed the elf was cold and aloof and more importantly he thought the Prince had considered himself superior and above conversing with the other members of the Fellowship.
But in time he discovered that this was not the case, Legolas was just a quite and private creature and now he believed that some of the elf's stillness was simply to do with his training as a warrior.
And warriors they most certainly were. The very manner in which they held themselves demonstrated a high state of alertness at all times, even when appearing relaxed. They were as fierce as they were noble and beautiful and their lithe, seemingly fragile frames belied an unexpected hidden strength and ferocity.
Any foul creature would rue the day they came across this particular band of warriors, assuming they survived of course.
Gimli could not help but feel small twinges of respect for these elves growing within him, after all it was warriors such as these that the Prince had spoke of earlier when he mentioned that his homeland was protected solely by 'bow and blade'.
He wondered if all inhabitants of Mirkwood were so different to the elves in Rivendell. There the elves dressed brightly and decoratively, they spoke often and openly. They would sing light, merry songs to themselves, for no apparent reason. They nurtured a deep love of the arts and adorned their already ornate architecture with equally decorative murals and tapestries.
Gimli could not help but allow his curiosity to be peaked at the thoughts of what Legolas' home would actually look like. He found himself strangely eager to get there.
His private musings were brought to an end as he heard Legolas call out to him.
"Come Gimli, it is time to leave my friend, we shall reach the gates of my father's realm in a matter of hours" the Prince announced, unable to keep the excitement from his voice.
"Coming Master elf" the dwarf shouted back as he secured his pack to his back. In a matter of hours things are going to get very interesting, he thought.
"We shall be walking the rest of the way Gimli, I hope you do not mind, but it will allow us to keep pace with the others" the Prince informed his friend.
"Walk….walk…..you mean I do not have to sit on that wild beast for the rest of the day ?!" the dwarf exclaimed, "Master elf this is turning out to be quiet a good day!"
Meanwhile mere miles away, Mirkwood's inhabitants were wide awake and diligently going about their daily tasks, all of which helped the Kingdom to run smoothly.
Their King had also been up before the dawn. For some reason his sleep was disturbed during the early hours and he felt restless and uneasy. Once he had given up all hopes of finding peaceful slumber he made his way out onto his private balcony and watched over his sleeping realm.
There was a whisper on the wind, the trees were trying to tell him something. While he listened, he watched Anor begin her steady climb into the expanse above.
Soon the whispers became clearer and his heart leapt in his chest, a long absent smile brightened his face.
Sweet Elbereth thank you….he is coming home…..my son is home.