Chapter 16
"Immortality."he said slickly and in one swift motion jabbed his blade though Dater's stomach.
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Dater's eyes widened as he felt the blood flow freely down his stomach, staining his tunic a dark crimson. He looked down as Sadir pulled the sword out revealing a gaping hole bubbling with blood.
A strong wind swept across the clearing, pushing the mist in swirling puffs past the group of stunned men and elves.
Dater's lips moved with unspoken words as he sat stunned at the sudden action. The blood did not seem his as it continued to flow along his stomach. A calmness and ease settled within him, taming his growing fear.
It didn't seem as though he was dying, but living. The intense warmth grew and spread throughout his body, curling around his fingertips and reaching down to his toes. It intensified, filling his body with a plentiful peace.
His breath became caught in his throat as he saw the blood slow and eventually stop, leaving only a long stain on his tunic as a remnant.
Dater looked up hesitantly, seeking out answers from the depths of Sadir's eyes. He reached down tentatively and traced his finger along the smooth skin where the gaping hole had been only moments before.
An eerie silence fell over the men as they stared, wide-eyed at the occurrence. They stood frozen in place, too amazed and filled with fear to speak or move.
Dater desperately wanted to speak; to say something, but his voice failed his intentions as he only as able to produce unintelligible murmurings. It was impossible. He had just been stabbed...
Sadir's eyes lit up as he grasped the vile, a slick smile spreading over his face as he did so.
"Well Thranduil, it seems as though you are honorable." he said, turning to meet the gaze of the king. Thranduil's blue eyes portrayed feelings of intense hatred and disgust at the human, his brow furrowed in anger.
Legolas looked from his father to a still stunned Dater, his fair face etched with confusion. In all his years he had never heard of any substance that could give a human the life span of an elf, let alone immortality. And yet, here it was right before him.
The price's eyes darted up to his father's. The king's normally clear, blue eyes, overflowing with wisdom of many years, were now filled with doubt and remorse. His father seemed uncharacteristically hesitant, and it unnerved the Legolas greatly.
Another laugh of Sadir broke through the clearing as he tipped back his head and let nearly half of the dark liquid slide into his mouth. He relished the cool taste of the liquid on his mouth and the power it would bring to him.
"You have received what you have sought. Now let my son go free." Thranduil said, a renewed fire of authority prominent in his voice.
Sadir laughed again at this, causing any notion in Aragorn that the man was at least a little sane to disappear. Sadir's eyes were filled with supposed power and his laugh was haughty and that of a mad man.
"What I seek is to bring your wretched race down on their knees like they belong!" he spat, intense hatred lacing every word.
Legolas withdrew slightly at this statement. He knew that many men disliked the elves, but he had never heard such hatred for his kind.
"My father would always tell me of how your race lived in palaces and ate in feasts, while our people lived starving in huts!" he yelled to Thranduil, breath ragged with anger.
Thranduil remained calm, staring with icy eyes at wild man before him. It was obvious to the king that the man was insane, and that was his weakness. His want for power and revenge would weigh him down fatally.
He only hoped that Legolas would be safe when Sadir realized that he would fail.
"But now," Sadir started, holding the vile carefully in his hand. The light of day slithered through the vile, penetrating the dark of the foul liquid. "I have the power to take down all the elves." His eyes darted from the vile to Thranduil; any trace of sanity now gone.
"Living forever is different than never dying." he said almost to himself more than Thranduil. An elf could live forever, but be killed by a single arrow. But with this new liquid, the men could never die.
His dark eyes flickered.
"The men will wage a great war on elves. And we will win!" he called looking to the group of men.
The men were hesitant, looking to each other for guidance. They saw how Sadir had changed from becoming a composed, intelligent, leader, to a wild, crazy, general, wanting to start a great war that was bound to end up badly for both sides. A wave of uneasiness settled on the ring of men, causing them to shift uncomfortably.
Sadir's smile faded when he saw the way the men stood back from him. He could feel the tension and hear the unsaid words between the men, questioning his motives and sanity.
He drew his sword in a rebound of rage.
"Any men who wish to leave, you are free to do so, but do not suppose any lenience when we meet again!" he called, eyes daring any man to move..
The men seemed more frightened than before, caught between feeling of what was right and what was a certain death. They were torn and certainly were not planning on starting a war with the elves. Cowardice and shifting trust in their leader won out...
Slowly, a few of the men threw down their blades and made a mad dash to the woods, not turning around to see what the reaction of their leader would be.
Aragorn turned his body slowly, ignoring the pain it brought his ribs and watched more of the wide-eyed men turn and run to supposed safety.
He caught a glimpse of Sadir fuming as he watched his group of fifty dissipate to around fifteen.
The man's face seemed to have changed three different shades of red before it settled on a dark-purplish color, accenting his dark eyes even more.
Dater, seeing the group of fleeing men attempted to stand and follow, but was quickly pulled down by the men holding him. He looked up to a very angry Sadir, wincing as he turned sharply.
Sadir's body was drawn with anger at the betrayal. He grasped his sword hard in his hand while sucking in a composing breath.
"No matter. We will still win. We must." Sadir called out to the remaining men.
And suddenly, Sadir became still, and look of genius passed over his face as though an amazing thought had just entered his mind. A smile slipped across his face, spreading from ear to ear. The smile did nothing to comfort Aragorn's uneasiness. It seemed too dark and foreboding.
Sadir turned to Thranduil, eyes shining with dark evil and insanity. He grasped his blade tightly, slipping the vile in his cloak.
"Yes, there will be a war...A war that man will win." he said, eyes focused solely on the erect form of Thranduil. His breathing was ragged with madness and his dark hair was splayed across his forehead in an unnerving manner.
"And the first act of war will be the execution of the royal family of Mirkwood." he said eye's flashing as he turned to a kneeling Legolas.
Thranduil's eyes widened as Sadir slowly raised the blade above his son's head. His heart leapt into his throat at the sight of his pale son looking calmly at the sword hovering over his head. Legolas seemed so accepting, too weak to struggle against the men holding him.
The king pulled at the men holding him back, receiving only a jab in the ribs. Thranduil didn't feel the pain, and pulled again, this time more forceful, caused the men to strain to hold him back. His only objective was to get to his son.
His son was his life.
Without Legolas; with out his little leaf; he would fade.
And now, before his eyes, his life was to be taken from him at the hands of an insane man.
"No, please..." he whispered, eyes pleading silently to the mad man before him.
Sadir turned his head slowly to the elf king, pleasure shining in his features. His face crinkled into a wry smile and prepared to strike.
Aragorn looked from Legolas to Sadir. The elf seemed so calm, his pale, bruised face, drawn into an emotionless stare; his golden blond hair disheveled and clinging to his face.
But there was an air of royalty that shifted about him, despite his appearance. Aragorn could see the pride of generations in his blue eyes. He seemed more like a prince now, in this dire situation than any of the time that Aragorn had been with him.
Strider's face hardened as he felt himself immersed in his own royalty; his own destiny. He felt empowered as the strength of kings before him swept into his mind in a world wind of truth.
He was not a child.
He would not stand by and witness his friend's murder. He had met the elf prince only a few days ago, but the connection and companionship that he felt towards hte being was enough to compel him. Legolas had saved his life, already many times before.
He would not be an idle and watch as the events that determined his destiny play out before his very eyes.
No, not while he was still breathing...
Sadir grasped the hilt of the sword hard in his hands and brought the blade down forcefully, aiming for the neck of the young prince.
Feeling a newfound energy course through his body, Aragorn leapt out, surprising the men that
held him, and tackled Sadir to the ground before his stroke fell.
Sadir gasped as he hit the hard ground and felt the sword slip from his hands. He turned wildly to the face the man who had tackled him, but was met with the tip of his own blade.
Aragorn's body was swept up in pain and exhaustion, but he held his ground, letting the sword he held in his hand rest on Sadir's neck. The dark man seemed more like a cornered snake, coiling backwards in defeat against the blade.
"No! You are a man! You should help my cause!" Sadir pleaded as a last desperate attempt at victory. The sinking feeling of defeat swirled in his stomach and mind, cornering him, trapping him, but he would fight back with every thing he had, even if it was just his tongue.
Aragorn's eyes flashed as pride and honor fell upon his heart.
"I am not any man. I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn." he stated, straightening up as he said so. He felt plainly at ease in saying this, as if it fit well on his tongue. In all his years, he finally this sentence felt familiar and filled him with courage, instead of fear.
Sadir's eyes widened to an incredible extent as reality settled painfully on him. He gasped for air as if the truth was suffocating him and shrunk down before Aragorn.
"And I would never join a murderer and snake such as yourself." he spat, emphasizing his disgust as he said it.
Legolas and Thranduil froze, stunned at the man's profession. The young prince could not wrap his weary mind around the truth that he had been with Arathorn's son this whole time. He looked in awe at the sight of Aragorn, standing tall and proud in reference to his heritage. He seemed to glow with a presence that the young prince had never seem before.
A shift in weight caused Legolas to realize that the men were no longer holding him down. He turned his head slowly to see the rest of Sadir's "faithful" legion, backing up slowly into the safety of the woods.
Sadir's eyes darted from man to man, confusion washing over his features as the men gave apologetic looks and fled toward the trees. He felt his heart sink in sudden realizaion: he had been abandoned.
Aragorn felt a prick of pity jab his heart, but soon wiped it away. It was time to end this. Already weakness had begun to take back it's hold on the man's body, weighing him down more with each breath.
He knew that simply running Sadir through with the sword would not do anything, for he was now immortal. But you could not be immortal without a head...
Aragron raised the blade, watching Sadir wince as he did so.
His heart felt strangely conflicted.
He couldn't simply kill an unarmed man. Aragorn furrowed his brow as a new conflict arose inside of him.
Sadir had wanted to kill him.
He would have killed Legolas.
The man deserved to die, at least for burning the village.
But Aragorn could not find the strength to murder the pathetic man. His mind briefly fluttered back to the cause of this long journey: to simply deliver a small letter to King Thranduil. A simple test to see if he could travel safely on his own.
But it had become so much more...
And now he was faced with killing a man, who deserved to die.
Sadir's dark eyes flashed and smiled softly when he saw Aragorn hesitate. Maybe he had a chance after all...
Sadir went to make his move, slowly like a snake in the grass, but stopped suddenly as he felt a strange sensation run through his body. He took a gasp of breath and tired to move, but found that he was unable. He gasped again, this time taking in less air than before.
Aragorn stood, completely alarmed at the sight of Sadir apparently strangling on air. A rough hand on his shoulder cause him to meet the strong gaze of Thranduil. The king looked emotionally exhausted, yet spoke with a strong voice.
"You can only consume small amounts of the liquid to have the desired effect." he said cooly watching Sadir writhe on the floor.
Aragorn looked to Thranduil, letting his sword fall from his hand.
"He will die." Thranduil said as to answer Aragorn's silent question. Their eyes swept slowly over the form of Sadir as he drew his last strangled breaths, and finally lay still, eyes open and gazing towards the sky, lost in eternity.
"It was his own greed that sent him to his doom." Aragorn whispered more to himself than anyone else.
Thranduil nodded in affirmation as he turned his attention to his son.
"It seems as though death is the price of immorality."
Legolas nodded solemnly as he felt exhaustion, hunger, and blood loss, take effect in his body. With Sadir finally gone, he no longer fought the darkness pulling at his mind. He took a deep breath and felt himself fall to the ground as his consciousness waned.
Through Legolas's own ragged breathing he heard his father cry his name in a panicked tone. He tried to stave off the mist ebbing at his vision, but the pain was too great.
As a darkness closed in, he saw Aragorn fall to his knees in exhaustion and let his mind take him to the deep, peaceful, abyss that was unconsciousness...
where tears fall: well, now that wasn't too bad of a cliffie was it? - I bet a lot of you have many questions like where did our friend Dater run off to? but they will all be answered in the next chapter which should be posted next week. That will probably be the last chapter of this long journey- thank you to everyone who has been patient and reviewed!
If you have any suggestions- I will be happy to hear them: it is never to late!
thanks for reading!
