From previous chapter of TPL
They continued their journey, working out the details of Lord Elrond's plans. Such talk was distracting to the human and Elrond wanted his son's thoughts on something other than their upcoming meeting with the Shaman.
Chapter 17 An Unbelievable Opponent
As they drew nearer to the village, Estel lapsed into a brooding silence, afraid that if he spoke he would sound like his eldest brother. Estel never mothered anyone, but he felt he had inadvertently endangered his father once and deliberately allowing him to place himself at risk now went against everything in the human. He went from brooding to praying for the Valar to intercede while his companions exchanged knowing glances. At the last possible moment, Elrond decided to stop and leave the horses behind. It was not lost on him that Estel's horse had come back injured from the last trip while having been of virtually no help to the man.
Estel sighed in relief as he stepped down from his mount. Any delay was a welcome one. Perhaps the Valar was going to intervene after all…or not. "Are you ready, Estel? I suspect it is fruitless to say this, but if you would prefer to stay with the horses-"
"No, I do not prefer to stay with the horses. I prefer you stay with the horses. And Legolas. Here, where you will be safe. There. I have said it. I sound like Elladan, but at least I have said it."
The elves chuckled and the human grinned sheepishly. "Honestly, Ada. I know I have given you many worries over the years, but this is the first time I have been responsible for you being hurt. I do not believe I am well adapted to this turn of events, nor do I wish to adapt. I much prefer being the one injured while you are well and fussing." Estel prided himself on the fact he had not mentioned Elrond being the one doing the healing. "I know you do not blame me, and truly, I had reached the point where I no longer blamed myself, but now…" The sentence ended with a vast sigh. It gave the elf lord pause. If sighs measured tension, then Estel was a bowstring ready to snap.
"Estel, you worry unnecessarily about your father." Legolas swallowed a smile as the elf lord gave a self-satisfied nod, obviously pleased by the younger elf's support. "He has lived for millennia, survived battle and raised three sons and a daughter. He is the lord of a great realm and has the wisdom of the ages." At this point both his traveling companions were beginning to look skeptical. Legolas forged ahead. "Obviously by now he is fully aware that I am a great warrior and more than capable of shielding you both."
"Pardon me?"
"Shielding us?"
Legolas broke out in laughter and leaned away as the human swatted at him. Elrond chuckled and thought how thankful he was to be here. His duties kept him close to the Last Homely House, and his main exposure to this pair was at meal times. Watching Legolas as he gauged the human's moods and then moved to offset them had been a welcome education. Taking on a façade of seriousness, he interrupted their play'. "Young prince, I would remind you that more respect is due your elders." Saying this, he placed an arm around each of the young ones shoulders and led them on the last part of their journey to Wisdom.
As they reached the outermost edge of the village, Legolas tensed and drew his bow and quickly notched an arrow. Just Estel and Elrond grasped their swords, an old man stepped from the trees. Estel's heart rose to his throat before he realized it was not the Shaman, but another elderly figure. Legolas found his voice first.
"Mithrandir?"
"Yes, yes." The Istar, or wizard as men called him, was not known for his patience or court etiquette. "I need a moment alone with your elder. Come."
The Istar had never been able to intimidate the elf lord, a fact proven when Elrond did not rush to his side, but stayed with his companions. "We have important business in the village, Mithrandir. I would prefer not to delay it." Unspoken was his desire to be done with all this and return to Elrohir's bedside.
"Yes, yes. I have heard that your youngest encountered problems here. I have information that you need. Let us speak in private. I believe it will be safe for the young ones to enter the village with out you. The medicine man is not there at present. We will join them shortly. Come, come. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish!"
Elrond managed not to show his impatience with the Istar. The wizard did not always interact well with others. At times like this, Elrond wished for the opportunity to speak with another of Mithrandir's kind, just to see if it was a common trait, or a particular idiosyncrasy of this particular being. Unknown to the elf lord, events would ensure that in the future, he would be more careful of the nature of his wishes.
"Very well. Legolas, Estel, I trust you will proceed with caution. If we are needed, we will be close by. Iôn nîn, are you comfortable with this?"
"Yes, Ada. Legolas and I will be fine. I am anxious to see that Lillith is well." The human was greatly relieved to know the Shaman was not at the village and that the wizard would be here should they need his help.
"We will remain alert, Lord Elrond."
With a nod at the young ones, Elrond turned and followed the Istar, who had been watching the exchange with his typical impatience.
The wizard moved briskly through the woods. Elrond was opening his mouth to protest that they had traveled far enough from Estel and Legolas, when his companion reached a clearing and slowed to a stop.
As the elf lord approached, the wizard spun and his demeanor, rarely pleasant, became decidedly aggressive. Leaning toward the elf, his mouth twisted into a scowl and the Istar snarled, "So, Lord of Rivendell, you have come out of your safe place at last."
As the elf's eyes widened in surprise, Vilya made itself known. This danger was great enough that the Ring of Power sensed the need to warn him! Elrond stepped quickly back from the being and drew his sword from its sheath. Taking a defensive stance, the elf lord demanded, "Explain yourself!"
"I have no need to explain myself to one of the dark lord's minions! You would betray Middle Earth. We will not permit that. Already you have felt the effect of our intervention, have you not?"
The accusation shook the elf lord, but he had not survived this long by becoming inattentive in times of danger. No point in refuting the barb, his opponent would likely disregard his denial. "Our intervention? Mithrandir, you are not yourself. Who has done this to you?" If a wizard could be deluded, be it by drug or some other manner, then what of men and elves? What of Legolas and Estel?
The being's smile threw the elf lord into total defense mode, all thoughts other than those dealing with his immediate situation fled. He saluted his opponent in the same instant the wizard thrust his staff in his direction. A bolt reminiscent of lightening flew from the stone atop it and the elf threw himself away from it, rolling as he touched the ground, the sword still in salute position as he rose. Obviously, this was going to be a very different kind of battle.
xxx
As Estel and Legolas entered the village, a blur of movement dashed against the human, knocking him to the ground. The elf started to draw his long knives, then registered his friend's laughter. There, rolling on the ground before him with Estel, were two human children.
Estel reached a hand up so the elf could help him rise. "Legolas, allow me to present Lillith and Griffin. You have heard me speak of them. Young ones, this is my friend, Legolas."
The male child held forth a hand. Legolas bent over and the two exchanged a warrior's handshake, grasping each other's forearms. Lillith giggled and bobbed a curtsy. They were absolutely delightful. Children such as these should not be under the influence of a controlling, self-centered leader. What he had done to Estel who was, as the human continually pointed out, an adult, was bad enough.
The prince suddenly found a small hand in his and looked down into huge brown eyes. "Would you like to meet our parents, Mister Legolas?"
"Yes, I would like that." Legolas surprised himself by meaning it. These people had stepped aside after Estel had come to check on their daughter's welfare and allowed him to be threatened and run out of the village as though he had committed some crime. But if these children were any example of their parents, the elf was going to find it difficult not to forgive them.
Lillith and Legolas strolled behind Griffin and Estel. The latter pair were talking of the Rangers, while Lillith was chatting about her time in Rivendell where she met her first elf. Rayhan and Sharlain watched the group approach from their front yard, and with smiles on their faces, walked down the slope to greet them. As Griffin under took the important task of introducing their new friend, Legolas tilted his face away from the humans. After a moment of concentration that caused the mother to draw the children to her side, Legolas' eyes came to rest on his friend. "Sounds of battle; from the direction Mithrandir and your father took."
As they flew down the hill, Estel tossed two words over his shoulder, "Stay here!"
Following on his friend's heels, Estel thanked the Valar that his wounds were basically healed. They should not hinder him in combat. That was almost as much a relief as knowing Mithrandir was there to guard his father's back..
Legolas slowed his pace and held up a hand. Turning his head slightly toward the human, he hissed "A sword cuts through the air and strikes against something, but not another blade."
"Which means…?"
"Only two combatants."
Fearing his father had fallen, Estel swallowed his panic and followed the elf to the edge of the clearing.
xxx
Things had not been quite as bad as the elf lord expected. Evidently, there was some limit on the amount of power the Valar permitted the wizard to use. After the first bolt from the staff, the battle had been an exchange of blows. Try as he might, the elf lord could not break the crystal or loose it from the staff. He had connected often enough to convince himself he had wasted time and energy in the effort... energy he could ill afford to lose as the wizard's strength belied his aged appearance, and his experience stretched back farther in time than the elf lord's. This was a battle the elf lord could not lose, yet he could not seem to locate the path to victory. Mithrandir seemed to sense his moves before he made them and the elf lord suspected he had been gifted at least two cracked ribs from the stick. If the staff had been a blade, he would have been far worse off. After his ribs were injured, he had abandoned the effort of talking Mithrandir into seeing reason. Whatever had befallen the Istar, it was nothing talking to him during battle was going to cure. If he could just render him unconscious and bind him, maybe whatever had been used on him would wear off. Or perhaps the secret was in the staff, if he could only separate it from it's owner, perhaps the spell would dissipate.
While these thoughts ran through Elrond's head, the wizard stepped past the elf and slammed the side of the staff into the younger being's back, throwing him off balance and into a nearby tree. Pushing away from the tree, the elf lord ignored his newest abrasions and dropped to the ground in a reverse somersault, kicking out with his feet toward the wizard. Now it was Gandalf's turn to stagger backward. Elrond had time to gain his feet and brace for
the blows that were to come, blocking them with his sword and wishing he could in good conscience kill the Istar instead of trying to incapacitate him. A jab from the wizard drove the crystal end of the staff briefly into the elf lord's side. He leaned over and grunted in pain, allowing the wizard the opportunity to apply the staff to the back of his head. Hitting the ground, something he had done far more of than the wizard, the elf rolled and came to his feet again. As he came upward, he thrust his sword up and under the staff, attempting to chop through it. While it did not sever, the force of the blow knocked it from the wizard's hands. He staggered back again; giving Elrond hope his opponent might be tiring. Elrond moved to press his advantage, blocking the Istar's route to his staff. Before he reached his adversary, the being uttered a loud guttural sound that made the elf's flesh crawl. The wizard relaxed and glanced behind Elrond. The elf lord leapt to one side, pivoting as he did so. He landed in a defensive stance; the wizard to his left and back; four wolves in front of him.
The first wolf was in the air before the elf had time to prepare himself, and the impact forced him to the ground, the air rushing out of his lungs. In quarters too close to use his sword, he pulled his dagger from its sheath and drove the blade home. The animal yelped and fell silent. Catching his breath again, Elrond shoved the carcass in the direction of the other wolves, using it as a cover while he withdrew his blade from it's body and regained his footing. The second animal, he took down by tossing the dagger while the beast was still in the air. Its momentum carried it forward, but the elf stepped to the side and avoided contact. Mithrandir's cry was one of horror and anger and the elf saw him move toward his staff. Attention divided and now unarmed, Elrond went down under another wolf. He struggled to keep the teeth away from his throat, knowing he had lost the battle and chastising himself for his failure. There was a short pause, then a twang, followed by a hollow thud and suddenly the jaws slackened, the full weight of the wolf descending. An instant later, a bow sang again and the last wolf was dead.
xxx
Arriving on the scene as his father loosed his dagger at the second wolf, Estel trusted Legolas to dispose of the remaining two. The human heard the blind fury in the wizard's voice and threw himself across the clearing in
an urgent bid to reach the staff first. The wizard grabbed it up the moment before the human hit the ground and the young man found himself two inches away from the crystal. Closing his eyes against what was to come, he heard his father's horrified cry. "NO!"
xxx
The prince dispatched the final wolf, aware that as he had released his first arrow, the human had moved past him. Lord Elrond rose to one elbow, barely even glancing toward Legolas. As the elf lord cried out, Legolas turned and notched another arrow, knowing he would only be avenging his friend's death.
tbc
Author's Note from nautika, who is shouting over shoulder as she runs from readers:
This chapter was originally an additional 3,000 words or so. (Hard to believe with all the short chapters I've done, isn't it?) It was either post part of it or wait on posting it. I decided to give you this much now and save the rest for next week. If I don't get comments on this one, I'll know no one is reading! ; )