Out of Mirkwood
Scribbles-on-Parchment
October 5, 2019
Chapter 13 – Harsh Words
Elrond felt a hand on his shoulder and a voice asked,
"Ada what is wrong? Do you know him?"
He shook his head coming back to his senses and found Elladan in front of him a worried look on his face.
"No ion nín I do not know who he is. He just looks like someone I knew a very long time ago. Come, I will examine him, and while you three tell me exactly how you came to find him."
Elrond knelt beside the young elf and gently picked up the neatly bandaged hand.
"Well," Estel said slowly, "We found him in the forest after Elrohir and I were attacked by spiders."
Elladan groaned. This was not the way he wanted his ada to find out they had been in Mirkwood.
"What forest?" Elrond looked up sharply, "The river Anduin does not cross through any forest that I am aware of. Or did you decide to travel into Lórien?"
There was an uncomfortable silence.
"Tell me where you found him or I shall just have to ask him when he wakes up. Either way I will find out," Elrond stared hard at his sons, letting his gaze linger the longest on Estel who seemed to be very protective of the young elf.
The human looked at his feet. "Mirkwood. We found him in Mirkwood."
"WHAT?" Elrond's exclamation startled everyone, "Why in all of Arda would you go in there?"
The name of Mirkwood had gotten the attention of Tamír, who was now listening intently to the conversation, his face still an ashen color. He too wanted to know where this ellon had come from.
Elladan decided it was best tuf he were to explain what had happened before either of his brothers said anything else,
"We took shelter there from the rain ada."
Elrond now focused on his eldest son, "If you just sheltered from the rain then how, pray tell, did you happen to stumble across spiders? From what I have been told they are not found along the edges of the forest but deeper into it."
"Estel and I went hunting," Elrohir said quickly, "I didn't realize how far we had gone until I had to carry the ellon back."
Elrond shook his head, "Why would you go in there? Did you forget all the darkness that has overtaken that place? Did you forget what happened there?"
"No ada I did not forget any of these things," Elrohir said tersely, his voice growing stronger. He looked directly at Elrond, his brown eye hardening, "You need to move on. What happened to the Greenwood was a tragedy that will never be forgotten but cannot be undone. You will not go into Mirkwood because you fear it. You fear the memories and the grief that comes when you think about what it could have been like."
Elrond looked surprised at Elrohir's outburst. He opened his mouth to speak, but the ellon continued,
"You decided to never return there. You said that it was hopeless and there was nothing you could do about it. What if there had been some elves that lived through the attack? What if they had managed to escape? Did you even stop to think about that? Any elf in the Greenwood who survived the first attack only to be killed when the yrch came back had to realize that you failed them twice."
Elrohir stopped, breathing heavily, his eyes blazing. The stunned and pained look on his ada's face made him realize what he had just said.
"I am sorry ada. I did not mean it."
But the elf lord only looked back sorrowfully, "There is nothing to be sorry for ion nín. For all that you said was true."
The Noldo looked away. The words had hurt him deeply, cutting into his heart. Never before had anyone confronted him about why he had not gone back to the Greenwood. However, with the harsh words of his son, he now felt all of his old hurts reopen. Why had he left and never gone back? What was it that he feared? Was it the fear that after all these years he could have been wrong? Was he afraid that he had failed?
Elrohir was ashamed by the words that he had spoken. Why had he said them? He could see by the pained look in his ada's eyes that he had hurt the ellon deeply. The older twin lowered his head, unable to meet anyone's gaze. He internally cursed himself for his outburst for he had said things that should have been left unsaid or at least should not have been said at this time.
Estel was shocked by what Elrohir had just said. He had always talked about this with his brothers but would have never dreamed of telling it to his ada.
He looked at Elladan, who was beside him, and realized that his brother's mouth was hanging open. The young human would have laughed at the look had it been a different situation. Instead he simply elbowed the Noldo who promptly clamped his mouth shut and glared at him.
Tamír also felt the sting of Elrohir's words. He had let his people down too. He had been the captain of the Greenwood army and he had failed in his duty to protect unto death. His beloved wife was one of the eldar that had been slaughtered and there was not a day that went by that he did not think about her.
The young Noldo's words filled his heart with deep sorrow and regret. What if there had been some of his people who survived? He had never gone back into the forest. If there were some that had lived, then that meant that he had failed them twice as well. What if his wife had lived through the first attack? This thought was too much for him to bear.
The Silvan looked down at the elfling who lay on the ground. This eldar was a Sinda. He reminded him of how Thranduil had looked when they had first met. The high cheekbones, pale skin, and golden hair were all the same. He had thought that the last of the Sindar had died with the royal family.
Tamír frowned as the young ellon groaned softly, his face flushed with fever.
"Mellon nín," he said trying to banish the guilt filled thoughts that filled his mind, "Have you forgotten that we have an ill patient? We need to lower his fever. You can reflect on your guilt later, now is not the time."
Legolas slowly became aware of what was going on around him. It felt like he had fallen out of a tree. The pain free world of darkness had been transformed into the agony filled world of consciousness.
He groaned softly as he tried to move. He had a massive headache that seemed to stem from the back of his head but thankfully the burning sensation had left his body. Instead, there was now a dull throbbing in his left arm. The young prince's body felt weak and sore.
As his awareness returned he realized that he was laying on the ground. Legolas could feel the soft grass gently tickling his ears and a breeze blowing over his face, cooling his sweat.
I must have a fever, Legolas thought, Perfect, just what I need. Adar will panic when he finds me ill.
As he tried to convince himself that the elven king was looking for him and would find him soon, the Sinda's ears began to pick up the pieces of conversation. It took him a moment to realize that the voices were speaking in an odd mixture of accented elvish and Westron.
This jolted Legolas to his senses.
Kidnapped, Legolas's mind screamed at him.
He restrained the temptation to open his eyes and try to run. His body was just too weak for that and with a fever, he would never get very far. So instead the prince forced himself to relax and listen. He needed to find out who his captors were and where he was, however, that was easier said than done. The throbbing in his head was making it difficult for him to concentrate.
Find out where you are before you do anything else stupid, Legolas told himself, you are in enough trouble already, don't make it any worse.
The young ellon tried to concentrate on what the voices around him were saying. He tried not to finch as someone gently picked up his left hand, but this motion sent a sharp jolt of pain through his arm. A groan escaped his lips and Legolas froze. He needed them to think he was still unconscious and draw as little attention to himself as possible. That was what Êmand had taught him to do in a situation like this.
At the thought of his mentor, the Sinda felt a stab of grief wash over him. This was all his fault. What was his adar going through right now? Was he even missed?
A cool hand was placed on his forehead and Legolas resisted the urge to open his eyes and see who it was.
"Elrohir, do you know what kind of spider it was that bit him?"
The soft elvish voice was filled with concern and worry.
A spider, Legolas thought, things beginning to make sense, that is why I have a fever. I was bitten by a spider.
He had seen some ellyn come back to the palace with spider bites and they had always experienced fevers and extreme pain. One guard had even come close to death when his body reacted poorly to the antivenom.
Ai Valar please do not let me die like this, Legolas thought desperately.
If his adar were to find him dead it would break his heart beyond repair and if the king were to fade then so would the rest of the Greenwood.
"Ada here is your healing pouch. Is there anything I can do?"
The voice that said this sounded familiar to the young prince. He felt as if he had heard it before. Was it from a dream?
A cool cloth was placed onto his brow. Startled Legolas jerked away from it before he realized what he was doing. He froze praying that they had not noticed, however, all his hopes were dashed when a voice said,
"Open your eyes, penneth. You are safe with us."
Elvish Translations:
Ada – dad
Adar – father
Penneth – young one