Out of Mirkwood
Scribbles-on-Parchment
November 9, 2019
Chapter 18 – Maer
Elrond frowned. Something did not feel right. He glanced over at Tamír; both ellyn made eye contact for a second and a message seemed to pass between the two of them.
Something evil was drawing near. The Noldo glanced around at the rolling hills and waving grasses surrounding them, but nothing could be seen. Surely the yrch could not have caught up with them so quickly; it was not possible. Nonetheless, the elf lord felt a dark presence growing steadily closer. Something was about to happen.
After the look from his friend, Tamír felt immediately on edge. If Elrond felt uneasy then something was coming. It was a rarity that his friend was ever wrong.
The SIlvan glanced over at the limp body of the young ellon. If a fight were to break out then they were in trouble. There was no way that the five of them, experienced fighters as they were, could both protect the young Sinda and fight the coming onslaught.
And when had the yrch become so bold as to attack travelers in mid-day and in such an open place? What had made them grow so brave all of a sudden?
The eldar moved his gaze to rest on the horses that stood nearby. They needed to leave now before this unseen menace attacked or they might never get the chance.
Behind him, Tamír suddenly heard a started yelp from Estel and whirled around with a sword in hand. His brown eyes widened at what he saw.
Legolas could hear the steady heartbeat of the Elrond's son as he was carried gently in the elf's arms. He could make out the soft whinnies of horses and knew that the time had come for his escape. The young prince tightened his hand around the cold metal of the sword hilt.
I am Thranduilion, a prince of the Greenwood. You will not take me without a fight.
The elfling took a deep breath and in one swift motion drove his elbow into the eldar's stomach with as much force as he could muster. Elrond's son gasped in surprise at the sudden attack and instinctively dropped him.
Legolas, however, was ready for this. His hand still gripping the hilt of the sword, the Sinda pushed his captor away from him. The young elf landed gently on the grass a second later, blade in hand, legs trembling but holding him upright.
He stood there for a moment, chest heaving under the strain and for a moment his vision faded to grey. Fighting the urge to pass out, Legolas fell stiffly to one knee.
No, this cannot happen right now. I need to stay awake, the elfling shook his head to help clear his vision as panic began to flood his body.
The prince felt his mind fog for a second... the spider poison. He had forgotten about it as the agonizing pain had now been reduced to just a dull throb. Legolas frowned. He had seen elves, minds clouded with the poison, attack their closest friends, unable to clearly and logically understand what was going on around them. Every one of them having jumped to the worst possible conclusions as the toxins in their bodies confused their thoughts.
But unlike them, I can think clearly. I can see through their deceptions and lies and I know what I have to do.
His vision suddenly cleared and the young Sinda allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. The sword hilt was still held tightly in his hand.
Estel had been completely unprepared for the elfling's elbow to be slammed into his stomach. Though the blow had not been abnormally strong, it had still been enough to cause him great pain. As the weight of the eldar left his arms, the human staggered and was shoved back. He let out a startled yelp as he fell flat onto his back, all the air being knocked out of him. Estel's eyes widened briefly in panic as his lungs refused to draw air.
But a second later his muscles remembered how to once again draw in oxygen and he heard himself gasp loudly. The edan immediately began to struggle to his feet, adrenaline coursing through him. What in Eru's name had just happened? Why had Maer just done that?
Estel blinked in surprise as his gaze fell upon the golden-haired elfling kneeling on the ground next to him, head bowed. The human could not help but feel anger rise in him as he saw the ornate hilt of his sword clenched tightly in the elf's hand. Maer was clinging to it as if it were his only lifeline.
"Are you alright?"
The young man turned to find himself looking into the worried eyes of his ada.
"Im maer. It just surprised me," Estel said quickly before glancing back at the elfling.
The eldar had not moved and was still kneeling when he had landed, his long blond hair hiding his face from view. As Estel watched, Tamír sent them a puzzled look before hurrying over the young ellon. The Silvan knelt beside him and put a hand gently onto Maer's shoulder.
"Penneth, are you in pain? Why did you do that?"
Legolas felt a hand on his shoulder and stiffened. No, he was too close to freedom to be taken prisoner and drugged once more.
"Penneth, are you in pain? Why did you do that?"
These words set the young prince's blood on fire. Who were they to call him penneth? And how could they not guess why he had done it? Was it not obvious to them?
The Sinda's eyes snapped open and his muscles tensed ready for action. He had no plan anymore and knew that whatever he did next would be out of instinct.
"I know that you can hear me, mellon. There is no use pretending."
Legolas tightened his grip on the sword hilt. He was not their mellon and never would be.
"Give me the sword," the once gentle and concerned voice had grown annoyed.
Now you show your true colors, the prince smirked.
Adrenaline pumping through his veins, strengthening him, the eldar looked to his side and saw, to his surprise, a brown-haired Silvan elf. His anger flared again, making his blue eyes darken. He had been betrayed! How could one of his adar's own people be part of this treason?
Legolas could see movement out of the corner of his eye and knew that his time was running out. His angry glare rested on the Silvan once more and he made up his mind.
As he had expected, it was only a moment later that someone grabbed his hand that held the sword. This gave him exactly what he needed.
The young prince yanked the sword away from the ellon's grasp before swiftly bringing the hilt around to strike the surprised Silvan on the temple. The eldar gave a cry and fell forward on his hands and knees as though about to pass out.
"Daro!"
The elvish cry reached Legolas's ears just as a hand grabbed his other arm.
He had run out of time.
No, the young prince looked around frantically for a way to escape, not when I am so close.
With no plan for what to do next, Legolas turned to look at the being who had grabbed his arm. It was Erlond's son.
The Sinda growled to himself. If he could not escape then he could at least take vengeance for his people.
Estel watched in shock as Maer brought the hilt of his sword around, striking Tamír hard in the head. The Silvan did not utter a single sound but fell forward onto his hands, stunned.
The human wasted no time in racing over to the young ellon and grabbing his arm tightly.
This stupid elfling should be thankful they had not left him to the mercy of the spiders, not attacking them. Had he gone insane or was the poison making him delusional?
As his hand tightened around Maer's wrist the young elf gave a cry as if in pain. Out of instinct Estel quickly loosened his grip thinking he had hurt the eldar. However, as his grip released, the elf twisted his arm out of his grasp and kicked the human's legs out from under him.
For the second time that day, the edan found himself flat on his back. He heard his ada and brother cry out as he fell heavily onto the grass and dirt. As soon as he hit the ground the young ellon was on top of him, blue eyes blazing. It took only a second for Estel's vision to clear and for him to realize what Maer's plan was.
The young human's breath hitched as he felt the cool, sharp blade of his own sword come to rest against his chest, ready to drive through his heart at a moment's notice. Estel froze. His mind going blank as panic took over his mind.
He was going to die. He was about to be killed by the very elf he had tried so hard to save.
Legolas could feel his body tremble under the strain of holding the blade steady. He had never intended to hesitate on killing or severely wounding the ellon but something had made him halt. The sharp point of the sword trembled in his hands as it pressed into the fabric over his captor's heart. All the sound had faded from around him as his body focused all of its efforts on trying to stay upright.
The young prince froze as his eyes came to rest on the face of the edar he was about to kill. Only it was not the face of a Noldo but instead that of a human. How could Elrond's son be a human?
Legolas felt his body go numb. The sword slipped in his hands, digging deeper into the man's skin and beginning to draw blood. However, the young prince had little time to dwell on this for at once someone grabbed him roughly from behind and flung him away from the young human. Pain exploded through him as his body hit the ground hard several feet away. The Sinda lay still for a moment as the pain washed over him then with a soft sigh his eye fluttered closed as consciousness left him.
Estel lay there for a moment stunned. He could feel blood soaking through the fabric of his shirt. As the young human struggled to rise as his ada appeared above him.
"Stay still ion nín. You are bleeding."
"Where is Maer?" Estel asked, trying to see where the ellon had gone, "Did he get away?"
"He did not get away. Your brothers are dealing with him. Do not worry."
Estel frowned as his ada inspected the cut on his chest. Why had the elfling attacked him in the first place? What had he ever done to Maer except save his life?
After a moment his ada smiled gently looking relieved.
"It is just a flesh wound. You will be fi-…"
The elf lord was cut off as a rough cry arose from behind them. Estel pushed the elf lord away from him and scrambled to his feet in time to see dozens of yrch swarming down the grassy hillside in front of them.
The edan looked around frantically for his sword. He found it a second later laying a few feet away in the grass and ran to retrieve it. However, as he did so he caught sight of the unmoving body of Maer. The golden hair splayed around the eldar, his face as pale as death.
Brandishing his sword Estel turned away from the unconscious ellon and towards the yrch. He did look back.
Elvish Translations:
yrch – orcs
ada – dad
im mear – i'm fine
maer – golden
penneth – young one
mellon – friend
daro – halt
ion nín – my son