I do not own Lord of the Rings, or any of Tolkien's characters. Any characters and plot lines I create are mine.
A/N: So this chapter title makes it a little obvious. Yeah. This was supposed to be up yesterday, but then this site decided I wouldn't be able to get to the upload page.
Chapter 16: Legolas
When Azruphel trotted out of the woods and hit a wide, deep river, she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. With Strider, she had been able to get over her fear, or at least push it down in order to get across. Now, she didn't know if she could do it.
"Come on, Nightfall," she said, but not in her normal, confident voice. She could hear the shaking in her voice, which was slowly showing in her body. Nightfall, of course, picked up on it immediately and refused to take another step towards the water.
"Bûrzum, go forward," Azruphel said, slipping into her native language, Black Speech. When the horse backed up several steps, Azruphel's face contained a sad smile. It had been some time since Azruphel had referred to her horse by true name, the one she gave him when she first met him.
I'm better than this, Azruphel thought. She leaped from the nervous horse and walked towards the water. She waded in, the water barely reaching her knees, when she noticed the depth increasing. It would go over her head. Without Bûrzum, it would be over her head. And Azruphel had never learned how to swim.
Frustration overtook Azruphel, and she reached down, violently grabbed for rocks and dirt and whatever was in her reach, hurling it into the river with a yell of anger and fear and frustration and many other emotions that were overcoming her at that moment.
"What are we doing out here, Bûrzum?" she asked. "What was I thinking?"
Azruphel walked out of the water and slumped to the ground beside the large, black horse that was one of her oldest friends. She pulled her bag over, reached into one of the more secure pockets, and pulled out the ancient ring. Her ring, to be exact; the ring that the Nazgûl had given her on her eighteenth birthday. She never knew why she had brought it with her the day she packed her bag and left. She had barely thought about it when she was with Strider. Now, it was so tempting to slip it on, to give up, to go home.
Home. What a strange word to think of now! Azruphel had not thought of what constituted as home. Was it in Minas Morgul, with her adoptive family? Was their lie enough to destroy nineteen years of happiness there? Was her home in Rohan, with people she barely knew?
If she slipped on the ring, the Nazgûl would know where she was. They would come, Khamûl would be angry, Adûnaphel would be relieved. But then there was Uvatha, who had told her that she had a choice. She had sat there, angry, afraid, and sad, and he told her that she had a choice. Would he be unhappy with what that was?
"What do you think, Bûrzum? Should we go home?"
Without realizing it, Azruphel pulled out the map that was also stored in her bag. In her journey westward, she had not crossed the North-South Road. If she turned South (the opposite direction Strider had gone, she realized), eventually she would reach it and a bridge over Greyflood.
In her intense study of the map, she did not notice the soft sound of hooves come up behind her.
"If it is helpful, the river in front of you is called Mitheithel, or Greyflood in Common tongue."
With a slight gasp, Azruphel drew her sword from its scabbard and pointed it in the direction of the bright, musical voice coming from behind her. Immediately, she realized that the blonde man on the light grey horse was an elf. He seemed slightly surprised at the sword, but even more so at the young woman holding it. Hoping he would not see, Azruphel slipped the ring back in her bag.
"I know," Azruphel said. "I know which river this is, and I know where I am."
"I apologize," the elf said, wary of the fact that she had not lowered her sword, but not nervous enough to pull out a weapon of his own. "I merely noticed the map you are holding, and believed you required assistance."
When Azruphel continued to glare at him, the elf said, "My name is Legolas. What is your name?"
Only then did Azruphel begin the lower the sword, partially because she noticed the elf meant no harm, and partially because she was trying to think of which name to give him. As she thought about it, Azruphel realized that hiding her name wasn't worth it. She was far enough from Mordor, now.
"Azruphel," she said slowly, placing her sword back in its scabbard.
"Azruphel," Legolas repeated, as if he were testing the name out. "If I may ask, Azruphel, if you know the river we are currently next to, why do you need the map?"
"I am trying to decide where to go," she simply stated.
"Why do you not know where to go?"
Such a simple question, but for someone like Azruphel, it was…
"It is complicated," Azruphel said. Legolas raised his eyebrows, questioning her statement. He slid off his horse and walked over. Bûrzum (Nightfall, Azruphel quickly reminded herself) flattened his ears at the elf's horse.
"I… I ran away from home," Azruphel stammered. "I was adopted, you could say. I didn't know until a few weeks ago. My parents and I had an argument, and I left."
Legolas sat on a rock a few steps away, listening intently. Despite everything Azruphel had ever been told about elves, she found herself spilling her story to one. A revised story, of course, but a story none the less. Azruphel supposed she was stressed, but now that she had started, the rest kept coming.
"I thought about returning home, but I became friends with this man heading north. I went with him, but a few nights ago, we had a few misunderstandings and he left. Now, I need to decide whether to keep going, or just go back."
Legolas sat silent for a moment, while the many emotions running through Azruphel caused her to look towards the dirt, her head leaning on her left hand.
"Why now?" he finally asked. "If he left a few nights ago, why now are you thinking about returning?"
"I never learned to swim," Azruphel said sadly. She hated displaying weakness, but decided it didn't matter at that point. "I can either go north, which would take me up towards Rivendell, or I can go south, try to find the North-South road, and go to Bree. Or, I can return home."
"You seem reluctant to return home," Legolas replied.
"I loved my home, but," Azruphel said, looking around the river and forest, "I also love it here, equally if not more."
Azruphel turned to look at Legolas. He was the first elf she had ever seen, and despite what she had been told, did not present himself as above her.
"Alright, your turn," Azruphel said. "Why is there an elf this far from Mirkwood and alone?"
Legolas frowned slightly. "How do you know where I am from?"
"You appearance, the way you speak. It is very obvious to me," Azruphel said.
"There were reports of orcs in this area. I volunteered as a scout."
The way Legolas trailed off seemed odd to Azruphel, regretful even. "What else?"
"I am looking for a friend who disappeared about two months ago. He should have returned by now, even if he were delayed."
"I left Gondor a few weeks ago, I have been travelling for some time," Azruphel said. "What is your friend's name?"
"Estel. He would be a man, not elf," Legolas responded.
"I met no one of that name. I am sorry."
"Do not worry. It is unlikely you would meet on the road."
Legolas and Azruphel sat in silence for some time before Legolas spoke again.
"I believe you wish to travel, but do not have a destination." Azruphel nodded in reply. "Would you like to accompany me?"
"Where would we go?"
"We would travel east towards the mountains, then follow the mountains north towards Rivendell. It covers the area I was told to scout, and it is the most likely area that Estel will have gone. From there, if you still wish to travel to Bree, you would be on the East-West Road."
Azruphel seriously considered this. It would be better to travel with a companion, but it would lead her back in the direction Strider had gone. "I could simply go with my original plan. What's in it for me?" she asked with a sly smile.
Legolas simply smiled in return.
"This section of the river is deep, but it is calm. There are only a few hours of light left today."
Azruphel looked at him, confused. Legolas laughed.
"I am going to teach you how to swim."
A/N: You know, read and review. And stuff.
So, Azruphel has a new companion. Yeah.
Going back to school next week. I hopefully will be able to keep up with writing and school, but if updates are a little random, I apologize.