Chapter 6
As the light came with the rising of day, so came the couples' companions once again to the clearing. With Aragorn in the lead, they had found a path wide enough for the horses to follow comfortably. They had no idea how long they might have to travel to find their friends, so they had brought them to be prepared for a possible journey of many days. Once at the clearing, Aragorn immediately began to search the ground. The others stood or paced about, helping where they could and feeling otherwise useless. It had been unanimously decided without counsel that the couple had been taken captive. No other explanation could be thought of to explain their long absence and the signs that had been found the previous night.
"Here are more tracks. They appear to lead back to the city." Celeborn stood a few steps into the trees.
Aragorn came from where he had been in the center of the clearing. "Those are cart tracks. They were well covered. Whoever left them suspected they may be followed. But why would they take them back? How could we not know of their return?"
"Perhaps it is a decoy move, and their final destination lies another way."
"The only way to find out is to follow the tracks."
The others had gathered around them by this point, and catching the last of the conversation they moved to mount up. Whoever had passed through before had broken a wide path through the trees, hiding it well with branches and leaves. It appeared to be heading steadily back toward the city, but with all the loops and doubling back it was difficult to tell. For hours they rode on slowly, so as not to stray or miss a sign of the captives being taken a separate way. The ranger stopped often to examine the ground around them. It was shortly after noon that they finally broke free into the fields or Pelennor. Here the tracks became impossible to read in the dry grass and hard earth. Another search was conducted in a wide semi circle, but no sign could be seen that they had re-entered the forest. The group could only guess at which of the many tents strewn about the field the cart had stopped at, or what small stone room in a hidden alley now held them.
"It will take hours to search all the tents." Faramir noted.
"Then we had better start now." Gimli glowered at the smoke curling from the center fire.
All afternoon they search, each empty tent lowering their hopes. At last they came to the few at the edge of the group. One tent stood rather alone, its dark fabric flapped gently in the evening breeze. The elves could feel the tingling energy of magic at work inside. Aragorn shouted for the occupant to open their doors in the name of the king.
A young looking woman opened the tent flap. Her black hair paled her already fair skin. She studied them with her intense emerald eyes. Celeborn shuddered as those eyes fell on him. There was something behind them, something ruthless. He knew his wife felt it too.
"Yes?" her voice was soft and innocently curious. "What seems to be the trouble, m'lord?"
"Two of our friends have gone missing, lady. The tracks of their captors have led us here. Do not take this wrongly, but we would like to search this premises for them."
"Not a problem, m'lord." She smiled and moved to let them in. "Just who are you looking for?"
"Two elves."
"Oh, what a shame. Such fair creatures. Hopefully you find them in one piece."
"What is your name?" Faramir seemed more focused on the woman than the tent.
She hesitated one moment. "Jehethra."
Celeborn stood in the center of the tent. Reaching out around him, it only took a few seconds before he knew. "She is here."
"Idrial?" Aragorn turned from the woman to the elf-lord, surprised by his sudden surety.
"Yes." Galadriel searched the tent with her eyes. They landed finally on the gypsy.
Jehethra looked back, shock on her face. "You accuse me? You have not raised one finger in search! I have heard of the mind powers of the elves, but this is ridiculous. Perform a real search, I assure you, you will find nothing." Her voice was that of an innocent victim pressed with false charges. Her eyes pleaded with a hurt look.
All but the three elves seemed rather smitten with the display. They searched long, but no trace of their daughter could be found but for the faint sense of her presence. Slow to give up, they re-searched every corner of the habitation. At last they admitted defeat, returning to the center of the tent where their friends already waited.
"You see?" There was more triumph in her voice than she may have intended. "I do not have her."
"Then she has been here. Or her captors." Thranduil looked to Jehethra, his point clear.
Now Jehethra was cunning, as Erabus had said. She was indeed beginning to realize how the two had cheated her with the she-elf. She had not seen them since they had delivered her, and she knew now (with the account of two elves missing) that they must have kept the other for themselves. Seizing her chance, she turned the tables, saying,
"Oh! Yes! That must be it. M'lord, two men came to my tent yesterday evening. They were in quite a rush, and said their business was secret. They wanted some supplies." Knowing she needed detail to convince them of her tale, she added. "They said they were headed to Far Harad. They appeared to be native."
"Thank-you, Jehethra." Her bewitchment, if they could call it that, seemed to have slipped from the other's eyes. All watched her as they left the tent. Celeborn locked eyes with her as he left. He held for only a moment, but the gypsy read the threat clear as a spoken word. He had seen through her. When he found only the prince with the kidnappers, he would return.
. . . . . . . . . . .
"I was a hard choice. I love them both dearly, but they will need help on the road, and you are more than capable to handle everything here."
"Arwen will help, along with Faramir and Eowyn. The hobbits are here. We will have them both safe soon." Galadriel smiled with confidence.
"You know what you must do?"
"Yes. She will be watched. We will know when she makes her move. You should go. We would not want to lose the tracks to weather and time, nor lose Legolas, for that matter. I do not know how long we can hold Thranduil here before he explodes."
Celeborn chuckled, nodding. "Too true. We will get him out and moving."
True to his word, Celeborn soon departed the city along with Thranduil, Aragorn, and Gimli, their three horses quickly fading into the shadows of dusk. It had been nearly three days since the couple had disappeared.
"Well, this is an exciting beginning to our new 'peaceful' lives." Gimli growled. "I only figured out that darned elf had a wife two days ago…"
"Why would they kidnap elves?" Aragorn sounded concerned.
"In Harad, it is for slavery. Elves are highly prized as exotic and hardworking. We are often a symbol of power as well. To own one of us is prestigious for the family." The intensity of the Elven-king's eyes gave the mortals pause.
"Galadriel is ready?" Aragorn asked.
"Yes. I spoke with her just before we left."
"Do the gypsies also desire slaves?"
Celeborn shook his head. "No. Blood."
Both man and dwarf stared, unsure of what to make of the revelation. "Why?" Gimli sputtered.
"It has powerful healing capabilities and is one of the reasons elves can heal so quickly. When placed into a potion, it can be administered to any race and heal nearly any wound. That is why orcs will often consume elves they kill. There is a black market for it nearly everywhere."
"There will not be one in Minas Tirith much longer." Aragorn's voice was grim.
"Never have I heard of the nonsense that goes on down south here." Gimli sighed. "Will they kill either of them?"
"No. They have far more value alive. They may die without direct murder from their captors." Thranduil let the gravity of that hang between them.
"The faster we reach them, the less harm they will come to."