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Chapter 7: Most Likely
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Elrond, Tiriel and several members of the guard were following the white mare.
The elf-lord had immediately understood that she wanted them to follow her, and they had made ready as fast as possible while Alba was pacing up and down the courtyard as if urging them to hurry up.
Elrond found it hard to concentrate, as his mind was racing: he knew that Legolas and Estel had intended to meet and then come to Imladris together.
What could have happened that the prince´s horse had taken on running all the way here to get help?
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Alba was leading them on at full speed now, and the other horses, although they were bearing riders, followed her without difficulty because they were rested whereas she was not.
In the afternoon, Alba slowed down.
At first Elrond thought that exhaustion had finally caught up with her, but then he could see her muscles tense.
The elf listened intensely and thought he could hear something in the distance, but it was drowned by the sound of approaching hooves.
Automatically, Elrond reached for his bow but let his hand sink again when Alba remained calm, her ears playing back and forth: it was Ragnar who now appeared between the trees.
He had been running fast and abruptly came to a halt in front of them, but seemed frightened. He was whinnying desperately and, stamping his hooves, turned around immediately as if to run back.
Alba followed him at once, and the elves quickly went after them.
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While Elrond urged on his horse, he concentrated on the noise he had thought to hear, and right there it was, beyond the horses´ hoofbeat, but he could not make out what exactly it was yet.
A feeling of dread was spreading in his mind now, but only when they had nearly reached the place where Ragnar was leading them was he able to discern what the sound was: it was caused by a group of Orcs, who were cheering at something and obviously had not heard the advancing riders yet.
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They would have to attack without any delay and take the Orcs by surprise; Elrond did not have another choice, as Alba and Ragnar were unstoppable and therefore bound to be detected.
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All the way , the elf-lord had feared that they might be too late, but if the Orcs were cheering, it might mean that Legolas and Estel were still alive...
He had no doubt that whatever caused the foul creatures such glee had to do something with his son and his best friend, otherwise Ragnar would not have acted thus.
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He pushed that thought aside and reached for his bow again.
The other elves imitated him, as they had heard the Orcs as well.
"Take them down as soon as they come into our range of fire", Elrond shouted in Sindarin.
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The Orc´s leader had indeed been beyond glee when they had found their two former prisoners unconscious and unable to escape.
He paid no heed to the tracks of hoofprints on the ground, too big was his triumph.
"Look at them!", he had roared maliciously, "look at the scum that really thought it could escape us..."
Legolas and Aragorn had been roughly pulled up, but none of them had responded to the Orcs´ attempts to wake them, which had included violent shaking and kicking.
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The leader sharply prodded Legolas in the chest now: "You have been acting like this before", he gnarled. "I still have to teach you a lesson about that, see if you wake up this time..."
The Orcs cheered while Legolas was being hoisted up and tied to a tree with his arms above his head, so that his full body-weight was concentrated on his wrists.
The leader was just putting his dagger to the tender flesh of Legolas´stomach, when he heard something, causing him to lift his head and listen: "Horses!", he cried. "Someone is coming..."
Before they could react, even more horses could be heard, and then a volley of arrows struck the group, causing several Orcs to shriek and collapse.
Confusion spread among them until they saw the charging elven riders.
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The Orc´s leader bellowed orders, and soon they had started to fire back and attack the horses with their scimitars, but the elves were too quick for them.
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The attackers had only made one mistake: they had not taken down the leader first.
It was him who now pressed his long, sharp dagger to Legolas´ throat, baring his ugly teeth: "One more shot and he will die", he growled, after the elves had stopped moving due to this threat.
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Cold rage swept over Elrond´s features, he was nearly growling as well: "Let. Go. Of. Him!", he said menacingly, his bow still poised and ready to shoot.
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Although he was concerned for Legolas, he could not prevent himself from looking at Aragorn quickly, because the man lay unmoving where the Orcs had dropped him once the attack had begun, and the elf-lord could not make out if he was still breathing.
The Orc had seen this, and a new malice glinted in his eyes as he slowly let go of Legolas. With one quick step he was at Aragorn´s side and extended his dagger with two fingers, so that it was dangling above the unconscious Ranger.
If he let go, it would burrow itself into Aragorn´s chest.
The Orc laughed mockingly: "What are you going to do now, elf?", he hissed. "Shoot me and he is dead..."
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Elrond stared at him, torn between emotion and calculation: he knew he could shoot the Orc with enough force to hurl the creature backwards, so the dagger would most likely not fall straight down.
But on the other hand, he could not be sure of that.
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TBC
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