Chapter Ten
"Moya ca lokad olono, Ello?" Legolas asked; what do you mean, Ello?
Ello looked more scared than ever. "Legolas, karko kiue Na poudcoi lokad? Karko kiue Na poudcoi karon? Karko kiue Na hudaynos buaňi notik? Na'l chicton, Legolas." Legolas, how can I understand you? How can I understand me? How can I talk like this? I'm scared, Legolas.
"In Mirkwood we studied the language of the- your people." He corrected himself. "My father was and is very interested, especially how it comes naturally to those smaller than dwarves. Hobbits and river folk, younger elves." Aragorn and Gimli glanced at him as Legolas burned internally at his mistake.
Ello began to shake slightly.
"Who," the King asked carefully, "Are your people?"
Many things happened at once. A soldier looked at Ello and screeched.
"Kill it!" he shrieked. "It is a leiveia! Kill it!"
The king stood up immediately and glared at Ello in a new way. Her whole body was moving violently from hyperventilating, and Gimli stood in front of her, Legolas behind. Aragorn raised his hands above his head. "I can explain, Théoden, Gandalf can help me when he returns!" he cried.
"You know of our tale, Aragorn, how dare you bring that vermin here!" the King spat
"She is a child, Théoden!" Aragorn cried, but whatever the tale was, Ello thought, Théoden was stuck to it like glue. But at that exact moment Legolas saw the snake slither up the King's throne. He let out a strangled cry, but no one heard. Except Ello. She looked up and the blood drained from her face.
"The wild men are raging through the north and you bring this here! Háma, get the ofik! NOW!"
"But my Lord, we only use that for-"
"Just get it, I will only use it if there is need to!"
Ello lurched outwards and grabbed a sword from a nearby guard. It was large and heavy, but Legolas still had not moved, and no one else could see the deadly snake poise to strike the Kings neck. She did not notice Háma run back into the room carrying a large sack. "My Lord, move!" She yelled, and threw the sword at the snake. The sword landed straight in the snakes neck, and for a moment there was silence. Legolas groaned softly as he realised what everyone else could see. As he realised why even Aragorn and Gimli were staring at Ello, now trembling again, in horror.
"Gimli, Aragorn, the shinom!" He cried pointing to what the others could only see as blood falling from a sword in nowhere. The spell-like silence ceased, and uproar broke out in Théoden's hall, uproar seemingly too strong for eighteen people. Háma threw the sack which enveloped Ello, and a rope yanked it up. Ello screamed in terror and the hall quietened.
"Let her down, Théoden, she just saved your life." Aragorn cried with barely concealed anger.
"By throwing a sword at me?" Théoden snarled back, just as angry.
"There was shinom!" Legolas cried. "One bite and even a strong elf would be dead. Only elf eyes are sensitive enough to see them!"
All of a sudden, the air was pierced by a bloodcurdling scream. One filled with pain. Ello was in extreme pain.
"Ello!" Aragorn yelled, and leapt forward, Gimli and Legolas right behind him, but they were restrained immediately. It took three soldiers each.
"She cannot hear you. Or see you. But we can hear her." Théoden cried his face pale; he did not like to put anyone in pain.
"You are evil!" Legolas cried. "She is only a child!"
"A descendent of one who slaughtered the people of Rohan." Théoden said, "And Legolas, it was a gift, from the elves. Magic does not work on it. We use it mainly for orcs. All it does is gives you the illusion that you are in pain."
"My Lord!" Éowyn cried. "She will not be able to stand it, I know, and I was in there by accident for less time than she!"
"I have to get some things straight first." Théoden flinched as Ello screamed again, and began thrashing around inside the sack.
"Let her out, Théoden, please!" Aragorn cried. Next to him Gimli was typically roaring out all the swear words he had ever heard in his life, and Aragorn was half glad that Ello could not hear them. "Théoden, I promised her that no harm would come to her here; if she were a child of the Eastern Warriors, but came under our protection and saved your life, would you have done this to her?"
Théoden looked thoughtful. "I do not wish any innocent creature harm, Aragorn. But she cannot be trusted. The last leiveia to take residence in these halls slaughtered over half the Nobles, and the King! They are deceitful!"
"That was one male adult leiveia over three thousand years ago! She is a fifteen year old, female leiveia who had no idea of the history of her kind until just over a week ago! Should we elves slay the children of Rohan for the madman who murdered so many elves two thousand years ago? Please! Let her go, she does not have your ancestors blood on her hands, she is innocent to the point of being naïve. Please, please. Would you have a child's blood on your hands?"
Suddenly, Ello's frightened pants ceased.
It was so hot, and when the pain seared through, Ello wanted to throw up, but this was the worst so far. Frodo's voice; "Kill her, we don't care," rang through the sack. And she began to cry.
"What's going on?" Gimli bellowed, as small sobs echoed through the throne room. Then silence. Then- a scream. A scream saturated with pain, ten times as much as in the first two times put together. And this time Ello's scream went on and on.
"KILL ME!" she screamed, and it sounded like her lungs would burst, her writhing figure visible through the sack. Her three companions were struggling as hard as they could, but it was not enough.
Ello's body was on fire, every inch of her felt like it was being stabbed by a million knives, some blunt and some sharp. She was going to die, and she knew it. She was going to die, die from the pain…
Her scream, punctuated by occasional sobs, went on and on. The King was frozen literally; horrified at what was happening, and the guards were too scared to move. It was Éowyn who finally stopped it. She snatched Háma's sword and cleaved through the rope the sack was hanging from, grabbing the top half and easing the sack to the floor. Then she rushed forward and shook Ello free of the sack. The screaming stopped and Théoden blinked, signalling to the guards to release the trio (Gimli pausing only to stamp on a guards foot), and they rushed to Ello, who was curled up in a ball on the cold stone floor. Aragorn knelt next to her, and she looked at him and flinched.
"What have you done to her?" Aragorn's voice shook.
Théoden shook his head wordlessly and Ello looked back through a vision on what happened while she was in the sack. Then she began to sob quietly again. This time when Aragorn put his hand on her shoulder she flung her frail body into his arms. He gently rubbed up and down her back. Legolas stroked her hair and Gimli squeezed her shoulder gently.
"Please, forgive me Ello. This is completely fault. First I made the mistake taking, then I froze at the shinom, I-" Legolas murmured as Ello shakily stood up.
"Don't be silly Legolas. It's no one's fault." Ello mumbled. "If it's anyone's fault its mi-"
"Mine." Théoden humbly strode over. He knelt and looked Ello in the eye. The guards exchanged shocked looks as their king knelt on the floor bowing to a young girl. "I am so very sorry Ello. If I had any idea… Your people were told to me as monsters, and I am sorry for being so prejudiced."
To everyone's surprise, Ello smiled, nervously, but even her eyes danced. "You are sorry. And I forgive you. You were just doing what you thought was right for your people. Your body language tells me that you didn't like it. The feeling of danger from you has passed, and I guess often when you have people who need your protection, the unknown is not a risk worth taking. I am the unknown. So you were worried. I am fine."
At that moment Gandalf strode into the room. "What," He asked in disgust "Happened here?"