Disclaimer: As much as I would love to say I own them, I don't have that kind of money for a lawsuit. I do have Haldir tied up in my closet though. I refuse to let him go. Over seven hundred hits on this story so far; wow is how I feel every time I look at my homepage.

Just to let you know, there is some abuse in this chapter. I tried to keep it to a minimum because I do not care for a lot of detailed abuse. I love horses too much to write that kind of thing. My horse would probably kick my butt if he saw what he was writing.

"Speaking"

Thoughts

Chapter 8

Elegain opened her eyes, It was a dream. Everything is fine. Mom and Dad will be downstairs waiting for me. She wiped the tears from her face, she didn't even believe herself. She sat up slowly feeling refreshed. What did Haldir give me? She rose from the bed trying not to wake the servant girl's sleeping form. Elle stole silently though the room to open her balcony door to gaze down at the barn and beyond that the fields. The barn was hardly damaged and the barn grooms were already replacing the burned wood. The main corral gate had been ripped from the hinges, the horses gone. Horse thieves! She moved to the right side of the balcony to see Pharaohirrim's paddock, but that gate to was gone.

Elle moved swiftly through her room and out into the hallway. She ran down the stairs past the house servants passing her father's study. The front door stood ajar, Elle ran to the side of the manor stopping at the broken gate. Tears freely slid down her face taking in everything she had recently lost. She collapsed on the wet ground covering her face in her hands and sobbed. Seconds later Elle felt someone kneel down next to her.

"They took everything from me."

Haldir lifted Elle from the ground," Lady, the ground is wet, you will catch cold." He headed them back in the direction of the manor. The girl continued to cry into his chest.

"There are some things we need to talk about, do you feel up to hearing what happened?" Haldir had reached the study where he set her down on a large chaise lounge. He reached over to the desk and grabbed a handkerchief offering it to her.

"I want to know what happened, do you know?" Elle dabbed at her eyes.

"Very well. I met with the heads of the barn and of the house while you slept. Because of the storm, four grooms agreed to spend the night in case of trouble with the horses. They were in the manor when Orophin and Rumil heard the horses in the barn. They went out to investigate where they discovered the barn was on fire. My guard were alerted and raced out to remove the animals. The grooms brought the fire under control and were able to extinguish it. When investigated closer Orophin could see it had been set deliberately. He raised the alarm about the false fire, but the only ones to hear him over the storm were the other elves. The riders were on them a moment later. The thieves fired arrows wounding those they could. The gate was ripped from its place and the thieves used the horses to stampede their way out. The elves and men were unarmed; there was not much of a chance to fight back. The thieves were also very coordinated; they knew the layout of the house and barn. One of my scouts is out following their trail now." Haldir left out some of the more elaborate details.

"Haldir, my parents." Elle looked at him pained, "how… what happened?"

Haldir picked up her hand trying to brace her for the news. "Lord Gaealis was shot by an arrow while trying to stop the thieves from breaking the gate. His sword brought down one of the thieves, but was not able to deflect the arrow." Elle tightened her grip on his hand. Her other hand she brought to her mouth in a poor effort to hide her pain. "Lady Gaealis was killed when one of the thieves tried to enter the manor."

Elle lay her head down on the fabric. Tears were streaming down her face but she made no move to wipe them away. Haldir continued to sit next to her curled form. He casually began to stroke her hair unsure of the best way to ease her. Her grief could be felt pouring out of her body, but she made no sound.

Rumil entered the study silently carrying a goblet of steaming liquid. He acknowledged Haldir, but received no form of recognition from Elle. He pulled open a pouch at his side and sprinkled in some green flakes. He handed the cup to Haldir nodding his head at the silent figure beside him. Haldir pushed the goblet to Elle's lips. She drank slowly without a response or objection. Minutes later she was sleeping deeply her breathing slow.

"I added something for shock as well. It looked as though she needed more when I came in." Rumil sat opposite of Haldir and watched the Elle sleep. "She'll sleep until tomorrow afternoon sometime."

"Any word yet?" Haldir was still running his hands through Elle's hair.

Rumil sat up, "It appears the thieves are headed towards Lorien."

"Yes, but they will certainly not pass through." Orophin had entered the room. He sat on the edge of the desk. "Every human knows trespassing there is not allowed. Did you know Lord Gaealis has some of the finest horses in Middle Earth?"

"Orophin," Rumil glared at his brother, "get to the point."

"Always in such a rush. Healers are supposed to have patience, are they not?" Orophin said cheekily, "Ah, Gwen thank you." A house servant had just brought them a light dinner of fruits, vegetables, cheese and bread. Orophin took the heavy tray from her with a wink. She giggled at him before pulling the door shut behind her. Haldir and Rumil just looked at him. When Orophin turned his attention back to them, he gave them an innocent look. "What? I thought we might have a light dinner while we talk." Rumil rolled his eyes and Haldir just shook his head.

"Orophin." Haldir was losing patience with his brother.

"Right, anyway. The thieves couldn't sell the horses in Rohan it's too close. Someone might recognize the Gaealis mark or even one of the horses. The same goes for any of the villages around here. They can't go into Mirkwood, naturally for reasons known. The only way to take the horse would be west, through the Misty Mountains pass near Lorien." Orophin smiled at them as he popped a grape into his mouth.

"Yes, that would make sense. And the trail left by the thieves, it moved towards Lorien?" Haldir stood up and began to pace the length of the large fireplace.

"Yes." Orophin said between mouthfuls.

"Elensar left this morning?" Haldir stopped to look at Rumil.

Rumil nodded. His eyes then widened. "We must send someone after him. He is bound to overtake the thieves if that is the way they went."

"Send Tathar after him immediately." Haldir stopped in front of the fire.

"Maybe Orophin or I should go..." Rumil hated to cause even a seconds delay.

"No. I want you here to continue to watch Lady Elegain. She will need a healer's touch for sometime. Orophin needs to be here in case I should have to leave." Haldir stopped the argument before it could even start. "Tell Tathar to ride with care, but be sure to catch Elensar."

Rumil left quickly to find Tathar.

XxXxX

Tathar left the manor at a swift pace on his horse. Rumil had approached him shortly after a meeting with Haldir and Orophin. They had walked to the open field next to the manor discussing everything he should know.

"Ride hard, the thieves will not be able to move fast because of the herd. Elensar will overtake them in a day though he does not travel very fast." Rumil patted the elven horse as Tathar leapt onto his back. "If you find the herd, ride past and alert the Lorien guard. Capture the thieves and bring them back for trial. Lady Elegain will want to see her parents' murderers brought to justice. Be sure to bring word from Lady Galadriel."

Tathar raced through the woods until late evening before he slowed down. He knew Elensar was close, but also did not want to ride up on the thieves. A light from the left caught his attention and he could smell the burning of wood. He dismounted from his horse giving him a gentle pat. He walked towards the light making no sound and using extreme caution. Twenty yards from the fire, he pulled himself into a tree to walk along the branches. There were many voices, most of them sounding drunk. In a branch just out of firelight reach sat Elensar. Tathar used a birdcall to let him know he was behind him. Elensar looked back and motioned for Tathar to join him. They sat together and watched the men below.

"We'll be making a good amount of money off these horses. I told you it would be best to take the Gaealis herd."

"Aye, but I want to exchange the horse I have now for one of them."

"I agree. They are fresher, younger, and probably not as ruined as what we are riding now. I was looking at that gray colt…"

"Yeah well so was I." The filthy men glared at each other. "Let's take a closer look at him."

Two of the six men left the fireside heading to the right of where the elves sat. They followed above the men to find the herd. It took less than five minutes to reach a box canyon. The men pulled a makeshift gate open while the elves moved to the top of the canyon to watch. One of the men pulled a rope from his belt and using it as a lasso caught the gray colt.

The men, not knowing the colt, were unprepared for what happened next. The rope caught the colt around the neck. As soon as it touched him he bolted to the opposite side of the canyon. The rope was pulled from the man's hands leaving red, raw burns.

He cursed loudly. "Go get the others." The second man nodded and left. He approached the rope on the ground, "Come now, you are old enough to know better." He picked up the rope and the colt jerked it from his hands again. The pain in his hands was now worse and his anger rose up inside of him. The other men came into the canyon at hearing the trouble their leader was having with a horse.

"Catch him."

The men circled around, pushing the other horses out of the way. Four more ropes flew into the air, two catching the colt. The leader pulled on some heavy gloves then picked up his rope again. Each rope pulled in a different direction, shortening the colt's movement. The last two ropes were thrown again, this time circling around his neck.

"Pull them tight." He handed his rope off to the man standing next to him so he could approach the colt. "Now my boy, you will stand pretty for me." The man walked to where the colt stood still. He reached out his hand. The colt waited until the man was close enough and then lunged for him. His men pulled at the ropes while the leader backpedaled as fast as he could.

"Lets move him into the other canyon. He needs to be taught some manners."

Moving the struggling colt was easier said than done. The other horses seemed to make the move difficult, but they were dispatched easy enough when the leader of the thieves pulled a long, thin branch from a tree and stripped it of the smaller branches. As soon as they had him outside the gate the colt tried to bolt, dragging two men down. The leader met him and beat him across the throat changing the colt's direction.

"Smart thing ain't he?" The leader snarled at the colt bringing the whip down repeatedly to make the colt move.

Elensar grabbed Tathar just in time to stop him from exposing their position.

The men had succeeded in moving the colt into the other canyon. All were sweating, and some were sporting marks of close encounters with the colt. Each time the colt had changed direction; the leader had followed beating him back.

Elensar grabbed Tathar by the shoulder, "We can stop this. I have my arrows and my sword with me."

Another snap of the branch against the colt's flank reached their ears. Tathar nodded and they moved hastily to where they had left their horses. They dropped from the trees to find company waiting.

"You will not be doing it alone."

If you have read this far please tell me what you think.