Authors' Notes
Suilad, Mellyn, Vanimalion here! First of all I'd like to apologize for the extreme lateness of this chapter... life got a little hectic. Anyway, thank you to SweetShireen and PenguinLoverGurl for your kind reviews, they mean a lot to us :D Anyway, chapter three is finally here, and we're back on track with this whole thing... so four should come in the reasonably near future, too. We have some blood in this chappie, too... *evil grin* hope you like it as much as I liked writing it...!
- Chapter Three: First Encounter -
He needed somewhere quiet, somewhere still. Legolas had become accustomed to peace and solitude, and had begun to appreciate these days of tranquility as he had never been able to do before. Once he had felt such contentment, the bustle of a community at war became a tiring thing. He knew he would become used to it again, that his dormant passion for the thrill and terror of battle would once again light his blood aflame. But for now, all the elf wanted was a quiet space. A space in which to lose himself as elves so often loveto do. A place where he could be laid bare without fear of judgment or criticism. Right now, his one wish was to simply escape the constant commotion of this fort in which he was trapped, so very human in its entire being. He had seen, heard, and felt quite enough of this place, and the novelty of the thing had long worn off.
Apparently, his strangeness to the people had worn off as well. This was a good thing in his opinion. Stares and whispers were not unfamiliar to him, but that did not mean he liked them. The loss of the awestruck fascination in their new visitor was not something he missed. Rather, he felt that, given his current imprisonment, it was something to be celebrated.
With the thought of a time of solitude with the trees fresh in his mind, he shoved the small cloth he'd been using to clean the dust off his borrowed bow into his pocket and slung the weapon over a shoulder as he got up to walk to the training field. From what he had heard, that seemed like the most likely place for a Grimm to be. If not, then perhaps he could shoot a few arrows until someone who could to give him leave to visit a forest appeared.
By good fortune, however, Veronica was just exiting the Mess Hall when Legolas walked by. She was holding a stack of ragged papers covered in a spindly writing, reading as she walked. A closer look showed that it was a worn out book, barely held together by a cracking leather cover.
"Suilad," he said, his voice low, "do you have a moment?"
Veronica looked up from what she was reading, a smile forming on her lips. "Yes, of course. Do you need something?"
"Do you, by any chance, have access to a forest?"
"Excuse me?"
"A forest. Do you have access to one with all your magic and mirrors?"
"Oh." she paused, marking her place in her book. "Yes, our mirror has portals to several different worlds. I'm sure we have a few forests."
"May I visit one? I would much appreciate a chance to talk to the trees."
She nodded and walked off, gesturing for him to follow. She weaved through the many structures, taking a shortcut to the tent that held the mirrors. As they walked, members of the army called out friendly greetings. When they reached their destination, Legolas noticed that a short, bald dwarf that he had not yet met had replaced Sam. The dwarf glanced at Legolas before turning his attention to Veronica.
"Veronica, I have a tactical meeting in ten minutes, and no one is available to take over this shift. Do you have time?"
"I'm just going through some inventories, I can take over for you after I take Legolas to the Hall."
"Alright, thank you." He turned to the elf. "Charming told me about you. I hear you are quite a talented elf."
A slight blush spread over the elf's cheeks. "Well… not talent as much as the result of much hard training, one might say."
"You need to have some talent for training to have that sort of effect."
The blush deepened. "Well… some have said that, yes, but most elves reach this skill level with a few centuries of work…"
"Charming has at least three centuries of hard training. You are special."
"I am an elf. We are completely different. My race has several natural physical advantages… which makes the comparison rather unfair."
"Charming has magic. But… I can see that this is an endless battle, so I will stop. I'm Mr. Seven, by the way."
"Legolas," he said, and then hesitantly added, "at your service." It was the traditional, respectful way to greet a dwarf in Middle Earth. Since the relations between dwarves and elves had never been very good, Legolas was always careful. Yet this one had thrown him off by not offering the expected first part of the introduction. Legolas had no idea whether there was a proper way to respond to this dwarf, or whether the he should greet him as any other citizen of the fort.
"Come on, Legolas. I have to get back here for guard duty." Veronica stepped through the closest mirror, motioning for Legolas to follow her.
"Good day, Legolas." Mr. Seven said. The elf nodded a silent farewell, and followed Veronica through the portal.
This mirror was quite different than either of the other two Legolas had been in. There was a warm tropical breeze, and the open patio that they were standing on was surrounded by palm trees. To their left, a huge building rose with hundreds of windows and smaller porches. Legolas looked around him. The patio itself was made from mottled tiles of amber and white marble. The entrance to the hotel was a huge gold arch flanked with two fake ferns.
"Welcome to the Hotel of Wonders, Prince William Charming's personal heaven." Veronica said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Legolas did not care for this mirror either. It was all wrong. Everything from the flawless stone beneath his feet to the unnatural sky above him seemed strangely artificial, completely unlike anything he had ever seen. The building rising up beside them was bathed in a strange orange glow that could only be the light of a setting sun. However, it felt wrong and made the plain walls look gaudy and brash. He would be happy when they left this unpleasant place.
Veronica glanced at a vacant desk to the right of the gold arch. "Let's leave now before Harry appears."
She walked under the arch and into the hotel, turning left and going down a hallway. Stopping at the first alcove, she took a key off of a hook and unlocked the door labeled 18A. It opened out, revealing another portal, identical to the ones that they had gone through before. Silently, they stepped through the shimmering gateway and found themselves in the familiar room lined with mirrors again.
After they exited the Mirror Room, Veronica stopped and turned to Legolas. "I don't really know what type of forest you are looking for. Can you describe it to me?"
"Trees… trees and other plants. Really, there are not many requirements, although animals would be nice as well."
Veronica started walking down the long hall. "No animals, I'm afraid. These are all empty lands. When the final inhabitant left, they took the secret of how to get in with them. Years of hard work and magic on my husband's family's part has connected them to doors in this hall."
"Ah well, one cannot have everything." he smiled slightly, "as long as there are trees I will be happy."
Veronica smiled. She veered off towards an ornate wooden door. Carefully carved lettering spelled out "The Jungle" across the top of the door, matching a ceramic plaque that hung on the wall next to it. Pulling out an enormous ring of keys, Veronica flipped through them until she found a dark wooden one that matched the lock before her. When she unlocked and opened the door, they were hit with a warm, humid breeze. "Oh good, Bagheera fixed it…" Veronica muttered. She turned to the elf. "Is this jungle appealing to you?"
He looked at her, nodded, grinned brightly, and then stepped through the door, leapt smoothly into a tree, and vanished completely without a sound.
"Careful of anything that has a really bright color, it will probably eat you!" Veronica hollered after the elf.
- X -
The woman sighed peacefully as she wandered through the grassy fields, running her hands through her short red hair. Whenever she was in this place she felt safe. The soft silence was broken only by the sound of the breeze in the trees and the creaking of wood. She closed her eyes, breathing in the fresh air.
The peaceful expression that had masked her face morphed into a frown, and she gave another sigh, this one tired. She wished she could forget that there is a war roaring around the Fort. Forget that this peace here, this safety, was not real. If only she could stay here, in this beautiful grassy field. But it belonged to another world, and the strange sunlight was not what she longed for. The sun she wanted was hidden, covered by the dark smoke and clouds of wartime.
Shaking herself, she quickly pulled out of her depressed trance. She set a decisive path through the grass, passing the familiar red barn. She came to a closed door standing in the field, appearing to lead nowhere. This was her gateway back to the horrors of war. Briefly glancing over her shoulder, she pushed the door open.
The cool marble of the hall felt stale and suffocating after the wide openness of the Stable. She gently closed the door behind her and started walking down the hall, deep in thought.
Suddenly, the door on her right opened and almost hit her. Startled, she gave choked gasp. A man was there, tall and lean. Radiant and glowing, he stood there, looking at her, an infectious, passionate joy flowing from him in waves. There was a light in his icy blue eyes full of a youthful exuberance. He was wild, untamable, and completely alive.
The energy lasted for only moment, and then it was gone. The light was still there, but it was dimmer, and there seemed to be a formal and polite mask upon his face. The childish energy was gone, or maybe just hiding, but she could no longer see it. He was stoic now, his soul guarded.
"I am so sorry for surprising you, dear lady," he said apologetically, bowing slightly, "do please forgive me for causing you such a fright."
Realizing she had been holding her breath, the woman let it all out in a puff on air. Taking a deep breath to ensure her voice wouldn't shake, she replied, "It's alright. I just didn't know anyone else was in the hall, let alone a strange man on the other side of that door."
He smiled, his mask of formality still firmly in place. "Quite understandable. I'm afraid I suffered a similar delusion… I had also assumed that there was no-one on the other side of this door, and therefore did not think to open it more carefully."
The woman smiled. "I don't recognize you. Are you the new guy? The one that came with the Grimms?"
"Aye, that is me," he dipped his head slightly in greeting, "Legolas Thranduilion. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."
"I'm Rapunzel. As is 'Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your long hair, so I may climb the golden stair', although I don't suppose you've heard of that, coming from strange and distant lands."
"Ah, no, I regret to say I have not…" They both stood there slightly awkwardly for a moment.
"Well, as much fun as this is, I have to get back to the Fort. I have a meeting."
"Ah, I also must return to the fort. Shall we walk together, then?" He said with careful politeness.
She smiled at him. "I would be honored."
- X -
"Legolas?"
It was Charming. After a silent walk down the Hall, Legolas and Rapunzel had exited the mirror to find the prince waiting for Legolas's exit.
"Did you require something of me, Ser William?" Legolas asked, politely raising an eyebrow at the man.
"I should be going, Legolas. See you around." Rapunzel nodded to Charming, and walked away.
Nodding goodbye, Legolas returned his attention to Charming with a questioning look on his face.
After a moment, Charming said, "I see you met Rapunzel, our resident horsemaster."
"Yes I did, though I knew not her position."
"Yes, yes…" Charming looked as though whatever he was about to say was painful. "Before I tell you why I came to find you, I feel like I need to tell you something important. My ex-wife is married, and… I don't know. I just think that… that you should stay away from her. Although…" He sighed. "I promised her not to interfere in her life anymore."
The elf looked mortified. "What?! The idea that I… that I would… approach a woman in any unseemly or salacious way… it is simply preposterous! I would never be so base as to do such a thing!"
"I'm not implying anything, Legolas. I was simply saying that you also have that air that women find attractive. I also have a hold on this, as all of my ex-wives can attest."
Legolas raised an eyebrow at this pompous statement, and then what Charming had said sunk in. He looked away, embarrassed, a slight blush creeping over his cheeks. He was aware that he was attractive, but to have been told so by a stranger felt indecent for some reason.
After a moment of awkward silence, Charming cleared his throat. "Now, to my main reason for finding you." He paused. "I… I have been instructed by Snow to apologize to you for my behavior. It was uncalled for, and it angered her."
Legolas raised a golden eyebrow. He had to admit, it was surprising to hear Charming apologize. "Oh, there is no need to apologize," he said, glad of the distraction from his previous embarrassment. "I was not offended."
Charming looked slightly relieved that he had gotten that over with. Abruptly changing the subject, he said, "We held an emergency tactical meeting to discuss your arrival, and the other leaders of the army would like to meet you."
"Oh? I am interested to meet them. When will I get the chance?"
"They would like to meet you now, if you are not headed to the Mess Hall…?"
"No, I believe I will meet them now. That appears to work best for all of us. Will you lead the way?"
Charming nodded, turned, and started walking towards the house where they had first met. His strides were long, but Legolas kept easy pace with him.
They approached the grey building that Charming and Snow lived in. Snow was sitting on the edge of the porch, reading some papers. Charming stopped in front of her and cleared his throat.
She looked up at him, raising her eyebrows. "No need to grunt at me, I see you." But she was smiling. She stood up, and they started walking again. Snow fell into step with Legolas. "So, Legolas. I trust that you were able to entertain yourself?"
"Oh, yes." Legolas said with a smile. "Veronica showed me a lovely forest inside the mirror."
"Ah yes… the Grimms have collected many portals to the places we Everafters have abandoned."
They walked in silence for a few moments before Legolas asked, "How far is it to… wherever we happen to be going?"
"We are almost there. It's that building there." Snow pointed to a small cabin ahead of them.
As they got closer, the sounds of arguing men washed over them. One of the men let out an angry bellow as Charming opened the door.
"John! Don't let him get to you like that! Is it really worth it?"
A man with red hair and a matching goatee had his hand on the shoulder of a man twice his size. This man had black hair and ruddy skin, and his dark eyes were narrowed in anger. He was clearly restraining himself from punching a third man, glaring furiously at him instead, as if the pure anger in his eyes could burn the other to a crisp. Mr. Canis was standing in the corner, watching the conflict with an almost bored expression hiding his attentive interest.
Legolas looked on, bemused. So these were the leaders he now was reporting to. One corner of his mouth popped up in a tiny half smile, and his eyes brightened in amusement.
Charming gave an uncivilized bellow that made everyone freeze and look at him in shock. In the deathly silence that followed, Charming gave a weak cough, and gestured to Snow.
She laughed lightly, shaking her head. Then she turned to the men. "Well… I am ashamed of you! We leave you alone for a few minutes, and this is how you act?" Her voice was harsh, but her eyes were twinkling with amusement. "It was a very nice hello to our newest recruit. Gentlemen, I would like you to meet Legolas. Legolas, these are the leaders of our army. You already know Charming, Canis, and me. This is Robin Hood, head cartographer," She pointed to the red-headed man, "This is Arthur Pendragon, our head strategist," she gestured to a pudgy blond man, "and this is John Little." she nodded to the huge man who still looked rather belligerent. "He is the major general of our army"
Legolas's eyes swept the room, identifying each man in turn. "Well met, my lords." The elf said with a slight bow.
The men looked at Legolas. After an uncomfortably long silence, Robin stepped forward. Extending his hand to Legolas, he said, "Welcome to our army, Legolas."
- X -
Legolas carefully skewered a fresh, ripe, juicy grape with his fork and popped it into his mouth. He had a small plate of fruit with some bread and soft cheese on the side of his plate. The mess hall was not packed, but it was not empty, either. There were groups of chatting people along the benches of the long tables, but none of them were paying much attention to the elf, and that was just fine with him. He was content to eat his food in peace.
Sabrina walked past him, and blushed. Hunching her shoulders over her tray of food, she hurried away. Legolas looked after her, slightly confused by her behavior. Was she nervous around him?
"Is anyone sitting here?"
Legolas's head whipped around and his gaze alighted upon Rapunzel. He had known that she was there, of course, but had not thought that she would stop to speak with him.
"No, that seat is unoccupied." He said with a small smile.
She smiled, her violet eyes twinkling. She sat down, putting her tray onto the table. Picking up her fork, she said, "So, how have you been liking the Fort? Meet anyone particularly interesting? Most of the inhabitants of this boring town are fascinating."
"So far, my stay has been quite pleasant." He said, attempting to stab another slippery grape. He brought his fork up and plunged it into the fruit, watching as juice dribbled out onto the plate. "Yes, everyone that I have met has been quite interesting. This atmosphere is quite different from that of my home, so the entire experience has been fascinating."
Rapunzel tilted her head. "What is your home like?"
"Well, until recently, it was a dark, forbidding forest filled with giant poisonous spiders, wraiths, orcs, wargs, and other generally evil creatures. Only recently did we defeat them, but the price was high… we are now attempting to clean the forest and return it to its former glory." He paused and thought for a moment. "I suppose the largest difference between my home and what I have seen of yours is that you do not seem to take death as a given, but rather a tragedy. More like to the elves of other, more peaceful realms."
The princess frowned. "I don't understand." She took a bite of her sandwich.
"Which part?"
"The part about death being a tragedy here, but not in your home. Isn't the death of a loved one something to grieve over?"
"Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. At home, we all believe that we will die at some point in time, simply because so many do. Elves are killed almost every day on patrol, and every elf that is able bodied must fight. You see, we will all meet again in the halls of Mandos, where the spirits of those who are dead linger. If you believe that you are going to die, then the death of someone you love is not a permanent goodbye, but rather a short separation. If I thought the way you do here, I would have died of grief long ago. You see, this is also the only way we stay sane. Does that answer your question?" He was looking at her with the piercing gaze that was so unsettling, and for the first time she noticed a bit of emptiness in the icy blue depths, as if he wasn't fully whole.
Rapunzel looked at him, deep in thought. But when she opened her mouth to question him more, she was interrupted. "Hello, Love!"
It was John. He came striding up from behind Legolas, but ignored the elf. He circled the table to get to Rapunzel, who gave him a half smile. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she leaned back and kissed him hello. "Are you going to have some lunch, John?"
He shook his head. "No, I don't have time right now. Charming wants me to lead another patrol out around where you saw the traces of dragon fire." He turned to Legolas. "Actually, I came to see if you would like to come. You have been here for a few days now, and not once have you set foot outside these walls."
A slight grin appeared on Legolas's face. "Yes, I do believe that I will join you. When do you plan to leave?"
John grinned back. "We can leave once you are finished, so long as you don't take too long." He gave a booming laugh. Rapunzel rolled her eyes, but smiled at her husband.
Legolas's fork jabbed down and speared the final grape on his plate with pinpoint accuracy. He popped the small fruit into his mouth and stood up. "Shall we proceed?" He asked.
The large man nodded, clapping Legolas heartily on the back. He scooped up the elf's empty tray and dumped it in the trash. Turning to Rapunzel, he kissed her.
She kissed him back and patted his cheek. "Be safe, okay? I don't want to be widowed." She said it jokingly, but the worry was evident in her frown.
John gave a small smile, and in a much calmer tone said, "Don't worry. I always come home, don't I?"
She smiled back, and then turned to Legolas. "Bye, Legolas. Have fun exploring our dangerous forest!"
"Until we meet again, Lady Rapunzel. Farewell." He smiled, put his hand on his heart, and bowed slightly at the waist.
- X -
The small company walked through the trees, taking care to be quiet and notice any signs of Hand activity. There were six of them. Other than Legolas and John, the patrol was all regular soldiers. They were being extra cautious because they were close to the border where the Hand controlled the forest, and it was quite plausible that they would meet an enemy force.
To everyone's great surprise, the elf did not walk along the ground, but rather crept through the branches, leaping gaps between trees like a squirrel. No branches ever broke under his weight, even though they were small, and his quick movements never made a sound. When he remained still, the Everafters soon lost sight of him in the greens and browns of the forest, so good was his camouflage.
When they stopped to have lunch, he disappeared completely.
Stopping in a clearing, John called the rest of his group over. "Alright you guys." he said in a low voice. "We are pretty far from the Fort, and we still have quite a ways to go. As unsafe as it is, I think that we need some nourishment." He gave the four other men sandwiches. It wasn't until he pulled a fifth out for Legolas that he noticed that the elf was gone.
Frowning, he turned back to the rest of his party, all of which we eating quickly; it was extremely unsafe to stay still. "Have any of you seen Legolas?"
Malcolm, a large, muscular man who was the closest to John, shoved the last of his sandwich into his mouth. "Gdno." he mumbled.
One of the other men, this one older, sighed. "Malcolm, eat like a human."
The two other men, both of which who looked a lot like Malcolm, spoke up defensive of their comrade brother. Their hushed argument carried nevertheless.
John looked at them with a slight smile that fell when he heard the echo of one of their particularly loud comments. "Hamelin, hush!"
The men froze, all talk immediately ceasing. However, it appeared to be too late. They could hear the sound of voices coming closer. And they were definitely not from their side.
Quickly, he hoisted the Piper up into the closest tree, climbing up after him. The three other men shrunk into their true forms, mice, and scampered under a nearby bush.
The enemy patrol came into view. There were eleven in total, among them a lion, a woman hovering in a pink bubble, and ball of greenish light. They were all laughing and fooling around.
A boy at the front of the group stooped down, looking at the footprints so carelessly scattered around the clearing. His fingers traced them, and he said, "There were people here. Ahh… five, I think." He followed their crisscrossing pattern, stopping at the tree that John and Hamelin were in. He trailed his fingers along the bark, a smile creeping onto his face. He turned back to the rest of his group, smiling. "We have them, sir." he said to an enormous and very hairy man, pointing up into the tree.
The man gave grin that displayed a mouthful of sharp teeth. He glanced up into the tree, and John held his breath. He recognized this man, and he was not one you wanted to be cornered by. It was the Beast.
However, the Beast frowned as he looked up into the tree. "I no see them." He said, slowly and deliberately. John almost sighed in relief. If the Beast couldn't see them, he would not let the patrol attack.
However, the boy who had found their footprints pointed right at John. Following his finger, the Beast squinted into the trees. He shielded his eyes from the sunlight filtering through the branches. Then his grin reappeared. He pointed up at John. "Found you!" Then he gave a howling laugh.
The green ball of light suddenly got brighter and expanded. The light then died, and in its place stood a short, lithe woman. John groaned internally. She had pale green wings like a butterfly and short, yellow-blond hair. She arched one overly shaped, penciled eyebrow, looking up into the tree. She gave John a sickly sweet smile. "Hello there, Johnny-boy."
John glared down at them. He took a deep breath. "Looking good, Tinkerbell. I see you replaced fairy dust and heels with army boots and… Bells! Is that a sword?" He said in mock astonishment. 'Legolas! Where are you?'
The fairy narrowed her eyes. "Johnny… you aren't exactly in the position to be sarcastic. Now get down here and I'll get my friends here to go easy on you."
John gave a heavy sigh. "Oh, I think I'm in the perfect position to be sarcastic. You see, I am in a tree. And you can't do a thing until the Beast says you can." He pursed his lips and whistled a lazy little tune.
Tinkerbell glared at him. "Stop whistling and get down here!"
John looked at her, and then a thought occurred to him. He sat up a little straighter and stole a glance at the Piper. He gave his head a little shake. He didn't have his pipes.
The group down on the ground started fidgeting. "Little… no more wait. Come down now." said the Beast.
John looked down, searching the ground for any of the mice, but it was in vain; they were not there. He closed his eyes. 'This is it. If I give myself up, Piper and the mice can get back and warn Charming that these guys are so close to the Fort…'
But just as he was about to jump down to the waiting hands of the Beast and Tinkerbell, he saw a small movement in the tree behind them. A small flash of bright gold glinted briefly through the leaves, and then vanished. 'Legolas!'
John almost sighed in relief. Instead, he looked back down at the fairy. "Alright. I'm coming down, Bells."
Her sickly smile returned. "I knew that you would make the right choice, Johnny-boy! This will be great, I'll get the Master to pardon you, and then it will be just like old times. It will be like we never- HEY!" She was cut off by John jumping out of the tree, landing nearly on top of her. She fell to the ground, knocked off balance by the sudden appearance of John.
Brushing off his knees, John held out his hand. He helped her to her feet, saying, "Sorry, Bells."
"Johnny, you are such an IMBECILE! You…" She trailed off, glaring at him.
He gave her a huge grin. "Well Bells… It is dangerous to stand beneath people who are in trees. You never know, they might just… fall on you."
At that moment, something gold flew out through the air from the branches. Legolas landed on Tinkerbell's back, slamming her forward and to the ground. His knives were in his hands, and the fairy's throat was slit before she even knew what had hit her. The elf leapt up, dragging the dead woman with him, and threw her at one of the other Hand members-a youth with red hair-in one fluid motion. Her body collided with the boy and smashed him against the tree he was standing in front of. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Legolas paused, gazing serenely at the gaping mouths of the enemy patrol.
"He is right. Sometimes the inhabitants of trees do fall upon the unwary, and the effects can be quite perilous." He said seriously, before leaping at a giant rabbit, knives glistening in the sun.
As the elf engaged the enemy with his violent attack, John pulled out his own knives, the Piper dropped from the tree, and the three mice transformed back into humans.
The battle was over so quickly it might not have even counted as a battle. The soft, molding leaf litter was wet and squishy with blood, and the hand members lay strewn about, still and growing cold. The air reeked of death. John stared at the elf standing in the middle of the clearing, his knives dripping and his clothes spattered with red. He seemed to sense that he was being watched and he turned, his face blank and unreadable. Although he had heard Snow's report on the new recruit's skills, John had not really believed it until it had seen with his own eyes. The reality of the whole situation had left him in complete shock. Fast and efficient, none of the Hand members had stood a chance before the powerful elf. Even the Beast, a monster that had killed far more than his share of Charming's army, had been felled with easy skill, an arrow piercing his eye.
John was brought back to his senses when the elf reached up and wiped some blood from a cut on his forehead. "Do you want that looked at?" he asked.
"No, it can wait, but I thank you nonetheless. What shall we do with all this…" he gestured to the scattered bodies, and then he pointed to a still figure close to the edge of the clearing with one of his bloody knives. "He lives yet."
John crossed the clearing. Bending down, he saw that it was the childlike form of the boy that had been knocked out by Tinkerbell's body. "Pan…" John breathed. "That fairy prince is going to have a field day when he hears this…" He pulled one of the boy's eyelids up, and carefully examined his eye. "Concussion. Pretty bad too, although nothing he won't survive." The boy moved slightly. He blinked, opened his eyes, winced, and then closed them again. "Good, he's waking up." He moved his examination away from the head and down the neck. When he reached the chest, the boy yelped and stiffened in pain.
"Hush!" John covered the boy's mouth, and then turned to Legolas. "We'll bring him back for medical care and questioning. Bring him over to where Alexander is, and then help me pile these bodies. You too, Hamelin."
Legolas opened his mouth as if to ask something, but then closed it without a word. Walking over and lifting up the boy with surprising gentleness and care, he carried him to Alexander and placed the child against a tree, confident that he would not be moving about very soon.
As Legolas did this, the Piper and John started identifying the dead Hand members. The final count was nine dead: the Cowardly Lion, Glinda the not-so-good Witch, Hänsel, the White Rabbit, Mowgli, Miss. Muffet, the Beast, Tinkerbell, Jack, and Jill. In their own party, Bradford had been killed by Glinda, and Alexander was bleeding heavily from a wound in his side.
With a grunt, John added the body of Jill to the pile he was making. Suddenly, he heard a small whine of fear from behind him. Whipping around, he saw that the figure of a man was stirring. In a flash, Legolas had crossed to him.
John quickly followed. He looked at the man and gave a bark of laughter. "Well, well, well… Howard Hatchett. So you thought that the Hand had more to offer you? Well, they sure aren't going to offer you a rescue mission, that's for sure. Tie him up. The Grimms will get some information out of him."
Legolas reached down and picked up the man, bringing him over and setting him next to Pan, tying them up deftly, as if he had done it on uncountable occasions. He stood up and surveyed the clearing, his eyes falling on Alexander, who was leaning against a tree, his hand presses to his side. "Are you well enough to travel back, or do you require a field dressing…?" he asked quietly.
The man looked at the elf with a confused expression. "I… my brother, is he okay? Malcolm? Does he know that… that Brad… died?"
Legolas cocked his head and surveyed the man for a few seconds as if trying to figure out a puzzle. "I know not…" he said absentmindedly, as if distracted. "Might you wish to find and inform him?"
At that moment, Malcolm saw the body. "No… Brad?" He gently shook his brother. "Bradford! Wake up! Wake…up…" His voice became constricted, and tears welled up in his eyes.
John crossed from where he was bandaging Pan's head and put a hand on Malcolm's shoulder. "We need to go now. It is too dangerous to stay here; the sound of the fight will probably draw more Hand members to this spot." When the man had no response, John beckoned the Piper over. He muttered "Lead Malcolm back to the camp, and take Alexander with you. I'll bring Bradford's body back."
The Piper nodded, and helped the shocked Malcolm to his feet. He hoisted Alexander into his arms, and started back to the Fort. Then John lifted the limp figure of Bradford, and started after them.
Legolas carefully lifted the limp form of Pan into his arms. Giving the rope that tied Hatchett's hands together a small tug, he followed behind the others. He could feel tremors reverberating up the rope as his captive shook in fear.
- X -
After making the journey back to the Fort in record time, John and Legolas brought the various members of their injured patrol to the medical tent. John instructed Legolas to stay and explain to Nurse Sprat what had happened. He then went to find Robin, to whom he quickly explained the details of Bradford's death. He left Robin with the orders to let Cindy-also known as Cinderella-know what had happened to her surrogate son, and started searching for Charming.
He found him leaving the Mess Hall with Snow. Pulling them aside, John urgently said, "We need to call another emergency meeting about Legolas. Now."
Charming's mouth twitched and he frowned. "Trouble on the patrol, John?"
John nodded. "Yes. We were ambushed by eleven Hand members."
Snow's eyes widened. "What? And you escaped? Who was in your party?" she demanded.
"Hamelin, Malcolm, Alexander, and Bradford. And Legolas."
"Who did we lose?"
"Only Bradford. Legolas has proved himself to be an excellent fighter in the field. He saved us, distracting the patrol when we were unprepared. He took out Glinda with extreme speed, and working together we had the Beast down in a matter of moments."
Snow and Charming exchanged a surprised glance. "The Beast is dead?"
"Yes. This is why we need to call another meeting. I think that Legolas needs to be removed from patrol duty immediately."
- To Be Continued -
PenguinLoverGurl ~ Super glad you liked that part, it took us awhile to get exactly what we were trying to communicate phrased in a way that was, you know, easy to read and grammatically correct.
Yes... Sabrina has got a bit of a crush... and on this strange elven visitor to boot! But seriously... who wouldn't?
Well, it doesn't take us quite that long, but we do take our time to get everything JUST RIGHT, as you may have noticed... perhaps "take our time" is a bit of an understatement. I don't know, is a good few months "taking our time"...?
Hope to see your account in the future! Do you have any stories planned? Can't wait to read them!
Lurvies!
-Archer Princess-
Namarie,
Vanimalion