Truce
Estel stood rooted by the window. He felt like time itself slowed down, then sped up again when the shouts of murder mingled with those calling for revenge. Revenge against elves.
His eyes sought the still figure of Elrond who remained standing in front of the house. The elf lord did not say anything, did not partake in the heated discussion that broke out amongst the men guarding the cottage, even though the boy could clearly hear that some of them wanted to retaliate against the elves by killing him. By killing Legolas too.
Estel looked behind himself at the sleeping elf, his heart in is throat. His friend looked a lot better now that color had returned to his face and his eyes were half open. Yet he was utterly defenseless and the boy knew with sickening certainty that he could not provide the protection he had promised.
"Bring them!" A loud voice suddenly shouted through the village. "Bring them to the meeting hall!" Estel caught a glimpse of Erlond, armed men closing in on him, before the door was roughly pushed open and a villager burst in, grabbing him by the arm. Another man shoved past them towards Legolas and to Estel´s horror tried to drag the elf to his feet.
It dimly registered with the young human that it was a blessing that his friend was still under the influence of the strong sleeping draught, for otherwise the pain would have been excruciating.
As it was, the elf did not even cry out. Obviously, he did not get to his feet, either. The man dropped Legolas´ arm, his face a mask of anger. "Stop pretending and get up!" He kicked the injured elf in the ribs with enough force to shove him backwards,
"Leave him be!" Estel had not even realized the voice was his before he slipped out of his surprised captor´s grip and threw himself across the elf. He knew in his heart that this would not still the angry villager´s fury and closed his eyes in anticipation of the next attack.
Instead, a sudden stillness filled the room. All Estel could hear was Legolas´ ragged breathing beneath him. Then Elrond ´s quiet voice said: "Continuing with this abuse would be most unwise." A calming hand patted the boy´s shoulder and he slowly raised his head to find his adopted father kneel beside him. Wide-eyed, Estel watched as Erlond gently placed Legolas back onto the blankets, speaking to him soothingly as if they were in Imladris and not surrounded by seething humans.
Even so, none of the villagers moved. Some of them looked upon the elf lord in awe, some in barely contained anger, but there seemed to be an invisible force keeping them still. Now that his own horror slowly subsided the boy could sense it too, a tingling feeling in the air that spoke of a terrible power no human would be able to withstand. The silent promise to unleash it emanated from Erlond though he never even paid attention to anything but the wounded elf in front of him. Or so it seemed.
After several breathless moments the elf lord stood up, a hand on Estel´s arm urging the boy to stand aswell.
"It seems we should move on now", he said with a voice as smooth as silk, "for I gather that our presence is asked for in the meeting hall. Shall we go?" Nervous murmurs answered him and the men filed out of the cottage. One remained behind, the look upon his face drawn but determined. "We will need to have a guard with him", he said, pointing at Legoas. "Just to be sure."
Elrond nodded with a smile. "Thank you, that is very considerate, even though I am fairly certain that none of your fellows shall try harm him again." Leaving the man behind with a puzzled look on his features, they left the cottage.
The heated anger that had erupted after the news of Miran´s murder seemed to have calmed to a smoldering anticipation by the time they had reached the meeting hall, a round, thatched building in the middle of the village.
Even though they were surrounded by armed men once more on their way there, Estel felt safe at his father´s side, wrapped in his protective cloak of invisible power.
"Fear not for Legolas", Erlond quietly told him. "No serious damage was done to him." "Nor will any be added while we are gone", the boy added with a conviction that surprised him. A knowing smile spread on the elf lord´s face. "Aye, my son." Nothing else needed to be said.
When they entered the meeting hall, the bustle of voices inside suddenly died away. Estel found the house to be empty of furniture except for two platforms in the middle. On one of them he saw his elven brothers, carefully guarded but unhurt and unafraid.
On the other stood Breeth, the village´s spokesman, with a nervous expression on his face. The rest of the villagers were gathered around the platforms. Many faces were flushed in anger, and the eyes they turned on Elrond and Estel burned. Now that it was quiet, gentle sobs could be heard. The boy looked around for their source, and finally spotted Meila. She stood at the foot of the twin´s platform, her head resting on the rough wood, and cried.
His adopted father had obvioulsy seen her, too, because after a short moment to survey their surroundings he pruposefully strode in her direction. Estel followed, slightly awed by the way the people parted in front of them to make room.
Meila seemed to sense their approach for she suddenly straightened. When she recognized Elrond she let go of the platform and even took a few steps to meet him, her eyes bright with tears but also filled with stubborn strength. She bowed her head and said in a rough voice: "Well-met, my lord. I see you once again come to us in a time of need."
"Only too late to spare you from grief." He touched her shoulder briefly. "I am sorry."
They stood gazing at one another for a moment, then Erlond turned to nod at his sons before he walked towards Breeth, lightly jumping onto the platform to stand beside him. Estel remained with Meila, who took his hand and squeezed it gently.
"Well met, Breeth", the elven lord said. His voice remained quiet but it easily carried through the meeting hall. "I am truly sorry for the sadness that has befallen your people."
"And yours", the man replied with a short incline of the head, "though current events suggest that there might be an elf who is less than saddened."
A buzz of murmuring erupted at that but died down quickly when the door to the meeting hall opened yet again. This time, a group of men entered carrying the still figure of Miran.
Estel heard Meila gasp beside him and he gave her a worried look, scared that she might collapse in grief. The woman breathed heavily through the tears that streamed down her cheeks but she did not take her gaze away when her husband was laid upon the platform that held Elrond and Breeth. Both knelt down as one, examining the dead man and the arrows that stuck from his chest.
It was Elrond who rose first. "There is no doubt", he said sadly. "These are elven arrows." He looked towards the twins. "They belong to my son, Elladan."
This time, there was no quieting the angry voices. Estel felt Meila wrap an arm around him protectively as the mass of villagers around them moved as one, like water stirred into waves by a mighty storm. He could only understand single words amidst the shouts, but those were enough to freeze his heart. "Kill them!" "Unnatural creatures!"
Just when he thought he could take it no more, Breeth´s shout cut through the din. "Silence!" he thundered in a voice that carried far more authority than the boy would have given him credit for. "There will be no senseless killing in these halls!"
At the same time, he felt the familar tingling of Erlond´s quiet interference, and together, the man and the elf managed to smooth the uproar into nothing more but heated whispers.
Breeth turned to Elrond, his face grave. "You cannot fault my people for their anger", he said, "for who should they blame but those whose weapons were involved?"
Instead of reacting to the statement, Elrond let his gaze travel across the assembled humans. He turned slowly, calmly, until he had found the one he had been looking for. "My greetings to you, Melthon, father of Teila", he called to a man. "It is you I came to speak to, aswell as my sons."
A circle cleared around a villager that looked vaguely familiar to Estel. Under the gaze of the elven lord he quickly snatched his cap off his head and lowered his eyes when he said: "Any news of my child, my lord?"
Elrond smiled warmly. "Indeed. I am happy to say that your daughter is mending. We shall return her to you within a month, I believe, and you no longer need to fear for her life."
A sigh burst from the man´s lips, tears trickling down his cheeks, and his relief seemed to ease some of the tension in the room.
Elrond waited for a monent as if expecting another reaction of some sort, frowing when none, was forthcoming, and then addressed Breeth again. "Why would we struggle to heal your people when it was us harming them?"
A voice from the crowd answered for the spokesman. "Who will ever now? Your minds do not work like ours!"
Elrond cocked his head. "They do not? Do you believe that we do not fear for the lives of our loved ones? That we do not bristle at injustice committed against the innocent? What makes you so certain that we are different in that respect?"
"The fact that your own son killed our elder!" an angry man shouted from the back of the crowd. "You all but confessed so yourself!"
Once more the heat rose in the faces and words around them. Breeth had just opened his mouth to speak when suddenly a third man jumped onto the platform beside him, bow in hand. The hiss of an arrow could be heard, taking with it all other noise as the villagers fell into a stunned silence, and slammed into a beam by the door.
It was an elven arrow once more. The man on the platform looked around at his fellow villagers with a challenge on his face. "An elven arrow", he called. "But do I look like an elven archer? We removed the arrows from our prisoners. Anyone could have taken them!"
Estel had been so shocked by the sudden action that he had forgotten to breathe and now sucked in air in a gulp. He recognized the man well enough, for he had found himself threatened by his arrows before. He would have never expected him to offer the elves any assistance.
"Indeed not", Breeth ground out, his face pale. "But you will not raise your weapon again without my bidding, is that understood, Galoth?" The archer nodded with a thin grin.
"A point well made", Erlond commented. "And if you ask the brave men protecting the cottage that held my sons, I believe you will find them testify that no-one left under their guard."
Murmurs of agreement rose, supporting the elf´s claim.
"But where does this leave us?" Breeth asked tiredly. "I agree your sons had no opportunity to kill Miran, but why in the name of the Valar should any of us have committed such a deed?"
"Maybe it was neither one of you nor one of us", Elrond provided. "Think about what has happened so far. Traps have been laid along the borders of my realm. I confess that we considered human poachers to be the culprits, while your suspicion was directed against us."
His gaze travelled the crowd, seeking their attention. "And yet, what sort of poachers are these? They do not come back to their traps to claim their spoils. They lace their traps with poison that torments those that are trapped but does not kill them unless someone attempts to heal their hurts."
He turned back to Breeth, his gaze sharp. "What does this tell you, spokesman?"
The man answered slowly. "It tells me someone wants us to engage in acts of hatred against one another. It tells me we should be separated." He looked up to meet Erlond´s eyes. "But why?"
"To that, I have no answer."
For a moment, there was silence. To everybody´s surprise it was the archer who spoke next. "Let me make a suggestion then, based upon your findings. And please, let me speak until I am done, for what I have to say will not meet everyone´s approval."
When both Breeth and Elrond nodded to him, he continued.
"Should the conclusion just drawn here be correct, we need to attempt to solve this mystery together. I say we send out a small party to investigate what has happened. I volunteer to go for the village and would ask two more able men to stand by my side. For the elves, Lord Elrond´s sons could join us."
Uneasy whispers greeted his words. One man spoke up. "But how do we know this is safe? It is no secret that elves are stronger than men, and Lord Elrond´s sons are rumored to have slain whole bands of orcs on their own..."
Galoth held up his hand. "I for one trust the elves, especially considering how they have been framed today. But to ease everybody´s mind, I say we also take the boy along. I can tell he is beloved by the elves, and as such he may act as a – token for their loyalty."
Elrond´s eyes narrowed dangerously, and Estel heard the twins shift on the platform before him. It surprised him how calm he felt at the suggestion. He sought his elven father´s gaze and held it, nodding his head ever so slightly.
He could feel the scrutiny of the sharp grey eyes, could see a rare flicker of indecision in the elven lord´s steady gaze, but then Elrond turned to Galoth and Breeth.
"Agreed", he said, his tones clipped. "But I will take the wounded elf with me. He is of no use to you here."
The archer sighed, his posture weary. "I disagree, my lord, with all due respect. It is true that our strength does not match yours by far. Should we discover that it is truly an elf who seeks to pit us against one another, we shall all rest more easily knowing that you would use your considerable power to prevent an attack of retaliation against our village."
"You consider it necessary to keep a hostage?" Estel could see how the healer warred with the leader inside his father. "Who guarantees his safety?"
"I do", Breeth said. "I shall have him guarded by my most trusted men."
"And one trusted woman", Meila spoke up. She locked her still tear- shining eyes with Erlond´s. "I will see to it that his recovery continues."
Silence fell in the meeting hall. It was clear that the villagers were ready to agree, but Elrond still stood lost in thoughts. Estel watched him closely. He had heard his father speak of such situations before when they had discussed troubles of the past. He had heard him speak for alliances and trust, had heard him describe the hardships of compromise.
His adopted father looked up to seek out his twin sons, who remained as silent as before but returned his gaze. The boy could sense their mute communication, the way they spoke their minds to each other without uttering a word.
Finally, the elf lord nodded. "I agree, but do not be mislead. Should the signs speak against someone in this village, I expect this person to be brought to justice. Seek protecting him at my sons´ expense or that of the elf we leave in your care, fear my wrath."
He allowed his words to spread their resosnace through the hall before he continued: "I will return to Imladris today to continue my work on a swift remedy for the poison used in the traps, should anyone get caught in them again. My hunters patrol the borders of my lands as we speak, and any discovery they make shall be shared with you."
He nodded at Breeth and Galoth, then at his sons, and turned to leave. The crowd parted before him as it had done when he had entered. At the door, he turned back and adressed the villagers one last time. "I missed one man who I had expected to be at this meeting. Be wary of Botham, for his grief may well have robbed him of the ability to differentiate between friend and foe."
Then he was gone, and soon the steady hoofbeats of a lone horse were lost in the distance. Voices erupted around Estel as if a spell had been broken, and for a moment he felt cold, bereft of the protective presence that had supported him during the meeting.
Then he felt a hand on his left shoulder, soon to be joined by one on his right when the twins appeared by his side. "Well, brother". Elladan said, his eyes holding a mixture of appreciation and worry, "it would seem that your adventure with us is not over just yet."
To be continued...
A big warm THANK YOU to all readers and reviewers – you make my day!
Review responses:
SnowGlory: Nope, not really *g*
Guest: I certainly will, thank you.
SnoCat: I´m sorry – but he had to die (blame the plot bunny...) And now Elrond has left again already *evil grin*
Horsegirl01: Hm – yep, I liked him too and I´m pretty sure he will not be the last one to die before the story is over...Concerning the contest, for me it´s not really about winning either but about all the fun. We all learn from it *smiles*
GreyLynx: Thank you! I´m very happy you liked it and I hope you were content with Elrond´s skills in this chapter. Keep the reviews coming.
Peredhel: Erm - *backs away slowly* - no harm inteded, I swear. Plus, I´m unarmed. It´s the plot bunny that has sharp teeth. Plus, I´ve updated fairly quickly – I hope *turns and runs*