A Grudge Close to Home
Meila leaned across the table, took Legolas´ hands into her own and looked into his eyes.
Surprised by her gesture, he looked up and knew at the same moment that he should not have done so. They had only returned to the woman´s cozy cottage a few moments ago and the elf was immensely grateful to be finally sitting down again. He was both exhausted beyond words and full of resolve, and he knew that his guard was down. His plans must haven been written all over his face. Meila´s next words only confirmed his reasoning.
"You will NOT walk out of my house on that injured leg", she said firmly. "Nor will you run on it, or tiptoe on it, or use any other means to move that involves this limb. Elf or not, the injury was too severe to be careless about. I will not be responsible for an immortal marring his iternal life due to his impatience."
Legolas did not react at first, but neither did he bother to school his features into innocense. It would have been an insult to Meila´s intelligence. Instead, he searched for words that would both convey the truth and persuade his hostess. It was not an easy task, especially considering his tiredness, and thus took a while.
Meila did not interrupt his thoughts, she merely let go of his hands, her point made, and leaned back with her arms folded across her chest. She looked tired, too, the elf noticed absently, and he could tell that she had been crying.
"In the stable, shortly before you came, I listened to a conversation between two men", he finally began. "They were talking about my friends. About harming them. I cannot let that happen."
The woman´s eyebrows rose, She had clearly not expected her patient to be this open, and neither had she suspected him to gather such news while talking to an upset horse.
"My neighbour would never do such a thing", she answered. "You must have been mistaken."
Legolas shook his head. "Nay, mistress, the conversation was not that close. I cannot tell exactly where it was coming from, but by my estimation it must have been towards the edges of the village, maybe even slightly beyond."
Her eyes widened before a short smile fulttered across her face. "Ah, forgive me, I forget that your senses are not as limited as mine. Did you recognize the voices?"
The elf sighed in frustartion. "Sadly, no. I would probably be able to match them to their owners should I hear them again, but there are more pressing things to do than looking for them."
"Things that involve walking on that leg of yours", Meila commented dryly. Legolas could not quite manage to bite back a smile at her insistence.
"Truly, my lady, no. I do not mean to walk at all." He watched her slightly angry disbelielf for a heartbeat before finishing the thought. "The horse would do all the walking."
"The horse?" Her voice rose a bit. "You mean THAT horse?" She pointed into the direction of her neighbour´s stable. "The horse that is too wild to even be approached? Well, that is such a comforting thought. Instead of walking on a severly injured leg, you intend to get more of your bones shattered!"
"He shall not attempt to throw me off", the elf replied quietly. "I already asked his premission. He is eager to help."
The woman was already shaking her head. "I am well prepared to believe that you can hear conversations too far away for me to even guess about. But I have never heard of elves taking to animals, at least not outside of tall tales that also involve flying carpets and walking rocks." Her eyes flashed angrily.
"We cannot talk to them the way we talk to each other, that is true, but we can – communicate. We can convey the most basic ideas. Such as a plea for help." He held her gaze steadily. "I am not lying to you and if you so wish, I shall prove it to you. I appreciate your concern for my well-being."
It took only a moment for her anger to melt away. "I shall hold you to that promise", she said grudgingly. " I also need to pont out that riding is only slightly better than walking."
"But better it is!" He smiled briefly at his victory, but there was more he needed to talk about and his expression turned serious again. "Meila, it seems that the offer to search for the poachers together was nothing but a ruse. At least one of the villagers that left with my friends did so with evil intentions. What can you tell me about the three of them?"
The woman´s gaze turned thoughtful. "Marush and Boran I have known since they were little lads", she began. "I have tended to their colds and one or the other broken bone. They are good, steady men, truthful husbands and fathers. They are nor perfect by far and sometimes their fists are faster than their brains, especially if they have been drinking, but they are not evil souls."
"Could any of them hold a grudge against Lord Elrond?" Legolas asked. "It seems to me that whoever is behind this wants to destroy the peace between men and elves in this realm."
Meila shook her head. "Nay, my young lord. There would be no reason for them to hate elves. It is true that there has been much – legend about elves lately, because our last close contact is remembered by so few, but none except Botham has ever expressed hate or even anger towards anybody in Imladris. And his feelings are too fresh to be the cause of all this."
Legolas had concluded that much about Botham himself, even though he did not doubt that by now, the man would probaly aid anybody who plotted against the immortals. It angered him that the plan to poison the villagers´ feelings towards the elves was already working. He had always admired the way Lord Elrond kept a balance between protecting an elven community and linking it to the villages beyond. His own father had a slightly more restrictive approach that he understood but not always welcomed.
"What can you tell me about Galoth then?"
Meila tilted her head in thought. "Not too much, really. He only joined our community last winter but since then, his skills with the bow have been an asset to us. He is an expert hunter, so..."
Her voice trailed off. "Do you believe that he started all this? But why?"
The elf could do nothing but shrug. "I do not accuse him of anything, and neither do I know his intentions. But as a relative stranger he at least seems most likely to be the deceiver."
Meila leaned back with a sigh. "It was he who suggested the joint effort. Why would he have done so? It seemed to ease the tension and appease even those who had been on Botham´s side."
"Do you truly belive that your council would have decided to harm Lord Elrond´s sons? Think about it. Our capture happened with both Botham and Galoth present, and emotions must have run high. But in time it seems that most humans here came to their senses."
The woman looked surprised, but she nodded. "You are correct! And without my husband´s...and he was..."
She was unable to finish, but Legolas understood her nonetheless. Her husband´s death had pushed the receding anger to a new height, and it had been carried out by bow and arrow. Galoth´s favoured weapons.
Now it was the elf´s turn to seize Meila´s hands. "Please, mistress, think back to recent months. What has Galoth ever said about his past that could at least hint at his reasons?"
Tears leaked from her eyes but he could tell that she was sorting through her memories. "It is rather unsual for anyone truly new to join a village", she said at last. "Few humans ever roam far from their homes except for the rangers, and they are not known for ever settling down. I do recall that Galoth said he came from farther east, that he had been trying to make a living..." She suddenly faltered, and a new understanding filled her eyes."...near Mirkwood. But he said it was impossible to live there."
A sudden cold settled in Legolas´ heart. Could it truly be that the man´s hatred stemmed from his realm, not this one? That an experience with wooldland elves had led to a hatred now directed against any immortal? If so, Imladris was certainly the easier target, precisely because it was much more open towards strangers than Mirkwood had ever been.
He shuddered at the thought how his father would have reacted had he and Elrond´s sons been abducted close to his home. There was no doubt in his mind that the village would no longer be standing.
Some of his shock must have registered on his face, because Meila squeezed his hands. "Did I upset you?" she asked kindly. "Do you have relations in Mirkwood? I heard it was a hauntingly beautiful but troubled place."
It took Legolas a moment to get over his surprise. He was so commonly associated with his home – and often enough his father – that he was slightly taken aback by her lack of knowledge. It was only now that he realized the twins must have changed his torn and bloodied clothes at some point, because he no longer wore his custom shades of green. To the villagers he must have been an Imladris elf without question. He briefly wondered whether they would have all fared differently had his home and position there been obvious to Galoth, but then pushed the thought aside.
He realized that Meila was still awaiting an answer and decided to be honest with her. She deserved no less. "My father is king in Mirkwood", he said simply. "If Galoth truly has suffered anything he considers injustice there, my people must have been involved."
It took the woman a moment to digest this news, but she did so with admiringly little trouble. "You must be more than careful then", she sighed. "I still do not approve of you leaving my house, but by the Valar, now I understand you must."
She suddely rose from her chair and disappeared into her bedchamber, only top return with his knives and quiver and a bow. "Lord Elladan gave these to me before he left", she explained. "It seems he has inhertited the abilities his father is rumoured to have."
"Indeed." Legolas allowed his hands to travel across his weapons´s hilts, feeling strengthened by the familiar contact. "Now if you would help me to steal a wild horse before dawn, I am ready to seek out Galoth and demand an explanation."
Meila smiled. "Steal? No, young prince of the woods. But I shall borrow it for you. I am certain my neighbour will not mind too much if I ask his permission long after you are gone."
/
It was still dark outside, the mists of morning only just beginning to creep from the meadows, when Legolas tried to get comfortable on the grey stallion´s back. He felt a bit stronger than the day before, though he was grateful that Meila had so readily helped him. Especially that she had provided a stool to assist him mount the animal. As degrading as it had been, he knew it had spared him a lot of pain.
They had to make haste, for soon the men appointed to guard him would reappear before Meila´s house.
The old woman was standing beside him, her eyes taking in any reaction of both himself and the horse. "Well then", she declared after a little while, " it seems that this wild beast has no intentions of getting rid of you. So elves are truly able to talk to animals. I shall remember that." She handed him a leather bag. "Water and food and more healing supplies, in the unlikely case you should need them."
He ironic tones made her more simliar to Lord Elrond than she would ever know.
"Please be careful, young prince. I would be most displeased if the effort I put into your recovery – not to mentian your flight - should prove in vain."
He inclined his head. "I promise to do my very best. Do not let down your own guard, Meila. You need to convince people that you had no part in my departure. Feel free to let them believe I stole the horse."
She was already turning away from him, one hand waving dismissively. "Do not worry about my old felsh and bones. With you gone, what interest in me should they have?"
The elf could only hope that she did not underestimate the impact of her actions. With a sigh, he turned the stallion towards the path his friends had also taken. "Let the search begin, my friend."
The stallion eagerly jumped into a slow gallop, his grey bulk soon swallowed by the rising mist.
Behind them, hidden behind a small cottage, the shadow of a man slowly rose from his crouch and briskly walked away.
To be continued...
A big hug and and THANK you to all who read and review!
Review responses:
Rose61393: You had a good instinct what Galoth is concerned. Thanks!
Guest: Thanks – to me this is the perfect hobby *g*
Peredhel: Lol! Good luck trying to keep ahead of those bunnies, they are quite fast. Thanks for your comment.
SnoCat: I know what you mean, that´s why I never read unfinished stories *g* I promise to be as fast as possible.
All-for-the elves: You are SO correct (I had written Legolas´ dialog before you posted this – what a coincidence!)
Horsegirl01: Here you go, a Legolas chapter again – and now he rides to the rescue... OK, so he´ll not be alone, but we don´t want things to be too easy, do we?
Sehellys: LOL, it´s been quite a while, so who could know? Great to have you back and thanks for the kind comments.
bettsam0731: Yep – see, he´s already on the move!
Pip the Dark Lord of All: Thanks – and I promise more trouble...