Disclaimer:
I don't own anything, everything belongs to Tolkien.(. I'd certainly love
to own a cute Elf or other, but as life goes.... The Elves have left Earth
*sniff*
Well, guys, that's my first fanfic, so please be nice und understanding. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors, breaks in style and misspelt words, for my first language is not English, although it is my favourite one for sure. Any corrections, advice and are very much appreciated. PLZ R&R!!!
DARKNESS STIRS
Chapter 1 Premonitions
He was running, his lungs aching, it felt as if an iron band was cast around them, tightening with every breath he was taking. He had never felt so exhausted, not even when he had been running after the Uruk-hai who had taken Merry and Pippin as prisoners. *Ah well, you didn't have your body nearly cut in half that time, lad, did you?* He smirked at his own thoughts. *What does Gimli always say?* "Curse the Elvish humour! They could be being eaten by a warg and the most likely thing they'd do is to complain about bad breath."
A sharp pain brought him back to reality just to see the forest floor raising to meet him *How odd...* When he hit the ground, the air was squeezed out of his lungs. He laid there gasping, his world thrown into a fast spin. He closed his eyes, fighting back the grasps of unconsciousness which threatened to engulf him. Yes, sleep was a very enticing thought at the moment. *I've just to close my eyes and everything will be alright. But...Lo!I'm an Elf .I only close my eyes when I die!* With that thought he jerked up, the sudden motion causing a tidal wave of nausea to wash over him. He groped blindly around for something to help him stand up, finally finding a tree .Leaning on it for support he started to drag himself up. Half-way to his goal his knees buckled and he fell down on his hands and knees with a sharp hiss of pain. It took him two more tries until he was able to stand on his own again. Now he was breathing so loud he was barely able to hear the fell screeches of his pursuers. They were drawing nearer.
*Run you fool, run!* He stumbled on, desperately, knowing that there was no chance, he even couldn't die fighting for he had lost his knifes and bow in the battle. *Pretty warrior you make. What would Arador say if he were her to see you?* Legolas could picture his former mentors face, sneering "Fleeing, hîr nîn? I thought you knew better than to escape while others are fighting for their life!" [my lord] He stopped dead in his tracks, his momentum carrying him on. Desperately he flung himself on the side, only just avoiding the end of the cliffs he had been unknowingly heading for. The new contact with the hard ground nearly knocked him senseless. His side was on fire. Supporting himself on his hands and knees he looked down. A long drop below him there was a wild stream swirling, breaking against numerous rocks. In his desperate mind they reminded him of huge and terrible fangs, just waiting to close on him.
Frantically he looked around him. He was surrounded. There was no escape. Realizing this, peace settled on him, even the pain seemed to diminish. *Well, that's it* Somehow the thought was comforting. With a last effort he stood up, looking defiantly into their faces, every inch the royalty he was. "You shall not have me! Elbereth Gilthoniel" And with that he turned around and jumped down into the waters.
*****************
Aragorn was riding ahead, alertly scanning the area. The journey had been uneventful so far, as expected. He sighed contentedly; apparently peace had finally settled on the realm of Gondor. Though Sauron's defeat had been several years ago, it had taken a long time and a lot of combined efforts of Gondor and Rohan to restore peace and safety in their lands, for not all dark creatures had been destroyed. Still now there were enough Orcs and wargs roaming Middle Earth to keep his men fully occupied, although the occasional squirmishes were rather unfortunate for the Orcs daring to trespass into allied realms. Not that he gave a damn about them. Legolas and his Elves had done a good job in cleansing Ithilien from evil, and his Elven colony Eryn Feredron [Northern Forest]was ever prospering and growing, a very comforting thought in a time in which the numbers of the remaining Eldar seemed to decrease by days.
Now he was here, on the way to his dearest friend, feeling as excited with anticipation as a child on his birthday.
" ...and then, with a loud splash, he fell from the tree into the pool! You should have seen him: the proud and prissy Prince of Mirkwood soaking wet, his lovely blond hair entangled with seaweed. Well, after all he's so fond of green that maybe he wasn't so bothered with it after all, though the shades of red on his face told a different story... Ahh, a vision I will treasure in my heart for all eternity!" Roaring laughter made Aragorn turn around.
Behind him rode Gimli, son of Gloin, current Lord of the Glittering Caves. Short, proud and completely uncomfortable. The way he was shifting in the saddle he might as well have been riding an anthill instead of a pony.
Next to him rode Eldarion, Aragorn's son. Aragorn felt his heart fill with pride as he regarded his offspring; he was the living proof of his parents' love. Seldom had the looks of two people been merged so perfectly like in him. While he had his father's silver eyes and the same unruly hair, the Elvish traits marked him clearly as a descendant of the Firstborn: pointed ears, pale, faintly glowing skin and an intense look full of wisdom even at such a short age as twelve. He was lithe and tall for his age, and breathtakingly handsome, destined to break many hearts in the near future. Truly his mother's son.
"A Silvan Elf falling from a tree? You must be joking! The trees would never allow such a thing! The way those Elves and trees behave they might as well be lovers. Nay Gimli, are you sure you didn't mistake a Galadhrim for Legolas?"
"But it was that annoying treehugger! Such a delightful sight..." Gimli grinned so broadly that he would have been able to swallow his axe if he'd cared to.
*Ah, the tree incident...* Aragorn chuckled. He and Gimli had made sure that Legolas would never live it down. Even now it was a running gag among them, a never failing way to swipe away the usual smug expression on Legolas' face.
"I've never seen a face as red as his" hollered Gimli.
*And if looks could kill, you would have been fulminated on the spot.* Truly, Aragorn had seldom seen the Elf so angry, casting around looks usually reserved for the minions of Sauron. *Nay, he did not kill you, Gimli, he had something far better in store for you.*
"If my memory doesn't deceive me, his face wasn't nearly as red as your beard pink..." Aragorn's voice trailed of.
"Pink?" Eldarion was trying very hard simply to sound interested, while fighting to keep a straight face. He loved to listen to the antics of his father and his two friends. "How on earth does a dwarfish beard turn pink?" he asked sweetly, his grin acquiring somewhat wolfish qualities.
"Strider!" Gimli hissed from behind, his glare shooting daggers.
Blatantly ignoring him Aragorn launched right into the tale. "Well my son, it happened somehow overnight..."
***Flashback***
Aragorn entered the dining hall, yawning. It was still too early in the morning to be up and about, even for a king, but somehow a strange foreboding had dragged him out of his sleep. After turning and tossing for a while he decided that he could as well get up and enjoy some hours of peace before the daily madhouse claimed him. He froze as he glimpsed the slender figure sitting in an overstuffed chair. Usually, the sight of Legolas with a book on his lap wasn't very frightening, but Aragorn still felt as if someone had emptied a bucket full of icy water on him.
"Good morning Legolas." The Elf glanced up at him with the utmost innocent expression.
"Morning Strider."
Aragorn's insides twitched.
"Well, what are you doing here?"
Legolas looked down at the book and the up again at the king. Elegantly arching an eyebrow he answered mildly, "Well, looks like I'm reading?", clearly questioning Aragorn's intellectual capability. Now Aragorn's insides were suffering a violent twitching fit
"Alright. What have you done to him"
"Done to whom?" Legolas asked sweetly, his gaze unwavering from Aragorn's,
"You perfectly know who I mean!", hissed Aragorn
"Why in Eru's name should I want to do anything to the dwarf, Strider?" If possible, Legolas' expression became more innocent, smiling so sweetly that it was almost possible to overlook a predatory gleam in his eyes. But only just. It made Aragorn positively sick. But before he could retort anything a tremendous yell rang through the palace. Aragorn shot a dark look at his friend who now was wearing a grin so broad it nearly split his face in two.
"LEGOLAS!!! Where's that blasted Elf? Legolas, you damn treecuddler, show yourself!"
A raging bull stampeded through the palace, drawing near to the dining hall, where Aragorn was seriously considering if a king could be prosecuted for throttling a certain Elf Lord now seated fully at ease next to him, seemingly absorbed with inspecting his impeccable fingernails.
The door burst open, and the bull stormed in. Only...it was not a bull. Nor an Orc. Even a balrog paled at comparison. It was something far more hideous.. A Dwarf with a pink beard.
Aragorn's mouth fell open as he tried to digest the vision. Before him stood Gimli, son of Gloin, Lord of the Glittering Caves, with a pink beard. It was not an ordinary pink beard, for it was braided and adorned with matching pink ribbons and... Could he glimpse rose petals? He certainly smelt their distinct scent.*Yes, the Elves are the very masters of hairstyling. Pity they're fading from Middle earth. And Legolas might be fading quicker than he himself might like...*
With a roar Gimli charged for the corner in which Aragorn and Legolas were standing. Idly Aragorn considered coming to Legolas' aid, but wisely refraining from such a suicidal action, he simply sidestepped out of the Dwarf's way. After all, he had a kingdom to rule. A swift brush and a blur caught from the corner of his eyes told him that the prince had seen to his safety by himself.
"Legolas...Wait till I lay my hands on you. My axe is yearning to trade sweet talks with you! Be still! Coward, stand still and face your foe! Face your doom!"
Legolas had quickly leapt to the opposite side of the table, and now Dwarf and Elf were both circling it with incredible speed in a merry if somewhat odd sort of dance.
"Morning Master Dwarf. Nice to see you. Is pink now the spring's new fashion?" Legolas calmly greeted his slightly irate friend as he nimbly ducked an iron vase thrown at him viciously. Now Aragorn was very seriously considering not only to throttle Thranduil's son (although Thranduil's brat was far more fitting at the moment), but to roast him slowly on fire. Yes... he certainly liked that thought. Aragorn was surprised that Dwarfs had the ability to squeak. He had never heard one to do so. But then again he had not heard of a pink Dwarf either. Gimli was clearly about to explode or suffer a stroke and was stopped short of simply upheaving the table and smashing it on the Elf's relaxed face by a beautiful and melodious voice, which now wasn't as melodious.
"What's this noise? Gimli, Legolas explain yourselves!" a stern voice commanded. As one body everybody in the room turned around to the source of the voice. Aragorn groaned, Legolas interestedly inspected the mosaic on the floor and Gimli looked suddenly as pale as the walls of the White City. Arwen Undomiel, the Evenstar, looked at them levelly, gracing each one with something simply described as 'the Look'. Lord Elrond had sometimes graced Aragorn, Elladan and Elrohir with something quite close to it, although Arwen had definitely risen it to new heights. Even Glorfindel, the twice- born Balrog slayer had flinched when being at the receiving end of her 'look'. However, when Arwen's gaze eventually rested on Gimli even she lost her composure. At first she merely gaped, then gasped. Finally, she shot a horrified look at Legolas. And then... she laughed. Oh, at first it had been just a twitching of the corners of her mouth, then the sounds of a stifled laughter till it turned into a full-grown laughing fit. She stood there holding her sides, nearly doubling over with laughter. It was more like howling. Legolas' grin broadened immensely while now the last drop of colour that might have lingered on Gimli's face fled. He looked completely dumbstruck.
*Elves,* Aragorn cursed inwardly, *one worse than the other. And I'm married to the worst one!*
Sensing his opponent's momentary distraction Legolas shot a farewell "Pink suits you, Gimli. Enhances the colour of your eyes!" and darted past them heading for the palace gardens.
*** End of flashback***
Yes, that sight had been priceless!
"... so, you see my son, crimson is not a colour only suiting Elves, but very becoming to dwarfs, too!"
With that Aragorn sent his son and his men who had listened very attentively into fits of roaring laughter, and soon all the company but a certain irate dwarf was howling with laughter.
Eldarion nearly fell of his horse, his side aching as he suddenly felt icy fingers running down his spine, leaving a dreadful feeling of ill foreboding. He had inherited that particular Elven gift of foresight from her mother, as well the ability to understand the trees.
"Ada", he said softly, ..."Ada." [Dad]
Sensing the urgency in his son's voice Aragorn turned around.
"Ada, listen!"
With a movement of his hand Aragorn silenced all of his men. He strained his ears, his head cocked to one side. He did hear nothing. Nothing at all. No bird, no animals, nor any other living beings. A dreadful feeling settled on him, urging him to unsheathe his sword.
"Ada...The trees are weeping...Elvish blood has been shed today!"
TBC.
Liked it? Hated it?
Please rate!!! My life depends on it.
Well, guys, that's my first fanfic, so please be nice und understanding. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors, breaks in style and misspelt words, for my first language is not English, although it is my favourite one for sure. Any corrections, advice and are very much appreciated. PLZ R&R!!!
DARKNESS STIRS
Chapter 1 Premonitions
He was running, his lungs aching, it felt as if an iron band was cast around them, tightening with every breath he was taking. He had never felt so exhausted, not even when he had been running after the Uruk-hai who had taken Merry and Pippin as prisoners. *Ah well, you didn't have your body nearly cut in half that time, lad, did you?* He smirked at his own thoughts. *What does Gimli always say?* "Curse the Elvish humour! They could be being eaten by a warg and the most likely thing they'd do is to complain about bad breath."
A sharp pain brought him back to reality just to see the forest floor raising to meet him *How odd...* When he hit the ground, the air was squeezed out of his lungs. He laid there gasping, his world thrown into a fast spin. He closed his eyes, fighting back the grasps of unconsciousness which threatened to engulf him. Yes, sleep was a very enticing thought at the moment. *I've just to close my eyes and everything will be alright. But...Lo!I'm an Elf .I only close my eyes when I die!* With that thought he jerked up, the sudden motion causing a tidal wave of nausea to wash over him. He groped blindly around for something to help him stand up, finally finding a tree .Leaning on it for support he started to drag himself up. Half-way to his goal his knees buckled and he fell down on his hands and knees with a sharp hiss of pain. It took him two more tries until he was able to stand on his own again. Now he was breathing so loud he was barely able to hear the fell screeches of his pursuers. They were drawing nearer.
*Run you fool, run!* He stumbled on, desperately, knowing that there was no chance, he even couldn't die fighting for he had lost his knifes and bow in the battle. *Pretty warrior you make. What would Arador say if he were her to see you?* Legolas could picture his former mentors face, sneering "Fleeing, hîr nîn? I thought you knew better than to escape while others are fighting for their life!" [my lord] He stopped dead in his tracks, his momentum carrying him on. Desperately he flung himself on the side, only just avoiding the end of the cliffs he had been unknowingly heading for. The new contact with the hard ground nearly knocked him senseless. His side was on fire. Supporting himself on his hands and knees he looked down. A long drop below him there was a wild stream swirling, breaking against numerous rocks. In his desperate mind they reminded him of huge and terrible fangs, just waiting to close on him.
Frantically he looked around him. He was surrounded. There was no escape. Realizing this, peace settled on him, even the pain seemed to diminish. *Well, that's it* Somehow the thought was comforting. With a last effort he stood up, looking defiantly into their faces, every inch the royalty he was. "You shall not have me! Elbereth Gilthoniel" And with that he turned around and jumped down into the waters.
*****************
Aragorn was riding ahead, alertly scanning the area. The journey had been uneventful so far, as expected. He sighed contentedly; apparently peace had finally settled on the realm of Gondor. Though Sauron's defeat had been several years ago, it had taken a long time and a lot of combined efforts of Gondor and Rohan to restore peace and safety in their lands, for not all dark creatures had been destroyed. Still now there were enough Orcs and wargs roaming Middle Earth to keep his men fully occupied, although the occasional squirmishes were rather unfortunate for the Orcs daring to trespass into allied realms. Not that he gave a damn about them. Legolas and his Elves had done a good job in cleansing Ithilien from evil, and his Elven colony Eryn Feredron [Northern Forest]was ever prospering and growing, a very comforting thought in a time in which the numbers of the remaining Eldar seemed to decrease by days.
Now he was here, on the way to his dearest friend, feeling as excited with anticipation as a child on his birthday.
" ...and then, with a loud splash, he fell from the tree into the pool! You should have seen him: the proud and prissy Prince of Mirkwood soaking wet, his lovely blond hair entangled with seaweed. Well, after all he's so fond of green that maybe he wasn't so bothered with it after all, though the shades of red on his face told a different story... Ahh, a vision I will treasure in my heart for all eternity!" Roaring laughter made Aragorn turn around.
Behind him rode Gimli, son of Gloin, current Lord of the Glittering Caves. Short, proud and completely uncomfortable. The way he was shifting in the saddle he might as well have been riding an anthill instead of a pony.
Next to him rode Eldarion, Aragorn's son. Aragorn felt his heart fill with pride as he regarded his offspring; he was the living proof of his parents' love. Seldom had the looks of two people been merged so perfectly like in him. While he had his father's silver eyes and the same unruly hair, the Elvish traits marked him clearly as a descendant of the Firstborn: pointed ears, pale, faintly glowing skin and an intense look full of wisdom even at such a short age as twelve. He was lithe and tall for his age, and breathtakingly handsome, destined to break many hearts in the near future. Truly his mother's son.
"A Silvan Elf falling from a tree? You must be joking! The trees would never allow such a thing! The way those Elves and trees behave they might as well be lovers. Nay Gimli, are you sure you didn't mistake a Galadhrim for Legolas?"
"But it was that annoying treehugger! Such a delightful sight..." Gimli grinned so broadly that he would have been able to swallow his axe if he'd cared to.
*Ah, the tree incident...* Aragorn chuckled. He and Gimli had made sure that Legolas would never live it down. Even now it was a running gag among them, a never failing way to swipe away the usual smug expression on Legolas' face.
"I've never seen a face as red as his" hollered Gimli.
*And if looks could kill, you would have been fulminated on the spot.* Truly, Aragorn had seldom seen the Elf so angry, casting around looks usually reserved for the minions of Sauron. *Nay, he did not kill you, Gimli, he had something far better in store for you.*
"If my memory doesn't deceive me, his face wasn't nearly as red as your beard pink..." Aragorn's voice trailed of.
"Pink?" Eldarion was trying very hard simply to sound interested, while fighting to keep a straight face. He loved to listen to the antics of his father and his two friends. "How on earth does a dwarfish beard turn pink?" he asked sweetly, his grin acquiring somewhat wolfish qualities.
"Strider!" Gimli hissed from behind, his glare shooting daggers.
Blatantly ignoring him Aragorn launched right into the tale. "Well my son, it happened somehow overnight..."
***Flashback***
Aragorn entered the dining hall, yawning. It was still too early in the morning to be up and about, even for a king, but somehow a strange foreboding had dragged him out of his sleep. After turning and tossing for a while he decided that he could as well get up and enjoy some hours of peace before the daily madhouse claimed him. He froze as he glimpsed the slender figure sitting in an overstuffed chair. Usually, the sight of Legolas with a book on his lap wasn't very frightening, but Aragorn still felt as if someone had emptied a bucket full of icy water on him.
"Good morning Legolas." The Elf glanced up at him with the utmost innocent expression.
"Morning Strider."
Aragorn's insides twitched.
"Well, what are you doing here?"
Legolas looked down at the book and the up again at the king. Elegantly arching an eyebrow he answered mildly, "Well, looks like I'm reading?", clearly questioning Aragorn's intellectual capability. Now Aragorn's insides were suffering a violent twitching fit
"Alright. What have you done to him"
"Done to whom?" Legolas asked sweetly, his gaze unwavering from Aragorn's,
"You perfectly know who I mean!", hissed Aragorn
"Why in Eru's name should I want to do anything to the dwarf, Strider?" If possible, Legolas' expression became more innocent, smiling so sweetly that it was almost possible to overlook a predatory gleam in his eyes. But only just. It made Aragorn positively sick. But before he could retort anything a tremendous yell rang through the palace. Aragorn shot a dark look at his friend who now was wearing a grin so broad it nearly split his face in two.
"LEGOLAS!!! Where's that blasted Elf? Legolas, you damn treecuddler, show yourself!"
A raging bull stampeded through the palace, drawing near to the dining hall, where Aragorn was seriously considering if a king could be prosecuted for throttling a certain Elf Lord now seated fully at ease next to him, seemingly absorbed with inspecting his impeccable fingernails.
The door burst open, and the bull stormed in. Only...it was not a bull. Nor an Orc. Even a balrog paled at comparison. It was something far more hideous.. A Dwarf with a pink beard.
Aragorn's mouth fell open as he tried to digest the vision. Before him stood Gimli, son of Gloin, Lord of the Glittering Caves, with a pink beard. It was not an ordinary pink beard, for it was braided and adorned with matching pink ribbons and... Could he glimpse rose petals? He certainly smelt their distinct scent.*Yes, the Elves are the very masters of hairstyling. Pity they're fading from Middle earth. And Legolas might be fading quicker than he himself might like...*
With a roar Gimli charged for the corner in which Aragorn and Legolas were standing. Idly Aragorn considered coming to Legolas' aid, but wisely refraining from such a suicidal action, he simply sidestepped out of the Dwarf's way. After all, he had a kingdom to rule. A swift brush and a blur caught from the corner of his eyes told him that the prince had seen to his safety by himself.
"Legolas...Wait till I lay my hands on you. My axe is yearning to trade sweet talks with you! Be still! Coward, stand still and face your foe! Face your doom!"
Legolas had quickly leapt to the opposite side of the table, and now Dwarf and Elf were both circling it with incredible speed in a merry if somewhat odd sort of dance.
"Morning Master Dwarf. Nice to see you. Is pink now the spring's new fashion?" Legolas calmly greeted his slightly irate friend as he nimbly ducked an iron vase thrown at him viciously. Now Aragorn was very seriously considering not only to throttle Thranduil's son (although Thranduil's brat was far more fitting at the moment), but to roast him slowly on fire. Yes... he certainly liked that thought. Aragorn was surprised that Dwarfs had the ability to squeak. He had never heard one to do so. But then again he had not heard of a pink Dwarf either. Gimli was clearly about to explode or suffer a stroke and was stopped short of simply upheaving the table and smashing it on the Elf's relaxed face by a beautiful and melodious voice, which now wasn't as melodious.
"What's this noise? Gimli, Legolas explain yourselves!" a stern voice commanded. As one body everybody in the room turned around to the source of the voice. Aragorn groaned, Legolas interestedly inspected the mosaic on the floor and Gimli looked suddenly as pale as the walls of the White City. Arwen Undomiel, the Evenstar, looked at them levelly, gracing each one with something simply described as 'the Look'. Lord Elrond had sometimes graced Aragorn, Elladan and Elrohir with something quite close to it, although Arwen had definitely risen it to new heights. Even Glorfindel, the twice- born Balrog slayer had flinched when being at the receiving end of her 'look'. However, when Arwen's gaze eventually rested on Gimli even she lost her composure. At first she merely gaped, then gasped. Finally, she shot a horrified look at Legolas. And then... she laughed. Oh, at first it had been just a twitching of the corners of her mouth, then the sounds of a stifled laughter till it turned into a full-grown laughing fit. She stood there holding her sides, nearly doubling over with laughter. It was more like howling. Legolas' grin broadened immensely while now the last drop of colour that might have lingered on Gimli's face fled. He looked completely dumbstruck.
*Elves,* Aragorn cursed inwardly, *one worse than the other. And I'm married to the worst one!*
Sensing his opponent's momentary distraction Legolas shot a farewell "Pink suits you, Gimli. Enhances the colour of your eyes!" and darted past them heading for the palace gardens.
*** End of flashback***
Yes, that sight had been priceless!
"... so, you see my son, crimson is not a colour only suiting Elves, but very becoming to dwarfs, too!"
With that Aragorn sent his son and his men who had listened very attentively into fits of roaring laughter, and soon all the company but a certain irate dwarf was howling with laughter.
Eldarion nearly fell of his horse, his side aching as he suddenly felt icy fingers running down his spine, leaving a dreadful feeling of ill foreboding. He had inherited that particular Elven gift of foresight from her mother, as well the ability to understand the trees.
"Ada", he said softly, ..."Ada." [Dad]
Sensing the urgency in his son's voice Aragorn turned around.
"Ada, listen!"
With a movement of his hand Aragorn silenced all of his men. He strained his ears, his head cocked to one side. He did hear nothing. Nothing at all. No bird, no animals, nor any other living beings. A dreadful feeling settled on him, urging him to unsheathe his sword.
"Ada...The trees are weeping...Elvish blood has been shed today!"
TBC.
Liked it? Hated it?
Please rate!!! My life depends on it.