Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Wow, prom was awesome! McAuley had it at the Marriott, here in Chicago. It was so beautiful. Food sucked but everything else was great. We even ended up getting an Excursion limo! OK, I'm rambling. Back to the story. Thanks for all of your great reviews; they were all most encouraging. Sorry for the cliffhanger, though. We now return to see how our heroine - I mean hero - is faring. Onward!
For the Neurotic Squirrel who was practically having a heart attack if I held out on updating this thing any longer. You can breath a sigh of relief now, and I hope this satisfies you!
The Problem with Elves
Ch. 3 - Savior
By: Kate
Legolas felt his strength suddenly fail him and his legs gave way. The only thing supporting him was whoever had a hold on his wrists.
"Please...stop..." whispered the young prince.
"WENCH!!" a deep, gruff voice yelled out and heads swiveled at this war cry. Even the three baboons that were harassing Legolas ceased their torment and looked for the source of the voice. "Damn wench! Bloody female and your wanderings! I thought I told you to stay in the room!" Legolas' mouth dropped. He knew that rough tone. People were being shoved aside, but the aggressor was not to be seen, due to his short stature. A few confused shoppers were elbowed out of the way, and Gimli appeared through the crowd, coming towards Legolas and his attackers. The Mirkwood prince breathed a sigh of relief. A, yallume!
"Oy! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing with her! She's mine, now get your paws off of her!" Legolas faltered...what was Gimli doing? The dwarf marched right up to the three men, axe in hand, and spun the man called Horace around to face him. Gimli stared up at the large man, a defiant look on his face, despite the fact that he only came up to the man's midriff.
"Who the devil are you?" demanded Horace.
"That's no business of ye. What matters is that you've got something of mine," Gimli returned, pointing at Legolas with his axe. "I want her back." Legolas shoved the men, hard, and made a move to Gimli. Just then, his head was jerked back as one of the men wrapped their grimy hands in his tresses, preventing any escape. His head was yanked back and he found himself looking up at the night's first stars, his pale throat exposed in the dusk. One of the men brought his face close the curve of his throat, sniffing the smooth flesh. Legolas felt the man's ratty whiskers and cringed, a small whimper escaping his lips. Gimli's heart skipped a beat. He had to think quickly...
"Well," chuckled Horace, "I don't think we want to give 'er back, do we boys?" The men slapped their stomachs and laughed.
"Well that's really too damn bad. Ye don't want her anyway...nothing but trouble, this one." Legolas gasped. "Shut your mouth, girl! Don't say a bloody thing! You'll get yours when we get back to the inn!" Legolas glared. "She's been through the mill, she has, "Gimli continued. "Not much left to her. Dirty thing if ye ask me, crawling with who knows what."
"Now really! That's quite enough!" Legolas cried. He meant to make his anger further known, but was stopped by a rough blow to the face; one of the men had backhanded him. Legolas saw stars, and a coppery taste was seeping into his mouth. He knees began to buckle...
"That's enough!" roared the dwarf. "Ye'll not be damaging my property. Now hand her over, and I mean it!" The men paused for a moment, then with looks of disgust on their faces, they gave Legolas a rough shove and he stumbled into Gimli. "Get going, wench," growled Gimli, with a slap on Legolas' buttocks.
"Yee!" Legolas gasped. "Tanya awra! What do you think you are doing?"
"Shhh! Play along and just keep moving; we're not out of your little mess yet, lad," Gimli muttered.
"Take 'er. I sure as 'ell don't want no damn diseases! Trashy whore!" With that the three disappointed men ambled off, and the crowd dispersed, acting as though nothing unusual had just taken place. Gimli scowled and hurried back the way he came, running to catch up with his unsteady companion.
Legolas stumbled and Gimli caught him around the waist and held him steady. Legolas pushed him roughly away, but Gmili held fast to his arm. "Let go of me," the young prince demanded. "How dare you embarrass me so!" He turned his head away, staring up at the stars. For once Gimli didn't flare up at his friend's stubborn pride. He just stood there, watching the angelic figure. The poor creature looked a mess. His clothing was dirty and mussed, his tunic had a tear near the neckline, and his blue shirt was opened wide exposing a bruised neck. His hair was tangled, his face was grimy, an angry purple bruise was forming on his right cheek and jaw line, and blood trickled down his chin from a cut on his lip. He stood, massaging his back and neck, gasping for breath and trembling all over. Gimli placed a comforting hand on his best friend's lower back, frowning as he felt the elf wince in pain.
"I'm sorry, mellonamin. You save my life and I lash out at you."
"Don't think on it. I should have come sooner...Can you walk alright? You look a bit unstable."
"Twas not your fault, Gimli. I should have listened to Aragorn and dragged your lazy bottom out of bed. Yes, I think I can."
The two companions were quiet for some time, as they walked back to the inn. The only sound was Legolas's laboured breathing; a sharp pain went through his back every time he took a breath.
"You saved my life. They were trying to kill me, I think."
"They weren't trying to kill you, but they could have..."
Legolas looked at him curiously. "How do you mean?"
Gimli sighed. "You are innocent, aren't you Legolas? Humans are strange creatures...greedy, lustful. They were planning on taking your purity, and such an act would have broken your spirit." Legolas swallowed, wincing as he did so. He gripped Gimli's shoulder for support.
"I owe you so much..."
"Come with me to the Glittering Caves and we'll call it a deal. Oh, and next time you decide to take a little adventure, let me know?"
Legolas gave a week smile; his face hurt like hell. By now they had reached the front door of the inn.
"Aragorn will be furious. You know he's going to make a fuss over you and make you sit for medical attention," Gimli laughed. Neither Aragorn or Legolas will be pleased with this. He'd always heard that elves are excellent healers and frightful patients. He pushed open the door when Legolas touched his arm.
"Gimli wait..."
Gimli turned to his friend, seeing something in his eyes he had never seen before: humility.
"Thank you."
Gimli smiled. "What are friends for?" They both went inside, eager for a good night's rest. "You know Legolas," Gimli began, "the problem with you elves is that you're all so damn pretty." He ducked a well-aimed swing from Legolas, laughing as he led his best friend up to Aragorn's room.
#############
The end! Sorry it took so long to get this up; I decided to do some more editing. I still think the ending is kind of bad though, but I figured I might as well post it as is or it'll never be posted. How did you like? The theme was slightly dark, and I hope no one took any offense to it. Sorry my Elvish is so mediocre. I'm working on developing it. Thank you for those who reviewed. I feel so special. On to bigger and better things now! Translations:
"A, yallume!" = Ah, at last! "Yee!" = Eek! "Tanya awra!" = That hurt! "mellonanim" = my friend
A/N: Wow, prom was awesome! McAuley had it at the Marriott, here in Chicago. It was so beautiful. Food sucked but everything else was great. We even ended up getting an Excursion limo! OK, I'm rambling. Back to the story. Thanks for all of your great reviews; they were all most encouraging. Sorry for the cliffhanger, though. We now return to see how our heroine - I mean hero - is faring. Onward!
For the Neurotic Squirrel who was practically having a heart attack if I held out on updating this thing any longer. You can breath a sigh of relief now, and I hope this satisfies you!
The Problem with Elves
Ch. 3 - Savior
By: Kate
Legolas felt his strength suddenly fail him and his legs gave way. The only thing supporting him was whoever had a hold on his wrists.
"Please...stop..." whispered the young prince.
"WENCH!!" a deep, gruff voice yelled out and heads swiveled at this war cry. Even the three baboons that were harassing Legolas ceased their torment and looked for the source of the voice. "Damn wench! Bloody female and your wanderings! I thought I told you to stay in the room!" Legolas' mouth dropped. He knew that rough tone. People were being shoved aside, but the aggressor was not to be seen, due to his short stature. A few confused shoppers were elbowed out of the way, and Gimli appeared through the crowd, coming towards Legolas and his attackers. The Mirkwood prince breathed a sigh of relief. A, yallume!
"Oy! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing with her! She's mine, now get your paws off of her!" Legolas faltered...what was Gimli doing? The dwarf marched right up to the three men, axe in hand, and spun the man called Horace around to face him. Gimli stared up at the large man, a defiant look on his face, despite the fact that he only came up to the man's midriff.
"Who the devil are you?" demanded Horace.
"That's no business of ye. What matters is that you've got something of mine," Gimli returned, pointing at Legolas with his axe. "I want her back." Legolas shoved the men, hard, and made a move to Gimli. Just then, his head was jerked back as one of the men wrapped their grimy hands in his tresses, preventing any escape. His head was yanked back and he found himself looking up at the night's first stars, his pale throat exposed in the dusk. One of the men brought his face close the curve of his throat, sniffing the smooth flesh. Legolas felt the man's ratty whiskers and cringed, a small whimper escaping his lips. Gimli's heart skipped a beat. He had to think quickly...
"Well," chuckled Horace, "I don't think we want to give 'er back, do we boys?" The men slapped their stomachs and laughed.
"Well that's really too damn bad. Ye don't want her anyway...nothing but trouble, this one." Legolas gasped. "Shut your mouth, girl! Don't say a bloody thing! You'll get yours when we get back to the inn!" Legolas glared. "She's been through the mill, she has, "Gimli continued. "Not much left to her. Dirty thing if ye ask me, crawling with who knows what."
"Now really! That's quite enough!" Legolas cried. He meant to make his anger further known, but was stopped by a rough blow to the face; one of the men had backhanded him. Legolas saw stars, and a coppery taste was seeping into his mouth. He knees began to buckle...
"That's enough!" roared the dwarf. "Ye'll not be damaging my property. Now hand her over, and I mean it!" The men paused for a moment, then with looks of disgust on their faces, they gave Legolas a rough shove and he stumbled into Gimli. "Get going, wench," growled Gimli, with a slap on Legolas' buttocks.
"Yee!" Legolas gasped. "Tanya awra! What do you think you are doing?"
"Shhh! Play along and just keep moving; we're not out of your little mess yet, lad," Gimli muttered.
"Take 'er. I sure as 'ell don't want no damn diseases! Trashy whore!" With that the three disappointed men ambled off, and the crowd dispersed, acting as though nothing unusual had just taken place. Gimli scowled and hurried back the way he came, running to catch up with his unsteady companion.
Legolas stumbled and Gimli caught him around the waist and held him steady. Legolas pushed him roughly away, but Gmili held fast to his arm. "Let go of me," the young prince demanded. "How dare you embarrass me so!" He turned his head away, staring up at the stars. For once Gimli didn't flare up at his friend's stubborn pride. He just stood there, watching the angelic figure. The poor creature looked a mess. His clothing was dirty and mussed, his tunic had a tear near the neckline, and his blue shirt was opened wide exposing a bruised neck. His hair was tangled, his face was grimy, an angry purple bruise was forming on his right cheek and jaw line, and blood trickled down his chin from a cut on his lip. He stood, massaging his back and neck, gasping for breath and trembling all over. Gimli placed a comforting hand on his best friend's lower back, frowning as he felt the elf wince in pain.
"I'm sorry, mellonamin. You save my life and I lash out at you."
"Don't think on it. I should have come sooner...Can you walk alright? You look a bit unstable."
"Twas not your fault, Gimli. I should have listened to Aragorn and dragged your lazy bottom out of bed. Yes, I think I can."
The two companions were quiet for some time, as they walked back to the inn. The only sound was Legolas's laboured breathing; a sharp pain went through his back every time he took a breath.
"You saved my life. They were trying to kill me, I think."
"They weren't trying to kill you, but they could have..."
Legolas looked at him curiously. "How do you mean?"
Gimli sighed. "You are innocent, aren't you Legolas? Humans are strange creatures...greedy, lustful. They were planning on taking your purity, and such an act would have broken your spirit." Legolas swallowed, wincing as he did so. He gripped Gimli's shoulder for support.
"I owe you so much..."
"Come with me to the Glittering Caves and we'll call it a deal. Oh, and next time you decide to take a little adventure, let me know?"
Legolas gave a week smile; his face hurt like hell. By now they had reached the front door of the inn.
"Aragorn will be furious. You know he's going to make a fuss over you and make you sit for medical attention," Gimli laughed. Neither Aragorn or Legolas will be pleased with this. He'd always heard that elves are excellent healers and frightful patients. He pushed open the door when Legolas touched his arm.
"Gimli wait..."
Gimli turned to his friend, seeing something in his eyes he had never seen before: humility.
"Thank you."
Gimli smiled. "What are friends for?" They both went inside, eager for a good night's rest. "You know Legolas," Gimli began, "the problem with you elves is that you're all so damn pretty." He ducked a well-aimed swing from Legolas, laughing as he led his best friend up to Aragorn's room.
#############
The end! Sorry it took so long to get this up; I decided to do some more editing. I still think the ending is kind of bad though, but I figured I might as well post it as is or it'll never be posted. How did you like? The theme was slightly dark, and I hope no one took any offense to it. Sorry my Elvish is so mediocre. I'm working on developing it. Thank you for those who reviewed. I feel so special. On to bigger and better things now! Translations:
"A, yallume!" = Ah, at last! "Yee!" = Eek! "Tanya awra!" = That hurt! "mellonanim" = my friend