Lord Of The Rings Fan Fiction ❯ Happy Easter Legolas ❯ The Search and the Slavers ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter 12

The Search and the Slavers

Elrond glanced at Thranduil, fear rippling through him. The elven king didn't quite react as he had expected. Thranduil leapt to his feet, the chair falling to the floor behind him with a crash. `What!?' he roared, eyes absolutely blazing. Not even waiting for Erestor to answer, Thranduil was out the door and racing down the hallway and not, as Elrond had believed, turning around to yell at him. This in itself was even worse because it spoke of just how deeply Thranduil cared for his son.

Elrond didn't wait but set aside his glass of wine and raced around the other side of his desk. He grabbed Erestor's arm as he passed by him and exited his study, yelling at the top of his lungs for Glorfindel and Celebrian.

Celebrian appeared shortly along with several servants and guards. Glorfindel however, failed to make an appearance and it was reported by one of the guards that he had seen two blond haired elves running through the rain to the stables outside. Clearly, Thranduil must have bumped into Glorfindel at some stage and the golden haired Noldor had learned of what had happened and had insisted on going with Thranduil. Elrond silently thanked the Vala that his friend had had sense enough not to let Thranduil go off on his own.

Quickly he and Erestor explained the situation to the assembled elves and that they must find Legolas at all costs and quickly for Thranduil was sure to be a right state if Legolas was not found soon. A deep sense of urgency had fallen upon Elrond's heart and he worried for the young prince who must surely be outside somewhere in the terribly violent thunderstorm which had drifted in not twenty minutes ago.

Almost immediately, a full scale search was underway in the House of Elrond incase Legolas may have been missed and was actually still there. Very quickly, it spread outwards and soon many elves were out in the cold beginnings of the night wrapped up in oiled cloaks and calling for the missing prince. Yet none could find him and very soon, Thranduil, Elrond and Glorfindel, who had been found by Elrond once the search had moved outside, were heading further and further away from Rivendell.

* * *

Legolas shivered slightly, more from fear than cold and hugged his knees tighter to his chest. He had been out in the rain for hours and he knew that he must be far beyond the borders of Rivendell but he cared little for this because all he could think of was how miserable he felt now and how much he wanted his father.

He desperately wished he'd never agreed to come, never even met the Noldor for that matter and that Easter had simply come and gone the way it did every year.

So sad and miserable was he that he failed to notice the descending shadows until it was too late. One soft cry of surprise was all that escaped his lips as a hand clamped over his mouth and he was dragged backwards out of the clearing in which he has been sitting.

* * *

The three elves cared little for the rain as the hours rolled by. Glorfindel seemed the most at ease amongst the three but the other two realised that inside, he was hurting just as much as they. Elrond knew this was Glorfindel's way of holding off the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him as the elf broke out into another song that neither of them had heard. Glorfindel always sang or played pranks to cover his true emotions as the twins often did and had done so since the day Elrond had met the golden haired elf.

The particular song that Glorfindel sang was just a simple traveling song but both realised it was ancient and that perhaps Glorfindel was the last person on Arda who remembered it. After a few verses, Elrond picked up the general meaning and started to sing occasional parts. It helped to lift his spirits but Thranduil would have none of it and continued to call vainly for his son though Elrond noticed that he subconsciously hummed it every now and then and he was glad that it appeared to be helping the distressed elf in some way.

Still, Elrond couldn't help but feel a little disappointed every time he caught Thranduil's gaze because it held nothing but anger and mistrust towards him. Even Glorfindel appeared to be in Thranduil's bad books for the moment despite the tentative friendship he had seen between them earlier.

It was then that the three suddenly heard a strangled cry. Thranduil quickly dismounted and whispered to his mount to stay put, then took of into the woods without waiting to see if the other two were coming. Thranduil needn't have bothered because Elrond and Glorfindel did so, both their faces grim as they readied their weapons and headed after Thranduil.

Elrond and Glorfindel were dismayed to find that there companion had vanished until Elrond suddenly spotted Thranduil briefly in the branches of an oak tree about 20 yards ahead of them. He sighed softly and shook his head, berating himself for not realizing sooner that of course Thranduil would take to the trees, he was a wood elf after all. He glanced at Glorfindel who ran silently beside him. Glorfindel saw his look and nodded, signaling that he had seen Thranduil and was well aware of what he was doing.

Soon the three elves heard more sounds of a scuffle and a fair amount of cursing. Elrond face darkened very rapidly as he realised that the voices cursing, were laced with the thick accent of the men of Umbar. Looking at Glorfindel however, Elrond became confused for the elf was wearing a very worried frown and had now almost forgone stealth for speed instead.

Thranduil suddenly roared with anger and leapt out of the last tree he had been in and right into the clearing just ahead of Glorfindel and Elrond. Stealth forgotten, Glorfindel broke into a run followed closely by Elrond. The two Noldor were shocked, to say the least, when they entered the clearing to discover Thranduil standing over the slain body of a man and Legolas, bound and gagged about a meter from his father, his eyes wide and terrified. It was clear that Thranduil had seen the men trying to capture the elfling, had leapt down out of the tree, and killed the surprised man before he had a chance to drag Legolas away when he had been fighting desperately to get free.

The blond haired elfling was absolutely filthy and hadn't seemed to notice Elrond or Glorfindel's entrance to the clearing. It appeared that he only had eyes for his father whom he was rather surprised and yet very relived to see.

The remaining men, of which there were about twelve or so, seemed to have recovered from their initial shock of their comrade's slaying and were staring furiously at Thranduil. Thranduil however, got a word in first. `How dare you try to enslave my son,' he growled out between clenched teeth in Western, eyes snapping with pure fire.

The men though, were either very stupid or very brave because they didn't flinch under the Sindarian elf's glare which Elrond was sure would have killed them all with a single blow had looks had such abilities. `How dare you kill one of our men you elvish scum!' yelled the biggest of the men and obviously the leader, stepping forward. `We do not take lightly to slavers in these parts, especially those who enslave children,' said Glorfindel icily as he stepped forward, his naked broadsword flashing threateningly in his lowered hand.

Legolas turned to stare with wide eyes at the two Noldor. He realised with a start that Elrond was also here and standing firmly beside the tall, golden elf who had spoken, eyes flashing dangerously in agreed anger with his companion's words. Legolas however, couldn't take his eyes of the one who had spoken to the slavers and was unknown to him.

He was tall and proud yet obviously not of his own kind because he wore the traditional blue shades of the Noldor. Slowly his young mind pieced everything together and at length he realised that this must be the weapons master and Elrond's friend of which he had spoken. Glorfindel…Legolas rolled the name over in his mind once it came to him and glanced back at the two Noldor to see what would transpire.

`Do you recognize these men?' said Elrond softly in elvish, his eyes never leaving the said men. `Yes,' said Glorfindel, his eyes also never leaving the men. `These are the same men who chased Thranduil and the twins into the thicket to the south of the High Pass.' Elrond nodded, that made perfect sense yet he never thought he would have lived to see the day that slavers from Umbar would stray so close to his home. Many knew of the terrible rumors of the elves of Rivendell, which Elrond, Erestor and Glorfindel had carefully planted and so far, had kept the hidden valley out of quite a lot of trouble. Elrond grimly realised that he would have to make them a bit stronger and more frightening in order to discourage unwanted guests.

`Get `em boys!' roared the leader suddenly, his patience having worn out when Elrond and Glorfindel had conversed quietly between themselves in their own tongue, little knowing how much the slavers hated elves and the elvish language.

In seconds, there was a full scale battle as the three elven lords and the slavers clashed together. Thranduil furiously protected his son and secretly, the men of Umbar were rather surprised at the sheer determination of the elven king. However, they stubbornly refused to be intimidated by the glowering Sindarian elf, which in the end, proved to be their undoing as Thranduil made quick work of his first two opponents. Now wary of the elven king, they looked for other ways to attack him.

Glorfindel and Elrond were faring just as well as they twirled and thrust at their opponents. The two Noldor were far too skilled for these clumsy men from the south and they were also far too quick.

Elrond hissed softly as he let his attention waver slightly and one of his attackers managed to slip in under his guard and deliver a shallow cut across the right side of his face from just beneath his eye all the way across his cheek. Furious with himself, Elrond expertly ducked under the swing of one opponent and then completely decapitated the man that had delivered the shallow cut to his face.

Glorfindel fared better than his friend as he relished in the feel of a moderately challenging fight due to the four men that he was currently battling. There was more of a challenge when the number was higher despite the fact that these men were pour fighters. He had little doubt that they would loose for such was the way with elves. He was a born warrior and it had been a while since he had had a decent fight so for awhile he toyed with the men, testing out their strengths and weaknesses. At length he decided that enough was enough and suddenly slew two of them in rapid succession. The third threw down his sword and bolted when he realised that Glorfindel had just been toying with him but not before he fell down dead, Glorfindel's dagger producing from between his shoulder blades.

Glancing around for the last attacker, he spotted the man currently engaged with Thranduil, his leader beside him and a third trying to get close enough to steal Legolas away. He had only just joined the fight and Glorfindel watched with some satisfaction as it only took Thranduil a moment or so to realise he was there and what the three were up to before he thrust one of his long, white handled knives into the man's stomach. He collapsed with a groan and moved no more.

Glorfindel turned his gaze away knowing that Thranduil could finish the leader and his companion off by himself. He looked at Elrond and watched as his friend finished off his last opponent, a look of disgust and sadness upon his face at such needless waste. As Elrond turned, he seemed to notice something and the look of disgust vanished to be replaced with a look of horror. Glorfindel stared as his friend suddenly raced towards Thranduil. Something flashing in Glorfindel's peripheral vision alerted him and he glanced sharply to his left, too late to stop what his heart knew was already there.

He watched helplessly as Elrond suddenly crashed into Thranduil, the leader and the last man who were still fighting, totally unaware that they had lost the battle. All four toppled to the ground but not before Glorfindel saw the arrow slice through the air and sink deeply into the left side of Elrond's chest. The elf toppled and didn't move.

White hot fury blazed within Glorfindel and he turned and threw his own broadsword at the scout whom they must have missed on their way to the fight and had obviously been drawn back to the clearing when he'd heard sounds of fighting. The blade passed straight though the man and buried itself up to the hilt in his chest. The man collapsed soundlessly, his crossbow falling to the ground beside him.

Turning back to the fight, he realised that Thranduil had managed to finish off the last two men just then but Legolas was no where to be seen. Quickly his eyes moved to his fallen friend and there, he saw Legolas who had somehow managed to get free and was leaning over Elrond, frightened sobs wracking his small frame as he desperately examined the elven lord.

Glorfindel rushed over, knelt beside Elrond and was relieved to discover that the arrow, as he had first feared, had not pierced his heart but his shoulder. Elrond was desperately trying to calm his ragged breathing but his pail, sweating face told Glorfindel that the elf wasn't feeling too good at the moment.

`He's not going to die is he?' said Legolas suddenly, raising his tear streaked face to look at Glorfindel. `Please say he isn't going to die Glorfindel,' pleaded Legolas. Glorfindel didn't even notice that the youngster somehow knew his name. `Nay, he won't,' he said softly. True to the way Elrond knew his friend, Glorfindel suddenly grinned and turned back to Elrond. `I would bring him back to life and kill him again if he did,' he said, his eyes sparkling with mirth. Elrond groaned and glared irritably at his friend. `Is case you haven't noticed, I've got a rather large problem at the moment and I don't need you annoying me and making me having to deal with physical and mental pain at the same time.'

Thranduil suddenly loomed over the trio, his face white with barely suppressed fury. `What on Arda did you think you were doing?!' he hissed so angrily Elrond immediately had visions of a viper ready to strike. `Tossing away your life so needlessly?'

Whatever Elrond would have said however, was not said, as the Noldor elf closed his eyes and drifted into the realms of unconsciousness.