Brotherhood, Chapter Twenty Eight.
16 Nov 2009 05:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
curiouswombatHere is the next chapter of Brotherhood - in which Éowyn finds out more about Elves than she might have expected...
Previous chapters are Here.
Chapter Twenty-eight.
Rating 15
3,500 words.
Beta'd, as usual, by S2C.
Chapter Twenty-eight
The sun was half way to its peak when Legolas gestured to Rumil and Elrohir to follow him up onto a rocky outcrop to get a better view.
As all three scanned the expanse of river it was hard to say who recognised the Corsair vessel first where it sailed a little over a mile downstream.
……………………………………………………………
She was seriously considering asking Lomion if he had any books she could read. She had already begun to sing the Muppets’ ‘Cabin Fever’. He had, at least, uncovered the small porthole in her cabin and she wondered if she might be allowed to go up on deck.
Would Rumil be able to ‘feel’ which ship she was on if her overwhelming emotion was boredom? Would he be able to...?
Worry! Relief! She suddenly felt a wave of emotion pass over her. For a second she was slightly confused but then she recognised the underlying sensation of cold anger that she had felt once before – just before Rumil dropped down onto the guy who was holding a knife to her back in Minas Tirith three years ago.
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Rumil’s expression barely flickered as he stared at the vessel that Tindómë must surely be on, but Elrohir recognised the way he turned his concentration inwards; Legolas, too, had turned almost immediately to look at Rumil, not the ship.
Suddenly Rumil’s impassive face crumpled.
Both the other ellyn took a step towards him, ready to reach and support him if needs be, as he let out a small sound.
Then Elrohir realised the strangled sound was laughter.
“She is there,” Rumil said, trying to keep his voice steady, “she is there and she is… happy!”
Legolas simply raised an eyebrow but he looked relieved.
“I think,” Rumil said, more steadily now, “that I was so relieved to see the vessel that she must have sensed me – and this has made her happy.”
“As it should,” Legolas said, but he was smiling.
He turned and asked “Elrohir, how close will you need to be to be able to speak to her mind?”
“Closer than this, I think,” Elrohir answered, “but if Elladan and I ‘call out’ together she might hear us from almost this distance – especially as she knows we can do this, and if she has realised that we are now close she may well be ‘listening’ for us.”
“We will go back to the others and tell them we have seen the ship. The other ellyn will all want to know whether Rumil knows if she is well – clearly we can answer them as we ride beside them, unless…”
He looked expectantly at Elrohir who nodded.
“El, El…” he spoke silently to his twin, “we see the vessel, and Rumil says Tindómë is on board, conscious and, he thinks, able to tell that he is near.”
“Valar be praised!” Elladan answered. “I am right beside Orophin – I can simply tell him. Can you speak to Galanthir’s mind and let him know?”
“Of course.” Elrohir moved his concentration, pictured Galanthir in his mind, and quickly passed on the information as they headed back to the others.
………………………………………………………………
Everyone had dismounted. Éowyn and the others waited as Legolas, Rumil, and one of the twins climbed up to the top of the outcrop. Gimli and Céolfrith walked a little way away to ‘take care of bodily functions’, as Legolas had put it the day before, and the rest took care of changing the packs and tack onto fresh horses before they went on.
The three elves still with the horses kept their eyes on the three at the top as they worked and, then, Éowyn more felt than saw them tense as the three above them moved slightly closer together.
Faramir and Egric must have felt it too as they also paused and, despite the increased tension, Éowyn wanted to giggle because, in the quiet, the sound of urine hitting rock could clearly be heard.
Then, almost as quickly, the elves seemed to relax and return to what they had been doing. In fact, despite all three remaining just as stern looking, they seemed more relaxed than they had since they left Minas Tirith the day before.
Éowyn knew that elves had good hearing; she wondered if they had overheard something said by one of the three looking out along the river. She looked questioningly at Faramir who shrugged, smiled, and said “We will know soon enough,” nodding towards Legolas and the others returning.
The elves all seemed to be darting quick glances at Rumil; even Gimli, as he returned with Céolfrith, seemed to be looking at Rumil, rather than Legolas, but said nothing.
“We saw the vessel,” Legolas said, when back amongst the group. “It is a little way downstream, at most a mile and a half. We will overtake it sometime in the next hour or two and will ride ahead of it.”
He turned to Faramir. “Does the road cling closely to the bank at the point where we will be within their view? If so we will ride away from the road even if it takes longer. I do not want their look-outs to spot us.”
“This main road turns inland very soon – we will quickly be some miles inland if we remain on it,” Faramir answered.
Legolas’ gaze, Éowyn noticed, slid quickly to the twins and back. Whatever he saw in their faces he nodded and said that it would be best for them to continue along the bank, as the main party followed the road, and they could meet up once they had passed the Corsairs’ ship.
As she remounted Éowyn had the distinct feeling that, like a swan on a lake, there was more going on beneath the surface of all the elves than could be seen.
………………………………………………………………
Rumil was near! As, doubtless, would be Orophin, Legolas, Galanthir and the twins. She had felt the shift between worry to relief, alongside the icy sensation of anger, and knew that Rumil must know that she was on this ship; she had an urge to punch the air and go “Yay!”
That must have been strong enough to reach him because his emotional touch suddenly became confused, then settled to something that felt as if it would look like ‘resolve face’, and then grew fainter. He must be less angry since he knew she was not in pain, she decided.
The twins! They would be with him of course – if she ‘listened’ hard they would surely try to ‘talk’ to her. Suddenly she no longer wanted anything to break her boredom – she wanted total concentration. She hoped Lomion didn’t come in to distract her. (She so must find out if he knew why it was an unfortunate name before someone, probably Rumil, killed him – he was totally a dead man walking!)
It was some time, though, before she heard a faint “Tindómë!” inside her head. She thought it sounded as if it was two voices – probably to make it louder to reach her from further away. Unsure if they would be able to ‘hear’ her answer she kept trying to picture both of them in her own mind and every few seconds she would think ‘El!’ very hard.
“Tindómë! Tithen maethor!” then “We are near!” repeated another three or four times before “Well done Tinu, we hear you.”
“You are too faint for us to hear you clearly,” the voice said, “but we know now that you hear us. Listen well.”
“We are on the river bank. We see the ship. Are you able to see us?”
She wasn’t sure which bank of the river they were on, the one on her side, or the other one? She went to her porthole and pressed her face to the glass. She could see that there were some people at the edge of the river – working with nets, she thought – but no sign of elves.
“We are riding faster than you are sailing.” It was definitely Elladan’s voice this time; they must be nearer.
She tried twisting to look back the way the boat had come and there, inland from the fishermen, were two figures on horseback. Not their usual, matching black horses, but one chestnut and a grey, and one figure had black hair tied back in the style of the Rohirrim, in a ponytail, while the other wore a hat over his hair.
“I SEE YOU!” She repeated it two or three times more until she heard Elladan again.
“Good. We know, then, which side of the ship you are on.”
Another few minutes and the two figures were almost parallel to the ship, their horses now moving quite slowly.
“I see you,” Elrohir’s voice in her head. “I can see that your face is uninjured. Wave, if you are able, pendithen.”
She did.
“And that your hands are not tied! Are you uninjured?”
“YES!” she thought, hard. “HEADACHE, BUT NOTHING ELSE.”
“Good.” Elladan this time.
He continued “We will take no more notice of your ship, for now. We will ride on and meet the others, who travel on the main road which is further inland, so that we do not draw the eyes of the sailors.”
“We will soon be well ahead of you. We will remain ahead until it is dark. You will still be on the river, at that time, for it is a long way to the sea. We will come for you once it is dark.
“Do you think you will be safe until then?”
“YES.” At least she hoped so. If Lomion didn’t change his plans she should be, anyway.
“Be brave, tithen maethor.” Elrohir’s voice was getting fainter in her head as they rode on past the ship.
“We will see you after dark, farewell, Tinu,” Elladan’s voice echoed in her head, and she ‘heard’ nothing more from them.
………………………………………………………………
The road was quite busy now. They regularly met other travellers, or passed farmers in fields, and some clearly recognised Faramir riding at the front with Legolas. They touched their forehead in salute or dipped their head in a quick bow of acknowledgement.
As it approached mid-day the party stopped on the outskirts of a small hamlet. Faramir, and Egric, went in to the centre of the cluster of buildings and returned after a few minutes with fresh bread, cheese, and vegetables.
They ate the bread and cheese as they rode and Éowyn remembered, with amusement, that the hobbits had told her more than once that elves were wont to cope without proper food for ‘days and days’. She concluded that, whilst they probably could do without food for much longer than a hobbit would prefer, they seemed to have no objection to eating ‘on the hoof’.
Aragorn’s foster brothers had continued to follow the coast when the road turned inland; she wondered why Legolas had chosen them for that task. Surely the two Riders, or Faramir, even Éowyn herself, were less obvious than the identical twins. If they were to get as close to the ship as possible with a view to deciding how best to capture it, Faramir would have been better – he knew more about ships on this river… although, she supposed, the elves did have keener eyesight.
She would have asked Faramir for his opinion, but elven hearing meant they would probably be overheard, and she didn’t want to be seen as questioning Legolas as leader. He must have had some good reason for sending Elladan and Elrohir off to follow the river…
An hour or two later the twins rejoined the party.
“Tindómë is in a cabin near the stern of the ship, on this side,” one of them reported, “she is able to move, and she is aware that we are near.”
“Thank you, Elladan,” Legolas said.
That was another thing; how did the other elves seem to have no problem telling the dark-haired twins apart? Their keen eyesight had obviously paid off, anyway, and Tindómë must have pretty keen eyesight as well to have spotted them.
Her chain of thought was broken when Legolas came to speak to Faramir.
“We will need to leave the Great South Road to cut back to the river at a suitable point. I want us to intercept them before they reach Pelargir – probably almost as soon as the sun goes down. I need you to approach some of the fishermen, or anyone else with a suitable small boat, and arrange the use of a rowing boat. It need only be big enough for four or five.”
“That should be fairly easy,” Faramir said. “I will ask once we decide where we are going to wait for the ship. Egric and Céolfrith have both learnt to row well since moving to Ithilien – if we go together we can row back to the rest of you.”
A grin split his previously serious expression. “I won’t ask if you have a plan – you obviously do!”
“Indeed,” Legolas answered, but he did not return Faramir’s smile.
Eventually they took a small track, which branched off from the road towards the river, and rode along near the bank until Legolas announced “This is the place,” with some satisfaction, and dismounted. The others all followed suit.
The elves began to make camp in a hollow, where the river bank sloped gently to a small shingle ‘beach’, with a rise on the upstream side climbing to about twenty feet above water level.
“There is a village about a mile downstream,” Legolas said, from the vantage point on the top of the crest.
“We will walk down,” Faramir decided, “so that all three of us can row up against the current.”
The three men left the camp almost straight away; the elves continued, efficiently, to set up camp and settle the horses. The only conversation was an occasional quiet word in Sindarin. Éowyn was suddenly conscious of being the only human there and was glad when Gimli came over to talk; he might not be human, but he was, somehow, less ‘other’ than the elves.
………………………………………………………………
“No!” Rumil declared. “No! I will go. I will be there.”
Legolas’ expression did not change.
“Yes!” he stated. “You will follow my orders. You know that I am correct. You are a warrior not an elfling.”
Rumil kept his chin up, his back straight, and looked Legolas in the eye.
“I will go. You cannot ask this of me.”
“I do not ask it of you; I am telling you. I am telling you in private because I knew that you would react this way, it is natural, but it is best for both of us if no-one hears you question my authority. Were it my own mother held on that boat I would still use the same plan.”
Rumil wanted to argue further. His heart told him that he should be the first on board the Corsair ship; that he should kill that man personally; that he wanted to be the first to Tindómë. She was his almost betrothed; he should go. And yet… and yet Legolas’ plan made sense; his warrior’s brain told him so. Any other way was less efficient.
He lowered his eyes slightly and nodded.
“You are in command.”
He added, almost grudgingly, “and you are quite right – it is the best use of my skills.”
Then, as Legolas nodded in acknowledgement, he finished, “but, if I had known of today when I was an elfling, I would have trained as a swordsman.”
The merest hint of a smile flitted across Legolas’ face.
“I know, my friend, thank you. I will explain to the others when Faramir and his Riders return but, if you wish, you can tell Orophin now.”
………………………………………………………………
It had seemed to Éowyn that her role was likely to be to stay behind and look after the horses and she had steeled herself not to argue – at least not too much… She had been surprised, then, when Legolas outlined the plan while they ate the fish Galanthir had caught and cooked.
“Orophin, Rumil, and I are the best bowmen with the longest range. We will remain onshore.”
Not a flicker of emotion crossed the faces of the Galadhrim warriors.
“We will easily pick off anyone above decks – with three of us there will be no time for them to sound an alarm.
“Elladan and Elrohir are not bowmen and, although Galanthir wears a bowman’s braids, his bow has less range than ours and he is highly skilled with long knives. You three will swim out to the ship and we will time our attack to coincide with your arrival.”
“There is a rope hanging down at the stern,” one of the twins said, “and the side of the ship is not smooth – Galanthir will be able to climb it easily even without the rope.”
Legolas nodded agreement and then continued. “The three of you will deal with anyone who ventures onto the deck until those from the rowing boat come aboard. Faramir, if you take Gimli, Egric, Céolfrith, and Éowyn in the boat, you can leave before we begin to loose, as small boats along the river bank will not be unusual.
“Once on board you can clear below decks and find Tindómë. If possible, capture the man Lomion alive to stand trial in Minas Tirith.”
She looked over at her husband – would he suggest she stay ashore?
‘Please don’t,’ she thought, ‘if the elves are willing to trust me, please don’t be less believing in me than they are…’
Faramir glanced at her and then back at Legolas.
‘Please, please…’ Éowyn thought.
“We will be ready,” Faramir said, “as soon as you give the word.”
………………………………………………………………
The camp site was quiet as dusk deepened. Everyone had checked their weapons, the bowmen had chosen exactly where they would stand, and Galanthir and the twins had left their bows and quivers where the bowmen could pick them up instantly should they need to. Everyone was tense and ready for action.
The sun dropped out of sight and only the camp fire and a couple of lanterns prevented the blackness from enveloping them all totally. There had been no need to wait without light – small camp sites were not unusual along the bank, Faramir had said.
Then, from the top of the small rise, came Rumil’s voice; “I see the ship.”
“Come,” said Faramir. He took Éowyn’s arm and walked with her to the rowing boat.
The elves were moving into position, silently, Gimli and the two Rohirrim slightly more noisily.
As Éowyn and Faramir arrived at the small boat the three swimmers stood beside it and began, methodically, to take their clothes off, fold them, and place them in the boat.
It hadn’t occurred to Éowyn that they would take off their tunics but it did make sense. She had seen many men bare-chested, both in Rohan and Ithilien, and the odd bare-chested elf in the distance when they had visited the Elven Township last summer, but bare-chested elves this close up were something new. She hoped Faramir didn’t notice her eyes being drawn towards them – his own body was wonderful and highly desirable – but it was difficult not to look…
Difficult not to look, that is, until all three casually removed their boots and began unlacing their leggings. She really wasn’t sure which way to look now – Gimli seemed to have a similar reaction to the stripping elves – he had walked back to the horses, muttering about ‘relieving himself’.
The three elves didn’t seem to be at all embarrassed about undressing in front of Éowyn – Galanthir had passed both his long knives and a belt to Faramir standing right beside her – and she wondered whether it was more polite, in elven terms, to ignore the nakedness or to look away.
Faramir’s eyes turned towards her and, when well over six foot of dark-haired male elf strode casually towards her adjusting his sword belt around his, now naked, body, she felt herself blushing. The twin, whichever one of them it was (no wonder Tindómë simply called them the Els), paused within a few inches of her before stretching into the boat to retrieve a small knife from inside his discarded boot. He was very well... em... muscled…
He said something in rapid Sindarin that ended “Elladan”, and so he must be Elrohir, then reached into the bottom of the boat again to retrieve a similar small knife from another boot and toss it, casually, to his twin. Éowyn tried to look firmly at her, fully clothed, husband.
Legolas stepped forward and clasped each of the three by the arm briefly before they walked out into the river. Just before they ducked into the water, and began to swim towards the approaching vessel, the three seemed to exchange a few words; Éowyn assumed they were wishing each other luck.
Like three pale otters they swam out and quickly disappeared from sight with barely a ripple.
………………………………………………………………
As Elrohir moved his sword belt around, to the most comfortable position for swimming, Galanthir spoke to him in a low voice.
“Perhaps we should have kept our backs to Éowyn – she blushed bright red when you went past her to get your small knife!”
“No,” Elrohir answered, “she chose to ride with the edhel. We cannot make ourselves less efficient because men have a different attitude to the hroar. Anyway, it really would not have made much difference…”
“Because,” Elladan said, as he ducked into the water, “we all have very beautiful behinds…”
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Bits of Sindarin.
Tithen maethor – Little warrior
Tinu – Little star
Pendithen – Little one
Edhel - Elves
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The BtVS characters do not belong to me, but are used for amusement only. All rights remain the property of Mutant Enemy, Joss Whedon, and the original TV companies. The same is true of the LotR characters for whom all rights remain the property of the estate of JRR Tolkien and the companies responsible for the production of the films.
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The next chapter is already over 2,000 words long, so I hope to finish it in time for S2C to beta it before his next nights at work.
Previous chapters are Here.
Chapter Twenty-eight.
Rating 15
3,500 words.
Beta'd, as usual, by S2C.
The sun was half way to its peak when Legolas gestured to Rumil and Elrohir to follow him up onto a rocky outcrop to get a better view.
As all three scanned the expanse of river it was hard to say who recognised the Corsair vessel first where it sailed a little over a mile downstream.
……………………………………………………………
She was seriously considering asking Lomion if he had any books she could read. She had already begun to sing the Muppets’ ‘Cabin Fever’. He had, at least, uncovered the small porthole in her cabin and she wondered if she might be allowed to go up on deck.
Would Rumil be able to ‘feel’ which ship she was on if her overwhelming emotion was boredom? Would he be able to...?
Worry! Relief! She suddenly felt a wave of emotion pass over her. For a second she was slightly confused but then she recognised the underlying sensation of cold anger that she had felt once before – just before Rumil dropped down onto the guy who was holding a knife to her back in Minas Tirith three years ago.
………………………………………………………………
Rumil’s expression barely flickered as he stared at the vessel that Tindómë must surely be on, but Elrohir recognised the way he turned his concentration inwards; Legolas, too, had turned almost immediately to look at Rumil, not the ship.
Suddenly Rumil’s impassive face crumpled.
Both the other ellyn took a step towards him, ready to reach and support him if needs be, as he let out a small sound.
Then Elrohir realised the strangled sound was laughter.
“She is there,” Rumil said, trying to keep his voice steady, “she is there and she is… happy!”
Legolas simply raised an eyebrow but he looked relieved.
“I think,” Rumil said, more steadily now, “that I was so relieved to see the vessel that she must have sensed me – and this has made her happy.”
“As it should,” Legolas said, but he was smiling.
He turned and asked “Elrohir, how close will you need to be to be able to speak to her mind?”
“Closer than this, I think,” Elrohir answered, “but if Elladan and I ‘call out’ together she might hear us from almost this distance – especially as she knows we can do this, and if she has realised that we are now close she may well be ‘listening’ for us.”
“We will go back to the others and tell them we have seen the ship. The other ellyn will all want to know whether Rumil knows if she is well – clearly we can answer them as we ride beside them, unless…”
He looked expectantly at Elrohir who nodded.
“El, El…” he spoke silently to his twin, “we see the vessel, and Rumil says Tindómë is on board, conscious and, he thinks, able to tell that he is near.”
“Valar be praised!” Elladan answered. “I am right beside Orophin – I can simply tell him. Can you speak to Galanthir’s mind and let him know?”
“Of course.” Elrohir moved his concentration, pictured Galanthir in his mind, and quickly passed on the information as they headed back to the others.
………………………………………………………………
Everyone had dismounted. Éowyn and the others waited as Legolas, Rumil, and one of the twins climbed up to the top of the outcrop. Gimli and Céolfrith walked a little way away to ‘take care of bodily functions’, as Legolas had put it the day before, and the rest took care of changing the packs and tack onto fresh horses before they went on.
The three elves still with the horses kept their eyes on the three at the top as they worked and, then, Éowyn more felt than saw them tense as the three above them moved slightly closer together.
Faramir and Egric must have felt it too as they also paused and, despite the increased tension, Éowyn wanted to giggle because, in the quiet, the sound of urine hitting rock could clearly be heard.
Then, almost as quickly, the elves seemed to relax and return to what they had been doing. In fact, despite all three remaining just as stern looking, they seemed more relaxed than they had since they left Minas Tirith the day before.
Éowyn knew that elves had good hearing; she wondered if they had overheard something said by one of the three looking out along the river. She looked questioningly at Faramir who shrugged, smiled, and said “We will know soon enough,” nodding towards Legolas and the others returning.
The elves all seemed to be darting quick glances at Rumil; even Gimli, as he returned with Céolfrith, seemed to be looking at Rumil, rather than Legolas, but said nothing.
“We saw the vessel,” Legolas said, when back amongst the group. “It is a little way downstream, at most a mile and a half. We will overtake it sometime in the next hour or two and will ride ahead of it.”
He turned to Faramir. “Does the road cling closely to the bank at the point where we will be within their view? If so we will ride away from the road even if it takes longer. I do not want their look-outs to spot us.”
“This main road turns inland very soon – we will quickly be some miles inland if we remain on it,” Faramir answered.
Legolas’ gaze, Éowyn noticed, slid quickly to the twins and back. Whatever he saw in their faces he nodded and said that it would be best for them to continue along the bank, as the main party followed the road, and they could meet up once they had passed the Corsairs’ ship.
As she remounted Éowyn had the distinct feeling that, like a swan on a lake, there was more going on beneath the surface of all the elves than could be seen.
………………………………………………………………
Rumil was near! As, doubtless, would be Orophin, Legolas, Galanthir and the twins. She had felt the shift between worry to relief, alongside the icy sensation of anger, and knew that Rumil must know that she was on this ship; she had an urge to punch the air and go “Yay!”
That must have been strong enough to reach him because his emotional touch suddenly became confused, then settled to something that felt as if it would look like ‘resolve face’, and then grew fainter. He must be less angry since he knew she was not in pain, she decided.
The twins! They would be with him of course – if she ‘listened’ hard they would surely try to ‘talk’ to her. Suddenly she no longer wanted anything to break her boredom – she wanted total concentration. She hoped Lomion didn’t come in to distract her. (She so must find out if he knew why it was an unfortunate name before someone, probably Rumil, killed him – he was totally a dead man walking!)
It was some time, though, before she heard a faint “Tindómë!” inside her head. She thought it sounded as if it was two voices – probably to make it louder to reach her from further away. Unsure if they would be able to ‘hear’ her answer she kept trying to picture both of them in her own mind and every few seconds she would think ‘El!’ very hard.
“Tindómë! Tithen maethor!” then “We are near!” repeated another three or four times before “Well done Tinu, we hear you.”
“You are too faint for us to hear you clearly,” the voice said, “but we know now that you hear us. Listen well.”
“We are on the river bank. We see the ship. Are you able to see us?”
She wasn’t sure which bank of the river they were on, the one on her side, or the other one? She went to her porthole and pressed her face to the glass. She could see that there were some people at the edge of the river – working with nets, she thought – but no sign of elves.
“We are riding faster than you are sailing.” It was definitely Elladan’s voice this time; they must be nearer.
She tried twisting to look back the way the boat had come and there, inland from the fishermen, were two figures on horseback. Not their usual, matching black horses, but one chestnut and a grey, and one figure had black hair tied back in the style of the Rohirrim, in a ponytail, while the other wore a hat over his hair.
“I SEE YOU!” She repeated it two or three times more until she heard Elladan again.
“Good. We know, then, which side of the ship you are on.”
Another few minutes and the two figures were almost parallel to the ship, their horses now moving quite slowly.
“I see you,” Elrohir’s voice in her head. “I can see that your face is uninjured. Wave, if you are able, pendithen.”
She did.
“And that your hands are not tied! Are you uninjured?”
“YES!” she thought, hard. “HEADACHE, BUT NOTHING ELSE.”
“Good.” Elladan this time.
He continued “We will take no more notice of your ship, for now. We will ride on and meet the others, who travel on the main road which is further inland, so that we do not draw the eyes of the sailors.”
“We will soon be well ahead of you. We will remain ahead until it is dark. You will still be on the river, at that time, for it is a long way to the sea. We will come for you once it is dark.
“Do you think you will be safe until then?”
“YES.” At least she hoped so. If Lomion didn’t change his plans she should be, anyway.
“Be brave, tithen maethor.” Elrohir’s voice was getting fainter in her head as they rode on past the ship.
“We will see you after dark, farewell, Tinu,” Elladan’s voice echoed in her head, and she ‘heard’ nothing more from them.
………………………………………………………………
The road was quite busy now. They regularly met other travellers, or passed farmers in fields, and some clearly recognised Faramir riding at the front with Legolas. They touched their forehead in salute or dipped their head in a quick bow of acknowledgement.
As it approached mid-day the party stopped on the outskirts of a small hamlet. Faramir, and Egric, went in to the centre of the cluster of buildings and returned after a few minutes with fresh bread, cheese, and vegetables.
They ate the bread and cheese as they rode and Éowyn remembered, with amusement, that the hobbits had told her more than once that elves were wont to cope without proper food for ‘days and days’. She concluded that, whilst they probably could do without food for much longer than a hobbit would prefer, they seemed to have no objection to eating ‘on the hoof’.
Aragorn’s foster brothers had continued to follow the coast when the road turned inland; she wondered why Legolas had chosen them for that task. Surely the two Riders, or Faramir, even Éowyn herself, were less obvious than the identical twins. If they were to get as close to the ship as possible with a view to deciding how best to capture it, Faramir would have been better – he knew more about ships on this river… although, she supposed, the elves did have keener eyesight.
She would have asked Faramir for his opinion, but elven hearing meant they would probably be overheard, and she didn’t want to be seen as questioning Legolas as leader. He must have had some good reason for sending Elladan and Elrohir off to follow the river…
An hour or two later the twins rejoined the party.
“Tindómë is in a cabin near the stern of the ship, on this side,” one of them reported, “she is able to move, and she is aware that we are near.”
“Thank you, Elladan,” Legolas said.
That was another thing; how did the other elves seem to have no problem telling the dark-haired twins apart? Their keen eyesight had obviously paid off, anyway, and Tindómë must have pretty keen eyesight as well to have spotted them.
Her chain of thought was broken when Legolas came to speak to Faramir.
“We will need to leave the Great South Road to cut back to the river at a suitable point. I want us to intercept them before they reach Pelargir – probably almost as soon as the sun goes down. I need you to approach some of the fishermen, or anyone else with a suitable small boat, and arrange the use of a rowing boat. It need only be big enough for four or five.”
“That should be fairly easy,” Faramir said. “I will ask once we decide where we are going to wait for the ship. Egric and Céolfrith have both learnt to row well since moving to Ithilien – if we go together we can row back to the rest of you.”
A grin split his previously serious expression. “I won’t ask if you have a plan – you obviously do!”
“Indeed,” Legolas answered, but he did not return Faramir’s smile.
Eventually they took a small track, which branched off from the road towards the river, and rode along near the bank until Legolas announced “This is the place,” with some satisfaction, and dismounted. The others all followed suit.
The elves began to make camp in a hollow, where the river bank sloped gently to a small shingle ‘beach’, with a rise on the upstream side climbing to about twenty feet above water level.
“There is a village about a mile downstream,” Legolas said, from the vantage point on the top of the crest.
“We will walk down,” Faramir decided, “so that all three of us can row up against the current.”
The three men left the camp almost straight away; the elves continued, efficiently, to set up camp and settle the horses. The only conversation was an occasional quiet word in Sindarin. Éowyn was suddenly conscious of being the only human there and was glad when Gimli came over to talk; he might not be human, but he was, somehow, less ‘other’ than the elves.
………………………………………………………………
“No!” Rumil declared. “No! I will go. I will be there.”
Legolas’ expression did not change.
“Yes!” he stated. “You will follow my orders. You know that I am correct. You are a warrior not an elfling.”
Rumil kept his chin up, his back straight, and looked Legolas in the eye.
“I will go. You cannot ask this of me.”
“I do not ask it of you; I am telling you. I am telling you in private because I knew that you would react this way, it is natural, but it is best for both of us if no-one hears you question my authority. Were it my own mother held on that boat I would still use the same plan.”
Rumil wanted to argue further. His heart told him that he should be the first on board the Corsair ship; that he should kill that man personally; that he wanted to be the first to Tindómë. She was his almost betrothed; he should go. And yet… and yet Legolas’ plan made sense; his warrior’s brain told him so. Any other way was less efficient.
He lowered his eyes slightly and nodded.
“You are in command.”
He added, almost grudgingly, “and you are quite right – it is the best use of my skills.”
Then, as Legolas nodded in acknowledgement, he finished, “but, if I had known of today when I was an elfling, I would have trained as a swordsman.”
The merest hint of a smile flitted across Legolas’ face.
“I know, my friend, thank you. I will explain to the others when Faramir and his Riders return but, if you wish, you can tell Orophin now.”
………………………………………………………………
It had seemed to Éowyn that her role was likely to be to stay behind and look after the horses and she had steeled herself not to argue – at least not too much… She had been surprised, then, when Legolas outlined the plan while they ate the fish Galanthir had caught and cooked.
“Orophin, Rumil, and I are the best bowmen with the longest range. We will remain onshore.”
Not a flicker of emotion crossed the faces of the Galadhrim warriors.
“We will easily pick off anyone above decks – with three of us there will be no time for them to sound an alarm.
“Elladan and Elrohir are not bowmen and, although Galanthir wears a bowman’s braids, his bow has less range than ours and he is highly skilled with long knives. You three will swim out to the ship and we will time our attack to coincide with your arrival.”
“There is a rope hanging down at the stern,” one of the twins said, “and the side of the ship is not smooth – Galanthir will be able to climb it easily even without the rope.”
Legolas nodded agreement and then continued. “The three of you will deal with anyone who ventures onto the deck until those from the rowing boat come aboard. Faramir, if you take Gimli, Egric, Céolfrith, and Éowyn in the boat, you can leave before we begin to loose, as small boats along the river bank will not be unusual.
“Once on board you can clear below decks and find Tindómë. If possible, capture the man Lomion alive to stand trial in Minas Tirith.”
She looked over at her husband – would he suggest she stay ashore?
‘Please don’t,’ she thought, ‘if the elves are willing to trust me, please don’t be less believing in me than they are…’
Faramir glanced at her and then back at Legolas.
‘Please, please…’ Éowyn thought.
“We will be ready,” Faramir said, “as soon as you give the word.”
………………………………………………………………
The camp site was quiet as dusk deepened. Everyone had checked their weapons, the bowmen had chosen exactly where they would stand, and Galanthir and the twins had left their bows and quivers where the bowmen could pick them up instantly should they need to. Everyone was tense and ready for action.
The sun dropped out of sight and only the camp fire and a couple of lanterns prevented the blackness from enveloping them all totally. There had been no need to wait without light – small camp sites were not unusual along the bank, Faramir had said.
Then, from the top of the small rise, came Rumil’s voice; “I see the ship.”
“Come,” said Faramir. He took Éowyn’s arm and walked with her to the rowing boat.
The elves were moving into position, silently, Gimli and the two Rohirrim slightly more noisily.
As Éowyn and Faramir arrived at the small boat the three swimmers stood beside it and began, methodically, to take their clothes off, fold them, and place them in the boat.
It hadn’t occurred to Éowyn that they would take off their tunics but it did make sense. She had seen many men bare-chested, both in Rohan and Ithilien, and the odd bare-chested elf in the distance when they had visited the Elven Township last summer, but bare-chested elves this close up were something new. She hoped Faramir didn’t notice her eyes being drawn towards them – his own body was wonderful and highly desirable – but it was difficult not to look…
Difficult not to look, that is, until all three casually removed their boots and began unlacing their leggings. She really wasn’t sure which way to look now – Gimli seemed to have a similar reaction to the stripping elves – he had walked back to the horses, muttering about ‘relieving himself’.
The three elves didn’t seem to be at all embarrassed about undressing in front of Éowyn – Galanthir had passed both his long knives and a belt to Faramir standing right beside her – and she wondered whether it was more polite, in elven terms, to ignore the nakedness or to look away.
Faramir’s eyes turned towards her and, when well over six foot of dark-haired male elf strode casually towards her adjusting his sword belt around his, now naked, body, she felt herself blushing. The twin, whichever one of them it was (no wonder Tindómë simply called them the Els), paused within a few inches of her before stretching into the boat to retrieve a small knife from inside his discarded boot. He was very well... em... muscled…
He said something in rapid Sindarin that ended “Elladan”, and so he must be Elrohir, then reached into the bottom of the boat again to retrieve a similar small knife from another boot and toss it, casually, to his twin. Éowyn tried to look firmly at her, fully clothed, husband.
Legolas stepped forward and clasped each of the three by the arm briefly before they walked out into the river. Just before they ducked into the water, and began to swim towards the approaching vessel, the three seemed to exchange a few words; Éowyn assumed they were wishing each other luck.
Like three pale otters they swam out and quickly disappeared from sight with barely a ripple.
………………………………………………………………
As Elrohir moved his sword belt around, to the most comfortable position for swimming, Galanthir spoke to him in a low voice.
“Perhaps we should have kept our backs to Éowyn – she blushed bright red when you went past her to get your small knife!”
“No,” Elrohir answered, “she chose to ride with the edhel. We cannot make ourselves less efficient because men have a different attitude to the hroar. Anyway, it really would not have made much difference…”
“Because,” Elladan said, as he ducked into the water, “we all have very beautiful behinds…”
………………………………………………………………
Bits of Sindarin.
Tithen maethor – Little warrior
Tinu – Little star
Pendithen – Little one
Edhel - Elves
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The BtVS characters do not belong to me, but are used for amusement only. All rights remain the property of Mutant Enemy, Joss Whedon, and the original TV companies. The same is true of the LotR characters for whom all rights remain the property of the estate of JRR Tolkien and the companies responsible for the production of the films.
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The next chapter is already over 2,000 words long, so I hope to finish it in time for S2C to beta it before his next nights at work.
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Date: 16/11/2009 05:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 16/11/2009 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 16/11/2009 06:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 16/11/2009 06:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 16/11/2009 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 16/11/2009 07:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 16/11/2009 07:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 17/11/2009 01:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 16/11/2009 07:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 16/11/2009 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 16/11/2009 07:53 pm (UTC)I'm looking forward to the boarding.
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Date: 16/11/2009 08:03 pm (UTC)The boarding should go well - provided that they don't get splinters in their dangly bits!
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Date: 16/11/2009 07:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 16/11/2009 08:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 16/11/2009 09:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 16/11/2009 09:53 pm (UTC)I love how you control the pacing. It's neither too fast, so that we lose the suspense and arduousness of a real chase/tracking, nor too slow -- there are all kinds of interesting interactions and scenery along the way to flesh out the characters and the world.
The characters are witty without being trite, larger-than-life without being Mary/Marty Sue/Stus. It's great to watch this universe grow!
The only point in the story when I felt slightly disoriented was at the following transition break:
> “Of course.” Elrohir moved his concentration, pictured Galanthir in his mind, and quickly passed on the information as they headed back to the others.
> ………………………………………………………………
> They dismounted and waited as Legolas, Rumil, and one of the twins climbed up to the top of the outcrop. Gimli and Céolfrith walked a little way away to ‘take care of bodily functions’, as Legolas had put it the day before, and the others took care of changing the packs and tack onto fresh horses before they went on.
It took me a couple of readings to put it together that we had "rewound" to a point before Rumil "made contact with" Tindome, and am retaking the scene from another pov. Maybe I'm just slow today...
Can't wait for #29!
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Date: 16/11/2009 10:04 pm (UTC)Especially for pointing out where it stopped the flow for you.
Edited to add - could you have a look now and see if that is clearer?
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Date: 16/11/2009 11:25 pm (UTC)I'm not sure if I should suggest this -- you're a much more experienced writer...
> Everyone had dismounted. Éowyn and the others waited as Legolas, Rumil, and one of the twins climbed up to the top of the outcrop.
In the previous "scenes," part of what helped me to get oriented was that I was always able to vaguely "picture" their relative position to the river. Even though here you write "the outcrop," not "an outcrop," making it clear that this is the same one that had been mentioned before, somehow I "lost" the river.
Somewhere between the 3rd and 5th paragraph I figured it out, so this could really just be me, being slow today...
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Date: 17/11/2009 08:28 am (UTC)But I did run it past my beta, and he thinks it is fine as it now is too.
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Date: 17/11/2009 12:54 am (UTC)For some reason, I keep thinking that we're going to find out that Eowyn is an enemy and then I think how sad Faramir would be. Don't make Faramir sad now, ya hear?
Did I mention that I'm really enjoying this?
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Date: 17/11/2009 08:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 17/11/2009 09:56 am (UTC)Good plan Legolas! Nice work. Am still rather nervous as to how this is going to work out (although the survivors aspect is not exactly a secret as we have seen the future already). Nonetheless, plans and contact with the enemy etc..
and Eowyn is not left behind to guard the shirts! Huzza!
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Date: 17/11/2009 12:57 pm (UTC)You can decide for yourself what he said in rapid Sindarin that ended “Elladan”...!
(This actually reminded me of a scene that already exists, but may not be in the next chapter but the one after...you'll probably see what I mean when we get there.)
Legolas would tell you, and the others would agree with him, that if it is a good plan it should all run smoothly!
Sometimes I am not 100% sure what the characters are thinking - I am sure that Legolas still sees Éowyn in the same way as any other creature that should not be caged - and if she is willing to wield a sword, and he knows she is reasonably proficient, then she should be allowed to. The person whose thoughts I am not sure of is Faramir.
I'm not sure how much he sees her in the same light as Legolas does and how much he really feels that, as a female, she should be protected at all costs - even if it does look like putting her in a cage... So I am not sure just how much Faramir is going along because he, like Rumil, will not be seen to argue (but unlike Rumil, he has not been given the option to 'discuss' behind the scenes...) - and how much he genuinely still sees her as a free spirit who is here by rights.
I think it may be one of those things that I leave to the reader - who can interpret Faramir's actions to fit with their own mental image of him!
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Date: 17/11/2009 02:25 pm (UTC)As long as that mental image was set by the book and not by the movie, in which he was obviously gayer than a wagon-load of monkeys on nitrous oxide.
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Date: 17/11/2009 02:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 17/11/2009 06:17 pm (UTC)Some of what Faramir thinks might be concluded from the next chapter - but, again, there is a bit of wriggle-room in his motivation.
Of course he might have made his decision, on who does what when they get onto the ship, simply to give him more freedom to ogle naked elves...
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Date: 17/11/2009 11:39 pm (UTC)Must go to bed now. Eyes tired and miss-read that sentence as Faramir having a big 'wriggly worm' in his motivation and still feeling a bit nauseated at the image.
bows to you, all made up that my mind might turn in an S2Cish sort of way. *squee*
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Date: 18/11/2009 08:32 am (UTC)But then if his is a big one he might be less threatened by naked elves!