2nd chapter up! Third will be coming soon! Comments and vote!
Elrohir pulled his horse up and glanced at the rapidly declining sun. "We should begin to look for a place to spend the night," he told his companions. They both nodded. A few minutes later, after traveling further through the forest, they found a small clearing beside a tiny trickle of a stream. Elladan watered their horses, and Elrohir set up the camp with Ioreth helping.
"No fire?" Elladan asked disappointedly, seeing the bare ground.
"No," Elrohir said. "We can't risk more orcs coming upon us. However, we do have lembas bread!" Here he waggled his eyebrows dramatically, but Elladan shook his head. "I'm actually not that hungry."
Elrohir frowned. "You're always hungry - "
"So are you," his twin retorted, but Elrohir continued, " - have you been feeling nauseous?"
"Maybe," Elladan reluctantly admitted.
"Let me see the arrow wound," Elrohir ordered, starting for his brother. Elladan knew he would be persistent until he got what he wanted, so he sighed and let his brother peel the bandages off his shoulder.
Elrohir pulled the athelas leaves out of the way and stared at his brother's shoulder for a moment.
"What is it?" Elladan asked; he had turned his head and was watching two of their horses wrestle over a carrot Ioreth was feeding them.
"The arrow was poisoned," Elrohir said matter-of-factly. His twin gave him a brief glance before returning his gaze to the pretty elleth and the horses. "Well, that isn't good, I assume?"
"It depends on what type of poison was on the crossbow bolt," Elrohir said grimly. "It could kill you within a few days, or it might take a week."
Elladan shook his head. "We're only a day from Imladris. I'm sure Ada can heal this once we get there."
"Yes, that is so." Elrohir started wrapping the wound back up, but replaced the athelas leaves with fresh ones. "Just tell me if you feel faint or light-headed."
"Very well." Elladan tugged his tunic back up with his right hand, wincing at the pull on his wound, then re-laced the ties on his tunic. "I'll take the first watch."
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Elrohir woke suddenly, his eyes focusing on his surroundings. The edge of the sky was faintly pink; the sun was coming up. Why had he woken? The elf rolled out of his cloak and stood to his feet lightly, glancing around the clearing. Why had Elladan not woken him for the second watch? Elrohir looked over and spied Ioreth bundled up in her green cloak, seated on a high tree branch, her eyes glazed over and staring off into the distance. She was obviously asleep, but Elladan was nowhere in sight.
Since it was apparently morning, Elrohir rolled up the blanket he had lain on during the night and placed it with his saddlebags, then went to look for his brother. He could feel his shoulder throbbing, a reminder that his twin had been shot by the orc filth. He could feel the bond with his twin tugging him toward the stream they were near, and he went that way, his feet making no noise on the soft ground.
Elrohir found Elladan crouched tirelessly next to the small trickle of water, his dark-haired head bowed, a slight grimace on his face. "Elladan?"
The elf's head flew up, and he smiled lightly at his brother. "A, I hadn't noticed you."
"So I see." Elrohir crouched down next to him. "How is your shoulder?"
"Ú-iston," Elladan admitted. "I'm too afraid to look at it, but it hurts badly." He didn't tell his brother that it was fine; they were too in tune with each other to let something like that slip.
"Let me check." Elrohir unwrapped the bandages and examined the wound, shaking his head. "It's getting swollen. We must hurry to Imladris; Ada has the supplies we don't to fix it." After re-bandaging his brother's shoulder, Elrohir stood and started back to their campsite. "You should have woken me for my watch," he called over his shoulder.
"I decided to let you sleep," Elladan said. His head lowered again briefly. "And I wasn't that tired." His brother didn't hear that last remark, but Elladan got up and followed him, ignoring the throbbing pain in his shoulder. Twenty minutes later, the elves had eaten some lembas for breakfast and mounted up, continuing on their way to Imladris.
"Do you know how long it will be until we are there?" Ioreth inquired of the twins as she rebraided her hair while riding her mare.
"Almost two dozen leagues," Elrohir said. "It will almost be the eve meal when we get to Imladris. I hope your legs are not sore?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
The elleth rolled her eyes. "Thank you for worrying, but I will be fine. I rode many times when in the Greenwood, and my riding skills are up to par, I assure you."
"Good to know." Elrohir glanced over at his twin, who was sitting stiffly on his horse. "Elladan, how is your shoulder now?"
"It is fine," his twin lied, knowing he could get away with it now that they had an audience.
"Of course it is," Elrohir muttered. He forced a smile. "Then I shall entertain the Lady Ioreth with a tale or two. Maybe about the other time you were shot with a poisoned arrow?" He waited for his brother to give a snappy comeback, but when none came, he frowned. "Well?
"Go ahead."
"Fine. I will." Elrohir paused a moment longer, then shrugged. Ioreth had just finished her braid and swung it over her shoulder when Elrohir started his story. She decided to listen; the trees had been left behind a little while ago, and there was nothing else to do anyway.
"It was about three decades ago that this happened. Somehow this band of orcs - it was about two dozen, as I recall - had managed to follow us from a scouting mission near Dol Guldur. One of them got within two hundred yards before it shot at us. It hit Elladan's horse, but we managed to get it into a spot where we were safe. We were at a draw - we could only shoot at the orcs, but they were too smart to get close enough. We stayed there for about four days, surviving on lembas and the occasional small prey that wandered into our hiding spot, until a hunting party from Lorien was going past and they were attacked by the orcs. We saw the fight from where we were, so we went out to help, but Elladan and I had to share my horse, as his had died from its wound.
"In the middle of the fray, Elladan went to help a warrior that was pinned between two orcs. While fending off one's blows, the other one shot him in the back with a shortbow arrow." Elladan shook his head mock-ruefully. "I had to go rescue him and the ellon he had been helping. We managed to kill the rest of the orcs with the Lorien elves' help, and then we tended to our wounded. I wasn't worried about Elladan, of course, I knew he would survive - "
"That's not how I recall it," Elladan suddenly interrupted. Elrohir's gaze snapped to him; he was a bit apprehensive to see that his brother's complexion was paler than usual. That was to be expected with poison wounds, though. As soon as they got to Imladris, their Ada could fix everything, like he did every time. "As I remember, you were extremely distressed at the fact that I had been wounded yet again. You thought I would die."
Elrohir frowned, but with a slight smirk at the edge. "Hey, who's telling this story?"
"That's a good question."
Elrohir blinked at his twin, then rolled his eyes. "That's your response? Really?"
The other elf just shook his head and returned his attention's to the horse he was riding. Ioreth looked from one brother to the other, then shrugged. "What happened - I mean, how was Elladan healed that time? You were so far from Imladris."
"Oh, our grandmother happened to be in the party of elves traveling." Elrohir sighed dramatically. "That was the only time I can remember that she was all worried and flustered over something. She didn't even take the time to 'look ahead' and see if he would survive, she just spent most of her energy healing everyone who was hurt - Elladan, of course, got special treatment." He winked at Elladan, but his twin didn't notice, seeming to be staring into the distance.
"Your grandmother?" Ioreth inquired, confused. She didn't know much of their family history.
"Yes, the Lady of Lorien. Galadriel," Elrohir said. "I don't blame you for not making the connection. It's not as if we look anything alike." He seemed to find that amusing, snickering under his breath.
"Ah." The elleth nodded. "I see." She glanced up and her gaze sharpened. "Are those the Misty Mountains?"
"They are indeed," Elrohir said. He glanced at her curiously. "You have never seen them before?"
"No," she shook her head. "I've stayed in Greenwood for my whole life." She hesitated. "The only reason I'm leaving now is because my sister married an ellon from Imladris, and I'm going to visit her." The elleth's face broke into a beautiful smile. "She just had a little elfling, and I'm going to help her."
Elrohir grinned. "Well, your first time to Imladris! Wonderful! I am sure you will enjoy your trip! How long are you staying?"
"I don't know," Ioreth admitted. "I suppose until my sister is fine on her own."
"That sounds - " Elrohir suddenly cut off, glancing over at his brother with a worried look on his face. "El?"
"Hm?" The elf looked up from his apparent studying of the ground beside his horse. The skin around his brown eyes were tight with pain.
"Are you feeling at all feverish?"
"Maybe . . . a little." Elladan shrugged, then winced. "There is nothing you could do to alleviate it, so just ignore me." He relaxed the reins and his horse broke into a smooth lope. "We need to hurry to get past the mountains; there are rumors of a goblin uprising." He caught Ioreth's concerned look and gave her a weak smile. "Do not worry, we know a fast way through the mountains."
"That we do," Elrohir said, looking like he was trying visibly to be cheerful, yet Ioreth could tell that his brother's condition was affecting him. She nodded. "Then we shall hurry; Elladan, we need to get to Imladris so your father can heal you."
"Correct," Elladan muttered. "But I shall be fine until then. It will only take a few hours to go through the mountains if we take our trail, then we will be at Imladris soon." He gave his brother a look Ioreth couldn't decipher; probably some type of twin code. Elrohir replied with a quirk of his eyebrows, and Elladan shook his head. After another few weird exchanges, Elladan turned his attention back to the trail and Elrohir said to Ioreth, "Hiril vuin, I'm going to go ahead and find the path, and to make sure there are no . . . disreputable characters ahead."
"Like goblins?" Ioreth asked weakly. She didn't even want to think about it.
Elrohir was given a shake of the head by his twin, and he smiled thinly. "Possibly. I'll be back within the hour." And with that, he nudged his horse forward and they vanished up the rocky trail. Ioreth was at a loss to say anything, so she bent over her horse and continued whispering to it.
Elvish translations:
Elleth - female elf
Ada - Dad
Orch - Orc (singular)
A - basically hello or hey
Ú-iston - I don't know
Ellon - male elf
Hiril vuin - My Lady