Title: Sowing Wind
Author: Blue Buick R
Rating: PG-13
Summary: It is horrifying how easy things can spin out of control. Something Legolas, Gimli, their friends and family are about to discover.
Notes: Okay so this is my first Lord of the Rings fic so be gentle. Feedback ALWAYS appreciated.
Part 1
The late spring air was warm and would have been stifling if it were not for the light, grass-sweet, breeze tripping in from the Northwest. Scrubby bushes and tuffs of yellowing vegetation bent with the wind, while pollen and insects winged there way through the air and into hair. Legolas Thranduilion stifled a laugh as he caught a grumbled curse from his companion seated behind him, rolling along with the steady canter of their mount. He turned his flaxen crowned head to look behind him and at his companion, and could not prevent the bubble of mirth which threatened to spill from his lips. He snickered and reached out to capture the tiny red and black beetle which was struggling its way through the bramble of red, wiry hair adorning his companions face. Allowing the insect to crawl up his finger, he brought his hand closer to his
face to peer at it, then with one final bark of laughter, he raised his hand into the air, allowing the wind to blow the creature off and back into the world.
"What is that now, Gimli? Eight?"
"Five, you silly Elf, as you well know!" the dwarf huffed back.
Legolas bowed his head in acquiescence. "Whatever the case, I think you've missed
your calling. Instead of a warrior and leader to your people, you should have made a life as a net, capturing all manner of things from insects to birds to fish in the rivers!"
Gimli huffed once more. "While my beard may snag a great many beetles, what of your hair, eh? I've seen more butterflies and wrens land on your head in the past two hours than on any of Faramir's garden statues in the past two weeks!"
Legolas sighed as if he suffered greatly, tossing the hair whipping about his face out of his eyes. "Tis the colour I'm afraid. They mistake it for straw for a nest or a flower to sup upon."
It was Gimli's turn to snicker. "And when they discover that elf hair is much better than straw and bloom, then what? Will you allow them to pluck you bald?"
The elf lord's delicate lips curved slightly in amusement, but his eyes were serious. "I will not begrudge them a few strands of hair, perhaps they will cherish them as you cherish the Lady's."
"Or perhaps you will be forced to wear a hat or lady's kerchief," Gimli snorted.
"Perhaps," Legolas conceded as he turned back, spying the small village where they were scheduled to meet Lenwe in the distance. It was a great pity that they had to rendezvous with some of their own people as escort to their respective realms. While the Shadow had been defeated, it was still not safe to be traveling alone, especially in the realms where the number of men increased at an alarming rate while those of the other free peoples diminished just as quickly.
"We are coming upon the village. How do you think Lenwe and Frer have faired with each other?"
"As long as neither of them are dead or sport great injury, I shall deem it a success. Perhaps they ignored each other all the while with nary a word spoken between them."
"We can always hope," Legolas agreed.
"And what about that pretty thing who all but hogtied you to cart back to her lair?" Gimli added slyly.
The elf stiffened at that. "Again, we can only hope we shall not cross paths. I do not relish the possibility of refusing her again."
The dwarf pinched his companion's side rather hard. "Nonsense! I still believe you should have taken her up on her offer. Perhaps it would have loosened up those immortal sensibilities of yours!"
Legolas shook his head, hair snapping back to smack the dwarf in the face. "Nay, my friend, mortal girls hold no appeal to me, especially those with great brutes for fathers and brothers."
Gimli spat out a mouthful of golden hair. "Bah! That's part of the fun, getting away with all your bits still attached and a smile on your face."
"Why bother," Legolas laughed, "when a song on the wind and the sun on one's
face can accomplish the same!" And with that he whooped gaily and spurred Arod into a gallop, tilting his head back to soak in the rays of the sun while sending a song into the air.
Gimli held on tighter and shook his head. "Elves!"
Encouraged by Legolas' song, it was not long before Arod's furious pace had them reaching the main dirt path which wound its way through the small village. Slowing to a walk, the two riders made their way towards the hostel at the opposite edge of town where they were to meet up with their escorts. Closed faces and intelligible whispers followed in their wake, and both dwarf and elf sat straighter upon their horse.
"It seems the people are even less friendly upon this meeting than the last," Legolas commented.
Gimli looked around at the shadowed eyes and sideward glances and had to agree. "They are a simple country people. Superstition runs deep in places such as these."
"They tolerated us well enough a few weeks past," the elf pointed out.
Gimli had no answer to that. Spotting both Lenwe and Frer standing outside the hostel up ahead, Legolas nudged Arod into a trot.
"Hail, my lord!" Lenwe called, winding an arm around Arod's neck to steady the beast as Legolas deftly slid to the ground, Gimli following a little less gracefully. "Master Gimli," the elf added as if in afterthought.
"Lord Gimli," Frer bowed his greeting as well, coming up to take Gimli's pack from him. He looked to Legolas out of the corner of his eye, then to Lenwe and proceeded to welcome the elf lord as well. "Master elf."
"Lenwe, Frer," Legolas returned. "What news?"
Both dwarf and elf shifted uneasily. "Ill news I'm afraid, my lord," Lenwe finally said. "You are required to go to the village hall."
"Why must I do this?" Legolas demanded.
"I do not know," Lenwe replied imploringly. "Only that the people of this village do not look kindly upon us and that your presence was demanded at the hall as soon as you arrived."
"Only Legolas'?" Gimli inquired.
Lenwe nodded. "I arrived two days past and was welcomed courteously enough. That night Frer also arrived. At evening meal that girl who accosted you, my lord, came into the hostel and inquired after you." Now the elf's fair face turned hard. "I admit that I gave a false statement and said I did not know when you were to arrive. I found her behavior towards you last time contemptible, especially for a maiden towards someone such as yourself."
One finely sculpted brow arched. "Such as myself?"
Lenwe straightened. "Yes, a prince of two realms and a hero of the great war, not to mention one of the Eldar. It took great restraint not to slap her about the face when she was so forward toward you! Why she even had the gall to lay a hand upon your person!"
Gimli snorted. "For all that is holy, it is not as if she were an orc or a diseased animal!"
Frer smiled, amused, but said nothing.
Lenwe glared down at the dwarf. "Whatever the case," he continued icily, "she looked worried and left in a rather distracted state. I thought that the matter was closed but just this morning the town justice came storming into the hostel looking for you; I caught sight of both the girl and her father lingering outside the door. When I told him you were not here but were expected today, he ordered me to bring you to the village hall as soon as you arrived."
Legolas looked thoughtful for a moment then turned to Frer. "You were there during these events?"
"Yes," Frer replied.
"Have you any detail to add?" Gimli asked.
Frer shook his head. "It is as he said. The girl came wanting to know where the elf was then left when she found he was not about. The next day passed without incident, but this morning the justice arrived in a huff. Since then the people have been glaring daggers at us all day."
"Strange," Legolas murmured. "Very well then," he declared a bit louder. "If my presence has been requested at the hall, I shall obey."
Making as if to remount Arod, Legolas was stopped by Lenwe's hand on his arm.
"My lord, I beg you not to go. These people seem hostile; it is not safe for you to be here."
"And what do you suggest we do, Lenwe. Speed out of the village at all haste, fighting our way out if needs must?"
"Yes!" Lenwe exclaimed. "A few surprised mortals are no match for the four of us. We can leave this place and never return."
"And what if the village people take a grievance to Prince Faramir concerning the matter? I will not seem an unlawful and wild neighbor to our Ithilien allies."
Lenwe looked as if he was going to say more but quieted as Legolas raised a hand in finality. Leaping upon Arod's back, he pulled Gimli up after him. "Retrieve your mount and your belongings and meet us at the hall. We will be leaving as soon as my business there, whatever it may be, is concluded."
Turning Arod toward the center of town, Legolas steered through the dirt street all the more aware of the deadly cold eyes brushing over him as they passed.
The village hall was not really a hall at all, but a medium-sized log structure, with a thatched roof and tarred seams. Not only did it serve as the house of justice, but also as a gathering place for weddings, harvest feasts, and the annual pig auction. Leaving Arod to stand patiently by the entrance, Legolas and Gimli strode up the five creaking wooden steps to the large wooden doors, pushing them open in their haste and walking into the musty, smoky interior. As soon as they passed the threshold, they noticed the girl, her father, and what they took to be the justice gathered by a table. The girl was sitting down, head bowed as she buried her face in the skirts she held crumpled up to her eyes. Her father stood by her side, his arm curled protectively over her shoulder, as the justice sat in the opposite chair, writing furiously on a scrap of parchment. All three turned as the duo walked into the room.
The girl's father's eyes sparked flame as he laid eyes on them, and he abandoned his post by his daughter's side to stride up to them, lips curled back in a snarl.
"You unnatural, disgusting fiend!" he raged as he moved, hauling back and landing a vicious blow to a stunned and bewildered Legolas' jaw.
The elf staggered but did not fall, and before the man could land another blow, he intercepted the meaty fist with a lightening fast, and iron hard, grip upon his wrist.
"Enough, you shall not touch me again!" the prince stated firmly.
"Aye, he will not!" Gimli added, quickly darting in to kick at the man's shin with his hard, steel-tipped boot.
The man howled in pain and his knees gave way, forcing him to dangle in Legolas' still firm hold.
By this time the justice had galvanized into action and was standing from his chair. "Cease! Cease this at once, elf, or you'll be in more trouble than you already are!"
"He accosted me firstly," Legolas calmly pointed out, but released the man none the less.
Dropping to the plank floor with a thump but gaining his feet quickly, the burly man backed away from the two strange beings and opted for snarling at them instead.
"You'll regret everything you've done to my daughter, you beast! And your ugly little lap dog can partake as well if he kicks me again!"
The dwarf bristled and moved to do just that, but was brought up short as Legolas' gentle hand found his shoulder.
"Enough, Gimli, more violence will not accomplish anything nor answer any questions."
"It would surely be satisfying though!" the dwarf muttered.
Patting his friend's shoulder once more, Legolas steeled himself before taking a cautious step forward.
"What have I done, sir, to your daughter that you would have me summoned before the justice of this village and bring violence upon me?"
"You violated her is what you did! You took her innocence!"
The elf's slender form seemed to be physically rocked by the accusation. He took a step back in shock, but his eyes hardened perceptively.
"I did nothing of the sort! I have not laid a hand on your daughter except to remove hers! She was the one who propositioned me."
This time it was the girl who leapt to her feet. "It was a spell!" she cried. "You used elvish magic on me, forced me to act as I would not normally act, forced me to want you and to lay with you against my nature!"
"Preposterous!" Gimli cried. "What utter rubbish." He turned to Legolas and took the elf by the elbow. "Come, Legolas, let us go. There is no point in staying here and listening to this slander."
"You will NOT leave this room!" bellowed the justice. "A charge has been made against the elf, and he must be made accountable for it."
"I see little we can do to resolve the issue," Legolas pointed out. "It is my word against the maid's."
"Far from it!" the father snarled. "It is a well known fact that elves wield unnatural charms and magic - your kind enchanted the Lord Faramir into giving up our land, after all - and it is also well known that my daughter is a virtuous and good girl. That she has lain with you is proof enough!"
"But she has not lain with me, and there is no proof to contradict such."
"How do you explain her miscarriage then!" the man exclaimed. "Just yesterday she lost a child!"
Both Legolas and Gimli started at this revelation.
"Yes, that's right, you wicked thing. You forced your spawn upon her! But she could not bear the evil, and her body rejected it!"
"I was here only two weeks past. Surely you must realize that is not long enough for a babe to develop and miscarry."
"If it was conceived under a spell, it is!" yelled the girl.
"Spell, what spell?" Legolas sounded frustrated. "You all speak nonsense; there is no such magic!"
"How do we know the little harlot has not been carrying on with someone from your own village? Perhaps the child was his and she wished to cover up her misdeeds?" Gimli suggested, having quickly ascertained the truth of the entire matter. "Perhaps she even weeded the babe out herself."
"How dare you!" the girl's father snarled. "You are the slanderer!" He turned to the justice, face flaming red. "I want this stump of a creature charged as well; he's obviously in collusion with this deceptive little tree rat!" he jerked his head toward Legolas.
"Now, now," the justice brought up his hands. "We don't want more trouble on our hands." He turned toward the two companions. "You, dwarf, are not my concern at the moment and would do well to keep quiet unless you want to join your friend in the cellar."
"Cellar?" Legolas inquired suspiciously.
The justice nodded his head. "Yes, I'm afraid we must confine you in the hall's cellar. It doubles as a holding cell for miscreants, the few that we have. You will await judgment there."
"You can not possibly be serious," Gimli stated incredulously. "Do you know who this is? This is Legolas Greenleaf of Ithilien, prince of Eryn Lasgalen and personal friend to both Prince Faramir and King Elessar, and you plan on locking him in a cellar!"
"I care not if he is the Queen of all Gondor. He will be judged by a village tribunal, but in the interim he WILL be jailed in the cellar."
The dwarf was about to continue the argument when a pair of hulking lubbers emerged from a set of stairs set in the floor at the far end of the room. They bore a remarkable resemblance to the girl's father, and Gimli surmised they were a pair of brothers. Not good, not good at all.
"It is ready," one of them rumbled as they circled around the pair like caged lions.
Legolas assessed the two coolly, standing his ground, and then turned to his friend. "Go, Gimli, and meet with Lenwe and Frer. Inform them of what has transpired," he said quietly. "I will go with these men," he declared, "but expect the matter to be settled by the end of the day." This last bit was firmly stated with more than a little steel in the smooth voice.
The justice tilted his head in invitation, indicating the elf should precede them towards the stairs; the brothers followed close behind but did not touch him after a baleful glare from piercing elvish eyes warned them off such foolhardy actions.
Just before he disappeared down the staircase, Legolas cast one more glance over to his companion. "Fear not, Gimli, I still trust in the hearts of men."
The dwarf stared at the black hole in the floor long after the golden head had bobbed from sight, then snapped his head over to the girl, who still stood by the table, eyes red-rimmed, nose running. "But what of those of women?"
Spitting a dwarvish curse as well as a good amount of saliva at the girl's feet, he spun upon his heels and stormed from the hall.