We Reap What We Sow
Kuramagal
(A/N): Okay so this awful! It was like five, six, seven, eight… AH I'M RUNNING OUT OF FINGERS! You'll are free to kill me. Honestly, I'm giving you permission; it's the least I can do … though if you want another chapter, I suggest not. Once again, I want to thank you to those of you who reviewed: Telcontar Rulz, Calenlass Greenleaf and Viresse! You guys are amazing, thanks for taking your time to review. It makes me so happy! News…oh right next chapter will be out soon, two weeks or less crosses fingers I'll do my best! Ummm…oh yeah, the chapter! Well this chapter is going to feature a big treat: you meet my bad guys! Enjoy!
As far as updates are concerned, before the end of May (most likely sometime in between!) Right now my life is one big hellfeast so if my updates are a little … spaced, that's why. I promise that something like this will never happen again. Oh, and once again if I fail to fulfill my duty you all may feel free to kill me with a rabid warg.
Summary: An ordinary day in Rivendell turns to pandemonium when the twins seek to avenge an old grudge. How will everyone survive their wrath? And what is lurking beyond the safety of the Last Homely House?
Warning: None … yet.
Chapter 5: Rifts
It had been four days, four long agonizing days. It wasn't the actual journey that was bad. They had only encountered a little bad weather and the band of orcs they had clashed with the third day had purely been for sport. No, Legolas decided pensively, the journey was pleasant enough, but the company could use some work.
That wasn't a fair statement. Legolas actually quite liked Beinion and Rilien, being with them he was sorely reminded of several of his own friends in Mirkwood. The brothers were a lively pair that had enough energy among them to lead any military force. Legolas also found friendship with Rissien, who, in a sense, reminded him of a Glorfindel-like character, though Rissien was far more serious. The battle-hardened warrior possessed a calculating mind and a sharp wit that Legolas admired. Legolas had been quite impressed when Rissien had actually rebuked Elladan the first day they had traveled for the prank he had pulled on Glorfindel. Elladan's pride still hadn't recovered.
Legolas found he even liked the fourth member of their company, a silent younger elf, who he found was named Faeron. (To be honest, he had choked on his supper when he had found that the elf possessed the same name as the prospective one for Alassiel's child.) Legolas discovered he liked just about every member of their group, save one. A lordly little Noldo named Elladan, who was ruining the whole trip for him.
Legolas decided that if he got the chance he really would push Elladan off a cliff. The stupid twin had been brooding the entire trip; in fact, the only thing that had improved his mood was when they had run into the company of orcs. Elladan had apparently forgotten his anger and worry and had slaughtered the orcs like his usual cheerful self. But then, just as the last orc had been polished off, Elladan had returned to his journey mood, which Legolas likened to that of an ill-tempered child. For the rest of the little adventure, the elf had just moped. It was getting to the point that Legolas was hoping to meet more orcs. And if that wasn't a testament to the impeding insanity that would befall any who befriend Noldor, nothing was. Before he had met the twins, he had never dreamed he'd wish such a thing on himself.
Legolas sighed mournfully; he really did need to find some normal friends. His father had tried to warn him of the danger of befriending the Noldor. Here and now Legolas vowed to listen to his father the next time he told him something. The nagging little voice in his head told him that he would most likely disregard that little comment in the future, but he didn't care. He would promise to spend eternity in his father's dungeon if it only meant speeding up this little trip so he could get away from Elladan before he did something drastic, namely shoving the lord off any high elevation.
In all fairness, he really couldn't kill Elladan (not that he hadn't thought of nearly every way and method possible.) No, he had been suckered into making a promise to actually protect the other elf! You know what they say about promises. They're meant to be broken, the nagging little voice reminded him. Legolas swore mentally. He was really going to have to do something about that voice. It (along with Elladan) was going to drive him crazy. Perhaps, the voice began anew, you could shove him down a small ravine. What would that hurt? The logical part of Legolas' mind told him that that was a paradox, and that there was no such thing as a 'small' ravine. However, the louder and more dangerous voice reminded him that Estel had said pushing him down a small cliff would be fine, but only if absolutely necessary.
The Prince of Mirkwood sighed. He was only going to be allowed to shove Elladan down one cliff this journey, and he'd best save it until he really need to do it. Speaking of a certain Lord of Rivendell, Legolas shot a dark look at the still brooding Elladan, who rode in front of him. You have no idea the things I give up for you! He thought savagely, even important things, like my own sanity! It was true. Elladan was completely oblivious to the going about around him. Legolas heaved a sigh. He was really hanging around the Noldor too much; they were starting rub off their crazy selves on him.
At least we're surrounded by cliffs. Just in case the urge becomes too great, Legolas thought dully as he peered towards the edge of the cliff into the misty abyss below. Indeed, they were very close to the edge, and even with their horses going in one single-file line, they barely fit. They had been traveling around cliffs for nearly this entire leg of their journey. Legolas just hoped they would run out of cliffs before he was forced to shove the son of Elrond off of one.
They had been traveling like this for days. They stopped only when it became too dark and dangerous to wind their way through the mountain. Other than that, they were always atop a horse. Legolas looked down at his own steed; the beast looked just as melancholy as he felt. Legolas reached forward to pat his neck.
In all honestly, Legolas thought his horse and the rest of the horses had the worst end of the stick. How awful would it be to walk all day with some fool and his supplies on your back? Legolas was very glad he hadn't been born a horse. He could remember a few select instances of Estel begging him to play a game the child had dubbed 'horsy.' Not having any siblings, Legolas had agreed, despite the twins' franticly shaking heads behind the little mortal's back. Legolas shuddered. For as long as he lived he would never forget that night.
Who ever said that elves had more stamina than mortals hadn't meet Estel. Nor had that person played 'horsy' with the child for three hours straight. Legolas shuddered as he thought of the innocently named game. Who ever had come up with that game needed to be shot and hung up as an example of what would happen to idiots who came up with torturous games like that. Imagine, someone acting like a horse and allowing a small child to sit on their back. Legolas shook his head. It had to be a Noldor thing. Yet another reason why my father was right… His father was getting to be right about a lot of things.
"We will stop for the night." The voice of Rissien echoed from the front of the group. Legolas pulled his head out from the cloud he had been in and looked around to see that they had found a relatively large indentation in the stone. He looked out west to where the fading rays of light were rapidly disappearing.
He began to remove his belonging from his stead, only to find another set of hands assisting him. The blond prince turned to see the equally blond Faeron assisting him. "Let me assist you, Prince Legolas," Faeron offered taking the prince's bedroll. Legolas smiled at the younger elf. Faeron was apparently very set on following protocol. Even though Legolas had insisted several times that it wasn't necessary, the blond elf felt that he had some duty to serve Legolas before himself.
"Thank you," Legolas said and he removed the saddle bags from his horse's flanks. He smiled at the animal. "My thanks," he said, patting the horse. The animal snorted and then clomped away in search of a good grazing area. It was followed by four other horse, excluding Faeron's horse, which was still patiently waiting for its master to remove its load.
Legolas looked with pity at the patient horse and then looked over to its master. Faeron was busy setting Legolas' things down by the fire. Making a decision, he headed over to remove Faeron's horse saddlebags. The horse whickered with happiness when Legolas approached. The prince was just pulling heavy saddle bags off its back, when Faeron returned.
"Prince Legolas, please, you don't need to be doing this!" Faeron looked more than just a little embarrassed.
Legolas smiled casually. "Nonsense, you have helped me enough. It's time I returned the favor," Legolas reasoned. "Protocol doesn't exist out here. You and I are equals."
Fareon looked as though he wished to object, but the protocol he was so fond of forbid him to argue with his superior. So he merely nodded and took his saddle bags while Legolas grabbed his bedroll. When they reached the others, they found a decent fire was already started. Around the fire sat the four other members of the company. Rilien, Rissien and Beinion were all sitting around one of the previously taboo maps. Elladan was sitting off the side, ever the recluse. Legolas looked at the three around the map and remembered to thank the Valar for Elrond forcing Elladan to bring it.
As much as Legolas thought they would never need them, he was very willing to eat his own words. And he definitely was going to have to. Not only had they ended up needing the maps, but they had most likely saved all of their lives.
It had been during the second day of their travels and they had become lost. Legolas hated to admit it, after all he was not only elven, but also male. And males, especially elven males, did not ask for directions. Male instinct was far better. Well, male instinct had caused them to become rather lost. No, Legolas rethought, they had become … displaced. Anyway, while they were displaced, someone had had the brilliant idea to pull out the maps.
The maps had indeed showed that they were going in the wrong direction, and should they have continued following 'male instinct' it would have placed them somewhere nice and close to the boundaries of Mordor. Legolas smiled in spite of himself. That would have been rather … surprising, especially for the inhabitants of Mordor. After all, it was very rare that they had a band of elves stumbling on their property, especially such a small band. Legolas was so caught in his musings of what the inhabitants of Mordor would think that he didn't notice the slight pull on his elbow, until his was quite literally pulled from the group.
Rissien took Legolas by his elbow while Beinion and Rilien dragged Faeron over to look over the maps with them. "It appears you have a shadow, Prince Legolas."
Legolas had the decency to blush. "I didn't ask for this treatment," he whispered fervently.
Rissien smiled. "Understandable. It's just Faeron's nature. He was apparently raised to treat royalty like they are made of glass. It's nothing you're going to be able to change anytime soon, either. Believe me, I've been trying since he first joined my ranks," Rissien confided in the prince.
"You trained him?" Legolas asked casually. Though Faeron appeared to be capable warrior, he had heard from Beinion that Rissien, who worked alongside Glorfindel, only trained the best.
Rissien nodded. "He was my elder sister's son. She died many years ago and since then Faeron has lived with us."
"I see," Legolas replied, finally understanding why Rissien and Faeron's hair looked so similar. "He's a very capable warrior. Mirkwood would be honored to have one like him among her forces." Rissien smiled, but never got the chance to respond because an ill-tempered response came before he opened in mouth.
"Would you now, your highness?" Elladan questioned sarcastically, which caused Legolas to raise his eyebrow in disbelief.
Legolas let out a sigh. Leave it to him to ruin the peace. "Pray tell, what exactly does that mean?" The prince demanded indignantly. A hushed silence spread over the camp.
Elladan shrugged indifferently. "I merely thought that you would want your title thrown in if you insist on acting like a king."
Legolas felt his blood boil under the surface, and he was quite sure his face and especially his ears had grown a particular shade of red. "I see," he managed. It wasn't exactly the words that had come to his mind, but then again, the last thing he wanted to do was further escalate this argument. "Elladan, could I speak to you a moment, away from the rest of the group?"
Elladan's eyes narrowed, but then he nodded, and, brushing his clothing off, followed Legolas away from the campsite. He was fully aware of the four sets of eyes that watched the duo with a mixture of fear, uncertainty and bemusement.
Legolas led the infuriatingly smug Elladan out of hearing range of the camp. Once they were a safe distance, Legolas turned to Elladan. "What is going on? First you act like child and pout for most of the trip, and now you start picking fights? I thought this would blow over, but apparently I'm wrong," Legolas' eyes blazed but then they grew gentler and in a soft voice he begged, "Tell me, mellon-nin. Please, tell me what's upsetting you."
Elladan glared at Legolas, and then shook his head. "It's not important," he declared.
Legolas raised a delicate blond eyebrow. So much for trying to be delicate about it. "I disagree. Anything that's got you this upset must be rather important," Legolas said dryly. Elladan still refused to speak. "Why must you be so stubborn? Can't you understand that I'm trying to help you?"
Elladan still refused to speak, and Legolas felt his patience rapidly depleting. Fine then, if Elladan wanted to mope the entire trip, he'd let him. Legolas was only told not to kill the other, that didn't mean he could not ignore him for the rest of the little adventure. Legolas was about to throw his hands up in holy horror and leave when Elladan moved ever so slightly.
Elladan took a several tentative steps towards the edge of the cliff until his toes were nearly resting on the very edge. He didn't speak for a few more second and when he did his voice sounded unsure. "I…I don't like being separated from him," Elladan finally admitted shakily as he looked up at the bright full moon. Legolas faltered slightly. This was the last thing he had expected.
Legolas stepped out towards Elladan and placed a hand on his friend's arm. The eldest twin looked at his longtime friend. His eyes searched Legolas' for a reason or an understanding. Legolas smiled gently. "Elrohir, you miss him?"
Elladan didn't answer for a long while. He merely stood there, his body framed by the silvery moonlight. When he did finally speak, his voice sounded distant. "Not miss, it's too strong to just be missing him. It's like … it's like I'm missing half of myself. Like I've been carved in two. It's like I've lost part of myself. I'm physically fine, but mentally I feel lost and it makes me irritable." Suddenly Elladan turned to Legolas and gently laid a hand on his friends forearm. "Forgive me, Legolas. I have treated you and the rest of our company poorly."
Legolas smiled. "It is long forgiven," he answered sincerely, clasping the other's forearm and pulling him in an embrace. "I am here for you my friend, should you ever need me. I know I'm a poor substitute for Elrohir, but I am here."
"No." Elladan shook his head, "You are like a brother to me, Legolas. You're not a poor substitute for Elrohir, after Estel, you're the very best."
Legolas smiled. "Thank you, my friend. That means a lot to me. Now come, we should get back to the camp." Legolas moved away from the cliff's edge, but Elladan remained.
"Actually, I'd like to stay for a moment," the lord said, never removing his eyes from the large orb in front of him. "I'd like to look at the moon a little longer."
Legolas nodded. "Of course. I'll see you back at camp." It was understandable; Elladan needed some time to himself to sort out his loneliness. Legolas had only walked a few feet when he heard it. It was faint, but as he looked back at Elladan he knew the twin had heard it as well.
Suddenly, he heard it again, this time much louder. Then it was as if the air had become water. Legolas felt the ground beneath his feet shift, suddenly he heard a startled cry. He whipped around to see Elladan's lithe body arching backwards as the ground beneath his feet began to crumble. "ELLADAN!" The prince shouted, instinctively diving forward to grab any part of the body of his best friend, but he couldn't grasp Elladan's hand. All he grabbed was thin air. And the last thing he saw were Elladan's surprised and frightened grey eyes as he plummeted backwards into the inky ravine.
Elrond had had quite enough. He was constantly wondering first why he had agreed to take both Glorfindel and Erestor into his house and second why he hadn't sailed yet. While the second would be considered a far more drastic decision to most, Elrond disagreed. Anyone who knew Erestor and Glorfindel would know which was more drastic. Of course, when he had accepted them as advisors he hadn't realized it. who or what had possessed him that day to agree with that nonsense ought to be shot. Elrond wasn't quite sure who, but he had a feeling that first, that person was dead and second, that it had something to do with a High King.
He shook his head. If he had to compare them to something, he'd say that Erestor and Glorfindel were like two ferrets tied in a sack. They would fight until one of them was forever silenced. Elrond rethought that. 'Forever' meaning an hour or so. Neither would be able to stay silent for longer than that. And right now the two previously mentioned elves were having their weekly row – and neither was silent. Actually, if Elrond was going to be correct, it was more likely to be a daily row.
While this was all good and well, the real person Elrond was a mad at was himself. Not only for allowing both of the high-strung elves to live with him for these thousands of years, but also because he, the great Elrond of Rivendell, had his ear pressed against Erestor's study door like a little child. A naughty little child, his mind corrected. Elrond sighed. Wonderful, now his mind was turning on him. Today was turning out to be a peachy day, wasn't it?
Normally, when Glorfindel and Erestor had a row, Elrond could have cared less. After all, they were frequent events. However, in light of recent events, Elrond thought it might be nice to check up on them, without them noticing, of course. And so here he was, his pointed ear pressed tight against the door, listening with all his might as he tried to determine just what his two insane advisors were planning.
I bet this never happens in Thranduil's realm, Elrond though sourly. It was true, he had significant evidence to prove that Thranduil ran a bit tighter ship than he did. If he needed an example, the very first time Legolas had visited was the first time the child had even heard of a prank. Elrond sighed, yes he had to admit that the king had his subjects under control. Thranduil would have never let something like this happen in his kingdom. No, the sarcastic part of Elrond's brain thought, he would just have sent the misbehaviors to his dungeons. Come now, do you really want to be like that?
Elrond sighed. Now his mind was asking him questions. He really needed to stop being around his two advisors. Speaking of those two elves, Elrond heard a distinct crash through the solid wood door.
The Lord of Rivendell pulled his ear away; he'd heard enough. Then, mustering all of his courage, he grabbed the handle and pushed the door open and looked inside. When he did, he almost fell over. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.
A potted plant lay broken, with its shards on the ground, but Elrond's attention was quickly averted from that and to his two advisors. Glorfindel and Erestor were arguing with one another. While this itself wasn't such a grand feat (as they did it often and anywhere they pleased) the fact that Glorfindel was hanging by one arm out the window was. Elrond had to restrain himself, for he was sorely tempted to run over and shoved the both of them out the window and be done with the whole matter.
No, the sensible part of his mind thought, if that happens not only will you have killed the only two advisors who can tolerate your sons' madness, but you will have more paperwork than you can handle. That last prospect was what really did him in, so instead of doing what his heart so yearned to do, he opted for a safer approach.
Elrond cleared his throat loudly, and in a voice that would have sent chills up a wraith's spine, he said, "Excuse me if I'm interrupting something, but what in the name of the Valar is going on here?"
The two advisors gave him looks that would have appeared innocent looks and had one them not been hanging out of one of his windows, Elrond might have believed it. Not now though. Elrond dug his nails into the fleshy part of his palms; he was going to kill them. No! He couldn't do that, it was then and there that the remaining sensible part of his brain decided how to handle this situation. You will not scream, shout or rage, you will not shove them out the window, you will stay here and grit your teeth and bear this!
Elrond shook his head, to Angband with that, this whole situation was hopeless. "Would someone please inform me of what exactly is going on here?" he asked, trying and failing to keep the exasperation from his voice.
Glorfindel and Erestor looked at one another. "We were calculating," Erestor finally admitted.
Why were the elves of Imladris planning so much lately? Elrond wondered. "What, pray tell, were you calculating that evolved you, Glorfindel, hanging out the window? My window?" he added, suddenly feeling the need to be possessive.
The spoken to elf looked to his accomplice while he swung his legs back into the room and landed on the floor mat lightly. "Well, it would have been easier had we been able to go out the door," Erestor said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Elrond sighed. Why, oh why, did his advisors always make him feel like he was loosing his mind, or worse yet, like he a complete idiot? A baboon who they had trained to do everything and anything. Elrond didn't know, and he really didn't want to follow that train of thought down the dangerous path it would take, so instead he asked, "And pray tell, why couldn't you go out the door like a normal person?"
Erestor and Glorfindel looked at one another and with a sigh, Glorfindel said, "Well, my lord, you were spying out there."
Elrond wasn't fast enough to the look of shame that crossed his face. He hated being caught, especially when it was by his own advisors. "Yes, well – that still doesn't explain why you, Lord Glorfindel were hanging out the window," Elrond said, diverting the conversation away from his own stupidity.
The two elves noticed this, but luckily choose not to comment on it. "Well, if you must know, my lord, we were calculating the climb from the twin's bedroom to my window," Erestor said calmly, as though this was something they normally did in their spare time.
Elrond was once again unable to control his facial expression as a look of utter confusion and hopelessness spread across his face. Why in all of Arda would they want to know that? And just what were they planning on doing with that information? Elrond wanted to ask all of these questions, but the only one he managed was, "You were what?"
The two other elves looked at one another. "Calculating," they replied in unison. They both gave one another yet another perplexed look. From the way Elrond was looking at them, one would have thought that they'd told him they were catching purple spotted butterflies.
Elrond placed his palm on his forehead, and then in a forced calm way, asked, "And why again would you be doing that?" He felt as though he was talking to two very incompetent toddlers, rather than his Chief Advisor and the captain of his forces.
"Well, my lord, we were trying to figure out how they did it," Erestor said, and then, when he noticed Elrond's confusion, he added, "Your sons, my lord. We were trying to figure out how they managed to get into my room without my noticing. They couldn't have used the door. You see I keep that locked and place a hair in the lock each time I leave, and if they did open the door, the hair would have been broken when I returned, and it wasn't. It was then that Glorfindel had his … brilliant idea that your sons might have tried to scale the wall to my room. So we were testing it."
"And?" Elrond asked.
"Well, we were about to doing it when this giant buffoon-"
"Excuse me! But is it really my fault you leave your plants so close to the window that anyone could have knocked it over?!"
Erestor gave him a scathing look. "My plants are by the window so they get sunlight and I leave them there because I don't expect someone to try to enter my chambers through my window."
Glorfindel could only give the other a scathing look as Erestor's logic, as always, was flawless.
"Is that all you were arguing about?"
"No, my lord," Erestor replied. "There was something else."
"Oh? Do tell."
"Well, we were debating asking you to come in and help us. You see, this idiot is heavy, and I could use another hand."
Elrond could only stare.
A dark cloud shifted slightly in the midnight sky, causing a shower of light to stream down onto the forest. It illuminated the area and cast shadows over a small cottage that had been constructed there. The craftsmanship on the cottage was old, and the thatched roof was in need of repair, but even so, a light shown from the darkened windows, leaving puddles of golden light on the wooden porch. The clouds shifted once more, revealing now not only the full moon, but also a cloaked figure, which approached the house and then rapped three times on the solid wood door.
For those close enough, the sounds of shuffling could be heard inside the house. They were then followed by the clunking of wood and finally the door cracked open. The face of a middle-aged man could be seen, and from where his head stuck out from the door, it was easy to see he was a short man. He was a shady looking fellow, with brown nervous-looking eyes and small thin lips which had a sheen of sweat already covering the top of them.
"You!" The small man said to the cloaked figure. His eyes looked nervously around, trying to see behind the figure.
"Were you expecting someone else?" The cloaked figure asked wryly. The cloaked figure's voice was deep and rich, much of a contrast to the other's voice, which had a mouse-like quality to it.
"NO! No, I wasn't," the smaller man continued nervously. "You would want to come in," the small man mumbled, mostly to himself, as he opened the door just enough for the taller to squeeze in.
"You see distressed, Garvin," the cloaked figure commented. "Is something wrong?" he pressed, his voice light and airy, though the tone below had a very sinister quality to it.
Garvin reacted as though someone had burned him with a poker. He shrunk back and began wringing his hands, his eyes looking to the exit. "No, sir. I'm just…distressed over getting everything right."
The cloaked figure took a step towards the agonizing man. "Don't," he said. Garvin looked hopeful. "I don't tolerate my people getting worked up over these kinds of things. It would be a shame if I had to kill you over something as trivial as that." The cloaked figure patted the portly man's cheek. "Now, go and get me what I really came for." The being then shoved Garvin back, sending the corpulent man reeling backwards. "And hurry," the figure added darkly. "I don't like waiting."
Garvin hurried off and came back only moments later, with a rope lead. On the other end of the lead was a very dirty human dressed in rags. "Is this to your liking?" Garvin asked nervously, half leading, half dragging the human forward and making it kneel before the figure.
The figure stepped forward and took the slave's jaw in its gloved hand, forcing the being to look him in the eyes. The hooded figure examined the human for a moment, and then, a second later, he dropped the human's face. "Is this a joke?" He asked in a deadly serious voice. Then with a resounding thump, his hand made contact with the slave's face. "This … trash won't do. What have I told you before, Garvin?" The figure asked, advancing now on the paling man. "I'm quite sure I said that I don't tolerate this kind of trash." The portly man shook like a leaf as the hooded figure lifted him off the ground with one hand.
"I…I thought it would be … all right?" Garvin whimpered pathetically.
If had been possible to see his eyes, or any part of his face for that matter, Garvin would have seen the cloaked figure raise an eyebrow. Indeed, his icy voice embodied it. "If I had wanted a mortal, don't you think I would have stolen one myself?!"
Garvin squeaked like a mouse. "Wait! A thousand pardons! You want something more durable, right?" Garvin asked, and his greedy, beady eyes looked hurriedly around. None of his slaves would suffice, he knew that. But the buyer didn't! "I might have something else, something you might like more!"
"Don't lie to me," the cloaked figure said, turning to leave. "We both know you're lying. Don't waste my time!" The figure moved for the door.
"Wait!" Garvin was panicked now. "I have a new shipment arriving in two days! They will be bringing more, from all over. They will be suitable, I assure you!"
The figure stopped and then turned back to Garvin and said, "For your sake, I hope you're right. My master doesn't tolerate incompetence," the cloaked figure reminded him darkly and then, without another word, the figure excited the small home and began to trek into the forest. He walked only a mile before he paused and looked up into the densely packed trees with annoyance, then without turning he said, "Your habits are becoming irksome."
There was a rustle. "A thousand pardons," a voice from behind him simpered, knowingly mimicking Garvin's words from earlier. "But I thought you weren't bothered by my little habits," the voice from the shadows continued.
"By your habits, no," the cloaked figure said, "But your peoples in general, yes."
The figure laughed lightly. It was then that he chose to step from the shadows and into the moonlight that filtered through the trees. "My people? Don't you mean our people?" He responded. His perfect white-blond hair shone in the moonlight, and his gleaming blue eyes watched his friend attentively.
"No," the still cloaked figure responded, "Your people. I stopped degraded myself like that along time ago."
The blond smiled at his friend. "You must feel some loyalty to them?" He pressed, knowing just how to incite his friend. "After all, my friend, we grew up in the protection of those woods."
"Yes, I feel loyalty enough to them to put them out of their misery," the figure said, and then in an after thought, added, "And I believe you're trying to provoke me. You always did know how to do that so well."
"I should," the blond retorted back. "After all, we have been friends for these past four thousand years." Suddenly his beautiful, fair features grew more serious. He took a step forward towards his friend, and when he did, a noticeable limp could be seen in his gait. His friend's expression must have been one of pity, for the blond shook his head and in a pained voice said, "Don't look at me like that."
The hooded figure shook his head. "I can't help it, my friend," the cloaked figure murmured. "You lost so much that day. We lost – we both lost," he cut himself off.
The blond placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. The two stood there for a few minutes. "We don't have to do this, you know," the blond whispered seriously, finally breaking the silence. "We could just walk away and sail, before this becomes too serious."
The other shook his head, "No," he said vehemently looking at his friend with familiar blue eyes. "They will pay for what happened, my friend. They, who did not understand, will pay." Then the hooded figure smiled, "And I know just who to start with."
Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I'm a horrible awful person to make you wait like this! I promise that this will eventually be completed and that I won't leave it hanging, but please bear with me. My life is …. Eventful at the moment! I promise another chapter will come out … eventually….Thanks for your patience!
Kuramagal