The Hunt For Gollum: Aftermath Chapter 1: Mislead, a lord of the rings fanfic

A few author´s notes:

This was originally written as a surprise Christmas present for a great friend, who has allowed me to publish it here on ffnet.

This is my take on the events which unfold when Aragorn and his prisoner Gollum arrive in Mirkwood. Gandalf says about it:"My friend returned out of great perils bringing the miserable creature with him" (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Book One, page 58). He does not specify what exactly those perils were.

My portrayal of the Elves of Mirkwood is much less light-hearted than in the books; since their home has fallen under a shadow, I cannot but imagine them as being rather cautious and wary. We do not learn a lot about Thranduil, so I felt free to have him being a bit overwhelmed by the events.

Furthermore, this story is written in the present tense so as to make it more intense.

Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original storylines or characters, and not profit is being made by using them.

Fenghel is mine, though, and I can sell him to the highest bidder if I wish to do so. =)

Chapter 1: Mislead

Aragorn blinks, trying to focus. It is nearly too hard a task, since his vision is slightly blurry and the severe headache that has been there for two days will not cease.

Everything is wet from the heavy rainfalls which have only stopped an hour ago. Yet it seems that the respite will soon be over again; dark clouds are hanging low in the sky. The ground is slippery from thick layers of mud and makes it hard to keep one´s footing.

Aragorn feels himself trembling and takes a deep breath: he will need his courage, since his strength is waning and his task far from over yet.

Another tug on the thin rope which he has wound around his wrist jerks him out of his thoughts: Gollum has been growing even more restless over the last few hours, jumping here and there and thus jeopardizing Aragorn´s balance.

The Ranger squares his shoulders in an effort to straighten up and grips the rope tightly: "Stop that, will you?"

Gollum gives a strangled cry and starts to hiss: "It strangless uss, yess, yess... filthy man triess to kill uss!"

Aragorn subdues a sigh: he has learned long ago that neither argueing nor patience are helping with Gollum´s twisted mind. It would be best to ignore him, ignore the abuse from his mouth and the sinister yellow eyes which even seem to glow in the dark like a cat´s, but as that is not possible, he tries to restrain him as best as he can, and hurries on on their lonesome and awkward journey.

Gollum is now tugging on the rope again, and Aragorn follows him.

He cannot but feel pity for the creature; when Gandalf first told him about Gollum´s strange fate, he hardly believed it possible at all.

Gollum is a deceiver, though, and his wrangled form is likely to delude anyone. No one who first saw him would think him cunning, and yet he is. He knows how to hide and how to cheat, and most important, how to kill. For Gollum, there is only one thing that is important: the Ring, and to get it back.

Aragorn had not been willing to give up on the creature so easily yet, and had been rewarded by a bite he had received on his hand.

From that point on, he had hardly dared to sleep anymore, worried that Gollum might really try to kill him just as he was threatening whenever he thought that his captor could not hear him.

He can still feel the marks of Gollum´s teeth; it had hurt enough that he was not able to grasp anything tightly for several days.

Tiredness is engulfing him now that the end of their journey seems near; they are approaching Mirkwood, where Gollum is supposed to stay under the watch of the Wood-Elves. Aragorn´s weary heart rejoices at the thought of his best friend, whom he has been longing to meet again for years. And he is looking forward to being free again, not being connected to a loathsome figure day and night anymore. His body and mind crave for rest and quietness like he has never experienced it before.

Despite his headache and blurry vision, Aragorn notices the changes in their surroundings, the unusual darkness underneath the trees: he has never been to Mirkwood before, it is of yet a place he only knows from Legolas´ tales.

Gandalf has so much as instructed him to be wary at entering the realm; he was going to inform the Wood-Elves about Aragorn´s and Gollum´s arrival, but as long as Aragorn had not had the chance to confirm his identity with Mirkwood´s guards, he is supposed to be careful. They do not have the reputation of being patient, which in Aragorn´s opinion is understandable after all that has happened to their home.

Gollum apparently has noticed the eerie change as well: he looks around unblinkingly and is silent for once, much to Aragorn´s relief.

While they are trudging on, it starts to rain again, a fine drizzle which feels like perpetually walking through a sheen of water. That is another thing Aragorn really looks forward to: being dry for once. He tries to keep close to the trees for at least the illusion of shelter; it makes their progress even slower, but it does not really matter anymore. The trembling has turned into shaking, and his knees feel week. He knows that his strength is nearly spent, and that thought worries him.

He is being jerked out of his thoughts again when Gollum suddenly shrieks loudly; when Aragorn looks up, he finds himself facing the tip of an arrow. He immediately stops moving, which is not so easy with Gollum fidgeting on the other end of the rope.

It is a hooded figure clad in the colours of Mirkwood whose arrow is aiming at Aragorn, and there are more. The Ranger counts at least six Elves, but he guesses that these are only those he can see; there will be more, hidden in the trees. Mirkwood has learned its lesson.

Aragorn does not want to seem disrespectful, so he waits for the Elf to speak.

"Who are you, and why dare you intruding our borders?" The Elf´s voice is harsh.

Aragorn is just about to bow and reply when Gollum gives a long-drawn out wail: "It wantss to kill uss, yess, yesss! It´ss evil, it´s dangerousss, it wantss to kill nice Elvssessss!"

Aragorn gasps at this: once again, he has underestimated the creature. Gollum is not done, though: "He killsss all, he killssss nice Elvssess and takess their preciousss, yesss, yesss!"

The Ranger turns back to the Elf, who pushes back his hood now, looking from Aragorn to Gollum and back. His fair face is contorted with mistrust while he assesses Aragorn thoroughly through squinted eyes. Aragorn knows how he must look after the past ordeal, but he endures the scrutiny nevertheless. There will be time for explanations later.

Unfortunately, the Elf now discovers the dagger which Aragorn wears at his belt, which was a gift from Legolas long ago. The Elf´s gaze hardens as he recognizes the Elven runes on the delicately crafted handle; with narrowed eyes, he stares at Aragorn, who finds it increasingly difficult to return the look- not because he is intimidated, but because his head is throbbing mercilessly, and the intense pain nearly forces his eyes to close. It takes an enormous effort to keep them open and to hold his head up. The world around him seems strangely muted all of a sudden, but the sharp voice of the Elf rouses Aragorn´s attention, forces him to concentrate back on the sitation.

The Elf nearly spits his next words: "It seems you cannot even look me in the eye, human! I do not deem this as inspiring confidence, apart from your strange companion, so you better leave now, for your own good."

At this moment, Gollum gives the rope another sharp tug: "No, no, don´t ssend uss away with it! It hurtss uss, it makess uss watch it killing pretty Elvssesss and taking their preciousss..." Before Aragorn can comprehend what he just said, Gollum pulls on the rope again, being fully aware that the man on the other end is not anticipating it in his present state. Aragorn, indeed being too preoccupied with simply standing up straight, loses his balance. And staggers forward. He somehow manages not to fall, but collides with Gollum, who now howls out loud: "It hurtss uss again, it hatess uss!"

Panting, Aragorn tries to get away from him, away from the noise which only increases the excruciating pain in his head, but finds that Gollum is holding on to him. "Let go of me", Aragorn hisses. Gollum wails even louder: "Nooo, don´t make usss do it, preciouss, no..." Within seconds, he suddenly holds Aragorn´s dagger in his hand. The man struggles to get it, but Gollum is quicker than him: without so much as blinking, he throws the dagger in the direction of the Elves: "Nooo, don´t kill pretty Elvssesss...." Then he goes limp and quickly scuttles away from the Ranger. Simultaneously, Aragorn is struck by an arrow. The force behind the impact and the immediate pain are too much for him: gasping, he collapses and is unconscious before he hits the ground.

Gollum hesitantly watches the Elves: he is excited because his plan has worked, but he still has to get free.

The Elves have no desire to set him loose, however, and take him with them; after a heated discussion about what to do with the intruder, they decide to take him to the palace as well, where he will be dealt with.

At dusk, the patrol reaches the palace.

Fenghel, the Elf who has been in command, as he happens to be the head of the guard, goes to report to the king.

Thranduil quietly listens to him and only asks questions after he has finished: "And that creature is not actually Orc-related?"

"I would not say so, sire", Fenghel replies. "Both him and the human seemed utterly tattered, as often is the way of highwaymen and thieves, but to me he does not seem to come from Mordor."

Thranduil ponders this while he turns the captive´s weapons over. They are of fine make and undoubtedly Elvish. He feels anger welling up in him, and compassion for the Elf or Elves who probably has or have died and then been robbed of these.

"He will receive the proper punishment, if he survives", he murmurs. He is not very keen on dealing with this man, as his experience with humans is limited and largely negative. He does not trust them and certainly does not wish to be near them; knowing that one of them is imprisoned down in his dungeons is making him terribly uncomfortable.

Fenghel bows: "I will go down and check on how he fares. He has not woken up yet, however, thus I might not be able to talk to him."

Thranduil nods: "Very well. If he dies, it is his own doing, after all. He should neither have tried to intrude nor to attack the patrol."

Fenghel´s mouth is twitching in unvoluntary amusement: he still wonders how anyone, even a human, could be foolish enough to try something futile like that in such a situation. Well, the human will certainly pay for this, as the sentence for attempted murder is death.

Thranduil looks up: "My son will be back from the hunt in a few days; he shall be present at the trial, if it will still be necessary by then. I do deem he has not witnessed a case like this before."

Fenghel bows again, not showing his contempt: "My lord." He deeply admires his king, but does not think highly of the prince. In his eyes, Legolas has done nothing to deserve the throne.

A few minutes later, the head of the guard enters the dungeons. It is a place he dreads, as it is too dark and cold for an Elf, but he does not feel pity for the prisoner, who lies alone in one of the small cells.

The Elves have shackled his wrists and ankles and have chained him to the wall. None of them has had much experience with humans, and they wanted to make sure that he is of no danger to them anymore.

Cautiously, Fenghel opens the iron door; the prisoner seems still unconscious. They had pulled the arrow out of his shoulder and had made a makeshift bandage, but it seems that it has bled some more, since there is a dark pool of blood on the ground. Fenghel kneels down next to the man: his face is pale and lifeless. Apart from his slightly laboured breathing, there is no other sound to be heard. He might not even live to see his trial, which would be a shame, but on the other hand it would be one enemy less.

Shuddering, Fenghel gets up again: the moist air is unpleasant against his skin, and he starts to feel the cold. With one last glance to the still figure on the ground, he turns to go.

The creature Gollum has been locked into another cell, but not as heavily bound as the man; the Elves just did not manage to get hold of him, and as he tried to bite, they reluctantly quit their attempts.

Fenghel glances into his cell as he passes, but Gollum has curled up on himself and does not make a sound either.

He cannot leave the darkness. Panic grips his mind as he realizes that he is trapped, that the impenetrable blackness around him will not release him. It keeps him in pain and coldness, not even allowing him to move.

Aragorn´s mind is too feverish to realize that he has woken up in darkness, he cannot differentiate between being awake and being unconscious. He can forget the pain when he sinks back into oblivion, but as soon as he comes to, if only for seconds, he finds himself in agony, even though his body seems to have gone numb. Time has lost all meaning, as it is always dark.

He only properly wakes up once; he needs a while to regain his senses, and when he does, he immediately regrets it. He cannot remember what has happened or where he is. His shoulder sends waves of nauseating pain through his whole body, and he soon discovers that moving is impossible due to his bonds. He is trembling violently, though if it is because of blood loss or the terrible cold, he cannot say. He feels sick and thirsty at the same time. Miserably, he closes his eyes again; there is nothing else he can do, and he is tired, so tired...

TBC

A few more author´s notes (on the dungeons):

During the Council of Elrond, Legolas says that the Elves had released Gollum from the dungeons and had guarded him night and day: "(...) we had not the heart to keep him ever in the dungeons under the earth, where he would fall back into his old black thoughts." "You were less tender to me," said Glóin with a flash of his eyes, as old memories were stirred of his imprisonment in the deep places of the Elven-king´s halls. (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Book Two, page 255)