TM #22, #23, #24, #25- Falling Knight (4 week combination fic)

[elrohir_muse]

Title: Falling Knight
Author: Gaia (gaia_eagle@yahoo.com)
Rating: R
Categories: Angst, DarkFic, AU, Gen
Feedback: Yes please, but do not kill me.
Summery: After centuries of being under the water, the One Ring sees an elf that serves its purpose.

Disclaimer: I do not own Middle Earth or all its inhabitants, and places. They belong to J.R.R. Tolkien and his estates. I just play and make no money off of this.

Warnings and Author’s notes: First of all this is an alternate universe fic, written for the writing project Theatrical_muse (www.livejournal.com/communities/theatrical_muse). I was behind on 4 of my challenges for my character, Elrohir, when this fic came to mind. Also for those in theatrical_muse, this is not apart of any TM canon there might be. It stands completely alone, away from TM and does not pertain to any current storylines.

The challenges are:
1.Who is your personal role model?
2. What would constitute a "perfect" evening for you?
3. If you could invent a holiday, what and when would it be? What special traditions would take place on that day?
4. What's a typical day for you?

This takes place before the ring is found by Smeagol. So it is still in the river.

Lastly, I would like to thank the typers for The One Ring i_am_shiny and Elladan son_of_elrond and Elrond valley_lord for allowing me to borrow their muses for a bit while writing this.

*****

“I know who you are, young one.” A voice said in the distance. Elrohir stirred from his sleep, trying to locate the source of the sound. He sat up and looked around the room. No one was there, not even his brother, who he could have sworn had fallen asleep with him. “Come to me and I will show you great power.”

“Who’s there?” Nothing answered. Elrohir waited to see if the voice would call him again, but nothing. Sighing, he got out of bed and walked down to the kitchens. Maybe a midnight snack would help calm him down.

No one passed the younger twin on his way, therefore was surprised to see a single candle lit in the kitchens. Elrohir slowly opened the door, and saw his brother eating some berries and cream.

“I see great minds think alike, gwanunig.” Elrohir said as he walked through the doors and sat down across from Elladan.

“Brother, you scared me!” Elladan smirked at his twin and gave a slight wink. “So what brings you out of your warm bed at this hour of the night?”

“The usual; bad dreams, strange voices in my head. If this continues much longer, I fear Ada will have to heal my mind.”

“We have never kept anything from each other. Care to tell me exactly what is going on.” There was a look of concern on Elladan’s face.

Elrohir knew he could tell his brother anything, but he was not sure how to explain what was happening. Over the past couple of nights, he heard a voice beckoning him. Every time he found himself wanting to follow, his rational mind would kick in. Slowly, however, the rational part of him was wearing away, and the pull was getting greater.

“’Tis nothing brother, just some bad dreams. It shall pass in time. Maybe I am under too much stress and need something to relax.”

Elladan sighed and looked slightly hurt, because he knew there was more to this than Elrohir was letting on. “You are always noble, always carrying more than you should. If you feel it is nothing, then I shall not pester you any more over it.” Elladan reached over and placed a hand on Elrohir’s clasped hand. “Just remember I will always be here for you no matter what, dear brother.”

Elrohir smiled. “I am glad to hear that. Now care to share some of those berries with me?”

“Oh dear. Where are my manners little brother? Of course you can have some.” Elladan passed over a spoon and they ate together, talking about things that only brothers would understand in the soft glow of Ithil.

*****

Over the next month, Elrohir continued to hear the voice in his sleep, but he still could not bring himself to tell anyone about it. He feared that they would think less of him, think he was losing his mind, and send him away. If that were to happen, Elrohir knew that would be the end of him, for his daily activities in Imladris were the only thing keeping him from finally giving in and following the siren song of the voice. Then the unthinkable happened…he was captured.

It was the twins’ turn to patrol the borders, when they stumbled upon a pack of orcs. There were about fifteen of them; neither the greatest number they defeated together, nor the least. So they did not think they would need the help of others to dispatch the foul creatures. Elladan was the first to charge in, and he killed off one right away. Elrohir soon followed. Working in a perfect dance, backing each other and never getting in the other’s way, they soon made their way through the pack.

As soon as Elrohir killed the last orc, two poisoned darts sailed. One hit each of them in the back. For one brief moment, they looked into each other’s eyes, then the world turned black.

*****

Several days passed before Elladan woke up with a shout of Elrohir’s name. He was lying on a bed in the healing house, safe, but he was alone. No one occupied the other bed, which worried him, for surely his father would not place Elrohir in another room.

He startled when his father opened the door. “Ada, where is Elrohir?”

There was a sad look in Elrond’s eyes. This particular news would not be easy to give. “Elladan, Elrohir is gone.”

“What do you mean Ada? We were patrolling, and got shot by darts. He went unconscious when I did. Surely you found him. Please tell me this is some joke.”

Elrond placed a hand on Elladan’s shoulder to comfort his oldest as best he could. “I am sorry, but we found no sign of Elrohir in the area where we found you. I sent teams of elves to look for him, but there was no sign of him. When I checked his room, hoping to find some clue to his disappearance, I found this.” He pulled out a folded letter and gave it to Elladan.

Slowly, Elladan opened it and read:

My family,
If you have found this letter, then you know I am gone. Do not worry for me; I know what I am doing. I could not share this burden, and as a result, I felt isolated, unable to be apart of our family, unworthy of your love. Please, do not try to find me, for I do not want you to see me in this state. Remember me as the son or brother you always knew, and continue with your lives. Thank you for the centuries of memories.

Elrohir

The letter fell from Elladan’s grasp. His twin was gone. Elrohir surely could not be gone. Elrond pulled his shocked son in his arms, needing to know at least one of them was alive.

“Ada,” Elladan said, finally breaking the silence. “With your permission, I would like to search for Elrohir and talk some sense into him.”

“I would expect nothing less from you ion-nîn. Search for Elrohir and bring him back. Make him understand that he is not alone and does not need to leave us. I just hope you reach him before it is too late.”

“I will, Ada. I will.”

*****

It was dark when Elrohir opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, just to make sure that, yes, he was awake, and his eyes were working. This was no trick. There was not a single ray of light in the room. Elrohir tried to sit up, only to find his hands and feet were bound tightly, not allowing him to move at all.

“I sense you are awake, pen-neth.” That strange voice that seemed to fill his head, not his ears, was back.

“Who are you? What do you want with me?” He shouted. “Let me go!” There was no reply from the voice.

Doors opened and orcs came in with whips. The light from their torches lit up the room. For the first time, Elrohir could see there were no windows in this place, that the only exit was through the door. The orcs roughly tied Elrohir up against one wall, with his back exposed to their ministrations. Pain filled Elrohir as whips struck him again and again, for what seemed like eternity.

*****

Elladan and Elrohir sat by a waterfall. Elrohir hand his head in his brother’s lap, just enjoying being with his twin.

“I still do not believe her. Can you honestly think I would ever find such a female like that attractive.” Elladan said.

“I do not know. She was kind of cute and she is passionately in love with you.” Elrohir teased back.

“Yes, but she is only 20! Hardly old enough to know what love is.”

“But she will not always be that age, gwanunig.”

“Ai, I know. But how does one tell an elfling that I am just not interested in anyone right now. My life does not have time for a relationship like that.” Elladan played with Elrohir’s long locks, smoothing out the tangles from their day of swimming.

“You will think of something.” Elrohir smiled. “You know what would make this day perfect, Elladan?”

“What brother?”

“For us to not have any problems due to being the sons of Elrond. We could go wherever we want, do whatever we want, and not have to worry about making Ada mad.”

“You mean, we do not do that already.” Elladan tickled Elrohir slightly.

Elrohir laughed. “You know what I mean. We never have a chance to be just us. To me a perfect day would be the day we could.”

“I know what you mean, gwanunig.”

The world shifted around them, spanning a great amount of time in a little few seconds. Elrohir was not lying in Elladan’s lap, instead standing behind him, with a knife in his hands. Elladan was chained up, sporting several bruises already.

“Ai, my dear brother. You are so perfect in your anguish.” Elrohir lightly stroked Elladan’s back. “So strong and yet so vulnerable. Lets see how much it takes for you to break.” He sliced into Elladan’s skin, letting red blood flow. Elladan screamed, as he was cut again and again.

Elrohir woke with a scream. He could not shake the dream, which started out so wonderful then turned so foul. It was only a dream, he kept repeating to himself. Elladan is safe and he is the one captured.

His body ached from cuts that were just beginning to heal. Elrohir knew that soon there would be another beating, another session of torture intent on breaking him down. Ten times this happened. Ten times he was allowed to heal slightly, and then whipped again, reopening the old wounds and adding new ones.

Being constantly in pain fueled his rage. He was mad at himself for getting into this situation, and mad because he could not find a way out. There were too many orcs when they came to transfer him from the bed to the wall. Too many to try and over power, too many to kill with bare hands.

The orcs were keeping him barely alive, giving him small amounts of food that usually had some mold growing on it. They gave him small amounts of water also, tainted with stuff that Elrohir was glad he could not recognize.

“There is a way to make the pain stop. All you have to do is give in. Break down and lose hope.”

“Never!” Elrohir shouted.

“You will lose hope, eventually. How much longer can you live in this pain?”

“For as long as it takes.” But he knew he was lying to himself, for he could feel Mandos’ halls starting to call him. The cold seeped into his veins, but his will to live was still too strong to fade.

******

“Ai, Elrohir, you are great with a bow!” Celonvain exclaimed.

The older elf looked down at the elfling he was teaching and smiled. “Thank you. You do me great honor by saying that. But remember, I would not be anywhere without my teachers to guide me.”

“You mean like Glorfindel and Erestor?” The young elf’s eyes lit up when thinking about them.

“Yes. I looked up to them, treated them with respect, even when Elladan and I pulled our pranks. In return, they taught my brother and I everything we know.”

“Not everything,” Celonvain scolded. “Your Ada taught you things too.”

Elrohir sighed. “Ai, how could I forget my Ada? You are right, he did teach me a lot. Someday, I will try and model myself after them, for that is the greatest reward a teacher can receive.”

Celonvain giggled. “I want to be just like you, Elrohir.”

“Oh really?” Elrohir winked and reached down to tickle the youngster. “Then you have best learn how to do a lot of things, and how to pull a good prank or three.”

He giggled with Elrohir’s teasing. “I will Elrohir.” Celonvain smiled at his mentor. “Can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure, Celonvain, you can talk to me about anything.” He guided them to a fallen log to sit down on. “What is it you want to talk to me about?”

“Well, you will think I am silly, but, your brother gave me a challenge and…I…um…cannot think of anything for it.”

Elrohir lifted an eyebrow. “You should be talking to my father, for he is a good as you with speaking in riddles. Care to tell me what the challenge is, or shall I tickle it out of you?”

Celonvain laughed. “Elladan wanted me to think of what we should replace the winter solstice celebrations with. He said if my idea is better than his, then he would give me an added treat on top of actually implementing it.”

“Hm…that is an interesting challenge. Lets see, we could do an ‘eat an orc day’ where we would all cook orcs for dinner. Or we could have ‘dunk a family member in the river day’ and all have a good swim in the middle of winter.”

“Oooo…that would be fun, but I feel that it needs to be something more…” He pondered for a moment. “How about ‘bring your horse to dinner day’ and feed the horses from the table.”

Elrohir laughed. “I like that. Ada would surely get mad at us for bringing a horse to dinner.” He poked Celonvain teasingly. “Lets see if Elladan can beat you on that one.” They both giggled and collapsed on the forest floor.

Elrohir did not want to wake up from the dream. It was the first time that one of his dreams did not turn foul. Something smacked his pain-filled body, making him wake from the dream.

“The pain will stop. Just let go Elrohir.”

“Do not…want to…give in…” He cried for all the things he lost because of his capture. Hope of being rescued fled him, and now all he hoped for was that he would live through this experience. Elrohir did not know how long it had been, for it seemed like a long time since he had last seen the sun. It pained him to think about how long it was since he last seen his brother, or little Celonvain.

“You are so close to breaking. I can feel you pain. Maybe I should bring your dear brother or that little elfling here and torture them too. They would make lovely additions, do you not think?”

Elrohir could not bear the thought of them coming to harm. “Please…leave them…alone…please let me…go…no more…pain…”

“You are so pathetic. Your daily life is filled with such boring things. I watched as you would read and write. Hunting orcs with your brother was about the only excitement you had in your life. Your typical day was about as boring as rest of your kind. Now, something has changed, and you are whimpering like an elfling. ‘Please do not hurt them…Let me go…’ Whiner. I think I will send my orcs to bring them here, so I gain a bit more excitement.”

“No…will do…anything…just leave them…be…” Elrohir started crying. He cared nothing for himself now, only to keep his family safe. There was not a doubt in his mind that this thing haunting him would live up to its threat.

“Anything?”

“Yes…just leave…them…alone…”

The door opened and a flood of orcs came in bearing a mithril collar. They unclasped one hand and held it up in front of Elrohir to see. “Touch the collar and the pain will end and your family will be safe.”

Elrohir took a few moments and made his choice. He slowly reached out for the collar, and tentatively placed one finger on it.

A bright light flashed and Elrohir felt like he was falling through time and space. All sense of what he was, who he was, warped into something evil, something without feelings or caring.

He also saw what was manipulating him, the One Ring, Isildur’s bane. It wanted him to eventually overthrow Sauron and become its master, bringing darkness to the world. His immortality and the slight Maia blood made him the perfect candidate. Elrohir knew his task, knew his purpose, and would allow nothing to stand in his way.

The falling stopped, and Elrohir sat up for the first time, freed from the bonds. The mithril collar now circled his neck, making him a Nazgul in disguise. “I will do what needs to be done.”

*****

For months, Elladan combed Arda for any sign of Elrohir, but came up empty. He was determined to find his brother, no matter how long it took.

A small seed of doubt was beginning to blossom in his mind as to whether his brother still alive. Something inside of him…something he could not place a finger on…told him Elrohir was alive; in trouble, but alive.

A small boy approached Elladan in Minas Tirith. “My lord, there is someone that shares your face down there.” He pointed to the town of Osgilith. “Ma took me there a few days ago, and brought him food and water. Please take him home and care for him, my lord. He looks like he’s been through a lot.”

Elladan nodded. “I plan to take him home, pen-neth. Can you or your mother show me where he is?” The boy smiled and ran off in the direction towards Osgilith. Elladan had a hard time keeping up with one so small and swift.

After a while, they came upon the old city. There were not many people living there and the place was starting to decay. The boy walked down some steps and opened a wooden door, which opened to a cellar below a large building.

Elladan looked inside to see a figure crouched in a corner. His clothes were torn and he had lost a lot of weight, apparently from starvation. There was no mistaking the figure, though. It was Elrohir.

“Elrohir?” Elladan crept closer to his brother, wanting nothing more than to throw his arms around Elrohir and take him back to Imladris.

“Leave me alone!” Elrohir shouted back and tried to bury himself deeper in the corner.

“No, gwanunig. It is I, Elladan. Please come. Let me take you home.” Elladan crept up to Elrohir, then knelt in front of him. He placed a comforting hand on Elrohir’s shoulder, disturbed by how thin it was. “Please, Elrohir. You have been away for far too long.”

Elrohir looked up at Elladan. “Elladan? I thought I would never see you again.” He launched himself into Elladan’s arms and clung to his brother.

Elladan lifted Elrohir up and carried him out of the cellar. “We are going home, gwanunig.” Elladan did not notice the mithril collar that still circled Elrohir’s neck.

Sindarin translations:
Ada- Father/Dad
Gwanunig- twin
Pen-neth- young one

Word count: 3135