𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 | 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐟

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

You panted as you ran, the dry grass flicking harshly against your legs. Aragorn was ahead of you, your love Legolas by your side and the fourth Hunter, Gimli ...

"Come on, Gimli!" Legolas called, looking over his shoulder with a grin.

You knew you'd never be able to attempt any co-ordination of that sort and just resigned yourself to the fact that he would always be more graceful than you. You took it that Gimli was quite far behind.

"Shh!" Aragorn had stopped by a rock, crouching beneath it. "They are near."

You slid next to him. "The Orc Party? We've caught up?"

"Not quite." Your brother gestured around the side of boulder, though your view was blocked by the arrival of Legolas and Gimli.

"Oh, come on, it's not like they're looking backwards," you jumped over the boulder, to the edge of a small cliff overlooking a plain.

"Y/N!" Legolas's cry was part exasperation, part amusement, and you could hear him racing up to stand next to you, shielding his eyes from the bright sunlight.

"What do your elf eyes see?" Aragorn asked - even his and your Dunedain senses could not pinpoint the location of the Orcs, though you could faintly hear loud chants.

Legolas stared. "I see them! They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard!"

You turned back to the other two from Legolas's side with a determined surety. "Then we have no time to waste. Come on!"

And off you went again, jumping from rocks and running over fields of grass, into the territory of Rohan.

"The Orcs run so quickly," Legolas marvelled, his voice not even catching despite their sprinting. "As though the fiery whips of their masters are behind them."

"They'll be punished if they get to Isengard late," you speculated. "There's something that Saruman and Sauron want from Merry and Pippin. What is it?"

"The Ring," Aragorn broke in, having fallen back to speak with you both. "He obviously doesn't know who has it."

"That'll work for us," you said, stopping. "We should rest. They're stopping for the night."

Aragorn was about to protest, but you interrupted him. "I'm not the one who's tired."

The three of you turned back in unison, looking at Gimli huffing and puffing to catch up to you, muttering something about 'insufferable Elves' and 'good at sprints not long distance'.

"Hi Gimli," you sat. "We're gonna catch our breath for a little bit, alright?"

He said something totally unintelligible under his breath, but you caught a grateful wink as he sat. You leaned next to Legolas, your legs spread out to the side and his head resting on yours. He was warm, and his arm around your back provided welcome support.

"Don't worry, melleth nin," he whispered quietly. "All will be well."

You marvelled at the fact he could practically read your mind - but you supposed it was a good trait for a beloved to have.

"Night will fall quickly." Aragorn pulled some shiny red apples from his pack and tossed them around the compact group. "We should get moving before then."

"For Valar's sake, Aragorn, give us five minutes of rest," you said, half-jokingly. "We've been running our asses off since dawn."

He just sighed again, but you reached out to put a hand on his arm, letting your brother know that you had not really meant it. He was under an enormous amount of stress and pressure, and you were going to be there for him. You loved Legolas and Aragorn both, and you would always make sure that they were alright.

As for Gimli, you handed him a square of lembas to refuel him. The long run had been pretty hard (with reason) on everyone, though strangely you did not feel absurdly tired.

That nagged at you - combined with all the strange events of the journey before you ... well, there was no time to worry about it.

You closed your eyes instead, leaning further into Legolas to sleep despite the bright early-afternoon light. He stroked your back, humming a low, soft melody under his breath. You desperately tried to hold onto the quiet song, wanting to stay in the warm embrace of his voice, but sleep took you. You supposed it was for the better.

- - -

A massive eye of fire in the sky - searching, all-seeing. Footprints pressed deep into bare dirt, blood pooling in the holes. A pained wail that rang through the air, spreading its agony to anything else that heard it. The whoosh of a white-fletched arrow thudding into blood-soaked flesh, just missing protective metal armour. Someone screaming "Y/N!" over and over again. A tear splashing against cobblestones, already lost in the rain.

You flew upwards, hissing and opening your eyes as your head hit something. The 'something' gave a grunt of pain, and you turned around to see that you'd whacked straight into Legolas's chin, though he didn't seem to be too badly affected.

"Sorry," you whispered, sleep still lingering in a cloudy fog in your brain. "Sorry."

"That's fine, Y/N," he murmured back. Neither of you had spoken louder than a breath - something about the heavy silence of the night echoed in unrelenting silence, and you found yourself unable to break it.

"Bad dreams?" Legolas finally asked, as you curled your arms around yourself.

"I do not know," you admitted. "But I think they were more than dreams."

The ellon transformed from practised ease to obvious worry. "What did you see?"

You stared at your hands, folded in your lap, shaking ever so subtly - and the cold was definitely not the reason. You told him everything, and his concern did not fade.

"I don't know what it is you saw, Y/N, but it can't be good."

In the few heartbeats after that sentence, Aragorn and Gimli stirred and awoke. A faint sound made every fibre of your being stand on edge and turn towards it on the plains.

"Something is wrong," you said. "Very wrong."

You all immediately sprang to your feet, packing up the minimal camp in a matter of seconds and running down to the field.

Legolas stared at the sky, the sunrise reflecting in his blue eyes. "Look. The sun has risen red. Blood has been spilt in this past night."

Dread shadowed Aragorn's face as he pointed over the crest of the next hill. "I think I know where."

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