THE AIR SMELLED LIKE ROT.
That was the first thing Robin realized as he came back to consciousness. The second was the fact that he was back to consciousness. He grabbed at his chest to realize there was no wound. No pain. Only dried blood and the overwhelming stench of death.
Slowly, he lifted his head. And almost hurled.
He laid among a pile of bodies, clearly other fighters of the Pits who had lost. Shoving himself up, Robin almost lost his footing on someone's face, before managing to stumble onto level ground. His stomach reeled and his head spun.
He was here. He was unharmed. And he was alive. The only question was, where exactly was here?
Somewhere beyond the Pits, he recognized that much. He could hear the faint sound of cheers and shouting. Blinking hard, Robin gazed around.
Somewhere close, there was a voice. Accented, foreign; Dorwinion.
Robin backed up until his shoulder rammed against the wall. Two men came into view then. Both with swords and light armor. They dragged a body between them, tossing him onto the pile of others.
His breath caught in his throat as he strained to see if he recognized the corpse. But no-- he didn't. Not Elessar.
Robin imagined the king would have been taken to the dungeon of victors, if all had gone to plan. He didn't know how long he'd been out. Perhaps Aragorn had already found Aria and fled the city.
Would he leave without his sword? He didn't know.
The moment the Dorwinion soldiers had their backs turned, Robin acted. He knocked the first one out before he could react and wrestled the blade from the second. Quickly, he slashed sideways and with a cry, the man tumbled into the pile of bodies.
Nausea swept through him. Robin pushed it down and dropped down beside the unconscious man. He relieved him of his helm and sword before pushing himself back up. Then he kicked the soldier after his friend.
He didn't have much time, he knew, before their disappearance would be recognized. Or someone else would haul another dead body down.
Quickly, Robin started in the direction that they'd come from.
He didn't have a plan. Try and find Aragorn, maybe. See where exactly he was, if there was a way into the dungeons. But if they were already gone, he could be walking to his death. The warm breeze caught his hair and Robin breathed it in.
He still didn't understand how he was alive. What he'd seen, what force had sent him back.
He remembered the face of his father. The sight of the two trees and the distant sound of singing and crashing waves.
He should be dead, he knew that much. He'd seen them; the silver shores. He'd felt Aragorn's blade cut through his chest and felt the life leave his lungs.
Robin's world threatened to collapse for a moment. But he forced those thoughts away, moving faster. Toward the sound of shouting and cheers.
One thing at a time.
Coming up the stairs, he rounded the corner only to freeze. Three figures stood with their backs to him. Two guards and... and the elleth from before.
They whirled around and her blue eyes widened in surprise. Robin went still for a moment, then swore.
By Eru and the Valar above.
"Good afternoon," he said. "Any chance you could ignore me and go about your day?"
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Hood » LotR ((ON HOLD))
Fanfiction❝ Hood. Robin Hood, at your service. ❞ Robin wasn't sure how he managed to get caught in the middle of a war. Perhaps it was stealing King Elessar's sword. Or maybe his past and the price on his head just finally caught up to him. But when Robin's l...
