Dolen enath Utummen    [Hidden name uncovered]

A/N:    My gracious thanks to Sarah for her careful and thoughtful beta work.  Her input adds much to the quality of this work!

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It rained; mighty torrents of water streaming in curtains of stinging, icy needles pelted through the trees, drumming against the lush summer verdure, threatening to shred the leaves to tatters.  Thunder was not heard nor did any lightening rift the dim half-light; no birds sang and on the forest floor no animal scurried.  All were hiding sheltered deep in their burrows and nests from the mourning firmament that seemed to crouch down upon the earth, seemingly seeking merger with the Greenwood.

The great trees were motionless in the absence of wind, standing resolutely in the chilling onslaught, having had their fill of the sustaining fluid hours ago.  Rivulets were forming and racing furtively among the roots on the ground, digging under them and threatening to scour out their shallow purchase within the saturated earth. With a shattering lament and a fulminating clash, an aged pine lost its footing and tumbled in agonizingly slow descent to splash in the slimy leaf-filled mud.  In hopeless desperation, three smaller trees had tried to stay the demise of the elder one, and a sickening stentorian snap bore witness to the death of one as it broke in two under the strain.

Herdir and Rusciphant sat hunched in misery as their clothing hung, cloying and sodden, to their chilled bodies. All around them legions of droplets danced in the sliding pools collecting and scurrying across the talan floor, pouring in an ephemeral waterfall over the edges of the wooden platform.  They did not bother to try speaking for the incessant droning of the falling deluge numbed their hearing and muffled their voices.  Every now and then Herdir stole a glance towards Legolas, still cleaving to the top of a nearby tree, his head bowed low and his limbs insinuated within the slender boughs.

With the combined weight of the elf and the water, the limbs were bending down and seemed to be dropping lower every time Herdir looked.  He wondered how long the tree could hold out before the branches fractured and Legolas fell from the dizzying height.  He wondered why Legolas did not seem to notice the danger he was in.  With a sudden inspiration, Herdir considered whether the elf had fallen asleep again and was as thoroughly senseless as previously.  Herdir poked Rusciphant's arm to get his attention and then pointed to the Wood Elf.  Rusci merely shrugged and Herdir frowned, rising and moving out to the edge of the talan as he did so.

"Legolas!" he called out, but no movement rewarded his effort.  Herdir cupped his hands about his mouth to concentrate the sound and shouted louder.  "Legolas!"  Slowly the feral elf raised his head and Herdir could see him turn in his direction, but just as gradually he returned to his prior position. It seemed as though he rested his head against the wiry branches.  Herdir was greatly concerned, for he did not know if he could reach the elf and was more convinced than ever that the tree must give way at any moment.

With a grim set to his jaw, he cautiously stepped out into the branches, sliding and slipping haphazardly upon the soaking bark, trying to find solid enough footing to carry him over to the next tree.  His boots were not made for such activity however, having been designed for long marches across hard ground, and one foot slid completely off the limb and sent him flailing wildly as he grasped at the leafy branches, cursing loudly.

He managed to hold on and draw his leg back from the open air.  He feared to move even an eyelash and worried the thundering vibrations emanating from his chest would be enough to shift him from the bough again.  As his breathing calmed, he chanced a glance behind toward the flet where Rusci stood, tense and rigid, watching anxiously.  Herdir lifted a hand in an attempt to reassure his comrade, and when next he looked out into the forest he was amazed to see Legolas rapidly advancing towards him.

"What are you doing?" Legolas shouted over the din of the rain when he reached him, grabbing his arm firmly and drawing him up onto a more stable perch.  "Even Wood Elves do not travel the treetops in such storms!  Come!" he commanded and led him forward without releasing the tight grip lest he slip again.  Slow and cautious movements from branch to branch brought them to another talan just beyond the sight of and lower than the narrow flet upon which they had rested through the night.  Legolas let go.  Herdir noted that this talan looked more like the guard's posts seen throughout Lorien and Legolas nodded, reading his assessment.

"This is a far outpost of Greenwood's guard, but seldom do they journey so distant from the stronghold in these times.  Thranduil has all but ceded control of these lands, and the woodsmen are ill equipped to defend them, being craftsmen and foresters rather than warriors.  No doubt they assumed they would have the protection of the Woodland King when they settled their families here, but it is not so," his words dwindled away; they were the most he had ever spoken to the Noldo and Herdir was surprised at the honesty of the revelation.  Not only were the words directly critical of the King, they also underscored Legolas' earlier statement that he was not one of Thranduil's subjects.

Legolas moved over to the trunk of the tree where a sturdy chest was built into the structure.  He lifted the lid and withdrew a folded tarpaulin along with a winding of elven rope.  Lying flat against the floor were two narrow rods, taller by at least a head than he, and he took these and set them into prepared slots on the floor. In minutes he had established a temporary roof against the downpour by connecting the tarpaulin to the rods and the tree's trunk.  Next, he returned to the box and rummaged inside, pulling forth a heavy mat and a soft blanket and those he spread upon the dripping platform.  He settled himself on the edge of the talan and dangled his legs free, ignoring the rain that drenched him and the shelter he had just constructed.

Herdir stood within the tent, grateful for the chance to escape the torrent, yet uncomfortable in his waterlogged garments.  He could not suppress an irritated grimace, as he wondered why Legolas had not brought them here in the first place, but then he recalled the bone-weary elf's immediate collapse on reaching the high flet.  No doubt he had been aiming for this spot, and simply could not continue further at the time.  And after all, even a Wood Elf could not control the weather.  Herdir plucked at his clinging tunic and smirked thinking of Rusci still huddled in the downpour.  No more than he deserved!  He stole a peek into the chest and pulled forth a second blanket and began to strip, casting aside the saturated cloth in a sodden heap.

Hearing the movements, Legolas turned back to see what was going on and caught sight of his guest just as the leggings were coming down.  His eyes expanded but he did not look away quite fast enough and thus observed the full revelation of Herdir's sex hanging heavy against his thighs.  Legolas gawked; the head of the organ was fully exposed and naked, no skin covered the succulent tip.  Legolas blushed when he realized he had been staring too long and Herdir had noticed, and turned away to studiously glare at the rain plummeting down.  Herdir smiled and wrapped himself in the warm blanket before settling in the middle of the sparse shelter.

"You can look now; I am decent!" he said with amusement but Legolas only shifted awkwardly and did not look back.  Herdir sighed.  "You are so full of contradictions!" he murmured in exasperation and Legolas dared a confused glance over his shoulder.

"What do you mean, I am not so!" he objected, though he was not exactly sure if the statement was an insult or not.

"Oh I disagree!" replied Herdir.  "I have never met a more erotic elf yet you are so painfully repressed!  You should be celebrating your incredible allure!"
 
Legolas looked away, uneasy with such a personal assessment.  "I do not know what you mean," he mumbled.

"I mean that were you not hidden away in this wilderness you would have a constant stream of suitors seeking access to your considerable enticements!"  Herdir could not suppress a light laugh when Legolas looked back incredulously, frowning.  "Really, Rusci's response to you was not surprising, and I am amazed you did not suspect it the moment you spoke to us."  Legolas twisted around, anger crowding out his former hesitancy.

"You think it is meet for him to handle me so just because he feels his lust rising?  If that is the behavior I might expect in more civilized regions, then I am thankful my home is not so placed!" he growled hotly and Herdir noticed again the rapid flash of something more than anger pass across his face.  Was that sorrow or was that fear?  Herdir experienced a vaguely constricting sensation around his heart.

"Nay!  Understand, when first I woke I thought the sounds of shared passion had ended my rest, and remained quiet so as not to interrupt!  I did not know you were unwilling!" he protested.  "He was wrong to take advantage of your exhausted state; never would I presume to do something so crude to satisfy my own desires!" he tried to send all the reassurance he could through his words, but Legolas made no response.

He sat propped with his arms behind him slowly swinging his legs into the empty air below, his head lowered and his hair plastered in a sopping mass down his back.  The rain caressed him, running in strings of water over his shoulders, flowing down his arms, twisting and turning around the muscles and sinews made strong by his years as a warrior and the hard labor spent towards the completion of the Tasks.

The water pattered heavily on his head, insinuating mellifluous fingers through the saturated hair to glide along the planes of his face. The streaming fluid traced the line of his jaw and dripped off his chin and danced along the bridge of his nose before leaving its tip in a strand of liquid beads that dropped with measured persistence. Glittering droplets collected on his long lashes until they could hold no more and they fell away sluggishly, as though reluctant to leave him.  Herdir found it enchanting and imagined what it would be like to taste the water trailing down that faultless countenance.

"Legolas?  Why do you not come under the shelter?" he asked finally and Legolas looked back, sweeping his vision over the swaddled figure before meeting his eyes cautiously.  But Herdir controlled his expression and willed the desire he felt to remain hidden, and so Legolas saw only his even smile.  He shrugged then and turned away again.

"The rain does not bother me; I live here and am used to it.  In summer, the rains seldom cease for long," he replied and glanced back again.

"You must then be part otter to love to be wet and cold!" Herdir joked.

"I am not cold," Legolas said, but at the same time he shivered without realizing it.  But Herdir did notice and remembered that the Wood Elf had eaten nothing since before the previous day.   Yet he had worked as hard and traversed the same distance as had his unwanted guests.  On top of this, Legolas was already malnourished and his desperately needed sleep had been stolen from him.  Herdir suddenly decided that Legolas must be willing himself to stay awake, and it could only be for fear of being accosted again by his unwanted companion.  Herdir cursed himself for his indifference and his stupidity in leaving his pack with the apples and lembas in it on the other talan.

Abruptly he got up and dragged his permeated tunic towards him, running his hands into the pockets to see if he had already eaten the waybread that he usually stowed there.  It was his habit to keep such a store handy to prevent having to remove his pack while on a long march. With a victorious flourish he drew out a small packet of the elven bread and was happy to see two pieces intact.  Even one piece could sustain him for a full day's trek, and two would certainly go far towards restoring Legolas' strength.

"Legolas, I know you are hungry.  Here is lembas, please take it," he called and held out the packet when Legolas looked over at him.  Legolas did not hesitate for he was beyond ravenous and quickly accepted the offering, crawling closer to the shelter as he did so.  The rain still reached him, however, and Herdir feared most of the nourishing food would dissolve and flow away to enrich the woods instead.

"Come under the shelter; the bread will crumble and do you no good in this downpour!" he coaxed and Legolas heeding his warning recovered the bread in the waxy leaf wrapper after breaking off a small sample.

"Nay, I am too wet.  I would only spoil the dry area by bringing the rain in with me!" he declined, but Herdir was adamant.

"There is another blanket in the chest there.  Do as I have done and throw off those wet things!  You will be more comfortable when you are warm and dry," he advised him and Legolas glanced up severely, suspicious at once of his motives based on what he had said previously.  Herdir understood and held up a hand, shaking his head.

"Worry not, I will not try to infringe upon you in any way, this I swear!" he proclaimed and Legolas regarded him critically.

"What is your name?" he asked and Herdir was taken aback.

"What?" he stalled.

"Why should I trust anything you say when even the name you give is a lie," he expounded, and Herdir had to admit he had a valid point.  Yet he hesitated, not certain if this was the wisest course to take.  Once crossed, it was a boundary he could never reinstate. He ventured a look at Legolas, who sat in the streaming rain waiting, and his healer's insight drew to his attention numerous indications of the elf's urgent need for restorative rest.  He sighed; he was a healer first, after all; this spying business was but a necessary departure from his ordinary routine.

"I am Erestor," he said flatly and observed the amazement that spread across the Wood Elf's features upon hearing this.

"Erestor!  Of Imladris?" Legolas almost spat out his lembas as he said the words and the other elf nodded.

"I know of no other," came his dry reply.

"I know not if I believe you!  Why would you be here?  Why would the Lord of Imladris send you to spy the territory out?  And who then is your companion, Gildor of the Havens?" he spoke in a rush of skepticism.

"Believe!" Erestor laughed.  "I assure you it does not benefit me to reveal to you that two of Imladris' most respected citizens are lurking about Mirkwood!  I have no reason to place myself in jeopardy by granting such knowledge to the son of our enemy!  My companion is Berenaur [Brave flame], an advisor and assistant of which you may not have heard.  You have yourself discovered he is less than trustworthy in certain situations!" he said, his lies smoothly enfolded within truth.

Legolas was still staring wide-eyed and had even stopped chewing the bite of the lembas he held in his mouth.

"As to why I have been sent, that is simple.  Elrond had hoped to use a member of Thranduil's own guard as a contact of sorts, but though he seemed in accord when we spoke he did not follow through.  It has been five years since we initiated the contingence, and our informants lost track of him over two years ago.  Elrond had to assume he reported our attempts to recruit him to Thranduil.  No doubt the King will be overly cautious of every elf that comes and goes from the Woodland Realm from now on.

"Elrond had no choice but to attempt this mission using those he trusts, meaning Glorfindel and myself.  That elf cannot be spared for he oversees the safety of our borders and is master at arms for our forces.  I thus, unwisely perhaps, selected Berenaur to accompany me."  As Erestor finished his speech Legolas swallowed the lembas and looked away, considering the import of the disclosure.

He had not expected to learn that one of Elrond's most trusted advisors was among his guests; he had merely assumed the two to be warriors in the Imladris guard.  Their quest must be serious and dangerous to account for so high-placed a participant in the espionage.  Also, Thranduil would indeed be wrathfully vigilant and interrogate anyone coming and going from his realm if his own guards had been compromised.  He would expect Elrond to try and recruit someone else, less high placed perhaps, next time.

Only a few elves in the patrols were high enough in rank to journey singly beyond the realm to Lorien and Imladris, and all of these were longstanding and personal friends of Thranduil from the First Age.  Such a betrayal was implausible, and indeed Legolas could understand why the initial attempt had failed.  He was dying to know who the targeted accomplice had been and mentally ran through the list of warriors that were credible candidates.  He was certain none of them would ever betray Thranduil.

Not everything had been told, of this he was certain, for there was a very practiced air to the speech delivered, as though it had been decided in advance how much could be revealed if they were caught out.  Yet, if any other than he had discovered them, they would be prisoners in Thranduil's dungeons right now. The idea that they were attempting to recruit him burst into his thoughts.  He was the mission?

In a way it was logical, as he was already outcast and disowned.  From their point of view, he would seem to have reason to hold a grudge against Thranduil.  Still, it rankled that they believed him capable of treachery against his own people.  And what could they hope to gain by it, if he were to fall so low as to aid them?  He had no access to the realm any longer, and never had been privy to matters of state even before the Judgement.  Something was going on here, and he was sure Erestor had no intention of revealing it to him.  Legolas eyed his companion shrewdly and with no small amount of belligerence.

"I am no traitor!" he snapped in dark and threatening tones.  "Your Lord Elrond is gravely mistaken if he thinks I would ever betray Tawar!" he snarled as he let his anger grow.  "He should have found out what kind of character I have before sending you on this fool's errand and risking your lives for such a hopeless endeavor!"

Erestor blinked; Legolas had reached the correct conclusion more quickly than he would have thought him able, given the small amount of information he had divulged.  He had expected some questions.

"The Lord of Imladris has indeed underestimated you; your assumption is correct.  Elrond hopes to make you an ally," he said quietly.  The two elves stared at each other in silence; Legolas surprised at the admission and Erestor paused in quiet admiration of the elf he was dealing with.

He let his gaze shift and he took in the Wood Elf as a whole again and was suddenly aware of a tingling of fear in the back of his mind.  Legolas appeared to be slouched upon the floor in cold misery yet he was taut as a drawn bow.  Even weaponless and exhausted he might be capable of sending his companion sailing over the edge of the talan to the ground far below if threatened. This elf was dangerous.

TBC
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