Fox Birch: an elf's story

[Fox Birch]

    *     *     *

     After four days, the weary elves reached the edge of the northern cliffs and looked into the ravine. It was Legolas who broke the tense silence.

     “Fox, you go ahead. I’ll stay…”

     Fox turned to him angrily. “Don’t even think about it…”

     “You have to get home, Fox. I don’t know what these creatures are or what they are capable of, but we’re wasting time. It should only be a couple of days before they catch up, and it should take at least three days for you to cross the chasm. You must hurry.”

     Fox looked at him hopelessly. Why did she ever let him come with her? How could she put her friend through this danger? She loved him. And now, he was in danger; he was sacrificing himself and there was nothing she could do to stop him now. She fought the tears that were forming in her eyes and put her hand gently on his chest.

     “Be careful,” she whispered. Legolas held her hand and pressed it to his body.

“I’ll be ok, Fox.” And before Fox could reply, Legolas took her hand from his chest and pressed it to his lips instead. He kissed her hand softly, then her cheek. “Fox, I… there’s something I have to tell you… I… I love you… and I won’t let anything happen to you…” Tears flowed from her eyes and mixed with the blood of their wounds.

[Fox Birch]

    *     *     *

     Legolas held back his own tears, so as not to make it any harder on Fox. He knew from what Fox had told him that he didn’t stand a chance against these dark creatures. But Legolas was determined to give that chance to Fox, so that she might survive. He ran his fingers through her hair then said firmly, “you must go, now. And don’t look back.”

     Fox tore herself from Legolas’ arms and ran, sobbing, eastward along the side of the cliff. She spent at least an hour trying to find a place to climb down. When she did, she looked back at Legolas… she was quite far from him now but she could see that he had drawn his bow. He was looking to the north. Fox turned and looked as well…

     She saw at least a dozen black-hooded creatures heading straight toward the ravine… straight toward Legolas. She panicked and started running back to him, all the while glancing at the approaching monsters. They were moving faster than she was. Legolas saw her running at him across the expanse of sharp rocks and shook his head. He lowered his bow and said under his breath, “oh, no…” He saw the creatures coming stealthily toward him… then he saw Fox. He had to keep her away. He called to her, “Fox! Go back, now!” But Fox didn’t slow down, much less turn around. Not knowing what else to do, Legolas raised his bow and pointed it shakily at Fox. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the creatures would soon be upon him. He furrowed his brow and called out angrily “If you don’t turn around, Fox, I’ll stop you myself!” He bent his bow tighter still and prepared to shoot Fox in the shoulder.

     Fox kept running toward Legolas as fast as she could. But she couldn’t make it in time… it would take her at least ten minutes to run the three miles back to where he was standing; but the creatures had already gotten there. She ran with all her might, blinking sweat from her eyes, and watched as Legolas prepared to fight.

[Fox Birch]

    *     *     *

     The creatures stopped about twenty feet from Legolas. The largest of them stepped forward. He had the face of what looked like some sort of dog-demon. He looked at Legolas closely, he grinned and asked in a cold voice, “who are you?”

     Legolas stood his ground. He kept his arrow pointed lethally at the demon’s chest. “I am Legolas, son of Thranduil” he replied. “What business have you here?”

     The creature sniffed Legolas, who asked him to maintain his distance. The dog scoffed. “I shall keep my distance when you have told me what you plan on doing with this lovely bow of yours… surely you don’t plan to stop us?” He continued to sniff the elf. Something made the creature turn sharply. He saw a second elf running toward them. The creature turned sharply to Legolas once more, as if remembering something suddenly. “You…” he growled. “You were the one that was following us before?”

     Legolas glanced at Fox, who was still out of earshot. He looked back at the demon and said softly, “yes.”

     At this the monster bellowed out an unmistakable war cry then looked back at the elf standing before him. He could’ve sworn the elf he had tried to kill before was female… but they looked almost identical… it had to be him…

     The creature ran swiftly to the others he had brought with him and faced the elf. Legolas glanced at Fox, who would be there in only a few minutes. “No, Fox… what are you doing?” he thought. He refused to take his aim from the monsters, but he also had to stop Fox. He decidedly turned back toward the creatures, now planning to kill him, and shot the one whom he had spoken to. The monster howled in pain and tore the arrow from his body; he smiled maniacally at Legolas then raised his claws to his company to prevent their interference.

     Seeing that his arrows had no effect on the creature, Legolas drew his daggers. They were identical to Fox’s. The white blades shone golden in the afternoon sun. He assumed a defensive position and waited…

[Fox Birch]

    *     *     *

     The dog-faced demon laughed at this. “Ah… elves are so proud… so foolish.” He motioned for one of his number to come to him. They talked to each other in their own tongue, then nodded. He addressed Legolas. “I think I shall do it right this time…” the creature smiled wickedly. “Although you are no match for us, I shall give you a sporting chance. It’s not every day I get to see an elf be broken. You will fight us one by one.” He paused. “And you will still loose…”

     Legolas swallowed hard. To the creatures’ surprise, he abandoned his stance and lowered his weapons. “You may do with me what you like but…” Legolas glanced at Fox, who was approaching quickly. “You must not harm her.”

The lot laughed and the leader spoke. “Of course not,” he said in a relaxed tone. “But we must hold her to make sure she doesn’t interrupt our fun.” Legolas watched Fox. She was now only several yards away, loading her bow and aiming it at the largest of the monsters. “Are you ok?” she asked hurriedly.

Legolas nodded slightly. “Put your bow down, Fox.” She stared at him in disbelief, but did as she was told. Had Legolas just befriended these dark creatures? She thought. But no sooner had she set down her bow that she was seized by one of the demons. She struggled furiously, until she saw Legolas.

The elf was standing as still and straight as a statue. He let his daggers fall to his side. Fox gasped. “What are you doing?!” she cried frantically. “You’ll be killed!”

“Don’t worry… they won’t hurt you,” he said soothingly. “And don’t you worry about me, Fox. All will be well…” He took a few steps closer so as not to be so near the edge of the cliff, never taking his eyes off of his opponent. The demon growled gleefully and waited for his leader to give the word… and he did.

[Fox Birch]

    *     *     *

The creature made the first move. He lunged at Legolas who quickly picked up one of his daggers and thrust it into him. The monster roared; Legolas took it out and cut off its head. Its body fell over the edge of the cliff in a heap. A second one leapt from the group and tore at the elf. Legolas raised his blade and swung at the creature’s head. It caught Legolas’ arm in midair and clamped his jaws on his shoulder. Legolas cried out with pain and fell to one knee; he felt something on the ground… he picked up the other dagger and shoved it into the demon’s chin, only grazing his own flesh. The monster jerked violently and fell to Legolas’ side.  He was breathing hard. He clutched at his bloody shoulder and tried hard to keep his balance, then looked at Fox.

The creatures stirred. Fox struggled wildly so that she could help her friend, but the more she fought, the more the monster’s grip tightened. Still, she tried. The monster chuckled to himself; he was crushing her slowly. She couldn’t breathe.

Suddenly, the air was pierced by the sound of breaking bones. Legolas looked up quickly; the demon dropped Fox to the ground and laughed his cold, cruel laugh. He lunged at the surprised elf. Legolas fell under the weight of the creature and the sound of more cracking bones filled the air; he closed his eyes and mouth tightly in pain then thrust his dagger into him, but the creature only smiled. Legolas’ face fell. He took the dagger out and prepared to stab the monster in the throat… but his dagger was knocked from his hand. He lay helpless on the floor under the huge dog-demon. The creature took a dagger from his garments and held it to Legolas’ throat in retaliation. He grinned wickedly and…

[Fox Birch]

    *     *     *

The creature was hit in the head by an arrow. He fell to his side and twitched. Legolas turned and saw Fox standing, bow and arrow in hand. He stood as well and ran to her, breathing heavily and ignoring his pain. He put his hand gently over her cheek and asked, “are you alright, Fox?”

She looked at him. She felt her heart beating wildly and nodded. But she lowered her bow and let it fall to the rocks; Fox’s breathing was shallow and irregular. She began to fall, but was caught by Legolas, who clenched his jaw tightly to keep from showing his pain. They sank to their knees and held each other.

“We may as well die here…”

“Nonsense…” He turned and saw the remaining demons drawing near. “We may still win…” He stood once again, motioning for Fox to stay put. He walked away from her to the edge of the cliff and stood, feet only slightly apart, in a last effort to protect Fox. It worked. The creatures headed toward him instead. They all drew sinister swords but the elf did not draw back. The creatures began to run at him but he stood firm.

Fox, realizing what Legolas was doing, looked around her… she picked up her bow and aimed painfully. She shot with deathly accuracy. One by one, the creatures fell at Legolas’ feet, each with an arrow in its head. Fox reached for one last arrow, to finish the leader but… her quiver was empty.

The monster turned to her and howled. His entire platoon lay on the ground; he ran clear over their bodies with the sole purpose of exacting revenge. He had made a mistake… this was the elf that had followed them all those months ago… and she was going to pay for this.

A look of panic came over Legolas’ face. What had she done? She would be killed! He ran after the creature, picking up his dagger on the way… but his wounds were slowing him down and the creature got to her first. He backhanded Fox and she fell to the ground. “No!” Legolas cried. The creature snarled and stabbed the elf that was on the ground. He was about to stab her a second time when Legolas flung his arms around his neck and clung on; he cleaved the back of the monster’s head with his dagger. The demon shrieked and keeled over, landing on Legolas. More bones were broken under the weight of the demon. He lay, near suffocated under him, and would have stayed there except… he struggled out from under the mass and dragged himself to where Fox lay.

[Fox Birch]

    *     *     *

     Fox had a fairly shallow gash on the side of her face. Legolas winced when he reached her. He had to disregard his condition for now… he saw that the dagger had penetrated her side, but had not gone very deep. He poured water over the wound then held a cloth to it. Legolas was overjoyed. He knew she would be ok. His vision blurred, but he blinked and continued dressing her wound. He examined her body and also noticed that she had a pair of broken ribs that would heal nicely if she would rest. Feeling that she would wake soon he tied the cloth securely to her wound.

     Sure enough, Fox opened her eyes and looked at Legolas, who was smiling.

     “Are you ok, Fox?”

     She wasn’t sure what to say. She was clearly alive, but was in extreme pain. “I… I think so…” she said finally. “What about you?”

     As she said this, she noticed that Legolas was in much worse state then her. His shoulder was torn open and dislocated, it was still bleeding quite profusely; several of his ribs were broken, along with one of his legs, which had been crushed by the largest of the demons and was protruding unnaturally from his flesh; he also had countless cuts and bruises from falling on sharp rocks. He poured a bit of water onto a clean cloth and wiped Fox’s cheek, then gave the last bit of water to her, so that she could drink. Fox drank the water eagerly; she was very thirsty, but immediately regretted it. Legolas had been contesting the urge to pass out for some time now, but now felt that he had no reason to fight it. He gently kissed Fox’s forehead and rolled painfully over onto his back, teach bared and clenched, eyes closed tightly in anguish. He was beaten, his body broken. Fox was now sitting next to him, tears welling up in her eyes. She watched him suffer, helpless. Legolas lay, trying to smile.

“You should go on… I will only slow you down now… you won’t need me anymore, I don’t think you need to worry about those creatures attacking you again. I want you to take the route east of these cliffs… it’s safer.” He struggled to keep his eyes open. “Don’t you forget what you came for.” With much effort, he raised his hand to Fox’s face and said softly “I love you, Fox…”

She placed her hand lightly over his chest so as not to hurt him. She examined his body: she doubted that there was anything she could do… except…

[Fox Birch]

    *     *     *

     Fox’s wounds were nothing compared to those Legolas was suffering. She had to get help. Her siblings could wait; Fox wasn’t about to let the one she loved die. She called Eldoras to her, but he wouldn’t arrive for at least another day. In the meantime, Fox tried to help Legolas. The next morning, she moved him to the shade of a nearby boulder, a trail of blood behind him.

     Fox decided that the first thing to do was put Legolas’ shoulder back in place. She held his arm firmly. He closed his eyes tightly again. She twisted and pushed Legolas’ arm back into its socket with a sickening crack. He bared his teeth and inhaled sharply but said nothing. She watched Legolas breathe heavily until she pain subsided; he nodded his thanks to her and forced a smile.

     The next thing to do, Fox thought, was to clean his wound. She had fetched water the night before while Legolas watched for Eldoras. She knew he would not have come so soon, but only wanted to give Legolas something to take his mind off the pain. She washed his torn shoulder and bandaged it tightly; he turned away while she did this, a vein protruding from his forehead.

     Similarly, Fox tried to fix his leg. He had a compound fracture; she knew this would not be easy. She aligned the bone as best she could and, trying to ignore Legolas’ silent protests, bound his leg securely. She couldn’t begin to guess how long it would take for the bones to heal completely, but she had done all she could for now. Legolas urged Fox to move on, saying that he should be fine now, but Fox refused. She stayed and tied a long cloth tightly over her own body, to ease her pain. They waited together for Eldoras. He arrived late in the afternoon, panting.

     Fox let Eldoras drink the remainder of their water and prepared to take off an hour later. Fox and Legolas debated whether or not to have anyone ride the horse.

     “The trek over the mountains is more difficult than this, Fox. We should let Eldoras walk with only his own weight until then. We shall need him rested.”

     “But, Legolas, don’t be ridiculous! You’re leg is broken! You can hardly stand let alone walk! You have to-“

     “Then leave me behind!” he said angrily. “Either way, I will only be holding you back, slowing you down…” He sighed. “I told you to leave me be since yesterday… you don’t need anything else impeding your progress.”

                Fox reluctantly agreed to save the horse until they reached the mountains. It was either that or leave Legolas behind completely. So, they walked.

[Fox Birch]

[glow=red,2,300]*walks in a bit shyly* hello... sorry to interrupt... if in fact there is someone reading this... i'd just like to ask for some input... like i said, i really suck at writing so... any coments will be appreciated... *looks around* thanks for your time... *walks back out to keep typing...*[/glow]

[Fox Birch]

    *     *     *

     Fox lead Eldoras eastward, followed by Legolas, who wished to remain behind the other two. He tried not to limp and held his arm close to his body, his hand over his stomach. His entire body throbbed. The simple act of breathing became exhausting and difficult.

     The sun set seven times behind them before they turned south. Eldoras was happy to have found grass growing around them again. He trotted off and ate happily. The elves sat down; Fox looked around them, scanning the terrain. Legolas continued suffering from sharp pain with every breath. His leg and shoulder swelled and bled in the bandages. He remained silent. Eldoras walked back to them and they soldiered on.

    *     *     *

     It was two days before reaching the nwalca mountains that Fox saw Legolas stumble. The land was starting to take a downward inclination and all three had a difficult time trying not to slip.

     They paused on a small, flat cliff. Fox and Eldoras were panting; Legolas was gasping for air. He sat down stiffly and leaned against a shaded rock. He quietly unwrapped his leg; it had not gotten any better. In fact, it looked (and felt) worse than before. Fresh and dry blood were abundant, the bone still stuck out slightly. He glanced at Fox to make sure she wasn’t looking and braced himself…

     He thrust his bone back into place, opening the old would and tearing new flesh. His body went rigid; she clenched his teeth and closed his eyes tightly, as he did in intense pain. Fox felt Legolas rousing and turned around.

     “Oh, Legolas!” she cried, and knelt at his side. “What are you doing?!”

     He didn’t look at her. He kept his face wrenched in anguish as he began wrapping his leg tightly again. Fox helped him then pulled him to his feet with tears in her eyes.

[Fox Birch]

    *     *     *

     Fox, Legolas and Eldoras reached the mountains days later, all weary with hunger. They stopped at the base of the nwalca and ate what little food they could find. Fox opened her pouch and counted the remaining lembas with a slight frown.

     “Five…” she said slowly. She looked up at the other two and bit her lip. She took three lembas from the pouch and handed two of them to Legolas. “You eat one and give the other to Eldoras. He should be able to find more to eat once we’re over the mountains.”

     Fox walked up and down the shabby tree line, eating her food and looking for the best way to cross the mountains. Eldoras ate from Legolas’ hand. Legolas, however, couldn’t bring himself to eat. He saved his food for Eldoras to eat later. He deduced that the horse would need more food because of his larger body. He was careful to hide this from Fox; for she would have made him eat it right then and there.

     They joined again and started the long climb over the mountains. Fox insisted that Legolas ride the horse; he reluctantly agreed. She led Eldoras past the trees and into a light snowfall. Fox pulled her cloak close and stopped. She helped Legolas off the horse and patted Eldoras’ mane. Legolas looked up at the falling snow; it was just a blur to him and the snowflakes seemed to melt instantly on his skin. He did in fact have a very high fever; he had been getting wearier with each passing day. Fox spread a blanket on Eldoras’ back and motioned for Legolas to mount the horse again.

He simply shook his head and tightened his own cloak. He was feeling colder than ever. He figured that walking might warm him up. So, they walked…

[Fox Birch]

    *     *     *

       At the top of the mountain, Fox looked out on the land. The day was cool and clear. There were scattered clouds, sprayed golden by the morning sun. Legolas wore every stitch of clothing they could spare; yet he was still cold. After hours of downward climbing, Fox helped him to the ground.

     She put her hand to his forehead and bit her lip. It felt as though his pale skin were burning. His body, however, was not growing numb. Instead, he became more aware of sounds and sensations. He especially felt the continuous throbbing of his arm and leg. He flinched slightly as a breeze ran through his golden locks.

     Legolas leaned back and trembled. Fox placed her palm on his cheek and ran her thumb gently across his lips. He raised his silver-blue eyes to look at her. She gazed back at her friend, self-loathing shadowing her face. She looked down, unable to keep her eyes level with Legolas’ pain-filled expression. She held her face shamefully in her hands.

     Hearing Fox sob caused him to feel his own regret. Legolas forced a smile and tortuously raised his trembling hand to her face and returned the gesture. She turned to him and pressed his hand to her cheek, but she couldn’t smile. She kissed his thumb gently and lowered his arm, silent tears in her eyes. She couldn’t take it any longer.

    *     *     *

     Fox slowly and carefully removed Legolas’ blankets and extra robes. All that remained on his shivering torso was his dark green, bloodstained garments. The sleeve was tattered and torn. There were also other, smaller cuts arranged painfully about his clothes and skin. Fox gently began to undo the fastenings of his tunic, trying to disregard Legolas’ violent shaking. She parted it and gasped, placing her hand quickly over her mouth in alarm. She said in little more than a whisper, “Oh, vanimar…”

[Fox Birch]

* * *

Countless cuts only sketchily disguised the extensive bruises on Legolas’ body. Fox ran her fingers lightly over his ribs, trying to feel out his fractures. She counted eight broken ribs and at least half of those had fragments that were utterly shattered. Fox could only imagine the agony of those tiny splinters, ripping at his insides. She chose not to wonder how it was that he still lived.

Legolas’ chest heaved painfully with every shallow breath. The air felt icy against his burning flesh. He made to pull his clothes back over his torso, but was stopped by Fox, who only shook her head sadly. She took a pouch from her waist and opened it with her teeth. She poured what had been snow only a few days prior onto a clean cloth and wiped away his blood as best she could. Legolas shuddered and tried to prevent Fox from bothering with him any further.

“Please…” he said. “Just leave me…”

“Legolas, we’ve come all this way. It will take us less than a week to reach our destination… look.” She pointed down towards the nearing forest. “We are almost in the woods… I can search for athelas and you will recover…” A look of desperation crossed her face. She said almost hopelessly, “You can’t give up now.”

He coughed and a trickle of blood ran down from his pale lips. “Please…” he breathed. His spirit was shining dimly in his eyes.

The look of pain and torment in Legolas’ face made Fox’s lip quiver. She wiped the blood from his face then fastened his tunic. She stood, resolution in her very stance.

[Fox Birch]

* * *

After at least sixty hours of walking, Fox trudged into the beginnings of the Forbidden Forest, breathing hard. She had sent Eldoras to find the crimson-haired girl that she remembered to have lived somewhere in the forest. She helped Legolas along. His better arm was slung over her shoulders, head slightly hung in fatigue. She held him up by the waist. Fox kept her eyes open for athelas all the while.

Drops of sweat found their way to the forest floor. Legolas was vaguely aware that they had reached the forest. His heart lightened slightly and a faint smile crossed his lips. He tried to move away from Fox’s support, but his knees gave way. Fox caught him and pulled him back to a semi-steady walk.

Legolas was distressed that he couldn’t walk on his own. He was even more upset that he was still slowing Fox down. He didn’t know what the matter was that she had to attend to, but he didn’t like the idea of her being slowed down by him anymore. He held himself back with painful groan and leaned against a tree instead. His ragged breaths pierced Fox’s heart like a knife. She stood in front of him and watched in despair.

“What is it, Legolas?”

He was about to answer when he found what Fox had been looking for. He looked down at his feet. Through blurred vision, he saw a small plant with tiny white flowers. Fox looked as well and knelt at his feet. He looked up, trying to blink his eyes back into focus. The sound of faint howling reached his ears and he listened…

Fox heard this too. She slipped the athelas she had just cut into her pocket and stood in front of Legolas. Eldoras galloped into the clearing…

He was followed by a towering werewolf, at least nine feet tall. Eldoras trotted to Fox’s side and she patted his mane. She asked who the werewolf was and she answered.

“It’s me… Calavera.”

[Sara_Jayne]

[glow=deepskyblue,2,300]I really liked it Fox. A lot, the form is good and I cant give any input on grammer/speeling coz I stink that that but the idea is good ^_^[/glow]