𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐘━︎━︎L. Greenleaf

❝CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX❞

▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐒𝐢𝐱 ━︎━︎ 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐧 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐑𝐍 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒 ear against a rock, closing his eyes as he listened. His eyes opened. "Their pace has quickened." He sat up, looking ahead of him. "They must have caught our scent. Hurry!" He darted forwards.

     Legolas paused, turning his head to Gimli who was falling behind. "Come on, Gimli!" He continued forwards with Ellaria in tow.

     Gimli paused to take a breath. "Three days and nights pursuit. No food. No rest. And no sign of our quarry, but what bare rocks can tell." He trudged up the mountain and once he made it up hill he began running again to catch up with the rest of them.

     They'd been travelling for days, following the Uruk-Hai's trail. They ran through hills, crossed several widths of land, hoping for a single sign. Aragorn came to a stop, kneeling down and picking up a leaf that had been fastened on all of their cloaks from Lothlorien. He examined it for a moment. "Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall."

     Legolas stopped beside him, staring down at the leaf. "They may yet be alive."

     "They must be." Ellaria whispered. I need them to be, she thought.

     Aragorn stood up. "Less than a day ahead of us. Come."

     Gimli, who was still behind, managed to trip, falling and rolling down the hill. Legolas paused to look at him. "Come, Gimli! We're gaining on them!" He kept running.

     "I'm wasted on cross-country!" Gimli shouted back, pulling himself up from the ground and running after them. "We Dwarves are natural sprinters! Very dangerous over short distances."

     Ellaria had made it to the front, reaching the highest peak of the hill they climbed. They paused for a moment, the lands very familiar. "Rohan," Aragorn breathed. "Home of the horse-lords. There's something strange at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures. Sets its will against us."

     "They are not normal Orcs." Ellaria explained, causing the three to look at her. "They are different. A new creation. No doubt Saruman's doing." She jumped down from the rock she stood on and continued forwards, Legolas followed her. They both stood there, narrowing their eyes at the scenery before them. Ellaria tapped his shoulder and pointed. "Look."

     "Legolas, Ellaria, what do your elf-eyes see?"

      The wording of his question made a memory flash in Ellaria's head. "Ellaria," Fili called her name, "what do your elf eyes see?"

     Ellaria took a deep breath. "Nothing good." She watched as Bard got on his horse and went away. "And your King has just sentenced us to death."