Storm Of Arrows ➝ The Lord of the Rings ✓

Part Thirteen

PART THIRTEEN ~

The gentle rushing and swishing of running water gradually filled my ears, and I staggered on with renewed vigour, desperate to reach the stream. Aris was starting to become a burden for me, and I struggled to hold him upright as I trudged through the impenetrable undergrowth. But the sound of water made me push on, and I ignored every warning forcing me to stop.

At last I came across the stream. It was only small, crossing the path before me and disappearing behind the trees, but it was running with clear, blue water, reflecting the shimmering sunlight in waves of coruscating ripples. I yelped with happiness and quickly shook my shoulders to wake Aris. He stirred and yawned, and his eyes suddenly lit up as he noticed what was before him.

"Water!" He cried, leaping off my back and bounding over to it. I chuckled slightly at his reaction, and quickly joined him as he plunged his head into the icy depth. I laughed as he quickly withdrew with shock from the cold, and began shaking the water droplets from his head. He grinned at me happily, his dripping hair plastered to his head.

"Come on. Let's drink."

Aris nodded, spraying droplets everywhere once more. I gingerly outstretched my arms and dipped them in the shallow water. It was colder than I expected, and a wave of goosebumps ran along my skin like thousands of tiny needles. I ignored the coldness and cupped the pellucid water in my hands, slowly raising it to my lips and allowing it to wash through my mouth and down my throat. It immediately relieved the painful dryness of my throat, and I gulped more of the pure water, smiling to myself as I saw Aris try to mirror my actions.

As we were drinking, I heard the subtle snap of a twig behind me, but took no heed of it as I immersed myself in the cool stream. I splashed my face, ridding it of the layers of grime that had built up over the last few days. But as I was wiping the blood from my cheek, I heard Aris let out a yelp of surprise and then a sharp intake of breath, and I glanced up to see what was wrong.

The sight I beheld filled me with horror and anguish, for Aris had collapsed in the stream, his body writhing aggressively, with an arrow protruding from his chest. He was gasping for air, but instead spluttering blood.

"No!" I gasped, leaping over to him in a steady bound. I clutched his shoulders, lifting him from the stream that was already running crimson from the blood pooling out of his chest. His eyes were wide open, clouded with pain and sorrow.

No! No! No! This couldn't be happening! I clutched at my younger brother, my body now trembling with silent sobs, as the unshed tears began to roll down my cheeks.

He was still gasping and spluttering, but there was nothing I could do. I brought his head up to my chest and began rocking back and forth.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

I payed no heed to the clatter of footsteps and sharp inhale. I merely continued sobbing into my brothers lifeless body.

I suddenly felt his hand twitch, trying to pull away, and quickly let him go. He was gazing deep into my eyes, clearing struggling to stay conscious.

"S... Survive... sis..." As the words were uttered from his mouth, his jaw slackened and his eyes fell lifeless. His body lay motionless in my hands, his eyes stricken with terror. I slowly ran my fingers lightly over them, shutting his eyelids.

I sat as I was for some time, rocking his dead body, until I eventually laid him on the ground and, with trembling hands, dragged the arrow from his chest. It was released from his body with a wet pop! and I tried to push away the wave of nausea that threatened to invade my stomach.

Clutching the bloodied arrow, I slowly pivoted on one foot to face my brother's murderer. But I was not surprised in the least to see an elf before me; I'd have been dead by now if it were an orc.

"Oh, Eru! What have I done?!" The elf gasped, his bow clattering from his hand as his grip slackened. His eyes widened in horror, but I payed no heed to the elf's reaction. I merely stared at him, drinking in every feature of my brother's murderer. His long, blond - almost white - hair tumbled over his shoulder, swaying slightly in the breeze, and falling messily over his piercing green eyes, now imbued with guilt and alarm. His slender arms hung loosely from his slumped shoulders, and his body trembled slightly as my unwavering gaze pierced his. I made it as cold as I could, showing every sign of remorse; though that was not how I felt.

It was strange; my body felt tingly, as though it was not mine to control. My hands clutched the shaft tightly, my knuckles growing whiter with the strain. Anger coursed through my body, and my feet began to move forward slowly, one in front of the other. No matter how hard I tried, I was unable to call myself to a halt; my feet had a will of their own, and they disobeyed my desperate attempts to control them.

As I neared the elf, he clearly saw what was coming; it seemed inevitable, yet he did not flinch nor cower. He merely lowered his gaze, as I approached him warily. I tried to scream, but no sound came out; it was as though someone had clamped a strip of cloth round my mouth and bound my body inside so I could not move. I tried kicking and thrashing out, but it was no use, and I eventually allowed the new surge of energy to rush through 'my' body.

The next thing I knew, the arrow in my hand had somehow managed to wedge itself into the elf's chest, piercing the flesh with a sickening slap! He let out a quiet gasp, spluttered some blood, and staggered back, taking the arrow with him. But my body seemed to think it wasn't enough; I followed him as he thudded to the ground, kneeling beside him with a menacing grin as a trail of blood trickled from his open mouth. The light in his eyes was slowly diminishing, and I clutched the arrow, dragging it from his convulsing body, before stabbing him once more with the bloodied shaft. I repeated the process over and over, puncturing his skin several times, even long after he had departed from the world. Remorse coursed through my vains, but I was screaming at myself inside; screaming to stop. To put an end to this horiffic business. But my body payed no heed; I was unable to contradict my actions.

After what seemed like an eternity, the newely found strength and desire to kill slowly slipped from my body, and I was drained of all vehemence until I collapsed with exhaustion, my hand still clinging weakly onto the arrow as I fell motionless by the side off the dead elf.

The world soon slipped from view, and I was plunged into a pulsating darkness.

~

A/N: This is a pretty long update - for me - because I'm in a happy mood. I had my exam yesterday and it was a hell of a lot easier than I expected! And I'm really delighted about that. I mean, I'm not sure how I did or if I actually got the answers correct, but I felt as though I understood pretty much all of the questions and why am I rambling on when none of you could care less so...

Anyway, thanks so much for reading! It was back to Taryn's dream again. I know it's slightly different to the story she told Legolas, but I wanted to alter it a bit to make it better. I don't think it'll make much of a difference, and I hope you don't mind. I mean, stories change anyway, right?! Maybe she mistook some details... Idk.

Anywayy, like I said, thanks for reading if you are. You're, like, really awesome! And I really appreciate it.

I'll try and either update tomorrow, or sometime next week. Idk. I might update my other fanfics. Depends if I'm in the mood.

Anyhow. Sorry for rambling... again.

I'm going on Final Fantasy XII now....

Please VOTE!
~ _imagine_fantasy_