Blood Thorns

Disclaimer: I own the giant, overweight mini-Koi, a possible spy, a pair of kitty cats on Prozac and JRR owns the good stuff!!

A/N:
"This is regular speech"
**This in mind speech**
"˜'This is visions''
""This is thoughts ""
This is Kestrel's written speech.

A/N 2:

To my Lovely Readers and Reviewers: THANK YOU!!

Jumping Off the Deep End

Kestrel sat primly on the edge of the bed with her back to the two whispering ellon. The enraged fair haired warrior had wanted her to apologize and apologize she had! "If the darkling elf, Erestor, refuses my apology, then he can go rot in the deepest pit in Moria for all I care! He had some nerve to insinuate I would work for that evil, loathsome creature of darkness! Just because of some vile markings! There must be some other explanation as to why I bare these strange signs upon my body as I do. Why the Valar can I not remember? Do I truly look that hideous to their eyes? I wish Eru would just give me back my own thoughts! This is a cruel punishment indeed!!" the elleth thought sadly to herself. She truthfully had not meant any harm to the other elf, but his words stung her soul and that had led to unthinking action. Now that she knew the darkling elf's glowing opinion of her, Kestrel vowed to ignore the taunts and hold her temper at bay.

Glorfindel watched the prisoner as she sat silently on the bed, with her hands folded neatly in her lap and her spine rigid. The warrior was still quite angry at the elleth, but Erestor's words had calmed some of the heat from his thoughts. The seneschal knew he could be as bad tempered as a wounded bear at times, but the little warg on the bed had a temper almost as fierce as his own! Now that Glorfindel knew Erestor was unharmed, though slightly bruised and mightily amused with the events, the warrior could not help but admire the beauty of her punch. The female had struck without thought but with deadly accuracy; though he had seen her rubbing her hand afterwards to his amusement. She was an enigma, one minute sweet and shy, then demanding and arrogant, next a brawling hellion. Boring, she was not!

Erestor, who was still contemplating the prisoner, came to the conclusion that he needed to change tactics with this female. Insinuations had garnered him some information and an aching jaw, but now it was time to find out why she reacted so strongly. Tucking the paper under his arm, the advisor picked up the quill and ink before moving to face the prisoner. He watched as she refused to acknowledge his presence and continued to sit quietly. Placing the supplies next to her, the advisor smiled grimly. "You know we could play these games for centuries and all we would get is nowhere. What part of my question bothered you most? That I thought your markings made you ugly or that I consider you a spy for the Dark Lord?"

Fiery eyes blazed to life as Kestrel's head shot up. She locked her eyes with those of the advisor, before reaching for the supplies. A sickly sweet smile graced her lips, and Erestor nearly laughed aloud, at the sheer audaciousness of the small female. Even when the odds were against her, the elleth did not back down gracefully. Dipping the quill daintily into the ink, Kestrel began to pen her answer in swift sure strokes.

Scribble"¦Scribble"¦Scribble

"I have no care of your opinion! It is of no consequence should you think me fair or foul, but I do, however, resent your rude and insulting comments about my allegiance to the Dark One!! You had best take care of whom you belittle, in your petty inquisitions, in the future, for I refuse to parley with you in any form! Be gone from my sight, Orc dung!"

Kestrel handed the paper to Erestor with a mocking bow, before turning her head and ignoring his presence utterly. She awaited the outraged response to her answer. The golden haired one would be livid that she had spoken such to his friend, but the truth was, she had had enough of the newcomer's insults; plus she wished to see the intelligence of her dark inquisitor. A bark of laughter exploded close by, making the elleth turn in surprise. Twinkling silver eyes met her startled honey colored ones, as the darkling elf"˜s lips quirked in amusement. Passing the paper to the seneschal, the advisor turned back to the prisoner and said in a laughing voice, "Orc dung? I thought that you would be much more creative, then that crude saying. I must say that I am gravely disappointed in your lack of imagination; though your Quenya is excellent and your writing, neat and precise. So tell me, fell beast, do you understand any other languages besides these two?"

Kestrel opened and closed her mouth several times in shock. The elleth was caught off guard by the easy manner in which the darkling received her dressing down and the strange fact that he had called her "fell beast" in such a pleasant tone. This darkling elf was a strange one and bore watching closely. This Erestor was trickier then she first imagined and he was as intelligent, or more so, then the blond warrior. The elf at least had a sense of humor, so he was not all bad! She thought about the advisor's question and after a few minutes wracking her mind, the answer was a resounding, "˜I have no idea!' Kestrel wished the elf had just asked her in the other languages he spoke, then it might have spark a memory or she might just have instantaneously understood it. Oh well she would have to just wait and see what happened next!

Looking into the darkling's mirth filled silver eyes, Kestrel tossed up her shoulders in an exaggerated shrug. She was surprised at the gentle hand he laid on her shoulder and the soft words that followed the gesture, "We will have to test your knowledge, child, and see just how much of an education you have been given. If that is acceptable to all involved; your instinctive response to my words, was exactly the reaction I had hoped for; just not so spectacularly achieved. Until we know more about you and what brought you here to fair Imladris, your accommodations will have to remain this dreary place, but I will speak to Lord Elrond about the possibility of well guarded walks in the private gardens nearby," at the blatantly hopeful look in the prisoner's gaze, Erestor smiled slightly before cautioning. "Do not hold to hope, for it may well be denied! We shall see what comes. Now if you will excuse me I must return to my duties. Farewell, youngling, until next time." Erestor and Glorfindel were stupefied when she arose and dropped into a deep curtsey. Coming out of the pose, Kestrel offered a small smile to the advisor; who bowed in return before taking his leave.

Glorfindel watched the curious interaction between the two elves and frowned darkly. For some unexplainable reason the warrior was greatly miffed, that the elleth had responded so well to Erestor; considering the unfortunate incident. The seneschal knew he should be overjoyed that he had an ally that the prisoner had readily taken to, but a small irrepressible part of the warrior was annoyed to no end by this development. The small, sweet smile that the elleth had bestowed on the advisor had gotten the blond seneschal's hackles up! Taking an instantaneous dislike for his own thoughts, Glorfindel put his irritation with Erestor down to his friend trusting the small female, without truly knowing her motives. Now Erestor was even planning on testing the elleth's knowledge, which meant the advisor was going to be spending many more hours in her company; that did not sit well with the warrior, though he brushed it off as deep concern for the advisor's wellbeing. The seneschal decided he would just have to rotate his schedule around, so that he could be assured of always being available, during the testing times; to protect Erestor from harm of course.

Kestrel eyed the warrior warily after they were left alone. She was afraid his temper tantrum would resume, but was pleasantly surprised when he just frowned for a few minutes, before walking back to his normal spot by the fire. Unable to decide if she should approach him or not, the elleth gave a nearly silent "˜huff,' before picking up the quill and ink, moving on quiet feet the cautious female edged closer to the golden haired ellon and tilted her head in question. When he patted the area next to him, Kestrel slowly slid to the floor and placed the items she held, close by her side. Neither spoke for many long minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. A stray memory surfaced and startled the elleth. Trying to hold on to the picture in her mind, Kestrel grabbed the charcoal and paper, hoping to record the image before it disappeared again.

Glorfindel was jolted out of his own thoughts when the elleth's body jumped slightly. Her honey brown eyes held a haunted look within their depths, but her face remained expressionless. The small elleth scrambled for the charcoals and paper; in a grab that seemed almost desperate. The seneschal's quizzical blue gaze watched quietly as the bold strokes flew across the paper in a whirlwind of motion. The haunted look never faltered, as the minutes passed quickly. He watched as a picture came roaring to life on the sheet of paper in glaring detail. The scene the elleth drew brought iciness to Glorfindel's soul.

A human male hung suspended from a large tree by his wrists. What looked to be blood ran in rivulets across his chest, his stomach and down his thighs. The human was unclothed and seemed to hang there listlessly; either dead or unconscious. What looked to be knife wounds littered his body, but none of the injuries looked fatal. In a few area, the skin was missing and what could only be bone showed through.

Kestrel's strokes stopped as abruptly as they had begun. Dropping the small piece of charcoal she still held, the elleth gazed at the picture she had drawn, in dawning horror. With a mixed look of sheer disgust and agonizing dispair, the small female flung the drawing away from her, with a trembling hand. Standing unsteadily, Kestrel staggered to the corner of the room, where she wretched violently into the bucket that rested there.

Kestrel was completely unaware of Glorfindel picking up the drawing to study it closely for a moment. Turning the picture over and placing it next to where he sat, the seneschal stood and walked purposely to the elleth's side. Gathering the chestnut mass away from her overly pale features, Glorfindel wiped Kestrel's mouth with a piece of cloth he had grabbed on the way. She was quaking so badly that the warrior had to wrap his arm around the small form, to keep her from pitching face first to the floor. Tears streamed down the elleth's pale cheeks, as her breath hitched erratically. Her eyes were glazed and unfocused. The seneschal could see that the tiny female had the symptoms of severe shock. Laying her down gently on the floor, Glorfindel banged on the door, alerting the guards. When the wooden doors opened, the worried warrior explained the urgent matter and bade them to go fetch Elrond. The seneschal ordered them to apprise Elrond of the situation and have him return, post haste, with whatever medicines he needed to treat the elleth's condition. Without waiting for a confirmation of his order, Glorfindel slammed the door shut in the guard's face and rushed back to the prisoner's side.

Seeing the elleth's still pale features and completely limp form tore at the warrior's gentle heart. Kestrel looked small and helpless; so much different then the female that the ellon was used to dealing with. Crossing swiftly to the elleth's bed, Glorfindel proceeded to drag the soft blanket free and walked back to the elleth's unmoving form. Wrapping Kestrel up tight in the blanket, the warrior gathered Kestrel against his broad, muscular chest, before moving over to his regular place by the fire. Hoping to keep the small prisoner from further harm, Glorfindel kept her warm with a combination of the blanket, the fire and his own body heat. The warrior murmured soft soothing noises to the small prone figure, while he gently stroked her waterfall of hair where it hung loosely down her back. Why he should be so worried about one of his prisoners, never even crossed the warrior's thoughts. The seneschal only knew that the young one had drawn a picture of great malice, and that bothered the warrior immensely. The only way that the elleth could have reproduced such an image in that great of a detail would be to have witnessed it in person, why the elleth would have been a willing witness to such horror, Glorfindel wished not to dwell on. Snuggling the small female more comfortably in his lap, Glorfindel began to softly sing one of his favorite songs, as he awaited the arrival of Elrond.