Darkest Before Dawn

Darkest Before Dawn, Chapter Three
See part one for disclaimers and warnings
Special thanks to Stephanie and Rei for betaing this chapter

A scant three hours after his encounter Gimli was on the road leading away from Edoras, armed with only the shakiest knowledge of where he was going or what he would do once he got there. His anger and grief were clouding his brain too greatly for him to be able to think properly; he was just acting on instinct.

After releasing Billy from their table with the assurance that if they ever met again it would not be to Billy's advantage, Gimli had sat alone in the dwindling light for some time, too numb with shock to even move. Then he had suddenly lurched to his feet, gathering irritated looks from the people he shoved past as he walked single-mindedly towards his quarters. He had gathered his things automatically, barely aware of what he was putting into his travel pack. Then his rational mind had interceded long enough for him to scrawl a quick note to Aragorn explaining where he had gone, though he wasn't sure if it was comprehensible or not. Some jumble of words about Legolas and a town and a lot of swearing--Aragorn would probably think Gimli had lost his mind. Gimli handed the note to a page with terse instructions to get it to the King and then he was off.

Eomer had already offered Gimli the use, any time he should wish it, of the pony Merry had ridden alongside King Theoden. It was sized for little people to be comfortable with, but Gimli had not taken it. It was one thing to consign his fate to a four-legged beast when Legolas was controlling it, but Dwarves as a rule were at their best with their own two feet planted firmly on the ground. Besides, while Stybba could get him to Herthdale, the pony was not large enough to bear Legolas out of that hated place. So in the end the pony would not be of use.

Gimli didn't allow himself to consider any possible course of events that didn't end with him finding Legolas and removing him from danger. If Legolas did not leave the town of Herthdale, then neither would Gimli. It was that simple.

The empty stretches of land between Edoras and Gimli's goal seemed interminable. He would have undertaken without hesitation any journey, over any distance and through any perils to find Legolas. To have it be so close, so attainable--and yet to be held to the pace of his own two stubby feet. Before long Gimli was regretting the decision, still formed in his anger, to leave Stybba behind. Dwarves might be best on their feet, but Stybba could have considerably lessened the time it took Gimli to reach Herthdale. What might be happening there, what was Legolas enduring, while Gimli walked these roads?

That night Gimli dreamed of Legolas. In his dreams the elf he loved was curled up on a low couch, arms wrapped around his knees like an unloved child, whimpering. Gimli tried to reach out to but but Legolas struck at him, reaching out and clawing his garments with fingernails grown more like claws. The dream-Legolas was bright as a star and terrible to look at, yet he insisted Gimli do so while he gave voice to all the hideous claims of Gimli's conscious. "Look at me," the elf cried, raining down accusations upon the dwarf's head. "If you had only come after me. If you had only gotten here a day sooner, this wouldn't have happened to me!" And he cast himself down dead upon the couch.

Gimli woke weeping and shuddering long before dawn had touched the sky. He was several miles further along in his journey by the time the sun finally cleared the tips of the hills and poured light into the valley.

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It took Gimli five days to get to Herthdale, and each night when he stopped he had those dreams. By the time he finally arrived someplace he recognized from Billy's description, he was decidedly the worse for wear. He worried that if it came to a fight, he wouldn't be able to defend Legolas.

At first, in his anger, Gimli had assumed that he would simply charge the brothel and break Legolas out of there. He would fling his axes at anyone stupid enough to get in his way, making a path of dead slave owners straight for his friend's door. But while his anger had not cooled, time and weariness had forced him to rethink. Even if he could easily find the brothel Chezner owned, there was no reason to think he kept his illegal slaves in the same place. And Gimli would be outnumbered. As much as he felt that Legolas deserved an all-out attack with the dwarven battle cry ringing in the air, his common sense insisted that stealth would serve him best in this matter.

In the end, what made the decision was what was most likely to aide Legolas. Gimli had a dwarf's pride, which resented any course of action that would not lead to a full-fledged battle with this scum. But he also had a dwarf's heart, which once committed could never act in any way but for the good of his beloved. In the end it was this that won out. Dying gloriously in battle would not save Legolas.

And, Gimli consoled himself, he could always come back to seek vengeance later, after Legolas was out of harm's way and with an army behind him. He was certain Eomer would be enraged to hear what had been taking place on the borders of his lands, and Aragorn would not be keen on the operation either. All Gimli had to do was lead them to this place to see that justice would be served.

But that still left Gimli with the problem of finding the right place and getting his elf out. Every fiber of his being rebelled against the thought of playing a potential customer, yet he could think of no better way to infiltrate the careful security Chezner seemed to have created around his operation. In the end he decided to go to the inn Billy had told him about and take a look around before deciding on a course of action.

Herthdale was a much larger town than Gimli would have anticipated, here in the Dunlands as it was. Even so, the sight of a dwarf was not sufficiently common to prevent people from staring at him as he clumped down the road. Gimli ignored their stares; he found himself instead surreptitiously scanning the buildings around him, looking at thepperpper floors and basements, wondering; could Legolas be inside one of these buildings? Was he walking past him right now?

//Wherever you are, I'll find you,// he thought grimly. //I won't leave here without you.//

TBC
AN--Thanks to everybody who responded to my plea for suggestions last chapter, they really did help me get through this part of the story. The pace should pick up soon--next chapter is the much requested switch to Legolas's POV and should be added quicker.