The White City

The White City

Chapter 4
Author: Frosty the Unicorn
Codes: Legolas, Haldir, Elrond, Boromir, Eowyn, Faramir, OC, N/C, AU
Rated: NC-17
Summary: In Middle-earth, the elves are a race of renegades and slaves.
Disclamier: Not mine. 'Cept Narawen.
Elvish Translations are at the bottom of the page.

To Rangerlady and others: Thank you for the reviews. I'm a review-whore, so getting comments (of any kind) makes my day! As for your comments on the Haldir thing, I will say that while writing, Haldir was going to be the main "love"-interest. Halfway through, Elven decided she wanted someone else so we kind of go off in a different direction in the coming chapters. Isn't Haldir's attitude just the best, though? :D

*

Legolas looked up at the elf who stood glaring at the plain wooden door on the other side of the room. "Do you think if you glare at it long enough it will just vaporize?" he asked, annoyed, "You haven't blinked in nearly ten minutes. It's becoming creepy."

Haldir looked down at the archer. "I apologize. Do you have something better for me to do?"

"No," he said, leaning back on the bench, "Unless you want to force your way out there and distract the guards while we escape."

"I highly doubt we would get very far," said Elrond.

Legolas frowned at the elder elf, irritated how he took things so seriously. "How would you suggest I distract them?" asked Haldir, ignoring Elrond.

A smirk appeared on the young elf's face. "If Narawen returns, perhaps she could bring a dress along for you. I hear men are often tempted by blonde elvish females."

"Mmmmm," replied the Marchwarden, "Except that you're closer to Narawen's size than I am."

Legolas laughed, then settled as his thoughts became more serious. "Do you think she'll be able to help us?"

Haldir grunted as he crossed his arms. "She is a mere slave. What can she do?"

"Don't underestimate your own kind, Haldir. She may prove to be a great asset." Elrond sighed and sat down in a small chair away from the other two. "I don't see what other hope we have."

"Then we have no hope. I wish they would just come and kill us, and have done with it. I do not like waiting."

Legolas frowned up at the Marchwarden, but did not dispute him. Truth be told, he didn't like waiting for his death, either. "If we die, the slaves of this city will perish here."

"It is disturbing, seeing firsthand how our kind are treated." Elrond pursed his lips and settled his hands in his lap. "Most are probably worse off than Narawen, as well."

Haldir snorted and shook his head. "I highly doubt it, Elrond. She may be trained in medicine, but she is still a female."

Knitting his brows, Legolas tried not to think too much about that. It bothered him that such things occured. "She seems like such a kind soul," he said quietly.

"Kindness has no place here," replied Haldir gruffly, "Minas Tirith is a place of hardness and hatred."

Activity at the door stopped Legolas from replying. He and Elrond stood when the door opened to reveal several guards and the man who their feelings of anger ran towards.

A smile crossed King Aragorn's face as he stepped into the small room. Arrows were pointed at each of the elves. "Haldir, Legolas," he greeted, "Master Elrond." He bowed to the elder of the elves and Legolas stiffened in anger. "I hope you are all doing well."

"Kill us and get it over with, Aragorn. We are in no mood for chatter."

Elrond flickered an angry glare towards Haldir before turning to the King. "Tell me, Aragorn, why have you kept us as prisoners instead of murdering us like you do most of our kind?"

Aragorn chuckled softly. "Merely for my own amusement, I must admit. I have no need of you."

"Does that mean you are going to release us?" asked Legolas.

"Captain Faramir and Captain Boromir would both be very put-out if I were to release you three. I imagine they have great plans of torture for you." He sighed and clasped his hands behind his back before continuing. "I, however, am content to allow you to leave with the knowledge that we captured you, and we released you. I know elves are quite prideful. Perhaps this captivity will teach you to stop interfering with the world of men."

Haldir laughed loudly. "You might as well kill us now."

"Well, that can be arranged." He smirked and looked at Elrond, turning serious. "As much as I recognize elves are the enemy, I do have respect for those who lead. I will release you against the wishes of my stewards, but if you are seen on Gondor territory again, I will see you put to death."

Haldir made to step forward, but Legolas caught him by the arm. The bows of the guards tightened. "We request the release of another of our kind. The girl who took care of our injuries."

The Marchwarden frowned at the archer, but did not speak his issues. Legolas looked intently at Elrond. "Yes, Narawen," said the elder elf, "Allow her to leave with us."

"Narawen?" Aragoookeooked to each elf before his gaze settled on Legolas. "Why would I allow such a thing?"

"She is of no use to you. Any elf could take her place." Legolas slowly released Haldir's arm as the Marchwarden crossed them.

"Ah, but you're wrong on that. Lady Eowyn would be quite upset." The King smiled as he turned to Elrond. "I'm afraid I cannot allow it. Narawen has been here too long. If you will excuse me, the guards will see you out in a short while."

They watched as Aragorn left, then the soldiers. When the door closed, Haldir turned to Legolas. "Why would you ask such a thing?"

The archer bit his lip. "We promised her we would help her."

"Yes. If shlpedlped us. I don't think she was the one who convinced Aragorn to release us." Haldir huffed out a breath and sat down on the bench.

Legolas sat beside him and watched as Elrond lowered himself to his chair. "We should at least attempt to help her."

"You're right, Legolas," said Elrond, "We should help her. And we tried. I don't think, however, that we should risk our own freedoms for hers."

Feeling anger rise in him, he frowned and glared at Elrond. "Is that not what we do every day? Risk our freedoms for those who cannot? Are we so compromised that we must leave our own behind?"

"What of all the others, Legolas?" asked Haldir, "Should we rescue them as well?"

He leaned back and sighed. "I know we can't help them all. Not now. But we told Narawen we would try. I am sure she would suffer knowing we left without her."

"We may have no other choice." Elrond didn't seem pleased by voicing that, but Legolas knew he was right. At this point, they didn't have many options. "I suggest we take the freedom offered, and then make plans on helping those in need here."

Frowning, Legolas crossed his arms and sighed inwardly. He knew that would take time. A lot of time. As he gently tapped his foot on the wooden floor, he wondered how he could help things move along a little faster.

*

Narawen had fallen asleep. She didn't realize it, and didn't wake until early the next morning. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon as her eyes opened, then adjusted to the new light entering the room. She was still clothed, and her body ached in that terrible, familiar way. Groaning, she pushed herself up and rubbed her face, trying to massage away the pain her head. Not only did she feel awful, but she had fallen asleep and failed to do her duty for the remainder of yesterday afternoon. She wondered why Eowyn had not come to find her.

After bathing and clothing herself, she quickly ate an apple for breakfast then set out to the Hall of Healing. She would try to get an early start, hoping perhaps Eowyn would forgive her for being absent. The courtyards were empty at such an early hour, which Narawen found peaceful. Still, there was no peace in her thoughts.

Brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear, she worked quickly to pack up the equipment she would need to care for the elves. Gathering the pack in her arms, she opened the door and nearly stumbled back when a form in the doorway surprised her.

"Lady Eowyn," she breathed, setting down the pack as the blonde entered the room. Her mistress seemed distracted, and Narawen frowned. "Is everything alright?"

Eowyn's large blue eyes shifted around the room before settling on the pack that sat awkwardly on the floor. "I'm fine," she said, looking up and smiling weakly. "I just...," she paused, as if she wasn't sure she should be speaking, "Faramir and I had an argument. I just wanted to get away for a while. I didn't expect you to be here so early."

"I wanted to get an early start," she replied, "I apologize for yesterday, my lady. I fell asleep without intending to."

"Oh," she said, waving her off as if it were nothing, "It's alright. I'm sure you needed your rest."

Narawen knit her brow as Eowyn lifted the pack off the floor and took it back to the main table. She wondered why the maiden was so quiet. Faramir had done his share in the past to make his wife angry with him, yet Eowyn had never appeared so sad. She was a strong, fiery woman, one who fought with anger rather than wilted in sorrow. Narawen admired that about her. Now, though, as she unpacked the bag, she seemed quiet and shaded.

The elf walked up beside her, eyeing the materials she was setting onto the table. "I was going to tend to the elves."

"They're gone."

A sharp thrill echoed through her body. Had they been killed? "Gone where, my lady?"

Eowyn glanced up for a short moment before folding up the now-empty bag. "The King has released them."

Narawen's worry ebbed and was replaced by a sudden hollow feeling. They had been given freedom. Sadness crept over her as she realized she had wanted to go with them more badly than she had let on. "Do you know why?"

The woman sighed heavily. "No. Faramir is quite upset, though."

Turning away, Eowyn began placing the materials back in their drawers. Narawen had been with her mistress long enough to be a confidante, and knew that if she needed to, Eowyn would confide in her. "Is that what you fought about?"

Narawen always made a conscious effort to speak quietly in front of all the humans, as a show of deference and respect. At this statement, though, Eowyn's bright eyes shot up and regarded the elf with a frostiness she had never seen before. "No," she said finally, shaking her head and continuing with her task. "It's no matter for you to worry about, Narawen."

The elf nodded softly and looked downward. Her stomach tensed as she wondered why Eowyn would gaze at her in such a way. Perhaps she knew what Faramir had done to her. Maybe she found out.

Looking up, Narawen swallowed and crossed her arms. As much as she wanted Eowyn to know how terrible her husband was, if she did find out, the possibility of her blaming Narawen was great. If that happened, if she was left alone and without care, things would only get worse. A great anxiety welled up in her chest as she again thought about how much she wanted to be with the free elves.

Eowyn had tidied the Hall as best she could and was now standing against a table, her palms flat down. She was suffering. Softly, Narawen asked, "My lady, have I done something wrong?"

When she turned to the elf, Narawen was surprised to see her eyes lined with tears. "I went to see you last night," she said, "I wondered where you had gone. You didn't look well. You looked like you had been crying." Trembling, Narawen shifted uncomfortably as she understood that Eowyn had come into her room and seen the terrible state she had been in.

"I left you to rest," she continued, "And asked Faramir if he had noticed if you were upset when you went to see him. Lately he's been quite on edge about this elf problem Gondor has been having. Boromir's injury set him off even more. When he found out Aragorn had let the captives go, he was furious. My questions did nothing to soften moodmood."

Narawen bit her lip and averted her eyes downward. "I'm not an innocent, Narawen. I have had my suspicions. When I asked about you last night, his reply startled me into believing what I had always hoped wasn't true."

She looked up at her mistress. "What did he say?"

"Vicious things. Things that alluded to you being...promiscuous. I need you to tell me the truth, Narawen. Did my husband rape you?"

Clenching her teeth, she willed herself to maintain eye contact. A blush settled over her cheeks, though, and she looked downward. It was as good an answer as Eowyn needed. "Are you injured?" she asked quietly.

Narawen shook her head. "I'm alright."

"How long has this been going on?" Eowyn's voice was quiet and strained, as though it took sheer force of will to keep from breaking.

She couldn't look up at her. Though she knew it wasn't her fault, part of Narawen felt like she had betrayed her friend. "A while."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She looked up then, gazing at the bright blue eyes staring back at her. Eowyn looked like she was silently pleading for some sort of answer that would make sense of it all. Narawen couldn't give her that. "Captain Faramir told me not to. And I didn't want to hurt you."

She lowered her eyes and crossed her arms as she leaned against the table. I'm sorry, Narawen. I know this isn't your fault. I'm sorry for what he did to you." Her face was sad when she looked up. "I don't know what to do. I think I need some time. Perhaps...maybe you could find something else to do for a few days. I'll let you know when I need you back."

Narawen felt a chill run through her body. Her fears were slowly coming true. She was being deserted. Still, though, she knew better than to plead. Bowing politely, she left Eowyn's presence and walked out of the building, leaving her mistress to her misery.

*

TBC