Agar Saer Bitter Blood by LadyofLight44
Disclaimer: The characters and places are not mine. If they were… I shudder to think what would happen to them.
* As far as timeline, this is roughly two thousand years before the Fellowship of the Ring. So sorry, no Aragorn this time. But there will be Haldir who, according to my ‘calculations’ is about 3000 or so in this story.
* All the elvish used in this is a form of Sindarin
* Oh, and the elvish word for uncle, I can’t find so the word I shall use is “Vedhir” which is pronounced, for those of you who care, “Veth-eer” I made it up. The only other word I will use that is actually based on elvish but not a real word is- tôrion which I will use to mean “nephew.” It really means brother-son, literally. I figure it works.
As always, ENJOY!
Rating: R- for child abuse and brutal physical and mental torture. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!!! THIS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART OR SENSITIVE OF STOMACH!!!!!!!!!
Kleenex boxes, should you wish to use them, may be ideal for keeping your keyboards safe and help prevent spontaneous electrical shocks.
Agar Saer (Bitter Blood)
~By: The Lady of Light~
Chapter One: A Family Reunion
A cool wind whipped through the dark red leaves of the trees. Autumn was fast approaching the elven forest. Everything felt the changing of the seasons upon them, even the spiders who disappeared into their warm, dark hollows as the icy bite of the wind hinted at the winter to come.
Hidden in the depths of the dark forest where few interlopers dared tread, nested the elven haven of Mirkwood. The palace was stone and vast but many mullioned, emerald colored windows and vaulted ceilings gave the place some space. The stone walls hung with vibrant tapestries of ages long past. It was in one of these halls that a group of young elves sported about with each other.
Legolas grinned and raced playfully after his friends. The elves of Mirkwood were in rare high spirits this night for tonight began the festivities and feasts that would last a week or more. The autumnal equinox was upon them- a time when the stars burned brightest and the elves celebrated by setting ablaze the old leaves that fell from the trees in anticipation of the beautiful spring and revival to come.
Legolas was watching his friend, Rinniad, out of the corner of his eye and didn’t see the elf in front of him until he had collided head-on into him.
“Do try to be careful, young prince!” An irritated voice snapped peevishly.
“Sorry, Telas!” Legolas laughed at his father’s councilor. Telas was an old elf, much revered by the adults, and much made a mockery of by the younger ones. His stuffy manner and overweening demeanor had often been the brunt of no few jokes; and the councilor’s person had often fallen afoul of the playful prank or trick that his young students loved to amuse themselves with at his expense.
Telas took the young elf by the shoulders.
“Now, young master, why are you still in here? You must be changed and ready before the festivities begin tonight,” he admonished. Legolas groaned inwardly. Of course! The formal start of all the affairs! How could he have forgotten?
“All right, Telas. I’ll go change.” Waving goodbye to his friends, Legolas bolted upstairs. If he did not hurry he would soon be late and his father had already chastised him once today for being late to his lessons.
“A prince should be on time! Not gallivanting around with his friends,” Legolas muttered, echoing his father’s severe tone while he had lectured his son, as he hurriedly rebraided his disheveled hair.
Legolas glanced at himself in the mirror and though he had not had the time to scrub his face or really comb his hair, he thought he looked passable. Without another thought on it, he dashed down the stairs and out towards the vast clearing that had been prepared especially for tonight.
He was just in time. The feast was about to begin.
He rushed out towards the great clearing and took his seat beside his mother and father. Anariel, the beautiful Queen of Mirkwood, greeted her son lovingly, smoothing his pale hair from his face. She looked over at Thranduil chidingly as Legolas shifted restlessly in his seat again.
“Really, hir-nin (my lord). You cannot keep the boy here all night,” she remarked to her husband. Thranduil leaned towards her.
“I can try.”
~*~
The sweet, smoky scent of burning leaves filled the air and the ringing tones of elvish singing echoed in the woods. Legolas pulled at the uncomfortable collar strangling him. How he longed to slip into a comfortable tunic and boots and race off through the forest with his friends in search of hind and rabbits.
Alas, ‘the duty of a prince is with his people,’ his father had often- far too often- reminded the young elf. To the prince’s mind, he had his entire immortal lifetime to think of his people! The only thing he wanted now was to be with his friends. But, he was stuck until his father released him.
Legolas glanced idly around the circle of merrymakers. Long wooden tables had been set up, groaning beneath the weight of the harvest. All kinds of fruits weighed down the tables, freshly baked loaves of bread sent the lingering scent of flour wafting into the air and the King’s favorite Dorwinion wine had been brought up from Lake Town especially for the occasion. A magnificent roast boar crowned the head table where the king sat.
“Come Legolas!” Rinniad shouted to him, beckoning from across the fire. Legolas glanced up at his mother for permission and seeing the gentle smile on the queen’s lips and small nod, the prince considered himself dismissed.
“You cannot sit beside your father for all of the narbeleth (sun-waning) festival, can you?” The prince laughed and sat cross-legged beside his friend.
Suddenly, a pounding of hooves halted the beautiful music and elvish singing as several of the woodland guards galloped into the clearing. They were careful, however, not to crush the revelers underfoot and rode right up to the dais where the king sat.
“There are riders approaching my lord!” Thranduil raised an eyebrow. He had not been expecting visitors so late.
“Who are they?”
“Elves, my lord. But strange… I have not seen them before…”
“If I may, my lord,” Sarithan, the captain of the border guards, interrupted, stepping forward. His grey eyes flickered with an emotion that Legolas could not quite place and it troubled him. The captain turned towards the king, his face grave. Sarithan opened his mouth to speak but the sharp tones of elvish horns that rang out over the great forest, announcing the travelers, cut him short.
The Elvenking stood as a party of a score of elves or more stepped into the firelight. For the first time in many long centuries, Thranduil looked up in surprise at his estranged brother’s face. He was actually Anariel’s brother but Thranduil had come to think of the elf as his own family. Years ago they had lost all contact when Thranduil had been crowned king after his father had been slain during the Last Alliance. Ainan had changed little with the passing of the years as elves are wont to do.
The deep burnished gold of his hair caught the light of the torches as it fell down to the middle of his back, elegantly pulled back into a ponytail and braids of elven wayfarers. He was tall and slender though there was a certain harshness to his features that the wilderness and rigors of long travel had carved into his face. He carried himself with the elegance of royalty and the haughtiness of the elven race. But warmth was in his gaze as he beheld his brother-in-law.
Legolas stepped to his parents’ side, looking up at the strangers. He barely remembered his uncle, who had left the palace not long after the young child had been born. For what reasons, Legolas did not know and he had not asked for he found that whenever he questioned his mother about her brother, Anariel seemed to become so sad. Legolas had thought for the longest while that his uncle was dead.
But, no. Here he stood, smiling and waving to those who recognized him and clasping his brother-in-law familiarly by the shoulder.
“Such a welcome, muindor-nin (my brother!)” Thranduil nodded.
“Ainan, mae govannen (well met),” the Elvenking greeted him, still looking faintly puzzled. Ainan smiled warmly.
“I have realized the error of my ways and wished to surprise you by arriving before the winter snows and in time for the autumnal festival! Time can pass by so quickly in the wild! Shall we let bygones by bygones, muindor?” he entreated, his silver-blue eyes bright. “Let us forgive each other and let no ill will pass between us again.” Thranduil smiled gently and embraced his brother-in-law firmly.
“Indeed, muindor. Indeed. Let bygones be bygones.”
So saying, the elf’s silver-blue eyes flickered to the woman beside the King. He bowed low to the Queen.
“My dear sister, you become more beautiful every time I see you,” he said familiarly.
“And you become more the snake charmer,” the Queen replied coolly, allowing him to give her a brotherly peck on the cheek. The honey gold of his hair sparkled as he lifted a wine goblet from the long table and seated himself at the king’s right side.
“Tell me,” Thranduil asked pleasantly as his brother took a sip from his goblet. “Why the change of heart?” The words were spoken low and still in a friendly, level tone but Legolas, who was the only one close enough to hear the whispered conversation, detected a hint of warning behind his father’s voice. But why?
Legolas cast a glance at his mother who sat rigid in her chair, staring straight ahead but seemingly not seeing the bonfire before her or the singing elves. She caught Legolas’ worried look though and smiled gently. She kissed him on the forehead.
“Go on now, ion-nin (my son),” she said. Legolas paused, burning to ask the questions that buzzed around his head but the Queen nudged him. “Go on.”
“Hannon le, naneth (Thank you, mother!)” he muttered back, smiling broadly as he raced off after Rinniad and the others. But inside his mind was turmoil: what was his uncle doing here?
Author’s Note: As always, if you like it, please review and another chapter will be forthcoming. Thank you!
~The Lady of Light~
75 Comments
It’s wierd because this is how I kinda always used to see his family dynamic.
Excellent set up! The characters are in place, the scene is set….you can just feel the tension build!
BTW, if you’re still interested I have found the words for uncle: tor-en-adan, literally brother of my father and tor-en-naneth, brother of my mother.
Excellent story, looking forward to more!!
oooh, i like this alot! lots of drama! i’m just reading the silmarillion for the first time, so i’m learning the names of all the elves and their places in the history of the Noldor. the elves are suddenly so intriguing! keep writing!
Very good! you’re a skilled writer, i’ll give ye that! like the way you describe things! keep posting, and i’ll keep reading!
This fic has a life all it’s own–I can really see the characters being themselves in this. You’re writing style is wonderful and I hope you continue the story. You’re one of those writers who evokes emotion through words and that really makes everything more real for the reader. I can’t really say I ‘enjoyed’ reading chapters, but it was very engrossing. Keep it up.
AWESOME!! its me oblifiac!! cool you posted it on council of elrond!!!! srry my craziness is acting up…
Wow. This is phenomenal! Well-written, and a great concept for a fic. This was a wonderful idea, keep writing! : )
AUGH! You have to update! I wonder who will find out about Legolas’ beatings first. I hope it’s Haldir. He seems really nice and understanding. Update soon; I love your writing style and the plot!
Poor Legolas! More great chapters!
Update soon!!!!
So far, I think it’s pretty good. I’m not as big a fan of LotR as everybody else is, but I know a fic with potential when I see one. I’ll keep reading, and I’ll keep reviewing. I think your writing style is very descriptive, although not distracting. That’s hard to find these days. 🙂
No! You did NOT just kill Lothmir! You can’t! PLEASE let him be okay!
I have to say, this is one of the best fanfics i have seen…..ever! I had read every chapter up till this point and wanted to cry when there was no more! 😉 I really like this and i am starting to see Legolas as more than the annoying, walkin on snow elf……he he he! Keep up the amazing work!
This story is very interesting; I’m really impressed with what I’ve read so far. Keep up the good work. I can’t wait until the next chapter!
wow
my blood is frozen!!!!!!!!!
must read on before i die of fear…
I love your story! It’s really depressing, but very interesting. You are an excellent writer. Keep up the good work and post more soon!
This is really freaky, but I just can’t help reading on!! You have potential! The story is really well written. I love it. 🙂
The story doesn’t really end,you should write some more chapters.Anyway,it is a good story.
P.S. hurry!i’m looking forward to see how it ends.
I was just thinking.Is the prisoner in Ch.14 Thranduil? Because Anian called him “brother”.
Oh, dear. Poor Haldir. Great chapter- update soon!
Oh how could he?! Poor Haldir! He didn’t do anything to deserve that! OH! and Tindomiter (or however you spell his name; I don’t remember) is watching Legolas! AHHHHHH! HALDIR! SUSPENSE! PLEASE DON’T KEEP ME IN SUSPENSE! PLEASE UPDATE!
wow! You’re a fast!
and incredible good!
I love your story more and more with every chapter I read. It’s addictive. Please post more soon!
Oh no! the Queen! *cries* Ainan needs to pay! Evil elf! And how COULD those guards follow him?! How COULD they?! *sob*
Please hurry up with the 2 last chapters.I’m looking 4ward to see what happens.
PLEASE!!!!!!
Why does everyone seem to think of Thranduil as abusive? Some of you people should read this:
http://www.geocities.com/prico3/lotr/gtrnotevil.html
I want a happy end! Now or i will grow mad!
I’m REALLY looking forward to what happens next.
I LOVE this story!
Still waiting for the next 2 chapters.Waiting…waiting…waiting…and(paitently) waiting more.
How old in mortal years is Legolas in Agar Saer?
I have such mixed feelings about the end. I’m delighted that Ainan finally gets justice, but I’m sad that the story is over. You did a marvelous job with this story and I look forward to read more of your work.
ahh, happy end…
if this had been a book i would have buyed it immediatly!!!!
there is just one problem: where is the sequel?!? 😉
Oh! Tirien! Oh how could you?! *cries*
oh, I’m so glad you didn’t kill the queen! And Ainan better not come back! He deserves to stay in exile forever until he meets a horrible death! Oh, poor Lothmir! Okay, I really need to organize my thoughts. I’m really skipping back and forth and around in circles…… yeah……….. But excellent fic! I will definitely stop by ff.net and check out your other story!
This is a wonderful story. Thank you for your advice about Puffs at the begining.
There are no words in any language on Earth, Middle Earth, or Valinor to express my thanks and love for this tale.
Hey! I absolutely loved your story! It was better than any other fanfic I have read. I’m not really Luthien Calaelen, I’m Arodiel- I’m using Luthien’s computer. Anyway, I really think you should get that thing published or something, because it rocked! Well, toodles!
OMG this story was incredible! I cried and laughed with the characters and truly felt a part of the whole thing! i will check out your stories on fanfiction.net asap and cant to read the goodies you have put up there,keep up the incredible work!
that’s totally great writing
sorry i’m being sloppy in my typing; i’m in a hurry to read the next chapter
i wish i could write like that! i love writing.
amazing writing!
i’m going to go back to reading now.
I hate ainan, he’s so mean, but i love the story the way it is. i mean, it seems like ainan is the villain and villains are supposed to be evil. i don’t think an author needs to be shy about portraying evil as evil unless it’s a story for little kids.
super awesome story!
great story! gotta keep reading!
no time…must..keep….reading
this is almost as good as the lotr !
super-cool story. now backto reading
this justgets better and better
oh no ! anariel too? i just want you to know that your story is one of the best i’ve ever read! (and i read a lot)
the suspense is killing me. awesome writing!
kirar is bad?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i totally never suspected it. that was a total surprise. love this story!
aaargh! the great thing about suspense is that it enriches the story. the bad thing is that it kills you. i don’t understand whether Narvenien is good or bad.
Thranduil’s not dead, is he? I LOVE THIS STORY!!!
I knew Thranduil’s alive! but then again, it’s kind of obvious to anyone who’s read LotR, like me and probably everyone else on this great site
super great story!
It’s about time something was done about Ainan! Oh I love this story! Please don’t let Lothmir be dead!
It’s about time something was done about Ainan! Oh I love this story! Please don’t let Lothmir be dead!
Did Ainan kill Telas? I think this is such a super story!
there is no way to say how much i love this story
there is no way to say how much i love this story
there is no way to say how much i love this story
poor serke. can’t believe telas is dead. i love this story soooooooooooooooo much!
if i didn’t know about the lotr, i’d be crying my head off over haldir. this is such a great story!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i’m getting really tired of tindometir. not in a way bad to the story. it improves the story on the whole. but he just keeps coming back.
curse ainan! the story’s super wonderful, though.
I HATE AINAN!!!! great story. loving every word of it.
i knew narvenien is good! awesome story!
oh no! it’s a good thing i’ve read the lotr, or i’d have died of sorrow by now. that shows that there’s talent in your writing, i guess; you caught hold of my emotions. can’t stop reading. love this story.
did i already post a review for chapter 25? i don’t remember so i’m doing it now.
poor haldir! i can’t get over it. please get them together again.
they’ve been captured again?! that was just tindometir, wasn’t it?
i am soooooo glad i already know the story of the lord of the rings. otherwise i’d have had a much harder time reading all this. this story is addictive!
i’m totally stuck on this story! i need to keep reading.
you gave me a huge scare when they found lothmir in the barrel. i thought hehad met the same fate as calivien. great story! i wish you luck in your writing career!
oh no! is anariel going to die? this is such a super story!
This has definitely become my second favorite story in the world (and in Middle Earth), my favorite of course being The Lord of the Rings. I’ll never forget it, nor stop reading it. Is it possible and legal for you to publish it as a book? If so, I truly hope you do from the depths of my heart. I wish you best luck in your writing career!
not something i would continue. a bit boring actually
I read all of it!! LOL, it was great, but I thought Ainan´s cruelty was a bit over done in some places, though in others you showed him to be a truely evil character-and you did it really well!!! Nice Job!
Wow. Amazing! I loved it! It’s movie-material! I think you could be a great book or movie writer someday. I started reading it, and most stories I would have seen it was 32 chapters, and just stopped, but I just couldn’t! It was suspenseful, and I had to see the rest. Suspense. You had alot of it and that is great story-writing. Great work! Again, I loved it!
p.s. I think I’ll read some more of your work!
you know how I said about writing a sequel( which you said you are)? I do have an idea. It should be like start when Legolas comes back from the wotr. I have been just itching to give you this line, it could be for Ainan or for Tindómëtir. Here it is …..”….Haldir isn’t here to save you now…..” What do you think of it? I know it will sound better when you actually add a sentence to it.
PM me back soon
mellon le
elanor_grenleaf247
So far, I love this story. It is very original! Though I’m posting this under chapter one, I am currently reading chapter 17. You have great writing skills with almost no grammatical errors. Amazing!