When the brothers woke, they found themselves in a forest. Both were wide eyed and more than a little shocked.
"What did you do?" Elladan's eyes were wide. "The book is a fake and the author is a charlatan. It obviously isn't legitimate. Isn't that what you said? Things like this don't happen to me, except when I am with you. Now what?"
"Don't look at me like that. You didn't think it would work either or we wouldn't have chanted the spell!" Elrohir was less concerned with Elladan's tirade than the consequences of what had been done, but he certainly wasn't going to take full responsibility. "I know our forest like the back of my hand, and this isn't it."
"No, it is not. I've never seen trees this large. That spell did something. Where are we?"
Elrohir looked at his brother and snapped, "You ask that like you expect me to know the answer. It was about time travel. What if we are in a different time than our own? Are we in a distant future, or have we traveled to the past? If so, how do we get back?"
Elladan was the more practical of the two. After a few moments of stunned silence, he pronounced, "Alright, let us agree that neither of us is solely at fault. Our predicament was brought about by accidentally reciting a spell that sent us to another time. No one is going to believe us anyway. Our immediate concern is finding food, water and shelter. After that, we will find a way out of this mess."
"I'm glad you have faith." Elrohir heard a twig snap and whirled around. He elbowed Elladan. "It seems that we aren't alone."
When Elladan turned around, he saw a young elfling with huge eyes and a frightened expression. As soon as Elladan opened his mouth to speak, the little one took off running as if he had seen the second coming of Melkor. Witnessing two elves appear out of nowhere might not be far off the mark in the mind of an elfling he mused. "Come on, we must follow him."
The twins easily caught up with the elfling, despite his best efforts to elude their pursuit. He was in such a fright that he fell. When Elrohir bent to help him up, he got a little fist in the nose for his efforts.
"Ouch! That wasn't nice. Peace, little one. We need your help. We are lost and far from our home. Will you take us to your parents?"
Elladan smirked at his brother. "Nice shot. pen'neth. Sometimes I feel like doing that as well. My name is Elladan and this is my brother, Elrohir. Do you have any siblings? My little brother is always getting me into trouble. He has done it again, and we need help getting out of this mess."
The elfling cautiously eyed the elves standing over him. He was young but not stupid. There was no chance of escaping the two, and his instincts said that he could trust them. Slowly, he stood and motioned them to follow. It wasn't a long walk before a clearing revealed what appeared to be a small village or settlement. There was little activity, but it wasn't deserted. Just as Elladan was about to step out of the woods and make their presence known, the elfling frantically jerked at his tunic. The twins looked at the elfing curiously. He was obviously anxious about something.
Elrohir knelt and quietly asked, "What is the matter pen'neth?"
The elfing held a finger to his lips to indicate that the twins should remain silent. He then pointed toward three elves standing outside the eastern most cottage. Then he looked at the twins with an expression that was startlingly serious for one so young. When he dragged a finger across his throat, the twin's eyes became large.
Elladan whispered in the elflings ear, "Kinslayers? Are you trying to tell us that they have killed elves pen'neth?"
The elfing nodded. While his face didn't reveal that he feared the elves, it was obvious that he was concerned. He moved closer to Elladan, who knelt down and gave him a comforting cuddle. It was not enough to staunch the elfling's worries though. They had no idea of the depth of his concern. He couldn't be seen, so allowed the twins to believe the elves to be more evil than they probably were. The key word was probably. There was danger in that village, but he didn't know what face it wore. Until it was exposed, he had to keep out of sight from all but a trusted few.
"Ro, he says that the ellyn over there are kinslayers. Let's move back and consider our next move." Elladan began to quietly move backward, trusting his brother to follow. The elfling grabbed his hand and pulled him through brush and thickets till finally it seemed safe to stop.
Elrohir looked at his brother with some concern. "What now? We find adults and they are kinslayers. If we go to them for help, there is no telling what they will do. Brother, I don't want to take the chance of dying here."
Elladan knelt once more. "Pen'neth are all of the elves back there kinslayers?"
The elfling shook his head.
"Will the others tell these kinslayers of our presence?"
The elfing looked uncertain.
Elladan tried a different question. "Is there a way for us to go there and remain out of their sight? We need to talk to someone that knows how to help us, but at the same time avoid being seen by others."
After seeming to ponder the question, the elfing nodded. He put a finger to his lips and started to pull them through the brush once more.
"Elladan, why do you suppose he doesn't speak?"
The elfling stopped and placed a finger to his lips to silence Elrohir. He got the message and grew quiet once more. Finally they arrived at what seemed a dead end. The elfing had taken them to an area thick with brush and vegetation at the base of a hill. It looked like there was nothing else there. At least there wasn't till the elfling moved limbs, pushed aside bushes and motioned to three large rocks. Elladan immediately took the hint. Although the rocks were large, together the twins managed to roll them aside to reveal a tunnel dug into the hill. After entering and sealing the entrance once more, the elfling took Elladan by the hand and began leading him through the dark and twisty tunnel. Elrohir held his brother's hand in a vise like grip and stumbled along behind them. By the time the elfling stopped again, both twins were thoroughly turned around. They couldn't have retraced their steps if they tried. Luckily it would prove unnecessary.
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Chapter notes: Beta: TWED and KRob dedicated their time, liquor and effort into making the following chapters a good read.
