Our Most Beloved Star by Uvatha the Horseman

The Ride through the Forest

Maedhros chirruped to the horse and they broke into a trot. Soon, last sight of the stone chimneys of their house vanished behind the trees.

They rode off at a brisk pace. Elrond went rigid and gripped the horse's mane, afraid he'd fall off, even though Maedhros wrapped an arm around his waist. The stump ended in a ropey scar, blue-white and unhealthy looking. Elrond was torn between being afraid it would touch him and being afraid of falling.

They slept rough that night. As the embers of their cooking fire died down and he had started to fall asleep, a thought nagged at him. Why had Mother chosen to save the Jewel and not them? It must have been by accident, amidst all the chaos. That's what must have happened. Mother would never have abandoned them on purpose.

On the second day of travel, they entered a patch of forest darker and more ancient than what they'd traveled through so far. The trunks of the trees were gnarled and impossibly thick, suggesting great age. The trail was almost not there. The horses picked their way along a trail that was more rocks and tree roots than path. If they were to slip on a crumbling patch of rock, or a pile of leaves decaying in the wet, they could plunge down the side of a cliff so steep they could never climb up again, assuming they survived the fall.

Near a small waterfall, Maedhros reined in. "Dismount. Someone help me with this one." One of the men-at-arms came over and lifted Elrond to the ground.

Elrond could hear his own heart beating. In the language of Men, he said to Elros, "I think this is the place where Mother's brothers were abandoned. Do you think they'll do that to us?"

His brother's face went pale. "It looks that way. Were you able to keep your dagger?"

"No, they took everything when they searched us."

Maedhros twisted around in the saddle. "Maglor, what are they saying?"

"I don't know. It sounds like a secret twin language."

It wasn't. It was the language of mortal men.

"Amrod and Amras had a secret twin language, too." Maedhros looked wistful. "Everybody back in the saddle, it will be dark soon." He lifted Elrond into the saddle and swung up behind him.