Forgotten Allies: part x
by: McJen

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"You crippled you with pain and
lies, You're hurting all the time;
and elf, you built your prison cell
yourself, then schemed and
dreamed of open skies."
Neil Gaiman The Sandman

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Gandalf was scrutinizing the entrance of a Parisian café, or more specifically the awnings that hung above it. They were a peculiar shade of green that he couldn't seem to capture to his satisfaction. He and Elrond were standing in front of easels in a city park across the street from the café. Gandalf had begun adding a dab of yellow to his palate when Elrond set his paintbrush down and sighed. An amused grin spread across Gandalf's face.

"I had no idea you'd grown so impatient in your old age, Elrond. It doesn't become you," Gandalf said, as he brushed a few strokes onto the canvas.

"We have been standing in this park, painting this same café for the past week. How long must my patience last?" Elrond asked.

"As long as it must," Gandalf said, as he continued mixing his paints. "My contact in the Resistance will come as soon as she is able. You can't blame her for being overly cautious."

"I do not blame her," Elrond said with a sigh. "But I worry for my sons. You cannot fault a father for that."

"I would expect nothing less from you," Gandalf said, as he finished concocting the color and dared to test it on the canvas. "Perfect, the color of the Shire."

Elrond smiled in his old friend's direction. "You spent enough years among them, if anyone would know the color of Shire green, it would be you."

"You should have taken a rest there when you had the chance," Gandalf said. "Quite relaxing. A few months there and you would have felt like you were in the first age again."

"The first age was not an age I care to remember," Elrond said.

Gandalf raised his eyes at that statement, "It was not ALL bad. I seem to remember a certain young elf coming to me for advice about courting a lovely elf maiden."

"Not that your advice did me any good. It took me an entire age to convince Celebrian that she could find no one who loved her more," Elrond said, smiling. Then added, almost to himself. "Wasn't she beautiful though."

"She was and still is," Gandalf said.

"And she will have my ears if I do not bring back her sons unscathed," Elrond said.

During their banter they did not notice a young woman as she walked up the sidewalk until she stopped right in front of them. She stared at Gandalf's painting.

"That is lovely," she said.

Gandalf had met the young woman before. She would buy the paintings, aware of the forged documents they contained. And the ritual went the same every time. Gandalf smiled at her, "Thank you, I am not much of an artist."

"Shall I buy you a coffee as we discuss the price?" she asked.

"Please," Gandalf said. Elrond and Gandalf followed the young woman to the café and took a seat in one of the outside tables. Coffee and croissants were brought to them.

"We don't have a lot of money to exchange for them," she said, nervously picking at her food.

"That is quite all right," Gandalf said.

"Is the usual number in there?" she asked.

"Four, it is as many as we dared hide without calling attention to the canvas," Gandalf said.

The young woman pulled the money from her purse. She started to hand it to Gandalf but he stopped her. "We are interested in a trade."

Her eyes widened. "What sort of a trade?"

"Information."

She fidgeted nervously in her seat and looked around. "I'm not qualified to give information. I know nothing," she said.

Gandalf leaned in and smiled at her. "I'm looking for 3 people who were last seen in France."

"There are a lot of people in France," she said, starting to rise from the table, not at all comfortable with the direction of the conversation.

Elrond put a gentle hand on her arm. "Two of them are my sons. Please," he said, softly.

Reluctantly, she sat back down at the table and leaned in towards them. "Give me their descriptions and I'll do what I can. But I'm not allowed to give out any information without permission."

"I understand. We're trying to locate 3 young men. Colin."

"Shhhh. We don't deal in real names," she said. "Not even I go by my real name among the others. What did they look like?"

"Early to late 20s in appearance. One has short brown hair."

"That narrows it down," she said, sarcastically.

Gandalf smiled. "How about this, the other two resemble their father, they are tall and have long dark hair."

The young woman studied Elrond for a moment and a small gasp escaped her lips. "You know them?" Elrond asked.

She pursed her lips and only said, "I will do what I can and will return when it is safe. That's all I can promise." She took the painting from Gandalf and rushed quickly up the sidewalk.

Elrond looked at Gandalf. "What do we do now?"

"We wait."

"I would rather be in the midst of battle that this endless waiting," Elrond said, as they rose from the table and walked across the street. They gathered their painting supplies and walked up the sidewalk.

"I have to admit, there is a certain satisfaction in fighting orcs that lightens the spirit," Gandalf said.

"That is because in their death you know that you have rid the earth of one piece of evil," Elrond said. "But even if I had destroyed all the orcs myself, it would not have lessened my hatred of them."

"It is one of the great regrets of my life, that I did not arrive in Imladris in time to assist in Celebrian's healing," Gandalf said. "I hope I don't regret sending Kate off on this errand to find the pendant."

Though Gandalf had never spoken of his fears about Kate's quest until now, Elrond knew worry filled his heart. Gandalf had known Kate since she was a child, and cared for her and Colin, in much the same way he had the hobbits. He was already filled with guilt over Colin's disappearance, and should anything happen to Kate, Elrond was not certain how Gandalf would handle the situation.

"Legolas is with her," Elrond said. A jeep filled with German soldier's drove past. Elrond watched until they disappeared from sight. "Those men are truly the orcs of their time. But Legolas will not let Kate fall into harm. Indeed, he would place himself between her and danger at a moments notice."

Gandalf considered Elrond's words and nodded solemnly. "That is part of what worries me. I shudder to think what would occur should any of you fall into enemy hands. Your differences would be hard to explain."

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It was the differences between elves and men that caused Kate so much trouble that morning. The insistent ringing of her alarm clock woke her early and after showering and changing clothes, Kate walked next door to Legolas's room. The door was slightly ajar, which surprised Kate and she peaked into the room.

Legolas was lying upon the bed, with his hands folded across his stomach. Letting out a sigh of relief, she closed the door behind her and walked over to him, ready to berate him for sleeping late. One look at him however, and she froze in terror. His eyes stared unseeingly at the ceiling. She frantically looked him over, but could see no injury that would cause his death. Gathering her courage, she reached a hand out to touch him. The moment her hand touched his, he sprung to life. Kate let out a cry of surprise and staggered backwards across the room. Legolas sat up and stretched. With one glance at Kate however, Legolas knew something was wrong.

"What has happened?" he asked, immediately awake. Legolas rose from the bed and approached her. She backed up warily, looking at him in astonishment. After taking several calming breaths trying to will the lump out of her throat, she finally dared to speak.

"I thought. . .. . .I thought you were dead," she said.

"Dead? I was only sleeping," Legolas said, confused.

"With your eyes wide open staring at the ceiling!" Kate said, her shock giving way to anger. "Your door was open. I thought some Nazi had come in and poisoned you during the night!"

"Elves sleep with their eyes open," Legolas explained.

A smile spread across Legolas face, and Kate couldn't help but smile back. For as much as she was angry at herself for looking like a fool, she was also glad to discover her mistake.

"I assure you I was not poisoned by Nazi's," Legolas said.

As Legolas's eyes met hers, he realized the full impact of her error. Her eyes were wet from unshed tears. They stood in awkward silence before she tore herself away from his gaze and walked to the door.

"I'm going downstairs to breakfast, hurry up and get ready," she said. "And be prepared to answer some questions, I want to know EXACTLY how elves and men are different."

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While on Middle-Earth, Legolas had never spent much time among mortals until he had joined the Fellowship. Much to his delight, he found their company to be enjoyable though the hobbits had at first regarded him with something akin to awe. Several long weeks passed before Sam Gamgee had even dared to ask Legolas questions. But once Sam had gotten started, the questions had seldom ceased. However, even his curiosity did not come close to matching the endless questions Kate bombarded Legolas with as he sat down to breakfast.

"What do you wish to know?" Legolas asked, innocently.

"Do you always sleep with your eyes open? Doesn't that dry out your eyes? Why do you have long hair? Do you ever get sick? Can you go for a long time without food?"

Legolas smiled and Kate quit speaking, a blush creeping over her cheeks. "You asked," she said.

"I did, and I will be happy to answer all of your questions. But it maybe easier if you ask them one at a time," Legolas said, laughing.

Kate grinned at him.

"Yes, we always sleep with our eyes open," Legolas said, as he began to eat his breakfast. "Elves do not need as much sleep as mortals. We can go for days without it. It is possible for elves to enter a dream-like state while awake. We can rest our minds while our body is at work."

"Really?" Kate said, "What do you dream about?"

"The sea. The forest. The starlit sky," Legolas said with a shrug.

Kate was contemplating her next question when a man approached their table. "Excuse me, ma'am. Are you Ms. Kate Elessar?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

"I am Rolf Helmrich, driver of Klaus Ranlow, he asked me to see if it would be possible to pick you and Mr. Legolas up this morning?" he asked.

"Now?" Kate asked.

Mr. Helmrich nodded. "He has important business in Germany and will be leaving the country this afternoon. If you wish to see him before this week is out, it will have to be this morning. I have a car waiting."

"That would be fine. We can leave at once." Kate said. She and Legolas abandoned their breakfast plates and followed Mr. Helmrich out the door of the hotel.

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The estate of Klaus Ramelow was in an affluent residential area on the outskirts of Paris. Legolas and Kate were escorted out of the car and into the large house. They could hear Ramelow's voice long before they saw him. He was barking orders to his bulter, who followed along behind him with a handful of suitcases. Ramelow entered the room talking, as if his time was already too full to bother with introductions.

"Mrs. Schneider contacted me and said a meeting with you and Mr. Legolas would be well worth my time," Klaus Ramelow said, as he escorted them into his office. "That is the only reason I delayed my journey until this afternoon. I do hope you won't disappoint me."

"I think you will be pleased with our offer," Kate said, as she opened up her purse and pulled out the list of items for trade.

Ramelow's demeanor softened somewhat as he read over the list. "A fine a collection as any in London. And you have these pieces with you today?"

"They are in the hotel safe," Kate said. "We didn't want to add the burden of protecting my property to our visit."

"How thoughtful of you," Ramelow said, icily. "What items are you interested in purchasing?"

"A pendant and a sword from the East Kennett Long Barrow collection," Kate said. "Mr. Legolas traced his oldest family roots back to that area of England and wishes to have artifacts from this time period."

Ramelow said, "I do not have them. I am merely a museum arts and acquisitions liason for the German government in Paris. I'm in charge of authenticating works of art for the Third Reich and deciding which are worthy of being added to the collection of Hitler himself."

"You must be very highly regarded in your field," Kate said, "I have no doubt you won't have any trouble locating these pieces for us?"

"You are in luck, for these are in the city of Paris in the private collection of General Friedrich von Bernhardi. Are you certain though that there is nothing else you wish to trade for? I have many excellent neolithic artifacts in my own collection."

Legolas shook his head, "No sir, I thank you for your kind offer, but my heart is set upon the items listed. If you could secure a meeting with General Bernhardi, it would be greatly appreciated."

Ramelow seemed hestitant to answer. "The General is a busy man, he doesn't have the time he once did."

"We could make it worth your while," Kate said. "As a token of our appreciation, I'd be honored for you to have one of those paintings."

Ramelow smiled. "You are too kind. If you would have one sent over this afternoon. I am sure you will get a call from the General's aid within the next day or two."

"I'm sure we will. I will have one sent over immediately," Kate said.

They rose from their chairs and Ranlow escorted them to the front door.

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"I feel like this is a wild goose chase," Kate said, as they walked back into their hotel after eating dinner.

"Wild goose chase?" Legolas asked.

"Exactly, first to the barrows, then to Mrs. Schneider, bribing Klaus Ramelow, now to this General guy. . . ." Kate said. "I'm beginning to wonder if we will ever see this pendant at all."

"We will see it. We are so close to our goal, do not give up so soon," Legolas said.

"I haven't given up," Kate said, as she followed him into his bedroom. She sat down upon the window seat and looked down at the streets below. "But if we have to fork over any more of our paintings as bribes, we won't be left with anything to trade with."

Legolas pulled the bobby pins out of his hair, letting it flow down his back. He crossed the room and joined her at the windowseat.

"You never did answer all of my questions," she said, noticing his ears. "I've had all the surprises I can take. Is there anything else I should know about you?"

Kate stared at his ears intently. Stifling a laugh at the sight of her serious _expression, Legolas pushed his hair back and leaned towards her allowing her to get a closer look. For a long moment Kate studied his ear as she would one of the works of art upon the walls of her father's museum. However, Kate surprised him, when she reached a hand out and began to trace the sloping point. In order to save her further embarrassment, Legolas thought it wise not to mention the sensitivity of Elvish ears and he fought to keep from flinching under her delicate touch.

Once her curiosity was satisfied, she leaned back against the window and said half-teasing, "You're sure there's nothing else out of the ordinary that you can do to scare me? Like breathe underwater? Or suddenly take to flight?"

"My footsteps are light, but I assure you, I cannot fly," Legolas said. "Though they will leave no prints in snow nor mud."

And so the hours passed, the sun set and moonlight shined down upon Paris, before every question that Kate had was answered to her satisfaction. As Legolas lay upon the bed, his open eyes staring at sights that existed only within his mind, he could not remember having a more enjoyable evening in centuries.

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NOTES: Yes, it does feel like a wild goose chase, but the action will pick up in the next chapters. Promise.

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