DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS OF LANGUAGES. THEY ARE NOT OF MY CREATION.
The battle of Hornbug: Chapter One: For the Sake of Sons
"My lord, please…" She stammered. In her life time of knowing the king of Mirkwood, and it had been a long life indeed, she never once remembered being so utterly astonished. "My Lord, please reconsider! The uproar you just caused with this announcement is unbelievable. Let someone else go in my stead. I cannot to be taken away on some fool's errand to Lorien."
In the chamber of the king, Eleniel stood proud and indigent. Her stature was straight, nearly offensive if she would be so bold. But she was. She was the spearhead of an army that would follow her in her husband's place. To be sent away to Lorien on some random errand, it was a perplexing and unusual request from a king who had kept her very close in the absence of his only son. Her gown of light green lace and silk nearly matched her confounding emotions. It was a gown designed to her personal needs, one that clung tightly to her form yet giving her enough flexibility should she need to move in the case of combat. Since she was forbidden to wear normal practice clothes to these events, consisting of her leggings, boots, and tunics she needed something that would fit her personality just right. But her confusion and her stance seemed to make no sense right then. The king made no sense right then. Eleniel studied him, studying the heavy lines that had creased permanently since the death of this eldest son centuries ago. She could read clearly the pain and suffering he felt, for she had been there when it had happened. She had witnessed the horrible losses of the house of the Thrandulion. Thranduil did not speak for a long while nor did he look at her. She was becoming more confused by the second. Since when did Thranduil not embrace her? The mother of his grandchildren? The wife of his only living son? The only child to be a daughter in his heart? She prompted him to speak, she needed an explanation to this mystery he posed to her.
"My Lord…?"
"No one else will go in your stead, Eleniel." The voice was warm and light. It was tired and it was sad. And she most definitely did not like it. There was a sense of foretelling to his words, as if he had already seen what she was meant to do. That, that was a scary thought indeed. "The council will remain in uproar all they wish. It is by request that I send you to Lorien. You are to take your company, the men loyal to you and Legolas. Travel to Lorien and enter Caras Galadhon. There you will speak to Lady Galadriel. Further instructions await you there."
Eleniel shook her head, a look of frustration spread across her face. Her hands went to her hips. She was beginning to feel like a young soldier again, sent to the king to be reprimanded. Yet she was doing the reprimanding, or at least the yelling. "What games do you play with me, my Lord? Since Merilairlon's birth, the only company I keep is the stronghold's guard. I have not entered battle in decades, and at your request! Not even your son's! Send someone else! I decline the offer."
"You cannot decline. You will not."
King Thranduil shot up in his chair, pushing it back as he stood. His tall figure towered over her, glaring down at her for her defiance. He knew very well which of his soldiers he was talking to, mother of his grandchildren or not. There was a line not to be crossed and she was always the one to jump over it. Thranduil stepped out from behind his desk taking two short strides to stand in front of Eleniel. She stared up at him, not a trace of fear to be found. Just anger and confusion. There seemed to be a lot of that today. His long blonde hair fell over his shoulders and his bright blue eyes seemed to soften as he looked down at her. A soft hand reached for her left cheek, pushing it softly, brushing her chocolate brown hair from her face.
"Eleniel…This war… Sauron's war…It has torn apart my family like one would unravel thread. And he has done it to your own family too. My son, your husband, travels across Middle-Earth in hopes to destroy the one ring. So that we may all live in peace instead of slavery. What I ask of you will take you away from your sons, from your home that you have not left in years. But do not deceive me child, I know you have snuck away on scouting parties. I know you have fought with the same company of men to protect my borders. Do not use your children as you excuse to deny me. You should know you cannot hide from me. I have known you since birth, there is little I cannot read from just your eyes."
Eleniel gasped as if she felt the truth being pulled from her heart with every word he spoke to her. Her king, this being, had been there for her in the lowest aspects of her life. Had seen her family crumble and succumbed into bitter darkness, a place many elves die before seeing. She could not deny him this. She could not deny him at all.
Eleniel bowed her head. She looked back up at her king suddenly, grey eyes ablaze with a new determination. "Thranduil." No titles. No formalities. "My children are to be kept out of this war. You promised Legolas Tirithon and Merilairlon would never step foot on the battlefield that Sauron has created. If you are sending me into war, then I go only with my men. I will not lose my family again. I will not lose Legolas. You did not listen to me when Elrond sent for a representative to ride to Rivendell at the beginning of this chaos. I told you I would go in his stead, but you sent Legolas. Someone is bound to die in this war, andI know naught of whom it is. But before you ask favors of your family, my liege, reconsider how you request them. Should I or Legolas come home from this war and find our sons missing from this safe haven…" Eleniel took a step closer to the King who stared down at her in just as much unwavering venom as she. "Should I find either of them gone or dead, the crimes I commit unto you will rival those of my father's."
Thranduil narrowed his eyes to his soldier. His stance straightened and his eyes grew darker. "Is that a threat Eleniel Elarinya?"
"Yes." Eleniel snapped. "I have been a daughter to you, I have been a soldier to your house all of my life. And now I am a mother to your heirs. Remember your wife, my Lord. I remember her very well. Her reaction would be much like mine. Should you break your promise to Legolas, know you will have broken the bond that ties this house together, on the very threads it stands on. I hope you are not looking for a way to break that bond."
"I would not dare." Thranduil sighed. Then he reached out to Eleniel, grasping her in his arms tightly. A hug she longed for. Just a hug. "Forgive me, I was angry that Galadriel should call you away from me. The last bits of my family seem to be floating across Middle-Earth and right into the hands of Sauron."
"My Lord?"
Thranduil shook his head sadly. "Nay. Nothing my child. Please, listen to me carefully. Your children will be safe. They shall not seek out war, nor shall they enter the playing field of which I send you into. I have seen the battle of Hornburg at Helm's Deep. I have seen the armies Saruman intends to plague King Theoden of Rohan with. He will move his people to his stronghold at Helm's Deep for it has never been breached. Theoden does not have the men to defend this fortress. They will not survive the night. You, Eleniel, must ride to Galadriel in Lorien. From there you will travel to the gates of the Hornburg and fight alongside men again. You have a week before what I tell you unfolds. If our race, and all those of Middle-Earth are to endure this war, we cannot be divided any longer. Galadriel will guide you further. I am telling you what I have seen and my visions have rarely been astray in my lifetime."
Eleniel stepped back from her king, a look of astonishment settled firmly into the porcelain features of her face. It took her a moment to consume everything that was sprouted in earnest to her but finally she stood tall, pulling her shoulders back into a proud stance. She pulled from the roots she buried when she became a mother. Now it was time to protect her family before they too became a part of the war.
"My men will leave before nightfall, my Lord." Eleniel nodded to her king. "We shall be in Lorien by morning."
Thranduil nodded and once again hugged her tightly. "Tol bâr ad." / "Come home again."
