Disclaimer: I don't own The Hobbit. This story is for entertainment purposes only.
Contains spoilers for The Battle of the Five Armies!
Chapter 1
Unsettling news
It was supposed to be a festivity. There was, indeed, a lot to celebrate: victory, coming home, staying alive. Especially staying alive. Their forest was cleaner now too, and all of them had to be joyful. They were not, however, and no one was to blame. No one except, of course, orcs who had killed their loved ones in the battle.
They were sitting on stumps, dressed in green and brown clothes, passing drinks to one another, looking at the fire, their faces devoid of any expression. There were no songs, there were hardly any words. The celebration was silent.
The king was sitting on a throne. His long grey cloak was cascading to the ground, its rich fabrics glowing in the moonlight. His head was adorned by a crown with red berries and orange leaves and his hands were decorated with four rings. He was holding a glass of red wine in his right hand and was occasionally drinking from it. It was his favorite wine.
Aelar, a young servant, approached his throne, keeping a respectful distance. He bowed clumsily; to the extent an elf could be clumsy. He had come to the Elvenking Halls recently, and it showed.
"My Lord, the harpist has arrived," Aelar said. "What music should she play?"
He bowed even lower, obviously trying very hard to look calm and failing miserably.
"I leave it to her choice," Thranduil said indulgently.
The servant went towards the harpist, who was sitting in the midst of the field, tuning her ancient instrument. He said something to her, and she turned her head towards the king, inclined it and started playing. Thranduil looked at her intensely, her eyes were red. She had lost two brothers on the battlefield. The melody filled the air; it was sad, too sad for his taste. He sighed silently.
"Your Majesty," said a voice from behind him. "You Majesty, I am afraid we have some unsettling news."
The king turned his head and looked at the elf who had addressed him. It was Erdan, the guard who was temporarily performing Captain of the Guard's functions.
"I am listening," Thranduil said.
"Spiders, my Lord."
"What of them? Have they not fled this forest?"
"We thought they had, my Lord. But some of them came back. They are not as powerful as before but they still represent a great danger."
"In this case, they should be destroyed. It should not present any difficulty to my guards. At least, I hope it will not."
The guard pressed his lips.
"Indeed, it should not, Your Majesty, but spiders are still great in amount. It was Tauriel who was better than anyone at combatting them. If she could return to…"
"To her duties?" Thranduil got up. "The Captain of the Guard will return to her duties when I tell her to do so. Now, please return to your own duties. The forest must be cleansed no matter what. This is an order, and, like all of my orders, it is expected to be obeyed."
"Yes, my Lord."
The guard inclined his head slightly and moved away, too fast to try to be respectful.
"Continue with the festivity," Thranduil said to the elves on the field.
He walked away, without turning around, without looking back to the grief-stricken faces. He heard that the music had ceased immediately. Soon there would be nothing but silence.
He went straight to his study, and shut his door. No one, not even his personal servants, had the right to enter there without his express permission. Not even the prince would have had that right, had he been in the Halls. He was not there, though.
The king spent the rest of the night in his study, reading and studying maps. If spiders were in Mirkwood, they had to be expelled as soon as possible. Why were they still there? That was another question. Not an easy one to answer.
He heard a hardly perceptible noise and lifted his head. Someone was walking outside, not far from his window. He knew who it was; it was repeated night after night. Tauriel. She was there, in the underground garden, in the company of starlight that was weakly leaking from the few skylights. She had liked walking like that before. Now, however, it was different. Now she was mourning. He would make her return to her post soon. It would be better for anyone, especially for her.
Towards the end of the next day he received woodmen visitors. Unexpected visitors, as he hardly ever had contact with those wild and unpredictable creatures. They had come from beyond the Old Forest Road. They were in danger, they said. Spiders were pestering them, not allowing them to live in peace in their own forest. The king could not suppress a smile. Their own forest!
"Go back and fight for your land," he said to them. "It is small but, like any other land, it is worth being defended."
They looked at him with their unblinking eyes, a familiar look of distrust and hatred. One of them made a movement towards his throne but was immediately stopped by one of his eight personal guards.
Thranduil owed those creatures no explanations. Yet, he would give them one.
"Are you expecting me to rush to your aid, to leave my Halls and to fight for your small territory? It is a pity to disappoint you but…"
"My Lord, my Lord!"
Interrupting the king was out of question. Whoever it was, he must have had his reasons, extremely serious reasons.
A guard was running towards the throne, all respect and etiquette forgotten. He was panting and his front glistered with sweat.
"My Lord," he said, kneeling on one knee in front of Thranduil. "Terrible news, my Lord. Erdan's army has been attacked. He is seriously injured. He may be even dead by now."
Thranduil pressed his lips and briefly clenched the seat of his throne with his hands.
"How could that happen?" he said.
"Spiders, my Lord. They were not many but they were extremely aggressive, much more aggressive than before. They took them by surprise and destroyed the whole army. And they came very near, my Lord. They have never ventured so far to the north before."
Had never have ventured so far before. Thranduil knew why they had. They were desperate. They had lost the support from Dol Guldur and were attacking without any leader, without any actual plan.
The king got to his feet.
"Prepare my elk and my best guards. You," he said, addressing the messenger, "will show us the way."
The relief on the other elf's face was a rather satisfying thing to behold.
"You were not so eager to come to our help, Elvenking," the woodman said.
"Of course I was not." The king did not even bother to look at him. "Your lands are your lands, and mine are mine."
I have already lost enough of my people in that accursed battle, he was going to add, but he did not. It was not those creatures' business. He waved his hand, dismissing the woodmen.
He changed clothes in his room, with his servants' assistance. The red cloak he put on was still regal and, at the same time, practical.
Then he went to the underground courtyard. Mormeril, his elk, was already waiting there, stamping his feet with clear signs of impatience. He was still young and inexperienced, but he was good. Not as good as his father, though, who had fallen in the battle.
"I am taking Birel with me," Thranduil said to Laindir, one of his main guards. "She is one of my best soldiers. You will stay in the Halls and take the command in her absence."
He looked at Tauriel. She was sitting at the fountain, near the windows of his study. Her head was low, her hands dipped in the water. It was not time for her. Not yet.
He has already mounted when he saw a commotion near the gates. One of the guards ran towards him.
"Your Majesty," he said, "I bring some terrible news."
He was not looking the king into the eyes.
"Don't you think it would be too much terrible news for a single day?" Thranduil said, his lips curling in a wry smile. "Be grateful that I am not one of those monarchs who blame the messengers for the news they bring."
"The prince, Your Majesty." The guard lifted his head furtively but lowered it immediately. "He was seen in Gundabad. There are rumors he had been captured by orcs and is being held prisoner."
Thranduil looked at him intently and, lifting the guard's head, stared into his eyes. There was confusion there, confusion and anxiety.
"Orcs," the king said. "What can they be doing at Gundabad after their leaders' death?"
"I do not know, my Lord."
Of course he did not. How could he know?
"There are rumors, you say. Rumors are a very vague word. Who exactly is responsible for these rumors?"
"Birds, my Lord. They brought us the news."
Birds. They were neither dwarves, nor humans and nor wizards – they could be trusted.
Thranduil jumped from the elk and went to the fountain, his pace quicker than it usually was.
"Tauriel, you must come with me," he said. "Legolas is being held in Gundabad."
"He died because of me." She was looking at her reflection in the water. "I should not have gone to Ravenhill. I only distracted him."
"Have you heard what I have just said?"
He lifted her head, gently taking her by the chin. She pulled away.
"He was there alone, with no help from anyone, fighting Bolg on his own," she said, looking him straight in the eyes.
"He was there because he followed his king and uncle, and he was not alone. Legolas was also there, and I remind you it was he who killed Bolg."
His patience with her, despite his best intentions, was growing thin.
"Pity he did it too late," she said.
They looked at one another. There was sadness in her eyes. Sadness and something else; something between distrust and reproach.
"There is no time for this now, Tauriel," he finally said. "Legolas needs my help. You must go with me to Gundabad. I know you went there with Legolas, and I need you to show me where you have been and tell me everything you know."
She finally averted her gaze.
"I cannot, Your Majesty. Not now. I need time."
"Time is something we do not have right now."
To be patient was not simply difficult anymore, it was becoming impossible. But that was the only way with her at the moment.
"Obey my order, Tauriel, or you will regret it."
"You are threatening again," she said, her eyes sparkling with anger. "You always do when you need something. You threaten, you lie, you turn your back to your allies, you break your promises. And this is the king who should protect us, the king we must all obey!"
She got up and clenched her fists.
"Tauriel," he said, "calm down. It is not you who are speaking, it is your grief. You really loved that dwarf."
"Kíli". A huge tear started running down her cheek. "His name was Kíli."
"You loved Kíli. But now it is time to move on. My people need you. Legolas needs you."
He had to pull those words out of his mouth. There were leaders very fond of that kind of speeches. He was not among them.
"I am telling you, for the second time, I cannot go anywhere," she said, sitting down. "I need time."
"I cannot give you that time." He slammed his fist on the stone; he was not going to but he did. "Do your words mean you are refusing to accompany me?"
He stood up and looked down at her. She was breathing loudly, not meeting his eyes once more.
"They do," she said.
He turned around abruptly, and started walking away.
"Your Majesty," she said. He stopped but did not turn his head. "I hate you, Your Majesty. I really do. And I am so happy I can finally tell you this. I was momentarily fooled by the sympathy you showed me on Ravenhill. He understands me, I thought. He even allows me to go back to Mirkwood. But now I know better, it was one of your tricks. You wanted to humiliate me with your misplaced and fake kindness, to make me serve you like a slave. And I hate you more than ever. If you had gone to Ravenhill with your army, Kíli, he would not be dead, he would not… And I… And we would be…"
The violent sobs racked her body. Thranduil did not move, he did not even blink.
"Are you coming with me to Gundabad to help Legolas?" he said. "Think twice before you answer, Tauriel. It is the last time I am asking you this."
"No."
Her answer was nothing but a whisper. It was firm, nevertheless.
"You are banned from my kingdom, Tauriel," he said. "Leave immediately and never come back. If you do, you will be imprisoned for life. And this life will not be long, as you will certainly die from shame, which is, on the other hand, what you rightly deserve."
"There is no love in you," she said, her voice becoming unexpectedly calm. "There has never been. I said it once and I may spend my life – as short as it may be because of your cruelty - repeating it. There is much more life in your crown – at least it has flowers in it – than inside your stone heart. But, my Lord…" Her voice was not simply calm; it became what it had never been before – sarcastic. "I am not afraid of you, I have never really been. Now all I want is to die. And there is nothing wrong with it. I do not consider my life more valuable than anyone else's life only because I am supposed to be immortal."
He walked away, his red cloak flying in the air.
"Make sure Tauriel, the Captain of the Guard - the former Captain of the Guard - leaves the Halls by nightfall," he said to Laindir. "Make also sure she neither remains in my kingdom nor comes back ever again. If she does, she should be detained until my next orders. Tell Edenil and Varis to take two hundred guards with them and to locate Erdan's army immediately. Order them not to come back until this part of the forest is cleaned. I will not tolerate spiders in my land anymore."
When he walked towards his elk and mounted, the beautiful creature sniffed, moving his horned head, his nostrils flaring with anger. Such animals always reflected their rider's mood.
Thank you very much for reading! Reviews are much appreciated. Happy Holidays!
