White Tower of Arvernien. May 25, First Age 538
8:55 AM Thranduil left the horse at the bottom of a cliff and climbed up the steep incline which led to the back of the main building where Elwing lived with the twins. Not wanting to go through the guards, Thranduil had used this path to surprise Elwing whenever Earendil was away. The manor in which she lived was built overlooking the sea, and the side facing the sea had no walls. Already he could hear the shouts and clanging of metal as he reached near the white stone terrace.
Once at the top, Thranduil ran to the steep stone stairs that led to the courtyard below.
The gate had been breeched, and the gold and white of Gondolin warriors stood like a shield wall preventing the red and gold armored Feanorians from advancing further. Behind the red line of the Feanorians, just inside the gates, were his father's warriors in their silver Doriath armor. Despite being sandwiched between the gold armed Gondolin warriors and the silver armed Sindar, fewer gold and silver soldiers were standing compared to the red armored warriors. Unless aid came from Lord Cirdan soon, even to Thranduil's inexperienced eyes, it was inevitable that the white tower will fall. According to what he learned from Lord Seledhel, Feanorians were fierce warriors, and they were better skilled with weapons than any other.
Realizing there was not much time left before the Feanorian army would break into the mansion, Thranduil turned, his heart beating fiercely. He ran into the main building where he knew housed Elwing's resident chambers.
There was no one there in the hallway of the lower floor which opened to the terrace. When the young Sinda ran up to the main part of the building, however, there was chaos. Broken vases and people running to and fro told the story. There were people holding bags and other items, scrambling in ordered chaos. Thranduil stopped one of the servant girls who looked familiar, one of the Sindarin maids who followed Elwing when she married Earendil.
She looked up at him wide-eyed.
"Where's Lady Elwing? Is she still here?"
"I…I don't know," the girl stuttered, her eyes full of fear. Then, her eyes calmed as she took in his face and hair. "She…she is at her chambers, my lord. I must hurry." She held up a small scroll in her hand. "Lady Elwing wanted me to deliver this."
Thranduil let go, and the girl scampered away.
"Wait! Where are her chambers?" he shouted after her, but the girl was gone.
Thranduil had no choice but to look for the rooms on his own. It was eerily quiet on the upper floor where he knew the family's residences were located. He had never been to Elwing's chamber. He had been up here only twice while Elwing lived with Earendil. While his mother visited Elwing in her chambers, Thranduil would go to the boys' rooms to play with Elrond and Elros.
Although Thranduil was only twenty years past his majority and considered a child by many, Elwing was married. It was not deemed proper for him to visit her at her bedchamber. As his mother, who was gentle and loving in all ways, was very strict when it came to manners and etiquette, the rare times when Thranduil visited alone, he stayed out on the terrace near the tower where he could always find Elwing whenever Earendil was away.
Once Thranduil was in the main hall, he found two Elves in their golden armor, fully armed with swordstaffs with broad blades that many of these Noldor from Gondolin favored. Their tall helms were decorated with crystals and molded with a high arch. Like golden sentinels, they stood, one on each side, at the tall double doors intricately carved with beautiful scroll design in gold over white wood. When Thranduil approached these doors, the two guards blocked his way.
"Follow others down the stairs," one of the guards said. "A team of warriors is leading them to safety."
"If you are guarding this room, is that mean Lady Elwing is still here? Why isn't she being moved with others?" Thranduil asked.
"She will. We are waiting for Lord Egalmoth."
"She needs to go now! Have you seen what is happening outside?"
"We have our orders. Everything will be done in time. Move along, young one."
"There is no time to wait!" Thranduil stomped his foot.
The Noldorin guard's light-filled eyes surveyed Thranduil. The young Sinda pulled off his hood, raising his chin high up to meet the scrutiny. The guard's fierce eyes subdued with recognition.
"You may be our lady's kin, but you have no say here, elfling," the guard said in a voice calm and sharp. "Begone!"
Thranduil fisted his hands.
"I am not leaving without Lady Elwing," Thranduil said, then in the loudest voice he could muster, he called. "Elwing! Elwing! Are you in there?"
The other guard stepped forward and grabbed Thranduil's arm.
"Leave here, now!" he commanded. The guard's voice was filled with steel as he stood tall over Thranduil's slight frame. Although seventy years old, unlike many of his kin at his age, Thranduil was still small and scrawny.
Thranduil shook off his arm and shouted even louder.
"Elwing!"
"Thranduil? Is that you?"
One of the double doors opened a crack and Elwing, holding a long dagger in one hand, stood at the door.
"My lady, you mustn't…" the first guard who had warned Thranduil protested.
"Let him come in, Nestadion." Elwing stood tall despite her short height compared to the guards.
The guard bowed to Elwing and gestured to the other guard who stepped aside. Thranduil pushed past the guard and into the room.
Inside, two nurses held the twins, one each in their arms. Both nurses were armed, one with a bow and the other with a long dagger. Once the door closed behind Thranduil, Elwing flung her arms around him.
"Oh, thank the Valar! Is Lord Oropher here with his warriors?" she asked looking relieved.
"He is, but it will not hold Feanorians for long. There are too few of us, and even fewer of your husband's warriors."
"I know. They left three days ago. Are they not to join with Lord Oropher's warriors?" It was not a question as Elwing moved away from Thranduil and drew her two sons into her arms.
"You cannot stay here, Elwing. It's not safe," Thranduil said. "Where's the captain of your guards? Isn't he supposed to guard you and the elflings? Why are there only two guards outside? Where are the rest? Why are you and the boys still here while rest of the household is being moved?"
"Lord Egalmoth was outside my chamber this morning as soon as we heard the clamor outside. He went to see to the fortifying of the walls. To return as soon as he was done with the surveying and the preparation. The captain asked me to stay here until then, but he did not come."
"He is either fighting outside or …" Thranduil stopped when he saw the two elflings, their faces pale and wide-eyed. They moved closer to their mother, their hands clinging onto their mother's skirt. They may not know what went on, but they knew fear.
Thranduil bit his tongue. They didn't need to hear this.
"We sent a bird to Lord Cirdan, but I don't know how long it will take for him to be here. You have to take the boys and hide," Thranduil said.
"Where will we hide? Lord Egalmoth said we were surrounded." Elwing drew her boys closer.
"There are some caves by the cliff. It is also closest to the dock where Lord Cirdan will land."
"The path is too steep, Thranduil. And we would have to go out through the front gate which I understand is full of Feanorean warriors."
"I know a path down from the cliff near your tower. Remember the one I take when I come for a visit?"
"That is even steeper and dangerous for the elflings" Elwing frowned.
"We can do it, nana," one of the twins said.
Thranduil looked down at the twins. They looked so much alike, but Thranduil was sure that one was Elros. He was the reckless one, bold and mischievous, just like his father.
"There is a slightly gentler path. I think the elflings could handle it. We have to try it at the least, otherwise…Please, Elwing. We do not have time to argue."
Elwing nodded. Leaving the boys to their nurses, she picked up a bundle that lay on a massive bed and took out an item that was carefully wrapped in silk and velvet. It glowed, illuminating Elwing's face as she unfurled the fabric.
The light illuminated the entire room with the white light of uncommon beauty.
When King Dior wore it, Thranduil thought it was the most beautiful thing ever, maybe just a tiny bit more beautiful than his mother's necklace, and maybe more valuable as King Thingol had paid for it with his life. But now, its brilliant light only made him shudder as a reminder of all that he had lost because of it. After Elwing married Earendil and before she left the Sindarin settlement, Oropher had given Elwing several items as her parents' legacy to her. Among them was Nauglamir with the silmaril.
Elwing took the famed Dwarven necklace and clasped it around her neck and put a cloak over her shoulders and neck to hide it.
"I had not thought they would strike so readily and so soon," Elwing said.
Thranduil frowned.
"You knew they were coming?"
"Of course not. They asked for the stone, but I did not think they were willing to kill their own people for it. These are Earendil's people; they are the same Noldor…"
Thranduil grabbed Elwing's arm and swung her around, stopping her from speaking. Heat infused his head, and something hot lodged in his throat, choking him.
"You knew? They asked for the jewel before they came? Why didn't you just give it to them? Have you not learned anything from what they did to Doriath?"
"I will never give this to them!" Elwing grabbed at the jewel at her neck, her starlit gray eyes suddenly flaming with anger. "They killed my parents, my brothers…"
"And, they will kill more because you are holding onto it!" Thranduil's voice rose. "What does it matter. It is just a rock! Is it really worth risking your life? Their lives?" Thranduil pointed to the twins.
"It isn't just a rock, Thranduil. It is the legacy of my grandparents, one that they paid a dear price, the one my parents died to protect."
"Died and lost a kingdom for," Thranduil said. "How much more people have to die for it?"
Elwing glared at Thranduil with defiance.
"Don't forget, Thranduil, your grandfather and brother died for it, too."
"No, Elwing. They died not to protect the jewel but to protect your parents and brothers. To protect you."
"I am not giving it up, Thranduil."
Elwing held up her chin high, looking every bit a queen. Briefly, Thranduil thought Elwing looked just like her father. She was more like King Dior with his dark hair and regal air than were her brothers whose dark hair had a gleam of their mother's silver hair and her gentle temperament.
Thranduil's blue-green eyes clashed with Elwing's evening gray eyes. Thranduil knew how stubborn Elwing could be. The sound of metal clashing became louder. Thranduil sighed. He never could win against her.
"So be it," he said finally. "We have to go."
"One more thing," Elwing scooped down to take something out of a chest at the foot of her bed. It was something long and wrapped in silk fabric. When Elwing took it out, he saw that it was a sword. There was a winged moon carved in the front of the scabbard artfully wrought with a large moonstone and silver.
"Aranruth," Thranduil whispered.
"Your father gave it to me the day the twins were born," Elwing said. "He said it was the king's sword and it should be given to Elros when he was old enough."
"Yes. It belonged to Lord Elu Thingol. Later, Lord Dior had it. Here, I'll carry it for you," Thranduil said and took the sword from Elwing and strapped it to his back.
When they opened the chamber door, the two guards turned.
"My lady, you must stay here. Lord Egalmoth…"
"Lord Egalmoth was supposed to be here a while ago. I am not going to stay and risk the lives of my sons," Elwing said to the guards. "You can either come with us or stay and wait for your captain."
The two guards hesitated but only a moment. They nodded. With their swordstaff out, they led the way. Elwing picked up one of the boys and Thranduil picked up the other and followed the guards down the stairs.
The hallway and the main foyer of the building were now empty. Everything was so quiet that Thranduil felt he could hear his own heart thrumming. He felt the tightening of small arms around his neck and looked down at the frightened gray eyes of the twin in his arms.
"We'll be all right," Thranduil whispered. Bright gray eyes filling his face, the child nodded.
"I know," he said.
The reply was calm and serene belying the fear in the child's eyes, looking so much older than his six years of age.
This one must be Elrond, Thranduil thought as he looked around the corner for any shadows as he followed close behind the guards.
Everything was quiet until the party reached the main door of the mansion when the shouts erupted just outside. The door suddenly sprang open, and several red armored Elves rushed in. The two guards immediately blocked the entry trying to stop the red armored Elves who clamored to enter.
"Go back!" Nestadion shouted to Elwing and Thranduil before he turned back to fight the intruding warriors.
"This way!" Elwing pulled at Thranduil. They ran with the two nurses following close behind. Thranduil handed Elrond to a nurse and turned to the two Gondolin guards when he saw that the two guards were overwhelmed. He pulled out his bow and let several of his arrows fly. Someone pulled at his elbow. It was one of the nurses, the one with a bow.
"Take my lady and the children. Go on. I will try to stop as many as I can," she said as she threaded her bow with arrows, sending an arrow to strike down one of the red armored warriors who passed the two Gondolin guards too engaged to stop him.
"Lothiel, no," Elwing stopped and grabbed the nurse's arm, but the nurse pushed Elwing away.
"Hurry, my lady. Think of the boys."
Elwing hesitated, but the sound of soldiers breaking into the mansion was evident behind them.
"Come on, Elwing. There's no time." Thranduil pushed Elwing forward. He turned to the nurse as she placed herself behind a large pillar.
"Thank you," Thranduil said.
The nurse smiled faintly. "Keep them safe."
Turning, they ran downstairs to a lower hallway through which Thranduil entered. The door faced a terrace next to a cliff. Before opening the door, Thranduil stopped and looked out of the arched two-story window that faced the terrace where they were heading. Then as quickly, he ducked, motioning for the rest to do the same.
Just outside the door, a battle was raging. The golden armored warriors were trying their best to prevent the Feanorian soldiers from entering the main building, but there were too many of them. On the outer edge were the silver armored warriors, but Thranduil noticed that there were as more gold and silver armors on the ground as there were those standing.
They were losing this battle.