Chapter Six: Lovely, Dark, and Deep

It all happened so fast that River couldn't be quite sure what, exactly, had happened. All she knew was that one moment they had been hurrying along a dark passage, lit only by Galadriel's flickering torch, and the next she found herself staring at Nimloth's body while the Doctor yanked the children from harm's way and Galadriel stood, tall and suddenly seeming to shine with her own light, demanding that the soldiers let them pass.

The soldiers hesitated before Galadriel, until Eluréd and Elurín escaped the Doctor's hold and ran to their mother, weeping and clinging to her. "Those are Dior's brats," someone said, and that seemed to snap them back into action. River found herself being taken captive along with Galadriel, who did not resist but insisted upon being taken to Maedhros, and the boys. River glanced back toward the Doctor, knowing he would be torn between protecting her and protecting Elwing. She shook her head, hoping he would get the message.

She would be fine. She was always fine. "Ow, watch where you're grabbing!" she snapped. "I'm warning you…"

"This one is not an Elf!"

"I am a bit of a psychopath, so if you aren't careful – " They gagged her when she wouldn't stop talking. Galadriel sent River a look that clearly indicated she should stay quiet and let Galadriel do all the talking. The boys were carried like sacks of potatoes thrown over armored shoulders. River wished she could tell them everything was going to be okay.

She wished she had read the story, so she knew whether everything was going to be okay.

The route they took back was meandering, as the Noldor tried to retrace their steps through unfamiliar halls. River could not hear any sounds of fighting; when they reached the gallery where most of the battle had taken place, the smell of blood almost made her gag. It definitely affected the two boys. Eluréd started retching once he was put down. Elurín still had tears streaming down his face, but he remained silent, with his arms around his brother. In one hand he clutched a string of blood-smeared pearls.

"Where is Maedhros?" Galadriel demanded loudly. "I demand to speak with my cousin – what are you doing?" Several of the soldiers, after a brief, whispered discussion, had picked up the boys again. "Release them! They are under my protection – "

"You are in no position to protect anyone, Lady Artanis," said the one holding Eluréd. "These brats are the sons of Dior, are they not?" He gestured toward the king's body, which had been laid to the side with a surprising amount of respect, River thought. "He slaughtered our Lord Celegorm – "

"Celegorm was cut down in battle because as his name foretold he rose hastily and without thought," Galadriel snapped. "I witnessed his death. Dior fought with honor – more honor than you now show. They are innocent children – "

But nothing she said would persuade Celegorm's men to release the boys into her custody. River tried desperately to get free, kicking and clawing and generally being very unsuccessful, because as it turned out the Noldor made extremely effective armor. "What will we do with her?" demanded the soldier still trying to keep River under control. "She is no Elf of Doriath – "

"Bind her hands and bring her."

"Wait," Galadriel said. "You cannot – "

"Were you not kin to our lord, Lady Artanis, we would have slain you where you stood for joining with these Moriquendi." The Elf holding Eluréd spat at Galadriel's feet. "You are a prisoner; we do not follow your orders."

River dug in her heels and cursed and promised to do all kinds of unpleasant things if she was not immediately released, but they only readjusted her gag and bound her hands painfully tight behind her back, before dragging her out of Menegroth's once great doors, now splintered and caved in, out into the snowy night. The cold air shocked River's lungs, sharp and fresh after the blood-scented, stale, warm air inside Menegroth. Even in armor, the Elves tread lightly atop the snow, leaving little in the way of footprints. River was, of course, much heavier, and she took full advantage, dragging her feet and doing all she could to leave a clear trail.

Not that it would mean much. The snow came down around them thick and heavy, and when River looked back she could already see her footprints filling with snow.

By the time they stopped, River was thoroughly lost. Any light that spilled out of Menegroth had long since been left far behind; all around them were trees and snow, and silence. They shoved River into a snow bank, and dropped the children on top of her. River grunted and groaned with the sudden weight. That was going to bruise.

River did not hear the Elves leave, and they never said why they had just brought them out here to leave them. But she assumed they were gone when she felt little fingers tugging at the knotted ropes around her wrists. It took several minutes, but the boys freed her, and she was able to rip the gag off of her mouth. "Thanks," she said, sitting up and shaking snow out of her hair. "You two all right?" They nodded, but both of them had already begun shivering. Elurín still clutched the string of pearls in his little fist. River got to her feet and looked around. "I don't suppose you know where we are," she said.

"No," Elurín said. Eluréd shook his head. "We've never been this far from Menegroth."

"Well, okay then." River turned to study her footprints. They were already so filled with snow, she knew that following the trail back would only get them more lost. "Well first things first. We need to get you two warm." She was starting to shiver, herself.

"How?" Eluréd asked.

"Shelter. We can dig one out of the snow. You've made snow forts and things before, haven't you?" River asked. The twins nodded. "Good. Let's try over here." River stumbled through the snow to a particularly large drift, and fell to her knees to begin digging. She wished she had thought to grab her coat on the way to the treasury, before the battle started…

Eluréd and Elurín joined her, and together they packed the snow into a small, cozy cave. "It isn't very big," Eluréd said when they were done.

"It's big enough. We'll have to cuddle together, to stay warm as possible," River replied. She looked around, and found a fir tree nearby. "Here, help me get some of these inside." She broke off some branches, and the boys dragged them into the shelter. River silently acknowledged her gratefulness for all of that survival research she had done as a teenager – because she literally never knew what might happen.

That was still true, of course. River ushered the boys into the shelter, and they curled up on either side of her on top of the prickly branches. "There now," she said. "We'll be all right at least for tonight. And tomorrow…" Tomorrow they would have to figure something out, because although the boys were dressed for the cold, didn't have their blankets anymore, and the rough handling by the soldiers had left their coats somewhat tattered. And now thanks to the digging they were all damp, which didn't help.

They needed a way to take their mind off of things. Off of Dior and Nimloth, and Menegroth's fall, and their own rather dire situation. "How about a story?" she asked.

"About you and the Doctor?" Elurín asked, brightening immediately.

"Well, I think he already told you all the good ones. But. Um…" River wrinkled her nose as she thought of all the legends and fairy tales and folk stories she had learned over the years. "Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a king and a queen. They loved each other very much, and were very happy when they had a baby girl, a princess. She had skin white as snow, lips red as roses, and hair black as ebony, so they named her – "

"Lúthien?" Elurín interrupted. "We know that story, Lady River. Lúthien was our grandmother."

River blinked. "I wasn't talking about Lúthien," she said. "After all, I said this was a kingdom faraway, didn't I? Anyway, they named the princess Snow White – "

"Snow White is a name sometimes used for the Lady Elbereth!" It was Eluréd's turn to interrupted. "There is a hymn Lady Galadriel sings sometimes…"

"Oh?" The story was clearly not going to get very far. "Why don't you sing it for me, then? I'd like to hear it."

So the night turned into a sing-a-long. Eluréd and Elurín taught River songs to Elbereth and Yavanna, and lays written by the great minstrel Daeron. In return she taught them silly songs and nursery rhymes, and a couple of hits from The Beatles (which she knew only because Rory had gone through a very serious phase in their early teens).

Eventually, they fell asleep, huddled together, while the snow continued to pile up outside.