10. Fate
Legolas had come home three months after Garthel and Uireben were back in Mirkwood. It was January 3020 of Third Age when he arrived. During the winter, Garthel had made a trip to Laketown and requested a blacksmith to weld the blades at the bottom of an ice skate. The soles used by elves were too soft to be used as the boot of the ice skates. Therefore, she had also bought boots from the merchant in Laketown and glued the blade to them.
She tested the ice skates on Long Lake before making a pair for Thranduil, Legolas and Uireben. She had taken Uireben to skate at the lake and he had enjoyed it. It took a while to convince Thranduil to join them. But he admitted it was enlightening and would not mind to join them when he was not preoccupied. When Legolas came home, she was so excited to show him how to skate. He was amazed at the recreation that he told Thranduil they should make it an official sports for the elves.
"What have you done, meleth nín?" asked Thranduil.
"If you're wondering if I put that idea in his head, I swear I did not. All I did was taking him to the lake and teach him how to skate," said Garthel.
Thranduil sighed in resignation. He would need to inform the Lord of Dale of the circumstances. It would increase the interaction between elves and men, which he was not sure if it was an idea he was fond of.
"You should allow your people the freedom to socialize with men if they wish. Isn't that what you have been trying to establish? The alliance of elves and men?" asked Garthel in return to Thranduil's concern.
In the end, it was two against one. How could he resist his betrothed and son? Thranduil had announced the betrothal after Garthel came back from Rivendell. Legolas was not the least surprise of the news. After all, he was informed of the bond before he left with Gimli. He shall have to send letters to inform the hobbits, Aragorn, Boromir and Gimli of such delighted news.
Radagast the Brown appeared in the middle of February confirming Lady Galadriel and Lord Elrond's claims on Uireben.
"The boy is no doubt a descendant of Pallando the Blue. I know not how when he is not of Middle Earth," said Radagast.
Thranduil increased the patrols near the southern and eastern border of Mirkwood. Garthel restrained Uireben from entering the woods without a number of escorts. Legolas had taken to spending more time with him as his bodyguard mostly. It was difficult living in constant worry. But Garthel was adamant to make sure Uireben was safe from the grasps of any remaining forces of Sauron.
It was not long before May arrived. Legolas and Garthel were set out to go to Minas Tirith to attend Aragorn and Arwen's wedding. Thranduil had been tied down to oversee the establishment of the Mountains of Mirkwood as their southern border and giving southern part of Mirkwood to Lothlórien as East Lórien. The wide forest between Mirkwood and East Lórien were in negotiation to be given to the Beornings.
Surprisingly, it was Garthel who barred Uireben from following her to the wedding. She was afraid there might be a threat to his wellbeing for having the blood of Istari. While not really old enough to understand why he was not being able to follow, Uireben was old enough to throw a tantrum when he doesn't get what he wants.
"Mama, I want to go with you. Please?" begged Uireben.
"I am sorry, Uire. It is not safe for you. I promise when you're older you can come with me when I travel," said Garthel as she tried to dissuade her son.
"No, no, I want to follow this time!" insisted Uireben.
It was not the first time he had asked and Garthel was getting tired of trying to explain to his son nicely.
"No, I've already said this before. It is final, Uire," she said more sternly.
The boy, who was now almost three years old, threw his tantrum by throwing out hurtful words at his mother.
"I don't like you, mama!" he shouted and ran off.
She rubbed her face in exhaustion. Thranduil who had heard the entire conversation decided to comfort his betrothed. She felt his embrace from behind and sank her body into him.
"Where did the time go? When did he start learning to throw tantrums? I am getting too old for this," she sighed.
Thranduil chuckled.
"We have another handful of years to go and it never ends. Legolas can still throw tantrums at times," he said while nuzzling into her neck, inhaling her scent.
She smelled like the waterfalls to him, like how you would smell the freshness when you're near one.
"Let him go," he said softly.
"But-" he interrupted her.
"Lady Galadriel wrote to me before she left for Valinor that he will be safe to go to King Elessar's wedding," explained Thranduil.
She frowned.
"But it is still a risk," she said.
"Would you not trust in Lady Galadriel's words?" he asked.
She sighed and gave in.
"Come, let's go to bed. I've asked Vanya to care for him tonight," said Thranduil as he led her to his chamber.
They have yet to have intercourse but have had heavy pettings from time to time when Uireben is not around.
"So I can kiss your ass, as I remembered you said it," smirked Thranduil.
Oh my god, he heard that!
~ *** . *** . *** . *** . *** . *** . *** . *** ~
In the end, Uireben had been so happy he could followed Legolas and her to the wedding. Thranduil assigned Merilindir and six other guards with them. As Garthel was unable to travel through the trees, she took a horse accompanied by Merilindir to ride along the borders of the forest to meet the rest of them at south.
Legolas had strapped Uireben behind him with a cloth like how a baby carrier would on Earth and travelled through the trees along six other guards to reach the southern border of the Mirkwood forest. They met at the fourth day of dawn where Lord Celeborn had prepared horses for Legolas and their group from Amon Lanc (formerly Dol Guldur).
It was a week of riding across the Brown Lands, Dagorlad and Cair Andros before they reach Minas Tirith. While they did stop for rest during the journey, it was still exhausting for Garthel as they rushed through the lands to minimize any threats on Uireben. It was well worth it in her opinion to see Aragorn and Arwen's wedding. Not to mention, almost everyone she wanted to see were there. The hobbits aside from Frodo had made it. Lord Celeborn and her brothers have also attended. Gimli had definitely made it as well. Legolas and Gimli had split after visiting the Glittering Caves and Fangorn Forest to go back to their respective homes. Garthel and Uireben spent two weeks in Minas Tirith getting reacquainted with people she had missed.
Garthel felt the two weeks were gone in a blink of eye. She knew they have to travel back to Mirkwood if she did not want Thranduil coming to hunt them down with his elk. Legolas had chosen to remain in Minas Tirith to discuss rebuilding plans on Ithilien with Aragorn and Faramir. Therefore, Garthel and the remaining Woodland elves left on the dawn after the fortnight using the route they have come from Mirkwood.
That perhaps was a mistake they did not foresee. When they split at the south border of East Lórien, two groups of orcs had ambushed them. The smaller group of orcs was meant to distract Garthel and the two guards that were with her. The larger group managed to injure some of the elves and capture Uireben. As Merilindir was with Uireben at the time, he was injured badly so they could take the boy. As soon as Garthel and the two guards managed to clear the smaller group of orcs, it was too late. Uireben had been taken.
"Meril!" shouted Garthel as she kneeled down next to him.
"Lady Garthel, I- I am sorry. They- they have Uireben," gasped Merilindir through his pain.
Garthel stared at the remaining elves. The two with her were not injured. Three out of four with Merilindir were slightly injured.
"Ephelion, make haste to King Thranduil and tell him to regroup at Amon Lanc! Go!" she instructed the only uninjured elf in Merilindir's group.
"Those of you who are injured, get Merilindir to Amon Lanc and have someone send word to King Elessar in Minas Tirith. Go now!" said Garthel to the rest of Merilindir's group.
"Morfind, Celeg, we track the orcs that has Uireben. Come!" she informed the two guards with her.
They mounted their horses and started tracking the orcs. When they reached the mountains near the Sea of Rhûn, they had to abandoned their horses and track by foot. It was half a day before they found the orc camp.
"We're outnumbered. Celeg, make haste to Amon Lanc and inform them our location. Go!" whispered Garthel quickly.
"My lady, we should go back to Amon Lanc to meet up with our king," suggested Celeg instead.
"I will not leave this place. I am not going in but I need to scout around and see their layout. I have to make sure Uireben is unharmed," she replied without looking at the elf.
Celeg has no choice but to go Amon Lanc while leaving Morfind with her.
Unfortunately, both of them were ambushed when the day entered into the night. She managed to escape while Morfind was captured. She knew now she could not wait because two lives were in danger. She decided to start setting up traps during the night and planned to lure some of the orcs out in the dawn.
As soon as the first light of sun hit the sky, she lured the orcs out. There was an estimatie of a hundred orcs in the camp and at least a third of them had been lured out. She sneaked herself into the camp with the armors of one of the orcs she killed before smearing herself with mud to look as dark as the orcs with helmet on. She heard the commotion and moves closer to it.
"Tell us how we can enter the Halls of Thranduil undetected or we will kill the boy!" threatened the orc leader.
She hid behind a wooden barrack, raised her bow and aimed the arrow at the orc leader, she released it once she caught the attention of Morfind. Morfind had already seen her earlier and took the orcs' surprise to release himself and Uireben. She shot more arrows around Morfind and Uireben to secure an escape path for them.
"Get him out!" she shouted to Morfind.
He looked at her with trepidation.
"Go!" she commanded and he did not hesitate after that.
The orcs were distracted by her after all. She let out a breath as soon as Morfind were out of the camp. Although a few orcs had chase after them but she knew Morfind will be fast enough to outrun them. Unfortunately for me… She would have to hope she survive until Celeg came back with more reinforcement.
~ *** . *** . *** . *** . *** . *** . *** . *** ~
Thranduil felt restless as his bond with Garthel had been stretched again. The pull in his soul had increased since days ago and he knew she was on her way back with Uireben. But it seemed to have stopped since last night. Before he could ponder further, there was a shout outside his room and an elf barged in frantically. It was Ephelion. He dreaded the news the moment he saw Ephelion's expression.
"Your highness! Prince Uireben has been captured by a band of orcs! We were ambushed at the south border of East Lórien. Lady Garthel sent me here to inform your highness while the injured are being directed to Amon Lanc including Captain Merilindir. She wishes for us to meet at Amon Lanc while she had gone to track the orcs with Morfind and Celeg!" said Ephelion in such a rush that he didn't bother using Sindarin.
Thranduil's heart dropped at the news. Both Garthel and Uireben's whereabouts were unknown to him.
"Get three groups of guards ready! We make haste to Amon Lanc immediately!" He barked out the order.
When he reached Amon Lanc, his stomach twisted in knots and he could not shake the dread off as he saw only Celeg.
"Your highness, we found the orc camp in the mountain near the Sea of Rhûn. Lady Garthel would not leave and ordered me to return to Amon Lanc with the location of the camp. There are about a hundred orcs in the camp," said Celeg worriedly.
Thranduil knew Garthel was a good strategist and she would not jump head first into the camp unless necessary. That provided no relief as many factors could come into play especially the safety of Uireben.
"Take us there now!" He shouted without caring if he had frightened any of his guards.
The sight of Morfind with Uireben when they were trekking halfway at the mountain only spared Thranduil a sliver moment of relief before he feared the worst. While Uireben was not harmed, Morfind was injured, showing signs of being tortured.
"My king, you need to go! She's alone against at least sixty to seventy orcs!" reported Morfind in anguish.
"Ephelion, take Uireben and Morfind back to Amon Lanc. Celeg, take us to the camp now!" ordered Thranduil.
It seemed futile to fight against this many so she remained as evasive as possible. One against two thirds of a hundred orcs, most mortal would have lost hope. But she ran across the terrain of the mountain surrounding the camp not knowing if she had an escape route as she did not complete scouting the area yesterday.
It would seem she ran out of luck when she came across a cliff. It was not very high but she would be breaking some bones if she was to really jump. She turned around to face the orcs and was ready to fight for her life but there was a voice that stopped them. She did not understand the language but assume he had asked them to stop. The orcs retreat slightly away giving room for a figure wearing armors similar to the Nazgûl with his helmet covered all of his face leaving only his eyes. They were pitch black and terrifying. Garthel was afraid because she does not know what she was up against but schooled her features so she did not show fear.
"I have to commend your survival skills are indeed great for a mortal woman. But you're only mortal. You will be no match for my sorcery. However, I shall indulge you with a duel of no spells," he said.
Fuck me… one of Sauron's necromancer.
"What do you want with Prince Uireben?" asked Garthel trying to buy more time.
"Do you really not know your son has the blood of Istari?" asked the necromancer.
Alright, time to put my acting skills into use.
She pretended to widen her eyes making him believe she had no idea.
"His sacrifice will be able to revive Sauron," he continued.
"No…" she gasped feeling slightly silly at her own acting.
Suddenly, the necromancer was still for a moment.
"You are no mortal. You are the descendant of one of Eru Ilúvatar's creations! But not of Middle Earth." Laughed the necromancer maniacally.
Garthel was now genuinely confused and astonished at his claims.
"It matters not as you are of no value to us," said the necromancer.
Thranduil's guards had cleared the camp and there was no sign of Garthel. He knew she was still alive because of the bond they shared. He calmed himself down, closed his eyes and focused on the bond for a moment. He felt the pull and opened his eyes to see a pathway heading towards the higher grounds of the mountain.
"Gathrod, stay in the camp with your group. The rest follow me," ordered Thranduil as he led his guards towards the higher grounds.
There were orcs loitering along the way and they disposed them with ease. He heard the clash of metal against metal before he even saw them on the cliff. He noticed she looked exhausted and was trying her best to avoid the sword of the figure in dark armor. He recognized the armor to be one of Sauron's necromancers.
They heard the orcs screaming in pain suddenly and the necromancer turned around to see Thranduil arriving with his guards.
"Ah, the king has arrived. Unfortunately, he would be seeing your corpse instead!" hissed the necromancer as he swung his sword forward.
"You looked tired. You should give up now. It would only get worse," he taunted.
She blocked the sword coming from above her and leaped back.
"Maybe you should talk less," muttered Garthel breathing heavily.
The necromancer chuckled darkly and continued to attack her. Below them, she could see Thranduil was trying to reach her by slaughtering the orcs surrounding them. She knew she did not have much stamina left to fight much longer. She was caught off guard when the necromancer allowed her the illusion that she had pierced him. He took advantage of her and stabbed his sword into her ribs. She vaguely heard Thranduil shouting her name. She was in so much pain and recognized a second too late when she felt the push. She felt the motion of falling before the darkness claimed her.
"Garthel!" shouted Thranduil when he saw the necromancer stabbed her.
His eyes widened in horror when she was pushed off the cliff.
"NOOO, GARTHEEEL!" he screamed and surged forward to reach the enemy.
"You will pay for her death!" he hissed angrily and charged at the necromancer.
Fueled with agony and fury, Thranduil fought with madness. The necromancer was no match against him in his fury. When the opening came, Thranduil sliced the necromancer's head off. There was no satisfaction in seeing the body hit the floor in a thud. He felt cold all of a sudden, dreading what he would see over the cliff. He slowly walked to the edge of the cliff and look down in anguish.
~ *** . *** . *** . *** . *** . *** . *** . *** ~
Legolas had received a letter from Lady Galadriel before she sailed to Valinor. She had specifically informed him to go the mountain near the Sea of Rhûn on the day after Garthel left for Mirkwood. When he was at the mountain, he could hear elves and orcs fighting. Lady Galadriel had specifically requested him to ignore any commotion he heard and to seek for a trail where he would appear below a cliff.
As he neared the cliff, he saw Garthel fighting with one of Sauron's necromancers. He quickened his pace thinking to climb up the cliff to reach her. To his horror, he saw Garthel being stabbed and pushed down the cliff. He ran as fast as he could and barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground. He sighed in relief but she would need immediate medical attention. He heard his father called him from above the cliff.
"Legolas! Thank the Valar! We have a healer back at the orc camp. Come!" shouted Thranduil.
TBC