Chapter 10: A warg in sheeps clothing…
Elhedran had managed to get back to the two ellith unseen by anyone, he was almost panting as he ran into the chamber and the two stared at him with nervous anticipation. " Now, what news?"
Elhedran caught his breath, he stared at them. " Alagir was poisoned, and Orodhran is close to death too, but Gilorn has a plan. We have to get to the observatory right now, he will be waiting for us there"
Altarë and Andarë looked at each other and shrugged. " Very well then, let's go"
They left the chambers and Elhedran showed them the way, they heard wailing sounds and heard crying too and Elhedran swallowed hard. He knew that Gilorn probably had done something in order to confuse the enemy. The observatory was empty, not even a single lamp was lit there and Elhedran told them to be quiet. The room could be seen from below if they used any lights and they sat down in a couch covered with sheets to wait.
Altarë felt how a tingling sensation was spreading all through the body, it ended this day, one way or the other. The dagger was powerful but only if the wielder knew how to use it, and the ring was probably no less useful. Maybe Gilorn knew how to make use of it? They could hope!
They didn't have to wait for long before Gilorn made his appearance, he had pulled the coat of some guard over himself to hide his face and he gestured towards them to make sure they didn't speak out loud. " Elhedran, ladies, or should I rather say ellyn? Yes, I think I am pretty sure of who you really are!"
Andarë coughed and Altarë made a grimace. " You are right, we are in disguise, Radagast helped us."
Gilorn nodded. " Great, as you both are aware of the king is in great danger, so are we all. I have made Alagir and Orodhran appear to be dead and the culprit will think that the king is the only obstacle left."
Altarë sighed. " Yes, he is the ultimate goal, so what are we to do?"
Gilorn held out a hand. " Let me see that ring."
Altarë handed it over and Elhedran was staring at the tall elleth with narrow eyes. " You are in disguise? Then who the hell are you?"
Altarë had a sheepish expression on her face and Gilorn answered for them. " Your oldest uncle and his trusted friend Galion"
Elhedran blinked and stared at them in disbelief" Oh damn, that is one hefty disguise!"
Altarë nodded. " Yes, I know, Radagast is good at this."
Gilorn got the ring and held it very carefully. " Yes, I am rather sure I know what this thing really is, Melian used it rather often. I need all of you to do what I say, and I need you to be brave and follow my plan. It is the only chance we have. Oropher's half brother may be mad but he is smart too and we have to confuse him, throw him off balance."
Altarë frowned. " I am afraid I don't understand?"
Gilorn nodded slowly. " Do not worry, I will explain every detail. We do not know who he is disguised as right now but we will flush him out. He will see something he cannot ignore."
Andarë held her breath and her eyes were filled with determination but also a bit fear. "What then?"
Gilorn smiled, a rather nasty smile. He held the ring between his fingers very gently and then he put it onto his thumb. He appeared to shiver and suddenly they saw Beria standing there. Elhedran gasped and the vision disappeared again. " Ghosts my friends, we will make him see ghosts"
He had a strange fire flickering within his gaze. " And the two of you will be bait as well, is there any way of letting him see you for who you really are without you having to remove the disguise entirely?"
Galion walked over to a small vanity in a corner and removed a mirror from it, held it up so that they all could see that his face was his own when it was reflected. Gilorn grinned widely. "Splendid, absolutely awesome. This ought to ruffle his feathers for real"
Thranduil felt a bit confused. " I have never known that my father had a half-brother, nobody has ever mentioned it."
Gilorn nodded. " Because it was all a part of Thingol's schemes, and Melian was in on it too. They used the method of divide and conquer quite a lot those two and I know Melian used the ring rather viciously in some cases. If you can spread distrust and keep people from organizing themselves and gaining power then much is gained if the one in charge is the one who will benefit from it all."
Thranduil folded his arms across his chest. " We just wanted to save the family we had left, we didn't know it was this bad. So, what are we to do?"
Gilorn leaned forth, the glimpse within his eyes got almost malicious. " Listen up, I will make sure that everybody gathers in the main hall, it contains a lot of mirrors, and it can be guarded too. I will make sure that your father is kept safe and informed of our little plan, and the bastard will face a rather different opponent than he anticipates."
They all gathered close and Gilorn whispered his plan to them. It was brilliant, if they could make it work. But they had to know exactly where to be at the right moment and nothing could be left to chance. But finally they had the chance to fight back, to do something real and Thranduil let out a huge sigh, it felt as if all the tension and anxiety left him to be replaced by a burning desire to protect his father, his family and his people. He was older now than when he left, more experienced and far wiser and also more cunning. It was something he aimed to use to his benefit and use it well.
The palace was filled with grieving elves and it was said that the king had collapsed completely when he heard of the death of Alagir and Orodhran, nobody doubted that. Now Elhedran was the only family he had left and everybody wondered if his law brother would make it since he still was unconscious and if the one behind his attack ever would be found. And the guards had kept their secret so nobody had been told of the dead elves they had found in the woods or the fact that the one behind all of this was kin to the king and able to transform himself into anybody he wanted to be.
Gilorn had been right in his assumptions, some of the corpses they had found had served a very sinister purpose, the magic used by Oropher's half-brother required that he had to kill the person he wanted to look like if he was to keep the appearance of that body for more than a few hours at a time. So the butler had to die, and so did some other poor unfortunate souls too, he had to fool the avarin shamans into teaching him more. To him others were just things to be used and discarded off whence their usefulness was over and he didn't even consider them as anything else than tools.
One of the council members had announced that everybody was to gather in the great hall to participate in a shared prayer for the souls of the two deceased ellyn and everybody hurried to get there in time. The room was soon very crowded and a couple of silvan shamans were leading the prayers and laments. Nobody paid attention to the guards who stood along the walls nor the servants who humbly kept to the background. Among them was one elleth with long brown hair and a sweet face, she appeared to be in tears like everybody else but in truth she was close to bursting into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Stealing this shape was easy, he was only going to use it for a few hours anyhow so all he needed to do was to touch the person just once. The real elleth was down in the kitchens doing the dishes and didn't know that she had been copied.
He was so close now, those darn princes were dead and good riddance and even if that old nag Gilorn were snapping at his heels he wouldn't have time to do anything. After all, the healer couldn't know who he was. All he needed was to get close to the old moron and touch him and then he would gain access to the king, it would be easy. He was watching how Gilorn pushed his way through the crowd and hid his tiny smile. Soon! As the healer passed by he let his hand slide along his arm, just touching the fabric of his tunic but that would be enough, he could take Gilorn's form whenever he wanted to. In the crowd the healer didn't even notice and he stayed in the back, waiting for the right moment to act.
Suddenly there was a guard running towards Gilorn and he looked very excited and the door was left ajar behind him so everybody could see that there was someone standing outside in the corridor, supported by two of the healers. It was the king's law brother, damnation?! Had the ellon pulled through? Oh no, he would most certainly know, things had to happen fast, faster than planned. He was about to leave the room when he lifted his gaze and stared at one of the many mirrors that adorned the wall, they were expensive like hell and made the hall look greater than it really was and it also added a lot of light to the room.
He froze, in the mirror he saw someone that couldn't be there, someone who had been gone for centuries! He spun around, stared at the crowd, no, he didn't see anyone looking like that now. Just dark haired silvans and nobody even resembling that darn prince. He was just overwrought, his nerves were playing tricks on him. Gilorn were making gestures and speaking to the guards and the elleth sneaked past the guards and headed towards the nearest exit. Then he suddenly saw something rather terrifying yet again, there was a stairway leading up towards the second floor of the building and on it stood an elleth who could only be the king's late daughter. What was going on?
He turned and walked towards the servants quarters and some of the young squires ran past him, obviously eager to fetch wine for the assembled crowd. He ignored them, only to see Orodhran staring back at him in a mirror at the end of the corridor, when he turned around there was nobody there, just a couple of ellith chatting about something. He had to get to the king, now! Before Gilorn could stop his plans, before that darn law brother revealed what he knew. The king's will would be seen as a fake then, and everything would have been for nothing. It had to be stopped. He turned around and ran towards the hall again, he had to find Gilorn and kill him before he told the king anything, and then he had to hide the body and kill the king too. It wasn't too late. There was a swift glint of silvery gold in a mirror and he swore he saw yet another ghost, the first of the king's son's he had killed. The spider venom had been a good trick indeed.
Was this place haunted all of a sudden? He felt his heart race, something was going on, something odd. Why was he seeing all this? Was his magic failing somehow? He heard the other elves singing in the hall and he managed to get back in, it was so crowded there, damn! He had to push his way through the crowd and froze. The guard by the door, hadn't he seen him before? He bore a striking resemblance to that servant who had followed Thranduil everywhere, but then again, no. At a second glance there was no resemblance at all. He looked up at the dais with the shamans and almost squeaked, nobody else seemed to notice but Thranduil was standing on the other side of the raised platform, he could see his reflection in the mirrors on the other side. This could not be true, he pushed his way forth, some stared at him with anger but saw only a very distraught young elleth and this disguise was really a good one. He managed to get to the other side but there were no tall blonde ellon there, just one of those noldorin ellith, damn how ugly that female was.
He backed away, feeling how the confusion and nervous tension made him sweat, he had to get out of there and gather his thoughts. The singing and the other sounds he heard made him feel jumpy and he got out of the hall once more. Stopped by a small table and picked up a glass of wine from a tray someone had left there, it was filled with crystal glasses and the wine was nice, it had to be for the king himself. He grinned and downed the wine in one gulp, it tasted heavenly and he sighed and managed to gather his senses. He stood there and wondered what he was to do now when he suddenly saw Gilorn leave the hall again, he spoke to two of the healers and they left towards the infirmary while Gilorn headed towards the royal wing of the palace. This was it, this was his moment to strike, he couldn't hesitate now!
He saw that the healer walked rather slowly towards the stairs that were leading up towards the kings own chambers and there were no guards there. He didn't have any weapons but he did have the empty wine bottle that was left on the table and there were many small rooms along the corridor. He grasped the bottle and took a deep breath. This wasn't sophisticated, nor was it very elegant but it was efficient. He waited until Gilorn had passed him by, then he tossed the heavy bottle at the ellon and hit him in the head. The healer fell like a tree and was dragged into one of the rooms. He would come too soon but then it would all be over, and the healer would be unable to do anything more.
Now, this was it, this was the moment he had waited for so long. He could have killed the king earlier of course but he had to get rid of any rivals and he had to make sure that the will would ensure that he was the sole heir of the king, that nobody would be able to question his right to rule. They would all pay for what they had done to him, for the losses, the grief and the title that should have been his in the first place. He would let Elhedran live for now, it would provide him with a hostage if the other realms started to cause problems and the prince was yet not fully mature, easy enough to control. And pretty, there was no sense in denying that fact. He wasn't as gorgeous as his brother had been but he was fair enough for some fun. Yes, that last prince would most certainly warm his bed rather well, when he was broken inn. That would be a pleasure too.
He mumbled the words that would transform him and walked towards the king's chambers as if he had every right to be there. The guards would only see Gilorn and he blessed the day he discovered those old magical rites. They had provided him with a golden opportunity to seek vengeance. A couple of ladies of the court passed him by and he smiled at them and did a small bow, just as Gilorn would have done. There were many very beautiful ellith in the palace, he would make sure to bring them all to his bed when he was made king. They giggled and blushed and he saw that they had been crying recently but that was to be expected. One was carrying an embroidery frame and a small basked with equipment and she blinked and lifted her hand, she had a small cut on her palm and it was bleeding a bit. " I cut my hand on my thread cutter, do you think there will be a scar?"
He stared at the hand the way a real healer would, he couldn't have cared less but he had to stay in character now. " No my dear, it will heal very well I am sure. Just make sure to keep it clean"
The elleth nodded and smiled again and he decided that she absolutely was one he wanted to bed, perhaps even more than once. Oh he would really enjoy himself when that idiot Oropher was dead and gone. " I am glad to hear that, the cutter laid in my basket and I didn't see it so I almost ruined my embroidery with blood."
She pulled out a small dagger that had to be the most ghastly thing he had ever seen, he knew that the ladies all carried such idiotic tools and he just smiled and thought to himself that the one making this one had to have been colorblind or something. Every square inch of it was covered with gems and the blade was so small it couldn't hurt a fly. " I would suggest that you put something over the blade to protect those soft white hands of yours my lady, "
She nodded vigorously. " Oh yes, that is a good idea, thank you"
He just nodded again and kept walking, he didn't want to wait any longer now, victory was near. Soon this realm would have a new king, and screw the ghosts and the strange visions. He walked towards the door leading to the king's chamber with confidence and the guards just bowed their heads and let him inn. He fought the urge to laugh, this was just too easy. It would be like stealing a piece of candy from a kid.
The chambers of the king were grand and there were some servants scurrying around, all appeared to be very busy and a page ran past him and into the inner rooms carrying what had to be a pile of blankets and a bowl of apples. He managed to keep his expression neutral, the king had to stay in his private room and he slowly made his way towards it. He felt his heart hammering within his chest, his palms were sweaty and he shivered all over. This was the moment of truth, now everything would change. The king trusted his healer, it ought to be so easy slipping something into his wine and then watch him die.
He was let into the room, Oropher sat in a chair by the fireplace and he looked truly broken, almost aged like an old adan. He just stared at the flames and didn't seem to notice that someone had entered at all. His mind was obviously elsewhere. Good, very good. There was a carafe filled with red wine standing on a small table at the back of the room and he walked towards it, just casually, opened it and poured some wine into a tall glass, managed to remain completely relaxed all the time. He slipped a tiny amount of white powder into the carafe as he closed it, it had been hidden inside of a ring he wore, the gem on it was hollow and could be removed.
"My liege, would you want some wine too?"
Oropher seemed to jerk, as if he hadn't been aware of the fact that he wasn't alone. "No…yes…"
He poured some more wine into a new glass, carried it along and handed it over to the king who took it with shaking hands. Oropher stared at the wine and his gaze was glazed, distant. "I have made a decision, one that will change everything"
The voice was a bit odd, pressed perhaps. " Is that so?"
He managed to keep his voice calm, almost indifferent but the tension was causing him to tremble ever so slightly. Drink it damn it, do it! His inner voice was impatient and he sighed with relief as he saw that the king emptied the glass in one go. Finally, it would work in a few moments. "Yes, I have changed my will, there are things I haven't told anyone, and now they are of importance."
He almost spun around like a top, had to control himself not to reveal his shock. The will was changed? Damn it, that could ruin everything. " I am sure that is a wise decision my king, but may I ask why?"
The poison ought to be working by now, damn it, was that stubborn old ellon that strong still?
Oropher tilted his head, his eyes had a peculiar shine to them, and he had a hint of a smirk around his mouth. " Of course, but why so formal my friend? You have always called me by name haven't you?"
Shite, he should have paid more attention to the meetings between the king and the healer. "This are dire times, I just deem it appropriate to be formal since this is a day of grief. "
The king nodded and seemed to grasp his stomach, he looked a bit confused. Finally, yes! This would be sweet. " No such need, formalities are not for those who are close now are they? No matter the circumstance."
Oropher walked closer to the fireplace, he was still standing straight and that peculiar grin hadn't left his face. The poison ought to have him writhing on the floor by now, hadn't it worked? Was there something wrong with it? " I guess so my liege?"
Oropher leaned against the mantelpiece, he stared at the flames. "You know, we have all been fooled for days, yes, tricked by clever minds. We have had people under our roof who weren't who they appeared to be."
What was this? " Uh, I beg your pardon my liege? What do you mean?"
Oropher seemed completely unaffected by the poison? Damnation, he had to do something. The king seemed to almost laugh? " Oh, you will see."
Oropher lifted a small bell and rang it and the door opened, in came Gilorn and one of those ugly noldorin ellith. He froze, stared at Gilorn, hadn't he knocked him out completely? Oropher stared at him and the smile was vicious. " We know who you are, and we know what you have done"
The elleth held a tiny object, it was the tread cutter he had seen in the hands of the wounded elleth. " You see, this isn't just any small dagger, it belonged to Melian once, and it removes magic."
She made a strange gesture with it and he shivered, a strange energy seemed to rush through him and he stared at himself, the disguise was gone. Oropher tilted his head. " Oh, I see you wonder about the poison? The wine contains a potion that neutralizes every known poison and since you have a certain fondness of spider venom we anticipated that."
By Morgoth's breath, he had to do something, to get out of there. It was just Oropher there and Gilorn and that elleth, he had to act now before they managed to block his escape. He threw himself forward to grasp the elleth but he was met with a fist that connected with his jaw, and with such force he fell backwards towards the wall. The elleth grinned. " I am not as fragile nor as feminine as you may think. You have disguised yourself as other people, but you are not the only one capable of playing that game."
Gilorn stared at him. " Melian left us several gifts I would say, also a shape shifting devise. The ellon you knocked down wasn't me but one of my loyal servants, we have tricked the trickster and this time the cards are on our hands, not yours."
The shock was mind-numbing and he got back up, sneering and not trying to hide his hatred at all. Gilorn had a peculiar expression upon his face. " Oh you were clever, getting the kings firstborn son accused of rape was brilliant, and the way you did it was smart too. But you left marks in the throat of that poor elleth you used to frame him when you murdered her. And then I got suspicious enough to notice other odd things too. Beria's death, the death of her brother, the poisoning of the queens brother…You were sly, but not sly enough!"
He growled. "It ought to be mine, all of it! I was the first born! The right to rule was mine by birth! But it was taken from me, all was taken from me! "
Gilorn just stared at him. " Maybe, but Thingol didn't want you to become the heir of your father, I suppose his wife knew what sort of monster you really were already then."
He laughed, a hoarse ugly laughter. " Monster? No more of a monster than those who laughed at me, turned me down. No more of a monster than those who killed my family, those who refused to help. I lost everything but I intend to have it all back!"
Gilorn smacked his tongue against his teeth. " By murdering your own kin, by using magic so dark and terrible not even Melian herself would have allowed its use, even against the very enemy himself. You are a kinslayer, and Eru have turned his back to you a long time ago. Only sorrow and grief travels in your path and only darkness and death await you"
The ellon standing there in front of them looked terrible, the dark eyes were filled with sheer hatred and the madness shone within them. He looked like a demon and he snarled like a wolf. "There are only the king and his grandson left, I have almost won!"
He pulled a dagger from his belt and leapt towards Oropher, the weakened ellon shouldn't be able to dodge that sudden lightning quick blow but the dagger only hit empty air and a grasp like a vice closed around his wrist, broke it like a rotten twig. When did Oropher get that strong? Or that violent?! A hard fist hit him straight in his solar plexus and sent him back gasping for air and a door opened at the back of the room, it hadn't been there before. Hidden passages! He knew they were there and he had used some of them but he had obviously not known all of them.
He blinked, Oropher entered the room and he stared at two exact copies of the king, which one was the real one. The one who just entered stared at him with sorrow but also wrath. "You have no name, no honor. I curse the day you were born! You could have been my brother but you chose the darkness instead. I curse the very blood in your veins"
He laughed, tried to use his magic but couldn't, the dagger that elleth held obviously blocked it rather well. " Really? I am stronger than you, I would have ruled so much better!"
Oropher shook his head. "The only place you will rule is within nightmares. Oh, and by the way, both Alagir and Orodhran is still alive. And so is my firstborn too"
He hissed. "That spoiled depraved slut of a prince? Oh it was such fun watching him being dragged to his death, just a shame the executioner had gotten himself drunk, I would have enjoyed watching his pretty head roll!"
Oropher smiled, a very narrow hard grin. " My wife was behind that, she knew her son was innocent and I should have believed his words. It is all on you, all the bloodshed, all the tears, all the sorrow."
He snarled and did leap forwards again, tried to grasp Gilorn by the throat with his good hand but the healer just stepped sideways and a hand grasped his neck with brutality and almost lifted him off the floor. A voice whispered into his ear. " You know, I ought to thank you first. I had to flee and because of that I grew and became more than I ever could have been if I had stayed here. So I thank you for my new strength, and wisdom. But you killed my sister, caused my mother to sail and murdered my brother too. I ought to break your neck right now"
He coughed, grinned. " And become a kinslayer too?"
He turned his head, saw how the glamor disguising the person holding him disappeared and now he was staring at Thranduil instead of Oropher. But not Thranduil as he had been, he was broader and the face more mature and the eyes, Eru the eyes. They were terrifying, so cold and hard and they revealed just how much that young prince had changed, he was a warrior now, and probably rather accustomed to fighting and death.
It dawned upon him then, that this elf would and could kill him and he kicked backwards and managed to wrestle himself out of the death grip. He had a small dagger hidden in his boot and tried to grasp it but the tall elleth kicked him in the groin and he fell with a howl of pain, the darkhaired female bared her teeth with a very ugly expression in her eyes. "They say I am ugly but damn it, you would make an orc look like a spring morning"
The real Oropher let out a shout and guards ran into the room, grasped the ellon on the floor and smacked shackles and foot irons onto him before he had time to react. The dark haired elleth smiled and Elhedran appeared behind the guards, he was grinning too. " You can remove the magic now."
The elleth nodded. " At last!"
She whispered something that sounded almost like something rather obscene and suddenly the prisoner saw the crown prince's trusted best friend. " Oh yes, I did use the ring of Melian down in the hall, and Thranduil allowed you to see him too, and the ring also made you see Beria, and Daerion too. Both by the way was Elhedran here. And the ellith in the stairs slowing you down so we could prepare were this lady here and one of my servants. The kings law brother too was one of Gilorn's servants. We used the pages and servants to transport the ring we used back and forth between us the whole time. We were onto you, you see, and you actions were really easy to foresee!"
He let out a shriek of anger, of disappointment. " I ought to have murdered you in your sleep ages ago!"
Oropher tilted his head, the eyes were colder than the helcaraxe. " Oh Achasrion, many have wished they could do that, I guess the valar are on my side after all. But you they have abandoned my brother. The lord of the dead is the only one you will meet and maybe he will hear your pleas but most likely he will ignore them. You are no more an elf than the balrogs of Morgoth!"
Thranduil sent him a vicious smile. " My uncle is still unconscious, I guess he caught you didn't he? He would have known that you were trying to forge ada's will. But he will live too, although so many have been robbed of their lives because of you. I wish I could take your head but where is the justice in that? You caused death and misery with the use of magic and by it you should perish too"
Achasrion tried to spit at the prince but one of the guards backhanded him across the face. "Be silent filth!"
Achasrion laughed, a terrible laugh that truly revealed his madness. " Oh enjoy this, feast upon my demise if you wish, I am sure I will win in the end. My magic is so strong, I can surely trick even Namô himself"
Thranduil smirked. " We'll see about that"
The guards dragged Achasrion away screaming curses and Oropher seemed to shrink, to fall apart. He grasped onto Thranduil and embraced him almost desperately. " Oh Ion nin, I am so sorry, so terribly sorry, I should have believed you back then. It is all my fault!"
Thranduil hugged his father back, feeling close to tears with relief and joy. He was back in his father's arms, it was alright again. It was wonderful and he felt Oropher shake all over. " I was sure I had lost you, that I had lost everybody. "
Thranduil had problems speaking. " I am here now ada, and I will not leave again, ever!"
Gilorn smiled from ear to ear and Galion was letting his tears flow freely now. Elhedran was sniffling and Oropher didn't want to let go of his son but finally he had to. He sat down into the chair and closed his eyes. " To know that this monster is of my kin is making my stomach churn, and to think of how close he was to success is terrifying! "
Gilorn nodded. " Yes, but he was too confident, and he was getting sloppy!"
Oropher grasped Gilorn's hand. " Yes, but still, he would have won if it wasn't for you my old friend. And for the quick thinking of my son and the help of all of you. I am eternally grateful, that beast could have ended the line of our house."
Gilorn smiled and wiped a tear from his eye. " Do not think of it my king, I did my duty, as did we all. Now that monster is under lock and key and he won't be able to escape."
Thranduil had a peculiar grin on his face, his eyes shone with a cold flame and Oropher snickered. " No he won't even though he will believe that he can"
Elhedran looked confused but Oropher just smiled softly. " You will see child, soon enough. Go to your brother now, and your uncle. If the valar wishes they will pull through"
Gilorn bowed. " I will return to my patients now with your permission my king. "
Oropher bowed his head graciously. " Granted Gilorn, and may my every blessing be upon you for what you have done for us"
Gilorn just blushed rather deeply and hurried to run off. Thranduil was feeling as if the world was spinning in front of his eyes, so much had happened, and he was having a feeling of being in the middle of a dream. " Rest now son, and soon we will announce the happy news, my son has returned and the one murdering my family and kin caught. It will be a day to rejoice."
Thranduil had to discretely remove a few tears of his own. " Yes ada, it will"
Two days later, when the happy news had spread throughout the kingdom the kings half brother was taken from the prison and tied to a horse and some guards were given the task of taking him deep into the woods and hang him. It was a most unusual punishment but fitting. Achasrion was swearing and cursing and the entire population watched the small group leave the palace. Many were tossing ripe fruit and all sorts of disgusting things at the prisoner and shouting curses too. Some avarin elves had showed up, they were relatives of his mother and they showed their disgust by turning their backs to him. His mother had been a rather fragile elleth with a mind that always had been teetering on the edge of insanity and the son had inherited that trait, tenfolds.
Thranduil watched as the group left the palace, there was a grin on his face and it wasn't pretty at all. They had some surprises in store for the prisoner, some he couldn't have anticipated at all.
The group rode hard until they reached the deepest parts of the forest far south where the spiders were rather common. They found a tall tree with a suitable branch and was preparing the rope when the mad elf managed to kick the guard holding him and making a run for it. The forest was dark and thick and the guards had been ordered not to follow closely. Achasrion didn't know it but the ring of Melian was now a part of the shackles he wore and now it was activated by one of the guards. And the dirty old robe the prisoner had been given did stink of rotten fruit and old wine but also some pheromones the wood elves knew had a very strong effect on the unwanted pests occupying their land.
Achasrion was laughing to himself, he had managed to get away! He would return one day and then he would seek a vengeance unlike any other. Oh the dark lord himself would certainly take him inn, and he would be powerful once more. He knew that Sauron wasn't dead and wanted to take part in his second coming. Everybody would be crushed for sure.
He ran through the trees and tugged at the shackles, if he only found a rock of a decent size he could bash in the lock and be free and he started looking at the ground and forgot to keep his eyes on the trees. Suddenly something blocked the light and he stopped and raised his gaze only to lay eyes on the hugest spider he had ever seen. It had fangs like swords and the eyes were ruby red and vicious. It clicked its jaws and he heard similar sounds coming from around him, there were spiders everywhere, lured in by the pheromones and they were both hungry and angry.
Achasrion didn't understand, why were they hesitating? Why did they stare like that? Then he felt the shudder of magic and stared into the eyes of the huge spider, saw his own reflection. He saw another spider, another female, another queen! And there is only room for one queen in each colony of spiders! He screamed and turned to run but it was too late now, he realized that he had been tricked as the first spider dug its stinger into him, hissing in anger at seeing a stranger within their territory. He screamed one last time as spiders tore into his flesh, in a frenzy of hunger and rage. " Thranduil, I curse you, you bastard!"
The guards were watching from the trees and when the spiders were done there was nothing left except the shackles and some pieces of torn robe. They retrieved the shackles, then they returned to the palace to tell them that justice had been served. Thranduil kept the ring, it later served him well when he got burned by a dragon and had to hide the scars and the dagger was yet again locked away. One day it could perhaps become useful once more.
The new king of Greenwood sighed and put down his chalice, he was tired but couldn't let anyone see it. After Achasrion's death Gilorn worked like mad to save Alagir and Orodhran and he did in fact succeed but it came with a heavy price. Alagir was soon strong again but he suffered terrible nightmares and Orodhran was so much worse. He was close to fading and Elhedran was terrified of losing his brother. Oropher was suffering as well, he had lost so much and the grief was causing him great harm. And so the decision was made to leave for the undying lands. Alagir left with his still unconscious fiancé, hoping she would recover in Aman. Elhedran followed his brother and Oropher was hoping to meet his wife again and perhaps get over the terrible events of the last centuries.
Thranduil's uncle woke up again and recovered but he too decided to sail when he had taught Thranduil all he could about ruling a realm. The only ones left was Gilorn and Galion and Thranduil was greatly grateful they could be relied upon for he was so alone and so uncertain of himself. But he was doing well so far, he was a better person than he had been and he was loved by the people. Yes the future did look bright.
He walked over to the balcony and stared at the stars above, they shone like jewels and he threw a quick glance at the table in the middle of his room. Upon it was a box containing some very precious gems and he had to smile, a very soft smile. Two weeks after his coronation some silvan elves had visited to pay their respect and among them was this one elleth. He had known the moment he first laid eyes upon her and he only felt sad his father hadn't met her. She was the new light in his life and Galion had laughed and patted his back when he told his new butler of his feelings. Galion assured him that she would agree upon being courted by the new king for what elleth wouldn't , and Galion swore that he would serve Thranduil until the day he too set sail. The butler had even made jokes about the future of the house of Oropher, with such a pretty and healthy young elleth by his side Thranduil would most certainly give Fëanor a run for his money when it came to the size of his family and then Thranduil blushed like a beet and chased his butler out of the room with the poker he used for the fireplace.
He had sent a huge load of stuff to Radagast as a thank you and the wizard sent a letter back that it took Thranduil two weeks to interpret, the words looked as if they had been tossed at the paper but the wizard appeared to be very pleased so then everything was alright. But he did politely ask if they could return the dresses. Thranduil had done so, and added some extra corsets and stockings and stuff and he had to chuckle when he imagined Aiwendil wearing it all.
Thranduil made sure that the graves of his brother and sister were taken care of, and he mourned them deeply but slowly the grief faded until it was just a ghost of what it had been. He was king now, and couldn't think of his own personal feelings anymore. The people came first and he had indeed come a long way from the immature pleasure seeking young prince he had once been. He was a king, and a good one too, and soon he would impact the fate of the entire realm with his trusted butler by his side. He had been through hell and gotten hardened like a good blade is forged in the fire and in the years to come his strength became legendary. But he never stopped missing his parents and his kin and only the presence of his wife and later his son kept that sorrow in check. But he knew he would meet them again, one day he too would set foot upon the shores of Eldamar and then he would yet again hug his father and give his mother a kiss, and perhaps he would meet his lost siblings too.
It was the dream for which he lived, the hope he carried with him every day. It was his strength and his support even in the darkest of times and even when life turned hard and difficult he held his head up high. He was Thranduil of Greenwood, and he would never bow to the forces of darkness again, nobody would ever make him crawl or beg nor surrender. He had learned who he was, he had learned that he was strong. If Achasrion at all left a legacy of anything good it was this, he had managed to turn a prince into a king worthy of respect and if he knew of this he probably writhed in pure anger and frustration, wherever he was.
The end
To every follower and everyone leaving comments, thank you so much, you are the greatest! I mean it! Sorry you had to wait so long for this final chapter but I have worked like mad lately so I haven't had as much time available for writing as I would like. But here it is, the end of this tale, I hope you will like it. Bless you all.