Chapter 10: The March Unto Mirkwood
By: Banana Nut Muffin
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The day after Legolas woke up, he had enough strength in him to sit up in his bed. His burns were still severe however. He had suffered from extreme dehydration. But Elrond would continue giving him small amounts of water and each time he would give him a little more. While Elrond was giving him water, he asked Legolas a question. "Do you think you feel well enough to tell us what happened?" Elrond asked. Thranduil looked up, he too hoping for an explanation. Legolas nodded slightly. Elrond and Thranduil sat on the bed with him, and he quietly relayed what had happened.
"So you don't know how long you were out there?" Thranduil asked. Legolas shook his head. Talking had worn him out and he was getting sleepy again. Elrond and Thranduil left him so he could sleep, and so they could talk.
"He doesn't know how he got out there. That might be a problem. Something must be happening in Mirkwood." Elrond said. Thranduil nodded in agreement. Just as they said this, a messenger elf jogged up to the elf lords.
"Lord Elrond, Lord Thranduil, forgive me for interrupting, but this message came from Mirkwood." He said. Elrond thanked him and the two elves stole away to Elrond's library. They sat in some chairs and Elrond nearly tore open the letter. He read it out loud.
Ada and Lord Elrond,
It has been close to fifteen days since I last saw Legolas… You see, we allowed these strange elves to live in the deserted part of Mirkwood. They came from the Northern Waste. We had guards posted around them at all times. Then one day, Legolas allowed the leader, Ainu, to talk with him, and they mostly talked about their journeys. Then, Ainu stayed for dinner. I do not know what events transcribed in the Great Room. I was in my room. Then, as I was sitting there, Merry and Pippin were brought into my room, and there we were locked for four days. Then, Ainu let us out, but we weren't allowed to leave the palace or the courtyard. Ainu told me that… that they had taken Legolas out to the Northern Waste. They had taken him the day that Ainu had stayed with us. And you know what he did? He took Legolas's crown of mithril and he is wearing it. I wanted to take it from him, but I couldn't let myself be killed. The hobbits are faring well enough. They have managed to befriend some of the guards. You may be thinking, where are the Mirkwood guards? Well, they are locked up in the dungeons. I don't know how long they have been planning this, but I fear the worst, that Legolas is dead. No one could live in the Northern Waste for very long who wasn't used to it. I'm sorry I had to bring you this ill news.
I suspect that it will have been close to nineteen days since I last saw Legolas by the time this letter reaches you.
Love,
E'thane
Thranduil and Elrond looked at each other. So that's what happened.
"I have heard of these elves who live in the Northern Waste. I don't know how they do it, but they do. They live out there. But why did they suddenly leave, I wonder." Elrond said. Thranduil was at a loss for words. His kingdom had been taken over… and he was going to do whatever he could to get it back.
"Should we tell Legolas?" Thranduil asked. Elrond shook his head.
"Not just yet. We should wait until he can at least eat something. We can't let him have a bunch of food all at once**…" Elrond said. Thranduil nodded.
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E'thane walked through the corridors of the palace, his face grim. He hoped with all his heart that the letter made it safely to his father and Elrond in Rivendell. As he walked, he saw Ainu. E'thane drew his hands into his sleeves and clenched them as to not attack him. Ainu carried a sword with him wherever he went. As he passed, he nodded to E'thane. After he was gone, E'thane drew his hands out of his sleeves. He had cut his own hands with his fingernails. He quickly went to a washroom to clean them up and make sure no one noticed.
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Later that evening, Elrond went back into Legolas's room. He was lying on the bed, his eyes open. Elrond sat beside him. His fever was still high, and his skin was still burnt. He was still weak as well. Elrond didn't know how long it would take for Legolas to recover, or if he ever would… He decided not to tell Thranduil about his thoughts on the matter. He had enough to worry about.
Legolas looked into Elrond's eyes. He looked worried. He opened his mouth and managed to say "What's wrong?" Elrond looked at him sadly. "Am I to die?" Legolas asked. Elrond took a deep breath.
"I do not know Legolas. You were out in the desert for a long time. Your fever is high." Elrond said. Legolas sank back in the pillows.
"I won't die…" he said faintly, before falling into sleep once again.
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Elrond started believing in miracles. Over the next four days, Legolas improved a lot. His burns started to fade, and the fever was going down. He started giving Legolas small amounts of food. Also, Legolas requested to take a bath in the coolness of the river. He was taken there and he bathed, and when he came back, his fever was even lower. In the evening of the fourth night, Legolas stopped Elrond before he left the room. "Thank you for saving me." Legolas said. Elrond smiled.
"I do not know how much of it was my doing." He said. "I think much of it was you." Legolas smiled a little and fell asleep.
During one of the times that Legolas was awake, Elrond and Thranduil gave in and told Legolas everything that they knew had happened in Mirkwood. Legolas was stunned. He couldn't believe he had allowed that to happen. Making sure not to press the matter, they quickly told Legolas that it was not his fault, and asked him to return to sleeping. They didn't want to worry him too much. The next time he awoke, he spoke with Thranduil a long time about Mirkwood, and Thranduil succeeded in convincing Legolas that it was not his fault, and that they would somehow get Mirkwood back.
Three days later, Legolas was out of bed and walking. It felt good to stretch his legs. That was also the day that Elrohir and Elladan returned from traveling the Shire and the surrounding lands. Legolas was sitting in a chair on his balcony when they arrived. They heard of the news, and quickly ran up to his room. They entered and Elrohir flung his arms around Legolas. "Thank Valar you are alright!" he cried. Legolas smiled and nodded. It still hurt to talk much, so he listened to the twins talk of their adventures. That evening, they ate dinner, and they all gathered in Legolas's room to discuss what to do next. Legolas was on his bed, Elrohir and Elladan sitting on either side of him, and Elrond and Thranduil were in chairs beside the bed.
"Well, like you said, there are desert elves in Mirkwood. But there couldn't have been that many?" Elladan said. He looked to Legolas.
"Only about 100." He said softly.
"So... any ideas?" Elrohir asked. They were silent for a few minutes. Then Legolas's weak voice answered.
"I want to ride into Mirkwood and take it back." He said. Thranduil looked at his son.
"Out of the question! You are not strong enough Legolas! If we do do that, it would be soldiers. You are still sick." He said. Legolas looked hurt, and Elrohir placed an arm around him. Thranduil sighed. He hated to see his son upset.
"I think it's a good idea though." Elladan said.
"It may seem that way, but to ride in to take back one's own country by force is not the wisest thing to do. Besides, Mirkwood elves could get hurt." Elrond said.
"I still think we should do it. Elrohir and I could gather some soldiers who are up to it. Then we can ride to Mirkwood through the Pass, and take back with belongs to Legolas and Thranduil." Elladan said. Elrond sighed. He looked at his old friend.
"What do you think?" He asked.
"We must do what must be done." He said simply.
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And so it was. Elladan and Elrohir went out into Rivendell and rounded up close to two hundred elves who would fight for the cause of Mirkwood. Legolas recovered slowly, but he was eventually able to sit up and eat by himself. The burns faded. It would take them a week to ride over the pass and get to the edge of Mirkwood. Then they couldn't figure how long it would take to get through the trees.
"If we can't get through the trees, we could go around." Elladan suggested.
"How would we get into the city?" Elrond asked. Elladan was silent.
"The path." Legolas said quietly. They looked at him. "There is a path from the Lonely Mountain to the city of Mirkwood." Legolas told them quietly. He still couldn't talk loud, or much, for it tired him. Elladan smiled.
"Like I said, ride around."
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Two days later, the small army was assembled and they were ready to ride. Elrohir insisted that Legolas ride with him, for he was not yet strong enough to ride by himself. When all were ready, Thranduil gave the command, and they started out on their march to Mirkwood.
It took them a week to ride to the edge of Mirkwood, as Thranduil said. No matter how much they insisted, Legolas would not let them stop on his account. True, he wouldn't have been able to ride alone, but with Elrohir behind him, he was fine. He just got tired, and would fall asleep. After they reached the edge of Mirkwood, it only took them a day and a half to ride around the outside of the forest. When they reached the edge of the Lonely Mountain, there were several dwarf guards standing around. They saw the group of Elves, and stopped them.
"Who ride to the Path of Mirkwood and the Lonely Mountain?" One of them asked.
"We ride from Rivendell to reclaim Mirkwood for King Legolas!" Elrohir shouted. The dwarves whispered among themselves.
"Does the King live?" One asked. Elrohir nodded and lifted the hood of Legolas's cloak. He was sleeping, but the dwarves knew him. The dwarf who did the talking blew a horn, and more dwarves came out of the mountain.
"Come, my kinsmen! For the Mirkwood elves need us!" He said. The dwarves cheered, and Elrond, the twins, and Thranduil looked at each other, confused. By this time, Legolas had woken up.
"Legolas, tell me, what happened between the elves and the dwarves?" Elladan asked from beside him.
"We are neighbors and treat each other as such." Legolas said. Elladan smiled. He welcomed the help of these dwarves. Soon, elves and dwarves rode through the path and came closer and closer to the city.
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E'thane rubbed his forehead with one hand, and then he heard something. It was the sound of a horn. But not any horn, it was the dwarf horn. Since the desert elves came here, the dwarves ceased to visit. Why now did they come? He hurriedly ran to the courtyard, and climbed the wall. The horn sounded again. Then he heard the voices of Merry and Pippin. "What's going on?" Merry asked.
"The Dwarves are coming." E'thane said. A guard shouted at him.
"Get down!" He shouted. E'thane just looked at him, and stood up on the wall. He squinted his elf eyes, and soon saw not just dwarves, but elves ride out of the forest. They were from Mirkwood. And E'thane recognized Elrond, his father, the twins and… LEGOLAS! His brother was alive. It wasn't long before Ainu came running out of the palace in shock. E'thane felt a surge of rebellion that he hadn't felt since before Legolas first left for the council of Elrond. He jumped down from the wall, grabbed Ainu by the shirt, and stared into his eyes.
"You are no longer King of my family's realm!" he shouted. He grabbed the mithril crown from his head, and punched him. Several guards ran to him, but he pulled out the long knife he kept hidden under his robes for just such an occasion. He fought them, and yelled to Merry and Pippin to open the doors of the courtyard. They ran to the doors, and pushed them open, mustering all the hobbit strength they had. They stepped out, and saw almost the entire population of the city of Mirkwood on the streets, cheering for the return of their king. Merry and Pippin stood aside to let them through, but were pulled up onto horses by Elladan and Elrond.
"Come hobbits!" Elladan shouted, and the burst through the gates. By this time, all the desert elves had come out of the palace and were all standing ready for a battle. E'thane had stopped fighting the guards and ran to the group of horses. Thranduil motioned for him to climb up on his horse. Legolas looked up and faced Ainu and the desert elves.
"You came here from the desert, looking for a home. I gave you one, and yet you repay me by leaving me in the place from whence you came! I, Rivendell, Mirkwood, and the Lonely Mountain will not stand for it. Now, I give you a choice. Die now, or leave?" Legolas shouted at them. Elrohir felt him quivering with each word. It was taking a lot of strength just to say those words. He placed a comforting hand on his back, and willed him to go on. Everyone was silent. Then Ainu came forward.
"This realm once belong to us, but we were banished, and now we return only to take back what is ours!" Ainu shouted back. Legolas slid off the horse, much to Elrohir's dismay. He was not strong enough. But relief filled him when E'thane came to his side and placed the crown of mithril on his golden hair. E'thane slipped his arm through Legolas's to help him along.
"You no longer belong here, under the beauty of Mirkwood. You belong in the savage deserts, where your hearts truly lie!" Legolas said. With every step he felt the energy draining from him.
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End of chapter 10.
I think this is going along ok, don't you?
Peace Out~
Banana Nut Muffin