CHAPTER 13

The news that the Queen was alive spread through Mirkwood Forest like wildfire. The King had sent two emissaries in advance to warn the healers that they were on their way back to the Palace. Faeron, the head healer, was particularly informed about everything that had happened to the Queen up to the point when she faced that monster during the battle.

The soldiers followed their orders to the letter, as if their life depended on them. They were still shaken and utterly perplexed with regards to what they had witnessed at that village. Thus they filled the healers in with all the necessary details and more, their tale increasing in length as they inserted more and more descriptions of how their warrior queen battled and finally had the upper hand over that foul beast. This recount was stopped here and there only by the exclamations of wonder of the healers, a couple of guards and some servant elf maidens who were listening with undivided attention to this incredible story.

The ellith went out of the healing wing and wasted no time in telling their ladies in waiting, who in their turn reported the story to their lord husbands, who were eavesdropped by their valets and...well, one can easily imagine how every elf from the council rooms down to the kitchens and stables got to know every detail and more in practically no time at all.

Excitement took hold over every elf in the Kingdom as everybody prepared for the arrival of their King and their long lost Queen. The younger elves, too impatient to wait any longer, decided to greet them along the road, even climbing up Mirkwood Forest's highest trees, betting one another as to who would catch a glimpse of the Queen first.

Thranduil held her exhausted body tightly and securely to him as he rode his horse back to the Palace. The rest of the elves, led by Generals Meldarion and Drauchir, rode some distance behind, in an attempt to leave their king some degree of privacy as much as possible. Both were shaken by the recent events, yet Drauchir could not tear away his thoughts from the last time he had seen Lady Valadhiel. He was still a soldier then, on that fateful day when she had entrusted him with her most precious possession…

The image of the ardent fire of strength and courage burning in her eyes, face lit by the moonlight and hair blowing wildly in the wind, had stayed impressed in his mind for many years to follow. He had obeyed his Queen's orders yet his heart could not forgive him for leaving her behind. It had taken him a couple of days to take the round path and finally arrive back in Mirkwood, only stopping to give just enough time for his horse to rest, then continuing on his course as if all the hounds of Mount Doom were at his heels.

Apart from taking the Prince back to safety, his aim had been to inform the King about what happened and try to reach Gundabad with reinforcements as soon as possible. He remembered arriving at the palace consumed with fatigue, using the last ounces of his strength to tell his distraught King where the Queen was and what her last words were.

Already on alert, Thranduil had sent forth his army immediately to wage war on that cursed Kingdom of Angmar. Drauchir's vision blurred. They had fought like lions in their futile attempt to rescue the Queen yet it had been to no avail.

Drauchir had sought the King after the battle and was shocked by the change that had gone over Thranduil. His cold stare and overall expression were a hard wall aimed to bury beneath it his sorrow and heartbreak.

What Drauchir did not know was that back at the Palace, Thranduil had gone straight to young Legolas' room. Picking his beloved child up from his cot, he held him tightly in his arms, the infant crying out at being awakened abruptly from his sleep. "She loved you so much!" he whispered in his little elf ears. And that was the last time the Queen was mentioned.

The King looked lovingly at his wife, lying asleep in his arms and he could not believe his eyes. He kept on repeating to himself that this was just a dream and that he was about to wake up brusquely and face again the harshness of the cold world he was used to seeing every day. But he didn't. His eyes kept on gazing, loving, admiring, whilst she continued to sleep, safe in his arms.

The birds were singing. He looked up at the trees and the bright sun high up in the sky. A lovely, beautiful, memorable day! He quickly looked back down, almost afraid that in the split of a second which took him to observe the beauty of the forest, she would have vanished, snatched cruelly away from him again. But no! He smiled, invisible grateful tears in his eyes…she was still there, wrapped in his arms…secure from all evil.

He hadn't allowed anybody to touch her. Since her fight with the orc, he had been the only one to carry her, trusted only Legolas with this task for just enough time to mount his horse and then demanding her again…harsh, possessive.

He felt guilty now as he recalled how his son had looked at him then. Shocked, baffled, hurt. Legolas' eyes showed these emotions and more and he could only offer a few words of comfort to his son at the time. "Come, ride by me," he had uttered gently, for he himself was feeling the same confusing emotions.

Thranduil looked sideways now, eyes instantly locking into Legolas' clear blue ones, so much like his own. Knowing he finally had his father's attention, the Prince began, "Is she…is she really…?"

"Yes! Your mother is beautiful, isn't she?" Interrupting him, Thranduil looked back at her.

Legolas could not explain his feelings now. It was the first time he had heard his father mentioning his mother. It was strange. Surreal. Not only did he mention her, but he was holding her as well. How many times had he longed for her embrace as an elfling? Hear her voice as he grew up? Seeing this elleth lying in his father's arms, knowing that she was none other than his own mother was incredible. A miracle.

Of one thing he was certain. He liked her. Her reasoning, her calmness, her strength, her anger. A lot has happened these last couple of days, small gifts of instances which gave Legolas the opportunity to get to know this elleth before realising she was, in truth, his own mother. His Nana. He grinned, thinking about how she had put him in place at Bard's house.

"Would you care sharing your thoughts with me?" Thranduil demanded of his son.

Legolas told him then about everything that had transpired when they first met. His father unexpectedly laughed. "Don't worry son, she did it to me as well. The first time she caught me looking at her, I had to avert my gaze first. It had never happened to me before that day. It was at that moment when I realised that I wanted to know everything about her."

"Was it difficult? I mean, winning her over…?" Legolas was curious now.

Still smiling, Thranduil let out a sigh. "My son…you have no idea!" And shaking slightly his head he looked back at his sleeping wife, bending forward to plant a delicate kiss on her forehead.

Arahad held the reins tighter, knuckles turning white as he saw the king kissing her. His dark eyes clouded, both in anger and deep sadness. He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with air to compensate his heart from threatening to stop pumping any minute now. It was extremely painful. My goodness, he had tried not to get sentimentally involved. He had even admitted it to her. Now he realised that he had only been fooling himself, hoping against all hope that she would change her mind and choose to be by his side.

What a fool he had been! How did he get so deeply involved? Heavens! She was not just any elf maiden! Did he have to fall in love with the Queen of Mirkwood?

"You're a man. She's an elf. A combination that would have led to heartbreak…one way or another." Bard's voice of reasoning intruded his thoughts and it annoyed him. He did not want to listen. "If she hadn't been who she is, and decided to choose you…you would have spent a lifetime together if fate willed it."

"And would it have been that bad?" Arahad snapped at his friend, now irritated, knowing full well that he was not going to like where Bard's talk was heading to.

Bard continued calmly. "Once your time in this world was over, hopefully due to old age my dear friend, she would have stayed on, slowly fading away from solitude and a broken heart." He stopped at this point and faced Arahad. "Now tell me. Is that what you wanted?" Bard's tone was both calm and rational.

Arahad looked confused now, anger replaced by realization. These thoughts had never crossed his mind. He might be strong willed and hard headed but no one could call him selfish. He would never bear it or live with himself knowing that he would make her suffer, even though unwillingly.

He looked ahead, eyes fixed upon the King's back. He understood then, that if he really loved her, he had to let her go.

"A coin for your thoughts," Gandalf winked before blowing rings of smoke and then placing his pipe back in the corner of his mouth again.

"I'm feeling sorry," Tauriel's face was serious.

"For what, my Lady?"

"For myself first and foremost. The words I told the King just a year ago keep on echoing in my mind, sneering at my stupidity."

"I told you once again not to be too harsh on yourself," admonished the wizard kindly. "Mistakes are committed by everyone, and that includes the King himself who built walls and detached himself from everyone else to avoid suffering again."

"I heard him on the battlefield…calling out her name and trying to reach her." She looked at Gandalf and then back towards her King. "I had never seen him like that."

"Nor have you ever seen him like this, I would add."

But these words struck a chord which made Tauriel's eyes fill with regret once again. "No love in you," she whispered, "that is what I told him, angry as I was in seeing him leave the battlefield that day!"

"Will you do yourself a favour and stop punishing yourself for nothing? You told me that you spoke those words in time of anger and sorrow. Yes, you're right, the King might have been furious with you then, but what happened afterwards made him change his mind."

"Listen to me my child," he continued, giving her an encouraging smile in the hope of making her feel slightly better. Tauriel looked at him, a tear falling down her cheek. "Have faith when I tell you that the King has forgiven you a long time ago!"

Forgiveness…

He paced around his dark room like a trapped animal. His brow beaded in perspiration and wringing his hands in desperate fear. What was he going to do? He would never be forgiven for his terrible deed! Valar, where could he go? When the King finds out what he had done, there would be no place on Middle Earth safe enough for him to hide!

He was terrified…and he had all reason to be…

How could she still be alive? Evil enchantress! Curse her and her magic!

But wait! He stopped suddenly. She's still asleep they're saying, her magic too strong to be adequately controlled for now…and the wizard said that she couldn't remember anything. Maybe…his eyes opened wide, blind, unseeing…maybe there is still hope that things will go back to how they were before!

And, consumed in his own insane thoughts, he left his room slamming the door behind him.