Hello readers, my apologies for taking so long, life has been difficult and my health hasn't been the best. I will try and upload as often as I can from now on.
Truth Will Out
Phoenix woke to the sound of birds the next morning, and she looked around startled before she noticed a still snoozing Carnahan nearby.
"Silly horse," She muttered to herself as she got herself up and walked to a nearby river to wash up.
As she was drying herself, she did not notice the sound or rustling behind her, but thought nothing of it when it had passed on. She readied herself to continue riding and she woke Carnahan, before fastening his saddle to him as he grazed on the grass of their riverbank. Soon they were well on their way again, reaching the entrance to the realm of Mirkwood before the sun had fully set. They rode with care and at a slow place through the forest. As they rode, they soon came across elves that were returning from patrols and they all bowed and welcomed her to their kingdom. When she reached the gates, a stable boy walked over and happily took Carnahan's reigns.
"Welcome to Greenwood, my lady." He bowed to her when she had dismounted and taken her bags from the saddle.
"Thank you sir." Phoenix smiled softly, loosening her cloak as she walked over towards the doors of the palace.
"We thought that you would not be here until tomorrow."
The voice caused her to look up and she came face to face with her uncle and she smiled. "Thorin insisted that I head out early." She told him. "He is more eager than I am."
"Ah, he wishes for you to have your answers." He told her. "Come, I will show you to your room, though I doubt that you will use much of it."
Phoenix smiled and followed the older elf down numerous corridors and up many staircases to her mothers old room.
"I will meet you in the library once you are ready, I have found some things that I do believe you will find interesting." Thranduil told her before he took his leave.
When she was alone, Phoenix was curious as to what he had found, but she busied herself with sorting out her saddle bags, before she sat at the desk and wrote a letter to Thorin to let him know that she had arrived and that all was well. When the letter had been written and sealed, she walked to the balcony and whistled. At the whistle, there was the squawk of a bird and suddenly a raven had landed on the balcony railing before her.
"Take this to the Lonely Mountain." She instructed the raven, allowing said bird to take the letter from her hand and she watched it fly until even her eyes could no longer see it. When it was gone, she took a steadying breathe, before she started her walk down to the library to see what had been found.
She entered the library where she found her uncle reading scrolls by a fireplace, a stack of books beside him.
"Have you read anything interesting?" Phoenix asked.
"No, not yet," He told her, gesturing to the seat beside him so that she could also sit down.
Phoenix took the seat that he had offered and she picked up a book, it was dated over one thousand years ago, so it was a good place to start. They sat there reading for a few more hours, going from scroll to scroll, book to book, so far neither of them found anything. Soon the sun began to rise again and they were still reading through endless books and scrolls, even Legolas came to join in as the sun reached it's highest peak. The three of them searched endlessly until the sun had sent, and that was when Phoenix seemed to have found something.
"Uncle, cousin, I think I've found it." She told them as she sat up from where she had been lying on the floor.
Legolas and Thranduil looked over at her and Thranduil listened as she read out the small passage and she noticed that she was actually holding her father's journal.
"This must be a journal or something from my father." Phoenix told them. "It reads…Today is the day, the day that I commit this act for the good of dwarves both at Erebor and beyond." She started, seeming surprised that her father had once been in Erebor. "I bid goodbye to my family this morning, they think that I am going off to work to sell things in Dale, but they are wrong and they will always be wrong. I am a traitor. Tonight, I will only be known as that, a traitor, after I kill the Dwarf King."
Legolas and Thranduil stared at each other and they seemed to be fully surprised at the revelation.
"Could anyone have tampered with this book?" Phoenix asked Thranduil. "Anyone at all?" She asked.
"No, Rhavaniel, they could not." Thranduil confirmed. "It has been locked away with the things that your father and mother owned."
Phoenix let the book fall to the stone floor below her and she looked almost distraught. "When was this written…" She asked herself as she searched the book for ome form of date and she found it. "This was written around the time of King Durin's death." She spoke out loud. "My father nearly stopped the Line of Durin before it even began…" She looked to her Uncle and cousin. "Uncle can I keep this?" She asked him, nodding to the book.
"Of course." He told her and then she was gone, she needed to send a raven to Thorin to let him know that she was coming home.
Meanwhile,back in Erebor, Thorin was sitting in his throne during a meeting, his daughter was spending time with his sister and Uldoniair. He missed Phoenix a lot, and it was obvious when he continued to glance at her throne every so often. As the meeting ended, he got up out of his chair and took a walk around his kingdom. It was unusually cold, so everyone had decided to stay indoors, and roaring fires were blazing in every corridor and room. But he did not feel the cold, his bear skin cloak from Arwen almost did as good of a job to keep him warm as his beloved did. As he stood on the balcony, he overlooked his lands, there was snow on the ground, like fine sugar dusting the ground and blowing in from the hilltops around.
"You appear to be very pensive today."
The voice caused him to turn around and he saw his father walking towards him, his hands full carrying his daughter who was covered in her own fur cloak, a gift from one of the village women in Dale, her dark hair in ringlets just showing under the hood. At seeing his daughter, Thorin could not help but smile and he picked her up from his father's arms, holding her close.
"I am," Thorin told his father. "I miss my wife."
"And she misses you too." Thrain told him. "You two are very entwined."
Thorin smiled, looking to his daughter who was playing with a bit of his hair. "We are, and Vana is just like her."
Thrain smiled. "That she is." He looked out onto the horizon and he soon seemed to stop, catching something on the horizon.
"Father, what is it?" Thorin asked.
Looking out to the horizon, Thorin saw it. An army was vast approaching, their armour glinting in the sun, all riding boars. Thorin knew who it was - Dain. At seeing the sight before him, Thorin looked to his father, handing Vana to him.
"Take her, gather the army and my nephews, we go to war." Thorin told him and he was gone, finding another guard. "Sound the alarm."
The guard nodded and soon enough the horn sounded through the whole of Erebor, waking everyone. Those who were asleep awoke into a panic, those that were started to arm themselves and make sure that their families were safe.
Fili had been lying in his bed watching his wife who was just putting their daughter down to sleep in her bassinett next to Sigrid's side of the bed.
"She will be fine, come to bed." Fili told her, with a smile.
"My lion, I know that, but I cannot help but worry." Sigrid told her. "She is still so small, even Vana has grown."
"Sigrid my love, she will be fine." Fili told her, wrapping her in his arms as she lay next to him in bed.
"Do you ever worry about anything my love?" She asked, looking up at him lovingly.
"Not when I already know what is right." He told her with a smile.
Sigrid rolled her eyes at him, before she kissed him gently and went to blow out the candle, before the sound of the horn could be heard. "Fili…"
Fili was up and out of bed in an instant, he knew what the horn meant just as Sigrid did - there was trouble. "Stay here with the baby." He told her as he threw on his armour, with Sigrid's help, and he picked up his sword, and after giving his wife a fleeting kiss, he was running to his brother's room.
Meanwhile, Kili was lying in his and Tauriel's bed, fast asleep, Tauriel was awake reading by candlelight. Thoruntur and Harin were fast asleep in their beds in the next room, and everything was peaceful. Until the sound of the horn reached them, and Tauriel grabbed Kili's arm, startling him awake, as their sons ran into the room.
"Mum, dad, what is it?" Thoruntur asked.
"We don't know," Tauriel told them, getting up and putting her armour over her green pants and tunic as Kili got himself dressed in his armour, just as there was a knock on the door.
Thoruntur answered it to find Fili on the other side. "Uncle Fili!"
"The horn," Fili told his brother and Tauriel.
"We know, what's going on?" Kili told him, sheathing his sword as Tauriel grabbed her knives, bow and arrows and her sword.
"Where is Sigrid?" Tauriel asked.
"She's in my rooms with the baby, I've posted guards on her door to protect her." Fili told them.
"Boys, go and join your Aunt Sigrid." Kili told them and the boys ran and got dressed, before they ran to the door, but Harin and Thoruntur stopped and looked back.
"We will see you both again, won't we?" Harin asked and Tauriel ran to her sons and she hugged them.
"Of course you will, now be brave my little warriors, you need to protect your Aunt Sigrid and your cousin." Tauriel told them and the boys nodded, before they ran in the opposite direction of their parents who ran to the throne room where they found Thorin already dressed for battle, and saying goodbye to his daughter who was looking at him with wide and worried eyes. Vana did not understand the sudden commotion, but she knew that her father was going somewhere she was not.
"I will join you soon my darling, I promise." Thorin told her, and he looked at the maid who had hold of his daughter, his heir, the only thing more precious than any Arkenstone in this moment. "Protect her with your life, and take her to her Aunt Sigrid."
He watched the maid leave with Vana watching him from over the maid's shoulder, and then he addressed everybody as his father and sister stood on either side of the throne, both dressed for battle.
"We are under attack from Dain, he wishes revenge, we will not allow him." Thorin shouted. "Will you stand beside me to defend our home and the heir of Erebor?" Thorin's voice thundered.
The rousing cheers that continued, was enough to make him ready for war. Getting off his throne, he picked up his crown off his head and he left it on the throne.
"Brother…" Dis started but Thorin shushed her.
"I fight as equal to my men, I need no crown to do that." Thorin told her and he left with his men to stand at the gates to his kingdom, ready to defend his home and his family.
Meanwhile, Sigrid was in her rooms with her nephews, her daughter, and now her niece and her nursemaid. She was pacing, she wanted to know that her husband was alright and that her family were alright, she wanted to make sure that everyone was safe.
"Auntie Sigrid, we can't just sit here." Thoruntur told them.
"Auntie Phoenix needs to know what is going on, she could help." Harin suddenly spoke up.
"And how do we get to her?" Thoruntur asked.
"You ride out." Sigrid told them as she suddenly had an idea, and she walked to Fili's weapons chest and she pulled out the sword that he commonly let her use to train. "Get the princesses, quickly." She told them and she watched the boys pick up each of the princesses. Checking the coast was clear, she found the guards near the door. "Help us get to the horses, we need to get the princes and princesses out of here, we are sending them to the Greenwood." Sigrid told them.
The guards nodded and they led them down to the stables, however as they got there, they found that Dain's men had already broken through Erebor's defences. One guard stayed behind to ensure they were able to access the horses safely, and Sigrid could hear him fighting to protect them and Sigrid helped them onto their horses, kissing her daughter's head.
"Ride fast, ride hard." Sigrid told them, and she watched the boys ride away, before someone grabbed her from behind and threw her onto the floor, a sword at her throat. The boys rode away, and Thoruntur looked down to see Uldoniair running alongside them.
The Princes reached the Greenwood after two days of never ending riding. They didn't stop, Thorontur would not let them stop, even when the princesses each of them carried started to cry in hunger.
"Thor, we need to stop." Harin shouted to his brother as Vana cried in his arms.
"We can't, we need to get to Auntie Phoenix." Thoruntur told him. "Push on."
" Brother, they are starving." Harin protested, slowing his horse.
"Look if you two want to die then fine, but I don't want to die!" Thoruntur shouted at him as they stopped.
Before his brother could offer a rebuff, they were suddenly surrounded by elves, all pointing arrows at them. Uldoniar standing between the princes, her hackles almost daring them to attempt to hurt the princes.
"Who goes there?" One of the guards asked, looking at them.
"My name is Th-Thoruntur, Son of Kili and Tauriel." Thoruntur spoke, trying to have his father's bravardo.
"Please, you have to help us, Erebor is under attack, we have come to ask for shelter from our Aunt, Phoenix." Harin spoke up, deciding to use his mother's captain persona instead.
"Bring them to the palace." The original one to speak told the others and they all walked away, leading them to the gates to the elvish kingdom. When they reached the doors, the boys dismounted, holding the babies close to them for protection, Thoruntur keeping one hand on his sword. They were led to Thranduil's throne where the elf sat high, watching.
"This is highly unusual, especially for you two to travel this far without a guardian." Thranduil told the princes who looked at each other.
"Erebor is being attacked, Auntie Sigrid tried to come with us…We don't know what happened." Thoruntur told the elf, looking to Thoya in his arms as Harin looked at Vana in his. Thranduil seemed to be thinking through what was being said, just as the doors to his throne room were thrown open and Legolas ran inside.
"Father, Erebor's beacons are lit, they call for aid." Legolas told him but he stopped at seeing Tauriel's chuldren there. "You already know…"
Thranduil nodded. "Find Phoenix, tell her to prepare for war." Thranduil told him as he got to his feet. "Take the princes to Phoenix's chambers, bring them food and drink and get the princesses some milk."
The princes and princesses were then taken to Phoenix's chambers, where they found Phoenix sat on her windowsill reading.
