Orders
The king and his two sons stood tall beside the fighting ring watching the young elleth and her trainers with critical eyes, searching and picking out every flaw, every misstep she made. They sneered as she was knocked to the muddy ground by one of her trainers, who abruptly nailed her painfully with the blunt side of his sword across the shoulder blades.
'You would have died. Up girl, do it again!' The king ordered, gnashing his teeth, fists clenched ready to strike her himself.
Aching in pain she stood once again wanting nothing more than to please her king. Another attacked her from behind with a gasp she spun on her heels, blade connecting with his blocking the attack while she still fought off the first, another rushed for her kicking back she connected with his chest but exhausted as she was she wasn't quick enough. He easily grasped her foot twisting her whole leg causing her to go crashing back to the muddy ground with two blades now pointing at her.
Growling she let her head fall back defeated.
'Enough!' The king yelled out, 'I've seen all I wish to see for today. A word with you in the throne room girl!' He ordered before storming off, the princes stalking away close behind.
The trainers slid their sword back into their sheaths leaving the grounds and the girl lying in the mud.
She stayed for as long as she knew she could, a calculated plan as to how long it would take her to prepare herself to be presentable for the king and just how long she could waste lying around. For a blissful second she was alone, she was nobody there were no expectations being shoved upon her, she could just lay and stare up to the sky.
'My Princess, please you must get out of there.' It was her handmaiden, Elasha.
Amara groaned her time was up far too soon. She pulled her aching body from the mud allowing Elasha to pull her away to the armoury where she quickly stripped her down of all weapons and armour, leaving it for another servant to clean up. Elasha wrapped her around in a robe dragging her to her room. Amara grimaced and sneered as Elasha scrubbed her head within the tub as she finished Amara stood uncaring as Elasha dried her off. Most days she may have growled at her despite knowing she only followed the king's orders, but today her arms were far beyond wanting to even lift the towel up herself.
'There you are, my lady,' Elasha spoke smiling proudly as she looked over the princess. Now dressed lavishly, circlet wrapped around her head. 'Off with you to the king.' She shooed the girl away with a hurry.
'Ada, I'm doing the best I can! I have literally been out training since dawn yesterday while a new trainer well rested, and feed I might add, comes and is replaced upon the hour and I am suppose to keep up,' She yelled furious, she tried to keep up with everything she had in her to please her father, the king but in training like most things it was never good enough.
It wasn't easy to push an elf to exhaustion but the king saw to it that he pushed her there and beyond.
'I wish not to hear your excuses, girl,' the king growled out at his daughter. 'I will not have you messing up this mission because you are weak.'
Amara stood silently trying to control her breathing, her anger getting the best of her. As she glanced at her two brothers smirking at her with a look of disdain she nearly lost all of her control.
What did they know, them, who have been deemed warriors while she'd hardly ever seen them lift a sword let alone a dagger. While she trained everyday was sent away as a child to train, she never met her father until she was eight when she'd return to the castle. By then she's already been learning to shot a bow, learning the herb that maybe save her in the wilds.
And yet here stood her two older brothers, who've been so privileged sneering at her!
'Adar, if I may have permission to speak freely, I may help her see it our way.' Arbellason, the oldest of the two princes, the crowned prince began.
'Brother, what do you have to say that would convince her of such things?' Suiadan questioned from his side.
'Adar?' Arbellason prodded at his father ignoring his brother's words.
'Very well, permission to speak freely.' The king granted waving a hand of dismissal over the girl.
'Amara, my dearest sister,-' He smiled a most fake smile as he walked towards her. '-do you not remember Naneth at all?' He asked coming to a stop behind her whispering cruelly in her ear.
Her breath halted for but a moment remembering back to that very day.
Flashback
Woodland Elves barged through the door to the vast chamber where the Queen and her youngest lay in hiding, these elves wanted but one thing revenge. For the king of this wretched Kingdom had done them only wrong, revenge and one particular little elleth that hid behind her mother's gown. The great Elven King stepped into view as dozens of his soldiers cornered the Queen and Princess of the Elves in the snowy mountains.
'Kill the Elleth, get me the Elfling.' King Thranduil ordered to his warriors, standing tall in front of the chamber doorway a battle raging through out the rest of the kingdom.
At his order arrows from all directions shot out digging themselves deep into the Queen's chest ending her life.
'Nana!' the elfling's voice was small and scared as she cried out for her mother.
'Grab the elfling, we pull back.' Thranduil ordered sweeping from the room.
'No, Nana!' Amara cried out, small and weak against the brute hate of the strong warriors futilely struggled against their grip upon her.
As the pair of russet haired elves exited the castle, Amara still in their grasped arrows whizzed through the air striking them through the back from seemingly out of nowhere Arbellason was there scooping her upon and back to the apparent safety of the castle.
Though Thranduil was forced to draw back without the elfling, he knew he'd made his mark in their kingdom, he'd plan to come back to finish what was started.
End Flashback
'Remember sister, where would you be without us. I saved you, and now you must help us seek vengeance upon those horrid elves. They killed her, they tried to take you,' he spoke with a voice the rang with mock caring.
She breathed out a stray tears rolling down her cheek, her mind still stuck on their own king that gave the orders to kill her mother.
'Get into his kingdom, get close to his son Legolas, and when the time is right we strike. If you do your part right the elf should fall for you he should want to fight to protect you when we attack that is when you must act and kill him yourself. He is widely known as the best fighter Middle-Earth has ever seen, he has proved himself over and over again you need every bit of training to defeat him, he needs to trust you, care for you or everything will fail.' Arbellason sneered mere inches from her face.
Slowly Amara nodded.
'Do it for Nana,' Suiadan pleaded walking towards her placing a hand upon her shoulder.
Amara looked up scanning the faces of everyone around her nodding. 'For Nana,' She breathed finally.
'Good...' The king drawled as the door banged open as a messenger rushed through. 'What is it now?'
'A letter, mi'lord, from Mirkwood.' The messenger bowed deeply before scurrying away.
The king paused weighing the letter in the palm of his hand smirking to himself. 'The time has come.'
Cracking the sealing wax he read briefly the first page before tossing it in the fire flipping idly through the rest he handed them to Amara.
'Learn it, be it.'
'What is this,' Amara asked scanning the papers herself.
'Everything there is to know of Legolas, our spy, already in Mirkwood has been working endlessly to get information of him. What he wants and likes in an elleth, what makes the elf tick, learn it, girl. And valar help you if you mess this up.' The king spat waving her from his sight.
'Why must I act as such... "Always helps a damsel in distress."' She quoted from the papers. 'Truly, can I not just be...' She started.
She was going to ask why she couldn't be herself than remembered she didn't know who that was. She was only who her father needed and wanted her to be, it was merely time for her to take upon a new persona.
'You're dismissed.' The king waved her away ignoring everything she began to say.
Bowing Amara left reading over what she had been given preparing to be the perfect elleth in Prince Legolas' eyes.