Fall of 2065: The morning after the fall feast: following A Snake in the Shadows, An Uncertain Evening, and An Uncle Unamused
The morning came cool and quiet. The crisp air glittered in the spray of the waterfalls, and when the orange morning light caught the mist it cast a hazy glow on the valley.
Elladan found his cousin sitting on a ledge watching the sun rise and light the valley, a sight he had taken for granted most of his life. Her guards eyed him warily, and he noted they had clad themselves again in their dark leathers, and thin maille. They did not stop him though when he approached her and took a seat on the ledge to gaze down on Imladris.
"You did not sleep?" He breathed and lay a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head, and did not look at the twin though he tried to offer her comfort.
"My brother tipped arrows in the poison, it has felled many a stray beast swiftly." He said. This time she nodded, this he was sure was not news to her.
"The wasps have taken up residence in the hives too. We expect a steady enough supply. Your people have taught us well." Another nod came at his words. And they were quiet again, with only the sound of water echoing through the valley to fill the silence. When he spoke again the sun had peaked over the mountain, and the first stirring of elves far below had begun.
"I heard tell of the dinner last night." He had not been there, though she had looked for a familiar face. Elladan and Rumil alone she trusted in this vast city, and still she did not trust them with the whole truth. "Mahtan has quiet the voice for song." Her faced clinched at his words and he knew the topic was unwelcome, but he did not heed her desire for silence. "I expect you'll toss him in the dungeon for while eh." This time she did not react, and her face was long and sad, and he recognized the quiet desperation in her fea. He thought perhaps it was best to change the subject.
"It's true then, that you drove out the necromancer from Dol Guldur." His voice was quiet again, and he put his hand back on her shoulder.
"Sauron." She muttered. Finally, he had gotten her to speak. He wondered how far he had to press to keep her talking. He remembered the first time he met his Cousin. He had always heard rumors that she had gone to live with the wood elves, and had taken up arms in her fathers name. Whispers of her valor had come and gone through summers as they traded silks and wine. Their first meeting had been unexpected though, a chance encounter when Elladan had been assigned to accompany an envoy laden with silks long ago. He was young and eager then, and the thought of traveling the great road east, and sailing down the Anduin made his limbs buzz with excitement. When he saw her at the Old Ford he knew her, he knew without having to ask. Her gold hair, though bound in a braid, glinted like fine wheat in the summer sun. She was tall, and her limbs strong and fair, and she went as light as a linden leaf as she moved. She echoed their grandmother, and the woods whispered through her. They had exchanged pleasantries and laughed and had gotten along well in the few days they camped together on the river. He saw then why she had not sailed, but they had not met again in many years as trade soon ceased between the elven realms, for the law of kings did not abide the bonds of blood.
"Aye, Sauron. Father is to thick to see it though."
"And your mother?" She asked.
"Is not on the council, her words are unheard and unheeded." He said.
Unede hmphed and shifted in her seat.
"Thank you for coming and for answering my call for aide. It was brave of you." He said, realizing she had met no gratitude here yet, and perhaps it would lessen the blow that was his next inquiry. "Unede, there are things you must know, things that are important." She watched him, and he knew that in her heart she already understood the weight is words carried. "It is my belief that my father desires to be High King, he sees Thranduils neglect to rule Lorien as weakness, and he sees you as a threat to his claim. He means to use you."
"I know this." She said quietly. "He wants to see me dead or wed to some small lord, to have me formally renounce my title, so that he can be High King of the Noldor, and unite the wondering companies and perhaps take Lorien too. Yet there are other's see his lack of claim as wisdom, a tact that keeps him from drawing that dark eye. In truth, His wisdom is patience, as is mine."
"What will you do?" He whispered.
But she smiled gently at him, and took his hand in hers and gave a little snort. "Nothing. I will do nothing. Because there is nothing to do. I think you knew that when you sent me that letter. I think you are better than your fathers schemes. I think we both desire the same things."
"What do you desire?" He said taking her hand gently in hers.
"Peace, Elladan, peace and quiet. And to hide our people from Sauron until the need for secrecy has passed." She whispered so quietly he could hardly hear it. "But I fear your father desires victory."
"Are they so different." The twin clinched his brows together.
"It is the most important of differences. Victors care very little for the comfort of the commoner, so long as a crown rests on their heads."
"And do you not want a crown on your head? Is it not your birthright you desire?" Elladan pryed.
Unede shrugged and gave him a gentle smile. "Any action that I take would be only for the safety of my people. I do not wish for the burden of a crown, I wish not for titles, nor riches nor jewels, and I haven't the strength in me now to rule over a peoples the way the Noldor now require. But there may be a time when that title is needed- when a High Queen of the Noldor will be an asset, a tool, a strategy. For no other purpose would I bear that cursed name."
Elladan nodded and was glad she knew he had truly needed the aide he asked for, and too that she was not this creature that his father thought her to be, for he sensed her heart was pure. He sat quietly with her again as the sun rose higher and glinted off the peaks. Then he realized, she had changed. Her voice, her walk, her very aura. She was so different from the elf he once knew, and at last he understood why she was not worried about Elronds scheming to pair her off and make her sail.
"Can I ask you a question." She shrugged, and watched the elves toil on the streets, and gather eggs from caged chickens, and add wood to the bread ovens. The routine of the morning soothed to her troubled mind, and she realized she missed her own morning rituals. "Why do you sit here guarded by half a dozen warriors, while your Princess is alone gathering herbs on the mountainside?"
She smiled at his words and gave a breathy laugh. "Is the valley unsafe?" She asked nudging him gentle. He did not respond, and instead took her hand and sat with her quietly for a time, waiting for her to speak the next words. "I always knew were the cleverest of our family." She said at last.
He let out laugh and said. "Father is always too busy for subtilties. Dare I say your stunt brought him to his wits end. He took a tea, and found some rest just as the sun came up. I expect he will rise soon, and we should be prepared for a meeting with him."
"This is all my fault. I should have never come. I thought if I came it would bring good will."
"I should have not asked for aide; I would not have if I knew you would be held here." He said and shrugged. "Father just wants to keep his family safe. We will get you home and back to your mate, we need only be patient."
"The King is an impatient elf." She said, and they were quiet again and she said at last. "Everyone must think me a traitor, to have gone to Eryn Galen, and not returned to Lothlorien to be Grandmothers heir. Now I am wed to a Prince, and riding to a valley I was banished from."
"No one thinks you a traitor dear cousin." He said giving her hand a squeeze. "A uniter perhaps, a healer of the woods, a kind soul, a strong elleth. All things a Princess should be. You will be a good Queen cousin. I would follow you." And she smiled at his words, and he spoke again. "Perhaps I should write to King Thranduil and explain. Let his majesty know you have an ally here."
"No Elladan, there are letter's enough flying around. I do not need patience, but haste. We need to leave now, this very moment, while The Lord of your house is asleep." She stood up and moved quickly across the balcony, while her cousin scrambled behind. This was her only chance she thought desperately in a swift change of plans. If she did not leave now, they may find an army at their door, and that bode not good. They had to flee, flee and meet Thranduil on the road. She gave quick instructions to one of the guards to go and find Elenwe, and to meet the company in the stables where they would prepare the horses.
"Unede, there is no need for such a haste, let us talk to my Father, we can surely sway him to let you leave in the summer." Elladan said quickly, as he followed her down the hall trying to keep pace with her steps.
"There are more pieces at work than you realize Elladan. We must make haste and take leave with out delay."
She slipped into her chambers and found the rest of the guard slinging packs over their shoulders and fastening their swords. She followed suit, and left the room swiftly.
"You need food, and supplies." Elladan said, jogging to keep up with her strides.
"We will make due." She said and rushed down the steps behind the warriors. The elves of Imladris parted, and clutched their robes, and parcels, and gasped as the wood elves strode briskly past. But Unede paid them no mind. "We have a chance of escape, it is best if we take our leave without notice."
They turned down another stair and made their way down the hill of the open hall, heading towards the stables lower on the cliffs. Faster they went, with no regard for secrecy of flight, but by the time they reached the edge of the city a host of Rivendell Guard stood before the stables.
"Let us pass." Unede called out "You have no right to keep us here." But the guard did not heed her cry, and stood silent baring the doors.
Elladan watched her desperately. And Unede fought back the panic as she recalled the first kinslaying, and the doom it had brought to so many. But her thoughts came to a sharp stop, as the crisp high call of a horn pierced the morning air, and echoed across the valley. The whole of Imladris seemed to fall to silence, even the river's had muted their musical flow. The elves of Eryn Galen turned, and there on the cliffs above them was a host of wood elves, tucked into tree's and crouching along stony out crops, with bows waiting to be bent. Then across the bridge, in glittering green and gold mail, a hundred guard came forth, and before them on a white stallion came the King of the Woodland Realm, stern and cold- all that he was whispered to be in the hidden valley.