Hello mellyn - Christmas is right around the corner and then comes 2021 and I could not be more ready :) Hang in there! 4 chapters to go...

For silverarrow: Well I am glad to know that your life is going ok, if not a little bit crazy! And honestly feel free to throw the occasional Estonian word at me! I love languages and think Estonian is super interesting! I would also agree with you that you Legolas and Kélion's relationship is one of my favs! Also no need to apologize for "late" reviews! There is no such thing! I am just happy that you have stuck with my for more than 6 months now!

For Hello_LOTR: Hey, well you know sometimes I just need another way to look at characters! I appreciate that you have done that for me :) Please feel free to do so in the future! And I totally get what you mean about Thranduil being portrayed in the movies and the book and in other fics. I always prefer Tolkien's books so feel free to reference it whenever! I always didn't like him in the Hobbit (book) but that is because the first time I read it was when I was 9 and I was rooting too hard for Bilbo :) I think that might be where a bit of this comes from!

Thank you elvenmaia! You sure do keep up my spirits even in the thick of it :)

Out of Mirkwood

Scribbles-on-Parchment

December 12, 2020


Chapter 71 – Through the Barrier

Legolas had given up struggling against his brother's bone-crushing grip long ago. Instead he had resorted to protesting loudly to the crown prince and hurling angry glares at anyone who traveled into his line of sight.

"Let me go Kélion. I am fully capable of walking on my own. I am not an elfling anymore."

"Then you had better stop acting like one," the older ellon's response came as an angry hiss in his ear, "Why in Eru's name are you so upset about this?"

Legolas's next prepared insult died on his lips. Why was he so upset? It was not as though he had even known the Noldor for very long or had taken any particular liking to them. So why did he feel so much dread and regret about leaving them?

But deep inside the young ellon thought he knew the answer though he would never say it out loud to anyone; he had never gotten to say his farewells to Estel. For some reason that was unknown to him, he felt great pangs of sorrow at this. He had looked around frantically when Kélion had come over telling him that they were leaving immediately, but the human was gone as if he had vanished from the clearing. The princeling had not even been able to say farewell to the twins or ask where Estel was as he had been immediately escorted away by Êmand and his older brother. No explanation, no word from his adar, nothing.

Legolas glanced over at Êmand who was walking beside him, carrying his bow and quiver, eyes alert and scanning the forest around them. Kélion had insisted that they stay in the middle of the group of soldiers to ensure their safety. There was no sign of the king.

"I am upset," the young Sinda said at last, "Because I still have no idea what is going on. No one has thought to tell me anything and," he glanced down at his brother's hand gripping his upper bicep tightly, "And you are hurting me as you are cutting off the circulation to the rest of my arm."

The hand immediately fell away as Kélion glanced at him,

"I am sorry penneth, it did not realize I was causing you discomfort. You should have told me sooner."

"It's not like you would have listened anyway. It is not like anyone here listens to me anymore."

"Legolas," Êmand's voice had a warning hint to it, "Do not speak like this. We are doing only as your adar commanded us to."

"Which I still have no idea what it is," the elfling shot back, "And why did you have to drag me along with you for so long, it is not like I am going to run off anywhere."

Legolas heard the irritated sigh and knew his mentor was thinking about the right words to say. The Sinda shook his head exasperatedly,

"You do not need to waste the time by trying to choose the right things to say. Just tell me."

"Muindor," It was Kélion who responded, "Adar made the decisions to return to the palace as quickly as possible. We were only doing what he instructed."

"Which is what? Grab my arm and drag me struggling along with you like an elfling throwing a tantrum?"

"Something like that. But in my defense you are acting like a spoiled elfling. It is not becoming of someone of your status."

The young ellon groaned. Why did no one ever tell him anything?

"Fine," he said at last, "If you are not going to answer my questions then I shall just go and find adar myself. I am sure he will speak with me and not hold anything back."

"No, you can not do that."

Legolas rounded on Kélion eyes filling with frustration,

"And why not? Why am I suddenly not allowed to do anything?"

"It would not go over very well if you went to adar. He already has enough to deal with."

"Too much that he does not even have time to talk to his son? I thought you all were overjoyed I was not actually dead or did I simply misunderstand?"

"For the Valars' sake Legolas," Êmand's voice was as exasperated as his own, "Just stop. You are speaking out of your emotions. This is what has gotten you into trouble countless times before. Learn to control your temper and do not let it control you. We are all very grateful to have you back, it is just that there are many other issues we are having to deal with right now."

"All of which you cannot or will not tell me," The young ellon finished for his mentor, "Fine, I get the point and shall keep quiet if that is what you wish though I still do not know why we had to leave a group of Noldor stranded in the middle of our forest."

"For very good reason ion nín," Legolas's whole body went stiff as he heard Thranduil's voice come from behind him.

"Adar, I did not know you were listening."

"Obviously," Out of the corner of his eye the elfling could see his brother glaring at him as the elven king continued, "Now Kélion, Êmand, if you would please go and speak with the commander about our expected arrival at the palace. I would like to speak with Legolas - alone."


Tamír groaned in disappointment as he glanced around. All he could see were more dark trees and shifting shadows; nothing had changed since the last time he had checked. After being attacked by the spider he had set off in the direction he had thought he had come from and had now been walking aimlessly for what he was sure had to have been several hours. But the clearing had never appeared; it was as if it had completely vanished.

Every sound that Tamír heard had him instantly reaching for his sword. The spider attack had caused his senses to be on high alert, but as of yet he had not been ambushed again. Though with the shifting shadows and dense air around him, the Silvan found himself becoming increasingly more paranoid.

While he tried his best to keep calm and think carefully about what he needed to do next, he felt as if something was off. It was like his mind was unable to focus clearly on anything and his thoughts were a jumbled mess. Had he been drugged or was this forest merely messing with his mind?

Either way Tamír knew with deadly certainty that if he could not find his way out of this soon, there was very little chance that he would ever get out of this accursed forest. He would most likely be driven mad by the suffocating evil of the trees or he would fall prey to the bloodthirsty spiders. Neither of which sounded particularly appealing to him.

As the ellon started walking again he began to feel a change in the atmosphere around him. The forest looked to have grown particularly dense directly in front of him and the very air seemed to reek with disease and decay. Was this the very heart of the forest's darkness? Was this where the Greenwood's demise had begun?

Tamír glanced behind him again. Suddenly the woods he had just come through seemed much less intimidating; however, as much as he wanted to turn back it was like something was calling to him to continue forward. The eldar stopped for a moment to ponder what he should do next. It seemed so foolish to continue forward. What if it was infested with giant spiders and other evil creatures? Going into the thick of the dark woods could very well prove to be the end of him and he desperately wanted to see Narril and his son again.

But something was also calling to him. It was as if there was a faint strand of a familiar melody that had managed to weave its way out from under the twisted branches that lay in front of him. It reminded him of something from long ago, something he had almost forgotten.

It was not long before the Silvan found himself walking steadily into the heart of the dark trees, the call of the mysterious song too much for him to ignore.

The instant Tamír stepped into the dense grove of trees he felt as though a great weight had just been placed on his back. The air was so thick that he had to fight for every breath that he took and the thick undergrowth seemed determined to trap him in their thick veins. Several times the ellon fell to his knees but he managed to struggle to his feet and continue forward. He knew he was getting close to the haunting melody for it was growing louder with each and every step that he took. This was the only thing that kept him moving forward.

The weight of the air grew stronger still and Tamír found that he was now gasping for air. He could not go on like this for much longer. The ellon dared to glance ahead and felt his heart drop as he noticed a great dark shadow looming in front of him. It had appeared out of nowhere. Tamír's mind screamed at him to turn back but the song in his heart was stronger than his fear.

Closing his eyes, the Silvan took a step into the inky blackness and gasped as an odd tingling feeling flooded his body. He could feel something pulling him backwards, back into the shadow world, and Tamír knew he would not be able to resist its pull for long. With a great cry the elf gathered his strength and lunged forward. He felt the great weight suddenly lift from his body and the dark thoughts and visions that had flooded his mind also vanished.


Tamír lay on the soft grass for a moment, his chest heaving in exertion. He could feel the warm sun in his back and hear the sweet song of birds filling the air. However, what caught his attention was the familiarity of the place. Even without opening his eyes he could feel the song of the trees in his very súlë. Could it be?

The lashes flittered open and the Silvan pulled himself upright glancing around in awe. It was as though the entire forest had changed in an instant. The trees here were healthy and seemed to sing with joy and life. The dense undergrowth had disappeared and had been replaced with soft grass and delicate flowers. This was the forest he remembered; this was the Greenwood.

The ellon looked behind him. He could still see the dark trees that he had just come through, but they were veiled as if being blocked by something. Tamír shook his head and turned back around. He was never going back out there again if he could help it.

As the ellon breathed in another lungful of fresh air, a smile formed on his face. He was going to see his wife and son. Elrond's sons would be well on their own. They had Thranduil and a whole army of Silvan elves with them. They would be fine and now so would he.


Meldir crouched in the branch of a tall oak and watched as the strange ellon stumbled through the barrier that protected the Greenwood before collapsing to the ground. The elf remained there for several seconds before getting slowly to his feet and looking around at the forest around him.

The commander's brow creased. The power of protection from the barrier must be failing for no eldar, save one of the Greenwood's, could pass so easily though it. He did not remember ever seeing this ellon before and the grey and blue tunic and leggings were not of that of a Silvan. Meldir glanced over at the other two elves who had come with him on this patrol and nodded. Immediately they drew their bows and aimed at the unaware being below them.

Meldir knew he could never kill another eldar, least of all one that was unarmed; however, these were difficult times and he had to be on his guard. For all he knew this could be Rívorn, the ellon whom Kélion had warned him about.

The Silvan watched closely as the ellon began to move further into the trees beneath them. If they wanted to capture him then they needed to act now. Meldir gave the signal to his ellyn before leaping down gracefully and landing lightly in front of the ellon, bow draw.

Both eldar looked at one another before a look of surprise and recognition passed over both of their faces. This, however, did not last long for Meldir suddenly heard the low whistle of an arrow cutting through the air and a split second later the Silvan stumbled backwards. Shock filled the ellon's brown eyes as he slowly crumpled to the ground an elven arrow sticking out from his chest.


Elvish Translations:

adar – father

penneth – young one

muindor – brother (Sindarin)

ion nín – my son

súlë – spirit

daro - halt