Western tip of the Dark Mountains. June 6, SA 722
THRANDUIL sang the ancient song he had learned as a child from Lady Melian. It was one of the many things she taught him as he roamed the wide forest of Neldoreth.
The deep and clear voice flew among the dark leaves of the fir tree and rippled through the forest. The trees trembled and sighed.
"Stop sing'in." The leader, muscular and bigger than others and walking behind Thranduil, shoved the Sinda. Thranduil stumbled but dug his feet into the ground to steady himself.
"Let him sing, Radnor. It sounds pretty," said the armored man, who was carrying the injured archer on his shoulder, following behind Radnor.
"Others might hear him. Maybe he's calling for help," said the other armored man, walking in front of Thranduil. "When are we getting out of here? We been walking for hours." He looked about him, his eyes wary. "It's getting dark already. What if the others find out and come after us?" He shivered. "I don't want to see them again. He said he will give us no other warnings. What if—"
"Shut up, you fool. We will be out of here before that happens. Should be clearing the forest soon enough, aren't we, Wyman?"
The archer who was leading them stopped walking and glanced back. Thranduil steadied himself to control the smile that threatened to split his lips when he saw fear shade the archer's eyes. The man knew.
They circled the same section of the forest, passing this part of the forest for the third time. But the men were oblivious. For these men unused to the ways of the forest, all the fir trees with their underbrush and rocks would look alike. They did not know getting lost in a forest as vast as the Greenwood was like getting lost in a wide sea with no stars to guide them.
"What's the matter?" The leader of the group pushed Thranduil aside to walk to the archer. "Why we stopp'in? Can't you see we are los'in daylight? I want to be out of this forest before it gets too dark."
Without a word, the archer turned back to the trees in front of him. He walked among the trees, back and forth, then came back to the leader.
"The trail he had marked for us, the one we used to get to the Dwarf storage—"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"I swear I saw it back there, but I don't see it now."
"What do you mean, you don't see it?"
"It's… it's gone."
"By the gods! How could it be gone, you idiot? Go back there and make sure we are on the right path."
The archer scurried back to the path they came from and scanned the trees.
"Gods have mercy!" The leader cursed out loud. "I swear I am surrounded by idiots."
The armored man in front of Thranduil turned to the Sinda. "You are an elf. You know the way. Tell us."
"I arrived in this forest only recently and this area is new to me. But even if I knew the way, I would not help you," Thranduil said, giving the man a look of nonchalance.
"He's lying," the injured archer said. "He's an elf. He must know how to find his way around this forest. Make him tell us, Radnor," he said to their leader.
But before Radnor could say or do anything, the armored man took out his ax and thrust it under Thranduil's ear. "You will tell us, or you will lose your ears, Elf, followed by your nose."
"Knock it off!" Radnor said. "Dernwulf said he just got here. The boy doesn't know this place at all. Go help Wyman find the markers, you piece of hare-brain!" He turned to the other armored man. "Tie the elf to the tree."
The armored man lowered the injured archer he was carrying next to a tree, just a few feet from Thranduil.
Radnor turned to the injured archer. "Keep an eye on the elf. This one has trouble written all over him. If he gives you any trouble, shoot him. Just don't kill him."
"As you say, Radnor," the injured archer said. His eyes glinted red.
Just then, Wyman came back crestfallen. "I can't find even the ones I saw last."
"The notch can't just disappear."
"He doesn't notch the trees. Something about not harming the trees or something. He just threads a leaf onto a branch, or pine needles, in the direction where he wants us to go."
"Who marks a trail like that? What if there is a wind or storm or someth'in?"
"Weather doesn't affect it. I never had a problem finding it until now." Wyman glanced at Thranduil. Fear was visible in his eyes now.
"Go climb a tree or someth'in. The cliff couldn't be too far. We can follow the cliff down to the river."
The archer climbed the tallest tree around them. The thick foliage of the dark fir filtered what remained of the sunlight into pale patterns on the dusky ground.
"Well? What do you see up there?" Radnor barked up the tree.
"How did you get one of us to work for you?" Thranduil threw what he guessed at the injured archer. It was only a speculation, but he had seen the mark on the trees.
As far as he knew, men did not know how to mark the trail with leaves so that only keen eyes could detect them. Nor do they have the skill to enchant the leaves to stay put no matter the weather. Besides, only the Elves knew their way around this forest well enough to mark a path for others. Thranduil had been told that people who needed to go across the forest, including the Dwarves, would go to Lorinand or to Amon-thon to seek an elven escort.
"Everybody has a price. Even the elves." the injured archer cackled.
"Keep your mouth shut," Radnor said, stopping the archer's snicker with a knife stare. The leader turned to Thranduil. Radnor grabbed Thranduil's face, his ragged and dirty nails digging into the sensitive area just below Thranduil's neck. "If you want to keep your pretty face, boy, keep your mouth shut." He turned to others, "Spread out and look for the cliff. Keep in sight of each other."
Except for the injured archer, the men moved away. The injured archer scoffed, but took out his bow and strung it, threading it with an arrow.
"I'm going to make you pay for what you did to my leg, elf," the archer said to Thranduil, then eyed the others as they went deeper into the forest. "We only need you alive, that is what Radnor said."
"So what? You are going to shoot me while others are away? Have me carried to the boat? Go ahead. I am not exactly light. I am sure your friends will thank you for the extra work."
Even as Thranduil said the words, he folded his right leg closer to his bound hands. Because Thranduil had no weapons in his hands, the men had not searched him. Thranduil swiped at his knee as if he was satisfying an itch, his eyes on the archer as he played with his arrow.
"I see the river," Wyman called down from his tree just then. "We are close to the hillside where we came up." Thranduil could hear the relief in his voice.
The injured archer gave Thranduil a nasty chuckle. "You lucky Wyman found a way, 'cause if he didn't, I would have made sure you talked." He grabbed one of the fallen branches, and using it as a crutch, got up and stepped away, his back to Thranduil.
Thranduil reached for the dagger in his boots and slipped it into the pocket built behind his belt when the rope bounding him slackened around him.
"Don't turn and don't move," a familiar voice whispered from behind him.
"Are you out of your mind?" Thranduil gritted his teeth to prevent himself from cursing out loud. He glanced at the injured archer whose attention was fixed on the tree where Wyman was.
"When no one is looking," she whispered. "Move behind the tree."
Does she think I'm stupid? He didn't need a direction from her, but Thranduil stayed quiet until the injured archer stepped further away from him.
"I see Eddun coming up the river, bringing the lads from the boat," the archer shouted from the tree.
"Good. He must've gotten tired of wait'in. He's good for someth'in, at least. Come back down. We'll meet him halfway."
Thranduil fisted his hands. He had hoped to get more information from these men, but he realized waiting would not do at all. When he was certain no eyes were on him, Thranduil pulled away from the loose rope, flattened himself as close to the tree as possible, then slipped behind the tree.
He almost ran over the girl who was crouched behind the tree, only half visible under her gray hood.
"You shouldn't' be here," Thranduil hissed.
"Says the elf who is captured and bound," the girl said, her head held stiffly. "No need to thank me. Of course, you know better than us Silvans."
"You have no idea, so do not go there, little girl. This way," Thranduil led the way toward a thick cluster of trees, staying low to the ground.
"Do you really know where you are going?" The girl whispered behind him.
"I know enough."
"The elf, he's gone!" someone shouted from behind them when they had gone barely several feet. The Elves bolted into the woods.
"Let me remind you, Master I-know-all, I am Silvan and know this forest better than you." The girl grabbed Thranduil's hand, then sprang forward.
Twilight settled among the branches as the sun dipped toward the west. And while the undergrowth was not abundant like in other forests, the ground was littered with branches, bushes, and occasional rocks. All of them made running through the forest difficult, even for the two light-footed elves.
Despite that, the girl dashed, jumping over rocks, and sliding under fallen trees, nimble as a fox in a forest. Through it all, she did not slack her hold on Thranduil's hand.
But she must have forgotten that he was almost twice her size. Thranduil kept close to the young elleth's heels, avoiding as best he could the thorny fingers that groped and slashed at his tunic and hair. It was only when he had difficulty fitting under the tight space between the fallen tree and a boulder, she let go so he can climb over, rather than slide under, the tree.
The land pitched steeply and the lines of trees thinned, providing a clear view down a steep slope.
"We shouldn't go this way," Thranduil shouted to the girl running ahead of him, but before he could stop her, she sped down the steep incline. Thranduil slowed to glance back at the men chasing him, then followed the girl.
Midway to the bottom of the hill, the girl stopped. A group of four men sauntered up from the bottom of the hill. Thranduil glanced back and found the men chasing after them had reached the top of the hill, looking down at them, breathing like wild hogs.
"Stop them, Eddun!" hollered the big man from the top of the hill. The four men coming up stopped, then immediately spread out in front of the elves.
Thranduil turned back to eye the men on the top of the hill and saw the archer preparing to release his arrow.
Thranduil grabbed the girl and slid behind the nearest tree.
"Why are there so many men in the forest?" The girl's eyes were dark as she pulled at her lips.
"You see now why I didn't want you anywhere near me?"
"I heard men are slow." Fear filled the girl's eyes. "If… if we keep running, maybe we could lose them."
"They may be slower, but there are four more now and we are surrounded. We need to assess where we are and where we are going."
Thranduil looked out of the bush and scanned the area. The men at the top of the hill were coming down slowly, fanning out in a wide semi-circle to block any escape. The newcomers mirrored the men coming down the hill. Thranduil realized these men would not give up easily. Thranduil's heart pumped faster.
The cliffs ran south of them and the men on the hill were on the west and the men coming up the steep hill were on the east. That left only the north, toward the mountain. But the side of the mountain facing the two elves was steep and rocky. Climbing them would not only slow them, but it would also expose them to the archer.
"We have you cornered, boy. Give up."
The Radnor's men were now only a few feet from the elves, while the others coming up the hill were no further away.
"Well, for a Silvan who knows this forest so well, you don't know much, do you?"
"Please, be my guest, Master I-know-all." The fear in the girl's eyes burned away, replaced by a flaming light. "Show me how well you know," said the girl.
Men tightened their circle around the tree where the two elves hid when an owl hooted from the direction of the mountain.
Thranduil looked up and found his annoying neighbor, sitting on a branch of one of the rare few birch trees in the forest. The bird's silver-white feathers almost disappeared into the gray and black colors of the birch, making the big bird look as if it was a part of the tree. If it wasn't for the owl's call, Thranduil would not have seen it.
The owl was laughing at his predicament but offering a way out.
"It is good that it will be dark soon. Men cannot see well under the lights of the stars alone. Take a breath and we'll make a run for it."
"To where?"
"To that birch tree over there." Thranduil pointed to the tree where the owl sat watching them. "What's in that direction?"
The girl's eyes widened as she turned to the tree. "We are not allowed to go there," the girl said, then swallowed. "Is that—"
"What do you mean by 'not allowed'?"
"No. You can't go there. It's… It's a sacred place… for our people. Not anyone could go there. You have to be invited."
"Well, I think we are invited." Thranduil looked at the girl. "When I say 'run,' you run and follow the owl."
"But—"
"Trust me. I know what I am doing."
The girl frowned. Perhaps she noticed they had little choice; the girl looked up with resignation on her face.
"But that man—" She pointed to Radnor who stood near the birch tree, his ax in his hand as other men came towards them, their arms spread out wide to lessen the space between them. Only a few feet of gap existed between the men now.
"Run toward him." Thranduil met the girl's eyes. "He is dangerous but heavy and slow."
She hesitated again, but nodded.
There was no more time to talk. The men were only a few strides away.
"You wretched boy," Radnor stood back near the birch tree and shook his head as the others tightened their net around the elves. "You should not have run, boy," said the big man. "I warned you what I would do if you make this hard for us. Now you'll get to see how I am when I'm angered, and you won't like it."
Thranduil took out the dagger he hid in his belt. When the archer moved out of the tree to aim his bow, Thranduil threw his dagger at the archer. Wyman screamed, dropping his bow as the dagger tore through his hand. Thranduil rushed toward the man nearest to him.
"Run!"
Thranduil leaped into the air to smash his fist, then his knee into the man to knock him down, opening up the space for the girl. The young woman ran straight toward Radnor, and Thranduil followed.
Radnor planted his feet firmly into the ground, flourishing his ax when he saw them coming at him. But just as they reached him, they split, running around the big man, and followed the owl as it took flight.
Thranduil heard the clamor of the men behind them, but he and the girl did not stop until they came to a rocky cliff. It was a deep canyon, but Thranduil could not see the bottom. The darkness descended into the canyon like a thick fog, spreading through the forest, swallowing everything except for the clamor of the men behind them.
The owl circled their heads, then plunged into the canyon.
"Are you mad, you crazy bird? We don't have wings like you." Thranduil raised his fist, but the owl chuckled as it disappeared into the darkness below.
Thranduil glanced at the girl next to him. The stars were out above them and despite the darkness, he could see her clearly as the starlight outlined her face.
"That crazy bird wants us to jump. I should have known better to trust that lump of feathers."
"Don't speak ill of him. He is Mother's messenger. He would not harm us."
"That's because you do not know what it is capable of."
"But I think he was trying to lead us into the Sacred Grove. It is somewhere here."
"You don't know?"
"We are not allowed to go near it. I told you, you must be invited. We all just know whereabout it is."
"More reason not to follow that crazy bird."
The girl looked up at him. "I think this is just a test of faith. My grandfather told me we cannot enter the Sacred Grove unless we are tested."
"What kind of test?"
"Not sure, really. It is a matter of faith. Sometimes, we have to just trust and have faith even when things look dark."
"I don't believe in blind trust."
"Then trust me as I trusted you."
Thranduil scanned the forest behind him. Surprisingly, the sound of the men was fading. He turned back to the girl.
"I don't even know you." Thranduil frowned down at the girl.
"Neither do I know you." The light of the stars was on her eyes as she looked up at him. Her voice was steady as if she was no longer afraid. "But I knew you would not place me in danger, that you would do your best to protect me."
"That is because I am trained as a warrior. That is my duty. But who knows what you are."
The girl's face contorted as the starlight left her eyes. "Oh. You are terrible. You really are." She stepped away. "Do what you wish, then. I don't care."
"Wait. We might not have the need to jump." Thranduil turned back to the line of trees. "I think the men are moving away from us." He glanced back at the girl. She had moved to the edge of the cliff.
Suddenly, she squared her shoulders, marched back to him. She kicked him in the shin so suddenly and unexpectedly, he did not see it coming.
"What the hell are you doing?" Thranduil rubbed at the sore spot.
She made a face, stuck out her tongue, then jumped into the blackness before he could stop her.
Thranduil looked down into the dark depth, dumbstruck.
"What is wrong with this girl? What a child."
He leaned into the darkness below, straining to hear what little sound he could. He did not hear any sound of distress. Perhaps they were not that high up, and she was fine. She walked away and was on her way back home.
Thranduil shook his head, then turned back to the forest. The forest was silent. Perhaps men were lost in the darkness. He could now slip past them. He could climb a tree and spend a night there until the moon comes out, then find his way back to his father's camp. He didn't know the way, but he had the trees and the birds in the forest to help him.
Thranduil surveyed the forest once again, then turned back to the cliff. She was fine. If not, she would have screamed or something. For a slight thing that she was, she had a fire inside her.
He turned to walk back into the forest.
But what if the girl was hurt, her bones broken and bleeding, needing immediate medical attention?
"Hey, you!" He called down into the darkness. "Are you down there?" Only silence answered. "Little girl!" He callout out louder, realizing he did not know her name.
"Dammit!" Thranduil raked his head. Frustration bubbled up inside him.
It was too dark to find materials to make a rope. And even if he had one, he did not know how deep the canyon was. He stood at the edge of the cliff. Everything ahead of him was filled with darkness. Was this really a test? He hated this type of test where it was difficult to assess the success or the failure of it. And with his luck, he doubted he could survive this without losing something he did not want to lose.
"Damn the girl." Thranduil took a deep breath, then jumped into the blackness.
A/N: Happy Holidays to everyone. Just a quick thank you to everyone who read my little story and for all of you who have given me comments, likes and favorites. Thank you so much. I have been averaging a chapter every other week for a while-life being busy as is. Hopefully, I can return to a chapter a week pattern in the coming New Year. Stay healthy everyone.