Chapter 6
Vitralth was sad to leave, and Fiamma could feel it. Though the horse traveled at the front of the group, his steps seemed labored. Trying to get over the heaviness in his heart and the sense that he should be going back, Vitralth kicked his horse forward. Startled, Fiamma threw up his head and reared, his hooves reaching high into the sky. Alakhloke, Vitralth's trusty blonde, blue-eyed friend, cried out from his place on his gray stallion Celelosse. "What's your problem? Fiamma has never needed any encouragement!"
Vitralth lowered his head sheepishly and reached down to rub his horse. "He just feels what I feel." Alakhloke looked at him curiously, but Vitralth turned away and started off again.
The horses cantered through the woods by the twisting trails with dense trees. After many hours, the few men in the group grew weary, their horses started lagging behind. Though the horses were bred in Rohan and some of the best, they didn't have the Elven touch the others had and couldn't go on for days at a steady pace. Everyone halted, making camp for the night. Vitralth looked at the setting sun on the right of their direction, watching the red glow fade underneath the forest. He sat beneath a tree and fell into elvish-dreams.
Tinfea was kept in the middle of the ten elves surrounding her. Her thoughts always moved back to Vitralth and his short kiss. Why did he do that? And why did I run away, it felt…right? Mithril tossed her head, wanting to be away from these other horses, running as she had always done. Tinfea knew that it was because she was a lady and incapable of taking care of herself. Glaring at all around her, she felt a wary sensation overtake her. Thinking automatically of her quest, her sharp eyes picked out shadows where no shadows should be.
"Alert!" she yelled, quickly drawing an arrow to her bow and shooting it through a shape. It immediately died, thankfully, for they had no esiltrith to defend against others. The elves brought out bows and knives, cutting down many of them. One elf screamed, a shadow was suffocating him. Tinfea eyed her target and shot an arrow through the darkness, missing him by a hairsbreadth. The rest of the shapes drifted over the ground in the opposite direction. They rested the horses for a minute, their limbs gently quaking.
"Very well done," Quithno told Tinfea. She smiled at him mockingly, for he hadn't thought she was capable of fighting when they first met. Tinfea blinked, shook her head, and motioned for them to move off. The horses loped along for hours at a slow, steady pace. Mithril stuck out like a ruby among diamonds, all the others were white.
They went directly west, the trees were thinning until they were trotting across a plain. Tinfea heard the rushing of a river in the distance, the river Anduin. Finally, it grew very dark, no one would be able to see their horse if it were not for their bright, unearthly color. The only light came faintly from Tinfea's necklace, which hung around her neck. But they kept going, wanting to get to Rivendell as soon as possible without any meetings with the shadows killed only by esiltrith. They arrived at the banks of the river and decided to stay the night there, if only for the sake of the horses, not being able to find a safe crossing in the darkness. All of the elves lay down, but each was awake and alert. Not needing sleep, they went into a dream. Without warning, a horse screamed and everyone jumped up. The shadows were back, and this time no weapon could cut into them.
After two more days of endless trees, grassy hills could be seen through the trees. The men in the group were relieved; they had seen enough of the towering branches. Edoras was the first stop, sitting roughly three days ahead, depending on the strength of the men and their horses. A strange feeling of fear came into his heart. From the back of the pack, a strangled shout was released. Vitralth turned around speedily and saw a black shadow in the face of one of the men. The others just watched, nothing could be done, for if they tried to cut down the shadow they would most likely cut down the man.
He fell off his horse, which trotted away then turned to look at his master, who was still. Vitralth noticed that everybody just sat there staring, so he got off Fiamma and checked out the body. The shadow had left after doing its deed. The only sign of him being dead was the lack of breath. No mark was on him, except for a faint gray dust over his face, which when rubbed off left a gray tinge to his skin.
The men stacked rocks over the body as a memorial. Everyone sat in silence for a moment, remembering what they could about this man. Suddenly, they were surrounded by many shadows. They drew their weapons and waited, knowing what fate lay for them if they did not succeed. A shadow rushed up, cut down by a speedy arrow. The rest surged forward, quicker than the eye could catch. Swords flashed in the sunlight, hitting many of the shapes. But they just kept on; once one was dead ten seemed to replace it. Vitralth noticed the slowing of the people. This usually didn't happen to elves, but the shadows put darkness around them which slowed their steps.
"Retreat!" he called. The men, grateful it seemed, leaped onto their horses who sped away. The shadows did not follow, luckily. The feeling left his heart; he knew it was a warning to the shadows being there. He could not shake the image of their glowing red eyes from his mind and wondered how Tinfea was faring on her journey.
"They won't die!" Quithno shouted.
"Flee, get to the edge of the mountains!" Tinfea advised. Everyone heeded her advice and jumped up onto their horses, who leaped over the river, fear making them stronger. Tinfea hesitated for a second, Quithno with her.
"Go," Tinfea said, "We can't have the future King die."
"I won't leave without you, you cannot stay by yourself."
Tinfea rolled her eyes, all the while looking at the shadows coming ever nearer. "I have the power to defeat them. Please go."
"Alright, but follow once you test out your powers." He spun his horse, Lucidare, who flew over the river and into the darkness. Tinfea turned her attention back to the shadows and, on a whim, tried to use her power. She thought of growing, green things, a gurgling brook, deer bounding through the forest. A spring green light engulfed the nearest shadow. It melted into gray dust. The rest of the shadows pulled back, not understanding what had happened. Tinfea tried directing the light to another shadow. A brighter, darker green light shot towards the shadow. It faded into dust as the other had. Knowing she should only try her power, Tinfea spun Mithril around and over the river. She soon caught up to the others nearing the mountain. The shapes did not follow but faded into the grass.
After an hour of riding, they made it to the edges of the mountains. The pass over would be hard, the elves decided to let the horses free to go their own way. Tinfea looked up to the mountains then behind her, noticing the rising sun. Mithril stood besides her, not listening to the single for her to leave.
"Mithril, I will see you after the mountain at Rivendell. You cannot walk on the snow as elves can. Though your steps are light, they are not light enough. I will see you later," with that she smacked her horse softly on the rump and Mithril trotted off, moving into a gallop to lead the other horses around the Misty Mountains to Rivendell.
"Ready for a long climb?" Quithno asked. She turned her gaze away from the disappearing horses and looked at him.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"I saw the green light coming from you as you faced the shadows. Was that the power?"
She nodded. "The power came when I thought of things in nature: trees, animals, rivers, everything. I just hope this book at Rivendell will help me master the power. Otherwise, this trip would have been for nothing."
"And your reason for leaving Vitralth would not be valid?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tinfea exclaimed.
Quithno eyed her knowingly. Tinfea saw much of Vitralth in his deep green eyes. A smile came to her lips as she remembered him.
Quithno acknowledged her smile and started up the mountain. She followed behind, as the rest of the company did to her. Elrohir jogged up in the front with Quithno. They were discussing what to do to protect the borders and lands around Rivendell. Tinfea looked up at the towering rock, amazed by the great height. She was always in the tallest trees, but thought of what it would be like to be on the highest peak, as Mithrandir had done centuries ago while fighting the Balrog.
They had finally made it to Rohan. Ahead of him, Vitralth noticed a dark cloud passing over the land. He cocked his head and heard a pounding sound coming from that area. The dark cloud was identified as a band of horsemen, moving fast his way.
"Did you notice the dark shapes ahead?" Alakhloke asked. He was one of Vitralth's good friends, though he was a bit more mischievous than a nine hundred year old elf should be.
Vitralth nodded at his friend. "Yes, it is a band of horsemen, Rohan bred if my ears are correct."
"Of course you would know these things. How can you sense so much yet look like you are just sitting there?"
Vitralth's face was blank. "What do you mean, sense things? The hoof beats of Rohan bred horses are longer and sturdier than that of many. Besides, we are in Rohan, so that would be a sensible guess." Alakhloke just stared at him. Suddenly, Vitralth singled Fiamma into a gallop. Startled, the rest of the horses leaped after him gratefully, ready to stretch their legs out after those long days of being kept to a trot. Minutes later, they met with the group of bay and black horses.
"Blaquers, what are you doing here?!" the leader, a light tan man with chestnut brown hair to his shoulders, exclaimed.
The man from Rohan stepped forward, "Erimaon, is that how you greet an old friend?" They moved their horses next to each other and clasped hands.
"Sorry, friend. I wasn't expecting you back for at least a year. Those elves can be catchy, I hear." He glanced around at the rest.
"Good afternoon, heir to the crown of Rohan. I am Vitralth, cousin to the Royal Family in Mirkwood Forest."
"And to you. How is the King Thranduil doing? I hope this new evil has not hurt your beloved forest."
"My forest is fine, though you might not say the same for other dwellings in this Middle Earth. We have news for the Court of your father, King Mellidon."
Erimaon laughed. "Of course you have news for my father. Why else would you approach our land so swiftly? Come, we will ride to Edoras." He spun around his horse. Vitralth moved Fiamma next to him and the rest fanned out behind at a canter. The elves cringed at the sound of the jangling bits.
Alakhloke whispered softly, "We should teach these men the way to ride. The noise they make could announce themselves to an enemy long before they knew there was an enemy."
"If only there was time. This way of riding rarely comes naturally to men." Erimaon heeled his horse into a gallop. Fiamma flattened his ears and moved out without any encouragement from his rider. He lengthened his stride and ran ahead, the wind was blowing through Vitralth's silvery hair. He made no move to slow the horse, so everybody else sped up.
They had to make camp, for the men could not go without rest. Vitralth stroked Fiamma for a few minutes, his thoughts else ware. He was startled at the noise of men snoring. He drew his eyebrows up in amusement, though is face contained no sign of a smile. Looking up at the sky, Vitrath's eyes scanned the bright stars, though a faint shadow passed over them, as if their light could not penetrate the earth. His thoughts, as always, singled on one thing. The kiss. Why did I do that? I knew she didn't feel the same, yet I still kissed her. How much more human-like could I get? He sighed.
The next morning, they left before dawn.
"We will make Edoras by lunch," Erimaon stated while they were mounting. "Men," he addressed his company, "would half of you go to the border near Isengard and Fangorn forest, just to check it out?" They raised their heads at his command, their eyes questioning. He nodded his head, dismissing them. Half of them took off and faded into the mist.
"Let us ride," Vitralth said as he cued Fiamma forward. The horse's smooth canter covered ground quickly. Though he struggled a bit, Erimaon's horse, Galadha, strove to keep his strides as effortless as Fiamma's. After many hours of riding, they finally came in sight of the city.
They slowed to a walk. Erimaon's lips formed into a smile at the sight of the beautiful city.
"Glad to be home?" Vitralth questioned softly. Erimaon glanced at him and nodded.
Vitralth asked his horse to leave. Fiamma nuzzled him affectionately, then took off across the grass. He mingled with a few of the other horses, making friends.
Turning away from his horse, Vitralth followed Alakhloke into the Throne Room. King Mellidon sat there with other men at his sides. One woman stood out among the rest. She had fair skin and light gold hair. Her blue eyes, though without the green, reminded him of Tinfea's. The way the light played over her face transformed the pretty, yet human, face into the, as Vitralth saw it, face of a certain beautiful elf maiden.
A voice penetrated his thoughts. He looked up and saw Erimaon waiting for an answer.
"I am sorry, I did not hear you."
"That's okay. I was just asking you to introduce yourself to my father."
Vitralth bowed to the King. "I am Vitralth, cousin to the Royal family in Mirkwood Forest. I am glad to make the acquaintance of the King."
Mellidon smiled at the elf. "Let me introduce my daughter, Lady Rillia of Rohan." He beckoned to the fair woman. Rillia presented her hand to Vitralth.
"Good afternoon, sir Vitralth. It is a pleasure to meet you." Her sweet voice rang through the hall, seeming to hit each and every corner. Vitralth held her hand and bowed over it. His lips brushed over her warm hand.
"The pleasure is all mine, lady," he said, straightening up. He smiled softly at her.