Chapter 20 - It Begins
"The Three Warriors"
"What's wrong with the horses?" Jocelyn asked innocently, seeing their upset. Arwen jumped up immediately, upon noticing the animals' behavior. Leyna followed quickly, scanning the forest uneasily. Jocelyn stood slowly, straining her ears to hear what Arwen had. There was creaking of what sounded like metal armor, and sword against chain mail.
"Take the horses and ride to the palace as fast as you can." Arwen commanded, in a low tone. Leyna started inching toward the horses, keeping her eyes to the forest in front of her. But before she could reach them, an arrow was heard whizzing past. Thankfully, whoever shot it was not a very good aim. It stuck in the tree that the horses were tied to. The twins looked aghast at the arrow.
But the sound of orc battle cries and hard footsteps near to them drew their attention back to the forest. There were fifteen of them, Leyna counted quickly. All with heavy war swords, charging at them. Arwen pulled two small daggers from her boot and spun beneath the swing of one's blade, driving both daggers into its abdomen.
Arwen could not kill fourteen more well armed, large orcs with her two small knives. This Leyna knew. So, without thinking, she bounded to the fallen orc and pulled its heavy sword from its death clutch. The other fourteen attackers were closing in quickly, and Leyna recalled her swordsmanship lessons as she charged.
Jocelyn had no weapon, and she was terrified. As she watched Leyna and Arwen, she ducked behind a tree. She knew she could not fight unarmed, but she also knew she could not run and leave her friend and her sister to these foul creatures. She had to do something to help. But first, she untied the horses' reins from the branch. They had been neighing and stomping, whinnying madly. Maybe if they ran back to the palace, someone would see where they came from and come to help.
Leyna had taken down another orc, and Arwen was currently fending off two simultaneously. Jocelyn swallowed hard and slinked from tree to tree, trying to stay hidden as she crept toward the dead orc's sword. Quickly, she reached up from the safety of the ditch and pulled it down to her. Grasping it tightly, she said a little prayer and stood, running up to the road.
She thought about Legolas and Tyron fighting the orcs in the forest, what seemed so long ago, and Arwen and Leyna in her mind. Recalling how she saw them move. She sliced one's stomach deeply, and cut one's head clean off its shoulders. Black blood ran down from the blade onto her hands. Jocelyn looked at it in amazement. She couldn't believe she was fighting like that!
Arwen was a blur of cloth and raven hair as she spun and attacked. There were nine left. Jocelyn glanced around for Leyna, and saw her knock the sword from the orc's hand. But before she could draw back to strike, the orc swung his hand and hit her across the face. Her sword dropped, and she rolled down into the ditch under the ferns.
Jocelyn's eyes grew wide with fury. The orc was advancing on her sister. She drew her sword back and ran at it from behind, cleaving a hefty slice in its back. It fell onto its face, black blood pouring around it. A new wave of energy burned in Jocelyn's body. She spun around and yelled a fierce battle cry, charging right into the middle of the seven orcs that were left. No thoughts made its way to her mind except that she had a challenge in front of her, and she was going to defeat it.
In two swift strokes, she downed two orcs. Blood streamed from one's headless neck, blinding Jocelyn's vision. With one arm, she wiped the black sticky substance from her face, only to see an enemy charging at her, sword held back to strike. She ducked under the swooping blade, and drove her own through its stomach.
The four that were left backed away from the two women. The light in the brunette's eyes unnerved them. And the other elleth was strong, with great skill.
"Don't let them escape!" Arwen yelled as the orcs turned around to run. Thankfully, the large creatures were not as fast as the Elf. Arwen sliced at one's legs, and standing over his fallen form, drove her daggers through his neck. Jocelyn, with half Elvish blood in her as well, quickly overtook one, and drove her heavy orc sword through its back. It became obvious to the other two foes that running would do no good. So, they turned and readied themselves to fight.
Jocelyn absolutely looked a fright. Black orc blood smeared her face and matted the hair she pushed away from her eyes. Her green eyes were wide and full of fury. She gritted her teeth, and her lip curled back in a snarl. One orc was larger than the other, and it stood in front of Arwen. The smaller one stabbed at Jocelyn, who jumped back each time. She finally blocked his sword, and as he was regaining his balance, cut off the arm he held the weapon in. He looked down at his stump, and frightfully back to Jocelyn. Before he could run, which she knew he would do, she hacked at one of his legs. He fell to the ground, and she drove her sword into his neck.
By then, her arms were very tired from lifting the heavy orc blade, and her muscles burned, screaming for oxygen and rest. She looked to Arwen, who was fending off the attacks of the larger orc. But her small daggers were no match for his large sword. He sliced her hand, causing her to drop one knife, and knocked the other out of her hand. She looked around desperately for a weapon. But no weapons were in clear view for her. Arwen backed up slowly, but caught her foot on a root across the path, falling onto her back.
The orc hissed laughter, and stepped toward her. She crawled backwards, but he took one large step and his large, metal shoed feet pinned her knees together, so she could not kick him off. He raised his sword, pointed down, to drive through her thin Elven body. She said something softly in Elvish, and covered her face with her arms, expecting the pain through her chest.
But it never came. She slowly and warily removed her arms from her face to see the orc still standing above her, sword above his head ready to strike. But the evil smile on his face was replaced with a look of bewilderment. He dropped to his knees, straddling her stomach, and fell off to the side to reveal an orc sword protruding from his back. Arwen pushed him the rest of the way off her, and scooted away. She looked up to see Jocelyn standing above her now, looking very flushed and staring angrily at the orc's body.
"Jocelyn?" Arwen whispered, and the half Elf looked to her friend, her expression softening.
"Arwen are you alright?" Jocelyn kneeled beside her, observing the cut on her shoulder.
"Yes, fine. You? Where is Leyna?" Arwen asked two questions in a row.
Jocelyn did not answer either of them. She stood and rushed back to the site of the original battle, and waded through the ferns in the ditch to find her sister's unconscious body.
"Leyna. Leyna wake up." She shook her gently, and her sister groaned. Her eyes fluttered open to see Jocelyn's frightening appearance close to her face. She started and tried writhing out of her grasp.
"It's okay Leyna. It's me. They've all gone." She cooed, and Leyna sat up.
"Are you alright? Arwen?" Leyna called for the Lady, who appeared on the road above them.
"Hurry. There will be more. We must get to the palace." Arwen said, and started off down the path. Jocelyn helped Leyna up and half carried her through the forest back to the palace.
Arwen, frustrated with how slow Leyna was limping, rushed back and helped Jocelyn carry her. Once they reached the backyard of the palace, they started shouting. Several soldiers were immediately at their sides.
"Fifteen orcs close in the forest. More will come." It was all Arwen had to say. One soldier ran off to inform the King, and one took Leyna in his arms to the infirmary. They would have insisted the other two to go as well, but for the fierce look of them.
They ran inside the palace after the one soldier, and arrived in the study just as he'd relayed the information to King Thranduil.
"What! How close?" He boomed. Arwen answered instead.
"Very close. Not a half mile."
"Arwen!" Elrond exclaimed upon seeing his daughter. Neither of the female warriors had noticed any others in the room. Jocelyn now looked around. Thranduil, Elrond, and Legolas as well sat in the study. Probably still talking business, as they were when the girls left for their peaceful picnic ride. Legolas's mouth was agape, staring at his wife, whom he could barely recognize. Not only because of the orc blood and dirt on her face and matting her hair, but for the vicious look she still held in her eyes. He rushed to her, after getting past his initial shock.
Then, everyone started talking at once. Thranduil was shouting for a servant to fetch him the captain of the army from the gate, Elrond was asking Arwen if she was alright, and berating her for being careless, though it was not her fault. Legolas asked Jocelyn if she was hurt over and over again, as if she was lying to him, or would change her mind if he asked once more.
"No, I'm fine. I'm okay. No, Legolas. I'm not hurt. Legolas I am Fine!" She finally shouted, and the room quieted. "Leyna was also there. She is in the infirmary now." Legolas's eyes widened. "But she'll be okay."
"Gandalf was right." Elrond breathed, amazed.
"Right about what?" Arwen asked her father.
"He warmed me about an attack on Mirkwood. He knew how serious it would be. If only I had listened. I could have brought aid." He seemed very distressed.
"How do you know more will come? How do you know it will be such a serious attack?" Legolas questioned.
Amarthel no longer bothered to shield himself from Elrond's vision. He did not guess that Elrond would have reason to direct his attention toward the Forest. So the Lord of Rivendell saw. He saw everything. The mass that was coming to overthrow Mirkwood, the creatures he'd captured to aid his conquest, and weapons they'd forged in the Grey Lands all the years he'd been exiled.
"I see it. An Elf, just like Mithrandir said. An Elf with white eyes leads thousands of orcs to overthrow the palace. He will take Mirkwood. Oohh..." He breathed, as he looked into space, seemingly at nothing. "A Morambar. They have a Morambar of Fangorn."
The room, save Jocelyn, simultaneously gasped. Thranduil's face expressed sheer amazement and terror. But not because of the Morambar, as the others feared. But because of the Elf's white eyes. He only knew of one Elf with white eyes. Amarthel. Now he understood. His mind was reeling as the captain of the Mirkwood soldiers entered.
"Sire, what is the emergency?" He asked, bowing in front of the King, ignoring all others in the room. Thranduil did not answer, and Legolas looked to his father.
"Legolas, do you remember Amarthel?" He breathed, and Legolas furrowed his brow.
"The Elf that killed those four healers, yes. I remember. Why?"
"It is he. He leads the orcs against us. He has the power to control them. And to capture a Morambar of Fangorn." Thranduil realized his great folly in forgetting about the treacherous Elf. Elrond knew of the murders, and told Arwen of them. Jocelyn was the only one left in the dark.
"Who is Amarthel?" She finally asked, exasperated and confused. That name seemed to strike a significant amount of fear into the room.
"He was an Elf in the army." Thranduil began. "Very brave, won great honors in battle. But he always wanted more. More Elves to honor and respect him. To fear him. I discharged him from the army for assaulting an Elf under his command. I did not see him for years after that. He may have been traveling, he may have just locked himself in his home. No one saw him.
"Then one night, he killed four healers from our healing house. But he did not just kill them. He drained the very life from them. Because of his evil touch, the healers were damned to live even in death, and serve him. Their bodies disappeared later that night. Amarthel took their healing powers, but in him, his very soul and core was so evil, the healing powers used for good, were turned dark and harmful. I witnessed the power he acquired that night. As did Mithrandir. He threw two guards ten feet with just a flip of a wrist. He survived an arrow through his chest." Thranduil whispered. The room was silent for a moment, contemplating their doomed fates.
"What shall you have me do, sire?" The Captain asked again.
"Put archers on the roof of the palace, they will attack from behind. Send some out into the forest to the South, West, and East. I do not want to be surrounded. Put your company in the backyard. Hurry. I do not know how soon they will come." The Captain was gone quickly, and preparations were started.
The Elves in the room scattered to various tasks, leaving the King in the all too quiet study alone. Wind whistled outside the balcony, and the sounds of oblivious nature and common Elves going about their cheerful, daily business in the marketplace clashed with the sinister and imminent fear struck into Thranduil's mind and that hung palpable in the atmosphere of the room.
"So it begins." He mumbled to himself.
Ms. Unknown, Dee69, LittleCrazy1
Nessa - Of course I wouldn't kill the poor innocent horses! What do you think I am? A monster?
Feathers of Snow: Honey pot - Thank you much! I'm glad you took the time to read both the Jocelyn stories from the very beginning. I look forward to hearing from you very soon!
Orlando's Hot Chick - You can have the picture when you pry it from my cold, lifeless fingers. Lol! I love that picture! And you already love me forever (right??), so what difference would giving you the picture make? ; )
Artria - Lol, the twins and Arwen took a 'girl's' day. Well, Anna certainly is a girl/woman, but you must admit there are things you can say around your sis/girlfriends that you cannot say around your mother. And Anna should be glad she wasn't invited. It turned out to be a rough day for the girls. So much for their peaceful picnic.
Yep, that bro o mine, he's pretty grand, getting me that picture. Orlando's signature is so nice and neat and legible...and then there's Johnny's all crazy and swirly.
-Austin B.