When the Snow Falls Red
Chapter 8: Valandil's Discovery
Don't own.
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Elerossë reached his three companions who were waiting for him in the depths of the forest. An elf with long, black hair and dark eyes stood up from the ground who were all huddled around the small fire. His name was Saeros. He was the one who actually shot Legolas.
"Well?" He asked Elerossë as the elf approached. The remaining two turned their eyes to the elf who had returned. One had light brown hair and green eyes and was called Daeron, while the other who had darker brown hair and hazel eyes was called Fëanor.
Elerossë smiled. "If all went well, then the princess will not have long to live." He laughed. His companions laughed.
"Did you leave the blood?" Daeron asked. Elerossë nodded. "Good."
-- -- -- --
Lólindir turned from the window and ran to the door. He knocked three times and was almost breaking the doorknob, waiting for the door to be opened. Finally, it was, and the young healer flew out of the room and raced down the hall.
As he rounded a corner, he ran smack into a larger elf than he. From the ground, he looked up at the King's advisor, Valandil. His dark hair and strange green-brown eyes stared down at the healer. "May I inquire as to why you are running through the halls of the palace, young one?" Valandil asked, holding out a hand to the fallen elf.
Lólindir took his hand and climbed to his feet. "Please sir you must help me something happened in Prince Legolas's room the window is open and the bed sheets are taken from the bed and when I looked out of the window I saw him lying in the snow below the window I think he might be seriously hurt!" The young healer said all this in such rapid succession that Valandil hardly caught a word of it. Lólindir's voice was dry and crackly, obvious that he had not spoken in some time.
The advisor placed his slender hands on Lólindir's shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Now tell me, slower, what happened." Lólindir didn't wait to tell him again. He merely grabbed the advisor's hand and pulled him through the halls. They reached the door to Legolas's room, and the guards unlocked the door.
"That's useless you fools!" Lólindir cried, pulling Valandil through the doorway and into the room. Surprised at this sudden outburst from the infamous silent healer elf, the guards looked into the room, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was making him so excited.
Lólindir brought Valandil to the window and the elder elf looked out the window. Sure enough, Legolas was lying in the snow below the window, the bed sheets lying near him. He had tried to escape. Valandil knew what happened to Náessë, and he personally did not believe that it was Legolas who tried to kill Náessë.
Never-the-less, the prince was probably hurt, and something had to be done. He looked to Lólindir. "Please go ahead to Órelindë and inform her of what happened. I will go to the prince." Valandil said. Lólindir nodded and ran from the room.
Valandil watched him go. He thought it strange that it took an event such as this to bring the elf out of his silence.
Suddenly remembering that his prince was lying in the snow, Valandil rushed from the room, his long robes flying out behind him as he ran.
-- -- -- --
When the advisor reached the fallen prince, he kneeled down beside him and turned his face upwards. There was dried blood under his nose. He had a wound somewhere, for there was blood soaked into the snow around him. It was obvious that the cold was getting to him, for there was a blue tinge on his lips.
Moving from Legolas, he picked up the bed sheets. They were tied together. That's how he tired to escape. But why? Why did Legolas try to get out of the palace using the bed sheets. That's when something else caught his eye. He turned and saw the other spot of blood in the snow. He moved to it, and looked down. Had he not been an elf, he would have not see the very faint footprints in the snow that led away to the forest. Curious.
-- -- -- --
Lólindir ran through the halls, and he finally made it to the Hall of Healing. He pushed open the heavy wooden door and stumbled into the room. By that time, Aranel and Thranduil had awoken. Obviously the tea had not been strong enough, and Órelindë was received the lecture about drugging the king and the crowned prince. Not that she was paying any attention to Thranduil. She was busy dressing Náessë's wounds.
"Órelindë!" Lólindir called out. All eyes in the room turned and looked at him. Órelindë stared at him, her eyes wide.
"Did you... just... speak?" She asked, clearly stunned. Lólindir nodded.
"Please come! Legolas has fallen out of the window in his room. I fear he may be hurt. There is blood!" Lólindir cried in one breath. Órelindë nodded. Thranduil and Aranel gasped at this news, and they rushed from the room. Órelindë went to a room that was connected to the Hall of Healing and found another novice healer. Her name was Uruviel.
"Uruviel, please stay with Náessë. In case she wakes, speak to her softly, and give her this." Órelindë said, holding out a cup to the novice, then turning and following Lólindir from the room. Uruviel moved to the Princess's side. The novice's blond hair fell over her shoulders as she looked upon the beautiful face of the Princess of Mirkwood. She always admired her, and was pleased at the chance to tend to her.
-- -- -- --
Soon, there was a large congregation of elves standing around the spot where Legolas had fallen. When Thranduil and Aranel reached there, they both took off what they could and used them to cover the prince. Valandil had left the spot and was following the very faint footsteps into the forest. Neither Thranduil nor Aranel could figure out where the blood was coming from.
Moments later, Órelindë and Lólindir arrived on the scene. Órelindë pulled the prince into her arms, and her hand felt the sticky blood coming from his back. She pulled him upon his side, and Lólindir looked. There was a deep cut on his back. Lólindir searched the place where he fell. There was an inconvenient rock placed on the ground just below the window, and he had landed on it after he fell.
As time passed and Órelindë and Lólindir continued to examine Legolas in the snow, more and more elves came around, watching, wondering what was going on. It wasn't until Thranduil held up his hands, commanding them all to go home, or return to their duties. He promised he would explain everything in due time. The elves moved away, grumbling to themselves.
Órelindë finally decided to bring Legolas into the Hall of Healing. Between her and Lólindir, they carried him into the Hall of Healing. Thranduil and Aranel were close behind.
-- -- -- --
Valandil found it more and more difficult to see the faint footprints as the light in the forest was fading and the wind was blowing the loose top snow away and removing the footprints from existence.
Very soon, his sensitive elf ears picked up laughter. He narrowed his eyes and moved quietly and smoothly in the direction of the laughter.
As he grew closer, he made out a small fire, with four figures sitting around it, laughing. He hid behind a tree and watched them for some time. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. They were the ones that had plotted to kill the princess. They were the ones who destroyed Legolas's room and the Hall of Healing. They were the ones who tried to kill Finwë. And they were the ones who shot Legolas in the first place.
They were the four escaped elves!
-- -- -- --
Uruviel looked up from her charge as the door burst open once more and Órelindë and Lólindir rushed in, carrying the prince. They laid him on one of the beds, keeping him on his stomach. It was then that she noticed the large, deep wound in his back. She gasped.
She continued to watch until she heard something. She looked down and saw that Náessë was waking up. She spoke in low tones to the Princess. "Do not worry, your highness. My name is Uruviel. I'm here to help." She said. Náessë smiled faintly up at the novice healer. Uruviel held out the cup to the princess, and she gingerly took it in her hands. Uruviel noticed how unsteady her hands were, especially since the shoulder of one of them was wounded, so she helped her drink the tea.
Náessë then began to speak, but Uruviel could barely hear. She leaned down closer.
"What did you say, your highness?"
"What is going on?" She asked in a voice that was quiet, even for the hearing of an elf.
"I'm not sure, Princess, but they brought in the prince, and he has a large wound in his back. I regret to say I do not know what happened." She replied. Náessë made an attempt to rise into a sitting position, but the action sent waves of pain through her body. Uruviel quickly pushed her back down, gently, and laid her back into the pillows. "Do not more, your highness. Your wounds will take some time to heal." Uruviel watched as Náessë's eyes slowly closed. She smiled, then left her for a moment, going to the room where she spent most of her time. It was a large room with the walls lined with books. She picked up the one she had been reading when Órelindë called her to the Hall. She brought it back into the Hall and opened it, half reading, half watching what was going on with Legolas.
-- -- -- --
Órelindë carefully took of Legolas's tunic and was able to see the wound much better. It was indeed deep. The blood was still spilling from it. She carefully took the special herb mixture from Lólindir and applied it gently to the wound. Lólindir came with a warm, wet towel and handed it to his master. Órelindë pressed the wound gently, trying to stop the bleeding. While that was being done, Lólindir gathered the necessary tools to stitch and bandage the wound.
-- -- -- --
Thranduil and Aranel had once again been left out of everything. They paced nervously outside the Hall of Healing, waiting for Órelindë to let them back in to see the two fallen members of their family.
"Ada, I think we were wrong." Aranel commented softly as they passed each other in their pacing. Thranduil stopped and looked at his son.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"I don't think Legolas was the one who tried to kill Náessë. Don't you remember? His arrows were stolen. Anyone could have done it. Besides, Legolas loves Náessë too much to hurt her." Aranel said, looking at his father in the eye.
Thranduil thought about this and realized it could be true. His son would never hurt Náessë, ever. The gentle Princess would never do anything to anger someone, so no one would have a reason to kill her.
"I fear we have made a grave mistake, ion-nin." Thranduil said. Aranel nodded, and he leaned against the wall, covering his face with his hands.
"I made the worst mistake of all!" he cried. Thranduil looked at him, waiting to find out what this mistake was. "I attacked my own brother."
"Aranel, under great stress and anger, everyone does things that they do not mean. I myself have done it before, if you can believe it." Thranduil said. Aranel looked up at his father, wiping away the few stray tears.
"You're joking right?" He asked. Thranduil looked at his son innocently.
"What?" Aranel shook his head.
"Nothing Ada." He said.
-- -- -- --
So I decided to stop this one on a slightly happier note. As for the last few lines, I think avid LOTR fanfiction readers will noticed that Thranduil commonly has a very outspoken and sometimes angry personality. I just thought it was funny to put that there.
I hope you enjoy this so far. This chapter wasn't the greatest in my opinion, but hopefully it will get better as it goes. Bare with me!
Reviewers (this is a combo of the reviewers from chapters 6 & 7):
Deana: Is this soon enough for you? Hehe.
Beling2: Wow. Thanks for reading all of the chapters at once! I feel special. I don't know if her name means anything special. That's the way her name was spelled when I found it. –shrugs-
leggylover4ever: Also, thank you for reading all the chapters in one day! Wee specialness! And indeed, sometimes Thranduil, and I'm assuming Aranel were too quick to jump to conclusions. Although, you know what assuming does...
Kelsey: That's a good thought. I never really thought about why the guards wanted blood. Hmm.. that's something to think about. It's part of the plot so it's kinda important, don't you think? Hehe.
KissTheRainGirl12489: Don't sound so devastated that he fell from a window. Haha... I sensed a bit of sarcasm maybe? And yes, Lólindir talked. Scary huh?
Later all-
Blue September Rain