I CAPTURE THE SUN
Pairings: Buffy/Legolas
Teaser: Buffy ends up in Heaven, which happens to be Middle-Earth. But not everything is as heavenly as it seems as she's come in the middle of a war and finds a piece of Heaven worth fighting for.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Buffy's version of Heaven is Middle-Earth. When she arrives, she is brought to a clan of fighting women. Seeing this as her eternal reward for fighting and killing on Earth, Buffy is only too happy to return to her roots - until she is captured by the Elves and begins to learn there's a whole lot more worth fighting for... in Heaven.
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. The 'Lord of the Rings' book series belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien. The plot is (hopefully) my own.
Timeline: The story is currently set approximately fifty years before the start of the Fellowship. Buffy has been in Middle-earth for roughly twenty-three years.
Gratitudes: I think I may make a habit of this, as I have seen other authors do this. If you find that this disrupts your own system, please let me know.
Mama T – Thank you so much.
zayra – Thank you… it means a lot to have readers like you!
Darknesssoonfollows – Something bad is going to happen, and I shan't spoil anything. I will more than likely add some good "shippy-ness" in, considering that, to this point, there is not much. I could add a little in, though. It would just make things harder as the end comes, however. I cannot promise anything, but there will be some random shippy parts.
Renna – There is some rather heavy drama upcoming, so the romance will be a nice reprieve. It would also be a chance for Buffy to escape what I have come to call the Siri-migraine. Siri causes her own problems and she makes problems for others, but they are all deeply rooted in what she has endured before.
PrecariousPersonata – Thank you, once again, for your longer review! I might just take you up on the offer of exchanging notes, but I daresay you would not find my battle plots and character diagrams of much interest, but I can send you my notes on the Buffy character, or as I know her, and how it fits in with this story. Siri's character is a lot more complicated than I think I realized. She has good qualities in leadership and she shows some poor choices. I feel that her character can only grow stronger without Buffy by her side. Her goal is to get her people home. But… her home is not exactly the home her ancestors left behind. There is a really long story behind it, but it involves one of the high lords of Rohan and a battle with the King of Rohan that kills the King and the lord's sibling gathers his people and flees east. As for your last point, it is one of the things that she and Thranduil will discuss.
Laurie – Many, many thanks, my dear! In answering your question about Buffy's mortality, I will have to say that she is technically dead, yet alive. She is the flesh-and-blood personification of the Wraith. This is her "Heaven", so while she remains dead, her soul still has human form, regaining most of her memories, thoughts and personality. I hope this answers your question, and suffice it to say that I do not believe she would age much. She probably looks around twenty five, despite the fact she would be nearly forty five now.
Jackie – Why, thank you!
FallenStar2 – It is what I hope for.
Sukera – Thank you so much :)
Jack – I cannot see Buffy trusting any of the Elves enough to tell them about her entire past at this point. I would have to say that she will not become this little simpering Barbie doll and am really working hard to ensure that does not happen. There is more to this world for her than just the prospect of romance. The choices she makes she makes for her "people", which I still have to give a name to. Buffy as a "badass" you requested? I cannot promise hardcore behavior, but she certainly isn't going to be all warm and cuddles.
Part Summary: Buffy and Thranduil discuss the past, their present and their respective people's future. Siri, on the way to "rescue" her people's leader, comes across a disturbing rumor that could destroy every hope her people had of ever getting home…
Notes: Going through a few things, I realize now that not many know the setting of Buffy's life in which this takes place. This would take place following Season 5 canon, which would make it my second "Dead Buffy lands in Middle-earth and does not have a clue" fiction, but… there comes a twist in every story and I do plan on keeping to canon. Keep that in mind when you think about what may happen next. This story has grown beyond the fifteen sections I originally planned, and has nearly reached twenty parts. It is nearing completion and I am rather happy in how it has finally turned out. But I have yet to end it.
- - - -
Part VII
- - - -
There was still the sound of Elvish song drifting through the gardens as Buffy followed King Thranduil through the narrow passages between the trees. She kept her eyes on the taller figure as she followed him through the maze.
She was still resigned to the fact that she had been in the company of the King for maybe five minutes before he had decided they had a need to speak in private. He had dismissed all of his court and then his son, finally taking the young woman and asking her to speak with him in his private gardens.
When they reached a large fountain, he paused and turned, his arms slightly open. "Would you care for anything, Lady Buffy?" he asked kindly.
"No, I'm… good," she replied, forcing down a cough as she stood next to him, feeling inadequate and rather annoyed with her long drapes. She felt as though she were wearing curtains. She kept her gaze level and stared into his face as he motioned that they should both sit. She was relieved as she sat, her many layers floating around her, making her seem even heavier than she felt. She longed to take off her white cloak and pulled it tighter around frame, closing herself off to the King now silently gazing at her.
"We have much to discuss," he said in his soft, Elvish tone.
"Yeah, I would have to agree with you there," Buffy replied, turning to him.
"The future of both of our worlds is at great risk," Thranduil said.
"I agree we have much to do," Buffy replied.
"Before we discuss things such as alliances, I must first ask, what is a vampire slayer?"
Buffy grinned and looked down. "It's… nothing. Please, it's what I used to call myself before I even started out here. It's…"
"There have not been vampires in this world for many ages," Thranduil replied, cutting her off. "There are not many left in this world who can speak of them. Great beasts they were as they fell to the command of Sauron and Morgoth."
"These vampires were not from your world," Buffy replied. "I was just—"
"To be a Slayer of darkness so evil, you must possess great strength and power," Thranduil concluded, his eyes narrowing as he surveyed her critically.
Buffy's mouth snapped shut and she nodded. "Yes," she agreed. "I do have a lot of power. It was power given to me a long time ago."
"You have been using this power to create your own army and marshal it against the forces of darkness?" Thranduil asked.
"That pretty much sums it up," Buffy replied.
Thranduil rose and began pacing before her. She watched him, her hands on her knees, feeling slightly apprehensive. "Word has come to my ears that you have fought the forces of Mordor," he challenged quietly. "These forces that you fought… were they Elves?"
"Some were," Buffy admitted, averting her gaze. "They were the darkest Elves I have seen. They fought with a skill unmatched to this time."
He was challenging her, and she knew this. He wanted to know whether or not she would willingly take the life of one of his own, but she refused to budge unless he asked her straightaway if she had done so. She also knew that if she didn't speak up, she was going to lose the greatest opportunity of her life, and that was to gain a powerful ally in such a dark world. She knew that Siri would protest such things, but it would all be worth it, in the end.
"My lord," she said quietly, and he turned to meet her intense gaze, "if you ask me if I have gone to war with your people, I would say I have not. I know who my enemy is, and this is what I have taught to my people."
His gaze was shrewd as he scanned her face for any trace of deception, yet found none.
"I would trust that the reason you asked me here was beyond asking how many of your own I killed," she said sharply, drawing his attention back to the present moment. "If that is all you wanted, I should go."
"There is another matter to discuss," Thranduil said, adopting a snappish tone.
"I am not one of your people to command," Buffy said evenly. "I am a leader of my people as you are a leader of your own. Before we discuss things, just know this: no matter how much it benefits the Elves, I doubt it'll do anything for my own people. Our people have coexisted for a long time in this forest and it's about time we learn how to share…" She paused, looking down at her hands still on her knees. "We won't be here for much longer… my people have a longing to return to their land and I don't blame them."
"Nor would I," Thranduil said, sitting down again, looking rather thoughtful.
"What use do you have for a crowned lady who is just trying to get her people home?" she asked blearily.
"You have seen much of this forest," the King replied. "You have seen what darkness moves. You know now that the greatest threat to the stability of this world has returned and will not rest until what he seeks is found."
"The one Ring," Buffy said softly, recalling what the Orcs had told her. "He wants it to restore him to power. Has it been found?"
"He must not get the Ring, even if it were found, for it would destroy all of the free peoples, as it already threatens our own," Thranduil replied, clearly relieved she already knew of this threat. "An army you have and strength besides."
"Ah," Buffy said, nodding. She finally understood something, and it had taken that statement to get her thoughts to flow more smoothly. "You know that my so-called army has been fighting off the enemy since I created it, right? We're already the mix. We don't need alliances for our battles, but we—"
He cut her off again. "Your people have the longing to return home and they should have that hope and dream. They are needed elsewhere and to assume you can return them home—"
She interrupted him this time. "Absolutely not," she said coldly. "If you think I'm going to tell these people who have been fighting your battles and killing your demons that they have to stay in this hellhole until you deem it time to return them home, no way in hell will I allow that. I will not be the one to tell them they have to die. Too many have died already. You can't ask me to do that. You can't order me to do that. You'll just have to accept that there are things in this world you have no control over and I'm one of them."
"Will you not listen to reason?" Thranduil asked, appealing for her humanity.
But she wouldn't budge. "If you want my help, you ask me. Leave my people out of this. They've already paid too high a price." Flashing before her eyes were scenes from the battles before; the Rangers of Mordor invading and nearly destroying her entire force, the Orcs invading and instead of killing her army, they chose to eat them alive… Closing her eyes, she stood up and turned to face the King of the Mirkwood Elves one last time. "I think I'm done with negotiations for today."
Spinning on her heel, she swept from the gardens, Thranduil ordering his attendants to find her lodging for the evening.
From the darkness, Thranduil spied his son walking slowly towards him, smiling slightly. "What have you to be so cheerful about?" the King asked angrily.
"She is as stubborn as you are," Legolas replied, the smile sliding from his face.
"I only wish she could see reason," Thranduil said, his voice rising.
"Perhaps you could use an alternative approach," Legolas replied. "You could offer her a choice."
"What use would that be?" Thranduil demanded.
"Her people come first in her eyes," Legolas answered. "She is devoted to her people and would rather see no harm come to them."
"What say you?" Thranduil asked, glancing at his son.
Legolas smiled plainly. "She has lived with years of animosity. To know that the King of the Elves wants nothing more than to see the death of her people is asking her too great a sacrifice. But to give her the choice of an alliance against the forces in this forest, she might consider this a price to way."
Thranduil paused as he thought his son's words over. "She does not belong with these people, this she has already claimed," he said slowly. "Perhaps we could ask her to remain behind and offer our assistance in allowing her people to escape across the Anduin."
"If both of our races fought together," Legolas prompted, "we would appeal that we care more for her people than to see them die. She would have no choice but for the allegiance."
"You may be right," Thranduil replied, rising. Turning, he called for his attendant to collect the young Slayer. "Tell her that the King of the Woodland Elves is requesting her presence to dine with him this evening."
The attendant nodded and hurried away.
"Be kind to her, Ada," Legolas said softly. "She will not listen to you if your temper is that of a warg."
"Then perhaps you will join us," Thranduil replied as he walked past his son. "It is you, my son, who knows much about her."
Legolas watched as his father disappeared before glancing up at the darkening sky. He would rather face an entire herd of wargs than face what was to come at dinner and to listen as his father argued with the Lady of Shadow.
Above, in her small room, Buffy sat on the bed, staring out at the trees swaying gently beyond the end of the small balcony adorning her tiny room. She stood and glanced at the heaps of garments she'd stripped from her body in her haste to make herself more comfortable. Reaching down her underclothes, she pulled out a silver cross. Long had it been a symbol of hope for her in these lands. Gently reaching around her neck to remove it, she held the necklace in her hands, a gift from Angel many years before. Holding it into the air, she watched how the flickers of firelight caught the silver and moved it into a prism of light around her. Even now, she wanted the strength and the hope that necklace had forever given to her. Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching, she lowered the chain and turned slightly as a gentle voice called from the doorway, "My Lady?"
"Yes?" Buffy asked coolly.
"The King requests your presence at dinner," the Elf replied with a bow of his head.
"All right," Buffy replied. "I'll be there."
The attendant turned to leave. Setting the necklace aside, Buffy rose and walked through the archway onto the balcony, gazing in a full view around at the trees full of gentle song. It was supposed to be a sanctuary of peace and good tidings, but Buffy felt nothing but restless and anxious. She had a feeling that by now Siri knew where she had gone and was rather angry about it. She couldn't blame Siri. If their roles had been reversed, she would have been angry as well.
She went back inside and retrieved her cloak, clasping it about her throat. On an impulse she took her silver cross and replaced it back where it belonged, leaving it in full view over the star from her cloak. Smoothing her long garment, she smiled at her reflection in a flat, clay bowl of water. What a difference a pretty dress made, along with a regal hairstyle. She almost didn't recognize herself.
At that rather disturbing thought, she turned and disappeared out of the doorway.
- - - -
"What news from the north?" Siri asked as two guards approached, both of them looking rather harassed and exhausted. "Have you heard anything?"
"The Orcs have broken off pursuit," one of the guards replied breathlessly. "From what we could tell, they turned west as soon as they realized where our Lady had been taken. She is with the Elves in their safe haven now, guarded and well protected within the castle."
"I thought as much," Siri said, driving her hunting knife into the ground before rising. "Continue on watch, the both of you. I do not wish for an ambush to slow our approach now. We have a full day's ride ahead of us in the morning. Rest when you can. Now, go."
The two guards bowed and retreated with their horses back towards the north, crossing over the eastern forest walls into the East Bight.
"Three days and more do we have until we reach the Woodland realm," Siri said, retrieving her knife as she returned it to its sheath.
"We must take more speed," Daire said from across the fire, finishing her own plate before setting it aside. "We cannot falter now, even if an ambush were to take us."
"What other choice would you have me make?" Siri snapped. "I still bear injuries and thus do you. Three days until we cross into that realm and then we will understand what it is they have asked of her. We have many on foot, Daire. We cannot have more speed."
"You may not respect our lady as I do," Daire said sternly. "There are many here would travel day and night on their very hands and knees if they thought they could save her life. She means more to them than I can even explain and it is certainly beyond your comprehension, for you would see her betray a fellow ruling man to deliver his head on your pike. It is in foul-will that wishes for this, cousin and for this reason she would not see you rule."
Siri's eyes were livid as she glanced up to meet Daire's intense gaze. "You speak to me as though I have no respect for her."
"You have none," Daire countered. "You challenge her every order and overturn her every request. You respect her as you would your dog if you should have one. She wishes for peace with these beings and you would rather have war."
"I wish for nothing more than to return home," Siri said, speaking quietly, although her gaze remained very angry.
"You would go home and have your people challenge her authority when you could rule by blood and she took the crown as your mother's choice," Daire said, shaking her head, her expression saddening. "How can you be certain she will even return with us? She is not one of our people."
"She will come with us because she knows she must," Siri said calmly. "She can protect us and we can—"
"She is not our protector, Siri. We are," Daire said, gesturing to the women gathered outside their tent and to the others scattered throughout the trees. "What do you think she has been teaching us? She has been showing us how to defend ourselves. This is our greatest test, Siri, to see if we can fulfill her expectations of us."
"Perhaps," Siri said, relaxing on her perch, her hands held over the small fire.
"Was there anytime in your life, even if it was just a moment, that you saw her as a mother and not as a thorn?" Daire asked her softly.
"There was a time," Siri replied. "All she had to do was glance at me and I knew my place. I knew she would protect me to her death and to others, if need be. You were lucky to have been taken in by the Council, for they protected you from this life… I watched her fight so many times." She looked up as time seemed to pass before her eyes. "I knew I wanted to be like her, as a daughter would wish to be like her Mother, so yes… there was a time."
"Has that time completely passed us?" Daire asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Siri bit her lip as she carefully considered her answer. "Why would I risk my life and the lives of our people to rescue her if she was not what she had become to me?" She paused. "I know now that she is not my Mother. She brought me up with the same values my mother instilled in her. She brought me up to be a Queen and for this our friction escalates."
"I did ask you for your honesty," Daire replied. "It finally seems I have received it."
Siri nodded as she prodded the fire with a sharp stick. "All you had to do was ask for it."
There was a ringing silence between them once again.
"What do you think the King of the Elves would want with our Lady?" Daire asked Siri.
"Who else would know more about this land?" Siri asked. "She has great knowledge of it, as do we all."
Daire opened her mouth to reply but closed it, and once again silence fell between them.
- - - -
When King Thranduil had invited her to dinner, she had accepted it. She didn't know, however, that by accepting this invitation, she was privileged to dine with the entire court. More than twenty Elves stood around the table where the King, his son Legolas and his own counselors surrounded her. Even for a cave, this was a castle of great beauty.
They ate for the most part in silence while Buffy listened to the other Elves tell Thranduil the tidings to the south. She watched his face intently as he responded to these statements, looking for any sign of weakness. Legolas caught her staring at his father as she chewed thoughtfully, not saying anything.
"Are you enjoying this?" he asked her, hoping to draw her gaze.
She turned her intense eyes towards him and gave him a half-smile. "Oh, it's very enjoyable."
He caught the double meaning behind her words and realized then he had kept her gaze. She looked amused, as though she thought that sitting at a table with a court seated with royals was something she did daily. Once she finished eating, she rose, setting her plate aside. "Thank you for dinner," she said loudly, interrupting the flow of speech from the far end of the table. "It was great listening to you and your captains argue for the past half hour." Turning, she made to leave when Legolas stood up.
"My Lady," he said.
She spun around to look at him, blinking. "Yes?" she asked in a voice of deadly soft.
"Come with me," he said, moving around the end of the table and reaching for her arm. "I wish to escort you."
"You're not getting paid, you know," she replied, hesitantly giving him her hand.
His eyes alone showed this little confusion, yet they moved away from the hall and towards the rest of the great cavern with its many levels. The King and his counselors stopped speaking at once, staring after the dim light of the Mirkwood Prince and his Lady escort.
"Your son, my Lord, has taken it upon himself to escort our guest," said one of the Elves, looking wary.
"This I have seen," Thranduil replied, but instead of sounding down, his tone was rather pleasant and showed great delight. "Perhaps there is a way to court such disaster after all…"
Their soft footsteps echoed from the walls closing around them as they passed through a darkened corridor. Only the faint light of the Eldar from his frame gave enough light to see into the distance. The hand on her arm was warm and brought with it comfort. As the walls widened, she found herself looking at the great halls beyond. Releasing his arm, she descended a small series of steps and looked about as great statues of the Sindar of old surrounded them and with them, great tapestries lined with tales of great alliances and the great war in times past.
Legolas watched her solemnly, not wanting to corrupt this moment for her. She seemed to be taking everything in as her hands passed over the statues and tapestries in the halls. Great paintings lined the walls of the circular room, better known by his father as the room of their ancestors.
"This room is old," she said, her voice echoing around her. "Very old… these things are ageless, aren't they?"
"They were brought from Lindon thousands of years ago," Legolas told her.
"Lindon…" she said softly, her hand drifting across a dusty tapestry. "There is one place I have not heard of. Can you tell me about it?"
"The tale I fear would take long into the night," he replied, finally stepping aside as she came back towards him.
"Oh," she said, and glancing down, she seemed to come to another conclusion. "When was it destroyed?"
"It exists still," Legolas replied. "It lies far beyond the Misty Mountains and farther beyond the Blue. It is a great land to the west, where the Grey Havens remain."
"There is so much of this world that I haven't seen," she said quietly, turning to glance one last time at the room behind them. "I always thought that if I were to return to the place where my people existed, I would find that adventure at last. But now…" Her hands fell in front of her and she twisted them together. "I know my women mean a lot to your father, but you have to understand that they already made a sacrifice to remain here as long as they have. Home is the one place they know they belong. They don't belong here." She turned to face him. "They never were meant to be here. I have to get them home."
"Where do you belong, hiril nín?" he asked her as she retreated upstairs to his side. She gave him a gentle look but turned away, emitting a bittersweet laugh.
"I belong in the world of fighting," she said bitterly as she retreated down the corridors.
"There are many who would seek such allegiance with one of such skill as your own," Legolas told her as they came out of the corridors. She was standing on a small stone dais overlooking the rest of the passageways below. He saw the grim determination in her eyes and saw at last her resolve crumble.
"Where do you belong, Legolas?" she asked him, turning to face him. "Do you belong in the world of fighting?"
"There is no one world of fighting," Legolas said grimly as he stood beside her. "There is only this world and one dark power trying to destroy what we have."
"You know what is to come and I know what exists," Buffy said softly. "For this, we would make great allies. But I fear my people would never accept such news."
"They are not your people," Legolas told her in a firm voice.
"They became my people when their leader gave me her crown on her deathbed," Buffy snapped. "I have taken them too far to let it all go to waste now! Can't you see that?"
"Your people bring you great pride," Legolas said. "Would it bring you comfort to see them home safely?"
She nodded and glanced up at him. "It doesn't bring much comfort to know I won't be there with them," she said sadly as a tear sparkled from the corner of her eye. "Does your King really just expect me to let them go?"
"My Father would never ask you to let them go," Legolas replied. "I would be the one."
She blinked and sniffed and she turned away to glance downwards. "There are greater things happening, aren't there? I felt it today when I was in my room. The Elves are preparing for a great war."
"It will be one of the last wars of our time, I fear," Legolas replied. As she turned to move away, he closed his hand over hers on the railing. "Do not grieve for what has not yet come to pass. There are greater things than letting those you love go."
She nodded and gently pulled her hand from underneath his. "You're right," she said, nodding fervently. "I should just wait and see what happens, right?"
He looked at her and saw that rather than looking comforted, she appeared to be uneasy. "You are restless," he observed.
"It's sort of strange to be around you all," she said uncomfortably. "I mean, you're okay, but your father is just..."
"I know how my father is," Legolas said in a heavy tone. "I have spent many years living in these halls."
"He's a King," Buffy said softly. "It's like meeting an idol who died a few hundred years ago, like meeting Napoleon or something. And yet… he's a King."
"You are a Queen," Legolas replied.
She gave him a strange look then. "I am no one's Queen," she replied.
"Your people believe it," Legolas replied. "Why cannot you?"
"If you were in my place, would you let your people go?" she asked. "How could you ask me to give up?"
"You say you belong in the world of fighting," Legolas replied. "I would assume you would mean where the great war will begin. My father is just one of the Elven lords, yet he is one of the only to stand as King. Sauron will come for us."
"How bad is it out there?" she asked him.
"We have held back many dark creatures for many years," Legolas responded as he returned to her side. "War comes soon, and it will take us all."
"We have many women to protect the rest of the people," Buffy said, her eyes thoughtful. "I believe they could make it over the mountains safely. Siri will take them." A smile came to her face then as she glanced at Legolas. "Can you believe that she's my daughter? Well, I took her as my child when her mother died."
"Perhaps you can see my father's point of view," Legolas replied.
"From a parent's perspective, he only wants to protect those he loves," Buffy interjected, finally pulling away. "This great war that is coming, could it use another champion, even if she's a woman?"
"They could ask for none greater," Legolas agreed. He watched as she took a deep, shuddering breath as she looked up at him. A single tear fell down her cheek and he reached over to brush it aside. She captured his hand then, holding it to her face, which was still far too cold. Tipping her face towards his, she could see the passive expression in his eyes as she stepped forward and pushed the Elf into a gentle embrace.
"Thank you," she murmured against his cloak. "I don't think you'll ever know how much."
Before she could move, his arms came and tightened across her smaller frame as he rested his head against the crown of her head. For some reason, this felt very welcome. A few days ago, she had been willing to kill him. Now at nearly full strength, she was embracing him instead of embellishing in the kill and for this reason alone the embrace was welcome.
He felt her move back, looking up at him with astonishment in her eyes. "I didn't know Elves could hug," she said softly.
He opened his mouth to reply when a figure suddenly appeared above them. "My Lord, Legolas," the voice said. "We have been unable to locate the Lady of—"
"She is here," Legolas said, stepping to the side to allow the messenger to see the young woman now staring up at him. "What is it?"
"News from the road watch, Sire," the messenger replied. "They were overcome this evening by a large force of women."
Legolas turned immediately to Buffy who nodded and sighed, "Siri."
- - - -
All through the night the women continued to march until they came upon an old road that drew directly through the forest. It had been years since it was traveled by their people, but at first it became their means of escape. Siri allowed her horse to cross the road when she realized something was odd about the forest ahead.
It was far too quiet.
The guard from the north returned and spoke of the great Elvish guards near the mountains in the distance, but of the guards near the roads, no one could tell.
This meant that the road was controlled by Orcs, or, worse yet, another foul creature from Mordor.
With their guards surrounding them, the other women crossed the road and soon were back within the darkness of the forest. Overhead, the brilliant early morning light fell onto their faces until they reached the woods. Orcs from Mordor despised the sunlight and given that they had chosen to take the road at first light was a bit of luck.
She sent the northern guards ahead and kept the archers and the swords-women ready in case they were attacked from the forest.
But, as their ride continued almost due north now, there came no attack.
"Siri, we must press on," Daire counseled, as the path grew dark before them.
"No," Siri replied. "If we press on, we would likely meet either an Elf or an Orc and I am in no mood tonight to fight either."
"Siri, I do not fear the darkness," Daire pressed. "I fear that something has changed. I feel as though the darkness is not there."
"It is but twenty feet before your eyes if you would look at it," Siri retorted.
They stopped an hour later to make camp. Guards were posted at all directions and the women who were able to sleep were given permission to rest. Siri spent the second night in a row scrubbing the scent of horse from her long, ethereal cape. It had been her mother's and it fit her beautifully, but it really belonged on a Queen and not just the surrogate child of the supposed one. At last, she set the damp cloak aside and noticed that Daire was staring hard into the fire, her azure eyes blazing with emotion.
"Something has happened," she said, her voice slow and dramatic. "I can feel them coming for us."
Siri chose to ignore her when a great cry came from behind them. Two guards rode up, both looking wary. "What news have you?"
"The Orcs have turned to the north once again," one of them panted. "They will overtake us in less than an hour."
Even in the moment of blind chaos, the distant sound of many footfalls and drum beats was heard over the sound of hectic breathing and moaned whimpers coming from the circle of women surrounding them.
Daire spoke then. "The Elves are too far to protect us. You asked that they withdraw to the mountains, but we would not reach them until morning."
"We are still two days from the Realm," the other guard gasped.
"Siri?" Daire asked, turning to her cousin. "What must we do?"
"We run," she said, glancing at the women staring at her in the darkness. "If they come upon us, we will turn and fight. We must stay true to our mission: to find our Lady and to bring her home."
A cry soon sounded and most of what remained on the ground was left behind as those on foot were sent to the eastern borders to take the path of the river to the north. Siri sent Daire with them and took only two guards for herself, knowing she could defend herself better than Daire could.
"I expect to see you the day after tomorrow in the Woodland Realm," she said as Daire mounted her steed. "If by chance I do not find you…"
"I will find you," Daire replied. "Do not worry for me. It is Buffy we should worry for. They come to take her back and not even the power of the Elves can conceal this threat."
"I do not think they know of it," Siri said, hearing a great beating of drums in the distance. "Go, Daire… ride hard. Go… go!"
With her remaining guards, Siri walked amongst them, handing them jars of oil. They quickly drew a long line around the circle of camp before filling in the gaps with smaller circles. Siri walked over, setting down a torch into the last remaining fire as the guards beside her readied their arrows.
But she wouldn't hear anything of it. "You need to go," she told her guards quietly. "I will take care of things here. You must go, and that is an order."
Her guards didn't dare argue with her. Already the torch lights of the enemy were approaching. Taking their horses, the came about to face their leader for what may be the final time. "Take different paths to the north. If you should come upon Daire, tell her I will see her." As the horses sped off into the distance, she turned and lifted her own torch as the enemy approached camp. Drawing back into the shadows, she held the light high to bring their attention to her and not to the trap they had set up. When most of the enemy's frontal force was within the circle, she bent down, touching the torch to the oily circle.
At once, the circle was set alight. Pulling back, Siri watched as the Orcs were surrounded by the rings of fire, the trees overhead catching on fire. Despite this small price to pay, Siri rushed to her horse and mounted her, turning back to see the enemy attempting to get out of the circle.
She had just bought her people their lives and the last few precious hours they had.
- - - -
This part was meant to be longer. Instead, I divided it into two. Thus, Siri will discover something that might upset the balance of power within the forest while Buffy clashes with the Elven king.