Disclaimer: I own none of Tolkien's creations and only lay claim to my own humble creatures.

Chapter Quote: "I will save you."

Chapter Forty-Nine

Flesh of My Flesh

Early into the battle, Aragorn and Araviniel managed somehow to get weapons from the orcs. Despite both of their haggard conditions, everyone knew that this was a fight for their lives. The orcs came at them fiercely, screaming battle cries and swinging their jagged weapons. For a short while Legolas was able to shoot most of them that managed to get close to him with his arrows. None of them tried to harm him as their scaley bodies pressed in around him.

They clawed at his clothes...their blood oozed onto his skin and their howls and screams echoed in his ears. He pulled out the white daggers he kept in his quiver, slashing in every direction as the orcs swarmed in around them. He glanced over his shoulder, Aragorn and Araviniel were fading fast... both had been injured before the attack and now it was startlingly clear that their wounds were weakening them. Slash...shove... kick... slash... twist... slash...

He felt warm blood trickling down the side of his face and stars exploded in his eyes. He staggered... then he felt a deadening calm steal over him... the calm of a warrior. He kept moving, blinking blood from his eyes, blocking all else from his mind beside the necessity to survive. He grunted as a scimitar tore a cut along the upper part of his back. He glanced quickly around the glade and his face fell, there are so many... we couldn't possibly defeat them! He started clearing a path towards Aragorn, cracking the jaw of an orc as he hammered his fist into its skull. He was out of arrows...and they were still coming.

He was closer to Aragorn now, was fighting off orcs as his friend faltered. One filed in to deliver a killing blow to the mortal king but by the grace of the Valar, Aragorn was given the strength to fight back. Legolas glanced over his shoulder...out of the corner of his eye he could see Talorta rearing and striking the air. His hooves acted as deadly weapons as they struck down any orc who dared to come near.

Victoria was clinging to his back with one arm tied to the stallion's mane while the other uninjured arm struggled to keep her sword aloft. Her injured arm hung loosely in its socket, blood pouring from it like a stream of crimson waters. Her face was grey as she weakly parried blows from the orcs... she looked like a ghost more then ever now. And Legolas realized with a burst of fear that she would die if she didn't get help soon.

"NO!" He screamed, kicking an orc before him out of the way. She looked up sharply at his call, her face grim and her eyes cloudy.

Don't forget me... Those eyes seemed to whisper. And he stared in horror as an orc blade rose high above her head to cut her down... and then their was a new noise in the wood. A peal of thunder... blaring through the trees. Horns? He thought in confusion.

But the orcs knew exactly what the sound was and the horn sounded again. Legolas watched as everything around him seemed to tune out except for the beating of his heart...saw everything in slow motion. Felt one of his daggers wrenched from his hand and he saw an orc pull back the string of its bow to deliver a fateful blow. So this is how it ends... but suddenly he heard an arrow whistle through the air and thud into the orc archer. He heard horses...lots and lots of horses...and suddenly there they were, elves pouring in through the trees and a rain of arrows falling into the orcs' ranks.

He saw them swarm into the glade and shoot the orcs down as they flew in from the forest... help had come at last... but Ana was no where to be found. The elves had already formed a protective circle around the elven lady and the King of Gondor. Legolas looked back frantically at Victoria, forgetting all of his own aches and pains which assailed his body as he searched for her. And suddenly there she was. Talorta reared and she started to open her mouth to salute the elves when out of no where he watched in horror as an arrow sailed past his head and imbedded itself in the unprotected flesh of her shoulder. Talorta screamed as another arrow caught him just under his right foreleg.

He felt sick as he watched her slump forward on Talorta's back...and his world spun as Talorta suddenly bolted into the forest. She disappeared beneath the trees...and suddenly the only orcs left in the glade were dead. He blinked as pain twinged in the back of his head again and he fought the urge to be sick.

One of the warriors approached him, face beaming. "We have found you at last, your majesty." The warrior said without a variation in his voice tone. Legolas' head swam as he replayed the image of Victoria falling limply against the horse she loved and watching as they fled into the trees.

"...one of the warriors even struck down Gwenél... not so much of a ghost as we all expected. But come my prince, you and your friends will be well attended to."

He blinked blood out of his eyes again, his vision blurred as he turned to face the elf. "What did you say?"

"The ghost, your majesty, they've shot her down."

The pain in his head grew too much to bear then and he turned away sharply, his stomach heaving as he vomited. He stumbled to the floor, coughing as he began to lose consciousness. But as he heard the warrior above him scream for help...only one thing rang in his mind.

The ghost... they've shot her down... shot her down... shot her... Victoria has been shot down... shot down...

...Victoria is dead...

Somewhere in the forest...
I blinked... but the sharp pounding in my head was making it difficult to focus. I saw Talorta laying a few feet away in the grass. No...I saw three Talortas laying in the grass. I could hear his labored breathing and I could see his blood staining the frozen earth in a pool around him.

No... My vision swam and I closed my eyes as another wave of pain assailed me. God no! He was dying... my Talorta was dying... and I was powerless to stop it.

One day you will feel the icy numbness of death... and you will be powerless against that void. Teacher had said that to me... my mentor... as he too had lain dying at my feet. And I'd only laughed- and coldly at that. I'd tossed his warnings to the wind...and only now did I remember those fated words.

What have I done?

Five Years Previous
In the days and weeks that had followed, Teacher nursed my broken body back to health. He dressed my wounds, bandaged and cleaned them- but there was nothing he could do for my spirit. I felt a great emptiness inside... like a white hot darkness eating away at my being. I didn't speak with him again for a long time.

It was a month before I could move with a remnant of the fluidity of my former self. But I would never be the same... and both of us knew that. He had a house, built in a series of star-trees. I didn't leave the confines of my room and the kitchen for weeks. We would sit down at a table in the kitchen to eat. He always at his meals at exactly the same time. I didn't eat sometimes... for sometimes the thought of me having survived made me so sick that I'd vomit.

But one particular night I had sat at that table with him and had listened politely to his chatter for a while until his announced that he'd stabled my horse just outside the house. I had stiffened, looking up at him with a horrified expression on my face. I cleared my throat.

"Talorta...Talorta is alive?" Teacher nodded, clearly pleased with my reaction. I stared at Teacher for a moment longer before I turned to stare at my plate. "I...I'd like to see him." I said.

"The door is open." He answered quietly.

"What...so you'll just let me go?" I asked suspiciously, narrowing my eyes.

He looked up at me, eyes twinkling and he spread his palms wide. "You were never a prisoner here Victoria...except in your mind." He said lightly, taking a bite into the bread on his plate.

"Do not call me that!" I hissed, jerking slightly in my chair. "Do not EVER call me that!" I said loudly. I was on my feet, my chair overturned behind me.

He didn't seem in the least bit startled. He nodded again. "Then what shall I call you, maiden?" He asked, meeting my enraged glare.

I blinked in surprise... I had somehow expected a challenge from him. Somehow I had hoped that he would have engaged me... would have allowed me the satisfaction of releasing the pent up rage that threatened to kill me from the inside out. Maybe then it wouldn't hurt so much... the emptiness... knowing that there was no one left in this world that I loved or loved me.

A name... he wanted a name... but I didn't know- didn't have the energy or will to want a word to sum up the wretched remains of my being. I fixed the chair, sank back into it- the wound from the arrow suddenly flaring up. I didn't feel like I deserved a name... somehow I knew I was at fault for their deaths. Somehow... though it might defy reason... I knew they would all be alive if I had never come. How could I give a name to something so evil? How could I continue living like this?

"I don't know." I said softly. I stared at my plate, blinking tears from my eyes.

"That is all right... you will find a name eventually. And when you do... you will know that the pain has lessened."

What pain? I wanted to ask. How could he possibly understand me? He was a stranger... and I was in exile. I bit into my own slice of bread...not because I was hungry but because I knew I would starve if I didn't eat something. I choked it down as my last tear trailed down my face.

"So what now?" I asked him quietly, keeping my voice soft and even as I spoke.

He leaned forward on the table, hands clasped before him. "I will transform you into a warrior, child, and I will piece together the remnants of your former self."

I looked down, and I heard him reach across the table...and I felt him gently brush his fingers across my clenched hand. I looked into his face and I saw kindness.

"I will save you."

I left the house the next day and I walked through a bower of flowers and vines and then I stepped down stairs made of curving branches. I paused when I got there... in the early morning light, I could recognize the shapes and colors of the star-flowers. Star-trees were everywhere. Teacher's house was built into a whole grove of them. The building itself was made out of wood and was fashioned as if the structure had been built into the tree in the first place. Talorta was tethered to one of the trees a few paces away. Teacher had set out a bucket of water for him as he munched on the lush grass.

He looked up sharply as I moved towards him, and he whinnied excitedly when he recognized me. His call froze my heart. "No." I said softly to him, nearing him as he tugged on the rope that prevented him from being closer to me. "You cannot love me, my friend."

I reached out to him, closed my eyes as he pressed his muzzle to my hand. He breathed on my shoulder...but I would not let the tears come. "You trusted me." I said, looking at him again and gently running my hand over his smooth neck. "But those whom I love perish." I looked into his eyes...knowing that he wouldn't understand. "I couldn't bear to lose you too." I whispered. I untied him from the tree and I hugged him. He stood still, ears flicking back and forth. I slipped the rope halter over his ears, took a step backward.

"Go." I said to him... but my beautiful stallion didn't budge. My gaze hardened and I angrily waved my arms at him. "Go on! Get out of here!"

He jumped back from me, startled and staring, ears pricked curiously. I felt tears burning in my eyes and I swatted them away in irritation. "Go you stupid animal! LEAVE ME!" I screamed.

Talorta reared, scared of my anger. I took a wild step towards him and he bolted. Soon I couldn't see him anymore as his hoof-beats faded from my hearing. The wind whistled through the trees and the leaves rustled. I watched dumbly as a few star-flowers fell from the trees above. They tumbled in the waning shadows...twinkling as they twirled to the ground. I involuntarily clutched the medallion Faerlain had given to me. I could no longer remember the passion in his kisses or the warmth of his caresses... nor the love in his eyes. They were lost to me... all of them.

My knees buckled and I fell dizzily to the ground. Tears aren't easy to stop when it feels as though dying would be easier then drawing another breath. So I cried, curled up on the ground, I felt my heart bursting as I released my pain. I mourned them...and I mourned myself.

Soon everything was cold.

My eyes seemed to open of their own accord that next morning. I was still outside, with star-flowers drifting lazily to the ground.

"You seem to have faithful friends." Came the voice of my mentor.

Strange... had I already accepted him as that? I pushed myself up onto my elbows... ignoring the pain that I triggered from the irritated flesh of my abdomen. Talorta was there, hovering above and me as I sat up all the way- he eyed me curiously but he didn't move from his protective position. I smiled a little and I reached out to him, relishing in the warmth he gave to my frozen fingertips as he once again pressed his nose to my palm. His whiskers had grown long and they tickled my skin as he lowered his head and rubbed it against my shoulder.

"I tried to get a halter on him... but he wouldn't let me get close."

I blinked once or twice, held onto a chunk of Talorta's mane and he helped pull me up. "No... I don't imagine that he would have." I said. I gently rubbed his neck and my smile faded. "He is the flesh of my flesh... my brother. He shall go where he pleases and nothing shall bind him."

I turned to face Teacher- my heart cold and my face emotionless. "I am ready to be taught." I said to him. "Train me for what you will. I have nothing else to live for."

The old man nodded his head, he glanced at a falling star-flower and he caught it swiftly in his hand. "I have thought of a name for you." He said quietly. He crumbled the flower to dust and let the wind carry it off his hand and spread it over me.

"You shall be Gwenél, maiden of a star." He smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Come...you have much to learn."

In the Present
Victoria... Victoria... I heard my name whispered on the wind and it woke me up. Instantly I regretted my choice as every conscious nerve in my body was flooded with pain. I groaned... it was snowing. I looked up at the sky, savoring the melting ice crystals on my feverish flesh. I shivered. The arrow was still imbedded in my shoulder and the arm the orc had sliced lay lifeless at my side. I groaned again in agony... and then I heard a weary whinny reach my ears.

My eyes shot open in alarm as I remembered Talorta and I fought to focus my vision as I heard him call. He was leaving me... leaving me as all the others had. He whinnied again and with everything left in me... I dragged myself over onto my side. Oh God... help me. I begged. Inch by inch I dragged myself over to his body until with a thud I stilled beside him. With his forelegs facing me, I could see where the arrow had dug in deep...and then had broken off.

I knew that he was hurt badly when he didn't so much as look at me when I touched his wound. Snow had started piling up on his body... and it wasn't melting. He's so cold... I placed a hand on his cheek and he finally stirred. I smiled weakly at him, wishing just then for the biggest painkiller in the world right now for him.

"Hey my brave boy." I said softly, stroking his cheek. Talorta breathed heavily and closed his eyes. I stroked his neck with shaking hands. Don't do this to me. "Remember the barn back home Talorta? Remember what it was like before Zach died?" I felt tears running down my cheeks but I didn't bother to stop them. "Remember how we used to compete in those days? All our blue ribbons?" I moved as close as I could to him without touching the arrow head still stuck in his shoulder. All these frozen memories... colder then ice in my heart. Why did I bother to recollect them now? What was the point?

"I was so proud of you." I whispered, I laid my head on his neck...could feel him breathing on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and listened to him breathe... listened to the slowing beat of his heart.

"I loved you every second since the moment I saw you. I... I can even remember that day when you were born." His breathing slowed and I sniffed. "Oh my God Talorta... I was proud of you even after Zach died. You are my best friend."

The tears came harder now and I snaked my arm as far as I could on his neck, ignoring the pain from my own arrow wound. Flesh of my flesh... my brother. "I love you."

I squeezed my eyes closed tight and I let my breathing slow to match his. Life is a dance... "Please don't leave me." I whispered to him. I remembered jumping with him in the stadium, laughing when we went swimming, the joy of galloping over green meadows, smiling when we gave rides to those little elven kids. Don't take him from me... let us go on like this... forever...

"You see, that is something you mortals understand. The dance does not end for you, you enjoy it to its fullest. When its over, well, there is only a new one to begin. I think that is what I envy most about your kind, the unknown adventure. Death is only a new dance. And when you see it, I don't think you ever regret that you began it... and that you truly lived to dance it."

When my body grew so cold that it numbed my pain... I realized that Talorta had stopped breathing. I was too exhausted to cry, I only hugged his cold body closer. Two brothers... gone.

My Talorta... he was dead.

A/N: I don't know what it was that brought this heavily depressing chapter on... I didn't think I was this depressed when I wrote it... it just happened. I'm sorry...you all must hate me. I hate me too... I'm the biggest Talorta fan that you'll ever get... trust me. (Sniffle, sniffle) I need some tissues... :(

... On a light note, I have designed a website for SIMA. One mostly for blends and coverart for the story, but also to give you some visuals for the characters. I only have Victoria, Araviniel and Legolas (he was the easiest) of course, but I plan to have all the major characters up there in due time.

Ok, I had the link up here previously but I noticed that wasn't letting me write it out properly. I apologize! If you want to visit my SIMA website, the link is listed at the bottom of my author's bio.

I am now going into mourning for my beloved Talorta. More angst to come so don't sit back yet! Thanks so much for all of your glowing support. I wouldn't be anywhere without the love of my readers! (Snuggles) And I hope I gave you a bit of a mystery to chew on. Here, lets recap:

Why did Victoria's Teacher die?

Why did the orcs want Legolas?

What's Thranduil going to think about Legolas' new love interest?

Will anyone believe Victoria if she survives?

Oh yeah, I apologize now for sounding so 'Star Wars'-ey up there when I was talking about 'teacher'. It just sort of happened. I was thinking about Obi-wan the whole time tough... and Anakin too for some reason. (shrugs) What can you do... Star Wars rules the world second to Narnia and Middle-earth!

I apologize also for any errors I might miss (do feel free to point them out to me) and thanks to my beta, Kiann. And thanks again for reading and (hopefully) reviewing!

TO BE CONTINUED...