Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Lord of the Ring's characters.
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The Wounds of the Pastby: firewingz
Chapter 6: Arrival?
The forest was deadly quiet, no birds, no animals. Mirkwood seemed like a cemetery. Elrond's army rushed through, looking around cautiously, it was too quiet. Prince Legolas prayed that his father could hold on for just a little longer. He could hear, even feel the fear that the trees expressed. Legolas looked at Elrond, the Lord of Imladris gave the prince a nod, understanding the silent exchange of words; they could both feel the fear.
At that, Elrond and Legolas urged their horses on faster, followed hopefully by the relief force that would save Mirkwood.
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Mirkwood's last civilian ran towards the underground storage system that would serve as their home temporarily. Several of the last archers flanked her and her infant. King Thranduil stood at the edge of the cave, urging each civilian into the caves. He swallowed his tears of defeat, watching each child run in with his/her family, all the while thinking of his own child, his only heir to the throne, his last reminder of his wife and the happy times they've had.
The King signaled for the archers to come into the caves, his hand at the handle that would drop the great stone door. The archers carefully made their way back to the caves. A couple spiders were able to make their way over the front gates, killing few elven warriors, among the many that have already fallen, trying to close the gates. The archers backed their way to their king, looking sadly at their home, and also deeply worried about their prince.
Once the last archer made it in, the spiders poured through the gates, and the King pulled down the handle, sealing the wood elves into the stone cold caves. The King thought that he had seen the spiders retreat, but he knew he was only imagining a miracle. He was even crazy enough to imagine his son riding through the gates. Thranduil sighed, even at the fast rate of the doors sealing, he could still imagine things so vividly. He would not give himself hope when there was none in the outside world. The stone-door closed tightly. With a heavy heart, he turned away from the only exit that leads back to the glorious nation of Mirkwood, to the beloved trees, rivers and stars, to freedom.
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Prince Legolas, Estel and the twins quickly took down the gates. The surprise was on the their side, the spiders had no where to flee. Legolas thought that he had seen the wall open, a fleeting image of his father played in his mind. The prince quickly dismissed that thought and concentrated on the enemy.
It was a slow victory, even when the surprise greeted the spiders. Legolas had to run around the castle to chase down the string of spiders flowing from the gates.
Legolas jumped to the ground lightly and ran up the long stairs to the front doors of the castle. He was greeted by silent corridors, silent rooms, silence. Legolas could not understand, he felt sure that since no one had been in the houses surrounding the caste, the civilians would be inside the castle. Legolas ran through the entire the castle, looking in every room, embraced by nothing but silence.
Elrond and his sons went into the throne room, the army of Imladris taking out the few spider survivors. Their keen elven hearing could hear the panting breath of the prince, running quietly on the marble stone paths.
"Where could they have gone?" Estel asked, worry filling his features.
"They are not dead, that is for sure," Elrond answered, wondering where King Thranduil could possibly hid his entire kingdom of people.
Legolas suddenly came into the throne room, searching frantically. He was about to search the castle again, but Estel caught his arm.
"Legolas," Estel said softly, "They are not here."
"Yes, they are. They have to be," Legolas said, trying to pull his arm away from Estel's iron grip. "Let me go...I have to find father."
"Legolas!" Elrohir shouted, shaking Legolas, who had come up beside Estel. "Listen to us. They are not in the castle."
"They are, they have to be. They are..." Legolas muttered, over and over again, trying to convince himself that his father was still alive, that the spiders had not killed him, that his father had not succumbed to the same fate as his mother.
"Legolas," Elrond spoke, so softly that the wind seemed to have spoken it, "They have not died. Please sit down. Let us think of where they might have gone." Elladen nodded, surprised that his father could still be so calm. Legolas seemed not to have heard it, but didn't resist when Elrond's sons pushed him into a chair.
"Legolas?" Elrond spoke again, coming towards Legolas, kneeling on the cold marble stone in front of the prince.
"Legolas?" Elrond said again, a little louder.
Legolas still looked at the ground, the images of his mother flashing continuously in his mind.
Elrond gently lifted the prince's head up. Looking into his eyes, he could see the torment and pain flickering behind those blue orbs.
To Be Continued.
I'm sorry this story took so long to be updated. I wasn't sure how to continue it from the last chapter. If anyone has any suggestions on how to continue this fiction, please comment. I have a very faint idea of what I want to do with this, but I'm debating between ideas. Please give me some advice and suggestions. Thank you.
And Thank You to all the reviewers that have continued to read this story. Thanks for all the support and I hope I have met your expectations. Thanks for the reviews!
