Out of Mirkwood
Scribbles-on-Parchment
February 15, 2020
Chapter 30 – Empty Rooms
"Hîr nín?" Thalion's knock on the door echoed around the room, "Thranduil are you well?"
There was no answer. Another knock and the Silvan's voice called out,
"Summon me if you are in need of anything. I will not be far off."
The sound of footsteps walking away from the royal chambers rang out in the still rooms. As they slowly faded, so too did Thranduil's life force. There was no movement inside of the king's chambers; no sound, save the Sinda's faltering breaths.
As the poison attacked the eldar's heart and lungs the elf's breaths grew quieter and weaker, his face was pale and his lips ashen and blue. Though the faint light of the eldar flickered around his fallen form, casting a faint glow around the king as if it were trying to cradle his body. The mighty king of the Greenwood lay as still as if death had already taken him.
Soft, hurried footfalls suddenly sounded from the hall and after several moments the great door to the king's private chambers swung softly open. An elleth, with hair sparkling amber in the firelight, stepped in. She glanced around the hall behind her to see if anyone was watching before shutting the great door with a soft click.
Kélion had never traveled with as much urgency and haste as he did now. Everything was all falling into place. The gate had been a distraction, a ploy meant to halt them from returning to the palace sooner. Was this the work of the traitor?
He dimly registered that the sun was setting swiftly. Had they truly been out of the palace for that long? Surely not.
Around him the prince could still hear the persistent cries of the trees as they once more tired to overpower him with waves of hatred. It appeared to him as if everything that had once been green and alive in the forest was now darkened and decaying. There looked to be a trail of corruption though the healthy trees. Something of great evil had passed this way.
The eldar bust into the clearing where the great gates were with such speed that he startled the two Silvan guards that stood by either side. They looked at the prince in surprise as he ran into the clearing.
"Edra-si annon!" the harsh voice of the Sinda seemed to echo off the surrounding rocks and trees.
Startle, both ellyn rushed to do his bidding, neither desiring to anger the crown prince anymore. Kélion's eyes were ablaze with anger as he stormed up to the gates, trying to conceal the fear and dread that threatened to overpower his usually emotionless exterior. As the prince got close to the great stone doors he demanded,
"Where is the king? Where is my adar?"
Both Silvans looked at one another before one stuttered,
"I do not know, hîr nín. Forgive me."
The ellyn bowed low to the ground as the prince brushed past followed closely by Meldir and Êmand. The Sinda called out to the soldiers in the hall beyond,
"Shut the gates and do not let anyone enter or leave by order of your crown prince."
"But my lord," one of the elves inside the Welcoming Hall called out, "What of our patrols? Do we not send them out?"
"Not until I have spoken with my adar. Now do as I have asked."
The anger in Kélion's voice was undermined with a hint of desperation that sent all the elves in the room scrambling to do their prince's bidding.
As the Sinda marched across the Welcoming Hall he had to resist the urge to run straight to his adar's rooms, yet he restrained himself to a rushed walk. If the traitor was somewhere in these halls then he did not want this evil creature to be alerted just yet.
As all three of the ellyn hurried through the passages that led to the royal chambers, Kélion heard a voice call out to him.
"What is the meaning of this?" Thalion rounded a corner in front of them with several royal guards at his side, halting the party, "Prince Kélion, I have just been alerted that you have shut the gates without consulting your king first. What do you hope to gain by this idiotic stunt?"
The Sinda looked the elf dead in the eye,
"As the crown prince of the Greenwood do I not have the authority to shut the gates if I deem it necessary? Have I not also the power to open them again? Now move aside I must speak with my adar."
The older Silvan seemed to hear the underlying tone in the prince's voice and quickly stepped to the side. As Kélion passed, Thalion fell into step beside him.
"What is it? What has happened?"
The eldar's question was directed at the prince, but it was Êmand who answered.
"Dark magic. It is all over the forest. Now tell me mellon where is Thranduil?"
The intensity in the elf's voice brought dread coursing through the royal advisor,
"I knocked on the king's door not an hour past. He did not answer so I assumed him to be resting."
"You left him alone?" Kélion's voice was edged with anger.
"Yes. There was nothing to cause me to suspect anything was ill with him. What is it that you know that I do not? What do you not tell me?"
None of the ellyn answered for it was at that moment that they arrived at the ornate wooden door to the king's chambers.
Kélion felt his heart leap in his chest as he found himself standing at the door that he knew so well for he had stood here many times. His adar had always answered as his knock. The prince prayed to the Valar that he would do so this day, yet something in his heart told him that this would not be the case.
"Adar? I need to speak with you."
The crown prince waited only a moment before trying the handle. To his surprise the door was unlocked and it swung open easily.
A fire burned in the fireplace casting shadows across the room and the curtains were drawn tight over the window, something that his adar never did. Thranduil had once told Kélion that he could not sleep unless he could see the stars sparkling in all their pure beauty above arda. However what drew his attention first were the empty wine bottles that littered the normally neat and tidy desk. The Sinda walked over and picked one of them up. It took only a second for him to smell that this was some of the most potent wine in all the kingdom. Had his adar really drank so much?
"Thranduil?"
Thalion's voice cut through the stillness of the room, causing the prince to look over towards the king's bed chambers. The door was wide open and what he saw froze his heart in his chest.
As soon as they had walked in through the door to the king's rooms, Êmand had immediately been able to smell the intense aroma of strong wine. He had known Thranduil to have a great love for the intoxicating drink but judging by the number of empty bottles on the desk the Sinda had not just been enjoying an evening sip. The Silvan had witnessed this behavior from the king on several occasions when the elf had wanted to drown out his feelings, only it rarely ever worked for over his lifetime the Sinda had developed a strong resistance to even the most powerful wine.
However the eldar could not bring himself to blame the elven king for trying. After all the elf had now lost not only his wife but now also his youngest son. Legolas. The name tore at Êmand made his throat tight. He had been tasked with mentoring and guarding the young prince since the day of his birth almost 600 years ago. Now all of that had vanished. Even now with all the worries, he still felt himself looking around for the young Sinda; yet Legolas was never there. Without his little green leaf, it was as if a large part of him was missing. So, no he could not blame the king for wanting to drown out these feelings, for he himself desired to do the same.
"Thranduil?"
Thalion's voice brought Êmand out of his memories and caused his head to snap up. He saw the loyal advisor walking slowly over to the open door that lead to the king's bed-chamber. The elven king never left any of his door open, what had caused him to do so now? Perhaps the ellon had been too intoxicated to realize and had passed out on his bed.
Êmand began to walk over towards Thalion but stopped at what he saw. Across the bedroom from the door sat the only portrait of the royal family propped up against the wall. The painting was destroyed. What looked to be sword slashed littered the delicately painted canvas making most of it unrecognizable. Young Legolas's handsome face seemed to be where the force had been exerted the most. Horrible memories flooded Êmand. Flashes of Legolas's burned body flashed through his mind causing him to shudder. Yet at the same time, he was filled with uncontrollable anger. This had been the only image of the elfling in the entire palace. To him it felt as though the king had destroyed the last memory of his beautiful son.
"Thranduil!"
Êmand strode into the room rage building. He would have an answer from this egotistical elf. However, the room was completely empty. The lavish bed lay cold and barren no sign that the Sinda had even touched it. On the floor lay the king's expensive outer robes, crumpled and forgotten on the rug.
"Where is he?"
The question was directed at Thalion who had ventured into the room after him.
"I know not. I brought him up wine not an hour ago and knocked on his door soon after. I assumed he had retired for the night and I had guards stationed in the halls. He could not have left or been disturbed."
Êmand ran his hand through his brown and hair before casting a desperate look at Meldir.
Several minutes later the entirety of the king's chambers had been searched for any sign of the elven king. Kélion himself had scoured the rest of his adar's bed chambers, horrible scenarios of what had happened crossing his mind as he did so.
"He is not here," The prince heard Êmand's say to Thalion, "Nor can I find the guards who you had stationed in the halls."
There was deathly silence in the room and the prince could feel the eyes of both ellyn look over at him.
You need to return to the palace, for something evil is at work.
The words of the oak rang in his ears. A traitor, betrayer, that was what he had assumed it to mean. Had he been wrong? Or had his adar been taken, kidnapped by this evil force?
Questions and dreadful thoughts flooded his mind. What if that was why he had been overcome by the trees in the forest. Had his adar been killed? Was that why he now felt the weight of all the Greenwood on his shoulders? Was this why the guards could not be found? Had they taken his adar's body to dispose of it?
Despair flooded the Sinda and he let himself fall to his knees, his heart crying out at the darkness that had taken over his world. He surely would have felt something if his adar had passed on. He would not accept it.
The weight of the day and the stresses on his body suddenly became too much for Kélion and he fell forward onto the carpet, everything going blissfully dark and numb.
Elvish Translations:
adar – father
hîr nín – my lord
edra-si annon – open the gate now
mellon – friend