Lúthien dropped her bow. She was panicked. She ran toward him, who was asking her to let him go, a minute ago.
The wooden bow has lost it's arrow, and fell down into the hardened ground, as she caught his falling body with her embracing. She caressed his cheek softly, which was washed with dark red bloods, and whispered to him. "Thranduil, wake up. Hey, listen to me-"
But he was not listening.
No, no. Don't give into the darkness.. Please- wait. What-
Lúthien's heart begins to race rapidly. Indeed, there was no time. As she smelled the bitterness of dense blood, she realized that her hands were soaked with fluids. His shoulder was deeply wounded. Very gravely.
No, he could not listen.
Soon, the vast darkness of afraid has surround her, and captured her afraid. Her hand was shuddering with pains of her heart. She was afraid. Of what? What are you afraid of, Lúthien? The questions of her mind troubled her, but there was no time to answer about that. She could not let him go, just like this.
"Thranduil, listen to me. Hear my voice. Can you hear me? Follow my voice, and come back to the light." No, you can not go.
"I will not allow you to just flee like this." Wait. Something was wrong. As her hand senses some strange sensations at his back, her eyes has gone widened. She grabbed his armour, and get off them from him strongly.
There was more. Things were going out of her hand. She gasped.
"Oh no. No.."
There was more grave wound in his back. From his left shoulder to his whole back, was stabbed deeply: his wound has already turned into the black, and so did his skin.The wound was only single, but it was deep. Very. His wound was opened. It was obvious that he was stabbed by the Morgûl's poison.
Athelas. The only thought that crossed her mind immediately.
She need athelas.
She seeked for her sack, which she filled with bunches of the healing plants in yesterday. Thankfully, all of them were kingsfoil.
"Legolas? Ionneg-" Oh dear. Yes, she was definitely running out of time.
She smashed the dried leaves aggressively, soon the scents of it's bitterness has spread into the air vastly, as she spread the pieces of healing plants on his enormous wound neatly, on his bare back.
"no, no..." He was crying. He was pleading to someone in his head, desperately. With tears. As his breathing fades gradually, Lúthien's heart pounded more rapidly. He was looking illusions of Mordor.
"please.. not, not her.." His panicked face was painted with white, the death. He was murmuring with cracked voices, the desperate pleas with dropping tears from his eyes.
"Menno o nin na hon i eliad annen annin; hon leitho o-ngurth." Lúthien whispered softly.
"Come back to the light, Thranduil. Hear my voice, and follow. Follow my voice, and come back to the light; where you were belonged to." Please. There's no way. Valars of the middle earth, hear my plea. Please.
And no returns at all. None of them.
The moon and stars were gone, including their blessed lights. No. Please listen to my pray. The darkness has shown itself again.
Lúthien glanced the black skies with torment, and she held Thranduil tightly, who was dying in her arms. Soon, instead the numbness of darkness, the tears with desperate daylights of warmth had filled into her warm-dark eyes.
"Save him please.. It is my one last desire." She cried out in silent.
"What grace has given me, let it pass to him. Let him be spared." Her tear falls onto his red blooded wound, and the black flooding bloods mingled with the silent tears. The pure tear drops on white cheek rolled down into his wound, and merged within.
No one was listening at this desperate longings for help, except the only one. The bright, cold gleaming lights of evenstar were shining upon them. To protect the only hope from the world of darkness, when there was none.
"Let him live. Let mine pass to him. Took the blessed lifes of Eldar's grace of mine. Not his. Save him please. I beg you."
"Let him live." She closed her eyes with grief.
The final words rolled down gravely as her single tear borne with urge onto him.
The grave voice has filled in dark, neutral airs of this numbed hall. His voice with ringing echoes pierced the every kindreds heart, but not this time. It has flipped.
"Rise up, the most beloved child of Eru Ilúvatar." The voice demand silently, but there was the grief within, which can not be hidden from it. But there was no returning. Only the griefs which can not be hidden inevitably has remained at the hall, and answered with not responding.
"And the one who became hope, itself. The one who beloved to every Valars of Arda. Open your eyes." It was the moment that only when the death has perished away from the voice, filled within the generosity instead, and the one last time that Death took his pity on the life ever.
It was not the first time that he had rose from his throne, but it was for the first time, that he offered his hand to rise up.
"Your desperate plea will be fulfilled." He, the great ruler of death spoke gently. As his word continues, the lightless beacon of life was lit, once again. He smiled with woe.
"You two shall be binded again, by with the blessings of Lady Varda and Lady Nienna." It was the first time that Death was motivated vigorously with Life's passion. Death genuinely smiled as he was glad that he could give her a chance to live. But the inevitable foe always came at last.
"If you chose to be retrieved, then you shall. But there must be the price of the life which you have wasted it. The cost which you just throw your own life away to the death. Choose. What will you exchange it for." It was the bitterness of Life's tragic fate, that Death took a pity on it.
He could not give it all. That was the rule, which applies equally to everyone, in this world; in this arda.
"What will you choose?"
He chuckled sadly. He was so sorry to her, that he could only give her this. As the gaps between the words and words grew more, he can not erase the bitter thoughts about, this peculiar one. She was not different at all: with other greedy ones, who avoids to deal with the truth. She was just like them. He thought.
"I will give you my everything; my memory."
What?
"Your everything?" Death asked to life. He was surprised.
Memory. He chuckled. Soon, he recalled someone same as her. There was someone before her, who bargained with him, few millennia ago; bargained with Death to retrieve her beloved one again. Mostly they were same, but wholly they were different.
"I can give you my everything to return, even what if may costs. But I have nothing. Except my memories. I know, it's bit unfair to you. But, you could use my memory for weaving. And you could use as for the-"
"I did not ask for the usage of your memories. It is the reason which I wish to know.
Why but memory." He asked.
"It is the most precious to me beyond measure, that I could give you. It is the evidence of the hope, which was my own guidance to the light. With this, I could bear every torments of foe's. I could stand every darkness of the world's. Memory is the gift that you had gave me. Thank you.
And I have no choice. This is what all I have." Life bowed to Death genuinely, with all heart.
He was speechless. There was no lie in her. But when the trade comes with the memory, it was dangerous.
"You will linger on in darkness and in doubt. As night falling winter has come without a star; everything will be left, doomed to be fade. Why do you linger here, when there's no hope?" Death spoke hurriedly to her, to warn her.
But as Life watched him, she grinned with grief in her eyes, yet that makes her shines brightly.
"There is still hope. Yet the vast darkness of the doubt spreads unto the world, day by day, but still the hope exists. Still it remains.
My hope is not faded away, so does my sentiments: nothing, but my heart will remember.
If I leave him now, I will regret it forever." This, giving her memory up, was her choice. Death gazed her with an awe.
He asked to her lastly. "Still, after all this time?"
She smiled.
"Always"
Thranduil opened up his eyes in pain. He whined with uncomfortable feelings. He was lying on his stomach at bed, with unclothed upper torso.
He groaned, as he realized that he was wearing nothing only but his trouser, thankfully. He tried to rise himself up, but that was very hard to be done. So thus, he failed.
Alas! He cannot do anything, til someone help him to rose.
He tried once more to get up, he clenched his hand, and his teeth aggressively. And at last! He could finally rise from it.
He glanced his chest and shoulder, which was swathed with white long bandages, but no white anymore. It turned into the dark scarlet, because of his injury.
"Ha-" How could he just transported to here like this? It was beyond of his power. Even Galadriel can not teleport herself willingly. He sighed and get upped from this fuzzy bed.
He must return, but.. how?
Thranduil sighed. Dazzling morning sunshine crawled into the opened window silently, to warm up the cold land. Following by warm breeze, the sweet scents of sprouts came forth to ease his wandering anxious heart.
"From darkness, I understand the night"
He heard the voice, which makes him in awe. Who might be this one? And there was only one, who could sing like this at in the utmost dark times.
"The trees which I used to know, are now gone"
Thranduil hurried himself to look for his tunic, which he was wearing, before he became unconscious. He knew this voice. No, he know.
"At the edge of the dooms, I saw the light"
As he found his well - folded clothes, he weared it with haste. He knew this voice, and grew to know, grew to- His heart begins to race. He buttoned his wearer very rapidly.
"As the dark grows, the gift turns into the fright-"
The voice was beginning to fade away. It was gradually fading. As the beautiful voice decreases slowly, some urgent step followed the fair sound.
"O Elbereth, the shining star! I rely the world's fate on your lights"
He urges to listen this voice for one last time more.
"I laid my heart onto this middle-earth, as I trust the hope."
So do I. Thranduil hastened his steps.
Lúthien stopped her song. She looked around the trees that are now numbness, and not responding to her songs with gentle whispers as old days.
She stepped toward into the Mallorn tree, and laid her hand on it's enormous branch. She closed her eyes, and whispered into.
"The darkness will fallen. I won't let them make you suffer. Estelio nin, mellon nín." She kissed to that lifeless body of nature's. There was no respond. The world has changed. She sighed.
She looked around the forest, which she was standing in. It may could seem alive, but it was not. It's gradually dying. There was no more lights on this world, that she used to know, and grew to love at last.
"I amar prestar aen" She mumbled.
The sun was shining at all above this land, but it was not same as before. It was different. Sun was cold. There was no warmth in it. Gradually it fades away. And as she thought about that, soon she reminds someone, who was losing his life into the darkness. She worried about Thranduil all day. Thankfully, he did not give up. He endured.
He had suffered for almost three days, unconsciously. First day, his body was gravely burning up, which seemed that he could not make it. As he sweated too much, she rubbed his forehead gently with warm wet cloth. His breathing was still very weakened. She held his hand, which was very cold, as opposed to his burning body. She shed her tears for his sake.
As each night passes; which was very hard times to him, even to her, gradually his fever falls. Every time when he suffers, Luthien was there for him together. At every night.
She want nothing, only but his safety.
'Let him live. Let him came back to me.' Her tear released from her pray, she was holding his hand with desperate hope.
'I beg you, please let him return to me.'
She sighed as relieved that he was alive. She smirked. She recalled the first time when he raised his hands above him, with confused eyes.
"'Vigorous Spring', that fits with him well." Lúthien smiled lightly.
She walked unconsciously, not knowing even that she has been watched. She hummed silently, and watched that the sun has already rose highly above her head. She has to return; she had left him so long. Perhaps he has awakened. She gasped, and blame herself that she was drowned at her minds again and make her steps rush into er house.
And she bumped into something hardened.
She heard someone's groaning. She rubbed her forehead aggressively. Her head was ringing.
As she lifted herself up, to apologise, but she froze.
"Oh, I'm sorr-"
"Are you alright?"
Valar. It was him.
Lúthien's eyes has widened as she felt that her face was burning. Why does he make her blush like this. She wished that he had missed her cheeks had blushes into scarlet red.
But, it seems that can't be happen.
Because,
"It seems you're quite distracted." Thranduil was smiling lightly with amused eyes.
His bright eyes were already gleaming with mischief.
A/N: Hi everyone!! Good to see you again!! And sorry for my sudden editings with my story. ;(This story was my first story, which I have great love within, so I wanted to make it more flawlessly. (Because, I was also unsatisfied with my previous chapters) So I decided to rewrite it, but don't worry! I didn't change the whole outlines of story, only just adding more details, or sort of!
I'm really sorry for my friends who has confused for whole chapters disappearing.
I thought that story was a little bit going out of the point, so this was the reason that I decided to rewrite.
Please review, if there's the scene that I did not write about it, or the scenes which you wished to read about Thranduil and Lúthien! I would like to read all of your lovely opinions!!
And always thanks for everyone who's reading my stories with love and care!
And please wait for their tales! I won't be to late!