Everyone reacted immediately. Their time was running up. She could feel her heart starting to race inside her chest, every single beat a second they had already lost. The door was thrown open once more and she nearly jumped in surprise, calming down only as she saw the younger twin rushing towards his mirror image. By the look on his alert silver eyes, she could tell that Elrohir already knew everything that had taken place in his absence. The twins locked eyes for a second, silver meeting silver in a silent conversation in which she could not participate.
"Let us get everything ready as soon as we can." Legolas said a he nearly jumped to his feet, quickly making his way towards the door, Tadion following closely behind. Arahaelon attempted to rise from the couch but Tadion immediately stopped him with a gentle hand.
"Stay there. I will bring your things, Ar. Yours too, Lossie." Tadion's clear blue eyes turned to his sister for a moment, before returning to meet his eldest brother's penetrating green eyes. The Crown Prince nodded his head, looking slightly relieved to be spared the task of walking back to his chambers.
"Is your sword in its usual place?" Tadion continued in his gentle voice, receiving another nod from Arahaelon. "Your bow?" Another nod. "Your-"
"Tadion!" Legolas interrupted from the door in an impatient tone. He looked exasperated with his brother, and at the same times his lips twitched in a smirk as his infinite blue eyes stared into his elder brother's equal pair. "Everything is in its place. Arahaelon's chambers are not your chambers. Move it."
Tadion's sparkling blue eyes widened are he turned to face his younger brother, his mouth opened in mocked offence, yet fighting back a smile, as if he could not believe his younger brother was calling him out. Nonetheless, Tadion rose to his feet and quickly walked to where Legolas waited, narrowing his eyes at his younger brother. Lossenel's laughter floated in the haunted air, the sound like tiny silver bells dancing delicately around her.
"What exactly are you implying?" She could not contain a smile as she heard Tadion asking Legolas as they exited the room, the door closing before she could hear an answer.
Beside her, both of the twins were already securing their long dark blue cloaks over their shoulders, and for the first time she noticed that Elrohir had brought both his and his twins belongings with him. She simply stood there for a moment, unmoving. She knew she needed to get ready, but it felt as if her body denied her request, not willing to accept the situation.
On the couch, the Crown Prince sat leaning against the pillow behind his back, eyes once again closed in exhaustion, making her question whether or not he had fallen asleep. His right cheek was still an angry pink, marking the place Lossenel's hand had slapped him, but he did not seem to be aware of that any longer. The snowy Princess sat next to him, and opposite to her brother, she did look very much aware of the mark on his cheek. Her stunning ice colored eyes seemed dulled, a shadowing shame and remorse burying their usual light as she stared emptily at her hands neatly folded on her lap. Her guilt stricken eyes gazed up to her brother, the back of her fingers gently and hesitantly caressing his pink cheek, barely even touching him at all.
She felt slender fingers carefully placing a fine velvet cloak over her shoulders from behind, and her lips curved up in a smile as she immediately knew who it was. She turned around to face Elladan as he gently clasped her pale green cloak at her chest. It was the cloak he had gifted her, and the pin the one that had once belonged to him. Liquid silver eyes fell on hers, drowning her in the endless expansions and she felt him reaching to her through their bond, sending waves of calmness in her direction. His hands tenderly slid down her shoulders, perfectly straightening the cloak before his hands reached hers, allowing her to entwine her fingers with his.
"Are you all right, my love?" His melodic voice was low enough so that no other elf in the room would hear him. She smiled reassuringly, placing a light kiss on his cheek as her answer.
In the back of her mind, she could hear Legolas and Tadion returning to the room, helping Arahaelon and Lossenel with their things as fast as possible, but she paid no attention to them. Instead, she leaned forward into Elladan's chest, feeling his heart beating against her cheek and his welcoming arms wrapping securely around her. She knew the moment would last only short seconds, but she intended to stretch them for as long as she could, shielding her thoughts and fears in his sole presence.
The soft cool breeze kept whispering danger, telling her to move, to run, to escape, her nerves growing more restless by the second and her heart starting to race anxiously. And yet, her feet did not move.
Much sooner than she had liked, he pulled away, his hands once again searching for hers, and she understood that the hour for departure had finally arrived. Elrohir was standing to his twin side, both of them suddenly looking more identical than ever, perfect copies standing tall and elegant, making her doubt that anyone would be able to tell them apart.
Lossenel was already on her feet, watching closely a Legolas and Tadion carefully helped Arahaelon to stand. The Crown Prince paled at the movement, swaying dangerously on his feet and she was sure he would have fallen had it not been for his brothers' hands supporting him upright. She felt her heart jump in fear, suddenly doubting that her eldest brother would even make it to the door.
"He will be fine. He no longer has a fever, but his body is still fighting the remains of the poison and the wound needs to start healing. The poison has been preventing it from healing. It will only take him some time to regain his strength. Do not worry." She heard Elladan's voice reassuring her inside her head and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze to let him know she had heard him. She knew that both Elladan and Elrohir were trained healers, as skilled as any healer in the Palace.
Arahaelon seemed to regain his balance some seconds later, finally opening his eyes to reveal a pair of powerful emerald irises, so serene and yet so piercing, once again looking as if the power in his eyes was entirely independent from the condition of his weakened body. His face was calmed, entirely composed, looking every inch the Crown Prince he was. Had it not been for his overly pale complexion and the way in which he obviously leaned on Legolas for support she would have never imagined he was injured at all; and had it not been for the poison that so direly weakened him she was sure he would have fooled her entirely, just as he had done during the Winters Solstice celebration.
"How are we getting out?" She asked suddenly. "There are guards all over the hallway."
She could still hear the many footsteps coming and going through the long corridor outside her chambers. It seemed that they had not been the only ones to pick on the warning of the forest.
"We are not taking the hallway." Legolas was the one to answer, his infinite blue eyes looking directly at her, all of his senses sharp. "There is a service access inside the sitting room you share with Lossenel."
She could not hide the surprise from showing on her face. She had not even known she shared a sitting room with her sister. Her eyes instantly travelled to the other door inside her chambers, the one Legolas' eyes were currently focused on. Why had she never even bother to explore what was behind said door? She had known that Lossenel's room was directly next to hers, but she had completely ignored the fact that they shared a common space. However, her thoughts were quickly brought back to reality before she could continue to ponder on them.
"Tadion, you go first." The Crown Prince's serene yet unquestionable voice commanded. "Legolas, you and I will go last."
Her middle brother said nothing in return, quickly making his way to the elegant door she had never seen open. Elladan's hand never left hers as they one by one made it through the door, and she suddenly had the feeling that this door would be the easiest to cross in their whole escape. Part of her wanted to keep questioning her brothers. Surely there would also be elves in the service areas of the Palace, it was not like the Palace was empty. But she kept quiet. It was the only chance they had, and she would take it.
The room on the other side was pitch black, and for some seconds she could see absolutely nothing as her eyes adjusted. Slowly, shapes started to appear on her vision, and she could see some elegant pieces of furniture decorating the overly large room. There were some couches and seats, and she was nearly sure she could make out a long table to one side. All of the colors had been reduced to darks blues and greys in the lack of light, some of the disappearing into complete darkness. She could not see a single window, but the faint outline of long curtains proved their presence. For a moment, she wished she had time to simply observe the room, to sit in it alone with her sister, but they merely walked through it, Tadion leading the way to another door on one of the walls.
It took her a moment to make out the outline of a door in the majestic stone wall. The door cracked lowly as it opened the shimmering orange light of the torches lighting the other side quickly brightening the room a little. She could not see much ahead, but she could see enough to make out they were stairs. It seemed like a long stone tunnel spiraling down in steps, until they disappeared as it curved out of view.
Tadion was the first one to go through the door, Lossenel at his heels. She could tell that the Princess seemed determined to stay close to him, as she had promised Arahaelon. Elrohir was the next one to go and she followed behind him, Elladan only a step at her back. Legolas and Arahaelon went last, silently closing the door behind them as to leave no track.
The space was narrow, only wide enough to fit two elves at a time, and the ceiling was uncommonly low, only a foot or two above their heads. The air smelled strongly of humidity, and even though there was an occasional torch lighting their way, she had to concentrate to not loose her footing. The echo of their silent footsteps bounced on the plain walls, their sound a hollow song that was the only witness to their quiet escape.
She did not count how many steps they descended before finally reaching a long, dimly lit corridor. Just as the stairs had been, the corridor seemed to be empty. Many entrances and other corridors and stairs branched out of this large one, all of them in equal plain stone, like a dark and labyrinth in which she did into want to get lost. The pale silvery moonlight filtered through thin slits at the top of the walls, radiating down in perfect pale lines along the grey stone.
Her obvious thought would have been to continue straight through the endlessly stretching stone corridor, or perhaps to take a detour through one of the branching entrances, but Tadion seemed to have a different idea in mind. Instead of following through the empty corridor, the Prince took a sharp turn to the right, rounding what seemed to be the towering wall that had enclosed the long spiral staircase. She had not even noticed the small gap in between the end of the stairs and the corridor wall until her brother disappeared through it.
Her heart was racing inside her chest, so loud she thought her siblings would be able to hear it. She walked as close to Elrohir as possible, following his every move. The narrow passage curved into a constricted semicircle behind the towering staircase, making her feel caged in the awkwardly left space. It felt strange, as if this space was not supposed to be there, and she could not conceal inside her head that it had purposely designed. No. It seemed as if the tower with the staircase had been built over another existing structure. She spared a glance behind her, and by the excited and curious gleam in Legolas' eyes she could tell that this passage was as knew to him as it was to her.
To her relief, the tight passage was not long. In fact, it seemed overly short, only curving a quarter of a circle behind the tower wall before it met an end. There were not torches on the walls, but what she found strangest of it all was that there were no structures to hang to torches from, as if this tight, curving entrance had been entirely forgotten, never used.
It did not take her long to notice that the end of the passage was not a dead end. No. There was what seem dot have once been an elegantly carved door. It was closed. Dust and mold consuming the once fine wood, the beautiful copper doorknob stained in black. This door had not been opened in decades. The awkward way in which the edge of the door nearly collided with the wall of the passage only strengthened her assumption that the towering staircase had indeed been built years after. What she could not understand was why?
Tadion, Arahaelon and Lossenel seemed to have known that door was there. There was no surprise in their eyes at the sight of the rotting wood. Doronor's words echoed through her mind once more. "I will alert your brothers. They will know where to go." Had the advisor also known of this forgotten door?
"It will be locked." Arahaelon's low voice bounced on the tight walls from behind her, his piercing emerald eyes looking directly at Tadion. "Can you break the lock?"
"I do not need to break it." Tadion's lips curved up in a mocking smile, clear blue eyes shimmering with victory and he held up a single long copper key in his fingers.
"How did you get that?" The Crown Prince looked taken aback, arching an eyebrow questioningly. Tadion's smile only widened in return.
"I have…acquaintances." Came Tadion's simple reply, causing Arahaelon to roll his eyes impatiently and Legolas to try and suppress a light laugh.
It took Tadion several times to open the door, the lock seemed stuck form the many years left unused. The rotting door finally opened with a low creaking sound, her brother having to force it a couple of times until it was wide enough for an elf to squeeze in. Dust rained from the movement, swirling and spiraling in the tight space, and she had to close her eyes to prevent them from tearing up.
The space behind the narrowly opened door was pitch black, like an endless abysm, forgotten and unnoticed, threatening them to walk directly into it. A cold shiver ran down her spine at the sole idea of walking through the opened crack. To say that she disliked constricted spaces was an understatement, and the total darkness only made things worse.
One by one they squeezed through the narrow opening, leaving the tight hidden passage behind them. She felt her heart beating in her throat, every step she took was a step she could not take back. Every inch of her body seemed to be warning her of danger, but she could not go any faster. Here in this black, consuming hole, there was no way of knowing what was going on the other side of the majestic stone walls.
Humidity was higher on the other side of the door, the air suddenly turning cold and heavy, and she cold smell more dust and mold around her. To her surprise, the space behind the door was not another narrow corridor as she had expected, but a large room, the echo of their footsteps bouncing infinitely on the tall walls. She tripped with something on the floor and Elrohir's quick reflexes caught her by the arm before she could fall.
"Careful where you step." He whispered to her, making sure she had complete control of her footing before letting go of her arm.
Finally, her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, and the sight that met her eyes made a new wave of shivers wash over her petrified body. The room was indeed a large room, the tall stone walls extending upwards almost infinitely. And yet the desolated sorrow of their forgotten grandeur seemed almost melancholic, their silent echo whispering like cries of pain and despair in their eternal solitude. Parts of the wall seemed to have crumbled down, wearily surrendering to their loneliness, leaving the inner hard stone that composed the structure entirely visible behind, like the remaining bones of a decaying corpse.
Tall narrow windows stretched up the entire length of the walls, meeting the shade of pointed arches at the top, their frail crystals grey from dust and time, preventing the silvery moonlight from completely washing into the room. Instead, the faint pale light that made it trough the opaque crystals was dull, fragmented in delicate weak beams, as if the light itself pitied the forgotten room, attempting to offer some sort of consolation to its darkened state. Pieces of crumble stone and fallen items lay scattered on the floor, making it hard to walk without tripping.
Her eyes wondered around the entire room, and she could see Legolas and the twins doing the same. Tall and elegant statues were carved along the walls, three times the size of a real elf, their empty stone eyes seeming to watch them as they walked, begging for someone to remember their times of glory. Thin delicate columns lined the Hall, branching out to support the ceiling in the shape of branches and leaves, intertwining with one another, so tall she could barely see their ends.
"What is this place?" She mentally asked Elladan as he stepped to her side, walking next to her instead of behind. He seemed as awed and uneasy about this space as she did.
"It was a council room." Elladan's gentle voice echoed inside her head, and she turned her head in direction his eyes were looking.
There, in the center of the overly large Hall were the remains of a large rounded table. The once perfectly carved wood that adorned it now rotten and missing pieces, only the hard time wearied stone that composed the majority of the table remained, the finely elven inscriptions in it hardly visible. The thin columns rounded the table in an ample circle, leaving a space were ten decaying seats laid forgotten around the table. The ceiling above them was considerably higher and in the rest of the room, and the blackened crystals at its top let her know where a skylight had once shone, now eternally sealed by the corridors and rooms built over this desolated structure. One of the chairs was remarkable taller than the rest, and unlike its companions, it was made in gold, resembling more of a throne than a seat, marking the place the King had once occupied.
The gentle sound of water drops drumming on the windows' crystals told her it had started to rain. The thick drops hit the crystal with a wracking force, the force of the wild wind making them tremble in return. They hurriedly walked in silence through the room, Elladan instinctively placing a hand on her back. It seemed as if all of them were determined to get out of the Palace as soon as possible, ignoring yet what was happening behind these forever silenced walls.
She could hear the trees cracking violently outside, their black shadows moving brutally on the other side of the crystals, as if they were once again moving, stretching. Her heart raced faster, all of her senses suddenly alert, feeling more awake than ever. The storm raging outside was not a product of nature. The King and Lord Elrond already knew of the approaching threat.
Tadion led them to the end of the room, curving into what once seemed to have been one of the many accesses into the fine council room. One of the walls had a large hole in it, letting visibly what seemed to be the remains of a staircase descending into yet another room. The hole met the stairs about eight feet above them, meaning that the access to the beginning of the stairs was no longer existent.
Without warning, Tadion jumped through the opening, gracefully landing on the steps below. A branch suddenly hit one of the crystals, making her jump in surprise. When she turned around Lossenel was already sitting at the edge of the opening, allowing her brother to help her from below. Elrohir jumped next, and her heart skipped a beat as she realized she should follow.
She carefully sat at the edge of the stone, imitating what her sister had done, and slowly lowered her body into the hole, letting out a sigh of relief as she felt Elrohir's hands around her waist, carrying her down until her feet touched the ground. The stair was too narrow for more than two of them to stand on the same step, so she headed further down, towards where Lossenel waited. Unlike the side of the stairs from which they had jumped, the other side presented no wall, but the remains of what once was a railing, the stairs openly descending into yet another large, decaying Hall.
She heard Elladan jumping down next, and turn around to look, watching just in time as he gracefully hit the steps below. Up in the wall opening, the Crown Prince seemed to be having trouble in joining the rest of them. She knew he could not jump, he would not be able to land on his feet. She watched as Legolas helped his eldest brother sit at the edge of the hole, both Elladan and Tadion carefully lowering Arahaelon to the ground. Once the Crown Prince's feet were safely on the stone steps, Tadion took over Legolas in supporting him upright, guiding him down a couple of steps for Legolas to jump.
Unlike the decaying council room, this second Hall was hardly recognizable, so destroyed that even its shape was hard to make out. Tadion was once again leading the way, Arahaelon once more leaning on Legolas as they walked close to the tall wall. She could not tell where they were headed, or if the space had changed from a Hall to a corridor or another Hall. The place was too destroyed to tell, the pieces of stones on the floor making it hard to walk in a straight line. All she could tell was that they were descending through the Palace, following occasional staircases and narrow corridors.
Finally they reached another opening. It was a wide stone arch, al most like a doorframe, except that there was no door. The stone of the walls seemed in better condition, although it no longer held any of the elegant carvings or detailing that the previous Halls had. No. This one was once again plain, although it was definitely in better condition. It seemed newer. There were three wide stone steps on the other side of the arch, and ahead she could see what seemed to be another labyrinth of plain stone passages.
The faint flickering light of a torch in the corridor ahead gave her some reassurance. At least she was glad to be outside the murmuring ruins of forgotten Halls. Part of her was surprised to find that there was no door locking the decaying ruins from this access to the lower corridors of the Palace, but then again, the dire condition of those last halls they had crossed probably held no attraction to any elf. She hardly doubted anyone would venture into them, if only to find out what was left. Especially this far below in the Palace. In fact she had a dreadful feeling that they were no longer in the service areas, but in the dungeons.
They rushed through the enclosed stone corridor, their footsteps as silent as possible, taking left into yet another corridor. The corridor fed into yet another one, but before they could round the corner the sound of running footsteps reached her ears, and at the front of the line Tadion held up a hand, pressing his back against the cold dark stone, hiding in the shadows. They all imitated him, waiting. Two guards ran past their view, not even noticing them in the darkness of the corridor. They seemed in an obvious rush, saying something in elvish as they ran. She could not understand what they said, but the presence of guards only meant one thing. They were close to an exit.
The echo of the guards footsteps faded away in the distance, follow by a deadly silence. For long seconds the only sound that reached her ears the cracking of the fire ghostly dancing in the torches. Then Tadion ventured forward, disappearing around the corner. Lossenel followed behind. She could hear their silent footsteps echoing in the stone just as Elrohir followed her sister.
She stepped out of her hiding place, Elladan at her heels as they walked out into the corridor. At that same moment, Tadion's footsteps came to a sudden halt. She was too late to return to hide, she and Elladan were already into view. Her heart paralyzed inside her chest, her feet freezing in place as her breath was cut out of her lungs.
Some feet in front of Tadion, an elf had appeared, both the stranger and Prince frozen in place, neither expecting the other to show up. The elf was trembling, long brown hair soaking wet with rainwater. His eyes looked wild, mad, wide, jumping from Tadion to Lossenel, to Elrohir and then to her and Elladan. A bow was held up in his visibly shaking hands, an arrow pointing directly at Tadion.
Her brother remained unmoving, perfectly paralyzed, as if making sure not to make any sudden move that could startle the already terrified elf. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Elladan throwing a quick glance at Legolas and Arahaelon, discretely telling them to stay hiding. The strange elf in front of them continued to shake, not giving any signs that it was his intention to lower the threatening arrow. And yet, he looked shocked, frightened out of his mind. His wide blue eyes continued to stare at Tadion, seeming to be fighting with himself, not willing to harm his Prince.
Elladan had moved ever so subtly, half of his body in front of hers, standing as tall and calmed at Tadion, trying to avoid any sudden reactions. Her brother seemed to read the hesitation and fear in the elf's eyes for he spoke cautiously.
"Amrudir, lower your bow." Tadion's calmed and slow voice floated in the air. His voice was peaceful, patient, and at the same highly authoritative. Now Legolas and Arahaelon knew the identity of the elf.
The brown haired elf shook his head violently, his eyes not looking any less scared, any less volatile, still shaking visibly. Some steps behind Tadion, Lossenel seemed completely petrified, a pale stone statue, burning fear consuming the clear depths of her eyes. Elrohir was standing directly in front of Lossenel, shielding the Princess in the same way that Elladan was shielding her.
"Amrudir, I am not going to harm you. Please lower your bow. We are only going to walk past you. We mean no harm." Tadion tried again, his calmed voice pronouncing every word carefully, clear blue eyes fixed directly on his aggressor, trying to get the unsettled elf's attention to himself.
The elf did not move, keeping the arrow as high as before, but not giving nay signs that he would shoot his Prince. Slowly, Tadion tried lifting his palms up, hesitantly taking a step forward.
"No! No! NO!" The elf suddenly shouted, his wild eyes widening almost unnaturally, shaking violently as he stretched the cord of the bow even further. Tadion halted instantly, once again freezing in his place, his eyes not betraying a single spark of fear, his expression calmed, unreadable.
"Amrudir, what do you want?" Tadion's voice was slower, and yet as calmed and composed as before.
"Her." The elf's shaking voice bounced in the walls as he nodded his head in her direction, not moving the arrow an inch. Her heart stopped inside her chest, but she did not dare move. "They are coming. They want her. Just give her to them. Give her up before they come, My Lord."
The elf's voice trembled as he spoke, his wild scared eyes almost pleading to Tadion, and yet the threatening arrow still remained pointing directly at the Prince's chest, ready to be released if necessary. My Lord. So she had not read his eyes wrong. This elf was still loyal to Tadion. She could tell he did not want to shoot his Prince, but she had no doubt he would do it to get what he wanted.
"Amrudir, please." Tadion's voice seemed to never run out of calmed patience as he tried to reason with this emotionally unstable elf "Let us go. We will be out of your way in seconds."
The elf shook his head again, pulling the string of the bow farther back.
"No. I cannot. No. No. They will kill me. I cannot let her go." The elf's voice continued to shake, fear burning inside of her at the arrow still pointing at her brother's chest.
More footsteps echoed in the distance, running in their direction. They would have company soon, and if they were as scared as this elf, things would only get harder for them. The shaking elf seemed to have heard the noise for he quickly spared a glance behind, looking more impatient now, but not lowering his bow.
"Amrudir, please." Tadion spoke again, gaining no reaction form the elf. The footsteps were drawing nearer. Time was running up.
Understanding that the frightened elf would not move, Tadion ventured a slow step forward. Then everything happened in a flash. Her heart jumped widely inside her chest. Lossenel shrieked. The elf had released the arrow without warning, letting it fly sharply through the air…
Here is chapter 21! I hope you like it! Please let me know what you think of it!
Again, I can't thank enough times all of you who reviewed my latest chapter: Jirbil, dingdongsong, Danda225, Paperlanterns86, wonderpanda10, SarahWeasley, Martine9295, xX-MissyMoo-Xx, Coco99, world-classgeek, starfire341, booklover1598, AmazingWriter123, Mary Elrondile, and Wtiger5.
Love,
Elena