She ran. She ran as fast as her sore feet could take her, nearly struggling in her attempt to keep up with Arahaelon. Her brother's hand remained tightly curled around her wrist, seeming to be puling her along, as her feet were not quick enough for his pace. Her heart drummed wildly inside her heaving chest, adrenaline roaring through her veins in an intoxicating rush of energy as fear gripped the deepest bottom of her stomach.
She could see nothing, empty blackness enveloping her from every corner of her vision, only the silver gleam of the Crown Prince's sword would every once in a while sparkle from ahead. She could not tell where they were anymore, only running through this stone maze of dark passages, away form the chaos that had broken around them only seconds ago. She could no longer hear the fight, could no longer listen to any sort of footsteps following them, and still Arahaelon had not slowed his pace, dragging her down spiraling stairs and abrupt corners, until she even started to doubt if he knew where they were going.
Her mind could not understand what had happened, it had been so fast, so sudden. Figures had jumped at them from out of nowhere, materializing form thin air and coming to life from the darkest of shadows. Legolas, Tadion and Indelene were no longer anywhere to be seen, the sudden ambush separating them entirely.
And still there remained the fear that gripped her very soul only moments ago, a fear that come so suddenly, so strongly and intense that it had not yet faded, even after the source of those feelings had blocked them away from her. It had been Elladan's fear, she was sure of it. She had felt it through their bond, had felt it as her own, creeping over her skin making her shiver in despair at is sheer intensity. She had never felt a fear quite like that one before, and it scared her. It sacred what it could mean, what she knew it meant, even though she tried to desperately fool herself into believing otherwise. Elrohir. It had to be Elrohir. Nothing else could awake such a sudden feeling form Elladan but a threat coming at his twin brother. She tried to reach back to him, tried to reach him through their bond, but could find nothing but a strong thick wall. Elladan was blocking her.
She was suddenly pulled away from her thought as her eldest brother unexpectedly halted, pushing her quickly against the cold stone wall and pressing her slim body close to him, his long sword shinning in front of her. Her heart paralyzed momentarily, her breathing stopping in her throat as she understood that Arahaelon would not suddenly stop for nothing. She knew his senses ran far deeper than she assumed, and she felt the iced caress of the dreadful anticipation covering her body as she pressed herself closer to the Crown Prince. Adrenaline kept pumping inside her veins, making feel more and more alive, her senses always more active, sharper, ready to snap. And then she felt it. That familiar sensation that rushed through her blood, tingling as it seemed to awake something else deeper inside of her, a power begging to be released, to merge with her very soul and act on its own.
"Quiet" Her brother's voice whispered in her ear, but she did not need to be warned, She would not utter a sound, her body not seeming to be able to produce one in the first place. For a second she wondered if Arahaelon could feel the power building up inside of her, could feel the change in her aura, the awakening force that tingled inside of her and begged for release. And yet, he had not given any indication that he could tell a difference, but she knew better than to believe he had not noticed. Or had he?
Footsteps ran their way, quickly approaching down the dark and narrow passage, too many to belong to only one elf. But there was something else, something that made her blood grow cold and her skin crawl, making her instinctively turn her head and bury it in her brother's strong chest at the mere wound of it. There were screams. Loud terrified screams filled the air, coming closer along with the approaching footsteps. She felt the sudden urge to run, to run in the same direction the screams where running away from, to flee and escape. Something was definitely very wrong.
The Crown Prince had not reacted to the sound, always still so powerful, so steady, making her feel oddly better at the fact that he did not seem to feel the same panic she felt. Or if he did, he did not show it. Her hands gripped at his arm without her even noticing it, he nails digging into his tunic and most probably into his skin, but he did not even flinch.
The screams were closer now, too close, and as they came closer and closer her urge to run away from away form that place only intensified. She needed to run, needed to flee. The screams where terrorized, making shivers travel down her body. Anyone screaming that way was running from something, and something that seemed beyond terrifying.
Suddenly, figures appeared at the end of the corridor, running fast in their direction, the screams not doubt coming from them. Maids. And there were at least seven of them. They seemed to run in irrational fear, and she felt hear heart threatening to jump out of her chest as they came closer.
"Alassel!" Arahaelon's voice surprised her as he called loudly from the darkness, the undeniable authority in the peaceful yet demanding sounds bouncing on the cold stretching walls and making one of the panicked maids suddenly stop in her tracks, jumping out of slight surprise as yet another scream left her mouth.
She saw the maid, Alassel she assumed, looking around her frantically, wide blue eyes shinning with frightened tears as she let out another scream in surprise as Arahalon suddenly stepped forward, grabbing her gently by the arm to make her look at him.
"My Lord!" The maid gasped out of breath, voice trembling in accordance to her body, eyes still looking around her frantically, as if expecting someone else to suddenly materialize out of the shadows. "What are you doing here? Why are you down here? You should not be down here!"
The maid spoke fast, almost as if trying to get out of her words in one breath, her eyes darting every second or so to the rest of the group of maids who had continued running without her, as if whatever it was they were running from did not merit waiting for even a second.
"Alassel, what is happening?" Arahaelon's voice was equally as quick, emerald eyes bearing down into the maids terrified blue orbs, and she knew the maid would not hesitate to answer, no one could hesitate to answer Arahaelon.
"You should not be here, Your Highness!" The maid continued to repeat in frantic gasps. "You should not be here! Run from here! Do not go down there! Do not go down there!" She continued to blurt out, pointing at the darkened corridor from where the maids had come running.
"What is happening?" Arahaleon repeating, stressing each and every single one of his words, as if willing the maid to snap out of her panic and answer in coherent complete sentences. "What is happening down there?"
"They are everywhere" The maid muttered, her panic once again seeming to take control of her shaking frame. "They are everywhere, my Lord, everywhere down there. They…kill….they….Gildar is dead….Reilasse…" She continued to blurt out names she had never heard before, but her heart sunk deeper inside of her hear as she faced the cruel realization that she was naming dead elves, dead servants and maids by the looks of it.
"Who is down there, Alassel?" The Crown Prince specified, emerald eyes once again piercing through the maids teary wide eyes. "Where is down there exactly?"
Wide blue eyes looked up directly into Arahaelon's impenetrable ones, the maids body shaking even more violently as she seem to need to make an effort to voice the answers to such questions. "Wild elves, my Lord. Wild elves in black cloaks. I do not know how they got in, or when, but they have taken over the kitchens and cellars. They appear out of nowhere, an nobody can escape them, we were able to run away but….and…fire. There is fire…wild fire…burning everything down there, spreading from cellar to cellar….burning…" The maid trailed off, her wide eyes seeming lost in a terrorizing memory, and it took her a second to snap back into reality her breathing once again coming out in short gasps. "Do not go there, my Lord! Turn around! Run!"
And with that the maid did just what she had said, turning around and disappearing into a run, most probably attempting to catch up with the rest of the group who had apparently escaped the terrifying hell breaking out inside the Palace, only some levels below where they stood. She could barely breathe, her throat suddenly seeming constricted as her eyes remained glued on Arahaelon, willing for him to do something, to react so that she could follow. If what the maid sad was true, then chaos had already broken downstairs. So was that the plan then? Start the chaos from the lowest levels of the Palace, right underneath the King and all of his advisors and noble warrior's noses without them even notice the chaos was there until it was too late? And yet, there was the other thing the maid had mentioned what made her fear grow even wilder and her senses to feel even sharper. The fire. The Palace was made of thick cold stone, but a vast part of it was constructed in wood, accounting for the intricate ceilings to say the least. The Palace would burn, and fire was not something easily contained.
Her eyes darted to look at Arahaelon, green meeting green in an empty yet loud stare. And then, snapping her out of her frightened trance, Arahaelon spoke.
"Run." He breathed out, his hand already curling around her arm when she did not move. "Run!" He urged again, snapping her awake as he suddenly pulled once again into a run, never letting go of her, running in the direction the maids had disappeared.
Her thoughts turned wildly inside her mind, her brain still trying to process the new information, fear turning into fire inside of her, seeming to further drive that building power that rushed in her blood. She did not know what else to imagine, where else could they possibly go? What else could they possibly encounter? What else could possibly happen inside this heavenly Palace that was disintegrating into chaos? And still, there was the vision her father had shared with her only minutes ago, still vividly present in her mind. What did the butler know? Why the King's sudden urgency in having him flee? Her legs burned from the effort, and yet she continued to run, following Arahalon down more darkened passages until she started to think that this labyrinth would never end.
"Dan?" She tried reaching Elladan through their bond once more, hoping desperately that he would answer her, even if he still was blocking his feeling away form her. "Dan?"
"Rina!" Elladan's sweet voice echoed inside her head, making at least some of her to ebb away only at the sound of his voice, and for a moment she longed to feel his safe arms around her, to see his endless silver eyes staring deeply into hers, feel the closeness of his spirit next to hers. "Rina, where are you? Are you all right?"
"I am fine." She was quick to reply. "I am down somewhere in the Palace, but I do not know here. Are you all right? What is happening?"
"I am all right." She only felt slightly relieved at his words. She had known he was unharmed, and still she had not dared ask about Elrohir for fear of what the answer might be. "I managed to free myself. Adar is with Elrohir. I am trying to find you. Where are you?"
"Dan, th-" She was suddenly cut off as a weight fell brutally over her, making scream in both surprise and terror. She kicked wildly, freeing herself from the threatening arms that had closed in around her. She barely registered as her body hit the stone ground, her palms scratching open in the process, and all she could do was roll to the side, struggling to get once again to her feet, but more arms kept falling on her.
Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Arahaelon swinging his sword, the sound of metal hitting against bounding in the darkness as her mind tried to take in what was happening around her. Had they been ambushed again? Why did these figures continue to appear out of nowhere?
"RINA!" She could hear Elladan's frantic cry inside her mind, but she was not able to answer, all of her attention centered on trying to free herself from the grasps holding her, the hands trying to snatch her.
She kicked once more as another pair of hands curled brutally around her arms, nails scratching her as she forcefully pulled herself free, trying her hardest to get back to Arahaelon's side, but the sudden ambush had managed to separate them considerably.
"Almarëa!" She heard Arahaelon yelling her name, almost desperately making his way to were she was, but the more she tried to get closer to him the more the wild cloacked figures kept throwing themselves at her. Another pair of arms suddenly snatched her form behind, making her scream once more as she threw wild kicks and punches in order to free herself, the rush of suddenly adrenaline in her body too strong for her to even feel any pain at the many scratches and small cuts she received in the process. She felt her body hit the ground one more, frantically crawling away as she tried to get back on her feet. In a second she scanned the space around her, but saw nothing else that figures jumping wildly at them from every angle, driving her and Arahaelon farther and farther apart.
"Almarëa, run!" The Crown Princes cry reached her ears as her heart suddenly paralyzed for a second, and in that moment she understood that her brother would not be able to reach her side once more. Everything seemed to happened too fast and at the same time too slowly. A new instinct awaking into her as the power she kept feeling inside her veins grew stronger and stronger. She was on her own. And she ran. She ran as fast as she could, falling as yet another figure jumped at her from behind, sending both of them rolling through the stone floor, strong arms wrapping around her without the slightest of cares, seeming intent in restraining her, but she did not stop struggling, kicking blindly around her, trying to escape the hands that where now trying to press hard against her mouth, deafening her screams.
"You have nowhere to go now. No Ada to defend you here." An iced voice whispered on her ear, making her body tremble at the velvet sound that could only belong to an elf, and at the same time she was sure she had never hear a voice that felt so cruel, so cold and threatening, even through musicality it naturally carried. And she did the only thing that crossed through her mind, biting her teeth down hard on the hand that pressed over her mouth. Almost instantly the elf released her, and that split of a second was all she needed. She jumped to her feet, her mind not even stopping to think, a whole new feeling driving her, an instinct that made her feel more alive than ever before, her feet running with a newfound agility through the dark passage, not even turning to look at the footsteps that followed her closely behind. She could hear them following, more than one. And yet she did not stop running, even though she ignored her destination.
Something felt past her right ear in a flash, and she gasped in fright as she quickly attempted to dodge the object. It had been an arrow. They were armed. They were armed and following her. Her feet suddenly slid on something, the smooth flat ground disappearing as she found herself rolling down a few steps she had not seen in her wild run. But it did not stop her, the sudden power inside of her making her jump once more to her feet as yet another arrow flew pat her, missing her side for only mere inches.
"Do not kill her!" One of the voices following her yelled, but she did not even turn to look. They did not want her dead. Then what did they want her for? Someone had tried to choke her many weeks before, she still remembered it with tormenting clearness. An elf had tried to choke her. But he had not killed her. Someone wanted her….and alive.
"RINA! Where are you?!" Elladan's voice kept crying desperately in her head, but she could not concentrate enough to answer. "Rina, I am down here in the service passages, I know you are down here, where are you?"
She tried to answer, but another arrow flew past her in that instant, making her jump momentarily as she took a sudden turn to the left. Her heart stopped beating inside her chest, dropping suddenly to her stomach as she found herself face to face with a dead end, a tall stone wall stretching menacingly in front of her. She felt despair taking hold of her, but she forced herself to restrain it. The footsteps were always closer and closer, and she knew she could not turn back. Her eyes darted back to the wall, watching with almost lost hope at the small opening nearly at the top of it.
And so she did the only thing she could think of doing. Not even stopping to consider it she found herself jumping, stretching her arms to grab a stone that stuck out slightly from the rest. She would climb. She would climb and reach that opening, or she would fall trying to, but she would not stay standing where she was, like a prey waiting to be caught. Her fingers grew white from the pressure and her arms hurt from the effort as she pulled herself up, finding another uneven stone where she could place her foot.
The footsteps were almost there, she could hear them only a short distant away. She kept climbing, her heart beating all the more wildly as she realized that there far fewer stones on which she could help herself than she had hoped.
A hand flew to grab at her ankle, but she managed to get her foot out of the way just in time, pushing herself up on yet another stone. She was out of their reach for the moment, a cry escaping her lips as an arrow hit the stone wall next to her head.
"No!" That same iced velvet voice yelled from bellow, but she did not turn to look, too concentrated on climbing the wall, fearing to find out just how high she already was. And yet the distance to the opening seemed so vast. " Do not shoot! You will kill her! Follow her!"
She could hear other figures starting to climb the wall just below her, and she urged herself to continue faster. She was almost there. Only a little more and she would reach the window-like opening in the wall, even though by the darkness of it she knew it did not lead to the exterior but probably to another one of these forsaken passages. Her finger's hurt, her already scratched palms seeming to be on fire, but she could not really feel it, all she could feel was the sudden energy that kept pulling her to continue, the fear of the quickly approaching cloaked elves that seemed to be able to climb faster than her.
A scream died in her throat as her right foot suddenly slipped, her hand suddenly loosing its grasp on the stone she was holding, her eyes shutting closed as she prepared for the fall that surprisingly never came. Strong fingers suddenly curled around her wrist, catching her in her otherwise deathly fall, pulling her up and into the safety of the window-like opening.
She turned around, her eyes not seeming to believe what she saw, the greatest of reliefs washing over her as she was sure that, even in the midst of this chaos and danger, she had never felt quite as safe. Endless silver eyes were looking directly at her, arms not letting her go as they continued to pull her up until she could finally stand on her feet. Elladan. He had found her. She did not know how, but she did not care.
She wished she had had time to say something, to throw her arms around him, to bury her face in his strong chest, to kiss his lips and just forget about the chaos that lurked around them at that very second. But time was the only thing they did not have. She could see his eyes scanning her quickly, as if searching for any kind of severe injury before he was already pulling her along with him in another run, away form the elves that still continued to climb the wall behind.
"How…?" Was all she was able to say in between her short breaths as she continued to run, but he seemed to understand her question without her even needing to fully pronounce it.
"Felt you." Was all he said, his eyes turning for a second to glance behind as he suddenly led her through a sharp turn to the right. Of course, he had followed through their bond.
She did not know where they were going, the passages merging into one another, the footsteps following them always coming closer and closer, and to her greatest of fears, always seeming to be more and more in number. Where were they coming from? And still there were so many other worries plaguing her mind, making more shivers run down her spine. Where was Arahaelon now? Had the Crown Prince managed to escape the ambush that she luckily ran away from? And where were Tadion and Legolas? And what of Lossenel? Where was her sister? Was she unharmed?
She only registered the change around her when the tight and constricted passages suddenly seemed to open up drastically, the smooth and regular stone become progressively more rough and raw, more cave-like. Walls started to disappear occasionally, a loud powerful roar bouncing steadily in the distance, and it downed on her that they had reached the caverns of the Palace, they were nearly upon the underground river.
Sure enough, her assumptions were confirmed as she saw the passage ahead of them stretch out into a loon wall-less bridge, one of the thousand's she had seen leaping over the roaring black river. For a second she believed they would escape, for second she hoped they would make it. She knew there were ways that led outside the Palace at the other side of these bridges. But her hopes where quickly smashed as she caught sight of more of the cloaked tall figures waiting right in front of them, covering the other side of nearly every single one of this branch-like bridges she could see.
"They are everywhere" The maid's earlier words danced suddenly through her mind. They were everywhere. And now she and Elladan were trapped. There was nowhere they could go. The cloaked figures were already running towards them form the other side of the bridge, and the footsteps behind them grew increasingly closer and closer.
Elladan had suddenly stopped, and she knew that he too was thinking the same thing she was. They had no way out. And then, suddenly, she saw his silver eyes darting momentarily at the roaring river below, her own widening abruptly as she guessed the trail of his thoughts. It was madness. The river was nearly an assured death.
"Wha-" She started, but never got to say anything, Elladan's arms suddenly wrapping over, throwing both of them down the black abyss just before the hundreds of cloaked figures reached their spot. And they fell. Her stomach flying all the way to her throat as her eyes closed out of pure instinct.
The impact came all to quickly, wild water hitting her abruptly as she sunk in a roaring current, not knowing what was up and what was down, only feeling Elladan's hands still grabbing at her securely. But the current was much too strong, dragging them wildly with a force and speed neither of them could even think of matching. She felt herself smash against something. A rock? The impact strong enough to leave one side of her back sore, but she could tell it had not made any real damage. Elladan's arms continued to hold onto her with nearly all the strength he had, his body curling over her protectively, as he seemed to pull her up against the roaring current.
Suddenly her head broke the surface, taking in a large breath of air before she was once again pulled under, Elladan never letting go of her as they rolled wildly in the abysmal darkness. She kept trying to see around her, to find a way out, but it was way too dark for her to see anything below water. She knew the river did not run straight. She knew there were many deep pools of steady water in these cold caverns, so that meant that the river had to feed them somehow.
Her head broke the surface once more, and just when she thought they would surely drown her eyes caught their only chance of escape. In that split of a second she saw it, the slight partition of the river into smaller narrow streams of tranquil water to the sides. If only they could get enough to one side to be able to slip into one of them and out of the main crushing current.
"Dan" She started inside her head, but he seemed to understand her before she had even spoken, already kicking in an effort to pull them away from the roaring current, away from the many rocks that kept smashing into them as they rolled. She kicked as well, as hard as she could, her efforts only rewarded as she suddenly felt the relief of the pressure of the wild water disappearing from her body to be transformed into a more gentler current, both of them able to slip through a narrow deep stream that seemed to lead deeper and deeper inside the caves.
She felt tired, exhausted, all of the efforts from their escape suddenly crashing into her with the sudden relief of safety, struggling and stumbling to her feet as Elladan pulled her to the shore before following closely behind, both of them dropping onto the stone ground and leaning against the cave wall.
Darkness filled the space around them, barely any daylight able to filter this deep in the caves, the space around narrowed than she had anticipated, but seeming to stretch to one end into a deeper cave, away from the river and hopefully into dryness. She could not move, feeling too tired to even try to stand, attempting to finally catch her breath as she saw Elladan quickly turning his attention to her, silver eyes once again scanning her entire body. A tender hand cupped her cheek, her eyes unable to contain themselves as they fell right down into endless pools of liquid silver. And that was all she needed, suddenly finding in herself to press her body closer to his, feeling his arms once more wrapping tightly around her in a protective embrace. She let her face rest at the crook of his neck, feeling his silken curtain of dripping dark hair shadowing her sight as she felt him also trying to catch his breath.
"You threw me into the river." She accused him, lifting her head to look once more into those glistening gentle eyes. "I cannot believe you threw me- threw us- into the river."
A small chuckle escaped his lips, one of his hands rubbing circles on her back as she felt his sweet lips dropping a kiss on her temple. And she was not able to contain herself, finding his lips with hers into a long gentle kiss, so many words, so many fears, despairs, worries, drowned into that single kiss. She felt so safe there, with his arms holding her as if he could not let her go for even a second.
"Are you hurt?" He asked, gentle fingers lifting her chin so that she could once again look into his eyes.
"No." She answered truthfully. "Only a few scratches but nothing serious."
She saw his silver eyes harden for a second at the mention of the scratches but he did not say anything about it, seeming for the first time and probably just because of the circumstances that they were in, that he would accept the fact that a few scratches did not mean she was injured.
Tiredness consumed her once more, the shock from the past minutes finally downing on her as the adrenaline that had built up inside of her suddenly disappeared, and she let herself slump with her back against his chest, feeling one of his arms wrapping protectively around her as he leaned back against the cave wall. He too was exhausted. His warm breath caressed the tip of her hear, his lips brushing her skin there as she for the first time in many long hours was able to let go of all the fear that settled inside of her. Her wet hair stuck to her face, her dress sticking to her body in a most uncomfortable manner as she simply sat there, safe against Elladan's strong body.
"You can rest for a while." Elladan's melodic voice spoke in her ear as one of his hands softly stroke down her we strands of hair. "There is not really much we can do here now."
She nodded her head, curling into a more comfortable position against him, feeling his spirit latching onto hers their bond running deeper and deeper with every passing day. She did not miss the moment he turn his left arm away when she tried to curl against this left side, her green eyes suddenly lifting to meet his, sitting up straight once more as she looked at him directly in the eyes.
"You are hurt." She stated, more to herself that to him as realization hit her.
"I am fine." He tried to reassure her as he placed a kiss on her cheek, but she did not believe his words.
"Do not try to cover it. Dan, I know you are hurt." She repeated, her eyes turning once again to look at his left arm, even though she dared not touch it for fear of causing him any pain. She could not see any open wound in his arm, nor could she see the slightest glimpse of blood anywhere over his body, but the way in which his arm was carefully pressed against his torso did not go unnoticed by her.
This time, he did not say anything. He did not confirm it, but he did not deny it, and his silence spoke louder than any sort of confirmation he could have dive her, making her heart crush and shatter inside of her.
"Is it broken?" She asked in a defeated tone, one again letting her body slump against his chest, this time overly careful and conscious of not touching his left arm, as his right hand reassumed its task of gently rubbing up and down her back.
"Yes, it is. My forearm right above my wrist." He admitted quietly, and even though hearing it out loud only make her heart feel all the more shattered at knowing for certain that he was indeed hurt, part of her felt glad that he admitted it to her. It must have been painful for him, but he did not show the slightest hint of pain.
"I am sorry." Was all she was able to say, feeling truly and utterly useless. There was nothing she could do, and she also knew that there was nothing he could do. A gentle kiss landed on her temple as an only answer, and she accepted it, once again hiding her face in the safe crook of his neck.
"Dan?" She started, her voice turning suddenly more serious, her mind running through a trail of through she had forgotten in the rush of the chase.
"Yes?" He said almost immediately, his hand never stopping tracing patterns on her back.
"I felt it, you know?" She started, unsure on how to start. "I felt your fear moments ago. You blocked me."
Her emerald eyes found his, only to see him break the stare and look away as he heard where she was headed.
"Is Elrohir all right?" She finally asked, not really sure if she wanted to hear the answer. A gentle smile crossed Elladan's lips, as if trying to be reassuring but failing miserably. There was nothing reassuring in his smile.
"He is alive, if that is what you mean." Was his answer, and she shook her head softly. She knew the younger twin was alive. She knew that for Elladan to be with her right now and be speaking coherently, Elrohir had to be alive. She did not even want to imagine how would Elladan react otherwise.
"I know that, Dan. I am asking if he is all right."
For a second, Elladan hesitated. "He will be. My Adar is with him. He will be fine."
Elladan's voice sounded calm, peaceful, and yet she could feel his utter despair and fear still lurking through their bond, and for a moment, she doubted if he was speaking to convince her of to convince himself with his words. And yet, what shattered her hear the most and at the same time made it swell with love, was the fact that he had come looking for her. She knew what a close bond the twins shared. They were rarely apart. She had seen the way Elladan would go out of his way to protect his brother, and had seen the way Elrohir's eyes would burn with fear the few times that Elladan had been injured.
"Let us go somewhere dryer." She changed the subject, slowly pushing herself up to her feet and watching as Elladan imitated her. She felt eager to go anywhere where she could no longer see the cold water around her. Elladan's good arm laced around her waist as he led the way, walking down the long endless cave and away from the smooth and tranquil waters. She had no idea where they were headed, or if anyone even knew where these caves really were, but she could not have cared less. They looked entire raw, none of the elegant elven marks and inscriptions that she had seen on the other caves present in these ones. In fact, it did not look as if anyone had been here at all, and she wondered how far away from the Palace had the river dragged them?
Her feet dragged as she walked, feeling completely sore and tired. She let her eyes scan around her, looking with amazed wonder at how the caves surrounding them seemed to magically change from their previous darkness to an almost enchanting and mesmerizing sight. The wet, dark stone, gradually turned into a nearly alabaster white, a few rays of pale sunlight cascading down from miles and miles abode, prancing over the curving and twisting walls of stone that built majestically around them out of pure nature. And still, there parts of that wondrous maze that did not seem entirely natural. No. they seemed…..built. Yes, parts of it seemed built, majestic columns appearing in fragments along the walls in the perfect craft of eleven construction, the space starting to build what seemed to be rooms. The stone so silent around them, crying with the melancholy of their forgotten times, falling by pieces, swallowed in their loneliness.
Yes, these were rooms, rooms lighted by shallow wells of bright distant sunlight that sparkled and bounced in rainbows of colors over the tiny quartz and minerals that covered the raw stone. But these rooms could not have possibly been a part of the Palace could they? They were too far away for that….too deep down. And oddly enough they did not resemble at all those forgotten room she had previously seen inside the Palace. No. These looked older, much more older. What was this place? It was of elven construction, that was the only thing she was sure of.
Her eyes almost instinctively looked up, dancing along the fine carvings that shaped the ceilings miles ahead of their heads, so different than the branch like structures that covered her father's Palace. These were in an entirely different kind of pattern, not seeming to imitate trees a leaves, an yet using the same delicacy and lightness, tracing intricate patterns that her eyes had never previously seen, not in Imladris, and not in Mirkwood.
She nearly collapsed against Elladan's back when she noticed that he had stopped walking, her eyes forced to depart from the enchanting ceiling that stretched high above. Slowly she looked at the front, straight into this grand elegant room in which they now stood, trying to find the cause of Elladan's sudden stillness.
And once she found it, she wished she had not. There, right in front of them, in the fart depths of this magnificent room lay an unmoving figure of the stone floor, as pale and delicate as the few rays of golden light that filtered through. Her heart stopped beating, her lungs did not take any more breaths. A white worn dress covered the figures porcelain skin, long golden hair sprawling in waterfalls over the floor and framing the delicate features and peacefully closed eyes of a face she had seen many times before and yet never in real flesh and blood, a face so much like her own…
Here is FINALLY chapter 41! I hope you enjoy reading it and that it can hopefully make up from the long wait. I'm really sorry about that.
First of all, I really really REALLY apologize for ultra super long wait. Really I can't tell how insane the amount of work I have had for the past months has been, I have been barely able to sleep and still I have not managed to finish anything on time. I have also moved to a new place and so adjusting to that has been quite a challenge. SO my deepest apologies for that, I have not abandoned the story and I will not abandon it, even thought for these months I had to distance myself a little from ff because I just simply could not handle the work load.
And sorry for the cliffie! : )
Thank you SO SO SO much to those of you who reviewed my latest chapter: mariihamadeh, phantome101, Coco99, Just Someone, Tintcalad, mMy, WriteWithFeeling, Kirschflower, DeLacus, wonderpanda10, Obsidianglasses, Martine9295, elves are awesome, Palmviolet, Mary Elrondile, It'sBeenARealSlice, AmazingWriter123 (to your bother too), The Lead Mare, .750, and my guest reviewers.
Obsidianglasses: I just read your PM, I'm really sorry that I had not done so earlier. : ( I hope this chapter can make up fro that! : )
Martine9295: This chapter is dedicated to you! for simply being the best! : )
Love,
Elena