Her breathing stopped, her heart paralyzed inside her chest threatening to never beat again. In a sole second, everything seemed to vanish. The sounds, the sights, the time, everything frozen in a single blur as the only thing that her eyes seemed able to capture was the image of the unmoving figure lying only a couple of feet in front of her.

For a moment, she did not know what to think, her mind not able to process anything. What did she even feel? Anything? Nothing? Shock? Fear? She could not tell, everything feeling so unreal. Were her eyes tricking her? Had she finally gone completely insane that she was looking at pieces of her imagination? Or was her brain so desperate to find something, anything, that would lighten this constant nightmare that surrounded her day and night that it had materialized this figure for her out of her own delirium?

She could see Elladan standing next to her from the corner of her eye, but even his tall figure seemed a fog too far away from her to reach. All she could see was the thin figure on the ground, so pale it seemed unnatural, as if even the scarce light that filtered through this carven stones reflected in pearly shades of her bone-thin frame. Everything about the figure – a lady, she could clearly see- reflected so much her own features, like looking into a mirror that so long ago seemed to be shattered. Long golden hair, the same color and texture of her own, spread lifelessly over a restful face, draping over fragile shoulders and spilling own onto the stone floor, looing as if it had not seen a brush in long years, and yet still shimmering with a softness unable to parallel. A thin white dress was the only thing covering the lady's figure, an undergarment by the looks of it, its former finery stripped from it through the years, now dull and gray, and suddenly seeming slightly too big for a body that was now thin to the bone.

And yet, what stroke her most, what made her breath stop inside her throat and her hands tremble without her being able to control it, was the slight rise and fall of the lady's chest. She was breathing. She was alive. She could only make half of the features of her face through the long curtain of golden hair that covered the rest of it, and yet, she did not need to take a complete look at that face to immediately know that she had seen that face before. She knew that face, even if she had never seen in it in flesh and bone, eyes closed under thick eyelashes in the way of mortal sleep. And there was not a doubt in her mind of who this lady was. She was the Queen of Mirkwood. She was her mother. A pang of pain only coursing through her heart as she was now faced with the reality of who this lady really was to her: a stranger. No matter how many times she had seen this face in her sibling's memories or in her own dreams, those occasions have been nothing but unreachable longings, something to fill her mind with when she thought of her mother, and yet, now that she lay just right in front of her, she was nothing but a stranger: an elven lady she did not know anything about.

Panic and shock started to rise inside of her, coursing her veins until she felt herself shaking, barely even aware of Elladan's arm wrapping securely around her waist and pulling her to him in a protective move, as if he too could feel the same shock assaulting his own tall form. It was impossible. It had to be. Her mother was dead. She had died many years ago, when she was nothing but a baby. Everyone in the realm knew that. Could she have been here al this time, just right underneath the Palace, breathing in this sleep-like spell without anyone knowing it? It did not make sense. Would her father not have known about it if that had been the case? He must have!

Her forest green eyes shifted in Elladan's direction, searching for those deep silver ones, only to find in them the same shock, the same disbelief that she could feel pooling inside her chest. So Elladan could see the figure too. She was not imagining it.

She took a step forward, her mind not able to think straight, and was only mildly aware of a gentle hand stopping her abruptly, curling firmly around her wrist.

"No." Elladan's voice echoed in her ears, something in that familiar sound seeming to wake her up from her shock-induced daze. Her eyes immediately searched his face, handsome features looking attentively around them, almost wary, seeming to scan every corner of the space as if he could perceive something she could not. "Do not touch her, Rina. There is powerful magic in here…dark magic."

And it was only then that she felt it, as if her shock had just blocked out everything else so strongly that she had not even noticed that warning feeling coursing through her body, building fear at the pit of her stomach. But she felt it then, a powerful force that made a cold shudder run down her spine enveloping this seemingly enchanting space, as it mocking its beauty with its dark dangerous claws, caressing her skin and penetrating into her very bones. She had never felt anything like that before. It was a type of magic, a type of power, she would rather not ever have to face.

And yet, much to her despair, it seem to concentrate around the Queen's figure, like a vicious fog that danced eerily around the delicate form, keeping her in its unforgiving grasp.

A familiar feeling crept over her, a sudden panic once again rising in her veins, making her shaking intensify. She had felt this before, she had felt this irrational fear taking hold of her body and making shivers run down her spine. It was the same feeling, the same type of powerful magic that she had felt while swimming under the Palace's caves only some days ago, just that she not been able to tell what it was that was scaring her thus.

"Is she…?" She started, not even recognizing her own voice as she spoke, sounded smaller that she had intended. "Is she my…"

She did not know why she was asking, She already knew the answer to her question. And yet, somehow she needed someone else to confirm it for her, needed to hear it in order to believe it, her eyes desperately searching Elladan's silver ones.

"Yes." Was all he answered, and she knew he could exactly tell what she was asking about through their bond, his good arms still wrapped around while he kept his broken one close to his body, and for a second she felt selfish for forgetting that he must be in terrible pain at the moment.

"But she is dead." Her mouth kept talking without her being fully conscious of it, eyes lost in those vas expanses of liquid silver, as if she could just escape into them, drown in that loving stare where nothing of this world was real.

"I thought so too." Was his reply, and there was something in his voice that made her heart constrict painfully in her chest as she caught sight of that momentary agony, that repressed painful memory, clouding his silver eyes for just a second before it disappeared, only to be replaced by fear and worry as he seemed to study her carefully, almost as if expecting her to suddenly drop dead or collapse in mental and emotional breakdown.

And she knew what it was, cursing her for having forgotten that he too had seen his own mother fade away in front of his very eyes, finding her in captivity just as they had now found the supposedly deceased Queen. He was worried about her, worried of how this could affect her, worried that she would go through he same torture he went through, and more that anything she longed to let him know that it would never be the same. For a start, she did not know her mother. And yet, all she could do was offer him a smile that must have looked pathetic in her shocked face.

"Is she…alive?" She asked, once again knowing the answer and yet not seeming to believe anything unless she heard it, feeling as if everything that had been told to her all her life had been a lie. And she felt like everything was spinning around her, the whole world mocking her through its wild twist, as if life was laughing at her credulity by making her believe her something as true and the shattering that notion right before her eyes. Valar, in only a year she had found out that her name was not Elerrina but Almarëa, that she had a family and was no orphan, that she was a Princess and her father was King, and now, the only thing that had remained constant through all those changed, the only piece of information he had thought she had had correct all of her life – that her mother was indeed dead- was also a lie?

"She is alive." Came Elladan's answer, and she could once again hear that edge in his voice that told her that perhaps this was affecting him more than it was her, resurfacing memories that he had buried too deep within.

"She has been here, all this time she has been here?" Once again she could barely recognize her voice as she spoke, words trying to coherently formulate the thousands of questions roaming wildly through her foggy mind. "It is impossible. Someone must know. Does anyone know? Does my father know? He must have, is that not right? He must know she is alive…" She trailed off, only to be cut by Elladan's sober, low voice.

"The King does not know of this." He spoke slowly, yet so surely that for a second it made the turmoil inside her mid lessen, her eyes once again lifting to rest on his serious silver eyes.

"How do you know?" She questioned. She would know right away whether or not Elladan was alive or dead, she would feel it vividly through their bond, just as she felt it every time he was hurt, or happy or anything really. The eye could be tricked but a bond like that one between couples could not. "He must know. It would not make sense otherwise, he must kn-

"He does not know, Rina." He repeated, more strongly this time, and there was something else in his eyes and voice, a newfound fear that for the first time made her really think of just what impact this could have on everyone in the realm. "I remember when she died – or when we all believed she did- I remember it all. Elrohir and I had to come with my father in a haste because the King was fading, and nobody, not even my own father, could tell if he would make it. It was chaos and it was horrible and painful, everything had even been readied in case Arahaelon needed to take over the Crown, which seemed to be the most likely to happen. So somehow it was made to feel very real to everyone that your mother was indeed dead, so real that even the bond she shared with the King was severed, nearly killing him from grief. It could only take inexplicable magic to do such a thing. So I am sure your father does not know she is alive. I do not think everybody knows. Someone has been making sure that she is still believed dead."

His words shocked her, even if he spoke in a gentle tone, and for a second she was again faced with the reality that he knew more of her own family than she did, that there were many things that had happened that she still ignored. And still his reasoning made sense to her. she remembered the short conversation she ad had with her father not many days ago, remembered clearly his words now once again echoing inside her head "because she died that day". He had been so sure when he had spoken it now seemed to hard to believe he knew otherwise. She also knew just hoe deep eleven bonds ran, and to only think that there was a type of magic capable of isolating her mother so deeply that the bond she shared with the King was broken seemed overly frightening. And yet, what angered her was the though of who could purposely inflict such pain on someone else? She did not want to image the agony she would go through if anything happened to Elladan, let alone being unable to feel him through their bond ever again. Then who could be so heartless as to watch her father struggle with that pain knowing that it was nothing but the cruelest of tricks.

And still, there was another thought plaguing her mind, one that in her shock she had not even considered until now. Why was her mother been kept alive? Why going through all the trouble when it seemed so obvious that the purpose was to make everyone believe her dead. Then why not just kill her then? It would have indeed made everything real. It just did not make any sense. Her eyes once again looked a the unmoving figure lying in front of her, for the first time noticing something that she had overlooked before.

"She is unharmed." She pointed out, her eyes scanning to find any trace of injury, any trace of captivity on her body, but there was nothing, not even the lightest of bruises. This was not Orc doing then, or could it still be?

"Of course she is." Was all that Elladan said, and for the first time she noticed that he had already figured that out for himself. "If any kind of pain had been inflicted on her, your father would have known right away."

"We need to get her out of here." She spoke without really thinking it, without even reasoning her words. She could not think straight, and in a moment of stupidity, of despair, forgot about the dangerous power floating in the air in front of her, about Elladan's previous warning, and took rushed steps forward, her feet carrying her without her minds consent, barely registering Elladan's desperate cry as his hand filed by mere inches to reach hers, running forward to catch up with her.

But it had already been too late. She did not now what was happening until it was too late to escape, a sudden, inexplicable pain blinding her with the impact of a thunder, all images disappearing from around her, her mind spinning wildly in circles, the shock like one she had never experienced before, pain cracking her skull as she lost sense of what was up and what was down, a force like one she had never before felt suddenly consuming her. And she screamed, she screamed and screamed and could not hear her own voice, feeling as if she was spinning wildly in a turmoil of pain, a loud, skin crawling cry deafening her ears like the sounds of nails scratching glass, perturbed, as if something had been brutally interrupted, broken, and the noise made her feel as if her skull would break in half. Screams tore in her ears, whispers in that unintelligible language ringing loudly inside her mind, drowning her. She felt like falling, falling in circles, this wild force pulling at her from every side.

And then she saw it, like a forgotten nightmare finally returning to haunt her, spreading from the black abyss like a iris made of fire: a big eye. "I see you." The voice said, the sound making her scream once more, even if she could not hear her voice. She tried to escape, but there seemed to be no way out, the pain in her head intensifying ten fold as the eye burned closer and closer. She felt weak, her strength seeming to be leaving her at an alarming pace, and she kept fighting trying to pull back as the deep voice only returned louder this time. "I see you, Almarëa Thranduiliel." She kept fighting, trying to block that presence that had already made it so deep into her mind, and with the biggest amount of effort she could muster, she pulled away, another high-pitched cry ringing loudly in her ears as everything else seemed to disappear once more, and she fell.

She was barely aware of Elladan's arms catching her right before she hit the floor. All that she could think about was the blinking pain inside her hear, everything seeming to spin around her, her body shaking fiercely as she felt as if she about to be violently sick, swallowing in order to keep her nausea at bay.

"Rina!" She heard Elladan's voice calling over an over again, the sound desperate, but she could not find in herself the strength to answer. She felt so weak, so tired, her head feeling as if it would explode, making her want to cry in agony. She could feel Elladan's hand resting on her forehead, his sweet voice murmuring something quickly in elvish as she felt a warm soothing sensation overflowing her body, lessening the pain in her head even if only minimally. She turned on her side, Elladan's hands quickly pulling her hair back away from her face as the nausea took the most of her, her body heaving violently and managing to expel whatever little content she had in her stomach until she collapsed back on Elladan's arms, the latter not seeming to care anymore about his broken forearm.

"Rina?" Elladan's desperate voice called again, and edge of fear like one she had never hard in that sound before staining the usually melodic sound, and even through her weakness she could feel the change in the aura. There something different now, something that did not feel right, that felt dangerous, making her want to run even though she could not even open her eyes to even look at Elladan. And she knew he could feel the change too. Whatever had happened when she had walked through that barrier of dark magic had made the spell break, she had felt the shock of it, and now could feel the emptiness left in the air as the powerful dark magic that surrounded the space like a lurking ghost had suddenly vanished. And that could not bode well. Whatever it was she had interrupted, she had given them away. They would not be alone for long.

"Rina, can you hear me?" The utter fear in Elladan's voice made her open her eyes, only to regret a second later as the blinding pain returned to her head twice as strongly, her stomach lurching again as foggy images spun before her eyes.

"Rina, we cannot stay here." She could hear the urgency with which Elladan spoke, and in the distance her ears caught the fading echo of a high-pitched cry ringing across the stone. Of course this place would not have been abandoned, it had only been a miracle that they had not encountered anyone – or anything- by now. "We need to go. We need to go now. Whatever you did has not gone unnoticed."

He pulled her up, seeming desperate to get them out of there, and she knew that at the moment he was the only one who could really feel the danger, her mind in too much pain to be completely aware of what happening around her. She could feel his despair, his need to get her into safety, out of this place as quickly as possible, and was vaguely aware of more cries ringing in the air, Elladan's arm safely wrapped around her waist preventing her from falling as her knees shook under her, nearly all of her weight leaning against him for support.

"We have to go, my love." He repeated, his voice sounding apologetic, as if he would rather do anything than force her to move, but they both knew there was no time left. She saw him out of the corner of her eyes easily scooping up the Queen's seemingly lifeless form from the floor, whatever magic that had been drawn around her suddenly vanished in her moment of madness, or stupidity. His other arm remained wrapped around her, supporting her as he rushed them back the way they had come, having to fight to steady her as her feet kept tripping over the stones, the images still a foggy blur before her eyes, her head pounding mercilessly as she fought to once again contain her nausea.

The cries were getting closer and closer, and yet everything else felt so distant to her, her bod y acting on pure instinct, making every effort she could muster in order to keep placing one foot after the other, following Elladan as quickly as she could through the cavern-like passages, letting him be the one deciding the way. He was rushing, dragging her along the curving dark passages, images still blurring in a mess before her eyes, not knowing where they were headed until the faint roar of the underground river reached her ringing ears, the smell of wet rock filling her nostrils.

"Dan…" She said, black spots dancing before her eyes as she felt like she would finally collapse, not knowing from where she was getting enough energy to keep walking. The arm around her waist only tightened its hold on her, keeping her upright as she swayed dangerously, Elladan managing to quickly throw a glance behind his shoulder before quickly pulling her along at a faster pace.

"You have to keep going, Rina." He said, and she did as he ordered, even if she felt what little strength she had left quickly disappearing. She could see the river in front of them now, blurred by something dark that seemed to float in front of them, filling up the space at an alarming rate: smoke, black thick smoke. So the Palace was indeed burning, fire eating away those enchanting rooms she had barely just started to know. Fear rushed through her in an instant, her eyes aware of Elladan stopping abruptly, for a second hesitating whether or not to go forward, but another round of those blood-curling cries echoed in the air, too close to them now, the faint sound of approaching footsteps now bounding on the stone. They had no other choice, and before she could even fully register it, Elladan was already leading them at a rushed paced through the dark smoke, his hand pressing her face close to his body, as if trying to shield her from breathing it in as they moved quickly through the uneven stone, bordering the roaring river in the black blindness.

They needed to find a way out of here, and they needed to find one quickly. She could not see through the thick smoke, following Elladan blidnly, her heart only racing as she could only hear the following footsteps closer and closer and she only prayed that the smoke would be too thick for anyone to see them. She could not see the path in front of her, her feet tripping on every step, Elladan's arm being the only thing that kept her from falling.

She had to hold back a cry as an arrow flew past her ear, hitting a stone ahead in a shot that had been very poorly aimed, and only no did she noticed that the following footsteps had stopped. Another arrow flew through the air, also missing them by a far range. They were shooting blindly, the smoke was working in their favor, whoever was following clearly bright enough to reason that entering this darkened pit could only bring danger, and yet here they were, walking towards the fire because they had no other option.

For a second her thoughts flew back to her siblings wishing more than anything that they were already out of the Palace, and a deep despair invaded her as she realized that she had no way of knowing what was happening inside those tall stone walls. Was everyone safe? Were they out? Or were they as well trapped in this smoke-filled abyss?

"This way." Elladan pulled her to one side, her feet struggling to keep along with the pace. Her eyes stung from the smoke, breathing become more and more difficult as more arrows continued to rain around them, some of them really far and some coming dangerously close. She felt herself climbing over uneven stairs, them being dragged along a long bridge before she finally understood what Elladan was doing. There was no way out from the underground river unless from the Palace itself, or the tunnels that were no longer an option for them. And she followed, the smoke only become thicker as she could feel Elladan's despair to get them out, but there seem to be no safe way.

She knew they were inside the Palace now, they must have been close to the kitchen or the service quarters but she could not see anything, only black smoke, and she coughed as she tried not to breathe too much of it, but all of her efforts were in vain. And yet, what scared her most and at the same time made her feel some relief, was the complete silence that ruled the space, only the cracking of a wild fire eating away ever surface it could touch reached her ears. There was nobody around. The Palace was empty- or at least this portion of it. They were alone.

They turned a sudden left, and a wall of red flames invaded her vision, dancing like menacing claws, burning, consuming, destroying. She did not even have time to think before Elladan was already pulling them the opposite way, running through hallways and salons, stopping when they reached a large hall she had never seen before, a place were the smoke seemed to be invaded less of the are and what at least some little room to breathe, even if it was not a way out.

She leaned against Elladan, her hear drumming wildly in fear as she watching scan around them for options, for any way out, but there was none. They were trapped.

"What now?" She asked, dreading the answer she knew was about to come, Elladan's silver eyes focusing on her own green ones, the same fear visible in those endless orbs.

"I do not know."

She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but an overpowering feeling suddenly flew through the air, a roaring noise filling the space making the ground shake. She froze, pressing herself as close to Elladan as she possibly could.

Everything happened so quickly she could not even process it. In a single second all of the long crystal windows that framed the length o the Hall shattered, glass flying everywhere as waves of water poured through them like powerful waterfalls. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact, a powerful magic floating in the air carrying an all too familiar presence, nature suddenly being manipulated in ways she had never dreamed possible before, the entire underground river seeming to have risen to abnormal levels to overflow every room. She felt Elladan's arms tighten their hold on her as the waves of water swept them form their feet, but no danger seemed to come form the impact, only dragging them away everything exploding in chaos, everything filled with roaring currents of water, shattering windows and overriding doors, opening ways through the burning hallways of the Palace. And she did into have to think to know whose doing this was: It was the Elvenking, her father. She would recognize this presence everywhere m even if the amount of power she felt now coursing through the halls seemed unimaginable.

It was all a blur, water dragging them in a violent current, and yet never hurting them, her weakened mind and body barely even noticing as she was once again pulled to her feet, not knowing what was happening or where she was going until she suddenly felt a gulp of fresh air filling her lungs. And she coughed. She coughed again and again, taking as much breaths of the pure air as she could, finally managing to open her eyes.

They were outside. The dark sky still covered under the night mantel, tall tree canopies extending vastly over their heads in the forest. Elladan had somehow managed to drag them far away enough from the Palace for her not to notice from where exactly they had managed to exit, but she could not have cared less. She felt so weak, and at the same time she had not felt more relief before to be in this deep forest as she did now.

And they were not aloe anymore. No. Her eyes could see many elves populating the forest as well, some running, some sprawled on the grass as she was just now. Some of them cried, she could hear the despair as many called names over and over again, panic, fear and pain palpable in the sober night air. It was as if every elf that had managed to escape had run into the forest, now desperately trying to find any family members or loved ones in between the chaos. She could see many injured, burns shining angrily on their otherwise porcelain skin, and elves she could easily identify as healers were rushing back and forth carrying whatever supplies they had left. She could even see warriors roaming through the space, trying to create some sort of order form the chaos, but failing miserably.

"Rina? Are you all right?" Elladan's soft voice called her attention back to him, and she barely managed to nod her head, feeling his strong arms gathering her weak body to rest against his chest, only then noticing that he had carefully laid the Queen's unmoving frame on the grass next to them. Nobody seemed to have noticed their presence yet, and she was glad for that second of respite.

"Her eyes scanned the forest around her once more, searching for familiar faces through the crowd. She easily found Lhenes, her maid, attending to an elf she had never seen before, and her heart sagged in relief as she too saw Tadion, not too far away from them but still oblivious to their presence, exchanging information with one of the guards. She continued to look around, but could find no sight of either Legolas or Arahaelon, and she desperately prayed that she was just not looking correctly, that she simply overlooked them without noticing.

She found the Elvenking too, his tall figure easy to spot even inside a darkened room. He was standing at the edge of the forest, some distance away from them, surrounded by guards and healers who here desperately trying to tell him something or getting him somewhere, but the King would not move. Even from the distance, she could see that no expression showed on his marble face, simply vacant, cold and distant, ice blue eyes fixed of the sight ahead, his skin and robes reflecting in shades of reds and oranges as his eyes seemed seemed lost on the burning Palace ahead, flames rising from the windows and towards the sky, destroying everything in the process, only leaving behind the rain of ashes as the only memory of that which once was. It was a sight that she knew would forever be engraved in her mind.

"My lady! Lord Elladan!" A voice made her head turn in its direction, quickly landing on Lord Agoron's approaching figure, worry and relief visible in his emerald colored eyes. And then, just when he was a close distance form them, he stopped, his eyes suddenly landing of the third body in the picture, eyes wide in shock, his expression as if he had seen a ghost.

"Alarya." It had been a whisper, a chocked word that barely filtered through trembling lips, and yet that was all it took. In a single second, and even though the distance, she saw the King's eyes suddenly fly in their direction, his perfect elven ears seemingly able to hear that name even among the loudest of sounds, ice blue eyes quickly landing on the inert figure lying on the grass, a figure she knew all too well he would immediately recognize…

So here is the chapter! Once again sorry for the long wait! I hope this chapter can make up for it! Pleas let me know what you think! I love hearing from you.

I will try to make the next update faster, but I can't promise anything yet. But know that when I get a little free time I will put it into the next chapter for sure!

Also, thank you so much to those of you who reviewed my latest chapter: Amsim (many many many thanks!) wonderpanda10, Mona, Palmviolet, Sakimi1014, Sheriffgirl, mMy, Aviendha91, Coco99, The Lead Mare, Martine9295, josieleigh248, Kirschflower, Wtiger5, phantome101, Tintcalad, DeLacus, Obsidianglasses, AmazingWriter123, mariihamadeh, and my guest reviewers!

Love,

Elena