"Dan!" She cried through their bond, the most overwhelming relief filling her heart as she felt his presence once more, his spirit latched with hers They had made it out. They had made it.
Lossenel's delicate hand dropped from her shoulder, her head turning around to look at her older sister, finding those stunning pale aquamarine eyes, the color of the frozen sea, now open, gazing around her in silence. The canopy above them seemed slightly thinner now, even though it still covered the darkened sky above with the silhouettes of dark robust branches tying together like a canvas. For the first time in perhaps a few nights, she could see the Moon, a mere thin arch peeking through the misty grey clouds, its frail silver light dancing over the branches and filtering through the forest.
"You figured it out." Her sister breathed out in silent whisper, eyes turning to meet her own green ones, a soft smile drawing on her face. In the dark shadows of the night, the snowy Princess looked as silver as the Moon itself, her platinum hair seeming to be made of the purest white color, still falling in tangles down her back and framing the delicate features of her perfectly angled face. "We made it out."
"What now?" She asked, suddenly realizing that her plan so far only included managing to get out of the protected area of the forest, never once stopping to think where to go once they were out in the open. A cold shudder travelled down her spine, her eyes looking around her at the expanding darkness, where only the closest tress remained visible in the frail moonlight, the farthest ones being swallowed into shadows. An eerie feeling crept over her, suddenly making her more alert, her senses sharp. They were out in the forest. There was no protection here. They could be seen and caught.
"We move quietly. Stay low, and stay out of the light." Came Lossenel's reply, and she could tell by the way in which her sister's ice green-blue eyes swept the forest around them, that the Princess was thinking the same thing as her.
"Rina?" her heart swelled again at the sound of that musical voice echoing inside her mind, that voice she would never tire of hearing, now stained with worry. "Where are you? Are you all right? Are you hurt?"
"I am fine." She replied, trying to sound calming, trying to let him know through their bond that she was not hurt in any way. And more than ever she wished to go wherever it was he was, to make sure that he too was unharmed, to feel his physical presence next to hers, his arms encircling her. "I am in the forest, with Lossie. Although I do not know exactly where. Where are you? Are you all right as well? Is Ro all right?"
"We are both well. Ro is with me." He replied, and she felt herself letting out a breath she did not know she had been holding. "I have been trying to reach you for days. What happened? Where were you? If you are in the forest stay quiet. Try to stay unseen."
Another cold shiver travelled down her spine, wishing for the shadows to swallow her more, to shelter her, both she and Lossenel not having moved yet, standing in complete silence.
"I was with my father. I will explain later where. It is complicated. But I could not reach you either, could not reach anyone." She answered quickly, her eyes wildly scanning the area around her, as if half-expecting Elladan to simply emerge out of the shadows, to come walking to her. "Where are you?"
Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Lossenel's slender fingers gripping Arahaelon's bow carefully, the arm lowered yet ready to be used at the slightest need. And she wished she knew how to use it too.
"I am in the Palace. But I am coming to find you with Elrohir, if you can try to tell me where you are or what you can see from there?"
In the Palace? For a second she was confused, unable to put pieces together, but she shook her head, deciding she could ask later. Right now all that mattered to her was finding him, to make sure with her own two eyes that he was indeed fine, without even a single scratch.
"I cannot see anything but branches….I do not know…I cannot tell in which part of the forest we are…." She felt useless, helpless, and absolutely lost in this forest that was supposed to be her home yet still felt so strange to her, not able to even find her way through it. Valar, she did not even know where the Palace was?!
"Lossie?" She whispered in the lowest voice she could muster, as if afraid to even speak in the silent air around, not knowing what could hear them. Her sister moved closer to her, her footsteps so silent as she moved that for a second it made her seem as though she was floating, moving so effortlessly. "Do you know how to get to the Palace from here?"
Her sister's eyes narrowed, carefully examining her surroundings once more, as if trying to recognize every branch around them, every leaf, every tree trunk. And then finally she spoke, voice as low as hers had been. "Yes."
Her heart skipped a beat in elation, hope flooding through her like a burst of energy, and she muttered quickly once more, explaining herself at Lossenel's confused expression. "The twins are at the Palace. Elladan said they were coming to meet with us, but I cannot tell him where exactly we are."
"I hoped you would communicate with Elladan the second we were out." Her sister smiled sheepishly at her, even though her expression turned serious a second after, as if carefully thinking on what to do. "Tell them we will be heading towards the Palace's west gate, to leave from there and head south, always south. They will intercept us on the way."
"Dan?" She reached for him again, passing on Lossenel's instructions to him. "We are walking towards the west gate. Lossie says to leave from there and head south and you will find us midway."
"Very well." She could almost picture Elladan nodding head as he always did, imagine his dark silken hair brushing his shoulders as he did so, and she wished to run through the forest, to reach those gates as soon as she possibly could. "Be quiet, Rina. Be watchful."
She did not add anything else, watching as it was now time for Lossenel to take the lead, following her sister as she started to move with extreme caution through the branches. They moved in complete silence, not even daring to whisper to each other, always staying close to the thik trunks, hidden among the leaves. She had no idea what was happening, what had happened after the King had pulled her away and ran through this very same branches. Why were the twins at the Palace? Had the other elves returned to the Palace as well? Were they still hiding, like her father had tried to instruct them to do?
She was so lost in her own mind she nearly walked into her sister's back when she suddenly stopped walking, making her leave out a surprised gasp. Lossenel had turned around in a flash, her eyes suddenly alarmed, a finger quickly pressed to her lips in an indication to be silent. And she immediately obeyed, her heart threatening to burst out of her chest as dread consumed her. For a second she was confused, not understanding why was Lossenel pushing them to crouch close against the tree trunk, feeling the cold bark brushing against her arm.
And then she heard it. Footsteps. Faint at first but growing steadily louder as they approached. Her emerald eyes focused to see through the thick leaves hiding them, managing to catch a clear glimpse of the night-lit forest ground below, the grass and bare dirt now reduced merely to grey and black shadows in the night, thick, nearly gigantic tree roots protruding from it, lacing and tying together as if to create shallow little caves.
Her heart raced louder, ears sharp, picking up even the slightest of sounds, her eyes growing wide when six black silhouettes emerged from the shadows, moving through the forest ground below. She could only point out shapes, the darkness too much for her to have a clear look, and yet shapes were enough. The sound of the footsteps grew louder, metallic as if with heavy boots. Five of the figures walked clumsily, their steps heavy, as if having trouble navigating through the uneven ground, looking short, their silhouettes disgustingly distorted, and she could feel the putrid smell reaching her nostrils through the distance. Orcs.
Two of them walked at the front, seeming to be leading the small party. She almost jumped in surprise as one of the two leading orcs suddenly slammed his curved blade against one of the tree roots blocking their patch, the sound bouncing like a cry of pain in the eerily still silence.
"Ya won't be able ta cut it!" Her skin crawled as the other leading orc snarled, pushing the orc with the blade hard at the back, as if to make it keep moving forward. "Round it!"
The noise of struggle caught her attentive ears, her eyes flying to look at the rest of the procession behind. The other three orcs following seemed to be dragging a larger figure along with them, which seemed to struggle although weakly, clearly losing or having already lost a fight. Her heart rushed to her throat, her stomach dropping to her feet as she felt herself freeze. The sixth figure, the one being dragged by the three orcs wore a black hooded cloak, looking tall, and for a second she did not know if she felt glad or sickened that the figure was now at the mercy of the orcs. It was one of them. But then where were the other cloaked figures? Had the orcs caught this one alone?
"Silence him!" The leading orc snarled again, and one of the following orcs smacked the back of a twisted ax to the cloaked figure's head, eliciting a weak yelp from the latter, which stumbled farther but did not entirely lose consciousness.
Next to her, Lossenel drew the bow, her hands impressively steady, the rear of the arrow brushing against her pale soft cheek. She released, a surprised low cry coming from below them as the first leading orc suddenly fell backwards with a thud, an arrow now protruding from its throat. It had been a perfect shot.
The orcs below seemed momentarily confused, faces looking around them suddenly, not understanding what it was had happened, and she saw Lossenel release a second arrow. Another orc fell dead on the ground, the remaining ones dropping the hooded figure, which tried to scurry away but seemed unable to rise to his feet.
"Where are they?" She heard the remaining orcs grunting, wild eyes looking all around at the branches above them, but unable to spot them, trying to shield themselves from the arrows. But Lossenel was quicker. She released one, two, three more perfect shots, and the forest below them grew silent once more, the orcs' distorted figures now mere bodies staining the earth with their black blood.
"Come." She heard her sister whisper, and she barely had time to follow the snowy Princess as she suddenly dropped from the branch hiding them, landing perfectly on her feet on the forest ground.
She imitated her, landing also on her feet but not as gracefully, watching as the hooded figure scurried away from them on the ground, not rising to his feet. Lossenel had reached the figure's side, aquamarine eyes quickly scanning the forest around as if to make sure they were still alone.
"Your Highness." A voice rasped from underneath the hood, weak, as if making an effort to speak, and for the first time she noticed something dark and thick pooling on the ground beneath the figure's black cloak. Blood. The elf was wounded. And gravely so by the looks of it. He would not make it long.
Lossenel started to draw her bow again, arrow ready, even though she made no attempt to pretend she would fire it, merely using it as a precaution as she approached the figure lying sideways at their feet. The figure did not move, shaking visibly, taking a few rattling breaths. And then, painfully slowly, gloved hands reached up from underneath the cloak, tangling on the black hood, pulling it backwards to reveal a dark blond head, loose hair pooling messily out of the black cloth, falling away from a deathly pale face.
"Glinor." Her sister's voice gasped, eyes widening in recognition, almost freezing on her spot, her delicate hands shaking as they held securely to the bow.
"Your Highness." The elf rasped once more in between ratting breaths, his face looking almost ashen, as if death itself was too close to claiming him.
"Where is Arahaelon?" Lossenel demanded instantly, in a trembling hiss, as if merely looking at the identity of the elf who had betrayed them made ire course through her veins. But she knew her sister would not fire. Not even through her rage. Lossenel would not kill one of her own, much less when he was already dying. "Where did you take him?"
"Take…?" The elf struggled to speak through labored breath, wild frightened eyes looking puzzled, and she felt her blood run cold on her veins, every gleam of hope that Lossenel's question had managed to awake in her suddenly vanishing. The elf did not know. The elf did not even seem to know Arahaelon had been captured. "The Crown…Prince…? Take…him?"
"Where did you take my brother?!" Lossenel demanded all the more fiercely, making a wince course through her as she suddenly knew the elf did not have the answer. "You took him captive. A bunch of you. Where is he now?"
Glinor's eyes widened at the news, the expression on his face suddenly desperate, remorseful, as if suddenly ashamed of everything he had done everything he had been, hands frantically trying to reach for the hem of Lossenel's dress, expression alarmed.
"You need to find him." The elf breathed out in a rush, coughing a couple of times as he tried to take another breath to speak, eyes looking desperate, pleading to Lossenel to listen to him, to heed his words. "If they…have my Prince….you need…to find….him. Find him…quickly…."
"But where is he?!" Lossenel hissed back, almost desperate now, a new fear crossing her eyes at the elf's words, the later rattling breaths with an effort, hands falling slack to his sides.
"Don't….know….but find….him…"The elf struggled to speak with every breath, his voice dropping to a whisper, eyes starting to glaze over. "It was…a mistake….It all was…..a mistake….you will die…..we will all die now….a mistake…all of it…"
The last words rattled through the still air in a hollow note, followed by silence. The elf lying at their feet did not draw another breath, unseeing eyes glazed over, still open, gazing at the moon they could not see. She felt like claws constricting her from her insides, the air around her suddenly too cold. Inside her head, the elf's words still echoed fresh, her heart praying that her father, Tadion and Legolas had already found Arahaelon, not knowing what the now dead elf meant by his words but not wanting to ever find out.
"We need to leave." Lossenel whispered to her, seeming to be taking charge at the clear sight that she would not move. Even her sister's body trembled lightly, but she did not miss a step, jumping easily to the branches once more, climbing higher and higher until they were once again at the safe shelter of the canopy of leaves.
They did not dare speak, words not leaving either of their mouths as they moved in a quiet rush through the branches, Lossenel leading the way. Her heart fluttered like a wild bird, a thousand more question flooding her already tangled mind. And yet, one thing was sure, one answer at least had bene given. The orcs and the hooded figures had not been allies, they had not been working together. The elf had been their captive. However, it was that it had happened, however it was the orcs had found him, they were not on the same side. Still, another cold shiver prickled at her skin at the thought. What had the orcs been doing there? It could only mean there were more. Orcs still roamed the forest. They had never left. Were the orcs and the hooded figures after the same thing? Even if they were not working together? Was it still her they searched for? But the eye had already seen her….the orcs had to be searching for her if they were searching for the rings of power…but were the cloaked figures too? The ones that had captured Arahaleon had been searching for her as well, only they had not been able to recognize her…but then why capture Arahaelon too? Why capture Lossenel previously? Why try to kill the King? And worst of all…..which had been the ones to hide her mother? To keep her concealed for so long? To make her father and siblings knowingly suffer thus for long painful years? And what for? For what purpose?
There was rustling on the leaves ahead, silent, yet her sharp ears caught it. In front of her, Lossenel stopped abruptly, once again hiding in the shadows provided by the thick foliage. But she did not stop, he heart suddenly swelling, filling with the most overwhelming relief and longing she could ever imagine.
"It is them!" She whispered in a rushed, darting past Lossenel through the branches and making her way to the spot where she could see faint silhouettes starting to appear through the foliage, a few branches away. It was them. She could feel his closeness through their bond, feeling it pulse stronger, her spirit knowing that his was so very near, the two identical figures coming closer now, rushing through the branches easily…
"Rina." His warm voice breathed out and she felt strong arms wrap tightly around her, her body nestling hard against his safe chest, face burying on his neck. He was here. Her own arms wrapping tightly around his middle, not wanting to let go, feeling his spirit intertwining with hers.
He pulled away first, only for his lips to crash on hers, and for a second, the forest disappeared, the orcs, the hooded figures, her fears, everything vanished, and all she could think of was him. He was the one to break apart, the kiss too short for her liking but she did not protest, watching as those liquid silver eyes darted up and down her body, as if inspecting her for the slightest of wounds.
"I am fine." She told him, watching him nod his head, pressing her once more against his chest, as if not intent in ever letting her go again.
Out of the corner of her eyes she could see his identical copy reaching their side, looking at every one of them, as if making sure for himself that Lossenel too was unharmed. And she felt her heart lighten at the mere sight of Elrohir too, of his kind face and mirthful eyes, feeling as if it was an eternity since she had last seen the younger twin.
She let her eyes take a long look at Elladan, her heart falling slightly at the sight of a long cut down the side of his face, from the end of his right eyebrow to below his right ear. Her eyes widened at the sight of it, even though the skin seemed to be already healing, and she felt his lips land on her forehead, as if guessing immediately where her thoughts were.
"I am fine too." He told her, letting her know that the cut did not bother him at all. But it bothered her.
"Are you all right, Lossie?" Elladan's liquid silver eyes traveled to look at the snowy Princess, even though his strong safe arms had not let go of her yet, still holding her tightly.
"You remembered I am here as well?" A pale eyebrow rose high in Lossenel's forehead, her gleaming teasing eyes glancing from Elladan to her before letting out a silent laugh. "I am well, Elladan. We are both unharmed."
"What happened?" Elrohir was the one to speak this time, his silver eyes, identical to his twin's darting from her to Lossenel. "What happened after we got separated?"
"I was with Ada and Ar, we moved through the trees and found Lossie along the way. And then we went into the heart of the forest, protected, we would not have been able to reach anyone from there." She narrated, watching as both of the twins nodded their heads in understanding, whether truly understanding or if they would ask for more detailed questions later, she could not tell.
"And why did you leave?" Elladan asked almost immediately, and she could tell that although he was intent in never letting her go again, he was also wondering if she had been safer under the King's protection. "How did you leave?"
"Rëa found the way." Lossenel took over, explaining to detail the illusion and how they had done to leave the place that was under so much magical protection. "And then we walked in this direction."
Lossenel had still left out the part of the orcs and the hooded figure they had found, but she also believed that the matter could wait to be properly discussed once they were in a safer place. But where was it safer? In the Palace?
"Why were you in the Palace?" She blurted out, desperate for answers, even though she knew only the briefest ones would be given here. They needed to find a safer place.
"It is full again." Elladan explained, as if slightly puzzled she had not known that. She felt his hand travel down to reach hers, his fingers perfectly fitting through hers. "Almost everyone has returned there. The lower levels on the East Wing were the only ones to suffer damages from the fire, and they will be reconstructed soon. My father is there, helping with the injured."
"It is a good thing you brought a bow." Elrohir pointed out, a hand motioning to the bow Lossenel still carried safely in her hands. "Orcs still roam the forest. Now dangerously close to the Palace."
The bow. A new thing crossed her mind, momentarily forgotten in her relief to have found the twins, her emerald eyes now frantically looking at Elladan's endless silver ones.
"Arahahelon." She breathed out in a rush, looking from one twin to the other, feeling Elladan protectively tighten his hold on her at her sudden anxiety. "They have Ar! They have captured him! Ada, Tadion and Legolas are attempting to find him!"
"What?" Elladan's eyes narrowed at her, sharing a puzzled look with his twin, and for a moment she could see silver eyes looking at her face in confusion, as fi trying to make sense of the words she had let out. "That is not possible."
"It is." She breathed out, feeling Elladan holding her tighter, trying to send calming waves through their bond, his hold strong yet every so gentle, as if scared to crushing her if he held too tight.
"Rina. I do not know what you saw, but Arahaelon has not been captured." Elladan spoke, his soft voice making her heart drop at the confused sound of it, the tone the one someone uses when comforting another who is waking up form a nightmare.
"They took him" She contradicted him, and felt only the slightest relief as she saw his silver eyes narrow in yet more confusion and dread. He believed her. Even if there was clearly something amiss, something that did not match whatever it was he believed to be true, he believed her. "Two days ago. I was there. They have him."
"They cannot have Ar." Elladan's voice had dropped into a soft whisper, as if trying to put pieces together yet failing. "Arahaelon is in the Palace, leading everything in the King's absence. He has been there for a few days now."
"He was with us." She breathed out, her voice barely leaving her throat, throwing a confused worried look at Lossenel, who seemed as taken aback as her. "He was with us in the caves. And they captured him a little less than two days ago, I was there."
"He could not have been there." Elladan was shaking his head, as puzzled and worries as she too was. "I saw him too. Spoke with him. More than two days ago. In the Palace. Where he still is."
Here's chapter 52! I hope the wait wasn't too long this time! Let me know what you think about it!
Again thank you infinitely to those of you who left a review for the previous chapter, really thanks for each and every single one of your words, they keep the story alive! Brandibuckeye, Coco99, Me And Not You 1001, StarFilledSkies, helenaxo, Amsim, Teddy0407, and Flower-Uchiha.
Love,
Elena