Hey Everyone! I'm baaaaaack!
So this is the long promised prequel series to my Lord of the Rings OC Trilogy. Expect lots of background for our OC and also an introduction to her relationship with Legolas! If you've already read my first trilogy, awesome! but expect to read it again bc after i'm done uploading The Hobbit series, I will be going back through that one and uploading my edits! and there have been A LOT of edits, from grammar to entire story changes!
If you haven't already read my first trilogy, DON'T. As i said earlier, I WILL be editing it A LOT.
Enjoy loves!
Caladwen could feel her body shaking from the drop in adrenaline. She felt sick to her stomach, she had just blatantly disobeyed the king, there was no way around it. She needed to leave, now, but she wondered if it was too late for her to catch up to her company. Quickly, she crossed to the wardrobe, nary a pant in sight, much less her weapons. She growled, turning back to her bed.
"I have to-" she began, stopping as she realized that her clothes and her weapons laid on her bed. Caladwen froze, glancing around the room. She smiled, realizing that around her weapons, tying them together, sat her handkerchief from the start of their journey. "Bilbo, you little burglar." She whispered, grabbing up her things.
It did not take her long to get ready, and as she began to slip out the door, several armed Mirkwood guards began to run down the hall. Quickly, she ducked back into her room, praying they weren't coming for her, and thankfully she was right.
"The dwarves are missing!" She heard them shout, their captain shouting orders at them in elvish. She felt her heart skip a beat she knew she needed to hurry up and get to them
"They're going down the river!" She heard from further down the hall.
The halls of Mirkwood were emptied, all of the elves chasing after her dwarves no doubt. Caladwen slipped as quietly through them as she could, dodging a few patrols, but not too many. As she passed the throne room she could hear Thranduil inside, barking orders at several poor elven servants.
"I want them found now! And make sure that Caladwen Amadirvaethil is kept guarded in her quarters!" He shouted. Caladwen's heart jumped to her throat and she darted past the throne room door. She followed Bilbo's directions, finding the wine cellar and charging past it to the trade entrance, which surprisingly laid right off the trade route, otherwise known as the Forest River.
"This way! They're in the barrels!" An elf patrol shouted, running past Caladwen who ducked into a nearby bush.
If they're already in the barrels I will have to hurry to catch them! She thought to herself, taking off from the bushes and sprinting alongside the river's edge. Around her, elves quickly ran in the same direction, and she shoved them, tossing a few into the river for good measure. One had drawn his bow, pointing it up river towards where, in the far distance, she could see several barrels with Dwarven heads sticking out of them. Caladwen ran to the elf, grabbing his bow and pushing it towards the ground. With a growl, she brought her palm up, breaking the elf's nose in the process, sending him sprawling to the dirt. She broke his bow over her knee, tossing it next to him before taking off again.
"Holo ín-annon! (Shut the gate!)" She heard Legolas shout from upstream.
"Legolas! Menír Erebor! Menö uin râd! (They are going to Erebor! Get out of their way!)" She shouted, catching the elf Prince's attention. He turned to her, eyes wide with shock, before his face dropped to one of anger.
"Gwedo dín! (Subdue her!)" He shouted, pointing at Caladwen with a single, vicious finger. To her dismay, several elves turned, running after her now as well as the Dwarves. Caladwen drew her sword, ready for a fight, when suddenly one of her pursuers dropped to the ground, dead. In his back sat a black arrow. Caladwen froze as a horn broke through the silence, an orc horn, and the sounds of at least a hundred orc growls filled the air.
From the bushes and trees around her, an orc army began to swarm. Armed to the teeth and angry as ever, their leader began to shout orders in black speech, orders which his orcs we're all too happy to comply with. They began slaying elf kind left and right, cutting down Mirkwood with their sharp blades. One of the orcs ran for Caladwen, raising his sword above his head to strike. She dodged him, kneeing him in his stomach, slicing his head off as she turned to look behind her. There was yet another horde entering the riverfront.
Caladwen took off in a dead sprint towards the barrels of Dwarves, ducking and dodging elf and orc alike. Around her was a massacre, the elves were outnumbered, they were not prepared, and the orcs took advantage of their surprise. Caladwen growled, lunging at a nearby orc, running him through, before kicking a Mirkwood guard across the face. Down river, the dwarves we're trapped between orcs and the river grate, unable to move. Across the river, Legolas was busy dealing with his own horde, but he was getting over run fast.
Caladwen growled, pulling her bow and nocking it with an arrow. She let several fly, thinning the herd of Orc that Legolas was currently dealing with. She may be angry with him, but he had been her friend, she couldn't let him die. As the orcs fell around him, Legolas stared at Caladwen in surprise. Caladwen nodded at him, taking off towards the bridge that overlooked the river grate. On that bridge sat a lever, and it was surprisingly clear of orc or elves, as the battle had moved to the forest around her.
"Wenny!" She heard a few Dwarves call over to her. Quickly, she made her way to the lever, kicking it down while shooting an orc that rushed her from the other side of the river.
"I will meet you at river's end. I've a few things to deal with first!" She shouted as the dwarves began to float down river.
"Caladwen! Behind you!" Thôrin shouted, just in time for Caladwen to duck, missing an orc blade to her back. Caladwen stood, swinging at the orc and shoving him into the water below, only to be met with another. This orc overpowered her, pushing her down the stairs behind her, where she sprawled on the ground, away from her weapon. Caladwen lashed out at him, kicking him in his abdomen, trying to take out his legs, but it was no use.
"Caladwen!" Legolas shouted from across the river, sending an arrow flying towards the orc that stood above her. It sank into his skull with a sickening
thunk. As the orc fell dead into the river, Legolas went along his own way, chasing after the Dwarves. Caladwen rose to her feet, chasing after them on opposite side of the river.
"Legolas stop!" She shouted across the river, cutting down a few orc as she went.
"My father commands they stay!" He shouted back, shooting arrow after arrow at several passing orc.
"And what do you command?!" Caladwen shouted back, pausing on the river bank to look at him. Legolas faltered, dropping an orc at his feet. He looked to Caladwen, obviously torn, but that did not stop him from continuing his chase. Caladwen growled, also following him down the river.
Upstream, the orcs had pretty much forgotten the elves and gave chase fully to the dwarves. The dwarves we're making decent time, but they were entering the rapids now. Their barrels bobbed and sank with the rough waters, and Caladwen felt her chest tighten as an orc Archer took aim at them.
"No!" She shouted, drawing her own bow. Caladwen was a hair too late, however, and as she let her arrow fly, so did the orc. He fell dead to the ground just as his arrow made contact with one of her dwarves. Kíli clutched his arm in pain, sinking into his barrel. "Kíli!' Caladwen shouted, catching the attention of one of the elves up river.
Tauriel turned, looking between Caladwen and the barrels in the water, but her distraction left her vulnerable. Taking advantage of her confusion, an orc pounced on her, throwing her to the ground. Caladwen ran at him, jumping into him and knocking him back a few feet. The orc hissed at her, but Caladwen did not care, and she drew her bow and arrow, shooting him in the face. Caladwen turned, checking Tauriel for any injuries, before taking off down the river bank again.
"Caladwen!" Tauriel shouted after her, jumping to her feet and following her. "Stop!" But Caladwen didn't, she couldn't. Several hundred feet down river, she could see the edge of the rapids, the waterfall that led to the tradeway, and she knew she had to keep the river bank clear for her company.
"Thôrin!" Caladwen shouted, catching the Dwarf King's attention. He turned, looking at her and she nodded to the waterfall. Thôrin's eyes grew wide and he turned to his fellow dwarves, instructing them to stay low.
As Caladwen ran, she let several arrows loose, killing any orc she could possibly find. On the other side of the river, Legolas was doing the same, though she knew he was not trying to help the dwarves. No, he wanted to recapture them. In the river, the Dwarves were currently fighting several orc that had jumped onto their barrels from the overhanging trees. Caladwen growled, shooting an arrow at the closest one, the one attacking Dwalin, knocking it dead. Dwalin turned to look at her, nodding his head and taking from the orc his sword, before dropping him into the water.
In front of her, Caladwen could see several low hanging vines, and she jumped, swing out into the river and landing as gracefully as she could, on top of Dwalin's barrel.
"Oi!" He shouted at her, as she nearly landed on his head.
"Sorry!" Caladwen told him, taking aim and firing at several orcs on the side of the river. Not to be out done, Legolas followed her lead, landing on two of the dwarves barrels behind them. He too took aim at the orcs, until he got closer to Caladwen, at which point he began to grab for Caladwen. Caladwen fought him off, slapping his hands away from her, shoving him.
"Stop!" He shouted at her, causing her to cease her fighting. "I only want what's best for you! Go back to my Father's House!" Legolas told her, grabbing her wrists. Caladwen felt her blood begin to boil and she viciously broke his grasp.
"I do not answer to him… or to you!" She shouted, raising her hands to pushing him. An arrow flew past her face, nearly hitting both of them, and the pair of Elves stopped, turning back to the battle at hand. Legolas threw Caladwen a warning glare, pushing his barrel away from hers and returning to fighting off dozens of orcs.
"Move she elf!" She heard Dwalin say, and Caladwen turned, just as his barrel ran under a giant fallen log. The log caught Caladwen in the stomach, and she lost both her bow and her ride to the rapids. Winded, but not done, Caladwen pulled herself to the top of the log, making her way to the river bed and drawing her sword.
She was so close, she'd almost made it to the end of the rapids to her freedom, and she fought through another horde of orc, making sure that each of her companions made it over the falls before she too turned to jump.
"Caladwen!" Tauriel shouted from behind her. Caladwen froze, hearing the familiar draw of a bowstring. "Nínion ned mened gín! (Do not move!)" Caladwen turned, frowning at Tauriel.
"Boe annin mened! (You must let me go!)" She pleaded with her friend. Tauriel shook her head, eyes wet with tears. Tauriel growled, lowering her bow.
"Iston. (I know.)" She whispered. Caladwen smiled at her, turning to jump, when two elven guards grabbed her arms.
"Aníron mened! (Let me go!)" Caladwen shouted, fighting against her captors as they drug her away from the falls. They dropped her at Legolas' feet and he frowned down at her, jaw clenched.
"Tolathog. (Come quietly)" Legolas begged his friend while the guards disarmed her. Caladwen's eyes burned and she wiped them as she got to her feet. In silence, Caladwen followed her captors away from the river. If she had to be a sacrificial lamb so that the dwarves could get to Erebor, she would be.
Legolas led Caladwen to the throne room, but this time it was not as equals. She had been disarmed, cuffed, It was very clear her status at Mirkwood and it was no longer that of a "guest." Thranduil stood before his throne, glaring at Caladwen cooly. Caladwen raised her chin to him in defiance.
"I see you made it far." Thranduil seethed.
"No, I did not…" Caladwen smirked at him. "But my Dwarves did." She sneered. Thranduil growled, raising his hand to her as he did. Caladwen flinched, waiting for him to hit her, but to her surprise he stopped himself. Legolas' stared at his father in shock, likely what had caused him. To stay his hand. The pair exchanged challenging looks before Thranduil lowered his arm.
"You were our guest here, yet you defied my orders, disrespected my hospitality!" Thranduil shouted. Caladwen did not flinch this time. Her lack of emotion seemed to anger him even more. "You will be jailed until I send word to Lorien of your misdeeds. Legolas! See to it she finds a cell." Thranduil commanded his son. Legolas stared at his father incredulously. Thranduil watched him expectantly. "Now!" He commanded.
"Legolas, don't!" Caladwen pleaded with her friend, but all he did was frown at her as he grabbed her shoulder. "Legolas!" Caladwen shouted, fighting against him as best she could.
"I am sorry." He told her quietly, taking a tighter grip around her arm and dragging her to the dungeon. She fought him as best she could the whole way, but with cuffs on she was at a disadvantage. It was not until they got to her cell that she looked at him.
"You are a coward!" She hissed, kicking the cell door once he'd closed it. Legolas glared at her, levelling an accusatory finger.
"It is your fault you're in here. You don't listen, you're disrespectful. What would you have me do?" He bellowed, his voice echoing off the walls around them. Caladwen could no longer hold back her tears and again she kicked the cell door.
"I would have you do what is right!" She screamed at him. The dungeons grew quiet and Caladwen sobbed, taking a seat on her cell bench. She buried her face in her hands, openly sobbing into them. She had one last trick up her sleeve, she would have to tell him of her vision. "If you do not let me out of here, Thôrin Oakenshield will die!"
"What do you mean he will die?"
"I have seen his death, in my waking dreams. Just like I saw the death of my parents." Caladwen whispered. Please believe me. She begged her old friend.
"You will not mislead me with cheap tricks." He hissed at her. Caladwen felt her heart break as one of her dearest friends called her a liar.
"How could you speak to me like that?" Caladwen whispered, banging her hands on the cell door. "I have seen death and you dare trivialize my sight as some cheap trick?!" Legolas was stunned as Caladwen cried in front of him, suddenly he felt bad about not hearing her out.
"Caladwen-"
"Leave me, Legolas." She hissed. Caladwen glared up at him. "Leave me and don't you ever call me a friend again." She bit at him. Legolas visibly flinched, sighing as he pushed himself off of her cell door. Caladwen glared at his back as he walked away, sparing her one last look before exiting the dungeon entirely.