Thank you to:
leward1992: Yes he will be livered to find it.
x3sunnydaay : Glad you like the format, it's much better for me to write it this way.
Enjoy and read and review my lovelies xx
Chapter 43
Thranduil POV
Looking regal as he strode down the corridor from the royal wing of the palace, was the platinum haired elf known for being a cold-hearted ruler of the Greenwood.
He stood tall and proud in dark green and brown riding clothes paired with a signature silver metallic robe.
His twin knives hung in their scabbards on each side of his hips, silver handles gleaming in the light, just like the silver circlet sitting on his brow and the light, but durable elvish armour.
Anyone who had witnessed the arrival of the red headed woman only 2 years before could see how much his heart had softened, but right now they only saw the fierce warrior that had protected his kingdom for centuries without compromise.
He was lacing up the glove of his left hand when he heard hurried footsteps and the unmistakable voice of his son, Legolas, calling out to him.
"ADA!"
He stopped and crouched down to be eye to eye with him.
"Ada, they said you're leaving!"
"Yes, little leaf, I am going to bring your Naneth home to us."
"I want to go with you."
Bright blue eyes of the older elf hardened slightly and his voice was absolute.
"No."
The response from the little elf dressed in his mini warrior outfit, complete with bow and quiver on his back, was to cross his arms and stomp his foot for emphasis, a frown appearing on his fair face.
"Yes. I always get left out, I am going to rescue Naneth."
Thranduil sighed and reached out a hand to rest it on his son's right shoulder.
"I understand, I truly do, but not this time. The forest is dangerous for trained warriors, let alone young Princes. You have a good heart Legolas and you mean well, but you need to stay here and stay safe. How would Naneth feel when she comes back to find you gone? So you see how important it is for you to remain behind. Besides, you will need to help Galion run the kingdom in my absence."
He saw the little elf was devastated to be told no, but could not fault his Adar's reasoning. An idea came to Thranduil then and he moved his head forward to whisper in his offspring's ear.
"Can your King ask a favour?"
"Yes."
"Watch Galion like a hawk for me. Can you do that?"
He was pleased to see this request bring a soft smile to Legolas' face.
"Yes, Ada."
He opened his arms then to allow the elfling to launch himself into his embrace and wrap his arms around his neck tightly, whispering in Thranduil's ear just as they heard light footsteps of the Captain of the Guard approach.
"Promise to bring her home to me. Promise to both come back safe Ada."
"I will do everything in my power to uphold that promise, little leaf."
Taking one last breath, he let go of his son and turned his attention to the male elf dressed for battle standing to his left.
"Feren."
"The company is ready to depart My King."
"Very good. Let's go."
He gave his son one last look before turning to continue on, but only got a step or two before being interrupted by the familiar barking of a blonde haired dog as it ran from behind Legolas and only stopped when it was in front of the Elvenking.
"Get out of the way."
He used his commanding voice but the dog did not obey, just sat and waited.
He turned his attention to Legolas then, who had rushed forward to pat the dog gently.
"Take her inside Legolas."
The little elf tried to manoeuvre the dog out of the path and the older elves tried to step around, but each time the dog barked and moved with them.
"Ada?"
"Yes Legolas?"
"I think she means to go with you."
"That's absurd."
"No, think about it. She has a superior sense of smell, she can help you find Naneth!"
The look on the King face showed that he was sceptical about the use of the dog and not keen to take it with them, but he had to admit the determination was admirable. Legolas smiled widely when he saw his Adar concede.
"Very well."
And with that the Elvenking and his Captain resumed their fast pace, golden dog in tow, to the waiting company of similarly dressed warriors at the back entrance to the stable, their starting point to find Evie.
He nodded to Lord Neldor as he made his way to the front, who had opted in the council meeting to join the recovery effort, though he failed to understand why since he knew the elf did not entirely approve of his choice of wife.
He mounted his large black stallion and turned to greet the Grey Wizard to his left, who was also mounted on his steed. He was grateful to have the wizard with them, just in case they encountered something unexpected.
He shifted his eyes to roam over the assembled group and was pleased with the result. As directed by the council, all warriors had to volunteer their service for the effort and only the best were selected for the role.
They had been overwhelmed by elves wishing to join in, many not even part of the guard, but out of their love for Evie. He had not realised just how many lives she had touched in the Greenwood and become beloved by more than he and his son.
Thranduil saw the looks of disbelief from the company seeing the dog sniffing the area like a bloodhound and agreed it was ridiculous, but some small part of him held hope that Malthen just might prove to be integral to this mission.
He was relived when Feren gave the order to line up and move out, for he was anxious to leave, their objective to be as efficient and quick as possible in finding Evie and returning home.
He urged his mount into movement with his thighs and took his place near the front of the line, his thoughts drifting to his red headed wife, internally telling her to hold on, for he was coming for her.
A few hours later, the company stopped when the dog barked and made a big fuss in the bushes, so Thranduil made an effortless attempt off his horse and strode for the dog.
His bright blue eyes widened when he saw the yellow material held in the hands of his Captain, his mind instantly picturing his wife who had worn this garment so many times before, which made his heart constrict painfully.
"My King?"
"Yes Feren?"
"Looks like it's just been dumped. No blood, just dirt."
"She's not here."
"No. My guess is that they moved on. They definitely camped here."
He only half listened to the dark haired elf speak his analysis, his thoughts centered on the wellbeing of his wife and if she had been brutalised.
The urgency to retrieve her grew within him.
Thranduil stepped forward and took the yellow material from Feren and traced the delicate flower embroidery with his finger, lifting the material to his nose and inhaling deeply. The strong underlining scent that clung to it was of her, the sweet scent of Lavender.
Abruptly he dropped the dress and turned back, his voice one of a commander.
"We move out. Now."
"Yes My King."
Evie POV
Said red headed woman felt grotty. Worse than grotty. Every inch of her felt dirty, her hair was like a rat nest, despite her efforts to fix it, the clothes she had been given were too big, only held to her small frame with the help of a belt and her wrists were burning from constant contact with the rope. Far from elvish make, that rope.
Her feet were sore from walking, she was tired from a lack of decent sleep, she was hungry and she wanted a hot bath.
But she did not open her mouth to complain.
She didn't say much on the journey actually. Instead, she listened. To everything in case she could pick up a vital piece of information that would help her.
From walking behind Luke, humiliating as it was to be pulled along like a dog, she did pick up conversation when the ugly head Orc stopped to chat with him. No, actually chat was the wrong word, the orc told the mortal man what was happening with no room for arguments.
Thinking she was a hopeless female, an image she did not bother to correct, they didn't hesitate to talk in front of her. An absolutely blessing for her and their second biggest mistake, for she had gleamed that they were still very deep in the forest and had a ways to go yet.
As she walked on, Evie had listened to the voices of the trees as they told her what they could when she passed and she took heart from the whisper she heard in that moment that the Great Elf King had left his secret kingdom with a large group of warriors.
Some of the building tension disappeared and she couldn't help but smile as her joy surfaced, making her feel suddenly lighter despite her fatigue.
He was coming.
Her magic surged up under her skin in response and it took quite a bit of control to dampen it down.
Taking a deep breath, she lowered her eyes to watch her feet and walked on.
And on. They barely rested, for it appeared the orcs were eager to leave the forest.
However as they kept moving, the increasing lack of life and the thickness of the air told her they were nearing a place they shouldn't venture in.
Eventually she heard Luke call out from the middle of the line.
"Stop! We need to rest!"
She was grateful for this for she was ready to stop, but she could see the orc leader was not happy.
"Why are we stopping?"
To his credit, she didn't see Luke flinch back from the savage beast.
"We've walked all day, it's time to rest. I will not go any further."
"We move on. Keep moving."
"No. We stop here."
She watched them argue with interest and was surprised by Luke's insistence, which seemed to win out in the end, for the orc leader barked out orders to make camp.
"We leave at first light."
Sitting against a nearby tree, she took the stale bread offered and chewed slowly in between sips of water from the skin given to her. It was uncomfortable due to her hands remaining tied together and the frown much have showed on her face, for the mortal man gave her a sympathetic look as he sat next to her aching body.
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
"For the ropes. I could remove them if you didn't run, but…"
"You don't trust me."
"Not me. Him."
He didn't have to elaborate for Evie knew he meant the ugly orc in charge. She was pulled back from her thoughts by his voice remaining soft and gentle.
"Are you alright?"
His concern, she decided, was almost touching if he hadn't of orchestrated this kidnapping, but still she held her tongue, having leant that she got more out of him of she was nice to him.
"Yes. I'm ok."
"Good. I think it should only be a few more days. I hope so anyway. This was of life is certainly harsher than what I'm used to."
She half heartedly smiled as he laughed at his own joke, out of pretence more than hilarity, and took another bite of the bread.
"Would you like some of these?"
She looked over to see some sort of dried meat and nodded her head while reaching out.
"Thank you."
Once they'd both had their fill, she rested her head against the trust behind her and closed her eyes, trying to sleep, her mind shifting to focus on the platinum haired elfling that she was desperately missing.
Evie was jolted awake by her hands suddenly lurching forward, her bleary eyes seeing Luke moving forward to retrieve something from his pack. She looked around upon hearing the shuffling of large feet on the ground around her and clang of metal.
Evie was confused, not sure what was taking place around her and her green eyes fell on Luke again.
"what's going on?"
He briefly turned his head to look at her, his eyes wide with fear. He moved toward her with a dagger and quickly severed the ties around her hands and then shoved a crude sword in her hands while chaos rained around them.
"I hope that elf taught you some things, for you're going to need this."
"Why?"
"We're under attack."
"from the elves?"
"No."
Before he could elaborate, she heard a clicking noise that made her heart sink, for it was consistent with something that had once been described to her.
This sound was then accompanied by the sight of a large black, hairy leg, and then another one and another until eight hairy black legs were stationed in the trees above holding up a large black body with multiple eyes and a pair of large pincers.
Mind switching to survival mode, she held her sword out in front of her, but did not move to attack the beast that was currently out of reach.
She watched in fear as another beast fell from the trees and attacked some of the orcs, inflicting so much damage with ruthless efficiency.
She tried to keep her breathing normal when the spider nearest her began its decent to the forest floor, slightly taken aback when a tall dark haired man stepped in front of her.
"Go Evie, get out of here."
Feeling conflicted about leaving her ex lover to such an awful fate, she stepped forward to help, but was pushed back, his voice frantic.
"Go!"
She hesitated again for a moment too long, for another large spider dropped behind her and she had to launch herself out of the way before she was killed.
Breathing hard and on all fours on the ground, she lifted her palms and let loose the blinding gold magic that had been bursting for days.
The spider shrieked loudly in response and shied away from the light, but was soon nothing more than a pile of ash on the ground, Evie's power being too strong for it.
Casting one last look at the dreadful scene, for more spiders had dropped, and the orc were losing the battle, badly, and then she turned and took off into the trees, her priorities shifting into focus, and never looked back.
A/N: oooooooohhhh. So does Luke survive? Will Thranduil find Evie?