Chapter 21 ended with:
Leaderless and troubled, the warriors remained around the body of their fallen brother, until one of them decided to get help from the Greenwood warriors that were behind the Esgaroth wall, unaware that their realm had lost so much in the valley while they were protecting the town of the mortals.
Chapter 22 – The Fallen Warrior
The four warriors that were remaining in the valley near Esgaroth were frantically discussing what to do next when they heard the familiar noise of hooves hitting the ground. Horses were coming in their direction, and hopefully, it was help from Greenwood.
"We cannot let them die like this!" Brethilon insisted, keeping his eyes off the ground where the lifeless body of the fallen elf lay. "We can still try to save them! On our horses, we will be faster than the spiders! If we can reach them before they reach the forest, we have a chance at saving the three of them."
"There are only four of us to fight three spiders! We have to wait for our brothers in Lake-town -"
"We have help coming from Greenwood now," Valerie's bodyguard replied, pointing at the horizon where a group of riders could be seen. He looked again attentively, his face losing all colors. "The captain himself is coming! And... the king is there too." He swallowed with difficulty. "I will track the spiders, we simply cannot lose them! The rest of you can explain the situation to the king! Follow me as soon as you have a plan."
Brethilon sent his horse on the trail of the three spiders. Assuming that Brethilon was in fact chasing something of great importance, the group from Greenwood changed their course and followed him immediately. Riding the strongest stallions, Legolas and King Thranduil soon rode beside him, with Elladan, Glorfindel and the other warriors following behind.
"Are you chasing orcs?" the king shouted to cover the noise.
"Spiders," Brethilon murmured, his eyes searching for the tracks of spiders on the ground.
"Where is my wife?" Legolas asked, dreading the answer. He had not seen his wife or Hadron in the valley. He knew they both had been part of the foolish impromptu expedition to Lake-town. He had also seen the body of a warrior in a pool of blood, but had not been able to identify him.
"The spiders took the princess and Lieutenant Hadron."
"Fuck!" Legolas yelled in English. "How could you let this happen?" he spat angrily.
"She tried to protect a mortal child -"
"Which mortal child did she sacrifice herself for?" Thranduil hissed bitterly. "Not that little orphan she keeps talking about?"
"The very same," Brethilon admitted.
"By trying to save this orphan, Valerie is making five additional elven orphans!"
"Valerie will not die!" Legolas yelled at his father.
They rode at full speed for a few hours, their horses starting to show signs of exhaustion, but kept pushing them since they could now see the three spiders ahead of them. The arachnids entered the forest before them, and the elves followed them on foot shortly after, tracking them silently but swiftly.
It was a part of the forest that the elves usually avoided, on the southern side of the road. There was almost complete silence there, as most animals had fled to the north years before. Even the trees seemed threatening, and the group of elves carefully walked between the trees, making sure not to touch them.
Luckily, once the spiders reached their nest, they put the three cocoons where they kept their food and left the area entirely to look for more snacks within the forest. The warriors stopped and hid behind the trees, studying the scene. There were many bodies hanging from the branches, some small like rabbits, others big as deer. But the three they were interested in were hanging in the webs very close to them. From the locks of hair they could see coming out of the tight cocoons, Hadron and the orphan were hanging heads up, while Valerie was hanging upside-down, a long red lock of her hair coming out underneath her.
"Even unconscious, she always manages to be a pain," the king mumbled. They could easily cut the thread holding the two males and they would fall feet first. But Valerie could break her neck if she fell head first to the ground.
"We can debate about that once she is safely back in the fortress," Legolas replied.
"At that point, I will ask her to explain the bloody mess of a tortured orc within my walls," the king continued.
"You do that," his son replied impatiently. The fact that his father always made sarcastic comments in dangerous situations made him even more of a pain than Valerie was, but Legolas was not about to tell him that.
"Why would the spiders leave their nest unattended?" Glorfindel whispered.
"There has to be a guard somewhere. Maybe it is further away in the woods, or maybe it is watching us as we speak," Legolas assumed.
"I see the guardian of the nest," Elladan murmured. "On our right. In a high branch of this oak right there."
"I see it," Brethilon confirmed.
"Three of us will take my mate, Hadron and the child, and the rest will protect our retreat. We will meet at the forest line and escape on our horses."
"The horses are exhausted. Should many spiders run after us, we are at risk of being followed in the valley and overcome," Glorfindel pointed out.
"Then you need to kill the guardian of the nest to ensure it will not call for help," the king said. "There are twenty of us, we can easily kill one spider."
"We will, your Majesty," Brethilon declared with determination.
"I will take Valerie," Legolas said, stating the obvious. "Glorfindel, please grab Hadron's cocoon. And Adar?"
"I know! I have to save the child! He must be important to Valerie if she risked her life to save him..."
"Good luck!" Legolas said before giving the signal for the attack. Immediately, the warriors started climbing the trees to reach the spider that was guarding the nest, Elladan and Brethilon in the lead. Once they saw that the spider was busy trying to fight the numerous elves encircling it, Legolas, Thranduil and Glorfindel went to the bodies hanging in the cocoons and cut the threads with their knives.
Swiftly, they carried them to the forest line and, using their knives again, cut away the sticky threads that were covering the faces of Valerie, Hadron and the child. This would ensure that they could breathe more easily, a priority under the circumstances. Then they worked hard to remove the rest of the tight cocoons. Legolas was shocked to see the state Valerie was in. Her body was cold as ice, her skin white as milk, and her opened eyes were staring into nothingness. He would have thought she was dead if not for her extremely shallow breathing. She was in a venom induced form of coma, the state that the spiders were keeping their prey in before devouring them.
"Hadron is alive," Glorfindel confirmed, trying to remove the last threads from the lieutenant's body.
"So is the child," the king confirmed.
The three elves mounted their steeds, holding the unconscious bodies in front of them, ready to escape as soon as the other warriors arrived. They did a few minutes later, content smiles on their faces.
"It had been a while since I killed my last spider," Elladan said with satisfaction. "The feeling is still incredible! Valar, I hate these beasts!"
Legolas noticed that Brethilon was not smiling at all. Remembering that a warrior had lost his life near Lake-town, he led his stallion closer to Valerie's bodyguard.
"Brethilon, who is our brother who lost his life in the attack?"
"Cadworon," he answered with grief, turning his eyes away to hide the tears.
Legolas closed his eyes, feeling the pain almost physically. He always suffered greatly when he lost one of his warriors, but Cadworon had been Valerie's bodyguard for more than five years. He was almost a member of the family. Valerie would never recover from the death of her personal guard and friend.
They rode back to the fortress in complete silence, knowing that the other Greenwood warriors that were still in Lake-town would come back shortly, bringing Cadworon's body with them so he could be buried in the Greenwood cemetery with his other fallen brothers.
OoOoO
Cadworon's body was temporarily exposed in the Great Hall, and Elladan was, like the other elves in attendance, praying the Vala Namo to take great care of the guard's fëa in his Halls, and to allow him to be reborn in a prompt manner.
Their arrival at the fortress had been sad, with the news of Cadworon's death spreading quickly. The healers had taken charge of Valerie, Hadron and the child Hadrian, who had still been in a comatose state upon their arrival.
Legolas and Thranduil had had the heartbreaking duty of announcing his death to the children. And even if he had not attended the announcement, Elladan had heard the painful screams of his little mate somewhere in the royal aisle and the crying of the other children. The warriors that had been in Lake-town arrived with Allison at that exact moment, and hearing nothing but the desperate crying of her niece and nephews, Allison had dismounted and ran to the royal aisle, not even noticing that there were a few Imladris elves in the fortress. It had been quite a blow to Glorfindel, but Elladan had told him many times in the following hour that it was normal for Allison not to have seen him or sensed him since they had not mated yet. They had been waiting in the Hall with the other grieving elves since then.
Elladan had had plenty of time to wonder what was happening with Phoebe, since he could no longer hear her wails at the other end of the fortress. He looked at Glorfindel, who was now deep in thoughts, probably reliving his own death and stay in the Halls of Mandos, where Cadworon was now. After what seemed like hours, they both heard a small commotion at the entrance of the Great Hall, and a servant opened the door. The young princes came in the room with their governess Miniel. Elladan and Glorfindel recognized Liam and Sean, who had grown tremendously in the past five years. It was clear that both princes were close to adulthood. They both were tall but slim, not having developed the bulkier built of warriors in training. They looked like elves, their hair long in their backs and wearing the long tunics that scholars wore. Elladan had no doubt that they would soon be very popular, if he could trust the looks that the unattached ellith of Greenwood were sending in their direction. The day they became of age would probably be the day that they lost their innocence in the arms of experienced ellith...
Everyone looked at the children as they walked in the hall towards Cadworon's body. Liam and Sean were each holding a small elfling in their arms. Phoebe was following them, supported by Miniel, her grief more apparent than her brothers'. The young elleth's character was like her naneth's, passionate and demonstrative. Liam and Sean stopped in front of Cadworon's body, tears rolling on their cheeks.
"Why is Cad sleeping in the hall?" Gil-galad asked his older brother.
"Cad has reached the Halls of Mandos," Liam replied with a hoarse voice. "He passed away. He will no longer be with us."
"But he is here!" Oropher cried, watching Liam from Sean's arms. The elfling bent over and tried to touch the body that was out of his reach. "Cad! Cad! Wake up! I want to play!" the golden-haired elfling screamed near Cadworon's face. Sean forced him back against his chest with great difficulty.
"Do not touch him, you have to respect the fallen," Sean murmured, caressing Oropher's little back to soothe him.
All the Imladris elves observed the twin elflings with curiosity and excitement. They were easily identifiable, Ereinion Gil-galad with his snowy hair and Oropher, who looked like a smaller version of Legolas. It was real. The Valar was really sending back reborn kings to Middle Earth instead of Valinor.
Elladan watched Phoebe as she got near the body and knelt beside the bed where it lay. She caressed Cadworon's face, despair clear on her features. She started crying. "I love you, Cad," she said between sobs. "Please, do not be dead!" She put her head against his silent chest, crying all the tears her body contained while Miniel tried to comfort her. But the governess was distressed herself, having lost a friend and someone who had been very close to the family like she was herself.
"Why is Phoebe allowed to touch him while I cannot?" Oropher whined loudly, struggling in Sean's arms, determined to touch Cadworon too. "Cad!"
Miniel sighed and apologized to all the warriors in the room. No one was angry, knowing that the concept of death was not easily understood by elflings. Miniel took Oropher and Gil-galad from their brothers' arms and hushed them out of the room, asking them if they wanted to go see their naneth in the healing rooms, explaining that she was now awake. Right at that moment, everyone heard a female voice yell "Cad!" from the general direction of the healing rooms, and Miniel decided to bring the twins at the playground instead of the healing rooms.
OoOoO
Valerie opened her eyes, feeling horribly nauseous and weak. She knew Legolas was holding her hand while speaking to Hadron, who was lying in the bed beside hers. Allison was taking care of someone further away in the room while Thranduil was glaring at Hadron and her from another corner.
"Vanima?" Legolas asked. "Are you feeling fine? Hadron was nauseous when he woke -"
Valerie suddenly heaved and threw up all over the bed some strange green substance that tasted absolutely foul.
"And he did that too," Legolas finished his sentence.
Allison helped Legolas to change the bed sheet, holding another sheet in front of Valerie's chest while he washed Valerie's naked shoulders, arms and hands. Hadron glanced at her and saw warrior markings on her shoulder blades. His eyes suddenly bulged out of their sockets.
On her shoulder he saw the words archer and markswoman, and on her back, he read:
Princess of Greenwood
Mate of Legolas
Daughter of Thranduil
She has warrior markings on her shoulder! the lieutenant was thinking with dismay.
"I trust that you will keep this to yourself, Lieutenant," Legolas told the warrior with a glare that promised retribution should his command not be respected. "The private life of the royal family is none of your concern."
Hadron nodded and looked elsewhere, unable to believe everything that Legolas' mate was capable of doing and how his friend could tolerate her wild character. He even appreciated it, from what he could tell. How his childhood friend had changed since they were elflings!
"What happened?" Valerie asked, recovering from her sickness and trying to avoid looking at Hadron.
"You were poisoned with spider venom," Legolas replied while Allison sat beside her sister. "Hadron tried to help and got stung too. We had to rescue you from a spider nest in the forest."
Valerie suddenly remembered everything. "Hadrian! What happened to the child?" she asked, sitting down and grabbing Legolas' arms painfully.
"The child you sacrificed yourself for is here," Thranduil said coldly, pointing in the direction of the bed Allison had been close to before.
Valerie looked in that direction and saw a small shape under the bed sheets. "Is he okay?"
"Yes," Allison said. "He did not wake yet. I believe his smaller body is taking longer to eliminate the venom."
"Why are you so angry?" Valerie asked her father-in-law.
"I believe this was the last time I left you in charge of the fortress while I am away. You took bad decisions after bad decisions, and it led to terrible consequences."
"I am sorry, Father. The decisions seemed the best ones at the time. You only have to stay around next time," she replied with humor.
"It is my fault," Allison said, intervening in the expected altercation. "I absolutely wanted to go to Esgaroth to take care of the mortals. I had not seen some of my patients for many months."
"As regent, it was up to Valerie to deny your request. We had too little warriors left in the fortress."
"Again, I am sorry, Father. I did not expect the fortress to be attacked. I was told it never happened before. Were there any casualties in Esgaroth?"
"Not in Lake-town," Thranduil replied. "But I would like to know why a dead orc was found within my walls."
"It was my decision," she said, appreciating that the king was not mentioning the state the orc's body had been in.
Hadron looked at Valerie but spoke to the king, determined not to let her take all the blame. She was a fellow warrior after all. "There was a consensus about her decision, my Lord. We needed to get information from the orc."
"But I was the one who gave the order to torture the beast," Valerie told Thranduil. "It was... a most terrible decision. But it saved lives in Esgaroth."
"It did," the king admitted. "But it cost us greatly."
"We will all have the guilt in our fëar for eternity," she admitted. "I do not think I will sleep one night without replaying the scene in my head -"
"You attended?" Legolas said with dismay, unable to believe that his mate would have attended such a gruesome scene. It was definitely not a sight for ellith!
"My daughter is a true leader, Legolas," Thranduil said proudly. "She knows that you must face your decisions and not hide from their consequences. I am not in agreement with what you did, but I admire your courage," Thranduil told Valerie.
"I do not want Hadron, Cad and Bret to be blamed," Valerie insisted. "They followed my orders."
Immediately, the faces of Allison, Legolas and Thranduil changed and became sad.
"Oh no!" Valerie cried. She put her hand on her mouth, looking at Legolas and Thranduil, hoping for them to deny what she had just read in their minds. "I cannot believe you!"
"He died protecting you, protecting a person he loved deeply. You were his princess, his friend, almost a daughter. In the Halls of Mandos, he must be very proud and will be celebrated for his courage and dedication."
"Who died?" Hadron asked.
"Cadworon," Legolas replied, putting a comforting hand on his lieutenant's shoulder.
"I do not believe you!" Valerie cried even louder. "Oh gods, no! Cad!"
She pushed Allison away, and enveloping herself in the bed sheet, she stood with determination despite her weakness.
"Where do you think you are going?" Legolas asked, standing too.
"I have to get dressed. I must speak to Cadworon," Valerie said.
Thranduil, Allison and Legolas exchanged a glance. Had Valerie not heard them properly?
"Valerie -" Allison started.
"Oh, shut it!" Valerie said with impatience, her eyes feverish, leaving the room without a backward glance.
Legolas and Allison followed her to her apartment, where Allison helped her put on a gown while Legolas was trying to reason with her.
"Legolas, Cadworon cannot be dead!" Valerie told him, almost laughing. "This is ridiculous. He cannot die! He is supposed to guard me!"
Once dressed, Valerie looked at them. "Where is he? In his quarters? At the training grounds?"
"In the Great Hall," Allison answered darkly.
Valerie left the room and Legolas turned to Allison. "What is happening? This is surreal!"
"She is in shock, in denial. Her mind is not processing the information we just gave her. We must go with her, Legolas, because she will need us once she sees his body! There will be no denial possible after that!"
They swiftly walked in the direction of the Hall and caught up with Valerie before she arrived at the door. Legolas took one of her arms while Allison took the other. They entered the room and all eyes turned in their direction. They slowly walked to the bed where Cadworon's body had been placed.
Sean and Liam were standing nearby while Phoebe was on the other side of the cot, still sobbing with her head on Cadworon's chest, pleading for him to return immediately from the Halls of Mandos.
Valerie stood in front of the cot, watching the body with intensity. She violently removed her arms from Legolas and Allison's grasps and touched Cadworon's cold skin with shock.
"Cad?" she murmured. She observed the wound on his neck and understood that he had bled to death, his artery cut during the fight with a spider. Cadworon was dead. He was really dead. He would never again protect her, give her advice, or make her laugh with his wicked sense of humor. He had lost his life protecting her, only because she had imprudently tried to save Hadrian. Grief and guilt flooded her heart, and she fell to her knees. "Cad!" she cried, grabbing his cold and now rigid hand. She started sobbing with her daughter. "Oh gods, I am sorry! I am so sorry!"
Legolas knelt beside her, and ignoring the elves around them, tried to give some comfort to his mate by enveloping her in his arms. The warriors all stood one by one, giving privacy to the royal family. Somehow, their grief made them even closer to their people.
Elladan and Glorfindel did not know if they should leave or not. After all, they had unofficial mates in the royal family who might require comforting. However, Allison had not even noticed Glorfindel's presence yet, as he was hidden in the crowd. Elladan watched Phoebe and saw that no one was consoling her, with everyone's attention now on Valerie.
"I am staying," he decided. Glorfindel followed his example, seeing that Allison was crying also, in a more discreet display of grief than her sister. Both ellyn kept watching the scene, craving to be closer to their future mates.
"Where is Bret?" Valerie asked between two sobs. The warrior, who had been about to leave the hall with the others, walked back to the cot and stood beside Valerie. The princess gently pushed her mate away and stood, facing her remaining bodyguard. A moment later, she was against him, her arms around his neck. The two Imladris elves stared at this unexpected display of familiarity. Prince Legolas did not seem to mind that his wife was in Brethilon's arms!
"Bret!" Valerie was crying against the warrior, "It is my fault! Your brother is dead because of my foolish decisions!"
"He died protecting you, it was the consequence of many decisions that we all took together. We were in agreement with everything you did, Cadworon included. Please do not feel guilty," Brethilon told her.
"But if he had never become my personal guard, he would still be alive!"
"You do not know that! He could have died on duty, in the forest. And maybe not. But he wanted the guard position just as much as I wanted it. He was very happy to have been chosen for this mission of the utmost importance. The last five years have been great for both of us. He liked you so much, my Lady, and he probably died in peace, knowing he had done everything he could to protect you!"
"I will ask Legolas to release you from my service. You probably cannot stand the sight of me now!"
"It is quite the opposite! This is something that my brother and I have talked about. We agreed that should one of us die on duty, the other would continue protecting you." He seemed to hesitate. "My brother was very fond of you, my Lady. And although I am much less demonstrative than he was... I care for you just as much. I will never leave your service, not until we sail to the Undying Lands. And there, hopefully, my brother will be reborn and we will be reunited again."
Valerie sobbed against his chest, sad but relieved that Bret would still stay with her, his familiar presence a comfort in these dark days to come.
Legolas noticed his sister-in-law, sadly watching the body of her friend. He gently put his arm around Allison's shoulders and pulled her against his chest, where the healer leaned her head with gratitude. Glorfindel growled instinctively, immediately catching Legolas' attention. The prince studied him for a moment before removing his arm from his sister-in-law's shoulders. Allison looked at him with a frown, but before she had time to inquire about his movement, Legolas whispered something in her ear. She looked in Glorfindel's direction. She almost fell, her knees suddenly weak, and Legolas caught her right before she hit the ground.
"Glorfindel!" she murmured, distraught by the unexpected sight. Unable to walk, she just reached out for the Imladris Captain, and he swiftly made his way to her, lifting her in his arms and carrying her to another corner of the hall where he sat on a chair, holding her against his chest. He wanted to keep her away from the commotion, away from Prince Legolas who was touching her with a familiarity he could not witness without anger.
Elladan was feeling left out. Glorfindel was now with Allison, Valerie was back in Legolas' arms while Brethilon was protectively pressing Liam and Sean against his body. The two young princes seemed familiar with the bodyguard's touch, and Elladan understood that Valerie's guards had been more than warriors devoted to her. They had become very close to her and her children. He was envious of that. He had once been close to Phoebe, but that had been more than five years before. She did not need him anymore. She would only want him later, when she would become an adult, when her feelings for him would bloom into eternal love.
He looked at Phoebe again, and saw that she had finally stopped crying. Her head was still leaning against Cadworon's immobile chest, but her face was turned in his direction, and she was looking directly at him. Did she need him? Did she want him to join her? Uncertain, he stood and walked slowly in her direction. She warily followed his progress and kept watching him when he sat beside her on the floor.
"I loved him. He was my friend," she whispered.
"I know."
"Now I only have Bret as a friend."
"I am your friend."
"You left me."
"But I came back."
"How long before you leave me again?" she asked sadly.
Elladan thought about her question. He had originally planned to stay in Greenwood for a few days, and then go to Lothlorien with Glorfindel and then from there, escort Arwen back to Imladris. But things had changed. Phoebe had grown faster than he had expected. Only 8 more years and she could be his. He could not leave and come back in five years, he would have missed too much of her childhood. He needed to stay with her for a long time. He suddenly realized that his sire had known about this. When Elrond had said his goodbyes to his older son, he had told him to take care of himself with emotions that were unusual for a short separation. His father had known that he would spend quite some time in Greenwood. Years, probably.
"I promise to stay as long as your grandsire and your parents will allow me," Elladan promised.
"Until the fall, before there is too much snow in the mountains?"
"Longer," Elladan vowed. If it was his choice, he would leave Greenwood in 8 years with Phoebe as his wife, and then settle down in Imladris permanently.
Phoebe's arms left Cadworon's body and she hesitantly put them around Elladan's neck. Relieved, he enclosed the young elleth in his arms, rocking her slightly.
Glorfindel was doing the same with Allison. Neither of them was talking, unable to speak with the lumps in their throat.
"I will never leave you again," the Captain of Imladris finally told her once he had regained some of his legendary composure. He looked at her face, and despite her swollen eyes, he found her more beautiful than he remembered. Physically, she was unchanged, proving that she really was an immortal now. But she had gained in assurance, maturity and presence, her high position in Greenwood giving her this possibility to grow.
"I do not want to be separated from you ever again" Allison told him while tenderly caressing his neck. "These past years have been so lonely. I wanted to stay with my sister, but now that she does not want children anymore, I do not need to remain in Greenwood. I will miss my patients in Esgaroth, but I am sure I can help mortals near Imladris. If you want me there, of course," she hesitated.
"Of course I want you with me in Imladris! That is all I have been thinking of in the past five years! You have been in my thoughts every day, whether I was on patrol or at the Last Homely House. Allison, my love, will you accept this time if I ask you?"
"Ask the question, and you will know," Allison said, leaning her forehead against his.
"Allison Thompson, will you be my wife and become the Lady of the Golden Flower?" he inquired, kissing her cheek to hide his nervousness.
"Yes Glorfindel, I will be your wife," she whispered.
Knowing she was still grieving for her friend Cadworon, he gave her a chaste kiss, rightly assuming she would not be ready for anything more passionate on this saddest of days. She leaned her head against his neck and just rested there, content to be with him once more, but watching warily her family that was still gathered around the body of the fallen soldier.
The king entered the Hall, followed by Hadron. He went to stand near the body and seemed to pray for a few minutes. Brethilon bowed to the king and went further away when Thranduil grabbed his grandsons and gave them each a kiss on the top of the head.
"Grandsire," Phoebe told him from Elladan's arms. "Elladan promised to stay with us for a long time."
"Did he, aure nin – my sunlight?" the king asked, watching the ellon who was sitting on the floor with his precious granddaughter, realizing that the son of Elrond had successfully filled the huge gap there had been earlier between himself and his future mate. He knew that Elladan would probably want to stay in Greenwood for a few years, and maybe ask to bring her to Imladris. The king would deny this request should he ever submit it. Phoebe would remain in Greenwood until she became an adult and decided where she wanted to stay as a mated female warrior. "We will talk about it later," he told Phoebe, but Elladan nodded, knowing he would be the one having that discussion with the king.
OoOoO
The child opened his eyes, looking at the ceiling above him. It was made of rocks, as if he was lying in a cave. There were holes that allowed some natural light to enter the room, definitely not a work of nature. He was in a man-made cave, comfortable with a burning fire keeping the room warm.
"How are you, Hadrian?" a female voice asked beside him in Westron. He recognized it immediately. It was the voice of the elven princess who had always been generous with him when she visited his town.
"My Lady," he greeted her respectfully. She was sitting on his bed, a book in her hand. She was as beautiful as ever with her red hair and piercing green eyes. She was wearing a green dress that made her eyes stand out even more. He looked around, taking in the richness of the room.
"You are in Greenwood, in our fortress. This is my home. You are in a room in the royal family quarters," she answered his silent inquiry.
"Why am I here?"
"The city was attacked," she reminded him. "Spiders…"
In a flash, he suddenly remembered the spiders arriving and his unsuccessful attempt at escaping. The last thing he remembered was being hit with a dart…
"What happened?"
"I tried to help you, but I got hit also… Another warrior was also hit… My husband and my father-in-law found us in the forest, tightly cocooned in spider webs… They brought us back here and waited for the venom to be absorbed by our bodies." She had tears in her eyes, and she wiped them quickly not to trouble him.
"Why do you cry if we are safe?" he inquired.
"I lost someone I loved in the attack."
"Who?" he asked with curiosity, although he was sure he didn't know the elf in question. He was trying to be polite with his benefactress.
"One of my guards." She attempted to control her emotions, but it was a lost battle. She hid her face behind her delicate hands.
"Which one?" he asked, his heart clenching. Each time she had visited Esgaroth, she had been with two blond guards that followed her every step, two brothers who were always with her while she spoke to him and gave him what he needed to survive for a few months.
"Cadworon."
"I am sorry for your loss," the child said. He barely remembered his parents, but he knew the consequences of someone's death could be devastating. Obviously, the princess of Greenwood had deeply cared for her guard.
He looked around once again. "When will I be sent back to Esgaroth?"
Valerie wiped her tears and gave him a sad smile. "I have a proposal for you, Hadrian."
Interested, he observed her with attention. She had, from afar, always made sure that his life was more comfortable since the first time she had visited his town. She put a hand on his cheek, caressing it lightly. She obviously was planning something to help him more than usual, and he agitatedly wondered what miraculous gift she was going to give him this time.
"I would like you to stay here, with me."
"To do what?" he asked, wondering what kind of work she would ask him to do. He was used to work for his sustenance and lodging. Nothing was given freely in Esgaroth.
Taken aback, she looked at him questioningly.
"What kind of work?" he insisted. "I have helped the baker for many months. I also have some notions of carpentry and blacksmithery," he enumerated.
"I do not want you to work for me!" she stated forcefully.
"Then why would I stay here?"
"Just to… stay here? I would take good care of you. I promise."
"I would not work."
"No."
"Why would you do this for me?"
"Because you are an orphan child! You need someone to take care of you!"
"I can take care of myself!" he proudly answered.
"You are right," she acknowledged. "But your belly is frequently empty and some nights, you sleep in the cold, I know that. I do not want this for you. I want you to have a chance at a normal childhood."
"A normal childhood living with elves?" he asked with some sarcasm.
"I have five children, you would have friends to play with."
"I do not speak their language," he reminded her.
"You will learn it. You are an intelligent child, otherwise you would not have survived so many years alone."
"And if I do not like it, I can go back to Esgaroth?"
"Yes," she assured. "But I want you to promise that if you are not happy, you will let me know so we can find a solution before you pack your belongings."
"I promise," he vowed, and they shook hands to seal their deal.
"Come, get dressed," she told him. "It is time for lunch and we cannot be late, Father hates that."
"King Thranduil will be there?" he asked, surprised.
"Of course, he is my husband's father! He is part of my close family!"
She helped him to put on the leggings, undershirt and rich tunic that had belonged to one of her older sons. He had never worn such beautiful clothes and he told her. She simply smiled and took his hand, leading him in a hallway with many doors. She was telling him to whom each apartment belonged to, but he did not recognize any names. They stopped in front of a wooden door at the end of the hallway.
"You are ready?" she asked him.
"Why? It will be difficult?"
"I have a big family," she reminded him. "Do not let them intimidate you!"
On these last words, she opened the door and entered, pulling him inside by the hand. He saw an imposing room with a huge wooden table, around which many children and adults were sitting, eating a meal that made him salivate. He had rarely seen so much food at the same time. Valerie led him to an empty seat and went to sit between two male adults that looked very much alike. They both observed him with a mix of interest and annoyance. He was used to this type of scrutiny.
"Hadrian," the princess told him still in Westron, "this is my mate, Legolas," she said, pointing to the male sitting to her right, "and this is King Thranduil, Legolas's father," she said, pointing to the male to her left. Truthfully, they both looked alike with many common features, and he could not tell which one was the oldest, their immortality making it hard to discern their age.
"I am pleased to meet you," Legolas said in Westron with an even voice. The king only nodded in his direction. The princess glared at him but he only shrugged in response.
She turned to him once more. "These are Ereinion Gil-galad and Oropher," she continued, pointing at two small elves, one with hair white as snow in the winter. He had never seen a child with such hair. The other one looked like Legolas and the king. "Miniel is their governess."
The elleth sitting between the two children smiled to him and greeted him politely.
"Phoebe is our little warrior," she said, looking at the only female child in attendance. "She is your age," she specified. "This is Elladan, a lord of Imladris, her… friend," she added after a moment of hesitation. The ellon was the only one with black hair around a table full of blond and red heads. Except for the strange child with white hair.
"My oldest sons Liam and Sean," she finished introducing him to the family. Both were older than him, close to being of age. "Sean is a musician and Liam is a scholar."
He watched everyone with curiosity. They were already served and he wondered if he could serve himself, or if someone would decide what he would eat amongst all the delicious plates in front of him.
Valerie read his mind and asked Sean to help Hadrian serve himself as he was sitting beside him.
"What would you like?" the boy asked him with difficulty. Obviously, the boy struggled with Westron.
The orphan did not recognize some of the food on the table.
"Give him a little bit of everything," Valerie asked her son.
Sean served him many small portions and gave him back his plate. Unable to resist, Hadrian started eating the food with his fingers.
"His table manners are dreadful," Thranduil told Valerie in Sindarin.
"Please do not speak in a language he cannot understand," she replied tersely.
"His table manners are dreadful," the king repeated in Westron, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
All the children started laughing while Valerie glared again at the king. Hadrian stopped eating, humiliated. He knew they were laughing at him.
"Hadrian has been starving for years while you were here, comfortable in the fortress, a fire warming your room every day and every night while he slept outside in the cold! You had food on the table at every meal while he never knew if he would eat the next day! Under these circumstances, his table manners were the least of his concerns!" she chastised them all in Sindarin. "You should be ashamed of yourselves!"
All the children lowered their heads in shame.
"Hadrian dear," she told the child in Westron, "please do try to use a fork. You have all the time you need to eat, no one will remove food from the table until you are done."
"I am sorry," Liam told Hadrian. "Please eat, and then I will show you my room."
"You can play in my room too," Phoebe said.
"I do not play with girls," Hadrian replied.
"I am a warrior," she spat, insulted that the orphan thought her one of these silly girls playing with dolls.
"You are not a warrior yet," her father reminded her firmly.
"I have killed an orc with my bow when I went in the forest! It is only fair that -" she argued.
"And we are proud of you," Elladan cut in the middle of her sentence. "But you still have much to learn before you can officially become a warrior. Years of training are ahead of you."
"Mother is a warrior!"
"Your mother had years of training with her bow when she became a warrior," the king reminded the child. "And she also uses her guns. She is a full warrior while your training is far from over."
"But –" she attempted to continue.
"I will be there with you," Elladan replied, putting his hand on hers. "And once we both deem you worthy of becoming a warrior, we will go see the Captain and ask him to make you a warrior of Greenwood. Agreed?"
"Yes," the elleth said, appeased, looking at the tall ellon with undisguised affection.
"Who is the Captain?" Hadrian asked with curiosity. He had never seen the Captain of the Greenwood army in Esgaroth.
"I am," the prince said. So the husband of the princess was also the captain of the elven army.
"You must be absent from home a lot," he commented, repeating what he had heard in town. He had been told that the Greenwood army was protecting both Greenwood and Esgaroth by guarding the forest at all times, a great sacrifice for these warriors living a harsh life in the dangerous forest.
Legolas' face darkened after being reminded of his frequent absences by a complete stranger. And a child no less, who should be grateful for the hospitality offered by his wife instead of making judgments on his absences and resulting heartbreaking neglect of his beloved family.
"He did not mean it in a negative way," Valerie told Legolas, putting a calming hand on his. "He understands how much of a sacrifice it is for our family."
Knowing he had caused some tension in the room with his last question, Hadrian tried to change the subject. "What are guns?"
Valerie groaned. She liked the orphan very much, but subtlety and discretion were obviously not his strongest points.
"He is all yours," Thranduil said with a caustic smile while standing to leave the room, his meal finished. Immediately, the governess and Elladan stood respectfully while the rest of the family remained seated. Understanding that only family members were exempted from the polite gesture, he stood and bowed like he had seen Elladan do.
The king seemed to approve his gesture. Hadrian was happy that the king was satisfied, but sad at the same time. He realized that there would be a difference between him and the other children, who were princes of the kingdom. He was a simple guest in the fortress.
Not for long, Valerie thought with resolve. And Legolas and Thranduil would have to submit to her will in this. It would be interesting to see.
Author's note:
Valerie lost Cadworon. I wanted to show that living in Middle Earth is difficult and that the threats represented by the orcs are truly mortal ones. I cried as I was writing this chapter, I felt like I had let a good friend die.
On the good news side, Allison has finally accepted to marry Glorfindel and Elladan finally was able to be Phoebe's friend again!
In the next chapter, Valerie will be traveling – and the Valar will make their first appearance in the story. Unfortunately, they are not too happy with Valerie… Can you guess why?
I will probably get my 400th review soon for this story! Let's celebrate this together by making sure that I hit this important mark! Please leave a review to let me know your thoughts or comments; I am always open to new ideas! Thank you for your time!
Abbyforth: I am sorry for the loss of Cadworon. You said you were attached to all the elves now. But life in Middle Earth is no longer safe, and Valerie is discovering it for sure…
Guest: Legolas' reaction was not so bad since he rescued her before it was too late. Cadworon's tragic death put Valerie's expedition to Lake-town at the bottom of his list of worries…
Legolas fan: Phoebe warmed up to him fairly quickly – she was moody when they met in the forest, but Cad's death put things into perspective…
Angel: I will have scenes between Glorfindel and Allison when they move to Imladris. It will be a whole new experience for her!
Hannahhobnob: Elladan and Phoebe are friends again. She will benefits from his wisdom and training, and will become a better warrior.
Paperlanterns86: what will be more difficult for Elladan is how quickly Phoebe will grow. Even if she becomes an adult at 18, can you picture her at 16 if she is already in love with him? I can. It will be wicked!
Natasya Ivashkov: You were right, it was Cadworon. This was a sad chapter, but the next one will be more cheerful…
Aureleis: are you happy that Phoebe forgave Elladan relatively quickly? Or would you have preferred that she made him suffer more for his neglect?
Glory Bee: Valerie and Legolas no longer want to have children. Can you guess how the Valar will react to that? You will see it in the next chapter!
Airbender42: Yes, the previous chapter had a lot of action. This one was quieter, as everyone was in mourning. But at least Glorfindel and Allison will bind soon…
Aralinn: Thranduil was angry, but as long as she is safe, he will forgive her almost anything. Sorry if you liked Cadworon – his death made me cry. But I had to sacrifice an important character to show that life in Middle Earth truly is dangerous now, and anyone can die at this point…