Seren backed away from Legolas and her painting. "Such a thing is not possible."
Legolas scowled. "Yet it is here before us."
She retreated further and the prince seemed on the verge of reaching to halt her steps. "Then there is another explanation. There must be! This isn't…"
An image of Taliesin flashed in her mind. Her parents and her home followed. Everything she counted as part of who she was streaked across her thoughts. Against the backdrop of the elven halls around her, they were out of place and she couldn't tell which was false.
She shook her head to clear it. She knew what she had seen in her painting. She had nearly accepted it without question. It was yet another thing to add to the growing list of strange occurrences in her life. It was completely beyond her understanding, however and she spun away from the sight of her easel and fled through the long halls of the kingdom.
The forest loomed dark over head in the late evening and Caireann felt more secure in the shadows. She, Laseviir, and the others had reached the city on the lake. Now they watched the lighted buildings intently.
"If the Easterlings control Esgaroth, we would not know from standing out here," Laseviir grumbled.
"Agreed," Caireann replied. She looked off into the distance toward the main gate and beckoned for her kin to follow.
Silently the five elves circled the human city until the bridge came into view. Figures on the shore, just beyond the gate gave her pause, but as she they shuffled about casually, their long shining hair and luminescent visages sharpened under the light of the moon, Caireann release a long breath. A smile broke over her features and she nearly laughed with relief.
She would know Tellis's lanky form across any distance. He paused when she stepped from the shadows of the wood and visibly startled as the others did the same.
Now certain it was safe, the five strode across the open land, unconcerned about the snow crunching under their feet.
Others near Tellis finally noticed the wayward warrior and shouts rang out.
"It's Caireann!"
"Laseviir is with her!"
"Child, we thought you lost," Tellis said when they finally stood before each other and hastily bowed together.
Caireann laughed and gripped the advisor's shoulder, noting his lean and the pain in his expression; his clothes still stained red on one side.
"Already I have healed a great deal," Tellis assured when he saw where her gaze was drawn. "Others were less fortunate during the effort to free Lake Town."
"How many?"
"Four perished. Five were wounded."
Caireann hesitated to ask her next question but decided appearances were the least of her concerns. "What of Nuinethir?"
Tellis smiled indulgently. "He lives." He almost laughed as the warrior sighed in relief, her hazel eyes brightening.
"You have arrived just in time, Caireann," another of her kin said suddenly. "We are due to leave as soon as the king returns."
Caireann scowled in thought. "The city will do without our aid?"
Tellis interjected, "The bulk of the Easterlings have marched on our kingdom. Bard has pledged to offer aid to defend it."
The news made Caireann's stomach tense. "Without their dark master's direction, they would dare?"
Tellis watched her sadly. "Their numbers match two-thirds of our army's compliment and they have Dragon's Heart. They dare because such an opportunity has never come before nor will again. They left this morning to launch an assault."
Caireann's eyes widened with alarm. "Dragon's Heart is certain death. There is no antidote! It will bring devastation to our people and the king stayed here to help the humans?!"
"We were in no state to intervene, Caireann," Tellis patiently rested a hand on her shoulder. "And the path home was cut off before we were fit to leave. The king has spent the day reclaiming our kin and freeing the humans so that we might better help our people."
"But Legolas would have no warning!"
"Seren followed the army and traveled through the forest in the hope of heading them off. With luck, Legolas will have had the time needed to prepare."
Caireann's mouth pressed into a flat line, restraining further objections. Dozens and then hundreds of footsteps rebounding off a hollow wooden floor echoed to her ears and she turned to the bridge. Inwardly, her heart lifted at the sight of the king, Bard, Nuinethir and Eleros, flanked by the rest of their kin and hundreds of humans. Outwardly, she chided the king's guard.
"You tarried long enough."
"Caireann!" Nuinethir blurted and his eyes widened.
Thranduil stepped to the side so the runner could pass him and he all but ran from the bridge. Bard chuckled when Nuinethir remembered himself at the last moment and refrained from embracing Caireann. Instead he awkwardly clasped her shoulders and bowed his head.
"You are fooling no one!" Eleros called out to the pair as the elves left the gate to join Tellis.
"This is not your concern!" Nuinethir shot back.
Laughter rose above the assembled elves and humans and everyone clustered together to discuss the journey north, into the woods.
"Where were you taken?" Nuinethir asked idly, leading Caireann into a slow stroll back toward their kin. He clasped his hands awkwardly behind his back to help maintain his composure, so great was the impulse to reach for her.
"The Easterlings have a camp further south, half a day's journey from here. Believing us subdued by their poison, they became complacent with our guard. We took the opportunity to slip from their camp long before they suspected a thing." Caireann smiled to herself a little. "I am sure they've realized our absence by now however."
Nuinethir chuckled. "The arrogance displayed by the Sons of Rhun has undone their efforts here, as well."
Caireann's smile faded. "I doubt capturing Esgaroth was truly their aim."
Nuinethir had no reply for that as they reached the circle around the king.
Pairs of scouts were sent off in every direction to be sure of their safe passage and lines of formation were organized. Archers were placed in clusters near the center and armored warriors on the edges. Those most vulnerable or wounded were placed directly center of the party.
With the moon high overhead, Thranduil felt his pulse thrum as they finally began the trek north. He thought of Legolas and the kingdom and what state he might find his home in. He had not wished to consider the outcome of Seren's failure but he turned his focus toward that possibility now, unpleasant as it was. It proved a great distraction, however; as he found himself worrying what fate could have kept her. More than once the terrain nearly tripped him, so lost was he among his own musings.
Tellis came alongside him and walked in silence for a time. "Are you well, my lord? You seem… overburdened in both mind and body."
Thranduil straightened his posture and pulled the sleeves of tunic taut and smoothed the front. "The recent days have been a trying time. I am ready to see it brought to an end."
Tellis accepted this for the moment. Like his people, the king was strained by the events of the past week, the most recent days in particular, and faint shadows had crept over his features. They all needed time for repose. It wouldn't do to pry further if there was nothing to be concerned about.
"My lord!"
Everyone stopped. Thranduil watched a pair of his scouts hurry to him, expressions alight.
"There is something you must see!"
The elvenking frowned. "Is it beyond you to report to me what you have discovered?"
"No words could suffice," the other scout replied.
A long sigh slipped from Thranduil's lips. He did not relish any delay and nearly refused but for the faintest breeze of a sweeter air coming from the northeast. His expression lost some of its severity and his head tilted with curiosity.
"Very well." He gestured to the scouts and followed them with his escort.
The gnarled, winter laden trees snagged at his clothes and hair as he made his way through and soon they reached the sickened southern border of his realm. The forest grew darker and the ground clung to his boots with a muddy stench. This far from the river and what little rejuvenating essence it offered, the trees grew twisted and almost black. Decay clung to everything, giving the less savory creatures of the world a plentiful supply of food and shelter.
The air felt heavier here. It carried a musty tang and the moon no longer reached forest floor. Were it not for the faint whiff of fresh air teasing his senses, he would have ended this detour. As it was, his patience was nearing an end.
The scouts abruptly veered north, wending through trees more easily and Thranduil's escort followed smoothly. The ground between these trees felt more solid and the elves left stinking footprints of wet earth on the dry soil. Further on the trees seemed to lose some of their malice, though they didn't appear different.
A pass between two grand oaks revealed a slope toward a clearing as he crested it and the elvenking stopped at the sight beyond.
The scouts looked to him and his guard, smiling. One of them leapt into a tree, swiftly climbing out of sight.
Slowly, Thranduil stepped into the little clearing, his gaze casting around quickly. The surrounding trees no longer reeked of the corruption in his forest and their color reflected the soft hues of the night. Their crowns rustled crisply in the breeze, letting beams of moonlight stream through their boughs to caress blades of new grass carpeting the floor. The brambles and thorny vines had receded and a wide swath of gentle woods led north from the clearing.
Thranduil did not spend long wondering what had changed here and his breath quickened imperceptibly as a near-certainty taunted him. He searched the clearing, finding the smaller footprints he suspected he would and followed them. They ended at the foot of a great tree, a tree bearing minor damage to the sharp tiny knots in its bark.
Into the long silence, Nuinethir breathlessly spoke. "What has happened here?"
"How far do you think this path leads?" Eleros asked.
From the branches overhead, the scout who had scaled the trees answered him as he descended once again. "It goes as far as I can see, many miles at least. It points directly home."
"It is the path Seren took," Thranduil said absently as a thin line of reflected moonlight shone from the lowest branches just above his head.
"But mere days ago this was not here," Nuinethir countered.
Thranduil gently tugged the tangled thread free. It was unmistakably red against his skin. He glanced up again at where it came from and spotted tiny smears of crimson on the bark. Though it should have dried long ago, it shone in the dark.
Thranduil stepped back and held the hair aloft. "Nevertheless, Seren seems to have been drawn here."
Nuinethir would not drop the matter so easily. It hadn't escaped his notice that some things about Seren made little sense. "It seems odd to find such a path exactly where it is needed, when it is needed."
"It is very odd indeed," Thranduil agreed and forestalled any further debate with commands to have the rest of their group brought to the clearing. It seemed folly not to make use of the path.
"It's Nuineri!"
Ceridwen rushed over the northern ramparts as she had been summoned. Her satchel of bandages and poultices clinked loudly with her steps as she ran with a group of her healers.
"By the stars!" Ceridwen said when she saw her friend and her heart stammered in its rhythm.
Her patient was none other than the First In Order of the kitchens, lying on the deck with an arrow in her shoulder that cascaded with crimson. Lines glowing like embers crept over the right half of Nuineri's torso and she contorted in pain, her skin already a sickly shade of ash.
"No…" Tears threatened Ceridwen's vision as she took a vial out to help with pain. "Fetch Seren and the prince. Menui's waiting in the infirmary for her mother. Let us reunite them."
A male youth nodded and set down the supplies he held, tearing off back into the mountain as the others lifted Nuineri for the trip back to the healing ward.
Seren thought of the painting on the easel as she wandered the elves' halls, not caring where her steps took her. Memories of her life swirled in her mind. She dredged up everything she could remember, getting lost in one of her earliest recollections. An image of a beautiful glowing garden flashed before the memory and she stopped mid-step. Her chest tightened but she pulled the image back, blurry and incomplete as it was. Again it drifted from her, like sand slipping through her fingers.
Frustration brought tears to her eyes as she tried to decipher the new image and a shaft of moonlight caressed her face. The high windows carved into the stone allowed a glimpse of the white orb hanging in the sky and she approached the window's ledge, feeling watched. She had always felt watched.
"All my life I thought you a construct of my imagination – even on Earth where the moon is little more than a dusty rock reflecting the sun's light. According to the scrawl on my childhood drawing, you are called Mandos."
A long sigh escaped her and she cast her eyes down and whispered, "What do you want of me?"
Echoes of running footsteps alerted her to someone's approach and she startled. A boy just beginning his maturation flew toward her, his long, knobby limbs flailing about when he spotted her and paused.
"Ceridwen said you and lord Legolas must come!" He heaved with exertion.
A strange feeling passed through Seren and she knew before she turned, she would find Legolas behind her. The hallway was empty for a moment before he carefully stepped into view. Seren swallowed the panic and the questions she had and returned her attention to the boy.
"Nuineri has been hurt!" He said in a high pitch.
"Nuineri?" Seren felt her entire body flinch. The view around her dimmed as she jogged toward the boy.
He didn't wait for her and instead pivoted, dashing back from the direction he'd come.
Seren caught up to him easily, Legolas close behind and together they ran through the halls as fast as the winding paths would allow.
Just within the infirmary, a thick cluster of shadows told Seren they'd placed Nuineri down on a bed as she entered the room. She went to her friend's side. A cry escaped when she saw the telltale signs of Dragon's Heart poisoning.
"Mother!"
Menui sobbed in her mother's sleeve, inconsolable. The child had seen what became of those with the glowing red texture in their skin.
Nuineri reached for her with a shaking hand and stroked her head. The contrast of ashen gray against the girl's golden locks stark and horrible. Varis stood silent across from Seren, gray eyes sad.
Seren felt her face heat and tears welled in her eyes. "What happened to you?"
Nuineri gave her a familiar warm grin, gray eyes sparkling. "Our men on the wall needed a good meal…"
Seren couldn't help a small sad smile. Of course everyone's favorite cook would have thought about supper in the middle of a battle.
Legolas spoke quietly from behind her.
"Shortly after the Easterlings withdrew, some of their archers loosed one last volley into our ranks on the northern end."
"I had thought the danger passed," Nuineri added with slow effort. She coughed as the lines spreading over her advanced further.
Seren's eyes fell closed. "I wondered where you had gone. I didn't think you'd been –"
"Shhhh…" Nuineri reached for Seren's hand.
For a long moment, no one spoke and only Menui's soft sobs broke the silence. Nuineri's skin was unnaturally hot and Seren gazed upon their clasped hands.
Around her were various faces of grief. Legolas was pained and solemn. Ceridwen was resigned and anguished and Menui was utterly heartbroken. The child wept openly, desperately begging her mother not to go. Nuineri calmly murmured about her love for her daughter and promised her child she would be whole again someday. Seren doubted that.
This was the cost of war. Seren felt a piece finally slide into place that she hadn't known was missing. This was her family. Her roots were here now and one was dying.
She raised her head toward the tall windows, staring once again at the moon as she silently asked the makers of Arda to let Nuineri stay.
Whatever you want of me, I'll give if you just let her stay.
Seren hadn't truly expected anything and silently cursed the ridiculousness she was entertaining when a thought not her own came to her.
"It is within you to change…but an answer will be demanded…"
She pulled back abruptly, stumbling and staring with wild eyes. Everyone assembled watched her curiously.
"I'm sorry. I can't remain here."
For the second time that night, Seren fled.
Ceridwen took a few steps toward the door but Legolas halted her. "Leave her to grieve as she needs, Wen."
The healer nodded reluctantly and returned to her patient.
Seren rushed through the halls, not caring who saw her and burst through a door out into the cold night air. An enemy at their doorstep seemed the least of her problems as she fled to a place she could find without sight or thought.
Taliesin's resting place wasn't marked but the trees standing over him were immediately recognizable. She slowed to a stop and fell to her knees, sobbing quietly.
"I'm so afraid, Tal. You aren't here to help me figure out what I'm meant to do. I feel torn as though rent in two and I must choose which half of myself I would save. Sometimes, my memories of you feel like a distant and insignificant drop in a very large bucket but the tighter I cling to you, the thinner and more stretched I feel… and I need you now but you left me! You should be here."
The snow dusted ground twinkled on as if she hadn't spoken and a breeze whistled quietly through small forest. After clearing away the sparkling soft white snow, she curled up over her brother's grave and wept until exhaustion claimed her.
Galadriel gazed up at the moon, her mind seeing more than her eyes. She and the forest both stood still while Arda revealed a face she had not yet seen. Seren's arrival had brought with it an awareness Galadriel thought long forsaken and it hovered just out of her sight until this moment.
Leithenil… Galadriel's inhale broke as she remembered a silver luminance she loved well in her youth. Much of that light had been consumed by Ungoliant ages ago but a small whisp of it yet remained.
The retinue waited while Elrond approached the Eldar gently. "My lady?"
"You know of the twelve guardians."
Elrond was unsurprised to hear Galadriel speak of them and he waited for her to continue.
"I witnessed the day they were pledged. They weren't appointed guardians at the time. The great evil of Morgoth had only just begun to be conceivable and was far from understood. Thus the guardians were merely servants of the Trees. It fell to them to administer to Laurelin and Telperion and to be ambassadors between those who sought rejuvenation from them and the will of the Valar."
"In the garden of Lorien, under the purview of Yavanna, being called to witness seems not unusual," Elrond offered.
Galadriel smiled faintly and stared off into nothing. "So small a thing… it seemed a tedious and insignificant matter. The formation of servants to the Trees was considered the first step along a path of tutelage under Yavanna. They came to be regarded as guardians when stirrings of Melkor's influence among the Noldor were revealed."
Finally Galadriel looked upon her daughter's husband. "I know what Seren is meant to atone for."
Elrond blinked. "You have seen Leithenil."
"Yes. I could not be certain when the life she lived before was hidden from me. You denied me her name, knowing I would understand."
"Yes," Elrond admitted. "I cannot speak further of her now," he whispered harshly. "It is a tale I have strength to tell but once. I will not speak of it before Seren is present to hear."
Galadriel lowered her head graciously, "Very well."
She strode forward to her guard and with a look they set off again. "We are still many days out from King Thranduil's halls. We shall tarry no longer."