MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I hope you are having a lovely winter break and that there is plenty of holiday cheer to be had!
Oooo Thank you to all those who wished me well, you's are so unbelievably thoughtful and kind! I am feeling a good bit better, I just hope this chapter has not suffered too much. It would mean alot to hear your thoughts on this one as there is a major revelation later in the chapter? I know I always have the lovliest and encouraging of reviewers so please let me know what you think it would be really helpful? :)
Speaking of reviewers, thank you all so much and hello followers thank you as always for your support! My wifi is messed up so I will thank you on here again because I always like to thank you's personally;
Celticank: Thank you for your well wishes, that was so thoughtful and yes I am feeling much better now. Whoa thank you for calling the chapter epic, yes the hunt for the 'necklace,' is on but will they find it?
Win Lockwood: :) :) :) Thank you , your reviews make me smile! I know I cried at the thought of killing off Haldir, not nice :( but I think now he can find Orniel and be at peace. So happy you like the description of the war, I worried about that! Cendir grows on you doesn't he? Also thank you I am feeling much better now and I really hope you enjoy this chapter.
ZabuzasGirl: Update as requested...I hope you like :D
fan: *cries* such lovely words to describe my chapter, blown away by your support! Thank you so much as always you are far too kind! Yes Yes Yes I seen the Hobbit too...oh dear me I was an emotional wreck through the whole thing, such a great movie! Haha yes lots of attractive characters to swoon over! Of course for me it was Thranduil's amazing entrance that had me giggling like a kid...elves...why are they so heart stoppingly beautiful...ppffftt!
And with the mention of our lovely Elven King, this chapter picks up back in the Woodland Realm where he had gone and got himself into some bother again...and because I know alot of you like reading about Thranduil and I don't want to forget about him...
21. Remembrance
The King's Halls were eerily quiet this night; Torwen padded along the dimly lit corridors, gently hugging a shawl tighter around her shoulders. She had not been sent for by the King but the elleth felt that a visit was in order, it was long overdue. The healers had been stretched to their limits with the regular and increased attacks; everywhere Torwen turned there was someone nursing a poisonous or mortal wound, some she could save others she could not. However it had become abundantly clear that she had not set eyes on Thranduil despite his uptake of military duties and this worried her. His majesty was supposed to being paying her regular visits, under the guise of checking the number of wounded and dead, really this was a ploy to make sure he was physically and mentally coping well. Thranduil was no fool she was sure he had figured out her little scheme and put a stop to his daily visits sending another in his place. So mustering her courage Torwen made her way to the King's private chambers for a social visit.
On reaching the royal chambers and quietly letting herself in she was not shocked to find Arystor sitting upon one of the ornately carved and over stuffed settles. The advisor was never more than ten strides from their King at even given time these days, unfortunately that meant the poor soul was forced to endure Thranduil's legendary stamina. Torwen stifled a giggle at the sight of Arystor slumped on the settle hands still clutching papers that had now scattered about the floor, his eyes glazed with sleep and mouth slack. The elleth tip-toed over to the clearly exhausted advisor and dutifully removed the papers from his hands, wrapped him in a blanket and made him more comfortable. Not once did Arystor stir, too overcome with tiredness and the need for a proper rest that he blissfully dreamed on completely unaware of his location.
With Thranduil's own personal body guard unconscious it made Torwen's impromptu audience with the King easier to access, at least now she had no-one to try and stop her. With a smug smile she reached the heavy doors of the King's bed chambers and gently she rapped the wood, when she received no reply she presumed he may be resting but decided to poke her head in and check, vowing to quickly leave if this was the case. Boldly she entered the room and squinted, the only light coming from several burning candles but she did not immediately find Thranduil so curiously took several more steps into the private space.
"Hello," she whispered timidly anxiously fidgeting with a strand of her hazelnut coloured hair, this was entirely inappropriate for a servant elleth to be alone in the King's bedchambers and Torwen was acutely aware of the wrath she could evoke on herself for overstepping the boundary.
Footsteps approaching the door alerted the elleth that perhaps she had gained no reply because the King was not here and this was him returning. She gulped nervously and turned to the door in time to see Thranduil push it open with an exasperated expression.
"Sire I apologise I know how this may look and I-" Torwen rambled her gentle navy coloured eyes filled with sincere regret. However Thranduil silenced her with a look and strode past her carrying a basin of water, it was at this point the elleth realised he awkwardly held his left hand to his face as If concealing something. "Sire, are you hurt?"
"nnnmmmn," Thranduil grumbled incoherently into his hand, refusing to look at the healer as he took a seat by the fire and gestured for her to leave.
"You are hurt!" Torwen accused and hurried to his side kneeling down so she looked up at him, "Let me see."
Thranduil vehemently shook his head again his silvery blue eyes turning to ice but still he did not speak. Sighing with annoyance Torwen clasped her petite, yet deceptively strong, hands around his left wrist and yanked it away from his face. The King let out a sound somewhere between an objection and a growl and Torwen tried to remain unperturbed by her extremely difficult patient. She was used to Thranduil's mule like behaviour when he was disinclined to participate in medical intervention.
"Look at you face!" Torwen tutted in disapproval when she had managed to win the struggle with her King. Thranduil merely sighed and rolled his eyes before he settled the elleth with a disgruntled glare.
Torwen gently eased his face towards the light so she could observe the wound more closely, her brows furrowed and she flickered her King a concerned look. She was not sure how he had managed it but Thranduil now sported a split lip, a deeply bruised cheekbone which was slowly colouring his eye socket a delightful colour of damson. This all paled to insignificance when she expertly spied the wickedly gruesome slash that opened his chin to his cheek.
"Thranduil was that a poisoned blade?" she gasped and gently prodded the red irritated skin to ascertain how deep it was, but her hands were quickly swiped away and restrained by his and he glowered angrily at her.
"Leave it," Thranduil hissed through gritted teeth and then groaned at the pain of moving his lips.
"Sorry I cannot it is my duty and oath to serve the wounded and weak," Torwen replied haughtily and ignored the gentle shove she received as Thranduil pushed her out of the way and dipped his hand into the bowl of piping hot water to retrieve a clean cloth. He wrung it out and pressed it against his face; the guttural moan that resounded from his chest was enough to make even Torwen wince, that was surely excruciatingly painful.
After several long minutes of listening to her King try and control his breathing and several more of awkward levelling each other with challenging stares, Thranduil eventual spoke in a whisper trying not to upset his wound; "I can manage Torwen, it is a scratch."
"It is always just a scratch with you," Torwen chuckled and shook her head, "Though I remember a time when you were not quite the brave warrior."
"How old are you?" Thranduil managed to tease, the smirk that formed on his lips only bringing him more pain and he grumbled at the discomfort of it.
"Serves you right you troll" Torwen warned and briskly rapped his knee, "I am your elder and you should show me the respect I deserve. You would do well to remember I was there the day you were born and every day since, I know all your dark secrets dear King."
"Spare me," Thranduil mumbled but a softness entered his eyes and he slowly let his guard down. Torwen took advantage of this and replaced Thranduil's hands with her own, gently dabbing away at the cut. Both elves letting the mists of time take them back uncountable years, marvelling at the similarity of the memory;
...
"Thranduil come back and stop this, I mean it now I will inform your Adar of your terrible behaviour," A youthful Torwen strode through the woods, with an irritated and weary expression.
She was barely a decade into her training as a healer and still she was cumbered with the unwanted task of keeping an eye on the King's son. A moody and distractible elfling, who was hard to discipline but despite this had an unfailing ability to ensnare his caretakers with his endearing shy smile and wonder filled eyes. Torwen felt sorry for the infant who had never known his Naneth, for she had passed away during his birth, too weak to survive the arduous task of bringing an elfling into the world. It was a miracle the child himself had lived for he was too soon brought into the world and for many weeks he had appeared to fail, but miraculously he had defied the odds and survived. Fortunately he thrived, full of energy and deeply curious about the world around him, it was often hard to keep up with him, aptly he was named Thranduil. Unfortunately his bond with his Adar was marred by the absence of his Naneth; not that Oropher blamed his son not by any means, the elfling was dearly loved but he did lack maternal care and thus was raised to maintain composure and not betray emotion. Naturally this led Thranduil to rebel or runaway when he could not understand his world and could not gain the sympathy from his Adar.
Torwen had assumed this was why the little prince had disappeared today again, something had bothered him and the King had demanded an elleth go retrieve his child and, "fix," the problem. Alas it had been she who was lumbered with the task, barely a youth herself she knew nothing of elflings or maternal instincts, but the older ellith were busy and had grown tired of the constant babysitting. Her sharp ears quickly picked up the unmistakable sobs of an elfling deep within the thickets. Torwen sighed she was going to have to clamber through the thorny bushes and retrieve the upset prince.
"Thranduil is that you?" she called as she crawled through the dense overgrowth towards the sound of the sniffling infant.
"Go away!" the child snapped between sobs, Torwen sighed with relief at the recognisable voice of Thranduil.
"No I will not, are you hurt?" The elleth muttered as she spied the green and brown of the elfling's garments. Little Thranduil had his knees drawn to his chest and his face buried there; arms dramatically covered his head and his soft platinum locks were dishevelled, the sight was pitiful.
"No! I told you to go away!" He cried again in dismay, but something about the elfling's voice made Torwen believe that was not truly what he wanted.
"I can see you, you know," Torwen teased as she crawled closer to him.
"I will make myself disappear then, so you cannot find me, no-one will find me ever!" The elfling lifted his head and hit the elleth with an angry glare.
"Can you do that?" Torwen asked with interest and crossed her legs to face the youngster.
"I can do whatever I want," he replied haughtily and continued to glare at the intruder, "Why are you here?"
"Whatever you want?" The elleth queried ignoring the question, "Can you turn your hair green?"
"No!" Thranduil scowled at the ridiculous suggestion.
"Can you turn my hair green?" Torwen giggled at the disgusted expression the youngster wore, the elfling decided that the question was not worth his breath and sighed in annoyance, "Well that is disappointing, I would have really liked green hair."
"You are strange," Thranduil commented but was relaxing slightly in Torwen's presence, if anything she was entertaining.
"I am strange? I am not the one hiding in a bush with twigs in my hair crying all by myself," Torwen replied evenly one eyebrow raised. "Also what happened to your lip?"
Thranduil lowered his gaze and pressed his thumb to his cut lip wincing at the pain; "I am not strange," he replied with a sob.
"I never said you were, I was simply pointing out that you should never assume someone is strange because their behaviours are different from yours, now what happened to your lip?" The gentle elleth replied pleasantly.
"I got into a fight," the elfling sighed refusing to meet the healer's gaze.
"Why?"
"Because the older ellyn said I could not fight."
"And you lost."
"No!"
"You are lying Thranduil."
"Fine, but I am not weak and I am not strange."
Torwen sighed and inched closer to the elfling, pulling handkerchief from her sleeve she held it out to the child. Thranduil struggled away from the elleth at first but eventually relented when she gave him a warning look.
"Thranduil you are not weak you are the strongest elfling I know and just you wait and see! Those silly older ellyn who challenged you will be sorry they did for one day you will bigger and faster than them," Torwen answered soothingly as she dabbed away the dirt and caked blood from the little one's lip.
"Do you really think so?" He asked with a probing stare.
"I know so; you will slay dragons and win great battles when you are older. Those foolish ellyn will pale in comparison to you and I bet they will even call you their captain," The elleth grinned and tapped the child on the nose; the elfling graced her with that heart melting little shy smile that was scarcely seen. "Now let us get back home so I can get some water to clean that cut."
Thranduil shook his head and giggled, causing Torwen to frown but the elfling simply held his hand over the grassy earth and focused on the ground. Within moments numerous tiny droplets of water appeared to seep from the ground and float around the young prince. Carefully and with much concentration he used a fallen leaf to make a cup, and caught the droplets in it until there was a small pool of water. Torwen felt her mouth pop open as the child offered her the leaf of water, his enchanting silvery eyes displaying power much older than he was.
"Thank you," she managed to whisper and dabbed the water onto the clean side of the material, using it to wipe away the more stubborn grime until the cut was clean. When she was finished she stared at the elfling in wonderment, "how did you do that?"
Thranduil simply shrugged and smiled; "I do not know I just can, do you think it is strange?"
"No! I think it is incredible; you have a bright future little one! Does your Ada know about this?" Torwen asked still mesmerised.
Thranduil nodded and blew out a sigh, eyes flickering as he tried to recall his Adar's words; "He told me that….um….that er…I have to be careful and not hurt anyone using magic, which I will never do, and um I should not rely on it nor should I draw attention to myself…you won't tell him I did that will you?" The elfling shot her a panicked look.
"No I will not," Torwen smiled and clambered to her feet offering her hand to the elfling, "Though I cannot wait to see what you will grow up to be young prince, I believe you will make us all very proud."
The elfling's smile grew wider and more dazzling as he gripped Torwen's hand tightly in his, allowing her to pull him to his feet. The elleth felt her heart ache as the child looked to her with complete trust and unfailing belief that she had told him the truth. Thranduil launched into a fascinating description of his future, as he would like it to be, he animatedly described how he would slay a dragon and soon had the young healer blinded with tears of laughter. She watched on gleefully as the little one spied his Adar on entering the Kingdom's boarders; the King held a look of anxiety and had obviously decided to search the woods himself in search of his rebellious youngster.
"Ada! Ada!" Thranduil screeched excitedly and raced towards his Father, Oropher spun to the sound and visibly sighed with relief kneeling down and clasping his son by the shoulders.
"What did I tell you about leaving the Palace?" The King growled angrily at his child and shook his small shoulders gently. "Look at you, return to your chambers at once and stay there until I think of a suitable punishment for your disobedience!"
Thranduil dropped his gaze, his eyes filling with tears and he sniffed loudly; "Ada I am sorry, I promise I wo-"
"Thranduil this is the third time this week you have run away, a simple apologise does not excuse your behaviour. Now run along now and I will consider being lenient," Oropher straightened up and tapped his son on the head with his palm, ignoring the tears that glistened in his child's eyes. Thranduil nodded solemnly and stalked off, head hung low in disappointment.
"Sire, if I may be so bold," Torwen interjected swiftly, catching the King's attention as he was about to drift off in the same direction as his son. He stopped and nodded once at the young elleth, gesturing for her to speak her mind. "Your son is young and a little insecure; he just needs some affection and patience. Can I beseech you to be merciful with him?"
Oropher sighed audibly and shook his head; "I do not wish to be hard on him but he must learn self-restraint and exercise complete control. He could potentially rule this Kingdom one day and a King cannot react with angry outbursts or run away when something is displeasing to him. You may think me cruel but I am not raising a son I am raising a leader, Thranduil must be made aware how his behaviours affect everyone."
"But he is just a child," Torwen heard herself cry out in frustration.
"Yes I know," The King replied sharply his eyes faraway for a moment as if considering something. Slowly his lip twitched into a smile and he turned to regard the young elleth; "Thank you for bringing him home, he obviously reacts well to laughter and kind words. Perhaps I shall consider your counsel young one."
"He is a beautiful boy my lord, with many talents, you should not worry so much over how he will grow. I have full faith that he will make you very proud," Torwen answered truthfully and curtsied humbly. The King's smile grew wider and he nodded in agreement before taking his leave, unbeknownst to the young healer she had inadvertently saved the young prince from a punishment; instead he would enjoy his Adar's full attention and affection that night.
...
Torwen stopped dabbing at the wound and playfully tapped Thranduil on the nose, causing him to startle and glance at her;
"Where did you go to?" she asked gently and returned to examining him.
"A very long time ago, when you dried a very upset little elflings tears," the King mumbled and eyed the healer, "Are you proud of him still?"
"I once told you that you would be a great leader Thranduil and you are," Torwen replied evenly with a serious expression, "you have surpassed the expectations of all, and proud does not even covey the depth of admiration I have for you. But if you continue to get into scraps and hide the evidence from me I will be terribly disappointed in you?"
"I am not a weakling Torwen I can heal myself," Thranduil sighed, "I will not put unnecessary strain on you."
"Oh do not be a martyr I want to help you," the elleth warned, "but I am less concerned with your face and more worried over your mind."
"I cannot speak of this, if you value my sanity you will not ask that question," Thranduil warned, ignoring the continual pain from trying to speak.
Torwen sighed heavily and shook her head, "Thranduil you do not have to keep up pretences with me, you may think me foolish but when I look at you I still see that little elfling that was entrusted in my care. Forgive me if I am overstepping my boundaries but I cannot help what I feel. Now come tell me what haunts you?"
Thranduil lowered his gaze and tried hard to maintain his composure, Torwen was the closest thing he had to a maternal figure growing up. The older he became the less he relied on her and naturally he did not need her soft and kind words as much. Yet here she was many, many years on able to reduce him to a quivering elfling in need of comfort;
"I fear I will not be enough to save us from destruction, I do not think I am strong enough Torwen I cannot do this on my own. I am weary and broken, if Ada could see me now he would be disgusted," Thranduil eventually confided, hissing back a sob from the pain it caused him to speak.
Torwen eye's widened with shock, a flash of anger dancing in them as she placed a hand on the uninjured side of his face; "Never speak of your Adar like that, he loved you fiercely and would never think of you in such a way! Thranduil you are doing all you can, your people see this and they take courage from it. If you let doubt set in now then we have lost, and all your years of toiling to create this haven will have been for nothing. Where is the young ellon that raced into battle without a second thought? Where is the warrior that withstood dragon fire and stood before the black gate? Where is the King that fought for his daughter's survival and clawed his way back from grief to endure for his young son? Thranduil you are much too hard on yourself!"
Thranduil eyed the elleth with uncertainty; Torwen was always inclined to think the best of him even when he did not deserve it. The healer determinedly held his gaze, absently patting his cheek as she used to when he was elfling. After a few moments her eyes flickered to cut that was already sealed and healing rapidly;
"Whatever beast inflicted that wound I dearly hope he did not draw another breath?" she asked, still continuing to stroke the side of his face, completely unaware of how alien it was for him. Thranduil barely managed to shake his head in response, not since his wife, had anyone been so soothing and gentle.
"No, the creatures have been slain," he whispered and jerked away from her touch.
Torwen frowned slightly, but quickly replaced it with a gentle smile as she stretched up and embraced Thranduil, the gesture causing him to freeze, completely unsure on how to react to the elleth who was clearly overstepping the personal boundaries. However Torwen remained persistent and hugged him tighter, satisfied that she had done all she could to prove to the King that he was not alone nor did he have to face the looming darkness by himself either, she kissed his cheek and pulled away, chuckling at his horrified expression;
"Everyone needs a little attention and affection sometimes, even the great Elven King himself," Torwen answered softly as she stood to her feet and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I am always here for you Thranduil, anytime you need a listening ear. Now rest for a while, things will be clearer in the morning."
"I cannot rest Torwen, not with my children so far from me," he answered truthfully slouching forward and cupping the painful side of his face with his hand. It was so hard for him to trust in Lairiel's words now, so difficult to believe that it was no more than a vivid dream and that there was reason for this torment they were living through.
"They will come back, their Adar did once and so will they," Torwen answered resolutely and squeezed his shoulder encouragingly, "Have faith."
xXx
Ellenya felt her fingers knot tightly through Belan's mane, she watched with a mixture of sickening disgust and mild pleasure, at the remains of the blasphemous betrayer of the Valar. Saruman was dead and defeated, and this should have brought with it relief, but as she stood at the foot of a destroyed Orthanc she was overcome with anger. There was no time to question the fallen wizard, no reasoning with him, he was driven mad by evil and slaughtered by his own accomplice who now lay dead by the deadly aim of her brother, in attempt to save Saruman and wring information from him.
Legolas dismounted his horse and strode to Ellenya's side, placing a comforting hand on her tensed arm. Mithrandir was engaged in dealing with two halflings, and this allowed the elf a brief second to speak with his sister and judge their best course of action;
"Ellenya maybe this is folly? There is nothing left of Isengard, it is in ruins I cannot fathom what will find here," Legolas reasoned gently, secretly wishing Elladan had joined them instead of remaining behind with the injured men. As much as the Prince hated to admit it, his sister did appear more settled and compliant in her new husband's company.
"If you do not wish to search this place for answers then I will!" Ellenya glowered at her brother, "I did not come all this way to turn away and return empty handed." Ellenya let her eyes flicker around the remains of Isengard, she watched warily the great figures of the Onodrim, awake and alert as they stood on their field of victory. Truly it was a spectacular and surreal sight to see such legendary beings roam freely in view of men and elves. So many facets of her dreams had come true and yet she was no closer to figuring it all out.
"No Ellenya!" Legolas warned and sighed, "If it means so much to you I will search this place, but you will stay here. Only the Valar know what evil still dwells in this place."
"Yes indeed, there is much darkness still remaining in this place," Gandalf spoke as he waded towards the pair, the murky water now surrounding Isengard did not make it easy to get around, and the wizard contemplated that it would not make entering the tower itself any easier. "If you are quite ready Legolas, we shall see what we can uncover. Meanwhile I should think Treebeard would like to speak with you Ellenya, he is most interested in your dreams."
Ellenya eyed the great Ent who moved slowly to tower above her and glanced to her brother for help, how was she supposed to converse with such a being;
"Hoomm Hello little elfling, my you look like you Mother," The great tree creature sighed out his words like wind whistling through branches.
"You knew my Mother?" Ellenya croaked, suddenly not so unsure of the gentle being.
"Hooomm, keeper of the light of the woods she was a dear friend and ally of my world, hooomm her passing was of grievous news to me, but there is hope yet." Treebeard sighed heavily again and paused for a long moment, becoming still as if lost in thought, "Hoomm the light lives on, but I fear it was found by Saruman, young Master Gandalf tells me you have seen this in dreams, hooommm, this is most interesting, will you tell me?"
Ellenya nodded and gestured for her brother and Mithrandir to go ahead in their search, her heart beating fast at the thought that she had been right along and she was within grasp of hope. Legolas gave his sister one last look before following after Mithrandir; still not convinced that this was a brilliant idea.
"And where do ye think yer going? Gimli stomped out in front of Legolas and Gandalf with an irate look. Legolas rolled his eyes with impatience and was just about to open his mouth and remind the dwarf that this did not concern him when Gandalf interjected;
"Well I could always use a second pair of eyes and ears Gimli!"
"Good! It would be a shame to miss out on trashing the old place up nice and good, ain't that right master elf?" Gimli sneered in delight and fell into line beside the wizard and elf.
"I just wish to get in and out as quick as possible," Legolas sighed and unsheathed one of his long knives, feeling safer with it closer to hand.
"Dark places scare ye laddie?" The dwarf teased.
"Well I am not overly fussed on what lurks in dark places," the elf scowled as they reached a small passageway that led into the great tower. Gandalf eased the door open, surprisingly it did not take much effort, it was not locked and it appeared it had been a means of escape for cowardly orc. The blackness before them sent a thrill of anticipation through the elf and he nervously scanned the doorway glancing warily at Mithrandir. Just as he did a cool breeze ripped up from around them and with it the voice Legolas had repeatedly heard through the trees, but this time he was not close to trees save for the ents and that was not quite the same thing.
"Did you hear that?" he asked quickly head jerking around to try and catch the words on the air, frustratingly they remained complete jibberish to him. "The voice on the air, it is calling again, surely you must have heard that!"
Gandalf shook his head, "No, but whatever it is only you are meant to hear it so I suggest you lead the way Legolas."
With a sigh and one last look back to check Ellenya was not following them, as was her tendency to do, the prince squared his shoulders and entered into the dark passageway. Followed instantly by Gimli, who was more than eager to investigate and then by a slightly more cautious wizard. If the elf had stayed a moment longer and turned his attention to Treebeard, he would have known that the great ent too had heard the song, and was worriedly searching the wind for more traces of the terrified voice. He had abandoned his conversation with Ellenya to stand watch over the doorway; the elleth suddenly aware that something was wrong glanced up at the ent;
"Treebeard, what concerns you?" she asked softly, with a deep dread twisting her gut, she was ready to chase after Legolas.
"Hooomm you will see little elfling!" he warned and then dropped his gaze to her, "Hoomm but you must stay with me, hoomm that is a dark place."
xXx
Legolas crept towards a narrow dark passageway that lead downwards, no doubt to some sort of dungeon area. The air was thick and putrid, the orc stench filled his nose and made him wretch automatically surely there was nothing down there worth looking for! However something within his spirit told him to look anyway and the prince wrestled with the decision.
"Do you sense something Legolas?" Gandalf asked from a few paces back, he and Gimli had been poking through a few discarded chests.
"Yes…and no," sighed the elf, "I am going to check where this staircase leads, if I do not return please do not leave me down there!"
The wizard chuckled at the disgruntled tone of the young prince and nodded; "Gimli and I will scour this floor, if you need us shout…loudly."
"Duly noted," Legolas replied sourly and narrowed his eyes as he eased his way down the staircase, keeping his back flat to the wall, maintaining his wits at all times. This was still a dangerous place and orc could be hiding in the bowels of this dwelling, which was regrettable where he appeared to be drawn too.
The tunnel seemed to descent for an age, and the elf fretted he had stupidly lured himself into a trap, but at last the passageway opened out into what appeared to be the dungeons. Legolas sighed; it was just as he had predicted there was nothing he would unearth here. The place was flooded, the water rising to his calf, with all sorts of disgusting debris floating about the surface. Legolas resolved that he had come this far and it would be wise to cast an eye over the cells, maybe some of them held objects of interest?
Ever so carefully and with just as much stealth the ellon picked his way through the water, still clutching his knife tightly, though the place seemed to be deserted Legolas was not taking any chances. He carefully inspected each cell he came to but found nothing but rotting orc corpses or empty spaces, cursing his curiosity and his misfortune Legolas turned to make his way back up the tunnel. However he stopped when he spied one last cell, tucked away in a dark corner, it had caught his attention because there was a flicker of light coming from it, like a burning candle.
Legolas sloshed through the water a little less cautiously than before, his interest suddenly piqued, as he made his way toward the cramped looking prison. As he came closer to the cell another rush of unexplainable wind seemed to whip past him and on it the same sorrowful and frightened tones! This brought the prince up short, his heart hammering so dramatically in his chest he thought for sure it must have been audible.
"Hello?" He whispered timidly to the emptiness, creeping forward until he was mere steps from the lattice iron of the cell door "Is there someone in here?"
Legolas laced his fingers through the lattice iron and tested the strength of door, its hinges had been weakened, and someone or something had tried to break it down not long ago. With just the right pressure he could pry it open. Cautiously he pressed his face close to the gaps in the iron and peered into the cell, swallowing hard at the thought of what he might find. He had been correct, the pale light of nearly extinguished candle burned on a small ledge near the door, he followed the trail of the last remains of light as it bathed the cell in a lonely glow, what his eyes fell on next stole the very breath from his lungs.
Without a second thought the elf threw his weight against the door, grunting with the effort it took as his muscles protested with the strength he forced through them. The iron door groaned and creaked, with a sudden wail it fell away allowing Legolas enough space to clamber into the tiny cell. He staggered across the floor and dropped to his knees beside a ghostly figure bound to a wooden pillar in the corner.
He sucked in a sharp breath and turned away in shame and disgust, the elleth before him was nothing more than skin and bones. Her garments barely covered her frail body, the cloth was torn and filthy, and through it Legolas could make out her skin to be a mottled mess of gashes and bruises. Her long golden hair was dull and matted, and it hung in twisted clumps about her shoulders. Her face was covered in grime and her eyelids closed, not a good sign for an elf. But despite this her beauty was evident, what lay before the prince now was merely a shell of what she could have been, and he could not begin to the fathom the reasons that brought her to this horrible demise. Tenderly he reached out and pushed her hair from her face, the skin there cold and deathly pale, with shaking hands he trailed his fingers the length of her neck vainly searching for a pulse.
He gasped when he felt the faint thrum of life pulse through her veins, the elleth was alive! Legolas pressed his ear close to the mouth and nose, making out the rasp of shallow breathing; stunned he pulled away and regarded the prisoner. Why was she here and what sick twisted experiments was Saruman dabbling in? The thought nauseated Legolas, there was a chance he was trying to create a stronger race of orc, and the only way to do that would be to mix blood. He stopped the thought before it could go any further it was just too grotesque to fathom, and this innocent creature should never have had to endure such torment.
His touch seemed to have stirred something within the elleth and her body jerked involuntarily an audible moan escaping her dry, chapped lips. "Please," she struggled against her bonds, "please, no more," she whimpered, her voice was no more than a rasp.
Legolas felt his jaw slacken at her voice, he knew it instantly, it was the voice in the trees. Without hesitation he caught the elleth's head as it rolled forward, frantically trying to think of a way to save her. She pushed her head back weakly; keeping her eyes firmly shut and cried out again for the torture to stop.
"Hush it is okay, it is alright I am here to help you," Legolas whispered and gently patted her face to try and bring her around. He cast his eye over the bonds that restrained her to the post, her wrists and ankles were scarred and cut open from the tight cord, who knew how long she had struggled with the restraints. Legolas angrily shook his head, this was torture and betrayal on the highest of levels, and with a sigh he slipped the blade of his knife over the cord and cut her free. There was no time or resources to ease the pain of cutting the bonds, and the elleth cried in shock and pain at her release. With nothing holding her upright anymore, she fell into Legolas and he easily took her weight she could not have weighed more than a small elfling.
"I am sorry," he muttered sadly, he did want to cause her any more pain but it was inevitable that every movement caused her suffering. Legolas hurriedly removed his cloak and wrapped her in it, briskly rubbing her shoulders to generate some heat. Pulling a water skin from his hip, he yanked the top off with his teeth and dribbled some of the contents over her parched lips and mouth. She choked weakly and turned away from the water.
"Come now you must drink," Legolas soothed, surprised at how calm and controlled he sounded, "It will help you."
The elleth's head turned to his voice and she appeared to respond to his gentle encouragements, lipping some of the clean water. She sighed softly at the taste of the water and gradually let her eyes flicker open, slowly trying to focus on her rescuer. Legolas' very heart stopped when he gazed upon the strange eyes of the elleth in his arms, they were not the eyes of any living elf or man he knew nor did he wager had they ever existed. The irises of these eyes were brilliant amber, glowing like living flame, yet as soft and sweet as liquid honey. It was unmistakable, yet completely impossible, the very colour and hue of this she elf's eyes were the exact replica of the amber stone his Naneth had worn.
The elleth's brow furrowed as she focused on Legolas and she weakly lifted her hand to his face, placing her hand on his cheek she breathily sighed; "I know your eyes, I seen them in a dream, please help me." With that her eyes rolled back in her head and her body went limp in his arms, her hand slowly falling from his face.
"No!" Legolas cried and shook her body, "No, do not dare give in, I will help I swear I will help you."
Disorientated Legolas hauled himself and the elleth off the ground, securely tightening his grip on her he began to make his way out of the cell and back in the direction he came. Staggering though the flooded dungeons, he continually murmured encouragements to the barely conscious elleth in his grasp. So engrossed in her, was the prince, that he missed the shadow of an approaching enemy. Lurking in the shadows was the keeper of the prisons, a monstrous brute of an orc that had waited his moment to attack the intruding elf.
Legolas reached the stairwell he had descended, and gently repositioned the elleth over his shoulder so he could better handle his knife, in case the need arose. Little did he know how close that need was, and it was only when he heard an audible gasp from the elleth was he alerted to the presence of another. He spun around in time to spy the orc charge from the shadows, giving him barely enough warning to dart behind a set of pillars, momentarily confusing the brute who glared into the vacant space trying to trace the whereabouts of the thief.
"I know you're here thief," the orc snarled and snuffled, "Give me back the jewel and I will consider sparing your life."
Legolas was pressed up against the pillar, clutching the elleth to his chest, she was not strong enough to stand unaided, but she tried gripping his arms for support. He frowned at the term the orc had used; the creature did not consider his prisoner to be a living person but an item, a 'jewel.' But the strumming heart beat and rasping breath he felt from the captive gave evidence that this 'jewel,' was very much a living being and an elf no less, unless he was deceived by some spell.
Legolas did not have time to ponder the riddle, instead he gripped the weak arms of the elleth and wrapped them around his neck, lowering his mouth to her ear he spoke softly at a tone so low it almost indiscernible to anyone but another elf;
"I need to use my bow, can you hold onto me for a moment unaided."
The elleth nodded and he felt her arms tighten around his neck, her hands balling into fists around his tunic. Taking a settling breath he expertly drew his bow and notched an arrow, admittedly rather awkwardly but there no other choice, he was not leaving her here nor was he setting her down for a moment. Gently he repositioned the elleth, but she was more than obliging almost second guessing his movements. When Legolas was sure of his shot he stepped out of the shadows and let the arrow fly, but he had misjudged the angle and the arrow embedded in the beast's shoulder instead.
The orc roared in defiance and stalked towards the prince and his ill gained treasure. The elleth lost her grip on Legolas and cried as she slid from his grasp, but he was quicker and wrapped a protective arm around her waist and in the same moment brandished his knife. His eyes widened in fear, not for himself but for the elf in his protection. The orc was on them before Legolas truly comphrended what was happening.
The elleth outstretched her hand and cried out in words that Legolas did not understand, but knew them to be ancient. Her eyes burned with indignation and in a moment the brute was dumbfounded and dazed in their presence. Legolas did not waste a moment; quickly he pulled the elleth back into his arms and made for the stairwell. He was not a quarter of the way up when both Gandalf and Gimli charged towards him.
"Gimli kill the orc scum," Legolas growled as he sidled passed the two of them; catching Gandalf's questioning eyes with his; "She needs help; we do not have much time."
The wizard nodded and urged the elf on; "Get her outside, I will assist Gimli!"
xXx
When Legolas crashed into the open air and freedom of the outside world, no-one had expected what happened next, especially not Ellenya. Her brother was shouting incessantly for help and Aragorn was the first to reach him, prying what appeared to be a lifeless body from his arms. The two raced to a relative dry patch of land and placed the body of female there. Ellenya drifted towards the scene slowly and with much confusion, she was aware Treebeard followed but was not really concerned with him.
"She is not breathing," Aragorn cried as he felt for a pulse and checked her airways.
"She was, I swear she was with me less than five minutes ago, give her moment," Legolas pleaded, his hands uselessly fluttering over the frail body of a she elf.
"Move out of my way," Gandalf ordered as he emerged from the tower and shoved Ellenya and one of the inquisitive hobbits out of his path. "Let me see her!"
The wizard knelt down by the elleth and placed a hand on her temple, whispering healing enchantments over her still body. Sighing he pulled away and shook his head; "She is retreating from us, I need elven magic or at least a similar fae to her call to her."
"Ellenya?" Aragorn questioned and urgently turned to the princess, who shook her head and took a step back, "I do not know how to do that, but Elladan would we should get her to him."
"She does not have that time!" Gandalf shouted and placed a hand to her forehead, cold to the touch, a bad sign.
"Wait!" Legolas murmured and held up his hand to quiet the others; "I heard her voice in the trees, she communed with me before I knew her, I think I am supposed to reach her."
Gandalf nodded in encouragement and gestured for him to try. Legolas, knelt down by the elleth's head and settled it on his lap, placing a hand on her forehead, the physical touch helping to aid the spiritual connection. He breathed deeply; he had only witnessed this a few times in his life but never attempted it himself. He had seen his Naneth revive his Adar once, when he had been badly stung by a spider but they were a bonded pair, the connection would be natural for them. In this instance he was going to have to force his way into this strange elleth's spirit and try to revive her, but what other option was there?
After several failed attempts, Legolas suddenly felt the fading light of this elleth's fae, in her health this being must have been stunning. He spirit, though dulled and full of sorrow, glimmered with the promise of life and hope. Searching out the last the glimmer of light and life in her fae, he used what strength and courage that was in him to call her back and to his astonishment she responded. In what seemed like an eternity Legolas felt the elleth awaken, and he pulled away from her, glancing questionably to Mirthrandir; had it worked, was it enough?
The wizard chuckled knowingly and shook his head; "Truly Legolas you really are an elf of many talents, if I did not know better I would have thought you a healer."
With a tiny gasp the she elf opened her strange eyes again, and regarded her surroundings swiftly, before locking gazes with her rescuer. All inhaled sharply at the glittering shade of the elleth's eyes, except Legolas who had locked eyes with his sister trying to convey the significance of this to her, but Ellenya stared vacantly at the elleth on the ground unsure of what to believe.
"Hoomm Well bless my bark," Treebeard hissed in shock; "Gandalf I know this young one, she walked in my woods not so long ago, hoomm."
"Do you know why she was a prisoner of Saruman?" Gandalf asked as he stood to his feet and frowned worriedly at the great Ent.
"Hoomm I would wager it has something to do with those peculiar eyes, Gandalf that is no ordinary elleth," Treebeard replied.
"Yes we gather that," Ellenya replied icily and strode towards her brother who was hauling himself and the strange elleth onto his horse. The tree shepherd wheezed in disapproval the impatient tone of the little elf and slowly shook his head before regarding the wizard again;
"Hoomm I am sorry I know no more."
"Not to worry my good friend," Gandalf replied, "She is in safe hands now, I am sure she will tell us her tale in time."
"Hoomm Take care of the little one, hoomm I do not know why but she comforts me," The great ent answered sadly as he watched Legolas canter off with the strange elleth, followed swiftly by young Ellenya.
"You have my word Treebeard," Gandalf promised as he mounted Shadowfax and rallied the others to follow his lead; "But we must leave you now the elleth is in need of urgent care."
xXx
Elladan pressed a hand to his new patient's forehead, her temperature was normal and there was no sign of fever or illness. He glanced across at the tense figure of Legolas who sat by the elleth's beside, anxiously chewing at his thumb nail;
"She is going to be fine, do not worry yourself," Elladan soothed and moved to check the elleth's bandaged wrists, again no sign of infection all was well.
"What if I did something wrong, I did not know what I was doing I could have made her worse," Legolas fretted and shot the other ellon a pained look.
"You did all you could and more, there is nothing I would have done differently," Elladan replied evenly and crossed to the other side of the private chamber to place a comforting hand on his brother in laws shoulder. "She has suffered a great trauma and there is no telling the lasting damage that will have on her mind and fae, but nothing you did could have made her worse, in fact it probably improved her prospects."
Legolas nodded and turned his attention back to the sleeping elleth, not completely at ease just yet. Once they had arrived back at Edoras with this strange survivor, King Theoden had graciously given a private chamber for her healing. At that time the elleth teetered on the edge of death, and both Elladan along with the King's own healers had worked hard to revive her. Mercifully she responded and was recovering steadily under both his and Elladan's watchful gaze. Legolas felt a great duty of care and responsibility to the elf he had accidentally stumbled upon, not least because of her strange eyes.
"Do you believe there is some connection between her eyes and the amber stone?" Legolas heard himself ask aloud.
"Is it even possible?" Elladan questioned back, much to the fair ellon's disgruntlement, "She certainly is not like any elleth I have come across, even her spirit seems different."
"Listen to you both, do you realize how ridiculous you sound?"
The two ellyn turned warily to meet the icy glare of Ellenya as she strode into the room, carrying a basket of medicinal herbs Elladan had requested. The princess had made no attempt to hide her dismay over her brother's find, she did not believe for one second the absurd possibility that there was any connection between this elleth and her Naneth's necklace. Angrily she shoved the basket into her husband's grasp and turned on her heel to leave, furious at him for believing the ridiculous notion.
"Ellenya it is a reasonable explanation," Legolas reprimanded seething at his sister's complete disregard for the evidence presented to her.
"No Legolas it is not!" Ellenya growled and turned to scowl at the sleeping form of the weak elleth, "That is nothing more than a broken wood elf, pathetic creature was probably kidnapped and tortured she is better off dead!"
"Ellenya love, peace," Elladan attempted to calm his wife he could sense her anger brewing, her mind and spirit were both still recovering and this tension was not good for her.
"Oh shut up Elladan, do not patronize me!" she spat and pointed at the elleth again, "even if she is what you think she is, do you honestly believe she will be anything other than a shell after this!"
"Stop talking about her like she is a lost cause," Legolas hissed and leveled his sister with a warning look, "You do not know what will become of her!"
Ellenya stared in disbelief at her blinded sibling, then is a flurry of anger she ripped her jerkin from herself and undid the clasps of her tunic, much to the confusion and alarm of Legolas;
"You think I do not know," she muttered angrily and pulled back the material to display her scars, "Trust me brother I know all too well!"
"Ellenya stop!" Elladan pleaded uselessly as Ellenya voice ripped to an even louder octave.
"I have been tortured, burned and my mind infected-" the Princess laced her hands through her hair and shook her head as if to dispel the memories. "You never recover Legolas, it never goes away! Believe me when I say she would be better off dead!"
"Stop this Ellenya, look at what you are doing," Elladan cried, agony saturating his tone he was unfortunately reliving the memories with his wife, but that was the least of his concerns.
Ellenya turned to scream at her husband for trying to chastise her, but was silenced by the scene before her. Elladan crouched over the terrified figure of the strange elleth who was staring up at her with tear filled eyes. She had obviously awakened in time to observe the Princess's entire outburst, and was now reeling from her splintering words. Ellenya was speechless as her eyes locked with other elleth's, the amber gaze penetrating her soul and asking simply why the princess could be so callous. Ellenya was instantly full of guilt, never before had she seen such fear and confusion in another creatures eyes and known that it was her that had put it there.
Legola jumped to his feet and caught his sister roughly by the arm, tugging her away from the other elleth and out of the room;
"I do not know what is wrong with you Ellenya but not everything revolves around your pain," he hissed as he trailed her along the corridors of Rohan's Golden Halls.
"I am sorry," Ellenya replied stiffly still in shock from her encounter with the other elleth.
Legolas sighed and threw his arms up in exasperation, spinning so as he stood eye to eye with his sibling, his breathing rough;
"Sorry? It is not me you must apologize too! That poor elleth is confused, lost and wounded, in a strange place surrounded by strange people. She is terrified and you have successfully managed to ruin whatever trust she may have in us! Even if you do not believe in the connection between her and the stone, you could at least show common decency and attempt to care for someone in need!"
Legolas finished his angry rant and sighed guilty, Ellenya was clearly rattled by his words and already on some level felt remorse for her actions, evident in her tear filled eyes.
"I did not mean to cause offense," Ellenya whispered and fidgeted with her sleeves, "I do not know what to believe, I was supposed to find a necklace or a relic, not an elf."
"I know this is a shock, I know this not what you wanted and to be quite frank I am just as confused as you!" Legolas replied still a little disappointed in his sister's behavior. "But you said my purpose here was to see what you could not, and I am telling you Ellenya I see much more to that elleth than meets the eye. It is no coincidence that her eyes are exact replica's of the amber stone."
Ellenya frowned at the ground, she could not argue with her brother's logic but it all seemed to fantastical and impossible; "I do not see what you see, but I do not have time to wait and ascertain if your theories are correct. I leave for home a week from now; you have until then to convince me of her usefulness!"
With that ultimatum Ellenya left Legolas to his thoughts and stalked off into the night, anger and regret rolling off her in waves of emotion, yet she expertly hid them behind as make of calm indifference. Unbeknownst to them both, the strange elleth was about to answer some of their many questions.
Back in the safety and relative quiet of the private room, Elladan was doing his best to soothe the shaken elleth. She sat upright in the bed with the support of pillows and watched her healer warily as he rifled through the basket of goods his wife had brought him, looking for a particular herb that could be used to ease the mind. Elladan groaned when he eventually found the desired sprigs of leaves, they were not fresh and thus lost all their properties, sadly he turned to the elleth and gave her an apologetic look;
"It seems I am little use to you without the proper tools to work with," he sighed and gestured to the shriveled up leaves.
The elleth eyed the herbs with curiosity and outstretched her hand asking for them, Elladan obliged and handed them over chuckling as the elleth's brows furrowed in disapproval and shook her head.
"Yes I know, they will never do," he laughed astounded by the brightness in the elf's eyes, she seemed utterly trusting of him and so decided to question her, "Can you speak? Do you have a name?"
The elleth turned her attention from the leaves in her hand and nodded her head once, but patted her neck with hand and let out a rasping squeak. Elladan eyes widened in understanding and cursed himself for not realizing sooner that the she was in pain;
"Your throat it is hoarse, are you in pain?" he asked urgently pressing his palms to her throat, feeling the evident swelling there. She nodded sadly and winced in pain; "I can fix that, a warm drink is in order."
Elladan quickly set about preparing a hot drink of honey and just a pinch of athelas to ease the discomfort. He spoke cheerily with the elleth as he worked, suddenly hopeful that there would be no lasting damage to her, and that just maybe she would make a full recovery. Once he was finished he returned to the bedside and sat beside her offering her the drink. Gratefully she accepted the cup but continued to stare pensively at the herbs he handed her earlier.
"Do not worry I will fetch fresh ones in the morning," Elladan confirmed and patted her hand, the elleth stared at him in confusion and shook her head. She gestured for him to watch her and he curiously obliged.
The amber eyed elleth clutched the wilting leaves in her palms and held them up to her mouth; she closed her eyes for a moment before gently blowing over the leaves. As her breath danced over the dull the sprigs they suddenly unfurled and came to life, appearing as new and freshly cut. The elleth blinked and smiled proudly at her work, offering them back to Elladan.
The ellon gawped at the elleth and then at the suddenly renewed leaves in his hands, if there was any question over the connection between this elf and the amber stone they had well and truly been answered. The elleth chuckled at the bemused look on Elladan's face and shrugged as if to imply it was nothing special.
Absently her eyes wandered over the room and she frowned at the vacant seat by her bedside. She reached over and tugged her healer's sleeve, momentarily shaking Elladan from his marveling. She bit her lip, wondering how she could articulate her question. She tapped her eyes and then to the empty seat.
"Huh?" was the only response Elladan could form, still in shock at his discovery. The elleth sighed in frustration and repeated her gesture only this time pointed to her bonds.
"Oh where is he? Is that what you are asking?" Elladan eventually picked up to the primitive means of communication. The elleth nodded and patted the chair, then held her hand to her heart and gave him a pained expression.
"Upset," she croaked in elvish tongue her voice barely audible, "My fault."
"No that was not your fault," Elladan corrected immediately and shook his head regrettably, it was Ellenya's fault and he really should be caring for her and not neglecting her, so in fact he too was to blame here. "Do not worry yourself just concentrate on getting well."
The elleth sighed weakly and rested back on the pillows, a weary look passing over her. Elladan helped her get comfortable before kneeling down to her eye level and softly questioned; "Would you like to see him?"
The elleth smiled suddenly and nodded in response, mouthing a thank you to the raven haired elf who had been so kind to her. Elladan bobbed his head in agreement and rose to his feet leaving his patient for a few moments. Once outside the room he shook his head in disbelief, he knew bits and pieces of the fabled amber stone and from what he did know, it would appear this elleth could mimic its power. He glanced at the fresh leaves he still held in his hand and sighed aloud, how was he ever going to convince Ellenya that this could well be the answer to her dreams and the hope she was searching for?
PLOT TWIST...Really want to know what you guys think about this, because I have been planning this since I wrote the Last Queen...thoughts and suggestions welcome? :)
