Gilraen stared into the darkness, just stared. She was alone again but it's hard to say if she realized it or not. Tears tracked down her face but she did not reach up her hand to brush them away.
The door opened slowly and a shadowed figure slipped into the basement prison. There was a steaming porcelain teacup in his hands. He walked down the stairs slowly and knelt in front of Gilraen's unmoving form. Her clouded eyes did not turn to him and she did not flinch away when he turned her head so that she was looking at him.
"I have a cup of tea for you, my Gabrielle." He said softly. "It will make the darkness go away." Gilraen did not respond so Taranel raised her hands to the cup and raised the cup to her lips. He knew the liquid probably scalded her mouth and throat as she automatically swallowed but he didn't much care. The victory was his.
Gilraen's eyes widened briefly as she realized what it was she had drank. She had just enough time to see Taranel's smile before she slumped over.
Loki stopped dead and Legolas dismounted swiftly, having seen the fleet in the trees as they had approached. Eldarion lighted down from the tree in the same moment. He clasped the upper arms of his uncle. He saw the frenzied look in his eyes. "We have to wait for twins." He said slowly.
Legolas groaned. "Is it that awful?" He asked.
Eldarion winced and nodded. "The town's population is probably somewhere around the seventies or eighties." He told his uncle after some consideration.
"You were in the town?" Legolas demanded.
Eldarion blushed and looked down. "Nothing bad happened and Aunt Gilraen's already yelled at me already."
Legolas grabbed his nephews shoulders, distracted by his wife's name. "You saw her?" He asked desperately. "How did she look? Is she alright?"
Eldarion cringed. "Well…she's not in danger of death…not when I saw her at least." He couldn't tell his uncle about her sickly appearance.
Legolas knew his nephew was hiding something and immediately called him on it. "How bad is it, Eldarion?" He asked.
"Well, there's a series of shallow cuts on her face." Eldarion began slowly. "She seems somewhat weak and malnourished…he…um, her captor cut her hair…" Eldarion wasn't sure why he found this important but seeing his aunt with her blond tresses cut off had bothered him.
It appeared to bother Legolas as well. "Damn Taranel." He hissed.
"Do you know who has her?" Eldarion asked with shock coloring his voice. He was surprised that his uncle had more information than he did.
Legolas nodded. "I only just realized it." He said. "It's the same elf that captured her before." He hissed.
"Elf?" Eldarion asked. He couldn't believe that another elf had captured his aunt. Though, he never would have believed that elves could live among orcs either.
"He has targeted her before." Legolas told his nephew. "He has this obsession that he has to be with one of your grandfather's daughters." He paused, remembering their search for her. "I hate to think of her at his mercy again."
"We'll be able to get her out soon." Eldarion said slowly, unsure of what else to say to his uncle.
Legolas nodded and the pair climbed up to the fleet.
Gilraen held her head. Legolas, Legolas, Legolas… She chanted the name in her head. Taranel had left after forcing her to drink the tea. She didn't know how long it would be before the herbs started causing amnesia and she refused to stop thinking about her husband for fear that the mere name would be wiped from her memory. She shut her eyes and tried to imagine his regal features.
She had lept from the tree…and onto the chest of her human brother. "Welcome home, Estel." She had greeted him with.
Estel had rolled his eyes and shoved his overly-exuberant sister off of him "I should have warned you about my sister."
Gilraen had whipped around and locked eyes with the most gorgeous elf she had ever seen. Strong pointed features, golden blonde hair, and steel blue eyes that glittered with laughter. His perfectly sculpted lips, only shades darker than his skin had been turned up in an easy smile. Gilraen had turned bright red.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Lady Gilraen." The elf had taken her hand and bowed over it. "I am Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood."
Gilraen could have died. She barely recognized him though he had looked no different from the first time they had met when she was considerably younger. This was the Prince that she would marry one day. Her blush had increased ten shades.
Gilraen still found herself analyzing his features. She continued to think his name, to keep him with her. She didn't even realize it as she slipped from reality and into her dreams.
She opened her eyes and sighed in comfort. She had, had the most wonderful dream. There was a lovely blonde man and there had been such a sense of love and adoration. She sighed before sitting up. The room she was in was brightly lit and beautifully furnished. "Where am I?" She asked out loud. That question brought a million others and she found herself in a panic. She couldn't remember her own name, or anything else about herself. Her breathing came in short gasps and she froze as the door was opened.
There was a man with pale brown hair and violet eyes that were lit with concern. "Are you alright Gabrielle?"
She tensed. "Who are you?" She asked, eyeing the man nervously. "What did you call me?"
"The doctor was afraid of this." The man sighed as he approached the bed and sat down.
"Afraid of what?" She asked apprehensively.
The man took her hands in his and she was startled by the tension she felt. "My name is Taranel." He said slowly. "Your name is Gabrielle and you took a tumble and hit your head. The doctor was afraid of your amnesia."
Gabrielle's eyes widened but she tried to stay calm. "What are you to me?" She asked, she wanted as much information as possible.
Taranel smiled sadly and reached up to cup Gabrielle's cheek with his hand. "You are my betrothed." He whispered to her. Gabrielle blushed and looked down but Taranel caught her chin and pulled her face back up to his. "Don't be shy." He told her with a sly smile before he placed his lips to hers.
The kiss was gentle and Gabrielle leaned into the familiar touch. At least she thought it was familiar, the adoration and jubilee pouring off Taranel surrounded her and she certainly didn't feel uncomfortable when Taranel pulled her body closer to his.
Taranel pulled away with a triumphant smile. "Get dressed." He requested, "All of your dresses are in the armoire, come down the stairs for lunch if you're feeling well enough."
Gabrielle stood as he left the room and opened the doors of the armoire. There was a mirror and she analyzed her features. There were healing scars across her face and she wondered what had caused them. Her pale hair hung down to brush her shoulders and her eyes were glittering silver. The features were foreign to her so she shook her head and looked into her armoire.
She pulled out a blue dress that reminded her clearly of the eyes of the blonde man. She didn't know who he could possibly be but suddenly the kiss she shared with Taranel seemed like the worst kind of betrayal to the blonde. She shook her head again, she and Taranel were betrothed. Her thoughts were foolish.
She walked over to a small vanity and sat down, pulling the top drawer open. There were a few brushes and a variety of satin ribbons. She pulled out a fine brush and brought it to her hair. She ran the brush through her already silky locks before pulling the front behind her head and securing it with a silver ribbon that matched her eyes.
We knew it was you because of your eyes.
Gabrielle whipped around and looked around the room, where had that voice come from. "Is anyone there?" She asked softly. She shook her head, she must be imagining things.
She stood from her stool and crossed to the door. She reached out for the handle and had nearly opened the door when there was a soft knock. "Gabrielle," Came Taranel's patient voice. "Are you decent."
Instead of answering, Gabrielle put a smile on her face and opened the door. Taranel placed a hand on her waist and pulled her out of the room before planting another kiss on her lips. "You look lovely." He whispered into her ear as he ran his fingers down her side. "Are you hungry?"
Gabrielle giggled and blushed at the compliment. She nodded to his question and he guided her down to a formal dining room with a table set for two. There were two steaming bowls of beef stew and rolls beside them. There were stools to sit on at the table and they were padded with cushy red fabric. There were also two pewter goblets filled with wine.
Taranel pulled out her stool and Gabrielle sat before he sat on the other side of the corner. Gabrielle ate ravenously. She hadn't realized how hungry she was before she saw the food. She paused when she realized Taranel hadn't touched his food but was watching her with a pleased smile.
"What is it?" She asked shyly. She took a sip of her wine, it was very sweet and she could taste berries.
"Nothing." Taranel shook his head and his grin grew. "Are you enjoying your stew?"
Gabrielle nodded and a blush colored her face, she would need to remember her manners. "It's delicious." She told him. "Did you cook it yourself?"
"Yes." Taranel answered simply. "I enjoy cooking." His smile turned sad. "You and I used to cook together."
"Oh." Gabrielle said. She was suddenly uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry." Taranel said. He grabbed Gabrielle's hands in his own. "I love you, Gabrielle." He whispered, his face right next to hers.
Gabrielle hesitated, recalling the gorgeous blonde and the love rolling off of the memory. She met Taranel's expectant gaze. "I love you, too." She told him.
It was another tense week before Elladan and Elrohir had came to Eldarion's and Legolas' camp. Legolas spent his days squatting in a tree on the city's border watching for his wife and Taranel. Eldarion was exhausted. The first time he had slept with Legolas there, the elf had went into the city to find his wife.
He had been chased out of the city by a pair of orcs. Eldarion shuddered.
Eldarion had woken to the sound of blades hitting. He swiftly stood and got down from the fleet before running in the direction of the sound. He had seen his uncle fighting off a pair of the foul creatures.
Without thinking, Eldarion had dove forward and beheaded one of the orcs. His actions had given his uncle a chance to destroy the other orc.
It had taken Legolas two days trying to talk Eldarion down from the fact that he had killed a sentient being.
Eldarion had only slept once since then. He was afraid of his uncle leaving again. He looked into the trees as he heard a soft rustle. The twins stepped out of the trees and onto the fleet. Eldarion and Legolas stood and greeted them.
"How are you?" Elladan asked them.
Eldarion shrugged and Legolas threw the Elrondian a half-hearted glare. "Do you have a plan in mind?" Elrohir asked them.
Eldarion winced. He and Legolas had argued for hours over what to do. Legolas refused to look at all the facts. He just wanted to run in, grab Gilraen and run. Eldarion, however, was forcing himself to be more level-headed about the situation. He had no doubt that the city's residents would only provide to large of an obstacle for them to overcome with a troop so small.
He paused for another moment to consider. "The…citizens here are most likely to be asleep between high-noon and three o'clock. Those are the quietest hours in the city, if we're going to pull Aunt Gilraen out, it will have to be then." He chewed his lower lip. "Those are the facts. I-I don't know enough to formulate what exactly we need to do. Legolas is familiar with her captor."
The twins' eyes flashed to Legolas. "It's Taranel." He hissed.
Snarls erupted from Elladan and Elrohir and Eldarion looked at them with shock written on his face. "Just how bad is this guy?" He asked.