"I didn't think it would end this way" - Pippin
"End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path. One that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass... then you see it!" - Gandalf
"What? Gandalf? See what?" - Pippin
"White shores... and beyond. A far green country, under a swift sunrise" - Gandalf
*Thranduil cut another ghost down, parrying a deadly blow immediately afterwards from another attacker. Thranduil clutched his sword with both hands, spinning and slashing the blade down the ghost's throat. The Barrow-wight let out a bloodcurdling shriek and then vanished in a mist. Two more came in fast, each one on both sides of him attempting to trap him.
"Back to the ground with you, creatures of darkness!" Thranduil screamed in Sindarin. He pulled a hidden dagger from his sash and threw it at the ghost on his left, then proceeded to slice his sword across the other ghost's neck. The ghost wailed in pain and sank into the ground.
How could this all come crashing down so quickly. How could I have not foreseen this?
These Barrow-wights were worse than any kind of Orc. These were spirits of the dead. In his kingdom!
"My lord!" Elros cried. The guard came with a bow and arrow, ready to fire. Thranduil ducked as the arrow soared over his head and sank into the forehead of another Barrow-wight.
"My thanks, captain!" Thranduil hollered. Another Barrow-wight grabbed him from behind, wrapping its arms around his neck. The tip of an Elf's sword stuck out through the ghost's forehead. The ghost screamed and vanished, releasing its hold on the king.
Thranduil stumbled and used his returning strength to gut a Barrow-wight with another dagger.
"We shall endure," he claimed before pulling the dagger out. His son Legolas joined him at his side, shooting arrow after arrow, each one making its mark.
"Your archery practice has paid off," the king commented.
"No thanks to you. I trained myself," Legolas replied.
"I was not giving myself credit. Where's Meleth? What has happened to her?"
Legolas's expression changed. Thranduil braced himself for what he knew was coming.**
*"How do I get myself into these situations?" Radagast complained amidst the battle. Another sword fell upon his staff, which he held above his head. The ghost attempted to push hard to get the tip of the blade to find Radagast's throat, but Radagast managed to push the blade away, then strike the monster with his staff. A bolt of energy exploded across the ghost and it vanished with a sharp cry.**
*Before Legolas joined his father in the battle, Tauriel watched on as Legolas kept Meleth pinned to the ground, his foot down on her throat and the tip of his blade just inches from her neck. She wasn't completely gone. For a few seconds, the ghost inside her would struggle, violently thrashing, but Legolas kept his foot on Meleth, staring down at her as if uncertain what to do.
"Legolas! Don't do it! Let her be!" Tauriel begged. Legolas looked at her. His expression was thickly conflicted. Tauriel thought she could see a tear shimmering in one eye.
Don't do this Legolas. Don't kill one of our own again.
Finally, Legolas's dagger moved.
Meleth gasped.
Legolas's dagger was returned to the sheath, bloodless.
Meleth began to weep. Her shoulders shook, and the color returned to her eyes. However, her face continued to grow paler. Tauriel ran to her friend's side and knelt down.
"Meleth, what's going on?" She asked. Meleth looked up at her. She looked so weak. Tauriel could see the bones and skull behind the flesh on her face.
"Tauriel, thank you for keeping a secret," she said. Tauriel smiled amidst her desperate tears.
"Anything for a friend."
"My dearest friend," Meleth replied. Tauriel felt a bony hand touch her own. Meleth was weakly holding her hand, trying to apply pressure, but couldn't.
"Now I go to join Tharbadir and my family. Forever we will be together," Meleth said with a crooked smile. Tauriel's heart sank deep.
"No, no!" She begged.
"The Barrow-wight has drained her life essence. She is passing away," Legolas informed. Tauriel wept, gathering Meleth in her arms.
"Please don't leave. Not yet," she pleaded.
"Do you still have the flower?" Meleth asked. Tauriel removed the golden flower from her pocket.
"Some day, go to the fields of Lebennin. You will then see what I sang of."
"I will Meleth, I promise I will."
Meleth then closed her eyes and let out her last breath. A sharp chill ran down Tauriel's body, and she shook along with the tears falling down her cheeks. The beautiful body of her friend Meleth had been replaced by a gray, thin, lifeless void. Tauriel held the body close, crying into its chest. She felt a soft hand touch her shoulder. She looked up to see Legolas peering down at her. He had nothing but sympathy for her.
"I am very sorry for your loss."**
*Radagast scanned the aftermath of the battle around him. The last of the ghosts were being slaughtered by the Elves. Very few Elves had gone down in the battle. The armies of the Woodland Realm were stronger than he thought. They were more than just a family that constantly partied and drank. They were much more. Why couldn't they aid Men anymore? Why the separation between the alliances of Elves and Men?
King Thranduil approached the wizard. A hint of gratitude glinted in his hard eyes.
"You have my gratitude for your aid," he spoke. Radagast looked away and shook his head.
"If you used your skills in battle more than you used your lust and love for gold and parties, then the darkness in this world would not have as tighter a grip," he replied. Without allowing Thranduil to say anymore, he walked away to go back to his hut.**
*Legolas was proud of himself. He was proud of himself for not killing Meleth. Never again will he kill another of his kind. Meleth was helpless and under a dark spell that she couldn't control. He could actually sense the pain eating away at Tauriel within her. If he wasn't going to do anything else for her, he was going to at least comfort her. He had been keeping himself as far away from her as possible, and it wasn't fair. He knew that. He will continue to serve and obey his father, but not if that meant killing one of his own, even if that Elf was a traitor like Thar was.
Suddenly, it was as if someone he couldn't see approved of his inner thoughts. He looked up at the sky, where the dark clouds were departing and the sunlight was oozing in again.
I won't disappoint you mother. I will not disappoint you like I disappoint my father.**
*The body of Meleth was buried in a casket next to the body of Legolas's mother Elbes among a bed of Mallos.
"Do not grieve for our fallen child. Meleth's spirit has gone into the West, where she will rest in peace with her family and her fallen friends. She will always be remembered and she will be in our hearts. Let us never forget this day. Rejoice my friends, for we have won this day. We have secured our kingdom and the darkness that infected this land has been defeated," Thranduil said.
Tauriel stood next to Legolas and Alagos. She wasn't crying. All of her tears had been spent. Her hand clutched the Mellos flower that Meleth had given to her. She noticed that Legolas was standing close by her so that his shoulder touched hers. If this meant that Legolas was going to give her more attention, then she was content with that. She knew that she would never stop thanking Legolas for not killing Meleth in cold blood. He had refused to do it, even though Meleth was destined to pass away anyway.
It was a relief to Tauriel that she would see her best friend again one day.**
*Thranduil pushed the door open that led him into a large room that was full of his own treasures. Chests full of treasures were lined up along the walls. Some were open, revealing an overwhelming light that reignited the king's love of gold. At the other end of the room was another row of chests. He approached the one in the center of the line and opened it with a large key. He looked upon the gem that sat on top of the rest. It was a black gem. The same one that Meleth's father had taken.
From the gem, were garbled whispers using the Black Speech.
As if afraid that something was going to jump out, Thranduil quickly shut the chest, locked it, and left the room.**
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so much for reading this story arc! This was a big one that I wanted to make sure to get right. With Part 3, though it's the shortest one out of the three parts, I wanted to write something that follows Tolkien's style of storytelling, where you have an epic battle going on, but the fights don't drown out the emotion and the drama of the story. Please tell me what you think! Of course, I have more stories about Tauriel, Legolas, and Alagos to come! It's going to be fun to the finish...