Eäwen found herself locked in a small, dark cell. It looked nothing like the rest of the palace, as far as she had got to see while the guards where dragging her through the many halls. They had taken her downstairs, deep into the caves, where the sunlight no longer glimmered through the branches in the roof. After crossing a long corridor, they had finally opened a barred door, locked her in the following cell and left without saying a word. Where the king had gone, she had no idea.
She sat there for a while, scared to think of what was going to happen to her. She was completely helpless and unarmed now. How on earth had this happend to her? In thousands of years, she had never found herself in such a situation. She blamed the moment she shot that arrow, without thinking of the possible consequences.
Eäwen waited in the silent darkness, but nothing happened. She fell asleep a couple times, but always woke up to the same reality. Finally, when she was about to give up the battle against her tears, she heard footsteps echoing through the hall. She stood up immediately, eager to see who it was. Her heart sank to what she saw. The king himself was walking towards her own cell, followed by three guards. As he approached her, he stared into her eyes, as if he was trying to figure something out.
The king finally reached her cell, and stood there in silence. Eäwen looked up at his eyes, but as soon as she did, she looked away, scared of his evident rage.
"Hello, Eäwen" he said coldly. "You will tell me why you trespassed my realm, unless you want to spend the rest of your life here, down in my dungeons."
Eäwen looked at him confused. Why was he so insisting on this? Since when was being lost in a forest a crime?
"My lord, you must believe me" she said, as respectfully as she could. "I was only travelling, and I got lost. The water numbed me, so I was resting on a tree when you appeared..."
"And why, may I ask, were you travelling in this forest?" he interrupted her, his voice loud and demanding.
"I was escaping the orcs, my lord. They were chasing me through the plains, so I was forced to enter the forest. Things have changed, and it is now difficult to find a safe place to live in. I went northward, for I didn't feel safe in the south. Then you found me." She spoke truthfully. How could any of this be her fault?
"So you have come from the South..." The king said slowly, almost to himself. He suddenly looked at her eyes again, and spoke now louder. "I will not deal with any other threaten. You will stay here where I can watch over you. Give me a reason, and I shall send your head back to where it came from". With this, he turned his back at her and walked away, his burgundy cape flowing behind him as he left her sight.
Eäwen fell back down to the floor, the tears once again fighting to leave her eyes. A threaten, she? What was it that this king was so scared of? These thoughts roamed her mind for a while, as she also thought of how this all would end. There was no way to escape the dungeons, and death had never felt so close.
A guard came in after a while and gave her some bread, fruits and water. She ate whithout thinking twice, unable to remember when was the last time she'd had anything to eat. Once full, she fell into a restless sleep.
She dreamed the orcs were chasing, and she fought them once more in her sleep. She saw them take her ring, and suddenly it was the elven King who was holding it, looking at her with hate and and anger.
The scene changed, and now she was in a cabin, far in the East of Middle Earth. An old woman was sitting near the fire.
"Mother, do you know who gave this ring to me?" she asked the woman, showing her a silver ring with a big blue gemstone in it, which seemed to sparke in every angle.
The woman smiled kindly at her and answered:
"I don't know, my love. It was all you had when we first found you, a little elfling by the lake. You would never take it off, and you used to say it was from home".
The scene changed once more and the woman was now a boy, running through the trees.
"You can't catch me, Eäwen!" he yelled, but then he trapped over a great root.
"Beleg!" Eäwen called him, but now everything was dark and she couldn't recognise where she was.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you" someone said. Suddenly realising where she was, Eäwen looked at the place the voice had came from.
She stood up immediately, mistaking him for the king. He had the same bright green eyes and golden hair, but his height was lower and he wore no crown.
"I am Legolas, son of Thranduil" he said, noticing the confussion in her eyes.
"I am sorry, my lord" she said curtseying.
"Please don't be. I just brought you breakfast. I thought you'd be hungry" he smiled. Eäwen looked at him a bit surprised.
Legolas opened the barred door and close it again after entering the small cell. He lay the tray on the floor and sat in front of Eäwen. "Please, eat" he said.
Eäwen sat back in front of Legolas and started to eat, always keeping an eye on him.
"I hope you don't mind my company. People are talking a lot about you, and I just wanted to meet you. Eäwen, am I right?" he asked.
"You are, my lord... Wait, people are talking about me?" Eäwen asked, increasingly surprised.
"Yes, and please don't call me that. I am Legolas, not my father" he joked. Sensing she hadn't found it funny, he continued. "There is a rumour saying that there is a princess in the dungeons, and that she is more beautiful than any other elven maiden in the palace".
Eäwen sipped some water, trying to break the eye contact. He was staring at her.
"The rumours are very kind, my lord, but I am no more than a simple hunter. In fact, I am no more than a prisoner right now."
"And may I ask how it is that you ended up in here?" he said, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Well, it seems that I am a trespasser, and your father thinks that I might be a threaten".
"Oh, you must forgive him. He tends to be kind of overprotective of his realm when it comes to strangers and foreigners. I am sure you don't deserve such term, thought. A beauty like you shouldn't be in a prison" he said, staring at her once more.
Eäwen kept eating and looked away. What did this boy want? He looked a lot like his father, but was obviously kinder than him. Still, his words troubled her as she wasn't quite sure of what his intentions might be.
As if he could read her mind, Legolas said:
"I am sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just want to help you out of here. Nothing more" he said whith a smile and a softer look.
"Help me out? And how would you do that?" Eäwen asked, now intrigued.
Legolas looked around and made sure no-one was listening. He lowered his voice and spoke hurriedly: "I think I know how to help you escape. There will be a party tonight, at the Royal Hall. Everyone will attend. After the guards have brought you your dinner, I will take the keys and guide you to the backdoor. It is slightly far from here, but we shouldn't have much trouble, since most people will be off duty. No-one will see us."
"Wait..." Eäwen tried to digest all of the information. The plan seemed fine, but she still wasn't sure she could trust this boy. He was, after all, the son of the king, and this could be a trap.
As if he knew her thoughts, Legolas spoke again answering her doubts:
"Eäwen, you have to trust me. All I want is you to leave this place alive. My father hasn't made up his mind about you yet, but he will soon, and then there will be nothing you can do."
Something in Legolas' young, innocent eyes told her he was telling the truth. Besides, she didn't have many options, and if she wanted to escape, this was her chance.
"Alright, what do I have to do?"
NOTES: This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I accidentally deleted it and had to write it all over, so it came up shorter. I'll have to be more careful next time! Thanks for reading.