(I reedited this chapter, so reread it because there is new information.) Thank you all for your reviews for this story! I was not expecting so much love for it and I am sorry to say that we are coming close to the end but read, review, enjoy!
Chapter 42
"What Kings Do"
Thorin was quick to block Harar's attack with Orchrist, making sparks fly from the sheer force that was exerted. As the two tried to shove the other away so they could make a move, the warrior prince pocketed his beloved's necklace and promised himself to avenge her wrongful death.
"You still fight for her… She's dead King Under the Mountain!" the elder Dwarf shouted as his hands began to glow, "My power is great! And it will destroy you!"
"I will never give up…" Thorin whispered to himself as his stance began to slip. Groaning, the prince tried to push back but was overpowered and tossed into a nearby rock face by and unseen force like a ragdoll.
"Give up Oakenshield, you will never be anything but a martyr to your people for what you did to Torshar. I have freed her from the pain… She is finally at peace." The sorcerer spoke as he approached the fallen king.
Just as Harar stepped up to Thorin, an arrow embedded in his left shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain and turn to find a moonlight haired, starlight eyed maiden with a bow and arrow at the ready, "No… It cannot be…" he whispered in disbelief.
The versifier stepped closer so that there was about fifty feet between her and her estranged relative, "Leave him alone, Harar. This is between you and me." she stated gravely, "Let us end this here and now."
Yanking the arrow from his shoulder with a strained grunt, Harar chuckled, "You really think that your bow and arrows will stop me? They are childish toys compared to my power!"
"Then let's settle this like Dwarves (DRINK OFF! JK), no magic only swords." She compromised and tossed her bow and quiver aside then pulled a broadsword from the hilt on her left hip."
Harar chuckled, "An old fashioned sword battle, eh? This will be simple."
Quickly the distance between them was shortened as Torshar charged first and knocked Harar's blade to the side then punched his aw; surprising her opponent who stumbled back onto the ice. She followed and swung her weapon towards his legs but he jumped and sliced her upper left arm. Instead of stopping to check her injury, Torshar continued to swing but now she was starting to falter allowing Harar to gain the upper hand.
"You are just like your father! Sloppy!" Harar shouted and successfully knocked his niece to the ice along with knocking her sword from her grip.
"I… Will not… Allow you to win… Not as long as I live!" she screamed exhausted.
Chuckling, the evil magic wielding Dwarf stepped up and held Isenbold's tip against her stomach, "Just admit it, Torshar… I have beaten you. And now, you will lose everything you tried so hard to fight for…" he cooed and raised Isenbold, making the minstrel close her eyes tightly.
A few seconds passed but the pain never came, allowing the versifier to open her eyes then gasp in horror at seeing the tip of Isenbold's blade dripping with blood from Thorin's back, "THORIN!" she screamed.
The king coughed before stating, "I will not allow harm to come to my wife… Ever again!" he shouted and thrust Orchrist into Harar's stomach making the two stagger backwards and release their swords hilts. Harar smiled in pain as he removed Orchrist from his stomach then waved his free hand over the wound, sealing it with magic.
"You forget, I have magic. The only way to stop me is to take my talisman." He chuckled.
The versifier caught the king as he fell backward, "I'm sorry, my love… I tried…" he apologized.
"Shh, shh, shh, it's ok… You did what you thought was right…" she smiled as tears began to form.
"I was never worthy to be a king…"
"You saved a citizen of your kingdom, Thorin… You put their wellbeing above your own… That's what kings do…" she smiled as the tears fell.
Harar groaned, " This is painful to watch… Alright, alright, enough already! Just die Thorin." He ordered and grabbed his throat with a glowing hand and lifted him a few feet into the air.
"NO! THORIN!" Torshar screamed and tried to stand only to fall back to the ice. But as she tried again, her hand came into contact with her gold pendant and an idea popped into her head.
Harar ignore her plea and continued to squeeze the king's throat as his victim tried weakly to pry his hand away, "It is finally over." He whispered then gasped in pain and horror, "What?!" he turned his gaze towards Torshar who had stabbed her pendant with a dagger and it now appeared to be leaking dark energy.
"NO! TORSHAR, STOP!" he screamed as he cringed and dropped Thorin who coughed up a little blood but was able to breathe a little easier.
"You tried to take everything from me…. My family, my home, my friends, my love, my life… No more." She pierced the gold again, making her uncle fall to his knees, "You gave me this pendant the day before I ran away from Valtek… You knew I would never take it off because of how precious it would become… Now I know why… It's always been your talisman!" she screamed and shoved the blade down again; shattering the pendant and causing Harar to scream in agony as the dark energy fled his body.
Slowly she stood and picked up Isenbold that had slipped out of Thorin when he was lifted into the air. She checked on him to be sure he was still alive, when he opened his eyes; she smiled then walked over to Harar who was trying to crawl away. Her boot dug into his back, making him cry out, "Please, Torshar! Sweetie, I'm sorry for everything, I promise never to touch magic again just let me live!" he pleaded.
"After everything you did… You think I'm going to just let you go? No, uncle…" using her boot, she rolled him onto his back, "I am going to watch the life drain from your eyes…" she stated maliciously then stabbed his chest all the way to the hilt with a startled and pained gasp.
Once the life had left Harar's eyes, Torshar quickly ran back to Thorin's side as he dragged himself off of the ice. He coughed up a bit of blood while positioning himself comfortably against a rock, "Thorin…"
"I'll be fine…" he cringed.
Torshar quickly began to try to look at his wounds and gasped, "Oh Mahal…"
"Torshar…" he reached for her hand and gripped it tightly, "Forgive me…"
Smiling, the versifier kissed his knuckles, "For what…?"
"What I said… And did…"
"There is nothing to forgive, Thorin… I never stopped loving you…" she whispered and smoothed his hair from his face.
Suddenly, Bilbo came running from nowhere and collapsed on the king's other side, "Thorin!"
"Bilbo…?" he asked confused and tried to move but the Hobbit was quick to stop him.
"Don't move, lie still. Gandalf and Calyr are on their way." He assured and held the warrior's other hand as Thorin began to lose consciousness.
"Thorin…? Thorin?!" Torshar shouted as she became more scared then shook he love's shoulder, "Thorin?!"
Bilbo was quick to get up and pull the versifier aside as Gandalf and Calyr approached though she tried to fight his grip as she sobbed, "THORIN!"
Thorin awoke in a triage tent wrapped in bandages and cringed when he tried to sit up. He looked around as Calyr went from cot to cot checking on the inured who varied from Man to Elf to Dwarf. The Dwarf tried to sit up again but was stopped by a gentle hand, making him look up into the caramel colored orbs of the smiling Elf healer.
"Well, look who has rejoined the land of the living." He chuckled as he sat beside the injured king and checked his wounds.
"Where am I…? Where are Torshar and Bilbo…"
"Both are fine, I sent them to get something to eat. Neither of them has left your side since you lost consciousness. That was about… Four days ago." The Elf explained as he cleaned the Dwarf's stitches.
"Four days…" Thorin repeated in disbelief then flinched when Calyr touched a tender spot.
"Sorry. You lost a lot of blood, Thorin. It takes time for the body to make more." He mentioned as the versifier and Hobbit walked in silently, "But I will bore you another time." He chuckled then got up after fixing the king's bandages.
Torshar took notice of the movement and ran over when she saw Thorin's eyes were open. "Thorin!" she shouted as she ran over, knelt, and took his hand in hers; kissing it repeatedly, "Oh, my love… I thought I had lost you…"
Smiling as Bilbo came over, Thorin responded, "You can't get rid of me that easily." Earning a laugh from his companions.
As the hours passed, Torshar hardly left Thorin's side even as he slipped between being alert and unconsciousness. She held his hand as the sun began to set outside and smiled at his peaceful expression as he slept. Bilbo smiled as well then stood, touched her shoulder, and whispered, "I'll see you in the morning." Earning a nod from the versifier before leaving the tent.
"What do you mean, Legolas is gone?!" Calyr shouted at Tauriel as the Hobbit stepped into the evening light.
"The last I heard was that he was confronted by the king then he disappeared." The redhead explained calmly.
Tears sprang to the healer's eyes as said king was passing by. Anger boiled in his heart as he followed, "Thranduil!" he shouted, making the monarch turn, "Where is Legolas?!"
"I sent him on his own quest… To find his place in Middle Earth, something I believe you should do yourself, healer."
"He had a place! It was with me!"
Scoffing, Thranduil continued to walk, "You are not worthy of my son."
Calyr's heart quivered and his fingers twitched as he watched the platinum blond Elf walk towards his personal tent. Tauriel gently laid a hand on the healer's shoulder only to have him pull away angrily, "Calyr, you know that Legolas loves you…"
"Yes… He loved me enough to disappear without even a goodbye…" his tears began to fall as he looked into the redheaded archer's eyes, "Tauriel… If this is love I do not want it… Please… Take it from me…" he whispered with a broken heart.
With a shake of her head, the healer broke down; falling to the rocky earth on his knees and sobbed into his palms. Bilbo couldn't help but feel sorrow fill his heart at the sight of the broken Elf and jumped slightly when a voice spoke beside him, "It saddens me to see such heartbreak."
"Geez, Torshar!" the burglar chuckled and placed a hand over his heart.
Smiling slightly, the versifier laid a hand on her friend's shoulder, "Forgive me, I forget that I have a light tread."
"It's fine, my friend. Is Thorin still asleep?"
"Yes, another healer washed and rebandaged his wounds, she also said that he can get up and try to walk around tomorrow if he has the energy." She answered and looked back at Calyr who continued to sob as Tauriel knelt beside him in comfort, "My heart aches for him…"
The Hobbit nodded as his gaze returned as well, "It is tragic…"
Legolas stood on the hill and watched his love sob with tears streaming down his cheeks. It was true that Thranduil had sent him on a personal quest but not without an ultimatum if he refused. Had he declined, Calyr would be executed for treason against the Mirkwood crown; that was a fate he could not leave Calyr to face.
The sobs soon became too much for the archer and he bolted down the hill but quickly found himself cut off by Thranduil himself, "Let me pass, father!" he demanded.
"I gave you specific instructions, Legolas."
"And I am ignoring them! I love Calyr, father and if my happiness means so little to you then I no longer consider myself to be your son!" the archer prince shouted as fresh tears began to flow.
The Elf king opened his mouth to speak but was pushed aside as Legolas passed, "I will have you both executed for this!"
"At least we would be together!" the prince shouted then took off at break neck speed, "Calyr!"
The brunette healer lifted his head quickly at the sound of his love's voice, "Legolas…?" he stood and began to turn in various directions trying to spot the blond.
"Calyr!" the prince shouted and ran into the clearing before the healer then stopped to try to catch his breath.
Calyr blinked several times before running into the archer's arms, "Legolas!" he sobbed happily.
Torshar smiled and whispered while rubbing her stomach, "True love conquers all…" she then disappeared back inside.
The two Elves kissed passionately even though they both continued to shed tears. Legolas was first to pull away and try to explain, "Forgive me, Calyr… My father demanded that I leave and never see you again otherwise…" he looked down, too ashamed to continue.
"Otherwise what…?" the healer proded.
"Otherwise… You would be executed. I could allow that but… I couldn't allow myself to live without you…" the archer whispered and slowly raised his head to stare deeply into warm caramel eyes, "I love you, Calyr…"
The healer's breath caught in his throat as he gazed back into bright pools of blue, "Legolas…"
"Run away with me."
"What?"
"Run away with me, anywhere you want to go just name it." Legolas beamed with a wide grin.
Smiling in return, Calyr took the prince's hands in his own, "Back home… To my home near Beorn's cottage. I want to lie out eternity there with you."
The archer prince smiled, "Deal." Then pulled the brunette in for another passionate kiss.