Chapter 31
After spending three days in The Glade of Tarasara together, Adrianna and Legolas prepared to leave. They had told King Adrias of their plans to marry in neither his Kingdom or in Mirkwood, and although he was disappointed, he appreciated their wishes to marry under the stars.
They planned to find a nice clearing between the two Kingdoms whilst on their way to Mirkwood where they would inform King Thranduil of their marriage plans.
Adrianna sighed as a black stallion was led out of the stables. He looked strong-willed and aggressive, but was only given to the Princess to ride as he was known to be both a protector and a gentleman.
She allowed the stallion to sniff her hand in greeting before she ran her delicate fingertips across his muzzle. He nickered in response, and Adrianna smiled kindly at the horse she knew would quickly become her friend and companion.
"What is his name?" She asked the stable hand as the young Faye tacked her new horse.
"Treyton, my Lady." The Faye replied, bowing his head towards the Princess as he stepped away from the stallion. "I trust that he will be a wonderful companion, and serve you well."
"Thank you," Adrianna replied, smiling kindly towards the young Faye.
He bowed his head courteously towards the Princess before running back into the stables as soon as she had taken the reins from him.
Adrianna pat Treyton's muscular neck before looking at how high he was. She sighed, knowing that she would need a hand in mounting the noble steed. The stirrup was as high as her hip, and she couldn't lift her leg without flashing anything!
Instead of mounting Treyton, Adrianna decided to lead him across the courtyard to where Legolas was standing beside Arod. As she approached him, the elf looked up, and upon spotting the Princess with her new horse, he was a little surprised at the size of the mammal.
"He's bigger than Arod."
"Yes," Adrianna replied. "I cannot mount him." If horses weren't surprised by the sudden weight of a Faye forming from one size to the other on their backs, Adrianna would fly onto him, but she didn't want to risk being bucked off, despite being told that Treyton was a gentleman.
Legolas stepped forwards to pet the stallion, he ran his hand gently along his muzzle and whispered soothing Elvish words into his ear.
"Are you preparing to leave?"
Both the Prince and the Princess looked up when the King approached them, and Adrianna skipped forward to embrace Adrias.
"We are." She replied, smiling up at the King's old, wizened face.
"I trust you will both keep safe." He stated, "I will have some guards travel with you until you pass through the woods. Wargs were seen this morning; closer to the Glade then we had anticipated."
Legolas nodded, "Thank you, my Lord. The company is appreciated."
"Anything to keep you both safe." Adrias replied, "I wish you well on your travel to Mirkwood, please give my kindest regards to King Thranduil."
"I shall," Legolas replied, smiling as he clasped forearms with the King. "Thank you."
Adrias kissed Adrianna's forehead before bidding them both farewell, and making his way back up the white marbled staircase towards his Hall.
Legolas helped Adrianna mount Treyton before swiftly mounting his own horse. The guards soon joined them; six in total. Together, the eight of them rode out of the gates of The Glade of Tarasara and into the Warg infested woods beyond.
The sun illuminated their path, and all was beautiful and quiet. No Wargs were seen, but it didn't hurt to be prepared. Two of the guards went ahead to ensure the path for them was safe and clear, and it wasn't long until they reached the edge of the woods.
They bid the guards farewell, and wished them a safe journey back before Adrianna and Legolas continued forwards on their own.
Treyton and Arod were both strong riders, but the elf and the faye knew that they would have to rest soon, especially with the sun setting, night would soon be upon them and neither wanted to continue on in the darkness.
They stopped to rest for the evening as soon as the moon had risen. Legolas began to light a fire whilst Adrianna tied the reins of their horses to a nearby tree. She suddenly shivered, a feeling she hadn't felt since returning to The Glade of Tarasara from her visit with Legolas to Mirkwood when she had her encounter with the Wargs.
The elf seemed to sense her discomfort and looked up from the wood he had gathered. "Is there something troubling you?" He asked.
Adrianna frowned and took a step forwards, "I feel-" She let out a scream as the ground beneath her gave way. She slid down a dark tunnel which twisted and turned this way and that. She screamed as she fell through the pitch darkness. Down and down she went, until finally, the slide disappeared from underneath her and she fell through the air. Her side hit the ground hard and she let out an 'oof' before becoming still.
"Adrianna!" She heard Legolas's voice before the scuffle of his feet sliding against the rock. The Faye sat up and checked herself over to make sure she wasn't hurt anywhere before the soft, gentle hands of the elf rested cautiously on her shoulder as he knelt beside her.
Wherever they were, the light was so dim that the faye could barely see the handsome face of the elf before her as he checked over her with concern.
"Are you hurt?" He asked.
Adrianna shook her head, "No." She replied, "But something dark resides in here, we need to get out!"
Rock grated against rock, and the Princess's eyes widened as she reached for the Prince's hand and turned to face where the sound came from. From the small amount of light coming from the end of the tunnel, they could see a rock falling in front of the gap they had both entered from and they were plunged into darkness as soon as it fully closed.
"There goes our escape route." Adrianna whispered against the silent air. Her hand tightened around the elfs and he squeezed hers back in reassurance.
Placing his other hand on the wall beside him, Legolas began to feel his way around the rocky cave for an exit. He had his loyal bow and trusted duel knives with him in case an attack was thrown upon them, and he believed Adrianna to have at least her sword on her person, unless she had left it strapped to her horse.
His exceptional elf hearing picked up a recognisable sound in the distance, but to fully be able to decipher it he would have to draw nearer. He didn't mention this to Adrianna, in fear of making her panic and worry. Adrianna stumbled over something, and Legolas managed to catch her just before she hit the floor.
Whatever she had fallen over, either groaned or snorted. Protectively, Legolas moved in front of the Faye and drew his duel swords as a dark, slumped figure slowly rose in front of him.
"What is it?" Adrianna asked, peering around the arm of the elf.
The thing snorted and opened its eyes, which glowed in the dark. The figure grinned a fanged grin and roared with an ear-piercing shriek. Legolas winced as the sound hurt his ears, and he dropped one of his swords onto the ground with a loud clang! Before the thing pounced on him however, there was a flash of silver and a squeal of pain. The room then fell silent, and there was a muffled thud as the figure fell dead onto the floor.
Standing before the Prince was Adrianna, her back was facing him, and one of his fallen swords was in her hand.
The Princess breathed a sigh of relief before handing the weapon back to the elf. Cautiously, they both knelt before the creature, and Adrianna gasped when she felt the coarse, matted fur of a Warg.
"Where are we?" She whispered, retracting her hand.
"I'm not sure." Legolas replied, sheathing both his knives. "But this Warg was injured before it died, perhaps it fell down the same tunnel as us?"
Adrianna shivered, "Then I hate to think what creatures built that tunnel."
The Prince took her hand again, and helped her to her feet. "We should keep moving. Just in case they come to look for us."
Adrianna nodded, and they both moved back towards the wall to feel their way out of wherever they were possibly trapped.
A/N: Sorry for the lack of updating, I haven't been very well for the past couple of weeks -_- I'm much better now though, and I've (hopefully) gotten over that damned writers block! The Poll is now closed. Unfortunately, the top two options (Rivendell and Fanghorn) were tied. So I'm going to come to an arrangement ;) but of course, I won't be ruining the surprise for you!
Please review xx