A/N: Please note, there have been at least 2 updates since anyone's taken a look at this work. I am sincerely sorry for the delay! Most of the next chapter is already drafted, so the next update should be more prompt. Warning for violence and death in this chapter.
90 - Shadow and Flame
"The giant spiders were the only living things that [the Wood-elves] had no mercy upon." From The Hobbit, Chapter 8: Flies and Spiders, by JRR Tolkien.
Nidhair cast a last look around the throne room. The roaring of Orcs and the shouts of fighting Elven soldiers could clearly be heard over the crackling of the fire that had begun to blacken the western wall. All the Elves that had sheltered here had either hidden in the servants' passages connecting to the kitchens, joined the Elvenking's soldiers through the front door, or climbed out through the hole in the roof. Nidhair stood at the rope now, having just confirmed that Elluin had climbed out safely. Wasting no more time, he leapt up, pulling the rope up behind him once his feet were firmly on the wooden shingles.
The darkness of the night met him, a stark contrast to the lantern-lit throne room they had just evacuated. Fighting could be heard from where the Elvenking's two forces were still battling their enemies, but the sound was dampened by the leaves. Growing flames from the west were ironically helpful as he quickly spotted Benavorn beckoning to him from the branch of a nearby tree not far from the roof's edge. Elluin was right behind him against the tree's trunk, surrounded by Tinalfir, Delwion, and Sadron. The other Elves that had been in the throne room were quickly dispersing into the canopy, hiding as best they could in the thickest parts. They would need to hide from the patrolling Orc scouts surrounding the palace, and those who would undoubtedly swarm the area once they realized the throne room had been abandoned.
Nidhair jumped into the branch. "Benavorn, make your way to the prince and tell him that the throne room has emptied. He should commit no more time to its defense."
The swiftest guard nodded, sheathed his weapons so no reflecting firelight could give away his position, and jumped off.
"My queen, are you well?" The captain could see the fear overcoming the determination in their eyes.
"It is strange," she said quietly as she looked around. "For the first time in all my years, I do not trust the trees."
Nidhair followed her gaze with his sharp brown eyes. "Tinalfir?"
The blonde Silvan hopped silently onto a higher branch, evaluating their surroundings. In only a few moments, he had returned. "Something approaches," he said warily.
"Are we safer on the ground?" Elluin asked.
"We must risk it. We should make our way as quickly as we can to the Elvenking's forces."
Sadron had performed his own assessment of the area, bright green eyes scanning the forest for signs. "We should be safe from catching the eyes of Orc scouts if we move in small groups. Go, my queen. I will spread the word to the others and join you shortly."
Nidhair gestured for him to go, though he did not like that only himself, Tinalfir, and Delwion now remained to protect the queen. Well, a smaller group is more difficult to spot, he thought, and leapt to the forest floor to be joined by the others.
They made good time in as tight a cluster around the Elvenqueen as could be practically managed. They slipped as best they could between the deeper shadows on the western side of the trees, furthest from the light of the ever-increasing flames. None of the Elves felt much sadness at the loss of the palace buildings that they were soon to abandon in any case. However, each forest tree burned to death before its time stoked more anger in their hearts.
"We are being tracked," he heard Tinalfir mutter in warning as they jogged onward.
Nidhair, in the lead, spotted the king's forces through the trees at last. The fight was still raging fiercely between the Elves and the spiders. Dozens of the beasts and several Elves lay unmoving on the ground. From that distance, Nidhair spotted the table-turned-barrier behind which a handful of the escaped villagers, their arrows now spent, had dragged the wounded soldiers and were doing what little they could to tend to them. That poor shelter, he decided, would be their goal. And they would reach it soon.
"Captain," Tinalfir said from behind his shoulder. The wary tone made him halt his stride. "We have been found."
Tinalfir had notched an arrow to his bow and was scanning the branches above. Then, Nidhair also sensed it. There was suddenly a malicious presence close by, watchful and ready. The steadily growing firelight now reflected dimly off dozens of eyes in clusters all about them. It appeared that the group of spiders had been following, and now had surrounded them.
"We must run," Nidhair whispered. His fright eliminated his recollection of royal protocol as he addressed his charge. "Elluin, stay close. If we are attacked, your guards will engage, but you must take your first chance to run directly to Thranduil." It was a terrible plan for himself and the other guards, which they seemed to understand well, given the grim set of their jaws as they glanced at him. Three guards against maybe a score of the beasts—beasts whose approach would not be slowed even by the friendly trees, whose limbs could easily reach past the end of a sword and into Elven flesh, whose black hearts sought so coldly to snuff out the light of the Eldar…
Delwion brandished his knives and set his arm around Elluin's shoulders, ready to shield her body with his own for their final, hopeless dash towards help. Nidhair drew his bow and allowed himself a steadying breath. His gaze lingered a moment on the tears glittering like diamonds in the queen's despairing sapphire eyes—such a contrast with the shadowed points of the eyes of their enemies. "May the stars shine on your paths," he murmured to his companions.
At his nod, they took off at a run. Nidhair and Tinalfir kept the queen in their peripheral vision to aid their bearings as they ran, all the while shooting arrow after arrow at the spiders, who had waited only a brief moment before beginning their pursuit. Soon, Nidhair was targeting the beasts ahead of them while Tinalfir swiveled side to side, the two Elves knowing full well that their rapidly diminishing quivers held the very last of the arrows to be had in the whole of the king's present forces.
At a word from the captain, Delwion sounded his horn. It was no use to attempt stealth now that they were under outright attack. Nidhair hoped desperately that Thranduil would be able to meet them before they were overwhelmed.
Much too quickly, they ran out of arrows and Nidhair tossed away his bow, drawing Tauglang from its sheath. He spurred Elluin onward in what would be a final burst of speed before they would need to slow to engage the spiders. The branches rustled ominously in the canopy above and around them as the spiders kept pace. Looking ahead, he saw Thranduil running to meet them, a half dozen guards at his heels. Though there were many yards still to go, the sight heartened him—especially since the spiders that the king had been fighting were, as yet, still held at bay by the remaining Elven soldiers at the gate.
Nidhair's relief was short-lived. Now able to approach without risking an arrow strike, four spiders scuttled down from the branches to surround them, forcing them to stop their run. Elluin drew her own dagger from its sheath around her calf. It would be of very little help, but little was better than no defense at all. And she needed it just as soon as she pulled it out. The spiders attacked at once, seeing only the blades to repel them, and many limbs shot past her guards in attempts to hook her with the claw at the end of their legs. Nidhair only briefly noted that she swung at those that came close to her with admirable strength.
The three Silent Guards fought on for many more moments. Nidhair barely heard the king's horn sound from somewhere not too distant, past the screeching of the beasts he fought. The spiders had increased in number and he was now bleeding from several gashes along his arms and legs. Thus far, the leather armor on his back and chest had performed their function.
"Captain, to your left!" a voice shouted. Sadron! He had returned from his mission to advise the other Elves that had escaped from the throne room. But Nidhair could not spare the time to be grateful. Swinging to his left, he brought his sword into contact with the neck of a spider who had lunged between him and Tinalfir, who was hacking desperately at where the limbs met the monster's body.
A shout from Elluin, quickly muffled, froze Nidhair's heart. As the spider fell under the Elves' attack, it managed to lurch forward again, enough to sink its fangs into Elluin's leg near her foot. She tore her leg free in an instant, and the captain skewered the beast's skull through one of its eyes, hoping as it twitched its last that the amount of poison Elluin had received through the bite would not be beyond her ability to overcome.
Sadron joined them in another heartbeat, sliding beneath the circle of beasts around them to join the queen's defense. Nidhair saw in a glance that she was at least still standing. But even with Sadron's help, he knew they would soon be overwhelmed. The spiders were becoming a swarm around them, and even with four of them now, they could not hope to defeat this many in time. There were too many limbs stabbing out and staggering back, the shadowy bulks moving too quickly, their tough hides too difficult to penetrate with the usual slicing movements of the sword.
"Elluin!" It was the king's voice, and Nidhair nearly shouted in relief. Another brief look allowed him to spot Thranduil's brilliant armor, speckled with blood though it was, past the bodies of half a dozen spiders, many of which now turned toward him. The handful of soldiers he had brought with him joined the fray as a dozen more spiders seemed to materialize from out of the trees around them.
Nidhair noted with some alarm that he did not hear the queen respond to Thranduil's call from behind him, and that he did not hear the slice of her dagger through the air near his head as before. But he was distracted once again by a pained grunt from beside him. Delwion was tackled to the ground there, two spider claws embedded into his stomach and his neck nearly snapped by the thing's fangs. Sadron quickly killed the spider, but Delwion was dead.
Thranduil shouted again—a warning. Nidhair raised his sore sword arm again and again, trying to keep the cursed limbs from gaining ground enough to bring their deadly bodies close enough to harm Elluin further. He barely felt it when a claw went through his left shoulder, only noticing the injury when his arm would not respond and his balance was altered. He cursed, taking a step back only just in time to avoid a slice through the abdomen from another claw. The terrible, many-eyed faces of far too many beasts seemed to be studying him as they leaped toward the Elves and away, darting to attack and retreating again.
His only hope now was Thranduil, with only a few of the spiders left for him to push through before he would reach the queen. The fact was made all the clearer to him as Tinalfir was gripped in one of the creatures' fangs and tossed to its fellows, who quickly tore out his throat.
Nidhair's own defense was slipping with only one arm at his command. But Thranduil was only a few yards away. Soon, he would be relieved of his charge.
Elluin released a pained gasp behind him. He whipped around to see one of the most massive spiders yet, one of its claws deeply stuck into her thigh, and two more in Sadron's stomach. The Elf managed to sink his sword into the creature's eyes with his final breath, before collapsing onto the beast as it, too, fell, its claw tearing free of Elluin's flesh.
Was it his imagination, or were the spiders finally dwindling? Nidhair thought, perhaps, that their screeches were becoming less…or perhaps his ears were just buzzing too loudly. But the spiders still seemed determined to reach the queen. A few of the Elvenking's soldiers had come alongside him and he was able to take another step toward Elluin. She had dropped to the ground, trying weakly to tie a piece of cloth she had ripped from her chemise around the wound in her heavily bleeding leg. Thranduil was close, now, but extremely hard pressed, fighting off two spiders at once. And then he saw one of the spiders leap past the ring of soldiers toward the queen.
The calculation was ridiculously simple. Nidhair almost smiled as he made the only decision he could.
"Thranduil, catch!" He tossed his sword Tauglang to the king, who he knew would catch it in a spin. Not waiting to see whether his prediction would come true, Nidhair dashed the two steps that would place him between Elluin and the oncoming spider, stretching his good arm out toward her protectively.
He thought he heard her cry his name as the impact came. His final thought was that he would miss the sound of her laughter.