Chapter 33
"How long has he been this way?"
"Three days, as far as I've known" Tauriel said to Galion. Both watching Thranduil from a distance. "He comes to watch the Sunrise every morning" Galion's eyebrow rose at the statement.
"And this is brings you concern why?" Galion asked. Tauriel frowned at the sight which seemed normal to anyone, except it wasn't. Everything was so out of place for an elf like Thranduil. His mornings consisted of busier engagements, never caught doing anything less outside of his chambers.
"It doesn't bring you any? The fact that he has not even noticed our presence is a need for concern" A bewildered Tauriel said, following Galion who turned to leave the hilly mountainside.
"Or he just doesn't care" Galion paused as soon as he said the words. Thranduil hated being watched, he made it a point to expose any who hid their presence from him. He continued on well aware his break in step had not gone unnoticed.
"Or he's distracted" at this Gallion sighed irritably. They were at the door to his study when he turned to the red haired elleth.
"You certainly have a flair for humour if you're implying what I think you're implying, Tauriel"
"Even you cannot deny it... watching her departure from the trees, sending aide where none was requested, now he sends a captain of the guard with a chest full of jewels" Tauriel said with conviction filling her tone. Gallion opened his study doors and turned to face Tauriel once more.
"Be that as it may, such matters are not our concern. Until King Thranduil has decided it our business to know his deepest thoughts, it is best to ignore any rumours and certainly not participate in them" He shut the door before she could anymore, sighing with his head slumping forward as he listened to her walk away.
He walked to his desk and paused as he sighted the parchment Leanna had written on, buried under a pile of scrolls. He remarked at the distinction that made it easy find, her hand writing was hideous.
He looked at the parchment a little longer. He knew there was truth in Tauriel's words, he had been suspicious as he watched them from afar. However from the moment he saw the look on his face at her departure, he was certain this was no longer a passing fancy. No, Thranduil will most certainly not let this go.
Galion took his seat and looked beyond his study room, into the depths of his thoughts. He felt a small sense of panic bloom in his heart. How far did Thranduil intend to go with this? The answer came as swiftly as the question did, until he had what he wanted, until he had Leanna.
Thranduil lifted his nose as the sun rose, sighing in restraint. He had grown tired of the curious gazes and stealthy feet trailing his every move in recent days but it is as Galion stated, he truly had no care for the thoughts of others beyond his own. Galadriel's silky voice slithered into his head and mocked him in the silence
'Your longing for her grows' This much he was aware of, that and more, for his quest to undo this bond between them had proven impossible. He searched through the ancient archives of his father's scrolls and had found not one thing that could give him hope.
In a foul mood, he turned around and froze in his tracks. The scene before him had transformed completely.
The view was no longer the path leading back to the palace but that of a different terrain. He recognised these rocky plains. At the end of these rocky paths was the very creature who plagued his thoughts.
She was glowing beautifully with the sun rising behind her. The smile on her face made his chest tighter and he felt his pull to her increase doubly compared to what he felt before. She paused as though she had sensed something and turned to his direction.
"Thranduil...?" Leanna whispered. She was about to meet Tilda who had called out to her from the base of the cliff, when she felt the air shift beside her. The sight of what she met stole a gasp from her lips.
She had been thinking of him lately, too much not to bring her concern. However this was situation she could not have ever imagined possible, not when she was staring at the ElfKing stare right back at her.
"Have you been well?" The question came across so deep and soft that she felt her heart swell. For a moment she accepted that she had wanted to hear his voice again. She swallowed and was about to respond when the vision dissipated.
What just happened? She wondered, staggering and heaving as she processed the sight before her. She heard her name called again, Tilda had been waiting for her. She nodded and descended from the hill. She turned one final time to look again and when she saw nothing. She grew wistful and walked away with Tilda filling her silence with worrisome questions.
Thranduil leaned lazily on his arm rest, his countenance suggesting indifference with not a single care in the world. However the clenching of jaw and the restless tapping of his finger on the thick oak desk stated otherwise.
He had been struggling to wrap his mind around the incident that he was certain was not a hallucination. He had heard stories, tales of bonds so deep that the feas joined together could not be separated even beyond death.
They however, were not elves bonded in a union of any kind. It was an already doomed relationship from the start but for a bond this strong, Thranduil scoffed in disbelief and frustration. They were not even married, all they had done at best was kiss. He felt his body grow hot as the memory wafted into his mind. Even the mere thought of her lips was enough to light his hunger.
He sighed quietly as he wondered at the Valar's true intentions at the end of all this, were they before him this very moment he would've certainly commended their sense of humour. He was playing to their tune whether he wanted to or not.
!
!
Days had gone by and things had somewhat returned to normal for Leanna. The clear scene of Thranduil looking at her strangely as he asked after her well being was an experience she had never ever encountered in all her years living.
She glanced around the busy street of the lower levels and surmised that she was the only to experience this.
The young aide handed the carefully wrapped scroll in her keep to a merchant headed towards the mountains. Making certain her message would be delivered safely, she began to make her way back.
She hoped that she would receive a reply soon to explain why this could be happening to her but even then, she had doubts about anything tangible coming out of this.
She had paid no mind to her surroundings, regardless of the well lit streets and patrol units behind the city walls, Leanna who was accustomed to watching for strange movement nearby, was so taken in by her thoughts that she failed to notice the hand that grabbed her into a dark alley. A cloth had been put over her nose and mouth, forcing her to inhale sharply as she struggled against her captor.
"Easy lady, this will all be over soon" a rough voice sounded in her ear as her vision went black.
!
!
When she came to, she blinked several times and immediately looked around her. It was still nightfall but it seemed they had traveled far, too far. Dale was nowhere in sight.
She heard voices nearby and knew they were her captors. Checking her bearings, she noted her hands were bound up tightly behind her but that was about it. Her necklace shifted still under her bodice and she sighed in relief. It would've been a very big problem if it were to be taken from her.
They were camped on a rocky patch by the mountain side which she also assumed from the maps in Mirkwood, were also the misty mountains. Her thoughts were cut short when a man came out from dark fog and threw the set of wild rodents before her on the floor. The smell of the freshly gutted animals caused far more displeasure than the sight did, but Leanna gave no reaction to it.
The other men followed from behind him and she quickly noted they were not all dressed the same. It was unprecedented how she could see this much in the dark, maybe she owed this new change to the amulet around her neck. She recognized the braid pattern on the hair of one man in particular and her face went dark with rage. He was Gondorian.
How much desperation did Echthelion possess that he'd go this length to hire Gondorian mercenaries and uncultured men to abduct her?
Her head was in a jumble of emotions and questions, whatever drug they used made it hard to think. It would take a while to get it out of her system. Her abductors had been murmuring and grunting as one lit the fire while the others stabbed their kill with spits to roast over the fire.
She counted five men in number, one a Gondorian and the rest she could not recognise. When she opened her mouth to speak, she realised too late that her jaws were locked in place with a piece of cloth tied around her mouth. The fury of her emotions lit up in her eyes and she faced the men who were responsible.
"Is the gag a necessity?" The Gondorian man said. One of the men, the one who was turning the spit over the fire scoffed and sat down as he responded.
"Word is she's a witch. I'm not about to be put under some spell all coz you're a softy" the scruffy man said as he watched Leanna watching them.
"She's still a lady and our dealer wants her unharmed" she listened in on the conversation and was irritated, while it was obvious who ordered this stunt, her captors were cautious enough not to mention a name. They weren't stupid, which meant escaping unnoticed would prove difficult.
!
!
Thranduil had been in the middle of council session when the hair on his nape immediately stood up. He stilled for a moment, puzzled by this unexpected reaction. He looked immediately to Galion who understood the command and took charge. Without pausing, Thranduil turned to leave, heading to the most secure place in the palace...his chambers.
The doors of his chamber flung open and he did not have a chance to brace himself against the sensations rushing at him. He staggered as the weight of emotions that were not his, flow through him.
He felt tongue tied as though he couldn't speak and his wrists felt tight. But the most surprising feeling that flowed in was anger, in large amounts...Leanna. Something was wrong.
He closed his eyes and felt his fea reach out through the bond within her heart pendant and saw what she saw through it. Cold mountains, foggy night and a damp stench about the air, there was no tall buildings, night lights or any structure in sight.
He reeled in rage as a burly man with the obvious bearing of a dunlanding marched over to his face and plucked the cloth covering his mouth and shoved a stick of roasted filth on his laps.
"Eat" he said.
Within her vision, he caught another sight that made his blood truly boil. A Gondorian scout was sitting across the camp fire, watching the exchange. He withdrew his fea silently and called for his head adviser.
Gallion had intended to see Thranduil after adjourning the council meeting promptly but was met with some measure of surprise when a guard ran to him in haste, the urgency in his tone made him move swiftly to the king's chambers.
He stopped at the sight of Thranduil wielding an unsheathed sword, his unsheathed sword. Gallion approached cautiously, noting the presence of the captain of the guard behind him.
" They dared to touch what is mine and they will pay for it" Thranduil ran his fingers along his sword, his voice calm and quiet. He sheathed the sword and strapped to his belt. Galion did not need to be told what this was about, he looked his old friend over and noted he was wearing a hunting garb, the look in his eyes telling the dire truth of his emotions.
Galion watched from the castle gates as Thranduil rode on Tallahir, along with a handful of warriors into the dark of the forest. He held a sliver of compassion for whatever provoked Thranduil into such a frenzied state.
!
!
She heaved deeply and harshly, peeking from the jagged rock she had hidden behind. She had ran a great distance after the attack. They had just left camp before dawn when a pack of orcs ambushed them.
She winced as she looked down at her feet and sighed at the gash on the side of her foot.
She went down and felt around the ground for a small rock with sharp edges, looking around her as she flitted her fingers on the uneven ground. She breathed deeply in relief as she found a small piece and slithered back up the rock with her back, clenching her teeth in pain as she forced the weight of her body on her feet. She heaved again, bracing herself against the onslaught of pain and began rubbing the rock on the ropes binding her hands.
She looked around again, knowing very well how dangerous her position was. She could not stay here any longer than she had, she had to move and quickly before her more than grotesque pursuers found her.
She breathed in deeply, counting down silently as she closed her eyes briefly and opened them again, picking herself up to move on.
!
!
They had searched everywhere part of the surrounding areas of Dale, yet there had been no sign of her. Bard was growing anxious and desperate by the hour, it had been two days since she disappeared and no one had seen nor heard a word from her. He did not wish to think the worst had happened, by the stars it would kill him if anything happened to her.
He paced his study floor, waiting for word he had sent through scouts and merchants travelling across the other kingdoms. The door swung open and Percy entered in a hurry.
"Any thing?" Bard asked in anticipation, to which Percy shook his head.
"Nothing yet, but you may want to see this" Percy said slightly breathless as he led Bard out the door.
They went down to the city gates where a guard handed Bard a note.
"Follow the old road, to the mountains" Bard read out as he looked to the rising sun.
"What's it mean my Lord?" Percy asked out loud, the rest of the patrol unit remained silent waiting for his answer.
"Rally the men, we're going to Mirkwood"
!
!
The pain of her wrists ebbed as she rubbed them gently. She hissed as pain shot up her leg, lifting up the hem of her dress to look at the wound still bleeding. She grimaced at the ugly sight and breathed deeply, hoisting herself up to move again. She sighted the tall dark silhouette of trees and felt a burst of hope fill her chest as she moved towards it.
Stench of filth and death suddenly filled the damp air around her, it's putrid smell churning her stomach as it filled her nostrils. They had found her, the smell of her blood probably acted as a tracker that led them straight to her.
Honing her senses and measuring her breath, she tore the bottom of her dress and drew up an ice sword. How many there were, she did not know but she did know she would have to weigh her options carefully, if she was to survive.
Lifting her sword up she braced herself as the first orc rushed out to greet her, a greeting she met with in good measure.