Legolas started to feel on edge. He had been quiet for a long time while the others chatted and laughed. He wanted to so badly to feel a part of this rare, contented moment, but the self-doubt crept in and filled him up. He looked over at Captain Aereneth and watched him smiling, laughing, so at ease. He's not worried. He made the decision to prioritize his patrol's welfare, a wise leadership choice, one that leads to more sustainable results. That's what Legolas had learned, anyway. How is he so good at this? He's so decisive. When he makes his mind up to relax, he does it. No paranoia, as Legolas is dealing with. Is this just a consequence of being his father's son?
Instinctively, Legolas moved to walk alongside Ondienne. He could be wrong. But if he's not, Legolas wanted to keep her close. He squeezed Ondienne's hand briefly and let it go. She looked over at him and searched his face, understanding right away. The two walked together in silent agreement to let the others be as they scanned their surroundings.
The gravel bar was devolving into a tangled mess of braided river channels. Some were easy to navigate, only knee deep; others requiring focus, with waters so opaque with glacial silt that their dangerous depths were only known to the elves when they were already halfway crossing them. Soon, returning to the woods seemed more appealing. But the further up valley the elves travelled, the higher the banks around them climbed. They kept going anyway, searching the steep, eroding banks for any clear path up and out and back into the woods. Some were starting to wonder aloud whether they should double back. Legolas could see Captain Aerenth studying his map again, most likely to confirm whether he had been warned about this tricky terrain problem earlier but just chose to ignore it. Legolas dutifully awaited his orders, but felt ever more vulnerable to attack.
The river turned westward, back to its source in the mountains, and the elves followed. The gravel bar widened again, although still towered on both sides by worrying high embankments heavily shielded by the edges of deep woods, giving an uneasy sense of being watched. Clouds and rain returned, casting everything in shadow. Every sound seemed to be drowned out by water; flowing water, falling water. The group had to be silent again and the good mood faded away.
Captain Aereneth called Legolas over and the two spoke about what to do. They agreed to split the group, sending a smaller scouting party ahead. Legolas dug his nails into the palms of his hand as he watched Ondienne climb the embankments with the rest of her small party, bows and blades drawn. He and his group continued up the gravel bar, walking close together and trying to distract themselves with forced conversations. They pulled their cloaks back out of the packs and wore hoods to block out the driving rain and wind.
Legolas heard the snap of a branch and a rustling in nearby brush. He couldn't help himself but gasp aloud, drawing the attention from the others. They drew their bows on instinct and searched the woods for signs of orcs. But only Legolas saw what was charging toward them. He saw two small, brown forms scrambling up the embankments. And one massive brown beast, ears down, jaw snapping, running not away but toward the elves.
"Bear!" Legolas shouted. The others swung around to face where Legolas was looking. He was able to fire a shot before the others could even raise their bows. But it was useless. The prince watched in horror as the arrow bounced off her forehead and clattered to the rocky shore. He could only watch as she barreled into one of his patrol mates and slammed him into the ground.
The helpless elf managed to roll over onto his stomach and lace his hands behind his neck while she bit at his shoulders and slashed his back. She grabbed his thigh in her maw and began slamming him violently onto the ground over and over. More arrows shot into her, impaling her in the sides and face, but she was undeterred. Legolas tossed his bow aside and ran toward her with his blades, shouting loudly, hoping to draw her attention away. He managed to stab her in the neck, but was instantly thrown back with swipe of her paw. His head slammed on a rock and his vision went white, his ears loudly rang.
In the haze, Legolas was able to make out a lithe figure dashing toward them, a long braid swinging. Once on the opposite river bank, they planted their feet hard and drew a bow. The first shot ricocheted off the bear's shoulder, erupting in a spray of blood and water. The creature roared and turned toward the figure. Legolas watched in relief and awe as Ondienne loaded another arrow, took a breath, and aimed.
The bear bounded toward her, snarling and snapping its jaws. It galloped into the river with a massive splash, but Ondienne remained unfazed, firing shot after shot. Each blow was true, but caused nothing more than a brief stagger in the bear's furious charge. Only when it reached her side of the shore did a flash of fear show on her face. She seemed to think carefully for a moment, then tossed her bow aside and unsheathed a dagger all in the same motion. Just as the bear barreled toward her legs, she jumped into the air, knees tucked, barely flying over him as he shot past. In midair she spun herself around in order to land facing the beast as it turned toward her, eyes red and froth spilling out its lips. She managed to dodge a swipe, but was thrown back into the rocky shore when it lunged on top of her. Legolas felt a surge of panic. He staggered to his feet and waded across the river as fast as he could, nearly being swept away in the current. He could hear the splashing of his comrades following behind him.
He could see Ondienne groping her hand around the gravel in search of her dagger. Her face was eerily calm as the bear's jaws wrapped around her throat and claws ripped into her chest. Legolas stumbled onto the shore and picked up her dagger. Before he even realized what he was doing, he was on top of the beast. He grabbed a handful of fur and held on as it bucked and shook wildly. He watched, detached, as he stabbed the dagger into the back of its neck over and over. The bear was finally able to launch him into the air and he slammed down on the rocks, stunned. As he was catching his breath, Avilde and Haljamar closed in around the bear, stabbing with their own daggers.
He could hear their strained grunts, the creature's roars. Head still spinning, he crawled across the rocks until he reached Ondienne, hands and knees soaking in the pool of blood. Her eyes met his, wide in shock and fear.
"Come on, darling," Legolas whispered, scooping his arms under hers and hoisting Ondienne to her feet.
"Do they have this?" She asked, looking back toward the others, toward the sound of a beast's final cries of agony.
"Don't worry about them." Legolas said. He knew the answer, the bear was as good as dead, the fatal blow likely already having been delivered by Ondienne's hand long ago. These creatures had a tendency to fail to realize when they've been slain, continue to fight, and then they die all at once.
Ondienne gripped a bloody hand around Legolas's shoulder, and he held her waist tightly as they navigated the rushing waters together. He could feel her grip loosening with each step they took, so he squeezed her hand tighter, willing her to not let go, to hang on just a little longer. As they reached the opposite shore, he could hear Haljamar and Avilde splashing in the water just behind. Ondienne's hand suddenly let go of Legolas's shoulder, and he could feel her body dropping hard. In his weakened state, he was dragged down with her, and simply did his best to catch her fall.
He cradled her head in his hand and used the other to pull aside her tunic and search for the most urgent wound. He could see Avilde's knees drop down beside them. His hands pressed down onto the side of Ondienne's neck, the blood spurting out between his fingers, and Legolas felt his stomach drop. He could hear Aereneth shouting muffled, indistinct orders to the others. Another pair of hands joined in, pressing down on her neck. It seemed to do nothing. Blood easily flowed through.
Legolas sat frozen, useless, staring at her face. While the others scrambled to tend to her body, he stared at her face. Her skin was sickly white and clammy. Her wide eyes stared up at the sky, at something far away, unseeable by those still rooted in the earth. She was unnervingly calm. And Legolas saw a drop of blood leak out the corner of her mouth.
"She can't breathe," he whispered. The others didn't seem to hear him.
He lurched forward and started pulling back their blood-soaked hands from her neck. "Stop, she can't breathe!"
"Legolas, what are you doing?!" Avilde shot him a glare. The others looked back at him less angry, more baffled.
"You're strangling her! She's dying!" Legolas didn't recognize the voice coming out of his own mouth. It sounded child-like and desperate. He shoved Avilde aside and leaned close toward Ondienne's face. His trembling hands gripped her cheeks gently and he searched her eyes for any sign of awareness.
"Ondienne," he whispered. "Ondienne, can you hear me? Stay with me, please, Ondienne…"
"Legolas stop, you have to let us help her! We have to stop the bleeding!" Avilde struggled to push the prince away, but Captain Aereneth reached out and stopped him. Everyone froze and watched as the captain took ahold of Ondienne's wrist, searching for a pulse. Legolas was oblivious, still tapping her cheek, pleading for her to snap out of it. His voice wavered as his breathing became more erratic.
Legolas still didn't notice as the captain set her hand back down and slowly looked up at the rest of the group, his expression grave. The scouts were frozen in place around her, exchanging wordless looks of shock. The sound of rain and rushing water settled in like a heavy shroud.
The prince stopped his pleading and looked up. He searched their worried faces and began to panic. "What is it? Why aren't you doing anything, what's going on?"
They all stared back at him. No one was saying anything. Their looks of pity seemed to ignite a fire of rage inside. "No, no, no, no…" Legolas mumbled quietly, climbing over her until he was kneeling over her stomach, furiously compressing her chest. "Don't just stand there! Help me!"
The prince was the only one moving. He alternated between pushing into her chest, breathing into her parted lips, and pleading with her to wake up. The others stood by or remained kneeling in the gravel bar, watching him. Or looking away. Letting him do this because he seemed to need to do this. Eventually the captain reached out and touched his shoulder. "Legolas, stop." The prince ignored him, so Aereneth gripped his shoulder harder. "Legolas!"
The young elf stopped. He lifted his shaking hands off her chest and stared down at her, panting.
"Legolas, do you understand?" The captain spoke more softly this time. "She's gone. I'm sorry."
He stared down at her pale face. How strange a sight. Her eyes were still open, her expression looked calm. But she wasn't there anymore. This body had let her go.
The world felt like it was sinking down on top of him. Legolas collapsed back into the ground beside her under the sheer weight of it. The rest of his life, the rest of eternity, without her. That realization roiled around his mind on an endless loop as he just sat there, staring at her and struggling to breathe.
