Only Time

Ch. 41 ~ Special Secret Mission

A few months passed after the departure of King Thranduil and Tauriel to Valinor and all was quiet and lovely in the three elven lands that Legolas and I were now lording over. Even though technically we would not fully become king and queen until my uncle and aunt departed for Valinor themselves; which I knew was still to come though not for a while yet. However, the one thing that I had wanted to do was be mindful for the future. Though I knew we lived in peaceful times finally, all kingdoms had to be prepared for the distant future. When Legolas and I were finally blessed with children and the two of us would leave Middle-Earth ourselves, we did not want to have our children be caught unawares.

So one afternoon, I decided to have a conversation regarding this with my uncle. We sat outside as I explained to him what I wanted to do. Mirkwood already had a sizable army but Rivendell and Lorien needed to make theirs just as formidable. The Galadhrim was almost completely decimated during the battle of Helm's Deep and has been recovering ever since. If war ever came to Middle-Earth again, all of the elven lands had to be ready to join their allies; men, dwarves, hobbits, and so forth in battle. We were at a point where if something evil attacked one land, it meant all the others would come to the rescue. We were one world after the last war; without even realizing it, Sauron had united all of the peoples of Middle-Earth.

My uncle liked that idea and said he would speak with my aunt and we would start utilizing the armies and leaders that we did have for training and recruitment. When the word went out; even noble elves that previously never fought but instead protected the land, joined. I was glad that my idea was so widely accepted. My uncle then told me something I had not known or perhaps did not pay much attention to. After the War of the Ring, both my sword and I had become renowned throughout all of Middle-Earth.

I really did not know what to do with the information for as those close to me knew, I hated being the center of attention. I was just like every other elf except for the royal lineage that was upgraded to queen status during my wedding. The fact that all of the battles I had fought were recorded somehow in people's minds and made me special somehow, was in itself mind blowing for me. In the minds of all inhabitants of this world--regardless of whether they were good or bad--I was now the warrior queen with the powerful sword. Altherial was--since I first received her at age 13--the extension of my hand and now the whole world knew it.

Ever since the war, all of the orcs and goblins had retreated into the darkest corners of the world and almost never ventured out for they knew that they would surely not make it back. Though there was peace now, every land had patrolling guards that would take out any vile beast they would see. All was peaceful and that is just the way we all liked it. While having an update on the army upgrade with my uncle one day, Legolas came up to us and I noticed that he was fidgeting. Now elves do not fidget, ever. The last time I saw one do that was eons ago just before my late non-blooded brother Haldir told me he was in love with me. As Legolas and I were wed, I knew that was not it. He waited patiently and listened to our conversation until we finished and then he turned to both my uncle and I and said in the common tongue:

"Lord Elrond, if I may, there is something I have to do and I need Hedraliel to come with me as well as perhaps get some of the army from Mirkwood to help. I think you and Lady Galadriel have already foreseen this special secret mission that we must undertake."

My uncle nodded and I knew exactly what he was talking about. The day before our wedding, Legolas' father had finally disclosed the location of where his mother was buried in Gundabad. Legolas, more than anything else, wanted to retrieve her remains and lay them to rest in Lothlorien where she was born. That way everything in his life would finally be at peace and his mother would be brought back to where she belonged. Gundabad was a deadly place that still held many orcs so it would be highly dangerous to bring in a whole army and just raid it.