Divided Hearts (a Legauriel novella) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 8: On to Victory

Tauriel felt nothing. Perhaps she was beyond grief. Maybe her heart had broken too many times. She watched her arms lay Legolas down where the wall met the floor. She felt the cloak slip from her shoulders as her hands draped it over his body. But as she knelt by the cloaked figure, she felt as if she watched someone else's life play out before her. 

The hall around her was shaking. A faint thought told her she should go. Take the Silmarils and run. Tauriel's glassy eyes looked down the hall toward her escape, but her legs felt as heavy as stone. Let death come, she thought numbly. Maybe it's better when all I do is destroy those closest to me.

A flickering light drew her eyes to the open Silmaril box. The dust and debris fell within its beams, coming very close to crushing the gems. Tauriel's face hardened. Legolas died so those gems wouldn't be consumed by darkness. The she-elf stood and grabbed the box, cradling it to her chest. Her eyes wandered over to Legolas and longed to embrace him in the same manner. He was a light that brightened my dark existence, Tauriel thought and squeezed the box tighter. He will be with me in this light.

Then she ran.

To tear herself from him was a literal tearing of her soul. Tears and grief arose in her throat, threatening to suffocate her, but she suppressed them. No emotions, she chided herself. Just the mission. Just the mission . . .

The Silmarils illuminated most of the hall before her and even some behind. Tauriel could see far in advance when the hall reached a dead end, forcing her to take a side tunnel. For a small eternity, Tauriel ran through the endless darkness. As the rumbling lessened, Tauriel began to realize how lost she was. The fear rose up faster than she could shove it down. What if I'm circling around to the throne room? she fretted. Or what if I wander these ruins forever?

"No!" Tauriel yelled, her voice dampened by the thick stone walls. "I will not give in to the darkness! I will persevere! For Legolas! For his victory!" With her last word, she raised the box in front of her, and the Silmarils brightened. Tauriel almost thought she saw the walls cringe under the light. A weight lifted from her chest, and her feet sprinted along the corridor. As her lungs drew in great gulps of air, she noticed the air was less stagnant. Her heart soared! An exit must be near! Her feet pounded even faster. Back to daylight, she thought elatedly. Back to the open sky!

She turned a corner and pulled up short, almost running into a pile of rocks. Though she looked around, she saw only the pile. No other corridors. No exit. Just the dead end. Tauriel's hope drained from her, dragging her to her knees. How could she have been so wrong? Had the Silmarils' intensifying and the feel of the wind been a coincidence? A thought occurred to Tauriel and, with a nervous swallow, she shut the box of the Silmarils. The darkness enveloped her faster than she could blink. It was so thick and solid, Tauriel felt as if there were no air, but only darkness. She couldn't breathe!

Then she saw it. A tiny sliver of light piercing the inky blackness. With her strength rekindled, Tauriel shoved the stones aside until the entire pile dislodged from the wall. Beyond the gaping hole lay was the night sky. Tauriel peered over the precipice at the barren slopes of Angband. Despite the lack of any guards, she didn't trust this good fortune. She scooped up the box, stood on the very edge of the precipice, and hesitated. She'd be vulnerable on the slope. So open to any attackers. No emotions, she reminded herself. Just the mission.

And so she jumped. Tauriel's feet hit the slopes, sending up a cloud of dust. It obscured her vision and filled her throat, yet Tauriel pressed on. Now to this rock ledge. Now sliding to the next. Thus she made her way down the towering slope until she tumbled the last few yards to the dusty plains below. As she caught her breath, she heard grunting and whipped her head to the right. Several leagues, around the gates of Angband were Uruk-hai. Hundreds of Uruk-hai.