The King's Hope

Chapter 11

Elrond

The orc has created the most advanced bioserum I have ever encountered, the only that I have ever encountered. This science is far beyond anything I have ever known or read about, and it makes me jealous that I did not foresee such a looming threat to Middle-earth.

Every day that Galadriel and I examine Rhovanel, we find that she is incapable of acting anything but violent. We, as I understand, are not the target Hoknath assigned, but we are met with the same hostility as Thranduil when he comes to see her in the dungeons.

When I try to examine her baby's growth, Rhovanel must be tied down by several guards before I can even enter the cell. Then when I touch her, she howls in agony, as if I am thrusting a knife through her abdomen.

Galdriel does not have any more luck than I. Rhovanel will often snap at her or start screaming war cries. We hope that because the month is waning, the effect of the serum is wearing off.

"Show me your faces, elven filth!" Rhovanel screams from her cell. The voice is grittier than Rhovanel, though it comes from her lips. The worst part of my intuition suspects she is not in command of her voice any more than her body.

Thranduil comes running up the stairs and through the waterfall's mist. "What is going on here?" he asks breathlessly. I can smell the wine from a meter away, but at least he can maintain his balance.

"I believe the orc that controls her is trying to speak with us," Galadriel answers.

"Listen to the Lady, she is wiser than the two of you," the voice laughs, gesturing at Thranduil and I. We all stand at the front of the cell, behind the bars. Rhovanel's eyes are completely red, there is nothing to suggest they were ever normal eyes: no pupils or distinguishable iris.

"This body is fading. Soon it will turn to dust and fade. You will be greeted by my army then. Even now they surround your once secret cavern. You will be destroyed, all because you could not let go of one elleth. You have failed as a king, Thranduil Oropherion, and you have dragged the other leaders of your kind to share in your destruction!" Hoknath's voice roars, visibly shaking dust from the rock above and rattling the bars of the cell.

Thranduil's eyebrows dip in sadness, then turn in fury.

"Release her and face the night of this realm with your own force, not by pulling on my emotions," Thranduil calls valiantly. There is the slight tremble of drunkenness as he tries to whisper in my ear. "Can he really kill her remotely?"

I have never heard of such a phenomenon, but I had also never know of a drug that can induce servitude. "It may be possible. The future is clouded, Thranduil."

"Even the great elven healer cannot understand! Come to the edge of the trees, King Thranduil, and hear my demands. Comply in the next hour, or watch this body scream in agony," Hoknath demands before the screaming starts. It is Rhovanel's voice, and when her eyes are open, they are the clear blue I remember them being. Thranduil clutches the bars, desperately trying to shove the key into its lock and comfort his screaming love.

Suddenly, Rhovanel slumps forward, leaning entirely on the chains that bind her wrists to keep her upright. Thranduil shakes the lock harder, but Galadriel touches his shoulder, then takes the key ring from his hand.

"Go to the bridge with some guards. Find what the orc wants and go from there. We will be out shortly to help," she says. Thranduil nods and stumbles from the room.

"Something tells me it is not only the wine which makes him as uncoordinated as he is right now," I mumble. Galadriel nods and unlocks the cell. I ease Rhovanel up so Galadriel can loosen the chains.

Once that is done, we gently set her on her back and I take a quick check of her pulse and the baby. Rhovanel's heartbeat is faint, but the baby is kicking more than a cornered deer.

"Is it bad?" Galadriel asks.

"I believe that it can be. If Hoknath does not release his grip of her mind, she will die."

"Thranduil must be warned. I fear that it may be too late already," Galadriel whispers, cradling Rhovanel's head in her lap.