Adventures Of The Warriors And The Dead

Chapter 30 It Was Real

I can't look at him, I can't look at all that blood. I don't want to remember Legolas like this.

I uncover my eyes to find his eyes frozen in a lifeless stare. His once shining blue eyes are now grey and dead.

"Legolas?"

He doesn't respond, doesn't move, doesn't look.

"Legolas!" I shout and shake his shoulders. "Wake up! Come back!"

Waves of sorrow crash over me and I keel over next to him. I grab his cold hand and weep.

~~~

Alex

~~~

Very slowly the pain starts to ebb away and Kili begins to heal.

I let out a laugh of relief when Kili opens his eyes.

Tauriel lifts her hands and falls to the ground exhausted.

"Thank you Tauriel! Bless you!" Tauriel nods and her eyes fall shut.

"Just let me nap," she mumbles and falls asleep.

~~~

Sam

~~~

The dull ache in my head goes away making me sigh in relief. Bilbo is okay.

"Okay just drop us down Smaug!" I shout making the dragon swoop lower to the ground and drop Jacob and I off. I brandish my battle axe and Jacob his scimitars. Together we go to work fighting as hard as we can.

The eagles have joined in as well as Beorn.

Fire rains down from above courtesy of Emily and Smaug.

With valiant effort I swing my axe and take down orcs left and right. Jacob is a ways from me fighting as hard as he can as well.

"Sam!" he screeches suddenly and I on I instinct whip around and stab an Orc coming from behind.

"Thanks!" I call and then back to him.

Jacob isn't there. I furrow my eyebrows confused and walk towards where I saw him. The fight is cooling down somewhat so I can walk freely.

"Sam!" My gaze follows his voice and my blood runs cold when I see him.

His scimitars are on the ground out of reach leaving him all but weaponless and in the grip of a larger orc. An impending sense of dread fills me as the orc raises his blade.

"NO!" I scream and lunge forward.

Jacobs head hits the ground at the orcs feet and his body falls the other way.

Seconds later white hot pain erupts in my chest and I fall to my knees.

Loud thumping echoes in my ears as I become oblivious to the battle around me. All I can see is Jacob's lifeless eyes.

Stuttering screams of pain sound from my mouth and my hands clutch my chest.

~~~

Allie

~~~

I let myself fall back and take a breath.

The screams of my friends echo endlessly in my ears and their pain radiates in my heart.

I can feel all the death and sorrow and it weighs on me.

My own sorrow is crushing.

A loud thump makes me look back to find Bilbo passed out on the ground behind me. I reach out to him and instantly feel a pulse on his neck. He'll be alright.

Reluctantly I look back to Thorin. He looks so peaceful, likes he's sleeping. I lean over him and smile sadly.

"Thorin it's over now. You can have your mountain now," I whisper. "Thorin how can you just die like this? After how far we've come..."

A small bit of anger pushes in with the loss and I cup his face firmly. Determined I pour the last of my strength into his hands and force myself to call upon divinity.

"Thorin Oakenshield you do not get to die like this! If you don't come back to me right now I'll March right into the halls of your fathers and drag you back to the world of the living by your braids in front of all your ancestors! Don't you dare test me I know Death he will let me in! But when you come back I swear to Yavanna I'll kill you again for this, but then I'll bring you back again because I cannot live without you Thorin Oakenshield!"

Desperately I recall all my strength and pour my divinity into him. My wings start to glow and bright runes shine on my arms.

"Thorin Oakenshield come back!"

~~~

Grace

~~~

Tears pour from my eyes as I place Legolas's sword in his cold hand and position it over his chest. It's how he'll be buried.

Footsteps come closer so I glance up. It's Thranduil.

"He's gone," I utter and run a hand through his blonde hair. It's stained with blood yet somehow it's never looked so pure.

"My son," Thranduil murmurs and falls to his knees. "My son! How could this have happened?"

"He was helping me," I whisper. "This is my fault, if I had just been a little faster I could have saved him." If I had been willing to shift into the wolf I could have saved him but I wasn't.

"This is not your fault," Thranduil says after the longest moment of silence. "Do not blame yourself for what the evil has done."

"I've lost so much...why does this hurt so much more?" I whimper. I lost Laurel and I lost the love of my parents as soon as I opened my brown eyes.

"Because it was real."

His words settle heavily on my and I look up at him with teary eyes.

"I...cannot go back," I say shakily. I can't go back to Greenwood, I can't be their princess.

"Where will you go?"

"I do not know," I answer honestly.

"Go north. Find the Dunedain. There is a young ranger amongst them, you should meet him. His father Arathorn was a good man. His son might grow to be a great one."

"What is his name?" I ask solemnly.

"He is known in the wild as Strider. His true name you must discover for yourself."

I stand up and nod stiffly. I wipe my eyes and set my face firm. I will not cry anymore, I will not feel anymore, I can't.

"I will leave after his funeral."

I start to walk off but before I'm out of earshot I hear Thranduil speak.

"Legolas, your mother loved you, more than anyone, more than life. I love you more than anything just as I loved your mother. I will fade without you my little leaf."

The ache in my heart makes me fear I shall fade as well.