I suddenly got an impression I was being watched. The feeling of dread was so strong, that I looked around with concern, but saw nothing. The good thing was the ring finally went silent, enabling me to think straight.
“Maybe you should call your guards?” I suggested, seeing he didn’t have his sword with him.
“There is nothing here.” The king replied, finishing checking the wardrobe.
I entered the room, still feeling uneasy, and looked around myself.
“You do not trust my judgement?” He asked, sounding amused.
“Better safe than sorry.” I answered, turning back to him. “I wouldn’t wish to wake up and see uninvited guests in my bedroom again.” I sent him a meaningful look.
“I am certain that visit has not been completely unpleasant.” He smirked, moving my way. I smirked back.
”Good night, My lord?” I asked, when he rose his hands to embrace me. They stayed up for a moment, and then fell down. His expression was hard to read.
“Have a pleasant night My Lady.” He inclined his head and turned to leave.
A thought that I didn’t want him to go would surprise and embarrass me if the reason wouldn’t be that scary feeling of someone’s presence. But I couldn’t say that. He would understand it in a completely wrong way. I had my ring to protect me, and it would have to do.
I watched him exit, but didn’t hurry to close the door. Something stopped me. A feeling that couldn’t be described. I couldn’t stop watching the entrance.
And then I saw them. Three mist-like shapes walking on the walls like spiders. They moved fast. If I had blinked, I would have missed them. They didn’t enter my room, instead going in the direction of king’s chambers. Reluctantly I moved to the door, planning to look outside, and heard a noise, followed by some elvish words. I recognised the king’s voice and rushed out of the room. Two guards passed just in front of my nose.
Thranduil was standing in the middle of the corridor, clearly angry. He gave some orders to the two elves and they hurried to obey. Mysterious creatures were nowhere to be seen.
“What happened?” I asked worried.
“Intruders.” He said curtly. “They will be dealt with. Go back to your chambers.”
I noticed that the sleeve of his coat was ripped.
“You’re hurt.” I remarked.
“Merely a scratch.” He replied leading me back to my bedroom. The ring, which shut up some time ago woke up repeating the word blood again.
Still a little spooked and uncomfortable I locked myself inside my rooms.
Falling asleep took me some time, and when I finally did I was woken up by an enormous pain. Shocked, I checked my body with shaking hands, but found no wound.
After lighting a candle I looked around for any signs of shadowy intruders, but saw none.
The pain didn’t want to go away, but I noticed that nothing in my body really hurt. What could be happening? And then it finally came to me. The bond! But that would mean the king was badly hurt.
Alarmed I walked out of the room, holding my candle tightly. The corridor was quiet and looked empty. I crept slowly to the door leading to Thranduil’s chambers and stopped not sure what to do. Knocking to the man’s door at night could be misunderstood, but the ache wouldn’t go away. So I just took a deep breath and pressed the handle. I figured that I would just look around and, if nothing was wrong, slip away unnoticed.
The Elvenking was lying in his bed, unmoving. There was no one and nothing else in the room beside us two, so I thought I was mistaken after all. Maybe I was getting sick or something and that was where the pain came from. But then I heard a moan, and turned to the monarch again, looking carefully. Only then I noticed he was paler than usual and looked sweaty. Moreover, he was still wearing his day clothes.
Startled, I moved towards his bed and sat just next to him.
“My Lord?” I asked. “My Lord, can you hear me?”
There was no answer, but he opened his eyes. They looked feverish and absent. At first I panicked. Seeing this powerful man in a state like that was terrifying, but then I remembered the cut I’ve noticed on his sleeve some time ago. Could the wound be more serious, than he thought? I put my candle on the bedside table and examined his arm. It has been bandaged, so I had to remove the stripes of cloth. Looking at the small cut I started shaking. It was infected. Very infected. With poison. Black lines surrounded it, spreading to the rest of the body like a spider web.
Trying to keep a cool mind I stood up. I needed to call for help. The healers had to see that.
I almost ran out of the king’s bedroom, calling for guards. They came fast, together with Legolas, who was fully armed and on duty, probably searching for mysterious intruders all night. I explained the situation to him quickly, and he send one of his men to find an elvish doctor, then rushed to see his father. I ran after him, scared, aching and trying to understand what was happening and why.
Somehow I was sure my ring knew exactly what was wrong with Thranduil, but for some reason all information I was getting was the stubbornly repeated word blood.
One thing was certain, however. It was those dark creature’s fault. But what were they?
The healer came almost immediately and started working his magic. I didn’t understand what the man did, but although the ache decreased the monarch didn’t seem to feel better at all. I was sitting in one of the armchairs, nervous and close to panic. The damn stone replied blood to every question I asked.
“Hiril vuin.” I heard, and looked up. Legolas stood before me, his face sour. “The poison is unknown to us. There is nothing the healer can do.” He said, and I could see it was hard for him to speak. “You should prepare for the worst.” It became hard to breathe. Oh gods, we were going to die!
Blood! I heard the ring again. Its tones became nagging. I covered my eyes with my hand.
“I understand.” I said, my voice barely a whisper. It couldn’t end like that, just couldn’t. There had to be a cure. What were those creatures for all gods’ sake?! And what did the ring want with that blood? Did it mean that the creatures could poison blood? Was that its warning? But I knew that already, why repeat it? I needed to talk with that stupid piece of jewellery and fast.
“If you wish to sleep…” He started, but I shook my head. It was a late night, but I wasn’t able to leave the room. I was afraid, that if I went to sleep elsewhere neither of us would wake up again.
“I will stay here.” I said firmly.
“As you wish Hiril vuin.” He said and walked away, giving orders in elvish. Well, he almost ruled the kingdom now.
I closed my eyes. Come on, ring. Let’s talk. Please.
I waited and waited, but nothing was happening. Finally, disappointed I opened my eyes, and saw the king looking at me. He seemed conscious. I stood up, and approached the bed, then sat on it beside him.
“You are here.” He remarked, his voice hoarse and quiet.
I forced myself to smile.
“It’s my turn to rummage through your wardrobe My Lord.” I joked. The corner of his mouth went up.
“You are welcome to rummage through anything you wish” He replied. I snorted.
“I’ll keep that in mind in case you decide to steal something from me again.” I retorted.
“Only your heart.” He whispered. I felt my cheeks burn. I wanted to say something funny and brush his words off, but his eyes became glassy again. I sighed. The brief moment of consciousness was over.
Feeling my agitation rise I made my way around the room a few times, and even looked outside to make sure shadowy figures didn’t return. Finally tired I checked on Thranduil, but saw no change.
Since there was nothing else to do I sat in my armchair and closed my eyes again, almost praying to the ring for help. I couldn’t save us not knowing what was happening. After some time of constant concentration and attempted mindspeak I finally felt the metal warm up, and the long-awaited darkness descended.
The cave was empty again, but I knew the girl would eventually show up, so I just started talking.
“Could you FINALLY tell me what is going on?!” I shouted.
“I have been telling you for some time.” She replied appearing before me. She looked just like the last time: golden hair and scary, black eyes. I would say she was some kind of demon if I didn’t know better. The ring was neither good nor bad and, astonishingly, that was what scared people the most.
“You’ve been repeating blood. One word doesn’t count as explanation.” I snorted.
“This it what they want.” She said. “Your blood.”
“Who?” I asked startled and angry at the same time. So those monsters were after me? Why did they attack the king then?
“The Hollow Ones.” She replied. “The creatures you saw.”
“What are they?” I wanted to know.
“They were you.” She smiled meanly. I looked at her with disbelief.
“I will become like that?!” I exclaimed. “Because of your power? Because I put YOU on?!” Shivers ran down my spine. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“You may, you may not.” She answered. “It depends.”
“ON WHAT?!” I shouted.
“On your deeds.” She looked at me like I was an extremely stupid child. “There are different ways of using me, and some lead to the state you just saw.” Something appeared in her hand. I recognized a mirror. She turned it, so I could see myself in it. “Immortality is a temptation not all can resist, however it requires sacrifices.” I saw my reflection performing some bloody rituals and slowly changing into a monster. “If you cross the line, you gradually start loosing the way, and after some time there is no return, just forward.”
“But… what do they want from me?” I finally asked. She sighed.
“Are you even listening?” She said with anger. “Your blood!”
“But what for?!”
“Power.” She stated. “It is in your blood. That is why it destroys itself. It’s a defence mechanism. So they have to drink it straight from your veins for it to work.” I exhaled. Oh, so THAT what it was all about. Goodness, I was afraid it was something much worse. “They almost caught you before, in the castle.” She continued. “You were so stubborn not to use me, that I couldn’t merge with you fully and protect you. If they got to you then, one of them would possess your body, and merge with me through it, gaining another long and bloody life. So I had to hide you.” She informed me.
“It was YOU who brought me here!” I understood.
“Yes. It was just an escape. I didn’t expect you to gain such an asset.”
“Asset?” I asked, not understanding.
“That man of yours. Such potential. You could be truly immortal through him.” She smirked.
“What do you mean?” I asked, having a bad feeling about this.
“If something happens, and you are dying, just suck out his life.” She said, like it was a cake recipe. “And you will live on.”
“But… this bond means that if he dies, I die too.” I replied, more and more confused.
“No.” She laughed. “You have me. You don’t die. But it weakens you. A lot.” She remarked.
“That is why they attacked him?!” It finally came to me. “To weaken me, and make it easier for them, to take the blood?”
“Bravo!” She clapped her hands. “That took you a while.”
“Easy for you to say!” I answered offended. “All information I had was blood, bloooood.” I mimicked her tones.
“Well, you have to admit it was a crucial word, and I could say only one.” She shrugged.
“All right, to the point.” I said, fearing that someone could wake me up again before I heard all the answers. “The king is dying, how to stop it?” I asked.
“Easy.” She said. “Kill The Hollow Ones.”
I looked at her in disbelief.
“EASY?!” I exclaimed. „Are you kidding me?!”
“Oh, right, you were late in accepting me.” She started humming. “You are too weak, you can’t kill them.” She informed me. I felt panic rising again. It must have showed on my face, because she sighed and shook her head. “All right, all right.” She looked at me with distaste. “One could think you actually care about the man.”
“Well I certainly don’t want him to die because of me.” I replied bringing myself together.
“Then you will have to bleed a little after all.”
“What do you mean?” I felt hope.
“They will return to finish him. It will give them power to fight you.” She informed. “But not sooner than in twelve hours. They are not fully in this world yet. Finding you for the first time took them almost two months, because we were not one yet. That also took a lot of energy. Some days ago they started sensing you clearly, as we merged, and hurried here, using even more power. Tonight they materialized for the first time.” She looked at me with warning. “Do not underestimate them, their minds still work perfectly.” She started walking around. “You will have to lure them after you, and then suck out all their power, sending them back into nothingness.”
“How do I do it?” I asked.
“They can’t resist the smell of your blood, so you will have to spill it, and keep spilling it until you reach the right place to form a circle.”
“Where is the right place?” I wanted to know.
“It has to be a place of power.” She said. “I can recognise it, but I will not lead you to it.”
“Oh great, another problem” I murmured. “All right, I find the place, and what then?” I asked.
“You create a circle, lure them in, and take their power.” She said simply. “But they have to be solid, otherwise it will not work.” She started humming again. “Have I forgotten anything? Ach, yes!” She smirked. „You will have to be fast. Your man has three days at most.”
I felt ill.
“How to do that circle?” I demanded.
“With your blood.” She answered.
“You know that I have a limited amount, right?” I asked sceptically.
“Well, it is that, or you can put some of it on The Hollow Ones.” The girl replied shrugging. “Choose what sounds better for you.”
I shook my head. My, that was the most inconvenient battle spell I’ve ever heard of.
“And how to drain them?” I wanted to know.
“It’s enough if they enter the circle or get stained. The rest will do itself for you. But it will work only in that place, nowhere else.” She said.
Oh right, easy. Get close enough to stain them with your blood or ask them to stand peacefully inside the circle until you finish forming it. Piece of cake.
“Oh, and when you cut yourself, run fast.” She smiled meanly. “Their speed is greater than human’s.”
“Why are you helping me anyway?” I suddenly got curious. “Isn’t it all the same to you?”
She snorted.
“Stupid. I...”
I woke up suddenly, feeling someone’s hand on my arm.
“Hiril vuin.” I heard Legolas’s voice and looked up. “Try to rest. I will sit with him.” He said.
“No.” I said firmly, standing up. “There is little time.” I started pushing him out of the room. I didn’t want to risk the king accidentally hearing us. He wouldn’t like what I had to do. The prince looked at me surprised, but didn’t resist.
I dragged him to my bedroom, and declared: “I think I know how to cure your father.”
“How?” He asked, and I saw hope in his face.
I shortly explained what was happening, and his eyes winded in surprise. Then he got very serious.
“How can I help?” He asked, hearing about my plan. I didn’t tell him everything in case the creatures were eavesdropping, but he knew I had to leave the palace.
“Just let me out.” I answered. “The guards are still under your father’s orders to stop me.”
He hesitated.
“Legolas, my life is at stake too.” I remarked, lying. “And I like being alive. I will do whatever it takes to save us both, so you may as well let me.”
He sighed.
“I cannot let you go alone.” He finally said.
“I have to be fast, faster than a horse.” I explained patiently. “For that I have to fly. So unless one of you can do it too, I have to go alone.”
He didn’t look happy but nodded and left to start necessary preparations.
There was just one more thing left for me to do. But how would I find the place of power? Who could know where it was? A thought came to my mind. Well, who else if not this word’s most powerful witch?
I concentrated, no longer afraid of the evil warlock. I had three other evil beings wanting to kill me now. Sauron would have to wait in line.
Lady Galadriel? I asked in my mind. I wasn’t sure if what I was doing made sense, since there was no link between us two. But she has been in my head before, and I figured it was worth to try. After all I was a seer. If my soul could travel to find me a husband, I figured this should be a piece of cake.
Anne? I heard an answer and smiled with relief.
Lady of Lorien, hearing a shortened version of latest events, didn’t ask any questions, just explained where I could find the needed spot. I repeated that information to the prince, who helped me find it on a map, and estimate how to get there. Not an hour had passed and I was ready to go, supplied with food, weapons and fitting set of clothes.
Legolas led me to the river, which was used by me to escape not so long ago, and we said our goodbyes. Feeling a little nervous I cut my hand, and waited for my ring to start shimmering. It was a signal, that the creatures were closing in. When it did I jumped from the gate, which I had to bounce over before, and flew away. In spite of the fact I was being chased I felt euphoria. I was free again.