"Catch me if you can!" I crowed as I ran through the trees, leaving the King of the Woodland Realm in the dust behind me. Sunlight flashed through gaps in the leaves as I whizzed past, revelling in the feeling of my feet flying across the ground.
"Slow down!" Thranduil panted from behind me.
Laughing, I slowed down a little, turning around to see him red-faced and panting so hard it was on the verge of wheezing. I stopped and smiled. "Aww. Poor lamb. Can't keep up with a girl? When was the last time you raced anyway?" I taunted upon seeing his face.
Thranduil scowled at me mockingly. "Sometime years ago which I am glad not to recall," he said. "Come on. I want to show you something." Grabbing my hand, he led me to a wide tree, and told me to climb.
I did as he told, easily scaling the tree with him not too far behind me. Mirkwood trees were easy to climb, with their twisted limbs and various vines. When reached a flat branch that was high off the ground, Thranduil beckoned for me to stop. "Stop here," he said, before closing his hands over my eyes.
"Thranduil!" I yelped, poking him in the ribs with my elbow.
Thranduil laughed, a warm sound that bounced all around us like a sunbeam. "Trust me," he whispered in my ear.
I felt the rustling of leaves against my face, then it was bathed in warmth. "Open your eyes," he said, removing his hands.
The world yawned into sight, and my breathing hitched at what I beheld.
Little blue butterflies fluttered around our heads, which were peeking through shimmering red and gold leaves. The forest canopy stretched out like a mighty sea, tinges of copper and gold waving in the wind. Beyond, there was a pristine blue lake, which was glinting in the morning sun. A river flowed from it, disappearing underground into the slick rocks. Behind that, there was a single snow-capped mountain, jutting up from the land. Erebor.
"Thranduil, this is...beautiful!" I managed to say, swallowed up in the beauty that surrounded us.
Thranduil only chuckled. "I knew you would like it here," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist. Feeling like a little girl again, I outstretched my finger, and a butterfly nimbly landed on it, gently flapping its cobalt blue wings. After a few seconds, it took off again, flying off to join the rest of its family as they flitted through the treetops.
I sighed, leaning my head back against Thranduil's shoulder. "What are you thinking?" he asked as I brought my head forward again.
Sighing again, I fidgeted with Thranduil's sleeve. "It's just...Smaug still holds Erebor, does he not?" He nodded.
"He laid waste to an innocent and thriving city of Men, and now holds dominion over one of the greatest kingdoms in Middle Earth." I shut my eyes, blotting out the thoughts that began stirring. "I do not want to be capable of such evil."
Considering, Thranduil held me tighter, swaying slightly. "Your conscience is the driving force of your decisions," he said after a while. "It is like the day and the night. There is a dark side, and there is a light side. You just need to make sure that the dark side is always asleep."
I smiled, as my head cleared again, the dark thoughts dissipating like dew in the sun. Admiring the beautiful view, I sighed, content with the moment, using my imagination to shrink Erebor from a stolen Dwarvish Dragon's den to nothing more than a lonely mountain peak in the distance.
~~~~~~~~
I jumped off a low branch, landing on the ground on two feet. The sun was at its zenith in the sky, which meant it was a spider's lunchtime. We certainly didn't want to be caught out here when they came crawling about. Hand in hand, we walked back happily, chatting and laughing together like old friends. After walking for a while, we arrived in a small clearing, bordered with little squatting bushes, where I stopped to gaze up through the thick foliage. Through the thick branches you could see a bit of sunlight. It was one of the rare spots on the ground of the dark forest where you could catch a glimpse of the outside world.
Thranduil put his head on top of mine, implicitly showing off our height differences, and together, we looked up through to the sky, enjoying what little light of the heavens shone through to the ground.
Suddenly, a rustle sounded from behind us, disrupting the peaceful silence. Thranduil and I exchanged a look.
He pushed me behind him, drawing his sword. "Stay behind me," he said. Even though I knew how to defend myself perfectly fine, I was still in no state to fend for myself - I was still weak from my injuries from Dol Guldur. I had a strange feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach; like bees swarming in a hive; something telling me that whatever was lurking in the shadows was not something - or someone - I wanted to see.
I was right.
Out of the bushes hobbled a haggard old woman, hunched over a cane. I went still.
To someone else, perhaps, anyone else, she would look harmless - nothing more than a sweet old lady. A pensioner lost on her way.
But I knew otherwise.
She was the bane of my life. She was the cause of my pain. The cause of my scars. The cause of my heartbreak. The cause of my torture, my walls; she was the root of every bad thing that happened in my life after I had run away from these woods all those years ago.
She was the cause of my curse.
I stormed past Thranduil, a thousand years worth of anger bubbling to a point in my veins as I threw off her hood. Her head jerked up with unnatural speed for a woman of her age, and her blood-red eyes instantly snapped to mine. Those eyes...those eyes I still often dreamed about and woke up quaking with fear in the middle of the night...
I froze as her eyes seemed to penetrate my very soul, breaking into my mind and unfolding and unveiling all the secrets and memories I had locked away; every trauma, every death, every swipe of my blade, every breakdown I had ever experienced. They all flashed by my eyes so intensely that I couldn't take it. I screamed out in pain and fell to my knees, blinded by the faces and flashing lights that seared my eyes.
"Celegwen!" Somewhere in the murky distance, I heard Thranduil's voice cry out and barely made out his figure as he came rushing to my side. "She....she cursed..." I managed to speak as the world spun like stars. I frantically grasped his hand, eyes wide. "Me...." My voice crackled, failing, and no more words came from my lips.
"Stop!" Thranduil commanded, trying to muster the voice of a king but panic seeped in as his voice began to break. "Stop whatever you are doing to her!" He leaped up from my side and swung his blade at her waist, but it simply swiped through her, no damage done. Though it sent burning pain through my neck, I cocked my head, confused. Thranduil widened his eyes in alarm and grasped my hand tightly, falling to his knees.
She laughed. Wrinkles on her face that would look beautiful and carved on anyone else looked vicious on her. "You fool!" she sneered. "Nothing can kill me!" A dark cloud spread out from behind her, and her eyes turned to black pits as she began floating above the ground like a ghost. She was a spirit; a curse that did not belong in this world -
The thought halted as my heart suddenly felt as if it was shrinking; as a strange yet powerful pain tore through my chest. I howled out in pain, as I felt something vital in my neck snap.
"Celegwen!" Thranduil cried, trying to hold onto my flailing hand as he fumbled for his sword.
"It's....her....she's...." I groaned in pain. "Her curse...."
From behind us, the sorceress crowed out an unnatural laugh. "The wench's curse has taken its course, O King," she sneered. "And now since she will not serve the One, I have no further use of her." She clenched her fist, as a blast of pain sliced through my heart and I rose up and fell back onto the grass, squirming in the dirt, writhing in pain.
"Celegwen!" Thranduil said in a panic.
Deep down somewhere, as I writhed across the ground, I understood. I knew what was before me. "She's... she's..." I made out. "She's...draining...me...until I'm...no longer..."
"Until you're no longer what? Tell me!" Thranduil shouted over the wind that was suddenly gusting from the North. His golden hair whipped around his face, and I embraced the sight perhaps for the last time, bringing up my hand to stroke the side of his face and offering a bloody smile. My time was ending.
I gulped as the word tumbled from my lips.
"...alive."
Thranduil P.O.V
My mind went blank for a moment as the word she had uttered sank in. "No, Celegwen!" I croaked, her hand beginning to go limp in mine. Hot tears began forming in my eyes. I refused to believe that she was going to die. I had just gotten her back. No. Not again. Not again!
A cloud of swirling anger and hurt began festering in my chest. The witch was going to drain the life out of Celegwen - because Celegwen wouldn't fight for the dark powers. Celegwen would either die immediately or remain a Dragon forevermore. I did not know which one would be a worse fate.
I was not going to let her die. I had to do something.
Anger clouded over my logic and started to control my movements. My blood began boiling for all the love I had lost over the years. My father. My mother. My son. My wife. And now - Celegwen's life hung in the balance. I had lost every person I had ever lost - to death, to shadow, to loss, to distance.
I was not going to lose my queen.
I got to my feet, leaving Celegwen's side, bracing against the fierce winds that were sweeping me back. I stormed towards the dark cloud and found the sorceress who had caused Celegwen so much pain standing in the centre, revelling in the life she was seeping from the Elleth I loved. My face twisted into a growl as I snarled viciously.
She saw me coming and grinned evilly. "You have come to your death, Opherion," she proclaimed, her voice booming with power. "The power in my veins cannot be destroyed! All I need to do is end that cursed Elleth's life once and for all, in the name of the One!" She spread out her arms, sending a shockwave of power. Behind me, I could hear Celegwen groaning in pain.
Her words simply bounced off me as I were wearing armour. "Power cannot be destroyed," I said, coming face to face with her. "But wielders can."
I plunged my sword straight into her heart, twisting it all the way around. She let out a screech so loud and piercing, I yelled as the hideous sound burned my ears. The dark cloud around her was writhing around, confused and strangled as the sorceress wailed in pain. Now was the time.
I leaped away from her and watched her body crumble to the ground. Her power ceased, folding back into her like dark thread as the last seconds of her life ticked away. I heard a yelp from behind me and saw darkness shooting out of Celegwen's chest, like arrows made of dark mist, firing into the sky. I could do nothing but hold her hand and watch as the curse she had dealt with for so long escaped from her at last.
After what seemed like a millenium, the sorceress fell to her knees behind us, the life draining out of her eyes. Slowly, I stood up and approached her cautiously. Her skin was cold as ice and her eyes were white. After some time, her body crumbled to dust, and was blown away by a phantom silver wind.
She was dead.
I sighed in relief, slumping to my knees, before I remembered Celegwen.
She was limp, and her pulse was fading. I did not know the extent of the damage the magic did to her - but I had heard and witnessed enough. The road to recovery would be long - both physically, and mentally. I picked her up gently, mindful of her wounds, and headed back towards home. An innocent morning stroll had turned into a reeling nightmare.
This was a wound that could not be healed by the best healers, even Elrond. This was an internal wound, one that could only heal with the bearer's strength.
All I could do was wait.
Hey guys! This chapter was pretty intense aye?
I hope you liked it! I actually have guests downstairs but I "escaped" to my room and started being antisocial :P
It's like 11 pm I should be getting some shut-eye
Goodnight!
residenthobbit49 :)