happy gif for a sad chapter :(
play the audio when i tell you. trust me......
Eagle flying was supposed to be fun, and not at all traumatizing. Well, the traumatizing thing was that her father was out there in Ravenhill somewhere, and she had no idea if he was even alive or not, and she had to take an eagle to go look for him.
Fun, right?
The eagle soared over the sky, Anne using her Elven vision to look all over the place. She even looked at the place where Fili and Kili nearly died at, yet she found nothing but the same blood prints that were left. She checked all the halls, but to no avail. So she got on her eagle once more and flew in the air, Anne looking around.
"There!" she cried, pointing to the north.
Bodies were everywhere, both Elvish and Orc, as well as bats and a few fallen eagles. The eagle crowed and swooped down, slowing its course when he was close to the ground. Anne jumped off, running a short way forwards.
"Ada!" she shouted. "Thranduil?!"
She received no reply, and she started to walk on the battlefield. She looked around, feeling a slight pang of pain and sadness when she saw the faces of her dead kin: some were afraid, and some were peaceful, while others were determined.
That's when she saw a familiar gray and velvet cloak on the ground covered in both red and black blood. Anne shook her head fast, running across the area. She skidded to a halt and knelt, picking up the fabric and feeling it. Her heart dropped.
"ADA!" she screamed, standing up and clutching the cloak. "Father, where are you?! ADA!!"
There was a moan; Anne whipped her head forward. She felt her heart start to break as she ran forwards, skidding next the right side of a body that was underneath the carcass of an Orc. She grunted as she pushed the carcass to the side, choking back sobs.
"No. No, no, no, no, no!"
There he was, on the floor, three arrows pierced through his armor and in his chest. His blond hair was sticky with Orc blood, and there was blood running down the side of his mouth and his cheek. He was wheezing, coughing and trying to suck in air. Anne shook her head fast, putting his soft face in her hands. "Ada, stay with me, okay? You've got to... you've just got to hold on. Don't let go yet."
Thranduil just barely opened his eyes and swallowed, taking labored breaths and grabbing her hand with his gloved one. "Anne," he croaked, "you're alive."
"I'm okay, and so are you. You're okay, Ada," Anne said, her voice wavering.
Thranduil seemed to panic for a few moments. "Where's your brother? Where's Legolas? Is he safe? Is he alright?"
"He's okay," she promised.
He sighed painfully in relief. "Good."
Anne nodded her head, swallowing and trying to stay calm. "You're going to be okay, too. Just... just hold onto me and look into my eyes, and everything will be okay."
So Thranduil turned his head so he was staring into his daughter's scared eyes. Even though he knew she was also determined to not let him die, he found it impossible. She gripped his hand tightly and squeezed her eyes shut, inhaling deeply.
[START THE MUSIC AND READ WITH IT]
"I'm so sorry," she croaked. "This never would've happened if I didn't make that mistake all those years ago."
Thranduil blinked.
"I should have protected her, and I'm so sorry. You were right, Ada. And now you're dying because of me." Her voice broke, and she bit her bottom lip to keep from breaking down. "This is all my fault. Everything is my fault."
Thranduil tried to smile, sighing painfully. He shook his head, swallowing and taking a breath. "You were always so hard on yourself," he laughed. "You, my brave daughter, always blaming yourself when it's never your fault." He grinned. "I guess that's one more reason why you're so stubborn."
Anne was confused. "What do you mean?"
"You were never wrong," he answered. "You did exactly what you were supposed to do, and it killed me to let you go." He sighed. "But I did it to protect you, and to protect at all of us. I knew that the Orc filth would be after you, and I knew they would attack the kingdom."
Anne blinked. "They did, didn't they?"
"Numerous times until they finally figured out that you were gone," he answered weakly. "The forest grew sick and foul, and spiders were sent to watch us and spy until you finally came back." Thranduil exhaled and looked to the sky, his eyes heavy. "I only wish I could've told you this when you came home instead of saying those foul words so I could've gained your forgiveness."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ada, don't fade on me, okay?" Anne said, using her free hand to make him face her again and tap him lightly so his eyes remained open. She looked at him sadly, fighting her tears back. "I forgive you," she whispered. "I know you were just trying to do what was right."
Thranduil smiled. "Thank you," he breathed. "Farewell, my daughter."
"No. No, no, no, no, no. No. You are not allowed to leave me, you understand? You're going to live, and we are going to start over. We're going to get this right. Just—" She stopped mid-sentence, letting go of his hand to put one hand on his chest and wrap her fingers on one of the arrows, about to rip the shaft out of his body until Thranduil put his arm on her right shoulder.
"Leave it!" he grunted, gritting his teeth. "My time has come."
"Don't say that, Ada."
"No, listen to me—"
"Thranduil, stay still."
"Anne, listen to me!" Thranduil grunted once more.
"No, you listen! I am not letting you die! I'm not losing another piece of my family!"
Thranduil could see then how scared his daughter really was, and there were tears gliding down her face. She stared him in the eye, shaking her head slowly and pursing her lips. The Elven King tried to smile, using the hand that was on her shoulder to wipe her tears away. "You will make a lovely Queen," he whispered. "I want you to be happy, Anne. If staying with the Dwarf makes you feel comforted, then I support you."
Anne was at a loss for words. "Ada..."
"I should've been there for you," he said, more to himself than anything. "I should've had Lord Elrond bring you back home when the Orcs stopped their pursuit. I shouldn't have left you alone for so long like I did." He inhaled sharply, practically croaking his words out. "I should've been a better father Anne, and I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for leaving you." He coughed and looked to the sky, his breathing becoming uneven.
Anne panicked and held the hand that was resting diagonally across her chest and on her shoulder. "No, no, no, Ada, it's okay," she assured him. "You redeemed yourself, and that's all that matters."
Thranduil smiled weakly, taking a ragged breath. "I will see you in a different life," he said, a few tears streaming down his face. "Gi mellin, Anne."
Panic started to settle in. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Ada. Ada! No, don't you dare!"
The hand that was holding hers was getting weaker as Thranduil's eyes seemed to become heavy. She panicked and started making noises.
"Ada! No! Stop! Stop it!"
She heard heavy hoof beats behind her. She whipped her head back to see Legolas riding on a horse with healing Elves behind him, the elleth feeling the slightest bit of relief.
"Anne?" Legolas called.
"Toron, get over here!"
Legolas unsaddled his horse and started sprinting over, the Elves right behind him. Legolas slid next to her.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. I found him here with three arrows pierced in his chest," she answered shakily. "He's losing energy fast."
Legolas went on autopilot. "You need to move out of the way."
"What? No! I'm not leaving his side!"
Legolas took her shoulders and started to shake her. "Anne, you need to move."
"No! You can't make me! No!" She started thrashing around when strong arms grabbed her middle and started carrying her away, the rest of the Elves surrounding Thranduil. The person spun around and let go of her, Anne coming face-to-face with Thorin.
"You need to let your brother handle this," he said calmly.
"I'm not leaving my father!" She lunged forwards, but Thorin caught her by the middle again. He had to keep a thrashing and screaming Anne from going to Thranduil, her father speaking to Legolas while the Elves worked on him.
"That's my father," she croaked. She sunk to her knees pathetically, gripping Thorin's forearm for what seemed like dear life. Her eyes never on her dying father, choking back heavy sobs. Thorin sighed quietly and gently shushed her, one of his large hands under her elbow whilst the other one was stroking her hair, her head just underneath his chin.
Her world stopped spinning when she saw the Elves dip their heads and start to clear out. Legolas bowed his head, the tear slipping from his face and falling on their father not going unnoticed. He put his hand on his heart, then put it on Thranduil's chest before closing his eyes.
Anne could barely register her own scream for her father as she crawled forwards, forcing Thorin to let go of her. She scrambles towards her father next to Legolas, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"Ada, wake up," she pleaded, putting his face in her hands. "You can't do this to me. You can't..."
Anne trailed off, shaking her head repeatedly. The broken Princess' whole body was shaking as she slowly made eye contact with her brother, the elleth's bottom lip trembling fiercely and breathing unsteady.
Legolas, in fact, was the first to break down. Anne started to sob soon after, hiding her face in his chest. Legolas buried his head in her hair, holding her middle tightly. The children of Thranduil Oropherion wept over their father's body.
Legolas calmed down a little and inhaled sharply, seeing as that he has to be the older sibling at the moment. He squeezed his eyes shut and rocked back and forth, using his hand to brush his fingers through his sister's hair.
Anne seemed to be slowly shutting down as her body racked with heavy sobs. The Elf was shaking tremendously, and no amount of words could soothe her, nor could any person. Not Thorin, not her brother, not anyone. Only her father.
But alas, he was dead.
Thorin fumbled with his fingers as he looked down and sighed, intertwining his hands together and exhaling once more before singing:
Home is behind
The world ahead
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadow
To the edge of night
Until the stars are all alight
Mist and shadow
Cloud and shade
All shall fade
All shall...
Fade
~>~>~>~>~>
so.... it was thranduil after all.
but, guys, he died honorably. he didn't go out like a wuss, and he redeemed himself. cliché or not, i think something like this would've went down if this actually happened. he died protecting his daughter and his son, and he succeeded. he loved them both so much.
and now he is with his own love [Kaylana] in the Hall of Mandos.
oh, and how was the music?
moment of silence to realize that the last thranduil ever saw of his daughter was the traumatized look on her face.
you may proceed to cry now.