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MARISTELA AND THE DWARVES WERE IN BARRELS BENEATH THE CELLAR awaiting for Bilbo to join them so they wouldn't leave him behind. Bilbo falls into the water, he surfaces and grabs onto Nori's barrel receiving cheers from the Dwarves. "Well done, Master Baggins," Thorin appraised the Hobbit who half waves in thanks and manages to sputter out go to the Company, they immediately allowed the barrels to move with the current of the river. "Come on, let's go!" Thorin called to the others, Maristela frowned knowing she had lost her mother's dagger and the Sword of Raelia.
The Dwarves paddle with their hands as the river pulls them along, Fíli and Kíli kept Maristela's barrel close to them knowing that the King would not be keen to let her go. Woodland Elves rush along the passages in the Woodland Realm after being alerted of the prisoner's escapes. The Company emerge into the sunlight and Thorin spots a waterfall ahead of them, "Hold on!" The Dwarves, Bilbo, Maristela, and the barrels plunge through the rapids, then float swiftly down the raging river. Legolas, followed by other Elves, emerged from a gatewat and sees them floating away.
"Holo in-annon! (Shut the gate!)" Legolas orders catching Maristela's attention, she turns her head to the Elf Prince and sighs. An Elf with him blows on a horn; as the Company in the river, they see a guardpost built above the river. The heavily armored Elves standing guard there hear the horn and come to attention; one of them pulls a lever, causing the heavy metal sluice gate to block the river. The Company in their barrels comes to a stop at the gate, unable to float further. "No!" Thorin smacked his hands against the gate while Maristela looked up at the ledge above the heavy gate.
The barrels pile into each other; the Elven guards draw their swords, but one is suddenly shot in the back with a black arrow. Several growling orcs swarm over the guardpost killing the Elves. Multitudes of Orcs run in from the bushes with Bolg, the son of Azog, leading the small army. "Watch out! Those are Orcs!" Bofur called out to the Elves and Company. "Gorid! Zib! Goridug! (Slay them all!)" Bolg ordered and the Orcs began throwing themselves at the Dwarves in the barrels; Bilbo manages to kill one with Sting, and Dwalin elbows another in the face.
Maristela notices Kíli's eyes on the lever, she knew what he planned to do but it would put him out in the open; so pushing from her barrel, she pushes on his shoulder and rushes over the barrels. "MARI!" The brothers shouted gaining the Company's attention. "Capture the Elleth!" Bolg ordered in Orcish, his sneer focused on Maristela as she used a large branch to knock an Orc into the ground, she twirled around blocking an arrow with the branch. "Mari!" Dwalin called as an Orc snuck up behind her, she swung around with the branch and sent the Orc towards the large Orc who had stolen a sword and drove it into the Orcs head.
Dwalin pulled the sword free and threw it to Maristela, she immediately caught the blade and blocked the swing of an Orc before parrying him back until she managed to knock his sword free and drive her own blade through his head. She grabbed the spare weapon and threw it to Bofur who used it to kill an Orc that got too close to Bilbo who had been distracted with another Orc. Legolas, as he overpowers the Orc he was fighting, spots Maristela fighting her way towards the lever; a part of him wanted to let her and the others escape while the others part of him didn't wish to disappoint his father.
Bolg notices how close Maristela has gotten to the lever, bodies lay behind her causing him to notice how his numbers were dwindling from her experience in fighting. Bolg pulls his bow free and nocks an arrow into place before releasing the arrow as Maristela reaches for the lever, the arrow hits Maristela in her calf causing her to stumble forward from it, panting. "MARI!" Fíli screamed out in anger, he moved to rush to her but was stopped by the Orcs approaching. Maristela groans from the searing pain that tears through her leg, the burn of skin alerted her that it wasn't an ordinary arrow.
She reaches for the lever but another electric shock of pain burns through her, she fell back onto the bridge and closed her eyes wishing that she had the ability to heal herself but she knew she couldn't, not after saving Thorin's life so recently; there were always limitations to magic and power. Bolg strings another arrow while Thorin looks up at the Elleth in shock, he couldn't lose someone he deemed a dear friend. "Mari..." Thorin breathed out as an Orc leaped over towards Maristela but an arrow suddenly flies into its head. Maristela looks over and sees Tauriel running through the bushes.
"Gor'-ash! Gor golginul! (Kill her! Kill the She-Elf!)" Bolg ordered as Tauriel took out another Orc that got too close, Kíli watching Tauriel with adoration for saving his friend. Serveral Orcs rush at Tauriel and Maristela; Legolas and other Elves appear from the bushes and shoot them down. As Tauriel, Legolas, and the other Elves fight the Orcs, Maristela manages to grab the lever and pull it, opening the sluice gate letting the Dwarves in their barrels through. Maristela then falls onto her back panting from the pain that blazed within her veins, the feel of poison seeping deeper into her bloodstream.
The Dwarves in barrels fall down another waterfall and float down the river, Bolg notices straight away with a sneer. "Khozdayin obguryash! Abgurid! (After them)" Bolg ordered his remaining army, spotting Maristela as she manages to slide herself off the ledge and into her empty barrel that the brothers had been holding in place for her. As she lands in it, the shaft of the arrow in her leg breaks off on the edge of the barrel causing her to yell out painfully. Legolas distractedly looks over at her and is attacked by an Orc, but manages to kill it quickly. The remaining Dwarves and Bilbo plunge over the waterfall and continue floating down the rushing river as the Orcs follow.
The Dwarves try to paddle and steer with their hands, but to no avail; the river is running too wild. As they come to a narrow part of the river, Orcs in either side begin shooting arrows at them. Meanwhile, back at the guardpost, Tauriel continues fighting Orcs. Legolas leaps to the top of the guardpost as well, his eyes trailing off to Maristela who was being assisted by Fíli and Bofur as best as they can; the clear show of pain on her face. Maristela gritted her teeth as each wave of the river knocked her leg into the side of the barrel, the action sending the painful tingle throughout her leg; slowly the pain edge towards her hip making her unsteady on her feet.
In the river, an Orc leaps at Thorin in his barrel, but he manages to kill it with a sword he grabbed earlier. Tauriel, Legolas, and the other Elves run after the Orcs chasing the Company, shooting them. An Orc jumps from an overhanging tree branch towards Balin, but Thorin throws his sword and pins the Orc to the tree; as the Orc drops its weapon. Thorin catches it while floating beneath him, and he throws it back to Bombur, who throws it to Nori, who throws it to Fíli, who kills an Orc too close to Maristela. An Orc leaps onto Dwalin's barrel, only for Dwalin to headbutt it off and steal its axe.
The Dwarves see a low-hanging tree branch stretched across the ruver in front of them, several Orcs on it. "Cut the log!" Thorin instructed the Company; as he floats under it, Thorin hits it with his sword, then Bofur hits it with his weapon, and Dwalin, right behind him, hits the branch with his axe, breaking it and causing the Orcs on it to fall into the river. Bilbo manages to pull himself up atop a floating barrel, his eyes landing on Maristela as she manages to swing the sword in her hand, decapitating an Orc that dared to attack her but he noticed the way she struggled with the movements, the arrow wound more severe than they thought.
"Bombur!" Dwalin shouts before throwing his axe to Bombur, who kills an Orc that had just jumped onto his barrel. The Orc's spear ends up pinning it to an overhanging tree branch; the other end of the spear catches onto Bombur's barrel and catapults it through the air and onto the riverbank, where the barrel rolls and tramples multitudes of Orcs. The barrel flips through the air to the other side of the river, where it tramples more Orcs. Eventually, the barrel comes to a stop, and Orcs surround it; however, Bombur kicks out the bottom, then sticks his arms holding axes through the side.
He then starts spinning rapidly with the axes extended, mowing down all the Orcs around him. He then runs towards the river, tosses his axe to one of the floating Dwarves, then gracefully jumps into an empty barrel. Maristela grins at Bombur's fight before she focused on the Orc rushing Fíli, she raised her sword and sliced down the Orcs back before driving the blade into its chest sending it tumbling into the river below them. Fíli turned to Maristela with wide eyes, she winked at him before wincing when her barrel knocked into a large rock causing her to hit the side of the barrel, the arrow head still in her leg; she pulled it free.
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Meanwhile, Legolas, Tauriel, and the other Elves have caught up to the Dwarves and Orcs, and they fight the Orcs. Legolas leaps over the river and lands with a foot on the heads of two Dwarves, from his vantage point, he shoots Orcs on either riverbank. He aims carefully and manages to skewer two Orcs through the head with one arrow before noticing the Orc about to leap onto Maristela, he pulls a dagger free and throws it into the head of the Orc. Maristela notices the familiar design of the dagger and ripped it free before turning her head to Legolas, he had indirectly returned her mother's dagger to her and she was grateful for that.
Legolas continues fighting Orcs using the heads of floating Dwarves as stepping stones to get across the river. While he is preoccupied fighting an Orc, another Orc runs up behind him and raises its sword to kill him; Thorin, from his barrel in the river, throws his sword and manages to kill the Orc behind Legolas. Legolas and Thorin look at each other with some sort of understanding; Legolas stops pursuing them as the Dwarves continue floating down the river. Legolas' eyes follow Maristela as she leaves with the Dwarves, his heart aching as she disappears down the river.
As Legolas watches the Company float away, an Orc draws it bow and aims at him; it shoots, but its arrow is suddenly deflected in the air by Tauriel's own arrow. As Legolas spins around in surprise, Tauriel attacks the Orc and forces it to its knees; just before she can decapitate it with her knife, Legolas stops her. "Tauriel! Dartho! Ú-no hono. Ho hebo cuin. (Tauriel! Wait! This one we keep alive)," Legolas instructed her, she nodded her head. Bolg and his remaining Orcs continue chasing after the Dwarves under Bolg's orders, "Ban khozdai-go! Sha-mogi obguryash! (After them! Cut them off!)"
Legolas stares after the Company for a second, then turns and heads back toward the Woodland Realm. Tauriel watches the Dwarves floating away, being chased by Orcs, and looks conflicted as to whether or not she should follow them or Legolas. Tauriel worried for Maristela, her wound seemed far more worse than she presented, and Tauriel's heart seemed to crave Kíli's presence and she was worried for him. She shook her head and moved to lead the Orc after Legolas, she knew they needed answers and if it came down to it, she would leave to pursue the Company in hopes to help them and Maristela herself.
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Legolas and Tauriel have brought their captured Orc to King Thranduil's throne room, Legolas stood with his knife pressed to the Orc's neck as King Thranduil paces around it. "Such is the nature of evil. Out there in the vast ignorance of the world it festers and spreads, a shadow that grows in the dark. A sleepless malice as black as the oncoming wall of night. So it ever was; so will it always be. In time, all foul things come forth," King Thranduil spoke as he paced around the Orc. "You were tracking a company of thirteen Dwarves and a fourteenth member, an Elleth. Why?" Legolas asked the Orc. "No fourteenth; not any more. The She-Elf, we stuck her with a Morgul shaft," The Orc replied.
Legolas felt himself stiffen while Tauriel looked up at Legolas worried, she knew her best friend showed interest in the Elleth. "The poison is in her blood. She'll be choking on it soon," The Orc continued only angering the Elf Prince, his heart racing; King Thranduil took notice of his son's tense posture. "Answer the question, filth," Tauriel sneered at the Orc. "Sha hakhitz khunai-go, Golgi! (I do not answer to dogs, She-Elf!)" The Orc snapped out at her, Legolas pushes the Orc a bit as Tauriel whips out her knife. "I would not antagonize her," Legolas warned though he was fighting the urge to kill the Orc himself.
"You like killing things, Orc? You like death? Then let me give it to you!" Tauriel sneered before rushing forward with her knife but is interrupted by King Thranduil, "Farn! Tauriel, ego! Gwao hi. (Enough! Tauriel, leave! Go now)." The Orc snarls at her but Tauriel manages to regain her composure and leaves, her mind focused on Maristela knowing how much she means to Kíli; And even if he is confused, she means something to Legolas, she wouldn't let her die, not when Legolas could have a chance at love. "I do not care about one dead Elleth. Answer the question. You have nothing to fear. Tell us what you know and I will set you free," King Thranduil spoke.
"You had orders to kill them ─ why? What is Thorin Oakenshield to you?" Legolas asked the Orc ignoring his father's words in connection to Maristela. "The Dwarf runt will never be King," The Orc sneered. "King? There is no King under the Mountain nor will there ever be. None would dare enter Erebor, whilst the dragon lives," Legolas told the Orc. "You know nothing! Your world will burn!" The Orc snapped back. "What are you talking about? Speak!" Legolas demanded. "Our time has come again. My Masyer serves the One. Do you understand now, Elfling? Death is upon you. The flames of war are upon you--" The Orc is cut off by King Thranduil beheading him.
"Why did you do that? You promised to set him free," Legolas pointed out to his father. "And I did. I freed his wretched head from his miserable shoulders," King Thranduil replied to his son nonchalantly. "There was more the Orc could tell us," Legolas exclaimed. "There was nothing more he could tell me," King Thranduil told his son before he turned and walked away, sheathing his sword. "What did he mean by the 'flames of war'?" Legolas asked the King. "It means they intend to unleash a weapon so great it will destroy all before it," King Thranduil answered him, Legolas frowning upon hearing those words.
King Thranduil addresses his guards, "I want the watch doubled at all our borders. All roads, all rivers. Nothing moves but I hear of it. No one enters this kingdom, and no one leaves it." Legolas frowned hearing his father's words, he left the throne room and approached the table that held the sword of Raelia, his fingers lightly brushing across the hilt of the blade, with a sigh, he grabbed it and rushed for his room. With the things he needed for travel ready, he headed for the front gates attempting to look normal before being informed that Tauriel had left; with a small smirk, Legolas followed after his best friend in hopes of reaching Maristela before the poison kills her.
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「 ✦ 𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 ✦ 」
Some changes to the original script in regards to Legolas but I'm sure y'all don't mind the originality. Plus, I mention I wouldn't do translation anymore but decided to keep whatever is in the script, translate that, but any original dialogue will just be pointed out.
Thoughts on their escape?
Thoughts on Maristela being hit instead of Kíli with the morgul arrow?
Thoughts on Fíli's protective nature?
Thoughts on Legolas' protective nature?
Thoughts on Thorin's worry for Maristela?
Thoughts on King Thranduil's low opinion for Maristela?
Extra thoughts on this chapter?
Theories? Suggestions? Predictions?
See you in the next chapter!