For those of you who are writing a Thranduil love story, you may or may not find this chapter offensive. Let's just say I got more in touch with his "cold side." You'll see why.
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Out of the blue a female elf leapt into the scene, killing three spiders simultaneously. I watched in awe as she shot a bow in one of the creatures' heads.
"Throw me your dagger, quick!" Kili exclaimed. Tauriel glared at him whilst stabbing another spider.
"If you think I'm giving you a weapon, dwarf, you're mistaken!" With that she threw the knife directly into the spider behind him.
Legolas returned his gaze to me before commanding his guards to search the dwarves. He waltzed over to Gloin and pulled a picture frame out of his pocket.
"Hey! Give it back! That's private!" Gloin sputtered. Legolas opened it and looked at a picture of a dwarf.
"Who is this? Your brother?"
"That is my wife!"
"And what is this horrid creature? A goblin mutant?"
"That's my wee lad, Gimli."
Legolas raised his eyebrow in contempt and I growled soflty. Who did he think he was? Sure, I suppose all people had egos, but elves seemed to be the most pompous of them all. As I was thinking of ways to beat the elven prince within an inch of his life, male guard walked up to me and glanced at my sword.
He had quite an unusual appearance for an elf. His white hair was cropped short and his pale green eyes bored into mine.
Rolling my eyes, I handed him Baratinu. Once his hands made contact with it, he gasped in surprise and dropped the weapon.
That's when I saw his hands had been burned. My mouth fell open as I picked Baratinu off of the ground. "Amin hiraetha." I said.
The guard just glared at me before skulking away. Kyja, what was that? Mithren asked.
I have no idea. I responded. That has never happened before. I wasn't lying, either. It was the first time I'd ever seen Baratinu do something like that to another person. Was the sword enchanted?
"Gyrth in yngyl bain?" Legolas asked Tauriel.
"Ennorner gwanod in yngyl na nyryn. Engain nar." She replied.
A guard then handed Legolas Thorin's sword, Orcrist. He inspected it carefully before adressing all of us.
"Echannah i vegil hen vin Gondolin. Magnannen nan Gelydh. Where did you get this?" He asked.
"It was given to me." Thorin replied. Legolas pointed the sword at him and smirked.
"Not just a thief, but a liar as well. Enwenno hain!" He commanded.
The elves then led us away to Mirkwood. Tauriel walked beside me and I clenched my fists. Why must my personal space constantly be invaded?
"So, what are you? You certainly don't resemble a dwarf." She murmured. I laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
"No, I am not a dwarf. I am a skin-changer, one of the last ones on Middle Earth." I said.
Tauriel's face was absolutely priceless. She didn't say anything else as she caught up with Legolas. So much for attempting to be friendly.
"This is not the end of it! You hear me?"
"Let us out of here!"
"Get off me!"
Each of the dwarves had their own insult saved as they were thrown into individual prisons. Kili gazed at Tauriel as she locked the door to his cell.
"Aren't you going to search me? I could have anything down my trousers." Kili snickered. I stifled a laugh as Tauriel haughtily slammed the door.
As I attempted to enter a cell, I was stopped by a guard. Once I saw his face, I realized he was the one whom I accidentally burned.
"The king wants to see you." He growled.
"What an honor!" I hissed, following him towards the throne room. Surprisingly he let me walk behind him, which I considered to be extremely unwise.
"You do realize I still have my weapon?" I asked. "I could harm you in a moment's notice."
The elf still didn't answer me. I sighed dramatically and stroked the handle of my sword. "Do you even have a name?"
"People call me Zylondír." He replied. I ran the name over my tongue and smiled. Zylondír.
Mithren, who had been sitting on my shoulder the whole time, ruffled her feathers and looked in my direction.
Are you smitten with a certain elf? She teased.
Of course not. I insisted.
Then why are you always looking at him?
Well-
And why are you blushing as we speak?
Mithren you need to
"We're here." Zylondír said. He opened the door and led me into the throne room. Overall, everything was beautiful.
Once I got closer, I saw Thorin facing away from King Thranduil, his face filled with anger. His eyes met mine before whirling back around to face the king.
"I would not trust Thranduil, the great king, to honor his word should the end of all days be upon us!" He bellowed. "You lack all honor! I've seen how you treat your friends. We came to you once, starving, homeless, seeking your help, but you turned your back. You turned away from the suffering of my people and the inferno that destroyed us! Imrid amrad ursul!"
Thranduil then leapt towards Thorin and put his face directly next to his. "Do not talk to me of dragon fire. I know its wrath and ruin. I have faced the great serpents of the north."
His face began to contort as parts of his cheek melted away. I blinked away the tears in my eyes as I hid behind one of the pillars. Why was this bothering me?
Zylondír reached out to comfort me, but I slapped his hand away. "Get out." I growled. He sighed and walked out the door.
By this time Thranduil had motioned to the guards to take Thorin away. "Stay here if you will, and rot. A hundred years is a mere blink in the life of an elf. I am patient. I can wait." He roared.
I hid in the shadows until they left the room entirely. As I ran up the stairs, I unsheathed Baratinu and held it in front of me defensively.
"Are you here to kill me?" Thranduil sneered.
"I am afraid not. If I did plan to kill you, it would've been quick- but a little messy. One slit along the throat and the person's dead within a minute. You should try it sometime."
Thranduil laughed softly to himself as he descended from his throne. "So why exactly are you here?"
"I believe you called for me. Unless I am standing in the presence of a liar."
He pulled out his sword and held the tip of it under my chin. "You should know better than to provoke me, child."
Child? Child? I am no child.
I gripped Baratinu tightly and pointed it at his neck. "You're right, I should know better. But know this, King of Mirkwood."
Kyja, what are you doing, he's a king! Mithren exclaimed.
I put Baratinu back in its scabbard and glared at him. "Everything and everyone I loved has been taken away. You will never have any leverage over this skin-changer!"
As I began to walk away, Thranduil cleared his throat demandingly. "So you do not even want to hear my offer?" He taunted.
I turned around and faced the snide king who had also put his sword away. "You are not even worth my time, you hû ú-gaun! Mítho orch!" I cried.
Zylondír rushed into the room and bowed to Thranduil. "My king, is there a problem?" He asked.
"There is not. She was just about to leave. Why don't you take her to the torture chamber, now that I think of it? After all, she said there is no one she cares for anymore. We'll just have to find that out."
My jaw tightened as Zylondír led me away from Thranduil. "I'm sorry." He murmured. "You should've known not to agitate him."
I said nothing as we passed by the dwarves. "Kyja, where are you going?" Ori chirped. Zylondír and I stopped, and I gazed at the young dwarf compassionately.
"Ori, listen to me. No matter what happens, you all must complete this quest. Do you understand?" His face became ashen white as his eyes widened.
"You don't mean you-"
"I'm sorry, Ori." I managed a smile as Zylondír clenched my arm and dragged me from the company.
All of a sudden, I noticed that Mithren had left me again. I started off alone, and apparently I will end alone.
I gazed at the place around me, curious if it would be the last time I would see sunlight.
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Do you see why I mentioned that blurb at the beginning?
I know, I'm extremely cruel. Some of you may say that Thranduil would never do such a thing.
Well, he just did.
You hû ú-gaun! = You cowardly dog!
Mítho orch! = Go kiss an Orc!
Picture below is of Zylondír. Quite handsome, don't you think?