"No." Mirialia answered in a sharp tone. "It is not my duty to give you pleasure, Grimmond."
The Lord of Heselon grimaced, got off the bed, and walked towards her angrily. "How dare you defy me?!"
Knowing where this would lead, the invisible wind fairies Cielo and Liath wasted no time. They could not let him touch her. As grown-up sylphs, they were able to master their power.
The attack was fast.
Strong winds hurled Grimmond onto the wall. This gave Mirialia a chance to escape and so she stormed out of the room and ran. Flying behind her was Cielo, guiding her towards Gilion's prison.
"This way, my lady!" she said.
As they neared the room, winds of Liath threw the guards outside a large window.
"Liath? You hurled them outside? With the key?" Mirialia said.
"Oh not really, my queen." Liath grinned and pointed a finger up.
She looked up and saw the key floating on mid-air. Grabbing it, she turned to the door and unlocked it. Mirialia stepped inside. The walls were made of rusty old metal, the floor hard cold stone. And on one of the walls an elf was chained, his head bent, long blond hair hanging over his face. His hands were bloody and stained his white cloth.
The queen stared in shock. She must have made some sound because the elf shifted and raised his head. Seeing him, hope has been regained.
"Gilion." she called him.
"Who are you?" The elf's voice was hoarse and dry.
"I'm here to help you."
~~O~~
Just beside the Anduin River, a royal camp has been settled. Inside the main tent, the Greenwood elves listened at Galion's report. From the rebels' hideout to Lenneth's change of garments, Thranduil gripped the armchair of his seat. Like puzzle pieces, he tried to put it all together. But hearing Glorfindel's name, everything was now getting clearer.
"Thranduil," Galion, his butler and cradle-brother said. "the queen might have infiltrated the Royal House disguised as a servant. It's the only way she could have gotten through without being noticed as a royalty."
He stood up from his seat and paced slowly.
"The rebels might have shown her a safe way to get in." Maethron added.
"And that would make Lenneth pretend as the queen, so no one would give her any suspicion once she gets inside the House." Glauron, the Elder said. "However, I still do not understand how Glorfindel fits into all of these."
"If she wanted to win this fight, the rebels are not enough." Thranduil finally spoke. "Glorfindel is with them, which means there's more to it."
"The queen has disobeyed you not once, and certainly not twice. Will you still be tolerating her actions this time, just like how Glorfindel has been doing?" Glauron asked grumpily.
"Who said I will?" the Elvenking smirked. "However, I could not help but feel amused of her clever plan. Though it was not clever enough."
Glauron sighed. "Well, what can I say. She's indeed the daughter of Anvanya. Quite rebellious."
"Oh do not fret, Glauron. She will face her consequences, that I assure you." Thranduil said. "But for now, I want her safety. Galion, bring several troops with you and advance in Carantheas. Make sure the land will be secured."
"As you wish." His butler obeyed and left immediately.
"Grimmond should prepare for his downfall." the Elvenking said bitterly.
~~O~~
"Bring Lyra to me at once! That wench!" Grimmond shouted as he walked outside his room.
I sense there's something in the wind. She's no ordinary woman.
Taking the captured elf, Mirialia led him to the tunnel. They encountered several guards but with the help of her friends, Gwath, Liath, and Cielo, they were able to get through. Gwath sent the last batch of the guards smashed to the wall.
"That's a powerful one." the queen complimented.
"Oh that's the Highwind, my lady." Cielo said. "Gwath was the first one to master it."
During the past years, Gwath was considered the weakest of all the five fairies. This led him to persevere more, and prove to the fairy world that he was not weak. Getting encouragement and support from his friends, he was able to master a power called Highwind. Small but strong tornado-shaped winds that could tear huts and small houses.
"Great job, bro!" Liath said out loud, seeing the unconscious guards on the floor.
"Thanks bro!" the spiky-haired Gwath grinned widely.
Opening the door of the tunnel, Fionn greeted them.
"Hello Lord Gilion!" her tiny voice said.
"My lady, here are your blades. I made sure they were kept hidden." she said to the queen.
"Oh, very good Fionn." Mirialia smiled. "Thank you."
"They're sylphs." Gilion murmured in disbelief.
"Yes. Listen, Gilion. Once you've reached the end of this tunnel, you must give the signal to the rebels outside." Mirialia explained.
"I understand, but my lady, the scroll was taken from us." the other replied.
"I will get it. Go now." was all she said before the entrance closed.
Holding firmly on her blades, the sylphs guided her to the weapons room. Seeing the men at work, Mirialia said the code out loud.
"The defiance!"
The men stopped and stared at her. She waited for a few seconds for a response. Diuval informed her about their secret codes, and she would supposed to hear an answer. One man finally stepped forward.
"The last white fire!" he shouted and raised his fist in the air.
The others shouted as well, confirming they were rebels.
"It is time." she said.
"What is Diuval's order?" one of them asked.
"Help me get through the vault." the queen answered.
Grabbing their weapons, they led her to the place. Forty-six men equipped with armor and swords, they fought the guards strongly. Soon, other rebels in disguise joined them, making a total of two hundred.
The rebellion began inside the House.
~~O~~
With all his remaining strength, Gilion arrived at the hideout. The men helped him and brought to Diuval.
"So it has begun," Diuval muttered under his breath.
"If you have more rebels inside, they should help the woman." Gilion said.
"Do not worry, mellon nin." Lenneth told him. "They will help her."
Just then, two men came in. Nervousness could be seen on their faces.
"Diuval," one of them said.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Uh..our place is being surrounded...by elves."
He stood up from his seat, eyes widened in shock. Glorfindel and Lenneth exchanged glances, while Gilion looked at them confusingly.
"Our kin? Are they my people?" he queried.
"We are not sure." the man said.
"It might have been him." Glorfindel nodded Lenneth.
"Who's him?" Diuval asked.
Glorfindel sighed. "Let's go outside."
The two elves, together with Diuval walked outside. They were greeted with elves clad in gold armor and helmet.
"Yes, it's him." Lenneth whispered nervously.
Mounted on his elk, the Elvenking marched towards them. Diuval stared in awe and bowed before him.
"Thranduil, King of Greenwood." he greeted.
The king nodded slightly but his gaze landed on Glorfindel, then to Lenneth.
"You might want to explain everything to me...Lenneth." Thranduil said sharply.
"My...my lord." Lenneth bit her lip.
"Set aside your anger, Thranduil." Glorfindel interrupted. "The revolt has begun."
"Galion are leading my soldiers to Carantheas. I trust that the land will be retrieved before sunset." Thranduil informed.
"Well, isn't that a good timing?" Glorfindel smirked.
"Is that the reason why you are here, my lord?" Diuval asked him.
"No," the Elvenking answered. "I'm here to aid your group to Heselon. Your men are not enough."
"I thank you for your assistance." Diuval replied.
Thranduil stared at the two elves.
"And I will reclaim my wife."
~~O~~
A message I received from a reader:
"@fcb_neymarzete: No prob ur book is definitely one of the best ever. I'm sure if Tolkien were alive even he'd be proud of ur work. Keep it up! Luv ur work!"
Well, that moved me to tears. However, I don't think Tolkien would be happy since this story had strayed so far from the book and it didn't follow majority of the canon story and timeline. But thank you so much, that was heartwarming.
To the people sending me messages, a lot of thanks to you. I dedicate this chapter to Annabanana2895. You are so kind. ^_^
If you are an Elrond fan, you might want to check out shadowspinner's Shadows Of Twilight. It's an Elrond/Celebrian story. Another wonderful tale.