Home Soon, Love (Book 1)

38 Remembrance Is A Promise One Should Never Make

LEGOLAS POV

I scarfed down the feast in front of me with caution. Baeltrice had let me out of my prison to dine with her for lunch. "My lady, the report" Askit, her second in command handed her a folder at the table. She set her glass of wine down and smiled at the report's appearance. "Thankyou Askit, you can leave now" she flicked her wrist and the skittish man was gone in an instant.

"Good news, Legolas" Baeltrice beamed, standing from her chair and making her way to my end of the long table. I set down my fork as the folder was placed next to my plate. "Why don't you open up the file and read every detail." she picked a grape from the table, plopping it into her mouth. "Or I shall tell you if you refuse to look for yourself". 

She was right, for I hadn't moved another muscle in effort to look at the report.

"Whatever you have shall not persuade me to have Latalia killed." My fists clenched tightly underneath the golden table I was sitting at. "Oh we do not need you to do that anymore.

 She is already dead." Baeltrice now sat back at her own seat, her eyes filled with pleasure from what she has caused. 

"You mean not of what you said" my voice deepened to keep from cracking. "You would not comply to what I needed of you. So we went out ourselves to Edoras and killed her. She was laying next to a small stream, eyes closed and taking in the sounds around her. She heard everything but my men running towards her, their long swords thirsty for her blood." she smiled deeply, watching me fall apart.

"You lie!" I pounded the golden table as hard as I could muster, leaving a small dent among the metal. "Askit, bring me Latalia." a pair of footsteps were heard running off down a corridor, but soon returned. A white cloth encasing something was laid in front of me on the table, the foul smell stinging my nose. "She has already begun rotting." Baeltrice walked over to the object and unwrapped the cloth. 

I gasped at what it held.

There lay my lady Latalia, my love, my future betrothed. Her hair began losing its shine from the slow decay taking her body. Her skin grew pale and seemed to sink in around the spaces where bone did not occupy. "Latalia" I ran to the body, cupping my love's face. My fingers traced down to the necklace she wore, the promise ring I gave her still around it. "Why would you do such a thing!" I lashed out and made my way to slit Baeltrice's throat with my table knife, but Askit held me back. I stabbed his abdomen with the blade and wiggled out of his grasp to her.

"You shall not live to see another day again, for your time is over" I held the knife to her throat for a split second before beginning to slice. Yet once I drew just a little bit of blood, I was held back by multiple guards. "Lock him in here with his precious love. He deserves to have his fragile elf heart collapse from his loss." She held a napkin to her throat before storming off. The guards ran off and locked all entrances to the dining room till I was alone with the corpse.

I dragged myself over to her still beautiful face, my eyes already spilling with tears. She lay on the table in a blue cloth dress and small braids in her dark brown hair. My heart seemed to shatter at her lifeless bodice, how calm it had seemed. I leaned over and kissed her forehead ever so lightly, afraid she could break under my touch at any moment. And with every second that came to pass, I seemed to shatter even more.

I would never forget or move on from this moment.