𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 (𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈

"He's hopeless, my Lady. Why do you let this pitiful creature outside?" the guard said to me while we both watched him scramble in the trees.

"He has seen enough peril in his time. I do not know why he's brought here exactly, nor do I know his side of the story, but even the most hopeless deserve to get another chance," I replied. 

The discussion with the guard was concluded and I greeted him with a nod of the head. Before my leave, I looked at the captive. He was clamping to an old oak while he was rambling on and on to himself. I wonder what is going on inside his head to sound so troubled. He must have been lost, like all of us once were, I suppose.

As the successor of my father at the Woodlands court, all the taken measures in the realm were executed by the prince and his father, but they were devised by me. The approval of the King must be granted before these acts would come into being, but I do not want to bother him with something as insignificant as this, since the mauled being could never pass the guards unseen on his own. Thus, I took this decision upon myself. It's an awful cruelty to deny your prisoner the most essential thing for a living, therefore I refuse to do such things. He gets the food and water he needs and can take strolls in the forest under the strict supervision of our guards. 

Following the route to my room, I looked over my shoulder. The guards have encircled the oak and with the prisoner only climbing higher and higher, they were too busy keeping their eyes on him.  Normally, my day would be over by now, but there is one more thing I need to do. Turning to the right, I headed towards the armoury.

*

I was standing beside the battle practice fields, with a bow in my hand and a quiver of arrows resting on my back. As I took a deep breath in, I smelled the grass and blooming wildflowers. The sun was setting and the day would soon be over. Marvellous big trees on the edge of the fields were casting long shadows over the meadow and I wished I could stop time, but I couldn't. Training starts now.

My hands were shaking as I let the arrow fly and it fell disappointingly low, striking a low ring in the target.
"Shift your feet farther, and hold the arrow closer to your cheek," a soft voice said as gentle fingers pressed the bowstring to my cheek.
Slowly letting the bow down, I looked over to see Legolas smiling at me.

We were always around each other growing up, for living in the higher classes of Mirkwood is all I'd ever known. Over the years, when our duties were getting heavier, Legolas and I needed to team up, for the King still mourned the death of his beloved wife. He would hide in the shadows of his palace and he became weary and tactless over the years. Despite our best efforts, we witnessed the rapid decline of the kingdom right before our eyes, and there wasn't a single thing we could do about it. Luckily, we did manage to keep the spiders outside our borders. They do not dare to cross the Forest Road, still, I do not know how long that will take them. That's how the realm became what it is today, isolated and uninviting, but more importantly, that's how I met Legolas. 

His brown eyes flashed as he leaned away, crossing his arms over his chest, and saying: "I can teach you if you would like?" After nodding my head, he began to demonstrate how to properly hold a bow, and how to steady your aim. Letting the string go, the arrow flew straight to its target.

"Your turn," he said to me when handing me the weapon. He was watching me closely, although something else was on his mind, while I was trying to focus on the target. Just as I wanted to fire the arrow, he asked me why I was doing this. Why I was practising archery.  Weaponry and warfare aren't something I am very keen on doing, he knows that. Instead, I happen to love reading about history and lore.

"I figured it would come in handy. You know the rumours of the dragon in the north were true, right?" He nodded his head in slight confusion, not knowing why I was bringing it back up in the first place.

"Well, they say something is stirring in the south as well. Something much more dark and evil than that serpent of the north. And I do believe it's no amusing rumour to keep people talking. Those spiders on the other side of the woods are more numerous and dangerous than ever before. Something thrives them," I concluded while turning back to the Halls. The day had slowly made place for the night and dark clouds were rolling over the forest. A chill wind it brought. So, the breeze made the leaves dance on the rhythm of the night.

*

It seemed like a long time that I was lost in my thoughts. Thinking of what this new danger may be. Something inside of me tells me that this is something more. We are invaded by spiders and the dragon's arrival was just a few years ago. Evil is spreading much more quickly these days, but we aren't the only ones who'll be affected. No, this is not a battle of the Wood-elves alone.  Suddenly the touch of Legolas' warm hand made me aware of the world around me again.

"You're cold," he said with slight concern. "Here take this!" and he playfully threw his other glove at me.  "Good catch, Y/N!" he said, smiling after I caught it. The merry glister in his eyes would soon be gone when the dim moonlight shone upon his bare hand. The shimmering mithril ring drew his attention. The band is engraved with a simple pattern of leaves and flowers and the middle of each flower is encrusted with gems that twinkle like the stars themselves. A dull, sad look spread over his face. We both got transported back in time, back to that dreadful day.

"I still miss her so much. I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. There isn't even a grave or memory, " he stated. All the earlier joy in his voice was replaced by grief and sadness. A tear slowly rolled down his face.

"Legolas, look at me," I said, gently caressing his cheek. "You'll be fine, okay? It will take time, but it will pass. Though the wound is healed, a scar remains." He looks up from the ring on his finger and our eyes met. All the sorrow and pain from the last decades were visible in his eyes. How lonely he has felt, not having a single adult to fall back on. Not having a father to fall back on.

"Sooner or later he will realise your mother left more than those precious gems," I whispered underneath my breath.  No words were shared between us till home, though Legolas struggled to hold back tears when we were making our way to the skirt of the forest. It was hard to navigate through. The thick canopy barely let any moonshine through and it was exceptionally dark for a Summer night. It became more difficult to refill our supplies since this place became so grim and gloomy; nothing grows anymore.

As we get closer to the bridge running over the Forest River, the path widens and you can see the whole of the majestic heart of Mirkwood; the Elvenking's Halls. Only this time it isn't as great as it once was. It is raided with Orcs who butcher every Elf that crosses their way. The devastating screams of desperate people fill the air. Some even try and jump off the wall surrounding the castle, only to drown by the force of the river.

Then it hit me. I quickly ran to the slightly opened entrance and grabbed the bow hanging over my shoulder, when I heard what I thought was Legolas' distant shouting, demanding me to go back to him, but it got lost in all the shrieking voices between us. This isn't the first time I ignored royal orders, yet there's only one thing I can think of right now. 

When I passed the massive wooden gateway,  I drew my bow in case danger was still near, but I got distracted by my surroundings. Tears blurred my vision while I looked across the courtyard. It was completely covered with the bodies of men, women and children. Some were still alive, hardly breathing and bleeding to death. The smell of blood invaded my nose,  and out of the blue, an Orc came towards me clasping my bow and drawing his sword. I was too late. A stinging pain took hold of me. Still, I managed to avert my bow downwards, swaying him to the ground and boring an arrow through his head. Making my way through the corpses, I immediately turned to the left, following the descending stairs to the dungeons. However, I was too late. The lock of the cell door was forced and the leaping blood trail was bearing towards the exit at the skirt of the forest. Following it to no avail, I realised that there was nothing I could do anymore. Gollum, our prisoner, escaped.

I hit my back against the cold stone wall and fell to my knees. Feelings of guilt filled my head and breathing became more and more difficult. Something broke inside of me. 

Many lives were already lost, just for a single soul I wanted to mend.

Rapid and heavy footsteps came closer. It ended my blurry thinking and I reached for my bow again.