Estateillio

Plans for War

• "I would remind you, Lady Fairwen, that it was your kin that destroyed Doriath", Thranduil coolly replied. "And I would remind you, Lord Thranduil, that that action was born of desperation, for they had no hope left to strike against Angband and win, for Doriath did nothing to help them", she retorted, face sharp, and Elrond shot her a pointed look.

• "But bringing up old quarrels will only waste time now. Important is that Thorin cannot hope to hold the mountain with thirteen only long enough for his kin to arrive. Should you help him, he would be indebted to you, my Lord", Estateillio inquired and the last point gave the elf king reason to pause and his expression turned thoughtful.

• "You are dismissed", he then told her and the Peredhel and she, who had seen his change of emotion, complied and they left the grand hall.

• "Art thou sure that he will listen, Hráven?"
• "Thranduil is still mourning Îdhiaviel. When the dwarves passed through here he asked only for her jewellery to be returned to him and he would have helped them, but instead Thorin insulted him. This opportunity he will take, I am sure, for it is only his hatred of dwarves that now keeps him within Eryn Galen while an orc army is on his doorstep. We have hope and so shouldst thee."
• "Yes, hope. Hope has always prevailed and will ever bring light into the darkest of hours. It has worked for us long ago and thus shall work for us again and again, as long as we need it."
• "And even when our paths no longer lead through darkness, hope shall always stay with us, until the end and beyond."
• "Poetic, Hráven, truly! Thou soundest like Atar."
• "Well, Haru taught both our fathers and Atya taught us. Of course I sound like him."
• "I miss them."
• "We know, we do too... as we once said, one day, when the darkness is truly defeated and the exile of the Noldor lifted, we shall travel to Valinor and you shall be reunited with your Silver Lady and we with our Star Hunter and then we shall plead in front of the Valar to have our family released from the Halls of Mandos and we shall do so until they relent even if the whole of Valinor fights us!"
• "Truly, sometimes I do not know who it is I'm talking with, Rendi."
• "We know."

• And Estateillio refilled her quiver, for many of her arrows had been burned in the fight with Smaug and in the Iron Hills they had not long enough ones to be compatible with her bow.

• And not an hour later, Thranduil announced his decision to match against the orcs and ordered for his army to prepare.

• And the cousins would have joined them, had a messenger not arrived from one of the outposts and he reported that they had seen Esgaroth in flames from afar and large groups of orcs coming from the south.

• It was, between them, quickly decided that they would ride out and search for survivors and bring them into the safety of Eryn Galen and Thranduil begrudgingly agreed that that was a good idea and so they set out, Estateillio on Illúmdil and Elrond on Vélornien, who had once carried Maglor, and like shadow and light they were as they raced through the forest, for his coat was darker than the night and hers was as golden as the light of Laurelin.

• And it was in the early afternoon that the four arrived at the shores of the Long Lake and they beheld the destruction that the orcs had caused and their hopes fell, but then the elleth asked a bird that was perched on one of the branches of a tree if they had seen the battle and, if yes, if they had noticed any survivors and the bird directed them to a small glade on the eastern shores of the lake.

• And there they found maybe 80 people who were cold and frightened and desperately trying not to make a nose and to help their wounded.

• And quietly they talked to Bard, their leader, and confirmed that, indeed, Smaug was slain and that Erebor would be a safe place if it weren't for the orcs that stood between them and the mountain and the imminent danger everyone there currently faced.

• They advised him to seek shelter in Mirkwood which was already theirs if they so wished to take it and to that Bard replied:

• "Thank you, we must, my Lady, my Lord, for without your warning we would have walked into the hands of our enemy and none of us would have survived. Gladly we accept the offer of shelter, for winter is coming and many were injured during the fighting. But many still wish to fight against the orcs who took their family from them and though we had little dealings with the elves before, besides our trade, we would now ask to fight besides you, for we will not stand by as our homes are destroyed and the lands of our youth burn."

• And Estateillio inclined her head to acknowledge his decision and to show her respect towards their determination and then spoke: "At the first rays of the sun the elves of Mirkwood set out to fight, they should now be at the edges of their forest and take out small groups of orcs while planning the upcoming battles. I can lead you there, hidden from the enemy, and Lord Elrond will bring those who do not wish or are unable to fight safely to the halls of Thranduil where they may stay until the land is save to live in again."

• "I would like to-"
• "Shush! I'm stronger on the battlefield and accompanying the others to the palace will take time I could spent on helping others during battle. Besides, thou art the better healer here and they need every help with their wounds they can get."

• "Then it is decided", Bard declared and quickly the survivors of what would one day be known as the massacre of Esgaroth gathered into two groups, one was lead deep into the darkness of Mirkwood, protected by the power of Elrond, and the other stayed nearer to the forest's edge and travelled on barely-there paths north as swiftly as possible.

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Here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoyed it!
AT
P.S.: Peredhel is a title of Elrond and means Half-elven, Atar means father and Atya dad, Haru is grandfather. And I think I never said that Rendo means cousin and Rendi is the plural of that.
P.P.S.: I always thought there was a specific word for female hunter, huntress, because I read it, like, everywhere, but according to my dictionary huntress is not an english word? Can anyone help me out please, I kind of wish to know now which one is right?