Third Age 3009
Spring gave way to summer and summer to autumn. Then winter's cold conquered everything. The wheel of time turned over and over again. Two decades and a few years passed in a flurry- a time of relative peace shadowed by the threat of war. Even in the midst of summer, it was as if the night prolonged in Greenwood, instating its new name of Mirkwood and the carefully preserved premises of the Elven folk at last slowly succumbed to the creeping plague.
With a sigh, Laerdil touched the rotten wood. It was dark, as if charred and hollow; a thick dark liquid oozed from its cracks.
"Never thought evil would dare come this far."
Erenien crouched beside him and tentatively touched the bark. Eyes closed, she sank into the depths of her fea to listen to the thrum of life flowing through the wood. But there was only silence. The tree was indeed dead. Her eyes then turned from the trunk to those which still stood around in soil black and barren, branches bare and crooked. A heavy weight settled on her heart at the sight of her homeland.
Laerdil got up abruptly. In the blink of an eye, an arrow was nocked and the bow was drawn.
"What?" The question died on her lips as she, too, heard the noise, coming from the distance and stood up, hand moving to grip the hilt of her sword. A magpie chirped something to Laero and flew away. Erenien threw a questioning glance at him, seeing him let out a breath which he was holding, and the fingers on his bow loosened ever so slightly.
"We have guests, it seems" he breathed, sharing a look with her.
As the noise came closer, the grip on the hilt tightened. It wasn't that of an orc or a spider. It rasped and muttered in a never-ending manner. As it came closer, she saw Laerdil's tense shoulders relax and the top of a pointy gray hat emerged from the shadows.
"It seems we have already attracted attention," the old man in grey robes said to his companions. What bothered Erenien was that strange light which shone behind his eyes. As if there was something more to this person than her eyes could perceive.
"Greetings, Mithrandir." Laerdil lowered his bow. Now the pieces clicked into place. She had heard of the wandering wizard. Though his last visit had been many years prior to her birth, when her people had marched to Erebor to claim their share in the dragon's hoard.
"Greetings Erenien. It is a pleasure to meet you." The wizard lowered his hat. She stared at him for a moment and mumbled an acknowledgement. A gravelly voice sounded behind him, and he moved sideways to reveal his companions- a man and a bony creature rasping about some stolen 'precious.'
"Allow me to introduce my companions-Aragorn of the Dunedain and Gollum," Mithrandir gestured towards them with a wave of his hand. The man offered a small nod and smile, though its intensity was somewhat dampened by the weariness of their apparently long and tedious journey. Erenien scowled at the creature, who paid no attention to his surroundings.
"I must speak with King Thranduil." The wizard's tone was urgent and the strange light in his eyes seemed to darken for a moment.
"We shall bring you to him." Laerdil led the way, further into the heart of the forest, towards the halls of the Elven-King.
Erenien let out an audible sigh, as at last, both the man and the wizard were led to their quarters, and the creature to the dungeons by order of the king. Laerdil gently squeezed her forearm while pressing her close to his side. His smile was warm and comforting to her troubled mind, where dark thoughts had already begun to creep up. The croaky voice still reverberated through the halls as he led her further up and away from the dungeons.
***
"He is a miserable creature, Ery. Corrupted beyond rescue by the One Ring. We can only pity him." Legolas had said to her, upon sighting her staring disgustingly at Gollum. Yet it helped only so little that Erenien sighed of relief as she waved Anwel off along with the company to take Gollum through the forest. Her offer to exchange guard duty was readily accepted by Erenien so that she could go patrolling while Anwel could be with Eiliandil. All in all a great arrangement. Erenien and her companions traversed the forest for hours in watchful silence, until the sun began its descent and the shadows grew lengthy beneath the trees.
Suddenly, a horn blasted in the distance, whose echoes were passed on by wood and stone throughout the forest. Panic spread through the company as the second blast sounded though shorter this time, as if the one who blew it suddenly lost all the air in their lungs. Without a moment to spare, the company ran through the trees, swift as shadows in the direction of the sound. Erenien felt as if her feet were slow, too slow for her racing heart and the name which was forefront in her thoughts- Anwel.
The clank of metals had long died out when finally help reached the place. The sight itself nearly made her gag. There lay scattered on the forest floor, her friends, and acquaintances. Many had gashes still weeping across their bodies. Some had several arrows protruding from their bodies as the leather of their armour had failed to defend its wearer. Erenien rushed towards a tree, behind which a hand twitched, on its finger shone an all too familiar glint of silver.
"Anwel..." Eiliandil choked out through the gurgle of blood in his throat, where a well-aimed arrow had found its mark. Tears came uncalled for in her eyes at the sight of her best friend and mentor.
"Sa..ve ...her," his lips barely twitched for the words. She took his bloodied hand in hers as with one last exhale his chest stopped heaving. Her hands were surprisingly steady when she closed his eyes and no tears escaped her eyes when she placed his hand over his chest. It took a few moments for her mind to thaw. When finally her mission sank in, she dragged herself to her feet. Anwel must be somewhere here! She thought as her eyes strayed from body to body fallen around her.
"Not all of them are here," one of her companions reported to Findir, who led her company that day. A sudden shadow came over his gaze as his eyes turned east, his mind traversing the many leagues in front of them to the accursed fortress at the end of it.
"Sound the horn and message the king. We must find the creature. Search the trees."
The guards moved to follow his orders while Erenien rushed to his side.
"Anwel... they must have taken her. We must save her." Desperation was all too evident in her tone, and she tried not to suppress it. But it was enough to smoothen the hard-set lines of his jaw.
"They are beyond our help," he muttered, with all the finality of someone who had seen the wars and destruction of ages past. He moved to follow his guards in search of Gollum.
"NO! We are the only ones that can help them. We must go after them." Erenien cut in, blocking his path.
"For what? To get imprisoned along with them?" Erenien flinched as he spat those words on her face.
"They are friends. I will not stay back when their lives are in danger." She breathed. She took a long step away from him and another, and turned towards the direction where the ground was disturbed. But before her steps could assume speed, a firm hand found her shoulder, rooting her in place.
"What do you think you are doing?" Laerdil hissed at her ear, turning her to face him.
"I must save them. Let go of me," she tried to squirm out of his grip, only to be held more forcefully by both Laerdil and Feren..
"I can save them. Come with me before they take them to the fortress. We have a chance now." Both the Ellyn didn't release the grip.
"Please, if you can't come, then let me go. Anwel, they have her. I can't let anything happen to her," she shook her head as tears uncalled for began to blur her vision. Their grip was ever firmer. Even when she called them cowards, their grip on her didn't loosen.
"One must know when to fight and when to stay back. We will not go or let you needlessly rush into certain death." Findir, at last came and grumbled in her ear. One by one , the rest of her company came back empty-handed from their search for Gollum.
"It is as I have feared. Carry the fallen with you. We return now. Gollum has been taken by the enemy..."
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The Eternal Starlight
Fanfiction"I cannot raise a child!" Thranduil said aghast. "What she needs is a mother and a father- a proper family," he sighed. "Maybe she has found them in you..." It was said that after the death of his Queen, the Elven king became bitter and cold. Everyo...
