The King's Hope

Chapter 17

Harthor

Rhovanel asked me to find the king three days ago. Since then, I've found the crown, some torn fabric and plenty of blood. My own hopes of finding the king are less than minimal. If I am luck I will find his body, but anything more than that would be a miracle.

"Harthor?" I pull an arrow and aim it in the direction of the voice on reflex. "Easy, soldier. It's only me," the captain of the guard calls, hands raised in surrender.

"You should not sneak up on someone like that. I could have killed you," I say, relaxing the bow.

"You did not though. What have you found so far?"

"Everything but the king. I am not optimistic," I confess. The captain does not look dissuaded.

"I know where he is. I needed to find you so I could explain. The shapeshifter, Metalinda, took Thranduil's form and tried to kill you sister."

"Is she alright?!" I shout, ready to sprint back and do whatever I necessary to destroy the attacker.

"Calm down! I would have brought her head to you if anything had happened. Rhovanel is fine and so is your nephew." I had never thought of him as my nephew. Pride swells through my chest. I have a beautiful nephew and I will soon have a king for a brother-in-law. My sister has done very well for herself while I've been gone.

"The king is tied behind that waterfall," she finishes.

"Terribly sorry, but I did not hear the first part of your directions," I admit. She groans annoyedly, grabs my hand, and pulls me further east. It is a hike through treacherously balanced boulders and slippery vegetation. The captain bounds easily through small openings and over the mossy rocks. My larger frame is not so nimble. It takes me three times longer to go half as far as her and I can tell that her patience is wearing thin.

"Tell me how to get there, then go on ahead. You can get there much fast than I can. Stay in that spot until I arrive and I'll help you get Thranduil back to Greenwood." At first, she looks at me like I've lost my mind, but then she points toward the cave a few hundred meters ahead.

"It's through that cave. Light a torch at walk strait through to the other side of the mountain. There is a stream to follow. At the end of the cave there is a cliff where the stream becomes a waterfall. Thranduil is tied at the bottom. We have maybe two hours to get to him before the water fills its reservoir," she says before sprinting off.

I continue wedging myself between the rocks, grunting when it becomes particularly tight. Ahead I can see the brilliance of firelight against the vast darkness of the cave mouth, but it vanishes just as quickly as it appeared.

By the time I reach the cave, Annoneth's torchlight is no where to be seen in the darkness. I tear off a piece of my cloak and wrap it around a solid tree branch that I had snapped off earlier. It goes ablaze with two matches and I begin the trek through the cave. The mountain stream is much bigger and faster than Annoneth made it out to be. I was expecting a babbling creek, not a rushing river. I stay as close to the wall as possible, knowing that falling into that water could be the worst death I might inflict upon myself.

After what feels like an hour, I am squinting into the sunlight and staring down a seventy meter waterfall.

"Harthor, over here!" The captain shouts from the left. She is free-climbing down the side of the mountain, and doing it artfully. Grabbing a thick vine of moss, she swings down to a larger ledge. "Thranduil is behind the fall and the water is rising quickly!" she shouts before jumping through the water.

I peer down the side of the cliff and start picking a climbing route. It's really good that I have never been afraid of heights. After carefully climbing down to where the captain jumped through, I try to see the other side of the falls.

"Hurry!" I hear. So I close my eyes and jump into the frigid water. The pounding water does not drag me plunging to the jagged rocks below, my momentum saves me from that fate and tosses me into the pool beside the rocks. The captain surfaces beside me, desperately gasping for air.

"Down here! The water is a meter above his head. I need you to untie him while I breathe for us both," she orders before sucking in a huge breath and diving. I pull a knife from my belt, suck in a deep breath, and follow her to the bottom of the pool.

Luckily, the water is clear and lean enough to open my eyes and see the king struggling against the ropes that bind him to the ground. The captain presses her mouth against his and his eyes widen with the intake of oxygen. Wasting no more time, I swim behind Thranduil's back and start sawing at the ropes. He understands what I am trying to do and ceases to thrash in the water. The captain swims to my side and pulls at the thinning threads, quickly forcing them apart. She grabs Thranduil's arm and pushes him up to the surface, her strong legs kicking wildly to speed their ascent. I push off the rocks to follow.