Golden Thrones and Moonlight Veils (HOBBIT FANFICTION)

The White Stag

There was a waterfall, frozen in time, its water turned to glass, but it was bleeding, from the heart. The light blue of the river turned crimson, and she could hear cries of sorrow, mingling with distant cheers of victory. She turned from the bleeding river and faced her own reflection, now standing in a vast chamber, the walls ebony stone. Behind her rose towering piles of gold and jewels, gleaming in the shadows. She was dressed in black, like a widow, her face hidden beneath a veil, a heavy golden crown resting upon her head.

A shadow fell across the treasure, and she spun around, but now she stood in the shallow waters of a lake, surrounded by charred bodies, unrecognizable, while broken wood and carcasses floated aimlessly beside her. She tried to back away, but her foot slipped and she fell backwards, landing on hard ground. When she looked up, a giant spider-like creature hovered above her, its pincers opening, thin legs stretching toward her.

✧

Thorin returned to the camp, finding no sign of danger in the woods. But as he approached, he immediately noticed Kíli wasn't at his post. His heart sank just as Kíli emerged from the trees, his face pale and drawn with worry.

"I'm so sorry, Thorin," the younger dwarf said, his voice frantic. "I don't know how it happened. One moment everything was fine, and the next—she was gone—"

Thorin's blood ran cold. "What do you mean, gone?" he asked, his voice edged with ice.

"Lady Talessa," Kíli stammered, "She got up and walked into the woods... I thought she was just—well, you know—attending to private matters."

Rage surged through Thorin, his hands balling into fists. How could he have let this happen?

"Which way?" he demanded, his voice low and dangerous. Kíli pointed in the direction Talessa had wandered. Thorin didn't waste a second.

"Do not lose anyone else while I'm gone," he growled, before storming into the forest to find the woman who had wandered off in the dead of night.

✧

He wasn't even sure what he was looking for—why he had come here. What had he been doing before? His company... or was he alone?

Then he saw it. A stag, its antlers twisting high upon its head, its fur a bright grey, glowing like the moon itself. Thorin instinctively reached for his bow, silently nocking an arrow and taking aim. The stag, as if sensing its doom, lifted its majestic head and looked straight at him. Its eyes were white and empty, and Thorin's hands trembled in surprise. But he knew he had to hunt it, this strange, otherworldly creature. Perhaps that was why he had come here in the first place.

As he released the arrow, movement flickered in the clearing—a figure, a woman, stepping out in front of the stag, all dressed in white.

Thorin's vision blurred. He lost his balance and reached desperately for a branch to steady himself. A moment later, he regained his senses, just in time to hear the stag galloping away, unharmed. His heart sank as he looked up at the woman, now fully recognizing her.

Talessa.

His relief that the arrow hadn't struck her—embedded instead in a tree just above her head—quickly gave way to anger.

"What in the name of Durin do you think you are doing?" he growled, starting toward her. "Why would you leave the camp without—"

His words faltered. Something was wrong. She wasn't wearing her veil. And as she turned slowly toward him, Thorin saw her hollow gaze, her eyes unfocused, as if she didn't even notice him.