A New Life (On Hold)

Chapter 17

The sun had already set, giving the sky a cerulean color. Elsaylen and her company decided to rest under the safety of some tall trees. Little did they know that the boulder and the entrance to cliff was a few metres away from them.

They had walked in a quick pace the whole and she knew they had passed by the spot she and her father had separated from each other.
'He can't have gone much further. He must be at least one mile away from us...' she thought while looking down the cliff.

She was lost in her thoughts when she heard her companions singing. She sat on a rock nearby them and relaxed, listening to the soft melody. The elven voices were more charming than any being's voice in Middle-Earth. All your worries and fears would go away by hearing the elves singing the beautiful songs of their kin. Speaking of grief and war or not, they always held something magical in them.

Once they finished their song, some of them slept quietly and some others spoke not, lost in their thoughts. This would be a long night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The stars shone brighter this night, appearing and disappearing behind the thin clouds in the black sky. A cool breeze had started blowing two hours since.

They were all weary and were walking slowly, their eyes darting around, searching for anything that would aid them in finding the prince.

Tauriel was still shocked from the previous scene of blood, making her weak and shiver as the cool breeze touched her skin. But she had somehow some hope inside her. Even though the blood would mean nothing but unluck, there was a proof that Legolas was not very far away fron them.

In other conditions, it would seem pretty odd to her, seeing Legolas injured. But now, she was terrified. She did not dare to see her best friend and dear brother so heavily wounded. She would not bear with it, it would break her already broken heart.

Thranduil was not in a better state either. He was trying his best not to show his feelings and let his tears fall. He wished with all of his heart's might that Legolas was alivr. Yes, severely wounded, but alive. He wished they found him on time. He kept praying to the Valar to keep his son safe, to give him enough strength to make it till they find him.

He looked at Tauriel, who was walking beside him. She was also trying to keep her feelings hidden. He took her hand into his and squeezed it gently. She returned his gaze and managed to give him a small smile. He returned it and then he looked ahead.

Two more hours passed, when the familiar keen smell of blood filled the air once again. Tauriel's eyes widened in alert and tried to find out from where the smell came. Thranduil followed her actions, so did the soldiers.

The stars appeared from behind the clouds and shone even brighter, as if trying to lighten their path. Suddenly, Tauriel's eyes fell on something that made her heart stop.

Among the large rocks, golden color could be seen. Tauriel ran in full speed to the spot where the golden strands laid, as if her life depended on this small golden light. She reached the large rock, the golden strands could be seen, they were just behind the rock.

She took some hesitant steps and walked to the other side of the rock. The sight before her breath get caught up in her throat. There laid Legolas, his skin pale as the moon, his one hand resting on his side, half of his face wet in the crimson color.

She fell to her knees, difficult to breathe, not being able to comprehend what she was seeing. Thranduil came to a stop and gasped. He kneeled down beside his son and clasped the sides of his pale face. He was so cold. Thranduil laid his head on his son's chest and let out a sigh of relief as he heard Legolas' heart beating faintly.