Bard of Laketown

Part Twenty-Three

PART TWENTY-THREE

BARD'S POV
I look at Fili in shock. "Surely his wound is not that bad?"
Fili's eyes are filled with sorrow and tears. "The arrows were tipped with black poison from Dol Guldur."
"I have heard many things about Dol Guldur, and none of them have been good. Tell me, what goes on behind those haunted walls?"
Fili sighs. "There is a dark power dwelling there, a Necromancer."
I draw in a sharp breath. "A Necromancer? Are you sure?"
"I wish it were not so, but it is the truth. Gandalf has gone there now, to the old fortress. I do not know if he will be returning."
"And the orcs have made their home there?"
Fili nods slightly. "For the time being. The Necromancer is no mortal man, though. Gandalf has a sword, given to him by Radagast the Brown."
I fail to see how this small fact will help us solve the mystery.
"It was not an Elvish or Dwarvish blade. It is a dark weapon, forged in Mordor." His eyes narrow, as if he doesn't know whether he can trust me or not.
"The blade belonged to the Witch-king of Angmar, and was buried with him."
I let out the air from my lungs. "He is one who can raise the dead?" I say.
"Yes. He is a dark, evil power, one that must be destroyed. That is why Gandalf is at Dol Guldur."
I let this startling information sink in. Dol Guldur is far enough away that this shouldn't worry me, but this Necromancer is certainly very powerful.
A loud groan from Kili interrupts my thoughts. Fili is holding his brother's pale hand.
I hate watching someone die before my very eyes. Again.

AREYA'S POV
When I finish my story, Legolas let's out a whoosh of air. "Well, I suppose that now we have to find those blasted dwarves."
"That explains much of what happened in Mirkwood," Tauriel muses. "It was clear to me that King Thranduil and Thorin Oakenshield had hatred flowing in their veins, but I did not know the reason until now."
"I too, noticed it," says Legolas.
"Good thing you did," Tauriel says, "for I would have taken you for an even greater fool if you had not."
She speaks in a teasing tone, but I know that her words hurt Legolas more than Tauriel will ever know.
The dim lights of Lake-town are visible in the distance, and I speak again.
"We cannot bring the boats with us," I say, "for the Master does not allow visitors to come in, or go out." I think again of Bard and how much he has risked for me. I only wish I could have had a chance to thank him again.
Tauriel's voice interrupts my train of thought. "Will you go and see Bard while we are there?"
My heart feels as if it is being squeezed, along with my lungs. "No, Tauriel. I would not risk it."
"But you do wish to see him again. I see it in your eyes. You feel the same way as I do."
"You are in love with Bard?"
Tauriel bursts out laughing, and I feel like a great fool. "Certainly not, Areya! While the man seems like a kind person, I do not know him. I do not think I could love him. I am in love with one already."
Ahead of us, Legolas has stopped rowing, and our boat bumps into his. He takes no notice, not even when Tauriel tells him to get his head out of the clouds.
I try to distract her, to make her talk about something different, but her mind is fixated on somebody else. "He is a dwarf," she says, "but he is tall for one, and handsome, too. He is of the line of Durin."
"Thorin Oakenshield?" My voice sounds as shocked as I feel.
"No, Areya." Her voice is exasperated.
"That is the only dwarf that I know of, Tauriel."
"I will tell you who it is," Legolas says. His voice is bitter, quiet. "It is Kili, Thorin's nephew."
I cannot imagine the pain my friend, he who is like a brother to me, is going through. It must be cutting him, worse than any knife, slowly and painfully carving out his loving heart.
"How could you have known?" says Tauriel.
"It was clear to me, from the moment you laid eyes on him. You would do anything to be with him, wouldn't you." It is more a statement than a question.
"Yes. I do not think I could ever love another as much as I love him." How can she be so oblivious?
I want to slap her across the face, and tell her to take her heart back before it is too late. Before her love for this dwarf ruins everything between her and Legolas.