You Must Have Faith

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The second that Vera left Thranduil's hearing, she bolted.  She flew through the hallways, knocking over tables, vases, and people in her wake as she fled the city.  She was pounding towards the gate at a full sprint when a familiar scent hit her nose, pulling her up short.  Sides heaving, mouth open slightly to accommodate her panting, she looked around frantically for the man whom she knew was the source of the scent.  Then she heard it.  The soft, delicate yet inexplicably powerful voice of the man who she loved as a father.  She whipped around, tail lashing behind her as she pelted down the hall towards Milui.  She screeched in joy as she rounded the corner, knocking him to the ground and laying on top of him, purring as she rubbed her head against his chest.

"Oh Vera, I've missed you darling.  I couldn't see you for a while, so I assume that you fought her then?"  The purr turned into a low, rumbling growl, her eyes sparking as they met his.  He nodded decisively, already knowing that he had been correct.

"Thranduil sent me word, it arrived shortly after your letter did, Sweet.  I need to talk to him, and then I will happily come and listen to your troubles and advise you, like you wanted.  Can you lead me to him?"  She huffed, standing up and shaking her fur out before turning and stalking back the way she had come.  The walk was uncomfortable, since he knew that something was wrong, and she refused to tell him what.  They reached the doorway to the lake and the tree, and she bumped the door open with her nose so that he could pass through.  He turned around to see if she was coming, but all he saw was the glimpse of her tail as she rounded the corner at the other end of the hall.

He walked into the room with a disappointed shake of his head at her refusal to shift and come in with him to speak with the King.  He knew exactly where Thranduil would be, after all, they had known each other for years.  As a diplomat, though, he created quite a bit more noise than the woodland elves or Vera, so by the time he reached the opening in the roof, Thranduil was already waiting to help him up and out.  It was just dark enough by that point that Thranduil's face was indistinguishable, but the glint of the moonlight on his teeth proved his happiness at the sight of his old enemy turned friend.

***

Vera pounced away from the doorway, whipping around the corner before he could drag her in by the scruff on her neck.  Happy as she was to see him and discuss her concerns privately, there was no way in Mandos' Halls that she would let him take her in there to talk with Thranduil.  Retracing her previous route, she made it out of the gate without being side-tracked, although she was certain that she recognized a certain pair of young elves talking with a few of the guards.  She kept moving though, refusing to let herself be snared in conversation and changing out of politeness.  She flew into the heart of Mirkwood, where the trees were still sickly and the ground still a disturbing level of moist.  

The sun was rising when she finally came to a stop, and only then did she realize that her mind had taken her back to where she had first met the king.  The remnants of the spider's nest still floated from the branches, and it was obvious that nothing had disturbed the sight where the nasty creatures had lived.  The sound of a gentle rustling behind her whirled her around to look, ears flattening to her head.  A single spider, a young one perhaps, was standing slightly above her in the tree branches.  It clacked at her, chattering a warning to whoever else was in the area.  She snarled at it, teeth baring in a sinister grin.  After the stress that the day had caused her, she was more than ready to take out some anger on a suitably deserving creature.

It didn't stand a chance.  Within seconds, the fur around her mouth was matted with disgusting green ichor and the spider was dead at her feet.  The dim eyes had renewed their vigor, now burning darker than usual in a blood-spattered haze.  Unfortunately, there weren't any other spiders in the area, so Vera's blood-lust soon wore off and she set about cleaning her muzzle of the horrible tasting guts.  The air was so still in this part of the wood that scents didn't travel far, so Vera didn't notice the pungent odor of a species that she had never smelled before until it was nearly on top of her.  She stiffened, leaping up into the tree directly above her head before attempting to locate the source of the odor.  The sound of a gutteral, grumbling voice echoed through the trees, paired with the lyrical tones she had become accustomed to in her time in the Greenwood.

The gentle sounds of hoofbeats filtered through the voices as they got closer, a single horse emerging from the trees like a ghost.  From Vera's higher vantage point, she could see the taller form in the front was clearly in control of the animal, while the shorter, stockier form was obviously uncomfortable.  Vera smirked as she trailed the two, unaware that the taller form had already sighted her and was cautiously clocking her every more.

***

 "Thranduil, mellon nin, it's good to see you again!"

"And you as well, Elrond.  I take it you got my letter?"

"Yours, among others.  What did you need to speak to me about?"

"Tell me about Vera."

A/N:  HOLY COW I FINALLY UPDATED!  You guys can thank The Greatest Showman for this update, writer's block has been suffocating the entirety of winter break, and the soundtrack of that movie has broken it, at long last.  I'm still not completely pleased with this chapter, but I felt that it worked well enough for what I intend.  So Thranduil's figured out who Vera's benefactor is, at long last!  Did you guys see that coming?  And who's excited for the pair that Vera's stalking ;) I certainly am!  I will do my best to update at least one more time before I go back to school, I'm so sorry for being so inconsistent with this.  Comment what you thought, vote if you liked it.  Love you guys, and thank you so much for getting this story to 16k reads!