The Gift

The Gift Part 3

Thranduil sipped his wine as he sat, reflecting on his current situation. He had choices to make, although he was fairly sure what he was going to do. His son, Legolas, clearly had abandoned any thoughts of remaining in Mirkwood. Instead choosing to wander with a dwarf! He let out a huff of air. He still struggled with that friendship. Dwarves were just... dwarves.

He was also fully aware of the fact that his son had also seen the sea and heard its calling. He doubted Legolas would remain much longer in Middle Earth. He considered that aspect... would he leave as well? Taking another sip of wine, he realized he probably would not. He always had felt cut off from the other elves... almost ignored unless they needed him for something. Like watching Gollum. That had not been their best move, setting the creature up here when the darkness was growing. Of course, at the time, he had not been aware of the fact the creature had once been the bearer of the One Ring. Nor had he realized that very same ring had passed through his realm! For that, he blamed the others.

Three rings for elven kings! Indeed. He was a king, but had he even been offered one of the three? No. Galadriel he understood. She was at least a Queen and powerful. But Elrond? He was not even fully an elf. Granted, he was a great lord and ruled Rivendell...but... He finally conceded that Elrond was acceptable for one of the rings. But the third... why had Cirdan given Narya to Gandalf? He was not an elven king, but a wizard - one of the Istari. That ring should have been entrusted to him, not a wizard if Cirdan felt he could not keep it any longer. That was a thorn in his side and had been for quite some time.

"My lord?" a quiet voice interrupted his thinking.

He took another sip of his wine before answering. "What now?" Thranduil turned glittering eyes to the speaker.

Tauriel swallowed hard at that look, recognizing that the king was clearly in a sour mood. She knew her news wasn't going to help either. "We have received word that our next shipment of wine is on the way, but there are indications that an attack is expected."

"Again?" Thranduil replied sharply. "Can those Lake Town men not provide adequate guards? They are paid handsomely for their troubles."

"There have been reports of vandals still lurking on the outskirts of the town," Tauriel replied.

"Again, I pay them to not only to send the wine but to ensure that it arrives. If they cannot do that, we shall seek another source," Thranduil snapped.

Tauriel shrugged, knowing it was useless to argue. The Lake Town wine was his favorite, and obviously, someone knew - enough to cause periodic disruptions in the deliveries. "But there is another problem."

"Another issue?" One elegant eyebrow lifted as he waited for Tauriel to explain.

"Yes, it appears that a small party of elves is accompanying the shipment," Tauriel replied, knowing full well this would capture his attention. It was not often they had visitors.

"From where?"

Tauriel shook her head. "That information was not passed along."

"Are our guards that inadequate that they are unable to ascertain who our visitors are?" Thranduil asked acerbically.

Tauriel swallowed hard. "We obtained the information from one of our Lake town informants. They are unfamiliar with the various elven groups."

"You mean, no one has bothered to check?" Thranduil looked pointedly at her.

"I sent a party out once I learned this information in anticipation of your desire to know. They should be returning shortly."

Golvan grumbled as he led his small party through the woods of Mirkwood. Tauriel was always ordering him about. Granted, she was the Captain of the guards since Legolas was gone, but still... did she never see him as an individual? She acted like she was hard, unfeeling, but he was fairly certain that there was a softer level to her; he just needed to find it. So, off he went to do her bidding. This time to ensure that the King's wine arrived unscathed and to find out who was visiting. They never... well, maybe not never, but rarely did they have visitors to Mirkwood. He knew there had been some falling out between Thranduil and the other elven lords, but no one spoke of it, at least not around him. It gave him something to think about while they marched silently through the woods.

They were about an hour out of the palace when Golvan heard the distant sounds of an attack. He quickly ordered one of his men to return to the palace for reinforcements while he led the others towards the sound.

They ran silently through the woods, reaching the borders quickly. One of the border patrol stepped out from behind a tree as they approached. Golvan approached him.

"Golvan! That was swift. I just dispatched a runner to advise of the attack," Feriion spoke softly.

"We were already on the way. Tauriel's spies had sent her word of a possible attack. There is also supposedly a company of elves with it. I was sent to discover who it is," Golvan replied. "And the other guards?"

Feriion simply pointed in the direction of the attack.

"Let us not leave them alone. Hopefully this is a small attack again," Golvan said as he moved out towards the attack.

They ran quietly for several minutes. The sounds of the attack growing louder as they approached. Golvan smiled grimly. This was not one of the typical attacks on the wine shipment.

Calanon dropped out of a tree as they moved closer. "The wagon with the wine is heading down the side trail. I sent two elves to escort it."

"So, it is the elven party they attack?" Golvan was surprised. Why would they allow the wine through? It meant this party was more important than just a simple group of elves who had chosen to attempt to visit Mirkwood. "We must go to their defense!"

"Wait!" Calanon stopped him. "There are over 40 of them this time."

"Orcs or just humans?"

"Humans... but..."

Golvan cut him off. "No time to discuss this!" he said as he took off towards the attack. As he ran, he considered their options. Surprise was on their side. They arrived shortly, stopping behind the archers who were hidden in the trees. Signaling his group, they made easy work of dispatching the unsuspecting bowmen.

His keen hearing picked up the sounds of reinforcements approaching, but they were at least ten minutes away. From the looks of the battle before him, they did not have that much time. Why had this tiny group of elves even ventured into the forest? Fools! He thought as he quickly signaled to his group to attempt to distract the attackers.