The Lost Hope

Chapter XXXII

Tauriel's pov

"Legolas!" Was all I could say before he collapses to the ground. I rush over to his side, receiving immediate protection from Cindor. I touch Legolas's forehead and feel sweat. "No. No, no, no, no, no." I say as I check for his pulse.

"There isn't any more time!" Cindor helps between breaths. "You need to get him to Gundabad."

"But it is still a day away." I say, tears forming in my eyes.

"If you ride hard, you may be able to get there in a few hours." Cindor answers, cutting down another orc. "Take the path between the mountains. It is narrow but it is shorter than the normal way. If we wait much longer, he may die."

My heart seems to shake as he says that. Legolas had a huge possibility of dying if I don't get him back to Gundabad.

I run over to one of the horses, grabbing Legolas's because I knew his was the strongest and fastest of them. I lead him over to Legolas. Chandra has moved over to help protect me as I try to lift Legolas onto the horse with no success.

"Get up on the horse, I will try to pull him up to you." Cindor says. I nod, quickly mounting as Cindor lifts the unconscious elf. I pull him up the rest of the way. His head flops to my chest, his hair stuck to his forehead from the sweat. His breathing was staggering, but it was still strong, for now.

"Go!" Cindor yells as he hits the horse slightly. The horse springs to life, my hands grabbing the reigns before I fell off. Some of the orcs attempt to hit me and the horse, but we were faster and zip past them.

Some orcs tried to follow us, but Belemir shot down most of them. The rest were soon small dots behind us.

I ride hard towards the mountains next to Gundabad. As we draw closer I see a small canyon in the middle. I knew it must've been the one Cindor mentioned before. I head over there, hoping it was a shorter route.

Every few minutes I would quickly check up on Legolas. He kept getting warmer, and his face was growing pale. Every minute I was getting more sad.

I don't want to lose him too. Not another man I love.

I realize at this point that Legolas has come to mean so much to me, and I loved him.

But does he love me?

I shake my head. Right now there were greater concerns. I try to rack my head for the instructions of healing the curse. Legolas is supposed to go to the shrine of the ghost, then ask for healing.

But can he still be cured if he isn't conscious?

Worry spreads across me. If he couldn't wake up, how will he ask for forgiveness? Will I have to wait for him to wake up? Cindor said that he very well could die, and I couldn't let that happen.

I try to urge the horse faster, but he only grunts in frustration. I barely notice that the horse was more tense than normal, and I realized that he was just as worried as I was about Legolas.

The rest of the ride went by slow. I constantly check Legolas's pulse and almost panic as the pulse grows slower.

We reach the valley of Gundabad, and the memory of it drifted back. Legolas and I were here when he mentioned that his mother died here.

It looked the same, a huge fortress with a ruined city. Dark and dead landscape with burned rocks and other dead plants.

The place made me sick.

"Pay attention for the shrine." I say aloud to myself as we trot into the dead city. I rapidly look around to see if there was an area that looked like a graveyard. I didn't see any.

We ride around in circles a few times before I spot it, relief washes over me as I lead the horse over. When we reach it I hop off, pulling Legolas down. I rest him on my lap, and notice that his chest was no longer moving.

I quickly check his pulse, repositioning my fingers on his neck to try to find one. It was a minute before I realized that he wasn't breathing.

He was already dead.