The Lost Hope

Chapter XXXVIII

Legolas's pov

I was dead weight.

I couldn't hold myself up when riding on my horse. I had to hold onto Tauriel and hope that I had enough energy to do that.

The road was smoother than I thought. Tauriel mentioned that we took a short cut getting here. I recommended that we take the same route. So, we now travel at a brisk pace through the canyon.

I was nervous. The battle wasn't favoring us when I was knocked out cold. I was afraid that our crew would be dead.

Orcs took no sympathy. That was something I learned on my own. It was highly possible that my companions were dead, and I don't know how Tauriel and I would take it if we were the only ones to live.

We rode silently for the couple hours it took to get back. Tauriel and I sparked small conversations, mostly about her return and my adventure.

"You lost your memory a long time ago." I say. "What do you remember very first?"

Tauriel cocked her head, but didn't look back at me. "What are you asking?"

"What do you remember first when you were concious with no memories?"

"You still lost me."

I sigh. "When you lost your memory, you didn't remember anything."

"Yeah."

"When did you realize you didn't remember anything?"

Tauriel pauses. "I still don't understand your question fully, but I was wandering the forest when I ran into the Mirkwood guard. I had fought orcs that sought to kill me, but I don't remember..."

"Huh..." I reply. "Was it scary?"

Tauriel gave no reply to my question.

"Tauriel?" I ask, nudging her shoulder with my arm. When she still didn't give an answer, I stop and just focus on the ride ahead. It was about a minute before Tauriel almost jumped off the horse.

"I remember!" She blurts out.

I was eager to hear what she remembered, but when I looked at her I noticed her blushing.

"What do you remember?" I ask.

She bows her head down. "I remember everything." She pauses before continuing. "I have spent the past few years in a town not far from Mirkwood. I would hunt for spiders and protect the town from attacks from the forest. One day I was scouting the forest when I ran into a wizard..."

"What?" I ask surprised.

"I was confused too but I thought he was good, and asked him if he knew where the nearest river was so I could fill my canteen. He led me to a cave entrance, and orcs overwhelmed me. I was taken inside the cave and the wizard follows inside. When inside he told me that he hated elves and wanted them off the face of the Middle Earth. He then erased my memories, telling me that I won't recover them unless I had new love and expressed it with that person."

When she finished it made sense. I had a feeling that this wizard was probably behind the orc invasions, and if he had a hatred towards elves, it would explain why he was attacking Mirkwood.

"We need to get back and tell my father." I say.

Tauriel nods, urging the horse faster. We break through the mouth of the valley to the prairie area. I look forward, trying to spot the area that I had passed out. I couldn't see it for a while, and it was actually Tauriel who spotted it first.

"Over there!" She points, and gasps.

There were tons of orc corpses sprawled everywhere, and in the middle was a handful of elves that were lying on the ground. There were only two horses, and they both seemed panicked.

We ride as fast as our horse could go, and reach the group. Tauriel dismounts as soon as we reach them, and I slide off, holding onto the horse for my life. Tauriel rushes over to Chandra first. She was covered in blood, and looked like she was barely breathing. Tauriel rips off part of her sleeve to use as a bandage. She presses down on the wound, making Chandra gasp and open her eyes.

"Tauriel..." She whispers.

"Please hold on." Tauriel replies, searching for other wounds. She then looks to me. "Can you grab the medical herbs in the pouch?"

I nod, trying my best to not fall over as I grab the pouch from the side of the horse. I urge the horse over to her, careful to steer clear of the other elves. I cringe slightly as I see their agonized faces written with death.

I give Tauriel her pouch and she raids through it. She pulls out a few herbs and rub them in between her hands. She then rubs them on Chandra's wound.

"Cindor..." Chandra coughs, making me look around rapidly to spot him. He was lying not far away, and he looked worse than any of the other elves. He was impaled in many places, a giant sword still stuck in his chest. "He saved me..." Chandra starts to cry. "But it was no use."

"Don't say that." Tauriel says, crying also. She reaches back to the bag as Chandra grasps her hand.

"Save it for your trip." She says. "We wanted to help you two, and we did. Please..." She coughs hard, revealing blood. "...keep fighting for Mirk..." She grows silent and still. Tauriel holds her lifeless hand, tears streaming continuously.

"Please no." She whimpers and cries louder. I could do nothing but stand there and watch. As far as I could tell, none of the elves were alive now. Valanorn and Elgund were beside each other, holding each other's hand. The two messenger elves were also dead, one close to the horses and the other near the middle of the campsite.

I look again at Cindor, my own tears starting to form. I have looked to Cindor for guidance, and he was now dead. I was useless, and because of that they were killed.