The Lost Hope

Chapter ILV

Thranduil's Pov

"Are you ready to die?" A orc says as he passes me. He spits at me and continues on his way. I am beyond fed up with the situation.

I wasn't going to die like this. Not ever.

But I couldn't do anything. I am weakened due to the wizard's spell he used on me earlier, and I am bound by magical chains. There's no way for me to get out of this.

I close my eyes, hoping that I would die before the humiliation starts. Of course the wizard would decide the elvish king's execution to be the best way to declare war. It made perfect sense, but why did the orcs have patience? They normally kill without a second thought.

I guess that's why the orc attempted to kill me earlier. My head gets foggier and foggier as time passes. Many other orcs mock me as they pass by, and I paid none of them any attention.

Suddenly I hear a bunch of roars and clashing of weapons against the rock walls and floors. I look towards the sounds, but don't see anything. It was coming from the way that I guessed was the entrance, but I couldn't be positive, especially since my head was fuzzy.

The clashing continues for some time, and more orcs run pass me to head towards the fight. I was fortunate that they didn't pay any attention to me, because I saw nothing but hatred in their eyes as they pass.

Something isn't right, but I couldn't even begin to guess what it was.

This continues for minutes, and after some time I decided it isn't worth my energy to try to watch. Simply holding my head up made my headache worse. If I tried to move more than that, I found my whole body spasming. I let my body go limp, simply using my keen ears to tell me what was happening.

Fighting.

My nose could also smell orc blood. What was happening?

Loud chanting came from the direction of the fighting as a bright beam of blue light shot through the cavern. The magical presence felt similar to the wizard that imprisoned me. It is unsettling, and it worries me.

Why would he fight his own servants?

"Father!"

My eyes snap open as I hear the familiar voice. I look over to see Legolas run up to me, Tauriel right behind him.

"Legolas? How did..." I am about to ask before Legolas grabs his sword. He swings, attempting to break the chains holding me up. As the sword touches the chains, magic throws back both Legolas and Tauriel. Legolas's sword lands on the ground, and if I focus I see a crack along the middle of the sword.

"It's a spell." A new voice says. I turn my head to see a wizard in a misty blue cloak. He looked similar to the wizard I saw earlier, but something seemed different. Unlike the wizard earlier, he doesn't have an evil aura around him. "I can dispel it." He walks up to me, raising his staff. He starts chanting, and I feel the chains weaken. After a few seconds, the wizard stops chanting, stepping back. "You should be able to break them now."

Tauriel pulls out her sword, giving it to Legolas. Legolas then rises and swings at the chains. This time the chains easily gave way to the sword, and the jerk of the arm caused me to flinch. Legolas cuts down the other chains, dropping me to the floor. Both elves were by my side immediately, and Legolas lifts me to my feet.

"We need to get out of here." Legolas says as he looks around.

"I will stay." The wizard says. "Pallando is still in here somewhere and I can't ignore that."

I look at Tauriel, who was armed with her bow and watching for trouble. "Who is this wizard?" I ask.

"Alatar, he helped us get here." Tauriel explains, then looks over to Legolas. "We need to get Lord Thranduil out of here."

Legolas nods. "I agree."

Suddenly a dark ominous feeling spreads across the corridor. It stops the conversation and all of our eyes direct to the wizard entering the area.

"I assume this will happen if you can get past me." The dark-cloaked wizard says.

I feel Legolas tense up when he sees the wizard, and Tauriel gasps loudly, backing away.

"Legolas, that's the wizard that erased my memories." She says, aiming her bow at the wizard.

"Arrows won't work against him." Legolas explains. "He has a barrier around him that blocks any physical attack."

"Then what should we do?" Tauriel asks.

"Pallando you really sunk low to go to this depth." Alatar stands in front of us as he addresses the other wizard. "I am saddened to see you this way, brother."

"Alatar." Pallando says. "Seems that you came here primarily to deal with me. Is that right?"

"I think you are possessed by something that has hindered your judgement." Alatar holds his staff in front of him. "Please return to your place as the other Blue Wizard and protect Middle Earth."

'So these wizards are Blue Wizard brothers, now it makes sense.' I think.

Pallando laughs, ending in a glare pointed at his brother. "You seem to think that I care about Middle Earth. I will tell you one thing, Alatar. In Moridor, I found a new purpose to life."

"What is the purpose of killing innocent people?" Alatar exclaims, raising his staff. "Who knows how many people you've killed over time."

The two wizards strike each other at the same time, and the blow of the two waves nearly blow the three of us off our feet. I am barely supported by Legolas, who decides to move back towards a wall. Tauriel leans against the wall for support also.

"Get out of here!" Alatar exclaims. "I can handle my brother fine. You guys need to go before this cave suddenly collapses."

Once Alatar explains, I started to notice the walls around us weakening as the magic started tearing them apart.

"We should go." Legolas agrees, following close to the wall as the three of us head to the exit.