The Lost Hope

Chapter ILVI

Legolas's pov

The further we move back towards the exit, the more the cave shakes and breaks apart. I hold onto Thranduil and try to move quickly out of the cave. Tauriel follows behind me, holding her bow and an arrow in position.

As we wander to the exit, orcs begin to return. Tauriel takes down the first few, but after a short time too many orcs began to pile in.

I look at Thranduil. "I need to help Tauriel." I position my father so he is leaning against the wall. He hasn't said much since we met up with him, and it is slightly concerning. He nods, and I pull out my bow and place by back to him. I shoot an orc approaching and pull out another to shoot. The orcs continue to swarm in, crowding us against the wall. I keep firing, not missing a single target, and when they got closer, I use my bow as a weapon. The fight continues until Tauriel yells at me.

"I am out of arrows!" She drops her bow and pulls out her sword, but as she does that an orc was able to strike her with a club. She grunts as she stumbles into the wall.

"Tauriel!" I yell, impaling the orc with and arrow. I know the battle isn't favoriting us, because I am also running low on arrows. I have one sword left, the broken one was left further down the hall.

I use up the last of my arrows before drawing my sword. I back up, with Tauriel and Thranduil behind me. Tauriel is awake, but is blinking and looked dazed. Thranduil isn't moving a lot, but watches me with concerned eyes.

I have to protect them, I have to.

I pull my sword back slightly, ready to strike when my vision is covered in fog. At first I thought it was just me, but then I realized that the other orcs were confused by it. It takes a few seconds before people began to appear in the fog. Most of them are elves, but some are also human, and only a few seconds later do I realize who they are.

They are the people whom have been killed by the orcs in this battle.

One familiar face smiles back at me, and I gasp. Cindor held a sword, looking determined and strong, exactly how I remember him.

"Chandra!" Tauriel smiles, tears forming. I then notice the female elf standing next to Cindor, and beside them both, is another familiar face.

"You really got yourself into trouble, Lord Thranduil." Serion laughs. The three elves then turn back to the crowd. "Please allow us to help."

I nod, smiling. "I would like nothing else than to fight side by side with my friends." I hold my sword defensively, lunging at the orcs as the ghosts do.

The narrow cave seemed smaller when ghosts and orcs are crowding the area, but it doesn't matter to me. My priority is to protect Tauriel and Thranduil with everything I have, and that's what I am planning on doing.

The fight goes faster with some help and I finally began to find hope. I am still using my single sword, cutting down orcs that got closer to Tauriel and Thranduil. As the fight finishes some of the ghosts group together to conquer the more difficult opponents. Finally the last orc is taken out by Chandra and Cindor, who smile at each other after. The group of ghostly elves look at us, and I could see tears forming in Tauriel's eyes.

"Thank you guys so much." She says, sniffling.

Chandra comes over to her. "I wanted to help, we all did." She looks back to Cindor, who approaches me.

"I am glad you made it in time." Cindor and I grasp arms, and even though I could see his arm, I couldn't feel it. "I was worried."

I nod at him. "I made it in time thanks to you, and all of our group." I look up to all the elves, who are starting to fade away one by one. The last elves to fade away are the two that spoke to us, and they were side by side, holding hands as they disappear.

I turn back to my companions, smiling at Tauriel. "I think they will be happy now."

Tauriel chuckles, and I notice Thranduil trying to rise to his feet. I rush over to help him, sheathing my sword on the way. I help support him as he grasps my shoulders as tightly as possible.

"We need to leave." Tauriel says, finally collecting herself. She stands and gasps when she looks at me. "Legolas, behind you!"

I don't have enough time to react to her worried warning, instead, Thranduil reacts. He uses his little strength to push me to the side, right as an orc stabs a sword right through his chest.