A shadow lies on Thranduil and his forest, and only a power stronger than the darkness of old can save them.
Grief and loss have turned him into a king with a heart of ice, and if he is ever to find redemption, the chains of guilt and remorse holdin...
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Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night. (Sarah Williams, The Old Astronomer)
"Yes, you did," said Gandalf.
Anna had gone completely still, the hammering of her own heartbeat the only indication that she was not dead right now.
"What is the meaning of this?" Thranduil demanded, an undercurrent of menace in his voice. "How can Anna be dead when she is sitting beside me quite alive?" He reached out for her hand as if he needed to reassure himself of his own words. "If this is another one of your obscure machinations, I demand that you explain yourself at once. This is not a time to play games, Mithrandir!"
"This isn't a game," Anna said, when she had finally regained her voice. "There was a fire and I—" she broke off.
"A fire?" Thranduil's voice was hollow and even without looking at his face she could sense that, for the blink of an eye, the glamour hiding his scar was flickering dangerously.
"Yes."
"But where was this fire? How did this happen?"
"I'm trying to remember, but the pieces are just slowly coming together."
"Of course, your memories might need more time to settle in," Thranduil said, as if he had to remind himself of being patient when it came to learning about her past. His closeness was the only thing grounding Anna to a present that slipped away from her at a frightening pace. She kept her eyes on the ground before her, as the images finally slid in place.
"There was a small forest close to where I used to live. I loved taking walks there, because it was so peaceful and quiet. I remember that there was a massive and ancient oak in its centre. That was my favourite spot to sit and work. I used to write children's books and the best ideas would come to me there."
A small smile played around her mouth, but died away again as quickly as it came.
"That day I was on my way to visit a friend who used to live just beyond the forest. The weather was perfect, not a single cloud in sight, so I decided to go and see my tree. The roots fanned out so wide they appeared like gnarled snakes on the forest floor, so I made myself comfortable between them. I leaned against the tree trunk and pulled out my notebook to scribble down an idea, when the tree shook with a sudden tremor."
The thought alone sent a shiver through her body.
"The— the leaves above me rustled and I looked up, but there was no wind. It was as if they were talking to each other, whispering something in a language I couldn't understand." Anna shook her head, trying to find the right words. "If I wouldn't have known it any better, I would have said that the tree was afraid, sensing danger creeping up on it. It was a warning, but I didn't understand it. Something felt suddenly very wrong. It was like a strange power had appeared out of nowhere, siphoning off all life from around me."
