A Lasting Legacy [ Thranduil X OC ]

Chapter 5

Ouch...that hurt.
Letting her soldiers lead the way, Arden fell back behind the group, both to act as a lookout and to nurse the newly added area of pain in her life.
Carefully, she felt around the entry point. There was no blood and no actual wound, it was as though it never happened, in looking at her body.
However she felt it just as hard internally and knew she would pay for it later.
Rarely did she show off her capabilities as she did today as it only brought trouble and spread more rumors.
Her and her people were gifted in that they could not be wounded, mortally or otherwise.
They still felt the same threshold of pain but never truly suffered from wounds.
Normally, Arden would not hesitate to throw herself between someone and danger, especially an undertrained boy.
But she had to admit that she didn't do it just for the boy but also to get a reaction from Thranduil.
Did she ever.
The subtle widening of his eyes might not be much to someone else but for her that was a lot coming from him.
However she regretted studying his face so intensely as she could swear she saw a look of relief and even happiness cross his features as she laid there.
He didn't even offer a hand whereas she would have been on her knees for him in an instant.
Hell she'd take 10 swords to the stomach for him any day even though she'd be lucky enough to get a look of concern in return if roles were reversed like today.
Sighing softly, she paid attention ahead as they entered their campsite.
Children played in the center while her subjects went about their daily duties.
All bowed as she passed by in which she shook her head.
Ever since her parents had died, she demanded an end to the honorifics and formalities but her people insisted upon it.
Determined to live as one of them, she lived, ate and entertained in the same ways her people did.
Dismounting, she stopped short to catch her breath, a phantom pain running along the area of where her wound would have been.
Odd, usually there was no lingering effects.
Steadying herself, she continued to her tent, wanting to change into lighter clothing for the training later that day.
You could take the captain out of the fight but you could never take the fight out of the captain.
She was determined to train her soldiers herself, every single one of them.
She prepared them in the way that a parent would prepare their child; with tools and the knowledge in how to use them.
This also contributed to the reason as to why her and her people were feared far and wide.
They were the definition of a military machine.
Not only did the soldiers know how to fight but so did the women and children.
They might be landless but they would never be found unprepared.
They had become infamous in her quest in teaching every "Belegdae" the art of war. Shedding her clothing, she thought about the boy.
What was Tauriel thinking?
Even more so what was Thranduil thinking?
Surely the last battle had not killed off so many elves that children were now being enlisted?
He could not be more than 800 summers.
At least train them right even if they were, she scoffed.
After she finished putting on her clothes carefully, Arden went back out into the campsite.
She would complete training as always tonight but then retire early, the Starlight festival was the next night and she needed to be ready.

That night Thranduil was determined to get answers, he was tired of not knowing and being in the dark where Arden and her kind were concerned.
She might have thought she had shown him a taste of how magnificent she could be in her stunt today, but to him she only proved how dangerous and shrouded in secrecy she truly was.
Calling upon his healers, he questioned how one could sustain such a fatal blow.
No answer.
Reading pages upon pages of ancient lore and accounts, he could not find a single thing pertaining to her people either.
It was almost as if these people didn't exist, aside from the fact that they had been widely known and around since the beginning of elves themselves.
He couldn't understand it.
Hitting the table with his fist in anger, he thought to himself.
The starlight festival was tomorrow and he wanted to have clear evidence of her capabilities.
Aside from stabbing her himself, he could not think of how he would get others to see.
He pushed back his chair and began to pace.
In the end, it didn't matter if he had proof, he would still reveal what she really was to others; a monster.

*Fun Fact;
Tolkien was fascinated by the Native peoples of North America and based many of the elves' enhanced traits off of Native American myths and legends.
Some of these are skill of archery, superior eyesight, lightness of foot, ability to track and acute hearing.
One of Tolkien's most favorite books was "The Last of The Mohicans" by James F. Cooper (1826)