Adult-FanFiction.org : Lord of the Rings

Unanswered prayers	By : Nuredhel Category: -Multi-Age > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 2298 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, it belongs to Tolkien, and i do not earn any money from this work of fiction, it is solely written for entertainment and not for profit at all.I do not own Lord of the Rings, it belongs to Tolkien,

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
So, what has happened to Vanima, and what will happen next? Chose some lines from a song of the band battlelore to start this chapter, it fitted somehow. If you don’t know this band check it out, almost all their songs are about Tolkiens world.
Chapter Three: Lost and found

It's time for heroic deeds

The gift of courage and steel are your key

Those with glory shine like stars

The highest prize is to ride with victory

So many souls follow the path

Trusting their magic and blades

There has to be more than that

Fight with your heart or fail

Ages of war and sorrow

One needs much to survive

Danger hiding in the darkness around us

Your sword is the only law

Brave enough to challenge your enemy?

Never underestimate the power of evil

Those creatures are born to kill

Trust your blades and black blood will spill
Battlelore: Swordmaster

She had no idea of where she was, it was so dark and she discovered that she couldn’t even move, her hands were tied behind her back and her legs were tied up too. Her head hurt, she fought the feeling of immense panic and tried to determine where she was and what it was that had happened to her. She was feeling as though her head was filled with wool and her shoulders ached, she shivered. Teren? Where was he? Has something happened to him too? The fear was suddenly overwhelming and she fought the need to scream. Think, try to remember!
She closed her eyes, forced herself to take deep measured breaths and control her raging mind. She had gotten a cloak from Feanuldo, and a towel, and they had walked back to her rooms. She had put the cloak on to get warm again and she had bid him goodnight and closed the door. She remembered having walked over to the fireplace and having sat down in a chair to dry her hair and then everything had become rather blurred. She had fallen asleep in that chair? Then why the heck was she lying in the dark tied up like some darn steak? The place stank, a horrific stench that made her even more nauseous and she tried to move around, to determine how much room she had. It wasn’t much, she was in a room not that much bigger than a darn coffin and for a second the idea of being buried alive hit her like the blow from a Warhammer.
No, she wasn’t buried, but it was utter darkness there and what in the name of Morgoth’s rotten teeth was happening? She was so cold and she lay on pieces of broken rock that was digging into her flesh and no matter how she wriggled around she could not find a comfortable position. What was this? She bit her teeth together, tried to pull at the ropes but they were too tight, she could not get out, could not get free. Someone had done this to her, why? She fought her own hysteria with all of her might, there had to be a way out of there. She tried to think, what could possibly stink like that? It was an old smell, nothing fresh but it seemed as though it was coming from the very stones around her. Think Vanima, think!
Then it dawned on her, she remembered what Teren had been talking about on their first ride through the woods, he had told her about the history of the palace itself and he had mentioned that some humans in fact had lived there many years ago. There had been a small village on the same spot where the palace now stood and there had been a tannery there. Vanima took a deep breath, she was in one of the pits that had held the tanning fluid, no wonder it stank. The remains of the village had been buried deep underneath the foundations of the palace and she suddenly felt how the weight of everything above her came pressing down upon her. She panted and counted backwards from one hundred, forced herself to remain cool. Someone had placed her in the basin and then that someone was probably going to return, she would have to use all her strength and courage for she knew that nobody would do this to someone just as a prank. Her life was in danger and she feared that Teren could be in danger too. She had to get out of there to save him.
She had no idea of how long she had been there, it could be hours, it could be days and she knew that her family would be terribly worried, they were most probably looking for her and she felt how tears filled her eyes. They would be so terribly sad if she wasn’t found, and Teren? She gasped and made a promise to herself, she had to survive. No matter what, she would survive. The one responsible for this should have to pay for it. She tried to turn around and suddenly she felt something rather sharp against her back, it felt almost like metal and she managed to squirm and bend until her hands reached it. It was hard to determine what it was with her hands tied together but she knew it was metal and it was rather sharp. It felt like a piece of some sort of tool, probably a broken one that had been discarded off and she suddenly felt a glimpse of hope. It could possibly cut through the ropes, it would not go fast but she could manage if she wasn’t afraid of cutting herself. She bit her teeth together and started rubbing her wrists against the metal, she did cut herself but the pain was insignificant, something she could not consider. She had to get out of there, she just had to.
The palace was strangely quiet, nobody dared to raise their voice and the fear was visible upon every face. Oropher had sent most of the soldiers out to look for Vanima and the healers were with the families of her and Teren, Thranduil and the rest of the group of friends were on the other hand left alone. The prince was pacing back and forth across the floor of one of the meeting rooms, Antarar was there and a few other young ellyn who were friends of Teren. All were red eyed and pale and Thranduil wanted to explode with rage and grief, throw something fragile at the walls, vent his anger. Instead he kept walking, like a wolf caged within a zoo and nobody dared to even look at him, he was rather intimidating now. Antarar was sobbing softly and he was rocking back and forth, he and Teren had been very close and one of the others leaned over and embraced the mourning young ellon in a tight hug. Thranduil could not offer any comfort, nor did he want to be comforted. He wanted to find the one responsible for this and to find Vanima. Some even had suggested that Vanima had killed Teren, after all she had quite a temper, but the very idea was grotesque. She would never do anything like that and how in the name of the Valar could she have? The one who had killed Teren had been so much stronger than an elf, stronger than even a troll. He wondered what sort of monster it could have been and where was she? There was a good chance that she was dead, ripped to shreds like he had been but Thranduil didn’t want to think about it. He had lost a good friend, he didn’t want to think that Teren’s beloved had suffered the same fate.
Oropher had forbidden Thranduil to leave the palace, he could not go against his father’s direct order and it made him terribly frustrated. He knew that his father feared for his safety and could understand it but he felt so useless. He should be out there, looking for her. It felt as though he was betraying Teren by not doing anything practical. He had cried when he returned to his rooms, collapsed onto the bed and been in shock. But it had subsided and now he felt just cold, like his heart had been replaced by a huge chunk of ice. He clenched his fists, his fingernails cut into his palms and he forced back a sob, it came out as more of a growl. He knew that Teren’s father had suffered a complete breakdown and Vanima’s family were on the verge of going insane from sheer worry. He pitied them all, but he should be out there, searching for her, not being cooped up in this palace like some precious and fragile trinket! He was trained as a warrior damn it and he was among the best swordsmen ever, he could defend himself. He kept pacing across the floor until his feet hurt so bad he had to sit down, then he sat there tapping his fingers against the arm rests of the chair until the others there just stared at him. They didn’t dare say anything, they would rather awaken a sleeping dragon than risk unleashing Thranduil’s temper at this moment. He was on the verge of exploding and nobody wanted to see that, if he ever became king he would most certainly become a very terrifying one.
Vanima did feel blood running down her hands, it hurt like hell but she kept sawing away at the ropes, it didn’t go fast but she could feel that the rope slowly became weakened. She felt sweat running down her body, her position was very uncomfortable and it made her muscles ache like nothing she had ever felt. She was panting, feverishly working with the rope, then suddenly she heard something, a scraping sound and she froze. It could be nothing more than a rat but it could also be her captor coming to gloat or even worse, finish her off. She hid her arms underneath her, tried to look beaten. There was light, it hurt her eyes but it was also in a way comforting. There was still light in the world, it wasn’t the end itself.
She squinted, there was a small opening at the base of the coffin-like hole she was stuffed into, the light came streaming from that opening and she could see something moving beyond it. Something dark and she forced herself to breathe. Whoever or whatever it was, it was studying her and she saw the shimmer of a pair of very cold eyes which were staring at her with the hunger of a predator. Vanima wished that she had known more prayers, that she had been a better daughter for her parents, this creature wanted her blood and life and she was defenseless. The creature chuckled and she cringed at the sound, it was terrible. It sounded as if someone was pulling their fingernails down a blackboard, it just hurt listening to it. “So, here we are my pretty one, oh I know you are curious but fear not. I will show you the true meaning of this soon enough. I just don’t think you will like it very much.”
The voice was just as awful, it was so cold, so distorted. And yet she somehow found it familiar in a very creepy way, she just could not identify it. She swore and the creature chuckled once more. “Just fight little one, I love the defiant ones. I bet your screams will be exquisite and then you will be only mine, both your body and your soul. You will serve me and my master forever, consider yourself honored.”
Vanima felt cold tears running down her cheeks, never. She would never serve darkness, alive or in death. There had to be a way out of this terrible situation. The creature moved away, the light went with him and it was almost a relief, she didn’t have to see him anymore. Vanima swallowed hard, stared out into the darkness. There was a scent in the air, one she recognized and yet it could not be? Or could it! Oh by the Valar, it could, she felt herself shiver to the bone. She had always found that scent comforting but now it told her the awful truth.It had become even more important that she got out of there alive, they did have a monster among themselves, hidden in plain view. The truth hit her like lightening and she felt sick and betrayed and more than anything else horrified. It hadn’t been accidents and just bad luck, it had been his plan the whole time. Who could possibly resist the power of the dark lord and come out of it unscathed? She wriggled herself into position again and started her tedious work of sawing away at the rope once more.
He had fooled them, tricked them all, her too. She could not believe that she had trusted him but now she had to warn everybody of his true nature and it felt so bitter. She had confided in him, trusted him like a brother. The blood made her hands slick and she often missed and cut herself even more but she continued working with determination, she could not fail. Teren, had something happened to him too? Had this monster disguised as one of the eldar hurt him too? There was a great chance for that and the very idea made her moan and work even faster. She had to get out of there. The walls of the small chamber were closing in around her and she felt as though the very air was tainted by evil and darkness, she could barely breathe. It felt as if every breath of air tainted her, stained her very soul and brought her closer to darkness itself, she was fighting her hysterical fear and tears were flowing down her cheeks. She had already lost a lot of blood but she could not hesitate, she had to get out of there. She had only this one chance, she had to be gone before that thing returned.
She prayed as she pushed her hands back and forth against the piece of metal, the rough sound was almost reassuring, she didn’t hear the silence and didn’t feel the darkness so well, keep pushing, keep sawing, her inner voice was pleading her and she groaned and blessed her own stubbornness. She had always had a strong will, not it served her well. Then suddenly she felt something snap, she gasped and pulled and slowly her hands came free from the rope but it hurt like hell. The blood was circulating once more and it felt as though her fingers were about to explode. She whimpered in pain and started working on the rope around her legs. She did find the knot but it was terribly hard and she broke her fingernails trying to open it but it didn’t matter. She was desperate to get out of there, finally she was free and pushed herself out of the small hole. It was dark there, she knew from what direction he had come and she let her hand graze the wall and followed it with slow tiny steps. She soon found a door, made from wood and very solid. She pulled at it and it didn’t budge, not even an inch. It was locked and she bit her lips to stop a scream from emerging from the very deep of her soul. No, she could not be locked in, there had to be a way out.
Vanima was a clever elleth, she knew a lot and she bent down, ripped a piece of her tunic and found a piece of rock, hit it against another one. Some rocks would create sparks when being hit and she tried several times before she found one that did. The tiny sparks didn’t last for more than a second but for the keen eyes of an elf that was enough. She found a small piece of metal and after some attempts she managed to set fire to the piece of cloth. It would not last for long but she managed to take a look at her prison. It was a very narrow and low corridor with several chambers like the one she had been in on the sides, her eyes were desperately searching for a way out. She suddenly saw it, a small ventilation shaft up by the roof in a corner. It was so small and probably extremely unstable but she had to take the chance. She could not be down there when that monster returned. She ran over to the corner, it would be a very tight fit indeed and maybe too tight but she had to try. She got rid of her tunic and her pants too, she could not wear anything that might make her snag on something and she had only a pair of undies on as she jumped up and pushed herself into the dark opening. She had to abandon her primitive torch and it was pitch black. If something blocked the shaft she was doomed, she could not crawl back out and she whimpered with fear but kept crawling, she could not even pull her arms in underneath her, she had to keep her body stretched out and she tried not to think about the things she was crawling through, dust, dead rats and mice, spiders and other bugs. Desperately she forced her way forward, some places it was so tight she couldn’t breathe but she didn’t hesitate, fear and adrenaline gave her strength far beyond normal and she just knew that far up there she would find light again, and safety. She could not stop now, she had to continue fighting. The fight was all that she had left now, all she could trust in.
Thranduil and the other ellyn had wandered into the garden, there were many elves gathering there now, some were singing laments to Teren’s honor and memory while others just sat there, some weeping and others staring out into nothing as if they were asleep. Thranduil sat down by one of the old fountains that adorned the small garden, it was ancient and not very pretty but the solid stone felt almost comforting underneath his touch. It was so real, so solid. He sighed and cursed his father’s orders again, the soldiers had not found a single trace of her and Thranduil was starting to wonder if she may not be that far away after all. Why he did not know, it was some sort of instinct. If the note Teren had gotten was a fraud then why should she have been out there in the woods with him when he was killed? She had perhaps never even left the palace! He had told the palace guards to go searching every nook and cranny and they did but they didn’t find anything, yet he could not free himself from this aching sensation of having overseen something.
The dark haired ellon which was such a close friend to Vanima’s family came walking, he looked very sad and he was red eyed and his shoulders were slumping forward, he looked like a truly broken soul but Thranduil couldn’t help it, he felt a strange sort of antagonism towards the poet. It was almost as if he could smell something abnormal when the ellon was close by. Thranduil shook his head and tried to forget about the things he had seen. The healers would have a terrible job preparing Teren’s body for its funeral, he had looked absolutely grotesque and Thranduil still felt the taste of bile in his mouth when he thought about it. To see the mangled body of an eldar was always horrible, to know that the immortality had been ripped away and stolen from someone who should have been singing and loving and lived in the sun forever. Thranduil wasn’t aware of it but he was soon humming along to some of the laments, it felt like the right thing to do, he was trying to honor his friend in whatever way he could.
Vanima had almost gotten stuck a couple of times but she had managed to crawl through the shaft for hours or so it seemed, she could see something that had to be a faint light up ahead and her heart was racing. She had managed to squirm her way through corners and bends and even though she felt weak and terribly scared she was as determined as ever to get out of there. She pushed herself forward and saw a small opening, it was just a few inches across and she sobbed and pushed herself forth, until her face was pressed against the small hole. It was just so big that she could see through it and she was staring at a garden, she heard singing and saw feet which were parading by. She took a deep breath, she had to let them know she was there! She was about to scream when she noticed a pair of very nice grey boots a short distance away, she immediately froze. He was there, the thought made her sick to the bone and she felt herself shiver all over. She could not let anyone know of her whereabouts until he was gone! He would kill her if they found her now, she would not have time to warn them at all. She tried to take a look around, there were another pair of boots even closer, the person had to sit on whatever it was she was underneath. The boots were expensive, made from the finest leather and she could just see an embroidered beech in silver on the side of the boot closest to her. The symbol of the house of Oropher, this had to be Thranduil. Vanima was thinking fast, she knew that he and Teren were close, Teren had told her that. He had probably also told the prince of what they had been doing and she hoped that her beloved had told Thranduil of her attempts at mimicking birds. Her lips were cracked and her throat dry but she sucked on her tongue, managed to wet her mouth enough for her to whistle. It was a very faint sound, almost nothing at all and she just hoped that he could hear her.
Thranduil was sitting there, humming and trying to relax his raging mind when he heard something odd, a very weak sound like a bird singing but far away. He raised his chin, stared at the trees, it was back again, but he saw no birds? And the sound was weird, off somehow. What kind of bird made such sounds? He tried to pretend as if nothing was off, he didn’t want to look like a complete moron, listening for birdsong when they were mourning his very best friend. It was a blue winged fly catcher, the type indigenous to the rivers and he suddenly felt ice cold. He remembered what Teren had told him of Vanima’s failed attempt at mimicking those birds. The tunes ended just the way Teren had shown him, all wrong. Thranduil took a deep breath, covered his face with his hands, was he going in sane or was this real? Could it be that her spirit somehow was able to reach the world of the living? Had she become a houseless soul, a lingerer?
He felt tears swelling up in his eyes, if that was the case then this was beyond tragic. That he sat there looking distraught was no wonder, nobody reacted to that considering the circumstances. The sound came back again and he frowned, it sounded as if it came from the ground itself? What the heck? He could not go down on his knees starting to listen for birdsong? The others would believe that he finally had lost it completely. He straightened his robe and then he reached down, pulled off his left boot as if his sock had gotten wrinkled or something. As he was bent down he tried to listen and the sound came from the base of the old fountain. He pulled at his sock, wriggled his toes and bent down so far he could see the rock underneath him. There was a hole in it, he had not seen it before and the sound of the birdsong came from it. He let his long hair fall forward, it covered and shielded his face and he whispered with a thin and rather shivering voice. “Vanima?!”
There was a squeak, then he heard a voice whispering. “It is I, I am in a shaft underneath this thing, but do not let anyone know it. It was Feanuldo who did this to me, he is in the service of the dark lord.!”
Thranduil had a hard time not revealing what he was thinking at this moment, he felt how his heart suddenly was beating with great force and he felt his mouth go dry. If this was true the ellon was very dangerous and he could not risk the lives of others by exposing him like this. He pulled the sock back on, took the boot and shook it. “I’ll get you out, just hang in there!”
He whispered the words fast and got up, tried to find a way to get everybody out of the garden without making Feanuldo suspicious. He walked into the halls behind the garden, his mind racing. He suddenly saw Oropher walking towards him and he rushed forward, the king stared at his son who was wild eyed and pale. “Vanima, she is in the garden, underneath the old fountain. It was Feanuldo who did it, he cannot know where she is.”
Oropher raised an eyebrow and stared at his son in disbelief but the desperate look within Thranduil’s blue eyes told him that this was the truth and not some mad and crazy hallucination. He nodded and Thranduil bit his lower lip. “Please, we have to get everybody out of there, now!”
The king nodded and then he put up his most regal expression, he got one of the servants to come to him and pointed at the people gathered in the garden. “I think we shall hold a real ceremony tonight, to pray for them both. Ask my butler to open a barrel of good wine and get the kitchen staff to serve some food, we will decorate the garden and then we will gather everybody there.”
The servant bowed and ran off and Oropher waited for a few minutes before he wandered into the garden, he looked somber and sad and raised his arms to ask for silence. “My brethren, my friends. Tonight we will hold a mourning ceremony for our lost brother, we will use this garden and I must bid thee leave it now as my servants will start to decorate it soon. There will be some wine and food served in the dinner hall soon, feel free to go there and drink to his honor.”
Thranduil stood behind Oropher, his eyes glued to the ground and he looked out of the corner of his eye as everybody left, Feanuldo included. Oropher called for more servants and then he had the entrance to the garden locked securely.
Thranduil didn’t waste any time, he ran over to the fountain and fell to his knees, he stared at the small hole and saw a pair of desperate eyes staring back at him. She tried to stretch a hand out through the hole and he could barely contain a gasp at the sight of her bloody swollen and cut wrist. He grasped her hand, felt it shiver and he felt so deeply sorry for her. “Do not worry, we will get you out of there soon. “
She whimpered and Oropher barked an order. Some of the servants came with chisels and hammers and before long they were hammering away at the rock. Vanima had closed her eyes to protect them and she was shivering like a leaf in the wind. She was so close, so close. She was desperate to get out of there. They broke away pieces of rock and worked desperately fast and suddenly a large piece of the base fell off and an opening appeared, large enough for her. Thranduil reached in, grasped her hands and didn’t mind the blood at all. He pulled her out of the hole even though it was almost too small, sharp rocks cut into her chest and hips but with a whimper she was out of the hole and found that she was unable to stand up. Her body felt numb, almost gone and her heart was beating in a weird rhythm. It was as if she really wasn’t able to believe that she was free again and Thranduil held her and stared at her with huge eyes. She looked awful, bloody, covered with dust and grime and she was more or less naked. He blushed and pulled off his cloak, wrapped it around her.
She shivered and panted and he saw the terrible fear in her eyes. “Feanuldo, he kidnapped me, he is evil! A servant of Sauron! You must stop him but be aware, he is probably very powerful.”
Oropher sent Thranduil a swift glance out of the corner of his eye and the prince shook his head discretely, they hadn’t told her yet. “I know dear, but relax, we will deal with him.”
Oropher turned to the servants. “Take her to the baths and then to the healers, she has got to get rid of all that dirt before her wounds become infested.”
The servants just bowed and Vanima whimpered, she didn’t feel safe at all. “Please, until he is caught, give me a guard?”
Oropher stared at her with pity, no wonder she was terrified. He smiled gently, happy that she was alive, that they hadn’t lost two young elves. “Of course child, Thranduil, pick out two of the palace guards, follow her to the baths.”
Thranduil smiled and tried to hide his sorrow, she didn’t know yet, how were they to tell her the truth? Vanima sighed with relief and then it came, the inevitable question. “Teren, where is he? He must be told that I am here, that I am alive?”
Thranduil felt that his throat constricted, that he was unable to make a single sound. He just stared down at the ground feeling how tears were filling his eyes once more and the servants swallowed hard and stared away too. Vanima looked at them, at the weird expressions, the sorrow in their eyes and the strange way they acted, as if they really didn’t want to talk to her. Thranduil caught her eyes for a second, she could see tears in his and then it dawned on her, it struck her like lightening and she felt how her legs gave way underneath her. She heard a scream but she didn’t realize that it was her own until Oropher slapped her across her face just to calm her down. “No, no, no, it isn’t true, he isn’t dead, he can’t be dead, Valar say it isn’t true!”
Thranduil grasped her again, lifted her as if she was a mere child. “I’ll take her to the baths and the healer afterwards, go find that bastard adar, and please, make him suffer!!”
Oropher reached out, rearranged the cloak so that it better preserved her modesty, there was something very tender in his eyes. “Yes son, I most certainly will!”
Vanima felt as though she was crawled into a nightmare, her body was aching all over, she was feeling very dizzy and scared and Teren was dead? It was unreal, he had been there, alive and well just hours ago? She tried to suppress a wail of sheer grief and disbelief but failed to, it forced its way out and Thranduil sighed and pressed her against his own body as he swiftly carried her off, he just wished that there was something he could have done to put her mind at ease.
She had escaped, he felt it, smelt it. He didn’t even have to go down there, she was out. How was that possible? Well, that little wench was resourceful and strong, that was why he had chosen her in the first place. But he could not lose her, the time was drawing near, he had to make sure that he got what was his at the right moment. Now, where could she be? If those darn soldiers had found her they would most certainly bring her to the healers, but that place was always filled with elves, too many for him to subdue easily. He wasn’t so strong yet that he could overpower that many, but he would be, as soon as her soul was his to control. He could hear racket, running feet and he was sure he heard a female scream, he grinned. Ah, they would of course bathe her, she had to look awful if she had managed to escape his clutches. The old tannery was a nice hiding place but it had its weaknesses, there was no denying that. So the little bitch had managed to get out of there, he wondered how but it did not matter that much. What mattered was that he got his hands on her again and this time nothing would stand in his way. He saw that servants and soldiers were scurrying around, luckily he knew that there were lots of lesser used passageways through the palace, those the servants usually used. He quickly disappeared into one of them, there was no time to waste.
Vanima was half hysterical and half paralyzed, she just hang there in his arms as though she was dead and her eyes were huge and dark. Thranduil feared that she could fade from this, had the two of them completed the bond? Then she most certainly would, a bond so freshly made would be unbreakable, the death of one of the two would most certainly pull the other after into the halls too. He tried to remain calm for her sake, whispered soothing words but she was still sobbing in wild heaving gasps. The baths were huge and there were several pools with hot water. Thranduil stopped by one of them and two of the female servants immediately stripped and grasped Vanima gently but with firmness. She staggered between them into the water and Thranduil and the guards turned their backs to the bathing females, he felt that his cheeks were burning, she was indeed very shapely and he understood why Teren had been so eager to consummate the union. He really wondered if his friend had.
Vanima slowly relaxed, not because she felt any better but the hot water did some magic to her aching body, whence the pain subsided the grief really kicked in and she was sobbing and screaming and calling out his name over and over again as the ellith washed her with soft and gentle hands. They poured oil into her hair and combed it, washed her torn wrists and even if it burned and did sting she didn’t care. He was dead, he was gone. What had she done to deserve something like that? It was terrible! She should just have let Feanuldo kill her, maybe she would meet Teren again. She just wanted to crawl into a small ball and let herself fade, she didn’t really care about anything anymore. Then something happened, something very unexpected. The guards were standing a bit further away from the pool, they stood there talking quietly between themselves and all of a sudden someone came rushing forth with a terrible speed and attacked. Vanima recognized him immediately and screamed in utter terror, she fell back into the water and the servants struggled to hold her. The guards fell, Feanuldo was perhaps a poet but he hadn’t been a poet for all his life, he had been a warrior and the skills he had learned while being captured came into good use. He felled those two elves with ease as they didn’t have time to react at all. Feanuldo had a very good sword, where he had gotten it was anyone’s guess but he knew how to use it and his eyes were glowing in a terrifying red nuance which really showed everybody watching that he no longer was an elf but something monstrous. Thranduil had reacted on instinct, he had drawn his own blade and it was a very good one, given to him by his father. It was crafted by the high elves of the second age and he knew he was a good fencer but was he good enough? The monster laughed. “Step out of my way princeling, and maybe I will spare your life, for a while at least”
Vanima was sitting in the pool, her head barely above water since her legs were unable to carry her and the two servants had ran to the back of the pool, utterly terrified. Thranduil growled. “You killed my best friend, and tried to murder his beloved, it is you who should fear me monster!”
Feanuldo just laughed and attacked, so fast he almost became a blur, but his blade was met with a clang and Thranduil spun and delivered a nasty cut to the poets forearm. He knew that it wouldn’t do, this creature had to be destroyed completely to be dead. Feanuldo hissed and the two combatants were soon engaged in a fierce swordplay, metal grinded against metal, the movements swift and elegant like a leafs dance across the meadows and yet deadly. Thranduil had been trained by the best and he knew that his technique was superior to Feanuldo’s but the servant of Sauron had dirty tricks up his sleeve and many of them were vicious. Thranduil knew he couldn’t win if he continued to play fair so he started using tricks of his own.
Vanima was close to passing out from sheer fear, she prayed that Thranduil would win. It was a hard fight and somehow the prince managed to block Feanuldo’s access to the pool over and over again, the monster was getting frustrated. He started to use his magic and Thranduil realized that he couldn’t survive this if he didn’t become just as mean as his opponent. He feigned fatigue, staggered back a few steps and Feanuldo hissed and followed, he had been reading the monster well. He acted just like an orc would and Thranduil brazed himself, what he was about to do would hurt but he had no choice if he was to save Vanima. There were lamps placed along the edge of the pool, tall metal poles held them up and they were filled with oil. When Feanuldo reached forth with a dangerous thrust Thranduil threw his torso out of the way and grasped one lamp with his bare hand. It was red hot and he roared in pain but lifted the heavy metal lamp off the floor and threw it at Feanuldo. The burning oil rained over the beast and his clothes and hair caught fire immediately. Feanuldo reared back, roaring with rage and Thranduil didn’t waste the opportunity at all. He jumped forward, swung his sword in an elegant tight curve and it cut through the possessed elf’s neck like it had been made from butter. There was a shrieking sound, and the head fell to the ground with a sickening thud as the body collapsed, spraying black blood around while it twitched in its final death spasms.
Thranduil panted, stared at the dead body with huge eyes, he had done it, he had killed the monster and he wasn’t even hurt. The door at the back of the bath burst open and the king and some more guards came running. “We heard screams and thought that…oh Valar!”
Thranduil just grunted and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I guess he lost his head, just let him burn, I bet he has to get used to flames.”
Oropher stared at his son with some new found respect. “Are you alright?”
Thranduil nodded and turned around, Vanima was still in the water, she was panting hysterically and the females rushed back and grasped her. Thranduil sheathed his sword and got some towels, went down to the pool with his eyes on the ground and the ellith grasped them and wrapped Vanima up. She was still shivering, staring at the burning body. As they brought her by it she spat at it and then she started to cry again. Oropher was shocked but he hid it well. “Take her to the healers and tell her parents she is alright, at least physically that is. And someone stand guard over this cadaver until it is reduced to ashes, keep it burning.”
Thranduil just stared at his father for a second before he hurried after the ellith, he wanted to know what the healers would do with her, and if there was a way to save her from suffering from trauma later on. The healers were waiting and they immediately forced her to drink a sedative before they rinsed and stitched up her torn wrists. Thranduil just stood there, watching the whole time. He had lost his friend and he would be damned if he allowed anything to happen to Teren’s beloved too. It wasn’t before Vanima fell asleep that he finally felt how his own body was shaking with the after effects of his fight, the adrenaline was leaving him and he had to sit down and stare at his own hands. His left palm was burned and the healers put some ointment on it and wrapped it in soft bandages, he didn’t even think about the pain. He was shivering and had a hard time believing that he actually had done it, that he had killed that creature. But he had and they were safe once more. Vanima’s family arrived and he left the room in silence, let them rejoice in peace.
The next day Teren was buried, Thranduil and the rest of his friends were there and so were most of the other elves too. He had been a very beloved person and having lost him was heartbreaking too many. Thranduil saw many ellith who were crying their eyes out and he felled some tears too. Teren’s father was pale and almost unable to stand on his feet, Oropher had ordered him to sail, if he stayed he would most certainly fade and Thranduil knew that they would send him off with an escort in just a couple of days. It made him feel very sad indeed. He spent the day with Antarar and the others but nobody was able to speak, they just sat there, caught by their own grief and sorrow. Oropher was busy, he was worried that perhaps Feanuldo had left dark spells behind and he had asked some of the more wise and experienced elves to come and go through the palace just to make sure. Thranduil was left to his own device these days and he had plenty of time to think. It was so unfair, so terribly so. Teren had been so happy, so full of life. Where was the justice in this? Why where the gods so cruel?
He didn’t hear anything about Vanima for days except from the fact that the healers kept her sedated to let her fêa rest. He wasn’t sure of what he should do, of how he should approach her. He wanted to show her his compassion and sorrow, to offer his condolences but he didn’t dare to go to her. Her family was there and he didn’t want them to get the wrong idea. The healers told him she was getting better but she was far from well, physically she was healing, but her soul was probably scarred for life. They feared that she would fade, that she would just lay down and will herself to die. Thranduil thought that it would be a complete tragedy, she had such fire, such spirit. Watching her fade would be like watching the sun itself die in the heavens.
Vanima didn’t leave the healers ward for two whole weeks, they forced her to eat, forced her to sleep while she just sat there, numb and frozen. She didn’t feel, she didn’t think, all she did was exist and it felt like some dark spell had been cast upon her. Why was she alive? What was the point? Finally she was allowed to get up, to move around. She was so weak and had lost so much weight and she seemed to have lost her spark completely. She hardly ever spoke, and when she did her voice was a mere whisper. Her parents were in despair, she had been a handful but now she had become so silent and indifferent it was frightening. How on arda were they going to get their dragon of a daughter back?
Vanima finally managed to gather enough strength to go to Teren’s grave, she felt as though she had to. She went there one evening and she was shocked when she saw that someone already was there, kneeling by it. There were fresh flowers placed on it and she recognized the ellon right away. He had saved her, she could not just forget that. She wanted to leave but he noticed her and turned around, wiped his face with his sleeve and she realized that he had been crying. He had been very fond of Teren too and she remembered that Teren had told her that he and the prince had been friends for most of their lives.
Thranduil bowed his head politely, shocked by her appearance. “My lady”
She just gave him a faint smile and kneeled down next to him, laid some flowers onto the grave. Thranduil tried to break the awkward silence. “It is so hard to really accept that he is gone. He has always been there with his jokes and pranks and silly comments.”
Vanima tried to choke a sob but she couldn’t. “I only knew him for a few days and yet I feel like my life is over too, I miss him so much.”
Thranduil swallowed. “You were meant for each other, two parts of a whole. Of course you feel that way.”
She tried to smile. “You are understanding, thank you for your kind words.”
Thranduil sighed. “It is the truth Vanima, you and Teren would have been so happy together. I am sure of it.”
She closed her eyes. “Yes, I regret that we didn’t bond completely.”
He bit his lip, looked a bit worried. “Then you would most probably have died too!”
Vanima hit the loose soil with her hand. “Not with his child growing in me I wouldn’t, I would have had something of him left, and now he is all gone!”
She was gasping and tears were streaming down her face once more, the grief felt so fresh, so raw. Thranduil didn’t really know what to say to her. “So, are you to return to your home soon?”
Vanima sighed and shook her head. “How can I? It doesn’t feel like home anymore, not with him resting here. But I guess I have to go anyhow, my parents want me to return and they want to marry me off, they think that it will make me forget about Teren but how can I ever?”
Thranduil was a bit shocked by her words. “Oh, that is a bit insensitive I would say. “
She nodded, staring down at the ground with tears streaming down her face like rivers of silver. “Yes, but they do think they know what’s best for me.”
Thranduil swallowed, grasped her sleeve and made her look at him. “Where is she, the she dragon that I met in the garden that night, the one that shocked me?”
Vanima just sighed. “Dead, gone with him, she is no more my prince, just a shell. And soon I will have to leave here for good and what I had with Teren will become just a memory.”
She broke down, hid her face within her hands and sobbed. Thranduil felt terrible, confused and filled with sorrow. Then it suddenly hit him, a solution to her problem, and to his. One they both could benefit from. He grasped her hand, she stared at him in confusion and a bit of intimidation. “Vanima, I know that you don’t want to marry the one your family has picked out for you and I have the same problem. My ada has given me just a year to find an elleth to marry and there is nobody here who have caught my interest.”
She frowned. “What are you saying?”
He took a deep breath. “Marry me Vanima!”
She gasped and backed away from him, eyes wide and mouth open. “You are mad!”
He shook his head vigorously. “No, not at all. Think about it, you don’t have to leave this place, I will not force you to become my wife for real, all you have to do is to say the words and that’s it. Your family will be pleased, my family will be pleased and we can both go on with our lives as we please?”
She stared at him, her chin trembling and she just stared at his pleading eyes. He looked down. “Teren was my best friend Vanima, there isn’t anything that I wouldn’t do for him. As my wife you will be safe, you will be in power and others will listen to you. You are so wise Vanima, so smart. I cannot think of anyone more suitable to become a princess.”
She still just stared, her heart beating like a drum in her chest. What was he really saying? She could stay there? Suddenly the idea was more than tempting, more than good, she didn’t want to return to her home, to be the victim of the well-meaning but choking care of her huge family. They would pity her and comfort her and treat her like a child and she could not stand the very idea of it. It made her feel trapped again, like the walls of that tiny chamber were closing around her once more. She breathed fast, her body shivering, becoming the princess of Greenwood? Thranduil’s wife? She had loathed him, seen him as nothing but a spoiled brat but she had seen how he cared for his friends, how far he was willing to go to protect her. She had seen his grief and knew that she had been very wrong about him. She managed to get her tongue back under control. “If I answer yes, will you let me continue my studies? Let me be just me and not some pampered lady of the court?”
He nodded eagerly. “Of course!”
Vanima closed her eyes, took a deep breath and knew she had somehow sealed her fate in the moment she opened her mouth. “Then I say yes, I will marry you!”
Thranduil smiled but the smile was somehow sad. “This is not how I imagined that I would propose to my future wife but I am glad, I will go tell my father immediately and he will make the necessary arrangements with your parents. They will not say no when the king himself comes to them and delivers such a message.”
Vanima took a deep breath and suddenly she felt strangely safe, and yet utterly bitterly sad. “No they won’t”
Her voice was a mere whisper and he took her hand very gently and kissed it. “Don’t fear Vanima, it will be alright, I am sure it will be everything we could possibly want.”
She stared down at the ground, frightened by the cold she felt rush through her heart. There was nothing more to do, but at least he would allow her to mourn in peace. He got on his feet, gave her his hand so she could get up too and Vanima had to smile, a bittersweet smile. Her parents would be thrilled, their daughter a princess? They would be overjoyed! She felt as if she was the sacrificial lamb and the future the altar onto which she was being placed ready for the slaughter but why care? Her life was no longer of any importance to her so why not just go with the flow and see where it would take her. After all, she no longer cared if she was to live or die.
- 2
- 3
- 4
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Unanswered prayers