Chapter 16

Mistril could hardly walk without losing consciousness. On her right side was Legolas, who was really almost carrying her to the basement. Gweluven was on her other side, bridaly carrying Illion whose knee had just been snapped. 

"He's so...so angry," Mistril gasped, her eyes burning.

She wasn't aware but Legolas could feel her mark burning the flesh. Once they arrived in the healing rooms, Mistril sat on the bed and she was chained to it this time. When Lord Celeborn came into sight she could feel this sudden wave of annoyance fall over her. She growled at him like an orc and tried several times to free her hands.

"Do you really believe I can be kept down here now that he called for me?" She asked through gritted teeth. "You are weak. You don't know what is happening in the world." 

Miluinir was the most shocked elf in the room. He had known Mistril to be very calm from the moment he found her awake in the Halls. That image was crumbling as she was showing them her true colours. 

"Give her something to calm down and keep an eye on her. Be wary even when she is asleep." Celeborn said before he signed for Gweluven to put Illion in a different room. "She is incredibly dangerous so be careful." 

"How dangerous can she be, though? We are in Lorien." Was the question many young elves were wondering but only Elrohir had the courage to ask.

"She could kill us all in matter of minutes." Celeborn answered before he left.

Elrohir and Elladan glanced at each other before they turned to Legolas. The wood elf looked like he was ready to chain himself to her. 

"You know what this means, right?" Elladan started, "He has returned. No, he didn't even leave. We were naive to think peace will be kept forever." 

"She will not go to him. She has someone she can hold onto this time." Arwen sounded very sure for someone who only recently met Mistril. 

For most elves, that reason was Legolas. For many years they believed Legolas, her saviour, was that glint of happiness that she needed in order to be saved. They weren't wrong but they weren't completely right either.

That night Legolas chose to sleep by her side. Mistril was heavily sedated and looked like she was dead because her chest was not rising as a sign she was breathing. 

"It's such a sad sight. He took it upon himself to guard us from her." Mumbled Miluinir as he stood in the doorway with his mentor. 

"Is he really? Look at the way he grasps her hand, at the way he fell asleep facing her...he is protecting her from us. He found her to begin with so who are we to damage this person he brought back to life?" Gweluven explained, smiling softly when he noticed her waking up. 

Mistril opened her eyes and figured there was something a lot heavier than a chain around her. She looked down and sighed as she saw the platinum blond hair of her favourite elf. She could barely get her hand from his and softly caressed his hair, like an older sister. She was old enough to be his mother but she preferred not to think of it like that. It made her feel bad for herself, for letting herself hope for a good future. Noticing her own mark and the way it seemed to taunt her, Mistril moved her head so that she was facing up. The ceiling was white but if she closed her eyes, it was all red. 

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"Will she be alright? Will we be safe?" Elladan asked his brother as they sat in the garden of Lady Galadriel's house. Arwen was on the bench while Elrohir was pacing around with a thoughtful expression. Elladan was picking grass, his own mind bothered by what he had seen. "I can't believe we saw the Shadow." 

"Whether we like it or not the Shadow is part of her. It was probably her only identity, the only thing she knew back then. But she has us now. I'm sure father would say the same thing." Elrohir commented making his sister smile proudly. 

"What about Lady Galadriel? We're in her land right now, not in Imladris." Elladan added pondering on a rock he found.

"The Lady knows that Mistril would never harm any of us."

"Tell that to Illion. He has a fractured leg and cannot fight or even walk for a while." 

Arwen narrowed her eyes at her brother and scoffed.

"He had it coming. He shouldn't have egged her on." She replied, "Mistril can control herself. She has a reason to fight against her darkness."

"Legolas. He seems to be the only one able to keep her conscious." Elrohir approved with a nod. As long as Legolas was around there was a chance or else they had to call for Glorfindel. 

Arwen looked down at her hands and thought about the real reason Mistril was ardently fighting to keep herself normal. Love was such a strong catalyst.

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"What do you mean the king has a headache? He was perfectly fine just a few hours ago." Hinnorbes asked Tudor who just informed the healer of what he has heard. "And why do you look so bad? Have you been fighting every day?"

Tudor blinked and looked at his hands. His fingers were bleeding and he had a lot of dirt under his nails, his legs and arms were slightly trembling while his whole attire looked like he has been living in a wild land. 

"Don't ask and don't tell anyone else about the king. I'm sure he already took something for his pain." Tudor chose to ignore the questions about his shape. It was better for people who were not military to go on with their usual lives and not know what was happening outside the borders.

"Glorfindel has been visiting quite often, hasn't he?" Hinnorbes changed the subject. "I wonder if it is about lady Mistril. King Thranduil has been melancholic ever since he received a gift from her." 

"You mean the drawing in the library? It's very realistic, she really caught his essence." Tudor said remembering the last time he saw it. Nobody expected him to frame it and put it in such an honorable place, moreover, have Thranduil stare at it from time to time with nostalgia. "Do you think that maybe Thranduil has deeper feeling for Mistril than he wants to admit?" He suddenly asked.

Hinnorbes stopped and looked at him with wide eyes. Of course, that could explain a lot of his moods and glances at the gate as if he was waiting for someone. 

"When there is a deep connection between two elves, some times it gets so strong that if something happens to one of them the other gets affected as well. Maybe that is why he has a headache..." she said, finishing the disinfection and applying ointment on Tudor's arms. "I'll go check on him now," she added and left the archer all by himself. 

Only a few minutes later the door opened and Faervel barged in with an arrow still stuck in his abdomen. 

"Where is Hinnorbes?" The commander asked as he sat on the bed. "Call her, or any other healer for that matter." He instructed Tudor. 

An hour later, with his wound patched up and resting in his own bed, Faervel sighed heavily. The forest was being poisoned by evil and no matter how much he tried to keep it as far as possible from the Wooden Realm, it was getting worse. 

"Sir," Tudor walked in with Faervel's son, who was just as tired as his father. "There are more and more orcs going to Dol Guldur. The number doubled over the last month. Something must be done,"

"And what do you want me to do? We already asked a few more elves to be part of our brigade. If I tell Thranduil, he'll only enforce the borders and eventually make everyone move into the Halls. We need to fight back not retreat." He said in a stern tone. 

"What about lord Glorfindel," his son started. "He must have told lord Elrond about our problem." 

"He did but Elrond is busy enough with his own land. He can only send a few elves to assist us but that's not enough. We don't need a war."

"We don't but the dwarves are ready to awaken a dragon in order to take back Erebor." Tudor said taking a step forwards. "What about them? They will come through Mirkwood soon and from what I heard, they have a wizard and a hobbit with them." 

"A hobbit?" Faervel asked with a raised eyebrow. "Where are they exactly?" 

Tudor shrugged and looked at Faervel's son, who shrugged in response. 

"We have the spiders and the fortress to worry about. A few dwarves and their friends automatically take second place on our scale of high risk. Father, someone has to enter Dol Guldur and inform us of what is truly happening there." 

Faervel and Tudor glanced at each other, the latter growing pale at the mere thought of setting foot near that place.

"Not yet. Let's deal with the dwarves first, see how much rufus they will cause and maybe we won't have to go in. I'm sure evil has eyes everywhere and also knows about their company." Faervel said and laid back as a sign for the two to leave.

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Thranduil was lying in bed, looking up at the ceiling with a confused expression. His headaches begun soon after Legolas left for Lothlorien and yet they intensified a few hours ago. The pain was so strong, it was just as if someone was trying to enter his mind, forcing it to open up and that wasn't working. He wondered if it was because of Mistril and the link she created towards him but it felt as if this immense force was not coming from her but from something else. 

A knock interrupted his daydream and with more or less care, he answered.

"I'm sorry, my lord, but I heard of your headache and prepared a calming potion for you." Hinnorbes started as she took a few steps inside his room. 

Thranduil looked at her and unconsciously frowned. Hinnorbes' figure was so fragile and feminine compared to Mistril's warrior form. He shook his head as he started to think about that elleth again. He had better things to do at the moment.

"I'm alright now. You can go back." He stated without a second glance at her.

"If you drink it, it will not only calm your pain but also lady Mistril's. If you two are indeed connected by a strong bond, you feel her pain. If it is so, she will also feel your ease." She continued before she placed the phial on the bed and left with a bow.

Thranduil did take the medicine and was able to fall asleep thanks to it. But next morning he woke up with a jolt, his ears ringing and head spinning. Whatever was going on in Lothlorien, he really hoped it would stop already.

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But evil was gaining more and more power and Mistril's condition was growing worse. Gweluven shuddered when the Shadow of Angmar glared at him while still chained to the bed.

"You do know what this means, don't you?" Gweluven asked Lord Celeborn once he left the healing rooms. "She is not suddenly having these fits out of desire."

"No, she is not," 

Gweluven frowned as Lady Galadriel entered her own home. She walked past the healer and went to her husband, having a silent agreement before she continued.

"Evil is at work in Dol Guldur. The forest of Mirkwood is being assaulted by monsters." She looked up at Legolas, who just entered when the subject became interesting. "But the wood elves are prepared, I see." She added with a smile as she saw inside Legolas' mind. 

"How can we help you, Legolas?" Lord Celeborn asked after a few minutes of silence. He knew his wife knew already from the way she was staring at the young prince but the others did not. 

"I want to take Mistril to Mirkwood. The years she spent with us were the only ones when she didn't have any problems. Gweluven can tend to her and-"

"No," was Galadriel's quick answer. "I know you care for her but she cannot return to Mirkwood. Not now, not ever."