Lim Aear

Author's Note: Once more, I am really sorry for not updating sooner. I am facing some personal problems at the moment, which have kept my mind busy with other things. I cannot thank you enough for your reviews, they really lifted my spirits when I reached the bottom of all bottoms emotionally. With the changes that took place in AFF.Net, I am finally able to reply to each of you individually! I would also like to thank Marisa for doing a great job with the story. This is one of the final chapters; we're very near the end now. I'm sorry if it seems short to you, but it made sense to have it end here. I promise the next will be a long one!


Disclaimer: See Prologue.

italics: thoughts

[translations]

Chapter 25

“Lady Elaine! My Lady!”

The urgent tone of Belwen’s voice coming from the corridor did nothing to awaken Elaine from the state she was in. Curled in a ball in one corner of Legolas’ room, she had cried, unable to believe what had happened. The furious face of her husband appeared in her mind over and over again and each time a new flow of tears poured from her eyes. How was it possible? Was he the same gentle being she had married? What had she done to deserve his fury? She had only danced with a friend! How could he ever question her fidelity to him, when she was ready to forsake her family, her friends and whatever was ever known to her, to settle with him in Lim Aear?

No more tears were left to shed after a while and she stayed, curled as she was, staring numbly at the empty space before her, rocking back and forth on the cold marble floor.

“My lady?” Belwen’s voice came this time from inside the room, and was very confused at not finding the Princess. Her eyes scanned the room, her gaze finally landing on the young woman’s figure in the corner. Belwen froze for a few seconds, unable to take in the picture in front of her. Was it really as bad as it had sounded?

Of course she had heard everything. With their keen elven hearing, the whole palace had. But due to the circumstances, nobody had time to gossip; they were running around, helping the soldiers barricade the gates of the Palace once all the elven population of Lim Aear was safely inside the walls. It was the first time the capital of Lim Aear was under attack in centuries. And Belwen had a terrible, terrible feeling.

“My Lady?” she called again softly as she approached the woman. Elaine kept looking ahead of her, her eyes blank, long-dried tears creating strange patterns on her face. “Elaine?” she tried again, this time shaking her to get her attention.

The young mortal finally turned her head towards her and Belwen frowned. She had hoped not to see so much anguish and pain in those green eyes again, but such emotions seemed to live permanently in Elaine’s gaze; and it was the same person who had driven them away, that had brought them back with reinforced intensity.

“He will keep me here against my will.”

Belwen was surprised when she heard the voice of the young woman. It was hoarse from crying and had come out almost as a whisper.

“He will do no such thing.” Belwen tried to reassure Elaine, but the woman shook her head sniffing, as new tears slid to add their trail in the abstract picture the previous ones had drawn on her skin.

“No,” she said her voice breaking. “You didn’t see him, Belwen! You didn’t see his face! I only danced with one of my friends…”

Belwen could not find fault in Elaine. But neither did she in Legolas. Both were right and both were wrong at the same time. It was not their fault they were so different; that their worlds were so different. She understood Legolas’ jealousy; and she had expected it with dread. Never having loved so fiercely before, Legolas would be a force to reckon with if jealous. She had not known what he was capable of doing, but his reaction had come as no surprise to her: she had expected him to not be able to control his feelings. But at the same time, she believed he should have acted a little wiser; he was an elf after all, patience and control were innate virtues. But could one really tell with love? It was a force and law on its own and nothing could be ‘expected’ when it was involved.

Elaine, on the other hand, was not to blame either. She had done just what she had said: dance. But such an innocent act for someone of her age in the upper world could seem a sin in the eyes of the more conservative elves. True, they were not totally alienated and had tried to adjust to the new circumstances, but still, they lived in a cavern system away from the people of the upper world; and they had values that could not be forgotten overnight. Elaine should have known that, as the wife of an elven Prince and Princess of Lim Aear, she should act a little more reserved. But, maybe they expected too much from a young woman? Maybe they had pushed her too far and expected her to change what she was in a few days? She was only a girl in the prime of her youth; Legolas was an elven Prince who had never tasted love before and was lost in the strength of his feelings. Could either be blamed?

“Shhh,” Belwen hushed Elaine and caressed her back in a soothing manner. “His Highness was just angry, my Lady. I am sure he has already regretted his words.” But knowing the stubbornness of Legolas, she doubted that. However, she had to get Elaine to safety and all she could do at the moment was to comfort her.

“Come, there is no time for that now! We have to reach the caves at the west wing of the Palace,” the elf told Elaine as she slowly pulled her up on her feet.

Elaine looked at her confused as she stood unsteadily on her feet, feeling dizzy from her continuous crying.

“The west wing?”

Belwen looked at her with furrowed brows. Had she not heard the commotion?

“We are under attack, my lady! We have to reach safety!”

Elaine’s heart sank to her stomach, as she suddenly became aware of the chaos around her. She took a quick peek at the balcony and gasped. The city was in upheaval; elves were running inside the walls of the Palace, archers were lining on their length and guards either helped the people inside or reinforced the gates. The commotion in the Palace finally registered in her mind, but it took her a few moments to realize the truth of the situation: their lives were actually in danger!

She followed Belwen as they made their way into the crowded corridors in a shocked state. First, her fight with Legolas; now the attack. Did God truly hate her so much?

“Where are we going?” she managed to ask in her lost state.

“There is a secret passage at the west wing of the palace, which leads to the caves in the rocky wall behind it! We will be safe there, the orcs won’t be able to find us!”

Elaine gripped the hand of the elleth harder, her face wearing a horrified expression. The orcs won’t find us? They are coming here?? She felt her blood turn cold in her veins as realization set in and her sight blurred from forgetting to breathe. Finally, her body reacted and she gasped for breath, her lungs filling abruptly with oxygen and making her once more light-headed. She wanted to ask Belwen how much time they had, but her panicked state did not allow her vocal chords to comply with her wishes. Instead, she followed her numbly, until they reached the Great Hall, where Legolas’ throne sat and dances took place; it connected with a large terrace, which overlooked the city and the Lake.

She halted abruptly and Belwen turned to look at her confused.

“Belwen, where is Legolas?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the view in front of her.

“Why, at the borders! My lady, have you forgotten he is the leader of our army?” Belwen chuckled uneasily. The behavior of the woman unsettled her for some reason.

“Then what are the orcs doing here?”

Belwen turned her head sharply to where Elaine was looking and paled at the sight of the black, roughly made boats with the yelling orcs in the distance, that were approaching the city’s harbor slowly but in a steady speed. For the first time in her immortal life, Belwen truly panicked. She remained looking frozen at the approaching boats, her mind completely blank.

It was not hard for Elaine to recognize the orcs. Legolas had given her an accurate description and, although it was impossible to make out their figures from such a long distance, the waving swords and animal-like yelling left no doubt as to the nature of the boats’ owners. Her eyes moved to the small number of archers on the walls that had already seen the enemy and were urging the guards to hurry in barricading the gates. She panicked. Oh God, what are we going to do, what are we going to do, what are we going to do… she chanted in her mind, trying to make the wheels of her mind start working again. She turned her head to her left, toward the woods in the distance and the borders of the city. She could see the black boats that were resting at the shores there and figured out that it was where the army was keeping off the first attack. But the boats were so few and the ones approaching to their city were at least ten times more… Is it a trap again? She thought, her stomach constricting in fear. How could they not see it coming after their last attack? She kept looking back and forth between the smaller and bigger army of orcs. Legolas had to be informed! Surprising even herself with the fire that suddenly flared inside her, she grabbed the tunic of an elf that was rushing past them, turning him around.

“Send somebody to inform the Prince that we are under attack and quickly! Is everybody inside the gates?”

The elf nodded meekly, too shocked at the display of authority coming from the young mortal.

“Good, gather everybody in the caves, we do not have much time!”

The elf looked surprised at the elleth standing next to the woman and hesitated.

“Do as the Princess says!” Belwen prodded him and both females watched as the elf bowed hastily and disappeared into the crowd. Belwen, awoken from her shocked state, grabbed Elaine’s hand once more and pulled her towards the secret passage. “Bado ath i gathryd! Bado lim! Yrch anglennar!” she called to the elves around them, as they made their way to the west wing. [Go to the caves! Go fast! Orcs are approaching!]

Elaine had to admire the elven race once more. Even in that chaos, they managed to stay calm -at least on the outside- and organized. No panicked running, no stepping over people, no yelling; she could not even begin to imagine what would happen, if something like that had occurred on the upper world!

She turned her head to look at the Lake once more as they passed another large window and her face paled. They had already made it to the shore and were running up through the first houses of the city, burning whatever stood in their way! Would the army make it in time?

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Legolas grabbed the handles of his twin knives from his back and brought them in front of him, twirling them in his hands. Ducking gracefully to avoid the orcish blade, he slashed at the abdomen of the orc and swirled around to bury his other knife in the throat of another. Golden hair flying around him, he performed his deadly dance, killing orc after orc in the process. Being a warrior at heart, he usually enjoyed the fight, having the chance to rid the world of those worthless creatures. But that day, try as he might, his mind kept entertaining that nagging feeling that something was wrong. He performed the practiced for ages moves mechanically, looking once in a while around him, noticing the relatively small number of the orcs in the area.

Something was wrong. Even as stupid as they were, the orcs would never attack the capital of Lim Aear with such a small force. But… could it be a trap again? Had they underestimated their intelligence once more? Could the attack be a diversion to draw the army out of the city? His heart fell to his stomach as a picture of the city under attack entered his mind and his eyes widened.

Elaine!

Curse his stubbornness and pride! He should have let her return to the upper world! She wouldn’t be in such danger if his hurt ego and terrible jealousy hadn’t covered all his senses and reason!

He finished off another orc and gracefully swung himself on the low branch of a tree, pushing himself upwards to stand on it. Climbing with ease, he reached the top, gazing towards the city. To his relief, the gates were closed and he could see the archers lined across the walls; everything was fine. But it was as he turned his gaze towards the Lake that his blood froze in his veins. The black of the boats sailing slowly towards the city had covered the blue of the Lake like a swarm of ants and they were approaching the shores fast. Even if his army made it to the city, how could they get into the Palace? They wouldn’t be able to use the gates, they would be probably crowded with orcs once they arrived.

The east door! he thought with a small flicker of hope in his chest and proceeded to climb down the tree. They could use the hidden east door at the walls surrounding the palace, that lead through the practice fields to the east entrance!

“Adanoth!”

The Captain, pulled his sword from the chest of an orc, using his foot for resistance, and letting him drop on the ground. He turned to look at the Prince and noticed with concern the worried expression on his face.

“The city is under attack,” Legolas told him hurriedly, while gathering as many arrows as he could from the fallen orcs around him. Adanoth’s eyes widened but he kept silent. “I’m taking the army back to the city. We will have to make it through the eastern gate to the palace before they manage to breech the wall!”

“Are they so many?” the other elf asked him, dread in his voice.

“Aye, they are. Stay here and finish off the rest with the wardens. Once you are done, I want you to hurry back to the city; we will need all the help we can get!”

Legolas turned to leave when Adanoth grabbed his arm.

“What about Lothlorien, my lord? Should I send someone for reinforcements?”

Legolas shook his head.

“’Tis half a day’s ride, Adanoth. They will not make it in time. The orcs are docking on the shores as we speak.”

Adanoth numbly let the Prince’s arm go and watched him gather the army. How could they not see it coming? This was the first time Lim Aear was in such an eminent danger. Never before had the attacks been so serious and organized. Had those wretched creatures spent all those centuries gathering forces and planning their attack?

Finally snapping out of his trance, Adanoth called to the wardens. They had to re-group and finish the remaining orcs quickly; their city needed them.

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