The King's Heart (Thranduil Fanfiction)

Chapter 13

(Miniel)

Legolas was crying, so I went to the king's room to find out what was wrong. I found Legolas holding my brother's bow. A chair had been pushed up to its place in the wall, and Legolas had carried it to the floor, where he had sat with it.

When I asked him what was wrong, he had said he overheard that Thranduil would be fighting with the guard. Because I had heard the same thing, I couldn't deny it. I tried to assure him that his ada would be fine, there was nothing to worry about. But then the prince made me promise. How could I promise him that? How could I have said that I could not keep his ada safe? I just told him that I could. So I swore that I would do everything necessary to keep Thranduil alive.

This was before the king walked in. He had come through the door and, for a moment, I could see the thunder in his eyes; then those stormy eyes fell in Legolas, and all the thunder was gone, replaced by guilt and sorrow. He didn't want Legolas to need him, he was the king and that meant that he had to lead his people, he didn't enjoy being an absentee father, but it came with the throne.

All of these things I had seen in my father. Before he had turned into something far worse than an absent father.

I did not want to leave, but I could not impede upon what may be their last time together. I intended to honor my promise, but there were still too many factors and obstacles to believe that every elf would return home safely. That's why I had asked specifically for those with no family.

As I walked out, I heard laughter erupt from Legolas's sobs. Good. At least they get to have a little more fun before Thranduil leaves for battle.

I made my way to the great hall. I think Tarawen over calculated my symptoms. She did not know of my family traits. My head was no longer muddy, nor were my limbs weak. I feel as strong as I ever have, stronger than I had been for those years of solitude. As I push the grand doors open, I hear voices muttering words of doubt.

"Do you think she can actually train is for this?"

"Who does she think she is?"

"What can thirty of us do against an army of orcs?"

I clenched my jaw. These soldiers were scared, so I tried to leave their comments alone. I knew I would have to earn their trust and respect if I was to ever train them. So I threw the doors open and strode through the hall toward the raised platform that housed the throne. I did not dare to sit in it, but it was a position of power, and I intended to use my newly granted authority to my advantage.

"Dina!" The guard instantly fell silent and came to stand at attention. "Now, lord Thranduil has granted me permission to train you all because you are the best, and you are capable of following orders.
We will run drills all day, only to prepare you for your task. None of you will likely be learning new skills, but you will be learning the layout of these orc camps and you will be learning my way of doing these things, the most effective way. The odds are against your survival if you decide you know a better way than mine. I've been doing this alone for months now, and the only injuries I have received have been of my own fault. Mainly from running too long or sleeping too little. These are not likely injuries you will bear because you will only be engaged in this quest for a mere week, where I was engaged for months," I stared them down. Many were avoiding my eyes, but a few proud souls were smiling, ready to serve their kingdom. "Let us begin." That earned a cheer from many in the guard, including those that had doubted me before.

I broke them into two groups, one would pretend to be sleeping orcs and the other would practice how they would kill them. I taught them to use knives instead of bows, mainly because knives were quieter. Some orc tents sleep more than ten, so there was no way to silently fire a bow. Bows were only good for killing the night watchmen. To prevent an orc from screaming and alerting the whole camp, you had to cut its throat. Stabbing it in the chest would wake it long enough to let out a cry, which would likely result in the death of the assassin elf.