The King's Heart (Thranduil Fanfiction)

Chapter 29

(Thranduil)

Annoneth leaps onto the archer and kills him before he can even snicker about his shot. Rhovanel is standing right in from of me with an arrow sticking in the left side of her chest. She is staring at it, breathing shallowly. I catch her as her knees give out.

"Why did you do that?! You-" I cry.

"I made a promise," Rhovanel whispers. I break the shaft off and pick Rhovanel up. I can feel the tip of the arrow head coming through her back. How did the archer get so close?!

Annoneth whistles for her mount. Aras and Dusk ride up alongside the dappled grey horse that Annoneth refuses to name. I set Rhovanel on Aras's back and swing myself up. Annoneth is mounted first and starts clearing a path for Dusk and Aras.

We gallop through the camp, destruction in our wake. Most of the orcs are dead now, only a few stragglers still stand. A small group of elves take care of the hangers-on. Then the army follows us through the forest on foot; but they can not keep up with us. They know the way and I am certain a few saw Rhovanel slumped against my chest.

Annoneth rides twenty meters ahead of me, racing through the forest to reach the gates first and call for a healer. I can feel the warmth of tears on my skin and I look down at Rhovanel. She is barely breathing and her torso is covered in dark blood.

"Please hold on, we are almost there," I plead, hugging her tightly to my chest. She softly groans in pain. I ease my grip just enough to stop the pain. Aras is galloping so fast that anyone not holding on would fall off, so I have to hold Rhovanel on.

The gates are about a hundred meters in front of me and Annoneth is already there. I can see Tarawen's dark hair against the light wood of the gate. I ride through the gates and into the main platform. Tarawen is running in behind me with her bag in hand. I jump off Aras and pull Rhovanel down with me.

"To my chamber, quickly!" Tarawen says, running through the hall. I carry Rhovanel and try to keep her as still as possible. I can just barely hear her shallow breaths, but they are coming slower and slower.

"We are almost there, hang on a little longer," I say, squeezing her hand. She squeezes back before going completely limp.

"No! You are not dying on me! I will not let you!" I yell at her as we round the corner and arrive at Tarawen's room. She throws the door open and I rush inside and set Rhovanel on the bed. Tarawen and I quickly remove the armor and mail. I step back and hip Tarawen will let me stay. But she tells me that I cannot stay, that it would be worse for Rhovanel. I don't want to leave her, so Tarawen calls in three of the remaining guards and they drag me kickeding and screaming out of the room. They stand in front of the door and stop me every time I try to push past them and see Rhovanel.

Eventually, I give up trying to get past them and go to see Legolas. As I pass through the foyer, I see Annoneth and the rest of my army. They fill the foyer, so most of them survived.

"Sir, what did Tarawen say?" Annoneth asks, concern evident in her tone.

"Tarawen said nothing, only that I could not stay," I whisper, trying desperately not to cry in front of the soldiers. Most have somber looks on their faces. Very few of them actually enjoy fighting wars. I salute them, thank them for their service to the kingdom, all the traditional formalities of victory.

Annoneth pulls me aside after I give a weak speech on our victory. "Sir, you should go rest, I can handle this. Go be with your son, he needs to know that you are safe."

"Hannon le, mellon nin, (thank you, my friend)" I say before turning around and running to Legolas's room.

Legolas is sitting at his desk, reading, when I walk in. "Ion-nîn, I missed you so much," I say, pulling him into a fierce hug. Legolas squeezes my neck and cries.

"Ada, I saw you ride in with Rhovanel. Where is she?" he asks in between sobs.

"She is with Tarawen now, she was hurt in battle..." I say, tears spilling down my cheeks.

"Ada, I think you should take your armor off now," Legolas squeaks, pulling at my gauntlets.

"You are right, my leaf. Will you help me?" He nods and stars pulling harder at my glove. Eventually I am in only mail and dressing clothes. "Thank you, Legolas. I think I need a bath, don't you?" He looks at me bloody hair for a second and nods. He turns to go back to his desk and I can see that the braid Rhovanel did is still in his hair.

"She did a wonderful job with your hair, did she not?" I try to smile.

"Yes, and I am not taking it out until she is well enough to do it herself," he declares, throwing himself into a chair. I sigh and step out of the room. I need her to survive this more than I have ever needed anything in all my life.

I draw a bath as soon as I get into my room. The water is warm, but I still feel cold. I scrub the blood and dirt out of my hair and face and step out of the tub to dry off. I throw a dark grey tunic in and go back to Tarawen's chambers.

The guards are still posted outside, so I just sit by the door with my head in my hands. It is a long time before I get a word of any kind.

"My lord?" Tarawen says gently through a crack in the door. I jump up to come in, but Tarawen steps out and closes the door behind her.

"How is she?" I ask, trying to get into the room.

"She has lost an awful lot of blood sir..." Tarawen begins.

"Is she going to live?" I snarl. Tarawen shuts her mouth and stares at me.

"I am sorry, I did not mean to growl at you, I just need to know if she will live."

"I think you should send for Lord Elrond. He will be able to do more than I have. She will most likely make it through the next few nights, but the arrow was very close to her heart. She would be very lucky to survive without help from Rivendale."

I drop my head and sigh. "Can I see her now?"

"Yes, you can see her, just do not try to wake her up. Sleep is the best thing for her right now."

I gently open the door and walk inside. Rhovanel is curled up on the bed, wrapped in bandages and sheets. There is a large bowl on the table next to the bed, the liquid inside looks like watery blood and herbs.

I grab Rhovanel's hand and gently rub small circles in her palm, just to do something.