𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬 ➵︎ [ 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘧 ]

52| The second gold knife

This chapter is dedicated to TGWW_2274.

Thank you so much for all your support for this book. Seeing your votes and reading your comments really motivates me to write more for you guys to enjoy! <3

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Legolas stood outside the hall as the vast expanse of grasslands lay before him, the White Mountains rising above the ground in the distance. They appeared all but an empty silhouette against the lifeless grey of the sky. It was as if a sort of shadow had fallen upon the land, and even the grass seemed less green.

He felt a shiver run down his spine in the cold. He had not felt the cold in decades.

Legolas shut his eyes, letting the biting wind whisper through his hair. He had not spoken to anyone in hours. What had occurred down there was still a fresh wound in his mind, and her words were the jagged blade that caused it.

She was only trying to get under his skin, and it worked.

"Where have you been?"

Gimli's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Legolas slowly reopened his eyes, before turning around to see him and Aragorn. He'd been so preoccupied that he didn't even notice their arrival.

"I needed some time. Alone."

Aragorn tilted his head, his brows furrowed. As good as Legolas was at masking his emotions, Aragorn saw through his friend's facade.

"What happened, Legolas?"

The elf was quiet as his interaction with Daeriel flashed across his mind.

"I...I went to see her."

Gimli's eyebrows shot up with surprise.

"You did? Well...tell us what happened!"

"Did you learn anything?" Aragorn quickly followed up.

To their disappointment, Legolas just shook his head.

"Nothing that we do not already know."

Gimli's shoulder slumped, and Aragorn sighed in disappointment. Legolas swallowed, her words continuing to circle his mind like a ravenous flock of vultures.

"Sauron remains in control and...unfazed by his detainment."

"That's not worrisome at all." Gimli mumbled, wrapping his cloak tighter around his short stature as the wind picked up.

Legolas turned back to face the breeze and the dull landscape.

"I spoke to her."

Aragorn's frown deepened. "What? I thought you said she-"

"He let her speak. I do not know how, but it was as if she had been pulled from...from a nightmare."

Legolas sighed. "But within seconds, she was gone, and she was back. And then..."

Legolas' voice faltered for a moment, and he shut his eyes. "...and then he hurt her. He hurt her and I could not do anything about it.'

Aragorn's jaw visibly clenched, and he let out a sharp exhale from his nose. Legolas ran his fingers through his hair, trying to focus on the only good thing to come from the interaction with Daeriel.

"But there is hope."

Gimli raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"No one knows what Sauron has done with her, or where her...soul, her fëa is right now, but if I spoke to her, then she's still somewhere in there, and she can be pulled back to the surface."