A Promise- a LOTR Fanfiction (Legolas) ❤︎ ✓

Chapter 20: The King's Daughter

She looks away from me, at the ground stained with red. I stare at her in shock and confusion, Legolas' hand placed lightly on my shoulder. Mother?

"You can't be her..." I whisper hoarsely, throat suddenly closed from emotion. "It's.. It's.. Impossible!"

I start to stutter nonsensical words, background noise reduced to muffled murmurs, and Legolas squeezes my shoulder.

"Vivienne." Legolas murmurs. "Let her speak."

Eleanor- my mother- coughs and looks back up at me. Her blue eyes are filled with unshed tears, face scrunched up in pain.

"Vivienne, I'm so sorry I left you... It was a horrible decision to make, but I had to-" cough- "I had to go back..."

"Back where?"

"Here. Rohan.. And I couldn't bear living in Mirkwood without your father. And you- you were safer without me..."

"But why Rohan?" I cry, a tear slipping out of my eye. Pent up anger rises to the surface, and my fists clench. "Didn't you think about me at all? I lost two parents that day! I can't believe-"

"Vivienne, stop." Legolas says suddenly. I stop talking and take a deep breath. "We should bring her back inside."

I stare at him. She isn't going to live- she only has a few minutes left! But I suppose dying in the keep is better than dying outside on the battle field. Legolas calls over a few men to pick up my mother. We rush into the destroyed keep, and place her onto a wooden table. The time slips by like a dream; I barely remember the details. Legolas leaves to go find Gimli or something, and leaves me with my mother. Eleanor's forehead is sheen with sweat and her cheeks are filthy with grime, but a few tears cut tracks through the dirt.

"Eleanor!" Someone cries, loud footsteps echoing through the stone walls. I don't lift my head. Théoden rushes over next to me and clutches her pale hand. "No..." He whispers.

"You know her?" I ask in a monotone voice.. Théoden looks up at me and nods.

"She's my daughter." He says quietly.

I step back. This is impossible. Théoden is my mother's father. My mother is a Lady of Rohan, daughter of the King.

"You're my granddaughter."

He watches my reaction. I blink rapidly and swallow hard.

"Why didn't anybody tell me?!" I whisper.

"You can't know." Eleanor says weakly, struggling to stay alive for a few more moments. "Vivienne, you're wanted. You're special, and Saruman wants you."

"I don't understand." I grit out.

"Vivienne... You have to get away! You have to hide, stay away.." Eleanor panics, breathing ragged and choppy.

Théoden hushes her, calming her down. Eleanor takes a few deep breaths and looks at me.

"I love you. I love you both." She whispers so softly, I barely catch the last few words. "Please, promise me-" She suddenly gasps before going still, her last words not finished.

Tears flow down Théoden's face as Eleanor lays still. We stand in silence for minutes, before I leave Théoden to grieve. I am not sad- she abandoned me as a child and told me to stay away. I do not love her, nor hate her. But I am greatful for her sacrifice. I walk down into an empty room and lean against the wall shakily. This is too much to comprehend.

Saruman wants me?

Voices suddenly begin pound against the inside of my skull, sending my mind reeling and my body sliding down the wall and onto the floor.