his exception

chapter four: black arrows

Something wasn't right. Maethel felt when she rose with the sun that morning. Aldon, her big stallion and her father's pride, had been nervous the whole morning. He was a steady horse, calm and levelheaded and already past his youthful hot-headed years. However today he was not.  Aldon was tense, she could feel his muscles coiled tightly beneath her legs, it was unlike him. Even his pace was faster than usual when they rode on her way back to Mirkwood. Rivendell was quite a long way from Mirkwood so Maethel stopped off in a village, on the border to her home to see one of her best friends, which was by now hustling and bustling with life.

The closer they got, the more relaxed Maethel felt. The proximity to the village gave her a sense of security, even Aldon seemed a little calmer. She had been to this village a numerous amount of times so she knew some people and they knew her. She was right. The market place was busy with people preparing their little wagons with food, clothes and furs. "Oy, Maethel! Over here, lass!" Maethel heard someone say to her. She quickly got of her horse and turned around. Looking over her right shoulder, she saw Halldor who was setting up his own wagon. 

"Good morning, Halldor."

"Aye, it is a good morning when the first thing my tired eyes lay upon is you." He grinned and winked at her like a boy. Maethel rolled with her eyes, already used to his charming ways. "You are up early. Did the old hag sent you to the field to pick some more herbs before the winter comes?" Maethel joked and Halldor groaned before he nodded. He patted one of the baskets dangling from the saddle next to his thigh. "Don't call her that. She was the one that healed your many broken bones, every time you fell off that horse of yours." Maethel rolled her eyes, "Well, I have grown up a lot since the last time I saw you.." Halldor laughed whole-heartedly, his eyes shining. "Aye, that mouth of yours will get you in trouble one day, Maethel. Better marry someone to protect you, when your sharp tongue strikes people that can't handle it." The elleth rolled her eyes and the boy gave her a look. "Are you trying to court me, Halldor?" He grinned at her, swinging his hammer in one hand. "And if I do?"

"Then I'd say you are not trying hard enough. You know me and you know my father."

"Ha! Your father must be mighty proud, lass." He waved her over. "Come here, I won't bite. Aldon hasn't been here for quite a while. Let me look at his hooves." Even though she wanted to decline, Aldon needed his hooves checked. Halldor worked quickly, each move trained and well-studied. He was still young in human years as he had only just twenty. Maethel had heard stories about him, about his time as a sell-sword. Young women around the village swooned over him and admired his hard muscles during summer, when he worked on the fields to help the farmers. The herds of giggling girls following him never seemed to bother him, though. Which sane man would be bothered by it anyway?

"There you go, buddy.." Maethel noticed him smile as he stroke the horse.

The sound of the bell subsided, and deadly silence fell over the market place. Time froze and then, Maethel heard it. The screams from the fields, the sound of feet running down the hills towards the village. The bell rang again, before it completely stopped. "Maethel, what is that?" Halldor whispered behind her, voice trembling slightly though he would never admit it.

Someone screamed and black arrows whistled through the sky. "Orcs! Get to safety!" The market place erupted. They were everywhere. Like a black wave orcs flooded the alleys of the village, the few men that had weapons on them were quickly slaughtered and the huts were set on fire. The market place was a battlefield, the villagers screamed and fled to safety, throwing the wagons over in their haste to get away. Maethel then ran off trying to get everyone to safety, as she grabbed her bows before she slung them on her back. Whilst she ran she noticed her sword in her left boot, just in case she ran out of bows. "Maethel!" Halldor shouted as he grabbed his sword but as he returned to their spot she was out of sight. The screams around her were ear-splitting and they drowned every other sound.

"You need to get out of this market place." Maethel screamed to a teenager girl who was behind her, pulling her towards the only alley that was still not besieged by orcs. "No! Not without my siblings!" A single, black arrow whistled past her and for a second, Maethel thought the arrow was meant for her and that the orc that had aimed was a terrible shot, when the teenager girl's hand slipped through her fingers. She was on her back, her eyes stared unseeing into the sky and the black arrow was lodged deeply inside her chest. Maethel screamed. Her blood soaked the red fabric.

Without any premonition, searing pain exploded in her back. Maethel screamed and she felt the fabric of her dress being soaked. She whirled around just in time to see a gruesome looking orc in front of her.  He barked out a maniacal laugh and she saw blood drip from the cruelly crafted sword he held. He had sliced her back open. The moment he lunged for her, Maethel jumped to the side to avoid his attack, when a stray arrow flew and hit. She didn't feel the pain right away. No, she felt a bone shattering, flesh tearing pressure in her shoulder and only when she looked down to her left, she understood that an arrow had pierced her shoulder. 

The orc lunched and thrust the blade forward. Maethel didn't scream when the blade stabbed her through the stomach. She made a sound between a gurgle and a strange gasp. The last thing Maethel saw, were the hideous yellow eyes of the orc and its grinning maw, while it pulled the blade from her body.

...

Thranduil sat upon his throne, when the grand doors to his halls of stone burst open. A young guard hurried inside and quickly bowed, before he spoke. "My king, the human village outside the forest-," he swallowed thickly. "It was attacked by orcs."

Here he thought this day would be as tedious as every other... With a deep sigh, Thranduil rose from his throne. "Maethel is there.. but those are just rumours.."

"Gather the soldiers. We ride immediately." Thranduil ordered as he heard the possibility that his only daughter was in the village at the time of the ambush. It was times like this when he wished he had let his daughter travel around with proper training. However, he didn't and Maethel was there, not used to Orcs attacking, with not proper training.