Erebor, Lonely Mountain

46. Thranduil | The Gift

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The Gift, Thranduil Oropherion x Fem!Elf Reader
Word Count: 7.9k
Warnings: angst, mentions of death and dead bodies, blood and slight gore, injury
Prompt: "Have you no regrets?"
Summary: Another war is slowly consuming Middle-Earth, and the Greenwood elves find themselves defending it against the evil forces.

***

I pray you can forgive me for I should have waited.

The general slowly moved across the battleground, wrinkling her nose slightly at the sight of dead orc carcasses. Her eyes drifted to a couple of her soldiers piling up orcs to be burned. It wasn't right, all this devastation and pain, all this death. Y/N's footsteps grew slower until they came to a halt, and the general took a deep breath. The rancid air burned in her lungs and for a moment she felt sick to her stomach. The nature of war wasn't lost on her yet to live through it was another matter entirely. Y/N allowed her mind to drift as her eyes wandered over the blood-soaked grounds. It saddened her greatly to see the lifeless bodies of her valiant soldiers among the corpses of orc filth. A misty veil fell upon her eyes as the elf general mourned her fallen kin. What a waste, what a gruesome waste this was. They didn't belong here any more than she did, yet to march and defend Middle-Earth from everlasting darkness and evil had been their duty, and they had been called upon. And so, they had left the safety of Greenwood to venture South to engage the enemy on the East front.

A lone tear was working its way down Y/N's pale cheek while she stood frozen, either unable or unwilling to move. We shouldn't be here, my sweet. Many of her kin had fallen but not enough to weaken the company in her command. Still, it pained her greatly as her eyes moved from one fallen elf to another, making her heart ache unbearably. She knew each and every one of them personally, she knew their families and she had shared many a meal with them. They had been her friends, her family. Her sole responsibility was to keep them safe, to shield them from horrors such as war, yet it had been her to lead them here to their demise. They didn't belong here, they shouldn't be left here to rot among the dead ranks of their enemy, they deserved better. She owed them better, she owed them the same respect and dignity they had always treated her with.

"Redhedir," Y/N called out softly to the young elf soldier who was currently overseeing the build of another corpse pile to be burned.
"My lady?" the dark-haired elf was quick to make his way over to where she was standing.

"Gather however many you need to cover the ground in search of our fallen. I want all of them brought home to Greenwood to be buried with dignity and love," the general's voice was gentle and calm, even though rage was fuming inside her. As most elves, she was quite accomplished at keeping her composure, so much so that even her king saw attempting to read her as a challenge at times. She was excellent at masking her thoughts and emotions whenever she wished for them to remain private. Yet now she found herself struggling to do so, the wasted lives of her people weighing her down and shooting sparks to an already burning anger.
"Of course," Redhedir offered her a curt nod before hurrying off. Y/N's gaze went back to the freshly made heap of orcs awaiting to be set afire. The general allowed herself to scoff quietly under her breath, it was more than this filth deserved. Even leaving them on the ground to rot was too good for them. Y/N knew it was her grief and anger talking now, just as she knew that they would double back eventually to clear the fields of all signs of war and death. It was against their nature to let something as foul as rotting orc flesh to stain and spoil the ground they walked on and the fields which brought them sustenance.

We nurture and we preserve, that is what we are tasked with. We do not paint this land red lightly, remember that always.

The general cast one last glance over the crimson spotted field littered with corpses before turning on her heel and heading towards the edge of the forest. Her mare was stood beneath the trees just on the outskirts of the woods. At the sight of her master approaching, the mare's dark nostrils flared, and the animal gave a low neigh, as if to greet her master upon her return.
"Elenath mellonen," Y/N greeted her loyal companion, her hand going to stroke the mare's long and muscular neck. She was a dark dapple-grey, thus earning her the name "all the stars of heaven" because of the thousand small white and light grey spots that covered her otherwise dark flanks and shoulders, and the length of her back. Elenath was a unique beauty but much like her master, she was also highly spirited and at times temperamental. Y/N hummed an ancient Elvish lullaby to soothe her companion while her fingers rubbed and massaged the animal's neck, reaching higher and higher until they intertwined with Elenath's long and dark mane.