Land of Loss and Love; Thranduil Love Story (On Hold)

Ah, That Golden Beauty

I reached a city that I wasn't able to see on the shore after weeks of walking and rest. Then again, I didn't see the thousands of miles that laid between me and the mountain either. Well, that was an exaggeration, but the dripping sweat and aching legs weren't. I had never spent so much time walking in all my life, and the few hours of sleep at night were not enough to replenish my tired body. Once I reached this city I sat and ate for a while, relishing in the rest. The scraps of meat were thick to chew but I was thankful for the few provisions Edwards had scrounged for me, and I had little left. The city was a ruin, but I could tell by the architecture, clay roof tiles and ornate carvings on the stone houses, that it was once a beautiful and proud place to live. Thorin's or Gandalf's or Bilbo's voice echoed in my mind. This was the city of Dale, destroyed by the dragon that sat in the mountain.

And that mountain was right before me, and carved into its side was a magnificent fortress. There were gashes on the dark green rock, etched into the colossal structure. The place was a behemoth and even from where I stood, miles away and far above it, the enormity overwhelmed me, looking on from as far away as I was I could still see how strong and massive the walls were, how unbelievably thick and sturdy, making the sight of the gashes more frightening. For the creature who had made them must be fearsome indeed, the marks it left both a warning and a memory. And the huge entrance, seemingly unnecessarily large, was barricaded with huge boulder-sized blocks, blocking anything from getting in... or out.

A secret door was what they were looking for-

I gasped and scrambled to my feet, far off I saw movement, bodies-people-dwarves, ohgodfinallyIfoundthem.

My voice ached as I shouted, as loud as I possibly could. But my shouts turned to sobs, they couldn't hear me. I had been frightened for so long, alone and scared. Finally I found them and I couldn't reach out to them.

Fueled by relief and desperation I charged after them...

***^_^***

I had lost them. The only men on this bloody barren land and I had lost them. A scream ripped out of my throat, scratchy and burning, like the rest of my body. I was so tired and so alone and so sick of it. I had eaten the last of my food two days ago, and rationed myself on a few sips of water every few hours. I didn't trust myself to drink water from streams, I didn't know what water was safe to drink.

My strength left me and I collapsed onto the ground staring up at the sky, the mountain leering at me, and a bearded face ignored me. I sat up craning my neck back to look up. Cut into the mountain was a figure. An axe was held in his hand and his robe was carved with those weird geometric symbols that I remembered on the dwarves clothes. And on those details, were figures moving.

I stared, wondering if my mind had finally gone delusional, dredging up hallucinations from starvation and thirst. But as I watched, one of them tripped and the rock crumbled. I followed the strewn pieces as they fell down down down until poof, it landed on the ground. Curious, I awkwardly crawled toward the tiny crater where it landed, I picked up the small rough stone in my hand, the sharp scratchy rock scraping my palm. A jagged corner slit my finger and I watched the blood pool. I dropped the rock and brought my finger to my face, then licked it. I spat out the blood as my mind cleared, this was real, it wasn't a hallucination.

The dwarves were climbing it.

Taking a deep breath and mustering as much strength as I could. I started toward the statue.

***^_^***

Climbing sucks. I just want to point that out. The sun was lowering but it didn't stop the large amount of sweating that the heavy jacket seemed to hold in. I was roasting, but I couldn't risk taking it off and freezing. Gripping the surface, I looked up and I didn't see anyone, the stone blocked the way, but I heard shouting. The sun set and I was suddenly shrouded in darkness.