Through Wind and Fire (LOTR)

XV

If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

- Isaiah 58:10

But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

- 1 John 3:17-18

To a father growing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter.

- Euripides

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With shaking hands, the Queen of Mirkwood sat back down and cast her crown off unceremoniously. No, this was not happening, she told herself. The letter was not even opened, yet the way it was addressed made her heart beat in pure terror. Her hands stiffly picked up the envelope and tore it open.

On the envelope was seen these troubling words:

To the King and Queen of Greenwood the Great, who will soon be no more

Her hands quaked tremendously, and she unfurled the parchment that was the letter.

You will soon meet your end, through one way or another. Surrender us the queen and we will not strike with our forces. There are many of us, but we may be appeased if granted the queen. She will stay in our custody until we find it fit to let her go. What we shall do with her will be our choice. If you refuse our offer, King Thranduil will be slain immediately along with the Prince. The queen we will take anyway, regardless if our wishes are met or not. If you wish to hold your kingdom yet, you will give us what we ask. Never have you been alerted of our existence, but we are everywhere. We can attack you from the very insides, destroy your kingdom and make it our own. All your dreams will we crush to smithereens. We are everywhere. A fortnight have you to to come to a decision.

Bregoliel sharply breathed in, shocked. With shaking hands, she folded the letter back up and placed it in its envelope, shoving it into her desk. The queen closed her eyes and tried to steady herself, but this was too much. Would she surrender herself to these rats?

Thranduil did not know, Thranduil would not know. He might lose his temper and do something impulsive and rash. As much as she wanted to tell him, for him to make everything right for her, she could not tell him. It shattered her heart to think she would have to be parted from her dear son and husband. The queen loved them both so much, with a love that could never die.

He could not know. She must do this, for them. Her life for theirs. Bregoliel would rather them be safe than dead, and for them to live, she had to leave.

It was required of her, she thought. They were so important and precious to her that she would gladly leave instead of staying and seeing the kingdom crumble, seeing her family crumble. But this would crumble her family, shatter it even. Their love was true, and because of that love, they would endure. With a love stronger than death, stronger than time, stronger than any evil, the royal family would unite again. They could be as they should, no matter how long she must be away.

In all of this, Bregoliel could not simply imagine how much pain she might cause Thranduil and Legolas. Already she felt the pain gnawing at her very soul, so unbearably strong. She loved them, and when they were hurt, she too felt their pain. It would wound her so very much to leave them and be parted from her love and from her little darling son. She might not see him mature into a handsome ellon, and Thranduil may not witness the birth of their newest child.