Storm Of Arrows ➝ The Lord of the Rings ✓

Part Twelve

PART TWELVE ~

Legolas strolled leisurely around the palace gardens, admiring the beauty of each alluring flower, shimmering their pure white petals in the morning breeze. The sun allowed its rays to cascade amongst the foliage, enveloping the pallid roses in a golden hue. He breathed deeply, taking in the light, fragrant scent that swirled about the air.

"My Prince?" Legolas was brought out of his daze by an abrupt voice.

"Hmm?" He turned on his heel, his long, silky hair swishing lightly along his back and falling over his shoulders.

"Are you ready to set out?"

He merely nodded and followed the elf to the armoury, where he gathered his weapons; a curved longbow, tinged a light gold in the fluorescent rays, and a quiver of silver-tipped arrows. After slinging the weapons across his back, he also slipped on a light sheath round his waist, completing his assortment of weapons with a small hunting dagger that wound not hinder his movements as he ran.

When he returned to the exterior of the palace, there was already a small platoon of Elven soldiers ready to be commanded by the Prince, all equipped with weapons similar to Legolas, and all bearing expressions of veritable loyalty and eagerness.

Legolas also noticed Tathar amongst the group, and nodded respectfully to him, before waving briefly in the direction of the forest.

"Let us go!"

~

Legolas led the elves swiftly through the forest he called his home. The dense, colossal trees soared high above them, forming a canopy that crowned the whole forest. The sunlight was having difficulty penetrating the heavy foliage, so the elves had to rely on their heightened senses as they traipsed through the coiling underbrush.

"Which village are we headed to?" Legolas asked Ferrin, the elf whom had taken the Prince to the armoury. His shoulder-length brown hair fell over his shoulder as he moved his head to face Legolas.

"Delheim. It's a little farther south once we leave the trees. I know the way."

Legolas merely nodded, fingering the pommel of his dagger thoughtfully. If this was the village Taryn had come from, did that mean she was telling the truth about everything? She wasn't entirely innocent; she had still murdered an elf. But surely that elf would also be classed as a murderer, for killing her brother...

"There may still be some orcs left amongst the ruins, so be wary, My Prince." Legolas nodded absentmindedly, still finding himself amongst his thoughts. ...The girl was certainly innocent enough to avoid the punishment of death. But if he lingered away from the palace for too long, it may be too late. He had to be hasty about this business, so he could return to the palace as soon as possible; he needed to save Taryn! Snapping to attention he suddenly hastened his pace, calling encouragement to his companions.

"We must hurry! There may be survivors! And I'm quite certain they won't survive for long if we don't get there quickly!"

Legolas knew they wouldn't actually be anyone left, for he recalled Taryn mentioning the attack took place weeks ago; if it was the same village. The prisoner had not taken the time to delve into the petty details, and therefore had not mentioned the name of her village.

Nevertheless, it gave the elves the boost of encouragement they required, and they matched the Prince's pace without hesitation, their jaws clenched and their eyes flaring with determination.

~

They approached the outskirts of Delheim gingerly, their keen eyes scanning through the scorched ruins and bloodied corpses. Legolas led the group, slinging his bow from his shoulder as he subtly crept forward into the village. There was evidence of a turbulent blaze; the scattered remains were nothing more than piles of ash, crumbling bricks and scorched grass. Any corpses of the villagers had been disposed of, yet the ground was still bloodied from where they had previously been struck down and let to bleed out.

"Alright, split into groups of two and three and search the village," Legolas whispered cautiously. "Keep a look out for anything that might be of interest, and call me over if you spot anything unusual. And remember, there may be orcs about, so be wary."

And with a brief nod, the elves scattered in their small groups, bounding out of sight amongst the crumbling refuges. Legolas, Ferrin and Tathar were the only elves who remained, and they nodded to each other slowly before taking off towards to the village square, where they found an unbearable scene laid out before them.

~

A/N: Yeah, um, sorry it's such a short update; I promise I'll post a longer part at the weekend. I should have really revised instead of writing this, but I was in the mood for writing and y'know.

Um. So, yeah. Like I said, it's short. And probably a bit rushed. It's kind of just a filler 'cause I don't really have many big ideas for the storyline yet, so my updates are going to be pretty slow and short until I figure something out.

Anyway. Thanks for reading! Check out my other fanfics, if you want...

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~ _imagine_fantasy_