Storm Of Arrows ➝ The Lord of the Rings ✓

Part Twenty-Two

A/N: Just a quick reminder that Taryn is Maya! :)

PART TWENTY-TWO ~

Taryn suppressed a yawn beneath the hood of her cloak. She'd pulled it over her eyes, so only the tip of her nose and thin lips were visible. She believed eyes gave away everything; emotions, feelings, identities. Study her eyes long enough, and the other elves would surely figure something wasn't quite right. She coughed slowly, clearing her throat, as she began to speak.

"How long will the journey take?"

The other elves glanced at her in silence, but Legolas quickly responded, riding his horse beside her. "About three weeks," he muttered, keeping his eyes on the road ahead. Taryn nodded, grasping the fact that perhaps she shouldn't speak so much.

They continued in silence for most of the day, until they settled down in the forest for the night, sleeping under the tight canopy and amongst the soft leaves. Taryn and Legolas mostly kept silent, keeping close to one another as the other elves took it in turn to keep watch.

When it was Taryn's turn for the night, Tathar gently shook her shoulder, jolting her away from troubled dreams.

"Maya. You okay?" He asked, discerning the look of slight confusion in her eyes. She quickly lowered her gaze, nodding under her cloak hood.

He hesitantly backed away, before taking her word that everything was fine, and returning to his bedroll between Legolas and another elf. She wasn't really sure what she was doing, having not ever done anything as such before. Hah, and she was supposedly training to be a part of the Mirkwood guard!

She quietly took a seat on the edge of their camp, not quite sure what she was looking out for. She merely scanned through the trees every few minutes, straining her ears as soon as she caught a slight rustle amongst the branches.

Luckily, nothing evil crossed their path and she prepared to retire back to her bedroll a few hours later. Cautiously picking her way over to Legolas' sleeping figure, she touched his shoulder and he was up immediately.

"You okay?" He asked, concern etched within his tone. She nodded, her lip quivering as she started to speak, but he had already taken her nod as a sign of approval and disappeared into the night.

She returned to her bed with her heart drowning in doubt and sadness.

The next morning, they woke before the sun had fully risen in the sky and untethered the horses from the tree they had been halted at, and set off.

When they reached a point in the forest where the undergrowth was too dense, they slid off their mounts and proceeded on foot.

The twigs and vines tangled precariously under Taryn's feet, snagging at her leggings and boots; the laces on her shoes soon became unravelled by the relentless underbrush, and the loose dangling string proceeded to flare up and whip her across the leg. She could feel the sharp lace dig further into her skin and eventually had to halt to tuck them back into her boot.

Taryn knew, deep down, that this escape wasn't going to work. They'd realize she wasn't who she said she was sooner or later, and eventually discover she was the prisoner, sentenced to death by the King of Mirkwood.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a vague voice calling her name.

"Maya!"

She turned round in confusion, realizing Legolas was calling her. She had somehow found herself between two of the silent elves, away from the Prince's side.

"Sorry. I was lost in thought."

Legolas responded with a smile, and it troubled Taryn to see how pleasant he was treating her.

She dragged her gaze away from his; she felt like such a burden to him. How about if she ran away in the middle of the night? Perhaps that'd work well to begin with, but she'd soon get lost amongst the identical giant trees. Plus she had only two mere hunting daggers to defend herself with; even if she was somewhat skilled in wielding them.

She still didn't fully understand why he was helping her in the first place; he had said he believed her story, but that still brands her as a murderer. She did kill an elf.

"Halt."

Taryn's glance snapped up from the trail of leaves she was devouring with her eyes, as the single world rang through the silence.

Tathar was inspecting something along the ground, trying to discern some tracks obscured by the undergrowth.

"Orc tracks. Few hours ago," he muttered. "But what, on middle-earth, are they doing in our forest?"

Taryn detached herself from the conversation as she heard something whisper her name; her real name.

"Taryn," the ghostly voice hissed in a sharp tone. "Taryn. Leave. Run, now, while you still can."

Taryn's eyes darted about her, searching frantically for the speaker, without taking heed of the ghostly pleas.

It took her a moment to realize the voice was in her own head, and the emptiness in her mind had been occupied. But by what, exactly? Legolas rode over as soon as he had caught onto her panic.

"Taryn, what's wrong?"

She instantly cowered away from him, the droning voice in her mind still whispering sharp retorts.

"Forget the prince. Run. Run. Run as far away as you can. Escape the miserable elves and be free!"

"No!" She cried aloud, clutching at her head. Tears began welling up in her eyes, and she pulled her hood down even more as she tried to cover her glazed eyes.

"Taryn," Legolas hissed. "What on middle-earth is wrong with you?"

The human found it hard to discern his words from the ones in her mind, the clamour now overpowering all sounds in the real world.

"I... I don't know. I..."

"Legolas, over here!"

He glanced at her apologetically. "I won't be a moment. Just hang on, I'll come back for you."

Taryn nodded in between sniffles and he rode away, swinging off his horse so gracefully as he reached the crouched elves.

Panic and fear gripped Taryn tighter as she felt a tingling sensation run through her limbs. She wanted to scream, yell, cry out, but her lips were clamped tightly shut.

Not this again. She had no control over her body whatsoever. Something was controlling her from the inside. And she could do nothing to halt it's motives.

She was unable to prevent herself from slipping silently off her horse, unsheathing her daggers and creeping stealthily towards the crouched, oblivious prince. Her fingers gripped the hilts tighter as she reached him, raising her hands and poising them in the air just over Legolas' shoulders.

She tried to wiggle her tongue free from her mouth, kick out with her legs, gain another elf's attention. Anything to warn them of what she was about to do. But she was unable to; paralyzed from the inside.

It was too late. It was all over.

The daggers were descending into his shoulder, almost penetrating his tunic, when he abruptly spun round, throwing his hands out to put a halt to the daggers.

Taryn had control again; she was free from the bonds clamping her body into a paralysed lump. The presence wiggled free from her mind with a growl of defeat and the daggers instantly clattered from her hands as she collapsed onto Legolas, sobbing into his tunic. The hood slipped off her head and realization clicked in Tathar's mind. But for the moment, he did nothing but stare in bewilderment at the 'elf' who had tried to murder the Prince.

Tried.

~

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy re-doing all of my covers. What d'you think? Personally, I think they're a lot better - I made them in the style of edits, as I do for my IG account. However, I'm not too pleased with this cover. Please share your thoughts!

~ _imagine_fantasy_