Back To You (Thranduil Fanfic)

Part Two

~800 years later ~

(Lúthien compared to a human appears to be about 13 years of age as of now)

It was early morning when Lúthien had awaken, the light had not yet appeared over the horizon. It was the perfect time to leave without being seen, and to her credit, she was stealthy for someone so young. But it was also rather dangerous, Lúthien did not completely understand entirely her importance in the palace. If she was quite honest with herself, she was rather reckless. Too free spirited and wild for the King to possibly handle alone. Elros had become her personal body guard ever since she was taken in by the King, he never let her doing anything strenuous, which was why she always snuck out of the palace.

Last night Lúthien had seen an injured fawn and watched it slowly limp away into the forest. From what she had seen, it was safe to assume that it had been attacked by some animal. There was word of a cougar that had been going around eating the livestock as of late, she wondered if maybe it attacked the fawn. But because she had been with the King at the time, she wouldn't have been permitted to leave his side, especially at night. So she vowed to find it again and give it the care and attention that it needed.

Lúthien hopped out of bed, her feet patting against the stone floor as she walked over to her wardrobe. She slid on her fitted leather armor along with her trusty knee high boots. After grabbing her cloak, she threw it around her shoulders, tying it securely. Also she had pulled out her bow and quiver from behind her hung clothing, Lúthien had been practicing in secret, passing the limit the King had set for her. She thought that if anything should come her way, she'd be able to handle it.

As soon as she was ready, she placed some pillows underneath the comforter, should anyone come knocking on the door and happen to peer through, they'd think she was still there. Lúthien then opened her balcony doors, walking out into the crisp cold air. Looking up to dark sky, she prayed to the Valar that the little fawn would be all right.

After tying the rope that she swiped from the armory to the railing of the balcony, she began climbing down. Her hands held onto the fuzzy rope as she slid to the bottom, her feet touching the ground almost instantaneously. Swiftly, she ran past the stables after seeing the guards posted there dozing off. When she arrived at the paddocks, her horse Artex stood there nibbling at some grass.

"Artex." She whispered softly, grabbing his attention. His head jerked up, ears perked towards her and he began walking over to her. He lifted his head over the fence, allowing her to greet him. "Hello boy." She smiled "You wanna go for a ride?"

Lúthien didn't bother tacking him up, they were just going to track the fawn quickly and return, no one would even know she left. Quietly, she opened the paddock gate, leading Artex through before closing it. She was still bit to short to hop up on his back on her own, so he knelt down to make things easer for her.

"Thank you boy. Come on, lets go find that fawn." With a click of her tongue, he began moving forward. The two now entered the dangerous darkness of the forest.

*+*

Once they were in the forest, Lúthien carefully listened to every sound her ears were exposed to, from the sounds of Artex's hooves hitting the ground to the sound of the rushing river a few leagues away. They followed the trail of trampled brush, when they reached the top of the hill though, they could finally see the break of dawn.

"How is it dawn already?" Lúthien sighed, she needed to find the fawn and soon

Along with the captivating light of day and beautifully blended colors in the sky, were small little hoof prints with drops of blood beside them. She wondered how severe it's injuries might have been, it was a small creature and if it was bleeding, surely it must be on the brink of death by now. Time was running out, though Lúthien remained hopeful.