Disclaimer: See default chapter

Chapter 2:

If only, if only...

The horses panicked first. That was always the first thing he remembered. Then the screams of the orcs came.

He would always remember the terrified look on her face. The absolute horror on the guards faces as they were carried away. And then the pain from the orcs cruelly tight grips on his arms.

He would always remember her frantic attempt to escape and her screams at him for to flee... He would always remember that he didn’t... That he had stood frozen in terror, watching as the orcs easily subdued her... Then in horror as the orcs ripped off her clothing... His young innocent mind to numb to really comprehend what was taking place...

If only he had run he might had found the guards in time... If only he had listened... If only he had obeyed her last command... If only... If only...

After the deed had been done, and her blood soaked into the ground, he had erupted. Not caring anymore... Not feeling anymore...

The words of denial and self-condemnation echoed in his mind. ’She’s not dead... It’s all my fault...’

When the last orc had fallen, he had turned to her, but her blank, lifeless eyes stared back at him... Condemning him of her death.

And so he had run, trying to find water to clean himself of the orcs foul blood and stench and her shamed gaze.

They had found him there... In a small muddle of mostly mud and a little bit of dirty water... Tears pouring down his cheeks, but not a single sound coming from him...

He was afraid of what they would say when they realized that he had helped kill her. So he obeyed every command, half afraid of what would happen if he didn’t. Afraid of what his Ada might say he remained silent, speaking to no one for nearly three years.

Meldar had been assigned to him the first year, but the prince had rarely left his Adar’s side for the guardian to do much of anything but stay by his charge’s side. But in those years, Meldar slowly gained the prince’s fragile trust, but never his full trust until one night when his nightmare came back with a full viciousness, that had him screaming unconscious for several minutes.

Thranduil had been called away to a settlement and hadn’t been there as he usually had been. So it had been Meldar who had quietly taken the trembling form into his arms and humming a lullaby, rocked the prince back to sleep.

It was then that Legolas had given Meldar a trust that he had only given his Adar, and it had been Meldar who had gotten him to speak again.

But he never spoke of that day and never of her...

Never...

TBC: