Noira's POV

Two weeks had passed, since I'd got my chance to live in the palace as a servant. I didn't forget, the king himself didn't give his word for this, but I chose to live every single day as a present. Summer turned to Autumn, and the killing, hot days came to an end, for my pleasure. Storms reminded me of my so much loved hometown, where the cruel wind and icy rain used to play a sweet, never ending lullaby.

At this night, as every other night, since weeks, I had dark dreams. Dreams about loss and fear. Pain and grief. The guard, who was standing next to my cell in the morning, jumped three feet high, when a sharp scream left my mouth. I sat up quickly, and touching my aching throat, tried to find my normal breath. Clearing the sweat away of my face with the blue dress, I'd got to wear, I was ready for the next workday, but my heart was beating so strongly, I thought, it wanted to leave my body. Anyway, I wanted to get out of this airless, lightless place. I needed to do something, and not thinking of my terrible visions. Something between these walls made me ill. It was worse with every night, I'd spent in the dungeon. Maybe it was some kind of elven magic, what made the prisoner's days worse and worse.

As I silently wished, only minutes later, the familiar brown haired ellon, who opened the cage every day, set me free, led me to the gardens and left me alone with the little white plants, I needed to work with. We had never spoke a word, but I liked him. I can not tell you, why exactly. There was something kind in the way, he looked.

I sighed, and asked my knees not to break, if it was possible. Squating all day and every day was something, I couldn't bare very well. Then, I knelt down, and didn't hear my knees breaking, but my skirt giving up.

Seriously. Who thought, this 'thing' would be practical for gardening?!

I picked a small spade up, and started to make the place for the new plants. My lovely, but quite tight dress was suffering me with every movement I made. It was not just tight, but long and so strange to me, I didn't think, I could get to use to it in this life. I was thinking of tearing it apart right now.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I could not breathe in it normally. It was not a big problem, when I was lying on the ground of my cell, but while I was working, I would have needed some oxygen. I suddenly realized, I didn't have any. Touching my back, I tried to find the buttons, tapes, something, I could bind off, but felt nothing, as my hands started to numb.

Alright, that's not a good sign.

I immediately felt very sick, and don't know, why I thought, it was a good idea, but suddenly stood up. At that moment, everything went black, and with my last strength, I grabbed the damn material at my chest, and plucked it apart.

'There's a tape on the back' sounded a male voice from next to me, as I was sitting on the ground again, panting loudly.

Well... I've solved it on its front!

'How... do you know that?' I breathed, and took an irritated look at the ellon, who was just speaking, instead of helping. Then another, longer look. Whoa, he was beautiful – and after my last question, quite red. More handsome, than Fräynn was, if it was possible, but he had longer, blond hair, and blue eyes, but a different shade. I wished I just knew, why he was staring a gardener, when he had to have more important things to do. Maybe, he was here for checking my work.

I picked my spade up, and pushed it into the ground again, and again, and again. I was thinking of the feeling I had here, in the near of the forest. Somehow, it was cold, but not in the way, I liked. It was cold in my bones and heart, and made me nervous and uneasy. It made me nervous, as the smell of the upcoming battle makes horses nervous. If I were a plant, I would die, before I could grow a flower, for sure. These little ones won't survive it, just because we give some water to them.

I closed my eyes, was concentrated, and placed my palms above them. As I recalled the memory of the old healing phrases, I started to murmur them quietly.

'What do you think, you are doing?' I heard the ellon's voice, as he grabbed my hand. 'What kind of curse was this?'

'Curse?' I asked back in surprise. His grab was so hurtful, I was sure, his sword would have touched my neck, if he would have had any weapon with him. Fortunately, he didn't have.

'Look...' I nodded toward the lilies, and he turned there in time, to see, how they changed their pale color, and started to blossom. My magic didn't work fully, but it was better, than nothing. He finally let go of my wrist, and stepped back. I continued my work, and watched him still standing there silently. Oh, how much I hated, when I was watched. Especially, in a situation, like this.

Sitting onto my heels, I gave him a questioning look, words were not necessary to tell him what the hell do you want. The blonde ellon cleared his throat.

'What do you know about the elleth, named Silivren?'

'About who?'

'The Queen of Mirkwood.' he said quietly, and I was thinking a little, before answered.

'I didn't meet her. Only her husband...'

'Are you sure, you don't know anything about her?'

I sighed. 'Am I looking like an idiot?!' I asked, just a minute after he watched me tearing my own dress apart. A pleasing laugh left my mouth for the thought.

'What was your name, again, soldier?' I faced him, and the ellon lifted an eyebrow at my last word.

'Legolas' he bowed a little 'And yours is Noira, if I know it correctly'

I just nodded. 'Legolas, maybe you are right, I am insane. You know... since I am living here, I have dreams.' Remembering this thing made me nervous again in a blink of an eye.

'Having dreams is normal' he said simply, shrugging his shoulders. I sighed.

'These are nightmares.'

'Nightmares are normal too. I also have it sometimes.'

'Oh yeah?' I'd lost my patience, recalling the horroristic pictures, I had to see. 'Is it normal to watch a stranger die? Is it normal to see, how an orc army is running toward the ellon, sending an arrow into his shoulder... his lungs... his heart... how they're cutting his arm off?!' I stood up, while speaking 'To see, when that warm smile is leaving his face, as he collapses to the bloody ground, and a beast grabs his silver hair and is cutting his neck?! For God's sake, I felt what he felt! I knew, he was thinking of his wife and son!' I shouted it out from me, and tried to find my stable voice again. 'I cannot stay a single day longer in that cell. I have no idea, how you elves can do that to me, but if this is a punishment, kill me instead! This place make me go insane, anyway.'

He was just watching me, with wide eyes open, and a hint of sadness in them, I didn't understand. Almost a minute passed, when he realized, he was watched.

'Sorry, it just reminded me of my grandfather.' he looked at me with a weak smile, what didn't reach his eyes. 'I didn't have the gift to get to know him. His life ended before I could have been born. His name was Oropher. I've never heard about a greater warrior, than he was... nor an ellon, how would have had greater love in his heart toward his kin.' the blonde faced the sky as continued 'My father has told me tales about him. About a war, what was similar to the one, you described. Adar has seen, what you've seen. He was also on the battlefield. You know, Noira, watching his adar die, made his heart stone cold. As the time passed, my mother could make him see, there was still beauty in this world, and life was still worthy. Unfortunately, after he watched nenneth die too, there was no cure for him anymore.'

'Is your adar still alive?' I asked quietly, fearing from the answer, and he lifted his head in surprise.

'Of course, he does. He is-'

'Then, he found some beauty here, anyway.' I smiled.

'Or else, as once a stubborn, red haired elleth told me, he is braver, than choosing death.'

'Tauriel?'

'Yes, but how do you know her name?'

'I've heard it in gossips' – and saw her with him, when tried to escape. 'Some elves say, she is falling for the crown prince, knowing it is not possible to a... woodelf. Oh, I really don't understand the difference between woodelves and Sindarians.'

'Me neither.'

'Well... the prince has to be too proud to choose her, right? How could he act in any other way, after having a father, like that ellon on the throne?' I said it out loud, remembering my vision of the little prince, finding his adar on that horrible night. The ellon's face went serious.

'The prince's personality has no essence in this question, because, as far as I know, Tauriel doesn't share her love with him.' he said, eyeing the grass, and suddenly turned away. 'I leave you, now.'

'Wait! Why did you ask me about the queen?' I shouted to the leaving ellon. He stopped, and slowly turned toward me. At that moment, his face changed, and I didn't like what I saw in his eyes, as he was staring at something right behind me.

Third Person's POV

'NOIRA, RUN!' – echoed the prince's voice.

She froze, turned around and saw a giant spider just inches away from her. She jumped to aside, when the monster attacked, then quickly stood up and faced the huge creature. She had a strange feeling.

Oh, yes, she didn't have any weapons. Surely this was that. What made the situation worse was, that she felt, there was no way to use her power anymore. It was over.

It attacked again, but failed, as she run forward, between its legs. How much she hated that damn dress at that moment... Turning around, she picked the first thing up, she saw. A long bough.

Are spiders able to laugh? Because, she was sure, the animal was doing that now in the inside.

It moved, and she climbed onto a tree, what was standing next to them, then jumped down onto its 'back'. After a moment of 'Fine, but what the hell should I do now?!', she pushed her new weapon into those frightening eyes, and the beast made an awful sound. She pierced them again, and again. Finally, she lost her balance, and fell to the ground. Just a moment later, her victim followed her. Noira took a deep breath, and stood up, smoothing her once fine blue dress.

When she noticed the prince, still standing there in shock, she smiled.

'Close your mouth, soldier. A dragon will fly in...'

'We have to report to the king. These beasts have never come so close earlier' said and signed to her to follow.

Noira was lost in her thoughts. She wasn't sure, she should have followed him to the throne room, so opened her mouth to say a very polite goodbye, when crashed into something strong. Thranduil looked down at the elleth, raising an eyebrow. She was staring at his chest from only an inch far, and tried to go invisible.

It didn't work.

So, if I am not going to the monster, the monster will come to me – she thought, and stepped away from him, to look at a point in the far. She couldn't be more irritated, so stayed mute.

Legolas bowed. 'My lord, we were attacked by a giant spider near the river. The beast dared coming to the elven gardens, just next to the palace! It was Noira, who fortunately killed it.' Thranduil took a deep, nervous breath and stormed toward the gates, without a word. Legolas was on his side.

'I don't remember, I have ordered you to give weapons to her' he hissed, and didn't even look at his son. 'I have not. She used... a bough' he confessed.

Meanwhile, in another wing of the castle, Noira tried to find the armory. It was quite surprising, that there were no guards to be find anywhere, to stop her. She had a really bad divination. Oh, my precious blades... I am naked without you, where are you?

°°

The elvenking, the prince and twenty guards arrived at the place where the comic fight happened just some minutes ago. They wore full armor, bows, arrows, swords and knives. As they walked deeper into the forest, heard the high, well-known frequence of the monsters. They were surrounded, and immediately, the fight begun. Fräynn was not in the crowd, but his right hand, Aleros, the red haired ellon was also fighting on the side of his mates.

The guards shot arrow, after arrow, killing the enemy from far, but soon, they arrived. A lot of them. Then, they changed their bows to knives. Thranduil cut them with his noble blades as easily, as he would have just been drinking his morning juice. Legolas was always amazed, seeing him fighting. The prince followed his father, destroyed spider, after spider.

The time passed, and Thranduil stopped for a moment to look around. And find his breath. He suddenly saw a light blue patch before his eyes, but it immediately disappeared in the crowd. He furrowed his brow, as pushed his sword into a spider's heart. He pulled his weapon out, and turned to cut another animal down. The blue patch appeared again, but just for a second.

The number of the beasts started waning, as the energy of the guards.

Legolas breathed heavily, as he took his knife out of the last disgusting creature. Thranduil smelled into the air. It was heavy from spider blood, sweat and iron. But there was something else there. Something sweet.

'You cannot wait to die, woman?!' he said with clear anger in his voice. Then, Noira stepped out from behind him. She faced the king, holding her big blades, what were covered with dark blood.

'It is not me, who... planes to die here and now... my king' she said between breaths. He took a frightening step toward her.

'This fight was like a light refreshing rain on a hot summer day' she looked into his cold blue eyes directly 'As you probably also know, these beasts came so close to the borders, because they were running from something. And that something will mean our end, if you think, it is a good idea coming back here with only – she made a little mental calculation – twenty soldiers.' Noira saw as the king opened his mouth, but he chose to stay silent for some moment, changing his answer.

'And you wish to die on your king's side?' he raised his eyebrows.

'Do not underestimate me-' she started, but was interrupted by an orc arrow, what was sent into the ground right next to their feet. They turned to its direction, and saw the bushes moving. They arrived. More, than a hundred bastards. The elves gripped their long swords. They didn't have arrows for now. Legolas took a deep breath and looked at his father. He nodded, and the woodelves started their second fight in the same hour.

Noira lifted her swords, as the first beast neared, but the creature was running straight toward the king, if she had been just invisible. She quickly moved, and killed it, by piercing her blades into his back. She killed then another one, who tried to make its way toward Thranduil too. The elleth didn't understand it.

Why would these dumb bastards go and attack the most experienced warrior, when they could fight with weaker guards instead? Do they really want to be slain?

The elves were cleverer and much more qualified, than those primitive orcs, so each of them killed more than a dozen warriors since the fight started.

Noira turned around, wanted to be sure, the others were still standing. She saw a tall elf lying on the ground in his great gold armor between the several dead orc. The fresh red and black blood mixed, and its smell made her stomach turning. And another dead elf. And another. She turned right, saw Legolas and Aleros cutting the orcs without a pause. Not far from them, there was the king, fighting with two orcs. One of them was really large. Its weapon was able to break a wall – she thought. It had to be their captain. It seemed like Thranduil were fighting with eternal power, but Noira knew, everybody was tired now, and their focus was not the same. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead.

'DON'T LET THEM ENTER THE GATES!' echoed the king's voice, and they saw, as some orcs rushed toward the entrance. The fight was so close to the palace, they could have easily enter the elven home, if the little group had not stopped them immediately. But Legolas did.

Noira cut the air behind her, and the blade met the black flesh of a smaller orc. It didn't die, and attacked back. She jumped behind it and cut its neck with her last strength, and felt, she couldn't breathe anymore. Then, she saw a monster with a big scar on its face, as it just pulled his knife out of an elven body, next to the king, and attacked again.

But her legs didn't work.

Legolas also noticed it, and tried to stop the orc, but another beast lifted its dagger for him. The king pushed his sword into the orc captain's heart, when the scarred one took a deep cut on his arm. He roared, as the sharp pain run through his body.

Noira's heart stopped beating. Her legs took her there automatically, and pierced the black head as her last movement. Then she fell onto her knees strengthlessly.

Thranduil was breathing loudly, and just took his hand onto her shoulder gently. He was looking around, and saw as Legolas, and the two lucky living elven soldiers were killing the very last orcs. They had lost so much from their kin. He closed his eyes in pain.

They were sitting for some minute, checking their injures and collecting enough energy to the way back. Aleros and the other soldier had smaller scars, luckily the elven armor could save them. They just needed some rest. Legolas ended up with a broken leg. Noira gave her glove to him to bite, until she put his leg to the right direction. He roared anyway, but it took just a second. The king had a big cut on his arm, but nothing serious. Noira touched her head. It was bleeding a little. Now she understood, why she felt sick. Probably she hit it when fell to the ground, but she didn't really remember. The whole fight looked like a mass in her head. Nevermind, elves heal quickly. They will be fine some hours later.

'My son...' started Thranduil, and Noira suddenly lifted her head to see if the prince was walking toward them from somewhere, between the trees. 'Your first thing must be sending for the captain, as we entered the castle' he finished, and Legolas nodded. And Noira's eyes widened so much, she looked like a fly.

'As you wish, adar.' answered the prince, and couldn't hide a little smile, when he saw the elleth's face.

WHAT THE ACTUAL... HOW THE... HOW THE HELL HAVE I NOT FOUND IT OUT EARLIER? HE EVEN TOLD ME, HIS GRANDFATHER WAS KING OROPHER! SO, HE WAS THE ELFLING IN MY VISION... OH GOD, MY STUPIDITY CAN SURPRISE EVEN ME, SOMETIMES! – thought Noira, and slapped herself into the face.

'Let's go back' sounded Thranduil's command, after he took a confused look at her.

The group stood up, and started its way to the gates. Noira helped the prince, and was thinking of the elven guards who were not as lucky as they were. She heard her own words from the time before the fight and felt guilty. This feeling just grew, when she finally summed two with two.

The king - the Iceberg – was watching as his father was brutally slain all those years ago. Lost his hope in life, but found it again in love. Then, he had to see his beloved wife, the blondy's nenneth die, and still... he had to stay here, in the land of the living, and rule his kin, as nothing had happened. Even if I am sure, he so much desired to die. I can feel, how much he was suffering... And he had a little elfling. And... Today, he was here anyway, and was fighting for his kin again, for every single guard and servant.

And I've told him, he came here to die.

Noira asked the soldiers to help the prince staying on his feet, and stepped back to Thranduil, who was walking behind the little group slowly. His face was so pale. She was glad she couldn't see her own.

'Now, I believe in the tales of the great Warrior King' she made a little smile. He didn't react, or look at her, just continued his walk, as he didn't even hear her. Okay, that wasn't what she expected.

Still an iceberg? After we almost died?

Noira stood before him, stopping the man and met his gaze. The ellon took a questioning look at her, just before a strange feeling made Noira miss a breath. She suddenly stepped forward, and hugged him.

She was just standing there.

Only some second passed, when the king's head lolled forward and she felt his whole weight on herself.

'King Thranduil?' she asked, but didn't get any answer.

She couldn't hold his heavy body, even just a minute longer, so fell to her back and Thranduil followed her. When she saw, Thranduil's eyes were barely open, she screamed, and quickly lied him to his back.

The group suddenly turned back.

Oh no no no no no!

She didn't understand anything. What the hell had happened? Legolas knelt next to his father and stared at his arm. The cut was almost black now.

'Poison... the orc blades were dipped into poison' he couldn't even finish the sentence, when the girl stood up and with a strong movement, tore her skirt apart. It looks like a new habit. She reached for Thranduil, when was stopped.

'You are not allowed to touch his majesty' Aleros grabbed her wrist on halfway, and Noira truly thought, she didn't hear him clearly. She glared at him for a moment, then looked at the prince with begging eyes. He slowly nodded.

She knelt back, grabbed the king's limp arm, and bound the robe right above the bleeding cut, as tightly as she just could.

She didn't care about her looks at that moment, she was as practical as a warrior needed to be. Her legs, and almost her hip was visible, and Thranduil raised a brow at her.

'This is... unacceptable' he said sleepily, as the guards lifted him, and they continued their way back, now a little faster.

For the Valar, a lot faster!