Fan Fiction ❯ Suraj Hua Maddham ❯ The Forbidden City ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter 8 "The Forbidden City."

Author notes: Look at me tearing them apart. Well, not really tore so much as kind of put everything down the gutter. ^_^ But now you get to see where those shadowy figures took Farandël as well as I appear now too! And to El, we'll just see if you're right or not. Review please!

* * *

The city's blue lights accented the dark towers and statues in the main square. The first shadowy figure held Farandël as if he were a child, while the other two flanked him. They walked silently through the quiet streets, most of the houses boarded up. The city was quite advanced, and it looked to have updated the technology and magicks of Isenguard. There was a main tower due north, with four protruding spikes, each with a bridge connecting to a little tent-like structure. It was a dark blue marble, standing out against the black towers and houses that surrounded it.

`Do we put him in the house of the healer or take him directly to the Elder?' the second one asked.

The leader paused; turning around to face the one who had spoken. `The orders were to take him directly to the Elder. He has sustained no injuries, so going to the house of the healer would be pointless.' He turned once more, and they continued on their way to the main tower. `After many years, we finally found him.'

`What is the Elder going to do with him?' the third one questioned.

`That, is none of our business. We are only mercenaries after all. We don't even belong to this race,' the leader replied. `That, of course is obvious, isn't it?'

The third mercenary sighed. `Yes, I suppose. Why must we lower ourselves to working for a race that is barely clinging to life? Why can't we work for-'

`Quiet!' the leader roared, and the third mercenary cowered. `We work for whomever pays us our fee. You will not question it. It is our life; we have no way to change it now. Now shut up and let's get this Farandël to the Elder.' The other two nodded, and the trio made their way inside the main tower.

Inside the main tower of the city, there was an elaborate lobby, with many jewel-encrusted pillars, and the trio of mercenaries walked up the stairs and turned left. They walked up a long spiral staircase, all the while, Farandël still unconscious. As they reached the end of the staircase, they walked down a narrow hallway, going through thick double-doors, finally reaching the Elder's room. `Here is the one you requested, sire,' the leader spoke up, getting the attention of the shadowed figure on a throne.

The Elder stood up, and came from the shadows, revealing himself to be an Elf. His clothes didn't resemble any of the present Elven races, as his race was one that was near extinction. `Thank you, you are as good as they say. Eilya will give you your pay.' He gestured to an Elf who walked up from the left of the throne and handed the leader a leather bag filled with money. The three bowed then left immediately. The Elder got up from his throne, and walked down the steps to where Farandël lay.

A young Elven woman with dark blue hair and clear blue eyes entered the room and gasped when she saw F-ëanor's heir lying on the floor. `Oh my! Can…it be? Oh father, is this really Farandël?'

He smiled, and pulled Farandël to his feet, and snapped his fingers. Two servants immediately appeared, and put the heir of Fëanor in a chair. The Elder ran his hand down Farandël's face. `Yes…this is the one foretold to come and rule over the Elven lands. The heir of Fëanor, the greatest Elven warrior, and my Grandfather.' He looked to the young woman. `And he is your soul mate, Fyora.'

Fyora gasped happily and quickly walked over to Farandël and touched his smooth skin. `How many millennia have I waited for you, my love? How many years did I have to wait for my destiny to come to me?'

`What are you talking about? Farandël muttered, startling the both of them. `I am not your love, lady…I love Legolas.'

Fyora looked to her father. `Father? What is he talking about? Who is this Legolas?'

Her father looked unsure. `That name sounds familiar. Why, can it be Legolas Greenleaf of the kingdom of Mirkwood? I have not heard the name of those Elves for many years. But I suppose being locked away in this wrenched place does cut you off from those whom you held dear.'

`Listen, I don't know who you are, but take me back to Legolas at once!' Farandël ordered, now fully awake. He reached for Sting, but suddenly realised it wasn't there. `And what have you done with my weapon?'

The Elder held up the gift that Bilbo had given Farandël when he was a hobbit. `You mean this horrid piece of hobbit-made weaponry?' He peered at it, and tossed it over to a servant, who barely caught it. `You are not worthy of such a shoddy piece of junk. You are Fëanor's heir, and you are the heir to this kingdom.'

Farandël's eyes widened, and he jumped out of the chair, and whirled around, looking at his surroundings. The room he was in was circular, with a statue of a woman near the back, made out of crystal. To his left there was a door, but it was guarded, as was the door to his right. There was the Elder's throne, as well as one more chair next to it, which was most likely Fyora's. `What…where am I?'

`You are in the kingdom of Terraei,' The Elder replied. `The lost kingdom, as it's called. It exists to everyone else in folklore, but this is the Kingdom where you shall take your rightful place on this throne and rule all the Elven lands.'

Farandël looked sceptical. `How can I rule the Elven lands from a Kingdom that's not even real to the other races? Would I be living here my entire life?' The Elder and Fyora looked at each other, not expecting this. `I realise being the heir of Fëanor is my fate, but being with Legolas is my destiny, and I cannot ignore that.'

Fyora looked angry. `Don't you get it? Legolas is nothing to you now! You are Fëanor's heir, and you are going to be my husband!'

(By the Gods, this woman is serious,) Farandël thought, as he looked at Fyora. (But I am in love with Legolas … there is no way I am going through with such a marriage!) Farandël ran a hand through his silky brown hair. `Listen … Fyora. I understand there's been some sort of legend that tells you of marrying me…but you are mistaken. I am not going to marry you. You are a lovely woman, but I am in love with Legolas of Mirkwood. If you do however manage to change my mind about that fact, you will never change my heart.'

`This poses some sort of challenge,' The Elder mused. `Legolas is your love you say? If you are gone, would he give up on you?'

`Never!' Farandël yelled, growing increasingly frustrated with the two Elves. `Our love is something that will never die. I was never surer of it until now, when you kidnapped me! How am I going to rule over some country if it doesn't even exist, let alone has to KIDNAP its leader in order to progress?'

Fyora stormed up to him and slapped him across the face. A bright red mark appeared on Farandël's cheek, and he put a hand to the spot. `I will marry you, Farandël and I don't care if it takes another thousand years, I WILL change both your mind and heart!' After laying down that threat, she walked off to her chambers.

Farandël watched after her and raised an eyebrow. (What am I going to do?) He wondered, putting a hand on his hip. (Legolas … what are you doing right now? There's got to be some way I can contact you.)

`Sire,' a servant spoke up and Farandël turned around. `I am supposed to take you to your chambers. Please come with me.' Farandël nodded and followed the male servant. Through twisting corridors and many teleporters, Farandël found himself at a very large room. `Have a good nights sleep, sire.'

The brown-haired Elf put the golden key in the lock, and opened the door. What awaited him was an enormous room that had a King-Sized bed with a canopy and black drapes enclosing it, as well as to the left was a large desk with a chair and a silver stationary set. Further into the room, near the back, was a pedestal made of black marble, with a round clear orb. `That orb,' Farandël murmured, as he walked in a beeline to the object. `Maybe I can use it to contact Legolas! But how to use it?' Farandël touched the orb and it began to glow. `It looks like it responds to thought. Let me contact the one I love…'

In the Forest with the Fellowship

Aragorn had a hard time trying to calm Legolas down. The Prince of Mirkwood felt entirely responsible for letting the Elf be kidnapped, and the heir of Isildur had his hands full trying to convince him otherwise. The rest of the Fellowship was incredibly supportive, and for that, Aragorn was immensely thankful. "Legolas, you have to eat," Aragorn said for about the millionth time that hour. "If you do not, you're going to waste away into nothingness."

Legolas snapped the twig that he had been playing with. "I already feel like I am nothingness, Aragorn. It was MY fault that-"

"Now, now, we've been through this," Aragorn cut him off, sitting down beside him on the grass. "It's not your fault. You two were ambushed and most likely outnumbered. There was no way you could have stopped them. For now, the only thing we can do is try and focus on getting him back, not on the fact that he was taken."

(He's right,) Legolas thought, (but I can't stop thinking that if I wasn't so weak that I could have stopped those fiends from kidnapping Farandël. But Aragorn is right…if I continue to act like this we won't ever get him back.) Legolas looked up at Aragorn with a small smile on his lips. "I am feeling a little hungry, Aragorn."

Aragorn smiled and gently pulled the Elf Prince to his feet. "Come. It is about time you put something in that stomach of yours." He leaned in and whispered, "What would Farandël do if he saw his love in such a condition?"

"So, what are we going to do?" Pippin inquired, when Legolas and Aragorn arrived at the campsite. "If there is anything to do at all…"

Legolas sat down quietly and Sam spooned him some of the soup. Haldir put a hand on his hip. "We do not know who took Farandël, and since we do not know that, there is no real way to determine where he is."

"I'm afraid to say it, but I agree with Haldir," Aragorn said, as Legolas bit his lip and forced the rest of the stoup down his throat. "The only thing we can do is continuing on our journey. We will get a sign of where Farandël is."

"How long will that take?" Legolas asked quietly. "How long will it take to get a sign of where Farandël is? What if it takes days? Months? Years?"

"Well, you are an Elf. You don't age, so what would it mat-OW!" Pippin exclaimed in agony as Aragorn swiftly smacked him upside the head. "OK, I deserved that one…" He put on a bright smile. "SO! Who's up for some sleep, eh?" The rest of the Fellowship readily agreed and they fell asleep. Although for Legolas, it took a brightly shining star to ease his soul into sleeping for the night…

In Terraei

Farandël sucked on his burnt finger and glared childishly at the orb. He had tried using the orb to contact Legolas but the silly thing hand burned his finger when he tried to touch it as it was glowing. `Well that teaches you to touch unknown things,' a female voice said from behind him. Farandël turned around to see a young Elven woman with brown hair and hazel eyes dressed in the same black robes as Fyora, but with silver designs.

`Who are you? Someone else to tell me that I'm going to marry Fyora?' Farandël snapped out of frustration and a little bit of pain. Not to mention he was extremely tired. She merely smiled and walked up to him. `I did ask you a legitimate question, you know. Who are you?'

She took his hand and placed her other hand on top of his. In seconds, his finger was healed and as good as new. `My name is Sasha. I am the black mage of this Kingdom. The healer whose house is to the far left of this castle is the only white mage. You were trying to contact a loved one?'

`How did you know?' Farandël questioned, raising an eyebrow. `And just how long were you standing there?'

`Long enough to know that you were trying to contact a certain Legolas Greenleaf.' Sasha took Farandël's hand and took him back to the orb. `This orb is called Farandël's soul. It obviously won't work for anyone but you, hence why it is in your chamber. Your first guess was correct. You can contact the one you truly love with it. And I can help you.'

Farandël could not believe his ears. Here he had a clear shot of actually contacting Legolas and telling him where he was. `Why are you helping me?' he asked. `Everyone here wants me to marry Fyora.'

Sasha smiled and looked out the window for a moment before turning back to him. `Because I am your sister, Farandël.'

-TBC-