Helena quickly changed into another gown which did not restrict her movements. She grabbed her bow and quiver filled with arrows, and placed her hunting knives in their sheaths. She ran out of her room and down the stairs to meet with the rest of her elven patrol. " Lacho calad! Drego morn! (Flame light! Flee darkness!)! Let's go! Forward, to the borders!" Helena shouted. The party ran swiftly to the borders of the Golden Wood and toward the aid of their kin.
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When the patrol reached the outer ring of trees that bordered the Wood, they saw a huge group of orcs. Helena almost wanted to throw up, seeing the orcs' weapons stained with blood, tips glinting in the moonlight. "Lacho calad! Drego morn! (Flame light! Flee darkness!) Stand your ground!" Helena yelled, praying she wasn't leading the elves into a slaughter.
The orcs laughed cruelly and ran towards the elves.
The elves charged forward to meet them.
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So far, no elf had lost their lives. Helena shot an arrow into the face of an orc, then stabbed another in the head with her knife, and pulled it out again.
On another side of the field, Lernael seemed to have difficulty handling all of the 10 orcs which had swarmed her. She slashed here and there, but it wasn't enough. The beasts just kept coming. Helena ran in her friend's direction, trying to reach her. She concentrated hard, and light shot from the stars toward the ground, wrapping around the orcs and incinerating them.
Helena was so occupied with dispatching the fell orcs in front of her that she did not notice one creeping up behind her, raising its sword. As it lifted its weapon, ready to strike, an arrow appeared in its chest. Helena looked around, spotting a grey-cloaked figure holding a bow. The figure removed his hood, revealing striking blue eyes and brown hair.
"Elliot! What are you doing here?" Helena asked quizzically. Elliot gave the queen a weird look. "To see if you needed help, of course…"he responded.
"It appeared that you needed help earlier. You couldn't do it all on your own. You could have gotten yourself killed!"
"It's my duty, Elliot. I'm queen, and I have to protect my people. I cannot fail like last time…"
Elliot sighed and looked at the dead orcs lying on the ground, before unclasping his cloak and putting it around Helena's shoulders, binding the clasp and patting her shoulders. "Stay warm."
Helena coughed awkwardly as she gestured for the patrol to follow her, Elliot and Lernael bringing up the rear.
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Helena walked in the gardens of the Wood as she thought about what had happened that day. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind. She ran to the library of the Golden Wood.
Helena lit the tip of her wand with light and searched among the bookshelves. She pulled a book out and flipped through its pages. She reached the part Relics of Power. She knew of only the four elven objects and the one wizarding object that survived the test of time. Nothing that could attract the orcs…
She set the book which she borrowed on her table and extinguished the wandlight. In the west, light exploded in the sky.
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At breakfast the next day, Helena was looking through the book she had borrowed yesterday. The soft voices of elves rang out around her as fresh scents from the flowers in the vase could be smelt throughout the room.
A sharp cry interrupted the tranquility as Ceres the messenger eagle flew in. The sunlight glinted off her brown wingtips as she dropped a letter in between the pages of the book. Helena picked the letter. It was from the gnomish king, Cidarian.
She opened the envelope and took out the piece of parchment inside. Elliot leaned over and gasped. It read:
Queen Helena,
This is from Cidarian. I'm writing this to you to let you know we are in great danger. The queen of this realm, Lady Aurora, has gone missing. I'm calling a Great Assembly and I invite you to attend. We need to find Lady Aurora quick..
Regards, Cidarian
The short letter told Helena all she needed to know. She stood up and called for silence. "Dear elves, I have grave tidings."
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Helena put on a grey travelling cloak and fastened the eagle clasp. She straightened her circlet and slung her bow and quiver over her back, before letting out a piercing whistle. Eagles appeared and swooped downward to receive the members of her delegation. She commanded them to set out toward the Kingdom of the Gnomes.