She was less lucky the second time around. No sooner had she got up than a slap shot towards her cheek. She received It at full power and, under the Impact, stumbled on the tiles. Elwen glared at her assailant who was approaching her again. Behind him, the blond elf was doing the same. She got up quickly and ran to the window, grabbing the buns and fruit as she went. The two elves chased after her, eager to prove themselves In front of their friend.
A root made her stumble and she found herself In a very bad position facing her pursuers who were only a few strides away from her. Looking quickly around her, Elwen rushed towards one of the huge pines that dotted the sumptuous elven garden.
The shrill cries of the young elven woman had quickly brought the guards together, but already all that was seen was a small silhouette of flame dancing among the thin leaves of the trees.
The night was now Illuminated by thousands of delicate lanterns. The party had started a few hours ago and many laughs echoed In the small clearing where stood the covered room that housed the ball. The music was light and the food sophisticated. A large number of elves swirled among the guests. The waxed parquet gleamed in the light and the royal family had just made their entrance.
"Yet, beyond the great hall, the guards were restless. She had just been spotted again and a frantic race had started between them and her. Elwen was jumping from branch to branch, flying among the trees, under the starry vault. She knew she wouldn't last long: despite her speed of healing, her arm still made her suffer excruciatingly, and a twinge of pain hit her with each movement. Finally, she saw the lights piercing through the large windows. With one last leap, she reached one of them. The guards would never find her here."
"While catching her breath, she let her gaze drift inwards. There, under the glow of the lanterns, hundreds of well-dressed, clean, and simply beautiful beings seemed to be flying above the floor. Elwen pulled out of her pocket the last herb bun and bit Into it with no real appetite.
For a long time, she watched these young and beautiful elves twirling In their most splendid attire. They exuded youth and happiness.
Elwen saw the young brown elf who had hit her earlier that day accompanied by the other blonde elf. They were chatting quietly as a troop of beautiful young elves came towards them. Perhaps out of gallantry, perhaps out of envy, they invited two of them to dance to the slow music. They were two couples that could not be more charming. The brunette seemed to radiate, an aura of confidence radiating from him. He was so strange, so different from other elves.
And, as If to remind him of the sad reality, his gaze came to rest on the reflection of the window. She sent back the Image of a poor young girl In rags, her face covered In the dirt and a bloody arm. Her hair, which was flying freely In the wind, was filthy.
This reflection was reality, she: was a thief, nothing but a thief. Without faith or law …"
"Her gaze went back and forth between the elves, majestic and unreal, and her Image printed on the tiles. Too long, far too long she held this barrier between her and them Mahtan was no longer there to hold back the tears, she was alone In the world.
The tears carried with them the sadness accumulated by the goodbyes, the too many falls, and the pressure of the last years. They were more than mere tears, they were floodgates now open, pouring out their misfortunes, their miseries, and their pains. Elwen was sobbing, head on her knees, arms wrapped around her legs, perched on the windowsill. She dreamed of herself in their place, on this shiny floor, In a beautiful dress, when she was the most miserable in the kingdom. She was trying to persuade herself that she could change, and correct her past mistakes. But deep down, she knew you couldn't change what had been done, who she was.
Finally, after a few minutes, she pulled herself together and had just enough time to dry her tears when an arm grabbed her to make her fall to the ground. She screamed In surprise and heard cheers In the room. When she looked up, she saw a guard leaning over her, a menacing smile on his face. He whispered between his teeth:
- "You made us run well, didn't you?" You wIll regret It, oh yes, you will regret It! "
"Then hAnothert down his fist with all hIs violence on the small body at his feet. Elwen moaned in pain and tried In vain to protect herself with her arms before receiving another blow. She received a kick In the lip which started to bleed profusely but the soldier seemed driven by mad rage and did not stop.
The blows rained down and all sensation was only pain that crossed her from all sides. She then began to moan under the Intensity f the blows, hoping to stop the guard. Finally, she felt him move away about, aptly. Another guard seemed to have held his companion back and now he was whispering:
- "Leave her, she's had her account." Now bring her before the King, he will congratulate you. E me ! he roared. Let me show him what It costs to break Into his Majesty's house! ""
"Finally, after a few moments, Elwen felt the two men calm down. One of them lifted her off the ground to bind her hands with a rough rope. Both started to leave and she thought they were leaving her there until she felt the bonds tug on her wrists.
- "Go ahead! »
She followed the movement with her head down, her hair forming a curtain around her face. With each step, pain shot through his limbs and tugged at his skin. She heard whispers as she passed, Insults, but she was used to that…
Yet she couldn't help feeling a strange shame, the one that showed her how miserable she was amid these perfect beings.
As she raised her head, her gaze fell on the small group of elves who had been dancing barely half an hour ago before her longing eyes. Their faces were marked with disgust and fear. One of the elves was clinging to the arm of one of them. None took their eyes off her, following her with their bluish gaze, typical of this kingdom, while judging her without any pity."
"As she raised her head, her gaze fell on the small group of elves who had been dancing barely half an hour ago before her longing eyes. Their faces were marked with disgust and fear. A of the elves was clinging to the arm of one of them, none of them taking their eyes off her, following her with their blue eyes, typical of this kingdom, while judging her without any pity.
She lowered her head, feeling the ropes pull harder on her already raw wrists. The guard behind her kicked her again, tripping her. Her senses were so confused that she fell and crashed onto the white marble floor. A blow rang out in the direction of his cheek, which immediately turned blue. Elwen got up wIth difficulty moaning. She felt herself being dragged in an unknown direction. Finally, the convoy stopped and she was made to kneel before a figure whose blurred outlines she could only discern.
- "She's in bad shape, what happened to her?"
- She fell from a tree, My Lord. »
From his voice, you could tell he was lying. Elwen looked up and realized that the crowd had disappeared. Instead, the King and his wife stood before her. They looked at her with an imperious air, so superior that she felt even more miserable. His torn, muddy clothes seemed to weigh heavier, and the blood that dripped from his lip glistened before his eyes."
"She felt their stares, so heavy, so heavy on her. She heard someone rushing up and knew it was their son. This elf is so presumptuous that with a glance he seemed to judge you. He seemed to be Much older than her, yet that age sounded wrong, Mistrid had taught her that an elf grew slower, much slower than a human.
A heavy silence had settled In the room so that she looked up to see If they were gone. Almost immediately she felt a violent blow to the back of her neck.
- "Look down in the presence of their Majesties!" »
Elwen moaned and curled up on herself. Finally, after a few minutes, while the silence had not left the huge room, the slow voIcI of the King announced his sentence:
- "A few years In the deepest dungeon will do him the greatest good…"
She stood up quickly, a horrified look on her face.
- "You… you can't do that!" You do not have the right! I have to go! I have to go …
- I have all the rights here… He suddenly looked Interested. But besides, could I know the reason for your visit to Vert-Bois Le Grand?
- I am going beyond the Iron Mountains.
The silence became even heavier, Elwen would not have believed It possible."
"What are you running from…, the King asked him slowly, suddenly looking concerned.
Elwen could read not anger but curiosity.
As she still did not answer, the tone rose and the King repeated his question with more force:
- "What are you running away from?
"I'm not running from anything," Elwen replied harshly, challenging him with her gaze.
Anger was now beginning to show on the monarch's beautiful, perfect face, but her beauty was cold, chilling, anything but warm.
- "What would a young girl of you're age do alone on the road If not flee?" »
He hammered out each word with force and approached slowly.
- "What are you fleeing at the end!! »
Perhaps he was the sovereign of his people, the sovereign of this kingdom, but he was not hers, he could not order her to do anything directly concerning her. He was red with anger and his mouth twisted Into a hideous grimace. To say she wasn't scared right now would be a lie.
With a wave of his hand, he pushed hIs wife away, who was going to put a hand on his Shoulder, and dismissed her and her son. There were only three of them left In the great throne room.
He observed her for a moment longer, then In an icy voice, without ceasing to stare at her, he murmured:
- "Take her to the dungeons. ""
"We tattooed the coat of arms of Vert-Bois on her shoulder before taking her to an Icy cell.
The burn on his shoulder had been painful for a long time, but now the only trace left of that episode was a thin circled leaf with a tiny star underneath. She could have found the pattern beautiful, with all Its meticulous details and Its beautiful arabesques If anger hadn't gone to her head every time she saw it, Inked in her flesh.
They had left him a small bowl of soup and a piece of bread. Fear twisted her stomach, leaving her motionless against a wall. Fear had slowly risen within her as the months passed. She had barely noticed It.
It wasn't rats or the darkness she was afraid of, It was oblivion. She had been there for several months already, or so she had calculated, and she still hadn't seen anyone. The bread and soup were still there when she woke up.
Elwen was waiting for the day when people would forget to feed her, the day when everyone would have forgotten her. And she would be there, in her little cell, alone in the dark basements. She would have tried to appease her guardians but only there were none."
"The King had come, again he had asked her the question which still made her tremble with fear. At first, she had answered nothing, angrily, he had grabbed her by the shoulder, revealing the mark to the broad daylight and he continued Insistently:
- "For the last time, what are you fleeing from?"
- Why do you put so much energy Into seeing me through?" she had asked lasciviously in response.
The King had melted and she had finally seen In him this young man with a little distracted eye, an anxious look on his face whIch hid behind the hard face of Thranduil. She understood one thing at that moment. He was like her. His eyes were mirrors, his soul reflected his own, that of a boy who had grown up too quickly, who had dreamed of an elusive life, and who now hid behind an Icy attitude that discouraged most.
"What are you running from…I want to hear those words," he whispered slowly.
- Mistakes that will one day cost me my life. Lies that will soon eat away at me. »
The King's face had closed and his eyes breathed that he knew this pain. The first he slammed on the door meant something else, surely he thought that a being as pure as an elf couldn't be mixed up In this, this savagery was supposed to be meant for Men.
For seven years, Elwen remained locked up In the same dungeon, eating the same porrIdge every day, and drinking from the same bowl.
It had been so long since she had felt the sun on her skin, or the wind In her hair that she felt like she was going to forget them too. She was afraid that her life would forever remain in this tiny, damp, dark cell.
The King had never returned, and Elwen consoled herself with the thought that he would never know what she was up to. In fact, she knew deep down that he was as scared as she was. He was afraid to see this child again who reminded him of memories he had forgotten a long time ago.
"Since the beginning of the new year, she had been slowly scraping around the hinges of the door, so she could hope to break It down. She had tried to do so but It had proved impossible, the elven wood was also hard In the days that followed, she set to work with renewed ardor, doing something she should have done a long time ago: escape.
She took more than a month to extract the hinges of the stone door. When she felt the door was weakened enough, she gathered momentum and slammed into the door, whichShe groaned. Starting over, she felt the last barriers of her prison giving way one by one. With an angry jerk, the door finally opened.