Translation of Elvish: Ada - father. Seron vell - beloved. Melin chen - I love you. Nín anoriel - my sun-maiden. Mellonen - my friend. Melethen - my love.

Chapter 8 - Entrapped

"Celebrían?" Haldir's mouth hung open, disbelief clearly written upon his features, "You are joking..." It could not be so. No, Éowyn must have misunderstood something. Celebrían had been the wife of Elrond, and happily so. Or had she not? Could it be true that his Lord and Lady had forced their only child to marry against her heart? He refused to believe so, or even think it possible.

"They met in Lórien. It was love on first sight..." Haldir shook his head, unwilling to listen to Éowyn's arguments. "Thranduil does not know what love is. Or else, how do you explain his treatment of his only son?" Éowyn sighed; this was not going to be easy. "He has been acting this way for that very reason. He does love Legolas! But he knew that eventually he would... He had to make sure that his son would survive."

Haldir stared at her as if he had just been hit across the head. Memories of his childhood and youth flooded his mind and suddenly... "Celebrían was always so happy and joyful. But after she married Elrond... And yet, there was still this sparkle in her eyes, especially if Thranduil came up in a conversation. Why did I not see it before? She was the elf-maiden I saw with the King. That is why he became the cruel and cold-hearted bastard he is now. Five hundred years ago... I must have been blind." He sank into a chair, and stared into the embers in the fireplace. "They can never be together unless Elrond... But he would never do that. He cherishes his hatred for Thranduil. Now I understand why..."

Gimli, who had been quite until now, had finally found his voice again. "Would someone tell me what's going on? Who is this Celebrían you're talking about. And what has she to do with Lord Elrond and the King?" A smile spread over Éowyn's features. How was it possible that the dwarf could always lift her spirits?

"Well, Master Gimli. Celebrían is the daughter of Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel." At the mentioning of the Lady of the Golden Wood, Gimli's face turned a brilliant shade of red. Instead of mocking the dwarf about this, Éowyn simply went on, "She was the wife of Elrond, but it seems that she was the soulmate of our host, King Thranduil."

"Soulmates? You mean as in Legolas and Aragorn? Or," he added with a wink to the two other occupants of the room, "you and our dearest March Warden over there?" Éowyn swallowed hard, eyes searching for Haldir's. The elf seemed to glow from within as he replied, "Yes, just like the two of us..." He stood and extended his hand to Éowyn who took it, releasing the breath she hadn't know she was holding. "Just like us..." He drew her to him, wrapping his arms around her trembling form.

All of a sudden Gimli felt as if he should better leave the room, and made his excuses. Yet the two lovers were oblivious of everything around them, even when the dwarf rather noisily pulled the door shut behind him. Gazing into Éowyn's eyes, he saw her beautiful soul, the confusion she felt, and above all, her love for him. How could this happen? It was too soon, surely. Breaking the moment's spell, he leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers. But he had acted to late. A bond had already been formed.

---

As every night since they had arrived at his father's palace, Legolas had been lying on his bed, unable to find the much-needed rest. Again and again he saw his father and Éowyn. For a moment though, he had believed her to be Celebrían. The same must have happened to his father. How much more could the King bear before giving in to the sweet call of Mandos? Tears clouded the gentle eyes of the Prince. He simply could not lose him. First his mother and now... His mother who was now in Valinor, with him. With her beloved.

Thranduil had set Serinde free as soon as he had found out about their feelings. Why could Elrond not do the same? When he had last seen the Lord of Imladris, there had been a short moment of hope. The way Elrond looked at... But he must have been deceiving himself. There was nothing between Elrond and his beautiful, raven-haired advisor. Even though... 'No,' he scolded himself, 'do not give way to hope. It is lost, forever...'

He barely heard the soft knock on his door, and before he could reach the door it opened and the King stepped into his chamber. He held a message to his heart, clutching it as if it were his lifeline. "Legolas," Thranduil's eyes shone with tears, and before Legolas could reach his side, he had fallen to his knees, "Forgive me..." The King's silver eyes locked with his son's deep blue pools as he offered him the scroll with a shaking hand.

The official seal of the Lord of Imladris. Legolas' heart started to beat faster and faster with every line he read. "Oh Ada... He set her free, he set both of you free." Dropping to his knees, he threw his arms around Thranduil, who hesitantly returned the embrace. "This is a miracle I did not even dare to hope for anymore." Breaking the hold, Legolas raised himself to his feet, drawing his father with him.

The King sighed, "I only allowed myself one hope, that you would come out of this, unspoiled. My means of achieving this ... forgive me." Legolas shook his head, smiling for the first time in weeks. "There is nothing to forgive, nothing..."

---

"It is Galadriel's doing, I am sure of that. And I believe I have to thank you for it, in part at least." Éowyn looked startled, "Me, why me?" The golden-haired prince smiled, "For looking so much like Celebrían of course. I did not notice it then, but now, recalling the Mid-summer Feast, I think Galadriel and Celeborn were a little shaken upon seeing us together."

Haldir, who had been pacing up and down the room, stopped and nodded at this, "Indeed they were. I accidentally overheard a conversation between them and..." Éowyn gazed at him in mock-astonishment, "You've been eavesdropping? I'm shocked..." Giving her a glare that would have send young elflings running, he continued, "They were talking about sending Elrond a message, asking him for help. Back then, I did not really understand. But now it does make sense."

"Apparently they did send that message. And Elrond listened..." Éowyn nodded and leaned closer to the Prince. With a twinkle in her eyes she asked, "If I look this much like Celebrían, it explains of course why Thranduil acted the way he did last night..." Haldir closed in on the two seated figures in a second and towered over them. "Care to fill me in on what happened last night?" Éowyn chuckled to herself, but loud enough for Haldir to hear. "You think this is funny?"

Legolas sighed and related the incident of the previous night to the angered March Warden. "Where are my daggers?" was his only reaction. By now, Éowyn was crying and held her stomach, which had begun to hurt with too much laughter. "You know, nothing really happened. Besides, he's not really my type. He's too," and once again she was chuckling, "gentle and calm." Haldir tried to glare, but his eyes were sparkling with amusement. He took hold of Éowyn's wrist, pulling her up and into his arms. "I will show you 'gentle and calm', seron vell."

Legolas quickly rose and ushered a stunned Gimli out of the chambers. "I think we best leave the two alone, my friend. Let us see if Father will now listen to your ideas of an alliance between our two realms." Once the door closed behind the two, both lovers broke into laughter again. "I think we have to remember this, just in case we ever want to be alone," Éowyn's eyes were sparkling, mischief written upon her features. "Melin chen, nín anoriel. Though I sincerely hope that I will never find myself at the receiving end of your scheming." Remembering the plot to make him see the 'true Gimli', he added, "At least not again."

---

Thranduil sat on the soft grass, the sun warming his face. His hair had slowly begun to return to its former glory. The weariness of the past centuries had disappeared, making way to elation. Well, right now he felt weary again, but for another reason. For weeks now he had to listen to the Dwarf's tales of the adventures of the Fellowship. True, he longed to hear more about his son, but after the tenth time, things got a bit tiring.

Luckily, Gimli would leave Calen Glad the next day, but soon Éowyn and Haldir would also leave his realm. Éowyn. Had she first reminded him of Celebrían, she now was like a daughter to him. The daughter he had lost under such terrible circumstances. 'It is your fault. If it had not been for you, she would have never been on that pass!' Elrond's words still echoed in his ears. But Celebrían had only smiled at him. Would she do it again? Would she welcome him, or would she shun him for what he had become over the years? At least now he could fight for her again. Soon he would set sail to the Undying Lands and see her again.

His reverie was interrupted by the appearance of a messenger. "My Liege, I bring news from the western boarders. Human raiders have crossed the fences, but most have been killed. However, a few have escaped into the woods. We do not know where they might turn." Thranduil rose to his feet, and motioned the young elf to follow him. "How far from here?" The messenger obviously had trouble to keep up with the King's long strides, but finally caught up with him. "Three days on foot..."

---

Dawn found the King and his son in deep conversation with the generals of Thranduil's army. "The biggest problem I see, my Liege, is that we do not know if they will take this route at all. They might return to the fences." Legolas interrupted him, "They are mercenaries. Their main goal is to plunder. Even though the major part of their host is destroyed, it will not stop them." Catching his father's eyes, he found encouragement. "I suggest we search the woods close to the Caverns as soon as possible. No one should venture out alone or unarmed..."

Thranduil turned to the soldiers again, "You will do as the Prince suggests. But beware; they are no orcs. They are smarter than the minions of the Dark One."

---

"I will miss you," Éowyn knelt and embraced the blushing dwarf. "Now, now, my Lady. I gave Legolas my promise to travel to Rivendell as soon as I can. We shall meet again very soon indeed." Behind her, she could hear a murmured, 'Oh joy.' Turning, she found herself face to face with a shrugging March Warden of Lórien. "Admit it, you will miss him as well..."

Raising his hands before him in a defensive gesture, Haldir said, "I am not admitting anything. However, I might find the quiet a little boring." Gimli grinned and whispered, "I'll miss you, too, lad."

The door opened and admitted a tired Legolas. "What's the news, mellonen?" Éowyn suddenly looked anxious, remembering the talk about even more attacks by humans. "There are a few of the raiders on the loose in the woods. But it is nothing to worry about." He turned to Gimli, and continued, "However, I ask you to be careful on your way to Erebor. Bring the greetings of Thranduil of Calen Glad to Dain, King under the Mountain. And do not forget to return to Imladris."

"And you don't forget that we've yet to see the Glittering Caves of Aglarond..." Éowyn smiled at that and added, "Yes indeed, I should be happy to come there with you. I'm sure Haldir would like to see them as well. To replace the bad memories of Helm's Deep with better ones." The Lórien elf shook his head and replied, "Oh, I have no bad memories of the Deep or indeed of Rohan. Those days were rather pleasant. Especially that night before we left for Gondor..." Éowyn's face turned crimson at the mentioning of that particular night.

Legolas, even though he could guess what had happened during that night, asked innocently, "Oh, pray tell me. What is so special about that night?" Gimli came to Éowyn's rescue, "I really think I've to leave now. You'll see me off, won't you?"

---

Soon, the dwarf was out of sight. "I'll miss him. He could always make me laugh, no matter how I was feeling." Haldir encircled her waist with his arms, holding her close. Her back rested against his chest and he leaned forward to whisper into her ear, "So will I, but if you should tell anyone, I will deny it." Aloud he said, "I am glad he is gone for a while. After all, how many times did he want to introduce me to that axe of his?"

"No more than you deserved, mellonen..." Legolas smiled. Then, remembering their previous conversation, he added, "Now, will you tell me about that special night?" Éowyn glared, "I believe that must have been the night I lost the last shred of my sanity." Struggling against Haldir's hold she finally evaded his arms. "If you will excuse me now. I'm going for a short walk..." With that she turned and walked away from the two elves.

---

"You let her go on her own?" Thranduil was livid. Had it not been his son who had said no one should venture into the woods alone? And just a few hours ago. "My Lord, she is quite capable of looking after herself," Haldir ventured to give an explanation, "She brought down one of the most terrible creatures that ever roamed Arda..." Legolas, who was standing by Haldir's side, began to pale. "But she was armed then. She did not take any weapons with her, did she?"

---

The sun was already high when Éowyn reached the small glade in the shadow of tall mallorn trees. So very much like the glade in Lórien, and yet so different. This one was more untamed, barely more than a patch of wilderness. A brook was murmuring happily and the trees around her were whispering to her. She was glad that she had gotten away from Legolas' curious remarks. As if he couldn't guess.

She sank down into a bed of flowers, their scent intoxicating her. The sun above sent its rays down upon her to tickle her face. Before she fell asleep she remembered the last time she had slept in the glade in Lórien. Would Haldir come after her again, waking her in the same manner? And would he stay with her this time, to satisfy the desire he woke in her? She chuckled to herself and sank into a restful sleep.

Never did she see the eyes that stared at her.

---

Haldir had become restless after Éowyn had not appeared again after being away for five hours. "Something has happened, I feel it. We have to find her, Legolas." He grabbed for his bow, quiver and twin daggers and was off. Legolas had problems keeping up with him, trying to console him, "You said yourself that she can look after herself. I am sure she is fine... It is my fault, I should not have taunted her so."

---

Éowyn woke to the sound of breaking branches. She was on her feet in a second, trying to see the intruder in the dim twilight. The sun had begun to sink, and the glade was no longer bathed in its warm rays. When she saw the first cloaked figure emerge from between the trees, she thought for a moment that it was Haldir. But Haldir did not have dark hair, and no beard. The second appeared behind her, and finally she understood who they were. Raiders, human raiders.

More and more appeared, ten, twelve, fourteen... One, seemingly the leader, yelled, "Look what we've got here. An elf maiden. Oh, we will have our fun with you, little one." His companions laughed coarsely. It was not hard to guess what kind of fun he intended to have. Especially as one of them lowered his hand and began to rub his crotch.

But they thought she was an elf, a young elf-maiden. Alone and vulnerable. What would they do to her once they found out that she was no elf after all? Maybe they would... No, she was dressed in elven robes. There was no way they would believe that she got lost in Mirkwood... And even if she did, wouldn't they have their way with her anyway.

They were drawing ever closer, feral grins plastered on their faces. Éowyn looked around, there had to be a way out of this. By now they had encircled her, there was no chance to retreat. And neither to fight, she had left the Caverns without any weapon. She was alone, entrapped...