"What a blessing to be out of Mordor!" Jaiz said, drinking in the fresh air. "The air is so clean! Breathe it in, Raileen. Your first taste of a better world, and freedom!"

Raileen smiled, his eyes beholding the blowing green grass with happiness. "I am grateful to have escaped the darkness of Mordor with such great friends."

"To where shall we travel?" Ellhamier asked.

Thranduil consulted his memory maps. "We should stay close to Gondor and Rohan in the event we are needed. Sauron could send orcs sooner then expected to terrorize small villages."

"What we need is a bar in a big city," Jaiz said. "We could collect all the news at a tavern or inn and then decide what to do."

"Where do we find a good tavern?" Raileen asked.

"In Gondor," Thranduil answered. "There are many towns and villages in Gondor. And where there are towns, there are always taverns."

"Why not travel to Rohan instead?" Ellhamier asked.

Thranduil grimaced. "The humans of Rohan take a joy in killing elves at the moment."

"Why?" Ellhamier demanded.

"Humans do many crazy things," Thranduil said.

"Well, the humans must change their minds about elves if they later alley with them against Sauron," Raileen remarked.

"That is true, but we still travel to Gondor," Thranduil said.

Ciran bowed mockingly. "I submit to the will of Lord Thranduil!"

Thranduil punched his brother on the arm. "Be quiet!"

"Of course, my lord," Ciran teased.

Thranduil frowned.

"Look!" Jaiz exclaimed suddenly, pointing. "Flyfire came back! And he brought horses with him!"

Thranduil spun around. The great moose cantered up to him, and whooshed warm air down his neck. Four white horses came to a halt behind the moose. Thranduil stroked Flyfire's sleek neck. "I am glad you came back," he murmured.

The horses and the moose were mounted, and the Five Masters set out for Gondor. As they rode, Thranduil looked up at the sky. Messenger hawks passed overhead against the blue sky, and the green grass met the fare horizon. "I wish Dailily were here," Thranduil said mournfully. "Look at the news up there, flying by."

"What a dismal thought," Jaiz said.

Eight years later:

Oropher woke to the sunlight streaming onto his face through the window. He smiled, remembering his dream. He had dreamed about his eight year-old son, Lailin. How he loved Lailin. He started to remove the soft blankets from around him, then stopped in shock. His wrists were shackled together! Sivagami stood over him, pocketing the key with a malicious smirk.

"Sivagami, what sins do you commit?" Oropher cried, struggling to escape his shackles.

"I am doing what I must," Sivagami replied coolly. She turned around as the door behind her opened and a small, blonde elfling skipped into the room. Lailin's blue eyes opened wide at the sight of his father. "Ada? Why are you in chains?"

"Run!" Oropher cried.

Lailin's eyes filled with confused tears as his mother grabbed him, and snapped heavy bands of metal over his small wrists. "Nana? What have I done wrong? Why are you angry with me?"

"Silence!" Sivagami snapped. She snatched a silk sash from the back of the armchair set against the wall to her left, and gagged Lailin with it tightly.

Oropher jumped from bed. "How can you be so cruel? He is your son! Guards!"

"Anyone who could hear you is long dead," Sivagami said, holding up her bloodstained hands. "They fell silently to my blades."

"What have you done?" Oropher groaned in horror.

"What I have always wanted to do!" Sivagami snapped. "And what Thranduil's presence always prevented! I have waited patiently the past eight years for Lailin to grow and fill with blood to please the Dark Lady. I will wait no more."

"You would not dare harm your own child!" Oropher said.

"I bore Lailin to serve one purpose. And the purpose was for sacrificial reasons, none other. I have no love for him," Sivagami answered.

"No! You would not dare!"

"I would, meleth. And your blood shall join his." Sivagami snatched up another sash, and gagged her husband. She linked Lailin's shackles to Oropher's with a length of chain, and jerked them through a concealed door in the wall into a dim tunnel beyond. "I need no aid in this; I will reach my destination with both of you alone. And power shall be mine! Great power!"

Sivagami walked to the door, and hurled a ball of flame onto Oropher's bed opposite her. The sheets caught flame, quickly spreading to devour the walls. Sivagami slammed the secret door and marched her captives down the cold, stone passageway, in the dark, away from the distraction.

I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings on this story. Your feedback is appreciated.