From the moment the Fellowship left for Mordor, Mistril had to be kept under constant watch. It proved to be a lot harder to control herself with how strong Sauron grew. One week was enough to convince Elrond that she needed to sleep somewhere far from the rest or there may be victims.
"I feel like I should leave soon..." she muttered during an early stroll with Arwen. "I still cannot understand how you trust me so much that you accept spending time with me."
"An elf can only feel such pure love once in life. I believe that to be far stronger than the darkness that corrupted your soul. You have chosen to fight it and that is enough to prove to me how different you are from Sauron." She replied looking rather pale herself.
"There is a company of elves that will soon leave for the Grey Havens. I heard Lord Elrond talk about you joining them." Mistril started as they stopped in front of the entry to the valley. "Is that what you want?"
"I only want Aragorn to return to me safely." She said touching her empty neck.
"So you have chosen love and not peace?" Mistril asked knowing that elves such as Arwen had the chance to choose.
"What is peace if it is not with the person that you love? I can find peace anywhere as long as I am by his side. But you are right, father wants me to leave."
"He's only worried for you. We are safe here but what lies beyond this valley is a terrible sight."
Arwen turned towards the path that led out of Imladris and for a moment her eyes sparkled with mischief. Mistril watched with interest as Arwen contemplated if she should just run away.
"He'll know. If you leave, you'll only bring him another reason to worry." Mistril interfered, aware that running away was not always a good idea.
"What should I do? I don't want to be a burden but I don't want to live in regret for the rest of my time." The innocence of those words and the way she was suffering were indeed tragic. The war and the spilled innocent blood were all felt inside Imladris even if not in obvious manners.
"I can't decide for you. And I believe you have already chosen your future." Mistril said with a soft smile pointing at her neck. "We should return before they believe I did something to you."
Arwen rolled her eyes with a teasing smirk and both elleths walked back to the house. It was during that time that she saw the old hobbit on a piece of grass not far, looking into the distance as if he was trying to look beyond this life.
She didn't talk to Bilbo. Not then, and not for a long time. But she did listen to the stories about his adventures with the dwarves or at least what the twins knew. It wasn't long before she actually had another crisis and this time Sauron tried a different route into her mind and will.
She was squirming and breathing heavily as she dreamed what for her was the most horrible thing. It was always different but all nightmares had the same end: the death of the Elvenking. It became so horrible that she had a meeting with Glorfindel about it.
"You can't go and check on him! There is war!" He exclaimed, firmly denying such a request.
"Exactly! I need to be there. I need to keep him safe." She insisted.
"Why's that? Hm?" He asked although he knew the answer. Mistril grew quite nonchalant about her feelings for the Elvenking.
"I...care. isn't that enough?"
But she never admitted that Thranduil was the love of her life. Maybe because she knew that he had married once and very rarely would elves find someone else. For Thranduil, she was just an elleth, but for Mistril he was the first and only. It was pitiful because she was very much aware of this.
"You will end up with a broken heart," Glorfindel said coldly although he did have her best interest at heart. "You know how he is. The amount of interest he has for you is because of his curiosity."
Mistril glared at Glorfindel but she still remained very calm. Her eyes haven't changed since she arrived during the Council, at least not to complete blackness. Her light was still flickering like crazy and her soul was hanging onto this love.
"I want him to live, even if I will be the one hurt in the end. He will leave for Valinor at some point anyway and we both know I cannot follow." She said sounding like she had already made peace with that ending.
But Glorfindel knew she was extremely stubborn and could run into a situation that could turn dark very quickly, and could even potentially kill the Elvenking.
"It will take you weeks before you get there. Let's not add the danger of meeting a whole army of orcs from Dol Guldur." He tried to reason with her.
"I can handle them." She said with so much conviction that Glorfindel couldn't help but wonder just how strong she was.
"If they will need help, you can go. But not now. Not yet."
In reality, Mirkwood needed all the help it could get. Faervel's Brigade became twice as large as it was in the beginning and most of the elves of the forest were now living in the Halls. They were not that many in the first place but ever since the attacks have grown in strength and number, the army lost more and more warriors. Among all of Thranduil's worries at home, there was also the fear that Legolas could get hurt.
Thranduil was exhausted. His best people were barely sleeping and eating just because Dol Guldur was attacking all the time. But the last few days were indeed very silent. They were definitely planning something greater than what they have done until now. They were gathering their forces for a siege, Thranduil could feel it. He just didn't know when they will hit.
"Here, my lord." Hathelwen gave him a cup of something he only hoped was a tonic. It smelled of medicine but it tasted like crap.
"It's awful." He said as he tried to spit it out.
"It will help you relax. It's not just for you, remember. The connection between you and Mistril is still very strong."
Thranduil rolled his eyes and got off the bed. He spent way too many nights in the healer's rooms. But he couldn't deny that he did feel at ease after drinking the potion. Something must have happened to have her become so docile and he had a vague idea it wasn't about him.
"Why am I getting angry anyway. It's not my problem." He mumbled to himself as he walked into the halls.
Most elves were in armor and even more were cooking and cleaning. He couldn't believe it had come to such drastic measures.
"Sir! My king, I have news!"
Thranduil stopped so that Farvel's son could reach him.
"It's the orcs, sir. They have all retreated into the fortress. Even the spiders have gathered on the eastern side."
"Are we ready for war?" Thranduil asked knowing that nobody is ever ready.
"Yes, my lord. We are not as many as we used to but we won't let Mirkwood fall." He said with the sparkling eyes of the youth.
Thranduil wasn't so certain, though. That was the main reason why he did plan a quick escape for the civilians if they had to run. But even so, the world out there was still very dangerous.
Nothing truly happened for the next several weeks. Mistril still spent most of her days on the balcony or in nature. They had to leave the valley once every few days in order to patrol the land but that was all. Instead, Arwen was growing weaker every day and Elrond was ready to send her to the Grey Havens.
"You can go too. Glorfindel has already chosen to go as a guard." Elrond said, knowing her answer already.
Mistril frowned knowing that she could never leave Middle earth.
"What about the brothers? I haven't seen them lately."
"They are out on a mission. Will not return soon, I believe." The lord of Imladris replied, his eyes softening as parental worry filled his heart.
"...I noticed that the sword of Isildur is gone," Mistril added turning to him.
"I had to repair it for it is time to be used again."
"Then isn't it time that you accept Arwen's decision?" She asked with an understanding smile.
"The time of the elves has passed. If she remains here, she will die. I have already made arrangements for her to leave." He said still stubbornly deciding his daughter's future. "I saw it, the heartbreak of having a human husband. She will suffer if she stays."
"The future can change. Her love will not." Mistril said speaking from her own experience.
There were many discussions, some louder than others, between Elrond and his daughter. Mistril could understand both of them and knew it was a hard time for elves. So many have died during the first war against Sauron and strength slowly left in those who have remained. It seemed like the weather was mourning too because it started to rain heavily.
In the end, Mistril had to run and take cover in the stables. She was surprised to see Bilbo there, tending to a pony. He jumped in surprise when he saw her figure approach him.
"My God, you really move like a shadow lady Mistril." He said sounding so light. In truth, he really had nothing to worry about. He also seemed to fully trust Frodo with his quest.
"It's pouring really hard out there. It's just like the sky crying for all who have fallen." She started wanting to see his reaction.
"I don't know much about the world, lady Mistril, I only went on one adventure in my life. As we both know, I found the creature called Gollum and brought this burden upon Frodo." He said looking down. "I do trust that he will return and he will tell me all about his quest in great detail. One great adventure can only be followed by another." He laughed although it didn't reach his eyes.
"You helped the dwarves regain Erebor. That is rather great." She said with a playful smirk.
"We also awoke a dragon and destroyed Lake City. But because of that the enemy never got its hands on the Lonely Mountain. One day we win and one day we lose, I suppose."
"What about the wood elves?" Mistril asked, his face suddenly appearing in her mind.
"Ah, the wood elves. When I passed through Mirkwood, darkness was already there. Troops of orcs were gathering in the fortress of Dol Guldur. And the Elvenking was not the most welcoming either." He recalled sitting down next to Mistril. "He locked all the dwarves in cells. Luckily, I could sneak them out but you know how dwarves are not the most subtle and silent creatures. King Thranduil had an old feud with Thorin. Ah, Thorin Oakenshield...it's been so long since I spoke of him."
And that was exactly what he did. Bilbo spoke about the Shire, about how Gandalf tricked him into agreeing to become their burglar, and about how he woke up one day with a whole lot of dwarves at home that nearly left him without provisions. He remembered the white orc and how much he wanted to kill Thorin. He could still name and give a brief description of every dwarf in the company. Bilbo was always amazed by the elves and couldn't believe how different Mirkwood was from Rivendell. He didn't have a lot of great stories about Thranduil because the king was not the kindest elf but he was brave and wise.
"I remember he was a lot nicer on the way back home. He seemed to have lightened up. But he was still very much melancholic."
Mistril chuckled as she listened carefully and with joy. It was very entertaining and they couldn't even hear the thunder and lightning outside because they were so focused on these memories.
And then, amidst laughter and happiness, Mistril's head was struck by something very sharp. It wasn't a weapon but it certainly felt like one. She could hear a ringing in her ears and needed to close her eyes in pain. Bilbo was scared and didn't know what to do.
"I will go call for a healer. Or Lord Elrond or-" he tried to touch her shoulder but she was getting really hot.
"Don't worry. I'm alright." She could barely speak. Once the ringing died, she gasped as she could finally understand what was truly happening.
Glorfindel was reading peacefully when Lord Elrond himself barged in. He was sweating and seemed to know that Mistril was rushing toward them. She was wet from head to toe and she looked ready to go to war.
"Thranduil needs help. The orcs have passed their barriers. Mirkwood is under siege."
