Disclaimer: I don't own any of J.R.R. Tolkien's characters or his plot line, I'm simply borrowing them for a little while :). And this is my first time writing a FanFic, so please review, I love criticism. Also, just warning you, this chapter is rather sad and has some slightly intense fighting scenes, but the whole story won't be this !

Chapter one:

My feet splash around in the cool water, and I giggle delightedly as the minnows flick around my toes and dart under rocks. Momma is seated next to me, humming softly to herself as she washes our clothes in the brook, taking advantage of this hot summer day to do a little laundry. Everything is peaceful and serene in our little clearing, the birds are singing and the suns warm rays caress our backs.

Suddenly, Momma stops humming and cocks her head to the side, as if listening for something. I stop what I'm doing also, and pull my knees to my chest, for something about what momma is doing has caused a spark of nervousness to ignite inside me.

"Momma?" I ask, for at my young age of four I'm not the best at pronunciating long words. Glancing at me, she raises a finger to her lips, then ushers at me to rise. This is when I hear what has caused momma to be acting so strange, something (or things) was crashing through the undergrowth, and was steadily growing closer. Not being able to control myself, a let out a small shriek, scared of what may be coming. Everything instantaneously falls silent after my small outburst. Momma goes frigid, and there is a haunted look in her eyes. This moment of utter and deathly still seemed to go on for hours, yet in reality it only lasted for a split second.

Then everything dissolves into mayhem. With a huge crash two Orcs hurtle into our sanctuary, lips raised into a snarl, with meaty, disfigured hands clasping rusty swords. Momma's and my screams merge into one, and she yanks my hand as we start sprinting away. Yet momma knows that we can't both survive, and deep down I guess I know, too. Screeching to a halt, she grabs my face desperately, tears streaming down her face. "I love you, Adlanna." She kisses my forehead, then pushes me away. "Run!" She screams at me, but I stay where I am, frozen in this moment. "Run!" She screams once once, her throat words raw with terror. At this I spin around and sprint away, my small feet pounding on the hard dirt, still to shocked to cry.

Screams echo through the trees, and I cover my ears, desperately trying to get away, my breathing ragged with fear and immense despair.

With a start I sit up, sweat drenched sheets entangling my limbs. This same nightmare has been plaguing me thirteen years since that horrid summer day, yet something is different this night. My eyes struggle to make out my room in the dim light, but my other senses are still working. The smell of smoke reaches my nose, screams echo in my ears, and that's when I realize something is horribly wrong.

Wide awake now I leap out of bed, pawing around in the dark for my boots and hunting dagger. Yanking on my shoes I strap my knife around my waist and throw open the door to my room, dashing into the main room, only to find it engulfed in fire, with flames licking hungrily at the wooden beams. Skidding to a halt, I run back into my bedroom and search frantically for another exit. Within seconds my eyes land on my window.

Stealing myself, I take a deep breath and leap through the glass, falling in a heap onto the grass outside. Shards crunch underneath me, but I'm in to panicked to notice. Struggling to my feet I asses the turmoil that is playing out around me. The whole village is aflame, and the the few people that were still alive were running about madly, trying in vain to hold off the band of Orcs that had a matter of seconds, these villagers were soon dispatched, too.

With my breath catching in my throat, I sprint in a mad dash towards the woods, hoping to escape the now unoccupied monsters. However, before I can even make it to the first trees my foot catches on something and I go sprawling on my face. Frantically pulling myself to my feet I glance down at what I've tripped on, and I let out a small cry of disgust, for I have tripped on the carcass of a dead Orc. I start to run away once more, until I see the glint of the Orcs grime covered blade. Disentangling the sword from the beasts bloodied maws, I hold the blade tightly and continue my sprint.

Twigs whip past my face, yet still I stumble on, until I begin to hear sounds of pursuit behind me. Spinning around, I decide to face my enemy. My chest heaved, yet my mind was calm knowing that in a state of panic I would never be able to defeat this foe. Grasping the stolen sword in my hands I readied myself for the onslaught that was soon to come, and come it did.

Crashing through the brush, three Orcs charged at me, one of them swinging its sword down and connecting with mine with a loud clash. Kicking its knee with enough force to snap it, I slice through its neck, then swing around to face my next adversary. This one was harder to kill, yet I still managed. However, my sword had become caught in the Orcs heavy leather armor, and while I was struggling furiously to retrieve it the third and final foe came up behind me and brought its blade down in a path that would've landed it directly between my shoulder blades.

This lethal blow would have had me dead in a minute, had it not been for at that very second my sword came free from the leather and I rolled aside. The Orcs blade caught me in the shoulder, biting deep into the flesh. I let out a howl of pain, but still managed to stab the Orc deeply, dispatching of the horrid beast. Even though all three of my enemy's lay slewn, I knew that more would follow, so I struggled to my feet and took off once more into the woods.

I went on running for quite some time, the only sounds being my heavy footsteps and occasional whimper of pain that escaped my lips. Soon the sunlight started to filter through the pines, illuminating the forest floor, and I knew that I would have to take a break. Coming to a stop, I ungracefully fell down in a heap onto the dirt and leaves, wincing in pain as my injured shoulder was jostled upon impact.

As I let myself relax, thoughts flashed into my head of the poor villagers, and a single tear rolled down my cheek. After my mothers death, I had been reluctantly taken in by my uncle's family. Mother had been cast out of by her relatives after her affair with an man who was a Dunedan, a descendant from the Numenor, my father, and she and I had lived on the outskirts of town, looked upon with scorn by all the villagers. I don't have any memory's of this ma , however, as he abandoned mother and I when I was only a babe of two weeks. Her heart was broken, but she stayed strong for me, and together she and I led a happy, albeit short, life together. Even after her passing the villagers dislike of my mother hung heavily on my shoulders, and I made no friends growing up. This loneliness caused me to turn to nature, where I found solitude and peace, taking in the beauty of the forest, and teaching myself how to fend for myself. It was during these many hours of privacy that I earned my skill with my sword, teaching myself this art.

As another tear fell from my eye, I allowed myself to grieve for these peoples deaths, even as rejected as I was by them. Pure exhaustion and loss of blood then took over, and with a sigh, I fell into unconsciousness.