Lord of the Rings
By: Diana Hawk
Chapter 1: Arrival of the Lothlóriens"The Orcs are attacking the western side of Middle-Earth. Most cities have already been leveled." Aragorn informed his two friends as they walked down the main hall of the Mirkwood palace.
"Those repulsive creatures are getting stronger." Legolas seethed, crinkling his nose in disgust, "We have to defeat Sauron's evil before his evil defeats us."
"I have heard that the Orcs are trying to make their way to Mirkwood, though many have been killed by our scouts. Still, we had better search the forests, just in case." Gimli said. The others nodded and quickened their pace, throwing open the castle doors and entering the woods.
The trio began looking for Orcs high and low in the forest outside of the Mirkwood kingdom. After about an hour Gimli whined, "We have been searching for hours! My legs are tired and my stomach is empty, let us go back to the castle."
"Be patient, dwarf." Aragorn retorted, "We are bound to find something soon." Just then, a cluster of branches began to crack as if to answer his statement. Alerted by the sudden noise, the warriors wielded their weapons, ready to fight. Instead of Orcs, however, a small group of people emerged from the foliage. One particular woman pushed her way to the front of the group and threw her hands up to show that she was no harm. Aragorn and Gimli lowered their weapons, but Legolas stood strong, tightening his grip on the string of his bow. "Who are you and where do you come from?" he asked angrily, "Speak quickly."
"We are the people of Lórien, about 970 kilometers to the southwest. We heard that the Orcs were targeting our village, so we are fleeing to Mirkwood to get the protection of the elves." The woman said. Legolas narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but Aragorn grabbed onto one of his arms and looked him in the eye. The two men stared at each other for some time, and then Legolas lowered his gaze. He closed his eyes and gave a small nod, as if a silent message had been passed between him and Aragorn during the stare off. "Please believe us." The woman said desperately, "Please."
"Alright, you and your people can come with us to the palace, under one condition; the women and children have to do simple everyday chores around the kingdom and the young lads have to learn how to fight. We cannot have little productivity in this time of crisis."
A murmur of agreement swept through the crowd, and with that, they began their walk to Mirkwood.
"That was very brave of you." Aragorn said to the woman walking next to him.
"Aye, it was." Gimli agreed.
"Why, thank you." She said, pushing matted, curly brown hair out of her face. She looked again at her three rescuers and stated, "You three are quite a group. A dwarf, a human, and an elf, together? I have not heard of such a thing since before the rise of Sauron."
"We are simply acquaintances brought together to find the One Ring and stop Sauron's evil ways." Legolas said briskly. He then turned to regard her more closely, and she turned to do the same. Their eyes met for a second, then she turned away and smiled shyly. "I am sorry that I have not asked you earlier, but what is your name?" He asked.
"My name is Aranelle Daily. What is yours?"
"My name is Legolas, and this is Gimli and Aragorn." He stated, motioning first to himself, then to the dwarf, and then to the human.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all." Aranelle said, bowing her head slightly.
"Aranelle is such a beautiful name." Aragorn commented.
"Seems a bit Elvish though." Gimli mumbled. Aranelle just chuckled quietly at the antics of the three, how different they were from each other, and kept marching on.
After some time, the forest began to thin out, and the sound of song and laughter echoed throughout the air. "We have arrived at the Mirkwood kingdom." Legolas announced to the group. "If you will please follow me to the castle to meet the king and queen."
In the palace, the people of Lórien lined up silently to see the leaders of the realm, King Thranduil and Queen Ërandrese. Most of the citizens were assigned chores in the villages surrounding the castle, but some, like Aranelle, were kept in the fortress. "You will work either in the dining area preparing food or cleaning the floors of the palace." The king stated bluntly. Aranelle bowed as deeply as she could and spun around to find her new workplace.
"Would you like us to help you find your destination?" Aragorn asked.
"That would be lovely." Aranelle said gratefully as they walked.