I woke up early in the morning to the smell of smoke. The kingdom of mixed races, the city I lived in, was burning.

I sat up as soon as it registered, and heard the sound of screaming. I looked out of my window, and was horrified to see hundreds of the Uruk-Hai orcs swarming the city.

I went out of my room, and went into the hall. Then I heard a loud creak. The front door opening. I knew the sound well, because someone was always going in and out. Heavy footsteps followed, and I silently went back into my room and listened intently as heavy footsteps went past my door and down the hall- to my parents' room. I froze as I heard a slam, and then I ran out. I heard my dad yell- and then my mom screamed. I ran down the Hall and looked in the doorway- and a huge Orc stood over my mom while she fumbled to grab the sword that she always had on her side of her bed.

She looked down once. Then the Orc swung its sword and split open her head. My dad was nowhere to be seen. I screamed, and the Orc looked around.

I ran as fast as I could down the stairs and out into the street. The orcs were killing the elves left and right, and I was soon grateful for the calico fur that I had, and that I was not fond of wearing light colored clothing. For the most part I managed to stay hidden, and I made it to the castle where I thought I would be safe.

My friend's family lived in there. They ruled the kingdom of mixed races, and one was a human. The other was an elf. The fighting was much worse near the castle gates, and behind that, the castle was being demolished. Brick by brick, the orcs tore down he bottom of the castle.

I backed away into an Orc, and it spun around, swinging a huge sword. I ran into the nearest house, wishing that it was empty. The Orc followed me, and I ran upstairs in the house. There was a bow in a room, and a single arrow beside it.

I picked them up. I knocked the arrow and drew it back. I could barely pull it back, and as the Orc came into the doorway, I let go.

I hit the Orc's arm, and the Orc yelled and charged. It had let go of its sword, so when it ran at me, I dodged to the side and picked up the sword as I heard a crash. The Orc had run out of the wall.

I locked the door and sat on the ground and cried. My family was gone, and it looked like my friend and her family was also gone.

When the sun rose, I looked up with red eyes and saw the damage to the city. The streets were cracked and torn apart, and the houses were now ruins. The small surplus closet in the middle of the town had become ashes, and the castle was a pile of bricks on the edge of the town. All of the dead people had been stacked in the center of the city.

I ran over to the pile of bricks and began to walk over them, until I saw a small blue thing in the pile. I hurled bricks aside as I unburied my friend.

Dakota, my friend, was under the grey bricks, and her arms were scratched and bruised, while her wings (yes, she had them) were surprisingly okay.

Dakota was alive, but unconscious, so I left her on the bricks while I went to see who else was alive.

The first house I went into was destroyed, and the walls were blackened with ash. I walked up the stars and called "Is anyone here?"

I heard a faint cry from somewhere, and I went into each room to see who it was, but nobody was there. "Hello?" I called again. I heard it again, but again, nobody was there, so I left quickly.

The next couple of houses were the same, and I could feel my fur bristling at the creepiness. They were dark and gloomy, and the worst part was that I had known these people who lived in houses, and they had been bright, happy people.

The next one I went into, when I got about five steps in the room, the floor collapsed. I yelled as I fell underneath the house.

There was nothing down here to get me out, and that was when I heard unsteady footsteps. Somebody walked up to the hole, and it wasn't Dakota. It was one of the few city guards, and he looked like he was drunk.

"Who are you?" He asked. My temper flared.

"I'm Ra, the same person who kept you from getting fired that time when you set a house on fire." I answered impatiently.

"Who?" He asked again. I picked up a rock and threw it at his face. It barely hit him. The guard blinked slowly.

"Can you get yourself out?" He asked.

"Oh, stupid me," I said sarcastically. "There's a ladder down here."

"Really?" The guard asked. I threw another rock, aiming for his face. It hit the top of his helmet, and it seemed like he FINALLY got some sense.

He lowered his hand and helped me out of the hole. I didn't look through the rest of the house.

When I went outside, the sun was higher in the sky, and the heat was incredible. Even on the north end of Mirkwood, the summers were still sweltering. The sky was a strange purple color, and one person was standing by the Butterfly Fountain and staring up at the sky.

The guard went off to talk to the person, and I walked back to Dakota. This time I tried to wake her up.

First I tried shaking Dakota. Nothing. Then I tried water and various other methods, and she was still asleep. I wondered if she had died, but she was still breathing.

I stood up again and went off to the gates at the South end of the kingdom of mixed races. The gates had been thrown apart. I went up to the north end. The gates there were covered in spider webs.

Then I heard a low moaning sound. I looked around and saw someone lying on the ground, with their hands and face covered in blood. They were scratched up and bloody, and they had an arrow in their stomach.

"How are you still alive?" I asked.

They groaned and died.

The walls around the town were torn apart in places, and in other places ladders had been placed outside the walls. The tops were visible over the parts of the wall still standing.

I went back to Dakota, and this time her godmother was with her. She was standing over Dakota, and her face had the same expression it had before the invasion: anger and disgust.

I came up silently and checked on Dakota. As I confirmed that she was still alive, her godmother snorted.

"She's dead. She should be burned with the rest." She jerked her head back to the pile of dead bodies.

"She's alive, and we will NOT burn her unless she stops breathing forever." I countered. Dakota's godmother snorted again.

"Aren't you concerned that this place got ruined?" I asked, my anger flaring yet again. "Everything had changed. Why are you still so disgusted by everything?"

"I'm not concerned at all. I will go out northeast, and start my own kingdom there." She answered.

"The northern wastes?" I asked. "Seriously? Nobody's been able to survive there in centuries, except the goblins and orcs. We would have better luck in Mirkwood."

Dakota's godmother tried to hit me. I ducked just in time. She hissed,"Do not speak that evil name to me!"

That was when I remembered that Dakota's godfather had died in Mirkwood (or so her godmother said).

"Mirkwood." I said again. "Get used to the name. We live right next to it."

"Not anymore!" Her godmother shrieked, and tried to stab me with a knife that came out of nowhere. I ran a little off, but I didn't trust Dakota's crazy godmother to leave Dakota when I left.

However, Dakota's godmother left, and once she was out of sight, I dragged Dakota into the nearest standing house that wasn't broken up. Dakota was still sleeping, and I sat in the dark house with her all night.

The next morning Dakota was STILL asleep, and I tried yet again to wake her up, to no avail. When she didn't wake up after I poured a bucket of hot water on her, I went out of the house in search of something to eat.

I noticed that Dakota's godmother was talking to the small group of survivors, and when I walked up to them, they ran away. I ignored it and went into the ruins of the market.

There, out of the Whole market, was just an apple and a couple of oranges left that were still edible. So I checked some of the other places.

The old bakery that used to have the absolute best pies imaginable was still standing (probably because nobody felt safe hiding in a bakery) but the food inside was almost all gone. I picked up the muffins off the ground, because they were the only food left.

Then I walked back to Dakota, and as I was setting all the food out, she woke up and sat up.

"What happened?" She asked, rubbing her head like she had a headache.

"Orcs invaded." I answered. "The stupid guard is still alive, but I don't know how. Your godmother survived, and she still looks as angry and disgusted as ever. There's also somebody else I don't know. I have no idea where your parents are, though."

Dakota sat in silence for a while as I raided the house. I found a kitchen knife in a back room, and a bow in what looked like an attic. I gave Dakota both. She still didn't talk.

I went over to the pile of dead bodies. Even though it was completely obvious- look for the king and queen first- it had completely slipped my mind. So I checked through the pile of dead bodies.

The smell was terrible. It was the smell of one dead body sitting outside for a couple of days times 300. Yes, at least 300 people used to live in the kingdom of mixed races.

In those 300 bodies, I didn't see Dakota's parents. It was like they had vanished, but in the middle of a bunch of dead people, as dead people.

When I turned to walk away, I saw the stranger and the dumb guard right behind me. "What?" I asked them.

"The princess's new mother says that you are trying to harm the princess." The dumb guard said. The stranger nodded.

"She said that you would dig through dead bodies to find the king and queen to use them to rule everyone. Here you are, going through dead bodies."

"Don't you know not to trust her by now?" I asked. "She's been trying to take over the kingdom for years, and I don't know how the king and queen missed it."

I went to walk past them, and I heard them the stranger say,"It's a good thing that the regent is rescuing the princess now." My blood went cold for a second, and I ran back to the house. Dakota was still there, alive and miserable.

"Did you find the bodies of my parents?" She asked.

"No. They could still be alive. But we have to leave now. Your godmother should be coming soon to take you into the northern wasteland. She has a crazy idea about starting her own kingdom there." I said in a rush as I picked up the remainder of the food and went to the door.

"We need to find some bags." Dakota said, leading the way. "And, if any survived, a horse or pony or two." I added. Dakota nodded and went into the ruins of the leathershop. The front of the leathershop had been pushed in, and we had to dig through the rubble to find two large leather bags.

We packed the food in one (except the apple. I ate that) and as we got ready to leave, Dakota said, "What about water?"

I hung my head. "How did we forget water?" I asked. "We won't get far without it."

So we headed back into the ruins in search of something to hold water in. Along the way I found a long piece of rope, which I kept, and I brought up the fact that I needed a weapon. As we found a flask in someone's house, Dakota's godmother caught up to us.

"Come on, Dakota. Come with me." She said in a sharp voice.

"Why?" Dakota asked.

"Because I'm your mother now-"

"Not." Dakota muttered.

"-and your friend is going to lead you to your death in the Mirkwood forest." Her godmother finished.

Dakota was shocked. I was angry.

"How can you say 'don't say Mirkwood to me' and then say it?" I yelled.

"How can you take your friend into Mirkwood?" She countered.

"There's a chance of survival. Besides, we might not go into Mirkwood." I argued.

"I'm not going with you." Dakota stated. Her godmother turned red and tutted.

"You'll die out there. Fine. Go. I'll be able to rule my own kingdom without you interfering." She said, and left. We went back to our search for flasks. However, before we could go far, Dakota turned around.

"Do you hear that?" She asked.

I listened. "It's footsteps. We should leave."

We left the house and saw the dumb guard run down the street at us with his sword drawn. Without hesitating, I went to run, but Dakota stayed behind.

"Come on!" I said, pulling on her arm. "He's going to kill us!"

"No he won't. I'm the princess." Dakota argued.

"Of what? That doesn't matter anymore! Now come on."

After hesitating some more, Dakota finally moved, and we raced down the road and to the southern gate.

About halfway there, the other stranger came out from behind a house. He also had a sword, and we were kind of surrounded.

"Why are you doing this?" Asked Dakota. "I'm the princess."

"Not anymore." The stranger said.

"We need to scatter. We'll meet up inside Mirkwood." I muttered.

Dakota went right, and I went left. I ran through a torn down house, jumping over boards and easily outrunning the dumb guard (who was chasing me.). He kept tripping and hitting his head, but he still followed me. I decided to hurry into Mirkwood.

I turned, and I suddenly heard a loud THUNK behind me.

I looked around and saw the dumb guard lying unconscious behind me. There was a knife sticking out of his cloak, so I picked it up and ran into Mirkwood.

Dakota was already waiting for me. "What took you so long?" She asked.

"I didn't come straight here." I answered. "I got a weapon." I showed her the knife.

"We should try to find the elves." Dakota suggested. "They might let us stay with them."

"In that case, let's go east."

So we picked up he the flask and bag and headed deeper into Mirkwood.

The first day was okay. We didn't see any wildlife, and we headed steadily east. Then the sun began to set. The trees seemed to close in to suffocate us, and it got darker than it should, so we made a fire.

About an hour after dark, I started to see eyes around the area we camped in. They were not human. That night, neither of us slept, and the next morning we were exhausted. However, we didn't want to stay there, so we continued going east.

It got dark quickly that day, and again, we had to stop. This time, we kept watches so that we could get a little sleep. The same thing happened for the next few days.

On our fifth night in the forest I noticed a faint glow in the distance. It didn't look too far away, so I told Dakota.

"It's the elves!" She whispered. "We made it!" She stood up and started running towards the light. I followed more reluctantly. Before Dakota could get near the light, it went out, and the forest was pitch black again. I backed up to a tree and curled up.

"Dakota?" I called.

For a minute, there was no answer. Then she said,"Here."

"Where are you?" I asked.

"I don't know." She answered. Then we both saw a glow farther away than the first time.

"We need to go to the glow." I told her. "Even if we don't reach the elves."

"Okay." She answered. "Except for the fact that the giant spiders might find us..."

"Can we call for help?"

"Let's try it."

So we both called for help. Nothing happened. I walked forward, and I heard the distant sound of talking. "Help!" I yelled. There was a pause in the voices.

"Help!" Dakota screamed. She sounded like the spiders had already come. I looked at her, shocked. She looked at something over my shoulder.

I looked over my shoulder, and I saw an elf standing behind me. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Aren't elves always supposed to know why people go into their forest or home?" I asked. Dakota kicked me.

"Or home has been destroyed, and so we came here hoping you would help us." She answered (way more respectfully than me.) and the elf nodded.

"I knew that." He answered.

"Idiot." I muttered, earning another kick from Dakota.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Why don't you answer that, if you know so much?" I said, and this time, Dakota smacked the back of my head. "Why do you have to be so good at hitting?" I complained.

"I'm Dakota, and this is Ra." She said politely. I saw the elf's eyes widen in amazement.

"You're the princess?" He asked.

"Yeah. But all of the survivors ran me out, so I'm not anymore."

"Hold on- you actually know something?" I asked, earning another kick. I was surprised the elf hadn't throttled me yet.

"Follow me." The elf said, and went to walk away. Dakota followed him, but I stayed behind.

"Not until I know who you are." I answered.

"I'm king Thranduil." He answered, and I felt my stomach disappear, but I felt more insults coming.

"Then shouldn't you have known-"

"I'm not Elrond or Galadriel!" He snapped, and I realized he was losing his patience. I wanted to laugh, but Dakota seemed horrified.

He led us to a small castle, with huge doors that could barely open. The castle led underground, and that made me make probably the worst comment I could in that place- "so you elves live like dwarves?"

Dakota kicked me yet again and groaned, while the king said, "No! We are not Dwarves!" His hands clenched into fists, and a couple of other elves around either gasped or drew their weapons.

The king sat on a chair and said to one of the other elves, "Legolas, find them a room ANYWHERE away from mine."

Legolas was one of the elves that gasped. He looked horrified at the the thought of having anything to do with us, and said, "But the only room not taken is next to mine, and-"

"You'll take them there." The king cut him off. Legolas groaned and led us deeper underground. Dakota started yawning before we got there, but I wasn't nearly as tired as she was.

"Will you stop yawning?" Legolas demanded.

"I can not help it. I was up all night-"

"What she means to say is she has a right to yawn, so shut up." Legolas looked stricken. I grinned. Dakota was too tired to kick me.

"Don't talk like that." She told me. "It isn't polite."

"If you weren't concerned about being polite, you wouldn't be so tired." I argued.

"Yes I would. You're part cat, remember?" She sounded like she was talking through a pillow.

"Will you two shut it?" Legolas growled as we went even deeper.

Dakota got angry, and I knew that what would come next would be the most entertaining thing that would happen all day.

"No!" She yelled, and she seemed awake.

"I am the prince of Mirkwood. You will do what I tell you-"

"Look!" Dakota suddenly said, pointing behind Legolas. He spun around. I started laughing as Legolas looked back.

"What?"

"It looks like you do what I tell you." Dakota said. "Now show me to our room."

Because his dad had told him to do the same thing, he had to do it.

"You finally learned my trick." I told Dakota.

"I was motivated." She answered.

We finally got to the room. The door was huge and black, but when Legolas opened it, we found out that it was just a broom closet.

"This is where you'll sleep if you bother me anymore. No more yawning. Or arguing." He said.

"Okay, but where's our room?" I asked.

"Down the hall-"

"Okay, bye!" I yelled and shoved him in the closet. Then I closed it and wedged a random trash can under the knob. "That's for being a jerk!" I yelled. "Don't mess with a tired princess and her cat friend."

"Let me out!" Legolas cried. Dakota and I walked down the hall and tried a door. Inside, an elf was poking a mouse with a stick. The mouse was crying out in pain, so I ran in and stuffed the mouse in my mouth.

I nodded to the elf and left.

"I thought you said that you wouldn't eat mice anymore." Dakota said as we tried the next door.

"I didn't." I said as I spat the mouse out. "Is that the room?"

"No idea. Remember, Legolas's room is next to ours." Dakota pointed out.

"Then this room is Legolas's." I decided.

"How do you know?" She asked.

"It smells Terrible."

The next room was ours. We sat down, and Dakota said, "maybe we should let Legolas out."

"You feel guilty?"

"No. But they might kick us out."

"Good point. As soon as I come back, lock the door." I told her.

"Why?"

"He's going to try to kill us." I left the room and crept down the hall to the closet. I pulled the trash can away, and immediately Legolas opened the door. I raced down the hallway with him right behind me. By the time I got to the room that had the mouse, Legolas had caught up, so I went inside.

The poor elf was too confused to do anything but stare at the door. I ran to their window and crawled outside, and I saw that we were really, really far underground, and the outer walls were made of Mithril. It was a shock at first, but then I saw Legolas's face go to his window, and I hurried into my room.

"Close the door!" I gasped. Dakota slammed it, and soon there was a pounding. She locked it, and I told her about the Mithril walls.

"They are living like dwarves!" She exclaimed. Suddenly the pounding vanished.

"Oh no." I said. "What's going to happen now?"

But nothing happened. Dakota went to sleep, and I grabbed the pillow and blankets so I could sleep on the floor.

The next morning I was woke up by someone shaking me. I ignored it and continued to pretend to be asleep, and I felt the shaking get frantic.

Then it stopped, and I opened my eyes. The room was empty, so I went back to sleep. The next thing I knew, I was soaking wet. The water was freezing, and I jumped up and yelled, "What was that for?" At the top of my lungs.

Then I actually looked around. Dakota, Thranduil, and Legolas were standing around me.

"We need you awake because Legolas is trying to get us kicked out." Dakota explained. She was holding the bucket.

"My son, Legolas, says that you two kidnapped him and locked him in a closet." The king said.

"We didn't."

"You DID!" Legolas shouted.

"Oh, stop acting like a baby." Dakota, Thranduil, and I all said simultaneously. Legolas scowled. It was funny.

"Legolas, I told you that if you keep causing trouble, I will send you to Rivendell for the council." The king told him sternly.

"But- Dad-" Legolas began.

"I'll let you off this one time- but cause any more trouble, and you will go." Thranduil cut off. "Now show these two girls our lands."

Legolas grunted and Thranduil left. Once he left, Legolas said in a really dark voice, "You will wish you never did that."

"What?" Dakota asked. She probably had already heard him, but was trying to make the whole situation funny. It had some effect.

"I said, you will regret doing that." Legolas repeated. This time he sounded more annoyed than scary.

"Doing what?" I asked, jumping in. Legolas left the room in disgust.

"Hey- aren't you supposed to show us-" Dakota called.

"Later!" He interrupted.

And so, later came a minute later.

There was an elf who lived in a room across from ours. She had her door open, and I guessed she heard our argument. When Legolas came back, I knew she had.

I heard Legolas stomp back to our room, where our door was still open. He marched inside, and that was when the elf across the hall said, "You just can't stay away from them, can you?"

Legolas's face went a really strange color, in between red and green, and he shrieked.

Dakota and I couldn't stop laughing, and more elves came out to see what the problem was. The elf across the hall slipped out of her room while Legolas had a temper tantrum.

"It would be amazing if there was some way we could record this, showing it to people." I whispered to Dakota.

"Everyone would see the Mirkwood prince as he really is." Dakota answered.

It went on for about five minutes, and then Legolas was able to compose himself. Mostly. His face was still red and he clenched his fists, and he ground his teeth. But he wasn't screaming, "Why, Daddy, Why?" Anymore.

"So, you going to show us Mirkwood?" Dakota asked.

Legolas nodded and left the room. We followed quietly, looking at the elves as the watched us go back up to the ground level of the castle.

Then we went up.

The small castle I had seen was actually more of a low tower. A couple of elves were slowly going up and down the tower, a look of concentration stuck on their faces.

"Why are the guards pretending to look busy?" I asked. The nearest ones glared at me.

"We are busy!" One said.

"Doing what?" I asked.

The guard pulled a piece of paper out of his purple pocket and pranced around, singing,

"I am busy,

Thinking of a song,

More lyrics to the song I'm writing.

I am singing you this song.

Because this tower's very long,

And at night it is too frightening.

I am singing you this son-"

He ran into a wall and passed out.

"That was interesting." I muttered, but Dakota was concerned about the guard.

"His head is bleeding." She said.

"He'll be fine." Legolas said.

"He's BLEEDING. In his HEAD. He could DIE, MORON." Dakota said, like she was talking to an idiot. I didn't agree with that. Legolas wasn't an idiot, he was a Retard.

"OkAY," he answered, using the same tone, and we carried him down the tower.

The king was at the base. "What happened to my guard?" He demanded.

"He was-" I began, but Legolas cut in.

"Almost killed by these two."

"Is this true?" Thranduil asked us.

"Of course it isn't. Why would we help carry his body down if we wanted him dead? He's still alive." Dakota answered.

"Ummmmmmm..." Legolas said as we all looked at him.

"That's it. All of you are going to Rivendell. I'be been meaning to tell Elrond that Gollum escaped." Thranduil said. "You'll leave tomorrow."

And then, the Moron stomped his foot, so hard, the entire stupid tower fell down.

We all froze. And then we didn't, and Thranduil said, "What. The. Hell. Legolas."

And then he screamed, and everything went dark, and we were outside Rivendell.