Hi everyone! So, this is my first fanfic, and I'd love to know what you think. I apologise, the first two chapters might be slow.
IMPORTANT! THE FIRST CHAPTER IS LIKE THE FUTURE, THE SECOND IS THE PAST, AND THEN AFTER THAT IT'S PRESENT TIME
Eventual Legolas/OC. Follows the stories of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. No slash or Mary Sue. I'm not copying the book or movie for exactly how they are, so to all the perfectionistic Tolkien fans, I'm sorry to disappoint. But besides all that, enjoy!
Disclaimer: JRR Tolkien holds all the rights to this story.
Prologue
Year 3008
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Des was digging at the soil, creating a trap designed to catch up to five orcs at once. She had laid a net upon the ground, which, when a small lever was pulled, would spring into the air and fasten the contents inside. The grass net had been layered to be strong and very hard to break, yet still quite open so that you could easily see what was inside. Kneeling over her work, she was now carefully covering the flat net with soil, so that it would be invisible to the eye.
The war was raging on around Fangorn Forest, and she had participated in hundreds of battles in the last few years, but today, today, today would be reasonably easy. No orcs had set foot in her domain for at least three days, and she wanted to enjoy the quiet while it lasted. While she worked she thought, feeling herself being carried away by the familiar wave of jumbled thoughts.
How many times had she wondered about the road she was currently taking? It seemed as though she had jumped on a train when she had no idea where it was headed, and now that she was on, she couldn't get off. She was happy with her life, of that she was certain, but she couldn't help feeling that she could be happier, and that she was missing something important. She was vaguely aware that she was lonely.
Des was not simple. She had never been ordinary – but then again, she had never been special either. She wasn't exactly pretty, maybe striking, with violet eyes and jet-black hair, but other than those features she was just a typical girl with olive skin, a body too small for her years, bitten fingernails and a mane of knotty, very un-soft hair.
She rarely went up to men, but when she did, and tried to flirt, she always failed, and found herself blushing dark crimson – which wasn't cute, because it didn't bring a pink glow to her cheeks – nope, Des was one of the many unfortunate souls who went scarlet from the neck up, until her whole face lit up like a bloated tomato!
Des sighed. Besides her bad people skills and plain looks, she had a secret – one that, if anyone found out of, would potentially ensure her death. She wished things could have been easier.
She was interrupted from her thoughts by a call from Treebeard, the low sound of the ent's voice reverberating through the forest. Des finished up the trap and then darted off into the woods to find her friend.
Ducking beneath low boughs and leaping over puddles, she listened to the steady rhythm of her bare feet pounding against the earth. Des never felt as free as she did when running through the forest. When she got to where the sound came from, she found Treebeard in a small clearing, talking to the two creatures he had come across the other day.
'Hullo, lady Des,' chirped the bigger of the beings when she came into their view. Des smiled down at him, Merry, she remembered.
'Why hello, dearest Merry,' she winked. 'And hello Pippen,' she directed to the other, who gave her an adorable grin in response.
They fascinated her. Hobbits, they called themselves, and Des had never before met such sweet, friendly and accepting creatures in her whole life.
When Treebeard had brought them back the first day, Des had been suspicious of them, thinking them to be orc spawn or spies of Saruman. While the ents chose to remain out of the war and took no sides, Des was a fierce believer that everything coming from Mordor was a threat. These folk, apparently, were not.
Pippin had straight away voiced his opinion, asking, not her name or how she was, but 'What are you miss?' Merry had then lectured him about his manners and a small fistfight ensued, in which Des threw away her judgement and laughed at the light-hearted behaviour.
This time, however, they remained quiet, although both looked as though they were about to burst with an onslaught of questions.
'So, Treebeard, how is it that I may be of assistance?' she asked, touching his arm in concern.
She waited patiently as the ent spoke at the pace of a glacier. She had learnt not to rush him, or he would just go even slower. 'A… company… o…f …three are app…roaching the East… border.'
Des grimaced. 'I'll see what I can do.'
'Thank…you…' droned Treebeard. Des smiled at him before leaving the clearing at a graceful walk, picking up pace the closer she came to the forest outskirts. She slowed and stealthily crept forward when she reached the East Border and heard the soft whisperings of men. At least I won't be dealing with orcs, she thought, recognising the Western tongue.
When she felt she was close enough she scaled a tree, relishing in the feeling of bark beneath her fingers. She swung herself up to a sturdy branch and kept deathly still, knowing that her dark clothing would blend her into the olive green canopy. Not even the keen eyes of an elf would notice her now.
She waited as the group slowly came into view. They were obviously trying to move quietly, but the combination of their angry mutterings, whispered arguments and heavy footfalls made it very hard. An odd company, she thought, as she picked out a man, a dwarf and an elf.
She couldn't see them very clearly from so high up, but it appeared as though the man was the only calm one. The dwarf flinched every time a twig cracked, yabbering on about the dangers of this forest, and the elf constantly snapped out at him, implying he too was nervous. Des cocked her head in puzzlement. Elves were very rarely uncomfortable in her forest, as they usually felt at home amongst the trees, no matter how dark they were. Yet this one was constantly checking his surroundings, a fearful frown upon his face.
Nevertheless, they had no business in Fangorn forest. The woods were sick and weary, and would be of no use to anyone except those out for firewood. Seeking shelter in here would be dangerous, and the only time people really used it as a shortcut was if they were heading from the North or the South. Yes, they were up to no good.
Des silently slipped out her small niche in the trunk and climbed to the ground. A battle strategy formed quickly in her mind and she notched an arrow. Watching as the company slowly made their way towards her, she breathed gently and mounted the bow to the perfect level.
The dwarf was the first to break her concentration as he loudly stepped on a dry twig. Des let the arrow fly, watching as the short being let out a startled grunt and blocked it with his axe just before it hit his shoulder blade. She scurried to the shrubbery on her left and released a second arrow that whizzed past the elf's ear, trimming a couple of his fine hairs off.
The flustered group went into fight stances, and Des faintly heard the man tell his comrades to remain calm. The elf, although he couldn't see her while she was ducking behind the undergrowth, sent one of his own arrows back at her general direction, and Des smirked as it landed in the foliage to her right.
She listened with interest to their new conversation as she prepared a third arrow.
"We've been ambushed!" warned a clear voice.
"Ow, laddie, your arrows are poking my head," interrupted a gruff, bearded one.
"Who could it be?" asked the third male in a cautious tone. "He is shooting elvish arrows, not orc ones."
There was a silence, then, "It is no he. I have a feeling that it is the Guardian of the Forest," came the first voice, more panicky this time.
"I thought she was just a fairy-tale to scare wee dwarflings from this forest," said the gruff male, also worried now.
"Well it worked, didn't it?" smirked the first, allowing a bit of humour to slip into the conversation.
The third male, who seemed the most sensible of the three, called out to Des. "We mean no harm to you or your forest!"
Des rolled her eyes, they all said that. Straightening up from behind the bush, she let go the third arrow, which soared towards the man who had just spoken. He was standing just in front of a tree, and the arrow lodged itself in the bark between his legs, making her intentions clear – it didn't matter whether he meant her harm or not, she meant him harm.
"Right then," said the dwarf. "We make for the trees?"
Des rolled her eyes again and shot an arrow at the branch above his head, causing a shower of dry leaves to fall down on him.
"Maybe," said the elf tightly, "We should talk a little quieter?"
The man agreed and murmured some inaudible instructions, to which the other two nodded.
Oh no they didn't, thought Des. She made the moves around here. When she looked back, however, the elf had vanished, and only the man and dwarf remained. She was slightly uneasy – there were three of them, and only one of her.
Suddenly an arrow grazed her arm, drawing blood. Des let out a gasp, diving back from her current spot. The elf was far away, but it was obvious he could see her from his angle in a tree. She scampered to the row of shrubbery behind her, but when she looked back again the man and dwarf were quickly advancing towards her.
Giving up on hiding she shot back two arrows, one just missing the elf in a new tree and the other stopped in its descent by the man's skilled sword-play. She leaped up and began racing through the forest, not looking back but knowing that her pursuers were hot on her tail. Only thirty metres lay between them, so she pushed as hard as she could, picking up pace as she jumped over the foliage and twisted her way through the trees.
She led them on wild chase, not slowing even when she started growing short of breath. Suddenly she heard the rough panting and heavy breathing of the man right on her heel. She jumped to her left and rolled to avoid the hard impact, coming up with raised twin-knives. He too was in a battle stance, his own sword levelled at her.
They attacked at the same time and their blades clashed, Des quickly realising that he was stronger and had a more powerful weapon. Not only that but she noticed that the elf had almost caught up to them from swinging his way through the trees, and Des had no chance of winning a two against one fight.
Using one knife to block his sword she swiped at his unprotected torso with the other, distracting him enough to give a hard, curved kick to the back of his knees that sent him crashing to the ground. Not delaying another moment, she tucked her knives back into her belt and set off at a run again, seeing in the distance that the dwarf too had arrived at the scene.
They went deeper and deeper into the forest, and Des felt herself growing weary. Her chasers were clearly a lot fitter than her, and she needed a break soon – her eyesight was blurring and her legs felt as though they were about to give way.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a slightly browner patch of soil where the ground was more unearthed. Her trap! She needed to lead the company to it, and fast – they were gaining on her quickly.
With a series of quick bursts forward and around, she was on one side of the net and they were on the other, though still about fifty metres away. Now, where was that lever? Behind her was a mass of rocks and dense trees – she had reached a dead end. But where was… there! The brown woodwork of the lever was concealed behind the vegetation just behind her.
She turned to face her followers and started edging backwards slowly. As she had hoped, upon seeing that she was trapped they too slowed and made to corner her. She felt her leg bump against the prickly leaves of the undergrowth and stopped. They just needed to come a bit closer. More, more…there! Des reached back and yanked the lever arm down.
With a twang, the rope pulled tight and snapped the net shut and up into the air, bringing the surprised males to a flailing halt and causing them to dangle and sway slowly, now suspended below a tree branch.
Smirking at her success, she went to examine her hostages, relieved by the chance to catch her breath. She would decide what to do with them depending on what information they gave her. She approached their wriggling forms and took delight in the glares the dwarf was sending her, ignoring his insults. The man was angry but remaining calm, and the elf was on the other side of the net.
She reached to her tiptoes and with a swift slice from her dagger, cut the net loose from the rope, almost laughing when the captives landed with a thud and several curses. She kicked the net slightly so that she could talk to all of them at once.
"Well, well, we-" Des froze.
It couldn't be.
Suddenly all proud feelings vanished, and she felt as though everything had suddenly gone upside-down. How many times had she had nightmares about the male in front of her? She felt her expression morph into one of horror as she gazed down at him. His eyes were downcast as he avoided her shocked stare, but still she could see the bright blue irises beneath. Nothing could mistake his blonde hair, shining even though there was no sunlight.
"No. This isn't happening," she said, recoiling in disbelief. The man and dwarf turned in the net to look at their friend in confusion, but the elf had finally mustered up the courage to look at Des.
"Destiny Everglade," he said quietly. "We meet again."
Des could hardly breathe, let alone speak. "You," was all she could say.
Thanks for reading! Hope you like xx
