It was a dark and stormy night; the kind of night so dark that you can't see your hand in front of your face. Two sisters were hotfooting it home through the two feet of snow that was piling higher as the night grew chillier. And suddenly they found their feet in mid air swirling like Dorothy in her uprooted house. The next thing they knew, they had landed in a bright, sunlit courtyard surrounded by strange people dressed all in green with bows and arrows pointed threateningly at them. And behind them was... what the crap! Why is Legolas doing the can-can!

Just kidding folks. Unless you want to see Legolas pulling a move... Which in hindsight wouldn't be too bad ... but those thoughts are for later.

Disclaimer: We don't own this- but it would be cool if we did! ;) Also, we are not schizophrenic and have never talked to the voices in our heads out loud... (but I'm not saying anything about arguing with them in private). Flame us... have a great time. passes out marshmallows and sticks in anticipation Want one?

On we go...

PS. Italics are thoughts. And the asterisks lead to a dictionary for weird elvish terms...

Preface

It was a dark and stormy night. The trees swayed with brutal force, whipping leaves into the faces of the silent travelers. Rocks littered the mountain path threatening a landslide with each howl of thunder. The crash of lightning revealed their haven, their only hope, surrounded by slinking shadows.

Cuthaliel closed her eyes for the briefest moment and sent a prayer to Elbereth, clutching her small child tight. If only a mother's fear could be used to beat back their foes. If only the apparitions would melt with the rain. To have safety so close, yet unattainable was unbearable. Please Lady, for the sake of my dearest child, my Silwen, let us get through.

Alas, it was not to be. A shower of black arrows announced the identity of the beings blocking the path to safety. Cuthaliel gave a cry before moving behind some of her loyal compatriots. The several women in their caravan were pushed together and surrounded by fellow Elvish archers. At least they had the gift of superior eyesight to aid them.

The darkness around them was broken only by flashes of lightning, one so close and so large that it looked to her as if the Valar had descended from on high. Indeed, a flash of silver with strange lights encircling its breadth could be seen in the distance, in a clearing in front of their haven.

Her attention was brought back to the problem at hand when a scream of death came from a warrior just behind her. It seemed that the orcs surrounded them on every side, and were determined to take them all to Mandos.

Her companions were falling fast now. A cry of "There are too many!" could be heard from several of the remaining warriors. The shower of arrows was broken only by what appeared to be shafts of red lightening striking down anyone who strayed in their path.

In a last effort to save the ellyth, the warriors cleared a path to the forest, focusing their attack on those orcs blocking them from the thinnest section of pine. The women were pressed into the apparent safety of the trees and soon found themselves running through the underbrush. They used their natural elvish grace to silently creep toward the haven, essentially closer to the strange shining object. A crack in the underbrush suddenly alerted the women to another presence, but blue energy circles enveloped the group. They hit the forest floor unconscious without a second thought.

Donavan Starstriker glanced at the females littering the leaf strewn clearing and smirked. "Come on, you lazy slobs! Get those wenches onboard the ship. We don't want to have to shoot more of those hutt-ugly creatures!" he cried while checking to be sure that the stun bolts had worked.

"There must be 10 of them here," came a jovial shout from the other end of the clearing. "We'll be able to get enough credits to buy Coruscant after this lot is sold!"

"Stop your chatter and haul, you son of a sith harlot!" Starstriker shouted again, while privately agreeing with his Bothan second-in-command. This lot was beyond beautiful. Slaves brought a much larger price at market when they were this enjoyable to see.

"Alright, I'm going. This is the last one, anyway. We can leave once we put her and the useless child into the holding cells." The furry spacer's grumbles faded as he threw a woman over his shoulder and turned toward the ship. "Keep your flight suit on."

"Those men are starting to move in" another of the pirates informed him. "Can we get out of here? I don't want to get another blasted arrow in my..."

"Hehehe! That's what you get for sticking your rear-end up in the middle of a fight," came an uncourteous reply from Donavan as they boarded the ship and prepared to lift off. "Alright, set course for Tatooine. We'll find a good market there."

Thoughts, complaints? We love opinions. We also love spell check! (No, that's just my sister, Mike. I can actually spell when I think about it). Okay. That's true. Sherman is the spelling Goddess.

Elbereth: the female half of a deity pair. Equivalent to a goddess.

Valar: More Elvish Gods. This is a collective term, like unto "Olympians" in Ancient Greece.

Mandos: The Halls of the Dead. flash of light and evil laughter

Ellyth: Female elves (providing this was used right...)