Disclaimer: I do not own the Hobbit, Tolkein owns everything. This story is not for profit.

Chapter 1

The first green leaves were falling off the trees in Mirkwood, signaling the end of summer, and the first day of autumn. Most of the leaves would not fall; they were destined for a different fate. They would turn yellow, red and orange; turning the green forest into a sea of gold for a few short months before winter would come.

This was the day that one of Thranduil's subjects told him that some of the guards that patrolled the realm requested an audience with their King.

At the time, he had been standing on the balcony outside his chambers looking out over the forest that morning, as he did every morning, as he had done every morning for the last hundreds of mostly uneventful years.

He was gazing quietly at the railing, watching the leaves gently and occasionally fall off the trees, or rustle loudly when a gust of wind streaked through the forest, when a young messenger came and told him that five guards were waiting for him in the throne room, if they might have the honor of the king's presence.

He nodded, still looking out at the forest, as he heard the messenger turn on his heel to go tell the guards tell that the king would see them in a moment.

A particularly strong gust of wind that blew against him and swayed his pale hair made him want to pull his cloak more tightly around him, but instead he just let the last air of summertime chill him as he enjoyed the sensation.

The view of Mirkwood from his balcony was lovely. High off the ground, at the top of the underground cave network that made up the halls of his realm, it showed some of the oldest and largest trees in the forest. He could hear and see the small streams trickling along the floor of the forest, leading into the larger river that went underneath the palace.

His view was lovely, but he knew that he gazed at the safe and lovely parts of the forest. Safe because they were within his borders. If all of the forest looked as this did now, he had no doubt that the forest would still be known as Greenwood instead of Mirkwood. Beyond, and even just outside his borders, evil had found its way in, making the forest a dangerous place to live, full of shadow and menace. He took one last look before turning around and venturing back inside where his subjects awaited them.

He had no doubt that whatever business they had with him was important. His subjects had learned long ago not to waste his time on business that did not pertain to him or this realm.

He put on his rings, a few on the right hand, two on the left, a great ring with a blue stone that had belonged to his father, next to the intricate golden ring that his wife had put on his hand the day they had wed, that he had not taken off since. Finally, he put on his pointed crown, and walked down to where the audience awaited him.

…..

"We found her like this on the forest floor, my lord, just so. Laying right in the middle of the ground, as if she had just collapsed there."

As the young patroller said this, he stepped forward with the limp body in his arms and gently raised her up as if to give the king a better look, but looking for all the world like a father holding a sick child.

"I see." He thought for a moment. "Did she have no company?" The woods could be dangerous for a group of well-trained elven rangers if they were to run into the wrong kind of trouble. A young, weak girl on her own wouldn't have had much of a chance of going through the forest safely.

"Not that was with her, my lord, except for a fox that was walking around her body. It growled at us when we touched her. We figured it must have been hers."

"What did you do with this… fox?"

"We brought it with us, your majesty. We put it in one of the kennels below."

"Well, did she have anything on her to tell us who she is?" Or where to return her?, he thought to himself.

"No, my lord." He held out his hands. "These were all she had in her pockets," and he showed the king a torn piece of ribbon, something that looked melted now but had once been edible, three golden coins, some fishing line, and a handheld device that unclasped was two small mirrors, one side of which was cracked. Hardly items to go hiking in Mirkwood with.

"Take her to one of the healing rooms," the King said leaning back into his throne, "wait until she awakens and then inform me. We will question her then."

The guard holding her limp body carried her away, her long dark braid falling to the floor next to one limp white arm hanging down. The other guards the king told to return to their duties in the woods.

Thranduil did intend to question the girl to find out what she had been doing in Mirkwood, away from in the realms of men and in a dangerous part of Middle-Earth, but he was fairly certain he already knew who she was.