Dasalain was lying out some blankets on the ground, supposedly for sleeping on. There were two makeshift beds, one close to the rock and the other right outside the shrubberies that surrounded the cave. I went and sat down on the blanket closest to the rock, assuming that I, being the lady, would get the safest spot. Dasalain looked at me indignantly. "That's my spot!", he protested.
"Oh, I suppose you're just going to take the safest spot. You wouldn't want to protect me, of all people," I spat sarcastically.
"I'm not used to traveling with other people! How should I know?" Dasalain's face was reddening. It seemed the stress from today had finally gotten to him. "I've been working on this plan for months, and all I get for rescuing you is an argument!" I saw now that his happiness earlier had been a facade. He was trying to contain his real anger and frustration so that he wouldn't inconvenience me. How nice. But after all that, he'd told me this prophecy of his all at once and expected me to cope with it, and now this. The sleeping arrangements themselves weren't too big of a problem, but Dasalain's attitude was. Without another word, I turned and stalked off far away from camp, deciding to just sleep on the ground.
Thinking back to earlier in the day, I remembered when I asked if we could stop. His initial response was no, but then he had changed his mind. So that was when he had decided to try and act nice...interesting. Earlier, we had walked for many miles in silence, and he'd barely said anything when we left Rivendell. I'd just put it down to stress, because he acted so cordial later, but now I saw that that taciturn attitude was probably normal for him. His cheeriness had seemed a little forced. Hmph. Well, I'd rather have him act naturally, even if he had a quick temper, than to act like some idiotic jester. All that happiness had annoyed me. With these thoughts on my mind, I settled down on my mattress of pine needles and went to sleep.
When I awoke, it was still dark. The moon was high in the sky and I wondered what would have caused me to wake up at such an hour. In the direction of camp, I heard... yelling? What had happened? I had a sick feeling in my stomach as I rushed over to the camp. What if Sauron's Chosen had discovered the camp? But how... Then I remembered. Dasalain had lit a fire to cook the soup. The smoke would have been visible, even if the fire itself had been guarded by shrubberies. I broke into a run, but stopped just behind a tree close to the camp. I had always been a good climber, and lifted myself up to some of the tree's higher branches to get a good look at what was going on below.
I nearly fell out of the tree when I saw what was happening in the camp. Dasalain was by the fire, brandishing a torch and striking out at the orcs that surrounded him. There were maybe ten of the hideous creatures, snarling in some foul language I couldn't understand. Dasalain was shouting obscenities at them- obviously he had given up that 'polite and optimistic' act- and slowly backing up against the rock outcropping. It didn't look like either side had made a move yet. I had to do something- I couldn't just let Dasalain die at the hands of the orcs. Panicking, I shouted out his name. He looked up at me, and in that instant, an orc thrust a dagger through his arm. Even that small moment where he let his guard down had been enough for the orcs. Now they attacked him with full force, driving him back into the rock outcropping. I gasped, dismayed at his wound, and regretting the things I had said earlier. I would be no use in combat- I'd never been trained in anything of the sort- but maybe, just maybe, I could help him escape.
My plan was simple enough- I would drop to the ground, run to the back of the outcropping, grab a branch, then climb to the edge of the outcropping. After that, I would lower the branch to where Dasalain could grab it and use it to pull him out of the combat. However, this was easier said than done. When I had called for Dasalain, one of the orcs had noticed and had headed over in my direction. Now he stood under my tree, growling and brandishing a rusty piece of metal. I'd have to find some other way to the rock. In the light cast by the moon, I could see fairly well, and I saw that if I could travel from tree to tree, I could jump down to the rock outcropping and rescue Dasalain without much trouble. A branch from the next tree over protruded out to about two feet from the branch I was seated on now. I reached out to it, balancing precariously on the thin end of my branch. My fingers reached out, desperately trying to grab hold of the branch and cross the few remaining inches of air. I felt the branch brush across my fingertips and tried to get a grip on it. I inched forwards on the branch, panting from the effort of balancing so long. Then, from behind me, I heard a sound other than the snarling orc. It sounded like wood cracking. Suddenly realizing what this meant, I threw myself forward, trying to grasp the branch. But it was too late, and I fell from the tree onto the hard ground.
The branch I had been perched on fell beside me, hitting me on the arm. The wound in my shoulder must have opened up again, since small red spots were starting to appear on the cloth. I could hear the orc that had been growling at the base of the tree prowling through the foliage. Fear overcame my pain, and picking up the branch, I ran towards the outcropping, hoping to continue with my original plan. A shrub seemed to spring into my path out of the darkness, and I would've run through it, but the hem of my tunic caught on the thorns. I pulled at it, but the strong elven fabric wouldn't tear. As I desperately attempted to free myself, I could hear the orc crashing through the foliage. As it came near, several of the shrubberies surrounding our camp burst into flame, illuminating it's hideous face. I struck out with my stick, but missed and fell back into the shrub I was standing in. "Help!", I cried, trying to right myself. Another flash of fire from what had been our camp rose up. The orc staggered back from it's brightness, and I could see that the fire was spreading, coming towards me. Great plumes of smoke billowed up around the rock, and for a moment, I thought I saw a dark figure standing on top of the rock. Then smoke from the fire enveloped me, and I closed my eyes, coughing from the stench.
When I opened my eyes, Dasalain was there. He pulled me unceremoniously out of the shrub- somehow my tunic had been untangled from it- and ran off into the forest. I was hard on his heels, and we had soon left the orcs far behind us as we ran farther and farther into the night.