Erica watched the ellon pace back and forth in the tent, his robes billowing behind him. She smirked slightly at the sight, remembering her father had done the exact same when both her mother and herself had gone into labour.

'My Lord, if you keep pacing any longer, you're going to wear a hole in the floor.' she smiled smugly at him when he stopped to glare at her before resuming his hole-making.

She sighed, and was about to yell at him to just man up and deal with it, because she was the one who'd had to actually push the baby out, but was prevented from doing so, when a new voice entered the tent.

'Hîr vuin Thranduil.'

Erica turned to see a young looking elf, but his face looked worn, either by time or by what he'd experienced in that time. His auburn hair glowed like rubies in the candlelight and Erica thought that it was rather dull when compared to the King's, whose hair shone like pure starlight.

'No, Feren? Prestad?'

Erica listened to the conversation with mild amusement, fully understanding the words which were spoken.

'Ú, hîr vuin, ten is Mithrandir ar i dagnir uin i lhûg.'

Erica's eyes widened slightly at the mention of her father and her face scrunched up in apprehension at the discussion that they were definitely going to have later.

'Tog hain.'

'No, hîr vuin.'

Erica watched him wave away the ellon with a single flick of his wrist, in disgust.

How easy it was for him to rid himself of people who were no longer of any use to him. And she had already provided him with a male heir, so where did that leave her?

'I wish to meet the child before I accept that he is mine.'

Erica's eyes flicked over to him.

Does he think me a human whore? A woman with no self-respect whatsoever?! Of course the child is his!

'Wha-'

'-My Lord Thranduil.'

Erica closed her mouth as soon as she registered who the voice belonged to.

Her father.

She stayed facing forwards, aware of the glance the King quickly threw her way.

'If I'd known you could be so easily silenced, I would have invited the Dragon Slayer sooner.'

Erica glared at him, already feeling her father's stare on her back.

'Hm, I wouldn't have advised it, considering what we were discussing.' She glared at him.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw her father step forward.

'And what exactly was it you were talking about.' he looked at her and she had to use all of her willpower not to shrink under his gaze.

She looked at the King, silently begging him not to say anything, for she knew that it would not end well.

But she need not have worried, for soon the mysterious Mithrandir made his presence known.

'We have no time for that. There are urgent matters we must discuss, my Lord.'

Thranduil looked at him with fake interest.

'Is that so? Then please, continue.'

He moved over to his throne again and sat in it, his whole body sprawled elegantly across it, the picture of sophisticated grace. Her father moved to stand next to the King and Erica winced slightly at the look he shot her. It said 'we will talk later' and she dreaded the time when she would leave this tent.

Erica watched as Mithrandir walked forward, going to stand right in front of the King. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped, as if realising something wasn't quite right. He turned to look straight at her.

'And who are you, young lady?'

Erica looked up at him as he came closer.

'Who is asking?'

In her peripheral vision she could see her father smirk slightly.

The old man chuckled at her response.

'You are a fiery young woman, one who has seen many evils in such a short lifetime,' he looked at her wounds, as if he felt responsible for them, and then looked back up at her, 'But I can see a warrior's heart lies inside of you,' he paused as if he knew he would regret what he next spoke, 'But I fear that now...now is your time to fight.'

He gazed down at her sadly and Erica smiled reassuringly.

'It is always my time to fight. Everyday I fight to look after my family. Everyday I fight to be accepted by my kinsmen and everyday I fight to raise my son to be good. You misunderstand what it means to have a warrior's heart. It is not about waiting for a fight or a war to prove your worth, it is about proving your worth by the struggles you overcome everyday.'

He smiled at her as he stroked his greying beard and she could see her father's proud smile from where he stood.

'Then my fear has been misplaced. You will make a fine contribution to this war effort, and to both of these kingdoms.'

Erica frowned at his words and he smiled at her, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes, as if he knew something she didn't.

The man turned and looked back over to the King, his hands resting on his hips, as if he were a mother about to scold her child.

'You must set aside your petty grievances with the dwarves. War is coming! The cesspits of Dol Goldur have been emptied. You're ALL in mortal danger!'

Erica watched the King make a face at her father, and would have giggled at the behaviour, if she wasn't so determined to hate him.

'What are you talking about?'

Her father walked forward, suddenly focused on what the man had to say.

'I can see you know nothing of wizards.'

Erica looked at old man in understanding.

He is a wizard. They are known to say strange things, are they not? Perhaps what he said about the kingdoms was a metaphor for something?

'They are like winter thunder on a wild wind rolling in from a distance, breaking hard in alarm,' she watched him hand a glass of wine to her father with hardened eyes and was surprised when she suddenly found herself holding one as well, 'But sometimes a storm is just a storm.'

She shuffled away from him slightly as he stood closer to her, the small distance between them unnerving her, and she placed her wine on the table in the centre of the room.

'Not this time,' Erica's eyes snapped back to the wizard, the resentment in his voice holding her attention capture, 'Armies of orcs are on the move. And these are fighters!'

She shut her eyes in frustration. They had just dealt with a dragon for Ilúvatar's sake, what more would be brought upon these good people by the hands of the dwarves?!

'They have been bred for war. Our enemy has summoned his full strength.'

'Why show his hand now?'

'Because we forced him,' Erica whispered, her eyes opening and she took in the faces of the males that surrounded her, 'We forced him...didn't we?'

She looked at the wizard in question. He nodded at her.

'Yes, we did. We forced him when the company of Thorin Oakenshield set out to reclaim their homeland,' she was the first to follow after the wizard when he left the tent, her father and the King close behind her, 'The dwarves were never meant to reach Erebor; Azog the Defiler was sent to kill them. His master seeks control of the mountain,' they all looked out at the gates of Erebor, the large doors menacing from the distance, and the cold air around them chilling them as the wizard spoke, 'Not just for the treasure within, but for where it lies, its strategic position.'

'Angmar...,' The wizard turned at her voice, his face one of confusion, 'I read a lot. I don't get out much.' she shrugged her shoulders at him and missed the glance the King sent her way.

'Well you're quite right, my dear,' he smiled briefly at her, 'This is the gateway to reclaiming the lands of Angmar in the north. If that fell kingdom should rise again, Rivendell, Lothlórien, the Shire, even Gondor itself will fall!'

'These orc armies you speak of, Mithrandir -where are they?'

Erica took one look at the defeat she saw on the wizard's face and knew she had to speak.

'Tell me, my lord. Why do you find it so hard to believe in things you cannot see?' she spoke with venom in her voice, already angered by his attitude to their own'problem', and his now apparent disinterest in the latest one.

He cocked his head to the side as he studied her.

Bard looked between the two, noting the mixed feelings his daughter seemed to hold for the elf.

'Maybe because I am used to tricks, to illusions..to lies.'

His face was now inches from hers, and she searched his face for answers.

'Or maybe it is because you are a coward, that is too afraid to take a risk when an opportunity is presented before him.'

He smirked at her.

'I still wish to meet the child first.' his whisper sent cold shivers down her spine, as she fought to take control of the situation.

He turned abruptly and walked away from her, his movements as graceful as ever, and oh what she wouldn't give to watch him stumble. She smirked when she thought of a way.

'Now is that any way for a husband to speak to his wife?'


Shayde F. Revelle: I'm really sorry you feel that way about the story :( But if you want a clearer picture of what I'm going for, then you should read the story of Eol and Aredhel. They were both elves, and she was not wholly willing to 'marry' the guy either. But I don't feel Erica really set herself up for the baby because, in those times, there was no contraception. And young women didn't really think that they could get pregnant so easily, especially if it was just one time. But, I'm not trying to fight with you and I wholeheartedly accept your view. I do hope you stick with the story though :)

Guest: Yeah, that's kinda why I changed it. I know that elves aren't supposed to rape each other because they die from it. They're so emotionally sensitive that they just give up on living. I'm not really sure how it would work between a human and an elf though and I do have a reason for why Thranduil did it, it's just going to come up later in the story.

shush child: Wooooo! Thank you so much :D I'm really glad you like the story and I hope this chapters ok for you. It's kinda short but it's really just a filler chapter :)


I'm sorry if I'm not writing the story the way you want me to, but if you have ideas for the way you wan the story to go, please just review! Really, I don't mind at all!

Whether it's constructive criticism or tips or preferences on how the story should go, I'd absolutely love to hear them! So if you can, could you please review and tell me what you think of the story so far? It'd really mean a lot to me :D

OH! And thank you to everyone who has voted on my poll so far! The response has been great ^-^

I'm gonna keep it up a while longer, so if you haven't voted, you still can! I'll announce the results later :)

Oh and I'm sorry this chapter is so short, it's more of a filler chapter.

Elvish Translations:

Hîr vuin - my lord

No Feren? Prestad? - Yes Feren? Is there trouble?

Ú - no

ten is Mithrandir ar i dagnir uin i lhûg - it is Mithrandir and the Dragon Slayer

Tog hain - Bring them

Thanks for reading,

kingofsmirkwood x