Here it is guys, Mirkwood. Not to much conversation in this chapter, and I changed some of the book around of course. Thank you everyone who reviewed and read and followed this story. Much love.

Chapter 8 Happenings of Mirkwood

They walked in a single file line, following Thorin along the path into the increasing dimness of the forest. All around them trees grew dark and tall, tangled boughs and matted twigs letting random beams of sunlight through. Skittering was heard around them, along with grunts, scuffling, and scuttling in the undergrowth among the leaves. Bilbo's sharp eyes had caught sight of black squirrels in the trees off the path, just catching a glance as they whisked away once his eyes landed on them.

While Bilbo's eyes were to the ground, Helena's were focused above them. In the limbs looming over their heads were the nastiest cobwebs she had ever seen: dark and dense with thick threads stretching from limb to limb and tree to tree. Looking ahead of her, she saw none reached across the path, but whatever the reason she was unsure. Time seemed to stretched as they traveled through the gray of the forest and Helena wondered what part of the day it was as her stomach was starting to twist in hunger. She kept her thoughts to herself as none of the others spoke, not even Bilbo. And he was a hobbit, used to seven meals a day. If he could go without complaining then so could she.

When the company could no longer see any rays of light to help guide their way, Thorin called for them to stop. Provisions were rationed out, carefully because no one was sure how long they would have to travel through the forest. A small fire was set to ward off the darkness that fell upon them and Thorin set Fili as the first watch. It was on that first night, after Helena fell asleep next to Fili, did she see the Valar she had missed over the last days.


The cheerful singing of her robin woke her as she knew it had been a few days since such a happy noise had come from the bird. Opening her eyes she green grass, flowers and sunlight and knew instantly where she was once again. Vána appeared at the corner of her eye in the blue dress same as before and extended a hand to bring Helena to her feet.

"Good morning, or evening in your instance."

Helena's eyes watched Daemyn dive around them before bringing her eyes to the woman before her. "Whichever, both, I just wouldn't agree with the 'good' part of the greeting."

"Yes, the Greenwood as it is now is a terrible thing. Full of darkness and danger, sickness that spreads and threatens those who enter its trees." Vána beckoned Helena to her side as she began to walk through the small meadow where they were. "It is something that will not affect you however, nor your brother. You both are from a world more polluted than what lingers in the trees of Mirkwood now, the most you will suffer will be from hunger if your company cannot find their way."

She smiled at the mention of her brother. "I don't know how I can ever thank or repay any of the Valar for sending my brother here, even if he doesn't know how he got here. I had thought none of you were able to bring others in such a short span of time."

"If you recall, we didn't spend as much energy on you as we have in the past. Although bringing him did, I am the only one who has enough energy to speak to you. The others are resting, I nearly had to restrain my husband from coming as he was the one to claim your brother." At Helena's questioning eyes she said "Oromë, a mighty man with a fierce temper. We saw the need in you, the inability to heal by just the hands of your One. You were in need of someone who knew you and the truth of your past, even at the cost of our energy. It isn't something we regret in any way."

They continued their walk in silence, Helena soaking up the sun she hadn't felt for a day and the sounds of nature beckoning her ears. "It seems a bit unfair that I am enjoying the beauty of nature while the others cannot."

"As much as it will pain them, to not experience this is better than experiencing it as their minds will slowly become tired."

"Will we get out of the forest?"

A smile came across the blonde Valar's face. "Yes, although I cannot say how." Vána stopped walking, Helena stopping after a step. "I will not keep you as sleep is something that will become precious to you."

Helena felt a hand in hers and looked down to see Vána pressing two more gold flowers in her hand. "Why two instead of one now?"

"You will need the greater numbers. Keep the dwarves as safe as you can." Vána smiled and moved her hand to Helena's face. "You have gotten stronger, Daughter of the Valar, you are but a few steps away from truly embracing who you are."

Helena smiled back at her, Daemyn settling onto her shoulder as her vision faded into sleep.


The following days became long and weary as they became sick for the sight of the sun and of the sky and the wind on their faces. Even though the dwarves who were used to tunneling and lived for periods without sunlight, grew sick of the suffocating bleakness they traveled through. The worst of the company however was Bilbo. Being a child of nature, the sickness that infected the forest had soon begun to leach into his bones and mind after the first day and Helena saw it in his eyes the most.

As Vána as told her, Helena and Gavin were the ones with the clearest minds as they listened to the dwarves as they complained of the air clouding their minds. It was something she was both grateful and disheartened about for she still had her brother of sound mind but Fili… He was as almost as bad as the others in their despair about the forest. Every night she would lay with him, holding him tight as though he would disappear from her. She thought back to the first morning they had woken in the forest, the fire which had burned out sometime during the night and sparse streams of sun broke their way through the thickness of the forest above them.

The flowers she had once again received were given to Gavin and Balin, who was still clear of mind to comprehend what she was giving him and her following instructions. Helena forced the dwarves she had given a flower to so far to put theirs in a more secure spot, out of sight and away from danger of being lost. Bilbo's was safe as could be in his pocket, Fili and Kili put theirs inside their boots wrapped in a strip of cloth, Balin tucked his in the inner folds of his robe, and Thorin also folded his into a cloth, however placing his into a bag tied to his belt that Helena frowned towards. Gavin didn't listen to her suggestion at all and laced the stem of the flower to the outside of his bag over his shoulder.

Her thoughts were brought back to the present as she felt a press of a body on her other side she knew to be Kili. While the days were bad, the nights were the worst. It became pitch-dark, so black that none could see anything, not even a hand in front of their own eyes. The company slept huddled together, a ritual Helena had to grow use to quickly as she slept between Fili and either Gavin or Kili. It was in the pure dark of the night when eyes started to appear around them, pairs of yellow or red or green eyes staring at them from a distance. Helena thought them not to be regular animals, but a bug of some sort. And large ones at that based off the size.

They had tried to light a fire for night watches on the first day of pitch darkness, but gave up as it seemed to draw more of the eyes to them and moths of great size that would flap around them. It was then the company would sit and sleep together in the uncanny darkness. As days followed days, ages upon ages to some such as Bilbo, and their provisions were carefully handled. Helena had sent Daemyn away as there was no food for him except that which the company ate. She gave him instructions to fly above the trees, to find them once they were out. But forest around them never seemed to change, going on the same in every direction they looked. In their anxiety about the food supply the dwarves had Kili shoot at the black squirrels and he was only able to bring down one after wasting many an arrow. Even more to their dismay that when they roasted it, the taste proved horrible and no more squirrels were shot.

While the forest didn't cloud her mind like her companions, Helena was starting to feel the drag of malnutrition in her limbs. The food was growing low and the water as well since there were no streams or rivers to gather from. It was in their lost state that the company stumbled across a river blocking their path, running before them with black water. It was a wonder that Beorn's warning stayed in their minds against the damper of the forest and they didn't drink or gather water from the river.

Bilbo was kneeled next to Helena who was studying the water, trying to figure out if it was actually black or just dark from having no sun to shine upon its waters. His eyes caught a shape on the other side of the river and nudged the girl at his side. When her attention was on him, Bilbo pointed to the shape he spotted. "Do you see that?"

Helena squinted and saw the shadowed shape at the other side of the river. "What is it?"

"I think it's a boat." The hobbit told her. He stood up and called to the others, "There is a boat against the far bank!"

Everyone gathered around the two and looked to where he pointed, no one doubting him as they had found his eyes were very sharp. "How far is it?" Asked Thorin.

"I don't think more than twelve yards. Can any of you throw a rope?"

"I doubt it would do any good if the boat is hooked." Gavin said above them all.

"We can't be sure in this light whether it is or not. Fili, can you see the boat well enough that Mr. Baggins is speaking about."

Fili stared off into the darkness, having more of an idea than actual sight of where the boat was Bilbo pointed out. Rope was gathered and tied with a hook at one end of it, Fili took it and adjusted his stance. The hook and rope swung from his hand as he steadied himself to throw it across the stream. His arm was stopped by Helena who came behind him. He felt her hands on his head, moving it to the left a little. "Twelve yards to your left."

Fili flung the hook and it splashed into the water. He heard Bilbo say that it had only fell a couple feet short of the boat. He drew back the rope, careful of the water that clung to it, and readied himself to throw again. With slightly more strength, the hook hit the boat with confirmation by Biblo.

"Carefully draw it back because it is only laying in the boat. Hopefully the hook will catch." And it did, the rope drawing taut and Fili pulled in vain. Kili came behind him to help, followed by Oin and Gloin. With a final tug, the boat came loose and the four fell on their backs in a pile.

At Bilbo's cry, Balin was quick enough to catch the boat before it drifted off with the current. "It was tied after all" said the older dwarf. "Thank Mahal the rope was as strong as it was."

Gavin was helping the dwarves up who had fallen on the bank. He turned and looked at the boat, "Who'll cross first?"

"I shall" said Thorin, "Along with Bilbo, Fili, and Balin. That's as many as the boat will hold at a time. After that will be you, Helena, and Kili; next Oin and Gloin, Dori and Dwalin, then Ori and Nori, Bofur and Bifur, and last Bombur."

"I am always last and I don't like it," Bombur complained. "It's someone else's turn today."

"You should not be so fat. As you are, you must be with the last and lightest boatload."

"There aren't any oars." Bilbo pointed out examining the boat, "How are you going to push the boat back to the far bank?"

Another rope and hook were fashioned together and cast to the other side, catching on branches. At least that is what they assumed. In their designated groups they started to cross the river, the others left on the other side of the water would throw the other rope and hook to the boat and draw it back for the next group. Bombur had one foot on land when the sound of hooves were heard and from the gloom the shape of a flying deer charged into them, bowling them over and cleared the water with a mighty leap. Thorin grab the bow from Kili's hands to shoot at it with a shout but stopped when a cry rose from Bilbo.

"Bombur has fallen in, he's drowning!"

Only the hood of the large dwarf was seen when they ran to the bank. The rope he had a hold on while climbing out of the boat was still tight in his hand and he was quickly brought to shore. Bombur was soaked from hair to boots and was fast asleep with a smile on his face. They sat there for a long while, cursing their luck when the some white deer appeared in the path before them. Before Helena could stop Kili, he snatched up the fallen bow shot off the last of his arrows gifted to him by Beorn as Thorin shouted at him to stop.

A rough sled was constructed to drag Bombur behind them, taking turns in shifts of four. Helena's thoughts were on the deer the entire time, wondering at the graceful creatures that were in the dark forest as it didn't seem logical. But her mind was slow, along with the others for different reasons, and none realize how close to the eastern border they were. Their food became light and Bombur became heavier and four days later the company stumbled upon a section of the forest that was different. Most of the trees were beeches, there was no undergrowth and the shadows weren't as deep. A breath of air passed over them and a wind knocked down leaves to their feet, reminding them that autumn was coming. And still Bombur slept.

It was soon everyone started hearing disquieting laughter, singing accompanying at times. Although it wasn't the sounds of Goblins, the laughter of fair voices was eerie and uncomfortable. Two days later they found the path going downwards and before long they were in a valley filled almost entirely with a mighty growth of oaks.

Thorin swore, "Is there no end to this accursed place? What hour is it?"

"I do not know. I don't even know what day it is." Dwalin answered from behind him.

It was decided that someone would climb a tree to see if the edge of the forest could be located. For some reason, this task fell to Bilbo who had the least experience in climbing. Helena had offered as she had climbed trees many times as a child but Fili held her back, his possessiveness over her had grown the further they went into the trees. Therefore she was forced to watch as the hobbit climbed and slip over the branches of the tall tree the dwarves had lifted him into until she couldn't make out his figure anymore. She sat next to her brother and wondered if they would ever get out of this godforsaken forest. While Vána had warned her of hunger, it wasn't enough to prepare her for the mental anguish she was in from it or the others for that matter.

Bilbo landed, or rather fell, to her other side with new scratches on his arms and face. She examined his face, because while he looked miserable his eyes seemed to have cleared slightly. His report made it clear as to why that was. "The forest goes on forever in and we are at the bottom of a wide valley." The dwarves moaned and complained of this fact, ignoring him as he went on to speak of the butterflies he had seen and the wind against his cheek.

That night they ate the last scraps and crumbs of food, awakening in the morning to hunger gnawing at them. Everyone soon realized it was raining and Helena rejoiced in the water that fell on her face. But it only served as a reminder they were out of fresh water and the others tried to catch the water that dripped from the leaves with their mouths. Much to their relief, Bombur chose that moment to wake up. However, he remember nothing that had happened on their journey since they left Bag End. The fat dwarf believed none of their tales of adventures and went on to bemoan the fact he was starving, and then crying when he was informed there was no more food.

"Why did I wake up! I was having such beautiful dreams of walking in a forest much like this one, only lit with torches on the trees and lamps swinging from braches with a great feast going on forever!"

"Can someone shut him up?" Gavin grumbled.

"You will not talk of your dreams as we are already annoyed at having to drag your sleeping body through the woods." Thorin said to the crying dwarf.

They continued on, walking through the day with empty bellies until Balin called out from head of them. "I see a twinkle of light."

Bombur rushed up behind the other dwarf. "It's as if my very dreams are coming true!"

"What good is a feast if we don't come back from it?" Asked Thorin.

"But without it we will not remain alive much longer." Bombur pointed out with Bilbo heartily agreeing next to him. Bombur continued to speak of all the foods he had seen in his dream until his words sent the company further into their madness with the exception of Helena and Gavin who looked on warily. Neither of them were sure of which dwarf was the first to step forward, but when one did the rest followed. All of them leaving the path and plunging into the forest with their minds on food.

"No!" Helena made to run after them but was held back by Gavin's arm wrapped around her waist.

"We can't leave the path!" The man called after the dwarfs while Helena cried out Fili's name.

The two watched as they disappeared and then so did the lights. They stood in the dim of the forest, stunned and waiting to hear the sounds of their company. Nothing came. "What are we to do now?" Helena asked in a small voice.

"We stay here and rest, hopefully they will find their way back."

Unbeknownst to them, when the lights had disappeared it was because one of the dwarfs had found the feast and as if by magic, all lights went out as one and they were lost in complete darkness. They wandered through the forest shouting to each other, realizing when they found one another by touch that two of their party were not with them. Nothing could be done as they were hopelessly lost and had no idea of where the path lay. Kili hugged his brother as Fili went silent after letting out an anguish cry when he realized he had left his One behind of his own free will.


To address one of my reviewers: Damn right Tauriel and Kili will be getting together. I love me a redhead and they did an awesome job adding her into the movie. Evangeline Lily is a wonderful actress.

Also, may or may not have a chapter up as usual tomorrow, not feeling so hot lately and this was the last chapter I had prepared to post.