Consequences of a Huntress

Chapter 9

The Hunt

"What do you mean Rosier is dead?"

Brianna winced as an intense throbbing pounded inside her skull. It took her a few moments to regain her bearings, but when she did the phrase she first heard brought back the memories before she blacked out from Rosier's dark-induced sleep in full force. Dead? How on earth did Rosier die? Boromir couldn't have killed him. Boromir…

If Boromir fought him, then that means he's dead, she thought.

Tears pricked her eyes, but she managed to blink them away. Mourning would have to come later. She needed to focus on the fact that she had been captured first.

She tried moving her arms only to realize they were bound by rough leather restraints. Brianna opened her eyes and looked around. A few feet away, the Knight Elf she could only guess was Erebus stood speaking with a female sorceress. The her left were Merry and Pippin. She grinned. The hobbits were where she needed them to be - near enough to grab the moment they made a bid for freedom.

"Rosier was stabbed in the back and in the neck and then shot with an elf arrow. One of the goblins from Moria believes the arrow to be from Lorien. It wasn't what killed Rosier, though. Epimetheus thinks what killed him was an ancient sword from this world," the Knight Elf explained.

Epimetheus? Good lord they brought the entire outer circle didn't they? Brianna thought.

"Apate, we must be diligent. Our most valuable general has been struck down by one of the humans though which one I know not. The Dark Lord has his personal plans for the elf-girl and, once he regains physical form, will need her power to remain tethered to it until the Ring is found," Erebus said.

Brianna blinked. Sauron actually wanted to use her? How? There was no possible way that he could get a body let alone have her keep him stuffed into it! Or was there? She frowned. None of this made an ounce of sense.

"Bri? Are you awake?" it was Merry.

"Yeah, just a minute ago," she whispered back.

"That's a relief," replied Pippin from the other side of Merry.

"Where are we? How long was I out?" Brianna asked.

"About three days," muttered Merry, "Pip and I were worried that spell would keep you sleeping longer."

Brianna turned her head to look up at the sky. Three days and she had been asleep. At least it hadn't been too cursed. Rosier had probably wanted to keep her mind sharp enough for Sauron.

"I think I overheard one of the orcs say we're in Rohan," Pippin said.

"Rohan? Are they taking us to Isengard?" she asked.

"Pip and I think so," Merry said.

She sighed. Well, at least she remembered the map she studied with Aragorn and Boromir before leaving Lorien. If they passed close enough to Fangorn there may be a chance the three of them could escape into the forest. The trees were more likely to feel amicable towards her than the orcs. A plan to escape began to form in her head. They would have to lay low for a good while, but the moment they came in sight of the forest (or any forest) Brianna was determined they would make a run for it.

"What are we going to do, Bri?" Pippin asked.

"We're going to wait until the opportune moment. Before that, maybe we can acquire some more information," she whispered.

They stared at her and then their eyes glanced up. Brianna turned her head forward and looked into the blood red eyes of the Knight Elf she assumed was Erebus. She grinned.

"Ah! Finally noticed I was awake? Took you long enough," she quipped.

Erebus was tall, like most elves, and towered over the three captives like a looming mountain. In the waning dusk his hair fell in long, black, tendrils down dark blue skin. Brianna knew the story of Erebus. She knew that he had once been an elf from the old Greek elven royal court. Once he had been in the service of her ancestor, Zeus who, for all of his evils, never stooped as low as a Knight Elf. Erebus - an acolyte of Hades - was a dangerous sorcerer. She knew he dabbled in sorcery because of the color of his skin, a dark blue. If he had been dabbling in necromancy, what would once have been a natural sun-tanned peach would have turned pale and sickly like curdled milk.

"You seem to be under the impression that you are in a position of power," Erebus drawled.

She smirked, "You seem to be worried about reports of your precious Fallen being killed by a human. Tell me, does it seriously suck knowing that a man bested a Fallen or does it, like, tremendously suck?"

He kicked her. Brianna flipped over on her left side while a yelp of pain left her lips. She started to laugh.

"Thought I wasn't supposed to be damaged goods?" she taunted.

"Your time will come, your highness, once you're bound to Sauron," he sneered and walked away, barking orders for their enemies to prepare to move out.

The hobbits watched her fearfully while she nursed the side Erebus had kicked. She smiled in an attempt to reassure them.

"Now, tell me, do we know whether or not the others are coming?" she asked.

If they weren't then escape would fall solely on her and Brianna wasn't sure exactly when she could get them away safely. The idea of safe, in on itself, was quite the relative term.

Merry nodded, "They picked up the scent of man yesterday and picked up the pace. I dropped one of my Lothlorian broaches a few hours ago."

"Good, that means we'll get closer to where we need to depart from their company faster. I do hate being carried," she said.

"Actually, they've been running us," Pippin said.

She shrugged, "They'll want to carry us soon, then, with Aragorn following us."

A hand grabbed her shoulder and hauled her to her feet. It was one of the Uruks, those strange orc-like creatures with full bodies and pointed ears reminiscent to an elves'. It grabbed her small waist and threw her over it's shoulder. She briefly caught sight of Merry and Pippin, still on the ground, and raised an eyebrow as if saying "see?" A jerk carried her off to a place that was far enough away from the hobbits to assure they wouldn't try anything. Brianna stared at her bonds and bit her lip to stifle the urge to smirk. Erebus underestimated her abilities and her desperation if he thought she wouldn't try to use magic to escape. How woefully naive of him, yet how lucky for her?


Aragorn led the way forward on their third day of pursuit. He hardly allowed for a pause, striding one moment and running the next as if no weariness could quench the fire that burned him or the others. His fire burned with the need to find the three of them safe and sound, to hear Merry and Pippin laugh and talk about the simplicities of shire social life and to see the intelligent humor in Brianna's teal eyes as they met his. If only they hadn't spent such a good portion of their journey together tense and bad-tempered towards the other! If only he had refrained from allowing his fear for her safety and anger towards her lack of reverence for it come between them! It was possible that one of the last expressions he would have seen from her before the company had been ambushed.

Silently he made a vow to not let his feelings ever come between the two of them again. Time with her was far too precious; especially in this predicament where she could end up dead or worse. But he would not think of that just yet, not when there was enough hope for their survival.

The enemy's trail grew fainter the further north they went up into rising hills. There were no trees. Grass became shorter the higher the hills rose. There wasn't a human or animal in sight. The further they treked into Rohan the more concerned Aragorn became of this oddity. While the dwellings of the Rohirrim hugged the mountains to the east he knew that the people kept herds of horses and cattle and the horse lords in service to the king rode out on patrol every now and then.

They halted again at dusk despite Aragorn's heart telling him differently. He hadn't wanted to stop, but he saw the weary look in Gimli's eyes and knew that he had no choice. He could have gone on, but even he knew that there would come a moment where no rest would hinder his ability to help their captive companions more than not.

"Now I most grudge the time of rest or any halt in our chase," Legolas remarked, "the orcs have run before us as if the very whips of Sauron were behind him."

"Brianna's enemies from her world are with them, so that very well may be the case," Gimli observed gruffly while still trying to regain a bit of his breath.

Aragorn frowned. The enemies from Brianna's earth were with the orcs. It had taken both himself and Legolas to bring down that flying man and Aragorn feared it was Legolas' distraction that had given him the edge.

"I fear they may have already reached the forest and the dark hills and even now are passing into the dark trees," Legolas said.

"This is a bitter end to all our hope and toil," Gimli said while grinding his teeth.

Aragorn shook his head, "To hope, maybe, but not to toil. We must remember that Merry and Pippin are not alone. Brianna is with them and she is not so powerless."

Legolas nodded, "She is a help, but we must remember that her enemies will have better understanding of how to subjugate her powers than Sauron or Saruman would."

This Aragorn had considered. Brianna's magic was most likely bound or restrained in some way. He was aware that she was resourceful, but was she resourceful enough to escape with both Merry and Pippin in tact? Barring escape could she hold off the enemies with her strength alone until help arrived?


Brianna Davis could have burst out singing. There they were by the banks of a swift narrow river and a dark forest lay before them on the lower mountain slopes ahead. Roughly she knew where they were: Fangorn Forest. She glanced at Merry and Pippin, both of whom looked a little worse for wear but still alive. They were close. Only a few more miles and they would be in sight of the forest. Then she would act.

The orcs, or Urukai, gave off the air of nervousness though why that was she couldn't say. The Knight Elves and Sorcerers, while not nervous, seemed irritated about something but she hadn't been able to pick up any good clues as to what. Erebus listened with a grim downturn of his lips while Epimetheus and Apate gave their reports in hushed tones. Two or three vampires skulked around the shadows, their skin blistering from the early morning sun. Brianna took stock of the dark creatures surrounding them with a thoughtful expression on her face. There weren't that many of her enemies with Saruman's creatures. The band, itself, was small anyway but even so. There was no possible way that Nyx or Hecate would have let so few of their captains guard her. Not if they needed her power to give Sauron a tether to his body.

"We will continue at a faster pace. If the smaller orcs cannot keep up then they will be left behind to die," Erebus said dispassionately.

"And if the Riders catch up to us?" Apate asked in a bored tone.

Brianna's ears piqued. Riders? As in the Riders of Rohan? She smirked. That explained the unease in the orc camp. None of them were in the mood to be held up by humans. This was a distinct advantage that was going to work in her favor.

A plan that she'd been working on for twenty-four hours began to take a distinct shape and Brianna began to ever so discretely use her magic to help the Rider's along. There were subtle ways to slow down an orc pack after all.

She was roughly picked up again and slung over the orc who'd been carrying her's shoulder. Merry and Pippin followed suit and the pack began to run at an astonishing speed. At least it would have been astonishing if the ground didn't suddenly become slightly more rocky in certain places as they neared the mountains and, consequently, the forest. This slowed them down ever so slightly and allowed for a small company of archers on horseback to circle them and shoot into the orc pack. The vampires under Erebus' command were made too uncomfortable by daylight to retaliate, but the three sorcerers, including Apate, under him made the best defense. Once the Riders figured out that there was a limited range to their attacks; however, they managed to evade them while inflicting damage on the stragglers.

When night came the Riders hadn't closed in for battle, but that suited Brianna just fine. They were right where she wanted to be - near the forest - and better equipped for escape. The orcs, at Erebus' command, unceremoniously dropped the captives to the ground. He paced the length of his host, about two-hundred strong despite the casualties, snapping out orders to fortify the area. Brianna listened silently and used small bursts of her magic to manipulate the defenses erected. She even managed to weaken a few shields conjured by dark magic and severely crippled a minor demon without her enemies being made aware.

Of all the people Hecate could have sent after me it had to be Erebus and this ilk? Phobos and Deimos would have been a better choice, but I suppose they're probably either with Saruman at Isengard or closer to Mordor, Brianna contemplated.

Rosier's death had been a surprise. She did wonder if Boromir had actually managed to survive long enough to land a killing blow, but that would mean Boromir would have had the use of a blessed weapon and she was quite certain the only person in the Fellowship who possessed one besides her was Aragorn. Did Aragorn kill Rosier? And if he did how bad were his injuries?

She didn't think the one possibility that haunted her even more than the mere thought of him injured. Every time her her thoughts traveled in that direction she consistently redirected them. There was no conceivable way Aragorn could be dead. . He had to still be alive.

Brianna redirected her line of thinking back to the plan of escape before her. Escape was going to be easy, she hoped, she just had to time everything correctly. Preferably when their enemies were distracted by murderous Riders of Rohan. A fight would make escape so much easier.

"The queen and her little hobbits cowering on the plains. Whatever will they do? Surely the queen isn't so helpless?" it was Erebus who seemed to be finished with whatever he was thinking about and had come to both herself, Merry and Pippin to taunt.

Brianna rolled her eyes, "Well, you did manage to capture me. That should count for something I guess."

He smirked and knelt beside her. Pippin struggled against his bonds.

"You leave Bri alone, monster!" he cried.

Erebus smirked, "Look, your highness! You seem to have knights."

She glared at him and swung her bound hands up in an effort to punch him. He leaned back and dodged her swing easily.

"If you so much as lay a finger on them I will end you," she stressed.

"How? You are bound and defenseless! How do you pretend to stand against us, now?" he asked.

Brianna raised an eyebrow and shifted on the ground. Her hair, once neatly braided, clung against the grass and dirt in a messy halo. She would need to completely remove it from the braid when she had her hands free and a moment of rest. A dark, heated, look passed over Erebus' expression and she fought back a groan. Another one?

Still, she mused, I can use that to my advantage.

"You seem to be surrounded by an army, if I'm not mistaken," she replied in a voice far deeper than she normally would have.

It was purposeful. If her being bound already distracted him then the added lilt of her voice and verbal foreplay could, possibly, distract him from the fact that the Riders were circling the camp. She could hear the plod of horse hooves.

Erebus leaned over her, grasped the edge of her torn tunic and lifted her just a little bit off of the ground. Brianna glared at him, but didn't struggle. It was best not to go too overboard with the flirting. She wasn't that good.

"I'm sure you know there are more inventive ways to torture someone other than by causing physical harm, my lady. So I would advise you to proceed with caution lest I decide to feel creative," he hissed.

She grinned brightly and replied, "I am well aware of your methods, Erebus. I just can't help but wonder something."

He cocked an eyebrow and she pushed herself up from the ground and against his hand until they were at eye level. Brianna's grin turned feral.

"Exactly how creative do you think I am?" she asked.

She grabbed his tunic and sought for the water within his body with her magic. The fire that burned within her transferred heat and she pushed until his skin began to blister and his mouth hung open in a silent scream. The Orcs and the Knight Elves hadn't noticed the incident quite yet. Arguments were breaking out among the ranks and the Knight Elves were trying to maintain authority. Not one of their captors saw that Brianna still had access to her magic.

Idiots, she thought.

Erebus slumped to the ground, sightless eyes staring up at her in abject horror. Brianna worked at her bonds and managed to undo them quickly before tearing away the ones that bound her legs. She moved to Merry and Pippin who lay watching her with wide eyes.

"What did you do?" Pippin asked.

"Made his insides boil," she replied simply.

"I thank the stars you're on our side, Bri," Merry remarked dryly.

Brianna grinned and was about to reply when Apate, who had chanced a glance towards the captives and saw that they were free, yelled, "Stop the elf! She's escaped!"

The hobbits were free and Brianna stood, fire blazing in her right arm, and was about to mount an attack when hooves thundered in the night and started the entire camp. Thinking fast, she extinguished the flames in her hand and grabbed Merry and Pippin by the arms and the three of them charged towards the forest. Dark magic exploded around them, but Brianna kept the three of them running. She shifted the earth as they moved. Stones rumbled and orcs roared and the Knight Elves tried to follow.

That was when the Riders swooped down from the hills and attacked the already panicked hoard. Brianna continued to pull Merry and Pippin along with her praying to the Triune for their successful escape into the forest. The tree-line drew nearer. Brianna took a deep breath and extended her senses to the forest.

She was met with minds. Actual, sentient, minds filled with hatred and anger. There was no stopping, no turning back, so she pressed them onward and made the split second decision to exert her authority over the forest.

You will let us enter. You will let us pass through. We mean you no harm unless you try to harm us. Feel free to kill the orcs, she thought to them.

The trees didn't like her authority, but they seemed to recognize it and the three passed silently into the darkness of the woods with the sounds of battle echoing distantly behind them. They didn't see the end of the battle when the Horse lord, Eomer, slew the orc captain Ugluk and struck down the raging Apate. They also didn't notice that Epimetheus had followed them into the forest, keeping as far away as he possibly could.


Aragorn had slept fitfully that night. Any dreams he had were filled with a battled, bloodied Brianna dying in his arms. Her teal eyes, always so vibrant in life, stared at him dim and unseeing. Dead. The images plagued his mind every moment his eyes were closed and hovered in the back of his consciousness whenever he opened them to regain his bearings. This waking and sleeping action was repeated several times throughout the night until the first rays of dawn peeked over the horizon and he was shaken awake by Legolas who likely slept not an hour.

"Awake my friend. A red sun rises. Strange things await us by the eaves of the forest. Good or evil I know not; but we are called," the blond elf said hastily.

He moved to rouse Gimli while Aragorn hastened to his feet and jogged to the top of a hill to see what he could. Though he knew it wasn't possible for his human eyes to see, Aragorn wished that he could observe what Legolas had so he could gain a better preliminary understanding. He couldn't and he was at the mercy of time and the wisdom of his elf-friend's watch. The forest wasn't visible. It was still too far away for him to perceive. Until they drew closer Aragorn and Gimli would have to rely on Legolas' elf-sight for any further information. He was joined at the top of the hill by Gimli and Legolas and at once they set off again and ascended into the downs.

They reached the end of the line of downs by evening and took stock of where they were on a tall green hill. Each agreeing that they had let much of their time pass away, but the humans weary in heart, mind and body, they stopped for the night. Aragorn passed the night shrouded with the same visions of Brianna's dying or dead mutilated body and her teal eyes staring vacantly up at him devoid of her animated life - that inner fire. Images of Merry and Pippin filled his thoughts as well, all three with the other, in the tower of Orthanc damaged beyond repair and gone from the world. His worst fear, it seemed; especially (if he took care to admit) when the lifeless eyes of Brianna Davis gazed at him like twin glass marbles. Cold. Sightless. Dead.

The trio woke and began the day anew searching, following, and hoping they would find their friends alive. Much of their hope resided in Brianna's ability to protect both the hobbits and herself, but it was bleak at best. The ones who captured her had exhibited powers they knew they had not and were able to overcome her. Legolas voiced, in passing, that part of the reason why that could have been had much to do with the presence of Merry, Pippin and Boromir. Brianna, he argued, wouldn't have wanted to hurt them while she and the enemy slung magics at each other. She would have wished them far away beforehand. Aragorn only hoped that his friend's assessment of her was accurate. While he knew she was powerful the full scope of what she could do was virtually unknown to the company. She never spoke of her powers completely, not even to him.

Ahead at last they finally saw the windy uplands of the Wold of Rohan. North-westward from what Aragorn knew to be the downlands that led to the Mountains was Fangorn. To get to Isengard the horde would have needed to skirt the forest before slipping into the lower Misty Mountains. He and Gimli could see the forest at this point in their travels. Aragorn hadn't realized how relieved he would feel at being able to do so, but a momentary relief did set in. The chains of dread followed closely behind and latched onto his consciousness in a vise-like grip.

Aragorn observed the land before him, his eyes following the slopes that led to the banks of the Entwash and beyond to the forest, and saw a swift, dark-moving, blur. He threw himself to the ground and pressed his ear to the prickly grass and packed dirt. He listened.

"I see Riders. One hundred and five of them and all traveling at a great speed towards us," Legolas remarked.

Aragorn stood with a nod, confirming that he heard what Legolas saw, "Keen are the eyes of elves."

"No, the Riders are a little less than five leagues away," Legolas said, "there is one hundred and five of them with yellow hair and bright spears. Their leader is very tall."

"Is there no way to avoid them?" asked Gimli.

Legolas didn't reply. Aragorn studied his friend and noted the careful set to his jaw. The elf was debating.

"Nay," Legolas said at last, "I fear the company has already seen us and their direction seems purposeful."

Aragorn nodded and looked off into the distance where the forest remained a shadowed blur of green - no one tree remotely distinct - and frowned. Had the Rohirrim intercepted the company of Urukai? If so was Brianna, Merry and Pippin among them? If they were in their care just how injured were they?

"Then we will wait for them to come to us. They may have knowledge of our friends," Aragorn advised, his expression heavy.

"I see three empty saddles, but no Hobbits or an elf," Legolas warned clearly guessing where Aragorn's thoughts leaned.

"I did not say we will hear good news," he replied gravely.

Legolas seemed to squint. His lips pursed and his hands flexed.

"I see one more among their company - a cloaked rider - but I cannot say if they are friend or foe," he informed them.

Aragorn's gazed flicked to the Riders whose company seemed to grow bigger the closer they came. He still couldn't make out exactly what Legolas had seen, but there was something.

"Describe them as best you can," Aragorn said while trying to get a better look.

"The cloak isn't black, but green, and the hands seem to resemble the color of amber, but I cannot truly say nor can I tell if they are a man's hands or a woman's," he said.

"Could they be one of Brianna's enemies?" Gimli asked.

"They could," Aragorn conceded, "and if they are we may have to fight our way through."

There was an edge to his voice he hadn't meant to allow through. The look he friends exchanged communicated to him that they noticed. He grasped the hilt of his sword, his knuckles turned white.

The three of them waited for what Aragorn figured amounted twenty minutes. The hooves of the Riders' horses were swift and agile. They thundered down the hills and lept up the rise. Before he knew it they were surrounded by the Rohirrim and had spears pointed in their direction from all sides. One rode forward and pressed his spear against Aragorn's breast. The point was hard and steady; ready to plunge into his chest should he prove ill.

"Who are you and what are you doing in this land?" The Rider asked.

"I am called Strider. I came out of the North. We are hunting Orc," Aragorn said choosing his alias instead of his real name.

He could see the cloaked figure from the corner of his eye. Even with the cloak he could see the defined angular features of a man, though not his eyes, and that the color of his skin did, in fact, resemble rich, burnt, amber. The cloak hid his features well enough, though, so Aragorn couldn't tell what he was wearing.

The Rider leapt from his horse, gave his spear to another rider, and drew his sword. He stepped up to Aragorn, face grim and eyes blazing with warning.

"At first I thought it was you who were the orcs, but now I see that is not so," he said carefully, "however, these orcs are not your usual stock nor were the creatures and beings who ran with them. Should you have caught them, you would have become prey instead of predator."

"We do not hunt these fiends in this fashion out of choice. They have taken three of our friends captive, a she-elf and two hobbits. All three of them will be nothing you have ever seen before. The elf would be shorter than many women, but also a warrior. The orcs would have likely bound her securely or she may have been fighting them. The hobbits would only have appeared to be children in your eyes and nothing more," Aragorn said and found his gaze sliding to the cloaked man.

He had ridden forward and removed his hood.

What Aragorn had assumed was a short-cropped beard had been correct. It was also a dark, muddy, brown along with his hair that fell about his head in messy curls. He looked young, maybe forty at the most, and his eyes were a vibrant green that carried a dangerous glint. Aragorn refrained from placing his hand on his sword hilt and waited for the man to speak.

"You speak of a she-elf," he said and Aragorn could detect a faint accent that he couldn't place, "a short one, yes? Her hair would be long, brown with a bronze sheen that makes it almost seem blond, and her eyes are teal? Pale skin? A bit of a personality and no small amount of sarcasm?"

Aragorn found himself nodding while the rest of his body tensed. Whoever this man was he seemed to know what Brianna looked like. His gaze traveled to the man's ears and both eyebrows rose. They were pointed, but the points weren't quite as defined as Brianna's or Legolas'.

"Aye, that is the lass right enough," Gimli replied grudgingly.

The man cocked an eyebrow and said dryly, "That 'lass' is my apprentice."

"If that is so then why do you hide your face?" Legolas asked after notching an arrow to his bow and taking aim.

Brianna's teacher, or master, rolled his eyes. Aragorn almost did a double take. The manner had been something Brianna would have done. It was part of her charm, what made him smile when he knew she was being coy and groan with frustration when she was being difficult. If this man was who he said he was then he could certainly see where she had been influenced.

"I don't know! Can't have anything to do with the presence of my own enemies now, could it?" The man replied.

"And who is your enemy? Is it she? Do you serve Sauron or are you a man of OLIMPUS?" Aragorn asked, recalling the organization Brianna said she served under.

The stranger did a double-take and stared at Aragorn in astonishment.

"How much has she told you?" He asked.

"Much," Legolas replied.

The stranger looked at the Rider, "I believe these men are friends, Eomer. Have your men lower their spears," he returned his attention back to Aragorn, "I am, in fact, the Grey Wizard of the Eastern deserts. I serve on the Wizard Council of Earth. The wizard council, for your benefit, is comprised of anyone with diluted human or elven blood. Those who claim to be half-elven and less are considered witches and wizards."

Aragorn had not known this, but the fact didn't take him by surprise. Brianna hadn't told him everything about her world. They had only known each other for a short while and his questions had been directed more towards the elven people of earth as a whole than anything in particular.

"Lower your weapons, Legolas, Gimli," Aragorn said, "I wish to hear this man - wizard - out."

Reluctantly they did so. Eomer spoke with his captain before the other man mounted his horse again and allowed the company to ride a short distance away. The stranger who knew Brianna nodded to Eomer in appreciation.

"As trustworthy as these men are, I feel it may be best for their moral to remain ignorant of what I have to say," he looked at Aragorn, "I am Mafortion ben Joptha ben Shumra ben Japheth ben Noah. Most of Brianna's contemporaries and many older than her simply call me Maf. I came through more… honest ways through the world's protection searching for her. Others are here as well; especially after we learned of Hecate, Nix, and Rosier's presence here. I suspect there maybe others, but my friends think different. Tell me, what happened? Why would she have been with a pack of Orcs and Knight Elves?"

Aragorn felt a dull pang in his chest. He had never considered that he may have to face the displeasure of Brianna's friends from earth in regards to her capture. Shame flushed through him. If only he had responded to the bast faster! If only they had done things differently in the first place!

"She was overpowered, I believe, by the Fallen, Rosier and taken captive by the Knight Elf, Erebus. I slew Rosier," he explained.

Maf didn't bother to hide how impressed he was, "Well, that certainly is a feat. A human killing a Fallen Angel. Something that can't be done without a weapon blessed by the Triune. I'm assuming you have one?"

Aragorn nodded. Maf grinned. It was a cheeky grin that melted away all traces of hostility previously there. Another trait that reminded him of her.

"And you, yourself, are not in league with this Sauron or Saruman, I presume?" Maf asked.

"I serve no man, Mafortion ben Joptha. I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, called Elessar, the Elfstone, Dunadan, and the Heir of Isildur Elendil's son of Gondor. My friends and I pursue the orcs and will do so for as long as we must to retrieve our friends," he said.

The wizard laughed, eyes twinkling, suddenly seeming more humorous than concerned about the subject at hand. Aragorn felt a slight twinge of irritation. While the trait was in relation to Brianna's attitude towards danger as a whole he didn't appreciate it when directed at her.

"You need not pursue the Orcs further," Eomer said before the wizard could reply, "the Orcs are destroyed."

"And our friends?"

"We only fought Orcs and Knight Elves. Eomer, here, slew the sorcerous, Apate, and I found the one I believe called Erebus already dead," Mafortion said dryly, "At first I suspected it could be one of my own who targeted him, but now I think it's safe to say that Brianna may have been the one to kill him."

"What makes you say that?" Legolas asked.

Even Eomer looked interested. Aragorn remained silent and waited for the wizard to speak more plainly.

"My apprentice has a cruel streak within her; especially if she's busy trying to protect others weaker than her. I'm not entirely sure what a Hobbit is, but since you said they resemble children I can assume she was protecting them and trying to escape. Granted," he smirked, "Erebus was probably already on her list anyway. She's like that."

Aragorn nodded, suddenly feeling relief. Her enemies had underestimated her and most likely hadn't restrained her ability to use her magic. If she killed one of them then there was a great possibility that she, Merry and Pippin had escaped.

Of course there was only one place they could have gone.

He winced.

Fangorn Forest.


Brianna Davis held Pippin on her back while she and Merry picked their way through the protruding tree roots, treacherous twigs, and slick leafy floor. It had already been eight hours since they escaped the battle and Brianna was hopelessly lost. Her nerves were high strung, completely in the alert in case of danger. The strange Urukai from Isengard notwithstanding she wasn't entirely certain if her enemies were able to feed off of the emotions of the living forest. They could have followed her in their own rag-tag little band of evil misfits. With two hobbits to take care of; especially an injured Pippin (he'd twisted his ankle earlier that day) there was every possibility that the three of them could get captured again. Then where would they be?

"We can't go on like this," Merry panted, "I want some air."

Brianna looked over at him and saw his strained, red-flushed, face and nodded. She slipped over to where a ridiculously thick tree root protruded from the ground and allowed Pippin to slide onto it before resting on it herself. Merry joined them and all three looked up at the thick, green-black tree canopy above.

"How much of the lembas bread do we have left?" Pippin asked faintly.

Brianna shook her head, "None, I kept all of mine in my pack and that was left at the camp. What about you two?"

"We have some, but only enough for five days if the three of us are careful," Merry informed her.

She sighed and cast her gaze carefully around the trees. Everything was dark, damp, and dreary. The trees loomed above her like angry giants and crowded the three of them out. While they weren't purposefully trying to sabotage them Brianna could feel their displeasure at their presence. The only thing keeping them from harming Merry and Pippin was her.

"This is what happens," she muttered, "when humans and elves neglect their stewardship."

Pippin nodded, "The Shire's so much friendlier."

Brianna was about to reply when she felt the general disposition of the forest shift from grudgingly apathetic to hostile. She sat us straight and glanced around, lips pursed and eyes narrowed, trying to figure out what it was the trees seemed to feel anger towards. It wasn't them, nothing beyond what they generally felt for anything living, so it had to be something else. Merry and Pippin glanced at her, faces painted into different degrees of fear, and their banter ceased.

She stood, reached into her boot, and drew out the knife hidden there under her pant leg. Tentatively Brianna raised it into the air, point angled towards the forest canopy, and stepped forward. Dark magic burst toward them from behind and she whirled around, free hand outstretched, and knocked the dense, greasy black mass hurtling towards the three of them away with a blue-grey flash of dense wind. Merry and Pippin scrambled from the mossy log they'd been sitting on and hurtled behind her. It was as fast as she'd seen the Hobbits move.

Epimetheus stalked out of the trees, his skin as black as obsidian stone, hair stark white and eyes a pale, sickly yellow. He was grinning, dressed in his blood red robes that denoted him a sorcerer captain of Ba'al's general army.

Well, of what's left of Ba'al's general army, Brianna thought with no small amount of satisfaction.

"You and the Hobbits seem to be far more slippery than you seem, your highness," Epimetheus said.

Brianna winced at the sound of his voice. Once he'd been an elf whose wind magic best manifested in song. Any human or fae children he would have fathered could have inherited the power as their main focus. Sorcery took that from him and perverted all of his power into a sick, twisted, glob of filth. She glared at him as disgust grew within her.

"Well, we are a group of relatively small people now, aren't we?" she asked.

"Of course, that must be it. I commend you for disposing of Erebus. He was beginning to hold beliefs beyond his station. The Dark Lord, Sauron, was not amused with his conduct," he said.

Brianna rolled her eyes. She couldn't help it. Why did her enemies always think that, when she killed one of them, she was doing them the favor?

"I'd say tell Sauron 'you're welcome', but I have a feeling that I'm about to do him another favor," she deadpanned.

Epimetheus smirked, "So you think. I will bring him the three of you and take my rightful place as heir to Ba'al."

"Won't Hecate take issue with that?" she asked in a falsely sweet voice.

He didn't respond. Brianna only had to see his mouth open to know that he was about to use his perverted vocal magic to hurt the three of them and redirected the soundwaves with her wind. Behind her Merry and Pippin picked up two identical fallen sticks and clutched at them like clubs. She frowned. Epimetheus was going to be an interesting character to beat if she had to keep the Hobbits safe while trying to make sure they didn't hear the sorcery-laced hissing the Knight Elf concocted.

It startled everyone involved when a giant, wooden, foot stepped on top of Epimetheus. The sickening crunch of bones and tissue made Brianna choke back bile, but she managed to keep her countenance as she glanced up and up and up at the giant tree-like being standing before them. She dropped her protection warily.

"Son of a bitch," she said.


*Some Notes on Changes in Lore for New and Old Readers* When I first started this fanfic several years ago (I think it's been four) Brianna was in a different place in her character growth. She's grown along with the world I have for her so let me take this time to mention some changes in the lore I've written here. I will go back and edit it at some point, but not today:

Ecthairon = OLIMPUS. OLIMPUS is the new acronym for the organization of elven hunters in my world. It is ran by Artemis ven Turthin, daughter of Zeus and a Princess of the Elves. Artemis will not appear in this fic, but she will be mentioned and probably already has been, but I would need to go back and do a full re-read to confirm.

Brianna is an orphan. Her father is dead. Her mother is dead. A good portion of her family is dead because they were murdered which is why she is known as the reluctant queen. She abdicated her throne to her cousin, Landion ven Turthin seven years prior to this fanfic.

If there is more I shall place it in each update for each chapter. Review and let me know if I've missed anything.

Like it? Hate it? DESPISE IT? Review and tell me what you think. :)