***Author Note*** Sorry it has been so long. I hope you can enjoy this short chapter while I type up the next two...***
The morning let itself in through a few open wooden windows, trailing behind it the scent of dew on plants and soil. You could almost imagine the smell of the sun on such a morning. Asta slept on some hay near a door, surrounded by animals. When she awoke it was to the gentle nudge of a warm cow nose. She had grown so soft as late that her guard had been down, and the cow's nose although a surprise had not given her the threat like it would have before. She smiled and pushed the soft nuzzle away, sitting up and yawning. It was still early, but she had best get on.
The house was quiet, Beorn was not within sight, so she quickly grabbed a small loaf of bread from the table and went outside. Her pony was waiting for her, already saddled and fully stocked.
She took a moment to throw some water from a barrel onto her face, hands and lower arms. Heaving a great sigh she went to the pony gently patting her on the nose. "Well you're ready to set off. I suppose I should, too. But where is our host?"
Still cradling the pony's nose, she started to look around until she spotted a large black bear that put fear into her stomach until she realized, "There he is."
He was bigger than a bear, with giant shoulders, scraggly fur and plenty of scars. He was old; much older than Asta had first believed.
She mounted the pony and started out, following the bear to the edge of the forest. She dismounted and saw the Forest Gate just within the trees. Asta had been along this path many times before and yet this day; it felt heavy and difficult to breathe. She gathered her pack, careful to place the bread on the top. This was no place for a pony, she knew. She raised her hand to Beorn and yelled, "I cannot take her with me. Be kind to her." The behemoth grunted and turned to leave.
"And may you find your way back to Lady Galadriel." Pressing her forehead to the pony's. "Thank you."
She slapped her on the bottom to get her walking. She turned to the Gate and began walking herself, past the orc prints that littered the ground.
The Greenwood was once one of the most beautiful places in all of Middle Earth, but the smell of orc and rot permeated the air. True, although magic existed here, the orcs seemed unaffected. She noticed this most when walking through the tremendous amounts of footprints entering the Greenwood.
It was hard not to follow the orc prints and instead stay on the Elven path. She had been walking for some time now and her mind began to wander. She thought about her brothers, about Bilbo, Thorin and last of all: Kili. She knew her feelings now and had full intent to make them known when they were reunited. If they were reunited…
She stopped, realizing she was not on the path anymore. She began to panic when a stiff and stuffy breeze slapped her in the face.
"Up." She said aloud. So she climbed. She climbed the nearest tree, and when she reached the top it was as if she had taken off a heavy coat. He fear erased, and her panic banished, she looked atop the trees for a few minutes; it was almost noon. In the distance the Lonely Mountain stood shrouded by mist.
When she descended she found the path easily and was pleased to see dwarf and hobbit tracks on the path. Meaning the orcs had lost their way, but soon enough it was evident that so too did the company. She sighed and followed the prints for a long time, until she saw them disappear around strange markings on the ground… and webs. Hundreds of webs in the trees. She dared not touch them in fear of what would come should she trigger one.
Fear gripped her now as she followed, as logically as she could, the webs high in the trees.
When she found the nest it was littered with bodies of giant, miraculous spiders. In the spiders lay what she feared most. Elven arrows. And from the battlefield in a direction she did not want to go… the footprints of Elves, Dwarves and a single Hobbit.