I followed the company as they sprinted away from the unknown danger, not wishing to face it. The Dwarves, bless them, had not been created for running, so it was not long before Thorin called for the company to halt. I stopped, skirting around the edge of the company to stand beside the wizard, a strange feeling blooming in my chest. A few of the dwarves, who stood doubled over with their hands on their knees while gasping for breath, gave me sour looks. I looked around, my breathing even, as the sound of the footsteps grew clearer. I closed my eyes, listening closely. Within seconds, the sound of tiny paws was distinguished from the sound of a sled, and I leapt forward to stand in between the company's weapons and the brown wizard.

"Radagast!" I shouted, forcing Kili to lower his bow as a smile stretched across my face. As the words left my mouth, Radagast the Brown, who had been riding at full speed through the forest on his rabbit-drawn sleigh, pulled up short next to the Company. Many of them blinked in surprise and looked between the two wizards. Bilbo had drawn his sword and now looked quite confused, not sure whether or not he should attack or put the blade away.

The old wizard was shouting, panicked. "Thieves! Fire! Murder!"

I rushed forward and embraced my old friend, catching him quite off guard. "Radagast!" I exclaimed again, pulling away and looked him over to make sure he was alright. Aside from a line of what looked to be bird droppings matting the hair on the right side of his head, he looked to be completely fine. I pointed this out to him, and he wiped it away as best he could, muttering something about the birds that had made their home in his hair beneath his hat.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, eyes wide. A horrible thought occurred to me. "Is my brother—?"

"No, no, your brother is fine," the wizard cut me off, waving his hand. The panicked and somewhat insane light reentered his eyes. "I came to speak to Gandalf, is he here?"

Gandalf pushed him way through the company. "Radagast the Brown," he said fondly, voice booming, "What on earth are you doing here?"

Radagast's eyes darted to his face and he moved closer to the wizard, crazy eyes fixed on his face. "I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."

"Yes?" Gandalf asked, waiting for an answer. Radagast opened his mouth to speak, but shut it a moment later. He opened his mouth again, his finger in the air, but closed it again, puzzled. I tilted my head, blinking in confusion.

"What's wrong with him?" Bilbo asked, looking up at me. I shrugged helplessly, eyes now darting to the brush surrounding us. The warm wood suddenly felt much colder, and I stepped away from the hobbit to stand in between the wizards.

Radagast looked upset, frowning. "Just give me a minute. Oh, I had a thought, and now I've lost it. It was right there, on the tip of my tongue." He suddenly curled up his tongue, looking surprised. "Oh, it's not the thought at all; it's just a little—" Gandalf pulled a stick insect out of Radagast's mouth, much to my amusement, and placed it on my hand, "—stick insect!"

I quickly placed it on a tree, smiling at the flustered expressions of the company. With a slight nod at the company, the two wizards moved off a ways to speak, stopping me when I tried to follow.

"The Greenwood is sick, Princess," the kind wizard said. "But I cannot reveal to you more information than that."

My eyes widened. "But—"

"Stay here," Gandalf interrupted, grey eyes staring into mine. I glared back for a moment but dropped my gaze and stormed over to the company, still listening.

Radagast continued to speak. "A darkness has fallen over it. Nothing grows any more, at least nothing good. The air is foul with decay. But worst are the webs."

My eyes widened, and I froze. Webs?! Gandalf spoke my concerns. "Webs? What do you mean?"

Radagast continued, nervous. "Spiders, Gandalf. Giant ones. Some kind of spawn of Ungoliant, or I am not a Wizard." I turned around and leaned against a tree for support, shaking. Kili's brown eyes locked with my green ones, and I knew that I had seconds before the conversation would be inaudible. I mentally constructed his journey in my mid as he spoke, but instead of Radagast, I saw myself. "I followed their trail. They came from Dol Guldur." I gasped, shuddered involuntarily at the name, the scars covering my body throbbing painfully. The madness in my mind whispered words of doubt and fear in my mind, and I wanted nothing more than to clamp my hands over my ears and cower to the ground in a ball, screaming.

"Dol Guldur? But the old fortress is abandoned," Gandalf said, a frown evident in his voice.

Radagast spoke, voice laced with horror. "No, Gandalf. It is not."

"Aeyera? Are you alright?"

I looked up in Kili's concerned gaze and was immediately away of the cold sweat that coated my body. I shook my head and sank down to rest on the ground, legs crossed under me, and Kili mimicked my movements. The rest of the company scattered, leaning against trees, eating, and cleaning weapons.

"No," I croaked, pressing my forehead into my hands. "No, I'm not alright." My scars throbbed and burned as if someone were pressing molten metal to my skin. I suppose something had, once, but it had been a long time ago.

He gripped my shoulder tightly, steadying me as I clenched my fists around the tree roots beneath me. "Hey, you're alright—Fili!"

The blonde dwarf loped over to us, although I didn't bother looking up. "Kee? What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know…"

Kili stepped aside as Fili knelt down before me, placing his hand on my shoulder. As he did so, darkness began to encroach on the edges of my mind and my vision. I began to shake. "Princess? Can you tell us what's wrong?"

I shook my head wildly and lifted my face to meet his eyes. He started and nearly fell over backwards when he caught sight of the crazed expression on my face. "No—I can't, I—"

Kili crouched down beside his brother, taking one of my cold hands in his abnormally warm ones. The heat of his skin surprised me, although I suppose that it made sense, him being a dwarf. "Hey, hey, calm down." My terrified green eyes met his concerned brown ones, and a sense of calm washed over me. The darkness receded slightly. He gave my hand a squeeze. "You're fine, alright? Fili and I aren't going to let anything hurt you, understand?"

I nodded even as dread began to seep into my bones. NO! I wanted to scream. I have to protect you! You shouldn't be protecting me! However, my weakened state only permitted me to nod my head. The young dwarf smiled and rose to his feet, pulling me with him. Fili rose as well, the two of them creating a protective barrier between me and the rest of the world. The darkness evaporated as fat, golden rays of sunlight poured through the leaves of the trees overhead.

A howl shattered the silence, piercing the air.

The company looked around, afraid. Some knew what was coming, while others were oblivious. I drew my new bow, Kili mimicking my movements. "Was that a wolf? Are there wolves out there?"

"Wolves? No, that is not a wolf."

From behind a nearby crag, a Warg appeared. It was as large as a horse with fangs as long as my forearm. Without warning it leapt into the midst of the Company, knocking down several of the dwarves. Thorin struck and killed it as another Warg attacked from the other side.

It leapt at Kili, and I shoved him out of the way. The enormous wolf snapped at my side, sinking its fangs into my flesh, and I cried out. An instant later it released me and recoiled, collapsing to the ground with Kili's arrow in its side. I staged back and slammed into a tree, sliding to the ground. Few to none of the dwarves noticed; they were too busy prodding the wargs and making sure they were dead.

"Princess—" Fili and Kili rushed over to me and lifted me to my feet. I wrapped my cloak around my waist, covering the wound as best I could.

"Are you alright? Why would you do that, I was fine—" Kili's face was ashen.

Thorin looked up, glaring at me as though I personally had led the orcs to our location. "Warg-Scouts!" He turned away, not noticing my wound. "Which means an Orc pack is not far behind," he growled. The company erupted with panic. Fili and Kili lifted me up, and I leaned against the princess, biting my tongue to keep from screaming as rivulets of blood tricked down my skin and soaked my cloak.

Gandalf turned to Thorin, wild eyed. "Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?"

"No one," Thorin said, ignoring him and looking around to count the dwarves.

"Who did you tell?" Gandalf yelled, grabbing his shoulder and yanking him around.

The dwarf king jerked his shoulder away. "No one, I swear," Thorin bellowed back. "What in Durin's name is going on?" He asked, his voice hushed.

Gandalf straightened, no longer leaning on his staff. "You are being hunted."

"We have to get out of here," Dwalin announced, gripping his axe tightly.

"We can't!" Ori wailed, running up to the group. "We have no ponies; they bolted."

I groaned. Gwairoch was gone as well, which means I now had to retreat on foot. Kili shifted his weight to his right leg as he wrapped his arm around my torso. "You're a lot lighter than I thought you'd be," he muttered.

Radagast turned to mount his sleight. "I'll draw them off."

I lurched forward and grabbed his arm, preventing his from climbing up on the sled. "Radagast, please—these are Gundobad Wargs; they will outrun you. Please, don't do this," I pleaded, horrified that I would be forced to watch as one of my oldest friends was cut down.

The wizard turned to me, a dangerous and wily grin on his face even as he patted my head affectionately. "I'll be fine, child. These are Rhosgobel Rabbits; I'd like to see them try."

He winked at Gandalf, and then sped away. I took a step forward to follow, but my knees buckled. I would have landed face-first in the dirt had the two princes not caught me.

Gandalf approached as I forced my way to my feet. He pressed his hand against my forehead, frowning. Both princes gasped, but I was too preoccupied to think on it very much at the time.

Gandalf turned to the brothers as the company began moving. "When did this happen?"

"She—She pushed me out of the way," Kili murmured. I took a few halting steps forward, feet dragging. My skin burned, and searing pain raced through my body with every ragged breath I took.

"Carry her," the wizard demanded, turning to lead the company on. "She saved you; it is your duty to protect her until we reach a safe haven."

Kili nodded and picked me up, ignoring my feeble mewls of protest. Even I was surprised at how quickly my strength was fading; when I looked down at my now scarlet cloak, I understood. My vision began to darken as we burst through the trees, though now for a very different reason than before.

The company began to race across the plains, darting from boulder to boulder as Radagast did his best to lead the warg pack away. I could hear them barking and howling from a league away, but the sound was watery and canned, somehow.

Kili, although I could tell that he tried to be gentle, was gripping me tightly, clutching me to his chest. With every pounding footstep, another bold of white-hot pain sizzled through me. I groaned and buried my face in his chest, hot tears leaking from my eyes.

"Stay together," Gandalf panted from ahead. My head lolled on my shoulders.

"Move!" Thorin bellowed.

We continued running for long periods of time, stealing split-second breaks when we could. Whenever unconsciousness would approach, I would shake myself awake as best I could. I was afraid—nay, terrified, of what I might see should I fall out of consciousness. Because of past wounds, I did not dwell only in the land of the living. Therefore, it made falling asleep or unconscious all the more terrifying.

We halted, and I stared up at the sky, the clouds drifting in and out of focus as my sanity began slipping. Kili gently lowered me to the ground, but I didn't move. The pain began to ebb, my body going numb.

"What's wrong with her?" Someone asked worriedly, moving to stand near me. I could barely make anything out; and yet at the same time, everything was in complete focus. I could see the sweat on every dwarf's brow; see the panic and anger in Thorin's eyes; see the terror on Kili's face.

I blinked, and my grip on reality was swept away. My brother was crouched beside me, dark blue eyes roving worriedly over my face. There were other figures there as well, but I couldn't make out their faces. "Legolas?" I asked dazedly in Elvish. My tongue felt like lead in my mouth, and every word was a chore. I coughed, and the taste of copper filled my nose and mouth. "What are you doing here?" I raised my hand, confused at the bright red color of my skin. Moving it further, I touched his face, making sure he was real, but I frowned when my hand came into contact with whiskers. "You have a beard," I murmured sleepily, my eyes closing. My body jerked suddenly, and I whimpered. "Legolas, help me—"

"What's wrong with her?" Someone shouted.

I screamed and curled into a ball. My eyes rolled back in my head as the darkness overcame me, and I sank into the realm of nightmares.

Kili stared down at the now unconscious elf in his arms. His blood ran cold as he recalled the chilling shriek that had so recently tore from her now crimson stained lips. The color of her blood stood out in sharp contrast from the snow-white skin of her face. Kili stood, clutching the elf princess to his chest, as panic began to set in. Aeyera had saved his life, and had probably given hers in exchange. If she died, her blood would be on his hands.

"We must get her to safety…" the wizard muttered, staring down at the girl in alarm. His grey eyes met the horrified brown eyes of the prince, and he nodded, turning to the other. "Come on! Quick!"

Kili didn't need to be told twice. He picked up the pace, keeping by the wizard's side as they sprinted away from the howling wargs. This was nothing like how he had expected this adventure to go. He had never expected to meet an elf—his uncle's enemy's daughter, no less—much less befriend her. He gulped as a foreign but somewhat pleasant, feeling filled his stomach—almost as if butterflies were there, fluttering around. He certainly had never have expected anything, save his family, to risk dying for him. And yet here she was, a lovely, small elven princess, dying in his arms. His heart skipped a beat as he considered that she might never wake up. She was surprisingly light, and it was little struggle to carry her. The only things that got in the way were her weapons, but the young dwarf knew better than to mess with them.

The company gathered under a large stone outcropping as the howls of wargs grew nearer. "Kee," Fili said, shaking his shoulder. "Give her to me—"

Kili unconsciously gripped her tighter, and his brother frowned. The feral growls and snarls of the warg pack grew louder.

"You're the only one with a bow," Fili reminded him. "You'll need your arms to be free." Kili reluctantly handed her over, noticing with horror and revulsion that her blood now stained his arms. He drew his bow and nocked an arrow to the string, glancing back every few seconds to make sure Aeyera was alright.

She wasn't, of course. Blood curled down her arm and dripped from her fingertips. Her skin was the color of snow.

He looked down at the ground in time to see the shadow of a lone warg scout appear. The warg lifted its head, tasting the air. Kili gripped his bow tightly and slowly pulled the bowstring taut. His arms shook, but he held the arrow steady. Taking a deep breath, he leapt out from his hiding place and let the arrow fly. His aim, usually so true, failed, for although it hit the intended target, the warg and orc were merely wounded, not killed.

The warg and its rider fell from the outcropping, landing before the company. The dwarves attacked, falling upon the foul creatures with a clamor that echoed through the valley over and over again. Kili turned in horror to see the remainder of the pack turn in its pursuit of the Brown Wizard and rush to aid its fallen comrade instead. They were out of time.

Kili felt the blood drain from his face as he turned and began shoving the other dwarves along. His uncle gave him a sharp look, and the prince flinched, but Thorin's eyes widened a moment later when he saw the pack heading straight towards them.

"Move!" Kili bellowed, shoving Ori along ahead of him. Fili remained at his side, Aeyera in his arms.

The entire company began rushing away, arms and legs moving as quickly as possible. Kili kept an arrow on the string as he ran. Because of his height—he was unusually tall for a dwarf—he was the fastest, and he quickly passed all but Gandalf.

"This way! Quickly!" He yelled, turning towards the sun. We crested a hill, and Kili chanced a look back. His heart nearly stopped. The wargs were less than half a league away and gaining. He could see the flash of sunlight on the orcs' weapons, and he began to run faster, keeping very close to his older brother.

The entire company halted, circling up. They were surrounded by large rocks, with gaps in between them. "There's more coming!" Kili bellowed, moving to stand beside his brother and the fading princess. Fili was pressing her cloak against the gaping wound, but it was not doing much good. The wargs appeared over the rise, and the company began to band together, afraid and bloodthirsty.

"Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin commanded, pointing towards the advancing army. The young prince drew his bow and began firing arrow after arrow at the oncoming enemy, but for every warg or orc that he fell, another took its place.

Fili's voice echoed through the clearing. "We're surrounded!"

Kili glanced around for their wizard—perhaps he could magically depose of the enemy for him?—but he was nowhere to be seem. "Where is Gandalf?" Kili felt ashamed, for his voice came out fearful and high even as he shot down another orc.

Dwalin growled his response and tightened his grip on his axes. "He has abandoned us!"

Kili ignored him as fear encircled his heart. He turned and continued firing arrow after arrow at the Wargs and their riders, killing some of them and injuring others. He was determined to die fighting, back-to-back with his brother. His grip faltered for a moment, and an arrow whizzed over the heads of the enemy. If he died, Aeyera would die. Kili glanced back to see the rest of the company gathering close to each other near the rock outcropping, not bothering to help him. Panic rose in his chest as he realized that he was completely alone. An arrow appeared in the warg's eye, and it crushed its rider as it fell, sending up a spray of dirt and loose stones as it skidded to a halt at Kili's feet.

A particularly ugly orc and his warg approached, unafraid. One of the other dwarves—Ori?—shot at it with his slingshot, which did nothing but annoy the beast. Thorin drew his sword, and a wave of terror crashed down on his youngest nephew when he realized that he was nearly out of arrows. The end was coming.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin yelled, starting towards me.

Kili turned to look at his uncle and caught sight of Gandalf popping up from a crack in the rock. He was so surprised that he nearly tripped over himself turning around. "This way, you fools!"

Thorin recovered from his shock quickly and turned to the others, herding them towards the wizard. Kili continued firing his arrows, back up as he moved closer and closer to the wizard's hiding spot. "Come on, move! Quickly, all of you! Go, go go!"

The company leapt into the wizard's cave, rolling down a sharp incline until reaching the bottom. Thorin and Kili continued fighting up above, keeping the wargs at bay as they struggled to make their way to the rest of the company. Thorin managed to make an opening and dove towards the opening. Noticing that his youngest nephew was gone, he turned. A warg was bearing down on his unsuspecting nephew, and he screamed out, "Kili! RUN!"

Realizing that he now stood alone was the first time he had ever felt true terror. He turned and sprinted away from the approaching—but now diminished—orc pack, before diving into the crack. Thorin followed last, leaping after his nephew as a warg's teeth snapped shut on empty air. The king and prince landed on the rock floor with matching groans of pain, which were muted by the strange, unearthly sound of an elvish hunting horn. Thorin pulled Kili to his feet, a look of horror on his face, as an orc tumbled down the incline, an arrow protruding from its flesh.

Thorin yanked out the arrow and examined its make before standing and throwing the shaft down in disgust. "Elves," he spat.

Kili turned to see a pathway at the end of the cave, leading away from the battle above. Dwalin stood at the entrance, peering into the dark. "I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or no?"

Bofur jogged forward, pushing his way through the crowd. "Follow it, of course!"

Gandalf followed in his wake, a look of innocence on his face. He glanced at Aeyera, and he frowned in deep concern. "I think that would be wise."

Kili glanced at Fili, who still carried the elf princess. Her face was white, and her skin was clammy and drenched with sweat. They looked into each other's eyes and shared a knowing look before falling back to share some private words.

"How is she?" Kili asked, looking ahead at the rest of the company, who by now had begun following the path. It was quite narrow, and it was a crack between two tall cliffs. Kili and Fili had to pass the elf between them as they made their way through the pass; it was too narrow for them to walk abreast.

"Not well," Fili said, looking down at her. His eyes were panicked. Kili stared down at his bloodstained hands for a moment before pressing two of his fingers against her throat, searching for a pulse.

"Let me take her," Kili said, taking the elfling from his arms and keeping his fingers pressed to her neck. Her heart beat weakly against his fingertips. "You're going to be alright, Princess," He whispered, continuing the trek onwards. "Hurry!" he called out, his voice rising. "She hasn't got much time!"

The company sped up, and it wasn't long before the pathway opened on into a stone shelf overlooking a hidden valley. In the center lay a beautiful, white city, surrounded by forest and waterfalls.

Gandalf looked at the city in love, a gentle smile on his face. "The Valley of Imraldis," he said softly. "In the Common Tongue, it is known by a another name."

Bilbo looked on in wonder, a disbelieving smile on his lips. "Rivendell."

Gandalf looked over it as if he were its maker, a smile of pride on his face. "Here lies the last Homely House east of the sea."

Aeyera's heart skipped a beat, and she lurched slightly. With a jolt, the prince realized that he had nearly forgotten her in his daze, and he pushed his way through the company until he reached the wizard. "Gandalf!" Kili shouted, panicked. He ran up to him, gripping the elf tightly in his arms. The wizard frowned when her saw her prone form, and his face turned grave when he took in the amount of blood on her clothing.

"When did this happen?" Thorin demanded as Kili set the girl down on the stone. Gandalf knelt over her, slowly moving his hand above her face.

"I-it was when…" Kili replayed the moment in the woods again; capturing details his adrenaline-driven mind hadn't been able to take in before. "…when the second scout attacked us; the warg must have taken a swipe at her. What do we do?" He asked again, fear tearing at his heart.

"We must get her to Elrond," Gandalf said as Kili once again picked up the elfling in his arms. The company began moving at a fast pace, Fili lingering at the back as Thorin led them onward. "Hopefully he will be here."

Kili turned and headed towards Rivendell, rushing towards the city of light, a dying princess in his arms. His heart hammered against his ribs, and a warm feeling unlike any he had ever known grew in his chest. "Don't go," he whispered to Aeyera, breath hitching in his throat. "Don't leave."