Camp was once again set up in a timely fashion, many of the stakes being driven into the ground just as the light of day began to fade and the sun to sink below the horizon. Leah, after having assisted with erecting three tents along with her own, enjoyed the temporary peace with a watch fire kindling happily before her. She felt almost joyful with the voices of elves ringing from all corners and the last drops of light falling daintily upon the ground, gold and silver reflecting off of each blade of young grass as they caught a glimpse of the falling dusk. Thoughts of war were subdued for a few hours time as the evening meal was served, and Leah savored the cavern stew that was served, and she soon finished and went off to her tent.
Again she discarded the outermost layers of armor on the mat next to her cot and sank down into the bedding with a sigh, weary of the day's travels on foot. At the moment she felt safe and content, free from the immediate worries of war or strife. She gave a slight yawn and pulled the woolen blanket over her shoulders, blowing out her lantern and closing her eyes to find rest. There was a moment where she simply laid there and listened to the melodious voices around her, subconsciously picking up bits of elvish mingled in with common speech as her mind began to drift slowly away….
A light wind began to brush at the cloth of her tent, pulling at the flap that opened to the outside. She felt her arms and legs move as she got up and walked out of her tent: there were flames all around, burning at the other tents. She walked calmly forwards as if unaffected by the shouts around her and the clash of metals that stung her ears. She saw her siblings playing on the outer skirts of the camp, unheeding to the flames that danced around them. She walked closer to them and called out their names, but her voice was unheard. One of them looked up, but her eyes did not recognize the figure before her, and she politely greeted her as a stranger as She approached. Leah understood that she had been forgotten in their lives, the girl looking up with the same large green eyes as when Leah had left her, but they were blank of all sisterly affection that they once held in her presence.
Leah's spirits dropped and she bid farewell, the small girl returning to the others as they jumped and played, their laughter quickly being drowned by clashes and shouts once more. Her sword was suddenly heavy at her side.
It was burdening her, pulling her slowly downwards with its great weight. The hideous form of an orc appeared before her, and she halted, not wanting to draw her sword for fear of battle. The creature screamed and pulled out a great staff that it brought down upon her, and she felt her hands reaching for her blade. The weight suddenly vanished, and it became light and easy to wield once in her hands and she flashed it at the orc who promptly vanished. A vague understanding reached her mind as she turned and found herself facing an army alone, thousands of orcs and goblins and creatures brandishing cruel weapons all stood before her, their eyes burning with a great ferocity.
"My lady?" she heard a voice say and she startled awake, her breathing hard as she sat up, her tired eyes making out the face of Legolas who had pulled open the flap to her tent slightly. He opened it wider to allow for the rest of his face to show, which in the darkness portrayed a slight worry. "Be you all right? I heard your breathing when I passed, and it was hard and quickened, and so I decided to check on you," he said as she ran her hand through her hair and sighed, guessing that she had gotten only a couple hours of sleep before being awakened.
"I am fine. It was only a nightmare…sorry for your worry," she answered groggily, her eyelids heavy as she struggled to stay awake. That dream…it was vivid in her mind and yet it slipped away like sand between her fingers, the memory quickly fading to basic emotions of fear and loss. "It is nothing to worry about…irrelevant," she managed, not sure if she was making coherent sentences and was too tired to care. Her jumbled thoughts sprang around in no apparent order, and a question was soon upon her lips. "Do elves dream?" she asked, thinking that it was pertinent in her semiconscious thoughts.
Legolas entered her small tent and sat upon the mat on the floor, crossing his legs beneath him. "One could say that what we experience are dreams," he said. "but not in the fashion that men may think. Tell me Leah, what did you see before I woke you? I find such things very intriguing."
Leah sat on her cot, her mind replaying the words that he spoke many times before she comprehended what they said. "Terror, pain," she said slowly, trying to grasp the last few shreds of the dream. "War." Legolas said something to this, but she did not hear as she focused on staying awake, her pillow enticing her to fall upon it and let go of reality once more. Her limbs felt like lead as she rubbed her eyes and tried to make out his expression better, but only accomplished blurring her vision even further.
"You should get some sleep, and so I leave you: good night," said Legolas as he stood up and bowed, leaving her to sleep.
"Good night," she answered, and remembered last her head falling upon her pillow.
o
The next morning was the same as the last, and Leah woke the crisp scent of early fogs, a slight dew having accumulated on the cool metal of her armor. She wiped this off and put it on, a little more slowly without the aid of a mirror, and soon starting on the task of disassembling her tent. Such was done in under ten minutes, and she helped with the other tents and the burdening of the horses, eating a small morning meal just before the company started off once more, the green line on the horizon growing steadily until it was before them: a great, noble forest, the leaves lush and and the massive trunks a pale white that glistened in the early morn. There was only a moment's hesitation before the group found the designated path, and they began to follow it along a ponderous trail that spiraled around in a dizzying fashion. It was explained to her that many dangers, including massive spiders, lurked in these forests, and that they were not to be meddled with even if a day's travel could be spared.
Leah listened intently to the history of the woods after this, of how just years before a great cloud had shrouded its glory to the unwary eye, and of the Palace of the Mirkwood King. Legolas was particularly fond of speaking about the beauty of the forest, even before the cloud had been lifted he said that it was a thing to behold, and Leah inwardly agreed as they began to enter the woods, every sense catching details that amazed her: the patterning of the bark, the shape of the leaves, the pale coats that the smaller animals wore…it all amazed her at the subtle differences in contrast to the forests around Rivendell that she had grown to know as commonplace.
About three miles into the trail that they chose, they were greeted by a small welcoming committee (if that is what you wish to call it) that escorted the group deeper into the heart of the trees, their path now deterring from the earlier one and leading away into dense, unyielding forest to the side. Leah noticed how the Mirkwood elves preferred bright reds and yellows, along with dark browns that mimicked the color of autumn leaves as the small band led ahead, their cloaks seeming to blend seamlessly into the very brush around them. All were silent as they delved deeper into the woods until they reached a wide river that cut into their path, its waters cool and dark to Leah's eyes. She walked over to it as some of the elves began to prepare a few vessels and was about touch the surface with her boot before Legolas warned her of the water's properties. "Do not let it touch your skin," he whispered to her, and she immediately jerked her foot back, fearing what would cause him to say such a thing. "This river has long been known for its ability to bring upon a heavy sleep to all who drink or bathe in it. Many unsuspecting travelers have drowned in this water. Do not let that happen to you!" he finished as he stepped into the boat that was pushed along into the water, and he beckoned for her to climb in as well.
Many of these vessels were long and thin, able to seat twelve passengers comfortably as they cut smoothly into the waters until they were on the other side. When her boat began to cross, Leah tucked her arms and legs close to her body so as to avoid even the slightest drop from spraying onto her skin, soon losing train of thought as she looked at the surface of the river as it bubbled along the side of the boat. The water was glassy and smooth, seeming to pull at her eyes and mind to jump in and feel the cool water drift around her skin and body, and there was a moment where she felt tempted to simply dip her hand into the surface to test it, but she resisted the urge as the boat bumped into the bank on the other side. The group climbed out and the vessel was led back by a thin rope tied to the end of the boat, and the process began again for the next group. Horses were taken over one at a time.
In an hour the majority of the company was on the opposite end of the river, and once again they set out, the troop of Mirkwood elves at the front and the last group of arriving elves at the rear. Gimli contented himself with telling her of how his father, Gloin, had gone through these same woods on a similar trail, and he grumbled slightly about how the forest had been so dark during that time that even the dwarves, who were accustomed to working in dark caves had to rely on the eyes of Bilbo to see. Leah laughed when he mentioned the part of how Bombur, coincidentally the fattest one of the thirteen dwarves, had fallen into the river and the group had to carry him for the first leg of the journey. "And what's more," Gimli chortled, "is that when he did wake, he complained of dreaming of food when the rest were all but starving!" Leah smiled and giggled slightly, enjoying his form of story telling which was usually lighthearted and obviously exaggerated in areas.
"Such is an interesting tale. You must tell it to me in full some day," Leah said when her giggles subsided. "But for now it seems that we are nearing our destination. Our pace has slackened much since we left the river." And so it was: in only a few minutes after she had said this they came upon a thick wall of trees that seemed to span in each direction for as far as the eyes could see, the trees growing close together and seeming to blend into one continuous strand of leaves and bark. To this one of the Mirkwood elves walked over to and placed his hand firmly upon a thick trunk, his low voice speaking words that seemed to Leah to be another form of elvish, but what they said she could not guess. Once he finished, the elf took a step back and waited patiently, and there was a moment where nothing happened save for the distant calls of unseen birds ringing softly in their ears. But very suddenly, there was a great rustling and two of the great trees began to unweave their branches, slowly but noticeably as Leah gave an inward gasp as she saw it.
She watched as the very leaves seemed to come alive and move, twisting themselves this way and that with a deep creaking emanating from the wood until a passage large enough for three men to walk abreast was formed. The elves took little notice of this as they passed through the thick wall, but Leah stood rooted for a long while with her mouth open slightly, unbelieving to what her eyes had just witnessed. There was a moment where she doubted that the trees had moved at all, that her mind had begun to twist reality; after all, trees couldn't move, let alone by the force of simple words! She remained like this until Legolas appeared at her side, bidding her to continue as he motioned that all was fine. Reluctantly she moved forwards, feeling odd when she passed through the previously impenetrable wall, and she took a moment to run her hands upon a thick branch to make sure that it was truly there.
The company walked onwards for the better of two hours before they came upon a large structure with tall gates surrounding it, the entrance of which was guarded by two Mirkwood elves. The guides gave a few short words to them, and the gates were promptly opened and they were let in. Leah continued to be amazed as they walked into the structure and headed into a large hall, the end of which was home to a tall throne where a tall, slender elf with a crown of ornamental leaves encircling his head. "Lord Thranduîl!" spoke the same guide that had opened the passage through the gates. "The company from Rivendell has arrived, and they bring with them a count of a few hundred. Are we to wait now for those from Lothlorién to come as well?" he said as a small portion of Leah's group passed into the hall, one of the number being Legolas who smiled nobly at her side.
The elf on the throne rose, his dark green tunic resembling the leaves outside as it caught the lighting of the torches that lined the hall. "Yes, we shall wait. Until then, allow our weary guests to rest, and give all rooms that can be spared for them to sleep. Come, it is late and a meal is to be prepared. Go now, Hanníer, and notify the cooks," he directed his last comment to the guide who bowed and left to carry out the errand that was imposed upon him. Then the elven king turned to his guests and opened his hands in a gesture of welcome. "Greetings, and I hope your travels have not troubled you thus far. In a few days we set out for war, but until then, I welcome you into my halls. May here your heads rest until our journey sets off once again!"
Author's note: sorry it took so long to get this up. I had fallen ill for a while, and most of my days were spent sleeping or drinking tea. So I hope you like this chapter (it will begin to pick up a little later, but for now I'm still recovering and so this was what i had time for).
Also:
to Stefan the Vampire: Sorry for mispelling your name! I hope you liked this chapter, and please do tell me what you think. Thanks for all of your advice. Not sure where i would have gone in this story without it.
to rain: Anatawa totemo lipa hito desuyo! (literal translation: you are a very splendid person! Meaning: Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you liked it! And just out of curiosity, do you know a lot of Japanese, or just some? Oh well, either way, thanks again and tell me what you think!
to any other person who has read the story : Hope you liked it...um...yeah. Please review and such!