ATE: I did it! I completed this chapter early this month and I'm so happy! Originally, Chapter 24 was only 1,967 words long, which was too short for my liking, so I ended up combining it with what I was going to originally write for Chapter 25, so now it's at a word count of 5,360 words now. You're welcome, by the way, since you can all consider this an early Christmas present from me (I don't think you readers would've wanted to wait that long for this chapter to come out). I'd like to thank BlackHreat, ro781727, writersarereaders, and Bonnie Celt for their reviews and everyone else for still reading. I hope you all enjoy this chapter because I made sure that you had a fair amount to read. Enjoy!

Declaimer: I don't own The Hobbit or LOTR. I only own my OCs.

~*~Chapter 24~*~

The next day the Company was ready to leave and thanks to Beorn's aid they were given enough food to last them weeks (assuming they were careful with their supply), along with some water skins and a bow with some arrows (which the Skin-changer gave to Thorin). He also lent them some ponies (though Gandalf was given a horse), but due to how many ponies were provided the others found that they had to be paired up.

Silvia had to go back inside Beorn's house (with his consent) in order to change out of her dress, knowing that it was best for her to wear her traveling clothes from this point on. She'd reached up to take off the flower crown Kili had given her and she couldn't help but smile as she gazed down at it before carefully placing it inside her satchel. Sure she knew it would shrivel up, but she chose to keep it for the sentimental value.

She had just gotten her leather vest on when the door suddenly opened, causing her head to turn in the direction of it to find Kili.

"I had a feeling you'd be here…changing." He said, and Silvia noticed his face turned slightly red.

"Yeah. It wouldn't be such a good idea to wear my dress now that we're traveling again." She told him, working on getting her fingerless gloves on. "I saw that Beorn gave Thorin a bow to use."

"I'll admit I'm a little jealous of that."

"You miss your bow, don't you?"

"I do. I made it myself when I was younger."

"I think Beorn gave Thorin the bow because he knew you weren't responsible enough."

"I'm plenty responsible!" Kili protested.

Silvia couldn't help but laugh at this and eventually the Dwarf joined her as well.

"I think it's time we joined the others." She said, grabbing her satchel before heading towards the door. "They're probably wondering where we're at."

"You'll ride with me, won't you?"

Silvia stopped before turning to face Kili, and she could see the expectant look on his face as he gazed at her. She found herself smiling at this.

"If that's what you wish."

"Of course it is! I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't."

"Then you already know my answer."

Silvia's heart seemed to swell upon seeing the smile that appeared on Kili's face, and it made her feel happy to see such an expression. She didn't understand why it made her happy, but it did.

"So I'll see you in a bit, yes?" He asked.

"Yeah, see you soon."

With that Kili walked through the door, leaving Silvia to linger inside for a little longer. She glanced down at the Elvish blade at her side, wondering if she'd ever have to use it while the Company journeyed through Mirkwood. She hoped not, as well as everyone else, but she had no way of predicting what would happen to them during that time.

She just hoped she was ready to defend herself just as Thorin had taught her the other day.

Shaking her head of these thoughts Silvia went outside and made her way to where the others were. She found them located beyond the hedge surrounding Beorn's house with some of them already on their ponies, and while she was making her way over to where Kili she noticed that Gandalf was talking to Beorn some ways away so that they couldn't be heard (at least by the others). Silvia knew she could easily eavesdrop on them but decided against it by ignoring them, the voices of the Dwarves serving to help her in this endeavor.

"I'm not late, am I?" She asked the dark haired Dwarf once she stood before him.

"Not at all." Kili replied before leaning in. "Although I think Thorin is getting a little impatient."

"Gandalf." Thorin called, causing the Wizard to turn and face the Dwarf leader. "Time is wasting."

"See what I mean? But it's understandable given the circumstances."

"This quest is time sensitive so I can't blame him." Silvia agreed before turning to look at the pony. "At least I won't have to ride sidesaddle this time around."

"I would agree since it can get uncomfortable at times. Now, up you go!"

Kili effortlessly helped her onto the pony (this time she was able to swing her leg over to the other side of the saddle) before he got on as well as he sat behind her. It was after he'd done so that the sound of birds cawing caught everyone's attention, and Silvia had a feeling that it wasn't a good sign for them.

"Go now. While you have the light." Silvia could hear Beorn say before the sound of a wolf howling reached her ears. "Your hunters are not far behind."

Soon Gandalf joined them as he got on his horse and with that they departed with haste as the Wizard led the way. Silvia did her best to pay attention as they traveled the land, but the world was speeding past her eyes due to the how fast the pony was going. She almost jumped in surprise as she felt Kili slide an arm around her waist, and unlike the last time she'd ridden with him, his hold seemed more protective in a sense.

Was he worried about her? If so, then why?

Something had changed between them, that much she knew, but the question was what. Whatever it was she had no idea, but she knew that Kili had become more protective of her as of late.

Before she knew it the Company had come across a forest, although it looked as if the trees were either dead or dying. For some reason Silvia felt weird just looking at it. Gandalf got off his horse before wandering a bit past the entrance, as if he were looking around.

"The Elven Gate." Gandalf said before turning to face them. "Here lies our path through Mirkwood."

"No sign of the Orcs. We have luck on our side." Dwalin noted before dismounting from the pony he rode on.

Kili helped Silvia off the pony and as she was retrieving her satchel from the animal she noticed how Gandalf seemed uneasy about something before he spoke again.

"Set the ponies loose. Let them return to their master."

"This forest feels…sick." Bilbo said as he gazed at the Elven Gate. "As if a disease lies upon it. Is there no way around?"

"Not unless we go 200 miles north. Or twice that distance…south." Gandalf replied, wandering inside the Gate, almost as if he were looking for something.

Now that Bilbo mentioned it, Silvia suddenly felt sick to her stomach, along with a sense of dread. Why did she feel this way? Looking around at the others, they didn't seem affected by the forest like she was, but why was it affecting her so?

"Silvia?" She turned to find Kili looked at her with concern. "You don't look so well. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied. "I'm just a little anxious, that's all."

Suddenly Silvia could hear Gandalf's voice mentioning something concerning the High Fells (whatever that was) as the others were sending the borrowed ponies away after retrieving their belongings. Nori was about to do the same for the horse.

"Not my horse! I need it!" Gandalf said as he came out of the forest.

Silvia and everyone else was confused by this and she could hear some of the Dwarves murmuring amongst each other.

"You're not leaving us?" Bilbo asked, sounding as if he hoped he was wrong.

"I would not do this unless I had to." Gandalf told the Hobbit before stopping and turning to gaze down at him. She had a feeling that Bilbo was disappointed, but the Wizard seemed to notice something. "You've changed, Bilbo Baggins. You're not the same Hobbit as the one who left the Shire."

"I was going to tell you." Bilbo started, and Gandalf waited patiently for an explanation. "I…found something in the Goblin tunnels."

"Found what? What did you find?"

Bilbo hesitated a moment before he spoke again.

"My courage."

Silvia had been focused on listening in when it suddenly started to rain, causing her to sigh a bit as she remembered the last time it had rained.

"Good. Well, that's good. You'll need it." Gandalf sounded satisfied by Bilbo's answer. "I'll be waiting for you at the overlook, before the slopes of Erebor. Keep the map and key safe." He said, walking past them before stopping next to Thorin and turning to face him. "Do not enter that mountain without me." He then made it over to his horse before continuing his explanation. "This is not the Greenwood of old. There is a stream in the woods that carries a dark enchantment. Do not touch the water. Cross only by the stone bridge. The very air of the forest is heavy with illusion. It'll seek to enter your mind and lead you astray."

"'Lead us astray'?" Bilbo questioned, looking to the others. "What does that mean?"

"You must stay on the path. Do not leave it." Gandalf continued, mounting his horse. "If you do, you'll never find it again." He turned his horse around to head in the direction to their right, causing him to raise his voice to call over to them. "No matter what may come, stay on the path!"

"Come on." Thorin ordered as he walked towards the Elven Gate. "We must reach the mountain before the sun sets on Durin's Day."

"Durin's Day?" Bilbo asked quietly before following as well.

"Let's go." Bofur said.

"It is our one chance to find the hidden door." Thorin told them.

Silvia followed the Company past the Elven Gate, but the feeling of dread and being sick to her stomach increased tenfolds as soon as she was among the dead looking trees, and she almost felt as if she wanted to vomit but couldn't at the same time. Why did she feel this way? Did it have something to do with her Elvish half?

"The path turns this way." Thorin told them before leading them left.

Everything seemed to blur and she'd lost track of time, but the deeper they traveled into Mirkwood she noticed how dark it was getting despite the scarce rays of sunlight that managed to break through the tops of the trees, causing her to feel uneasy. It was getting difficult for them to breathe, as if there was hardly any oxygen in the air, and she had a feeling that the dead trees had something to do with the lack of air.

Due to how dark it had gotten Dwalin started helping Thorin out with finding the path, and she could hear him using the end of his weapon to stamp the ground until the sound of the handle hitting stone reached her ears.

"This way." Dwalin told them.

Silvia jumped in surprise when she felt something grab her hand and whipped around, only to find Kili looking concerned, but then again it was somewhat difficult to see his face.

"Stay close to me." He told her quietly. "I don't want you getting lost."

"Why?" She asked.

"I want to keep you safe. I promised to protect you, remember?"

She didn't have time to respond before the dark haired Dwarf moved in front of her, his grip on her hand tightening slightly as if to make sure she was still there as he led her into following the others. Had he somehow picked up on her uneasiness or was it something else? It was strange how Kili's presence seemed to make this journey through Mirkwood slightly more bearable than before.

"Air. I need air." She could hear Bofur say, sounding breathless.

"My head, it's swimming!" Oin complained before later groaning.

A few days had passed since they had entered Mirkwood and things hadn't been going well. For one their food supply was running dangerously low and it seemed the others were getting tired of being here (though she could understand where they were coming from). And the sick feeling Silvia kept experiencing wouldn't go away no matter how much she tried (and failed) to ignore it.

The nights were pitch black to the point that she could barely see her own hand in front of her face and it got uncomfortably warm to the point that they didn't bother using blankets when they slept. The Dwarves had once tried lighting a fire to light up the dark, but as soon as they had it had attracted so many huge moths and bats that it wasn't worth the effort.

But the darkness made her feel claustrophobic in a way, and despite Kili and Fili sticking close to her during those times (seeing as they all had to sleep huddled up with two others keeping watch in shifts) she was scared of what possibly lurked in the forest, for she had heard Bilbo mentioning something about seeing eyes. It didn't help that she'd been having nightmares, but she did her best to hide the fact by sleeping. Even though she couldn't remember what the nightmares were about, she knew that they terrified her.

After what seemed like hours had passed during their journey that day, Silvia could've sworn she spotted something in the distance. When she pointed this out to Kili, he seemed to react by pulling her near the front of the others to get a better look at what it was.

"We found the bridge." Kili announced over his shoulders to the others.

"Bridge." Bofur said before he and everyone else got closer to get a look at it. "Oh."

At first Silvia wondered why Bofur reacted the way he did, but when she saw the state the stone bridge was in she understood why. The bridge itself was broken with a huge gap, and she assumed that it was in such a state due to a lack of maintenance over the ages. There was no way they could even make it to the other side if they were to jump across, so what were they supposed to do?

"We could try and swim it." Bofur suggested.

She didn't like the idea of swimming in it. Something about the water made her feel weird and as she looked at it, she could've sworn she heard what sounded like the beating of a heart in her ears the more she looked at the river. She had to look away from the water.

Something was terribly wrong with it.

"Didn't you hear what Gandalf said?" Thorin reminded them. "A dark magic lies upon this forest. The waters of this stream are enchanted."

"Doesn't look very enchanting to me."

She couldn't agree more.

"We must find another way across."

Silvia felt Kili release her hand before watching him go over to a group of vines nearby, tugging on them as if to check their stability.

"These vines look strong enough." Kili noted, turning to face them before he decided to start climbing.

"Kili!" The dark haired Dwarf stopped upon hearing Thorin's voice before turning to face his uncle. "We send the lightest first."

She watched as the Dwarves all turned to look at Bilbo, and it wasn't until the Hobbit turned around that he realized this as he saw the expectant looks they were giving him. Bilbo tried to protest, only to realize that he was, in fact, the lightest out of all of them before he started to climb on the vines.

"It's all right. Can't see any problem." Bilbo said before suddenly losing his grip on the vine he was reaching for and Silvia winced when she saw him land in a way that hurt his crotch. Luckily the Hobbit managed to quickly wrap his legs around the branch he'd been walking on in order to keep himself from falling in the water, but that left him hanging upside-down. "There's one. Everything's…fine."

Bilbo attempted to get back up, but as he grabbed another branch he just suddenly stopped and stared down at the water. What was he doing? Before she could continue that thought Bilbo seemed to realize what he was doing and eventually made it to the other side, though it was more like he'd stumbled to the ground upon getting there.

"Something is not right." She could hear him say to himself before getting up. "This is not right at all."

Silvia noticed that the other Dwarves were starting to climb the vines and she started panicking slightly.

"Wait! Didn't you hear-!" She stopped herself, remembering the fact that she was the only one who had been able to hear Bilbo due to her heightened hearing.

"Hear what?" Kili asked.

She shut her mouth, afraid to answer in fear that he and the other Dwarves would find out about what she really was.

She watched helplessly as she couldn't stop her companions from trying to cross the river by climbing the vines.

"Stay where you are!" Bilbo suddenly yelled over to them, only to realize it was too late as he saw what happened when he wasn't looking. "Oh."

Silvia sighed before she started climbing, but unlike the Dwarves (who were struggling in their attempts) she was able to get across with an ease that surprised her greatly. It was as if she were simply walking on the branches as opposed to balancing on them, and it scared her since she knew it was because of her Elvish blood.

She mentally scolded herself because of this once she made it to the other side. What was she thinking?! If she wasn't careful and the Dwarves noticed how easily she made it across, they would only start to suspect she wasn't just human.

She needed to be more careful!

Not long after she made it across she heard footsteps land behind her, causing Silvia to turn around to see Thorin, the bow given to him by Beorn in his hand as he looked around, and during this time she helped Bilbo up to his feet.

A sound of movement and twigs snapping reached her ears and she glanced up, only to hold her breath when she spotted a white stag appear in the distance. Its fur was a pristine white color which greatly contrasted with the darkness of Mirkwood.

"What are you doing?" Bilbo asked, sounding confused and sleepy.

At this Silvia glanced over at Thorin and her eyes widened when she saw that he'd notched an arrow in his bow. He was going to shoot it!

Silvia quickly turned to the white stag, seeing that it was watching them, as if waiting to see what they would do next. Suddenly an arrow whizzed past her in the direction of the animal, only to miss its mark and startle the stag, causing it to run off deeper into the forest.

"You shouldn't have done that." Bilbo said quietly, shaking his head. "It's bad luck."

"I don't believe in luck." Thorin said, his tone making Silvia feel uneasy. "We make our own luck."

SPLUSH!

Silvia whipped around in the direction of the Enchanted River, only to see Bombur floating in the water in a deep sleep, the sound of his snoring could be heard where she stood.

Because Bombur had fallen asleep (due to the Enchanted River, they assumed) the Dwarves were forced to carry him on a makeshift stretcher they had made. At this point it was Fili, Bifur, Kili, Nori, Dwalin, and Bofur who currently carried the larger Dwarf while Thorin, Balin, and Gloin led the way as they continued down the path.

"We need…to take a rest." Nori said.

The Company stopped momentarily, waiting for Gloin to find the path as he stamped the ground with his axe. Silvia felt lightheaded, trying to breathe in as much oxygen as she could to get rid of this feeling, all the while hearing the Dwarves that were carrying Bombur panting from exhaustion.

Was this lightheadedness they were experiencing because of the affect Mirkwood had on them?

And was that whispering…she heard?

"What is that?" Bilbo asked, and when he spoke again she could've sworn she heard his voice echoing all around them. "Those…voices. Can you hear them?"

"I hear nothing." Thorin said, his voice echoing as well. "No wind…no birds. What hour is it?"

"I do not know." Dwalin replied. "I do not even know what day it is."

"This is taking too long. Is there no end to this accursed forest?"

"None that I can see. Only trees and more trees." Gloin said.

"There." Thorin groaned out after getting up, as if noticing something. "This way."

"Gandalf said—" Oin started, only to get interrupted.

"Do as I say. Follow me." Thorin merely pushed past everyone.

Silvia could still hear the whispering voices echoing around her, one of them sounding like they were saying 'Attercop'. Why was she hearing 'Attercop'? Her mind was such a mess that she wasn't aware that the Dwarves she was walking with weren't following the path.

"No, no, wait. Wait. Stop. We can't…leave the pa—" She could hear Bilbo yelling after them. "We must stay on the path."

When the Company settled down for the night (much to the relief of those that had been carrying Bombur the whole time) the Dwarves were afraid to partake in what little food they had left.

It was at this time that Silvia suddenly remembered something and started searching through her satchel to everyone's confusion. When she found what she was looking for (though she had to feel her way around inside the satchel for the waxy texture) she pulled out one of the objects she'd been looking for before unwrapping the large leaf.

"What is that?" She heard Ori ask.

"It's lembas." She answered, looking up at the curious Dwarf. "It's Elvish waybread."

"What are you doing with that?" Thorin asked, his tone sounding stern.

And then she remembered Thorin's thoughts on Elves.

"It was given to me back in Rivendell." Seeing the look the Dwarf leader was giving her she sighed, knowing that she needed to stress the reason why she was bringing it out. "It's food, Thorin, and if you can't already tell we're running low on that as well. I didn't bring this out earlier because I was told that this should only be eaten as a last resort when there isn't any other option for food, and I probably have more than enough to get us through these woods without going hungry."

"How can that small thing be enough to feed all of us?" Dwalin asked, looking very skeptical.

"I was told a small bite was enough to make your stomach full, and seeing how much you all eat, that'd probably be a good thing. If you don't believe me, Dwalin, how about I let you try it yourself."

"I don't want any Elvish food."

"It's either this or go hungry! Which would you prefer?" She snapped, starting to get somewhat exasperated.

Silvia saw that she'd surprised everyone by her tone and though she did a good job at hiding it, she felt the same way. She had a feeling that Mirkwood was affecting her more than she'd like to admit and it scared her, but at this point it was understandable.

These Dwarves and their petty issues concerning any and all things Elvish.

'Whatever happened to the saying 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth'?' She wondered.

She broke off a small piece of lembas just as Dwalin eventually gave in, and knowing that he didn't want to go hungry he took the piece from her hand before swallowing it. Though the gruff Dwarf's reaction was funny she found she wasn't in the mood to laugh.

"There. My point has been proven." She said, gesturing to Dwalin. "Who else would like some?"

Everyone (except Dwalin, who was already full) lined up as Silvia gave out pieces of lembas to everyone, and by the time everyone was served (and she had partaken in her own piece) she saw that they had managed to take out a quarter of the waybread before she wrapped it back up in the large leaf it'd been kept in. If she was correct, Silvia assumed that they had 39 days worth of lembas left to eat. During that time they'd have to wait for Bombur to wake up, and she had a feeling that the large Dwarf would be very skeptical about the lembas filling him up completely.

She didn't like being here. She wished desperately to feel the warmth of the sun on her face once more, to breathe without feeling like she was going to hyperventilate any second. This forest was affecting her in ways that she couldn't handle and she had a feeling she wouldn't last long if this were the case.

'Please let me make it to the other side.' She prayed. 'I don't know how much more of this I can handle.'

Silvia was confused when she found herself in a strange place surrounded by people she didn't know. Wherever she was this place looked busy and everyone seemed to have fun. Every now and then she would spot a few people wearing and/or carrying swords, shields, and bows but for some reason they seemed fake despite being made from metal, like they would shatter if they were used in a real fight under the right amount of pressure. Everything felt fake but the people were either oblivious or ignored it while having the time of their lives.

And yet she felt strangely happy to be here along with a sense of freedom. People would come up to her and seem to compliment her about something but she couldn't hear what they were saying. It was weird not being able to hear their voices but despite that it made her happy.

However that all changed when Silvia saw her.

It was as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her as her stepmother—Emily—stormed up to her, the expression on her face beyond livid, murderous even. For some reason Silvia feared this woman but at the same time she hated her. Emily was now yelling at her, apparently mad at her about something, but it felt as if it went beyond just a mere problem and was along the lines of something long term.

Suddenly Emily pulled out a gun and before she knew it Silvia found herself running away, the sounds of screaming people and gunshots reaching her ears.

Her heart was pounding against her rib cage and it seemed like she was being chased by Wargs and Orcs all over again, except there weren't any Dwarves, Hobbits, or Wizards with her and she wasn't being carried due to a sprained ankle. And the sound! Oh, the sound! It was so loud, almost deafening and overwhelming her, like someone screaming right into her ears. Every time she heard the blood-curdling screams of people being shot it felt as if she were being stabbed repeatedly for every person that was dead or dying. And she desperately wished that she wasn't able to hear again.

She just wanted it all to stop!

Silvia's body jerked forward as a burning pain exploded in her shoulder and leg and causing her to collapse on the ground, crying out in pain. She didn't have to look behind to know that Emily was gaining on her and in her panicked state she tried crawling away, only to grit her teeth to bite back her cries of pain when her actions forced her to stop. It felt like her wounds were on fire! Silvia slumped to the ground, feeling so weak, and she was unable to stop the woman from roughly kicking her in the side in order to roll her over onto her back, making her come face to face with her. Emily started talking to her with her voice muted before raising her gun and aiming it at her. The panic she already felt increased tenfold as she realized she was nothing more than a defenseless animal backed up in a corner while fearing what was to come, and there was nothing she could do to stop her from pulling the trigger.

And that was what happened before she let out a scream of pain.

Silvia shot up before her hands flew to her stomach frantically. Her heart was still pounding and her breathing was quick in her panicked state. Hands being placed on her shoulders caused her to stare wide eyed at the person kneeling next to her, but the sight of one of the people covered from head to toe in blood caused fear to set in again and the orchestra of blood-curdling screams and gunfire played loudly in her ears. She jerked away from the person's hold before slowly raising her trembling hands to her face, only for her to stare in horror.

No…

No… No…! No!

She cried out in horror at the blood covering her hands and as much as she wanted to get rid of it her body didn't want to cooperate. Silvia felt more hands grab her and she began panicking anew at seeing more people covered in blood all around her, all staring at her as they approached. She frantically struggled to get away from the ones that already grabbed her, but more replaced them as they latched onto her and covered her in more blood. The screaming and gunshots got louder and louder as this continued until it was all she could hear; not even her own screaming could be heard over the deafening noise!

She couldn't get away! She was trapped and covered in so much blood! So much blood!

Suddenly one of the bloody people wrapped their arms around her and she started screaming again seeing as she couldn't get free no matter what she did. It turned out the more she struggled the tighter their hold got to the point that she had difficulty moving her arms. The person started bringing their face close to the left side of her head and she began fearing that they were going to do something to cause her harm.

No! NO!

"Snap out of it, Silvia!"

Silvia gasped when she suddenly found herself staring into a pair of familiar brown eyes. As she realized who it was she suddenly broke down, clinging desperately to him as she cried into his chest. She could feel his arms wrapping around her trembling form, holding her close in an attempt to give her comfort.

She could still remember the nightmare vividly.

However, she knew that it wasn't a nightmare.

Everything she'd seen had actually happened before she came here, she just knew it.

"I remember..." She whispered. "I remember…!"

"What do you remember, Silvia?" Kili quietly asked. "Tell me."

"My stepmother. She…she tried to kill me. So many people died because she was trying to shoot me… It's my fault they're dead!"

"It was just a nightmare you're remembering." He tried to reason with her.

"No, this was no nightmare." She pulled away in order to look at Kili. "This actually happened. It happened…before you all found me."

Kili was quiet upon hearing this and Silvia was worried what he might think of what she'd told him. He started guiding her back to where they had been sleeping and she could hear some of the others murmuring to each other, possibly wondering what had happened, but neither of them answered their companions. Kili helped get Silvia settled on the ground before joining her, holding her close to him as he did.

"You're safe now, Silvia." He told her quietly. "Your stepmother can't hurt you and you're far away from her."

'If only you knew how right you were, Kili.' She thought.

After all, Emily was in a different world than this one.

ATE: Explanation Time!

(1) Kili's Missing Bow: When I was watching the movie closely I noticed Kili's bow was missing (as well as some of the Dwarves missing some things) and so I had to point that out in this chapter.

(2) Silvia Feeling Sick To Her Stomach: Believe it or not, when I first read The Hobbit I actually felt sick to my stomach along with a sense of dread when the Company was traveling through Mirkwood, and even as I reread/rewatch the movie I feel the same way. When I was typing up the script from the movie (thank god for subtitles!) I literally had to pause the movie because I felt that way. So I ended up letting Silvia feel that way, not only because I felt that way, but because I felt that with her being a Half-Elf, Mirkwood probably would've affected her in a way since she's getting more in tuned with the world of Middle Earth.

(3) Mirkwood's Environment: Aside from what the book and DOS shows us of what Mirkwood is like, I tried to imagine more detail to this and I did the best I could with describing what it was like. I guess I could imagine it being similar to a jungle, but I've never been in one, so how would I know? I also made it so that the Company has been in the forest for a few days as opposed to the many hours like the movie shows (Peter Jackson and his issues with time, lol).

(4) Lembas: Ever since Chapter 14 of SWIME I've been waiting for this part for Silvia to bring in the lembas she's been hoarding this whole time. Then again, Silvia has Ithilwen to thank for that. I could just imagine how skeptical the Dwarves would've been at the idea a small piece would be enough to keep them full.

(5) Silvia Getting Annoyed: Originally I hadn't planned for this to happen, but Silvia keeps surprising me as I continue to write this story. Then again, Mirkwood's having that effect on everyone so far.

(6) Silvia's Nightmare: I actually had this part written as far back as last year (though it was in a separate Word document as a concept), and I thought that having it in the chapter would show just how Mirkwood has been affecting Silvia.

Next chapter will be about giant spiders and Mirkwook Elves.

So what did you all think? Liked it? Hate it (though I greatly doubt this)? Please leave a review letting me know what you thought and I'll respond instantaneously (or as instantaneously as I can, but it'll be pretty quick)! ;D