Thank you monkeybaby! :)
Chapter 29: Catching up
For several hours the two women rode swiftly among the trees. Allie was glad that Tauriel was there to guide her through this accursed forest so that they didn't end up getting lost, because she surely would've if she had been here all alone. Tauriel was born in these woods so it was no surprise that she knew her way around well.
The sky was getting darker by the time that they had left Mirkwood behind them and had reached the Forest River. Tauriel signed for them to halt and got off her horse. Allie quickly followed her example, wondering why she had stopped here.
As she observed the ground she saw the different colors of blood. The blood was too dark to belong to a dwarf, nor did it belong to an elf. And from the bodies that lay scattered on the ground she knew enough.
"There has been a fight here," Tauriel informed her. She had picked up an arrow from the ground which confirmed her observation.
"Orcs," Allie said gravely. "There has been a lot of bloodshed."
"It doesn't look like any of your dwarves have been injured," Tauriel replied. "There is no blood of them here."
Allie bit her cheek. "So you're indicating that they managed to escape?"
"It sure looks like it. Had any of them died here or would've been wounded we would've seen it. There's just no sign of it here."
Allie let out a deep breath. It was wonderful to hear that the dwarves had gotten away. They were probably on their way towards Lake Town. She prayed that none of them were actually injured or hurt.
"And what about the orcs? From how the old the blood is I can tell that they haven't been here for hours," Allie figured as she took a closer look.
"It's possible that they're following the dwarves," Tauriel responded thoughtfully. "We can't be too sure. All that we know is that neither parties are here and have moved on elsewhere."
"Then we need to move on as well," Allie said.
They got back in the saddle and continued to ride on for a little while. Eventually it became too dark for them to see anything so they set up a small encampment under a hanging tree. They ate some of the food from Allie's back.
"I'll leave you at first light," Tauriel told her.
Allie looked up. "Then already?"
"Yes, I have some other business that I need to attend. Besides we've already made it out of Mirkwood and that was as far as I would go."
That meant Allie had to continue the rest of the way by herself and that wasn't a very positive thought, especially not with a group of orc roaming the shores. It wasn't something that gave her some reassurance.
Bilbo let out an expressed sigh as the company kept marching down the shores of the river. He had no idea for how long they had been walking exactly, but he could feel the blisters on his feet which wasn't a good sign.
Earlier this day the company had come ashore somewhere and they were all unharmed. Bilbo had worried himself sick back there on the river shore when they had been ambushed by orcs. None of the dwarves were armed, except Fili who had managed to sneak some daggers into Mirkwood without the elves seeing them. He had shared those with some of the dwarves, and they had just used those to fight off those orcs. At the moment they were not in trouble. They had made it out of Mirkwood and were getting closer towards their destination.
"I'm sad that Allie isn't here," Kili said, breaking the silence.
"Me too. She would've known how to lift everyone's spirit," Fili added.
Bilbo knew they were right. Allie always knew exactly what to say to reassure people and that was something that the company needed at this very moment. His thought sure lingered to Allie and he hoped that she was still holding on there. Bilbo couldn't help but feel guilty for leaving Allie behind and it was slightly eating him alive.
"I can't believe that she gave us a chance of escaping," Nori said.
"We surely wouldn't have made it out without her," Balin responded.
Occasionally Bilbo's gaze flicked to Thorin and he could see how much the dwarf was struggling with the fact that Allie wasn't there. He was in a very foul mood when he found out that Allie wouldn't be joining them during their escape and that she would stay with the elves instead, for their sakes. He hadn't said a word about it to everyone, but they could see that it was affecting him badly.
"What do you think Allie will be doing right now?" Ori questioned.
"By now she definitely knows that we've escaped," Bilbo said honestly. "It's possible that Thranduil will be questioning her about it, making sure where her loyalties lie."
"But if he knows that she's loyal to us then he won't be happy," Dori chimed in. "He could throw her in the dungeons for betrayal or something"
Bilbo's breath hitched. He sure hoped that wasn't the case. He couldn't imagine poor Allie sitting there all by herself in a dungeon with the people that she cared about miles and miles away from her.
He could still feel her kiss lingering on his lips from when she had said good bye to him. Thinking about how wonderful that had felt caused him to blush and he hoped none of the dwarves could see it. Fortunately they were all busy with shivering from the river to pay any attention to the hobbit.
"I'm sure that she's doing alright. She's a tough one." Balin tried to stay optimistic.
Bilbo knew that to be true. He had never come across a woman as fierce as Allie who wasn't scared to fight for what she thought was right. There wasn't a hobbit lass in the Shire who would've done what she had done. Allie was a spark waiting to be ignited. Bilbo wasn't used to a woman not needing any aid. Allie was able to fight her own battles and she was very good at it.
"Are we getting closer?" Oin questioned impatiently. His hearing-trumpet had been damaged and flattened by goblins in the Misty Mountains and he was having some difficulty to hear through it.
"Yes, we're nearing Lake-Town," Dwalin answered grumbling.
That sounded too good to be true and some of the dwarves sighed at the thought of being able to get some proper rest and food in this town. Even Bilbo felt his spirits lift at the mention of getting closer to their next destination.
Allie had spent the largest part of the night keeping guard to make sure that none of the orcs would sneak up on them, but nothing had happened during the night. She was even able to catch a few hours of sleep and she felt somewhat refreshed because of it. For now it would be enough to keep her going.
She had washed her face with the cold water from the river to make her feel extra awake. It didnt seem to be working, but there was no time to waste. Allie had to keep going if she wanted to catch up with the Company.
"Have you ever been in love?" Allie asked with great interest as she faced Tauriel.
The elf looked a bit alarmed by her question. She was stuffing a dagger into its sheath as she looked down at Allie. "I've lived in this world for six-hundred years, but I've never been fortunate to share such feelings for someone," Tauriel enlightened her and there was a certain sadness in her eyes. "How about you?" She noticed the slight grin on Allie's face. "There is someone in your life, isn't there? I can tell that there is."
Allie felt a bit foolish that her face was giving her away so easily. Perhaps her love for Bilbo was pretty much written on her forehead and everyone could read it. "Y-yes, there is someone," she said.
"Who is he then?"
"No one that you know," Allie said and she wasn't lying. She had never met Bilbo after all and probably never would.
"Does he make you happy, perian?" Tauriel wondered.
Within a heartbeat Allie knew the answer to that and she couldn't get that grin from her face. Even during the short time that she had gotten to know Bilbo she cherished every moment that they had shared. Bilbo was someone who knew how to ignite something deep inside her very core. He was the first one who was able to make her skin tingle by simply giving her one of those loving looks. Allie knew that she wanted to make so many wonderful memories with Bilbo. "He does make me happy," Allie affirmed cheerfully.
At that Tauriel flashed a generous smile. "Then don't let go off him, perian. Happiness is something that's worth fighting for."
"I don't want to let go off him," Allie clarified. "He's very dear to me and he seems to care for me as much as I do for him. Just being around him caused my heart to flutter and I'm happy."
"Then he's the real thing," Tauriel said. "Many people search their whole lives for that happiness and you've found it, Allie." Tauriel then headed towards her horse and mounted it. The captain of the elven guard needed to head back to Mirkwood. "You can send back the horse whenever she has served her purpose. She knows the way back to Mirkwood."
Allie looked up at Tauriel. "I'll do that. Thank you for everything, but mostly for being a friend. You were some nice company in these dark woods."
"May the sun shine wherever the road takes you," Tauriel said fondly. "Good luck with whatever it is you're trying to achieve."
Allie laughed merrily. "Demup telek menu," she said in Khuzdul. "It means that honor acts through you. I also want to say, Tak natu yenet. That simply means, until our next meeting."
Tauriel chuckled as she kicked her horse into a canter and rode back towards the east, following the path back to Mirkwood. Allie watched her until she was out of view and realized that a part of her hoped that she would see the elf again someday. She had been very pleasant company.
Allie mounted her own horse, petting Cúthalion's strong neck. "Are we ready to catch up with a bunch of dwarves?" she asked the mare, hearing her whinny excitedly. She urged Cúthalion into a gallop and rode alongside the river.
Since the company had a head start Allie wasn't sure how close they already were to Lake-Town. For all that she knew they could already be there. Nonetheless Allie would have to follow the river because that was would lead her to Lake-Town and it was very possible for her to catch up with them before that.
Therefore Allie simply kept riding alongside the river and kept a close eye out for orcs. She had no idea if they were near, but since she had seen that they had fought with the dwarves she didn't feel reassured at all. She kept looking over her shoulder to make sure that she wasn't being followed.
After a few hours Allie noticed the tracks on the river bank and came to a halt. She dismounted Cúthalion so that she could take a close look at the tracks in the muddy ground and examined them. There were tracks that belonged to different races. Allie could tell that there were some that belonged to the dwarves, indicating that they had been there. There also were some larger footprints that made her throat go dry. These belonged to orcs...
From the condition and the freshness of the print Allie knew that these were very recent. That meant that the orcs were quite closely behind the dwarves. Back in Mirkwood the dwarves had been robbed of their weapons and since they had escaped they had never gotten them back. They were unharmed and they would never stand a chance against a couple of orcs.
With that knowledge Allie quickly mounted Cúthalion and grabbed hold of the mare's reins. She urged Cúthalion into a swift gallop. She had to follow the trail to make sure that the orcs hadn't caught up with the dwarves yet. She prayed to the Valar that wasn't the case and that she was still on time.
Cúthalion was riding as rapidly as she could and because the horse was too big, Allie was shifted somewhat in the saddle. That didn't bother her at all, because she was too focused to follow the trail and not to lose speed. She would never forgive herself if she would arrive there too late.
The trail went on for a severely long time, but after a while the footprints ended. There were none of the dwarves or the orcs and Allie felt a pit of anxiety growing inside her stomach. She dismounted Cúthalion once more to have a closer look and came to the realization that the orcs stood gathered near the river. From where Allie was standing amongst the trees they couldn't possibly see her.
There were three orcs that were saying things to each other in the Black Speech and then moved forwards. Allie noticed that they were closing in on something that sat near the river shore. As she got a better look she saw that it was her father and his company. They were resting on boulders, unaware of the danger that was getting closer. This was her chance to stop them before it would be too late.
Allie placed an arrow in her bow and immediately fired it, hitting the largest orc in its neck and it fell dead on the ground. The other two now were aware of her presence and growled as they rushed towards her. Allie released another arrow, which hit one of them in its flanks. She then grabbed hold of her daggers and used it to slash at the orcs. One of the orcs proved to be quite of a hassle and she had to fight him and his sword for nearly half a minute before he too collapsed death on the ground.
She looked at their lifeless bodies and assumed that Azog must've sent them after the company. The orc leader surely wanted his revenge on Thorin since he had escaped at the Misty Mountains. This was a fight that would go on endlessly and would only end whenever one of them would be death.
"Allie!" a familiar voice shouted.
Allie turned her head and saw that the entire company was watching her and had seen her fight off those orcs on her own. Knowing that they were all unharmed she exhaled in relief.
