It's been a long time since I've updated. Sorry. Here is a new chapter for you, and hopefully more to come soon.

The next morning came way too soon for Cara's taste. Her night had passed slowly, cuddled up to Thranduil, restlessly in and out of sleep. Most of the time she had listened to the waves or watching Thranduil, who didn't seem to have the same problem as her. He had been fast asleep all night. When she had fallen asleep for a short while she had woken up sweaty from very unpleasant dreams. Dreams about orcs, or doctors poking her with needles against her will.

When the first rays of sunlight crept over the horizon, she gave up completely, wrapped herself in the duvet and went out on the terrace where she sat until she heard Thranduil's voice behind her.

"Trouble sleeping?" He wrapped his arms around Cara's shoulders and kissed her on her neck.

She nodded and leaned closer to him.

"Why didn't you wake me up? I could have helped you…" He reached up to run his tongue along her ear, and his hand went up to cup her left breast under the duvet. Sadly, it didn't have the usual effect on her.

"Not out here. The kids might see us." She whispered in a more annoyed tone than she originally intended.

Thranduil sighed and sat down in a chair next to her..

"I'm sorry. I'm just really nervous for the journey to Valmar, and I'm really tired." She said half to herself.

Thranduil nodded, but remained quiet for a while looking at her curled up in her chair. Around them the birds were singing like it was just any other day and in the distance they could both hear the children playing down on the beach.

"I understand." Thranduil finally said. "You know I'll protect you.."

"Yes, I know you will. But still we never know what might happen. I'll still go with you though. I'm just not looking forward to it."

Thranduil nodded.

The first few days of their journey to Valmar passed by without any incident. In fact Cara rather enjoyed watching the beautiful landscapes of Tol Eressea pass them by and the weather was lovely and sunny. She was not used to riding though, and when they rested for the night her whole body was sore. Thranduil, however assured her that the soreness would pass once her muscles got used to riding. She really hoped he was right. God, how she missed her car!

The journey over to the mainland on the boat also went somewhat well, besides that the ship was packed with people. She and Thranduil had to share a small cabin with Another couple and there was no privacy at all. For the first time Cara also noticed how much she really stood out. Many times the elves stopped and stared at her. Occasionally she got questions and comments out of the blue from other passengers about her being half human. Most of the time she recognized that people were only curious, but the term half-breed irked her somewhat.

As for Thranduil, it was pretty clear quite a few of the passengers on the ship recognized him, most probably from the lovely little book about him that was circulating. A few people looked at him in disgust, but thankfully no one made any remark. Probably the two swords strapped to his belt most of the time had something to do with it, Cara mused.

And then there was this one woman who clearly was checking Thranduil out, and even flirting with him openly. Not everyone was apparently a prude in Valinor. The dark haired elleth was obviously hungry for Thranduil's cock.. Stupid skank. Cara was familiar with women like her and she was not intimidated. Thranduil was clearly not interested either. The whole situation was quite awkward though, to say the least, and when Cara spotted the coast in the distance she could not be happier.

"Finally.." Cara sighed when they were on land along with their horses and belongings.

"We must continue on as quickly as possible. There is an inn in a village that we should reach in early afternoon." Thranduil stated as he helped Cara up in the saddle. And she nodded in agreement. The nice and sunny weather was gone and replaced by thick, dark Clouds looming in the sky. She sincerely hoped the rain would wait for them to reach the inn before it started falling.

They reached the village as the first raindrops started falling. Cara could hear thunder in the distance and the wind was starting to build up to a storm. Thranduil had explained to her that this kind of weather was not the norm in Valinor. It had only occured after the orc attacks. It didn't bode well. Cara shivered. The village was a small cluster of white houses with well kept gardens, and a short main street with two shops and the inn, The White Stallion. Now the street was empty, not a single elf in sight. Cara pulled her cape closer around her body. Suddenly it was a bit chilly. Thranduil knocked on the inn's heavy wooden door, and it took a while before a tall, skinny and pale elleth opened the door.

"We are looking for a room.." The elleth stared at Thranduil with an expression of disgust on her face.

"There is no room for your kind here.." She simply stated. Her slightly nasal voice dripping with contempt.

"Pardon?" Cara said.

"I have gold enough to buy this whole inn, if needed. There is a storm coming, and if the inn is full we can sleep in the stables." Thranduil was visibly annoyed, but the elleth started closing the door.

"This is not a place for the perverted and morally corrupt, Thranduil Oropherion. And not for their half breed whores either. This is an establishment with class. I know who you are, and you are not welcome."

The elleth slammed the door shut. Thranduil looked dumbfounded.

"Fuck you, you stupid cunt!" Cara showed the door her middle finger, although the elleth probably had no idea what that gesture meant. The rain started falling steadily around them.

"We have to continue. I'm sorry Cara." Thranduil looked genuinely worried as he leaned in and kissed her on her forehead. "Maybe if we are lucky we will reach the next village before nightfall."

"And if they don't take us either? What if there is an orc attack coming?" Cara shivered.

"We can only hope for the best. Come on, let's get going."

They rode for two more hours and the rain kept pouring down, soaking their clothes and turning the road into a muddy mess. Each minute that passed their pace seemed to slow down, and the horses seemed ill at ease. There was not a single house in sight and Cara was shivering. The only positive thing was that the thunderstorm seemed far away inland.

"We need to seek shelter under some trees at least. We have to wait until the storm passes." Thranduil shouted at Cara and pointed towards a dense part of the forest. It looked anything but inviting, but she guessed he was right. The thunder and lightening were far away, and it would probably be reasonably safe to stay under the trees. Sleeping outside in the rain was not something she looked forward to though.

They tied the horses under a huge old oak, and found shelter near the tree trunk in a spot that was almost dry. Almost.

"Well, I suppose it could be worse." Cara stated and leaned against the tree trunk, she was shivering in her wet clothes.

"I'll see if there is something dry for you to wear in the saddlebags."

She nodded, but suddenly she could hear a strange noise in the woods. It sounded like a wolf howling. Thranduil had also picked up the sound, and turned around, his swords already in his hands.

"Keep close to the tree!" He shouted as the barking and howling grew closer. Cara grabbed a small knife she had strapped to her belt. Her heart was beating like a drum in her breast.

"Shit! It's a pack of wolves, isn't it?" Her voice was high pitched and shaking.

"No, much worse. Wargs."

"What.." Cara didn't have time to say anything more as she could see the grotesque face of one of their attackers. Sharp yellow fangs in a huge drooling mouth, shaggy fur and evil red eyes. She screamed and a millisecond later she was sprayed with hot black blood. She lost grip of her knife, and it flew in a wide arch into the forest. She stumbled, and fell back against the tree trunk,hitting her back hard. It hurt like hell, and for a short moment she was out of breath. In front of her, she could see Thranduil fighting for his life against the Three remaining beasts. She had never seen anyone move like him before, like a dancer with two swords. Yet, it was not enough. Somewhere deep inside her mind a voice was screaming: This is it, we are going to die!

She probably blacked out after that, because when she looked up again Thranduil's face was hovering above her. Part of his long hair was drenched in black blood and he had a bleeding cut on his left cheek. He looked at her with a worried expression on his face.

"Cara, can you hear me." He spoke slowly.

She simply nodded.

"She might have a mild concussion. I'm no healer though." She heard another, unfamiliar voice say.

Then a second person appeared in front of her. It was clearly an elf, with very long golden blond hair, and curiously enough a long beard, braided and adorned with gold beads. She frowned. She was pretty sure she'd heard that male elves didn't grow beards. The bearded one smiled at her and Thranduil leaned in to inspect the back of Cara's head..

"I'm ok, I guess. I didn't hit my head. But my back hurts like hell.." She finally said, her voice sounded as weak as she felt at the moment.

"That's a good thing, at least. Now try to move your arms and legs." Thranduil said, and Cara did as he asked. Her body was hurting badly, but everything seemed to work properly. She sighed with relief, and she noticed that the rain had stopped falling around them. Thranduil helped her up on her feet and she immediately closed her eyes when she saw the dead creatures and the blood around her. The stench of blood was overwhelming, and she felt like her insides were turning inside out. Both her and Thranduil were partly covered in blood. The bearded one put down his bow and looked for something in one of his pockets. He opened a small silver flask and gave it to Cara.

"This will make you feel better." He said and Cara drank greedily. It was probably the strongest alcohol she'd ever tasted, and it burned its way down her throat tasting like Jägermeister on steroids.

"Let's go. You and your wife needs somewhere to sleep tonight. It is not safe out here."

"She is not my wife, but the offer is appreciated." Thranduil stated rather bluntly, and for some reason his words cut deep into her heart. She swallowed. How silly was she? Of course she wasn't his wife. They were sleeping together and enjoyed hanging out. That was it, exactly the way she liked it.

The other elf nodded and flashed his teeth in a smile that was hard to decipher.

One of the horses was gone, and the other one was scared and restless. Thranduil turned his back on them and tried to calm the animal down. The bearded elf gave the flask back to Cara, who took another gulp.

"You saved us didn't you?" She then asked him, and he smiled again.

"Nah. Your friend here seemed to have the situation more or less under Control. He is an impressive warrior. I merely helped out a bit with a few arrows. My name is Dior by the way."

"Cara." She said and returned the flask.

"An unusual name." Dior put the flask back in his pocket.

"I'm not from around here. But thank you for helping us out." The elf nodded.

Thranduil came back with the horse, who seemed calmer now. Without a word he grabbed Cara by the waist and lifted her up in the saddle. Cara's back was still sore and her back was hurting even if the alcohol had dulled the pain a bit. Suddenly she felt a bit groggy and had to hold on to the saddle firmly not to fall off as Thranduil lead the horse through the woods. She paid little attention to what Thranduil and the other elf were doing until they reached a clearing with a small white house and a barn.

"Welcome to my humble home!" Dior said as Thranduil lifted Cara down from the horse. Cara gave him a weak smile, as Thranduil lead her inside the small cottage.