Chapter 17

Leanna felt a gentle nudge on her shoulder and blinked the sleep out of her eyes. The elf who woke her up, gave her a soft smile.

"Good morning Lady Leanna, we are getting ready to ride out" Haelros said. He helped her up and left to handle other tasks. Leanna looked around the camp site and saw it was not even dawn yet. The campfire had already been put out and the elves who had packed up were ready to move out. Moving to her horse, she hopped on it and rode center as they had been doing since their departure.

It was quiet. During their journey Leanna kept to herself, refusing to speak to anyone. It wasn't that she chose to, but even if she wanted to, what could she talk about? The elves around her did not seem to understand her and she did not understand them. She sighed and looked up at the sky, the sun was high up in the sky, it was midday meaning it was almost time for lunch back at Dale.

She missed everyone at home already, but what was done, was done. Leanna was so deep in thought that she did not notice Haelros call out to her.

"My lady" Leanna turned her head to the side to see Haelros, smiling at her.

"Oh Hael"

"Did you have a good rest last night?"

"As well as I could I suppose" Leanna had slept quite well, she remembered the cloak and took it from her satchel. She looked up to Thranduil who was leading their company, his posture from the back was kingly as always. It was as though he was born to be king. She looked down to the cloak again, frowning slightly at the cloak.

"The Green Wood is not so far now, once we cross to the running river to the other side, we shall reach Las Galen by tomorrow" Haelros said noting the cloak she was holding but made no mention of it.

"What's it like? The Green Wood" Leanna asked, finally tucking the cloak back into her satchel.

"It is full of life and beauty. It is home to us woodland elves and has been for thousands of years…" Haelros began to tell her about their destination and Leanna, intrigued, listened to learn more about the home of the elves.

Thranduil continued to lead their company in silence and secretly paid attention to the conversation the woman was having with another elf. It was not much of a secret as they spoke clearly, he could hear well enough every detailed exchanged. He had chosen to look ahead, ignoring them entirely as he planned initially, ignoring her. His hunt last night had proven quite useless as there was nothing within area he could kill. It unnerved him how curious he was about the woman in his company.

They were moving at a fair pace and reached the river bank where a small bridge lay. Thranduil halted the company and Feran along with some of his warriors moved to scout the area across. Leanna jumped down from her horse to rest a bit.

She moved further down the river and proceeded to wash her face, neck and arms. They might be here a while though she did not understand why they needed to scout within their own territory since it was likely to be guarded by their men.

She returned back to her horse, securing the strap on her saddle and jumping on. The sun had begun to set when Feran and his scouts returned with no news to report. The road was clear. They continued on their journey entering into the forest in silence. The air was clearing out, the trees looking greener and more alive than ever.

The sickness that emitted from Dol Guldur had lifted from the forest and with it, all the evil that had plagued Thranduil's forest for decades. A burden that he had carried for a long time fell off his shoulders but he could not let his guard down, he had managed to keep his people alive and protect them as much as he possibly could from the dangers that were constantly threatening their existence.

With the sun down, they decided they would make camp close to the river. This time Haelros was sent with a group of scouts to ensure there was no danger within range of them. Thranduil gave further instructions that she could not understand but paid no mind to it. She massaged the base of her neck and winced slightly.

They had ridden a good long distance throughout the day and while she said nothing, her thighs ached deeply. She took a few gulps of water from her sac, rationing her supply as they had not yet reached their destination yet and she didn't expect or hope for the elves in her company to share theirs.

Feran after hearing his King's command nodded and approached the woman who was sitting on a large tree root inspecting the contents of her sac.

"My Lady" at the term, Leanna looked up expectantly at the elf in front of her, waiting for him to speak further.

"May I?" Feran offered his hand to her and waited. Leanna blinked at the gesture and looked at her sac before handing it over.

"Come, there is a hot spring not far from here, you can clean up there" Leanna blinked in further confusion. She turned around on instinct and was met with the gaze of Thranduil who watched her walk away and turned forward. She watched Feran's back and frowned, deciding it was best not to dwell on the situation too long.

Feran said nothing as he led her to the spring, he had noted her slight limp and intended to help her with a salve for her thighs, but it seems he was not the only one who noticed either. He listened to make sure she was close behind and wondered what she had done or what Thranduil wanted with her, his actions not at all making sense. But what was strange was the careful attention he was giving her.

Feran had half expected the King to ignore her during this journey. He looked back at her and noted she was using her hands to help her see and walk better in the dark. She was a stubborn and prideful human, not asking for help or showing her pain, perhaps she could handle whatever Thranduil planned for her.

The hot spring was quite small but was still perfect for her to soak her sore body in. She waited for Feran who unsheathed a long dagger and handed it to her. At this, Leanna arched her brow.

"For your protection…the scouts have yet to return and while there is no sign of danger around, it is good to be prepared, just in case" Feran said as though stating the obvious. Leanna accepted the dagger and said nothing. As Feran walked back Leanna chuckled, she kept the dagger at the edge of the pool and undressed, the elf seemed to forget that she really could handle herself in the case of any impending danger but decided she'd put his mind at ease.

She dipped her toe in and noted the water was hot enough. Without haste, she sunk into the water and sighed, closing her eyes as she relished the relief flowing into her tired body and began to wash up.

!

!

They had ridden without incident which was in Thranduil's opinion, a thing of relief. The scouts returned an hour later and gave their reports. The path was clear, there were no sign of orcs but he had another thing to consider which posed an even greater problem than orcs.

Boots were heard crunching through twigs and dead leaves and Thranduil turned to look at the woman who had returned to their camp. Her posture was less burdened now and she seemed more relaxed, the hot spring serving its purpose. He went ahead with no inclination towards her and stood watch with the rest of his company.

Leanna felt refreshed from her bath and her mood grew much lighter. She had never thought a hot bath the most wondrous thing until now, and was all the more glad such things existed now. She sat by the small fire, warming herself up against the dank air that filled the forest. Haelros had returned with the other scouts and sat by next to her.

"Here" He offered her a thick and white wafer. Leanna took it and frowned at it.

"What is it?" she asked, turning it over to inspect it further.

"It is Lembas, elvish waybread" Haelros chuckled at the look of doubt she gave him and held his own."A small bite is enough to fill the belly of a grown man" He said before taking a bite.

Leanna brought it to her lips, biting and breaking off the edge of the tip gently, she rolled the bit of bread in her mouth before chewing. She took another bite, realizing it didn't taste terrible and was rather quite sweet. Finishing the rest of her dinner, she dusted the crumbs off her finger and remained quiet, looking at the fire.

"You should get some rest, tomorrow we shall reach the palace and will not be stopping for rest" Haelros said.

"Alright, goodnight then" Leanna said rising from her spot and retrieving her cloak to lie down. She opened her satchel on stopped when she saw the other cloak…Thranduil's cloak, she turned to the direction he was in and could only see his back facing the fire. Not thinking anymore of it, she took the cloak and spread it on the floor before drifting off to sleep.

Leanna felt a nudge on her shoulder and blinked her eyes open, the elf that awoke her was a different one this time, his face colder as he spoke pointing to the others who were packing up. She jumped up to her feet, looking around, it was still dark, the forest too thick to determine if daylight had broken through. She took her horses reigns and moved to join the others.

Feran walked over to her and extended her water sac to her. Leanna took the sac and realized it was full.

"Thank you" she said to him, surprised he had done this for her. Truthfully she had completely forgotten about her sac. She took and tucked it on her waist belt.

"By the way, here" She retrieved the dagger he had given to her from her horse and gave it to him.

"You may return it later when we reach the palace, but for now you may still have need of it" Feran said pushing the dagger back to her. Leanna nodded wondering what other troubles they would face but decided not to ask.

"What happens now?" Leanna asked, completely clueless on the direction they would take.

"We are heading down south, to the castle" Feran then turned to issue an order to others, Thranduil already on his elk, waited for the others to file into position before he began to move.

Leanna got on her horse and moved to her usual position. As they moved, the forest got a little lighter and while sunlight could not break through the thick foliage, she could see much better than before, which was a relief to her.

They had been travelling for a day and in total silence, Leanna took time to look around her, the forest seeming quite gloomy compared to the description Haelros had given her. She snapped out of thought when Thranduil halted immediately and they all drew the bows and arrows.

Leanna was on high alert. She noticed their gazes were fixed up in the trees and not on the ground. She frowned looking up to the trees, what were they looking at? She had yet to see anything.

The forest being deathly silent, the only sounds that she could hear were her own breathing.

Then she heard it, a light growl that sounded like large pincers knocking together. Thranduil shouted out an order and immediately the elves around her tightened the circle around her. An elf released an arrow and a squeal was heard. The ground shook as the creature fell from the trees dead. It was the biggest spider Leanna had ever seen in her life. The ugly menacing creature caused a chill in her blood.

More descended from the trees and the elves around her began to engage them, firing and slashing as they moved around her. Thranduil had taken care of the others attacking from the front when a spider crept from behind him, Leanna acting on reflex shot her hand out and ice impaled the beast as it crumbled to the ground.

Thranduil looked at the spider before looking to her. He kept his gaze steady and turned to his body towards her direction, slashing swiftly behind him as he walked, as though to say he did not need her assistance. The fight had ended quickly as Thranduil and his warriors made quick work of their foes within the hour.

"Are you alright my lady?" Haelros asked her, his eyes moving about her to check for any injuries.

"Yes-Yes I'm fine…those were-"

"-Spiders. Aye the Greenwood has been plagued by them for some time but do not worry, you are safe with us" Haelros said to comfort her. She was obviously trembling at the sight of such foul creatures, which was understandable as such an evil did not plague the world of men like it did their homelands.

Thranduil walked to Feran who gave his report on the attack. Gathering from the attack and the number of spiders, he surmised there was nest nearby.

" How many?" Thranduil asked,

" Nine Aran'nin" Feran responded,

" Take some of the warriors here, find the nest and destroy it. The woman will ride in my company back to the palace" Thranduil said before steering his elk towards the direction of the palace. The captain had given out some orders and some of the elves around her left to follow him. Confused, Leanna looked around wondering what was happening.

"If you are quite finished with your gawking, we leave now" Thranduil said as he slanted his ice blue eyes to her in irritation. His ego still bruised from earlier. Leanna kept the bile from rising up further and moved her horse behind Thranduil, next to the elves that had chosen to remain with them. Haelros followed from behind her as part of the rear guard.

She was silent on the way, her mind still dazed from the events that just happened. Trying to shake off her trembling, she focused on the road ahead with Thranduil leading the way. However, try as she might the memory of those hideous creatures would be in her mind for the longest time.

Leanna looked over to Thranduil, watching his back as they rode in silence. Knowing fully that she knew nothing of this world, the truth of this was becoming more and more evident. She had to find out more, learn more or in the end she would risk giving away her own secret, the truth about everything.

They stay on path and in the short distance Leanna could see it, giant gates with patrols stationed at the end of the bridge. They had arrived at last to the Greenwood, home of the elves.