She awoke to complete darkness again, feeling disoriented in the room. Inside this prison, it was hard to know whether it was day or night outside. And with the concussion she had suffered, being in and out of sleep, she couldn't even tell how long she had been held in this god forsaken place either.

The candle that Lord Thranduil's son left for her had completely burnt itself out, but she had also consumed the meal that had been left for her. He was right, it was not very nice at all, but it was also the only meal she had since that awful dinner with Thorin before she was captured, and for that she was grateful. A slight pang of sadness came over her when she thought about that night. If she had just let him drive her home, then perhaps none of this would even be happening.

And now Thorin was going to fight a vampire, possibly to the death; which, knowing her luck, would mean Thorin would be killed, and she would never leave these woods alive anyway!

It then upset her more, knowing that someone had probably set this all up, to cause trouble for Erebor, and most likely pulled her into the thick of it all because she was starting to uncover the truth! But, none of it mattered anymore.

Lost in her own thoughts and confusion in the darkness, she barely heard the sounds outside the door.

Blind in the pitch black, she sat up and looked around, heart racing as the door opened.

"Get her up."

Faster than humanly possible, there were cold hands on her wrists and she was being lifted off the bed.

"She is to be kept intact – you hear me?!" A cold voice she didn't recognise hissed. "She not to be spoiled!"

Apparently they had untied her and before even her eyes could adjust to the light, she was being carried through a series of corridors and antechambers. Then, finally, they appeared to pause very briefly, while another joined them. Tall, lean and with pale blond hair; It was the Greenwood Lord's son.

"Is this it then?" She scrambled to look over to him.

"Is this what?"

"Am I going to be killed?"

"That's not quite how things are done around here." He turned to look at her, and then her guards, who were also her transport, and seemed to very subtly signal something, prompting them to get on the move once more. "No, we are to meet the Lord of Erebor. And hopefully for all our sakes he will return the jewels that belong to our house…"

He paused as they neared a clearing after a while.

"Or else there will be a duel between Lord Thorin and the Greenwood champion, chosen to defend you." He tilted his head to look over at her and then felt the creep of sadness over her fate. There she was restrained and carried by two of his fathers more vicious fighters and guards, as though he were a mere offering – an item of trade, for the wolves of Erebor. And yet it wouldn't matter who won. She was a mortal, and had the misfortune of setting foot in their lands. Her fate was sealed.

"Enough chit chat, girl." One of the men carrying her prodded her with a cold hand after dropping a chest he carried in his other hand. It's contents clanged as it hit the ground, as though it were filled with weapons of some sort. "Ere – take her. She's only a handful, you'll cope."

He pushed her fully over the shoulder of the other man, who snarled back, in an almost feral manner.

"I don't like the head end! It stinks…" he grumbled, a sour look on his strange, pale face.

"Thanks – I wouldn't stink if I could have showered. You don't exactly smell great yourself," she faced the man's middle, in a fireman's carry over his shoulder. He appeared to be armed with a dagger fitted around his waist in a leather scabbard, and his clothes looked like something from a goth shop, with leather, velvet and lace! "Why don't you just let me stand myself…?"

"Don't talk to her." The other man snapped back before disappearing through a line of trees in front of them.

"Wait – what do you mean by 'my champion'…? I don't want anyone to fight for me! I just want to go home!" Shobha suddenly twitched with realisation of what Lord Thranduil's son had said. "Is it one of these poor buggers, tasked with carrying me…?"

"You became our property when you crossed our boundary line. I simply don't understand how they failed to inform you this in Erebor!" He spoke hurriedly as of pacifying a child asking the same questions over and over, while opening the chest. Inside the ornate box lay several very nasty and sharp looking large daggers and short swords. They were tucked into straps on the inner red velvet cushioned lining. After briefly inspecting the weapons, he stood and appeared to stretch his neck, as if limbering up for a fight. "So we are merely defending what is now ours…"

She opened her mouth to object to the whole affair, still unable to grasp how both clans of people, could preserve and still use such archaic rules even now. But she was interrupted by the guard who had walked ahead a few minutes earlier.

"They're ready, my Lord."

"Thank you." Lord Thranduil's son nodded, a subtle but graceful movement, his long blond hair had been tied back today, along with his long leather jacket and trousers, it made him look a ruffled shirt short of a character from a weird Georgian drama! "As for that poor bugger tasked with defending you… that would be me."

And with that he walked ahead followed by the rest of them, as they all made their way through the tree line and into a clearing.

Finally, they set her down, to stand on her own. But her hands were still tied and her two guards stood directly behind her, so there was no chance of escape.

Gathered there was Lord Thranduil himself, the two men who brought her over, his son and the three Ereboreans. Thorin stood in the centre of his group, opposite them, with Dwalin and Fili flanking him, as if they expected a fight any moment. All three wore dark combat suits similar to the rest of the security team in Erebor, and appeared to be packing some serious weaponry themselves!

"Lord Thorin," Thranduil tipped his head. "As you can see I have held my end of the bargain… and what of yourselves? What news do you bring?"

"Lord Thranduil," Thorin addressed clenching and unclenching his fists at his side in an attempt to stay calm. "As expected - the search is quite futile, we have been through what we can access. But I have set the miners to work; it may take a month or so but that will allow a search of the buried part of the vault, from the cave in…"

"But you cannot be certain even then that you might find it within that time….?"

"The vaults beneath Erebor are enormous, but the sink hole which devoured it was unspeakably large; much of the vault and our wealth is lost there –" Thorin ground out, as Thranduil approached very slowly, his steps more like a predator stalking its prey than that of a man. But the Ereborean Lord held his ground not moving one bit, despite being a few inches shorter than Thranduil, who was strangely almost giant like in his height.

"I warned your grandfather of the consequences of his greed! And the price that would be paid by your people. Innocent people who deserved better –"

"You worry for my people now…! Where were you when our people were in need? We sent messages asking for aid during the disaster, when our innocents were starving and homeless – but you turned your back!" Thorin spat his words out, his disdain palpable. "We were left to dig out survivors practically with our bare hands, and care for the injured with no hospital! But you wanted payment before sending help – when we had no access to our wealth. You were even looking to offer us high interest loans in order to rob us blind, desperate in our hour of need!"

Thranduil took a step back as though THorin's words were a volley of bullets pelted at him.

"No! I would never trust Thranduil, Lord of Greenwood, to keep his word till the end of all days!" Thorin carried on. "You lack all honour! Talking of innocent people, and yet you take hostage the life of this innocent woman, just so that you might have an item to trade!"

Suddenly, his words appeared to incite a fire in the once cold Greenwood Lord's demeanour.

"Our people all roamed this land freely once, until you ancestors drove our people out. The laws regarding out land were agreed to – enough lives shed for it. And I obey these rules to the letter." Thranduil spoke equally impassioned at first. "It is you who happens to pick and choose, which laws and outsiders you agree with or otherwise."

He coldly glanced back at her, before continuing, his voice back to its cold callous tone once more.

"Our people have done nothing wrong. She was found within our boundaries. It is our common law – she belongs to us. But if you wish you would need to challenge our chosen champion..." Thranduil smirked and he turned to face her. "Lord Legolas."

There was something about the look on his face; a triumph, even before the two had started to fight, that troubled her. Almost as though, everyone involved knew or expected Thorin to lose!

"No please! Stop this madness! I never crossed the boundary of the woods on my own –" she screamed as Legolas stepped forward. Thorin had been a complete arse to her the last time they met, while Legolas had been somewhat kind to her since she had been here. She wanted neither to be hurt.

"Silence girl!" Thranduil grasped her arms stooping down so that he stared directly into her terrified warm, brown, doe eyes. She reminded him exactly of a terrified doe. He turned to look at Legolas who carried on forward, before returning to hold her gaze. He could see the rapid pulsations of her neck, feel the steady thrum of her heartbeat, and the scent of her fear mixed with that of her blood, was quite sufficient for any creature that possessed the same strength of senses as he did to be drawn in from miles around. While he and many others of higher status possessed perfect self control - and usually exercised it – there were many who did not. If the girl did not calm herself soon, they would find themselves surrounded by too many creatures that were the makings of nightmares! "There is a reason why outsiders of your kind that set foot in these woods do not leave it."

She made no movement to acknowledge his words, so he squeezed the soft flesh of her arms a little firmly to pull her attention back to him, from whatever part of her psyche she had disappeared off to.

"Keep quiet and DON'T ring the dinner bell!" He warned her. "Do you hear me? Do not announce yourself to all and sundry!"

Hearing his warning she shut her mouth for once, not wanting to invite more trouble.

Her eyes were now drawn to the scene unfolding ahead. It appeared Legolas and Thorin each had chosen a weapon and were squaring up to fight, the former having chosen a large, broad dagger and the latter having chosen some sort of short sword. Both weapons gleamed in the moonlight that filtered through into the clearing, but the woods surrounding this remained under the darkness of the thick canopy above.

Shobha took another step back, a subconscious attempt to distance herself from the violence. She had seen enough of what knives could inflict on the human body during her time training back in London, and had no desire to be tending to the wounds of these idiots looking to uphold some outdated custom! But her frame was promptly halted by the large, cold, leather-clad frame of one of the guards that carried her here. He didn't look at her, but it was clear he had stepped in on purpose. It mattered not anyway, she had no true means of escape, if what Thranduil warned her about was indeed true.

Legolas made the first move, at inhumanly fast pace. But Thorin, merely blocked him, as he appeared to leap up and over the Ereborean to land behind him, where his next attempt at striking Thorin was also blocked.

Once again they turned to face each other, Thorin swirling his sword above his head to block Legolas, before kicking him in return firmly, causing the tall blond fighter to grunt, as he was unable to dodge out of the way in time.

They carried on like that for quite a while.

She could only imagine they were both feeling exhausted, although neither appeared to have even broken into a sweat! The woods around them seemed to have fallen silent also, not even the chirp of an insect could be heard. It was as though everyone held their breath until the fight was over.

Suddenly, Legolas spun around, his blade almost connecting with Thorin's arm as he moved in the nick of time, making Shobha gasp instinctively. A noise he subconsciously took delight in, believing she must have cared for him to be worried so. That split second lapse in concentration was sufficient distraction for Legolas to disarm him, the short sword flying off to a side of the clearing, as she watched on, her stomach now in her mouth and her hands covering it, so that she would muffle any more inadvertent noise that might have escaped her!

It appeared to have spurred Thorin on, after ducking and manoeuvring around several swipes of Legolas' dagger, he caught the tall fighter's wrist in a tight grip, and briefly the two were locked in a struggle. Until out of the blue Thorin seemed to use the force Legolas had exerted to swing him around, disarm him and hold the weapon to the base of his throat.

"It's over now – release her…" he growled at Thranduil, holding Legolas in place under the blade of his dagger. "NOW!"

He two men who stood by her, paused at first and looked to their leader. Upon a subtle nod from Thranduil, they shoved her forward.

Not expecting the sudden force, she stumbled forward and fell onto her hands and knees, managing only to keep her face up by using her forearms to cushion herself with her hands tied.

"Are ya alright lass?"

She was grateful to hear Dwalin's familiar gravelly voice as he pulled her up to stand. Having been almost certain to end up as a 'vampire-happy-meal', seeing the burley chief of security was a positively delightful experience!

"Have they hurt ya?" He moved quickly to sever her ties with a rather large looking knife, before looking up at her face again.

Tearful and unable to offer up a reply, she merely shook her head and then threw her arms around his broad chest in a tight hug, which he returned for a moment.

"There, there, now lass," he pulled away to look into her face again. "Listen, we aren't out of trouble yet… you need to get ready – because we are going to run. Do you understand?"

"… Ok…" she nodded, uncertain of what he meant.

"That prick isn't wrong. There are all sorts of beasties that lurk in these woods… and there's only three of us to protect ya. So I need ta know now if ya can't run…"

"I can run…"

"Good." He pulled her towards the edge of the clearing where Fili waited for them.

"Go! NOW! Get her out of here!" Thorin yelled, eyes fixed on his target, as he still held Legolas at knifepoint.

"It matters not - The girl cannot leave – our agreement was for an exchange. None has taken place…" Thranduil uttered coldly, as Thorin growled in response. "You may escape us here, but I shall not call off the Ulairi…"

Without warning she was pulled along and into the dense woodland.

"Run lass! Run!"

There was little more she could hear now other than the loud beating of her heart, her footsteps and the sound of her own breathing.

She had started off holding on to Dwalin's hand as he had pulled her along, but she had let go somewhere along the way. Stumbling over roots that had worked their way out of the soil in places, and avoiding the twisting branches that poked out, scratching and tearing at her skin, the very trees seemed to come alive attempting to stop her from leaving this cursed place.

Still continuing to run, she had soon realised she had no idea where she was going and could no longer even see Dwalin or Fili to know whether she was even travelling in the right direction. And the density of the trees meant she had no directional clues. She couldn't even tell whether it was day or night!

"Ah!"

She was pulled to a halt by a wayward branch that had caught her sleeve. Looking down at her arm, the material was torn, and her skin stung where the thorns had grazed her.

Pulling herself off the thorny branch, she paused to catch her breath, careful to keep her breathing sounds as quiet as possible, even though her lungs screamed for more.

At first the dead silence that hung in the place seemed to persist, apparently even the insects didn't dare make any noise there. And then she could hear it… quiet movements through the thicket.

Hoping it was either Fili or Dwalin, but not daring to speak out loud she slowly turned.

Backing up in the opposite direction to the noise, at first a tall woman came into view. Ghostly pale, with almost white blonde, long limp hair and the palest grey eyes. She was dressed in similar clothes to everyone else. There was something attractive about her, in a feral sort of way. Her movements were unnaturally fluid, almost serpentine, but her expression was almost dead.

Shortly behind her was a man, who looked much like the male version of her!

"Erm… Fili…? Dwalin…" she spoke softly as she carried on backing away, not wanting to beak eye contact, as though they were predators. "… if you guys are around… Now's the time to come looking for me…."

Hearing her voice, the woman paused, tilting her head curious, a bit like a cat, her lips pulling tight into what resembled a smile, but not in any human way.

Taking several large steps back her face caught another thorny branch, cutting the skin over her temple.

"Oh God!" Shobha muttered as she felt a drop of blood trickle down.

The man behind the feral woman made an eerie hiss, and like a switch had gone off their expressions immediately changed, from the humanoid features to something much more primeval. Their eyes red, and their sharp, white teeth bared.

"God…?" The woman hissed mockingly. "Why do all you people call for him in your last hours?"

There was no further proof she needed, these things WERE vampires! She turned and ran, hoping the Twilight movies had got it wrong about their super strength and speed.

Alas, it seemed they were quite accurate as those things had stuck close behind. She imagined it was a bit of a sport for them to give her a fighting chance, for surely they could have caught her and ended it by now.

The trees were treacherous with their protruding roots and branches. Truly, they almost seemed to reach out to slow her down, as if to help her hunters. And she had clearly run off in a different direction to Dwalin and Fili, so couldn't expect help from them either.

Her chase was finally brought to an end with her falling over an old root that had formed a loop, a bit like a bear trap.

There was no more running.

But how could she fight them? She had no weapons. And even if she did, she wasn't sure they would be of any use against them.

Jumping back onto her feet, she looked around, backing up into a tree and feeling it jab at her, feeling trapped she watched the man lunge at her. Instinctively she moved aside and he landed chest first on the sharp pointed branch that stuck out of the tree behind her. Much to her horror, his entire body seemed to blacken and disintegrate, as if it were being cremated in front of her eyes.

The woman let out a howl as she stepped closer. Apparently, even her feelings of sorrow for the loss of the other vampire that was tied to her, were insufficient to over power her blood lust, for her eyes were firmly set on the cut bleeding on Shobhas temple. The trickle had grown with the blood pumping around her body after she had run.

The woman grabbed her, wrapping an icy, steel, hand around her throat and pinning her to the trunk of the tree as she widened her jaws.

Pushing her hands against the creature, with all her might, in a futile effort to keep her off she shut her eyes.

It seemed this was how she would die.

To her utter surprise the woman pulled away, so that when she opened her eyes she was confronted with the sight of her headless body. Behind the decapitated vampire stood the black werewolf, her head in its mouth momentarily before it spat the thing out as though it were the stone of a fruit. It landed somewhere to a side with a disgusting thud.

It stood on its hind legs growling, and pulled the headless body off her, and as she opened her mouth to scream, it's large hand covered her lips.

"Don't draw any more attention to yourself. I could smell your blood from the clearing!" It spoke in a deep, growly voice staring into her face. "Where are Dwalin and Fili?"

It stared into her face with its strange deep blue eyes, and the familiarity was unmistakable. He slowly lowered his hand, as if half anticipating that she would scream.

This was the beast that had stalked her that very first night. She was now almost certain. It was also the same she had dreamt about hunting her down, and violating her…

She reached out, her small hand touching its ferocious face.

"It's you…"

"Lass! We lost you…" They were interrupted by Dwalin and Fili, who behaved as though the giant werewolf that stood in front of her was completely invisible or a usual member of the family.

"Um…" she began.

"Never mind. Come on! This place is crawling with these foul inbreds!" Dwalin snapped, and then looked behind him as the sound of rustling grew from somewhere far behind.

"Get her out of here safely. I will hold them off." The werewolf commanded.

"Can ya manage…?" Dwalin glanced over at last, acknowledging the beast.

"Aye. But hurry!"

They were on the move again, as Dwalin pulled her along. This time Fili kept close behind. But it seemed the feral vampires had caught up to them. They kept up, despite being hacked down by the werewolf, or by Fili and Dwalin.

"Take her Fili. And don't stop until you cross the border." Dwalin yelled, and with a smooth exchange she found the young councilman dragging her along now. While to her utter horror, Dwalin who ran beside them seemed to undergo some terrible transformation; his spine curving, face elongating and fingers growing as he seemed to rip through his clothes and his very own skin as he metamorphosed into am enormous, biped wolf with deep mahogany coloured fur!

And with that, the vampiric creatures hunting them down suddenly disappeared as she carried on running with Fili. He was softer with her as he took care to call out every time there was a protruding root or branch so that she could avoid it.

Eventually, after what felt like an age, they had made it out of the tree line and into the surrounding fields in the darkness of the night.

He didn't stop though, leading her on a further distance. They carried on until she pulled her wrist out of his grasp, panting. Her lungs burning, aching for more air than she could afford to give during their chase.

"Please… I… need… to…" she gulped the air down between words, desperately.

Fili nodded turning to face the woods, as though keeping watch, while she bent over in an attempt to catch her breath.

"The car is parked at the edge of the road leading back to Erebor." He handed her the keys. "It's ten minutes behind you, just keep running straight. Get in and lock the doors…"

"What… no! I'm not leaving you and Dwalin – and where is Thorin –"

"We're not alone." He pushed her back, as if trying to urge her to get running again.

"Fili –"

He had always been gentle towards her. So when his demeanour changed, as he pushed her away again, she complied without question.

"Go to the car now!" He began pushing her before grunting out in pain through gritted teeth. A noise which turned within seconds into a growl, as he too appeared to begin tearing out of his skin and clothes to grow teeth and claws.

She ran as he chased after her. This time, with better visibility, thanks to the starlight, and with more even ground to run on, she was able to make good progress as she reached Thorin's SUV parked on the side of the road within no time.

She paused to find the right button on the fob to unlock the car, when she was knocked against the vehicle by the golden-furred werewolf.

"Fili! Please! It's just me…" she pleaded as it snarled and growled at her staring with a blank expression, only to be distracted by the chirping of the car as it unlocked and it's lights flashed was all the time she needed to quickly slip into the drivers seat and immediately lock the doors.

Outside, after an initial growl, Fili turned back in the direction of the woods before crouching low and snarling, with teeth bared. As if he was protecting a kill.

But within moments she spotted Dwalin and the other wolf in the distance, moving across the fields towards them.

The creatures of the woods had stopped chasing them after a certain distance from the tree-line, but there were several other dark shapes that were racing across the open expanse from afar, heading directly for them.

Within minutes Dwalin and the black wolf had neared the car.

The onyx wolf was clearly struggling, having sustained seemingly terrible injuries. It's black fur was matted with blood and dirt. It's skin was covered in gashes and cuts, as though it had been mauled by a pack of wild animals.

Instinctively she unlocked the door and tried to step out, so she could help, only to have the golden wolf turn and growl a warning at her. He too had spotted the other attackers bounding in and agitatedly paced around the car.

A bang against the car doors made her sit up and look outside, where the injured wolf was slumped against the car.

"Get him home lass."

"What about you two?" She clambered in to the back seat where she opened the door and helped the giant beast pull itself into the back, where it collapsed.

"We will be fine – now go."

...

His eyes opened slowly to find her finishing up with bandaging his arm, as he lay on his large bed. He had faded in and out of consciousness as she had cleaned and sutured and bandaged through the night.

The pain from all his wounds, made him feel as though his entire body was on fire!

He remained silent, as she carried on tending to his wounds, lost in her own thoughts and completely unaware that he was awake. Keeping still, in spite of the pain, he studied the lines of her features and the small flashes of expression, as she winced in his behalf, or felt satisfied by the final outcome and found himself momentarily relieved.

She was safe and out of those woods. He liked seeing her in the Manor, pottering about. Happy.

But she had seen all, and would demand an explanation. And in truth, after all this, she deserved one. There was something slightly liberating about the thought of not having to hide their secret any longer. However, he knew, there was every chance she that she would want to leave - to go home and never return. He hardened himself once more, shutting his eyes so he didn't see her any longer. So he wouldn't see her face, or the way she wrinkled her nose subtly when she thought she was causing him pain, or the way she smiled to herself when she was satisfied with what she had done.

No, he thought to himself: She needed an explanation- and if it was too much for her then it would suit him fine, if she left and never came back. At least then he wouldn't have to worry about her.

He watched her move a side table closer to the bed and set a small bowl on in, lost deep in thought.

"You know it's rude to stare like that..." she glanced up at him, to receive a tilt of his head in acknowledgement.

"I gather you have questions for me?"

...

Dear All,

There you go - at least she knows for certain now.

Thank you again for all your comments - you really do keep me going xx