Lostoriel heard the paws grating against the earth, inching closer towards them. Something felt amiss in this woods. The creature was almost upon them. She leapt down from the branch she was perched in and skidded down the slope to Thorin, kicking up a cloud of dust on the way down. But was too late, as she reached the bottom a hideous, gigantic wolf growled murder and pounced towards them.
Thorin whipped out his sword and struck the creature along its throat sending it flying to the ground. Dwalin rammed its head in with his axe before Thorin made the fatal stab through its windpipes with a shout.
Lostoriel and Bilbo had the same look of horror on their faces. A second wolf -creature pounded into the clearing from behind Thorin. Kili drew his bow back and sent an arrow flying towards it. The shaft hit its mark as Lostoriel unexpectedly found herself unsheathing her sword and striking the creature across the head as it fell towards her.
Thorin and Dwalin, still in the frenzy of the last attack finished it off as Lostoriel stabbed it through the abdomen. It was dead. The elleth's from her hand, hitting the ground with a clang.
"How.. on.. earth?" she panted heavily, a stunned silence echoed across the clearing. Dwalin and Thorin's eyes met, both darkening with the same question and mistrust. But did not last for long as another Warg crashed through the trees only to be shot by Kili and sliced to its death by Dwalin and Thorin.
"Warg scouts, which means an orc pack is not far behind!" said Thorin removing his sword from the beast.
"Who did you tell beyond your kin?" yelled Gandalf earnestly.
"No one!" cried Thorin.
"Who did you tell!?" Lostoriel heard Gandalf yell as she heard the pack drawing nearer with speed. The vibrations of the wargs' unsteady gait travelled through her feet and a cool, grey wave pushed into her consciousness. She could feel the malice of the orc creatures approaching.
Vaguely in the background she heard and felt Bilbo's fear and confusion as he questioned the obvious. She heard Thorin saying that he swore he told no one else of their quest, her mind was distractedly listening to the vibrations of the world around her.
"What in Durin's name is going on?" Thorin's body chilled from his skin to his bones, his mind swam with static noise. He did not know what to do, he had expected attacks and bumps along the road. But not so soon.
Gandalf drew his bushy eyebrows together, his face aging. "You're being hunted." The wizard eyed the clearing as if the solution to their predicament could be found there.
Lostoriel felt just as clueless as Thorin did. She could sense the orc pack coming, but did not know what to do or explain how she knew this. "Thorin- "
"We have to get out of here!" Dwalin cut her off from beside the fallen Warg.
Well isn't he just a ray of sunshine. Thought Lostoriel when Ori came running back to the clearing. She have the bald Dwarf the dirtiest look she could muster, if he had just let her finish. Her blood began to boil.
"We can't! We have no ponies, they've bolted!" The young Dwarf's voice was higher in pitch, fear hung at every inch of his face. Lostoriel could see him vibrate ever so slightly, or maybe that's just me.
She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the cool morning air travel down her throat and fill her lungs. Be calm, everything will be fine. And out. She released hear breath, or everything won't be fine and you'll die and maybe take Dwalin with you.
She stared at the wizards and Thorin, her eyebrows rising in expectation. He scanned each of the Dwarves ensuring that none were hurt, when he met her eyes his face scrunched together and he briskly turned to Gandalf.
"I'll draw them off!" stated Radagast earnestly. The entire Company gazed at him like he was a mad man.
"Is he serious?" whispered Bilbo from her left, the poor Hobbit's eyes were as wide as saucers.
"These are Gundabad Wargs; they will outrun you." Gandalf stepped towards Radagast, pursing his lips together in concern. Gundabad, the name sounded familiar but her brain refused to remember what its importance was.
"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits; I'd like to see them try!" Radagast ended with such zeal, confidence and with an expression that reflected the upmost determination that Lostoriel thought he was brave bordering on madness.
She turned to Bilbo, unsheathing her sword as she did so, the metal humming in tune with the howls of the wargs "Yeah. Apparently he is."
They bolted out of the tree line and onto the open plains. Gandalf took the lead, sprinting in all directions through the grey boulders and rocky outcrops that dotted the yellow-green grasslands. Lostoriel followed him some distance from behind. Why he had asked her to cover his back, she had no idea. As they ran Lostoriel scanned the land around them, it was beautiful, grey-brown mountains rose like giants to one side and the other was dotted with trees and flowers of all colours.
"Do you see them?" her eyes weren't merely admiring the scenery. She slowly turned, taking in every detail as she did so. Gandalf was using her for her sight. Lostoriel squinted as she gazed at the tree line, the sun rested just above the trees. The wizard was insufferable.
"No not yet, but I can sense them." As they ran behind a rocky outcrop Radagast's "come and get me!" Echoed from the wide berth he had given them as he led the orc pack far from their position.
"I see them now, just there beyond the ridge in the deep indent in the land." She pointed with her sword somewhat south from their positon. "Looks like there's enough space between us and them."
Gandalf's skin wrinkled around his eyes as he struggled to see what Lostoriel saw, they were far off brown specks to him. "Hmm I think you're right. Come on!" Gandalf's deep voice bellowed across the plains with ease, reaching the ears of the Dwarves hidden just beyond the treeline.
Gandalf smiled in triumph as he turned away from Lostoriel to watch the Company tear across the open fields to their position. She was beginning to regain her former skills, he did not have to tell her to watch their backs as the Company caught up with them and she took up the rear with Thorin.
"Come and get me!" Radagast's voice echoed across the plains. Lostoriel almost laughed as they ran, he's bloody brilliant! Mildly insane but brilliant!
Thorin glared at her over his right shoulder, "What are you doing!? Get into the centre!"
Lostoriel resisted the urge to roll her eyes and punch him, "I'm helping!" he did have a point, but she felt the bravery well up in her like a wave and crash into her bloodstream. She did not understand why she felt this way, or why the sword felt comfortable in her palm as they ran.
He vigorously shook his head, "Don't. Be foolish! You'll get yourself killed!" said he through short breaths.
"I won't!"
The orcs streamed out some distance behind them. The wargs could pick up on their scent, Radagast and his rabbits seemed to not be doing the trick. Thorin pushed himself to the front of the group, his anger fuelled him on. The rest of the Company followed closely behind as he ducked behind a massive jagged outcrop.
The Company came to an abrupt halt barely missing each other as they hid beneath the layers of the grey rock. "Ori no! Come back!" worriedly yelled Thorin as Ori ran out, past the outcrop. He grabbed Ori's pack to pull him back towards himself before the dwarf got them spotted.
Lostoriel barely made it behind the rock before Gandalf called for them to move on and led them across the plains.
"Where are you leading us!?" came Thorin's annoyed voice from the front of the group.
Gandalf stayed silent and kept moving. Lostoriel had to hold in her laughter, it feels good to know I'm not the only one who he does that too.
They ran for some time, dipping in the indentations in the land, scrambling up the short hills and zigzagging through the rocks and small trees. Lostoriel stayed at the back of the group because of Bilbo who was lagging behind, "Come on Bilbo! Hurry!" She gave him a gently shove forward before stopping to assess their deteriorating situation.
The Orc pack was not far behind them, they were catching their scent in the wind. Radagast had lost their attention, his rabbits no longer looked as delectable as Dwarves. "I'm trying to!" came his shout as she covered the growing distance between her and the Company.
Silence.
The Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf had taken refuge behind a massive rock as the Orcs scented them out. A sharp, grating voice hit her ears from behind them, the hair on her back and arms stood on end as it growled in a dark, malicious language.
Her heart beat heavily against her chest, the thrumming sound echoed in her ears, she heard the dwarves' breath quicken. Above them, on the rock, crept the creature. Lostoriel was pulled back towards Fili by the wrist as the creature loomed towards the edge of the rock. She nodded her thanks to the blonde Dwarf and gazed upward.
She saw a pair of hideous metal boots hanging from both sides of the warg, its grey-blue legs were scarred with what looked like intentional war patterns and spikes that had been imbedded in its skin. She heard its breath and resisted recoiling at the sheer abominable scent that arose from the filthy creatures.
She was snapped out of her observations by Kili who was drawing back his bow and taking him at the creatures above them. He relaxed as he released the arrow, the tension among the Dwarves was palpable, and Lostoriel felt the air thicken around them as the booted creature shrilly screamed with all its might as it fell off the warg and onto the ground.
The creature was hideous, so this is an orc, she thought wryly as the Dwarves finished off the rider and its furry stead. The wretched orc wouldn't stop screeching until it was finally dead and had successfully given away their position.
Before she knew it they were running again after another vile orc's guttural call travelled across the grassy plains and the orc pack closed in on their tails as Radagast had disappeared.
They had only covered a short distance when the wargs and orcs surrounded them from all sides. They had no choice but to stop in an overly exposed part of the plains, the trees and boulders had falling far behind them by now. The Company stood in a wide circle around a singular outcropping of rock, there was no escape.
"We're not going to die." Lostoriel hissed out as she brought her sword up towards her face, daring the orcs to come to her. She ignored the persistent voice in her head that told her to turn and run. She was terrified and had no clue what she was doing. But carried on anyway.
"Kili! Shoot them!" came Thorin's command as the orcs closed in on them. His nephew did just that, orcs and wargs fell alike at the mercy of Kili's marks-manship.
"We're surrounded!" Fili whipped out both his swords, his eyes had a fey look to them.
Lostoriel frantically looked around for Bilbo, her heart rate calmed when she saw him wedged between the Dwarves, his sword and walking stick held up and proud. All the dwarves were slowly circling together, Ori attempted to shoot the leader of the pack with a rock from his slingshot and narrowly missed the orc as it came towards them.
Everyone was here. Except, "Where is Gandalf!?" she and Kili asked in unison. Both noticing the wizards' disappearance.
"He has abandoned us!" angrily shouted Dwalin adjusting his steely grip on his axe. A feeling of unbelief and dread filled the air. Gandalf could not have just left them like that. Lostoriel refused to believe it.
The Dwarves straggled together, Lostoriel somehow ended up behind Thorin whose silver sword glinted with the midday sun. Thorin called for them to hold their ground as the orcs prodded their wargs to tighten the circle around them.
"This way you fools!" They all turned in surprise to find half of Gandalf sticking out from the outcrop with exasperation written upon his face. The Dwarves began to run and jump down into the crevice. Their sudden movement caused the wargs to take advantage of their retreat and amble after them.
Thorin took down the first one with a solid blow to the neck with his sword. Lostoriel turned to run, but twisted to the right and spun outward as a sword narrowly missed her neck. She felt the cold breath of air over her face. She covered the short distance between her and the warg, bringing her blade up to meet the orcs' in mid-air and pushing it upward with all her might before the tip of a sword plunged through its torso from the back.
It let out a shriek before falling dead to the ground, Lostoriel didn't have time to notice who had helped her as the warg snapped at her. She stabbed the beast in its eye and plunged the blade in before the creature jerked its head bite her.
She was suddenly thrown to the ground by a massive paw. The breath was knocked from her lungs the moment the paw hit her chest. She heard a slight crack as it knocked her down, she had felt its hot, stale breath upon her face as it loomed over her and dripped with drool. It pressed all its weight down on the one paw, Lostoriel tried to resist it as a deep growl rippled through the beast.
An insult flew towards the warg before a sword whipped through the air and hit the warg with a sickening squelch in its neck. The beast fell with a hollow thump.
Her sword was hastily handed back to her and a hand reached out to help her stand. When she saw who it was she was met with the burning fury of Thorin Oakenshield.
He didn't say a word to her as he turned to call Kili to retreat. But his sky-blue eyes suddenly burned with white fire and his face was hard and jagged like stone. He did not have the time to wonder what she was doing.
"Lostoriel! Come on!" he shouted as he approached the crevice.
She nodded and ran, ignoring the jarring pain in her chest. The Elf turned in time to speed up as an orc astride a warg bounded at full speed towards her and Thorin.
She reached Thorin and made to jump into the hollow with him when she was knocked to the ground a second time.
Thorin slid down the smooth rock into the dark cavern. "Fourteen!" huffed Gandalf. He gazed expectantly at the entrance to the cavern. "Where is Lostoriel!?" he shouted.
Thorin's eyes grew wide, panic overtook him. He only realised now that she had not followed him into the crevice. "Wha- I don't. Lostoriel!" he yelled at the top of his voice hoping that she would hear him.
"Lostoriel!" came his call again, the Elf heard it echo above the outcrop as she jabbed at the soft underbelly of the warg, screaming as she did so. It had pinned her down solidly against the ground, but she had room to move her arms.
The creature fell on its side, sending its rider tumbling towards the ground. She almost laughed in relief, getting up unsteadily and raising her sword towards the orc. It came at her with a cry, adrenaline pumped through her system. Her muscles twitched with anticipation, her blood roared through her head and she felt a wave of courage overtake her.
It was within arm's length of her when a horn rang out along the plains. Tall riders upon white horses galloped like thunder towards the orc pack. Firing arrows in every direction, their shots so powerful that the orcs flew off the wargs and the wargs crashed to the ground within seconds. They notched, aimed and fired without much thought and never missed their target.
The orc in front of her abruptly remembered what it was doing and charged towards her only to be stopped by an arrow that pierced its chest. She watched as it fell with a surprised look upon its face.
The rider who killed the creature stopped his horse dead in its tracks. Lostoriel noticed the deep brown hair cascading down his shoulders, she noticed his warm chestnut eyes and the familiar manner in which he carried himself. This was no man. The rider's eyes widened as he stared at her, his facial expression was unreadable. She stared at him with the same confusion and astonishment.
"My-my Lady." He held out his hand for her to take.
He may have looked familiar, but she was not about to go riding of to who knows where with a stranger. She felt a pull towards these riders, they were a wave of light, unlike the orcs. "Tori?"
Lostoriel froze. No one had called her that in years, which was their name for her. He had begun calling her that. Hadn't he?
Her voice was stuck, she merely looked at him with a fearful gaze before running towards the opening in the rock and sliding down the rock wall. No no no, this! This is not at all possible!
Lostoriel reached the dusty ground with a thump as she lost her balance. She wished she was not here. Lostoriel wish she had the answers she was looking for. She wished she could remember who that was, why he had looked so familiar and why she had not stayed and asked him how he knew her.
Thorin rushed over to her, gently pulling her up. He felt like hugging her, to bring her into an embrace so tight so that she may never escape and harm herself. But he did not. Instead he asked her "What were you thinking!? You almost got yourself killed!?"
His eyes were hard, his nostrils flared in anger and Lostoriel stared back at him with the same fire in her eyes. But he never got his answers as an orc tumbled in from the sunlight.
It landed with a revolting crunch on the hard stone. Thorin's face deepened into set stone as he pulled out the yellow feathered arrow from its chest.
"Elves!" he growled and dropped the arrow to the ground like it was poison.
Lostoriel glared at him, she was not in the mood for his nonsense. What is his problem? She didn't understand why he was behaving in such a two-sided manner. First it was going at her for protecting herself and them and now he had a passionate hate for Elves!
She gasped quietly, but not so inconspicuously as her chest burned. Her stomach twisted and her chest tightened as a wave of nausea came over her. She needed answers. Oin insisted on looking over her, though she was overwhelmed she was not however, objected to the notion of being looked after for a bit.
"Elladan! Come we are leaving!" the Ellon clutched his bow so tightly that his knuckles were white and he was sure he had heard it crack.
The rest of his troop had finished off the orcs, a few had escaped, but that for once did not concern him. What did concern him had him staring at the hidden entrance and replaying the surreal encounter with the Elleth in his mind.
Tori. Lostoriel! He felt as if he was imagining the entire thing. Had she really been so close to him? Had he really saved her life? His mind swam with the image of her on the ground, staring at him with fear. Her chiselled face had not changed, the jagged scar beneath her ear from the battle they had fought together was still there. Her piercing blue eyes which were streaked with greens and browns as if she had been born out of the forest herself. The girl who they'd grown up with. Who they had mourned for. Who they had searched for hundreds of years had appeared out of nowhere.
Their Tori was here.
A huge, sticky lump grew in his throat, it made his body ache and his eyes mist over with tears that threatened to spill over. His head was fuzzy as memories overloaded his brain.
"Elladan!" a hand on his shoulder jolted him back to the present. He calmed his instinct to damage the individual who touched him when he felt the presence of his brother beside him.
Elrohir. He sighed quietly. Elladan swallowed the lump and blinked back the tears. He breathed in deeply trying to not give his disposition away.
"Brother, what is the matter? Has one of them entered the Valley?" he searched his brothers' face for any sign of worry and little of it. He could not meet Elrohir's eyes. How was he supposed to tell him? What was he supposed to tell him?
Elladan squeezed his brother's hand, giving him the warmest smile he could give. "No, luckily they have not, but I'm afraid that I may have shot one and it may or may not have fallen into the secret passageway." His warm smile turned into a sheepish one in seconds.
"Not it!" Elrohir shouted jovially with a smug smile.
"Nope! Not fair Ro, that is not fair at all." Elladan pulled off his helmet and tossed it at Elrohir who caught it with ease.
"You shot it, you tell Father." Elrohir tossed the helmet back to his brother and mounted his horse once again.
"Ugh fine. I was willing to let you have my dessert for the next month if you cleaned it up for me." His brother rolled his eyes at him and turned his stead away.
"Yeah right! One months' worth of Sidhion's dessert is not enough!" he called over his shoulder with a laugh as he rode off to re-join the troop.
Elladan's shoulders sagged and he grew weary the moment Elrohir rode away. He felt undeserving of his brothers' love, concern and laughter. He felt undeserving of the moment they had just shared and every moment before then, but felt deserving of every terrible moment to come. Every moment that his brother did not knew she was alive would kill him.
With a heavy heart and a flustered mind Elladan mounted his horse and rode to join the Command Troop as they rode into the dying, burning orange light of the day.
Hi Everyone! I want to say thank you to everyone who has followed, favourited , commented on this story or has just read it.. I appreciate it!
And that I'm very aware of my punctuality. I should be posting more frequently since well we're basically on a lockdown.
A massive thank you to Lancelot 2.0 who allowed me to borrow the idea for the last part of this chapter. It was brilliant!
I hope everyone is staying safe during this time.