One, two, three...

Evelyn counted the steps of the fourth shift of guards silently in her head. They were heading towards the small corner table where the night guards spent the majority of their time. It was clear that said table was intended only for the use of storing a water pitcher and cups, but most of the fourth and many of the third shift used it as a spot to sit and pretend to be alert. The elves were far too arrogant for their own good and seemed to think that their sole prisoner could never escape.

As Evelyn had learned through her studies on the elves of Tolkien's Middle Earth, the elves had the ability to sleep with their eyes open so that they maintain a semi alert state. Evelyn's guards often indulged in such a state and slept through their later shifts.

Tonight this would be to her advantage.

Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen...

They reached their post and there was a quiet thud as they pulled out their chairs and sat down. Once again, Evelyn began to count. She knew that it took an average of 1650 seconds for the fourth shift guards to fall asleep, but just to be safe she knew that they were always asleep by 3600 seconds. She began her silent counts, biding her time.

Once she was certain that they were asleep, Evelyn rose from where she had curled in on herself. Silent as a shadow, she pulled the sequestered key from her pocket and slid over to the door, unlocking the heavy iron grating without a sound. She paused and held her breath... but there was no response from the guards. It was evident that they were still asleep.

Evelyn then pushed the door open and began creeping down the hallway. The air down there was stifling and held that type of dampness which always seems to inhabit the lower levels of caves. In that moment, a small thrill of exhilaration ran down Evelyn's spine as she realized that those steps were the first steps outside of her cell in two years. For two years the elves had left her to rot. For three years they held her prisoner and for two they kept her locked away in a cell, not even bothering to wonder as to her crime.

Her footsteps were almost as silent as an elf's as she crept across the cold stone floor in her bare feet. She had bonded her sneakers a year and a half ago when they became so ruing by the mould and straw that they were useless. The loss of her shoes however turned out to be a blessing as her feet had become calloused from the rough hewn stone of her cell and she now was able to move in upmost silence.

She approached the sleeping guards and knew that this moment would decide her fate. The two guards posted this night were the ones she deemed "secret lovers." The ellon and ellath had their hands barely brushing each others fingertips and their blond, braided hair brushed against each other's shoulders. To most they would have appeared peaceful, but Evelyn only saw her captors. She knew she had to be swift, and absolute.

With a speed that she never would have had before, Evelyn slid one long knife from the ellon's scabbard and slammed him across the head with it, opening a large cut across his smooth brow. The unfocused gaze of the sleeping elf never had a chance to morph into horror as blood quickly rushed forth from the wound and he slumped over, completely unconscious.

The elleth woke with a start, but hesitated for the briefest of moments as she saw her lover's unconscious form. For Evelyn, this was all the time she needed and she thrust the stolen blade between two of the elleth's ribs. Although Evelyn was furious with the elves, in her heart she was still a young woman and did not know if she could truly stomach the idea of taking life. If her knowledge of human biology would apply to elves, then the wound she made would not be fatal, but by opening a wound in her chest cavity the elleth would likely struggle to breath and thus be unable to call for help or give chase.

Evelyn paused for a few moments to ensure her prediction was correct and quickly noticed the way the elleth gasped for breath, mouth opening as if to speak but only mere whimpers emerged.

A smile split across Evelyn's face.

She withdrew the blade and quickly stripped the ellon of his scabbard containing her stolen knife's twin. She then turned to the elleth and grabbed her bow as well as her thick cloak. She left the quiver of arrows as she knew that she could not conceal it well under the cloak which she quickly pulled over her shoulders, throwing up the hood to hide her face.

She turned to look at the two guards one last time and a twinge of remorse tugged at her heart. She suppressed the feeling ruthlessly. These beings had stolen three years of her life, and she would be damned if she lost her once chance to escape due to her pity. Shaking her head and steeling her nerves once more, Evelyn slid out the dungeon door, head down and hidden in the shadow of her cloak, she walked down the hallway with the manufactured confidence of an elven guard.

Evelyn was careful. She kept to the side of the path and walked at a pace that would indicate haste, but not quite fast enough to raise any alarms. With any luck, any elf she passed would merely assume that she was on an important errand and not bother to disturb her. She knew from observation that the stolen cloak she wore was standard issue among the soldiers of Mirkwood and she could only hope that the elves of Thranduil's realm respected the guard enough to not question her.

The further she walked, the higher Evelyn's heartbeat rose. She winded her way down ornate paths made of stone and wood alike, through dazzling high-ceilinged chambers, and past lanterns lit with what Evelyn could only assume to be oil. The kingdom built into the cave was truly as breathtaking as Evelyn remembered it on her few short trips to greet the Elvenking, but now she had no time to gaze in awe. She spent the majority of her walk with her eyes firmly plated to her feed, watching how the floor changed from aged wood, to surprisingly even set cobblestone, and finally to stone polished as smooth as marble.

Evelyn stopped quickly when a delectable scent tickled at her nose. It had been ages since she last smelled it, but she swore that the delight odor wafting in from a side door was that of apple tarts. Although her common sense told her that stopping would be incredibly dangerous, her diet of bland food for three years made her desperate. With the utmost care, Evelyn peeked around the corner of the door and found an empty kitchen greeting her.

The heavenly scent that had lured her in was coming from the countertop which was adorned with several cooling tarts. Evelyn rushed forward and quickly found a discarded flour sack which she began tossing the tarts in haphazardly. Before she left however, Evelyn noticed a stack of strange, square shaped breads wrapped in large leaves. She took a moment to contemplate this before her mind supplied her with the name, Lembas. Her mind raced as she recalled information from her days of elvish research. One bite is said to fill the stomach of a man, I could eat for weeks on this!

With she same determination that she had escaped with, Evelyn threw as many hunks of the elvish way bread that she could fit into the sac. For good measure, she added a small pot for boiling water and two empty water skins before slipping out the door once more.

This time she moved with more haste as she knew that her plundering would soon be discovered. Nevertheless, she quickly found a side exit leading to a small waterfall outside, likely the kitchen's main source of water. She gasped in the joy and relief of feeling the fresh air once more and gazed with wonder at the star filled sky above; however her joy was short lived as she knew that the elves would be after her soon.

With utmost care, Evelyn waded out into the stream and began walking downwards, years old Girl Scout training kicking in as she attempted to leave no trail. At the same time however, she was no fool and knew that elves were expert trackers. The further she walked however, the desperate she became as her situation began to sin in fully. She was alone in the woods, surrounded by hostile elves, and carrying only a useless bow and twin blades which she did not truly know how to wield.

As her anger rose however, her wings twitched. Looking over her shoulder at the wings resting on her back, Evelyn contemplated for a moment. She had only ever used them to wrap herself in like a blanket, but she figured that all her strengthening exercises must have done something. The sun was just beginning to rise as streaks of crimson shot across the sky; knowing that she had been walking for several hours and that the first watch of the new day would soon find their fallen companions, Evelyn was getting desperate. With that in mind, she unclasped her stolen cloak and used it to tie the four sac into a makeshift satchel. Steeling her nerves and trying her utmost to ignore her fear of heights, Evelyn began to beat her wings. For a short while there was nothing, no reaction whatsoever. However, soon, Evelyn felt a tugging sensation as she was slowly lifted from the ground. Pulled upwards by the force of her wings, Evelyn felt wind whipping through her hair as the glorious, cool night air caressed her being.

She was free! Well and truly free for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

Her ears, sharper than they had been back at home, picked up on the sound of an outcry below. Elven guards were gathered, watching in horror and fascination as the strange creature rose higher and higher above the clouds.

Zing

An arrow whipped past Evelyn's head, missing her ear by a hairsbreadth. It appeared that the archers arrived and they were none too pleased with the mortal's escape. More arrows soon reigned past her in a volley as she swerved and bobbed with all the grace that she could muster for her first flight. Calling upon every memory she had ever had on the wing movements of birds, Evelyn tucked in her wings and dropped into a steep dive, falling at a breakneck pace towards the treetops before flaring her wings out at the last second, raising her high into the sky on an updraft.

She laughed manically at the exhilarating feeling and knew based on instinct that her pursuers were long behind her. Finding a nice looking glade, Evelyn slowed her wingbeats and landed with about as much grace as once could expect from a first flight. She was shaken and quite certain that she was a little mad from her escape, but nonetheless found a small stream nearby and a rather friendly looking tree that she was certain she could climb into to rest.

She filed her waterskis with cool, clear stream water and climbed the tree so that she could lounge in its branches. She then laid back and enjoyed the view of the sun rising in the forest, listening to the birds and crickets chirp. It had been far too long since she had enjoyed such simple pleasures in life and she treasured the feeling greatly.

She knew that there was much still that she had to do. The apple tarts would last for that day, and maybe the day after, the lembas would likely last her two months at least and she knew that freshwater seemed plentiful enough in the forest. In the mean time however, Evelyn had a useless bow that she would have to make arrows for and learn to hunt with. She would also have to worry about the rather angry elves she left behind and probably become a bit more proficient with both her new blades and flying skills.

Nonetheless, she was free. It was a feeling that she had not had in years and her heart felt equally heavy with he burden of her solitude and strange situation, as well as bizarrely light in the face of her newfound freedom.

That night, she dug a small grave and gave Tawny as proper of a burial as she could allow, marking the little grave with smooth quarts stones that she pulled from the nearby stream. She wept over the small grave sight and mourned the fact that she would likely not encounter it again. She knew however, that Tawny would remain in her heart.

Evelyn decided that she would give herself the night to mourn. She could have one night to sit in a tree and wallow in self pity as to how she ended up in Middle Earth, why she had wings, her senseless imprisonment, and her one friend's death. After that however, she would move on. Tomorrow will bring a new day, she thought. And I... I have a lot to learn if I wish to survive.

That night, for the first time in three years, Evelyn fell asleep under a canopy of stars, breathing fresh air, and with a small smile on her face.

Nothing felt quite as sweet as freedom.