Evelyn passed through the forest without a sound. As time passed, Mirkwood had somehow became some sort of home to her. Yes, she did spend much of her time avoiding the elves, but she found that they tended to avoid the more spider infested regions of the forest. In truth, it did become rather irritating to be constantly fending off spiders, but at the same time, the spiders were easier to deal with than the elves.
She had taught herself much since her escape. She refined her fighting techniques with those long knives, she made her own arrows with flint napped tips and her own feathers for fletching, and she learned the ways of the forest: how to walk without being heard, how to hide from the keenest of elven eyes amongst the branches, and how to survive with nothing but her own whits. Evelyn did however find herself often skirting the edges of elven society, trekking near them on their patrols and even stealing from clothing lines when she was in need of new attire. She did not really consider it stealing as the beloved that the elves owed her as much for her wrongful imprisonment.
It was late in the evening during one of those expeditions nearing the elven settlement that Evelyn spotted it. The night was just beginning to fall as the sun had fled the sky. It was the night of the new moon and a storm was brewing in the distance, hiding the sky's light. There was but one star that shone that night, it was the brightest and boldest among the heavens and seemed to gladly take up the role of the moon. It was due to this darkness that Evelyn found it, for she heard it first.
A small cry.
Perhaps more of a whimper, but a cry nonetheless. Although Evelyn was wary, her curiosity won out and she found herself approaching a hallow at the base of a great tree. Squinting her eyes against the darkness, there in a tiny dug out space, was a little wolf pup barely past weaning. It laid out with its eyes closed in exhaustion as it desperately nuzzled the still form of a large female wolf. Four other still pups laid out beside it, their eyes closed as well. It would perhaps have been a peaceful scene if not for the gold fletched arrows protruding from the she wolf and pups.
It seemed that the elves' love for nature did not extend to wolves who they saw as a threat to their steeds.
Slowly and with great care, Evelyn picked up the tiny pup. A quick pinch of its skin and examination of its gums informed her that the creature was severely dehydrated. It was also the smallest of the litter, a feat which probably saved its life as it was likely that the little pup had remained hidden beneath its siblings when the elves slaughtered its family. The little thing whimpered in Evelyn's arms before sinking into the warmth of her body.
Hearing a rustle in the trees behind her, Evelyn tucked the pup beneath her arm, threw up her hood, and took off in the other direction without a thought. Once she had covered a significant distance however, she came to a stop in a small glade that was a favorite place for respite. There, she sat atop an old tree stump, weathered with age and the poundings of both rain and snow alike.
Above her starlight filtered through the tree tops and white light rained down. The air had a slight chill to it and a gentle breeze tugged at a few tendrils of hair that had escaped Evelyn's braid. Mirkwood always held a foreboding sense of darkness, a knowledge that spiders were near, but at times like these she was tempted to forget. The ground in this particular glade was carpeted with a blanket of thick moss that tickled Evelyn's feet as she slipped them out of her boots and she was almost tempted to take a nap if not for the knowledge that such would bring forth her dreams. They always seemed to return when she was most relaxed, most at ease. Perhaps Middle Earth was simply determined to keep her from happiness.
Her thoughts were interrupted however by the tiny cry calling out once more. She opened her cloak and drew forth the little pup, holding it up to the thin beam of light in order to obtain a better view of her new friend.
The pup was pure black, almost so much as her own wings but with the acceptation of a white diamond on the center of its forehead. She was tiny but had massive paws that indicated that one day she might grow in size to larger than her mother. Evelyn found herself opening her own waterskin and dribbling water into the wolf's mouth, watching it eagerly lap up the cool liquid. Once she finished her drink, she seemed much more aware, yipping happily and giving Evelyn a friendly lick in thanks. Evelyn sighed heavily. At that moment she knew that she was stuck with her, there was no way she was going to be able to leave the pup.
"I suppose you're stuck with me then," she asked the pup, humor slipping into her tone.
The little wolf seemed to nod her head, large, wet eyes impossibly wide and solemn. Perhaps she would help to chase the nightmares away.
The stillness of the forest was disquieting. It was silent. Not a leaf rustled, not a single bird sang. When the birds stop singing, they are sending out a warning, a cry of danger. The forest was holding its breath.
All at once the stillness was broken as a massive spider the size of a small horse fell from the treetops, landing agily on its eight legs, whirling around, six eyes searching. It was a monstrous thing, black with glowing eyes. Venom seemed to drip from its fangs as it spun, searching for its quarry.
Then, like an angered wraith seeking revenge, Evelyn flew from the treetops, her massive black wings stirring the leaves with powerful strokes. The branches of the trees seemed to draw back, to allow her through as she landing lighting on her toes. Although her initial landing spot was behind the creature, it did not take it long to turn, to glare at her with this menacing eyes. It was but ten feet away, well within the beasts own striking distance. Evelyn held her bow at a half draw, aimed directly at the spider as she waited for it to attack. The two shared a deadly face off, circling slightly as Evelyn led the way, her feet skimming across the forest floor. The spider clicked its fangs several more times, then, it reared up, fangs flashing as the only sign of warning before it sprang forth.
The spider flew through the air, flinging itself at Evelyn who remained absolutely still. When it was mere milliseconds away from reaching the her, just before it had a chance to sink its fangs into the flesh of Evelyn's throat, a shadow burst forth from the trees.
It was a blur of darkness, but Evelyn did not flinch as it took down the spider in mid air. It was a large, female wolf, almost equal in size to the spider it stood atop of. She was as dark as a starless night with only a small patch of white on her forehead marking her gleaming coat. Claws as sharp as an eagle's talons dug into the legs of the massive spider, crushing through its hard exoskeleton. She appeared absolutely feral, growling like a beast and snarling when the spider flung itself in an attempt to buck off the wolf. When the spider reaches to to sink its fangs into the wolf's shoulder, she kept back and slapped her body into the spiders's side, knocking it over. Glistening white teeth snapped down on the thin connection between the spider's thorax and abdomen, splitting it in half and ending the battle.
Then, the wolf stood up. Black eyes shining in triumph as she opened that mouth of fearsome teeth... only to stick her tongue out the side, loll her head over, and grin at Evelyn.
"Shade," she called out and the massive wold trotted over to her like some overgrown puppy. "We were supposed to try to keep it whole so that I could do a complete dissection." Although Evelyn's words were scolding, the wolf, named Nightshade though fondly nicknamed Shade, could sense the teasing tone. She cocked her head to the side as if to admonish her human for thinking that she would miss an opportunity to hunt properly.
Evelyn just chucked and loaded the spider carcass onto her homemade litter, hooking it up to a harness that she outfitted Nightshade with. The happy pair walked through the forest in silence, stopping only for a moment so that Evelyn could shoot a passing rabbit for their dinner. Her aim was deadly accurate, a single arrow piercing directly through the rabbit's eye. It was a clean and painless kill.
The girl and wolf continued with their walk, listening to the birds chirping happily as midday approached in Mirkwood. Evelyn was suddenly struck with a pang of longing for she knew that soon, this home would be no more for her.
When they reached a clump of rather thick trees, Evelyn stepped ahead of Nightshade to move several boughs woven together to form a sort of mat. They were nearly indistinguishable from the rest of the forest around them, but if one were to look closely they would be able to determine that said boughs were from fallen trees and concealed and entrance. Upon removing them, Nightshade hopped happily through the doorway whilst Evelyn lingered for a moment longer to hide their tracks and re-cover their secret entrance.
Inside the space created was a small hut of woven branches. In one corner was a pile of furs to sleep on and the other, a fire pit with many strips of dried meat hanging forth. Beside the dried meat were neat packs of dried fruits and various nuts that Evelyn had collected along with several empty water skins made from animal hides that she was careful to oil well. Several strips of tough robe made from braided vines of Mirkwood also hung in coils and sets of animals skins had been sewn together to create two packs. Evelyn was preparing for a journey, but she had one task left.
Nightshade shifted from one paw to the other, slightly impatient as Evelyn dropped her bow and the rabbit off near the fire pit before unharnessing the wolf who immediately plopped down on the pile of soft skins, seeming content to merely watch what was coming next.
Evelyn carefully unwrapped the bundle on the stretcher, laying it out on a pile of leaves that she could later rake away out of her shelter. The dead spider was massive and took up a large portion of the floor in Evelyn's little home. A look of mild curiosity set across her face as she drew forth a well sharpened knife, a worn journal, and a charcoal stick. She flipped to a free page and began making meticulous notes, marking down careful observations. After several hours, she moved on to directing the creature, once more taking meticulous notes and marking down every careful observation. She sliced open organs, measured the thickness of exoskeleton walls at different points, and bent and twisted each joint, testing their strength.
Finally, Evelyn turned her attention towards the pincers. With upmost care she unwrapped a precious piece of stolen cargo, a small dagger in a crystal sheath. The blade was sturdy, but was likely created more for ornamental purposes. Nevertheless, she used the razor sharp edge of the blade to slice into the thin glands above the pincers. A deep red liquid dripped from these and fell into a small tin which she simmered slowly over a gentle flame. One leaf at a time, Evelyn added several plants she had painstakingly collected after thorough investigations into their properties. The liquid lightly bubbled and Evelyn took care that a small vent was opened in the shelter and that neither she nor Nightshade inhaled the fumes. Hours later, when the sun was beginning to touch the horizon, it was done. She carefully poured the concentrated liquid into the crystal sheath and smiled lightly. Evelyn replaced the dagger and held the entire piece up to the light of the fire, watching as orange flames reflected the dark amber liquid in the crystal.
A poison dagger.
If her approximations were correct, the concentrated liquid was strong enough to kill an elf with one prick. The antidote that she had formed was held in a small vial hidden beneath her clothes. She had yet to encounter the need to kill an elf, but the likely hood of such event was increasing with each passing day. Thranduil never did give up on finding his escaped prisoner and Evelyn still saw the occasional guard patrol scanning the woods for her. It was for this reason that she knew that she would have to move on.
That evening, she tied the dagger around her waist and packed all tools, food, and waterskins that she would need for her journey and a new life. Mirkwood was growing darker with each passing day and Evelyn saw the elven patrols getting closer and closer to her hiding place. The time to leave was approaching and Nightshade, for her part, took the larger pack without complaint and stood still as Evelyn tied it on.
Lastly, Evelyn picked up her journal filled with all her notes that she had collected. It was all the information about toxic, medicinal, and edible plants that she deciphered along with, more importantly, the information on the spiders. She used all her knowledge and experience in dissections and animal studies to observe and mark down all aspects of the giant spiders. Before that night she had dissected over a dozen other siders in order to compare and fully understand the creatures. She knew their strengths, their weaknesses, and how they could most easily be killed. She refined her fighting techniques around this and knew how to wield her twin knives into a deadly and efficient trap for the monsters.
As the moon rose into the sky, Evelyn secured her pack onto her back, put out the fire, and stepped out into the night with Nightshade at her side. The wolf and girl took one last, long look back before trekking out towards the edge of the forest. For many hours they walked in complete silence, communicating only with looks and gestures. They remained in such silence for several nights, sleeping through the sunlit hours and traveling in the cloak of night.
At long last, they reached the edge of the forest and Evelyn got her first look at the vast plains of Middle Earth. It was like a breath of fresh air, the endless sea of glittering, pale green; the light blue sky tinged with the early morning's blush shone out. Once far from the shadows of Mirkwood, Evelyn's heart grew lighter. Several times she hitched her pack to the ever faithful Nightshade so that she could truly test her wings, rising up above the earth and soaring to the sky.
Evelyn couldn't recall a time that she had felt so happy.
Throughout the course of their journey, Evelyn found the strength in her wings growing, found her speed increasing and acrobatics growing more extreme. She also encountered orcs for the first time who were as foul, strong, and stupid as she imagined. The orcs however, were no match for Evelyn and her faithful companion. In fact, Evelyn found herself adding several passages to her journal on orc physiology and soon perfected a method of dispatching them.
After several weeks of traveling, avoiding elves and men alike, and hunting orcs, the happy pair came upon the sight of their new home. It was a small waterfall cascading into a stream with plentiful brook trout dancing playfully through the water. Behind the waterfall was a thin, winding entrance that led to a spacious cave that was far enough away from the water to remain dry. Thin cracks in the ceiling of the cave allowed for natural sunlight to filter through and another passageway led to a small opening hidden at the base of a great tree. On one side of the waterfall was an open plain filled with wild game, the other a small forest ripe with berries, herbs, and fruit trees practically dripping at the bough.
It was paradise.
Evelyn and Nightshade quickly unpacked, the latter immediately dunking in the water for a swim. Evelyn found herself smiling and singing quietly as she unpacked her bags. She had found a perfect home, a place with everything she could possibly want and hidden away from the eyes of men and elves. Perhaps she would have the occasional orc, but she had Nightshade to rely on and all the time in the world to perfect her skills. If she was anytime near the War of the Ring, she would simply wait it out. Let Middle Earth deal with its own problems. She would be happy.
Somewhere, far away, Varda the Queen of the Stars and Valar was scheming. Her husband, the King of the Valar was not thrilled with her meddling, but he would not stop her actions and she knew that she was right. She knew what was necessary. So there, in a beautiful courtyard in Aman she sat with three of her close friends: Yavanna, Nienna, and Lorien as they drank tea and planned the course of a child who would shape Middle Earth.
"Was the cave quite necessary?" Varda asked, fondness tinging the seriousness of her tone.
"You have allowed cruelty to be her teacher for too long. I fear that compassion may have fled her heart," Nienna spoke without any hint of remorse.
"Our interference should be minimum," Varda replied. "And do not think that I am unaware of your actions, Lorien."
"Their fates are intertwined. I will do what I must," the Lord spoke with a wistful tilt to his voice. "And what of the one who caused this all to come about in the beginning?"
Yavanna looked sheepish for a moment before steeling her gaze. She took a long sip of her tea to collect her thoughts and carefully addressed her closest companions, ignoring the previous barb.
"I mourn for the suffering that the child has undergone, but it is time that her fate begins," the others nodded in agreement with the Giver of Fruits. "Their paths will surly cross and we can only hope that the cruel mistress of hardship has not taught her too much of a stone heart."
"If she is not ready then all of Middle Earth may fall," Varda's gaze was hard.
"I am not sure if she is ready," said Nienna.
"She is," Yavanna replied firmly. "I have faith."
"I suppose that is all we have in the end," came Lorien's reply.
The four Valar gathered that day shared several long glances, nodding their heads in agreement. The fate of Middle Earth would be laid on the shoulders of a young girl and elven lord who knew not what burden they carried. It was time for the Valar to pray.
"So it shall be done," Varda, Queen of the Stars and most beloved by the firstborn spoke with the wisdom of ages carried in her tone.
Fate was set in motion.