- Chapter 23 -

The arrow was only a few inches from her nose, much like hers was to his, and the two of them froze like statues, each squaring off with the other, feet planted firmly apart. She could sense the arrival of the Mirkwood elves and it took her completely by surprise. They descended from the trees so quickly and effortlessly that it caught the dwarves off guard. The last of the spiders were quickly finished off and within seconds of their arrival, the elves nocked their bows and encircled the group of dwarves.

The elf in front of her never wavered and neither did she. They stared at each other unblinking, with glares so cold it could be felt throughout the entire clearing. A second later, another arrow was aimed at her front but still, she didn't dare move.

As their eyes locked, she was unprepared for the sudden sensation that formed in the pits of her stomach. It rose slowly within her, catching her so off guard that the grip on her bow lessened and she felt herself waver. It grew like a wave, as if the ocean itself was suddenly storming inside her, slowly at first and then it seemed to flood all of her senses. For a split second, she had no idea if she was still standing or if she was about to pass out. The world around her seemed to freeze, as if the only other person in this world was the one staring right back at her.

Then just as it came, the feeling went, and she was left standing breathless as if the air had been knocked clear out of her chest.

What was happening to her? Was this some sort of elvish mind trick?

Blinking, she swallowed hard and took a steadying breath. Whatever it was, it made her hands tremble just the slightest.

She pressed her lips into a hard, thin line, doing her best to squash down what ever the hell was going on inside her. In the matter of seconds they stood there, she took note that he was indeed an elf and...handsome. His pointed ears were evident under thin braids that drew back his silvery blond hair that draped over his shoulders. His angular jaw tensed and she saw a muscle twitch by the corner of his mouth.

His eyes were a deep blue-gray and they bore into hers as if he could see right through her. Never in her life did she experience a moment like this and frankly, it was unnerving.

Briefly she heard Fili shout for his brother through the trees, and the final scream of a dying spider echoed on the air around them, then all went silent. The sudden sounds pulled her out of her blind daze and she blinked again, collecting herself as best as possible.

All of this happened within less than a minute and despite the growing sense of frustration, protecting her company was her number one priority.

"Drop it," he said quietly. Her eyes hardened even more with a daring look.

"You first."

The arrow pointed at her chest raised just the slightest.

"Shy," came a deep voice from behind her, and the blond elf's eyes darted away from her for only a split second to see who had spoken.

Thorin stood behind her, his sword lowered to the ground in obvious surrender. He and the rest of the dwarves watched the display before them nervously as elf and elf faced off against the other.

"Shy," he said again a little more firmly, opting to use the nickname he'd given her over the last several weeks of their journey. The elves watched him carefully, not understanding what he meant.

"Shy, drop it," he said, staring at the back of her hooded head.

Slowly and very reluctantly, Shyloh relaxed the tension on the bowstring and lowered her arms in silent defeat. The blond elf's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, more so at the name she'd just been called than the actual deed she was doing, which was surrendering.

He watched the look in her eyes change again as she held up the arrow between the fingertips of her upturned hand, as if she were holding an invisible plate, and let the arrow drop to the ground point first. It stuck straight up as it sank a little into the soft ground. Blinking, she took a step back.

His guard to her right tensed but she lowered her bow slowly until the edge of it rested on the tip of her dark brown boots. He didn't relax his stance but he gave a small tilt of his head. It was a silent signal to his guard to move in. Lowering the bow, the brown haired elf quickly removed the weapon from the girls hands and her eyes darkened.

"And the sword," the blond said. Again, the brown haired elf moved towards her, drawing the blade from the sheath and confiscating her half empty quiver. The corners of her mouth twitched unhappily, and he was wrong when he thought her gaze couldn't get any darker.

"Search them," the blond elf commanded in elvish, and the elves went to work disarming the group of dwarves. He never took his eyes off of her but he did lower his bow, and she took another step away from him. He watched her with a heavy glare until a she-elf with striking red hair sidled up to him. The guard looked between her captain and the odd looking woman he was staring at with a suspicious frown.

He tilted his head towards his guard, but never looked away from Shyloh.

"Are the spiders all dead?" he asked.

"Yes, but more will come," the redheaded guard said. That drew the captains attention away from Shyloh for the first time, and he searched the redheads face questioningly. "They are growing bolder."

The captain understood, and gave a reluctant nod.

Shyloh took advantage of his distraction and turned on her heel to observe the scene behind her. A wiser captive would have stayed put, but she had to see who was alright and who was hurt. Throughout their entire trip she hadn't had to use much of her healing knowledge, aside from the typical bumps and scrapes that came with journeys like theirs, so as her eyes scanned the dwarves quickly she made a mental note of each one.

Thorin was closest to her, and he gave her a cold, narrow eyed look.

"Friends of yours?" he asked, not bothering to be quiet so others wouldn't hear.

"Hardly," she huffed, returning his cold look. She could feel the eyes of the elves behind her on her back but she shifted her attention to scolding Thorin. "What the hell happened!" She hissed angrily. "You were supposed to stay on the path!"

"They came with you, did they not?" Thorin asked, completely ignoring her which only fueled her souring mood.

As the elves worked on removing the dwarves of all their weapons - and there were quite a few between the entire company - they gave her questioning glances despite the serious expressions they wore. She was clearly not a dwarf, and obviously the only woman in the entire company.

"Pure coincidence," she said steadily, not daring to meet any of the looks she was receiving. Her eyes gazed over the heads of the dwarves in front of her and she silently counted them to see if they were all still there. Kili's face struck her as odd though, as he stared at the redheaded she-elf. She didn't have time to comprehend his expression because Thorin wasn't done talking.

"They don't seem very friendly towards you," he said, silently pointing out the obvious fact that her own weapons had been confiscated, and that made her more irritated.

"Why should they be?" she snapped, glaring down at him.

"They are your kin, are they not?" Thorin's question wasn't said very loudly but it was loud enough for all to hear – thank you to keen elvish hearing – and the hushed mutters of the elves died away almost instantly as their eyes fell on her again.

She pressed her lips together, knowing every single body standing in the clearing was waiting for her answer.

"If you mean elf-kind, then yes," she said slowly.

A brown haired elf moved forward as if to search her for her hidden weapons, but then he seemed to hesitate before he reached her, his eyes widening as he met her glare. Before she could fork over her other knives, a hand grasped her upper arm and pulled her around. She came face to face with the blond elf again, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He was easily a head taller than her, as was the redhead and the rest of his guards. His grip was firm and caught her off guard as she was forced to look at him.

Lord is he strong!

She didn't rip her arm out of his grasp like she wanted to, only because his grip was so firm on her that she feared he wouldn't be so easy to get away from. Glorfindel had taught her how to escape from a situation like this, by twisting her arm just right and spinning on her feet which would break his grip, but for whatever reason her body and mind completely froze.

With his other hand, he reached towards her face, and when she found his hand a few inches away from her head she tried to pull away. Her attempts failed though as his grip tightened and he only drew her closer. With a motion much more gentle than she expected, he drew her hood back. Her long white hair fell out of the hood down her back in the usual mess of curls. Brushing her hair back from her face, he tucked the lock behind her ear sending a shiver down her spine.

It wasn't like her white hair was much of a secret, or that she had tried to hide it on purpose. For the sake of the battle she'd just been through, her hood had been drawn strictly for concealment purposes just like she'd been taught, even though it restricted her vision slightly. Blending into her environment had been a big part of her training, and even though she wasn't nearly as good about being stealthy and 'unseen' as other elves she knew, she had certainly tried her best not to let Glorfindel down.

Her wild hair had only been combed through that morning with her fingers, so to say it was tamed and perfect looking like the elves around her was an enormous understatement. Her knuckles were scraped, her hair was a mess, and she probably looked like a complete train wreck.

"She is elf kind?" the redhead asked, wearing an equally surprised look.

Shooting the redhead a glare that didn't go unnoticed by either of them, Shyloh's eyes narrowed and she pulled against his grip again. With her pointy ears now exposed for all to see, she drew herself upright as best as possible.

"Do you mind?" she asked in Sindar, and he blinked in surprise.

Realizing he was staring, he let go of her arm so quickly that she stumbled back a step and ran right into the elf behind her. The elf grabbed her shoulders to steady her, but she shrugged out of his grip and pulled away. The brown haired elf stepped back, unsure what to make of her, and looked towards his captain for guidance.

"Who are you?" the blond elf asked, as the rest of the elves went back to sorting through the dwarves. It was surprising, even to Shyloh, the amount of weapons the little dwarves had hidden on themselves and quickly the pile continued to grow. She had a hard time understanding where they hid them all.

She didn't answer at first and she wondered why she was being questioned instead of Thorin. This was, after all, Thorin's company, but then she decided there was no way for the elves to know that.

Sighing inwardly, she answered his question albeit reluctantly. "Shyloh."

"Shyloh? That is a strange name," he said with an odd look.

"I bet yours is too," she said quickly, tilting her head to the side with mock curiosity.

He honestly looked like he didn't know what to do with her, and he and his second in command exchanged wary glances.

"Ernil nin Legolas," a guard said as he broke the silence. "I think you should look at this."

The captain turned to his guard and was handed Thorin's blade.

Her heart skipped a beat while the captain's eyes swept over the ancient sword. This was Prince Legolas? The one the elleth's all those years ago from Lothlorien had mentioned? King Thranduil's son? Her stomach suddenly dropped at the discovery and she felt like a complete fool. She knew the Mirkwood elves rarely traveled outside their Realm, specifically for the fact they constantly faced issues with their border security. So, since she never had the opportunity to meet him before this moment, how was she to know who he was, much less what he looked like?

"This is an ancient blade, forged by my kin," the captain said, swinging Thorin's sword around in his hands as if it were simply an extension of his arm and not a dangerous weapon. Then his eyes narrowed and his gaze landed on Thorin. "Where did you get it?"

"It was given to me," Thorin said as calmly as possible. He'd grown fond of that sword ever since discovering it in the troll hoard on the East Road and so far it had served him well during their journey. It might be an elvish blade, but Thorin was clearly not happy someone else was handling it.

"Not just a thief but a liar as well," Legolas said almost too calmly, and Shyloh felt a jolt of irritation. Before she could stop herself, she was speaking.

"He is not a liar," she snapped defensively, and the captain turned back to her, eyes widening in surprise. "Lord Elrond of Rivendell gave him his blessing with it."

A moment of silence followed her statement and she could have slapped her hand over her mouth for being so foolish. His expression hardened as he looked between her and Thorin before coming to rest on her once more.

"You defend the dwarf?" he asked finally, and her expression mirrored his.

"I do," she said without hesitation.

The guards looked completely baffled by her declaration, unsure of what to make of the she-elf that so willingly traveled with a bunch of unsavory characters like dwarves through their lands. It was most unusual to say the least.

"Bind their hands," the captain ordered suddenly.

The guard closest to her was the brown haired elf that so nicely held an arrow to her chest upon his arrival while she faced off with his Prince. He gave her a guarded look as she narrowed her eyes, and he tightened the cord he pulled out of thin air around her wrists, making her flinch. The dwarves looked equally uncomfortable and she felt her blood run cold, not liking where this was headed at all. If she was any kind of diplomat at all she might have been able to talk their way out of the mess they landed in, but she wasn't and she couldn't. Again, she silently cursed Gandalf for deserting them. If he hadn't left them, they would have probably crossed without any issues.

Snarky curses in dwarvish floated off the dwarves tongues as their hands were bound, and then they were marched in single file through the trees, guarded on either side by the elves. She brought up the rear and as she recounted her party her heart plummeted.

Thirteen dwarves! Where the hell was Bilbo?

Her mind screamed as she looked around the clearing once more, but aside from the last of the elvish guard it was empty, save scattered limbs of spiders. She tried to catch Bofurs eye but the dwarf just gave her a small shake of the head, telling her he had no idea where the hobbit was.

She should have said something, but it was like her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth. A gentle shove on her shoulder from the captain made her face back around and after shooting him a cold look, she followed silently along while her mind spun.

Legolas brought up the rear of the company. Normally, his place was towards the front as was expected of someone in his position. Prince of the Woodland Realm and Captain of the Kings Guard was a title he'd always bore upon his shoulders. Now, he found himself trailing behind his guard, back exposed to a possible attack but with a firm nod at Farion, he had no doubt the brown haired elf could lead them swiftly back to the front gates of the Realm instead. He gripped the ancient blade the dwarf claimed as his in his left hand, while in his right he held the light bow of the she-elf that walked in front of him.

It was not a bow of the Woodland Realm, nor was it one from the South in Lorien, which left Rivendell as the obvious answer. A closer examination of the handle told him his suspicions were right. While he had traveled to the Hidden Valley before, it had been many years since he or his kin had made the journey. How exactly was the she-elf connected to Rivendell?

A flick of white hair in front of him drew his attention away from the polished wood of the shorter bow, and he looked up to see the she-elf's eyes dart into the trees to their right. If she looked worried, it didn't last long because her eyes clouded over quickly and she returned to staring at the head of the dwarf in front of her.

What in the world was an elf doing traveling with dwarves? Long had the two races quarreled against each other, and he had a hard time believing she was traveling with them willingly. Although, she was quick to defend the dwarf back in the clearing, but that still left many questions unanswered. The King would take care of that, he had no doubt. Legolas's father had a way of drilling the answers out of those unwilling to talk.

It was not wise to linger in the woods for long, but their captives made for slow traveling which only meant they had a higher risk of an attack. His guards seemed to sense the same thing, because they looked uneasy and ever watchful while they walked across the forest floor. They steered clear of the elven road, opting to create their own trail instead to cut down on travel time.

While they walked, his mind spun and he constantly caught himself staring at the white curls that bounced while the short elleth walked. Why on earth did he feel so drawn to her? There was something in her eyes that captivated him from the moment he saw her but he had no explanation for it, and now wasn't the time to ponder its meaning. There were far more important things to concentrate on than how the strands of her hair caught the sunlight, and he did his best to clear his mind. She was in front of him after all, as was his entire guard and a party of prisoners. Each and every one of them were his responsibility and he would be no good to any of them if he didn't do his job to the fullest of his ability.

Allowing the guards closest to him draw ahead by a little, they seemed to hesitate. He gave them a firm look and they took their places without questioning him. However, as they walked, it only made him realize just how many times his guards eyes flickered to the head of white hair in front of them, and he couldn't understand why it seemed to irritate him so much.

Had some time today to edit another chapter. This is one of my favorite parts, and I've probably written and rewritten it a hundred times, always ending up a little different. I believe someone asked about Elrond sending a messenger to Mirkwood regarding the fact that Shyloh isn't allowed to go past the Woodland Realm with the dwarves. I can't find the review now, but if you remember, Gandalf was supposed to go with them into the forest, not leave them, so ultimately he was the "messenger." Guess you'll have to wait to see how it plays out. Lots of original parts coming up that I'm looking forward to sharing but I'm not going to spoil anything.

Thanks again for the reviews!

-S