The three unlikely companions traveled silently through most of the night. The sounds of the surrounding goblins were ever-present. Try as Legolas and Haldir might, they couldn't shake them off of their trail. They moved stealthily between the trees, over creeks and streams, and across clearings. Neither Elf could figure out how the goblins were trailing them.
Legolas was the first to whisper his confusion. "Haldir… we move without sound. Is there another way of tracking that the goblins are using?"
Haldir thought for a moment before he came to a conclusion. "Scent, Legolas. They must be able to smell the girl. Is she bleeding anywhere?"
"Her arm wound has closed up, for the most part. There is no new blood, at least. I haven't been able to fully check her over." Legolas tensed, wondering what he may have overlooked.
Embyr had been watching Legolas while he had been conversing with Haldir. She greatly disliked being talked about as if she weren't in attendance. "Perhaps asking me if I had an unclosed wound would work, Elf." The last word was spoken in anger, which caused the Elf's eyes to widen.
"I am sorry, Embyr. I thought you were resting. Is there any blood on you that the goblins would be able to catch scent of?" Legolas looked her over as he spoke.
Embyr's eyes softened. He had thought she was sleeping, and didn't want to wake her. "Then I am sorry for my harshness. As for the blood…" Her gaze fell to her upper abdomen, where the arrows had hit. The wounds had been deep, and refused to close. "Yes. I am still bleeding through a few… lacerations. Though that knowledge may not help, as we cannot stop to fix the problem. So, I suppose we must continue, until we lose them?" Embyr avoided using the word "wound" again. She did not want to worry either companion, and Legolas seemed worried about her, anyway.
"We will lose them swiftly, Embyr." Legolas seemed determined, so Embyr did not voice her concern. Unfortunately, Legolas' determination faltered as an arrow whirred past his ear. The goblins were directly behind them, and they seemed to be speeding up. Haldir turned around and fired two arrows that each found their mark. Legolas could hear three goblins on either side of them, and two still behind. They were being circled, and Legolas could not help, with Embyr in his arms. It was against his nature to stand by and hope an arrow did not find him.
Haldir had six down before things got a little shifty. More and more arrows were being directed towards Legolas and the girl. This made it easier for Haldir to get down two more, but more difficult for Legolas to avoid being hit. The Elf used his knowledge of arrows to know where to duck, spin, or simply stand still when an arrow was directed toward him.
Two goblins left… Haldir kept loosing the arrows in their direction, but… very little could get these two down. One of them had an arrow protruding from his calf, another near his collarbone. They were closing in on Legolas and Embyr, but they weren't using arrows. Each of them unsheathed a long-bladed knife. The blood of their last victims dulled what would've been a bright glare. Legolas eyed the ugly beasts, then looked down upon the shivering girl in his arms, and did what he least expected in a situation such as this: he ran. He ran not for his life, but for Embyr's.
"Haldir! Run!" Legolas did not look back as he ran. He was gaining distance far quicker than the injured goblins, and could see the end of the wood ahead. Most goblins would not run out into direct sunlight… but the sun was just rising. Would it be enough? Legolas turned around, spotting Haldir as he ran to catch up, staying to the left of the goblins. The clearing was in view, and the goblins were barely where Legolas could see them. He had left them "in the dust", as the humans would say. One hundred paces until the clearing… fifty… ten. Legolas reached the edge of the wood and kept on going, further and further into the growing sunlight. Never before had been so grateful for the warmth of the sun on his fair face. The Elf stopped once he could barely see the line of trees, in time to watch Haldir barrel out of the wood. The goblins were close behind him, but once they stepped in to the sunlight, an unearthly scream rang out in the ears of each companion. The sun was scalding them. Legolas let a grin fall onto his face, and watched with grim satisfaction as the goblins sulked back into the dark forest.
~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~
The party traveled for the next two days with the ever-present fear of goblins on their tails. Haldir had killed eight out of ten, but there were sure to be many, many more. The group stopped only twice, and not once did they think to evaluate Embyr's arrow-wounds. She could feel them steadily becoming more painful, but she was afraid to ask them to stop. The goblins could catch up. So… she dealt with the pain, because the consequences for not doing so could be far worse.
On the end of the second day, the pain was becoming unbearable. She had a mind to tell Legolas to stop, but her fear of the goblins was enough to stop that notion. She remembered their merciless torture, their biting remarks. They had left a lasting mark on the girl.
As the sun rose on the third morning, a miracle of all miracles occurred.
They were crossing a shallow valley between two hills when dark clouds began rolling in, towards them. Embyr closed her eyes and began cursing her bad luck. "Rain.. perfect. Just what we need, eh boys?"
Haldir wouldn't respond well to the casual nickname he had just heard, so Legolas spoke up. "Rain is exactly what we need, Embyr. The water will cover our scent, and then we can rest."
Embyr's heart leapt with the good news. They would finally stop… and then she would be able to tend to her wounds. She decided it was probably a good time to tell Legolas about the arrow wounds. "Legolas... the "lacerations" that were bleeding before are arrow wounds. They're… hurting really bad. When do you think we can stop?"
Legolas looked down at the girl. "Arrow wounds…? From a few days ago with the goblins? How can that be?"
Embyr bit at her lip. "Arrow wounds from a week ago, at least. When I was caught." The girl stopped talking. She did not want to remember the events that had occurred before her capture. She curled into a tighter ball, causing herself even more pain, and shivered.
Legolas leaned down and whispered to Embyr, comforting himself more than the girl. "We'll be able to stop soon, beleger mighty one. Very soon.