SHADOW IN THE TREES
By : mirkwood-elf-2931 & Thala


CHAPTER 2


"You know what you want, Thalawen...TAKE IT!" cried the dark, raspy voice in the black mists of her mind.

She couldn't see where she was, she had no weapons to defend herself, she was bare, stripped of all, except a plain flowing white gown, her hair in a loose braid.

Once again she heard the voice, that terrible voice echoing in her head. "You must kill to succeed in getting him! Get him! Kill...KILL!"

She spun in circles to try and find the source of the one speaking. Finding none, she began to run, running as fast as she could through a dark, dank forest. The trees moss grown and slimy, clawing at her face, snagging her hair, tripping her feet. All gracefulness was abandoned in this one fight for survival, away from the voice. She tripped and fell in a deep bog of muck. She couldn't save herself, she was sinking faster and faster.

"Help!" her mind would cry. All she would receive in answer was the voice.

"Join me and you will be saved!"

This she ignored, sinking, sinking. She would die before she gave in. Just as her head was about to go under, she lost the dream. Her mind went blank, the black fog lifted.

Thalawen awoke in her bed, a scream lodged in her throat, aching to rip out. There were tears upon her cheeks and her lungs were all but bursting with need for breath. She opened her mouth wide and sucked in all the air she could take, a small whimper escaping as she exhaled.

Calm down, she told herself. It was just a dream, only a dream. But this dream was strange, she had no idea what it meant.

What did the voice mean? 'You must kill to succeed in getting him!' Getting who? There was no man she desired; none that came to mind. What did it mean?

Breath steady once more, she looked out her windows toward the balcony beyond. It was still dark but the sun would rise soon, and bring with it the glorious rays of light that she so needed in a time like this.

But until that time came, she would be here, in this dark room, surrounded by blankets, keeping away the evil that wanted her.

Burrowing down deeper in her bed, she curled up into a ball and wiped the tears from her face. She was not a weak person, but her brain was still foggy from the dream and she was still tired from lack of sleep. Slowly, her lids fell over her eyes and she was asleep once more.

A sound, distant and far away.

She could hear it, as if her ears were under water. She was still in the bog! It hadn't been a dream! She kicked her legs hard and held her breath, swimming, trying to get to the surface before time ran out. But she wasn't moving. No matter how hard she kicked, she stayed in the same place, just a foot below the surface.

Her eyes wide, she could see who was calling her. It was Arwen! Thalawen opened her mouth to yell, but only bubbles and a gurgling noise escaped her. Her limbs flailed and slashed through the water to get Arwen's attention.

Arwen was standing at the edge of the bog, the water had become crystal clear for Thalawen, but Arwen bent down and squinted her eyes, obviously trying to see through the dirt and grime on the water's surface.

She saw Arwen's mouth open, heard her name echo through the water. Then it was over, her lungs burst and she was once again going deeper. She lost consciousness and everything went black once more.

"Thalawen!" screamed Arwen. "Wake up!" Arwen was shaking Thalawen's shoulders and watching her mouth open and close like a fish gasping for air. Thalawen's eyes were wide and her face contorted with shock and fear, her arms and legs moving wildly in a way Arwen had never seen.

She grabbed Thalawen's face and looked straight into her eyes. She repeated her name over and over for several minutes and finally Thalawen seemed to have woken up. Her eyes recognized the face above hers as her friend. As the mist cleared from her brain she realized it had been another dream. But her vision was going dotty again. Suddenly, Arwen shouted at her. It took her a moment to figure out what she'd said.

"Breathe, Thala! Breathe!" It was then she noticed she'd been holding her breath, again.

Opening her mouth and gasping for breath the second time that morning caused her raw throat to become ever more scratchy.

"Are you okay, Thalawen? You scared me near to death! Don't you ever do that to me again!" As Arwen's tirade lessened she asked her friend once again. "What happened?"

When Thalawen spoke her voice sounded husky with sleep and soreness. "I had a bad dream. I do not wish to dwell on it any further, Arwen. But thank you for saving me." She sat up in her bed and tried to move, but couldn't. Something was holding her legs in place. "Get off, Arwen." This came out as a growl, without her meaning it to.

Arwen moved off and sat at the edge of the bed, looking at her friend. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, Thalawen moved and sat next to Arwen.

"Please don't ever scare me like that, Thala. I thought you were going to die! You know what it would do to me if anything happened to you, don't you? I don't think I could stand it."

She wrapped her arms around Arwen and held her in a tight embrace. "Yes, Arwen. And it goes the same for me. You're my best friend in the world and it would devastate me to lose you. You're my sister."

Arwen leaned her head against Thalawen's shoulder. "How did you get up here, Princess?"

"I climbed up to your balcony and came in through that way," Said Arwen silently and rose a finger to point at the arched open double doors.

"Get out," replied Thalawen, letting her arms fall from about Arwen's shoulders.

Rising to leave, Arwen looked over her shoulder at Thalawen. Laughing and shaking her head she started for the balcony again.

"Not that way! Just go out the normal way, or people will think you're up to something." She said, giggling a little herself as Arwen went, laughing down the hall.

The dream was quickly forgotten and all remained the same in the land of Rivendell.


* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *


A week had passed since the party held at Greenwood's palace and neither the prince nor maiden had seen one another for their plans together.

So eventually, carrying the Prince of Mirkwood, an Elven stallion Tholyn, headed toward a smaller, but still elegant structure. Legolas dismounted, only to notice a figure appear around one corner, a bow in hand.

"Oh," The person sighed in relief. "It's just you."

He raised his brows. "Just me? That's all a lord gets from such a lesser being like yourself?"

Landailyn's eyes widened. "Lesser being?!"

Legolas laughed.

She narrowed her blue eyes at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you would like to go riding today...Peasant."

"Peasant?! Well if you put it that way, then no." She turned to go back around the house.

The prince grinned and followed. "Oh come on, Landailyn, you're the one that asked me to go with you, remember?"

She whipped back around, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks. "Fine," She sighed, trying her best to suppress a smile, but he noticed it anyway. "Let me finish a few things and we'll go."

It was a clear Spring day out, the sun shining brightly and the air smelled clean and fresh. Perfect for riding or hunting, or just taking a walk among and under the trees. Landailyn's parents had gone for the day, so writing a note, she left it in one of the stalls of her whereabouts. She readied Evalanir with her saddle and reins, while Legolas told of a most successful hunting trip his group had been on the day before.

"Well it certainly is a good time to go hunting, now that the weather is nice and the game is about." She commented.

This gave the prince an idea. "Would you wish to today? While we go on our ride, just us?"

Landailyn grinned. She could definitely hunt, but had never gotten much of it in. Not nearly as much as her fighting skills. "Well, if that is indeed the prince's wishes, then who am I to go against them? Shall we then?" Hopping upon her horse. "Race you to the Asgarrath!"

"What?! That's not fair!" Legolas called, taking off for his own horse.

"Well that's what you get for calling me a peasant!" She argued in return; then quietly gave the command for Evalanir to start her run.

The graceful beasts galloped nimbly, dodging the endless trees and stepping easily over the uneven forest floor. They rode on for five straight minutes, Tholyn had finally caught up with a smirking prince on his back and now head to head, they were a single white blur, neither ever falling behind.

The large stream running off the River Anduin was still a mile away, but the riders knew their trusted horses could endure much. However, before this could be, their flight ended abruptly, when one of them noticed a strange glowing in the distance.

"Landailyn! Stop!"

Tholyn half reared and did not place another step, sensing his master's urgency.

Evalanir almost skidded to a halt a few feet away, with Landailyn gaining back the mare's control and jerking her head back to give the Elven prince a hard look. "Are you just trying to get ahead?"

"No, look!" He held out a slender finger pointing passed the trees to a clearing less than half a mile away.

She chanced a look, trusting that he was not cheating and studied what lay before them.

Several orange lights flickered at ground level, while short dark figures roamed about them.

"A camp!" She finally gasped. "An Orc camp! What are they doing so close to our homes?" She knew she had gone much further than the last time she'd met up with them; so why were the Orcs closer now? Assuming they were the same ones.

Legolas shook his head. "I wondered when we were going to start having Orc problems. I'm surprised it's lasted this long, being so far south."

"Well, should we not go and tell your father then?"

"Wait, let us see what it is they're doing. Which way they plan to move. Believe me, Father will have many questions and this way we can tell him more than just that Orcs are nearer than what we'd like them to be."

Landailyn sighed, knowing he was right and agreed.

Sliding off their horses, they instructed them to stay where they were. The animals obeyed and watched their owner's slink onward toward the opening, using the forest as their cover, blending in well with the colors they wore.

Where earlier, the sun had been shining, a cool breeze now blew and large dark clouds hung overhead, covering the firey orb of light, resulting in a sort of twilight throughout the land, as if in warning that a storm was on its way.

Landailyn was crouched, still far away, keeping out of site. And she'd rather like to stay there, but Legolas wanted to get closer.

"Landailyn," He tapped her on the shoulder. "The trees." He raised his thin dark brows, waiting for her to agree.

"What about them?" She asked in length, creasing her own together.

Legolas sighed, though quietly. "Let us climb them to get closer."

She almost laughed, feeling a bit foolish. "Oh, well, after you." She offered a hand upward.

He shook his head and smiled. "You go around that way. Meet back here." After she nodded, he picked a tree for himself and jumped silently into its low branches.

Landailyn did the same, going in the direction of their right and into another trunk's top nearby.

Keeping out of sight, the prince crept along thick, rough limbs and with the gift of Elven eyesight, he could faintly make out Landailyn's movement across the clearing, through the numerous leaves and branches. Good, he thought, they were well hidden.

Staying crouched on a wide branch, Landailyn got on all fours and walked farther out. She lifted a hand and parted the leaves in front of her face. Standing beneath her tree was an Orc guard, keeping watch, though not very well. She was so close she could all but smell the stench rising from the Orc's body. Silently, she covered her nose and mouth, filtering the air before she took a it in.

A while of boring observation went by; nothing was happening that she could tell.

Unexpectedly, she heard a twig snap to her right. It was much too quiet a sound for the Orc below to hear and she did not bother looking down to make sure.

Remaining low, she went forth, toward the sound, standing right next to a wall of leaves.

She waited, listening, feeling the faint presence that another was behind this wall. As her arms shot silently through to the other side, the stranger's did the same. They each grabbed the other by the collar and the other being stronger, pulled Landailyn through, lifting her feet away from the bough a few inches.

Much to her relief, she was staring into Legolas' face!

"What are you doing?!" She practically mouthed at him, her voice more quiet than a whisper.

His eyes had gone extremely wide and his pale cheeks colored with embarrassment. "Oops," She saw his mouth form the word, though not a sound came from him. As he set her back down, she punched him in the stomach and had the pleasure of hearing his breath rush from his lungs and his small groan of pain.

He looked sorely at her and rubbed the spot.

"Would you come on?" She asked. "And stop messing around." She said this as an after thought and turned to lead the way back to her original hiding place.

He followed without a word, though looking very sulky and much abused.

They crawled back to her limb and were once more above the odorous guard stationed below their tree. Legolas looked ready to be sick, as he covered his mouth.

Watching him, Landailyn rolled her eyes.

Both went back to watching the Orcs, as they all wandered the camp, almost aimlessly. Neither Legolas nor Landailyn had any idea as to what the creatures were up to. Shrugging, Landailyn turned back to the prince, signaling that they should leave, as there was nothing going on that should be of much importance.

He nodded in understanding and turned to go.

Just as he took his first step, a twig containing one leaf still attached, fell from his hair and down through the many branches on a journey toward the ground. The pair froze on the limb, neither moving a muscle, not even daring to breathe.

Landailyn watched the Orc look up and follow the little twig, as it floated silently to the grass beneath it.

It was instantly at alert.

Drawing a rough looking, black bow and quickly knocking an arrow, it looked up again, trying to catch a glimpse at what was above through the dense foliage. The Orc stealthily sidestepped around the trunk, all the while staring up it, drawing it there out of sight of the camp containing the many others it held.

The wind began to pick up again, though more fiercely than before, causing the leaves to break apart and the branches to sway. Which, what else should this cause, but to make Legolas jerk an arm out to steady himself, caught off guard while in his frozen state.

The moment the beast saw the slightest bit of movement, an arrow sailed blindly through the various limbs and stuck firmly into one, inches from Landailyn's left foot.

Her eyes widened and quickly she pushed Legolas aside and moved around to the other side of the trunk. Sitting down on the branch and wrapping her legs around it, Landailyn was able to swing to the side, hang upside down, grab the Orc around the neck and squeeze, until he suffocated to death.


When he became limp, she pulled him up into the tree with her, laying him out on the branch carefully so he would not slide off. It never even knew what had had him.

Landailyn's eyes shot daggers at Legolas all the way back to the horses. And as they were riding back, Legolas' ears were all but singed off with the venom dripping from Landailyn's tongue.

"It was too your fault!" Landailyn practically yelled, folding her arms in front of her chest.

Legolas sighed. "And I'm telling you it wasn't!"

"Well if it hadn't have been for me, we'd both have been found out and neither of us would be standing here, now would we?!"

They had been going on like this for what seemed like hours, even before reaching the palace.

"Enough!" Thranduil's voice thundered above them and the room was instantly cast into silence. After listening to so much of what had occurred, he became most irritated with their arguing. "Please," He started again, in a more gentle tone. "Tell me what it is that the two of you saw, instead of blaming one another for your near discovery."

Landailyn turned another glare on Legolas, as he spoke up first.

"We were racing our horses through the wood, about a mile and a half from Landailyn's home, when I spotted the camp ahead. We wanted to get a closer look and took to the tree tops."

"Closer..." She muttered to herself. It had been his idea in the first place.

He ignored her and continued. "There were many Orcs, but they did not appear to be doing anything at that moment that we should be concerned with, so we decided to leave and you have basically heard the rest..."

Landailyn merely nodded, actually agreeing with him on something.

The king nodded also. "Thank you for telling me. And do not worry, they will be kept watched for."

"You are welcome, Father." And without a last glance at his companion, Legolas turned and began heading for the privacy of his room.

"You know, I am sure Legolas did not mean for what happened." Said his father, once the prince was out of ear reach.

Landailyn stared sullenly at the floor. "I know." She replied softly.

"And, it is not like you two to be angry with one another."

She nodded and left him to find his son. More than likely he had went to his room, so that was the direction she took.

The loud sound of someone's knuckles against the wood of his double doors came sharply to the prince's sensitive ears. "Who is it?" He asked, sitting on the edge of his bed, a hand to his chin in thought.

"It's me." A muffled voice answered.

"And what does 'me' want?"

"Legolas," The voice's impatience grew shorter.

"Come in, if you must." He finally allowed.

The right door opened to reveal an expressionless Landailyn. This, he didn't like. It wasn't like her to conceal such emotions. How could he tell if she was still as angry as before? Then again, it wasn't really even his fault in the first place!

She shut the door and traveled to the foot of his bed, watching him. Before she could start, words of his own were being spoken.

"What you did to that Orc was...something else...fast thinking." He said with honesty. He'd never seen a woman fight like she did. When she didn't answer, he sighed deeply. "If it makes you happy, I'm sorry."

She stood there a moment longer, then shook her head, walking over to gaze out one of three arched windows on the far wall. "I don't want you to apologize."

He swiveled on his bed to crease brows of wonderment at her.

"You should not be the one apologizing. I know it was not your fault."

Now they rose high in surprise. She was admitting this? "Really?"

Her lips carried a wide smile, though he could only see the back of her. "Indeed, if you could ever find it in you to forgive me, my prince," With this she turned to face him. "I am sorry that I yelled at you, it was not my place to do so."

He stared at her for a second; then pretended to think about it. "Alright," He finally said. "I grant thee forgiven."

She repeated her previous smile, this time for him to see. "So, do you want to try this again sometime?"

He shrugged slightly. "Why not now?" He, nor she for that matter, wanted to be sitting at home in boredom.

"I don't know, why not?" Giving him a furtive look. "But this time, we're riding north!"


TBC …