AN: I hope this story is good enough to be in FF.net. The title doesn't even match the story properly but for now it's good enough. So if anyone knows of a better title, plz tell me. And plz read and review. I don't mind flame so flame me if you must.

Chapter 2: Arrival In Mirkwood. The Battle Begin.



The sun shone brightly in the sky but inside the shade of Mirkwood, it was as dark and as cold as the night. It was to be expected as Gwaihir flew above it, blocking even the few of those rays that could warm the place. He could hear the battle raged far from their destination and wandered whether the elves had also hear and come to help the battle. Or perhaps the trees had also blocked this.

"Gwaihir, the battle has started. I must reach the kingdom soon. Thank you for your help, my friend," A voice spoke softly.

"Call me if you need any help,"

"I know I can always depend on you." And with that, he felt his burden was lightened and then gone altogether. And as he flew away, he could saw a black raven flying down towards the thicket bellow him.



Fíriel looked down at the thick foliage that covered Mirkwood, enveloping it in darkness, and found what she was looking for. A hole, small enough for her to go through. Flying down, she could saw a river beneath her. A sense of relief filled her heart. The river, she knew, would lead her to the kingdom. Or so Radagast said. It was just which way to go that she did not know. The river, after all, lead to two different destinations.

She looked around, adjusting her eyes to the seemingly infinite darkness that surrounded her. As she done so, she slowly let the power that shield her ceased and revealed her true form. But she was not careful enough to saw the small pair of eyes that watched her as she descended into the river. When she noticed this, it was too late.

She heard a small shriek behind a tree and walked towards it. Her robe, though, was soaked in water and it slowed her down. It seemed that she had chosen the wrong place to change back. Cursing inwardly, she instead stood silently.

Seeing that the robed figure didn't make any suspicious movement, the young elf poked its head out from the tree. Unable to keep her curiosity at bay, she spoke in Common, "Are you the guardian of this river? If you are, I'm really sorry. I didn't meant to-"

Her speech was stopped as she saw the figure shook slightly. Afraid that the hooded figure might fall, she ran out of her hiding, trying to catch it before it reached the bottom of the river. The figure though, seemed to stood perfectly still now and spoke to her. "I am as much a guardian of this river as you are."

Alfirin stood in awe as she heard the voice that went through the black hood. The voice was not threatening or anything likes what she would have thought possible. The voice was soft though it spoke with a strange accent and yet it sounded familiar to her. The accent was after her grandmother.

It was also a voice of a lady. A lady shrouded in darkness. Even in the dark wood that she was accustomed to, the figure was partly visible in her eyes. Should the lady stood in other places where light did not fall straight on her, she would be impossible to detect. She has an elven atmosphere around her but she felt deep down inside that something was different. She was and yet wasn't an elf. And this had somehow placed a fear in the young elf's heart.

Trembling slightly, she spoke, "You're not a guardian of this river?" And in her voice, a tone of disappointment could be heard.



Fíriel laughed at the elf's curiosity. She was so brave to have come out from her hiding. She could almost felt the young elf's spirit in her body, coursing through her veins. How much alike they were. Just like the time-

No, Fíriel shook her head, blocking away the painful memory that threatened to conquer her mind once more. No, she could not allowed it to clouded her mind, the task in her hand was too important to be forgotten for some stupid reminiscent.

The task! She had completely forgotten about it in the middle of her amusement with the young elf. How stupid has she become? She asked herself. So easily distracted. But then again, the elf's presence had brought too much upon her.

A realisation was suddenly brought up by the question that escaped the elf's lip, distracting her thought once more. Thanking her inwardly, she realised how cold the water in the river was and stepped out of it. She walked slowly towards the trembling elf; not making any alarming move that might scare the elf away.

Being aware of the disappointment in the elf's words, she couldn't help but smile and said, "No, little one. I'm afraid not. I have never been to Mirkwood and would like to meet Lord Thranduil. I'm hoping that you can show me the way?" And with that she lowered her hood, revealing her dark, impenetrable eyes that seemed to be as dark as the shadow that enveloped Mirkwood. Wind blew in her face and she greeted it like greeting an old friend. The wind played with her jet black hair, tossing it playfully from under her robe. A strand of hair fell on her face and she tucked it behind her leaf-shaped ear.



"You're an elf!" Alfirin wondered at her sudden exclamation at the same time realising that she knew little of what the lady's purpose with her Lord. And so she expressed her thought. The lady looked at her with a penetrating gaze. The soft, doe-like eyes looked at the young elf as though the gaze was able to see to her soul.

The gaze made her inside churned and she wished that the lady would not looked at her in that way. But this impression left as soon as it came and instead, Alfirin found herself being held by a gentle, almost motherly gaze. It reminded her so much of her own mother. This made her found herself wondering whether she was imagining things again.

The lady sighed deeply and said, "I have not introduced myself. I'm Fíriel, apprentice of Radagast. My master have sent me to speak to King Thranduil regarding the matter on Dol Guldur."

At the mention of Dol Guldur, a cried escaped from the young elf. "It is an accursed place. I'm Alfirin," she said, reminded that she had not properly introduced herself either, "The place that you speak of is under siege, I believe." Looking at Fíriel's expression she knew that the lady knew also of this matter. In fact, it seemed that *she* was surprised to see that the matter was known to this young elf.

"How do you know?" Fíriel asked curiously, affirming her thoughts.

Alfirin simply shrug. "Well, it was obvious since my uncle is one of the archers that was sent to that evil place. I wish he would not leave..." Her voice broke, trying get rid of the lump in her throat. She knew what this means. Dol Guldur held a strong evil power as many had said and she had been reluctant to let her uncle leave. She was afraid that she would lose him just like she had lost her father.

Fíriel didn't notice the change in her faltered voice or in her expression. Her mind was thinking of the war that raged on miles from where she stood. She must travel swiftly in order to catch up with the elves. And even after doing so, she was not sure whether the elves would accept her...except.

"Alfirin, could you help me? I need to meet these elves-"

"Why?" Alfirin stared at her in disbelief. The elves were reluctant to leave and had done so only for the sake of getting rid of the evil that had haunted the place. But this lady had wanted to do so eagerly.

Now it was Fíriel who shrugged. "Don't you want to get rid of these evil? I'm merely trying to help and it is also my master will. I dare not defy him."

Alfirin stood in silence, not knowing of what to do. After a while she decided to leave the matter. If the lady have decided, it would be unlikely that she could change her mind. And of this master of her, well what can she say? She might be able to help them after all and thinking so, she nodded and changed her direction.



The two companions walked for a while in silence. Each drowned in their own thoughts. They have walked for a long while, yet the elves were still beyond their sights. Fíriel grew restless, knowing that the battle had already began. In her heart, she wondered whether the young elf does know of the path those elves took.

Meanwhile, Alfirin felt a sense of foreboding that something was greatly amiss. The elven lady, though did nothing suspicious, still has that atmosphere around her that made Alfirin felt uneasy. The way she dressed did not made matter any better. Even the fact that they were akin could not diminished the fear inside her heart. She soon found that she simply could not took her gaze away from her in fear of what she could not comprehend.

Fíriel, however, did not noticed this. She quickened her pace with every passing time, her staff clutched in her hand. This forced the young elf to quickened her pace aswell. She even found herself running alongside with the lady.

This is not right, Alfirin thought, I was the one who supposed to lead the way.

Her mind taught her to stopped and leave the lady on her own as she found herself to be falling behind and could not caught up with the lady's quickening pace. But to her surprise, Fíriel stopped.

Fíriel looked behind and saw that the young elf behind her was out of breath. She stopped, letting

Alfirin to catch her breath and sat down, much to Alfirin's pleasure who simply threw herself down beside a tree. She looked at the girl with concern. How can she meet the elves on time. Yet she needed the girl's help and so she calmed her mind.

Alfirin looked at the lady beside her and for the first time realised how weary the lady was. Yet concern was deep in her eyes. She tried to caught her breath quickly, knowing how much Fíriel wanted to continue with their journey. After a while, Fíriel looked at her again and put up her hood, indicating that they whould leave soon. Alfirin nodded. She was ready to go on but she found herself wanting to know more of this mysterious lady. She opened her mouth, going to say something when Fíriel held up her hand to keep her silent.

"Hear that?" Fíriel whispered. Her voice was soft enough so that nothing could hear her except the young elf that stood beside her. Alfirin nodded again. She could hear the breaking of branches and the soft rustle of the grass. It seemed to come from in front of them. She gestured foward and walked towards the source of the sound, leading Fíriel who followed behind.

"It's close" Alfirin whispered. The source of the sound seemed to moved slower than them. "Come, it's this way!" Alfirin started to ran foward but a slender hand held hers, forcing her to stop. "Ouch! It-"

"Shh." Alfirin started to protest but again the atmosphere that the face beneath the hood carried stopped her. "Wolves," Fíriel's voice was barely a whisper making her shivered involuntarily, "behind us."

Dread fell to her heart as the message sank in. Fear was in her eyes and Fíriel saw this clearly. "You cannot fight, can you?" She nodded, not wanting to make anymore noise. "I've brought you to this."

The next sentence was not directed to her but she could hear it nonetheless. She shook her head. "No, I-"

Her voice was drowned as the wolves found their prey. "Climb up! Hurry! I'll hold them back."

"No, I cannot-"

"This is not the time to argue with me. DO AS I SAY!"

"But-"

"Leave!"

Alfirin looked at her in doubt but she saw determination in those dark brown eyes. She shifted her gaze and saw the wolves running closer to them. Looking back at Fíriel, she made up her mind and climbed up as fast as she could, leaving Fíriel behind.

Fíriel looked to the wolves around her, closing slowly around her unmoving figure. She stood resolutely, the hand that held her staff gripped it tight. She must choose her move wisely. With this situation, she could not ran away and to transfigure herself into a bird took too much time. Something that she did not have a lot of. So it's either magic or...

One of the wolf leaped foward, it's mouth wide open ready to devoured the seemingly defenceless figure. Fíriel was ready to attacked when an arrow sprang from behind her. It struck the wolf through it's mouth, killing it instantly. Fíriel was surprised at this but she still has a problem in front of her. She readied herself for another attack but the wolves ran away. She looked around to see what happened and she saw Alfirin grinning widely with a group of archers behind her. "I've found them!"