AN: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you sooooooooooooooooooo much to all those who read this story! I have no idea what else to say. My deepest and humblest gratitude to all of you.

They are definitely out of the stupid mountain by the end of this chapter.

By the way, * is for the Black Speech that orcs used.

Another fight. This time, I hope the style will be more definite and noticeable. Absolutely ancient Asian style…

Chapter 14: Out From The Darkness

They walked and walked yet the further they went the darker the cave was. The cave seemed to have no end. No way out. This confused not only Er-Galadh but also Firiel, whom he presumed knew of the place, seemed to know naught of this unending darkness. The way was meant to get brighter according to Firiel. Er-Galadh suggested that there might be another rock on the other side that blocked the light from penetrating the cave but Firiel was not convinced. The enchantment that was put could not block the sun.

The darkness of the cave bothered her not, but it affected Er-Galadh greatly for although he was accustomed in living inside one, he had never been in for this amount of time without looking at the trees of Mirkwood. Firiel also noted this. She was concerned about his condition, which appeared to have worsened though he would never admit it. She forced him to stop after travelling for a while and decided that she would search the way. She believed that the way out should be very near.

And so she continued to travel alone. The way was straight with nothing interesting along the way. And for a while she felt like there is no other way out. It was, after all, quite a while ere she pass through this passage. And then it hit her. Literally. She was so caught up in her thought that she did not realised the way has ended and she crashed straight to it. Holding her head that felt like it was about to exploded, she examined her obstacle, trying to find a way to remove it. Smiling, she made her way back.

She found Er-Galadh pacing nervously around. His eyes brightened as he saw her walking back, more so as he saw a smile on her face. "Have you found a way out?"

Firiel nodded, still could not erased the smile on her face. "It was a rock, Er-Galadh. Not an enchanted one. It is quite real. I think someone tried to close the way. Come."

Despite of her sudden jovial nature, Er-Galadh was not convinced. "If it is true what you said, then how can we pass?"

"Do not under estimate me. I know a way." And with that she left, leaving Er-Galadh frowning, contemplating on her words. Shrugging, he followed her.

They arrived at the end soon enough. Er-Galadh looked at the huge rock that blocked their way. With the condition they were in, removing the obstacle seemed to be an impossible task. Yet Firiel was not worried. She walked forward, examining the huge rock, tapping it with her staff in numerous places; she listened to the sound that it made. After a while, she stood back. A ghost of smile was on her face. She called Er-Galadh and was about to say something when the rock rolled away.

The two elves turned around in surprise. They shield their eyes, protecting it from the sudden burst of light that entered the cave. Er-Galadh peered between his fingers, trying to find out who opened their way. But Firiel knew and anger surged through her.

Before them, as dazzled as they were, stood a band of orcs.

*Elves! How can they know of this way?* Arguments broke between the orcs, giving their adversary time to adjusted their eyes. They would have continue their arguments but for their leader who shut them up. It walked forward, acknowledging the two elves with a snarl.

Er-Galadh readied his bow but Firiel walked towards them. She snarled back a reply in the same guttural tongue. Whatever she said seemed to have scared them for they started to retreat. All save one whom Firiel was talking to. He appeared to have doubted what Firiel had said.

*What prove do you have to verify your statement?* he asked though he knew that the answer might as well cost his own life.

Firiel sneered and gripped her staff. *Know that this will please me more than whatever delight you may gain from it. If you will live to enjoy it.*

He looked at the staff. It was plain, straight staff with a little carved ornament on top. Definitely nothing that could inflict any serious damage. The orc laughed in reply. *With that? The lady I know does not use such weak weapon.*

*Weak? I believe you must feel its strength first before you form an opinion.*

*With pleasure.* and with that the orc took out his sword from its sheath. He charged forward, aiming for her body. She smiled, not moving a single muscle, waiting for the sword to come. It seemed that the sword would strike directly but she moved on the very last moment. The orc could not stopped, he went forward in front of her. He would have kept on going but Firiel extended her staff and he tripped over it, sending him crashing to the cave floor.

*Get up. Are you so weak?*

The taunt made his blood burn. He was humiliated by an elf. Not just any elves, but a weak, weapon less elf lady. He struggled up to his feet, determined to finish the offending person in front of him. He swung the sword in a wide arc, one after another, aiming for her neck. But none touched Firiel as she leaned backward, avoiding the tip of the sword by an inch. Finally, he lost his temper and made another attack. This time, he gave all the strength he has, focussing only on killing the elf. Yet the weapon missed again, but with all the strength he put, he could not end his move. He turned, following his sword. Taking the opportunity, Firiel raised her staff and swung it sideway. It hit the orc in the head with such a great force that it broke his skull, killing it instantly.

The rest of the orcs saw their leader fell and did not wake up. They looked at the black robed figure and ran away in fear. Er-Galadh awakened from the shock and stared at Firiel in amazement. He knew that Firiel could protect herself to some extent but he would never guess that she could do such a thing. He saw the orcs that started to run away and fitted an arrow to his bow. He aimed and was about to shoot when Firiel pushed his arm down. "Let them go. We cannot possibly fight all of them in this condition."

He looked at her. She breath was short and shallow from the fight and she leaned heavily on her staff. Agreed, he lowered his bow and put away his arrow. They watched the orcs as they were not visible form their sight before continuing with their journey.

"There is many thing I do not know about you." he said half teasingly after walking for a while. The open air cheered them up after being captured under the cave for quite a long time.

"There are many more to come." She smiled and said, "I was lucky. The orc I battled was not of a high rank. Should he was, I doubt that I will be standing here right now…" Her sentence stopped abruptly as they found a clearing in front of them.

She looked at Er-Galadh, wondering whether it was best to walk through an open space. Er-Galadh returned her gaze. "As long as we stay on top of the tree we should be fine," he answered.

And so they travelled around the clearing, afraid should there were any beast or orcs around. Travel through it and they would be easy targets for all. They climbed from tree to tree, carefully picked the easiest and shortest path around the clearing. They pass through it quick enough yet by the end, night already fast approaching.

Er-Galadh climbed down from the tree followed by Firiel, both decided to take their stop there before starting to look for anything to eat. They have not eaten anything for as long as they could remember. The rushing feeling that they had was enough to sustained them through the day but now that they were resting, the hunger spread over them. Firiel's stomach growled and she blushed in embarrassment. Er-Galadh smiled and said, "I thought you'd never eat."

He took out their pack and looked inside. He let out a groan before taking out their ration for the might. It was deer's meat. Smoked to preserved the quality of it and so that they do not need to cook it. Open fire might attract unwanted guests.

"What ails you?" Firiel asked, knowing that the groan could not be created purely by the spur of the moment.

"These are our last ration of food. The elves presumed that we should arrive in the kingdom tomorrow at the least. We must hunt for food from now. This will slow down our journey."

Er-Galadh expected Firiel to be disappointed but she merely shrugged. Taking her portion of the food, she started to chew it and said, "I think I know of a faster way to reached Dol Guldur and trust me, this time it does not involve caves."

Er-Galadh took his share and replied light-heartedly, "I trust that it will not involve orcs?"

She laughed and answered, "Nay. Naught of a kind. Instead, you will meet those who shared our side of this battle."

They ate and talked lightly about the good time that belonged in their past, their memories. Their laughter rang through the woods before they stifled them, afraid that they would be spotted. It was odd, trying not to be discover by the elves for they were on the same side, but the elves should not find them nevertheless.

They climbed a tree again upon finishing their meal. Sitting together in quite a strong branch, they continued their conversation. Er-Galadh pointed at the night sky. "Look, Firiel. Elemmire shines brightly tonight."

Firiel glanced at the star. It was one of the brightest star in the sky, but it was unusually bright that night. It has always been their star, perhaps more so from the fact that it could easily be seen. Elemmire, star jewel. It was a beautiful star and even more so this night.

She shifted her gaze down at his face and he looked down at her. The moon shone down at him, making him glowed with radiant light. But it was not just his physical self, she saw, but also his soul, shinning even brighter against the dark of the night.

Er-Galadh took her face in his hand, his finger traced the contour of her face. All of a sudden she knew. She could see it, feel it. His lip warm against her own, slowly caressing. How much she wanted to surrender to him. His light shinning in the darkness of her soul. But she looked away and the images vanished. She could not let it happen.

She glanced up and saw a disappointment in his eyes. Perhaps it was also what he saw in her eyes. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. He looked down and smiled, apparently satisfied by simply being close to her. His fingers slide down her cheek, playing with her hair. They stayed like that for a while, each enjoying each other's company.

Single thought ran in their mind. They were used to do this long time ago. Er-Galadh would bring her to the woods near Ithilien and they would stay there for the night. The night sky has always been what Firiel loved most.

Er-Galadh gaze down at her after a while and asked, "When this battle ends, will you visit Mirkwood again?"

Having no reply, Er-Galadh looked down and saw that her eyes were closed. Smiling to himself, he leaned back against the trunk of the tree behind him and slept, gazing at the stars twinkling in the night sky.

Above the trees, smoke rose as the battle raged ever in Dol Guldur.