Disclaimer: I own none of Tolkien's characters, Middle Earth, elves, or elvish. I do own my plot, Carissa and Splash.
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Carissa held tightly onto Splash's reins, swimming up to the water surface they emerged together. Carissa gave a gasp as she found herself in the centre of a lake. They began the ten-minute swim to the edge and clambered onto its banks.
Splash shook and stood beside Carissa, staring nervously around.
As far as the eye could see was a sea of yellow green grassland, cut through by a fast moving river pouring into the lake. The wind blew softly through the sea of grass, making it look like small waves passing through.
"Where are we?" Carissa asked herself.
After a few minutes of shock, she realised it was best if they moved away from the lake. If there were any predators about, they would surely be around the lake. She checked Splash over for any wounds before mounting into the saddle.
"We need to find someone," she said. "We need to know where we are so we can get home."
She covered her eyes from the midmorning sun, looking where the river was coming from. In the distance she could see the blue shapes of mountains and a dark forest just before that.
"I think it would be best," she whispered to Splash. "If we travel by that river. People always live close to water and we wont need to worry about dehydrating."
She turned Splash away from the lake and rode along the banks of the river, towards the mountains.
The day had worn slowly by. There was no sign of life anywhere and this made Carissa feel uneasy. By late in the afternoon she had taken to looking for some form of shelter for the night.
A small group of trees with thorny bushes surrounding was the only shelter she could see, and night was coming on fast. She turned Splash towards it and dismounted. She walked around the circle of thorns, trying to find a gap to get through. Once she had, she led Splash in and tied him to a tree. Then she set about collecting dry grass for a bed and lay down. Her stomach growled as she watched Splash munch away on grass, whilst she had nothing to eat.
The night went by as slowly as the day. Towards the morning, she heard wolves howling from the direction of the lake.
"Well," Carissa sighed. "At least I know there is life around here."
She turned onto her side and tried to get a little bit more sleep when the howls got louder. Her eyes opened wide and she sat up.
Splash was pawing the ground nervously. The howls had turned into growls and barks.
Carissa jumped to her feet and untied Splash, quickly mounting into the saddle she turned him out of the security of the trees and over to the river.
For another two days and nights they travelled like this. Waking towards the early morning and making off along the river. Her life was full of fear and desperation to find someone who could help. Hunger was her constant campaign.
On the third morning they stopped by the river as it forked off into two directions. She stayed on the same side and made off. By the afternoon they had come to an entrance to a dark foreboding forest. Here at least Carissa thought that it would be a bit safer than out in the open lands. Earlier that day she had seen the wolves following at a distance.
She felt safer around the trees, for as long as she could remember she had sought out their comfort.
She made sure she drank as much water as she could before entering the forest.
They followed a dark path littered with dry leaves and twigs. The river disappeared from sight but she didn't dare turn back.
She was tired and hungry, pain burned through her legs at the amount of time she had spent in the saddle so far. She stopped for the night and tied the reins to her wrist, falling asleep on the path.
The next morning she walked beside Splash giving him a rest from constantly carrying her. In between the trees she noticed thick rope structures hanging from tree to tree. She knew somewhere deep inside she must be getting close to finding someone.
In the evening, she heard people laughing and singing just out of her sight. She moved to the side and saw the light of a fire between the trees. The smell of cooking made her stomach rumble.
"Hello!" Carissa called. "I need help!"
The light and sounds disappeared.
"Oh," Carissa sighed. "It must have been my imagination."
She rode back along the path for some time. When she felt as though she was being closely watched, she stopped and looked around.
"Hello?" she asked. "Is someone there?"
There was no sound except the rustle in the trees. She kept going until it got too dark to see anything. She tied Splash's reins around her wrist lightly and lay down beside him.
The next morning she woke to find a small package wrapped in leaves in her arms. She opened it to find some small cakes.
Picking one up she smelt it, then looked around in confusion. There was no sign of anyone being there, but still the silent watchfulness. She quickly ate one of the cakes, it was the best thing she had ever tasted, so she had another.
She gave one to Splash before getting back into the saddle. Her hunger dissipated for the time being.
"Thank you," she said loudly. "Who ever you are."
She started back along the path and travelled it for the rest of the morning. At midday, she stopped as a river crossed the path.
"Is this the same river as before?" she asked herself.
The water was murky and dirty, it gave off a sickly smell. There was no way to get across and she began to worry.
"I suppose we have to turn back now…" she sighed.
