Nenya slid her blade through the spider's tough skin, the quick cut severing any chance for noise from the spider. She rolled it carefully off the branch, into its own web so it wouldn't make any noise by falling from the tree. Another sleeping spider was directly ahead of her, and then another dead spider was rolled from the branch which was now coated black.

Things were not going according to plan. She was supposed to just slink in, kill the spiders, and slip out within a few weeks time. Instead, the report of rider-less horses was somehow carried to the king, so Thranduil sat on his throne believing his two youngest children were dead.

Hunting parties had been sent into the woods, making the spiders more wary, though the hunters rarely killed any. Riled them up a lot, sure, but hardly killed any. Certainly not enough to say they even put a dent in the population.

Someone must have been feeding the damned things for there to be so many.

One good thing had come of the unexpected happenings. A party of dwarves had stumbled into the spider trees… or rather, under them, and had been dragged away. Though dwarves are dwarves, spiders are spiders. She was about to begin her attack anew when something began throwing stones at the spiders.

Something she couldn't see, despite her spider-enhanced elven eyes. Something with a touch of magic, no doubt, but curiously enough it had an elven blade, which was set to good use against the spiders.

So consumed were the beings by the taunts of the invisible knife bearer that she was able to kill a large portion of them while the rhyming specter was away, and more after he had cut his friends down. A curious and very small being, she noted when it appeared, but her attention returned to the slaughter of the black-blooded beasts. By the time she looked to the strangers once more, the hunters were back, and had captured them, marching them away to be dealt with by Thranduil.

That unusual event had damaged the spider population, and the confusion and terror were so rampant in the spiders that that night she was able to kill a good portion in that colony without being spotted.

Still, she knew her luck couldn't last like this forever. Because of the elf who commanded the spiders she was unwilling to allow the wolves around too long, using them only as far spread guards or hunters, gathering her food along with their own, or finding some source she could harvest herself when she took a quick break from hunting.

She was growing weary of this battle. Those few weeks had turned into a month, and was slowly drawing into two. She was overworked and under rested, barely eating. The only good thing was that the person behind the attacks—which continued—didn't know where she was. He could see the results of her night's work, but he never knew where the next place attacked would be, and spiders are ultimately lazy, more willing to let him worry and stew than try and keep a watch for a possible assailant.

If she made one wrong move, though, she would be surrounded by them with little hope of escape. Her arrows had been spent long ago, and she had not the time to craft more. Her blades were stained black, as were her clothes and flesh. It was an advantage, really, able to hide in the darkness much better by being completely black, but just the thought of all the spider blood clinging to her made her stomach churn. She tried not to think about it.

She plunged her blade through the next spider's head, but the blow was too forceful. She severed the head entirely, and while the body rolled like it was supposed to, the head just fell. And hit the ground with a surprisingly loud noise.

All around her glowing yellow eyes appeared as the spiders were roused, hissing their surprise and rage as they discovered the few dozen of their kin she had already slaughtered that night. She ran through the trees as quickly as she could, but this was the largest colony left, and everywhere had more spiders.

She was about to panic, but only her one rational thought kept her from giving into the fear—if she allowed herself to panic, she would surely die.

Finally she gave up the trees, knowing spiders prefer not leaving the trees for the ground and that she could run much faster on the ground. She let out a howl, alerting her wolves and spiders to the situation at hand, telling them to get free.

She glanced over her shoulder to see how close they were, and slammed into a tree that hadn't been in front of her when she turned her head. A tree that had arms and held her tightly for an instant, before she was released and the welcome sound of an elven bow sang in the night. Another joined it, and then the elves stood with her as the throng approached, some deterred but most enraged by the help she was receiving. With the four elves, her wolves and spiders at her side, the spiders who hadn't fled were quickly killed, or trapped in the wickedly pronged traps they had brought along and quickly set up.

Nenya sighed in relief as she pulled her sword from the last spider, sheathing it without bothering to try and find a clean place to wipe the blood off. Then she walked over to the archer who had stepped into her path.

"Ow!" he muttered, backing up.

She hit him again.

"Nenya!" he protested, rubbing the back of his head.

"You are a complete idiot!"

"An idiot who likely just saved your life," he reminded her quietly. "Why didn't you ask for our help, Nya? You could have used it."

"You've just forfeited your life, Legolas," she muttered angrily. "I couldn't ask that of anyone."

His eyes were solemn as he looked her over. Layers of dirt and blood covered her skin, caked in her hair and clothing, dripped from her. All of it black, so at least she wasn't hurt. She was a tad too thin, and her eyes were too dim. "Last time you ate?"

"Two nights ago," she answered absently.

"Slept?"

"A week ago," she muttered, suspicion clouding her voice as she looked at him through tilted gaze.

"Bathed?" he continued, shaking his head at her sorry state. He sighed softly. "You needed us. And you still need us," he added, handing her a bit of waybread.

She stuffed it in her mouth, not caring that it proved she hadn't eaten well recently. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm fine, Legolas," she protested the look.

"You are not!" he exploded. "How could you think we could sit around?" he asked, changing tactics. "We're trained warriors, and you've taught us about spiders. How could we really just sit back, relax, and wait for the year to pass?" He slunk closer to her, his eyes piercing her with blue flame. "You really think we didn't care if you were out here? Didn't care that we really didn't know if you were dead or alive?"

"You knew," she whispered softly, finding breathing hard as he approached, slowly backing her away from the others since she was smart enough to keep retreating from his anger.

"I knew you were alive, true. But what if something had changed? I would have been far too far away to be of any help. Do you know what realizing that does to someone?"

Slowly she nodded, aware she was drowning in fire as he cornered her against a tree. "Yes," she breathed.

His head lowered closer to hers, his breath caressing her cheek. "It wipes out any self-concern, any thought of self-interest." He lifted his head just slightly, his lips hovering over hers.

Those little tingles sparked through her body. Weakness pervaded her limbs. Lack of food, that's all it is. As he came slightly closer, his body coming into contact with hers, she couldn't repress a shiver. Lack of food nothing! You have to move! But she didn't want to. Not really. She knew she should, knew she should whisper that one word that would set him aside as he was meant to be, forever apart from her.

"Do you know what that did to me?" he breathed, so close she could taste his breath.

"Legolas," she moaned softly, turning her head to the side.

"What?" he asked gently, turning her head back to his. "Tell me," he pleaded, feeling her slipping away from him even as they were so close.

"My brother…" she whispered.

Legolas stiffened and slowly shook his head. She intoxicated him, numbed his rational mind until all that was left was decidedly irrational and unconcerned with whatever she claimed had to keep them apart. Her brother. Funny, he sure didn't feel very much like her brother. He sighed softly and backed up, giving her room to slip out of his grasp. "Will you tell me someday?" he asked quietly.

"I just did." She shimmied up a tree before he could even blink, out of sight before he could think to move to follow her.

What?