1Samantha and Abbey accompanied her on the way back to her house, the three of them talking in sleepy voices, that clearly showed their exhaustion from dancing. There were no lights on in Katelyn's foster parent's house as they approached. 'They must've gone to bed early...' she thought at ease. As they walked up the steps, to the double doors that led into the house, Katelyn saw with a stab of horror that the doorknob had been broken off, and the doors were ajar. Samantha apparently had noticed this too, for she nudged Abbey, and pointed a shaking finger at he doors.
"Kate, come on... We can't go in there-" Abbey began to whisper, but Katelyn ignored her.
"Dad! Mom!" Katelyn called frantically, throwing caution to the winds and barging through the doors, her dress skirts flying, and her feet running. There was no sign of them in the living room, nor in the kitchen. Everything looked trashed. The closets had been ripped open, and their contents thrown out askew. Furniture was tipped over, and dishes were smashed. Nothing seemed to be taken. It merely looked like someone was looking for something. Upstairs she ran, her feet taking the stairs three at a time. Her loyal friends were hot on her heels.
"Mom!" Katelyn called, rushing to her room and throwing wide the door. Her room was barely recognizable, for it had been torn apart as though a tornado had swept through it. Her pictures and awards and all her possessions had been smashed and thrown to the floor in disorder. There was only one other room to check, and she dearly didn't want to look there... Katelyn tore from her destroyed room, and ran to her parent's room. She hesitated at the door, and slowly pushed it open. Katelyn screamed at the sight that met her eyes. Samantha wrapped her arms around Katelyn, and pulled her away as she screamed and sobbed at what she had seen. Abbey finally forced herself to look.
Naught feet from her lay Mr. Morrison. He was laying sprawled on the white carpet, blood oozing steadily from many stab wounds that had been administered to his chest. A black handled dagger set with red rubies was lying abandoned next to him. Katelyn had never known such an artifact to reside here in the house. His eyes were wide with fear, and his chest was unmoving. Mrs. Morrison lying on her side, facing away from them. Katelyn finally tore herself from Samantha's grip, and walked past her dead father, to her mother, and knelt down beside her. Her eyes were only half-closed. She had a single, fatal, stab wound to her chest. Katelyn gasped as her mother opened her eyes a little wider and said in a dry hoarse voice, "...Kate..."
Katelyn let out a stifled sob, and got down on her knees beside her. "Mom! Oh God! Who did this to you!"
Her foster mother did not answer her question, but said, "Sweetheart, listen t-to me... T-take the horses, a-and ride to the w-woods... You'll be s-safe t-there... Do n-not stay h-here... G-g-go! Trust me..." She closed her eyes, and said no more.
"Mom!" Katelyn said desperately, "Mom! Who did this!" Her foster mother did not stir. She did not answer... She was gone... "NO!" Katelyn yelled in grief.
She felt someone grasp her arms and pull her back. "Kate! Come on! We have to leave and get the police!" Samantha's voice said firmly, yet still trembled with fear.
"N-no!" Katelyn retorted, pulling out of her grasp and standing up. "She said to take the horses and go to the woods. And that is what I am going to do."
"Katelyn! Listen to sense! She didn't know what she was talking about because she was dying! We have to call the police." Abbey said with just as much firmness as Samantha, though without the slight tremble of fear.
Katelyn didn't answer her, but strode out of the room, down the hall, and down the stairs. Abbey and Samantha followed her. Thinking that she was going to get the phone, they were surprised to see her pulling on her riding boots. "Kate no!" Samantha begged.
"I don't really care whether or not you come with me." Katelyn said grimly, tying up her boots, "If you stay, that's your own choice. She obviously wanted me to go to the forest for a reason, so I am obeying her last wish." Without another word, she opened the door and raced to the barn where the horses would be sleeping comfortably in their stalls. Abbey and Sam stared after her before exchanging exasperated glances and following after her. They walked inside the quite large barn, that had three stalls. Katelyn had already entered her own horse's stall, and was beginning to frantically brush her horse. Her horse, was named Willow. She was gentle, and yet very fast. Willow was a light dapple-grey Andalusion and just under sixteen hands. The other two horses were Abbey and Sam's. Samantha had named her black Morgan, Benson. He was taller than Willow, and much hardier. He was very smart too. Abbey was getting her horse Hunny's tack from the tack room as Samantha grabbed a brush and went into Benson's stall. Hunny was a palomino-paint mare, of about the same height as Willow. She was headstrong, and very willful, which made her and Abbey a perfect match.
Minutes later, the three girls mounted their loyal steeds. Katelyn said nothing, but took off down the trail into the woods at a swift canter, trusting her horse to lead her safely down the trail. Abbey and Hunny were right behind her, with Samantha close on their heels. Deeper into the woods they went, down the winding trails which soon disappeared beneath the dry autumn leaves. Suddenly, it felt as though she slowly passed through a wall of water, emerging perfectly dry on the other side. It was a strange sensation, to be pulled forward and backward at a slow pace. Without anymore warning than the first event, Willow suddenly halted. This sudden stop almost threw Katelyn from her seat, which she regained immediately, staring around for what had caused the abrupt halt. Willow pawed nervously at the ground and tossed her head.
"What is it?" Samantha called.
Even though Katelyn could hardly see anything, she could sense that something or someone was close-by. Benson snorted from behind her, making her jump in surprise. A twig snapped, and it echoed around them, fading into a deadly silence. "Hello?" Katelyn called boldly into the darkness, straining her eyes so they could penetrate the inky blackness around her. Her vision focused a little more, and she could see something ahead of her. It was a horse, with a rider atop it. "Hello?" Katelyn called again, her hands tightening on the reins of her horse.
"Who are you!" Abbey called out aggressively, pulling Hunny up beside Willow and glaring at the semi-visible figure.
To their astonishment, the figure spoke in an very lightly accented voice, that of which might be heard someplace near England. It wasn't a deep accent, and his voice was smooth as silk, and almost seductive. "What is thine names my ladies? And why does thee wonder these woods at such a time?" A light suddenly flared, and they could see a small portion of their surroundings. The man had lit the candle inside a small silver lantern. It let off a silvery glowing light. They could finally see what he looked like. The stranger had hair the same color as Samantha's, and it fell a little past his shoulders. He had a beautiful face that looked as though it had been carved by the most artistically gifted angels. His clothes would not look out of place at the party they had just attended, for he wore an olive-green tunic and coal-black leggings. Also, calf-high black boots with some type of curly silver embroidery. But his eyes... His eyes were what drew Katelyn's gaze. They were of the most beautiful shade of blue she had ever seen. They looked so pure, soft and gentle... She had never seen anyone with eyes like that in her life... At least, none that she could remember. "What is thine names my ladies?" the man asked again, a little more seriously.
When none of them answered, he had his white horse walk forward, closer to them. With a small shock of surprise, Katelyn realized that he had a bow and swan feather fletched arrows. But the bow wasn't like the bows that hunters used. It didn't have all those gadgets and such. Katelyn then comprehended, that it was nowhere near hunting season... The man gazed at her with something close to reverence. His bright eyes sparkled in the light from the lantern as he scrutinized every inch of her; taking in her tattered silk dress that had snagged on brush and tree limbs as they had ridden through the forest, the blood on her dress that had stained it when she had knelt down beside her dying foster mother, and the cuts on her arms and face which had been slashed by prickers and thorns as she had rode.
He looked back up into her eyes, a faint smile appearing on his fair face. "Tari...?" he whispered in a questioning way, not drawing his gaze away from her gentle brown eyes which were glittering with confusion.
"What?" she asked, staring at him strangely.
He dismounted gracefully from his steed, and walked over to her. He stopped, and smiled. "Tari..." he whispered again.
"What are you saying?" Katelyn asked, gazing at him quizzically, her brows knitted with confusion. She too dismounted from her horse.
"I am saying your name, Tari. Do you not remember it?" he asked, taking a few more steps toward her. She noticed that he bore a strange trinket around his neck. It looked like a gold heart shaped locket with a clear stone in the middle.
"My name is Katelyn Morrison." she answered firmly; almost defensively.
His smile faltered. "But that cannot be..." He said quietly, more to himself than to any of them, "You look just like her, and yet..." The man took the last few steps that separated them, and reached out a hand to the side of her face. She recoiled with a surprised look. "Do not fear, my lady, I am only looking for something." She hesitated, then stood still. He smiled, then reached forward, and pulled back a few strands of hair to look at one of her ears. The man felt his heart sink to see that they were not delicately pointed like his own. 'I thought for sure it would be her...' he thought desperately to himself.
"Who are you?" Abbey asked, rather aggressively, with her face set like stone.
He glanced at her, and offered an aphrodisiac smile. "My name is Legolas, of the Mirkwood Realm." he said in smooth silky tones.
"You are 'who' from 'what'?" Abbey asked, seeming to think that he was joking with her.
"Legolas." he repeated to her, "My name is Legolas."
Katelyn closed her eyes, the name echoing into every corner of her brain. She couldn't recall anything about him... She couldn't remember. "I'm sorry, but I don't know you." Katelyn said at last, willing herself to break the silence.
She saw that he looked deeply disheartened. His eyes seemed to lose their sparkle for a moment, but then regained it slowly. "Why did you call her Tari? Who is Tari any who?" Samantha asked, staring at him with scrutiny.
Legolas turned his gaze to her, and answered with a voice that showed he did not want to talk about this subject, "That, is a story for another time... It is no concern of yours..." His eyes dropped to the ground for the merest second, before snapping back up to gaze at each of them in turn. "Now, where do you hail from, and what is your purpose here in Mirkwood?"
"What?" Samantha asked, confusion layering her voice as her own light blue eyes flashed in the light of the lantern. "What is Mirkwood?"
"The woods where you now walk." he answered. "You are in the Realm of Mirkwood, not many leagues from the Western border of the forest. You must know at least where Mirkwood is? It's size takes up most of Middle-Earth for Valar's sake!"
"What-are-you-talking-about!" Abbey asked in rising tones of impatience. "I've never heard of places like 'Middle Earth' or 'Mirkwood'! Are you insane or something?"
The man gazed at her with just as much impatience. When he spoke again, there was the merest hint of vexation. "I do not know where thee hast come from... I shall take you to Lord Elrond in Imladris. He shall know what to do with you." He mounted his horse again, looking at them expectantly.
Katelyn glanced sideways at Abbey and Samantha, as though asking mutely if they should trust him. She did not sense any evil about him... In fact, she felt a deep connection with the man, that she could not explain.
"Fine." she answered at last, surprised to hear how much stronger her voice was, "Take us to Lord Elrond..." Katelyn mounted Willow, and began to trot off after Legolas.
Abbey rolled her eyes. 'Is she insane? This man is a complete stranger! For all she knows, he could have been the man who murdered her foster parents!' she thought angrily to herself, as she nudged Hunny forward, following Katelyn down the trail.
"We shall reach Imladris in a few days." Legolas called over his shoulder. "We shall ride for another hour or so, then stop to rest. There is no point to riding aimlessly in the dark..." He extinguished the lantern, then took up the reins again to lead them onward.