With a low groan Laura slowly but surely crawled her way out of the ditch she seemed to have gotten herself into. "I thought this was instant travel, not insta-ditch." Reaching the top of the ditch and flat land, she looked around in complete shock. "Whoa, it worked. Holy shit, Mirkwood Forest." She stood up, and dusted her pajama bottoms off noticing all the leaves that covered them. She slowly made her way towards the trees thinking it a bad idea to be out in the open like that, she didn't know who or what could be out there.
She reached the trees, turning again to memorize the spot she had come from, and slowly, carefully made her way into the forest. She was on a mission, find the elf, and not get eaten by a creepy, ugly creature of some sorts. The instant she entered the wood, she felt an odd calm, yet somewhere deep inside her was a weak yet urgent feeling in the pit of her stomach, a warning.
She weaved through the trees, staring up every so often to admire their size, and dark beauty. The air felt heavy, and her breathing came in long heavy sighs. She walked on for what seemed like hours, when she noticed something was poking through her pink bunny slippers and causing her pain. She kneeled down, then sitting indian style she took her slipper off to inspect it. She found a large hole that had apparently been caused by the twig that had gone through and pierced her skin. Wincing in pain she pulled the twig out of her foot, and slipped the slipper back onto her foot, thinking how odd it was she felt pain, when she was on a completely different plane of existence.
She went to stand when out of the corner of her eye she noticed movement, then the sound of leaves rustling, and twigs cracking. Alarmed she crawled over to hide behind a tree. She crouched, waiting behind the tree, eyes searching the wood for unknown dangers. Seeing and hearing nothing, after sometime she chalked it up to her imagination working on overtime. Standing once more, and dusting the knees of her pajamas off, and she was again off to explore her new surroundings, this suddenly, slightly more creepy feeling forest.
She walked close to an hour, all the while hearing sounds behind her every now and then, but they no longer worried her, it was a forest after all. Animals surely had to inhabit it. Walking on, off in the distance she spotted what looked like a small stream some ways away. Running towards it, she saw it was, barely large or deep enough, for anything but a drink, but she was grateful all the same, she was thirsty, and dirty. As she passed some trees, she found the full extent of the stream, it was a rather small beautiful waterfall, that emptied into a small pond, where the stream emptied into a small lake.
She stood in awe, marveling at the beauty and sighing she wished her home had things of this beauty. It seemed so out of place to her, such a beautiful waterfall, in such dense wood. She knelt down, her senses completely unaware to all around her, focused solely on the sound of the running water, and the wonderful feeling of the water as she bathed her arms, and hands in the cool, refreshing stream. "Ahh, heaven on Earth." She muttered to herself. "Middle Earth actually, who are you? You are trespassing on my lands, in my borders." "Your lands?"
"Yes, who are you?" "Who are you?" "I believe I inquired as to your identity first, and as such, you should answer first." Laura rolled her eyes. "Baby, I'm.." She thought for a moment, did she really want him to know her name? What would the people here think of such a modern Earth name? "Do you not know your own identity?" Laura shot him a glare and spat out "Oh shut up, sure I do, I'm Winterbane. I was just thinking." "Thinking of what?" "How beautiful this stream is, and this entire forest actually, though it does have a slightly creepy underlying feeling going on." The elf nodded his understanding and approval, and slowly made his way closer to Laura. "I am Legolas, I protect these borders, this wood. Forgive me for the manner in which I greeted you, but it is my job to protect these lands, and strangers often bring trouble." Laura grinned, and put her hand out to shake his, but he only took it, and kissed her knuckles.
"Middle Earth you say eh, guess things go a bit differently around here, what is the name of this lovely forest?" The elf smiled at the compliment to his home. "This is Mirkwood Forest." "Mirkwood? Nice, so, mind if I have a lil drinky from that stream of yours?" The elf just looked at her in confusion and nodded towards the stream. "Please, you are most welcome." She again knelt down, took her fill of the water, and turned again to the elf. "Thanks, that was great! Anyway, gotta go, cya elfy." The elf stood there in utter confusion for a moment before stalking off after her.
"Wait, you cannot go wandering around in my wood without answering to the King first. He should like to speak with you." Laura shuddered at the mention of Legolas' father, the King. She read of what a tyrant he could be in some stories, mostly fan fictions. "Hey, as much as I would love to meet your dad elfy, I'm enjoying your woods far too much to leave them right now." Looking shocked Legolas whispered "how do you know the King to be my father?" "Shit!" Laura looked away, and turned to leave, but the elf made after her grabbing her arm. "Hey, what's the deal elf?!" The elf pushed her in front of him forcing her to walk where he lead by her arm. "I already answered you. You are meeting my father child, do not fight it." Sighing, she said "well why didn't you put it that way before? I'd be happy to go wherever the elf prince wishes."
Legolas looked down at the girls head, confusion again overtook him, and he stopped, pulling her around to face him. "How do you know I am the prince if you claim not to know of Mirkwood, and Middle Earth customs?" She looked up into the soft, clear, crystal blue of the elf's eyes, each held a spark in them, and that held her in place, mesmerized. "Girl? Winterbane?" Laura unable to take her eyes from his mumbled a barely audible response, but elf hearing being what it is, Legolas heard it perfectly. "mmhmm? Legolas?" Legolas kept his gaze fixed on the girl in front of him, the sudden fear she would disappear if he let her go crossed his mind, slowly he reached up and touched his hand to her cheek. "Who are you? Really?"
Laura and Legolas stood silent, and still staring into one another's eyes, Laura knew he was trying to read her, find out some hidden truths, but she couldn't break the gaze. Suddenly Legolas seemed to grow tense, and his posture rigid, his eyes scanned the woods around them. He spoke something in Elvish, and in one swift fluid movement, his bow was off his back and an arrow was poised read to strike anything that disturb them. Legolas pushed Laura down by the shoulders, telling her to stay put, before he ran off into the woods. "Oh shit, now what have I gotten myself into?" Laura whispered to herself from her hiding spot.
Looking up to the treetops, startled by loud cawing, Laura spotted hundreds of birds in flight above the trees. "Crows, I love crows." She said to herself. She thought to herself, that whatever Legolas went chasing must have spooked them all, or Legolas himself. 'No, I doubt Legolas to be the type birds would be afraid of, I mean he's so agile, at one with the nature, and most certainly light on his feet. Laura sighed. "Stop having internal arguments with yourself Laura."
Suddenly something from knocked her to the ground from behind, her face to the ground. Screaming she rolled away, and onto her back just before a blur of a black and furry leg shot past her, in an attempt to pin her down, followed closely by white sticky goo, where she previously laid. Laura scrambled to her feet, and looking around for anything she could use as a weapon, grabbed a nearby tree branch. Waving it at the spider seemed to make it back up a bit, until it pulled the branch from her hand with it's teeth.
She was left defenseless again, where was Legolas? Laura screamed as two sharp dagger like teeth embedded themselves into her shoulder, this spider was huge, standing it towered over her. She had never seen such a thing in her life, it terrified her. Feeling herself weakening, she balanced herself against the tree behind her, swaying on her feet, she finally collapsed, just as the spider made a horrible screeching sound, and several arrows found their way into it's body. Horrified Laura found the spiders full weight rested on her body, struggling to get free a voice whispered that she was not to move. "Legolas?" "Shh" "Get this thi…." and she fell into darkness. Legolas sighed, and set to work getting the girl out from under the giant spider.