Katie came to slowly. Her right arm throbbed, and her head was pounding. There was also something poking her in the back. She opened her eyes.

Leaves above her, and blackness. Disoriented, she tried to remember where she was and what she was doing here, lying on her back in the middle of what looked like the Black Forest.

Remembering that it was Mirkwood and she had fallen out of a tree was no relief. There were wargs out here; if she just lay here on the ground, they would probably come out and eat her alive!

The thought made her sit up quickly, and she cried out in pain. The movement sent hot agony shooting through her right arm, and her head spun. Her eyes filled with tears.

When she had her equilibrium back, she looked down at her arm, but there was nothing to see: she still had her coat on. She tried to pull her backpack off, but the movement hurt her arm so much she gasped out loud.

It must be broken. Great tears of fear and pain fell down her cheeks. She was in the middle of the Valley of the Shadow of Death here, with no idea how far away the nearest people were, with a broken arm. She knew that if the wargs came back, she wouldn't be able to run without jolting her arm excruciatingly. She was wolf-meat.

Katie struggled desperately to her feet, and cradled her arm tenderly, all her senses on high alert. How long had she been unconscious? She had no idea. There was no way, here in the dark, to tell the time. It might have been hours! The thought occurred to her that if she didn't find shelter soon, she was going to have to spend the night out in the open in the middle of the forest, with no fire, no light, no warmth. Already she was beginning to feel the effects of no food and no water.

Katie couldn't seem to stop crying—the more she tried to stop, the harder she cried. She started off in great strides, and nearly fell down. Her knees were still weak, and walking like that jolted her broken arm too much. She tried again, slower and more gently than before. It was bearable—just. As she walked, she found herself chanting a prayer with every step she took, a sob landing between each word.

000

King Thranduil of Mirkwood rode at a leisurely pace through the forest, the murmur of many happy elven voices about him. The hunt had gone well. Several of the warriors that rode in the train before him had deer behind them on their horses—tied on, for the Silvan Elves used no saddles.

Thranduil was glad he had come out on this hunt with his youngest child. Legolas rode proud and tall beside him, singing in a soft voice an old song of his people. Thranduil had seen to it that his children were raised in the Silvan fashion, after the customs of their mother. He had distanced himself from the Sindar after the Last Alliance, preferring the simple, natural life of the Nandorin Elves of Rhovanion.

The train suddenly halted, and Thranduil and Legolas stopped, as well. Legolas's horse tossed its head, the green and white gems on its bridle glaring and flashing in the inconsistent light of the forest.

"What is it?" Legolas asked, absently calming his horse with a single touch.

In a minute, someone rode down the line to halt before his liege. "My lords, I think you should perhaps come see this," he said.

Curious, Thranduil and Legolas immediately followed him to the front of the line. Thranduil observed with surprise that two of the hunting party had dismounted from their horses and were speaking to a young human girl whom they must have met on the Elf-Path. She was dressed very strangely and seemed in some kind of distress; she was speaking through suppressed sobs, and cradled her arm against herself as if she were injured.

He had only a moment to take this in before Legolas dismounted suddenly. "Katie!" he cried, and went to her.

Katie. Thranduil remembered the name. Legolas had told him of the human girl who had appeared suddenly in Rivendell, and then how he himself had been taken with the sons of Elrond to her world. Not too long after Legolas had returned from his time in Imladris, a letter had come from Elladan and Elrohir, telling Legolas of a second visit Katie had made to them. It seemed her grandmother had shown up as well, and all who met her seemed to speak quite highly of her.

This, then, must be the same Katie Elvellon! He watched as his youngest son greeted the girl with affection, then spoke with her concernedly. She seemed quite relieved to see him. One of the elves in the group, a healer, had helped her off with her pack and coat and was gently examining her right arm, which was black and blue.

Thranduil dismounted and walked over in time to see the healer shake his head.

"Broken, I'm afraid," he said kindly to the girl, who nodded as if she had expected that verdict. "I can bind it up for you until we reach the palace."

"Ah, Father," Legolas said as he drew up by them. "This is Katie Elvellon, whom you have heard about. Katie, this is my father, King Thranduil of Mirkwood."

Katie curtsied as best she could. Thranduil noticed that she was wearing trousers. "Your Majesty."

"Welcome to Mirkwood, Katie Elf-friend," Thranduil said kindly. The girl was pale and upset, and looked as if she desperately needed a rest and some food. Her curling brown hair was disheveled, and there was a leaf in it. There were traces of leaves and dirt on her pack and coat, as well.

"She was only a few yards away down the path when we began to ride out onto it, my lord," one of the warriors told him quietly in the Silvan tongue as the healer returned with something to splint the girl's lower arm. The warrior's tone was puzzled and concerned. "She seemed in distress, and asked where she was. When we told her Mirkwood, she claimed to know the young prince. I thought it unlikely, but it seems she was telling the truth." They watched as Legolas spoke to her, distracting her while the healer splinted her arm, and offering her his waterskin, which she drank from gratefully. When she had finished and handed it back, the girl told Legolas that she had found herself in the middle of the Elf Path, some distance away.

"How long ago was that?" Legolas asked. "You look exhausted."

She shook her head helplessly. "I don't know," she said. "I—I fell out of a tree, and I don't know how long I was out."

"Fell out of a tree?" Thranduil interrupted. "Why were you in a tree?"

"There were wargs," she said succinctly. "I heard them coming, and I climbed the nearest tree I could get into."

Wargs? The elves exchanged worried glances. Wargs did not often stray this far north. These were ill tidings.

"Can you tell me where you met these wargs?" Thranduil asked her, gently but urgently.

To his surprise, the girl nodded. "There was a large gray stone on one side of the path, and a tree jutted out into the path on the other side. That's the tree I climbed. The wargs came from the side with the rock. I thought they'd catch my smell and stop, but they must've hurried across the path and into the woods. I was too scared to watch them," she admitted.

Thranduil called to a number of his warriors and, giving them the location Katie had told him, ordered them to track down the wolves and despatch them quickly. With a salute, they departed.

"Shall I go with them, Father?" Legolas asked.

"No, my son, you are needed here," Thranduil answered, indicating Katie, who was thanking the healer as he finished fashioning a sling for her.

"Come," Legolas said, leading her over to his horse. "You shall ride in front of me."

"Thank you," she said faintly, and he easily lifted her up (being careful of her arm) before swinging up behind her. Thranduil mounted up as well, and the now diminished party carried on toward the Elf-King's halls.

"So you fell out of the tree?" Legolas asked Katie once they had gotten underway again. "How far did you fall?"

"Not terribly far," Katie answered. "I slipped coming down. I hit my head and blacked out; I don't know how long it was until I came to. And then my arm hurt so much, I knew I must've broken it…" Remembered fear crept into her voice. Thranduil observed that his son put his arm a bit closer about her as he held the reins. Katie was silent for a little while, composing herself, and neither Legolas nor Thranduil rushed her, simply waiting for her to continue.

"And then—I just started walking," she finally said. "And then I met up with you guys."

Thranduil was a little bemused by her language, but Legolas had been listening more to her meaning. "I know where that rock is—you have walked a long way," he said, concerned.

She nodded. "I was terrified that I was going to be stuck out here at night," she admitted. "I wasn't exactly looking forward to it."

Thranduil smiled at her tone, and Legolas chuckled. It seemed the girl was regaining her sense of humor.

"No, that would not have been pleasant," Thranduil agreed. "It is great luck that you happened to be just at this point on the path when the hunting part reached it."

He thought he heard her whisper in reply, "Not luck."

000

It was growing quite dark by the time the palace came in sight, and Katie was dozing off, leaning back against Legolas's shoulder. She had eaten a little something the warriors had with them, and fallen quiet again. She was obviously exhausted by the strain she had undergone. Luckily, the healers believed she was not very concussed. She was perfectly aware, and gave no more negative symptoms than a headache and weariness, which were both to be expected. From what Legolas had told him of the girl's personality, Thranduil thought she was being terribly quiet. But that really was not surprising.

Legolas gave her a gentle shake to wake her. "Look up," he said quietly.

The path led onto a bridge which spanned the river. On the other side, up a shallow bank, stood a large pair of doors, leading into the side of a hill. This hill could be seen rising high beyond the doors, with a few trees straggling up to its height. The stars were just coming out over the hill, and voices could be heard all about them as Thranduil's people retired for the evening into their houses, which stood in the open forest floor or in the branches of beeches. Thranduil watched as their guest looked around herself with curiosity.

"Welcome to my father's halls," Legolas told her.

TBC

AN: That was surprisingly difficult to write. Please give any criticisms, suggestions and comments you can think of! I'm having a bit of trouble with this one, and it'll be a big help! Thanks!

RenegadeKitsune :) Welcome back!

Theycallmemary: I did actually think about taking a break while I tried to figure out what the heck is happening with this new sequel, but then I just decided to plunge right in and just go with it. :) I reread the bit of The Hobbit that involves traveling through Mirkwood and a description of Thranduil's palace, just to get my facts straight, and it says none of the giant spider webs went over the path.

IwishChan: Oh, I don't know about that: they didn't fight the day they got out of Dorlarth's cells!

Ravens Destiny: Yeah, I know. I hate to repeat myself, but I wanted her to fall out of a tree and break her arm (don't ask me why), and since I got some comments last time that her stay in the forest didn't have enough angst, I thought, Why not. Unfortunately, the description of her time spent lost in the forest wasn't any longer than last time. Ah, well. You can only keep up that level of angst for so long, I guess.

Madd Hatter: So true—people's original characters always seem to be taking warg puppies in as pets. Wolves, I can maybe see. Wargs, nuh-uh. Popcorn balls? Wow, that was random… lol

Alaterial567: Yes, I've already been informed that our beloved Josh Groban is indeed straight. I was very relieved. :) Well, if you associated it with the proper Christian theology, you've got the basic gist of the philosophy, anyway. A horse whose name began with an F in lotr? I don't remember one, but I could definitely be wrong… I've heard the thing about elven bodies withering away, but I'm pretty sure it's incorrect. Their bodies are made of the same stuff as men's, so it makes sense that they would decay in the same way. Hi to Laer and Fk306! Creation East all the way! I'm a Pennsylvania girl. Oh, but I'm so glad you did post it!

Please review! You wouldn't want to make that lonely little purple button feel unloved, now would you?