Welcome back to GOA! I hope you enjoy the latest installment of my adventure! Thanks for all of the kudos; they are greatly appreciated!

*Note-I've been working on adding more 1800's slang into the story. The definitions can be found at the end of the chapter.

Katia0203-I'm so glad you enjoyed the scene with Quickbeam. I had never written about one of the ents before and found him to be a very pleasant character to write. The entwives' fate is a very sad thing and still affects Bregalad in the story; he still has hope that perhaps one day they will be reunited, even after all these millennia have passed. I also think Arthur will be very disappointed when he arrives home; lets hope Duckie can let him down easy. More to come concerning the ellyn in this chapter! Thanks for taking the time to review my story. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything associated with Tolkien Enterprises. I also do not own any music by Stephen Foster or Thomas Haynes Bayly. Their lyrics are included in this fanfic and they are old enough to be considered public domain.

ooOoo

Guardians of Arda

By Ponytail Goddess

Chapter 5: The Cloaked Figure

BANG!

Duckie shivered in fear as she saw blood trickle out of the sheriff's forehead. His struggling stopped as he exhaled slowly for the last time.

"NO!" She heard a new voice scream in horror. It was a young boy who couldn't have been more than eight or nine years old. He ran up to the brunette shooter fearlessly, his red hair blazing under the sunlight, and kicked the man in the groin with as much force as he could muster. The shooter sank to his knees, his dirty lips groaning in pain beneath his unkempt, wiry beard.

"How dare you! HOW DARE YOU! HE WAS MY FRIEND!" Screamed the child, who started hitting the man on the shoulders with his fists. The shooter suddenly decided he would not tolerate the child's behavior though and smacked him back, knocking him to the ground with a soft thud.

"Why you little…" The unkempt man muttered vengefully, then spit on the ground next to the child and tackled him. The two rolled down the saloon stairs and then rolled around in the street, both equally determined to hurt the other as a small dust cloud formed around them.

The man seemed to gain the upper hand over the child after a minute and Duckie screamed as she watched him pin the boy to the ground so he could punch the boy repeatedly in the face. Before she knew that her feet were moving, Duckie found herself running towards the boy with concern shimmering in her hazel eyes.

"Stop it!" She shouted at the man as she pushed him with all of her might, trying to remove him from the child's bruised body. "Stop it right now! He's only a boy!"

A smack across the face sent Duckie reeling backwards and resulted in her landing sprawled out awkwardly on the dirt road. She moaned as she sat up quickly, her hand instantly covering her cheek where the offender had hit her. Her eyes were wide with shock as he stared back at her with angry eyes from beneath the shade of his black, wide-brimmed hat.

Duckie watched helplessly as he picked up the whimpering child with ease, tied his hands together, and threw him in the back of a nearby wagon, hiding him under the large burlap covering in the back. Desperate to help in some way, Duckie forced herself to get up and ran right up the offender. He gave her a head-to-toe inspection before he sneered at her. Duckie was repulsed by him, as he reeked of liquor and body odor. Still, she managed to hold her ground.

"Take me instead!" She demanded intently, horrified at the idea of the child being hauled off to some unknown location by a dangerous stranger. "It's me that you really want, right?" She asked, pressing him as she recalled how he had threatened her by pretending to shoot her with his hand before he had murdered the sheriff.

A snort of amusement and a small, malicious smile was all Duckie got in response to the comment before the man grabbed her roughly by the arm and pulled her close to his body. "You think I'm going to give up that kid just because you asked me to?" He asked with amusement in his voice, then continued with a creepy look in his eyes.

"Yer out of your damn mind lady." He said, then pulled her close to him and whispered, "I'm taking you both."

Duckie gasped and tried to pull away from him, but he smacked her across the face a second time. The blow was to the back of her head this time and left her mildly dazed. In the meantime, she felt the man tie her hands in front of her rather tightly. She shrieked when he tossed her into the wagon as if she was a ragdoll being discarded by a careless child. Duckie's head smacked against the floor of the wagon painfully and her dizziness soon gave way to darkness.

When she finally awoke, she could tell the wagon was moving, though she was still rather disoriented from her head injury. She could feel the rough fabric of the wagon cover laying down heavily on her face. It particularly hurt where the murderer had hit her, which was still pulsating with pain and was surely bruised.

An odd plethora of smells permeated the wagon cover, adding to her discomfort. She could not see any light through the small holes in the burlap and thus came to the conclusion that it must be night.

The sound of a glass bottle shattering reminded Duckie of the boy's presence in the wagon, as she heard him gasp. He struggled a bit and it shook the entire wagon for a few moments before he laid still again. Duckie could hear a steady stream of grumbling and cursing coming from the driver's seat of the wagon, as the man spoke to himself in his drunken state.

"Not much further, Ralphie ol' boy," she heard her captor mumble under his breath as the horse's steady hooves clip-clopped quietly through some grass, continuing to haul the three of them through the darkness.

Silent as a leaf falling from a tree branch, Duckie gently and carefully used her feet to push her way to the back of the wagon. Once she had wriggled far enough, she moved her head carefully in a circular motion until she could peek out from beneath the cover.

They were in the forest—the darkness of the trees and the melodic chirping of the grasshoppers gave it away abruptly, despite Duckie's mental haze. She could see glowing eyes sparkling down at her through the darkness of the tree cover. As she slowly regained her wits, she wondered if the spider was nearby and briefly started to panic.

That is, until she became aware of the whispering of the trees around her.

"He has cut her down and captured her!" One called out silently to the others.

"He's bound her branches together!" Another replied in a concerned voice. "We must help her escape!"

"Call for Bregalad," she murmured to them as quietly as she could, "He will come to my aid. Please help! Please call him here!" She repeated desperately in a hushed voice.

The trees wasted no time in fulfilling her request. Soon the whole forest was whispering about Duckie and her situation. An uneasy feeling filled the air that even Ralph, her captor, seemed to catch onto. His mumbling stopped for a while as he listened to the forest as it grew eerily quiet. Duckie could hear his heart starting to beat faster as the animals and insects fell silent.

Suddenly, the cart brutally jerked forward a few times and then stopped. Duckie heard Ralph snap his whip against his steed to goad him into continuing on, but the horse could not seem to overcome whatever obstacle had befell them. He tried twice more, but neither attempt seemed to help them progress towards their destination.

Something was wrong with the wagon. Cursing loudly at his misfortune, Ralph jumped down from the cart. Duckie could hear his heavy breathing and unsteady steps as he stumbled drunkenly around the wagon to try and find what was wrong. Duckie could not see what was happening from her place in the cart, but heard a loud cracking sound as an object fell through the treetops, followed by a bellow of pain and a small thumping impact that jostled the cart.

All was silent after that, aside from the chirping grasshoppers and usual forest creature sounds that were once again prevalent. Duckie sat still for several moments, listening for any sound that Ralph might be making outside the cart, but could hear nothing aside from a few shallow breaths. Taking care not to make a sound, Duckie cautiously slid her legs to the edge of the wagon and carefully rolled out and onto the ground.

She gracefully landed on her feet in the middle of a small, slightly overgrown path through the forest. Looking all around her in fear, Duckie silently slunk around the side of the wagon, uncertain of her captor's fate.

Quite the scene was laid out before her. Several long, wispy strands of willow leaves were tangled around one of the wagon's wheel rungs. Duckie could only imagine and marvel at how it had gotten so tangled in such a short time. Ralph, her captor, laid passed out on the ground with a large piece of deadfall near his head and a massive black and blue bruise forming on his forehead.

"Oh my goodness…" Duckie muttered to herself as she realized what the trees had done. "The trees-"

"I saved you, young sapling!" The willow chimed in, whispering proudly to Duckie about the part it had played in the little foray.

"I helped too! I helped too!" Cried the large white oak tree that was growing on the other side of the path.

"Thank you," Duckie breathed in relief, "Thank you both so much!"

She quickly lifted her bound hands and touched the trunk of one tree and then the other to show her appreciation for what they had done. After that, she wasted no time awkwardly pulling a knife off of her unconscious captor and bringing it over to the wagon where the child was. Duckie gave the burlap cover a rough tug and the child gasped as he was revealed to the darkness.

When Duckie carefully climbed into the wagon with the help of her rope-tied hands, the child immediately started to struggle as she approached him, shouting, "Leave me alone! Don't touch me!"

"Hush, hush!" Duckie said softly, leaning over his struggling figure as best as she could while trying not to get hit by his flailing legs. "It is just me. I tried to help you while we were still in town, remember? My name is Duckie. What is yours?"

"Willie. Willie Glenn." He answered tensely, although he did calm a bit when he realized she wasn't their captor. Duckie furrowed her brow and then closed her eyes for a moment. She felt terrible mental anguish as she inspected the colorful bruising on the child's face from the beating. Her heart hurt because this young soul had borne the brunt of their captor's abuse.

Not knowing how much time she would have before Ralph woke up, Duckie immediately forced herself to focus on the task at hand and started to rub the blade back and forth across the rope confining Willie's hands.

"What are you doing?" He asked immediately. Duckie abruptly realized that as a mortal, he could not see in the dark very well and did not understand what was happening.

"Shh. I'm going to get you out of here." She whispered back. "That man is passed out on the ground right now. I will cut your ties and then you will cut mine so we can escape before he wakes up."

Duckie sawed at the rope confining his small arms with all of her might, the serrated blade slowly but surely starting to pass through the thick, dusty binding. She was listening mindfully to the sounds of the night and the steadiness of Ralph's breathing as she worked. Breathing heavily as she worked, Duckie felt her adrenaline spiking as she silently worried about the man waking up too soon. If he came around before she finished, they would have to make a run for it without cutting their bonds, which would be a large disadvantage for them.

She trembled at the thought and started to rake the knife against the rope even harder.

It would be even more unfortunate if they ran into the massive spider that she knew was lurking amongst the trees. Duckie cringed as she remembered the grouping of dark, shiny eyes she had seen the previous night while she shaved away the rope's layers. Under her breath, she murmured a silent prayer for them. She prayed they would both make it out of this situation alive and without getting captured again.

It seemed as if hours had passed before Duckie felt the rope on the child's wrists fall away. "Ah," the child muttered in relief, rubbing at his tender wrists for a moment before Duckie was able to hand him the knife. She carefully guided the blade between her hands and then directed the boy to saw upward. His motions were awkward at first, but he soon found a rhythm and worked very diligently at setting her free. All the while, Duckie listened intently, hoping nothing bad would happen to them, especially while she was incapacitated.

Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan. Duckie gasped when she heard the sound of thundering hooves coming down the forest path. "Someone's coming!" She hissed. "Quick, run into the forest!"

"But you are still tied!" He complained, clearly worried about her becoming recaptured.

"Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! Run and hide! Go now!" She insisted, grabbing the knife from the boy and using her shoulder to push him in the right direction. The boy panicked for a moment, but then decided to obey. He ran with loud, plodding steps into the pitch-black forest.

Soon he was invisible in the darkness and Duckie struggled her way back off the cart and ran to hide as well. She did not make it very far though before she heard the horses coming to a halt as they arrived at the scene. She snuck behind a nearby tree as she heard the riders begin to dismount. The clicking of spurs and a series of unsteady footsteps could be heard from her hiding spot.

"Ralph! Ralph, get up rusty guts!" She heard one of them call out. Peeking around the tree, Duckie saw that the closest man to her captor was kicking him as he laid on the ground. Ralph eventually moaned a bit as he finally returned to consciousness. He grabbed the boot that was harassing him and pushed it away harshly, causing the other man to stumble a bit and curse.

"Damn it Ralph, you've come into some bad luck with this here floorer!" The tallest one said, pointing to the deadfall that was lying beside him.

"Did you at least get us something good from town?" The third one asked after a moment, clearly not caring about what had happened to his brother. Instead, he had his gun out and was aiming at something in the forest. Duckie's heart quivered as she realized it was pointed in the direction Willie had gone. "We've only got a few bottles of whiskey left, you know. I've been half-rats all day while you were out nanty narking."

When he was done talking, he spit a large wad of tobacco on the ground, narrowly missing Ralph's face, which led to another string of foul words. The tallest man leaned down and tried to lift Ralph off the ground, rather unsuccessfully. "Grover, help me get him up." He said and the first one immediately started to help. The two of them somehow managed to get Ralph seated in the back of the wagon.

Ralph looked around once he was seated, still appearing quite dazed. The growing goose egg on his head was very visible from where Ducky was peering through a large, prickly brush growing next to the tree.

It was at this point that Ralph finally noticed the inevitable. "Hey… wait a second! Where's that there tall girl and the kid?" He mumbled, slurring his words together a bit in his state of disorientation.

"What do you mean 'the tall girl and the kid?' There ain't no one else brave enough to come in these woods at night except for us." The gun wielding man said and then, without warning, fired several shots out into the night. Duckie shuddered from her hiding spot and hoped that little Willie had found somewhere safe to hide too.

"Yes, there is!" He said a bit more adamantly, though he was still hard to understand, as his words were coming out slurred together. "I got in a fight with the ol' gasbag sheriff when I tried to rob the bar. When I killed him, one of them idiot Glenn boys attacked me and then that tall manish woman came to his rescue. I brought them here hoping we could have little bit of fun cooking their goose." He finished, grinning psychotically at his family members.

The one named Grover thought this was funny and leaned in a bit to say, "Give 'um a little taste of their own medicine, eh? Sounds like a plan to me!"

"Some plan—if you did bring them out here, they're both gone now!" The gun wielding one said as he loaded his pistol again and then prepared to shoot. "Probably hiding in these woods as we speak." The gun's shaft was pointed in her direction suddenly. Duckie quickly ducked back behind the tree just as she heard him begin to fire in her direction. The last bullet grazed a tree that was right next to her, making her flinch. The tree it hit shrieked in pain.

"Call for Bregalad! None of our limbs are safe!" The injured tree bellowed into the night.

"Bregalad! Bregalad!" Duckie gasped as she heard a chorus of tree voices whisper into the night for their Shepherd. "Help us Bregalad! Save our limbs!"

The sound was nearly deafening to Duckie, who quickly covered her ears as she hunched over behind the tree.

"The trees do not like your presence in these woods." A strange male voice rang out, clear and beautiful in the night. Duckie's eyes went wide as the trees unexpectedly went silent and a creepy feeling passed through the air, creating gooseflesh on Duckie's arms. She peeked through the prickly bush again and saw a tall, cloaked figure step out of the darkness. A large hood covered his face, so she could not see who the person was. Duckie could tell that the voice was male; its sound was unusual and otherworldly, as if speaker was not from the race of men.

"They call for their master." He continued calmly, "Can you not hear it?"

All four of the Thomas brothers immediately tensed up. Duckie saw three of them rest their hands on their weapons. The fourth, who had already been shooting into the forest, daringly pointed his gun right at the stranger. A moment later, he spit out a large wad of chewing tobacco and asked in a dark tone of voice, "Now just who the hell are you?"

The cloaked stranger simply laughed condescendingly at the man and continued, "Of course you can't, you inferior fools. You have no idea how much danger you are in right now, do you?"

"Says the man who thinks we've 'upset the trees.' Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pump your head full of lead right now." The man with the gun said, raising his eyebrows menacingly while cocking the gun. He had a dangerous look in his eye and Duckie could tell he would have no qualms about killing a complete stranger.

Duckie gasped as two glowing red eyes flashed momentarily from beneath the darkened hood of the stranger. With a flick of his gloved hand, the gun flew out of the outlaw's hand and disappeared into the darkness of the woods. The stranger's hand then reached out and mimicked a choking motion. To Duckie's surprise and horror, the brother who had previously been holding the gun was magically lifted into the air. He gasped and struggled against an invisible foe as he mysteriously floated a foot above the ground.

The hooded stranger simply chuckled as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening and matter-of-factly replied, "I am stronger than you. Is that not reason enough?" Then he flicked his hand again, sending the gasping man sprawling head first into a nearby tree.

"EARL!" The brothers shouted together as a chorus while watching his limp body sprawl out clumsily amongst the tree's protruding roots. None of the remaining brothers were brave enough to approach him and see if he was okay. Duckie could hear that Earl was still breathing, but his breaths were shallow and labored from the strangulation. Silence ensued as the lily-livered brothers tried to figure out what to do now that they knew their guns were useless against the mysterious stranger.

"Let that be a lesson to you. Now do you want my help or not?" He cloaked asked, his voice growing impatient with the situation.

"You want to help us… with the trees?" Ralph asked slowly, seemingly just as confused as Duckie was about the stranger's proposition.

"Have you not heard a word I've said? Their master and caretaker approaches as we speak and he is very unhappy! I will help you escape his wrath, if you wish it… for a small price, of course." He added slyly.

"What is it that you want from us?" One of the other brothers asked, his eyes narrowing as he sensed the trap the stranger was setting for him.

"I have been watching you for the last few weeks. I know you are in these woods frequently. The one who I serve loyally is looking for others who can serve him and further his cause." He began to explain. The air around Duckie seemed to grow even colder as he spoke and Duckie trembled with fear as he continued his account. "He needs servants who know the woods to find his enemies and eliminate them. Brave souls, just like you." He finished.

"Who do you serve?" The quietest of the brothers asked. "Is his name known to us?"

"He is known in these parts as the Elder King. He gives great power and privilege to those who serve him well. What I have demonstrated tonight is not my own power, but merely a small sampling of his own. If you were to accept him, you too could have powers beyond compare. What do you say? Shall I take you to him?" The hooded figure offered, holding out a hand as if hoping to shake on the deal.

"What a cockamamie explanation! That name is unfamiliar to me and I've lived in these parts my entire life." Ralph spat. Though he was trying to appear tough, Duckie could still tell that he was ill-at-ease with the stranger and his precarious ways.

"I ain't never heard of no Elder King in these parts neither." Grover said, appearing equally wary of the situation that was unfolding. "How do we know you're telling us the truth and not some poppycock?"

"You don't have much of a choice. Going once…" He offered, trying to push them into the bargain. None of the brothers said anything though as the each sized up the stranger individually.

"Going twice…"

They rapidly looked at each other to gage one another's opinions. The younger two seemed to defer to Ralph. He shook his head at both of the others and they nodded at him in return. Ralph then addressed the stranger. "Look, we don't need suckered into none of that magic or other supernatural crap. We've been doing just fine on our own without having a master."

"Very well then. Your loss." The stranger replied, bowing to them and stepping backwards with an odd flourish of his hand. "Should you change your mind, all you need to do is come into the forest and call for the Elder King. He has eyes and ears everywhere and he will accept any of your offers, for a small price of course."

The stranger then looked to the treetops and called out, "That goes for your party as well. The Elder King accepts help from all races." He finished, then turned in her direction. Duckie flinched as his red eyes flashed like embers once more. Her heart nearly exploded out of her chest when she realized he was looking directly at her. "Females are welcome too. The offer stands for anyone who is loyal and wants to be on the winning side of the up-and-coming battle."

And then without warning, he grabbed the side of his cloak, pulled it around his body and disappeared. Duckie gasped, totally unnerved by the situation. The gasp was a mistake though, as all three Thomas brothers had somehow heard it and were now pulling out their guns and heading her way. Mentally cursing her stupidity, Duckie looked to see if there was a way for her to escape. She crawled deeper into the forest as quickly and quietly as she could.

The loud steps of the Thomas brothers could be heard behind her. Although Duckie felt she was moving quite fast, it sounded as if they were gaining on her. There was not enough shrubbery on the ground in this area to hide. Duckie rapidly assessed that the only way she could hide would be to somehow climb one of the mature trees. Ducking down low, she darted towards a tree where she saw a branch that might be low enough for her to grab. She raised her bound hands up and tried to grab onto the closest limb. She was not quite tall enough. Cursing silently, she jumped and nearly grabbed the branch, but then fell back on her feet silently.

Desperate to escape, she tried again, jumping with all her might and caught the branch. Just as she was about to figure out how to pull herself up, a hand reached down from the tree, grabbed onto the rope that was binding her hands, and pulled her effortlessly up into its boughs. She immediately tried to find her footing on the small limb, but struggled, her feet sliding down the bole as she nearly fell back down. A vice-like arm reached around her and pulled her against a rock-hard body tightly. When Duckie looked up, she was surprised to find herself nose to nose with Henry.

He quickly put a finger against his lips, indicating that they should stay quiet. Both watched in silence as the men passed below them with their guns held in front of them, at the ready. Duckie didn't dare move a muscle, nor did Henry as they watched the men spread out and move through the darkness while looking for her.

Once they had passed, Henry carefully held her chin and inspected her face in the bit of moonlight that showed through the tree cover. He frowned at the sight and eventually whispered, "I should have never left you alone. Danger seems to be drawn to you like a moth to a flame."

Duckie flinched a bit as he softly ran his fingers over her cheek where she had received her blow from Ralph earlier in the day. Henry immediately took his hand off her cheek, then gently cupped it while looking into her eyes. "What have these mortals done to you?"

"I took a blow while trying to defend the child. Have you seen him? I sent him away to run and hide in the woods." She replied quietly, her cheeks flushing pink as she swiftly realized what an intimate position she was in with Henry.

"My cousins have the child." He said, his eyes boring into her own intensely, as if trying to understand her concern for the child. Duckie could not help but tremble under his gaze, as she had never been held so closely by a stranger in her entire life. Henry was very handsome and she was struggling to keep her wits about her under this precarious circumstance.

"You should not be so fast to interfere in the affairs of mortals." He finished, then started to whisper in the mysterious language he seemed to prefer. As the words danced through the air, Duckie felt her cheek begin to tingle and the throbbing pain quickly alleviated.

Frustrated with his response, Duckie started to argue, "You mean to tell me you would not have stepped in to save a-"

As oddly rhythmic sound caught Duckie's attention and she stopped talking all at once, her argument suddenly forgotten. Henry finally removed his hand from her cheek, though he did not remove the hand he had around her waist, which was preventing her from falling to the forest floor. Both of them turned towards the sound, looked at one another, and then looked down towards where the Thomas brothers had gone.

Thump!

They watched as all three of the men froze and went silent. The ground below them shook with the sound. They looked all around frightened, trying to figure out what was about to happen.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

"It's Bregalad. The trees have called for him and he is coming to their rescue." Duckie whispered to Henry.

"Bregalad?" Henry questioned, perplexed by her statement. "Where did you hear about Bregalad?"

"I met him yesterday. Would you believe me if I told you he was a talking tree?" She asked curiously.

"An ent. And yes..." He said as the thumping sound got louder, his eyes searching the treetops for the ent. The tree they were in was starting to shake with every impact of Bregalad's feet. "Yes, I would."

Giving her a nod of his head to reassure her, he continued, "We need to get out of here. It is no longer safe."

With speed that surprised Duckie, she watched as Henry retrieved a large knife from his utility belt. He was able to saw off what was left of the rope on Duckie's hands with a few swift slashes. The dusty remains fell to the ground as he sheathed the knife in one fluid motion.

"Put your arms around my neck and hold on." He suddenly instructed, his tone of voice leaving no room for debate. When she simply stared at him in shock, he repeated his request and urged her, "Hurry! We will take to the trees before Bregalad's wrath reaches these parts!"

"The trees?" Duckie shuddered, feeling rather fearful of what was about to happen. After all, she barely knew Henry, even if he was her father's friend. "What if we fall?"

"I promise I will not drop you. I have spent millennia running through the trees; they were once my home. We must hurry though, for in his rage, Bregalad might not see us. This is a dangerous place to linger. Please take hold now!"

Duckie turned as she heard the trees calling out to Bregalad; they shook with every step he took across the forest floor. Making a quick decision, Duckie threw her arms around Henry's neck as tightly as she could muster. She felt him scoop up both of her legs with his left arm, effectively lifting her up as he started to run across the tree branch he was standing upon.

A scream escaped from Duckie's mouth as he jumped from one tree to another. While each move he made scared Duckie half to death, he was confident and moved fluidly with perfection, as if running through trees was a normal occurrence in his life.

A loud lurching and crunching sound echoed behind them as they escaped. Duckie peered backwards only for a moment to see what had happened. Bregalad had crushed the wagon she had been riding earlier with his legs. The horse became detached and ran into the woods along with the three screaming brothers, who were all trying to avoid the pieces of deadfall that were dangerously raining down from the treetops.

Shots rang out and Duckie cried out in fear while patting Henry's chest to get his attention. "They're going to hurt Bregalad! Henry, we must go back and help him!"

"Trust me—it will take a lot more than a few stray bullets to kill an ent!" Henry replied, trying to reassure her as he used his empty hand to grab a branch and swing them into another tree. "He's going to be just fine!"

Duckie shrieked as they swung through the air once more. Her heart was thundering in her chest. Henry was moving very quickly, ducking deftly under branches and running across thin limbs as if they were tightropes. As they picked up speed, Duckie whimpered and buried her head in Henry's neck and silver blonde hair, hoping this nightmare would soon be over.

After a few more minutes, the forest grew quiet and she finally felt Henry's muscular body come to a halt. Even when he released Duckie's legs and she felt the firm ground beneath her, it still took her a few moments to muster up the courage to let go of him. Her whole body was shaking and she could hear her loud breaths as a mysterious set of hands gently caught her and eased her onto a mossy log that was lying on the ground. She watched as Henry and one of his cousins knelt down in front of her. When they spoke, it sounded very distant in comparison to the loud palpitations of her heart.

"You've scared her half to death Haldir! Dearest Elbereth, why were you not more careful?!"

"An angry ent was arriving and we needed to make a quick exit. I did the best I could to be gentle, but she is clearly not accustomed to any of our ways."

"Allow me try a calming spell. Perhaps it will ease her."

"Very well."

She watched as his cousin reached up and gently touched her forehead with the tips of his fingers. Duckie did not hear the words he murmured, but she watched as his lips moved. Suddenly, she felt her heartrate slow down and settle into a steady beat. A feeling of calmness wrapped around her like a knit blanket. She found herself take in a deep, cleansing breath and then felt herself sigh in relief.

She met the new elf's eyes and he smiled gently at her from his squatted down position. "Are you feeling any better Miss Hir?"

She nodded and smiled back. "Yes, much better. Thank you."

"Pardon my manners, let me introduce myself. In front of men, I am called Orry, but you may call me Orophin in this company. I am one of Haldir's brothers." He said, giving Henry a pat on the back as he stood up. "Rudy—or Rúmil as we call him, is our other brother. He's over by the fire tending to the child right now."

"You told me they were your cousins." Duckie said to Henry with her brows raised as they both stood up at the same time. After the little speech he had given her on honesty the other day, she was very unimpressed at learning he had lied to her.

"We tell the mortals we are cousins because we all look the same age. It is less confusing to them that way." Henry, or rather Haldir explained with the slightest of eyerolls at her obvious accusation. However, Duckie chose to ignore that comment in favor of walking over to Rúmil so she could check on Willie.

As she looked around, she noticed they were no longer in the forest, but instead were on the outskirts of it. They did not appear to be near the farmhouse, nor near where the elves had left their wagons, as Duckie could not see any of those things from their makeshift camp on the grassy prairieland.

Rúmil was close to the small fire the elves had built and was kneeling beside a small, shadowy form. Duckie quickly knelt beside him and saw that was touching the boy's face and whispering as Henry had earlier when he healed her face. Indeed, Duckie could literally see the bruises Ralph had inflicted upon the child slowly fading away on his pale, freckled face.

"Miraculous," she whispered to herself as she marveled at his handiwork in the low light. Upon hearing her voice, Rúmil stopped and looked up from his work.

"How is he?" Duckie asked quietly, noting that the child was already somehow sleeping, despite the horrific trauma he had been through.

Rúmil smirked for a moment, then answered, "He will be fine, especially now that you are here. I caught this brave soul trying to sneak up on those troublesome thieves when they were coming after you. Even after I brought him to safety, he wanted nothing more than to return to the forest to save you, whether I liked it or not." He said with a chuckle.

"I'm afraid he was getting a bit rowdy with me, so I had to put a sleeping spell upon him so he didn't run back into the forest after you. He is healing up quite nicely though. I am certain he will be happy to see you when he wakes."

Duckie smiled at Rúmil and then looked down at the young lad. She caressed a few strands of his bright red hair, pulling them carefully behind his ear with delicate fingers so she could study his face a bit better. What as sweet child he was—brave to a fault, but also caring and loyal. Duckie was grateful that he had tried to look after her as well, even though it was not his job.

"Thank you for taking such good care of him." Duckie said softly, stroking the stray hairs away from his face one last time before standing up.

"Assisting the world of men is my duty. I am pleased to be of service tonight." Rúmil replied kindly, then gently set his hand back on the child's face and began whispering healing words to the boy again.

As Duckie turned away, satisfied with the young boy's care, she surveyed the scene before her. There were four blonde men around the fire, including Haldir and Orophin. Orophin appeared to be tending to a few scratches upon Haldir's arm as they whispered to themselves quietly in the beautiful language that Duckie had heard them speaking in the other night. The other two were roasting a couple of small fish they had caught on a makeshift spit over the fire. They were on opposite ends of the fire, working together to rotate the fish slowly over the small, crackling flames. The fish appeared to be acquiring a crispy crust and smelled delectable.

Looking around a bit more, Duckie noticed that one of the dark-haired elves was posted near the forest, keeping watch. She heard him humming an unfamiliar tune to himself as watched the forest closely, pacing back and forth to see the woods from a different angle every once and a while.

"Duckie?" A familiar voice questioned cautiously from behind her. "Is it truly you?"

Immediately, Duckie whirled around to see who was addressing her. A lone figure was standing just a few feet away from her. His face was darkened by the shadows of the trees that were leaning towards them from the forest, but she could still see who it was in the darkness.

She mouth fell open in shock as she found herself face to face with her father.

ooOoo

floorer-something that knocked you to the ground

half rats-half drunk

nanty narking-having great fun (particularly while drinking)

cooking their goose-getting them in trouble

gasbag-someone pompous

lily-livered-cowardly

cockamamie-ridiculous

poppycock-nonsense

Thanks for reading! I will try to update soon!

-P.G.