Lúthien and her parents stood on a far away hill, barely close enough to make out the village and its people. They watched in complete shock as the strange riders neared the village, and the people finally began to understand the danger they were in. Lúthien could see the people, barely anything more than specks, begin to rush about in fear. The three watched in horror as the riders reached the village and faint screams of terror reached their ears. With in a minute, one house had been set ablaze, followed by another, and soon a third.

"We must help them!" she said, her eyes wise with fright as she turned her horse as if preparing to race back to the village. In a moment's notice, her father had raced his horse in front of her, barring her path.

"We can do nothing to save them." He said grimly. "There is nothing we can do. If we went back, now, we would die as well."

Lúthien's face went white. Inside she knew those people were dying, but she had been in denial, refusing to accept it. Now that her father had come right out and confirmed her fears, she could no longer ignore the truth. She hung her head as the tears began to fall. Aden hurt to see his daughter cry, but knew there was nothing he could do. If he did not have to be so strong for his family's sake, he would be crying as well. He knew that his own nieces, nephews, brothers, and cousins were all dying as the moments passed by. He knew that he could do nothing to save them, though he could still save his wife and child. To do that, he knew he had to be strong. He frowned deeply as he realized the screaming had all but stopped and nearly the entire village was up in flames. That meant that they were almost through, and that those murderous riders would soon be wandering these hillsides. There was a great chance they'd be caught if they continued to linger much longer. Aden turned to the last of his family. Lúthien and Edel were both weeping. They had all lost loved ones this day. He refused to lose anyone else he loved, especially Lúthien. She was his treasure, his pride and joy, and he'd sooner die a thousand deaths than see her harmed.

"Come. We must ride on to Rohan. It's the closest guarded city. We'll be safe there as long as king Theoden still lives."

"Rohan is nearly a week's journey from here, my love. Will we be able to make it there with out being caught?" Edel asked, worrying about what would happen if they were caught by the orcs before they reached safety.

"We must try." He said, turning his horse in the direction of Rohan.

They all spurred their horses onward. They raced over grassy meadows, traveling as fast as their horses could race with out tiring. They rode a full day, only stopping at small streams long enough to let their horses hydrate and recover some of their strength. By dusk, they happened upon another small stream. They had not seen anything to indicate they were being followed all day, so they decided to stop and rest for the night. They dismounted, and Lúthien's parents began to prepare their beds and a meal to eat before turning in for the night. Lúthien had decided to forage for food, wanting to make their provisions last as long as possible should something unexpected occur, and also wanting to find treats for the horses for bearing them thus far. With out the horses, they would most likely be caught by now, and Lúthien felt they deserved a reward.

Shortly after nightfall, Lúthien returned with a bundle in her arms. "There was not much to find near us, but the further down stream I went, the more delightful treats I found." She said, opening her sac. "Look, mother. Wild berries." She said, handing her mother and father a handful each. "And corn nuts for the horses." she said merrily.

She was not sure why they were called corn nuts. They did not resemble corn at all, but she shrugged it off as she approached the horses. The horses, noticing her walking to them, gathered in front of her. They always seemed to know when she had something tasty for them. She sat in the grass, now, and laid the cloth out in front of her. She had already eaten her share of berries and roots, and would eat a bit of bread to finish her meal. Lúthien could not stand to eat meat. The sight of it turned her stomach, and the sight of someone eating it caused her to retch. She could not bring herself to eat meat. Eating meat would mean the animal would have to be dead. That meant that by eating meat, she was inevitably eating death. The moment the animal's life ends, it's flesh begins to rot. In her eyes, there could be nothing more disgusting. Her parents knew all too well her aversion to meat, and so never ate any in her presence. While Lúthien had been foraging, they had eaten the dried meat they brought first, not wanting Lúthien to come back and see them eating it.

Lúthien smiled as she realized how fortunate she was to have such understanding and loving parents, but her mood soon soured when she though of all the other family she had lost that day. One of the horses, as if sensing her change in mood, nudged her gently on the shoulder with his nose. Either that, or they were getting impatient waiting for their treats. Lúthien smiled and laughed warmly as she pushed his nose away.

"Alright, alright." She said, smiling. "I did not mean to keep you waiting."
With that, she opened the cloth to reveal the wild berries, corn nuts, and a type of white root. People could eat the wild berries and the white roots, but not many found the roots were not very tasty. Lúthien liked them just fine. Though, corn nuts made people sick, they were a well liked treat for the horses. She began dividing the berries into 3 equal portions, then the nuts, and finally the roots. She first offered the roots to the horses, which she had washed in the stream before finding her way back to camp. They hesitated at first. Lúthien laughed slightly.

"I know you would much rather have the berries, but I will give them to you the sooner you eat these. They are very good for you."

She did not know what they were called, but she knew they could be eaten. Eating only vegetables and fruits, she had much time to experiment with different plants. There had been times she had found plants that tasted terrible and even plants that made her ill. In time, she learned what to avoid, and was now quite excellent at discerning the edible from the inedible. She watched with a motherly sort of pride as the horses began to eat the roots, almost as if they had understood her. There had been many time she wondered if they really did understand when she spoke to them. It almost seemed as if they truly did understand every word she spoke. Then again, she spent much time with them, learning to read their moods and body language. After some time, it almost felt as if she could read their thoughts, and vice versa.

While the horses had began to eat the roots, she began to pull the inedible parts off of the corn nuts. The horses finished only a minute or so before her. After she finished with the last nut, she gave them, too, to the horses. They ate them with greater joy, having them only rarely as a special treat. Lúthien watched the horses as they cracked the tough outer shell with their strong jaws, discarded the shells, and enjoyed the soft inside. She smiled at them in turn. She had been the one to name them.

Gregor was her father's stallion. He was an impressive beast. He had a shining black coat on one side. The other side was black as well, but had beige flecks throughout it. The flecks were only on his left flank, almost as if someone had separated one half from the other in a perfect line down the center. The flecks were sparse towards the front, and more concentrated in the back, almost as if Gregor ran so fast that the flecks were forced to the back. The flecks were even on his face, but only on his left half. Some of the flecks were even cut in half, almost as if they were not allowed to cross the center.

Lúthien looked to Morgain, her mother's horse. Morgain was a beautiful, chocolate brown mare. Morgain's coat was swirled with different shades of brown. She had a single streak of white from the top of her head, between her ears, to the tip of her tail at her rump. She was the oldest horse of the three, but the swiftest. Morgain was healthier than horses half her age, and Lúthien would have it no other way.

Finally came Lúthien's mare, Gilleth. Although Lúthien hated to favor one horse over another, she had to admit that Gilleth was the most beautiful horse she had ever seen. Gilleth was as white as snow, and almost seemed to glow in any light. She had black streaks over her eyes, which seemed to seep into her mane, turning it black as well. Her tail was black also. While her white coat seemed to glow like a star, her mane and tail almost seemed to glow black, absorbing light like the night. Her father said Gilleth had been a gift from Arwen. Lúthien had gotten Gilleth as a foal for her 10th birthday. They had grown up together, and were now both young adults. Her father had said that such a beautiful horse was only befitting of such a beautiful lady, causing Lúthien to blush furiously.

Lúthien noticed the horses had finished with their corn nuts and were now looking at her expectantly. She chuckled and pushed the cloth, which had 3 piles of berries on it, forward. She looked to her parents, who were beginning to settle down for the night, as the horses began to eat their respective pile. Her father had extinguished their small fire, and both had crawled into bed. Lúthien thought of Arwen and smiled. She couldn't remember a day when at least one of her parents did not praise Arwen in one form or another. She had never heard anything but wonderful things about Arwen since as long as she could remember. In fact, she had never heard her parents utter anything but good things about any elves. She had grown up to consider elves as friends, and Arwen as a second mother.

Lúthien sighed heavily. She was not tired, more like weary. A lot had happened that day. She had lost almost all of her family, lost her life-long home, fled for her life with barely anything more than the clothes on her back, and was now in the middle of nowhere with an uncertain future facing her. Her heart was heavy and her mind burdened. Never before had she experienced so much death. The thought made her feel ill to the pit of her soul. She would never forgive those people who had killed so many so needlessly. She couldn't think of a single reason that would drive those riders to slaughter her entire village, then burn it to the ground. Her village was peaceful. Lúthien frowned deeply. She was going to be troubled for a long time, and she knew it.

Standing resolutely, she decided she'd clear her mind and help herself become tired enough to sleep by washing and grooming the horses. The sun had set a while ago, so she set to work by the light from the half-full moon. Grabbing a small cloth from one of the travel bags, she lead the horses to the small stream and began her task. She mulled over the day's events, desperately trying to make sense of it all. After slightly more than an hour of running the same questions through her mind and finding no answers, she realized she would find none. At least for now, there was no explanation for what had happened. The horses were clean and brushed, thanks to her father's foresight to bring supplies for the horses. She pulled the horse hair from the brush, watching it waft away in the breeze. There was nothing left to do but crawl into her respective bed near her parents and let sleep take her. The horses soon went to sleep as well, settling down near the sleeping humans. So the night went.

A terrible feeling rushed through Lúthien, a horrible sort of panic. Her eyes flew open to see dark figures looming over her. They were horrid creatures, the things only nightmares can create. They were dark and twisted, terrible jagged teeth gleaming in the moonlight. She opened her mouth to scream, yet no sound came forth. They grabbed her, pulling and pushing her about. Again, she screamed in silence. She heard the horrifying tearing of clothes and flesh as pain ripped through her. They were killing her. She looked around in panic, searching for her parents. They were gone, as were the horses. She heard someone scream, only to realize it was her own. The pain began to fade. She was dying. Her vision changed. She was no longer seeing the terrible black creatures, stained with her blood. She saw a flaming eye, one of incomprehensible evil. Fear seared through her more intense than anything she could imagine, and she suddenly found herself wishing she was back with the black creatures. It watched her, boring into her very being. She could feel it tearing at her soul, corrupting it, destroying it. Then everything went black. Two words tickled at her mind, like a vague whisper from the blackness. Rivendel. Gandalf.

The fear returned, and her eyes opened wide. She shot up, the night air chilling the cold sweat on her face and body. Gilleth lifted her head, looking at her questioningly. She touched her body, feeling the places where the monsters had been tearing at her. She was not damaged, but she still hurt. She had dreamed it all, yet her pain and fear lingered. That dream was so real. Too real. And what of Rivendel? Who is Gandalf? Was that what she should fear? She shook her head. It was the eye that she needed to fear. Rivendel was an elvish city, she knew that much. There was no reason to fear the elves. Then the idea struck her that it might not have been a dream, but a warning. Perhaps she had to get to Rivendel, and find this Gandalf, or everything in her dream would come to pass.

Instantly, she was up and moving. The fear from the day her village attacked coursed through her. Her first act was to wake her parents. The dream may have been a warning, but her fear was real. Danger was coming, and it was coming for them.

"Mother. Father." She whispered, shaking them in turn. "Wake up."

The woke up disorientated, sleep clouding their senses.

"What is going on?" Edel asked, her voice coarse with sleep.

"Something is coming."

Upon her words, her parents truly awoke, all thoughts and feelings of sleep long gone. They were up, racing about, picking up all their belongings, and rushing to leave in silent fear. Lúthien roused the horses as her parents packed the last of their items. As they were attaching the travel bags to the horses' saddles, Lúthien spoke up.

"I must go to Rivendel."

"What?" Her father asked incredulously.

"I must go to Rivendel." She repeated. "I fear terrible things will happen if I do not."

"No. I refuse to let you travel to Rivendel. You could be caught by those riders. You will come to Rohan with us."

"No, father. I must go to Rivendel."

Lúthien's father was about to speak in protest until Edel placed her hand upon his shoulder, silencing him.

"If you do not make it safely to Rivendel, I will never forgive you." Edel said, her voice somber and calm.

Lúthien smiled and nodded. "I promise to be safe."

Her mother smiled as well. "Your father and I will continue on to Rohan. We will be waiting for you there."

Lúthien ran to embrace her mother and father. Tears began to form. She had never had to leave her parents before. Sure, she had been away from them, but this was not the same. Before, she could have gone to them if she wanted to. Now she had no choice. Her father gently pushed her away to allow Edel to hold her. As his wife and child were holding each other, he walked to Gregor and reached into the travel sac he carried. Pulling out his sword, he walked back to Lúthien and held it to her. He ignored the look of shock in her eyes.

"I want you to take this, and defend yourself with it should the need arise. I will forbid you to leave for Rivendel, otherwise. Promise me."

Lúthien lowered her head. "I promise." she said faintly.

"Look at me and promise!" He commanded.

"I promise." She said, lifting her head and speaking firmly.

Aden handed her the sword. "And I will hold you to that promise."

Lúthien's eyes widened. It seemed as if the very air around her was squeezing her. The danger was getting closer. Her fear was making it hard to breath. They had to leave immediately.

"You must go, now." She said, running to her horse. "If we linger any longer, we will be in grave danger."

She mounted Gilleth, watching her parents mount Gregor and Morgain. They paused to look at each other for a moment or two, her parents turned south to Rohan, while she faced north to Rivendel. Knowing the extent of the danger they were all in, Lúthien spurred Gilleth on. Her parents followed suit. They grew father apart as the moments passed. Lúthien looked back to see her parents once more. In the light of the half moon, she watched as they drew out of sight. She sighed resolutely as she strapped her father's sword around her waist. Her fear was getting worse, and she knew she was heading into the mouth of the monster. She was backtracking directly into the path of the riders. She silently began hoping against all hope that she could keep her promise and make it to Rivendel alive.

Cerulean Sage

"Second chapter is done. Before I begin explaining anything else, I'd like to make reference to a comment I received on my story. I grew quite irritated when my first comment was an ignorant one, insulting my story. I have no idea how someone can have the audacity to read ONE chapter of my story, assume they know how the entire story plays out, and then insult me and my story. In case some of you have forgotten, this is a fanfic. The idea of a fanfic is to take someone's original story, and then add your own ideas into said story. As I said, I am trying to remain very close to Tolkien's original story, using maps, the books, and the movies as reference. The difference is that I am making my own changes. If I made no changes to the story and wrote about it, I'd be sued for a little thing called copyright infringement.

Also, I know about the original Lúthien. That is one reason why my character's full first name is not Lúthien, but Lúthien Arwen. Adding to that, I fully intend to weave the story and ideas of the original Lúthien into my story so that my Lúthien and the original Lúthien have similar, but not identical, fates and traits. Furthermore, my character is not a Lúthien clone, decedent, or descendant. In fact, she is in no way, shape, or form related to Lúthien. The only similarities are some of their looks, some characteristics, and some fate. Lúthien was an elf. Lúthien Arwen is human, but they will show similarities.

Basically, as I said before, swallow before you speak. You may know everything there is to know about Tolkien's LOTR, but this is MY story. You do NOT know what is going to happen, so don't assume you do, and start flapping your gums. You'll make a fool of yourself before you make a fool of me.

Onto normal topics, think of a corn nut as an acorn. As for the white root, think of a parsnip. Also, when I was describing Gregor's fur, it is completely possible to have fur like that. My cat is black, but only has color on one side. The color is split perfectly down the middle, and it kind of reminds me of Two-Face from Batman. I think it looks really cool and decided I'd give one of the horses the half-and-half look.

Gilleth means star in elvish (Thank you Kerla and AmberRose). She will play an important role in the story, especially being an elvish horse. Aren't elvish horses supposed to be close descendants of Meares, or is that just Shadowfax? Feel free to correct me if you know for sure. Speaking of Shadowfax, he's not even considered to be an important character, or even a character, by a lot of people. I'll tell you this. If Gandalf did not have Shadowfax, he definitely wouldn't have been able to pull off that 'just in the nick of time' stuff.

Also, an apology for Cera for getting your name wrong in the Review Board. I thought it was Cela. To answer your question Kerla, to get my elfin names, I used an elvish name generator. It's a lot better than if I simply made the names up, myself. I had a lot of hilarious results with one. According to the Middle Earth Multi-Generator, my mother is an Inbred Elf. I found that hilarious. According to the Middle Earth Multi-Generator, I'm a Powerful Elf. Who would have thought?

One final thing. I didn't get any reviews about what to do about Aden, so I just decided on my own. I wasn't going to wait forever."