Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter. I am really sorry it took so long. I will try and keep from going that long again.

This one will cut back to the Company and Steve. Hope you like this one.

Let's get to it.


Chapter 15- The Woodland Realm

Steve clambers over a fallen tree. By now, he's really regretting not staying on the Elven Road, though, admittedly, it hadn't been only his decision to leave the path. Thorin had advocated for it to.

It's been some time since T'Challa disappeared. The Company had realized that the magic lying over the forest must've been affecting T'Challa and making him see things, as all they heard him say before he ran off into the trees was Bilbo's name. He and Thorin had decided to try and pursue T'Challa, and in their haste, forgot Gandalf's warning. Their search didn't last too long, and by the time it was over, they were far off the path and could not find it again.

When they realized they had no hope of finding the path again, Thorin decided they needed to just press on eastwards as best they could. Steve wasn't completely behind that plan, but did agree that there weren't many better options available to them right now.

It's been a long time since they resumed their trek through the forest. Steve is no longer sure how much time has passed, but it has to be at least a day.

Suddenly, he sees something on the ground in front of him. He bends down and picks it up. As he does, he sees that it's some kind of pouch. "Hey, guys. Look at this," he says.

The dwarves look at him and gather around. Nori takes the pouch, "I recognize this. We're not alone. There's dwarves in these woods."

Bofur then takes the pouch from Nori and examines it before saying, "Dwarves from the Blue Mountains, no less. This tobacco pouch is just like mine."

Bilbo then steps forward. "That's because it is yours. Don't you get it? We are going around in circles. We are lost," he says.

"We're not lost," Thorin says.

"Don't be positive, Thorin. We've already seen this forest can mess with our heads," Steve says.

However, the dwarves don't seem to hear him, and quickly descend into an argument. However, Steve notices Bilbo talking to himself as he looks up towards the forest canopy. He walks over to the hobbit and says, "Go up there. See if you can get above the trees and see where we need to go."

Bilbo nods and starts climbing a nearby tree. Steve goes to sit down on a boulder to wait for Bilbo to come down. However, only a second later, Thorin calls out, "Quiet, all of you!" All of the dwarves go quiet and look at their king, who looks back at them and says in a lower voice, "We're being watched."

Everyone stays quiet, looking around at their surroundings. Then, completely out of nowhere, a mass of giant spiders descend out of the trees towards the Company.

Steve reacts instantly, deploying his gauntlets and smashing one spider in the head with one of his gauntlets. He then leaps over the body and shouts, "Scatter!" He kills another spider with two quick blows and dashes into the midst of the trees, hoping that the spiders will consider him the bigger threat after what he just showed and pursue him instead of going after the dwarves.

Steve runs for a minute before turning to look behind him. Sure enough, it looks like most of the spiders have decided to come after him.

Steve stops running and turns to face the spiders. He raises his fists as he deploys his gauntlets. He waits for the first spider to come to him before leaping forward and driving his left gauntlet into the spider's head, killing it.

The spiders spread out around Steve. Steve whips around, trying to keep any from staying behind him for too long.

Two spiders suddenly scuttle towards him from his right side. Steve leaps up into the air and onto the back of one of the spiders and drives one of his gauntlets down into the joint between its head and abdomen. He then leaps off the spider towards the other one and kills it with a blow to the head.

Another spider scuttles up, taking advantage of Steve's momentary distraction. It tries to grab him with its fangs, but Steve grabs them and holds the spider at bay for a moment before ripping them off. He then delivers a strong blow with one of his gauntlets into the two of the spider's eyes, killing the beast.

A spider tries to drop down at Steve from above. However, Steve sees it coming and leaps straight up, driving both gauntlets into the bottom of the spider's abdomen. The spider screeches as it and Steve fall to the ground, Steve landing gracefully and the spider crashing unceremoniously. Steve then drives his gauntlets into the spider's abdomen one more time to finish it off.

Another spider scuttles over to Steve, trying to bite at him. Steve deflects it away with his gauntlets before killing the spider with two blows to the head.

Steve whips around as he hears something behind him, and sees four spiders coming at him in almost a straight line. Steve charges towards them. As he reaches the first spider, he leaps and drives his gauntlets down into the top of the spider's head before vaulting off the dying spider. He dashes past the next spider as he takes off three of its left legs before dashing towards the next. It tries to bite him, but Steve ducks under it and grabs hold two of the spider's legs, spinning around and then letting go of the spider's legs, sending the massive arachnid flying off into the trees with a screech. Steve then whips around, and without even needing to look, drives his gauntlets into the spider's face. Steve then whips around and dashes up to the spider he took the legs off of and kills it with a powerful blow to the head.

Whipping around, Steve sees there are three spiders left, and all three are retreating into the trees. Steve charges after them, determined to not let a single spider escape.

It takes him only moments to overtake the spiders. He leaps onto the back of one of the spiders, delivering several sharp blows to its abdomen and breaking it open. He then leaps off its back. He charges forward and slides under one of the other retreating spiders, delivering two sharp blows to its underside.

Steve quickly pops out from under the spider. The last spider turns to face him. It tries to shoot webbing at him, but Steve dodges the webbing by leaping up. While he's still airborne, he spins around and kicks the spider in the underside of its abdomen, knocking it over. He then leaps onto it and delivers two powerful blows to its bottom, killing the spider.

Steve looks down at the dead spider before looking up and scanning his surroundings. As he looks around at the trees, he quickly realizes that none of the trees surrounding him look remotely familiar. "Da***!" he says lightly under his breath, recognizing that this is Mirkwood's sorcery at work, trying to keep him separated from the Company.

Drawing on basic lessons from the military, Steve decides that the next thing he needs to do is to gain an idea of where he is and what's around him. Knowing he can't trust what he sees of the trees right now, he walks over to a tree with the thickest branches and begins climbing. The branches begin to thin out as he gets closer to the top of the tree, but thankfully they're still thick enough to support his weight.

Finally, Steve pokes his head out of the leaves and into open air. The sunlight temporarily blinds him, but the glare in his vision quickly fades. Steve takes a moment to appreciate the beauty of the sky and everything within view. Then, to his surprise, he sees the edge of Mirkwood in the distance, and beyond that, the Lonely Mountain rising against the sky.

"Well. Looks like we're close," Steve says.

Then, he hears cracking of branches and rustling in the trees. Steve scans the trees around him, and then, in the distance, he can see upper branches of a number of trees shaking and swaying.

Steve knows instantly what is causing the trees to sway. Taking another moment to familiarize himself with the path he'll need to take to get there, he ducks back down under the canopy and climbs back down the tree. As soon as he reaches the ground, he takes off through the trees, heading in the direction that he saw the trees shaking.

Steve quickly takes off through the trees in the direction he saw the swaying trees. However, he quickly realizes it's very difficult to keep track of where he is and where he needs to go. Every so often, Steve has to stop and listen to try and pick up any sounds. The first three times he stops, he is eventually able to hear faint sounds in the distance. However, the fourth time he stops to listen, he hears nothing. He keeps waiting, but hears no sounds at all.

Eventually, Steve gives up on trying to listen. Praying that he's still pointed in the right direction, he continues walking in that same direction, focusing on a single point ahead of him to keep himself going in the same direction.

After what seems like hours, but was probably a lot less, Steve comes into a small clearing. He quickly realized that something happened here. There are bodies of several spiders in sight of where he's standing. Then, he sees something up ahead on the ground. He walks up and kneels down to pick it up, and sees that it's Bofur's tobacco pouch.

Steve stares at the pouch for a moment before he stands up and looks around as he slides the pouch into a pocket on his belt. He looks around at the corpses of the spiders, and soon sees something. Walking over to one of the corpses, he pulls out an arrow sticking out of the spider's head. He examines it and recognizes the design from a similar design he saw in Rivendell.

"Wood Elves," Steve mutters as he drops the arrow. He scans the clearing, quickly putting two and two together from the dead spiders and Bofur's tobacco pouch.

Steve then looks for another tree with very thick branches. Quickly spotting one, he walks over to the tree and begins climbing it. It takes him a minute before he breaks through the canopy. Again, Steve scans the trees within view, trying to see if he can see anything that could indicate if the halls of the Wood Elves are nearby. In just moments, he sees an expanse of trees not too far away that looks much healthier than the rest of the trees he has seen here in Mirkwood. That can only mean they are the location of the halls of the Wood Elves.

Steve takes a moment to orient himself properly so he can make it to the trees he's spotted without getting lost, then begins to climb down the tree. When he gets to the bottom of the tree, he begins making his way in the direction he saw the trees.

It doesn't take too long before he sees light begin to filter through the trees up ahead. Only a minute or two later, he sees the halls of the Wood Elves begin to come into view.

Steve stops where he is and takes cover behind a tree to stay out of view, taking a moment to examine what's before him, and to appreciate the beauty of it. It doesn't take him long to realize that there is no way to get into the Elven halls here. Taking a moment to make sure he won't be seen, Steve slowly begins moving off to his right to start circling around, determined to try and find a way into the Elven halls.


(Elven Halls)

T'Challa slowly walks along one of the walkways within the Elven Halls, taking the time to just admire the beauty of the Elvish dwellings. It continues to amaze him how the Elves build there dwellings around the land rather than over it.

T'Challa has found his stay within the Woodland Realm to be quite nice. He's currently dressed in a silvery elvish tunic and trousers, with the necklace that contains his suit hung around his neck under the tunic. All of the Elves have been told that he is a King of Men brought to their land, and have treated him with great respect, which he believes to only be because he is a king, and is perhaps their attempt to put themselves on good terms with Wakanda.

T'Challa has had several meetings with Thranduil, in which he has described some of his journeys with the Company, as well as some of the history of Wakanda and of the Black Panther. Thranduil was intrigued by some of his stories, and seemed to be a good listener at least.

T'Challa had also briefly gotten to know Legolas before he had left the Woodland Realm again. He found Legolas to be rather likable, and the two had hit it off rather quickly. They definitely seemed to be on the path to friendship.

As T'Challa rounds a corner, he suddenly catches sight of something. Turning towards it and trying to look closer, he realizes with a shock that it's Thorin, being roughly escorted down a staircase by a pair of Elves. However, before T'Challa can do something, and before Thorin can even realize that T'Challa is there, the Elves escort Thorin out of sight.

T'Challa stands there for a moment, not sure what to do for a moment before he hurries after Thorin. He dashes down the walkway, down the staircase, around a corner, down another staircase, and around another corner. As he rounds the second corner, he sees Tauriel standing at the top of a staircase.

"I am sorry, King T'Challa. I cannot allow you down here," Tauriel says.

"Why not?" T'Challa demands.

"It is the order of King Thranduil," Tauriel says.

T'Challa is quiet for a moment before bowing his head once and saying, "Very well. Then I will speak with King Thranduil." He then pivots and begins walking back the way he came.

T'Challa makes his way up through the Elven halls, his face stony and emotionless. The few Elves he comes across sense that something has him agitated and refrain from greeting him.

It doesn't take him too long before he reaches the throne of the king. Marching up the pathway leading to the throne, he marches right through two guards that try to stop him like they're not even there.

Thranduil is speaking with Legolas as T'Challa approaches him. When he sees T'Challa coming, he raises a hand to quiet his son and says, "King T'Challa. What brings you before me?"

"A wish to know why you have imprisoned my friends," T'Challa demands.

Thranduil is quiet for a moment before he says, "It did not have to be this way. I offered Thorin Oakenshield both his freedom and my assistance in his quest if he but promised to return something of mine. His only response was to tell me to die a death of flames."

T'Challa is silent for a moment, considering those words, and wondering what would have caused such anger for Thranduil in the dwarf king. Then, he remembers the story of the fall of Erebor, and a realization hits him.

"You were the elven king who withdrew his forces. That is why Thorin hates you so," T'Challa surmises.

Thranduil immediately shoots back, "His grandfather, Thror, repeatedly ignored my warnings about what his greed would summon. But he cared not for my warnings. He cared only for his ever increasing greed. His grandson has the same greed within him. Mark my words, King T'Challa, if he were to reach the mountain, he will take you and your friends down with him," referencing Steve and Bucky.

T'Challa stands there, just looking at Thranduil, feeling very frustrated. Thranduil stares back at him for moment before saying, "I will permit you to send a message to them through my guards if you wish to speak to them. However, I cannot allow you to see them unless you can promise me you will not attempt to free them."

T'Challa realizes quickly how masterfully Thranduil has conducted the situation. He has put T'Challa in a tight spot using his title of Elf-friend given to him by Elrond. If T'Challa attempts to free the Company by force, Thranduil could express outrage at Elrond and strain Elrond's trust in men even further.

"Very well, Thranduil," T'Challa says with an incline of the head.

Thranduil inclines his head ever so slightly in return, then he says, "While you are, T'Challa, I have an invitation for you. Tonight is Mereth-en-Gilith, the Feast of Starlight, our most important celebration. I wish you to attend as my honored guest."

T'Challa immediately recognizes this as another attempt to leash him a bit. As both a visiting monarch and an Elf-friend, it would be extremely disrespectful to the Wood Elves to refuse the invitation.

"It would me be my honor," T'Challa says simply.

"I shall have Legolas bring to the feast this evening after you have had time to prepare. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some more matters I wish to discuss with my son," Thranduil says.

T'Challa simply nods in response before he turns around and begins walking away back down the walkway.


(That night)

Legolas slowly looks around as he waits patiently outside T'Challa's quarters. Legolas is wearing a green tunic and trousers, ready for the Feast of Starlight. T'Challa had been sent some attendants by Thranduil to help him prepare for the feast about an hour ago. Per his father's orders, Legolas had come to guide T'Challa to the feast.

As he is thinking about the events earlier that day when he and his company of Elves found the dwarves, the door to T'Challa's quarters opens. Legolas looks up as T'Challa steps out.

Legolas is momentarily thrown by T'Challa's appearance. He has met many Men throughout his life, including noblemen of Gondor, Arnor, Dale and Rohan, but he has met no man who looks more regal than T'Challa. T'Challa is wearing a deep black tunic with silvery leaf designs down the center of both the front and back and along the arms, and black trousers down the side of each leg. The silvery leaf designs reflect the light all around them in what looks like a soft glow. He wears his grandfather's old ring on his right hand, and the ring of an Elf-friend given to him by Elrond on his left hand. The claw necklace containing his suit hangs freely around his neck for all to see.

As he sees T'Challa emerge, Legolas can't help but bow his head respectfully to T'Challa. "King T'Challa. It is an honor to have you here for Mereth en Gilith," Legolas says with respect.

"Thank you, Legolas," T'Challa says.

"It is a true honor. I do not know if I have ever met a Man so deserving of a title of nobility," Legolas says.

"Thank you, Legolas. Your praise is greatly appreciated," T'Challa says.

"If you will follow me," Legolas says, gesturing down the corridor. T'Challa nods simply, and the two set off in that direction.

After several moments, Legolas turns to T'Challa and says, "T'Challa, if you wish to ask me any questions about your friends, you may do so. Rest assured I will not tell my father of anything you ask."

"At the moment, I only wish to know if they said anything about how we were separated, and how they are faring," T'Challa replies.

"The dwarves are all physically fine. They have suffered no major injuries. According to one of them when questioned, they said that you leapt across the stream at the broken bridge and waited for them to cross. As you were waiting, they said you suddenly turned towards the trees and cried out before letting out your suit and charging into the trees. They described you as leaping through the trees like a cat and soon disappearing from sight," Legolas says. He then cracks a small smile and says, "I guess your title of Black Panther is deserved in more ways than one." This comment draws a small smile from T'Challa as well.

"Did they mention one of my other human friends?" T'Challa asks.

"They did. They mentioned one named Steve. Apparently, they were separated when they were attacked by spiders. Several of our Elves have gone looking for him, but we have found no sign of him," Legolas says. T'Challa just nods in response, hoping that Steve is okay.

A few minutes later, they reach the hall where the feast is being held, passing through an archway. The hall is massive, bigger than his throne room in Wakanda. The roof overhead looks as if it is retractable. A large table takes up much of the space in the room. Thranduil, his court, and other important Elves from the Woodland Realm are all seated around the table.

As Legolas and T'Challa enter the room, all of the Elves turn in their direction. Several of their eyes widen at the sight of T'Challa, and several of them bow respectfully towards T'Challa.

T'Challa and Legolas make their way over to Thranduil, who is dressed in silver robes and a red coat. Thranduil inclines his head respectfully, and T'Challa does the same.

"Welcome, King T'Challa of Wakanda. It is our great honor to have you here," Thranduil says.

"It is my honor to be here, King Thranduil. I could not reject your invitation," T'Challa says.

"Please, take a seat beside me," Thranduil says.

T'Challa moves over and sits down in a seat beside Thranduil, and everyone sits down with him.

Thranduil then commences the festivities. He gives some opening remarks about the purpose and it's importance to the Wood Elves. He then leads the Elves in several toasts. Although they're conducted in Sindarin, T'Challa is able to understand most of it thanks to his lessons in Sindarin from Elrond and Gandalf. He feels honored when the Elves make a toast to him and to Wakanda.

After the toasts are over, the dinner begins. Elven musicians play mellow music as Elven attendants begin to bring out the food. Once the food is brought out, everyone seated at the table begins to fill their plates as chatter begins to break out.

Having eaten a lot of different food since coming to Middle Earth, T'Challa still believes that Elven cuisine is some of the best food he's had. And, he must admit that Thranduil has an excellent taste in wine.

As the night goes on, T'Challa finds himself answering questions about Wakanda and his history as the Black Panther. Many of the Elves around him are very curious to learn more about T'Challa and his homeland, and listen with rapt attention.

As they reach the end of the celebration, the final part of the night comes. Thranduil stands up from his seat and gestures to several attendants, who open up the roof overhead, exposing the night sky and the thousands of stars twinkling in the sky. As the Elves began to sing, T'Challa watched the stars. He's never seen stars so clearly, and it is certainly an entrancing sight.

It's almost another hour before the celebration begins to wrap up. Although he doesn't need quite as much sleep as a normal human, T'Challa decides to retire a bit early. Thranduil excuses him and sends Legolas to escort him back to his quarters.

It doesn't take them long before they reach T'Challa's quarters. T'Challa turns to Legolas and says, "Pass on my thanks again to your father for inviting me to the feast today. It was an honor to attend."

"It was an honor to have you there, King T'Challa," Legolas says. He pauses for a moment, then says, "I will pass on your greetings to your friends if you wish?"

"That would be appreciated," T'Challa says.

Legolas nods once before saying, "Good evening, King T'Challa." He then turns and leaves, heading down in the direction of the dungeons.

T'Challa stands there for a moment, then turns towards his quarters. Right as he reaches out for the doorknob, he hears, "Psst."

T'Challa looks around, wondering where that voice came from. Then, he sees Bilbo hiding behind a pillar a few feet away.

"Bilbo!" T'Challa says in surprise. He pauses for a second before asking, "How did you get in here?"

"I'm a burglar, remember," Bilbo says, drawing a small smile from T'Challa.

"What are you doing here?" T'Challa asks.

Bilbo glances around before saying, "I'm getting the dwarves out. There's a way out through the cellars. I'm going to wait until tomorrow morning."

"Very well. I'll meet you at the river gate," T'Challa says.

"Can you get past the guards?" Bilbo asks.

"Is that really a question?" T'Challa asks with a smile. He then looks at Bilbo more seriously and says, "Don't worry. I'll meet you there."

Bilbo nods once. Then, to T'Challa's surprise, he vanishes into thin air. T'Challa stares at the spot where Bilbo vanished in pure confusion before shaking it off and walking into his quarters to get some sleep.


And, I'll end there. I hope that chapter was worth the wait.

I want to acknowledge Dr. Matthattan, who I drew the concept of T'Challa attending Mereth en Gilith from his story Scarlet Witch and the Thirteen Dwarves. I have his permission to use his idea, modified for my story.

So, next chapter will both feature the escape, and cut to what Buckyh and Gandalf are up to. I promise it won't be another three month gap between updates. Until then, please leave a review, and stay tuned!