Legolas came to see you and Aragorn off the next morning. It was a damp morning with fog and mist hanging thick on the air. Outside of the forest the sun was just beginning to rise, though you really couldn't tell it.
"Safe travels. Bye Aragorn," said Legolas, dipping his head to Aragorn in farewell. "Bye Aiweneth, I hope to see you soon." Legolas takes your hand and kisses it gently. You blush and are thankful for the poor lighting in the forest.
"Bye Legolas. I will remember you, even if we never meet again," you reply. Suddenly you feel the urge to hug the Elven Prince. You seize the opportunity and hug him. Legolas hugs you back tightly. You wish it could last forever but you hear Aragorn clear his throat and you quickly pull away. "Sorry..." you blush.
"Don't be," Legolas responds. The three of you share an awkward moment, having said your goodbyes. All that was left to do was walk away, but it felt so hard as though the three of you were rooted to your spots. There was a slight sense of dread in the air.
"Lets go then, Aiweneth," says Aragorn, placing a hand on your shoulder to turn you around to leave.
You utter a last goodbye to Legolas and turn away from the elf. Together, you and Aragorn set off on your journey to Rivendell. The two of you walk in silence for awhile, sticking to the path through the dense woods. This time you certainly weren't going to get lost. As you go along, you think that the trees are beginning to grow thinner. For better or for worse, your time in this dense forest is quickly coming to an end.
"I quite enjoyed my stay in Mirkwood," you say, breaking the silence. "It was very pretty there."
"It is a nice place if you enjoy caves and gloom," Aragorn replies. You notice that Aragorn seems a little off.
"Is something wrong?" You feel worried, as if you're actually a burden to him.
"No."
"You're rather quiet."
"I'm contemplating the journey. I think it best if we move with haste and not linger anywhere too long." Aragorn sounds worried about the situation. "I did a lot of scouting while I was away when I left you in Mirkwood. It seems that we must make a detour and pick up a couple other travelers along the way." Now Aragorn even looks worried. "It's going to be dangerous but if I didn't think you could defend yourself I would have left you in Mirkwood until a safer time."
"What kind of danger is it?" you inquire.
"Something you've likely never heard of and its possible we won't even run across them."
"You're making me feel a little scared," you laugh nervously. "It can't possibly be that bad?"
"It can be that bad and worse. They're called Nazgul, they work for the dark lord Sauron."
"Nazgul..." you repeat the name, it feels familiar. You shudder at it. While you're nervous about the situation, you're relived that the problem isn't with you. You may actually be able to be helpful.
Suddenly, you step out into pure, unfiltered daylight. You're blinded momentarily by it and quickly step back into the treeline. You're consumed by a bitter hatred of the sun for a moment and catch yourself about to curse at it. In this life, you had never seen sunlight that hadn't been filtered through tree branches and your eyes weren't used to it. You greatly desired to stay in the trees.
"Come on Aiweneth, the sun won't hurt you," chuckles Aragorn.
"Its so bright! I can't stand it!" You glare out into the daylight. It hurts your eyes so you cover them with your hands, trying to help them recover from the brightness of the world around you.
"You're going to have to if you want to get to Rivendell." Aragorn moves behind you and places his hands on your shoulders, guiding you out of the trees and into the light of day. Slowly, you remove your fingers so you can see your surroundings while your eyes get used to the light.
"The world certainly is prettier than I thought it would be..." you utter in awe. You take in the world around you, the lush green grass with various clumps of flowers scattered here and there. The bright yellows of the dandelions and the dark purple flowers of some of the plants that prefer to stick in the shade.
"Yes, there is much more to the world outside of that forest and you will get to see much more of it. You will even get to see some people who aren't elves or spiders too," says Aragorn. He picks a flower and places it behind your ear. "That completes your look." You blush, you're unsure of how exactly to take this random gesture. You don't know what to say, so you inquire about the travelers you're going to meet.
"What kind of travelers are they and where do we find them at?"
"They're hobbits and we will find them somewhere along the road to Bree."
"Hobbits?" The name felt unfamiliar to you.
"Halflings."
"Halflings?" This description didn't help you either. "Are they like children?"
"I suppose you've never heard of them before. Perhaps in some ways they are like children, the rangers have seen to it that they lead very safe lives in their lands. Basically, they're short and kind of an odd people. They tend to be rather happy or at least content in their lives. They live in holes in the ground and tend to enjoy sedimentary lifestyles."
"You're making that up," you say in disbelief. If it weren't for the hole in the ground comment, you might have believed some of it.
"You'll see when we get to Bree," says Aragorn with a smirk.
