Chapter 5

She rolled just in time. The axe whizzed past her head, and she turned to see it stuck in the mat where she had just been laying. She looked from the sharp metal of the axe up to the creature who stood above it. In the pale light of the moon she could now make it out as a goblin. It looked at her and sneered as it pulled its axe free. Not allowing it to get another swing in, she raised her foot and kicked it hard in the stomach, sending it tumbling backwards. She rolled again, but this time she came up in a crouch with her sword in hand. She was about to leap forward and finish off her attacker when an arrow pierced through its heart. It slowly fell forward with a moan. Startled, she looked up as Thalion lowered his bow from behind the fallen goblin and looked towards her.

She was just about to give him her thanks when she heard the tumbling of rocks. She spun around to see another goblin mounted on one of the large rocks. It leaped over Legolas and towards her with its sword raised. As it landed she lifted hers and their blades met in a clash of metal. On the ground she saw Legolas start awake, and immediately reach for his weapons. A second later she heard a slicing sound and the goblin's head fell from its body with a bounce and rolled across the ground. Legolas stood with his arms spread wide, and one of his twin blades in each hand. Their eyes met only for a moment before she turned to asses the damage. Thalion was just finishing off another goblin, and a few other elves were in various stages of finishing off others. No one was killed thankfully, but one elf looked like his arm was bleeding badly. As Aranel made her way over to the elf, Legolas quickly climbed up the large rock the goblin had jumped from.

Lindir approached her and the elf with a medical pack. He handed a clean bandage to her and began to clean the wound. It wasn't too deep of a cut, but the sight of the deep red blood made her stomach churn and she had to look away. She looked up to see Legolas standing on top of the rock looking out into the distance. He stood straight and tall, with his bow in his hands and his twin blades already back in their casings on his back. The moon illuminated his face and hair, and he was the image of perfection standing so strong and powerful.

"Aranel!" Lindir called next to her, making her jump and turn red as she realized she had been staring at the prince.

"I'm sorry, what?" She replied, turning back to face Lindir.

"The bandage please?" He asked, holding out his hand. She gave it to him, and as he turned back to the injured elf she swore she saw a look of amusement on his face.

Scowling, she stood and walked over to Thalion. He stood near the rock Legolas was on, and as she approached he called up to him.

"Legolas! What do you see?" She looked up to see him leaning forward, and squinting off into the darkness. After a moment he leaned back and looked down at them. "There is a group of goblins out there, but they are small in number." He then jumped down, landing silently beside her in a crouch before standing and continuing, "The few they sent were probably scouts, and now they appear to be moving off towards the north."

Thalion thought for a moment, "It is doubtful they will try and attack again if their numbers are so few."

"When we passed through here on our way to see you, we heard word of a large encampment of goblins just a few hours north of here. It is possible these goblins are part of the larger colony," Aranel threw in.

"I think we should be moving." Legolas said, glancing uneasily north then turning back to Thalion, "Tell the others to pack their things. We can slip away under cover of darkness."

The captain nodded and moved away. Aranel was about to do the same when Legolas stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" He asked, and as she turned back to him he dropped his hand.

"I'm fine. Although I can't say the same for my bed." She replied with a short laugh.

They both looked at the shredded object for a moment before he smiled back at her, "It's alright. We can replace it in Rivendell and for the time being you can use mine."

She shook her head, "I can't take your mat. I will be perfectly fine sleeping on the ground." Even as she said this she cringed, these were going to be long nights.

He saw the grimace on her face though, "Aranel, I insist. Please take the mat, the ground is hard, and I will rest better knowing you are comfortable."

She looked up at his blue eyes, and saw that he was resolute. With a sigh she nodded her agreement. He smiled happily, and she immediately regretted giving in to him. He was a prince after all, and there was no way that he should be sleeping on the ground in her place. She smiled back to him, but silently promised that she would make sure he slept on the mat tonight.

They quietly packed up their things then, and in just a short time everyone was making their last adjustments to their horses. The sun was not yet up as they began to ride silently across the moonlight bathed plains. Everyone was quiet in the few hours before dawn, and the ride would have been peaceful if it had not been full of anxious glances for unseen dangers in the darkness. The wind lightly ruffling the grass was enough for their hands to go to their swords. The dark shadow of the mountains drawing slowly rearer, they road on.

As the sky turned pink and orange the other elves began to talk and laugh as the threat of attack during the night was driven away by the light of dawn. Soon food was being tossed around as they had not taken the time to eat in their rush to leave.

Legolas came back to ride beside her from the front of the convoy, and tossed her a chunk of bread and some cooked grouse leftover from last night. They rode in silence as they ate, until Thalion appeared beside them, a challenging look on his face.

"My Lord, I see we find ourselves on these plains again yet, and if I remember correctly, we raced last time and you cheated."

"I didn't cheat. Your old horse is slower than you are willing to admit." There was a mischievous look in his eyes, but Thalion took the bait.

"Well, then I guess you won't object to a rematch, to see who is the truthful one here." With a yell, he took off on his horse, and Legolas only took a moment to flash her a smile before he was racing after the captain.

Legolas' horse was much faster, and soon caught up to Thalion's, and then passed the captain. Many cheered them on as they tore off down the path. Legolas won in the end, and came back to numerous claps on the shoulder from his fellow warriors, as they congratulated him. Thalion came sulking to ride beside her. Looking down he mumbled "He always cheats." Aranel couldn't help but laugh at this, and was glad to see him laugh too.

As they rode, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't thanked him for last night. When she tried to express her appreciation for him killing the goblin though, he simply raised his hand to stop her.

"It was nothing, My Lady. I was simply doing what I needed to."

"I still thank you," she said with a smile to him. He grinned back at her. They slipped into easy conversation, and he told her of many of his adventures.

As dusk approached, it started to rain lightly. They were approaching the foothills of the mountains and found a large cave to make camp in. It was well after dark by the time they were all settled in, and many fell asleep quickly. There would be no telling stories and relaxing around the fire tonight. The darkness of the mountains with its promise of danger was too near. Lindir suggested they take turns keeping watch from now on, and agreed to take the first shift.

As Legolas laid out his bedroll, Aranel quickly stated that she would keep the first watch with Lindir, saying it would be better if they were in groups of two. Legolas was not happy with how she had gotten out of taking the matt, but he couldn't argue with her logic, and nodded his agreement. He went back into the cave to sleep, leaving Aranel and Lindir sitting by the cave entrance.

The rain picked up, and soon they had to move back farther into the cave to avoid getting wet. It was hard to see anything through the rain and darkness, and they both stayed sharp and alert. It was cold and damp, and Aranel pulled her warm cloak tighter around herself to keep the dampness at bay. The two talked very little. Aranel knew him well enough, they were both from Rivendell, and were both held in high regards by Lord Elrond. They had also been friends for a very long time. Lately though, Aranel couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable when she was alone with him. Years before, Lindir had expressed a liking for her, and while she had politely declined and they were past it now, she still felt a bit on edge with him. It didn't help that this morning he had certainly caught her staring at Legolas. She suppressed a groan. "Would the awkwardness never end?"

Shortly after midnight Legolas came to take her place. She had wanted to object, but was too cold and tired, so she let him have this one. After saying goodnight night to the two of them, she went back and saw that he had left his mat rolled out for her. She smiled and shook her head as she laid her weapons down. The mat was much larger than her's had been, and it was still warm when she laid down. It smelled like him, and she breathed in deeply, taking in as much of his wonderful scent as she could. She felt her body relax, and settled into a peaceful sleep.