Author's Notes: Sorry about the big delay in this chapter. I was really busy this week and there were days when I couldn't work on this story at all. And I also got sick this week so I couldn't get past a paragraph without coughing. Now I'm better, but there still might be a delay in later chapters, since school is back. So don't be angry if another chapter doesn't show up for more than a week. Meanwhile, here's the next chapter...

Chapter 5: Lost...

Kelsie awoke to the sound of arguing. Groaning inwardly, she tried to move to a more comfortable position. She wanted to block out the sound, but her elven hearing betrayed her. Since there was nothing else she could do, she just decided to listen to the argument, which wasn't turning out to be very pleasant.

"I thought you were supposed to be taking watch, Legolas!" said a rough voice.

It was answered by another voice filled with concern. "It was her choice, Gimli. I wanted to stop her, but she insisted on taking watch."

"But look at the state she's in!"

"Yes, I've noticed. I also wonder what happened to her last night."

"She looked like she had gotten into a fight!"

"How is that possible? I warned her to stay out of trouble!"

"What if something came and attacked her? Of course she would have to defend herself and us."

"She was supposed to wake us immediately if anything attacked."

Kelsie started to feel horrible about what she had done. Now she would not only have to apologize, she would also have to face their anger. She recalled the memory of the shadows and shuddered. Okay. Maybe apologizing won't be that bad compared to those shadows. Still, she knew that her disobedience will cause her to lose their trust. She just hoped that they wouldn't get so angry that they'd permanently ban her from their group. Especially after she had tried so hard to gain their trust. Deciding it was time to get their attention, she tried to clear her throat, but ended up coughing madly.

Gimli jumped in surprise at her sudden outburst of coughing and tripped over a rock, but Legolas immediately rushed over. "Kelsie, are you alright?"

Kelsie tried to nod while she was coughing, but it turned out to be a very bad attempt, which made Legolas decide that she was definitely not alright. He took out a water skin, and poured several drops into her mouth. Then, he and Gimli waited until her coughing had subsided.

"Feeling better now?" asked Gimli.

Kelsie managed to nod successfully. "Much better."

"Good," said Legolas. Then, his expression changed from concerned to stern. "Now I would like to know what you were up to during your watch."

Kelsie gulped nervously. Yup. Could've known this was going to happen. She tried to think of the most innocent way to explain her encounter with the shadows, but like always, she couldn't think clearly when she was nervous.

"Well...I saw shadows," she said.

Legolas and Gimli glanced at each other. Shadows were obviously not a good sign. "What else?" inquired Gimli.

"No, nothing else, just shadows," said Kelsie.

Legolas cut in. "We'd like to know everything, whether you want to tell us or not. And I'd also like to know what would cause you to disobey the instructions I gave you before you started your watch."

Kelsie sighed. There was no way out now. They would know if she left out single thing. Hoping that her disobedience and over-adventurousness won't cause her to get into further trouble, she took a deep breath and started her story.

"I was just standing there, looking around for any signs of danger when a shadow suddenly ran by. I couldn't see it very clearly, because it went by so fast, so I just continued looking for more signs of danger. Then, another shadow ran past. This time, I could see which direction it went, so I followed it-"

At this point, Legolas interrupted. "Wait. So you decided to follow something you had no idea about, instead of alerting us about it?"

"I was just curious, okay?" Kelsie tried to act like it was just a small thing, but that did not work a bit. When neither Legolas nor Gimli said anything, she decided it was safe to continue. "So I ran in that direction for several minutes. Then, after I saw another shadow run past, I decided to be a little stealthier instead of just running out in the open.

"Soon, I started to feel a bit cold, but as I ran on, it grew to a freezing point," Kelsie shuddered as she said this. "I felt like giving up, but instead, I forced myself to keep going. However, I was soon paralyzed by the cold. And that was when I was surrounded by shadows." She paused to look up. With relief, she saw that her friends' faces not no longer portrayed the anger earlier. Instead, they were filled with thought and concern.

They could almost imagine the terror Kelsie felt when she told them about her battle against the shadows. When she got to the part where the shadow slammed into her and got her paralyzed for the second time, their eyes widened. Finally, when she concluded her story, they looked as though they were the ones ready to apologize to her.

"So that was what happened while we were asleep," said Gimli.

Legolas nodded. "I guess we really underestimated you, Kelsie. It was actually very brave of you to be able to face such terror."

Kelsie shrugged casually. "I was just doing my job. And besides, those shadows could be killed by the lightest tough of blade. It's not the same as fighting orcs."

"But they also have the power to paralyze their victims, which gives them an advantage over us," said Legolas. "I wonder, do they have the power to freeze all living things?"

"I'm not sure," Kelsie admitted. "I was the only one there."

"I think Legolas means living things such as trees," explained Gimli.

Kelsie furrowed her brow as she tried to recall the smaller details of the memory. "The atmosphere did feel a little off, even after I destroyed all the shadows. I think it was just an aftereffect."

"Either way, I believe Fangorn should be warned of this threat. Though we are not sure if it will affect him and his Ents, they should know of what is in their forest," said Legolas.

Kelsie's ears perked up at the mention of the first friend she had met in this world. Of course he would have to be warned! Why did she not think of him before? "Oh, you mean Treebeard?" she said absent-mindedly. "Sure! How could I forget?"

Legolas and Gimli stared at her. "And were did the name "Treebeard" come from?" asked Legolas.

"That's what he told me to call him," said Kelsie.

"Then it sure fits him more," said Gimli. "Much better than being called "Fangorn". Legolas glared at him.

Kelsie nodded in agreement as another idea came to her head. "Could I take the message to Treebeard?"

Legolas stood up immediately. "No. You've faced enough danger last night."

"But that doesn't mean I can't help," protested Kelsie.

Legolas shook his head. "I know that you want to contribute more to our group, and I'm glad you do. But you have already contributed a lot by fighting those shadows last night. I'm doing this because I don't want to get you into any more danger, not because I don't appreciate your help."

Kelsie sighed in defeat. There was no arguing with him this time. She had volunteered to take watch and ended up having to fight shadows. If she was to run into trouble again, they might even take her weapons away so she wouldn't try to fight. "So I guess I just stay here and wait?"

Legolas looked at Gimli. "Actually, you can stay with her, Gimli. I don't think you would be interested in talking to Ents." Gimli nodded and walked to Kelsie's side.

Then, after giving then each a small nod, Legolas lightly ran through the trees and out of their sight.

"I guess we won't be going to Lorien soon," said Gimli, disappointed. "I was kind of looking forward to going there."

Kelsie nodded in agreement. "So was I."

"Hope that elf doesn't take too long. Then we might still have a bit of time."

"I don't think he'll take too long. He's really fast for an elf. I just hope nothing bad happens to him or Treebeard."

"Heh, Treebeard," said Gimli. "I like that name. It fits him more."

"If you put leaves in your beard and wore a tree disguise, then you'd look just like him," joked Kelsie.

Gimli grinned miscieviously. "Should I give it a try?"

Kelsie leaned against a tree and grinned back. "I dare you."

So for the next hour, they played a continuous game where they had to dare each other to do semi-challenging tricks. After Gimli successfully finished filling his beard with leaves, he dared Kelsie to cartwheel around the trees five times. Kelsie passed this challenge, but only barely since she almost crashed into a tree. Then, she dared Gimli try to shake all the leaves out of his beard without using his hands. She almost doubled over laughing, while watching Gimli do all sorts of crazy dances. Finally, when her sides started hurting, she allowed him to use his hands. After that, the dares only got harder and harder.

Then, when Kelsie announced that she was tired enough, they finally stopped playing. Gimli was slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be able to dare her to do this particularly tricky dare he had just thought of. Kelsie was actually glad when the game ended, since she did not want to suffer more than she already had. She sat down to think of a better dare for Gimli if they ever resumed the game, but her thoughts were soon interrupted.

"That elf should be back by now," Gimli said gruffly. "I wonder what is taking him so long."

Kelsie knew immediately who he was talking about. "He probably struck up a nice conversation with Treebeard."

"He'd better not," said Gimli.

"Or something might have held him back," said Kelsie.

"Like what? He can't be held back that easily. Especially not after he claims he's a better fighter than me."

"Well, I don't know exactly what might have happened, but I'd give him some more time if I were you."

Gimli groaned. "As long as I get food," he seemed to mutter.

Still unwilling to continue the game, Kelsie waited for another thirty minutes. During that time, her dread started growing. What if Legolas had actually met with some trouble? He could have been captured and taken to some torture chamber while they were sitting here dong nothing. As she sat thinking more and about these possibilities, the more her dread grew. She really hoped that nothing had intercepted Legolas on his way, but she still had that sinking feeling that something was off.

"I can't wait any longer!" Kelsie suddenly stood up.

Gimli jumped at her sudden outburst. "Are you saying you want to try to find Legolas?"

"Exactly," said Kelsie, without hesitation. "I have this really bad feeling that something must have intercepted him along the way. At his speed, he should be back by now. Even if he had a nice conversation with Treebeard, it still shouldn't take him this long. And he can't be lured off course easily, since he is so loyal to his friends. The only answer to the problem is that he must have been attacked!"

"Yes, very likely," said Gimli in a half-sarcastic, half-non-sarcastic tone.

Kelsie decided it was time to do the threatening trick that would make people change their minds. "Okay then I'm going," she said. When Gimli still didn't move, she started to head the direction Legolas had gone.

Suddenly, Kelsie heard a pair of heavy footsteps behind her. She turned around to see Gimli running up to her. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he called roughly. "Since Legolas will probably blame me if you were gone." He came to a stop next to her.

"No, he probably wouldn't. It would be more reasonable if he blamed me," said Kelsie. "Not that I'd prefer it that way," she muttered.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" inquired Gimli, as they half-walked, half-ran through the forest.

"For now, yes," answered Kelsie.

"And since when did you get to make the decisions?" asked Gimli, suspiciously.

"I'm just doing what I think I should be doing," said Kelsie. "And right now, that's making sure Legolas is okay."

Gimli muttered something under his breath, but Kelsie didn't even bother to listen. Her mind was set on finding Legolas and making sure nothing attacked him. The bad feeling she had was not going away - it was only growing worse and worse.

For about thirty minutes, they continued at the same pace. Nothing special happened during that time, except for the fact that Kelsie's dread was growing. They just continued jogging through the trees, stopping only occasionally to take a break. Kelsie remembered that on the day she had arrived at this world, she had also trained herself a bit, starting by running through the forest. She was now thankful for that, since it helped her dodge tree roots and navigate herself so that she didn't crash into anything.

Gimli was not having such a good time. As a dwarf, he was not very used to running through forests. There were several times when he tripped over a tree root. Kelsie would know exactly when that happened, since she would always hear a dwarvish curse, or something like that.

Kelsie suddenly came to a stop. Something had alerted her. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was most likely something bad. She motioned for Gimli to stay still while she looked and listened to her surroundings. Everything sounded quiet and suspenseful, like as though something was getting ready to attack. This filled her with unease. Could something be hiding among the trees at that moment, ready to strike?

Having been around elves for so long, Gimli knew well of their senses. Elves had way better sight and hearing than men and dwarves, and they could usually tell if something was wrong. So when Kelsie had motioned for him to stay still, he immediately obeyed her. After a moment, she motioned for Gimli to follow her as quietly as he could, which he tried his best to do.

Kelsie's eyes darted nervously around her as she took the lead. She knew that Gimli was trusting her and her senses. She could not fail him. Yet, with the feeling of danger around her, she found it hard to trust even herself. I hope I know what I'm doing. She silently ran forward, wishing Gimli could be just a bit quieter when running.

"We're getting close to were Treebeard is," she announced when she felt it was safe enough to talk. "If we keep at this pace, we should be there in just a few minutes."

Gimli just grunted in reply. By now, he also had a bad feeling that something must have happened to Legolas.

A few minutes later, Kelsie burst into the small clearing in which she had first been in. She looked around. Not much had changed during that time. The pond was still there and so were the trees. However, there was definitely a change in the atmosphere.

She noticed quickly that it was colder than it should have been. It was as if something - hopefully not one of those shadows - had sprinkled some ice over the forest and left it there to freeze.

"I don't see him anywhere," said Gimli, who had come in behind her. Kelsie could see that he was right. There was no trace of Legolas anywhere.

Kelsie nervously walked over to a certain tree near the pond. "Maybe Treebeard will have some answers. Unless Legolas didn't make it here at all."

"Or maybe he already left and gone looking for us," suggested Gimli.

Kelsie shook her head. "He would have been back a long time ago, or we would have met him on the way." She stopped in front of tree. "Treebeard?"

There was no answer.

"Treebeard, it's me, Kelsie. Can you hear me?"

Still no answer.

Gimli walked over with his axe in his hands. "If talking doesn't work, then this is what we do." Before Kelsie could respond, he lifted the axe...and knocked the tree three times with the handle.

Still no answer.

Kelsie glanced at Gimli. Yes, there is obviously something wrong with Treebeard, her eyes seemed to say. Gimli understood and nodded. "Now what do we do?"

Kelsie looked back at Treebeard. What could have happened to him to make him so unresponsive? Or did all Ents act this way? She shook her head again to get the last question out of her head. Of course all Ents didn't act this way. I should stop being so negative.

Just then, Kelsie noticed something surrounding Treebeard. It was like some kind of mist, only it was black. A black mist? Now that doesn't seem right. She looked closer and realized that it was actually more solid than it seemed. It looked more like a...

"Shadow!" Kelsie yelled out loud.

Gimli jumped in surprise for the third time that day. "Shadows? Where are they?"

Kelsie back away slowly. "It's the shadows, Gimli. They've paralyzed Treebeard."

Gimli came over and looked closely at the 'shadow' surrounding Treebeard. "So they've been here." He tightened his grip on his ax.

"If they have already gotten to Treebeard, then it's possible that they also might have gotten to Legolas!" said Kelsie. She started pacing around the small clearing. Somehow, it helped her think more clearly. However, she had only gone ten paces when she tripped over something. Wondering why she wasn't looking where she was going, she got up and saw what she had tripped over.

Surprisingly, it was a long, curved knife. Kelsie picked it up by the handle and examined it. It was definitely elvish. She looked around for any other weapons lying on the ground, but she found none. She turned her attention back to the knife. Somehow, it looked distantly familiar. Had she seen it before?

She passed the knife to Gimli. "Can you identify it?"

As Gimli examined the knife, his eyes widened. The knife was indeed very familiar to him. "Legolas," he whispered.

Now Kelsie knew why the knife looked familiar. This was one of the knives that had saved her from the spider. Good, she thought. Great way to repay the owner. She looked at Gimli - they were both thinking the same thing. But it was Kelsie who spoke.

"Time to do some tracking."