A/N: Here's another chapter which you've been looking forward to! Thanks for the reviews, they really help with writing. In case you're wondering, the next time I reply to reviews will probably be after several chapters, or once I have enough reviews, new or old. So keep on reviewing!

Chapter 9: This Isn't Over Yet

Kelsie narrowed her eyes as she tried to piece together the words. Despite having a smarter brain and better eyesight than before, it was still not easy to read when some of the letters were faded or missing. But eventually she figured out what the book was saying. Scanning through the pages, she tried to find something useful about the shadow. It was only until she had reached the fifty-third page that the shadow was finally mentioned. Straining her eyes, she continued to read.

"The 'shadows' are actually the evil spirits of those who committed crime during their lives. When they die, they leave a shadow of their former selves behind. The shadows have the power to spread fear by paralyzing victims, which to them, seems like a fun hobby.

The amount of power the shadow holds depends on what they did in life. If the person didn't commit crimes as badly as others, their shadow wouldn't be able to paralyze as well as those who committed many horrible crimes in their life. The bad deeds build up, and the total amount gets transferred into power.

Despite the danger it brings, a shadow can be destroyed by the lightest touch of blade. This puts the shadow at a big disadvantage, so they usually go for the weak and the helpless.

Kelsie stopped reading for a moment, anger rising within her. This was just like school, where the bullies picked on the smaller kids. Having been bullied before, she really hated the inequality of power. But as she turned back to the book, she knew that this was a matter of life and death, not just bullying.

"Any mortals that are paralyzed are usually doomed for life. However, immortals, like elves, can sometimes fight the cold with their inner elven magic, though only the strongest can succeed.

There is only one cure for the shadow's curse. It is possibly one of the most rarely found and used cures(if it is possible), and the ingredients are extremely hard to find. Since many have decided not to undertake the dangerous journey to find the ingredients, the recipe started to fade from their minds, until it just became another forgotten thought.

The first to be listed is a jar of dragonfire. While it is a danger to most people, it can be used to warm up those who have been paralyzed. However, it has to be just the right amount, so that it doesn't escape and burn. Dragonfire has never been well known for curing the shadow's curse, so it has been long forgotten as a cure.

Second on the list is a coat of mithril. Mithril, being sturdy and durable, can control the effect of dragonfire. Unfortunately, it is the rarest mineral, and finding it would take much time off the patient's limited life. Despite it's rareness, it is an important ingredient for the cure, for without it, the dragonfire would cause destruction and death. Like dragonfire, it's role in the cure has also been long forgotten.

Finally, is the most important, yet dangerous ingredient, the Black Stone. The Black Stone, also known as the Morgon is located deep within Mordor, where the spirits of wrongdoers come together and get released in the form of shadows. It's location, the Black Cave has also been forgotten and buried deep beneath the ground while the orcs came to power.

To activate the cure, all ingredients must be present. The dragonfire has to be contained by the mithril, or else the cure would be ruined. Then, it has to be used to break through the Black Stone, which has a nearly impenetrable surface. Once the Black Stone is destroyed, every person or living figure that is currently paralyzed will be set free.

Although the steps to attain the ingredients for the cure are quite easy to remember, the journey to get these ingredients can cause death. The cure itself has never been tried before, but the information in these pages were noted down through the minds of the wisest wizards and elves."

The rest of the chapter only included more information about safety and the risk of taking the journey, so Kelsie closed the book and stood up. The new information she had just absorbed was now running through her mind like a river of thoughts. She had finally found a cure to undo the shadow's curse. But how was she going to put it to action?

She shakily stood up from her kneeling position. Her legs felt like jelly from having stayed in that position for so long. The young elf leapt over the pile of wood that used to be a door, holding the book tightly. The wind whispered ever so quietly, as if asking her what she was planning to do. Or at least that was what it sounded like to her.

Kelsie's thoughts wandered back to the book she held in her hands. There had been lots of warnings about the risk of finding the ingredients. Though she wanted to try her best to help the poor, paralyzed victims, she couldn't help but feel slight unease at those warnings. To be honest, she did not quite like the idea of facing a fire-breathing dragon, attempting to dig up the rarest mineral in Middle-Earth, and having to find a black stone that was probably already buried deep when Mordor collapsed.

But as she looked back at the paralyzed cluster of helpless people, the pang of grief struck her again. If the shadow had managed to paralyze them already, there was no doubt it was aiming for more. And there was a possibility that all of Middle-Earth could be paralyzed if things went the wrong way.

She sighed and started to walked away from the cold village. The choices were still hanging over her head, waiting for her to choose. Should she put on a brave face and try her best to save everyone from a terrible fate, or should she leave them paralyzed just to save herself?

Kelsie suddenly came to a stop. Something was off, she knew. She was already at the outskirts of the village. Yet, the atmosphere hadn't changed a bit. Now it was starting to feel tiring and endless, rather than mysterious and dangerous.

"Strange," she muttered. "I don't remember the cold reaching this far."

Looking around, she realized that the cold aura had also surrounded the buildings around her. Her heart started to beat faster as she walked around to investigate. Having spent time reading in the library, she hadn't paid attention to anything else other than the book. But now she wished she had. Something was obviously wrong with the houses around here. It looked like this section of the town had also been paralyzed. But surely the shadow couldn't have also - ?

Kelsie sensed it one second before it came. She ducked down as a dark figure swooped right above her head. The cold sensation that trailed behind it was too obvious. She looked up at the shadow, teeth gritted and book grasped tightly in hand. Her old enemy was back.

"So we meet again," she growled. "Same old shadow, every time."

She did her best to act bored, so that the shadow wouldn't find any weak points. But she couldn't get rid of that tinge of cold fear that grasped her every time she faced the shadow.

"Same old shadow that fills you with fear every time, little elfling."

Kelsie could've screamed on the spot. Did that shadow just talk?

"D-Did you j-just t-talk?" her jaw was quivering so badly, she could barely tell what she just said. The small tinge of fear was no more, for it had indeed, like the shadow 'said', filled her fully. Her mind frantically flipped through the pages, but it didn't recall any memory from the book about shadows being able to talk. She didn't know why the addition of speech to a shadow would scare her so much, but it just did. The shadow's wheezing, raspy 'voice' - if it even was a voice - froze her just as much as the cold did.

"Yes, yes, how strange that so many of you have forgotten," the shadow rasped, floating in circles around her, mocking her.

Kelsie quickly snapped out of it, and instead, stood straight and tall, being sure not to look fearful. Her dangerously pale eyes followed the shadow without blinking as it sailed around her over and over again. Her arms prepared for a fight, in case any did come. She didn't have her bow or sword with her, but she did have her arrows. Even though they weren't quite considered blades, they were still weapons.

Without warning, the shadow flew out of its orbit and headed straight towards Kelsie. Having seen that coming too obviously, she easily dropped to the ground. Then, as the shadow prepared for another attack, she rolled out of the way and stood up. Another memory flashed through her mind - the time she first encountered shadows. Back then, she had been frantic and scared. Now, she was angry.

As the shadow dived down at her again, she pulled out an arrow and pointed it straight at the shadow. The shadow skidded to a stop, only inches from the arrow. The air turned several degrees colder as its anger radiated off in frozen waves.

"Do you really think you could destroy me that easily?" it hissed, cold hatred pouring out of where its mouth should be.

Another shiver ran down her spine, but Kelsie resisted it. Keeping her head up, she glared defiantly at the shadow. "Why not?"

The shadow 'blazed' with fury. Never in its lifetime would it have been challenged by a barely 36-year-old elfling. It cursed itself for its limitation of power. The shadow moved to the right, trying to figure out a better way to attack, but the arrow never left its target.

Finally, it gave up. Well, not completely. It had decided that it was useless trying to get past an arrow. But before it left, it had one more thing to say.

'This isn't over yet, elfling."

Then, it vanished over the rooftops in a blink, leaving its chilly atmosphere behind. Kelsie waited several moments before she could relax. Keeping an eye on the place it had disappeared over, she slowly placed her arrow back into her quiver. The anger started to fade into suspicion as the shadow's last words rang in her head.

This isn't over yet, elfling...this isn't over yet...isn't over yet...

Shaking her head roughly, she burst into a run. The cold air still hung over the villages, and she did not wish to stay any longer. Her feet pushed off the ground silently as she ran back through the streets, clutching her book tightly. She quickly tugged her hood back on - since it had fallen off during the fight - so that nobody would turn to ask why she was running.

So back she ran, through the same path she came. The further she ran, the more people started to appear. The cold had already left her once she stepped out of the villages, which made it easier to run. She didn't stop to look at any of the shops or people, and she didn't care if they were staring after her or not. All she cared about was getting back to her room, where everything was two times safer.

Once she saw the house, Kelsie ran straight towards it without stopping. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw several guards wandering around, talking in low voices. Not caring if they saw her, she wrenched open the door to her room and slammed it shut.

Kelsie flopped down onto her small bed, breathing slightly heavily. Not out of exhaustion, but out of terror. No, not terror, excitement. She couldn't find the right word to describe what she felt. It was more of a cold and scary thrill. She let out the breath she had been holding, hoping that it would also let out her worries. But it did not work - this encounter was not to be forgotten.

Just then, she heard a knock on the door. She hastily stuffed the book under her bed, next to her bow and sword, just in case she didn't know who it was. Silently, she steadily crept over to the door. Then, taking a deep breath - and rolling her eyes, just for comfort - she opened the door.

Her eyes instantly lit up with joy when she saw an elf with gleaming golden hair standing in the midst of several men and a dwarf.

A/N: So what did you think of that? I kind of had to finish this chapter in a hurry, since I haven't updated as quickly as usual, so I apologize if the ending is a little rushed.

And by the way, who do you think the shadow was during its lifetime?