Okay, I am going to apologize now for the shortness of this chapter. I'm glad to see some familiar readers returning! I love you all and I love my beta, Nathalia!

Chapter 2

Fíli had a rough night - that was for sure. He tossed and turned, muttering phrases.

At one point Kíli had to wake him because he was beginning to shout. How Bilbo managed to sleep through it all was beyond him.

In the morning they wasted no time to pack up camp and set out on their journey.

They delved deeper into Mirkwood, attempting to stay as far away from the Elves and, hopefully, the spiders. Their goal was to head south to the Old Forest Road and to follow that west towards the Shire. Of course, Mirkwood was not always so cooperative.

The sun was at its highest point in the sky. Rays breached through the canopy of trees, spotting the ground with patches of light. Kíli was in the lead, his eyes on the lookout for strange or peculiar movements. He had absolutely no intentions on visiting the Elves in Mirkwood any time soon.

Up ahead, Kíli caught movement in the shadows. At first he thought it was his eyes playing tricks on him but when he spotted it again he knew it wasn't a trick of the light. Slowly he fell back so he was side by side with his brother.

"Fíli, we may have a problem."

"What is it?"

"The trees... they're moving."

"Moving?" Fíli questioned, looking towards the direction they were heading to find that the path they had been following was, indeed, blocked by trees that hadn't been there before.

"It appears they don't want us to go South," Kíli replied.

"Well we can't go any further West, otherwise we enter Elf territory and if we head North, we run the risk of meeting the spiders again."

"So, what do we do?"

Fíli pondered for a moment. They could try to continue South and hopefully find a way around the trees but either way they would have to head either West or North. It was the lesser of two evils. Elves or Spiders.

He glanced to his brother and Bilbo. "We head West. I'd rather have a run in with the Elves than those spiders."

Fíli assumed the lead, designating their new path to the West. As much as he hated the Elves, he knew they stood a better chance with them than with the spiders. Hopefully they would manage to avoid any attention of the Elves and find a detour that didn't involve the dungeons. Fíli immediately recalled being led to the Elven King, how his stomach turned when he ordered them to be separated. He had fought so hard to stay by his brother's side but it was no use. After all, he was bound and the hilts on those Elven swords were not soft.

He kept his wits about him, watching the trees. He caught their movement and couldn't help but notice as they tried to drive the travelers towards the North. As much as Fíli tried to deter them from that route, it was difficult when the trees were closing in on them. Amongst the trees he thought he saw a shadow of man watching but as quickly as he appeared, it drifted away in the wind.

The forest grew darker and colder, staying true to the name of Mirkwood. Fíli wondered what this forest would have looked like before the dark days. Soon the light was all but gone. It was becoming too dark to travel safely so they found camp.

As per usual, Fíli began to scout the area. The trees were closer as they delved further into the forest. The wind nipped at his neck as he checked the area. He hadn't gotten far when he heard a hissing voice on the wind.

"Come to me."

Fíli quickly glanced around the area. "Who's there?"

"Bring it to me."

His right hand subconsciously grasped the hilt of his hunting knife. "Show yourself!"

A twig snapped behind him. Quickly he spun, his knife at the ready.

"Don't strike!" poor Bilbo squeaked.

When Fíli's blue eyes recognized the Hobbit, he asked in confusion, "Bilbo? What are you doing out here?"

"Gathering some wood for the fire. Are you alright?"

"Did you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"That voice."

Bilbo shook his head, his face set with concentration. "No, can't say I did. Are you feeling well?"

Replacing his knife, Fíli replied, "Yes... I think."

"Perhaps you should get some rest. You look ready to fall asleep where you stand. I'm sure Kíli and I can manage without you tonight for watch."

With a smile, the prince clapped a hand on the Hobbit's shoulder. "I'm sure you could but it is quite alright. I've gone longer with less sleep."

As he began his retreat to the camp Bilbo did a once over of the trees around them, looking for anything out of the ordinary before following the dwarf back to camp. As he left, the shadow watched the Hobbit, a line of black curling into a snarl.

"Come to me, precious."

TBC...

Hmm, I wonder who it could be. ;) Again, sorry for the shortness. I finished Chapter 6 and currently working on Chapter 7. Hopefully I can get a bigger headstart here soon. Thanks for reading and please review!