Chapter Seven

Tauriel awoke to complete darkness. She felt Kili's warm body pressed against hers and realized that she has must have fallen asleep while on watch. The fire had burned completely out and the darkness of the woods had covered them in black. She could feel Kili's steady breathing against her, and felt his warmth, but she forced her elf ears to hear more. Something had startled her out of her sleep. She strained her eyes to adjust to the dark, make some sort of shape out of the endless black.

Then she heard it. The snapping of twigs and the lunging footsteps. Tauriel felt a chill run up her spine. Something big walking through the forest underbrush and approaching them. Tauriel knew that only several things hunted at night and were of that size. Perhaps a bear? A large wolf? She didn't even want to consider the other alternative. Still it advanced, making crunching noises as it's huge paws crushed the folige underneith it.

Tauriel shook Kili hard, her fingers digging into his arm, "Awake," She whispered, "Kili!"

Kili startled, "Wha-"

"Silence!" She hissed, "Something is coming."

Finaly Tuariel's eyes adjusted, and she saw the black hulk lumbering toward them. Her heart froze, fear gripping her, "Stay here," she whispered in Kili's ear.

Silently Tauriel moved to where the horse was tied. She untied the reins, and then with a lightning fast motion she smacked the horse on it's hind quarters. The horse startled and squealed, bolting away in a dead run. Tauriel dove for the hallow under the tree roots where Kili still lay and waited.

In the same instant that the horse took off running the giant figure took chase, crashing through their small camp site and after the terrified creature. The monster roared, and Tauriel listened to the sounds of the terrified horse as the monster took chase. Crashing hoof beats and wild sequels rang through the forest, and then all was silent.

After a long moment Kili nudged her arm, "What was that?" he whispered.

"That was..." Tauriel hated to utter the name but she forced herself to anyway, "Caran-Carach, Guardian of Dol Gulder. He is a werewolf who has haunted Southern Mirkwood for a hundred years."

"And the horse?" Kili asked, "Traveling will be a lot harder without it."

"If it survives I will find it again," Tauriel whispered, "But the horse was a necessary sacrifice. It would take fifty men to take down Dol Gulder. He would have eaten us alive." She shuddered, despite herself. Growing up she heard the stories of the werewolf called 'Red 'Fang,' "He was a servant of the Belrog," Tauriel whispered in Kili's ear, "The Belrog would feed him his prisoners and he would eat them while they still breathed. When the Belrog was defeated Caran-Carach escaped and haunts the Mirkwoods till this day, slaughtering unsuspecting elves and woodmen." Tauriel unsheathed her fighting dagger and placed it on the ground beside her, "I pray to the Valar that he does not return."

"What if he does?"

Tauriel turned to Kili, "Then I will fight him off with my last breath, but I doubt that we would survive the night."

Kili nodded, "Perhaps if you hid in the trees?"

Tauriel shook her head, "I'm not leaving you here alone. Odds are the beast will chase the horse and forget us. I hope."

"I hope that too," Kili muttered.

Neither one of them slept again that night.

The next morning as they started off walking. The pace was laborious and slow. Kili wrapped his arm around Tauriel's waist and together they made their way slowly through the wood. Two hours later they found the horse's carcass beside a small stream. Half eaten, the creature still held the look of terror in it's wide open eyes. Tauriel dragged her gaze away from it. "It's going to be a very long walk," She muttered to herself.

Several hours later Kili stumbled and fell to the ground.

Tauriel tried to catch him but he slipped from her grasp. She held out her hand to him to help him up but he shook his head.

"I'm just going to rest a moment," Kili muttered, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. He lay flat on his back, staring up at the forest roof. His breathing was shallow and labored.

Tauriel sat down heavily beside him, noticing that he was completely fatigued. She reached over and brushed his sweat soaked hair out of his face, "We can't keep this up long," She said, "It will kill you."

Kili coughed, "Well there aren't many other options are there," He muttered.

A freezing wind brushed against Tauriel and she hugged herself, "I saved us last night but I'm afraid I killed us tomorrow," She muttered under her breath. "We need to stay somewhere for the winter. Soon the thick snow will fall and if we're caught out in it we will die for sure."

"What's your suggestion," Kili said, closing his eyes.

"We keep going but as soon as we find anywhere that might work as a shelter through the winter we stop." Tauriel answered, "A cave, a large hallowed out tree, anything."

"Right," Kili answered, "Now if I could just take a nap..."

"No," Tauriel answered, getting up, "We have to keep going. The Caran-Carach returns to it's kill at night, and I want to get as far away from that dead horse as possible before nightfall."

Kili groaned as Tauriel helped him up, "By the stars I'm weary," He muttered as they began their stumbling pace.

"I know," Tauriel answered, "I know. As soon as we can find a place for the night we will stop I promise."

Kili didn't answer. He was concentrating on keeping up the pace without falling again.

After roughly half an hour Tauriel paused, "Do you smell that?" she asked.

Kili mumbled something inaudible under his breath.

"I think it's wood fire," Tauriel said. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, "Yes. Chimney fire ahead of us. Maybe a woodsmen cottage. We can ask them if we could spend the night under their roof."

Once again Kili didn't answer.

Together they trudged through the forest following the scent of the wood stove. They walked for an hour more until they finally came to a clearing in the forest and in the center of the clearing was a small cottage with a thin line of grey smoke trailing from the chimney pipe.

"Thank the Valar," Tauriel muttered. However as they got closer to the house her high hopes were bashed.

The stone cottage was picturesque but it's door was beaten in. Something very wrong had happened here. Judging from the fire still smoldering in the stove whatever had happened must have befallen the inhabitants of the cottage the night before. It was then that Tauriel smelt it. Sticky, warm, and sweet. "Ugh," She whispered, touching her nose, "I smell man blood."

TBC