Two
Eleniel
We ran back the way we had come, my heart pounding. I had to get back before Miriel did something stupid.
Suddenly, my mother stopped. "Eleniel." she whispered, "Don't move."
I was about to ask why when a huge black shape crept through the trees, its hairy legs making the leaves rustle. I froze. Ever since I'd heard the description of Shelob, the spider my mother encountered on her quest to destroy the Ring with Sam and Frodo, I'd been petrified of them.
I moved closer to me, eyes glittering menacingly. I winced and a small peep escaped me. That got it going.
The spider reared up, front legs flailing. An arrow whizzed past my ear and impaled itself in the ugly creature's head. I recovered from the shock and stabbed it with my dagger.
It screamed in agony, an ear-splitting noise, and fell to the floor, dead.
"What was that thing?!" I asked, wildly.
"That, Eleniel, is a spider." she said sarcastically.
"I know, but I mean what is it doing here? I thought they had been vanquished! Gone!"
She sighed. "Well, they retreated underground. They were never truly gone. Something must have scared them."
"But what?"
"We should go. The poor Elves are probably wetting themselves."
Miriel
I ran through the trees, aware of the fact that I might run into a spider, but I didn't care. All my life I'd been cooped up in the Halls of Mirkwood. Because my sister had chosen to be part of the guard rather than ruler, the responsibility had fallen to me to be a princess. I hated it. It felt like the farthest I'd ever was the training yard. Now, I had a chance to be free...
The skin-changer's secret
Monsters...
Fire...
Destruction...
Death...
That was all I could see for miles around.
"Only one can stop this from happening." said a voice that sounded like nothing.
"But how? And why me?" I called to the chaos around me.
"Only you know how..."
I woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, my heart pounding so hard and fast I thought it would explode.
"Just a nightmare." I whispered. "I've had them before."
But they had never felt so real.