Chapter 35

They marched across the bridge, and into the territory of the spiders. King Thranduil immediately sent some of his guards to scout the far boarders in search of a sign as to where the Princess had escaped, and a few more to scout ahead, to ensure their journey would be spider free.

They cantered through the woods, following the path towards the bridge which crossed the Black River. As they safely reached the other side, the guards at the front were immediately put on alert as the sounds of rustling bushes and spider steps drew near. They did not slow however, just kept riding through the dark wood. Anytime a spider did threaten to appear, the elves would be prepared.

A few more scouts dispersed further ahead, and Adrianna looked behind her to see Gandalf speaking to one of the elves. The King was ahead of the riders, delegating duties to his elven guards and to lead the march through his woods. Adrianna felt nothing but relief and hope when sunlight began to shine through the trees. It was a sign that they were now at the boarders of Mirkwood.

"Someone was travelling at quite a pace." An elf spoke up from his crouched position on the ground. "These tracks lead towards the path."

"They must be mine." Adrianna stated, halting her horse. "I ran towards the path from the point in which I escaped."

The King nodded his head once, "Then we shall follow them. Lead the way, Harador."

The elf swiftly mounted his chestnut gelding before he followed Adrianna's tracks away from the path and into the sunlight. The battalion of horses followed the scout, the elves still keeping their ears and eyes open for danger; whether it be from Orcs or Spiders.

"My Lord," The scout stated, dismounting. "The tracks stop here."

"Which means there is a small crevice I escaped through around here somewhere." Adrianna stated, also dismounting. "It'll be on the ground."

The King, and a few more scouts began to scour the ground with their keen eyes for any sign of what Adrianna had described. More elves dismounted to join the search, and even Gandalf dismounted Shadowfax.

Adrianna shivered, a moment before the elves looked up to face the trees. The snapping of branches and rustling of long grass was audible, and the chance of a possible threat caused the elves remaining on the horses to draw their bows and notch arrows to point at the oncoming source of noise. Adrianna placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, slowly moving closer towards her horse and placing a comforting hand on the mare's muzzle.

First, a leg appeared from behind the long grass, then a second, then a third and it wasn't long before one spider emerged. An arrow soared through the air, and pierced the spider through one of its' many eyes. The arachnid was replaced by three more, slightly larger ones.

And then came an onslaught of spiders.

Dozens began to run from the undergrowth and into the sunlight. The elves quickly formed into a battle formation, and arrows flew through the air. Gandalf, Adrianna and a group of elves unsheathed their swords, and upon receiving a command from King Thranduil, they charged into the line of spiders. Bloodshed followed the charge, limbs were sliced off and screeching spiders echoed throughout the once silent woods.

Arrows soared past the battling swordsmen and into spider creeping up behind the fighters on foot.

From behind them came the rushing of footsteps. And as Adrianna turned to embed her sword into the body of a rearing arachnid, the spider fell to the ground before she could strike the putrid creature. An arrow had beaten her to the blow, and as the Princess looked up to see who her kill thief had been, a smile spread across her features upon seeing Nasir pulling himself out from the dirt behind them. The chestnut haired Faye ran to help the others out of the dirt, and she slaughtered two spiders before she reached them.

As the army of spiders decreased, more elves moved to help the dirty men out from the underground prison. And as the last of the spiders were dealt with, the King clasped forearms with his son as he helped pull him from the earth.

"Are you hurt?" Thranduil asked Legolas.

The Prince, aside from being grubby with dirt and dust nodded his head, "Nothing a good bath won't help."

The Princess longed to rush to the Prince and embrace him, but she refrained from doing so until the reunion between the father and the son was over. In the meantime, she fetched a water skin from the saddle on her horse and returned to Nasir's side. The other Rangers were being tended to by the elves, and Gandalf was pondering over the hidden city from above the newly grown hole in the ground.

"My Lord," The Wizard began. "What do you suppose we do about this?" He gestured towards the underground place. "Now we know Goblins reside under your boarders, surely we should flush them out?"

The King left his sons side to stand beside Gandalf, and looked deep into the dark pit below, "I have no knowledge of them residing here before this. They have posed no problem until now…but the safety of my kingdom…now I know of this place, it is a potential threat, a danger."

"There are many down there, father." Legolas stated, moving to join the King and the Wizard. "I believe it would be best to cover our escape, and simply keep watch here in case they do decide to attack."

The King nodded, "That will suffice until there's a real danger."

As Thranduil began to give orders to his elven guards, Legolas made his way towards Adrianna and Nasir, who had been joined by another elf. The Ranger had broken his wrist upon attempting to break through the surface, and the Princess was watching the elf place the man's wrist into a splint.

The blonde silently knelt down beside Adrianna, and adoringly entwined his fingers through hers. "You were very brave." He stated when she turned to face him.

She smiled towards him, "I'm glad you're safe, and that you kept your promise to me."

"I don't make promises I cannot keep." He replied, his eyes shining.

The Princess desperately wanted to kiss him, but didn't think it proper to do so in front of all the elven guards, the Rangers and Gandalf. As if feeling the same urge, the Prince tenderly brushed his lips against the back of Adrianna's hand.

A/N: I know it's been a long time since I've update but I've had family issues, issues with my horses and just a general crappy feeling about all of these issues, issues. And I've had huge writers block on this story, and seriously have no idea what you guys want! Please help :'( xx