The sunlight shone through the leaves giving a very bright hue to the roof of this forest. The mosses on the rocks also appeared a vivid and velvety green. Ashwin couldn't identify many of the species of vegetation. Nevertheless, It seemed a very lovely forest to Ashwin, but where was he? The edge of the forest where the schoolyard started was nowhere to be found. A dirt path ran through the woods near the tree Ashwin emerged from. Suddenly a group of children ran along the path right past Ashwin.
"Moblins!" One of them shouted. They were all wearing green clothing, mostly tights and tunics, giving them the appearance of little elves. Ashwin could see the look of panic on their faces.
He turned to see what they were running from. Ashwin matched their horror when he spotted the group of monsters dashing down the path towards them. They had muscular human bodies, but their heads seemed closer to that of a bull dog with bluish skin. They each carried a spear as they closed in on Ashwin.
Ashwin, still stunned, walked backwards slowly, but tripped over the root of a tree. Now he sat there on the dirt path, frozen by fear. He couldn't will himself to move. He could see one of the monsters at the front lower his spear as if aiming at Ashwin.
"Come on!" One of the elf children struggled to pull Ashwin up by his shirt. She was slightly smaller than Ashwin and had orange hair. She wore a green dress and tights matching the other children. Ashwin stumbled at first as she tugged at him but settled into a rhythm as they ran along the path. They could no longer see the other children.
As they rounded a corner in the path, they ran into another pack of the same bulldog soldiers. They were now cut off from the rest of the group. The spear wielding creatures hesitated for a moment.
"This way!" The elf girl once again tugged at Ashwin's shirt as the pair made their way off the path. The monsters also turned off the path and pursued them deeper into the woods.
Ashwin was beginning to run out of breath as he struggled to keep up. He had to leap over fallen trees and push his way through thick bushes. He heard a whizzing sound as a spear glided past his head and embedded itself into the trunk of a tree.
All of a sudden, they came to a stop as they found themselves on a cliff edge. The forest resumed on the other side of a wide gorge. Upstream, Ashwin could see the water frothing and foaming as it worked itself down a series of waterfalls.
"Follow me!" The girl leaped from the cliff. She straightened out like an arrow that turned downwards as she fell into a perfect swan dive. Ashwin didn't have time to watch her hit the water as he looked back to see his pursuers approaching.
Ashwin had no intention of jumping. This seemed crazy to him. However, the prospect of facing the monsters closing in on him was equally terrifying. He stood there, once again paralyzed by fear. The soldiers were close enough now that he could make out the armour they wore on their human shaped bodies. One of them raised their spear to attack. He was out of time and out of options. He kicked off his shoes and jumped.
The gut wrenching feeling of free fall was almost as bad as the panic that clutched his chest. He remained vertical as he plummeted feet first into the water. He was hardly bothered by the sudden rush of cold water with the adrenaline coursing through him. He was able to kick his way up to the surface. The current began to take him, but Ashwin was a strong swimmer and was able to reach the boulders along the shore. He climbed out of the water, crawled past the rocks onto a patch of grass and collapsed onto his back. Exhausted, Ashwin took a moment to recuperate.
"It looks like they've given up on us." The elf girl sat next to Ashwin. Her orange hair was now soaked. "You sure took your time up there. I wasn't sure if you were going to jump." Her voice was high pitched and cheerful.
"Thanks for saving me back there." Ashwin replied, taking several breaths between words. "Who are you? And where am I?"
"My name's Evie. You're in Kokiri forest." She sounded sweet and pleasant. "You're not from around here are you? You look very different. Your ears are so round!"
Ashwin sat up. Evie looked about Ashwin's age. She had a somewhat pointed nose but her sharp pointed ears looked very unusual. Her face was filled with freckles and drops of water running down from her shoulder length, bright orange hair. She had wet green clothes and managed to keep her leather boots on during her dive.
"I'm Ashwin." He struggled to think of a way to describe where he had come from. "I don't know how to get back home." Now that his heart was calming down, he started shivering in his cold, wet clothes.
Evie stood up. "We shouldn't stay here for too long, in case they come back. I'll take you to my village. Only Kokiri are allowed, but let's just tell them you're from one of the other villages."