Hello everyone! I am sooo happy it's Friday. This was a super hectic week, but somehow I made it! Whew! And now it's almost the weekend. *happy dance* Seriously, I am so glad that I have outlines and draft chapters lined up and ready to be edited. It made things so much easier this week. This part was pretty much all written. I just had a bit of editing to do, and voilà! In all, I think I'm up to 62 chapters so far—yeah, I warned you this was gonna be a long story. I hope that's okay lol.

Anyway, I would like to give a shout-out to durinsdaughter2469btw, Blue1258, leelee202, Cricklewood16, leeward1992, and Beagle Brother for your kind reviews on the last chapter. Also thank you to those who have favourited or are following the story! It means a lot.

And now on to the next one…


CHAPTER XV

A VALLEY OF DARKNESS

"Gracious…" Annalyn spoke as though the wind had been knocked out of her. "Is that—"

"A war camp," Haldir finished for her. He flexed the muscles of his jaw. His mouth thinned in a line. I should have known. Perhaps he had.

Like a stain on the landscape, the camp stretched before them in a wide carpet of armoured figures, dirty tents, and flickering torches. A great din also filled the area: the sound of axes felling trees, the echoing clatter of metal boots, even the crack of whips as higher ranking Orcs barked out orders below.

His lip curling in disgust, Haldir watched it all, cataloging everything he saw. He could even smell their stink from here.

"I do not understand." Annalyn shook her head. There was a look of horror upon her face. "What's a war camp doing out here?"

This was an isolated area, it was true, far from any city, elven or otherwise. Nevertheless, Haldir could see the merit in gathering here. "It is a staging point. Look." Pointing to the left side of the camp, he indicated a large company of soldiers that was marching in from the north. Most likely they came from Gundabad, where it was known that Orcs still dwelt, in the far reaches of the Misty Mountains.

"They are biding their time," he continued, his narrowed eyes still trained on the valley below. "Amassing forces until they are ready to launch an attack." It was plain to see.

By his reckoning, there were well over three thousand Orcs in this filthy camp alone. Doubtless that number would grow.

Annalyn was silent for a moment. "So it is true, then. War really is coming."

When Haldir did not say anything, she shifted a little, trying to get a better view. "Where do you suppose they'll strike?"

He considered it for a moment, disquiet filling his being when he settled on the likeliest possibility. "My first guess? Lothlórien," he answered grimly, though he supposed they could also make for the realm of his woodland kin, on the northeastern side of Mirkwood.

Not that it would matter in the end. If he had ever doubted it, Haldir knew it now. War was looming—directed by a hidden malice somewhere. And once it was unleashed, his intuition told him it would spread like wildfire, threatening all the free peoples in all the lands.

Several moments went by as they spied the chaotic scene below. Some of the Orcs were toiling under their master's whips. Others were arguing amongst themselves. Harsh voices, foul words. Such wretched creatures, Haldir thought, with such malice in them.

"Do you think he could be down there somewhere?" Annalyn's query brought him out of his thoughts. Her tone was subdued, her voice even lower than before.

Looking to her, Haldir caught the way she was staring at the camp below. Her features were starved for hope, her anxious gaze searching for any indication that Aldin might be there.

For his part, Haldir answered in the only way he could. "We shall know soon enough."

If he was honest, Haldir had never held much hope of finding Aldin alive. But to witness the same realisation in Annalyn's eyes, to see the first hints of despair as she considered these devastating odds for perhaps the very first time…

A plague on Orcs and their black hearts!

Even so, Annalyn had not yet given up. "Can we move any closer?" Her voice had hardened somewhat, and her gaze was fixed on the camp below. Until now, he had never seen such hatred in her eyes.

Haldir spoke in whispers. "We cannot get too close. Not without them seeing us." Still, even as he said this, he found himself scanning the hillside, looking for possible openings in the Orcs' patrols. It might have been folly, mere wishful thinking for Annalyn's sake, but he could not turn back just yet, extinguishing what little hope remained, before making absolutely certain that Aldin was not, in fact, here somewhere.

Besides, there were things to learn in this awful place, clues that might shed light on where the Orcs meant to strike first.

His hands readjusting his hood, he pursed his lips and assessed the situation further. There were several Warg-riders patroling the periphery—at least three on this side alone. Since Orcs had a very keen sense of smell, it was a good thing the wind was blowing from the east, otherwise he and Annalyn might have been detected by now.

"I have an idea," he told her at length, then caught the question in her eyes.


The Orcs kept a tight patrol, making the periphery of their camp nigh on impenetrable.

Keeping to Haldir's right, Annalyn eyed her surroundings and made her way, on hands and knees, toward a wooded section of the hill, on the south-western edge of the enemy's encampment.

They must not see you, she kept telling herself. They must not see you.

The Orcs had keen eyes, she knew, and an even keener sense of smell. "Keep to the west of them," Haldir had warned her prior to setting off. "And keep watch on the wind. It might turn soon."

He was silent now, sneaking forth with slow, fluid movements. His stoic features were mostly obscured, the golden mane of his hair hidden beneath the hood of his cloak. What he meant to do once they had reached the woods, she could not say. He had not yet told her of his plan.

Haldir stiffened all of a sudden, and came to a halt. Without looking at her, he held his palm out, bidding her to stay absolutely still.

She did. They waited, watched, and listened. But Annalyn was deaf to everything save the pounding of her heart and the jagged sound of her breathing.

At length, Haldir glanced in her direction, then nudged his head. The path was clear for now.

Releasing the breath she had been holding, Annalyn followed his lead until—after a seemingly endless crawl—they came at last to the eaves of the woods.

After a brief look at the area, Haldir motioned toward a massive tree. At its base was a knot of twisted roots, some of them large enough to hide amongst.

"Yes, good." he whispered as if to himself. "This will do." Once they were concealed, Haldir handed her his waterskin, then his pack. Frowning in puzzlement, she accepted them, slid the straps over her shoulder.

Nodding once, Haldir drew a breath, then sought her eyes. His words, however, were not what she expected to hear. "Those creatures have keen senses but I do not believe they will find you hither. Not if you stay hidden."

She blinked as he spoke, a startled thought blocking some of what he was saying. What?

"I have spied on such camps before," he went on. "And can easily avoid being seen. Whilst I am gone, you should—"

"You jest."

Now it was his turn to blink.

"You mean for me to remain here?" Annalyn was incredulous, and rather upset, for this was not what she had had in mind when she had first decided to track the Orcs. In fact, before they had agreed to continue together, she had made it clear to him that she would follow the Orcs with or without his aid. And now he expected her to stay behind and hide in a tree? No!

Haldir was frowning at her. "One person is harder to spot than two."

"That may be so, but I will not hide out here like a coward while you search for Aldin." By the flaring of his nostrils, she could tell that he was not used to having his directives questioned. Well it mattered not. "Unless you need reminding, I am not one of your soldiers. And you and I?" She motioned back and forth between them. "We are equals out here."

As the crack of a whip echoed in the night, Annalyn held his stare. He did the same. She was upset. They both were. But that being said, each knew the stakes as well. Though unwilling to back down, Annalyn knew it wasn't wise to argue, not here. By Haldir's continued silence, she guessed he was grappling with the same realisation. It took a considerable amount of effort, but ultimately, with a few deep breaths, Annalyn willed her anger to the side, and quietly appealed to his heart. "What if the tables were turned? What if your brothers were down there?"

Her question seemed to have the desired effect, for his head tipped forward, his hair spilling from his hood as he pondered those last words. At length, he sighed and looked up. His full lips had thinned. "Very well. But we cannot march down there. Should they see us—"

"I know," Annalyn cut him off, but not angrily. Regardless of their earlier disagreement, she knew the perils, and they could not be overstated.

Shifting to peek over the roots, the two contemplated the camp below. So many Orcs.

"Before aught else," Haldir began after a time, "We must establish whether or not Aldin is even in that camp."

That they could agree on. But where to begin?

"I still maintain that it would be best if you stayed hither," he said, and she bristled. "Not to hide," he added quickly, anticipating her protest, "But to watch those patrols, and find a pattern."

Stay here? Annalyn heaved a sigh. But then she considered the task. Not hiding, but watching. I suppose there is purpose in that. "And if Aldin is down there?"

"Then I shall return so we might devise a plan. Agreed?"

She pursed her lips and gave it some thought. "Agreed."

His focus shifting, he glanced up and out, then looked past her shoulder. "You see this forest? Should anything happen, this is where we run, south and west, until we reach the Anduin. It is our best chance."

"Understood." But when he started to leave, she reached out to stop him, said his name. His sleeve remained clutched in her hand. "Your people are counting on you. Be safe." For them, she added inwardly, and for me.

The moment hung there. He nodded gravely, as if telling her to take care. With that, Haldir stole away and she watched as he left.

Moving closer to the bole of the tree, Annalyn straightened just enough to be able to see the area. Save for the torch-lit camp below, it was incredibly dark out here, the moon and the stars completely hidden by a thick blanket of clouds.

With her hand now resting on the hilt of her sword, she scanned the valley, and counted the patrols. Their numbers established, she then looked for Haldir, eyes straining until she caught sight of him—not an easy feat to be honest. Good luck, she thought, then felt something cold on the tip of her nose.

Looking up, Annalyn held out her hand, felt the same on the inside of her palm.

It was snowing.