CHAPTER 35
The trip from Beorn's to the Elven gate is short and uneventful. No one really speaks. No one really wants to. Once we arrive, I just listen for deviations in the conversation but it is all the same. No changes. Nothing unexpected. Bilbo gives half-truths. Ponies leave. Gandalf hits the road. We go in. Even the first few days in Mirkwood are strangely... average. I mean, as average as a cursed forest can be. I'm not complaining, I just expected more. Some sort of glimmering sparkle or magnetic pull. I don't know... I suppose my muted response gets me cosmic punishment in the form of a fist-sized spider landing on my head on day 6.
"Ewwwww."
Its hairy little legs get tangled in my hair as it flails about in confusion. Batting it away with a groan, I blink warily and roll over uncomfortably on my cot. My voice is still not at 100% back but I can speak well enough. I won't be singing anytime soon but I can communicate again. Both my eyes can open, my cheek has remained closed, and my back only hurts when I breathe. Overall, I'd say I'm doing badly but not nearly as poorly as before. Each day I get a little stronger and that's good. The rest of the company on the other hand... not so good. We still have food and water, though not much. Which is worrying because we haven't even reached the enchanted river yet. We HAVE run out of sunlight though. Even now as we lay sprawled out and fitfully resting, I can't be sure it's even nighttime. The only good thing about it all is the path. We can all still see it and follow along with clear minds.
"Blasted spiders!"
"..." Turning towards the sound, I watch Dwalin beat a few of the tiny buggers into the ground with his boot. Having grown tired of trying to rest anyway, I sit up and watch him dance around, trying to dislodge the one that crawled into his shirt. I'd laugh if I weren't dirt tired. When his jig is complete, he huffs out a curse to which I scoff "You know... you're going to miss these little guys in a few days.
"And why is that?"
"Well," I say with a sigh and he drags his boot through the dirt to clean off the guts "because they're just going to get bigger the further we go in."
"Is that so?" Bofur asks from his spot. His hat is laid over his face as if he needed it even darker than it already is. It would appear that no one can asleep "And how much bigger are we talkin', lassie?"
"About the size of a pony."
"Oh, lovely." the usually jolly dwarf is not jolly at all as he snatches his hat off his face, sits up, and tosses it to the ground "Just lovely."
"If you are all awake" the grouchy King rumbles from his place across the makeshift camp. Really just a rounded shape we'd sat in "then we might as well use our energy to keep moving."
"Aye..."
We don't really unpack anymore, so it's a quick clean-up. Rolling my gear into a messy bundle, I'm ready before most of the rest. We are all tired. SO tired. The forest just eats away at you but sleep isn't something we can really do anymore. One person can't stay on watch alone and we don't bother staying in one place for more than 5 hours. I'm used to smaller food portions and no sleep so it doesn't bother me all that much but lack of food for a hobbit? With rationing this week, Bilbo has become a bag of nothing but skin, bones, and irritation. I can't blame him though. This is a lot. I'd suggested climbing the trees to get some air but got rejected. I watch the group pack up their meager belongings, pausing in my musing as Dori makes his way over to me.
"How is your back?"
He offers his hand to help me stand and I briefly remember a time when I would have sooner spit on it than take it. Those times are gone now. I don't feel the same overwhelming rejection for the group I once did. It's weird. Like my conversation, if you can call it that, with Beorn helped make everything... less...irritating? Nausea inducing? 'Suffocating.' Even if Dwalin is supposed to be the one to make me whole somehow, he won't get it. I think I needed that. Just for someone to get it. And if Beorn, who has suffered through dwarves for much longer than I have, can help this lot, then I suppose I can be a little less awful about this whole thing. I'm not infatuated or suddenly friends with them, I just feel less inclined to ignore their plight. I suppose that's right on time since I'm too far gone and can no longer get up on my own. Reaching up, I let him tug me to my feet.
"Better than yesterday."
"There is that at least." he steps away as I heft my pack onto my front but he does not return to his brothers. Instead, he stares at me with an inquisitive look on his face "I suppose you are getting enough to eat then."
"... Are you calling me fat?"
"No! Goodness! I only meant that everyone else is losing weight but you seem to be maintaining your own."
"..."
"I imagine it's because you've always eaten so little. The rations must be closer to your normal portions."
"O-Oh, yeah." chuckling nervously, I rub the back of my neck. It's actually the opposite. Our food stores are dried so I don't have to worry about who cooks the food. So I can eat much more than I had been before Mirkwood. Then again, I am eating for more than just myself, so I'm burning just as much as I can consume. I suppose it balances out. For now. Talk about a close one "Probably."
"Come on!" Thorin calls from up ahead and that ends that conversation "The path goes this way."
The days continue to bleed together as we move. I don't know the exact day when Bombur would fall but I do know where and tell the King as such. I stress how inconvenient it'll be if he doesn't heed my warning and that I won't lift a finger to help if he lets it happen. When said bubbling River arrives, the whole group is extra vigilant in crossing, especially the large dwarf, and... he makes it. Yes, the vines creak and whine beneath his weight but he gets over. No divine intervention knocks him back into the water after he crosses either. Even better, no one else falls in and I'm thankful because after we cross... the hallucinations come.
I expected them of course but they are still terrifying. The mind is like that. I never look into the darkness when we stop for a rest. I keep my eyes on the back in front of me each time we move. Never deviating from my pinpoint focus because then HE appears. From behind a tree when I blink awake or standing just off to the side when I relieve myself. His illusion is always ready and waiting. His voice is like a chorus of insects chattering in my ears, whispering about all the awful things he did to me. I try to stay logical and alert but it's not a matter of will, is it? At least... I don't think so...?
"Was Mirkwood under a spell or was it some sort of plant spores?"
Spell
Spooores
"What was it that caused the not... good... eye movie stuff?
Mooooooo
Eat them now, wet and runny!
Veeeeeee
"Is... is influence enough to cause all... this?"
This
Kill them, kill them now!
"Yes, this."
This
"Yes. Yes! Th-"
I swing my head to shout at the idiot echo and find myself faced with the most enormous spider I've ever had the misfortune of coming across. My mind is like a fog of fear but I crawl backward, trying to find something. My hand meets thin air and I cry out as I tumble out of the tree. Thankfully, I don't hit the ground and wind up dangling in mid-air. Looking up at my feet I see the webs wrapped around my legs from the knee down and know they are the only thing that stopped me from becoming a pancake. Now, however, they serve as a fishing line for the beast that is crawling toward me.
"No-no! Get back!"
"Ahhhhhhh! The meat's alive and kicking!"
"No no no no!"
"Feast! Feast! Feast!"
A piece of wood comes flying through the darkness, distracting the monster from its descent. I wave my arms wildly and connect with a tree, pulling myself up against it and disconnecting myself from the larger web. The spider hardly notices, shifting its attention from me to the nearer form of another. From the tufts of hair sticking out, I'm going to assume it's Gloin. I can't help him as I am and just focus on trying to free myself from the sticky webs. They are like rope but touching them just makes things worse. I can wipe it away from my skin but it sticks to the fabric of my clothes fiercely.
A sickening thump sounds above my head and a spider comes careening down past my side, screeching all the way. Glancing up only to be sure, I breathe a sigh of relief as more and more of the dwarves start to free themselves from their cocoons. They clamber, and fall, from the trees quickly but I stay put. I'd be in the way down there. Not to mention I'm still a sticky mess and completely unable to jump down from this height. If I can just-
"Fat and juicy!"
"Oh no..."
"Just a little taste!
I gape at the spider I hadn't noticed scuttling down the tree from above me but I can't move. There's nowhere for me to go. The sounds of the battle below me fade as those empty black eyes stalk me, growing ever closer. I'm sure that if it had not bitten my leg, I would have gone down quietly. But as its fangs sink into my calf, I let out a cry of pain that shocks me into movement.
"Let go!" I scream, kicking at the creature. Its pointed legs reach up, yanking me forward and pushing me down onto my back to pin me against the branch. I don't stop my assault on its face until I feel my head become light and foggy again. I vaguely register that it must be the venom as the creature finally unhooks its fangs and glides its mandibles over my limbs. My skin tingles as furry legs start to tightly wrap me up again "St...op. Le..let-t me... go."
"Tasty little mors-"
A gagging sound cuts off the sentence and I try to open my eyes to see what's happening but they are so heavy. Water splashes on my face, thick and wet, making me gag in surprise. It's enough to help open my eyes and wish I hadn't. I'm covered in the entrails of the spider above me. The water hadn't been water at all but rather thick black blood. Meaty squelching organs nullify the sticky web and I feel like I'm slipping. My vision swims and I'm able to catch a flash of a sword before I fall into the darkness.
THIRD PERSON POV
"Search them!"
The elves arrive just in time to disperse the spiders and secure the area. Starved and weak, the dwarves can not put up much of a fight as they are rounded up and searched. They are bound and forced to their knees before their captors. Their pockets and bags are turned inside out, their meager belongings spread across the forest floor carelessly. Ever prideful, the dwarves do not bow their heads, but glare up at the happenings. A brown-haired elf pulls knife after knife from Fili's pockets as he smirks up at him, silently promising that each new one is the last. The elf believes none of it and rolls his eyes to the hidden sky only to jump back with a shout.
"Another one!"
Dropping the amulet he'd been holding, Legolas readies himself for an attack before dropping his bow to catch the unconscious girl as she falls from the trees above. From her clothes, the elves can tell she belongs to the apprehended group but it's obvious that she is not one of them. Neither dwarf nor warrior, she stands out from the rest. The elf prince lays her upon the earth as the dwarves demand her release. Tauriel moves over to assess the newcomer. Seeing her shaky breath, the guard addresses her prince in elvish
"She has been bitten."
"Yes." placing a hand on the girl's brow, the elf can feel her rising temperature "We cannot waste time here. Are the spiders dead?"
"Yes, but more will come. They're growing bolder."
"Hn. Search her for weapons and any other wounds." Leaving the females, Legolas returns to the prisoners. An elf steps forward, holding out Thorin's sword, Orcrist. The prince takes the sword offered blade, admiring the craftsmanship. Despite the low light, it shimmers "This is an ancient Elvish blade. Forged by my kin." He points the sword towards Thorin, ignoring the gasp of the dwarves around him "Where did you get this?"
"... It was given to me."
"Not just a thief, but a liar as well" Before he can shout a command to the other elves, Tauriel's voice rings out calling to him. She sits beside Atina with a look of horror on her face. Fearing the worst, the prince makes his way to her, hidden by the trees "What is it?"
"She wore her pack on her front. When I removed it, I found her body tightly bound. Fearing an ill-treated wound, I unwound a few to check but..."
Gesturing toward the prone body, the elleth says no more. She does not need to. The roundness of her belly is immediately noticeable. Ghosting a hand over it, Legolas thinks to confirm the life inside but there is nothing they can do out here if it has perished. This is not how he expected this trip to turn out.
"We must go. Now."
Legolas immediately begins parceling out orders, splitting his group into three parts. One he sends back to the realm immediately to report what has happened. The second he assigns to transport the girl as quickly as possible. If the child is still alive, it will not be for much longer after the bite she sustained. The final group stays with him to transport the dwarves. The dwarves themselves are confused and unsure. As they trudge through the forest, two of their members have been separated from the group without any explanation. They imagine the elves were worried over Atina's wounds that she sustained from Goblintown but Bilbo's absence is a mystery. As the group moves slowly, ever aware of their surrounding, the elves whisper amongst themselves
"She is with child."
"What is a pregnant daughter of men doing with a band of dwarves?"
"Do you think they forced her?"
"Look at her wounds... Must you ask?"
"..." Turning to the group of dwarves, Tauriel tries to ascertain more about the situation as the whispers become too much to ignore. Dwarves are not known for such heinous crimes but something has occurred here "Your female companion... Her husband, is he... one of you?"
"... Where have you taken her?" the dwarves all look uncomfortable at the idea that one of them could be her husband. For it would be a death sentence to have allowed their spouse to have been harmed the way that she had. To the elve though, their faces hold rejection to the idea that they would have wed the girl. Balin, the ever diplomat attempts to communicate, if only to gain some knowledge of the situation at hand "... She is not a bride to any of us but she is under our protection so we would prefer it she'd stay with us."
"What right do you have to ask after her, dwarf? Is that what you call what I saw?" glaring back at the company, Legolas sneers down at them "Protection?"
"A product of our travels. We have traveled quite a way and these things are bound to happen. The lass was displeased at first but has come round and plays her role well."
"Then you admit that you all are responsible for the state she is in."
"... An unfortunate effect that we greatly regret."
"Oh, I see." Legolas's eyes blaze with disgust and fury at the words. Had the dwarves known what the elves were thinking of them, they'd have been all the more fearful of their fates "I see."
Who DOESN'T like a good ole miscommunication? I love it!
