A Mercenaries Love (A Hobbit Fan Fiction)

Chapter 22- Darkness

Adisa's Pov

"Come on, we must reach the mountain before the sun sets on Durin's day" Thorin instructs impatiently as he wants to get going.

"Durin's day?" Bilbo asks but no one responds to his question. They are all focused on the task ahead of us as we have to enter this sickly forest.

"Let's go" Bofur says. "It is our one chance to find the hidden door" Bofur continues with determination.

With that said we all swallow our fear and enter the dark forest. I search around beside me for Fili's hand and I sigh when I find it. He squeezes it reassuringly and I turn to smile at him, as long as he is by my side we will get through this forest.

As soon as I enter the forest the feeling of dread overwhelms me. I have felt overwhelmed before but this is a new type of overwhelming. It feels as if the sickness is clinging to me. Waiting for me to succumb to the same sickness that the forest did.

I turn around and watch as the light of day behind us fades away the deeper we go into the forest. Soon we are swallowed by darkness.

I lose track of time as we make our way through the forest. I can not remember when I let go of Fili's hand and right now i'm missing the comfort. My mood has reached an all time low as we continue through the forest. I shudder as I start getting the feeling of someone watching me and my gut feeling tells me that whatever is watching me is no good.

The silence is amplified as everyone struggles to strike up a conversation. Everyone seems to be wallowing in their own despair. I miss Ava's comforting voice and Bofur's cheerful laughter, I even miss Thorin's grumpy tone.

The silence is amplified further by the occasional flap of birds wings or the rustle as a small creature bounds over the narrow path in front of us. I have a feeling that the wildlife is just as sick as the forest and it makes me sad to see what this forest has become. It makes me wonder what it used to be like.

My thoughts are interrupted as Thorin calls for us to stop.

"This place will have to do, we will camp here" Thorin orders.
I sink to my knees gratefully and take my pack off my back. It makes a big crashing sound as it falls to the ground. I see movement in the shadows next to me and a shock of fear goes through me. The fear continues as I realise that the forest around me is full of webs. luckily they are not too close to the path so it seems we are safe for now, I still get bad vibes though and I grab my pack to move closer to the rest of the company who are setting up camp.

"We will stay here for the night, no fires. And I want everyone up and moving early in the morning. I do not think it is good to stay in the same place for too long" Thorin instructs us as he moves around setting up his own bedroll.

I copy his actions as I set up my own bedroll. After eating a quick meal I settle into my bed to try to get some sleep. Sleep does no come easily and I toss and turn, trying to find a comfortable position but I can't shake the creepy feeling that something is watching me.

I take a deep breath and sigh, I don't think i'm going to get any sleep tonight. Movement gets my attention as Dori comes makes his way over to me. At the last minute do I realise it is not me he is coming to it's Fili. He has come over to change watch with Fili. I sigh again as I realise that my chances of falling asleep are even slimmer now that Fili is going away to be on watch.
The thought of being alone forces me to call out for Fili.

"Fili"

"Yeah" he replies quietly so as not to wake anyone.

"I can't sleep. I feel like something is watching us. Do you know what I mean?" I ask quietly. If I can't sleep it does no mean that the others need to be woken up as well.

"Yeah, I feel it too. If you want you could set up your bedroll in front of the rock here" Ili says as he point to the rock where Dori had just been sitting for his watch.

"That would be great" I say gratefully. I grab my bedroll and carefully walk over to Fili being careful so as not to wake any of the other members.

"Here just settle down here. I promise i will watch out for you, just get some sleep" Fili says reassuringly as he settles himself down on the rock above me.

I sigh as I realise that I can relax now. I glance over to see Ava asleep but I know that she would wake up with the slightest sound, she has always been a light sleeper. I'm surprised that she managed to fall asleep as i'm guessing her senses are more tuned than mine. she would feel the sickness more than any of us. That's when I realise that Kili is curled up next to her and I see how she has managed to fall to sleep.

Exhaustion makes a final attempt to take over and I finally let it as the need for sleep becomes too great. The though of Fili being beside me relaxes me as I feel safe with him watching over me. I welcome sleep with open arms as all thoughts on the sick forest are long forgotten.

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The quiet chirp of a bird wakes me up from my slumber as I realise where I am once again. I wake up with a start and glance wildly around me, a comforting hand on my shoulder relaxes me as I remember that Fili is still here.

"Thank you" I say gratefully.

"For what?" Fili asks.

"For watching over me while I slept" I answer. I notice that the rest of the company are packing up their gear and eating a quick breakfast so I hurry to follow their movements.

Before long we are on our way through the forest again and I can already see the affects of the sickness as it starts to affect us all. Ava looks better than most and i'm guessing that it's because she has elven blood, or maybe she's just tougher than all of us. Either way i'm glad she is the one leading us through this forest.

It's not long before we arrive at the river that Gandalf described to us.