Just Listen

Chapter 2

"The Greenwood? Why must we go in there? The elves that live in these lands aren't as inviting as they once were. And the wood is getting sick, I can feel it," I protested on the edge of the forest. Balarn had led us here and for some reason wouldn't believe me when I told him of the darkness within.

"The orcs and wargs are grouping together. It would be much safer to go through the realm of the elves than to risk the beasts," he protested, spitting through his scraggly beard. We had been at this for ten minutes already.

"People are starting to call it Mirkwood. I would trust nothing with the word 'mirk' in it. Just by the sound of Mirkwood I feel we should turn away. Something is crawling around in there, I can feel it."

"What would you know of what crawls in that forest?"

I laughed. "Do you no nothing of elves? I can hear the trees whispering and the ground quaking."

"I am your guide so if I go into that forest you are going to follow me!" Balarn finished the conversation and strode into the first line of trees. He didn't even glance at the sculptures or of the statue of the recently deceased queen. I nodded in remorse as I passed her and drifted into the slowly decaying forest.

"Listen to your heart, it will guide you."

His passing words reentered my mind. Somehow it stung to hear Lord Elrond quoting my father. He had never done so before.

"Listen to your heart, it will guide you."

"Listen," Balarn breathed.

"Oh don't you start saying it to," I said.

"No shh," he held up his hand. Then I heard it, it was a crawling. Like a sticky, moist crawling and it was getting louder. I drew my sword and faced the noise. It was a spider. A huge spider launching itself at me. My reflexes kicked in and the next thing I saw was its dead body on the ground. To my left, Balarn was fighting two more and another had just dropped from a tree. It sprinted over to me, another on its tail, and another waiting in a tree. I drew my bow and shot the first one. Then quickly reloaded before the other could get any farther. About six more took their place. I shot one after another and sliced left and right, but they were overpowering us.

A flash of long hair and arrows interrupted my thoughts of death. Elves, just like me, were swarming around us. The spiders were gone within a few seconds and their bows turned to us. Before I could stop him, Balarn swung his axe at a nearby elf and was shot down before his stroke fell. He collapsed onto the mossy ground. Even though I despised him, I couldn't help but feel sad.

"Intruders, or rather one now" said one without his bow raised. I guess he was the captain of the guard. The others looked at him the same way our guards look at their captain; with a mix of hatred, respect, and fear. "Search the elleth and bring her back to the castle for Thranduil. Leave the other."

An ellon stepped forward and searched me lightly, not expecting to find anything.

"She is clean," he said after removing the scroll and several of my weapons. He shoving me into another guard who bound my hands. Another joined him to hold my arms as they dragged me away. But, I would not be taken so easily. I yanked my arms away and brought them over my head before swinging them at a guard's nose. My bound fists knocked the other in the stomach and I took off. But it was only a matter seconds before someone stopped me. And just as I expected, a guard stepped out in front of me, catching me before I mowed him over. He held my arms, not allowing me to move.

"So close," he said coldly and threw me back to a guard who held more tightly this time. They practically had to drag me on the ground the rest of the way. They didn't even drag the dwarf's body away. They just left it there. Like the dead spiders.