The Shadow (A Thranduil fic)

CHAPTER ONE

THE SHADOW

CHAPTER ONE

Eleanor ducked behind a large tree, her tired muscles beginning to throb from the constant running. For a mortal, this man was certainly fast. Quickly surveying the area, she breathed an inward sigh and cursed under her breath with a clenched fist as a wave of recognition ran through her. If she didn't apprehend the man now she would soon chase him into the Greenwood border, something she would rather it not come to. Silently she weighed up her options. She could let the villainous little whelp enter the wood and be captured by the guard, whereupon he would most likely be taken to the king and killed. Or, she could slip in unnoticed and steal him back but by doing so risk her own capture.

Fuck.

Turning on the balls of her feet, she began to sprint, damning herself for not finishing the job sooner. She would have done so, had she not run into a group of those wretched orcs. Truth be known, she had hoped to avoid any such distractions this time around but the foolish man had led her straight into them. From this, she had to save him and what thanks did he give for her merciful spirit? Absolutely none!

She stopped for a moment and lifted her ear to wind, the man was quite close to her now, she could hear him rasping for breath. Now was her chance. Swiftly, she scaled the thick trunk of a large tree until she was high enough to have the man in her sights. Peering through the leaves, she studied him, this was the first time she'd got to look at his face properly. He was dark skinned with broad shoulders that shook sporadically as he tried to regain his breath. His face glistened with sweat and he looked comparatively weak in that moment but he had thick, glossy locks that lifted in the wind. At any other moment she might have even found him handsome, she reflected. But not now.

Expertly, using her knees to balance on the thick branch, she notched an arrow and lined up her target. For a second, she almost allowed a brief pinch of sympathy to run through her. After all, he really did have no chance of survival from the moment that the father of the girl he'd defiled hired her to kill him. But, alas, it would not do to give in to such ghastly emotion. He had a debt to pay and she was the collector.

She released the arrow and with a quick thwish it struck a tree, sending splinters of wood all about the small clearing she looked down on. She frowned. Wasn't the man just sitting there? Never in a million years would she have missed the brute so, she concluded, he must have anticipated her and moved. But such speed was impossible for a mere mortal, wasn't it? She creeped forward along the branch to inspect further but with a rustle of leaves she felt a pair of strong arms around her waist and all to quickly she realised her mistake. Helplessly, she watched as the world moved around her and with a painful impact to her shoulder she was thrown to the ground.

Groaning, she looked up into a circle of cold eyes and allowed an audible sigh to escape her.

"I was hoping to avoid this."

Breaking the circle, a muscular ellon pushed through, his tall figure blocking out the strong midday sun. He pulled the man by his collar, his strong muscles rippling under his dark tunic.

"Does this belong to you?" he pushed the man forwards onto his knees, his bound hands clasped in prayer. Eleanor watched as his wild, feverish eyes roamed the circle, pleading with the strangers. It almost made her chuckle, knowing full well that he would find no council there.

"Yes, but not for much longer."

"Is that so?" he studied her for a moment, his forest green eyes shining with a hidden curiosity. He leaned forward to offer his hand, some strands of his lustrous chestnut hair falling to frame his face. After taking his hand and pulling herself up smiled smugly, finding that they were almost eye level.