The Elf, the Hobbit and the Dwarf - Book 1 NEW VERSION

Lake-town

The sun was leaving the sky as the three Elves entered Lake-town. It was a city filled with Men, people that Míriel hadn't seen for quite a while. There was no way to know if it was with Men that the Dwarves had now settled down with for a while, for they had surely had to pass through the town before continuing to the mountain. They would have already left.

Míriel followed Tauriel and Legolas over the bridge to the city, trying to avoid the freezing cold water. The streets were empty with people and it might as well have been a dead city if not for the small lights inside the windows of the wooden houses. It was easy for the three Elves to sneak unnoticed through the city like shadows in the dark.

Lake-town, or Escargoth as it was actually named, was a small community of Men in the north-west of the Long Lake. Though it was small, it was quite charming in the way it was completely constructed by wood standing upon pillars sunk into the bed of the lake. The people in Lake-Town were the kin of the lost people of Dale. They traded with King Thranduíl often, and that was what they made their prosperity from.

Míriel turned her eyes upward as she heard something and saw dozens of unknown shadows creeping on top of the roofs of the houses. They were Orcs and soon they had broken through the roof of a house, attacking it with all of their force. The Elves could clearly hear screams of children from inside and started hurrying toward the housing, knowing that it was there the Dwarves must hide.

As soon as Míriel was close enough to the house, she could see Bofur right outside it. He was nearly attacked by an Orc when Míriel quickly drew her bow and shot an arrow into the Orc's chest.

"Míriel!" Bofur said and widened his eyes.

"Dear Bofur, what are you doing here?" Míriel asked and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. She did not give him time to answer, though, because the screams from inside were heard again.

Tauriel entered the house with Legolas, and Míriel soon followed. She shot arrows through those Orcs who were further away but fought with her daggers with those close to her. They killed all the Orcs fairly quickly and soon the rest were retreating away from the house. Whatever they had searched for was not in the house anymore or had never been there.

Two human girls were looking at the Elves with fright in their eyes, one around sixteen and other was perhaps ten. That they were sisters was obvious for they looked very much alike. There was a red-headed boy in the house as well and he was almost the same age as the oldest girl, a few years younger perhaps. Oin and Fíli were there too, and Bofur was still outside.

Kíli, who had been looking fine the last time Míriel saw him, was now pale and dripping with sweat. Míriel understood now that Oin the healer had stayed with the injured Kíli while Fíli wanted to be with his brother. Míriel was very happy to see them all, but she was scared for Kíli's life. The Orc had been telling the truth when in fact she had wished the entire journey there that it had just been a lie.

"You killed them all," the boy said terrified and glanced around at all the dead bodies around him. This was not something young children to see, they were too young.

"There are others," Legolas said and started walking toward the door again. "Tauriel, Míriel, come."

Míriel doubted that what he said could ever be what he truly meant. Surely he did not expect that Míriel could leave when Kíli was dying and she could possibly help heal him? But if it was true and Kíli had been stung by a Morgul arrow like the Orc had said, it could injure Míriel greatly if she tried to save him with her powers as it had done when she was but a child long ago. If protecting Legolas from a single arrow had made her weak in her legs, what would sucking out the Morgul poison do to her? There was no doubt that she would do it either way for the motivation was just as big as it had been before. Míriel loved Kíli and she would rather die than to see him wither away right in front of her eyes.