He recalled the sensation of being flung from his majestic elk, the foul arrows of the orcs having felled his faithful companion. Instinct kicked in and he rolled gracefully, coming to a crouch as his body tensed in the preparation of fighting off his enemies. His hands hovered in anticipation by the hilt of his swords, his head lowered as he breathed in and stilled himself. All around, the screams and cries of the battle swarmed the air, permeating with the metallic smell of blood and gore. The sounds faded to the background as he concentrated on the heavy treads of the orcs that were now surrounding him.
Thranduil felt a smirk pull at his lips. If only they knew how foolish that actual thought of trying to kill him was. He would cut them all down, his treasured swords slicing through them with laughable ease.
Suddenly the air seemed to constrict around him, making it hard to breathe. Thranduil could not move nor utter a sound as the air was painfully and slowly squeezed from his lungs. Just as he thought his life essence was about to be snuffed out, the pressure suddenly vanished as quickly as it had arrived.
Thranduil blinked, his vision dotted with pricks of dancing white dots. He remained still as he waited for it to subside, and subconsciously noted the eerie silence that surrounded him.
A sudden and loud thud caused him to snap his head up, his body tensing as he prepared to kill whatever enemy advanced upon him. To his surprise, though, he saw only a human woman. She looked petrified as she pressed herself flat against the door, her hazel eyes wide with expressive fear.
Thranduil blinked as he took in his surroundings, and he stood slowly, dazed by what he was witnessing. The structure behind the woman was unlike any he had ever seen before, and as he slowly turned around, he saw that he was in the country, with woods surrounding them. There was no sign of the orcs, or the battle or even Dale. It was as though it had all just vanished into thin air. No. It didn't vanish. It was I who disappeared. This though came with crystal clear clarity and his attention was drawn once more to the strange human woman. Does she have the answers?
The woman in question looked paralyzed with her palpable terror, and Thranduil could clearly see the panicked thoughts running through her head - the most obvious was that she wanted to flee from him. Thranduil wasn't completely oblivious to the fact that he was intimidating, and used it to his advantage many times. But right now, this was more of a hindrance as he needed answers, and she was the only one to give them.
Suddenly, a crippling, sharp pain shot through his head and he could not hold back the tortured cry that escaped his lips. He fell to his knees, clutching his head in a feeble attempt to fight it off. He glanced up with much effort at the woman, realising how utterly helpless he was right now. The last thought that fluttered through his mind was that he was now completely at her mercy.
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The darkness slowly faded from his mind, mercifully taking the pain along with it. Thranduil cracked his eyes open, but a mass of dark brown hair obscured his vision, the ends uncomfortably tickling his face.
