The Eastern Woman

Mirkwood

Goneril arrived at the southern border of Mirkwood four days after leaving Edoras.
Riding along the southern part of the Rhovanion had not been too difficult, especially because it was a vast plain, but going into the forest would not have been easy at all.

That area of ​​the kingdom is poisoned by the energy of Sauron, who occupied the old fortress of Dòl Guldur millennia ago.  Never go into the southern part of Eryn Galen, Goneril.  There are monsters.  There are monsters everywhere.  So Amon had suggested her, as he was telling stories about his people.  If one day you'll cross our territory, keep to the sides of the forest, go up the river Celduin if you can.  And know this other thing: the laws of Thranduil extend from north to south, if you cross the border without permission, the punishment would be two hundred years of imprisonment ... which means, that you would die in a cell.  Don't underestimate the King, my dear.  His father Oropher was stern and inflexible, but Thranduil is a thousand times worse.  You can believe me.

Once arrived at the edge of the forest, Goneril reflected on the situation. In fact, the most intelligent thing to do would have been to ride around the perimeter of the large conglomeration of vegetation and then reach the river Celduin, which flowed directly from Lake-town.  That way, though, it would have taken her more time, and she didn't have time.

It was more than probable that Degarre and the others - after learning of her escape from Rohan - had sensed her intentions and had set off for Rivendell to put their hands on the treasure, and that time there would be no Wizard to stop them along the way.
They had already tried that.  Therefore, she had to hurry.

She decided to cross a small portion of the forest, with the idea of ​​emerging from the other side and finding herself on the banks of the Celduin.  In that way, she would have earned a precious day.

She dismounted from the horse, took off the saddle, the bite and the reins from him and gave him a big slap on the back. "Go! Enjoy your freedom." She told him.

The steed looked confused.

"GO!" she shouted, suddenly opening her arms. The horse turned and galloped towards Rohan. Instinct had told him to go back to his masters. "Stupid beast ..." the woman murmured.

She turned to look at the border of the Elven realm. As it had happened at Fangorn, even the idea of entering Mirkwood made her nervous.

It was said there were giant spiders in there.

The Elves tried in vain to clear the woods from those horrible creatures, but they reproduced with alarming speed.

Goneril swallowed down the anxiety that was about to attack her, and after pulling her sword out of the sheath, she entered the dark and damp environment.

The difference with Fangorn was evident: the latter was essentially a dead aseptic place, cursed by a spell that, before Gandalf's arrival, had turned the trees into homicidal monsters.

Mirkwood, on the contrary, looked like any other forest. There were birds, insects, lots of moss, a variety of plants, roots that sprouted from the ground, rocks, small swamps.

It did not seem to her, as she advanced, to see anything monstrous.

The really annoying aspect was the dim light. The woman could hardly see the path in front of her. And she could not observe the sky: the branches of the trees were so thick that they had formed a sort of gigantic roof of red leaves. She needed to see the position of the sun for orientation.

She had to trust her ears: the river Celduin was far away, but the breeze that made its way through the trees from time to time brought her the sound of the water stream. A soft sound, but her ears - trained after many nights guarding the camps, when old General Mainard ordered her to stay awake and give the alarm at any sound - could hear it.