The speed of the current had slowled drastically. Slow enough to now give concern of the orcs that had been left behind catching up.
Anariel looked like something that had been dragged from the bottom of the river. Her hair was drenched and sticking to the sides of her face and hanging over the front. Her clothes made her feel a good five kilos heavier and being dragged through the water like a rag doll had taken its toll a lot more then those inside the barrels. Bilbo, who had also been on the outside of the barrel ride, seemed to fair a lot better in appearance but hanging on had taken a lot more out of him then it had done the elf. Having a greater height did not go in ones favour in this situation and she was clung on to Thorin's barrel, the dwarven king pretty much doing most of the holding for her. Her thin leggings hadn't done much in the way of protecting her legs from being thrown about underneath and although she hadnt felt them rip or any sort of cutting pain she was sure they would be bruised near black.
"Anything behind us?" Thorin yelled.
"Not that I can see." Balin answered as they drifted further down stream at a lot more leisurely pace.
"I think we've outrun the orcs."
"Not for long. We've lost the current. Make for the shore." Thorin ordered before the dwarves slowly piled out, paddling over to the edge and walking up to land. Kili was one of the first and he soon collapsed back down with a grunt of pain. Bofur came up to him concerned while Ana, still in the water, was heaved out and nearly tossed by Thorin in his barrel to a dry rock.
She winced in pain as she found her footing and the dwarf came out after her.
"Never in my life, Thorin Oakenshield, have I been through so much consistent endless danger for one journey." She said, getting to her feet with more effort then she thought it would have taken.
"We're not there yet. And there's still a dragon yet to come."
"You'd make a fabulous motivational speaker." She grumbled back before turning and looking around at the company, glancing over each of them until her eyes landed on Fili. He was crouching down with Bofur, the both of them looking over Kili. She moved right away before Thorin could respond, her fixed attention causing the King's eyes to narrow. He couldn't help but feel that even though Kili was injured it had been his other brother she had been searching for among the crowd. She had automatically without realising began to look for him even if she moved for the sake of helping Kili.
"I'm fine. It's nothing." Kili was saying, composing himself as the elf made it over to them. "Really, it'll be fine." He reassured quite convincingly.
"Are you sure?" Ana questioned, crouching down as Oin, the most experienced of the dwarves in healing approached.
"Yes, I'm sure. Good battle scar." He smiled. The elves had great healing magic it was true but without the right herbs there was little she could do other than ease the pain. She could not just stitch flesh together with magic. Not without some time at least and they did not have time. Nor was it an art she was particularly practised in. Not like Elrond.
"On your feet." Thorin ordered.
"Kili's wounded. His leg needs binding." Fili argued back.
"There's an orc pack on our tail. We keep moving." Thorin said.
"To where?" Balin asked as Anariel ripped her sleeve from the tare the spider made and down, leaving her arm exposed.
"Here." She said, handing it to Fili. "It's cleaner and softer than that." She nodded to the rag he held that looks near brown with mud and like it was made out of scratchy wool.
"To the mountain. We're so close." Bilbo spoke.
"A lake lies between us and that mountain. We have no way to cross it." Balin answered.
"So then we go around."
Fili tightened the rag on Kili's leg. And was about to step back when Ana reached out her hand, touching the cloth and whispering something so gently they could not hear, not that they would have understood it if they could. Her hand retracted and Kili gave her a curious look.
"I need herbs to heal something like this and take out any infection but that should take some of the pain and slow down anything that might make it worse. That swim probably didn't do you any favours and orc weapons are rarely clean. Do not keep it to yourself if you think it's getting worse." She said finally and seriously before rising to her feet, placing a 'you're welcome' hand on his shoulder as she did in response to his thank you as Fili smiled reassuringly at his brother.
"The orcs will run us down, as sure as daylight." Dwalin was saying. "With no weapons to defend ourselves."
"We have two minutes." Thorin argued. "We must keep moving."
"No." Ana whispered, standing to attention. She was looking down the river to where the orcs were to come from as if expecting them to come leaping out of the bush. "I can feel something watching." She turned last minute as everyone else followed her gaze. A man stepped over a large rock, looking down on them and sneaking up quieter than Ana would have normally given any human credit for. He held a bow, aiming it at Ori. Dwalin stepped in with a large stick. The man shot the arrow and lodged it into the wood as Fili raised a rock to throw and he turned on him quickly and shot it out of his hand before drawing a third.
"Do it again and you're dead." He warned.
"Excuse me, but um... but you're from Lake Town if I'm not mistaken." Balin spoke before any of his less eloquent companions could, stepping forward with his hands raised in surrender. "That barge over there... it wouldn't be available for hire, by any chance?" Balin asked, bringing everyone's attention to a boat a little down river, now visible behind the man and over the other side of the rock he stood on. The man scoffed and walked away, heading for the barge.
"What makes you think I would help you?"
"Those boots have seen better days. As has that coat. No doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed." Balin bribed as the man began to land the empty barrels on to his barge. "How many bairns?"
"A boy and two girls." He answered.
"And you're wife, I imagine she's a beauty."
"Aye. She was." He paused as Balin face dropped.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"
"Oh, come on. come on." Dwalin interrupted impatiently. "Enough of the niceties."
"What's your hurry?"
"What's it to you?" Dwalin, Ana had come to realise, had many great attributes and loyalty was perhaps chiefest among them, but... a good first impression was something he rarely left.
"I would like to know who you are and what you're doing in these lands."
"We are simple merchants from the Blue Mountains. Journeying to see our kin in the Iron Hills." Balin explained, taking from the lie Ana had earlier told Legolas.
"Simple merchants you say?"
"We need food." Thorin spoke. "Supplies. Weapons. Can you help us?" Weapons was where he went wrong and the man looked to the barrels he had been loading up.
"I know where these barrels came from." He said, rubbing his hand along the splintering the arrows had made in the side of one.
"What of it?" Thorin growled.
"I don't know what business you had with the Elves, but I don't think it ended well. No one enters Lake Town but by the leave of the Master. All his wealth comes from trade with the Woodland Realm. He would see you in irons before risking the wrath of King Thranduil."
"Thranduil won't have a quarrel with your master." Ana spoke, stepping forward as she tucked hair behind her ear and showed that she was an elf, hoping that might sway the man. "Nor will he come looking for us. Our only crime was not announcing that we meant to pass through in our journey. It was poorly done given the size of our company and the nature of the relationship of elves and dwarves. Now that we've past the quarrel has also."
"And yet you require weapons."
"Travelling without them isn't something I'd advice anyone." She said with a slight shake of her head.
"And what business does an elf have with a dozen dwarves. Curious company to keep given the nature of the relationships between your kinds." He said, mocking her previous words.
"So I've been told." She nearly sighed. "Will you truly not help us?"
"No." He responded although his harshness of attitude had faded some. "I can't risk it."
"Offer him more." Thorin grumbled to Balin.
"I'll wager there are ways to enter that town unseen." Balin continued.
"Aye, but for that you would need a smuggler." He said, turning back to his barrels as Balin very quickly moved over to him.
"For which we will pay... double." He said.
It wasn't long before the dwarves were being loaded into the boat one after the other. Anariel remained where she was, looking back the way they came and listening for the sound of orcs. But they had made good ground and by catching the barge across they would make further leeway. The orcs would be left to go around and if they could leave Lake Town in good time as well they may well make it to the mountain before they caught up.
But it was not her present company she worried about as she stood on the ridge, glancing down and to the rippling water as it passed by. She listened to it lightly lap against the stones at her feet and stream by in a whisper, calling her closer. She did not want to step closer. She did not want to see but with their current situation she thought it more foolish not to.
She moved and crouched by the waters edge just as Thorin was coming to see what the delay could be as the last of the dwarves stepped into the boat.
Her hand reached out to touch the water. The boatman watched curiously as the dwarves shuffled about his feet trying to find their places. Fili did not though. He sensed that something was happening and stood at the edge, looking out as the elf glanced down into the water and then she slowly stood. She had dried off quickly in the sunlight and although still damp did not look it from a distance. She turned to his uncle, pivoting on her feet like he had seen her do a hundred times. She did it so smoothly and gracefully she might as well have been standing on a rotating platform, herself unmoving as the mechanism below her feet did the work for her. Anariel gave Thorin a tight smile as she spoke words accompanied with a light head shake.
Fili watched as Thorin nodded and turned on his heel, heading for the boat as Ana remained behind.
"What's happening?" Fili asked. "What's she doing?"
Thorin got in the boat before replying and he did not respond to his nephew right away. He turned to the man first and gave a sharp nod. He began to pull on the rope that was holding them anchor, perhaps assuming she was an elf of the Woodland Realm and not intended to go with them or perhaps it simply was not his concern.
"Wait hang on." Fili began to protest.
"She's staying." Thorin said sharply. "She said she'll meet us in Lake Town or... catch up after." He said careful of his words in front of the bargeman.
Fili gave his uncle a disbelieving look, not sure why he would let her do it. He thought she was staying to buy them some time perhaps. But she couldn't take on all the orcs alone. Fili turned back to face the elf who was now walking towards them. "You can't stay." He said with a shake of his head. Kili pulled himself a little closer to the edge of the boat.
"You have no weapons." The other brother said in a hushed voice so their smuggler would not hear the necessity in his voice.
"I will catch up." She reasured. "But there are elves coming. Thranduil's son, the woman who saved you." She said looking to Kili pointedly. "I cannot leave them to defend themselves alone, the pack is too large." If Kili's voice was quiet hers was more so. "You know the way from here. You know the land between us and our destination better than I do from this point. I will continue to help you wherever I can but my duty as your guide has been met. I cannot leave my people, no matter who they might be, to an enemy like the orcs and in doing so we may just buy you more time to reach the end undeterred."
She took a step back and looked to the man who was readying himself to push the boat off and cast away. "Go." She said.
"Wait. Wait." Fili quickly stopped him, reaching down into his boot and pulling out a 20cm long dwarven blade and holding it out to her in its leather pouch.
"I thought you said they took them all." She smiled, gently taking it from him.
Fili smiled cheekily. "I nearly forgot about that one."
"Thank you. Now go." The barge pulled away and they drifted down stream. Fili remained at the back, watching as the elf got smaller in the distance. And then... she reached out. She reached out in a way she had never done or tried before ... excluding a few foolish attempts as a teenager, to speak. To speak as her mother spoke so that only one person may hear.
"Do not fear, Fili. I would not miss seeing a dragon. The opal will tell you when I'm near, keep it on you. It will also guide me to where you are." His lips parted as he stepped away from the railing of the boat, her only sign that he had heard her in his mind when he reached for his pocket. Reading thoughts... that was something far more difficult and his reply would remain silent to her. But that gift would follow. Sooner than she realised. Once you started down the path of powerful gifts... it would take a great deal to stop them.
Anariel turned and walked back over the rocks by the river, disappearing from their view as the dwarf reached inside his pocket and pulled out an opal. Thorin's eyes narrowed at the sight. It nearly reminded him of the Arkenstone and yet not at all. Kili did not see as he leant back against the boat, the pain better but not gone while Bilbo stepped up beside him, his eyes widening a little.
Fili turned it about his hand and watched as the further they got away it seemed to fade. He glanced at the hobbit and stuffed it back into his pocket, turning and taking a seat in silence.
Anariel moved to a covered position once they were gone, finding a place in view of the river with high ground that kept her well sheltered. She listened for a while, getting close to the hard stone at her feet. She could feel vibrations in the earth coming close but not yet dangerously so. There were just a few by her count. The faster runners. No elf could she have heard no matter how silent it was around her but orcs could be as thunderous as a troop of mounted knights.
She keeps further away and back. A few stragglers she was not concerned of went past her. One orc was no threat to the company not when they were heading for Lake Town. She saw the female guard go past after the leading orcs and she allowed her to go, knowing she'd take care of them. She had a purpose for staying, a purpose she saw in the ripples of the water; shimming in the full shaded afternoon light like waving silhouettes. The moving forms that had no sound or voice to speak. But she saw them when her hand had reached out and touched the cool clean running water.
The she-elf was not in danger. Her prince was. Anariel did not know Legolas save for the brief meeting and mentions of him in elven kingdoms where all at the very least knew his father. But she would not abandon her own kind to death, death at the hands of an orc no less, no matter who they were or how well she knew them. Not if she could prevent it. Least of all someone of importance and worthy of respect... who, after all, saved her. He could have done worse at their meeting. She had been stubborn and not entirely respectful and she would be lying if she were to say that the elves of Lorien would have done much different if a troop of dwarves came marching through their woods unexpectedly. There was of course also the argument that she and her party were responsible for leading the orcs to Mirkwood and she would not have the death of their prince on her hands. It was the right thing to do, even Thorin had nodded in agreement to that. And yet... she felt bad for leaving them.
She found him right where she she had seen him in the water. She was a bit late perhaps but not out of time. Seven orcs were closing in around him, but it wasn't them she was worried about. He was good, very good. He could take care of them, moving swiftly and taking them out one after the other and at times two at once. It was the hiding eighth she was after. A bowman. She saw the arrow but she had not seen him in her vision. She moved silently from where it had come, finding the orc crouching low behind shrubbery. He had seen this elf kill too many of his kind to know that charging in would do no good and that more stealth was required. As Legolas fought the last three she knew the time was coming to an end. As the last orc he faced would fall he would turn, too late, in trying to block an arrow that he heard flying through the air only at the last second as his last opponent fell.
The orc drew back the bowstring and Ana came forward. She kicked down on his arm, throwing his aim off and when Legolas turned the arrow flew past his ear. She elbowed the orc hard in the temple, pulled the dagger Fili had given her and rammed it up under it's chin.
The princeling looked at her, shocked. "I think most of them have dropped back." She said. "They'll know the dwarves are heading for Lake Town. They'll want a plan before they attack the town. But they will. They'll regroup and reform, probably attack at night. The dwarves caught the only barge. They'll have to go the long way around."
Slowly the prince nodded. "Why aren't you with them?" He asked.
She glanced down at the orc and then back up. "I figured I could return the favour. I thought you'd still be following. I guess you could say I felt guilty for leaving you to deal with them." His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. She wouldn't tell him everything but in the least she knew he wouldn't take her back to the prison. He wouldn't now that he knew who she was but saving his life played no small part either.
"Come." He said, breaking eye contact and moving right away, not looking back towards her. "Tauriel was ahead of me. We should catch up."
They found the elf Ana now knew to be called Tauriel much further up the river, right where she had last seen the company. They had spent hours in the water and at least another two perhaps had gone by since she parted ways with the dwarves. The river was a big one and they weren't likely to reach Lake Town until near sunset. And they were taking the much shorter route.
Tauriel stood with her back to them, looking down the river. She spun when the other two stepped closer, turning her bow on them quickly before lowering once she saw her prince.
"I thought you were an Orc." She stated.
"If I were an orc, you would be dead." He said back.
"What is she doing here?" Tauriel asked, nodding towards Ana who stood a pace back from Legolas.
"She just saved your prince's life." Ana replied.
They both ignored her and Legolas replied without looking her way. He appeared to be significantly less comfortable in her presence now that he knew who she was since their last interactions in Mirkwood. He didn't seem nervous or awkward by any means nor was it quite giving her the cold shoulder but there was a kind of reservation there. Perhaps he felt insulted that she had not told him right away. Perhaps he thought he should be generally cold given their "history." Or he was simply at a loss for words. She hadn't said much either and although she was relieved to be free of the lie she also wished she could go back to when he didn't know. If they were to travel together even for a short while she wished it could have been with how he was before. Even if she thought he was cocky and slightly like his father.
"This is Anariel of Lothlorien." He explained as the elf with the long auburn hair drifted her gaze towards the other woman and Ana raised her chin a little. Legolas stepped closer to his friend as Tauriel looked back to him with furrowed eyes. "Tauriel... you cannot hunt 30 orcs on your own." He said, moving on before she could continue on the topic.
Ana decided to take a step back and allow them to talk it out a moment. She moved over to the shade of the forests edge and leant against a tree trunk. She cleaned off the blade Fili had given her and waited for them to discuss their next course of action. She would be moving on regardless but she thought waiting a moment might be worth it if it meant she didn't have to go charging in with the orcs alone. They were in front now and she could catch them she knew but maybe only just as they reached Lake Town. Orcs were hardy things and they didn't tire easily. Elves were faster but it would take time.
"It is our fight!" Anariel looked up at the sound of Tauriel's voice raising. "It will not end here. With every victory, this evil will grow. If your father has his way, we will do nothing. We will hide within our walls, live our lives away from the light and let darkness descend." They had run after them without Thranduil's permission so it would seem. That would explain why it was just the two of them and by the sounds of it Prince Legolas was more hesitant to disobey his father. Anariel began to step forward. "Are we not part of this world? Tell me, mellon. When did we let evil become stronger than us?"
"If we leave now we can still catch up before they reach the town." Anariel spoke, her voice soft as she wasn't fond of needing to cut in. But they didn't have time to waste. "You're under no obligation but never before has an elven kingdom allowed orc kind through their lands without consequences. And if they get away with it just once... they will be back. They've already taken your forest, it'll only spread."
"You came back for us for help?" Legolas asked.
She swallowed a lump in her throat and slowly shook her head. She turned with a sigh and moved to the water's edge, picking up a large leaf and cupping some water in it before she stood. Legolas moved over to her, Tauriel behind, curiously watching as she whispered something they could not hear.
"Look." She then said, turning and holding it for him to watch. He glanced down, meaning to only briefly before his attention was captured quickly by an image within. His image. Seven orcs surrounded him and he was fighting them off, he was winning and then he turned as an eighth fired an arrows and it thudded into his chest. He froze, looking down. Then he threw his blade, killing the creature with perfect aim right before his legs gave out and he fell back and died.
Legolas took a step back and Anariel let her arm fall back to her side, the water spilling from the leaf before it glided to the ground. "That is why I came back. You were right... I don't wish any ill will on any of my kind... but nor do I wish it on mankind or dwarves. There is evil in this world and so long as we know of it, so long as we are able to it is our duty to fight it, to rid Middle Earth of darkness and save whatever light we can along the way. And if your father doesn't understand that then he is no better then that which destroys. I'm going to Lake Town." She stated and turned to face Tauriel who still stood at Legolas's back but had been watching. "You're welcome to join. And if Thranduil won't accept you for that... Lorien and Rivendell always will."
She walked by without another word, but glancing at Legolas as she did until she had past him. She moved quickly and behind her Legolas sighed and he and Tauriel both moved after.