Curse of the East (Fili/The Hobbit Fanfiction)

Chapter 19 - A Voice on the Breeze

The forest was dark and gloomy; and we walked silently, single file through the darkness, doing our best to ignore the strange sounds and movements all around us. We stayed close together, taking care to keep on the path as we wove our way through the endless maze of trees and foliage.

My eyes had long since grown used to the dimness of the forest, and the only thing I found myself overly concerned about was the extremely thick cobwebs hanging from the trees above and to the sides of us. I wasn't sure how big a spider would have to be to create a web of such a size; but I had absolutely no desire to find out. The only other major problem being that I had lost track of day and night; I had no idea how long we had been wandering these paths, but I knew we were running short on food and we would be in serious trouble if we didn't find our way out of here soon.

The air seemed to get thicker the further we got into the forest, and I was beginning to have difficulty breathing; my head spun and I had to focus hard to keep myself moving. Fili was never far from my side, but it became clear to me quite quickly that this place was having a much worse effect on him than it was on me; though I never mentioned it.

We came to the stone bridge that stood over the river Gandalf had told us about, which would have been wonderful; if the entire midsection of the bridge had not collapsed and long since been swept away by the current. I stared into the misty grey water for a long moment, and an overwhelming desire to jump into the water suddenly flooded through me. I moved closer to the river without ever realizing it. One more step and I would be in the water.

Fili suddenly jumped forward, yanking me back and breaking whatever trance I had been under. I struggled to regain my breath. We stared at each other for a long moment.

"Thank you," I whispered before turning back to the others. "We must find another way across." Kili was quick to find a series of vines woven together leading all the way to the other side, and he was preparing to try and maneuver his way across when Thorin stopped him.

"Kili," his voice was grave, "We send the lightest first." He announced, and every pair of eyes was suddenly fixed on me. I was about to step forward when Fili snaked an arm around my waist, holding me tightly against his chest.

"Uncle," He said, his voice disbelieving. I turned around in his arms, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Fili, it's alright. I'm more that capable of doing this." I said before Thorin even had a chance to respond, "You need to stop worrying so much." My voice was teasing, and though he smiled it did not reach his eyes. He reluctantly released me, and I moved quickly to stand beside Kili.

The vines looked sturdy enough, but it was the water below that had me worried. It bubbled and swirled like there was something hiding just beneath the surface; prepared to swallow all of us the second we got to close. I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat and wrapped my hands around the closest vine; I moved quickly, pulling myself from one vine to the next, doing my best to keep as far from the water as I could.

I lost my grip a few times, and found myself much closer to the river than I would have liked, but I managed to make it to the other side. The fog in my mind subsided significantly when my feet touched the other side, and I decided it wasn't safe for them to cross this way. I turned to tell them this, but to my dismay when I looked back they were all clinging to the vines; making their way across at varying speeds.

Thorin reached me first, and I had to struggle to my feet; slapping my hand across my face several times in an effort to dispel my sudden exhaustion. I wanted nothing more than to lay down and sleep, but I fought through it.

A white stag suddenly trotted into a clearing not far from where we stood. I was mesmerized, the creatures coat looked as though it had been woven from the light of the stars themselves. Before I could say anything however Thorin had notched an arrow and was aiming it at the creature.