Against all Odds {Middle-Earth fanfic}

Chapter Forty-Five

They didn't awaken until much later when the sun had gone down. It was very dark with the moon as the only light, casting eerie shadows on the camp.

Everyone was asleep except for several elves around the edge of camp.

Nikandros glanced at Thea to see if she was awake. She yawned and groggily cracked her eyes open. Nikandros bit his lip and looked around, seeing where the elves were all positioned.

There were three positioned around the camp in a circle, covering all angles accept for one. Apparently, one elf had strayed farther from his post than he realized, leaving a gap in the camp.

Nikandros glanced back at Thea and put his mouth close to her ear, whispering softly, "Notice the elves' positions. Notice the one that is farther."

She guided her eyes to the guard out of place, "What is it?" She whispered back.

"There's a gap. Maybe we could slip out." Nikandros suggested.

Hope filled Thea's eyes, "You think so?"

Nikandros sighed quietly, "I'm not for sure, but..." He trailed off. 

"Well it's either that or go to Gondor. I'm all for trying."

Nikandros nodded, "We have to move quietly. And slowly. Movement will be spotted fairly easily." He took two of the blankets and rolled them in a log-shape, setting them where Thea and him had been lying, all the while staying in a low crouch. Lastly, he laid a blanket on top of the other blankets.

"Let's go." He whispered barely loud enough for Thea to hear.

Lying on his stomach, he slowly began to crawl towards the gap. Thea swallowed her fear and apprehension before crawling after him.

They crawled slowly and surely, stopping every couple of feet to make sure they hadn't been spotted yet. It was grueling to be so close to freedom yet so far.

However, after what seemed a long time to the couple, they made it to the edge of camp. There, Thea tugged on Nikandros' leg, getting his attention.

"They will spot us as soon as we leave the camp. We must run."

Nikandros nodded slowly, "But we'll have to loose them somewhere. They are much faster than us. Run in one direction, then cut in another, then another, and so on. Follow my lead."

"Should we head towards the forest?"

"Yes." Nikandros took a deep breath, and knowing Thea was ready, leaped up and sprinted for the woods, glancing back quickly to make sure Thea was behind him. They ran as swiftly as they could, and made it several yards before the elves caught on.

Several shouts rang out around the camp as they began chasing Nikandros and Thea, some on horses while others ran.

"Run faster!" Thea screamed towards Nikandros, seeing the pursuing elves.

"Right!" Nikandros yelled back, and pivoted on his left foot to change directions.

Thea followed his lead until they disappeared into the dense forest. Beneath the trees, the moon was hidden and not a speck of light broke through.

The two assassins maneuvered through the dark forest as best they could, but the elves were slowly gaining on them.

Fear began to gnaw at Thea as she ran. They were so close to freedom and she truly longed for it.

"Left." Nikandros said quieter, and pivoted again. He kept running, and then after warning Thea, turned right.

Thea barely heard him and didn't turn in time. Instead, her foot hooked onto a gnarly root and she fell face first onto the forest floor.

She flipped onto her back and tried to wrench her foot free. She yanked and yanked, but by twisting her foot it became tangled more tightly.

Realizing she couldn't get away, Thea stayed silent, hoping for Nikandros to keep running.

Nikandros saw Thea fall and hesitated slightly, but kept running after realizing that she might be overlooked.

Unfortunately, the elves quickly spotted her. Three of them stopped while the rest continued pursuing Nikandros.

Two of the elves surrounding Thea grabbed her arms and forcefully tried to yank her foot free. She whimpered when it didn't budge, her expression fearful.

Legolas, the third elf, bent down to her foot and worked at the roots entrapping her foot. He untangled her foot and stood back up, "Take her back to camp and keep her secured." His voice was impassive, but Thea felt the anger in his eyes.

Nikandros glanced over his shoulder again, and uttered an exclamation of anger at seeing Thea captured. He looked around his surroundings, searching for anything that would give him an advantage.

He changed directions sharply, ran for a few meters, changed directions, ran a few meters, and so on, until he was facing back towards the camp.

Spotting a tree that branched fairly close to the ground, he headed towards it. Slipping on the opposite side of it, he gripped the branch and swung into the tree, grunting with the exertion. He glanced back at the elves, noting that they were closer.

Because they lived in the forest, the elves were used to traveling in the dense underbrush and quickly came upon the tree that Nikandros was hiding on. The elves stopped beneath it as they searched for the way in which he had gone.

Nikandros froze, not daring to breathe.

The elves wandered a couple feet away, still searching for any sign of Nikandros.

Among them, Aratên looked around and yelled out, "We have your wife, boy! Come on out."

Nikandros moved slowly. He softly dropped from the tree, making almost no noise. He quietly stepped on the opposite side of the tree that the elves were on. Nikandros crouched and slowly moved away from the group, taking shelter behind the trees.

Still not seeing him, Aratên turned to his fellow elves, "He must not have come this way. We might as well go back. He will eventually come for her."

All the elves agreed and quickly headed back the way they came.

Nikandros ran as quietly as he could towards the elves' camp, hoping he could reach the camp before the elves did.

Then there was a stick.

Duh duh duh!!!!!! Cliffhanger!!! Heehee...*extremely evil chuckle*

Don't forget to vote, comment, or follow!!!

Ithildae, Evara, and Aris

Thea-Ithildae
Nikandros-Evara
Legolas-Ithildae
Random elves-Ithildae
Aratên-Ithildae