I packed and prepared myself for the trip to Bag End. I took only the essentials with me, such as weapons, spare clothes, and a little food and water. The Shire was not far away at all, only a half a days ride through the wood. I would leave at noon and be there by sundown. Truth be told, I was still debating whether to turn up at all. I lived a fairly comfortable life. I kept to myself and nothing bad ever happened. Of course, there would be the occasional stray orc or goblin that unfortunately crossed my path. I handled them easily. They hardly even startled me at all anymore. Besides that, my life was rather uneventful. But then I thought, Maybe a little excitement would be good for me. Maybe this really would benefit me in some way or another.
At noon I mounted my horse, Sunny. He was all black, not a touch of color on him. I had won him off an old farmer at the Prancing Pony a few years back. Turns out I was quite lucky when it came to gambling. The farmer had been quite upset that he lost Sunny, I assumed it was because he was a great companion. He was really my only form of company. He was more like a friend to me than an animal. We set out towards the Shire. We strolled slowly, I was in no particular hurry. In fact, I was hoping to delay the trip as long as I could. I was hoping that I'd give myself enough time to over analyze the entire situation and turn around. I could easily run off again and no one would know where to find me. But then I realized how silly that thought was. Galadriel and Gandalf always knew how to find me. I could not escape them if I tried. We trotted ever so slowly forward. If I do not like what the quest entails, I can always decline.
A few hours later, I stopped to water Sunny at a shallow creak when I began feeling uneasy. I dismissed the feeling as only nerves. I was sitting on a fallen branch, eating the bread and cheese that I had packed for the trip. I began to feel even more anxious. I felt as if someone was watching me. It was like deja vu. I was in a wood with the same feelings I had the last time and I foolishly dismissed them. I was not about to let it happen again. I closed my eyes and let my senses take over. The air smelled of pine. I heard the whisper of the little stream and the sounds of my horse sipping the water to his lips. The air was still and the wood was quiet. Too quiet. I heard no animals. No birds, no squirrel, no rabbits. Nothing. Something was off. I listened more carefully. There was silence for a long time, but the feeling was still there. I did not open my eyes. I noticed Sunny had stopped drinking from the stream. The only sound was that of the running water. I refused to open my eyes, I would not make the same mistake twice.
Moments later, I heard the rustle of leaves and a twig snapped. My eyes flung open and I drew my sais. I stood and turned to my right. Four orcs stood before me. They had been hunting me. Probably thought I was a defense young girl based on my size. Perhaps they had plans to make a meal of me. I, however, had other plans. They came at me from all sides. I killed one within a minute, while I was struggling to get away from the others. Sunny had run off, startled by the sudden chaos. After a great dealing of kicking and struggling with them, two of them restrained me, the third stood before me. I remember his fist coming towards my face and then everything went black.
When I came to, the sun was setting and the sky was growing dim. I couldn't move. I was bound to a tree and cloth was shoved in my mouth. I struggled for a moment before they noticed that I was awake. They began speaking.
"Look! She finally woke up." One said.
"Bout time. Its no fun killin' em if they don't put up a fight." Said the another.
The third orc was missing. He was no where to be seen. The two orcs approached me. One removed the dirty cloth from my mouth and I let my head fall.
"What's ya name, girl?" Asked one. I looked up at him for a moment. Then I jerked my head up and spat in his face. He backhanded me and wiped his face. "A feisty one, I see." He put his around my jaw, squeezing my cheeks with his fingers and pulled my face back towards him. "Pretty little thing, too."
"We'll 'ave plenty of fun with you later." Said the another with a laugh.
"Later? Why not now?" He squeezed my cheeks tighter and smiled a hideous, decayed smile. I struggled.
"You know the cap'n'll want first dibs." He said and slapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Fine." He said to the another orc, who was walking away. Then turned his words towards me. "When the cap'n is finished with you, I will ruin you."
"Fuck you." I hissed and he laughed.
"That's the spirit." And he turned to walk away.
I struggled for while, they eventually began to ignore me. The sky had fallen black. I saw my weapons but they were just out of my reach. I was about to give up when I realized they had missed the knife tucked in my boot. I wriggled and slid myself down to my boot and slipped the knife out and hid it to my left, out of sight from the orcs if they should turn around. I slowly and quietly began cutting the ropes. I froze when they started talking in agitated voices.
"I'm starvin'. When's he comin' back?"
"He's huntin'. You can't rush em."
"If he don't come back soon, I'm eatin' 'er." They both chuckled and shot me an evil glance.
When they turned back around. I began cutting the ropes again. Quicker this time. I finally broke through. I carefully slid the ropes down my body and slipped out of them. I grabbed my weapons and strapped them to me. I climbed the tree that I had been bound to and prepared for my attack. Just then, the third orc returned carrying a large buck and threw it next to the fire. He glanced to where I should have been and yelled. "Where's the girl?" The other jumped up and ran to the tree. I crept slowly back into the shadows so I would not be seen. "She was just here. We both seen her." They searched all around the camp. Never once did they look up. "She couldn't have got far. Find her!" They bolted into the darkness. I figured my advantage would be that I could stay in the trees. So I climbed from limb to limb, tree to tree. I got a ways away from the camp. The fire was no more than a flicker of light. I came across the first orc. I aimed my arrow at his throat and released. The arrow ripped through his jugular, eliminating any chance for a scream. He fell and I continued travelling through the trees. I grew very tired and rested on one of the branches. I sat for a few minutes, trying to recuperate. I heard rustling coming from below me. I looked down to see the "captain" beneath me. He looked a great deal larger than the others. He was pale and ugly. He was sniffing around for my scent. I locked an arrow into position. I pulled back, aiming down at the top of his skull. He looked up and I released the arrow. I hit him right between the eyes. He let out a loud screech. I knew the repugnant orc who had threatened to "ruin" me would have heard. I could have killed him easily, just like the others, but I would not kill him. Not yet anyway. I would find him again. I wanted to make him suffer slowly and painfully but now was not the time. I was already late for the meeting at Bag End and I'm sure Gandalf will be angry enough that I'd turn up late already. The remaining orc came bolting towards the tree the captains corpse laid under. He bent down to examine the body, kicking and poking at it. I heard him mumble in an ominous tone. "Oh, you've done it now, little girl." Then he took the captains sword and retreated back into the wood, disappearing into the darkness. I remained still for a few minutes. I closed my eyes and listened for any sign of his presence. He was long gone.
I climbed down the tree and looked at the orcs corpse that was lying next to my feet. I unsheathed my sword. I would need proof that I had been attacked. Gandalf didn't approve of being late, unless he was the one running late. In that case, it was alright. He'd probably think I was lying about the whole thing. I didn't have a scratch on me beside a small nick on my cheekbone from being backhanded. I raised my sword and extracted the orcs head from his body. I had nothing to put it in, so I was left to carry it. I proceeded walking towards the Shire. After a few minutes of walking, I ran into Sunny. I emptied the bag that contained a meager amount of bread and stuffed the head inside. I tied to bag to my saddle and mounted up. I kicked at Sunny's side urging him forward. In order to make it there soon, we would have to ride swiftly. There was no time left to stroll, I was already late. We raced through the wood and came out on a little dirt path.
