The Elf, the Hobbit and the Dwarf - Book 1 NEW VERSION

Mirkwood Forest

Hours, days, weeks, months. Míriel had no idea how long they had been walking in the forest, but it felt like forever. She barely remembered why she was there, and it felt like she couldn't breathe in the dense air of the forest. Míriel had never really appreciated sunlight before, but she now realised that she couldn't wait to get out of the damned forest so she could feel its magnificent rays on her skin again – rejuvenating her and removing the gloom of the forest. She had never felt so weak before which was made apparent by her head swimming more and more the deeper in the forest they got.

Gandalf's words were long forgotten in her mind, and she had given up on the thought of being strong for her friends. Her legs were only moving because they didn't know what else to do, and she didn't bother talking to anyone. For the first time in forever, she felt that she needed sleep, but Míriel couldn't stop, or she would fall behind.

"Air, I need air!" Oin said from somewhere in the line of Dwarves, and Míriel agreed with him. She was not the only one who was deeply affected by this cursed forest which didn't even seem to give them room to breathe. The trees were so high and their branches thick which didn't allow any sunlight or air to penetrate through the roof of dense leaves and branches.

"We found the bridge," said Fíli as they stopped suddenly. The bridge was broken right in the beginning so there was no way of walking over it and they could not touch the water, as had Gandalf told them. They would just have to find another way which was very frustrating since Míriel would do just about anything just to get out of there as quickly as possible.

"We could try and swim it," Bofur said stupidly.

"Didn't you hear what Gandalf said?" Thorin snapped and gestured with his hands that the idea was foolish. "A dark magic lies upon this forest. The waters of this stream are enchanted."

Bofur might be the only one of them that seemed to keep his good mood up, and he was least affected it seemed like. Míriel wondered if he had drunk or smoked something before they entered that could've helped him, and it wouldn't surprise her if he had. She even felt tempted to ask him for whatever it was that he took.

"Doesn't look very enchanting to me," mumbled Bofur but no one was paying him any attention.

"We must find another way across," Thorin said and started walking away.

Kíli ran ahead of them toward the lead while Míriel was quite far in the back. She ran her fingers through her hair and tried thinking of nice things; her friends, her grandparents, her uncle, cousin. Míriel thought of a warm bath and a brush to run through her hair. She also thought of finally exiting this forest to feel the sunlight on her skin again and breathe fresh air into her lungs.

"These wines look strong enough," Kíli said as he had found about a dozen of wines hanging across the stream to the other side. If they could swing themselves across they would be at the other end in no time. Kíli grabbed one of the wines, tested it by pulling at it before deciding to attempt to go.

"Kíli!" Thorin said to stop him. Kíli stopped and glanced at his uncle with raised eyebrows. He seemed a little angry for not being allowed to go and be the hero, but he did as Thorin wanted and let the wine go. "We send the lightest first."

"That'll be Míriel," said Bofur and glanced at her, and Míriel had no problems with that. Her spirits had lifted after thinking of nice things in life and seeing the Dwarves' energy. She could get across the stream in seconds, she knew so and then she could help the others over too. Finally, she would get a little closer to the end of the forest for it couldn't be much longer.

"And it's not fair, she's an Elf she can do it easily," Bofur added quickly. "We need someone who doesn't have any special abilities, the lightest of one of us."