Daughter of Starlight

Chapter Four: Reunited

How long had it been? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Days? I didn't know anymore. All I knew was that the voices of the dwarves had seemed to dull down to whispers as we made our way deeper into Mirkwood. My mind was foggy, my feet were numb, and my eyes were blind to the scenery surrounding me. I was barely registering that we seemed to be traveling closer to the darkening heart of the forest and at the same time nowhere at all.

I looked down at my feet, seeing that the path beneath me seemed to be twisting and curling, making me take steps in dizzying circles. I looked up again, unable to stand how looking down made my head spin. My grip on my bow was loosening and my eyes were slipping closed in exhaustion, despite the fact that my feet still took me further along the elven road. A part of me knew that I had to try and keep my head. If I didn't stay grounded, we would lose our way in this fog that was clouding our minds.

I spared a moment to lean against the trunk of a tree at the side of the path. The tree looked huge and sturdy to my eyes, but my fingers found a brittle and fragile trunk that swayed at the struggle of supporting my weight.

Unable to stand my contradicting senses, I took a step away from it.

"Laerornien?" A dwarf's voice, maybe Kili's, seemed to be coming from behind me, a gentle utterance of my name in concern.

I didn't reply. I only fell to my knees, dropping my bow and putting my hands to the ground to keep myself from crumpling completely to the dirt.

I heard a huff of some sort, and I looked up to see a huge white stag only yards away from me, scrutinizing me from afar. A sickening feeling pooled in my gut, knowing full well what that stag meant.

"Laerornien!" The sudden shout of my name scared me out of the fogginess in my head. I shot up off the ground, grabbing my bow and casting my eyes around me. The stag had disappeared, but so had the dwarves.

My stomach sank in dread as I fully realized that I was the only one on the road.

"Kili!" I yelled, running down the path way I had come. I couldn't believe I'd let myself be so manipulated by the darkness in the forest. How could I not have noticed that the company had long strayed from the path? How could I have been so oblivious?

I heard more shouts of terror, and I stopped, looking into the trees. They were in the forest, far from the path from the sound of it.

Without hesitation, I stepped off the elven road, running into the trees. Skeletal branches snagged my hair while rocks and roots threatened to send me sprawling into the mud. But I escaped every hindrance the forest offered, channelling the skills I had been taught from childhood as I lithely ran through the woods to help my friends.

That was when I noticed the thick, sticky webs everywhere. They coated the trunks and branches almost like second skins and they spanned the whole heights of trees. There was only one explanation for this: spiders.

I made it to the massive clearing just in time to see that the dwarves were fighting the massive, hideous arachnids.

I heard a horrible clicking and hissing above me, and I looked up to see a spider skittering to the ground, ready to pounce and kill me.

I darted out of the way and armed my bow, aiming the arrow at the spider's head, but I was distracted by a flickering of something white above it.

My heart nearly stopped at the sight of a Woodland elf skillfully making his way down via the spider's web.

While I was relieved to know that the dwarves were now safe, I was also afraid for my life. I cast my eyes around, looking for somewhere to hide, anywhere, when I saw Thorin.

I locked gazes with him briefly, then eyed the multiple elves that were coming. I hoped he would understand that I had to disappear.

I grabbed a branch above me and began climbing up the tree faster than the other elves were climbing down. When I reached a height that I thought would hide me good enough, I pulled my hood over my head to conceal my hair and turned to see how the dwarves were doing. The sight my eyes looked upon confused me.

They were cornered in the center of the clearing, with every elven arrow pointed at them. Why were the elves acting as though the dwarves were trespassing?

I heard shouting from a distance, then I heard Fili yell in panic. "Kili!"

I looked in the direction of the shouting, and I saw Kili fending for himself, unarmed, against a spider.

Without a care for staying hidden, I leaped down from the tree, running to help him. Just as I got there, a Silvan she-elf made her way over, killing the spiders in time to save Kili.

I stood, stunned as I recognized the she-elf in front of me. When she saw me, hooded and half in the shadows, she shouted for her kin to grab me, and I was running again.

Unfortunately, I ran straight into the main clearing, where the elves were searching the dwarves for weapons. One elf I saw that had his back to me was questioning Gloin about something. The voice that I heard drifting through the air was one I thought sounded very familiar.

"And what is this horrid creature? A goblin mutant?" That voice rang bells in my head but I failed to recognize what their ringing was telling me.

"That's my wee lad, Gimli." Gloin sounded as if he was about to punch the elf talking to him.

The she-elf behind me shouted as I bolted in another direction, but the elves had all heard her. Almost immediately, I heard footsteps behind me.

I turned as they got close enough, my bow in hand and arrow at the ready, but the elf who had followed me knocked it out of my grasp before I could shoot. In a last attempt at fighting back and making my escape, I grabbed a blade off my back and swiped at him. The elf dodged and I missed. The elf took the opportunity to grab my wrist, taking my dagger from me and pressing it to my throat as he shoved me back against a tree.

I froze with my hand on the elf's wrist, hardly daring to breathe as I attempted to lessen the pressure on my neck. He searched for my face in the shadow of my hood, then looked down at my hand.

He stared at the ring that had remained on my finger, disbelief dawning on his face. He then eyed the dagger that he was holding, recognition sparking in his eyes before they were finally focused on me again.

I knew those eyes. They were just like mine, a pale blue that rivaled the richness of the summer skies. They sparked a memory from long ago, one that I had cherished but kept buried deeply until now.

"Legolas!" A white-headed she-elf excitedly ran towards her brother, who was just entering the gates of the Woodland Realm. While he looked travel-weary, that didn't stop his eyes from lighting up at the sight of his sister.

"Hello, Laerornien," he greeted her, embracing her as soon as she was close enough.

After a moment, she stepped away from him, looking at him in utter happiness.

"Father said you would not be returning for weeks," she said.

"You really think I could last that long without my sister by my side?" he asked her, and she smiled yet again, hugging him as if to keep him close to her forevermore.

So many centuries ago, that had been me and my brother.

The elf in front of me removed the blade from my throat and threw back my hood, revealing my face for all to see.

Utter shock covered his face as he took a step back away from me, hardly able to believe his eyes.

"It can't be," he whispered. His words puzzled me, but I had no time to dwell on them before the elf softly asked, "Laerornien?"

After a moment, I nodded in affirmation. I was ready for countless arrows to enter my chest at any second, so I was deeply surprised when the elf came forward and embraced me tightly.

"Oh, my sister," he murmured happily while I stood there, stiff with shock.

He pulled back with the tiniest bit of worry on his face. "Do you not recognize your own brother?"

I allowed myself to let my guard down slightly as I smiled and returned his embrace. "Of course I do, Legolas."