𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐨𝐝 ~ 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐢𝐥

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐧

GREENWOOD THE GREAT WAS NOT WHAT ROBIN EXPECTED.

Well, what had she even expected?

She knew that with the appearance of the Necromancer during the Third Age, the forest became dark and tainted, infested with Orcs, great spiders, and other mysterious and savage beings.

And, for obvious reasons, that had not happened yet. Which meant that she would encounter a forest different from the one described in The Hobbit.

But one thing was to imagine a forest based on the shadow that was left from it, and another completely different was to have that wonderful sight in front of you.

Now she understood why it was known as Greenwood the Great. There was no other description for the sight before her.

The forest was endless, light, and verdant. Its canopy was contested by big, long green trees, and rays of light bursting through their crowns allowed for all sorts of saplings to grow in the branch and twig laden ground below.

Thick tree limbs suspended from a couple of trees, and an array of flowers, which desperately tried to avoid the shadows, adorned the otherwise brown and green lower level.

A tumult of animal sounds, most of which were birds, added life to the forest, and overpowered the occasional sounds of large animals in the distance.

She stared, marveled at the sight before her. This forest was very different from the one she had lived during her first months in Middle Earth.

Sure, there was no comparison to Lothlórien, but Greenwood had its own charm. You could feel the forest. She didn't know how to explain it, but she just did. And that was something she had not felt ever before.

She felt connected to this forest. And somehow that made her more curious to what awaited her there.

A sudden urge to protect this place grew on her. It was weird, really. And as she held the beautiful sight, she vowed she would do anything in her power in order to save it from turning into the shadow it could be.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Thranduil interrupted her thoughts. He stared at her, as he had been curiously awaiting her reaction.

She nodded, still not finding the words.

"It's... not what I expected."

"And what did you expect?" He raised an eyebrow in question.

"You wouldn't want to know." She sighed, and shook her head.

There was still time. She could stop bad things from happening.

"It's beautiful. And, if I'm honest, I have never felt this way. I don't know if it makes sense, but I feel linked to this place in some kind of way. As if I were one with the forest." She trailed on, not realizing she might have been starting to ramble. When she turned to him, his sight was elsewhere, lost in the horizon.

Her eyebrows furrowed at his reaction. He had done that quite a bit during their journey, and it intrigued her to no end. She might have been too annoyed with him at the beginning, and had really enjoyed annoying him for her own entertainment. But she had not overlooked the fact that there was far more than just a moody Prince, or in the future, an isolationist King with a huge hatred toward Dwarves.

Deciding it was better to leave him with his thoughts, as she had learned the hard way during their journey, she turned back to mount her horse. But his voice stopped her in her tracks.

"I know what you mean." He stated, his back still turned back on her. She raised an eyebrow, and wondered what there was behind his answer.

She was curious, very curious.