Daughter of The Darkness

Chapter 31

By the time Elfreda had reached the company, they had all been rounded up in a circle by the group of elf scouts. Kasper was hidden in the shrubbery whilst Elfreda looked out from the branches of tall tree. Her cape was draped over her body and the hood hang low over her face, giving her a clear look of what was going on but to the outside she looked just like the long drooping leaves of the tree.

The taller elf, Elfreda had worked out, was their leader yet she could not get a look at his face. He walked up to the company with huge long strides up to Gloin. He snatched a locket off of the dwarf and opened it up.

"Hey, give that back. It's private." Gloin objected. The captain just huffed and looked down at it anyway. The elf sniggered softly so that Gloin could not hear but Elfreda could.

"How is this, your brother?" mocked the elf, clearly already knowing the answer. Gloin glared at the elf, inside he was fuming.

"That is my wife!" he snorted. A small smile curved at the edge of the elf's mouth, he clearly enjoyed winding up the dwarf. His next question also made Gloin react like steam was pouring out of his ears "And who is this horrid creature? A Goblin mutant?"

The red faced and angry dwarf replied quickly stating that, the boy in the picture was actually his son, Gimli. The fact that the elves had fun at mocking the offspring of the dwarves made Elfreda's inside erupt like a volcano. Elves could be so ignorant.

All of the company were searched and their weapons were taken off of them. The weaponry just seemed to pour off of them.

A female elf approached the group pushing Kili out in front of her. The elf had hair like fire and eyes as green as the clothes she wore. She spoke to the leader of the party whilst another elf shoved Kili into the huddle.

There was something that had changed in Kili's stature. His whole body posture was different; he was more alert, he stood straighter. Elfreda chuckled, she knew exactly what was going on.

The company were taken away, lead deep and dark through the forest to the gates of Mirkwood. Elfreda and Kasper followed quite far behind so not to be seen or heard by the elves. Elfreda could feel someone close near. Kasper could too, his ears were held up straight and his body was twitching.
"Elfreda!" panted a familiar voice behind her. She turned to see a close friend jogging up to her.
"Bilbo!" she exclaimed "what are you doing here, I thought you were with the dwarves!" Elfreda slapped Bilbo on the shoulder, glad to see him safe. Bilbo slipped something into his pocket and Elfreda looked down at him.
"What was that?" she asked, her voice suddenly stern and dark. Then what Beorn had said to her started to tick over in her mind.
A power greater than the smell of unwashed dwarves lingers over that band of merry travellers.
"Oh it's nothing, just something I found in the Goblin Tunnels" Bilbo chuckled- he found it hard to lie to her when she looked down at him with her stern eyes. Elfreda's eyes relaxed but her insides were still churning- what did the dear hobbit pick up in that nasty horrible place? But she would think about that later, she had a bunch of dwarves in a elvish citadel to worry about.
"Well, that's alright then!" she half laughed then she decided it would be best to changed the subject "are you hungry?"

Bilbo had been all wrapped up in spiders webs and tormented by the shadows of the forest to notice that he was starving. He nodded his head. Elfreda smiled and slowed her pace down so that she could walk next to Kaspers saddle. Attached the the saddle was a few bags. Elfreda opened one of the bags and pulled out an apple which were part of the supplies Beorn had given her. She handed the apple to Bilbo who munched on it gladly.

They walked like this for sometime but stopped every now and again to make sure that the elves were not in ear shot of their conversations.

"What are we going to do?" asked Bilbo, tossing the apple core off into the trees.
"To be honest Bilbo, I have no idea," Elfreda muttered to him. Bilbo looked at her with shock, she did not know what to do. This brave, fearless warrior with a huge heart and a way with words had no clue on how they were going to rescue their friends.
"You think of something, shake that brain up of yours, go on!" smiled Elfreda.

They walked in silence for sometime whilst Bilbo thought up an idea. Elfreda laughing to herself inside, she did not want Bilbo to be a duck and follow everyone's orders. So she made a quick choice to let Bilbo decide what to do. She would guide him if he needed help. The wild was no place for someone who could not generate a back up plan.

"I've got it!" cheered Bilbo when they stopped for a short break. Mirkwood was a huge place and the elves that lived here knew it well but they decided to take the longest paths to reach their home.
"Congratulations, Bilbo you've just worked out your first proper escape plan! What is it?" she asked.

They set off again and Bilbo talked Elfreda through the plan he had made. He told her that he would sneak into the gates as hobbits could move extremely quietly whilst Elfreda and Kasper distracted the elves. They would meet up by the river that runs through the forest.
"Good going Bilbo. Nice plan but I'm not so keen on the distracting but I'll do it," Elfreda replied. In fact, she hated being the distraction but she went along with it to make Bilbo feel better.

They arrived near the gates and Bilbo disappeared off. The elf leader was the last to enter. He turned to check the surroundings. For the first time Elfreda got a look a the elf's face. It was Legolas.