Traitor

Chapter Ten

Esandryya was awakened once again to Legolas shaking her.

"Wake up, Esandryya," he said. "The next boat to the Undying Lands leaves at sunset tomorrow; it would be good to start early."

"All right – I'm awake..." Esandryya moaned as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"I have a few matters to attend to before we leave, but they will not take long. I will come find you when I am ready," Legolas told her. Esandryya nodded.

While he was busy, she visited the blacksmith to retrieve her now-gleaming armor and then searched for Culfin, but regretfully he was nowhere to be found.

When Legolas beckoned to her a few moments later, they departed. After walking for about an hour, Legolas said to Esandryya: "I am impressed you survived the Spiders – and my father."

Esandryya smiled. "Well, I would not have made it out of the Kingdom alive without your help." She turned to him. "Thank you."

Legolas laughed. "You are my friend – I would have been mad to let anything happen to you."

As they left the Spiders' territory, Esandryya began to see life on the trees once again. They walked in companionable silence for a few moments, enjoying the songs of the birds in the forest and noticing the green bushes which sprang through the grey earth.

"Where is it that we are going?" Esandryya asked after a while.

"There is a boat that will harbor on the Celduin, or Running River in your tongue," Legolas said. "It will set sail tomorrow evening and will travel as far as the river extends. After that, I believe you will walk to the Western Shores and sail to the Undying Lands from there."

Esandryya nodded. "What if we miss the boat?" she asked.

Legolas hesitated, but said, "That is highly unlikely, but I suppose you could either wait for another boat to leave, or build one yourself and sail alone." Esandryya sighed. "We will not miss it," Legolas assured her.

The sky gradually became covered by a thick blanket of grey clouds that hid the sunset. As it grew darker, Legolas and Esandryya stopped for the night. Legolas made a fire while Esandryya took her spear and ventured into the woods in search of venison.

The moon and stars were obscured by the clouds, but Esandryya navigated through the dark trees easily. She hunted for a long time but found no deer, rabbit, or squirrel in the quiet forest.

She found the lack of animals unusual but did not think much about it as she searched. If she returned to Legolas empty-handed, it would only mean they would go without food for the night – surely they would have better luck the next morning.

Still, she continued to walk through the starless forest, feeding a pointless hope that she might yet find some sort of game, and wondering what could have caused the animals to hide themselves on such a peaceful night.

Then Esandryya heard the noises: harsh yells, clamoring of armor, and the dull thuds of iron boots – all coming from the direction of Legolas's camp. Instantly abandoning her hunt, she tore off towards the source of the commotion.

A crack of thunder split the air and rain began to fall heavily, some of the great drops spilling through the trees and splashing onto Esandryya's head, quickly drenching her in water. She ignored the frequent spasms of cold shivers that wracked her body as she ran through the woods. The noises were becoming less muffled, and through the trees she could smell the wet smoke of a drowned campfire.

Her iron boots slipped on a slick patch of mud and before she could regain her balance, she slid several feet across the ground before tumbling to a stop and landing on her face. She staggered to her feet clumsily and spat out a mouthful of blood and silt, annoyed that her recently polished armor should get soiled so quickly. She ran her tongue along her teeth and discovered a large chip of one of her fangs was missing – which only added to her indignation.