The King of Starlight and Lullabies (Thranduil x OC fanfic)

Chapter 16- Bridge

The arrow flew threw the air, heading straight for the dwarf sporting the odd hat, directly adjacent to Caledra. She gasped, hand going up to her chest. The barrel shot up suddenly, and the arrow lodged itself into the wood rather than its initial target. It was a near perfect shot and would have undoubtedly hit the poor soul has it not been for the fact that the river was picking up and it made their barrels bumpy and unpredictable. Even with the water splashing into her eyes and the speed they were spinning, she could tell with certainty that it was an elvish arrow.

She could hear Thorin yelling commands, to scan the trees and such. His voice was slowly being washed out by the sound of the rapids they were in. It was impossible to spot them. She felt herself begin to panic, holding onto the edge of her barrel with white knuckles. More arrows flung from tree, practically scraping the tops of their heads and grazing their cheeks as they tried to evade them. None of the arrows even came close to Caledra and she wondered if it was pure luck or intentional on their part.

She hardly had time to think about that however, as the rapids picked up she had to use almost all of her focus on simply staying in the damn barrel. The current whipped them around bends so fast she nearly fell out every time they turned a corner. She was incredibly disoriented and the constant spinning was beginning to make her feel sick. It was when they took a particularly slow corner that she began to come to her senses.

She could see the elves now, flashes of gold and green moving through the woods lining the river. There was one archer she recognized instantly among them. Legolas jumped from branch to branch, shooting even as he ran and jumped. The woman next to him had a fine shot herself as well, and she remembered her as captain of the guard. The dwarves had recovered as well, and now we're even fighting back incredibly enough. They used whatever they could find to throw at the elves, or even whack them when possible. How they managed to do that through the currents were beyond her understanding.

A harsh horn call sounded through the air, and Caledra's breath caught in her throat. The gate. How could she have forgotten about the gate? Caledra cursed, knowing what that sound meant for them. Up ahead she could see the gate already beginning to close, water churning beneath it. She could see it now, only meters ahead of them. The iron bars began to close, trapping the dwarves in the small alcove beneath the bridge. She could hear them ahead of her, cussing and straining against the bars. They had been so close. Hope was not lost however.

"The lever!" Caledra yelled, pointing to the large wooden handle on the far side of the bridge. The elves were closing in, and it was now as easy as literally shooting fish in a barrel. It was then that a third faction joined the fight, one that neither group had anticipated seeing this far in the forest.

Orcs swarmed from both sides, overwhelming the elves slowly making their way to the dwarves. Their sudden attack seemed to unite the elves and dwarves, if only momentarily as they both knew the true threat the creatures posed.

Caledra had never seen an orc before and had hoped she never would have had to. She had heard stories of them as both a child and an adult of their cruelty, malice, and grotesque features but they had been grossly under exaggerated compared to the real thing. They tromped through the forest like a great beast with wrought iron swords raised, bloodlust in their eyes. They moved with even less elegance than the dwarves did. She had never seen anything so terrifying in her life.

She curled as far down as she could in her barrel, petrified with fear. What was she doing out here? Bilbo had tried to warn her of the danger that awaited her by joining them, and she had ignored him. She had made an impulsive decision yet again, and it would most likely get her killed.