The Red Witch of Middle-Earth.

Chapter X- The Chase: Part II

Rhavaniel led the company through the treacherous plains, weaving in and out of the rocky outcrops that stood in their way. The dwarves followed in a single file behind her, with Gandalf and Bilbo bringing up the rear.

Thorin was not at all impressed at their leader now being the Witch that caused his kin so much pain and suffering. Despite Gandalf's reassurance and Rhavaniel's seemingly sincere words, he could not bring himself to trust her or forgive her in the slightest. And so he glared at the back of her head in such a way that Rhavaniel could feel the hatred, although she did not bother to react.

She was too focused on her own thoughts...and to say that she was angry would have been an understatement.

No.

Rhavaniel was in fact furious, and as she lead the company and felt Thorins eyes boring into the back of her head, her rage only grew. Yes, she had agreed to help Gandalf until they had reached Elrond and his kin but she had not agreed to endanger Radagasts life in the process, let alone be expected to care for the dwarves who had threatened her life!

But all fury aside, Rhavaniel had to admire Gandalf. Once again, the grey wizard managed to not only convince her to help the company, but to lead them around a pack of blood-thirsty orcs. She could only hope that they followed closely behind her to avoid detection, as it was well known that dwarves were not the sneakiest of characters.

Shaking herself from her wandering thoughts, Rhavaniel focused on the plains before her. They were rocky to say the least, and looked ragged and dangerous. She continued to pick her way through them cautiously, silently judging the safety of the path ahead.

Behind her, she could hear the dwarves grumbling to each other. As much as she tried to ignore their incoherent mumbling, their gruff voices pierced through her veil of concentration, causing her to catch her foot on a small piece of rock and stumble slightly.

"Hah!" Thorin mocked from behind her, but before she could turn around to confront Thorin, and before he could continue his sentence, something up ahead caught their eye.

A lone warg and its Orc rider were heading straight towards the party. It had not seen them, even though they were in plain sight, as both had appalling vision. Their sense of smell, on the other hand, rivalled even Rhavaniels, and it was not difficult to track down a bunch of dwarves who smelt like damp horse hair.

"Quickly, take cover!"

Rhavaniel ushered Thorin behind an outcrop of rock, the rest of the dwarves following suit. Packed tightly together so they were all hidden, she was so close to the dwarves that she could hear their heavy breathing. Beside her, Thorins chest heaved up and down as he regained his breath; after all, dwarves were not used to prolonged running.

For a brief and inappropriate moment, Rhavaniel glanced up at the dwarf beside her, only to find that Thorin had been staring at her. Not glaring, just staring. She had never been good at reading people's emotions, so she could not work out the meaning behind his cold eyes.  But she had no time to dwell, as she heard the warg advancing and the moment was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

The company, after sensing the warg close by, were listening closely.

While they had hidden themselves, the beast and its rider had gotten terribly close. Now, the company could hear...and smell...the Orc above them. The warg pawed the ground in an agitated way, telling its master that the dwarves were close.