Price of Battle ➝ The Hobbit ✓

Part Twelve

PART TWELVE ~

"What happened?" Thoros asked after a while of walking amongst the densely clustered trees.

Arien glanced at him uncertainly before catching his meaning. "The dream?"

Thoros nodded and raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to explain as she continued on in silence.

She slackened her pace slightly before casting her memory back to the dream.

"We... we were in the forest... this forest. We were young. Just kids. We were messing around, like we used to. Then we heard Fili calling to us. He sounded distressed. Worried. Scared, almost. But we paid that no heed and decided to run and hide... We ran to the clearing we always used to go to..." She paused suddenly as her mind became clouded with old memories. She glanced up at Thoros, whose face was slightly pale in the dim light that filtered between the branches. He was expressionless and hadn't seemed to have noticed her pause, so she began talking once more.

"We were nearing the clearing when you suddenly collapsed to the ground... with... with an arrow protruding from your back." Arien choked back a cry at the horrifying image and Thoros suddenly whirled round to face her.

She avoided his gaze as a great sadness suddenly overwhelmed her. It was only a dream! But a haunting feeling was slowly gnawing at her and she couldn't mistake the doubt of her friend's survival that was plaguing her thoughts. But it couldn't be so! It was a dream. And nothing more.

Arien suddenly pushed past Thoros, not unkindly, and began marching ahead, trying to bite back the tears that threatened to burst.

"It was just a dream!"

Thoros bowed his head, upset to see his friend like this. But he pushed it aside, agreeing with her statement, and marched after her, trying to match her long strides.

When he reached her, her eyes were no longer clouded with sadness, but were bright and sharp.

"Shouldn't we have reached the end of the forest a while ago?" Arien asked as she saw Thoros had caught up with her.

The dwarf looked at her thoughtfully, before realization clicked and he nodded. "We've been heading East the whole time, correct?"

Arien nodded.

A frown suddenly marked Thoros' face. "Then we should have been out of the forest at least two days ago."

Arien nodded, but then her previous ordeal came back to her and she let out an exclamation of surprise.

"What's wrong?"

"I was taken captive, remember? The orcs that took me didn't head East. I'm sure of it. We must have been travelling in the wrong direction since then."

Thoros' eyes widened. "Damn. So where are we then?"

Arien shrugged and looked at her friend helplessly.

The dwarf sighed. "Great. Basically... we're lost."

Arien's hopes immediately fell, her heart sinking low in her chest. Now she'd never find her best friend!

Thoros' shoulders slumped and he raised his eyes to the dense canopy that obscured the sun's light. A shadow abruptly fell over the forest, reflecting the two companions' mood.

It was some time before the shadow passed on and small shafts of sunlight cascaded from between the branches.

"Perhaps we will see where we are if we get higher up," Thoros suddenly said, an idea sparking in his mind.

The dull glow left Arien's eyes, and a glimmer of hope replaced the doubt.

"Thoros! You're a freaking genius!" She exclaimed, much to Thoros' surprise. He quickly recovered and grinned, gesturing to a stout trunk that led off into a towering spiral of shady, outstretched branches and tough bark. 

"Help me up, please!"

Thoros nodded and held out his callous hands for Arien to step on. She hastily hauled herself up to the closest branch, praying it would support her weight, and gripped the one above, ready to pull herself up.