This is my first story set completely on "Lord of the Rings" and I hope you enjoy it!

The first chapter will be a bit of a background story of the OC which will appear in the second chapter!

Like always I am happy to read what you think! Feel free to fav and follow my story!

And now: Have fun

The evening was warm; surprisingly warm for a mid-autumn evening in the plains of Enedwaith. The small village situated in a hollow close to the river Gwathló which was also called Greyflood, lay isolated and silent beneath the harvest moon.

A lone tomcat was lurking in the shadows, waiting for its prey. Unaware of the furry predator, a rat crawled out of its hiding place and sniffed the air, inhaled it greedily like a prisoner who had been locked away in a dungeon for too long.

The pain was quick and sharp as the claws dug into its flesh like four pairs of daggers. Proud about his successful hunt, the cat was about to carry its trophy home when all of a sudden a claw-like hand grabbed its neck. A loud, painful cry waved through the air before it died down with a snap of its neck.

Warm fire flickered in the hearth and just like every evening, Erik returned home just to find his beloved wife Helena in front of the fireplace with a book in her hand. Her long, golden hair fell gracefully over her shoulders and her amber colored eyes were fixed on the text. She didn't seem to notice his presence and so he leaned against the doorframe and watched her with an affectionate smile on his lips.

"I know that you are watching me," she suddenly said amused and looked up at him with an ever so lovely smile as well.

He chuckled and approached the sofa. "Do you have eyes on your back?"

"I better do. Once our baby arrived I need to have my eyes everywhere," she replied and stroked gently over her grown belly. Two moons ago the healer had told them she is with child and since that day she felt her body changing; but not just her body, but also her inner self. Her maternal feelings were growing with each passing day and she swore to herself that she would protect her baby like a lioness her cub.

He knelt down in front of her and placed his ear against her belly. Her hands combed tenderly through his short, raven-black hair. "What do you think? Will it be a boy or a girl?" he whispered.

"I don't care about that, Erik. All I want is that it's healthy and safe. And I'm certain we will be able to give our child the best life in this town. The gap of Rohan is just a few days ride from here. No evil will be able to pass through and there is also Isengard. The White Wizard is the highest of his order and will be able to protect these lands, too," she said and cupped his cheeks to pull him up into a meaningful kiss.

She winced when suddenly a loud, painful cry waved through the air outside. They broke the kiss and looked at each other. Fear crept up in her eyes and she tried to get up, but he pushed her down again and placed his finger on his lips signaling her to stay quiet.

Silently he sneaked back to the front door and peeked out of the window next to it. First thing he could see was fire. Part of the town was on fire, black smoke rose into the sky and people ran along the main road screaming for their lives. Amidst the chaos he saw them. Ugly, dirty creatures slaughtering men and taking women as hostages.

"Erik—what's happening?" Helena asked frightened once he returned to the living room where he immediately put the fire out and closed the curtains. "Erik, what is the matter?"

"Orcs—"he simply replied and saw her eyes widen in panic, her hand lay protectively on her belly.

"B—but why? How? Where did they come from?" she asked in disbelief and got up. She followed him into their bedroom where he began packing some of their belongings into two bags. "Erik, what are you doing?"

"Stay calm, my love. We will get out of here, I promise. Nothing will harm you or the baby," he said and took her hand. Together they ran down again and into the kitchen where he lifted some of the wooden boards of the floor up, revealing a hideout. "Come, we take the tunnel," he said and helped her down before he jumped after her, pulling the boards back in place as best as he could.

The small tunnel was dark and muddy and for the first time Erik felt relieved that he had built that small tunnel a while ago, just in case. A case he had hoped would never come and now he had to fly with his pregnant wife. She was still seven moons away from giving birth, but where should they go? Where would they find shelter if the plains were now riddled by orcs?

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, they reached the end of the tunnel. Carefully he lifted the small round door up and peeked outside, his eyes slowly adapting to the darkness. Just a few miles away he saw their hometown burning to the ground and still cries of terror rang through the air. That was when he saw them riding away. Orcs astride on their ugly wargs. He counted at least twenty. After another while he finally crawled outside and helped Helena out as well.

"Are you alright?" he whispered and checked her carefully.

She sobbed and nodded weakly. "I'm fine—do you think there are other survivors?"

He sighed heavily and cast another glance to the burning town. "I highly doubt that."

"Erik? Helena?" a familiar voice suddenly spoke up somewhere behind them and made them jump for a second until they breathed out in relief upon seeing their neighbor with his family of five, as well as three other families.

"You made it out, too? Where did they come from?" Erik asked and approached them with Helena right behind.

"I don't know. I only heard a dying cat screaming and knew something is happening. I grabbed my family and ran as fast as we could. But where do we go now? And Helena, you are with child. You cannot walk for very long," he pointed out.

"I will go a thousand miles if I'll be able to rescue my child with that," she straightened herself and watched all of them determined.

"We should follow the river up north. The closer we get to the elvish territory the less likely is the chance to get ambushed by orcs, right?" Davos, one of the neighbor's eldest sons suggested hopefully.

They all nodded in agreement and so the caravan of survivors made their way north along the shore of the Greyflood river, leaving their burning home behind.

Six moons had passed since they were driven out of their peaceful life and forced to live in the wild, not knowing what the next day might bring. Helena's belly had grown a lot more which made it even more difficult for her to walk now that she was only one moon away from giving birth to her child. And yet she was proud of herself and of her husband that they had managed to survive even through the winter. She was certain that her child would be a strong survivor someday, too.

She had no idea where exactly they were, but the landscape was rich of green grass and speckled with several rocks and boulders. Not far ahead a patch of forest lay quietly before them and they decided to set their camp for the night. While Davos and his brothers started making a fire, Helena lowered down on the soft grass and drank eagerly from the water skin Erik handed her.

It was twilight already and the air was fresh and alive with fireflies. Erik lowered down behind her and pulled her against his chest, his hands joining hers on top of her belly.

"I am so proud of you, my love," he whispered and pressed his lips into her hair.

"I told you I would protect our child," she smiled and sighed contently while she watched the rising moon slowly making his way up the horizon. Soon, most of them fell asleep while Erik had volunteered to take the first night watch. He cradled Helena in his arms and stroked through her hair while his gaze drifted along the plains, alit by the pale light of the moon.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes, he made out a movement between the trees just a few feet ahead. Tensing immediately, he felt Helena stir and opening her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she whispered and saw him staring into the darkness.

"There is something out there," he whispered and got up, pulling her with him. Quietly they started waking the camp. All of them were highly alerted and grabbed some stones and branches in hope to protect themselves with these.

A loud screech rang through the night sky and with high speed a group of orcs astride on wargs approached them, breaking out of the shadows of the forest. Children screamed and tried to flee just to be cut down by the evil creatures.

"Erik! Run!" Helena cried out and moved away from the camp, Erik behind her trying to hit one of the orcs with the branch he was holding. The creature chuckled diabolically and threw its dagger at him. The foul blade dug deep into his shoulder and he stumbled for a moment, falling on his knees.

"No!" Helena stopped and stared at her husband, the Orc still approaching with a dark grin on its lips. Her eyes scanned the ground, tried to find a rock or something else she could threw when out of a sudden an arrow flew past her and the sound of many hooves filled the air around her. The orc that had wounded Erik dropped dead from the warg. The furry beast snarled and jumped at Erik, knocked him onto his back and snapped at him but was slain by one of the riders before it could wound Erik any further. Helena cried and dropped onto her knees and crawled along the grass towards her bleeding husband. His breath came fast and erratically, blood dropped from his mouth.

"Erik, please, don't give up," she whispered and cried, her head placed on his chest.

"He—Helena—"he breathed and reached for her face, cupping her cheek. Weakly he smiled at her before a cough built up in his throat, covering her face with a dash of his blood. She didn't care, she simply smiled down at him.

"I'm here, my love. I'm here and you will be fine again," she whispered and pressed her lips on his for a moment for a quick and tender kiss.

Sweat covered his forehead, his hand dropped to the ground again. "Tell—tell her that I love her—"

Burning tears were filling her eyes. "Who?"

"Our—our—daughter—"he breathed before his head rolled to the side.

She stared at him, shook him, and cried his name until she finally broke down on him.

The pain was excruciating the next time she opened her eyes. She stared up at an open ceiling, revealing the indigo sky with myriads of stars looking down at her like silent guardians.

She cried out again as another wave of pain rolled through her abdomen and finally she looked around. "Who are you?" she breathed in confusion as she looked into the beautiful face of a woman. An elf, this was clearly an elf, Helena thought.

"I am here to help you," she replied calmly. "You must be strong. Your baby is about to come."

Helena's eyes grew wider and she shook her head strictly. "No—no, it is too soon! It is one moon too soon!" she cried and tried to get up but was gently forced down by another pair of strong hands.

"You have to fight now. Your body is weak, but you have to be strong for your baby. Do you think you can do that?" a calm, soothing voice spoke up next to her and she looked up into the warm eyes of a dark-haired elf. He looked elegant and she could feel her body relaxing a little. She sobbed and finally nodded.

A small smile curled his lips and he placed a cup against her lips filled with a golden liquid. "Drink this now. It will give you strength and numb the pain."

She drank eagerly and dropped her head back into the soft pillow, staring at the stars again. "Erik—"she whispered and tears rolled down her cheeks. "He should be here—"

"You have to do it without him now," the elf replied and placed his hand on her belly. "You have to start pushing now."

She sobbed again and inhaled deeply. With each push she felt the strength leaving her body more and more. Her heartbeat slowed down with each passing minute. Suddenly the air was filled with another loud cry. The cry of a new life.

Helena weakly looked down and saw the elf wrapping a tiny bundle into a white cloth. He smiled at her as she reached for it. Carefully he placed the bundle into her arms. A weak cry of joy left her throat as she looked down at the blonde girl. A girl—before the spirit of life had left his body forever Erik had known they would have a daughter.

Her vision became blurry, breathing started to become complicated. She felt more and more warm liquid leaving her body. The elf maid tried to stop it with wet cloths, but to no effect.

"What will be her name?" the dark haired elf asked her and stroked gently over Helena's head to calm her down a bit, trying to take the fear of dying from her.

With one last deep breath she managed to say a name before she drifted into eternal sleep.

"Elena."