Ch. 18 Going Home

"Hurry up! We do not have all morning. Prepare the horses! Load the quivers!"

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes at the yell of Legolas' voice. I bet he purposely stood at the opening of our tent to yell to wake me up. Fine, I was up.

I looked over to my right to see a bucket of water. I supposed I was to wash my face in that. Legolas glanced back to see that I was almost done and walked out.

I ran my fingers through my hair to comb out any tangles. Too bad I didn't bring any extra clothing. Now I had to stay in the same dress with all the dirt stains.

I came out of our tent to see everyone mounted already once again. I looked over at Legolas to see him slightly smirking. He was doing this on purpose to humiliate me! Well, I could mount a horse perfectly fine thank you. I did this once before and I can do it again on my own.

I walked up to the left side of my horse, stuck my left foot into the stirrup, hoisted myself up, and swung my right leg over the back of the horse. Yes, I did it! Take that, Prince! I could tell Legolas was a little surprised. His horse started to trot away but no one moved. They were all looking at me. Great, now he was forcing me to ride at the front with him. I wasn't that stupid! I would've been fine if he didn't come back to help me.

'Uh huh, use the word help.'

I nudged the side of the horse with my feet and it started forward after Legolas. Everyone did so after that.

We rode for hours with the cold, late November wind blowing at us. The dress I was wearing gave no protection. The sun was hidden behind some gray clouds. If it started to rain, I swear it was my worse day ever... excluding yesterday. And yet, it did rain. A drop fell on my cheek and I glared up at the sky. Then a full-on pour came. Whatever did I do wrong, God? I groaned. "So much of a hunting trip."

Legolas turned his head to look. He squinted at me, drew his bow, notched an arrow and aimed it... at me.

Did he hate me that much? No, he wouldn't dare. I didn't move an inch and glared right back.

But he did release the arrow.

It came right at me and whizzed past my ear, barely missing it. And it hit something behind me.

"Ah!"

"Orcs!" Legolas warned.

Then from behind possibly every tree in the forest came one or two orcs, adding to almost a few hundred.

"Riders on guard!" shouted Legolas and confusion broke out... well for me anyway. Everyone had their own business to take care of. So did I. I quickly got off my horse so I wouldn't be an easy target.

"Jocelyn run!"

I heard Legolas shout. I did as I was told. I ran for coverage though I didn't run far. An orc stopped me.

"Haha! Your trapped now. Nowhere to run!" the orc snickered.

"This is where cheerleading kicks in." The orc swung his sword at me and I ducked. He swung again and I jumped out of the way and grabbed the back of his arm. I twisted his wrist and the blade fell from his hand. I used my knee and kicked the side of his ribs. Gave another one into his groin and he fell forward in pain. I cart wheeled a feet away from him and back flipped onto his back, breaking it. "That should keep him on the ground the rest of his life. Not like he had one before." I grinned at the work I'd done and turned to leave only to find another orc blocking my way.

"Think your so good, eh?"

I faked a smile at him, which roused his anger even more. He took out a small dagger, with his other hand holding his axe. He did a few tricks with it. "Who are you trying to impress, the snail on the ground?"

He growled and made his first movie, raising the axe and bringing it down hard trying to cut open my shoulder. I spun out of reach. He came charging towards me with his dagger. Just when the knife was about to pierce me, I stepped to my left. I turned to have him crashing into my back. I elbowed him in the stomach and backhanded his nose. He gave no notice to my attacks. Instead he twisted both my arms behind my back, one hand holding them, and the other his weapons.

"I gona teach you the meaning of pain." He stuck his tongue out and licked my ear.

I shivered in disgust. You could smell no fouler breath in your life. He brought the dagger up to the area between my shoulder and neck and slowly started to draw blood.

"You like pain?" I asked through gritted teeth. I stomped on his foot hard and kicked his shin. Since the ground was all turned to mud by the rain, he lost his footing and slid all the way down. "Try doing the splits." He had dropped his axe in agony. I picked it up and brought it down on his head as hard as I could. I looked away in disgust as his head split open. "Two down... about a couple hundred left to go." I sighed. All of a sudden I felt someone grab my elbow. I swung around to attack but only to find Legolas.

"Goodness, are you decent?" he looked me up and down, as if examining me.

"Still in one piece." I smiled.

"I saw you. You were good!"

I looked at his surprised expression. "I did take gymnastics you know."

He was about to ask me a question but he pushed me aside, causing me to land on the orc which I broke the back of previously. "Hey! Watch your manners. You don't just push people around."

Legolas had pushed me aside because an arrow from a crossbow was headed our way. Once he pushed me aside, he caught the arrow with his bare hands. Wow.

"Jocelyn, get out of here!" he shouted while defending himself from the orc's attacks.

"I'm not going to let you do this again!" I shouted back at him.

When finally he killed off the orc with his dagger, he turned to me and said in a serious tone, "That is an order."

I glared at him then got up to my feet. "Pride of a prince!" I was about to run into the forest when something small and hard hit my knee. It tripped me and I fell over in the mud. Before I could react to the mess, a pair of strong hands picked me up. In front of me stood an orc.

"Had fun didn' ya?" He smirked at me. "Well, fun is over human. I am gona stick this through." He raised his spear and without a moment of hesitation, it went right through my stomach. "Betcha like that didn' ya?" His partner in crime let go of me and I dropped to the ground in a heap, the mud seeping into my wound. They went off to continue more killing.

I had never felt such... relief in my life. There was no pain at all. I felt like I was floating. So soft. Next thing I knew, I was in the arms of Legolas. His voice sounded so far off.

"Oh, Jocelyn what have I done? I knew it was not a good idea to bring you along with me. Why? I was so stupid! It is my entire fault. I am so sorry." Tears were coming down his face.

"Do not cry for me. I am not worth it." I whispered out. All my strength was lost.

"Do not speak such words. I should have never yelled at you. Then you would have stayed at my side and I would have protected you and none of this would have happened." Legolas was clutching me as if he would never let go.

"I would have stayed at your side anyway. Live... for me." I said, as I remember Mueyna's words.

"Jocelyn... You will always be in my heart. I am going to save you."

I shook my head. "You already did. It is my time to leave."

More tears slid down his cheek. "No!"

I reached up to caress his face and looked into his eyes. Now I felt the pain in my heart. It ached so much to realize I had to leave him and I also saw it hurt him. Why did life have to be so unfair?! I wished he didn't have to endure the same pain. I blinked and a tear dripped from my eyes. "I love you."

That seemed to make matters worse for Legolas. "I love you so much." He pulled me into a hug, making me cry.

Before I wasn't sure if I could accept his words and heart, now it warmed my cold, dying body. I truly knew what love was from that moment on. "I will miss you." Slowly, Legolas' image faded into a screen of white. "Goodbye..."
"Miss Winslow!"

My eyes flow open. Where was I?

"I do not tolerate students sleeping in my class. Perhaps you should cut down on night partying and participate in class." It was Mr. Balwin. The class snickered.

"I'm sorry. It will never happen again." I sat up straight and faced the front; only to find everyone staring at me. I smiled at them, "Yes?" At the sound of my voice, everyone turned back around.

"Well then maybe, you'll feel just as positive about your Socials project." Mr. Balwin came over to my desk and slapped down a package of paper with a big red 'F' at the top.

"I remember that!" I exclaimed, surprised. It was like I went back in time. Mr. B raised his eyebrow at me. "Oh, I meant, um, I'll try better next time." He kept on staring. "Oh, do you want me to redo it or something?" He started to walk away, mumbling to himself. "Ok..."

I sat back in my chair and relaxed. I was sleeping in class while all that happened. Could it all have been a dream? I looked down at where the orc had cut me before. There was scar. I fumbled to have a clearer look at it.

"Nice!"

I looked up to see the guy sitting in front of me staring at my chest.

"It's taken." I glared at him.

He turned around dejectedly. I continued to examine my scar. It did happen. All of it was real. I smiled to myself. How often do you see someone happy because they have a scar on their shoulder? That would probably be the best experience I would never, ever have again. Definitely an unforgettable lesson.

The End