Awakening

It was the evening when she woke. Not the dead of night, but the lighter kind of evening where the horizon is still lined with the orange of the sun. She was lying on her back in the green of the forest, the grass underneath her like a thick blanket. She faced upwards, staring at the trees that towered overhead. The floor beneath her seemed to sigh, as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. She blinked, once, twice, and shook her head. Dark brown hair fell over her shoulders, and she sighed. For a moment, she felt warm, yet disconnected. As if she were lying in warm water.

Then she jolted. An electric tingle ran through her nerves and a cold shiver pricked at her spine. She spoke,

"What… where am I?" She spoke in the language of men, the common tongue throughout middle earth. But she sounded different. Her voice took on the tones of a shallow stream rolling over pebbles. It was natural, not too loud or harsh on the surroundings. Then she spoke again, "What am I doing?" Whether she expected to suddenly remember, or have the answer somehow whispered to her, it was impossible to tell. But neither happened, the forest remained quiet.

So she stood up, and when she'd gotten to her feet, she swooned and nearly fell. But she caught herself, planted her feet on the ground and looked around. The night was progressing, shadows deepening as the sun receded. A cold breeze blew past and ran over her cheeks, but her clothing kept her warm. She wore tight leggings made of a coarse fabric, a dark tunic and knee high boots made out of brown leather. She also had a hooded cape draped about her shoulders, fastened in the centre or her neck with a copper brooch in the shape of an oak leaf. Her fingers came up and brushed against it and found the dull surface cold to touch. She withdrew her fingers and instead ran them over herself. Her head, waist and her cloak, searching for anything she might have. But her search was fruitless, and she had nothing but the clothes on her back.

Nothing. Not even a name… That was her third question, "Who… Who am I?" the voice didn't betray fear, just a worry, a slight tremble. But she held herself together, ran her fingers through her wavy hair and tried to decide what to do. A name and what she was doing could come next, but first she should probably try to find out where she was. She took a few steps, the boots she wore let her travel quietly and the only sound was the rustling of leaves underfoot. She walked in a rough straight line, heading for the area of the woods that seemed a little less dark than the trees around it. It was strange, there almost seemed to be an orange light coming from that direction. At first she thought it was the sky, but then she thought otherwise. The sky was getting darker, the stars and moon shining. But as she drew closer the orange light seemed to grow. She faltered, wondering what it was. So she stood still and waited.

It was then that she heard the sounds. Voices, masculine voices that echoed through the trees. There were a number of them, she guessed around ten people. She didn't move closer for a better look, but instead chose caution and hovered around the edge of the trees, listening. Secondary noises revealed themselves, a soft neighing from horses or maybe ponies. There was also a clinking of metal, and a crackle from flames. For that was what the orange glow was, a fire. She listened to the voices; they seemed tired and maybe strained. But there was no apparent malice in the sounds; she felt that the people may not be a danger. She considered going over to them and revealing herself, but held back. Instead she moved quietly and slower than before toward the noises. She would watch the people, see if she could trust them.

When she reached the edge of the area, she pressed herself against the trunk of a tree and watched. At first she picked out shapes by the fire, seven wide, yet shorter bodies sat or lying by the fire. Even though she had never encountered people like them before, she knew that they were not men. Dwarves… that word was in her head, though she had no memories to link it to. Each was different, in different clothes and each had a beard. They had weapons hung from their bodies, swords, hammers, and one had a catapult. She looked away and saw some more, two were sat in a small cave in a rock. She guessed those two were younger, they seemed livelier and their beards were much shorter, almost non-existent. Both had swords and one had a bow and quiver of arrows next to him.

She found other dwarves, these ones were asleep and their faces shrouded so she couldn't make out any more features. But each one had a weapon in reach, and that was what kept her back. She couldn't think of a way to approach without startling them. She didn't want to end up with a sword to the chest or an arrow through the heart. The thought made her move back, and she changed her position, moving to the edge of the group. There she had a clear view of the ponies, sixteen of them huddled in a circle. A single dwarf guarded them, then something else approached. It wasn't a dwarf, it was shorter and much thinner than them. And it approached silently, she hadn't heard it at all. It looked a little like a dwarf or man, but had no beard and wore more… homely clothes. No armour and no weapons. She watched as he approached a pony and whispered to it, then put a hand in his pockets and pulled out an apple. The pony took it, he smiled. Then the air was pierced by a sharp cry, or a howl. It sent a chill through her bones, and without thinking she tensed her muscles ready to spring away. The other person obviously felt the same. He retreated, turned to the dwarves,

"What was that?" The two dwarves in the cave looked at each other, then one spoke,

"That was an Orc." The smaller fellow took a few steps closer, as if the fire could protect him.

"Orcs?" Then he looked over his shoulder at the horizon. The dwarf continued,

"They attack in the dead of night, when everyone is asleep." Her stomach felt cold, she was afraid now. If these dwarves were caught by orcs, she'd be caught with them. "There's no fight, no screams. Just lots of blood." Her breath caught in her throat, a gasp threatened to escape. But then she saw the two dwarves grinning behind his back at each other. A grin that showed they were telling tales, and that at least the stories they'd told weren't real. But from a dark corner another dwarf stepped forward. He carried himself tall, and gave off an air that made her think him the leader. And when he spoke, it was with such authority that she knew she was right.

"You think a night raid from Orcs funny?" He looked down at the two dwarves in the cave, a stare that seemed to cut into them. They looked down, looking ashamed, and one murmured

"It was just a joke."

"Of course. You know nothing of the world." The leader walked past the fire, towards the girl's hiding place in the trees. Whilst he hadn't seen her, she took several steps backwards in caution and kept her eyes on him. He stood and looked out at the land, his gaze sometimes flickering to the trees as he checked the shadows. Behind him, an older dwarf was talking to the others, telling some tale about an orc named Azog. But she didn't focus on the story, instead watched the leader. His face was blank and showed no emotion. But his eyes held a deep sadness, The blue grey eyes were clear in the light of the moon, even when he turned away. She couldn't help but to watch. But when he looked at the trees, that was different. She would see his eyes in full, and even though he couldn't see her she felt a cold. A cold like an icy hand around her heart, whether it was from the look in his eyes or the fear of being caught, she didn't know.

After what seemed an age, but could have been minutes, he turned away and moved back to the fire. And the girl could breathe again.

One by one, the dwarves fell asleep. And save for one on watch, she was alone. She was tired, but didn't want to sleep for fear of being found in the morning. But then if she didn't, there was no way she would be able to follow them tomorrow. She sighed under her breath, and decided to find somewhere to sleep, and hope she was hidden enough to last the night. After a minutes search, she found a good enough spot. It was a tree with large branches and roots that curled up from the earth. She was able to lie down amongst the roots fairly comfortably and they would shelter her from both vision and the weather.

And so, it was in that tree under the sky, that she fell asleep for the first time. Little did she know, it was the start of her adventure…