Hey Everyone! I'm baaaaaack!

So this is the long promised prequel series to my Lord of the Rings OC Trilogy. Expect lots of background for our OC and also an introduction to her relationship with Legolas! If you've already read my first trilogy, awesome! but expect to read it again bc after i'm done uploading The Hobbit series, I will be going back through that one and uploading my edits! and there have been A LOT of edits, from grammar to entire story changes!

If you haven't already read my first trilogy, DON'T. As i said earlier, I WILL be editing it A LOT.

Enjoy loves!

It only took a day for the Gundabad Orcs and their wargs to catch up with the company. The dwarves barely had time to catch their breaths before they had to run for their lives again. It was nightfall when they finally stopped for a rest, hunkering in an alcove on the side of some cliff.

"Bilbo, we need you to scout." Thôrin told the Halfling, who froze where he stood, shaking his head. "You are the only one stealthy enough, you have to go." Thôrin nodded his head at the Hobbit, who sighed, looking over at Caladwen for help. Caladwen bit her lip, looking from the Halfling to Thôrin before finally nodding her head. Elves were light on their feet, but hobbits had an almost supernatural ability to remain unseen.

"He is right. You're nearly impossible to track." Caladwen relented. Bilbo heaved a heavy sigh, nodding his head and turning to climb the crag.

"For the record, I'm being paid to be a burglar, not a spy." He quipped, earning a snicker from both Caladwen and Thôrin.

The Hobbit returned not too long later, but as he slid down the crag behind them, Caladwen was not relieved to see him. He seemed terrified, out of breath. And he skidded to a stop in front of Gandalf.

"How close is the pack?" Dwalin asked him.

"Too close. A couple of leagues, no more. But that is not the worst of it."

"Have the wargs picked up your scent?" Caladwen asked him, putting her hands on each of his cheeks. She turned his head, checking him up a down for damage. He shook her off, heaving to catch his breath.

"Not yet, but they will." Bilbo told the group once he'd regained his breath. "We have another problem."

"Did they see you? They saw you!" Gandalf cri d, exasperated. The entire group groan, collectively beginning to panic.

"No! That's not it!" Bilbo shouted over everyone earning a smile from Gandalf, who began to rave about how great he was. The group began to relax, several of the dwarves chuckling lightly. Bilbo growled, now it was his turn to be exasperated. "will you listen please! I am trying to tell you there is something else out there!" He shouted, the group stilled.

"What form did it take? Like a bear?" Gandalf questioned, Caladwen watched him with confusion. Bilbo also looked curiously at Gandalf.

"Y-yes. But bigger, much bigger." Bilbo gestured with his hands.

"You know about the beast?" Caladwen asked the wizard quietly. Gandalf turned, nodding his head as he walked to the outside of the group. Caladwen followed him. Behind them, the dwarves began to argue amongst themselves about the best course of action. Caladwen reach for Gandalf, placing a hand on his shoulder, when he suddenly turned around.

"There is a house, it's no far from here, where me might take refuge." The wizard told the group.

"Who's house? Friend or for?' Thôrin questioned him. Gandalf gave him a severe look.

"Neither. He will help us, or he will kill us." The party all frowned at each other.

"What choice do we have?" Thôrin asked, his voice overshadowed by a tremendous, and close, roar.

"None." Gandalf told him, gesturing for the company to follow him.

The party followed Gandalf deep into a thicket of trees, until they came to a vast plain. On the other side of that plain there was a house, one with a light lit inside and smoke coming from the chimney.

"Come on!" Gandalf called to the dwarves as another roar cut through the silent night. "To the house!" He ushered them.

With haste, they made it to the front door, which several dwarves slammed up against in an attempt to open it. Caladwen, worried, turned to look over her shoulder, and as she did a massive black bear broke the tree line. It roared as it began to make it's way across the plains to them.

"Open the door!" She shouted to the dwarves who were still pounding away at the door. Caladwen felt her blood pressure rise as the bear began gaining ground, tearing across the field like a bat out of hell.

Thôrin, who was near the back of the group, also saw the giant bear running at them full tilt. He began to toss his kin to the side, making his way towards the door himself. He fumbled with the giant bolt on the door, struggling with it's giant size and tight fit.

"Thôrin!" Caladwen shouted, the bear was practically at the gates of the small farm. She hadn't realized it, but she was putting the majority of her weight on the Dwarves at her back, subconsciously pushing them towards the door. In an instant, the support of dwarves at her back was gone and she fell, piling into the house with the rest of her company. They'd made it into the house in a pitiful heap, only realizing that they needed to close the door when the bear had nearly made it to them. Several of her dwarf friends jumped to their feet, slamming against the door, fighting with the giant bear as he fought to get in. With one last heave and several growls, the door was finally closed, latched, and only light growling could be heard on the other side.

"What is that?" One of the dwarves asked from behind her. Caladwen stood, taking several slow steps back from the door, hand on her chest to calm her fast beating heart. Finally, she bumped into Gandalf, who grabbed her shoulders, steadying her.

"That… Is our host." Gandalf told them clapping her shoulder. Caladwen turned to Gandalf, bewildered, as did the rest of their group. "His name is Beorn, and he is a skin changer."

"He's a what?" Caladwen guffawed. He brought us here without any warning? Why?!

"Sometimes he's a huge black bear; sometimes he's a great strong man." Gandalf paused, clearing his throat awkwardly. The rest of the party seemed just as angry and exhausted as she. "The bear is unpredictable, but the man can be reasoned with. However, his is not overfond of dwarves."

"Which most of our party is…" Caladwen hissed. The room grew quiet, each dwarf glaring at Gandalf in disbelief.

"it's not natural, none of it! It's obvious he's under some dark spell." Dori shouted, shaking his head.

"Don't be a fool!" Gandalf shouted. "He's under no enchantment but his own." The wizard told the group, silencing them. Once they were quiet, Gandalf relaxed, turning away from them. "Now, get some sleep, all of you. You'll be safe here tonight." he scolded them, walking across the house.

Caladwen watched him go with a scowl before turning back to the rest of her company to make sure they were all okay. She helped them break out their bed rolls, move around some furniture so they would all fit, before settling down against the door herself. With a sigh, she leaned back her head, staring up at the ceiling quietly.

Caladwen blinked several times, finding herself in an unknown, desecrated fortress. It is cold, snow littering the ground, the air freezing her lungs.

Two small stones, each of a green malachite, decorated in a set of ancient dwarvish runes, sit on the frozen ground, both found run through by a Gundabad blade. They bleed, despite being made of rock.

A faint voice cries over head, one that Caladwen recognizes but cannot place.

"Why does it hurt so much…?" It says into the void, echoing into nothingness. "If this is love then I do not want it…" The voice destroys Caladwen, leaving her feeling hollow, and she grabs her chest as she struggles to catch her breath. She can't breath, she's suffocating.

Caladwen startled awake, gasping for air and reaching for her throat. She breathed deep the air around her, closing her eyes as she attempted to calm herself.

"You've had another dream, haven't you?" Gandalf's voice came. Across the room, through the darkness, Caladwen could make out the red embers from his pipe, every time he toked it.

"I have no idea what you mean." She lied, wondering how long he'd been watching her. Through the scarce light, Caladwen could see Gandalf raise an eyebrow at her.

"Galadriel told me otherwise, Amdirvaethil." He spoke quietly. Caladwen took a deep breath, closing her eyes and laying her head back against the door. "She said you saw something dreadful, the end of a line, is that correct?"

"I do not know for certain, the sight is cryptic." Caladwen whispered. "I've seen nothing but vague symbols, some stones and a tree. I don't know what they mean." Around them several of the company stirred and Caladwen and Gandalf went deathly silent.

"Then we must take great caution, mustn't we?" He continued after several long moments. Caladwen nodded and Gandalf chuckled, suffocating his pipe and pocketing it. "Get some rest, my lady. Tomorrow is but the start to a long leg of this journey." He said as he got situated where he sat. After several minutes, snoring could be heard from Gandalf's side of the room and Caladwen frowned. She knew she would not sleep again this night.

The next day was awkward. As Gandalf had said, Beorn did not care for dwarves much and their introductions hadn't exactly gone smoothly. Gandalf went out first, taking Bilbo with him, hoping to smoothen their meeting. But Bofur had misread his signal, sending all of the dwarves out before Gandalf had managed to secure them safety.

Fortunately, Beorn was feeling more generous when Gandalf told him that they were on a mission against the orc heard of Gundabad. Thankful that she was still in one piece, Caladwen was more than happy to help Beorn with his chores, even if it was a day spent in silence, for Beorn did not care much for small talk with dwarves. It wasn't until dinner that night that Beorn said more than one word sentences to his visitors, surprisingly curious about their adventures.

"So, you are the one they call Oakenshield. Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?" Beorn asked Fíli's cup. Caladwen watched him quietly, marvelling at the man's height. He easily stood nine feet tall, and it was weird not being the tallest in the group.

"You know of Azog? How?" Thôrin questioned suspiciously.

"My people we're the first to live in the mountains, before Orcs came down from the north." Beorn told him, placing the pitcher of milk on the counter behind him. Across the table from her, Fíli struggled to drink out of his over sized cup, Caladwen bit back a smirk. "the Defiler killed most of my family, buy some he enslaved." Beorn said watching Caladwen cool. He held up his hands and Caladwen frowned, any amusement from watching Fíli drink gone. "Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Cagong skin changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him."

"There are others like you?" Bilbo asked.

"Once, there were many." Beorn told him. Caladwen frowned at him.

"And now?"

"Now, there is only one." His words made Caladwen's heart heavy and her eyes feel to the floor. He was so pained, every person in the room could feel it. Just when Caladwen was sure the air couldn't get any thicker, Beorn spoke again. "you need to reach the mountain before the last days of Autumn?"

"Before Durin's Day falls, yes." Gandalf nodded.

"You are running out of time." Beorn said bluntly.

"Which is why we must go through Mirkwood." Gandalf said. Beorn shook his head disapproving. He did not like that idea.

"a darkness lies upon that forest. Feel things creep beneath those trees." He began to round the table, eyeing each of his guests in turn. But when. He got to Caladwen she merely raised her chin at him, she was not afraid. "There is an alliance between the Orcs of Moria and the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not venture there except in great need."

"We will take the Elven Road. That path is still safe." Gandalf reassured them, though Caladwen did not know how true that was. She had not been permitted to travel that road in sometime, not since the death of her Mother and Father.

"Safe? The wood elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They're less wise and more dangerous."

"I have friends in Greenwood." Caladwen argued, using the forest's true name, the one it held before evil touched it's lands. Beorn raised an eyebrow at her and Caladwen stood tall.

"It matters not." He shrugged. Gandalf raised an eyebrow to him.

"What do you mean?"

"These lands are crawling with Orcs. Their numbers are growing and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive." Beorn told them matter of factly. He crossed the table slowly, making his way towards Thôrin, who glared at him. "I don't like dwarves. They're greedy and blind, blind to theives of those they deem lesser than their own." Beorn reached onto the tale, picking up a white mouse which several of the dwarves had been swatting away from their food. He began to pet the mouse, making heated eye contact with their company's leader. "But I hate Orcs more. What do you need?" He asked the group, surprising all of the.

Caladwen took a deep breath as she retook her seat, letting Gandalf take the reigns on the rest of the conversation. Beside her, Bilbo tapped her shoulder.

"You have friends in Mirkwood?" He asked. Caladwen nodded, smiling.

"I have not seen him in sometime, but I know he will remember me." Caladwen nodded, thinking fondly back to her childhood. "Legolas will be more than happy to see me again." She smirked, eliciting an odd smile from Bilbo.

The company left Beorn's house early the next morning with only two instructions; DO NOT stray from the path and release his ponies before we enter the forest. It was simple enough, they would be fine, especially since Caladwen was familiar with the trees of Rhovannion.

Their ride lasted only an hour before the company finally came upon the western eaves of Mirkwood. Caladwen frowned, the wood was darker, more ominous than she remembered as a child. Gandalf was the first to arrive at the forest's edge, and he dismounted his steed, crossing the field to and ancient archway. Caladwen watched him with furrowed brow, this is not the way that she remembered coming through Rhovanion at all.

"Here lies our path through Mirkwood." Gandalf told them with a smile.

"Mithrandir, this is not the road I am accustomed to…" Caladwen trailed off, though Gandalf's attentions were far off behind her.

"Yes… I suppose you are talking about the Old Forest Road. Tis too heavily patrolled by the Elves of Mirkwood."

"But why are we avoiding them?" Caladwen asked, earning a queer look from Gandalf. While it was true that the elves of Rhovanion and dwarf kind weren't exactly allies, she felt that she could at least get some aid for them.

"Set the ponies loose! Let them return to their master." Gandalf told the rest of the company, it ring Caladwen's question all together. Caladwen frowned after him as he made to join the burglar at his pony. She turned to her horse, unsaddling it with pursed lips; she didn't understand why they were being so stubborn. Whilst she was unpacking, Gandalf made his way to the woods, ducking under the worn archway. Caladwen watched him disappear into the thicket, turning to his horse to begin unsaddling it. Several moments later, however, Gandalf returned, this time looking a bit disheveled and worried.

"Not my horse! I need it!" he shouted from nearly the treeline. Caladwen stopped what she was doing, immediately turning to the wizard, confused.

"You're not leaving us?" Bilbo groused before Caladwen had a chance to speak.

"I would not do this unless I had too." Gandalf told the group, grabbing his horses reigns from Caladwen. The dwarves around her all groaned I. Protest, but Gandalf shrugged them off, placing a hand on Caladwen's shoulder. He watched the group carefully as they started towards the tree line, and once they were out of ear shot, he spoke: "keep an eye on Bilbo."

"That's my job." Caladwen joked, but Gandalf shook his head.

"There is something strange with that Hobbit, something I fear that lays in his pocket." Gandalf raised an eyebrow at her and Caladwen nodded.

"I see…"

"And do not seek out the Green Prince. I know you are friends with him, but he bares no care for your company." Gandalf told her. Caladwen made to argue, but he shushed her. "The elves of Mirkwood are not like those of your kin, Amdirvaethil." He warned her, hopping on to his horse. "I will meet you on the other side of Rhovanion, on the overlook before Erebor. Do not enter the mountain without me!" He told her, riding away from her. Caladwen watched him go with a look of distaste.

"Well." She whispered, turning back to her company, which stood waiting for her by the eaves. Thôrin waved her over impatiently and Caladwen frowned, giving one last glance at Gandalf's retreating form.

"You know these woods, you will go first." He told her matter of factly.

"There is no "knowing" Mirkwood, master dwarf." Caladwen told him, staring up at the trees above her. With a smile, she turned to the dwarf King. "But I will try my best." Caladwen heard a series of whispers on the wind, black speech, and she shuddered, staring off into the trees until the murmuring of dwarves brought her back to reality. "We stay on the path. We never split the party." She told the group seriously. The dwarves nodded and Caladwen gave Bilbo a bright smile before ducking under the ancient elven archways. Mirkwood lay before them, a troublesome road nonetheless.