ARCTURUS

I will not go into our escape from Arradon's camp. All I'll say is that it took about an hour, there was a lot of blood and clashing metal and our group of six was reduced to three.

I'll bet that gives a good picture.

"Be careful." I whisper to Tauriel. She nods tersely. Me, Tauriel and Arudia were the only ones who got out alive. Now we were spread out on a thin rock ledge on the edge of the mountain. It was flat terrain a few meters away, but I wasn't fooled. That stone was three centimetres thick. It would never hold us.

Tauriel was lightest, so she was going first. Me, I would be following Arudia as she went. My sister steps carefully on the rock. It creaks a bit, but held her up. She starts walking, catching her breath every time it groaned. When she was about halfway across, Arudia starts to go.

She casts me a nervous, hopeful glance and almost dashes across. I start to follow, looking down at my boots. Suddenly I hear a crack ahead of me and look up sharply.

Tauriel and Arudia were back to back on a thin stretch of rock. The combined weight was too much and the ground is cracking beneath them.

"Tauriel. Arudia." I say quietly to the panicking girls. "Stay very, very still. Don't move a muscle." The girls respond by shaking and casting me desperate looks. I flatten myself and start crawling closer. "I'm coming over. Stay-"

Above us, an eagle lands on a ledge and sends a rock tumbling down. I leap forward to catch it but it hits the ground and smashes through. I wince and the girls visibly tense. I start backing away to stronger ground.

The rock-ice suddenly shatters. Tauriel lunged forward and grabs my hand. We watch as Arudia grabs Tauriels ankle. Tauriel stares at me, panicking. Her hand was slipping from mine. Suddenly she drops.

"Tauriel!" I yell, my throat raw. "Tauriel!" the last I see was her grabbing at rocks and trying to slow down. My sister falls into darkness, screaming.

My immediate thought was back up, run but there was no where I could run too. We needed to get to-

Suddenly the ground sags beneath me. I leap up, but it only made it break quicker. I jump and snatch a tree root sticking out of the rock. For a few seconds I am hanging in midair, but the root slowly snaps.

"No!" I yell. Not in fear, in anger. And then I was falling through the darkness, spinning head over heels until I think I'm going to be sick. I brace myself.

WHAM. The impact knocks the breath out of me. I lay still for a moment, trying not to breath too heavily. Beside me lay Arudia. Her forehead was covered in blood and her skin was cold. I hear footsteps and immediately lay down, acting dead.

"Arcturus! No!" my sister yells. She skids to a halt next to me and starts crying. She thought I was dead, and I couldn't reveal myself because of what I'd just seen. But...

"Tauriel run! Take out your bow and shoot behind you." I whisper to the rocky ground. She stands up, eyes wide. Before anyone could react, a large hand smacks over her mouth and drags her into the ferns.

"Take the dead ones too. It's wrong to leave them out here." A voice says. Another voice murmurs agreement and I'm picked up from under my arms and placed on a wooden trolley with Arudia.

I keep my eyes closed and focus on trying to get my breath back. The two men who were pulling the trolley were Dermorian, and were holding Lilly. I was so close.

I open one eye. We are in a long, dark passageway of stone. The entrance is hidden in ferns. My plan is risky, but it could work. I slowly pull a knife out of my belt.

Three.

Two.

One.

I leap up and smack the first bloke on the head with the butt of the knife. He trips and whacks his face on the floor which knocks him out. The second guy looks at me, eyes wide. "Hey, your not dead-"

"Nice observation, Einstein." I snarl. I swivel and knock his feet out from under him. He falls and smashes his chin against the ground, meeting the same fate as Idiot #1. I smile.

Arudia is still on the trolley, but I have to leave her there. Find Tauriel, rescue Lilly. That's my mission. I square my shoulders and stalk along the hallway.