Elrohir pulled his cloak tighter to him as he sat in the shelter of a hill, watching the hungry horses chewing at the dead grass on the plains. He looked back at the snow-covered Misty Mountains behind them. The blizzard had ended as the horses stumbled down the last steep slop, and met the open plains.

Elladan pressed his hand, smiling through the bones of his cheeks showed and his eyes were haggard. Elrohir turned his eyes to the green streak on the horizon, despair seeping across him.

"It is so far away," he moaned.

"And Rivendell is so far behind us," Elladan said. "We will reach Mirkwood in a week or so."

Elrohir let out a sigh and nodded. "Yes, and for that I am grateful. But the horses are so worn and hungry, and the grass is so short and dead . . ."

"We will be fine," Elladan assured him.

The twins sat and regained their little strength until Elladan rose to his feet, and captured the reins of the horses. He handed one set to Elrohir, and pulled himself onto his mount, feeling the horse grunt at his weight.

"I hate to make them suffer," Elrohir said. "They are as weak as we are."

Elladan said nothing. The horses set off a slow trot, heading toward the green streak on the horizon. Sanctuary. Warmth. Food. Safety. It meant something different to each twin but one thing they both saw it as was protection.

The horses walked faithfully on into the day, stopping every hour for a short break as their tired riders ate bread and tried to stay awake. Their eyelids felt like bricks.

Elrohir and Elladan were slumped on their horses as the animals trod on, half-asleep. Elrohir sat up as he saw a streak in the corner of his eyes, and screamed, fear jolting him to his senses. His scream jerked Elladan upright.

Elrohir's horse reared, neighing as a wolf darted out of the hills and lunged at its neck, flinging Elrohir from its back. Elrohir landed against a frozen hill, dazed. He cringed back as three more wolves appeared, snarling, on the plains. Their ribs showed under their fur, displaying their hunger for meat. His horse ran, and Elladan's flung the elfling from its back, its eyes rolling as it found its strength and fled, the wolves snapping at its heels.

Elladan scrambled to his twin's side, and lay still, his eyes following the wolves as they pursued the horses across the plains and out of sight. He let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Elrohir turned to him, his eyes wide. "Elladan, our food is gone. And so are the horses. Everything is gone."

"Not everything," Elladan said. "We still have our lives. If the horses had not fled, the wolves would have eaten us."

"We will never make it to Mirkwood now," Elrohir wailed.

Elladan stood up. "We have to try, Elrohir. We have eaten more then usual today. Our strength will last us a while yet."

Elrohir dragged himself to his feet, seeing the defeated slump in Elladan's shoulders. He reached for Elladan's hand and met his eyes with a smile that did little to reach his eyes. "Come. We have no time to waste. If the wolves return, our journey will end in their stomachs."

The wind whipped hair and the cloaks of the small, defenseless figures as the twins set off at a steady walk, their eyes ever on the green streak though it dipped out of sight as they walked down hills. They drew their strength from it, struggling to ward off the despair creeping across their hearts like frost.

Elladan and Elrohir walked until their strength gave out and their knees collapsed under them.

"S-so-so cold," Elladan chattered.

Elrohir blinked, the green streak on the horizon blurring. He could not tell how near or far it was, and, truth be told, he did not want to know.

"The wood here is frozen and will not burn well or light easily," Elrohir said.

Elladan pulled the folds of the map from inside his tunic, and scrunched it into a tight ball. "Give me sticks from around us. We do not need this any more."

Hunched over the fire to soak in the warmth, and to protect the small flames from the wind, the twins sat close to the small blaze, feeding it branches felled from the few sparse trees they sat under.

The green streak on the horizon fed them hope where otherwise they might have had none.

As the fire died, the elflings stumbled to numb legs and walked on. Their strength ebbed, bringing them to their hands and knees. Dragging themselves against the ache of defeat and the scream of evil triumph in their heads, the twins crawled, half-asleep in their daze but unwilling to give up.

OoOoOoO

Elrond paced, his hands behind his back, frequently looking out the window at the whirling snow. Glorfindel and his team of scouts had been gone hours now.

Arwen whimpered in Celebrian's arms as she rocked, as if sensing her parents' distress and anguish.

"Oh, Elrond, in the middle of this blizzard, Elladan and Elrohir's lives could be in danger," Celebrian said, her eyes pools of pain and worry. "It is so cold out."

Elrond came to press his hand over his wife's. He jerked up as he heard loud boots on the marble hall, and the door to the living room burst open. Glorfindel strode in, taking off his frosted gloves, and pushing back the snowy hood of his cloak.

The elf lord's flushed face appeared, his ears and cheeks rosy. As Elrond and Celebrian looked at him in apprehension, Glorfindel slowly shook his head.

"Oh, valar, preserve us," Celebrian murmured as though a sure bolt had struck her heart.

"Keep looking!" Elrond ordered.

Glorfindel shook his head. "I am sorry, my lord, but there is nothing we can do in this storm. The best chance we have is to allow the storm to die down and then look for them."

Elrond grabbed Glorfindel by the top of his cloak. "Have you lost your mind? My young sons are out in that freezing nightmare! They could die of cold and hunger! The storm will wipe away all traces; you must keep searching!"

Glorfindel jerked back, and a sudden chill entered the air as he spoke, his eyes hardening. "I will not abuse my men by forcing them to struggle through fierce gales and blinding snow. It is impossible to see, much less to be heard. I will not follow your orders, but I am sorry the twins are missing."

"They must be so frightened," Celebrian murmured.

Glorfindel looked at her. "Yes, but of what? I do not think it is the storm or the cold they fear. I think it is something much worst."

Elrond's eyes demanded an explanation, but the elf lord gave a short bow and whirled to leave the room. Elrond turned to his wife and shrugged, before he resumed his pacing, his heart a tight ache in his chest.

Thank you so much for reading. As always, I love sharing and hearing from you.