If the weather were anything to judge by, an omnipotent being or two was unhappy with Emerald’s decision to venture out into the wilds of Middle-Earth alone. Dear Occamy, whom had been a faithful travel companion for the young princess for some years, trudged faithfully along through the torrents of rain that plagued their passage for a vast majority of the day. Though everything had been peaceful in and around Imladris, once south of the River Brunen tributary, things had turned sour.

Emerald was determined, though, and so continued riding at a brisk pace. She even ate her few bites of lembas while riding, assuring Occamy that the quicker they traveled, the sooner they would leave the storm clouds behind.

Their path was clear, at least, and though a small part of Emerald worried about taking such an obvious route, it was the quickest way. She couldn’t imagine what was going to go down at Imladris once everyone realized she was missing, but she was grateful she wouldn’t be there to see it. A note was waiting patiently on her beside table for the first person to venture in looking for her, and though she had been about as honest in it as she had been with Legolas in the stables, hopefully it would ease the tensions and anxiety. Or, more importantly, hopefully it would give her the time she needed. As soon as the revelation had hit her that she needed to do this, the thought had also crossed her mind that, were she simply to disappear, Elrond and Mithrandir might very well decided she had abandoned the cause. Then they would of course take it upon themselves to decide who should go on this journey, and that was the last thing Emerald wanted.

Because, for one reason or another, Emerald was positive the rest of the poem told her who was supposed to go on this trip. Who had in fact decided this and why was beyond Emerald’s knowledge, though she had often wondered as of late. Who was given Emerald the dreams? Where did the book come from? Was Váromë behind it all, or was she simply a messenger for someone else?

Though the terrible weather forced Emerald to spend the hours of travel focusing on their path and maintaining Southward motion, when at last night fell (though it was hard to tell), she dismounted and, tugging Occamy to the base of a few trees that cast less threatening shadows than the other, assured her only companion, “All right, Occamy. We’ll rest now.” The horse seemed as relieved as his mistress. Since Occamy traveled freely except for the bag slung over his bag, and since Emerald hadn’t thought to bring a rope to tie him to the tree with, she sighed, “Well, Occamy, you’re just going to have to be good and stay with me all night, all right? I haven’t got anything to tie you up with...”

It wasn’t the first time Occamy had been trusted to stay put without a hitch, but it was the first night Emerald had ever spent by herself in her entire life. Even when traveling with her family, there had not only been her brothers and parents keeping her safe, but also at least a few guards ready to lay their lives down for the royal family’s protection.

But now? Emerald let out a deep breath and looked nervously about her. She had perhaps waited a little too long to stop, but if there were any moon at all, she remained hidden behind the dark clouds that had blocked the sun out during the day. The storm had let up a little, but deep rumblings still chased daggers of lightening through the air, and a gentle, steady sprinkling of cold raindrops managed to weave their way through the trees. It was too wet to even think about lighting a fire, and so Emerald was just going to have to deal with the dark. And the cold. And the wet. And the fact that she was all alone out here in the wild.

With a gentle pat, she apologized, “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be able to sleep down here with you.” Occamy didn’t seem too bothered and just buckled his legs to curl up on the ground against the rough bark of the tree. Emerald managed to pull her bag up before he went down and, though it was a little heavier than she probably should have packed, still managed to sling it over her shoulder and clamber up the first few branches of the tree until finding a decent resting spot cradled between a few branches.

Though she had wanted to do some reading and writing before rest -just jot down a few thoughts and worries about this solo trip- it was simply too dark, and she was simply too tired after a full day of riding.

With an extra dose of self-pity, she sighed, “I hope the book writes something in itself such as, ‘Emerald is miserable.’” She thought back on Legolas’ offer to accompany her and wondered if it might not have been a good idea. She could have convinced him not to question her about where they were going and why, and at least then she would have had someone to complain to about this terrible weather. And how cold she was. And how wet she was. And how she really just wanted to curl up on her nice warm bed back in Imladris, or maybe even at home, because she had only slept in trees a few times in her life, and always before with her father or a brother near at hand to keep her safe.

Rest wasn’t coming easy with the knowledge that nothing stood between her and the things that live in the night, and so Emerald squeezed her eyes tightly shut, cursing her parents for having instilled the human method of sleep in her and her brothers. By nature, she had learned from Arwen, Elves didn’t even need to lie in bed to sleep; they could simply drift off while walking about to rest their minds, and therefor could stretch their bodies to longer endurance. However, since Emerald’s home was a kingdom of both men and Elves, the Elves had taken to sleeping as the men did long, long before she was even a thought in her mother’s mind.

To try and bore herself into sleep, Emerald began reciting the short note she had left in Imladris over and over to herself:

Dear everyone, Please do not worry about me. I have not run away for good, nor have I abandoned Imladris. There is an errand I must run, and though it is not dangerous in the least and no one should lose a single breath worrying about me, I will be gone for some time. Look for my return in a month, and please wait for my return to do anything. I apologize for leaving now, on the brink of so many things, but I will be back, and I promise to stay safe. My love for everyone...

It didn’t work very well, and though the letter and the poems were repeated several hundred times, Emerald found she could only drift off for a few minutes at a time.

“On the positive side, at least I didn’t have to worry about falling out of the tree,” she mused to herself when, the next morning, a faint warmth of sunlight managed to break through the clouds. She remained perched in her cradle of branches for a while still, though, congratulating herself. She had done it. She had now spent one night alone in the wild. Sure, she had perhaps slept only an hour collectively, nor had she gotten any good thinking done. But she had survived it and, glancing down, she saw with relief that Occamy was patiently chewing on the tufts of grass that poked through the thick carpet of dead leaves.

Emerald took her time eating, then slung the bag over Occamy again, and was about to mount when she heard something. It was faint, and so must be far away, but Emerald still froze to listen. A twig snapped. Someone or something else was out here with her, but the chances of it being anyone or anything in connection with her were slim to none. It was probably either a wild animal or else another traveler.

Either way, Emerald didn’t want to be bothered. It was just safer for everyone if she remained unnoticed, so she promised herself to work harder at not being traceable. Which meant no more talking non-stop to Occamy, and that was going to be difficult. Emerald wasn’t used to being alone, and as a natural chatterbox, Occamy had at least provided a smidge of relief for her need to speak.

“No more of that now, though,” Emerald sighed, then clamped her mouth shut. Caution was a lot more difficult to exercise than she had thought.

Fortunately, the day came and went without any difficulties except for the frequent rain storms. At least now there were small breaks between that lasted just long enough for Emerald’s clothing to think about drying out before she was once again bombarded with cold rain from above.

When Emerald stopped for the night, she came to the firm conclusion that traveling solo was no fun at all. Since a little girl, she had harbored the idea that venturing out on her own would be the greatest thing that ever happened to her. She could go wherever she wanted, do whatever she wanted, explore every tiny nook and cranny that caught her interest, all without a pesky older brother or obnoxious guard standing watch.

However, the reality was quite different, as she was discovering now. Especially knowing as much as she did about the evils running rampant in Arda, Emerald found that without anyone else around to worry about her, she was left to worry about herself. Every tiny sound around her -that managed to penetrate through the hum of the rain, that is- had her glancing around suspiciously. Even when there were no sounds at all, Emerald worried that something would catch her off guard. She rode with her sword balanced in her lap and her ears alert for any signs that she was being followed.

By day three, after yet another night of only a few minutes of stolen sleep here and there while perched in a tree through the rain, Emerald decided that though her paranoia might be unwarranted, it was better to be safe than sorry. So she glanced over her map a bit, thought for a while on distance versus ease, and then decided it was time she and Occamy depart from the marked path. The distance would be shorter now, but instead of trotting along a cleared trail, they would now be picking their way through deeper forest and along the foot of the Misty Mountains, which would add time. The more difficult road worried her a little, but as long as she stuck to the mountains, she wouldn’t get lost, and if being off the path meant the occasional low voices or footprints she heard would be left behind, it was worth it. For her nerves, if for nothing else.

By the end of day four, the first evening where there remained enough light for her to read for a bit by, Emerald quickly thumbed through the pages of the book to see if anything had changed. It had indeed, but nothing too drastically. Pages dedicated to the members of the council showed their whereabouts: the Hobbits were still all contentedly in Imladris, as were Elrond and his counselors. Gloin and his son, Boromir, Aragorn, Legolas, Glorfindel, and many others had set out on scouting missions, scattered to the winds in all directions with the help of the Rangers. Even Emerald’s own brothers seemed to making use of themselves, since Gildas, Beven, Hergest, and Tegryn -even Alagedh- had left Imladris. There was even a note of comfort for Emerald slipped in beneath Mithrandir’s section, reading: Mithrandir tells Hobbits, “No actions will be taken in any direction until all our scouts have returned.” Though she couldn’t know for sure whether Mithrandir was thinking of her, she couldn’t help but see his knowing smile when he informed the Hobbits of this, secretly thinking to himself. “This will help us bide our time until Emerald returns.” At least that’s what she hopped the snippet meant.

The fourth night and fifth day both passed in exactly the same fashion Emerald was growing accustomed to. But that didn’t mean she was enjoying herself. Actually, as the days wore on, she grew more and more miserable, and doubted herself more by the minute. This was crazy. She should never have ventured off on this errand, especially not on her own. It wasn’t really that important, and definitely not worth risking her life over. Besides, she was tired after having not really slept since she left Imladris; she hadn’t been dry or clean in just as long; she was in the mood for something a little more appetizing than Lembas, for while they filled her up, they didn’t appease her taste buds’ acclimation to spoiling.

“Maybe I should just go home,” she sighed to herself. The realization that she would soon be closer to home than to Imladris had begun to tempt her during the day. “I should just forget everything and go home to Papa and Mother.” The thought brought tears to her eyes, and for the first time in a long time, Emerald began to cry. Not hard, body-wracking heaves by any means, but just enough small, pitiful tears that, when she realized the fresh water on her face was actually from her eyes, bigger, rounder tears chased after them. She curled up tighter and pushed her saturated hair out of her face, but the rain kept pouring, the thunder kept rattling the branches of the tree she was perched in, and the lightening stretched the dagger-like branches to nightmarish proportions.

Emerald was just about to talk herself into hopping back onto Occamy and riding through the night to reach home more quickly when the definite sound of several twigs snapping made her sit suddenly up. As if the snapping twigs in the dark weren’t bad enough, someone hissed in reaction to the sound. That meant it was definitely a person out there, and the fact that Emerald had been off of the marked path for a day now made her heart suddenly leap into her throat. That meant the only plausible explanation was that the stranger in the dark was following her! Why else would they still be on her trail?

Well, there was only one way to know for sure. It had been five days now, and the faint sounds had been audible to Emerald for four of those. If this stranger had been following her for that long, they had a reason, and they were unlikely to abandon that reason anytime soon. As much as Emerald would have liked to jump on Occamy’s back and just keep riding until they were gone, who’s to say that would stop the pursuer? If anything, it might make them attack for fear of losing her.

Emerald crouched in the tree and made a rash decision –she was famous for those, after all. There was only one thing to do. She needed to draw the pursuer into a trap she had set, therefor giving her the upper hand. And she needed to do it now, while she was still in control of the situation.

She didn’t exactly have the supplies to get creative with her trap, so it would need to be something simple. However, Occamy didn’t need to be caught up in it all, nor did her things. Emerald leapt down form the tree and, ignoring Occamy’s obvious confusion at this sudden change in routine, draped the bag over Occamy’s back and led the horse carefully between the thick trees a short distance away.

“All right, Occamy, you need to stay here. Do you understand? Stay right here until I get back,” Emerald instructed. She couldn’t quite tell if Occamy understood, though, and so pulled some bread out of her bag and sprinkled it on the ground. Hopefully that would keep Occamy entertained long enough for her to do... whatever it was she needed to do. She pulled the dagger and sword out of the bundle and picked her way back to her original camp site.

Now how to lure the pursuer over. If they had been following her for four or five days now without attacking, she doubted they would randomly attack now, so she needed a way to draw them over.

What better way than to let her guard down? What pursuer wouldn’t attack if the prey they sought was suddenly handicapped? Emerald quickly shot up into the trees and crawled around until she was situated directly over the small clearing.

Then, taking a deep breath and positioning her sword in one hand and dagger in the other, she let out a blood-curdling scream.

The silence of the forest was shattered. A small cluster of birds that had rooted themselves in a nearby tree suddenly took flight, about giving Emerald a heart attack as they darted past her to dot the sky. She held her breath and listened for any movement. The fact that she had heard the pursuer earlier only meant they within a few mile radius. With the rain interfering, Emerald guessed within a mile, but it remained to be seen how long until the pursuer would reach her, if they even came. Emerald waited, let out another shrill scream, then waited some more.

And there it was. Faint at first but gradually louder, she heard the beating of horse hooves –but there was definitely more than one horse. Emerald frowned. Suddenly this was sounding like a very bad idea. She wasn’t even so sure she could take on one opponent, much less the three or four that were apparently coming after her.

Perhaps she should just stay hidden and see who was following. Yes, that sounded like a much better idea. Emerald kept her sword and dagger at the ready, but changed her plan from attack to observe.

Closer...closer... she listened and waited. When they were within sight, though dim through the thick trees and dull light, Emerald prepared to run if need be.

And then she heard it.

“Emerald! Emmy, are you out there?”

“Emerald!”

“Princess, are you all right?”

Emerald felt the breath whoosh from her chest in one giant lump, and her eyes closed as her heart took a dive back into her chest where it belonged. There they were in the clearing and she suddenly had hardly the strength to call out to them. She did, however, manage to get her muscles to perform one final task. With a natural grace that rarely showed in the impish girl, Emerald dropped out of the tree and held her arms out.

“Hergest! Alagedh! Tegryn! I have never been so glad to see you in my life!”

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