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Previously Known as Young Writer 

Sorry guys, I know I've kept you in suspense for awhile. I've been pretty busy (okay, so maybe that mostly has to do with my recent KotLC addiction...it's a legitimate problem, like, I can't myself stop reading. I've gone through almost five books in a week) but anyway, I'll post the next few chapters now.

~Chapter Nine~

It was a fair day, the sky was blue and the sun bright above the heads of the group moving through the forest. Eris had been asleep when she was brought through to Thraenen, and while inside the safety of the bushes she hadn't realized how different Darkest Forest was from the forests back home in Minildrith. The trees here were all different sizes, most large, but also many small ones scattered about, the kind that are skinny and not too tall, but that get in your way and have long thin branches that always seem to scratch your face. There were lists of shrubs and bushes and underbrush, all so tangled up that sometimes one wasn't sure whether or not it was possible to get through. And the thorns. Oh, the bothersome thorns. They stuck up everywhere, scratching ones legs, poking you, and cutting your ankles. They got caught on Eris’s leggings and snagged on her tunic, and as soon as she untangled herself from one patch, she seemed to be caught by another. The forest was so thick and hard to maneuver and dark, so very dark, that Eris could finally see where it got its name. 

The rangers seemed to move along effortlessly, barely noticing the thorns and brush. They were accustomed to riding through the forest, and ducked their heads here and there or turned their horses and inch or two when Eris didn't know to. They'd avoid a large briar bush or spiky branch that Eris would run into and have to be helped out of. Lùemine was an intelligent mare and would often avoid the worst bits herself, carrying Eris as safely as she knew, but, despite doing all she could, Eris still had trouble. The horse knew Eris wasn't used to this sort of thing, and was patient. 

Once, Eris was so wrapped up in looking ahead and attempting to find the sky, that she didn't see a very large knotted thorn bush. Lùemine, however, saw, and tried subtly hinting to Eris to go around it, but when Eris didn't notice and continued to steer the horse toward it, Lùemine decided she wasn't about to be run in with a bunch of briars, and attempted the best jump she could without a running start, accidentally throwing Eris off in the process. Eris flew into the air and landed partially in the thorn bush. She cried out, and Rohir, who had been riding beside her, stopped his horse and dismounted. He couldn't hold in his laughter, and began to chuckle. Eris glared at him. 

“So you think this is funny?” She raised an eyebrow. 

He reached down and took her hand, helping her to feet. 

“No. What I find funny was the expression on your face when you fell.” He grinned. “It reminded me of myself when I was younger.”

Rohir helped her untangle herself from the bush, and Tryss (who had ridden ahead to fetch Lùemine) returned with the horse. Eris remounted and they rode on.

“When I was younger, I thought riding through these woods would be the death of me.” He chuckled. “I stumbled and got caught in briars and often was bleeding and dirty by the time I reached my destination.”

Eris wasn't encouraged. “And what did you do?” 

“I kept going.”

Eris looked down at her bleeding arms. Through the roughage of the forest, through the densest parts, and through she was quite dirty, bloody, and sore by the time all was said and done, that's what she was going to do, she made up her mind. 

All that day the group trekked on. They stopped at sunset under a nice grove of large trees. Everyone tied up their horses and began to prepare for the night. Eris, in her lack, and brought a bedroll. When Tryss saw her bring it out, she laughed. 

“You won't be needing that here!” She said. Eris was confused. 

“Why not? We sleep on the ground?” 

Tryss laughed again. “We sleep in the trees. If we slept on the ground we could be eaten whole!” She explained. 

Eris was taken aback. 

“Excuse me, I thought you said eaten.” She replied.

Tryss became serious. “I did. There are monsters in these woods.”

“I thought that was just a myth!”

Rohir heard the conversation and made his way to the girls. 

“It's true.” He joined in. “They say the farther north you go the more you'll see. There usually aren't many at all, if any, this far south, but we sleep in the branches to be safe.”

“Then what of the horses? They can't get up into trees. Will they be eaten in the night?” Eris asked, concerned. 

“No. They thirst for the blood and flesh of men and elves.” Rohir explained. 

Eris shuddered. 

Tryss ambled up the low branches of the tree and showed Eris how to string her hammock so that it wouldn't fall in the night. 

Still, when Eris lied in hammock, swaying in the slight breeze, she wasn't at ease. The thought of monsters and of falling kept her awake most of the night, and she was careful not to twist and turn to much in her hammock for fear of falling, though she should've known that anything crafted by elves would take much more than the weight of a single girl to break. She drited in and out of sleep, woken by one noise or another, until the sun began to rise, and then her heart rose with it. 

They ate a short breakfast of cold dried meat and a warm, bittersweet Elven drink called Hivla. Then they were off, riding at full speed. That day passed faster than the day before, and Eris stumbled less. She was often lost in thought riding beside Rohir and Tryss, lost in another world, like she was in a daze. She was aware of one thing, though; that the air was getting thicker and colder. They were entering the northern region of the forest. As they went northward, Eris also noticed that the forest seemed to get darker. 

As dusk fell, Eris began to feel uneasy. Then the noises started. Horrible noises. Wailing, screaming, howling. Awful noises. Eris almost recognized them but couldn't place where she'd heard them before. Then she remembered. It had been that night just a few days ago when she'd heard them and couldn't sleep. But that time they were far, far away. This time Eris could hear them loud and clear. And they were getting nearer each second. 

Before long, Eris could see them. Awful looking creatures, like bears mixed with wildcats and wolves. They had course mottled-brown fur, long, sharp claws, small black eyes, jagged fangs jutting out from their mouths, and tiny, stubby ears. They were between the size of a large wolf and a bear. Like nothing Eris had seen before. 

“What are they?” Eris yelled over the noise. 

“They're called burrwints. Live in the northern part of the forest and hung at night.” Tryss replied quickly. 

The burrwints were gaining on them, getting closer, and were soon at their heels. Eris sped her horse on, but the burrwints were fast and their pack was large. As they rode on, the group reached a large gully. If they weren't careful, they could be hurt in the steep slope down. Eris didn't dare slow her horse though, for fear the burrwints would catch up. But just as she approached the top of the gully, one of the burrwints jumped up behind her and dug its claws and teeth into Lùemine’s hide. Lùemine whinnied and reared, charging forward, and in charging down the steep slope, Eris tried to hold on, but couldn't. She felt herself flying through the air, and then hit a pile of boulders with a terrible crunch. 

Eris felt searing pain rip through her body. For a moment everything was white. She had hit her head hard on a rock. She waited for the whiteness to subside. Everything seemed to slow down and the voices and sounds she heard were so far away. Her ears were ringing. Slowly, the white faded and then everything came rushing back and hit her full force. Eris attempted to stand, but her leg was badly hurt, and she crumpled to the ground with a cry. She didn't know where the others were or what had become of Lùemine. Even worse, she didn't know where the burrwints were, either. Tears threatened behind her eyes, and her leg gave a dull ache. 

Suddenly, hooves thundered behind her. She twisted to look over her shoulder, but pain hit her like a wave and she grimaced, clutching at her leg. 

“Eris!” 

She heard her sister’s familiar voice. Tryss dismounted and was at her side in an instant. 

“Are you okay?” Tryss started to look Eris up and down. 

“I think so,” Eris glanced down. “My leg...”

More hoofbeats, and then Rohir was there too. He had turned around after getting his horse back. 

“I saw the whole thing. That was quite the fall. Can you stand?”

Eris shook her head. “Where are the burrwints?” 

“I'm not sure, but we should get out of here as soon as possible.” He bent down and he and Tryss started dislodging Eris’s foot from the rocks. She sucked in a breath, trying not to show her pain. 

Tryss bent down. “Give me your arm. I'll support your weight so your bad leg doesn't have to work.” 

Eris slung her arm over Tryss’s shoulders, and Tryss tried to help her stand, but she was weak, and was barely able to stand. Eris hung her head. 

“I can't walk at all.” She sighed. 

“Here,” Rohir said. “You won't weigh much. I can carry you to the horse.” 

He lifted her while she clung to his neck, and eased her into Smoke’s saddle. He mounted behind her, and Tryss mounted her horse, leading Lùemine behind her. 

“They're too far ahead now. We'd have to ride at speed to catch up, and we can't risk Eris falling again. And besides that there's the monsters.” Rohir said decidedly. 

“Let's make for that cluster of rocks. It looks like there might be a cave we could shelter in.” Tryss said, pointing to a clearing not far off.

It wasn't long until they reached the clearing, and there proved to be a cave in a wall of rock large enough for the three of them and the horses to fit comfortably. When they were inside, Rohir tried to start a fire and Tryss insisted on looking at Eris's leg. She rolled her leggings up, revealing a large, ugly green bruise on her ankle. When Tryss pressed on it, Eris yelped. 

“I'm afraid it's broken.” Tryss said sullenly. “Or at least badly sprained.”

Tryss used a strong stick and used it like a splint, binding Eris's leg. 

“Maybe this way you'll at least be able to stand and walk a little.”

Rohir was finally able to get a fire started, and they sat and ate as it began to rain. Suddenly, Eris heard crunching outside the cave. She frowned. 

“What's that noise?” She said. 

Rohir and Tryss looked up from their food. 

“What noise?” Tryss asked. 

Eris paused. It had stopped. 

“N-nevermind.”