(Author's Note: This is the continuation of LittleGreenFae's "Another World, Another War." In keeping with the continuity established by Fae, this is musical-Wicked and film-LotR, but I will endeavor to make as many references to the books as possible, as well as including content cut from the movies -wink wink- Though the original was a "romance/adventure", I don't know how good I am with romances, so I don't know if I'll have that much in case I butcher it.)
(AN: I own neither LotR nor Wicked...original concept of this story by LittleGreenFae, though continued with her consent and permission. enjoy and review liberally. lol)
Caras Galadhon
The party passed through the eaves of a great forest. It was not as dark as the Great Gilikin Forest; in fact, the leaves seemed to shine with same golden glow of the sun. Glinda couldn't stop "ooing" and "awwing" at the gorgeousness of the place.
"I knew it was a mistake to bring a woman with us." Boromir grumbled under his breath. "Now we have TWO!"
"That is not the only thing on your heart, Boromir." Aragorn, who was at his side, said in response.
"It is said..." Boromir began slowly. "...in Gondor, that none escape the Lady of the Golden Wood. Hither we are going, greatly against my will, as it was when we entered Moria. And look what that brought us."
"If the people of Gondor think evil of the Lady of Lorien, then the wisdom of Gondor has waned indeed." Aragorn replied.
A scowl came over Boromir's face, but he continued after the ranger.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the group, Fiyero, Elphaba and Glinda walked behind the elf Legolas. Any chance she got to look at the elf, Glinda sent more "oohs" and "ahs".
"Will you be quiet?" Elphaba hissed.
"Sorry." the blond said. She continued oogling both the forest and her companion, but now in hushed tones.
"I don't like this forest." Elphaba said, her eyes gazing at every tree.
"It's just a forest." Fiyero replied. "No different than the woods in Oz."
"There's something too quiet about this place." she responded. "Almost as if we're being watched."
"Who'd be watching us?" Fiyero asked.
Elphaba shushed her lover, for she heard Gimli speak to the Hobbits, who were directly behind them.
"They say that a great sorceress lives in these woods." his gruff voice whispered. "An Elf witch...of terrible power. All who look upon her, fall under her spell...and are never seen again."
A dread silence fell upon the company. Elphaba realized how much noise they had been making. Even the Hobbits, whose footfalls were always the quietest, sounded like raindrops falling upon a heavy tarp. Aragorn's footsteps were the next loudest, mostly because he was a Man and therefore not possessing the skill of Hobbits, or Elves.
Elphaba realized that Legolas made the least noise of them all.
As for the most noise, that was surely coming from three sources: Boromir, Glinda and Gimli.
Why did Glinda have to wear those shoes, she thought, looking down at her best friend. Her glass slippers weren't exactly the kind of things that made for quiet travel. And that blue dress was starting to get stained from all of their travel. Elphaba suspected that the dirt they had encountered in Eregion and Moria wouldn't have stuck so were it not for the liberal amount of snow from Caradhras that had made her dress so wet and soaked up more dirt.
"Well," the silence broke as Gimli spoke, more to himself than to the Hobbits. "Here's one Dwarf she won't ensnare so easily. I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox!"
Just then, a dozen arrow-heads were pointed in their direction. Elphaba reached her hand to her sword, but realized that they were surrounded. One wrong move would kill everyone in the Company. She felt Fiyero's hand encase her right hand, while a soft, feminine hand squeezed her left.
"Oh, Elphie." Glinda gasped in whispers. "They're so pretty. Why are they so angry?"
That was a misconception, Elphaba told herself. These people were Elves; more like the people of Rivendell yet still different, than the elves of Oz. Yet she saw that their faces were not angry but stern.
These people, she presumed, lived on the frontier of war, ever on guard against some great evil.
That night, they all sat upon the landing of a talan: the name the Elves gave for the flets they built around the great boughs of their golden-leaved mallorn trees. It was cold, and the twilit hours of night made the gray-clad elves almost vanish into the night.
The Hobbits sat by themselves, though Elphaba saw that Frodo was off by himself. She knew that something was on his mind, especially when the lead elf of the party that had captured them, Haldir, she recalled, told them that they couldn't go farther.
What was that about the great evil?
"Frodo?" she asked him. "What's troubling you?"
The Hobbit turned to look at who spoke to him.
"Nothing." he said to the green woman.
"It doesn't look like nothing." Elphaba said, coming closer to his side.
He stared off into the darkness of the forest, though not at any one thing in particular.
"It's the Ring." he whispered.
"I recall what happened at the Council," she said. "But I'm still a bit mystified about the Ring. Could you...?"
Frodo kept his gaze away from her.
"I'm afraid I can't help you." was his reply. "I've forgotten how much I relied on..."
Elphaba knew what he was going to say.
Gandalf.
In the short time she had known him, she had begun to respect him as almost a father figure. Something her father Frexspar never gave to her...
No, Elphaba told herself. She was not related to that weak little fool. How could she be?
She could hear something going on between Aragorn and the lead elf Haldir. Obviously, she knew, Glinda wanted in on their conversation, for she was making her way to her side.
As was another member of the party...
"Gandalf's death was not in vain." Boromir said to Frodo, guessing that was who he was talking about. He was right. Frodo had forgotten how much they relied upon the Wizard.
"Nor would he have you give up hope." Elphaba had never heard Boromir speak so friendly to Frodo before. At the Council of Elrond, when he chose to join the Fellowship, there was a kind of uncertain tone about his voice. Neither wholly friendly nor trusting. Why the sudden change?
"Elphie, what are they talking about?" Glinda whispered, now side-by-side with her friend.
"Aragorn is trying to convince Haldir to let us pass and continue on our journey." Elphaba whispered back.
"Ohhh!" the blond whispered. Elphaba shushed her friend, for she heard something else being spoken by Boromir to Frodo.
"You carry a heavy burden, Frodo. Don't carry the weight of the dead."
What burden was he talking about? The Ring? She had seen it before, and it was very small. Almost insignificant. She had seen Glinda wear her engagement ring that day in the Wizard's throne room - a thing covered in diamonds and other shining jewels. Not so with this Ring. It was plain gold, with no adornment of any kind.
A little ring, it appeared.
Yet they never spoke of it publicly. Why? What was so dangerous about it? True, she knew that the enemy, Sauron the Dark Lord of Mordor, needed the Ring to gain his power of old and become invincible against the Free Peoples of Middle Earth. But why did they speak of the Ring with almost a kind of fear?
Just then, the elf Haldir approached the others.
"You will follow me." he said.
The night had faded into dawn, and the day waned into a night once again. For a while, they had to travel blind-folded. It was said by Haldir that they were expected, but, due to some old hatreds between Elves and Dwarves, Gimli had to go blind-folded. Aragorn said that, so they might all be equal, all of the company would enter Lorien blindfolded.
As they walked without sight, being led by their Elven companions, Elphaba swore that, though blindfolded, Fiyero somehow found his way closest to her. She did not begrudge his affections, though she did wish that he would do so less and less while in the presence of the other members of the Company.
At last they had entered the land of Lorien, and they were permitted to remove their blindfolds. After they had ascended a hill, Haldir brought them to a halt. Spread out before them was a wide forest, with many great trees of golden leaf, that shone in the morning sun. Predictably, Glinda was "ooing" at the sight.
"Caras Galadhon, the heart of Elvendom on Earth." Haldir announced proudly. "Home of the Lord Celeborn and of Galadriel, Lady of Light."