Chapter 1
There they were, the Nine. No... not the Nazgul! Nono... The Nine Walkers of the Fellowship of the Ring. "…And now we keep this path West of the Misty Mountains for 40 days..." said Gandalf. The Fellowship was tromping along just fine, when the keen-elf-eyed Legolas spotted a cloud in the distance… Then another and then another. He shifted his weight uneasily. The whole cluster of clouds was making an incredible storm. But at this time of year? Peculiar. He immediately dismissed the idea and looked elsewhere.
'Twas none too late that Aragorn spotted the cloud system, dud to the huge gust of gale force 9 wind. "Legolas you beeping beep!" Aragorn continued his rant in Elvish, and Legolas was miffed at Aragorn's sudden anger-possesed change in behavior. He wondered if Aragorn was jealous or something. After all, who wouldn't be jealous of a perfect-looking elf? The Hobbits stood wide-eyed & behind Boromir and Gimli, while Gandalf tried to calm the storm between Legolas and Aragorn, in gale force 9 wind, sky darkening, and voices that were lost in the wind. Since this was so, it soon changed to physical contact. ick. "beep beep beep!" More obscene actions lost in the blinding dust storm. Elvish beep beep! was at loss... and the hobbits huddled close w/ everyone's belongings. Needless to say, Bill the pony abandoned them not too long ago.
The noise of the storm was so loud that it was deafeningly quiet, or so it seemed. Then after another moment, all was quiet... eerily quiet. The scenery had changed a bit, much to the surprise of the Fellowship. Aragorn & Legolas forgot their hatred for a moment to look around. Soon the singing of unfamiliar birds could be heard.
Instead of being on a flat, grassy plain, they had all arrived in a wooded thickety boggish area. Wordlessly, Gandalf led off w/ worried Legolas right behind, then Gimli, the Hobbits, Aragorn, and Boromir. They traveled some distance through the bog when Legolas stopped, causing the others to stop also. He could hear with his exceptional elf hearing the sound of arrows being shot, and he could hear the sound of shouting, 1 voice, almost... feminine? Legolas' one eye bulged in confusion. He carefully walked forward, by himself, bow ready, to survey the scene. The sight he came upon was so incredibly different... he didn't know how to describe it. He stood, watching, jaw dropped, mouth agape, like an idiot. He shook his head, went back, and brought the troop to the sight he saw.
"Stupid!" fsheew! Swik! The outcry of a young girl, standing there, firing arrows at bales of hay, at the bottom of a hill, presumably her land, being obviously mad. "Fools!" fsheew! Swick! The sounds of a bow being pulled back & released, & hitting the hay was obviously relieving the tension of the Girl, little by little. Scre-e-e-ek... swish. Fsheew! Swick! She pulled back again, aiming for the same target, but suddenly turned, aimed for another of the 3 targets set up, and fired. The Fellowship was amused. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" her sudden shrill battle cry made them all jump back in surprise. The girl went into battle mode, and began rapid-firing the remainder of the arrows at Target #2. Now, the Fellowship was surprised.
Once all her arrows were spent, she drew out a blade that they hadn't seen before, and with a few flawless easy flips towards the remaining target, #3, she promptly began a whole mess of battle cries and insults in English, and surprisingly, Eldalië! Oh yes, she was hacking and slicing that poor bale of hay. Her perfect sequential war-battlement moves definitely impressed the Fellowship. Although, the Hobbits had eventually sat down to watch, in amusement. Finally, Gimli sat down too. Gandalf watched with curiosity, Aragorn and Boromir watched her skilled tactics in awe, but Legolas, alas, poor elf. He watched mouth agape, desperately in love.
After a few final hacks at the straw, the girl stopped, stood tall, smiled, and said "I'm all better now!" Apparently this was addressed to herself, in a voice soft, yet perky. Then she proceeded to go around the area, collecting every arrow, singing and laughing. The change was dumbfounding. Shrill battle cries and cursing never accompany sweet talking and laughter. Aragorn and Boromir's eyes bulged out from their sockets. In fact, every Fellowship member's face had that same look, except for Legolas His was an extremely 'in love' look. Undoubtedly, this girl could take on all of them, at once, and win. In fact, she could probably take on the entire forces of Mordor, and WIN. After a quiet debate, Legolas move slightly out of the bushy boggish area into semi-view. He strung an arrow, and shot at the middle target. The girl immediately whipped out an arrow, strung it, and pointed it directly at Legolas, out of pure instinct. Now she used a strong, commanding voice, "Who goes there?"
Gandalf, Aragorn, and Boromir immediately came into view. "Hold your bow! We come in peace! Please don't shoot." Gandalf's wizened voice spoke calmly. "And what of your friend's shot?" inquiry & anger rose in her voice, intruders they were, now ARMED! "I meant only to catch your attention, fair maiden!" Spoke Legolas in his Elfy voice. A single arched eyebrow rose at "fair maiden". She pointed her bow at the ground, still armed. "Sooo... how many of you are there?" She, of course, already knew the answer, 9. For she was a Tolkien fan in great respect, and she was completely decked out in LOTR clothes and stuff, which appeared normal to the Fellowship members. "There are 9." replied Aragorn. Her smile then promptly warmed the thoughts of the entire fellowship. It made Legolas nearly faint, and it was doing something to Aragorn's heart, certainly not a bad thing!