Chapter 1
Pain shot through my body as the vial creature that held me dropped me to the ground. My body ached and I feared for the little one that was currently inside me. I set my hand on my stomach, and as if he knew I felt him kick against my hand to let me know he was ok.
"Get a fire going!" The one that had to be the leader shouted over the scrapping of metal and bodies moving about. We had not stopped for days. I looked over to the other two that had been bound with me. They appeared to be children, they were small and scared; their hands were bound as well.
I'm starving," a particularly ugly looking beast threw the chunk of whatever he was eating on the ground in disgust; "We ain't had nothing but maggoty bread for three stinkin days!"
"Yeah! Why Can't we have some meat?" a skinny and snotty monster looked over to where the children and I had been dropped, "What about them? They're fresh!"
I froze as the group turned toward us. I raised my hand up to my bruised throat and watched them. The leader shoved through the group to the skinny one.
"They are not for eating!"
"What about their legs? They don't need those," another monster from the group said as it stepped forward to get passed the leader. I tried to scoot back from the bunch but my bound arms made it difficult for me to move, "Oh they look tasty!"
"Get back scum!" The group was getting agitated. I did not know how long it would be before their hands would be tearing at my body.
"Carve'em up!" I jumped as I realized one of the monsters had slipped away from the group and was now standing behind us with his sword raised high over his head. A scream lodged itself in my throat as he brought the sword down on us. "Just a mouth full."
Just as the sword was about to make contact with the two children the leader of the group stepped forward and sliced his head off. The had to hold back my vomit and my scream as the head bounced off my back and landed in front of me.
"It looks like meats back on the menu, Boys!"
The group let loose animalistic howls and roars that echoed through the night as the charged the carcass. I pulled myself away as fast as I could before I got trampled by the hungry horde. I looked around for the kids but I had lost them in the commotion. I pulled myself near and tree away from the group. The branches creaked and moaned in the wind, but it was better than the noises the monsters were making.
For the first time in three days I let myself cry. It seemed like a life time ago since I had left Minas Tirith to visit my grandmother in Rohan. We had been crossing The Westfold when the monsters attacked. The guard The Steward had sent with me had been slaughtered. Why they left me alive, I do not know and I don't think I want to know. I wanted to be home.
I let my hand wander back down to my stomach to reassure the babe that grew within. If we both survived this I was never leaving the white city again. I closed my eyes and tried to go somewhere better than this; home. I conjured his face before me. His strong face and blonde hair; he never kept it very long, but just long enough so that it framed his handsome face and I could tangle my fingers in it. I saw his blue eyes that always pierced through my soul and shined with his Gondorian armor. My Boromir.
The child within me kicked as I thought of his father and brought a smile to my face. We were to be married after he returned from Rivendell. I smiled wider as I pictured him in his ceremonial armor, waiting for me under the white tree. He would reach his arms for me and stare into my eyes as we said our vows and I would be his forever.
The babe kicked harder, bringing me back to the present. I had just began to show when he left for his quest. I remembered the day I told him; it was a few months after he had asked for my hand. I know we should have waited till after we said our vows, but I could not wait to show him how much I loved him. I had never seen his eyes shine as much as they did that day. He placed his hand on my stomach and his smile lit up my world.
The monsters had quieted down and were nursing full stomachs. There was still no sign of children; I hoped they had not been hurt. I closed my eyes and took myself back to Boromir's arms as I tried to sleep. I imagined the ground was his strong chest and the wind was his fingers running through my hair. His imagined breathing and heart beat lulled me into a rough sleep.
'Soon, my love,' I thought as sleep took me.
I awoke to the sound of screeches and death. Great horses were running rampant through the camp with fierce warriors on them. The monsters were scrambling away to avoid sword and spear.
I tried to move further into the forest, but I didn't make it far before I felt a hand on the back of my dress.