A/N: I thank the people who reviewed and followed my story from the last chapter alone. I promise it will get better. My favorite answer from the questions that I got was: ORLANDO BLOOM! I assume she meant Legolas. And thank you for the guest that reviewed telling me all the things that the last chapter got wrong. That helped a lot. Some things I kept, only because they were beneficial to my story. 900 miles to travel in a fan fiction is too much, so we're just going to stick with it will take them a week or so. Alrighty now, on with the story! new question will be posted at the bottom.
Orcs-a whole thirteen of them were surrounding the ponies deciding whether they should kill or keep them. The group had forgotten how gruesome orcs looked. Their disgusting faces were enough to send their children running. Just the sight of them sent the little group in a daze.
Merry was the first snap out of it, and he pulled the three of them back into the shadows of the woods quickly. Hobbits were notorious for being able to keep hidden. That was most likely what had saved the children from being seen by the orcs. All three of them looked frightened, not just at the orcs, but at the vast number of them. The little group could probably take two or three, but thirteen! Even if orcs were stupid, with that many, they could afford to be.
"What do we do, Merry?" asked a frightened Pippin. Merry appeared to be thinking hard. If it were just the three of them, they would probably go rushing out and try ambushing the orcs, but they had the women and children to look after as well.
"We have to get rid of them, Pip," said Merry. "Which means we have to fight them."
"But how do we fight so many?" Pippin responded. "It'll be darn near impossible without help."
"We've got to try," Sam said. "Just think of the wives and the children. Those orcs will tear them to pieces!" Merry and Pippin nodded solemnly, and together, they slowly crept out of the dark brush. Now the three of them could hear what the orcs were saying, and it wasn't very pleasant.
"I haven't had me some pony meat in ages. What do ya say we just kill 'em?" said the ugliest orc, who was missing an eye and his ears were almost on his neck.
"No!" said another, the biggest orc. "They might be useful in re-establishing the new order." (this caused Merry, Pippin and Sam to look at each other, wide eyed and now very frightened.)
"I know, I know," said the first orc. "But can't we just eat one? There are three here."
"Wait!" said a third, the smallest orc. "These ponies have saddles and bags on them." The other orcs looked at him stupidly.
"What's your point?" asked the first.
"Well, when there is saddles and bags, there's got to be riders. Tasty riders too, by the smell." He sniffed the air. "Smells like Halflings." The other orcs sniffed the air as well, and all nodded or grunted in approval.
"Alright, we see your point. But you know the stories about Halflings, right? They're darn near impossible to find, since they're so small see."
"Hey, looky here!" called another orc. "Looky what I found!" He began to dangle Lillian's soft pink blanket up in the air for all orcs to see. "Looks like there's little Halflings as well."
If the orcs were able to see the hobbits, they would see that the father of the little girl whose blanket they held had turned bright red with fury and he was shaking with anger and hatred. Merry was seeing red. He was clutching his sword so tightly that his hands were starting to lose their feeling. But the orcs couldn't see, so there was only one thought in Merry's head; kill them.
With an angry cry, Merry rushed out in front of the orcs, despite the cries and protests from Pippin and Sam. There he stood, his sword clutched tightly in his hands and a murderous look on his face. He caught the attention of the orcs, who were looking at him strangely.
"Put. That. Down," Merry said his voice deathly calm. The orcs looked for another moment, and then they all burst out laughing. Then the orc who held the blanket stepped forward, waving it in the air.
"Why?" he mocked. "Is she yours?" Merry glared at him.
"Yes," he said, an edge creeping into his voice. The orc laughed and waved it high in the air.
"Well then," he said. "Why don't you take it from me?"
In response, Merry charged at him, swinging his sword like a madman, which, at the moment, he was. He got close enough and swung the blade, chopping off the orcs arm that held the blanket. The limp arm released the soft piece of fabric as the owner of said arm screamed. Merry grabbed the blanket and stuffed it into his pocket as the other orcs drew their swords.
At that site, Pippin and Sam raced to their friends' side. The orc on the ground was screaming and clutching his bloody stub of an arm.
"Kill them!" he screamed. With that, the orcs all ran forward, but the little hobbits met them. Soon, the three of them were shouting and hacking at the legs of the orcs, and the orcs in turn were screaming and trying to catch one of the Halflings.
The fight was going surprisingly well for the hobbits until one of the orcs managed to catch Pippin. He held him in the air by his feet as Pippin struggled and swung his sword, desperate to free himself.
"No!" shouted Merry as he saw what was happening. He ran towards Pippin only to be smacked back with a club to the forehead. Sam tried to help Pippin, but he too was thrown back with a well aimed blow to the chest.
The orcs were all laughing and growling at the defeated hobbits. Pippin's eyes widened with fear as the orcs massed around him. He shut them tightly, desperately hoping that they wouldn't find the camp after he was gone…
"I love you Diamond," he whispered.
Just then, he heard the sound of something flying through the air, and then a thud as it connected with the orc holding him. As he dropped to the ground, his eyes reopened when he heard the familiar voice shout-
"One!"
He could now see two figures running out into the clearing where the battle was taking place. The taller of the two was already pointing another arrow at an orc and the other was holding his axe in the defensive position, looking at the creatures with glee. Pippin wanted to cry with happiness at the sight of his two friends, but he couldn't do that. There were still eight more orcs to kill, and he wouldn't let his friends have all the fun. He smiled and waved at the two of them, and they smiled back in recognition. Then, he picked up his sword and went to work.
It was over very quickly. As soon as it was, Pippin ran over to his friends and hugged them tightly.
"Legolas! Gimli! Oh, how we've missed you!" the dwarf and the elf were surprised at first, but then they embraced their friend.
"Well now, laddie," Gimli said, gruffly but affectionately. "It has been a long time."
"Indeed it has," Legolas agreed. "And it is wonderful to see you again. But don't Sam and Merry need our attention?" Pippin's yelp was confirmation enough and they hurried over to their fallen friends. Pippin knelt beside them.
"Sam! Merry! Oh please get up!" he exclaimed. Legolas knelt down and felt their pulse.
"They are still alive," he assured them. "But they need medical help." Sam groaned and rolled on his back.
"Who- who's there?" he said, his eyes closed.
"Sam," Pippin said softly. "It's me, Pippin. And Legolas and Gimli are here as well!" Sam's eyes fluttered open.
"Legolas? Gimli? Is it really you?" the two of them laughed and nodded.
"Yes, my boy," answered Gimli. "It really is us."
"You should've seen them, Sam," Pippin began. "They were incredible! It was like being back in the old days."
"Speaking of which," Gimli stated. "Final count. Out of the eight that were left, I did in a mighty total of four." Legolas' eyes widened, and then he quickly fitted another arrow into his bow, aimed and fired at a fallen orc. He turned back to the group.
"Five."
Gimli growled. "That's cheating!" Legolas smirked.
"He was still alive." Gimli looked at him angrily.
"Elf, you have not known the stubbornness of dwarves until-" and so their argument continued while Pippin was trying to recover Merry, who had a nice gash above his right eyebrow. Pippin had to slap him across the face a couple of times to get him to wake up, until finally he opened his eyes.
"What happened?" asked Merry when he was finally coherent.
"Legolas and Gimli came and helped kill the rest of the orcs. If it weren't for them, we'd all be dead." Merry's eyes widened.
"Legolas and Gimli are here?" he asked. Pippin nodded excitedly. He gestured to the two of them, still bickering.
"Oy!" Pippin called. "Merry needs to get to the campfire! Legolas, can you carry him?" the elf and the dwarf halted their arguing and rushed over to help. Despite Merry's protests that he was fine, Legolas picked up the little hobbit with ease and began carrying him towards the campsite. Sam was able to stand with Gimli and Pippin's help, although it looked like the orc had broken some of his ribs. When they were far enough away from the dead orcs, Pippin called out to the women at the fire.
"Diamond! Rosie! Estella! We need water!" Legolas and Gimli looked at him strangely. They obviously didn't know about the hobbit's wives and children.
Quickly, the women rushed over to help their husbands, but stopped, gasping at the sight of them, all bloody and bashed. At the sight of Rosie, Sam quickly started to stand up straighter, trying not to alarm her, but immediately winced at the pain. The women stayed still as they were brought over to the campsite. Then, Rosie snapped them all out of their daze.
"Water, girls! Quickly!" she said. She took one look at Merry and then added, "And bring a rag. And wrappings." Gimli cleared his throat.
"Um, excuse me lassies," he said quickly. "But you might want to let us get your things from the horses. It's quite a mess over there." Legolas nodded, setting Merry down by the fire gently. The women obviously had not noticed these strange men's presences, for they gave a little jolt at Gimli's comment.
"Of course," Estella said, obviously shaken by the sight of her husband in his weakened state. "We'll fetch water from the stream nearby." The elf and dwarf nodded, and they and Pippin left to take in the horses.
The other two women could clearly see that Estella was fighting tears, but that she was trying to be strong. Rosie came up and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Stay with him," she said. "We'll fetch the water." Estella nodded gratefully, and rushed to Merry's side.
Merry felt someone take his hand and looked up to see his wife's face gazing down lovingly at him. He smiled.
"Estella," he said. "Really, I'm fine. The boys are just making too big a fuss over this, that's all." Their daughter, seeing her mother and father safe, ran over to them.
"Lil's," Estella said. "Go with Rosie and Diamond to gather some water for papa." But Merry shook his head and took Lillian's hand.
"Daddy got this for you," he said, and reached into his pocket and pulled out her pink blanket that had started the whole ordeal. She gently took it out of his hands and held it to her cheek. Then, she snuggled up next to her father and laid her head on his arm.
"What were those things, daddy?" she asked.
"Those were orcs, sweetheart," he explained. "Remember, the monsters from the stories?"
"Those were orcs?" she said. "They were ugly." Merry and Estella laughed.
"Yes," he said. "Yes they were."
A few minutes later, Legolas, Gimli and Pippin came back with the horses. They managed to get Merry's cut cleaned up and wrapped up Sam's chest. Legolas confirmed that Sam had broken two ribs, but as soon as they got to Gondor, they could find a healer to help him. They spent the rest of the day resting and talking. The women and children, now that they knew who they were, were intrigued by Legolas and Gimli, and they asked them many questions.
"Mister Legolas?" Elanor said quietly. Legolas turned to her, smiling softly, making her blush.
"Yes Miss Elanor," he said politely. Elanor giggled and wrung her hands.
"Can you teach Lily and me how to shoot an arrow?" she asked shyly. "Daddy always said you were the best shot in all of Middle Earth." Legolas' cheeks turned a faint pink as he smiled at the compliment. Gimli interrupted gruffly.
"Wouldn't you much rather learn how to throw an axe, lassie?" he said. "Bows and arrows are a sissy weapon; not much danger in shooting an arrow at someone across a large distance. But an axe, mind you, is a fearsome weapon that shows a warriors true courage and strength!" He then reached up and grabbed Legolas' bow.
"Hey!" Legolas shouted, but Gimli was off on another one of his rants, so his protests fell on deaf ears.
"Ooh, look at me," Gimli mocked in a high pitched voice. "I'm an elf, and I'm too afraid to get close to the scary bad guys, so I'll just shoot them from a safe distance letting my golden hair flow in the wind!" He then plucked the string and shot a pretend arrow into the forest. "Oh look! I got him!" he squealed and started skipping around in a circle, earning laughs from the children. Legolas smirked at his childishness, and picked up Gimli's fallen axe. He moved his hair in front of his face to make it look like he had a beard and scowled, hunching over to make himself look shorter and wider.
"Well, look at me," he said in the gruffest voice he could muster. "I'm a grumpy old dwarf who doesn't take baths and likes to braid his beard!" The children's attention turned to Legolas and they laughed even harder. Sure enough, Gimli's beard was braided. The dwarf in question scowled.
"Yes, well at least I have a beard! And at least I don't braid my long, golden hair!" This promptly encouraged Elanor and Lily to beg him and Legolas to let them braid their hair. Legolas obliged, but it took some encouragement to get Gimli to allow it. But, soon enough, the dwarf sat down with his arms crossed. "Proceed," he said grumpily. Legolas just laughed, as Elanor had already started playing with his hair. Frodo was just happily racing back and forth between the elf and the dwarf asking them about their adventures. Gimli was still upset about being pressured into having his hair braided by two Halfling girls, but he still responded to Frodo's questions with long, hefty tales of trips all around Middle Earth.
Meanwhile, the hobbits were watching children quietly, laughing at their friends' actions. "He really is humble, isn't he," said Rosie sarcastically while listening to Gimli's exaggerated tales that caused her children so much excitement. Sam nodded.
"About as humble as those two over there," he said, and gestured to Merry and Pippin, who were busy telling their wives their own exaggerated tales about how they had defeated the orcs.
Soon enough, it was getting late. The adults and the children were beginning to nod off. At one point, Lillian and Elanor fell asleep in Gimli and Legolas' laps, at which point Legolas had carried them over to their parents. Frodo was still interested in hearing about more adventures, but eventually, he too nodded off. When all the children and the women were in bed, the old friends conversed about more pressing matters.
"Gimli and I believe that Aragorn has more of a reason to call us back together then just a celebration," Legolas explained. "We believe that another weapon has been forged."
"You mean another ring?" asked Sam, already dreading the answer. But Legolas shook his head.
"No Sam," he said. "Not a ring this time."
"Well, if not a ring, then what is it?" asked Pippin.
"A sword," said Legolas. The three hobbits looked at each other, alarmed.
"But," Merry began nervously. "New swords are forged all the time. Why should this one be any different?"
"Because this sword was enchanted," Legolas said, confirming their fears.
"How do you know of this sword?" asked Merry. "Could it be just a rumor?"
"It very well could," Legolas said. "But a sword this powerful shouldn't be doubted, and rumors about it should not be tossed aside so easily. As for how I came about this knowledge, I travel quite often, and overheard a group of merchants discussing its power. With some persuasion, I was able to coax more information out of them, and in the process have learned quite a bit about it."
"What can it do?" asked Pippin.
"Some say that it's so powerful that it can give the wielder the strength of ten men. Others say that its blade is so sharp that it can slice through other realms, giving someone access to worlds other then middle earth. Whatever its abilities, its power is unmistakable. It is also said to be in the possession of one Aragorn, son of Arathorn."
"Aragorn," murmured the hobbits.
"But why should we care?" asked Pippin. "What is so bad about this blade that would cause us to have to find it?"
Legolas looked at him gravely. "It matters, Peregrin Took, because the sword has been stolen."
A/N: I told a reviewer and my sister that there wouldn't be a cliffy in this chapter. I guess I lied, but this isn't such a big cliff hanger. Anyway, thanks for reviewing the last chapter. I really appreciate the last guest review. Any more mistakes you catch, please let me know. Question: How has Lord of the Rings impacted your life? Alrighty now. Ta, ta!