Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my own characters.
A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, I wasn't sure people would like this or not. I'm trying to make it a little different
Four
Over sea, Under Stone
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"Hey," Laura sat herself down next to Frodo. They'd been walking for what seemed like forever and Laura's Converse sneakers really weren't exactly made for the Middle-Earth terrain. It was late in the afternoon when they had decided to finally have a break on a hilltop where Merry, Felix and Pippin were taking combat lessons from Boromir "I haven't really introduced myself, I'm Laura and you're Frodo right." she said
"Yes," Frodo replied with a nod "It's a pleasure to meet you."
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"Who are they Aragorn?" Gimli asked. The dwarf had seen many things in his day, but when he had set out for Rivendell, this was not quite what he had expected. "Lord Elrond spoke of different worlds and then she (he referred to Maggie) said she rescued you from orcs. What was that about?"
Aragorn smiled as he lit his pipe and then thought back on the memory all those years ago and the night when a very young Estel had decided to go off hunting for orcs to prove to his father that he could be brave like his brothers. "Once when I was little I was captured by orcs, the some ones that killed my father. Maggie went out to search for me alone, unarmed and untrained in combat. She found me but they also found her and she endured torture to make sure no harm came to me. She brought me back home safely and I've never forgotten it. I owe those two my life as much as I owe Frodo my allegiance." he explained as the scenes played over in his memory.
"How old were you?"
"I was six year old."
"Impossible! That would make them a great deal older than me and they are neither of elf nor Dunedain kin!" said Gimli in disbelief
"There are great forces in this world than you know Master Dwarf; you best get used to it."
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When you come back, I want to marry you. Lord Elrond's voice echoed over and over in Maggie's mind and she still couldn't believe it herself. She was going to marry the Lord of Elrond and all of that meant only one thing: she had to stay in Middle-Earth. She looked at her friends, Laura who was chatting with Frodo and Sam; Riley who was having a laugh at Felix and the hobbits and then Natalie who was in conversation with Legolas. When all of this was over, she would have to leave them behind. In reality, to her it had always been the obvious choice because Middle-Earth was her home but she wasn't sure she dared saying anything to the others just yet. It could wait, it had to.
"I'd say we're taking the long way around. Gandalf, we could pass through the mines of Moria, my cousin Balin would give us a warm welcome."
"No Gimli," said the wizard "I would not go through Moria unless I had no other choice."
"What the hell is that?" Riley asked
"Nothing, it's just a bit of cloud."
"It's moving fast and against the wind." said Boromir
"Yeah, way to point out the obvious Sherlock."
"Crebain," said Legolas in an alarmed voice. His eyes could see far better than anybody else's and he did not like what was coming towards them. "From Dunland!"
"Hide!" Aragorn called out and it only took a mere few seconds until they all had taken cover under what little space there was. The flock of birds, or whatever the hell they were passed by quickly and were soon out of sight but the fellowship still remained hidden until it the coast was truly clear.
"What were those?" Laura asked. She was beginning to feel afraid. She hadn't done much traveling before, except for family holidays to the Isle of Wight and one to the Canary Islands on her 16th birthday so the whole concept of being in a whole different universe was still a bit to take in.
"Spies of Saruman, the passage south is being watched," Gandalf replied as he looked up at the sky mumbling something only audible to himself. "We must take the pass of Caradhras."
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"If there's something I hate more than I hate rain, it's snow. It is wet, it's cold and it's deceitful." Maggie whined. She was practically up to her waist in snow and she was beginning to feel that even the elven cloak she was carrying wouldn't be enough to keep her warm. "And let me tell you something else, these shoes definitely ain't made for walking."
"I've never heard anyone describe snow as deceitful before." said Boromir with a chuckle. Something suddenly shook beneath them or maybe even all around them, it was difficult to tell and Felix could swear he heard a voice speaking but he couldn't make out exactly what it said.
"It's Saruman!" Gandalf shouted
"He's trying to bring down the mountain! Gandalf, we must get off!" Aragorn replied.
"We cannot pass over the mountain!" said Gimli "We must go under it. Gandalf; let us go through the mines of Moria."
"Well whatever you decide, do it fast." said Felix "We don't exactly have a hell of a lot of time."
"Let the ringbearer decide."
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"Adar," Elrond turned around when he heard Arwen's voice. His mind was on the Fellowship and on Maggie. Having them there had changed things now and as he looked at Arwen he knew he could no longer tell her to leave Middle-Earth. He was well aware of what she felt for Aragorn and he knew that because he had asked Maggie to marry him, he had no right to tell Arwen that she could give her heart to Aragorn. Arwen looked at her father and knew what he was thinking; one did not really need the gift of foresight for that. She took her father's hands and sat down next to him.
"I know the thoughts that trouble you, but Adar, I love him as deeply as you love her. Maybe now you understand."
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"Bah, it's hopeless!" Gandalf muttered as he sat down on a rock. For the past 45 or so minutes the wizard had desperately tried to open the door which was the entrance to Moria but with no luck at all. None of the spells had worked and it was getting darker outside by the minute.
"Wizard huh?" Nat whispered to Maggie who just shrugged.
"Wait a minute….it's a riddle." said Frodo who now stood up. "'Speak friend and enter' What's the Elvish word for friend?"
"Mellon." said both Maggie and Gandalf at the same time.
"You speak Elvish?" Laura asked and raised an eyebrow at Maggie.
"It's a very long story." Maggie replied and glanced at Legolas who gave her a smile in reply. As Riley looked up at the entrance to Moria he was honestly beginning to feel a little nervous and breathed heavily. He didn't like small spaces, not that Moria was necessarily small but it was dark and it was underground and didn't exactly help. Natalie put a comforting arm around Riley and the fellowship, one by one walked into the darkness that was Moria. What happened in the next few seconds went by so quickly Felix couldn't quite recall it all. Something happened when they were inside, long tentacles grabbed Frodo and tried to pull him out back into the water.
"Hold on Frodo!" Legolas shot an arrow right through the creature, which Maggie thought looked a bit like Cthulhu but she kept that bit to herself. Aragorn and Boromir were both able to cut off the creature's tentacles and in its own defence it smashed down the rocks which left the fellowship standing in the darkness but Frodo was safe.
"We now have but one choice," said Gandalf as his staff lit up their way. It was amazing, Laura thought, and incredibly beautiful in a strange way. They were standing right in the middle of one long hallway with gigantic stone pillars around them. "We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard, there are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world."
"Oh that's comforting." said Riley, not hiding his sarcasm.
"You alright mate?" Felix asked
"Oh I'm fabulous; this right here, my idea of fun."
"You don't like this?" Legolas asked, stating the obvious. "Being underground, I mean. You're nervous."
"No; that would be claustrophobia for you 'Las. I don't deal so well with this and small, enclosed places."
"Quietly now," Gandalf warned them. He was more than unhappy about being here but they couldn't exactly turn back around so in the end this was the lesser of two evils. "It's a four day journey to the other side. Let us hope our presence goes by unnoticed."
"Four days? Bloody fantastic! Kill me now, why don't you?" But Riley was going to have to suck it up and continue walking because things were about to get a whole lot worse.
To be continued….
I'm sorry it's not a very interesting chapter but I'm going to try and make the next ones fun because in the film we never actually really see all four days in Moria J I hope you'll leave a review anyway!