Chapter Four

Aragorn POV

We kept running. I heard Legolas stop.

"A red sun rises." He said. "Blood has been spilled this night."

We stopped a while later, and I heard hooves beating on the ground. I nodded Legolas and Gimli to go and run behind a rock. Turns out it was the Riders of Rohan. I walked out, Legolas and Gimli behind me.

"Riders of Rohan, what news from the Mark?" I called. The group soon turned and surrounded us. And then every single one of them pointed their spears at us. I held up my hands. A man rode up.

"What business does an Elf, a Man, and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark?" he asked. "Speak quickly!"

"Give me your name, horse-master, and I shall give you mine." Gimli said. I just looked at him. The man got down and approached us. I placed a hand on Gimli's shoulder.

"I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground." The man snapped. Legolas took out an arrow, and aimed his bow at the man. Everyone aimed their spears at him, but Legolas didn't care.

"You would die before your stroke fell." He said. I made Legolas put his arrow down. Gimli just held up his hands, and looked around, wide eyed.

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn." I introduced. "This is Gimli, son of Glóin, and Legolas of the Woodland Realm. We are friends of Rohan and of Théoden, your king."

"Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe." The man said. He took off his helmet. "Not even his own kin."

Everyone raised their spears. The man continued. "Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king, and claimed lordship over these lands." The three of us looked at each other, confused. "My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished. The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man hooded and cloaked. And everywhere his spies slip past our nets."

"We are no spies." I said. "We track a party of Uruk-hai westward across the plain. They have taken three of our friends captive."

"The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night."

"But there were three Hobbits. Did you see three Hobbits with them?" Gimli asked, panicked.

"They would be small." I said, keeping my voice even. "Only children to your eyes."

"We left none alive." The man told me. My spirit sank. "We piled the carcasses and burned them."

I saw some smoke rise up from not too far away.

"Dead?" Gimli asked. The man nodded.

"I am sorry." He said. Then he whistled. "Hasufel! Arod!" he called. Two horses walked forward. "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell." He got on his horse, and came towards us. "Look for your friends. But do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands. We ride north!" he yelled, and then the riders took off. We mounted the horses and made our way to where the smoke was. When we got there, there was a huge mound reeking with Uruk and Orc flesh. Gimli, though, was the only one brave enough to go throw the mound. Legolas and I stood to the side. Then, I heard him say, "It's one of their wee belts."

Legolas spoke in Elvish. I stood for a minute, and then kicked a helmet in anger and cried out. I fell to the ground, and just sank.

"We failed them." Gimli said. I saw some tracks.

"A Hobbit lay here." I said. "And the other. And the third." Then, I was confused. "They crawled. Their hands were bound." I followed the tracks, and found a rope covered in grass. "Their bonds were cut." I had a new hope in me. "They ran over here." I saw more than three pairs of feet. "They were followed. The tracks lead away from the battle..." I ran over to where there was a cover of trees, and stopped, Legolas and Gimli behind me. "...into Fangorn Forest."

"Fangorn?" Gimli gasped. "What madness drove them in there?"

Rowan POV

We had not stopped running ever since we entered the forest. The Orc guy could still be on our trail, and it frightened us. We fell, and looked around. The trees groaned.

"Did we lose him? I think we lost him." Pippin said. There was snarling.

"I don't think we lost him." I said. The Orc saw us and came forward.

"I'm going to rip out your filthy little innards!" he said. We got back up, ran, and hid behind a tree. "Come here!"

We took off again.

"Trees." Merry said. "Climb a tree."

Pippin and I looked at each other, and then we climbed into a tree. Merry climbed up after us, but he was lower.

"He's gone." He said, relief all over his face. There was a growl right when Pippin and I looked up. We looked down to see Merry being pulled out of the tree. The Orc leaped down in front of him, and Merry kicked him in the face, making him all the more angrier.

"Merry!" Pippin yelled. He looked at the tree to see it had big yellow eyes. I just kept staring at it, but Pippin did a double-take. He yelped, and he let go in fright. His hands reached out to grab anything. I grabbed his hand to try and pull him up, but we both fell. The tree caught us.

"Let's put a maggot hole in your belly!" the Orc said. That made Merry all the more scared. Then the tree stepped on the Orc. Merry started to run. But then he just looked at us.

"Run, Merry!" Pippin told him. Merry ran. But the tree scooped him up like he was nothing. Pippin was in one hand, me and Merry and the other. And boy, was it a tight squeeze. I never noticed how good-looking Merry really was until now. That's when I felt awkward being this close to him. The tree looked at us.

"Little Orcs." It rumbled. He kept walking.

"It's talking, guys. The tree is talking." Pippin said, with wide eyes.

"Tree? I am no tree!" I'm guessing he took offense to that? "I am an Ent." Oh.

"A tree-herder." Merry said, amazed. "A shepherd of the forest."

"Don't talk to it, Merry." Pippin said to him. "Don't encourage it!"

"Treebeard, some call me." The Ent said.

"And whose side are you on?"

"Side? I am on nobody's side, because nobody's on my side, little Orc." Treebeard said. "Nobody cares for the woods anymore."

"We're not Orcs! We're Hobbits!" Merry corrected.

"You know. Small. Furry feet." I said. "Six square meals a day."

"Hobbits? Hmm... Never heard of a Hobbit before." He began to tighten his grip. "Sounds like Orc mischief to me!"

We all started groaning and grunting in pain. Treebeard continued.

"They come with fire. They come with axes. Gnawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning! Destroyers and usurpers! Curse them!"

"No! You don't understand. We're Hobbits! Halflings! Shire-folk! Ah!" Merry groaned.

"Maybe you are...and maybe you aren't. The White Wizard will know."

Oh no.

"The White Wizard?" Pippin asked.

"Saruman." Merry said.

We were dropped, and there was this bright light in front of us.