Chapter IV


It was slow going. We made our way out of the Valley, most of us taking our last sad glimpse of the elven haven before urging our horses on. Even though we had horses it still felt as though we were going at a snails pace. My horse, Honey as I'd aptly named her, kept wanting to gallop forward and leave the rest of the Fellowship in the dust so I had to work extra hard to keep her in line. I had no idea where we were going.

"It seems your horse has taken a liking to you," Legolas commented lightly as we emerged from the valley path and onto a flat plain. I was envious of the way he sat so comfortably in the saddle, barely holding onto the reigns and moving fluidly with the movement of his horse, a large white stallion. It seemed his horse and mine had a liking for each other, they kept nuzzling and rubbing noses, causing Legolas and I to bump legs awkwardly each time our horses got too close.

"Yeah, me and Honey are best friends," I gave her an affectionate pat. I sat in a strange position on my saddle and kept squirming, as my ass got numb and uncomfortable.

Legolas saw my fidgeting and said, "It's getting dark. Soon we will stop and set up camp for the night. You will be able to get some rest and recover from the day's journey."

I had watched during the day the interaction between Legolas and Gimli and had been surprised to see such animosity between the two of them. I'd never seen Legolas behave like that to anyone before and I wondered what Gimli could have done to anger such a calm, reserved person. I figured now was a good a time as any. "Why do you and Gimli not like each other?" I asked, smooth and subtle as ever.

Legolas was quiet for a moment and it was just the sound of the horses' hooves on the ground and the icy wind whipping about us that filled my ears. There was no relief from the wind on such a flat, empty plain.

"Elves and dwarves have held a grudge against each other for generations, for many reasons though I have not the time nor the patience to recount them all to you. Suffice to say that whenever our kinds meet, we find it hard to forget the past and it has stuck with us always." I could tell Legolas was really contemplating his explanation. His eyes darted to me for a second before returning to the front. "I've never met Gimli before, though I admit that I did and still do hold a prejudice against him. I did not plan on being outwardly hostile towards him, however I believe that there was an incident between his father, Gloin, and my father less than a century ago that Gimli somewhat blames me for."

The Fellowship had veered off to a small rocky outcropping, clearly heading there to camp. Legolas and I slowed down, taking our time to reach the campsite so that we could talk.

"It's… weird seeing you two so friendly to everyone else but to each other, it's like you're different people." I murmured as our horses ambled along. Gimli was a good guy and so was Legolas, I couldn't understand how they didn't get along. Grudges from the past were pointless.

Legolas nodded and looked thoughtful. "I can understand your concern," he said quietly so as not to allow anyone else to hear as we caught up with the rest of the group. "I had not realized our hostility would effect the group."

I nodded, amazed out how attentive he was, and watched as he rode ahead, his golden hair flowing behind him in the wind. Why did he have to be so … perfect? It was irritating, actually. We all dismounted our horses at the rocky outcropping and began unpacking the supplies.
"Good work, Honey," I murmured to my beautiful mare as I took off the load of supplies she had on her. I rubbed her nose. "Mustn't be all that fun for you either, lugging all this shit around." Honey sniffed my face before wandering off to a patch of grass down the hill. "Don't wander off too far!" I called after her. She flicked her tail in response.

Aragorn was in full survival, Ranger mode, listing off activities for people to do to prepare for the night. "Pip, Merry, go down to that stream and fill this pot with water. Frodo, help Sam to prepare dinner. Boromir, unsaddle the horses and give them something to eat. Ella, gather some wood and get a fire going. Legolas, you'll have first watch tonight."

I nodded hastily, unwilling to get on his bad side for not doing something correctly. Boromir looked mildly annoyed at being bossed around; it seemed he hadn't gotten over his grudge against Aragorn. As he started to complain about having 'chores' to do, I didn't want to be around to see the explosion so I hurried down to a copse of trees at the edge of the outcropping, still within sight of the camp.

Surprisingly, I could remember a little of what Aragorn had taught us back in Rivendell. I needed to find some nice dry sticks, some tinder, preferably dry leaves, and some rocks to keep the fire contained. I rifled around on the ground and found everything I was looking for in a relatively short time. As I started wandering back to the campsite, a low noise, almost like a growl, echoed down the plain. I hurried pretty quickly after that.

Aragorn and Boromir had settled down by the time I got back and Legolas sat perched on a rock, gazing out over the plain, seeing and hearing things only his elven senses could pick up on. I felt a lot safer knowing he was there. Gandalf was muttering to himself and lost in his own thoughts. Boromir and Aragorn were busy practicing with Merry and Pippin. Sam and Frodo sat preparing the night meal.

"Ella, would you mind setting the fire? I'm a bit busy," Aragorn called as he deflected a blow.

"Sure," I called back, though I had no idea how to do so.

I ended up just guessing how it was set up and tried to set about making an actual fire start. The pressure was on. I grabbed a stick and some leaves as I'd seen Aragorn do before and tried to twist the stick quickly, creating friction to heat the leaves. My hands were red and raw after a few unsuccessful minutes of stick twisting and I could feel Sam's eyes on me every so often as he waited for me to start it. I wasn't going to cave, I'd get this fire started if it was the last thing I did. I needed to show them that I was useful for something at least. I put down the stick and stared at the leaves and twigs, so brown and dry. Why wouldn't they light? It wasn't as though they were bloody wet. They were ready to be caught on fire, perfect for it. All they needed was a little spark, a little warmth…

Without warning, a spark of energy cracked for a split second where I'd been staring so intently. It startled me so much I immediately fell back. It was a good thing I fell though, as straight afterwards a roaring fire burst into life, its flames where my face had been seconds ago. How had that happened? Could I have done that?

I was sure my face betrayed my shock but everyone had been too caught up in what they were doing to notice anything but the fact that there was a fire, not bothering to wonder how it had started. I glanced about the Fellowship, sure that someone must have been wondering how I had managed to make the fire so large in the space of a few seconds. No one's face portrayed the shock that I felt inside.

A hum of energy was running through my body, warm and intoxicating. "Holy shit," I said to myself. Legolas' head darted around and his eyes looked right into mine. Oops, elf ears. I looked away but I was almost sure I'd seen a hint of suspicion in his expression.

As Sam and Frodo went about cooking dinner, I sat on a rock close enough to feel the fire's warmth but far enough away from everyone to be left to my thoughts. Most of my thoughts revolved around one central idea; was I going crazy? Fires didn't just spontaneously combust in this cold climate, to the best of my knowledge. And I knew it hadn't been my efforts with the stick that had sparked the fire. That left only two options… either I was going crazy or this was what Lady Galadriel had been talking about 'Nature's blessing and curse'. I was more inclined to believe that I was crazy, which really said something.

Throughout the evening, while we ate dinner and discussed the next leg of our journey, I remained quiet and unassuming. I wasn't really in the mood for talking; my mind was running around in my head with questions and doubts. By the time everyone was in their bedroll, tucked tight beneath thick blankets and easily falling asleep to the sound of crickets in the distant forest, I was still awake, unable to quiet my mind. I sat with my back against a large rock, looking up into the cloudless night sky. There was only the sound of the crackling of the low burning fire and the distant howls of wolves.

Aragorn stood while everyone slept and wrapped his cloak around him, clearly making an effort to remain silent and unnoticed, before curiously heading off down the side of the hill. I didn't think he even noticed I was awake. Where was he off to?

The moon was hanging low in the night sky, large and glowing. It felt like a huge eye just watching me, silently judging me but for what I didn't know. The fire incident must have been a fluke, a once off phenomenon that had nothing to do with my role on this quest or being Nature's chosen one. It's not as if when I think spark a fire will magically appear… Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had doubts. The memory of the hum of energy, invigorating and powerful, sprung to mind. I wasn't sure if it was because I just wanted to feel useful, or if subconsciously I knew that I had those kinds of powers in me, but I felt as though I really had caused that fire to start, and that was only the beginning. The thought scared me.

I picked up a stick from the ground beside me and stared at the very top. All I wanted to do was test out the theory. I thought of warmth, of heat, bright orange flames, of the same spark that had started the other fire…

Crack, a spark of heat snapped and the tip of the stick caught alight, creating my very own mini torch. Another hum of energy surged through me, this one smaller than the last. I almost dropped it in shock, but managed to hold on. What the actual fuck. I couldn't stop staring at the flame; maybe I was hallucinating. I ran a hand over the top of it. My hand could feel comfortable warmth emanating from it. I put my finger on the very tip of the stick, in the centre of the fire. I didn't burn. My finger just grew the same bright orange as the fire as the flames tickled and licked at it.

I glanced fearfully over at where Legolas still sat, still as stone, afraid he might witness the freaky shit that was happening. Thankfully, he was unaware of what was going on behind him, too focused on being a watchman.

I heard the rustling of a bedroll beside me, and quickly blew out the flame, dropping the stick just in time as Frodo rolled over and sat up.

"Ella? Is that you?" His sleepy blue eyes struggled to open.

"Yeah, it's me. Go back to sleep." I whispered quietly back to him.

"My throat is parched, I think I need some water." Frodo shrugged off his blankets and slipped out his bedroll, standing up and stretching. He walked over to the pot of water we'd had but frowned. "There's none left."

"I'll go get you some," I didn't like the idea of the little hobbit with his all-important Ring alone in the dark. "You stay here, I'll be back soon."

Frodo nodded and sat back down on his bedroll.

I grabbed my cloak and the pot and made my way carefully down the slope of the hill. The stream was a little ways off, just before the edge of the forest that backed onto the plain. I felt like I was making the most noise in the world, sure that I was waking every animal for miles around as I stumbled across to it. I could hardly see where I was walking, I only knew I was heading for the glittering stream up ahead. I finally reached it, mercifully without falling over.

"This water is freezing," I muttered to myself as I put the lip of the pot in the stream. It filled up agonizingly slowly and my mind grew more fearful of my dark surroundings as I waited. "Come on, come on," I urged. A rustling noise coming from inside the line of trees across the stream, probably just from the wind, was starting to freak me out.

A low growl came out from the trees. Okay, that definitely wasn't the wind. I hastily pulled up the pot and dragged it out of the stream. Time to go. But the bloody pot was heavy and as I dragged it inch by inch from the stream, a shadowy figure stepped out from the trees.

It was a wolf, but a fucking big one. Like as big as a horse. As it stepped out from the shadows and into the light of the moon, its silvery coat gleamed and its razor-like teeth gnashed threateningly. It's dark, almost black eyes stared me down, unblinking. Oh fuck. I was completely frozen to the spot, my muscles and mind paralyzed by shock and fear. It growled again, a rumbling noise that grew louder. It went back on its haunches and for one beautiful second, I truly thought it was going to leave me alone. Sweet, merciful God. But then I realized it was just getting ready to pounce.

Holy cliffhanger Batman! Haha hope you liked it and don't hate me too much for how short it is :P Please review with thoughts, suggestions, jokes, random fact, whatever!
Random fact from last chapter: Most strawberries have 200 seeds or more! WHOA. (Shout out to Aneho for that one 3 thank you!)