Disclaimer in Chapter 1 - They may yet be alive.
Nin-dethro hîn, Mellon-nin.
Chapter 4 – Why does he sleep like that?
Frodo and Sam watched as their guide turned and hopped up some rocks while saying "See? See? We've led you out."
Gollum grinned as he waited for the Halflings to catch up. Once both Hobbits were where the creature was, they all looked out into the distance and saw the thundering clouds that hung over the black lands of Mordor and a Marsh land that reeked of dead animals.
Frodo nodded his thanks to Gollum and continued to move forward once he had enough of looking at Mordor for he was going to see plenty of the black lands in due time.
Sam glared at the creature and saw it back away.
"Nice Hobbit." Gollum smiled and quickly hopped to catch up with its 'new master'.
The blonde Hobbit began to walk after his friend, his eyes never leaving Gollum for he feared that the creature was planning something that would probably leave them both dead. He paid no attention to his friend that had slowed down to walk by his side but that one question Frodo asked knocked him out of his thoughts.
"How's your head?"
Sam smiled and turned his eyes away from Gollum "It's fine Mr. Frodo. There is still a slight pain but it will heal in time."
"Let me see." Frodo then stopped and lifted his friend's blonde curls to see the almost healed cut. "You are right. It is fine." The young Hobbit lifted Sam's curls down and began walking again.
Sam furrowed his brow, while walking with his friend and asked "Mr. Frodo?" When Frodo faced his friend, Sam continued "I was wondering…" The Hobbit paused as he thought about how he should put his question into words "…What were you sorry for?"
It was Frodo this time that furrowed his brow "Whatever do you mean?"
"Well, a while back, you said you were sorry…" Sam replied "…I was just wondering why you were sorry"
Frodo sighed "It's now or never." He thought. "Well, to be honest Sam, I am sorry for bringing you along." Frodo faced away from his friend for the hurt in the blonde's eyes were too much for him. "I am sorry for…" The young Hobbit suddenly grasped his chest and fell towards the floor.
Sam's gasped and shouted "Mr. Frodo!" and caught his friend before he even hit the ground, sending him rolling down the hill that was now before them. Sam gently lowered himself to the floor "Mr. Frodo?" He asked, worry within his eyes.
"It's the Ring." Frodo gasped out. "It's getting heavier."
"Hurry Hobbitses! Hurry!" Gollum came hopping back towards the two Halflings and slowed as he saw his 'master' kneeling on the floor. "We must hurry." The creatures voice changed and became a rough growl. He quickly turned and hopped away, leading them down the hill once more.
"Come Mr. Frodo." Sam picked up his dear friend and helped him down the hill.
When the two Hobbits had made it to the bottom, Frodo let go of his friend's support and thanked him. They both looked at their surroundings and Sam narrowed his eyes when he realized where they were.
"It's a bog!" Sam shouted angrily "He led us to a swamp." He watched as the creature came crawling back, avoiding small murky puddles and long dead grass.
"A swamp, yes, yes." Gollum then perched himself onto a small rock "This is the safest road. Orcses don't come this way, never come this way. Too afraid. Go around for mileses and mileses." The creature then hopped down from his rock and waved his hand for his master to follow "We will take you on safe paths through the mist."
Both Hobbits looked at each other, uncertain to follow for their was indeed a mist that was thick and needed great sight to see through but it only hovered over the sullen waters that seemed to lie incredible still.
"Come, Hobbitses! Come! We go quickly."
Frodo found it strange that the creature wished to go quickly through the marshes. It seemed like the creature was frightened in some way, spooked even, but then again, he did feel frightened as well for the atmosphere that they were surrounded by, felt like many eyes were watching their move. The young Hobbits faced dropped and was covered by one a great sadness.
"Mr. Frodo?" Sam noticed his friends face and wondered what could be wrong with his dear friend. "What's wrong? You look…upset."
Frodo faced his friend and stopped his walking "Do you not feel it Sam? I do not know why I feel this way but it feels as if I am attending a funeral of some kind."
Sam thought for a while to see if he could feel or understand what his friend was feeling and then nodded his head. "I do feel like a great wave of sadness has crashed into my being but I also feel afraid…Like something is watching us."
Frodo sighed with relief as he was thankful his friend felt the same way.
It had been an hour since the two Hobbits and the creature had entered the swamp and with one tiny grumble from a certain blonde Hobbits stomach, they had settled down on a safe path to eat. Sam had dived into his bag and grabbed three packets of the Elvish waybread that they had been given in Lothlórien.
"I hate this place." Sam passed a pack of Lembas to Frodo "It's too quite. There's been no sight nor sound of a bird for two days."
"No, no birdses to eat, no crunchable birdses. No wriggling fishses as well..." Gollum hung his head and then pounded his fist apon the dead earth while crying "…And we are famished! Yes! Famished we are precious."
Frodo smiled as he saw Sam roll his eyes in annoyance. He then broke off a piece of his Lembas and chucked it towards Gollum, landing a few steps away from the starving creature. "Here."
Gollum looked towards the small piece and tilted his head "What does it eats?" He then crawled towards the piece of Lembas like one of the dogs in farmer Maggots field and then smiled as he picked up the small piece of the waybread "Is it tasty?" The creature sniffed at it and then put the whole piece into his mouth. As soon as he took a bite, Gollum choked and spat the bread out as he yelled "It tries to chokes us!" Gollum then looked towards both Halflings "We can't eat Hobbit food!"
"It wasn't Hobbit food." Sam snarled, his temper slowly rising at the creature who was making a massive deal out of not having any food.
"Wasn't Hobbit food?" Gollum tilted his head once more and furrowed what was left of his eyebrows "If its wasn'ts Hobbitses food, whoses?"
"We got them from the Elves. When we stayed in Lothlórien. They gave it to us when we were leaving." Frodo explained but he knew it was a mistake for then Gollum screamed.
"It poisons us! Master tried to poison us!" Gollum growled angrily at Frodo and Sam. "We hate the Elves, we hate them!"
"I had no intention of poisoning you Gollum." Frodo didn't look at the creature "One should not hate a race of peace."
"Peace?!" Gollum screamed again "They hurts us. They hurt us badly, precious."
"And the Orcs didn't?" Sam questioned, daggers in his eyes.
Gollum grew quiet and didn't reply nor did he make any sign that he was going to, so the two Hobbits left it. After Sam had finished his waybread along with his friend, night had approached quickly for the three.
It was a three day journey through the swamp.
Little did they know was danger was not far in front.
"One stage of your journey is over. Another begins." Gandalf walked beside Aragorn, while Gimli and Legolas were behind, through the trees of Fangorn forest.
"Can't we rest? I am weary as well as the Prince beside me." Legolas looked down at the short figure beside him, ready to protest but Gimli caught him off "Don't deny it Laddie." The Prince simply nodded, not wanting to cause an argument and continue to walk behind his two dear friends.
"I can assure you Gimli that Legolas has had more rest then the you and this ranger her" Gandalf told with a smile.
Gimli looked confused "That is impossible. We have had no rest for four days."
"Elves can sleep when the walk." Gandalf simply stated. "We cannot rest for we travel to Edoras with all speed."
"Edoras?" Gimli exclaimed "That is no short distance!"
"Indeed Master Dwarf. There is trouble in Rohan for the King is ill and will not be easily cured." The white Wizard stopped and looked at the Dwarf who grunted.
"Then we have travelled all this way for nothing? And now we have to leave those poor Hobbits here in this horrid, dark, dank, tree-infested…"
Legolas quickly pressed a hand to the Dwarfs mouth and silenced him for the trees had grown angry and were creaking and moaning once more. "I would ask you not to speak about them with such offensive words, Master Dwarf." The Prince growled along with the trees.
Gandalf stepped in quickly for he knew that Gimli was about to reply back to the way the Prince had commented "It was more than rare chance that brought Merry and Pippin to Fangorn. A great power has been sleeping here for many long years." He looked about the trees and noticed their moans and creaking had stopped "The coming of Merry and Pippin will be like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountains."
Aragorn smiled "In one thing that you have not changed, dear friend." He heard Gandalf hum and leaned into the Wizards ear "You still speak in riddles."
Both ranger and Wizard laughed merrily. "A thing is about to happen that has not happened since the Elder days." Gandalf then turned and began his walking once more, nearing the forest border where the three hunters had come in before. "The Ents are going to wake up and find that they are strong."
The three hunters continued to walk after their dear friend who was now far in front of them "Merry and Pippin are quite safe." They heard him shout.
"In fact, they are far safer then you are about to be." Gandalf stepped out of the forest and looked across the plains of Rohan, hope within his eyes. A whistle then left his lips and it floated with the air taking it along with the winds.
By this time Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas had come out of the great forest and wore similar expressions as they watched the Wizard whistle.
A neigh came from a distance and all looked towards the sound. Gandalf smiled as he saw the white horse galloping towards them. Two more neighs came from behind the majestic horse and there directly behind it rode Arod and Hasufel.
"That is one of the Mearas…Unless my eyes are cheated by some spell." Legolas exclaimed as he watched the white horse, along with Arod and Hasufel, ride closer and closer till they came to a stop in front of Gandalf.
"Shadowfax." The horse nodded at his name "He is the Lord of all horses…" Gandalf bowed to the white horse and then smiled lovingly at his steed "…And has been my friend through many dangers." He stroked the horse lord and then turned to face his friends.
Aragorn patted Hasufel as the horse trotted towards him. Legolas scratched Arod's and whispered some words in Elvish while smiling and the horse nod it's head, main flying with the gentle wind.
"There is also one thing that I have forgotten to tell you." Gandalf's smiled had faded while he spoke this sentence. "The King's son is dying and is need of healing." The white Wizard then faced Aragorn. "Will you do this, Aragorn?"
"I will try but this all depends on the wound." Aragorn said "How long ago did he receive it?" He questioned.
"The attack happened three days ago. Saruman's army had been running through the plains and so the King's son, Théodred, went to dispatch them. Little did they know, they had ridden into an ambush."
"He may very well be on the path to Mandos already. We must hurry." The ranger quickly jumped on his steed, along with his friends and the four of them began to ride towards Edoras with great haste.
When night had slowly descended apon the plains of Rohan, the four riders were forced to make rest for their horses needed it. Once the camp was done, Gimli had fallen straight into a deep sleep and Legolas had also. The Prince had awoken a couple of times; in fact, it was twice every minute in case the nightmares he always had resurfaced.
Aragorn smiled sadly at the Prince for sleep was trying to overcome him. The days when they had been running, the Prince had normally kept his eyes glazed over, a simply way to rest his eyes. But now his eyelids were beginning to shut. Some would find it worrying for a firstborn to sleep with the eyes closed but Legolas was completely different. His long years in Dol Guldur had been so traumatic that when he did finally get his sleep, he would tightly shut his eyes against the pain and the pain that would come within a few hours time.
Aragorn also remembered the words Lord Elrond had told him when Legolas had come to visit for a year when he was only six years of age. He could remember how scared his was when he first saw the Prince of Mirkwood, sleeping with his eyes shut.
"Legolas has… been ill for a very long time Estel." Elrond had spoken while the six year old sat apon his lap "He does not sleep with his eyes open like us for he has had a terrible past."
"What…" Estel sniffed, tears still falling down his tiny cheeks "What happened…To him?"
"He suffered greatly at the hands of a terrible monster." Elrond didn't wished to scare his new child so he used the childish phrases Estel's mother, Gilrean, had used to describe the evil, dark creatures of Sauron. "He did not wish for any of this to happen to him but he seemed to think it was his destiny to be taken by such things." The Lord wiped the small tears from the tiny human's cheeks with his sleeve.
"But…Ada…Why does he sleep like that?" Estel asked, sniffing one last time.
"Legolas has forgotten how to sleep normally." He smiled as he heard the small human gasp. "The pain of being with such monsters has left him unable to remember. The pain he suffered within a dark castle is far greater than any pain you will ever have."
"Greater than the time I accidently cut my finger when playing with 'Dan's and 'Ro's swords?" Estel looked at his father, a tiny light sparkling in his eyes.
Elrond chuckled and tucked a piece of the boy's dark brown hair behind his ear. "Greater than that."
"Oh, oh, or the time I hurted my ankle when getting it caught in a rabbit hole?" Estel laughed as Elrond's laughter filled the bed chamber.
Aragorn chuckled at the little memory as it ended with Elrond talking and laughing with him all night, leaving the both of them sleeping together all morning and through afternoon tea. He remembered how frantic Glorfindel and Erestor had been for the had searched the whole house looking for them, not knowing they were actually within a small six year olds room. The ranger stood and gently shook the Prince as Legolas had started to moan within his sleep.
Legolas gasped as his eyes flew open and looked around slightly confused about where he was. "Hannon le, mellon-nin." *Thank you, my friend.* Legolas then stood, walked away from the camp and started to stroke Arod, feeding him a grass from the floor an apple he had found in the saddle bag.
Aragorn smiled and shook his head while making his way towards his old friend.
"The veiling of the shadow that glowers in the east takes shape." Gandalf spoke through the silence that had now fallen apon the camp. "Sauron will suffer no rival. From the summit of Barad-dûr, his eye watches ceaselessly, his Orcs scorer the land and the Lord himself walks amongst his armies, seeing how strong they have grown. But he is not so mighty yet that he is above fear."
Aragorn faced his old friend, listening as he continued.
"Doubt ever gnaws at him." Gandalf this time faced him, both staring at each other, eyes speaking for themselves "The rumour has reached him. The air of Númenor still lives. Sauron fears you, Aragorn. Our Prince has told me that he fears what you may become and that he will strike hard and fast at the world of men." Gandalf then looked at the red clouds and orange thunder in the distance. The weather of Mordor is great and in open plains could be seen clearly. "He will use Saruman, to destroy Rohan, starting with the King and his nearly diseased son."
"Then I will try and heal Théodred and show that Men are not as weak as he thinks. If a wound he has sustained long ago is healed, Sauron and Saruman will not be expecting such a thing for they have little belief Men can heal such an injury." Aragorn explained and received a nod of approval from Gandalf.
"We must leave within the hour, Aragorn." Gandalf spoke and saw the confusion in the King's eyes. "If the King's son is as bad as I have been told, then we will need to get their by morning."
"Why morning, my friend?" Aragorn questioned, surely there would be enough time to save him by the afternoon.
"We have a power on our side; a power that will strengthen those around." Gandalf continued to look out at the landscape, the corner of his eye catching the future King's expression.
"We cannot do such a thing!" Aragorn whispered harshly.
"Aragorn, you have said yourself that if the King and his son survives then Sauron and Saruman will not be expecting it. We can only hope that it will help him. It is something that he cannot help and is always with us, when with him, at the strike of dawn." Gandalf explained.
"Are you not concerned?" Aragorn asked, furrowing his brows "If Legolas uses it to much then he will become exhausted. Even though it is a naturally thing but using it to strengthen a near deceased man will be too much. It only works with the Elves. I have seen it..."
"Aragorn…" A voice called from behind interrupting the ranger and both Wizard and Man turned and look at the Prince, who was kneeling as he pulled up a corner of the cloak Gimli had over him, that had fallen while he slept. "I will do everything I can to help stop Sauron from receiving victory."
Gandalf smiled "Good." He whispered "Get Gimli up." The wizard said as he walked over to Shadowfax "We leave now, for Edoras is still many leagues away."
Legolas smiled sadly at the Wizard and shook the Dwarf lightly, which he woke up to. The Prince went to stand but staggered as he heard a dark laughter fill his head.
"Except I will have victory..." The Laughter grew
"...Won't I, my little Princeling?"
I have college tomorrow! ;o (I was supposed to go today but I had the doctors) ;D I am sorry that after this one, the updates won't be as quick :( I will be doing another on Thursday -Tomorrow- and on Saturday or Sunday, not that sure yet :3
Things you need to know?
1. Sauron - By now, all those who have been reading Hannon le, mellon-nin you should know that Sauron does has a body etc.
2. Sleep walking Elves- It is true that Elves can sleep while they walk. :)
I think that's it? :3
Reviews;
Dani Hiwatari; Awww I am glad! :D Ahaha I had to add them in :3 I loved the Hobbit so much and have seen it 5 times already ;D Awww thank you :3 I have been using this to keep my interest with the Movies as well. Every year I watch the movies and when the Hobbit comes out on DVD then that's a bonus :') I hope you like this chapter! ;'D
BrightWatcher; My reference to the Hobbit, dear friend ;) I am glad that it is easy to read :o! I always think I go into the explaining a bit much though :L YAY! That makes me happy, I am glad you liked that scene :D Thank you for thinking they were interesting :') I always get them two mixed up ;P The same with "from" and "form" :L My word doesn't pick it up XD
ArwenElf16; Awww :3 I am slowly dying now! This one is alright because I began it at 4:46 and have finished at 22:00 (10 o'clock) :D The flashbacks are ;) I will try and do some happier flashbacks, these one's are so~ depressing xD Please don't cry *Hands tissue just in case* :) Gollum will always be creepy and yeah he was! o.o I liked his eyes in it though :') YAY FOR GANDALF! ;D Thank you and I hope you like this update :D I will try to stay awesome ;)
Hallely; Ah you wrote a review for chapter 2 while I had posted chapter 3 xD ahaha anyway thank you and hope you like this chapter :D
Sherlockholms; He has! :O I am very ashamed of him! :L You still haven't seen it?! Wow…You poor thing ;')
Amberly Eldin; Chapter 3 is already out as well as this one (Chapter 4) ;D Ahaha I loved that bit too :D And I thank you :') Needed a bit of humour within it :P Thank you and I hope this is a good chapter :3
Exotic Nightmare; He is going to die soon -.- I will make sure of it ;) He won't really :p Yeah it's a shame :/ Poor Legolas. I did indeed :) Elves have magic and I wanted to add that in because I would of loved to see a bit a magic (from the Elves) in the movies but Peter Jackson didn't like the idea -.- :L Oh well! I hope you like this chapter! :D
Nightrunner144; Thank you and I am glad you liked them :3 Awww thank you :'D
Elladan: What are you doing, Sophie?
Searching for Faramir…Have you seen him?
Elrohir: What has he done now?
He pushed Mithrandir into the closet I locked him in -.-
Elladan: :O! We must catch him then, come, my brother and I shall help you.
Good…When I find that ranger…He will never be featured in this story!
Namarië!