FEAR IN THE EYES OF FIRE
Radagast jumped out of the brush in a mad rabbit dash and was immediately chased down by the Orc riding Wargs when they saw him. He cheered loudly with all the confidence of a mad man. "Come and get me!" He shouted with a grin on his face and hoped that this was enough of a distraction for the Dwarves to silently slip away, but there were still so many Wargs left in the area.
Gandalf looked back at the company and spoke swiftly to all of them. "Come on." They took the chance to move through the large maze of boulders for cover. Gandalf glanced back and saw Jeanne standing perfectly still as white as a ghost. "Jeanne, no time to stand still. We have to move, my dear."
All the air vanished from her lungs so she ended up taking in a deep breath like she just broke the water's surface. "Gandalf..." She spoke in short breaths like she was deprived of air for hours. "I can't breathe. I..I just...I can't breathe." She gasped once again for air and clenched down on her chattering teeth. Jeanne's face was pale but her body felt cold. She looked up at him with her glassy eyes that were on the verge of shattering a flood. "Are we going to be alright?"
It was a harsh flashback through Gandalf's old eyes. He blinked once and the image in front of him changed. He saw a frightened Jeanne shivering before him in the dusk while pleading for help. Another blink and he was pulled back into reality. "My dear Jeanne." He put his hand on her shoulder and looked in her glassy eyes. "You are afraid?"
"Petrified." she corrected him with a cracking voice. "I...I..." She almost caught herself saying she wanted to go home. Home? What home is there for her to go back to? Valnora forest was always a temporary settlement that hid her fire away from the world, deep in the darkness that was safe enough for her. It was different now. She was out in the sun where her scarlet locks acted like a beacon, saying 'She is here!'
Oh, all the Lords and Spirits in the world...is there anyone left who is willing to pray for her safety? Anyone? Someone?
Please...don't let the living shadow fall upon her...
Gandalf saw that his words were no longer getting through to this woman. She stood absolutely still like a stone and swore she wasn't even breathing anymore. "Come on! Run, Jeanne! Fly!" He grabbed her wrist and started to drag her along.
The sound of the distant Warg howls rumbled deep in her skin and set her soul on fire. She blinked once and looked over her shoulder at the noise.
Thorin halted himself quickly when the path before him was covered by the Warg scouts that were still in the area, hunting them down.
"Stay together." Gandalf hissed.
"Move!" Thorin growled and gestured back to his party to run in the other direction away from the scouts.
They were surrounded by a large number of them in the area. Some of the Wargs were being ridden by Orcs and others led the pack after Radagast who was still trying to draw them off their path and off their smell.
"Come! This way." Gandalf said and pushed Jeanne along with the rest of the Dwarves.
"Where are you leading us?" Thorin noticed and it felt like he was taking them somewhere specific.
Gandalf said nothing and carried on leading the party to safety with the thumping of the Wargs heavy footsteps rumbling the ground. They all quickly huddled together behind a mountain of rocks and their heart literately dropped when they heard the low and deranged growl from a Warg and Orc right above them. The low growl made Jeanne stop breathing and the 'shinking' sound of a sword made her heart shrivel up and die.
The Orc knew they were near.
Thorin turned his head to the side to where Jeanne was. She was pale and trembling very softly. It even looked like she was holding back tears shown by her glassy eyes and her right hand over her mouth. He had never seen so much fear before, especially by a woman who was capable of taking down three Mountain Trolls alone. This fear...she was afraid of something else aside from the Orcs that hunted them down. But what?
Thorin made a signal for Kili and he slowly drew his bow. He jumped back from the wall of rock and fired up at the Warg above them, shooting it in the shoulder. The creature screeched loudly before being shot down once again and tumbled down the wall. The Dwarves quickly tried to put the beast down but the loud howling didn't go unnoticed by the pack. The Orc jumped up and his eyes fell upon Jeanne and her fiery strands of hair that fell in front of her face. Its eyes widen and he let out this shrill screech and started to point at her. Gloin knocked him across the face with a hammer before they all ganged up on the Orc and killed him.
Jeanne's hand fell from her quivering lips and down to her heart. The sound of howling became more prevalent and started to get closer.
They found them.
"Move!' Gandalf shouted at them. "Run!"
Jeanne couldn't remember much now. All she felt was someone grab her wrist with a firm grip and yanked her hard, too strong to be Gandalf's. "Thorin?" She spoke through short gasps of air.
"Don't stop! Run!" He yanked her in front of him and pushed her back to keep her in his line of sight. That fear he knew froze the body to its very core so he knew she wasn't going to move my her own will alone. Her staying in front of him was the best option right now, but their choices were fallen ill soon enough. "Jeanne! Stop!" He wrapped his arm around her chest and stopped her when they were faced down with a pack in front of them.
"There's more coming!" Kili shouted at them.
There was no way out no. Surrounded by both sides and Gandalf up and vanished on them.
"Where's Gandalf?"
"He's abandoned us."
Bilbo came up behind Jeanne and pulled her back when he noticed she wasn't moving all that much because of the fear.
"Hold your ground!" Thorin pulled out his new blade that gleamed in the hot sun.
Gandalf poked his head out from behind a boulder. "This way! You fools!" He ushered them over.
"Come on! Move!" Thorin ran over and saw that there was a hidden tunnel below the rocks. "Quickly! All of you!" One by one the Dwarves jumped down into the hole. Bilbo grabbed Jeanne by her hand and they both slid down into the safety of the cave where Gandalf was counting to make sure everyone was there. "Kili!" Thorin called back to him. "Run!"
Kili stopped shooting at the Wargs and ran down into the hole, Thorin being the last one. Once they all were down, a distinct horn blow echoed through the lands, but it wasn't an Orcs horn. They waited in the hole for a few minutes and could hear the sound of fleeing Orcs and cutting flesh of whatever was up there with them. An Orc corpse even fell down into the hole in front of them.
Thorin yanked an arrow out of its neck and saw the head. "Elves." He hissed and threw it down with disgust.
Dwalin looked ahead through the tunnel but saw nothing. "I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or not?"
"Follow it, of course," Bofur exclaimed and hurried down the path since there was no chance in hell they were going back up there.
Finally, Jeanne felt like she could breathe again. She took a deep breath and blinked. "Thorin." She meekly called back to him. He actually stopped and turned around.
"What?" He asked in a usual rough and annoying voice.
Jeanne's lips stopped quivering and turned up into a small smile. "Sorry, but...uh. I think this is the first time...you called me 'Jeanne'." A tiny giggle came from her mouth when she saw his eyes go wide with realization.
The Dwarf scoffed and turned away to march down the hall. Jeanne stood in the back of the party and smiled very slightly with delight.
The path was long and narrow and you could clearly see the shining sun above their heads as they ventured further and further down the path. The pathway began to open up and small waterfall sprinkled drops of rain on them.
Jeanne ran a hand through the water and raked it through her hair to calm herself down and take the edge off, but through her eyes, narrowed upon a luxurious hidden paradise. The air was fresh and the trees were large and grand, surrounded by white buildings and waterfalls. The beauty was breathtaking and rarely seen by anyone aside from Elves.
"The valley of Imladris. In the common tongue, it's known by another name." Gandalf spoke.
Never in his life did Bilbo think he would lay his eyes upon something he had only heard in books. "Rivendell."
