Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, I only own the character Ana, and the plot to this story and nothing else.

Chapter 7: the bridge of Khazad-Dum

Ana

I was picked up by Aragorn and carried out of the room. We ran down the great hall away from the room. But soon we were over ran by Orcs that had climbed up from the floor, and came down from the ceiling. My fission blurred and I felt light headed. I heard the laughter of the Orcs around us. Suddenly a roar of a new kind of devil had echoed across the hall. Freezing the Orcs. The thing roared again and the Orcs all ran away. Legolas quickly checked over his tie on my bandage before anything happened. A red Hough came towards us. "What is this new devilry?" Boromir asked Gandalf. Gandalf closed his eyes and sighed as a louder growl washed over us.

"A Balrog. A demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. He said turning to look at us. "Run!" Gandalf ordered. Aragorn adjusted his hold on me and took off. I watched as the red glow consumed the hall behind us. We soon came to another door and ran down its stairs. Boromir almost ran off the edge of a stair case that had been broken. Legolas had grabbed him and pulled himself and Boromir backwards onto the stairs behind them. They join the group at the top of the alley of stairs. Aragorn passes me over to Legolas, and turns to face Gandalf.

"Gandalf?" he asks. Gandalf looks at Aragorn and he had the look that told me that he had came up with an idea. "Lead them on Aragorn, the bridge is near." He tells my brother. Aragorn stares at him for a minute and then tries to walk back to take on the demon. Gandalf grabs him and pulls him back. "Do as I say! Swords are no more use here." He said. Gandalf lead us down the many stairs until we came to a huge gap. Even though I was not running down these stairs I was puffing. I could feel each and every stair through Legolas's elven steps. Legolas pulls my body up and closer to his chest. "This is going to hurt." He warned me.

He jumped the gap. I gasped when we landed safely on the other side of the gap. Legolas set me down three steps away from the gap. He went back to the gap. "Gandalf!" he calls. Gandalf gathers his robes together and then takes the leap. As soon as Gandalf makes it safely to our side then do orcs start showering arrows down on us. Legolas shots off some of his arrows into the orcs. I deflect the arrows that are aimed at me with my daggers. "Merry, Pippin!" Boromir called. They went to his side. Boromir wrapped his arms around them, together the three of them jump the gap. They landed and the hobbits were shuffled behind the men. Though I noticed that the gap had gotten bigger.

"Sam!" Aragorn called. Sam walked over to him and Aragorn tossed him over the gap right into Legolas's opened arms. He then turns to Gimli ready to pick him up and toss him over too. Gimli put his hand up stopping him. "Nobody tosses a Dwarf." He said to him, he jumps and hit the edge of the stairs. Legolas grabs his beard. "Not the Beard!" Gimli yells at him as Legolas pulls him to safety. Aragorn pushes Frodo behind him as more of the beams from the ceiling comes down. The pieces broke the stairs that were behind Aragorn and Frodo and broke the support under their stairs turning it into a giant teeter-totter. Aragorn brings Frodo out from behind him to be beside him. "Lean forward." Aragorn instructed. The broken stairs crashed into the firmly attached set launching the two of them into the arms of Legolas and Boromir.

Aragorn, Legolas and the four hobbits rush down the stairs, Boromir picks me up and Gandalf and Gimli take up the rear. I huff at the fact that the group of men are playing pass the injured girl but I held my tongue. We finally made it to the bridge. "Over the bridge!" Gandalf ordered the group. Boromir swung me over his shoulder and carried me over like a sack of potatoes. I watched as Gandalf fallowed us till he hit the very middle of the bridge. I tried to say something but I couldn't. He turns and faces the Demon. "You cannot pass!" he calls to it. "Gandalf!" Frodo yells. Gandalf ignores Frodo.

"I am a servant of the secret fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun!" Gandalf yells brandishing his staff and sword. I watched as the demon swung his sword down on the white bubble that was surrounding Gandalf. As it broke it kept Gandalf safe from the blow that would have killed him. "Go back to the shadow" Gandalf ordered. It growled. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" Gandalf yelled, he hit the middle of the bridge solidly with the butt of his staff.

The Balrog tried to cross the bridge, but when it made a full step it's half of the bridge crumbled and fell from under it. The Balrog fell, and Gandalf turned to join us but a flaming whip wrapped around his foot pulling him off the bridge. Gandalf managed to grab onto the edge. He tried to pull himself up but he could not. He looked up at the group with pleading eyes "Fly you fools!" he said, then he fell. I screamed, Boromir managed to carry me and Frodo out. He called out for my brother as more arrows were being shot at us.

Once we were out Boromir let Frodo go and put me down on a rock near Sam, and went to keep Gimli from going back to get Gandalf. Merry and Pippin were holding each other. I looked over and noticed that Legolas was alone. I got up and made my way slowly over to him. "No matter how much I hate him, he needs someone too." I thought. I grabbed onto his arm just as my legs gave out. Legolas caught me before I hit the ground. I looked into his face and saw that he looked devastated. Tears slipped from my eyes. "Legolas, get them up." Aragorn said.

I felt myself being set down, I looked at my half-brother in disbelief. "Give them a moment for pity sake!" Boromir said. Aragorn looked at him. "By nightfall, these hills will be swarming with orcs. We must reach the woods of Lothlorien. Come Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, get them up." He said. He walked over to Sam. "On your feet Sam, Frodo? Frodo!" Aragorn called to the retreating back of the sad Hobbit that was trying to walk away. Legolas crouched down beside me and tighten my bandages, he picked me up. "Stay awake. We'll get you the help you need." He told me. I nodded.

The group ran down the hill fast, mainly because Aragorn and Boromir carried two hobbit's each down the hill till we were on the flat base then we ran into the forest. "Stay close, young Hobbits! They say that a great sorceress lives in these woods. An Elf-witch…of terrible power. All who look upon her…fall under her spell." Gimli took a breath. He finished with "and are never seen again." I sighed. Gimli started up again. "Well, here's one Dwarf she won't ensnare so easily. I have the eyes of a hawk and ears of a fox." He said. I almost laughed as he meet some arrows in his face. "The Dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark." The new comer said.

"Welcome Legolas, Son of Thanduil"he said. I was in a stretcher with archers around me trying to heal me, they pressed on my cut to hard."Damn it that hurts!" I yelled at them. "Our Fellowship is in your debt." Legolas tells him. The Elivish man turns to Aragorn and I."Aragorn of the Dunedain…and Ana Halfling you are known to us." He said bowing to us. "So much for the courtesy of the Elves! Speak words we all understand!" Gimli says annoyed. "We have not had dealings with Dwarves since the dark days." Said the Elf man, looking at Gimli. "And do you know what this Dwarf says to that?" Gimli says something in a form of Elivish that I'm not familiar with. But Aragorn is, I watched as Aragorn puts his hand on Gimli's Shoulder. "That was not so courteous." The Elf man looks over at Frodo and stares at him for a minute. "You bring great evil with you. You can go no further." He says to Aragorn. Aragorn pulls him a side and they have a heated debate. They come out thirdly minutes later. The Elf looks at all of us. "You will fallow me." he says as my stretcher is picked up and we leave the platforms.