Chapter Seven: Injury Proliferates Truth
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or LotR!
On the fourth day, the edge of a distant forest finally appeared. They were still at least four hours from it, even at a full gallop, but it held the promise of a slightly easier night if they could reach it. Once they were back in the forests, the magic of the Elves would aid them once again and perhaps ease their journey until they passed through the ancient woods.
But it was still several hours off.
So they rode on at slight trot, their eyes and ears open for danger as the sun began to sink down low in the horizon, splashing an array of purple, pink, and orange across the plains. It was beautiful, but dangerous: the colorful glare could easily conceal enemy movements as close as twenty feet out and as far as one hundred feet out.
They had nearly made it to the edge of the forest when a sudden snarl from behind spooked their horses. Sakura yelped in surprise as her mare reared up, nearly throwing her even as Legolas pulled alongside her and regained control of the reins, steering his own stallion successfully simultaneously. They pulled back around, turning to face the threat.
It was a single Orc, by all appearances. But it was smiling. That wasn't natural---daylight weakened them...why not ambush them during the night? Moreover, Orcs were rather cowardly creatures that refused to hunt alone...
Several ugly, grinning faces emerged from the grasses, broad daggers and swords gleaming in the fading sunlight.
Legolas frowned as he notched an arrow, leveling it easily and releasing it with a song-like vibration from the line's shuddering. The bolt found its mark easily, felling the foul creature as it pierced its neck. But far from retreating, the Orcs seemed to find this amusing!
She barely saw it out of her peripherals: a vicious, hulking creature with lacerating canines and coarse fur, its shoulders hunched as it lunged at her.
Sakura jerked the reins left, her horse dancing on fear and instinct aside. The hulking hyena slammed fruitlessly into the ground, buying enough time for Legolas to finish it with a well-placed arrow. But by now, more snarls were coming up through the grasses, which were yielding like thin water to the advancing platoon.
"For the forest!" Aragorn cried, pulling behind Sakura to cover her as she compelled Elear forward. The horse, grateful to be moving in the direction opposite her hunter's, quickly broke into a run. Aragorn and Legolas weren't far behind, doing what they could to fend off the attackers close enough to pose a threat before turning and following after her.
By now, darkness had claimed the forest thanks to its thick canopy of green. But Sakura paid no mind, looking only for branches high and thick enough to knock her from Elear or roots thick and raised enough to trip Elear.
And so focused with that task was she that she didn't see an arrow fly from the trees. It struck her painfully between her shoulder blades; deep enough to debilitate but shallow enough to survive... Her vision tunneled and faded, her grip failing as Elear kicked towards the left, inadvertently throwing Sakura. The sting of cold water slapped at her cheek, her head striking a stone as her vision finally failed, the aches from her shoulders and bleeding temple evaporating.
Memories poured into her head, threatening to drown her in the intensity of the emotion that accompanied so many of them. Her life was coming back to her in swells and ebbs. The most recent memory was the most vivid.
She sprang forward happily to greet them, ready to prove herself every bit the warrior they were. And they reciprocated her joy in their own way: Naruto laughing happily and waving enthusiastically at her while Sasuke simply smirked. But it was more than enough for her.
She gathered them in a group hug, feeling little resistance even from Sasuke; she held them a moment, and savored their closeness before letting them go.
"Sakura..."
She turned to greet that voice, no matter how eerie. But there was only thin, empty air.
"What are you looking for?" Naruto asked, scratching his head in confusion.
"Oh, nothing!" She laughed, embarrassed, "I just thought I heard someone. That's all."
"You will be mine."
She reeled defensively, feeling a chill creep along her spine. Something was wrong...something was stalking them...
"Sakura." Sasuke growled, growing concerned with her behavior.
She didn't pay any mind to him, instead tracking an inky blackness in the shadows that was moving.
She sprinted forward, ready to meet the challenge. But no matter how far she ran or how hard she focused on finding it, it always seemed to be just out of striking distance. And when she finally checked her surroundings, she was deep in a forest she didn't recognize. But how was that possible? She knew the forests of Konoha intimately...every inch of them...
An icy coolness crept up her spine...
It was there...
And she remembered nothing more.
"Where is she?" Aragorn demanded, more to himself than anyone else. They had found no trace of Elear nor Sakura since entering the forest. But she had to be there...unless... 'No! Don't breed ill luck with ill thoughts...'
Legolas cried out into the forest, a high, rippling whistle that should have summoned Elear.
But the mare didn't appear...
A breeze crept through the trees, drowning out his call and replacing it with an airy voice only the Elf could understand. Clearly, she was there, safe for the moment but not for much longer...
"Come, Aragorn!" He cried, dismounting his horse and slipping into the underbrush.
She heard vague, distant voices...convoluted syllables that were only faintly recognizable. And then a sudden pressure on her shoulder and a sentence she didn't understand, although she heard the worry in those words. And then the slap of cold air against her wet body, the crunch of gravel beneath booted feet...
And the pain was coming back as well; a fiery, sharp pinpoint between her shoulders and a much broader, duller pain throbbing in her temples.
Slowly, the blurred words became distinguishable sentences.
"She's injured..."
"Not badly. Likely they didn't aim to kill, only to injure. It is fortunate Elear spurred back so suddenly, or they would have found her before we did." Aragorn replied, his face slowly focusing behind Legolas'.
She was turned awkwardly on her side to prevent driving the shaft of the arrow any deeper. Her neck was stiff and sore and her vision unreliable.
And it suddenly all came back to her: all the memories of her home and her experiences in this new, frightening world over the last weeks. Impulsively, she kicked away from them, her feet finding substance and pushing her back several feet until her shoulder collided with a tree trunk and she had nowhere else to crawl to.
Sensing danger in her response, Legolas and Aragorn both backed away several paces. She would have to come to them, or they would be cornering a wounded animal.
Her breathing was labored, likely from pain and shock, Legolas reasoned. And her behavior suggested her head wound was at the least serious, if not ultimately fatal.
Realizing she had made her point, she reached up with the arm that was less painful and gripped the air. The awkward angle of entry and the awkward incline she was pulling it from meant she would initially do more harm than good to herself. But she needed to take that risk.
With a vicious yank and an unsuppressed cry of pain, she ripped the bolt free, taking shreds of flesh and muscles with it, though, oddly, no tattered cloth. She didn't have time to contemplate the peculiarity before her hand, again glowing green, slipped around her back and clamped down on the wound. It burned, badly, and the position she was forced into stretched the wounded muscle tightly, making knitting it back together more difficult. But she was an accomplished medic, and this wasn't all that serious. And a quick check of her head showed no more internal damage than a slight bruise---even taking into account massive swelling it wasn't lethal or even severe; a bit of a hindrance but not worth wasting energy on.
"What manner of magic is this?" Aragorn demanded quietly to his friend.
"None I am familiar, even remotely, with." The Elf replied.
She fell back with a small gasp, her chest heaving but her eyes set firmly on them.
Pushing against the trunk of the tree, she found her footing and stood. Latching against its rough bark for support, she took a moment to regain her balance.
It was a few seconds too long, however, because a charred and slimy green arm snaked around the tree, pressing a dagger to her throat.
Aragorn cried out in surprise, Legolas paralyzed by shock.
Sakura, however, rolled her eyes, snapped her arm up against the crook of the Orc's, levered the dagger away, yanked the creature forward and pushed it down, pinning its armed hand awkwardly behind its back as her foot came down squarely between its emaciated shoulder blades.
"Don't." She stated simply, twisting its arm.
The creature shrieked in protest, cursing her Elvish, Dwarvish, and the tongue of the Orc. Finally tired of the racket, she pulled the dagger from its hand, spun it back onto its feet, shoved it against the same tree, pinned it, and brought the dagger to its blackened throat.
"I'm only going to ask once: What do you want with me?"
It hissed defiantly, vertically slit sickly yellow eyes staring into her's and clicking its unnaturally pointed teeth.
She applied gentle pressure to the dagger, a thin line of blood appearing against its pulsing neck.
"Lord Sauron," It finally snorted, "wants you as his bride, my pretty."
She smirked; leaning in so close her lips nearly touched its nicked, pointed ears so unlike in shape to the Elves, she whispered, "Tell him I decline."
With that, she yanked the disgusting thing forward and flung it back into the forest, ordering it to report her words exactly to his Dark Lord.
Needless to say, Aragorn and Legolas were both rather shocked by her turn in behavior and attitude, though it was, admittedly, refreshing to see a woman fight back.
With that, she turned back to them a smiled.
"We best get moving." She stated, coaxing Elear from the shadows.
"Sakura...are you...well?" Legolas asked uncertainly, daring to approach her.
"Let's just say it's all a lot clearer than it was before." She replied, mounting her horse and waiting rather impatiently for them to do the same.
They were still virtually defenseless and she wanted to complete the first leg of their journey as quickly as possible.
And though it would seem odd to a third party, she was completely calm and sure of herself now: She wasn't a frightened genin who would have, at one time, sat down and cried and waited, no begged, for death in this new world. But Sakura was by her nature a survivor, Orcs, Sauron, and Wargs be damned, she would make it!
Besides, if her companions had desired something from her they could have taken it at any point in the weeks she had been...compromised. But they hadn't. So she simply had to believe they were true of heart and intention.
The next thing she knew, she was in Legolas' arms long after dawn. To her dismay and embarrassment, she realized she must have passed out from blood loss. Or shock.
But honestly, she had little desire to move from her place against his chest as they rode his stallion through the forest. He was so warm and soft beneath her, so yielding and yet so strong somehow...
"Legolas, I'm fine now..." She mumbled, her hand freeing itself from the tangle of his cloak.
"Good. You startled us, taking down and Orc one moment and collapsing the next." He replied with a smile.
To her aggravation, she heard Aragorn chuckle at the sentiment.
Forcing a blush down as she pushed herself off of him, she quickly dismounted the horse and took up the reins of Elear. And the mare seemed to be happy to be back in a woman's hand because she nuzzled the maiden affectionately.
"Perhaps it's best you slow down, Belegar (1), and take a bit of mirurvor (2)." Aragorn suggested with a smirk.
She snorted in annoyance but took up the flask and drank down a minute measure. And admittedly she did feel that much stronger for it.
"I imagine Gimli is growing concerned for us...we should have been at Bree by now..." Legolas stated rather mutely.
Sakura nodded, swinging her leg over Elear and giving her a loving pat before urging her forward.
The gates of Bree emerged with the setting of the sun. They entered from the southern gates, answering as few questions as they could get away with. And the entire time, Sakura kept her hood drawn to prevent detection based on her hair color.
Upon entering the Inn of the Prancing Pony, they requested that they be shown to a single room and kept there as quietly as possible. Mr. Butterbur, none too happy to see a Ranger, let alone Strider, back in his Inn, had them shown by Nob---who had at one point waited on Frodo himself during their initial quest to destroy the One Ring---to their lodgings despite the impropriety of opposite sexes, let alone multiple opposite sexes, rooming together.
The Hobbit quickly showed them up the stairs, ushering them along so as not to draw attention to their presence and into a large, second story room with two beds. It was cozy room with a table, several chairs and a hearth along with a chest to stow their belongings in during their brief stay.
Assuring them he would have their dinner shortly, he begged they sit and rest and asked what they would like to drink, to which Aragorn replied, "Cider, apple, unfermented."
The Hobbit smiled, bowed low and disappeared into the hall and back down the stairs.
"We'll stay here the night, pay our keep, and move on in the morning." Strider stated after Nob's foot falls had faded.
"I'll take first watch." Legolas added.
"No." Sakura interjected, "I will. I've been asleep half the day already."
"Very well. Rouse me at midnight." Aragorn replied.
Legolas opened his mouth to protest when the door opened again, revealing what appeared to be a platter with legs. There advantageous height here allotted them little as Nob was so small and appeared only as a pair of booted feet beneath a platter to them.
Sakura moved to help him, lifting the platter and setting it on the table with a happy smile and stated a thanks. Nob, grateful for some gratitude, bowed low and tottered back out, presumably, to retrieve their dinner.
Taking up a mug, Aragorn drank deeply for a moment before finally setting the drained cup aside. Luckily, Nob had the foresight to provide a pitcher of the cider.
Sakura hesitantly sipped at her's, wary of possible poisons and sedatives. But detecting none, she allowed herself to drink more freely. Legolas, however, all but flat out refused to partake of it. And Sakura imagined why: his tongue was sensitive, and the brew was slightly bitter even to her human taste buds. For his Elven olfactory system, it would be unbearably sour. Instead, he contented himself with water from his skin.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, even after Nob had brought up several platters of food consisting of three new, white loaves of bread, a round of pale cheese impregnated with several varieties of nut and herb, roasted fish, a vegetable broth, and several wild berry tarts.
Sakura ate sparingly, selecting bread for the carbohydrates, fish for long-term energy, broth to warm her cold body, and a slice of the tart because she needed something sweet. Legolas consumed a loaf of bread, a portion of the cheese round, and some of the broth, but didn't touch the tarts or the fish. Aragorn however experienced the full taste spectrum more freely than both of them combined.
And after Nob had taken awake the dirtied dishes and wooden trays, Aragorn bolted the door, extinguished the candles, and slid into bed. Opposite him, Legolas appeared to already be soundly in the dream world. But Sakura balanced herself in the extended sill of the window and watched for movement in the dark.
At midnight, she stepped away from her perch. Now stiff and tired, she was amazed to see Aragorn spring from the bed as if he had been sleeping for days rather than riding and fighting. He motioned for her to climb in while the linen was still warm and took his perch beside the window, a careful ear directed at the door.
Sakura, silent and weary, slipped into the bed and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
It was Legolas who roused both of them in the morning, breakfast already set on the table and the sky still dark.
They rose stiffly, stumbling in the darkness to the table despite the fire and took a seat at the table.
Again, they had been provided with three loaves of white bread, but in this case there was also a nut spread, fruit, and a type of baked oatmeal cake covered in honey.
They ate quickly, packing the remainder for their journey in napkins, replacing their gear to their packs, and walked down the stairs. They paid their fare, hurried to the stables, retrieved their horses, and moved again for the Shire.
TBC
•1) Belegar: Mighty One
•2) Mirurvor: rejuvenating liquor distilled by Elrond himself.