A/N: I know, I know. Its late. But I've been distracted. XD Still wednesday at least. This chapter focuses very much on Marina. I wanted to introduce a bit more of her character and make it more real.

I'm not sure how I felt about the chapter. There were aspects I liked and didn't like. But I'll let you guys be the judge. :D


Thanks to all for the reviews! You make my day awesome!

Responses:

Gamergirl052: Nonsense. Laughing is awesome but you're still probably a better writer than I. XD

Sieni1: Only 100%?! I must try harder to achieve 120%!

ShellyStark: I appear to have started the wheels turning on your devious mind. Mwahahaha!

Syrena Swift: It cant go THAT fast. Hold your horses, chika! They'll get there. xD

ZoSilver: Easy on there, chika. Give me a chance to put my own aspects into the story line. XD Not to be rude, but this story is in the romance category. And down-playing the romance between them doesn't work with my plotline. You are the only person who has said they don't like the romance aspect so forgive me, but I cannot change that. Maybe? Jebus, darl. They DO. Insanely so. Thanks for your honesty anyhow!


Eyes fluttering, Marina broke through the last lazy haze of sleep to stare up at a pristine white ceiling, the flow of music having been what woke her up. Rubbing sleepily at her eyes, the environment became suddenly clear. The TV was rolling credits. Marina scrambled to her feet with a start. What the hell had she been on the floor for? Tracy and Gordon must've spiked the popcorn. Wait a minute. This was her house.

"What the hell?!"

Looking down, the Hello Kitty pyjamas that Galadriel had so cruelly destroyed were adorning her person; unmarred and free of dirt. This had to be a dream surely. Marina pinched herself with growing panic, wincing as the skin stung in protest. This could not be real. Rolling up her sleeve, the puckered scar tissue stared back at her. Pacing the length of the room, she tried to control her breathing to no avail.

"This is not happening. I didn't ask to be sent back. This is not happening!" Legolas's explanation of the bond was becoming blazingly apparent; her heart paced and constricted, sensing the loss of the elf's presence. It didn't make sense. There should have been excruciating pain in her feet but there wasn't. Hell, every single muscle in her body should be screaming from the horse ride. Could this still be a dream then? Marina carefully closed her eyes, counted to five and opened them. The boring, moderately decorated expanse of her lounge room remained.

For every breath that entered her lungs, her heart gave an unpleasant pulse that made the poor girl sick to her stomach and feel so unattached. Had Legolas felt this way when she had been unconscious for three days? How had he managed it? Marina jumped in fright as the clock in the kitchen chimed six, adding extra anxiety to already frayed nerves. Work. Yes, she started work at seven. Did she go? If this was a dream, surely it wouldn't matter either way?

All but forcing herself, Marina went about a morning ritual that now seemed so foreign and alien. Having blundered through the dark in Middle Earth, her night vision had improved and she didn't feel the need to turn the lights on. Using electricity just didn't seem necessary now that she was capable of surviving without it though stepping into a warm shower was lovely. Little niggling's of pain made themselves known in her soles. It worried her. If pain was coming on its own, this couldn't be a dream. Though it still had nothing on the heart beating an agonising rhythm beneath her breast.

It all felt so slow and tedious as she settled herself down at the kitchen table to indulge in a quick meal of cereal and a bowl of fruit; tasteless and bitter, it may as well have been ash. Whatever this was, whether real or a dream, it felt...wrong. It felt so empty and meaningless. Is this the way she'd lived for so long? Tossing the remnants of breakfast in the sink, Marina left the house and headed to the bus stop.

Clear, blue skies. The passage of scenery. People walking on the sidewalk or pausing at a shop window. Marina viewed it all as the bus putted down the street in the direction of the hospital. Had it always been so bleak? Without purpose? So...boring? Marina found herself suddenly homesick for a land that was not her own.

Work was as usual, the mad house she remembered it to be. The moment she clocked in, Marina was given the short piece of string; there were dozens of patients that needed wounds to be redressed, toiletry bags to be disposed of, family members to be consoled. All the hard, mind-numbing work put the girl in a veiled gaze. Everything she did was automatic; reflex. There was no joy to see a patient appreciating her care; no sadness when one of her patients passed away.

Every step, however, was another notch added to the pain
scale. Muscles ached; wounds protested and tore under the persistent strain of walking; her heart rising in her chest until the blood was all but pounding like a steady drum in her ear.

"Is this how I lived before?" She muttered softly. Forever condemned to simply work to lose who she was? Life was losing whatever importance it had left to give her, and she didn't care anymore. The messaging system goes off with a harsh alarm, snapping Marina out of her thoughts long enough to rush to the emergency room.

Casualties were pouring in; doctors shouting and demanding at the nurses who scurried around them. Marina was diverted to sorting out patient files and collecting information. A massive traffic collision including a dozen cars and a bus, was bringing a variety of injuries in. Helping people was the one thing she excelled at and quickly went from patient to patient, comforting them where she could, organising their medication, bandaging wounds and inserting needles.

"Marina," It was Tracey that came trotting up to her, blood smeared on her work clothes, appearing drawn and pale. "Come quickly!"

This was odd. Tracey didn't work in her department. Hell, Marina was positive that she didn't work at the same hospital. This had to be a dream.

Any chance at querying the need for her presence disappeared as the woman raced away; Marina followed, dodging around other staff members and life saving equipment. Shouldn't she have been happy to see her friend? Maybe even nostalgic? But there was nothing; not even a hint of affection for the other girl. Tracey lead her to a set of beds that were reserved for the worst casualties. A dozens doctors surrounded the one occupied bed, blocking the patient from sight. A strange, overwhelming feeling was growing inside her chest. Who was on that bed?

Ever so slowly, the doctors dispensed to reveal the patient. Numerous cuts and grazes covered his face; the majority of his body wrapped in gauze and tainted with blood. Marina stood stock still as his eyelids fluttered to reveal blue, blue eyes. Nearly everything in her body paused, except her heart that skipped a beat and hammered for all it was worth. Pain constricted around her chest and her legs collapsed under her. How was this happening? What the hell was going on?

There was no mistaking it. It was no man, but Legolas. Even covered in blood, with such haunted blue eyes he was still the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Though he said nothing, he continued to stare as she did. A strange scent filled the room then; the smell of the ocean. What the hell did that mean? The bed upon which he was resting began to move away, in the direction which the scent was strongest. A breeze filled the room and Marina squinted as harsh air buffeted her face.

"Le...Legolas..." her fingers reached for him but no matter how far she extended her arm he seemed to move further away. "Legolas!"

It is what will come to pass, should you fail. Galadriel's methodical voice whispered.

"Marina!"

The voice called her back to consciousness and Marina almost wept in relief to see the medieval ceiling above. It had been a dream, a very realistic dream but a dream nonetheless. Was that what it would be like to back? Is that what it would feel like to lose Legolas? How could she dare go back to such a bleak, meaningless atmosphere? Obviously, she had little to no purpose in the modern world anymore. For reasons still unfathomable, she was needed in this realm with the Prince of Mirkwood. What had Galadriel meant? Would Legolas die if she left? Shivering delicately, Marina tilted her head slightly to see Gandalf staring down at her with concern.

"Gandalf," Marina murmured, wincing as the brain acknowledged all the hurts the dream had not. At least there wasn't an ache in her chest now. The very idea of repeating that situation was not a welcome one. On further inspection, it became clear this was not Éowyn's room; it was smaller and less extravagant. It did nothing to help the anxiety curling cold fingers around her throat. Gandalf placed his hand upon her shoulder, forcing her to lay back down when she attempted to sit up.

"Stay as you are, child. Your injuries need time to heal."

Desperate, Marina's eyes filled with the tell-tale sign of tears. Fingers hooked like a vice into the wizard's voluminous cloak, to ground herself and convince the brain this was indeed real. Legolas was not injured and dying somewhere; he wasn't bloodstained or staring at her with such sad blue eyes. But he still wasn't sitting by her side. Why of all times was he not near? Gandalf watched in sympathy as the emotional turmoil swirled within her grey eyes.

"Gandalf...I dreamt I went back. Legolas...Legolas was hurt and I couldn't do anything. It was horrible. Galadriel said something to me in the dream. That what I saw would come to pass if I failed. What did she mean?" She whispered against his cloak, shivering both from pain and stress. It was night now so she figured it had to have been at least six hours since she fainted. Reeling away from the wizard, Marina threaded fingers through her hair and tugged on them mercilessly. "I can't do this!"

If Galadriel had meant to turn her away from the idea of returning home, she'd certainly achieved it. But why? Why was it so important that she remain? Just because Legolas was her soul mate? People, depending on the point of view of belief, rarely found their supposed soul mate on Earth. And they certainly didn't die if they didn't meet their other half. Why then should this be any different? Maybe it was time to have a serious chat with Legolas about the elven bonding thing.

"Marina Cortez!" Gandalf's voice boomed within the small room and she shrunk back under the covers as he seemed to grow in height. "You have seen what would become of your life if you returned to your world. You have seen what will happen to Legolas should you choose to do so. That is what the Lady of Light needed you to understand." Marina peeked out from beneath the covers as his voice took on a softer, more reassuring tone. "It is time for you to be strong for there are a great many perils ahead."

Marina watched with doe-eyed awe as Gandalf let his pipe and blew various objects into the air; rings, ships, trees. Was there anything thing this wizard could not do? Either it was the scent of the smoke or the elaborate shapes, she gingerly calmed down and relaxed back against the pillows. Gandalf nodded approvingly and cleared his throat. A servant came into the room with a tray of food. A selection of meats, fruits and bread made her mouth water as the woman set it down on the bed before retreating with a quick nod. Heedless to manners, Marina wolfed it down and very nearly spat it out. The food had a foul taste to it.

"Urgh. What's in this?"

"Various herbs to heal your wounds."

"I'm not eating another bite." Marina griped but a stern look from the wizard had her licking the last traces of sustenance off her fingers. Water, thankfully, was not spiked with foul-tasting medicine and she eagerly quenched her thirst. Full, content and in a little less pain than before, Marina sank back against the bed and drifted off to sleep under the watchful eye of Gandalf.


Something was crowing...loudly!

Marina groaned and nestled deeper under the blankets.

A few moments of silence and it started again. Growling, the woman buried her head under the bundle of pillows, trying to stay half-asleep long enough as to stem off the pain her brain would soon be registering. What could only be assumed as a rooster, continued its morning song in earnest and more of the damn birds joined in. And then dogs started barking. Horses whickered, equipment clanged and voices erupted into her peaceful solitude.

Now normally, you'd sit up and scream obscenities until silence was achieved. Marina went to do just that, and a list of curses poured from her lips for an entirely different reason. Muscles everywhere hurt like all hell; some worse than others, particularly her thighs. Feet however were by far the worst. Every little twitch sent a singe of agony through the tender soles. Marina grit her teeth with a whimper as she flexed both feet. If she didn't, the muscles would stiffen up and worsen. After all, she couldn't stay bedridden for however long it was going to take to heal. Flinging the sheets away, a grimace pulled at her lips. Bandages that would have been pristine white were soaked with blood and pus, staining the sheet both above and lining the bed.

Damn it all. Where is modern medicine when you need it?

Hardly the time to be wishing for modernisation considering the dream, but this was ridiculous. Both feet were just as bad, so she couldn't cheat by favouring one foot. And wheelchairs didn't exist. Neither did crutches, but certainly it was possible to make some? Scanning the room for useful, breakable items, Marina set her eyes on an old table. It was ancient, and clearly loved. Couldn't use that then. Discarding the crutches idea for the moment, Marina set about trying to get out of bed. There was nothing worse than lying in soiled sheets. Now she knew how her patients had felt after a night of lying in blood or worse. The edges of the beautiful gown she'd borrowed from Éowyn was completely soaked with it.

"Shit."

Gingerly moving to the edge of the bed, Marina tried to ignore the guilt surfacing for ruining clothing that wasn't her own. There were more troublesome things to be worried about than soiled linen. If there'd been a tub of some description in the room it would have been easy to simply let the wounds soak. But there wasn't. So desperate times called for desperate measures. Marina carefully went about undoing the bandages, wincing as the foul stench drifted up. What she'd eaten last night very nearly came back up as the wound was revealed. There were gigantic holes in both feet, each at least a millimetre deep and an inch across.

Pus and blood weren't the most worrying things now. What looked like eggs were clustered in bloody clumps through the wound. Dreading what would happen but knowing it needed to be done, Marina situated her fingers on the rim of a wound. It was as near to the closest eggs that she could get to without literally putting her hands into it. Bracing for possible agony, Marina pressed with her fingers and almost screamed. With an audible pop one of the clusters burst, sending pus, blood and what looked like vegetation onto the floor.

"Jesus." Marina shook with effort, perspiration lining every portion of her skin as she went about squeezing all of the clusters. By the time she was finished, the floor at her feet was covered with filth and the odd vegetation. To make matters worse, her hands were covered in gore despite the effort she'd gone to, to keep them clean. And to top it all off, her feet felt like huge, throbbing, bleeding sores. Tiredly, Marina collapsed back against the bed with a trembling sigh, and that's when there was a knock at the door.

It took her several tries to eventually say, "Come in."

Marina found herself looking upside down at Aragorn. Never had she been so happy, or embarrassed to see someone in her entire life. Said ranger was immediately concerned and crossed to the bedside, halting in his tracks upon seeing the sullied floor and bandages. His eyes followed the trail to the horrid excuse for feet; if it weren't for her toes sticking out above the mess you would not think they were the actual appendages of a human.

"What have you done!" Aragorn exclaimed, cutting a clean portion of sheet with his dagger before wrapping each foot securely, despite her hissed protests. "Never. Never do you remove the seedlings of the flesh hunter. They must be burnt off."

And then the ranger proceeded to give her a thorough tongue lashing, explaining that the 'flesh hunter' was an ancient plant that dwelled in the moist, dark places on the ground within Fangorn. It's defensive mechanism was to inject bacteria into whatever stepped on it, which would then develop into seedlings that slowly consumed muscle, bone and flesh when they hatched. The description made Marina go paler and panic, before he reassured her the incubation period took longer than a day. Thank God for that.

"What on earth were you doing barefoot in Fangorn?" Aragorn tutted, cleaning her soiled hands with another patch of sheet. Marina let her hands go lax in his grasp and felt heat burning into her cheeks. How the hell could she explain that? Without embarrassing herself further?

Oh, well, Aragorn. Um...Legolas and I were playing sexual hide and seek. Yeah, I think I'll keep that part to myself.

"I'm sorry," Marina said meekly, and very softly. It was blatantly obvious she was sidestepping the question but the ranger let it go. For now. Placing the back of his hand against her forehead, he almost snatched his hand back. The woman was literally burning up. Marina stiffened with alarm as Aragorn unsheathed his dagger again with a determined set to his mouth. After being a nurse and helping people with fevers, Marina could see where this was going. There was no way. No. Frickin. Way.

"No! Aragorn, I'll shave your head if you so much as dare!"

"Had you left your feet alone I wouldn't have to do this." And without so much as a by your leave, the weapon was used to make precise cuts in the dress before the ranger simply dragged it off her person. At least now, once again, she knew what it felt like to be a patient. Under no circumstances were you able to do shit about it if a medical personnel wished to remove your clothes. They were going. And Aragorn would have been a perfect doctor in her world. Even though she was still in some description of underwear, being half naked in front of Aragorn of all people was a little unexpected and mortifying. Respecting her need for privacy, Aragorn rose and bid her stay still before he left to find a healer.

This time Marina did as she was told and waited patiently, albeit nervously for his return. Gathering an unsullied part of the sheet, Marina cocooned herself in it, more for modesty than the fact that she'd started shivering. What felt like an hour later, which was just a minute in reality, Aragorn had returned with Gandalf. Marina very nearly slipped off the bed to run to him as Legolas appeared in the doorway. Those deep blue eyes were riddled with concern and panic, the likes of which she had see the day he rescued her from the Uruk-hai.

While she was distracted, Gandalf was quick to unveil the wounds and study them quite extensively. Aragorn was glaring down at the small bundles of bloody vegetation that had started to wriggle. A crunching squish, and several similar noises followed as Aragorn went about curb-stomping the hatching vegetation. Legolas and Marina watched on with something akin to wry amusement as the ranger, would-be-king chased the squirming bacteria around the small room. If she hadn't known any better, she would have said he was doing a jig. Or attempting to. Marina squirmed as an odd sensation began to swallow her feet; millions of small, pinching like sensations assaulted the wounds.

"Ow...ow...OW"! Marina howled as Gandalf forced his magic into the wounds, ridding the flesh of any remaining bacteria. All it took to silence her were tapered fingers coming to rest upon her shoulder. In seconds, the wizard leaned back to observe his handiwork. There was only so much he could do in relation to healing. The bleeding had stopped, the infection was gone; the wounds were slightly scabbed but would still need consistent monitoring. "T-thank you, Gandalf."

"You are most welcome. But no more barefoot adventures for you, child." Gandalf admonished with a stern look, which he then transferred to Legolas. Said elf bowed his head and Marina had to stifle a giggle before doing something very spontaneous. Crawling across the bed, she threw her arms around Legolas's waist and rubbed her cheek against his solid chest. An earthy, woodland scent that was all him filled her lungs and settled peace inside her. A multitude of soothing sensations followed as Legolas laced his fingers into her hair, stroking the locks in a methodical fashion.

A harsh cough interrupted the reunion and four pairs of eyes swivelled to the doorway where Gimli stood, ready for battle it appeared. As Marina leaned back in surprise, she had failed to notice they were all geared up and ready to go. What had happened after she fainted? Legolas took a reluctant step back and offered her his hand with a small smile. Accepting it, Marina used his support to tip-toe gingerly onto her feet.

"What's going on?"

"We must leave to Helms Deep. A army of wild-men and orcs are raiding through the country side. They will be here soon. So we must leave whilst we can." Aragorn supplied.

With sinking disappointed, Marina understood that whatever peace she had found here was at an end. It was time to move on again.

After hobbling for at least ten minutes, Marina finally arrived into the kitchens for a quick breakfast. Éowyn had taken over as her support, seeing as Legolas went to bid farewell to Gandalf (who she couldn't let go of as he tried to leave) and get Arod tacked and saddled. The Lady of Rohan had not missed a second of the exchange between mortal and elf. The Prince of Mirkwood had pressed an affectionate kiss to her brow, and had all but been towed away by the dwarf who was muttering about 'smitten'. Marina had stared after him longingly until Éowyn gently poked her nose.

"I did not know elves took human lovers." Éowyn intoned softly as she watched the younger woman eat.

Marina almost choked on a mouthful of fruit and had to clear her throat several times, not noticing Éowyn's laughing eyes. "L-lover? He...we're not...he isn't-"

"Calm thyself. I only jest."

"Oh." Marina's cheeks flushed red, much to Éowyn's amusement. After the two women had finished their modest breakfast, it was time to get organised. The Lady of Rohan seemed to evolve into a different woman in a matter of seconds; from bright and cheerful, to stern and battle-hardened. Marina could only watched in wide-eyed awe as Éowyn directed soldiers, civilians and even children to help where they could either with supplies or the elderly. It was a madhouse outside. People scurried everywhere and already a long line was winding out onto the plains. With a start, her eyes searched the crowd frantically for her company though she couldn't see them anywhere.

"He's there, Marina." Éowyn was leading her horse, pointing somewhere behind her. Flushing, Marina turned on her tip-toes to take the weight off the soles of her feet and spotted Legolas leading Arod towards her. An odd feeling sprouted within her chest as the elf seemingly walked through the crowd; people parting like water to allow him and the horse through. All strapped up in his green leather and spaulders now adorning his shoulders. Why did everything about him have to be so perfect. Éowyn discreetly moved away from the pair, a smile playing upon her lips.

"Do you think Gandalf will find Éomer in time?" Marina asked softly, even with the overwhelming uproar of voices and sounds.

Legolas inclined his head. "Aye. I believe he will. Now, little one. Come here."

Marina shook her head, eyes wide as Arod tossed his head pointedly. Helms Deep was obviously a very long walk if Legolas was going to put her on the horse. There was no way. Not even if it hurt like hell to march all the way to...wherever it is they were going. It couldn't be that far, surely. At least nothing compared to the trip from Rivendell to Rohan. But, she hadn't been injured then.

"I don't want to, Legolas. I'll be fine walking." Though her smile was convincing, the tremble of her voice and the wariness in her eyes was not.

"I will not allow any further injuries to your person." There. The no nonsense tone that he was rather good at. And he had the ultimate poker face. To make matters worse, Marina's stubbornness was gaining attention. Although the onlookers were too busy fleeing down the path, the familiar taunting look in their eyes made the ire rise. Reluctantly, and muttering while she did it, Marina inched closer and yelped in surprise when fingers circled around her waist. As easily as if she weighed a kilo, Legolas hoisted her up into the saddle. That familiar, foreboding feeling of being so high up with nothing to hold on to caused her to sway and shift uncomfortably.

"Legolas. I can't do this."

"It's all right, mil-nin. Breathe." Legolas had one hand holding Arod's bridle, while the other rubbed soothingly circles at her waist. "Hold onto the pommel if you need to." Shaking, Marina gave a jerky nod of understanding but couldn't help the whimper of fear as Legolas's hand retreated. A gentle pat on her leg caused her to look down to see Gimli winking reassuringly at her.

"You'll be fine, lassy. I'll catch ya if you slip out of the saddle."

Marina's lips twitched in response. Yes, she had no doubt he would catch her but it would likely end up as her landing on him rather than being caught. All thoughts of humour fled as Legolas stepped forward with the moving crowd, and Arod followed him. Clutching the pommel as though it were a lifeline, Marina could feel the blood racing through her heart. The muscles in her thighs tightened in reflex over the saddle, as if to mould her to it. That of course reminded her brain of just how sore they were and she had no choice but to sacrifice the security of clinging to let her legs hand limply against Arod's side. Legolas had instructed her to keep her feet out of the stirrups less the metal aggravate the wounds.

Arod whickered in response to his rider's negative vibe and tossed his head about until a quick reprimand from Legolas had him falling silent. Marina was bending forward of the horse's neck, for all the world appearing as a clinging, fear-stricken little girl. And the horse was just walking. Gimli peered up with a frown and wracked his brain for something to distract her but came up blank. He needn't have worried for the girl was just as desperate to distract herself from the animal she was seated upon.

"H-hey, Gimli. You want to play a game?"

Intrigued and please that she was trying to divert her attention, he grinned up at her. "Sure, lassy."

"Ok. How about we play I Spy?"

"What's that?"

"It's where you pick a something that you can see, and give the other person the first letter and they have to guess what it is."

Confused, Gimli cocked his head. "I shall give it a go."

Marina peered around for something easy and felt her eyes go down with a grimace. "I spy with my little eye, something beginning with h."

"Er...helmet!" Gimli asked, tapping at the metal dome upon his head. Marina shook her head. "Er...horse?"

"Yep!" Marina grinned, delighted to see the dwarf interested in continuing. For the next few hours, they swapped and started making it harder and harder to guess what the other saw. It had become quite silly too, seeing as they were using descriptive words to describe the people they were travelling with. Gimli had made fun at Legolas by using 'Princeling' on his turn. The elf, having been tuned in to their conversation the entire time, carefully steered Arod into the bawling dwarf. Needless to say, Gimli was knocked onto his butt in the dirt as the convoy moved around him.

"No fair!" The dwarf roared.

Marina giggled and beamed to hear Legolas's answering laugh. To her dismay the elf let go of Arod's bridle only to drop back to walk by her. The horse continued to plod along, ears flicking back for further direction if need be.

"Take up the reins." With some reluctance, Marina did as asked, draping the slack over Arod's flank. "Very good. See? You're doing fine, mil-nin."

A yell of surprise was the only warning Marina had before Gimli came thundering past upon Éowyn's horse before falling from the saddle, said lady in pursuit. Arod pranced nervously and Marina, on reflex, tightened her grip on the reins much to Legolas's approval. In a few moments, the horse settled and moved back to a sedate pace. Gimli was muttering that his falling off the horse was deliberate as Éowyn helped him back to his feet.

"Legolas?" Marina looked down at him.

"Yes, mil-nin?"

"Will you tell me what that means?"

Legolas opened his mouth to reply before a pair of horsemen galloped past, venturing up the hill. Explaining they would discuss it later, the elf raced after them, all but flying over the terrain to disappear over the hill. Marina gaped after him. How could he do that? What a damn bloody excuse to escape the conversation. A roar of something that was clearly a predator, followed by a man's cry filled the air. Something was very wrong.

"Wargs! We're under attack!" Aragorn yelled from up ahead and came racing back for his horse.

Theoden was shouting commands and spoke to his niece with firm words. A tug on her pants brought Marina back to reality to see Gimli standing there. "You must go with the women, lassy."

"But-"

"We'll be fine." Gimli reassured her and helped as much as he could considering his height as she slipped out of the saddle. Even the dwarf sat more comfortably in the saddle than she but clearly did not know how to issue commands to a horse. "Forward, animal. Forward!" Gimli yelped and Arod cantered forward with a snort, joining the multitude of riders thundering up and over the hill. Aragorn nodded at Marina as he whirled his horse around and galloped up the hill. What did she do? The women and children were fleeing while the men went off to fight. Yes, that had always been the way but it wasn't fair! Just what were they fighting?

Though judging from the sounds of battle, it wasn't something Marina should want to be seeing. Éowyn was suddenly pulling her away, moving in the direction of the retreating women. "Come, Marina. We must go."

"I can't lose them, Éowyn. They're all I have in this world. What if I never see them again? What if-"

Neither of them wished that sentence to be completed, so Marina fell silent and trotted after Éowyn with aching feet. All the horses had gone with the men. Now she had no choice but to tough it out and hope her feet didn't fall to ribbons.

Glancing back at the hill one last time, Marina shielded her heart from the possibility of a bad end, before hastening after the others.

Please, let them be safe. Let Legolas return to me...for some much needed explanation.


Like it? Hate it? Did you cringe with the eggs? I did! Opinions, suggestions - whatever, throw 'em my way, dearies! It always helps me improve. I promise there will be more Leggy goodness in the next chappy. Next update will hopefully be earlier! Mucho love to all!