Chapter Nine

She stood there gripping her bow tightly. Her body seemed paralysed with fear but her mind was racing with a thousand thoughts, second guessing everything she could remember from the books. Would sending Boromir home really have changed that much? Perhaps it would have helped. Denethor would have welcomed his favourite son home, and Boromir would have readied Gondor for the coming siege. But then would Denethor really have welcomed back a son that had not brought him back the one ring?

Galadriel had told her to guide them to the future she had seen, so Amy would stick to the story she knew but inside it was costing her. She stood staring into the forest knowing full well what was happening. She was glad she could not hear, she did not think she could bear the sounds of battle, the sing of arrows, the cold crash of swords, and the desperate horn of Gondor pleading for aid. Aid that would come too late. She would be of no use to him, and felt of little use to anyone else, well accept one person.

Frodo came crashing out of the forest before coming to a sudden halt before the shoreline and before Amy herself. She could see the tears already streaming down his face but kept her distance not wanting to intrude more than she had already done in these people's lives.

The hobbit seemed oblivious to her presence lost in his own thoughts. Moments went by before he turned to her. The look on his face had her catching her breath full of emotion. She slowly approached him then knelt so she was on his level.

"I wish the ring had never come to me... I wish none of this had happened...I... am sorry. I know you cannot understand me." When it came to cost, she realised Frodo was paying a deeper price than she was. "I do not know what to do." He said the last part slowly so that she could understand.

It surged inside of her then so that she could not control it even if she wanted to. "Yes you do." It was nothing but a whisper but Frodo heard it. She had spoken.

She place a gentle hand upon his chest over his heart and he knew what she meant.

He listened to what his heart was telling him and he heard Gandalf. "All feel the same who live to see such times...but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

With renewed determination, Frodo tucked the ring he had been gripping tightly into his vest pocket. He gave Amy a weak smile but she saw strength in him then and decided a small bit of intervention would not hurt. "Wait." She reverted back to sign language.

He understood the gesture and did not have to wait long before Sam burst through the trees. "Mr Frodo!"

"Sam, I..." He looked to Amy unsure of why she had made him wait.

"You did not think you were going anywhere without me."

"I have to go alone Sam, I'm sorry." He began to push one of the Elven boats out only to find Sam by his side. "Go back Sam. I am going to Mordor alone."

"Of course you are...and I am coming with you." To emphasise this he clamoured into the boat and folded his arms decisively.

"Sam please get out of the boat. I have to do this alone."

Sam looked pleadingly at Frodo then at Amy. She smiled gently at him and with a slight tip of the head encouraged him to go on. "I made a promise, Mr Frodo, a promise." He said his voice now thick with emotion. "Don't you leave him, Samwise Gamgee. And I don't mean to...I don't mean to."

Sam tears now matched Frodo's and without a second thought Frodo jumped into the boat. The two friends embraced and did not spare Amy another look as at last the Ring bearer set out to Mordor not alone but with the one person he would need to get through the journey ahead. Frodo did not need Amy, that was something she knew to be true. Frodo would find his way, and follow the right path without her.

With the two hobbits gone she knew what had happened in the forest. Merry and Pippin would have been taken and Boromir...

She could not even think about it without feeling sick, and the feeling did not abate when Aragorn appeared strapping on Boromir's vanguards. As soon as he saw her she saw the question in his eyes, a question mirrored by Legolas and Gimli that had also returned. Yet time was against them and Legolas made the first move.

"If we are quick, we can catch Frodo and Sam before nightfall." He begun to push one of the boats out. When no one reacted he turned to Aragorn. "You mean not to follow them..."

Aragorn watched as Frodo and Sam got out of their boat on the distant riverbank and begun their long journey to Mordor on their own. He had seen Frodo's intent before the Uruk's had come, when Aragorn had faced the ring of power and won the inner battle that his forefather Isildur had failed. His assurances did not only end there.

Amy had stood upon this shore the whole time and had no doubt watched or even encouraged Frodo and Sam to go. This was what was meant to happen. "Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands."

Gimli rested heavily on his axe. "Then it has all been in vain, the Fellowship has failed."

Aragorn looked to Amy now. "Do you think we have failed?"

Amy looked to Legolas for interpretation not fully catching all that was said. When she had read Legolas' signs she knew truly what Aragorn was asking her. Was Boromir supposed to die? Was the battle they had just fought and had lost so much worth it? Had they already failed in their quest?

"You haven't failed anything." She shook her head as well so that Aragorn and Gimli got her immediate response as well. Legolas caught the undertone in her mannerisms though, they had not failed but she felt she had. He wanted to talk to her but they did not have the time.

"We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death, not while we have strength left." He emphasised his plan by pulling out his hunting knife from his pack and strapping it to his leg. "Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light. Let's hunt some Orc." There was a grim steely light in his eye that spurred Gimli and Legolas on.

"Yes! Ha!" Gimli roared as he shed his pack and immediately set off.

"Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." She may have been a marathon runner but she had a feeling this was going to be the longest marathon of her life. If she could just keep up with Gimli she was sure she would be fine.

He spared her a wry smile before shooting off after the dwarf and the ranger. So no time to think, no time to talk, no time to cry, only time to run.

...

She did not know how long they had been running for, but the muscles in her legs told her it was longer than she had ever run for before. Her only saving grace was that although Gimli seemed to have a surprisingly endless pot of energy he did seem to have a much gentler pace. A pace she was only too happy to follow. She dreaded to think how far behind she would be if it was solely up to Aragorn and Legolas about what pace they would be setting. She could only assume that Gimli's pace was just as fast if not faster than the Uruk's they were trying, in vain she thought wryly, to catch, and therefore Aragorn was happy for them to lag behind.

As with such thoughts it is often that they jinx things and true enough Aragorn was ahead ear pressed to the ground reading the land. "Their pace has quickened. They must have caught our scent. Hurry!"

Legolas had the good grace to pause and turn back to Gimli and Amy. "Come on!"

Gimli ground to a halt with a heavy huff. "If we could all but skip over grass" He grumbled crossly. He took a deep breath and took Amy's hand giving it a tight squeeze as she pulled in breath greedily. "I am glad you are with me lassy."

She could not be entirely sure of what he said but the bright smile he gave her lightened her heart somewhat. With his encouragement they set off again after their fleet footed companions.

She could not see Aragorn ahead but she could see Legolas, she had no doubt he was hanging back to make sure they were okay and keeping up. Of the brief glimpses she had had of Aragorn he looked awful, probably as awful as Gimli and herself looked. Yet Legolas had not even broken a sweat, she did not know whether to resent him or be impressed.

They ran across rocks and plains pushing on until Aragorn suddenly stopped and bent down. He ran his fingers across it before picking up the Elven brooch. "Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall."

Legolas stopped just behind him with renewed hope. "They may yet be alive."

"Less than a day ahead of us. Come!"

Legolas turned just in time to see Gimli take a tumble from behind some rocks and roll down a slight hill. Amy was relying in her momentum at that point which meant she had no time to stop, so ploughed straight into him causing her to trip and smash face first into the floor. She let out a muffled groan as she felt strong arms pull her up.

Legolas ignored Gimli's protests at being ignored as he noticed the blood dripping from her forehead where the pinking scar had previously been healing. Without hesitation he took his leather water pouch and poured some of the contents over the wound. It was not very deep and mostly superficial but that was the first time in a few days he had really taken the time to look at her.

She looked exhausted, utterly exhausted. Her face was pale and shone with sweat and her cheeks were slightly sunken as she had burnt off every last bit of fat that her body held. In her eyes there was not just fatigue but a great hurt, a hurt he felt an overwhelming compulsion to erase but time had not been on their side for him to say anything let alone give her any comfort. The wound on her head was now clean and no longer bleeding so his excuse for not moving on was now gone. He attached his water bottle to his belt again and signed quickly. "We are gaining on them, we must continue."

She nodded. She knew they must continue because she knew what was waiting for them in Fangorn forest. She just was not sure if she would make it with them the rate they were going. Even Gimli seemed to have found another wind. Her second, hell her fifth wind, was well and truly gone, and no amount of lembas bread seemed to work anymore. Either her legs were just going to crumble beneath her, or the lack of sleep from two nights spent on rock with little true rest had was going to finish her off.

Gimli set off first after Aragorn panting as he did, "I am wasted on cross-country! We dwarves are natural sprinters! Very dangerous over short distances!"

Legolas could not help but smile at this as he took Amy's hand. He started off in a jog pulling her with him as he went. He was going to run with her from now on and the gesture did not go unnoticed. He felt as if he had neglected her, he knew he had neglected her.

Communication was difficult when you were setting chase but with the barrier of her hearing that existed it made it twice as hard. How could you talk to someone whilst running when you needed to face them and either talk clearly and slowly or use your hands effectively to talk in signs?

It made him wonder what her life was like back home. Aragorn had said it must be isolating but Legolas had disregarded that comment at the time, yet now it played on his mind. Just how many people could she talk to back home? Did humans on her earth all know sign language and could converse with her wherever she turned, or was she alone like she was here?

Amy could see that Legolas was deep in thought as they ran. His jaw clenched tightly whenever he was thinking about something. It was one of the little things she had noticed about him. He hid his emotions and thoughts very well, she supposed it was part of being an elf, but it pleased her when she could break through that stoic veneer. When your ears did not work, your eyes picked up all those little extra signals most people did not see. Sometimes though, as it was now, she wished she had not seen what was before her. There lay a steep hill that Aragorn had already scaled and that they were no doubt to follow him up. She felt her legs turn to jelly and stumbled. Legolas was quick to hold her up lest she fell and could feel the weight of her body relying solely on him.

She risked removing her vice like grip on his arm to sign. "I can't do this, Legolas. I can't. I am not supposed to be here."

He ignored the last comment not even bothering to answer and in one swift move he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

She did not feel the indignation she thought she would feel, instead the relief of not being on her feet flooded her. Upon reaching the top he placed her back on her feet but did not let her go.

Aragorn had also come to a stop. "Rohan. Home of the horse-lords. There is something strange at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures, sets its will against us." He nodded to Legolas and seemingly the elf knew what was required of him.

He slowly let go of Amy making sure she was steady on her feet before running ahead and scaling a rocky outcrop for height.

Aragorn called out. "Legolas, what do you elf eyes see?"

"The Uruks turn northeast. They're taking the hobbits to Isengard!" He called back.

Gimli shook his head in disbelief. "No, we cannot let that happen."

"This is Saruman's doing." Aragorn spat.

"This cannot be what happens." Gimli turned to Amy. "Tell me they do not end up in his hands!"

"Gimli." Aragorn said in a warning voice, he saw the confusion on Amy's face. "We carry on without question, and besides, she does not know what you ask."

"I am sorry Aragorn, I just cannot believe that that is their fate!"

"We do not know their fate yet, and neither does she. She knows a possible fate. We continue." With that he sped off towards Legolas' position leaving Amy and Gimli no choice but to follow.

The dwarf gave her a sympathetic smile and patted her on the back. "Keep breathing. That's the key!" He panted a final, "Breathe!" As he pushed himself onward.

She stood still for a second convinced that if she took one more step her legs would dissolve and her heart stop beating. There was nothing left in the tank, she had been running on empty for a while now. She was pretty sure that what they had done so far was just not physically possible for a human and if she pushed herself any further she was destined for a heart attack. It was then that she saw Legolas still upon the rocky outcrop waiting for her his hand outstretched and somehow she knew that if she could just make it to him that she would be okay. Her first step was shaky but with every subsequent step she felt a new strength course through her legs until finally she placed her hand in his.

A new surge of energy coursed through her as their skin touched and she looked up at him with some shock. Either he did not feel it or had decided not to explain, and with no desire to be left any further behind he raced off with her in toe.