Chapter o9

I stirred gently from my slumber, though my eyes remained closed. The surface beneath me was soft and warm, wrapped securely around my body. My golden eyes flickered open and the body beneath me rose once more with a deep breath before he exhaled, the warm air rolling down my shoulders. My head rested on Boromir's chest, directly where his heart was and I could hear the proud thump of each beat.

I pulled away from him and immediately my skin felt bear and cold, but I shook off the shiver and choose to look up at his peaceful face, the innocence of a child graced his features. With Elven gentleness I took my fingers and lightly traced them over the skin on his chest in small circular patterns.

A small groan escaped his lips as he raised a large, calloused hand and lightly grabbed mine, stopping me from tracing his chest.

"Good morning" He spoke groggily as he slowly came around, releasing my hand to rub his face of sleep.

"Indeed it is" I smiled, indicating towards the cave mouth and the fact that the storm had stopped to a mere heavy wind. He followed the motion and smiled lightly, "We should be going" I summarised, Boromir nodded mutely.

"I agree" He sighed, he looked down at me and I surprised him by lightly pressing my lips to his, he kissed back for a couple of seconds before I pulled away. I stood up and made my way over to the pile of clothes, upon picking them up and dusted them down, removing a majority of the ice crystals.

When I looked up I noted that Boromir had recovered from the initial shock of me kissing him, rather than it being him kissing me, and had started to get dressed as well.

After getting dressed, I picked up my pack and stood at the mouth of the cave, looking out over the angry grey rock that sloped downwards; looking up at the sun I got a rough bearing of where we were on the mountain. I closed my eyes and strained me ears, listening intently for the rustling of falling water.

"Which way do we go?" Boromir asked as he joined me, my eyes snapped open.

"That way" I pointed down the mountain, slightly to the left, "I can hear the water" I informed,

"We must be quick" He smiled down at me,

"Try to keep up" I grinned before taking off down the mountain, using my life-long training to pass easily over the terrain, jumping swiftly from rock to rock, my muscular built legs carrying me speedily. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Boromir a few yards behind me; although for a city man he was keeping up well.

It wasn't long before we arrived at the yard wide stream, the crystal clear water flashed by, wrapping around the grey rocks that lay at the bottom.

"Water" Boromir smiled as he stopped next to me,

"I know where we are" I grinned; before bending down and catching the water in my cupped hands, bringing the clear liquid to my mouth. Boromir copied my actions.

"Let's go" he spoke as he stood up, I smiled at him as we took off again, covering the ground quickly. The sun was quickly setting behind us and a small fragment of doubt crawled into my mind wondering if we would catch up with them.

The sun had fully set by the time we reached the base of the mountain, where the stream toppled out into a large deathly still lake.

"Which way?" Boromir asked as he squinted in various directions, left and right of the mountain, his city eyes not used to having to work in the dark. My eyes however were more developed and adapted due to generations of travellers. I closed my eyes and opened them they flickered a luminous yellow, like cat's eyes in the dead of night, suddenly everything became much clearer and I could see in perfect black and white.

"Unbelievable" Boromir gasped as he looked at my eyes, I ignored the comment and made my way a couple of yards left of where we were standing.

"They passed this way" I spoke as I crouched down, running my hands down over the footprints on the ground. I could distinguish each and every person of the fellowship. Bill the Pony's were the easiest to separate and next to it there were five sets of small foot prints, four of which belonged to the hobbits and the deeper set belonged to Gimli, larger footprints belonged to Aragorn who was apparently walking next to Gandalf, I could recognise Gandalf due to where his cloak had pulled along the ground leaving a distinct trail. The hardest member to track was Legolas, whose Elven light weight meant he barely left any print that hadn't already been worn away. I however knew what I was looking for and found the subtly indents of his path.

"They're still together" I spoke standing up again, relaxing my eyes so they reverted back to there glittering gold "And quite close" I smiled,

"We will make it" he grinned, still staring deeply into my eyes.

We heard the fellowship before we saw them, Gimli's loud voice echoed through the night air. I looked to Boromir as we ran, he shared my grin and we both subconsciously sped up, desperate to reach them again, the join what had temporarily become our family.

Legolas tensed as he heard the sound of two approaching foot falls, Aragorn noticed the changed in the elf's demeanour immediately and stopped as well, placing his hand on the hilt of the sword.

"What is it my friend?" He asked with out looking at Legolas, instead he followed the elf's gaze out in front of them. Legolas gasped slightly as his eyes made sense of the sight in front of him.

"It cannot be" He couldn't help the small smile that graced his lips.

"Do you not believe your elven eyes my friend?" I spoke as Boromir and I approached the group, walking casually into their line of sight again.

The hobbits were the first to react, grins lit up their faces as they shouted both our names and charged us with four hugs. I blinked in slight surprise before bending down at hugging them back, happy to be with them again.

"Colette!" Merry wrapped his arms around me neck, "I thought you had died"

"It'll take more than a mountain" I grinned as the hobbit, kissing the top of his head lightly and setting him down.

"It seems we can't get rid of you" Gimli boomed in a large laugh as he patted Boromir hard on the back, he could reach it since Boromir had bent down with me to return the hugs of the hobbits.

"How?" Aragorn asked, I glared at him,

"No welcome back?" I snapped, his light grey eyes flashed with a mixture and hurt and various other saddening emotions before he hardened them again.

"We survived the fall" Boromir spoke, "And waited the storm out in a near by cave, it calmed this morning and we made our way down"

"It is good to see you again" Gandalf placed a hand on Boromir's shoulder, "And you Colette" He spoke giving me a grandfather like smile. "But I believe we have a mine to find" He continued as he ran his hands over the towering rock walls, I raised an eyebrow; I had heard that Dwarf doors were hard to find, but surely we would be able to see it?

"Dwarf doors are invisible when closed" Gimli stated proudly, as if answering my unspoken question.

"Yes Gimli, even their own masters cannot find them if their secrets are forgotten" Gandalf replied, his hands still running over the walls, I fought to bite back a snigger at the shade of which Gimli's face was reddening.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Legolas muttered sarcastically, Gimli's face merely reddened further with anger.

"Play nice" I smirked at Legolas, noting that he and Gimli still failed to see eye to eye.

My head whipped around at the sound of a splash, only to note that it was just Frodo who lost his footing resulting in his foot slipping into the water, he quickly pulled it out and scrambled back up the bank. My eyes left Frodo and scanned over the lake, a shiver ran down my spin, sparking a chain reaction of uneasy knots in my stomach.

Boromir subtly fell back after talking to Gimli and I sped up slightly, the two of us ending up walking together. He smiled down at me, his eyes glistening with mischief. I smirked back as our hands, swinging with each step brushed against each other, his pale skin sending sparks through my entire body. We continued to do this we every other step, cherishing each time our skin stroked together.

Our romantic actions went unnoticed by most of the group yet I was sure the keen eyes of Legolas would have noted it somewhere in his mind. I also expected that Gandalf, no matter how far in front of us he was, would know… he appeared to know everything. I didn't however notice the envious grey eyes that bore into backs of our bodies, a fire lighting up in them each time mine and Boromir's hands caught each other.

We stopped walked when Gandalf stopped walking; the old man stared up at in for a few seconds before rubbing away the dirt to reveal a pattern engraved into the wall.

"Now let's see… Ithildin, it mirrors only the starlight and moonlight" Gandalf spoke more to himself than anyone else. And, as if reacting to his very thoughts the moon emerged from behind the thick clouds. The engraved pattern reacted immediately and the intricate archway lit up in an ethereal pale glow.

"It reads, The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak friend, and enter" Gandalf translated the text above the door for all of us.

"What do you suppose that means?" asked Merry who stared at the door.

"Oh, it's quite simple. If you are a friend, you speak the password, and the doors will open" Gandalf spoke reasonable cheerfully before pressing the tip of his twisted staff to the centre of the door and speaking, "Annon Edhellen edro hi ammen!"

Silence reverberated around the group as the doors stood unfazed by the wizard's words.

"Ando Eldarinwa a lasta quettanya, Frenda Casarinwa!" Gandalf tried again; once again silence filled the group as nothing happened.

"Nothing's happening" Pippin stated, Gandalf ignored him as he tried to push the doors open with force, he gave up and slumped onto a near by rock.

"I once knew every spell in all the tongues of Elves, Men and Orcs" he murmured.

"What are you going to do then?" Pippin asked,

"Knock you head against these doors Peregrin Took! And if that does not shatter them, and I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will try to find the opening words" Gandalf snapped, the frustration he held for himself not being able to open the door poured out over Pippin.

"Um, Pip, why don't you go and join Merry or help Sam unload Bill?" I placed a hand on his shoulder and directed him over to the other hobbits,

"Yeah" he whispered sadly before making his way over to Merry. I looked back over to Sam who was now joined by Aragorn, it was obvious that Sam would miss the pony, I could tell by the sad look on his face.

"He's a good man" Legolas spoke as he stood next to me, I looked up at him, unsure is he was speaking about Boromir or Aragorn, my question was answered as I saw he was looking to Aragorn.

I scoffed.

"There is a story amongst my people" I started, "A fox was walking along a river bank looking for a place to cross when he came across a scorpion. The scorpion said to the fox, 'I too wish to cross the river, may you allow me to ride across on your back?' The fox replied, 'Why would I do that, you would just sting me and I would drown?' The scorpion then reasoned, 'Then I would drown too' the fox thought about this and agreed, letting the scorpion up onto his back. They were half way across the river when the fox felt a sharp sting on his back, the scorpion had stung him. As the venom began to course through his veins, the fox asked, 'why did you sting me, now we both shall drown?' and the scorpion merely replied, 'I could not help it… it's in my nature" I finished the tale and looked up at Legolas who appeared to be studying me deeply.

"You trust Boromir" he spoke finally,

"That is different" I sighed,

"How? They are both men?" He asked,

"Boromir does not have poison running through his veins" I hissed, "Aragorn, carries the sting of the scorpion with him… he has since birth"

Anger flashed in Legolas' eyes, but he quickly controlled it.

"When we believed you to be dead, your deaths stung the very hearts of each of us… but your 'death' truly began to eat away at Aragorn… he cares for you" Legolas spoke quietly before leaving me to blink in surprise at his words. Confusion rippled through me as I looked up at Aragorn again, he was pushing Bill away from the group…

"Are you okay?" Boromir asked as he approached me. "You look like you've seen a ghost" I shook my head, deciding that the Elf must have interpreted the emotions wrongly.

"Fine…" I trailed off, my eyes scanned protectively over the group, pausing on Merry and Pippin who were sat at the edge of the lake, skimming stones. I frowned at there actions and with unusual speed darted over to them holding onto Merry's arm stopping him from throwing the pebble in his hand. My eyes flickered over to the Pippin who was in a similar predicament, but Aragorn was the one holding his wrist.

"Do not disturb the water" I let go of Merry's arm and took the stone from his palm.

"You sense it too?" Aragorn asked as he looked at me, releasing Pippin from his grasp. I nodded mutely as I looked back over the lake, narrowing my eyes on one particular ripple that seemed to be charging towards us.

"Move away from the edge" I spoke, ignoring my hatred for Aragorn for now, Merry and Pippin followed my orders as they stood up and moved away from the lake.

"Oh it's useless!" Gandalf cried, I gave the lake one last hard stare before turning to the wizard. Frodo made his way to the door, deep in thought.

"It's a riddle. Speak 'friend' and enter!" he cried, "What's the Elvish word for friend?" He asked,

"Mellon" Gandalf spoke,

The doors reacted to the word immediately and slowly opened with a grinding groan, I had a sinking feeling that these doors hadn't been opened for a while; nevertheless I followed the others into the mine.

"Soon, Master Elf, you will enjoy the hospitality of the dwarves!" Gimli boomed at Legolas, pride obvious in his voice "Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off of the bone! This, my friend, is the home of my cousin Balin. And they call is a mine. A mine!" He scoffed.

I looked down at the floor and gasped at what I saw, bones of dwarves littered the floor.

"This is no mine" Boromir muttered, having spotted the bones as well, "It's a tomb" Legolas reached out and pulled a thin arrow from one of the corpses.

"Goblins" He hissed.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan!" Boromir shouted, "We should never have come here! Now, get out! Get out!"

"Frodo!" Sam's cry ripped above everything causing all of us to whip around. A massive tentacle had launched out of the water and have wrapped around Frodo's ankle, dragging him backwards out of the mine. Sam reacted immediately and drew his sword, rushing forward and slashing the tentacle that gripped Frodo; he pulled his friend up and tried to pull him back into the mine. "Get off him!" he cried as dozen more tentacles launched out of the water and sped towards the fellowship. I drew my bastard sword from the scabbard and ran out of the mine.

"Strider!" Sam cried, even though Aragorn had already drawn his full length sword and was charging with me. Legolas and Boromir followed our actions and charged with us, Boromir too drew his sword; Legolas knocked his bow and fired. I noted that Aragorn was heading to Frodo, so I choose to jump over the heads of Merry and Pippin in an aerial summersault, just in time to land and slice the tentacles that were launching at them.

"Into the cave!" I ordered over my shoulder as I sliced at oncoming tentacles, ducking and weaving out of the way, I may not have brute strength, but I made up for it in flexibility, speed and stamina. I scanned the battle area and saw Frodo fall into the arms of Boromir, Merry and Pippin were safely in the cave with Gandalf.

"Into the mines!" Gandalf cried,

"Legolas! Into the cave!" Boromir shouted, my eyes widened as I saw Boromir and Aragorn running back through the water, but the tentacles were fast launching at them, I exploded into a run towards them. I panicked inwardly as I realised I wasn't fast enough the reach them

"Legolas!" I shouted, looking over at the Elf who had knocked his bow with two arrows. "Aim at its eyes!" I ordered, he nodded and released the arrows with perfect aim, the points slamming into the creature's eyes. It screeched loudly as the tentacles flailed, just missing the two men and the hobbit.

I ran side by side with the men as we sprinted into the cave, the angered creature pulled its blinded self out of the water and began to try to enter the cave; however in its blind state it didn't realise that it was collapsing the mouth of the cave.

Darkness wrapped around us and out of reflex my eyes re-focussed allowing me to see in perfect black and white, the pupils glowing a luminous yellow like a cats once again. The hobbits gasped slightly as they caught sight of my eyes which were the only thing to stick out in the darkness. I looked around at the fellowship, able to see each one of there shocked expressions, except Boromir who merely smiled at me. I looked to Legolas whose head was tilted to the side in light thought. Finally I flickered my gaze to Aragorn, curious as to his reaction. He locked his light grey eyes with mine.

"Fascinating" Gandalf spoke lightly, my eyes locked onto the wizard. "I've heard of Gitana eyes, but never have I seen them in the dark" He continued airily before lighting the end of his staff, illuminating the near but area.

"We now have but one choice" I frowned as I turned to look at the collapsed entrance.

"We must face the long dark of Moria" Gandalf agreed. "Be on your guard! There are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world" He warned, "Quietly now. It is a four day journey to the other side. Let us hope our presence may go unnoticed"

He began to lead the way through the mine, I ignored the stares I was still receiving from the hobbits and took a few large strides to catch up with Gandalf.

"There's something you're not telling us" I spoke quietly, he faltered in his cool demeanour before glancing down at me,

"Everything has a time and a place" He spoke, only earning a frown from me…

Why must that man speak in constant riddles?