Chapter 9 – Adeline
Ophelia has been acting odd lately. She has been more jumpy and has avoided me for a bit of time now. Every time I spoke to her, she would give this sorrowful look as if she had been at my funeral.
We walk to the Mines of Moria and I realize I am one clumsy Elf. Even the Hobbits weren't tripping, while I was.
"Shiz!" I curse, trying to regain my balance. I flail, until an arm grabs me.
"Steady," Legolas warns me and continues on his joyful way.
"Whatever," I grumble, falling back to Ophelia and Boromir. "What's up?"
Boromir looks befuddled. "The sky, Lady Ada."
Ophelia and I roll our eyes in unison. "Let it go, Ada, men are clueless."
"Yes… Yes – wait!" Boromir says in a daze before snapping out. "No we are not!"
Ophelia grins at me. "See? He agrees with me."
"L'amour,"* I say, smirking.
"I would shut up," Ophelia says, in a low voice, but her eyes are flitting around the edges, and I instantly know she is embarrassed.
"Help an old man, Frodo," Gandalf rests an arm on Frodo's shoulder.
"Old man, my cul,"** Ophelia says, highly irritated. "As if. That man is far more capable then any of us."
I cock my head as Gandalf says something quietly to Frodo. "– your shoulder? The ring?"
Frodo made a grimace and stared up at Gandalf.
"You feel its power, don't you?" Gandalf says, but his question is more like a statement. "I felt it too. You must be careful now."
And some other stuff I didn't bother to look into. Walking… walking…
"Gosh," Groans Ophelia. "This adventure would go so much faster if cars were invented in this time."
"It might even be over," I agree with her. "Walking… walking… walking…"
"The walls," Gimli gasps. "Of Moria."
"Wow, this is… impressive?" I say, unsure. What I see before me is a vast, grey cliff, towering above me, making me feel extremely small. "This is… tall."
"Tis so," Legolas says dryly, inspecting it. "It is tall."
"Dwarf walls are invisible when closed," Gimli says proudly, pounding his axe against the wall.
"Yes, Gimli, their masters cannot find them, if their secrets are forgotten," Gandalf says, haughtily.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Legolas murmurs.
Gimli scowls, then focuses his attention back on the wall.
Gandalf approached the treacherous looking cliff, and trails his hand over the surface of the mountain. "Now, let's see… Ithildan... it mirrors only starlight… and moonlight."
"It reads The Door or Durin – Lord of Moria. Speak friend and enter," Ophelia reads, as Gandalf opens his mouth to speak. Ophelia is flustered for a moment as if she wasn't supposed to do something. "What? Library."
"What do you suppose that means?" Pippen says, innocently wondering.
"It is quite simple. If you are a friend, and speak the password, the doors will open," Gandalf says, smartly. "Annon Edhellen, edro hi amen!"***
…?
"Fennas Nogothrim, lasto beth lammen!"****
…?
"Nothing's happening," Pippen says, and Gandalf looks now annoyed. He tries to push open the doors.
"I once knew every spell in all tongues of Elves… Men… and Orcs," Muttered Gandalf angrily.
"What are you going to do, then?" Pippen asks simply.
"Knock your 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!" Explodes Gandalf.
Ophelia and I plop down, sitting near the river's edge.
"Do you miss home?" I sigh to Ophelia.
She gives a funny look to me and answers slowly, "This might sound crazy to you, but no, not really. I feel much more… at peace, you could say. It's a nice feeling."
I take a deep breath and realize she is right. It is much more peaceful hear and feel like I actually belong here. "It is lovely… Not here, though. Not in these times."
I saw Frodo thinking deeply, and I saw Ophelia hand him something dark. Chocolate! Chocolate solves everything.
"Have this, Frodo," Ophelia smiles at him. "It'll make the pain go away."
"But I don –"
"Don't question the power of this," Ophelia orders sternly and I burst into fits of giggles. "It works."
Frodo looks at the Hershey's Kiss skeptically before swallowing it and I see him sucking it.
"This is fantastic Miss Lia," Frodo asks solemnly.
I look over at Aragorn, he, unhitching Bill's (our pony, mind you) bridle.
"The Mines no place for a pony, even one so brave as Bill," I heard Aragorn say to Sam.
"Bye-bye, Bill," Sam said softly.
"Go on, Bill, go on," Aragorn encourages the pony. "Don't worry, Sam. He knows the way home."
I watch Bill clip-clop into the night. "Thank you, Bill."
I hear Merry and Pippen throwing stones into the water.
Plop… plop...
"Don't," I hear Aragorn warn. My, my, aren't we limited to things we can do?
"It's a riddle," Frodo mutters, at first, then grows confident. "Speak 'friend' and enter. What is the Elvish word for friend?"
"Mellon…" I said. "It's mellon."
The stone doors slowly opened, making a low, rumbling noise, as the edge of the stone scratches against the floor.
"Soon, Master Elf, you shall enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves!" Gimli bragged. "Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone. This, my friend, is the home of my cousin, Balin."
Gandalf taps his staff and it makes a sound as it glows a bit.
Gimli was finishing his previous though. "And they call this a mine! A mine!"
I look around cautiously. I could sense something I didn't like.
"This is no mine!" Boromir exclaimed. "It's a tomb!"
Gandalf's staff emitted light, showing corpses and skulls.
"Oh, no!" Gimli cries. "No, no-o-o!"
Legolas pulled an arrow from a dead corpse's body. He threw it away in disgust.
"Goblins!" Boromir, Aragorn and Ophelia drew their swords, and Legolas and I pulled off our bows, setting our sheaths in place.
"We make for the gap of Rohan," Boromir stated, his voice hinted with fear. "We should have never come here! Now, get out, get out!"
The Hobbits turn swiftly on their feet, only to discover Frodo was being dragged towards the doors, pulled off his feet.
"Frodo!" Merry, Pippen and Sam cried.
"Strider! Help him!" Sam shouted.
"Help!" Frodo gasps. "Help!"
"Aragorn!" I screamed. Sorry, I was too freaked out to help.
"Strider!" Frodo shrieked. "Lia!"
Ophelia threw a dagger, slashing a tentacle. The monster feigned disappearance but rose quickly, more tentacle's rising out of the murky waters.
Legolas and I took shot at the monster, hitting a tentacle, and, me, being lucky, hit an eye.
"Good!" Legolas called to me. "Do that more!"
That was pure luck! I want to scream, but I stay silent, and fire more arrows.
"Into the Mines!" Gandalf roared. "Now!"
"Into the caves!" Aragorn repeated. "Hurry! Legolas!"
"Run!" Ophelia screamed, and we slammed the doors shut, as the last person came in, darkness swallowing us.
"We now have but one choice," Gandalf proclaimed, gravely, as he knocked his staff on the ground to light up a small area. "We must face the, long dark road of Moria. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler tings than Orcs, in the deep places of the world."
Thanks, Gandalf. Thanks.
More walking. Why don't we re-name this Fellowship into the Fellowship of the Walking? I swear, that's all we do. So, apologies for the boringness of this part… and every other part that involves walking.
"Quietly now," Gandalf tells us. "It's a four-day journey to the other side. Let us hope our presence go unnoticed."
"You just jinxed it, Dumbledore," Ophelia said, in her best Ronal Weasley impression. I chuckle.
"The wealth of Moria did not come from jewels… or gold," Gandalf continued his little speech. His hand trailed the wall, touching a silvery vein. "But in Mithril."
"What is Mithril?" Sam asked, curious.
"It's a silvery metal, very light in weight, but as tough as dragon scales," I quote, remembering reading something like that in a book with Ophelia.
"Correct, Miss Ada," Gandalf smiles at me, his blue eye twinkling. He looked a lot like Dumbledore at that point.
"Bilbo had a shirt of Mithril rings that Thorin gave him," Gandalf said.
"Oh!" Gimli said in awe. "That is a kingly gift!"
"Yes," Agreed Gandalf. "I never told him this, but its worth was greater than the Shire!"
Frodo looked quite shocked, and I noticed that.
As we marched on (trying to avoid the word walk…) three paths loomed over us, and Gandalf whispered; "I have no memory of this place."
I bite my lip and sit down on a fairly smooth rock. "Great. Just great."
I sit quietly, Ophelia sitting next to me, all of the other members of the Fellowship of the Walking, looking glum.
"Who wants some music?" Ophelia finally announced. "This silence is irritating."
"Do you have an instrument?" Merry asks her. "Or are you just going to sing?"
Ophelia motions to me, and says to the rest of them; "Wait here. We won't be long."
We go a bit back, carrying our backpacks, and I dump my backpack down. "Violin, right?"
"Yup," Ophelia says, pulling out her guitar. "This is going to be a pain in the ass to put back in."
We walk back to the FOTW (Fellowship of the Walking), them looking dumbfounded.
"How did you – you –?" Boromir stutters and the rest of the FOTW are speechless.
"We're magical," I say, waving a hand. "It's a secret."
Ophelia sits down and I stand, her strumming her guitar.
"Bit muted… but it'll do," Ophelia mutters and tries out a few chords. I tune my violin as best as I can as and I hear Ophelia strumming a G… D? I think I know the song.
"If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song
Uh oh, uh oh
Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother
She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh,
And life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no
Ain't even grey, but she buries her baby
The sharp knife of a short life, oh well
I've had just enough time
If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song
The sharp knife of a short life, oh well
I've had just enough time
And I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom
I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger,
I've never known the lovin' of a man
But it sure felt nice when he was holdin' my hand,
There's a boy here in town, says he'll love me forever,
Who would have thought forever could be severed by...
...the sharp knife of a short life, oh well?
I've had just enough time
So put on your best, boys, and I'll wear my pearls
What I never did is done
A penny for my thoughts, oh, no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar
They're worth so much more after I'm a goner
And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin'
Funny when you're dead how people start listenin'
If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song
Uh oh (uh, oh)
The ballad of a dove (oh, uh)
Go with peace and love
Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket
Save 'em for a time when you're really gonna need 'em, oh
The sharp knife of a short life, oh well
I've had just enough time
So put on your best, boys, and I'll wear my pearls…"***** Sings, Ophelia and she stops, her voice cracking at the very last word.
There is a smattering applause for me and Ophelia and I bow, Ophelia grinning. "I love that song."
"Oh!" Gandalf says, suddenly. "It's that way!"
"He's remembered!" Pippen says joyfully.
"No, but the air does not seem as foul down here," Gandalf reprimand him. "When in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose."
Ophelia snickers quietly, just loud enough for me to hear. Soon enough, we were in a less claustrophobic area. "Thank god…"
"Let me risk a little more light…" Gandalf sort of asked us. His staff lighting up, like a lumos spell from Harry Potter. "Behold! The great realm and Dwarf city; Dwarrowdelf!"
Nice name…?
But it was a great hall, illuminated by Gandalf's silver light, revealing what has not been seen by light for many years.
"Now there's an eye-opener and no mistake," Sam says, his voice filled with awe and shock.
We trail through the room, and one room is lighted with a single ray of sunshine, resting on a rectangular prism… thing.
"Haugh!" Gimli cried and ran to the box.
"Gimli!" Gandalf warned. But Gimli either ignored him or didn't hear, as he ran to the middle of the room, and read the inscription, falling to his knees and sobbing.
"'Here is Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria'," Gandalf read. "He is dead then. It is as I feared. Kilmin malur ni zaram kalil ra narag. Kheled-zarum… Balin tazlifi."
"We must move on!" Legolas urged to Aragorn. "We must not linger!"
"They have taken the bridge, and the second hall," Reads Gandalf. Gimli stops crying and looks at Gandalf, his face questioning. "We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums… drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out… They are coming…"
Clang, clang, boom, crash!
Pippen looks very guilty. We all mentally groan. Why?
"Fool of a Took!" Gandalf said angrily. Throw yourself in next time and rid yourself of your stupidity!"
Ophelia winces. That was harsh. I mean, go easy on him Gan –
Boom.
Boom, boom.
Boom.
Boom, boom, boom.
Boom, boom, boom, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
I am scared. "What…?"
"Shh," Ophelia shushes me. "Oh, shit, no. This is not happening!"
"Frodo!" Sam cried.
"Get back!" Legolas shouted to everyone. Get back we did.
Aragorn looked at the Hobbits. "Get back! Stay close to Gandalf!"
"They have a cave troll!" Boromir says, his voice laced with fear.
Disgusting creatures try to break down the door, their hands, clawing at the wood, splintering it. Legolas and I shoot the creatures, me missing a few precious times.
"Shit!" I curse, missing two times in a row. "What kind of Elf am I?"
The door breaks open, sending Orcs, Goblins and Trolls flying in, trying to kill us. I shoot… shoot… and hear loud, deafening footsteps and my heart sank. The cave troll.
"I – think I'm getting the hang of this!" Sam pants, hitting any Orcs near him with a skillet. "Woo!"
"Frodo!" Aragorn yells, trying to fight his way over to him. "Frodo! Hang on!"
"Aragorn?" Frodo yells back, panicked, as a Troll grabs by the leg, swinging him up. "Aragorn!"
"Frodo!" I scream. How many times do I have to scream that damn Hobbit's name?
The troll prepares to swing, and Aragorn leaps out, roaring, "YAHHHH!"
I see a sword and pick it, no matter how disgusting it is, I continue to fight (poorly, mind you) with the damned weapon, trying to race over to Frodo.
Aragorn stabs the Troll with a spear, not impaling him fully, just enough to hold him off, as Merry and Pippen were throwing rocks at him.
The Troll, madly swinging, hit Aragorn, sending him flying, Aragorn crumpling.
"Aragorn!" Shrieked Ophelia. Aragorn did not move, Frodo rushing over to him.
"Frodo!" I scream. Once again. "Watch out!"
The damned Troll hasn't died yet, as I try to pick up anything sharp and throw it at him.
The Troll aims for Frodo, aims again and –
"NO!" Ophelia yells. The Troll has hit him.
Merry and Pippen must have felt an adrenaline rush, as they leapt on the Troll's neck, stabbing him with their swords. The FOTW all fight with renowned strength, fury fueling us.
Merry and Pippen continue to stab the Troll as he screams in pain, equal to Frodo's. Gimli aims his axe at him, but the Troll deflects it, and throws Merry.
Legolas and I both take aim and we finally bring down the dreaded creature, my arrow in his neck and Legolas' on the top of his head.
We all rush over to Frodo, trying not to fear the worst. "Frodo, please tell me you're alright."
"I'm – I'm fine," He gasps. "Totally... alright."
Frodo unbuttoned his shirt and a glimmering shirt underneath it was shown.
"Mithril," Gimli breathes. "You are full of surprises, Master Baggins."
I smile but my smile fades as there are more Orc/Troll/Goblin noises.
"To the Bridge of Khazad-dûm!" Gandalf whispers and we run deeper into the Mines.
*Love. In French.
**Ass. In French.
***Gate of the Elves, open now for me!
****Doorway of the Dwarf-folk, listen to the word of my tongue!
*****The Band Perry is one of my favourite bands J. And my favourite country band, basically. I also like Train. J Also, don't you think Better Dig Two by The Band Perry describes Arwen's feelings for Aragorn perfectly? Check it out!
Disclaimer
I do not own anything you recognize.
Author's Note
Thank you so much to FreeSpiritSeeker for following this story! Thank you, thank you, and thank you! Have a virtual cupcake. J :D
Thank you to GaaraxFangirl3 for following and favourite-ing this story! Have a virtual cake. J :O!
Also, when I had started this Fan-fiction, I had no idea of a plotline, I just had to get this story out. I quickly did, and now, with a plotline set in mind, I would like to change the title to Home is Where the Heart is. Would that be fine with you? The summary will change as well, just a bit, but I have a plan now. An Arrow Notched was just an experiment. I never predicted that some people would favourite, follow or review. So, thank you so much for that. It truly warms the heart. So, I think I will keep the story as An Arrow Notched for about… three, four days? Till I change it.
Remember, reviews, favourite, follows are loved!
Thank you for all the support,
BlueDaylighter