Chapter 11-Safety, at last.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Lord of the Rings or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Except the Potential who is stuck in ME.
Summary: Buffy, Willow and Faith end up in Middle Earth and have no idea who they are.
A/N: This is set before the fight with Caleb but during Dirty Girls, so Faith is here and Molly is still alive at this point.
Buffy, Willow and Faith just stood there, staring at the bridge. After a few moments, they became aware of the arrows raining down on their heads. They raced to the exit of Moria and a short way from the gate, collapsed onto the floor. Willow had tears streaming down her cheeks. She, out of the three, was most affected. Having spent the most time with him as he taught her how to use her magic. Buffy and Faith had spent most of their time being taught by elves and, sometimes, Boromir.
"Legolas, get them up." Aragorn's voice broke them out of their reverie.
"Give them a moment for pity's sake." Boromir said.
"By nightfall, these hills will be swarming with Orcs! We must reach the Woods of Lothlórien. Come Boromir. Legolas, Gimli, get them up." Aragorn told him.
As he went about sorting out the others, Buffy and Faith took care of Willow. The witch was sitting on the floor, gazing into space.
"Will?" Buffy asked tentatively
The redhead raised her head and looked at her with bleak, tear-filled eyes.
"It's going to be alright," The blonde said reassuringly.
"You always say that but it never is." The witch's voice sounded deeper now. Willow looked up and as she did so, Buffy thought that her eyes seemed darker. She looked again but this time, they were her normal colour.
The redhead got to her feet, as did Buffy, and they followed the rest of the Fellowship on to Lothlórien. The walk was uneventful and took up most of their day. Aragorn was leading with Boromir at the back. Faith dropped back to talk to him.
"Thanks for intervening back there."
" 'Twas no problem, my lady."
"You know, most girls would go for that 'my lady' stuff but not me. So , name's Faith. She continued. "I mean, do I even act like a lady?"
"Compared to most, no. Most ladies would not take delight in battle, as you seem to."
"No, most would run away screaming. Besides I'm different, being the Slayer and all. Well, a Slayer, technically."
"What is a Slayer, if I may ask?"
"Into each generation, a Slayer is born. One girl in the world. She alone will stand against the vampires and the demons. That sort of thing. But, on the plus side, I have all these wicked ass-kicking skills"
"And I take it the Lady Buffy is a Slayer, too?"
"Yeah. So much for one per generation."
Meanwhile Buffy was watching Willow with anxious ayes. The witch had not spoken since they got out of Moria. Then again, she had just suffered a great loss. They all had. The death of Gandalf could mean losing the quest and Buffy wasn't going to let that happen. She didn't like losing.
Suddenly Buffy halted. She sensed something moving in the trees. She drew her sword and saw that Faith was doing the same. Before she could do anything else, she found an arrow at her throat. She kept her sword in the ready, just in case.
"The dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark." An (oh-so arrogant) blond one who appeared to be their leader said.
Willow had now come out of her trance and was stood as if listening to something or someone. A second later, she turned her head towards the blond.
"The Lady already knows who we are and why we are here. She also says that we should start moving because there are orcs from Moria following us."
The blond in question (Haldir, as he shall be referred to, from now on) looked at her as if trying to read her mind or something similar and then said:
"Very well. Follow me. We must hurry"
He led to an extremely tall tree and a ladder dropped down from above him. They left their heavy packs at the bottom of the tree, hidden in a clump of foliage.
UP ON THE PLATFORM
Evening had started to close in on them as they assembled themselves on a platform high above the ground.
"Mae govannen, Legolas Thranduilion." Welcome Legolas, son of Thranduil.
"Govannas vîn gwennen le, Haldir o Lorien." Our Fellowship stands in your debt.
"A Aragorn in Dunedain istannen le ammen." And Aragorn of the Dunedain, you are known to us.
"Haldir." The ranger replied.
"So much for the legendary courtesy of the Elves. Speak words we can all understand." The dwarf said angrily.
"We have not had dealings with Dwarves since the Dark Days."
"And do you know what this Dwarf says to that? Ishkhaqwi ai durugnul!" I spit upon your grave.
"That was not so courteous." Aragorn said to Gimli, his tone warning the Dwarf to be quiet.
"You bring great evil with you." Blondie was talking again. "You can go no further."
While Haldir was bickering with Aragorn, Buffy and Faith were trying to comfort Willow. The redhead had obviously relaxed now but her mind clearly seemed to be elsewhere.
"Will, it wasn't your fault. It was an accident." Buffy told her.
Willow looked away. She felt it was partially her fault. She had all these magic powers and she couldn't save anybody with them. Why did they let me come along I'm useless, she thought.
Haldir and Aragorn had stopped their little discussion. The elf now approached them.
"You will follow me." He said.
BACK ON THE GROUND AGAIN
He led them on until they reached a gap in the trees.
"Caras Galadhon. The heart of Elvendom on Earth. Realm of the Lord Celeborn and Galadriel, Lady of Light."
The Fellowship walked up a long winding stairway, ending on another platform high above the ground. Two slightly glowing figures were at one end. 'The Lord and Lady of this realm' Buffy thought.
"The Enemy knows you have entered here. What hope you had in secrecy is now gone. Eleven that are here yet twelve there were set out from Rivendell. Tell me where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with him.." The Lord Celeborn spoke first.
Galadriel looked at them with her piercing gaze and answered her husband.
"Gandalf the Grey did not pass the borders of this land. He has fallen into Shadow."
"He was taken by both Shadow and flame. A Balrog of Morgoth. For we went needlessly into the net of Moria." Legolas said.
"Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life. We do not yet know his full purpose." Galadriel turned her eyes on Gimli and then lingered on Boromir.
"What now becomes of this Fellowship? Without Gandalf, hope is lost."
"The quest now stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true." Galadriel replied to her husband.
"Do not worry, Willow. Have faith in yourself and your powers You are strong and when the time comes, you will use that strength."
"Buffy, you know you have a purpose here. In time you will find it. For now, trust your instincts"
"Faith, do not let your past suffering affect others. There are things going to happen which will require all of your focus and theirs."
