A/N: Hillo everybody! Miko-Sakura here again with another chapter for you to read! I'm glad you all liked the addition of Sakura's cousin, Kiara, to the story! Just be sure to check out her profile in my profile and look at the picture I drew of her as well. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I own nothing of "Lord of the Rings" and its characters, they all belong to J.R.R Tolkien. Nor do I own any anime-like twists. Scushi, I do own my characters Sakura Aurora and Kiara Aurora.
Japanese words will from now on be bolded and italicized. (There will be a few J-Pop songs in here so I'll be sure to put the translations under them in parentheses.)
Elvish words will from now on be bolded. (Mind you I don't know a lot of elvish words so in any case the words will just be bolded to let you know they're speaking in elfish.)
(1) Avo 'osto - Fear not.
(2) Hiro hyn'h îth ab'wanath...- May they find peace in death.
Chapter 11: Riders of Rohan and Entering Fangorn
When Sakura woke up, she observed Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas standing by the shore and joined them to see why. Her question was soon answered as she, like the others, watched Boromir's lifeless body drift in the boat over the waterfall.
Legolas wasted no time as he readied the other boat to go to the other side. "Hurry! Frodo and Sam have reached the eastern shore," he urged.
Aragorn stood still and said nothing in reply.
"You mean not to follow them?" he asked in confusion.
"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands," Aragorn finally replied.
Legolas walked over to Sakura's kneeling form. "They have her…they have Kiara," she whispered to him in a worried tone.
"Avo 'osto(1). Kiara is stronger than you think, but you must believe in her strength. Do not doubt your cousin's strength," He replied back to her in encouragement.
"Then it has all been in vain! The Fellowship has failed," Gimli stated hopelessly.
"Not if we hold true to each other. We will not abandon Merry, Pippin, and Kiara to torment and death. Not while we have strength left. Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light. Let's hunt some orc!" Aragorn declared encouragingly.
"Yes! Haha!" exclaimed Gimli as he stood up grabbing his axe.
Sakura stood up sharply revealing hazel orbs filled with courage and hope. "You're right! Let's move as if in flight," she said picking up her katana.
Aragorn rushed into the woods followed by Gimli, Legolas, and Sakura. They came upon tracks in the ground from the Uruk-Hai after taking the two hobbits and Kiara. Sakura paused as she then noticed Kiara's sheathed katana on the ground and picked up.
"Sakura we have no time to waste we must hurry!" ordered Aragorn stopping to wait for her.
Sakura looked up and gave a nod in reply sliding the katana to her waist by hers. When she was ready, Aragorn yet again took off followed by the others.
The band of Uruk-hai march across a plain with their three hostages bound to their backs. Kiara slowly arose from unconsciousness after hearing Pippin's calls to both her and Merry, who still remained unconscious with a deep gash on the right side of his forehead.
"You've finally come around!" he replied in a relieved tone. Suddenly everyone came to an abrupt halt and the two listened to the conversation ahead of them.
"What is it? What do you smell?" questioned one of them eagerly.
"Man-flesh!" declared the leader after sniffing the air.
"Aragorn!" exclaimed Pippin and Kiara to themselves.
"They've picked up our trail! Let's move!" he ordered and with that the Uruk-hai quickened the pace swiftly.
"Pst Pippin!" Kiara called and got his attention. "Lets lose these brooches," she suggested and he nodded as both of them take off the Lorien brooches with their teeth and dropped them to the ground.
Aragorn laid his ear to the ground listening for the sound of footsteps. "Their pace has quickened," he stated standing up. "They've caught our scent. Hurry!" he ordered as he yet again began to run followed by Sakura and Legolas.
Gimli followed far behind them struggling to keep up. "Three days and three nights pursuit…no food…no rest…and no sign of our quarry but what bare rock can tell," he said in between breaths as he continued to run.
They yet again came to a stop where Aragorn caught sight of two Lorien brooches on the imbedded in the mud. "Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall," he stated hopefully.
"They may yet be alive," replied Legolas to Aragorn and Sakura.
"Less than a day ahead of us. Come!" Aragorn ordered once more before taking of in a sprint.
"Come Gimli! We're gaining on them!" urged Legolas to Gimli who was, yet again, falling behind.
"I'm wasted on cross-country. We dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances," he panted heavily.
The three orc hunters and huntress soon come over a hill and gazed over the plains below them. "Rohan. Home of the horse-lords," Aragorn stated. "There is something strange at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures, sets its will against us," he stated warily.
Legolas sprinted ahead of them and looked more closely at the open plains ahead.
"Legolas, what do your elf eyes see?" questioned Aragorn.
"The Uruks turn northeast. They're taking the hobbits and Kiara to Isengard!" he declared.
"Saruman," Aragorn stated in an aghast voice before taking off yet again hot on the Uruks trail.
"Keep breathing! That's the key! Breathe!" panted Gimli as they continued running.
"They run as if the very whips of their masters were behind them," commented Legolas.
Towards nightfall, the group of Uruk-hai finally came to a halt to rest.
"We're not going any further until we've had a breather!" declared one of them.
"Get a fire going!" ordered the leader.
Kiara and Pippin crawled over to the still unconscious Merry to wake him. "Merry! Merry!" they called until finally the young hobbit opened his eyes.
"I think we made a mistake leaving the Shire, Pippin," he stated when he finally realized where they were. As the orcs began to cut down trees for a low moan could be heard from within the forest.
"What's making that noise?" asked Pippin curiously.
"The trees," Merry replied as they watched the trees getting cut down.
"What?" Pippin looked at him quizzically.
"Do you remember the Old Forest? On the borders of Buckland? Folk used to say that there was something in the water that made the trees grow tall... and come alive," Merry stated reminding Pippin of the story.
"Alive?" Pippin replied in an aghast state.
"Trees that could whisper. Talk to each other. Even move," Merry answered.
"I'm starving! We ain't had nothin' but maggoty bread for three stinkin' days!" one of the orcs outbursted.
"Yeah! Why can't he have some meat?" agreed another orc snidely before the hobbits and Kiara caught his eye. "What about them? They're fresh," he stated as he began to walk over to them.
"Sorry to ruin story time guys but it seems we have a visitor coming. Stay close," Kiara ordered in a hushed tone.
"They're not for eating!" argued the leader.
"What about they're legs? They don't need those. Oh they look tasty!" the orc tried to compromise.
The leader shoved him back. "Stay back, scum!" he ordered but that only caused the other orcs to get hungry and restless as well.
"Just a mouthful," insisted another orc as he drew his sword and walked towards the two hobbits and Kiara who recoiled back in fear.
"No!" ordered the leader again before cutting off that orc's head. "Looks like meat's back on the menu boys!" he cheered as the other orcs rushed over to feast on their dead comrade.
Kiara looked at them in disgust before crawling with Merry and Pippin to where her blue backpack was. Suddenly she felt a foot stomp on her back, and she turned her head around only to see the persistent orc from earlier. "Go on, call for help. Scream. No one's gonna save you now," he said as he lowered his blade to Kiara's face. Suddenly, a spear pierced the orc's back and falls to the ground signaling the Riders of Rohan to burst from their hiding place to ambush the orcs.
"Kiara!" called Merry and Pippin. "Come on! Lets get out here," they urged. With that Kiara crawled over to them, took her bag, and scurried away from the ambush.
"Chukisho! I've had it with these bindings!" shecursed in an annoyed tone as she then used all her strength to separate her wrists, breaking the rope.
"Are you ok?" Pippin asked worriedly realizing that the rope left reddened marks on her wrists.
"Yeah I'm fine," she replied as she took her kunai and shuriken pouch out of her bag and wrapped it around her waist before putting her backpack on her back. From the pouch, Kiara took out a kunai and cut of the ropes that bound Merry and Pippin's wrists. "Come on lets go!" she rushed them as they got up and ran from the battle.
Suddenly an orc grabbed hold of Pippin's belt. "Where'd you think you're going?" he sneered.
"Pippin lose the belt!" Kiara ordered. Pippin obeyed and quickly undoes the belt leaving the orc behind. Kiara backed up as the two hobbits hid behind her.
"Guys no matter what happens to me, I want you to run into the forest," she said to them.
"Wait! What's that supposed to mean?" questioned Merry.
"Just do it alright!" she demanded. They nodded in reply. "Okay good," she said before holding the kunai by the handle in her mouth. Suddenly, two orcs came up to attack them. Kiara countered by taking out four shurikens and throwing them at them. Another orc came out of nowhere and Kiara countered yet again using the kunai in her mouth to stab it in the gut. Kiara reverted her attention back to the hobbits who now had an orc to deal with in front of them. She dug in her pouch and threw a kunai square in the back of the orc. Before she knew it Kiara found herself being swept off the ground. 'What the hell!' she thought to herself.
"Kiara!" Pippin and Merry shouted as they watched her get taken away by one of the riders.
"Get out of here! Go now!" Kiara shouted to them and she watched them hesitantly go into the forest. Unfortunately they weren't alone for the last orc she killed took the kunai out of its back and limped after them. 'Oh no! I have to help them!' she thought to herself as she began to struggle to get off the horse. "Let me go you!" she exclaimed at the man who had her.
"This is no place for a little girl like you. Be thankful I got you," was the last thing Kiara heard the rider say before something hard hit the back of her head and knocking her unconscious.
As the sun rose, the orc hunters continued tracking down the orc's trail.
Legolas paused and looked towards the rising sun. "A red sun rises. Blood has been spilled this night," he stated warily to the others. They continued on earlier that morning until Aragorn spotted a large group of riders ahead of them and quickly hid behind large boulders. Legolas stayed close behind Sakura. "Are you alright? You haven't said anything for a long while," he whispered to her.
"I'm just worried about Merry, Pippin, and Kiara, but besides that I'm fine," she nodded reassuringly.
When the riders finally passed them Aragorn walked out followed by Gimli, Legolas, and Sakura. "Riders of Rohan, what news from the Mark?" he asked, grabbing their attention. The four soon found themselves surrounded by them with their spears pointing at them.
"What business does a man, two elves, and a dwarf have in the Riddermark?" asked the person who appeared to be the leader.
"Give me your name Horsemaster, and I shall give you mine," retorted Gimli.
The leader gave another his spear before getting off his horse and approaching Gimli. "I would cut off your head, dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground," shot back the leader.
In the blink of an eye, Legolas had an arrow nocked to his bow, aimed, and ready to fire at the leader. "You would die before your stroke fell," he warned fiercely only causing the riders to bring their spears in closer on the group. Sakura pushes Legolas' arm down giving Aragorn time to speak and Legolas time to chill after what just happened.
"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimli, son of Gloin. Legolas of the Woodland Realm and Sakura, The Shrine Maiden," Aragorn introduced. "We are friends of Rohan and of Theoden, your king," he declared to them.
"Theoden no longer recognizes friend from foe," stated the leader as he took of his helmet. "Not even his own kin," he finished as his group withdrew their spears. "My name is Eomer, nephew to Theoden. However, Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over these lands. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished. The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked. And everywhere his spies slip past our nets," he explained to them warily.
"We are no spies," assured Aragorn. "We track a party of Uruk-hai westward across the plain. They've taken three of our friends captive," he explained further.
"The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night," stated Eomer.
"But there were two hobbits and a young she-elf. Did you see two hobbits and a she-elf with them?" asked Gimli urgently.
"The young she-elf you speak of, we spotted her and she's with us now," Eomer replied motioning his hand forward signaling the rider who picked her up to come forward. In front of him, something laid draped over the saddle. The blue backpack and purple clothes gave it away immediately.
"Kiara!" Sakura exclaimed as she rushed forth to get her little cousin.
"She's unconscious for something impaled her hard in the back of her head during the attack," explained Eomer so that Sakura would not worry so for her cousin.
"What of the hobbits? They would be small, only children to your eyes," stated Aragorn hopefully.
"We left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them," stated Eomer pointing over to the smoking pile in the distance.
"Dead?" questioned Gimli.
"I am sorry," Eomer apologized. He turned around then to whistled. "Hasufel, Arod, Epona," he called and three horses came up. Hasufel was a beautiful chestnut colored horse, Arod was a white horse with a gray tipped mane and tail, and Epona was a beautiful flaxen colored mare. "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell," Eomer stated as he got back on his own horse. "Look for your friends, but do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands," he said to the four hunters. "We ride north!" he ordered his men and with that, the Riders of Rohan rode off.
When they left, Aragorn wasted no time as he rode on Hasufel, Gimli and Legolas rode on Arod, and Sakura with Kiara's unconscious body rode on Epona. They rode down the hill towards the burning pile of orc carcasses. As they neared the pile of burning flesh, a horrible stench filled their senses. When they came upon the pile, Sakura gave a disgusted look at the Uruk-hai head that was stuck on the spear in the ground.
Gimli rummaged through the burning pile and pulls out a small belt and dagger sheath. "Its one of their wee belts," he said showing it to them.
Legolas placed a hand over his heart. "Hiro hyn'h îth ab'wanath...(2)" he prayed in a hushed tone.
Aragorn lost his temper at the sight and kicked a helmet before letting out a frustrated yell and falling to his knees.
"We failed them," Gimli stated hopelessly.
"Not all of them we haven't," Sakura replied as she knelt beside her cousin. She then emitted chakra from her hands and laid it over her cousin's forehead for about 15 minutes before finally allowing the chakra to disappear. "There that should do it," She stated.
"That should do what?" Legolas asked.
"I just used a healing jutsu that should heal the head injury she got, she just needs to rest for a while," she answered.
As Aragorn stared down, tracks on the ground caught his attention. "A hobbit lay here, another laid here, and Kiara must've been here," he said as he followed the tracks. "They crawled," he stated as he got up and examined the ground for more tracks. "Their hands were bound. Their bonds were cut," he stated as he examined the broken rope on the ground. "They ran over here and were followed. Kiara was protecting them," he stated further as he picked up a bloody kunai from the ground. He followed the tracks further. "The tracks lead away from the battle," he stated running along the tracks before stopping at the edge of a forest. "And into Fangorn Forest," he declared. The four of them stared into the dark depths of the dense forest.
"Fangorn? What madness drove them there?" questioned Gimli aghast.
"I did," came a weary voice from behind them. They turned around to see Kiara sitting up. "I told them to go there if we were to get separated because it was the only place where they could stay safe from the battle," Kiara explained as she stood up.
"Kiara," Sakura beckoned for her.
Kiara walked over and braced herself for harsh words.
"I'm proud of you," replied Sakura.
When she heard her cousin's words, Kiara looked up with a stunned expression on her face, but that expression soon turned to a smiling one as she met the proud beaming face of her cousin. Sakura held out her little cousin's katana and took it from her gladly.
"So shall we follow them?" Gimli asked.
"I don't see why not," replied Sakura.
"Come then," stated Aragorn as he led the followed by Gimli, Kiara, Sakura, and Legolas into the depths of Fangorn Forest.
Well guys there you have it! I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 11! Well until Chapter 12! Sayonara minna!