Chapter 12

The next day started much like the day before, but the difference in Frodo was obvious, to Mel at least. He was smiling and his eyes were sparkling. He ate a hearty, full breakfast and when the company started their trek again there was a bounce to his step that hadn't been there before. He was friendly and kept up with the conversation of his cousins, even laughing for the first time since Mel had joined the company. And with the Ringbearer in high spirits, the mood of the entire company was dramatically improved. They were making excellent time, and the journey seemed less tense. Everyone told stories or sang songs and even Gimli seemed less inclined to scowling, at Mel or anyone else. By the time they stopped for lunch Mel was exhausted, but pleased, munching on an apple and letting the sun warm her sore muscles.

"We must hold to this course west of the Misty Mountains for forty days." Gandalf said.

Mel choked on her apple.

"Forty days?" she squeaked.

Gandalf looked at her with disdain and she shut her mouth. She hadn't remembered the trek being so long. She had woken up almost too sore to move this morning and her legs were already killing her now. She wouldn't complain though. She would suffer in silence. It would get better with time, she knew that, but trying to tell her body the same thing was going to be another matter entirely.

"If our luck holds," Gandalf continued, "The Gap of Rohan will still be open to us. From there our road turns east to Mordor."

The group got very quiet, as they always did whenever Mordor was mentioned, thinking about the long journey and the evil that shadowed every step of their quest. Mel took another bite of her apple. She had more to think about than any of them and what she was thinking was by far the most accurate. They packed up in heavy silence and hurried on their way.

Things got far worse for Mel before they even thought about getting better. She had been hiking before, but always on well-traveled trails through familiar territory. The terrain here was rough and uncharted, and it got rougher every day they moved closer to the mountains. Every night Mel wondered if she would be able to move the next day and every morning she wondered how she could keep going until nightfall. But even as her legs and feet screamed in protest, she kept resolutely silent, repeating in her mind that it would get better, she just had to make it through a few more days and it would get better. She could sense the concern of some of her friends, could see it in the eyes of Legolas and even Boromir, but she did her best to ignore it. She even made a valiant effort at the start of each day to keep up conversation with the hobbits, just to put their worries to rest, but it didn't work. By the end of each day she was simply concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, and she could feel the eyes of the others on her, watching her suffer and knowing there was nothing they could do about it. That was the worst part really. But she just kept repeating to herself, over and over, it'll get better, it'll get better, just a little longer and it'll get better.

And it did. A week slowly passed and Mel got used to the pace. Her muscles didn't scream quite as loudly at the beginning of the day and she didn't feel quite so exhausted when she lay down at night. By the end of the second week she was starting to think she might make it through this thing yet.

And then she realized why it had seemed like forty days was too long. They wouldn't continue on this path for forty days. But she was the only one who knew it.

They had reached a crossroads and Gandalf called for a short rest for food and further planning. Mel recognized this place, and it was distracting. Every rock reminded her of things to come. It made her antsy. So while Sam was cooking up lunch (tomatoes and bacon, one of his favorite meals), she wandered over toward the group of scrub bushes poking out from between the rocky crevices, running her hands through the stiff branches and taking note of their positions. She would need to know that later. When the birds came.

"Greetings Calenhiril."

Mel turned and looked up, searching for the faint, timid voice. There was a twisted little tree jutting out of the highest point in the rocks. She brushed back her hair to get a better look at him and smiled.

"Hello. Who are you?"

His branches rustled slightly.

"I am called Tree."

He said it as though it was an important title, but Mel had known many trees in Middle Earth, all of them with names of some kind. Then she realized that this particular tree was the only tree here, perhaps for miles. Maybe the title was more appropriate than she'd thought. She inclined her head in his direction.

"I am pleased to meet you, Tree."

His branches rattled and she could have sworn he was bowing.

"The pleasure is mine, Calenhiril. What brings you and your companions to my desolate home?"

"We are on a long journey and have stopped to rest and plan our course." She answered, politely.

"Are you going very far?"

Mel glanced at Frodo, hovering over Sam as the bacon sizzled in the pan.

"Yes. Very far." She answered.

"Then you will not stay long?" Tree asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"No," Mel said, turning her attention back to him, "No, I don't think so. We have a lot to do. But maybe you can help us before we go."

"Of course," Tree said, his branches rustling again, "Anything for you, Calenhiril."

"Miss Mel?"

Mel jumped and looked down. Sam was holding a plate of bacon and tomato slices tightly in his hands, his eyes darting nervously from her to the tree and back.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

Mel smiled at him and that in itself seemed to help ease his anxiety.

"Yeah Sam, it's alright." She said, "Just getting a feel for everything, that's all."

He looked a little perplexed by that, but he nodded anyway and held the plate out to her.

"Well, no sense going on an empty stomach." He said cheerily.

Mel took the plate from him gratefully, her stomach rumbling at the smell of the food.

"Nope, no sense in it at all. Thanks, Sam."

His smile widened before he headed back to tend the fire.

Mel glanced across the barren rocks and saw Boromir lining up Merry and Pippin, adjusting their grips on their little swords with infinite patience, a small smile quirking the corner of his lips. She settled on one of the larger boulders close by, swinging her feet absently as she chewed on a strip of bacon and watched the impromptu sword lesson take shape.

As the sound of metal striking metal began to ring out in steady rhythm ("One, two, three…" "That's good, Pippin!" "Thanks!"), Aragorn came and sat beside Mel, lighting a pipe and leaning back against the rocks.

"Move your feet." He interjected, his eyes darting over the hobbits with interest.

Mel glanced at him, but then dropped her eyes and concentrated on her tomatoes. She had nothing to say to him, after all. They'd said all they needed to…

"Mel."

She jumped and stared at the Ranger for a moment, surprised. He wasn't looking at her and, if she hadn't very clearly heard it, she might have thought he hadn't spoken at all.

"Swear that you will never tell what you know," He stated simply, never taking his eyes from the sparing match in front of him, in fact barely moving his lips, "Swear it on the thing that is dearest to your heart."

Mel paused. What a strange request. She had no intention of telling anyone her knowledge of the future, not even…

She followed Aragorn's eyes, and suddenly she understood. It was Boromir. Aragorn knew something was not right with the steward's son. He was asking her to swear so that Boromir would not know the truth. So that history could take its course.

She swallowed hard. Boromir was her friend, despite what she knew. She had seen him in Rivendell and he was not at all the man she had expected. He was funny and kind. But she knew she would never tell him. She could safely swear that.

"I swear it, Aragorn. I will never tell."

The Ranger visibly relaxed and Mel wondered if that had been all that was bothering him since her arrival. Was he afraid that she had come to reveal the future? If that was the case, she wished he had just come out and said it in the first place.

"If anyone were to ask for my opinion, which I note they're not," Mel heard Gimli grumble somewhere behind her, "I'd say we're taking the long way 'round. Gandalf, we could pass through the Mines of Moria. My cousin Balin would give us a royal welcome."

Mel sighed and bit her lip.

Poor, foolish Gimli, she thought sadly, I would save you from it if I could…

"No Gimli," Gandalf answered, his voice dark and stern, "I would not take the road to Moria unless I had no other choice."

Something caught Legolas' eye and he jumped nimbly onto one of the rocks, peering into the distance. Mel could have said something then. It would have been a perfect opportunity, the perfect moment to say something about the birds, about Caradhras, about Moria, about anything. But she had just promised Aragorn. And besides she knew better. So she kept her eyes on her empty plate and her mouth shut.

Some things just have to happen… she reasoned.

She glanced up, caught Boromir's eye as he waited for Pippin to reset his stance. He grinned at her.

Some things just have to happen…

Her own words echoed back to her and she dropped her eyes again.

Maybe not everything. Just some things.

Pippin cried out and Mel's eyes jerked back up.

"Oh, sorry!" Boromir exclaimed, reaching out for the hand that Pippin was cradling against his chest.

Pip took him completely by surprise and kicked him in the shin. Then both hobbits jumped on the man and threw him to the ground in a shouting, laughing heap.

"For the Shire!"

"Hold him down, Merry!"

Boromir laughed and made a token attempt to wrestle away, but the hobbits had no trouble keeping him pinned. Mel caught herself smiling and her chest constricted. He was so happy…

Aragorn was trying to hide his own grin as he stood up to help the fallen warrior.

"Gentlemen, that's enough."

But even he could not stand in the face of Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. They each grabbed a leg and pulled, flipping the Ranger flat on his back and knocking the wind out of him. Even though she had seen it all before, that still made Mel laugh out loud. Aragorn looked up at her from the ground. He was smiling.

"I am glad you think this is so amusing, Mel."

Mel stared at him for a moment, her surprise not quite able to wipe the smile from her face. Aragorn was not her enemy. He was simply a leader looking out for his people, which just so happened to be the Fellowship. He was fulfilling his destiny before her very eyes and he didn't even know it.

"What is that?" Sam asked.

Mel turned toward the growing dark patch in the sky, the thing she'd been waiting for all this time. Gimli snorted.

"Nothing, it's just a whiff of cloud."

"It's moving fast…" Boromir murmured uneasily, "…and against the wind."

Mel reached out with her mind.

"Tree, we need to hide…"

Almost as soon as the thought left her head there was a loud crack and the sound of branches and leaves shuddering and creaking. Tree began to stretch himself, untwisting his truck and spreading his branches, intertwining what little he had to cover as much ground as possible. The bushes around him shivered and began to grow too, spreading their leaves as far over the ground around them as they could.

"Mel?" Boromir said, "Are you…?"

He didn't get to finish his question.

"Crebain from Dunland!"

"Hide!" Gandalf shouted and everybody scattered.

"Merry, Pippin stay with me!" Boromir said, gathering the two hobbits and hurrying them underneath Tree's spreading branches.

Sam hurried to put out the cooking fire and everyone went scrambling for cover under rock and leaf. Legolas leaped off the rocks and grabbed Mel, rolling them both underneath one of the bushes.

When Mel caught her breath she realized she was shaking uncontrollably. She was scared, more scared than she had ever been in her life. At first she could think of no logical reason for it. She knew what was about to happen, even as she watched the crows' approach, the cawing getting louder and louder. She knew the fate of everyone here…

Everyone except herself. That was it, the reason for her fear. She had been so worried about the others that she hadn't stopped to think about what might happen to her. She was just as likely to die out here as anyone, in a land unfamiliar to her, filled with creatures that she could never fully understand.

The crows circled and Mel lay on her back, watching their erratic black forms rush over her, and she shook with a deep, paralyzing terror. Legolas must have felt her shaking. He put an arm around her, pulling her close to his side. She buried her head in his shoulder and just wished for it all to be over, trying to be still and failing miserably.

"Do not despair, mellon-nîn," Legolas whispered in her ear, "Your friends are with you. We will see you through to the end of these dark days."

The caws of the birds grew steadily fainter, and as they faded so did her trembling. Slowly, the company started to emerge from their hiding places. Mel let Legolas pull her to her feet, still feeling a little unsteady. He kept a hand on her arm for a moment until he was sure she had her balance. It was comforting, but she worried that someone else might notice. She didn't want to appear any weaker than she already did. As soon as she knew she had her footing, she slipped out of his grasp.

"Spies of Saruman," Gandalf said, leaning on his staff and glaring after the departed flock of birds, "The passage south is being watched."

Mel managed to edge her way around the group and sidle up to Tree, brushing her hand against his trunk. The bushes had returned to their normal sizes, but Tree stood taller and straighter than he had before.

"Thank you," she murmured in her mind, "All of you."

Tree's branches rustled a bit under her touch.

"Anything for you, Calenhiril."

"We must take the Pass of Caradhas."

Everyone looked up where Gandalf pointed, toward the snow-covered mountain peak. Mel sighed and her shoulders sank. She was just getting used to the hiking. Now she was going to have to climb. This was going to be a nightmare.


The company packed up quickly and as they started their journey toward the mountain, Legolas fell into step with Boromir.

"I must speak to you."

Boromir glanced at the elf, his brow furrowed.

"What is it?"

Legolas' eyes fell on Mel walking ahead with Merry and Pippin, listening to the hobbits chatter excitedly about the tree and bushes that had hidden them and how they had grown.

"Our friend felt fear."

Boromir looked forward and then down at his feet, frowning.

"We all feel fear, Legolas."

"But until now she has felt it only for others," Legolas insisted, "Today she felt it for herself. It troubles me."

The man did not answer, frowning instead at the toes of his boots as he walked. Legolas put a hand on his arm and stopped him.

"Boromir, we must look out for her. Will you give me your word that you will help me in this?"

Boromir paused for a moment, but when he finally met Legolas' eyes, the elf realized that he no longer needed his word. The answer was there, staring back at him in stony gray.

"I swear," Boromir murmured, "While there is breath in my body, no harm will come to Melody Bernston."

Legolas nodded. And together they began the long climb up Caradhas.