Yes, finally I found time and inspiration to get back to this story! I am sorry for the long wait, but things had been rather busy at work etc and I lost motivation for this story for a while! But now I am back! :D
There will be a song in this chapter. To make it fit into the situation, I am changing a few parts of the lyrics though ;) This is the song (so you get an idea of the melody)
/watch?v=i1GmxMTwUgs
I hope you're still with me and if you enjoy it, let me know. And remember, this is a slowmance ;)
"Speak, friend, and enter."
That was what the fellowship heard from Gandalf for more than an hour by now. After their perilous journey over the Caradhras and back over the plains, being threatened by a pack of wolves in the night, they finally had reached the door that would lead them into the mines of Moria. Or so, they hoped it would if only it would open for them.
Elena leaned against the stony wall of the high cliffs, watching the wizard desperately trying to find the correct spell which would open the door. Her gaze then wandered among the rest of the group. Frodo seemed to be the one feeling most uneasy out of all of them as he was shivering in the chill wind that swept through the passage. Sam also looked miserable as just a few moments ago, he had to say goodbye to Bill, the pony, after Aragorn had advised him it would be the best for him to leave because the mines were no place for a pony even if it was a brave one like Bill.
Splash.
She looked up and saw Merry and Pippin tossing pebbles over and into the water of the dark lake. Dark ripples began to fan out, silently rolling towards the shore. Just as Pippin was about to throw another stone, Aragorn wrapped his fingers around the young hobbit's wrist.
"Do not disturb the water," he said ominously.
Elena tilted her head as she saw the look he exchanged with Boromir. Did they know something? Was there some monster in the lake they knew about? She saw Aragorn's hand creeping down towards his sword, yet everything was still quiet around them. A heavy sigh from Gandalf was the first to cut through the silence and they all turned to look at the wizard dropping down on a boulder, head in his hands as he sat beside Frodo.
"Is he—giving up?" Elena whispered to Boromir who was closest next to her.
He shrugged. "It appears so. I knew it was a—"
"Mistake to come here, yes, I think we all get it now," she replied and rolled her eyes.
"You two are no great help, either," Aragorn said and turned away from them to stride along the shore of the lake, his entire body still on alert.
Suddenly, they heard Frodo say, "It's a riddle!"
They all turned to look at him. He added hastily, "Speak, friend, and enter. What's the Elvish word for friend?"
Now all eyes shot to Gandalf in high anticipation. Elena shifted from one foot to the other, accidentally tilting a bit to the side and bumping against Boromir. He paid no attention to her though and she quickly shifted away from him as Gandalf's face lit with realization.
"Oh…mellon!" he said out loud and got up again.
And just as he had spoken the word, a low rumble came from the stone door as it swung outwards. Hearts thumping in their chests, they all stepped closer and peered into the pitch blackness.
"Was about time,"Merry mumbled to Pippin as they grabbed their bags and followed Gandalf inside. One by one, the others entered, too. Elena took her bag from the ground and followed Aragorn and Boromir. Suddenly she heard a splash behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks and cast a glance back over her shoulder while the others didn't seem to have noticed anything. Her gaze wandered along the lake and the shore, but the water lay dark and silent just like the entire hours before. Surely, it had just been her imagination or maybe there were some fish in the lake and one of them had grazed the surface for a moment or had jumped. She shrugged and turned back to the others.
"So, master elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the dwarves; roaring fires, malt beer, red meat off the bone. This, my friend, is the home of my cousin, Balin—and they call this a mine—"Gimli said and with a snort he added rather dramatically, "A mine!"
A strange smell crept into Elena's nose. "Something's not right,"she mumbled more to herself.
That was when Gandalf made the tip of his staff glow in a white-blue light which then revealed the entire mess inside the chamber. Gimli gasped in horror and the others also recoiled quite shocked as they spotted many dwarf skeletons. The armor and shields were rusty and peppered with arrows and axes. It was a mass grave.
"This is no mine! It's a tomb,"Boromir breathed and unsheathed his sword as if he expected enemies to attack at any second. Following his intuition, Elena and Aragorn unsheathed theirs as well.
"Oh no! No! No!" Gimli was obviously the one most shocked about their discovery. He had expected roaring fires, a warm welcome by his kin, meeting his cousin Balin.
Legolas walked to one of the skeletons and pulled an arrow out of a shield. "Goblins,"he spat and dropped it.
"We should leave. I don't have a good feeling about this place,"Elena said and stepped behind Merry and Pippin as they made their way backwards towards the entrance again. All of them had now their weapons ready, all of them expecting to be attacked by goblins.
Boromir said, "We make for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here."
"I agree,"Elena added. "For once…I really do."
But just in that moment, Frodo suddenly dropped to the ground and was dragged towards the exit. A long, ugly arm of a kraken was wrapped around his ankle.
"Frodo!" Elena called and jumped forward and together with Aragorn she hacked at the tentacle. Once they freed him from its grip, Aragorn pulled him to safety while Boromir and Elena continued attacking the monster. Just as they were certain the beast was beaten, at least twenty more tentacles emerged out of the lake and lashed at them. Again one of them grabbed Frodo, another one suddenly got hold of Elena's waist. While Frodo was dragged towards the water, Elena was lifted up. She screamed and dropped her sword out of shock.
"Let me go, you ugly beast!"she yelled and started hammering against the tentacles with her fists.
Aragorn had managed to free Frodo again who was quickly pulled out of the monster's reach by Merry and Pippin. Legolas shot his arrows, Gimli hacked some tentacles and so did Boromir and Aragorn. Suddenly, the monster let go of Elena and she closed her eyes as she fell. She expected to hit the hard ground or splash into the lake but instead she felt tight arms catching her.
"Into the mines!" Gandalf called.
"Legolas!" Boromir called as he turned, still carrying her. That was a fact she just now realized and her eyes shot open. But before she could protest, the fellowship stumbled back into the darkness of the mines. The monster ripped at the door and with a loud crash, ripped it away. Within a blink of an eye, tons of rocks sealed the doorway, throwing them into pitch darkness and trap them in the mines.
All of them panted heavily and Elena clutched to Boromir's biceps, squeezing it. "Put me down, please."
Just now he seemed to remember he still carried her. He cleared his throat and placed her down again. She brushed off some dirt from her clothes and looked back at him, his eyes shimmering grey in the faint light of Gandalf's staff.
"Thank you for catching me, though,"she finally said with a light, thankful smile.
He tilted his head and was about to reply, but Gandalf spoke again, "We now have but one choice—we must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard—there are older and fouler things than the Orcs in the deep places of the world."
"Sounds very promising,"Pippin mumbled and shouldered his bag as he followed the wizard.
"Here, take this,"Aragorn said as he stepped up next to Elena. "You lost your sword outside. This should fit," he handed her one of his spare daggers.
"Thank you,"she kept it in hand just in case. "Do you think we will make it out of here?"
He looked thoughtful before he nodded. "I trust Gandalf. He will find a way."
"I have no memory of this place,"Gandalf said after they had walked for many hours. Before them, the path split into three passages. Each one led into a dark tunnel.
As it was clear that Gandalf needed some time to figure out which way they should take, the fellowship decided to stay where they were for the rest of the night. The hobbits huddled together, eating a few bits of lembas and soon drifted off to not so peaceful sleep.
"Do you think that kraken was controlled by Saruman?" Elena whispered as Aragorn made himself comfortable next to her. "I mean, he was quite fixed on Frodo."
"Could be, yes. And I'm certain that was not the only beast waiting for us down here."
"What else could be in these mines? Besides goblins and orcs?"
"Cave trolls?" Boromir suggested from her other side. She had just then noticed him at all. "To just name one vile thing."
She nodded thoughtfully. Then her gaze drifted over to Merry and Pippin who had just jerked out of their sleep again.
"They are so brave,"she said quietly. "So young and brave."
"Hobbits are truly remarkable,"Aragorn agreed and lit his pipe. Smoke swirled around their heads.
Pippin slowly staggered to his feet and walked over to them, carefully climbing over Gimli who lay on his back, lightly snoring in his sleep. Legolas stood nearby and stared into the dark abyss below without speaking a single word. If he saw something or not, no one knew, but if he did he would surely tell them.
"I can't sleep,"Pippin mumbled and rubbed his eyes as he sat down. "When I close my eyes, the kraken tries to drag Frodo into the lake—and you."
She sent him a reassuring smile. "But we're all fine. Isn't that the most important thing?"
The young hobbit nodded slowly and yawned. Elena suddenly felt a strange tug in her chest. Something in her memory tried to come forward. And all of a sudden, she started humming a slow, beautiful melody. Aragorn, Boromir, Merry and Pippin looked at her surprised, yet no one said a word. As she stopped, she looked at each of them, her gaze lingering on Boromir for a heartbeat longer than the rest before she cleared her throat.
"That's strange,"she said. "I have the feeling I knew this melody all my life, but—I can't remember from where. I even know the words to it."
"If the text is a beautiful as the melody, I'd like to hear it,"Pippin said and watched her expectantly.
She cast a quick glance over at Gandalf, but the wizard was still facing them with his back, smoking his pipe in silence. Then she looked back at the young hobbits sitting in front of her. Finally she nodded.
"Fine—maybe it helps you to rest."
She closed her eyes again and began humming the melody, then she sang with her soft voice:
I need some distraction
oh beautiful release
memory seeps from my veins
let me be empty
and weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight.
In the arms of an angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold cave
and the endlessness that you fear.
You are pulled from the wreckage
of your silent reverie
you're in the arms of an angel
May you find comfort there.
As she opened her eyes again, she saw that Merry and Pippin had both fallen asleep again, and this time they seemed to be peaceful. She smiled and got up, pulled a blanket out of her bag and covered them with it.
"Good night, brave little hobbits,"she whispered.
