Two, Ch. I: The Hills
Raerlis looked over at Pippin. He could tell he was on the verge of crying. He was so frightened and all she could do is watch. The three of them were bound at the hands and were being carried over the shoulder by orcs. Raerlis could not begin to understand why they have not killed her yet. They only wanted halflings, as the leader repeated over and over again. They would occasionally stop and rest quickly. She found time to comfort the hobbits.
"Listen. Both of you need to remain calm. You have nothing to fear at this point. We will find a way to escape."
They both nodded and hugged her.
"Plant clues if you can; we could be found."
"Break it up! Time to go!" An orc yelled loudly at them.
They were swooped up once more as the orcs continued to run.
Legolas was quiet in his thoughts, as they followed the tracks the orcs had left. He was angry with himself for letting her out of his sights for any moment.
"We're catching up." Aragorn said as he stopped and touched the ground.
They would occasionally stop and let Gimli catch up.
"Aragorn, what do you suppose they will do to her? They do not need her for anything." Legolas said.
"I am unsure. Let's hope we get to them before it is too late to predict." He answered.
Upon approaching a valley which had two splits in the rock they found their first clue.
Aragorn's fingers gently dug into the dirt. He picked up a shiny object and displayed it for the group. Legolas eyes grew larger as Aragorn brushed off the remaining mud. It was the pin used for the cloaks of Lorien they received. The beautiful green leaf glistened in the sun as a new hope grew in their thoughts. Aragorn took this as a sign of relief for them.
"Clues. We're on their trail." Aragorn said.
"Yes!" Gimli grunted as he followed the other two.
Raerlis could feel they were growing closer to their destination and nothing frightened her more. The orcs began to become more uneasy as they were closer, but still had distance to go. She missed the comfort and protection of Aragorn, Gimli and especially Legolas. She thought of uprising over the orcs, but there was no way should make it out alive. The only thing she knew as her goal was to watch over Pippin and Merry and protect them. The sky grew darker as the orcs rested more and more. Raerlis began to sense something she couldn't recognize. The woods they were approaching were creaking and moving with their own personalities. The final break was almost their last. Raerlis was seperated from Merry and Pippin. The orc carrying her had a different mission in mind. She fought through and tried to push towards the two hobbits. The orcs began to forget their job and were fighting over which hobbit to eat first. The large orc dragged Raerlis in a different direction. He slung her over his shoulder and began to sprint towards his destination. Raerlis was screaming for them to get away and run. As she faded from their sight, they knew this was the moment to escape. As they began to figure out their plan a battle took place. Men on large horses began to attack and kill the orcs. Merry and Pippin escaped into the woods.
"Right over this hill!" Aragorn said aloud as they approached the camp of orcs.
As they rounded the hill they heard stampeding hooves approaching. Legolas and Aragorn pulled Gimli into hiding inside the crevice of a large boulder. After the riders left the area of the boulder Aragorn stepped out.
"Riders of Rohan!"
The riders all quickly turned and began to circle the small group of three.
"What buisness does a Man, Elf, and dwarf have here?"
"I am Aragorn, this is Legolas, and Gimli. We are tracing two hobbits and a elf, from our group out of Rivendell. They were within a group of Uruk-Hai. "
"I am Eomer. We killed the group last night in the dark. We finished their own work as they began to kill each other. Not one was spared." The leader speaking began to feel concern.
"Did you not see them? The hobbits would appear only as children to your eyes." Aragorn asked.
"We did not. We did infact see your elf." Eomer spoke.
Legolas' face grew with anxiousness.
"She was being taken by an orc straight to Isengard. We tried to follow them, but the territory he entered was not our own. We would be outnumbered quickly."
"We must go now! Aragorn!" Legolas was almost about to leave them to go after her.
"We must figure out our approach first. We must locate the hobbits first, we do not know their whereabouts." Aragorn spoke as he put a hand on Legolas' shoulder.
"Here are two horses to assist your travel. Goodluck." Eomer called the two stallions forward.
After aquiring the horses the riders went in the direction of Rohan.
The group of three walked over to the large burning pile of orcs. Aragorn began to dig around with he sword to find any sort of clue.
Gimli picked up one of their scabbards for their daggers. He let out a sigh.
"Wait. This could mean something." Aragorn began to observe the ground.
"A hobbit lay here. Hands bound." He touched the burnt grass lightly.
The others began to follow him as he tracked their every move. They stopped at the edge of Fangorn forest.
"They entered."
"Fangorn." Legolas replied.
"Ugh. Put me down already!" Raerlis yelled from the back of the orc. She began to pound her fists into his shoulders.
He said something she could not understand as he began to run faster. She could not see anything besides the landscape they had already covered. She did not let her nervous energy bother her. She had no idea where she was going, but something wasn't right. She had been separated. As they neared their destination (of what she assumed) she could see her surroundings were more dangerous. There were dead, chopped down trees all around. The large fires coming from the holes in the ground were even more horrifying. Upon entering a large steel black door, it shut out her only sight of sunshine as it sealed behind them. She knew this was trouble. The orc dropped her on her feet. She swiftly turned and kicked him right in the stomach. He fell to his knees as she reached for her sword. It had been removed from her side.
"Looking for this?" Another orc spoke from behind her.
As she turned to look he took her sword and jabbed her on the head with the handle.
She blacked out and fell to the concrete floor.
Her first sight after awaking was the room she was in. A large study. She was surprised to not find herself in a dungeon. After standing up from the softly cushioned bench she slept on, she heard a simple voice that chilled her spine.
"Hello my dear."
I'm so sorry! It has taken me so long to write this chapter. I realized it has been a week? or two? Well, the chapters will be a bit spread out more, but I am not giving up on this story anytime soon. Do not worry about that. As always, thanks so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows. It makes my day to see those. Tell me what your predictions are for Raerlis and what you think will happen. What did you enjoy the most from this chapter?
~Sirena XOXO
