Author's Note: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I'm sorry I took so long to update, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!

Gandalf said that the journey to the other side of the mountain would take four days. He also warned them about being quiet, looking at Pippin in particular when he said it. As they walked up a long, stone flight of stairs, Edmund noticed Lucy's eyes flitting around somewhat nervously. As most older brothers do, he took advantage of this. "What's wrong, Lu? Scared of the dark?" He whispered.

Lucy glared at him. "Of course not. You?" Edmund snorted.

"What, are you kidding me?"

"No. You look scared."

"Why, you-"
"What part of 'quiet' did you two not understand?" Gandalf snapped over his shoulder.

Moria was, in all forms of the word, creepy.

Cobwebs clung to the ceilings, walls, and to the hundreds of dwarven skeletons that lay about the massive mines. Sleeping was damn near impossible for almost everyone. Lucy, Frodo and Sam sat back to back, heads drooping as they attempted to stay wide awake. Usually, Peter or Susan would have attempted to get their youngest sibling to sleep, but currently, they were having trouble keeping themselves awake.

Edmund wasn't as visibly tired as his siblings- the only way you could tell he was tired was through his silence. Were he wide awake, he'd have been getting into arguments with his brother and sisters, or talking with Merry, Pippin or Boromir, all three of whom he'd taken a shining to. Edmund still owed Boromir for not calling him out when he was about to brain Peter with the snowball.

On the third- or maybe the fourth- (it was hard to keep track in perpetual darkness) day, Gandalf brought the company to a screeching halt. They stood before three different doorways, all carved in stone. Gandalf's piercing eyes flipped between the three doors, and he twitched his staff towards all three of them. There was a pause. "Gandalf?" Sam said, looking up at the wizard. "Is something wrong?"

For a moment, Gandalf was silent. Then- "I have no memory of this place."

Translation- "We're lost".

In a situation similar to the one they had before entering Moria, the Fellowship now found themselves sitting around, out of their minds with boredom, while their esteemed leader tried to figure out a way to get them moving along again. He sat on a small outcropping of rocks, smoking his pipe, while everyone else laid around and tried not to fall asleep.

During this time, Edmund approached Boromir, sitting down next to the Gondorian. When the man saw this, he gave the boy a curious look; Only on occasion had anyone in the Fellowship- with the exception of Peter, Susan and Lucy- been approached by Edmund, other than for sword-fighting tips. Surely Edmund didn't want to spar now? Here? There wasn't much room to maneuver about, so someone would probably get a limb or two lopped off…

Then again, from the way Peter and Edmund argued, that may have been what the younger boy had in mind.

"Hello, Edmund." Boromir said quietly (Everyone spoke quietly in the mines- Even without Gandalf's warning, everyone seemed obliged to mumble). "Did you want something?" Edmund nodded.

"I owe you." He said. Boromir cocked an eyebrow at this.

"For what?"

"Not warning Peter that I was about to hit him with a snowball, back on Caradhras. It slipped my mind until just now." Boromir chuckled.

"You don't 'owe' me, Edmund. I found it amusing." He leaned over a little, and whispered, "Not to mention, I managed to hit my so-called "king" in the head." He added, twitching his head towards Aragorn. Edmund snickered softly. For a moment, there was silence. "Back when Gandalf was trying to open the doors," Boromir said. "Pippin was complaining about being ganged up on, and you said 'welcome to my world'. Do you recall?"

"Yes."

"What did you mean by it?" Edmund snorted.

"What, haven't you noticed? Peter's always calling me out on something. I make a little joke, he snaps at me and tells me to grow up. I do something a little stupid, he snaps at me and tells me to grow up." His eyes narrowed. "It's not like he's perfect, or anything. And Susan and Lucy usually back him up, or don't get involved, so I'm usually left alone. It stinks." Boromir nodded sympathetically.

"It must be rough, being the second youngest. Not the oldest, not the youngest, with an older sibling showing you up on occasion. Sometimes, you feel like you need to beat them in such things." Edmund stared at the older man.

"Do you have an older brother?" He asked, surprised at how much Boromir knew about this. Boromir chuckled.
"No. I am one. My little brother, Faramir, and I are actually quite close. But, on occasion, we gave into competitive impulses and tried to beat each other at different things." He explained, shifting uncomfortably. "Our father… Well… He played favorites."

"He favored him over you?" Edmund asked. Boromir flinched.

"Other way around. I tried to be empathetic to him, instead of teasing him about it." He said. "It's a horrible feeling, really. And awkward, too, especially when you're both adults." Edmund's eyebrows shot up.

"Your dad still does it?" He asked, disbelieving. Boromir sighed and nodded.

"Unfortunately, yes. That's why I'm here- Father sent me, because he believes Faramir has few uses. Believes him incapable. I hate it, but I grit my teeth and bear it. Occasionally, I lash out. Nothing deters him." He shook his head. "Faramir wanted to come. He really did. I wanted to stay, and help defend Gondor against the Orcs. But father said he only trusted me… He does not believe I will fail him." He met Edmund's eyes. "Do your parents play favorites as well?" Edmund shook his head.

"No. Since there are four of us… With no life-threatening missions in life… They try to treat us all the same." Now, the dark haired boy sulked. "But we're labeled anyway. Peter's the oldest, the leader, Susan's the smartest, the orderly one, Lucy's the baby, the sweet little angel, and I'm Edmund, the screw up." Edmund crossed his arms. "You are so lucky to only have one sibling. Do you argue?" Boromir nodded.

"Occasionally. I suppose all brothers and sisters have their sporadic spats now and then."

"Do you argue as much as Peter and I do?" Boromir deadpanned.

"Edmund, I assure you- there is no one in Middle Earth that argues as much as you and Peter. You two are the reigning champions in that area." Edmund chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess we are."

Just then, Gandalf spoke loudly. "Ah- it's that way." He jerked his head toward the door on their far left.

"He's remembered!" Merry exclaimed. Everyone let out a slight sigh of relief.

"No," Gandalf said, picking up his powder-blue hat from the rock beside him, placing it on his gray head, and lit the crystal on his staff again. "But the air doesn't smell so foul down here. Remember, Meriadoc- When in doubt, always follow your nose." So, they trekked down farther into the darkness, with only Gandalf's crystal for light. The tunnel they walked down was narrow, and Peter suspected he had just bumped into a skeleton (honestly, he didn't want nor need to know).

They reached the end of the stairs about two minutes later. "Let me risk a little more light," Gandalf murmured, the crystal suddenly glowing quite a bit brighter. Several people gasped. "Behold, the great realm and dwarf-city of Dwarrodelf." Gandalf said, the light from his staff brightening the unbelievably vast room they were in. Actually, it was more of a… Well, there wasn't really a word that could describe this place.

It was too big to be a room. Way too big. A city, to the children, was bigger, and had buildings. Dwarrodelf had gigantic stone pillars that stretched from ceiling to floor, with somewhat simple designs carved into them. "There's an eye-opener, and no mistake." Sam whispered. They walked on a little, staring up at the non-visible ceiling (the light from Gandalf's staff couldn't travel that high).

Suddenly, Gimli made a distressed little noise, and ran off. "Gimli!" Gandalf called. The dwarf ignored him, jogging into a nearby room that had some sufficient light in it.

"Gimli, wait!" Lucy yelled, running after him. The rest of the company quickly followed. They found Gimli, shaking, in front of a stone coffin.

"No…" The dwarf moaned. When they entered the room, his friends saw that there were many, many skeletons scattered around. "Oh, no." Gimli was now on his knees, moaning and crying. Lucy walked up beside him, her eyes flipping from her dwarven friend to the coffin. There was something written on the lid, but she could not read it. Gandalf stepped up behind her.

"'Here lies Balin,'" He read aloud. "'…Son of Fundin, Lord of Moria.' He is dead, then." Susan and Lucy each put a hand on Gimli's shoulder. "It's as I feared." Gandalf removed his hat, gave it and his staff to Pippin, and then spied something out of the corner of his eye. He moved to a skeleton that was next to Peter, and knelt down. Peter turned and watched. Under the dwarf-skeleton's hand was a book; a big, thick book.

Gandalf carefully pried the bone-hand away, and removed the book. Standing up, he opened it, and blew away some dust from the ancient-looking pages. Peter moved next to him and observed the writing. "It's the writing from the coffin," He muttered. Gandalf nodded.

"Yes," He said. "The Angerthas. A writing often used by the Moria Dwarves." With the others, Legolas quietly approached Aragorn.

"We must move on," He whispered as softly as possible. "We cannot linger."

"Give him a minute," Susan whispered from her position next to Gimli, eyes narrowing sharply. When she saw Aragorn and Legolas' surprised looks, she said to Legolas, "That's right, you're not the only one that can hear everything."

"'They have taken the bridge and the second hall,'" The Fellowship all turned to Gandalf, who was reading aloud from the book. "'We have barred the gates… But cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums… Drums in the deep.'" He looked up briefly at all of them as he turned the page. Everyone was totally still and silent, eyes pinned on the wizard. He continued.

"'We cannot get out. A Shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out.'" He looked up again, and Peter saw that the last line was scribbled somewhat haphazardly. "'They are coming.'" And with that chilling finish, Peter just happened to turn and see Pippin reaching out to touch the hand of a skeleton sitting on the edge of a well.

"Pippin! No!" Too late. Pippin twisted the hand of the skeleton, and the head fell off. BANG. Everyone jumped and stared at the well (and Pippin). BANG. The skull banged its way down the well, occasionally hitting the sides. Pippin immediately whirled around, flinching when he saw Gandalf staring at him. When he turned his back, the rest of the skeleton fell in as well, also dragging down a heavy chain attached to a bucket.

The bucket, chain, and collective skeleton clanged their way to the bottom of the well, echoing in the vast mine. A full minute passed before there was silence again. Everyone was tense and silent. Pippin looked mortified, he shut his eyes and avoided Gandalf's eyes. There was a long, long pause. Gandalf slammed the book shut. "Fool of a Took!" He snapped. "Throw yourself in, next time, and rid us of your stupidity!" He snatched his staff and hat back from the Hobbit.

Lucy thought that his words were rather harsh. Sure, it had made a lot of noise, but there weren't any goblins left in the mines, surely?

Boom.

Gandalf froze, his back to Pippin. They all turned to the well. Another noise echoed out.

Doom-boom-boom.

Gandalf paled, and Lucy gripped Susan's arm. "What is that?" The older girl whispered.

Doom-boom-doom-boom-boom…

"Drums…" Edmund whispered.
"Frodo!" Sam gasped. Frodo turned and pulled out his sword, Sting, that Bilbo had given him. Frodo had told Lucy that Sting glowed whenever there were enemies abroad. And right now, it was glowing pretty brightly.

"Orcs!" Legolas hissed. Boromir turned and ran to another set of doors, where scattered, strange noises were coming from. Edmund followed, pulling out his sword. The younger boy ran out first, followed immediately by Boromir. The Gondorian suddenly grabbed Edmund by the shoulder and ripped him back- a good thing, considering that a moment later, an arrow buried itself in the wooden door behind them (right where Edmund's head had been). Another arrow zoomed in and hit the door near Boromir's face, making him jerk back.

He and Edmund jumped back into the tomb, and pulled the doors shut. Aragorn joined them a moment later, pushing up against the doors. Boromir, who had gotten a fairly good look at what was coming at them, had a wry and dark look on his face. "They have a cave troll," He said wryly.

"Cave troll?" Lucy asked, sounding curious and worried at the same time. "What's that?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Aragorn said. "Stay behind Gandalf!" He called to her and the Hobbits. Legolas grabbed some axes from nearby and tossed them to Aragorn and Boromir. The two warriors slammed them into the door handles, forming a makeshift lock. "They'll break through this, but it'll buy us some time," Aragorn muttered. "Edmund, get back and get ready." Edmund, a little pale, nodded and ran back to stand next to Peter and Susan.

Gandalf drew his sword, Glamdring, while the Hobbits pulled out their swords, and Lucy, her dagger. Gimli leapt on top of Balin's coffin and hefted his axe with a battle cry. "Let them come! There is one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath! Khazad-dum!" Legolas, Susan and Aragorn strung arrows onto their bows, and Peter, Boromir and Edmund raised their swords. For the Pevensies, this was their first official fight. They had never even seen a real sword fight before, never mind participated in one. It was terrifying.

The doors began to shake and jerk- something was hitting at them. A spear poked through the wood. The wood was splintering, creating small gaps. Legolas let an arrow fly right into a gap- an ugly screeching noise told them he hit his mark. Aragorn shot next while Legolas grabbed another arrow. Then Susan. All three arrows went throw the gap.

BAM!

The doors totally fell away, and a multitude of ugly, misshapen hunched creatures in jagged armor jumped in. Aragorn, Legolas and Susan shot in one, synchronized motion, and three goblins fell dead. The others rushed in an attacked the Fellowship, swinging axes, spears and pikes like wild animals. It was total chaos. Susan had to fight with a short sword, since she didn't have time to use arrows in the incredibly close-quarters.

With their own, horror/bravery mixed screams, Lucy, Sam, Frodo, Pippin and Merry ran forward, ducking the blows and stabbing at the uncovered parts of the Goblins. Nearby, Aragorn beheaded an enemy. Suddenly, everyone stopped. The ground shook as a massive… thing… came stomping into the tomb, led by a goblin holding a chain.

"Lucy," Merry whispered. "I do believe that that is a cave troll."

Yeah, bad time to leave off, but I want to start a new chapter. I don't like making chapters too long.