We venture not far into Fangorn Forest, before we pick up on orc blood, staining the leaves of the trees. Gimli brings a finger to his mouth, and spits.
"Orc Blood!" He exclaims.
"Not surprising." Legolas mutters.
"I used to hear stories of this forest, when I travelled through here. The water makes the trees grow tall, and the trees have a life of their own. They speak, they walk, and all other aspects of life. No one dares venture through here nowadays." I say softly, looking around the forest. The greenery has overgrown, leaving an eery atmosphere, but the beauty of the forest is evident from the healthy green shades.
"These are strange tracks." Aragorn states, examining marks in the forest floor.
"The air is so close in here." Gimli complains.
"This forest is old. Very old. Full of memory… and anger" Legolas wonders aloud. A creaking noise sounds and we all look to the sound, and the scraping of Gimli's axe can be heard.
"The trees are speaking to each other!" Legolas says, looking around in wonder.
"Gimli! Lower your axe!" Aragorn whispers.
Gimli looks alarmed, and Legolas adds from my side. "They have feelings my friend." Gimli lowers his axe.
"Tell me the story, melamin." I whisper to him.
"The elves began it. Waking up the trees, teaching them to speak." Legolas retells to me.
"Talking Trees." Gimli huffs. "What do trees have to talk about? Except the consistency of squirrel droppings…"
"Aragorn, (Something's out there)" Legolas says in Elvish.
"Tira ten' rashwe! (Be careful!)" I say to no one in particular, drawing Pantië warily.
"(What do you see?)" Aragorn asks Legolas.
"The white wizard approaches." Legolas says, and I grip my sword, but ready to wield the water on my belt in a second.
"Do not let him speak. He will put a spell on us." Aragorn whispers as I sense the being closing in on us. "We must be quick."
We all turn and Gimli at once throws a dagger at the figure, and Legolas not a second after lets his arrow loose. However the figure, blinding with white hits the dagger and arrow away, and I see Aragorn's sword start to burn in his hands as I drop mine. My reflexes quick I whip the water out in a flash, and manage to grab a hold of the white staff in the figure's hands. Just as I am about to pull the weapon out of his hands, I'm lurched forewards by the pull of the staff, and I relax the water to fall to the floor to stop myself from falling straight to the floor. As I am about to reclaim the water though, I am flung backwards, not very hard, but hard enough to force me to fall back into the waiting arms of Legolas, instead of the floor metres back.
We stare at the light, blinded.
"You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits." The white figure says neutrally.
"Where are they?" Aragorn shouts.
"They passed this way the day before yesterday. They met someone, they did not expect. Does that comfort you?" The figure says, and I am debating how to act.
"Who are you?" Aragorn asks. "Show yourself!" I wait, heart beating, ready to strike again, when a face I could not forget stepped out of the light. My eyes widen in shock, my mouth ajar.
After a few moments of disbelief, Aragorn speaks.
"It cannot be…"
"Forgive me." Legolas says, bowing respectively. "I mistook you for Saruman." I bow my head.
"I am Saruman." He says. "Or rather Saruman, as he should have been." I stare in bewilderment, the shock still warm in my body.
"You fell…" Aragorn says, moving closer.
"Through fire… and water. On the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought with the Balrog of Morgoth. Until at last I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside. Darkness took me… and I strayed out of thought and time. Stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as a life age of the earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again. I've been sent back, until my task is done." The story amazes me, and I cling to Legolas' tunic, slightly afraid I would fall to the floor once more. A smile of pure joy breaks out onto my face.
"Gandalf…" Aragorn exclaims.
"Gandalf? Yes… that was what the used to call me." Aragorn nods. "Gandalf the grey… That was my name."
"Gandalf." Gimli says happily.
"I am Gandalf the white!?" He says decisively. "And I come back to you now, at the turn of the tide."
"One stage of your journey is over. Another begins. We must travel to Edoras with all speed." Gandalf says as we walk further through Fangorn.
"Edoras? That is no short distance." Gimli says and I smile, almost laugh.
"We hear of trouble in Rohan. It goes ill with the King." Aragorn says to Gandalf.
"Yes, and it will not be easily cured." Gandalf replies.
"Then we have run all this way for nothing!" Gimli says resentfully. "Are we to leave those poor hobbits here in this horrid, dark, dank, tree-infested-" I narrow my eyes at him and a convenient creak can be heard in the background.
"- I mean charming! Quite charming forest!" Gimli changes to quickly.
"It was more than just chance that brought Merry and Pippin to Fangorn. A great power has been sleeping here for many long years." Gandalf tells Gimli. "The coming of Merry and Pippin will be the like the falling of small stones, that starts an avalanche in the mountains."
"In one thing you have not changed my friend." Aragorn says, and I read his thoughts and smile. Gandalf moves his head closer to Aragorn. "You still speak in riddles."
"A thing is about to happen that has not happened since the Eldar days. The Ents are going to wake up… and find that they are strong." Gandalf says, and I smile at the thought.
"Strong?!" Gimli exclaims warily. "Oh, that's good."
"So stop your fretting Master Dwarf! Merry and Pippin are quite safe! In fact, they are far safer than you are about to be!"
"This new Gandalf's more grumpy than the old one!" Gimli remarks from behind me.
We stand at the edge of Fangorn, as Gandalf whistles into the distance. The sun is on the horizon, and the orange against the fields of green, yellow and beige is a beautiful sight. Suddenly, a flash of white catches my glance, and my lips part in amazement. Actually, I guess it shouldn't surprise me that Gandalf is friends with one of the Mearas.
"That is one of the Mearas, unless my eyes are cheated by some spell." Legolas observes alike myself. Pure white in every aspect, darkness swelling at his snout and ears, the beauty of the horse speaks royalty.
"Shadowfax." Gandalf exclaims. "He is the lord of all horses, and has been my friend throughout many dangers." He leans forward to stroke the beast.
"We should get going then." Aragorn says. Legolas lends me a gentle hand up onto Arod before mounting behind, and I speak to Arod.
"Rima Arod!" With one motion Arod leaps into a trot before accelerating to a fast gallop, and I surround myself with Legolas' arms with a new found hope from Gandalf's return. We ride through the familiar green hills, Fangorn fading in the distance, to Edoras.
After a fast half-days ride, as the night starts to fall we pause for a well-needed night of rest, having still not slept since we left Lothlorien. We get a fire burning hot and I lie in Legolas' arms, ready to drift off.
"So you two were together… hmm it puzzles me how I missed it." Gandalf says from the other side of the fire. I smile lightly.
"We were discreet, as we had to be Gandalf. Though I apologise, now I think of it, telling you might have made it easier." I say softly.
"Yes, well it was not the only thing you were hiding. And I doubt it will be the last." Gandalf replies and I look down at my lap. "You need not be so cautious, Azthryth, for it is not only your heritage that makes you key to this war. I am not sure where your path lies, but I am sure that you have not yet found what you have been searching for." I continue to look away from him.
"It is not so simple." I whisper frightfully.
"It is not. I passed through Lothlorien on my way here Azthryth, and what occurred there is not unknown to me. Your defensiveness will be your downfall. You may know that you cannot achieve everything on your own, but in order for others to help you must seek it. You have been lucky in your life so far to stumble upon everything you need, but that will be no more." Gandalf almost scolds me. "You cannot do everything alone."
I think through his words, and my heart fights against it. I hate that feeling. The feeling of helplessness, the feeling I can't do something myself. It's what I need, it's what I have. I don't need help, I can fight strong on my own! My will is strong enough!
Suddenly I feel light palms around my clenched fists and I look up. I meet Legolas' wary eyes and shake my head. I relax in Legolas' arms for perhaps an hour before being woken from my light sleep to Gimli's ranting.
"I'd never thought I'd say it, but I'd never thought I could ever be this bored! There is no time to waste on pointless waiting!" Gimli grumbles. I look up as I hear a low rumble in Legolas' chest as he begins to speak.
"The wardens of my home often found socialising with tales and stories to be entertainment enough for them. Perhaps that would calm your mind, dwarf." Legolas suggests.
"Why not then?" Aragorn says, coming over to sit by the fire. "Do I not recall a promise to know of how you two met?"
I sit up at his words, and harden my gaze.
"Yes lass! Come on laddy, tell us the tale!" Gimli agrees and I let out a soundless sigh. Your defensiveness will be your downfall.
"Let's get this over with then." I murmur to Legolas, and we both shift to a more upright position.
"It must have been just over 45 years ago, when we fist met…" Legolas says, and I nod.
"46. It was the last time I was at Rangers camp, after you had deemed my skills worthy enough for me to go travelling on my own, as if it would've stopped me." I say to Aragorn, and he chuckles.
"I did not expect it to be so long ago, you only made it known to me but 9 years ago." He says, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I didn't see you much. He approached me while I was practicing archery just before I planned to leave, in the night. We exchanged pleasantries, he may have given me a few minor tips on my posture."
"More than just a few minor ones." I hear Legolas mutter and elbow him lightly.
"We didn't meet for another year, until I passed through Mirkwood. I passed his patrol battling some spiders, and helped take them out before healing one of the wounded. He recognised me and let me into the stronghold, unnoticed by the King. I was there to look through some of their old archives, only planned on staying for a few months."
"We kept meeting by the archery targets, and as she continually managed to beat many of my warden in archery contests, our meetings grew more frequent." Legolas explains. "And for some unknown reason she extended her stay for a further 7 months." He adds smugly.
"I guess you could say that it was unknown, but after 4 months of my being there he expressed his wishes to court me as it were." I counter, and a faint blush appears on his cheeks.
"Isn't it improper for laddy to start courting you without permission or something?!" Gimli says, grinning at our back and forth.
"Yes, why didn't I at least get a letter of this?" Aragorn says, bemused.
"Legolas was on full intent of doing so, before I asked him not to for the sake of my journey. Though it was not hard to get him to agree." I remark, and Legolas' blush deepens slightly.
"I merely made a decision on her lady's wishes, and to the convenience of us both. It was never my intension to be improper towards you Aragorn, though since you are younger it should not have been essential anyway." Legolas almost snaps, and I stroke his hand lightly, making sure he knew I did not care either way.
"Well I think maybe some other course of action could have been more successful on at least one front, for I do not know of how King Thranduil thinks of me now. I could not sense anything but of surprise and shock from him before I fled." I say anxious.
"I spoke with him before we left. He did not make his feeling clear. I have never seen my father so surprised." Legolas shows his confusion as well, and I bite my lip out of habit.
"King Thranduil must have been very shocked indeed, and probably doubtful. He came there to scold his son of poor choice of courting, only to find out she had more nobility than he himself! Not only royalty of elves, but men too!" Gandalf adds. "But I think that is enough of the story for one night. I thought we stopped tonight to rest after your endless hunt." Gandalf stands to look on the peaceful plains, as I lie down with Legolas, curling into the warmth of his body.
"Everything will be okay, melamin." Legolas murmurs to me as we fall asleep…
We approach a city atop a hill, and recognition floods through me as I remember the halls. But it is darker, duller, more dangerous. The air is tense. A knife could pierce it.
"Edoras. And the Golden Hall of Meduseld. There dwells Theoden, King of Rohan, whose mind is overthrown. Saruman's hold over King Theoden is now very strong." Gandalf explains to us for the fourth time.
"And his heir should be dead by now." I say. "And the next has been sent away. The future of Rohan is looking grim indeed."
Please review! Constructive criticism is always welcome. Sorry I haven't updated, but I've been buried in exams. I'll update as soon as possible!