A/N: Hi guys! Thank you to my wonderful reviewers! WHooo! Two Towers Time baby!
I have an entire folder labeled 'Fanfiction' and in that folder I have another folder labeled 'Lord of the Rings.' If that's not obsession, I don't know what is. Plus, this story isn't the only one in there too. Whether or not those others will be posted, I have no clue.
These are on the spur of the moment, and the others are really just like, the first chapter, a jumping off point. Or random scribbles on a page.
"Ancient language. Just a reminder. For, you know, you forgetfully people."
"Underlines are Elvish."
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my characters.
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The four traveled through the Emyn Muil, a maze of cliffs and ridges. They had been running for three days straight without rest. Lireal had healed well enough that she could easily keep up. She ran behind Legolas and Aragorn, but before Gimli. The dwarf huffed and puffed along behind her, occasionally being teased about his speed.
At the moment, they were waiting on Aragorn, who was sprawled with one ear against the ground.
"Their pace has quickened." He looked up, rising. "They must have caught our scent. Hurry!"
The elf easily crested the ridge. "Come on, Gimli!"
The dark-haired woman chuckled softly at the red-bearded dwarf as she followed Legolas.
"Three days and nights pursuit. No food. No rest. And no sign of our quarry but what bare rock can tell." Gimli muttered.
The hunters crested the ridge and picked up some speed on the downslope. They ran fleetly across the broken landscape, with Aragorn in the lead, tracking as best he could in the barren land. Suddenly he paused, kneeling. Legolas ran up to him with the Dragorlai close behind.
"Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall." He said, holding one of the brooches from the hobbits cloaks.
"They may yet be alive." The Elf replied.
The man rose, pushing off his knees, checking the tracks. "Less than a day ahead of us. Come."
There was a loud grunt and a thud as the dwarf reached the bottom of the hill he rolled down.
"Come, Gimli! We're gaining on them!" Legolas turned and shouted over his shoulder.
"I'm wasted on cross-country. We Dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances." He retorted.
Lireal chuckled softly. Those two were close, but they always poked fun at one another. It was then that they stopped at a cliff-wall.
"Rohan." The Ranger stated. "Home of the Horse-lords. There's something strange at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures; sets its will against us."
The Elf had run onto a small jutting outcropping from the cliff.
"Legolas! What do your Elf-eyes see?" Aragorn shouted.
He stared, following the path of their prey. "The Uruks turn northeast. They are taking the hobbits to Isengard."
Realization struck them.
"Saruman." Aragorn breathed.
They continued their chase across the grassy fields of Rohan, following their foes and kidnapped friends tirelessly.
"Keep breathing. That's the key. Breathe." The dwarf panted from behind.
Gimli had fallen far behind the other three. Aragorn lead them still, and Legolas followed him. The sight and sense of nearness to the Halflings spurred Lireal on, giving her new energy and hope. They were so close, surely there was no escape for the orcs. She now ran alongside the Elf, ignoring the faint throbbing in her shoulder. She had healed well, but not completely; the exertion had slowed the process down considerably.
"They've run as if the very whips of their masters were behind them." Legolas commented.
They kept running, even as the sun set, guiding their direction. They ran through the night. Legolas turned about, glancing at the dawn.
"A red sun rises; blood has been spilt this night." He murmured.
They ran in the early morning sunlight, the dew on the grass shining in the rays of sun. Aragorn paused kneeling, when there was a strange cry. He glanced up before leading them to hide behind a large boulder outcropping. The hunters crouched there, waiting. Lireal tugged her hood up; years of wariness kicking in.
A large group of horseman galloped by. Once the soldiers had barely past, the Ranger lead them out of hiding.
"Riders of Rohan, what news from the mark?" He shouted.
The horsemen turned and wheeled, quickly surrounding the four friends. The soldiers kept their spears down, pointing at them. The nearest stopped only a foot from Aragorn's chest. The Ranger kept his hands up, away from his weapons, trying to be peaceable.
The leader trotted forward. "What business does Elves, a Man, and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark? Speak quickly!"
"Give me your name, horse-master, and I shall give you mine." Gimli said, resting his hands on the head of his axe, leaning against it.
The Man dismounted. Aragorn placed a hand on the Dwarf's shoulder. "I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground."
Legolas ripped an arrow from his quiver and set it to the string, drawing his bow. Lireal did the same.
"You would die before your stroke fell." The Elf warned grimly.
Aragorn reached over and pushed Legolas' arm so that the arrow was pointing at the ground. The Dragorlai reluctantly lowered her own bow.
"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn." The Ranger stated. "This is Gimli, son of Gloin, and Legolas of the Woodland Realm." He introduced her to the stranger as Gandalf had to them originally when they first met. "And Darkhunter. We are friends of Rohan, and of Theoden, your king."
The man removed his helm. "Theoden no longer recognizes friend from foe. Not even his own kin."
The ring of soldiers relaxed as their leader continued. "Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over these lands. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished. The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say. As an old man, hooded and cloaked. And everywhere his spies slip past our nets." The Man stared hard at Lireal.
"We are no spies." Aragorn replied. "We track a party of Uruk-hai westward across the plain. They have taken two of our friends captive."
"The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night." The man said.
Gimli interrupted desperately. "But there were two hobbits. Did you see two hobbits with 'em?"
"They would be small, only children to your eyes." The Ranger explained.
The soldier shook his head. "We left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them." He pointed in the direction of smoke.
"Dead?" the Dwarf inquired.
The stranger nodded. "I am sorry."
Legolas stared at the ground, putting an arm on Gimli's shoulder for support. Aragorn looked away, staring at his friends. The dark-haired woman stared hauntingly at the man's face; he refused to make eye-contact.
He seemed to come to a decision. The soldier whistled. "Hasufel! Arod!" Two horses with empty saddles approached them. "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell."
The horseman donned his helm once more and mounted his horse. "Look for your friends. But do not trust to hope." They looked at him. "It has forsaken these lands."
"We ride north!" he commanded his company, the horsemen charging off, leaving the four companions alone in the fields of Rohan once more.
After a moment of silence, they mounted the horses. Legolas rode with Gimli, and Aragorn and Lireal shared a horse. They arrived quickly at the smoking pile of ash. They dismounted, and the dwarf poked through the pile of charred bones and ash. He removed something from the pile.
"It's one of their wee belts." He mumbled.
The elf murmured a quiet prayer. The dark-haired woman bowed her head. She had failed them. Aragorn kicked a helmet with a shout of rage, falling to the ground on his knees.
"We failed them." Gimli echoed her sentiments.
The Ranger inspected the ground beside him. "A Hobbit lay here. And the other."
He slowly stood, moving forward slowly, eyes glued to the ground. "They crawled. Their hands were bound. Their bonds were cut. They ran over here. They were followed. Tracks lead away from the battle…into Fangorn Forest."
The companions stopped at the eve of the wood, staring within.
"Fangorn? What madness drove 'em in there?" the Dwarf whispered.
Lireal had been in the wood before; in fact, some close friends dwelled in it. She had no fear of the place like others of the outside world.
"No. Not madness. If one is careful, it is very safe. Even more safe, if one were two lost little hobbits." She murmured softly.
After a few minutes of trying to peer through the gloom, they entered the forest. Lireal quickly took the lead from Aragorn, being more familiar with the place. They moved almost silently through the trees. Gimli stopped to inspect a bush.
"Orc blood." He spat.
The Ranger knelt. "These are strange tracks."
The dark-haired woman smirked slightly in recognition. The Halflings were safer than she thought.
"The air is so close in here." Gimli whispered.
The Elf glanced about before responding. "This forest is old. Very old. Full of memory, and anger."
The trees began to creak and whine, and the startled dwarf pulled out his axe.
"The trees are speaking to each other." Legolas turned around.
The other three looked at the dwarf.
"Gimli!" Aragorn hissed. "Lower your ax."
Gimli slowly relaxed, dropping the axe back into place at his side.
"They have feelings, my friend." The Elf smirked. "The Elves began it. Waking up the trees, teaching them to speak."
The Dwarf snorted. "Talking trees. And what do trees have to talk about, eh? Except the consistency of squirrel droppings." He muttered.
Suddenly, Legolas strode forward. "Aragorn, something's out there."
"What do you see?" The man followed him.
"The White Wizard approaches." The Elf whispered, nodding his head slightly in the direction they had come from.
"We must be wary." Lireal mumbled.
When the other two turned to look at her, she only raised an eyebrow.
Aragorn inhaled. "Do not let him speak, he will put a spell on us."
They all tightened their grip around the weapons of their choice. Legolas had his bow, the Ranger his sword, Gimli one of his throwing axes, and Lireal one of her throwing knives.
"We must be quick." The man murmured.
The four companions spun about as one, raising their weapons. The white glowing figure shattered the Dwarf's ax and the Elf's arrow, and Aragorn's sword glowed white-hot, as did Lireal's knife, which she hadn't thrown. There was something familiar about the figure, and they didn't possess an aura of shadow and evil.
Her companions shielded their eyes from the bright light.
"You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits." The figures echoing voice said.
"Where are they?" The Ranger demanded.
"They passed this way the day before yesterday. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?" The stranger replied.
Aragorn's eyes widened. "Who are you? Show yourself!"
The man passed his staff before him, revealing him to be….Gandalf. Lireal didn't believe it. It was impossible; it must be some sort of trick.
"It cannot be." The Dunedain breathed.
The Elf knelt. "Forgive me. I mistook you for Saruman."
"I am Saruman." The wizard replied. "Or rather, Saruman as he should have been."
The Man worked his jaw. "You fell." It was as much a question as a statement.
"Through fire and water. From 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." He explained.
Aragorn stepped forward. "Gandalf."
"Gandalf?" The wizard looked as if he was remembering something long forgotten. "Yes. That was what they used to call me. Gandalf the Grey. That was my name."
The Dwarf smiled. "Gandalf."
"I am Gandalf the White. And I come back to you now, at the turn of the tide." The wizard nodded.
For the first time since he had appeared, she spoke. "Grey One." She murmured almost inaudibly, reaching out to him. "Much heartache have you caused me."
"I would apologize to you, little dove." He said, turning to her, setting a hand on her hair.
"I forgive you." She tried to smile, but she wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry.
The old man pulled her into a hug. "It is good to see you once more, and know that our paths lay together for now."
Gandalf began leading the way out of Fangorn. "One stage of your journey is over, another begins. We must travel to Edoras with all speed."
"Edoras?" Gimli grumbled. "That is no short distance!"
"We hear of trouble in Rohan. It goes ill with the king." The Ranger said softly.
The old man nodded. "Yes. And it will not easily be cured."
"Then we have run all this way for nothing." The Dwarf complained. "Are we going to leave those poor hobbits here in this dark, dank, tree-infested-?" There was a loud groan from the trees. "I mean charming, quite charming, forest."
Gandalf turned back to face him. "It was more than mere chance that brought Merry and Pippin to Fangorn. A great power has been sleeping here for many long years. The coming of Merry and Pippin will be like the falling of small stones that start an avalanche in the mountains."
"In one thing you have not changed, dear friend." Aragorn smiled.
"Oh?" he leaned closer the Ranger.
"You still speak in riddles."
They both chuckled.
"A thing is about to happen that has not happened since the Elder Days. The Ents are going to wake up, and find that they are strong." The wizard explained.
Gimli started. "Strong?!" he looked at the trees around him. "Oh, that's good."
"So stop you're fretting, Master Dwarf. Merry and Pippin are quite safe. In fact, they are far safer than you are about to be!" The old man called over his shoulder as he walked away.
"This new Gandalf's more grumpy than the old one." The dwarf muttered.
Lireal helplessly shook her head and chuckled. Things had improved far more than she had ever dared to hope. They had Gandalf back, and the Ents were waking up. Even if she was charging into a war that was not her own, she would willingly follow her friends and companions. Haldir was right she really had broken her vow. But, she was glad she did. After all, if she didn't, where would she be now?
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