Chapter 21- On the Road Again…and Someone Unexpected
DISCLAIMER: Don't own LotR, wish I did though! =(
A/N: Decided to skip twin torture due to lack of interest! = (Will have a short flashback though. Thanks to Stabby, who was the only one to review me! Depressed now, and on my b/day too! But thanks to all the people that put me on alert or favourites!
Katie's POV:
I opened my eyes to another overcast day, with the sun breaking through occasionally. I dragged my stiff legs out of bed, stepping into the bath, already lit. I swear that elf was physic!
"You're very predictable" Legolas laughed fromthe doorway.
"Thanks!" I muttered, letting my head fall back. I loved my baths. Elladan and Elrohir were determined to get their revenge. I just prayed they would leave my bath in peace!
~*Flashback*~
I followed Elladan down the hall to breakfast, occasionally pulling his hair and pretending that it wasn't me. His fists balled at his sides, resisting the urge to hit me…but only just!
"Let this be known Katie" Elladan stopped just outside the doors, spinning to face me. "I will have my revenge!"
~*End Flashback*~
"It's a good thing we're leaving today" I pulled my robe around me and headed back to the bedroom to dress. "I hope Merry and Pippin are ok!
We rode into Isengard, the air filled with an almost visible horror. The smell was awful! Like wet dog mixed with…something burning. It burned my nose, made my eyes water and made me gag horribly.
"Can you smell that?" I managed to cough. "It reminds me of…pipe weed" We broke cover of the trees. There sat Merry and Pippin. I was so relived, I could have hit them! Especially since they were drinking, and smoking those awful pipes!
"Welcome, my lords to Isengard!" Merry called, while Pippin raised his mug.
"What am I? Chopped liver?" The hobbits launched themselves at me, knocking me backwards off the horse.
"KATIE! We missed you so much!" Screamed Merry, cutting off what little remained of my air supply.
"We were so worried about you! What happened?" Pippin released his strangling hug from my neck. I coughed as air rushed to my lungs, managing a breathless laugh.
"You were worried about me? Sorry I took so long, but pony boy here..." I jerked my thumb at Eomer. "Decided it was a better idea to hold me captive!" Eomer sighed at the memory and absent-mindedly rubbed the places I had bruised him.
"You young rascals!" Gimli shouted. I knew he was happy to see the hobbits, he just showed it differently. "A merry hunt you've led us on and now we find you feasting and…and smoking!"
"We are sitting on a field of victory" Pip slurred in defence. "Enjoying a few well earned comforts. The salted pork is particularly good."
"Salted pork…" Gimli raised an eyebrow while I mugged Pip of his ale.
"Hobbits!" Gandalf rolled his eyes and sighed, a playful smile on his face and eyes that glinted with mischief.
"We are under orders from Treebeard who has taken over management of Isengard" Merry stood up, allowing me to do the same.
"Who?" Merry just grinned mischievously at me. I was suddenly VERY scared and had the urge to hide behind Legolas…but Boromir would never let me live it down! Neither would Eomer. Life is SO unfair!
"You'll see Katie, you'll see" Merry laughed and jumped on behind Boromir, while Pip rode with Aragorn. And with that, we rode into Isengard.
Isengard was flooded. That must be contributing the wet dog smell. I looked up at Saruman's tower, when a shadow passed in front of me, giving me a chill. I turned, and there in front of me, was a tree, walking talking and very much alive! I gave a small scream and jumped slightly in my saddle. I took a few calming breaths and muttered just loud enough for Legolas and Gimli, who rode on the horse beside me to hear.
"No. No. I've seen stranger! This? This is perfectly normal!" Gimli chuckled while Legolas fought to hold it back. I glared, but I couldn't help but let out a small girly giggle.
"Hoooom, young master Gandalf, I'm glad you've come. Wood and water, stock and stone I can master, but there is a Wizard to manage here locked in his tower" The tree, who I'm guessing was the infamous Treebeard, said, in a voice that was slow, slurring and booming.
"Show yourself!" Aragorn's voice came loud and confident, filled with power.
"Be careful" Gandalf eyed the tower nervously, almost as if he expected Saruman to attack at any moment. But he wouldn't. Would he? "Even in defeat, Saruman is dangerous!"
"Well then, let's just have his head and be done with it!" Gimli called from behind Legolas. I nodded my head.
"I agree!" Boromir and I said in unison.
"Ok, twice in one life time? That is just TOO creepy for my liking!" I threw a small tantrum from the back of my horse. "You and I aren't supposed to agree!" Eomer chuckled behind me. I turned and glared. "Shut it pony boy!" He sighed.
"I've said I'm sorry! Are you EVER going to let me live it down?"
"Not a chance pony boy!" I turned my attention back to Boromir. "Please, never agree with me again!"
"No. We need him alive. We need him to talk" Gandalf, serious as ever continued as though I had not interrupted.
"You have fought many wars and slain many men Theoden King" Saruman appeared on top of his tower, staring down at us cautiously. "And made peace afterwards. Can we not take council together as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace you and I?" Who did he think he was? He betrayed us. All of us! And thanks to him, many men, no, they weren't just men; they were husbands, and fathers and sons. But thanks to Saruman, they would never return to their families. He had killed so many, and risked many more, to serve the dark lord of Mordor. For all we knew, he still was. He couldn't be trusted.
"We shall have peace…" I opened my mouth to ask 'Are you freakin' nuts?', when Theoden continued. "We shall have peace when you answer for the burning of the Westfold and the children who lie dead there! We shall have peace when the lives of the soldiers whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornburg…are avenged! When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows…we shall have peace!" That one speech gave me a whole new respect for Theoden. He was not a man who cared only for himself; he truly cared for his people. I could see now in his eyes, that he would die, just to avenge the life of one he had considered a servant. We didn't always have the same ideas of right and wrong, nor did I see how he could claim to protect his people by sending them to their deaths! But now, I saw the true Theoden, who would willingly give his life a hundred times over, to save one.
"Gibbets and crows! Dotard! What do you want Gandalf Greyhame?" Saruman's voice was laced with poison. A barely concealed threat hanging in the air. "Let me guess…the key of Orthanc? Or perhaps the keys of Barad Dûr it's self? Along with the crowns of the seven Kings and the rods of the Five Wizards!" What was he on about? No, scrap that. What was he ON?
"Your treachery has already cost many lives. Thousands more are now at risk. But you could save them Saruman. You were deep in the enemy's council" Gandalf was calm as ever, almost as though he were an extremely patient adult, explaining to a child.
"So you have come for information. I have some for you" Saruman held up a small glass ball that had a black mist swirling inside of it. "Something festers in the heart of Middle Earth. Something you have failed to see. But the great eye has seen it! Even now he presses his advantage. His attack will come soon" Gandalf moved slowly forward, listening intently. Saruman's next words chilled me to the core. "You are all going to die! But you know this, don't you Gandalf? You cannot think that this Ranger will ever sit upon the throne of Gondor! This exile, crept from the shadows will never be crowned king. Gandalf does not hesitate to sacrifice those who are closest to him…those he professes to love! Tell me, what words of comfort did you give the Halfling before you sent him to his doom?" Gandalf looked down. He looked ashamed. "The path you have sent him on can only lead to death!"
"I've heard enough! Shoot him! Stick an arrow in his gob!" Gimli whispered angrily, nudging Legolas in the back. Legolas reached for an arrow but was stopped by Gandalf's next words.
"No! Come down Saruman and your life will be spared!"
"Save your pity and your mercy. I have no use for it!" Saruman pointed his staff at Gandalf and a great ball of fire shot from it, engulfing Gandalf and Shadowfax.
"GANDALF!" I heard my scream pierce the all too eerie silence. I went to move forward, but the stupid horse refused to budge. The flames disappeared to reveal Gandalf and Shadowfax alive and well…they weren't even crispy 'round the edges!
"Saruman…your staff is broken!" Came Gandalf's cry. Up on his tower, Saruman screamed in pain as his staff shattered into a million pieces. And yes, he did scream like a girl. A girly girl at that!
"N…No matter!" Saruman's voice was shaky as he recovered his confidence and picked up his badly bruised ego. "I have an offer you cannot refuse!" He pulled on a chain which had been lying by his feet. A blonde elf with blue eyes that were red and puffy from cry was laid before us. Tywein. Her hair was a mess. Some strands held in place by insane amounts of blood. The same blood that was smeared on her face. I heard Legolas intake breath beside me. I searched Tywein's eyes. They were not filled with fear, or sadness, only deceit and bloodthirsty rage.
"Legolas, shoot her!" Legolas looked at me as if I was mental, and I was. But that was besides the point! "Legolas, listen to me, she's evil! She's been with them from the beginning. Shoot her!" Legolas hesitated for only a second, before reaching for an arrow.
"No, Legolas! Don't shoot!" Aragorn hissed. Legolas looked VERY confused. I looked deeper into Tywein's soul.
~Inside Tywein~
The pictures rolled before me like a mist movie. A little blonde elf ran in front of my vision, drawing my attention to the scene behind me. Rivendell was under attack! Orcs swarmed the boarders. Men fought and died before my eyes. The girl stood there, watching them fight. Screams, probably coming from her mother called her back. An elf turned when he heard the commotion.
"Tywein, go back!" An Orc crept up behind him and raised his sword over his head.
"FATHER!" The young Tywein's scream covered all sounds of battle. Her father turned, just in time to see what had killed him. Tywein's mother ran up behind her.
"Tywei... NO!" Her eyes fell upon the dead body of her husband. She fell on the ground beside him, pulling his bloody and lifeless body into his lap. An Orc raised his bow and shot. The arrow pierced her chest and with a last gurgle, she fell, dead with her husband in her arms.
"MOTHER!" Tywein fell onto the ground in a small, sobbing heap. Time seemed to stand still, as though eternity had passed in a few short minutes.
"My lord, what should we do with this one?" An Orc lifted Tywein from the ground by the scruff of her neck. Her face was tear stained and her eyes were puffy. His cruel snarl just inches from her face. A man, or at least, that's what he seemed to be, stood before her. Inspecting her.
"Leaver her alive, she could be useful!" His voice was scratchy and seemed to be spoken more in my mind than aloud. He turned to leave. That's when I saw it. The One Ring. The same one Frodo wore around his neck. The one that was on its way to Mt. Doom this very second. This man who stood before the child Tywein, deciding her fate, was the Dark Lord of Mordor. Everything went black as Tywein fell into an exhausted, dreamless sleep. When I could see again, Tywein was lying in her bed, while Lord Elrond sat by her bed, explaining the fate of her parents. The scene shifted again. This time we were in a garden. Tywein looked roughly fifteen. Her head was hung as though she carried a great and heavy burden.
"Tywein" An all too familiar voice croaked. Tywein shivered and took a step back, looking for the source of the voice. "They are alive! All you must do is step over the border" Her head shot up and her feet carried her at a sprint. No evil could cross the borders of Rivendell…or so I'd heard. She took a deep breath and let herself step over the last of the water that marked the entrance to the city. The voice chuckled and a figure shimmered before her. Sauron. Beside him, in chains, were two blonde elves. Much thinner and more haunted versions of what her parents had once been. Tywein gasped and moved to run at them. Tears of joy slowly curling down her cheeks. "If you want them, you must work for them!"
"I will do anything you ask! I just want them back" And the deed was done. She had made a deal with the devil. Literally! There was no turning back now.
"You will be my spy. If there is news of when the elves will be weak, you will tell me. If they plan to attack me, you will tell me" He held out a small, round object wrapped in velvet cloth.
"You ask me to betray my own people?" Tywein's voice was trembling. Either way. She knew she would die for this.
"You said anything, did you not?" Sauron's voice was powerful and terrible. Evil and threatening her to disagree. Tywein's eyes took on a new light. Determinism. Her anger boiled to the surface, giving her confidence. She was no longer a scared little girl, desperate for her family and scared of the actions it took to get them back, to a brave, powerful and all together frightening woman, who was both willing to die and kill for what she wanted.
"And I meant it!" She snatched the object from Sauron, unveiling it in the same movement. It was one of those things like Saruman had. What had Gandalf called it? A palantir? The vision took on a new pace. Showing me hundreds of years in a few short minutes. Ending with her final betrayal. The capture of Slime Ball, whose name turned out to be Grima. He had then told Saruman all he knew of Rohan and their flee to Helm's Deep. Of its only weakness. But one thing stayed with me. The image that occurred when she first entered Isengard. Saruman had shown Tywein her parents. Thin and pale, their chains almost too big for them. Tywein was so happy at seeing her parents for the first time in centuries that she didn't see what I did. The image seemed to flicker around the edges. Like a bad projection. Saruman had conjured them from the air. They had bribed her, blackmailed her for her whole life, with parents who were dead. And she still didn't know. Didn't know they had played her. Used her for their wicked purposes. Especially Saruman. Those were the other images that stayed with me, though these would haunt me till the end. You can't blame me! No one wants to be stuck with intimate make out scenes between Tywein and Saruman for all eternity! With that final, disgusting image firmly planted in my mind, I was thrown violently back to my own body.
~Present Time~
I sat up straight in my saddle from where I had slouched. It felt weird to be back in my own body. I hadn't even known I could do that!
"Katie? Are you ok?" Legolas asked, looking at me with concern. I nodded quickly before turning to Tywein.
"You know they're dead, don't you? You HAVE to know that they played you all these years!" Tywein's eyes opened wide with shock as my message sunk in.
"You lie!" She hissed. Saruman bent down and un-chained her. "They live! Saruman would never betray me!" I was once again reminded of the make out scene. I shuddered in my saddle. NO! I had to make her see!
"How can you believe that? You have seen firsthand how quickly Saruman betrays those he 'professes to love!'" I quoted back, giving Saruman the evil eye in the process. "All you saw was the extent of his magic!" As I continued to talk, I could see the seed of fear and doubt spread through her. She turned to Saruman, immediately taking the offensive.
"Is this true? Have you spent all these years lying to me?" Her finger poked into his chest as she forced him backwards. "Have you meant anything you said?" Saruman's voice was gentle, though I could see the fear of her discovery racking through him.
"Tywein, it is she who lies! I would never betray you! Your parents are safe. You would seriously doubt me? Because of HER words?" Saruman made me sound like a filthy animal. What had I done to him? Oh, right! I'd made his little slave doubt him. Still! That was no reason to be nasty! Tywein sighed and fell into a small heap.
"I'm sorry my Lord. I will never doubt you again!" With that she practically leapt into his arms for a totally gross make out session!
"EWW! It was bad enough seeing it through you memories! I DON'T need a live performance! I'm mentally sacred enough!" Tywein gave a small exasperated sigh, looked impatiently over her shoulder and gave me the finger. I gasped in mock surprise. "How rude!"
"Like YOU can talk!" Gandalf muttered. I could almost feel him rolling his eyes at me, though his back was facing me.
"Shut it Grandad!" I growled grumpily, feeling the sudden urge to throw a small tantrum. I remember when Ailie used to do that to me. I would just stare at her blankly until she shut up! A movement behind the two disgusting love birds caught my eye. Grima, who was better known as Slime Ball sulked from the shadows, cautiously eyeing us with that creepy little glare of his.
"Grima! You need not follow him!" Theoden's voice was sad and slow. As though this moment had aged him more than the years of his life. Grima had a sudden flash of hope, before it faded away in a sea of cautiousness and suspicion. "You were not always as you are now. You were once a man of Rohan. Come down" Grima's face lit up like a Christmas tree. He nodded and turned to leave when Saruman's words stopped him.
"A man of Rohan? What is the house of Rohan but a thatched barn where brigands drink in the reek and their brats roll on the floor with the dogs? The victory at Helm's Deep does not belong to you Theoden Horse Master. You are a lesser son of greater sires!" Theoden slumped his shoulders slightly, looking almost defeated. He returned his attention back to Grima.
"Grima…Come down! Be free of him!" Grima nodded, and once again tried to make his exit. I think deep down, he's just a sad, lonely man who wants to be loved! Hey I just thought of something! I Just Wanna Be Loved by Bowling For Soup! I swear that song was written about Grima. Saruman cut through my mental babble with the beginning of another one of his 'I'm Awesome!' speeches.
"Free? He will never be free!"
"NO!" Grima tried to stand up for himself.
"Get down cur!" Saruman slapped him, knocking him to the ground and he didn't appear to get up. I had such a crappy view here! "You withdraw your guard here and I will tell you where your doom will be decided. I will not be held prisoner here!" Saruman smiled evilly, knowing he had backed us into a corner. Gandalf wanted information. At whatever cost! Saruman's face contorted with pain, a small gasp breaking free of his lips. Tywein, who had been sitting by his feet, sprung up and launched herself at Grima, killing him with his own knife. The same knife he had used to stab Saruman with. Saruman fell forward, toppling off the tower. He turned a few times in the air before being impaled on his own spiky wheel. I couldn't help but smile a little. Karma's a bitch when it's pissed! To prove my point, the wheel began to turn, slowly moving his lifeless body underwater. Something splashed from his sleeve.
"The filth of Saruman is washing away. Trees will come back to live here. Young trees. Wild trees" Treebeard boomed. An eerie glow filled the water roughly where the splash had been. Any normal person would have taken this as a sign to leave it be. But I want it on record, Pippin is NOT in ANY way, shape or form, normal! He jumped from his mount behind Aragorn and began splashing towards the object.
"Pippin!" Aragorn warned. But Pip just kept on sloshing through the water, which reached his waist. Probably only knee high for the 'big people' as the hobbits called us. He reached down and picked up a huge marble like ball. The one Saruman had used. The one Sauron had given to Tywein. The palantir. Pippin stared into it for a few moments. The whole thing radiated evil.
"Bless my bark!" Treebeard boomed again. I swear all his booming was giving me a headache! Could he not use his 'inside voice'?
"Peregrin Took. I'll take that my lad! Quickly now!" Gandalf took the palantir from pippin and wrapped it in the corner of his cloak. Pip gave a small, sheepish smile before turning back to Aragorn. Gandalf watched him like a hawk the whole way. What was with that?
"What do we do with HER?" Gimli jerked his chin at Tywein. She whipped around to stare at us. Anger coursed through her. Blocking all other emotions, including her sadness. She gave a small feline like hiss before hurling herself off the back of the tower, hitting the ground at a run. She dodged the other alive trees and disappeared into the forest. I readied myself to follow when Gimli's hand grasped my shoulder.
"Let her go lass! She will get what's commin' her way in the end! Now's not the time. Let her go!" I sighed. Gimli was right Tywein was a problem for another day. Now? Now we had the long trip back to Edoras.
Hey ya'll! Sorry for the wait, I lost half of my Geography work so I spent ages re-doing all my notes! Anywho! I hope you liked my chappie! It was my b/day a few days ago! I am now officially…One year older! Hehehe! Thanks to my awesome editing crew-…just Lee this time! BIG THANKX!. Also Thanks to Stabbythings, the only person who reviewed me. But I happy 'cause I got lots of people adding me to favourites or alert! Anywho, please review as it does motivate me to %&#* my homework and write! Thanks and luv ya'll- but only those who review!
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