Together we stumbled out into the light at the end of the tunnel. Grassy hills met my eyes and the landscape was totted with wild flowers. Our feet crunched on the stones beneath us as our hurried footsteps echoed through the mouth of the cave.
Tears threatened to fall and I let go of Aragorn. I planted myself down on a boulder a few feet away and grasped my arm tightly, the pain coming back. My adrenaline was wearing off and the loud roaring in my ears dimmed down to nothing.
Everyone was collapsed on the ground. Pippin and Merry were clinging to each other, sobbing. Sam had his face buried in his hands. Boromir stood a few feet away from me, frowning yet he kept his emotions under control. Legolas's face was sullen and he looked on the verge of tears as well. I looked down at my hands and they shook. My breathing was shaky and uneven, coming out in rasps.
"Legolas, get them up!" Aragorn ordered. "Give them a moment for pity's sake!" Boromir protested. He was standing beside Gimli, holding the dwarf back. He wanted to go back inside and kill all the goblins and was protesting heavily.
"By night fall, these hills will be swarming with orcs!" Aragorn shot back. "We must reach the woods of Lothlorien!" Aragorn cleaned the orc blood from his sword and slid it back into its sheath.
"Legolas, Boromir, Gimli! Get them up!" Aragorn ordered. I felt a presence appear by my side. I looked up through watery eyes at Aragorn.
"Quwen…" He whispered. I looked back down at my hands. "Come on, get up…" He ordered. I raised my eyes up to him once more. His own set was still red and watery as well. He sighed and pulled me into his chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his tunic. He lightly stroked my hair.
"Everything will be all right…" He whispered but I knew he was lying.
This was the death that I had heard whispered in my dreams. Gandalf's passing.
Aragorn held me tightly to him and we remained that way for a moment, his chin rested on the top of my head. "Legolas…" Aragorn beckoned the elf to come to us. He placed his hand over my ear and we began to rock slightly.
"Watch her and keep her going, no matter what…" The ranger whispered quietly to Legolas. The elf looked confused for a moment. The ranger's statement dawned on him and Aragorn stepped away from me. He whipped his thumb across my cheek and tried smiling but it just wasn't there.
"We must be strong, for them…" He glanced over at the hobbits, causing my eyes to follow. I nodded and Legolas stepped forward. He embraced me in another hug but it didn't last as long as the one I shared with Aragorn. He kept a hand on the small of my back and I watched as Aragorn chased after Frodo. My eyes were still buffy and slightly blurry but I just followed after the elf who had taken his hand in mine.
We walked past two blurry forms and I brought them closer to me. Sobs racked through their small bodies as I held Pippin and Merry close to me. More tears threatened to stream down my face but I fought them. I never knew how much of a battle this would be.
Not a physical battle but a mental one.
"Breeze… I'm so sorry…" Pippin said and he buried his face in my pant leg. "Shh, Pippin. It wasn't you're fault…" I said down to him.
"Sometimes in life, we have to make a choice. Gandalf chose to sacrifice himself to save us because that was his choice. And even in life, its easier to believe that we don't have a choice and do what we know is right in our hearts. Chin up, Master Hobbit..." I tilted his chin up towards the sky and left them with a ghost of a smile.
Oddly enough, Legolas walked by my side the entire time, due to the ranger's orders. I would glance at him out of the corner of my eye and noticed him staring back. I walked in silence and barely kept my attention on the group. The sky was growing darker, signaling another day that was coming to a close. We neared a tree line and I walked into the shadowed forest. The others followed in a single file line but I walked a few feet away in the under growth.
"Breeze!" I raised my weary eyes up and I pushed back a branch on a tree to look around. Aragorn was looking directly at me and my breathing hitched. "We must stop and make camp. The hobbits are weary and tired..." He explained. I nodded but walked away from him in the direction we had just come from.
"Where are you going?" He asked but I didn't stop walking. "I'm going to get my horse..." I said wearily. The ranger eyed me carefully for a moment, his eyes uncertain and filled with worry. Aragorn slowly nodded and I turned around and continued to walk back to the tree line.
The light from the setting sun shone through the trees up ahead and I brought my hand up to my lips. I whisteled loudly and waited. Wrapping my good arm around my torso, I hugged myself. I could almost feel the heat that Aragorn had left there and it over powered the hug that Legolas had given me.
I sighed and then ran a hand through my hair. It was slightly dampened from all the sweating I had done during the fight. It remained tied back at the base of my hair line with a piece of leather I had found. My arm still hung limply at my side and it worried me. I had little feeling left in the limb but the pain radiated through my shoulder.
Taking my long sword from the sheath, I held it behind my shoulder and tilted it at an angle. In the reflection, I could see the gaping hole that my shoulder had accumulated and frowned. It was worse than I thought it would be. The long cut traveled from the back of my shoulder all the way down the back of my arm and stopped at the elbow. It was free of the black orc poison and that gave me some relief.
A flock of birds flew up from the under growth, signaling someone or something was coming. I placed my hand on the handle of my dagger but remained facing the sunset. I heard the crunching of leaves under feet and stiffened.
"Breeze?" I glanced over my shoulder at the approaching form. I sighed and whistled once more, this one was more urgent and high pitched.
"Why do you keep whistling?" He asked, I sighed. "I'm waiting for Del to return. He has our supplies..." I explained and heard him step closer. I was still examining the cut on my shoulder, keeping my eyes away from him.
"You're shoulder..." The Gondorian stood close behind me and I could hear his quiet breathing.
"Why did you follow me here, Boromir?" I asked him quietly, changing the subject. He scoffed and stepped even closer.
"A friend cannot merely be in another's presence without being questioned?" He shot back and I remained quiet. "These are trying times for us all, Breeze. You especially. I can see you struggling every day as we get closer to Mordor..." I felt a strong hand on my uninjured shoulder. Warmth spread out from the spot on my shoulder and I could feel my face grow red.
"It worries me, my lady, to see your spirits so low. You appear to be, lost..." My eyes flashed at his words.
"Not all those who wander are lost, Boromir..." He chuckled at my wise words.
"A normal woman does not wander, my lady. If anything you should remain near the group where I can keep a watch on you." His eyes sparkled with mischief and I couldn't help but smile. "Boromir, I find myself anything but normal!"
"I find you to be rather... refreshing." He offered and I tried smiled once more. I heard a familiar neigh in the distance and turned away from him. Del trotted up over the side of the small hill we had crossed. Bill's reigns were still tied to the saddle horn and the pony followed behind the tall horse.
"Look at that! He actually found us!" Del finally reached us and he shook out his mane. I smiled and rubbed his wide forehead and he nickered deeply.
"The faith you have in my stallion is weak, my lord!"
"Just being in the presence of your valiant steed has risen your spirits..." Boromir thought outloud. "Women are so strange. A man would have to do the simplest of things to please you, Breeze..." He added and I scowled.
"You have judged me incorrectly, Boromir. Men find it difficult to please me, as you know already. I think of it more as... humoring me." I winked and the soldier redenned but only slightly. I untied the reigns and handed Bill's leads to Boromir. We walked back through the undergrowth, the horse's hooves quietly crunching behind us.
We walked back into the camp in silence, the recent past weighing heavily on our group once more. Sam prepared what little food we had left over the fire and passed it out. Exhastion overtook our group and everyone sagged with the lack of sleep.