With so much time on my hands, I decided to try my hand at a Lord of the Rings fic. First one ever. I'll be attempting to include a combination of both book and movie, but it's likely to lean toward the movie world.
... I like the idea of ranger women, so ranger women I made. Hope you enjoy.
The Shire was a peaceful land, beautiful and evergreen, and filled with a rather hearty folk. Even after all of their time guarding it, Telperion and Laurelin had not yet tired of the comforting hills and lively shirefolk.
Which was good, since the Shire was where they found themselves again after having just left two weeks prior.
"Did Aragorn say where he was going?" Laurelin asked nonchalantly, though her keen eyes watched the reactions of the woman on the black stallion beside her. She knew the woman's expressions well. As well as she should, seeing as the woman was her only sister.
Laurelin's eyes narrowed ever so slightly when Telperion shook her head, and answered with a simple 'no.'
Laurelin knew when her sister was lying and, well, she was lying.
Looking to the darkening sky, Laurelin debated whether or not it would be wise to push her sister on the matter. If she did give her that shove, it was possible Telperion would become a tad defensive and snap at her. It was often how she reacted. Then again, she could also take what her sister was offering her: a chance to speak freely and share her burden.
It could go either way... depending on how much hurt she'd felt this time.
Sighing softly, Laurelin smiled. Whether her sister became angry or not, at least she would no longer be restraining her emotions.
"He took the East Road, didn't he?" She asked, a world of warmth in her voice.
Telperion jerked abruptly, but didn't speak.
For a long moment, Telperion kept her suffering to herself. Determined, for some reason, to keep the hurt hidden. Then her sister spoke again. Three simple words that broke down the wall she'd built around herself.
"Talk to me."
Telperion's hands clenched into fists around Morroch's reigns. Her entire body tensed from head to toe, her chest tightened and her breath stilled… Then, quite suddenly, Telperion relaxed completely. So much so that her shoulders slumped, and the breath she'd held in blew out in a loud, sharp sigh of defeat. Turning to glare half-heartedly at her sister, Telperion finally spoke.
"Am I truly so easily seen through?" She asked, her frown deepening when Laurelin's mouth widened into an amused smile.
Dear Telperion wasn't very skilled in concealing her emotions on any normal day. "To me, you are," Laurelin said instead. Smiling again when her sister slumped even further, she looked much like a pouty child in that moment.
"Yes." Telperion finally said quietly, ignoring the way her insides seemed to just drop at the single word. "He took the East Road."
Laurelin nodded slowly. So she had been right. There was only one reason why Telperion could have withdrawn into herself as she had.
Deciding not to push her sister any further, and really not knowing what else to say about the subject in the moment, Laurelin looked to the road ahead. "We should reach the Shire soon. Gandalf will most likely be with Frodo. We'll need-"
The sound that pierced the air and stopped Laurelin from speaking was the sound that would change their world entirely.
It was a loud, high pitched screech that made their skin crawl and their hearts race. Though the sisters had never in their lives heard the sound before, none in all of Middle Earth would have ever mistaken it's origin.
"Nazgul," Laurelin whispered quietly, as if afraid the name alone would summon them.
For a very brief moment, the sisters did nothing but stare out into the darkening forest; cool winds blowing through their dark hair while their eyes remained widened in shock.
Then, all at once, they moved.
"I must find Aragorn." Telperion said, heart racing and hand itching to grip her blade.
"I will find Frodo and Gandalf." The sisters gripped the reigns of their horses, meaning to move, but stopping when their eyes met. Looking at one another, they allowed themselves the luxury of saying a brief goodbye.
"We will meet in Rivendell." Telperion said to her sister, her expression confident but her thoughts wild with worry. She did not much like the idea of leaving her sister alone, especially now that Nazgul rode in the darkness.
Laurelin was not very fond of leaving Telperion either for that matter.
Both women were experienced fighters, they'd seen battle before and had toppled enemies stronger than they, but that did not keep them from worrying for each other. Nor would it ever.
"Stay safe, sister." Laurelin breathed, which prompted a bold smile from Telperion.
"Of course." The woman said smartly, glad when her sister breathed out a chuckle.
Laurelin indeed felt a sliver of delight cut through her worry. Her sister would never fall without a mighty fight. She would see her in Rivendell again, there was no doubt about it.
With one last smile, the sisters turned their mounts in opposite directions and rode into the darkness.
Looking at the ground, the pile of carrots and cabbages, and the way the stalks of corn had been trampled and bent, Laurelin saw clearly what had happened in the crops. Frodo had been hoping to cut through the farmland, and had found himself an unexpected hindrance. By the look of the tracks beneath her feet, she was no longer looking for two hobbits.
She was looking for four.
"Aphado din, Loborros. Hortho!" (Follow them, Loborros. Hurry!) The bay colored stallion quickly moved to do his rider's bidding.
Keeping intently aware of her surroundings, Laurelin followed the tracks that lead down the hill and onto the main road. There, the wide eyed woman found yet another bundle of hobbit tracks. Her gaze moved to the growth of mushrooms just to her left, they'd stopped to pick some mushrooms… There were horse tracks there as well. Large hoof imprints that stopped just beside… Eyes narrowing, Laurelin hopped off of Loborros and jumped down the ridge in front of her. Just below it, she found a little hiding spot beneath the tangle of tree roots.
The hobbits had hidden there from a Black Rider.
Then they'd run further down the slope. Off the main road.
"Loborros." Laurelin called for her horse, and quickly climbed back onto him when he reached her side. She was getting closer to the hobbits. She needed to hurry. There were more Black Riders out there, she couldn't allow them to find Frodo. No matter what she had to make sure they did not get to Frodo.
"We must hurry."
Riding through the forest, Laurelin kept her eyes and ears trained on her surroundings, her heart racing in sync with Loborros's galloping. It was completely dark by this point, making it harder for her to see signs of the hobbits without needing to slow her racing horse drastically.
"Come on, Frodo." The woman said to herself desperately. "Where are you?"
Just then, as if summoned by her pleading, a horrible screech filled the air. Both mount and rider froze as they sought the direction of the Nazgul's screams.
"That way!" Loborros broke into a furious gallop, rushing past trees and practically flying over roots and rocks. The screeches continued, getting louder and louder until Laurelin was able to hear the sounds that she'd been desperately searching for. Hobbits.
Breaking through the trees, Laurelin took in everything in a glance. Frodo was running as fast as his legs could take him, heading down toward the ferry where three other hobbits were furiously trying to free the ferry boat from it's anchor. Behind Frodo, racing after him atop a pitch black horse, was a Nazgul. She could not see it's face and nor did she wish to. There was only one thing she needed, and that was to keep the creature from reaching Frodo.
Within the next instant, Loborros was off and racing directly toward the Black Rider at an incredible speed.
"We can make it. We can make it." Laurelin said to her brave stallion and braced herself.
The impact was so strong it nearly knocked Laurelin off of her mount, and it definitely knocked the breath right out of her. More importantly, it knocked the Wraith and his black steed off balance and pushed them into the small shack just before the ferry bridge. The wood cracked beneath them, unable to support their weight, and the Black Rider toppled to the ground, the debris falling right on top of it.
Turning to look toward the hobbits, Laurelin breathed out in relief as she saw Frodo leap onto the ferry with his kin. They looked to her, and even from that distance she could see each of their eyes wide with fear. They were so incredibly afraid, but at least they were safe in the water.
"Stay in the water for as long as you can!" Laurelin called out to them, hoping that they would at least stay protected while she was away from them. There was no way she could swim to them fast enough and Loborros was much too heavy for the hobbit sized ferry.
She could not stay with them.
She would need to track them down once they docked. She prayed she would find them before they reached land again.
Suddenly, another screech pierced the night, and Laurelin whirled around to see two more Riders break through the dark forest. She could not win against three alone. Casting one last worried glance toward the hobbits, Laurelin turned away from them and urged Loborros into a full on gallop as she frantically tried to recall what the nearest crossing would be.