AN: We have another update! I swear, I rewrote the ending in four completely different ways because I didn't like how it flowed, but I think I'm satisfied with it now. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!
Scylla's revenge: Hopefully the wait wasn't too long for this one. That's the goal now that Kat's realized her feelings, so you'll see some soon! Thank you! :)
RedShirt1453: Thanks for your review! To be honest, I hadn't thought about anyone beyond Rose and Kat ending up in Middle Earth, but I like the idea. I'm not sure if it's something I'll pursue or not, but ever since you left your review, it's been in the back of my mind. Thanks again!
Mimi Lind: Oh, bless you! Thank you for all of your kind words! Your reviews were so touching, and I absolutely appreciated everything you said (and probably smiled for quite a while). Thank you again :)
Lúthien Tinúviel: Thank you for all of your lovely reviews (and an additional thanks for the ones you left on some of my other fics)! I loved reading all of them, and I appreciated the bits of advice you gave as well (no worries with the one you left on chapter 8 either :) ). Thanks again, and I'm glad you've enjoyed it!
Chapter 21
A pressure had settled on my chest, but I couldn't tell if it was from all of the running or the fear coursing through me. Sucking in another breath, I jumped over a large root with an agility I didn't know I had. My bow and quiver, both looped across my chest, thumped against my back.
No. I wouldn't be afraid. I couldn't be; my friends needed me.
Rose, running a couple of paces ahead of me, ducked under a low hanging branch, her dark hair whipping to the side. Something glittered in her hand, catching the corner of my eye.
Another blare of Boromir's horn echoed through the forest, and from what I could tell, we seemed to be getting closer. As the noise subsided, it was quickly replaced with the faint clang and whine of metal striking metal. With the surrounding forest growing denser, though, it was difficult to determine if Boromir's location was the same as the fight. For some reason, it felt relatively safe to assume the two were connected all the same.
Gesturing with the hand that wasn't holding a knife, Rose called over her shoulder, "That way!" Planting one of her feet, she shot off to the right, her sword clattering against her spine as she went.
Without thinking, my feet altered course to follow her. Steadying myself against a nearby tree trunk, the skin of my palm dug into the rough bark as I used it for a boost. The rhythmic whipping of her hair served as my beacon, and I stayed close on her heels, trusting her sense of direction more than mine while paying no mind to the surroundings.
After running for a few more paces, the muted din of battle had grown a bit sharper over the crunching of our footfalls. To the fight, then. Sure it was the only sound we had, but it was a gamble to assume Boromir — or anyone we knew for that matter — would be in the thick of it. The notion had my chest tightening, but my head repeated my mantra.
I will not be afraid. I will not be afraid.
Dipping beneath another leafy branch, my neck righted itself just as a dark shadow appeared in the corner of my vision. Without time to react, let alone drop my jaw in shock, the figure collided with me, throwing me off my feet.
In one moment, I was flying, my stomach flipping like a pancake as I flew to the side. A heartbeat later, I was falling, tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs before rolling to a stop on my back. My breath returned to my lungs with a whoosh as pinpricks of pain dotted my limbs and forehead. Luckily, I had somehow managed to avoid smacking my head on anything.
What the—?
Rolling to a side, I slowly lifted my head.
To my horror, a tall, dark creature was bracing a large hand on a nearby tree, the other resting on his beefy abdomen. As he lifted his giant head, his eyes immediately snapped to mine while tangles of thick hair fell into his face. Recognition flickered in his dark gaze, but it was short-lived. Something sinister sparked there, spreading slowly to his leathery mouth. Watching with no small amount of fear, my pulse quickened as his lips pulled back into a wicked snarl. Taking a step towards me, he watched with delight as I flinched.
This was not good.
The weight of his scrutinizing gaze fell heavily on me as he stalked closer. His lumbering gait falling easy, the scraping metal of his armor sounded warning bells in my head. His meaty fingers curled lazily around a dark knife, his other hand flexing. Several paces behind him, more creatures sprinted past but paid us no attention.
I needed to get up now.
Pushing myself backward almost frantically, I tripped over wobbling knees as I tried to put some distance between us. To my surprise, the thing let me, eyes narrowing as he surveyed me stumbling to a nearby tree.
Clinging to the bark so tightly my fingers ached, I fought to keep my breathing under control, but the sheer size of him stole any strength I had. With hands large enough to snap my neck and thighs thick enough to outpace me in a footrace, my disadvantage was clear. I was doomed.
To make matters worse, Rose was nowhere in sight.
With an expression that almost seemed disappointed, the creature took another heavy step towards me, rolling his massive shoulders as he went. His nonchalance was almost unsettling because it contradicted the ruthlessness of his stature. Why, then, was he taking his time? Was he just playing with me?
The realization hit me like a cold shower: he thought I wasn't a threat. He knew he could handle any resistance I'd show. In his eyes, my end would be swift and easy.
Cold rage, swift and sudden, extinguished the fear in my veins.
No. I was tired of cowering and being weak.
My teeth ground together, and I pulled away from the tree, planting a foot behind me. Allowing that burning anger to take over, I deftly unslung my bow and drew an arrow. It didn't take me long to aim for his forehead and curl my lip.
He was sorely mistaken. I wasn't going to play the easy target anymore.
Letting the arrow fly, it thunked squarely between the beast's eyes. Shock blanketed the creature's face as his arms fell slack, the knife in his grip clattering to the ground. Crumpling, he fell to his knees, his body giving way under him.
I wasted no time sprinting away.
Now completely alone, the gravity of the situation started to dawn on me. A strange wooziness grew in my head, distancing my thoughts, while slick nausea bubbled in my gut. I made it a few more feet before I was forced to stop, crouching with my hands braced against my stomach and a nearby tree.
I had just stared death in the face and won, so what was wrong with me all of a sudden? He wasn't the first being I'd ever shot at, so it wasn't that his death was on my hands. It would have been me if I hadn't acted.
Dried leaves crunched off to my left.
Stomach dropping, I swiftly shoved down on my feelings, saving them for another time. Hoisting myself up inch by inch, I winced as one of my joints popped. The leaves continued their rustling, and as the noise drew closer, the distinct pattern of heavy footfalls became detectable. Judging solely on the volume and intensity of the swishing, it seemed like there were multiple beings, but their pace was unhurried.
For a brief moment, I could almost picture Aragorn giving me an encouraging smile.
The trunk digging into my back, I drew in a breath before peeling myself away from the dry bark, the palm of my empty hand slick against its grooves. Trying to remain as quiet as possible, I peered around the side of my hiding place.
Sure enough, six more of those dark creatures were making their way through the woods without striving for subtlety it seemed. I couldn't see much of the weapons they carried, but I didn't doubt they were armed to the teeth. Thankfully, they were jogging by parallel to my path and not headed straight towards me, but they were still a little too close for my comfort.
Pushing myself back to rest against the tree once more, I didn't dare breathe in fear that my movements had drawn their attention. After an agonizing moment, my shoulders slumped as the beings continued on their way.
A bead of sweat trickled down the side of my face. One of my trembling hands wiped it away.
What was I going to do now? With the squad of dark creatures behind me, it wasn't like I could go anywhere. If it had been only one again, I'd feel more comfortable taking my chances with a fight. With six, I was outmatched. My reloading skills weren't nearly fast enough to take them on myself, and resetting my aim for a second shot was also a little dodgy at best.
To make matters even worse, I still had no idea where Rose was. At this point, I knew she cared about my existence, but did she even know I was missing?
Shaking my head, I forced it all from my mind. It didn't matter if she knew or not because she would know better than to draw unnecessary attention to herself by calling for me. I'd just have to rely on my skills of evasion until I found someone friendly. That wouldn't be so hard, right?
Dropping into another crouch, my lips pulled into a frown as an uneasy feeling crept into my gut. Something was wrong, but what was it? Behind me, it seemed like the dark creatures could sense it, too, as even the disturbed leaves had stopped their whispering.
Wait a second.
A bone-chilling snarl filled the air, causing the hairs of my arms to stand on end. Without thinking, I threw my back against the tree so hard it throbbed.
Oh no oh no oh no.
Had they somehow sensed me? Was it a fluke? Could they smell me? I wasn't upwind to them, was I? Would it be worth it to make a break for it? Were they running towards me? With the racing thoughts in my brain and pounding sensation in my ears, I could hardly hear or concentrate on the leaves behind me. Were they rustling again, or was it just the sound of my heartbeat?
That was it. I was going to make a break for it. Even if the beasts hadn't sensed my presence, all of my instincts were screaming for escape. Tightening my grip on my bow, I drew my legs under me and prepared myself for the run of my life.
Was this as bad as Moria? I wasn't sure.
With a huff of breath, time seemed to slow. Pushing off the ground, my legs felt like they were wading through jello. As I crossed into the beasts' line of sight, several of those terrible snarls filled the air again, and reality came crashing back down on me.
I am an idiot.
Arms pumping, I willed all of the strength I had into my legs. The cool air burned my lungs as I sucked it in, not caring if I was making enough noise to draw the attention of the entire woods.
Sticks snapped behind me while primal screeches echoed through the trees. Had more of them noticed me, or was the sound just carrying? Not daring to look over my shoulder, I tried to focus on keeping my footing.
If I fell, I was dead.
Something zipped through the air beside me. On instinct, my head ducked as a dark arrow embedded itself into the wood of a nearby branch.
A renewed sense of fear shot through me. What was it you were supposed to do when getting shot at? The answer was right there, but before I could find it, the tell-tale groan of a drawstring reached my ears.
A thin thread of warmth sliced through my upper arm as another arrow whizzed by. An aftershock of pain exploded from the site.
My jaw clamping down, a muffled scream slid through my teeth, but I didn't dare slow down. A few tears blurred my vision at the shock and pain radiating from my left arm. Taking a quick turn, a single thought formed and circled in my mind: was the arrow in my arm? It didn't feel like anything was lodged in my tricep, but I also hadn't been shot before. As I kept pumping my arm, there wasn't any dragging or tugging sensation, but would I be able to feel it? I would be able to feel an arrow in my arm, right?
My foot slid on a wet leaf at my next step.
Arms flying out, another cry of pain escaped from my lips, but I managed to keep myself upright.
A third arrow cut through the air, this time flying a little too close to my ear. Flinching, my arms snapped back to my sides, pulling a dull groan from me.
Was it just me, or were they gaining on me? Now, the urge to look was harder to ignore. Just as I was about to turn my head, my eyes caught a fleeting blur of blonde movement.
I snapped my head around hard enough to give me whiplash in time to see a lean figure fire an arrow in my direction. A pair of bright blue eyes locked on to mine.
The arrow flew past me with a whine, embedding itself in the flesh of one of the creatures behind me. A thick, guttural cry reached my ears not long afterward.
Looking into Legolas's face, a fluttering sensation flared in my gut, mixing with the nausea that hadn't faded yet in an unpleasant way.
Without a second thought, my legs carried me to him with more speed than before. As I passed him, I was surprised to find Gimli a few paces away, running after the elf while donning a wild smile. Taking one look at me, though, and that expression morphed into shocked confusion.
"Lass? Is that you? What—?"
A couple of feet behind Legolas, I leaned against a tree and cut him off, wheezing between ragged breaths, "It's a...long story."
Without another word to me, Gimli charged passed with his axe raised. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him swing it down on one of the dark beings with an emphatic grunt.
Sucking in another breath of air, I turned my left arm over with shaking fingers to inspect my wound. A sharp line of torn skin in the middle of my upper arm stared back at me. Tracks of drying blood seeped out of the edges, but there wasn't an arrow in sight. Wiping some dirt away from the site, my nerves wobbled as the skin pulled back. It was much deeper than a paper cut, but I couldn't see my bone. In terms of injuries, it was better than I had expected.
Actually, now that I had time to look at myself, my arms were lined with smaller scratches and smudges of dirt. A couple of grass stains dotted the fabric of my pants. Brushing a strand of my hair out of the way, small pieces of dried leaves fell to the ground.
By the time I looked up again, Legolas and Gimli had finished with the pack of dark beings and were staring at me. I couldn't blame them, considering they probably hadn't expected to see me ever again. With his arms crossed, Legolas's face was largely unreadable, but Gimli—
"What're you doing here, lass?" The dwarf demanded, staring at me as if I'd suddenly grown an extra head. "And what happened to you?"
"I don't think you have time for all of it." Feeling a little self-conscious, I flicked some more dirt off my arm. "The short of it is that Rose and I were together, and then we got separated."
After giving me a quick glance over, Legolas frowned and looked over his shoulder. "We must keep going. Aragorn is likely there by now." Turning back to me, there was a touch of gentleness in his eyes. Of all people, I hadn't expected that from him. My stomach flipped over in response. "Can you make it back to camp?"
The thought of heading back through the woods alone did not sit well and promptly squashed my jitteriness. With more emotion than intended, I shook my head. "I'm not going back out alone." Nodding to the bodies of the dark creatures, I added with a breath, "Not when more of those things are out there."
Still frowning, his eyes latched on to my arm. Afraid that he'd force me back anyway, I bit my lip. Meeting my eyes once more, he merely asked, "Can you keep up?"
Nodding, I let out a shaky breath. Favoring the arm with my cut, I pushed myself up and followed as Legolas and Gimli sprinted into the forest.