A/N: Hey guys! *walks into the room cautiously while looking around* I know I said that I would post two chapters last week, but Life happened, and here we are: I'm posting is late and like I would with any normal chapter. Please don't be too upset with me okay? I have little children to take care of that are higher on my list of importance and they will always come before this...or any of my stories for that matter. Anywhoosers, I hope that you guys will like this chapter and that you will enjoy reading it. Lately I have been really having a desire to write out a story that's just in Legolas' POV, cause let's face it, we all want to know what is going on inside that beautiful mind of his, am I right? So, if you guys want Starlight in his POV, please let me know in a Review! Don't forget to Favorite & Follow this story to be updated for when the nest chapter is updated! Or to Follow my page to be updated when I start adding more stories, because it will be soonish that I start uploading those too!
Katia0203: No, Tori doesn't have any knowledge of the events that are happening. When on earth, she never liked watching movies or reading books unless they were for school or to gain useful knowledge. Or course, had she known that she would be whisked away to Middle Earth, she probably would have read the books, but no, she's clueless to events that are unfolding.
Nymeriel: Thank you for your review! I'm glad that you have been enjoying yourself with Tori's story! And thank you for being so supportive! I enjoy reading your reviews when you have the time to leave them for me!
Namárië,
Tasarin
Chapter 22: Into the Dark
I stepped away from the tree I was resting against and walked over to our pile of packs and looked down at my waterskin. Oh, how it mocked me with its fresh contents. Promises of clean skin. But I couldn't waste my drinking water on that without running into the risk of not finding any fresh water during our trek through Moria.
I looked out at the lake again, still feeling the sense that something somewhere in the deep was watching us. Despite the overwhelming feeling though, the main water of the lake looked clean enough for me to freshen up.
The hobbits sat together, speaking and watching Boromir as he paced back and forth. Clearly, this place had set the gondorian into a fit of nervous energy. Aragorn sat quietly behind the hobbits, looking out at the lake with dark unreadable eyes, while Gimli sat staring at the Doors in wonder. Gandalf remained on the root he had first perched on, completely silent with a very heavy air of deep concentration. Legolas had taken to resting against one of the other trees, his lips barely moving as if whispering to the trees themselves.
I tore my eyes from the group back to the lake before taking several tentative steps to the lakes' shore. The water lapped at my sullied boots softly and I crouched to the ground, placing a hand in the water. Although nowhere near the grunginess of the creek from earlier, the water still felt tepid and somehow...wrong. But as I cupped some in my hand to smell, it smelled clean.
Taking this as the only sign and chance to finally clean up, I washed my hands as quietly as possible. My hands barely made ripples in the water, and as I rinsed off the blood, my skin started to prickle in relief.
"You should not be so far from the party. Would you like some company?" I jumped and almost slipped on the wet stones, but righted myself in time. However the regular occurrence of Legolas sneaking up on me was, I still wasn't used to it. I couldn't deny the fact that his presence brought me comfort though.
"That would be wonderful." I crouched back down and wiped at my arms with wet hands. He crouched beside me after a moment of silence and watched over the lake as I cleaned up. There was a warmth radiating from him that felt as though it was reaching out to me and I stole several glances at him while I worked.
His light hair glinted silver in the moonlight, much like my own, and fell down his shoulder in a neat braid. He held a strong grip on his bow in one hand and kept the other free as if ready to reach back for his quiver at any moment. His face was drawn in serious focus. He pursed his lips in thought and the movement caught my attention immediately. His lips shifted, and by the time I realized why, I had been caught staring. He faced me fully with a smirk.
"Is there something on my face?" I felt my cheeks burn as I dropped my gaze back to the water beneath my hands.
"No…" I picked up a smooth pebble and turned it about in my hand, avoiding his eyes.
"Are you sure? You seemed rather preoccupied with something. Is there something you wished to tell me, perhaps?" I set the pebble back into the water carefully and cupped some water to my face to wash it.
"Very and no." I managed after I wiped at my cheeks roughly. Maybe he'll think that my cheeks are red from scrubbing them.
"Tell me." He breathed pleadingly, but I could only shake my head. He laughed despite my shortness and pulled some free strands that had fallen free from my own braid and tucked them behind one of my ears. My eyes locked with his as one of his fingers grazed the tip of my ear. A visible shiver, so intense, wracked through my body from the heat from that one simple and innocent touch. He stayed still watching me carefully, as if he was waiting for me to do something. What that was, I had no idea, but as we locked eyes, a very sudden and irrational desire to touch him back threatened to take hold of my carefully constructed control.
Just as I was about to give into the strange desire, A loud plopping slashed into the distance of the lake. Legolas dropped his hand quickly and shot up, gripping his bow tightly and stood in front of me.
"Why did you do that Boromir? Don't disturb the water!" Frodo cried, just as a long and dark shadow rippled its way through the water towards the shore. I stumbled to my feet and bumped into the elf. Legolas saw as well, and pulled me away from the waters edge back to the doors by the wizard.
As we neared the trees, loud and boisterous laughter erupted from the wizard. Used to the strange quiet of the flooded valley, it startled me and I glared over at the chortling wizard.
"I have it! Of course, of course! Absurdly simple, like most riddles once you see the answer," He stood with the help of his staff and stretched before standing tall in front of the door, "Mellon!" His usually weathered voice lost to a youthful tone full of power as he spoke the elvish word for friend.
The doors cracked with dust falling away from the rock face and a gust of wind sucked into the open chasm of darkness with a whistle that died down when the doors stood fully opened. During Gandalf's little discovery, everyone had gathered their packs and all stood around, observing into the blackness warily. Legolas returned to my side holding my pack and the med bag along with his own. I reached for my bag, but Legolas smiled softly and shook his head before pushing me softly from behind toward the doors. Frodo, and the hobbits slowly made their way into the cave after Gandalf and the others of the company and I followed behind them with Legolas like I usually did.
There was a splash behind me before something wrapped tightly around one of my ankles, then I was on the ground being dragged back to the water. I caught a grip on one of the holly roots and held on as tight as I could, screaming for help. My throat burned and my fingers screamed in protest as the grip on my leg slithered further up my leg to coil around my hips.
It squeezed so tight that a lance of pain ran through me and my scream was cut off in a pitiful cry. It tugged again and successfully wrenched free my grip on the roots. Tumbling, spinning, turning hectically through the air I went. The inky blackness of the lake would have made a perfect mirror of the night sky had not the surface been writhing and splashing with frothy bubbles.
Screaming that wasn't my own whizzed past my ear and I caught the sight of curly black locks; Frodo. Held high above the water by one shiny, wet tentacle. I looked down in horror at my captor as the water parted enough from its surfacing face. There wasn't a creature alive on earth that could fit the description of this beasty. There was a whistle and resounding twack somewhere below me, and then I was tumbling down toward the shallows of the lake shore.
I fell roughly into beefy arms that I could easily identify as Boromir's and then I was bouncing in his arms as he ran back to the doors. Gandalf was yelling to get inside and Aragorn ran past with Frodo in his arms. Just as we cleared the doors, they were slammed shut and a deep groaning of stone and crackling of wood resounded deafeningly all around us until we were left with an uncomfortable and drawn out silence.
Boromir set me down on my feet as a shuffling of robes and a tapping of wood on stone made its way back to the doors. The ground beneath us shuddered for a moment, then stopped.
"Well well," Gandalf tapped his staff on the stone again as he turned back to us, "The passage is blocked behind us now, and there is only one way out-on the other side of the mountains. I fear from the sounds that boulders have been piled up, and the trees uprooted and thrown across the gate."
"I felt that something horrible was near from the moment that my foot first touched the water. What was the thing? Were there many of them?" Frodo's voice gave out and although I couldn't see him, I could hear the shiver in his voice. Unlike the hobbit, I had seen the monster in broad moonlight; It's glistening pallid face seared into my memory. I shuddered and wrapped my arms around my waist and winced. That's going to bruise!
My skin prickled suddenly before a comforting hand rested on the small of my back. This time, I wasn't startled by Legolas. I had felt his presence before his actual touch.
"Are you well?" His normally smooth tenor voice was rough; almost as if he had been yelling. Had he been yelling? I sure as hell did. I swallowed around the fading lump of dread. My throat felt raw and I was very positive it would be sore for a while.
"I'm fine." I answered back in a raspy whisper.
"I do not know," Was Gandalf's answer to Frodo's question, "but the arms were all guided by one purpose. Something has crept, or been driven out of the dark waters from under the mountains. There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world." He finished abruptly, as if he had wanted to say more, but held his tongue. A loud scoff like snort sounded in the dark along with the shifting and clinking of mail from behind.
"In the deep places of the world! And thither we are going against my wish. Who will lead us now in the deadly dark?" Boromir had all but whispered, but even without my elvish hearing, his words rasped out loudly enough for all in the party to hear him clearly.
"I will and Gimli shall walk with me. Follow my staff!" The wizard briefly tapped his staff against the stone before a faint light illuminated at its tip from the crystal.
Without preamble, Gandalf and Gimli led us up the stairs and for a little while we climbed. My legs were starting to burn with the effort when we finally made it to the top of the stairs. Gandalf looked around briefly and nodded.
"Let us sit and rest and have something to eat, here on the landing." Frodo offered hopefully and many of the company didn't even wait for Gandalf to agree before they sat down.
My ribs were smarting as I slid down to the floor against one of the stone carved arches. Breathing in deeply to catch my breath was proving to be somewhat of a hassle. I rested my head against the pillar and closed my eyes focusing on something other than the pain. Small conversations started up around the company that sat in the dark gloom, although very quietly.
As Legolas knelt down next to me, his braid swished lightly against my shoulder. I opened my eyes and watched him as he searched through the med pack. He retrieved a small glass jar, a small bottle and some clean linen wraps and then faced me expectantly.
"Let me see your hands." Without argument, I lifted my hands into his and was shocked to see how torn up they were and covered in broken blisters and splinters. How have I not noticed that? He picked out the debris with ease before he rinsed my palms quickly with the bottle of alcohol I brought along as disinfectant. I held in a hiss, biting my lip as the liquid burned my wounds. He met my eyes with an apologetic look before he carefully applied the salve from the little jar before wapping my hands some of the linen. He tied it off gently but didn't release me. I watched him carefully, the air between us feeling suddenly very much like it had back at the lake.
He met my eyes again and slowly lifted each of my hands to his lips, leaving a tender kiss on each palm. The thin linen did nothing to protect my hand from the warmth as it traveled from his lips and up my arms. In the low light that Gandalf's staff provided for us, Legolas' eyes darkened-with what emotion, I couldn't say. My heart fluttered quickly in my chest as I felt a hollow ache in my stomach, but It wasn't the hunger for food, which confused me because although I was feeling hungry, this ache was something I hadn't felt before. It felt funny.
Legolas pulled me closer until I was rested against him in his arms, "I thought that…" His voice cut off as if strangled, and he swallowed thickly, "I am glad you are well, Tori." He finally managed after a few moments. His strong arms held me tightly and winced, unable to hide a small moan as pain lanced on my right side. He stiffened and pulled away from me.
"You are still injured. Where?" His silvery blue orbs full of anxiety as he asked me. I pushed his hands away softly.
"I am fine, it will heal on its own." I had already taken to using the healing equipment meant for the others, and felt bad that I seemed to be the only one needing it. Legolas refused to believe that and held fast to my shoulders, slowly and gently grazing his hands down my arms in search of my injury. The sudden thought of him using that technique to find the injury on my right side brought a wave of fire to my face, and I sat further from him.
"Nonsense, just tell me, and the sooner you will be relieved of the pain." He huffed in exasperation as his hands moved from my arms. I squirmed and flinched at the pain the movement had cost me and I doubled over into his chest, holding my breath. Legolas was still as I finally let out a shaky breath.
"Aragorn," Legolas called quietly and soon the Rangers' steps stopped right next to us, "She is injured, and I suspect that it is her ribs, but I cannot check until she has proper cover. Will you-" There was a quick swish of fabric that muted the already dim light of Gandalf's staff.
"Of course Mellon, I will stand guard while you check her wounds." Was Aragorn's response. I looked up and saw his silhouette through his cloak; he held it up as a screen of privacy, I realised. Then without warning, my tunic was lifted up away from my ribs.
"What are you-" I protested with a jerk, but that sent more pain down my right side. Legolas frowned into my eyes, as if they were telling me to behave, before he lifted my tunic again. This time he hissed and gently helped me to lay down next to him. He rifled through the medicine pack again, pulling out more linen wraps and another jar of ointment and a small pouch of dried herbs.
"Lie still." He ordered as he probed my side gently with his fingers. I chanced a glance down at my exposed abdomen in the dimmed light as gasped; Wrapped around my waist and hips was a deep reddish purple bruise and sickening indents in suspicious circular shapes. The bruising was darker on my right side- how that was possible was beyond me.
Legolas worked quickly and efficiently, applying ointment, wrapping my waist firmly with gentle movements and finally handing me some of the powdered herbs to take with a waterskin. I obeyed and cringed at the bitterness of the herbs. He pulled me to rest against him despite my protests.
"I am finished. Thank you, Aragorn." The Ranger lowered his cloak and pulled it back over his shoulders with a nod and slight smile and turned back to his lunch beside Gimli.
"Are you hungry?" Legolas breathed into my ear and I held back a shiver at the feeling. I wasn't really feeling hungry, but when would be our next chance to stop to eat? I nodded anyway and accepted some dried meat from Legolas and there I stayed for the remainder of our lunch; resting against his chest while one of his arms stayed wrapped around my waist.