Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. I do not own any of the character, places, names, or anything associated with the works of J.R.R Tolkien or the Lord of the Rings (books or movie, whatever). My characters are Anita, Leila, and Arlandria and that is all.
Chapter 51: The One Who Laughs Last
It didn't take very long for Anita to figure out that it would require more than just the handful daylight hours left to reach Isengard, and the other members of the party flat out refused to traverse through Fangorn forest during the night. That unfortunately meant stopping for the night to wait for the sun reappear. The girl didn't know what it was about the forest, just uttering the name Fangorn sent a collective shudder through the men. Even camping just beyond the borders of the land made them uneasy, causing the soldiers to gather closely around the protective light and heat of the meager fire while the horses anxiously nickered in the darkness. Ani sat away from the group, her back comfortably resting against a large rock which protruded from the ground; she didn't need to be near the fire since as an elf she didn't feel the cold as acutely, neither did she share the men's deep rooted fear of the trees. Next to her sat Gimli, who at her own request, was recounting the events after the Fellowship left her at Lothlorien. While hearing about the Hobbits being left to fend for themselves left her feeling worried about their safety, she couldn't say that hearing about Boromir's death evoked any kind of sympathetic emotion. Yes it was unfortunate that someone had died at the hands of evil, but the Son of the Steward had been a royal pain in the ass to her and her family while he had been a guest in their home; and as unfair as it may seem, the impression his manners had left on her prevented her from being too tore up at his passing.
Glancing around the camp as she listened to Gimli's tale, the elleth caught Legolas' eye across the fire where he was watching her intently. Ani felt a twinge of guilt seeing him sitting there, but she had rebuffed his repeated attempts to be close her when the company had stopped for the night… finally he had given up. Anita was still embarrassed about the nightmare he had seen her suffer and she didn't have the stones to face him just yet. How could she admit that every time she closed her eyes she was haunted by images of her teacher's dead body and that last forgiving look he had given. Clearly nobody else was struggling with the events of last night like she was.
"You look tired lassie," Gimli said tentatively, breaking Anita out of her train of thought. It was obvious that she was no longer paying attention to his account, too lost in her own dark world locked inside her mind. The girl scoffed at his comment, 'you look tired' was the nice way of saying 'you look like shit'. Ani had no doubt she looked worse for wear, she hadn't bothered to clean herself up after the battle. Dirt and blood caked her skin and clothes, some belonged to the Uruks she had killed, some was her own, and some was Glorfindel's. The elleth wasn't going to argue with the dwarf though, she was tired and causing a disagreement would do nothing but draw unwelcome attention.
"Thank you Gimli, I think you are right and I will take my rest." The burly man nodded and clamped her on the shoulder in a gesture of camaraderie; not as if she were a Lady from a noble lineage of Elves, but as if she were just another soldier. Left alone Anita let her head roll back against the rock she was sitting against and her eyes looked towards the heavens, picking out the few constellations that she had become familiar with. The Great Bear, the Tree of Life, the Swift Horse. The short nap she had taken earlier had done little to restore her, the nightmares she had siphoning off any energy she might have gained from sleeping. Her lids grew heavy with the need or sleep even as the fables attached to the constellations flooded her mind, and before she could protest, sleep dragged her down.
When she opened her eyes it was sunny out, a beautiful cloudless day with a gentle breeze blowing dried leaved across the stone courtyard where she stood. She blinked rapidly taking in the well-known sights of Rivendell around her. The trees were beginning to change colors, the air tasted like autumn, and the gentle winds blew mist from the waterfalls over the exposed skin of her arms. Across from her in the courtyard stood Glorfindel, looking radiant in the glow if the sunlight; he had that wicked smile on his face that he always had when he was mid-lesson. Dream. Anita looked down at herself; she was only wearing her purple sport bra and a pair of loose fitting jeans, attire that Glo had classified as 'completely inappropriate for training'. In her hand she held a short sword with a blunt blade, the very same sword that she had used during her first few months training with the ancient elf since she couldn't be trusted with a sharp object. She was holding it wrong, though, her hand wasn't choked up high enough on the handle…she would have no control over the blade with this grip.
"Do you trust me?" Glorfindel asked expectantly, the tone in his voice and his over annunciation of every word indicating that he was repeating the question. Anita remembered this…. What her brain had initially interpreted as a dream was really a memory from her first few months under Glorfindel's guiding tutelage. Attack me. She remembered his command from that day of training, and she had balked at the command; in her arrogance Anita had feared hurting her mentor. The blonde elf in front of her opened up his empty hands, his sword hanging serenely in its sheathe, and held his arms out to each side leaving him open to attack. In reality, Ani hadn't lain a finger on him during that day of training although not for lack of trying. Even though Glo never drew his sword and the girl had given it everything she had, her tutor remained unharmed and not even winded. This time was different though, the elleth could feel something sinister burning at her core that controlled her next movements. Her grip on the sword adjusted so she was holding it properly like she had been taught, and in unbridled horror Anita could only watch on as she charged her mentor full speed. With full command of the weapon in her hands, the girl plunged the sword easily through the soft flesh just below the sternum, crimson blood bursting forth to cover the blade and her hands. Glo never raised a finger to defend himself against her attack, he remained arms outstretched as if accepting his fate.
Staring down at the blade that was hilt deep in her teacher's belly, Anita let go of the handle and recoiled from the fountain of blood flowing from Glo's wound. She stepped back and dared to glance at his face, expecting to see anger or reprimand on his features; but instead he had that look, the look of forgiveness again. The last look she ever saw on his face while he lived. "No," she whispered in anguish before her voice found it strength and she cried out, "You can't forgive me, Glo! Don't forgive me! Don't you ever forgive me!"
A hand roughly grasped her shoulder and jostled the girl out of her sleep, frightening her at the shock of the movement and she lashed out fearing an attacker. Aragorn caught her wrist before the punch Anita had leveled at his face landed a hit. Her eyes were wide as they darted back and forth taking in the stark change of scenery before her before her reason set in and realized that once again she had been awakened from a nightmare. The Ranger was studying her flushed face intently, one hand still gripping her wrist while the other gently rested on her shoulder. Ani shoved him hard, forcing him off balance so he had to let go of her to catch himself before he fell. "Get the hell off me," She hissed as she stood up, brushing grass off her pants as she did so.
"You cried out in your sleep, I thought it best to wake you." Aragorn replied flatly, his eyes still studied her even as he righted himself and stood. Anita didn't respond to his statement, instead she turned her eyes skyward to study the stars again. The constellations that had been overhead when she fell asleep were now nearer the west horizon, the sun would show its face in a few short hours. Even with her face turned skyward the Ranger could clearly see the troubled and haunted expression lurking in the girl's eyes, whatever vision he had awoken her from had truly rattled her. "Do you wish to tell me of it?"
His question drew Anita's attention from the sky to his face; pity and worry were plain to see there even in the dark. It caused a snarl to weave throughout her words, " No I do NOT wish to talk about it." Her dark eyes sought out Legolas' resting form amongst the other sleeping soldiers. It was blatantly obvious to her that the prince wasn't sleeping, although he was trying his hardest to make it appear that way. Legolas was listening, no doubt he had been awakened by any noise she had unintentionally made in her sleep. A fierce blush crept up her face, burning her skin to think that twice now Legolas had been privy to the nightmares that stolen sleep from her. She couldn't risk going back to sleep just to suffer through another terror, especially since the horrors she was experiencing trapped within her own mind were manifesting themselves in reality for others to witness. "I will take the rest of the watch until the sun rises." She finally concluded, catching Aragorn off his guard at her announcement. The man opened his mouth to question her decision, but thought better of his options and slowly closed his mouth and pursed his lips. Whatever the girl had seen while asleep had obviously frightened her, and the Ranger questioned whether or not she was mentally stable enough right at this moment to take over guarding the camp from intruders; however, on the other hand it was possible the time alone with her thoughts away from judgmental eyes was exactly what necessary. Reluctantly Aragorn nodded his head of dark hair before retiring to his own sleeping mat for a few hours of much needed rest.
The fire had been allowed to die down to simmering coals, the stars high above offering the only light by which to see; thankfully this presented no hindrance to the elf as she sat in the grass and looked out over the plains. With eyes and ears alert the girl sat like a statue for hours willing her mind to be blank except to focus on the task at hand, until the sun finally peaked its face over the mountains and the men began to rouse. Anita didn't say anything as she abandoned her spot on the ground to gather her belongings together and ready Firefoot for the ride ahead, forgoing breakfast in the process. The sensation of being watched tickled the hairs on the back of her neck, and Ani had little doubt that if she turned around it would be Legolas' concerned gaze that followed her. Dutifully, Ani continued to ignore the prince.
Before the sun could fully bring itself above the ridgeline of the mountains, the mixed company had set off again in the direction of Isengard. Today however there was no avoiding the forest of Fangorn, close proximity to the trees making both man and horse alike uneasy. Gandalf followed a trail only he could see into the woods, his eyes focused ahead to their destination. The rest of the men however, hesitated to enter the dark woods…even Aragorn and Legolas seemed uncertain about leading their steeds through the gnarled tree line. Anita scrunched her face up into a scowl as she watched anxiety ripple through the rest of the group like a wave, these were the same men who had fought to survive a slaughter just the night before. Patting Firefoot's soft neck to provide comfort, the girl urged her mount forward into the darkness to follow the white wizard. No sooner had she broken the tree line and entered the forest than she understood the men's hesitancy, as heavy air slammed into her making it difficult to draw breath. Ani gripped the reigns tighter to keep control of the horse she rode as she forced herself to draw in a ragged breath; the air leaving a bitter aftertaste on the back of her tongue. The elleth's brown eyes scoured the trees around her, taking in every gnarled branch and upturned root that was visible through swirling mists. Even through the heavy darkness caused by the thick foliage overhead, Ani swore he could make out faces on the trunks of the trees, and they didn't look happy. In fact some of the lower limbs of the trees looked distinctly like arms reaching towards her threateningly.
"It's beautiful," Anita whispered to herself, and for the first time since leaving Lothlorien she wished she had her sketchpad with her.
"Aye," Legolas agreed from where he rode beside her, although Ani had been oblivious to his presence up until he spoke, "it has its own hidden charms." The comment drew a nasty scoff from the red headed dwarf riding behind the prince on the same horse.
Absently , the girl reached up to touch a low hanging branch; even as she watched it the branch moved of its accord to twist and gently run across Ani's up-turned palm like a greeting. Pulling her hand back to rest on the saddle horn she turned her head to address Legolas, completely forgetting that she was still actively trying to avoid him, "Why are they so angry?"
Legolas gave a shrug, a motion he had no doubt picked up from time spent with her, " This forest is very old, it has seen its share of evils in this world. More so I believe in being close to Isengard." Ani could only nod in response before falling back into silence as the two elves rode side by side. Without the sun visible overheard it was difficult to have an accurate knowledge of how much time passed as the company carefully picked their way through the dense forest under Gandalf's guidance. The sound of rushing water could be heard ahead of them with rays of light peeking through the trees, and no sooner could the sound be heard than they broke through the tree line, much to everyone's relief, to find themselves face to face with the ruins of a great stone wall. Atop the ruins were two small figures that Anita recognized, and a small smirk found its way unbidden to her face as they spoke.
"Welcome my lords, and lady, to Isengard!"
"You young rascals!" Gimli's voice boomed next to her from behind Legolas, a failing attempt at chastisement in his tone, "A merry hunt you've led us on and now we find you feasting and…and smoking!" Anita couldn't help the little chuckle that escaped her at how genuinely peeved the dwarf was to find Merry and Pippin in such a relaxed state.
"We are sitting on a field of victory enjoying a few well-earned comforts," Pippin smugly corrected the dwarf, " The salted pork is particularly good."
"Salted pork?" Gimli repeated hopefully, his interest piqued.
Merry however interrupted the exchange when he addressed Gandalf, "We are under orders from Treebeard, who has taken over management of Isengard. He left a message, ' If the Lord of the Mark and Gandalf will ride to the northern wall they will find Treebeard there, and he will welcome them'."
"Gather your things then, quickly now, we must make haste." Under Gandalf's command the two Hobbits extinguished their pipes and hurriedly gathered their meager belongings and redressed in their travel coats. Aragorn assisted Pippin in climbing up to join him on his horse, leaving Merry standing alone on the wall. Anita sighed an maneuvered her horse closer to the stone structure, after all she was much smaller than the other soldiers so her horse could afford to carry a second rider. Holding out her hand, which Merry gratefully took, the hobbit clambered ungracefully to sit behind her.
"Long time no see, Merry," The girl forced her dark feeling down inside herself in order to offer the Hobbit a genuine smile.
"Indeed!" Merry said as he tried to adjust to a comfortable position, " Isengard is a far cry from Rivendell, I'm surprised at seeing you here."
Anita chose not to answer the little man's implied question, the story was too long and tangled at this point to give any kind of simplistic answer. Pulling on the reigns she turned Firefoot to follow after Gandalf and King Theoden. The rushing water sound had intensified since they had exited the forest, and as soon as they rounded a broken portion of the wall to enter the inner courtyard, the source of that sound became glaringly apparent. A large river was trying to carve its way through the land that Isengard now claimed, turning the courtyard into a veritable lake. The horses noisily sloshed through the shallow water, dodging the bits and pieces of debris that the river had dumped in its wake. Isengard was totally trashed and it gave Ani a smug sense of satisfaction to see that in some small way the traitorous wizard had gotten his comeuppance.
Entering that used to be the courtyard areas, the young elleth's eyes were immediately drawn to the large black tower that sat at the center of all the destruction. "Do you think he's compensating for something?" Ani asked snidely as her eyes followed the height of the tower till her head craned back. Gimli let out a loud guffaw of laughter at her lewd joke, which also earned her a dark glare from Gandalf and Theoden that she shrugged off without a care, "Hey screw you, that was funny." At the base of the tower were several large figures that starkly stood out against the black stones of Orthanc. The girl swore her eyes were playing tricks on her, they had to be since the figures looked an awful lot like the trees of Fangorn walking about. Nudging her steed forward a bit faster she came to ride beside Legolas , so close that he could easily reach out and touch him if she wanted to.
"Legolas," She whispered furiously, trying to get the prince's attention as they drew close to once such large tree-like figure. But before she could get her question out the tree spoke in a deep gravelly groan addressing Gandalf. The sound of words coming from the tree caused the girl to squeak in surprise. Leaning over as far as she could towards Legolas without toppling out of her seat she didn't wait to have his attention before words tumbled from her mouth, "Legolas the tree is talking, why is the tree talking?"
His mouth twitched in amusement at the tone of uncertainty in the girl's voice, " Tis not a tree, it is an Ent."
"A what?"
"An Ent, a shepherd of the forest."
"Is it gonna eat us or something?" Legolas gave her an incredulous look in silent response to her bizarre question, to which she shrugged, "How am I supposed to know, I've never even heard of an Ent before. Is there anything else walking around out there I need to know about?"Theoden turned around in his saddle then and shushed her before Legolas could answer her question, that peeved Ani more than a little. A large part of her wanted to stick her tongue out at him, but she somehow refrained.
"Wood and water, stock and stone I can master," Treebeard was grumbling slowly, unaware of the side conversation the elves were having, "But there' a wizard to manage here, locked in his tower."
"And there Saruman must remain under your guard, Treebeard." Gandalf's calm response caused Anita to stiffen, the familiar burn of anger rising in her gut.
"Well let's just have his head and be done with it." Gimli chimed from his spot behind Legolas.
"I'm on board with that, "Ani agreed as she easily slid from her seat atop Firefoot and landed in the frigid water.
"Child, where are you going?" Anita hadn't taken any more than a few shorts steps before Gandalf's voice caused her to stop and look back at him.
"I'm going to go collect his head."
"No," the wizard said in a quiet commanding tone, "He is no longer a threat, we cannot kill him." The elleth took a step in Gandalf's direction, a fight brewing in her eyes and a vile swear ready on the tip of her tongue; until she kicked a heavy item submerged beneath the dirty water. Glancing down at the item she had kicked, her building rampage was deflated when she recognized the general shape of the thing. In a flash the elleth had bent down and retrieved the small thin black cylinder from beneath the water and held it up to examine it. Any doubt she had melted away as she held the heavy thing in her hand, closing her eyes as puzzle pieces slowly put themselves together in her mind. It made sense all too suddenly. After all, Anita was here because wizards could travel back and forth between this world and the world she had been born in. Wizards like Gandalf…and wizards like Saruman. The crossbow, the bomb, it all made sense now….
"Anita?" Gandalf asked tentatively, everyone's eyes were now locked on the dark haired elf and the object in her hand.
When the wizard received no acknowledgement from her, Legolas tried. "Ahn?" At this she did open her eyes, which had grown so dark they looked black, and in them the prince saw a glimpse of familiarity haunting her. "What…you have seen this item before?"
Anita didn't answer him straightway, instead she held the black object out in one hand and flicked her wrist. From inside the cylinder extended two progressively smaller cylinders, the final one with a small weighted ball on the tip. "Riot baton," She whispered, her eyes locked on the weapon in her hand, "standard issue police gear in the United States." The fire was back in her eyes and she turned her heated gaze upon the wizard before her. "You still think he isn't a threat? Do you know what an automatic assault rifle is, what it can do to people? Do you know what napalm is, because it makes the bomb we saw at Helm's Deep look like a tinker toy. Saruman has been to my world, he has seen the wealth of knowledge there and he is using what he learned there to build weapons here to use against our people. People where I was born have gotten disturbingly effective at killing each other, and the wizard with the knowledge and skill to build those weapons for Sauron you are just going to leave alive? Even without his magic what he knows can kill us all. Gandalf, he cannot be allowed to live!"
The white wizard carefully thought over the girl's words before he answered, " No. He has no power anymore."
"Are you insane?! Either you go up there and end him or I will."
Gandalf reared his horse threateningly in Anita's direction, the hooves crashing down mere inched from where she stood. Anita never flinched, her eyes glaring daggers at the wizard during his display. "Who are you to question my decisions little girl?"
"That man's life means the death of us all, you don't get to choose life or death for the rest of us Gandalf, you are a wizard NOT God!"
"Pippin?" Aragorn's voice drew attention away from the escalating scene between the elleth and the wizard and towards the little Hobbit who was tromping through the water. During their tense shouting match, Ani had forgotten that there were others there to witness the drama unfold. Pippin's eyes were completely focused on an object hidden beneath the surface of the water that he was bee-lining for. Bending down the Hobbit pulled a sphere the size of a bowling ball with a glowing core out from the water.
"Bless my bark!" Treebeard exclaimed when he caught sight of the ball in Pippin's hands.
"Peregrin Took, I will take that my lad," Gandalf turned his horse away from Anita and moved to swoop the object right out of Pip's hands, though it was obvious to all that the small hobbit was reluctant to surrender possession of it. The white wizard wrapped the ball in the folds of his cloak, effectively hiding it from sight. " We will take our leave. Treebeard I trust that you will keep a look over Saruman, ensure that he remains in his tower. " Gandalf shot Ani a pointed look as he spoke. With a huff the girl turned to glare back up at the onyx tower where the fool was hiding like a scared bunny. Treebeard and Gandalf continued to talk of the best way to control the disgraced wizard that was locked up, but Anita couldn't have cared less as she bored holes into the side of the tower with her eyes. Mentally she was weighting the option of disregarding Mithrandir's opinion and charging into Orthanc anyway; on one hand she would get the satisfaction of killing Saruman, but on the other hand Gandalf would most certainly turn her into a frog for doing so. Disheartened the girl dropped the extended baton back into the dirty water where she had found it, turned on her heels and returned to her horse, pulling herself smoothly into the saddle in front of Merry. With one last glare at the black tower of Orthanc, the elleth urged Firefoot forward to follow the rest of the men back to Edoras.
This wasn't over for her, not by a long shot. Saruman had taken scientific advancements from the world she had called home for eighteen years and was using them to terrorize the people of her current home; that didn't fly with her. And as an added bonus it had been the Uruks that Saruman had bred which were responsible for Glorfindel's death. Anger and guilt pulsed as a red haze before her eyes, demanding that she go and seek retribution for the sins that the old wizard had committed; and as much as the girl wanted to sate her need for revenge there was one stark fact she couldn't ignore. Saruman was nothing more than a puppet., a competent and willing puppet, but a puppet none the less. Any revenge taken against him would be hollow since before he was even cold in his grave Sauron would have replaced him. No, Anita knew that any true alleviation of the guilt that weighed her heart down wouldn't be found in Isengard... it was in Mordor.
The One Who Laughs Last- Downplay