Chapter IX: A Fight to Remember

I slept little that night as I felt quite restless and could not get comfortable on the cold ground. I awoke early to find Elaina having the same problems. The fire had burned out, but the ashes remained a glowing red. The cave had grown light in the early morning sun, which streamed through the narrow mouth, which was covered with snow. I stood up and stretched.

"Well, good morning, I guess," I said to Elaina, yawning.

"Good morning indeed," she replied sarcastically and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She stood up and dusted the dirt from her back.

We heard a quiet noise come from the corner and turned to see Ali sleeping softly. Her dark hair was let down and spread around her head, making a raven-colored pillow. One of her arms was outstretched and the other lay across her chest. She made another quiet noise.

I smiled, "Aww," I said to Elaina, "Look at her, so peaceful, I can't possibly wake her."

We decided to let Ali sleep and prepare our things to go. When we were just about done gathering our blankets and knick-knacks, Elaina reached for one of my pans, which was sitting on a ledge on one of the walls of the cave. Suddenly, wish a loud crash, it fell to the ground.

"Shh," I said, "Quiet Elaina, we don't want to wake Ali." But it was too late, Ali had opened her eyes and she sat up.

"It is alright, Laurelin," She said, instantly awake and alert, "I am awake, besides, I have slept far too long already."

"Well you certainly deserve it," I laughed, "With all that nancing about yesterday. And even still, you have only slept for about seven hours, by my guesses."

"Seven?!" Ali exclaimed, "Well then, I am far behind schedule, I desired only five at the most."

"Don't worry, Ali," Elaina added, "We have already packed our equipment. Everything is ready to go." Elaina smiled and seemed proud of our preparedness.

"Very well my friends, then let us be off," Ali said with a smile.

We left the cave and walked to Arauka. I felt almost nostalgic leaving the cave which had been my home for a day. The snow outside once again seemed silent and soft. Not a sound was heard anywhere near us except for Arauka's heavy breathing. Ali lifted Elaina and me onto Arauka like always, and I thought to myself how determined I was to someday gain the ability to mound the beast on my own. Not today, I thought.

Ali then lifted herself onto the animal and prepared to ride. Just then, Arauka let out a loud neigh and leapt onto her hind legs and began to gallop faster than I had ever seen her go.

"We're going to die!!" Elaina cried, "Goodbye world!"

I let out a shriek and gripped onto Ali's cloak. Ali seemed shocked herself, as if she had never seen such strange behavior from her loyal stead. "Whoa, Whoa, Arauka," Ali cried, "Tampa, Tampa!"

Arauka gave in a slowed down to a less rapid trot. Ali sighed in relief and peered into her pack. Her gaze then turned to me.

"Laurelin?" She asked in such a tone that I realized I had done something wrong. "Which type of oat did you feed Arauka yesterday?" She seemed to already know the answer.

"Well," I tried to explain, "I remember there being two kinds, and the dark ones smelled so dreadful, I couldn't imagine any creature wanting to eat them, so I gave her the light ones instead, the ones I had eaten by mistake at Darion's house." I then gave her a sheepish half-smile as she let out a giggle, along with Elaina.

"Oh dear," she said, "one handful of pole is enough to energize a horse for a week. It gives energy, as does lembas. It is no wonder she is so hyper."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know Ali, honest!" I said.

Ali again laughed, "Oh, it is quite alright, Laurelin," She went on, "I suppose we will make up for the time we lost while I was sleeping."

I smiled and we were once again on our way.

* * *

The days dragged on, as we drew closer to the Gap of Rohan. I soon began to tire of the same old everyday routine, and found myself hoping from time to time for adventure, but would stop myself and shake off my un-hobbit-like thoughts. Ten days passed until such adventure was finally found.

I was sleeping, leaning up against a rock, like I often did, whn my sleep was disturbed by a terrible dream.

I saw darkness, darker than anything I had ever seen. The air in the place where I was felt thick and damp and smelled of death. Everything was silent until, suddenly, a huge spider appeared above me. Its evil eyes looked down upon me, venom dripping from its fangs. I tried to run, but could not move, so I stared in awe, speechless and motionless. Its huge body began to descend upon me, when suddenly, the cave was lit up, as a bright, glowing white light filled the area. The huge creature ran away, defeated by the power of the glow. With that, I awoke to Ali's voice.

"Are you alright?"

Elaina too looked afraid and nervous. "Do not worry… I'm alright. Such a terrible dream," she said.

Ali gestured at Elaina, and I assumed that she was gesturing about the ring, or the eye.

"No, it wasn't that… but it was certainly frightening. A terrible spider, like the one from Bilbo's tales, had entrapped me in some sort of net."

I looked at her, confused. Had she dreamed the same dream as I had?

"That's strange, Elaina," I said, "for a spider was also in my dream. A great and hideous spider was approaching me, but was scared away by a bright light."

I, then, could think of nothing but Sam. Were such creatures as the spider out there? And what if Sam and the others came across such a beast. Chills ran down my spine and I shook the thoughts from my head.

Ali interupted my thoughts, "It is well that you are up anyhow, the dawn draws near. Have yourself a breakfast, and we will resume travel when you are ready."

Elaina and I prepared a meal for ourselves with some apples we had come across. The sweet fruits tasted delicious, but I could not shake my thoughts from Sam. Poor Sam, I could not imagine any of my dear friends, least of all Sam, fighting such beasts as the spider in my dream. I then began to wonder what would happen to us if we came across such a creature. Ali could not protect us forever. I decided that I had to take matters into my own hands, I knew that I could never let anything happen to my friends. Loyalty was more important to me than anything else. It was also then that I finally realized the reality of our mission. I realized that Ali and Elaina, not I, were the most crucial to the quest. Ali because of her ability to fight, and Elaina because of her knowledge of the ring. I was now more determined than ever to protect my friends. I made a pact with myself that night, that I would never let anything happen to my companions.

* * *

The walk through the forest the next day went slowly. I could not shake my thoughts from my decision. I hardly spoke a word as I was feeling tired and somewhat depressed. I prayed that we would not run into any trouble, I was in no mood for adventure.

Ali tried to walk quickly and would often get ahead of us, and would have to wait for us to catch up, then, after an angry sigh, we would proceed. Elaina seemed disturbed by the moods of Ali and myself and dared not break the silence.

Once the sun had gone down, Ali told us that the Dunedain had stopped and began to unpack her things. She went over and sat under a huge tree by herself. By then, my mood had become even more sour than before. I had begun to doubt my worth and I questioned that of Elaina. Why is she so special, I thought, Just because she made a stupid mistake, now she is so important? I tried to shake my unusual thoughts and wondered why I was acting so strangely, but it was useless, I had developed a jealous resentment of Elaina in that forest.

"My goodness," she finally spoke, "what a dreadful day!"

"And what is THAT supposed to mean?" I snapped.

"Well, nothing, just, umm…"

I rolled my eyes and turned away to try and start a fire.

"Seems to me that someone is a little cranky, eh?" Elaina said, "Did you miss second breakfast this morning, I know how you get when you miss a m-"

"Oh quiet, Elaina," I yelled, "This is no time for you stupid jokes!! I'm in no mood to speak with anyone, least of all YOU!"

"I was only trying to-"

"I DON'T CARE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Elaina seeme shocked. "Will you just leave me alone?" I said, and busied myself with the fire. Elaina grabbed her pack and walked over to a tree while I cooked myself some tomatoes, but wasn't hungry. Once I was done eating the little food I could stomach, Elaina walked over. I had realized by now how I had acted and I opened my mouth to apologize.

"Don't start," Elaina said, "I know what you're going to say and I DON'T want to hear it. Now, I've had just about enough of you feeling sorry for yourself. You think that you're the only one with problems, well you're not! And you have no reason for taking it out on me! I have problems too, and you attitude doesn't help the fact that everytime I close my eyes I see a huge burning EYE staring at me!"

I started to speak again, realizing again how wrong I was and how right Elaina was, but she again cut me off. "And don't say anything to me until you're ready to apologize!"

I wanted to be angry at Elaina's words, but I knew too well how true they were. I sat in silence for a moment, hen, once again, opened my mouth to apologize. Just then, I heard Ali's voice coming from under her tree.

"The fire- put it out."

I turned and saw the worried look on her face, a look that I had never seen before, and I understood that this danger was much greater than any we had encountered thusfar. Ali looked around and then at the huge tree next to us.

"Quickly, Elaina, Laurelin, up the tree," she said as she helped us onto the branches. Heeding her directions, we climbed up as high as we could. Ali then looked around and ran over to conceal Arauka. She hid her in a bush and then climbed up the thin tree directly above it.

"What is she doing?" Elaina asked, "We need her over here!"

We both waved for Ali to come over and join us, but could tell by her face that she meant not to move.

Elaina and I waited for what seemed like forever, without speaking a single word to one another. Then, we looked over to Ali, who smiled, relieved, and we began to climb down the tree, thankful that it was only a false alarm.

"Now, Elaina," I said, "as I was saying, I-"

"Shh," she cut me off. "Do you hear that?" I listened and heard a rustling coming from the ground below us. I looked down and then to Ali, who signaled to me to be quiet.

Before I knew it, nine creatures sat below me. They were hideous, uglier than anything I had ever seen before. My eyes remained fixed on them and I could not turn away. Their skin was disgusting greenish color and their eyes were a glowing yellow.

"Orcs," Elaina whispered.

They then began to speak to one another in a strange tongue. I looked at Ali who was listening intently to the creatures' conversation. She reached behind her to her quiver and strung two arrows. Seeing this, I drew my sword, finally prepared to follow through with the promise I had made with myself. I waited, and after some time the orcs began to walk. I sighed, but waited before putting my sword away. Just then, I heard a bough snap above me and saw Elaina come crashing down through the branches, she grabbed hold of a bough two branches below me. I wanted to yell out, but remained silent, knowing that any sound would surely get the orcs attention.

I reached my hand out to Elaina, stretching as much as I could, I felt beads of sweat begin to form on my forehead. Just as she was within my reach, she could hold on no more. I felt the tears swell in my eyes and a lump begin to form in my throat as Elaina went crashing onto the ground. The orcs turned at the sound and just then, Ali released two arrows, killing two orcs in an instant. I saw two orcs turn towards Elaina and jumped down from my spot in the tree, Armath in hand. The two orcs began to approach me, breathing heavily.

"You'll have to get through me first you, you… ugly devils!!" I yelled. They seemed to almost laugh at me. "Laugh?" I said, "Oh laugh if you must! But I'll be the one laughing once I get through with you if you dare touch my friend!" They continued to approach me, slowly, but getting closer and closer. Finally, I let out a huge yell, louder than anything I had ever heard come out of myself. I half-sang and half-screamed the words:

Githoniel A Elbereth!

And with that, I dug my sword into the stomach of one of the orcs, which fell dead on the ground. The other looked at me, shocked at what he had seen, but I stood, even more shocked than he, at what I had just done. He began to run at me, but I jumped onto him, knocking him back for a minute. I grasped onto his slimy neck as he began to spin around in circles, and finally dug my dagger into the top of his head. He fell, dead atop his companion and the force of his fall threw me on top of Elaina, who was sitting, cringing with her eyes closed.

"You saved my life!" she said.

"Oh, I guess so," I replied, "Well, I'm sorry about all that nonsense before? Can you forgive me?"

"Forgive you? You saved my- Look out!" She pointed up and I turned to meet another with his sword pointed high above me. I stood and stabbed him in the stomach just in time. Ali came running over just as the last of the orcs came charging at Elaina. She reached around her and grabbed her sword just in time to run it into the orcs chest. The beast fell lifeless on top of her.

I heard her mumble from under the corpse "help!"

I ran over and pushed the body aside with all my strength. "Miss Elaina, are you alright?" I said as I helped her up.

"Yes… yes I'm fine." She said, spitting the dirt out of her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Ali, I tried to hold on!"

"Oh, it's alright Elaina," Ali replied, "all that matters is that we're safe… for now at least." She then began to look around, obviously deep in thought. I wondered what she was thinking about.

I decided to break the silence. My voice was still trembling, I was still in shock at what had happened. "What- What should we do now?" I asked.

"Try not to dwell on it Laurelin." She answered. She was silent for a moment and then continued. "Laurelin, Elaina, I must speak with you."

I turned to Elaina, who was, too, shocked at the fact that we had just taken lives. I had never killed anything before and was in no mood for conversation after such an experience, but we sat down to listen nonetheless.

"I should have addressed this sooner," she began, "but I suppose now will have to suffice. I will tell you now, that what I am about to say, I say honestly. I will hear no contestation, do you understand?" Elaina nodded and I turned to Ali, and also gave her a small nod. "It was unfortuante that we had to meet this foe tonight. Unfortunate, but not unexpected. You were all well aware that we would meet danger on this journey, and I doubt that this incident will be the last of it. The next foe may be even greater. If this is the case, then we may not have very many options. In fact, we may not have options at all. If the unfortunate event occurs that we are faced with a foe that we cannot overcome, I will call out a signal. Earendil. If you ever hear me call out the name 'Earendil', then you are to carry out the following instructions. Go to Arauka as quickly as you can, and forget about fighting. Help each other on, and whisper 'eska' into her ear. This means 'home', and upon hearing this command, she will carry you safely to Lothlorien. Make sure she stays straight on her path, and does not try to return for me. Haldir will recognize her immediately and will-"

I could not let her go on, I had heard enough, I could not let her do this to herself and to us "Ali! What are you talking about? We had a deal! We would stay togeth-"

"There will be NO contestation!" I stopped at her words. "This is our only option." She paused. "I- I cannot explain further. Ready yourselves for camp tonight."

Ali left us and climbed up the sycamore tree. I turned to Elaina and saw the tears in her eyes, and I, too, began to cry. Elaina leaned up against the tree and fell asleep immediately. I walked over and sat next to her. She was shaking, so I covered her with my cloak and sat, staring off into the distance. I closed my eyes, and above me I could hear Ali weeping, I assumed that she thought that I was asleep, as I knew that the elf would never cry if she knew someone was watching.

Unable to find repose, I again opened my eyes and began to sing, a sad, melancholy tune I had often sung while alone in the Shire:

For the lonely and the weak,

For the broken-hearted too,

For all those without a cause,

I weep for you.

For those who cannot carry on,

For those whose time has ended too soon,

For those lost in endless winter,

I weep for you.

And I ask only one thing,

Lost and sad as you may be,

My one and only request,

Is that you weep for me.

For I too am alone and weak,

I am also lost, you see,

I feel my time is over,

Weep for me.

And as I finished, a tear ran down my cheek.