-by Blanton Cirith-
Chapter 3~
Changes-- Ok, I changed all kinds of stuff about the river, so just forget everything you read in the book about the Great River, ok? oh, I also decided to have an Ent at the Great River. What is it doing there? I don't know. It just HAPPENED to be there just in time to rescue Mr. King of da world. lol
SideNote: Some bits and pieces are taken from the book (a setting description or two).
Side Note II: a "gratite" is a unit of measurement I made up. I have no idea how much Aragorn and Boromir would weigh, so I came up with gratites so I wouldn't have to guess.
By the way...I have no idea what Elves do in their spare time or at royal parties, so I kind of just took it from the human point of view.(you'll understand what that meant when you read chapter 3, so get to it!! :)
Please R&R
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"The river should be only a league away at this point," Winters said.
They walked on, and soon enough they came to the river bank. The grass was moist, and the water shone in the daylight while it flowed away into the distance.
"All right, I see the river. I don't see boats. Does anyone else find a problem with this observation?" Boromir said.
"Have patience. They are hidden," Aragorn pointed out for the millionth time.
Winters led the way to a large tangle of branches and shrubs. To the Company, it seemed just like any other part of the forest. She pushed a group of small bushes aside, and stepped through a larger one. She hardly seemed visible anymore because of all the vegetation around her. Trees, loose branches, and large and small shrubs seemed to be bunched together; and yet it would have never caught their eye until Winters showed them. She bent down, and it sounded like she was dragging something hard. Winters emerged again dragging a small boat with her. Three people could fit in it, including a small bit of supplies.
She turned to Boromir and Legolas who were next to her.
"Help me with the others," she said.
They both followed her back in through the small passage she had pushed aside, and Boromir was amazed at what he saw. There was a small building-like structure towards the top of a nearby tree, and several narrow ditches in the ground where supplies were laid. Boromir figured the structure in the tree was for keeping watch over the river, and seeing that no orcs entered Lorien. It was obviously abandoned, which could account for the orcs' attack two nights ago. There was a small table and a few chairs laying over-turned by another tree, and a rope which was hanging from the watch tree. The rope stopped in mid air, and seemed to be cut by a harsh knife. The other part of the rope was laying on the ground by a curved, sharp knife of Orc nature.
"As you have probably guessed, Boromir, this was abandoned some time ago. But it is still used to hide goods, such as your boats and supplies," she said.
Winters bent to pick up a side of the second boat. Legolas reached to grip it as well. His hand met hers, and he could feel that she trembled at the touch. They stayed motionless for a moment, then he seemed to come back to reality and moved his hand to grip a different section. Boromir held the end, and they carried it out.
"The last one will carry most of the supplies, so they need to be loaded next.
"Gimli and I will take care of it," Aragorn said. "You three get these in the water. We'll only take a few moments.
Winters, Aragorn, and Boromir were in the first boat. They were leading the other two up the Great River. Frodo, Sam, and Legolas were in the next with quite a lot of supplies, since the Hobbits did not weigh much. Gimli, Merry, and Pippin were in the rear with just as much.
"We may need to make a sharp swerve up ahead," Winters said.
"What are we swerving from exactly?" Boromir said with a skeptical look.
"Just a simple trap," she replied.
Aragorn took an oar in his hand, ready for Winters' command to turn. They continued to let the current take them down the river. Soon, Winters turned back to the other two boats.
"Be ready!" she yelled, then looked back ahead. After a few moments, she took the second oar and rammed it into the water.
"Now!" she shouted.
Aragorn and Winters both were on the left side of the boat rowing at a rapid speed. The boat swerved, and three Elven spears shot out of the water. They flew into the air, and penetrated a thick, dead tree limb above them. Aragorn and Winters rested their oars, and he sat back.
"Don't relax too long. We're not finished yet, Strider," she said with a smirk. "See that narrow channel up ahead?"
He and Boromir looked up, and saw that the banks closed in tightly about a league ahead. Hills were on either side, which closed in the gap. Once the current brought them between the hills, the only way out was through the other side.
She reached into her pack, and took out a long shred of twine.
"Hold out your oar," she said to Aragorn.
She tied the ends of the two oars together to make a poll of some kind, and set it down beside her.
"That was just a simple trap back there, was it?" he asked. Winters didn't much like his tone particularly and didn't feel like arguing with him.
"Considering what an Elf that is angry can do to a person...yes, that was a simple trap," she replied.
She looked towards the narrow channel ahead, and wished the traps were never set in the first place. Then, she could stay in the second boat with Legolas. She glanced across the water at the second boat. Legolas was sitting on the floor of it with his head resting on the edge of the boat; his hair was waving over the water in the wind. His slender face glistened in the sunlight, and the water reflected off his cheek. His eyes were open, and he was staring upward, watching the clouds sail across the sky. Winters heard Sam talking to him, and their boat seemed so peaceful.
"Sir Legolas?" Sam said.
Legolas changed his glance, and looked at Sam.
"Hmm?"
"Well, I mean no offense," he began, and then paused. "I mean, if you don't mind my asking, but...I was curious."
"What is your question, Sam?" he said with a laugh.
"Well, you seem very lonely and depressed lately. I was wondering if you had a wife back where you come from. I was wondering if that was why you were sad."
Winters had not thought of that before. What if that was why Legolas never talked about when they first met. Maybe he was married, and didn't want to bring it up. Or even worse: what if he didn't remember anything other than her name! But then again, what else was there to remember? They had danced together after the royal dinner at his Father's table, but she had seen Legolas dance with a lot of the guests. As the Prince, he had the obligation to do so. She was sure he probably hadn't remembered the dance. Oh, but how she had remembered! Winters had remembered every moment of that night.
Legolas lifted an eyebrow at Sam's remark.
"I didn't mean to offend you with the question, I just wanted to know. You don't have to answer if you do not wish," Sam said in a rush.
"No, you didn't offend me. Your question just caught me by surprise," he said with a smile. His smile slowly faded, as if he was thinking deeply about something.
"And in answer to your question, I don't," he said gloomily.
Sam looked confused.
"Then why have you been so sad lately? Do you miss Rivendell?"
Winters had turned away at that point, and ran her fingers across the water, leaving streaks that reminded her of a small creek she always sat by in Lorien. Why did she leave Lorien? To make sure Legolas and the Company got past the Great River safely, ofcourse. But what becomes of them after the river? Will she just leave them, and turn back to Lorien? She had thought about this before, and had decided to continue with them after their journey down the river. But if she doesn't return to Lorien, Galadriel will send someone after them to find out what had happened. But what did that matter?
Her mind was too busy pondering on these things to hear Sam and Legolas anymore.
"Sam...have you ever met someone once a long time ago, only for a while, and then want to live that moment again and again years later?"
Sam hesitated for a moment, and then spoke shyly.
"Yes...her name was Rosie Cotton. I wonder what she's doing right now."
"What if she was here with you now. What would you do?" Legolas asked.
"Well," he said, thinking about it. "I think I would never let her get away again. But why do you ask?"
Legolas glanced toward the water, looking at his reflection. The wind had died down, and the water seemed still, but yet it was still moving with the current. He saw a small fish swim by below him, and ripple his reflection, and he could no longer see it. He turned back to Sam, realizing he had asked him a question.
"No reason. I was just wondering. You can relate to having curiosity, yes?" Legolas said smiling.
"Yes I can," he answered with a giggle.
Back on the leading boat, Winters had the poll she made from the oars in hand, holding it upward to the sky. It started to wobble slightly, and Boromir stood and gripped it with her.
They had come to the enclosure, and they were drifting through a narrow passage. There was a larger tree up ahead that seemed different from the others. It bent over the river as if its branches were clawing at the water.
The current slowly brought them to the tall oak, and a wide circular net came falling towards them.
They both lifted the poll high in the air, and in an instant the net fell upon it and hooked around.
After a moment she let go of the poll, and Boromir let it slide through his hands until he felt where the two oars jointed. He untied them, and tore the net. He threw it in the water, and handed the oars to Aragorn who set them beside him.
The time passed, and the lands changed slowly. The trees thinned and then failed altogether. On the eastern bank they saw long formless slopes stretching up and away toward the sky; brown and withered they looked, as if fire had passed over them, leaving no living blade of green: an unfriendly waste without even a broken tree or a bold stone to relieve the emptiness.
After a while it passed, and trees slowly began to show themselves again. Boromir was looking toward Frodo with a gleam in his eye. He seemed to be muttering something quietly to himself; what it was, Winters could not tell. Up ahead, there was a tall willow hanging over the water. One of its branches hung over the boat, and as they passed, the willow's leaves waved around Boromir in the wind. He unsheathed his sword and cut the limb. Winters watched in horror as the helpless branch fell, and splashed into the water.
"What was the tree to you? An enemy? From over here it seemed it did nothing!" She exclaimed to Boromir.
He sighed angrily and shook his head. "The Elves and their trees. I should have remembered. Why don't you turn yourself into one and save us the trouble of listening to you. We were almost killed by that spear trap of yours."
"If you had done your job at Minas Tirith originally, we wouldn't have needed the traps!" she snapped.
"Stop it!" Aragorn yelled putting his hand between them. "This is the last thing we need."
Boromir paid no attention to him. "I didn't ask for you to come with us, Winters. But ofcourse I had no say in the matter!"
"Yes, well I didn't come for you!" she answered angrily.
Suddenly, there was a large thud, and Aragorn and Boromir looked at the water. Winters gasped and gripped where she sat.
"Don't move," she whispered slowly to them. "Don't make any movement."
She shifted her eyes to Aragorn. "How much do you weigh?"
"72 gratites," he whispered.
She then looked at Boromir. "You?"
"69 gratites."
She sighed. "So I'm the lightest. I'll be back. Remember, don't move."
She lifted her arms and leaned her head back. Her hands followed, and she dived into the water backwards, so she wouldn't move the boat. She then resurfaced farther away. She quickly went under again, and came back up near Frodo. Legolas shot over and held out his hand for her to grasp. He pulled her up, and she started looking around the second boat. She noticed Frodo's pack on the other side by Sam.
"Hand me his pack."
Sam reluctantly gave his master's pack to Legolas. She stood and then dropped back in the water. She came back up and Legolas tossed her Frodo's pack. She caught it, and swam back to Aragorn and Boromir.
"Boromir, you're the next lightest," she said.
Boromir slowly started to lean backward and Winters lifted the pack while staying afloat.
"Slowly! The slightest movement will sink the boat," she told him.
Boromir slowed and continued until his back was against the edge of the boat. He leaned his head back and arched himself. He dived into the water, and at that second Winters quickly put the pack where Boromir had been to compromise his weight.
The pack wasn't enough, and the water around the boat began to ripple and the boat lunged into the water, like a great force was pulling it under. Aragorn looked up and saw a large thick branch move, and position right above him. He wasn't about to hesitate, though, and grabbed it quickly. The branch rose, and the boat was pulled down underneath him.
Boromir stroked back to avoid it, but Winters' foot was caught on the rim of the boat, and she was pulled down with it.
Legolas didn't think. He ran past Frodo and Sam, and dived into the water with a splash.
Around him he saw orc bodies and broken arrows. He looked around him trying to find the lead boat, but it had gone much deeper. He continued downward, and then saw an oar floating around a patch of burned reeds. They were blackened, but there were small areas of green still left. The water was filthy and unclear. It was difficult for him to see, but he could make out a smaller body struggling a few yards deeper, and it wasn't an orc. Legolas was running out of oxygen, and his lungs were crying out for air, but he kept swimming downward. He came to her and she was unconscious. Winters had been in the water longer than him, but not that much longer, and he was feeling extremely heavy. His head was spinning in circles, and his face was stinging. He closed his eyes, but then opened them again. No, he wasn't going to drown. He would keep going.
Legolas had grabbed her, and was starting toward the surface again, holding her in his left arm. He could see the light above him, and reached for it. His head was aching, and his mind was screaming louder than a thousand orcs. It was like being locked in a small room, and banging frantically against the locked door. He could see the light above him and was swimming towards it. Just then, he couldn't feel himself moving anymore. His limbs had stopped functioning, and he was falling-falling once again. The frantic screams began again in his mind, and he could see the light dimming again as he sank slowly, until it disappeared altogether to his sight. He lost the strength to keep his eyes open, and all went dark. The intense stinging in his cheeks ceased, and then he felt nothing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------don't expect the next chapter for a while. suffice to say: i have issues at the moment, and won't be back for a while.