A silhouetted figure staggered into the hall, clutching its arms around its waist and half-sobbing. Frodo recognized it as Embrai, one of the fey that Anemosi had dispatched to deal with the orcs in the forest. As she came into the light, he could see that she had been ripped across the belly, and her tightly clasped arms were the only things stopping her from losing her entrails. She was half-dead as she walked. With a supreme effort of will, Embrai managed to stumble to the high table and gasp out a few devastating words.
"They are coming...Nazgul..."
She collapsed and lay still. Drake was by her side in an instant, but there was nothing he could do; the brave warrior had only barely completed her mission before the Nazgul blade destroyed her. He let out a low moan that turned to a roar of anger as he rose and faced the now-silent gathering.
"She is dead!"
Lord Radik had risen to his feet, all good humor vanished. He was dark, brooding, and terrible beyond measure now. "So it begins," he murmured darkly. All eyes were upon him as he fell silent.
Sam had gone cold at the mention of the Nazgul, and beside him he could hear Frodo gasping and shuddering in fear. Frodo's eyes were fixed on Embrai's body where it lay, broken and battered by creatures beyond nightmares. *This would have been my fate,* he thought dully. He groped under the table for Sam's hand and clasped it tightly. It was as cold as his own.
Lord Radik raised his eyes from the table, and without warning smashed his fists through the table with a roar of fury so deadly it made Gandalf rock backwards.
Anemosi was pale and shaking, but the anger in her eyes made her gaze blister. As Sam gazed around at the fey, they had metamorphosed from merry, kind creatures into deadly, feral beings of untold might. They were unrecognizable.
"Anemosi!" She rose from her chair to stand at Lord Radik's side.
"Yes, my lord?" There were tears starting in her eyes, but her face was set and her hand had not left the hilt of her sword since the doors had opened.
"You must warn the other houses. Go quickly. There is not much time. We must mount the defenses." Anemosi looked stricken, and threw an agonized glance at Sam, her eyes saying everything she had wanted to in the rose garden that night. Frodo felt Sam's hand go limp in his, and he followed his friend's gaze to its focus. They were staring at each other hard, with the air between them fairly crackling with unspoken feeling.
She looked away, and when she spoke her voice was low and rough.
"I will go, my father."
He nodded sadly, and took her arm in his hand. Leaning in, he whispered to her. "My dearest, you are the only one I can trust with this. Forgive me." He kissed her on the forehead, then turned to the rest of the hall.
"Kerra, Votal, you shall accompany her." He gestured at the two warriors, who bowed and went to stand behind Anemosi. Gandalf rose from his seat and joined the small band.
"I shall also accompany your daughter, Lord Radik, on her errand."
Lord Radik looked about to protest, as was Frodo, but a sharp glance at both of them from the wizard silenced them at once.
"We shall leave immediately. With any luck, we shall not be long at our work." With that, the four stepped down from the dais and exited the door.
The meal was over. Embrai's body had mercifully been removed, but the air seemed heavy with dread. Orcs were nothing to the fey, they could kill them like insects and with about as much exertion, but the Nazgul were a different story. There could be no rest for anyone until the threat was over.
********************
Sam and the rest of the hobbits were herded back to their rooms with
strict orders to stay there. Sick with fear and frustration, Sam was pacing
frantically, torn between worry about Frodo and Anemosi when the curtain
parted and a shadowy figure breezed in.
"Sam, it's me." It was Anemosi's voice, but he would not have recognized her under the dark armor she now wore. Her hair was bound back and covered with a dark scarf, and the shimmer seemed to be gone from her skin.
"Sam, I'm sorry I can't meet you now...I barely have time to say goodbye." She smiled halfheartedly. "There's so much I want to say to you, but right now just isn't the time."
He nodded. "I know...but there's work to be done, and neither of us is one to shirk when it's our time." He was trying to be brave, she realized. He could smile and stand tall all he liked, but she knew fear when she saw it. And she was frightened too.
"I'll be back soon. We'll talk then." Her eyes were hopeful, and scared. She looked young and fragile, and he wanted to gather her in and hold her to him, shouting "No! She can't go! I won't let her!", but that would have been foolish, and embarrassing. She could take care of herself, and perversely, he felt more afraid about waiting in Siobhangé without Gandalf there than she did in the great forest with him.
She clasped his hand for a moment, and he felt her slide something hard and warm into it. He stared at her hard, trying to work up the courage to say something meaningful, but the curtain slid back again and Kerra looked in.
"Anemosi, we're leaving. Hurry!" The curtain fell back into place, and Anemosi looked away.
"I've got to go," she whispered. "Oh Sam, I don't want to..." A tear slipped from her eye, and he brushed it away tenderly.
"Be brave," he said softly, then raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. She nodded and turned away, leaving before she lost all discipline and hid in his arms.
After she had gone, leaving nothing to prove her presence but an aching heart and tear-filled eyes, Sam opened his hand to see what it was she had left him.
Glittering faintly in the dark was her taena. He could hold back no longer, and burst into tears as he heard the sound of hoof beats riding away into the night.
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A/N: Do you guys like it so far? This is going to be a loooong fanfic!
There's so much more to come! And thank you guys who have reviewed me so
far--you guys rock, I never thought anyone would think this story was as
great as you guys have said it is!