Chapter Twenty-Three
Okay, Listen. I'm sorry, but I'm abandoning all my silly lotr fics for now, they will be updated on spring break. Sorry, but I wanna get this story DONE so I can work on the sequels… and I wanna see how it turns out (that's right, I haven't completely planned it out!) Also, you hafta know for this chapter that Moria was, for this fic's purposes repaired by dwarves, but the dwarves were once again driven out by the Balrog (hey, don't gimme that dirty look! This is, after all, about forty two years after the original journey. Also, to address a question, the journey Leah went on was NOT the original journey. Frodo went on his mission… quest… thing… and then, about two years later, Leah and Frodo went on their mission. Also, I would like to apologize for the fact that the chapters have been a bit slower latterly in coming out, but I'm also planning the sequels. Yes, sequels. As in more than one sequel. One last thing. I'm sorry I skimped on Moria so much, but it's boring, and I feel I've overused the phrase "It was a dark room…" far too much. If you want dark rooms, read "and now for something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT". Sorry, Nikkin. No dark rooms for you and leggy.
"We should be to Moria within a month at the most."
* Nineteen days later *
"Mellon," Frodo and I said together, as the great gates of Moria swung open to greet us. Ripples in the water that no one but Nikki noticed were coming towards us at an alarming pace.
"Umm…. That's not good, is it?" she asked, pointing to the water.
"RUN!" I shouted. No one hesitated to run into the darkness of Moria.
We walked on.
And on.
And on.
For three days, we walked on, hardly breaking the silence except when necessary. Frodo and I would occasionally mind-converse, and we often liked to eavesdrop on Nikki and Legolas, who were almost constantly using their powers of telepathy. They seemed, to our minds, very similar to us when we were "young and reckless," as we liked to think of it. At last, after three days of walking, we came to the part of the journey everyone who had been into Moria was dreading.
The Bridge of Khazdad-dum.
We began our decent down the great staircases. I shook my head.
"What is it with us and big staircases?" I asked Frodo. He smiled. "I don't know… but I suppose it's something to look into."
We heard a crash behind us. Things did not look good, although this time there were no orcs.
"RUN!" Gandalf yelled, and fell to the end. I moaned inwardly. It was like a horrible replay of my worst nightmares. We all began to run down the stone steps as fast as our legs could carry us. We then came to what we had hoped would not happen.
A segment of the staircase was missing. Aragorn leaped across, Merry and Pippin under either arm, and beckoned to Frodo and me. I looked at Frodo before leaping across. Frodo came right behind me, then Gandalf. Legolas picked up Sam and threw him across to me, leaving him and Nikki. A loud crash came, as a rock fell down, crashing a part of the staircase behind them down into the black abyss. I was terrified, and Frodo's eyes were suddenly very large and scared (A/N: awww, don't you just love it when he's terrified?) Nikki gulped audibly. She looked up at Legolas, who was busying himself with trying to balance his weight evenly so that the staircase would not fall. A chunk fell out from below, leaving the segment of stairs even harder to balance.
"Lean forward!" Aragorn commanded them, and the obliged without question or second thought. The stairs once again fell forward, closing the gap. I caught Nikki in my arms, giving her a quick hug, and Legolas was caught by the wrist by Frodo, this action giving as much extra balance as the elf's graceful posture needed. We then ran, making our way swiftly towards the Bridge.
All of us got over safely. Or so we thought. We turned back, and there was Gandalf, reenacting the scene he'd played through twice already.
"You cannot pass!" He exclaimed, raising up his staff and enveloping himself in a sphere of white light.
"No!" Nikki shouted. The rest of us were wide-eyed in terror.
"Gandalf!" I yelled, before I could control myself. He did not look back, but instead spoke, addressing the Balrog.
"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the shadow! You cannot pass."
The Balrog roared in reply. Gandalf brought his staff down, and the bridge broke at his feet.
"Run, Gandalf!" Frodo yelled. The wizard, heeding his warning, lingered for a split second before turning to come to where we were standing.
"Nooooooo!" Aragorn's voice rose up above the collective exclamation, and we stood watching, helpless, as the Balrog's whip rose up to flank the side of the bridge and pull Gandalf to the edge of the bridge. He struggled for a moment. We saw him pull a package out of the folds of his robes and place it on the bridge before vanishing.
Aragorn ushered us towards the gate.
"Wait," I said. Aragorn turned. "The package. He left a package on the brink of the bridge."
Aragorn looked and saw I was right. Legolas walked a couple of paces towards the bridge.
"I will retrieve it." He said, and walked away, ignoring Nikki's protests. He reached the bridge and put one foot on it, testing its sturdiness. Satisfied, he walked to the edge of the bridge, picked up the package, and walked back.
When he returned, we all huddled around it.
"You open it." He said, putting the package in my hands.
"Me?" I asked.
"Yes. You."
I fumbled with the cloth-wrapped bundle, and opened it to find a note and a vial. I opened the note.
"Leah and Frodo," I read out loud, "I wrote this letter in case I should fall at Khazad-dum. I hope you will never have to read this. Remember all those years ago when Harry, Ron, and Hermione gave you three packages each? You should each have one package left. Open them when you reach the Argonath. The vial inside this bundle is a very precious treasure. You will know what to do with it when the time comes. Do not worry about me, I will return as soon as possible to you. Signed, Gandalf." I looked up to see eight people staring back at me.
"Well," I said, "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Okay, Listen. I'm sorry, but I'm abandoning all my silly lotr fics for now, they will be updated on spring break. Sorry, but I wanna get this story DONE so I can work on the sequels… and I wanna see how it turns out (that's right, I haven't completely planned it out!) Also, you hafta know for this chapter that Moria was, for this fic's purposes repaired by dwarves, but the dwarves were once again driven out by the Balrog (hey, don't gimme that dirty look! This is, after all, about forty two years after the original journey. Also, to address a question, the journey Leah went on was NOT the original journey. Frodo went on his mission… quest… thing… and then, about two years later, Leah and Frodo went on their mission. Also, I would like to apologize for the fact that the chapters have been a bit slower latterly in coming out, but I'm also planning the sequels. Yes, sequels. As in more than one sequel. One last thing. I'm sorry I skimped on Moria so much, but it's boring, and I feel I've overused the phrase "It was a dark room…" far too much. If you want dark rooms, read "and now for something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT". Sorry, Nikkin. No dark rooms for you and leggy.
"We should be to Moria within a month at the most."
* Nineteen days later *
"Mellon," Frodo and I said together, as the great gates of Moria swung open to greet us. Ripples in the water that no one but Nikki noticed were coming towards us at an alarming pace.
"Umm…. That's not good, is it?" she asked, pointing to the water.
"RUN!" I shouted. No one hesitated to run into the darkness of Moria.
We walked on.
And on.
And on.
For three days, we walked on, hardly breaking the silence except when necessary. Frodo and I would occasionally mind-converse, and we often liked to eavesdrop on Nikki and Legolas, who were almost constantly using their powers of telepathy. They seemed, to our minds, very similar to us when we were "young and reckless," as we liked to think of it. At last, after three days of walking, we came to the part of the journey everyone who had been into Moria was dreading.
The Bridge of Khazdad-dum.
We began our decent down the great staircases. I shook my head.
"What is it with us and big staircases?" I asked Frodo. He smiled. "I don't know… but I suppose it's something to look into."
We heard a crash behind us. Things did not look good, although this time there were no orcs.
"RUN!" Gandalf yelled, and fell to the end. I moaned inwardly. It was like a horrible replay of my worst nightmares. We all began to run down the stone steps as fast as our legs could carry us. We then came to what we had hoped would not happen.
A segment of the staircase was missing. Aragorn leaped across, Merry and Pippin under either arm, and beckoned to Frodo and me. I looked at Frodo before leaping across. Frodo came right behind me, then Gandalf. Legolas picked up Sam and threw him across to me, leaving him and Nikki. A loud crash came, as a rock fell down, crashing a part of the staircase behind them down into the black abyss. I was terrified, and Frodo's eyes were suddenly very large and scared (A/N: awww, don't you just love it when he's terrified?) Nikki gulped audibly. She looked up at Legolas, who was busying himself with trying to balance his weight evenly so that the staircase would not fall. A chunk fell out from below, leaving the segment of stairs even harder to balance.
"Lean forward!" Aragorn commanded them, and the obliged without question or second thought. The stairs once again fell forward, closing the gap. I caught Nikki in my arms, giving her a quick hug, and Legolas was caught by the wrist by Frodo, this action giving as much extra balance as the elf's graceful posture needed. We then ran, making our way swiftly towards the Bridge.
All of us got over safely. Or so we thought. We turned back, and there was Gandalf, reenacting the scene he'd played through twice already.
"You cannot pass!" He exclaimed, raising up his staff and enveloping himself in a sphere of white light.
"No!" Nikki shouted. The rest of us were wide-eyed in terror.
"Gandalf!" I yelled, before I could control myself. He did not look back, but instead spoke, addressing the Balrog.
"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the shadow! You cannot pass."
The Balrog roared in reply. Gandalf brought his staff down, and the bridge broke at his feet.
"Run, Gandalf!" Frodo yelled. The wizard, heeding his warning, lingered for a split second before turning to come to where we were standing.
"Nooooooo!" Aragorn's voice rose up above the collective exclamation, and we stood watching, helpless, as the Balrog's whip rose up to flank the side of the bridge and pull Gandalf to the edge of the bridge. He struggled for a moment. We saw him pull a package out of the folds of his robes and place it on the bridge before vanishing.
Aragorn ushered us towards the gate.
"Wait," I said. Aragorn turned. "The package. He left a package on the brink of the bridge."
Aragorn looked and saw I was right. Legolas walked a couple of paces towards the bridge.
"I will retrieve it." He said, and walked away, ignoring Nikki's protests. He reached the bridge and put one foot on it, testing its sturdiness. Satisfied, he walked to the edge of the bridge, picked up the package, and walked back.
When he returned, we all huddled around it.
"You open it." He said, putting the package in my hands.
"Me?" I asked.
"Yes. You."
I fumbled with the cloth-wrapped bundle, and opened it to find a note and a vial. I opened the note.
"Leah and Frodo," I read out loud, "I wrote this letter in case I should fall at Khazad-dum. I hope you will never have to read this. Remember all those years ago when Harry, Ron, and Hermione gave you three packages each? You should each have one package left. Open them when you reach the Argonath. The vial inside this bundle is a very precious treasure. You will know what to do with it when the time comes. Do not worry about me, I will return as soon as possible to you. Signed, Gandalf." I looked up to see eight people staring back at me.
"Well," I said, "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"