The next day, the tress thinned out completely and I stumbled, turning my ankles on the grassy rocks. In the late afternoon the company settled down in the shade of some boulders and made dinner - some kind of cooked meat that tasted really good after a long day of walking.
I yawned and stretched then stood up to let the blood flow back into my legs. There was a flat, sandy plot just below the biggest bolder, and I scrambled down to it and stretched some more. I bent over and rubbed my aching calves, then leaned over backwards to click my bones into place.
Shannon thumped down from the bolder above, and stood there, smiling.
Feelingly decidedly silly all of a sudden, I drew Sting. "En guard!" I shouted.
"Oh, you want a piece of me?" Shannon asked. "Bring it!" She drew her own short bladed sword.
We circled each other for a second, then leapt forward with a battle cry. I made three strikes at Shannon, who blocked each one accurately. Shannon lunged, I parried, she parried back...
"'Ksher!" (evil one) Legolas yelled, sliding from around the rocks. "You would hurt milady Shannon? Caela ie'lle!" (Have at thee!)
"No - fair!" I panted, blocking a blow from the elf. "Two - to - one!"
"Fear not, valiant Meg," Aragorn had come up behind me. He drew his sword with a rasp of metal. "I will dispose of the ruffians."
I smirked at Shannon, then ducked as she threw a mushroom at me. I tossed aside Sting and reached for a handful of the funky fungi myself.
"Mushroom fight!" I yelled. "How golden are these?" Thawp - Shannon reeled as I smacked her one on the forehead. Shannon leapt for me, smashing a mushroom down over my hair. I yelled and fell backwards, banging into Aragorn.
I expected him to laugh or pretended to be indignant, but he was strangely silent, looking up at the sky.
"What is it?" I asked, suddenly hushed.
"Crebain!" he whispered. "Spies - Hide!"
I glanced up at the sky and noticed the swarm of black birds... I snatched up Sting from where it had fallen, grabbed my pack, and slid underneath the nearest rock. Trying not to breathe I pressed myself against the cold stone.
Squawking and screaming the birds tore across the sky. I closed my eyes against the sound of their wings chopping through the air...
In a minute, all was quiet. I crawled from underneath the rock. Everyone else slowly emerged, shaking their heads at the disappearing swarm.
"We'll have to risk Caradhras," Gandalf said quietly.
I turned my back - the sun was setting. Caradhras - I thought. It's going to be so cold.
At that moment the ring flashed ice down to my toes.
So very cold.
(On Caradhras)
I yelled as I lost my balance on the slippery snow, and began tumbling down the mountainside. Digging my heels in and crying out as something sharp dug at the side of my face, I managed to stop myself.
I coughed up snow and stood, gingerly feeling the scratch on my cheek with numb fingers. I remembered this part in the movie, and my hand flew to my neck, searching for the chain I already knew wouldn't be there.
With a cry of despair I sank to my knees and began digging through the drifting snow, frantic. Then I looked up and stopped.
Dan had the ring.
I stood and licked my lips. Dan smirked. "One. Little. Ring." he laughed. "So much fuss for one little ring. And Megan - little old Megan hero of the day."
I reached out a hand and snatched the ring back.
Aragorn's face twitched and he released his hold on his sword.
Dan smiled at me, and I took a step backwards. Something in his eyes told me he wasn't the Dan I had known before...
"We must continue!" said Gandalf, and I began trudging up the snow once more. At first it was ankle deep, then knee deep, and finally waist deep - so deep that I felt like I was swimming rather than walking.
The mountain fell off sharply to the left, and the wind whistled through the air. Snowflakes whipped into my face, painfully, and I gasped at the thin air. My hands and feet were completely numb, and patches of my exposed face grew red and raw.
Shannon, however, seemed to inherit the lighter than air elf feet, and she and Legolas walked along the top of the snow, chatting in elvish.
I narrowed my eyes and dug my fingers into the snow in front of me. I will get through this, I thought violently. I will. I will. I w -
My head snapped up - all of a sudden, there was a voice on the wind. It was deep and dark and almost inaudible. "G-Gandalf?" I gasped. "Aragorn? Wha-? "
There was a rumbling overhead, and I started to shake. "What is goin-" Then I screamed, and threw my arms up over my head.
If you have never had snow up your nose, consider yourself lucky. The avalanche that covered the entire company was brutal - my head snapped back painfully, my arms were flung behind me, and snow packed in my clothing, my ears, my eyes, my nose...
I want to go home, I thought. Just die here in the cold and go home...
Legolas punched through the snow violently, and Shannon half a second later. Frances fought her way up, followed by a gasping Ann, Veronica, and Molly. Gandalf melted the snow with a crack, and Dan and Peter dragged their shields from below.
I struggled to dig away at the snow above me. I must get out of here. I must! My right hand broke through the crust, and then fell, useless, against the snow.
"Megan!" Peter began digging away at the snow, and light slowly filtered down to me. Hands yanked me out of my white grave, and I spat up snow that was a frightening, bloody pink.
Anne was shivering violently, huddled up against the other girls. Dan held his shield above them, while Peter tried to block the wind around me.
"This is useless, Gandalf!" Aragorn shouted. "We must take the mines!"
"There are older and more terrible evils in the mines of Moria!" Gandalf said.
"It will be the death of the children to stay here," Aragorn said. Legolas shouted his agreement and put his arms around Shannon, sheltering her from a sudden blast of wind. She gasped at the cold and buried her face in his chest.
"Let the Ringbearer decide," Gandalf said suddenly, and everyone looked at me.
The sun would set in about five hours, I thought. Just enough time to get down off this cursed mountain...
"We go through the mines!" I said.
That night we made camp at the base of the mountain. Aragorn had barely said "We'll ma - " before I was on the ground, fast asleep.
The flickering flames of the campfire died lower and lower, and Legolas came to sit beside Shannon and my sleeping form.
"Amin dele ten' he," Shannon whispered, as the fire crackled and played over her face. "Re ikotani ringwe. Naa rashwe?"
(I am worried about her. She's so cold. Is there trouble?)
Legolas looked at me - shivering despite the cloak I had wrapped tightly around myself. "Amin n'sinta," he said.
(I don't know.)
Shannon sighed. "Amin autien rath, quel du."
(I am going to bed, goodnight.)
"Quel du." Legolas said. Shannon lay down and pulled the hood of her cloak over her face. Legolas looked at her for a moment, then pulled his knees up to his chin and sat gazing at the stars.
I shifted in my sleep, frightened suddenly. He's coming, she's coming, it's coming... I felt a hand brush my hair backwards and reach for the ring....
I yelled at sat bolt upright, and the stranger tightened his grip around my neck. We rolled into the campfire, and the coals hissed against the stranger's dark cloak
With a yell, Aragorn heaved the stranger off of me. They wrestled and slammed into a tree while I gasped for breath.
Ann, Veronica, and Molly looked at each other, and then drew their hobbit-swords with a yell, charging at the stranger.
The stranger punched Aragorn in the chin, and it snapped his head back. Aragorn released his hold and the stranger went scrambling back into the night.
My little "hobbit" friends went tearing after him into the bushes, yelling.
"Molly! Veronica! Ann! Come back!" Aragorn said, rubbing his hand along his chin and staring at the blood on his fingers.
Molly came stomping back, glowering, Veronica biting her lip and looking skywards, and Ann shuffling along, avoiding eyes.
"Are you okay?" Molly demanded, her eyes puffy from sleep but fierce with anger.
I rubbed my neck. "I'm okay, I guess." I looked up.
Everyone was staring at me.
I blushed. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Aragorn asked, softly.
"For everything." I struggled for breath, dizzy. "For all the trouble I'm bringing, and..."
"It is not your fault," Gandalf said sternly. "It never has been. Your only fault was being strong enough to bear this burden."
I colored, then whitened. "I need to sleep," I said, sitting down suddenly. Peter sat beside me as I curled up and pulled my cloak tighter.
"I will watch her," he said quietly to Aragorn, reaching out a hand to stroke my hair. I sighed and was asleep.
Aragorn turned to Gandalf. "We will capture whoever that is, next time."
"We shall see," Gandalf said looking up at the stars. He was silent for a while. "Tomorrow night," he whispered, at length. "We will enter the mines of Moria."
I yawned and stretched then stood up to let the blood flow back into my legs. There was a flat, sandy plot just below the biggest bolder, and I scrambled down to it and stretched some more. I bent over and rubbed my aching calves, then leaned over backwards to click my bones into place.
Shannon thumped down from the bolder above, and stood there, smiling.
Feelingly decidedly silly all of a sudden, I drew Sting. "En guard!" I shouted.
"Oh, you want a piece of me?" Shannon asked. "Bring it!" She drew her own short bladed sword.
We circled each other for a second, then leapt forward with a battle cry. I made three strikes at Shannon, who blocked each one accurately. Shannon lunged, I parried, she parried back...
"'Ksher!" (evil one) Legolas yelled, sliding from around the rocks. "You would hurt milady Shannon? Caela ie'lle!" (Have at thee!)
"No - fair!" I panted, blocking a blow from the elf. "Two - to - one!"
"Fear not, valiant Meg," Aragorn had come up behind me. He drew his sword with a rasp of metal. "I will dispose of the ruffians."
I smirked at Shannon, then ducked as she threw a mushroom at me. I tossed aside Sting and reached for a handful of the funky fungi myself.
"Mushroom fight!" I yelled. "How golden are these?" Thawp - Shannon reeled as I smacked her one on the forehead. Shannon leapt for me, smashing a mushroom down over my hair. I yelled and fell backwards, banging into Aragorn.
I expected him to laugh or pretended to be indignant, but he was strangely silent, looking up at the sky.
"What is it?" I asked, suddenly hushed.
"Crebain!" he whispered. "Spies - Hide!"
I glanced up at the sky and noticed the swarm of black birds... I snatched up Sting from where it had fallen, grabbed my pack, and slid underneath the nearest rock. Trying not to breathe I pressed myself against the cold stone.
Squawking and screaming the birds tore across the sky. I closed my eyes against the sound of their wings chopping through the air...
In a minute, all was quiet. I crawled from underneath the rock. Everyone else slowly emerged, shaking their heads at the disappearing swarm.
"We'll have to risk Caradhras," Gandalf said quietly.
I turned my back - the sun was setting. Caradhras - I thought. It's going to be so cold.
At that moment the ring flashed ice down to my toes.
So very cold.
(On Caradhras)
I yelled as I lost my balance on the slippery snow, and began tumbling down the mountainside. Digging my heels in and crying out as something sharp dug at the side of my face, I managed to stop myself.
I coughed up snow and stood, gingerly feeling the scratch on my cheek with numb fingers. I remembered this part in the movie, and my hand flew to my neck, searching for the chain I already knew wouldn't be there.
With a cry of despair I sank to my knees and began digging through the drifting snow, frantic. Then I looked up and stopped.
Dan had the ring.
I stood and licked my lips. Dan smirked. "One. Little. Ring." he laughed. "So much fuss for one little ring. And Megan - little old Megan hero of the day."
I reached out a hand and snatched the ring back.
Aragorn's face twitched and he released his hold on his sword.
Dan smiled at me, and I took a step backwards. Something in his eyes told me he wasn't the Dan I had known before...
"We must continue!" said Gandalf, and I began trudging up the snow once more. At first it was ankle deep, then knee deep, and finally waist deep - so deep that I felt like I was swimming rather than walking.
The mountain fell off sharply to the left, and the wind whistled through the air. Snowflakes whipped into my face, painfully, and I gasped at the thin air. My hands and feet were completely numb, and patches of my exposed face grew red and raw.
Shannon, however, seemed to inherit the lighter than air elf feet, and she and Legolas walked along the top of the snow, chatting in elvish.
I narrowed my eyes and dug my fingers into the snow in front of me. I will get through this, I thought violently. I will. I will. I w -
My head snapped up - all of a sudden, there was a voice on the wind. It was deep and dark and almost inaudible. "G-Gandalf?" I gasped. "Aragorn? Wha-? "
There was a rumbling overhead, and I started to shake. "What is goin-" Then I screamed, and threw my arms up over my head.
If you have never had snow up your nose, consider yourself lucky. The avalanche that covered the entire company was brutal - my head snapped back painfully, my arms were flung behind me, and snow packed in my clothing, my ears, my eyes, my nose...
I want to go home, I thought. Just die here in the cold and go home...
Legolas punched through the snow violently, and Shannon half a second later. Frances fought her way up, followed by a gasping Ann, Veronica, and Molly. Gandalf melted the snow with a crack, and Dan and Peter dragged their shields from below.
I struggled to dig away at the snow above me. I must get out of here. I must! My right hand broke through the crust, and then fell, useless, against the snow.
"Megan!" Peter began digging away at the snow, and light slowly filtered down to me. Hands yanked me out of my white grave, and I spat up snow that was a frightening, bloody pink.
Anne was shivering violently, huddled up against the other girls. Dan held his shield above them, while Peter tried to block the wind around me.
"This is useless, Gandalf!" Aragorn shouted. "We must take the mines!"
"There are older and more terrible evils in the mines of Moria!" Gandalf said.
"It will be the death of the children to stay here," Aragorn said. Legolas shouted his agreement and put his arms around Shannon, sheltering her from a sudden blast of wind. She gasped at the cold and buried her face in his chest.
"Let the Ringbearer decide," Gandalf said suddenly, and everyone looked at me.
The sun would set in about five hours, I thought. Just enough time to get down off this cursed mountain...
"We go through the mines!" I said.
That night we made camp at the base of the mountain. Aragorn had barely said "We'll ma - " before I was on the ground, fast asleep.
The flickering flames of the campfire died lower and lower, and Legolas came to sit beside Shannon and my sleeping form.
"Amin dele ten' he," Shannon whispered, as the fire crackled and played over her face. "Re ikotani ringwe. Naa rashwe?"
(I am worried about her. She's so cold. Is there trouble?)
Legolas looked at me - shivering despite the cloak I had wrapped tightly around myself. "Amin n'sinta," he said.
(I don't know.)
Shannon sighed. "Amin autien rath, quel du."
(I am going to bed, goodnight.)
"Quel du." Legolas said. Shannon lay down and pulled the hood of her cloak over her face. Legolas looked at her for a moment, then pulled his knees up to his chin and sat gazing at the stars.
I shifted in my sleep, frightened suddenly. He's coming, she's coming, it's coming... I felt a hand brush my hair backwards and reach for the ring....
I yelled at sat bolt upright, and the stranger tightened his grip around my neck. We rolled into the campfire, and the coals hissed against the stranger's dark cloak
With a yell, Aragorn heaved the stranger off of me. They wrestled and slammed into a tree while I gasped for breath.
Ann, Veronica, and Molly looked at each other, and then drew their hobbit-swords with a yell, charging at the stranger.
The stranger punched Aragorn in the chin, and it snapped his head back. Aragorn released his hold and the stranger went scrambling back into the night.
My little "hobbit" friends went tearing after him into the bushes, yelling.
"Molly! Veronica! Ann! Come back!" Aragorn said, rubbing his hand along his chin and staring at the blood on his fingers.
Molly came stomping back, glowering, Veronica biting her lip and looking skywards, and Ann shuffling along, avoiding eyes.
"Are you okay?" Molly demanded, her eyes puffy from sleep but fierce with anger.
I rubbed my neck. "I'm okay, I guess." I looked up.
Everyone was staring at me.
I blushed. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Aragorn asked, softly.
"For everything." I struggled for breath, dizzy. "For all the trouble I'm bringing, and..."
"It is not your fault," Gandalf said sternly. "It never has been. Your only fault was being strong enough to bear this burden."
I colored, then whitened. "I need to sleep," I said, sitting down suddenly. Peter sat beside me as I curled up and pulled my cloak tighter.
"I will watch her," he said quietly to Aragorn, reaching out a hand to stroke my hair. I sighed and was asleep.
Aragorn turned to Gandalf. "We will capture whoever that is, next time."
"We shall see," Gandalf said looking up at the stars. He was silent for a while. "Tomorrow night," he whispered, at length. "We will enter the mines of Moria."