((See, what did I tell you? Chapters are popping out ninety to nothing! I've got another one in the works! So very excited. Thank you for all your kind reviews, more thank yous to Keiraboo and Kathykins, as well as to Kate! Also, a special thank you to those of you who have reassured me that my writings stir emotion and laughter. With as much as is going on in my life right now, it's good to know I can still make people more aware of the beauty inherent in everything))
As the group continued to walk, Boromir refused to abandon his place at Kara's side until she told him to do so. Fierce looks from Aragorn aside, she needed to know that there was strength and refuge from loneliness and fear. Whether she wanted that refuge or not, he was determined that it would be there in the shape of an arrogant and irritating leader of men walking beside her.
At last, they came to a stop. The hobbits needed rest, and Gandalf needed time to consider their path. Kara looked distracted. Every now and then her face would twitch, or she would place a hand just below her throat. Boromir finally dared to break into her silence.
"Are you all right?"
"No." Kara's voice was deep and burning, with almost pained overtones. Her hands were pressed flat to the cold rock beneath her, eyes darting around the cavern. Suddenly, she leapt to her feet.
"Legolas, do you hear something?" Her voice was infinitely quiet, one hand on Boromir's shoulder. Legolas broke himself out of his conversation with Pippin.
"...No, I don't believe so. Why?" Kara glanced down at Boromir, then began to walk around the perimeter of their light, standing at the edge of the beams and gazing into the dark. Legolas joined her in looking and listening. Boromir watched them, a bit startled.
After a few minutes, Kara was still prowling about and staring into the darkness. Boromir had just started to relax, watching her slow rhythm of pacing, when he felt someone sit down beside him. He tensed.
"She is not strong enough to resist you." Aragorn muttered to Boromir quietly. Boromir turned to look at the man sitting beside him. Aragorn continued.
"Kara is not a cool aristocrat. She is a child, a girl accustomed to abuse in place of affection, curses instead of encouragement. Just now she is more confused than she has ever been in her life. She is not ready for a lover." Boromir blinked at Aragorn, and opened his mouth to answer.
Just then, Kara spoke.
"I'll be back. If I don't return in ten minutes, go on without me. I'll catch up with you."
Boromir watched, startled, as Kara pushed off from the place where she stood and
sprinted lightly over the rocks that sprouted up to one side of the path. Gone was the slightly clumsy and simple girl. She darted into the shadows with ease, disappearing before any of them could protest.
Merry jumped up, momentarily forgetting about the cake of waybread he had been chewing on.
"We have to go after her! She'll get lost." Gandalf silenced him with a look.
"As will you, Meriadoc. We are all safer staying on the road." The wizard slowly rose, watching the shadows ominously. Almost to himself, he mumbled, "She has the aid of her Mark. She will be safe."
Boromir strained his eyes, fancying that he could see her white-clad form departing. He was not so sure about their safety, even less so about hers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kara's breast burned again. She remembered the exact moment it had started, flaring through her body like hot lava. It was the burning that made her jump up and begin prowling like a restless animal, and the burning that drove her to speed off the trail into the shadows.
She had no idea what she was doing now, sprinting over the rocks in the darkness like a shadow, but she knew she was pursuing something, and that it was fleeing from her. She heard the soft pattering of feet ahead of her. Closer and closer they grew, her footsteps flying faster and more sure, her body once again consumed by fire. There was just enough light for her to see a dark, crouching shape, moving in front of her at a rapid pace, hands low to the ground.
Blood thundered in her ears. Again and again, she asked herself why she was running after this thing. Probably the question that should have been foremost in her mind was, how was she catching up with it? The thing was going at lightning speed and was obviously more well-adapted to the caves than she was. But the fire drove her on, and she drew closer to the shape. It dodged and darted. Just as quickly, she ran after it, zigzagging, bewildered at how she was able to anticipate the movements.
At last, the thing stumbled, rolling into a small fold of rock with a thud. Kara leapt over a small collection of stones and skidded to a stop, cornering the ghastly creature. before it could recover itself enough to attack, she drew her daggers and braced her feet.
"Why were you following us?" She demanded. Two lamplike eyes turned on her, illuminating pale green skin and webbed feet. It was crouched over so that the rest of its shape was hidden, but as it trembled and heaved from exertion, Kara got the feeling that it had once been much different. She caught in its eyes a long history of pain and torture. His sides and stomach bore scars that were not quite healed, and open wounds, seeping pus and stinking of decay. Its lips trembled, a small tongue flicking over them periodically in a nervous gesture. The flipperlike hands fidgeted. It did not answer her, aside from a swallowing noise deep in its throat.
"WHY were you FOLLOWING us?" Kara took a step closer. How she wanted to take pity on this creature and just let it go! But her voice was no longer her own, and Kara got the feeling that to resist would be unwise. The thing cried out in fear at her agressive reprimand.
"Don't hurt usss! Gollum. We just wants our present, yes. Just wants the precious, then we chews a fish and goes home." Kara took a step back, startled. This was Gollum...Smeagol, the wretched creature that was enslaved to the One Ring. It must have been following them, it was anyone's guess how long.
"Gollum! Not nice lady, no. Big nasssty eyess, hurts us with bladesss, yes, my preciouss."
"ENOUGH!" Kara roared. The burning pain shooting through her was almost too much. A dull glow came from the mark on her chest, illuminating the cavernous dark still more. She could feel her knees beginning to buckle. A few moments of ominous silence allowed her to pull in a deep breath or two. More quietly, she continued.
"The ring is not yours. We will not give it back to you. Leave us alone, or I swear by the breath I breathe that I will kill you." This was not her voice coming out of her. It was someone else entirely. The voice was soft but powerful and unmistakeably serious. Kara resisted the temptation to clutch at her chest as the creature continued to beg her not to hurt it.
"Big, bright eyesss! Don't look at usss. Nice precious, we wants to go home. Agh! Gollum. Light hurts usss. Minesss don't gots no water...hurts our foots, it does. No places to catch fishies." Kara stared for a moment, then slowly backed away.
"Leave."
The one word was enough to fairly shake the tunnel. Kara stumbled back with the force of it. Taking the opportunity, Gollum darted past her. Kara whirled to watch it run away on all fours, making a deep noise in its throat. Kara stepped out after it, looking for the path she had come down.
Nothing looked familiar. There were several split tunnels in front of her. They bore no indication which path she had taken. Kara sighed deeply, then undid her bodice enough to see the mark on her chest. It had begun to emit an odd, pulsating light. It throbbed in time with her heartbeats, illuminating the passages. Kara calmly accepted her glowing chest as a reality of life, and brushed her fingers fondly over the amulet.
"Well, where to now? Whoever you are, you're supposed to know what's about to happen. Where should I go?" Kara leaned against the tunnel wall, not expecting an answer, but remarkably calm and accepting of her predicament.
Then, the light shimmering on the walls began to narrow itself. Over a course of about thirty seconds, it gathered itself together into a single point in the tunnel wall. K blinked.
"...I'm afraid there's no tunnel there."
The light, to no great surprise, didn't answer. It just continued pointing matter-of-factly at the wall. Kara crossed to the other side of the tunnel, then bent over to examine the spot of light. Quietly, she ran her fingers around the area. The wall seemed to be curving into a deep shadow. Kara turned so that the light cast itself into the shadow. The tunnel wall folded into a nice hollow space, leading into the mountains.
"Oh. How handy. A tunnel."
Kara ran for hours. The tunnel seemed to lead on and on. Kara would have turned back, except for a breath of fresh air that brushed against her face every so often. With any luck, she would break outside the mines at the same time as the Fellowship. The fire in her once again came to her aid, driving her to run without fatigue, assisting her in leaping with some semblance of grace over the small piles of rocks that littered the tunnel floor. On she ran, incapable of thinking any further than the next step. Always, that odd light cast itself eerily on the walls.
Finally, the smell of fresh air was unmistakeable, and as Kara turned the corner she brought a hand to her eyes. The sun shone into the tunnel, reflecting off the snow of the mountaintop and striking her eyes painfully. It made her giggle and turn her face into the beams in greeting. After so long in the mines, her body throbbed with joy at being allowed to breathe in the cold breeze and squint in the sun.
As the group continued to walk, Boromir refused to abandon his place at Kara's side until she told him to do so. Fierce looks from Aragorn aside, she needed to know that there was strength and refuge from loneliness and fear. Whether she wanted that refuge or not, he was determined that it would be there in the shape of an arrogant and irritating leader of men walking beside her.
At last, they came to a stop. The hobbits needed rest, and Gandalf needed time to consider their path. Kara looked distracted. Every now and then her face would twitch, or she would place a hand just below her throat. Boromir finally dared to break into her silence.
"Are you all right?"
"No." Kara's voice was deep and burning, with almost pained overtones. Her hands were pressed flat to the cold rock beneath her, eyes darting around the cavern. Suddenly, she leapt to her feet.
"Legolas, do you hear something?" Her voice was infinitely quiet, one hand on Boromir's shoulder. Legolas broke himself out of his conversation with Pippin.
"...No, I don't believe so. Why?" Kara glanced down at Boromir, then began to walk around the perimeter of their light, standing at the edge of the beams and gazing into the dark. Legolas joined her in looking and listening. Boromir watched them, a bit startled.
After a few minutes, Kara was still prowling about and staring into the darkness. Boromir had just started to relax, watching her slow rhythm of pacing, when he felt someone sit down beside him. He tensed.
"She is not strong enough to resist you." Aragorn muttered to Boromir quietly. Boromir turned to look at the man sitting beside him. Aragorn continued.
"Kara is not a cool aristocrat. She is a child, a girl accustomed to abuse in place of affection, curses instead of encouragement. Just now she is more confused than she has ever been in her life. She is not ready for a lover." Boromir blinked at Aragorn, and opened his mouth to answer.
Just then, Kara spoke.
"I'll be back. If I don't return in ten minutes, go on without me. I'll catch up with you."
Boromir watched, startled, as Kara pushed off from the place where she stood and
sprinted lightly over the rocks that sprouted up to one side of the path. Gone was the slightly clumsy and simple girl. She darted into the shadows with ease, disappearing before any of them could protest.
Merry jumped up, momentarily forgetting about the cake of waybread he had been chewing on.
"We have to go after her! She'll get lost." Gandalf silenced him with a look.
"As will you, Meriadoc. We are all safer staying on the road." The wizard slowly rose, watching the shadows ominously. Almost to himself, he mumbled, "She has the aid of her Mark. She will be safe."
Boromir strained his eyes, fancying that he could see her white-clad form departing. He was not so sure about their safety, even less so about hers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kara's breast burned again. She remembered the exact moment it had started, flaring through her body like hot lava. It was the burning that made her jump up and begin prowling like a restless animal, and the burning that drove her to speed off the trail into the shadows.
She had no idea what she was doing now, sprinting over the rocks in the darkness like a shadow, but she knew she was pursuing something, and that it was fleeing from her. She heard the soft pattering of feet ahead of her. Closer and closer they grew, her footsteps flying faster and more sure, her body once again consumed by fire. There was just enough light for her to see a dark, crouching shape, moving in front of her at a rapid pace, hands low to the ground.
Blood thundered in her ears. Again and again, she asked herself why she was running after this thing. Probably the question that should have been foremost in her mind was, how was she catching up with it? The thing was going at lightning speed and was obviously more well-adapted to the caves than she was. But the fire drove her on, and she drew closer to the shape. It dodged and darted. Just as quickly, she ran after it, zigzagging, bewildered at how she was able to anticipate the movements.
At last, the thing stumbled, rolling into a small fold of rock with a thud. Kara leapt over a small collection of stones and skidded to a stop, cornering the ghastly creature. before it could recover itself enough to attack, she drew her daggers and braced her feet.
"Why were you following us?" She demanded. Two lamplike eyes turned on her, illuminating pale green skin and webbed feet. It was crouched over so that the rest of its shape was hidden, but as it trembled and heaved from exertion, Kara got the feeling that it had once been much different. She caught in its eyes a long history of pain and torture. His sides and stomach bore scars that were not quite healed, and open wounds, seeping pus and stinking of decay. Its lips trembled, a small tongue flicking over them periodically in a nervous gesture. The flipperlike hands fidgeted. It did not answer her, aside from a swallowing noise deep in its throat.
"WHY were you FOLLOWING us?" Kara took a step closer. How she wanted to take pity on this creature and just let it go! But her voice was no longer her own, and Kara got the feeling that to resist would be unwise. The thing cried out in fear at her agressive reprimand.
"Don't hurt usss! Gollum. We just wants our present, yes. Just wants the precious, then we chews a fish and goes home." Kara took a step back, startled. This was Gollum...Smeagol, the wretched creature that was enslaved to the One Ring. It must have been following them, it was anyone's guess how long.
"Gollum! Not nice lady, no. Big nasssty eyess, hurts us with bladesss, yes, my preciouss."
"ENOUGH!" Kara roared. The burning pain shooting through her was almost too much. A dull glow came from the mark on her chest, illuminating the cavernous dark still more. She could feel her knees beginning to buckle. A few moments of ominous silence allowed her to pull in a deep breath or two. More quietly, she continued.
"The ring is not yours. We will not give it back to you. Leave us alone, or I swear by the breath I breathe that I will kill you." This was not her voice coming out of her. It was someone else entirely. The voice was soft but powerful and unmistakeably serious. Kara resisted the temptation to clutch at her chest as the creature continued to beg her not to hurt it.
"Big, bright eyesss! Don't look at usss. Nice precious, we wants to go home. Agh! Gollum. Light hurts usss. Minesss don't gots no water...hurts our foots, it does. No places to catch fishies." Kara stared for a moment, then slowly backed away.
"Leave."
The one word was enough to fairly shake the tunnel. Kara stumbled back with the force of it. Taking the opportunity, Gollum darted past her. Kara whirled to watch it run away on all fours, making a deep noise in its throat. Kara stepped out after it, looking for the path she had come down.
Nothing looked familiar. There were several split tunnels in front of her. They bore no indication which path she had taken. Kara sighed deeply, then undid her bodice enough to see the mark on her chest. It had begun to emit an odd, pulsating light. It throbbed in time with her heartbeats, illuminating the passages. Kara calmly accepted her glowing chest as a reality of life, and brushed her fingers fondly over the amulet.
"Well, where to now? Whoever you are, you're supposed to know what's about to happen. Where should I go?" Kara leaned against the tunnel wall, not expecting an answer, but remarkably calm and accepting of her predicament.
Then, the light shimmering on the walls began to narrow itself. Over a course of about thirty seconds, it gathered itself together into a single point in the tunnel wall. K blinked.
"...I'm afraid there's no tunnel there."
The light, to no great surprise, didn't answer. It just continued pointing matter-of-factly at the wall. Kara crossed to the other side of the tunnel, then bent over to examine the spot of light. Quietly, she ran her fingers around the area. The wall seemed to be curving into a deep shadow. Kara turned so that the light cast itself into the shadow. The tunnel wall folded into a nice hollow space, leading into the mountains.
"Oh. How handy. A tunnel."
Kara ran for hours. The tunnel seemed to lead on and on. Kara would have turned back, except for a breath of fresh air that brushed against her face every so often. With any luck, she would break outside the mines at the same time as the Fellowship. The fire in her once again came to her aid, driving her to run without fatigue, assisting her in leaping with some semblance of grace over the small piles of rocks that littered the tunnel floor. On she ran, incapable of thinking any further than the next step. Always, that odd light cast itself eerily on the walls.
Finally, the smell of fresh air was unmistakeable, and as Kara turned the corner she brought a hand to her eyes. The sun shone into the tunnel, reflecting off the snow of the mountaintop and striking her eyes painfully. It made her giggle and turn her face into the beams in greeting. After so long in the mines, her body throbbed with joy at being allowed to breathe in the cold breeze and squint in the sun.