Thank you for your wonderful support of my writing. I promise that it will get more exciting as it goes on, but I really could not write much action in Lothlórien. This will be a somewhat shorter chapter. Please continue to read and review.
Chapter 6. Life and Death
Aragorn could hardly believe the scene before his eyes. Legolas was sitting on the ground, weeping, with Aníron lying as if dead in his arms. He and Gimli moved forward to comfort his friend, neither of them able to believe that the Grey Lady was dead. 'Legolas,' Aragorn whispered, 'Let me see her. Please, my friend, I may be able to help her.'
Legolas moved aside as Aragorn came forward, placing Aníron's head in his lap. Legolas could not stand to believe that she was actually gone. His heart was torn apart by grief and tears covered his fair face. He stood next to Aragorn, praying that she was not dead. Gimli came and stood by his side looking down at the lady who he had once called a star. All light had faded from her face now, and there seemed no way that she could be alive.
Aragorn bent down and pressed a finger to the maiden's fair neck, and, to his great surprise, felt a fluttering heartbeat. 'She's alive,' he whispered, unable to keep the wonder out of his voice, 'Alive!' Legolas stopped breathing. Aníron was alive! Surely this was a miracle, for just minutes before she had looked so grey and death-like, lying there in his arms.
Legolas pulled her into a sitting position against the tree to get a better look at her, still unable to believe it. Aragorn's voice pulled him back into reality; 'We must remove the arrow from her Arm.' 'How?' Legolas replied, knowing the answer would not be good. 'The arrow is embedded deep in her arm,' Aragorn answered, 'so the only way to get it out would be to cut off the shaft and push it through her arm.'
Legolas flinched at the mention of this, but he knew it was the only way. 'Plus, as an added bonus, she'll come back into consciousness from the pain,' Gimli said, much to the displeasure of his companions. Legolas pulled out his long white knife and cut off the black-feathered shaft that stuck out of Aníron's arm, just below the shoulder. He held her arm as Aragorn swiftly pushed the arrow through her arm. The scream of pain that followed was enough to waken the dead, but at least Aníron was conscious once more.
Searing pain shot through Aníron's arm as she regained consciousness, and she could not help but scream in agony. 'What did you do to me?' she gasped at them, totally ignoring the relieved looks that the three people surrounding her had on their faces. Before she could say any more, a loud vibrant sound echoed through the woods. 'The Horn of Gondor!' Aragorn cried, 'Boromir is in trouble!' With that he sprang off through the woods, like a deer, in the direction from which the horn had sounded.
Aníron tried to get up to follow him, but Legolas prevented her from moving. Gimli had already drawn his axe and was prepared to run in the direction from which the horn had sounded, but he looked back on Legolas and Aníron, with doubt in his eyes. Legolas knew the reason for his friend's hesitation. 'Go on ahead, Gimli,' he said, 'I will catch up with you as soon as possible.'
Still looking doubtful, Gimli sped off to find Boromir, leaving Aníron and Legolas alone. Blood was seeping out of the wound in her arm and dripping onto Legolas' shoulder. 'You're bleeding!' he exclaimed in shock, and Aníron looked as if she was going to faint again from lack of blood. He quickly tore cloth off of his sleeve and wrapped it around the wound, applying pressure so that the bleeding would slow. Legolas picked Aníron up and started to run quickly towards the area where the horn had sounded from.
They reached Aragorn and Gimli a few minutes later, with Aníron demanding to be set down so that she could walk. At the sight before him, Legolas almost did drop her. Aníron's breath caught in her chest and she forgot to breathe. Leaning propped up against at tree, was Boromir. Many black feathered arrows pierced his body, and Aragorn sat by his side speaking to him in a whisper, but Aníron could hear every word. Boromir was dead.
Legolas set Aníron down on the ground, where she stood, frozen in shock; unable to believe this had happened. Aragorn could hardly breathe. Twice in one day he had found someone propped against a tree, pierced by arrows. He looked up to see Gimli, Legolas, and Aníron standing not far away. Aníron had tears coming down her face, where they mingled with blood and dirt, hiding her fair elven features. Gimli and Legolas were frozen in one place, unable to move or breathe.
After several long minutes, Aragorn spoke. 'We must honor Boromir, for he was great warrior, and we cannot leave him lying among these carrion,' he said. The bodies of many orcs littered the ground, all Boromir's doing Aníron presumed. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli bore Boromir's body down to the shore, where the company had camped, and laid it in one of the remaining boats, for Frodo and Sam had taken a boat and crossed the lake soon before.
The remaining company laid the weapons of his foes at Boromir's feet, and Aragorn placed Boromir's sword on his breast, placing his hands upon the hilt. As the funeral boat was pushed into the water, Aragorn and Legolas began to sing a song of mourning for Boromir. When the song was finished, Aragorn turned to face Aníron, who had been silently standing behind them with her head bowed in respect.
'Why did you follow us?' Aragorn began with building anger, 'The road we are taking is far too dangerous for a woman such as yourself!' Before he could say anything else, an arrow was aimed point-blank at his forehead. Aníron lowered her bow; she had once again allowed her temper to get the better of her. She quickly found a better target, an orc that was running through the forest to catch up with its comrades. Her bow sang, and the orc lay dead, an arrow lodged in its head.
Aragorn looked at her in shock. Not only had she drawn her bow faster than his eyes could see, and threatened to kill him, she had slain an orc that he had not even seen. Gimli looked impressed and Legolas simply smiled, trying to hide a smirk at Aragorn's expression. 'Why do you mind so much now, Lord Aragorn,' Aníron said, 'that I am following you. You did not seem to care when I, along with Haldir, guided your company in Lórien,' she smiled at his and Gimli's expressions of total disbelief.
Aragorn noticed that Legolas was unmoved by her confession, and immediately understood. 'You knew?!' he practically screamed at Legolas, 'You knew a woman was in our company and did nothing about it?' Aníron could see that Legolas' face was turning a pale shade of red, and wanted to end this before Aragorn jumped to conclusions. Suddenly a look of understanding came to Gimli's face, as did a devilish grin.
'So that's how you met her, Legolas,' Gimli began 'I wondered how you could have...' Aníron buried her face in her hands. This was getting out of control and nothing would stop this chaos. Then, Legolas began to speak, and everyone grew quiet. 'Yes, Gimli and Aragorn, I knew that Aníron was a woman when she accompanied us to Caras Galadhon. I met her the night that we first entered Lórien by the banks of the river Nimrodel,' he explained. 'Later that evening I ran into one of the border guards as they rushed to drive the orcs out of Lórien. I recognized her at once, for her hood had fallen back when we collided. I promised to tell her secret to no one, and I kept that promise, until now,' Legolas ended with a sigh.
Gimli looked at him, and then looked at Aníron. They were looking at each other with eyes that shone like stars. He remembered the night that Legolas had brought him to see her and the way they had sung together in the glade. And then he remembered the way that Legolas had looked just that afternoon when they had all thought her dead. Gimli would not believe that these two were just casual acquaintances.
Aragorn too, was having doubts on Legolas and Aníron's relationship. The way that he spoke of her was as less then a friend, but he too remembered Legolas' reaction to her being dead and had second thoughts. 'Very well,' Aragorn said finally, 'Aníron may accompany us, simply because she cannot go back to Lórien.'
Both Aníron and Legolas rejoiced at this, and found it hard to contain their happiness. Aníron walked forward and kissed Aragorn on the cheek saying, 'Thank you lord, I will follow you faithfully and offer my help where it is needed.' She then sat down, slightly embarrassed, next to Legolas.
'Alright then,' Aragorn said, slightly shocked by Aníron's reaction to his allowing her to stay, 'Let's move out. Merry and Pippin are in the hands of the orcs and we must not rest until we find them.' Aragorn took off running, followed closely by Gimli, with Legolas and Aníron running side-by-side behind him.