Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings just my own characters.
The Ring of Stars by Shelly
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Dairuin invited them to stay the night in the city, apologizing for the lack of proper accomodations as they would have to sleep on the ground once more, and in the morning they would set out northward for Imladris as he would be coming along with them. They complained little though as the ground had been their bed for most of their journey so far.
But soon Lillisandra and Boromir were woken up as they felt hands shaking them awake. They looked up questioningly at Dairuin. "What's going on?" Boromir asked.
"An army of orcs and goblins are heading this way from Moria," he answered quickly.
"Moria?" they both asked, jumping to their feet.
"Long ago the elves of this city and the dwarves of Moria were close friends. A road was built between both places as a sign of their friendship, and that's where the enemy is coming from. The trembling of the earth beneath them has given them away as they are marching fast."
Boromir hurried to gather their things. "Any plans?" Lillisandra asked Dairuin.
"We can do one of two things," he replied. "We can either make a stand here and pick them off one by one or make a run for it and hope that they are far enough away for us to gain some distance on them. They cannot enter the ruins for they are still protected by me, but there is not enough food to last us very long. You could get a head start by yourself and let the rest of us follow behind and distract them from your trail."
"Absolutely not!" Boromir protested. "She can't adequately defend herself with her injury. If she goes, I go with her."
"Her horse will travel faster with just her," he countered. "It is important that she get to Imladris as soon as possible. If we let the orcs and goblins numbers build, we'll never be able to leave."
Boromir still looked as if he didn't quite agree, and she took him aside to speak with him. "Boromir, riding on Lanthir by myself he can all but fly if I ask him to. I'll probably get enough distance on them so that they won't even see me."
"Your life's too important to risk on a 'probably'," he argued. "But I don't have any other plans of my own either." He cursed at the turn of events. "You ride hard and don't look back," he commanded her.
She nodded. "I'll be waiting for you when you come to Imladris. Please be careful," she added as they shared a quick embrace and kiss, reluctant to leave each other. She mounted Lanthir with Aldarion's assistance, and she said farewell to the brothers and Dairuin before looking back at Boromir, his eyes on her also. Then she turned and rode off through the ruins, speaking into Lanthir's ear to spur him into a faster gallop that only elven horses have.
The countryside passed by her in a blur as she sped north, Lanthir's muscles stretching beneath her from his ground-devouring strides. She rode through the day and into the next night without looking back and the next morning she approached the Hollin Ridge that lay roughly halfway between Ost-in-Edhil and Imladris, or, as Dairuin had called it once, Rivendell.
As soon as she passed the Ridge though, she became aware of movement at the corner of her eye, and gasped in dismay as she saw a small party of orcs descending down the hill towards her. She felt Lanthir's sides heaving underneath her and knew that he was tiring from the pace they had traveled to get here, but hoped that he could hold on long enough for them to outrun the orcs chasing them. But her hopes were in vain as the mighty horse collapsed to the ground, throwing her off onto the ground. She managed to break her fall by rolling and landed on her feet just as the orcs came into view.
Resigning herself to fighting as she knew she couldn't outrun them, she stripped off the sling that bound her arm to her side and winced as she felt some pain shoot through her arm. She took out her bow and quickly strung it, thankful that the orcs were still far enough away to allow her the time to do so. She nocked an arrow to the string and pulled back just as the first orc reached her, and she buried an arrow right between his eyes. Moving out to see how many more there were, she sank two more arrows into two more orcs, ignoring the burning pain in her shoulder as she fought to stay alive.
Four more orcs charged towards her, and she felled them with her arrows, looking around to see if there were any more left. Not seeing any, she came to Lanthir's side and knelt down beside him, seeing the lather covering him and feeling guilty for pushing him so hard. Then she saw an arrow fly into his neck and heard his scream which echoed her own as she spun around just in time for another arrow to bury itself in her injured shoulder. She cried out in pain and brought up her own bow, ignoring the fire that burned through her shoulder and arm as she drew back an arrow and let it fly into the last orc's chest.
Breathing heavily, she reached up and yanked the arrow out of her shoulder, screaming as she did so from the pain and fighting against the dizziness that threatened to consume her. She removed the chain around her neck and slipped the ring on her finger. "Come on, be good for something now at least," she whispered. The emerald flared with a faint glitter, and she felt the dizziness recede somewhat as well as the pain in her shoulder, enabling her to rise to her feet. "Thank you," she replied then started walking the rest of the way towards Rivendell, hoping that she would be seeing Boromir and the others soon.
****************
The end! I hope you all have enjoyed this fic. I enjoyed writing it. And, of course, this has a sequel as she still had a lot left to do. Plus, there's a certain elf she meets when she arrives at Rivendell, as well as meeting old friends and making new ones. Please review and let me know if you all would like it posted. Thanks for reading and for all those who reviewed!
The Ring of Stars by Shelly
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Dairuin invited them to stay the night in the city, apologizing for the lack of proper accomodations as they would have to sleep on the ground once more, and in the morning they would set out northward for Imladris as he would be coming along with them. They complained little though as the ground had been their bed for most of their journey so far.
But soon Lillisandra and Boromir were woken up as they felt hands shaking them awake. They looked up questioningly at Dairuin. "What's going on?" Boromir asked.
"An army of orcs and goblins are heading this way from Moria," he answered quickly.
"Moria?" they both asked, jumping to their feet.
"Long ago the elves of this city and the dwarves of Moria were close friends. A road was built between both places as a sign of their friendship, and that's where the enemy is coming from. The trembling of the earth beneath them has given them away as they are marching fast."
Boromir hurried to gather their things. "Any plans?" Lillisandra asked Dairuin.
"We can do one of two things," he replied. "We can either make a stand here and pick them off one by one or make a run for it and hope that they are far enough away for us to gain some distance on them. They cannot enter the ruins for they are still protected by me, but there is not enough food to last us very long. You could get a head start by yourself and let the rest of us follow behind and distract them from your trail."
"Absolutely not!" Boromir protested. "She can't adequately defend herself with her injury. If she goes, I go with her."
"Her horse will travel faster with just her," he countered. "It is important that she get to Imladris as soon as possible. If we let the orcs and goblins numbers build, we'll never be able to leave."
Boromir still looked as if he didn't quite agree, and she took him aside to speak with him. "Boromir, riding on Lanthir by myself he can all but fly if I ask him to. I'll probably get enough distance on them so that they won't even see me."
"Your life's too important to risk on a 'probably'," he argued. "But I don't have any other plans of my own either." He cursed at the turn of events. "You ride hard and don't look back," he commanded her.
She nodded. "I'll be waiting for you when you come to Imladris. Please be careful," she added as they shared a quick embrace and kiss, reluctant to leave each other. She mounted Lanthir with Aldarion's assistance, and she said farewell to the brothers and Dairuin before looking back at Boromir, his eyes on her also. Then she turned and rode off through the ruins, speaking into Lanthir's ear to spur him into a faster gallop that only elven horses have.
The countryside passed by her in a blur as she sped north, Lanthir's muscles stretching beneath her from his ground-devouring strides. She rode through the day and into the next night without looking back and the next morning she approached the Hollin Ridge that lay roughly halfway between Ost-in-Edhil and Imladris, or, as Dairuin had called it once, Rivendell.
As soon as she passed the Ridge though, she became aware of movement at the corner of her eye, and gasped in dismay as she saw a small party of orcs descending down the hill towards her. She felt Lanthir's sides heaving underneath her and knew that he was tiring from the pace they had traveled to get here, but hoped that he could hold on long enough for them to outrun the orcs chasing them. But her hopes were in vain as the mighty horse collapsed to the ground, throwing her off onto the ground. She managed to break her fall by rolling and landed on her feet just as the orcs came into view.
Resigning herself to fighting as she knew she couldn't outrun them, she stripped off the sling that bound her arm to her side and winced as she felt some pain shoot through her arm. She took out her bow and quickly strung it, thankful that the orcs were still far enough away to allow her the time to do so. She nocked an arrow to the string and pulled back just as the first orc reached her, and she buried an arrow right between his eyes. Moving out to see how many more there were, she sank two more arrows into two more orcs, ignoring the burning pain in her shoulder as she fought to stay alive.
Four more orcs charged towards her, and she felled them with her arrows, looking around to see if there were any more left. Not seeing any, she came to Lanthir's side and knelt down beside him, seeing the lather covering him and feeling guilty for pushing him so hard. Then she saw an arrow fly into his neck and heard his scream which echoed her own as she spun around just in time for another arrow to bury itself in her injured shoulder. She cried out in pain and brought up her own bow, ignoring the fire that burned through her shoulder and arm as she drew back an arrow and let it fly into the last orc's chest.
Breathing heavily, she reached up and yanked the arrow out of her shoulder, screaming as she did so from the pain and fighting against the dizziness that threatened to consume her. She removed the chain around her neck and slipped the ring on her finger. "Come on, be good for something now at least," she whispered. The emerald flared with a faint glitter, and she felt the dizziness recede somewhat as well as the pain in her shoulder, enabling her to rise to her feet. "Thank you," she replied then started walking the rest of the way towards Rivendell, hoping that she would be seeing Boromir and the others soon.
****************
The end! I hope you all have enjoyed this fic. I enjoyed writing it. And, of course, this has a sequel as she still had a lot left to do. Plus, there's a certain elf she meets when she arrives at Rivendell, as well as meeting old friends and making new ones. Please review and let me know if you all would like it posted. Thanks for reading and for all those who reviewed!
