Disclaimer: See last chapter.
A/N: Oh joy, oh rapture, 120 reviews! Yayaya! Keep them coming peeps, I love reading them all! Reviews are good and nutritious.
Wow, I never knew that I would get to 18 chapters – initially I planned for only 20, but to tell the truth I'm nowhere near finished with this story – so everyone can breathe. There's still a long way to go, cause I'm gonna take this story all the way up to Shelob and maybe further…!
And for those who haven't read the book [go and do so now], there are some spoilers ahead. In fact there were some spoilers in the last couple of chapters, especially concerning the gift-giving thing. And hooray for me, I've finished reading "The Two Towers" – poor ickle Frodo!
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An hour flew by, although to the Fellowship the scenery still remained the same, and it seemed that barely any time had passed at all. Lush forests still surrounded both banks, but Aragorn knew that soon they would come to the wastelands and there they would have to make a decision – to carry on to Mordor, or to go to Gondor instead.
Gimli was feeling a little sad that he had to leave Lothlorien, for he had enjoyed the serenity there that he had not experienced elsewhere. But he felt glad that he had asked for the most unique gift of all – a lock of Galadriel's hair. Gimli reached inside the folds of his cloak to extract the lock of hair.
A shriek of dismay cut through the air. The boats stopped and drifted, as the rowers stopped in surprise. Gimli was shrieking and sobbing.
"The hair, the hair! My precious lock of golden hair!" cried Gimli.
"My hair?" asked Legolas, clutching his golden locks defensively.
"No, no, not yours! Although your hair is very nice too." Gimli paused for breath. "The lock of hair that Galadriel gave to me is gone! Gone I tell you, gone!"
"Can we say… obsessive?" muttered Boromir under his breath.
"Do you know where you last saw it?" asked Aragorn.
"Yes, yes, I put it into my cloak just before we got into the boat." Gimli pondered for a moment.
"Maybe it fell out of your cloak," suggested Sam.
Gimli gave another shriek and began to search the boat, shaking the vessel violently to and fro.
The rest of the Fellowship twiddled their thumbs and waited.
After several moments, Gimli had finished his search. Legolas breathed a sigh of relief – he was beginning to feel a little sick.
"Well?" asked Aragorn.
"It's not in here," said Gimli, pouting like a little child who has been deprived of some candy.
Boromir gave an exasperated sigh.
"Then where is it?" Boromir said, lifting his eyes to the sky.
"I must have dropped it in Lothlorien!" shrieked Gimli. "We must turn back!"
"No, we shall lose precious time if we do," said Aragorn.
"Fine, then I'll go back myself," said Gimli, and picked up a paddle and began to turn the boat around.
"We cannot split up," said Frodo, speaking at last. "If Gimli is to go back, then we all must go back and search for the lock of hair."
Frodo spoke no more as the Fellowship turned their boats around, and he lapsed into a deep silence. Aragorn knew that looking for the lock of hair was not the only reason Frodo wanted to go back.
The Fellowship turned round a bend and Lothlorien came into view. The shore was deserted, as the elves had returned to their homes, but a lone figure was sitting cross-legged on the shore in a bored fashion.
Frodo's heart leapt when he saw her.
"Hello Casey!" cried Merry, standing up and waving madly, while the boat nearly tipped over.
"What took you so long to come back?" asked Casey, standing up and arranging her dress.
"I lost my lock of hair!" cried Gimli, as Legolas paddled closer to the shore.
Gimli leapt out of the boat and began to crawl about on his hands and knees. Legolas blushed when he saw Casey, but she was looking at Merry and Pippin with a questioning look.
After watching Gimli crawling around for a while, Pippin finally cleared his throat.
"Gimli," he said.
"What?" asked Gimli, not looking up.
"You can stop searching now," said Casey with a mischievous smile.
"Hm?" asked Gimli, finally halting.
Merry reached inside his cloak and brought out Gimli's precious lock of hair.
"Thief!" cried Gimli, bounding over and snatching it away from Merry.
"Well we only took it so we could come back for Casey," said Pippin quite simply.
The three troublemakers began to look nervous as Aragorn stood before them.
"No. Casey cannot come with us."
Casey looked up at Aragorn.
"I know why I'm not allowed to come, but I'm still coming anyway," she replied defiantly.
Aragorn wavered slightly, while a smile began to form at Legolas' lips.
"No Casey, I dare not go against Galadriel's word."
"Please?" asked Casey.
"No."
"Pretty please?"
"No."
"Please?" asked Merry and Pippin, looking up at Aragorn adoringly.
"Er, let the ringbearer decide."
Frodo looked up from his conversation with Sam.
"Why me?" asked Frodo.
"Well, she is your angel," replied Pippin.
"I'm not an angel, I'm an elf," said Casey, pointing to her ears.
"You're not as tall as Legolas," pointed out Merry.
Legolas laughed at this remark.
"Well Frodo?" asked Aragorn.
Frodo frowned. Casey began to think that maybe he didn't want her to come along. Maybe he was perfectly happy to let her stay in Lothlorien, and marry Legolas. The silence almost became unbearable, as each member of the Fellowship began to grow uncomfortable.
"Very well," Frodo said at last.
"Yes!" said Casey, jumping into the air. She ran over to Frodo and hugged him tightly.
"Come then," said Aragorn, after they had reluctantly pulled apart, "Let us be on our way."
They climbed into their boats, with Aragorn, Sam and Frodo in one, Boromir, Merry and Pippin in another and Legolas, Casey and Gimli in the last. They rowed away from Lothlorien.
"My Lady?" a beautiful elf maiden appeared at the door of one of Galadriel's chambers. Galadriel put down her hairbrush and turned to face the maiden, still seated.
"What is it, Lonneke?" she asked.
"Casey is not in her room," the maiden replied.
Galadriel remained solemn for a moment, and then stood up. She walked to the balcony and laid her elbows on the railing. Her eyes scanned the view that lay before her, searching for the angel-elf.
"Where was she last seen?" asked Galadriel. The maiden came to stand beside her.
"She was last seen by the shore, but she was too late as the Fellowship had already set out."
"How did she get out of her room?" Galadriel asked.
"She climbed down from her balcony using the vines." The maiden pointed to a neighbouring balcony, which had vines twisting all around it, serving as a ladder to Casey.
"So," Galadriel said softly to herself, "she has gone, fallen out of my help. She will have to choose her own path from here onwards." She turned to the maiden. "You may go now, Lonneke."
The maiden bowed, and left the room to join the rest of her friends, lamenting over the departure of the handsome Legolas.
Galadriel returned inside her chamber, and slipped outside. She walked down the corridor and stood before the room that Casey had been imprisoned in. She opened the door and looked around. There, lying on the table, was the necklace that Galadriel had given her, so long ago in Rivendell. A tear fell from Galadriel's eye, and hit the floor, as she fingered the necklace, the only memory left of Casey in Lothlorien. Galadriel wondered if she would ever see the angel-elf again – she had a feeling that she wouldn't.
"Where will you go now?" she murmured as she picked up the necklace. "To Gondor with Legolas or to Mordor with Frodo?"
Night fell on Middle-Earth. The first day of their journey on the Great River had come to an end. The Fellowship were weary, and rowed their boats towards the western shore and prepared to make camp for the night.
Gimli had prepared a small fire, to warm them. They sat around the fire, talking quietly. Aragorn, Gimli and Boromir were still arguing about which route to take, Legolas had slipped off to sit by himself near the boats and the water, Sam was wondering about the "log" he had seen in the river following them and Merry and Pippin were eating. Casey and Frodo sat talking, with Merry or Pippin, or both of them joining in occasionally.
"Tell me about the world you come from," asked Frodo.
"Well, I can barely remember it." Casey frowned. "But I wasn't really happy there. I don't know why, but I felt that life was so boring and dull, and nothing ever happened. Sometimes I think that I'll just wake up now and all this will be a dream."
"A dream? More like a nightmare," murmured Frodo, grinning. Impulsively, Casey laid her head on the hobbit's shoulder, and closed her eyes. The sound of Frodo's soft breathing filled her ears, and overwhelmed her.
Legolas returned, to find the Fellowship asleep, save Aragorn. He looked at the Ranger, who raised an eyebrow at his disappearance but said nothing. Legolas lay down to sleep, between Boromir and Gimli, noting that Casey was sleeping in between Frodo and Merry.
Legolas closed his eyes to welcome sleep, but it never came. His mind was in turmoil. He was glad that Casey was with them, for he knew that he would have missed her. But he also wished that Casey had stayed behind in Lothlorien, away from danger and away from Frodo.
A/N: Oh joy, oh rapture, 120 reviews! Yayaya! Keep them coming peeps, I love reading them all! Reviews are good and nutritious.
Wow, I never knew that I would get to 18 chapters – initially I planned for only 20, but to tell the truth I'm nowhere near finished with this story – so everyone can breathe. There's still a long way to go, cause I'm gonna take this story all the way up to Shelob and maybe further…!
And for those who haven't read the book [go and do so now], there are some spoilers ahead. In fact there were some spoilers in the last couple of chapters, especially concerning the gift-giving thing. And hooray for me, I've finished reading "The Two Towers" – poor ickle Frodo!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An hour flew by, although to the Fellowship the scenery still remained the same, and it seemed that barely any time had passed at all. Lush forests still surrounded both banks, but Aragorn knew that soon they would come to the wastelands and there they would have to make a decision – to carry on to Mordor, or to go to Gondor instead.
Gimli was feeling a little sad that he had to leave Lothlorien, for he had enjoyed the serenity there that he had not experienced elsewhere. But he felt glad that he had asked for the most unique gift of all – a lock of Galadriel's hair. Gimli reached inside the folds of his cloak to extract the lock of hair.
A shriek of dismay cut through the air. The boats stopped and drifted, as the rowers stopped in surprise. Gimli was shrieking and sobbing.
"The hair, the hair! My precious lock of golden hair!" cried Gimli.
"My hair?" asked Legolas, clutching his golden locks defensively.
"No, no, not yours! Although your hair is very nice too." Gimli paused for breath. "The lock of hair that Galadriel gave to me is gone! Gone I tell you, gone!"
"Can we say… obsessive?" muttered Boromir under his breath.
"Do you know where you last saw it?" asked Aragorn.
"Yes, yes, I put it into my cloak just before we got into the boat." Gimli pondered for a moment.
"Maybe it fell out of your cloak," suggested Sam.
Gimli gave another shriek and began to search the boat, shaking the vessel violently to and fro.
The rest of the Fellowship twiddled their thumbs and waited.
After several moments, Gimli had finished his search. Legolas breathed a sigh of relief – he was beginning to feel a little sick.
"Well?" asked Aragorn.
"It's not in here," said Gimli, pouting like a little child who has been deprived of some candy.
Boromir gave an exasperated sigh.
"Then where is it?" Boromir said, lifting his eyes to the sky.
"I must have dropped it in Lothlorien!" shrieked Gimli. "We must turn back!"
"No, we shall lose precious time if we do," said Aragorn.
"Fine, then I'll go back myself," said Gimli, and picked up a paddle and began to turn the boat around.
"We cannot split up," said Frodo, speaking at last. "If Gimli is to go back, then we all must go back and search for the lock of hair."
Frodo spoke no more as the Fellowship turned their boats around, and he lapsed into a deep silence. Aragorn knew that looking for the lock of hair was not the only reason Frodo wanted to go back.
The Fellowship turned round a bend and Lothlorien came into view. The shore was deserted, as the elves had returned to their homes, but a lone figure was sitting cross-legged on the shore in a bored fashion.
Frodo's heart leapt when he saw her.
"Hello Casey!" cried Merry, standing up and waving madly, while the boat nearly tipped over.
"What took you so long to come back?" asked Casey, standing up and arranging her dress.
"I lost my lock of hair!" cried Gimli, as Legolas paddled closer to the shore.
Gimli leapt out of the boat and began to crawl about on his hands and knees. Legolas blushed when he saw Casey, but she was looking at Merry and Pippin with a questioning look.
After watching Gimli crawling around for a while, Pippin finally cleared his throat.
"Gimli," he said.
"What?" asked Gimli, not looking up.
"You can stop searching now," said Casey with a mischievous smile.
"Hm?" asked Gimli, finally halting.
Merry reached inside his cloak and brought out Gimli's precious lock of hair.
"Thief!" cried Gimli, bounding over and snatching it away from Merry.
"Well we only took it so we could come back for Casey," said Pippin quite simply.
The three troublemakers began to look nervous as Aragorn stood before them.
"No. Casey cannot come with us."
Casey looked up at Aragorn.
"I know why I'm not allowed to come, but I'm still coming anyway," she replied defiantly.
Aragorn wavered slightly, while a smile began to form at Legolas' lips.
"No Casey, I dare not go against Galadriel's word."
"Please?" asked Casey.
"No."
"Pretty please?"
"No."
"Please?" asked Merry and Pippin, looking up at Aragorn adoringly.
"Er, let the ringbearer decide."
Frodo looked up from his conversation with Sam.
"Why me?" asked Frodo.
"Well, she is your angel," replied Pippin.
"I'm not an angel, I'm an elf," said Casey, pointing to her ears.
"You're not as tall as Legolas," pointed out Merry.
Legolas laughed at this remark.
"Well Frodo?" asked Aragorn.
Frodo frowned. Casey began to think that maybe he didn't want her to come along. Maybe he was perfectly happy to let her stay in Lothlorien, and marry Legolas. The silence almost became unbearable, as each member of the Fellowship began to grow uncomfortable.
"Very well," Frodo said at last.
"Yes!" said Casey, jumping into the air. She ran over to Frodo and hugged him tightly.
"Come then," said Aragorn, after they had reluctantly pulled apart, "Let us be on our way."
They climbed into their boats, with Aragorn, Sam and Frodo in one, Boromir, Merry and Pippin in another and Legolas, Casey and Gimli in the last. They rowed away from Lothlorien.
"My Lady?" a beautiful elf maiden appeared at the door of one of Galadriel's chambers. Galadriel put down her hairbrush and turned to face the maiden, still seated.
"What is it, Lonneke?" she asked.
"Casey is not in her room," the maiden replied.
Galadriel remained solemn for a moment, and then stood up. She walked to the balcony and laid her elbows on the railing. Her eyes scanned the view that lay before her, searching for the angel-elf.
"Where was she last seen?" asked Galadriel. The maiden came to stand beside her.
"She was last seen by the shore, but she was too late as the Fellowship had already set out."
"How did she get out of her room?" Galadriel asked.
"She climbed down from her balcony using the vines." The maiden pointed to a neighbouring balcony, which had vines twisting all around it, serving as a ladder to Casey.
"So," Galadriel said softly to herself, "she has gone, fallen out of my help. She will have to choose her own path from here onwards." She turned to the maiden. "You may go now, Lonneke."
The maiden bowed, and left the room to join the rest of her friends, lamenting over the departure of the handsome Legolas.
Galadriel returned inside her chamber, and slipped outside. She walked down the corridor and stood before the room that Casey had been imprisoned in. She opened the door and looked around. There, lying on the table, was the necklace that Galadriel had given her, so long ago in Rivendell. A tear fell from Galadriel's eye, and hit the floor, as she fingered the necklace, the only memory left of Casey in Lothlorien. Galadriel wondered if she would ever see the angel-elf again – she had a feeling that she wouldn't.
"Where will you go now?" she murmured as she picked up the necklace. "To Gondor with Legolas or to Mordor with Frodo?"
Night fell on Middle-Earth. The first day of their journey on the Great River had come to an end. The Fellowship were weary, and rowed their boats towards the western shore and prepared to make camp for the night.
Gimli had prepared a small fire, to warm them. They sat around the fire, talking quietly. Aragorn, Gimli and Boromir were still arguing about which route to take, Legolas had slipped off to sit by himself near the boats and the water, Sam was wondering about the "log" he had seen in the river following them and Merry and Pippin were eating. Casey and Frodo sat talking, with Merry or Pippin, or both of them joining in occasionally.
"Tell me about the world you come from," asked Frodo.
"Well, I can barely remember it." Casey frowned. "But I wasn't really happy there. I don't know why, but I felt that life was so boring and dull, and nothing ever happened. Sometimes I think that I'll just wake up now and all this will be a dream."
"A dream? More like a nightmare," murmured Frodo, grinning. Impulsively, Casey laid her head on the hobbit's shoulder, and closed her eyes. The sound of Frodo's soft breathing filled her ears, and overwhelmed her.
Legolas returned, to find the Fellowship asleep, save Aragorn. He looked at the Ranger, who raised an eyebrow at his disappearance but said nothing. Legolas lay down to sleep, between Boromir and Gimli, noting that Casey was sleeping in between Frodo and Merry.
Legolas closed his eyes to welcome sleep, but it never came. His mind was in turmoil. He was glad that Casey was with them, for he knew that he would have missed her. But he also wished that Casey had stayed behind in Lothlorien, away from danger and away from Frodo.