Savina dipped one foot into the river and snatched it back immediately, it was freezing! She took a deep breath and stepped into the river, she had to hurry, Aragorn was already on the other side. She squealed and hurried across.
Aragorn looked at her with a small smile on his face, "cold?"
"Freezing!" She corrected as she dried off of her feet and pushed them into her soft leather boots, still shivering.
Legolas and Gimli reached the shore, dried of their feet, and put on their boots.
Aragorn stood up from the stump he was sitting on, "we're going through Stonewain Valley, we won't make it through the valley tonight, but maybe we can make it to a tavern before it's dark."
Savina thought a tavern was a splendid idea, sleeping on the ground wasn't horrible, but it would be nice to be indoors with hot food. She stood up and followed Aragorn.
They walked until almost seven that evening, silently, as Aragorn seemed to prefer. The path they took was a little narrower than the previous one, and clouds obscured the sun, making it look like evening almost all day. The air smelled like rain and soil and trees. It wasn't a bad walk, Savina had to admit, as long as it was, it was beautiful.
They stopped so suddenly that Savina nearly ran into Aragorn.
She started to ask Aragorn why they had stopped, but Legolas tapped her back to silence her. Savina turned and looked at him questioningly, but he just shook his head and put his finger to his lips.
Abruptly, Aragorn grabbed her by her cloak and pulled her sideways off of the path, into a tangle of thick bushes.
She lay still and listened.
Beside her, Aragorn was laying on his stomach, peering out onto the path.
Legolas had pushed Gimli into the bushes and crouched down near him, his eyes narrowed.
Silence.
Savina's leg began to tingle unpleasantly, what a time for her leg to fall asleep. She started to change position, but Legolas grabbed her arm tightly and shook his head at her.
Silence.
It was an eerie silence, Gimli was breathing so quietly he must have been holding his breath.
Suddenly a sharp pain stabbed into Savina's forehead, she closed her eyes, this time she was going to fight it. She tried to concentrate, to focus on something that would tie her to herself and the fact that she was sitting in the bushes somewhere in Stonewain Valley. She didn't want to hear the screeching or her father's voice. She didn't want to see him tortured. She didn't want a wave of feelings that weren't hers to wash over her and make her say things she didn't mean and would never even think of.
She drew in a deep breath, frantically searching for something to think about.
His hand.
Savina became aware of the warmth on her arm and realized Legolas hadn't moved his hand away, he was still gripping her arm tightly.
Her head was throbbing with pain, the screeching sound exploded in her head.
She was going to fight it, she had to fight it, she couldn't pass out, couldn't let it take control of her, couldn't let it…
The screeching sound was becoming steadily quieter.
Legolas is holding my arm, keeping me here where I belong. I am Savina. He is Legolas; I can feel his hand on my arm. He is here, he's holding me here, you can't take me…
The pain was gone.
Savina breathed a silent sigh of relief. She couldn't believe he had actually fought it. She hadn't heard her father, hadn't seen anything, she couldn't feel rage coursing through her body. She had won the battle. Her happiness dampened a little, winning the battle didn't mean she would win the war.
Suddenly a new sound filled her ears.
Footsteps, many of them, echoing loudly on the path.
She couldn't see through the bushes but she could hear harsh voices talking in another language, she paused, it was Goblin. Her eyes narrowed, she only knew a little Goblin, but she could decipher the words, "girl" and "lost".
Savina turned her head to look at Legolas, startled to see that he was watching her intently, his face thoughtful.
The Goblin footsteps and voices faded into the distance.
Aragorn waited for a moment more, then climbed out of the bushes and turned to help Savina up.
Savina took his hand and asked quietly, "did you understand them?"
Aragorn suddenly looked a tired, "yes."
Legolas slipped silently out of the bushes, "what were they talking about?"
Behind them, Gimli was trying to untangle himself, swearing under his breath.
Aragorn looked down the way they had gone, "they're looking for us."
Legolas shrugged and turned to help Gimli out of the bush.
Savina looked at Aragorn, "all of us?"
Aragorn studied her, "we stand as one, what happens to one, happens to all."
Feeling tears in her eyes, Savina turned and quickly brushed them away, pretending to be fixing her pack.
Legolas pulled Gimli out of the bush and brushed him off, picking a twig out of his beard and dusting dirt off of his elbow, "oh, shut up, you're fine."
Aragorn glanced at them, "we should reach a tavern soon, we're stopping for the night."
Legolas hesitated, "are you sure that is wise?"
"No," Aragorn half-smiled, "but I think we can take a few Goblins if we need to, don't you?"
A thin smile stretched across Legolas' face, he chuckled, "quite."