Aragorn opened his eyes and sighed, remembering immediately that he was lying wrapped in his blanket on the dry, cracked ground less than fifty miles from The Dark Tower. He sat up and stretched, rubbing at a kink in his neck. His sharp eyes roved over his traveling companions, making sure they were each in their proper place and safe from harm…well, as safe as they could be under such circumstances.
Legolas was lying on his stomach in his blanket, his hand near his bow, his usually calm face plagued by the troubles that never left him alone, even in sleep.
Gimli was snoring softly, for a change, his hand wrapped tightly around the handle of his battle-axe.
Aragorn's heart gave a lurch at the sight of the empty space next to Gimli…he had half expected to see Tas' small body curled up under his green blanket, perhaps with his long brown ponytail sticking out the top…but there was only dry, cracked mud.
Looking back at the mountains, Aragorn bowed his head at the memory of the brave little Kender. He hadn't known many Kender in his lifetime, and he'd always thought of them as pesky little thieves with no sense of wrong or right. Thinking of Tasselhoff Burrfoot, Aragorn decided maybe he wouldn't mind knowing a few more Kender.
It still seemed so ironic to Aragorn that Gandalf appeared the very moment they needed him. He was thankful for the coincidence, but it was odd. Aragorn regretted that he hadn't had time to talk to his old friend, the spell he'd performed to open the door to limbo had cost him all of his strength and he hadn't been up to talking.
"Are we leaving soon?"
Aragorn turned, startled, to see that Savina was sitting up, staring at him with her black eyes. He stared at her for a moment, concerned at the appearance of dark smudges beneath her eyes and the hollow look in her eyes. He wondered what was going on inside of her, he wondered what was awaiting them at The Dark Tower, he wondered why he'd even allowed her to join them on their quest. It completely was against his better judgment. What had he been thinking to let a mere slip of a girl with wide eyes and no experience in battle join them on their walk of death to Mordor? Had he been thinking at all?
He noticed Legolas stirring and shook himself, "yes," he said shortly, "we will leave in about an hour."
Legolas sat up and looked at Aragorn, then at Savina. His eyes lingered on Savina. Then he looked back at Aragorn, "an hour?'
Aragorn nodded and started rolling up his blanket, "we don't have time for a hot breakfast and I don't want to light a fire that would attract any," he glanced in the general direction of The Dark Tower, "attention."
Legolas nodded and turned to wake Gimli, who snorted loudly when Legolas poked him in the arm.
Savina raked her hand through her hair and started rolling up her blanket. She stowed it in her pack and sat down on the hard ground, her face turned toward the southwest and a strange look on her face…a faraway look, as if she were listening intently to something only she could hear.
Aragorn squatted down next to her and stared in the direction she was looking, trying to find what she was looking at, "what are you looking at?" he asked quietly.
She didn't answer him, and for a moment Aragorn thought she might not have heard, then she turned her head slowly to look at him, a strange, tight smile on her face, "I think I've been here before."
Aragorn didn't know what to say, so he said nothing at all. He gazed at her for a moment, then stood up and walked back to where his pack was sitting. He pulled a bit of dried fruit out of his pack, sat down, and began to eat. His throat constricted painfully and the dried apple in his mouth tasted like ash. He forced himself to swallow though, he had a hunch he was going to need his strength.
Savina stared at the mountains southwest of them. She couldn't explain why, but she felt as if she had been to this very spot before. Something inside her told her all of her silent questions would be answered if only she could get to those mountains. She knew of those mountains, just beyond them was the homeland of her father; maybe…she had a wild, fleeting hope that maybe her father was just beyond those mountains. The thought drove her insane. Suddenly she stood up and began walking toward the mountains, not even bothering to pick up her pack.
Legolas got quickly to his feet and stared after her, "where are you going?" he asked her in Elven. When she didn't answer, he hurried after her and touched her arm, "Savina-"
She turned abruptly at the sound of her name and stared at him, her eyes wild and a look on her face as if she didn't recognize him. "Legolas?" she said in an uncertain, trembling voice. Then her face cleared and she blinked, as if just waking up. "I…I was just…" she trailed off and glanced back at the mountains, then turned and started to walk quickly back toward Aragorn.
Legolas stepped in front of her and looked over her head at the mountains, "what do you see when you look at those mountains?"
Savina glanced over her shoulder, "mountains," she said simply, then tipped her head back to look at him.
He looked down at her, his breath catching in his throat. There was something different about her, something in her eyes. He raised his hand to touch her face, the face he loved, but something about the hollow look in her eyes made his hand stop in midair and drop back to his side.
Reaching out, Savina took his hand gently and squeezed it, a look of tenderness flickering in her hollow eyes. She looked into his eyes and held his gaze silently for a moment, then dropped his hand and walked past him, head bowed.
Legolas watched her, realizing Aragorn was right about her not being a little girl anymore. He glanced across the broad plain at The Dark Tower, realizing with a jolt that Savina's eyes frightened him more than The Dark Tower.
Aragorn glanced around, realizing everyone was just sort of standing around, waiting to leave. He stood up, "are you all ready to go?"
The companions picked up their packs and silently made their way single file after Aragorn, the broad plain of Mordor stretched out before them.