"Let us take a rest here."
Legolas halted when he heard Gandalf's call from the front, and smiled when he heard cheers from Merry and Pippin. This journey must be terribly hard on them, he thought as he climbed onto a nearby boulder, and stood on it to look at the surrounding area. His Elvish eyes allowed him to see a distance far beyond that of mortals, so it made perfect sense that he would be the first to look around. Finding nothing nearby that seemed like a potential threat, he turned to Gandalf, and nodded.
He watched as the Company took up their usual positions around the fire that was being started by Sam. It had been thirteen days since he had last seen the glow of a fire, and it was a welcome thing for him.
Presently, Camille came up towards him, and he smiled. He knew already what she wanted to say even before she had even said it. He moved a little bit to give her room, and she sat beside him, her shoulder pressed a bit against his back. He glanced at her. "Are you tired?"
Camille sighed, and nodded. "A bit, yeah. But nothing I can't handle." Her gaze drifted over to where Frodo was sitting with Gandalf and Sam, and said, "Though I really pity Frodo. He's obviously going through a lot of emotional trouble right now. Sometimes, I wonder why a guy as innocent as he is has to end up with such a heavy burden like taking the One Ring to Mordor. Though I admit that was pretty gutsy of him to offer like that, still…"
"I understand what you are trying to say," Legolas said quietly. "It is always the most innocent who suffer during times of chaos."
"Yeah." She grinned slightly as she looked at him. "The world's pretty sick when it does that, don't you think?"
Legolas nodded in response, unable to find the words to say to her. He was drawn again to her eyes, drowning again in her beauty…
CLANG CLINK CLANG!!!!
He turned back to the others, and witnessed a charming sight. Boromir was trying to teach the Hobbits how to fight with their swords. It was rather amusing, watching these short Halflings take on Boromir and his long sword, especially if one considered the fact that Boromir was twice as tall as they…
During a pause in the mock-fight, Eli smirked, and called to her friend. "Hey Camille, want to show these guys how to use a sword?"
A glint of mischief flashed in Camille's eyes. "Is that a challenge, Eli?"
Eli slowly got up, and walked to the space where Boromir and the Hobbits had been practicing. She lifted up her scabbard, and held it up in front of her face, the silver dragon shining in the warm sun. "What does it look like?"
Camille smirked, and slid down from her seat beside Legolas. She walked over to where Eli was, standing a good distance away from her. Her smile as she looked at her friend was strange and seemed rather unfriendly. "You dare to challenge me, the Golden Phoenix? You dare to test my skills? Know whom you challenge. I am Jin Feng, last daughter of the Clan of the Phoenix, master of the Kodachi Nitou Ryuu. I shall not yield."
Eli smirked as well. "You dare to mock me, the White Dragon? I know whom I challenge, and I shall dare to test your skills with the blade. Remember whom you go up against. I am Bai Long, sole heir of the Dragon Clan, master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu. I know no defeat."
Watching them and hearing them talk like that made Legolas panic a little. He got up from his seat, and stood beside Aragorn, who was watching the entire affair with mingled interest and concern. ^Do you think that they will be alright, Aragorn?^
The mortal shrugged his shoulders. ^I do not know, Legolas. This appears troubling, but I know that they will not hurt each other.^
Suddenly, there was a loud CLANG, like that of metal crashing against metal. When Legolas turned to look, he saw an amazing sight. Camille and Eli were up against each other, each holding a strange sword – or, in Camille's case, TWO swords. They were curved and thin, ending in a sharp point near the end. The blades only had one sharpened edge, but it was quite lethal.
The two girls had driven their blades against each other up to the hilt, and were currently smirking at each other against the clash of their weapons. They pushed against each other, and freed their swords from the lock, standing with a good distance between them. Eli stood holding her sword out with both hands, while Camille stood slightly sideways, one sword held up in front of her face, the other lowered down slightly in front of her torso.
Camille smirked. "It has been a while, Bai Long. Quite a long while. Your skills have improved."
"I have the same sentiments, Jin Feng," Eli muttered, and she charged at Camille with a war cry. Camille jumped out of the way, pushing herself high into the air, somersaulting, then landing behind Eli. The latter pivoted sharply on her right foot, her sword slashing in a deadly circle. Camille parried the attack, and dodged each succeeding one in an unearthly dance as she was pushed back against the face of a nearby boulder. Legolas thought that she had been cornered for certain, but he was wrong.
He looked on in amazement as Camille ran headlong towards the boulder, and skittered over the face of it as though she could walk on vertical walls. When she reached a point that was higher than Eli's head, she kicked herself off the boulder, did a back flip in midair, and landed behind Eli again. Her pose, however, was different. She was now balancing on her right foot, her left leg tucked behind her in a rather awkward position. Her hands, in the meantime, assumed a different formation. One blade was held over her head, the other thrust out slightly in front of her.
Eli noticed this, and laughed. "A change of styles? Allow me to oblige you." So saying, she sank low onto the ground, her left leg extended so that the heel was supporting part of her weight, while her right leg was placed beneath her, keeping the rest of her off the ground. She was holding her sword over her head in almost the same way that Camille was, but her left arm was held out in front of her. The thumb, index, and middle fingers were held up sharply from the palm, while the ring and pinkie fingers were curled inwards.
It was Camille who attacked first. She dashed at Eli with a shout that could have sent fear running through the veins of any Orc, her twin blades poised ahead of her. She was close to skewering Eli, had not the other girl managed to move her own sword in a position to block the attack. How she did it, the other members of the Fellowship never figured out.
They were moving very quickly now, their feet kicking up a small dust cloud around them. It didn't take long before the cloud surrounded them completely, blocking the Fellowship's view of what was going on. However, they were sure that the two were still fighting, if the clanging of metal against metal and the shouts coming from within the cloud were any indication. But suddenly, the entire commotion just stopped.
Legolas stood up, thinking that something had gone wrong. He squinted in an attempt to see through the dust, and for a while, he couldn't pierce the veil. However, the wind was kind, and swept the cloud away in a moment. The sight that stood revealed before them was alarming. Camille was standing behind Eli, her twin blades crossed just beneath the latter's chin; in the perfect position to make a double slash across her throat. In the meantime, Eli's sword was pointed backwards, the tip angled up slightly so that it was just below Camille's heart. One little twitch of her hand and the sword would plunge into Camille's chest.
For a few intense moments, the Fellowship looked on at the two girls in silent awe. And then, the tension was broken when the two girls laughed rather merrily, breaking free from each other.
"How…how did you do it?" Boromir asked in amazement as the two girls sheathed their weapons and walked up to them.
Eli shrugged. "It was nothing."
Merry now looked at her with a worshipful gaze. "Could you teach me how to fight like that?"
Camille laughed, and patted the Hobbit's head affectionately. "Sorry Merry, but it's not as easy learning this as you think. Eli and I spent most of our lives learning how to fight the way we do, and believe me; it isn't as easy as swinging a sword and parrying attacks like Boromir taught you. Eli and I could spend a month or even a year with you and we still wouldn't get past the basics. You have to be taught from birth how to do this."
Legolas smiled at the girl. "It seems like quite a beautiful art. It is deadly, true, but the grace and the fluidity of it all made watching you seem like watching a dance."
"An art it is, Legolas. One that is passed down from one generation to the next in our family," Camille said thoughtfully. "One child is chosen in the family, and the Master devotes his time to them, teaching them the Art of the Blade, until such time that they are ready to take on the responsibility of teaching it and handing it down to their children."
Legolas smiled again, and he let his gaze drift over her. Her face and hair were damp with her perspiration, and the little droplets of moisture caught the light, giving her an almost ethereal glow. Her face had a soft blush due to exertion, and he could never get over the fact that she was so lovely, so beautiful…
Suddenly, he sensed something from the east. He turned to look, and saw a black shape in the sky heading towards them. His eyes widened. It cannot be! He turned to the others, and yelled, "Everyone, hide now! Crebain from Fangorn and Dunland are heading this way!"
Upon hearing him, the others quickly dropped whatever it was they were doing, and jumped into any convenient hiding space, attempting to conceal themselves with thick boughs of holly or beneath rocky overhangs. Legolas dove into the nearest holly bush, only to find himself lying on top of Camille.
The girl looked up at him, brown eyes widened with surprise, but she didn't make a single sound. Legolas felt her body tense beneath his, and he knew that it had something to do with her being in such a compromising position under him.
He bent closer to her ear, whispering to her reassuringly. ^Keep quiet, Eriol. The crebain will pass over us soon.^ Camille nodded in response, and he felt her relax a little.
Soon, the sound of flurrying wings and hoarse squawks filled his ears, and he twisted his head upwards to look. The crebain were flying over them now, lingering as if looking for something. But they did not stay for long, and soon they were winging their way to the northeast.
After ascertaining that they were now safe, Legolas got up, and pulled Camille to her feet. He watched as she dusted off her clothes, smiling amusedly at the blush that stained her cheeks.
Realizing that there were more important things to attend to, he walked over to where Gandalf and Aragorn were talking in hushed tones. "What is our next course of action?" he asked quietly.
Aragorn shook his head, looking towards the distant mountains. The snow-covered peak of Caradhras gleamed in the sun. "We can no longer move around in daytime. It seems that our path through Hollin is being watched. We will have to get to the Redhorn Gate by a different path."
Gandalf sighed heavily. "There are two paths that we might take to reach the Dimrill Dale, our goal as of this moment. We can either attempt to climb Caradhras to reach the Redhorn Gate, or we can take the dark and secret pathway that we have spoken of."
Aragorn turned to the Wizard just then. "But I wish not to take the latter path anytime soon, unless a dire emergency forces us to do so. I say that we try to climb Caradhras."
Gandalf nodded slowly. "Yes, that is the best way, perhaps…" He turned to the rest of the Fellowship. "We must take a new course, my friends. We are no longer welcome here in Hollin."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Whew, that's done! This bit was based partly on the book, and partly on the movie. The fact that they stopped on a hill, that Boromir was teaching the Hobbits how to fight, and that it was Legolas who saw the crebain were based on the movie. In the book, the Fellowship was actually asleep, Aragorn and Sam were on watch, and it was Aragorn who saw the crebain. However, the talk about the Dimrill Dale and going to Caradhras were based on the book. So, what did you think of the fight scene? I'm not that good at writing action scenes, but I'm trying to improve as much as I can… Anyway, next up, the Fellowship tries to cross Caradhras, but when they fail, they have to get down the mountain and take the path through Moria. What will they find along the way? Stay tuned!