Eli hid herself in the shadows of the forest as she watched the mysterious Riders round up all the Orcs and slay them, making sure they killed every last one. She had sorely wanted to join in the fray and kill those miserable creatures that had given her so much trouble…but she thought the better of it and hung back in the shadows of the trees, watching out with keen eyes as Merry and Pippin managed to somehow contrive their escape from the carnage.
She waited until they had wandered a little deeper into the forest, and once they were far away from the Riders, she decided to make her presence known. She ran up to them, and hissed, "Psst! Hey Merry, Pip!"
The two Hobbits yelped, and jumped to face her, their eyes wide with fear. But when they saw that it was only she, they laughed, and leaned forward, bracing themselves on their knees. "It was only you, Eli!" Pippin exclaimed. "I almost thought you were one of the Riders!"
"How DID you get here so quickly?" Merry asked as the two of them approached her. "When last we saw you, you were with Boromir, trying to help him."
Eli smiled, though it was only half-hearted. "Boromir sent me to come after you two. I've been following you since then, but I didn't want to risk getting discovered by the Orcs, so I didn't attempt to make a rescue. I was planning to help you spring for it by the time we got here, but it looks like the Riders got to them first."
The Hobbits seemed to sense that she was distressed about something, and they approached her, curious. "What happened to Boromir?" Merry asked quietly.
"I don't know," Eli replied honestly. "I really don't know." Or put more accurately, I DO know but I don't want to ruin your day more than it has been already. Attempting to change the subject, she put on as perky a smile as she could manage, and said, "But you're out of danger now, aren't you? Don't worry; Aragorn and the others ought to catch up to us soon." She looked towards the forest. "But first, we're going to have to find out way out of here."
"Can we take a moment and eat?" Pippin asked, though he immediately clapped his hand on his mouth, and added, "Though if you want us to go on now, we can…"
Eli laughed. "Oh yeah, I forgot! I'm sorry about that; seems like the Orcs didn't feed you too well, did they?" She looked around, and noticed a stream trilling its way between some of the ancient trees. "Why don't we eat by the stream? And maybe we can get some rest in while we eat, hmmm?"
The Hobbits were more than inclined to agree with her suggestion. The three of them clambered over massive tree roots and slid over boulders, until they at last made it to the stream. There, they all leaned over the bank, and scooped up some water to wet their parched throats. The water was cold and clean, and Eli felt strangely enervated as the liquid slid down to her stomach.
After they had calmed their raging thirst and Eli had refilled the only water skin she had managed to bring with her, they sat down to a rather meager meal consisting only of whatever lembas the Hobbits and Eli had on them. Eli had hidden a good supply in the pouch at her belt during the boat ride to Parth Galen, but she had to eat of it while tailing the Orcs, and now that supply was rather depleted. She stared long and hard at her pouch. We have enough for around…a week and a half, maybe, two if we eat sparingly.
Merry looked up at her then, a crumbled wafer of lembas in his hand. "How did you manage to tail us, Eli? And – no offense meant, of course – why didn't you break us out sooner?"
"It was always the wrong time," Eli replied quietly. "There were so many times when I was tempted to just let loose a huge windstorm on the Orcs and get you out, but then they'd either be on the move again, or I'd realize you'd get caught in the middle of everything. Mostly it was the last reason that made me stop. I hope you aren't mad at me for not breaking you out sooner."
Pippin grinned at her cheerfully. "Hey now! Don't be so glum! We understand why you would feel that way, Eli. You didn't want to get us hurt, is all."
Eli smiled at the Hobbit, grateful for his attempt at lifting her spirits. "Thanks, Pip." She looked up then, and noticed that a long shaft of sunlight had pierced through the canopy, and seemed to be shining down on a clearing not that far away. She stood up, and pointed in that direction. "Hey you guys, look. There seems to be clearing over there."
The Hobbits seemed once more quite eager to get there. Maybe this forest is too stuffy for them, Eli mused. She had to admit though, that's what it felt like – old, like an attic room that hadn't been cleaned out for more than a decade. Then again, she thought, if an attic isn't cleaned out for a long time; one is apt to find strange things in it… The forest didn't feel darksome, so it probably wasn't Mirkwood. Eli had heard too often from Bilbo's tales of massive spiders that spread huge webs all over the place, waiting to catch their prey in the sticky strands.
She cringed slightly when they started walking towards the clearing. The thought of spiders gave her the chills, as she had a deathly fear of them. "Never get Eli anywhere near a spider," Camille had told Bilbo before, "unless you want her to cause unnecessary carnage in a most random way." Which is true, Eli thought with a slight grin. The moment she saw a spider, she would start screaming and begin whacking it with anything within grabbing range – even if it was something rather breakable.
It took a while of walking, since the clearing was farther than they thought and the slope climbed upwards, but when they got there, they saw a rock wall before them, with no trees growing on it, and the sun shining down on it with full force. In the face of the wall was something that looked like a stairway, but made by natural means, since the rock was roughly hewn and weathered. High up, almost level with the treetops, was a shelf under a cliff. Nothing grew there except for a few weeds and an old tree stump.
Eli grinned, and she and the Hobbits ran up to the rock face, all of them looking up towards the shelf. She turned to them. "Looks like we got a little bit of climbing to do. You guys go first; I'll stay a little ways behind so that I can catch you if you slip."
"We won't need your catching, thank you very much," Merry sniffed in a very theatrical manner. "We can get up there all by ourselves."
Pippin nodded, though he wasn't as dramatic as Merry. "He's right, you know. After all that climbing in Moria, this shouldn't be too hard." However, he was only three steps up the stairway when he slipped, and would have gone tumbling down had not Eli been there to steady him.
Eli giggled at the Hobbit. "You were saying something, Pip?"
Pippin sniffed, somewhat miffed by her laughter, but took it good-humoredly at any rate. With that the three of them began the climb upwards, and they soon got to the shelf. Apparently the staircase had been made for those with stronger bones and longer legs, so the Hobbits were a bit winded by the climb. They sat down on the tree stump, while Eli looked around, surveying the scene. The forest stretched far out in all directions, an endless ocean of rustling leaves and crackling bough. She sighed, and stretched. "The forest looks so different in the sunlight, doesn't it?"
"Yes," said Pippin with a sigh. "But I'm afraid that this is only a passing gleam, and it will all go gray again. What a pity! I almost felt I liked the place."
"Almost felt you liked the Forest?! That's good! That's uncommonly good of you!" said a strange voice. "Turn round and let me have a look at your faces. I almost feel that I dislike you three, but let us not be hasty. Turn around!"
Eli jumped right out of her skin. What the hell was that?! She turned around slowly, and gasped. "Oh…my…God…"
She was staring at a most extraordinary face. It belonged to large Man-like, almost Troll-like, figure, at least fourteen feet high, very sturdy, with a tall head, and hardly any neck. Whether it was clad in stuff like green and gray bark, or whether that was its hide, was difficult to say. At any rate the arms, at a short distance from the trunk, were not wrinkled, but covered with a brown smooth skin. The large feet had seven toes each. The lower part of the long face was covered with a sweeping gray beard, bushy, almost twiggy at the roots, thin and mossy at the ends. But what got Eli's attention the most were the eyes. They were deep and solemn, looking back at her with a gaze that seemed to penetrate into her very soul. They were brown and shot with a green light. They held great wisdom within their depths, perhaps more wisdom than what she had seen in Galadriel's eyes, but at the same time awareness of all things that were going on. Aside from that, she felt she could sense a steadiness in them, a look she had seen in the eyes of those who had just finished meditating, or pondering the imponderable.
But whatever the case may have been, Eli felt no fear when she saw this creature. In fact, she felt rather safe with it around. "Pardon me, but who and what are you?"
"Hrum hoom," muttered the voice, a sound that reminded Eli a little of an oboe, but deeper and more…organic than that. "It has been a while since I last saw someone of the Man-race here. Especially a female. And these little ones…why, I have not seen the likes of them before! Very odd indeed! Do not be hasty, that is my motto. But if I had seen you, before I had heard your voices – I liked them: nice high little voices and a deeper melodious one; they reminded me of something I cannot remember – if I had seen you before I heard you, I should have just trodden on you, mistaking you for little Orcs accompanying a bigger one, and found out my mistake afterwards. Very odd you are indeed. Root and twig, very odd!"
The Hobbits seemed to be taken by amazement, but, much to Eli's relief, they weren't afraid. "Please," Merry asked, "if I may repeat Eli's question, who are you? And what are you?"
Eli continued to watch the eyes, and she noticed that a wariness came over them suddenly. "Hrum now," it answered, "well, I am an Ent, or that's what they call me. Yes, Ent is the word. THE Ent, I am, you might say, in your manner of speaking. Fangorn is my name according to some, Treebeard others make it. Treebeard will do."
Eli blinked. An Ent? She tried to recall each and every thing that she had read and heard concerning other species on Middle-Earth, and suddenly, a name popped into her head. Onodrim! Yes, of course! The eldest of ALL races on Middle-Earth, older even than the Elves, for they were on Middle-Earth from the moment it was created. Oh, what did Gandalf say they did? Tree herding, something like that…and guarding the forests… And Celeborn mentioned something about not going into Fangorn Forest…that's where we must be right now. She looked at Treebeard, observing him. But why would he say that, I wonder? Treebeard doesn't look like he would hurt us…
Suddenly Treebeard's eyes were focused on her own. "Hoom now, why so silent, Man-child?" he asked then. "Your companions have told me their names already, but you have not. I appreciate it that you are not hasty, but now that I ask you, would you like to tell me?"
Eli shook herself out of her thinking mode, and smiled. "Sorry, I was a little out of it a while ago. My name is Elisabeth Carnahan. But my friends all call me Eli."
"Elisabeth…Carnahan," Treebeard said slowly, and something like a smile crept onto his face. "Strange name, strange name indeed! Many names I have heard, but yours is by far the most unusual!" He made a deep hooming sound then, and it sounded like he was remembering something. "Hrum hoom hoom, what was it again? Four maidens of another world with great power who brought the world to life beneath their fingers…" He gave another hoom, and looked at her. "Ah well, I seem to have forgotten the tale! I heard it a long, long time ago, and now I cannot remember. I would like very much to speak with you, Elisabeth – I like that name better than Eli, it is not as hasty. And I would also like to hear news. What is going on? What are you doing in it all? What is Gandalf up to? And these – burarum," he made a deep rumbling noise like the discord of a great organ, "-these Orcs, and young Saruman down at Isengard. I like news. But not too quick now."
"There is quite a lot going on," said Merry. "And even if we tried to be quick, it would take a long time to tell. But you told us not to be hasty. Ought we to tell you anything so soon? Would you think it rude, if we asked what you are going to do with us, and which side you are on? And did you know Gandalf?"
"Yes I do know him: the only wizard who really cared about trees," answered Treebeard. "Do you know him?"
"Yes," said Pippin sadly. "We did. He was a great friend, and he was our guide."
"Then I can answer your other questions," said Treebeard. "I am not going to do anything WITH you; if you mean by that 'do something TO you' without your leave. We might do some things together. I don't know about SIDES. I go on my own way; but your way may go along with mine for a while. But you speak of Master Gandalf as if he was in a story that had come to an end."
Pippin sighed. "Yes, we do. The story seems to be going on, but Gandalf has fallen out of it."
"Hoo, come now!" said Treebeard. "Hoom, hm, ah well." He paused, looking long and hard at the three of them. "Hoom, ah, well I do not know what to say. Come now!"
"We'd be willing to tell you the story of our journey," Eli offered then, "and answer whatever more questions you have, but it will take quite a bit of time to tell you everything from start to finish. And I have a rather…different tale from my companions. It's getting rather dark, and we need to find some shelter for the night."
Treebeard looked up, stayed that way for a while, and looked back at them. "Hoom, indeed, you are right, Elisabeth. Well then, if you are seeking shelter I think I can take you to my home, or one of my homes."
"Is it far?" asked Merry.
"I do not know. You might call it far, perhaps. But what does that matter?"
"Well you see, we have lost all our belongings," said Merry. "We have a little food."
"O! Hm! You need not trouble about that," said Treebeard. "I can give you a drink that will keep you green and growing for a long, long while. And if we decide to part company, I can set you down outside my country at any point you choose. Let us go!"
And then, Treebeard reached out, and grasped Eli gently but firmly. He slowly lifted her up, and placed her on his shoulder, balancing her. After making sure that she was secure, he lifted up the Hobbits, and held them, one in each arm. Then carefully and solemnly, he stalked down from step to step, then onto the Forest floor. At once he set off with long deliberate strides through the trees, deeper and deeper into the woods, never straying far from the stream, going steadily up towards the slopes of the mountains. And while he walked Merry and Pippin asked him many questions, particularly about Fangorn, Lothlorien, and the ancient connection between the two forests. He also told them about tree and Ents, and the old forests that used to cover Middle-Earth, and the difference between Elves, and Men, and Ents. But Eli was content to simply listen in on them, absorbing the information and adding it to her little mental book of knowledge on all things concerning Middle-Earth.
Suddenly, Treebeard said, "Hm, here we are! I have brought you about seventy thousand Ent-strides, but what that comes to in the measurement of your land I do not know. Anyhow we are near to the roots of the Last Mountain. Part of the name of this place might be Wellinghall, if it were turned into your language. I like it. We will stay here tonight."
He set them down on the grass between the aisles of great trees that seemed to glow, and they followed him towards the great arch. A great stone table stood there, but no chairs. Treebeard lifted two great vessels and stood them on the table. Eli thought they were filled with water, but when Treebeard held his hands over them, and immediately they began to glow, one with a golden and the other a rich green light. Immediately, the place all around them was illuminated with a light that resembled that of the summer sun passing through young green leaves.
"Well, well, now we can talk," said Treebeard. "You are thirsty, I expect. Perhaps you are also tired. Drink this!" He went towards the back, and returned with one large vessel and three smaller ones. As Treebeard handed them the smaller vessels, Eli looked at the liquid inside. It looked exactly like water. Taking a tentative sip, she realized that it WAS water, but there was something mixed into it, something that she couldn't identify. As she sipped, she felt a light tingly feeling move through her body, starting from her feet all the way up to the roots of her hair. Amazingly, it felt like her hair was starting to grow a little longer.
After they had drunk, Treebeard lifted them off the table, and brought them over to a great bed that stood no more than a few feet off the ground. He lay down on it, and placed them on pillows of grass. "Now tell me your tale," said Treebeard, "and do not hurry!"
Merry and Pippin began the tale, but it took longer than it would have for only one person to tell it, because they kept interrupting each other, and Treebeard was always asking questions, requesting details about some earlier event and then jumping forward to later events. Eli was thankful that they hadn't mentioned anything about the Ring; and Treebeard constantly asked about Rivendell, and Elrond, and the Mines of Moria, and Lothlorien and Galadriel.
"Hm, hoom!" said Treebeard when the story had finally wound down to the battle with the Orcs and the Riders. "That is a bundle of news and no mistake. But you have not told me everything, not by a long way. But now," here he gave another hoom that seemed to indicate interest, "I would like to listen to the Man-child's tale. Tell me everything you know, for you seem like a stranger in this realm, I can see it in your expression and in your eyes. Make no haste in the tale, for it seems like a good one, and I enjoy a good long story!"
So Eli told old Treebeard everything, beginning from her and Camille's arrival in Middle-Earth, including how they got the Spirits, as well as all the events that Merry and Pippin had spoken of. Since he had heard majority of the tale already, Treebeard didn't ask too many questions and kept silent, but Eli thought she caught the glint of familiarity in his deep thoughtful eyes, and a small smile creep once more beneath his bushy beard.
When she had finished the tale, Treebeard stood up slowly, and said, "Ha, hoom, that is a magnificent tale indeed! Now I shall go stand in the rain for a while, and think what this all means. You may sleep now, if you wish."
Taking that suggestion to heart, the two weary Hobbits curled up on the pillows and immediately fell asleep, but Eli did not. She spent most her time staring at Treebeard, who stood outside, letting the rain fall all over him. He knows about the Ring, she thought. Even if we didn't tell him about it, he knows. I wonder how he got to come by all that information? Realizing that the only way to satisfy her curiosity was to ask, she walked forward towards Treebeard, but stayed in the canopy of the trees to avoid getting wet. With earnest eyes, she looked at the Ent, and said, "You know, don't you?"
Treebeard turned to her slowly, and there was a light in his eyes. "Hoom, ha, so you have guessed me out now, have you? Very good, very good. Gandalf was right to say that you were clever…Summoner of the Four Spirits of Middle-Earth."
"How did you find all of this out?" Eli asked, hope suddenly flaring up brightly in her heart.
"Because I told him everything, my dear."
Eli froze then, her limbs stiff with shock. It was a voice she remembered clearly, and it was a voice she thought she would never hear again. Slowly turning, she came upon a sight that sent both surprise and happiness surging through her veins. "Gandalf?"
Gandalf – for it was indeed he – stepped forth from out of the shadows, and stood before her in the pale moonlight. He smiled at her, and his eyes twinkled merrily. "Well met by moonlight, dear Elisabeth. Or should I call you Elisarien now, as the Elves do?"
Unable to contain herself any longer, Eli let out a loud laugh, and jumped onto the Wizard, hugging him tightly. "Gandalf! Oh God, it's so good to see you again! We all thought that you were-"
"Dead?" Here Gandalf chuckled, and sighed. "Ah child, it is a long tale, and we do not have time. What say I tell you the story when we find the others?" He smiled then. "But I must admit, I am happy to see you doing so well. I have missed your company greatly, no matter how sharp your tongue may be. I can feel that your powers have gotten stronger over the time I was gone, and it makes me glad. No doubt that Camille's powers have increased as well."
Eli could only agree to whatever Gandalf said. "Sure, whatever you say Gandalf." She paused for a moment, then said, "Uh, Gandalf, I really hate to bring the topic up now, but what about Merry and Pippin? And how will we find the others?"
Gandalf shrugged then. "Do not worry overmuch about them, child. We cannot take them with us, unfortunately, but I am sure Treebeard here will take care of them. And as for ourselves, we must travel in haste, so I have brought us some mode of transportation." With that, he whistled three times, each note clear and sharp. Eli listened, and thought she heard the neighing of a horse. A moment of silence, and then she could heard the thundering hoof beats of several horses as they made their way towards them. At last they burst through the clearing. One was larger than the rest, and was colored a light gray. There were to others beside it, slightly smaller; one was black with a white star on the forehead, the other was pure white with some gray dappling the flanks. The two others were dark gray and auburn, respectively.
Eli felt her jaw drop when she saw the horses. "Where did you get them, Gandalf?" she asked reverently as she approached the white horse. It nickered softly, nuzzling its velvety nose against her palm.
"Let us just say that I borrowed them from someone," Gandalf said nonchalantly as he mounted the light gray horse. He smiled, and patted the stallion on the neck. "This is Shadowfax, and that beautiful mare you have with you is his sister, Whitewing. The black one is also his sister, named Blackwing. The dark gray one is Hasufel, and the auburn is Arod. They are some of the best horses from the stables of Theoden King, ruler of the Rohirrim."
"Whitewing…" Eli stroked the mare's sleek neck. "Are you willing to go on a long trip with me on your back, girl?"
Whitewing neighed in eagerness, and stamped her hooves. Pleased with the reaction she got, Eli immediately got onto Whitewing's back, perching easily in the saddle. She turned to the three other horses. "What are we going to do with them?"
Gandalf directed Shadowfax so that him and Whitewing were abreast with each other. "They will come with us, Eli. We go to find the others, and they will need these horses. There is very little time to waste." He turned to Treebeard then. "Farewell for now, Treebeard! We may yet meet again!"
The Ent waved a gnarled, knuckled hand. "Farewell, Gandalf! And farewell, Elisabeth! Worry not for your companions; I shall tell them that you have decided to go seek out your other companions for them."
Eli grinned, and waved. "Farewell, Treebeard! Take care of them for me, okay?!" With that, she and Gandalf turned to the deeper parts of Fangorn, and set off, the three other horses just behind them.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Heheh, told you I'd give her a special chapter ^_^. As you can tell, this chapter was written ENTIRELY in Eli's POV. I did that because I wasn't sure I would be able to write something from the Hobbits' POV, and I certainly couldn't write through TREEBEARD'S eyes. As for doing it from Gandalf's POV, I didn't want to do it until the next chapter. Ah, the choices an author must face ^_~. Anyway, let's move on, shall we? It's high time that Eli and Camille met again, and they're going to do it…but not before Gandalf springs a surprise on them! Wanna see how it goes? Read on!