Camille felt herself slowly slipping into wakefulness, and felt the trotting of a horse beneath her body, as well as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and a warm wall against her back. Her ears perceived a soft voice singing in Elvish, as well as the sound of many other horses clopping over the stones of a pathway.
She yawned, and opened her eyes slowly to the morning light. "What time is it?"
Someone chuckled softly behind her, and Legolas whispered in her ear, ^Good afternoon, Fair One. You have been asleep for more than a day and a half now.^
It took a while for that to register, but when it did, Camille jerked sharply, and turned to look at Legolas. "A day and a half?! Are you kidding?!"
"He isn't joking," Eli said as she trotted up to Camille and Legolas on Whitewing. "You've been out of it since…the time Gandalf arrived."
"And when precisely was that?" Camille asked. She groaned, and rubbed her head. Jeez, I'm so disoriented that I can't even tell what time of day it is!
Aragorn chuckled as he came up on Hasufel. "It is understandable that you are so confused, Camille. Calling forth the Spirit of Earth must have taxed your energy reserves to the limit. And you have spent most of yesterday and today trying to get it back by sleeping."
Camille sighed, and nodded. "Thanks for telling me." She looked around, and blinked when she saw that the troops of Theoden were on the march. "Hey, where are we going? Back to Edoras?"
Eli shook her head. "Nope, we're going to Isengard."
Camille blinked again. Isengard? What the hell for?
As if reading her mind, Eli continued, "Theoden wants to have a word with Saruman, and I think Gandalf does too."
"Aye, it would seem so," said Legolas. "Though I believe that Gandalf has more reason to venture here than even Theoden King, for Saruman is supposedly his superior."
Camille raised her eyebrow in question. "Superior?"
The Elf nodded. "Aye, superior as in an order. It is said that Saruman, whom the Elves call Curunir, was the first of the Istari, or Wizards, to appear. Mithrandir, or Gandalf, and the other members of the Istari came after him. It is not known how many Istari there are in Middle-Earth, neither is it known from whence they came. But of all Istari, the most well-known are Saruman and Gandalf."
Eli smirked then. "But I'd like to see what happens to Saruman when we get there with Gandalf. He doesn't sound so superior to me anymore."
"Do not underestimate Saruman's power, Eli," Aragorn muttered. "Do you remember the voice we heard on Caradhras?"
Camille figured it out quickly. "You're telling us that the voice we heard while we were trying to get through was SARUMAN'S?!" She shivered. Man, if he's as powerful as that, then he must be really good!
Suddenly the company halted, and their group halted as
well. Apparently, they had arrived at the doors of Isengard. But the doors lay
hurled and twisted on the ground. And all about, stone, cracked and splintered
into countless jagged shards, was scattered far and wide, or piled in ruinous
heaps. The great arch still stood, but it opened now on a roofless chasm: the
tunnel was laid bare, and through the cliff-like walls on either side great
rents and breaches had been torn; their towers were beaten into dust. The ring
inside was filled with steaming water, making it look like a witch's bubbling
cauldron from the old fairytales. Lots of trash was floating around in the
water, mostly beams and spars, chests and casks and broken gear. The pillars
were broken and knocked down. But far away, through the mists, the dark shape
of Orthanc could still be perceived, untouched and unbroken.
Camille looked at all of this destruction, and felt her jaw slacken till it opened. Looks like a storm ripped right through here. "Is it just me, or does this place look like a tornado passed through and then some?"
"If something like THIS happened in our world, it'd be labeled the greatest natural disaster of all time," Eli muttered as she gazed on at the scene.
"Even if the Great Sea had risen in wrath and fallen on the hills with storm, it could have worked on greater ruin," Aragorn said softly.
Legolas nodded in agreement, and then stirred, moving Arod slightly towards the front. "Come my friends, let us look more fully upon the destruction that has been wrought here."
Agreeing with him, they nudged their horses forward, towards the front of the company. They walked up till they were just behind Gandalf. The Wizard turned, and smiled, acknowledging them, then said, "I believe that there is someone you would like to see."
He made Shadowfax step aside a little to give them a better view, and Camille swore her eyes nearly popped out of her head at what she saw.
There, right in front of her, were Merry and Pippin, both looking pretty good, and smoking their pipes to boot! "Merry! Pippin! What in heaven's name are you doing here?!" She turned to Eli. "I thought you said they were with some Ent?!"
Eli shook her head, and seemed about as clueless as she was. "Don't look at me! I thought they were still with Treebeard! How they got here I have no idea."
Theoden laughed then. "Perhaps I should leave you girls in the care of these most magnificent Hobbits, while Gandalf and I go round about to look at the extent of the damage done to Isengard."
Gandalf laughed as well, and nodded. "Aye, that would perhaps be a good idea. Well then Theoden King, we must go now. We must hold council with Treebeard." With that, he and Theoden rode off, along with the rest of the Riders of Rohan. The only ones who stayed were Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, Eli and Camille.
Legolas slid off Arod's back, and helped Camille get down from the horse's back. As if sensing her weakness, Arod bent down a little more than usual to help Camille get off. This action caused laughter from Legolas. "It seems that Arod has taken pity on you, Camille."
Camille laughed too, and rubbed Arod's nose gently. "I don't know, maybe he's just tired of carrying me and really wants me to get off."
When Arod neighed and shook his head, she laughed, and added, "I know, I know. I was just teasing you. Now run along, and see if you can find Blackwing for me."
Arod neighed again, and ran off across the plains. When he was out of sight, Camille turned to the two Hobbits, and immediately rushed over to them and hugged them tight. "Oh God, I really missed you two! I was so worried when I found out that you had been taken! I would've freaked if I hadn't remembered that Boromir sent Eli after you."
Aragorn laughed then. "The hunt is now over, I believe. We meet again at last, where none of us ever thought to come."
"And now that the great ones have gone to discuss high matters," said Legolas, "the hunters can perhaps learn the answers to their own small riddles. Eli has told us much of what happened while she was trailing you, but she does not know what happened after she left you in the care of Treebeard the Ent."
"And there is a great deal, too, that we would want to know about you," said Merry. "We have learnt a few things from Treebeard, but that is not nearly enough."
Eli interrupted then. "But first, can we go get some food? My stomach is going to cause a revolt if I don't feed it soon."
"Aye, the lady is right," said Gimli. "It would go better after a meal. I have a sore head; and it is past midday. You truants might make amends by finding us some of the plunder that you spoke of. Food and drink would pay off some of my score against you."
"Then you shall have it," said Pippin. "Will you have it here, or in more comfort in what's left of Saruman's guard house – over there under the arch? We had to picnic out here, so as to keep an eye on the road."
"Less than an eye!" said Gimli. "But I will not go into any Orc-house; nor touch Orcs' meat or anything that they have mauled."
Camille groaned, and rolled her eyes. "PLEASE spare us the whining, Gimli. Right now, I'm so hungry that even shoe leather is starting to look appetizing." She smiled at the Hobbits. "But I'm sure you two can get us something more decent than that, right?"
Merry grinned. "Of course! We can't have you eating shoe leather when we have better stuff to give! It seems that Saruman kept enough wisdom not to trust his Orcs with guarding the doors, and let his Men have that honor. Anyway, they were favored and got good provisions."
"And pipeweed?" asked Gimli.
"No, I don't think so," Merry laughed. "But that is another story, which can wait until after lunch."
"Well, let us go and have lunch then!" said the Dwarf.
* * *
Eli stretched out her tense muscles as she slowly sank down at one side of a long table, lazily rotating her shoulders to relax them a little. She watched as Merry and Pippin disappeared through one of the inner doors of the guardroom. She groaned, propping up her elbows so she could cup her chin in her hands. "I am SO tired."
Camille laughed then, and stretched, bending back slightly to ease up the tension in her back. "Tell me about it. You say I've been knocked out for more than a day? To be honest, I wouldn't mind going off to La-la Land right after I eat."
"Don't do that!" Eli exclaimed with mock-severity. "You know what happens to people who sleep right after eating a heavy meal, don't you?!"
Camille raised a lazy eyebrow. "Yeah. So? Jeez Eli, don't get your pantyhose in a knot. I'm not going to stuff myself too much, you know."
Aragorn was looking at them as though they had said something odd. "What is this you two are talking about, Eli?"
Eli grinned. Maybe I'll tell them, just to gross them out. "Oh, that. Well, where we're from, if a person, particularly a male, eats too much and then sleeps right after, he gets what we'd call in Westron the 'death dream'. Basically the victim dreams that he can't breathe and move any part of his body, which is exactly what is happening in reality. Usually they die from suffocation right after. The only way to cure this while it attacks is if the victim attempts to move ANY part of his body, even if it's just a finger. That will break the dream."
Gimli snorted then. "That is not true in Middle-Earth. Why, I have indulged myself repeatedly over the years and I have NEVER been subject to such an ailment before."
"Well you're a Dwarf, maybe things are different with you guys," Camille said. "And what Eli forgot to mention is that it isn't only males who suffer from that. Some girls get that too, but the cases are so few they don't even warrant a statistic. And I think that it's usually guys who are victims because they have a tendency to adhere more to the 'eat, drink, and be merry' philosophy than girls do."
Just then, Pippin and Merry came back, each of them carrying dishes, bowls, cups, knives, and food of various sorts. Eli ate only enough to feel a comfortable heaviness in her belly, so as not to shock her stomach. When they were all through eating, they went out and seated themselves upon the piled stones before the gateway. While they did so, Pippin, Merry, Aragorn and Gimli set to smoking on their pipes.
Camille shook her head when she saw that particular vice. "Some things never change from world to world," she muttered so that only she and Eli could hear. Then in a louder voice, she added, "Did you know that smoking can be bad for your health?"
Pippin looked at her innocently, his face partially obscured by the little clouds of smoke he puffed from his pipe. "What do you mean?"
"People in our world smoke just like you do here," Camille replied as she wrapped her red cape around her and drew her knees up to her chest. "But it's been proven that smoking too much can destroy your lungs in the long run. The smoke pollutes them and makes it harder for you to breathe. Of course the effects aren't apparent immediately, but they pile up year after year. In the long run, you're literally suffocating yourself to death."
Eli laughed at the shocked expression on the Hobbit's face, and said, "Don't listen to her, she's just trying to scare you. Things are definitely different here in Middle-Earth from our world, that's for sure, so we can't be too sure if smoking will actually kill you, since you live in this world and not in ours."
But then Merry asked, "Where did you get your armor? I don't think I've seen anything like that before."
That set the long storytelling session concerning everything that happened after Eli left Merry and Pippin in Treebeard's care. At first the two were hurt that Eli left without telling them that Gandalf was with them and where she was going, but after she had told them that Gandalf had to rush, they accepted it. Aragorn also told them of the long hunt from Parth Galen. Merry and Pippin were shocked to hear about Boromir's death, but in one way or another they knew it was coming. After that, it was the Hobbits' turn to tell the tale of what happened to them while they were with Treebeard. They described to the others the Entmoot they had been a witness of, and the destruction of Isengard.
Eli listened with amazement at how the Ents ruined Isengard. I never thought that they would be so…well, vindictive. "Wow, that was incredible! I mean, looking and talking with Treebeard, I never thought he and the other Ents would actually be capable of all this."
"You know what they say," Camille said solemnly. "Silent waters run deep. And besides, after what Merry and Pip said, they were bound to get back at Saruman at one point or another. It just happened to be now. And the timing was pretty damn good. If they hadn't dealt with Saruman while we handled Helm's Deep, that place could still be crawling with Orcs, or maybe other worse things."
Once again Merry and Pippin got curious, so they had to explain what happened down at Helm's Deep. The others were more than happy to give them a blow-by-blow account of the battle, for now, as they looked back on it from the safety of memory, they saw that it was a great battle indeed, and worth many a song in the future.
Just then, Eli remembered something. Wait a minute, what happened to Wormtongue? "Hey Merry, Pip, do you have any idea what happened to Wormtongue? I'm sure he would've swung down here after what happened at Meduseld."
Pippin grinned, and raised a hand to point at Orthanc. "He has been locked up with Saruman in that tower. He has been there since this morning."
Camille giggled wickedly. "Oh man, that was a wasted opportunity! I wish we could've met up with him along the way here. I sure would've loved to roast him slowly while impaled on a bamboo stake like a suckling pig."
Eli grinned evilly as well. "Oh, I can see that, but wouldn't it be cooler if I made him float a thousand feet into the air, flash-froze him, and then dropped him down to watch his body shatter into a million pieces?"
Camille was about to suggest another method of painfully murdering Wormtongue when Gandalf came riding up to them, a satisfied smile on his face.
He smiled down at the group. "Well then, it seems that you are quite pleasant here in the open." He eyed Camille and Eli with a strange smile. "Now that you are finished planning methods of torturously killing Wormtongue, I shall take your companions with me into Orthanc to speak with Saruman. I would take you two with me as well, but I feel that you need your rest more."
"But what're we going to do while you guys are busy in there?" Camille asked, and Eli knew that if she didn't have anything to keep her occupied, she'd go ballistic.
Gandalf pointed towards the north, where many Ents were standing around. "Go over there, and you will find Treebeard. I believe you will find him interesting company. He has expressed a desire to speak with you two, so I will leave you in his hands. Does this agree with you?"
Eli smiled. Cool! I'd like to meet Treebeard again. "Sounds good to me, Gandalf."
"Good. Now then gentlemen, I believe that we have a meeting with Saruman right now," said Gandalf, and the Hobbits, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas got up, following the Wizard towards Orthanc.
When they had disappeared within the mists that still hung around the tower, Eli grinned, and got up. "C'mon Camille, I'd like to introduce you to Treebeard."
Camille got up slowly, and followed Eli towards the place where the Ents had gathered. "You sure he won't mind extra company?"
"Sure I'm sure! He's a little hard to deal with when it comes to getting information, but in all other aspects, he's cool," Eli said with a smile, remembering the time she had spent with Treebeard. "He's very wise; maybe as wise as Gandalf, or wiser. He's the oldest living thing to walk Middle-Earth."
"Whoa, now I think I can understand why he's so wise," Camille said.
They took the footpath that led around the walls of Isengard, and to the banks of the Isen. There they saw many Ents bending over to drink from the stream. There were a few others further downstream who looked like they were bathing, as they were standing in the middle of the stream and splashing water all over themselves with their huge hands. The sounds the Ents made was like a great marching band consisting mostly of wind instruments and drums, along with the occasional blast that sounded like an organ.
Eli looked all around for Treebeard, and at last found him standing at the furthest point upstream. With a happy smile, she and Camille ran over to him, Eli waving her arm in the air to announce their arrival. "Hey Treebeard!"
Treebeard looked up the moment he heard them, and there seemed to be a smile on his great mouth as he approached them, unhurried as usual. "Hoom, ha, we meet again Elisabeth!" he exclaimed as he got closer to them. He turned his eyes to Camille, and smiled too. "Ah, this must be the friend you spoke of! Her name was…Camille, if I remember rightly."
Camille grinned. "You're right. My name is Camille Selvitar. A pleasure to meet you, Treebeard."
Treebeard peered at her closely, then let out a sudden loud hoom of pleasure. "Ah yes, yes indeed, you are the one! Yes, the one who carries the power of the Earth as well as of the Flame! The trees of Fangorn have whispered rumors of your arrival!"
"Actually I talked to one of them," Camille replied with a slight blush.
Eli was startled when she heard that. Camille can talk to trees?! "Camille, since when did you start talking to trees?!"
Treebeard laughed. "Hoom, yes, yes, I believe that is only right. Your powers are growing, yes, like a young sapling with good air, soil and sunlight. Both your powers are getting stronger, and in time, maybe you will be able to heal this world's hurts by using that power." He turned away from them then, and cupped up some more water from the Isen to drink. After he did so, he continued, "Yes, it is right. Elisabeth, just as the wind and the water are your servants, so then are all plants and animals under Camille's governance, along with all the flames of heaven and earth." He looked then at Camille. "Who is this tree you spoke with."
Camille shrugged. "An old oak named Greencrown."
Treebeard laughed again. "Ha, hoom, yes, yes indeed. Greencrown is the oldest oak yet living in Fangorn. He was a sapling when Middle-Earth was first created, and when I first came into being. You could say that we have aged together, quite well, I might add."
They spent more time together, chatting and talking about lots of things. Treebeard was more than content to listen to the two girls, though he did contribute his own ideas every now and then.
They were in the middle of discussing what to do with Wormtongue (Camille wanted to roast him, Eli wanted to freeze him, and Treebeard wanted neither, saying it was too hasty), when Gandalf came up to them, a smile on his face as he led Whitewing and Blackwing to them. "Come then," he said to them. "Get on your horses, we are leaving and returning to Edoras." He glanced at Treebeard with a friendly smile. "I do hope these two young ladies have not been too much for you to handle."
"Hoom, hoom, no, not at all!" Treebeard exclaimed with a hearty laugh that sounded like a great boom in an organ pipe. "They are interesting, very interesting indeed! I would have liked to spend some more time with them, but it appears that you are going off in haste once more. I and a few of my companions shall see you off."
With that Eli and Camille followed Gandalf as they went back to the ruined gates, Treebeard and a dozen other Ents came walking behind them. When they reached their group, the others were literally stunned into silence upon seeing Treebeard and his companions, but relaxed somewhat since Gandalf was around. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas stared at them in wonder.
"Here are three of my companions, Treebeard," said Gandalf. "You have not met them, but I have spoken of them and I am certain that Eli and Camille have as well." He named them one by one.
The Old Ent looked at them long and searchingly, and spoke to them in turn. Last he turned to Legolas. "So you have come all the way from Mirkwood, my good Elf? A very great forest it used to be!"
"And still is," said Legolas. "But not so great that we
who dwell there ever tire of seeing new trees. I should dearly love to journey
in Fangorn's Wood. I scarcely passed beyond the eaves of it, and I did not wish
to turn back."
Treebeard's eyes gleamed with pleasure. "I hope you may have your wish, ere the hills be much older," he said.
"I will come, if I have the fortune, and possibly with my bride, if chance and she herself will permit," said Legolas, discreetly sliding a glance and a smile in Camille's direction. "I have made a bargain with a friend that, if all goes well, we will visit Fangorn together – by your leave."
Treebeard laughed, eyes flickering to Camille as he did so. "Hoom, your bride? Yes, I daresay your bride will be hailed in Fangorn. All the songbirds will rush to greet her with a chorus, if that should happen! And as for your friend, any Elf that comes with you will be welcome."
"The friend I speak of is not an Elf," said Legolas; "I mean Gimli, Gloin's son here." Gimli bowed low, and the axe slipped from his belt and clattered to the ground.
"Hoom, hm! Ah now," said Treebeard, looking dark-eyed at him. "A Dwarf and an axe-bearer! Hoom! I have good will to Elves; but you ask much. This is a strange friendship!"
"Strange it may seem," said Legolas; "but while Gimli lives I shall not come into Fangorn, alone or with my bride. His axe is not for trees, but for Orc-necks, O Fangorn, Master of Fangorn's Wood. Forty-two he hewed in the battle."
"Hoo! Come now!" said Treebeard. "That is a better story! Well, well, things will go as they will; and there is no need to hurry to meet them. But now we must part for a while. Day is drawing to an end, yet Gandalf says you must go ere nightfall, and the Lord of the Mark is eager for his own house."
"Yes, we must go, and go now," said Gandalf. "I fear that I must take your gatekeepers from you. But you will manage well enough without them."
"Maybe I shall," said Treebeard. "But I shall miss them. We have become friends in so short a while that I think I must be getting hasty – growing backwards towards youth, perhaps. But there, they are the few thing beneath Sun or Moon I have seen for many a long, long day. I shall not forget them. They shall remain friends as long as trees are renewed. Fare you well! But if you hear news up in your pleasant land, in the Shire, send me word! You know what I mean: word or sight of the Entwives! Come yourselves if you can!"
"We will!" said Merry and Pippin together, and they turned away hastily. Treebeard looked at them, and was silent for a while, shaking his head thoughtfully. But he stopped, and turned to Eli and Camille. "Well now, it seems we must part ways once more!"
Eli grinned. "Yeah, looks that way. But don't worry, when this is all over I'll come back and look for you somewhere in Fangorn Wood." She glanced at Camille, and snickered when she saw her stunned reaction, still gazing at Legolas. Oh boy, guess she didn't think THAT was coming! In a confiding voice, she added, "Oh, and sorry if Camille's kind of dazed right now. Didn't think that Legolas was actually planning to marry her, though how it couldn't have been more obvious, I don't know."
Treebeard chuckled then, and sounded like his loud laugh, only softer. "Aye, I agree with you. Good luck then, and safe journey!" With that the company of Gandalf and Theoden rode off, heading towards Edoras. Behind them in the darkening shadows loomed Orthanc, a growing circle of Ents surrounding it. In the sky, the moon slowly rose, and the twinkling stars emerged from behind the clear blue sky of day.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Phew, and fin! FINALLY, Merry and Pippin are back with the rest of the gang! So as of the moment, out of the Eleven that left Rivendell, about…eight are still around, since Boromir's dead and Sam and Frodo are somewhere up in Mordor. But the gang is soon going to be chopped up, as those of you who have read the books know. And I'm sorry if I didn't put the girls in the confrontation with Saruman. I just found that writing that part would be a little too hard for me to do, as I wouldn't know what Saruman would do to these girls. But I still got to have my fun with Camille ^_~. Ooh, when was Legolas going to propose to her?! Naughty, naughty Elf, saying that she's your bride when you haven't even mentioned anything like that to her ^_~. Anyway, I expand a little more on that topic in the next chapter. It's fluff time once again! See ya!