Camille couldn't keep her mind from spinning during the ride back to Edoras. And it circled on one topic alone: that Legolas had declared to the WHOLE WIDE WORLD that he intended to marry her without telling HER first.
What am I going to do, Camille panicked. I'm only seventeen…okay, I'm turning eighteen soon anyway, and when that time comes I'm legally old enough to marry…but I'm not ready for that yet! At least, I THINK I'm not ready for that yet. And how am I going to tell this to my parents?! Speaking of parents, I don't think I'm ready to BE one…oh God, I hope Legolas doesn't want half-a-dozen babies from me, I don't know how I'd handle giving birth to all of them…much less how to handle them as they grow up… Wait a minute, why am I even THINKING this way?! We're not even MARRIED yet!
Eli came riding up to her side at that moment, and snickered. "Hey Camille, something bothering you? You don't look too good."
"Well how can I look good if I don't feel good, and how can I feel good if I just find out today that Legolas plans on marrying me?!" Camille demanded, the panic clear in her voice. She looked at her best friend, eyes wild and desperate. "Did you know?! Did he tell you anything?!"
"Hey, hey, cool it girl!" Eli exclaimed with an amused laugh as she patted her best friend on the back to calm her down. "And no, I didn't know that he was planning on marrying you." She paused, then added, "Okay, so maybe I had a hint, but it was from mere observation. It was inevitable, you know. I mean, how can a guy – human or Elf – love a girl the way he does and NOT think of marrying her? Come on Camille, think about it: he's head over heels in love with you, right?"
Camille nodded in answer.
"And you're in love with him too, right?"
"Yeah." Camille looked up in time to see Eli grin.
"So naturally, if you look at this logically, the next step would be engagement, and then marriage," her best friend answered cheerfully. Eli grinned wickedly then. "Oh, and by the way, I want to be your maid-of-honor."
Finally feeling relaxed about the whole thing, Camille laughed too. "My maid-of-honor or maid-of-horror?"
"Oh, both, if you'd like. Maid-of-honor at the wedding, maid-of-horror at the reception."
"Yeah, I guess you can do that," Camille laughed. "But while we're on the topic of weddings, I want to be YOUR maid-of-honor when you get married to Elladan or Elrohir."
Camille knew she had hit a weak spot when she saw Eli blush, and look away. "Wh-what are you talking about?"
Camille grinned. Aha, jackpot! "You know very well what I mean! So, who's it gonna be?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"Oh, that so? Well then, looks like you're going to have to split them then. You can have one in the day, then the other one at night! You can rotate them around every other day so that you can spend quality time with both at the same time! And I don't think it should be too much trouble, as they both look the same, so it'll be like having one man but in two different bodies!"
That comment earned her a hard whack from Eli, who shook her head in a gesture of mock-despair. "It's so like you to think of that sort of plan."
Camille grinned again, a more immoral thought popping into her head. Let's see how she reacts to this… She leaned as close to Eli as their horses would allow, and whispered, "Then again, it'd be fun to go the way of a ménage a trois…"
"CAMILLE!!!"
Camille laughed, and spurred Blackwing ahead to escape from Eli's punch. She seemed to take that pretty well. But Eli didn't follow her, and Camille felt that she was safe…for the meantime. She guided her horse so that she was trotting beside Aragorn, who didn't miss the strange smile on her face.
"You seem quite pleased with yourself," Aragorn said bemusedly. "What did you and Eli talk about?"
Camille giggled irrepressibly, and shook her head. Nah, if I tell him what we talked about he'd probably keel right over and fall off poor Hasufel. "Don't worry, it wasn't anything important. Just a little something between us two girls."
Aragorn did not stop smiling, but he shrugged, and turned away. "If that is what you say, then I shall leave it be."
* * *
"EEYAH! Eli, I am going to get you for this!"
Eli laughed to the wind as she ran away from a soaking-wet – and horribly mad – Camille. "Hah, I'd like to see you try that, squirt!"
Camille growled, and eyed her with a menacing look, which wasn't that effective since she was completely drenched with water. "Come over here and say that to my face, you brat!"
"I may be a brat, but I'm a smart one!" Eli hollered as she jumped over and around obstacles that came in the form of people trying to set up camp. On any normal day the Riders would have been irritated by such a childish display, but they were all feeling pretty good after their victory at Helm's Deep, and so seemed quite tolerating of their pranks.
Eli ducked behind Theoden's tent, and waited, knowing that later on Camille would be able to find her, and then beat her within an inch of her life. But when it took too long for Camille to get back at her, Eli pouted. Maybe she found something more interesting to do. She was about to go out and look for her best friend, but she was stopped by the soft sound of footsteps coming from around the opposite side of the tent. Not wishing to be found, she peeked out around the corner, and drew back into the shadows as Legolas and Camille approached. She noticed that a long gray cloak was now draped around Camille, and she figured that it was Legolas'. Eli's eyebrow went upwards in amusement and curiosity. Ooh, what's up with those two?
She watched from the shadows as Legolas pulled Camille to the edge of a little grove, not close enough for her to be seen, but not far enough that Eli couldn't hear their conversation and see what they were doing.
Legolas smiled down at Camille. "Camille, why did you seem so troubled this afternoon?"
Camille sighed, and shrugged. "Gee, I dunno. Maybe that marriage proposal thing caught me off my guard," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"And what is so wrong with that?" Legolas asked with a laugh as he took her hand in his. "Did you think I would lie about it?"
"No, I didn't think you would LIE about it, it's just that… Why did the whole world have to know before I did?" Camille asked, the panic coming into her voice again.
Eli stifled another snicker. Poor Camille. She really doesn't know how she's going to handle this whole thing, does she?
Legolas' face became serious, and he started speaking in Sindarin this time. ^Why is that, Eriol? Did you not think I would marry you? I thought you knew this.^
"Well no, I didn't," Camille replied. She sighed, trying to relax herself. "It's just…such a big shock for me. Don't get me wrong Legolas, I really love you, and I WOULD marry you if you asked me, but…does the whole world have to know about it before I do?"
Legolas chuckled, and pulled Camille close to him. "I see your point, and I am sorry for that. But now that you have mentioned it…" He pulled away from her, and looked at her seriously. ^Eriol, I know that our future is balanced on the edge of a knife as of the moment, and that we can only fall into death or victory. But…should the tide of this war turn…and go in our favor…then no greater prize, no greater honor, could be given to me than to have your hand in marriage.^ He knelt down in front of her, looking up at her with an ardent and sincere gaze. ^Camille Selvitar, would you marry me and be my wife?^
Eli held her breath. Come on girl, say it, say it! Say you'll marry him!
Camille grinned broadly, and threw her arms around Legolas' neck. "If you haven't figured it out yet… OF COURSE I WOULD YOU BIG DUMMY!! I love you too much to say no!"
Eli rolled her eyes. GREAT response, Camille. You just ruined what could be the most perfect, the most romantic – and the ONLY - proposal I've ever had the chance of overhearing in my entire life…
Just then, Camille added another line to her statement: "But I want you NOT to do anything until AFTER this is over. Don't even give up your immortality yet. And…can we wait a year, at least? I'm only seventeen, and I feel a little TOO young to get married. So…can you settle for a long engagement for the meantime? If the Ring is destroyed, then great, let's get married, with all the ceremonies and stuff. But if not…you're free to come and…claim what is yours…with my consent…before the End comes and takes us both." Here Camille blushed, and turned away from Legolas. "I'd rather face the End in your arms, than anywhere else without you."
The Elf laughed, and stood up again, wrapping his arms around her. "It shall be as you wish, my love. If it is a long engagement that you need, then I accede to it. But," he whispered now, and his voice dipped in tonality, "would you indeed freely give to me what you have…should the End come?"
"It's an offer that kind of scares me," Camille answered, "but I guess it's only proper…"
Finally deciding that she was sick and tired of hiding, Eli stepped out into the pale light of the moon, and grinned at the couple. "Aw, that was just so sweet! And you guys shouldn't worry about the End coming…cause we're going to kick Sauron's ass out of Middle-Earth, and make sure he STAYS out!"
Dead silence for a long while. And then suddenly: "ELI!!!! YOU BRATTY, SNEAKY LITTLE NINJA YOU!!! I SWEAR I AM GOING TO KILL YOU THIS TIME AROUND!!!!"
Eli only laughed, and the chase began all over again.
* * *
Camille had been enjoying a wonderful dream, which seemed to involve her in a wedding dress walking down the aisle with Legolas waiting for her at the end of it, when suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream tore her right out of the vision and dumped her into reality. She sat up with a sharp jerk, eyes wide with surprise. "What in the name of all the angels and archangels was that?!"
She caught movement from her right, and she turned to look. She saw Pippin lying flat on the ground, twitching like he was having some sort of seizure, and there was a dark crystal ball lying at his feet. Camille blinked when she saw the thing. What's that? I don't remember Pippin carrying anything that vaguely resembled that…
"So this is the thief!" said Gandalf as he came running up to Pippin. Hastily he cast his cloak over the globe where it lay. "But you, Pippin! This is a grievous turn to things!"
"What happened here?" Camille asked as she came walking up towards Gandalf and Pippin. The Hobbit was lying on his back, rigid, with unseeing eyes staring at the sky. "Gandalf, what happened to him?!"
The Wizard's face was drawn and haggard. "I cannot answer that question yet, not until I extract the information I need." He took Pippin's hand and bent over his face, listening for his breath; then laid his hands on his brow. The Hobbit shuddered. His eyes closed. He cried out; and sat up, staring in bewilderment at all the faces round him, pale in the moonlight.
"It is not for you, Saruman!" he cried in a shrill and toneless voice, shrinking away from Gandalf. "I will send for it at once. Do you understand? Say just that!" Then he struggled to get up and escape, but Eli, who had been standing just nearby, reached out and grabbed him, holding him within the folds of her cape.
"Pippin, Pippin!" she called to him, his struggling ineffectual since she was twice as tall and somewhat stronger than he, "Pippin, wake up! Snap out of it, Pip! Come back!"
The Hobbit relaxed, and fell back, Gandalf catching him in the nick of time. "Gandalf!" he cried. "Gandalf! Forgive me!"
"Forgive you?" said the Wizard. "Tell me first what you have done!"
At this Pippin started babbling about seeing high battlements in the crystal globe, and that he had been visited by HIM. Camille shuddered involuntarily. That can only mean one person – Sauron. She turned away from the interrogation, and joined the others, who were all standing around the stone and looking pretty troubled, even if it had been covered now with Gandalf's cloak.
At long last Gandalf joined their little circle, and when he did, Eli asked, "So how's Pip?"
"He will be alright, I believe," Gandalf replied. "He was not held for long, and Hobbits have an amazing power of recovery. The memory, or the horror of it, will probably fade quickly. Too quickly, perhaps. Will you, Aragorn, take the Orthanc-stone and guard it? It is a dangerous charge."
"Dangerous indeed, but not to all," said Aragorn. "There is one who may claim it by right. For this assuredly is the palantir of Orthanc from the treasury of Elendil, set here by the Kings of Gondor. Now my hour draws near. I will take it."
Camille blinked in slight surprise when Gandalf lifted the covered stone, and presented it to Aragorn with a bow. "Receive it, lord!" he said: "in earnest of other things that shall be given back. But if I may counsel you in the use of your own, do not use it – yet! Be wary!"
"When have I been hasty or unwary, who have waited and prepared for so many long years?" said Aragorn.
"Never yet. Do not then stumble at the end of the road," answered Gandalf. "But at least keep this thing secret. You and all others that stand here! The Hobbit, Peregrin, above all should not know where it is bestowed. The evil fit may come on him again. For alas! He has handled it and looked in it, as should never have happened. He ought never to have touched it in Isengard, and there I should have been quicker."
Camille shrugged. "But you've got to give Pip some credit. I read about this palantir thingy in Rivendell, and I squeezed as much information as I could from Elrond. At least it was just HIM who got tempted; if it had been you, Gandalf, I don't want to think what could be coming down our necks right about now."
Gandalf chuckled. "Yes, I do suppose you are right. But now the mind of the Dark Lord will be turned to Isengard, if my suspicions prove to be true, and this is not entirely wholesome for us. We must make haste and leave soon. I will ride ahead at once with Peregrin Took. It will be better for him than lying in the dark while others sleep."
"I will keep Eomer and ten Riders," said Theoden. "They shall ride with me at early day. The rest may go with Aragorn and ride as soon as they have a mind."
"As you will," said Gandalf. "But make all the speed you may to the cover of the hills, to Helm's Deep!"
Suddenly a cold wave of menace and fear washed over Camille, and she shuddered, closing her eyes as she wrapped her arms around herself. She looked up, and watched as a large, winged shadow blotted out the face of the moon. Wheeling north, it flew off, with a speed greater than any wind of Middle-Earth. The stars flickered as it passed, black against black, until it was gone.
For a while, everyone was silent. But in moments, Gandalf let out a cry. "Nazgul! The Messenger of Mordor. The storm is coming. The Nazgul have crossed the River! Ride, ride! Wait not for the dawn! Let not the swift wait for the slow! Ride!"
Almost instantly there was a flurry of activity around the camp. People were packing up their belongings, packing up the tents, and getting back onto their horses as fast as they could. Camille and Eli immediately packed the few belongings they had, and looked for Blackwing and Whitewing. They mounted their horses quickly, and watched as Gandalf took Pippin with him to who-knew-where.
Camille shrugged at that. Well he's safer with Gandalf than any of us are, even if there are so many of us. She and Eli trotted over to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, who stood nearby. Merry was seated with Aragorn, and Gimli was with Legolas.
"So six of the Company still remain," said Aragorn. "We will ride on together. But we shall not go alone, as I thought. The king is now determined to set out at once. Since the coming of the winged shadow, he desires to return to the hills under the cover of night."
"Then where do we go from there?" Eli asked as she shifted slightly in her saddle.
"I cannot say yet," Aragorn answered. "As for the king, he will go to the muster that he commanded at Edoras, four nights from now. And there, I think, he will hear tidings of war and the Riders of Rohan will go down to Minas Tirith. But for myself, and any that will go with me…"
"I for one!" cried Legolas. "And Gimli with him!" said the Dwarf.
"Well, for myself," said Aragorn, "it is dark before me. I must go down also to Minas Tirith, but I do not yet see the road. An hour long prepared approaches."
Camille grinned at him then. "Hope you don't plan on leaving me and Eli behind. You three males need a woman to keep you in line."
"To keep us in line or to keep YOU in line?" Gimli returned, half in jest and half in irritation.
"I mostly agree with Camille, but yeah, we sometimes need you guys to keep us in line," Eli answered.
"Don't leave me behind!" said Merry. "I have not been of much use yet; but I don't want to be laid aside, like baggage to be called for when all is over. I don't think the Riders will want to be bothered with me now. Though, of course, the king did say I was to sit by him when he came to his house and tell him all about the Shire."
"Yes," said Aragorn, "and your road lies with him, I think, Merry. But do not look for mirth at the ending. It will be long, I fear, ere Theoden sits at ease again in Meduseld. Many hopes will wither in this bitter Spring."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Phew, done at last! I know, the wedding proposal isn't exactly the most romantic thing in the world, but hey, that's the way the cookie crumbles! And I've finally gotten past TT! I will now move on to ROTK cheers!!! We have now reached a turning point in the story. The next few chapters will no longer focus so much on the relationship of Legolas and Camille, but on that of Eli, Elladan, and Elrohir. Hey, it's about time I gave the girl a chance! She's been nagging at me for quite a while now, and I believe that THIS is her opportunity. Anyway, next up: on the return trip to Edoras, Theoden's party meet up with a strange group of riders. Who might they be? Read and learn, my friends!