Disclaimer: AU Story. My second large fic because it gave me so much pleasure writing the last. I do not own any of the characters or places in this story- both belong to the genius, Tolkien. I know; I torture the characters but I will do my very best to save them. Hope you enjoy!
Tiggivon: Happy New Year to you too! Thanks for the lovely reviews.
Shirebound: Thank you! I've been going over your stories again and again because they are just so good!
Feline Deamon: In answer to your question from your review for The Tower Trilogy, no, I was not there. I was at school in England and all my friends were making fun of it. Saying it was 'cool'. That made me so angry! But to be honest, I don't think any of us understood what it really felt like. It's not as if someone had crashed into Big Ben or Tower Bridge. But it hurt a lot all the same.
OH NO! Thirteen has come round again- the evil unlucky number! *holds up garlic and holy relic to defend self*
~ Chapter Thirteen ~
Night fell. Lothlórien was still. All the singing seemed to drift away and there was no more sound at all. The hobbits were lost.
"I don't remember this clearing," Pippin said nervously. Frodo looked round in bewilderment.
"But, we were on the staircase, weren't we? We can't have gone far wrong but we are on a much lower level."
"Perhaps Lómelindë took us further than we thought. We must have come down a far way- just down different steps," Merry interjected. "Come on. Let's get higher up."
--
Gollum stalked in among the tree branches, watching, watching, precious. He was leading the second troop of Moria orcs through the tangled outskirts of Lórien. One attack and the Ring was his! At long last! He could just pluck It from the sneaky little hobbit. At last! He had come all this way. The precious. Yes, precious, soon It would be in his hands again. He could go back to his dark caves where no lights would find him and he could eat beautiful fisheses forever. He cackled with delight but heard an angry grunt from below.
"You up there! Keep moving or we'll tear you limb from limb!"
Gollum scowled. He would definitely kill that orc when they were done.
--
Aragorn was curled up under his blanket, trying to sleep but still afraid for the hobbits. He knew that they would be safe in Lothlórien but it would be better to know where they were. And Frodo was still not up to this. He needed rest. Accusing himself of worrying too much, he made to sit up but cried out with surprise when he saw Legolas standing up beside him, arrow and bow in hand.
"What is it?" he whispered, getting to his feet. The elf nodded ahead and together, they moved to the edge of the talan. They could see nothing but the lights among the trees but there was something oddly unsettling about the atmosphere.
"It might be Gollum," Legolas said softly. Aragorn shook his head.
"I do not think so. It is a disturbance in the air itself. As if- as if something were moving at great speed. Can you sense it?"
"Yes. It approaches swiftly. Quickly, you must go and find the hobbits. I will warn Lord Celeborn. Go now!"
Aragorn complied and sprinted away down the stairs. Legolas woke Boromir and Gimli to tell them where he was going, then ran lightly up to find the elves.
--
"Frodo! Sam! Pippin! Merry! Where are you?"
"It's Strider," Sam said excitedly.
"We're here!" cried Frodo and then said to his companions, "Let's stay in one place so he can find us.. Merry? Merry, did you hear me?"
The hobbit was wandering in an almost trance-like state down the stairs. He stopped dead still.
"Do you hear that sound?"
"What?" asked Pippin, his curiosity aroused. All four of them ran to where Merry stood. They all strained their ears to listen for any sound. There was a soft drumming in the air. And a distant rustling. A shifting above them. The hobbits looked up, startled, into the branches above.
"Gollum," Frodo murmured.
"Come on, we have to get away from here," Pippin yelled, grabbing his cousin's arm. It took all three of them to get Frodo up the stairs. Just as they turned the corner, they crashed into Aragorn.
"That Gollum's right here, Strider and there's some noises down there," Sam gushed as the ranger quickly guided them up the stairs.
"I know, Sam, it's alright. Legolas is warning the elves now. Gollum, you say? Where? Did you see him?"
Sam tripped on a step and fell to his knees, just as an arrow whistled over his head. Frodo gasped and knelt to where his friend lay.
"Come on!" Aragorn shouted. He drew his sword and let the hobbits run past him and up to the safer ground. The drumming had grown in volume now and there were voices everywhere. Elves were coming out onto the talans, bows at the ready.
More arrows came streaking through the air. Aragorn scrambled up after the hobbits as the orcs began to appear everywhere. They gushed in through the trees, spilling onto the trees and climbing up to the talans.
"Legolas!" Aragorn screamed as he cleaved the head from an orc's shoulders. He sped up to the next level, leading the hobbits behind him. Uruk-Hai of unimaginable size loomed up to try and drag the ranger to the ground. But as two hands closed about his ankles, Aragorn heard a loud thud and a cry and the grip was lessened.
"Come along!" he urged. He looked up to see Legolas, hemmed on either side with archer elves, firing into the night. The hobbits were quickly led away to a second staircase and Aragorn found Boromir and Gimli waiting for him too.
"Are you hurt?" the man asked them. They both shook their heads.
"Legolas was quick, thankfully. There were a couple of orcs but we dealt with them," Boromir said, "But now, we must get you to a higher level too. We must defend the territory there. It seems that we are the only men-at-arms here. I'm useless with a bow."
"I'm alright but I agree, let us three wait for any attacks from above. It might- Gimli, look out!"
Aragorn lunged out and ran through orc flesh. The creature fell with a screech to the ground. The dwarf stood in shock for a moment but was grabbed by both men and dragged up the staircase. Screams of the wounded were resounding everywhere and arrows whizzed all around. The trio saw Haldir waving from a distance in the tree beside them.
"There's a bridge. Quickly!" Aragorn commanded. They sprinted down to a low platform and then along a suspended bridge. It was groaning with the weight of attackers. They swarmed all over it, hacking at the ends to prevent any from crossing.
"Now! Run! Run!" Boromir cried. They moved forward, Aragorn at the front, Gimli behind and Boromir at the rear. The orcs looked up and someone yelled an order. They began to approach. Calling out a battle cry, Aragorn ran to meet them and the clash of metal rang out on the bridge. The beasts were many but his companions were more than willing to help. The bridge swayed dangerously. There was a cry from Haldir and at his word, a rain of arrows hissed down, striking many of the enemy. At last, they made it to the other side and raced up to join the elves.
--
The orcs were relentless in their assault. They fought long into the night, fearing neither pain nor death. Lothlórien's golden lights poured forth into their eyes, attempting to blind them. But it was to little avail. The elves shot down volley after volley and brought down the back group of orcs. While high above, Gollum watched. He was creeping along a silvery branch. He hissed under his breath,
"It is close, precious. Very close. We feels the Ring now! Now, precious, now!"
He dived through the leaves and rolled onto the talan. The hobbits looked up in terror.
~
I wrote this chapter (and the next) to Gladiator soundtrack, so please forgive me if it rambles a bit. I am worried about my battles- please tell me if you like this!
Tiggivon: Happy New Year to you too! Thanks for the lovely reviews.
Shirebound: Thank you! I've been going over your stories again and again because they are just so good!
Feline Deamon: In answer to your question from your review for The Tower Trilogy, no, I was not there. I was at school in England and all my friends were making fun of it. Saying it was 'cool'. That made me so angry! But to be honest, I don't think any of us understood what it really felt like. It's not as if someone had crashed into Big Ben or Tower Bridge. But it hurt a lot all the same.
OH NO! Thirteen has come round again- the evil unlucky number! *holds up garlic and holy relic to defend self*
~ Chapter Thirteen ~
Night fell. Lothlórien was still. All the singing seemed to drift away and there was no more sound at all. The hobbits were lost.
"I don't remember this clearing," Pippin said nervously. Frodo looked round in bewilderment.
"But, we were on the staircase, weren't we? We can't have gone far wrong but we are on a much lower level."
"Perhaps Lómelindë took us further than we thought. We must have come down a far way- just down different steps," Merry interjected. "Come on. Let's get higher up."
--
Gollum stalked in among the tree branches, watching, watching, precious. He was leading the second troop of Moria orcs through the tangled outskirts of Lórien. One attack and the Ring was his! At long last! He could just pluck It from the sneaky little hobbit. At last! He had come all this way. The precious. Yes, precious, soon It would be in his hands again. He could go back to his dark caves where no lights would find him and he could eat beautiful fisheses forever. He cackled with delight but heard an angry grunt from below.
"You up there! Keep moving or we'll tear you limb from limb!"
Gollum scowled. He would definitely kill that orc when they were done.
--
Aragorn was curled up under his blanket, trying to sleep but still afraid for the hobbits. He knew that they would be safe in Lothlórien but it would be better to know where they were. And Frodo was still not up to this. He needed rest. Accusing himself of worrying too much, he made to sit up but cried out with surprise when he saw Legolas standing up beside him, arrow and bow in hand.
"What is it?" he whispered, getting to his feet. The elf nodded ahead and together, they moved to the edge of the talan. They could see nothing but the lights among the trees but there was something oddly unsettling about the atmosphere.
"It might be Gollum," Legolas said softly. Aragorn shook his head.
"I do not think so. It is a disturbance in the air itself. As if- as if something were moving at great speed. Can you sense it?"
"Yes. It approaches swiftly. Quickly, you must go and find the hobbits. I will warn Lord Celeborn. Go now!"
Aragorn complied and sprinted away down the stairs. Legolas woke Boromir and Gimli to tell them where he was going, then ran lightly up to find the elves.
--
"Frodo! Sam! Pippin! Merry! Where are you?"
"It's Strider," Sam said excitedly.
"We're here!" cried Frodo and then said to his companions, "Let's stay in one place so he can find us.. Merry? Merry, did you hear me?"
The hobbit was wandering in an almost trance-like state down the stairs. He stopped dead still.
"Do you hear that sound?"
"What?" asked Pippin, his curiosity aroused. All four of them ran to where Merry stood. They all strained their ears to listen for any sound. There was a soft drumming in the air. And a distant rustling. A shifting above them. The hobbits looked up, startled, into the branches above.
"Gollum," Frodo murmured.
"Come on, we have to get away from here," Pippin yelled, grabbing his cousin's arm. It took all three of them to get Frodo up the stairs. Just as they turned the corner, they crashed into Aragorn.
"That Gollum's right here, Strider and there's some noises down there," Sam gushed as the ranger quickly guided them up the stairs.
"I know, Sam, it's alright. Legolas is warning the elves now. Gollum, you say? Where? Did you see him?"
Sam tripped on a step and fell to his knees, just as an arrow whistled over his head. Frodo gasped and knelt to where his friend lay.
"Come on!" Aragorn shouted. He drew his sword and let the hobbits run past him and up to the safer ground. The drumming had grown in volume now and there were voices everywhere. Elves were coming out onto the talans, bows at the ready.
More arrows came streaking through the air. Aragorn scrambled up after the hobbits as the orcs began to appear everywhere. They gushed in through the trees, spilling onto the trees and climbing up to the talans.
"Legolas!" Aragorn screamed as he cleaved the head from an orc's shoulders. He sped up to the next level, leading the hobbits behind him. Uruk-Hai of unimaginable size loomed up to try and drag the ranger to the ground. But as two hands closed about his ankles, Aragorn heard a loud thud and a cry and the grip was lessened.
"Come along!" he urged. He looked up to see Legolas, hemmed on either side with archer elves, firing into the night. The hobbits were quickly led away to a second staircase and Aragorn found Boromir and Gimli waiting for him too.
"Are you hurt?" the man asked them. They both shook their heads.
"Legolas was quick, thankfully. There were a couple of orcs but we dealt with them," Boromir said, "But now, we must get you to a higher level too. We must defend the territory there. It seems that we are the only men-at-arms here. I'm useless with a bow."
"I'm alright but I agree, let us three wait for any attacks from above. It might- Gimli, look out!"
Aragorn lunged out and ran through orc flesh. The creature fell with a screech to the ground. The dwarf stood in shock for a moment but was grabbed by both men and dragged up the staircase. Screams of the wounded were resounding everywhere and arrows whizzed all around. The trio saw Haldir waving from a distance in the tree beside them.
"There's a bridge. Quickly!" Aragorn commanded. They sprinted down to a low platform and then along a suspended bridge. It was groaning with the weight of attackers. They swarmed all over it, hacking at the ends to prevent any from crossing.
"Now! Run! Run!" Boromir cried. They moved forward, Aragorn at the front, Gimli behind and Boromir at the rear. The orcs looked up and someone yelled an order. They began to approach. Calling out a battle cry, Aragorn ran to meet them and the clash of metal rang out on the bridge. The beasts were many but his companions were more than willing to help. The bridge swayed dangerously. There was a cry from Haldir and at his word, a rain of arrows hissed down, striking many of the enemy. At last, they made it to the other side and raced up to join the elves.
--
The orcs were relentless in their assault. They fought long into the night, fearing neither pain nor death. Lothlórien's golden lights poured forth into their eyes, attempting to blind them. But it was to little avail. The elves shot down volley after volley and brought down the back group of orcs. While high above, Gollum watched. He was creeping along a silvery branch. He hissed under his breath,
"It is close, precious. Very close. We feels the Ring now! Now, precious, now!"
He dived through the leaves and rolled onto the talan. The hobbits looked up in terror.
~
I wrote this chapter (and the next) to Gladiator soundtrack, so please forgive me if it rambles a bit. I am worried about my battles- please tell me if you like this!