Title: The Lady of the Rings
Author: eena_angel2001
Email: igrewal@sfu.ca or eena_angel@hotmail.com
Rating: R
Category: BTVS/LOTR crossover
Pairing: Willow/Other: Willow/Legolas
Spoilers: Wrecked for BTVS, LOTR movie
Summary: crossover between Buffy and Lord of the Rings movie
Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to any of the characters. Joss Whedon owns BTVS, Tolkien owns LOTR
Chapter Twelve
Willow fidgeted. She bit her lip, turning her eyes side-to-side, and frowning deeply at the sight before her. Her fingers went to play with the hem of her shirt, and she began bouncing on the balls of her feet. Her green eyes went to the dwarf beside her, a slightly confused look on her face. Finally she had to do it. She had to ask.
"What's he doing?" she whispered out of the corner of her mouth, trying to be as discreet as possible. Gimli huffed and shrugged, peering at Aragorn in confusion equal to her own. Willow shook her head, leaning forward to try and discern exactly what Aragorn was doing.
"He is tracking," came the whispered reply in her ear. Willow jumped, relaxing only slightly when she saw Legolas at her side. She blushed a bit, both at his nearness and the fact that he overheard her.
"You know, that Elf hearing is an unfair advantage," she muttered under her breath, sending the Elf a bit of a sour look. He merely smiled at her, hand patting her back before he turned attentively to Aragorn.
Willow sighed, feeling she would have appreciated more of a pat on the back from the Elf. A full-fledge make out session was what she would have preferred actually, and they could probably get away with it. Aragorn was far too busy doing whatever he was doing to pay much attention to his companions. Of course, since they were trying to track their friends, maybe it would be productive for him to get up and actually start the tracking.
The redhead huffed a bit, edging a bit closer to the man, wide eyes taking in his form. Aragorn didn't even register her presence, well in no way she knew of. He just stayed where he was, doing his thing, which she couldn't quite figure out.
"Why are you doing that?" she finally asked loudly, frowning down at Aragorn. The man looked up from his position of lying on the ground with his ear pressed against the earth. He seemed a bit puzzled, holding up a hand to stay her questions as he sought . . . something. But if he thought he could figure out where the Orcs had taken the hobbits by trying to be one with the earth, maybe he was finally starting to lose it. All the stress of being the leader of a failed fellowship and losing more than half the company, it was bound to have an effect on a person.
"He is a Ranger," Legolas reminded her. "He is tracking the Orcs and the hobbits."
"Are you telling me he can hear-"
"They have changed direction," Aragorn interrupted, rising to his feet and brushing the dirt off his hands. He looked to his companions, a frown marring his features.
"They are heading straight to Isengard with their load," he muttered, glaring off into the horizon. "Straight to Saruman."
"And that's surprising because?" Willow prompted with raised eyebrows.
"Why would they head all the way back around to Isengard when Mordor is where the ring should be headed?" Aragorn shrugged. "Something is not quite balanced on the side of our foes. Something is amiss."
"Amiss?" Willow arched an eyebrow at the man. "You got all that from trying to be one with the earth?"
Gimli snickered at that. Aragorn smirked at bit at her, nodding his head towards the horizon.
"Come," he ordered, trotting away. "We must go."
"Go?" Willow repeated, slowly following the man. "Does that mean running again? Because I'm so unimpressed with that."
"We must hurry," was all he added before taking off in a full run. Willow glared after his retreating form, stamping her foot.
"I don't run this much!" she whined. Legolas only gave her a slight kiss before trotting off after Aragorn. She was left standing there with Gimli, a sour look on her face.
"I'm really starting to hate those two."
Gimli only grunted, hefting his axe a bit before running after the first two. Willow rolled her eyes before taking up a light jog to catch up with her friends. For the umpteenth time since her arrival in this land, Willow wondered why she couldn't have been transported to a time that had automobiles. Or at least a bicycle or something.
She wasn't made to do this much running.
*****
They had made it far, with very little rest. Willow slumped against Legolas as they stopped once again. Aragorn had stopped in the middle of his trek, falling to the floor in one full swoop. Willow skidded to a stop to avoid hitting Legolas full on. The Elf put out a hand to stop her, studying Aragorn in curiosity as the man searched the earth. The redhead keeled over, breathing hard with the Elf trying to hold her upright.
"I. Don't. Run. This. Much," she gasped, glaring at him a bit. Stupid Elf, with all his breath and not winded at all. Not even sweating while Willow here was mopping sweat off her forehead. Gimli was in the same boat as her, stumbling up behind the whole lot of them. The dwarf looked about ready to collapse.
Aragorn also wasn't winded. In fact, he was fine, just like Legolas. Must be that whole Ranger deal. So not happy with either the man or the Elf. If they insisted on running this much, then maybe one of them should carry her or something. Because she sure as hell didn't agree with it.
"Can't we just stop for like two minutes, or days?" she asked feebly. Legolas just gave her a smile, but said nothing. She just grumbled, turning to plead with Aragorn, but he wasn't paying attention to her.
Instead, he stayed on the ground, examining things there. He straightened after a bit, handing something wordlessly over to Willow. The redhead accepted it with confusion, eyes going to the tiny pendant in her hand. She recognized the green leaves and gold lining immediately. They all had one just like it, on the robes given to them by Galadriel.
"The hobbits," she choked out. Aragorn nodded, turning his head to look out over the landscape.
"Thrown off no doubt," Legolas surmised. "These pendants do not fall off lightly."
"Which means they are alive, for now," Aragorn continued, still looking around him. "Saruman most likely asked for them to be taken alive. They are safe until the Orcs get them to Isengard."
Willow sighed, looking forlornly at the pendant in her hands. Her finger traced over the leaves carefully as she gave thought to the friends she had lost mere days before. She had started this trip off with all four of her hobbits, and now she was without one of them. Two she would not meet until the very end, but two more were in dire danger. And the only thing she could do now was to try and save them.
"So we stop them before then," Willow interjected. "Which means I shut up about the running and just carry on as fast as my legs will take me."
Aragorn favoured her with a warm smile.
"Exactly that my lady," he nodded, pointing to the land around them. "They have taken them through the land of Rohan. We must follow."
"What's in Rohan?" Willow asked, starting a slow walk to join Aragorn.
"It is the land of the horse masters," Gimli offered, huffing as he hobbled to join his companions. "Proud people, finest bred horses in all of Middle Earth. Or so I'm told. Dwarves and horses do not exactly go together."
Willow gave a little laugh, the image of the dwarf floundering around on a horse coming to her mind. Legolas snickered beside her, his dancing eyes letting her know he was thinking of the same thing. Gimli stared hard at the both of them before nudging past them in a huff.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" he bellowed, starting down the rocky hill. "Those Orcs won't catch themselves."
Willow shook her head, swallowing her moan of dismay before clasping Legolas's hand and running off down the hill in pursuit of the phantom Orc trail.
*****
And on and on with the running. Hours turned into days very quickly, all at a fast paced step. They stopped only in the dead of the night, falling to whatever shelter they could find. Aragorn spent much time kneeling on the floor and trying to hear anything that would lead them to the Orcs.
Willow was very glad for these brief breaks, basking in them whenever she could. Her very many years on the Hellmouth had made her perfectly adept at running, but for such a long time? Back home she usually only had to run for a maximum of an hour or two before Buffy would come and save her. Too bad that wasn't an option here.
Did you know that Elves sleep with their eyes open? She hadn't known that, but had very quickly found out. It had scared the hell out of her to see Legolas like that. She had opened her eyes, falling out of sleep rather suddenly. The fire had still been going, Gimli snoring contentedly beside it. Aragorn was up for the guard and she thought that Legolas was too. But he wasn't moving, or even breathing that noticeably. And he didn't even flinch when she neared him.
Aragorn had explained to her that he was sleeping before she had the opportunity to freak out. He had seemed surprise that she didn't know that particular fact, something that made her blush. She wondered how long and how much her other friends knew about her and the Elf. She thought she had been all discreet about it, but hell, everyone knew. But whatever, she figured Aragorn knew what that felt like. After all, everyone knew about him and Arwen, but then again, those two were so bad at hiding it. Maybe she and Legolas were too.
Anyway, the sleeping thing was creepy. She didn't like that glass eyed look on her Elf. Figuring there was no point in really pretending anymore, she curled up next to him, worriedly watching him for a bit before falling into sleep.
She awoke to breakfast and knowing smirks from Gimli and Aragorn. You know, for warriors and princes and the like, they were awful immature about some things. All this winking and the smirking, she guessed boys would be boys no matter what time frame you were in.
"How come you do that when you sleep?" she asked Legolas once they had started trekking again. He looked at her in confusion, taking his eyes off the horizon for once.
"Do what?" he asked in reply.
"That open eye thing," she clarified, jogging a bit to keep pace with him. He smiled and shrugged.
"Elves do not close their eyes when they sleep," he explained. "We do not need to as it isn't really sleep. Just rest."
"Oh," well, it hadn't really answered her question, but whatever. Probably not the most important thing going on at the moment anyway. She put her hand inside her cloak, grasping the pendant there slightly. Her thoughts turned away from the trek to the hobbits once more. She knew where Merry and Pippin were for the time being, and she also knew that they would be safe until they reached Isengard.
But she had no such guarantee for Frodo or Sam. Not for the first time she questioned her decision to let them go without following. Maybe they should have split up and followed each pair of hobbits. Maybe that way would have been better and someone would be with Frodo and Sam. Lord knows what was happening to them right now . . .
Willow gave a little squeal when Legolas jerked her arm, pulling her out of her reverie. She felt herself being tugged and stumbled along with it, mouth making protesting noises that Legolas silenced with a hand. He pulled her to a small shelter, Aragorn and Gimli joining them.
"Riders," the Elf explained calmly, arm pulling Willow down and still. "Men, they look like riders of Rohan."
"Where?" Willow asked, trying to crane her neck for a look. Legolas smiled at her, pulling her down once more.
"They are there," he whispered amusedly. "Trust me. They should be upon us in a little bit."
"How did you . . . Elvish sight," she answered her question with a roll of her eyes. "You know, you seem to have a lot of those superior senses. How come you only mention them now?"
"You never asked before," he replied innocently. The redhead blinked, turning an astounded face to her other companions.
"That sounded a little like lip," she giggled. "I'm a bad influence on all of you."
"They near," Aragorn whispered, hand going to shush her. Willow frowned at that hand, but keeping quiet as her ears picked up the sounds of approaching horses. Ooh, horses. They could use horses. Because humans can only run so far on their own volition. And Willow was pretty much near the end of her running.
Legolas covered her head as the company swept by them, dust going flying up around them. Willow ducked into his arms, coughing slightly as all the dust came up into her face.
"Riders of Rohan," Aragorn affirmed, watching them pass. He gave them all one look and nodded in the direction of the riders. Willow frowned, not sure that it would be a good idea but whatever. It was already done, Aragorn jumping out and calling for their attention. The others scrambled out after him, looking at the mounted warriors in curiosity.
Not surprisingly they were surrounded, all kinds of pointy, sharp weapons pointed at them. Normally, this would have made her nervous, but during her short stay here, Willow had become accustomed to it. It seemed that all anyone ever did in Middle Earth was point sharp weapons at others. A person just had to learn to discern whether the wielder of the weapon was in a receptive and cautious mood, or a jabby killing mood.
"A dwarf, an Elf, and two humans," one, the leader she was assuming, spoke. "What business have you in Rohan?"
"We come as friends," Aragorn was quick to reply. The man snorted.
"There are no more friends left in Middle Earth," he muttered. "Only enemies and spies."
"We are not spies," Aragorn protested, stepping forward in earnest.
"Who are you?" the man asked sternly.
"Tell me your name," Gimli spoke up. "And then I'll let you know mine."
Willow wanted to tell the dwarf that this was not one of the best times to be testing his limits. Leader guy's eyes bulged and he turned a glare on the dwarf. Willow resisted the urge to gulp audibly or to show any sign of fear as the man jumped off his horse and approached.
"I could have you dead with a wave of my hand," the man threatened, bringing his right hand to his sword. Legolas reacted instantly, arrow to bow and pointed at the man's head in an instant.
"You would be dead before you even dropped that hand," Legolas threatened. Willow flinched when the other riders advanced, feeling some spears poke her in the back. She felt a little anger towards her Yummy Elf. With one move he had turned the strange riders from cautious wielding to jabby killing wielding. If he wasn't so hot, she might have held it against him.
"Boys," she started off through clenched teeth. "Let's not fight. I don't think it's going to be all that productive."
Leader guy's eyes fell on her in that instant and Willow saw his eyes flicker strangely. She looked back at him nervously, flinching again when one of the riders poked her a bit too hard. Aragorn took the distraction and put a reassuring hand on Legolas's arm.
"Willow is right," the man stated firmly, pushing the bow down slowly. "We did not come here to fight."
Everyone eased up a bit, leader guy pushing back, but eyes never leaving Willow. Legolas frowned at the man, standing rather protectively in front of the redhead. Willow just shot her gaze between Aragorn and leader guy, waiting for some sort of resolution to come about.
"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn," Aragorn started, nodding towards his companions. "This is Gimli, son of Gloin and Legolas, of Mirkwood."
Leader guy nodded, raising his eyebrows rather obviously in Willow's direction.
"My sister," Aragorn was quick to reply. "The Lady Willow."
Willow scrunched up her nose a bit, not liking the Lady bit. She was very nervous for some reason. She thought leader guy would so see through Aragorn's lie. After all, not like they looked a thing alike. And why would a man bring his sister out with him, along with a dwarf and an Elf, to traipse across Rohan?
"Sister?" leader guy repeated. See? Didn't buy it for a second.
"And who might you be?" Legolas asked him, stepping up to the front. Leader guy straightened, looking to his gathered men. He waved a hand and the riders finally backed off. Willow let out a sigh of relief as the spears were removed from her back. The redhead licked her lips, going to stand behind Aragorn.
"I am Eomer," leader introduced himself. "Nephew of the king of Rohan. But Rohan is no longer a friendly place for anyone, not even blood. Saruman has poisoned the land and those not willing to follow have been banished."
"Like you?" Willow couldn't help but ask. Eomer turned his head sharply at the sound of her voice, nodding hesitantly when he laid eyes on her.
"Yes, and the rest of us," he motioned to the men surrounding him. "Some two thousand strong. We have nothing to do but patrol the lands, killing the enemy where we can. The king has been poisoned, and we are banished from his sight."
"We are looking for our friends," Aragorn offered. "Two of them, they had been taken by a band of Orcs."
Willow noticed immediately how Eomer came to attention at the word "Orc". She approached cautiously, looking him right in the eye.
"Have you seen them?" she asked, a slight quiver to her voice. Eomer looked troubled, failing to meet her eyes fully.
"There was a band of Orcs," he revealed. "We came upon them in the night."
"Did you see our friends?" Gimli pressed. "You couldn't have mistaken them for Orcs. They're hobbits. About this high."
"They would have looked like children to you," Aragorn continued. Eomer exchanged looks with his riders, looks Willow didn't like at all. He looked guilty.
"You didn't," she whispered, tears threatening her eyes. "You couldn't have mistaken them. They're only about three feet tall!"
"We slew all that were there," Eomer confessed, no longer meeting her eyes at all. "We burned the bodies, just over that rise."
The four companions turned, seeing the puff of smoke emerging off to their left. Willow bit her lip, trying to ward off the fear she was feeling. Panicking would do neither her nor the hobbits any good.
Eomer nodded at his men, waving them forward. Willow watched soundlessly as two horses were brought forth, Eomer presenting Legolas and Aragorn with the reigns.
"We can lend you these," Eomer offered, a hint of compassion in his voice. "Hopefully they were fare you better than they did their previous owners. I hope your friends are all right."
"Where . . ."
"To the north," Eomer answered her unfinished question. "To seek out more enemies if we can find them. I pray your journey ends well my lady."
"You too," she mumbled, following Legolas as he moved her over to a horse. She waited as he jumped up, allowing him to pull her up behind him. With numbness in her bones, she wrapped her arms around the Elf and tuned out all other stimuli. Her eyes went to the smoke rising from the Orcs bodies. Her heart was thumping loudly in her chest as she watched the smoke curl up in the air, fading up into the sky.
She thought of Merry and Pippin and prayed.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Author: eena_angel2001
Email: igrewal@sfu.ca or eena_angel@hotmail.com
Rating: R
Category: BTVS/LOTR crossover
Pairing: Willow/Other: Willow/Legolas
Spoilers: Wrecked for BTVS, LOTR movie
Summary: crossover between Buffy and Lord of the Rings movie
Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to any of the characters. Joss Whedon owns BTVS, Tolkien owns LOTR
Chapter Twelve
Willow fidgeted. She bit her lip, turning her eyes side-to-side, and frowning deeply at the sight before her. Her fingers went to play with the hem of her shirt, and she began bouncing on the balls of her feet. Her green eyes went to the dwarf beside her, a slightly confused look on her face. Finally she had to do it. She had to ask.
"What's he doing?" she whispered out of the corner of her mouth, trying to be as discreet as possible. Gimli huffed and shrugged, peering at Aragorn in confusion equal to her own. Willow shook her head, leaning forward to try and discern exactly what Aragorn was doing.
"He is tracking," came the whispered reply in her ear. Willow jumped, relaxing only slightly when she saw Legolas at her side. She blushed a bit, both at his nearness and the fact that he overheard her.
"You know, that Elf hearing is an unfair advantage," she muttered under her breath, sending the Elf a bit of a sour look. He merely smiled at her, hand patting her back before he turned attentively to Aragorn.
Willow sighed, feeling she would have appreciated more of a pat on the back from the Elf. A full-fledge make out session was what she would have preferred actually, and they could probably get away with it. Aragorn was far too busy doing whatever he was doing to pay much attention to his companions. Of course, since they were trying to track their friends, maybe it would be productive for him to get up and actually start the tracking.
The redhead huffed a bit, edging a bit closer to the man, wide eyes taking in his form. Aragorn didn't even register her presence, well in no way she knew of. He just stayed where he was, doing his thing, which she couldn't quite figure out.
"Why are you doing that?" she finally asked loudly, frowning down at Aragorn. The man looked up from his position of lying on the ground with his ear pressed against the earth. He seemed a bit puzzled, holding up a hand to stay her questions as he sought . . . something. But if he thought he could figure out where the Orcs had taken the hobbits by trying to be one with the earth, maybe he was finally starting to lose it. All the stress of being the leader of a failed fellowship and losing more than half the company, it was bound to have an effect on a person.
"He is a Ranger," Legolas reminded her. "He is tracking the Orcs and the hobbits."
"Are you telling me he can hear-"
"They have changed direction," Aragorn interrupted, rising to his feet and brushing the dirt off his hands. He looked to his companions, a frown marring his features.
"They are heading straight to Isengard with their load," he muttered, glaring off into the horizon. "Straight to Saruman."
"And that's surprising because?" Willow prompted with raised eyebrows.
"Why would they head all the way back around to Isengard when Mordor is where the ring should be headed?" Aragorn shrugged. "Something is not quite balanced on the side of our foes. Something is amiss."
"Amiss?" Willow arched an eyebrow at the man. "You got all that from trying to be one with the earth?"
Gimli snickered at that. Aragorn smirked at bit at her, nodding his head towards the horizon.
"Come," he ordered, trotting away. "We must go."
"Go?" Willow repeated, slowly following the man. "Does that mean running again? Because I'm so unimpressed with that."
"We must hurry," was all he added before taking off in a full run. Willow glared after his retreating form, stamping her foot.
"I don't run this much!" she whined. Legolas only gave her a slight kiss before trotting off after Aragorn. She was left standing there with Gimli, a sour look on her face.
"I'm really starting to hate those two."
Gimli only grunted, hefting his axe a bit before running after the first two. Willow rolled her eyes before taking up a light jog to catch up with her friends. For the umpteenth time since her arrival in this land, Willow wondered why she couldn't have been transported to a time that had automobiles. Or at least a bicycle or something.
She wasn't made to do this much running.
*****
They had made it far, with very little rest. Willow slumped against Legolas as they stopped once again. Aragorn had stopped in the middle of his trek, falling to the floor in one full swoop. Willow skidded to a stop to avoid hitting Legolas full on. The Elf put out a hand to stop her, studying Aragorn in curiosity as the man searched the earth. The redhead keeled over, breathing hard with the Elf trying to hold her upright.
"I. Don't. Run. This. Much," she gasped, glaring at him a bit. Stupid Elf, with all his breath and not winded at all. Not even sweating while Willow here was mopping sweat off her forehead. Gimli was in the same boat as her, stumbling up behind the whole lot of them. The dwarf looked about ready to collapse.
Aragorn also wasn't winded. In fact, he was fine, just like Legolas. Must be that whole Ranger deal. So not happy with either the man or the Elf. If they insisted on running this much, then maybe one of them should carry her or something. Because she sure as hell didn't agree with it.
"Can't we just stop for like two minutes, or days?" she asked feebly. Legolas just gave her a smile, but said nothing. She just grumbled, turning to plead with Aragorn, but he wasn't paying attention to her.
Instead, he stayed on the ground, examining things there. He straightened after a bit, handing something wordlessly over to Willow. The redhead accepted it with confusion, eyes going to the tiny pendant in her hand. She recognized the green leaves and gold lining immediately. They all had one just like it, on the robes given to them by Galadriel.
"The hobbits," she choked out. Aragorn nodded, turning his head to look out over the landscape.
"Thrown off no doubt," Legolas surmised. "These pendants do not fall off lightly."
"Which means they are alive, for now," Aragorn continued, still looking around him. "Saruman most likely asked for them to be taken alive. They are safe until the Orcs get them to Isengard."
Willow sighed, looking forlornly at the pendant in her hands. Her finger traced over the leaves carefully as she gave thought to the friends she had lost mere days before. She had started this trip off with all four of her hobbits, and now she was without one of them. Two she would not meet until the very end, but two more were in dire danger. And the only thing she could do now was to try and save them.
"So we stop them before then," Willow interjected. "Which means I shut up about the running and just carry on as fast as my legs will take me."
Aragorn favoured her with a warm smile.
"Exactly that my lady," he nodded, pointing to the land around them. "They have taken them through the land of Rohan. We must follow."
"What's in Rohan?" Willow asked, starting a slow walk to join Aragorn.
"It is the land of the horse masters," Gimli offered, huffing as he hobbled to join his companions. "Proud people, finest bred horses in all of Middle Earth. Or so I'm told. Dwarves and horses do not exactly go together."
Willow gave a little laugh, the image of the dwarf floundering around on a horse coming to her mind. Legolas snickered beside her, his dancing eyes letting her know he was thinking of the same thing. Gimli stared hard at the both of them before nudging past them in a huff.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" he bellowed, starting down the rocky hill. "Those Orcs won't catch themselves."
Willow shook her head, swallowing her moan of dismay before clasping Legolas's hand and running off down the hill in pursuit of the phantom Orc trail.
*****
And on and on with the running. Hours turned into days very quickly, all at a fast paced step. They stopped only in the dead of the night, falling to whatever shelter they could find. Aragorn spent much time kneeling on the floor and trying to hear anything that would lead them to the Orcs.
Willow was very glad for these brief breaks, basking in them whenever she could. Her very many years on the Hellmouth had made her perfectly adept at running, but for such a long time? Back home she usually only had to run for a maximum of an hour or two before Buffy would come and save her. Too bad that wasn't an option here.
Did you know that Elves sleep with their eyes open? She hadn't known that, but had very quickly found out. It had scared the hell out of her to see Legolas like that. She had opened her eyes, falling out of sleep rather suddenly. The fire had still been going, Gimli snoring contentedly beside it. Aragorn was up for the guard and she thought that Legolas was too. But he wasn't moving, or even breathing that noticeably. And he didn't even flinch when she neared him.
Aragorn had explained to her that he was sleeping before she had the opportunity to freak out. He had seemed surprise that she didn't know that particular fact, something that made her blush. She wondered how long and how much her other friends knew about her and the Elf. She thought she had been all discreet about it, but hell, everyone knew. But whatever, she figured Aragorn knew what that felt like. After all, everyone knew about him and Arwen, but then again, those two were so bad at hiding it. Maybe she and Legolas were too.
Anyway, the sleeping thing was creepy. She didn't like that glass eyed look on her Elf. Figuring there was no point in really pretending anymore, she curled up next to him, worriedly watching him for a bit before falling into sleep.
She awoke to breakfast and knowing smirks from Gimli and Aragorn. You know, for warriors and princes and the like, they were awful immature about some things. All this winking and the smirking, she guessed boys would be boys no matter what time frame you were in.
"How come you do that when you sleep?" she asked Legolas once they had started trekking again. He looked at her in confusion, taking his eyes off the horizon for once.
"Do what?" he asked in reply.
"That open eye thing," she clarified, jogging a bit to keep pace with him. He smiled and shrugged.
"Elves do not close their eyes when they sleep," he explained. "We do not need to as it isn't really sleep. Just rest."
"Oh," well, it hadn't really answered her question, but whatever. Probably not the most important thing going on at the moment anyway. She put her hand inside her cloak, grasping the pendant there slightly. Her thoughts turned away from the trek to the hobbits once more. She knew where Merry and Pippin were for the time being, and she also knew that they would be safe until they reached Isengard.
But she had no such guarantee for Frodo or Sam. Not for the first time she questioned her decision to let them go without following. Maybe they should have split up and followed each pair of hobbits. Maybe that way would have been better and someone would be with Frodo and Sam. Lord knows what was happening to them right now . . .
Willow gave a little squeal when Legolas jerked her arm, pulling her out of her reverie. She felt herself being tugged and stumbled along with it, mouth making protesting noises that Legolas silenced with a hand. He pulled her to a small shelter, Aragorn and Gimli joining them.
"Riders," the Elf explained calmly, arm pulling Willow down and still. "Men, they look like riders of Rohan."
"Where?" Willow asked, trying to crane her neck for a look. Legolas smiled at her, pulling her down once more.
"They are there," he whispered amusedly. "Trust me. They should be upon us in a little bit."
"How did you . . . Elvish sight," she answered her question with a roll of her eyes. "You know, you seem to have a lot of those superior senses. How come you only mention them now?"
"You never asked before," he replied innocently. The redhead blinked, turning an astounded face to her other companions.
"That sounded a little like lip," she giggled. "I'm a bad influence on all of you."
"They near," Aragorn whispered, hand going to shush her. Willow frowned at that hand, but keeping quiet as her ears picked up the sounds of approaching horses. Ooh, horses. They could use horses. Because humans can only run so far on their own volition. And Willow was pretty much near the end of her running.
Legolas covered her head as the company swept by them, dust going flying up around them. Willow ducked into his arms, coughing slightly as all the dust came up into her face.
"Riders of Rohan," Aragorn affirmed, watching them pass. He gave them all one look and nodded in the direction of the riders. Willow frowned, not sure that it would be a good idea but whatever. It was already done, Aragorn jumping out and calling for their attention. The others scrambled out after him, looking at the mounted warriors in curiosity.
Not surprisingly they were surrounded, all kinds of pointy, sharp weapons pointed at them. Normally, this would have made her nervous, but during her short stay here, Willow had become accustomed to it. It seemed that all anyone ever did in Middle Earth was point sharp weapons at others. A person just had to learn to discern whether the wielder of the weapon was in a receptive and cautious mood, or a jabby killing mood.
"A dwarf, an Elf, and two humans," one, the leader she was assuming, spoke. "What business have you in Rohan?"
"We come as friends," Aragorn was quick to reply. The man snorted.
"There are no more friends left in Middle Earth," he muttered. "Only enemies and spies."
"We are not spies," Aragorn protested, stepping forward in earnest.
"Who are you?" the man asked sternly.
"Tell me your name," Gimli spoke up. "And then I'll let you know mine."
Willow wanted to tell the dwarf that this was not one of the best times to be testing his limits. Leader guy's eyes bulged and he turned a glare on the dwarf. Willow resisted the urge to gulp audibly or to show any sign of fear as the man jumped off his horse and approached.
"I could have you dead with a wave of my hand," the man threatened, bringing his right hand to his sword. Legolas reacted instantly, arrow to bow and pointed at the man's head in an instant.
"You would be dead before you even dropped that hand," Legolas threatened. Willow flinched when the other riders advanced, feeling some spears poke her in the back. She felt a little anger towards her Yummy Elf. With one move he had turned the strange riders from cautious wielding to jabby killing wielding. If he wasn't so hot, she might have held it against him.
"Boys," she started off through clenched teeth. "Let's not fight. I don't think it's going to be all that productive."
Leader guy's eyes fell on her in that instant and Willow saw his eyes flicker strangely. She looked back at him nervously, flinching again when one of the riders poked her a bit too hard. Aragorn took the distraction and put a reassuring hand on Legolas's arm.
"Willow is right," the man stated firmly, pushing the bow down slowly. "We did not come here to fight."
Everyone eased up a bit, leader guy pushing back, but eyes never leaving Willow. Legolas frowned at the man, standing rather protectively in front of the redhead. Willow just shot her gaze between Aragorn and leader guy, waiting for some sort of resolution to come about.
"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn," Aragorn started, nodding towards his companions. "This is Gimli, son of Gloin and Legolas, of Mirkwood."
Leader guy nodded, raising his eyebrows rather obviously in Willow's direction.
"My sister," Aragorn was quick to reply. "The Lady Willow."
Willow scrunched up her nose a bit, not liking the Lady bit. She was very nervous for some reason. She thought leader guy would so see through Aragorn's lie. After all, not like they looked a thing alike. And why would a man bring his sister out with him, along with a dwarf and an Elf, to traipse across Rohan?
"Sister?" leader guy repeated. See? Didn't buy it for a second.
"And who might you be?" Legolas asked him, stepping up to the front. Leader guy straightened, looking to his gathered men. He waved a hand and the riders finally backed off. Willow let out a sigh of relief as the spears were removed from her back. The redhead licked her lips, going to stand behind Aragorn.
"I am Eomer," leader introduced himself. "Nephew of the king of Rohan. But Rohan is no longer a friendly place for anyone, not even blood. Saruman has poisoned the land and those not willing to follow have been banished."
"Like you?" Willow couldn't help but ask. Eomer turned his head sharply at the sound of her voice, nodding hesitantly when he laid eyes on her.
"Yes, and the rest of us," he motioned to the men surrounding him. "Some two thousand strong. We have nothing to do but patrol the lands, killing the enemy where we can. The king has been poisoned, and we are banished from his sight."
"We are looking for our friends," Aragorn offered. "Two of them, they had been taken by a band of Orcs."
Willow noticed immediately how Eomer came to attention at the word "Orc". She approached cautiously, looking him right in the eye.
"Have you seen them?" she asked, a slight quiver to her voice. Eomer looked troubled, failing to meet her eyes fully.
"There was a band of Orcs," he revealed. "We came upon them in the night."
"Did you see our friends?" Gimli pressed. "You couldn't have mistaken them for Orcs. They're hobbits. About this high."
"They would have looked like children to you," Aragorn continued. Eomer exchanged looks with his riders, looks Willow didn't like at all. He looked guilty.
"You didn't," she whispered, tears threatening her eyes. "You couldn't have mistaken them. They're only about three feet tall!"
"We slew all that were there," Eomer confessed, no longer meeting her eyes at all. "We burned the bodies, just over that rise."
The four companions turned, seeing the puff of smoke emerging off to their left. Willow bit her lip, trying to ward off the fear she was feeling. Panicking would do neither her nor the hobbits any good.
Eomer nodded at his men, waving them forward. Willow watched soundlessly as two horses were brought forth, Eomer presenting Legolas and Aragorn with the reigns.
"We can lend you these," Eomer offered, a hint of compassion in his voice. "Hopefully they were fare you better than they did their previous owners. I hope your friends are all right."
"Where . . ."
"To the north," Eomer answered her unfinished question. "To seek out more enemies if we can find them. I pray your journey ends well my lady."
"You too," she mumbled, following Legolas as he moved her over to a horse. She waited as he jumped up, allowing him to pull her up behind him. With numbness in her bones, she wrapped her arms around the Elf and tuned out all other stimuli. Her eyes went to the smoke rising from the Orcs bodies. Her heart was thumping loudly in her chest as she watched the smoke curl up in the air, fading up into the sky.
She thought of Merry and Pippin and prayed.
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