The next day was not of much interest except for Merry and Pippin nearly drowning themselves in the guard house ( haha I slept outside). A hunched figure rode in on a horse and when he saw the wreckage he looked rather sick, like Sam in a boat. When he saw us he tried to turn his horse around but Treebeard snatched him off with a hand.
" I am Grima , friend and counseller of King Theoden . I was sent with important messages from Theoden to Lord Saruman, " he said.
Lord Saruman is it now? The man blathered on about how he went through deadly peril and blah blah blah. Egotistical freak. I could tell he was lying , the shifty eyes and everything. If the police hooked him up to a lie detector , they'd ask the first question and know he was guilty. Treebeard gave him a good welcome (ahaha) and sent him to swim across the now lake surrounding Orthanc.
" Tell Saruman Little Maiden has arrived !" I yelled after him as he struggled into the water.
"Nasty looking fellow , " Merry commented. I didn't like the look of him either.
Treebeard asked us to find man food (ahaha) for twenty-five. Well , there was that guardroom ..... But who was coming? The three of us staggered off in search of man food for hours , by the time I was finished , I was soaking wet. Pippin and Merry were pleased though with something called pipeweed. I laughed straight for five minutes.
" Hahahahahaha! Pipe ...weed!! Hahahaha!"
Pippin looked at me like I had finally snapped. He pulled a pipe out from under his shirt , stuffed it with "weed" and lit it !
I knew smoking was bad , so I ranted.
" What are you doing? Your going to get cancer from that crap ! It'll clog your lungs!"
"What are you talking about Little Maiden ? This is the 1417 crop! An excellent year !" Merry railed.
There were some things I'd never understand about hobbits. When they were finished , Merry sat looking out in the distance , Pippin was asleep and I was cloud gazing again.
"Look Merry, that one looks like a horse!"
As if to echoe my words I could hear hoofbeats coming toward us. Figures on horseback rode out of the smoke. Merry stood up and bowed low. I stared in shock at the former disheveled hobbit who now acted like elite society.
"Welcome my lords to Isengard! We are the doorwardens. Meriadoc son of Saradoc is my name , and my companions are the fair Little Maiden , and alas the other, is overcome with weariness is Peregrin son of Paladin , of the house of Took. "
I looked around at the riders who I supposed were Rohirrim from what Merry had told me. Great tall warriors they seemed to me , even for a 21st century girl. Some things never cease to amaze people. I snapped back to reality when Gimli started to yell at us.
" You rascals, you wooly footed and wooly pated truants ! A fine hunt you have lead us!"
Excuse me I am not a hobbit but a human thank you. My gaze and thoughts drifted back to the riders who were starting to shift uneasily under my gaze. Legolas gathered me up and swung me about breaking my train of thought yet again. I was passed to Aragorn , who put me down. Legolas grinned.
" My, my, Little Maiden , you look terrible."
I snorted lightly. " No how-are-you-doing?"
After all introductions had been made , which took a while , Theoden ( the king of Rohan!) and Gandalf rode off to see Treebeard. The rest of our band of friends sat down and ate the provisions taken by Pippin from the guardhouse. They filled pipes with that "weed" and sat in silence after a lot of talking I was rather bewildered with. If they die from cancer , it won't be my fault . Aragorn removed a leaf brooch from somewhere inside his cloak and handed it to Pippin.
We talked awhile about escape and Merry and Pippin told the story of what happened after until now. I sat beside them in silence .
"Little Maiden , tell us what happened to you , " Legolas said. "Your eyes , are..... pained...."
I told them of Boromir's last fight , my anger. I told them of being a 'plaything' and they cringed . I told them of being beaten and near rape. Told them of escape , relief , Ents , war , and pipeweed. When I was finished no one spoke for a long while. " Poor child ." Aragorn mused. Gimli sat lost in thought and Legolas gazed somewhere else , probably to avoid my gaze.
" Does it still pain you ? " Aragorn asked.
" My rib , well yes when I bend over and such."
"Come with me , and remove your shirt, " he instructed.
"What ?! , " I could feel a lump building in the back of my throat.
Legolas shook his head and mouthed the word no to Aragorn .
I remained seated unable to move.
"Do you want me to do it here in front of everybody? " he asked. I couldn't speak.
In a smooth movement he squatted on the ground and pulled my shirt over my head before I could protest. He started to undo the bandage wrapped tightly around my chest. I screamed and shoved him away.
" Don't TOUCH ME !"
He sat back, a frown on his face. Merry placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.
" Leave her be , Strider. "
I squirmed away closer to Pippin who looked upset by all this. His green eyes looked at me questioningly.
Legolas kneeled and I collapsed into his arms. I began to cry with shame and anger and for Boromir. Especially for Boromir. Any words I might have possibly garbled out were lost in my gasping sobs. He rubbed my back soothingly and was saying something in Elvish to me. Hell , I couldn't understand it but it made me relax. My hiccups stopped and I calmed enough to think somewhat coherently. Everyone's eyes were fastened upon me . I knew they would never hurt me , they were like a bunch of uncles. Erm , warrior uncles. Except Merry and Pippin of course , they were more the younger sibling types.
"Little Maiden , on my word as an elf of Mirkwood , I swear no harm will come to you. Aragorn needs to help you or else your lungs may be damaged , and I do not think Little Warrior would appreciate it , with all that fighting. "
I nodded and he wiped the remaining tears off my face. He gave a gentle smile and helped me up.
I followed Aragorn behind a rather tall rock that shielded us from view.
" I'm going to make this as painless as possible , when I pull the rib back in place, scream as loud as you can." I nodded.
Aragorn removed the bandage to reveal a big purple splotch straight across my rib cage. He didn't waste any time though. He seemed to reach into my lungs and pull the broken bone out. Impossible it seemed but I screamed just the same.
" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH ! "
Obviously the Fellowship thought something was wrong and they all came running. Which resulted in me screaming again.
" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH ! You pervs ! I'm alright ! Just shoo ! Go away! "
I sat with my arms over my chest.
" That was....humiliating. So can I have my shirt back now? I'm freezing ! "
Aragorn looked like he was about to laugh but didn't. He coughed nervously and handed the shirt back to me.
" Erm , Aragorn , could you erm , go away ? "
The colour rose in Aragorn's face . I didn't know Rangers could blush. He left and I pulled the shirt on , running my fingers through whatever short hair I had left. The Fellowship looked up nervously , and shifted uncomfortably. I resigned myself from crying ever again. I felt pitiful !
" Well , it's nothing you probably haven't seen before. Just a broken rib."
Pippin grinned. " Yes, Little Maiden, there's nothing we haven't seen."
I hit him upside the head. Perv , I thought to myself. The Fellowship laughed and Pippin sulked.
" I am Grima , friend and counseller of King Theoden . I was sent with important messages from Theoden to Lord Saruman, " he said.
Lord Saruman is it now? The man blathered on about how he went through deadly peril and blah blah blah. Egotistical freak. I could tell he was lying , the shifty eyes and everything. If the police hooked him up to a lie detector , they'd ask the first question and know he was guilty. Treebeard gave him a good welcome (ahaha) and sent him to swim across the now lake surrounding Orthanc.
" Tell Saruman Little Maiden has arrived !" I yelled after him as he struggled into the water.
"Nasty looking fellow , " Merry commented. I didn't like the look of him either.
Treebeard asked us to find man food (ahaha) for twenty-five. Well , there was that guardroom ..... But who was coming? The three of us staggered off in search of man food for hours , by the time I was finished , I was soaking wet. Pippin and Merry were pleased though with something called pipeweed. I laughed straight for five minutes.
" Hahahahahaha! Pipe ...weed!! Hahahaha!"
Pippin looked at me like I had finally snapped. He pulled a pipe out from under his shirt , stuffed it with "weed" and lit it !
I knew smoking was bad , so I ranted.
" What are you doing? Your going to get cancer from that crap ! It'll clog your lungs!"
"What are you talking about Little Maiden ? This is the 1417 crop! An excellent year !" Merry railed.
There were some things I'd never understand about hobbits. When they were finished , Merry sat looking out in the distance , Pippin was asleep and I was cloud gazing again.
"Look Merry, that one looks like a horse!"
As if to echoe my words I could hear hoofbeats coming toward us. Figures on horseback rode out of the smoke. Merry stood up and bowed low. I stared in shock at the former disheveled hobbit who now acted like elite society.
"Welcome my lords to Isengard! We are the doorwardens. Meriadoc son of Saradoc is my name , and my companions are the fair Little Maiden , and alas the other, is overcome with weariness is Peregrin son of Paladin , of the house of Took. "
I looked around at the riders who I supposed were Rohirrim from what Merry had told me. Great tall warriors they seemed to me , even for a 21st century girl. Some things never cease to amaze people. I snapped back to reality when Gimli started to yell at us.
" You rascals, you wooly footed and wooly pated truants ! A fine hunt you have lead us!"
Excuse me I am not a hobbit but a human thank you. My gaze and thoughts drifted back to the riders who were starting to shift uneasily under my gaze. Legolas gathered me up and swung me about breaking my train of thought yet again. I was passed to Aragorn , who put me down. Legolas grinned.
" My, my, Little Maiden , you look terrible."
I snorted lightly. " No how-are-you-doing?"
After all introductions had been made , which took a while , Theoden ( the king of Rohan!) and Gandalf rode off to see Treebeard. The rest of our band of friends sat down and ate the provisions taken by Pippin from the guardhouse. They filled pipes with that "weed" and sat in silence after a lot of talking I was rather bewildered with. If they die from cancer , it won't be my fault . Aragorn removed a leaf brooch from somewhere inside his cloak and handed it to Pippin.
We talked awhile about escape and Merry and Pippin told the story of what happened after until now. I sat beside them in silence .
"Little Maiden , tell us what happened to you , " Legolas said. "Your eyes , are..... pained...."
I told them of Boromir's last fight , my anger. I told them of being a 'plaything' and they cringed . I told them of being beaten and near rape. Told them of escape , relief , Ents , war , and pipeweed. When I was finished no one spoke for a long while. " Poor child ." Aragorn mused. Gimli sat lost in thought and Legolas gazed somewhere else , probably to avoid my gaze.
" Does it still pain you ? " Aragorn asked.
" My rib , well yes when I bend over and such."
"Come with me , and remove your shirt, " he instructed.
"What ?! , " I could feel a lump building in the back of my throat.
Legolas shook his head and mouthed the word no to Aragorn .
I remained seated unable to move.
"Do you want me to do it here in front of everybody? " he asked. I couldn't speak.
In a smooth movement he squatted on the ground and pulled my shirt over my head before I could protest. He started to undo the bandage wrapped tightly around my chest. I screamed and shoved him away.
" Don't TOUCH ME !"
He sat back, a frown on his face. Merry placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.
" Leave her be , Strider. "
I squirmed away closer to Pippin who looked upset by all this. His green eyes looked at me questioningly.
Legolas kneeled and I collapsed into his arms. I began to cry with shame and anger and for Boromir. Especially for Boromir. Any words I might have possibly garbled out were lost in my gasping sobs. He rubbed my back soothingly and was saying something in Elvish to me. Hell , I couldn't understand it but it made me relax. My hiccups stopped and I calmed enough to think somewhat coherently. Everyone's eyes were fastened upon me . I knew they would never hurt me , they were like a bunch of uncles. Erm , warrior uncles. Except Merry and Pippin of course , they were more the younger sibling types.
"Little Maiden , on my word as an elf of Mirkwood , I swear no harm will come to you. Aragorn needs to help you or else your lungs may be damaged , and I do not think Little Warrior would appreciate it , with all that fighting. "
I nodded and he wiped the remaining tears off my face. He gave a gentle smile and helped me up.
I followed Aragorn behind a rather tall rock that shielded us from view.
" I'm going to make this as painless as possible , when I pull the rib back in place, scream as loud as you can." I nodded.
Aragorn removed the bandage to reveal a big purple splotch straight across my rib cage. He didn't waste any time though. He seemed to reach into my lungs and pull the broken bone out. Impossible it seemed but I screamed just the same.
" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH ! "
Obviously the Fellowship thought something was wrong and they all came running. Which resulted in me screaming again.
" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH ! You pervs ! I'm alright ! Just shoo ! Go away! "
I sat with my arms over my chest.
" That was....humiliating. So can I have my shirt back now? I'm freezing ! "
Aragorn looked like he was about to laugh but didn't. He coughed nervously and handed the shirt back to me.
" Erm , Aragorn , could you erm , go away ? "
The colour rose in Aragorn's face . I didn't know Rangers could blush. He left and I pulled the shirt on , running my fingers through whatever short hair I had left. The Fellowship looked up nervously , and shifted uncomfortably. I resigned myself from crying ever again. I felt pitiful !
" Well , it's nothing you probably haven't seen before. Just a broken rib."
Pippin grinned. " Yes, Little Maiden, there's nothing we haven't seen."
I hit him upside the head. Perv , I thought to myself. The Fellowship laughed and Pippin sulked.