Author's Note: Sorry for taking ages to update. I lost my muse for a while,
and so have been forced to temporarily borrow the muse of a friend in order
to try and get this updated while I can. I hope this chapter is up to
scratch!
Mandatory Disclaimer: While I'm sure you all know the drill, I might as well say for the record that I do not own Middle Earth or it's inhabitants - they belong to Tolkien and his descendants, as well as to the Mifflin- Houghton Publishing Company. Sarah and Alex are figments of my imagination, and hence belong to me.
Authors Note: And now, on with the story. ;)
Chapter 17: Difficult Decisions.
Alex' POV:
Mithrandir assured us that the hobbits and Sarah were fine, that they had been found by something called an "Ent" and this Ent would look after them. Gandalf then suggested that we should instead hurry to meet with King Theoden in order to discuss with him the prospect of the impending war that would, as he put it, "decide once and for all the fate of men."
Leaving Fangorn forest, we each climbed upon our horses. Haldir offered to let Mithrandir ride atop his mount, but the old man just smiled and shook his head. Gandalf then gave a shrill whistle that made everyone want to cringe (kind of like you want to do when squeaky chalk hits the chalkboard), and a beautiful silvery horse came running up over the hillside. Gandalf introduced Shadowfax the horse to us, saying that his steed would be able to outrun any of ours without even collecting as much as a bead of sweat. Gimli laughed at that, and all of us climbed atop our horses (with Legolas giving Gimli a hand) and trotted forward.
As we rode towards King Theoden's castle, all of us filled Mithrandir in on what had happened since his disappearance, and he in turn spoke briefly about his battle with the Balrog that raged from the lowest cavern to the highest mountain. He also spoke of his return to Middle Earth, and how something called the Valar (which I am guessing is something akin to angels, at least in the way Mithrandir describes it). I stayed silent during most of the discussion, since I didn't really feel like I had a lot to add, but Gandalf caught my eye and I could somehow sense that he knew I didn't really belong here. Where I had felt completely at ease with him moments before, I now was feeling queasy.
Haldir alone seemed to notice my sudden unease, and asked if I was feeling all right. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and mentally wished the horse had a calmer gait as we trotted onward. Aragorn turned around and suggested it might be good to take a short rest, which I heartily agreed to. As my feet hit the ground, my knees started to buckle and I almost tripped over myself. I quickly looked around to make sure that no one had seen - the last thing I needed was for everyone to think I wasn't up to whatever task lay before me. Luckily, nobody seemed to be paying much attention to me, although whether that was because they were too busy dealing with their own horses or whether they'd quickly looked away, I couldn't really tell. I took the reins and unbuckled the bridle, slipping it off Vardalossiel's face. Vardalossiel nickered and nudged me, as if trying to reassure me of something, before she trotted off to join the others already eating grass.
We built a small fire and huddled around it for a while, eating lembas rations and sipping watered-down wine. Mithrandir caught my eye and signaled for me to join him in trying to find some fuel for the fire - I was half-tempted to refuse, but figured if Gandalf really wanted to speak to me (as I suspected he did by the look of urgency on his face), then I might as well find out what he had to say now while he was allowing me the option of privacy.
Once we'd traveled a safe distance away so that Gandalf could be sure that even the elves could not hear, he turned to me. "You and Sarah are strangers to Middle Earth." he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Now came a hard decision - do I lie to him and tell him that he's wrong, or do I reveal the fact that Sarah and I have traveled here from some alternate dimension or time. I gulped, knowing that really the decision had already been made for me, and nodded slowly.
"We didn't mean to come here, if that's what you mean, we just somehow found ourselves here. One minute we were in our tree house reliving memories of when we were younger, and the next we find ourselves in Mirkwood talking to Haldir and some other elves with bows and arrows pointed at us. And now, while I'd really like to go home to see my family, I'd at least like to stay here long enough to see Sarah again," I replied.
Gandalf chuckled. "I'm afraid neither of you can return to your homes yet - you both have quests of your own to complete first."
I nodded. Lady Galadriel had said something similar upon our first arriving there, but after that, I'd heard nothing more about it. Maybe Gandalf could answer a few of my questions. "Do you know what my quest is?" I asked timidly.
Mithrandir smiled. "I know you must do your part in the upcoming battle against good and evil, although I am not entirely sure what that role will entail. It may well result in your death, although I sincerely hope that Eru would not permit two young adults such as Sarah and yourself to come to any harm."
I let out an involuntary shudder at the idea that Sarah or myself, or even both of us, might not make it out of this adventure alive. 'I know I often wished for my life to be a little more interesting,' I thought to myself, 'but I didn't seriously think that this might be an adventure from which I might not return.'
"Come, let's head back," Gandalf said with a smile, piling some dried leaves, twigs, and plants into my hands before clasping my shoulder. "They'll be wondering what's happened to us if we don't hurry up." I smiled back, and walked back with Mithrandir, now feeling a little more at ease once again with him.
Sarah's POV:
Treebeard came back a short while later, followed by a few of the other older-looking Ents. "Hrooom. Hooooom." he started off, looking down at us. "We have decided to wait out the storm."
"What does that mean?" Pippin whispered.
"I think it means that they don't want to join in the war." Merry answered, and I nodded.
"We have weathered such wars before and have not bothered to get involved. It would be wise not to become involved in the affairs of outsiders. As long as they do not bother us, we will not bother them." Treebeard continued.
"How can you say that this is your answer?" Merry called up to the Ents. "This war will affect you and your forest. your home. Please, won't you reconsider?"
"You are young yet, Merry. You have your whole life ahead of you. We have seen these wars before, and know it is best to stay out of the affairs of men. As long as they do not harm the forest, we will not fight against them."
"Perhaps he's right, Merry. What can we do, after all - we're only Hobbits. We belong in the Shire, where everything is green and good, and the outsiders ignore our existence," Pippin said, placing a reassuring hand on Merry's shoulder. "Maybe it is time to go home."
Merry shrugged off the hand, a fire alight in his eyes that I had never seen before. "This war will not end with the mere destruction of Men," Merry whispered angrily. "Sooner or later the Orcs will come to the Shire and will take our land from us too. If we do not fight now, then the Shire has no hope."
Pippin sighed - he and I both knew Merry was right, but Treebeard and his kind seemed to not only be hasty, but stubborn as well. Luckily, though, I *knew* how to convince Treebeard and the other Ents to join in the fight, but that method would have to wait until Treebeard took us to the outskirts of Fangorn. I chewed on my lower lip, trying to decide whether to at least reassure them that all hope was not lost, that Treebeard and the other Ents *could* change their minds if push came to shove, or whether to let them come up with the idea on their own, as they did in the book. 'But what if my being here means that they don't remember how to change the Ent's minds,' I thought to myself. With that thought, my mind was suddenly made up - I would have to at least tell them that I had an idea.
"Merry, Pippin," I whispered softly, hoping that the Ents would not be able to hear my voice. As they turned to face me, I bent down slightly, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "Don't worry. I've got a plan to change their minds."
Author's Note: Once again, I'm sorry to leave it here as I have to head off to class. I promise to update sooner this time, provided I get some good reviews!
Mandatory Disclaimer: While I'm sure you all know the drill, I might as well say for the record that I do not own Middle Earth or it's inhabitants - they belong to Tolkien and his descendants, as well as to the Mifflin- Houghton Publishing Company. Sarah and Alex are figments of my imagination, and hence belong to me.
Authors Note: And now, on with the story. ;)
Chapter 17: Difficult Decisions.
Alex' POV:
Mithrandir assured us that the hobbits and Sarah were fine, that they had been found by something called an "Ent" and this Ent would look after them. Gandalf then suggested that we should instead hurry to meet with King Theoden in order to discuss with him the prospect of the impending war that would, as he put it, "decide once and for all the fate of men."
Leaving Fangorn forest, we each climbed upon our horses. Haldir offered to let Mithrandir ride atop his mount, but the old man just smiled and shook his head. Gandalf then gave a shrill whistle that made everyone want to cringe (kind of like you want to do when squeaky chalk hits the chalkboard), and a beautiful silvery horse came running up over the hillside. Gandalf introduced Shadowfax the horse to us, saying that his steed would be able to outrun any of ours without even collecting as much as a bead of sweat. Gimli laughed at that, and all of us climbed atop our horses (with Legolas giving Gimli a hand) and trotted forward.
As we rode towards King Theoden's castle, all of us filled Mithrandir in on what had happened since his disappearance, and he in turn spoke briefly about his battle with the Balrog that raged from the lowest cavern to the highest mountain. He also spoke of his return to Middle Earth, and how something called the Valar (which I am guessing is something akin to angels, at least in the way Mithrandir describes it). I stayed silent during most of the discussion, since I didn't really feel like I had a lot to add, but Gandalf caught my eye and I could somehow sense that he knew I didn't really belong here. Where I had felt completely at ease with him moments before, I now was feeling queasy.
Haldir alone seemed to notice my sudden unease, and asked if I was feeling all right. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and mentally wished the horse had a calmer gait as we trotted onward. Aragorn turned around and suggested it might be good to take a short rest, which I heartily agreed to. As my feet hit the ground, my knees started to buckle and I almost tripped over myself. I quickly looked around to make sure that no one had seen - the last thing I needed was for everyone to think I wasn't up to whatever task lay before me. Luckily, nobody seemed to be paying much attention to me, although whether that was because they were too busy dealing with their own horses or whether they'd quickly looked away, I couldn't really tell. I took the reins and unbuckled the bridle, slipping it off Vardalossiel's face. Vardalossiel nickered and nudged me, as if trying to reassure me of something, before she trotted off to join the others already eating grass.
We built a small fire and huddled around it for a while, eating lembas rations and sipping watered-down wine. Mithrandir caught my eye and signaled for me to join him in trying to find some fuel for the fire - I was half-tempted to refuse, but figured if Gandalf really wanted to speak to me (as I suspected he did by the look of urgency on his face), then I might as well find out what he had to say now while he was allowing me the option of privacy.
Once we'd traveled a safe distance away so that Gandalf could be sure that even the elves could not hear, he turned to me. "You and Sarah are strangers to Middle Earth." he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Now came a hard decision - do I lie to him and tell him that he's wrong, or do I reveal the fact that Sarah and I have traveled here from some alternate dimension or time. I gulped, knowing that really the decision had already been made for me, and nodded slowly.
"We didn't mean to come here, if that's what you mean, we just somehow found ourselves here. One minute we were in our tree house reliving memories of when we were younger, and the next we find ourselves in Mirkwood talking to Haldir and some other elves with bows and arrows pointed at us. And now, while I'd really like to go home to see my family, I'd at least like to stay here long enough to see Sarah again," I replied.
Gandalf chuckled. "I'm afraid neither of you can return to your homes yet - you both have quests of your own to complete first."
I nodded. Lady Galadriel had said something similar upon our first arriving there, but after that, I'd heard nothing more about it. Maybe Gandalf could answer a few of my questions. "Do you know what my quest is?" I asked timidly.
Mithrandir smiled. "I know you must do your part in the upcoming battle against good and evil, although I am not entirely sure what that role will entail. It may well result in your death, although I sincerely hope that Eru would not permit two young adults such as Sarah and yourself to come to any harm."
I let out an involuntary shudder at the idea that Sarah or myself, or even both of us, might not make it out of this adventure alive. 'I know I often wished for my life to be a little more interesting,' I thought to myself, 'but I didn't seriously think that this might be an adventure from which I might not return.'
"Come, let's head back," Gandalf said with a smile, piling some dried leaves, twigs, and plants into my hands before clasping my shoulder. "They'll be wondering what's happened to us if we don't hurry up." I smiled back, and walked back with Mithrandir, now feeling a little more at ease once again with him.
Sarah's POV:
Treebeard came back a short while later, followed by a few of the other older-looking Ents. "Hrooom. Hooooom." he started off, looking down at us. "We have decided to wait out the storm."
"What does that mean?" Pippin whispered.
"I think it means that they don't want to join in the war." Merry answered, and I nodded.
"We have weathered such wars before and have not bothered to get involved. It would be wise not to become involved in the affairs of outsiders. As long as they do not bother us, we will not bother them." Treebeard continued.
"How can you say that this is your answer?" Merry called up to the Ents. "This war will affect you and your forest. your home. Please, won't you reconsider?"
"You are young yet, Merry. You have your whole life ahead of you. We have seen these wars before, and know it is best to stay out of the affairs of men. As long as they do not harm the forest, we will not fight against them."
"Perhaps he's right, Merry. What can we do, after all - we're only Hobbits. We belong in the Shire, where everything is green and good, and the outsiders ignore our existence," Pippin said, placing a reassuring hand on Merry's shoulder. "Maybe it is time to go home."
Merry shrugged off the hand, a fire alight in his eyes that I had never seen before. "This war will not end with the mere destruction of Men," Merry whispered angrily. "Sooner or later the Orcs will come to the Shire and will take our land from us too. If we do not fight now, then the Shire has no hope."
Pippin sighed - he and I both knew Merry was right, but Treebeard and his kind seemed to not only be hasty, but stubborn as well. Luckily, though, I *knew* how to convince Treebeard and the other Ents to join in the fight, but that method would have to wait until Treebeard took us to the outskirts of Fangorn. I chewed on my lower lip, trying to decide whether to at least reassure them that all hope was not lost, that Treebeard and the other Ents *could* change their minds if push came to shove, or whether to let them come up with the idea on their own, as they did in the book. 'But what if my being here means that they don't remember how to change the Ent's minds,' I thought to myself. With that thought, my mind was suddenly made up - I would have to at least tell them that I had an idea.
"Merry, Pippin," I whispered softly, hoping that the Ents would not be able to hear my voice. As they turned to face me, I bent down slightly, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "Don't worry. I've got a plan to change their minds."
Author's Note: Once again, I'm sorry to leave it here as I have to head off to class. I promise to update sooner this time, provided I get some good reviews!