A/N- Hey. Hi. Hello. Back with chappy 3!!! Yay! Sorry it took so long, but I'm determined to get this thing done, even if I'm out of college by the time I do!!! Although, I'm kind of torn between two endings. I could have the happy chirpy one or the sad/angsty one. The angsty ones more developed and I think I like it better, but if reviewers don't want another depressing story, I'll do the other one. So, drop me a line (Or two or three) and have a great Presidents Day.
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Io rode out into the darkness, her horse panting from the exertion. Io looked around frantically. Mena's current location and as to why she hadn't caught up yet, were Iorets two prominent thoughts as her head whirled with confusion and fear. Io glanced about again, moving her horse in a stationary circular pattern. The animal chomped down on the hard metal bit, begging it's panicked rider to loosen the reins. Io ignored the steed and, making a rash and hurried decision, took off down the branching rode, heading rapidly towards the nearby forest. Ioret could hardly think. All she knew was the sound of her heavy breathing, the muffled noise of the horses muddy footsteps, and the stinging sensation as rainwater sloshed down her brow and into her gray eyes. Ioret slowly let the reigns out and pushed the horse into a full gallop. She felt more water drain into her already dripping boots as she pulled through a puddle in the road. Water rushed up against the horse's side and legs, sending droplets everywhere. Io veered off the rode, anxiously awaiting the shelter that the looming trees would offer. She gently brought the horse down to a run and then a lively walk as they entered the dense tree line. Io coughed as a new wave of shivers went up her spine. She could barely sit up right and it felt as though her muscles had shut down. She diagnosed it quickly. The freezing sickness, as it was called by her people. She was not sure of its proper name, but she knew it would make her ill for many nights. Io's thin clothes no longer offered suitable protection against the heavy rains and her freshly cut hair had come out of Menas sloppy braiding job and now hung loosely down her neck. Knowing she could not go further, Ioret used what strength she had left to stop the exhausted mare, tie it's worn and tattered reins as best she could to a slippery tree branch, and collapse in a ragged heap of wet flesh and dirty clothes. Just as Io faded into unconsciousness, she felt the rains lighten and saw; half wake, half sleeping, as the first rays of the new sunlight illuminated the canopy of trees.
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Arwen stepped lightly over the sodden leaves, glad to be out in the sun once again. She had waited hours for the vile rains to end and she had taken the first opportunity to get out of Rivendell. She now stood in the forest –seemingly unworried about it's dangers- smiling contentedly, letting the remaining drops bounce off her shoulders as the leaves spilled the left over water out of the trees. Arwen brushed back her thick locks as she stepped over one of the fallen trees when she heard a soft scraping, almost like the sound of a tethered horse pawing at dusty ground. Shifting her direction, Arwen warily started towards the noise, curious as to what it might be. As she pushed aside a small cluster of saplings, she came upon the source of the noise. The first thing she saw was indeed a tethered horse, that is, if you could call the feeble knot in the tack "tethering". Arwen began to make her way towards the neglected horse -going slowly so as not to spook it- but stopped at the sound a light breathing to her right. She turned and looked down. A young boy of about fifteen, no, on second look it was a girl of about seventeen, lay crumpled in a heap on the forest floor. She lay on her back, face up, exposing her features to Arwen. Her smooth skin now looked pale even under its sun-kissed tan, and her lips had turned blue with the cold. In one swift motion, Arwen was kneeling at her side, the back of her hand pressed to the girl's cheek. The breathing was so light and staggered that Arwen was amazed that, even with her senses, she had heard it at all. The young humans skin felt cold and almost had a death-like firmness under Arwens touch. The young creature was certainly human, yet as to what race, Arwen was uncertain of. She did not have the regal features or hooked nose of those in Gondor, yet her coloring was not exactly like the fair tones of one native to Rohan, and she was certainly far to tall to have been from Mordor. That left only a few clusters of humans left. Returning her attention to the girls peril, Arwen hurriedly brought forth the horse, slung the girl across it and climbed on up behind her, kicking the weary animal into an urgent, yet not to demanding pace, speeding back towards her home.
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A/N- Kind of short. Sorry. Hope you liked it. RailRoad Tracks (R&R). See you later.
Ja
~Redtopaz