Chapter one: Meeting the Fellowship
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The girl slowly returned to consciousness. She felt the hard, rocky ground beneath her, and she tried to sit up and examine her surroundings, yet to no avail. Her arms felt like lead, and her head was throbbing. Her cheek was bleeding again from the gash it had received in battle, and her various wounds and scrapes stung. She forced her eyes open, but quickly shut them again when they were hit with a blinding light. She groaned again and finally sat up, after much struggling against her will, which apparently wanted to lie back down and fall back asleep on the soft blanket she was lying on. "Where am I?" she managed to whisper through dry and cracked lips.
"Oh, hello, I see you are up," a friendly voice said. The girl turned to see who it was that spoke, and she saw a young man with bright blue eyes kneeling down beside her, holding a ceramic plate with food on it and a metal cup; a fire crackling behind him, strange figures sitting on logs for seats huddled to keep warm. "I brought you some breakfast. How are you feeling?" the boy asked.
"Actually, quite well," she said, taking the plate and tin cup gladly and beginning to eat.
"I'll be by the fire with the others if you need me."
"Thank you," the girl murmured through a mouthful of food.
After she was finished, she cleaned up her plate and set it aside.
She got up and sat on a log opposite the hobbit boy that gave her the delicious food.
The boy smiled.
"My name's Frodo. Nice to meet you." He looked around and continued. "By the way, if you're wondering how you got here, we found you out in the woods on the outer edge of the forest when we were looking for more firewood. You were unconscious and bleeding badly so we brought you here and fixed you up a bit."
A look of confusion and tenseness came into her eyes, and she asked cautiously, "Who's 'we'? And where's my sword?"
"Oh, I put it over there," Frodo said, nodding to a pile of packs where her sword lay against the nearest one. The young girl nodded slightly, showing her hesitated approval.
A strange man glared at her through dark eyes, and shook his head, looking at Frodo.
"Why did you bring her here? She is just another burden for Gandalf and the rest of the Fellowship."
"Yes, Aragorn is right," another voice chimed in, also a man. "She is just someone to be dragged along on our quest."
"Yes, but look at her," a young voice piped up. The girl turned to the person who spoke, and she found that it was a teenager who looked to be the youngest of the group. "She's hurt, needs medicine, and if she stayed out there like that, she could be killed by Orcs." The girl shook her head at that comment. 'Yeah, like I need more Orcs trying to kill me.' She thought. The young boy turned to her. "What is your name?" the boy asked.
The girl sighed and visibly hesitated, glancing nervously around at the others that looked at her with cold interest. "Malaika," she whispered sadly, knowing what secrets that name held. She sighed and said, "Who are these people?"
"Oh, that's Aragorn, Boromir, Gandalf, Legolas, Sam, Merry, of course you have already met Frodo, Gimli, and I'm Peregrin, but you may call me Pippin," he said, pointing out the various members of the group. She saw the two men she had heard earlier, and next to them sat an old man with a gray beard and a pointy hat. 'That must be Gandalf,' she thought. Legolas, an Elf with long blonde hair and a bow sat beside Gandalf, and Frodo sat beside him. Next to Pippin another boy sat, and Malaika recognized him as Merry that Pippin had introduced her to earlier. Sam was next to Merry, Gimli sat on his own log, and Malaika herself sat near Pippin, the only one she really felt comfortable around. She looked at Aragorn and said, "Where are you going after tonight's rest?"
Aragorn sighed.
"Well, we were going to go to through the Gap of Rohan, but that is being watched by Saruman. We are going up Caradhras in two days." Malaika nodded and looked up to the dark sky dotted with silver stars, thinking of the past events. "I'm tired. Are we going to sleep soon?" she asked, yawning.
"Yes," Aragorn replied. "We are going to sleep right now. Alright, let us get rest for the long journey ahead."
Gandalf nodded in agreement.
"Boromir, keep first watch, then Aragorn, then Legolas, then I will watch. Malaika, you may use some extra blankets over there." He pointed to a roll of bedding, and the girl gladly took it and fixed a bed for herself. Malaika lay down, sighing, pulling the cloth up to her chin and closing her eyes.
Images flashed through her mind, deep, dark, horrible. She clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes shut tighter, trying not to think about the past.
"Mother, mother! No, no, no.. No." She murmured, her gray eyes sparking with pain and agony underneath her eyelids. "Ahh, no, no... No, I have to! No, mother, don't leave!" she whispered in a pleading voice. Then she stopped her struggles of pain, and just lay in her bed quietly. "Mother," she sighed, and fell asleep.
*******
The girl slowly returned to consciousness. She felt the hard, rocky ground beneath her, and she tried to sit up and examine her surroundings, yet to no avail. Her arms felt like lead, and her head was throbbing. Her cheek was bleeding again from the gash it had received in battle, and her various wounds and scrapes stung. She forced her eyes open, but quickly shut them again when they were hit with a blinding light. She groaned again and finally sat up, after much struggling against her will, which apparently wanted to lie back down and fall back asleep on the soft blanket she was lying on. "Where am I?" she managed to whisper through dry and cracked lips.
"Oh, hello, I see you are up," a friendly voice said. The girl turned to see who it was that spoke, and she saw a young man with bright blue eyes kneeling down beside her, holding a ceramic plate with food on it and a metal cup; a fire crackling behind him, strange figures sitting on logs for seats huddled to keep warm. "I brought you some breakfast. How are you feeling?" the boy asked.
"Actually, quite well," she said, taking the plate and tin cup gladly and beginning to eat.
"I'll be by the fire with the others if you need me."
"Thank you," the girl murmured through a mouthful of food.
After she was finished, she cleaned up her plate and set it aside.
She got up and sat on a log opposite the hobbit boy that gave her the delicious food.
The boy smiled.
"My name's Frodo. Nice to meet you." He looked around and continued. "By the way, if you're wondering how you got here, we found you out in the woods on the outer edge of the forest when we were looking for more firewood. You were unconscious and bleeding badly so we brought you here and fixed you up a bit."
A look of confusion and tenseness came into her eyes, and she asked cautiously, "Who's 'we'? And where's my sword?"
"Oh, I put it over there," Frodo said, nodding to a pile of packs where her sword lay against the nearest one. The young girl nodded slightly, showing her hesitated approval.
A strange man glared at her through dark eyes, and shook his head, looking at Frodo.
"Why did you bring her here? She is just another burden for Gandalf and the rest of the Fellowship."
"Yes, Aragorn is right," another voice chimed in, also a man. "She is just someone to be dragged along on our quest."
"Yes, but look at her," a young voice piped up. The girl turned to the person who spoke, and she found that it was a teenager who looked to be the youngest of the group. "She's hurt, needs medicine, and if she stayed out there like that, she could be killed by Orcs." The girl shook her head at that comment. 'Yeah, like I need more Orcs trying to kill me.' She thought. The young boy turned to her. "What is your name?" the boy asked.
The girl sighed and visibly hesitated, glancing nervously around at the others that looked at her with cold interest. "Malaika," she whispered sadly, knowing what secrets that name held. She sighed and said, "Who are these people?"
"Oh, that's Aragorn, Boromir, Gandalf, Legolas, Sam, Merry, of course you have already met Frodo, Gimli, and I'm Peregrin, but you may call me Pippin," he said, pointing out the various members of the group. She saw the two men she had heard earlier, and next to them sat an old man with a gray beard and a pointy hat. 'That must be Gandalf,' she thought. Legolas, an Elf with long blonde hair and a bow sat beside Gandalf, and Frodo sat beside him. Next to Pippin another boy sat, and Malaika recognized him as Merry that Pippin had introduced her to earlier. Sam was next to Merry, Gimli sat on his own log, and Malaika herself sat near Pippin, the only one she really felt comfortable around. She looked at Aragorn and said, "Where are you going after tonight's rest?"
Aragorn sighed.
"Well, we were going to go to through the Gap of Rohan, but that is being watched by Saruman. We are going up Caradhras in two days." Malaika nodded and looked up to the dark sky dotted with silver stars, thinking of the past events. "I'm tired. Are we going to sleep soon?" she asked, yawning.
"Yes," Aragorn replied. "We are going to sleep right now. Alright, let us get rest for the long journey ahead."
Gandalf nodded in agreement.
"Boromir, keep first watch, then Aragorn, then Legolas, then I will watch. Malaika, you may use some extra blankets over there." He pointed to a roll of bedding, and the girl gladly took it and fixed a bed for herself. Malaika lay down, sighing, pulling the cloth up to her chin and closing her eyes.
Images flashed through her mind, deep, dark, horrible. She clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes shut tighter, trying not to think about the past.
"Mother, mother! No, no, no.. No." She murmured, her gray eyes sparking with pain and agony underneath her eyelids. "Ahh, no, no... No, I have to! No, mother, don't leave!" she whispered in a pleading voice. Then she stopped her struggles of pain, and just lay in her bed quietly. "Mother," she sighed, and fell asleep.