Chapter 26: The Enemy
Keaira woke to find the sun casting its long rays through her window. She had slept most of day to prepare herself for the long journey to the Shire that was to commence that night. She and Bill Ferny were going to head for Bree, and lead the band of ruffians assembled there to the Shire.
They had delayed six days at their master's command, and Keaira was anxious to begin the trek back to the home she did not remember. She walked about her chambers and her thoughts returned once again to Aleathiel. Had she made it home? Had she found her lost love?
She sat down to write in her makeshift journal to bide the time, as she had begun to grow ever more impatient with each passing hour.
I spoke before of Apathy consuming my every thought, but now it has been replaced. Replaced with so many emotions. Anger at the folk of the Shire, anxiousness to leave for the invasion, and curiousness. Emerald eyes. What does it mean? Why do I remember that of all things? Perhaps it relates the dreams, and visions I had had before…oh alas I do not know! I wonder…
BOOM!
Keaira stopped writing suddenly, her quill spilling ink on the page when she jumped. "What was that?" she thought.
BOOM!
She stood up and ran to the window. Looking out Keaira saw a most unnerving sight. An army of trees was advancing on Isengard, and some had already reached it. They had begun to swing their mighty arms at the wall surrounding Isengard. Their incredible strength allowed them to rip through the wall with ease, tearing large masses of rock off and hurling them at the tower of Orthanc. Sudden fear shot through Keaira and she wondered why the Uruk-hai troops were not defending the great fortress. Surely these trees were not that strong! Then, much to horror, Keaira remembered the answer to her own question. All of Isengard had been emptied. The troops and power of it released on the lands of Rohan. She wondered how her master had been so foolish as to not leave behind some Uruk-hai to guard Isengard. BOOM! Another large piece of rock had collided with the smooth stonewall of Orthanc. Keaira did not fear for the tower, as it was protected by the magic of those more powerful even than Saruman. She flew down the stairs, wondering what her master was doing to stop this attack. She found him in his throne room, looking angry and was that fear behind his eyes?"Master!" she cried, out of breath from sprinting down the stairs. "What…what are they?"
"They are the Ents of Fangorn forest," he replied in a distant tone.
"What are we going to do?" she pressed him, panic in her voice,
"What can we do? I was foolish to turn my back on the Ents. There are no troops here to defend the fortress, but they will not be able to enter the tower. You must go! Go now!" He screamed at her in a sudden rage. "Get Ferny and escape to the Shire. I may join you there soon. Do not fail, Keaira."
She shuddered from both the terror of having to escape past the Ents, and her master's rage. "I must find Bill!" she thought to herself.
She ran through the many corridors of the tower of Orthanc, having to stop and brace herself many times from the unmistakable shaking of stone boulders three times her size being heaved at the tower. "Where is he?" she thought frantically. She stopped and hugged the wall as another shock ran through the tower. Suddenly a hand grabbed her shoulder from behind and she screamed.
"Quiet Halfling it's me!" said Ferny.
"We have to leave now! Master's orders that we escape to the Shire," she screamed to him. She had to yell at the top of her lungs so that her voice could be heard over the din of the battle raging outside their fortress.
"He expects us to get past those…those…things?" Ferny said horrified.
"We can do it! What other choice do we have? Don't you want to lead the conquest?"
Ferny looked out the window once more. His fear was clearly shown in his empty hazel eyes. "Alright," he said finally.
The two ran quickly to the stairs within the tower that led down into the mighty caverns below Isengard. There was a passage there that led outside the walls. As they descended into the caverns a vaguely familiar stench reached Keaira's nose but she paid it little heed. In a short time they reached the passage and made their way out of Isengard and into the forest beyond.
"We should wait," said Ferny suddenly.
"What! Why?" asked Keaira, her voice barely a whisper.
"I have forgotten the Longbottom Leaf in the storehouses!" Ferny replied.
"Why do you need it? We are going to the Shire, you can get more there."
"No, you don't understand. I have made a deal with a Hobbit named Lotho. He is going to allow us to make our headquarters at his residence if I supply him with a large supply of Longbottom Leaf. I have enough stored in the guardhouses for an entire life's supply! We cannot infiltrate the Shire without it…"
Keaira looked angrily at him, but then reluctantly agreed that there was no way around the fact that they needed the pipe weed if they were to succeed. They decided to wait the night in the woods just beyond Isengard, and move in to take the weed the next morning.
Keaira slept little that night, for the sounds of the fortress that she had once thought impenetrable was now being destroyed. The Ents worked on through the night, tearing the rock apart as if it weighed nothing. Sometime in the very early morning hours Keaira thought that she heard a large rush of water, but she paid it no heed.
She woke to Ferny shaking her roughly by the shoulders. "What is it?" she asked groggily.
"They have taken control of Isengard, and flooded the caverns!" he said in a panic. "Come on, we must hurry and get the leaf out of the store rooms before they are flooded!"
Keaira nodded and stood up, pulling her cloak tightly around her. Fear danced in her heart, and she knew how essential it was for them to get the leaf. They crept ever closer to the front gate of Isengard, knowing that the passage through which they had come would be flooded and unable to be used.
Seeing no one guarding the gates they snuck into the first guard room and down into its stores. The leaf was untouched, much to their elation, and they began to slowly and carefully transfer it into large bags that they could carry.
Merry and Pippin walked towards the gate of the fortress. They had had a violent past couple of days. Violent, actually, was an understatement. After witnessing the death of Boromir, and then being taken captive by a ruthless band of Uruk-hai they could think of nothing that could possibly have been worse. When they had escaped and met Treebeard in the forest their luck seemed to change. Who would have thought that within nine days of their capture they would have in turn destroyed the great fortress of Isengard?
"I am so hungry, Merry!" said Pippin, some cheerfulness creeping back into his voice. It was the happiest Merry had seen him since the news of Diamond's death.
"I know, Pip. I'm hungry too. Drink is not enough to sustain full-grown Hobbits. Lets go see if Saruman fed his tower guards well, shall we?"
Pippin nodded and the pair set off for the storerooms. As they approached they saw someone scurry quickly out of the guardroom on the left and run towards the one on the right. Upon looking closer at whoever it was, they were amazed to find that it was a hobbit, though they could only see their back.
"Merry," said Pippin suddenly, disbelief in his voice. "That looks like Estella!"
Merry looked again, and saw the fiery auburn hair that he knew belonged to two people, and one was dead. It had to be Estella. A sudden happiness filled him, and the pair ran towards her, calling out her name.
"Estella!" cried Merry loudly, running so fast that he left Pippin in his dust. The Hobbit-lass did not turn around nor even acknowledge their presence as she bent over a bag she was carrying, and Pippin began to wonder if something had happened to Estella's hearing.
Merry finally reached her, and tapped her shoulder happily. "Estella, its Merry!" he cried waiting for her to turn.
The Hobbit-lass jumped startled and spun around a look of hatred and fear on her face. "I am not Estella!" she screamed at him. Merry looked down at the Hobbit-lass that stood in front of him. It was Diamond.
"It can't be…" said Merry, as he stared her face. "You're…you're dead!"
"I am most certainly not dead, and I do not know who you are. I would suggest backing up before I slit your throat," she said darkly, brandishing her sword.
"Merry is it Estella?" cried Pippin who was approaching slowly.
"Not quite…" said Merry, stepping aside so Pippin could see past him.
Pippin's jaw dropped as he took in what he saw. Then, in a burst of sudden joy, he rushed forward and before Keaira could bring her sword up to stop him he pulled he into a tight embrace.
"Get off of me! Bill help!" she called, struggling against his grip.
Bill Ferny came rushing out of the storerooms and saw Keaira being held by Pippin. She was trying her hardest to free herself from his grip but he was too strong for her. Ferny rushed over and pried Keaira from him. She stood behind Bill, her sword now at the ready.
"Diamond…what's wrong with you?" asked Pippin, obviously hurt.
"I am not Diamond!" she screamed furiously at him. "My name is Keaira, and I am the apprentice to Saruman. Do not take another step towards us or you shall be dead by my sword. The first Hobbit whose blood shall stain my sword, though definitely not the last!"
"What did you say? A...Apprentice? Diamond, what happened to you? How did you get here?" asked Merry, thoroughly confused.
"I…I don't remember, but this is — was — my fortress until you and your trees destroyed it," she shot back at them.
"Let's go, Keaira. We have to reach the troops. They could alert someone and our efforts would be futile," said Ferny, glaring at the two dumbstruck Hobbits that stood in front of him.
"You!" said Merry angrily. "What have you done to her?"
"I did nothing, but as far as she is concerned you never existed. Thanks to Saruman at least…" he replied craftily. Keaira stared at him.
"Diamond, look at me," said Pippin, stepping forward. She looked, and when she did she saw a most unnerving sight.
"You're eyes…their…their emerald!" she cried.
"Remember me, Diamond. Please remember," he pleaded with her.
"I…I…"
"Remember the scarf that you gave me," he said holding it up. He still kept it with him. "Remember Estella, and remember Merry. Remember all of us. I know you can do it. You are one of us, Diamond. You cannot deny it."
Keaira's thoughts began to betray her at the sight of his hopeful eyes, and pleading voice. She knew that she had seen him before…somewhere. This was the piece to the mystery of her past that she had to uncover.
She looked longingly at him, willing herself to remember whatever it was that was lost. Then, suddenly, the voice that Saruman had implanted into her began to fight against her own logic.
"Don't listen to him," it said darkly.
"But I…I remember him. Somehow, I remember," she replied to it.
"That's because you have seen him before"
"What, where?" she asked the voice.
"When you lived in the Shire. You knew him, and the other…" the voice replied.
"Why did you not tell me this?" she countered angrily in her head.
"Because it would be difficult for you to hear."
"Tell me!" she commanded the voice of her master in her head. She cared not that she was being disrespectful. All Keaira cared about was discovering what hidden past had been hidden from her.
"You loved him, once…that is until he abused you," it said.
"Abused?"
"Yes. Have you ever looked at the terrible scars on your back? The whip marks, and the beatings and bruises that cover your arms and legs were all given to you by this horrible Hobbit…"
Hatred suddenly filled her, and Keaira was jerked out of her thoughts by Pippin's pleading voice.
"Diamond. I love you, please remember me…" he said softly. "You belong with us."
"No!" she said maliciously to him. "I do not belong with you. I never have! I am a servant of Saruman and his allies. You are my sworn enemy. If you want proof then look at this. The symbol of my unfaltering dedication to my master. I may have loved you once, though I do not remember it, but I most certainly do not love you now!" Keaira pulled back the top of her cloak and turned around. Pippin and Merry saw the white hand that had been branded onto her, and it broke Pippin's heart.
"Diamond…please…what has happened to you?" he said, tears filling his once sparkling green eyes.
"I have discovered my true destiny. You are nothing to me. We must be going now, for we have places to be. I cannot disappoint my master," said, scowling at him.
Pippin looked at her for a moment, and then said. "I loved you more than anything in this world," he paused, allowing his tears to flow freely down his face. Then he gained control of himself and continued. "Twice you deserted me, but I never gave up that you were the one I would spend my life with. Your name resounded in my head and would not let me forget you. It almost killed me when I thought you were dead, but now…I think…that this is worse. You are a traitor Diamond of Long Cleeve, and I want nothing to do with you ever again."
"Pippin…" said Merry, who had been silent until this point.
"And do you know the worst part?" Pippin continued, paying no attention to Merry. "The worst part is that I will always love you, no matter what you have done. I will love you and hate you for the rest of my life. Good-bye Diamond. Good-bye forever."
He dropped the scarf onto the ground and walked away into the storeroom his heart utterly shattered. Keaira just stared at the scarf that he had dropped. The other Hobbit, Merry, took one last long look at her before leaving to find his cousin, but he too dropped something on the ground before leaving.
Keaira walked over to the spot where they both had stood and bent down to pick up the scarf. Beside it, on the ground, lay a beautiful ring. She held them both in her hands, and stood there not moving for a moment. Then suddenly, Ferny grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her away from the destroyed ruins of Isengard. She went with him, holding the scarf up close to her face. She inhaled the smells of it, and they reminded her of something long forgotten.
Suddenly, she collapsed to the ground, and in that instant the memory returned. Not all of it, but she remembered Pippin, and that was enough. She sat up, and Bill Ferny came to help her stand.
"Keaira, why did you collapse? Are you hurt?" he asked, acting worried.
"I am not Keaira," she said to him.
"What?"
"My name is Diamond of Long Cleeve, and I am in love with Peregrin Took," she said proudly, holding the scarf tightly.
"Oh no," thought Ferny. "Her memory is coming back."
"You may go where you wish, but I am going back to him," she said resolutely.
"I cannot let you do that, Diamond," he said.
"What?" she replied.
"I captured you once, and brought you to Isengard. I can very well apprehend you again, little one."
"You are the one who brought me to Isengard? You knew and you did not tell me! I shall go nowhere with you!" she screamed at him before running back in the direction of Isengard.
"Stop!" he cried tearing after her.
Diamond saw the outer wall of Isengard approaching, and she ran as fast as she could towards it. She saw Merry and Pippin walking out of the gates, and she cried out to them.
"I remember now! Please, help me!"
Merry began to move forward but Pippin stopped him. Ferny then emerged from the clearing and grabbed Diamond by the arm. She cried out to them again for help, but Pippin only stared at her a look of pain on his face. She had betrayed them all, and he could not trust her anymore.
Ferny dragged Diamond into the forest and bound her hands again. Before he could bind her hands she managed to call out, "I love you Pippin Took! And I always have. Whether you believe me or not, I will always love you…"
Then Ferny placed a gag in her mouth, and she could not longer cry out. Pippin wanted with all his heart to follow them, to help the girl he loved so much, but such anger he had towards her that it overcame the love, and he stood at the gates of Isengard watching her leave him once again.
This time it was different, however. This time he did not want to follow…she bore the sign of the white hand, the sign that killed Boromir, the sign that separated him from his friends, and possibly caused their death. He did not know she under the spell of Saruman. In his eyes she was the enemy.