A/N Heeeeere's the next chapter!! Once again, I don't know if this is the last or not. *shrugs* We'll just have to wait and see!

BTW, just to make it VERY clear, the mini-balrogs created while the story is from Charisma's POV are INTENTIONAL!!

Watch for the Cabaret reference in this chappy. Anyone who spots it gets a cookie!! (What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play! Life is a cabaret, old chum, come to the Cabaret!)

Disclaimer: I no own, so you no sue.

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Charisma struggled experimentally against her bonds. The night was yet young, so she expected she still had plenty of time to try and woo Legolas before the party set out again in the morning.

"Hey!" Charisma called out to the Fellowship, which was still sitting around the fire. "Can you like, throw me a blanket or something? It's COLD!"

A rush of great sympath and concern for Charisma's well-being failed to manifest itself in any of the Fellowship member's hearts. Pippin glanced over at her, and nudged Mary, whispering something to his cousin. Mary giggled and nodded.

Charisma suddenly got an idea. Pippin was the most gullible of all the hobbits. She'd ask him for help! "Psst!" she hissed. "Pippin!! I'll like, give you mushrooms or something if you come help me!" Even if Pippin HAD been able to understand her, he would not have bought that sort bribe. I hope.

But it was then that something small and hard somehow flew from Pippin's hand, through the air, and hit Charisma's leg. The same sort of phenomenon came from Merry, a few moments later.

"Ow!" Charisma shouted. "Like, stop throwing rocks at me, you dumb-ass hobbits!"

*****

"Pippin," asked Frodo to his younger cousin. "Are you throwing rocks at that girl?"

"No," was Pippin's immediate response, his angelic face full of youthful innocence; his hands full of pebbles.

"Oh," said Gimli understandingly. "And I suppose those rocks just magically sprouted wings and flew out of your hands?" The dwarf's eyes twinkled.

"Yes, exactly!" laughed Pippin.

"Gandalf must have bewitched them!" added Merry. The wizard smiled.

"Gandalf..." said Legolas uneasily. "It's looking at us again..."

As one body, the entire Fellowship turned to look at Charisma. She stared back at them expectantly.

"What are we going to do with her, anyway?" asked Sam. "My Gaffer'd have a thing or two to say if he knew I was traipsing about the woods with strange women, especially one who might be a servant of the Enemy!"

"Never fear, Master Samwise," Gandalf said. "We shall find some way to deal with her that you Gaffer would approve of."

"I say we leave her here," Gimli said. "And I think the Elf would agree." -Here Legolas nodded.- "Servant of the Enemy or not, I don't trust it. She has that look in her eyes..."

"What look?" asked Pippin, with genuine innocence this time.

"Take my word for it, Peregrin," replied Gimli, "if a woman ever looks at you like that, run hard in the other direction."

Pippin was about to ask Merry what Gimli was talking about, but he was interrupted again by Charisma. The girl, though her hands and feet were bound, had managed to wriggle up behind Legolas, and was gazing at him longingly. She rolled over onto her back, obviouly trying to display her ample bosom.

*****

"Oh, Legolas!" Charisma crooned lustily. "Doesn't my body drive you wild with desire?" The Elf stared down at her with consternation. He looked up at Aragon and said something. In Elvish, of course. Charisma was certain that they knew English. After all, that's what they spoke in the movie.

"Helloooo, Leggy??" Charisma said. "Like, paying attention to ME, here? The love of your life? The only woman in the whole universe who could ever love you faithfully???"

One of the hobbits got up and looked down at Charisma curiously. Mary, it was, or maybe Pippin. She never could tell them apart. It was one of the ones who had been throwing rocks at her, anyway. This time, he began poking her with a stick.

"Ow!! Ooh! Hey! Cut it out!! Don't touch me there! Leggy-kun! Iyearghla!" Charisma protested to the treatment the hobbit was giving her, and tried to squirm out of the way. The hobbit just followed her.

"Leave me alone!" shouted Charisma, feeling on the verge of tears. Why wasn't Leggy-kun coming to her aid? All he was doing was sitting and staring at her with a look torn between amusement and fear on his face.

Chrisma decided to try a different tactic. "Legolas," she called. "How can you like, just sit there while I am being tortured by this little abominaton? Like, didn't you take some oath to protect womanhood... or something?"

If Legolas had been able to understand her, he would have been surprised that "abomination" was part of a girl like Charisma's vocabulary. But he couldn't understand her, and that was perhaps a good thing.

*****

"Pippin," Aragorn called, after watching the hobbit for a moment. "Stop that."

"But it makes funny noises when you poke it like this!" protested Pippin, demonstrating by poking the girl a few times with his stick. She squeaked again in her rough language that none could seem to understand. "See?"

"Leave it be," said Aragorn. Reluctantly, Pippin obeyed, and went bact to sit with the other hobbits.

Boromir stared moodily in the direction of the girl. "She must be human," he said after a moment. "She looks so like many girls I know in Gondor, only more... more..." He searched for the word.

"Stupid?" Merry offered. Frodo laughed.

"No..." Boromir said. "Less aware of the world, I think. She wouldn't survive a day alone in the wilderness."

"That," Gimli said, "is the point."

"It just does not seem right," Boromir murmured, shaking his head. "Could we not bring her back to Rivendell?"

"You know what this quest is already doing to the hobbits; if we brought them back there they'd never want to leave again," Aragorn said. "Besides. I have known Lord Elrond my entire life. I do not think even he would take her in."

"Then there is no choice but to take her with us or to leave her," Gimli said triumphantly. "And I think I know what our desicion will be!"

*****

Charisma watched the Fellowship warily from where that annoying hobbit had left her. They were discussing something; she had a feeling it was her. She wondered if she should be worried...

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A/N I am sorry that this chapter is so short; my muse appears to have returned, but I don't know for how long. I don't know when I'll get the next chapter up, either. I'm in the middle of several other fics at the moment as well, and am having an equally difficult time thinking up ideas for them. I'll get out chapters when I can.

Oh, and also you'll get a cookie if you figure out what "look" Gimli was telling Pippin about!