Wow, that was really amazing Elerian! I don't think I could ever top that, but I'll try! Long chapter ahoy!

*Aniron's POV*

Chapter 11. Spies and Snow

I walked all over camp, trying to find Elerian after the celebration. It was getting dark, and I was worried that something might have happened to her. None of the fellowship had seen her since she had won the archery contest, but when I asked Legolas, thinking he would be as concerned as I was, he gave a curt 'No' and turned away from me coldly. Surprised that he had treated me this way when he was usually kind and amiable, I stepped backward, nearly tripping over Pippin's prone form.

'Watch it!' he cried, pulling back so that I wouldn't attempt to step on him once more. 'Sorry Pip, I didn't mean to step on you,' I apologized, before thinking of something. 'Say, you haven't seen Elerian anywhere have you?' He nodded, 'I saw her back at the archery course we set up for the party, thing.' I grinned at him, 'Thanks Pippin!' and started off towards the archery course.

I found Elerian curled against a tree, taking the arrows out of her quiver, and throwing them in various directions. When she saw me, she flung an arrow in my direction and it took all of my elven speed to dodge it. 'Hey, you could have shot my eye out!' I called to her and she looked up at me, her eyes glinting in relief. 'Sorry, I thought you were someone else,' she muttered, looking down at her feet. I raised an eyebrow, 'How many blonde elves... oh.' The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. 'What happened between you and Legolas? He looked positively murderous today when I asked him if he knew where you were. I you two were the best of friends in Rivendell, what happened?'

'I don't know!' Elerian cried, tears welling up in her bright green eyes, 'He was so angry with me after I won the archery contest, and I don't know why! I hate him, I hate him, I hate him!' Tears streamed down her face as she threw the last of her arrows into a bush and buried her face in her arms. I was genuinely startled, the last time Elerian had cried like this was in middle school and that had been years, and several dimensions, ago. 'Come on now,' I whispered, sitting down and putting my arm around her shoulders, 'Stop crying, you aren't twelve anymore. What does Legolas know? He's just a stupid 2981-year-old elf.' This elicited a laugh from my friend, albeit a wet one. 'Come on, let's go back to camp, I know some hobbits who will be well up to the task of cheering you up.' I pulled Elerian to her feet and we walked to camp, leaving the scattered arrows and Elerian's bow in the clearing.

When we came back into camp, four hobbits came bounding towards us, Sam offering Elerian a large bowl of the stew he had made for supper, Merry and Pippin immediately rising to the task of making her laugh so that they could steal her food, and Frodo giving her encouraging smiles and her stew after Pippin had nicked it. After Elerian had eaten and cheered up, she looked over to Legolas, who met her gaze and scowled, turning away. Something had to be done about his attitude, but I wasn't going to attempt to improve upon it anytime soon.

The next day we stopped to rest on a hill covered in large white stones and a couple holly trees. A faint alarm bell went off in my brain, but I couldn't, for the life of me, remember what had triggered the alarm, so I ignored it. Elerian collapsed in the shadow of a large rock, and threatened death to anyone who tried to wake her, before promptly falling asleep. Legolas stood alone atop of one of the rocks, folding his arms and looking out over the land like some sort of moody genie. He had been rather antisocial every since the botched celebration, and nobody had attempted to talk to him, for fear of being shot.

Sam made a small fire and began to make sausages, which normally I wouldn't have touched, but after several days of nothing but dried fruit and bread, I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into the juicy links. After everyone (excepting Elerian who was still asleep) had eaten, Gandalf and Aragorn lit their pipes and settled down to smoke, Boromir had begun to teach Merry and Pippin swordplay as Frodo, Sam and I watched with amusement, Legolas returned to his rock to stand and gaze at the mountains some more, and Gimli began to grumble about nobody listening to his advice.

'One, two three, good!' Boromir praised Pippin's quick reflexes, and sent a smile my way as he worked with Merry. 'Ow!' Merry cried as Boromir's sword slipped and poked his hand. 'Sorry!' Boromir dropped his sword before being kicked and dragged to the ground by two hobbits. Aragorn began to laugh softly as he watched the mock battle taking place. My own laughter faded out just in time for me to hear Gimli scoff 'It's nothing, just a wisp of clouds.' I looked over to see Boromir and Aragorn stand to look at a small dark blot in the sky to our east. 'It's moving awfully fast...against the wind.' Boromir said, his grey eyes widening in surprise and disbelief. Legolas' blue eyes narrowed as he gazed at the "cloud" and then uttered the first words we had heard from him all day, 'Crebain from Dunland!' At these words, Gandalf yelled, 'Hide!'

I dove under the rock where Elerian was sleeping, and she awoke with a start. 'What's going on?' she practically yelled at me before I covered her mouth with my hand. 'Hush! They'll hear you...Ouch! Stop biting!' At that exact moment, hundreds of black crows rushed around the hill, and Elerian's jaw dropped, freeing my hand from her mouth. After the flock of birds sped off towards Isengard, Elerian pulled me down before I could stand up. 'Why didn't you tell me we were this far in the story?' she hissed, 'If I had known, I wouldn't have fallen asleep!' I flung my arms akimbo, almost hitting my friend in the eye, 'I don't know! It's like all of my previous knowledge from the movie and books is being slowly drained away.'

'Spies of Saruman!' Gandalf announced gravely to the fellowship after Elerian and I has risen from our hiding place, 'Our passage south is being watched, we must take the passage up Caradhras.' Elerian and I regarded each other with fear in our eyes, no amount of memory loss could cause us to forget what happened after Caradhras, and we followed the fellowship reluctantly, not wanting to encounter what lay ahead.

I had never felt as cold as I felt now, walking over the drifts of snow with the icy wind sending daggers of cold into any exposed skin. Even with the heavy layers of clothing I wore now, the cold was still unbearable and I thought I was going to freeze to death on top of that horrible mountain. Behind me, Frodo slipped in the snow and tumbled until he landed at Aragorn's feet. The entire fellowship stopped as Frodo felt for the ring and found it missing. Boromir crouched down to pick up something from the snow and the sunlight glinted off of the ring as it hung suspended in the air.

The light caught my eye and blinded me for a millisecond *Flash* A wide river with three tiny white boats floating on its cobalt blue waters *Flash* Horsemen lowering their spears around a group of four people *Flash* A gleaming white tower catching the sunlight in front of a large mountain. I shook my head for a moment, going over the images I had just seen. The three boats on a river and the white tower seemed normal, but... a group of four? As I pondered this, Boromir gave the ring back to Frodo and the fellowship began to move again.

It was a blessing that Elerian and I had become elves when we entered Middle-Earth. Walking on top of the snow was a welcome alternative to tunneling through three feet of icy snow as the others of the fellowship had to do. As we moved further up the mountain, a terrible blizzard had struck, slowing our progress even more. At times, I could swear that I heard the voices of wolves in the howling wind, or even the voice of man, dark and powerful, but I was too busy attempting to keep my balance on the narrow ledges to dwell on these things for very long.

The cold began to make me feel dizzy, and I barely comprehended someone gripping my waist and pulling me back from the edge to where Elerian was standing, shielding her eyes from the snow. Then there was an explosion of light and sound, and I looked up to see an avalanche tumbling down upon my head; Oh Gods, I'm going to die. Then, there was darkness.

Someone's hand grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the snow. I coughed; leaning against something warm that I assumed was a member of the fellowship. When I opened my eyes, Elerian was attempting to stand, using Aragorn's shoulder for a support as the ranger picked up Frodo and Sam. Boromir was patting Merry's back as the hobbit coughed, and Pippin was brushing snow from his eyes. Gandalf stood near Gimli, who was trying to pull himself out of the snow. 'Stand up, Aniron,' Legolas pulled me up, his voice not as cold as it had been over the past couple of days. 'Th-thank you,' I shivered, pulling my cloak close to my body. 'Do not mention it,' he said with a slight smile before walking towards Gandalf.

The wind was still howling and we had to yell to make ourselves heard. 'We should turn back and make for the Gap of Rohan and take the east road to my city!' Boromir shouted, only to be countered by Aragorn, 'No, the Gap of Rohan takes us to close to Isengard!' Gimli decided to make himself heard at this time, 'If we cannot go over the mountain, let us go under it! Let us go through the Mines of Moria.' Gandalf's blue eyes widened slightly at the name of Moria, and Elerian and I looked at each other fearfully. 'Let the Ringbearer decide,' Gandalf said finally. Frodo looked around at the fellowship and paused, his blue eyes determined. 'We will go through the mines,' he announced, looking around the fellowship once more.

'So be it.' At Gandalf's words, a sense of dread filled my heart and I bowed my head, not voicing the words of caution that fought to pass my lips.

Author's Note: Ooooh, Ahhhh. Wasn't that spectacular? Don't answer that, just review please! Is it just me or is the plot thickening? Why doesn't Legolas like Elerian anymore? Ask Elerian, she knows, she's the one who told me to write all the tension between them. Ooooh, Moria, fun. Elerian's turn!