The Will of the Ring
Chapter Fourteen by Makura Koneko
ATTENTION: Just to remind you all, again this is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE fic!!!! Meaning I'm making the things the way *I* imagine them, k? Any flames will be used to roast my s'mores! (Thanks to Tsuki no Tenshi for the suggestion. ^^)
Ray of Hope (*laugh* Here's your chapter, three pages longer than usual! ^^ Sorry for the wait!) Divine Sorceress (Glad you decided to review! Thanks! Oh, and I LOVE your username!!!!) mooniecrazed (Fav author? *blush* *is flattered* I'm sorry to say that Shattered Tapestry is kinda on hiatus until my muse decides to come back for that story. -.-') My fair kitty SerenityLNguyen (*hands smelling salts* Don't faint on me!!! It's not good for your health! *wink* Thanks!) Larissa Lilaclight star0704 (hmm.good question. I'll have to address that. ^^) Callisto Star (Ah! You figured it out before I've even explained it! Bravo! *claps*) Lady Light (SM/Tamora Pierce crossover? ^^ You read my mind. I've actually already started one. Now that I know someone's interested, I'll be more likely to post it eventually.) Adyen (Black star? Explain it? She's not. ^^ I sideskipped that complication by that 'bright, blinding light.' No one saw it. *slaps on halo* Ain't I a snake?) Kage-Shadow-of-Darkness sailorbardock1980 AngelQueen (Again, someone else figured it out! Way to go!) Linauri (Man, I didn't think so many people would like that bringing-back- the-spark-of-humanity-in-the-Nazgul bit. In fact, I was worried about people flaming me for the inaccuracy of it.Well, thanks! ^^) Lady Silence niner Tsuki no Tenshi
Last Time....
"Run," he whispered hoarsely. "Take your princess and flee. She is our last hope. I am old, young one, and I have seen much. Your princess is the first glimpse of light I have ever seen in these dark times. Protect that hope, that light, please... I...we were weak...please...don't be weak...don't let the light be weak...please..."
Hotaru nodded, giving her promise. His plea delivered and her word given, his head slumped back onto his chest.
Abruptly, the spectacle was over; the thundering sky ceased its roar and cleared, the black and purple light vanished, Hotaru's eyes returned to normal, the black star on her brow flickered and disappeared, to be replaced with her proper ensignia of Saturn. Hotaru gasped, groaned, and slumped down over Makura's neck. Aragorn grasped the reigns to the horse, whirled both steeds around, leaned down from his saddle and scooped up Hotaru's staff-blade, all in one swift movement as the wolves and creatures began emerging from the shadows once more.
Aragorn, an unconscious Hotaru on the horse whose reigns he held in his hand, fled into the night, leaving the threat behind...
And now the Conclusion....
"You left it behind for now, anyways," Boromir said in response to the end of Aragorn's retelling of the adventure he and the firefly princess had undergone earlier that night. It was well after midnight, nearing morning, they having ridden long and hard once the duo had caught up with them at the edge of the Fields.
Aragorn had commanded they pack up the camp and ride long and hard for the other edge of the Fields.
They had saved stories for until they could ride no more and had been forced to stop less than four hours from the other side of the Fields. Now, all but Legolas, Aragorn, Boromir, Gimli, Gandalf, and Ami were asleep.
Hotaru had remained unconscious the entire time, coming around for only a moment when Ami had insisted in a most un-Ami-like fashion they stop long enough for her and Raye to tend to Hotaru and Aragorn's wounds. It was a good thing they had; any longer, Ami had said, and Hotaru would have lost her arm. As it was, until she was strong enough to fully transform in order to erase the rest of the damage, the arm was useless.
"One of the Nazgul told Hotaru to protect Serena?" Legolas questioned, the underlying tone of bewilderment barely hidden. Aragorn nodded.
"Strange, is it not?" The human king tossed a twig into the fire. "For that short moment, his hood had fallen down. His face...he was human. Inhumanly old and pale, but still somehow human. And his voice was... desperate. Pleading. Hopeful. It was as thought he had a soul again."
"For those few moments after Hotaru zapped them all with so much negative energy, they probably did."
Ami said softly from across the fire. All eyes turned to her. She grinned. "I believe this is a perfect example of the simple algebra law of 'a negative plus a negative will always equal a positive.'"
"Excuse me?" Gimli gruffed. "Not all of us are scholars from one million or whatever years into the future, missy."
Ami laughed, and apologized. "Basically," she said. "The evil energy that already filled the Nazgul and the evil energy Hotaru 'zapped' them with cancelled each other out. So for a few brief moments, they were who they were before the Rings of Power had begun to consume them. Neither evil nor good. Just simply human."
"Amazing..." Gandalf said thoughtfully. Ami thought a change of subject appropriate.
"How far till we reach Mirkwood, do you estimate?" Ami asked Legolas. "My calculations say at least another day, but you have actually made the journey, whereas I have not."
"About a day is correct, with the progress we made today," Legolas confirmed. "How...how long does Serena have?"
"A week and a half," Ami said softly. She sighed and drew her knees up to her chest, her eyes full of sadness.
"Why does your heart carry sorrow?" Boromir asked. "You will not be loosing her. She will be coming home with you."
"That's just it, though..." Ami said, glancing at the sleeping Serenity. "Where we come from..." She glanced to a ways to her right, where Frodo was sleeping, and she blushed slightly, though under the warm light of the fire, no one saw. She saw how Haruka lay so protectively beside Serena...how her very position betrayed how she would follow her princess anywhere... She saw how Gandalf absently stroked Hotaru's hair from where he was beside her in so fatherly a way, how Hotaru sighed in her sleep... She remembered how she had seen Raye looking at Boromir...
Ami blinked back tears.
"I'm not sure if the future is home for any of us anymore..." she whispered.
The last four hours of riding across the Fields was made in haste, despite the weariness that surrounded them all. The fear of the Nazgul not far behind them was the only thing that kept them going. But at last they crossed the border of the Fields and Mirkwood, and Legolas told them they should be safe. The magic of the woods that now surrounded them was not nearly as potent as that of Lorien, but it should be enough to keep the evil ones at bay.
"Still, we should ride until we are at least a few hours away from the border," Aragorn said firmly. "Then we will make camp and rest. With luck we will reach the capitol city of Mirkwood by nightfall." Groans were quickly stifled by the look the human king threw the groaners, and, per Aragorn's instructions, they rode on.
"You feeling any better, Hotaru-chan?" Serena asked, pulling up beside Hotaru on her right. The younger Senshi looked worn and exhausted, her useless arm bandaged and in a sling, but her eyes shone with the beauty of the woods around her.
"Much better," Hotaru said. "I like the woods better then those Fields. I felt so...exposed out there."
"Same here," Serena shivered. "I felt like we were being watched, especially last night..."
"You, too?" Raye asked, letting her horse's -Madya's- gait slow so that she was at the same pace as her friends and riding on Hotaru's left.
"Frea-ky!" Serena made a face.
"It was probably just night animals," Ami said over her shoulder. "That's what I dismissed it as."
"Ami-chan, you're probably right," Haruka said from behind them all. "But if there's one thing I've learned in this land, it's to never dismiss anything as something harmless."
No one argued, and all were simply thankful that whatever had been out in with them in the wilderness last night had apparently not wished them any ill.
"Wow..." Was the only word that slipped from out of Serena's mouth as the Companionship rounded a bend in the path and came face to face with a most magnificent sight. Legolas, beside her, grinned at her exclamation.
"Welcome to my home," he told her, resisting the urge to laugh outright at her dumbfounded expression. The Senshi and the rest of the Companionship, behind them, were all -except for Aragorn, whom had seen the capitol of Mirkwood before- in similar predicaments, expression wise.
Before them, in the center of a huge field, sprawled a massive structure that looked to be made entire of trees and bushes and vines, the branches of the trees interwoven to form walls, braided and arched to form archways. Interlaced all over them were vines of all sorts that gave the entire place a green glow from the sunlight that poured in from overhead.
The packed dirt road, lined with stones and wildflowers and followed by a gurgling stream that ran along side it, snaked off into the distance to meet with a huge, grand archway of braided, twining, twisting, curling branches and vines. There were no gates that they could see, and out of the many windows of the 'palace' within the walls that the archway served as a door in, tiny figures could be spied, many of them appearing to be waving. Just to be safe, in case there really were people waving, Serena raised her arm and waved back enthusiastically. Laughing, the Senshi followed her example, but they stopped as soon as the sounding of trumpets in the distance caused their curiosity to make them forget.
"Why are they trumpeting so soon?" Serena asked. "We've still got another half an hour of riding before we get there."
Legolas grinned, his eyes twinkling. "Watch," he said. He held up his hand, and the group stopped. He leaned down from his saddle and lightly touched one of the stones lining the path. He sat back up and winked ever so briefly to Serena so that she barely caught it. He rode on forward, and looked over his shoulder, waving for her to follow- He drew his hand back so abruptly Serena had to blink. It had been so quick...almost as though his arm had been waving one moment, and the next...she shook her head; she needed to eat something...
She nudged Ilithindel forward....the horse snorted with unease as a rushing tingle filled Serena's veins and made her gasp. The world swam before her eyes, then with a silent 'whoosh' everything snapped back into place...except for her, since she, as she realized when glancing around, was now in a completely different place than she had been five seconds previous.
She looked around frantically, seeing herself just inside the branch- archway in the wall surrounding the 'palace.' Elvish folk were all around, all fair haired and blue eyed like Legolas, and all looking at her with mild curiosity. Serena was about to let loose a full-blown screech of panic when a hand, lithe and strong, clapped itself over her mouth. Serena turned her head, eyes wide, to see Legolas still on his mount beside her, his hand over his mouth as he gave her a pointed look She flushed, and jumped in surprise as she heard a shriek behind her. She turned in her saddle to see Hotaru, much shaken, clinging to her horse's reigns as she looked around frantically before forcing her expression into that of a composed, albeit shaken, damsel. She spotted Serena and Legolas, and relief washed over her as she trotted forward.
"That," she said, looking at Legolas. "Was freaky." Serena giggled, and Hotaru stuck her tongue out at her.
"Brilliant, though," said Ami as she popped into view seemingly out of nowhere, just under the archway. She rode up to them, grinning. "Brilliantly amazing!" She added. "How clever...I suppose that little trick is a bit of something left over from when these woods were under Sauron's rule, ne? Enemies march up, thinking they've got another hour's march ahead of them, then suddenly they all find themselves right at your gates with you all ready with your archers and boiling oil, ne? Meanwhile, those that haven't reached the transportation barrier where you touched that rock, Legolas, see the illusion of those ahead of them still walking."
"You mean, you couldn't tell I'd disappeared?" Serena asked incredulously.
"That's right, meatball head," Raye was the one that answered as she passed through the barrier and stepped up, after overcoming her brief initial surprise. "We saw you stiffen, then you were fine, and kept riding forward. We followed, and once we were at the same place where you had stiffened, we were suddenly here."
"A brilliant work of magery," Ami grinned. "I would love to examine the matrix supports of the energy structure," she said thoughtfully, looking to Legolas. "I don't suppose you would know of anyone who could help me?"
"As a matter of fact, here comes the one that can," the elven prince told her, nodding to something behind her. In quick succession, Gandalf, Gimli, Aragorn, and Boromir flashed into existence. It was obvious Legolas had been referring to Gandalf.
None of them looked surprised. Those that hadn't been here before must have been expecting it, somehow. The hobbits that followed, however, were far from calm. Sam was just short of collapsing, and Merry and Pippin were roaring with laughter. 'Again, again, again!' seemed to be the only word on their minds at that moment, as if the experience had been no more than a rollercoaster.
"Heh, remind me, Ami-chan, if we ever have them visit us in the future, to take those two to an amusement park," Serena laughed. Everyone who knew what an 'amusement park' was joined in with the laughter, mental images of the looks on the hobbit's faces should they ever present them to a roller coaster aiding in their mirth. The former Fellowship members, however, simply shook their heads.
When at last everyone was present, they dismounted, and gave instructions to an elven boy nearly as tall as he to have the steeds to returned to Lothlorien. Serena patted Ilithindel, sorrow gripping her heart at the thought of parting with her trusted mount.
"Be just as good to all your other riders as you were to me, okay?" Serena whispered to her. Ilithindel whimphered and pranced his head as if to say 'you doubt I would do any less?' Serena grinned, and with a last hug around the horse's neck, she passed to reigns to the boy Legolas had been talking to. Legolas saw this exchange, and in his mind an idea began to form...
"Well, that went well," Haruka was, surprisingly, the most optimistic about what had just taken place in the main hall of the Mirkwood...palace...place...dwelling... whatever you would call it. They had just left the presence of Thranduil, Legolas's father and lord of Mirkwood, asking for official permission to do what they needed to do -whatever that may be, exactly- to destroy the Ring. Just short of suspicious, he had barely agreed, and only after seeing the Ring for itself and a small demonstration of Serena's control over it- making it glow and hum sweetly. The power she had portrayed he gave grudging respect. Her Lunarian heritage he'd scoffed at completely.
All this while maintaining a perfectly composed elvish demeanor.
"'Well?'" Raye spat. "What the hell does that Thranduil guy have against us? He practically told those guards to lock us up if we so much as sneezed impolitely!"
"Guess he doesn't care much for humans, by and large," Ami said. "It's not surprising. From what I've heard from Gandalf, the elves we've talked to and associated with so far have been uncommonly polite and courteous. Apparently humans are looked down upon by the elves."
"He has no reason to like us," Serena pointed out after a moment. "We have given him no reason to trust us, but at the same time, we haven't given him any reason to trust us. I suspect he is like this with everyone, minna- chans. We probably just got the brunt of it because we're new, human, and we have power. Humans with power scare people, now days, what with how the Nazgul came along."
Everyone stopped.
And stared.
"What?" Serena blinked, inwardly grinning mischievously. "You didn't think all those times when Legolas and I snuck off that we were just going for a make-out session did you?"
Four sets of blushes graced four pairs of cheeks...
"He's been teaching me to talk like the princess I am," she said. "As well as elvish, dwarvish, and a few other ancient dialects that they tend to use the way we use Latin."
"Well I'll be..." Haruka grinned. "C'mere!" She grabbed Serena in a bear hug. "Koneko, my opinion of your boyfriend just went up a notch. Or two." She glowered down at the smaller blonde. "But don't you dare tell him that!"
"Don't worry, she won't need to." A voice said, with only the barest hint of mischief. The girls dissolved into laughter, at Haruka's expense, as Legolas stepped into view from around the corner. He grinned at Serena, a twinkle in his eyes as she collapsed into giggles. Haruka only glowered. More laughter, and this time Haruka only shook her head. As the group moved onward, Legolas announcing that he had gotten his father to agree to anything they should require, and that he was to show them all to the corridor assigned to them.
"An entire corridor?" Hotaru blinked; her arm was still in a sling, and she was leaning on Ami slightly. Legolas grinned at her over his shoulder.
"'Tis the guest wing. You and the rest of the Companionship are the only guests at the moment."
"Speaking of the rest of us, where are the guys?" Raye asked.
"Aragorn is looking for himself over the ranks of extra guards my father has placed all around when we told him of the Nazgul being within a day's ride away, at least." Legolas told them. "I suspect Gandalf is inspecting that illusion-transporter. It has been a while since he fine tuned it." Ami opened her mouth to ask. "And yes, he promised to show you how it works. He's by the main gate right now, if you wish to go find him. I'm sure you memorized the path on your way in?"
Ami, grinning sheepishly, nodded, and when she had Legolas's promise that he would send someone for her later to show her to her room, she left to go find Gandalf.
"The Hobbits I suspect are being treated like Kings down in the kitchens, and Boromir I believe has required to join the hunting party this afternoon." Legolas continued relaying the answers to Raye's earlier question.
"Hunting party?" Raye echoed. Again, Legolas grinned slightly.
"My father may not trust humans, but he, like all my people, still never turn down an opportunity to have a party. A feast has been arranged this evening in our honor. Thus the hunting party."
The screech that emanated from Serena's throat to echo up and down the corridor was near deafening as she grabbed Legolas in a hug, kissed him on the cheek, and then went prancing down the hallway like a child that had been told Christmas was tomorrow. She came up short, however, whirled, and raced back to cry the universal question that all females have fallen prey to at one time or another...
"Ohmigod, what am I gonna wear?????"
She was answered with laughter.
As it turned out, Serena didn't have much of a choice for partywear; nothing the elves provided fit her, for she was far too short. Her travel clothes were completely out of the question. The elven maiden assigned to look after Serena had offered to try and take in the only gown that came even close to fitting Serena, but a glance at the garment told the Lunarian Princess that it would take all day, and then some. So Serena declined, saying she refused to subject a potential friend to an entire day of boring sewing just so she could have a pretty dress.
"Besides," she said with a wink as an idea donned on her. "I've got it all figured out!" She giggled. The elven maiden, Tilythia, raised an eyebrow. Serena beamed. "Do you have a pen- er, quill and pap- er, parchment?" She asked. Tilythia nodded, and showed Serena where everything was on the desk against the wall that was to the right of the door. Directly across from the door, a set of double doors lead out into a balcony, letting in plenty of light. Serena sat down, pulled a piece of parchment to her, dipped the quill into the ink, and began writing. She wrote basically the same message 'meet me in my rooms tonight one hour before the banquet' on four different pieces of paper, each one addressed to each of her Senshi. Done, she blew on them to make the ink dry, then folded them, put the names on the outside of folded paper, and handed them to Tilythia.
"Could you take these to my friends?" She asked. The elven maiden nodded, hiding an amused smile as she left, thinking, No wonder the prince fell for her...
Ami was still mulling over the amazing things Gandalf had shown her with the illusion-transporter. Amazing...it was all absolutely amazing!
She walked, still deep in thought, committing every word he'd said to memory. What an advantage they would have if Ami could remember how the thing worked and reconstruct one for themselves back home...
Home...
That word was a bit confusing, now. It used to refer to Earth, not Middle- Earth, to the luxury apartment flat in Tokyo, not with a group of mismatched heroes. Ami wondered what had changed...had she simply gotten used to life on the run, so to speak, on horseback, sleeping under the stars....?
"Ami?"
A voice startled Ami out of her reverie. She whirled, startled, and breathed a sigh of relief when she found it was only Frodo.
"Frodo-san, you startled me," the blue haired girl said with hand on her breast as if the act would help slow her still racing heart. Inwardly, she frowned. He hadn't startled her that bad. Why was her heart still racing?
"A maid found me and asked me to deliver this to you, as she had others to deliver and couldn't find you, and I told her I was looking for you anyway, so..." Frodo flushed slightly as he realized he was rambling. A bit. Ami suppressed giggles as she took the note from the hobbit's hand. She realized that, without her shoes -as she was barefoot- they were the same height.
(AN: Lets pretend Frodo is a little taller than most hobbits...so that Ami isn't quite a midget....)
She unfolded the note, and skimmed the brief message. Ami blinked as she realized that yes, the neat, elegant -albeit slightly shaky- script was indeed Serena's penmanship. She recognized the 'i's and the loopy 'e's...
In referral to the actual message, Ami's face displayed curiosity. She wondered what the Princess had in mind...? Well, she supposed she'd find out that evening.
Time was Ami would have done anything to avoid a social gathering...she smiled slightly, folding the letter and tucking it into the small pouch on her belt. She remembered with a blush that Frodo was still standing before her. She looked at him, and his expression portrayed that he, too, was curious.
"Seems Serena has a bit of a surprise for us girls later tonight," The Senshi of Ice and Wisdom told the Ringbearer. Frodo nodded, seemed to hesitate slightly, then...
"I hear from Legolas that the gardens the Mirkwood Keep are extraordinary," he said. "Would you care to.explore them...with me?"
Ami blinked in slight surprise before her ears and cheeks flamed a most becoming pink. She nodded, and the two fell into step together.
Boromir sighed, remembering his earlier wish that Raye had come along on the hunt. She would have enjoyed it, he was sure. But he'd felt it best for him to have some semi-alone time, to sort out the surfacing feelings for the girl. The notion of her waiting for him when he returned had been an amusing one, but he'd never expected it to come true. Never.
So surprised was he, to see Raye leaning against a corner of the kennels hut, that he'd forgotten the brief, wistful desire to see her he'd had halfway through the hunt the moment he laid eyes on her. She stood there, leaning against the corner of the building, ankles and arms crossed in a casual manner, clad in a taken-in gown that was cream lined with fire red and blazing gold embroidery. Her hair was loose, a circlet reminiscent of Raye's Sailor Mars tiara, of the same bright gold studded with blood red rubies, adorned the ebony locks and dipped down in the center of her brow.
"Lady Raye," he said, riding up to her. "What brings you out to the edge of the hunting woods?"
"Wanted to know why you didn't take me with you," Raye said simply. He grinned.
"Because I did not know you wished to join the hunt," he said.
"Well, I did," she said. She reached around the corner of the building, the side hidden from him, and pulled to her a pack which she lifted and slung over her shoulder. "And to make up for your inconsideration, you get to take me to explore these woods." Her tone left no room for argument. The elves behind Boromir hid grins and chuckles, and one of them rode forward, dismounted, and handed the reins to Raye.
"Since you seem so anxious to go," he said. "You may ride my steed. His name is Firefoot." There was a slight light in his eye; this woman was no true human, he could tell. It was the only reason he looked at her with no scorn as his companions did.
Raye grinned her thanks at him, then turned to Firefoot. Eyeing the fidgeting stallion, her grin widened. "I think Firefoot and I will get along just fine," she said.
"Indeed, I think you will," Boromir grinned wolfishly. "I've seen that horse in action and he's as skittish and quick to assumptions as you are."
"How dare-?" Raye whirled on him. Boromir's eyes twinkled. She pursed her lips, and with a toss of her head she mounted swiftly, tying her pack to the back of the saddle after she untied the one that had already been there and handed it to the elf that had lent her the horse.
"Let's go," she said tersely, and she turned the horse around and rode into the forest. Still grinning, Boromir followed suit.
"As you wish, m'lady," he said in a teasing voice. Raye glared at him, and he only grinned wider.
"Men," she muttered. Firefoot snorted as if in agreement. Behind her, Boromir's grin turned from delighted to mischievous.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Haruka snorted when she'd been watching the four elven guards spar for half an hour. The six tall beings paused long enough to look at her. They hid it, but Haruka spotted the slightly surprised gleam in their eyes; they hadn't known she was there. She hid a smirk. She wasn't the Senshi of Wind for nothing; wind can be loud and intimidating, or silent and deadly.
"I beg your pardon, human?" One of them scoffed. His hair was longer than Legolas's. Haruka briefly wondered how he could 'scoff' and still look and sound...elegant.
"I said, 'you've gotta be kididng me,'" She repeated. "And I was mostly talking to myself."
"Talking to yourself is a sign of insanity, you know," another of the elves commented, his full lips quirking slightly. Haruka grinned ferally.
"I know," she said wolfishly. Suddenly the elves before her were reminded of the common known fact that insane people often equaled dangerous people.
"Pardon my companions," a third elf said, one with bright blue-green eyes, stepping forward. "They are unaware," he glared at them. "That you are an honored guest of Lord Thranduil." If the others were surprised, they didn't show it.
"Care to explain why you thought someone was jesting with you?" A fourth spoke up. He was the tallest of them all.
"Your swordskills," Haruka said simply, motioning to the swords still gripped in their hands. "It's pitiful."
(AN: Remember, this is Haruka talking... Don't kill me, elf-lovers.u.u')
"And you could do better?" Full-Lips said, again with that quirky, gardened grin. Haruka laughed.
"Without a doubt," she said. "Do you have any idea how pitiful it is knowing my Princess is related to your species? An embarrassment. Venus and I both could hold a sword better than you two when we were half your size."
"And that was how long ago?" Mr. Tall asked with a sly grin as he stood up to his full height. Haruka glowered; she barely came up to his chest.
"Enough of this," Long-Hair said with a slight, low growl in his tone. "If you wish to insult us, maid, do so with the promise of backing up your claims."
Haruka's grin was predatorial.
"With pleasure," she said. She raised her hand...
A pale yellow glow began to spiral into existence around her slenderly arched fingers...
With a flash of power at her mental command, pale yellow and sky blue engulfed the Uranusian warrior. Wind that was colored the palest of yellows and blues whipped around her, bearing ribbons and lengths of silk. The wind plastered the materials to her body, and the fabrics seemed to melt into place. With a final flash, there stood the warrior of the Planet of Wind, Uranus. In her hand was her Space Saber Sword, glowing faintly. She ran her finger along its length, and as she did so it reformed itself into a longer, slender, perfectly straight sword, the same size as the ones still held by the elves. Uranus was pleased to see the ill-hidden surprise and startlement both in their eyes and their postures.
"Shall we?" She asked. Her predatory grin was now something out of a child's nightmare. "Who's first?"
Collecting himself, Long-Hair suddenly grinned with the same predatory hint that she was grinning with as he stepped forward. Uranus noted, with annoyance that he somehow managed to make that same grin more...elegant, she thought with annoyance. How did he do that? All elves did it, but he seemed to make an art of it.
Shaking the thoughts away as she stepped forward, a slight breeze picked up, blowing the ribbons from her haltertop straps at the back of her neck out behind her. The symbol of Uranus, which had been visible since she first transformed at that battle in Mordor so long ago and had never completely faded, was now vivid and shining.
"Bring it on," she said ferally. Long-Hair saluted with a quirk of his fingers, then lunged...
Hotaru loved it at the Mirkwood palace. Absolutely loved it.
She had, to her delight, managed to, even with her useless arm, climb a tree that was on the smaller side, but tall enough to let her get a good scope of the impressive gardens. She leaned back against the tree trunk, smiling serenely.
They'd made it. They'd beaten the Nazgul to this safe haven, and still had a few days left before they had to make preparations to guide Serena's spirit back to the future.a few days before they all had to leave...
Hotaru's face fell. At first...when they'd first arrived in Middle-Earth, Hotaru hadn't been able to wait to get home... Sure, Legolas and Boromir and Gandalf and Gimli and Aragorn and the Hobbits were wonderful people, but...she had wanted to go home...
Hotaru sighed. Suddenly she wasn't so sure where home was anymore. She didn't know if any of them knew...
Serena had found love again. Someone had expressed the desire to take the time to prove to Raye that not all men are pigheads, Haruka had found a world where she could exert her skills and natural personality as a fighter. Ami had found a place full of new things- she had been bored with their Earth, everyone had been able to see it. As fascinating as she found numbers and geography and the stars, she knew all there really was to know, all that time could provide. But here...Middle-Earth...things were different. The rules were different. Ami had a whole new world to explore and discover and try to explain. To put it quite simply, Middle-Earth was Ami's version of paradise.
A rustling... Hotaru, shaken out of her reverie, looked below, and stifled a gasp...her eyes widened... and suddenly she was hard pressed to keep in a fit of giggles...
Down below, locked in an affectionate embrace and leaning against the tree, was Ami and Frodo...
A very affectionate embrace, indeed, Hotaru's eyes twinkled when she saw the couple timidly let their lips touch, and slowly fall into something deeper. Hotaru's earlier thoughts about 'Ami's paradise' came back to her, and she was unable to hold in the snort of a giggle that sprung out of nowhere. Below, Ami and Frodo broke away suddenly, and looked up sharply.
"Uh-oh..." Hotaru whispered.
Something snapped...
"Double uh-oh," she whimpered under her breath, just before the branch she was sitting on gave way, and she tumbled down. She found out first hand what nice landing cushions hobbits and Mercurians make. She also found out that both those species could turn an impressive spectrum of the color red in an amazingly short period of time...
"Heh, heh..." The Senshi of Silence said nervously as she scrambled off her friends. She looked sheepishly at a beet-red Ami and Frodo. "Er...um...sorry?"
"Not...a word...to the girls..." Ami growled in a most un-Ami-like fashion. "Specifically not Serena, or, when we get back, Mina. Got it?"
Hotaru nodded vigorously. But when she glanced to Frodo, whose face was simultaneously surprised, embarrassed, and mischievous, she couldn't help but burst into giggles again.
To Be Continued...
OMG I'm sooooooo sorry for not posting in so long!!!! Guess the holidays kinda snuck up on me this year, and I was unprepared.
I'm sorry to say that I'm not sure whether or not the Christmas installation of this story will be complete in time, and that -aside from the Christmas Special- there will also probably be no more updates until after New Years. .
Plus I just recently sprained my wrist, and have been reduced to typing with one hand, as I am now. Not fun, and takes forever! So I will probably wait to finish chap fifteen till after I get my brace off. . Arg. Had to be my right wrist too, dernit. *is right handed* Dern cat.arg.. Grrr. Anyhoo, hope you all enjoyed! Ja!
Hope Makes the Universe Shine, Makura Koneko
*ALL STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY*
Chapter Fourteen by Makura Koneko
ATTENTION: Just to remind you all, again this is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE fic!!!! Meaning I'm making the things the way *I* imagine them, k? Any flames will be used to roast my s'mores! (Thanks to Tsuki no Tenshi for the suggestion. ^^)
Ray of Hope (*laugh* Here's your chapter, three pages longer than usual! ^^ Sorry for the wait!) Divine Sorceress (Glad you decided to review! Thanks! Oh, and I LOVE your username!!!!) mooniecrazed (Fav author? *blush* *is flattered* I'm sorry to say that Shattered Tapestry is kinda on hiatus until my muse decides to come back for that story. -.-') My fair kitty SerenityLNguyen (*hands smelling salts* Don't faint on me!!! It's not good for your health! *wink* Thanks!) Larissa Lilaclight star0704 (hmm.good question. I'll have to address that. ^^) Callisto Star (Ah! You figured it out before I've even explained it! Bravo! *claps*) Lady Light (SM/Tamora Pierce crossover? ^^ You read my mind. I've actually already started one. Now that I know someone's interested, I'll be more likely to post it eventually.) Adyen (Black star? Explain it? She's not. ^^ I sideskipped that complication by that 'bright, blinding light.' No one saw it. *slaps on halo* Ain't I a snake?) Kage-Shadow-of-Darkness sailorbardock1980 AngelQueen (Again, someone else figured it out! Way to go!) Linauri (Man, I didn't think so many people would like that bringing-back- the-spark-of-humanity-in-the-Nazgul bit. In fact, I was worried about people flaming me for the inaccuracy of it.Well, thanks! ^^) Lady Silence niner Tsuki no Tenshi
Last Time....
"Run," he whispered hoarsely. "Take your princess and flee. She is our last hope. I am old, young one, and I have seen much. Your princess is the first glimpse of light I have ever seen in these dark times. Protect that hope, that light, please... I...we were weak...please...don't be weak...don't let the light be weak...please..."
Hotaru nodded, giving her promise. His plea delivered and her word given, his head slumped back onto his chest.
Abruptly, the spectacle was over; the thundering sky ceased its roar and cleared, the black and purple light vanished, Hotaru's eyes returned to normal, the black star on her brow flickered and disappeared, to be replaced with her proper ensignia of Saturn. Hotaru gasped, groaned, and slumped down over Makura's neck. Aragorn grasped the reigns to the horse, whirled both steeds around, leaned down from his saddle and scooped up Hotaru's staff-blade, all in one swift movement as the wolves and creatures began emerging from the shadows once more.
Aragorn, an unconscious Hotaru on the horse whose reigns he held in his hand, fled into the night, leaving the threat behind...
And now the Conclusion....
"You left it behind for now, anyways," Boromir said in response to the end of Aragorn's retelling of the adventure he and the firefly princess had undergone earlier that night. It was well after midnight, nearing morning, they having ridden long and hard once the duo had caught up with them at the edge of the Fields.
Aragorn had commanded they pack up the camp and ride long and hard for the other edge of the Fields.
They had saved stories for until they could ride no more and had been forced to stop less than four hours from the other side of the Fields. Now, all but Legolas, Aragorn, Boromir, Gimli, Gandalf, and Ami were asleep.
Hotaru had remained unconscious the entire time, coming around for only a moment when Ami had insisted in a most un-Ami-like fashion they stop long enough for her and Raye to tend to Hotaru and Aragorn's wounds. It was a good thing they had; any longer, Ami had said, and Hotaru would have lost her arm. As it was, until she was strong enough to fully transform in order to erase the rest of the damage, the arm was useless.
"One of the Nazgul told Hotaru to protect Serena?" Legolas questioned, the underlying tone of bewilderment barely hidden. Aragorn nodded.
"Strange, is it not?" The human king tossed a twig into the fire. "For that short moment, his hood had fallen down. His face...he was human. Inhumanly old and pale, but still somehow human. And his voice was... desperate. Pleading. Hopeful. It was as thought he had a soul again."
"For those few moments after Hotaru zapped them all with so much negative energy, they probably did."
Ami said softly from across the fire. All eyes turned to her. She grinned. "I believe this is a perfect example of the simple algebra law of 'a negative plus a negative will always equal a positive.'"
"Excuse me?" Gimli gruffed. "Not all of us are scholars from one million or whatever years into the future, missy."
Ami laughed, and apologized. "Basically," she said. "The evil energy that already filled the Nazgul and the evil energy Hotaru 'zapped' them with cancelled each other out. So for a few brief moments, they were who they were before the Rings of Power had begun to consume them. Neither evil nor good. Just simply human."
"Amazing..." Gandalf said thoughtfully. Ami thought a change of subject appropriate.
"How far till we reach Mirkwood, do you estimate?" Ami asked Legolas. "My calculations say at least another day, but you have actually made the journey, whereas I have not."
"About a day is correct, with the progress we made today," Legolas confirmed. "How...how long does Serena have?"
"A week and a half," Ami said softly. She sighed and drew her knees up to her chest, her eyes full of sadness.
"Why does your heart carry sorrow?" Boromir asked. "You will not be loosing her. She will be coming home with you."
"That's just it, though..." Ami said, glancing at the sleeping Serenity. "Where we come from..." She glanced to a ways to her right, where Frodo was sleeping, and she blushed slightly, though under the warm light of the fire, no one saw. She saw how Haruka lay so protectively beside Serena...how her very position betrayed how she would follow her princess anywhere... She saw how Gandalf absently stroked Hotaru's hair from where he was beside her in so fatherly a way, how Hotaru sighed in her sleep... She remembered how she had seen Raye looking at Boromir...
Ami blinked back tears.
"I'm not sure if the future is home for any of us anymore..." she whispered.
The last four hours of riding across the Fields was made in haste, despite the weariness that surrounded them all. The fear of the Nazgul not far behind them was the only thing that kept them going. But at last they crossed the border of the Fields and Mirkwood, and Legolas told them they should be safe. The magic of the woods that now surrounded them was not nearly as potent as that of Lorien, but it should be enough to keep the evil ones at bay.
"Still, we should ride until we are at least a few hours away from the border," Aragorn said firmly. "Then we will make camp and rest. With luck we will reach the capitol city of Mirkwood by nightfall." Groans were quickly stifled by the look the human king threw the groaners, and, per Aragorn's instructions, they rode on.
"You feeling any better, Hotaru-chan?" Serena asked, pulling up beside Hotaru on her right. The younger Senshi looked worn and exhausted, her useless arm bandaged and in a sling, but her eyes shone with the beauty of the woods around her.
"Much better," Hotaru said. "I like the woods better then those Fields. I felt so...exposed out there."
"Same here," Serena shivered. "I felt like we were being watched, especially last night..."
"You, too?" Raye asked, letting her horse's -Madya's- gait slow so that she was at the same pace as her friends and riding on Hotaru's left.
"Frea-ky!" Serena made a face.
"It was probably just night animals," Ami said over her shoulder. "That's what I dismissed it as."
"Ami-chan, you're probably right," Haruka said from behind them all. "But if there's one thing I've learned in this land, it's to never dismiss anything as something harmless."
No one argued, and all were simply thankful that whatever had been out in with them in the wilderness last night had apparently not wished them any ill.
"Wow..." Was the only word that slipped from out of Serena's mouth as the Companionship rounded a bend in the path and came face to face with a most magnificent sight. Legolas, beside her, grinned at her exclamation.
"Welcome to my home," he told her, resisting the urge to laugh outright at her dumbfounded expression. The Senshi and the rest of the Companionship, behind them, were all -except for Aragorn, whom had seen the capitol of Mirkwood before- in similar predicaments, expression wise.
Before them, in the center of a huge field, sprawled a massive structure that looked to be made entire of trees and bushes and vines, the branches of the trees interwoven to form walls, braided and arched to form archways. Interlaced all over them were vines of all sorts that gave the entire place a green glow from the sunlight that poured in from overhead.
The packed dirt road, lined with stones and wildflowers and followed by a gurgling stream that ran along side it, snaked off into the distance to meet with a huge, grand archway of braided, twining, twisting, curling branches and vines. There were no gates that they could see, and out of the many windows of the 'palace' within the walls that the archway served as a door in, tiny figures could be spied, many of them appearing to be waving. Just to be safe, in case there really were people waving, Serena raised her arm and waved back enthusiastically. Laughing, the Senshi followed her example, but they stopped as soon as the sounding of trumpets in the distance caused their curiosity to make them forget.
"Why are they trumpeting so soon?" Serena asked. "We've still got another half an hour of riding before we get there."
Legolas grinned, his eyes twinkling. "Watch," he said. He held up his hand, and the group stopped. He leaned down from his saddle and lightly touched one of the stones lining the path. He sat back up and winked ever so briefly to Serena so that she barely caught it. He rode on forward, and looked over his shoulder, waving for her to follow- He drew his hand back so abruptly Serena had to blink. It had been so quick...almost as though his arm had been waving one moment, and the next...she shook her head; she needed to eat something...
She nudged Ilithindel forward....the horse snorted with unease as a rushing tingle filled Serena's veins and made her gasp. The world swam before her eyes, then with a silent 'whoosh' everything snapped back into place...except for her, since she, as she realized when glancing around, was now in a completely different place than she had been five seconds previous.
She looked around frantically, seeing herself just inside the branch- archway in the wall surrounding the 'palace.' Elvish folk were all around, all fair haired and blue eyed like Legolas, and all looking at her with mild curiosity. Serena was about to let loose a full-blown screech of panic when a hand, lithe and strong, clapped itself over her mouth. Serena turned her head, eyes wide, to see Legolas still on his mount beside her, his hand over his mouth as he gave her a pointed look She flushed, and jumped in surprise as she heard a shriek behind her. She turned in her saddle to see Hotaru, much shaken, clinging to her horse's reigns as she looked around frantically before forcing her expression into that of a composed, albeit shaken, damsel. She spotted Serena and Legolas, and relief washed over her as she trotted forward.
"That," she said, looking at Legolas. "Was freaky." Serena giggled, and Hotaru stuck her tongue out at her.
"Brilliant, though," said Ami as she popped into view seemingly out of nowhere, just under the archway. She rode up to them, grinning. "Brilliantly amazing!" She added. "How clever...I suppose that little trick is a bit of something left over from when these woods were under Sauron's rule, ne? Enemies march up, thinking they've got another hour's march ahead of them, then suddenly they all find themselves right at your gates with you all ready with your archers and boiling oil, ne? Meanwhile, those that haven't reached the transportation barrier where you touched that rock, Legolas, see the illusion of those ahead of them still walking."
"You mean, you couldn't tell I'd disappeared?" Serena asked incredulously.
"That's right, meatball head," Raye was the one that answered as she passed through the barrier and stepped up, after overcoming her brief initial surprise. "We saw you stiffen, then you were fine, and kept riding forward. We followed, and once we were at the same place where you had stiffened, we were suddenly here."
"A brilliant work of magery," Ami grinned. "I would love to examine the matrix supports of the energy structure," she said thoughtfully, looking to Legolas. "I don't suppose you would know of anyone who could help me?"
"As a matter of fact, here comes the one that can," the elven prince told her, nodding to something behind her. In quick succession, Gandalf, Gimli, Aragorn, and Boromir flashed into existence. It was obvious Legolas had been referring to Gandalf.
None of them looked surprised. Those that hadn't been here before must have been expecting it, somehow. The hobbits that followed, however, were far from calm. Sam was just short of collapsing, and Merry and Pippin were roaring with laughter. 'Again, again, again!' seemed to be the only word on their minds at that moment, as if the experience had been no more than a rollercoaster.
"Heh, remind me, Ami-chan, if we ever have them visit us in the future, to take those two to an amusement park," Serena laughed. Everyone who knew what an 'amusement park' was joined in with the laughter, mental images of the looks on the hobbit's faces should they ever present them to a roller coaster aiding in their mirth. The former Fellowship members, however, simply shook their heads.
When at last everyone was present, they dismounted, and gave instructions to an elven boy nearly as tall as he to have the steeds to returned to Lothlorien. Serena patted Ilithindel, sorrow gripping her heart at the thought of parting with her trusted mount.
"Be just as good to all your other riders as you were to me, okay?" Serena whispered to her. Ilithindel whimphered and pranced his head as if to say 'you doubt I would do any less?' Serena grinned, and with a last hug around the horse's neck, she passed to reigns to the boy Legolas had been talking to. Legolas saw this exchange, and in his mind an idea began to form...
"Well, that went well," Haruka was, surprisingly, the most optimistic about what had just taken place in the main hall of the Mirkwood...palace...place...dwelling... whatever you would call it. They had just left the presence of Thranduil, Legolas's father and lord of Mirkwood, asking for official permission to do what they needed to do -whatever that may be, exactly- to destroy the Ring. Just short of suspicious, he had barely agreed, and only after seeing the Ring for itself and a small demonstration of Serena's control over it- making it glow and hum sweetly. The power she had portrayed he gave grudging respect. Her Lunarian heritage he'd scoffed at completely.
All this while maintaining a perfectly composed elvish demeanor.
"'Well?'" Raye spat. "What the hell does that Thranduil guy have against us? He practically told those guards to lock us up if we so much as sneezed impolitely!"
"Guess he doesn't care much for humans, by and large," Ami said. "It's not surprising. From what I've heard from Gandalf, the elves we've talked to and associated with so far have been uncommonly polite and courteous. Apparently humans are looked down upon by the elves."
"He has no reason to like us," Serena pointed out after a moment. "We have given him no reason to trust us, but at the same time, we haven't given him any reason to trust us. I suspect he is like this with everyone, minna- chans. We probably just got the brunt of it because we're new, human, and we have power. Humans with power scare people, now days, what with how the Nazgul came along."
Everyone stopped.
And stared.
"What?" Serena blinked, inwardly grinning mischievously. "You didn't think all those times when Legolas and I snuck off that we were just going for a make-out session did you?"
Four sets of blushes graced four pairs of cheeks...
"He's been teaching me to talk like the princess I am," she said. "As well as elvish, dwarvish, and a few other ancient dialects that they tend to use the way we use Latin."
"Well I'll be..." Haruka grinned. "C'mere!" She grabbed Serena in a bear hug. "Koneko, my opinion of your boyfriend just went up a notch. Or two." She glowered down at the smaller blonde. "But don't you dare tell him that!"
"Don't worry, she won't need to." A voice said, with only the barest hint of mischief. The girls dissolved into laughter, at Haruka's expense, as Legolas stepped into view from around the corner. He grinned at Serena, a twinkle in his eyes as she collapsed into giggles. Haruka only glowered. More laughter, and this time Haruka only shook her head. As the group moved onward, Legolas announcing that he had gotten his father to agree to anything they should require, and that he was to show them all to the corridor assigned to them.
"An entire corridor?" Hotaru blinked; her arm was still in a sling, and she was leaning on Ami slightly. Legolas grinned at her over his shoulder.
"'Tis the guest wing. You and the rest of the Companionship are the only guests at the moment."
"Speaking of the rest of us, where are the guys?" Raye asked.
"Aragorn is looking for himself over the ranks of extra guards my father has placed all around when we told him of the Nazgul being within a day's ride away, at least." Legolas told them. "I suspect Gandalf is inspecting that illusion-transporter. It has been a while since he fine tuned it." Ami opened her mouth to ask. "And yes, he promised to show you how it works. He's by the main gate right now, if you wish to go find him. I'm sure you memorized the path on your way in?"
Ami, grinning sheepishly, nodded, and when she had Legolas's promise that he would send someone for her later to show her to her room, she left to go find Gandalf.
"The Hobbits I suspect are being treated like Kings down in the kitchens, and Boromir I believe has required to join the hunting party this afternoon." Legolas continued relaying the answers to Raye's earlier question.
"Hunting party?" Raye echoed. Again, Legolas grinned slightly.
"My father may not trust humans, but he, like all my people, still never turn down an opportunity to have a party. A feast has been arranged this evening in our honor. Thus the hunting party."
The screech that emanated from Serena's throat to echo up and down the corridor was near deafening as she grabbed Legolas in a hug, kissed him on the cheek, and then went prancing down the hallway like a child that had been told Christmas was tomorrow. She came up short, however, whirled, and raced back to cry the universal question that all females have fallen prey to at one time or another...
"Ohmigod, what am I gonna wear?????"
She was answered with laughter.
As it turned out, Serena didn't have much of a choice for partywear; nothing the elves provided fit her, for she was far too short. Her travel clothes were completely out of the question. The elven maiden assigned to look after Serena had offered to try and take in the only gown that came even close to fitting Serena, but a glance at the garment told the Lunarian Princess that it would take all day, and then some. So Serena declined, saying she refused to subject a potential friend to an entire day of boring sewing just so she could have a pretty dress.
"Besides," she said with a wink as an idea donned on her. "I've got it all figured out!" She giggled. The elven maiden, Tilythia, raised an eyebrow. Serena beamed. "Do you have a pen- er, quill and pap- er, parchment?" She asked. Tilythia nodded, and showed Serena where everything was on the desk against the wall that was to the right of the door. Directly across from the door, a set of double doors lead out into a balcony, letting in plenty of light. Serena sat down, pulled a piece of parchment to her, dipped the quill into the ink, and began writing. She wrote basically the same message 'meet me in my rooms tonight one hour before the banquet' on four different pieces of paper, each one addressed to each of her Senshi. Done, she blew on them to make the ink dry, then folded them, put the names on the outside of folded paper, and handed them to Tilythia.
"Could you take these to my friends?" She asked. The elven maiden nodded, hiding an amused smile as she left, thinking, No wonder the prince fell for her...
Ami was still mulling over the amazing things Gandalf had shown her with the illusion-transporter. Amazing...it was all absolutely amazing!
She walked, still deep in thought, committing every word he'd said to memory. What an advantage they would have if Ami could remember how the thing worked and reconstruct one for themselves back home...
Home...
That word was a bit confusing, now. It used to refer to Earth, not Middle- Earth, to the luxury apartment flat in Tokyo, not with a group of mismatched heroes. Ami wondered what had changed...had she simply gotten used to life on the run, so to speak, on horseback, sleeping under the stars....?
"Ami?"
A voice startled Ami out of her reverie. She whirled, startled, and breathed a sigh of relief when she found it was only Frodo.
"Frodo-san, you startled me," the blue haired girl said with hand on her breast as if the act would help slow her still racing heart. Inwardly, she frowned. He hadn't startled her that bad. Why was her heart still racing?
"A maid found me and asked me to deliver this to you, as she had others to deliver and couldn't find you, and I told her I was looking for you anyway, so..." Frodo flushed slightly as he realized he was rambling. A bit. Ami suppressed giggles as she took the note from the hobbit's hand. She realized that, without her shoes -as she was barefoot- they were the same height.
(AN: Lets pretend Frodo is a little taller than most hobbits...so that Ami isn't quite a midget....)
She unfolded the note, and skimmed the brief message. Ami blinked as she realized that yes, the neat, elegant -albeit slightly shaky- script was indeed Serena's penmanship. She recognized the 'i's and the loopy 'e's...
In referral to the actual message, Ami's face displayed curiosity. She wondered what the Princess had in mind...? Well, she supposed she'd find out that evening.
Time was Ami would have done anything to avoid a social gathering...she smiled slightly, folding the letter and tucking it into the small pouch on her belt. She remembered with a blush that Frodo was still standing before her. She looked at him, and his expression portrayed that he, too, was curious.
"Seems Serena has a bit of a surprise for us girls later tonight," The Senshi of Ice and Wisdom told the Ringbearer. Frodo nodded, seemed to hesitate slightly, then...
"I hear from Legolas that the gardens the Mirkwood Keep are extraordinary," he said. "Would you care to.explore them...with me?"
Ami blinked in slight surprise before her ears and cheeks flamed a most becoming pink. She nodded, and the two fell into step together.
Boromir sighed, remembering his earlier wish that Raye had come along on the hunt. She would have enjoyed it, he was sure. But he'd felt it best for him to have some semi-alone time, to sort out the surfacing feelings for the girl. The notion of her waiting for him when he returned had been an amusing one, but he'd never expected it to come true. Never.
So surprised was he, to see Raye leaning against a corner of the kennels hut, that he'd forgotten the brief, wistful desire to see her he'd had halfway through the hunt the moment he laid eyes on her. She stood there, leaning against the corner of the building, ankles and arms crossed in a casual manner, clad in a taken-in gown that was cream lined with fire red and blazing gold embroidery. Her hair was loose, a circlet reminiscent of Raye's Sailor Mars tiara, of the same bright gold studded with blood red rubies, adorned the ebony locks and dipped down in the center of her brow.
"Lady Raye," he said, riding up to her. "What brings you out to the edge of the hunting woods?"
"Wanted to know why you didn't take me with you," Raye said simply. He grinned.
"Because I did not know you wished to join the hunt," he said.
"Well, I did," she said. She reached around the corner of the building, the side hidden from him, and pulled to her a pack which she lifted and slung over her shoulder. "And to make up for your inconsideration, you get to take me to explore these woods." Her tone left no room for argument. The elves behind Boromir hid grins and chuckles, and one of them rode forward, dismounted, and handed the reins to Raye.
"Since you seem so anxious to go," he said. "You may ride my steed. His name is Firefoot." There was a slight light in his eye; this woman was no true human, he could tell. It was the only reason he looked at her with no scorn as his companions did.
Raye grinned her thanks at him, then turned to Firefoot. Eyeing the fidgeting stallion, her grin widened. "I think Firefoot and I will get along just fine," she said.
"Indeed, I think you will," Boromir grinned wolfishly. "I've seen that horse in action and he's as skittish and quick to assumptions as you are."
"How dare-?" Raye whirled on him. Boromir's eyes twinkled. She pursed her lips, and with a toss of her head she mounted swiftly, tying her pack to the back of the saddle after she untied the one that had already been there and handed it to the elf that had lent her the horse.
"Let's go," she said tersely, and she turned the horse around and rode into the forest. Still grinning, Boromir followed suit.
"As you wish, m'lady," he said in a teasing voice. Raye glared at him, and he only grinned wider.
"Men," she muttered. Firefoot snorted as if in agreement. Behind her, Boromir's grin turned from delighted to mischievous.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Haruka snorted when she'd been watching the four elven guards spar for half an hour. The six tall beings paused long enough to look at her. They hid it, but Haruka spotted the slightly surprised gleam in their eyes; they hadn't known she was there. She hid a smirk. She wasn't the Senshi of Wind for nothing; wind can be loud and intimidating, or silent and deadly.
"I beg your pardon, human?" One of them scoffed. His hair was longer than Legolas's. Haruka briefly wondered how he could 'scoff' and still look and sound...elegant.
"I said, 'you've gotta be kididng me,'" She repeated. "And I was mostly talking to myself."
"Talking to yourself is a sign of insanity, you know," another of the elves commented, his full lips quirking slightly. Haruka grinned ferally.
"I know," she said wolfishly. Suddenly the elves before her were reminded of the common known fact that insane people often equaled dangerous people.
"Pardon my companions," a third elf said, one with bright blue-green eyes, stepping forward. "They are unaware," he glared at them. "That you are an honored guest of Lord Thranduil." If the others were surprised, they didn't show it.
"Care to explain why you thought someone was jesting with you?" A fourth spoke up. He was the tallest of them all.
"Your swordskills," Haruka said simply, motioning to the swords still gripped in their hands. "It's pitiful."
(AN: Remember, this is Haruka talking... Don't kill me, elf-lovers.u.u')
"And you could do better?" Full-Lips said, again with that quirky, gardened grin. Haruka laughed.
"Without a doubt," she said. "Do you have any idea how pitiful it is knowing my Princess is related to your species? An embarrassment. Venus and I both could hold a sword better than you two when we were half your size."
"And that was how long ago?" Mr. Tall asked with a sly grin as he stood up to his full height. Haruka glowered; she barely came up to his chest.
"Enough of this," Long-Hair said with a slight, low growl in his tone. "If you wish to insult us, maid, do so with the promise of backing up your claims."
Haruka's grin was predatorial.
"With pleasure," she said. She raised her hand...
A pale yellow glow began to spiral into existence around her slenderly arched fingers...
With a flash of power at her mental command, pale yellow and sky blue engulfed the Uranusian warrior. Wind that was colored the palest of yellows and blues whipped around her, bearing ribbons and lengths of silk. The wind plastered the materials to her body, and the fabrics seemed to melt into place. With a final flash, there stood the warrior of the Planet of Wind, Uranus. In her hand was her Space Saber Sword, glowing faintly. She ran her finger along its length, and as she did so it reformed itself into a longer, slender, perfectly straight sword, the same size as the ones still held by the elves. Uranus was pleased to see the ill-hidden surprise and startlement both in their eyes and their postures.
"Shall we?" She asked. Her predatory grin was now something out of a child's nightmare. "Who's first?"
Collecting himself, Long-Hair suddenly grinned with the same predatory hint that she was grinning with as he stepped forward. Uranus noted, with annoyance that he somehow managed to make that same grin more...elegant, she thought with annoyance. How did he do that? All elves did it, but he seemed to make an art of it.
Shaking the thoughts away as she stepped forward, a slight breeze picked up, blowing the ribbons from her haltertop straps at the back of her neck out behind her. The symbol of Uranus, which had been visible since she first transformed at that battle in Mordor so long ago and had never completely faded, was now vivid and shining.
"Bring it on," she said ferally. Long-Hair saluted with a quirk of his fingers, then lunged...
Hotaru loved it at the Mirkwood palace. Absolutely loved it.
She had, to her delight, managed to, even with her useless arm, climb a tree that was on the smaller side, but tall enough to let her get a good scope of the impressive gardens. She leaned back against the tree trunk, smiling serenely.
They'd made it. They'd beaten the Nazgul to this safe haven, and still had a few days left before they had to make preparations to guide Serena's spirit back to the future.a few days before they all had to leave...
Hotaru's face fell. At first...when they'd first arrived in Middle-Earth, Hotaru hadn't been able to wait to get home... Sure, Legolas and Boromir and Gandalf and Gimli and Aragorn and the Hobbits were wonderful people, but...she had wanted to go home...
Hotaru sighed. Suddenly she wasn't so sure where home was anymore. She didn't know if any of them knew...
Serena had found love again. Someone had expressed the desire to take the time to prove to Raye that not all men are pigheads, Haruka had found a world where she could exert her skills and natural personality as a fighter. Ami had found a place full of new things- she had been bored with their Earth, everyone had been able to see it. As fascinating as she found numbers and geography and the stars, she knew all there really was to know, all that time could provide. But here...Middle-Earth...things were different. The rules were different. Ami had a whole new world to explore and discover and try to explain. To put it quite simply, Middle-Earth was Ami's version of paradise.
A rustling... Hotaru, shaken out of her reverie, looked below, and stifled a gasp...her eyes widened... and suddenly she was hard pressed to keep in a fit of giggles...
Down below, locked in an affectionate embrace and leaning against the tree, was Ami and Frodo...
A very affectionate embrace, indeed, Hotaru's eyes twinkled when she saw the couple timidly let their lips touch, and slowly fall into something deeper. Hotaru's earlier thoughts about 'Ami's paradise' came back to her, and she was unable to hold in the snort of a giggle that sprung out of nowhere. Below, Ami and Frodo broke away suddenly, and looked up sharply.
"Uh-oh..." Hotaru whispered.
Something snapped...
"Double uh-oh," she whimpered under her breath, just before the branch she was sitting on gave way, and she tumbled down. She found out first hand what nice landing cushions hobbits and Mercurians make. She also found out that both those species could turn an impressive spectrum of the color red in an amazingly short period of time...
"Heh, heh..." The Senshi of Silence said nervously as she scrambled off her friends. She looked sheepishly at a beet-red Ami and Frodo. "Er...um...sorry?"
"Not...a word...to the girls..." Ami growled in a most un-Ami-like fashion. "Specifically not Serena, or, when we get back, Mina. Got it?"
Hotaru nodded vigorously. But when she glanced to Frodo, whose face was simultaneously surprised, embarrassed, and mischievous, she couldn't help but burst into giggles again.
To Be Continued...
OMG I'm sooooooo sorry for not posting in so long!!!! Guess the holidays kinda snuck up on me this year, and I was unprepared.
I'm sorry to say that I'm not sure whether or not the Christmas installation of this story will be complete in time, and that -aside from the Christmas Special- there will also probably be no more updates until after New Years. .
Plus I just recently sprained my wrist, and have been reduced to typing with one hand, as I am now. Not fun, and takes forever! So I will probably wait to finish chap fifteen till after I get my brace off. . Arg. Had to be my right wrist too, dernit. *is right handed* Dern cat.arg.. Grrr. Anyhoo, hope you all enjoyed! Ja!
Hope Makes the Universe Shine, Makura Koneko
*ALL STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY*
