These coming chapters haven't been betaed yet because my beta is out of town on vacation (Hi, Megan! How's NY?) So please excuse any grammar or tenses errors until she returned and I'll make the adjustments.
Keep guessing the story line, every body. I luv it when u do that!
@ LegolasLover2003 ; U just send me more than 50 reviews in one day for every chapter of my every fic! U are nuts!! That's why I luv u so much! And thank u for beta-ing 'The Evil Bride' for me. But I can't let u beta this one because it will spoil the surprises!!!
****************************************
The cold bitter wind was blowing hard, hitting the fellowship with its frigid temperature. They had put on their spare cloaks for more warmth. The hobbits that suffered the most from the cold even had blankets wrapped around their shivering forms. To make matters worse, snow began to fall heavily.
With feet that felt like lead, they trampled on, following Gandalf who had reclaimed his position at the very front of the group. Soon after, the falling snow progressed into a full-fledged blizzard. The wind blew heavier, nearly sending the much smaller hobbits tumbling down the cliff into the deep ravine below. They held on to one another for dear life, silently praying that they would not fall or freeze to death.
Aragorn, meanwhile, was having a serious discussion inside his mind. He had already regretted his outburst two hours earlier. I sounded exactly like a fool, he scolded himself.
The ranger had caught Boromir and the hobbits looking at him strangely, while Gimli simply glared at him. Great! They think I'm losing it already, possessed by The Ring! He shook his head, subconsciously helping Frodo climbed over a rock. What had gotten into me?! That was incredibly childish! I shouldn't have said those words! Oh, no! What if Legolas heard what I said?
Aragorn turned and stared at the elf who, like always, stayed at the end of the line. Legolas was constantly looking left and right, ever aware of any approaching danger. Once in a while, he would tilt his head to the side and listen intently, before moving on once more. Among them, the elf was the only one who had no problem walking in the snow. His feet didn't even leave any prints on the white powder, so light and graceful his steps were.
It took Aragorn several seconds to realize that Gandalf had suddenly stopped. The wizard was frowning as he stared at one point straight ahead.
"Is something wrong, Gandalf?"
The wizard turned. "Aye. The pass is already halfway blocked. I'm not sure if it is passable or safe enough to go through." He pondered for another minute before he called, "Legolas!"
The elf rushed forward and immediately saw the problem. "I'll go check it out." He then vanished through the thick whiteness beyond.
The wind was howling so loud now that having a conversation was near to impossible. So they waited in silence for the elf's return.
A while later, after several minutes of anxious waiting, Legolas emerged. "The pass is almost fully blocked several yards ahead, but there's a narrow passage that we can go through."
"Do you think the hobbits can make it? Is it safe?" Gandalf asked.
"Yes. It is not a hard climb, only…" Legolas paused in mid sentence when his ears caught some strange voices. Listening intently, he then exchanged look with the gray wizard. "It's him."
"Yes, Legolas. I heard it too."
"What exactly did you hear?" Aragorn asked, getting worried when he saw the odd expression on the wizard's face.
"Saruman," Gandalf shortly replied.
Then they all heard it, the echoing chanting voices in the old tongue of Mordor. Only Gandalf and Legolas understood the dark language. Still, the rest of the fellowship didn't need to know what the words mean to realize that the evil wizard Saruman was at work in bringing down the fellowship to their doom.
Gandalf had also begun to chant, using the ancient phrases of Quenya at the top of his lungs. The rest of the fellowship stared at the wizard as the strong wind whipped his gray cloak about. Merry and Pippin were hugging each other, incredibly terrified at the whole spectacle.
Saruman's voice got louder and so was Gandalf's. Thunders boomed and lightning flashed crazily around them. Boromir had to tighten his hold on Bill so that the pony would not trample all over them in its panic.
Then it happened. The lightning suddenly hit the rocky wall above them. The splinters fell and showered over the fellowship, bringing along the rocky debris and tons of snow.
"Take cover!!" Aragorn yelled as he pulled Frodo and Sam closer to him and dragged them all against the wall. Merry and Pippin ran to Boromir and hang on to the man like limpets, while Gimli had already taken cover under an overhanging ledge.
To their horror, Gandalf was still standing tall at the same spot, chanting away like crazy.
"Gandalf!" Legolas quickly reached over and grabbed the wizard. A second later, the whole thing fell on top of them.
Then, everything was eerily quiet.
********************************
"Ow! I can't move!"
Pippin's complain brought Aragorn around. He had gotten a sharp knock on the head from the fallen debris and went unconscious for a full minute. Then the ranger realized that he was submerged to his chest in piles of snow. He struggled to free his hands and began digging out Frodo and Sam. Both hobbits came up coughing and choking but not seriously hurt.
A few feet away, Boromir was freeing Merry and Pippin out of their snow prison. Gimli came out from under the ledge and awkwardly helped calm the agitated Bill. If it was not a grim situation, Aragorn might have laughed at the sight because he knew the dwarves were not good friends with horses, and that include ponies and donkeys.
"Where's Gandalf?" Frodo suddenly asked.
"And where's Legolas?" Gimli asked next.
Almost immediately, the big mound of snow in front of them stirred. Then Legolas and Gandalf simultaneously broke the surface, gasping for air.
"Gandalf!" Frodo cried out and rushed forward to hug the wizard.
"I'm fine, Frodo. I'm fine." Gandalf patted the hobbit's trembling shoulders. He turned to the others. "Anyone hurt?"
"No. We are all well," Aragorn replied as he glanced at Legolas who was brushing snow from his tunic. The elf looked so cool and indifferent, as if nothing had happened.
"The pass is totally blocked now," Legolas said softly, staring at the path that they were about to take earlier. "There's no way we can go through all that rubble."
As if on cue, they all turned to stare at Gandalf. The wizard was pondering deeply, gripping his staff, his eyes closed. The fellowship waited patiently for his next instructions.
"Gandalf?" Aragorn finally voiced out when the wizard's silence had gone on for far too long.
Gandalf opened his eyes. "Saruman wins this round," he said. "Now we need to back track and take the other path."
"You mean, through the Mines of Moria?" Gimli felt very elated at this notion.
But the wizard obviously didn't share the dwarf's joy. He sighed heavily before responding, "Yes, Gimli. Through the Mines of Moria."
****************************
As the fellowship trailed down the mountain, Legolas kept his position at the very back of the group. This way, no one would see the problem he was having.
His left side was hurting terribly. He knew that several ribs were broken, thanks to a fallen big rock that had hit him. It was not a smart idea to keep his injury from the others' knowledge, he knew. But he had no choice but to endure the pain until the time is right to have it tended to.
Gandalf dared not pause even for a short respite when they finally reached the foot of the mountain nearly two hours later. There was still the threat from the ringwraiths and Saruman's other spies. The wizard would not stop until they reached the door to Moria.
So they kept walking on tired feet and exhausted limbs, having their meals and drinks while on the move. The hobbits, especially Pippin, didn't even have the energy to complain. They followed Gandalf in complete silence, broken only by the occasional whines of the pony.
Everyone was relief when they finally arrived at the door to the dwarven realm right after dusk. Even though the rock solid door was tightly shut, they were very glad to finally have the chance to plop down on the ground and rest.
Gandalf went straight for the door, staring at the elven words that were carved onto the rocky surface. A full moon came bursting from the clouds above and its light fell onto the scripts.
"What does the words say, Gandalf?" Frodo asked.
"Speak friend and enter," the wizard replied.
"What does it mean?"
"It's a riddle. If you speak the password the door will open."
"Oh. What is the password?" Pippin inquired.
Gandalf shrugged. "I have no idea."
Aragorn was helping Boromir taking their packs off the pony's back as the hobbits bombarded more questions at the wizard. Gandalf was getting exasperated by the minute. "How can I figure out the answer if you don't keep quiet and let me think?"
Gimli came closer to them, looking sheepish. "I know the answer."
Every one froze and stared at the dwarf.
"You do?" Boromir asked skeptically.
"I've been here before while I was a child and heard my father say it. It's this word in elvish. But I forget how to pronounce it."
"You forget?" Boromir snorted. "What else did you forget, dwarf? Your brain?"
Gimli glared at the man. "How I love to chop your head off with my axe after I cut out that vile tongue of yours!"
"All right, you two! Break it off!" Aragorn jumped in when Boromir stepped forward menacingly towards the dwarf. "Gimli, what exactly do you remember? What is the word?"
"Like I said, it's elvish…mullan, mallen…or something. I believe it's the word that means 'friend'."
Gandalf and Aragorn's face lifted up as they finally understood. They chorused in unison, "Mellon!"
With a loud grating sound, the door instantly moved. It swung slowly inside on unknown hinges, opening up to the wide-eyed fellowship.
"Whoa. Cool," Merry uttered in awe.
The group then started to walk through the doorway. Gandalf lighted the magical stone on his staff with his supernatural powers. The glare from the stone penetrated the darkness beyond them.
Looking back over his shoulder in puzzlement, Gimli realized that one of them was missing. "Where's Legolas?"
Aragorn looked at Boromir. "Wasn't he behind you just now?"
"Yes, he was," answered Boromir as he slapped Bill on the rump, urging the pony to take flight. The mines were no place for the poor animal. The fellowship had to carry their own packs from then on. "I also wonder where Legolas has gone to."
"I'm right here." Legolas suddenly appeared from the dark.
"Where have you been?" Gimli asked, feeling oddly relief to see his friend.
"Covering our tracks," Legolas replied. It was not a lie, but also not a complete truth either. What he didn't tell them was that he'd been tending to his broken ribs all by himself, wrapping a strip of cloth tightly around his sides. In the chill of the night, he was actually sweating and his face had gone a bit paler.
Aragorn stared at the elf closely. He frowned when he noticed that something was definitely different about the elf tonight. But he didn't comment on it. Instead, he proceeded to follow Gandalf and the hobbits into the mine.
Legolas kept his position behind the rest of them, all the better for him to sense if Gollum approaches. Added to that, he didn't want them to see him stumble in his strides. The pain from his injury was so excruciating that it began to overwhelm him, causing him to lose all the usual gracefulness of his movements.
TBC….