If you're wondering why I don't make more mention of the weightier things the Fellowship discuss, it's because Leya doesn't concern herself with that sort of thing. Besides, she doesn't hear half of it and they don't bother explaining everything.
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Middle Earth. Why, I didn't manage to smuggle so much as a nailhead out of the White City. *sigh* ;p
Reviews: Thanks for reviewing, Sita! I don't think I'm allowed to respond to your questions, but I'm glad you're intrigued. I think I said something about her home planet in the Prologue. :)



As the Fellowship ascended the slopes of Caradhras, the air grew colder, and before long there were small amounts of snow on the path. The higher they climbed, the deeper the snow became. Leya's bare feet grew numb, and at the first opportunity, she took some rope and rough cloth from the pony's panniers and improvised a pair of shoes. The little pack-pony seemed not to mind the snow, for his coat was long and shaggy, but Sam, who led him, was soon visibly suffering. All the hobbits, in fact, grew tired and chilled quite rapidly, and Leya was not even able to find enough spare cloth in the packs to make them foot wraps like her own.

The others, concerned for the Ring-Bearer, frequently stopped to let the hobbits catch up. At one point Frodo actually let the Ring fall, and Leya could see that Boromir was taking an unnatural interest in it. He hurried to pick it up before it sank into the snow, and seemed quite reluctant to part with it. For the first time, Leya began to worry about the Ring and its power. She hadn't felt any particular attraction to the shiny object herself, but it seemed capable of having an enormous impact on her fellow travellers.

They tried to rest under a rocky ledge when darkness fell, but the fear of freezing to death prevented sleep. Leya dozed a little, wrapped in her cloak and huddled together with the hobbits for warmth. An attempt was made at lighting a fire, and when it failed the party moved on, still tired and chilled to the bone.

At last they found themselves on a high, narrow path fringed with huge icicles and blanketed with deep snow. On one side was the black rising wall of the mountain; on the other side a precipitous drop to its lower slopes. The wind was blowing fiercely as they climbed along the path, and the two men broke trail for the rest only with difficulty. Leya was astonished to see that Legolas could walk lightly on top of the snow, despite the fact that it was newly fallen and therefore had no crust at all. To take her mind off her own feet, which were burning with cold inside their sodden wrappings, she asked him how he managed such a miraculous trick.

All elves have this skill he replied. He had just opened his mouth to say more when a thunderous bellow was heard. With terrible swiftness, the whole sky seemed to come rolling down from the peak of Caradhras. Leya flung herself away from the cliff-edge towards what shelter the bare rock wall could provide, but was a fraction of a second too slow. A massive chunk of snow slammed into her, and then all was quiet.

Leya could see nothing but white, and felt nothing but the cold weight of the snow pressing in from all sides. There was so much snow in front of her that she could scarcely breathe. Everything had grown quiet, and she realized that the snow-slide was probably over. Leya pushed hard with arms and legs to try to free herself, but the snow was packed tightly on all sides and her feet ached with each kick. Finally, she succeeded in forming a hole in the snow above her and took deep breaths of the cold air. Then a hand reached into the hole, and she grasped it thankfully. Clawing and pushing at the snow with her other hand, Leya was helped to safety by Aragorn just in time to hear Gimli loudly expounding upon the benefits of passing through some place called the Mines of Moria.

From what Leya could hear, this was the alternative to their current situation. Why didn't we go that way in the first place? she wondered. It sounds a lot better than dying of cold on this cruel mountain. Besides, I lost my foot wraps crawling out of the snow, and my feet will freeze if we have to walk much farther!

Fortunately, the decision was soon made to pass through the Mines of Moria. No-one had been lost in the avalanche, and the journey downhill was somewhat easier. Soon they had left the snow behind them, at which the hobbits looked especially glad. Leya suspected that their feet, and hers, had narrowly escaped frostbite.

That night they made camp beside a fast-flowing stream in the shadow of the mountains. While stew was cooked over a blazing fire, Leya walked down to the water. I'd love to have a swim, she thought; I feel filthy, and the water looks so inviting. But we'll have to be on the move at sunrise. I'll get the night watch to wake me early, so I'll have time. Having made her decision, Leya moved back to the fire to warm her feet.

The fire was reduced to coals and the sky was beginning to pale by the time Gandalf woke her. Politely, he turned his back as she walked to the edge of the stream. The moon was still bright, and Leya marveled at the amount of light it shed. After the bitter chill of the mountain, the night air seemed positively warm as she unbuttoned her dress and set it on the ground. She stepped into the cool rushing water, unbraiding her hair as she did so. With a sigh of relief, Leya sat down on her heels, lowering her head into a tiny waterfall. Her foot touched a patch of sand on the stream bed, and she grabbed a handful and began to scrub herself with it. She even rubbed sand into her hair until the water running off it no longer bore an oily film.

It feels good to be in water, even if it isn't salt, mused Leya, sluicing water over her arms. The small, half-forgotten scars on her shoulder caught the light of the moon. Her fingers traced the similar scars on her other shoulder and behind each hip, and she smiled sadly as she thought of the past.

It is really too bad that he died so young - and of course there was Mahalo, too; it's horrible that he was killed. She sank down, letting the stream wash a tear off her face. The other two are going their own ways now, and these scars are all I have. Her mind reeled back over a long string of terrible days, horrors of war and tragedy that ended a short time of happiness. But there was happiness afterwards, she reminded herself, and many things changed for the better. Leya pulled herself back from the past, setting her memories aside. The eastern sky was red and the stars had faded; soon the Fellowship would be stirring. She slid out of the water, shook herself dry as best she could and struggled into her dress.

I shouldn't dwell on the sorrows of the past, she told herself, removing a comb and a small jar from the bag hanging at her belt. Here in Middle Earth there are different dangers and sorrows to face.

But it was neither danger nor sorrow she faced when she casually turned her head in the direction of the campsite. It was Legolas.