Author's Note: I apologize profusely (heh, big word) for not updating in
ages. I blame school and my own procrastination. Whenever I sit down to
write, I either find myself surfing the web or simply suffering for
writer's block. Plus, I'm working on my other fic (or trying to, anyway).
so bear with me. *grins sheepishly*
I must say that I am not entirely happy with this chapter, but I'm just so glad to have it complete that I'm posting it. It was a pain to write. I originally wanted it from Gimli's POV, but changed my mind midway. So I'm sorry, I'll try to make chapter five more interesting (which I think will be from Gandalf's POV, unless I change my mind again. Heh.)
And of course, thank you to my reviewers! Reviews are half the fun, you know!
Winyael Greenleaf: Thanks! Yup, I put poor Legolas with Gimli. not much conflict in this chappie, though. next time, hehe.
Xena: I agree, hobbits are awesome, but I won't have a Pippin chapter up for awhile. sorry! I don't want to write all the hobbit chappies at once.
Moro: Heh. Actually, I sort of took your advice. I wasn't going to, but it made sense after I thought about it for awhile so. I did! Hehe.
Tialys and DarthLiela: Thank you to both of you! Your reviews finally made me get around to writing this chapter, lol. I'm actually very pleased that people went through the trouble to getting me to update. It's a new experience for me, hehe.
Chapter Four: Legolas
Legolas tried opening his eyes again, but nothing had changed. The darkness was still as oppressing and impenetrable as it had been a few moments ago. Even with his Elven sight, he could not see his own hand in front of his face.
He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and to stop his hand from shaking, which they had been doing even since the rocks had stopped falling. He could not recall ever experiencing a darkness for complete; even in the blackest night, the stars and Isil lent light enough to see by. Trust the dwarves to discover a way to live in darkness.
Still breathing deeply, Legolas forced his mind away from his uneasiness with the darkness and towards thinking of how he would get out of this predicament. He had no idea where he was, his companions were lost or worse, and to top it all off it was dark. He thought for a moment, his hands jittering at his sides. He seemed to recall that each member of the Fellowship had received a small lantern among his supplies. Yes, he remembered now; it was sitting in the bottom of his pack.
Reaching behind him, he pulled his pack around so it was in front of him. After fumbling blindly at the strap that held the bag closed, he managed to open it and began to search for the lantern and a piece of flint to light it with. Finally, his hand grabbed at what felt like Elvish- wrought metal. He latched onto it thankfully and pulled it out. A few more minutes of searching produced a bit of rock he could only assume was flint.
He settled the lantern down in front of him and nearly lost it when it toppled over on the uneven rock floor of the mines. Panicking, he grabbed at it, managing to catch it before it rolled away. He sat back gripping it in trembling hands. If he lost this, he would be stuck in the darkness with no means of escape. He could not afford to let that happen.
Breathing hard, he put it down in front of him once more, not taking his hands off of it until he was absolutely certain it would not fall over. Then he carefully brought the pieces of flint in front of him and struck them together. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing. After four repetitions of this he began to get nervous. What if the bits of rock were not flint and were indeed only bits of rock? Feeling panic rising in his throat he struck them again, and this time a spark flew out. Feeling weak with relief, Legolas tried again, this time making sure that the spark fell into the lantern.
Slowly, the flames caught, and the cavern came into view. Though Legolas never would have admitted it to a dwarf, he found comfort in the sight of the rocks surrounding him. At least now he could see.
He took advantage of the light to survey his surroundings. The area he was in was not very wide, perhaps ten feet or so, but it seemed to continue for quite some time in length. He stood, picking up the lantern. Perhaps some of his companions were further down the passage. With this hopeful thought to guide him, he set off to see what he could find.
It was slow going. Many rocks had tumbled onto the floor, making it difficult to walk, and the walls were uneven, sometimes coming so close together that he almost got suck trying to squeeze between them. The area was almost unrecognizable as the cavern the Fellowship had stopped in. But then again, he found it impossible to distinguish one part of these wretched mines from the other. How dwarves found such places appealing he would never understand.
Suddenly he became aware of a crunching, crumbling noise coming from farther down the passage. It sounded like someone was walking towards him, occasionally stumbling over a rock on the ground. He squinted and held the lantern up higher, trying to catch a glimpse of whomever it was. He held his bow tightly, ready to draw and fire an arrow if it turned out to be an orc. Slowly the figure came into view. It was short and stout, and was holding what seemed to be an axe over its head.
As this information sunk in, he realized who it was and sank to the ground with a groan. As he did so, the figure stopped.
"Who's there?" a voice said gruffly. "I can see your lantern from here, and I can hear you."
Legolas did not answer, though he recognized the voice. He let the newcomer walk over to see for himself who his companion was.
He did not have long to wait. Soon the red-bearded figure walked into Legolas's small circle of light and stopped short. He then cursed loudly and violently. "Of all the."
Legolas raised his eyebrows. "No need to swear, Master Dwarf. I do not like the current situation any more than you do." He tried to keep his voice cold and aloof.
Gimli laughed shortly. "Oh aye, I don't doubt that, elf." He frowned. "There. there weren't any others at your end of the cave?"
"No," Legolas answered, feeling slightly sick. "I assume there were none down there, either?" He motioned in the direction Gimli had come. The dwarf shook his head and sat down heavily, muttering into his beard once again. Legolas could not blame him, for he felt that, if he had such a preposterous thing as a beard, he would be doing the same. As it was, he tried to remain as dignified as possible as he buried his face in his hands.
He was stuck alone with Gimli.
I must say that I am not entirely happy with this chapter, but I'm just so glad to have it complete that I'm posting it. It was a pain to write. I originally wanted it from Gimli's POV, but changed my mind midway. So I'm sorry, I'll try to make chapter five more interesting (which I think will be from Gandalf's POV, unless I change my mind again. Heh.)
And of course, thank you to my reviewers! Reviews are half the fun, you know!
Winyael Greenleaf: Thanks! Yup, I put poor Legolas with Gimli. not much conflict in this chappie, though. next time, hehe.
Xena: I agree, hobbits are awesome, but I won't have a Pippin chapter up for awhile. sorry! I don't want to write all the hobbit chappies at once.
Moro: Heh. Actually, I sort of took your advice. I wasn't going to, but it made sense after I thought about it for awhile so. I did! Hehe.
Tialys and DarthLiela: Thank you to both of you! Your reviews finally made me get around to writing this chapter, lol. I'm actually very pleased that people went through the trouble to getting me to update. It's a new experience for me, hehe.
Chapter Four: Legolas
Legolas tried opening his eyes again, but nothing had changed. The darkness was still as oppressing and impenetrable as it had been a few moments ago. Even with his Elven sight, he could not see his own hand in front of his face.
He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and to stop his hand from shaking, which they had been doing even since the rocks had stopped falling. He could not recall ever experiencing a darkness for complete; even in the blackest night, the stars and Isil lent light enough to see by. Trust the dwarves to discover a way to live in darkness.
Still breathing deeply, Legolas forced his mind away from his uneasiness with the darkness and towards thinking of how he would get out of this predicament. He had no idea where he was, his companions were lost or worse, and to top it all off it was dark. He thought for a moment, his hands jittering at his sides. He seemed to recall that each member of the Fellowship had received a small lantern among his supplies. Yes, he remembered now; it was sitting in the bottom of his pack.
Reaching behind him, he pulled his pack around so it was in front of him. After fumbling blindly at the strap that held the bag closed, he managed to open it and began to search for the lantern and a piece of flint to light it with. Finally, his hand grabbed at what felt like Elvish- wrought metal. He latched onto it thankfully and pulled it out. A few more minutes of searching produced a bit of rock he could only assume was flint.
He settled the lantern down in front of him and nearly lost it when it toppled over on the uneven rock floor of the mines. Panicking, he grabbed at it, managing to catch it before it rolled away. He sat back gripping it in trembling hands. If he lost this, he would be stuck in the darkness with no means of escape. He could not afford to let that happen.
Breathing hard, he put it down in front of him once more, not taking his hands off of it until he was absolutely certain it would not fall over. Then he carefully brought the pieces of flint in front of him and struck them together. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing. After four repetitions of this he began to get nervous. What if the bits of rock were not flint and were indeed only bits of rock? Feeling panic rising in his throat he struck them again, and this time a spark flew out. Feeling weak with relief, Legolas tried again, this time making sure that the spark fell into the lantern.
Slowly, the flames caught, and the cavern came into view. Though Legolas never would have admitted it to a dwarf, he found comfort in the sight of the rocks surrounding him. At least now he could see.
He took advantage of the light to survey his surroundings. The area he was in was not very wide, perhaps ten feet or so, but it seemed to continue for quite some time in length. He stood, picking up the lantern. Perhaps some of his companions were further down the passage. With this hopeful thought to guide him, he set off to see what he could find.
It was slow going. Many rocks had tumbled onto the floor, making it difficult to walk, and the walls were uneven, sometimes coming so close together that he almost got suck trying to squeeze between them. The area was almost unrecognizable as the cavern the Fellowship had stopped in. But then again, he found it impossible to distinguish one part of these wretched mines from the other. How dwarves found such places appealing he would never understand.
Suddenly he became aware of a crunching, crumbling noise coming from farther down the passage. It sounded like someone was walking towards him, occasionally stumbling over a rock on the ground. He squinted and held the lantern up higher, trying to catch a glimpse of whomever it was. He held his bow tightly, ready to draw and fire an arrow if it turned out to be an orc. Slowly the figure came into view. It was short and stout, and was holding what seemed to be an axe over its head.
As this information sunk in, he realized who it was and sank to the ground with a groan. As he did so, the figure stopped.
"Who's there?" a voice said gruffly. "I can see your lantern from here, and I can hear you."
Legolas did not answer, though he recognized the voice. He let the newcomer walk over to see for himself who his companion was.
He did not have long to wait. Soon the red-bearded figure walked into Legolas's small circle of light and stopped short. He then cursed loudly and violently. "Of all the."
Legolas raised his eyebrows. "No need to swear, Master Dwarf. I do not like the current situation any more than you do." He tried to keep his voice cold and aloof.
Gimli laughed shortly. "Oh aye, I don't doubt that, elf." He frowned. "There. there weren't any others at your end of the cave?"
"No," Legolas answered, feeling slightly sick. "I assume there were none down there, either?" He motioned in the direction Gimli had come. The dwarf shook his head and sat down heavily, muttering into his beard once again. Legolas could not blame him, for he felt that, if he had such a preposterous thing as a beard, he would be doing the same. As it was, he tried to remain as dignified as possible as he buried his face in his hands.
He was stuck alone with Gimli.