CHAPTER 5: THE BELLIAN PRINCESS
The streets of Quarry were empty in the sunlight, not like Gandalf remembered. He hadn't been there in so many years and now some thoughts flashed through his mind. He trotted through the gates and looked upon the vacant town as the leaves, the trees once bared, blew past him. The sky always seemed to be grayer here even if the sun was shining brightly. A pub down the road stood looking old and boarded up, but then again the noise of people bustled inside of it.
Gandalf narrowed his eyes as he watched hooded folks step into the pub, but to his vision no lights were on. He got off his horse and walked down the cobble stones. Everything was quiet, but eerie feeling. He stopped in front of the little building and wondered if he should go in. He blew on his staff and it lit up. He walked up the stairs and opened the door. Everything went silent. Whispers and chairs moving echoed through the room.
"He's not one of us" whispered one. "Fresh meat" answered another. "Good fellow put that light out! Do you want to kill us!?" A man behind the bar with red eyes, long brown hair and sharp teeth stood staring at him with his hand in front of his face to block out the light. "Only if I have to" Gandalf said calmly but he didn't blow it out. "I'm looking for a Hobbit and a Witch! I wanted to know if anyone saw them." He looked around waiting for an answer but more whispers started. "Those were the ones Joden brought a few days ago. She looked mighty tasty, mind you that good for nothing saved them." "And what do these folks look like kind sir!?" Asked the bartender. "I would think they would stand out, they look nothing like you..." They all stared at him, their eyes narrowing and lips curling.
"And what if we do know where they went off to?" A fat vampire stood up and he had blood down his chin. "Well then I shall ask you once kindly where they headed, and if that wouldn't work I would have to shine some light on you on what a wizard can do." Some of them laughed and chuckled but Gandalf simply stood there looking very angry. "You... really... think..." the man was laughing so hard he could hardly speak, "you could take us on!" The others got louder. "I think not good fellow." Gandalf smiled slightly. "Well then I guess I'll be leaving then." He walked outside and heard the man reply "Bye bye!" Gandalf waved his staff around his head, the boards on the window vanished and screams could be heard from inside. The crowd ran outside with their hoods over their faces, some just burned and disappeared in thin air. "I told them I was going to shine some light upon them if they didn't corporate."
He jumped back on his horse and went across the town to the north side. Everything was brighter and more people walked with their kids to the stores that crowded around them. The inn that Amelia and Frodo stood at was in front of him. He got off his horse once again and proceeded inside. The young man that took care of the Witch and Hobbit smiled as Gandalf walked toward the desk.
"Have you seen a girl and a boy here? By the names Frodo and Amelia?" "O yes!!!! The Hobbits." Gandalf stared at him. "The boy was a Hobbit not Amelia." "Well she sure did look like one, denied it pretty fiercely though she did." The feeling of frustration was building inside the wizard. "Can you tell me where they are staying?" The man tapped into his records and looked back at him. "They were put in the west rooms." He smiled, but it was more like a crooked one. "You put them in the vampire suite!" Gandalf ran toward the stairs but the man stopped him. "You won't find them, they left last night, in a hurry I might say." Gandalf turned back around and his face was gone of emotion, he looked flushed and hopeless. "Very well then, I must head back."
He walked outside. "I know where she went but it will take me another day to get there. They should be there by now, hopefully they don't go off again." He and his horse rode back into the wood, back in the direction they came, but he would have to go through the hills and waters before he reached Bellock , the village where Amelia's people were settled.
"Where are we heading Amelia?" Frodo dragged behind looking beyond the trees. "Don't worry Master Baggins, it's just beyond that brush." She pointed past the tree opening, the rush of water could be heard. Flowers were already bloomed and birds were singing. They came into a clearing and Frodo was amazed by the site. Tall blue and silver mountains rose in the back ground, about a hundred beautiful water falls fell over the rocks and into a large lake. There was a field of red, yellow, blue and pink flowers and a small town in front of them. A large arch gate rose over the village and it read Bellock with a symbol over it.... "What's that symbol mean?" Amelia stared at it. "It's the sign of the Bellian Princess." She smiled and heard a voice ring out from the gate. "Amelia!?" She looked across the field to see a boy about 5'2 in height with short auburn hair and bright green eyes. He wore a long navy blue cloak, with blue suspenders underneath with a white button up shirt.
"Mazil!" Her eyes widen with hope and love and she lifted up her dress and ran through the flowers. He smiled and Frodo jogged behind her. "Mazil I haven't seen you in so long, I've missed you!" They embraced. She looked up at him and he at her. "We've all missed you Amelia." Frodo stood beside the two silently. "O! Mazil this is ...." "I already know who this is." He looked down at the Hobbit, his eyes seemed to water a little. "Frodo Baggins, what a pleasure to meet the man who saved us." He bowed his head and stood up straight again. "Thank you but I don't really need all that." The boy smiled. "Modest, makes me like him even more." Amelia laughed. "Yes Master Baggins is good company, not like some." Her voice still held anger but Mazil dared not to ask.
"Well why don't we go and greet the others?" Amelia asked. Mazil put his head down and looked at her with sad eyes. She walked toward him. "Mazil ... what's the matter?" "It's a very good thing you came back Amelia, we need you here, something has happened." Her eyes darted back and forth looking at his face. "What has happened? MAZIL! PLEASE TELL ME!" He took a deep breath while shaking his head. "Orcs... they just came unexpectedly." Her eyes got larger and she pushed him aside and walked into her village. 7 people crowded around the center. Their houses were destroyed, burnt and torn down. They had their heads bowed and were chanting near a small palace with the same symbol that was on the gate over it.
Amelia ran toward the others and barged her way through them to see an older woman on a glass bed wearing a black dress with red trimming laying there. Her eyes were closed, her straight black hair laid gently on her shoulders and she held a bouquet of flowers over her body. She was beautiful. Amelia gasped and placed her hand over her mouth., her eyes began to water and the tears were streaming down her cheeks. Mazil and Frodo came from behind the others.
"Who is that?" Frodo asked watching Amelia bend down and place her hand on the woman's. " That Master Baggins is the Bellian Princess Sindara." Frodo had no idea who the Bellian Princess was he never heard of them before. Later that night they slept in Mazil's home or what was left of it. Amelia stood in the far left hand corner in the shadow, depressed and full of hate, but she tried not to show it. "Not to be rude Mazil but I've never heard of the princess before." Mazil leaned over towards him and spoke in a low voice.
"You see Master Baggins. the Bellian Princess was our leader. We are apart of the Bellian witches. A rare sort their was only 10 of us....now 9. We are the most powerful kinds in magic. Not many folk know about us though. We are sort of a secret, we don't tell anyone what we are unless we utterly have too, so you mustn't speak of it around others." Frodo nodded in agreement and turned to look at Amelia, he saw her in a new light. "Does Gandalf know?" Mazil nodded also. "Yes, we have been good friends with him for many years. He's wise and we trust him. Amelia has been having bad feelings and bad thoughts for quite sometime so we turned to him for advice. You see some of us, like Amelia, have a special gift, hers is to see into the future, getting premonitions in other words. She's very strong physically, mentally...." He looked at her and stared, ... "and emotionally." Frodo fell asleep on a cot while Mazil slept on a wooden chair. Amelia visited Sindara's body once again. She took a deep breath trying to hold everything that happened in. Everything was quiet, dark and the waterfalls seemed to be asleep also. The water stopped flowing.
"I'm sorry Princess Sindara, if I had known I would have been here sooner. I would have stopped them before they could have ruined this." She paused her teeth clenched together as well as her hands. Her hair and eyes began to turn black. "I swear to you I will seek them out and bring them down even if I die trying! Our people will never be torn again. I give you my word." She bent down on one knee and bowed her head to the past Princess.
"Should be around here somewhere." Gandalf looked beyond the trees. The moon lit the path and cast a silver shine on the tree tops. He wound around the ben and into the clearing to see the arch gate of Bellock a ways in front of him. He rode quietly through the field and entered the retched town. "So they already started their marching army." He looked around and spotted the Witch by a body. "Sindara ..." Gandalf muttered closing his eyes slowly and getting off his horse. He placed his hand on Amelia's shoulder. She looked up at him and stood up abruptly. "Gandalf! I thought I would never see you again! My hope of finding you was lost!" "I know I know ... I went to look for you at Quarry but you weren't there I knew you would travel to Bellock But I never expected it to turn out this way." Amelia started to open her mouth but she quickly closed it and started walking back to the house. "Amelia?" "Gandalf I, I ... I thought Joden was lieing." "As well as you should have, Joden didn't tell you what he was and that was a great risk having him around you, I should have warned you." "I'm sorry Gandalf, my trust for others isn't something that I flaunt." "I understand, but you mustn't worry he informed me on what happened." "He traveled to you? But where is he?" "I told him to bring the others to Rivendell, we shall meet him there. Where's Frodo? We must get him so we can be off. Times a valuable thing and we are wasting it."
Amelia led the Wizard into Mazil's house. She awakened the Hobbit and he was as happy to see the Wizard as she was. The Wizard and Hobbit started on the trail already but Amelia stayed behind and kissed Mazil on the head. "Good bye sweet cousin, I will come back and our people will be safe again. I promise." She headed off for the others in the wood.
The sky darkened and flashes of light stripped across it. The roll of thunder poured in with the rain. Frodo rode on the horse with Gandalf while Amelia trailed behind pulling her cloak over her head. The Hobbit and Wizard were soaked to the bone. Amelia's curls had become strings of hair stuck to her neck and face. Her shoes were covered in mud and her dress was tied so it wouldn't drag amongst the ground. They were cold, wet, tired and hungry but Gandalf made them keep their spirits up. Bellock was pretty far from Rivendell. They would have to ride back to Bree and take another path. Anxiety showed on Frodo's face, it was becoming worse for him. Amelia thought him brave and courageous for holding his head up so high after all the events that corrupted his life.
Something about Gandalf's behavior was questioned by the young witch. His face seemed depressed, blackened with sadness. The growing feeling in the pit of the witches stomach started to rise. It was like acid burning a hole through her skin. Her eyes got watery, her fingers began to turn blue and her eyes turned completely black.
"Amelia are you fine back there? Shouldn't be more than 20 miles now." Gandalf turned his attention to her. Her head was down and she sort of was walking funny, swaying back and forth her whole skin color was now blue. Gandalf stopped his horse. His eyes grew wide and he stood sitting there looking at her. "Why have we stopped?" Frodo turned around and looked at Amelia. "Ohhh Gandalf! What is happening to her!?" "That's not Amelia... Who are you?" No sound came from her. Gandalf leaned in. "Who are you!?" She stopped and looked up, her hood fell down. "Gandalf!" Frodo became frightened, Her face was rotted, scabs and rips in her skin were quite visible. Her hair was no longer brown but white and missing. She had no pupils and gray teeth were bared. "The war has just begun, the ring bearer will turn on you all and will be doomed forever! Give up the Halfling!!!" Her voice was really deep and aggressive.
She lunged forward trying to take Frodo. Gandalf raises his staff and Amelia got pushed to the ground. She turned over holding her face. The Wizard got off of his horse and remained in front of her. She turned slowly, her face now the way it was. She turned to Frodo who clutched tightly to the sattle. Tears began forming in his eyes. "I'm sorry... Fr...Frodo." Gandalf stretched out his hand to help her up. "It's not you fault Amelia, you were taken over by some kind of Elf Witch." "Galadriel?" "No Frodo my boy, someone far more powerful who wants you dead." The Hobbit put his head down and it remained that way till they got to Rivendell.
Everything seemed right there. It was beautiful and peaceful. It was still dark out, but it was getting on to morning, the rain began to slow. Frodo heard the arguing voices of Gimili and Pippin. "I saw it first that apples mine!" "You already ate 5 meals today!" "Pippin.....PIPPIN!" Frodo's voice rang out and he jumped off the horse and ran inside. "Frodo!" The 2 hugged and Gimili patted him on the back. "Good to see you again Master Baggins." Frodo smiled and his eyes met Merry and Sam. "Mr. Frodo, thank the lord your alright. "They hugged each other also leaving Gandalf to enter behind it all. "Sorry were late. a little set back was all." Amelia came up the stairs and they all turned to look at her. Her dress was sticking to her skin and her ribs were showing more than ever from the lack of food she had ate. She dripped water all over the stone floor as well as Gandalf and Frodo.
"Who's she?" Said Pippin in a low voice. "She's a witch" replied Sam who met Amelia once before. She looked at them all. Her eyes fell on Joden who stood in the back of the group. She felt like she wronged him so she spoke her mind. "I'm sorry Master Joden for stepping on my doubts about you. I'm not one to quickly give people my trust and I understand now that I was wrong. Gandalf told me how he really was trying to get us in Quarry. Please forgive me Master Joden." A little smile spread across his face and he got up.
"Apology accepted, I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything I should have but I know that would have jeopardized Frodo's fate even more so." "You should have told us, I'm still quite upset about it, but I think it shall pass." They soon went to bed and left there wet dirty clothes for the Elf's to clean. Amelia was fast asleep dressed in a white silk gown, her hair now back to the way it was. She had a large room, made of all stone and windows around it with dozens of flower beds. The stream outside made her fall in a deep sleep very quickly. She lay in a large white satin canopy bed and her eyes were rested comfortably while she dreamed.
"That girl Gandalf, who is she?" The Hobbits were quite the curious ones about it, but then again they never saw a witch that looked more like a Hobbit. "That my friends, is Amelia." He smiled trying not to say what they didn't need to know. "No, what is she? Where does she come from?" He laughed while smoking his pipe. "She's a witch." "See I told you so." Said Sam to Pippin. "A witch like you?" He asked. The Wizard shook his head. "No, she's much, much more different." "Well come on spill it!" Yelled Gimili who was eager to find out more. "Why do you want to know about this poor girls life? Leave her be, her business is none of yours." "So it's true! She's like one of those fairy tale witches you read in Frodo's books!" They all laughed at Pippin. "What?" The others soon went off to bed, they were back together with 2 new people on their travels, they were safe and tired. When tomorrow came they would speak with Elrond and find out what there quest is and how to stop it. Only time would tell.