Alanna's sword went flying, almost hitting Hermione, who was absorbed in an
Elvish lesson with Legolas, as Harry knocked it from her grip. It had been
two days since Harry had found the sword and he had grown to love and know
it. Alanna had began teaching him how to fence because she pointed out,
"What's the use of a good sword if you don't know how to fence?" Harry was
dressed in a shirt of chain mail that Aragorn had given him, and soft dark
blue pants. Ron and Hermione were dressed the same. Meridelle had been
teaching Ron knife fighting, Legolas teaching Hermione archery, and Alannna
teaching Harry fencing.
"All right, you win," Alanna told Harry with a grin. Let's eat some lunch," she brought out a cloth bundle from her cloak.
"When can I meet your family and see where you live?" Hermione asked Legolas in the middle of their Elvish lesson. He thought for a moment, then answered, "Now."
Ignoring Hermione's protests of how that was impossible, Legolas held up his hand and chanted, "Ym tfehar, ym tfehar, hewre rea oyu? I rdesie ot pakes tiwh oyu?" He then drew a circle in the air and Hermione gasped as the circle filled with the image of a forest for a moment, then focused on an Elf, looking extremely like Legolas.
"Hello, Father, how are you?" Legolas greeted the Elf.
"As well as can be in these dark days," the Elf answered, "How is it in Minas Tirith? Haswar found its way there?
"Not yet."
"Who is this young lady by your side, Legolas?" the Elf asked.
"This is Hermione, Princess from the Land Beyond the Sea." Legolas said with a smile.
"Welcome to our land, Princess Hermione. I am Thranduil, of Mirkwood. It is a great honor to meet you." The Elf said.
"Thank you, it is an honor to meet you too," Hermione said while blushing.
"I must leave you, son. There is much to be done," Thranduil said with a courteous nod, then the picture disappeared.
"Was that your home?" Hermione asked.
"Yes," Legolas replied. Hermione noticed his tone was worried and that lines creased his brow as he gazed off to west.
"I do not know what troubles you, though I will soon as Gandalf is coming and will explain, but do not be worried," Hermione said, looking deep into Legolas' eyes.
Suddenly, she felt a pang of fear deep in her heart. It made her cower down, curling as small as she could against Legolas' side, his arms circling her. Above her, a black creature on a winged steed gave a shrill cry as it circled high above them. It stayed for a few seconds, then left, taking Hermione's fear with it.
Hermione sat there for a few minutes, letting the fear leave her body. Finally, she looked up into Legolas' eyes, which were stern and sharp and she realized that he had not been afraid, not for one second.
"I am sorry, but we must stop lessons right now, I must speak with Aragorn. I will come for you in your house later and we will finish, but this is most urgent," Legolas told her.
He led her back to the guest house, making sure she was safely inside before striding off toward the seventh gate.
She sank into a hot bath that had been prepared, thinking.
"Legolas is so brave, he is not afraid. He is always alert and ready to defend." She suddenly realized what she was saying and told herself, "Stop it, what are you doing." but she gave up with a sigh. It was no use to deny the undeniable. It had happened. She had fallen in love with Legolas. ******************************* Hermione walked to the courtyard for her daily Elvish lesson with Legolas, smiling. First, Gandalf was coming today, and Legolas had hinted that there was a surprise in store for her today. When she arrived, there was no one there, or so she thought.
She sat down on a bench to wait for Legolas, when suddenly someone tapped her on the shoulder.
She bit her tongue to keep from screaming and turned around, but it was only Legolas.
"Legolas, you scared me..." her voice died away and she gasped when she saw what he was holding. Soft deerskin archer's gloves, a light chain mail shirt with s small red rose, soft green leggings, a quiver full of beautiful arrows, and a carved maple bow, that twanged perfectly when the string was pulled.
"Thank you so much, everything is beautiful! Oh thank you," she said. But then she noticed that Legolas was wearing a grave expression.
"What's wrong, " she asked.
"I was planning to give these later, but you need them now," he replied.
"Why?"
"You are one of our most skilled archers. We need you." Legolas told her.
"What do you mean, " she asked breathlessly.
"A large host from Mordor is approaching, there shall be battle no later than noon. We need you. Now go to your house and change into these, than meet me by the seventh gate circle. Go quickly," he said.
"Okay," she said, trembling.
"Do not fear, we will overcome these obstacles. Someday, when war has stopped, I will take you to see my home. Go swiftly, "he told her.
She nodded, than walked very quickly toward their house, trying to stop her heart from thumping.
One half hour later, she stood dressed and ready at the door, her head held high. She was no longer afraid, she knew what she had to do and she would do it. She was going into battle. ****************************** Hermione stood in a notch on the giant wall of Minas Tirith, seeing the past hour in her head.
Legolas had come to find her dressed, a little pale, but ready to go.
"Bring your wand," he had said, and led her to the wall, where the whole army was assembled.
Legolas would position the archers in the notches on the wall, and Hermione would make a protective shield in front of each archer, letting arrows go out, but nothing come in.
Hermione now stood ready for battle. Then she gasped, for she had caught a glimpse of the army in the distance. It was huge!
Harry stood by Alanna, desperately trying to calm his nerves. The host from Mordor was very close, there would be battle in a minute or two. Harry drew out his sword with a shaking hand, surveying it in the sunlight. It gleamed, light from its hilt shining brighter than the twinkling jewels. A crude black arrow whizzed by his face. Harry gulped. The battle had begun.
Hermione saw the first arrow fly by Harry, and the tall ladders pushed up the wall's sides. She put an arrow on the string, pulled it back, aimed, and let it fly, knocking down an advancing creature. That gave her courage, and for the next hour she calmly sent arrows raining down on the opposing army.
Meanwhile, Harry and Alanna were fighting back to back, stopping the enemy creatures from using their ladders to scale the walls. Suddenly, Alanna went too far, slipped and fell over the wall. Harry leapt forward, catching her by one hand. He was pulling her back up, when something behind him blocked the sun. Unnoticed by Harry, an orc (that's what Alanna called those creatures) had climbed up and raised its sword above its head. Harry slashed at it with one hand, holding Alanna with the other, if he let go she would fall. Suddenly, the orc rushed at him and as Harry blocked the blow, Alanna's fingers slipped from his grip. Another person fought the orc as Harry looked down in despair, he knew Alanna was dead, a fall like that would kill anyone. As Harry looked over the side his heart leapt, Alanna was alive. Some orc down below had caught her. But wait, they were binding her arms and legs and gagging her. Harry turned pale as he realized what had happened. Alanna had been captured.
As Harry fought the orc, Hermione was quietly shooting arrows. She realized with a start that her quiver was empty. But no worries, Legolas had left a pile of quivers filled with arrows right behind her. She put her bow down and stepped out from behind her protective shield. She picked up another quiver and was about to step behind her shield again, when instinct made her look up. What she saw made her blood stop in her veins. The next moment went in slow motion.
A black arrow, coming straight at her, there was no way she could move in time. It would hit her, it surely would. What she saw next terrified her even more than the arrow.
Legolas leapt from behind his shield, he was going to take the arrow for her! The arrow pierced his flesh in between his heart and his collarbone, he fell to the ground.
Everything sped up again and Hermione realized what had happened.
Hermione rushed over to him, Meridelle did the same. Meridelle pulled the arrow out, "Poisoned."
Hermione wept as Meridelle tried various antidotes, nothing worked. Hermione saw the happy future go, no visiting his home, no horse rides through the Golden Wood, nothing.
Two minutes later, Hermione watched as the color drained from Legolas' face, when Meridelle's head jerked up, "Wait, there is something that just might cure him, it just might. But the one who performs it must truly love Legolas."
Meridelle was looking at Hermione, and she realized that Meridelle knew she loved him, Meridelle had known before she had.
Hermione nodded her agreement. But then, Legolas spoke, his speech slurred and his words far apart, "No, it's. to dangerous. you could. die. I could. never live. knowing you died. to save. me."
"But I could never live, knowing you died to save me. What do I have to do, Meridelle?"
"Well," Meridelle answered, "Legolas' life force is draining. What you must do to save him is give his some of your life force."
"But how?"
"First, conjure a magic bubble around all three of us. Don't worry, I will guide you the whole way," Meridelle said. When the bubble was in place Meridelle continued, "Now, close your eyes and imagine the bridge between you and Legolas."
Hermione shut her eyes and, surprisingly, the image came right to her.
A white bridge, made of stone. She circled it with her mind's eye, but when she reached the middle, she ran into an invisible barrier, what separated her from Legolas. She turned, and saw a pool of red light behind her, lapping up against the barrier.
"That is your life force," Meridelle's voice came to her as if it traveled a great distance.
Hermione looked on the opposite side of the barrier, sure enough a green pool of light was there, but it was paling and fading fast.
"What you need to do is let down the barrier by saying these words 'I gevi hsit retgnsht ot oyu erfley, eus ti elwl.' That will let the barrier down. But you must only let it stay down for a couple of seconds, then bring it back up by saying 'psot, hatst unegoh, oyu lwil eliv.' Bring it up after a couple of seconds! If you don't, all of your life force will flow through, and you will die."
Hermione nodded numbly to show she understood. She took a deep breath and chanted, "I gevi hsit retgnsht ot oyu erfley, eus ti elwl." The invisible barrier disappeared and the red light rushed by her, joining the pale green on the other side. The green got darker and stronger. Hermione was about to put the barrier back up, but she couldn't remember the words. She watched helplessly as more and more of her life force flowed through. But something in her refused to give into the fact that she would soon die. "Please," it pleaded, "for me, for Legolas, for the life we could have together. Please don't let me die." To Hermione's astonishment, the barrier began lifting, but slowly, as if it were hesitating. "Please," she thought desperately, "please, please." The barrier was close to the top when Hermione remembered the words. "Psot, hatst unegoh, oyu lwil eliv," she screamed. Hermione saw the barrier snap shut and a brilliant white light flare before falling to the ground in a dead faint.
"All right, you win," Alanna told Harry with a grin. Let's eat some lunch," she brought out a cloth bundle from her cloak.
"When can I meet your family and see where you live?" Hermione asked Legolas in the middle of their Elvish lesson. He thought for a moment, then answered, "Now."
Ignoring Hermione's protests of how that was impossible, Legolas held up his hand and chanted, "Ym tfehar, ym tfehar, hewre rea oyu? I rdesie ot pakes tiwh oyu?" He then drew a circle in the air and Hermione gasped as the circle filled with the image of a forest for a moment, then focused on an Elf, looking extremely like Legolas.
"Hello, Father, how are you?" Legolas greeted the Elf.
"As well as can be in these dark days," the Elf answered, "How is it in Minas Tirith? Haswar found its way there?
"Not yet."
"Who is this young lady by your side, Legolas?" the Elf asked.
"This is Hermione, Princess from the Land Beyond the Sea." Legolas said with a smile.
"Welcome to our land, Princess Hermione. I am Thranduil, of Mirkwood. It is a great honor to meet you." The Elf said.
"Thank you, it is an honor to meet you too," Hermione said while blushing.
"I must leave you, son. There is much to be done," Thranduil said with a courteous nod, then the picture disappeared.
"Was that your home?" Hermione asked.
"Yes," Legolas replied. Hermione noticed his tone was worried and that lines creased his brow as he gazed off to west.
"I do not know what troubles you, though I will soon as Gandalf is coming and will explain, but do not be worried," Hermione said, looking deep into Legolas' eyes.
Suddenly, she felt a pang of fear deep in her heart. It made her cower down, curling as small as she could against Legolas' side, his arms circling her. Above her, a black creature on a winged steed gave a shrill cry as it circled high above them. It stayed for a few seconds, then left, taking Hermione's fear with it.
Hermione sat there for a few minutes, letting the fear leave her body. Finally, she looked up into Legolas' eyes, which were stern and sharp and she realized that he had not been afraid, not for one second.
"I am sorry, but we must stop lessons right now, I must speak with Aragorn. I will come for you in your house later and we will finish, but this is most urgent," Legolas told her.
He led her back to the guest house, making sure she was safely inside before striding off toward the seventh gate.
She sank into a hot bath that had been prepared, thinking.
"Legolas is so brave, he is not afraid. He is always alert and ready to defend." She suddenly realized what she was saying and told herself, "Stop it, what are you doing." but she gave up with a sigh. It was no use to deny the undeniable. It had happened. She had fallen in love with Legolas. ******************************* Hermione walked to the courtyard for her daily Elvish lesson with Legolas, smiling. First, Gandalf was coming today, and Legolas had hinted that there was a surprise in store for her today. When she arrived, there was no one there, or so she thought.
She sat down on a bench to wait for Legolas, when suddenly someone tapped her on the shoulder.
She bit her tongue to keep from screaming and turned around, but it was only Legolas.
"Legolas, you scared me..." her voice died away and she gasped when she saw what he was holding. Soft deerskin archer's gloves, a light chain mail shirt with s small red rose, soft green leggings, a quiver full of beautiful arrows, and a carved maple bow, that twanged perfectly when the string was pulled.
"Thank you so much, everything is beautiful! Oh thank you," she said. But then she noticed that Legolas was wearing a grave expression.
"What's wrong, " she asked.
"I was planning to give these later, but you need them now," he replied.
"Why?"
"You are one of our most skilled archers. We need you." Legolas told her.
"What do you mean, " she asked breathlessly.
"A large host from Mordor is approaching, there shall be battle no later than noon. We need you. Now go to your house and change into these, than meet me by the seventh gate circle. Go quickly," he said.
"Okay," she said, trembling.
"Do not fear, we will overcome these obstacles. Someday, when war has stopped, I will take you to see my home. Go swiftly, "he told her.
She nodded, than walked very quickly toward their house, trying to stop her heart from thumping.
One half hour later, she stood dressed and ready at the door, her head held high. She was no longer afraid, she knew what she had to do and she would do it. She was going into battle. ****************************** Hermione stood in a notch on the giant wall of Minas Tirith, seeing the past hour in her head.
Legolas had come to find her dressed, a little pale, but ready to go.
"Bring your wand," he had said, and led her to the wall, where the whole army was assembled.
Legolas would position the archers in the notches on the wall, and Hermione would make a protective shield in front of each archer, letting arrows go out, but nothing come in.
Hermione now stood ready for battle. Then she gasped, for she had caught a glimpse of the army in the distance. It was huge!
Harry stood by Alanna, desperately trying to calm his nerves. The host from Mordor was very close, there would be battle in a minute or two. Harry drew out his sword with a shaking hand, surveying it in the sunlight. It gleamed, light from its hilt shining brighter than the twinkling jewels. A crude black arrow whizzed by his face. Harry gulped. The battle had begun.
Hermione saw the first arrow fly by Harry, and the tall ladders pushed up the wall's sides. She put an arrow on the string, pulled it back, aimed, and let it fly, knocking down an advancing creature. That gave her courage, and for the next hour she calmly sent arrows raining down on the opposing army.
Meanwhile, Harry and Alanna were fighting back to back, stopping the enemy creatures from using their ladders to scale the walls. Suddenly, Alanna went too far, slipped and fell over the wall. Harry leapt forward, catching her by one hand. He was pulling her back up, when something behind him blocked the sun. Unnoticed by Harry, an orc (that's what Alanna called those creatures) had climbed up and raised its sword above its head. Harry slashed at it with one hand, holding Alanna with the other, if he let go she would fall. Suddenly, the orc rushed at him and as Harry blocked the blow, Alanna's fingers slipped from his grip. Another person fought the orc as Harry looked down in despair, he knew Alanna was dead, a fall like that would kill anyone. As Harry looked over the side his heart leapt, Alanna was alive. Some orc down below had caught her. But wait, they were binding her arms and legs and gagging her. Harry turned pale as he realized what had happened. Alanna had been captured.
As Harry fought the orc, Hermione was quietly shooting arrows. She realized with a start that her quiver was empty. But no worries, Legolas had left a pile of quivers filled with arrows right behind her. She put her bow down and stepped out from behind her protective shield. She picked up another quiver and was about to step behind her shield again, when instinct made her look up. What she saw made her blood stop in her veins. The next moment went in slow motion.
A black arrow, coming straight at her, there was no way she could move in time. It would hit her, it surely would. What she saw next terrified her even more than the arrow.
Legolas leapt from behind his shield, he was going to take the arrow for her! The arrow pierced his flesh in between his heart and his collarbone, he fell to the ground.
Everything sped up again and Hermione realized what had happened.
Hermione rushed over to him, Meridelle did the same. Meridelle pulled the arrow out, "Poisoned."
Hermione wept as Meridelle tried various antidotes, nothing worked. Hermione saw the happy future go, no visiting his home, no horse rides through the Golden Wood, nothing.
Two minutes later, Hermione watched as the color drained from Legolas' face, when Meridelle's head jerked up, "Wait, there is something that just might cure him, it just might. But the one who performs it must truly love Legolas."
Meridelle was looking at Hermione, and she realized that Meridelle knew she loved him, Meridelle had known before she had.
Hermione nodded her agreement. But then, Legolas spoke, his speech slurred and his words far apart, "No, it's. to dangerous. you could. die. I could. never live. knowing you died. to save. me."
"But I could never live, knowing you died to save me. What do I have to do, Meridelle?"
"Well," Meridelle answered, "Legolas' life force is draining. What you must do to save him is give his some of your life force."
"But how?"
"First, conjure a magic bubble around all three of us. Don't worry, I will guide you the whole way," Meridelle said. When the bubble was in place Meridelle continued, "Now, close your eyes and imagine the bridge between you and Legolas."
Hermione shut her eyes and, surprisingly, the image came right to her.
A white bridge, made of stone. She circled it with her mind's eye, but when she reached the middle, she ran into an invisible barrier, what separated her from Legolas. She turned, and saw a pool of red light behind her, lapping up against the barrier.
"That is your life force," Meridelle's voice came to her as if it traveled a great distance.
Hermione looked on the opposite side of the barrier, sure enough a green pool of light was there, but it was paling and fading fast.
"What you need to do is let down the barrier by saying these words 'I gevi hsit retgnsht ot oyu erfley, eus ti elwl.' That will let the barrier down. But you must only let it stay down for a couple of seconds, then bring it back up by saying 'psot, hatst unegoh, oyu lwil eliv.' Bring it up after a couple of seconds! If you don't, all of your life force will flow through, and you will die."
Hermione nodded numbly to show she understood. She took a deep breath and chanted, "I gevi hsit retgnsht ot oyu erfley, eus ti elwl." The invisible barrier disappeared and the red light rushed by her, joining the pale green on the other side. The green got darker and stronger. Hermione was about to put the barrier back up, but she couldn't remember the words. She watched helplessly as more and more of her life force flowed through. But something in her refused to give into the fact that she would soon die. "Please," it pleaded, "for me, for Legolas, for the life we could have together. Please don't let me die." To Hermione's astonishment, the barrier began lifting, but slowly, as if it were hesitating. "Please," she thought desperately, "please, please." The barrier was close to the top when Hermione remembered the words. "Psot, hatst unegoh, oyu lwil eliv," she screamed. Hermione saw the barrier snap shut and a brilliant white light flare before falling to the ground in a dead faint.