DISCLAIMER: Nope, Lord of the Rings is not mine. But Gwen is!!
Gwen stood on one of the large boulders that they had stopped by, mentally going over the last couple of weeks. It was all a blur of walking, stopping, camping, and the odd conversations she had with Aragorn. She admired him greatly and appreciated the way he always made sure that she was fairing well, which she always was. In a way, he was almost like a big brother. The walking was a nice break from riding Niral. At least she wasn't saddle sore! The hobbits were also very amusing, especially Pippin. Earlier that morning he was telling her of how, when he was very little, he got his head stuck in one of his father's socks and couldn't get out! Gwen had been in tears, she was laughing so hard!
She strayed from her thoughts to listen to what Gimli was telling Gandalf.
" If anyone were to ask my opinion, which I note they're not, I'd say we were taking the long way around. Gandalf, we could pass through the Mines of Moria. My cousin Balin would give us a royal welcome!"
" No, Gimli, I would not go through the Mines unless I had no other choice," replied Gandalf. Gimli sat down to sulk. Hmm, he looks like he could use a bit of cheering up, thought Gwen. She leapt down lightly besides him.
" I wouldn't mind going through Moria and seeing Balin. Besides, they make very good steak!" she said.
" You know Balin?" asked Gimli, his eyes widening.
" Know him? He would journey all the way into Angmar just to visit my father. He was the only person who could out drink father," she remarked. Gimli began laughing deeply, saying, " Yes, Balin always could hold his drink! HA HA HA!!" Gwen joined in with him and began telling him of the drinking contests he would have with her father. Soon, both had tears rolling down their eyes.
Aragorn was watching them from were he was sitting, chuckling to himself as he listened.
" Well Gandalf, you were right in bringing that girl! Look at her and Gimli, laughing like old friends!"
" I told you so!" replied Gandalf.
Gwen was looking up into the sky when she noticed what appeared to be a flock of birds heading their direction. She ran to where Legolas was standing.
" Those birds don't look very nice," she muttered in his ear. He nodded slightly in agreement. By now, the others had noticed them.
" What is that?" asked Boromir, climbing up from the ground where he had been fighting a mock battle with Merry and Pippin.
" Nothing, it is just a wisp of cloud," said Gimli.
" It is moving fast and against the wind," continued Boromir. Gwen slapped her hand to her forehead in disbelief.
" It is a flock of birds!" she yelled.
" Curbin from Dunland!" shouted Legolas. Gwen almost toppled off the rock.
" Thank you for shouting that down my ear!" she yelled at him, very close to his own ear, might I add. He leaped off the rock in indignation at being yelled by an elf maid.
" Hide!" yelled Aragorn. Gwen crouched below an outcropping, thinking to herself, wisp of cloud, eh Gimli? Not making dwarves look to smart there. Jeez, did Legolas have to yell down my ear like that?! Talk about temporarily deafening me. He hasn't spoken a word for a while, so that was quite unexpected. I think I wounded his pride, though, shouting back at him like that. Oh well, he will just have to get over it. The birds passed and everybody got up out of their hiding places.
" Spies of Saruman. The passage south is being watched," proclaimed Gandalf.
" So what will we do?" asked Gwen.
" We will take the path of Caradhras!" declared Gandalf. Great, and me without my cloak, thought Gwen in frustration.
They walked up the snowy mountain.
" Y'know, if you ignore the freezing cold, it is actually quite lovely up here!" remarked Gwen. The others looked at her like she had lost her mind.
" Well, it is," she said in her defense. The others ignored her, but she did catch Legolas taking a good look about when he thought that she wasn't looking. Gwen didn't blame them for being surly. For Legolas and her, walking on the snow was easy. They didn't sink into it and flounder like the others did. Gwen decided to make use of herself and help Sam along with Bill. The pony was quite irritated that he was being drug up the mountain, so Gwen spoke to him softly in elvish to attempt to curb his temper. She looked up just in time to see Frodo rolling down the mountain!
" Now Frodo, as fun as that may be, now is not the time," she said, standing with her hands on her hips. Aragorn caught him. Frodo clutched at his neck, looking for the Ring. He could not find it and looked up in alarm to see Boromir looking at it.
" It is strange that such a big deal is made over so small a thing. So small." He rattled off.
" Boromir!" said Aragorn sharply, " Give the Ring to Frodo."
Boromir walked over and handed Frodo the Ring, which he grabbed. Then Boromir laughed and tousled Frodo's hair and continued walking. Gwen had seen Aragorn's hand on his sword hilt, and she didn't like it. The Ring was more dangerous than she thought. She made a mental note to stay away from it.
When they got farther up the mountain, a nasty storm picked up. Bill was floundering in the high drifts. Actually, so was everybody else, except Gwen and Legolas. She made her way to the front of the column where he was standing.
He looked at her and said, " Listen." Gwen did listen. She heard a voice rising above the howling of the wind.
" I hear it. What is it?" she asked him.
He looked down at her and said, " I don't know." Then he turned back to Gandalf and said, " There is a foul voice on the air!"
" It's Saruman!" yelled Gandalf. Just as he did, a very large chunk of rock fell from above. Legolas grabbed Gwen and jerked her out of the rock's path.
" Huh, I guess I should stay away from the edge, eh?" she looked up at him, a smile on her face. A hint of a smile hovered about his lips as he nodded at her, amused by her light mannered remark. Gandalf shoved his way up to the front and began yelling back at the voice, causing a whole avalanche to come tumbling down upon them! Gwen pt her arms above her head. The last thing she saw was Legolas pulling Gandalf out of harms way. Then she was buried in snow. A moment later, she began digging herself out. They all popped out of the snow like rabbits! Gimli came up roaring.
Gwen looked at him, saying, " No offense old lad, but if you keep doing that you'll cause another avalanche!" She pulled herself up on top of the drifts and walked back to Sam to try to dig Bill out.
" Gandalf, he's trying to bring down the mountain! We must turn back!" yelled Aragorn.
" No!!" Gandalf hollered back.
" If we cannot go over it, let us go under it. Let us go through the Mines of Moria!" suggested Gimli.
Gandalf looked very uncertain. " Let the Ring bearer decide," he said with some hesitation.
Frodo looked up and said, " We will go through the Mines."
" So be it," said Gandalf. Why does he sound so upset? I like Balin. Besides, it will be warmer down there. Frodo's feet were probably telling him the same thing! How bad could it possibly be, thought Gwen.