Finding Your Feet
Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own anything associated with Lord Of The Rings. All characters/places are the property of J.R.R.Tolkein, as are any phrases that I have taken out of the books. Any phrases used from the film are the property of Peter Jackson.
Chapter Two
This would have to be worst thing, Leah thought, her mind centered on this extremely important fact. Even though she was lost, away from her family, with a group of strangers who might very well change their minds and decide she was better of dead, the fact that she had ears like an elf had to be the ultimate low. How am I ever going to go back to school looking like this, she wondered? I'm already uncool; I don't think I can afford to be any more different.
The man suddenly exclaimed "Why did you not inform us of your race on the moment of our meeting?"
Leah began to feel sick at the thought of how she would explain about how she didn't know why she suddenly had elf ears. Taking a deep breath she decided the truth was the best way to go. "Well…" she began. " I didn't have elf ears before I umm entered the marsh."
As the man opened is mouth to yet again question her, Leah decided that it was time to end this conversation before it got worse. If that was even possible. Before he began she quickly said "It doesn't matter, this isn't going to get me out of here, lets just get out of this marsh and go to whoever's house you were talking about… Elrond?"
The man gave a sigh and admitted, "You are right. I am called Strider." Pointing at the little person that had been in Leah's option the quietest he said "And this is Frodo Baggins. Next to him is his loyal servant Samwise." The latter statement was in reference to the creature that had first noticed her ears. The girl gave them both a shy smile, which deepened at the sight of the pony whose reins Sam clutched. Lastly he nodded at the remaining two, "And these two mischief makers are Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck."
"Just Pippin Miss", the one who had been complaining at the beginning announced.
"And everyone calls me Merry", the other informed me, with a quick smile and a duck of the head. "So what's your name?" he then asked.
The girl looked up "Oh, I'm sorry! It's Leah, Leah."
"Well come on Leah Clark. We have a long distance to travel in as little time as possible", Strider announced.
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The rest of the day was spent in making their way through the Midgewater Marshes and the deep pools and sinking footholds that were part of the ever joyful experience. Leah gave a grimace as her foot sank get again into of the many puddles of water, leaving her sneaker saturated. Squish, squish, squish, even camp wasn't as bad as this. The only good part was that the water was only up to her ankles, whereas before it had reached the top of her knees. The girl mentally scolded herself for complaining, after all the hobbits had it a lot worse than she did.
"Strider how far now till we get to make camp, Pippin groaned. Leah quickly looked up in order to hear the man's answer to the question that had been plaguing her mind for quite some time now.
Strider answered "Probably only another hour but we'll have to hasten our pace if we want to reach a suitable spot by nightfall."
Leah silently groaned. She wasn't quite sure if she would be able to last another hour or that there would be anything left of her if she did. The midges were in plague proportions and she had always had a knack for attracting insects. She shifted the weight of her duffel bag onto her right shoulder, wishing for what seemed like the thousandth time that day that she was a lighter packer. In order to pass the time she went over everything she had been told about this…Middle-earth. It sounded like some fantasyland, if her feet weren't aching so badly she would have thought she might have still been unconscious. Maybe this Elrond fellow would be able to help, Strider made it sound like everyone considered him extremely wise. He must be some type of guru, she reflected. The finally reached the "spot" a moderately dry area of land situated under another, you guessed it, dead tree. Noticing this little factor, Leah began to wonder if anything actually grew in this Middle-earth place. Strider handed out pieces of bread and bruised apples and then recommended that they go sleep soon. Leah wrapped the cloak he had given her around her body and tried to ignore the midges, which obviously hadn't heard of pacing yourself when you eat. The hobbits were quiet as well and soon fell asleep.
That's when she realized she had one major problem. She couldn't get to sleep. Propping herself up on one elbow, she turned to where Strider was standing keeping watch. "You wouldn't happen to know why I can't seem to fall asleep, would you? Is it an elf thing or have I fully gone delusional?"
The man smiled and replied, "The elves sleep with their eyes remaining open, blending living night and deep dream."
Leah gave a sigh of disgust and turned on her side, hoping to at least get some rest. A light doze soon fell over her and she found her mind traveling on the path of dreams. Images of her family blended with voices that sounded so, so familiar filled her head, yet she could not make out what the speakers were telling her. The voices just seemed to keep getting louder and more impatient until Leah began to think she wouldn't be able to stand the chaos any longer. Abruptly, she woke. She slowly began to push herself off the ground, blinking away the tears that had gathered and began to spill down her face. Sniffing, she wiped her nose with her sleeve, wishing that for just once in her life she had actually remembered to bring tissues with her.
A voice cut through the shadows of the night. "Are you all right? You seem… disturbed."
Leah did not have to look to know it was the man Strider. She nodded, hoping that he would leave her alone and let her wallow in her own misery. Unfortunately his curiosity had been bottled up for too long.
"Why do you wear such strange garments? I have never seen any of the fair people walk in shoes such as those; they make such a loud noise. It is also not a common practice for females to dress the same as that of males, have your kind forsaken such conventions?"
This made Leah's blood boil but she was to shy to lose her temper. Instead she put on her most understanding face and tried to explain her clothing with as little words as possible.
"Girls are allowed to dress the same as guys, I mean males, where I come from. This is not considered unusual."
A long silence hung in the air. Strider just nodded as if her answer had satisfied him but Leah wasn't fooled. She had seen the brief flicker of disbelief in his eyes and she knew he didn't trust her in the least. She would have to be wary around him. Lying back down, she tried to fall "asleep" again, hoping against hope that her strange dreams would not return.
The next morning dawned bright and the company left in the early hours of the morning. The hobbits spirits had picked up at the thought that they would soon be out of the marshes and Leah found herself really happier as a result. She soon joined in a discussion with them about a place called the Shire that, in her opinion, would have been a much better location to end up in. They all seemed to miss it very dearly and spent the rest of the journey in the marshes regaling her with stories of a hobbit named Bilbo and his magical birthday party. She laughed along with them and soon learnt that Bilbo was in fact Frodo's older cousin. Pippin and Merry then began to speak about a person named Tom Bombadil but Frodo shushed them. They had not gone far when the land began to steadily rise again and a line of hills could be seen in the distance.
Strider pointed the highest one out. "This is Weathertop" he made known. "Where the great watchtower of Amon Sûl once stood. Built by the Men of the West, in the first days of the North Kingdom, it once stood tall and fair. It was then burnt and broken and nothing remains of it but a tumbled ring." A long pause then followed. "We should hopefully reach it by noon tomorrow."
Frodo then inquired about finding someone called Gandalf there. A discussion then followed about how they would approach Weathertop in order to avoid things such as "Riders" and other sorts of wildlife that Strider seem to think posed a threat to their well being. None of this made much sense to Leah so she tuned out and tried to think of just how she ended up here. Unfortunately no theories seemed to be formulating in her brain but by that time a route had been decided on. More accurately Strider had decided on a course, since no one else had a clear of idea of where they were and where they were going and all those of questions.
The journeyed on the rest of the day until it as early evening and a chill had set in. They made camp under some trees by the shores of a lightly flowing stream. Strider again kept watch and Leah found herself spending the night in and out of sleep. By morning she had had enough of the whole elf thing. Going from sleeping like the dead and snoring quite loud too spending most of the night awake was not a fun transformation, as one might imagine. At least the dreams did not return. She arose the next morning, fresher than before, eager to keep walking in the hope that she would be one step closer to reaching home. Leah had set her heart on the fact that Elrond would know how to send her back to her family. They were probably already worried sick about her. The police would have been informed and she had probably been talked about on the news! The girl who mysteriously vanished without a trace, didn't newspapers love selling that sort of stuff? She tried to focus her mind on her parents, in the hope of helping to quench the ache of her heart. Instead she was shaken to find that she could no longer remember some of the little details about them. It was if her memory had dimmed, she could no longer recall just what her mother enjoyed doing or what sport her father liked to watch. They were both teachers, she knew that.
By dark fall they had reached Weathertop. Strider led them to a sheltered hollow in the side of the mountain, where they were to spend the night. He perused the area for signs of recent passersby and found two sets of footprints. He seemed to think that people called "Rangers", making it sound like they were playing a game of Cowboys and Indians, made some of the prints. He wasn't sure who had made the others, something Leah was quite happy about as she felt that the answer would be far from good. The hobbits seemed to share Strider's sense of foreboding; they were fearful that "Riders" had been here recently and wanted to know if they could be seen.
"Ultimately", he whispered. "It is the Ring which draws them near."
These words further confused Leah. What ring, she wondered. She was about to voice her question out loud when Frodo suddenly spoke up.
"Is there no escape then?" he demanded, his face full of fear. "If I move I shall be seen and hunted! If I stay, I shall draw them to me!"
In the hope of comforting him Strider told him that they were to have a fire.
"There is still hope. The Riders do not love fire and fear those who wield it. Fire is our friend in the wilderness."
"Are the Riders after this Ring? Are they coming to kill us? If so, why don't we just hand it over to them?"
Both Frodo and Strider turned to look at the girl, whose eyes radiated fear. Neither knew what to say and silence commenced. Surprising, it was Merry who broke it.
"We'll be alright Miss Leah", he said with a smile, while trying to place his arm around her shoulder.
She was too tall though and to kneel down in order for him to do so. With a laugh she gave him a hug, feeling relieved that she had made one friend in this world. Even four, she thought happily, taking in the similar smiles of comfort that the other hobbits were giving her. Settling herself on the ground, she wrapped her jacket tighter around her in the hope of keeping out the frozen wind.
"These are for you." Leah looked up in surprise, startled out of thoughts, in order to meet Strider's gaze. She then noticed the man's cloak that laid spread out on the ground and the five knifes attached to it. He threw one to Merry, Pippin and Sam, who all looked awestruck, while Frodo picked up the one closest to him. He then slowly passed the last one to Leah, his face unreadable.
"Keep them close. I am going to go have a look around." Surveying them he rose to his feet. "Stay here." With these words he departed around the corner, the shadows closing in on where he once stood.
Fingering the knife Leah felt her lip began to tremble. At least I know he trusts me, she thought. Yet this knowledge brought her little comfort when she looked out into the gloom of the night.
