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 Three
Despite the cold, Leah soon drifted off. The restless sleep she had gotten the past few nights had taken its toll on her body, along with an uncharacteristic amount of exercise.
"What do you think you are doing? Put it out, you fools, put it out!"
Leah sat up in alarm, the memories of talk about Riders entering her head. To her astonishment she watched as Frodo hurriedly tried to put out the small campfire that Merry, Pippin and Sam had gathered around.
"What's going on…" she began. But her words were interrupted by a terrible screeching sound that made her whole body freeze up. The hobbits jumped to their feet in alarm and grabbed the knives that Strider had handed to them earlier. Groping around in the dark for her knife, Leah hand closed on the hilt. The thought of what she would actually do with it fearfully crossed her mind. Peering over the edge of the cliff, Frodo drew his own knife.
"Go!" he shouted, his voice clear even over the eerie screams. Leah forced her mind to obey Frodo's order and followed the hobbits around the corner and up a stone staircase that led to the peak of Weathertop. By this time all of the hobbits had drawn their knives and had made a circle, with Pippin and Sam at the front and the other three at the back. Leah's eyes frantically searched for whatever was making the noise, while her fingers fumbled with the scabbard that enclosed her weapon. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her breath came in short gasps. She bit her lip in an attempt to quiet the sound and scanned the ruins for any sign of a hiding spot. It was then she caught sight of a dark figure slowly rising out of the shadows, gradually making its way toward them. Frodo noticed the figure the same time Leah did and stared frozen in horror at it.
A billowing cloak covered the creature's face and body, hiding its features from view. As Leah's eyes began to adjust to the vision before her, she realized with a start that this must be one of the infamous Riders. No wonder they were scared, her mind apprehended, it's impossible to tell whether it's even human or not. All thoughts stopped when the Rider drew a sword from underneath its cloak and grasped it in its gauntlet-covered hand. Seeing the hand covered in steel and the sword rising out of it Leah tried to turn away, to run away, but her body would not obey her mind.
Crunch. The Rider drew closer to Leah and the circle of hobbits, its steel boots hard against the ground.
Leah anxiously looked around, hoping against hope to see some sign of Strider. Instead her eyes caught sight of four other figures advancing towards the group. Her heart leapt to her throat as she realized the Riders had her and hobbits surrounded. They were going to die, here in the ruins. She was going to die on a mountaintop in a fantasy world; her family would never even find her body. Hatred filled her heart and she slowly lifted the hand in which she clumsily held the knife in and brought it up in order to face the advancing Riders. It was then Sam broke loose.
"Back, you Devils" he shouted and swung his knife at the nearest figure. A clanging sound echoed through the air as the Rider brought up his sword to meet Sam. The hobbit was then thrown aside by the force of the blade and Merry and Pippin then ducked to the sides to avoid being struck. Leah froze as the Rider swung his sword at her and stumbled backwards, falling into Frodo in the process. The girl tried to scramble backwards and felt the hard rock of one of the statues digging into her back. They were cornered! Turning to look at Frodo next to her she was stunned to find he had pulled out some ring and looked like he was trying to avoid putting it on. Was this was they were talking about before, was this the object the Rider's desired? The Rider! Glancing up, Leah gasped as she saw that it was nearly upon them.
"Frodo!" she yelled. Reaching out to grab the hobbit, she realized there was nothing to grab. For Frodo had vanished! The Rider brought his hand out to where the hobbit had been lying and the girl rolled away in order to get away. The figure seemed to be trying to grasp something but must have failed because he drew his hand back. Scrambling to her feet the girl stepped back into the shadows, fear taking over. Then the Rider grabbed his blade and shoved it into the space in front of him. Only it seemed to cut through something.
What was going on, Leah wondered? Then Frodo materialized, this time though his shoulder hosted a deep wound. Pure horror gripped Leah and she clutched her knife tighter, guilt entering her heart at the thought that she had somehow caused this. The Rider began to lean in, as if to stab the hobbit again, when a figure suddenly jumped in between.
"Strider" Leah yelled, a feeling of enormous relief taking hold of her at the sight of the man attacking the Rider with both sword and flame. The creatures began to back away, fearful of the fire that the human wielded.
"Frodo!" Leah turned from the battle scene in time to see Sam throw himself next to the injured hobbit, who was grasping his shoulder in agony. The girl quickly ran over to join the huddle that had formed around Frodo, peering over Sam's shoulder while she tried to blot out the agonizing screams in the background. Grasping the hobbit's hand she tried to reassure him.
"It's going to be all right Frodo, don't worry. Strider is here now; he'll know what to do. You heard him talk before, he knows all about medicines, your going to be fine." Well that was what she tried to say, but fear had made her slur the words and speak at a breakneck speed. A loud shriek broke through the night and the girl whirled around in time to see Strider set one of the Riders alight. Gasping in horror, she watched wide-eyed as the man forced them to flee. He then turned to where Frodo lay and grasped the hilt of the sword that had stabbed the hobbit.
"He's been stabbed by a Morgul blade." The blade then crumbled to dust. "This is beyond my skill to heal, he needs Elvish medicine." With that he picked up the hobbit and went to where they had earlier made camp. Grabbing the pony's reins he threw them over to Sam.
"Quickly now." Leah pulled on her jacket and paused when she reached her bag. Should she bother bringing it along if they were in such a hurry? A quick glance around told her that the others were almost ready and she had to make her decision swiftly. Panic took over, she hated the idea of decision making with a passion and she had no inkling what the road ahead would be like.
"Miss Leah, you coming?" The girl looked down in surprise at Merry's anxious face.
"Of course", she replied. "Its not like I have anywhere else to go and I couldn't possible leave Frodo, especially since it mostly my fault he was injured." The hobbit looked at her, his eyes wide open in surprise.
"Well what ever gave you that idea? You did all you could do, it not like we even stood a chance against those Riders."
"Merry, Leah, we must haste." With those words both hobbit and girl began to follow the rest of the company but not without Leah first grabbing her duffel bag. As she grimaced at the weight of the bag, the girl gave a sigh and hoped she was making the right choice. Oh well, at least she could now be certain she had clean underwear.
