Thanks so much for all your reviews I really, really appreciate them! I
know this chapter is a bit shorter but stay with me as I try to juggle
work, classes, and my greatest passion, writing.
Radbooks- you have become my red pen. Thank you so much! I always welcome
your corrections.
Lady Scribe of Avandell- The way I want to take the story requires that she
knows what is going to happen next, otherwise you're right, it would be
very interesting that way . . . certainly gives me ideas for another
fanfic! Thank you for all your praise!
ShyPixie
They rode in silence for part of the way, each lost in their own thoughts. The steady clip-clop of horses' hooves had a strange lulling effect and it was only when Lizzy happened to catch a nasty frown Legolas sent Eomer that she realized that they had fallen back behind the others.
"Why did you choose to come?" Eomer questioned suddenly, annoyance in his voice.
"Why did you choose to come?" Lizzy countered, almost instantaneously, as the question had been burning in her mind.
He ignored the imperious query. She was getting tired of always being ignored by this man as if she were a child whose silly questions didn't deserve an answer.
"You know, it's really rude to ignore a person when she's talking to you."
Still no answer.
A spurt of anger hit Lizzy as he remained in stony silence behind her and glancing down at the exposed arm around her waist she grabbed a little piece of skin and twisted hard, deliberately sinking her nails in deep.
Childish, yes. Satisfying . . . oh yeah.
Expecting him to curse or yell at her, maybe both, Lizzy almost fell off the horse in surprise when his quiet chuckle reached her ears.
"Was that supposed to hurt?"
Almost screaming in frustration, Lizzy screwed up her eyes and took a deep breath. Okay, so that hadn't worked out like it was supposed to, but she'd die before telling him that.
"No!" She blurted out, waving her hand in a breezy manner. "Of course it wasn't supposed to hurt! It was just a . . . a test."
"What kind of test?" Eomer asked suspiciously.
"A test to see if you had um . . . good skin!" Lizzy almost moaned at her answer. Good skin? "Congratulations, you passed!"
"Oh, that's good, I suppose," he said in such a way that absolutely let her know he didn't believe a word of it.
The ridiculous conversation was abruptly cut short, to Lizzy's everlasting joy, as Aragorn gave the signal to speed up.
********
Arriving at the scene of destruction and death of last night everyone hopped down off their horses to take a look around. After gingerly sliding down one side of the mount, Lizzy rested her full weight on her feet and promptly collapsed. She clutched her aching thighs and grounded loudly. These people had magic. Why weren't there magic carpets, or flying trees, or something?! Horses, for pete's sake, were so . . . medieval.
Instantly, Legolas's face loomed above her, his eyes wide with fear.
"Are you alright, milady?"
"Yes, I just love rolling around in the dirt next to the stinking corpses of Uruk-Hai. It's my absolute favorite thing to do!" Lizzy snapped at him as she struggled to sit up. Glancing at his face, she instantly regretted it. No matter how old or how many battles a male fought they were still children at heart.
"I'm sorry, Legolas, that was rude of me. Of course, I'm alright, just not used to riding a horse for long periods of time."
His face instantly brightened as he gently cupped her elbow to assist her to her feet. Half-way off the ground, a hand appeared out of nowhere to shove Legolas out of the way and an arm wrapped around her waist.
Lizzy rolled her eyes. "Do you mind?" She ground out to an irate Eomer.
"Not at all," he smoothly replied, drawing her away from an angry Legolas to Aragorn and Gimli, who were studying the ground tracing the hobbits' tracks that lead, how'd ya guess, into the forest. Lizzy could barely restrain herself from telling them that she'd already told them all where Merry and Pippin were and saved her breath. These were men after all, not exactly the smartest beasts roaming the wild.
Standing at the edge of the wood they tried to peer in between the thick branches. Quiet darkness stared back.
"Well, what are we waiting for . . . an invitation?" Lizzy called out as she cheerfully pushed her way into the forest. Cursing under his breath, Eomer started in after her and the rest slowly followed.
Hiding her winces that came with every step, Lizzy stopped abruptly and gazed around with frightened awe. Roots sprouted out of the ground like corded muscles and trees so tall their branches blocked out all but a few determined rays from the sun. Darkness reined here, and the quiet was unnatural.
She'd stopped so suddenly, Eomer ran into her back with a grunt and steadied her when she would have fallen.
"I don't like it here," Lizzy murmured softly as the fellowship approached. She didn't need to be told to know that everyone agreed.
"Stick close together," Aragorn commanded quietly, "and don't let your guard down."
Following the tracks deeper into the forest, Gimli suddenly stopped and muttered, "Orc blood," as he rubbed his fingers over a leaf.
As they moved on, Lizzy instinctively leaned closer to Eomer as the groaning of the trees steadily became louder with every step they took.
Legolas approached her, "The trees are speaking to one another," he whispered and his elf ears seemed to quiver for a second then he suddenly sprinted toward Aragorn.
They spoke in hushed murmurs for a few seconds then Legolas slightly turned his head and said, "The white wizard approaches."
Lizzy grinned. At last she was going to meet Gandalf, and when she would have rushed forward, Eomer placed a heavy hand on her shoulder and shoved her behind a tree.
"Don't move!" Eomer roughly commanded before he rushed to join the others, drawing his sword as he went.
"Did the man never learn?" She wondered incredulously as she tiptoed out from behind the tree. Last time he had tried to 'protect' her she hadn't stayed put and there was no way she was going to now.
The men all had their weapons ready for whatever attack the white wizard had in mind and Lizzy shook her head when she thought of how easily Gandalf would disarm them. Suddenly, a bright light penetrated the gloom of the forest and Lizzy quickly brought up her arms to shield her eyes. She'd expected it, but, man, that was bright.
She heard the dull thud of swords falling on soft grass and the twang of Legolas's bow then dead quiet. Looking up, Lizzy noticed that the light had dimmed somewhat and she could now detect the figure outlined in white. Perking up, she raced ahead through the men to meet Gandalf, not realizing she was the only one who knew his true identity.
"No, Lizzy!" She heard a second before Eomer tackled her from behind trying to stop her from reaching the wizard.
She saw the jagged rock sticking out from beneath the moss and thought, "Oh, damn!" before the world went black.
They rode in silence for part of the way, each lost in their own thoughts. The steady clip-clop of horses' hooves had a strange lulling effect and it was only when Lizzy happened to catch a nasty frown Legolas sent Eomer that she realized that they had fallen back behind the others.
"Why did you choose to come?" Eomer questioned suddenly, annoyance in his voice.
"Why did you choose to come?" Lizzy countered, almost instantaneously, as the question had been burning in her mind.
He ignored the imperious query. She was getting tired of always being ignored by this man as if she were a child whose silly questions didn't deserve an answer.
"You know, it's really rude to ignore a person when she's talking to you."
Still no answer.
A spurt of anger hit Lizzy as he remained in stony silence behind her and glancing down at the exposed arm around her waist she grabbed a little piece of skin and twisted hard, deliberately sinking her nails in deep.
Childish, yes. Satisfying . . . oh yeah.
Expecting him to curse or yell at her, maybe both, Lizzy almost fell off the horse in surprise when his quiet chuckle reached her ears.
"Was that supposed to hurt?"
Almost screaming in frustration, Lizzy screwed up her eyes and took a deep breath. Okay, so that hadn't worked out like it was supposed to, but she'd die before telling him that.
"No!" She blurted out, waving her hand in a breezy manner. "Of course it wasn't supposed to hurt! It was just a . . . a test."
"What kind of test?" Eomer asked suspiciously.
"A test to see if you had um . . . good skin!" Lizzy almost moaned at her answer. Good skin? "Congratulations, you passed!"
"Oh, that's good, I suppose," he said in such a way that absolutely let her know he didn't believe a word of it.
The ridiculous conversation was abruptly cut short, to Lizzy's everlasting joy, as Aragorn gave the signal to speed up.
********
Arriving at the scene of destruction and death of last night everyone hopped down off their horses to take a look around. After gingerly sliding down one side of the mount, Lizzy rested her full weight on her feet and promptly collapsed. She clutched her aching thighs and grounded loudly. These people had magic. Why weren't there magic carpets, or flying trees, or something?! Horses, for pete's sake, were so . . . medieval.
Instantly, Legolas's face loomed above her, his eyes wide with fear.
"Are you alright, milady?"
"Yes, I just love rolling around in the dirt next to the stinking corpses of Uruk-Hai. It's my absolute favorite thing to do!" Lizzy snapped at him as she struggled to sit up. Glancing at his face, she instantly regretted it. No matter how old or how many battles a male fought they were still children at heart.
"I'm sorry, Legolas, that was rude of me. Of course, I'm alright, just not used to riding a horse for long periods of time."
His face instantly brightened as he gently cupped her elbow to assist her to her feet. Half-way off the ground, a hand appeared out of nowhere to shove Legolas out of the way and an arm wrapped around her waist.
Lizzy rolled her eyes. "Do you mind?" She ground out to an irate Eomer.
"Not at all," he smoothly replied, drawing her away from an angry Legolas to Aragorn and Gimli, who were studying the ground tracing the hobbits' tracks that lead, how'd ya guess, into the forest. Lizzy could barely restrain herself from telling them that she'd already told them all where Merry and Pippin were and saved her breath. These were men after all, not exactly the smartest beasts roaming the wild.
Standing at the edge of the wood they tried to peer in between the thick branches. Quiet darkness stared back.
"Well, what are we waiting for . . . an invitation?" Lizzy called out as she cheerfully pushed her way into the forest. Cursing under his breath, Eomer started in after her and the rest slowly followed.
Hiding her winces that came with every step, Lizzy stopped abruptly and gazed around with frightened awe. Roots sprouted out of the ground like corded muscles and trees so tall their branches blocked out all but a few determined rays from the sun. Darkness reined here, and the quiet was unnatural.
She'd stopped so suddenly, Eomer ran into her back with a grunt and steadied her when she would have fallen.
"I don't like it here," Lizzy murmured softly as the fellowship approached. She didn't need to be told to know that everyone agreed.
"Stick close together," Aragorn commanded quietly, "and don't let your guard down."
Following the tracks deeper into the forest, Gimli suddenly stopped and muttered, "Orc blood," as he rubbed his fingers over a leaf.
As they moved on, Lizzy instinctively leaned closer to Eomer as the groaning of the trees steadily became louder with every step they took.
Legolas approached her, "The trees are speaking to one another," he whispered and his elf ears seemed to quiver for a second then he suddenly sprinted toward Aragorn.
They spoke in hushed murmurs for a few seconds then Legolas slightly turned his head and said, "The white wizard approaches."
Lizzy grinned. At last she was going to meet Gandalf, and when she would have rushed forward, Eomer placed a heavy hand on her shoulder and shoved her behind a tree.
"Don't move!" Eomer roughly commanded before he rushed to join the others, drawing his sword as he went.
"Did the man never learn?" She wondered incredulously as she tiptoed out from behind the tree. Last time he had tried to 'protect' her she hadn't stayed put and there was no way she was going to now.
The men all had their weapons ready for whatever attack the white wizard had in mind and Lizzy shook her head when she thought of how easily Gandalf would disarm them. Suddenly, a bright light penetrated the gloom of the forest and Lizzy quickly brought up her arms to shield her eyes. She'd expected it, but, man, that was bright.
She heard the dull thud of swords falling on soft grass and the twang of Legolas's bow then dead quiet. Looking up, Lizzy noticed that the light had dimmed somewhat and she could now detect the figure outlined in white. Perking up, she raced ahead through the men to meet Gandalf, not realizing she was the only one who knew his true identity.
"No, Lizzy!" She heard a second before Eomer tackled her from behind trying to stop her from reaching the wizard.
She saw the jagged rock sticking out from beneath the moss and thought, "Oh, damn!" before the world went black.
