Beauty and the Warg
Chapter Six: Welcome to Isenguard
A/N: Dialogue followed by two asterisks (**) are Tolkien's words, not mine, from The Two Towers, Chapter Eight, "The Road to Isenguard." It fit well to include the conversation; you'll see what I mean.
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Legolas, Gimli, and Wendy caught up with the Rohirrim about three miles outside of Isenguard. More whispers of fear and a little awe followed Legolas and Wendy as they pushed their way through the crowd of soldiers to the front. They sought out Aragorn, Théoden, Gandalf, and Eomer, the latter two having joined the cavalry during the Battle of Helm's Deep.
"Legolas! What is the meaning of this? You are riding a Warg!" Eomer exclaimed, as if Legolas couldn't tell.
"It is all right, Eomer. I have befriended this Warg. She is quite tame," Legolas assured him.
"She?" Gandalf queried, one eyebrow raised in obvious doubt.
Wendy resisted the urge to snarl at him and settled on letting her tongue loll out, which allowed a bit of spit to be caught by the wind and fly onto Gandalf's leg. He made a disgusted face and wiped it off with the cuff of his sleeve.
"Yes, she. This is Lady Draugwen. Lady, this is Eomer, nephew of the king and heir to the throne of Rohan, and Gandalf the White, the most powerful wizard in Middle-earth," Legolas introduced. Wendy, of course, knew all this, but bowed politely all the same. Legolas held on tight and didn't fall off this time. Gandalf and Eomer both laughed at the sight.
"Welcome and well met, Lady Draugwen. I am sure you will make an excellent addition to our company," Eomer said.
"Indeed, the Orcs will not know what to do when one of their own allies comes attacking," Gandalf agreed.
"Now, onward, men! We must reach Isenguard before dark!" Théoden commanded, spurring his horse into a canter. The others quickly followed suit.
The gates of Isenguard were not far off. As the company of Riders slowly approached Saruman's stronghold, a ripple of fear ran through everyone. No one knew what to expect once they reached Isenguard. The horses picked up on their Riders' hesitation and started to get nervous. When they came to a blind corner in the path, Théoden's horse, Snowmane, refused to go first. The only horse that would go was Shadowfax, Gandalf's horse, but Gandalf had moved to the back of the procession.
Wendy, of course, was not nervous at all. So far everything she had experienced was true to Tolkien, except the Warg attack, which meshed with the movie version. So Wendy had no doubt that when they reached Isenguard, Merry and Pippin would be there to greet them with pipes in hand. Saruman and his faithful servant Gríma would be locked up in Orthanc, guarded by Treebeard and the other Ents. So as Snowmane and the other horses danced around, refusing to move forward, Wendy strolled ahead without hesitation.
"Surely these war horses will not tolerate being shown up by a Warg, and a lady Warg at that," Legolas laughed. And indeed, the horses quickly followed Wendy around the corner.
Barely five minutes later, they reached the front gates which led to what was left of Saruman's stronghold.
"Welcome to Isenguard!" said a merry voice.
The Riders stared in amazement. The gates of Isenguard were destroyed, and in their absence the destruction of Saruman's fortress was revealed. The great Fords of Isen had been released from their dam to convert the entire valley into a wading pool. The caverns and tunnels that had been dug deep underground to hold the Orcs and build the weaponry were completely full of water. Any Orc still underground when the waters were released had no hope of surviving. Swimming was not an Orc's strongpoint.
A great rubble heap lay just inside the archway. Upon it sat two small figures, hard to see because of their gray cloaks. But when the eye adjusted it was easy to see these two small halflings casually smoking their pipes amidst empty bowls and cups, evidence of a feast they had just enjoyed.
"Welcome, my lords, to Isenguard!" the merry voice said again. One halfling rose and bowed low. The other stirred not, for he had dozed off. "We are the doorwardens. Meriadoc, son of Saradoc is my name; and my companion, who, alas! is overcome with weariness is Peregrin, son of Paladin, of the house of Took. Far in the North is our home. The Lord Saruman is within; but at the moment he is closeted with one Wormtongue, or doubtless he would be here to welcome such honourable guests!"**
Wendy gaped in awe at Meriadoc Brandybuck, the famous Hobbit whom she had long dreamed of meeting. The speech he had just given was word-for-word the exact speech Tolkien had documented in The Two Towers. How could a man from her time know so much about the happenings in a place like Middle-earth? Strange things indeed were happening. She would have to remember to investigate that later, when the excitement of the War of the Ring was over and done with.
"Doubtless he would!" Gandalf said to Merry, laughing. "And was it Saruman that ordered you to guard his damaged doors, and watch for the arrival of guests, when your attention could be spared from plate and bottle?"**
"No, good sir, the matter escaped him," Merry replied, adopting a grave and serious expression. "He has been much occupied. Our orders came from Treebeard, who has taken up management of Isenguard. He commanded me to welcome to Lord of Rohan with fitting words. I have done my best."**
"And what about your companions? What about Legolas and me? You rascals, you wooly-footed and wool-pated truants! A fine hunt you have led us! Two hundred leagues, through fen and forest, battle and death, to rescue you! And here we find you feasting and idling –and smoking! Smoking! Where did you come by the weed, you villains? Hammer and tongs! I am so torn between rage and joy, that if I do not burst it will be a marvel!"** Gimli cried.
"You speak for me, Gimli, though I would sooner learn how they came by the wine,"** Legolas laughed. For the first time, Merry turned his attention to the Mirkwood Elf. He stared in surprise, as all who saw Legolas riding a Warg did.
"Legolas! What is the story here? Did Rohan run out of suitable mounts?" Merry cried. Pippin was waking now, and when he had rubbed the sleep from his eyes he mimicked Merry's shocked expression, staring at Legolas in unabashed wonderment.
"Indeed not!" Théoden laughed. "Legolas simply decided that the horses of Rohan were not good enough for him. He tamed a Warg instead! Much nobler beasts, at least in this Elf's eyes."
"Théoden-King is jesting. Surely he knows how honorable the horses of his lands are. But I have befriended this Warg, and she has agreed to carry me. Merry, Pippin, this is Lady Draugwen," Legolas explained.
To Wendy's surprise and pleasure, Pippin jumped down from his perch on the rubble pile and offered a hand to her. Wendy lifted a paw and he shook it vigorously.
"Nice to meet you, Lady Draugwen. You and your friends are welcome to come dine with Merry and I. But as for Gandalf and his Lordship King Théoden, Treebeard wants them to ride to the north side and meet with him," Pippin said.
Gandalf and the Riders of the Mark rode off, leaving Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Wendy with the Hobbits.
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Yay! I was afraid for a moment that I had writer's block, but I am renewed. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Now for the fun part: Review Replies!
Empress Guinevere Sparrow: Aren't his eyes just delicious? I could stare into them for hours on end. Brown or blue, it doesn't matter to me. *sigh* Ahem. Well, anyway. Thank you for the lovely review. I'm glad you thought it was cute!
Maria2004: You are quite an astute person. It's hard to say what's going on in Gimli's mind, but you're on the right track. Thanks for reviewing, and congrats on completing your first fanfic. : - )
Silver-Fangz: Thank you for the input. I'll keep that in mind. I'll have to do a little research, because I don't recall Wargs having tails. You could be right, though, and I'll definitely check it out. Thanks for reviewing!
Commodores R Ppl 2: hahahahaha, you're funny! A fanfic whore… that's very amusing. Thanks for the spiffy review!
Scifiphantisigurl911: You're probably right. Their bickering is probably not a good thing. But I guess we'll have to wait and see, eh? Thank you for reviewing!
*grins happily* Reviews put me in such a good mood!