Beauty and the Warg
Chapter Seven: To Battle
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Merry and Pippin brought Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas into the guardhouse, but Draugwen was too big to fit through the door designed for things no bigger than a man was. She sat outside on the wet ground moping for a bit while the five friends became reacquainted again. Her stomach growled constantly as the scent of the food inside wafted out on a breeze to her sensitive nose. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Gimli emerged with a plate of food.
"I apologize for neglecting you, Lady Draugwen. We were so caught up in the tales that we very nearly forgot. When Aragorn and Legolas began to tell our tale, I thought I could slip out to see you and not be missed. Shall we take a walk?" Gimli suggested. Wendy nodded. As they strolled along, Gimli kindly fed her the food, quelling her grumbling stomach.
They dared not stray far from the guardhouse, not knowing their way around Isenguard or what dangers may still be clinging to the rocks. Gimli told Wendy about the Quest, though he made no mention of the Ring. He told her how he had set out from Rivendell with eight others, including Legolas, Aragorn, Gandalf, and the two Hobbits. Of course Wendy knew all this already, but she listened politely, and indeed enjoyed hearing a retelling if Lord of the Rings from the point of view of someone who was actually involved.
When they were nearing the guardhouse again, Legolas suddenly rushed up to them, looking quite vexed.
"There you two are! I have been looking for you both for nearly twenty minutes! Gimli, why did you take off like that without telling anyone? We did not know where you had gone!" Legolas said in a scolding manner. He put his hand on Wendy's shoulder, petting her softly, looking at her worriedly. "Are you all right?"
"We're fine, lad. I don't know why you were so worried. I thought you saw me leave the guardhouse. Draugwen and I were simply taking a little walk," Gimli answered.
"Well Aragorn, Merry, Pippin, and I were extremely worried. Who knows what dangers still linger in this foul place!" Legolas said, sounding so much like Wendy's father it frightened her.
Draugwen saw Aragorn, Merry, and Pippin lounging casually just inside the guardhouse. They were laughing about something and did not look troubled in the least. Wendy suspected that it was only Legolas who had been worried, though she could not guess why.
"We are fine now, so be calmed, Legolas. Come now, let us see what other news Merry and Pippin may have yet still stored in their minds," Gimli said, leading the way back to the guardhouse. He seemed anxious to get away from Legolas' lecture, and Wendy couldn't say that she was not glad to walk away either.
Merry and Pippin suggested that they leave the guardhouse and look around Isenguard. They had not gone far yet when they met up with Gandalf, Théoden, Eomer, and the Riders. It was then decided that Gandalf would lead a parley with Saruman at Orthanc, with those who wished to accompany him. When Gandalf, Théoden, Aragorn, Eomer, Legolas, and Gimli ventured forth, Draugwen stayed behind with the Hobbits and the Riders. She felt very tired all of a sudden, so she settled down and allowed herself a small nap.
Her nap was disturbed a little bit later by a loud crack. When she was more fully awake, she realized that the sound she had heard was the palantír being cast through one of Orthanc's windows by Gríma and crashing through a railing. Apparently, the parley had not gone off without a hitch, but that was to be expected. After all, it was Saruman they were dealing with, for goodness sake. While Aragorn conversed in quiet tones with Gandalf and Théoden, Legolas came over and leaned comfortably on Wendy.
"I think, whatever path that is decided upon, much danger lies ahead of us. If you choose not to journey any farther with us, I would not blame you, Lady Draugwen. It is your choice. I do not ask you to go to battle with me," Legolas said quietly.
Wendy looked at him in surprise. The thought of deserting had never crossed her mind at all. Of course, Legolas had no idea that she already knew what the outcome of battle would be. Still, it was a battle, and there was a lot of danger involved in that. People on both sides would die before the dust settled and peace resumed and it was possible that Wendy could be caught on the wrong end of an Orc's sword. Yet after going this far with Legolas, there was no way she could turn back now.
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Somehow, three days later, Wendy found herself traveling with Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, Elladan, Elrohir, and the other Rangers on the Paths of the Dead. Everything had been moving so fast that the last few days were quite a blur. She vaguely recalled allowing herself to be persuaded to walk down the Paths by Legolas with his infectious smile and Gimli with his friendly reassurances, but now she was cursing her decision.
Only Legolas seemed to have no fear of taking the Paths. His courage encouraged Wendy to pass through the stone arch, while Gimli's apprehension made her feel less alone. For a long time they walked in the dark. Wendy could recall no details later, she only remembered being very cold and very scared.
Finally, they found daylight again. The ghostly warriors who had been called to fulfill their oath of old by Aragorn strengthened their numbers. The company went to Pelargir, where the Corsairs were preparing their battleships with which they could attack Minas Tirith. The dead warriors quickly took over the ships.
In the midst of the seizing of the ships, Legolas heard the call of the seagulls that flew about overhead. Galadriel had warned him about the gulls, via a message sent by Gandalf, yet there was no escaping their cries. Even though the Sea was not within sight, Legolas was still filled with such a longing that he wavered between leaving his friends and going to battle. For a few long moments, he stood next to Wendy, his hands curling in her thick fur as he stared Westward.
Finally, Wendy nudged him, motioning towards the ship that held Aragorn and Gimli. She took the hood of his cloak gently in her teeth and pulled him towards the ship.
"You are right, Lady Draugwen. My duties lie here," he agreed, though he sighed in a wistful sort of way and cast a few longing glances in the direction of the Sea.
The ships sailed for two days before landing at the Pelennor fields. Those two days stretched out into an eternity for Wendy. Out of everyone on the ships, she was the only one who was not trained as a warrior. She had not been brought up to see death as a noble cause. If she could barely make it through dodge ball at school, how on earth (or Middle-earth) would she survive a battle on such a scale as the Battle of Pelennor Fields? Surely, she would be trampled under the gargantuan foot of an Oliphaunt or slashed by the sword of a Haradrim warrior!
As the ships came ever nearer to their destination, Gimli and Legolas both seemed to take notice of Wendy's ever-increasing fear. They each attempted to comfort her in different ways. Gimli distracted her by sharing Dwarf-lore with her while Legolas sang to her in Elvish. Gimli always made her laugh while being around Legolas made her feel all woozy and jelly-like. Either way it took her mind off the battle, which greatly eased her mind.
During the brief lapses of time when Legolas and Gimli were busy elsewhere, Wendy kept herself from slipping into a panic by recalling an interesting conversation Gandalf held with her as they left Isenguard. She was riding alone at the back of the procession, as Aragorn had wished to have a private council with Legolas and Gimli. Gandalf, on his amazing steed Shadowfax, jogged over to her and fell into step beside her.
"How are you enjoying your stay in Middle-earth, Wendy?" he asked in a low undertone.
Wendy stared at him in utter shock. Gandalf merely chuckled and explained how he had come to know her name and that she was not from Middle-earth. It seemed that when he was younger he had been experimenting with different spells and combinations of spells and somehow opened a line of communication between Wendy's Earth and Middle-earth. The other end of the line happened to be the telephone in John Ronald Reuel Tolkien's hallway. In that way, Tolkien learned of the happenings in Middle-earth and, with Gandalf's encouragement, turned it into a classic tale read by children of all ages all over the world.
Over time, Gandalf perfected his use of the portal and became so advanced in skill that he was able to make it not only a communication line but an actual window into Wendy's world. He loved to watch different people and happened to be watching Wendy at the time of her car crash. A quickly muttered spell brought her into Middle-earth, but he had not forseen the side effects; first, the fact that she was stuck in the body of a Warg, and second, that she would be catapulted far backwards in time to the War of the Ring. It had actually been Gandalf's voice, disguised as the pleasant voice of an enchantress, that had informed Wendy of the way to reverse the spell while she lay on the ground amidst rotting Orcs.
Wendy amused herself by imagining the strange conversation that had taken place between Gandalf and J.R.R. Tolkien that very first time Gandalf breached the barrier between the worlds.
"Good day sir, my name is Gandalf the Grey. I am a Wizard from the land of Middle-earth…"
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A/N: All righty then, you know the drill. This is when I beg for reviews to feed my ego. So go on, click that little button and tell me how great I am. Or how much I suck. Whichever floats your boat. : - ) Please remember that constructive criticism is a great tool for writers. I'm especially interested in what you think about how Tolkien found out about Middle-earth.
Now the fun part: Reviewer Replies!
Ephona: That ^^ is what happens next.
Saria64: Thank you ever so much for your kind words! You make me smile!
Tiger: You have raised some good questions. Wendy hasn't been killed on sight because she's always with Legolas or Gimli. People trust them so they wait for an explanation. Aragorn knew it was Legolas because of that telltale blonde hair. Orcs don't have long blonde hair. Thank you for reviewing! I do hope you were not injured when you crashed into the fake sunset.
Kedz24: Thank you for the review! I'm glad you like my story!
Wolf of Gondor: Thanks for reviewing! Also thank you for pointing out the tidbit about tails. I managed to catch the Warg Attack when LOTR:TTT was playing on TV the other day so I did see that. There will be references to tails in later chapters.
Empress Guinevere Sparrow: She is pretty darn lucky, isn't she? She gets to go gallivanting around with Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, and all the others. But she's still a Warg. Every rose has its thorn, I guess. Thank you so much for the review!
Orlandopsycho010: *hands you virtual box of cookies* There, is that good? Thank you for your kind words, I'm glad you like the story!
Maria2004: Thanks so much for leaving me a review! Male Mary Sue, haha, that's funny. Not quite, but that would be interesting. Hmmm… ideas are sparking… but anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Scifiphantisigurl911: Oh, I'm so sorry about the e-mail. I hate it when I can't get to mine. But thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the fact that I used the real dialogue. I was a bit nervous as to how people would respond to that. THANKS!
elvesmagic010: Long or short, it doesn't matter, I like them all. Thank you for the review! It makes me glad when people say they like my work.
To everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story: THANK YOU!