Feavair was not certain what happened, because everything seemed to happen at once. She had seen Merry and Pippin carried, screaming, away, by orcs. She watched as arrows hit Boromir, and how he continued to fight until he had no more strength left. The only thing she was certain had happened, was that she had seen the light inside him and then used her skill to save him. Then she had left, leaving a dazzled Aragon to tend for Boromir.
She knew she needed to use the confusion in the moment to get away, or else she would never have the chance to slip away without them noticing, without him following her.
She had hesitated, for just a second, and wondered if this what she really wanted to do, if she left now she knew she would never see him again. She also knew that if she did not leave at once she would never have the strength to go.
Feavair ran towards the river. If she could get on the western shore, she could cross the Emyn Muil, the Dead Marshes and…she would have to find a way to overcome the Mountains of Shadow and in to Mordor. She stopped.
She could se Sam and Frodo making their way across the river. Why had they left the others, did they not know what happened to Merry and Pippin? The Company had been broken, what would Legolas, Aragorn, Boromir and Gimli do now?
They would….cross the river and follow Sam and Frodo. Aragorn would not leave to hobbits to do this dangerous task alone. Merry and Pippin would be sacrificed for the greater good, like she had not.
She heard the sound of running footsteps and she turned around and ran back into the forest. She could not cross the river and follow Sam and Frodo knowing that he was right behind her. She could not lead him to Mordor. She continued to run and decided that she could follow the riverbank over the open plains down to Northern Ithilien and Henneth Annûn.
She had not gone far before she saw the trail the orcs had left, in the distance she could see the cloud of dust the orcs left as the twirled up the earth. They were heading towards Fangorn Forest, why did they do that? She sighed and was about to continue, when suddenly pictures started to dance before her eyes and she felt her back burn in pain.
There were imagines of fighting. The day the orcs had appeared in Mirkwood she had walked in on the battles. There had been screams and then a sword had stabbed her. The orcs had taken her for dead and dragged her with them, she had….
Shaking the pictures and the memory away, she returned to reality. The imagines were still clear in her head, the pain still throbbing through her body. Therefore, she left her plan and started following the orc trail. She could not let Marry and Pippin suffer torture and death.
Feavair had no problem seeing the orcs trail in the ground. For the untrained eye it would be hard to spot the broken grass and twigs and the trampled earth. She had another advantage; she could feel their evil presence even hours after they had been there.
Breathing heavily, she let her body recall its strength as she survived her surroundings. There were nothing but marshlands and gray weather as far as the eyes could see. She could hear a lonely scream from an eagle pierce the sky, but it was the only sound she heard, there were no whispers in the wind and even the ground seemed to have grown mute.
She started to walk again, with slower haste knowing she would have to save her strength, she would not be able to travel far without more supplies. She thought little about the place she was traveling to, because the more she thought about the darkness she had to face, the more she started to doubted her own strength. It is when you start to doubt you self you are truly weakest she couldn't remember who had said that.
Feavair had not walked far when her eyes fell to the ground and she saw a small leaf-shape brooch. She picked it up and dusted the dirt away. The same brooch was on her cloak, the ornament they had gotten in Lothlòrien. Merry and Pippin thought Aragorn and the others were following them. They had hope. She dropped the brooch and hen she started to run again.
She could still see the track from the orcs, still feel their presence and for a moment the journey the orcs were taking, where ever it lead, seem to be part of the road she traveled. She could still leave them and go straight to Mordor.
As long as she had the strength to save them, she would, for she was safe for the orcs could not harm her and she could not be slain. That she knew.
The Lady Galadriel had removed the shadows from her heart and released her form the Dark Lord's grip. He could still feel her presences, but his mind was clouded by the thoughts of the Ring. The two things he desired most was within his grasp, but he could only focus on one of them.
It grew dark and the sun rose two times without much happening. She stayed on the trail and tried to keep up with the orcs speed, she grew weary as the days passed. But she was still determined to rescue Merry and Pippin before she went to Mordor and faced Mt. Doom.
The marshlands seemed to grow only grayer and shadowy as time went by and there was little to keep her company, except for the large eagle, still soaring over her head, giving the silence its hoarse cries.
She was in doubt of where her locations was, she counted on her fingers and tried to keep track of hours but soon lost trace of all time. She reckoned that she was near the Fangor Forest, a place she had only heard speak off a long time ago.
It grew dark on the third day and she felt her body tire, she had rested little and slept none. She had come to the edge of a large and dark forest. The trees were stout and covered with moss and the treecrowns shed the sun from the ground, beneath the trees only dead weed and grass clutched the cold ground. Deep in the woodland she could hear a deep murmur that made her shudder. She started to run along the forest border. The sky had turned to night and the cold winter wind blew harshly through her hair.
Suddenly she saw fire and smoke against the horizon. Feavair stopped running, hesitated, and listened. She could clearly hear the sound of people yelling and in-between the battle cries there was the unmistakable grunting of orcs. She looked at the forest and then entered it. Hidden under the trees she ran towards the sound, as she came closer the sounds became clearer and she could hear the sound of metal hitting metal and voices.
They were riders, from where they came from, she did not know, but they were the race of men. She watched from the shadows as the battle was fought in the darkness only lit by the fire from the torches. She saw a rider charged towards a large orc, screaming and then chopped its head of before, roaring he charged towards another monster and let his sword slice another throat.
One of the orcs grabbed hold of one of the rider's foot and pulled him down on the ground. The rider yelled for help and grabbed his sword. Feavair closed her eyes as the rider gasped in fright as an axe came soaring down into his chest. She could feel her own body jolt, as if the pain was her own, as the orc raised his axe again, and again.
"Merry, Pippin!" She suddenly thought and stared with fear in the mass of hooves and swords in the fight. Were they slain or had they somehow, miraculously, managed to get away before the riders attacked. She looked for anything that could resemblance a hobbit, but the only thing her eyes caught was blood, slain orcs and men
Suddenly she heard noises, the sound of footsteps, from the forest and turned quickly around. Could it be an orc fleeing from the riders? She could hear the sound of twigs breaking and then silent muttering. Then, as she recognized the voices, a smile grew on her face for the first time in months.
Quickly she left the fight and hurried in through the trees, making sure she was not seen or followed. She treaded softly on the cold ground and let her eyes search for the hobbits she was looking for. She could not see them anywhere and hurried on, she walked a few minutes before she stopped again, wondering if she had lost them. Suddenly she felt something knock her down from behind.
"Pippin you fool, look who it is!" a voice hissed in the darkness. Feavair groaned softly and rose while rubbing the back of her head. She blinked her eyes a couple of times and then got into focus two round faces looking at her worryingly.
"Its that elf….do you think the orcs captured her as well?" Pippin answered concerned and reached out a hand to help her up, gratefully she grabbed and with the strength of both the hobbits, they managed to pull her to her feet.
"I haven't seen her before" Merry answered and then suddenly the sound of a scream, coming just a couple of meters behind them made them all tense.
"Quickly, we must leave this place" Feavair whispered and then she started to run. Without hesitation, Merry and Pippin followed her and they ran with as much speed through the tangled forest as it allowed. They spoke not, because they needed all their strength to keep their feet going.
She could hear the sound of water, a small stream, and it seemed, as the only rational thing to do, was to lead them towards it. Soon the sound of the battle died away and their pace slowed down. Merry and Pippin leaned against the trunk of a tree and gasped for air, while Feavair sat down on the ground feeling her lungs burn.
"We can't go on like this" Merry panted
"Let us have a drink," Pippin said and then quickly climbed down the small slope to the river where they drank heavily, feeling the water refreshed their soar muscles. Then suddenly something seemed to dawn on Merry as he watched the elf splash water on her face, then drink heavily as if she had not tasted water in days.
"You…. you spoke the common tongue, I thought you only spoke and understood elven….what are you doing here anyway? Where are the others? What…" Merry asked feeling a little suspicious. Feavair swallowed her last gulp of water and then turned to the hobbit.
" I shall try and answer your questions as we rest." She said.
"While the others were fighting the orcs, Sam and Frodo crossed the river alone"
"We know," said Merry "It was we who distracted the orcs so that he could flee. That was why we got captured."
"What about Boromir?" Pippin asked "We saw him…..is he?" he trailed off.
"He….he is alive…..it was not as bad as it seemed" Feavair said quickly and Merry and Pippin breathed a sigh in relief.
"I would hate it if he died because of us" Pippin mumbled.
"But why are you here?" Merry asked.
"I…" she paused for a moment thinking about an explanation she could give them.
"I healed in Lothòrien" she said slowly " I wanted to see you and give my thanks. But I got caught up in the fighting….and somehow I ended up searching for you" It seemed like a reasonable explanation and the hobbits nodded slowly in uderstanding.
"Where are the others?"
"The others crossed the river and follow Frodo or Sam….or so I believe" she paused and Pippin said " what do you mean?"
"I think Aragorn crossed the River to follow Sam and Frodo….and I could not let you…." She stopped. She thought she heard something in the forest…in the trees.
"So you have followed us all alone. Why?"
"I knew that if I found you I could led you to safety….better then than have you stumble blindly around when…." She stopped again and listened.
"How long, how many days have it been?" Pippin asked, changing the conversation.
"I have been running after you, only hours behind I guess…. for three days" Feavair answered and Pippin looked at her shocked.
"Have we really been with those awful orcs for three days…. it seemed like years" he muttered and the shuddered. Merry was about to ask her another question when suddenly Pippin asked
"What happened, why do?" he trailed off.
"I will explain it to you…but not here…there is something strange about this forest…..it is…angry"
Feavair answered quickly as she felt the shadows start to creep on her again there was something strange about this forest, and about the air in it. It was dark and foul, as it had been here for years never moved by the wind
Suddenly another scream pierced the silence and the hobbits jumped to their feet, but she did not. She had grown used to the screams of the eagle and welcomed the few sounds this forest held.
"Do you know where we are?" Pippin asked as she rose and told them they should continue to walk. Feavair stopped and thought for a moment before she said.
"I believe we are someplace in Mirkwood or near it. We are walking west along the Entwash. Misty Mountains is in front and this is Fangorn Forest"
"This place does not fit Bilbos description, that place was dark and black and the home of dark black things…. This is just dim and frightfully…. tree-ish. I can't imagine anything living here" Merry answered and shuddered slightly.
"And I do not like the thought of walking through it. I am hungry and we have little to eat only crumbs of lembas" said Pippin.
"At any rate it is better than that awful orc-draught. I wonder what was in it, better not to know, I expect"
"I would not worry about food" Feavair said. "At any rate something will catch us before we die of hunger"
Just as Merry was about to ask why she said so, they heard it or rather they felt it, the ground shook. They huddled together as they could see something move in the darkness. It came walking towards them and they could hear the sound of twigs breaking as it moved. Then came a deep and steady, almost singing like, noise.
Hoom hoom, hm, hm……
Please review.
lembas are the small cakes, the elven waybread, the Fellowship got before they left Lothlórien, just one cache can keep a fully grown man on his feet for a whole day without rest.