Disclaimer: See part I, chapter one.
Chapter 2: The Hunt for OrcsFebruary 26. 3019.
Faith is the strangest of things and it has the most unlikely and unimaginable powers. Faith makes people believe they have a destiny, something to fulfill. It gives them hope when times are troubled and it gives them peace when they are tired of struggles. What cannot be explained must be the works of faith, the hands of kismet.
Meeting Feavair was more then faith. The roads in their lives did not cross, coincidental. It was as if his soul had been divided when he was born and then the two parts were reunited when they meet. As he stood by the shoreline and watched Sam and Frodo climbed up the mound on the other side, as he heard Aragorn's deep sigh behind him, as he knew that he had lost her again, it felt like his soul had been ripped apart and shattered.
"Feavair"
He called her name again with more force and then he scanned the forest looking for signs of moments, but there were none. He felt his blood pump faster through his veins as the drumming from his heart reverberated in his ears until it was the only sound he heard. He called her name again and this time it echoed through the mountains and in the distance birds flew up with hoarse cries.
Aragorn who had been staring at the water and whishing he was back and the Prancing Pony with a malt bear in his hand, or in Rivendell with a certain beautiful dark haired elf, suddenly blinked his eyes a couple of times and returned to the reality of the situation. He watched, or more heard, Legolas call her name repeatedly.
He remembered Haldir saying, " Eowerith she was called, but she bares her green eyes and name Feavair"
"Be quiet, elf….are you trying to wake the dead? There is no need for the spies of Mordor to look for us when they can hear you're yelling even to Isengard!" Gimli said. Legolas ignored him and was about to yell again, when Aragorn raised a hand.
"He is right, Legolas….we need to calm down an think!"
"Calm down…..for all we know she can be in the hands of the orcs" he cried.
"He is right" Boromir said, "We have no time to lose"
Aragorn stared across the river, Frodo and Sam had nearly disappeared, and there was little they could do for them now. Feavair, Merry and Pippin had been captured by the orcs; they could not leave them…but what about the Ring…and why was it important that Feavair went to Mordor.
"Gimli, you and Legolas search the forest, see if you can find any trails…do not wander to far" Aragorn said snapping back into commando mode. Legolas was up on his feet and in the forest before Gimli had time to grab his axe. Boromir also rose ready to help, but Aragorn eased him down.
"How are you wounds?" he asked and Boromir put a hand on his chest and felt nothing, there was no ache no pain, no fire shooting through his body.
"They are fine…. I feel no pain at all"
"By all means you should be dead…. you where dead…. there were minutes when you did not breath !" Aragorn said thought fully and furrowed his eyebrow.
"Minutes…it seemed to take forever." Boromir muttered.
"What happened?"
Boromir told him how he seemed to be in a dark forest, dark as a starless and moonless night. Around him whispered and hissed nameless monsters that grasped him, then suddenly there had been a bright light. She was there ordering the monsters back. She had touched him, then he felt air enter his lungs, and he felt pain leave his body.
"She said…she said she saw light inside me," he muttered almost close to tears. He closed his eyes thinking about what he was certain he would have done to her, what he had done to Frodo.
"I tried to take the Ring, I was captured in its darkness….and still she….what, gave me life back?" he asked.
Aragorn shook his head; he did not know what she had done, or how she had done it. He had a feeling it had something to do whit what she at Amon Sûl and why the Lady Galadriel wanted her to go with them. If she had the powers to heal wounds and raise the dead, she was a powerful addition to the Fellowship. Why had Lord Elrond or Gandalf not seen the power in her? Perhaps they had. But why did Haldir tell him to take her to Mordor. A thousand questions raced through his head, and there were nobody to answer them.
Gimli and the elf returned. Legolas looked like spring had been cancelled and once again, Aragorn was reminded by the unknown relationship between him and Feavair? What did the elfprince know? He needed to ask the prince some questions later; maybe he could sort things out.
"We saw traces of orcs…. heading west, to Isengard, no doubt about it" Gimli said.
"Then we must move with quick haste, if they get to Isengard we have no hope of saving them!" Aragorn said and rose quickly. The others nodded and quickly they started to gather their things.
"Take as little as possible we travel light, and fast, let us hunt some orcs!" Aragorn said brightly hoping to lighten the gloom that had settled upon the four that remained of the Fellowship.
Legolas started to sprint up the hill, closely followed by Boromir, Aragorn and finally Gimli. Legolas sprang like a deer, through the trees and on and on he led them, tireless and swift. They climbed long slopes, dark, hard edged against the sky already colored red by the sunset. Dusk came. They passed away, gray shadows in a stony land.
The stony vale ran through between the ridged hills. A cliff frowned upon their right and to their left rose gray slopes dim and shadowy. They continued a mile or perhaps more northwards. Legolas ran a head and he stopped now and then to trace the ground. Suddenly he yelled.
"Look here!" He was surprised to hear his own voice so strong and full with hope. He bent down and quickly picked something up that had been twinned together in some straws. He held it up; the others walked over, and stared at the small piece of green brooch he held up.
"That is a brooch from Lórien if I am not mistaken" Gimli grunted and matched the piece with his own.
"I wonder what this is doing here…" Boromir said thoughtfully and stared at the horizon. They could not see anything; they had not seen anything for hours.
"One of the hobbits must have dropped it!" Aragorn said. Legolas shook his head slowly and stuffed the brooch in the small pouch around his belt.
"This was not dropped, this was placed her!"
"That means that they are still alive…or at least one of them"
"Or they were alive a few hours ago"
"It grows dark, and in darkness we can risk loose the trail" They stopped and turned around and looked at Aragorn who stared at the sky. It had grown dark with no warning and all and around them; the mist was starting to creep out on the open field.
Legolas paused and stared out over the open plains, it amazed him how quickly the orcs moved, they had been walking with great haste all-day and still the orcs` advantage was increasing. If they were going to have any chance of catching them, they could not afford to stop. A lonely scream pierced the silence and they all stared up to see the great eagle soar over their heads.
"Do you recon it is the same bird as earlier?" Boromir asked as he halted next to Legolas. Legolas stared at the bird for a long time as it flew over their heads, it soared on the gently night breeze before it soared higher up and disappeared in the mist and darkness. Legolas never answered heard his question.
"Shall we camp here then?" Gimli asked when none seem to make any moves as to walk or stop for the night. "We have precious little time to loose, I say we haste on" the elf said and was about to container his quick pace when Aragorn said.
"We do not see as clear as you in the dark Legolas, and in the mist even you can easily loose the trail"
"But it goes straight ahead" He argued.
"As we can see now…but we do not know for certain where they are heading, let us rest now and then journey on as soon as the sun rises" Aragorn said and the elf knew it was little reason to quarrel with him, in one way or another he always got the last word.
The others had fallen a sleep as soon as their heads touched the ground, but he could not. He started at the stars willing her voice to return to him, her wisdom had always guided him when he was troubled, why did it fail him now? He blinked his eyes heavy with weariness and questions. Soon imagines started to dance in front of his eyes and he did not know if it was a dream or it was really happening, so he let him self be lost in the illusion.
He recalled the first time he saw her. It was a warm spring day and he had been wandering in the forest of his father talking with the birds and enjoying the peace and quietness of being home. Then there had been the sound of hooves and in front of him appeared a small group of travelers, unknown to him. Among them she was, indeed and without doubt the fairest of them all. Her raven black hair hung down over her shoulders and shone in the bright sun and she rode before him on a horse white as snow.
"Can you help us for we are lost and have traveled for many hours without direction" she spoke in the soft tongue of elven. The sound of her voice made his heart flutter.
"Then tell me the aim of your journey fair lady, so I can help you" he had answered and then made an elegant bow, making some of the other elves chuckle lightly.
"We seek the house of the Lord Thranduil of the elves of Mirkwood," she said and he had hid the small smile that played on his lips.
"Then allow me to lead you the way for it is not far"
He had known even then that she was something special that she was different. As he lead them up the road to his fathers house he could hear the other mutter in awe and amazement, but she remained quiet never keeping her eyes off the road.
"Tell me fair lady, what brings you to Mirkwood?" He had asked as she dismounted her mare and some of the maids arrived and grabbed her baggage. She turned around and smiled at him as she answered.
"It is my horse that brings me to Mirkwood and the businesses is of my own" She answered and had then disappeared with some of the other travelers and he had not seen her again until later that evening when…
He was ripped out of his thoughts as the sun suddenly broke through the clouds. He had not known that the night had passed already. The sun was pale and clear and the last bits of mist rolled away as a new day broke. He leaped to his feet and quickly awoke the others, eager to continue their search.
They had run for many miles and Gimli fell behind. Boromir halted and waited for the dwarf who grunted angrily. "Days on foot neither food or rest" he glared at Boromir and said "you know we dwarves are not made for long distance running, but on short distances we can be deadly fast!" Boromir laughed.
They proceeded to walk, ahead and eastward and all they could see was the soft sky and the lonely bird that danced on the sky ahead of them, as if it was watching something. In the distance, they saw the World of Rohan that they had already caught a glimpse of, many days ago on the Great River. To the north stalked the great forest of Fangor looking at them with its bushy eyebrows and its dark eyes. Beyond that they, as floating in a gray cloud was the Misty Mountains.
They stopped for a small break and Legolas was listening to the quiet song of the grass in the wind, when another noise disturbed the coir. First, it sounded like drums, but then he soon understood what they were and he cried out.
"Riders!" The others leaped to their feet and scanned the horizon.
"Many riders and they are heading in our direction," said Boromir thoughtfully as they saw the riders approaching surrounded by a cloud of dust.
"Yes"-said Legolas. " There are a 105 and yellow are their colors".
"The elves has truly the eyes of a hawk," said Gimli said.
"How fare away do you recon they are?" Aragorn asked.
"A little less the five leagues" the elf answered.
"Five leagues or ten, it matters not we cannot escape them in this bare land, shall we wait or go our way?" Boromir asked as he let his hand tighten over his sword.
"We will wait, we are all tired and there is no means of escape, and our search has been in vein for they come in the trail of the orcs, we may get news from them" Aragorn said.
"Or spears" answered Gimli as the riders approached.
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