A/N: Well, I'm typing this alot later than I planned. You see, I finished this last week, and
I expected to have it up by Wednesday, unfortunatly, on said Wednesday, I was forced to
play basketball in Health class. Now those of you who know me, know that myself and my
immidiate circle of friends, dislike this class very strongly. And now I hate it.
In playing basketball, I ripped part of one of my fingernails, and jammed it. This
was a very painfull experience, and I subsequently forgot about the fic. As of today,
said nail is gone, and my finger is throbbing in pain. Though this makes it hard to type, I
have been watching the extended version of The Fellowship, and have gained new
inspirtaion. So, throbbing finger or not, I'm going to try to get this chapter out ASAP!
This is the second to last chapter. Please enjoy it and review!
(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())
Valkyrie looked back over her shoulder once more, catching those pain-filled,
smoke colored eyes. He had done so much for her, and now she had not words to say 'thank
you' or even 'goodbye'. And yet... those eyes said it all. He knew what her heart told her.
This was her path. And though it hurt him to watch her go, it would hurt him even more to
see her stay and be unhappy.
As Haldir turned away, she looked back to where Legolas and some of the elves
were packing the boats, and she sighed heavily. She reached up and shifted the weight of the sword
on her back, her gift from the Lady Galadriel. It had been her father's, and the mark of Rohan
was carved into the hilt. But also on the blade was an elven ingraving, one that translated
simply: 'Love and war are not without sacrifice.' Valkyrie shook her head at the irony.
When she did so, there was a soft klinking noise, made by beautifull mithril beads
that she wore in her raven hair, which had been braided tightly into a thick braid that fell down
her back... a style her mother had frequently worn.
She was dressed in fresh clothes; a silver tunic and white breeches that had been
provided by the elves. And fastened around her neck was an elvish cloak, identical to those
worn by the rest of the Fellowship, and fastened with a Lorien leaf, which she fingered idly.
Lost in thought, she didn't notice that Aragorn had fallen into step beside her until
the man spoke. "it's hard for you, isn't it? Leaving your home... leaving him."
She looked up suddenly, and then after a time nodded slowly. "It grieves me to see
one so ancient and wise suffering, and know that I am the cause." She paused. "But my place is with the
Fellowship. For if I do not go with Boromir... with the Ringbearer... I do not simply revoke my
oath... I'd lose my heart. This Fellowship is, and has always been my destiny. I know that in
my heart, though I can't say how. So just as love calls me to stay... it also binds me to this task."
Aragorn made a small noise of assent, idly fingering the Evenstar about his neck.
Valkyrie gave him a small smile. "That is the jewel of the princess Arwen, is it not?" The ranger
looked a bit startled, but replied none the less. "Yes... it was a gift...." Her smile grew and saddened.
"It's hard to love one from another world... when you know that you both belong in another place.
But we must never give up hope."
Aragorn looked down at the petite teen with a soft smile. "I do believe we have just
reached an understanding, m'lady."
************************
The boats began thier smoother but swift coarse down the river and out of the silvery
wood of Lothlorien. As much as she felt that she may have been leaving behind a home, and a family,
she also took comfort in being at the side of her lover, all thoughts of her dream put far from
her mind.
They had been provided with three boats; The first held Legolas and Gimli, and the
second Frodo, Sam, and Aragorn. In the third were Bormir, Merry, and Pippin in Valkyrie's lap.
The two halflings in Valkyrie's boat talked quietly amongst themselves, of things that
she paid no attention to as she watching the beauty of the river and forrests go swiftly by, lost
in thought.
Suddenly Pippin gave a tug on her sleeve. "Val?" The quarter elf looked down at him
with a half dazed expression. "Hmn?" Pippin looked back at Merry, then up at her again. "Can you sing?"
At first this puzzled her, but then she remebered that they *were* hobbits after all. 'You can take
the hobbit out of the shire...' she thought to herself.
"Just a little. I haven't sung in quite a while." Pippin's face lit up. "Do ya think maybe...
could ya sing us a bit of somethin?" Valkyrie was a bit nonplussed for a moment, then smiled.
"I know a bit of a ballad about the Grey Ships that sail for Valinor." Legolas and Aragorn
both looked up and exchanged a glance, but said nothing. Then Boromir spoke softly from behind her.
"Let us hear it then."
Taking a breath, she began.
"Hope fades, into the world of night.
Through shadows falling,
Out of memory and time.
Don't say, we have come now to the end.
White shores are calling,
You and I will meet again.
And you'll be hear in my arms,
Just sleeping.
What can you see,
On the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea,
A pale moon rises
The ships have come, to carry you home.
And all will turn,
To silver glass.
A light on the water,
All souls pass,
Into the West..."
There was a pause in which no one said anything, and Valkyrie, blushing, finnaly said
quietly, "That's all I remembered." But the hobbits clapped appreciativly, and Boromir planted a soft kiss
on the back of her neck while Legolas spoke.
"Tis a truly beautifull song, and your voice does it great justice." Valkyrie was about
to thank him when his head snapped up as if he had heard or seen something, and Aragorn's face took
on a worried expression as well. The air seemed to grow tense, and try as she might, Valkyrie could not ignore
the feeling of dread that now hung over them like a veil.
(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())
A/N: DUM DUM DUM!!! One more chapter to go! Aren't you just shaking with anticipation?!
Now you may ask: "Why did you put 'Into the West' in this fic? For two reasons: 1) I like the song,
and 2) I wanted to give Valkyrie some elements of myself, and one of the things which both I
and my 3 beta readers thought was a good idea, was to have her sing, seeing as one of my more
prominent qualities is my vocal ability, and my love of music. This I felt was something interesting that
I might be able to build on later, so I decided to put it in the river sequence.
I hope you all are enjoying outcast, it's been a blast to write, though a warning from
myself and my betas to you: You'll need several boxes of keelnex from the next chapter on out,
because it's going to be and Angst-fest!
Review please, and I'll see you again soon!
Marching Angel
I expected to have it up by Wednesday, unfortunatly, on said Wednesday, I was forced to
play basketball in Health class. Now those of you who know me, know that myself and my
immidiate circle of friends, dislike this class very strongly. And now I hate it.
In playing basketball, I ripped part of one of my fingernails, and jammed it. This
was a very painfull experience, and I subsequently forgot about the fic. As of today,
said nail is gone, and my finger is throbbing in pain. Though this makes it hard to type, I
have been watching the extended version of The Fellowship, and have gained new
inspirtaion. So, throbbing finger or not, I'm going to try to get this chapter out ASAP!
This is the second to last chapter. Please enjoy it and review!
(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())
Valkyrie looked back over her shoulder once more, catching those pain-filled,
smoke colored eyes. He had done so much for her, and now she had not words to say 'thank
you' or even 'goodbye'. And yet... those eyes said it all. He knew what her heart told her.
This was her path. And though it hurt him to watch her go, it would hurt him even more to
see her stay and be unhappy.
As Haldir turned away, she looked back to where Legolas and some of the elves
were packing the boats, and she sighed heavily. She reached up and shifted the weight of the sword
on her back, her gift from the Lady Galadriel. It had been her father's, and the mark of Rohan
was carved into the hilt. But also on the blade was an elven ingraving, one that translated
simply: 'Love and war are not without sacrifice.' Valkyrie shook her head at the irony.
When she did so, there was a soft klinking noise, made by beautifull mithril beads
that she wore in her raven hair, which had been braided tightly into a thick braid that fell down
her back... a style her mother had frequently worn.
She was dressed in fresh clothes; a silver tunic and white breeches that had been
provided by the elves. And fastened around her neck was an elvish cloak, identical to those
worn by the rest of the Fellowship, and fastened with a Lorien leaf, which she fingered idly.
Lost in thought, she didn't notice that Aragorn had fallen into step beside her until
the man spoke. "it's hard for you, isn't it? Leaving your home... leaving him."
She looked up suddenly, and then after a time nodded slowly. "It grieves me to see
one so ancient and wise suffering, and know that I am the cause." She paused. "But my place is with the
Fellowship. For if I do not go with Boromir... with the Ringbearer... I do not simply revoke my
oath... I'd lose my heart. This Fellowship is, and has always been my destiny. I know that in
my heart, though I can't say how. So just as love calls me to stay... it also binds me to this task."
Aragorn made a small noise of assent, idly fingering the Evenstar about his neck.
Valkyrie gave him a small smile. "That is the jewel of the princess Arwen, is it not?" The ranger
looked a bit startled, but replied none the less. "Yes... it was a gift...." Her smile grew and saddened.
"It's hard to love one from another world... when you know that you both belong in another place.
But we must never give up hope."
Aragorn looked down at the petite teen with a soft smile. "I do believe we have just
reached an understanding, m'lady."
************************
The boats began thier smoother but swift coarse down the river and out of the silvery
wood of Lothlorien. As much as she felt that she may have been leaving behind a home, and a family,
she also took comfort in being at the side of her lover, all thoughts of her dream put far from
her mind.
They had been provided with three boats; The first held Legolas and Gimli, and the
second Frodo, Sam, and Aragorn. In the third were Bormir, Merry, and Pippin in Valkyrie's lap.
The two halflings in Valkyrie's boat talked quietly amongst themselves, of things that
she paid no attention to as she watching the beauty of the river and forrests go swiftly by, lost
in thought.
Suddenly Pippin gave a tug on her sleeve. "Val?" The quarter elf looked down at him
with a half dazed expression. "Hmn?" Pippin looked back at Merry, then up at her again. "Can you sing?"
At first this puzzled her, but then she remebered that they *were* hobbits after all. 'You can take
the hobbit out of the shire...' she thought to herself.
"Just a little. I haven't sung in quite a while." Pippin's face lit up. "Do ya think maybe...
could ya sing us a bit of somethin?" Valkyrie was a bit nonplussed for a moment, then smiled.
"I know a bit of a ballad about the Grey Ships that sail for Valinor." Legolas and Aragorn
both looked up and exchanged a glance, but said nothing. Then Boromir spoke softly from behind her.
"Let us hear it then."
Taking a breath, she began.
"Hope fades, into the world of night.
Through shadows falling,
Out of memory and time.
Don't say, we have come now to the end.
White shores are calling,
You and I will meet again.
And you'll be hear in my arms,
Just sleeping.
What can you see,
On the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea,
A pale moon rises
The ships have come, to carry you home.
And all will turn,
To silver glass.
A light on the water,
All souls pass,
Into the West..."
There was a pause in which no one said anything, and Valkyrie, blushing, finnaly said
quietly, "That's all I remembered." But the hobbits clapped appreciativly, and Boromir planted a soft kiss
on the back of her neck while Legolas spoke.
"Tis a truly beautifull song, and your voice does it great justice." Valkyrie was about
to thank him when his head snapped up as if he had heard or seen something, and Aragorn's face took
on a worried expression as well. The air seemed to grow tense, and try as she might, Valkyrie could not ignore
the feeling of dread that now hung over them like a veil.
(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())(())
A/N: DUM DUM DUM!!! One more chapter to go! Aren't you just shaking with anticipation?!
Now you may ask: "Why did you put 'Into the West' in this fic? For two reasons: 1) I like the song,
and 2) I wanted to give Valkyrie some elements of myself, and one of the things which both I
and my 3 beta readers thought was a good idea, was to have her sing, seeing as one of my more
prominent qualities is my vocal ability, and my love of music. This I felt was something interesting that
I might be able to build on later, so I decided to put it in the river sequence.
I hope you all are enjoying outcast, it's been a blast to write, though a warning from
myself and my betas to you: You'll need several boxes of keelnex from the next chapter on out,
because it's going to be and Angst-fest!
Review please, and I'll see you again soon!
Marching Angel