AN – Wow, I have nearly one hundred reviews, I am so excited! I've only
had this many reviews for one other story before, and that total is so far
116, so lets see if we can smash that record!
The next day and the next and the day after that, the company travelled in relative silence, speaking to each other only when it was entirely necessary. The forests of Mirkwood loomed on their right, and far in the distance they could see the mountains of that same fair country. Legolas felt a deep longing for home that he had never felt before, and longed to be on the other side of the river, running through the trees and swimming in the streams.
As the sun began setting Gandalf stopped suddenly, Shadowfax stiffening as he felt his master flinch. Gandalf looked around, he had caught a foul smell on the air that had made him halt. The others stopped and looked at him curiously.
"Why do you stop Gandalf?" Gimli asked.
"I..." Gandalf searched the air for any further smell, but the wind was still and the only aroma that reached him was that of the daisies that carpeted them underfoot. "We shall rest here." He said finally.
They began to set up camp. They were about a hundred metres or so from the banks of the Anduin. Here the ground was not so wet or damp to the touch, as they were far enough from the racing waters of the great river.
The sun was already setting and they had travelled well that day. They had already passed through the Gladden Fields, they had travelled so swiftly on their horses, a gift of Rohan.
"Tomorrow we shall reach the road in late evening." Legolas said, looking out in the distance. "I see it from here, quiet and untouched by others. We shall cross the bridge and stay for a night at Rhosgobel, then I shall lead you through the forests I grew up in as a child." He sighed at the memory. "And we shall pass into the kingdom of Thranduil, between the Lonely Mountain and the forest. Home." He whispered to no one.
By the time they had a fire going and were cooking their food the sun had already set and night had set in, the nights of spring were still coming on earlier than they expected.
"I feel so dirty." Frodo complained. "Can we not go and bathe in the shallows of the Anduin? The fire would warm us afterwards, and the food would be even more warming."
"Someone must stay by the fire and watch over the food if we do go down." Gandalf said. "For I too feel in need of the waters."
"I shall stay." Anánia said. "You should all go and bathe. You wouldn't want a woman with you anyway, and Elda.....the baby is too young to go so near the water with0out catching a chill." She said, laying him on her bedroll while she stirred the stew they had made.
"Very well." Gandalf said, and with that the others turned away from the campfire. The hobbits raced down to the water's edge. The dwarf, elf, wizard and man followed more sedately. At the waters edge they laid their swords and weapons against a rock and stripped off, removing their shirts and shoes and washing their aching arms and shoulders with the cool water, standing knee deep in the water. (AN – wouldn't you so love to see that! Mega eye candy! Apart from Ian McKellan!)
Merry squealed as Pippin splashed him. Soon the hobbits were embroiled in a fierce water fight, with the others watching and laughing. From the campfire Anánia's keen elven eyes could pick out shadows as they moved in the darkness, but little more. She smiled when she heard Merry squeal loudly, and the laughter that reached her ears could not fail to make her smile.
Suddenly she stiffened, something moved behind her. "Gandalf?" She asked, wondering if the wizard had returned from the river side. She heard Eldarion snuffle and then begin to cry. Turning around she was faced with a sight that drew any colour from her face.
By her bedroll stood three huge orcs, grimacing at her. One was stooping over and picking up Eldarion.
"Fresh meat!" He snarled, licking his lips.
Anánia screamed in terror. The orcs looked at her coldly, and two drew their swords. Out of the darkness stepped five or six smaller orcs, with spears.
From the river bank, the others heard her scream. They looked over to see many shadows around the fire.
"Orcs!" Gandalf cried, rousing them into action. He flung on his robe and picked up his staff. "Quickly!"
The others crashed out of the water, grabbing their weapons. Gandalf raced across the grass, with Aragorn hot on his heels. The hobbits stumbled as they picked up their weapons, Frodo wondering why any of them had failed to notice that Sting was glowing a cold blue.
One of the orcs was advancing on Anánia. She screamed and backed away, unarmed and unprotected. A whistling rose through the air and one of Legolas's arrows pierced the throat of the orc. It groaned and fell. The orc roughly holding Eldarion began backing away from the firelight with its prize.
Just as Gandalf, Aragorn and Legolas arrived, swords and knives unsheathed, Anánia ran at the orc holding the baby. She grabbed at Eldarion and tried to pull him out of the orcs grip. The orc looked at her in surprise, and lifted her off her feet. She had underestimated how strong an orc could be. Now she struggled in his grasp, not letting go of Eldarion. Writhing and kicking her foot made contact with the orcs body. The orc groaned and in one fit of anger, threw her and Eldarion twenty feet. She crashed to the floor, still holding Eldarion and breaking his fall with her own body. She skidded another few feet along the ground before coming to rest on her back, Eldarion clutched to her chest.
Meanwhile, Gimli's blade had slain one of the smaller orcs. Two lay on the ground, pierced by arrows. Two more had fallen by Andúril, AND sting had taken its victims too. The remaining few orcs saw that they were outclassed and outnumbered and fled. The raced towards the looming mountains, but not without taking hits from Legolas's arrows.
"Orcs? Abroad now?" Gimli asked, cleaning blood from his blade.
Gandalf nodded. He looked about for Anánia and saw her lying on the ground. He strode over, Legolas, Frodo and Aragorn following. Anánia still lay on the spot she had fallen. Fearing the worst, Gandalf approached and knelt beside her. He lay a hand on her shoulder and was relieved to feel her flinch under his grasp.
'It is I, Mithrandir.' He said soothingly in elven. 'The orcs have gone.'
She sat up slowly, winching as she did so. Eldarion snuffled and wailed in her arms. Her back hurt her and her left arm, upon which she had fallen heavily, ached when she moved it. She was crying from the shock and terror she had faced. Gandalf, in a rare but fatherly manner, put his arm around her and helped her to sit up.
"You are safe." He said. "And it would appear that Eldarion is unharmed."
Anánia now shed tears of relief. She tried to rock the crying babe, but her body resisted and hurt too much. She leaned against Gandalf for support.
"Let me take him." Frodo said, gently taking Eldarion from Anánia before she could protest. He walked away towards the firelight, hoping that with the help of the other hobbits he could calm and quieten the baby.
"Is he really alright?" Anánia asked Gandalf desperately.
"I am not worried about him." He said. "Can you stand?"
Anánia nodded and stood up gingerly. She tried to take a step but her legs were shaking and began to give way under her. She felt strong arms support her and lift her off her feet. She looked up to the face, expecting to see perhaps Legolas holding her. But now she looked up into the face of Aragorn, and noticed that he looked concerned.
"Run to the campfire and ready some athelas." He instructed Legolas, who looked on with apprehension. Legolas nodded and ran towards the fire. Gandalf walked next to Aragorn, who walked slowly and carried Anánia gently.
He put her down on her bedroll, and she was relieved to see that Eldarion seemed to be peacefully sleeping in Sam's arms.
The pot of stew was taken off the fire and Legolas and the other hobbits returned from the river with the rest of their clothes and a smaller pot filled with water. Gandalf stood over the campfire, watching the water boil, whilst Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli picked up the bodies of the fallen orcs and threw them into the Anduin.
"I regret to soil its waters, but we should fall prey to all types of predators if we allowed blood to linger around our camp." Legolas sighed.
When they returned Gandalf was administering the athelas to Anánia's back and left arm. She winced but then seemed to relax a bit more, although she was still pale. Sam went and sat next to her so that she could watch Eldarion, who indeed seemed none the worse for wear.
"Eat." Legolas ordered, placing a bowl of hot stew in front of her. He stood over her for a moment, his face clouded with an unreadable emotion, before returning to his place next to Gimli.
"What were orcs doing here Gandalf?" Frodo asked. "I thought we hunted them all down and destroyed them?"
"I feared that some were overlooked." Gandalf replied, sucking on his pipe in thought. "I don't know why they attacked us."
"They said something about fresh meat." Anánia said. "I think they were going to...to eat Eldarion."
"Not just Eldarion." Gandalf replied darkly. "I can think of no sweeter meat for them than a tiny baby and a young elf maiden. No doubt they attacked because they wanted food. Maybe they didn't see us down by the river, or thought they would attack whilst we were preoccupied."
"Do you think they are still around?" Sam asked.
"Perhaps, but I doubt that they will attack again, unless there are many more out there, which again is unlikely. The orcs fled after the fall of Sauron, they would have travelled either far north, in which case the elves of Rivendell and Mirkwood would have tracked them down. If they travelled south they would have come across the southerners, who are their enemies as much as we are. They could only have travelled east and would be far away by now." Gandalf mused. "Those were possibly some stragglers, who were injured after the battle and sort refuge in the mountains, maybe they are from Moria. Who can tell?"
"I shall inform my father of this." Legolas said. "He will send out soldiers to track them down and defeat them."
"Even so, we should have someone on watch all the time tonight." Gimli said. "I shall take first watch."
Anánia turned over and tried to sleep. Sam placed Eldarion next to her, but made her promise that if he cried in the night she would allow someone else to tend to him. It was difficult for her to sleep though, whatever position she tried her back and arm ached. Eventually she drifted into a fitful sleep, plagued by nightmares.
She dreamt that the orcs were closing in around her. She was trapped! She could hear Eldarion crying far away, but could not reach him.
She awoke, realising that she could actually hear Eldarion crying. She turned over slowly, her back stiff and very painful. She saw someone kneeling next to her, rocking Eldarion. She had to blink and look again when she saw who held the baby. It was Aragorn!
AN – Oh, tension, what is Aragorn gonna do??? (I actually thought of having him kill Eldarion but first of all that wouldn't work in the story and second I would get so many flames that it wasn't worth it!) Anyway, read and review please, lets get to the one hundred reviews stage!
Response to reviewers
Terreis – I loved the mental image of Legolas holding the baby too, but I thought the image of Gimli holding it was funnier. It would be so sweet to see! I wanna make a film of this story now! That would be wicked, especially if I got to meet Orlando Bloom and Ian McKellan and everybody in the film! (faints)
Laekai – Don't worry, I had to think for ages about how to kill Arwen before I remembered she had given up her immortality! I was considering her being killed in battle but then I was like, what battle???
Ciel Undomiel – 3 reviews at once, you are keen! Oh well, it helps me to get 100 reviews! My hint was more to do with a change in Aragorn, Arwen's possible return will happen a lot later, there is a lot more action to happen first and I have one more character to introduce, but I won't say too much on that now!
Cerridwen – Lot of people seemed to like the whole holding the baby image. Legolas holding a baby...so tender...with those big eyes...swoon! Yeah, anyway, thanks for your review, and you have a cool nickname, unlike me, I have several given by my friends that I don't want to repeat here. Lol!
Alasse – Thank you, I'm glad you are enjoying this story.
Ringmarciel – I hope I don't mess up the description too much too, but knowing my I'll make Mirkwood sound totally different to how Tolkien described it! Like in my first fanfiction about LOTR, which I removed because it was so rubbish, I got about a hundred facts wrong! Oh well.
Gionareth – Leggy and Anánia may have a love thing going on...they may not. I won't be too cryptic now but lets just say something does and doesn't happen! All will be explained in about chapter 25, lol. Actually I wish I was joking, this is how long this story is gonna end up!
Symian – I always get those words confused, thanks for the correction. And thank you for your review, I don't think you have reviewed before so thank you!
Queen Arwen – sorry this update is kinda late. I went away on holiday and then was ill so have not updated for a while. I'll try to start getting chapters out every three to four days now, if possible.
Luthien Eowyn – Yeah, I do make spelling errors sometimes, normally if I find any major ones I'll replace a chapter with an error free one, but most of the time I can't be bothered. Glad you like the story!
The True Evenstar – I could give sooooooo many hints about this story, and I think I have in some of my responses here. But anyway, you will find out the truths soon enough! The next chapter is an emotional one, trust me!
Shady Lane – Arwen may come back, sooner or later, and Legolas may or may not get with the nanny. You will find out soon enough!
Leggy/Orlando's Queen – Hmmm, I sense you are also an Orlando Bloom fan. You can make a suggestion if you wish, but I can't guarantee I will use it. Thanks for the review. You are reviewer 99!
The next day and the next and the day after that, the company travelled in relative silence, speaking to each other only when it was entirely necessary. The forests of Mirkwood loomed on their right, and far in the distance they could see the mountains of that same fair country. Legolas felt a deep longing for home that he had never felt before, and longed to be on the other side of the river, running through the trees and swimming in the streams.
As the sun began setting Gandalf stopped suddenly, Shadowfax stiffening as he felt his master flinch. Gandalf looked around, he had caught a foul smell on the air that had made him halt. The others stopped and looked at him curiously.
"Why do you stop Gandalf?" Gimli asked.
"I..." Gandalf searched the air for any further smell, but the wind was still and the only aroma that reached him was that of the daisies that carpeted them underfoot. "We shall rest here." He said finally.
They began to set up camp. They were about a hundred metres or so from the banks of the Anduin. Here the ground was not so wet or damp to the touch, as they were far enough from the racing waters of the great river.
The sun was already setting and they had travelled well that day. They had already passed through the Gladden Fields, they had travelled so swiftly on their horses, a gift of Rohan.
"Tomorrow we shall reach the road in late evening." Legolas said, looking out in the distance. "I see it from here, quiet and untouched by others. We shall cross the bridge and stay for a night at Rhosgobel, then I shall lead you through the forests I grew up in as a child." He sighed at the memory. "And we shall pass into the kingdom of Thranduil, between the Lonely Mountain and the forest. Home." He whispered to no one.
By the time they had a fire going and were cooking their food the sun had already set and night had set in, the nights of spring were still coming on earlier than they expected.
"I feel so dirty." Frodo complained. "Can we not go and bathe in the shallows of the Anduin? The fire would warm us afterwards, and the food would be even more warming."
"Someone must stay by the fire and watch over the food if we do go down." Gandalf said. "For I too feel in need of the waters."
"I shall stay." Anánia said. "You should all go and bathe. You wouldn't want a woman with you anyway, and Elda.....the baby is too young to go so near the water with0out catching a chill." She said, laying him on her bedroll while she stirred the stew they had made.
"Very well." Gandalf said, and with that the others turned away from the campfire. The hobbits raced down to the water's edge. The dwarf, elf, wizard and man followed more sedately. At the waters edge they laid their swords and weapons against a rock and stripped off, removing their shirts and shoes and washing their aching arms and shoulders with the cool water, standing knee deep in the water. (AN – wouldn't you so love to see that! Mega eye candy! Apart from Ian McKellan!)
Merry squealed as Pippin splashed him. Soon the hobbits were embroiled in a fierce water fight, with the others watching and laughing. From the campfire Anánia's keen elven eyes could pick out shadows as they moved in the darkness, but little more. She smiled when she heard Merry squeal loudly, and the laughter that reached her ears could not fail to make her smile.
Suddenly she stiffened, something moved behind her. "Gandalf?" She asked, wondering if the wizard had returned from the river side. She heard Eldarion snuffle and then begin to cry. Turning around she was faced with a sight that drew any colour from her face.
By her bedroll stood three huge orcs, grimacing at her. One was stooping over and picking up Eldarion.
"Fresh meat!" He snarled, licking his lips.
Anánia screamed in terror. The orcs looked at her coldly, and two drew their swords. Out of the darkness stepped five or six smaller orcs, with spears.
From the river bank, the others heard her scream. They looked over to see many shadows around the fire.
"Orcs!" Gandalf cried, rousing them into action. He flung on his robe and picked up his staff. "Quickly!"
The others crashed out of the water, grabbing their weapons. Gandalf raced across the grass, with Aragorn hot on his heels. The hobbits stumbled as they picked up their weapons, Frodo wondering why any of them had failed to notice that Sting was glowing a cold blue.
One of the orcs was advancing on Anánia. She screamed and backed away, unarmed and unprotected. A whistling rose through the air and one of Legolas's arrows pierced the throat of the orc. It groaned and fell. The orc roughly holding Eldarion began backing away from the firelight with its prize.
Just as Gandalf, Aragorn and Legolas arrived, swords and knives unsheathed, Anánia ran at the orc holding the baby. She grabbed at Eldarion and tried to pull him out of the orcs grip. The orc looked at her in surprise, and lifted her off her feet. She had underestimated how strong an orc could be. Now she struggled in his grasp, not letting go of Eldarion. Writhing and kicking her foot made contact with the orcs body. The orc groaned and in one fit of anger, threw her and Eldarion twenty feet. She crashed to the floor, still holding Eldarion and breaking his fall with her own body. She skidded another few feet along the ground before coming to rest on her back, Eldarion clutched to her chest.
Meanwhile, Gimli's blade had slain one of the smaller orcs. Two lay on the ground, pierced by arrows. Two more had fallen by Andúril, AND sting had taken its victims too. The remaining few orcs saw that they were outclassed and outnumbered and fled. The raced towards the looming mountains, but not without taking hits from Legolas's arrows.
"Orcs? Abroad now?" Gimli asked, cleaning blood from his blade.
Gandalf nodded. He looked about for Anánia and saw her lying on the ground. He strode over, Legolas, Frodo and Aragorn following. Anánia still lay on the spot she had fallen. Fearing the worst, Gandalf approached and knelt beside her. He lay a hand on her shoulder and was relieved to feel her flinch under his grasp.
'It is I, Mithrandir.' He said soothingly in elven. 'The orcs have gone.'
She sat up slowly, winching as she did so. Eldarion snuffled and wailed in her arms. Her back hurt her and her left arm, upon which she had fallen heavily, ached when she moved it. She was crying from the shock and terror she had faced. Gandalf, in a rare but fatherly manner, put his arm around her and helped her to sit up.
"You are safe." He said. "And it would appear that Eldarion is unharmed."
Anánia now shed tears of relief. She tried to rock the crying babe, but her body resisted and hurt too much. She leaned against Gandalf for support.
"Let me take him." Frodo said, gently taking Eldarion from Anánia before she could protest. He walked away towards the firelight, hoping that with the help of the other hobbits he could calm and quieten the baby.
"Is he really alright?" Anánia asked Gandalf desperately.
"I am not worried about him." He said. "Can you stand?"
Anánia nodded and stood up gingerly. She tried to take a step but her legs were shaking and began to give way under her. She felt strong arms support her and lift her off her feet. She looked up to the face, expecting to see perhaps Legolas holding her. But now she looked up into the face of Aragorn, and noticed that he looked concerned.
"Run to the campfire and ready some athelas." He instructed Legolas, who looked on with apprehension. Legolas nodded and ran towards the fire. Gandalf walked next to Aragorn, who walked slowly and carried Anánia gently.
He put her down on her bedroll, and she was relieved to see that Eldarion seemed to be peacefully sleeping in Sam's arms.
The pot of stew was taken off the fire and Legolas and the other hobbits returned from the river with the rest of their clothes and a smaller pot filled with water. Gandalf stood over the campfire, watching the water boil, whilst Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli picked up the bodies of the fallen orcs and threw them into the Anduin.
"I regret to soil its waters, but we should fall prey to all types of predators if we allowed blood to linger around our camp." Legolas sighed.
When they returned Gandalf was administering the athelas to Anánia's back and left arm. She winced but then seemed to relax a bit more, although she was still pale. Sam went and sat next to her so that she could watch Eldarion, who indeed seemed none the worse for wear.
"Eat." Legolas ordered, placing a bowl of hot stew in front of her. He stood over her for a moment, his face clouded with an unreadable emotion, before returning to his place next to Gimli.
"What were orcs doing here Gandalf?" Frodo asked. "I thought we hunted them all down and destroyed them?"
"I feared that some were overlooked." Gandalf replied, sucking on his pipe in thought. "I don't know why they attacked us."
"They said something about fresh meat." Anánia said. "I think they were going to...to eat Eldarion."
"Not just Eldarion." Gandalf replied darkly. "I can think of no sweeter meat for them than a tiny baby and a young elf maiden. No doubt they attacked because they wanted food. Maybe they didn't see us down by the river, or thought they would attack whilst we were preoccupied."
"Do you think they are still around?" Sam asked.
"Perhaps, but I doubt that they will attack again, unless there are many more out there, which again is unlikely. The orcs fled after the fall of Sauron, they would have travelled either far north, in which case the elves of Rivendell and Mirkwood would have tracked them down. If they travelled south they would have come across the southerners, who are their enemies as much as we are. They could only have travelled east and would be far away by now." Gandalf mused. "Those were possibly some stragglers, who were injured after the battle and sort refuge in the mountains, maybe they are from Moria. Who can tell?"
"I shall inform my father of this." Legolas said. "He will send out soldiers to track them down and defeat them."
"Even so, we should have someone on watch all the time tonight." Gimli said. "I shall take first watch."
Anánia turned over and tried to sleep. Sam placed Eldarion next to her, but made her promise that if he cried in the night she would allow someone else to tend to him. It was difficult for her to sleep though, whatever position she tried her back and arm ached. Eventually she drifted into a fitful sleep, plagued by nightmares.
She dreamt that the orcs were closing in around her. She was trapped! She could hear Eldarion crying far away, but could not reach him.
She awoke, realising that she could actually hear Eldarion crying. She turned over slowly, her back stiff and very painful. She saw someone kneeling next to her, rocking Eldarion. She had to blink and look again when she saw who held the baby. It was Aragorn!
AN – Oh, tension, what is Aragorn gonna do??? (I actually thought of having him kill Eldarion but first of all that wouldn't work in the story and second I would get so many flames that it wasn't worth it!) Anyway, read and review please, lets get to the one hundred reviews stage!
Response to reviewers
Terreis – I loved the mental image of Legolas holding the baby too, but I thought the image of Gimli holding it was funnier. It would be so sweet to see! I wanna make a film of this story now! That would be wicked, especially if I got to meet Orlando Bloom and Ian McKellan and everybody in the film! (faints)
Laekai – Don't worry, I had to think for ages about how to kill Arwen before I remembered she had given up her immortality! I was considering her being killed in battle but then I was like, what battle???
Ciel Undomiel – 3 reviews at once, you are keen! Oh well, it helps me to get 100 reviews! My hint was more to do with a change in Aragorn, Arwen's possible return will happen a lot later, there is a lot more action to happen first and I have one more character to introduce, but I won't say too much on that now!
Cerridwen – Lot of people seemed to like the whole holding the baby image. Legolas holding a baby...so tender...with those big eyes...swoon! Yeah, anyway, thanks for your review, and you have a cool nickname, unlike me, I have several given by my friends that I don't want to repeat here. Lol!
Alasse – Thank you, I'm glad you are enjoying this story.
Ringmarciel – I hope I don't mess up the description too much too, but knowing my I'll make Mirkwood sound totally different to how Tolkien described it! Like in my first fanfiction about LOTR, which I removed because it was so rubbish, I got about a hundred facts wrong! Oh well.
Gionareth – Leggy and Anánia may have a love thing going on...they may not. I won't be too cryptic now but lets just say something does and doesn't happen! All will be explained in about chapter 25, lol. Actually I wish I was joking, this is how long this story is gonna end up!
Symian – I always get those words confused, thanks for the correction. And thank you for your review, I don't think you have reviewed before so thank you!
Queen Arwen – sorry this update is kinda late. I went away on holiday and then was ill so have not updated for a while. I'll try to start getting chapters out every three to four days now, if possible.
Luthien Eowyn – Yeah, I do make spelling errors sometimes, normally if I find any major ones I'll replace a chapter with an error free one, but most of the time I can't be bothered. Glad you like the story!
The True Evenstar – I could give sooooooo many hints about this story, and I think I have in some of my responses here. But anyway, you will find out the truths soon enough! The next chapter is an emotional one, trust me!
Shady Lane – Arwen may come back, sooner or later, and Legolas may or may not get with the nanny. You will find out soon enough!
Leggy/Orlando's Queen – Hmmm, I sense you are also an Orlando Bloom fan. You can make a suggestion if you wish, but I can't guarantee I will use it. Thanks for the review. You are reviewer 99!