Disclaimer: I don't own LotR or any affiliated merchandise. ::Wink:: (Yet!
;))
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 9: Wanted: One disguised king and three hobbits *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Calime rode west for a day, hoping she was going in the right direction. She was trying to ride as fast as she could without potentially missing them. Strider was a ranger, not the type to stay in one place when danger was lurking. No doubt he would start walking toward Rivendell instead of waiting for the horses to come.
Calime had been cantering for several hours when the horses began to tire. She slowed them to a trot, then a walk, and, spotting a stream in the distance, turned them that way. She hopped down as the horses began to drink and knelt by the river, scooping the cold water to her lips. The icy coolness soothed her parched body.
Mir had finished drinking and was cropping some grass a ways away. Calime checked her leg; it was cool, with no sign of the sprain.
"That's my sweetie-girl, Mirime, isn't it?" She walked back to the river, checking Otona and Niliqueye's legs. They were cool, too. She stooped to get more water, but her hand hit something metal under the water. She lifted out a piece of black metal with a torn scrap of black cloth attached.
"Black riders," she breathed, barely more than a whisper. She backed away from the river and whistled. The horses lifted their heads and trotted over. As they neared, her ears caught a sound not far away. Turning, she saw a band of about 10 orcs emerge from the forest. Her hand flew to her waist, but her sword wasn't there. Frantically looking around, she saw it, with her quiver and bow, attached to Niliqueye's saddle, where she had tied them. At the time, she had thought that she would be able to reach them in an emergency, but the horses had heard the orcs, too, and had fled. Calime only had the knives Legolas had given her, and she didn't intend to get close enough to those orcs to use them.
I'm stranded! Those orcs are about to see me, and I have no weapon. How stupid are you going to get, girl? She mentally screamed at herself. Don't you ever listen to anything people tell you?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Heeheehee, shall I leave it there, or shall I continue? Hmm, I do like cliffhangers, but this is an awfully short chapter. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Okay, you win. Here's the end. Y'all better love me for this!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Calime thought quickly. 'Can I throw the knives? No, I can't throw to save my life. Oh, MY GOD! This is for my life.' Looking around, the only things she saw were rocks. 'Should I? That's a stupid question. What choice do I have?' She ducked behind the biggest rock and began gathering smaller rocks in her arms. The rock she hid behind wasn't big enough to hide her completely, and an orc quickly spotted her. He turned to his companions, and Calime took aim...
---------------------~~*~~*~~Flashback~~*~~*~~-----------------------------
"Come on, Sun. It's not as hard as you make it seem. You can throw those balls in Rhythmic gymnastics, so why is this any different?" Evan encouraged her. Alex shot him a look that said 'Not helping, Ev.' He turned to his seven-year-old sister and placed the ball back in her hand.
"See, you just pull your arm back and let go, here," he encouraged. "It's not so hard."
"Maybe not for you, but it is for me. Just like everyone else can read, everyone else can throw. Maybe I'm just different."
"If you really try, you can," Evan said.
"I am trying!"
-------------------~~*~~*~~End flashback~~*~~*~~---------------------------
She aimed and... missed by a foot. She was discouraged, but she thought, 'you are not going to die. Maybe Sunni couldn't throw, but you aren't Sunni
anymore. You are Calime, and you can do this, because if you don't, you are
going to die.' Renewed, she threw again, and hit the orc in the head, nearly
taking off his ear. He yelled, and his fellow travelers turned to him.
Seeing him holding his head, they turned, almost as one body, to where she
hid. She took aim again, this time for the river. The rock hit the water
and made a splash, sending ripples flowing out around it. The orcs turned
that way, and, seizing the opportunity, Calime ran for the forest. She
ducked between trees as they realized that she had left. She heard the
crashing of tree limbs and what she would have sworn was orc swearing,
catching up to her. Seeing no other option, she put her fingers between her
lips and whistled as loudly as she could. For a moment, she heard nothing
but the pounding of her heart and the orcs trailing not far behind. She whistled
again, and this time she felt her heart rise. Mirime cantered between the
trees, heading for her. Running a bit faster toward her horse, she jumped
from a fell tree and onto the saddle. She grabbed a handful of mane and the
horse turned and fled at a gallop that would put a racehorse to shame.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Yay, another chapter done! YAY YAY! Whoa, gotta lay off the coffee beans. ;)
I THINK I finally figured out the spacing on this thing! YAY! Please review!!
Red Queen4: Thanks for reading, reviewing and apologizing, especially since I wasn't very nice. I hope you keep reading!!
Feanen: Thanks for the review! I hope you keep reading and reviewing!
Ariaste: I love the word 'onward'! It just works well in this story! Indeedy is a cool word, too. Thanks for your review!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 9: Wanted: One disguised king and three hobbits *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Calime rode west for a day, hoping she was going in the right direction. She was trying to ride as fast as she could without potentially missing them. Strider was a ranger, not the type to stay in one place when danger was lurking. No doubt he would start walking toward Rivendell instead of waiting for the horses to come.
Calime had been cantering for several hours when the horses began to tire. She slowed them to a trot, then a walk, and, spotting a stream in the distance, turned them that way. She hopped down as the horses began to drink and knelt by the river, scooping the cold water to her lips. The icy coolness soothed her parched body.
Mir had finished drinking and was cropping some grass a ways away. Calime checked her leg; it was cool, with no sign of the sprain.
"That's my sweetie-girl, Mirime, isn't it?" She walked back to the river, checking Otona and Niliqueye's legs. They were cool, too. She stooped to get more water, but her hand hit something metal under the water. She lifted out a piece of black metal with a torn scrap of black cloth attached.
"Black riders," she breathed, barely more than a whisper. She backed away from the river and whistled. The horses lifted their heads and trotted over. As they neared, her ears caught a sound not far away. Turning, she saw a band of about 10 orcs emerge from the forest. Her hand flew to her waist, but her sword wasn't there. Frantically looking around, she saw it, with her quiver and bow, attached to Niliqueye's saddle, where she had tied them. At the time, she had thought that she would be able to reach them in an emergency, but the horses had heard the orcs, too, and had fled. Calime only had the knives Legolas had given her, and she didn't intend to get close enough to those orcs to use them.
I'm stranded! Those orcs are about to see me, and I have no weapon. How stupid are you going to get, girl? She mentally screamed at herself. Don't you ever listen to anything people tell you?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Heeheehee, shall I leave it there, or shall I continue? Hmm, I do like cliffhangers, but this is an awfully short chapter. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Okay, you win. Here's the end. Y'all better love me for this!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Calime thought quickly. 'Can I throw the knives? No, I can't throw to save my life. Oh, MY GOD! This is for my life.' Looking around, the only things she saw were rocks. 'Should I? That's a stupid question. What choice do I have?' She ducked behind the biggest rock and began gathering smaller rocks in her arms. The rock she hid behind wasn't big enough to hide her completely, and an orc quickly spotted her. He turned to his companions, and Calime took aim...
---------------------~~*~~*~~Flashback~~*~~*~~-----------------------------
"Come on, Sun. It's not as hard as you make it seem. You can throw those balls in Rhythmic gymnastics, so why is this any different?" Evan encouraged her. Alex shot him a look that said 'Not helping, Ev.' He turned to his seven-year-old sister and placed the ball back in her hand.
"See, you just pull your arm back and let go, here," he encouraged. "It's not so hard."
"Maybe not for you, but it is for me. Just like everyone else can read, everyone else can throw. Maybe I'm just different."
"If you really try, you can," Evan said.
"I am trying!"
-------------------~~*~~*~~End flashback~~*~~*~~---------------------------
She aimed and... missed by a foot. She was discouraged, but she thought, 'you are not going to die. Maybe Sunni couldn't throw, but you aren't Sunni
anymore. You are Calime, and you can do this, because if you don't, you are
going to die.' Renewed, she threw again, and hit the orc in the head, nearly
taking off his ear. He yelled, and his fellow travelers turned to him.
Seeing him holding his head, they turned, almost as one body, to where she
hid. She took aim again, this time for the river. The rock hit the water
and made a splash, sending ripples flowing out around it. The orcs turned
that way, and, seizing the opportunity, Calime ran for the forest. She
ducked between trees as they realized that she had left. She heard the
crashing of tree limbs and what she would have sworn was orc swearing,
catching up to her. Seeing no other option, she put her fingers between her
lips and whistled as loudly as she could. For a moment, she heard nothing
but the pounding of her heart and the orcs trailing not far behind. She whistled
again, and this time she felt her heart rise. Mirime cantered between the
trees, heading for her. Running a bit faster toward her horse, she jumped
from a fell tree and onto the saddle. She grabbed a handful of mane and the
horse turned and fled at a gallop that would put a racehorse to shame.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Yay, another chapter done! YAY YAY! Whoa, gotta lay off the coffee beans. ;)
I THINK I finally figured out the spacing on this thing! YAY! Please review!!
Red Queen4: Thanks for reading, reviewing and apologizing, especially since I wasn't very nice. I hope you keep reading!!
Feanen: Thanks for the review! I hope you keep reading and reviewing!
Ariaste: I love the word 'onward'! It just works well in this story! Indeedy is a cool word, too. Thanks for your review!