Note:
Anything in the inverted commas '' is a character's thoughts.
Thanks to the Reviewers:
My old reviewers! You guys are my faithful readers!! I love it when ppl come back for more. . .
Actress-Anales-4: Thanx again for the review. Like I said, having Boromir fall for Kendall would be pretty difficult, and would make my decision on whether he should die or not nothing short of self-destructive. And besides, having just one of the Charmed Ones fall in love with a guy who lived thousands of years in the past is enough of a temptation of fate. But I'm glad you care enough about my story to give me suggestions. You rock! Oh yeah, and I'm eagerly awaiting your next chapter.
Nikki: hehehe I thought it would be kinda funny to make Boromir sexist. Do you know that you reviewed twice the exact same thing? Oh well. . . maybe you double-clicked the review button or something. But I'm glad you did!
Nikki (and Margaret too): yes, for you guys, here's the fourth chapter. Thanks for being so patient, and I hope you keep reviewing.
Songbreeze1125: yes, I did just add that last chapter on this morning. My story is getting written pretty fast, doncha think? Anyway, I'll do my best to keep the updates quick, but with midyear exams coming up, I can't make promises. Tacky piece of jewelry? Yes, it looks SO not like real gold in the movie. And yes, I still have the hots for Leggy. Who can one possibly get tired of those pointy ears and the pretty blond hair, not to mention how cute he looks shooting the bow & arrow?! looks menacingly at everyone who dares raise their hands
And my new reviewers!!
Salem: thank you for the comment about Angel and thanx for reviewing and voting.
Cindy: glad you enjoyed this. And have no fear, another chapter is coming up soon.
xoulblade: interesting name. And thank you for voting. Legolas you say? Then Legolas it shall be.
roos: thanx for answering my question about whether or not males can be witches. I thought that they might be, but wasn't sure and had no way of finding out. Your answer confirmed what I thought. I'm sorry, but the next chapter won't come out until I get the midterm exams out of the way, which are over next Friday. And what should I do about the Boromir dying thing? I have no clue. One of the other reviewers said that his death is too important to be prevented. Maybe I should have another vote on the topic?
Levalyn: I might have Angel save Boromir from becoming a pincushion and dying. But I dunno. You'll just have to read on to find out. ; )
something301: As for the issue about Boromir's death, I am still not quite sure how I should deal with that, but I just hope everything works out well. You are right about how important his death is, and having Angel save his life would also be pretty risky. I mean, changing the past would be dangerous since they don't have an idea how that would alter fate. But thanx for reviewing, and I hope you come back to read more.
Ch. 4
Stuck on an Insane Mission with a Hot Elf
The Fellowship set out the next morning. Angel was barely awake as she trudged out of the Elven city, oblivious to the curious looks the rest of the company were giving her. She walked behind the Elf Legolas, thinking how she would so much rather be home right now, or even at Central Park High School with all her shrewish teachers.
But no, she was on a mad quest to throw a piece of gold into a volcano. She knew that Kendall, Adrian, and Wyatt would cover up for her, but she had a feeling that it would be more than just one or two days of school she would be missing. Angel imagined herself giving the attendance lady at school her reason for missing so many days.
"See, I went back a couple thousand years in time to prevent a demon from altering what has already happened."
She smiled at the idea. She bet that her mother had never done anything as crazy as this. This whole thing was insane. 'But then again, what can I expect from being a witch?' she thought. 'Not a normal life, that's for sure.'
But on the bright side, she was also in the company of an extremely hot blonde Elf.
Her hand strayed to the scabbard by her arm. It hung from a strap that went over her shoulder.
Before she left, Elrond gave her a weapon for the journey. A long knife, longer than an average dagger, but shorter and lighter than a sword. (A/N: Does anyone know a term for a blade like that?) It was really the only thing that would suit her. The swords were far too heavy for her to even hold properly, not to mention that she couldn't even block the simplest blows. She was better at the bow and arrow, but she didn't have the strength to pull it to its full length. Her aim wasn't too bad though, but after all those years of aiming fireballs at demons and warlocks, what could be expected? Her bad balance ruled out the staff too; a simple blow would make her trip. So she had been left with the knife.
And the switchblade too. Angel still had her switchblade in the front pocket of her hoodie. And she had the feeling that it would come in handy.
They walked the whole morning, stopping only at noon to have a light lunch. Gandalf chose a site partially covered by large white boulders jutting out of the ground. The Fellowship laid their packs down. Sam set about to start a fire and cook some food, while Merry and Pippin practiced sword fighting with the Man of Gondor. Aragorn sat down with a pipe to watch them.
Angel walked over to Sam and watched with an amused smile as he tried to light a fire, with no success. Biting back a laugh, she sat down and asked, "Sam, do you need help with the fire?"
The hobbit struck the flint against the stone again, and heaved a sigh. He looked up at Angel gratefully. "Could you?" he asked, holding out the stones.
The young witch took them and scraped them against each other. A few sparks flew out and landed on the kindling, but they fizzled with a faint hiss and died out. Angel glanced over at Sam, whose attention was now on Merry, Pippin, and Boromir. She looked around to see if anyone was watching. Gandalf was in conversation with the Dwarf and Frodo. The Elf Legolas was standing on one of the boulders, gazing up at the sky with his back to her.
Angel struck the stones together again and quickly held out a fireball in her palm, lighting the kindling before the sparks sizzled out. Then she retreated the flames dancing in her palm and set down the stones. Tapping Sam lightly on the shoulder, she said, "You can cook now."
Sam saw the flaming fire and thanked Angel for her help. The sound of metal clashing against metal reached her ears and she walked over to where Merry and Pippin were sword fighting with Boromir. She looked on with amusement as Pippin suddenly dropped his sword and gripped his hand. Boromir ran over apologizing for what his sword had done, only to get kicked in the legs by the hobbit. Angel laughed softly as the hobbits tackled him to the ground, shouting, "For the Shire!"
Pippin cried, "Hold him! Hold him down, Merry!"
As they wrestled, Legolas leapt up onto a higher post to gaze up at a dark cloud in the sky, shading his eyes with one hand.
Sam caught sight of it and paused from his cooking. "What is that?"
Gimli snorted
dismissively. "Nothing, just a wisp of
cloud."
Boromir pulled up from ground, the smile on his face quickly fading. The hobbits also stopped for a moment to look.
"It's moving fast. . . against the wind."
"Crebain from Dunland!" shouted Legolas suddenly.
For a moment, Angel didn't understand. Then, as the dark cloud drew closer, she realized that it wasn't a cloud at all. . . it was a flock of black birds.
"Hide!" ordered Aragorn, grabbing the packs lying on the ground and shoving them under the rock hangings.
Boromir helped the hobbits go undercover beneath some overhanging rocks. Angel helped Sam stamp the fire out hastily before joining them. Aragorn, Gimli, and Gandalf went into hiding places as soon as the packs were all concealed. Legolas jumped down from the cliff and lay down behind some bushes.
No sooner had they all gone into hiding did the huge flock of birds flew overhead, cawing raucously.
After they were out of sight, the Fellowship emerged from their hiding places. Gandalf straightened up. "Spies of Saruman. The passage south is being watched." The old wizard turned his gaze to the snowy mountain peaks far off in the distance. "We must take the pass of Caradhras."
'It's so damn cold up here,' thought Angel as she trekked through the snow-blanketed ground. The snow was up to her thighs, and she couldn't even feel her legs anymore. The flurry of snowflakes obscured her vision, making it difficult to see. She could barely even make out the form of Legolas in front of her, though she was sure he was only a few feet away. A sudden gust of icy cold wind blasted out of nowhere. She closed her eyes tightly, turning her head away from the direction of the freezing blast. A few seconds passed and slowly, Angel forced her eyes open despite the stinging current of air. She could have sworn that she had heard a voice in the wind. . . Or maybe she was just hearing things.
But apparently she wasn't the only one.
Legolas in front of her stopped. "There is a fell voice on the air."
The chanting continued in a strange language.
"It's Saruman!" cried Gandalf.
"He's trying to bring down the mountain!"
Suddenly a thunderous crack resounded through the air and Angel looked up, barely having enough time to realize what was happening before a mountain of snow buried her and the rest of the Fellowship.
Angel tried to draw breath but instead swallowed a mouthful of powdery snow. She lifted her head up and it broke the surface. Gasping for air, the witch ran an arm over her face to clear off the snow. She stood up and scanned the area for the rest of the Fellowship. Something moved to her left. Angel looked in that direction and saw Legolas shaking off the snow from his head.
Soon, the rest of the Fellowship emerged shivering from the snow.
Boromir yelled something to Gandalf that she didn't hear and suggested that they take the route through the Gap of Rohan.
"The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard," yelled Aragorn over the wind's howls.
The Dwarf Gimli turned to Gandalf. "If we cannot go over the mountain, let us go under it. Let us go through the mines of Moria."
The rest of the Company awaited Gandalf's answer. Slowly, he nodded once. They would take the route through Khazad-dum.
Angel gazed up at the rock cliff. They had left the mountain and were now at its foot. There was a foul pool nearby full of stale water. Gandalf walked over to it, brushing away some old vines and dust. "Ithildin. It mirrors only moonlight and starlight." He looked overhead at the dark sky. Angel followed his gaze and saw a crescent moon shining against the black heavens.
Suddenly silvery lines began to appear on the wall, dim and faint at first, but growing brighter as the seconds passed. The gleaming lines outlined the framework of a door on the rock face. The lines ran across the door, crisscrossing to form two trees and a star between them, along with many other symbols and strange runes running along the top of the curved arch.
Frodo approached the door, his eyes grazing the runes on the arch. "What does the writing say? I thought I knew the elf-letters, but I cannot read these."
"The words are in the elven-tongue of the West of Middle-earth in the Elder Days," said Gandalf. "They say: The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak friend, and enter."
"What do you suppose that means?" asked Pippin.
"It's simple. If you are a friend you speak the password and the doors will open," Gandalf explained. He held his staff against the door, and chanted, "Annon edhellen, edro hi amen! Fennas nogothrim, lasto beth lammen!"
The Fellowship waited in cold silence, but nothing happened.
Gandalf tried again, rearranging the words this time, but still the door remained stubbornly immobile.
Angel lost track of the time as attempt after attempt failed to open the doors of Moria. Gandalf's words melted together into a monotonous drone in her ears. The other members of the Fellowship were wandering around aimlessly. Angel felt her eyes closing. Suddenly there was a loud plop, bringing her back to full wakefulness. She turned and saw Pippin facing the foul lake. He hurled something into the water, which landed with another plop. It sounded deafening in the deathly still atmosphere. His arm swung back to throw another one, but Aragorn caught it and Pippin looked at him.
"Do not disturb the water," Aragorn warned in a low whisper.
As he spoke the waters of the lake began to move, rippling back and forth in slow waves.
Aragorn and Pippin walked away from the pool's edge cautiously.
Frodo walked up to the door. "It's a riddle. 'Speak friend and enter.' What's the elven word for 'friend'?"
"Mellon," replied Gandalf.
As if on cue, the doors split down the middle and creaked open. All Angel could see beyond the doors was black emptiness. She shivered, half wishing that she was back in the freezing cold of Caradhras.
The Fellowship gathered up their belongings and made their way inside. Angel could hear Gimli saying to Legolas, "Soon, Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves. Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone. This is the home of my cousin Balin. And they call it a mine. A mine!"
Gandalf placed a large crystal on the end of his staff. The crystal glowed and light from the staff lit up the inside of Moria. Angel stumbled over something in her path. Pulling up sharply she looked down at the stone floor. She let out a sharp gasp and froze. A skull, white and gleaming in the light of Gandalf's staff, grinned up at her. Angel's gaze swept around the surrounding area. Complete skeletons and stray skulls and bones littered the floor, arrows lodged in them.
Angel's heard Boromir's voice, but it did not register in her frozen mind. "This is no mine. It's a tomb." The Man of Gondor turned to Aragorn. "We make for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here."
Out of the corner of the eye, Angel saw Frodo get yanked off his feet with a strangled cry. Turning, Angel felt shock and horror enter her system. A giant dark green tentacle from the lake had wrapped itself around his ankle, and it was pulling him towards the pool.
"Strider!"
Aragorn and the others turned and saw what was happening. They dashed over, but the creature had dragged Frodo almost to the water's edge.
Angel was closer. She sprinted towards the hobbit, grabbing his arm with one hand. Angel laid her free hand on the slimy limb wrapped around his ankle and tried to wrench it off.
But it wouldn't budge. Finally, she clasped her hand tightly around the tentacle and emitted a fireball against the slimy skin. All that could be seen was a faint red-orange glow around her hand, barely visible in the shadowy night. That seemed to do the trick, and the tentacle released Frodo and retreated back into the murky depths of the lake.
Angel stood up and stared into the gloomy water, unaware of the water lapping at her legs. Frodo raised himself into a sitting position, his breath coming to short gasps.
By now the rest of the Fellowship were approaching the pair. Sam helped Frodo to his feet.
"Are you all right, Mr. Frodo?" he asked.
Frodo nodded, his eyes wide with horror still staring at the inky black water. There was a low rumbling sound, barely audible. Then the surface of the water exploded and dozens of tentacles burst out from the lake, flailing violently around in the air. Three of them shot out towards Frodo, seizing the hobbit again and lifting him up into the sky. The Fellowship sprang into action. Aragorn and Boromir drew their swords and ran into the water, hacking at the limbs. Aragorn swung his sword and cleaved off one of the legs holding Frodo. The nerveless tentacle loosened its hold on the halfling, and Frodo fell through the air. Boromir caught him and ran with Aragorn into the mines, shouting for the others to follow. "Legolas! Into the mines!"
The Elf loosed a final arrow and retreated.
As soon as everyone was in the mines, the tentacles reached out and clawed at the door. The doors of Moria collapsed under the furious strength of the monster, sending chunks of stone tumbling downwards.
Their way out was sealed.
For a few moments, everyone was deathly silent. Angel looked around, but could not see a thing in the pitch black. Finally, she heard Gandalf's voice.
"Now we have no choice but to face the long dark of Moria." A dim light flared from where his voice had come from. The crystal from the tip of Gandalf's staff was glowing. "Stay close. There are older and fouler things than orcs in the dark places of the world."
Kendall rounded the corner and knelt down, ignoring the sharp rocks that were cutting into her knee. She was in the alleyway behind an old abandoned utility store beneath a crescent moon and a star-studded night sky. She peeked out from behind the corner and pulled back sharply when she saw the cloaked figures approaching.
They were a pack of Creeper demons, demons who cloaked themselves in shadows, preying on spirits. Vanquishing the leader would vanquish his entire clan as well. Kendall was waiting for Adrian to come with the vanquishing potion.
Blue and white lights appeared beside her. Without turning, Kendall whispered, "Adrian, do you have it?"
"Yeah," replied her brother as he pressed a small bottle into her hand. "Remember, don't throw unless you are absolutely sure it's the leader."
She looked down at the small vial in her hand. She had one shot. Just one shot to do this right. Kendall stood up and positioned herself before the demons in full view, her hand clamped over the vial so that they would not see it. Adrian was next to her, ready to back her up if necessary.
"How do I know which one is the leader?" she hissed out of the corner of her mouth.
"One of them has to be giving out orders to the others."
But the pack was moving as one. Kendall scanned the pack for a demon that stood out from the rest. But they all looked the same. She felt the first surge of panic, but with an effort, she pushed it away, keeping her head clear. Then she saw it. A hooded demon half a head taller than all the others at the front of the group. . . hissing as if commanding the rest.
"I think I see him," she whispered to Adrian.
"Which one?"
"That one at the front that's taller than all the rest. I think that's the leader."
Adrian followed her gaze, watching the demon she was referring to and nodded. "Yeah, I think so too. Go, I'll cover you."
Kendall walked forward, Adrian beside her. The leader saw her and walked forward a step, but then the hooded head lowered and it seemed to see that her clenched fist. A faint hiss escaped the creature and he backed away as though realizing what was being held in her hand. The other demons flanked their leader, forming a protective semi-circle around him, growling menacingly.
Kendall stared a moment in amazement. Since when were Creeper demons this smart? "How are we going to get at him now?"
Adrian studied the scene for a moment, then he grabbed her wrist. "I have an idea."
Kendall looked up at him, but before she could ask "What?" her vision was obscured by blue and white light. When her sight was cleared, she saw that they were now facing the demons' backs. Adrian had orbed them. Then she understood. The Creeper leader was unprotected from the back. They were on the other side of the semi-circle that the demons had formed around their leader.
Kendall threw the vanquishing potion at the leader of the clan. The demon erupted into flames, shrieking in agony as the fire consumed him before exploding into tiny particles.
They watched as the rest of the demons were swallowed in fire, their screams riveting the air. Kendall and Adrian waited a few seconds before the demons were gone and the shrieks were cut off.
Finally, Kendall licked her lips and said, "Well, let's go now."
"Right." Adrian held her wrist and the alleyway disappeared in a flash of blue and white. When the light faded, they were standing in the living room of the Halliwell manor house.
Kendall flopped down on the couch and sighed. Ever since Angel had left them a sister short and without the Power of Three, demons had been attacking them left and right. Kendall had even been attacked by a Tracer demon in the middle of her morning shopping two days ago. Fortunately, she had been able to vanquish him without much trouble and the Cleaners were able to cover up for her. 'Demons sure know how to take advantage of a situation,' thought Kendall angrily. She didn't think that they would be able to keep with the attacks for too long.
(A/N: I'll take Nikki's advice and keep this short. Whenever magic becomes exposed, the Cleaners are responsible for covering up the exposure, cleaning up the mess and erasing memories of the event when needed.)
Adrian left for the kitchen. Kendall heard him opening the fridge and cursing. She smiled to herself.
"Kendall, what happened to the apple pie?" called Adrian.
"I don't know. Why don't you ask Wyatt?"
A few seconds later, Adrian came back holding a tray of bite size pizza rolls just as Wyatt orbed into the room.
"Wyatt, Adrian wants to know what happened to the apple pie," said Kendall sweetly.
Wyatt looked startled at first, then grinned sheepishly and faced Adrian. "Oh, I kinda. . . taste-tested it."
Seeing Adrian glaring at him, Kendall stifled a laugh. Wyatt had inherited his habit of helping himself to food in the house from his father. "Chill, guys. I'll make some more tomorrow."
"So where have you been?" asked Adrian gruffly as he put down the tray and sat down on the couch. Kendall winced, her hopes that the two had forgiven each other shattered.
"Up there," answered Wyatt, taking a seat next to Kendall. His reply was a bit apathetic. He was either ignoring Adrian's obvious cold shoulder or he was just too thick to recognize it.
Kendall took a pizza roll from the tray that Adrian had set down on the coffee table. "Talking with the Elders? About what?"
"About Angel."
Kendall suddenly became very attentive.
Adrian nearly choked on the snack. He took a quick swallow and asked a little sharper than he had intended, "Angel? How is she?"
Wyatt ran a hand through his blond hair and replied, "She's fine. Angel's doing a lot better than we are anyway. Belthazor hasn't made his move yet, and he hasn't attempted any attack on her."
Adrian let out a sigh of relief. Kendall, however, bit her lip. "He hasn't done anything?"
"That's how it seems." Wyatt raised an eyebrow. "Is that a bad thing?"
"Sort of. I mean, it makes me wonder why he'd be biding his time like this."
Adrian caught up on her thoughts. "What? Do you think he's waiting for the right moment to strike or something?"
"Yeah. . ." Kendall trailed off. "You know, I'm starting to wonder whether we should have left her there. I mean, this is what Belthazor wanted, wasn't it? For one of us to stay in Middle-earth."
"Yeah, but we don't really have any other choice."
"I know, but it just bothers me how we're walking right into a trap."
Kendall twisted a strand of black hair around her finger. She really wished they could have had more time to give some serious thought to this decision. She was not one to make potent choices without mulling it over properly first.
"Hey, Kendall, we could slip away for a few moments sometime just to check in on her."
"What? But the Elders –"
"They don't have to know." Wyatt said the statement firmly and with a slight note of recalcitrance in his voice.
Kendall stared at the Whitelighter. She couldn't think of any time when he had openly suggested that they go against the will of the Elders. She read the conflict on his face and knew that he knew more than he was telling them.
I'm working on the next chapter, and while you wait, why don't you be nice and review? If not. . .well, then I hope you like this!
Midyears are over! YAY!
Thanks to the Reviewers:
This time I'll thank the new reviewers first.
Mia: thanx for the support and I hope you'll read on!
ElvenWitch13: thank you so much for coming back! Don't worry, I have plenty of humor coming up. . . for example Angel is gonna have bad hair days with the fellowship.
Dark Queen: Thank you for the suggestion about Angel's age. I thought it over, and I think you have a point. I'll make her a year older then, how does that sound? Eighteen isn't that much older than seventeen, but it is a little better at least. I can't make her any older because then that would mean that she's in college and that would just make more trouble for me as the author. You said that Angel is wise beyond her years, but I didn't intend for her to be because Angel is a little reckless and impetuous. I think that would fit Kendall more.
Lady Arwen: Thanks a lot for reviewing! Yes, I thought that it would be cool to combine my favorite books and TV show together. Charmed is the only TV show that I watch regularly.
And now back to my old reviewers.
Nikki: You know what? I think that I could actually get away with writing on the laptop during class. I mean, I see other kids type up notes on their laptops all the time. What do you and Margaret have fourth hour? Do you two read my story during class or something, because that's how it sounds.
Salem: Hey, you came back!! YAY! As for the issue of when the Fellowship is gonna find out about Angel being a witch, I haven't thought about that yet. Of course, they have to find out eventually, but like Kendall said, it wouldn't be safe for the others to know, at least not yet. BTW: Come back soon! I love readers who do that!
Songbreeze1125: Lol. Yes, it was kinda weird how I just happened to update right after you reviewed. But then again, that's just what happens when you review. looks meaningfully at everyone else I was just about to post, but decided to check the reviews first in case there were more reviewers for me to reply to before I posted the chapter. Rapier, huh? I'll have to look that up in the dictionary first.
roos: You came back too!! Yes, I have been watching season 6 of Charmed, but unfortunately, every once in a while I miss an episode, so my knowledge of recent events is rather spotty. I missed last week's episode, but I heard that it was really good, so if you could tell me about it, that'd be great. Maybe I should hold another vote to see if I should just let Boromir get killed off. I feel so powerful. voice suddenly becomes like Galadriel when Frodo offers her the Ring in Lothlorien I am the almighty author, and I get to determine the fates of the characters. I decide who lives and who dies. . . and who falls in love with who. I choose who stubs their toe and who gets a pimple on their nose. Mwaaaah-haaaa-haaaaa – cough cough (Damn the flu bug!)– haaa-haaa!!! voice turns back to normal okay, got a little carried away. . . I'll try to finish the next chapter soon.
Nikki (again): Ok, chill! I'm getting all my chapters out pretty quickly compared to some other authors. Plus I just got my midterms over with. But thanks for the support, you really egg me on!
You guys rock my world! I must have died and gone to author heaven to get reviewers
like you people.
BTW: Does anybody know how to get italics in? I use italics when I type, but for some reason, it never shows when I post. But I see for other authors it does, so what am I doing wrong?