**Boat Trip**
Three boats paddled quietly down the Anduin River. The peaceful lull of the water was a nice change from their long march through Moria and their freezing climb on the pass. Miranda was enjoying this part of their journey, taking in the scenery on the banks of the river. They passed a great forest, wild and beautiful. Miranda was amazed at how different each forest they had traveled through was different. Miranda sat in the bow and shifted slightly to look at Gimli and Legolas behind her.
"Your home is near here, isn't it?" Miranda asked Legolas.
"It is on the western side of the river, far north of here," Legolas said with a sigh.
"You must miss your home," she said.
"Yes," Legolas admitted. "But like you, I am content to remain in the company of good friends," he added brightly.
"You'll get to see your home again someday," Miranda said with confidence. "I'm sure of it."
"Well, elf," Gimli said with a chuckle. "You have the word of a seer to comfort you."
"Is our seer having good dreams for a change?" Legolas asked with a smile.
"Once in a while," Miranda said quietly, feeling embarrassed. She was trying to be nice, not get cornered about her dreams. She turned back to the bow again, and decided to stop making conversation, but Gimli had a few questions for her.
"And what of me, lady?" Gimli asked.
"I am not a fortune teller, Gimli," Miranda said. "But I am sure whatever your future holds will be full of happiness."
"And where will you be?" Legolas asked.
"Let's talk about something else," Miranda said.
Legolas didn't like the way Miranda changed the subject so quickly. He was worried about her. She was always thoughtful and pleasant, but she was becoming more withdrawn and melancholy. Her time in Lorien had given her some rest, but he feared that her dreams held some dark future she was keeping secret. She did not speak of her dreams at all anymore unless questioned about them, and she always answered evasively. He decided to speak to her in private about it.
In the mean time, the boats continued on until late in the evening before finally rowing to shore to make camp. The boats were secured, and the fellowship settled in, making a fire and planning the night watch. Miranda had stopped offering to take a watch long ago, and was surprised when Aragorn walked over to speak to her.
"Miranda, you can take the midnight watch," Aragorn said.
Miranda couldn't help the broad smile that suddenly crossed her face. "It's about time you let me help," she said humorously.
Merry and Pippin were sitting by Sam at the fire, and the trio all started chuckling. Frodo walked back to camp with Gimli and an armload of wood and looked at them questioningly.
"What's so funny?" Frodo asked.
"Miranda just reminded Strider that she isn't helpless," Sam said.
Boromir sat on his blanket against the trunk of a tree and just smiled.
After dinner, they all settled in for sleep, except Miranda whose midnight watch turned out to be the first. She wasn't sure how to gage the time to know when to wake her relief. She decided to just wake Boromir when she was too tired to continue. Several hours passed when she saw the glowing eyes. At first, she thought it was her imagination, and it might be time to change the watch. Then she looked again, but subtly. There were definitely eyes out there. She quietly walked over to Boromir to wake him.
"Boromir," she whispered softly, so as not to wake anyone else.
His eyes opened immediately and he looked at her. "My watch?" he asked quietly.
She just nodded, and then mentioned the eyes. "There is a creature in the woods watching us," she said. "He has not moved closer, but he is still there."
Boromir sat up and looked at the sky. "You were supposed to wake me two hours ago," he said. "You have nothing to prove, Randi. You should have woke me sooner."
"You paddled all day, while I just sat," she said. "You needed to rest."
Boromir smiled at her. "Get some rest," he said. "I'll keep an eye on that shadow."
Miranda went to her blanket to lie down. She wrapped it around herself and closed her eyes. She was asleep in no time, and was plagued by a jumble of fitful dreams. She could see a cloud hanging over the fellowship, and everyone torn in different directions. She felt lost, trying to call them back, but she couldn't. Then she saw a great shadow stalking them. She could feel the cold chill of its evil surround her…then she woke.
It was early, and everyone else was nearly packed, except for the pans that Sam was using. Miranda realized she had over slept and quickly sat up.
"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked as she gathered up her blanket and started to pack.
Aragorn gave her an annoyed look. "Boromir said you took a double watch last night, and that we should let you sleep."
"I wasn't very sleepy," Miranda said quietly with a guilty look. It was a foolish thing to do. If she had fallen asleep it could have been a disaster. She loaded her luggage into the boat without another word. She never saw the smiles everyone exchanged behind her back.
*****
Their journey down the river was uneventful for several more days, though the scenery was different from day to day. Today, it was like they were passing through a canyon, with tall grey cliffs on either side. The river wound a little, so you could not see far ahead. It was after a particularly sharp turn that the river straightened out again. Off in the distance, there were two great statues. Miranda was impressed by the sheer size of them as they stood on either side of the river like guards on the entrance of castle. They looked like great kings, dressed in armor with helmets on. They stood firm, faces marked by stern expressions, with their left hands stretched out in warning, and their right hands holding their swords.
"The Argonath," Aragorn said in wonder and pride. "Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old, my kin."
Miranda thought the Statue of Liberty had nothing on these great icons standing tall and proud for unnumbered years. As they passed between the great guardians she couldn't help but wonder about the people that could even carve such statues. They must have been great kings to be remembered in such an impressive and permanent way. She suddenly thought of Aragorn differently. She knew he had been the heir of a great king, but she had no frame of reference then. She realized that everyone in the fellowship was important in the countries they came from. She suddenly wondered how she ever managed to wind up going on this quest. She felt vastly under qualified.
The boats came to a vast lake, with a huge waterfall on the opposite end. The fellowship made camp on the eastern shore early to rest before crossing to the western shore under cover of darkness. Aragorn said that the opposite shore was patrolled by orcs. Legolas was worried about an enemy he felt was drawing near, and wanted to make the crossing immediately.
"I feel that something is drawing near," Legolas said. He looked around for Miranda to see if she could confirm his feeling, but she was nowhere in sight. "Where's Miranda?"
"Where's Frodo?" Merry asked.
Aragorn looked around and noticed Boromir was gone as well. He had to find Frodo. Boromir had not been acting like himself lately, and Aragorn worried that it was the Ring's doing. Everyone split up to find their missing members.
*****
Miranda had been having a bad feeling for the last two days. Something was going to happen soon and it wouldn't be good. She needed a little time to think, so she had decided to go for a walk. She found a quiet place to sit, a little hidden from the path, and she just closed her eyes to relax and enjoy the smell of the forest. Her solitude was interrupted by raised voices.
"I can see your mind!" Boromir shouted. "You will take the ring to Sauron!"
Miranda peeked out to see an angry and confused looking Boromir mumbling to himself. She could hear footsteps running away from him, but saw no one. She thought that Boromir could use his space to collect himself so she carefully backed away and headed back down the path. She ran into Merry and Pippin on her way back to camp.
"There you are," Pippin said. "Have you seen Frodo?"
"I haven't seen him, but I think he was headed up the hill," Miranda said. "He probably needed a little quiet like I did."
"Aragorn was worried about him," Merry said.
"Well, I guess he should stay close," Miranda agreed. "I'll go this way and you go that way. We'll find him."
"Just don't get lost," Pippin said.
"Take your own advice, Pip," Merry said sarcastically as the pair continued up the path.
Miranda headed back to where Boromir had been, but he was already gone. She paused to look at the fallen pieces of another old statue when she heard the roar of Orcs. Miranda spun around and searched the forest for any sign that she had been spotted. They were close, and she was alone. She was sick to her stomach when she realized everyone had split up to look for Frodo. Probably everyone had managed to get caught alone.
She hadn't been found yet, so she decided to follow Merry and Pippin. She knew roughly where they were, and figured three is better than one or two in a fight. Miranda headed back the way she came and followed the path they took. It was then that she ran into Gimli and Legolas who were headed up the hill to meet the Orcs.
"Come, Miranda," Legolas said. "We must go protect Frodo."
Miranda joined them as they raced up the hill. Legolas had a better idea where he was going, and she wouldn't get cornered somewhere alone. She was worried about Merry and Pippin, and Sam. She hoped they would be able to hide or rejoin the group. As the trio reached the top of the hill, they saw Aragorn fighting a good sized company of very large Orcs. Miranda said a silent prayer for her aim and readied her bow. She wasn't even half as fast as Legolas, but the extra time she took was necessary for a decent shot.
They fought the Orcs on the hilltop by the ruins of some stone pavilion. Miranda had resorted to her sword when the orcs got too close for her to use her bow. She would have been killed several times over if it wasn't for the timely aid of a swing of Gimli's ax or an arrow from Legolas. The Orc leader shouted that they should 'find the Halflings,' and Miranda got worried about the hobbits. Aragorn led them back down the hill, and they fought orcs all the way. They were finding fewer orcs to engage them as more and more of them had started searching for Frodo and the hobbits.
As Aragorn killed the last Orc in the clearing, they heard the sound of a horn. It was a rich deep sound and repeated three times.
"The horn of Gondor," Legolas said.
"Boromir," Aragorn said.
"Oh, dear," Miranda said as they all ran off in the direction of the distress call. Miranda hoped she'd get there in time. Her dream had flooded back into her memory and she was panicking.
When they finally found him, he was slumped against a tree with three large Orc arrows in his chest. While Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli took care of the last of the Orcs, Miranda ran to him.
"I think you might have waited too long to blow that horn," Miranda said humorously, though she found this situation anything but funny. She checked his injuries and tried to make him comfortable until one of the others could help with the arrows.
"Randi, stop fussing, there is nothing you can do," he said. It was a strain for him to speak, but he gave her a smile. "I would have liked to have more time to know you better. I would have brought you to the white city to meet my father."
Miranda had a knot in her throat. It was obvious that he was paying her a compliment. Of course she would be honored to visit his home that he loved so much. He was dying, and she could do nothing. Aragorn ran over, so Miranda gave him room. He and Boromir needed to have a moment to talk, so she stepped back enough to give them privacy. After a few moments, Aragorn hung his head, and Miranda ran back to them.
"Boromir?" she said softly.
"He is gone," Aragorn said softly.
"This quest will break my heart if it doesn't kill me," Miranda said to Aragorn. Then as she stared at Boromir, "I would have been honored to visit your city, my friend." She stood up and started walking back toward their camp. Legolas put a hand on her shoulder but she kept walking. She tried to control her tears until she was farther away, but they all heard the loud sniffle at the edge of the clearing.
Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli prepared to carry their fallen comrade back to the camp when Aragorn made a passing comment, "I think he loved her."
No one said anything after that. The fellowship was broken. Boromir was dead. Merry and Pippin were prisoners, and Frodo was still missing. Aragorn had a decision to make about their next step, but right now he had the sad task of burying a friend.