A War To Remember
By: Hotaru170
Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I absolutely do not own Lord of the Rings. Nor do I own Sailor Moon (sniff sniff...poor me). I am writing this story for my enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers, not for profit. I am just a poor soul who wishes she could write so she could write a book that she has been dying to write but has been unable due to her horrific grammar skills. (AN: That sentence is a prime example of that which I have spoken of...lol.)

Recap:
Aragorn looked at the remaining members of the fellowship and said, "Not as long as we have each other." He walked up to them and put his hands on Legolas' and Hotaru's shoulders. He said, "We cannot abandon Merry and Pippin to death and torment. Not while we still have strength left."
Gimli, Hotaru, and Leoglas smiled at him. Aragorn stepped back and said, "Let us hunt some Orc." Gimli cried, "Yes!" Legolas nodded.
Hotaru smiled proudly at Aragorn and said, "You will make a great King, Estel. Lead the way." Aragorn smiled a genuine smile and nodded. He took off running with the others close behind.

Chapter 8

After three days of tracking with no sleep and no rest, the Fellowship was beginning to catch up with their Orc prey.

Hotaru looked behind them to see Gimli lagging behind. She called out to him with a smile tugging at her lips, "I could carry you, if you like master dwarf."
She heard Gimli grumble and pick up speed.

He replied, "I'll not have an elf carry me anywhere, even if death."

Hotaru frowned and said, "Do not take death so lightly, Gimli. It comes in many forms and should be respected."

Gimli was a little unnerved by the turn in the conversation and replied, "You sound as if you have met Death personally."
Hotaru didn't respond to his comment but continued to follow Aragorn and Legolas.

After a few more hours of running in silence, Aragorn stopped and knelt down. He put his ear to the rock and listened. A few seconds later he announced, "Their pace has quickened. They must have caught our scent." He turned back behind him and called out, "Hurry!"

Legolas and Hotaru looked behind them to see Gimli lagging behind again. Legolas said, "Come on Gimli!"
Gimli stopped and grumbled to himself before picking up speed.

Aragorn led the group into a small valley between the rocks. There he stopped and picked something up off the ground. It was a leaf pin that was given to them by the elves in Lothlorien.
He frowned and said, "Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall."

Legolas and Hotaru stopped. Legolas looked back at Aragorn and said, "They may yet be alive."

Hotaru nodded in agreement and said, "They are still alive. If they were taken just to be killed, we would have found out by now. They are wanted for some other purpose. One that I have come to suspect already."

Aragorn got back up and said, "They are less than a day ahead of us." Then he took off running again with Hotaru and Legolas beside him.

Legolas stopped for a second and turned around. He called out to Gimli, "Come, Gimli! We are gaining on them!"

Gimli fell down and quickly got back up. He said, "I'm wasted on cross-country. We dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances."

Hotaru smiled and shook her head, "Stop complaining Gimli. You are wasting your energy. Save it for the run."

Aragorn, Hotaru, and Legolas sprinted out of the small valley and up a pile of rocks. When they reached the top, they stopped and looked out across the land that lay before them.

Aragorn said, "Rohan. Home of the Horse-lords. There's something strange at work here. Some evil gives speed to these creatures. Sets its will against us."

Legolas ran ahead of the group to get a better look.

Aragorn asked, "Legolas, what do your Elf-eyes see?"

Legolas squinted and said, "The Uruks turned northeast. They are taking the hobbits to Isengard."

Aragorn and Hotaru both whispered, "Saruman." They looked at each other and then ran ahead to catch up with Legolas.

Once they both had caught up, Hotaru said, "I am going ahead you two. I can run faster alone and I will pinpoint the exact location of our enemy."

Aragorn and Legolas were a little shocked and they wanted to protest but it seemed like she left no room for questions.

She took their silence as acceptance and said, "I will meet back up with you midday tomorrow and will report my findings."

Midday the following day...

Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli were reaching the top of a hill when Aragorn stopped and looked out. He heard a rumbling noise coming from behind them. He turned around to see a group of Rohan warriors on horseback. He motioned for Gimli and Legolas to hide behind a large rock to their left.

Once their bodies were concealed from view the riders passed by them. Aragorn came out of hiding and called out, "Riders of Rohan. What news from the Mark?!"

The leader of the riders lifted his spear and motioned for the riders to turn around. They did so in a graceful and synchronized way.

Aragorn looked back at Legolas and Gimli. He glanced around for any signs of Hotaru. When he saw no sign of her, he moved forward with Legolas and Gimli. Aragorn stopped when the group of Rohan warriors surrounded them with their spears pointed at their necks. (AN: Ok, I'm skipping the talking here. I'm to tired to type it out...lol)



Hotaru had tracked the Orcs to Fangorn forrest.When the Orcs stopped to take a breather, she watched silently and downwind so they wouldn't hear or smell her. However, she was surprised when a group of Rohirrim ambushed the Orcs. She helped from the shadows with her arrows.

When the battle was over, she no longer saw Merry and Pippin. After searching, she found out that they went into Fangorn forrest.
Instead of following them she decided it was much wiser to meet back up with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli so they wouldn't assume Merry and Pippin dead.

She came to the top of the same hill that Aragorn and the others were on a few minutes before. Below she saw her said companions surrounded by the same warriors who ambushed the Orcs.

'I truly hope that they mean no harm to Legolas and the others. I would hate to seek revenge on potential allies.'
She crept down the hill quietly and came to a stop at the bottown near some rocks. She saw the look in the eyes of the leader when he jumped off his horse in anger.

"That is all that I needed to see." She whispered to herself. She pulled out an arrow and notched it in her bow and jumped on top of the rock she was hiding behind. She called out, "HALT!" She put a small amount of power in her voice so they would know she meant business.

To be continued...
AN: Ok, peeps this is where I'm gonna start changing things around some more. So it won't follow the movie as much as before. Just thought I would warn ya. Oh, and I'm sorry for taking so long on the update I'm suffering from writer's block. I know this chapter isn't much so I'll try to make the next one longer! Ja ne! Jennifer (Hotaru170)