Angel
Chapter 24: The Breaking of the Fellowship
Author's Notes: YAY! The wait has been shortened from eight months to one! I'll try to reduce that number into weeks. ^^;;; Thank you to everyone who
is reading. Much appreciated, cookies for all! *Tosses cookies to all
readers* Enjoy!
"SAM HEL-" Tersa started to shout, but was cut off by the Uruk-hai attempting to pick her up and carry her off. She ducked and jumped to the side, narrowly escaping being captured. "SAM HELP!" Tersa cried, taking out her sword.
But Sam did not hear her, all of his senses were focused on finding his master. Tersa cursed, tears pricking her eyes. 'He *left* me-!' The Uruk behind her growled and took a swipe at her, cutting her cheek with his filthy nails, sharpened into points. He then picked her up roughly and ran back towards the battle taking place on the hilltop.
'Goodbye Sam... I hope you find Frodo alive... You may not find me as such at the end of this...'
Aragorn squinted down the hillside as the wave of attacking Uruk-hai paused. He saw what looked like an Uruk carrying a small child over his shoulder, but with large furry feet. "Legolas! At the foot! One of the hobbits has been captured!"
Legolas nodded and took aim. He hit the Uruk solidly between his ribs, and he fell, flinging the small creature he was holding to the ground.
The hobbit got up, holding its head, then came to its senses and began to run as the next wash of Uruks came over the crest of the hill.
Aragorn pried his eyes away from the small figure, turning to block a downward blow from an Uruk's sword. 'Run Tersa, find your friends. I sense we will no longer have a fellowship after this.'
Tersa ran blindly, wiping sticky blood from her cheek as she ran. "Merry! Pip! Sam! Frodo! Anyone!" She cried, crumpling to the ground in a heap after the sounds of death and battle had faded to a dull roar. She buried her face in her hands and curled up in a ball in the leaves, her head throbbing from where she hit it on a rock when the Uruk fell, leaving a bloody gash on her forehead. Everything began to go hazy, and she fell unconscious as the battle raged around her.
"Pip you must be hearing things! Tersa's nowhere around here!" Merry called over his shoulder, scanning the surrounding trees.
"Heard her! Just after we distracted the Uruk-hai so Frodo could run!" Pippin squinted, combing the trees for some sign of Tersa. 'Tersa come on! Yell something so I can find you!' He thought desperately.
"You were hearing things Pip! Those Uruks or orcs or whatever you want to call them are only a few sprints behind us! Come on!" Merry shouted, then ran off towards Boromir, a few meters away surrounded by Uruks. "Boromir needs our help!"
Pippin took one last look, then ran off after Merry towards the horn of Gondor, only to be picked up and captured as they rushed to Boromir as he fell.
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimili arrived at camp after the battle and the death of Boromir, only to find one of the boats missing and Tersa still nowhere in sight.
"Frodo and Sam have left, Pippin and Merry have been captured, Boromir has perished and Tersa is missing. This just keeps getting better!" Gimli snorted, watching Sam and Frodo scurry up the opposite bank and disappear from view.
"There is no time to stew Gimli. We must go after Sam and Frodo!" Legolas said, starting towards the boats.
Aragorn shook his head. "We must leave Sam and Frodo to make the journey alone. We cannot aid them anymore than we already have."
"But what about young Tersa?! We cannot leave her alone out here." Legolas exclaimed, gesturing towards the trees. "She will never survive!"
"We must leave her. We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death." Aragorn said. "We leave as soon as we send Boromir to rest down the river."
Gimli gaped at him. "Surely you don't mean we will leave her alone here without even looking for her."
"I have seen no sign of her, Master Dwarf, and I do not think I will. My heart tells me that she is not dead, but we cannot wait to find out. Hurry, there is no time to spare." Aragorn instructed, beginning to load Boromir's possessions into one of the boats. "We will leave a boat here, for Tersa. She will follow those dearest to her, and they are across the river."
~*~
When Tersa awoke the first thing she felt was cold. She opened her eyes to blackness, and immediately felt a jolt of fear. "Sam-!" She cried aloud, bolting upright, much to the protest of her aching head. She slowly laid down again, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. 'I'm all alone... I must have been unconscious for hours...Is everyone gone?' After a few minutes she slowly sat up again, and looked around. There was no sign of anyone, except a small light coming from the direction she thought the campsite had been. Aching and hungry, her body began to drag itself towards the cheerful light before her mind could stop it.
When she finally realized what was happening, she forced herself to stop at the edge of the clearing, instead of rushing towards the welcoming light of the fire. A few orcs sat around the fire, speaking in their own language.
'So much for the hope of finding anyone I know, or just anyone who won't try to kill me.' Tersa thought. 'If this isn't where camp was, where- ?' She stopped short, seeing her pack, half hidden by the woods, just a few feet from her. Either the orcs had not noticed it was there, or they simply didn't care. She crept toward it, and managed to pick it up without being noticed. She was just about to start back into the woods when she heard one of the orcs speak in common tongue.
"Fine, fool, here's common tongue, can you understand me now?!" He hit a nearby orc over the head. "As I was sayin', I heard two of them little runts that the Uruks want got past your patrols." The orc he hit earlier snarled.
"It wasn't our fault. One of yer boys was supposed to be watching that bit of shore."
"Headquarters will have you chopped up into warg food." another orc laughed cruelly. "Doesn't matter. The runts won't last two days. Besides, their friends left 'em. I saw the boats down river, washed up."
Tersa felt a faint glimmer of hope. Maybe she could get across the river! She snuck off as the orcs got into an argument, then made her way to the riverbank. She walked along a while, and finally tripped over one of the boats the orcs had spoke of. She attempted to push it into the water, but it seemed caught on something. She saw a faint glimmer in the moonlight connecting the boat to a tree. The rope had not been tied there, but it was caught on a particularly sharp branch.
After a few tries, Tersa managed to tug the rope free, but then began thinking. It was still dark, and what would happen if she accidentally rowed off a waterfall? Was it better to sleep and wait until light?
"I should wait until light... but Sam..." Tersa mumbled looking across the river. "Then he'll be even farther away."
'He left you, remember?' Snapped a little voice in her mind. 'Just abandoned you. Go ahead, row out into the middle of the river and drown yourself. He'll never know.'
'He just didn't hear me. It wasn't intentional.' Tersa assured herself, starting to pull the boat into the water. 'He wouldn't abandon me on purpose...'
Suddenly she stopped.
'...Would he?'
Tersa shook her head, trying to shake the doubt from her mind. Her Sam wouldn't leave her on purpose. She knew it.
'You refer to him as yours when you know he isn't. If he's anyone's, he's Rosie's and you know it.' The voice said, causing tears to prick the corners of Tersa's eyes. 'So curl up and go to sleep. You'll wake up in your bed and this will all be a dream, if you believe Sam is yours. That's the biggest lie as was ever told.'
~*~
"And here we are, outside the most evil place in all the Middle Earth, and you are not worried about a thing." Frodo said, looking over at Sam, whom was gazing into the small fire in front of them.
"Hm? I'm sorry Mr. Frodo, I didn't hear you." Sam said, startled out of his thoughts.
Frodo just laughed. "What you thinking about Sam?"
"Tersa... I thought I heard her calling me when I started back to find you, but when I turned around she was gone." Sam sighed, looking back towards the river. "I hope nothing has happened to her."
"She's fine Sam. Aragorn will take care of her." Frodo said, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder comfortingly. "Besides, she'll find you soon enough."
"How do you reckon that Mr. Frodo?"
"Short of the Dark Lord himself, I can't think of anything that can keep her away from you." Frodo grinned, then curled up and went to sleep.
Chapter 24: The Breaking of the Fellowship
Author's Notes: YAY! The wait has been shortened from eight months to one! I'll try to reduce that number into weeks. ^^;;; Thank you to everyone who
is reading. Much appreciated, cookies for all! *Tosses cookies to all
readers* Enjoy!
"SAM HEL-" Tersa started to shout, but was cut off by the Uruk-hai attempting to pick her up and carry her off. She ducked and jumped to the side, narrowly escaping being captured. "SAM HELP!" Tersa cried, taking out her sword.
But Sam did not hear her, all of his senses were focused on finding his master. Tersa cursed, tears pricking her eyes. 'He *left* me-!' The Uruk behind her growled and took a swipe at her, cutting her cheek with his filthy nails, sharpened into points. He then picked her up roughly and ran back towards the battle taking place on the hilltop.
'Goodbye Sam... I hope you find Frodo alive... You may not find me as such at the end of this...'
Aragorn squinted down the hillside as the wave of attacking Uruk-hai paused. He saw what looked like an Uruk carrying a small child over his shoulder, but with large furry feet. "Legolas! At the foot! One of the hobbits has been captured!"
Legolas nodded and took aim. He hit the Uruk solidly between his ribs, and he fell, flinging the small creature he was holding to the ground.
The hobbit got up, holding its head, then came to its senses and began to run as the next wash of Uruks came over the crest of the hill.
Aragorn pried his eyes away from the small figure, turning to block a downward blow from an Uruk's sword. 'Run Tersa, find your friends. I sense we will no longer have a fellowship after this.'
Tersa ran blindly, wiping sticky blood from her cheek as she ran. "Merry! Pip! Sam! Frodo! Anyone!" She cried, crumpling to the ground in a heap after the sounds of death and battle had faded to a dull roar. She buried her face in her hands and curled up in a ball in the leaves, her head throbbing from where she hit it on a rock when the Uruk fell, leaving a bloody gash on her forehead. Everything began to go hazy, and she fell unconscious as the battle raged around her.
"Pip you must be hearing things! Tersa's nowhere around here!" Merry called over his shoulder, scanning the surrounding trees.
"Heard her! Just after we distracted the Uruk-hai so Frodo could run!" Pippin squinted, combing the trees for some sign of Tersa. 'Tersa come on! Yell something so I can find you!' He thought desperately.
"You were hearing things Pip! Those Uruks or orcs or whatever you want to call them are only a few sprints behind us! Come on!" Merry shouted, then ran off towards Boromir, a few meters away surrounded by Uruks. "Boromir needs our help!"
Pippin took one last look, then ran off after Merry towards the horn of Gondor, only to be picked up and captured as they rushed to Boromir as he fell.
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimili arrived at camp after the battle and the death of Boromir, only to find one of the boats missing and Tersa still nowhere in sight.
"Frodo and Sam have left, Pippin and Merry have been captured, Boromir has perished and Tersa is missing. This just keeps getting better!" Gimli snorted, watching Sam and Frodo scurry up the opposite bank and disappear from view.
"There is no time to stew Gimli. We must go after Sam and Frodo!" Legolas said, starting towards the boats.
Aragorn shook his head. "We must leave Sam and Frodo to make the journey alone. We cannot aid them anymore than we already have."
"But what about young Tersa?! We cannot leave her alone out here." Legolas exclaimed, gesturing towards the trees. "She will never survive!"
"We must leave her. We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death." Aragorn said. "We leave as soon as we send Boromir to rest down the river."
Gimli gaped at him. "Surely you don't mean we will leave her alone here without even looking for her."
"I have seen no sign of her, Master Dwarf, and I do not think I will. My heart tells me that she is not dead, but we cannot wait to find out. Hurry, there is no time to spare." Aragorn instructed, beginning to load Boromir's possessions into one of the boats. "We will leave a boat here, for Tersa. She will follow those dearest to her, and they are across the river."
~*~
When Tersa awoke the first thing she felt was cold. She opened her eyes to blackness, and immediately felt a jolt of fear. "Sam-!" She cried aloud, bolting upright, much to the protest of her aching head. She slowly laid down again, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. 'I'm all alone... I must have been unconscious for hours...Is everyone gone?' After a few minutes she slowly sat up again, and looked around. There was no sign of anyone, except a small light coming from the direction she thought the campsite had been. Aching and hungry, her body began to drag itself towards the cheerful light before her mind could stop it.
When she finally realized what was happening, she forced herself to stop at the edge of the clearing, instead of rushing towards the welcoming light of the fire. A few orcs sat around the fire, speaking in their own language.
'So much for the hope of finding anyone I know, or just anyone who won't try to kill me.' Tersa thought. 'If this isn't where camp was, where- ?' She stopped short, seeing her pack, half hidden by the woods, just a few feet from her. Either the orcs had not noticed it was there, or they simply didn't care. She crept toward it, and managed to pick it up without being noticed. She was just about to start back into the woods when she heard one of the orcs speak in common tongue.
"Fine, fool, here's common tongue, can you understand me now?!" He hit a nearby orc over the head. "As I was sayin', I heard two of them little runts that the Uruks want got past your patrols." The orc he hit earlier snarled.
"It wasn't our fault. One of yer boys was supposed to be watching that bit of shore."
"Headquarters will have you chopped up into warg food." another orc laughed cruelly. "Doesn't matter. The runts won't last two days. Besides, their friends left 'em. I saw the boats down river, washed up."
Tersa felt a faint glimmer of hope. Maybe she could get across the river! She snuck off as the orcs got into an argument, then made her way to the riverbank. She walked along a while, and finally tripped over one of the boats the orcs had spoke of. She attempted to push it into the water, but it seemed caught on something. She saw a faint glimmer in the moonlight connecting the boat to a tree. The rope had not been tied there, but it was caught on a particularly sharp branch.
After a few tries, Tersa managed to tug the rope free, but then began thinking. It was still dark, and what would happen if she accidentally rowed off a waterfall? Was it better to sleep and wait until light?
"I should wait until light... but Sam..." Tersa mumbled looking across the river. "Then he'll be even farther away."
'He left you, remember?' Snapped a little voice in her mind. 'Just abandoned you. Go ahead, row out into the middle of the river and drown yourself. He'll never know.'
'He just didn't hear me. It wasn't intentional.' Tersa assured herself, starting to pull the boat into the water. 'He wouldn't abandon me on purpose...'
Suddenly she stopped.
'...Would he?'
Tersa shook her head, trying to shake the doubt from her mind. Her Sam wouldn't leave her on purpose. She knew it.
'You refer to him as yours when you know he isn't. If he's anyone's, he's Rosie's and you know it.' The voice said, causing tears to prick the corners of Tersa's eyes. 'So curl up and go to sleep. You'll wake up in your bed and this will all be a dream, if you believe Sam is yours. That's the biggest lie as was ever told.'
~*~
"And here we are, outside the most evil place in all the Middle Earth, and you are not worried about a thing." Frodo said, looking over at Sam, whom was gazing into the small fire in front of them.
"Hm? I'm sorry Mr. Frodo, I didn't hear you." Sam said, startled out of his thoughts.
Frodo just laughed. "What you thinking about Sam?"
"Tersa... I thought I heard her calling me when I started back to find you, but when I turned around she was gone." Sam sighed, looking back towards the river. "I hope nothing has happened to her."
"She's fine Sam. Aragorn will take care of her." Frodo said, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder comfortingly. "Besides, she'll find you soon enough."
"How do you reckon that Mr. Frodo?"
"Short of the Dark Lord himself, I can't think of anything that can keep her away from you." Frodo grinned, then curled up and went to sleep.