Chapter Eight – A new friend

She tried to scream when his sharp nails ripped through her neck. She coughed as the pressure on it was released. The sound of fighting dimly penetrated her mind as she felt the blackness that had started to form begin to recede again. Suddenly, she could see properly, and, head pounding, she heard running feet pounding towards her.

"Jenna! Jenna, you moron, Jenna! Jenna- speak to me!"

It was Estriel, hovering over her uselessly. She could still hear thumps and grunts in the background, but she focussed on her friend. Wait. If Es was here- who had saved her? Who the hell was beating Gollum to within an inch of his life? The thought gave her strength.

"Jenna!"

"Shut up..."

Estriel was almost crying with relief.

"Never, ever, ever do that again! Ever! Comprende? We are getting you some serious self-defence classes somewhere!" Es helped her to sit up, and they both calmed down a bit.

"Are you ok? You have some nasty scrapes on your neck, and it's a bit bruised..." "Yes- I am now. Who saved me?"

They both looked up to see a man, scarcely 25, stand up, Gollum lying unconscious on the floor next to him.

"I did."

He said, walking slowly over to them. Es scrambled to her feet, standing protectively over Jenna.

"Hi. Thank you. Who are you?" She asked suspiciously, holding out a hand for him to shake. He looked at it, unsure what to do.

"My name is Darayne, I am a Ranger. Why do you hold out your hand?"

His voice was pleasant, deep and masculine, with a friendly edge.

"It is a way of greeting and thanking people amongst our people. You clasp hands, and it is a sign of friendship or respect." Jenna spoke up from the ground.

"Well, thank you for saving my friend, Darayne. I am Estriel and this is my friend and travelling companion Jenna. She is a healer, and I am a storyteller. You are a Ranger? I have heard of your people- it is said that you are the last of the Numenoreans. You are an honourable people- will you join us at our camp?"

"It would be my pleasure, Storyteller Estriel, but I must return to gather my belongings- I ran straight here when the yelling began. I..."

Darayne turned pale- he had worked out that the light was not natural. "Are you Istari? How..." Estriel ran over to the torch and picked it up in her good hand, careful not to shine it in his eyes. Jenna also got up, and leaned against a tree to get her breath back.

"Nay, we are not Istari. Not that we know, anyway. Well, our camp is..." Es pointed in front of her "...About five minutes at a dead run that way; you'll see the fire. Just call out before you get there so we know who you are. Thank you once more, Darayne."

Darayne made to leave, then looked back at the unconscious Sméagol. "What...?"

"We'll take him back and tie him up again- we'll explain everything when you join us." Es said wearily, and grabbed a leg. Jenna, feeling better, but with a sore throat, watched Darayne disappear before grabbing the other.

They dragged Gollum back, and tied him tightly- he had escaped through breaking one of the ropes and slipping through the others, chewing them to help. This time, they gagged him so he had no chance of chewing anything. Then they tended to their wounds and put some food together- enough for Darayne too if he wanted some.

Estriel's left hand was now pretty much immobilised. The deep bite she had sustained ached and bled and bone could be seen at one point through the flesh. Jenna bound it up, making some rude remarks to Gollum about having bandaged Es twice within the week already because of him. Es then one handedly tenderly smoothed cream on Jenna's sore neck and put antiseptic on the scrapes made by Gollum's nails, while congratulating her on her fortitude.

Darayne made his way to their camp, his belongings in a bag slung hastily across his shoulder. He was anxious to reach their camp in the dark. At a first glance, the woods could seem harmless, but he knew of the dangers that it held.

As he approached the camp, he saw the two girls. One, who had introduced herself as Estriel, was sitting in front of the fire, auburn hair and pale skin glowing even brighter with its light. She seemed kind, and through the way in which she had controlled the prior situation, he deduced that she was the natural leader of the pair.

The other girl, who he believed was called Jenna, looked much recovered. Her slightly tan skin seemed to shine with good health and laughter, and her hair swung easily down her back. She was smiling to her friend now, and was cooking something over the fire in a pan. She had been severely hurt by the creature, and he was glad to see that her condition was improved.

It only struck him now, seeing them alone by the fire, how strange it was for two apparently reputable maidens to be unaccompanied in the forest at night. However, it would be rude to ask them outright, and it might, of course, lead them to ask him why he was in a similar position himself. No, it was definitely best avoided.

He ventured further, absorbed in his thoughts. It was only when Estriel asked, "Who goes there?" that he remembered their agreement that he would announce himself.

"It is I, Darayne, Lady Estriel. Excuse me for not making my presence known."

Estriel's face relaxed into a smile. "That is quite alright. Please, have a seat by the fire. It is cold tonight." Darayne thanked her, placed his bag on the ground, and sat by the flickering flames. He looked over at Jenna, who offered a shy smile, which he returned.

"Thank you very much for coming to my aid tonight, Darayne. I cannot begin to repay you for your bravery."

This was the first time that he had properly heard her voice, but he could tell from the tone that this statement came from the heart.

"It is quite alright, Lady Jenna. I am sure that anyone in my situation would have done the same. I hope that you are not too badly hurt."

"I'll live," she said. "Please, have something to eat. I've just made some pasta, and we can have cheese to go with it."

Darayne looked slightly puzzled at this, but, thinking it rude to refuse, he accepted gratefully. He watched as Jenna shared out the pasta into plastic bowls for Estriel and Darayne, put a small amount of cheese on top of each one, and then handed it to each of them, with a plastic spoon. As they did not have enough bowls, Jenna – always the hostess – ate out of the saucepan.

They ate in silence, but not awkwardly. All three of them were hungry, and the food was warm and filling. Darayne marvelled at the unusual texture, but enjoyed the taste, and was glad he was not sitting alone at a small fire that night.

When they had finished, Estriel cleared her throat.

"I suppose we should fill you in, like I promised earlier," she said.

"I would indeed like to know more about that strange creature," Darayne admitted.

"Well, he's called Gollum," began Jenna. "And he's...well...less than friendly, if you know what I mean."

"We stumbled across him a couple of days ago, when he attacked us. We thought it best to keep him with us, so that he couldn't do damage to anyone else. We had him firmly tied before he attacked tonight, but he seems to have bitten through the twine. I was on watch, and Jenna was asleep when he first pounced on me. But, then he bit me really hard, and she woke up and chased after him. And then you found her." Estriel smiled at him, showing her gratitude.

Darayne looked thoughtful.

"What do you plan to do with him now? Surely you cannot keep him with you now that he has proven such a danger?"

"Well, what we really need to do is take him to..."

"We're not sure," interrupted Estriel, shooting a death-stare at Jenna, who cowered slightly, and then realized her idiocy.

"Oh," said Darayne, clearly realizing that they were holding something back from him. However, that was to be expected, he thought. He, himself, was being less that forthcoming, after all.

"So, Darayne," said Estriel, pleasantly. "What are you doing in these woods by yourself? Do you dwell here, or do you have some larger purpose?"

"I am a Ranger," said Darayne simply. Then, realizing that this remark gave a whole new meaning to the word brisk, he elaborated. "I have been in these woods for some time now."

"Oh." Said Jenna.

"I mean...I have been seeking information." Darayne elaborated. "About a certain...friend...of mine." Estriel and Jenna nodded understandingly.

"Oh. Well, we're on our way to Bree. Why don't you seek your friend there? We could go together." Jenna suggested.

Darayne smiled at this girl's friendly nature, and then realized, with some shock, that he did have a yearning to escort these two girls to their destination. He had not enjoyed the company of others for some time now. He had thought that he did not miss it, but these feelings seemed to oppose that. They were so pleasant to be around that already the night seemed less dark and forbidding.

"It would be a pleasure," he said.

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