All right, I fully give you all permission to hate me until the day I die. I realize that it has been, oh, about 2 ½ months since I've updated, but I have good excuses!!!! I think..... Well, there was a bunch of scholarship junk, my birthday, college orientation, more scholarship junk, spring break in Orlando, Fla., more scholarship junk, school, PROM, soc articles, and still more scholarship junk.
Starts to catch her breath SO I know that I'm in all case, evil. But my flamers are more evil, so I guess that makes me feel a little better. Okay, anyway, this chapter didn't come out as quickly as I wanted it too. The plot bunny I did have hopped away and the next one was so stubborn!!!
So, I'm going to shut up right now, getting writing on chapter fourteen and pray that there are still some faithful readers out there.
Chapter 13: Dreams and Flames
After a day of traveling in the mines, Kenzie realized that to say the darkness was consuming would be an understatement. She clutched Legolas' hand with her both of hers, her blue eyes studying her surroundings intently. She felt she was being a little childish, but the young witch, like Legolas, found darkness foreboding. And this darkness was no exception.
As the Fellowship entered what seemed to be a great cavern, the path and stairs they were following began to twist and turn at every possible opportunity. They moved through the different caverns and Kenzie felt her mind ease slightly the longer they walked. Slowly, her feeling of apprehension, brought on by the darkness, turned in annoyance with the company's silence. When they began to walk upon a narrow ledge, the young witch's spirits lifted slightly when she saw Gandalf studying the wall beside him.
"Yay, history!" she thought with a small smile.
"The wealth of Moria was not in gold, or jewels," the wizard started, turning to address the whole Fellowship, "but mithril."
He then leaned over the edge slightly, allowing the light of his staff to illuminate the walls below. Everyone leaned over cautiously, peering into the seemingly endless depths of the mines. Kenzie pulled her lower lips between her teeth, watching the light reflect off the mithril laced in the walls. It seemed as if the entire mountain kingdom would fill with light again, but Gandalf pulled away and began down the path once more. Kenzie gazed over the edge a little longer, amazed as the darkness crept back into the endless drop. Finally, she was pulled out of her curious stare when Frodo tapped her shoulder lightly, signaling that they were moving on. The young witch sighed, glanced once more, and then turned back to continue down the path.
"Bilbo had a shirt of mithril rings that Thorin gave him," Gandalf continued. Kenzie sensed that the overall consuming silence was beginning to annoy him as much as it had been bothering her.
"Oh!" Gimli gasped at the comment with amazement, "That was a kingly gift!" "Yes," the wizard nodded with a smile, "I never told him, but its worth was greater than the value of the Shire!"
Kenzie smirked and turned her head beck to look at Frodo. The hobbit's bright blue eyes were as round as saucers.
"That would be a useful little shirt to have, don't you think, Frodo?" the young witch asked nonchalantly.
Frodo licked his lips, "I suppose it would be, Miss Kenzie," he replied with a nod of his head, adverting his eyes from her gaze.
Kenzie shook her head and turned back to the front, a small smile on her face. Mental note number 11: You should really leave the poor little hobbit with the big scary Ring alone; he already has enough on his mind.
They traveled on in silence, the rest of the day becoming quite uneventful. Kenzie has slipped into her own little world as they trudged on; thoughts of home coming to mind. She thought about random things; like how it would just be turning spring in the Bay City or how she would vow never to use a treadmill again. But the youngest O'Neil's thoughts mostly rested with her sisters. Kenzie was missing them terribly and she began to wonder when they would make one of their promised drop-in visits. The young witch frowned; she hoped that they would not decide to make a sisterly visit during an orc attack.
The Fellowship stopped suddenly, pulling Kenzie from her thoughts. The frown adorned on her face deepened as she came face to face with the steepest staircase she had ever seen.
"Oh dear Lord," she mumbled under her breath.
"Come on," Gandalf chastised, beginning to literally climb up the stairs, "We mustn't waste time staring at some stairs."
Kenzie sighed deeply, following the wizard up the staircase. It was littered with books, papers, and such, as well as more bodies. The Fellowship picked their way up the stairs carefully, trying to avoid any wrong moves.
"All right, I am never, never, ever buying a Stairmaster," Kenzie vowed, taking a hold of Legolas' offered arm to steady herself.
As they continued to struggle up the stairs, Kenzie began to wonder, wearily, why a race of people so short would want to build a staircase so steep and long. She was barely able to stand and walk up the stairs and the poor hobbits were crawling and slipping their way up; so how in the hell could a dwarf climb up these everyday?!
Whatever the answer was, she knew she would never find out. Finally, Kenzie placed her throbbing feet on the top of the last stair and stood up straight, feeling her back cry out in protest. Taking in deep breath of air, the young witch looked around at their new surroundings. Another small staircase curled to their left, leading up to three doorways. Gandalf stopped just before these stairs, the weary Fellowship coming to a halt behind him. The old wizard glanced at the three entrances in turn, a cloud of confusion settling across his face. He stared at them, his eyebrow cocked, for a few moments.
"I have no memory of this place," he whispered, but his voice echoed off the walls, allowing the rest of the company to hear his confession.
Kenzie sighed, relieved that this break had finally come. She trudged over to the small rest area beneath the doorways and fell to the ground, lying on the cool, cavern floor. Aragorn shook his head and smiled slightly as Gandalf slowly ascended the small staircase, looking perplexed by the three portals. He then turned to Boromir with a shrug.
The Lord of Gondor sighed and looked around the cavern in response, "I suppose that Kenzie has the best idea. Maybe it would be safe to start a fire?"
Aragorn sighed as well, his gaze falling on the young witch as she struggled to keep her eyes open.
"Yes," he responded wearily, "I believe that a fire would be safe."
Kenzie woke with a start, quickly coming to the realization that a complete silence engulfed her. She didn't hear a fire crackling, the hobbits whispering, or Gandalf mumbling to himself; only her shallow breathing, which she desperately tried to keep steady echoed in her ears. She didn't dare move, but gazed around at the cavern with wide eyes. Something was wrong. Why didn't she hear anyone else? Where were they?
Suddenly a great fear washed over her. What if the demon attacked silently and swiftly as she slept? Without another thought, Kenzie sat up and spun around. She looked around disbelievingly before she screamed; the sound echoing through out the entire mountain kingdom.
All of them were lying motionless on the cold, cavern floor. Pippin was just at her feet, Legolas only a few steps away, and Frodo clutched his chest.
"No!" she screamed again, scrambling to her feet.
Kenzie dashed to Legolas' side, tears streaming down her face. She clutched at his tunic, staring hopelessly into his lifeless eyes.
"No, no, no, no, no," she continued to mumble, her head falling to the elf's chest.
Her eyes roamed over the bodies of the dead Fellowship until she finally had to turn her gaze away. She had failed them. She had been entrusted with their safety, their lives, and she failed on the first test.
The young witch's cries became muffled against the fabric of Legolas' tunic. In her grief, she did not notice the dark figure that shimmered into the cavern. The Changer grinned maliciously as he stepped over the bodies, seemingly admiring his work.
"My, my, my. What do we have here?" he asked, his deep voice gurgling in his throat. Kenzie sniffled and slowly looked up, her blotchy face beginning to set into a determined, revengeful glare.
"I really am surprised at you," the demon continued, making his way toward her, "Sleeping on the job? I expected more of a challenge from a Charmed One."
Kenzie gritted her teeth, sitting up straight and fixating her gaze on him.
"Oh well, I suppose one should get use to disappointments," the Changer shrugged. After a slight pause, the demon sighed as he stopped a few feet away from her, "They all died quickly, if you want to know. All of them except him," he pointed to Legolas and Kenzie closed her eyes, trying to block out the images that were refusing to go away.
"I guess that they were, how do you say, courageous. Even though it only took me just a minute or more, including the elf," the Changer stated, an evil grin spreading across his face.
That was the last straw for Kenzie. She cried out in a mixture of anger and grief, throwing out her hand and flicking her wrist quickly. The demon's arm disappeared, shattering off his body into a million pieces. But to her surprise and utter disbelief, the arm simply shimmered back.
The Changer rolled his shoulder a little and then smiled, "Is that all you got?" he taunted. The young witch gritted her teeth and was quickly up on her feet. She held out both of her hands, and with all of her power, flicked her wrists.
He burst into flames, disappearing from her sight completely within a few seconds. When the silence settled over the cavern again, Kenzie let out the breath she had been holding and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Tears once again began to brim on her eyes as she went to turn back to Legolas.
Suddenly, she felt the air shift and whipped around quickly, only to find herself face to face with the Changer. He encircled a slimly, filthy hand around her neck and began to squeeze slightly.
"Remember, Charmed One, that you cannot kill a dream," he whispered.
As she struggled for air, Kenzie didn't understand what he meant or wasn't for sure that she wanted to know.
The demon added a little more pressure, "Do not forget what you see here, witch. For it just might come to pass in the near future......"
Her eyes flew open and she gasped as she sat up straight, the air rushing into her lungs. Kenzie clutched at her throat, breathing heavily, and closed her eyes.
Suddenly, a small timid hand touched her shoulder, "Lady Kenzie, are you all right?"
The young witch slowly opened her eyes and turned toward the tiny voice. A smile of relief began to creep up on her face and tears pricked her eyes when she saw Pippin's concerned face.
"Yes, Pippin," she whispered, "I'm fine now. It was just a bad dream."
'Only a nightmare, thank God,' she thought, more relief filling her as she took attendance of the Fellowship.
Merry and Sam were staring at her in concern, their pipes in their hands, Frodo and Gandalf were whispering from their perch in front of the three doorways, Boromir and Aragorn were smiling slightly at her, smoke curling out of their pipes, and Gimli puffed away as if nothing has happened at all.
'Just a dream,' she repeated in her mind, taking a deep breath.
'Or a message,' a tiny voice echoed.
Suddenly, someone took hold of her right arm. Kenzie turned and her smile brightened as she faced Legolas.
The elf smiled as well, feeling her mood lighten, and helped her to stand, "Maybe you should sit by the fire."
At the mention of the fire, a cold chill ran down her spine. Kenzie wrapped her cover around her and nodded. She walked over to the crackling fire with the elf and hobbit, taking a seat next to Aragorn.
"Are you all right, Kenzie?" he asked, taking his pipe out of his mouth.
The young witch shivered and nodded, "Yes, just a little cold."
"Did you have a nightmare, Little Sister?" Boromir asked, his face mirroring his concern.
"The worst nightmare I have ever had," she replied and then took in a ragged breath, pulling her legs up against her chest, "And I hope that it will remain that way; just a horrible dream."
Aragorn and Boromir looked at each other briefly, the same concern floating in their heads. Had Kenzie received a vision of some sorts about their future?
"Would you like to talk about it, Ai'er?" Legolas asked, picking up on Boromir and Aragorn's distress.
She shook her head defiantly, "No, I couldn't relive that; I couldn't handle it."
The two men and elf exchanged glances, their concern deepening.
Pippin, noticing how close and tense the air had become, took it upon himself to lighten the atmosphere immediately.
"Lady Kenzie," the hobbit began, "could you show us your other power?"
The young witch glanced over at the hobbit, smiling slightly at his eager and pleading face. She sighed, "I don't' know, Pip. I don't want to get us in trouble."
"I don't see the harm, Kenzie" Aragorn stated, puffing on his pipe, "We are all very interested."
"And if there are any orcs tracking us here, they will see your display of power and will not bother us for the entire trip," Boromir offered, smiling reassuringly.
Kenzie smiled and shook her head, "I guess it wouldn't hurt."
"Great!" Pippin cried, "So, how does it work?"
The young witch shrugged off her cover, "Well, it's all about my concentration and hand movements," she started.
"See, if I jerk my wrists and concentrate on stopping the object, I will freeze it, but," she explained, "if I flick my wrists, then I will destroy the object."
"Have you ever blown up something when you wanted to freeze it?" Merry asked, making his way into the conversation.
Kenzie laughed, "Yes. When my power started to evolve, I would be concentrating too hard and blow things up instead of freezing them. When my powers were fully developed, I had to learn to control them. I thought I would drive Katlin and Kennedy insane."
"Why is that?" Aragorn asked.
"Well, every time I moved my hands, I blew something up," the young witch replied with a smile.
"Can you show us now?" Merry asked, sitting next to Pippin, his face showing his excitement.
"Yes, please show us!" Pippin joined in, his face lit with a smile.
Kenzie smiled and giggled, "Oh, I suppose I can."
She then began looking around for something that she could freeze AND blow up. Her eyes scanned the area and finally came to a stop on a small pile of scrap wood that the group had gathered for the fire.
"Okay, this is going to be pretty easy, I hope," she started, shaking her hands a little.
"Legolas, when I give a signal, can you toss a piece of wood over the fire?" she asked.
The elf nodded and leaned over, grabbing a small piece of the fire wood.
"Okay," Kenzie breathed, taking a deep breath, "First, I'm going to freeze it, then I'll blow it up, all right?"
Merry and Pippin nodded their head vigorously. Kenzie smiled and looked up at Legolas. She then nodded, signaling him to throw the wood.
Legolas gently tossed the wood over the fire and Kenzie jerked her hands quickly, the object doming to a stand still over the fire.
"Now," she started, "watch the difference between the hand motions."
Kenzie took another breath, hoping that the explosion wouldn't be as loud as she expected it to be.
Finally she raised her hands again and flicked her wrists. The wood was unfrozen for a split second before bursting into flames. The young witch cringed, listening to the sound of the explosion echo through out the mines.
She turned to see Gandalf and Frodo turned toward her; Frodo's eyes widened in surprise and Gandalf's face glaring in disapproval.
Kenzie bit her lower lip, "Sorry."
"That was amazing!" Pippin cried.
"You could blow up a whole pack of orcs easily!" Merry jumped in.
The young witch creased her eyebrows, "Well, I suppose that I could try, but I think that my power would only be able to do so much."
"Yes, well, let us hope that we will not have to find out any time soon," Gandalf stated, turning back to the doorways.
Kenzie pursed her lips and looked away, 'Well, I can't help that,' she thought.
Gandalf grumbled and puffed on his piped before his face suddenly lit up.
"Ah!" he cried, standing and looking back at Frodo, "It's that way."
The entire company turned from the fire to gaze at the old wizard as he gathered his things.
"He's remembered!" Merry cried, standing quickly from his spot and gathering his pack as well.
"Yes, finally," Kenzie state, standing and folding her cover.
"Actually, no," Gandalf started as the rest of the Fellowship slowly made their way to where he stood, "but the air doesn't smell so foul down there."
The wizard paused and laid a hand on Merry's shoulder when the hobbit stopped at his side, "If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose."
"I don't think that that would be a wise thing to tell a hobbit," Kenzie stated as the company began to descend the stairs.
"Possibly, but only time will tell," Gandalf replied, turning and smiling at the young witch, a familiar glint in his eyes.
Kenzie laughed slightly and shook her head, all thoughts of her horrible nightmare fading form her mind.
Once again, I'm incredibility sorry. I know a lot of you are really into this story, and that really means the world to me. I'm sooooo sorry to keep you all waiting so long.
Later days, Trista
P.S.: YES I KNOW KENZIE IS A MARY-SUE!!! Didn't I warn you?? Sheesh........