Okay, here we go. I know that the first two chapters only had little reference to LOTR, but this time is different! Enter three Fellowship members! Also, I'm being forced to post this chapter because my good ol' buddy Yorun called me a tease. I am no tease. .* I am merely the Queen of Cliffhangers. Not a tease.

Once again, I forgot the disclaimer so here it goes: I own nothing except for Meryl and Dae. In fact, Dae was created in the memory of my dog, Bo, who sadly passed away on April 1st 2003. Enjoy Chapter Two!

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Chapter Two: The Uglies attack

A girl lay stretched out on the grass at the edge of a clearing. She was surrounded by tall grass dotted with violets. Her eyes were closed; she was most likely unconscious. A large black dog lay about a hundred yards from her, hidden in the forest, not moving at all. It was also most likely unconscious.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the distance. A group of Uruk-Hai appeared from the edge of the forest at the other end of the clearing. Their leader was a tall Uruk-Hai, with many battle scars decorating his body.

He scanned the area, looking for any sign of enemies. His eyes fell upon a pair of feet, with a strange type of boot on. He smiled. Another sleeping victim. Humans should know better than to sleep in such a spot when Uruk-Hai are around. This would be a good time to teach them that.

He signaled to his group with a hand. They all drew their weapons, and began creeping forward, naturally with the leader in front.

They silently crossed the clearing; their feet making hardly any sound, except for the crushing of grass. Step by step they drew closer. The pair of feet didn't move.

The leader was the first to approach. He walked forward, sword drawn and held in front of him. The pair of feet still hadn't moved.

The Uruk-Hai now was close enough to see that the human was a girl. She had light brown hair and was wearing clothing that he had never seen. There was a large half-healed cut on her left cheek, and a few smaller half-healed cuts on her forehead. There was also a strange contraption on her left arm.

He reached forward and prodded the strange item with the tip of his sword. It was very hard, most likely a type of weapon. The girl's feet twitched. The leader stood still, but his troops jumped back.

"Cowards," he growled in the Black Speech. "Afraid of a human girl."

He bravely walked forward and placed his sword against the girl's neck. "And now you die."

Meryl's eyelids twitched. Something wasn't right. She felt cold steel against her neck. She opened her eyes and stared into a pair of yellow eyes, with the joy of the kill glistening in them. {Whoa ugly,} she thought.

"Ah, you're awake," the Uruk-Hai said in the Common Tongue. "Awake in time to witness your own death."

Meryl's scream echoed throughout the forest, causing many birds to flee the area, and awakening a certain canine...

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Two horses clopped down the shady wooded path. One carried a tall figure, sitting up straight as a ruler. The other carried two figures, one sitting elegantly and tall, the other shorter and hunched over.

As they rode into the sunlight, one could see who these figures were, for they were well known. The one who rode alone was none other than Aragorn, son of Arathorn, King of Gondor. The others were just as recognizable. The elegant one was Legolas, son of Thranduil, Prince of Mirkwood Forest. The smaller one was known as Gimli, son of Gloin, Lord of the Glittering Caves.

"Would you mind telling me where we are going again?" grumbled Gimli, clearly disliking riding on the horse.

"We are heading towards Rivendell, Master Dwarf," said Aragorn with a smile, "to deliver a message from Arwen to her father, if you remember."

Gimli grunted and fingered his axe. "I still have no idea why the Elf and I had to be dragged along. I was just about to make the crystal case for the hairs that the Lady of Light had given me."

"Well," said Legolas in mock indignance, "it was *the Elf* who reminded Aragorn that large groups of Uruk-Hai have been spotted around here, and that it takes more than one man to fend them off."

"I apologize for that comment Legolas," said Gimli with guilt. "I wasn't thinking."

"Your apology is accepted," replied Legolas, "for I remember that Dwarves usually do not think at all."

Aragorn and Legolas laughed as Gimli growled, "You had better keep your mouth shut, lest you want to lose your head." But he laughed also. "Anyways, Aragorn is the only *Man* in this company," he added, proud of his own play of words.

Their festivities were cut short, however, when they heard a piercing scream, that chilled their blood, resonate through the trees. Gimli looked wildly around, while Legolas's eyes narrowed.

"I sense that there are Uruk-Hai around," he said. "Barely, but I sense them."

"Where are they?" asked Aragorn.

Legolas closed his eyes and opened them a moment later. He turned to the left. "West of here." He squinted. "About half a mile away; a little less."

"By all means," said Gimli, "let us go. Judging by the scream, we have little time to loiter around."

Aragorn pulled at his horse's reins and steered him to the west. "Let's go."

They galloped off into the forest at high speed, hoping that they wouldn't arrive too late.

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The Uruk-Hai laughed. "There's nobody around to hear you scream. It is pointless to waste your breath." He grinned, showing yellowed teeth. "Although it is amusing to watch you hope."

Meryl watched on in horror as he pulled up his sword. He was going to decapitate her, she thought frantically. "Please, somebody help!" she shrieked. "Brian! Somebody!"

"Farewell human," whispered the Uruk-Hai. As he was about to bring down his sword, a large black thing leaped from the forest and tackled him, growling and barking the whole time.

"Dae!" said Meryl as she slid away.

The black Labrador leaped off of the Uruk-Hai, black blood staining his already black muzzle. The Uruk-Hai lay still; his throat had been ripped out by the dog. His dark blood began staining the grass.

The other Uruk-Hai attacked. Dae stood in front of his mistress, clearly intending to protect her. He growled in warning. The monsters halted for a moment.

"Ooh, look!" said an Uruk-Hai in the Black Speech. "An easy kill!" He ran forward and slashed at Dae. The dog leaped and tackled the monster, biting at his face.

Meryl was too scared to move. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. She whirled around to see an Uruk-Hai draw his bow. She realized that he was aiming for Dae. "No!" she cried as she ran to him.

The bowstring sang as the arrow was released. It was on a direct course to Dae when-

Meryl leaped into the arrow's path. It struck her cast and glanced off. Pain laced up her arm. The archer cursed. She ran out of the way, and picked up the arrow. She looked around, trying to find the enemy. An Uruk-Hai stood in front of her. She quickly ran forward, and buried the arrow into its neck.

The Uruk-Hai archer fitted another arrow to his bow. He waited for the girl to turn around, so as he could kill her. Then, she turned. He aimed and let loose, this time the arrow striking her left shoulder. His aim and timing were off center, he had failed. He cursed in the Black Speech.

Meryl fell to her knees, her arm screaming in pain. The world spun before her eyes. In the distance, she thought that she heard hoofbeats. She struggled to her feet, her hand clutching her arm. Blood seeped through her fingers. The shaft of the arrow stuck out of her flesh. She dared not pull it out, for fear of more pain.

"Oh Brian," she whimpered. "Help me."

Dae whirled around and lunged at the archer. He took the bow in his jaws and snapped it, for it was only a stick in his eyes. He then attacked the Uruk-Hai, and killed it. He took his place in front of his mistress again. Five bodies lay around him. He growled at the remaining Uruk-Hai. They took one look at each other, and fled, fearing for their lives.

That was the last that Meryl saw, as darkness overcame her once again. She fell to the ground, her right hand still clutching her shoulder. She never felt the reassuring licks that Dae gave her, and never heard his worried whines.

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Legolas yelled against the wind, "I sense no more Uruk-Hai! I detect a few, but they are running away."

"They must have succeeded in their intentions then," Aragorn shouted back. "We should turn around and head for Rivendell."

"Nay!" shouted Legolas. "I still see something. We must hurry."

Gimli squinted against the sunlight. He could just make out some figures up ahead. "Legolas is right! Something still stands." he cried.

Legolas urged their horse to run faster, with Aragorn at their side. In no time, they had reached a clearing. A black dog stood in the center, breathing heavily. It stood in front of a fallen girl, who was lying on her right side, with her back facing them. Not noticing the new arrivals, the dog whined and licked the girl's face. Five Uruk-Hai bodies lay around them. One with an arrow sticking out of his neck.

Aragorn dismounted. As soon as his feet hit the ground, the dog whirled around and growled. Its muzzle glistened with blood.

"Steady, We're not going to hurt you," Aragorn said in a soothing voice.

Legolas dismounted also, leaving Gimli alone on the horse. Gimli looked wildly around. How can they expect him to get off without killing himself?

Legolas began taking small steps towards the dog. It never took its eyes off of him. It growled again, warning him to back off. Its devotion to the girl was clear; it wouldn't let anyone get near her.

"It's alright," Legolas softly said. "We're friends."

The dog stopped growling. As it was about to take a step forward, there was a loud thump behind the Elf, making the dog go back to its guarding stance. It began growling once again, this time even more severely. Legolas whirled around to see Gimli on the ground, flat on his back, gasping for air. Aragorn sighed and shook his head.

Legolas turned around and took a few more steps closer to the dog and the maiden. The dog backed away, still standing in front of the girl. It barked and Legolas stepped back.

After a moment of staring the dog down, Legolas took a step forward again and bent over and reached out a hand. "It's okay. I won't harm her."

Again, the dog stopped growling. Hesitantly, it took a step towards Legolas. It came closer, until it was able to smell the Elf's hand.

"That's it," said Legolas. "See? I'm a friend." The dog licked his hand tentatively, and whined.

Aragorn came up behind Legolas. He set a hand on the Elf's shoulder. "Good job Legolas."

Legolas straightened up after patting the dog's head. "It was only a small task. We must get the girl some medical attention."

"If she is still alive," said Aragorn gently. "The dog might not be able to tell the difference if she is alive or not."

The dog went back to the girl and prodded her with its nose. It whined, and turned to Legolas and Aragorn. The Elf understood and went over. Gently he turned her over, so as he would have a good look at her. She had abnormally pale skin, with a large half-healed cut on her left cheek. An arrow stuck out of her left shoulder; blood still flowed from the wound, staining her strange garb and the grass. Legolas leaned over and positioned his ear above her mouth. A slight breeze tickled his cheek.

"She is alive," he informed Aragorn.

The king of Gondor had been trying to calm the dog down. He stood up and nodded. "What wounds does she have?" he inquired.

"An arrow has punctured her left shoulder. I dare not try and take it out, for she might bleed to death." Legolas gently picked her up and began walking towards his horse. The dog followed him closely, showing that although it did trust the Elf, it wasn't going to take any chances.

He walked by Gimli, who was still on the ground. "Gimli, get up. You're wasting time."

"I would if I could," groaned the Dwarf between gasps. "But it seems like I have knocked the wind out of myself."

Aragorn walked over and hauled Gimli to his feet. "Come along, Master Dwarf. You may ride with me until you regain your second wind."

"What of the girl?" asked Gimli.

"Legolas will ride with her. He's the best at making sure that she won't fall off," answered Aragorn as he set him in his horse's saddle. "And he's the smoothest ride. Now hang on for a minute. I'm going to help Legolas."

He followed the Elf to his horse. Legolas transferred the unconscious girl into Aragorn's arms before mounting his horse. As soon as he was set, Aragorn handed her up. He then went over to his own horse and mounted it, sitting behind Gimli. "Let's go."

They both nudged their horses' sides. In a flash they sped through the forest, on direct course for Rivendell.

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So, you like? Tell me by pressing that little button down in the left-hand corner! And a special thank you to Yorun, for reading and being my first reviewer! Arigatou gozaimasu! Also, this will be my last chapter to post for a while because I'm heading off to camp tomorrow. Ok? Good. Now go and review!

By the Lion's Mane,

Leo

P.S. For those of you who don't know Japanese, "Arigatou gozaimasu" means "Thank you very much" I've been taking Japanese for a while, so don't be surprised if I include a few words in my Author's Notes.