A/N: -takes a breath and begins to sing to the tune of "London Bridge"-
Rivendell's burning to the ground
To the ground
To the ground
Rivendell's burning to the ground
Who will save Meryl?
Hidey ho junior rangers! Sorry 'bout that. Been watching reruns of Full House again. What do you think of my song? ...Well, actually, my friend Raven made part of it up, so it's not exactly MY song entirely. ^^;; Ennywho, how many people hate me for leaving that cliffhanger? -waits for hands to raise- Well, I sure hope that isn't the case. Thank you guys for all of the reviews, I'M ALMOST TO 200!
Disclaimer: -clasps hands behind back and recites-
Bibbity Bobbity Boo
Don't own LOTR and neither do you
So get off my back, so I can relax
And me you really don't wanna sue
Hee! Just got that off the top of my brain... I know that it really doesn't make any sense... ^^;; Sorry if it scared any of you guys. I seem to be in a musical mood today. Also, I forgot to say this before, but I do not own the comic that was mentioned in chapter 17. I don't know who drew it, but it belongs to them, and it's bloody hilarious!
Remember to review, and on with the fic!
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Chapter Nineteen: Braving the Inferno
Aragorn and others frantically worked to put out the fire. By then, they were joined by Gimli and many other Elves. The dwarf directed them, thinking that since he worked fire most of his life, he was an expert. They had formed a chain and passed buckets of water to the Dwarf, who would throw the water onto the door. The flames would lessen only a small bit.
Legolas was in the bucket line, passing large basins of water to the Dwarf. His ear twitched and his head whipped around, to see Dae barrel down the hall, barking frantically. He was surprised to see a pair of breeches tied to the dog.
"Dae!" Aragorn cried as ran to the dog. The smell of smoke clung to him like a cloud, even though the breeches were sopping wet. He knelt next to Dae. "Is she still in there?"
The dog whined and lunged forward. Aragorn managed to catch his collar as he ran past. Dae was pulled back from the door, but he persisted. Whining and barking frantically, he strained to get free.
"Meryl is in trouble," Legolas said. "That is what he is trying to tell us."
"If that is the case, one of us has to go and retrieve her," said Gimli. "I will go, for I am used to heat such as this."
"Nay, I will," Legolas said. "I apologize Gimli, but you do not have the size to carry her."
"Lad, you are the Prince of Mirkwood. If you die in there, there is nobody else to take your throne!" thundered the Dwarf. "I will go!"
Elrohir was listening to this as he was in the bucket line. As he passed buckets, he slowly grew angrier and angrier. With each passing second, Meryl drew closer to her death. As another bucket of water was passed into his hands, he an Elf to get an ax. The Elf nodded and disappeared. He returned a short while later with a large hatchet. Elrohir nodded his thanks. As another bucket water passed into his hands, without another thought he dumped it onto his head. He grabbed the hatchet out of the Elf's hands and dashed towards the door. Raising the hatchet with both hands, began hacking at the door.
"Elrohir, what are you doing?"
"Saving... Meryl... What does... It look like... I am doing?" he replied between swings of the hatchet.
At the first strike, the door splintered a little. After the second and third strikes, a chunk from the door was missing. After a countless number of strikes, the door finally collapsed. Flames leaped up to greet Elrohir as he ran inside. He covered his mouth and nose with his tunic.
"Meryl!" he called hoarsely through the cloth. "Meryl, where are you?"
He scanned the room quickly. The furniture was all in flames, but no sign of her. The heat made his mind reel. If it were bad enough for him, even though he was in the room for only a short while, Meryl would be in real trouble. She had been in there far longer than he had.
"Meryl! If you can hear me, say something!"
There was no answer. His eyes fell upon a door that led to a washroom. It was closed and flames licked all around it. Meryl must be in there. Elrohir wove his way quickly among the flames. He reached the door and began hacking at it with his hatchet. He hoped that he wouldn't see anything terrible on the other side.
Sweat trickled down his forehead and into his eyes. He blinked them away as he chopped at the door. After a few more strikes, the door collapsed. Both the hatchet and the fire had done their toll.
Inside he could see a body lying motionless on the floor. "Meryl!" he cried as he ran to the girl. Blood was flowing from the knuckles of her left hand and her eyes were closed. She was wet with sweat.
Fearing the worst, Elrohir shook her. He was relieved when a soft moan left her mouth. He scanned the washroom, looking for anything useful. His eyes fell upon a bucket of water. Clothes were half-submerged. In spite of the circumstance, he gave a small smile. So that was where Dae had gotten those breeches.
He pulled out a long-sleeved blouse and tied it around Meryl's mouth and nose, and dumped the remaining water on her body. He picked her up and slung her over his shoulders, so her head was hanging on his right side and her feet on the left. He fought his way through the flames towards the door. A cracking noise above his head made him look up. The fire had reached the beams and they had eaten them to the verge of collapsing.
This only spurred him to move faster. Although it had only been a few minutes, it seemed like he had been in there for an eternity. He made it to the door and ran out, with flames chasing him out. Ignoring all of the concerned cries, he placed the unconscious girl on the ground a great distance away from the burning room, and beckoned Aragorn over to examine her.
"She is alive," he said as the man knelt next to him, "but I do not know how injured she may be."
Aragorn quickly checked her. He took off his shirt and ripped it into strips of cloth. He bandaged her bleeding hand, saying quietly, "We must get her to Lord Elrond. He must have known that she would be injured." The second sentence was said to himself quietly, but Elven hearing abilities had enabled Elrohir to hear.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"When I had woken up, I went to his chambers. He was already awake and he was preparing his herbs. He must have known that something like this has happened." Aragorn collected Meryl into his arms and stood up. "Stay here and help put out the fire. I will be back when I can."
His foster brother nodded. "Please hurry." He stood up and rejoined the bucket line. He stood next to Legolas, whose eyes were filled with worry.
"How is she?" the Prince of Mirkwood asked.
"She is not dead, so that will please you," Elrohir tried to make a joke, but it was lost. He grew serious. "She is unconscious most likely due to smoke, and her hand has many large cuts on the knuckles. Otherwise she is fine."
Legolas gave a sigh of relief and heard Elladan, who was standing next to him, do the same. He turned to the Elf. "Where you eavesdropping, Elladan?" he asked with mock seriousness. "You know it is impolite to do so."
"You know me," Elladan grinned, "I can never keep my nose out of another's business." Legolas passed a bucket of water into his hands as he said, "Come, let us put out this fire so that we may go back to bed."
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Heat... Burning hotter than a candle's flame. No. A hearth's fire... An endless roar filling her ears... Slowly getting louder and louder... Then, a faint voice... Dull thumps on something until it splinters... The voice is louder and the whole world seems to shake... Something wet hinders her breathing, then a curtain of icy chill runs over body... The world drops and the heat grows even more intense before dropping away... There are more voices... And then the world turns black, and she sees no more...
Meryl's eyes snapped open and she sat up in bed. "Fire!" she cried. "Someone help!"
She felt a pair of hands gently press themselves against her shoulders, and pushed her on the bed. "It is all right. The fire has been extinguished, Meryl. You are out."
"Where am I?"
"In the House of Healing. Everything is all right, Meryl."
Her gaze fell upon Elrohir, who looked more or less worse for the wear. Bandages covered many parts of his body, and his skin had a reddish tint to it. She then looked at herself. Her right arm had a large damp bandage tied into place and many strips of cloth covered her knuckles. She looked at Elrohir again.
She then put two and two together. "You?" she was at a loss for words. "You got me out?"
He smiled and nodded. "For the most part, yes."
"But... How? I was trapped."
"An ax is a wonderful thing to use in times of emergency, my lady. Especially on burning doors."
"Don't call me lady."
"Ah, yes. That is right. You do not wish to be called that. Is it all right then if I call you something else?"
"It depends on what you want to call me." Meryl's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What are you thinking of?"
"It is nothing, my little toddler," he said grinning, using Legolas's nickname for her.
"Call me that again and I will attack you," Meryl threatened. "You know what happened to Legolas."
"Ah yes, but if I do recall, you tripped and you were not able to get back up."
Meryl glared at him. "Ah, yes, but beware. I can move freely and without pain now. Call me a name and I can chase you clear down Rivendell."
"You are just jesting," Elrohir said. "It was a nice try, my little toddler," he added with a grin, proving that he didn't believe her.
True to her threat, Meryl quickly got out of bed and growled, "You had best start running if you fear for your safety." Elrohir, seeing that she could indeed move without pain, leaped to his feet and dashed out of the room, with Meryl close behind.
If an Elf crossed through the main halls at that time, they would see a bandaged son of Elrond running down the halls, chased angrily by a mortal girl, who was equally bandaged, some ways behind. The mortal girl, identified as the Lady Meryl, would be yelling at the twin at how she was going to kill him for calling her that, whatever she meant. And if that Elf was still watching, they would have seen the Lady Meryl run into her handmaiden, who promptly grabbed the girl by the elbow and dragged her down the hallway, without even taking a breath when she began scolding.
The twin paused to catch his breath and called out, "I am grateful that I am not in your place!"
"Shut the bloody hell up!"
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A great ending for this chapter, no? Meryl always loves to have the last word. Again, I felt strangely inspired today although it wasn't gym class today, it was my cat. She does not want to leave me alone. Right now, I am typing this with her in my lap, and pawing at the keys, since I'm "petting" them instead of her. Here is what she has to say:
Tgu vv chsdfkh
Apparently, that's kitty language that says, "Remember to review!"
By the Lion's Mane,
Leo