Twisted Thoughts
Part 5
Chapter 15
"And know that's it's time to go, I don't want to leave," Shadow sighed, slipping one of her daggers into her knee high deerskin boots the Legolas had given her. Both girls were dressed in rich Earth tones as to blend in, much like the men in their party.
"I know the feeling, but this will be fun. The Orcs are going to be SO much fun to play with," Kat said with a grin.
"And you wonder why we call you the Cheshire Cat," said Shadow shaking her head.
"I still think you should be the cat O'knife wielding Alice," Kat chuckled. (A/N: See 'American McGee's Alice'.)
"Bite me Kat," Shadow said glaring.
"You know that doesn't work on me Shadow," Kat said, mock glaring right back. The two tried to glare each other down for several minutes before breaking down into a fit of giggles.
"You seem to be having too much fun for preparing to go on a trip that will most likely be the end of you," a voice sneered from the doorway. Kat and Shadow restrained the urge to roll their eyes.
"My Grandfather always said laughter was the best medicine Boromir. You should learn, we really don't want you dieing of stress on the trip," Shadow retorted. Boromir sneered again and continued on his way.
"How, exactly, did Elrond talk us into moving back into the main house?" Kat asked, shouldering her surprisingly light pack.
"Something about not getting in as much trouble here," Shadow responded.
"Yeah well. Here we have to put up with the nobles and Gandalf's creepy stares. I think I liked people trying to kill us better," said Kat. After the incident with Cyril, Gandalf had been watching the two girls very closely. Legolas had told them that it had to do with something that happened when they got mad.
It didn't surprise the two girls much. The Mad Hatter had always said hell seemed to open up behind them when either of them got mad. For both of them to get mad at the same time, the apocalypse was near. Even still, Gandalf's constant staring was getting very creepy.
"Well, I think we have everything we'll need," said Shadow, flipping her pack closed and shouldering it, much like Kat had.
"Shall we?"
"Of course."
The two girls linked arms and skipped out of the room and down to the courtyard where everyone was gathering, getting many strange looks as they went. As it turned out, the rest of the Fellowship was waiting on the two of them. Boromir and Gimli glared sourly at the two girls, but no one else commented.
"As you all know, it is your last chance to seek refuge at Rivendell. If one of you decides to stay no one will hold it against you," Gandalf said, for the first time in days, not staring at the girls. Gandalf's eyes were focused on Merry and Pippin.
"Ha! You think we're going to turn back now Gandalf? You need people with brains on this mission…quest, thing," said Pippin.
"That would be us Pippin," said Kat, grinning at the little hobbit. Pippin grinned back and Gandalf continued.
"Well, we should set off now. I'm sure you all have said your goodbyes," Gandalf said. The group nodded. "Good. We shall head towards the Misty Mountains," said Gandalf. And with that, the group set off.
Chapter 16The Fellowship was now almost a week into the trip. Shadow and Kat were both chipper and full of energy, but everyone else seemed tired or subdued. Kat, however, was worried for Frodo. Even in her most oblivious moments she could see the ring was weighing heavily on him.
The group passed single file through a narrow wood passage, with Aragorn in the lead, followed by Gandalf, Frodo, Kat, Elrohir, Shadow, Legolas, Boromir, Merry, Pippin, Gimli, and Sam, who was leading Bill. Frodo was clumsy in his movements and looked about ready to fall over. From what Kat had seen. Frodo hadn't slept at all during the trip, and it was taking its toll.
Kat had finally had enough when Frodo tripped on a tree root and fell face first onto the ground. Kat leaned over and picked Frodo up, balancing him on her hip. Frodo started to object but Kat cut him off. "Get some sleep Frodo. You are tired. You cannot go on just not sleeping. I will make sure no ill falls upon you or the burden you carry while you sleep," Kat whispered in his ear.
Frodo muttered something in thanks and slowly drifted off to sleep, resting his head on her shoulder. The group continued on, and Aragorn set camp in a clearing an hour or so before dark. Using her free hand and some help from Shadow, Kat rolled out her sleeping bag and set Frodo on it. He stirred slightly, but a few words from Shadow set him right back to sleep.
"So, you've appointed yourself his guardian?" Shadow asked.
"More or less. No one else seemed to pick up on the fact that he hasn't slept at all since we left Rivendell, and your busy making sure Aragorn doesn't kill himself," Kat answered.
"I still say I've never seen a person blow up a fire," Shadow snickered.
"I say it's a wonder he lived all these years out in the wild by himself," said Kat.
"I heard that!" yelled Aragorn from his place in front of the fire Shadow had built. Both girls broke out in giggles. The rest of the group just shot them strange looks, but again, no one commented.
Chapter 17"I hate the snow," Shadow growled. The Fellowship had just started going trying to go over Caradhras and it wasn't cooperating!
"Grrrr! We weren't meant to function in cold like this! We're from frigging Florida! We were meant to deal with 200 degree lava pits damn it!" Kat elaborated.
"You know, you do not have to carry me still Lady Kat," said Frodo hesitantly.
"No, it's fine Frodo. You're like having my own mini heater. I think I'll hold onto you," said Kat patting Frodo on the head with her free hand.
"The wonders of hobbits," said Shadow. She was also carrying one of the hobbit mini heaters. Bill had been sent back before they had started on Caradhras, so Shadow carried Pippin, Legolas carried Sam, and Elrohir carried Merry.
As if too piss them off even more, the already heavy fall of snow had picked up. Kat and Shadow looked at each other and growled. "CARADHRAS!" they yelled in unison. "If you don't stop it right now we'll turn you into a Marshmallow!"
Both girl's eyes had done the creepy color-changing thing again, and everything stopped, including the snow. "That's better. Good Mountain," said Kat, petting a ledge close to her. The male just stared at the girls.
"Hell hath no fury like that of a woman's scorn," Shadow said grinning like a Cheshire cat at the bewildered Fellowship.
"Women? Ha, if your women then I'm an Elf," Boromir sneered. Caradhras apparently didn't like the comment and a very large pile of snow was dropped on Boromir.
"I like this Mountain already," said Shadow, trying not to laugh at the Stewart of Gondor's misfortune.
"Did you really cause that?" Frodo whispered to Kat.
"I don't know. It could be coincidence," Kat replied. Without warning the wind picked up again and the Fellowship was buried under several feet of snow. Naturally, Kat and Shadow were the first to break the surface, still holding the small hobbits.
"We take that back!" Shadow yelled, helping Gimli dig himself out of the snow.
Gimli didn't look amused. "I told you we should have gone through Moria, Gandalf!" he yelled as Gandalf sprouted from the snow like a spring daisy.
"No comment," Shadow and Kat said, helping the two elves, hobbits, and Aragorn right themselves. Boromir still hadn't surfaced and with the help of Legolas, he and Shadow managed to find and dig the man out. He seemed too have taken a rock to the head and was slightly out of it.
"Frodo, I leave you the choice. We can go through Moria or keep trying over Caradhras," said Gandalf, looking at Frodo, who was hanging from Kat's back.
"What do you think Lady Kat?" Frodo whispered in her ear.
"I choose not to comment. It's up to you," said Kat.
Frodo thought for a second before looking at Gandalf and answering, "We shall go through Moria."
Kat and Shadow shared a look. And now it begins, the two girls whispered, to low for anyone to hear.
Chapter 18It was now their second day in Moria. Upon entering they had come across the ugly ass octopus/squid thing. It hadn't taken long to get rid of it, but the group was now stuck in Moria. For Shadow, this wasn't too much of an issue it was dark, therefore okay, but Kat was very claustrophobic. At first Kat was at the verge of hysteria but Shadow managed to keep her fairly calm, with the help of Elrohir.
The hobbits were okay to walk now, but they had a few problems with the crushed bones on the floor. Other than that, there were very few problems. Everyone was mostly worried about what was inside Moria. When they first entered the mine Legolas and Elrohir had identified the weapons used to kill some of the dwarves as weapons of Goblins. They came upon another room, and stopped when they saw a door covered in runes. Gandalf started reading off what it said, but Shadow and Kat were both well aware.
"Frodo? Do you have your Mithril jacket on?" Kat whispered in Frodo's ear. He looked shocked, but nodded. "Good," said Kat, moving to stand next to Shadow. Both girls were on edge, and then it happened. Pippin knocked the skeleton off the ledge, and it went tumbling.
The soft beats of the drums from the deep started. "Oh shit! That's just dandy," Shadow muttered. Kat rolled her eyes. Both girls knew this would happen, but nothing could have prepared them for the real thing. Both girls were startled when the Goblins started poring into the room. Without hesitation they gave them hell.
Elrohir and Legolas were firing arrows in several different directions while Boromir and Aragorn started taking them out with their swords. Gandalf was firing spells in every which direction and Gimli was swinging his axe wildly. This left Kat and Shadow to defend the Hobbits. This was fine by them, but it seemed all of the Goblins were trying to get at them.
Neither Shadow nor Kat had a problem killing the foul creatures, but it wasn't easy to kill so many of them at once. It only got worse when the Troll made its appearance. Like the Goblins, the troll seemed determined to go after the two girls and the Hobbits. However, they quickly found it wasn't the group they were after, it was Frodo.
Somehow Frodo had managed to get away from the protection Kat and Shadow offered and was now out in the open with an armed Troll stomping towards him. The others seemed to notice as well, but could do nothing about it. The closest ones to Frodo were Kat and Shadow, but it didn't look like either could get to him. Taking a chance Shadow started using her Elven dagger as a bat and started cutting her way to the Troll that was closing in on Frodo.
"Not on my watch buddy," Shadow yelled, driving her dagger deep into the Trolls thigh. It screeched and swung its club at Shadow, knocking her into a wall.
"Shadow!" Kat screamed, seeing Shadow hit the wall. In seconds Kat too had cleaved her way to the Troll. Slashing wildly Kat injured the Troll fatally, but not before it struck Frodo with a spear it had picked up off the floor. An arrow to the neck from Elrohir made the Troll drop dead before it could cause any more damage.
Slaying the last few Goblins the rest of the Fellowship rushed towards Frodo, but Kat knew he was fine and was more worried about her cousin anyway. Shadow was lying in the same place she had fallen, blood trickling from a cut on her forehead. She was out cold. Kat picked Shadow up, making sure to grab her dagger and walked back to where the Fellowship was gathered.
Legolas was the first to notice the Kat was carrying an unconscious Shadow. "What happened?" he demanded.
"She got into a fight with a Troll. Needless to say, she lost," Kat answered.
"I'll take her, you watch the hobbits," Legolas said, pulling Shadow out of her arms. On any other occasion Kat would have bitched for being bossed around, but now was not the time.
"Are you guys alright?" Kat asked, placing her hands on Merry and Pippin's shoulders. The hobbits all jumped.
"We're fine Lady Kat. How is Lady Shadow?" Frodo asked.
"She's fine. She took a nasty hit but she'll live. Personally, I think she could have taken the troll herself on the right day. I guess she just wasn't having it," said Kat, making the hobbits laugh.
Unlike the others in the group, the little hobbits seemed to enjoy her sarcastic nature. Boromir just muttered something about turning into a tall hobbit, right before he found himself in a lake, but still. The others knew it was safer just not to comment.
At that minute the drums started picking up again. "To the bridge of Khazad-dum!" Gandalf yelled, taking off into a brisk sprint. Kat ran behind the slightly slow hobbits, to make sure nothing popped out to get them and to make sure they didn't fall behind. Before Kat knew it the Goblins were catching up.
Kat snagged Legolas's bow and started firing arrows, each one hitting its target with a ring. "Faster people!" Kat yelled. With out warning the Goblins started falling back. "Shit!" Kat swore. The group came upon a dilapidated footbridge with a gap in the middle and Kat swore again. Upon seeing the bridge the group stopped. "Now is NOT the time to stop running. Jump the damn gap!"
That seemed to get the ball rolling. Kat swore several more un-lady like curses as she heard the stirring of the Balrog. Gandalf threw her a questioning look as if asking 'is that what I think it is?'
"Yes, it is," Kat said, watching the men throw the Hobbits over the gap. By now she had gone through every curse she knew from her world and had started cursing under her breath in surprisingly fluent Quenya and Sindarin. Aragorn, Legolas, and Elrohir looked at her strangely as she continued to riddle off curses, not yet seeing the reason for it.
"Kat, go. This foe is beyond all of you. Make sure they all get to Lothlorien safely. I leave you and Aragorn in charge," Gandalf said, laying a hand on Kat shoulder.
"See you soon," Kat whispered, too low for all but herself and Gandalf to hear. Kat took a running leap over the gap and just made it. "Come on, let's go, time to go, move it!" Kat said shoving the men towards the exit.
No one moved, they just stared as the Balrog appeared, in all its flaming glory. With the Balrog also came a mix of Goblins and Orcs, but Kat didn't really care about the difference. The only good creature under Sauron was a dead one, as was Kat and Shadow's motto.
Kat finally got the men moving when it looked like Gandalf had killed the Balrog. Gandalf looked weary, and seemed very surprised when the Balrog's whip wrapped around his foot. "Gandalf!" Frodo yelled, starting to run towards Gandalf, who was hanging from the ledge.
Kat grabbed Frodo's tunic, and the Orc/goblin/creature assholes started firing arrows. "There is nothing we can do. Run!" Kat yelled. No one moved. And, as Murphy's Law would have it, one of the arrows happened to hit Kat. 'I hate this place. Next time I'm going to tackle the troll and let her deal with this,' Kat thought ripping the arrow out of her arm.
The Fellowship, however, didn't see this, they were all concentrating on Gandalf. Seeing Kat's struggle, Gandalf yelled, "Fly you fools!" before dropping from the ledge. Kat was now forcibly shoving the rest of the Fellowship out of the room, and into the outside. Most of them seemed to have sense enough to start running, except Aragorn. Growling in frustration Kat pushed Aragorn up the stairs and out into the open.
The brightly shining sun seemed to knock some sense into Aragorn, but not enough. Kat hadn't even had time to process what was going on before she found herself pinned to a precipice by her neck, her feet not even touching the ground. "You knew!" Aragorn growled, squeezing Kat's neck tightly.
Kat coughed and sputtered as her airway was cut off. "Let go," she ground out. The others seemed to have noticed what was going on, but none made a move to stop it. In fact, all of them looked decidedly pissed off.
"Tell me why I should not just kill you now, Spy of Sauron?" Aragorn demanded, still squeezing her neck.
"Fuck you. I'm as much of a spy as you are," Kat coughed. Tiny black spots were dancing before her eyes as she slowly suffocated. "Let go," Kat said again. Aragorn made no move to let her go. Several seconds later Kat blacked out.
Elrohir, however, seemed to have had enough. "Put her down Estel," Elrohir ordered. Aragorn glared at Elrohir but dropped Kat.
"We need to make for Lothlorien," Aragorn said, walking down the side of the mountain, leaving Kat in an unconscious heap.
(A/N: We didn't feel like responding to everyone individually, because most of you said the same thing… Anyway, thank you, we are glad you like our story. To Renegadekitsune, we think Cyril will be brought out later but we aren't sure. On another note, sorry this is late. Shadow and I had a misunderstanding, we each thought the other had posted the chapter. O'well, it's being fixed so that works.)