Disclaimer: Jingle Bells, Gimli smells,
Elrond laid an egg!
Gandalf hopped on a pogo stick
And Kat doesn't own anything, HEY!
A/N: These next couple chapters will mainly be regarding the trip down the Anduin and some other stuff *hint, hint * Hee hee. But I want to pace it so that I'll be able to use the script for TT…probably won't work that way, but I want it to because using the script is a hell of a lot easier. Also, for the life of me, I cannot figure out exactly how long the trip down the river was. So I'm just estimating the time—does six days sound right? Well, if anyone knows, please let me know!
Chapter Eighteen
We traveled down the river for several hours, stopping to rest only when the very last bit of light began to fade from the sky. The first day wasn't incredibly unpleasant—Gimli kept to himself and Legolas wasn't too horrid about my lesson. The only downfall was that it was boring and tiring. I was quite glad to climb out of that boat at the end of the day.
The next day was significantly worse.
I woke early the next morning, and immediately found that my shoulders and arms ached painfully from the extensive rowing I had done the day before. The temperature had also dropped considerably, the sky was grey, and the river seemed slightly turbulent. And to top it all off, the river smelled like fish. I wrinkled my nose and went to dress.
About an hour later I was treated to a slightly burned breakfast. Sam had heated some of the cold sausage over the fire, hoping to start our day off with a "nice warm and hearty breakfast," but he momentarily forgot about the roasting sausages. So we had sausage flambé, slightly bitter coffee, and apples that were quite past their prime. Aragorn absolutely refused to break out the lembas, claiming that we should save them for emergencies. Trust me, this was an emergancy. But did he listen? No…
We boarded the boats about fifteen minutes after breakfast. Gimli apparently had a pole stuck up his butt and consequently barked at anyone who tried to speak with him—mostly me, but that's nothing particularly usual. I made an effort to remain silent. Normally I wouldn't, but it appeared he was on a short fuse today, and he also had a very sharp axe.
So I paddled along the gloomy river in silence. I was cold and sore, and my fingers were practically blocks of ice. I would periodically breathe hot air on them, but it didn't relieve the cold for long. I found myself longing for an oversized, fluffy, warm sweatshirt I used to wear, especially on cold winter nights or when I was sick. I sighed forlornly, wishing that Middle-earth would invent Target or something.
Around late afternoon the sky grew darker and a thunderstorm seemed inevitable. I wasn't sure whether to be happy or angry about it. It would probably mean we'd have to stop for the night, but all the same, I wasn't in the mood to be drenched.
A raindrop landed on my hand. I sighed, and wiped it off, pulling the hood of my cloak well over my head.
I'll be damned if the rain messes up my hair…I thought to myself as another splashed on the boat's floor.
More drops began to fall, dotting the interior of the boat with damp polka dots. In the next boat Aragorn looked at the sky, but made no sign of stopping. I pulled my hood tightly over my head.
The rain was gentle at first and rather pleasant. But as we rowed onward, thunder rumbled in the distance. Almost as if it was a cue, the rain began to increase significantly, running in rivulets down my cloak. Aragorn paddled on.
Ten minutes later we were in the middle of a torrential downpour. My leggings were completely soaked and clung to my legs. Puddles of water had collected in the boat and my shoes were now wet and uncomfortable, making squishing sounds whenever I moved my feet. My cloak was drenched, the water was beginning to seep through to my shirt, and my hair was becoming uncomfortably damp. I slumped miserably in my seat, praying that Aragorn would come to his senses and stop.
Almost as if he had heard my thoughts, Aragorn began to veer off toward the bank of the river. I rowed with all my might, wanting nothing more than a warm fire and dry clothes. The bottom of the boat scraped against the sandy bottom and I smiled in relief. I scrambled out of the boat and into the water. Legolas nimbly followed and we shoved the boat onto the shore.
It took a long while to harbor the boats. We piled our supplies under a fir tree and proceeded to dump the excess water out of the boats. Aragorn then made us carry them a little bit away from the shore, presumably to hide them from unfriendly eyes. I just thought it was a nuisance.
I was completely soaked by then, and consequently very uncomfortable. I followed the others as we tramped through the woods in search of shelter, our supplies in hand. My teeth chattered and I rubbed my arms, wishing there was such a thing as Motel Six.
We finally came upon a stone cave, large and well sheltered from the rain. After Aragorn deemed it acceptable (after making a meticulous inspection of the place for animals and every other paranoid thing he could think up) we wearily clambered inside. I sat down, leaning my back against the smooth cave wall.
Once we were all in, a lantern was lit, it's meager light lighting up the dark interior. Everyone was soaked and thoroughly worn out.
"We will rest here tonight," said Aragorn, "but there will be no fire, as the wood is wet and will not take flame." I cursed to myself. Where was a gas fireplace when you needed one?
*
About an hour later I had managed to change into dry clothes. I had forced the rest of the Fellowship to shut their eyes when I did so, and wore my old cloak the entire time, just to make sure. I shut my eyes when they changed as well. I really did not need to see Gimli in his birthday suit…
Once everyone was…clothed, I wrapped myself up in my old cloak and tried to sleep.
Notice how I said tried.
Aragorn was discussing something or another with Boromir, neglecting to lower his voice to a whisper. Gimli had also started to snore, which was loud, yet slightly amusing in its own twisted way. And it was cold.
I shivered and pulled my cloak tightly around me. I shut my eyes and tried to relax. Soon, the sounds around me became distant as sleep slowly claimed me.
*
I found myself in the garden again. The fountains bubbled merrily and vibrant beauty surrounded me. My eyes widened as I realized where I was.
Dammit, not this…get me out of here… I thought to myself. I struggled to wake up, but the dream had other plans.
I felt the familiar arms twine themselves around my waist. I tried vainly to turn around, but his grip tightened and I found myself immobile. Soft lips gently caressed my neck, sending shivers up my spine. His kisses trailed up my neck to my earlobe. I felt myself weaken and I collapsed against his chest. Strong hands gently turned me around to face him. Shadow hid his face.
"Who are you?" I asked. The shadow began to disappear and I watched his face intently, searching for any familiar characteristics. Up ahead the clouds parted and the light of the moon shone through. The rest of the shadow began to melt away and…
I started awake, kicking my cloak away and sending someone's pack flying. My breath came in short gasps and my throat was dry.
"Haley?" asked Aragorn, his expression showing some concern. Legolas and Gimli looked slightly startled, and Boromir looked at me curiously. The hobbits managed to sleep through this.
"Has she gone mad?" asked Boromir, somewhat fearfully.
"That happened a long while ago, if you ask me," replied Gimli. I exhaled sharply, too shaken up to even snap back.
"I…I just had a dream…" I explained, my voice somewhat of a croak. Aragorn raised an eyebrow.
"I see…would you care to share?" he asked. I nearly jumped.
"No! I mean…it was just…a nightmare…Lady Galadriel's been messing with my head ever since we arrived in Lothlorien," I replied, somewhat half-truthfully. It wasn't a nightmare really, but I just didn't feel like sharing the details of my dream…especially since it had such strong romantic themes. Aragorn nodded, seeming somewhat satisfied with my answer. Gimli eyed me suspiciously. I sighed and fumbled around for my canteen.
As I sipped at the water, I noticed that neither the rain nor the cold had let up in the time I had slept. I was freezing and my teeth chattered uncontrollably as I sat huddled in the corner.
"Do you think we could get a fire going or something?" I asked Aragorn. He turned his calm eyes to mine.
"Any wood we find would be too wet to set alight," he explained.
"Well can't we set something on fire? Does it have to be wood?" I asked, knowing full well that we couldn't have a fire. Aragorn smiled slightly and shook his head. I sighed irritably.
I found, on further inspection, that my sleeping roll was also quite wet and there fore, unusable. So I sat and shivered.
"Confound it!" exclaimed Gimli suddenly, rising to his feet in one leap. Sam and Pippin woke at his outburst and rubbed their eyes.
"Wha's 'appenin'?" asked Pippin groggily, pulling his blanket over his shoulders.
"I'll tell you what's happening!" roared Gimli. "I've nearly gone off my rocker after listening to all that chattering from that one!" he pointed a stubby finger at me.
"Oh righ'. Well be sure to save some of the apples for me…" Pippin replied, curling up under his blanket. Sam muttered something about Frodo needing some fresh sheets. I held back laughter and looked innocently at Gimli.
"What? I'm cold! I can't help it!" I replied. Gimli glared. Aragorn looked solemnly at Gimli.
"All of us are rather uncomfortable, Master Dwarf, and picking a fight will not solve our problems or lighten the mood," he scolded gently. I held back a smirk. Gimli growled and sat back down, muttering incoherently to himself. After that episode, I made more of an effort to keep my chattering to a minimum.
*
I have always had a tendency to roll around or kick a lot when I sleep. I'd often wake up in the morning at the foot of my bed, the covers twisted into a knotted mess. Before I had only considered it a mere annoyance, nothing too awful.
After Gimli had quieted down, my eyelids began to droop and I fell into an uneasy and dreamless sleep. I'm not sure how long I slept, but I think it was a good hour or so.
I woke up sometime later, feeling warm and comfortable. The lantern was still burning, casting a flickering light around the cave. As far as I could tell, everyone else was asleep.
I had moved over a bit in my sleep and I was resting against something warm. At the time I had assumed it was someone's pack.
I shifted slightly and made an important discovery.
The bag was breathing.
I leapt up, scooting away from the object, pressing myself against the wall. A figure sat up quickly, startled. The light from the lantern lit up Legolas' face and I turned a deep crimson as I realized that I had been cozying up against him for quite a bit.
"Sorry," I whispered apologetically, trying to keep my embarrassment under control. It didn't work and a bit of a quaver crept into my tone. Legolas' lips curved up slightly in amusement and he shook his head.
"That's quite alright," he replied. I flushed again and buried myself in my cloak.
I have never been so embarrassed since I had to ask Elrond for pads, I thought, hiding under the safety of my cloak.
I reflected quietly on the incident for several moments and realized that it could have been much worse.
It could have been Gimli…