Disclaimer: Nicole Kidman (as "Satine"): One day I'l flllllllllllly away—
Kat: (snatches away microphone) And when she sprouts wings and flies off into the distance with a herd of maroon cows, then I'll own LOTR! And right now I'm glad I don't because I don't have to deal with all the stress and stuff that comes with releasing Two Towers…
Peter Jackson: (turning red and crumpling a paper to an unrecognizable pulp) Why you little…
NK: What the—who is this? My contract didn't say ANYTHING about this!
Kat: (giggling nervously as Peter Jackson approaches with clenched fists) Hah, well, looks like this disclaimer is over. (Looks at Nicole) Oh sorry. Carry on. (Disappears in a cloud of fairy dust as Peter Jackson lunges at her).
PJ: AHHHH! (trips and falls).
NK: (looking uneasily at the director) Leave all this to yesterday…
A/N: Okay, OKAY, I'm updating! That wasn't too long was it? It didn't seem long. Anyhow, I broke my little toe! I didn't run into a doorway this time (I've done that twice before already). I just stubbed it really hard. But it's all bruised and swollen. Just thought I'd share that. I'd also like to give a shout out to Sephoria and alienracer for leaving some seriously wonderful reviews, along with Remy LeBeau because she changed her name. Again. Candy canes for everyone! ALSO: I'd like to break 200 reviews this chapter! Please review! All reviews go to my Save the Toe Fund.
Shameless Plug: I started a new fic! A LOTR humor Christmas fic! Go check it out and review!
Chapter Twenty-Two
We continued on foot, following the orc trail throughout the entire day. Aragorn kept the pace fast, often going from a fast walk to a light and quick jog. The lembas cakes were my salvation, filling my stomach and causing energy to flow through my body in large amounts, its source unknown, emerging suddenly from the recesses of my being.
But like caffeine, the lembas only provided me with an artificial energy that lasted only so long. I could feel fatigue beginning to creep ever so slightly into my system. As the afternoon progressed, a headache began to take shape in my sinuses, caused and irritated by the jolting movements of running.
The sun soon began to melt into the thin line of the horizon, the sky turning pink with the last remaining streaks of light. Night began to draw around us like a cloak, dark and mysterious, the stars hidden by clouds. I was tempted to just lie down and curl up in my cloak and fall asleep with the rest of the world, but I didn't expect that to be an option.
Aragorn stopped soon after night fell, regarding us pensively, almost as if he was observing what remaining strength we had left. He himself wasn't looking too great—sleep dragging at his eyes, an unusual pallor creeping on to his face. I looked at Gimli. He had faint circles under his eyes, which seemed a little more baggy than usual. The color had slightly drained from his countenance, but he didn't seem to care—in fact he seemed quite determined to continue on as is.
Crazy dwarf.
Even Legolas was looking a little weary. His eyes seemed slightly glassy and he had temporarily spaced off with the blank look of an exhausted student trying to remain awake during class. But nevertheless, he remained unshaken, standing with the same poise and vigilance that I had grown used to.
Aragorn looked at me oddly as he observed my inspection of everyone. Either that or he was slightly disturbed with my own appearance. Parts of my hair had slipped out of my once neat braid, and had been frizzed by the wind. Dirt speckled my hands and face, sometimes disrupted by the sheen of sweat that had developed on my forehead. I needed sleep, a meal, and a shower. A foot rub would have been nice too.
"We have come at last to a hard choice," said Aragorn after awhile. I folded my arms across my chest, expecting a set of options involving travel. By then I was too tired to care and didn't particularly want to hear about anything that had to do with our journey unless it involved a luxury bus with a shower. "Shall we rest by night, or go on while our will and strength hold?" My eyes widened. This man was certainly insane—as I saw it, there was no choice in the matter.
"Unless our enemies rest also, they will leave us far behind if we stay to sleep," offered Legolas. I looked at him, wondering if he too had lost it.
"Surely even orcs must pause on the march?" asked Gimli, disbelief creeping into his robust tone.
"Seldom will orcs journey under the open sun, yet these have done so," Legolas pointed out. "Certainly they will not rest by night." My spirits fell as I heard this. A vague promise of sleep had been taking form, but it was shattered with this knowledge. I sighed.
"But if we walk by night we cannot follow their trail," Gimli replied. This was one of the few times where I was completely happy with Gimli.
"Thank you…" I murmured, hoping that this guaranteed us some well-deserved sleep. Gimli gave me a strange look from beneath his bushy eyebrows; almost as if he was surprised I had thanked him. Imagine that…
"The trail is straight and turns neither left nor right as far as my eyes can see," Legolas responded, gesturing into the distance. My jaw nearly dropped.
"No! You weren't supposed to say that!" I scolded. "And what about gopher holes? You can't see them in the dark! I'll break my neck and my ankle!" This time all three of them gave me a strange look. I sighed. "Never mind…I just want to sleep."
"Maybe I could lead you at guess in the darkness and hold to the line," mused Aragorn, "but if we strayed or they turned aside, then when light came there might be long delay before the trail was found again."
"And there is this also," added Gimli, "only by day can we see if any tracks lead away. If a prisoner should escape, or if one should be carried off eastward, say, to the Great River towards Mordor, we might pass the signs and never know of it."
"That is true," replied Aragorn. "But if I read the signs back yonder rightly, the Orcs of the White Hand prevailed, and the whole company is now bound for Isengard. Their present course bears me out."
"Yet it would be rash to be sure of their counsels," said Gimli. I began to wonder if they would ever come to a decision or just talk all night about what might happen if we did this or that. "And what of escape? In the dark we should have passed the signs that led you to the brooch."
"One of us could have stepped on it," I offered. I received the same looks as the last time I spoke. I shrugged. "They're sharp and pointy. They must hurt if you step on one. Or at least make a crunching sound…" There was a silence as the three men pondered my words. "Okay, so maybe I'm just crazy."
Much to my annoyance, they all seem to accept this as a perfectly good reason for my outburst.
"The Orcs will be doubly on their guard since then, and the prisoners even wearier," Legolas continued. "There will be no escape again, if we do not contrive it. How that is to be done cannot be guessed, but first we must overtake them."
"And yet even I, a dwarf of many journeys and not the least hardy of my folk cannot run all the way to Isengard without any pause," Gimli replied heartily. It was extremely difficult to not start laughing at this point. Who else uses the description "a dwarf of many journeys" in a regular sentence? "My heart burns me too…I must rest a little to run the better…"
"I said that it was a hard choice," Aragorn said, a haughtiness creeping into his voice that clearly said "I-told-you-so." "How shall we end this debate?"
"Listen to my advice and get some sleep?" I asked hopefully. Aragorn placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, most likely to encourage my silence.
"You are our guide," said Gimli after a moment, "and you are skilled in the chase. You shall choose."
"My heart bids me to go on…" Legolas began.
"What?" I interrupted. "What exactly was in your lembas cakes?" Receiving nothing but a confused look, I shook my head tiredly, dismissing the thought.
"We must hold together," continued Legolas. "I will follow your counsel."
"You give the choice to an ill-chooser," admitted Aragorn.
Oh my God, we are so screwed, I thought to myself silently. For once I was glad I had decided to not share that comment with the rest of the company. I doubt it would have been appreciated.
"Since we passed through the Argonath my choices have gone amiss…" Aragorn fell silent, staring out into the dark, seeming to piece together a puzzle in his intricate mind.
"We will not walk in the dark," he began, still studying the dark landscape with his keen eyes. "The peril of missing the trail or signs of other coming and going seems to me the greater. If the Moon gave enough light, we would use it, but alas! He sets early and he is yet young and pale."
"Would that the Lady had given us a light, such a gift as she gave to Frodo!" Gimli grumbled.
"It will be more needed where it is bestowed," Aragorn replied. "With him lies the true Quest. Ours is but a small matter in the great deeds of this time." I reflected on this for a moment, wondering if we would make a difference. How would this all turn out? I had left my own world, my life in tatters and I was just getting a new start at life in Middle-earth, rebuilding from the ashes. Was it all in vain? Would evil outweigh the world I was only beginning to know and love?
I found it unusually difficult to fall asleep that night.