Disclaimer: the ONLY thing I own is Jacqueline, anything you don't
recognize from the books and some of the plot but not all. Majority of the
plotline belongs to Tolkien and Jackson, most of the LOTR character lines
are credited to Peter Jackson and his assistant scriptwriter(most of the
character's lines are from the movie), and all LOTR characters belong to
Tolkien.
A/N: After this chapter I'll be taking a break from the story. I'm reading through TTT as we speak, so I want to finish it before I go on, which means that the dialogue will kind of belong to me, but they'll basically be saying the same thing as in the book, just more in the line with the way the characters have been talking if that makes any sense. The dialogue will be an adaptation of what's in the book. Thanks for the feedback it's been great!!!
Chapter 12 - Dancing with Death
"The horn of Gondor!" Legolas exclaimed. Jacqueline sheathed her weapons.
"Boromir!" Aragorn gasped.
They all ran in the direction of the source of the sound, Jacqueline faster than the other three. She had dug deep for some sort of strength and found more than she dreamed she possessed. She ran faster than the Uruks around her, too fast for them to catch. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas struggled behind her, getting caught in the crowd of deformed soldiers. They watched as Jacqueline ran nimbly like Legolas could, quickly fading from their sight as she was bound to reach Boromir as quickly as possible.
Soon Lurtz came into Jacqueline's vew, walking with all the time in the world towards Boromir. She pulled out Elrond's dagger as she ran, getting all the closer to Saruman's captain as he pulled out the first arrow. Not this, she thought to herself. If death was going to be knocking on so many doors, it was going to have to knock on hers before it even thought of heading to Boromir. She had no idea what would happen to the story when she saved Boromir, and right now she did care; all she cared about was him.
Jacqueline raised her arm and, when the giant came in her range, drove the dagger with all her might into Lurtz's back. He threw his head back and let out an unnatural scream of pain. He dropped his bow and arrow, whipping around to see his attacker. Jacqueline got knocked back and took the dagger down with her. She looked back up to see Lurtz on top of her, sword drawn. Her dagger got knocked right out of her grasp as she scrabled away barely missing his lethal strikes; the Uruk moved fast for a large creature, so fast that she couldn't even unsheath her sword.
Lurtz was just about to land what most likely would have been a killing blow when another sword blocked Lurtz and unexpectedly pushed him back. It was Aragorn who had arrived before Legolas and Gimli. He took up the fight with Lurtz giving Jacqueline a chance to recover. She sat only for a quick moment, then got up and ran to Boromir to help him protect Merry and Pippin. As the fight progressed, Jacqueline and Boromir caught each other's glance and for the first time Boromir smiled, his first definite thanks to her.
Suddenly the Uruk-hai increased, and Merry and Pippin were forcefully taken by the creatures. Both Jacqueline and Boromir hollered in protest, but there was nothing either of them could do; there were too many Uruks around them. Upset and angry, they attacked their enemies with a new wave of strength. The soldiers of Saruman began decreasing in number, either running off in the direction of where Merry and Pippin were being taken or dying at the hands of Jacqueline and Boromir. An Uruk archer notched an arrow to his bow some twenty feet away, aiming it at Boromir who was on Jacqueline's right. She saw it, and shoved Boromir out of the way but was not quick enough herself; the arrow drove through the underside of her right arm, pinning her to the tree behind her.
She let out a blood-curling cry, the pain being unbearable. Nothing her father had ever done to her hurt like this. Boromir threw a knife at the archer, ending its pitiful life, and ran to Jacqueline.
"Let me help," he said, grabbing the arrow.
"No," she protested, pushing him away. "Some still stand. You would be killed before you managed to pull the arrow out."
He looked helplessly at her, then turned slaying the few remaining Uruks with the help of Aragorn who had slain Lurtz. Moments later Legolas and Gimli arrived, only to see dead creatures and an injured comrade. Legolas could hear Merry and Pippin yelling for help in the distance, and he became even more distraught when he saw Jacqueline breathing heavy and half- collapsed. He walked to her quickly to see if he could be of any use while Gimli checked on the others.
"I fear this arrow may have been poisoned," he commented sadly, observing the ugly blackish-green around the wound.
"It was," she confirmed gasping. "I can feel the poison running in my blood."
"I cannot pull this out myself," he stated, turning to his friends. "It is burrowed too deep in the tree."
"Then let us break it," Gimli suggested.
"No," Boromir objected. "It may break the wrong way and pieces may lodge in her arm. We do not have the time or the tools to deal with such an injury."
"He is right. We must pull the arrow out," Aragorn agreed. They all agreed as well and acted quickly, as Jacqueline was growing weaker. Boromir walked up to her and wrapped her free arm around his neck, holding her left hand with his. He slipped his right arm around her waist, afraid she would collapse without him. Legolas grabbed the arrow with his right hand and placed his left on the tree for stability. Aragorn grabbed the arrow with both hands while Gimli ripped some of his tunic to wrap around her arm. Aragorn nodded at Legolas and in one swift move they yanked the arrow out. Jacqueline let out another cry of pain as she exhaustedly collapsed into Boromir. Gimli rushed over to her, skillfully removing the vambrace and wrapping the vile wound to stop the bleeding.
"Head back to the camp," Aragorn ordered. "I'll find something to help her."
Aragorn ran off into the forest while Boromir helped Jacqueline walk. Legolas refilled his nearly-empty quiver as they walked, and Gimli picked up the dagger Jacqueline carried and cleaned it. When they got close to their camp Jacqueline's legs gave out on her. Aragorn met them where they stopped with a cup of river water and whatever herb Aragorn had set out to find. She took the cup with shaky hands and drank some of it, grimacing at its bitter taste. It brought back her strength, and she could feel the poison slipping away. She drank more as Legolas took the rest of the herb and crushed it into a paste while muttering words in elvish. Aragorn, catching on to Legolas' actions, told Gimli to untie the cloth. Then Legolas told the dwarf to remove the cloth, and the moment it left her skin he applied the paste to both sides of her wound. She scowled, the pain increasing for only a moment then decreasing much to her relief. Boromir ripped a strip of his own clothing and wrapped it around Jacqueline's arm. He tossed her now-removed vambraces aside, as they were now useless.
Sudden splashing caught all of their attention, and everyone ran to the beach except Boromir. Jacqueline placed a reassuring hand on his, squeezing it to assure him she was fine, and nodded her head indicating him to follow the others. He squeezed back and ran, and Jacqueline got up slowly as strength and feeling came back into her legs. She walked back to the shore just in time to see Legolas push one of the elf boats into the water, stating that Frodo and Sam were already on the eastern shore; Aragorn didn't move and neither did anyone else.
"You mean not to follow them?" Legolas asked conclusively.
"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands." Aragorn answered, wrapping a cut on his arm.
"Then it has all been in vain!" Gimli exclaimed in distress. "The Fellowship has failed."
Aragorn placed a hand on both Gimli's and Legolas' shoulder, and in response they both placed a hand on top of his, and Boromir mimicked Aragorn.
"Not if we hold true to eachother," Aragorn stated sharing a smile with them all. "We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment to death. Not while we have strength left." He walked from them and began picking a couple of things up. "Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light. Let's hunt some orc!"
Legolas, Gimli and Boromir looked at eachother with knowing smiles. "Yes! Haha!" Gimli roared with excitement. They all then looked at Jacqueline, who stood on Parth Galen gazing at the eastern shore. Would she go with them, or follow Frodo?
"Jacqueline," Boromir called. "Will you accompany us, or go with the Ring?"
She didn't move save for the smile on her face. "Frodo has Sam; that is all he needs at the moment. Help will come to him in his dark hours away from us. Now our quest turns in another direction to our two friends heading towards Isengard, for that is how the story goes. The way is long," she turned to face them. "But we will get there, together."
They all shared a smile, and Aragorn turned and ran into the forest followed by Boromir. Gimli stopped Jacqueline before she passed him and handed her Elrond's dagger; she smiled her thanks as they all ran after their friends. And so they were, the Five Hunters on a new quest to save their friends.
A/N: After this chapter I'll be taking a break from the story. I'm reading through TTT as we speak, so I want to finish it before I go on, which means that the dialogue will kind of belong to me, but they'll basically be saying the same thing as in the book, just more in the line with the way the characters have been talking if that makes any sense. The dialogue will be an adaptation of what's in the book. Thanks for the feedback it's been great!!!
Chapter 12 - Dancing with Death
"The horn of Gondor!" Legolas exclaimed. Jacqueline sheathed her weapons.
"Boromir!" Aragorn gasped.
They all ran in the direction of the source of the sound, Jacqueline faster than the other three. She had dug deep for some sort of strength and found more than she dreamed she possessed. She ran faster than the Uruks around her, too fast for them to catch. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas struggled behind her, getting caught in the crowd of deformed soldiers. They watched as Jacqueline ran nimbly like Legolas could, quickly fading from their sight as she was bound to reach Boromir as quickly as possible.
Soon Lurtz came into Jacqueline's vew, walking with all the time in the world towards Boromir. She pulled out Elrond's dagger as she ran, getting all the closer to Saruman's captain as he pulled out the first arrow. Not this, she thought to herself. If death was going to be knocking on so many doors, it was going to have to knock on hers before it even thought of heading to Boromir. She had no idea what would happen to the story when she saved Boromir, and right now she did care; all she cared about was him.
Jacqueline raised her arm and, when the giant came in her range, drove the dagger with all her might into Lurtz's back. He threw his head back and let out an unnatural scream of pain. He dropped his bow and arrow, whipping around to see his attacker. Jacqueline got knocked back and took the dagger down with her. She looked back up to see Lurtz on top of her, sword drawn. Her dagger got knocked right out of her grasp as she scrabled away barely missing his lethal strikes; the Uruk moved fast for a large creature, so fast that she couldn't even unsheath her sword.
Lurtz was just about to land what most likely would have been a killing blow when another sword blocked Lurtz and unexpectedly pushed him back. It was Aragorn who had arrived before Legolas and Gimli. He took up the fight with Lurtz giving Jacqueline a chance to recover. She sat only for a quick moment, then got up and ran to Boromir to help him protect Merry and Pippin. As the fight progressed, Jacqueline and Boromir caught each other's glance and for the first time Boromir smiled, his first definite thanks to her.
Suddenly the Uruk-hai increased, and Merry and Pippin were forcefully taken by the creatures. Both Jacqueline and Boromir hollered in protest, but there was nothing either of them could do; there were too many Uruks around them. Upset and angry, they attacked their enemies with a new wave of strength. The soldiers of Saruman began decreasing in number, either running off in the direction of where Merry and Pippin were being taken or dying at the hands of Jacqueline and Boromir. An Uruk archer notched an arrow to his bow some twenty feet away, aiming it at Boromir who was on Jacqueline's right. She saw it, and shoved Boromir out of the way but was not quick enough herself; the arrow drove through the underside of her right arm, pinning her to the tree behind her.
She let out a blood-curling cry, the pain being unbearable. Nothing her father had ever done to her hurt like this. Boromir threw a knife at the archer, ending its pitiful life, and ran to Jacqueline.
"Let me help," he said, grabbing the arrow.
"No," she protested, pushing him away. "Some still stand. You would be killed before you managed to pull the arrow out."
He looked helplessly at her, then turned slaying the few remaining Uruks with the help of Aragorn who had slain Lurtz. Moments later Legolas and Gimli arrived, only to see dead creatures and an injured comrade. Legolas could hear Merry and Pippin yelling for help in the distance, and he became even more distraught when he saw Jacqueline breathing heavy and half- collapsed. He walked to her quickly to see if he could be of any use while Gimli checked on the others.
"I fear this arrow may have been poisoned," he commented sadly, observing the ugly blackish-green around the wound.
"It was," she confirmed gasping. "I can feel the poison running in my blood."
"I cannot pull this out myself," he stated, turning to his friends. "It is burrowed too deep in the tree."
"Then let us break it," Gimli suggested.
"No," Boromir objected. "It may break the wrong way and pieces may lodge in her arm. We do not have the time or the tools to deal with such an injury."
"He is right. We must pull the arrow out," Aragorn agreed. They all agreed as well and acted quickly, as Jacqueline was growing weaker. Boromir walked up to her and wrapped her free arm around his neck, holding her left hand with his. He slipped his right arm around her waist, afraid she would collapse without him. Legolas grabbed the arrow with his right hand and placed his left on the tree for stability. Aragorn grabbed the arrow with both hands while Gimli ripped some of his tunic to wrap around her arm. Aragorn nodded at Legolas and in one swift move they yanked the arrow out. Jacqueline let out another cry of pain as she exhaustedly collapsed into Boromir. Gimli rushed over to her, skillfully removing the vambrace and wrapping the vile wound to stop the bleeding.
"Head back to the camp," Aragorn ordered. "I'll find something to help her."
Aragorn ran off into the forest while Boromir helped Jacqueline walk. Legolas refilled his nearly-empty quiver as they walked, and Gimli picked up the dagger Jacqueline carried and cleaned it. When they got close to their camp Jacqueline's legs gave out on her. Aragorn met them where they stopped with a cup of river water and whatever herb Aragorn had set out to find. She took the cup with shaky hands and drank some of it, grimacing at its bitter taste. It brought back her strength, and she could feel the poison slipping away. She drank more as Legolas took the rest of the herb and crushed it into a paste while muttering words in elvish. Aragorn, catching on to Legolas' actions, told Gimli to untie the cloth. Then Legolas told the dwarf to remove the cloth, and the moment it left her skin he applied the paste to both sides of her wound. She scowled, the pain increasing for only a moment then decreasing much to her relief. Boromir ripped a strip of his own clothing and wrapped it around Jacqueline's arm. He tossed her now-removed vambraces aside, as they were now useless.
Sudden splashing caught all of their attention, and everyone ran to the beach except Boromir. Jacqueline placed a reassuring hand on his, squeezing it to assure him she was fine, and nodded her head indicating him to follow the others. He squeezed back and ran, and Jacqueline got up slowly as strength and feeling came back into her legs. She walked back to the shore just in time to see Legolas push one of the elf boats into the water, stating that Frodo and Sam were already on the eastern shore; Aragorn didn't move and neither did anyone else.
"You mean not to follow them?" Legolas asked conclusively.
"Frodo's fate is no longer in our hands." Aragorn answered, wrapping a cut on his arm.
"Then it has all been in vain!" Gimli exclaimed in distress. "The Fellowship has failed."
Aragorn placed a hand on both Gimli's and Legolas' shoulder, and in response they both placed a hand on top of his, and Boromir mimicked Aragorn.
"Not if we hold true to eachother," Aragorn stated sharing a smile with them all. "We will not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment to death. Not while we have strength left." He walked from them and began picking a couple of things up. "Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light. Let's hunt some orc!"
Legolas, Gimli and Boromir looked at eachother with knowing smiles. "Yes! Haha!" Gimli roared with excitement. They all then looked at Jacqueline, who stood on Parth Galen gazing at the eastern shore. Would she go with them, or follow Frodo?
"Jacqueline," Boromir called. "Will you accompany us, or go with the Ring?"
She didn't move save for the smile on her face. "Frodo has Sam; that is all he needs at the moment. Help will come to him in his dark hours away from us. Now our quest turns in another direction to our two friends heading towards Isengard, for that is how the story goes. The way is long," she turned to face them. "But we will get there, together."
They all shared a smile, and Aragorn turned and ran into the forest followed by Boromir. Gimli stopped Jacqueline before she passed him and handed her Elrond's dagger; she smiled her thanks as they all ran after their friends. And so they were, the Five Hunters on a new quest to save their friends.
