A/N: It's me again! You missed me didn't you, come on now, admit it. Ok,
I have to send out a mega-huge thank you to Angelsmile06. Your review
really made my day. I'm glad you like the way the whole Ana Legolas
relationship thing is turning out. I wasn't really that sure how it was
going to go, but Ana seems to really be getting attached to Legolas, and I
don't want to have a psycho character on my hands for not letting her be
with her man, erm, sorry Leggy, elf. Yes, please take care of Ana!
Characters can be so annoying sometimes! I'm gonna see how Bridget is, but
if she's slightly crazy I'm sure they'll get along great. Anyways, enough
of this. My point is, Angelsmile06, this chapter's for you. I hope you
like it!
Disclaimer: Yes! We finally got to Middle Earth. It was a long hard journey but we came back with all the characters we meant to get. Now if Legolas will just get out of the bathroom... *Yells to Legolas "Quit hogging the shower!"* Sorry about that, but anyways, Leggy says that I don't own him since he is a free and royal elf, so I guess I still don't own anything. Not even the movies (I'm waiting for the big bonus pack in November) or the books (Mom says I have too many books already). *Brightens up* Hey wait a minute! I do have the soundtrack. *starts to sing and loses track of time* "May it be an evening star, shines down upon you..."
*********
After a few minutes, they came to a large hall, also strewn with skeletons. Upon seeing the sight, Gimli gave a short cry and rushed into the room in front of them. When they entered the room, they found him beside a large marble coffin, weeping for the dwarf inside. It was Gimli's cousin, the lord of Moria. He had fallen, the city was attacked. Gandalf walked over to a skeleton holding a large book, and took the volume from its hands. He read aloud the last hours of Moria. The last few sentences gave them all a queer sense of dread.
"Drums in the deep. They are coming..." Just then, Pip knocked a skeleton down into the well, followed by a great metal bucket.
Gandalf swept over and roared, "Peregrin Took! Next time throw yourself in and rid us of your stupidity!"
The little hobbit cowered at Gandalf's rage, and all of a sudden there was a faint noise. Up from the well came the noise of a hundred deep, low drums. Outside was the sound of many feet approaching the hall. Boromir ran over to the doors and looked out. He jumped back inside as an arrow embedded itself in the door frame, right where his head had been just seconds before. Legolas and Aragorn rushed to help Boromir block the door.
He said sarcastically, "Great! They have a cave troll."
Ana found a spot a few feet back from the door and pulled out her bow. Legolas and Aragorn joined her, each pulling out their own bows, and all notched their arrows. When the first opening became apparent in the door, Ana saw an orc head and let her arrow fly. Next went Legolas, followed almost immediately by Aragorn. They shot off a few more arrows each, but finally the orcs broke through and they could no longer shoot at them. They pulled out their swords and the battle began.
It was a fierce fight with some moments that all hope seemed lost. The cave troll proved hard to kill, and it didn't go down until it had stabbed Frodo with a long pole. The battle was over when the cave troll fell, and all rushed to Frodo's side. They were sure he was dead, and were astonished when he said, "I'm all right." He revealed a mithril shirt that Bilbo had given him. Gimli was highly impressed by the revelation because mithril had been the wealth of Moria, and as he said, it was a kingly gift. But there was no time to linger, for there were still more orcs and goblins about, and the faster they got out the better. So they ran. They ran down a long hallway, but were stopped as all manner of foul creatures surrounded them.
Ana was sure they were done for, there were far too many to count, ten could not defeat them all. Suddenly, a fire seemed to glow in one of the archways and all the creatures ran away. Ana and Legolas were staring at the light. All of a sudden Ana gasped and Legolas reached out to steady her as she stumbled back. "It is so evil," she muttered.
"What new devilry is this?" asked Boromir.
"It is a Balrog, a demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. Run!"
They followed Gandalf's advice and took off at top speed. Legolas looked worriedly at Ana, but she was doing fine, so he concentrated on those ahead of him. And a good thing he did, too, for Boromir did not anticipate the drop off where the stairs had been knocked away and would have fallen if Legolas had not caught him and thrown him back. Gandalf yelled for Aragorn to lead them on ahead to the bridge, swords would be of no more use. Reluctantly Aragorn complied and they ran to a set of lower stars. Right in the middle of the stairs there was a huge gap where the stone had fallen away. Immediately Legolas jumped it, and beckoned Ana and the others to follow. She jumped lightly over to stand by Legolas and helped him catch Gandalf. Boromir threw over Merry, Pippin, and Sam with Aragorn's help and then jumped over himself. Gimli refused to be thrown over and Legolas had to pull him up by his beard. Finally only Aragorn and Frodo were left on the other side of the chasm, and disaster struck. Orcs had been shooting at them for a while though no one had been struck by an arrow yet. Except for the orcs Legolas and Ana had shot. Suddenly the piece that Aragorn and Frodo were on broke away from the side of the staircase it was connected to and started swaying madly side to side. Aragorn told Frodo to lean forward and they rode the staircase into the part where their friends were standing. Legolas grabbed Aragorn, and Boromir caught Frodo just as the stairs they had been on fell away into the dark pit bellow. But even though they had just escaped death there was no time for relief, because the light behind them was ever growing and there was a faint thundering noise. So they ran on until they came to a thing bridge, only wide enough to run over one at a time. They crossed one at a time, last came Gandalf. At the middle of the bridge he stopped and turned motioning for the others to go on. Aragorn and Boromir obviously did not want to leave Gandalf, but they did not want to distract him by staying either. Ana gasped as a huge creature with horns covered all in fire stepped onto the other end of the bridge.
Gandalf stood his ground and raised his staff yelling, "I am the wielder of the Secret Flame of Anor! The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Uru!" The Balrog seemed to take no notice and cracked its whip of fire. Gandalf yelled again, "You shall not pass!" Then once again crashing his staff down on the bridge he cried, "You shall not pass!!!"
The bridge seemed to split in half, and the Balrog fell down into the dark. Gandalf sighed and turned around, starting to join the others. But just as he had taken his first step the fiery whip came up from the chasm and rapped around his ankle. He was dragged back to the place where the Bridge had broken and managed to grab onto the side. Frodo started to run to him but Boromir held him back. Ana was in Legolas's arms, though neither of them noticed it. Their attention was focused on the place where Gandalf hung by his finger tips. He managed to gasp out, "Fly you fools!" before his hold gave way and he joined the Balrog in its decent. Boromir picked up Frodo and carried him to the stairs leading out of the mines; the other hobbits were waiting there and had already started to run out. Gimli followed Boromir, and Legolas grabbed Ana's hand and pulled her after them. Her face was pale and ashen, her eyes brimming with tears. Legolas called back to Aragorn who was still standing staring at the place Gandalf had last been oblivious to the arrows falling around him. The man's head jerked around and he ran after the others, dodging arrows as he went.
They collapsed on the rocks outside the mines, none of them could go further right then. Merry and Pippin sat together with their tears, with Sam nearby watching Frodo wander off a bit by himself. Gimli sat with Boromir, both with expressions of extreme grief on their faces. Aragorn stood looking at the land they had yet to cover, grieving in his own way. Ana stood with Legolas drawing comfort from his nearness. He was confused about Gandalf's death. He had never really experienced a loss like this before; the most he had felt was when elves he knew went to Valinor. But this... this was much different. Gandalf was gone; they would never see him again. He looked down at Ana buried in his shoulder. He took her chin and tilted her head up to look at her. The color was drained from her face, she was a deathly pale, and her eyes had lost the spark that made them look like steel. They were just a dull rock color with no life left in them. It was her eyes that scared him. He had never seen eyes so void of life and joy. She looked lost, as though her light had gone out. She saw him, but she didn't really see him. Her eyes were unfocused and glassy.
Aragorn called for Legolas and Boromir to get the hobbits on their feet and ready to move. The had to get to Lorien before night fall, the orcs would soon be coming out of the mines to catch them. Their only hope of safety was in the Golden Woods of Lothlorien. With a worried look at Ana, Legolas went and helped Sam up. Boromir wanted to give them some more time, but Aragorn wouldn't allow it. In a way, he could see Aragorn's point but he wasn't sure how Ana would be able to move. Aragorn was worried when he couldn't see Frodo, but the hobbit was only a few feet away and turned and came back when Aragorn called to him. Legolas walked back over to Ana who had not moved a muscle since he left her. She was just staring away from the mines, barely breathing. He laid a hand on her shoulder expecting she would turn around, but she didn't react at all. Brushing her hair away from her face he turned her to face him. She didn't resist but she didn't turn any further than he pushed her. He took her by the shoulders and pushed her forwards. She took a small step but stopped when the pressure on her shoulders was let up. Sighing he stood behind her and propelled her towards the others and they fell in line behind Aragorn.
Aragorn looked at Ana strangely, but he didn't have time to stop and say anything, their goal now was speed. After a few hours they reached the edge of Lorien and Aragorn breathed easily. They were finally going to be all right, the elves here would protect them since they were Arwen's kin. Ana still wasn't moving on her own, and she didn't respond to any of the sights or sounds around them. When they entered the woods Gimli started speaking of an elf witch that enchanted all those who saw her. None who had entered these woods had ever been known to leave. But Gimli swore he would never be taken by her, he had as he said, "eyes like a hawk and ears like a fox". Just then an arrow was pointed about two inches from his nose and he gasped in surprise.
Disclaimer: Yes! We finally got to Middle Earth. It was a long hard journey but we came back with all the characters we meant to get. Now if Legolas will just get out of the bathroom... *Yells to Legolas "Quit hogging the shower!"* Sorry about that, but anyways, Leggy says that I don't own him since he is a free and royal elf, so I guess I still don't own anything. Not even the movies (I'm waiting for the big bonus pack in November) or the books (Mom says I have too many books already). *Brightens up* Hey wait a minute! I do have the soundtrack. *starts to sing and loses track of time* "May it be an evening star, shines down upon you..."
*********
After a few minutes, they came to a large hall, also strewn with skeletons. Upon seeing the sight, Gimli gave a short cry and rushed into the room in front of them. When they entered the room, they found him beside a large marble coffin, weeping for the dwarf inside. It was Gimli's cousin, the lord of Moria. He had fallen, the city was attacked. Gandalf walked over to a skeleton holding a large book, and took the volume from its hands. He read aloud the last hours of Moria. The last few sentences gave them all a queer sense of dread.
"Drums in the deep. They are coming..." Just then, Pip knocked a skeleton down into the well, followed by a great metal bucket.
Gandalf swept over and roared, "Peregrin Took! Next time throw yourself in and rid us of your stupidity!"
The little hobbit cowered at Gandalf's rage, and all of a sudden there was a faint noise. Up from the well came the noise of a hundred deep, low drums. Outside was the sound of many feet approaching the hall. Boromir ran over to the doors and looked out. He jumped back inside as an arrow embedded itself in the door frame, right where his head had been just seconds before. Legolas and Aragorn rushed to help Boromir block the door.
He said sarcastically, "Great! They have a cave troll."
Ana found a spot a few feet back from the door and pulled out her bow. Legolas and Aragorn joined her, each pulling out their own bows, and all notched their arrows. When the first opening became apparent in the door, Ana saw an orc head and let her arrow fly. Next went Legolas, followed almost immediately by Aragorn. They shot off a few more arrows each, but finally the orcs broke through and they could no longer shoot at them. They pulled out their swords and the battle began.
It was a fierce fight with some moments that all hope seemed lost. The cave troll proved hard to kill, and it didn't go down until it had stabbed Frodo with a long pole. The battle was over when the cave troll fell, and all rushed to Frodo's side. They were sure he was dead, and were astonished when he said, "I'm all right." He revealed a mithril shirt that Bilbo had given him. Gimli was highly impressed by the revelation because mithril had been the wealth of Moria, and as he said, it was a kingly gift. But there was no time to linger, for there were still more orcs and goblins about, and the faster they got out the better. So they ran. They ran down a long hallway, but were stopped as all manner of foul creatures surrounded them.
Ana was sure they were done for, there were far too many to count, ten could not defeat them all. Suddenly, a fire seemed to glow in one of the archways and all the creatures ran away. Ana and Legolas were staring at the light. All of a sudden Ana gasped and Legolas reached out to steady her as she stumbled back. "It is so evil," she muttered.
"What new devilry is this?" asked Boromir.
"It is a Balrog, a demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. Run!"
They followed Gandalf's advice and took off at top speed. Legolas looked worriedly at Ana, but she was doing fine, so he concentrated on those ahead of him. And a good thing he did, too, for Boromir did not anticipate the drop off where the stairs had been knocked away and would have fallen if Legolas had not caught him and thrown him back. Gandalf yelled for Aragorn to lead them on ahead to the bridge, swords would be of no more use. Reluctantly Aragorn complied and they ran to a set of lower stars. Right in the middle of the stairs there was a huge gap where the stone had fallen away. Immediately Legolas jumped it, and beckoned Ana and the others to follow. She jumped lightly over to stand by Legolas and helped him catch Gandalf. Boromir threw over Merry, Pippin, and Sam with Aragorn's help and then jumped over himself. Gimli refused to be thrown over and Legolas had to pull him up by his beard. Finally only Aragorn and Frodo were left on the other side of the chasm, and disaster struck. Orcs had been shooting at them for a while though no one had been struck by an arrow yet. Except for the orcs Legolas and Ana had shot. Suddenly the piece that Aragorn and Frodo were on broke away from the side of the staircase it was connected to and started swaying madly side to side. Aragorn told Frodo to lean forward and they rode the staircase into the part where their friends were standing. Legolas grabbed Aragorn, and Boromir caught Frodo just as the stairs they had been on fell away into the dark pit bellow. But even though they had just escaped death there was no time for relief, because the light behind them was ever growing and there was a faint thundering noise. So they ran on until they came to a thing bridge, only wide enough to run over one at a time. They crossed one at a time, last came Gandalf. At the middle of the bridge he stopped and turned motioning for the others to go on. Aragorn and Boromir obviously did not want to leave Gandalf, but they did not want to distract him by staying either. Ana gasped as a huge creature with horns covered all in fire stepped onto the other end of the bridge.
Gandalf stood his ground and raised his staff yelling, "I am the wielder of the Secret Flame of Anor! The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Uru!" The Balrog seemed to take no notice and cracked its whip of fire. Gandalf yelled again, "You shall not pass!" Then once again crashing his staff down on the bridge he cried, "You shall not pass!!!"
The bridge seemed to split in half, and the Balrog fell down into the dark. Gandalf sighed and turned around, starting to join the others. But just as he had taken his first step the fiery whip came up from the chasm and rapped around his ankle. He was dragged back to the place where the Bridge had broken and managed to grab onto the side. Frodo started to run to him but Boromir held him back. Ana was in Legolas's arms, though neither of them noticed it. Their attention was focused on the place where Gandalf hung by his finger tips. He managed to gasp out, "Fly you fools!" before his hold gave way and he joined the Balrog in its decent. Boromir picked up Frodo and carried him to the stairs leading out of the mines; the other hobbits were waiting there and had already started to run out. Gimli followed Boromir, and Legolas grabbed Ana's hand and pulled her after them. Her face was pale and ashen, her eyes brimming with tears. Legolas called back to Aragorn who was still standing staring at the place Gandalf had last been oblivious to the arrows falling around him. The man's head jerked around and he ran after the others, dodging arrows as he went.
They collapsed on the rocks outside the mines, none of them could go further right then. Merry and Pippin sat together with their tears, with Sam nearby watching Frodo wander off a bit by himself. Gimli sat with Boromir, both with expressions of extreme grief on their faces. Aragorn stood looking at the land they had yet to cover, grieving in his own way. Ana stood with Legolas drawing comfort from his nearness. He was confused about Gandalf's death. He had never really experienced a loss like this before; the most he had felt was when elves he knew went to Valinor. But this... this was much different. Gandalf was gone; they would never see him again. He looked down at Ana buried in his shoulder. He took her chin and tilted her head up to look at her. The color was drained from her face, she was a deathly pale, and her eyes had lost the spark that made them look like steel. They were just a dull rock color with no life left in them. It was her eyes that scared him. He had never seen eyes so void of life and joy. She looked lost, as though her light had gone out. She saw him, but she didn't really see him. Her eyes were unfocused and glassy.
Aragorn called for Legolas and Boromir to get the hobbits on their feet and ready to move. The had to get to Lorien before night fall, the orcs would soon be coming out of the mines to catch them. Their only hope of safety was in the Golden Woods of Lothlorien. With a worried look at Ana, Legolas went and helped Sam up. Boromir wanted to give them some more time, but Aragorn wouldn't allow it. In a way, he could see Aragorn's point but he wasn't sure how Ana would be able to move. Aragorn was worried when he couldn't see Frodo, but the hobbit was only a few feet away and turned and came back when Aragorn called to him. Legolas walked back over to Ana who had not moved a muscle since he left her. She was just staring away from the mines, barely breathing. He laid a hand on her shoulder expecting she would turn around, but she didn't react at all. Brushing her hair away from her face he turned her to face him. She didn't resist but she didn't turn any further than he pushed her. He took her by the shoulders and pushed her forwards. She took a small step but stopped when the pressure on her shoulders was let up. Sighing he stood behind her and propelled her towards the others and they fell in line behind Aragorn.
Aragorn looked at Ana strangely, but he didn't have time to stop and say anything, their goal now was speed. After a few hours they reached the edge of Lorien and Aragorn breathed easily. They were finally going to be all right, the elves here would protect them since they were Arwen's kin. Ana still wasn't moving on her own, and she didn't respond to any of the sights or sounds around them. When they entered the woods Gimli started speaking of an elf witch that enchanted all those who saw her. None who had entered these woods had ever been known to leave. But Gimli swore he would never be taken by her, he had as he said, "eyes like a hawk and ears like a fox". Just then an arrow was pointed about two inches from his nose and he gasped in surprise.
