Responses for Chapter 13...
Deana: Thanks for the birthday wish...and thanks for reviewing!
Arayelle Lynn: The rescue of Arwen...we'll get to that, don't you worry, BUT not yet! I think your Elrond and the others question will be answered in this post...
Po-Pla: Glad you liked that particular quote...I thought it was fitting. Yeh, Aragorn angst, I know...I love it! Glad you liked my other stories too...enjoy this post, it should be entertaining.
Karone Evertree: You are like me...read the whole story, til the last posting, THAN review. Glad you like it so far and hope you continue to read.
Kelsey: Ah...we have you stumped then! Can't figure out what's next? Hmm...your feelings a good one though...about Elrond and company...Gollum's nicer twin brother...cute nickname! Thanks for the happy b-day...it was fun!!
Mornflower: Bit early for Christmas tunes, eh? Frosty the Snowman!
Chapter 14: New Experiences and Surprises
The Great East Road…
"For goodness' sake, I am not going to break, Elrond!"
There were chuckles from the others as Thranduil huffed from atop his horse. He was riding with Elladan, but only because it was the only way Elrond would allow him to ride. The Elf Lord was constantly riding up to check the King's wounds and Thranduil, not one to show weakness, was getting annoyed.
"Now, Thranduil, please stop being so stubborn. That is a very serious wound and this jostling on horseback is not doing you any good," Elrond chided, hiding the smile on his face. "Let me look or I will call a halt right here and now and we will not move until you acquiesce to my request."
Thranduil grumbled something inaudible under his breath and frowned when he felt Elladan shaking with mirth behind him. "Think this is funny, do you, Elladan. If you think Legolas is bad when he is wounded, you just wait."
Erestor was also laughing, though he was much in the same position, sitting astride Elrohir's horse with the younger twin. It wasn't easy to ride a horse with a broken arm and Elrond had insisted on this arrangement as well.
As his Lord made his way to him, Erestor's laughter ceased and he too shifted and frowned. "I'm fine, Elrond."
"Now don't you start too," the Elf Lord laughed, reaching to examine his advisor's arm. They didn't bother to dismount, only walk the horses slowly. Time was still of the essence, but Elrond didn't want to neglect his patients either.
Once he had proclaimed both of them all right to travel a little more, the procession continued on at a slightly quicker pace, making their way toward the Shire. Most of the journey was in silence, but Gandalf had been watching Galadriel closely and finally voiced his question.
"Milady, what know you of the fate of Lothlorien? Have you foreseen anything?"
Galadriel sighed lightly, something she didn't normally do. "I have not really foreseen anything specific, Mithrandir, only that Lothlorien did not escape attack. I know not the fate of our people, nor do I fully know the fate of Celeborn."
Silence enveloped the group, each of them thinking of the fate of Lothlorien. They all knew that Lord Celeborn was of great power. Surely he would not be easily controlled by the dark spells of Graelath. But Nenya was not in his care, it was in Galadriel's and she had not been there at the time of the attack. What had befallen the elves of Lothlorien?
"You must not worry about him, milady," Gandalf said quietly, fully aware that the lady was not prone to worrying. "I am sure he is all right. Like Legolas, he probably avoided the full brunt of the spell. But that does not mean that the elves of Lothlorien lived. He must have been greatly outnumbered. There are many orcs and Uruk-Hai left in Middle-Earth."
Galadriel turned to look at him, sorrow in her bright eyes. "Uninjured he is not. But dead he is not either. Our paths will bring us together again, I have no doubt. But when this will occur, I do not know. He has a part to play in all of this, but what it is, I can not say."
They continued on in silence, Elladan and Elrohir exchanging glances. They traveled in the company of the most powerful elves in Middle-Earth and a wizard of unimaginable strength. Yet even they did not have the answers they needed most.
Suddenly, Elladan looked up into the bright sky, his eyes narrowed. His brother quickly did likewise. The Elves had heard something, there was no doubt there. Gandalf waited patiently for one of them to speak.
"Ada? I see an Eagle approaching. He seems to be heading in our direction," Elrohir said, his eyes never leaving the approaching speck on the horizon.
"Yes," the elder Elf answered. "I see him. Gandalf, I believe it is your old friend Gwaihir. He appears to have someone on his back. It almost looks like a hobbit!"
Galadriel was thoughtful. "The break we have been waiting for." She would not explain.
Gwaihir was soon upon them, hovering for a moment before settling down near them. "Gandalf, my friend. I have a creature here that looked like a hobbit, reminded me of those two I rescued in Mordor. Do you know him?"
When the wizard shook his head, Lowgala quickly jumped from the Eagle's back and scurried away from the bird, afraid it would be angry at his lie. "Please, do not hurt me. I didn't know him, only stories of him. I needed your help! I feared you would leave me if I said I didn't know him!" The small being was speaking quickly, shivering under the intense gaze of the Elves, wizard and Eagle.
Before Gwaihir could respond, Gandalf stepped forward. "Do not worry about that, friend. You look quite like a Hobbit, at least in stature. What are you? Where have you come from?"
Lowgala's head snapped up, a look of fear on his face until he fully saw who was addressing him. Gandalf was an old man, dressed entirely in white with a funny looking stick in his hand. Beside him stood a beautiful woman, also dressed in white. He was shocked to see she was an elf. As were the five beings behind her, all but one of whom was dark-haired and dressed in grey cloaks.
So happy was he to see friendly people, he jumped up and down in place, chanting loudly, "Finally, Finally, Finally!" He only stopped when the woman laughed and addressed him in a melodic voice.
"Please my friend, we have very pressing matters to attend to. If we can help you, we would much like to do so, that is if you would please answer Gandalf's questions." Galadriel didn't want to rush this being, but she knew that time was of the essence.
Lowgala stopped jumping and looked at her closely. "Yes." He said it in the Common Tongue, not sure if they understood his own language. "I have been lost in a shadowy place for many years now. I am the last of my race, the Noki of the Mountains, and I decided to look for people to accept me. I heard tales of Hobbits and their small size, so I wanted to go there. I got lost in the forbidden Mountains, the ones shrouded in mist that my people stayed far away from."
Elrond frowned. "You've been traveling the Misty Mountains, friend?"
Lowgala stuck his tongue out. "Do not say the name...I have been trying to forget about that place. Creepy, scary, dark! Oh and dirty too, look at Lowgala, I am filthy!" He smacked his pants, or what was left of them, sending a plume of dirt into the clear air around him.
Galadriel chuckled. "Then you are going where we are headed, Lowgala. To the Shire."
"Oh yes! That is what it was called. Been so long I must have forgotten," he said. He was anxious to tell his story to someone and who better then these elves? "I was lost for a long time you know...in that...place." He cringed. "Saw many things there, but one sticks out in particular. Very scary business."
Gandalf turned to the Eagle now. "Gwaihir, thank you very much for bringing Lowgala to us. We will take him on to the Shire now. Please bring my regards to all your people." The Eagle bowed his head and took to the air. Soon he was gone from even the Elves' sight.
The group wasted no more time and continued on their journey. Lowgala had no intention of being left behind. He was astounded by his fortune. He had travel companions and most of them were Elves. He had heard much about Elves and they intrigued him.
He hurriedly followed the group of elves and the wizard, eagerly jumping up on the horse they had been using to carry supplies. As annoying as his constant banter was, no one stopped him from speaking. They all knew he had been through quite a traumatic experience and they pitied him.
The Shire…
Hobbiton appeared in the distance and the hobbits grew restless. "We are nearly there, I'm starving!" Pippin whined, bouncing a little in the saddle behind the Rohirrim. "I have been LONGING for some good, old Shire-food! Can't wait to get to the pub and see Rosie!"
Sam shot his friend an evil look, which immediately brought laughs from the others. Merry came to his cousin's rescue. "He is just pulling your leg, Sam. Pippin is no match for the likes of you...Rosie isn't daft you know!"
Legolas had never been to the Shire and he gazed out ahead of them, wondering inwardly if the streets were normally so dead. "Where is everyone?" He asked, worry creeping up his spine.
"Uh, Legolas..." Pippin chided. "We can't SEE that well yet! Even if the entire Shire were out of doors, we would not be able to see them yet."
The Elf looked at the Hobbit with evil eyes. "Thank you, Pippin. For so eloquently putting it. I sometimes forget in whose company I travel. I was merely wondering why there were no Hobbits on the streets." He looked back toward the Shire. "Is that normal?"
The Hobbits exchanged glances, concern in their eyes. "Not really. I mean, unless there is a celebration we are unaware of, I don't think there would be NOBODY in the streets." Frodo said, not wanting to think of what they might find.
Aragorn interjected. "I do not see signs of battle, or a trail that orcs have already been here. I do not think that the Shire has been attacked yet. Perhaps there is a celebration going on. Where would they all go?"
As the King spoke, they rounded a small hillock and were forced to pull their horses to a stop, as several small children ran across the road, laughing and trailing ribbons behind them. Once the children had crossed the streets, they moved on, and now they could see the hobbits. There were small groups of them arranged on both sides of the road, feasting and drinking.
The party slowed their horses, but continued down the road. Aragorn looked around and sighed. This is going to be harder than anticipated, if we can't gather them all together. "Is there any kind of place nearby that is large enough for us to hold a meeting?" Aragorn asked the hobbits.
Merry and Pippin were about to answer when Legolas laughed. "I believe so, Estel. Merry, is there a tavern nearby? Say, just over that hill?"
The Hobbit's eyes widened. "Well, yes. The Green Dragon!"
The others waited for the Elf to explain. "I can hear quite a lot of banter from over that hill. Seems like the shadow has overtaken the Shire, we are beginning to feel its affects, are we not?"
No one wanted to admit it, but they were beginning to feel a bit odd. Aragorn nodded, "Yes, we are beginning to. But we need not call on the shield just yet. First we should get to the Shire and then call on Gweluthand."
Legolas nodded in agreement. No sense calling for help until they needed to. He was not sure if the air shield enjoyed being called on, but something told him it didn't want to waste it's time if it was not really needed yet. Does the air even keep track of time? He wondered. I can not imagine that Gweluthand would be upset if we were to call on it a little earlier then needed, though I do not plan to.
Suddenly, to his great surprise, a feminine voice sounded in his head. : Do not think that I do not have feelings, young Elf, for I do. It is a lot of work to shield you all from the Ethaim...do not take it lightly. :
Legolas' eyes were wide with wonder. He had frozen when he heard the voice in his head and Gimli was shaking him. "Legolas! Hey you Elf! What in the blazes are you doing? We must keep going!"
Aragorn turned to see what Gimli was yelling about now and noticed a distant look in Legolas' eyes. "Mellon nin? What is it? Do you sense something?" He was genuinely concerned, which is why he was startled when Legolas suddenly laughed.
The prince, seeing he had an audience, began to explain himself. "I was thinking to myself that the air shield could not really have feelings, and that it wouldn't mind if I called it too early, since why would the air have reason to worry about time? Well, she answered me and sure taught me a lesson."
"It talked to you?" Gimli asked, no longer urging the Elf to hurry on. "What could the air possibly have to talk about?" He was a bit gruff in his statement and to Legolas' surprise, Gweluthand decided to answer for him.
: Please, Thranduilion, tell that dwarf this for me. He had better show some respect for me, lest I may choose to shield him less strongly and let him fend for himself. This is something I do because you ask it of me and I am bound to you, but I am not bound to do 'everything' you say. :
Legolas relayed the message to his comrade and Gimli immediately hung his head and spoke. "Please, forgive me Gweluthand. I am sorry. Being a dwarf it is difficult to grasp the love of nature that Elves hold so high. I will not mock or disrespect you again."
Gweluthand was appeased and Legolas nudged Arod to go on to the Shire. He contemplated the event in his mind as they rode. He had not expected the air shield to have feelings, nor did he expect her to be able to speak to him in his mind, or hear his thoughts.
Soon, the group crested the hills and was within sight of the Green Dragon pub. Legolas let out a laugh at the sight that met their eyes. He didn't know why he was so surprised, after all, he knew how much food and drink Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin could consume. This however, was beyond his experience.
Everyone was plumb drunk and the children were running rampant in the streets, playing games and screaming with laughter. If it had been under any other circumstances, the visitors might have laughed. But they knew that this was a result of the Ethaim spell.
"Legolas? Do you think we ought to give that shield a call now? I mean, it will take a long while to convince these people anything is wrong, especially when they are stone drunk!" Gimli grunted as a small Hobbit child came to the leg of the horse and jumped up and down.
"Look at the beard...he's got a really long beard! Just like Gandalf!" She cried, pointing Gimli out to the rest of the children who quickly encircled the Elf and Dwarf. "Oh, and he's an Elf! Wow! I never seen an Elf before!" cried another child, pointing up at Legolas, who shifted uncomfortably under the intense gaze of the children.
Aragorn laughed at the plight of his friends and came to their rescue. "Yes, Legolas, you might want to call on her now!"
Hearing the Elf's name, the kids jumped up and down and grew louder. "Leggy lass! That's a funny name! Is that really your name?"
The Elf frowned. He wanted to tell them how to properly pronounce his name, but knew it would be futile. They were too excited and too shrouded to care about much but their fun. So he spoke aloud to Gweluthand, in his own language, which lulled the children to silence.
"Gweluthand, help us once again and shield these Shire-folk from the shadow of Graelath, the Ethaim." His words were quickly heeded and he saw the light blue mist begin to form. This time, Gweluthand spoke to him.
: I will be able to shield you for a time, but you had better hope the orcs will attack within the next day or two, lest I will begin to diminish. I have needs of regeneration. :
This worried the Elf, but he had no choice. They needed to get the Hobbits sober enough to talk reason. The banter had stopped as soon as Gweluthand had made her presence known and now the Hobbits were eying the newcomers warily.
Finally, one of them spoke. "Hey, you there! Who are you and how did you get into the Shire?"
Sam jumped from the back of the horse he had been riding, quite a long fall for a Hobbit, but it didn't seem to bother him. "You must know who I am, Dad. Surely you can not forget your own son!"
The Gaffer's eyes suddenly cleared. "Samwise! Where have you been? We were looking all over for you, wanted you to join us for the party!"
He clasped his son's hands and smiled at Frodo, Merry and Pippin. Then his eyes widened as he took in the long line of soldiers, the king of Gondor and the Dwarf and Elf. "You brought some friends?" He muttered, eying the army suspiciously.
Sam took his father by the arm and asked him to bring the heads of all the families in the Shire to the Green Dragon. Then, he turned back to the others and explained. "That way, you will be talking to the leaders. They can control the people a bit better I'd say."
Aragorn praised the Hobbit's judgment and Legolas took this opportunity to dismount. He had forgotten about the Hobbit children who were still crowded near Arod. As soon as the Elf was on the ground, they surrounded him and began to ask questions.
"How old are you? Are you really immortal? Can you fly?" Legolas looked at Aragorn with pleading eyes.
The man laughed and walked over to the group. "Little ones, if you wish Legolas to speak to you, you must ask him questions one at a time."
That was NOT what the Elf had in mind! But he saw he was not going to be left alone until the hobbits had exhausted all their questions. Gimli laughed and Legolas glared at him. "I'm fairly certain you will be next, mellon nin!" The Elf said, satisfied by the look on Gimli's face at his words.
"All right!" the Elf called above the children's voices, quieting them. "First question. How old am I?" That said he launched into a question and answer session, fielding things from his age to his favorite song.
Meanwhile…
Movement. Nausea. Pain. Everything seemed to hurt and the bouncing was not helping. Arwen knew she was close to consciousness, but she did not remember what had happened or why she hurt. Where am I? This does not feel like the gait of a horse!
She forced herself to open her eyes, momentarily blinded by the light that flooded in. As her vision cleared, she saw she was looking downward, at the ground. Something was carrying her over it's shoulder. Glancing at the legs of the creature she gasped.
Yrch! I've been taken prisoner! The Queen would recognize the black skin and heavy armor of the Orcs anywhere. How have I been taken captive? Where are the others? Are they dead? They can not be dead!
A million thoughts ran through her head and would have continued to if the Uruk leader hadn't realized their captive was awake. "So you grace us with your presence Elf! How nice of you to come off your pedestal!"
Arwen cringed. The hate the Orcs held for Elves was legendary. She was injured and alone, unarmed and completely at the mercy of these Orcs. It did not sit well with her. It dawned on her that she might be alone for a long time.
Estel could not come after me. He has the whole of the Shire to protect. I know in my heart he would not let them all die. But it must be killing him to leave me to my torment. She shut her eyes as another wave of nausea overtook her. It must be morning. I always seem to be sick in the morning these days.
The Uruk, seeing Arwen preoccupied, slowed the group to a stop and instructed the Orc to let the Elf down. He did so, rather unceremoniously dumping her on the ground. She gritted her teeth at the impact. Her head swam and ached and she could feel numerous bruises from the rough journey. Aside from the head wound, which was oozing blood down the side of her face, she didn't seem to be injured.
The Uruk leader approached, his weapons drawn. "You will listen to what I say and not argue. I have been instructed to take you to my master and I will. Unfortunately, he wants you alive." The creature bent in close now, his stinking breath made Arwen shy away. "But he did not say unharmed."
Laughter broke out among the Orcs and Arwen swallowed hard. Please make this journey be a short one!
Hobbiton…
Once Legolas had satisfied the curiosity of the children, they did as he figured they would and ran toward Gimli. To the dismay of the Dwarf, the children were just tall enough to reach his beard and reach it they did!
Gimli, protesting fervently, looked toward his friend for help. Legolas laughed at his plight, shrugging his shoulders. "You laughed at me, now see what I had to deal with!"
"Yes...I did laugh," Gimli retorted. "But you stand a bit taller then I and this was not a problem for you." His eyes were pleading, though the Dwarf would never admit that he wished for someone to intervene. The Elf sighed lightly and walked over, gently extricating a child's hand from Gimli's beard.
"Don't you all know the story?" He said, drawing the attention of the children. "To touch a Dwarf's beard against his will is not a good idea. Dwarves' beards are magical, if you touch them and he doesn't want you to, your hands will turn green for weeks!"
Immediately all the children looked at their hands with gasps. None were green, but Gimli quickly caught on to Legolas' trick. "See here kids, no touching the beard now. Wouldn't want you to have green hands."
Seeing that the Dwarf was better off already, Legolas sought out the others. He found them inside the Green Dragon tavern awaiting the last of the heads of the families. "Once everyone is here, we will brief the Hobbits on the situation and decide on the best course of action," Aragorn whispered to the Elf as he joined them at the table.
Legolas saw Sam, sitting at the bar, chatting with his wife Rosie. He moved over to the two Hobbits and patted Sam on the shoulder. "This must be the Rosie you speak so fondly of," the Elf said, smiling.
Sam blushed a little and nodded. "Rosie, this is Mr. Legolas, son of King Thranduil of Eryn Lasgalen. He is the Elf I spoke of, who accompanied Mr. Frodo on the Quest to destroy the Ring."
Rosie smiled. "Very pleased to meet you, Sir." She spoke with deference due to a royal, but Legolas begged her to dispense with the formality.
"You are the wife of a dear friend, Rosie. There is no need to speak so formally. Please call me Legolas, for it is my name and I need no special title." He smiled when Rosie agreed and then sat down beside Sam.
Quickly, another Hobbit whom Legolas recognized as Sam's father, the Gaffer, hurried over. "A real live Elf. It is a great pleasure and honor to meet you, Sir Elf." The Hobbit was excited, that much was sure, and Sam rolled his eyes at his father's bumbling.
"Dad, you are embarrassing me," he muttered under his breath.
"Oh, nonsense!" The Gaffer said, his eyes never leaving Legolas. "I am Hamfast Gamgee, but everyone calls me the Gaffer. I am Samwise's father."
Legolas smiled, glancing at Sam for a minute before replying, "It is a pleasure to meet you as well. My name is Legolas Greenleaf."
The Gaffer would have continued but suddenly, Aragorn called from a large table that had been set up for the meeting. "Please, if everyone would gather round now, we can begin discussing the situation. We cannot tarry, this is very important and time is of the essence."
Legolas stood immediately, followed by Sam and the Gaffer. The Elf took a seat beside Aragorn, turning as Gimli walked through the door with a throng of children in tow. Seeing the Dwarf's plight, Rosie took pity on him and shooed the kids away.
Gimli thanked her profusely until Aragorn cleared his throat and looked pointedly at the dwarf, and then he blushed and hurried to take his seat beside Legolas. The whole group now assembled, Aragorn spoke quickly. "There is a great threat approaching the Shire in the form of an Orc and Uruk-Hai army." He raised his hand to hush the murmurs. "Let me finish please."
The whispers quieted. "A wizard of the Elder Days has resurfaced and he is attacking all of Middle-Earth, one realm at a time." The King of Gondor turned to Legolas as he continued. "He sent his first army to the Elven realms. The Elves suffered a heavy loss after an attack on Eryn Lasgalen, for the Orcs wiped out many of their number. When Gondor received notice of the attack on Eryn Lasgalen, we rode to their aid, finding only Legolas here and his father, King Thranduil, alive."
This time, the mutters of the Hobbits grew loud and they did not heed Aragorn's calls to be quiet.
"If you wish to avoid the fate of my people, you must be quiet and listen to King Elessar now!" Legolas' melodious voice rang out above all the banter and a silence fell over the tavern.
All eyes were on the Elf. "What the King speaks is true. A shadow befell my people, blinding them from the threat of attack. It was strong enough to blind even my father, an Elf who is not easily overtaken." Legolas closed his eyes for a moment, gathering the strength to say the next words. "My older sister was brutally killed in the attack, and my father was badly wounded. I bid you heed the King's words, for time grows short." He sat back down, deferring to Aragorn.
Smiling thanks to the Elf, the Man continued. "This shadow is a spell cast by the wizard I was beginning to speak of. His name is Graelath and we have yet to discover where he hails from. Until then, all we can do is shield ourselves from his spell and defeat his army."
"Shield, spell, what is this talk?" Voices popped up from all corners of the table, asking questions, but not really taking anything they were hearing seriously.
Raising his voice, Aragorn called out, exasperation beginning to take its toll. "That's enough. Legolas, please explain the shield."
Taking a deep breath, but not bothering to stand, the Elf nodded. "Graelath is of an ancient race, the Ethaim. Thousands of years ago, a Silvan Elf, Cellnen, discovered the only way to shield himself from the spells of the Ethaim. Something called Gweluthand, which means "air shield" in the Common Tongue."
He waited until the mutters died down. "I am able to call on this shield to protect us from the spell, if you look outside you will notice a pale blue mist, which is Gweluthand."
Eyes darted to the nearby window of the tavern and gasps were heard all around. They had seen the mist. To Aragorn's surprise, they began to laugh. Drunken Hobbits began to yell now. "Air shield, have you been smoking pipe weed, Mr. Elf!?" Someone called out.
Legolas closed his eyes as Gweluthand made herself heard again, not happy that the Hobbits seemed so ungrateful for her help. Legolas didn't know what to do, but he sought desperately to reassure her, promising her that he would talk sense into them; they were just confused, drunk and scared.
Please, Gweluthand, do not take what they say at face value, they are inebriated and have been shadowed, Legolas pleaded, eyeing Aragorn as he did so. Do not hold their words against them.
: Why should I shield such ungrateful beings? Even if they are a bit drunk, they should at least respect you and the King of Gondor. Why should I not hold it against them, Legolas? :
The Elf sighed, racking his brain. The Hobbits are so drunk that everything seems unreal to them. I promise you that they will greatly appreciate your help and will show you utmost respect once they are sober, Gweluthand. Give them that chance or else they will die. I, for one, will not stand by and let them be slaughtered.
For a moment, Gweluthand didn't respond and Legolas exchanged worried looks with Aragorn. As the Elf desperately tried to assure Gweluthand so that she would not abandon them, Frodo, taking a cue from the look in Aragorn's eyes, piped up. "Haven't any of you been listening to King Elessar or Prince Legolas?" The noise quieted. "What they say is true! This Graelath is dangerous! The Elves in Eryn Lasgalen and Rivendell are dead because of him!"
Seeing that Frodo was making headway with the Hobbits, Pippin joined in. "Yes, and that isn't the whole of it! They nearly destroyed Edoras! The Rohan are great warriors and we are not. Surely you see we must do what the King says!"
Frodo chimed in again. "AND," he paused for a moment, making the hobbits lean in to hear what Frodo had to say. "The Shire is a part of the kingdom of Gondor. We must bow to the King's wishes," he hesitated before finishing. "This threat is very real."
As Frodo and Pippin talked sense into their kindred, Aragorn tried to calm his mind and his turbulent thoughts. How could they dismiss this so easily! This wizard destroyed many of the Elves of Middle-Earth...he kidnapped Arwen! They should not take this lightly! He knew he would have to regain control quickly and he squashed down his thoughts.
Finally, Gweluthand answered Legolas. : If your devotion to these Hobbits is so great, Silvan Elf, then I will shield them in the coming battle. I only hope they come to show some respect for the favor I do for them before this fight is over. :
Once he had appeased Gweluthand, Legolas opened his eyes and found that the Hobbits seemed to be quieting after Frodo and Pippin's words. He spoke again. "Gweluthand does not appreciate being underestimated. Elves have a deep connection to their surroundings. I'm a wood-elf and I enjoy talking to the trees and such. Gweluthand is a part of nature, she has feelings my friends."
The hobbits were silent, not sure what to make of air with feelings. Finally, it was the Gaffer who spoke. "Please, Mr. Legolas. Apologize for me to Gwelu...uhm...to the air shield. I want her on my side in this." His sentiments were echoed and Legolas did as they bade him.
They are apologizing to you, Gweluthand, just as I said they would, Legolas said quietly, many pairs of Hobbit eyes locked on him. Gweluthand expressed her acceptance of the apologies and Legolas smiled, looking up at the King and assembled group. "She accepts your apologies, be mindful in the future, before you insult things you do not understand."
Aragorn spoke now, hiding any signs that he had been bothered by the drunken outbursts and lack of attention. "We must prepare for the coming attack. Legolas can shield us from the spell with the aide of Gweluthand, but we must protect ourselves from the Orcs. Is there a place we can safely hide the women and children?"
Voices began to sound, and conversation went on for long minutes until they had worked out a place to hide the vulnerable. Now, Aragorn came to the heart of the question he had been debating with Legolas half-heartedly this morning.
"Can any of you fight?" he asked, deciding to put the question bluntly. At first, it looked like the Hobbits were going to shy away, ask to hide with the women and children. Then, the Gaffer spoke again.
"Well, I will not speak for all, but this is my home and I won't let the Orcs mess it up. I might not be a warrior like your men, but I am not scared. I will fight with you."
Sam looked on his father with bright eyes, a smile on his face, though it was a somewhat sad one. Aragorn placed a hand on the Gaffer's shoulder. "We welcome your help, Master Gamgee. If your son is any indication, you will fare just fine. Are there any others who will fight with us to protect the Shire, to protect your homes and your families?"
Quickly, all those present had vowed to fight. Rosie looked on from behind the counter, a sad smile on her face. Hobbits were brave little folk, it was true. But she worried for the Gaffer and her Sam, worried that the Hobbits might be valiant, but not ready for this battle.
Apparently Aragorn felt likewise. He was looking at Legolas and Gimli with sorrow. He whispered to the Elf and Dwarf. "They are brave, no doubt, but if they are to stand a chance, we must instruct them in the time we have left." Aloud, he outlined the plan. "We will send a contingent to gather the women and children and take them to the hiding place. Then all will train with us, we will give you lessons on sword fighting and some of you will work with Legolas and learn to shoot bows."
The plan set, Hobbits streamed out of the tavern with enthusiasm. They would not let the Shire be destroyed. Not while they still drew breath. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas, joined by Sam, Frodo, Merry and Pippin watched them go.
"Do you think we will be able to train them enough, Aragorn?" Frodo asked, watching his kinfolk obeying Aragorn's commands. "I mean, after all, Hobbits are a peaceful bunch."
The King of Gondor looked down at his companions. "You four are Hobbits and some of the bravest warriors I've ever met. I have no doubt that bravery is not limited to you only." He looked back up at the Hobbits.
Gimli was a little less assured. "Bravery is one thing, skill in battle is another. You can be the bravest being, but fall in battle from lack of skill."
Legolas spoke quietly. "They will do fine. They will do what they must to protect their land. Either way, they have a better chance of winning this fight with our help and the help of Gweluthand. One arrow can fell the bravest or the best of warriors, Gimli. "
In silence, the Fellowship watched as preparations went on, knowing this was probably the last bit of peace they would have before the storm of battle.
