Reviewer responses for Chapter 15:
Pirate Gyrl: I hope everything goes well for you and that you do not see the worst of that hurricane. Thanks for reviewing and thanks for all the compliments you've given. Also, thanks for the happy birthday and the job well-wishes!
Mornflower: falls to the floor in astonishment WOW, that IS the shortest review you've left. BUT no less appreciated! Thanks for leaving it!
Amara: Thanks for the happy b-day...you're another person with a picky computer huh? No worries, thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad it is unpredictable sometimes; I don't want people to be able to guess everything before I post it! I will pass on the wishes of good luck...thanks much!
InsanePirate624: You've still got time before you have to start worrying about jobs...is this a fast enough update for you?
A/N: The inspiration for this chapter's title comes from a line spoken my Gandalf in the Return of the King movie. It was too good an idea to pass up!
Chapter 16: The Deep Breath Before the Plunge
Hobbiton...
Legolas thought fighting while hopelessly outnumbered was difficult, but this was much harder and more frustrating. That is, teaching drunken Hobbits to shoot arrows. Not only did they not listen well, constantly joking and poking each other with the arrows, but they couldn't seem to keep the arrows notched even when they were trying.
The Elf grabbed an arrow from one Hobbit who had been about to stick another with it. "The arrow goes on the bow," he chided, handing it back slowly. "It is not to be used to poke your neighbor." The hobbit nodded, slowly notching the arrow and pulling back on the string. But, he had not held the arrow when he pulled the string and it flopped to the ground.
Legolas rolled his eyes. This is hopeless. Perhaps if they were not still drunk I would have a better chance of teaching them something of the art of archery. But we do not have the luxury of waiting for them to sober up.
Pippin and those of his family seemed to be the only Hobbits able to hit the broadside of anything with an arrow. The Hobbit was desperately trying to help Legolas with his task of training some of the Hobbits in archery. But even he was having little luck.
Suddenly, Rosie appeared, carrying a large bucket of something hot. "All of you drunken Hobbits get over here!" She called to the would-be archers. Legolas watched in confusion. "Drink up! There is enough for everyone."
Not caring what they were drinking, the Hobbits gathered round Rosie. "Yum! What'd you give us?" one asked.
Rosie wouldn't answer. "Just a treat for your hard work." She winked at Legolas who nodded thoughtfully. When the crowd had left her side, she came to Legolas and Pippin, who had joined the Elf. "The King told me to give it to them. I don't know what it is."
But it suddenly dawned on Legolas. "I do. Why didn't I think of it before?" He laughed, assuring Rosie it was nothing harmful. Aragorn had likely given them something to sober them up. It would drown out the effects of the ale and make them more alert.
It had begun to take effect it seemed. Legolas heard a zing and saw an arrow careening through the air. He jumped lightly, avoiding the projectile and looking toward the Hobbits. One was covering his mouth in shock.
"Oh! Didn't think it would go anywhere, I did!" the Hobbit called, apologizing profusely to the Elf who simply laughed and patted him on the shoulder.
"Fear not, at least you got the arrow to go somewhere, which is more then I can say for the rest of you. Now, if you please, pay attention this time! We haven't got all day to learn this and trust me, you'll want to know how when the Orcs arrive."
The mention of Orcs helped to sober the Hobbits further and they watched the Elf intently. "Now, once you have the arrow on the string, you can't just let it go...you have to hold on to it and pull the string back at the same time." As he spoke, he demonstrated what he meant.
"Then, you aim the arrow, like this...and when you have it lined up, you let the string go." He aimed for the targets they had set up and let his arrow loose. It hit the target with a resounding thud.
To his surprise, the Hobbits suddenly ran toward the target yelling excitedly. "He hit it right in the middle! Well look at that!"
Legolas laughed. He called to the Hobbits, trying to get them to calm down and continue to practice, but they didn't appear to hear him. Sighing, he suddenly came up with a solution. Whipping an arrow from his quiver, he notched it and fired, the arrow sailing through the throng of Hobbits and splitting his first arrow.
All eyes turned on him and there was dead silence. "If you please, we have a great deal of work to do." He smiled as they all hurried back and studiously took up their bows.
Pippin laughed suddenly, turning to the Elf. "You sure have an interesting way of getting their attention!"
Aragorn and the others weren't faring too much better, even with the tea. The Hobbits seemed to be goofing off more then anything else, which began to seriously irritate Aragorn. He couldn't help his feelings, he was worried sick for Arwen and it annoyed him that he was here trying to protect Hobbits who seemed to care little about the coming danger.
"They don't mean to be disrespectful, you know." Merry stood at Aragorn's elbow, looking out over the Hobbits dueling with broom handles and tree branches as practice swords. "Hobbits just aren't used to anything dangerous really. We live peaceful, rather fun-filled lives." He looked up at Aragorn. "I'm sure Frodo and I can talk some sense into them...they are beginning to sober up."
He walked away now, shouting to a pair of Hobbits, "No, no! Don't do that!"
Aragorn frowned as he watched one particular Hobbit get hit for the umpteenth time. "You there, if you are going to defend yourself against anything, you must keep your eyes open, my friend." He smiled, taking the place of the Hobbit's partner. "Here, I will attack nice and slowly, you keep those eyes open and stop me."
He slowly swung in a long arc, giving the Hobbit plenty of time to see the attack. This time, he kept his eyes open and successfully blocked it. "Very good!" Aragorn smiled. He swung a few more times, and then set the two Hobbits together again.
Sighing, he returned to his perch on a nearby ledge to watch the proceedings. He tried hard to keep his mind on the moment, but kept on going back to the night of the attack when Arwen had been taken. Why didn't I see it? Why didn't I see them take her, was I so blind that I didn't see her plight? He couldn't understand why he had not seen his wife being taken. I don't remember seeing any orcs break off from the fight! He grimaced, seeing yet another pair of hobbits fooling around.
He was about to go to them when he saw Frodo beat him to it. "You have to stop messing around. King Elessar is trying to help us, show him a little respect and do what he taught you." The Hobbits nodded, sobering a bit and putting more effort into the practice.
Frodo glanced in Aragorn's direction and the man nodded his thanks. Frodo knows that my mind is elsewhere. He is a good friend, he will do all he can to ease the trouble of this training for me. I wonder how Gimli is fairing, getting the women and children to hiding places?
Please, let them tire of this constant banter and tugging! Gimli sighed in slight frustration as another Hobbit child tugged on his arm and looked up at him with imploring eyes. "Please, tell us about the dwarf women again!" The boy begged; his eyes full of mischief.
Gimli had already gone over this many times, but it always made the children laugh and he wanted to keep them focused as he watched the women and children of the Shire file into the underground hiding place.
"All right," he said, giving in as usual and taking on an odd accent. "There aren't many dwarf women you know," he said, suddenly looking around to see if anyone was listening to them, pretending he was telling the children a secret. "And they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for dwarf men."
The children burst out laughing, giggling as they echoed the part of dwarf women being taken for dwarf men. Gimli glanced toward the door to the cavern; inwardly hoping one of his companions would come to his rescue.
Suddenly, he smiled. Sam hurried through the doorway, his eyes roving over the assembled Hobbits, wishing this once that Gimli were not a dwarf so he would stand much taller above the Hobbits. "Mr. Gimli? Where are you at?" He called, his eyes finally coming to rest on the dwarf in the midst of the children.
A small smile crossed Sam's face and he made his way to the dwarf. "Little ones, I'm going to have to steal Gimli for a while, we need him outside." Sam said, not letting himself be phased by the whining children.
Gimli stood up and looked at them. "Come now, no need for sadness kids. I'll be back soon." Unless of course there is a way I can avoid that! He thought to himself. It wasn't that he didn't like children, but these Hobbit children were extremely excitable!
As he followed Sam from the cavern, he thought about the Glittering Caves at Helm's Deep. He had begun to bring dwarves there in hopes of making it a homely realm. He hoped they would cooperate with the Rohan when they arrived at the fortress.
This cavern, though it was not glittering or nearly as large as the caves at Helm's Deep, did remind him of it. Most of the Hobbits had been unaware of the gaping cave under the hills on the West end of the Shire.
One of the old Hobbits from Pippin's family had remembered it from his childhood and he had suggested that the women and children would easily fit inside. It was large and amazingly well ventilated. There were two entrances, one from the Shire and one that lay outside the Shire. It would provide an escape route in the event that Orcs discovered the cave.
"Sam, where are we going?" he finally asked.
The Hobbit sighed. "Mr. Strider has called a meeting. He wants to make plans for the attack."
Gimli nodded in understanding. He had expected as much. Aragorn might not be entirely himself and that was to be expected, what with the kidnapping of the woman he loved. But Gimli knew he would not abandon the Hobbits, he would lead the defense and Gimli had faith they would prevail.
Once they exited the caves, his eyes darkened. He noticed immediately the waning mist. Has Legolas asked the shield to stop shrouding us for a time? He wondered to himself. Why is the mist lighter and less blue then before?
He made a mental note to ask about this development later. Seeing Aragorn, Frodo, Merry, Pippin and Legolas, along with the heads of the families, he pushed the thought from his head for the moment.
Glancing at his friend, he could see that Legolas appeared fatigued. The Elf rarely seemed to tire since his wounds had mostly healed. He guessed that keeping Gweluthand with them for so long had begun to take its toll.
"The soldiers of Gondor and the Rohirrim will be our outer defense. The Fellowship and the Hobbits will remain close to the cave to protect it from any Orcs or Uruks that get through. I have no doubt there will be plenty who achieve this. The army is numerous, Legolas has been out of the Shire, scouting."
He relinquished the floor to the Elf. "The orc army is large, far greater then we first expected. But all hope is not lost, for they are expecting us to be unaware of them." He looked at Aragorn before continuing. "It appears to be a host of about 1,000 or more."
There were gasps all around. An old Hobbit frowned. "There are too many, we'll never win!"
Aragorn raised his hand. "I have told you we are here to protect the Shire and you Hobbits have learned much in this short time. We will prevail." He did not offer any comforting words besides those. He did not have the will to do it.
Legolas suddenly spoke, his elvish words were frantic. When he was finished, Aragorn looked at him with unease. "What has happened, mellon nin?" He asked, knowing what the Elf had said, hoping it was not true.
"Gweluthand warned me, she can not keep us shielded indefinitely. I had thought the attack would have come before she needed to regenerate. I can not keep her here any longer!" His words were low, guilt on his face.
Everyone's eyes snapped to the tavern window. It was true. The light blue mist was fading before their eyes, leaving the air clear and unshielded. And it wasn't long before the shadow began creeping in again.
Gimli put a hand on the Elf's shoulder. "We will be all right, it is not your fault my friend." But Gimli's voice betrayed his growing anxiety.
Legolas shook his head. "Already, the shadow is reaffirming its hold on the people; I can see it in all your eyes!" He looked pointedly at Aragorn. "I must do something, there must be a way!" He stood and left the table, seeking solitude to think. He hoped that Aragorn would not take offense.
The king of Gondor let out a deep breath. "Well, this is an unexpected problem. But we will go on as planned, everyone take up their appointed position and do well to remember what we are preparing for."
He wanted to seek out the Elf prince when the Hobbits had left to gather their people at the predetermined spots, but he knew that Legolas had to figure this out on his own. Nothing that Aragorn knew would help him.
Starring out the window at the mist-less air, he sighed. Valar, please help him figure this out. Or we all are doomed.
