Chapter 13; The Great River
"Laura, it's time to wake." A man's voice said as I was gently shaken; I opened my eyes slowly as I stuttered,
"Wha-what?" I rolled from my side onto my back and rubbed my eyes with my bandaged hands. I saw Aragorn above me. I smiled knowing that this meant that I could go on with the fellowship. "So I can go? You all will let me travel on with you?" I asked happily.
"No." Aragorn said and suddenly my heart dropped. "I have only come to wake you so that you can wish us all goodbye." I nodded as I sat up and looked at my hands. Galadriel was right, my hands didn't hurt and more, but my heart was broken, my eyes began to water as I got out of bed, this would be the last time I'd see anyone in the fellowship.
"All right, I'll be dressed in a moment." At that moment I heard Aragorn laugh as he said,
"Laura, I was only kidding! We would never leave you behind!" I looked at him with a solemn face then smiled and said,
"Aragorn, you scared me! I actually thought I wasn't going with you!" Aragorn continued laughing as he left the room and I dressed. I laughed as I changed and I was lighthearted again. I left the bandages on my hands, so that the scabs beneath would not become irritated. When I had dressed I found that my sword was nowhere in sight, then I remembered that it was in the pavilion with all of my other belongings. Before leaving I looked in the mirror and saw that my hair was done in braids like I had seen many of the elves wear. I smiled as I saw myself and then left the room. I met Aragorn down a few flights of stairs where he still held a grin on his face.
I was escorted to the river by Aragorn where servants of Galadriel and the rest of the fellowship awaited us. When I arrived on the shore I saw three boats set-aside for us, three white boats. Our packs, including my own, were already loaded inside of them. I made eyes contact with Merry and smiled as he smiled and said,
"Laura! You've made it!" With this some of the others turned and smiled.
"How are your hands, Laura?" Boromir asked.
"Better than yesterday." I replied with a smile and walked closer to the boats. As I neared I saw other bags in the boats. Aragorn told me that the elves had given us food to take with us, an Elvish bread that could fill a person with one small bite. That was all fine and good with me, I was just glad that I could travel with my friends and see the bread being eaten. The seating plans were: Aragorn, Frodo, and Sam in the first boat, Merry, Pippin, and Boromir in the second boat, and Gimli, Legolas, and myself in the third. As we set down the river, I stared blankly out over the water until later when a beautiful white swan boat pulled beside our boats. It was Galadriel and Celeborn in the boat; they came to say their final farewells and send us on our way with blessings. They gave us gifts before our leaving: cloaks with silver brooches to hold them. The cloak was a natural green and soft to the touch. They said that the cloaks were knitted by the elves and would keep us hidden from enemy eyes. To Aragorn she gave a sheath traced in silver and gold of flowers and leaves, she gave to Boromir a belt of gold and a belt of silver to Merry and Pippin alike. She gave to Legolas a new bow and quiver of arrows; this bow was longer and stouter than the bow he carried from Mirkwood and Galadriel said it was strung with an elf hair. Galadriel gave a box of what seemed magic soil to Sam and gave to Gimli three strands of her hair. I was a little creeped out by the fact that Gimli asked for some of her hair, and remembered that someone had a crush on Galadriel; I figured that I would pester him later about it. She gave to Frodo a glass phial that seemed to be filled with liquid light; it was the light of Eärendil and it glittered brightly as she gave it to Frodo. When the lady stood before me she smiled and said smoothly,
"To you, Laura Barnes, I give you a sword remade." A servant behind her stepped forward and handed me a sword in a leather sheath. It was my old sword, I could tell by the familiar hilt and weight of it. After I took the sword from the servant I unsheathed it to look at the blade and instead of a dull and dinged surface like I had known I found the steel of the blade pristine and it seemed to reflect every ray of light that hit it. On the blade there were engraved vines that possessed Elvish letters pressed into them. I was in awe as I looked at the blade; "We happily return to you your sword reborn, may it serve you well." I was at a loss for words and I could barely look at her and say 'Thank you my Lady' for my marvel. I put my new blade on my belt as Merry and Sam looked in wonder at my new sword. I smiled back at them showing how excited about it I was as well. We all bowed then took our leave to the boats.
As my boat floated down the river and I saw the Lady at a distance; my heart ached and I did not want to leave. Perhaps if I never returned home then I would return to Lothlórien and live there the rest of my days; I would wish to live out the rest of my life there, for I am mortal and to live till my last day in a place so timeless would be magical. We traveled for more than nine days on that river, and in those nine says I slept to the soothing rock of the current for many an hour. Occasionally Gimli would splash river water on my face so that I may wake to see a sunset, or a beautiful and lush valley of trees, and Legolas and I would share a short conversation without insulting each other. One day, Gimli inquired what happened to me the night before we left from Lórien. He did not understand why I would be attacked by Sauron and asked if I made jest at this matter. I don't know how I did it but I was able to get myself out of his prying questions and not make myself sound like an idiot. With his questions I wondered, when would the rest of the fellowship find out about me? I had to tell them, I had traveled with them all so long that not to tell them, these men, these my friends, would be an injustice.
Finally, on the tenth day of our travel, whilst I talked about our previous travels and the roads behind us with Legolas and Gimli, Aragorn signaled to us all that we move our boats to the shore. Before us were three great mountains and we passed in the shadows of the hills Amon Hen and Amon Lhaw. Legolas steered our boat to shore where we docked and I knew what this meant. We had reached the final stage of our quest and we couldn't go further without the choice between the east-way and the west-way. As I lay my mat on the ground and the others made camp, I decided that when the fellowship convened I would tell them all about me. I didn't need to tell Aragorn about this or consult him about my choice because I knew that it was the right thing to do. I lay on my mat and stared up at the sky, it was clear and the stars shone merrily through the navy blue. I sighed as I looked at them; I then looked to the west where, in the distance I could see the red fire of Mordor dimly lighting the sky.
No one can hear you, you are mine. I am coming for you Laura and the ring bearer; my servants are coming and will not be stopped. I'll be waiting…I heard Sauron's words in my head and I looked away from Mordor. I would face the terror and wrath soon enough, I shouldn't have to go looking for it.
"Your bag, it was from devious trick of Saruman," Galadriel told me, "He cast a spell upon it that slipped past the eyes of Elrond and myself. The spell charred and left nothing but ash and hot embers to remain." I soon felt a sense of hopelessness that swallowed me like a mouth. Chills ran down my spine as I looked away from the dim red skies and I soon saw a shape out of the corner of my eye approaching me.
"Are you going to sleep so soon?" It asked, "It is hardly late." It was Legolas' voice I turned my head and looked at him as I answered.
"I am tired." I yawned. "I think I've been on that boat so long that my sleep is disturbed." Legolas nodded and I was amazed at what he did next. He, slowly, stood beside me on the sandy shore. This was a break through of enormous proportions. 'Maybe he is done battling with me.' I thought. 'Maybe I should try and be friendly with him again.' I began to say something lighthearted but when I looked at Legolas' eyes and saw that they were concerned. "What is the matter?" I asked solemnly. He looked at the river as I added sincerely, "You look distracted." He exhaled and said softly,
"A shadow and a threat have been growing in my mind…" I looked away from him knowing of his feelings; they were truly validated. "I fear of this shore for what may be. Laura," when he said my name I looked at him and was met with his eyes; I was stunned by his eyes, they were blue; such a fantastic blue that that they seemed to stare right through me. "Am I right to worry? Does something come this way?" I brushed away my feeling of awe as I answered slowly,
"Yes…Legolas…you are right…" I regained myself then continued, "The enemy is coming…soon; they come for me and the ring so we both have a right to worry." At this Legolas looked at me in a shocked manner, I could tell that he didn't believe what he just heard. "Do you remember in Lórien how I was badly injured?" I asked slowly. Legolas nodded. "He spoke to me…Sauron spoke…in my head…" I began to choke on my words. "He wants me brought to him." I looked back to Legolas who was looking down at the ground. "I do not mean to sound arrogant, but when I was in Isengard, Saruman called me 'Seer of Sauron', I know not what he meant by this: maybe it was only play or intimidating words…" I looked up at the stars as I finished, "or perhaps he was speaking truth, of that I am not sure." after a long moment of silence Legolas replied slowly.
"How can you be sure?"
"I'm not sure." I replied, exasperated as I rested my head in my hands, "I do not know, and it could very well be that I speak nonsense and I have wasted my breath like a fool, but whether I am right or wrong I still fear for our safety." I lifted my head. "I worry for the lives of my friends." We said nothing for a while. I suddenly felt abashed in speaking in that way; how could I have allowed myself to become so emotional?
"How far are they?" Legolas Finally asked. "Should we fear any attack in the night?" I looked at the water in front of me and thought to myself, I didn't know where the Uruk-Hai were.
"I think not." I replied, "but tomorrow we must be weary." Legolas paused before saying,
"They are not near, yet too near it seems." I looked into the mountain sides that rest on the opposite side of the river; a gentle breeze blew and tossed my hair on my shoulders. In a moment I was annoyed by my hair, it was getting in my way. Though it was still tied back in the Elvish fashion my hair had grown long; it was now past my shoulder blades.
"How bothersome my hair has become!" I said as I pulled all of it over my shoulder. "It pesters me to no end!" Legolas said nothing as I looked at him. "Have I offended you?" I asked. "Have I in anyway? For if I have I'm sorry." Legolas said nothing to this, he only nodded after a few moments of silence and said 'Goodnight'. As he left me I laughed at him; was it he who had changed and was willing to speak to me or was it myself who had changed and drawn him to me? It mattered not as I lay down, wrapped my body in my cloak and fell to sleep.
Chapter 12 Review RepliesThoseRainyDays: Yeah, Haldir is great, but he doesn't have much of a character in the book anyways, so I guess I'm just guessing on his character!
Llenya The Fair: I guess it is getting a bit suspenseful isn't it?
Ms. Unknown: Yes! I love hearing feedback from you because you read both of these versions! EEE!!!
Nina Moca: Great! Thank you so much for answering my question!
Garfieldboxershorts: Well thanks! I always get really excited when I hear from new reviewers!
TriGemini: Yeah, I remember when I wrote these next few chapters I felt like it was hard to breathe!
