Mysterious Fate
By Cormak
Disclaimer: The original characters from Lord of the Rings belong to their respective owners. New characters belong to me, especially Kaitlyn. This story was written for fan enjoyment and not profit.
Reviews are always welcome. I especially like constructive criticism. Flames are not welcome and will be ignored. Any additional author's notes may be found at the end of each chapter I post.
Special thanks to my beta Scattered Logic for listening to ideas and helping me to figure out where this story was going.
Chapter 9: A brush with power…
Kaitlyn thought that Aragorn was acting a little strange the following morning. They went for their brisk run, practiced treading quietly through the forest and then had a sword lesson. She found Aragorn to be much quieter than usual.
She did not question him about it. The man seemed to be deep in thought. She marveled his abilities. His mind was obviously elsewhere but he still fought as well as he normally did.
Kaitlyn left the man after her lesson ended and she went to eat lunch at camp. Frodo and Sam were the only ones at camp, explaining that Legolas was off with the elves and that Boromir, Merry and Pippin were practicing swordplay and Gimli had gone to watch them.
Kaitlyn barely touched the fruit, bread and cheese that she piled up on her plate. Her appetite seemed to leave her the moment she sat down.
She felt dizzy and nauseous and wondered briefly if she was coming down with something.
"Are you well, Lady Kaitlyn?" Sam asked her.
Kaitlyn looked at him blankly. The light haired hobbit rarely spoke to her. Usually he would nod hello or goodbye, but infrequently did they converse.
"Huh?"
"I asked if you were well. You look a bit pale."
She shook her head and immediately wished that she had not. She became lightheaded. "No, I'm not feeling well. It came out of nowhere. I was fine this morning," she frowned at how quickly it had all happened.
"Will you be all right?"
She nodded. "I should be. I'm going to lay down and try to sleep. If Legolas returns to get me for our lesson will you tell him that I don't feel well?"
Sam nodded and watched the woman go lay in her tent.
Kaitlyn didn't know how long she slept. She just knew that her head was pounding and that her sleep had been filled with horrible visions. Lands on fire, people being slaughtered and an active volcano in a land that thrived in darkness. She awakened in a sweat, her breathing labored. She sat straight up and realized that she was in Lothlorien.
The camp was quiet. Both Sam and Frodo were sleeping in their tent not far from her.
Kaitlyn ran a hand through her damp hair and tried to calm down. It had just been a dream. She was safe in Lothlorien with her friends.
She gazed over at Frodo. The dark haired hobbit rarely slept. She noticed that he would often stay awake late into the night or he pretended to sleep. His body must have finally forced him to rest and he slept peacefully. Sam was curled up along side him.
Kaitlyn never saw them separated. She sensed that Sam was a guardian for Frodo. As she gazed at the hobbits she thought of Moria. Frodo had nearly died, but the hobbit had surprised them all with a silvery shirt made of metal that had saved his life. Kaitlyn realized that her companions always seemed to be watching Frodo and looking out for his well fare. She wondered if he was someone important. Perhaps royalty?
The sun was shining down through the trees, the patches of light moving as the leaves drifted in a slight breeze. Something sparkled and caught Kaitlyn's attention.
Her eyes focused on a simple gold band ring on a chain of silver that hung from Frodo's neck.
Kaitlyn was intrigued by it and she started to move toward the sleeping Frodo as if in a trance. She moved closer until she was kneeling in front of the hobbit, her hand reaching out to touch the ring and then she stopped. Her eyes widened her breathing hitched in her throat and the nausea swept through her. She cried out loudly.
Frodo awakened immediately, his hand instantly moving to the ring that hung on his neck. Kaitlyn was kneeling in front of him. He watched as she leapt to her feet and swayed as if she'd had too much ale.
The hobbit looked at her curiously wondering what she had been doing and then became alarmed by two things. The look of horror that was on her face and that her gaze was on the ring.
She began backing away as if Frodo was a wild dangerous animal. Her eyes were wide and she was gasping for breath. She continued to back away and she slammed directly into Aragorn. She screamed and pushed past him before she tore off into the woods.
Aragorn looked down at Frodo who was still clutching the ring in his hand. The Ranger cursed in Elvish and then went after the woman.
Aragorn found Kaitlyn trembling by the stream. She was standing by a tree, leaning against it for support. She jumped, clearly frightened when he approached.
"What is it? What has happened?" He asked, though he already had an idea.
She was panting as if she had been running for hours. Her eyes were wide and tears brimmed in their green depths.
"Am I awake?" She asked him. "Pinch me and tell me that I'm finally awake." Her voice sounded broken.
The Ranger frowned. "You are awake."
"But this could be a dream and you're just telling me that in my dream." She held out her arm to him. "I'd pinch myself but I can't stop shaking."
The Ranger didn't know why she asked this of him, but he moved forward and pinched her arm gently.
She felt the warmth of his fingers on her arm and the feel of him pinching her skin. "I'm awake then." She gave a sigh, though she didn't know if it was relief.
"Tell me what has you so frightened," Aragorn commanded gently.
She shook her head. "It's so completely stupid." She felt like Aragorn was going to laugh at her.
"It can not be stupid if it has you frightened. Please tell me."
She nodded. "I heard a voice in my head. A deep voice." She waited for the laughter to come and it never did. Aragorn didn't move and simply waited for her to continue. She swallowed. "It…it told me to kill Frodo and take that ring he is wearing. The frightening thing was that I found myself moving toward Frodo. I had no intention of killing him but I didn't even remember kneeling in front of him. I was suddenly just there."
She shivered visibly. "There was this…eye made of fire, if that makes sense and it was on top of a tower. At first it was speaking in a language that I couldn't understand, but then I could suddenly understand it. It kept telling me to take the ring. Take the ring…and I could be very powerful. All I desired could be within my reach." She gave an uneasy laugh. "It was crazy."
Aragorn frowned.
"What does this all mean?" Kaitlyn asked. There was fear in her voice, but she had finally stopped shaking.
"The Ring of power is dangerous. You must not listen or do anything it tells you to do," Aragorn told her vehemently.
"The Ring of Power?"
Aragorn nodded and Kaitlyn finally got some of the answers she had sought. Aragorn recounted the story of the Ring of Power, of Sauron the deceiver, its creator and master and of the Fellowship and their quest to reach Mordor to destroy the ring. By the time he finished telling her of the council of Elrond and the events that happened before they met in Moria, Kaitlyn was trembling and wished she was still in the dark about what was going on.
"Why couldn't I have ended up on a quiet farm or something? Why on the quest to destroy an evil possessed talking ring!"
"Gandalf believed that you have a purpose and that must be so if fate granted us the fortune of meeting."
Kaitlyn had tears in her eyes. Oh, how she missed Gandalf and she had scarcely known the man. She certainly would have liked to know how he knew so much about what was going on.
"I have a purpose all right." She frowned. "To rot on a field and be fertilizer. I'm going to be killed by the enemy." A tear slipped down her cheek. "How can I fight something that has the power to destroy an entire world or shape it to its will? I'm not superwoman, I'm not a warrior."
Aragorn looked into her face. "You are strong, stronger than many. You managed to resist the ring the first time it called to you. You will survive."
Another tear coursed down Kaitlyn's face as reality slammed into her again and again like a sharp kick to her gut. "I'll have to kill, I'll have to be ruthless and go against all that I was taught to do. I don't know if I can go through with this, Aragorn."
He put his hands on each of her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "You can and you will. You have people here who care for you and will protect you to the best of their ability. You have strength in your soul, I see it. You will survive," he repeated.
"And what about the ring?" she shivered. "What if it talks to me again?"
"Then you attempt to ignore it. It wants you to believe that good can be achieved with it, but only destruction and suffering will occur with its use. It is difficult to ignore, I have felt its pull as well."
"It's spoken to you? How do you overcome it?"
"By remembering what I swore to do; protect Frodo and help him destroy the ring. I remember my friends and how much they mean to me. I remember how much Middle Earth means to me. I do not wish to see everything I love become destroyed."
Kaitlyn nodded. "I'll try to remember that."
Aragorn watched her and noticed that she seemed to have calmed down a little, but he did not leave her side. He spent the afternoon with her, most of their time together spent in silence as she mulled over the things had had told her.
Kaitlyn felt alone, confused and afraid. She was worried and in denial over what was happening around her. She desperately needed someone to comfort her and she was glad that Aragorn stayed. While the Ranger only sat beside her, the two of them watching and listening to their surroundings, Kaitlyn appreciated his company.
While Kaitlyn didn't know Aragorn's history, she knew that he must have been through a lot with both of his parents dying when he was so young. He was an extremely skilled fighter and he had most likely killed many times. He was strong, and she drew on that strength and relied on it to help her.
Legolas was worried when he heard from Sam what had happened. The Fellowship had kept Kaitlyn in the dark for a length of time and the ring had not liked that. It sought to return to human hands, man or woman did not matter, so it would eventually find the hand of its master. Sam also told the elf that Aragorn had gone after Kaitlyn, which meant that the Ranger must have told her the story of the ring.
Legolas found Aragorn and Kaitlyn by the stream that ran through the woods not far from their campsite. He stepped beside them and Aragorn looked to his friend.
Legolas noticed that Kaitlyn was sleeping. The woman was lying in Aragorn's arms, her face pressed against his chest.
Aragorn looked at Legolas with concern. "The ring called to her."
Legolas nodded. "Samwise told me."
"She was terribly frightened from her first brush with it."
"Perhaps that is for the best," Legolas said and Aragorn gave him a confused expression. "Fear might drive her away from it. If she did not fear it, she might believe she could use it."
Aragorn nodded, understanding his friend's reasoning. Someone they knew did not fear the ring and he had been all too eager to use it. If Kaitlyn remained afraid she might be less willing to attempt to take it.
"I was worried that this might happen. Something didn't feel quite right on the wind this morning." Aragorn told Legolas.
The elf nodded. "I noticed that as well." They remained in silence for a few moments. Legolas looked at Kaitlyn sleeping quietly and then at Aragorn.
"She finds peace with you," the elf told him with a gentle smile.
Aragorn gave a knowing smile. "A ah le." And with you At Legolas' confused expression he continued. "You were both awake until late into the night. Go-erui." Alone together. Aragorn added in Elvish.
Legolas smiled, completely oblivious to the man's teasing. "She wished to start anew. She told me about her world and I told her of Mirkwood. She showed me her sketches of her world and of the Fellowship. He maen. " She is skilled.
Aragorn was surprised but very pleased by the fact that Kaitlyn had shared her sketches with Legolas. It meant that she was finally beginning to trust the elf.
"She is quite pleasant when she is not afraid." The elf continued and then he raised a brow. "How did you know we were awake until late?"
"Cennin le ah he. Pennich 'Daw vaer, Kaitlyn Westerly' he lam." I saw you with her. You said 'Good night, Kaitlyn Westerly' in her tongue.
Legolas' eyebrows rose. "Cennich ammen? Dan manen? Lostannech." You saw us? But how? You slept.
Aragorn smiled. "Aye, lostannen ab. Gerin osp." I slept later. I was having a smoke.
Legolas frowned. "U-lastannen le." I did not hear you.
Aragorn grinned. "Nay, You were too busy saying 'Daw vaer' na i híril." 'Good night' to the lady.
Legolas looked confused and Aragorn smiled and slapped him gently on the back. "I am teasing you, mellon nîn. Though what she said must have kept your full attention for you not to hear or see me."
"She spoke about her world. It was of interest to me."
While Legolas knew it to be the truth, the fact that she and the possibility of a future friendship had distracted him troubled him. He could not afford to do such things once they left the safety of Lothlorien. He was in all essence the eyes and the ears of the fellowship.
Aragorn nodded knowing how Legolas loved to learn about new and distant lands. The smile faded from his face as he gazed down at the woman in his arms.
"I fear for her. She has no idea what she will have to face."
"Nay, but we will prepare her," Legolas told him.
"Aye. I hope that is enough."
"Tammy!"
Kaitlyn bolted upright, her heart pounding in her ears, her breathing raspy. It took her several moments to realize that she was in her tent in Lothlorien and not in the mines of Moria. She didn't remember going to her tent but she did remember being with Aragorn. She must have fallen asleep and he had laid her down to rest.
It was dark out and she realized that she had slept most of the day and straight through her archery lesson.
She trembled as she thought about her dreams. Her best friend from college, Tammy had been in the most recent one. The tall blond woman had been in the mines of Moria with her and Tammy had been slaughtered brutally by the orcs. Kaitlyn had been powerless to stop it.
Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of her friend. Did Tammy or Megan or her parents realize that she was missing? Was it her face that covered the daily papers or the backs of milk cartons suggesting that she was missing? Or did they not even realize? Were they going on with their lives normally while she was in a world on the edge of war?
Fresh tears gathered in her eyes and she drew her knees to her chest, suddenly feeling cold and alone again. She missed home, her friends and family.
"Are you well, lassie?"
She jumped at the voice and quickly wiped her tears with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.
She looked up to see Gimli was standing in front of her tent.
"I'm fine. It was just a…a bad dream." She hated feeling like this and she hated to appear vulnerable.
"You do not look well. You look pale." A second more musical voice added.
Kaitlyn frowned when she saw that Legolas had come to stand beside Gimli. Had she been that loud? Had she awakened the entire Fellowship?
"I really am fine. You can both go back to bed. I didn't mean to wake you up."
"I was not sleeping," Legolas admitted.
"Neither was I. The night is fair and I could not rest." Gimli said. "Who is Tammy?"
Kaitlyn sighed and lowered her eyes from his. "She was my best friend from back home."
"You were dreaming of her?" Legolas asked.
Kaitlyn nodded and then started to rise. She didn't want to talk about home because it hurt her far too much. "I need to clear my mind. I'm going for a walk," she announced.
"I shall go with you," Gimli told her.
"And I shall as well," Legolas offered.
"I am capable of taking her for a walk without you, pointy ears."
Legolas' eyebrows lowered. "Perhaps she does not wish for your company, short one."
Gimli growled.
"I don't need an escort." Kaitlyn said testily.
"Of course you do. You would prefer a stout dwarf warrior to this pointy eared whelp, wouldn't you?"
"I'd prefer that the two of you got along!" she told them angrily. "I'm tired of listening to you both bicker like children. I hear it all day and I don't intend to hear it all night either."
Gimli and Legolas went completely silent. The two looked at each other and Legolas spoke first. "If we agree not to quarrel, will you allow us to walk with you?"
"Why would you want to?" she shot back.
"Because it is obvious that you are not well, lassie. You dream terrible things and act as if nothing is wrong. We could help ease your mind," Gimli told her.
She sighed. As much as she wanted to push them away from her, after the dream she'd had, she didn't want to be alone. Although the Fellowship were not her friends from back home, they were here in this world and they were concerned for her welfare. She realized how much she needed them.
The strange trio walked through the woods of Lothlorien. An elf, a dwarf and a human woman engaged in conversation. They spoke of Kaitlyn's training, of the weather, of the future and Kaitlyn couldn't believe how much she enjoyed the walk. Although her troubles did not completely dissipate, she felt much improved.
Gimli and Legolas did not quarrel though it was obvious that they wanted to many times. It was with a heavy heart that Gimli returned to camp first. It was apparent that he was tired and he decided to rest.
Legolas and Kaitlyn remained together alone for a short while. Legolas climbed a tree, with the hope of getting a better view of the moon and stars and Kaitlyn started up after him. When they reached the top, they were unprepared for the beauty of that night. The stars shone brightly and the moonlight touched the land for miles giving the mountains and valleys the appearance of giving light themselves.
"Ithil and elanath shine brightly this night." Legolas told her with a smile.
"Is that Elvish?" she asked.
"Aye, it is Sindarin."
"Sindarin?" She gave him a look of confusion.
"It is one of the many dialects of Elvish tongue. I can speak three of them fluently."
"Which three?" she asked with genuine curiosity. She realized sadly that she would not know what any of them meant.
"Sindarin, Silvan and Quenya."
"Interesting. I didn't realize that the elves had different languages. It must be like how we have English, French, Russian and so on in my world." She sat quietly upon her branch in thought for a few moments. "It-il," she attempted.
"Ithil," Legolas corrected. "It means moon."
"What does the other word mean?"
"Elanath means stars. All are visible tonight."
"Ithil and Elan…Elanath. Moon and stars." She repeated.
"Aye."
"Will you teach me?"
He gave her a look of confusion.
"Your language. The Elven tongue. It's so beautiful."
Legolas was surprised at her request. Was this the same woman who had been frightened of him and his people only a few days ago?
"You wish to learn it? It is not an easy language to master." He had difficulty keeping the surprise and the delight out of his voice.
She shrugged. "That doesn't matter. New cultures interest me. I'm stuck here in this world and I should probably make the best of it. I wish to learn the language, if you wouldn't mind teaching me." She realized that it was the honest truth. She did wish to learn about his people and learning something new would keep her from thinking about home.
He smiled. "I would like that. But tell me, do you truly wish to learn it because it is beautiful or so that you may understand what Aragorn and I say about you?" he teased lightly.
"Yes," she answered.
He laughed. "Ah, so you mean not to tell me which one?"
She gave him a smile and started down the tree with him following. She leapt to the ground and waited for him to drop down beside her. He had the grace of no other being that she had ever known and she always felt so clumsy in his presence.
He gave her another confused expression, obviously wondering why she had left the branches of the tree.
"I'm tired from a long day. I'd like to rest," she explained.
He nodded and escorted her back to camp. They both shared a laugh at the sound of Gimli snoring loudly.
She smiled at Legolas as they stopped beside her tent. "Thank you for the walk. Good night, Legolas."
He nodded and gave her a gentle smile in return. "Mae idh, Kaitlyn."
At her confused look he told her, "Rest well."
Kaitlyn watched him walk away. She expected him to enter his tent, but he walked to the outskirts of camp and stood looking out into the night instead.
She realized that he was different than the others in the group. When she first met him, he was often quiet and aloof, acting as the eyes and ears of the group and seldom engaging in open or revealing conversation. He had changed upon entering Lothlorien and Kaitlyn wondered if that had to do with the fact that he was among his own kind.
He had been speaking much more frequently and he and Kaitlyn had created a comfortable friendship within a few days time. She realized that she enjoyed his company immensely. He reminded her of her friend Brian from college and was delighted after making the comparison. Brian had always been a safe and comfortable friend who had never wanted anything more then what he received. Legolas seemed as if would be the same.
She smiled as she tore her eyes away from the handsome elf and lay down to prepare to sleep.
Sleep came surprisingly easy and for the first night in a while, evil talking rings or horrible creatures did not plague her.
To be continued….
I didn't know if I was going to get a chapter posted this week as I had a lot going on, but I'm pleased to have finished chapter 9. I hope that everyone enjoyed it.
kmf: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter. I really don't want to give anything away about Boromir. Everyone knows the stories of course but I'll be adding extras.
ACE: Thank you! I try to be detailed but not overly. I don't know how other people go about writing, but I always picture everything in my mind first and attempt to write it how I see it. I try to allow others to see what I see but still allow them to form their own visions. I'm trying to keep everyone in character. One of the most annoying things to me is that some authors have Legolas, Boromir , Aragorn, etc, saying things they would never say. If anyone ever noticed, most of the people in the fellowship don't use contractions.
Aniron_1: Thanks and I'm glad you don't mind them waiting!
Yuki: Everyday does count to the Fellowship and their quest. I can't say too much about the passage of time as I don't want to give any spoilers. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
Kage Miko: She probably could have turned it down but she wasn't really thinking about that. I'm glad you are enjoying the story!
Kallasilya: Thank you. And I realize to some people a Mary Sue is an original character who has a romance or such with a main character. I don't view those sort of characters as a Mary Sue. I see OC's that are like the author, are perfect, have special powers, has everyone like him/her and the main character falls in love with her for no other reason that she's perfect and such as a Mary Sue. I'm attempting to keep Kaitlyn as down to earth and as normal as possible. She's had her ups and downs in life, like all of us and she certainly has to work hard to get anything she wants.
Silverphoenix101: Thanks and I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I can't say too much about Boromir without giving things away. I don't like to give out spoilers. But yes, Kaitlyn has gotten over her fears and she realizes that Legolas isn't so bad. She'll be more open and less tense around his kind as well.
Vampiress-Alexiel: Thank you so much! My plan for this story was to take an Original character, take the 10th walker idea, write a romance and attempt to make it tasteful. I wanted to prove that OC's aren't so bad.
Kellyn Smith: Thank you! Yes, Legolas was a bit confused. He was picturing wild birds as metal objects that could fly. Not quite what Kaitlyn had in mind!
Marumae: Thanks for taking the time to catch up and read! You'll have to keep guessing who she travels with when the fellowship splits up.
Beth: Thank you! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story!
Mango: Thank you for taking the time to review. I'm glad that you are enjoying the story thus far.
Blue Angel Samui: I'm glad that I was able to provide a break for you! I remember when I was back in school and reading fan fiction for a break. It was always a nice diversion! Thanks for your review!
Hikage Katsune: Thanks! 10th walker means that there are 10 people in the fellowship instead of 9 like the movie and the books.
YueMichiruNaragisawaMiko: Thanks! I'm glad that you're enjoying it! Yeah, lol her Legolas-phobia has gone bye bye. I don't know if it's love but we'll see in the future!
Thanks again to everyone who chose to review by e-mail.
