Chapter Seven: The Odds Improve Considerably

February 27

I have figured out that the only reason that I will be able to survive this is my wonderful species change. How else would I be able to keep up with a six-foot-four tall Aragorn? And I have discovered the wonderful Elven trait of sleeping while running. Mind you, it can't be done in a full run, but it's fairly easy at a jog. And I love this new endurance thing! Before I came here, I could barely run at all. Not because I was fat (I was on the high side of normal), but I had exercise-induced asthma- the sort where you get an asthma attack in the middle of a fifty butterfly (that particular experience was due to the insistence of my mother who refused to believe that her darling firstborn daughter had breathing problems). However, it seems that it is impossible for Elves to get asthma, so I'm fine now.

February 28

Aragorn has insisted we rest. However, the fact that he and Gimli fell asleep right away did not get me out of an archery lesson. Apparently Legolas thinks that any time we are stationary is an appropriate time for a lesson. At this point, I am still terrible. In fact, I actually think I've gotten worse.

Oh, and earlier today we found Pippin's brooch off the path a little. The others are feeling a lot better now about the hobbits. I bet they've met Fangorn by now, if I remember things correctly.

After the archery lesson (it was short; probably so that Aragorn wouldn't find out that we were practicing in the middle of the night) I sat down on a flat rock and thought. It's times like this when I really miss Boromir. I kind of identified with him; I'm just trying to do my best to keep things running the way they should, only things tend to run faster than I can keep up. He didn't deserve to die. Maybe if the Sues hadn't stopped me from following them, he'd still be alive.

I don't even want to think about that. It makes me cry.

February 29

Nothing interesting. My hair is being evil and trying to come out of its braid, but that's about it. I WANT TO CUT IT OFF! Okay, rant over.

February 30

Oh wow. We met the Rohirrim today. And I can totally sympathize with my old friend Mhera for loving Éomer, because he is Hot, with a capital H. However, as soon as Legolas spotted them, I was hustled into a little cave of rocks, where I pretended to be a little stone- preferably of the sedimentary variety. I was able to catch a glimpse between the threads of the cloak. Wow, my new eyes really work! I heard all of it too, but it was pretty boring on the whole. Not that it wasn't enlightening for the three, but I knew it already. Unfortunately, I had to look sad and upset about Merry and Pippin, which is hard since I know that they are safe in Fangorn with Treebeard right now. I really, really tried though.

--

Oh, and great news! I officially stink at archery. We've practiced every night while Aragorn and Gimli were resting, and I know for a fact I've gotten worse. Judging from Legolas' expression last night, his patience is wearing very, very, thin.

March 1

Gandalf's back!

We had gotten the horses from the Rohirrim, all three. I took the brown one that reminded me of the horse that had taken me to Rivendell. This one was almost as nice, and figured out early that I didn't really know how to ride, so it simply followed the others.

Then that night, we stopped at the edge of Fangorn. Legolas got out his bow, but Aragorn cleared his throat, saying NO ARCHERY LESSONS as clearly as can be. Legolas got the message and put it up, but not without a pause where he gave a meaningful look in Aragorn's direction. Then we went to sleep, or sort of, since I haven't been able to figure out how to go to sleep normally since the sleeping-while-running revelation. But the horses then saw something moving in the trees, and ran after it. I couldn't see it since I have yet to figure out night vision; I close my eyes and echo-locate when I can. Well, not really, but I navigate by sound after dark. It's surprisingly easy, when the trees creak at all hours and the Three Hunters are constantly breathing.

We decided that it was not smart to travel in the middle of the night in Fangorn so we rested until morning. Evidently our archery-fascist was too tired to insist on a lesson. Okay, so I'm not being really fair to Legolas, since all he wants to do is help. I would just appreciate it if he realized I'd never figure archery out. At least he's admitted that I'm okay with my sword. But when we all woke up, it was another day of forced march. Then we met up with Gandalf. I'll spare you most of the endless talk, but I did get a message from Galadriel. So it wasn't in rhyme like Aragorn's and Legolas', but a message nonetheless. She said, and I quote: Your fate is not in the stars, but of your own choosing, until you hear the call to leave. That was not quite as straightforward as Gimli's, but I can figure it out. Sometime.

March 2

Oh. My. Goodness. My luck has finally improved.

We got to ride again, and this time my horse had a bit more mind of its own (note to self: find out gender of horse) but it stopped every time Shadowfax looked back at it. When we arrived at Edoras, it reminded me of the pictures of inland Viking settlements that I'd seen. We got to the door really early in the morning, and, as expected, we were stopped at the door. But what I didn't expect was for the door warden to not give me a second glance. I figured that the Elves would react less to see a girl traveling with nine men (well, nine adult males) since historically they have been more willing to allow women to fight. But the door warden acted as if it was ordinary for a girl to travel without another woman or at least a brother or cousin (from appearance I was related to none of them, as I still had brown eyes) as a chaperone. We had to leave all our weapons at the door, but I still kept my dagger in my boot. I might have had to use it inside, and even if I didn't, I didn't want anyone to know I had it. In case the Sues were in disguise somewhere.

When we went in, Legolas motioned for me to drop back, in case something bad happened so I could get out. So I dropped back. Species change or no, I was still a wimp. Then I looked forward.

King Théoden looked like a blonde version of Boromir's corpse. I know that's not the nicest thing to say, but it is the only thing I can really compare it to. Then I looked at the thing at Théoden's feet. It looked even more like a walking corpse, pale and sickly. Then I looked behind the throne, where two women stood. One was blonde (she had to be Éowyn) and another had jet black hair. Somehow she looked familiar. I kept staring at her throughout the whole exorcism scene. She was in a like condition, staring at me. Though the person had blue-black goblet ringlets and was wearing something that looked as if it might have had a skirt attached to it at some point, I knew who it was. Neither of us noticed when Éowyn rushed to support her uncle; we kept staring at each other. Finally the hall was clearing, and we walked towards one another, stopping about five feet from each other. "M...m...mhera?" I tried to say her name.

She nodded, half in shock. Éowyn forgotten, we stared at each other for another few seconds when she suddenly screamed my name and nearly cut off my airway with a very tight hug. "Umm... Mhera?" I gasped.

"Oops," she said and backed off. Man, it was so wonderful to see someone who I actually knew from back home. Together, we made up the two most- obsessed- with- Lord- of- the-Rings- and- tearing- down- Sues- and- their- writers people in our school. That is, before I managed to get myself sucked into another dimension. "Sorry. It's just so good to see you!"

"I know," I replied, grinning. "So you're here."

"Yeah. One sec. Since that worm is on the ground, I have a strong urge to impale him on something sharp."

"Mhera!" said Éowyn, shocked. She had apparently made her way over while we were staring. "It wouldn't be proper." I could have sworn she muttered under her breath, "Uncle has to do it, not us."

"Can I at least maim him?" Mhera pleaded.

"No." This time it was me.

"Indian burns?"

"Well, maybe." But we turned around to see that he had fled.

"Darn. So, want me to show you around?" she grinned at me. Mhera was evidently having the time of her life.

Anyways, we started walking around the various hallways of the hall (man, that sounds weird) when Mhera asked, "So… how'd you get here?"

"I was traveling with the Fellowship."

She wrinkled her nose. "That's so... Sue-ish."

I was momentarily stunned; apparently she had no idea what she had become. "Umm... Mhera, we are Sues."

I had just enough time to cover her mouth before she yelled to high heaven. As soon as she was partially recovered, I let her talk. "You have got to be kidding me," she yelled. "How could we, Sue-haters, be the enemy?"

"It's true," I insisted. I then thought of a way to prove it. "Look, Mhera, sing something random."

She looked at me as if I had just gone off the deep end. "You want me to sing?"

"Yes." Mhera had been famous for having a voice that roughly resembled in range and vocal quality the voice of a tenor with bronchitis. If I was right, we'd both be in for a shock.

She shrugged. "Okay." She took a deep breath and sang a note- a clear, high, soprano note. Clapping her hand over her mouth to silence it, her eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Oh d." I winced at the Black Speech curse word; I hadn't remembered the effect it had on Elven ears. And then, for the first time after saying that word (which was a common occurrence), I heard her cough like crazy. "Did I just swallow some rocks?" she rasped.

I was staring at her, trying to get an idea of what happened. Then I knew. "Mhera, I'm sorry about this," I said, and pushed her into a closet we were passing and held the door shut. A few seconds later, she was screaming.

As soon as she quieted down, I opened the door slowly. She was sitting on the ground in a very un-Sueish manner (but very Mhera-ish) with a mop leaning against her back and a bucket stuck on her foot. She had the saddest look on her face. "Runa, I think I'm going to cry," she said, lower lip trembling. That was the first time anyone had used my real name here; it was really touching.

"I'm sorry, Mhera," I said with feeling. So I had been right- we had both changed species. The door was closed enough and the hall dark enough for me to see the faint glow on her skin. I helped her out of the closet, pulled the bucket off her foot, and managed to put the closet into some sort of order. Then Mhera started laughing and crying at the same time.

"It's just... that we used to... think about this... you know? Changing species... and all that? I... can't believe I actually... wanted to change. It's so... odd."

All I could do was pat her back and wait for her to stop crying.

Later that day...

I used to think at nights that having Mhera here would be a great help. She, like I, knows the books front- to- back. She, like I, managed to read through The Silmarillion without killing herself with boredom. She, like I, had down the concept of life pre-tooth-bleach down pat. But what I didn't think of was the omniscience issue.

This afternoon before supper, she was saying in a sing-song voice the words of a poem from The Hobbit, that one about the Lonely Mountain. She'd been afraid to do any real singing since the soprano event.

As soon as she finished, Gimli asked suspiciously, "Where'd yeh learn that?"

Mhera shrugged. "Oh, I looked at it in the library." Then she turned really white. She'd given the game away.

"Library?" Aragorn sounded interested.

I decided to interrupt to save the situation. "Yes. Her uncle had catalogued some songs that regarded the area around the Lake in Dale. That's where I met Mhera; she lived with her uncle there."

Mhera hastily agreed. Oh, man are we going to have to be careful.

Even later...

Théoden's decided that they must flee to Helm's Deep. Gandalf thinks that is foolish, but if he proposes that they defend Edoras, he may be entering his second infancy. I mean, the entire city is highly flammable. One torch and BOOM. No more Edoras.

At dinner today, Legolas insisted that I have a little ale. His reasoning was that the water was not safe to drink, and they did make ale that wasn't strong, despite many stories I've read on the internet. Besides, I needed to get used to it. But I didn't think I would feel drowsy after one sip...

I think I'll go lie down now.

Ooh, a cliffie! Okay, so the cliff's about three feet down, but it's at least something of a cliffie, right?

Reviewer Responses:

angeltread: you are getting that feeling because you know that Sues are similar to roaches: you cannot, however much you try, get rid of them. My apologies to roaches, by the way, for the necessary comparison.

Laer: I'm pretty sure Sues can hold their breaths for a very long time. But I don't think they'll like the rocks at the bottom of the falls one bit. Excuse me for laughing maniacly. Muahahaha!

Cainwen the Warrior: What? You've figured out my secret of updating? Darn! Oh, and if you really hurry, you could probably catch Boromir at Mandos before he goes to the world beyond to tell him about the Sues. I think he'll be grateful.

kd7sov: It is possible that someone else could take her home. But at this point, do you think she wants to? You'll just have to wait and see. Thank you for a balanced review.

FallenTruth: Arien would not be happy AT ALL. And unfortunately for my protagonist, a mad Arien is not fun to deal with.

Legolas' Girl 9: Thanks for the review!

Sigh. Do I really have to do this?

Of course I do.

(gets down on knees) Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease comment! Please leave reviews! If you have time, please tell me what I can do better!