A Stranger In The Woods

Chapter 15: The Road to Moria

Katie opened her eyes the next morning and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Aragorn's face hovering inches from her own. She sat up and looked around frantically. "What happened? Did something happen?"

Aragorn smiled. "Nothing. We let you sleep longer than normal. I was assigned the task of waking you."

"Oh," she muttered. Really, she couldn't be that hard to wake up. They made it sound like a chore. She frowned, realizing Aragorn was still looking at her. Staring at her, rather. Intensely staring at her; searching for something.

"He told you?" She shouldn't even have to ask. The answer was written all over his face.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"He told you?" She repeated, more for her sake than his. She couldn't believe Legolas would tell him. Especially after their conversation last night.

"He had to," Aragorn said simply. He motioned to where Boromir was standing. "He had to explain that."

Katie looked over at the man and noticed he was sporting a rather nasty looking black eye. "Oh."

"I'll be ready to go in three minutes," she promised, jumping out of bed and slipping on her boots. She had put her pants back on last night before falling asleep. You couldn't be too careful.

She pulled her hair into a loose braid and was attempting to tie her cloak around her neck when a voice stopped her short.

"What do you suppose happened to him?" It was Pippin.

She looked up and was startled to find him some 20 feet away, talking to Merry.

A frown darkened her face. 'Katie, you're losing it,' she thought, feeling unnerved.

The next voice she heard was Gimli's. "Are you going to tell me what happened elf, or do I have to guess?"

She spun around and felt her jaw drop. Legolas and Gimli were standing at the very edge of camp- a good 35 feet away.

"I do not wish to discuss it." She heard Legolas snap in an irritated voice.

'Oh my God. How am I hearing them?' She wondered desperately. Maybe she hit her head last night harder than she thought.

"So, does she like you as much as you like her?" Gimli asked, rumbling with laughter.

Katie turned away, not wanting to eavesdrop but unable to stop.

"Drop it dwarf." Legolas all but growled. Gimli just laughed harder.

Panicked, Katie threw on her backpack and walked over to where Aragorn and Gandalf were waiting.

"I'm ready," she said loudly, anxious to stop the conversations around her.

It worked. Everyone quickly made their way towards them and they started off in blissful silence. It lasted a whole minute.

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Two hours later Katie was ready to jump off a cliff. Her hearing, instead of returning to normal like she had hoped, actually appeared to be getting worse. Or better, as was the case. Every sound, every voice, every crunch of the stones under her boots seemed to be amplified until she thought her head would positively explode.

'Why is this happening to me?' She wondered miserably. Her head throbbed, and she seriously pondered the idea of a brain tumor. That would explain her headache, but not her sudden acute hearing. More than likely, her headache had resulted from all the conversations she had listened to in the past 120 minutes:

Gandalf had talked to Aragorn about Moria.

Aragorn to Boromir about the weather.

Boromir to Merry about his sword.

Merry to Pippin from topics ranging from boring to bizarre.

Pippin to Frodo about lunch.

Frodo to Sam about the Shire.

Sam to Gimli about his braids.

Gimli to Legolas about her,

Finally, Legolas answered several of Gandalf questions. He seemed quieter than normal, if that was possible.

'Is this what it's like for him?' she wondered, thinking of the elf. If so, it was a miracle he was still sane. Hearing every single sound was enough to make anyone crazy, let alone someone like Legolas who was already weird.

She paused in mid-step as a new realization dawned on her. If she could hear Legolas from 35 feet away then chances where he could hear her. If that were the case, he would have heard almost every single conversation she'd had.

"Oh, crap," she muttered, remembering all the times Gimli had teased her about the elf. Now she was glad she hadn't admitted to anyone the small crush she had on him.

'What would he have done if he heard that?' She wondered. He would have probably been mortified at the thought of a human lusting over him. The thought was beyond embarrassing.

Gimli appeared beside her, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"You are awful quiet today lass. Rough night last night?"

She snapped.

"Listen dwarf, I'd appreciate it if you left me alone. Especially," she added with a growl "About this nonsense of me and Legolas. Just cut the crap. It's never going to happen- NEVER!"

Gimli looked taken-aback. "There's no need to get upset," he bustled. "I was just teasing you a bit."

"Well don't," she hissed, then walked off and left him standing there, gaping at her.

Aragorn grabbed her arm as she passed, pulling her to a stop. "Is everything alright? You look pale."

"Yes," she grunted, rolling her eyes. 'How many fathers do I need?'

He continued to stare at her. "Are you sure, because we can rest if you need to."

"I'm fine," she snapped, then gave him an apologetic smile. "I just have a killer headache." As if to prove her point, she massaged her head.

He reached into his vest and pulled out a rolled up leaf. He unwrapped it, revealing what appeared to be a small twig.

"Try this." He handed her the bark. "It is known to relieve head pain."

Katie studied the twig skeptically. "I'm supposed to eat this?"

"No, just chew it…Trust me," he added, smiling before walking back to the front of the group.

She looked down at the bark in her hand and shrugged. What did she have to lose?

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Two hours later Katie was ready to jump off a cliff. Again. Her hearing had gradually returned to normal, her headache was gone and she felt like a complete cad. She winced, recalling how she'd snapped at nearly everyone in the group. Especially Gimli. She knew she owed him an apology. She also knew he wasn't the type to accept it graciously.

'Here goes nothing.' She thought with a smirk as she made her way to where Gimli and Legolas were chatting.

"What do you want?" Gimli growled when she began walking beside him.

She shot Legolas a pleading look. "Can you give us a minute?" He walked away wordlessly.

"Look," she said, kneeling down beside him. "I'm sorry about earlier."

His frown didn't change.

"I had a terrible headache and it made me grumpy." She explained.

Still no change.

"Please Gimli, don't be mad." She pleaded.

Still no change.

She sighed. There was only one thing left to do.

"If you forgive me," she whispered, regretting the words even as she said them, "I will tell you what happened last night."

Gimli smiled immediately. "In that case, you're forgiven," he said with a wicked twinkle in his eye.

Katie groaned as she rose to her feet, not wanting to tell the dwarf, but unable to find a way around it.

"If I tell you, will you stop teasing me about Legolas?" She asked hopefully.

"Not a chance," Gimli growled, then listened with a growing smile as she quickly relayed the facts. She left out her and Legolas' conversation, knowing the dwarf was liable to twist it around and make it into something it wasn't.

"Sounds like the elf is jealous," Gimli said after she finished. Katie rolled her eyes. 'I knew it.'

"Gimli, you know that had nothing to do with it." He looked doubtful. Katie was still trying to convince him when they stopped for lunch.

"You think whatever you want dwarf," she muttered, walking away and finding a spot on the grass away from the others. She heard him chuckle and knew the situation was hopeless. Never mind the fact that Legolas hadn't talked to her or so much as glanced at her all day. Gimli was convinced there was something going on between them.

Katie looked over at the elf and frowned. He was standing on the other side of the group, carefully inspecting his arrows. She wondered if he was mad about last night, or just annoyed. 'Of course he could be embarrassed,' she thought, but dismissed the idea. She couldn't see Legolas getting embarrassed over anything, let alone her. 'He's probably still mad.'

Her eyes scanned the group and came to a stop on Aragorn. She really wanted to talk to him about the comment Legolas had made last night. She didn't think the ranger thought of her like that, but perhaps she was wrong. It was known to happen occasionally.

Abruptly, she rose to her feet and walked over to the man. She had to know.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked kindly when she stopped in front of him.

She nodded, shifting her feet uncomfortably. "I need to talk to you," she whispered as quietly as possible.

Aragorn looked confused. "Alright, why don't you sit?" He motioned to the rock beside him.

Katie threw a cautious glance at Legolas, who appeared to be studying the sky.

"I need to talk to you…privately," she said with a blush.

Frowning, the ranger stood and walked with her until they were a good distance away from the group.

"Is something the matter?" He asked, looking concerned. "Is your headache worse?"

"No," she assured him. "It's much better, thank you. I just wanted to ask you something and…and it's rather embarrassing."

Aragorn grabbed her hand reassuringly. "You know you can ask me anything, Katie."

Her cheeks flamed. "Yes…well…it's rather…uh…private…and I just…well, that's to say…I wanted to know…I wanted to ask…how you…I wanted to know how you felt about me," she blurted out finally.

Aragorn dropped her hand immediately, looking shocked. "I see you as a friend." He said, blinking rapidly. "I…ah…I apologize if I have made you think…" It was his turn to stutter.

Katie let out a long sigh of relief. "I don't think that," she assured him. "I could never be more than friends with you. I'm glad you feel the same way."

Aragorn smiled in relief, then gave her a puzzled look. "May I ask what prompted these questions?"

Katie quickly told him what Legolas had said and listened to him laugh as she finished.

"I think Legolas is the one who is distracted," Aragorn said with a grin, taking her arm and leading her back towards the group.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Now you sound like Gimli," she muttered.

Aragorn laughed again. "Maybe we can see you two better than you can see yourselves."

He turned towards her, pulling her to an abrupt stop. "Maybe you were sent here for him."

Katie scoffed. "I doubt that!"

She frowned, realizing he was serious. "The idea is crazy."

"Why is that?" Aragorn said, sounding rather offended.

"Because," Katie said, fumbling for a reason. There were 1,000 reasons why the idea was preposterous. She decided to name the main one. "Legolas is nearly perfect," she whispered, not wanting the elf-in-question to hear. "The thought of him needing anyone, especially someone like me, is ridiculous."

"Perhaps he is lonely." Aragorn stated softly. They both turned and looked at Legolas.

"Lunch is ready!" Merry announced, interrupting any further conversation they might have had.

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A/N: Alright, I updated quickly. Reviews please.

About chapter 14, I am confused as to why people are confused over what happened. For those who can't figure it out, here's my brief synopsis of chapter 14:

Katie wakes up in middle of night, needing to pee. She goes a good distance away from group and finds Boromir. Boromir decides to rough her up a little, touching her and harassing her. (He wasn't going to rape her, only scare her) He tells her that she's a distraction to the group. (remember, Boromir is being manipulated by the evil ring) Legolas hears them and pulls Boromir off Katie. Katie runs back towards the group, trips, and falls- cutting her leg. Legolas grabs her from behind and Katie panics, thinking its Boromir. She hears Legolas voice and relaxes. He leads her back to the camp and puts salve on her wounds. He is upset because she traveled too far from the camp. Katie asks Legolas if he thinks she's a distraction like Boromir said. He doesn't know how to reply. Katie realizes that many of the group wouldn't be interested in her like that, so she says: "That just leaves you and Aragorn and…" Legolas turns away, not wanting her to guess the truth. That HE is distracted by her. Katie thinks his reaction means that he thinks Aragorn is distracted by her. She asks him if he thinks this and he says he doesn't know, closing the conversation. Aragorn is not distracted by Katie. He doesn't like her like that. Legolas just let her think that so she wouldn't guess how distracted he has become when she is around.

PHEW... alright, does everyone understand? If not, e-mail me or something. Expect another update soon. And thanks to my beneficial beta The Hobbit Ivy for all her work.

Katie-sue