Chapter 10
The Fellowship walked through Caradhras in a blizzard. Gandalf dug a pathway with his staff, while Aragorn and Boromir carried two hobbits each. Gimli led Bill the pony and Legolas came last, walking atop the snow and carrying Elizabeth close to him.
"L-Legolas?" Elizabeth whispered.
Legolas didn't answer, so Elizabeth decided to speak anyway.
"I'm c-cold."
Again, no answer. But Legolas did pull his cloak around Elizabeth and she began to warm up, but only a bit. Suddenly, Legolas picked up his speed. Elizabeth peeked out and noticed that Gandalf was behind her.
"There is a fell voice on the air." Legolas announced.
"It's Saruman!" Gandalf shouted.
Suddenly there was a crack and rock from atop the mountain fell down, causing the Fellowship to push up against the rocky wall next to them.
Elizabeth faintly heard Aragorn say that some Saruman guy was trying to bring down the mountain and that the Fellowship must turn back. But Gandalf denied and pushed himself atop the snow also, chanting in Sindarin.
A sudden crack of lightening caused a small avalanche and the snow came crashing down. Legolas held Elizabeth in one arm while with the other; he pulled Gandalf up against the rocky mountain wall. The small avalanche of snow covered the Fellowship and there were no stirrings for many moments.
Legolas was the first to break through the snow. He looked around frantically and then began digging for Elizabeth. Legolas felt something warm under the snow. He pulled it up and wrapped his cloak around it once more. Legolas rubbed his hand up and down on her back, hoping his efforts would warm her faster. Once she was warm and they were out of the snow, Legolas felt Elizabeth's body still and her breathing evenly. She was sleeping. Legolas quickly shook her awake, telling her how dangerous it was to fall asleep in a blizzard.
A while later, Legolas felt the child in his arms move slightly and she asked him where the Fellowship was headed.
"Frodo has decided our path to go through the mines that run through the mountain." Legolas answered. "We have arrived at the gate."
"You can put me down now." Elizabeth said and Legolas let her down. Elizabeth walked over to Gandalf who was trying to open the gate to Moria.
"What's it say?" Elizabeth asked.
"It reads 'The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak friend and enter.'" Gandalf answered.
"What's that mean?" Elizabeth and Merry asked at the same time.
"It's simple. If you're a friend, you speak the password and the doors will open." Gandalf answered. He tried a few times to get the doors to open by speaking in elvish, but it didn't work.
Elizabeth sat down next to Frodo and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"I don't get it." Elizabeth said softly.
"Get what?" Frodo asked with a smile.
"It says 'Speak friend and enter', right?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes. What about it?" Frodo replied.
"Why doesn't he just speak 'friend' so we can enter? Why's he doing all this other complicated stuff?" Elizabeth asked.
Frodo frowned. "You know, that sounds like a good idea to me."
He stood up and went over to Gandalf.
"Gandalf, what's the elvish word for friend?" Frodo asked.
"Mellon." Gandalf answered and all of a sudden the doors opened.
Elizabeth stood up and clapped. "Gandalf did it! He opened the doors!"
She entered the mine's entrance with Frodo and the other hobbits, standing closest to the entrance of the mine. Elizabeth's ear twitched suddenly and she turned around.
A strange looking snake thing was slithering towards Frodo's ankles. Elizabeth frowned and thinking to throw whatever the thing was back into the water, Elizabeth reached down and tried to pick it up.
She had it in her hands for a moment. And then the next thing she knew, it had broken free from her grasp and wound itself about Frodo's leg.
With a loud cry from Frodo, the Fellowship turned its attention on the captive of the water beast. Elizabeth stood near the water's edge watching the scene and not the tentacle that was nearing her foot.
Elizabeth gave a cry as she was pulled into the air. Legolas shot two arrows at the tentacle that was holding her and rushed forward to catch her, but another tentacle grabbed Elizabeth's leg while another shoved Legolas back onto the shore.
Suddenly, Elizabeth's eyes rolled up and she stopped screaming. For a moment, Gandalf feared that she'd been strangled to death, but his fears were put away when Elizabeth's body gave a single wave-like pulse. The tentacle holding her dropped Elizabeth and Frodo to the ground.
Taking the opportunity, Legolas and Aragorn grabbed the child and hobbit and ran with the rest of the Fellowship into the mine. The pulse had simply stunned the water beast and as soon as it recovered, it made for the entrance of the mines, but ended up just causing a rockslide.
Gandalf tapped his staff twice on the ground, causing it to light up.
"We now have but one choice." He said. "We must face the long dark of Moria."
He led the Fellowship through the long, wiry path and made sure that Legolas stayed directly behind him.
"How is she?" Gandalf asked.
"Her tunic was soaked through. I expect she is very cold." Legolas said. "Although her face is not pale and she has no temperature change."
"She's most likely just exhausted from the experience than." Gandalf replied. "Let her rest."
Elizabeth awoke on Legolas' cloak with the cloak's hood as her pillow. She sat up and looked around.
"Where are we?" she asked to no one in particular.
"Inside the mines. But Gandalf cannot remember the way from here." Legolas answered. "Do you require food?"
Elizabeth nodded and Legolas brought out some wafers from the inside of one of the packs that Elrond had given the Fellowship.
"What is this?" she asked when Legolas broke off a small piece for her.
"Lembas. Elvish waybread. It is very filling for a human of your age." Legolas said.
Elizabeth stuck the small piece in her mouth, chewed it and swallowed. Legolas was right. The bread was filling. She looked up at Legolas, who was smiling lightly.
"Was I correct?" he asked with a smile.
Elizabeth nodded.
"Good. Now rest. If Gandalf decides the way while you are still asleep, than I shall carry you." Legolas said. Elizabeth nodded and lay her head back down on Legolas' cloak.
Legolas ended up not carrying Elizabeth because when Gandalf finally decided which path to take, Elizabeth's eyes shot open and she was wide awake.
So, when the Fellowship entered the mine city (which looked to Elizabeth like just a bunch of pillars), she was amazed and the hugeness of the area.
As the Fellowship walked down the long, dark and large area of the mine city, they came upon a room, where many skeletons were lying. Gimli ran into the room on a whim, so the Fellowship kind of had to follow him.
When they entered, Elizabeth found out that Gimli's cousin had been killed. Gandalf picked up a book and read out of it. Elizabeth just stared in wonder at all the skeletons. It looked like a movie scene.
"They have taken the bridge and the second hall. We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums, drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out. They are coming." Gandalf finished.
Suddenly a loud sound echoed from the nearby well and the Fellowship turned to see that Pippin had accidentally caused the head of a skeleton to fall down the well along with the bucket and body.
Gandalf was really angry, too. Angrier than Elizabeth had ever seen him.
"Fool of a Took!" he shouted, grabbing his staff and cloak. "Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!"
Just as Gandalf was turning around, the faint sound of a drum could be heard. Gandalf froze and looked over at the sheath of Frodo's sword. Frodo unsheathed his sword and found that it was glowing blue.
Elizabeth watched as Boromir closed the door behind him and began blocking it, muttering something about a cave troll.
"Get back!" Aragorn shouted at the hobbits and Elizabeth. "Stay close to Gandalf."
As Gandalf drew his sword, the hobbits and Elizabeth drew theirs also. Whatever was coming was right outside the door and now it was trying to break the door open. Legolas and Aragorn shot a few arrows through holes in the door, but not enough before the doors burst open and many very ugly creatures burst through.
Then Gandalf began his attack and the hobbits and Elizabeth followed. Elizabeth, who did not know how to use a sword very well, stayed near Gandalf. Behind her, one of the ugly creatures was about to attack her. Gandalf spun around and killed one after another.
"You've got to pay more attention!" Gandalf told her exasperatedly. An orc was coming behind him and Elizabeth thrust her sword into its neck. Blood spewed out and splattered all over Elizabeth's face. Black blood.
Suddenly, a great inhuman cry caused the Fellowship to notice the huge cave troll that had entered. Gandalf glanced over at Elizabeth.
"Stay close to me, Elizabeth. I don't want you getting hurt." Gandalf said. "And don't—"
Gandalf was cut off when he heard a cry from Frodo. Gandalf turned around and saw that the troll had stabbed Frodo with a long metal spear. Elizabeth turned around too, her eyes wide and for the first time in her life, seeing death, blood and gore.
Elizabeth was angry with the troll for hurting her friend. So she took her sword and charged at it. She stabbed it in the foot, pulled her sword out and barely missed its swinging arm. She backed away from the troll and didn't notice the orc behind her, but Legolas sure did.
Legolas loaded an arrow as fast as elfishly possible and shot the orc. It fell over dead. Legolas looked confused at the surprised expression on Elizabeth's face and he strode over to her. She had a hand over her side and when Legolas coaxed the hand away, it was covered in blood.
Legolas' eyes widened and he called out to Aragorn.
Aragorn, who had just been surprised by Frodo waking up unharmed, looking over to Legolas, saw the blood and ran over.
"Orc?" Aragorn asked. Legolas nodded.
Without warning, Elizabeth toppled over and was caught by Legolas. Aragorn ripped part of his sleeve off and bandaged the wound.
"Carry her." Aragorn said lightly to Legolas. "We cannot linger."
Legolas nodded and lifted Elizabeth into his arms. The Fellowship than ran out of the room and towards the bridge of Khazâd-Dum. But they weren't about to get very far. Because goblins and orcs were beginning to surround them and there were so many that victory was out of the question.
All of a sudden there was a huge growl, one that made the goblins and orcs very afraid and they scattered, leaving the Fellowship alone with a red glow coming closer.
"What is this new devilry?" Boromir asked.
"A Balrog. A Demon of the ancient world." Gandalf answered. "This foe is beyond any of you. Run!"
Legolas carried Elizabeth all the way through the entryway, down the many stairs and jumped the small gap between one flight of stairs and another.
Once all of the Fellowship had reached the right side, they continued down the stairs and out through another entryway. Legolas frowned to himself as he noticed that there was fire on his right as they exited the stairs. But Legolas did not question Gandalf's commands as he carried Elizabeth over the bridge of Khazâd-Dum.
And it must have been by a slim chance that Elizabeth's eyes opened and she squirmed out of Legolas' arms just as they reached the other side. She took a few steps forward and watched as Gandalf battled with the big monster, her eyes wide with excitement and most of all, fear.
She frowned as she got a really bad feeling that Gandalf wouldn't be all right afterwards.
"You shall not pass!" she heard Gandalf shout.
Elizabeth saw the monster take a step forward towards Gandalf, but the bridge broke and it fell down into the seemingly never-ending pit below.
Gandalf looked satisfied and Elizabeth felt a victory feeling in her heart as he began to walk towards the Fellowship, but at he last moment, the monster cracked its whip, catching Gandalf's foot and causing him to fall. He grabbed onto the edge of the bridge.
Both Frodo and Elizabeth started forward. But Boromir stopped Frodo and Legolas held Elizabeth back. Both struggled with their captors, Frodo more than Elizabeth.
"Fly, you fools." Gandalf said, before letting go of the bridge. Time seemed to slow down from that point forward.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Frodo yelled at the same time Elizabeth yelled, "GANDALF!"
Elizabeth struggled a bit harder and a bit more, and then stopped still in Legolas' arms. She'd exhausted her body. She allowed Legolas to scoop her into his arms and carry her out of the mines, where she began crying.
Legolas didn't cry, but his face held grief as he comforted a sobbing Elizabeth.
"Legolas. Get them up." Aragorn commanded.
Legolas moved to get Merry and Pippin on their feet. He then returned and lifted Elizabeth into his arms once more.
"Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" Boromir exclaimed.
"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs and we have wounded. We must reach the woods of Lothlorien." Aragorn replied. He looked from the child in Legolas' arms, to the grief-stricken hobbits and shook his head sadly. So that's what Gandalf had meant when he'd told him to 'Lead them on'.
((ok, I'm going to bed now, I'll update tomorrow morning))