Author's Note: Yes! Finally! The Fellowship is finally getting involved with the story! WOO-HOO! Okay, sorry. Now, very important, MUST READ. Once we get into the Council meeting, the story will be following the actual movie. As it will from now on, with the other movies. Yes-all three. I plan to do all of them. It will be almost the same in dialogue and things that happen at some parts, and vastly different at others, mainly because of two faeries joining the fellowship. So it is a retelling of the story, we all know, but with lots of twists and turns that are a lot different. Thanks for reading! And don't forget to review!!
"But then it is suddenly night
And the trees become hovering specters
And the wind is lost ghosts
And the owls are mournful phantoms..."
Chapter 6
The Ringbearer was in the next room.
It set Elrond on edge to know the Ring of power was so close. He could feel the evil it carried with it, poisoning the air of his home. More than anything, he wanted the cursed thing out of Rivendell, no matter what it took. Keeping it in his home would do much more harm than good in the end. And the hobbit...Such a small creature, it was amazing he could withstand the Ring's power so long. No wonder Gandalf decided to give it to him. Any other person would have been broken by now, but this young hobbit had more strength in him than one would expect.
"Lord Elrond." A messenger walked swiftly up the stairs to the elf, bowing before continuing."The representatives have arrived. Shall they be shown to their rooms?"
Elrond nodded, dismissing the messenger before turning back around. His brow was furrowed with deep thoughts as he watched them arrive through the window. Men of Gondor and Rohan, and elves from Mirkwood and Lothlorien. They looked eager and awed to be there, staring at their surroundings as if they'd never seen anything more beautiful. Elrond would have appreciated their reverence if he was not so worried. None of them came on a pleasure trip, and they would soon realize that. They had all come to discuss the fate of Middle Earth. And the fate of the Ring.
The lord of Rivendell gave a sigh before turning away from the window. He wasn't surprised to see Gandalf the Grey watching him from a chair."What is it that troubles you, Elrond?" the wizard asked, almost gently.
Elrond looked at him for a moment, then turned away, walking towards a table to pour a glass of water."Everything troubles me, Mithrandir," he said, almost sadly."This entire situation troubles me greatly. I'm sorry to see this Age come to times like these, especially around the time my people will be leaving. Which brings me to the fact that we've already discussed it that the Ring will not stay here." He punctuated the last four words so Gandalf would understand that he meant business about that.
Gandalf nodded, watching the elf lord turn and sit down in front of him. His eyes peered through bushy eyebrows at him."Yes, we have. But who will take it? Who would possibly be brave enough, or stupid enough, to take the Ring to Mount Doom?"
Elrond looked up, his face torn between indecision and grief."I do not know, Mithrandir."
'But I do,' Gandalf thought to himself.' I know very well who might take it to Mordor. And he's resting in the next room...'
"Mr. Frodo!" Sam called out excitedly."Mr. Frodo, come look!" He ushered the young hobbit to the window of their room, and pointed out at the riders coming in the gates of Rivendell."Look here, there's another human...and an elf! And more elves! Wow, they have longer hair than I imagined! Hey, what is that, a dwarf?"
Frodo smiled a little."Yes, Sam, that's a dwarf. Both of them are."
"Should we go see them?"
Frodo hesitated. He wanted to, but..."No, Sam," he shook his head finally, trying to ignore the crestfallen look on his friend's face."Lord Elrond told us to stay here for little while. And anyways, they look pretty busy," he pointed out, watching as the newcomers were escorted off their horses and into the buildings of Rivendell."Perhaps we will see them later."
"Perhaps," Sam allowed, still enthralled with the sight of the new elves and dwarves. They were only a little bit taller than hobbits!' Finally,' Sam thought with a smile,' a race as short as us! We're not so alone down here after all.'"What exactly are we waiting for, Mr. Frodo?"
"Hmm?" The young hobbit looked up from his thoughts. Frodo's hands were resting lightly on the windowsill, and his head had been bowed, brown curly locks hiding the expression on his face, which cleared when he looked at Sam. He smiled slightly."That I do not know. But I believe Gandalf mentioned something about a meeting."
"A meeting?" Sam echoed."Do you s'pose it's with the new folk that just came through?"
"Maybe."
"..Mr. Frodo?"
Frodo smiled patiently."Yes, Sam."
"Where's Merry and Pippin? I'm gettin' kinda hungry. I wonder what kind of food they serve here. No doubt Merry and Pippin already know about that..."
"Are we there yet?"
"No, we are not there yet, Diana," Alexia said impatiently. She pointed a finger towards the hills in front of them."Mountains just don't disappear. We still have to get across this path, then into the hills, then hit Rivendell. The city itself is pretty well hidden, so we have to be watchful for the entrance..."
Diana sighed to herself, stroking her horse's black and white fur while she listened to Alexia lecture. She caught the amusement on Liana's face while Alexia continued 'educating' Diana on the finer points of sneaking past the Elves. They had been traveling for almost a week, and practically nonstop. She could count on one hand how many times they stopped to eat and sleep.
Like now, for instance. It was probably around four in the morning because they hadn't stopped to sleep for the night. It was still dark, but gray enough to see each other and where they were going.
Not that Diana minded. Her and Peony had never traveled this far West, and secretly they were excited to get to see Rivendell. Liana, Alexia and Nevada didn't see this as a pleasure trip but Diana was determined to make this as enjoyable as possible. The scenery along the mountains proved to be breathtaking, and even though her leg pained her once in a while where she was stabbed, she was having the time of her life.
Peony clearly wasn't. Diana had noticed awhile ago the pained look on her face whenever her horse galloped over a rough spot, and she figured Peony's collarbone was bothering her. Even though the bone was healed, she knew it still hurt because her own leg still ached, like it was doing now.
"Nevada?" she called to the Faerie in front of her."Can we stop for a moment? My leg is killing me!!"
Nevada rolled her eyes to herself and slowed Arabia to a walk, Liana doing the same next to her. Eventually they stopped at the foot of a hill."Diana, you just said about ten minutes ago your leg could withstand this pace," Liana pointed out.
"I...lied," Diana said uncomfortably, flashing an uneasy grin at the two Faeries glaring at her.
"She lied because of me," Peony grumbled, rubbing her sore shoulder. She looked guiltily at the grass when she continued,"I thought I'd be able to make this trip, but it's a lot more difficult then I originally thought."
"We're less than day's ride away from Rivendell," Liana offered."If you can make it another day, the Elves can help you." Peony looked so horrified at the idea, Liana laughed at her."I know, but their healing skills are legendary."
"They're still Elves," Peony muttered.
"Lord Elrond is said to be a master of healing," Diana supplied."I'm sure he would be more than happy to help us."
"He doesn't even know we're coming," Alexia added.
"We might not even be welcome." Peony frowned when that little disbelief sprung to her mind." What if they turn us away?"
"They will not turn us away," Liana said confidently. When four pairs of eyes looked at her doubtfully, she shook her head stubbornly."The Elves may not like us, and we don't like them, but they better damn well get over it, at least for this Council meeting. We didn't come this far to turn around."
"They invited the Dwarves, for the Valar's sake!" Diana cried."Dwarves!"
"Pretty degrading, isn't it," Nevada muttered.
"The way I see it, we can't change our situation, so when we get there, we'll just go with the flow and see what happens," Alexia closed the argument."Like we mentioned before, the Elves don't like us, but they won't turn us away. The War of the Ring is more important than that. And if I know the Elves of Rivendell, they'll fix Nev and Peony right up."
"Actually, my collarbone's feeling quite better."
"Liar," Alexia and Liana said in unison.
"Can we eat something since we're already stopped?" Diana asked randomly. She frowned at her horse, Black Frost, who took it upon himself to lean down and start eating."If he gets to eat, then I get to."
Peony nodded vigorously while Nevada and Alexia looked irritated. They all looked at Liana, who sighed."Are we all that hungry?"
"Yes!"
"Not really," Alexia admitted."It's not like we have much farther to go. We should be there by noon."
"If we want to make it on time to this meeting-" Nevada started, then suddenly shouted as she was thrown off her horse.
Immediately, the others jumped off to aid their friend.
"Shit!" She landed with a burst of pain on her injured arm, the wind momentarily knocked out of her. Arabia reared and whinnied as the Orc that knocked Nevada off got up. Nev struggled to her feet, pulling out her sword and tackling the Orc in a blind fit of rage.
Alexia sliced off his head before Nevada could get to it, and she growled at the blonde Faerie."He was mine!"
"You weren't quick enough," Alexia said smugly.
"Okay, I'm trying to fight with one arm here."
"Is it alright? Your arm, I mean," Diana asked, concerned.
"No, I'm just laying on the ground for fun, Diana!" Nevada said in a shrill voice."Of course it hurts!"
Liana almost chuckled as she went to help Nevada to her feet."Keep this up, Nevada, and you're not gonna have an arm to use."
"Tell me about it," Nev agreed, baring her teeth at the throbbing pain."If I keep this up, we're never going to make it to Rivendell."
I'm surprised there aren't any other Orcs around," Peony commented, taking in their surroundings through the darkness.
As if on cue, a swarm of Orcs burst out of the nearby trees, running at full speed and shouting obscenities at the faeries.
"Nice going, Peony," Diana said under her breath."You jinxed us."
"Anytime, Diana!" Peony winked outrageously, bracing herself for a fight she knew would absolutely kill her arms and chest.
The Faeries pulled out their weapons a few seconds later, and with yells worthy of full grown warriors they met their enemy head-on.
Rivendell was supposed to be a place of rest and healing, but Aragorn could find neither. He found early on in the night that sleep would not be an option, so he climbed out of bed close to three in the morning and had been wandering through the buildings of Rivendell ever since. Now, it seemed he had been staring at the same painting for the past hour or so, contemplating everything under the sun.
He couldn't take his gaze off the fated portrait of his ancestor, Isildur.
"Finding no peace, my friend?"
Startled, Aragorn turned and met the steady gaze of Legolas, the Elf of Mirkwood he had met on previous occasions. He liked the Immortal upon their first meeting many years ago, on a raid in Northern Mirkwood, and they had been good friends ever since. Aragorn was surprised to learn Legolas had come to represent his home and not his father, but when he thought on it, it made sense; the Elf was an excellent fighter, legendary with a bow, and was an overall trustworthy creature and good friend.
Aragorn welcomed the distraction from his thoughts, and smiled at the Elf."None at all, prince. I can't seem to concentrate on sleep tonight." Legolas nodded in understanding."And what brings you up to walk through Rivendell?"
Legolas nearly smiled, and turned his gaze up the picture in front of him, hands clasped behind his back."I do not know," he confessed. I have a strange feeling that keeps me from sleeping, but it does not necessarily feel bad."
Aragorn's eyebrows raised and he looked at the Elf curiously."That is always good news."
Legolas nodded, still looking up at the picture, face a picture of concentration."Usually. I can't be sure, however. I do not know what to make of it. It'll bother me until whatever is supposed to happen comes."
"Is it something to do with the Council?" Aragorn asked, trying to help the Elf.
"Not something." Legolas tore his gaze from the picture and looked at Aragorn, gray-blue eyes slightly troubled."Someone."
"But then it is suddenly night
And the trees become hovering specters
And the wind is lost ghosts
And the owls are mournful phantoms..."
Chapter 6
The Ringbearer was in the next room.
It set Elrond on edge to know the Ring of power was so close. He could feel the evil it carried with it, poisoning the air of his home. More than anything, he wanted the cursed thing out of Rivendell, no matter what it took. Keeping it in his home would do much more harm than good in the end. And the hobbit...Such a small creature, it was amazing he could withstand the Ring's power so long. No wonder Gandalf decided to give it to him. Any other person would have been broken by now, but this young hobbit had more strength in him than one would expect.
"Lord Elrond." A messenger walked swiftly up the stairs to the elf, bowing before continuing."The representatives have arrived. Shall they be shown to their rooms?"
Elrond nodded, dismissing the messenger before turning back around. His brow was furrowed with deep thoughts as he watched them arrive through the window. Men of Gondor and Rohan, and elves from Mirkwood and Lothlorien. They looked eager and awed to be there, staring at their surroundings as if they'd never seen anything more beautiful. Elrond would have appreciated their reverence if he was not so worried. None of them came on a pleasure trip, and they would soon realize that. They had all come to discuss the fate of Middle Earth. And the fate of the Ring.
The lord of Rivendell gave a sigh before turning away from the window. He wasn't surprised to see Gandalf the Grey watching him from a chair."What is it that troubles you, Elrond?" the wizard asked, almost gently.
Elrond looked at him for a moment, then turned away, walking towards a table to pour a glass of water."Everything troubles me, Mithrandir," he said, almost sadly."This entire situation troubles me greatly. I'm sorry to see this Age come to times like these, especially around the time my people will be leaving. Which brings me to the fact that we've already discussed it that the Ring will not stay here." He punctuated the last four words so Gandalf would understand that he meant business about that.
Gandalf nodded, watching the elf lord turn and sit down in front of him. His eyes peered through bushy eyebrows at him."Yes, we have. But who will take it? Who would possibly be brave enough, or stupid enough, to take the Ring to Mount Doom?"
Elrond looked up, his face torn between indecision and grief."I do not know, Mithrandir."
'But I do,' Gandalf thought to himself.' I know very well who might take it to Mordor. And he's resting in the next room...'
"Mr. Frodo!" Sam called out excitedly."Mr. Frodo, come look!" He ushered the young hobbit to the window of their room, and pointed out at the riders coming in the gates of Rivendell."Look here, there's another human...and an elf! And more elves! Wow, they have longer hair than I imagined! Hey, what is that, a dwarf?"
Frodo smiled a little."Yes, Sam, that's a dwarf. Both of them are."
"Should we go see them?"
Frodo hesitated. He wanted to, but..."No, Sam," he shook his head finally, trying to ignore the crestfallen look on his friend's face."Lord Elrond told us to stay here for little while. And anyways, they look pretty busy," he pointed out, watching as the newcomers were escorted off their horses and into the buildings of Rivendell."Perhaps we will see them later."
"Perhaps," Sam allowed, still enthralled with the sight of the new elves and dwarves. They were only a little bit taller than hobbits!' Finally,' Sam thought with a smile,' a race as short as us! We're not so alone down here after all.'"What exactly are we waiting for, Mr. Frodo?"
"Hmm?" The young hobbit looked up from his thoughts. Frodo's hands were resting lightly on the windowsill, and his head had been bowed, brown curly locks hiding the expression on his face, which cleared when he looked at Sam. He smiled slightly."That I do not know. But I believe Gandalf mentioned something about a meeting."
"A meeting?" Sam echoed."Do you s'pose it's with the new folk that just came through?"
"Maybe."
"..Mr. Frodo?"
Frodo smiled patiently."Yes, Sam."
"Where's Merry and Pippin? I'm gettin' kinda hungry. I wonder what kind of food they serve here. No doubt Merry and Pippin already know about that..."
"Are we there yet?"
"No, we are not there yet, Diana," Alexia said impatiently. She pointed a finger towards the hills in front of them."Mountains just don't disappear. We still have to get across this path, then into the hills, then hit Rivendell. The city itself is pretty well hidden, so we have to be watchful for the entrance..."
Diana sighed to herself, stroking her horse's black and white fur while she listened to Alexia lecture. She caught the amusement on Liana's face while Alexia continued 'educating' Diana on the finer points of sneaking past the Elves. They had been traveling for almost a week, and practically nonstop. She could count on one hand how many times they stopped to eat and sleep.
Like now, for instance. It was probably around four in the morning because they hadn't stopped to sleep for the night. It was still dark, but gray enough to see each other and where they were going.
Not that Diana minded. Her and Peony had never traveled this far West, and secretly they were excited to get to see Rivendell. Liana, Alexia and Nevada didn't see this as a pleasure trip but Diana was determined to make this as enjoyable as possible. The scenery along the mountains proved to be breathtaking, and even though her leg pained her once in a while where she was stabbed, she was having the time of her life.
Peony clearly wasn't. Diana had noticed awhile ago the pained look on her face whenever her horse galloped over a rough spot, and she figured Peony's collarbone was bothering her. Even though the bone was healed, she knew it still hurt because her own leg still ached, like it was doing now.
"Nevada?" she called to the Faerie in front of her."Can we stop for a moment? My leg is killing me!!"
Nevada rolled her eyes to herself and slowed Arabia to a walk, Liana doing the same next to her. Eventually they stopped at the foot of a hill."Diana, you just said about ten minutes ago your leg could withstand this pace," Liana pointed out.
"I...lied," Diana said uncomfortably, flashing an uneasy grin at the two Faeries glaring at her.
"She lied because of me," Peony grumbled, rubbing her sore shoulder. She looked guiltily at the grass when she continued,"I thought I'd be able to make this trip, but it's a lot more difficult then I originally thought."
"We're less than day's ride away from Rivendell," Liana offered."If you can make it another day, the Elves can help you." Peony looked so horrified at the idea, Liana laughed at her."I know, but their healing skills are legendary."
"They're still Elves," Peony muttered.
"Lord Elrond is said to be a master of healing," Diana supplied."I'm sure he would be more than happy to help us."
"He doesn't even know we're coming," Alexia added.
"We might not even be welcome." Peony frowned when that little disbelief sprung to her mind." What if they turn us away?"
"They will not turn us away," Liana said confidently. When four pairs of eyes looked at her doubtfully, she shook her head stubbornly."The Elves may not like us, and we don't like them, but they better damn well get over it, at least for this Council meeting. We didn't come this far to turn around."
"They invited the Dwarves, for the Valar's sake!" Diana cried."Dwarves!"
"Pretty degrading, isn't it," Nevada muttered.
"The way I see it, we can't change our situation, so when we get there, we'll just go with the flow and see what happens," Alexia closed the argument."Like we mentioned before, the Elves don't like us, but they won't turn us away. The War of the Ring is more important than that. And if I know the Elves of Rivendell, they'll fix Nev and Peony right up."
"Actually, my collarbone's feeling quite better."
"Liar," Alexia and Liana said in unison.
"Can we eat something since we're already stopped?" Diana asked randomly. She frowned at her horse, Black Frost, who took it upon himself to lean down and start eating."If he gets to eat, then I get to."
Peony nodded vigorously while Nevada and Alexia looked irritated. They all looked at Liana, who sighed."Are we all that hungry?"
"Yes!"
"Not really," Alexia admitted."It's not like we have much farther to go. We should be there by noon."
"If we want to make it on time to this meeting-" Nevada started, then suddenly shouted as she was thrown off her horse.
Immediately, the others jumped off to aid their friend.
"Shit!" She landed with a burst of pain on her injured arm, the wind momentarily knocked out of her. Arabia reared and whinnied as the Orc that knocked Nevada off got up. Nev struggled to her feet, pulling out her sword and tackling the Orc in a blind fit of rage.
Alexia sliced off his head before Nevada could get to it, and she growled at the blonde Faerie."He was mine!"
"You weren't quick enough," Alexia said smugly.
"Okay, I'm trying to fight with one arm here."
"Is it alright? Your arm, I mean," Diana asked, concerned.
"No, I'm just laying on the ground for fun, Diana!" Nevada said in a shrill voice."Of course it hurts!"
Liana almost chuckled as she went to help Nevada to her feet."Keep this up, Nevada, and you're not gonna have an arm to use."
"Tell me about it," Nev agreed, baring her teeth at the throbbing pain."If I keep this up, we're never going to make it to Rivendell."
I'm surprised there aren't any other Orcs around," Peony commented, taking in their surroundings through the darkness.
As if on cue, a swarm of Orcs burst out of the nearby trees, running at full speed and shouting obscenities at the faeries.
"Nice going, Peony," Diana said under her breath."You jinxed us."
"Anytime, Diana!" Peony winked outrageously, bracing herself for a fight she knew would absolutely kill her arms and chest.
The Faeries pulled out their weapons a few seconds later, and with yells worthy of full grown warriors they met their enemy head-on.
Rivendell was supposed to be a place of rest and healing, but Aragorn could find neither. He found early on in the night that sleep would not be an option, so he climbed out of bed close to three in the morning and had been wandering through the buildings of Rivendell ever since. Now, it seemed he had been staring at the same painting for the past hour or so, contemplating everything under the sun.
He couldn't take his gaze off the fated portrait of his ancestor, Isildur.
"Finding no peace, my friend?"
Startled, Aragorn turned and met the steady gaze of Legolas, the Elf of Mirkwood he had met on previous occasions. He liked the Immortal upon their first meeting many years ago, on a raid in Northern Mirkwood, and they had been good friends ever since. Aragorn was surprised to learn Legolas had come to represent his home and not his father, but when he thought on it, it made sense; the Elf was an excellent fighter, legendary with a bow, and was an overall trustworthy creature and good friend.
Aragorn welcomed the distraction from his thoughts, and smiled at the Elf."None at all, prince. I can't seem to concentrate on sleep tonight." Legolas nodded in understanding."And what brings you up to walk through Rivendell?"
Legolas nearly smiled, and turned his gaze up the picture in front of him, hands clasped behind his back."I do not know," he confessed. I have a strange feeling that keeps me from sleeping, but it does not necessarily feel bad."
Aragorn's eyebrows raised and he looked at the Elf curiously."That is always good news."
Legolas nodded, still looking up at the picture, face a picture of concentration."Usually. I can't be sure, however. I do not know what to make of it. It'll bother me until whatever is supposed to happen comes."
"Is it something to do with the Council?" Aragorn asked, trying to help the Elf.
"Not something." Legolas tore his gaze from the picture and looked at Aragorn, gray-blue eyes slightly troubled."Someone."
