"Hobbits, Trees, and Orcs!"
Silence hung over the camp like drape - everyone was afraid to move in the event that it provoked whatever made that noise. Aragorn quickly grabbed a nearby bucket with water and doused their small fire. Enelya and Legolas stood absolutely still, listening to catch any indication of what had caused that noise, wherever it had came from, and if it was friend or foe. All was quiet, even Pippin who was struggling to get a good grip on the hilt of his new sword.
Legolas and Enelya both looked at each other at the exact same moment, fear and apprehension in their eyes - neither could tell what had made the noise, where it was, or if it was coming their way. Worse yet, it seemed that all sound around them had ceased to exist - the river's once gentle bubbling seemed to fade and all the usual night sounds of the forest where noticeably absent.
Nothing but silence...Enelya inwardly sighed to herself , here we are in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, and of all the elves in Middle-Earth, they are stuck with me- an elf who couldn't hear an elephante charging up behind her. She continued to stare into the darkness, entranced by the very bleakness of it all. Suddenly, she felt a tugging on tunic. Out of instinct, she twirled her sword around, only to place it at the neck of a very astounded hobbit.
"Pippin, what are you doing?" Shrieked Enelya, "You should never EVER creep up on me...oh have I hurt you?"
"Ahh...mmmm...no I'm ok," replied the shaking hobbit - he had seen the dangerous fire that had danced in her eyes just moments before, when she placed her blade at his neck. Before that moment, Pippin had always looked at her with an almost childish admiration - he had seen her in action and knew that she could separate him from his curly hair with one smooth and careless motion. Be that as it may, before that moment, he had never had a reason to fear her, now, just looking at her sent chills down his spine.
Enelya knew that she had badly scared the hobbit, and that with one automatic movement, she had likely lost all chance of friendship with the hobbit. Oh well, she thought, it's better this way. I knew that this would happen - I am here to help protect Frodo, and instead, I almost kill one of him friends, and fellow protector. I should not be here- I will kill us all. Suddenly aware that silence had settled over the camp again, Enelya looked away from Pippin to look at her other companions. The other seven members had all started moving around since the mysterious noise. She realized that she had obviously missed something when she had been transfixed by the trees. One thing that she wasn't missing was the fact that they all were looking at her. Unable to meet their eyes, Enelya started to walk towards the trees until a voice stopped her.
"We will be departing soon - whatever is out there sounds hungry, it would be better if we are not here when it comes scavenging for food," called out Aragorn. Without turning, Enelya nodded and continued walking into the trees.
"We will stop and take a break here - we will cross the Anduin tonight so rest up," stated Aragorn sometime later. The company pulled their boats ashore and began to set up camp temporarily. The journey down the river had been a quiet one, with no one willing to talk about what had happened earlier the night before.
"Do you think that it would be all right to make a small fire to cook some supper?" Sam inquired.
"It shouldn't be a problem," Boromir replied as Aragorn and Legolas were off to the side having a serious discussion. "I don't suppose that they're be any good wood around here, so"
"I'll go find some," interrupted Enelya. Without even looking to see if her statement was acknowledged, she stalked off into the green forest.
Stepping under the green canopy of leaves, Enelya felt peace enter her body - trees had always had this effect on her and for that reason, Enelya loved the trees more than any other Lothlorien or Rivendell elf she had ever met. It was under the trees that all her worries and problems seemed to disappear.
"They are so beautiful aren't they?" Enelya said.
"Trees are always beautiful - they have a way of soothing even the most painful hurts," replied Legolas who had followed her when he noticed that she was leaving their lakeside camp. "About earlier..." Legolas trailed off.
"It is closed - I do not want to talk about it." Enelya replied testily, "Don't ruin the atmosphere by talking about that."
"Okay, whatever you want" Legolas said. Silence fell again under the trees as Legolas and Enelya continued to collect spare dry wood for burning.
Enelya was startled at her own feelings - for the first time in a long time, she felt at peace. More to the point, she felt at peace with someone else by her side. It was a disconcerting realization, but she decided to push it away so she could enjoy the reprieve from her torment. Enelya started to sing.
Find me hereSpeak to me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
You are the light
That is leading me to the place where I find peace again
You are the strength that keeps me walking
You are the hope that keeps me trusting
You are the life to my soul
You are my purpose
You are everything
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this
You calm the storms
You give me rest
You hold me in your hands
You won't let me fall
You steal my heart and you take my breath away
Would you take me in
Would you take me deeper now
'cause you're all I want
You are all I need
You are everything, everything
When she was finished, Enelya felt so relaxed, it was as if nothing had ever changed, that her life had never been destroyed. She felt content as the person she was. Enelya felt eyes watching her and she turned around to see that Legolas had stopped his collecting to stare at her.
Legolas had never been that touched by a song before. It was not even the song itself - he realized- it was the elf before him. He had never seen her so at peace before - she seemed to come alive under the green sky of leaves. He was transfixed and was unable to tear his gaze away from her - it was as if she had put him under some wicked spell that wasn't at all wicked to him. Even when she stopped singing and turned to look at him, he physically couldn't turn his head away - he was paralysed by the look in her eyes and the aura that she emitted. He felt like the grace of the Valar had been multiplied by the hundreds and placed within the elleth before him. He trembled with the force of his feelings as his eyes continued to be locked on her.
Enelya felt uncomfortable under his transfixed gaze. The joy that had entered her body seem to sizzle to new heights. She felt a strange pull pushing her towards him, she could feel something within her jump forward, struggling to get closer to Legolas. With trepidation, she felt her body starting to move towards him...CRACK.
Both Legolas and Enelya jumped at the sudden cracking of a dry branch under her feet, and the moment was broken.
"It looks like we have enough wood here already," Enelya said, trying to break the tension, "I think that we should go back to the camp site." Legolas nodded and followed her back to the camp in an awkward silence.
Enelya and Legolas returned to camp a few minutes later to find it in complete chaos.
"What's going on?" Legolas demanded as he looked at Merry, Pippin, and Gimli.
"Frodo and Boromir disappeared. Strider went to go find them, and Sam left a little while later. That was a while ago, and they haven't returned yet," replied Pippin, fear colouring his little voice.
Enelya was looking around when a sudden scream pierced the still air.
"ORCS!"
Author's Note: The song featured is "Everything" by Lifehouse - the song is so powerful when you listen to it - the passion flows through the lead singer's voice - it's a beautiful thing. Thanks to all my reviewers- you guys help keep me going! I'm doing a better job of planning my chapters now - so everything will hopefully go smoothly - in fact - I am so excited to write a certain chapter that I'm just plowing throught them now!
Thanks to my reviewers:
Marpessa - Thank you - I think that I use fake Elvish quite nicely, too!
Inwe Tasartir - Thank you very much! It's nice that other people enjoy my story as much as I enjoy writing it.
Navaer Lalaith - Honestly, ever since you reviewed, I've been looking for the translator in question, but I can't find it anywhere - it is out there somewhere though, and I'll continue looking. Although, I do kinda like what the names ultimately mean...even if they don't fit with my ideas...lol. Thanks for all the info!
Nuavarion-Yea - It's a pain to have to try to fix it again and again - I think I'm going to make to boycott the question mark! Just kidding. I find that the more that I struggle with a story, the more satisfied I ultimately am - so embrace the straight jacket. Thanks for your review!