Disclaimer: See Prologue.
Chapter 27
Nimrodel
After marching for so long, Aragorn finally called a halt to the fellowship at the insistence of Arodwen. She sorely needed to tend to Sam's wound, and whatever ones the rest of the fellowship had sustained.
Camp was soon made, and she was adding herbs to boiling water while the rest of the hobbits sat down near the warming fire.
"You are a very brave and blessed hobbit Samwise," She said, gently cleaning away the grime from the cut.
"Many have received worse from their first orc kill. You are lucky the wound was not poisoned," Aragorn commented, laying aside his bow and quiver. He went to go and search for more firewood. Legolas joined him.
Arodwen applied a liquid made from yellow petals to a bandage, before wrapping the gash. "The Yarrow will keep it from bleeding. Touch it not, lest you aggravate it into infection," She warned, getting up to look over the other hobbits.
"What of you, Master Gimli? Lord Boromir? Do you have any wounds?" she asked, putting away her herbs and salves once she had established the halflings were unharmed.
"Nay lass. But I would like to have your water skin so I may fill it with the rest," Gimli said, standing up with the straps of many canteens on his shoulder.
She smiled and thanked him, handing it over, and watched the dwarf stump off to the spring Aragorn had found in the woods.
Arodwen went before Boromir to see if he was injured. He appeared to be asleep. She quietly knelt down beside the steward's son, and cautiously shook his shoulder. His eyes flew open and grasped her wrist painfully hard. He hadn't been asleep at all!
"Boromir! Let go of my hand!" she hissed, realizing she had been tricked.
Boromir just chuckled in an amused way. "I thought you were going to look after our wounds?"
"You have none," she spat back, trying to free her wrist again. "Release me!"
"You are wrong elf, my heart needs to be healed..." Boromir said huskily, as he reached out to caress the side of her face.
"Then you will seek its healing from someone else, mortal," came a harsh, cold voice, "Let the Lady go."
Boromir was glaring at someone over her shoulder. She tugged her hand free, and stumbled back away from him until she hit something solid. Hands laid protectively on her shoulders, and she turned to look.
As she had predicted, Legolas was standing there, glaring with all the fury of Mordor at Boromir. Aragorn was but feet away, a pile of logs discarded at his feet, and his hand upon the hilt of his sword that was half unsheathed.
Arodwen stepped out of Legolas's grasp, and merely stood beside him. She did not want to invoke more fury from Boromir because he saw that Legolas had her affections, while he did not.
"Aragorn," reprimanded Arodwen, "Put away your sword. Boromir's mind is weakened in the Ring's presence; he knows not what he does."
"He should not be with us then," Legolas said stiffly, still glaring at the lord.
Aragorn slowly let his blade fall back into place, but kept his steely grey eyes pinned upon Boromir like a wolf stalking a deer.
"He is free to go if he pleases, but we cannot force him. He is as much a part of this company as you are, Legolas," Arodwen sighed, going to the firewood Aragorn had brought, and picking it up.
Aragorn went to Boromir to 'talk'. Rather, warn would be more appropriate. The ranger would not tolerate any such brutality in the remaining remnants of the fellowship; and Boromir was no exception.
The hobbits had been watching the entire scene with wide eyes. But seeing Arodwen add more wood to the fire and beginning to cook, their mind's forgot about the argument.
Legolas took the first watch.
They were not far from the border of Lórien. The night was calm, and the moon shown only half its face amidst the velvety blackness of the sky, mingling with the diamond-like stars.
His mind was troubled over the events of that day. Though, what mind was not? His heart was sorrowful over the loss of Mithrandir; their great leader. Who now would guide the fellowship?
And what of Boromir? The man was clearly a liability to the company; no matter what his skills. He was vulnerable to the power of the ring; a danger to Arodwen and more especially Frodo. Boromir would not have said or done such things as he had if the Ring had not corrupted him.
Legolas glanced to where Arodwen slept, not far from him. He had laid his cloak over her again, and was amused to see that she had pulled it closer in her sleep, snuggling into the warm cotton. The dim firelight fell upon the hand that rested by her face. He couldn't stop the anger that welled within him as he realized the wrist was slightly swollen, and had purple bruises in the shape of a hand...
"My turn to watch, elf," came a gruff voice.
Legolas turned to the dwarf that was rising from his sleeping roll, axe in hand.
Nodding his thanks to the strong, yet irritably stubborn creature, Legolas unfolded his arms from across his chest, and made his way to where Arodwen lay.
She looked so content when she slept. It was the only time her hair that she kept in a braid or bun all day was let free, framing her face in gentle waves that glowed gold in the firelight.
He lay himself down beside her, draping one arm over her waist. He drew comfort from her presence; calmed at the feeling of her warm body laying beside his own.
"What time is it...?" he heard her whisper sleepily, shifting a little under his cloak, "Is it my watch?"
He let a smile grace his features. "Many an hour before we are called to rise. Go back to sleep." he whispered, pulling the cloak closer about her.
"What of my watch...?" she sighed, her will half-hearted.
"You do not have one this night; worry not. Sleep, little one. You are weary with grief. Tomorrow we shall take rest in Lòrien. Till then, find what solace you can in my arms..." Legolas gently pulled her closer into his arms.
She hadn't heard his last sentence though, for she'd already been pulled back into the darkness of sleep.
Aragorn led them into Lóthlorien the next morning, the hint of a smile playing on his lips as he gazed around at the beautiful sunlit forest. The leaves seemed to fall in slow motion around them from the trees that glowed an ethereal silver.
Not a mile into the woods, they came upon the River Nimrodel. Legolas spoke of it's healing waters as he waded in the river, and soon began to sing the song of the maiden Nimrodel in a clear soft voice.
As comforting as the cool waters were, Aragorn did not let them linger long, and they soon set out again.
Legolas had entered the forest in step with Aragorn, but soon found himself as the rearguard. After Aragorn came Gimli and Boromir, who looked upon the woods with suspicious glances. The hobbits followed after, being ushered forward by Arodwen who was a few steps ahead of the prince.
Legolas was mildly amused by Gimli's words about the Lady Galadriel. The dwarf grunted about the Lady as though she was a monster! Though he himself had never seen the Lady of Light, he knew she could not be so terrible and awful as the dwarf described her. After all, she was Arwen's grandmother. How could she not be as beautiful as the Evenstar?
He had let his mind wander. And for his folly, he barely had enough time to draw an arrow as the Lorien guard surrounded them with loaded bows.
Arodwen raised her hands away from her weapons, not wanting confrontation this early in the day. She had at least four arrows pointed at her, one of which was dangerously close to grazing her skin. "Im faeg ú-naegra," (I mean no harm) she said with what calm she could, very uncomfortable with the situation. One false move and she could find herself with arrows in her neck.
The elves seemed not to hear her, for they did not lower their weapons or show any change in their expressions. She heard Aragorn speaking to Haldir up ahead, pleading with the Marchwarden; asking for protection. Haldir had glanced at her at least once while surveying the company, and she could tell he was questioning Aragorn about her presence in the fellowship.
After much arguing, they agreed that they would walk free and unbound until they reached the Celebrant. Night was taking over, and Haldir bid Legolas and his companions climb up to the flet. They said it was dangerous to remain upon the ground; they had seen a large company of orcs marching along the mountains, and heard the howls of wolves on the borders of the wood.
While the hobbits were complaining that they would fall off the tree, Arodwen had opened her pack to find a certain herb, when she noticed a slight shimmer beneath one of her tunics. Taking out the grey tunic, she was surprised to find a silvery blue elvish gown folded perfectly there. She lifted it from her pack with a smile, running a hand along the fine embroidered leaves. 'Thank you Arwen,' she thought, looking back into the bag and finding the Evenstar had also snuck in some form of elvish shampoo, and a hairbrush.
'Nimrodel is not far. Elven hair or no, I desire a bath. And I long to change from these filthy clothes...' Arodwen made up her mind, folding the dress back up with the soap and brush. Grabbing her sword, she made for the rope ladder.
"Whither do you wander hiril nin?" came Haldir's voice from across the talan. (my lady)
Arodwen turned, giving the marchwarden a reassuring smile. "To the falls of Nimrodel, Hir Haldir. I shall not tarry long." (Lord) Before he could protest, she slid down the rope, landing lightly upon the ground.
The woods were quiet, and the moon bathed it in silvery light. She followed the path they had come on until she heard the roar of the falls. The clear water called her closer, till she found herself at the edge of the pool the falls emptied into. Kneeling, she ran her fingertips across the water's surface, and delighted to find that it was not too cold.
She stood again, undoing her hair and letting it fall down her back. Arodwen looked all around her; eyes skimming the trees for any unwanted eyes. But it seemed the elves were guarding elsewhere, for she saw none amidst the branches.
Within a few moments, she had shed her clothing and waded into the pool, a sigh of contentment escaping her lips. Using the soap Arwen had given her, she cleaned her hair and body of the dirt and grime of Moria. Soon, she smelled of Lavender and Vanilla, and her skin was glowing with elven fairness. She silently thanked Elbereth for whatever was in that shampoo.
She swam and dived in the water, feeling refreshed and without care. That is, until she heard a sharp gasp from the shore.
When Haldir had told him where Arodwen had gone, he went back into the woods to find her. An evil presence grew in his mind, and he did not like the idea of her out here alone. The elves had told him that orcs roamed about; searching for Gollum as well as their company.
His feet made hardly any sound on the path as he ran among the trees; hearing the gentle murmur of Nimrodel grow closer.
He thought his heart stopped when he saw her bathing by the waterfall; the water barely reaching up to her waist. Despite that, it still revealed to him all too much that he knew she would have dared show him. He couldn't stop his eyes wandering up her shapely hips, her thin waist, the curves of her full breasts...
His breath came in a sharp gasp, and she whirled around with a stifled shriek.
"Legolas!" She dropped below the water, hugging her knees to her chest to hide her nude form. "What in Valar are you doing here!"
"I... I was..." For the sake of Elbereth! He couldn't even put together a sentence with her like that in front of him. For one, the water was too shallow for her to cover herself completely... Why could he not speak! Elves were not modest about such things as nudity! So why was he stuttering?
"Turn around!" she snapped after waiting for a coherent reply that did not come. 'How long has he been standing there? Oh sweet Eru, how much did he see?' She could answer that question by the glazed look in Legolas's eye. 'Far too much.'
Shakily, the prince turned his back on her, and heard the soft splash of her getting out of the pool and the hurried rustle of clothing.
Legolas slowly turned back around to face her, preparing himself for a sound-lashing. She was not in her traveling garb any longer. Quite the contrary, she looked ethereal in the silver gown of Rivendell. But she also looked intimidating with her hands resting impatiently on her hips and her eyes narrowed in anger.
"Are you lucid enough to answer my question now?" Arodwen asked with the same iciness.
'Wonderful work Legolas...' the prince berated himself, 'You finally win back her trust and confidence, and ruin it all with over-protection.'
the prince berated himself,"I'd heard there were orcs roaming near, and I came to find you," Legolas said, his eyes trying to find anything else to focus upon except her.
"Legolas, I am not helpless. In case you did not notice, I did bring a weapon." Nodding to the sword at her waist, she folded her dirtied clothes.
"Again, I am sorry. But it is too dangerous out here for you to be by yourself."
"I doubt that. And if I ever catch you watching me while I bathe again, you will lose the privilege of having your eyes. Among other things."
Despite the seriousness of her tone, he couldn't help but laugh. "I fear, dear maiden, that I would lose my eyes just to behold once more what I had seen nought a few moments ago."
She froze, and slowly turned her cold gaze upon him. "Dare you think I jest?"
"Nay, Arodwen," He answered, stilling his amusement. "I just find your words entertaining."
She scoffed, and stalked past him down the trail; angry and upset. He went after her, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. "Wait!"
"No!" she spat back, trying to kick his shins. She didn't want to be around him for another moment! The elf had seen her unclothed for Valar's sake! And he acted as if it didn't matter! Well, it did to her. "Let me go or I swear-!"
"I will not-"
SLAP!
She punched him hard in the jaw, making him release her arm as he staggered back. In those brief moments, she took off running. Clutching his head, he closed his eyes to get rid of the stars that swam before him.
A few moments later, after Legolas decided that she might have 'cooled down' enough for him to speak to her, (not to mention he could see clearly) so he followed the path she had taken.
His eyes pierced the night for where she might have gone. She hadn't taken the path that led back to the talans.
He halted and stood stark still when he caught the guttural words of an orc on the wind. They were up ahead, in a tight group.
'No...' Legolas inwardly groaned, 'My luck cannot be that bad...'
Legolas inwardly groaned,But apparently it was as he saw Arodwen being grabbed by the throat and slammed against a tree. She fell to the ground, and struggled to get back up to fight against them, but a knee to the gut brought her back to the ground again.
There were at least forty or fifty of them; more so than the elf could take by himself...
The same uruk dragged Arodwen back to her knees again, and hissed, "I'll ask ya' again, elf. Where be the halflings?"
"I don't know!" she yelled as loudly as she could, hoping her voice would draw the Galadhrim to her.
"Keep 'er quiet! We don' wan' ev'ry stinkin' elf in this place on us!" screeched another orc, and the uruk's fist collided with the side of Arodwen's head; knocking her to the dirt.
Arodwen was breathing heavily, her ribs on fire again. 'Valar, someone help...' she thought desperately as she saw the lead uruk approach her again.
"Wuddo we do wi' her?" asked a large orc as Arodwen was pinned against the tree again, her hands trying feebly to unfurl the cruel uruk's fingers from her throat. "I 'aven't 'ad elf meat fer a while..."
"She knows where da' shire rats 'r, I can tell," the uruk spat, fixing Arodwen with a yellow eyed glare. "She jus' needs 'er tongue loosn'd up a' bit... Then we can eat 'er. Maybe ev'n have a bit 'o fun!" He said, provoking a few shrieks of agreement from the orcs as he took a filthy dagger from his belt.
Before he could even raise it, a hail of arrows descended upon the group, piercing the flesh of the vile creatures. Three of the arrows had found their mark in the uruk that had her against the tree, and it fell to the ground dead with the dagger still clutched in it's grotesque hand. Gasping for breath, she scrambled backwards, only to have two pairs of arms wrap around her, pulling her farther back.
Arodwen kicked and struggled against her captors, trying desperately to free herself. "Daro Arodwen! Stop! It's me! It's me!" (stop!)
Relief flooded her when she heard the all too familiar voice, and she not only stopped struggling, she slumped to the ground in a fit of tears. Aragorn and Legolas both wore similar looks of pity and barely concealed fear.
"No Arodwen! Do not weep! You are safe now!" Legolas pleaded, dropping down beside her and pulling her against him in a firm embrace. "They're gone, they're dead..."
"I'm... sorry..." he heard her say in between cries.
"You don't have anything to be sorry for Arodwen. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Aragorn tried to assure her, looking over her injuries.
"I shouldn't... have run..."
Legolas just shook his head silently at her words, gathering the elleth up in his arms and following Orophin and Aragorn down the trail to the flets. Haldir retrieved her things from the river.
"It was not your fault, Arodwen. You are lucky to be alive."
Arodwen murmured, "I can walk on my own... they didn't hurt me that badly..."
"I am content," Legolas said, the ghost of a grin on his face.
"I am not though. Please, it will worry the hobbits if they see me like this," she protested, squirming to extricate herself from the archer's arms.
"They would have good reason for it. I am still worried," Legolas said softly, gently setting her back on her feet, but keeping one arm wrapped around her waist as he led her forward to the ladder. She shakily climbed up before him, and then crawled to where her cloak and pack lay, collapsing upon the long soft cushion that served as a sleeping mat.
Legolas shook his head in pity, walking on silent feet to where she lay. She would be very sore tomorrow morning, and all would notice the purpling bruise on her cheek. But at least she was alive...
His heart was still racing because of the ordeal. How it had pained him to sit their doing nothing; waiting for more help to come. For if he had charged in their without aid, he would have been killed before he could help her.
While she slept deeply, he gently rubbed a salve on her cheek to reduce the swelling and color. She did not move while he healed her, nor gave any sign that she knew he was there.
Nonetheless, he stayed beside her until the first rays of the sun shone in the east, calling them to rise and begin their journey once again...
