Parting from Fangorn

Given the feverish sleep that had overtaken me soon after our conversation, I was surprisingly rested when I woke up the next morning. Legolas had not stayed, but I hadn't expected him to. What he had left with me, however, was his cloak, which he had carefully pinned around me. It seemed to have warmed me throughout the night almost as well as the elf himself, even if I would have preferred his presence. At the thought of it, I felt the heat rise in my cheeks and scolded myself a fool. Legolas had made it abundantly clear that he did not think in that direction and even if he did, would do nothing to pursue those thoughts. The reason was my mortality.

Therefore, I pushed back the feeling that had spread within my chest and instead considered how I was going to make the last stretch to Lothlorien in my condition. The orcs always breathing down our necks. That we would have to rest in the realm of Lord Celeborn was by now out of question. I would not be able to drag myself to Esgaroth.

At least: The shivering phase seemed to be over, but now my head throbbed as if I had drunk one too many and I felt that my tongue was dry and fuzzy in my mouth. Wonderful.

With a groan I straightened up, feeling as if I were walking on clouds of pain. Every movement jerked through my muscles like a warning signal, but I couldn't stay down, both my body and I knew that.

"How are you, lass?" Gimli was just tying up his bundle.

"I have been better," I replied in a raspy voice. I quickly cleared my throat and swiped my face absently with a hasty gesture. "Somehow I'll stay on my feet until Lorien."

The dwarf looked as worried as the elf who had just returned to our camp. "You are awake," he said, looking at me only briefly. He didn't let on, probably because there was nothing to notice. Involuntarily, I had to swallow. It still felt like one of Legolas' arrows was drilling into my chest, and I knew I shouldn't feel that way. It was stupid. And weak.

Resolutely, I stood up. I still had no clue what time it was, only that day must already have dawned, for the darkness had been replaced by the ever-present twilight that painted just a ray of light on the ground here and there.

But I had been too quick.

Dizziness overtook me, and had Gimli not rushed beside me to support me, I would have fallen over. Dwarf and Elf gave each other a look that told me more than clearly that they didn't think I was fit to travel. And if I was honest with myself, they were right.

At that moment, the figure of Treebeard peeled out from the shadows of the trees. "Hrum, you should leave now," he said, then his gaze lingered on the elf. "The Huorns drove the orcs back into the mountains during the night, but they will find ways. You were lucky, there were no Uruk-hai among them."

"So we are safe during the day," Gimli concluded, but Legolas shook his head. "I would not count on it, my friend."

The dwarf nodded. "After all, we have a head start."

"A minimal one." Legolas looked tense, I couldn't blame him.

"You must ride quickly," Treebeard said. "They will come again, they were more numerous and skilled than usual."

"What do you mean?" Gimli looked at the Ent with narrowed eyes. "Since Sauron was thrust from his throne, they have roamed the lands, but they have lost their unity."

Treebeard blinked. Then he replied, "I report only what the Huorns have told me."

Legolas laid a hand on the tree-herd's bark and bid Gimli be silent. He pinched his lips together with little enthusiasm, but complied with his friend's request. "With luck, we will make it to the foothills of Lorien by nightfall," the Elf said. He turned his head in my direction, but without looking at me. "You will be able to rest there, Aspen."

"Which she desperately needs," Gimli commented, still supporting me. I would have preferred to give him a salty reply, but I saved my breath. Riding fast was exhausting. I would not be able to sit relaxed on Aescrof, but would need every ounce of strength not to slip from the saddle. This seemed to have crossed Legolas' mind as well, for he said, "You will ride with me. We cannot afford to have you fall off your horse."

Usually I would have protested, but the prospect of not having to cling convulsively to Aescroft's mane all day long by myself was too tempting to turn down. So I just nodded silently, which caused Gimli to shake his head. He knew perfectly well that under normal circumstances I would have fought this proposal tooth and nail. That I did not, seemed confirmation enough for him of my condition.

Then we set off.

Legolas insisted on putting me on Arod even here in the forest. Aescrof followed. And even though it made me uncomfortable, I was grateful for it. Climbing over rotting tree trunks and old roots would not only have strained me further, but also made us unnecessarily slow. The more time we wasted in the forest, the less we had to get to Lothlorien under the cover of daylight.

Sometimes I wished that I had not only put ASA tablets in my first-aid kit back then, but also something like Abenol. And most of all, I wished that I had taken those darn tablets with me!

After a good twenty minutes, we crossed the Limlight, a branch of the Anduin River that meandered through the northern part of Fangorn. Once it had been part of Gondor, but now the land officially belonged to Rohan. When we finally reached the last foothills of the forest, Treebeard stopped. With a lunging gesture, he pointed to the grassy plain that stretched out before us. "We're here."

"That's Celebrant's field," I said. "Isn't it?"

"Yes," Legolas replied, pulling up behind me on Arod and reaching for the reins. Normally he rode the horse without a saddle or bridle, but this way it was easier to hold me if I was falling. The fact that this was bringing us even closer than we would have been anyway was something I was only now truly realizing. And I didn't know what to make of it. I almost would have preferred to ride with Gimli on his pony. "Eorl once led his great army of horsemen southward, answering the call of Gondor. Let us hope the weather favors us. I smell the rain, the clouds are heavy with it."

I turned my head. "Let's go, then."

"As the lady commands."

With a snort, I turned back to face forward. "I'm not a lady."

"I know."

"Don't be impertinent."

He laughed. "I would never dare, Lirimaer**."

That darn Elf knew full well that I didn't understand what he had just called me. But I wouldn't do him the favor of asking.

Oh no.

He could forget about that.

**my beautiful