Here's another chapter, guys! Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for the nice reviews, they really help me and they keep me motivated!
I do not own Lord of the Rings, nor it's character or it's places. Only Mÿne is mine.
The next morning Mÿne woke up early. She stretched and let her hands stroke her tangled hair. She'd slept well tonight and was filled with new energy. She grabbed her boots and put them on, crawled out of the tent and walked up the clearing the rangers made camp at. Dew hung low, just above the grass. It gave the clearing a misty view. Mÿne sat down at one of the lodges around the extinguished campfire and looked up at the sky. The dark clouds had passed and a watery sun was shining. Mÿne smiled, it would be a lot easier to travel today. A flapping sound told her that one of the rangers came out of the tent. She looked around, meeting a smiling face and kind eyes. It was Halbarad. He sat next to her and pulled out some bread from his pockets.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked, giving her a piece of bread.
Mÿne nodded, "Better then the last few nights. I spent them in dusty and small rooms."
Halbarad laughed, "A true ranger, I hear." he said, stealing a glance her way. She also smiled and ate her bread.
They had a small breakfast together, chatting lightly about the life of rangers and the weather. Then Mÿne got up, checked if she had all of her belongings and turned to Halbarad.
"I thank you for your kindness, Halbarad. Now I must leave to find Aragorn and the rest of the group."
"It's truly sorry you have to leave, we could have used you. Well then, good luck and until we meet again." he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Mÿne nodded, turned around and left, making her way trough the bushes around the clearing.
Mÿne walked down the hills to find the road again. She turned right at a fork, one path being all dirty and wet and the other one being covered with fallen leaves. She took the path with the fallen leaves, sniffing up the scent of the sweet, wet, forest. It was still quiet in the forest, the only sound being her footstep on the soaked leaves. It didn't take long until she found the road, still slippery and muddy. She walked beside it, looking at the tracks in front of her. Different footsteps could be seen, some bigger than a normal foot, and a couple prints of hoofs. Aragorn had certainly walked here.
She kept walking until she came to the last trees. They were making a sad impression, standing far from eachother, almost dead and dry, revealing a landscape with more hills. There weren't any trees, just heath and grass. She got away from the trees and started to cross the heathery landscape.
The same watery sun from that morning was still hanging in the air. It didn't gave off much warmth, as it was very windy, but Mÿne could feel it nonetheless. Luckily, the sun and the wind had dried up most of the paths and the hills, so walking was much more easier now, and quicker. By noon she'd crossed almost half of the heathery hills.
Mÿne decided to take a little break from the constant walking and sat down at the top of one of the littlest hills. The larger hills would give her some protection against unfriendly eyes and it blocked out the wind very well. She sighed deeply, glad to give her feet a little rest. She wasn't hungry though, Halbarad had given her a fine breakfast. Mÿne closed her eyes a little, enjoying the silence when she heard footsteps.
She shot up, alarmed, her feet wincing slightly in process. She quickly ran down the hill she'd be sitting on, and flattened herself against it, hoping that she would be out of sight for the most. Nevertheless, she drew her sword, ready to attack if needed. She closed her eyes, focused on the steps getting closer. It wasn't just one pair of feet, she realized. There were two, three, four? Even more? She frowned, hearing voices, softly. She got up slowly, it could be orcs, or goblins, or maybe even worse... She opened her eyes and looked at the hills before her. She couldn't run, they would see her immediately. She needed to strike fast if she wanted to escape. Quietly she climbed back up the hill, her sword ready. She turned almost at the top, running around it. An attack from behind would be the best, they wouldn't expect it. She waited at the side of the hill, listening to the passing footsteps above her. When the last pair of feet had passed, she ran further to the back of the hill, ran to the top and jumped. With a yell she rushed forward, her sword made contact with another one and she looked in a pair of dark eyes.
"We wondered where you've had been." Aragorn said, his sword blocking her attack. Relief washed over her as they pulled away their swords. She could hear the excited yells from the hobbits when they saw her. She hugged Aragorn and smiled sincerely.
"I'm so glad it's you. I thought you were a group of orcs or goblins." she said.
"This far north? That couldn't be." Aragorn said, head shaking and walking forwards again. Mÿne walked beside him and told him about Gollum, (well, she left the part of where she asked about the Ring out) Halbarad and his group of rangers.
"Halbarad?" Aragorn said, "Ah yes, I see now. I've met him once or twice. Fine ranger but he worries too much. As for Gollum, I didn't think he would follow us, but now we know we need to be extra careful." he said, dropping his voice lowly so he wouldn't wake any worries of the hobbits.
As for Aragorn, he told Mÿne that he and the group had slept passed the marshes of Midgewater. The hobbits hadn't liked it, the musqito's and all. Mÿne snorted a laugh and secretly complimented herself for deciding that she'd travel to Wheathertop, not to the group. Aragorn too thought it was a smart move.
"It had could take you hours, maybe days to find us again. It was a good move to travel ahead to Wheatertop." he said, "But you need to work on your attacking skills. I could easily block you..." he added with a grin. Mÿne gave him a nudge in the arm but couldn't help to grin too.
At the end of midday, they'd reached Wheathertop. It was a lonely large hill, with some base of a tower on the top. It had been wrecked though. They'd climbed the hill and made camp above it, finding a spot that would be out of the wind.
"I don't know about you, Strider, but I'm pretty hungry." Pippin said, holding his stomach.
"You're always hungry." Merry mocked at him.
"Don't deny it, you're hungry too!" Pippin retorted. Merry remained silent.
"See?" Pippin said, looking at Aragorn and Mÿne. They sighed. If they'd learned one thing from hobbits, it was that they were ALWAYS hungry.
"Fine. Mÿne, we're going to try to shoot some deer. The rest of you, stay here, don't make any loud noises and above all: don't make fire!" he said, warningly. He pulled something from his bag and sprayed it over the ground. It were a couple of swords, wrapped up in a cloth.
"Use these if you must." he said shortly. The hobbits picked the swords up, looked at it like they'd never seen one and nodded silently. Aragorn stood up and left the camp, Mÿne following in his tracks.
They didn't catch anything. They'd been hunting for at least an hour or two but hadn't caught anything. In fact, it almost seemed that all the deers and birds had fled. First it was the forest Mÿne had walked in, now these heathery hills! Mÿne sighed, giving up.
"Let's go back. If I'm right you have some bread left from the inn. Or did the hobbits ate that too already?" she said, putting away her fragile bow. She made a quick reminder she needed to buy a new one at Rivendell. Aragorn had put his bow away too and was looking at the forest.
"Something seems off." he said, "It's far too quiet." then he turned around and walked back with Mÿne to Wheathertop. But as they came closer to it, Mÿne held still. She squinted her eyes to look at a bright little point in the distant, at the place the camp would be.
"Fools!" she hissed, "They made a fire!" Aragorn quickened his pace, looking frantic from right to left. He hid behind a couple of stones on the next hill and gestured she'd follow.
"What's wrong?" Mÿne asked. She didn't need to ask. Something had rushed passed them. Mÿne felt her heart sink as she heard high pitched screams. She held in her breath as they passed the hill with stones, not noticing them.
When the last pair of hooves had passed, Aragorn got up. He started to search the grounds for something. He came back with two big sticks and two little stones.
"We need to have fire, quickly." he mumbled hastily.
Mÿne nodded, grabbing the bottom of her shirt and ripping two strokes from it. She wrapped it around the end of the sticks while Aragorn thew some sort of liquid on it, smelling horribly strong. He smashed the little rocks against each other, letting sparks rain on the soaked cloths. It caught fire immediately. Quickly Mÿne grabbed one stick and started to run to the Wheathertop, her stick of fire roaring loudly and heating her face and shoulders. She heard Aragorn run beside her, drawing his sword. Wheathertop grew big as they neared it, the high pitch screams getting louder. Mÿne could hear the hobbits yelling.
She and Aragorn flew up the stairs, jumping on the ledge of the platform on top of the hill. Mÿne held her breath again. Six black riders were at the platform, swords drawn. Pippin and Merry were on the ground, as was Sam. Frodo wasn't anywhere near to be found. A Black rider was stretching his hand to a pile of rocks. Quickly Mÿne rushed over to two black riders, who approached Sam as Aragorn ran to the one with the stretched hand. Mÿne held the fire in front of her when she jumped in front of Sam, Sam crawling backwards. The black riders backed away from the fire and Mÿne held up her sword, blocking a strike from one of them. With her fire she blocked another one. With one movement, Mÿne turned around, freeing herself of the blades, and set one Black rider on fire and started to hit the other one with her sword. Metal clung as she and the black rider dueled. The black rider wielded his blade fast and Mÿne had to duck before he would cut off her head. She then stroke back, driving him back to the edge of the platform. The black rider moved sideways and didn't fall for her trick. She cursed, holding up her sword and fire crossways to block his next attack. She tried to push him back, but her strength was failing her. From over the rider's shoulder, she could she Aragorn sneaking up behind, setting the black rider on fire. She quickly released her defense and turned sideways. The black rider screamed, mowed with his arms and ran away.
Mÿne looked at Aragorn who ran to a moaning Frodo, who appeared to be lying next to the pile of stones. Mÿne blinked her eyes, surprised as she cam closer. Sam was mumbling a few concerned words as Aragorn ripped Frodo's shirt open. A wound was displayed. It was bleeding and smelled like something was rotten. Mÿne dropped to her knees and picked up the blade next to Frodo. A sharp pain shot trough her hands and she quickly released the blade, which turned to black dust.
"He was stabbed by a Morgul blade." she whispered, looking at Aragorn and then at Frodo. He moaned, arching his back and rolling his eyes. He made choking noises, like he couldn't breath.
"Athelas. We need to find some. But first, we need to get to lower grounds. Sam," he turned to the bigger, hobbit who was crouched beside Frodo, "do you know it? Athelas-"
"Kingsfoil, that's a weed." he replied, cutting Aragorn off. He and Aragorn got up, taking the luggage and took it to Bill, the pony. Mÿne stayed at Frodo's side, with Merry and Pippin until they finished packing.
It wasn't a long walk down the Wheathertop, but it was difficult. Frodo was heavily affected by the Morgul blade. They didn't travel long when they were back at secure grounds. So they stopped at a small clearing in the forest which, oddly enough, had three statues of ugly Trolls. Aragorn threw the luggage off Bill and Sam went back to Frodo's side. Frodo opened his eyes slowly and Sam whispered to him. "Look, mister Frodo! Bilbo's trolls! See them?" but all Frodo could do was wince. He closed his eyes again and turned his head. Mÿne pitied him. He suffered so badly. Aragorn returned to fetch Sam to look for Athelas, while Mÿne, Pippin and Merry stayed with Frodo again.
"Is he going to make it?" Pippin said, looking horrorstruck at Frodo. Frodo let out a yelp and gasped for air, his fingers scraping over the moist grounds. Pippin jumped back, scared. Even Merry had wide eyes and was looking around.
"Will they come back? The Black Riders?" he asked, voice shaking slightly. Mÿne shook her head.
"Then, did you killed them?" he asked. Again, Mÿne shook her head, picking up Frodo, grabbing the bottom of her shirt again and ripped another big piece of it. It was barely enough to bandage Frodo with it, but it had to do for now. She quickly wrapped the bandage around his chest, hoping that it would stop the bleeding for a short time.
"You cannot kill a Black Rider." she said shortly to Merry, "No man can."
Frodo hurled and gasped for air again. Mÿne took his hand with her left hand and lifted his head with another. In the far distant the soft screams of the Black Riders could be heard, but they didn't return. For now.
In didn't take long until Aragorn returned with Sam and a woman with a horse. Mÿne shot up immediately, recognizing Arwen. Mÿne let Arwen take Frodo in her arms and whisper softly to him. "That's Athelas?" Pipping asked, cocking his head sideways.
Mÿne couldn't help but smile a bit. While Arwen held Frodo, Aragorn moved the bandage upwards, revealing the wound. He moisturized the Athelas and put it on the bleeding spot. Frodo hurled more and began to make high sounds. He twisted and turned as Aragorn lifted him and put him on Arwen's horse. They spoke quietly in Elvish, almost whispering before Arwen rode away.
"She's an elf!" Sam said almost dreamily.
Mÿne looked at Aragorn, as did the hobbits.
"We're in luck. Arwen is a fast rider. But don't get your hopes up high. If she's not fast enough..." he stopped, leaving a meaningful silence. Mÿne swallowed, she knew what would happen. Frodo would fade and would become one of the Ringwraiths.
"Then what?" Sam asked, worried sick. He was pale and looked like he had just saw somebody die.
"Then he'll become one of them." Mÿne manage to choke out.
An awkward silence fell as they stood there, at the clearing with the ugly trolls, keeping their silent hopes up.
