Chapter Six~Chase
They had been walking for hours. For most of the Fellowship, with no way to tell if it was day or night, they did not know whether they should keep going, or lay down and sleep. Of course, for someone who had spent their whole lives in darkness, Rina knew that they needed to rest. By now they would have been on the move since near midnight, and it would have been almost dark outside again. On top of that, it seemed that Gandalf did not know where he was going. It became apparent when he stopped to look between three different hallways, and muttered to himself, "I have no memory of this place." So, they stopped to eat and sleep, while the old Wizard attempted to collect his sense of direction. They lit no fire, for fear of drawing something from the shadows that meant to make dog-meat of them. Instead they sat in silence, Merry and Pippin occasionally breaking the silence to speak of this or that. Ever vigilant, Legolas stayed by Rina's side. He and Samora kept her warm and safe as she sat between the two trying to sleep. But, the blessed escape of dreams would not come.
"Legolas?"
"Hmm?" He slid down and crossed his legs.
"How has your father been? It has been many years since I last saw him."
The Elf prince stared at the blind young woman. This mortal was as close to a sister as he had ever had. "He speaks of you often. We were planning on making the trip to Rivendell before we received the news of the Council. He said he sincerely missed having you perform for him."
Rina's rosey lips turned up in a smile. She remembered fondly the day she first stepped foot in Mirkwood as a child.
*The power of Thranduil's court was even more so than that of Elrond's, and the magic had reached down into her very soul immediately, cleansing her and driving all the pain of travel from her bones. She remembered how the Elven king had circled her like a big cat waiting for its prey to make a wrong move. He had asked her all manner of questions. From, "How old are you?", to "Who is your family?", and "What power do you hold?" Apparently, he was impressed with her answers, because he invited her to dine with him and his son. That was when she first met Legolas. At first, he seemed put off by her. She was nothing more than a simple human girl. It wasn't until she accidently (on purpose) dumped her bowl of hot vegetable stew over his head at dinner that he started to warm up to her. Thranduil watched on in amusement from the head of the table, Elrond across the table with his face in his hand. When her guardian tried to reprimand her, the king stopped him. To him, anyone who dared to cause such trouble was worth getting to know, especially against a member of the royal family. She was rewarded with an extra slice of cake and a small cup of Elven wine.
At that time, she still stumbled over the notes to a song she had learned and practiced relentlessly. Elrond's daughter Arwen had helped her, patiently teaching her, even when the child had gotten frustrated enough to throw the instrument down and declare that she was giving up. The maiden had simply picked it up, gave it back and told her, "If you give up when it gets too hard, you will never make beautiful music. You will never be able to fight, or cast magic. You are a very brave and talented girl, and you will do great things. But...great things require practice." And on they went.
Legolas, who was still upset about the incident with the soup, he decided to be spiteful and play a trick on her. Even though he was centuries old. He had put a spider in her guitar just before she started playing. Upon beginning her song, the arachnid became furious at the vibrations and found the source of the racket halfway through the song. It had crawled over her hand, causing her to scream in fear and try to get it off, as the spider had crawled up her arm. Rina ended up tripping over a root in her attempts to rid herself of it, and she crashed to the ground. She could hear Legolas chuckling behind her, her dress was torn and her knees and palms were bleeding from breaking her fall. Before she knew it, kind hands were wiping away her tears.
"Hush, now, little one. You're alright. The wretched creature is gone. Come, let me see your hands." All went quiet. It was not the duty of the king to kneel in the dirt to care for the superficial wounds of a girl, and a mortal one at that. A fact that was pointed out by his son. "Ah, unfortunately, my dear, the other wretched creature that attacked you is still here. What shall we do with him, hmm?"
"Father!" The prince said.
"I don't want to do anything to him. He'll only get mad at me again. Why aren't you mad, Your Majesty?" She asked him through the sniffles.
He just laughed. "Dear child. You are a troublemaker, both of you are. I like troublemakers, you make life interesting. Legolas, help our guest to her chambers, and make sure she is well taken care of."
From then on, thrown together as often as possible, her and Legolas were inseparable any time that they visited on another.*
"Can you sing, Miss Rina?" Sam asked.
"Yes."
"Can you sing somethin' for us? Just to help us rest a bit easier."
"Of course. What would you like to hear?"
"Do you know the song of the Green Dragon?" Pippin whispered to her.
"I'm afraid not."
"You should sing that lullaby you sang for me once." Aragorn sat next to Samora, scratching behind her ears. "Do you remember?"
Another sweet smile graced her lips. "How could I forget?" She picked up her guitar and started strumming.
"Far over the Misty Mountains rise
Leave us standing upon the heights
What was before, we see once more
Our kingdom a distant light
Fiery mountain beneath the moon
The words unspoken, we'll be there soon
For home a song that echoes on
And all who find us will know the tune
Some folk we never forget
Some kind we never forgive
Haven't seen the back of us yet
We'll fight as long as we live
All eyes on the hidden door
To the Lonely Mountain borne
We'll ride in the gathering storm
Until we get our long-forgotten gold
We lay under the Misty Mountains cold
In slumbers deep and dreams of gold
We must awake, our lives to make
And in the darkness a torch we hold
From long ago when lanterns burned
Till this day our hearts have yearned
Her fate unknown, the Arkenstone
What was stolen must be returned
We must awake and make the day
To find a song for heart and soul
Some folk we never forget
Some kind we never forgive
Haven't seen the end of it yet
We'll fight as long as we live
All eyes on the hidden door
To the Lonely Mountain borne
We'll ride in the gathering storm
Until we get our long-forgotten gold
Far away from Misty Mountains cold."
"That is a song of my people, lass. How do you know it?" Gimli wiped a tear away with his beard.
"There was once a Hobbit that agreed to go on an adventure with a group of thirteen Dwarves to take back The Lonely Mountain. He heard that song, and long after the Dwarf who sang it had passed away, he taught it to me when he came to visit." Rina turned her unseeing eyes to Frodo. "He was very kind. Your uncle, Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire."
"Ah!" Gandalf exclaimed, interrupting. "It's that way."
"How do you know?" Frodo asked, still distracted by Rina's statement.
"The air is not so foul down here. When in doubt, Master Baggins, always follow your nose."
A/N: This may be a little late, but I, regrettably, do not own the Lord of the Rings. Nor do I own "The Song of the Lonely Mountain" by Neil Finn. By the way, when I imagine my stories, I often have a song in mind to go with the scenario, and I will attempt to show that in the future. I have a very nice one already in my head for a future chapter (as in Two Towers future). Don't forget to review, it makes me happy. And happy writers means good chapters, which means happy readers :D