Her own screaming was what had woken her up, a reflexive response to the pain she felt only moments after waking. Searing pain and the smell of burning flesh flooded her senses and she was unable to keep the tears from streaming down her face.
She cursed loudly, brazenly not coherent enough to stop herself until the pain dulled and all she could hear was the laughter of the orcs circled around her. She opened her eyes, swallowing hard as she looked down at her bare legs and the wound on the outside of her thigh, now seared shut.
"Kate? Kate! What are you doing to her?" She could hear Pippin scream as Merry attempted to shush him before an eager orc struck the both of them.
Sweat beaded across her forehead and she pushed herself up glaring down at the wound. Cursing again she glared up at the offending Uruk-hai.
"It's done. Get moving." Barked an Uruk who glared down at Kate, his command immediately silencing the laughs and the jeers of the other orcs.
"What did you do?" Kate asked, trying to rein in her anger as best she could. She realized at some point she must have passed out, that she understood. She even understood that an infection was growing inside the wound at an abnormal and alarming rate…what she didn't understand was why the hell they closed it?! This was clearly some mangled attempt at fixing the wounds but…
"What did you say?" The orc turned on her, snarling in disgust.
"My leg. What did you do? It didn't need to be closed, the infection…it needed to stay open! Now you've just trapped the infection inside…I could lose the whole leg what the hell is wrong with you? Why even bother trying to-"
Kate was cut off as the orc's fist came down across her face knocking her to the ground. The orc growled as he wrapped his gnarled hand around her neck.
"You shut your mouth you, weevil. The only reason we haven't gutted you and cooked you over a spit is because that one says your needed alive. If it were up to me…" it leered, dragged its other hand up her leg, licking its lips, the action making Kate want to vomit. "…well…you wouldn't have a leg to fret over at all."
Kate swallowed the bile in her throat and nodded mutely.
"I SAID MOVE. NOW!" The Uruk leader roared, roughly yanking Kate off the ground and throwing her on the back of another orc. The fire was put out and they were off again, running into the darkness. Kate turned her head, hissing in pain as her wound and bare legs scrapped against the rough Uruk armor. Her heart beat n her chest until she laid eyes on them, Merry and Pippin. Their wide eyes shined in the dark, meeting hers and Kate gave them a reassuring nod.
This was a nightmare. The second night that they had spent with the Uruk-hai…or was It the third? Honestly, to Kate, it felt like weeks. She had no idea what was happening, where they were going or what they even wanted with them. She was terrified.
Kate had never been so scared in her entire life but she was trying to seem brave. For what? She didn't know…she just knew that the hobbits couldn't see her freak out. They needed something to hold onto...and they were being so brave! It broke her heart!
Even Merry, who Kate was sure had a concussion, did his best to try and console Pippin…who was acting just as brave as she'd ever seen. Her heart clenched, turning her head up to the sky.
She just needed them to be ok. Boromir wanted her to look after the hobbits and she failed him and them. After he was shot…she just crumbled…she should have fought! She should have gotten the hobbits out of there. She should have gone to Boromir, she could have helped him. She should have done something. Anything!
But she didn't. She failed Boromir and now he was dead…he was dead, and now her and the hobbits were prisoners of the Uruk-hai.
Self-loathing filled her for what felt like the hundredth time as she remembered what had happened…she could have saved Boromir…she really could have! She was the only one! But she knew that he needed surgery…real surgery…medicine and techniques that she didn't have the skill to fix. There was a small part of her that wondered if she had sent him back…through the stones…
No. Wouldn't have worked. She reasoned, shaking off the thought. The shock alone could kill him, not to mention what could have happened in the in-between…
How could she not have known Boromir was like her? How did she not see it?
Dozens of thoughts went ran though her mind; ways in which she had failed, not done enough or done too much or not seen enough. She hated herself right now but it didn't matter. She needed to shove that grief down as far as she could, it wouldn't help save her or the hobbits.
No. Focus. Plan. You need to remember where you are. If we can get away…head back to Lothlorien maybe? She wondered, deciding she'd leave the navigating up to the hobbits, they actually knew of more than two cities on Middle Earth.
Kate bit her lip, scanning the skies for the familiar smatterings of stars and constellations Legolas had shown her, finally landing on the desired one.
Legolas had told her that elves used the stars to help them find their way home, or to their loved ones…Kate wondered if they would help her, even if she wasn't an Elf. Of course, she knew Legolas would say that they would, he had a reverent love for the stars…all elves did it seemed.
Morosely Kate wondered if these would be the last days she'd see these stars. Her days of seeing the rest of the fellowship were long over. Tears pricked her eyes as she thought of her friends, her family…would they know what had happened to them? Aragorn would blame himself, she knew he would and her heart ached at the thought of it.
Selfishly she wondered if they would come for them? Would they try and rescue her and the hobbits?
Of course, they won't; and they shouldn't! She snapped to herself. They needed to get Frodo and the ring to Mordor, that was the mission…not rescuing 3 members who had gotten themselves kidnapped.
No, no one was coming to save them. They were on their own.
Still…she wished she could have said goodbye to them. Aragorn. Gimli. Sam. Frodo. Boromir…and Legolas. Legolas… and what would she have even said to him?
"Nothing." She muttered quietly. She would have said nothing because it wouldn't have mattered.
With a sigh, she looked back one more time at the hobbits, just checking and then back onto the stars.
Focus Kate, just focus.
Night melted into day, passing by unnoticed to Kate who did not sleep that night, too afraid to fall asleep unguarded. Instead she tried her best to formulate a plan of escape…but she had come up with nothing.
The day dragged on and the orcs kept running. The only time they had stopped was to fix her leg and even then, Kate imagined it couldn't have been very long, and just as soon as it was over with they were off running again.
Kate looked back to the hobbits again, Pippin meeting her gaze.
"Ok?" She mouthed to him and he gave her a small nod but inclined his head toward Merry concern etched on his face. Kate craned her neck to look for Merry and frowned. He didn't look very well, nodding in and out of consciousness and his breathing was labored…and then he was out completely! Panic rushed through Kate, wondering if his heart had stopped or what exactly was going on. She needed to get to him!
"Merry!" Pippin called softly. And then suddenly they stopped, halted. Kate could see another group of Orc jump out from behind the rocks, just as vile but looking more life what Kate would expect of an Orc.
"You're late. Our master grows impatient." The new orc sneered. "He wants the Traveler whore and the Shire-rats now!"
"I don't take orders from Orc-maggots." The leader of the orc pack she was with bit back. "Saruman will have his prize. Well deliver them"
This didn't seem to sit well with the other orc.
What is this? West Side Story? Are they gonna rumble?
"My friend is sick! He needs water. Please!" Merry called. "Kate! She's a healer, let her look at him! He's sick!"
"Sick, is he?" The leader asked, full of fake concern. "Give him some medicine boys!" He laughed as an Orc wrenched open Merry's mouth and poured some brown liquid down his throat.
"Hey!" Kate yelled, struggling to twist around. "What are you doing?!"
"Stop it!" Pippin cried out. Whatever that stuff was it worked, the liquid making Merry wretch so violently that he came awake. They were about to give him another round when Pippin screamed out, struggling against the Orc holding him. "Leave him alone!"
"Why? You want some? Huh?" The orc shouted, shoving his way to Pippin. Kate held her breath, praying that they would just leave them alone! "Then keep your mouth shut!"
Kate watched Merry talk to Pippin, even though she couldn't hear what was being said, it gave her some comfort to see him talking. Kate breathed, in and out. They're fine. It's fine. Pippin looked over at Kate once again, and she knew she was asking her if he was really ok. She gave a cursory glance at Merry and gave Pippin what she hopped was an encouraging nod. No way of really knowing for sure, but he was breathing for now, and responsive so that was good.
"What is it? What do you smell?" The orc leader asked.
"Manflesh." Was his reply, something that seemed to spur on the other orcs around her.
"They've picked up our trail! LET'S MOVE!" It roared and the orcs were really running now, faster than they had ever run.
They?
"Aragorn" She heard Pippin as the hobbit's Orcs caught up with hers.
Aragorn?! She yelled internally, her heart pounding in her chest. How can he be coming? He can't! He could get killed…How can he even…where is Frodo? And the others. Is he alone?!
Kate told herself all the reasons why Aragorn coming was a terrible idea. Why she didn't want him getting himself killed when that was not the job. Still, as the Orcs charged ahead and Kate's wound smacked repeatedly against the Orc's armour, a small bud of hope rose in her and she fought back tears.
He's coming for us.
He hadn't abandoned her…even when he should have. He was going to find them.
He's coming. He's coming. Aragorn is coming. He's coming for us. Was the mantra in her head, giving her hope where she had none. He would get them out of there.
The hobbits would be fine.
Everything would be fine…She hoped.
He's coming.
Kate was tossed to the ground, rather unceremoniously, with the other hobbits. She cried out as she fell on her thigh, rolling over as fast as she could. She glanced at the wound and immediately regretted it. It was bad, and if the fever she had was any indication of what kind of infection was brewing under there… Kate couldn't think about that now. Or rather, she didn't want to.
"Merry. Merry?" Pippin asked, crawling over them.
"Is he alright?" Kate asked, trying her best to shift herself to face them. It hurt to move, especially her leg.
"Yes. I'm fine." He muttered, giving her a cheeky smile. "But… I think we made a mistake leaving the Shire, Pippin." They chuckled a bit. Count on Merry to make light of it.
"You really think Aragorn's coming?" Kate whispered.
"I don't know. I don't even know if it was Aragorn…but I tossed my brooch back there. If it is …he'll be sure to find it."
Kate's attention turned to the orcs who were chopping down trees in the forest next to them. Maybe it was the fever, but she swore she could hear the trees groaning and creaking.
"What's making that noise?" Pippin asked, eyes wide with fear.
"It's the trees." Merry answered. Kate snorted but once she thought about it... Legolas had told her that the trees could speak to the elves…maybe they became chattier when monsters tried to cut off their limbs? Makes sense, sure.
"You remember the Old Forest, on the borders of Buckland? Folk used to say there was something in the water that made the trees grow tall and come alive."
"Alive?" Pippin repeated. Merry continued, enraptured in his tale.
"Trees that could whisper, talk to each other, even move."
"Those trees?" Kate asked, staring back at the forest. It was so dark in there, and the three of them were so tired, hungry and full of fear…it was easy to imagine that those woods harbored a great evil as well.
"So, we won't be escaping through there then." She muttered, Merry shrugging in reply.
"Any other ideas?" The hobbit asked. Kate breathed out slowly.
"No… no, I don't. Let me look at your head though, Merry?" Kate wasn't exactly sure what she would do but Merry nodded, crawling as best he could over to her.
"That doesn't look so good, Kate." He said, his voice low as he looked at her wound. Kate shrugged and opened her mouth to reply when a scuffle near the fire caught her attention.
"Yea! Why can't we have some meat?!" An orc, his eyes landing on them, greedily licking his lips. Kate's blood turned cold, shivering under its gaze. "What about them? They're fresh!"
She protectively grabbed Merry's bound hands and her eyes met Pippin's. How the hell are we going to get out of this one…?
"They are not for eating!" The Orc Leader yelled, shoving his way to the middle of the shuffle. Then suddenly she felt herself and the others being yanked up, pulled to their feet. Pain radiated down Kates leg as she stifled a yelp.
"What about their legs? They don't need those. Hers is spoiled anyway, what good is it? Oh…they look tasty." He salivated and moved to charge them but was suddenly shoved back.
"Get back, scum!" The Orc leader shouted, standing in the gap between Uruk and Orc. "The prisoners go to Saruman. Alive and unspoiled." Kate reached for the hobbits, feeling the tension mounting, and leaning against the Uruk who held her, trying to relieve the weight from her other leg. She had no weapons, she could barely walk…what was she going to do, bare knuckle her way out of there?
"Alive? Why alive? Do they give good sport?" The other orc asked. Kate gulped. This was bad.
"They have something. An Elvish weapon and that's a Traveler. The master wants to use it for the war."
Traveler? That's what they call me here? Well… better than witch. But then suddenly Kate stiffened as she heard the hobbits whisper amongst themselves about the Ring. This…Saruman thought that she could send them through the stones...send them through time…perhaps even to send him back to grab the Ring before Frodo got it? This was what Lord Elrond, Gandalf and Galadriel had tried to warn her of, to protect her from but now here she was! And Saruman didn't know she couldn't do that…but …under torture he could make her go back in time. He could make her grab the ring, and who knew what she would do if she were tortured enough, what she was capable of. She really had no idea what the limits of this gift, or whatever, was and suddenly all sorts of horrible scenarios passed through her mind … Shitshitshit.
She needed to get her and the hobbits out of there, now!
The orc holding her up suddenly moved and Kate dropped to the ground, looking up at the original trouble starting orc.
"Just a mouthful. A bit off the flank." Kate screamed and in the time it took for her to blink, the orc's head had been cut off, tumbling uselessly to the ground.
"Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!" The Orc leader shouted and within seconds the orcs had shoved Pippin and Merry to the ground, charging the lifeless body of the orc as intestines and organs flew into the air. It was a feeding frenzy.
She was horrified and yet…unsurprised that the orcs would eat one of their own. No love lost.
"Kate. Pippin. Let's go." Merry whispered, choosing this moment to escape. Don't have to tell me twice. Kate nodded, moving to crawl after them but every movement radiated pain down her leg. Already the hobbits were farther ahead than she was and Kate realized suddenly that this wasn't going to work.
They didn't have a lot of time to escape…she'd only slow them down…she needed the hobbits to be safe.
"Kate?" Pippin urged.
"Go. I'll catch up." She whispered, wondering how she could get out along with Pippin and Merry.
Kate scanned the horde, trying to think when something caught her gaze, a quick movement and she reflexively fell back flat on the ground as a spear arced threw the air and landing in an orc as it stood over Merry and Pippin. She could barely make out their bodies, concealed by their elvish cloaks, but they were there, wriggling away. They were escaping.
Now what. Kate thought as chaos broke out amongst the camp. Riders stormed the camp, hacking and cutting through Orc and Uruk alike, bodies falling off of horses. Human bodies.
Kate moved, shoving herself up to her feet and limping away as fast as she could, dodging swords and horses. I have never been so thankful to be so short in all my life. She thought to herself hobbling as best she could in the direction of the hobbits.
Where were they?
"Merry? Pipin?!" She shouted, barely heard over the screams of the battle going on around her. She swore, knowing that they were in the forest, exactly where she didn't want to go. An arrow whizzed by her suddenly, only just barely scratching her arm. Swearing again she picked up the pace, limping into the woods and calling out for the hobbits.
It wasn't smart to scream out for them, she knew that, but she wasn't thinking clearly. She was fevered, exhausted and panicked and the only conscious thought she had right now was find the hobbits and run!
She looked back one last time at the group of horse men.
The only men she had known on Middle Earth were Boromir and Aragorn…she trusted Aragorn, and Boromir when he wasn't under the power of the ring but…she didn't know these men.
They fought with deadly accuracy, moving atop their horses like they were born on them. A small part wondered… thought that she could ask them for help, try and get them to find Merry and Pippin...but as she watched them take down the orc horde, chopping off one of their heads and mounting it on a Pike…Kate knew she wouldn't.
Elves would never behave in such a way. It wasn't as if she felt sorry for the orcs, certainly not…she just had never seen such a display…not from humans…no. She wasn't risking it.
Decision made, she moved further into the forest, stumbling over roots and rocks, calling for Merry and Pippin.
"Where are you guys?" She cried, panic rising in her. What if something happened to them? "Merry, Pippin? Please just help me find you!"
It seemed like hours stretched on with no sign of them, but Kate kept stumbling around, hoping that she would find them at some point.
Stumbling over a tree root she could have sworn that wasn't there before, Kate fell to the ground, crying out in pain as she hit the ground hard. She lay there for a moment, trying to gather herself, swearing and grumbling.
Her vision was tunneling, the sweat pouring down her face and her breathing heavy. Would she ever find them? She looked up at the trees, trees that were shifting and groaning, and wondered briefly what Legolas would think about this.
Slowly she reached out, touching the offending tree root. Let's give this another go, shall we?
"Hey…tree. I don't want any trouble. Just trying to find my friends and we'll be out of here, ok? I just...need to find my friends, I need them to be ok. So…my friend, he's an elf…he told he about talking to trees so I wouldn't have done this ordinarily, but I'm desperate…and obviously not mentally stable…I don't know." Kate groaned… rubbing the sweat off her forehead. She felt stupid and hopeless and angry and…sick. She was going to be sick. She rolled over, retching whatever she had in her stomach, which wasn't much. "Sorry about that." She muttered stupidly, to the tree. "Just wanna leave. Find my friends. Just help…please."
It was growing harder and harder to stay awake. Wind rustled through the leaves, shivering the branches of the trees down a line.
She surely must have lost her mind because just as her vision darkend, she thought she had seen eyes peering at her through the trees, slowly blinking and watching.
With a gasp Kate woke, the light that filtered through the trees too bright, even for this place. Panicked and kicking herself she grabbed onto the tree, pulling herself to stand.
"So cliché. Very nice, Kate, blacking out. You'll be getting an Oscar for your brilliant screenplay anytime now." She muttered to herself, steadying herself against the tree as she became more and more dizzy.
How long had she been asleep? How could she have been so stupid! She couldn't afford to take a nap at a time like this!
She needed to find the Hobbits!
She needed medicine, antibiotics or something fast!
She needed food and water.
She needed some bloody pants.
Pain makes you grumpy, Kate. She thought drolly.
Cursing again she continued on, shaking herself awake every now and then. She loved those hobbits and she prayed they were alright but if she found them, hidden away in a hobbit hole and eating…she was going to be really pissed.
"Merry! Pippin!" She yelled out again. She was never going to find them! Who knew how long this forest went on?
Kate groaned, letting out a string of curses, expelling any and all pent of rage she was feeling as another wave of fevered chills shook her.
"I see you are just as intemperate as you were when I left you, Kate Mackenzie." A familiar voice called out, shocking Kate into silence.
Oh…oh I died. I'm dead.
"Gandalf?" she gasped, gazing at the wizard now draped in dazzling white robes and smiling down at her with a gleam of amusement in his eyes. "Yea…well I'm just having a bit of a rough…week."
"Kate? Kate!" Aragorn shouted, bursting through the trees behind Gandalf.
"Oh no! Did you die too?" Legolas and Gimli followed behind, gapping in surprise. "All of you?"
"I thought you were dead." Aragorn breathed, relief flooding his features and Kate gripped tighter to the tree.
"Aren't I? Gandalf is here…" Aragorn grabbed Kate, pulling her into a tight hug, too tight if she were being honest but she didn't quite care.
Flesh and blood. So not dead then. Relief flood her and she held back a sob as she fell into him. She gripped him tighter, and she could feel a tear fall onto her hair as he kissed the top of her head. For the first time in so long Kate felt...safe. Safe now that she was with her family. "Wait the hobbits? I was trying to find them…"
"No, you are not dead Kate. Nor am I." Gandalf answered, smiling. "The hobbits are quite safe. Come we must hurry now."
"Oh…well what about Frodo? Sam?...Boromir?" Gandalf's expression grew grave in response to her questioning but didn't offer up much of an explanation.
"We will explain when we have more time at hand." He replied to a disgruntled Kate.
"Yea, ok. Sure. I just need…pants. And some medicine, this is pretty bad." Kate muttered, as Aragorn released her immediately, blushing a bit as he took her in.
"What happened to you?" He whispered, grief spreading over his features and Kate could only imagine what he was thinking. "Are you…
"No, no. Nothing like that…No, they didn't. They just mistreated a wound, from one of their sword before we were taken, and I guess they didn't think it'd be important to bring my pants." She explained to a blushing Aragorn.
"Here, lass." Gimli said, looking away as he passed the woman her pack. "Once you are decent I'll hug you. I've never been so happy to…ugh, Here." Kate took the pack, holding it too her chest.
"You carried it…all this way?" She asked, stunned.
"We knew it was important to you." Legolas answered quietly, his face betraying no emotion at all. "I am glad that you are well."
Kate didn't know what to say, and cleared her throat.
"We will have to deal with the infection." Aragorn said, frowning as he inspected the festering wound on her leg. It didn't take a doctor to see that it was infected, and Aragorn himself was skilled enough to guess what had happened. "I will need to …reopen it. This will hurt."
"Yea. I know. Let's do it, quick. Doesn't have to be pretty." She said, lowering herself to the ground. She fished some of the Kingsfoil out of her bag, chewing on it in hopes that it would start working as fast as she needed it to. "We'll patch it up better once we get to where we're going. There's a scalpel in my bag. It hasn't been used yet so It's probably cleaner than your knife, no offense." Aragorn nodded, and searched her bag for the item and speaking to Legolas in Elvish. He spoke slow and even, trying his best to sound calm but Kate could hear the tension in his tone, even though she didn't understand them.
"We will need to be quick." Gandalf spoke, not without sympathy. "There is much still that needs to be done."
"Yea. So Aragorn, you'll need to-"
"I know what must be done, Kate." Aragorn said tensely as Legolas came to sit behind her. Kate assumed he was there to hold her steady or keep her from punching Aragorn. Yea…this is really going to hurt. "Please do not move." He said to her , giving a pointed look to the Elf.
"Well. Carry on then, be quick about it if you would though, as a personal favor to me." Kate said sardonically, shifting herself so that he could cut into her leg better.
"Bite onto this." Legolas said softly, handing her a strip of leather before placing his hands gently on her shoulders. "You cannot scream, I am sorry, vanima."
Kate gave a curt nod, clamping down on the leather. Aragorn frowned at the wound, hesitating just a moment and then he cut.
Kate bit into the leather, trying her best to keep from screaming, thankful that Legolas was keeping her still and her body jerked from the pain. He was stronger than he looked!
This. This would be a good time to pass out now! She yelled internally.
Aragorn was blessedly quick, a skillful healer in his own right, but Kate couldn't exactly appreciate his proficiency at the moment, she was in too much pain. He had only just finished squeezing out the purulence from the wound when he began packing it with a kingsfoil poultice, and then gently wrapped her leg with a bandage to keep the herbs in place.
Kate's jaw hurt from clenching the leather so long, her leg hurt like hell, she had no pants and was awkwardly pushed up against the elf she might have feelings for and her uncle.
But on the bright side, the hobbits were safe, they'd made it.
She grunted in pain as Aragorn tied the bandage shut, and Legolas murmured elvish words of what she assumed were comfort to her. Of course, he could have been saying suck it up, Skippy and she wouldn't have known the difference or cared.
"Well that really sucked." Kate commented after a few moments, earning an amused sniff from Aragorn.
"I am sorry. It had to be done." He apologized, turning to wipe his blood-stained hands on the grass before he reached into her pack for an extra pair of leggings. "Do you need help? It will be difficult to stand on that leg for quite some time."
"No, dear God, no. It's embarrassing enough that you all have seen me without pants, you don't need to help me put them on." Kate argued to a very relieved looking Aragorn. "But thank you." She added.
"You have always had such a way with words." Gandalf remarked, sounding perturbed but gave her a good-natured wink before turning his attention back to the group. "Hurry along, Lady Kate. One stage of our journey is over. Another begins. We must travel to Edoras with all speed."
"Yea got it." Kate grunted, pulling herself up with Legolas's help. Aragorn gave a her a concerned look, opening his mouth to say something before Legolas spoke up.
"I will assist her. The way out of these woods is just there, we will catch up as soon as she is able." The elf said, not missing how Aragorn's lips thinned in response but he nodded and quickly followed Gandalf through the forest.
"Edoras? That is no short distance." Gimli remarked following after them. Kate listened as her the rest of the party's sounds faded out of her hearing range and then…she and Legolas were alone. Legolas said nothing as he allowed Kate to hold on to him and Kate wasn't really sure what to say.
She awkwardly shuffled the leggings on before remembering that this wasn't exactly the first time he'd seen her without pants. This was becoming a theme apparently. She immediately decided against making a joke about that, Legolas did not seem in the mood.
In fact, he seemed utterly out of sorts. His movements were tense and rigid and he said not one word as she clumsily slid into the leggings, grunting and swearing in response to the pain. Finally, she was dressed, and Legolas helped her back down to the ground so she could adjust her boots, her tying the laces on one boot and he the other.
"Are you ok?" Kate asked, her voice sounding intrusive and grating compared to the silence that surrounded them. Legolas paused for a moment and then continued tying the laces. "It's just that…you seem really quiet and you're hands are shaking and-"
"Kate!" Legolas cracked, his voice barely above a whisper as his eyes met hers, shining with more intensity than she had ever seen.
She stared at the the elf, feeling the blood rushing to her face. Why was he so upset? What had she done?
Legolas broke eye contact, staring at the ground instead while his hands hovered over hers.
"Legolas. What's wrong?" Kate asked growing more and more concerned. He was quiet for another moment, as if trying to weigh what he wanted to say with what he should say. He let out a mirthless laugh.
"How can you ask me what is wrong when you are the one in pain? After all that you have endured?" He asked quietly. Kate grasped his hand, intertwining their fingers.
"Because I'm ok. This will heal, slowly…but it'll heal." She said, tilting her head so he'd look her in the eyes. "It's ok Legolas. The hobbits are ok. I'm ok, Gandalf is ok. It's ok."
"Kate…I believed that you were dead." He choked out, actively avoiding her gaze. "Or that you had gone back with him…We did not know what had happened to you."
"Gone back with who? Legolas, I'm fine. See? A little banged up, but I'll do. Hey?" She said, her hands reaching to touch his face affectionately, a gesture that had become so natural between the two of them now. "Look at me, Legolas. I'm ok." He did…and Kate's breath caught in her throat.
Legolas leaned forward cradling her face in his hands ever so gently, as if he were afraid the slightest movement would break her. He kissed her forehead, his lips barely touching her and Kate could feel his hands trembling. Or maybe it was her that was trembling she wondered, closing her eyes. With a sharp intake of breath Legolas stopped, gently pulling away and resting his head against hers, exhaling a long, unsteady breathe.
"Forgive me." He whispered after a moment, eyes still closed, but his lips held the ghost of a smile. "I…assumed much."
"You assumed nothing." She replied, her voice huskier than usual. "There is nothing to forgive." Legolas opened his eyes now, a torrent of emotions now made visible to her…this new vulnerable side to Legolas that Kate had never seen before. She wondered…did he know how she felt? Was is possible he felt the same?
A sharp whistle rang out snapping them both back to attention. Before she could blink Legolas was up and helping her to her feet.
"We should hurry and catch up with them." Kate said quickly, trying to get the words out before Legolas did. That was it. Back to business. "But we should…talk, or something. You know…when things are a bit more settled." She said, awkwardly limping ahead, ignoring the amused expression on the Elf's face. He had to know she was going to walk on her own, right? No matter how foolish she looked.
"Yes, I believe we should. There is also something you should know." He said, growing serious once more. Kate nodded, assuming it was about the fate of the fellowship or something equally grim.
The pair met up with the rest of the group just as a large horse greeted Gandalf, it's coat whiter than any other she had seen before.
"That is one of the Mearas, unless my eyes are cheated by some spell." Legolas remarked appreciatively.
"Shadowfax. He is the lord of all horses and has been my friend through many dangers." Gandalf said, affection and gratitude soaking his words.
Horse lord? Sure. Sure. Ok. Kate thought, looking at the three horses now, not entirely thrilled by their presence. Still, it beat walking, she had to admit, and with her injury she would have surely slowed them down.
Yes, the horses were a necessary evil.
"So…Edoras. Never been." Kate quipped, looking to Aragorn to assure her if this was a safe place or not but his face gave no answers. "Cool. Cool." She muttered to herself as Gandalf mounted Shadowfax with little to know trouble, unamused by her commentary.
"You will ride with me." Aragorn insisted helping the woman onto the horse, a task not easily completed.
"Hey, what was it you all wanted to talk about?" Kate asked, shifting a bit in the saddle so that her injury didn't pain her quite so bad. She'd have to clean it more thoroughly once they got to where they were going. It hurt like hell, the tender skin around the injury burning angrily, but already the fevered fog that surrounded her had faded. Only to be replaced with a new one. She thought, risking a glance at Legolas, who helped Gimli onto the horse before mounting himself.
Aragorn said nothing, other than a muttered apology as he settled himself into the saddle, the action jostling her and causing her to hiss in pain.
"Not now…but soon, Kate." He said, patting her arm soothingly. Kate huffed, but didn't argue as the horse shot forward, eagerly falling in line behind Shadowfax. Boromir would have told me. She thought lamentably, guilt tugging at her again.
She tried to shrug it off, actively shoving the events of the last few days out of her mind. She'd deal with it when she had to. Now was not the time.
Now, they headed to Edoras.
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