Hey guys! Here's a quicker update than last time, haha. I have had more free time on my hands so I decided to try and get all my ideas out and try to finish this story before Christmas break ends. I hope you all enjoy it and feel free to leave a review or any suggestions!
Unconsciousness is a feeling that can be described in many different ways. Some people say they are almost floating away peacefully from their bodies. This was not the case for Melody.
Once her eyes had closed to the world around her, she was all but thrashed into a nightmare sort of vortex. It was almost as if her soul was being thrown through dimensions until her hand grasped upon something akin to a door handle. Eyes wide, she pulled it open with such a force that it sent her tumbling through the hole.
Mere seconds later she was gifted the opportunity of viewing land that most likely resided in Middle Earth. The woman eyed the expanse with intrigue and fear. It was very tranquil in this place; the grass grew strong and tall, flowers were blooming with brightened hues of violet and cream. Melody anxiously inspected the rest of the area until her visage was set upon a small cottage.
Once she found that, two children peeked through the house and began to run around the meadow with glee. Their laughs were clear and a sort of familiar aura graced their appearances. With her mouth slightly agape, Melody watched as the boy and girl danced around each other for a moment. The girl's hair bounced in the light breeze as the boy guided her to their next spot with an outstretched hand. They swung around each other for what seemed like a millennia and a certain type of peace began to etch itself upon Melody's features.
However, as soon as their joy appeared, it was stolen from all of them. Melody witnessed their eyes turn to her gaze and a great fire began to engulf the small expanse. Tears brimmed in the woman's eyes as she caught the sight of the children quite literally burning alive. She tried to run to save them, but to no avail. A loss of movement had ravaged the woman's body and she desperately fought to do something for the kids. Her heart clenched and ached out of loss, but she had no idea why she felt such a great pain.
With their eyes ablaze, the two children spoke to her without even opening their mouths. What they said sent a deathly chill down Melody's spine.
Take the path to Moria.
She had wanted to ask why and what Moria was, but before she could the image of this strange place began to blur. Melody shifted as her eyes began to see the sky once full of Crebain. A sturdy hand was placed upon her right arm and lightly shook her intensely.
"My lady! Melody, wake up!" Legolas' voice awoke her from the weird dream-like state she had been in. She couldn't make out what he was trying to say at first, but then she realized she must have passed out. The woman noticed that her hands were quaking with fear and her face was wet with tears.
Once she was calm, she looked back into the elf's gaze and what she saw was unsettling. He was eyeing her with such a distaste, but there was almost something else there, maybe concern? Was he worried for her?
She never got the answer to that because Gandalf came up to her quickly, "What has happened? What did you see?" His hands replaced Legolas' as the elf moved to make sure the rest of the company was alright.
The seriousness laced in his voice made the woman want to shrink back out of embarrassment, "H-how did you know I saw something?"
"I have seen it many times, child. Your eyes had gone completely white and you were mumbling something incoherent," He explained as he yet again took to gaze at the woman as she lie completely terrified of what had just occurred.
"I-I saw a field with two children…They were playing and happy until a fire burned everything away," Melody's voice wavered and her breath quickened as the memory became vibrant in her mind; almost as if she had experienced it firsthand, "They looked at me, Gandalf. Right through me and I wanted to save them, but I couldn't do anything… I was trapped inside of my own motionless body."
Gandalf listened inquisitively, he had hoped there would have been more to her vision; possibly some insight about why she had come here or even what the fellowship as a whole should do now since they were being tracked on their current path. Instead, this only confused him even more. This woman was not who the wizard thought she could have been.
The two were interrupted by Aragorn rushing over, "Gandalf, we must make for the pass of Caradhras. The sky is already darkening and Saruman's spies could return at any moment."
The wizard nodded, "Yes, you are right, we shall be on our way." His eyes flitted back towards Melody for another moment, "Was there anything else that happened?"
She went to tell him of what the children had said to her, but all she found in her memory was a blank space. Melody knew that something else had occurred, but in a split second the recollection had vanished from her grasp.
"I-" She paused looking into Gandalf's eyes. Fear overtook her voice at the amnesia she was experiencing, "I don't know, I'm sorry."
The words came out almost in the form of a question which did not go unnoticed by the wizard. He saw her forehead crease as if that would help her remember the rest of her vision. Of course, she was telling him the truth, but it was bizarre that some pieces would be missing and others clear as day.
"It is alright," He said, "If you do remember, please do not hesitate to inform me of the rest."
Melody nodded, "Of course, Gandalf." And with that, she began to stand up to gather her things once again. The others looked at her with curiosity as she wiped her face with her sleeve. Remnants of the tears still stained her face, and her brain was once again racked with questions.
Sighing heavily, she took the bag that Bill was carrying and strapped it over her back. The weight caused her to shift to regain her balance for a moment.
"Do you need some help with that, my lady?" Asked Frodo. In his arms he already had a few things, but Melody knew the trinket he carried was far more burdensome than a simple pack that caused her slight discomfort.
"It's alright, what you have is probably way heavier than mine. Both figuratively and literally," She replied with a weary smile, "But I do appreciate the offer. Also, you can just call me Melody, I'm pretty sure I don't live up to the expectations of being called a 'lady' around here."
She had let out a chuckle at her last statement, but Frodo answered her with a quite seriousness, "You are welcome, and if it pleases you to be called as so then I will do it. But you should know that you are more than worthy of being called a lady."
The words caused Melody's heart to lurch with emotion, even though her time had been so short here it was good to know that she was slowly but surely gaining friends within the fellowship. She understood that she might not gain the approval of everyone in the company, but Frodo's opinion might be the most important. After all, he was the ringbearer.
"Thank you, Frodo. If there is anything that I can do for you please tell me," She offered, "I'm not good with fighting off bad guys, but I could probably help in other ways if you ask me to."
A brighter smile lit up the hobbit's face, "Well, there actually was something…" He trailed off as he lifted his sleeve to show that the seam had been ripped open, "It was torn as we started to flee from the Crebain. Do you know how to sew?"
The innocence in his voice almost made the woman sad. How could such a creature be tasked with this quest? Even if Melody had only repaired clothes twice in her life at best, she was damn sure that she immaculately would fix up Frodo's cloak.
"Yes, of course I can. I will try to work on it when we stop for the night," She told the young hobbit. He thanked her and left to regroup with the rest as Melody grunted out of exertion due to the heavy bag she carried.
Here's to more walking, she thought as the fellowship set out on their new path.
Over the next Melody had endured the most intense physical test of her life. The road to Caradhras had been treacherous especially for her since she was not well equipped with the endurance to withstand so much traveling at once. At most, her peak physical form had been in high school when she played tennis. Those days were long gone, and this much vigorous exercise left her body and mind in shambles.
The thoughts that had been racing through her mind seemed endless. She felt as if she might be going insane and still tried to grasp the fact that she had been thrown into this world. But as more time passed, she began to get used to her new 'normal'. It was not what she expected, of course, but in order to survive she would have to collect her wits.
Sharp pangs of homesickness would usually occur when they stopped for rest. Melody's body would be screaming at her to sleep, but thoughts of home, Tristan, and her family were given the opportunity to keep her brain awake. This was an endless cycle of various types of pain that left Melody numb to whatever the next day had to bring.
Even so, Melody did manage to make a few more friends among the company during this time; especially amongst the hobbits. They brought her great joy during the toughest moments of this part of the journey and she decided to stick closer to them. Gimli also slowly warmed up to Melody, but for the most part he was still pretty quiet and reserved towards her. As for the men, Boromir became more talkative and apologized for his actions upon their first meeting as he continued to get to know the woman. Aragorn had given her a few words of comfort as well as a few strategies to use if any enemies crossed their path. This had worried her immensely, but Aragorn reassured her that even if evil was faced, they would try to defeat it no matter the cost. With this, Melody did feel more content about her place amongst this group. Although, there was still someone who had not even given her the time of day.
Oddly enough, she had expected Legolas to want to talk with her considering he had saved her from the Crebain, but she was sorely mistaken. The elf was always on alert and acted as if she did not exist. Melody argued to herself that this was probably because of her sudden appearance in the fellowship, so she gave him his space. She had prepared herself for being the outcast of this group anyways and nevertheless she was in awe that most of them were at least acquainted as of now.
So on the final day of their journey to the Caradhras, Melody looked upward at the daunting mountain as dread gnawed at her insides. Grimacing, she tried to keep pace with the other hobbits as she noticed that Aragorn and Boromir had stopped momentarily.
An eerie voice echoed in the woman's mind and she realized that her gaze was fixated on the ring. It glinted so terrifyingly in the clear daylight, almost as if it's reflection could melt the very snow that surrounded them. Sweet promises of returning home and seeing her family were whispered and before she knew it she had taken three steps towards the object before someone pulled her back lightly.
"Melody…" It was Merry who spoke and a look of concern washed over his face as she realized what she was doing. His small hand encircled the sleeve of her shirt.
The woman shook herself for a moment and the voices had vanished, "I'm okay."
The rest of the hike up the mountain was quite uneventful, but had Melody questioning what had happened with the ring before. It had never caused her to feel such a twisting and yearning deep within her soul. The urge to simply touch the object, caress it even, watched etched into her foremost thoughts during that time when it lay splayed upon the snow.
Finally, they reached the top of the mountain and were engulfed in a blizzard. Strong and heavy winds whipped their already chapped cheeks, eliciting incessant chills from those who did not harbor elven perks or magic powers. Melody's hands could not stop trembling and every extremity had gone numb. It did not matter if she was adorned in twenty cloaks, nothing could keep this biting chill from going straight for her bones.
Melody's tremors caused Boromir to bring her up in front of him with the hobbits. They too were shaking as the relentless wind conjured from ice and snow coated their bodies.
Legolas passed them as he ventured up towards the front of the line, the fact that he was able to walk on top of the snow quite literally pissed Melody off as her teeth chattered loudly.
"There is a fell voice on the air!" The elf shouted. The woman furrowed her brows in confusion, but all of a sudden her brain was struck with something internally.
With their eyes ablaze, the two children spoke to her without even opening their mouths. What they said sent a deathly chill down Melody's spine.
Take the path to Moria.
"It's Saruman!" Gandalf yelled before everyone was covered with several feet of snow. Melody urged her limbs to push away the several pounds that shielded her sight from the sky. Luckily for her, Boromir felt her stirring beneath the icy pile and dug her out.
Coughing and sputtering, she finally regained strength in her voice to tell the wizard what she had remembered, "Gandalf! Take the path to Moria!"
What will happen next? Why did Melody have the vision? Will she find out her purpose for coming to Middle Earth? Stay tuned to find out!
Don't forget to review:)
