Thanks for the reviews!
WickedGreene13 - Oh my gosh, you'll make me blush with all those compliments about liking my OC's! Thank you so much!
I'd say just write, let it flow out. Everyone has a story inside them. even if that is a Fanfiction. I understand what you mean though. its all in your head and awesome and you just don't know if its going to come out the same when its written or typed out. For fanfics as well as writing your own stuff, i think very similar rules apply.
what you want to read. Don't write what you are expected by the majority to write. if you dont want to read it. chances are others who enjoy what you enjoy reading wont want to read it.
2. Find out what your preferred writing space is. its like a zone just for writing or a time of day etc. Obviously not at a time which might get you fired or in a car crash or while a house is burning down around you. I can generally write whenever, wherever. Even while half having a conversation with my fiance. yeah, he totally appreciates that, haha! I work off my phone and laptop to make it flexible and generally do small bits throughout a day or put a couple solid hours in, depending what's going on with work. I'm lucky, I am my boss!
3. Research is important. Factual info is a big thing. Be it the facts of a story or universe you are writing about or actual facts like the speed of a fighter jet or geography. its important. Fandoms like Tolkien and Potter have so much fictional history to draw from too.
4. Grammar and spelling and flow. I still muck this up and it is a case of trying to get all these ideas out of my head asap and on a screen and then I'm all excited to share them with you guys. It is important though and I try go over stuff a few times before posting up but I still miss things. When I find those errors later I'm mortified. Do the best you can. Trying is what matters. You could get a Beta to help. I get my bro to read through my own original stuff which is handy and like reviews, it points out areas you might have missed. basically what I'm doing with this re-write. addressing all the issues that are bugging me.
5. Have fun. Writing should be fun. Its also great for chilling out, and great stress management. Let your imagination go wild. :) When you do start one, I want to read it btw! :D
Savage Kill - Very tired, Saruman is up to his tricks! Even the Elves are tired! This chapter here, there is more tired and I was re-writing it in the car last night and I was also very tired!
As the skies finally lightened, Legolas turned to Aerlaer. "We should rouse the others and move on." He stood, gently pulling her up by the hand he still held.
"Thanks." She murmured, smiling a little up at him and a small smile of his own graced his lips.
"You're welcome, Aerlaer." Still he held onto her hand and uncertain if he were going to say more, she waited. He remained quiet, simply gazing down at her. A loud snore, issued from Gimli, had them both starting and Legolas dropped her hand.
"Well, uh, if you wish to refasten your quiver, I'll wake them." Before she could answer, he walked the short distance to Aragorn's side.
Shaking her head, wondering what in Arda, that had been all about, she fastened her sword belt, followed by her quiver and checked her bow, before slinging it onto her back.
Aragorn had leapt up immediately and, once Gimli realized where he was and, the task at hand, he too was on his feet.
"Let us go, for they are now far beyond us and we must travel swiftly if we hope to catch them." Legolas urged them to move on, settling to walk beside Gimli.
"Did you sleep well?" Aerlaer asked Aragorn and he nodded.
"Aye, but I still feel weary. Still, we cannot linger, we'll start off at a trotting pace to warm stiff muscles for the next half mile." With that, he moved forward and not yet shifting, she steadily jogged alongside him.
Again, the tracks left by the Uraks were easy to follow and until noon, they ran at a steady pace, companionable silence between them. The day slowly warmed, the climate of Rohan hotter than that of her homeland. Did she still call the Gladden Fields her home? It was a thought which plagued dreams sometimes and she pushed it away.
As the afternoon wore on, Aerlaer noticed Aragorn would pause or slow more frequently for rests and she too found she appreciated them.
Drinking from a stream, she wondered why she felt weary. Her life-force was strong. Did she imagine the slight weariness she felt?
They ran or loped on, under a cloudy sky until they came upon long, treeless slopes. Ahead, the sun began to set on hills, swelling up to form a line. They enemy trail did not diverge from its course, nor did they see any movement save for the River Entwash which wound to their left. No dwellings, either, could be seen in any direction.
As the sun began to set upon hills; swelling up to a line, the ground became harder underfoot and the grass sparser. The trail they followed began to lighten. The Uraks were well out of sight and it was a heavy knowledge in Aerlaer's mind. Why could they not catch them?
As dusk set in and the air cooled, Aragorn signalled them to a halt. He turned and Aerlaer noticed his eyes were dark and face drawn. His stance was slumped and weary. It shocked her. Three hours earlier when they had paused, he had not looked so drained. She swung her gaze to Gimli, noting he swayed upon his feet, using his axe to hold himself upright.
"I must rest, my body and my heart are weary and it is not how a ranger should feel. I fear there is a force lending speed to our foes, but slowing us down. The land does not feel right, it is an eerie quiet, not peaceful. Even the moon does not look or feel right."
Aerlaer had thought the land unsettling too but it was land she was not familiar with. For Aragorn to point out his unease only unsettled her further.
"Rest then. Find your strength." Legolas nodded although she noted the sad note in his voice. At his words, Gimli crumpled to an exhausted heap upon the ground and Aragorn slowly sank to the dry grass.
"Can I help?" She asked worriedly but the Ranger only shook his head.
"Nay, this is the work of Saruman I am certain. This is not a normal weariness from exertion." Aerlaer nodded, hating that his words made sense, that they matched the way she felt.
"Then sleep." She murmured as the Ranger slowly unbuckled and removed his quiver, sighing as he lay down upon the hard ground. The sound of Gimli now sleeping deeply was all that could be heard and Aerlaer moved away, deciding where she should take watch.
"If you wish to rest?" Legolas spoke from behind her. "I can take first watch."
"It is alright." She turned to face him but he stepped closer, a slight frown upon his face.
"Saruman's influence over these lands is vast. I fear the closer we get to Isengard, the stronger they will hinder Aragorn and Gimli." He glanced back to their now fast asleep companions and then back to her. "How do you fare?" She almost wanted to turn away for the way he searched her face.
"I do feel it, not as strongly as Aragorn and Gimli but, the feeling is there, ever trying to wear on me. I am not as energetic as our first day upon the plains." She admitted. "And you?" She peered up at him, seeing now that he too looked uncharacteristically tired.
"I am the same although, I could not tell Aragorn or Gimli, I fear it will dishearten them further and I do not wish to turn back and abandon the Hobbits."
"Then we must remain strong for them so they might draw strength from us in the days to come."
"Sleep now Aerlaer, I will watch over you too." Legolas promised and, with an agreeable nod, she removed her weapons and curled upon her side on the hard ground, cloak wrapping warmly around her.
Legolas stood but two feet from her and, with the knowledge he was close and would ensure their safety, she let her eyes close, that strange weariness pulling her down into sleep.
...
He was weary, it was an uncanny feeling and to add to his state, the night had grown colder as each hour had passed. Although the eerie feeling still lay upon the land, Legolas had not heard or seen danger and, it felt safe.
To pass the time and ward off the cold, he distracted himself by pacing back and forth in a short line, singing Silvan songs of the Greenwood, under his breath. The air misted before him and he let out an involuntary shiver. He was unused to feeling so cold, so tired.
"Legolas, rest now." He turned in his pacing to see Aerlaer sitting up, cloak pooling around her.
"No, Aerlaer, I am alright, continue to sleep." He brushed off her offer, feeling uneasy about letting her take his place. She'd been dangerously weary, her energy, her lifeforce depleted that day the Uraks had pursued her. What if how they felt now was similar? He would not risk her well-being if it were.
"You are cold." She stated. He made to disagree but a small shiver rippled through his body which he knew she saw.
"A little." He admitted. "But I am alright." He insisted again.
"Liar." She said quietly and before he could stop her, she'd leapt up and behind him, placing a hand on each of his biceps and neatly pushed her knee into the back of his.
The action and closeness caught him by surprise and his leg gave out. He did not resist as she gently but firmly pulled his arms down, lowering him to the ground.
"Sleep now, and dream of the ones who came before " She sung very softly into his ear before she let go of his arms, rose and took a couple steps to his left, wrapped her cloak around her and resumed the watch.
Smiling, he silently removed his quiver, noting Aerlaer had not her own quiver but just her bow and three arrows in hand. Her casual demeanour was a comfort. Her brief touch had been a bigger comfort, infusing him in warmth which was not there before.
He arranged his cloak tightly about himself and lay down, his tired eyes closing to the soft, soothing notes of the Elven lullaby the elleth sang.
...
Moments before the rise of dawn, Aerlaer felt movement beside where she stood, shifting from one foot to another in the cold air.
"You should have woken me again to swap." He muttered as he stretched and stood.
"It was of no bother." She murmured, holding back a shiver. Truthfully it had been a miserable watch but she would not complain, not when both Merry and Pippin were in graver danger. Not when she lived to feel such things as cold and Boromir did not. Not when both Frodo and Sam now journeyed alone into unknown dangers.
"Surely you are cold?" Legolas questioned and she nodded.
"Yes, but we will be moving again in moments. Ill wake the others." Turning from the other Elf, not particularly liking the overly concerned frown upon his face, she went to Aragorn and shook his shoulders.
"Arwen?" He spoke groggily as his eyes blinked blearily.
"Honestly, Aragorn, we look nothing alike." She replied dryly, causing the Ranger to sit up in surprise.
"Oh, Aerlaer, sorry." She merely shook her head, allowing him a wry smirk as she turned next to Gimli and shook him.
"And if you wake up naming me as some she-Dwarf, you had better know how to run very swiftly." She warned Gimli in jest and he too sat up, rubbing his eyes.
"Say what, lass?" He spluttered in confusion. "What she-Dwarf?" Aerlaer didn't answer, instead focusing on refastening her quiver and sword belt. "We must move on." She declared as the others finally seemed capable to travel. Aragorn and Gimli looked as if they had not gained from their rest but Legolas, now she gazed a moment at him, looked less tired. Hopefully they could catch up to their foes. Hopefully both Merry and Pippin were alright.
…
They continued their tracking, now running beside the swiftly flowing Entwash River. Every stride was an effort. Aragorn's muscles felt as if they were weighted down, his actions felt sluggish. Gimli seemed in worse condition, the Dwarf stumbling often over tussocks of grass.
Their path still continued through the rises and dips of the rolling, low hills and far ahead, as they reached a rounded summit, Aragorn noticed a small dark mass in the distance. It was too far away to depict what it was or, which way it moved. Surely it was the Uraks for the mass was in the very direction their trail had been keeping to.
"What do you see and hear with those Elf senses you possess? He asked the two Elves who already gazed, bright eyed towards the dark mass. Aerlaer's delicate horse ears were pricked keenly forward, her body tense and alert, tail swishing back and forth.
"I hear many horses and their hoof beats grow louder though they are a few miles off still yet." She answered.
"Yes, there are one hundred and five and their riders carry metal tipped spears and wear helmets with yellow hair. They are riding back along the path our enemy has taken." Legolas added.
"What will we do? There is nowhere we might hide in this open land and soon they will be upon us." Gimli asked, catching his breath, beside him.
"They are the Rohirrim, when they come we will ask them news of what lies ahead of us. I can see a thin spiral of smoke in the direction they come, something has happened." He mused, feeling both unease and hope. Perhaps the riders had intercepted the Uraks, but if so, what of the Hobbits?
"I cannot see any Hobbits amongst them," Aerlaer noted. "But three horses are riderless." This caused Aragorn's worry to intensify.
"Come, let us leave this hill and wait where we are not so easily seen." He decided and they followed him down to the foot of the hill. Aerlaer shifted back to her Elf form and the four wrapped their Elven cloaks around them and sat huddled together on the dry grass to wait.
"What do you know of these horsemen Aragorn? Will they use their spears on us?" Gimli asked, looking deeply unsettled by the way his eyes kept darting in the direction the riders approached from.
"I have been around them before yes. They are very proud and wilful and protective of their land. Their hearts are brave but true and loyal. They are bold but not cruel but I know not where their allegiances now lie or, how they feel altogether with Saruman in Isengard and Sauron pressing down from Mordor."
"We will soon learn the truth, already they approach." Legolas said and now Aragorn heard the sound of their approach until the hoof beats grew so loud, the very earth shook with the thunder of galloping horses and the cries of men urging them on. He noticed how Aerlaer and, even Legolas watched keenly as the riders swept along the path and then veered towards the bottom of the downs where the four companions hunched, camouflaged by the elven material of their cloaks.
In paired formation, the galloped past, long limbed and strong like the horses they rode, they all carried a spear, a sword at their side and on their back a painted shield. They wore chain and armour and under the helms upon their heads, just as Legolas had described, their hair was a pale yellow, streaming like banners behind them.
As all but a few riders passed the place in which they hid, Aragorn stood, throwing his cloak back and called out loudly. "What news from the north? Rider's of Rohan!"
With exceptional speed and skill, the riders checked their horses and wheeled them around in unison. Slowly, the Elves and Gimli stood too and Aragorn motioned them to keep their weapons down as they found themselves in the center of a ring of horseman. The Rohirrim rode their steeds ever closer towards the center in which they stood, now without hope of escape. Simultaneously the horses turned and stopped and the riders pointed their great spears in level to their hearts. There was certainly no escape past the thicket of sharp spears and he glimpsed his companions shifting uneasily.
One man rode slightly forward, his helmet bearing the symbol of a white horse and, from its peak, pure white horse hair fell like a tail. His eyes, beneath his helm were dark and wary.
"What business does a Man, a Dwarf and two Elves have in the Riddermark?" He observed them as they stared up at him. "Speak quickly!" The rider commanded.
"Give me your name horse master, and I will give you mine." Gimli rumbled out defiantly and Aragorn inwardly groaned. He laid a warning hand upon the Dwarf's arm. They did not need unnecessary trouble.
The rider dismounted from his horse and strode toward Gimli, towering above him. Aragorn noted he was as easily as tall as Legolas who had tensed beside him, his body shifting ever so slightly on an angle to half obscure Aerlaer from the dismounted rider.
"I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground." The tall rider threatened and air shifted beside Aragorn as, with the blink of an eye, Legolas had raised his bow, an arrow knocked and aimed to the rider before them.
"You would die before your stroke fell." Legolas stated, his low voice dangerous. At once the circle of riders thrust their spears forward so the four could barely move. A spear glinted mere inches before Aragorn's eyes, held unwavering by a stony eyed rider. Suddenly the horses took two full steps back. With low cries of surprise, the riders tried to urge them forward but, the creatures only took another two steps back, their heads bowed.
"What sorcery is this that you put upon our steeds?" The commander asked fearfully, eyes darting from Legolas to Aerlaer. "You two Elves, speak!" He demanded, now clutching at a sword strapped to his hip.
"I simply asked them politely if they could step back. My friends felt overcrowded." Aerlaer spoke nonchalantly as she let the cowl of her cloak fall and the morning sun hit her hair." Aragorn waited with baited breath for their reaction. Edhelroch were revered by the Rohirrim, he hoped an allegiance of old still held. There was a collective gasp from more than half the riders.
"Lady Elfhorse, forgive me, the man bowed to Aerlaer humbly. "Lower your weapons." He commanded to his riders. "Do not raise them again." Aragorn quietly sighed in relief and shifted forward slightly.
"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn." He gestured to the Dwarf. This is Gimli, son of Glóin, and Prince Legolas, from the Woodland realm and Princess Aerlaer of the Edhelroch." No one spoke as the commander eyed them curiously, his gaze more often flickering to Aerlaer, as if he could not quite believe she stood before him. Aragorn supposed to see an Elf, let alone an Elfhorse in Rohan in this day and age was incomprehensible. She may have just ensured their safe passage.
"We are friends of Rohan and of Théoden, your king." Aragorn added, in case these riders still thought otherwise. The commander standing before them sighed.
"Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe." Slowly removing his helm to reveal long, dark blonde hair which fell in waves, a little shorter than Legolas's hair. "Not even his own kin" Aragorn noted a similarity in features to King Théoden. He was not very old however, perhaps later twenties but he had an heir of importance about him but it was not overbearing. He now gazed at Aragorn thoughtfully as if trying to decide on his next course of action.
"I am Éomer." He gave them a brief, small smile before continuing. "Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over this land. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished." Éomer eyed Legolas and Aerlaer intently. "The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked and everywhere his spies slip past our nets." Aragorn supposed the rider had not encountered Elves.
"We are not spies nor are we enemies. We simply track a band of Uruk-hai westward across the plains. They have taken two of our friends captive." Aerlaer spoke up, eying Éomer cautiously.
"The Uraks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night." The commander replied bluntly and Aragorn felt his heart sink.
"But there were two Hobbits, did you see two Hobbits with them?" Gimli asked frantically. By the confused look upon Éomer's face, he realised he would not know what a Hobbit was.
"They would be small, only children to your eyes." He explained, hoping beyond hope they had seen their small, innocent friends.
"We left none alive." Éomer quietly replied. Around Aragorn, his three companions seemed to physically slump, the news a shock and pain to them as it was to him. How could that be? How could those two Hobbits, so full of life, possibly be dead?
"We piled the carcasses and burned them." Éomer pointed to the black smoke in the distance. "I am sorry." He added quietly, looking at Aragorn with remorse. It was hard gazing back when this man and his own riders had potentially slain his two companions. Even though, the action was an innocent one, its only intent to protect their own lands and own people. Éomer suddenly let put three short, sharp whistles.
"Hasufel! Arod!" A dark chestnut and a light grey horse emerged and walked up to the commander. He took their reins and handed the chestnut to Aragorn and the grey to Legolas. Aragorn automatically laid a hand upon the horse's neck. "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters." Éomer nodded to them solemnly. "Farewell."
As he mounted his horse he turned back to them. "Look for your friends, but do not trust the hope. It has forsaken these lands." The commander then spoke orders to his riders and within moments Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Aerlaer stood alone with the two horses. Hope. All they had now was hope and yet, Éomer had none left. Just what had befallen the once proud realm of Rohan?
…
Aerlaer, noticing the two horses flicking their ears back and forth nervously, shifted into horse form and walked up to them. She greeted them politely in their language, blowing into each's nostrils and allowing them to do the same. "Do not be afraid, I am Aerlaer, daughter of Falas and my companions are Aragorn, the dark-haired man, Legolas, the flaxen haired Elf and Gimli, the chestnut haired dwarf. They are good people and I trust them with my life and you will both be safe in their hands."
"I am Arod, son of Arnen and, this is Hasufel." The grey thought to her. "We would be honored to carry your friends." He dipped his head yet his ears flickered curiously to Legolas who lightly held the end of his long reins.
"I have heard tale the Elves are fairer riders even than the men of my plains. Be it true?" The grey asked and Aerlaer tilted her head to Legolas who watched with both curiosity and an urgency to move on, in his eyes.
"Legolas is kind and thoughtful." She replied, not having witnessed the riding skill of the other Elf, but simply trusting what she knew of him. "Aragorn is a fine rider." She assured the chestnut as she moved aside.
"Horses, humph. Rather sit in those tedious boats again." Gimli grumbled as Arod snuffed him curiously.
"Legolas is the better rider, Gimli, ride with him." Aragorn instructed as he lightly swung into the chestnut's saddle after checking his saddle and girth. Legolas lithely sprang upon the grey and then helped Gimli clamor up behind him. Turning to the smoke, Aerlaer signaled to the others to set off, quickly settling into a fleet gallop towards the now charred enemies they had pursued for many miles.
…
They arrived at a large, smoldering pile of charred bodies and all three horses snorted as the stench of burnt flesh flooded their senses. Gimli felt his stomach roil in fear as the wood-Elf helped him from the tall horse.
He strode forward carefully, towards the tangle of bodies, catching his breath as his senses were overpowered. Ignoring it, he carefully began to pull out and pick up items from the pile as too did the Elves, their eyes seeking intently yet with the same dread he felt. Aragorn strode around the pile, looking at the ground.
At length, Gimli spied a familiar strip of leather and its remains charred but bronze buckle still intact. "It's the remains of one of their little belts. "Gimli's voice broke as he looked forlorn at the leather in his hands. This proved they had been too late. Tears stung his eyes and the Elves turned away as Aragorn took let out a sharp breath and strode off, hands upon his head. They were too late. A quite sob choked him as he held on tightly to the belt. All which remained to show either Hobbit had existed at all.
He heard Legolas murmuring nearby, in his Elven tongue, his tone soft and filled with sorry and he momentarily wondered what the Elf spoke of when Aragorn, who had now paced quite some way from them, let out an anguished cry and sent a helm nearby flying. Gimli watched as the Ranger crumpled to his knees, bowing his head.
For a long time, none of them spoke or moved. Gimli stared down at the charred belt, tears now darkening parts of the intact leather. They had failed them. They had not been fast enough and had failed them.
"A Hobbit lay here, and the other." Aragorn spoke clear enough that Gimli heard him. He nodded to himself, realising the Ranger must have discovered the place in which the two little Hobbits had been slain. They would not have stood a chance over those great spears the Rohirrim carried.
Funny, those horse riders didn't say they'd seen any Hobbits. Gimli glanced up at this thought, to Aragorn, finding the Ranger to be standing again, moving about staring intently at the ground. He began moving along on his hands and knees.
"Their hands were bound and they crawled." Aragorn noted, pointing to the grass and Gimli made his way to the Ranger, as did the Elves. Aragorn strode a few more paces before bending to pull a ratty, shredded rope from the ground. There was another shredded piece still at his feet.
"Their bonds were cut." Aragorn looked to them holding the severed rope excitedly. Gimli felt hope rekindling as he followed the Ranger. "They ran over here… and were followed." Gimli's heart pounded. Followed could not bode well for them.
"The tracks lead away from the battle!" Aragorn exclaimed, beginning to jog, following a trail Gimli could not possibly see. Aerlaer ran at his side and Gimli hurried to run with Legolas, just behind them. They cleared a small rise, a flat plain stretching out ahead and looming after that, a great dark forest.
"They must be in Fangorn Forest." Aragorn murmured, his voice hopeful yet, Gimli felt unease has he looked to the foreboding fringes of that forest.
"Fangorn! What madness drove them in there?" He voiced his fears to the others.
"Let us hope any madness ended here and they are safe among the trees." Aerlaer replied. She turned and called to the two horses which stood where they had left them. Within moments they had cantered to halt expectantly by both Ranger and wood-Elf.
"Now we have hope once more." He spoke quietly, more to himself as he allowed the Elf to help him again, onto the monstrous horse.