"We're not going no further... until we've had a breather." an Orc huffs and puffs after the hobbits and elleth are thrown to the floor. They are all very tired after another long day of running.
The leading Uruk snarls, before giving in. "Get a fire going!" he orders.
Pippin immediately crawls towards his friend. "Merry! Merry!"
Merry groans. "I think we might have made a mistake leaving the Shire, Pippin." he says, his cut stinging on his forehead.
A load groan catches their attention. They look towards the woods wide-eyed. "What's making that noise?"
"Trees… It's the trees." a voice whispers breathlessly, making them turn to Ithilae is surprise.
"You're awake!" Merry whispers as he crawls closer, followed by Pippin.
"Are you okay Lea?" Pippin questions innocently, making her perk a brow as her eyes crack open just slightly.
Her eyes are unfocused and she pauses for a moment too long for their liking, making them glance at each other worriedly. "My head is throbbing like I got trampled by an Olifaunt." she finally answers.
"Well they did hit you pretty hard." Pippin nods before quickly shielding her from sight when an Uruk passes them. He doesn't want her to receive another blow to the head. That cannot be healthy.
Another groan makes the hobbits startle. "Don't mind it… it is only the trees." the elleth tells them quietly. "You would not be happy… if someone tried to cut you down."
Merry perks up, nudging Pippin. "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 breathes.
"Trees that could whisper...talk to each other...even move." Merry finishes. "It's like that, isn't it?" he asks, turning to the elleth, only to see her eyes closed again.
Pippin looks down at her worriedly. "I don't think she's doing so well Merry." he states, his voice a bit shaky.
"No, she's not Pip." Merry agrees, his lips pulling into a thin line.
Before they can fuss over the elleth they befriended some more, the Uruks and Orcs start to stir. "I'm starving. We ain't had nothing but maggoty bread for three stinking days." an Uruk sneers.
"Yeah! Why can't we have some meat?!" an Orc with a nasally voice complains before eying their prisoners. "What about them? They're fresh." he wonders, licking his lips hungrily.
"They are not for eating." the leading Uruk-Hai states, causing a subordinate to pull the prisoners further from the hungry crowd.
"What about their legs? They don't need those." a different Orc says, making the hobbits glance towards their legs worriedly. "They look tasty."
The leader growls. "Get back, scum! The prisoners go to Saruman. Alive and unspoiled."
"Alive? Why alive? Do they give good sport?" the orc from before questions, drawing closer to the hobbits and the elleth.
"They have something. An Elvish weapon. The master wants it for the war." the Uruk states.
Pippin turns to Merry with wide eyes. "They think we have the Ring." he whispers.
"Ssh! As soon as they find out we don't, we're dead." Merry hushes him.
"But what do they want Lea for?" Pippin can't help but wonder, knowing they cannot believe that she has it.
An unsheathing of a blade behind them startles them. "Just a mouthful...a bit of the flank." the orc behind them argues, his mouth watering.
Having had enough of his insubordinates riling against him, the leader whips out his scimitar before swiftly beheading the orc. Its head bounces over the hobbit's head, making them gulp.
The Uruk smirks. "Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!" he calls, instigating an immediate frenzy. Merry and Pippin are knocked back as they fight over the best bits.
"Pippin. Let's go." Merry urges, nodding to the forest.
Pippin looks to Ithilae before crawling towards her swiftly. He pulls at her top by the shoulder, soon aided by Merry on the other side. They try hard to move her, but she hardly budges.
They freeze as a foot steps onto Merry's back and he looks over his shoulder horrified to find an Orc glaring down at him. "Go on. Call for help. Squeal. No one's going to save you now." he says threateningly, reaching out to squeeze into Pippin's cheeks, who looks frightened up at the orc as he raises his knife.
Suddenly a spear hits the orc into its back, piercing all the way through, only missing Pippin by an inch. The orc drops down dead right on top of the elleth. That is when chaos ensues as horsemen charge into the encampment, slaughtering the orcs and uruks.
Merry and Pippin know they have to flee, but they cannot just leave their friend behind. "Come on Ithilae! My lady! Wake up!" Merry calls, shaking the elleth hurriedly.
"Uh?" she breathes before moaning in discomfort at the heavy weight on her. She cannot move. Heck, she cannot even find the strength to open her eyes.
"Go…" she urges weakly. "Run… Do not pause."
Merry squeezes her shoulder, gritting his teeth before nodding reluctantly. "Come on Pip!" he calls, nudging his friend to get him going. He needs some urging to leave the elleth behind. Neither care for it, but it's either make a run for it, or they all die.
Pippin keeps in the tears as they crawl further away. Merry glances back into the chaos one last time. "I'm sorry." he whispers before clawing his way towards the forest.
…
The men pile up the carcasses, stench fills the air as they burn. They killed all of them and so have prevented them to cause more grief among the innocent people of their homeland.
"Help me with this one." a rider urges, picking up another Orc by the shoulders, before staggering at what he sees. "My Lord!" he calls as another soldier goes to see what startled his friend.
A man with a long mane of blonde hair steps towards them, his eyes widening as the two men throw the corpse off of another body, that of a woman. And not just any sort of woman by the looks of it: An Elf maiden.
Éomer quickens his pace, dropping to his knees, his hand hovering over her nose and mouth. "She's still alive! Get some water…and a cloth!" he orders.
Ithilae starts to cough violently as water tickles her throat. "Easy there." a soothing voice hushes as she is propped up. A cold cloth dabs at her face and she manages to crack her eyes open, just enough to see a pair of unfamiliar blue eyes staring down at her.
"You're alright." the man tells her. "Do you understand me?" he questions, not certain if she speaks his tongue. "Can you tell me your name?" he asks.
"I-Ithilae." she rasps. "W-Who…?" she tries to ask, only to have her head swim. She raises a tired limb to clutch at her head, only to have the man halt her movements.
"Careful, you have sustained a head injury. My name is Éomer, we are Rohirrim from Rohan…or at least, we were." he tells her, his voice filled with sorrow.
He aids her in sitting up a bit more, observing her as her eyes flit across the scene before her, worry projecting in them. "What..? Where..?" she stammers, appearing fearful to Éomer. He blames it on whatever experience she has with those wretched creatures. He does not know that she is searching for a sign of the hobbits that were with her earlier.
"Do not fret. They are all dead. You are free now." he assures her, his eyes widening when she tries to pull herself to her feet soon after he finishes speaking. He catches her as her shaking knees can't hold her. She sighs tiredly and closes her eyes.
"You may travel with us Lady Ithilae, for as long as you see fit, or we find a proper place where you can be taken care of." Éomer states before ordering his men to round up their business so they may set off.
Ithilae does not have the strength to argue as she is sat upon a horse with one of the riders. She can only hope that the two hobbits made it out alive before her mind shuts down again, eager to have her recover and relieve her of this weakness that plagues her.
