Dire Needs: Chapter Seven
Author's Note: Since i'm on vacation, I have alot of time on my hands. So i'll be able to update and write more often. *sniff* I only got two reviews for chapter six... that's alright, I guess. Other people are busy, too. {{{{Lady Lenna, Minako_Galemar}}}} thanks so much for the reviews, they mean alot!
For all other notes: See previous chapters.
~~~~~Previously in Chapter Six:
"Harathiel," Legolas began. "Harathiel, calm down!"
Harathiel took several deep breaths. Her chest hurt. Her eyes hurt.
"Legolas," she whimpered before collapsing into his open arms. She buried her head in his shoulder.
Legolas stroked the back of her head, soothing her. "It was just a dream."
"No Legolas," she whispered. "It was no dream."
"Then what was it?"
"I don't know. I think it has something to do with the pendant. And the dead elves. And the dragon. I think it was the dragon. He was following us all day, and he probably put a spell on me the day we "met" without me knowing it."
"Harathiel," Legolas said seriously. He drew back and looked at Harathiel straight in the eyes. She was shivering. "I want you to tell me exactly what you saw."
"A clearing in a forest," she said. "I think it was Fangorn Forest. There were tall, hooded beings. A bright light. A female elf. The dragon. And..."
"And what?"
Harathiel didn't reply.
"And what, Harathiel? Or who? Tell me."
"Saruman."
**************
Chapter Seven: Ambush
"You saw Saruman?" Legolas asked, bewildered.
"Yes."
"What did he look like?"
"I don't know. He was hooded. But I recognized his voice. He was wearing white."
"That doesn't help much," Legolas said, frowning.
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, it's not your fault," Legolas said, hugging Harathiel again.
"He killed you," she said in a whisper.
"What?"
"In my vision. He killed you."
"Well..." Legolas began, letting go of Harathiel. "That can't actually happen. He's dead."
"I know that, Legolas." Harathiel scowled. "But if I had a vision, or something, it must be real somehow."
"Well, try to sleep. Tomorrow we'll keep going to Mordor." Legolas stood up.
"Wait," Harathiel objected. She stood up as well. "I think we should go to Fangorn forest first."
"Why?"
"I think that's where I was in my vision."
Legolas nodded. "Alright. We'll go to Fangorn forest. Maybe Treebeard could help us."
"Treebeard!" Harathiel exclaimed. "You believe he may be able to help us?"
"I should certainly hope so, my dear sister," Legolas replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Galadriel shuddered.
She saw the same thing as Harathiel. Her troubled mind awoke the Lady of the Woods. She saw the same masked face as Harathiel. She saw the same dragon, the same familiar elf maiden, the same place.
And she did not like it.
She also did not like the fact Harathiel and Legolas decided to take a detour to Fangorn.
"Lady Galadriel, does something ail you?" A voice said.
Galadriel turned around, looking at the expectant face of Eldarion.
"No, Prince Eldarion," she replied. "Nothing is wrong. Why are you up?"
"I couldn't sleep. I was worried..."
"About Harathiel?" Galadriel finished. Eldarion nodded sheepishly. "She can take care of herself."
"I know," he muttered.
There was a pause.
"You have feelings for her," she stated, slightly amused.
"No! I mean, maybe. I mean..."
"You don't know."
"Yes. exactly."
Galadriel smiled.
"Do not worry. You will figure it out one day."
Eldarion nodded and left, leaving Galadriel to her solitude.
~~~~~~~~
"Fangorn forest?" Elrond said. "Are you sure?"
Elrond, Galadriel, and Gandalf were assembled on the balcony. Galadriel told them what she knew of Harathiel and Legolas.
"What do you think her vision meant?" Elrond asked.
Galadriel shook her head. "I do not know."
"Then it must have something to do with the pendant," Gandalf said. "Do you have it, Lord Elrond?"
Elrond nodded. "Aye, I do. I keep it locked. I will bring it for you."
Once he left, Gandalf turned back to Galadriel. "What do you think we should do?"
"I think we should meet them at Fangorn."
"Who's going to Fangorn?" Merry asked in the doorway. Pippin was beside him.
"Harathiel and Legolas," Gandalf replied.
"I thought they were going to Mordor," Pippin said.
"They were. But they're taking a little detour," Galadriel said.
"Oh..." Merry and Pippin muttered.
Just then, Elrond came back, pendant in hand and followed closely by Haldir.
"Here it is," he said. He tossed it to Gandalf. As Gandalf got ready to catch it something weird happened. In mid-air, the pendant just stopped, hovered on the spot for a full second, and fell to the ground.
They stayed there, staring at it. They moved closer to it, looking at it expectantly. Nothing happened. They all shared uneasy looks.
~~~~~~~~
After a few hours of travelling, they finally arrived. Since Harathiel couldn't fall back asleep, and Legolas wasn't tired, they decided to travel during the night. It was now almost noon. The sun was hot, beating down on them. But the elves took no notice of it.
Harathiel's ears were tuned. She was listening for any signs of the dragon. She didn't hear a thing. Her and Legolas' theory was that the dragon was stalking them, but only during the day. So it wouldn't expect them to travel at night. But they figured it wouldn't be long until it caught up with them, which is why they were happy to be in a forest, and not in an open plain.
"So, where do we go from here?" Legolas asked, dismounting from his horse.
Harathiel followed suit. "I'm not sure. I have a vague idea of where to go. But we should keep the horses tied somewhere. It will be hard for them to move around in here."
"You're right. Let's go into the forest, and tie them in there."
Harathiel took five steps into the forest when the huge canopy of leaves blocked out the sun. The trees were massive and loomed overhead. She heard whispers. Angry whispers. She felt the trees. They were very old. Roots covered the forest floor. It felt like the trees were moving high above her, getting ready to strike down with their branches.
They found a nice low branch, and tied their horses reins to it. The horses began looking around for grass. The two elves continued walking.
They walked for about ten minutes, when they found a small pond with many little fish in it. The pond's source of water was a little brook, which came from a small hill.
They climbed the hill until they reached the top. There, they could see water droplets falling into the bubbling brook. Legolas looked up. A tree was leaking water.
"It rained here recently," Legolas stated. "That would explain the brook."
"And the damp Earth," Harathiel said. She smelled the air, breathing in the natural aroma. "It even smells like it rained. Flowers are blooming everywhere."
"It's a miracle the rain was able to pass through the canopy, though," Legolas said.
Harathiel shrugged. "It's water. Water can slip through anything. It probably rained heavily."
"It's quiet, though," Legolas observed. Legolas had a point: There were no birds chirping, or deer wandering around.
"It's a creepy quiet." She said. "Even the trees stopped talking." Harathiel and Legolas looked at each other, and immediately drew their weapons. Harathiel took her sword from it's sheath; Legolas took his bow and notched an arrow to it.
Just then, they heard several shrieks from all around them. At least three dozen orcs appeared from all sides, surrounding the bottom of the hill.
"Why didn't we sense their presence before?" Harathiel exclaimed.
"They weren't here before," Legolas explained. Harathiel look at him, confused and bewildered.
There may have been alot of orcs, but they were very stupid. Every time one would start climbing and get near to Harathiel, she would easily cut it's head off. The dead orc would roll down the hill and slow the other orcs down.
Legolas, meanwhile, didn't give the orcs the chance of coming close to him. He would just keep shooting them down, one after the other.
Finally, there were only a few orcs left. Then one. It let out an angry roar. Then . . . three dozen more appeared from the solitary one.
"What the--" Harathiel started, but was cut off as an orc shot her in the shoulder. She let out a yell and stumbled backwards into Legolas, who missed his shot. His arrow went high in the trees. The orcs started climbing the hill again.
"Into the trees!" Legolas shouted. He jumped and easily swung onto the lowest branch. He grabbed Harathiel's uninjured arm and pulled her up.
They moved up a few branches. Fourtunately, the orcs didn't climb up after them.
Finally, they were hidden in a little coven of leaves, just far enough so ranged weapons couldn't get at them. They sat down. Legolas looked at Harathiel's shoulder.
"It doesn't look to bad," Legolas said. "Could have been worse. Except there might be orc poison on it. It's not too deep, so I'm gonna have to take the arrow out." He looked at Harathiel for approval.
Harathiel nodded. "Do it," she said.
Legolas grasped the arrow firmly in his hand, close to the arrowhead. He used his other hand to stabilize Harathiel's shoulder. He pulled.
The arrow came out easily. Harathiel let out a yelp of pain, and gritted her teeth at the sting.
"How does it feel?" Legolas asked.
"It stings. And it hurts. And did I mention it stings?"
Legolas laughed. He took a piece of cloth and wrapped it around her shoulder. "Be easy on it," he warned. He looked around. "If we stay in the trees, we can get back to our horses."
"Assuming they're not already dead," Harathiel pointed out.
"Yes, but the longer we stay, the more risk we have of being seen."
Harathiel nodded. "True. But Legolas, just being here makes me more and more sure that I was here in my vision, and that we have to go deeper into the forest."
"What?" Legolas exclaimed, a bit too loudly. He looked around him, before glaring at Harathiel and whispering, "Harathiel, this is insane. We have to leave."
"But Legolas..." Harathiel trailed off. She was suddenly hit with a dizzy spell, and started to slip off the branch she was on.
"Whoh," Legolas reached out and caught her before she fell. He held her steadily in his arms. "Harathiel, are you alight?"
Harathiel glanced at him. "We have...we have..." Unable to speak further, she lost consiousness.
TBC
Author's Note: Since i'm on vacation, I have alot of time on my hands. So i'll be able to update and write more often. *sniff* I only got two reviews for chapter six... that's alright, I guess. Other people are busy, too. {{{{Lady Lenna, Minako_Galemar}}}} thanks so much for the reviews, they mean alot!
For all other notes: See previous chapters.
~~~~~Previously in Chapter Six:
"Harathiel," Legolas began. "Harathiel, calm down!"
Harathiel took several deep breaths. Her chest hurt. Her eyes hurt.
"Legolas," she whimpered before collapsing into his open arms. She buried her head in his shoulder.
Legolas stroked the back of her head, soothing her. "It was just a dream."
"No Legolas," she whispered. "It was no dream."
"Then what was it?"
"I don't know. I think it has something to do with the pendant. And the dead elves. And the dragon. I think it was the dragon. He was following us all day, and he probably put a spell on me the day we "met" without me knowing it."
"Harathiel," Legolas said seriously. He drew back and looked at Harathiel straight in the eyes. She was shivering. "I want you to tell me exactly what you saw."
"A clearing in a forest," she said. "I think it was Fangorn Forest. There were tall, hooded beings. A bright light. A female elf. The dragon. And..."
"And what?"
Harathiel didn't reply.
"And what, Harathiel? Or who? Tell me."
"Saruman."
**************
Chapter Seven: Ambush
"You saw Saruman?" Legolas asked, bewildered.
"Yes."
"What did he look like?"
"I don't know. He was hooded. But I recognized his voice. He was wearing white."
"That doesn't help much," Legolas said, frowning.
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, it's not your fault," Legolas said, hugging Harathiel again.
"He killed you," she said in a whisper.
"What?"
"In my vision. He killed you."
"Well..." Legolas began, letting go of Harathiel. "That can't actually happen. He's dead."
"I know that, Legolas." Harathiel scowled. "But if I had a vision, or something, it must be real somehow."
"Well, try to sleep. Tomorrow we'll keep going to Mordor." Legolas stood up.
"Wait," Harathiel objected. She stood up as well. "I think we should go to Fangorn forest first."
"Why?"
"I think that's where I was in my vision."
Legolas nodded. "Alright. We'll go to Fangorn forest. Maybe Treebeard could help us."
"Treebeard!" Harathiel exclaimed. "You believe he may be able to help us?"
"I should certainly hope so, my dear sister," Legolas replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Galadriel shuddered.
She saw the same thing as Harathiel. Her troubled mind awoke the Lady of the Woods. She saw the same masked face as Harathiel. She saw the same dragon, the same familiar elf maiden, the same place.
And she did not like it.
She also did not like the fact Harathiel and Legolas decided to take a detour to Fangorn.
"Lady Galadriel, does something ail you?" A voice said.
Galadriel turned around, looking at the expectant face of Eldarion.
"No, Prince Eldarion," she replied. "Nothing is wrong. Why are you up?"
"I couldn't sleep. I was worried..."
"About Harathiel?" Galadriel finished. Eldarion nodded sheepishly. "She can take care of herself."
"I know," he muttered.
There was a pause.
"You have feelings for her," she stated, slightly amused.
"No! I mean, maybe. I mean..."
"You don't know."
"Yes. exactly."
Galadriel smiled.
"Do not worry. You will figure it out one day."
Eldarion nodded and left, leaving Galadriel to her solitude.
~~~~~~~~
"Fangorn forest?" Elrond said. "Are you sure?"
Elrond, Galadriel, and Gandalf were assembled on the balcony. Galadriel told them what she knew of Harathiel and Legolas.
"What do you think her vision meant?" Elrond asked.
Galadriel shook her head. "I do not know."
"Then it must have something to do with the pendant," Gandalf said. "Do you have it, Lord Elrond?"
Elrond nodded. "Aye, I do. I keep it locked. I will bring it for you."
Once he left, Gandalf turned back to Galadriel. "What do you think we should do?"
"I think we should meet them at Fangorn."
"Who's going to Fangorn?" Merry asked in the doorway. Pippin was beside him.
"Harathiel and Legolas," Gandalf replied.
"I thought they were going to Mordor," Pippin said.
"They were. But they're taking a little detour," Galadriel said.
"Oh..." Merry and Pippin muttered.
Just then, Elrond came back, pendant in hand and followed closely by Haldir.
"Here it is," he said. He tossed it to Gandalf. As Gandalf got ready to catch it something weird happened. In mid-air, the pendant just stopped, hovered on the spot for a full second, and fell to the ground.
They stayed there, staring at it. They moved closer to it, looking at it expectantly. Nothing happened. They all shared uneasy looks.
~~~~~~~~
After a few hours of travelling, they finally arrived. Since Harathiel couldn't fall back asleep, and Legolas wasn't tired, they decided to travel during the night. It was now almost noon. The sun was hot, beating down on them. But the elves took no notice of it.
Harathiel's ears were tuned. She was listening for any signs of the dragon. She didn't hear a thing. Her and Legolas' theory was that the dragon was stalking them, but only during the day. So it wouldn't expect them to travel at night. But they figured it wouldn't be long until it caught up with them, which is why they were happy to be in a forest, and not in an open plain.
"So, where do we go from here?" Legolas asked, dismounting from his horse.
Harathiel followed suit. "I'm not sure. I have a vague idea of where to go. But we should keep the horses tied somewhere. It will be hard for them to move around in here."
"You're right. Let's go into the forest, and tie them in there."
Harathiel took five steps into the forest when the huge canopy of leaves blocked out the sun. The trees were massive and loomed overhead. She heard whispers. Angry whispers. She felt the trees. They were very old. Roots covered the forest floor. It felt like the trees were moving high above her, getting ready to strike down with their branches.
They found a nice low branch, and tied their horses reins to it. The horses began looking around for grass. The two elves continued walking.
They walked for about ten minutes, when they found a small pond with many little fish in it. The pond's source of water was a little brook, which came from a small hill.
They climbed the hill until they reached the top. There, they could see water droplets falling into the bubbling brook. Legolas looked up. A tree was leaking water.
"It rained here recently," Legolas stated. "That would explain the brook."
"And the damp Earth," Harathiel said. She smelled the air, breathing in the natural aroma. "It even smells like it rained. Flowers are blooming everywhere."
"It's a miracle the rain was able to pass through the canopy, though," Legolas said.
Harathiel shrugged. "It's water. Water can slip through anything. It probably rained heavily."
"It's quiet, though," Legolas observed. Legolas had a point: There were no birds chirping, or deer wandering around.
"It's a creepy quiet." She said. "Even the trees stopped talking." Harathiel and Legolas looked at each other, and immediately drew their weapons. Harathiel took her sword from it's sheath; Legolas took his bow and notched an arrow to it.
Just then, they heard several shrieks from all around them. At least three dozen orcs appeared from all sides, surrounding the bottom of the hill.
"Why didn't we sense their presence before?" Harathiel exclaimed.
"They weren't here before," Legolas explained. Harathiel look at him, confused and bewildered.
There may have been alot of orcs, but they were very stupid. Every time one would start climbing and get near to Harathiel, she would easily cut it's head off. The dead orc would roll down the hill and slow the other orcs down.
Legolas, meanwhile, didn't give the orcs the chance of coming close to him. He would just keep shooting them down, one after the other.
Finally, there were only a few orcs left. Then one. It let out an angry roar. Then . . . three dozen more appeared from the solitary one.
"What the--" Harathiel started, but was cut off as an orc shot her in the shoulder. She let out a yell and stumbled backwards into Legolas, who missed his shot. His arrow went high in the trees. The orcs started climbing the hill again.
"Into the trees!" Legolas shouted. He jumped and easily swung onto the lowest branch. He grabbed Harathiel's uninjured arm and pulled her up.
They moved up a few branches. Fourtunately, the orcs didn't climb up after them.
Finally, they were hidden in a little coven of leaves, just far enough so ranged weapons couldn't get at them. They sat down. Legolas looked at Harathiel's shoulder.
"It doesn't look to bad," Legolas said. "Could have been worse. Except there might be orc poison on it. It's not too deep, so I'm gonna have to take the arrow out." He looked at Harathiel for approval.
Harathiel nodded. "Do it," she said.
Legolas grasped the arrow firmly in his hand, close to the arrowhead. He used his other hand to stabilize Harathiel's shoulder. He pulled.
The arrow came out easily. Harathiel let out a yelp of pain, and gritted her teeth at the sting.
"How does it feel?" Legolas asked.
"It stings. And it hurts. And did I mention it stings?"
Legolas laughed. He took a piece of cloth and wrapped it around her shoulder. "Be easy on it," he warned. He looked around. "If we stay in the trees, we can get back to our horses."
"Assuming they're not already dead," Harathiel pointed out.
"Yes, but the longer we stay, the more risk we have of being seen."
Harathiel nodded. "True. But Legolas, just being here makes me more and more sure that I was here in my vision, and that we have to go deeper into the forest."
"What?" Legolas exclaimed, a bit too loudly. He looked around him, before glaring at Harathiel and whispering, "Harathiel, this is insane. We have to leave."
"But Legolas..." Harathiel trailed off. She was suddenly hit with a dizzy spell, and started to slip off the branch she was on.
"Whoh," Legolas reached out and caught her before she fell. He held her steadily in his arms. "Harathiel, are you alight?"
Harathiel glanced at him. "We have...we have..." Unable to speak further, she lost consiousness.
TBC