Nothing really interesting to report…
Disclaimer: I have not and (most likely) never will own Lord of Rings. Not even in 604,827,625,367,489 years.
Chapter 22 Recap:
"Mithril!" said Gimli, almost delighted by the sight. "You are full of surprises Master Baggins."
They were interrupter by more shrikes and war chants coming up the corridor.
"I say we should start moving again." Suggested Abigail.
"And I say we listen to her this time," said Boromir.
Gandalf nodded curtly. "To the bridge of Khazad-Dûm."
Chapter 23:
No comment was made. The last thing Abigail did was pick up her bow. The entire fellowship ran as fast as they could, but every time they looked back it seemed another 50 orcs and goblins were coming up behind them.
Soon they were coming down from the pillars and in-between every crack. They were surrounded and greatly outnumbered.
Every member held out there weapons, signaling they would fight to the very last.
"If this is our end, it's been a pleasure," Abigail said, with all seriousness.
"I am sure everyone could say the same," said Aragorn quietly, who was standing beside her.
Abigail only gave a small, but thankful, smile. Though she didn't know if he meant that it was a pleasure to be with her, or if he felt the same about the entire group.
However there was no time to dwell on it, because a strange orange glow came from the far side of the hall. And Abigail was sure she heard a growl of some sort.
A new look of fear came upon the orcs faces, and they disappeared as quickly as they came.
"What is this new devilry?" Boromir asked Gandalf.
The old wizard closed his eyes, as if he were in pain.
"A Balrog," he spoke slowly. "A demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. Run!"
Abigail didn't need to be told twice. She would rather run back to the troll then face a demon.
They found the long stairs leading out of the city and towards the bridge of Khazad-Dûm. The entire cave was now lit by the red and orange glow, and the temperature was increasing.
'It must be a balrog of flame,' Abby thought.
There was gap in-between the stairs. She peered down and the pit didn't seem to have an end.
Legolas jumped first, and then motioned for Gandalf to come. Next Boromir went, carrying Merry and Pippin.
Aragorn went to help Gimli, but he held up his hand.
"Nobody tosses a dwarf!"
"Gimli, just go!" yelled Abigail.
Gimli leapt forward, but landed half of the edge. Thankfully, Legolas's quick reflexes grabbed his beard and pulled him over.
"Abigail, go!" Aragorn ordered.
She took a small step back, and pushed forward with all her might.
Gandalf and Boromir both grabbed a shoulder and steadied her as she landed.
She turned around, and was now in the front.
"Sam!" she called, and reached out her hand.
The hobbit hesitated, but put his trust in Abigail.
She caught him even before he landed all the way.
Now only Aragorn and Frodo were left. It looked like Aragorn was about to toss Frodo, but then the end of the stairs gave away. They hurried backwards, but the top of the stairs broke off too. All they had now was a small platform.
A crack was heard from below, as the foundation gave way.
"Steady," Aragorn reassured. "Hang on and lean forward."
'Come on, you can make,' Abigail thought.
Their weight made the stairs move forward and they jumped off as it collided with the others.
"Hurry! Keep moving!" Gandalf urged.
They reached the thin, stone bridge and crossed carefully.
But after they were all over, Gandalf stopped in the middle.
Then the Balrog came into sight. It was as tall as the ceiling, and looked like it was made of molten rock with fire dripping everywhere. Its curved horns made it even more demon like.
"You cannot pass!"
"Gandalf!" Frodo cried.
'What is he doing?' Abigail panicked. Suddenly, and image passed before her eyes.
The bride was in half, and Gandalf was hanging on for his life. He let go, or lost his grip or something. Either way, it was certain he fell into a tomb of shadow.
She blinked and looked up to see Gandalf crossing his sword with is staff, trying to ward off the creature.
"YOU…SHALL…NOT…PASS!" he raged.
"I'm not going to wait and see if this vision comes true," she muttered.
She pushed passed the men and ran towards the bridge.
"Abigail!" shouted Legolas. He was about to grab her, she could tell.
'Sorry, Legolas,' she thought. She used her power and made it so he couldn't move.
"Aragorn," was all the elf could manage.
The ranger, who had been so focused on Gandalf, turned to where Legolas was pointing.
"Abigail, STOP!" he said in horror.
She ignored all of them.
She was almost down the stairs when the bride broke in half.
'No,' she thought. The vision was happening.
As she reached the end of the bride, Gandalf was pulled back the whip.
She ran faster.
She was close enough to hear him say, "Fly you fools."
She slid down to grab him, but a second before he let go.
"No!" she screamed.
Her hand was grabbing at where Gandalf was just a moment ago.
'I was right there, how did I miss?'
She tried to sense him with her power; tried to find him so she could levitate him back up.
There was nothing.
"Gandalf!" Frodo cried out.
Abigail stood up, shocked. It was her fault.
The others just stared in disbelief.
Boromir came around first. He picked up Frodo, forcing him to leave.
"The exit is close, we must leave," he said.
There was a silent agreement.
"Aragorn, try to get Abigail," Legolas said as he continued to fire arrows.
Aragorn barely comprehended what he said. Time seemed to stop. Even the crumbling walls and the shooting arrows moved slower.
Abigail knew she had to leave, though she was reluctant to do so. As she was leaving the bride, a pain shot through her thigh. She looked down and saw an arrow sticking out.
She felt numb, though, and merely pulled it out. She ran at half speed up the stairs. Aragorn was waiting for her, but Abigail couldn't face him. He seemed to feel the same way, because he just turned around and followed her out the exit.
The light was almost painful as Abigail came above the ground. She finally actually noticed that the arrow wound was painful. She turned away, not wanting anyone to see it. She didn't feel like talking to anyone. She ripped off a piece of her skirt and tied it around her thigh, attempting to stop the bleeding.
Everyone had battle scar of sorts. Merry, Pippin, Same and Frodo looked mostly bruised with a few scratches. Gimli's nose was swollen, and most likely broken. Legolas had a cut along his outer left arm, while Boromir had a deep gash on his forehead. It was hard to tell if Aragorn was hurt, but she thought she saw a wet patch of blood on the back of his dark shirt.
The one wound everyone shared was the sadness in their eyes. Some were crying, some were angry and hiding it and some were still couldn't believe he was gone.
Abigail wished she had known him better now. Spent some more time with the old man who had always shown her such kindness.
Aragorn found his voice.
"Legolas, get them up," he said.
The poor elf looked reluctant.
"Give them a moment, for pity's sake," reasoned Boromir.
Aragorn shook his head. "By nightfall these hills will be swarming with Orcs! We must reach the Woods of Lothlórien."
Abigail's head perked up a little at the name Lothlórien. She was going home!
(A/n-This was where I was going to stop it, but I'll give you a bit of a teaser since I split this chapter up into two days. I know it seems weird to do this, but if I hadn't the mines of moria part would be super long, and overall I wanted some more time to think about the loss of Gandalf. Anyway, please continue)
The new fellowship of nine was quiet for most of the walk. At some time, Abigail fell in step with Boromir.
"Are you alright? That cut looks nasty," she said.
He touched the cut on his forehead lightly.
"It's not so bad. Just gives me a bit of a headache."
He looked down.
"Good lord, Abigail, what happened to your leg?"
She blood had socked through her bandage and her skirt before it stopped bleeding, and she had not had the time to clean it off yet.
"Oh, that. It looks worse then it really is. Stupid arrow hit me when I was on the bridge."
"You should not be walking on that-"
"I'm fine," she interrupted. "We don't need to stop on my account."
"Don't be so stubborn, Abby," he lectured.
Now that they were close friends, Boromir slipped her nickname out now and then.
"You are a valued member of this group, you do not need to be stronger or something stupid like that."
She cracked a smile.
"What?" he asked, confused.
"Who would of thought you would be scolding me on equality on this quest."
He looked slightly embarrassed.
"I was rash at the start of all this, but I did apologize, didn't I?"
"No worries, Boromir, I was not trying to guilt you, merely thinking about how people have changed."
"You've changed," he said suddenly.
"How so?"
"When I first met you, you were quiet and a thinker. You would never as been so idiotic and compulsive like run out on a cracked bridge when a Balrog was on it."
"In my defense, the balrog was gone by the time I actually made it to the bridge."
He sighed. "My point is you were not thinking, you could have been killed!"
"Better me then Gandalf," she mumbled bitterly.
They were in the back of the group, so now one saw him stop abruptly and pull her off to the side for a minute.
"Never, never say anything like that again, you understand?" he spoke, somewhat harshly.
She just looked at the floor.
"I am sad Gandalf is gone, but you have friends too. If you died things would be just as bad. There's nothing you can do now, but keep your oath, remember?"
He had a point, but she didn't know if she believed what he was saying. She nodded anyway, though, just to give him some comfort.
"Alright then," he said gently. He hugged her shoulder softly, and they began walking again."
(A/n- you can all go "awwww" now. But I will repeat, Abigail and Boromir are ONLY FRIENDS)
Gimli was telling some story about a witch, when Abby was walking next to Legolas.
"Aren't you going to correct him?" he asked.
She chuckled. "Of course not. It's funny to hear these crazy versions of Lady Galadriel."
He rolled his eyes. "Are you excited to see them again?"
Her mood sobered again.
"Yes and no. It will be strange because it seems like it has been forever. So much has happened. And you know elvish customs."
"Which one?"
"I'm going to be treated as a member or this fellowship, not member of the woods. As far as they are concerned, I could be the enemy."
"I didn't think they would enforce that."
"Times are dark, and all cautions are up. The elves are becoming stricter with whom they can call friends. Surely you noticed similar emotions in Mirkwood."
He thought back.
"Now that you mention it, tension did seem higher right before I left. One of my friends told me he was searched after coming back from a simple hunt."
She nodded in agreement.
"Mr.Frodo?" Sam said.
Abigail looked back and saw a worried confused Frodo.
'Oh, stop scaring the poor lad, Galadriel,' she thought.
'And what troubles weigh your heart so?' her voice responded in her head.
She smiled. "We must be reaching the borders," she muttered to herself.
On cue, hooded elves appeared from behind the trees with arrows ready to fire.
"The dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark," a voice said behind her.
Abigail felt tears wanting to brim her eyes, but she held them back. She had missed his voice so much, she thought.
'Haldir.'
Oh, how will the reunions go? You'll just have to wait and see!
(Angry readers run at her with pitchforks)
Readers: We waited a whole week for a chapter and now you leave us with this?
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Thanks to reviewers:
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-MysticNight9