Sorry for being a bit late in the update, it was another busy weekend.
First of all, Happy Easter to those who celebrate it, or Happy Passover, or just plain Happy April!
Also, I went to the Fall Out Boy concert the other night and it was SO DAMN COOL! Raise your hand if you love Pete Wentz!
Izzy: Oh, me, me, I do! (jumps and waves hands)
MN9: Okay, Izzy, take it easy.
Izzy: Me lovey, I do, I do, I do!
MN9: …right…let's get going
Disclaimer: Fee, fi, fo, fum, -I DON'T OWN BLOODY LORD OF THE RINGS!
Chapter 42 Recap:
"Even the smallest creature can change the course of the future," she quoted. "But if I already know the course can I still change it?"
Plans and ideas had truly been put into motion for Abigail, but she wondered is she would be able to keep up.
Across the lands, she could see a red explosion come from the chasm of Mt. Doom.
"Something has to be done," she whispered determinedly.
She squeezed Veryo's side and galloped to catch up with the others.
Chapter 43:
If they kept a steady pace and avoided any wandering orc or warg attacks, Gandalf said they should reach Isengard within 5 days time.
5 days too long for Abigail. Her mood was similar to the feelings she had when the Fellowship had started their journey, all the way back in Rivendell. She could sense the men glancing back at he now and then, wondering how or what she was doing, but none would look right at her.
There was an awkward silence hanging in the air; a looming sense of uncertainty of what could happen next.
People would whisper a comment now and then, but it seemed strangely inappropriate to strike up a normal conversation. At least, as far as Abigail was concerned, it was hard to say anything.
'What I wouldn't give for some sort of Hobbit distraction,' she mused. Merry and Pippin had never been shy in speaking their minds.
That was one reason she was so anxious to get to Isengard. True enough, since Gandalf was here it was safe to say the two Halflings had at least gone with Treebeard, but she was afraid of how they would react to her.
Pippin's and Merry's last impression of Abby was that she had gone off her rocker, screaming at them to 'run away'.
She sighed inwardly and nervously brushed a piece of hair behind her ear.
Along with the hobbits, there was one more person she would was worried about meeting…Saruman.
Hopefully, by now, the Ents had overthrown Isengard and Saruman had lost most his power, but he was not rid of his tricky ways, and she didn't know what to expect. What would he say when he saw her? Some petty insult about how indecent it was for a woman to fight and travel with men? No, he was much darker than that.
'I, most of all, should be ready for Saruman's mind games. I can't trust my own tongue around him,' she thought decidedly. 'But I want to, no, I need to speak with him.'
Gandalf's stern voice interrupted her thoughts.
"We will camp here, for the night," he said in a finalizing tone. The white wizard had, wordlessly, become the leader of the entourage.
"But Gandalf, we still have at least an hour left of daylight," Abigail argued. "Should we not travel as long as possible?"
"As eager as I am to see Saruman, Lady Abigail, you must remember that we did not sleep much last night due to the fact that orcs were attacking our walls," King Théoden said, both sarcastic and bitter.
Gandalf frowned at Théoden's harsh tone. "What he means, Abigail, is that enough of us are overcome by weariness and that we should call it a day," he rephrased, much more kindly.
"Oh, of course…forgive me," she muttered stupidly and dismounted with the rest.
The path to Isengard was easy, being mostly filled with flat plains and yellow grass. However, at night, it could make one feel rather exposed without having any rocks or tree's for shelter.
It did make Abigail a bit uncomfortable to be in such a wide-open area, but she had slept on the plains before during her short journey from Fangorn to Helms Deep. Just as she did then, she rolled out her blanket right next to Veryohtar's hooves.
The black horse nibbled on her hair, noticing she had spaced herself fairly far away from the men.
"I know, I know. I'll be more social tomorrow, I promise," she swatted gently at Veryo's nose.
The sun set must faster than she expected, and was pleased she could find many stars lighting up the clear night sky.
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"Did you talk to her?" Legolas pestered Aragorn while he was taking a watch.
"Keep your voice down," Aragorn hissed. "And yes, I talked to Abigail, but…well, I do not know if it helped at all."
"What do you mean? You didn't yell again, did you?"
"No!" Aragorn said loudly, and then clamped his hand over his mouth.
"Hypocrite," Legolas smirked.
The ranger glared and resumed to whisper. "I apologized, and she said she was not angry with me, at least not anymore.
The elf looked confused. "What else are you concerned about then?"
Aragorn seemed hesitant. Did he really want to go into detail about how he touched her face? How close he was with her? Abigail's exact words were 'don't tempt me'.
Aragorn inwardly shook his head. "She's not telling us something. And she's not telling me something."
"There's a difference?" Legolas questioned.
Aragorn turned slightly to gaze upon the sleeping figure of the young woman.
"Yes," he said slowly. "There is a difference, which confuses me the most."
Legolas nodded thoughtfully, but continued to stare straight ahead into the darkness.
If he had been paying attention, his elvish senses might have noticed the sad, quiet sob that came from the girl in question.
(A/N – Because of writer's block and partially because I want to keep moving, I'm going to kind of skip ahead a bit.)
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The next few days went as smoothly as can be expected. Abigail was uncharacteristically solemn and quiet, and whenever she spoke there was a false cheerfulness in her voice. Those her knew her well (Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn) often shot worried looks, but realized it would be unwise to draw attention to her now.
At least she was talking, even though it was quite forced sometime.
Abigail cautiously avoided being alone with any of her fellowship companions, and had instead found new company with the soldier that had come with Lord Éomer.
He was a light-hearted man in his 30's by the name of Sir Namian. His sandy blonde hair was cut a bit shorter than most, falling just above shoulders. The aspect she noticed the most, though, was that he had some trouble moving his right arm.
"Just a battle wound that acts up now and then," he told her casually.
By sticking close to Namian, she had also talked to Éomer himself now and then. Éomer was pretty serious most of the time, but he had a nice smile when he allowed himself to laugh.
It took the horse lord a while to warm up to Abigail. Perhaps the fact of a woman fighting reminded him of his sister.
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At any rate, early afternoon on the fourth day, the group of riders reached the broken gate, which was suppose to be the entrance to the Orthanc.
And who else should be sitting on the wall, but Merry and Pippin. Joking and drinking nonetheless.
As if they weren't surprised at all, the pair grinned wide at the approaching crew.
Merry drunkenly stood up.
"Welcome, my lords, to Isengard," he announced, waving his hand in a grand gesture while Pippin chortled to the side.
"You little rascals! A fine hunt you've led us one and here we find we feasting and…and smoking!" Gimli exclaimed.
"Hey now!" Pippin shouted happily. "I'll have you know we are sitting on a field of victory enjoying a few well-earned comforts."
"And besides," Merry said after taking another swig of ale. "Did you really think we'd let a couple of foul orcs get the better of us intelligent shire-folk?"
"Well I had faith in you lot the entire time," a shy voice came from the back of the group.
Pippin and Merry strained their necks to see who spoke.
A dark horse walked slowly to the front of the group.
"Abby!" they chorused, and jumped of their rocky seats.
She jumped of her horse quietly, kneeled, and pulled them into a tight hug.
"Hello, lads," she smiled weakly.
"C'mon Abby. We haven't seen you in weeks and this is the greeting we get?" Pippin smiled.
"Sorry, next time I'll bring fireworks," she actually smiled back.
"Gah! No fireworks, not as long as he's here," Merry pointing an accusing finger at Gandalf.
"Oh, so you did notice someone of importance was here?" Gandalf said cheekily, clearly amused.
"I hope he doesn't mean himself, the old fool," Pippin muttered to Abigail.
She merely chuckled at smacked his arm.
The men exchange yet another look, happy to see a small light return to their friend's face.
"Merry, Pippin, this is King Théoden of Rohan," Gandalf continued.
The hobbits straightened up and managed a bow.
"Pleasure to meet you sire."
"I've heard tales of the Halflings, but I have had yet to meet them in person," the king said kindly. "Perhaps later you can enlightened me to the true story of the shire-folk, for I am most eager to learn upon seeing you two."
"We'd be delighted to, your highness," Pippin replied cheerfully, rather liking this new batch of royalty.
"More introductions and stories can be shared another time. Can someone lead me to Treebeard?" Gandalf asked.
"I can," Merry offered. "He's taken over management of Isengard, so you'll find him here and there. Oh, hullo to you too, Aragorn, Legolas!"
"Yes, hello," Legolas perked up.
Aragorn nodded and said a small 'hi'.
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They found Treebeard conversing with a few Ents on the eastern side of the Orthanc, but he quickly diverted his attaching to the approaching company.
"Master Gandalf, I'm glad you've come," he said slowly. "Wood and water, stock and stone I can master. But there is a Wizard to manage here, locked in his tower."
"Well that is precisely why we've come, Shepard," Gandalf nodded. "Locked in the tower you say?"
"Yes, yes, but you'll see his pale, little friend stick is head out the window once in a while."
"Pale little-Wormtongue is alive?" Éomer asked angrily.
"Indeed nephew, I let him live. Though that could be a mistake I soon regret," Théoden said, taking a sideways glace towards Aragorn.
Aragorn, however, was staring intently at the stone tower.
"Show yourself, Saruman," he whispered.
"If he won't come out, then we'll come to him," Gimli growled.
"Actually, that's exactly we are going to do," Gandalf said, riding towards the door of the Orthanc. He thrust his staff forward and the giant doors opened with a slight 'creek'.
Hama, Gamling, Namian, Merry and Pippin were instructed to stay outside with Treebeard.
The rest approached cautiously, but soon followed Gandalf inside.
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Once they were all inside, the doors shut by themselves.
'Just like a horror movie, which makes me think this meeting will not go well,' Abigail thought.
The inside of the tower was about as welcoming as the outside. Everything was made from either dark stone or black wood; the air was musty and cold.
"Come forth, Saruman!" Gandalf bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the chambers.
Sure enough, faint footsteps were approaching them from a slow-winding staircase. But they stopped just before they reached the corner.
"Why do you disturb my rest? Must I continue to be bothered day and night?" a voice said warily, but it was unnaturally calm.
The figure turned the corner, and it was a tall man clothed in a fading white robe. He had a long face with dark eyes and white hair, save for the few streaks of black that were in his beard.
He did seem like Gandalf in many ways, but then he was very different too.
He was, without a doubt, wizard Saruman.
"Be careful. Even in defeat, he is dangerous," Gandalf warned.
"At least two of you I know by name," Saruman continued, ignoring the comment. His voice was still calm and almost dreamlike. "You have fought many wars and slain many men, Théoden King, and made peace afterwards. Can we not take counsel together as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace, you and I?"
Théoden looked like he was considering and Éomer looked outraged. Thankfully, Théoden spoke up.
"We shall have peace. We shall have peace when you answer for the burning of the Westfold and the children that lie dead there! We shall have peace when the lives of the soldiers whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornburg, are avenged! When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows, we shall have peace," he finished triumphantly.
Saruman's mood suddenly seemed to turn sour and his eyes narrowed.
"Gibbets and crows? Dotard!" he shouted. "What do you want, Gandalf Greyhame? Let me guess. The key of Orthanc. Or perhaps the Keys of Barad-dur itself along with the crowns of the seven kings and the rods of the Five Wizards!"
"You were deep in the enemy's counsel, Saruman. All I want is information," Gandalf said, now the calm one. "You can still save thousands of lives. Just tell us what you know."
Saruman sneered. "Very well, my old friend. What I know is that Ranger will never sit on a throne," he pointed to Aragorn. "You think you have found and heir? Ha! You have only found an exiled man, crept in from the shadows. He will never be crowned king!" he spat.
Abigail half-expected Aragorn to counter, much like Théoden did, but the man only stood there, waiting.
Saruman took advantage of the silence and kept talking.
"What other company do you keep these days, hmmm? Let me have a look." The wizard took a threatening step forward. "Ah, Éomer son of Eomund. I see you've taking a liking to the Rohirrim, Gandalf. And the last of the dwarves. Such a tragedy, the fate of your kin."
Gimli tightened the grip on his axe, but did budge.
"You've also gathered a lovely elf princling. I bet your poor father is missing you so," Saruman said, sickingly sweet.
Legolas's usually kind blue eyes hardened over with a look of rage. Like the others, though, he said nothing and kept his peace.
Saruman's eyes finally lingered to the end of the line and suddenly his lips curled into a strangely happy smirk.
"And who is this? Why don't you step out into the light, my dear, and grace me with your presence?"
Aragorn took a small, yet noticeable, protective step in front of Abigail, but she still stepped forward and looked up.
Her face was slightly contorted, yet her eyes held a powerful defiance.
Saruman's smirk turned into a wide grin.
"How…interesting. Very interesting," was all he would say on the subject.
Abigail's shoulder shook a little. Aragorn couldn't tell if it was out of fear or out of anger.
"I believe that is all the time I wish to invest with you," Saruman said. "But I will tell you one more thing. Something festers in the heart of Middle-Earth. Something that you have failed to see. But the Great Eye has seen it. Even now he presses his advantage. His attack will come soon. You're all going to die."
On that note, he turned to leave, but Gandalf said.
"I did not give you permission to leave."
He looked in pain, but Saruman did indeed turn back around.
"Tell me, Gandalf, what words of comfort did you give the Halfling before you sent him to his doom? The path that you have set him on can only lead to death." Saruman was begging to get a rise out of Gandalf.
"I've heard enough. Shoot him! Stick and arrow in his gob," Gimli suggested.
"No, I have a more fitting punishment," Gandalf said. "Saruman, your staff is broken."
Saruman's eyes grew wide and suddenly his staff exploded into two pieces.
"Curse and damn you all!" he screamed. "I have told you of your doom. Take away your pitiful guard, I will not be held prisoner!" And with that, he dashed back up the stairs.
Gandalf sighed. "Come. There is nothing more we will get out of him."
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The second they were outside, Abigail was bombarded with questions from Merry and Pippin.
"What happened? You've been away for hours," they said.
True enough the sun was no longer high in the sky, but hiding behind the mountains.
Funny how it seemed they had only been gone five minutes. Maybe there was still some magic and mystery left in the old tower.
'Very interesting…he's got some nerve,' Abigail said to herself, thinking about Saruman. 'I suppose I should be grateful he didn't bring up the subject in front of everyone.'
"Abby? You alright?" Pippin asked.
She snapped back to reality. "Oh yes, I'm fine," she said quickly. She took one last longing look at the Orthanc.
'You won't get the last word,' she told it.
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Abigail acted normal through the rest of the afternoon and supper, but inside she was plotting.
Discreetly, she hid in the back as much as possible.
During the evening, right after they ate, was the time in which everyone was most relaxed and casual. It was at this time she slipped away quietly, back towards the tower.
She had considered leaving late at night, but realized a person on night watch would be much more alert than a bunch of men talking around a fire.
She had to do this alone and she couldn't risk being caught.
She probably had at least 20 minutes before someone noticed she was gone, which she hoped was enough.
'If they catch me in the middle of this, they will never let it go,' she thought nervously.
She walked carefully through the flooded path, trying not to make a sound.
Luckily, most of the ents had retired back to the forest for the night.
Abigail finally made it back to the barred doors. She used her telekinesis power and forced them opened. Then, she stepped inside the tower once more.
The moonlight cast dim shadows throughout the entrance hall where she had stood hours earlier.
"I had a feeling you would be back, my child," Saruman said coolly, sitting in the corner.
"Don't 'my child' me," Abigail said with venom. "I have questions and you have answers."
"And why do you think I have the answers," he replied. Even in the dark she knew he was smiling."
"Who else would send Crebain to fetch me from earth?" she asked in a dangerously low voice.
He stood up and was still smiling darkly. "Go on," he encouraged.
"How else could the Nazgûl know where to find a 13 year old girl in the middle of a forest?" she continued, her voice getting louder and full of hatred. "Why else would the uruk-hai know to capture me, unless they were instructed to do so by you? How else would they have known to keep me unconscious, unless you told them about my power!" Her tone was wild and her fist's were clenched tightly at her sides.
"So what exactly is your question, lady Abigail?" he said, positively gleeful at her rage.
"WHY DID YOU BRING ME TO MIDDLE EARTH?" she screamed at him.
There was a sudden burst of energy that traveled through the room. Tables and chairs fell over while some vases and windows cracked.
The wind soon died down, but Abigail still stood shaking with fury, chest heaving.
Saruman clapped his hands together joyfully.
"You finally figured out that it was me…excellent."
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Bwahaha, more evil cliffies. This is another chapter I've been dying to write, so I hope I did it justice.
Thanks to Reviewers:
LadyEruaphadriel-orderofthe…: I'm glad you liked it. Legolas will come back more often, but I'm not so sure about Éomer. He's still a good character of all, but overall not extremely important to this story. But I'll see what happens. Thanks!
LOTR Lover 247: Yes, I'm sooo evil. Bwahahaha! Lol, thank you!
White Blossom of Gondor: Ha, Aragorn and Abby are never through the 'discomfort' zone. But, yes, romance is coming (it its own weird way). I hope you approve of this Isengard chapter. Thanks!
ArwenEvenstar83: I was always curious on why woman couldn't fight. That's just one of many possible theories. I was definitely channeling TTT for the end of that chapter. I thought it was fitting. Thanks for reviewing!
Samantha-Girl Scout: Yeah, I guess the end isn't that close when you put it like that. I'm just eager to start my other stories, but I'm going to try my best not to rush. I don't think Arwen will be very mad, but I am still playing around with her emotions. I'll keep that idea in mind, though. Thanks for rating me at #3!
Jupuffskin: Yah for short and sweet reviews! Thank you!
writin4fun15: No worries, I totally understand the whole family reunion thing. They can definitely take up you time, but it's still sweet. Abby will tell them her secrets at some point, I promise you that, but you'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for kudo's!
KeeperMusicNight: Lol, it's not like I like to make people cry, but it just means that my chapter had a good connection to the reader. Sorry, not quite time for happily ever after. Many more twists yet to come. Thanks!
Pearlmegan: Hello and welcome! I've glad to hear you are enjoying my story and I hope you review again. Thank you!
Narnian Sprite: I'll try my best with ker-shipping! Thanks for reviewing!
GDI: Yeah, I know I'm a bit late (stupid life and responsibility). And it sounds like you've been pretty busy yourself. Deepest sympathy to you, dear reader. I never thought about finding someone for Legolas, but I'll keep it in mind. I agree that everyone deserves love; I just don't want to make things to complicated. Thank you!
Next Chapter: Possibly the return of Arwen and Frodo and more with Saruman. This time I'll try to update on the weekend.
Until next time!
-MysticNight9