Arial
Chapter Nine
A Rift
By Bethuviel
Disclaimer: The estate of J.R.R. Tolkien owns all recognizable characters from the works of literature encompassing The Lord of The Rings. I have received no compensation for any work I have written and/or published on this site.
Author's note: All reviews, whether critical or applauding are appreciated.
I apologize for being so tardy with the update. My boyfriend is now my fiancé and things have been pretty busy around here but are settling down.
oOo
Arial felt someone touching her body. The fog enveloping her mind made it hard for her to open her eyes but the terror she felt overpowered the drugs racing through her blood. She raised her arms in an effort to ward off her attacker and began screaming. The image her eyes sent her brain was blurred, but she could tell it was Tomas.
He backed away, shocked that she was awake. He knew the game he and his friends had been playing was over. Tomas was basically a coward and had no desire to fight with a screaming woman. Those screams would attract attention, and he had already given her as much of the sleeping herb as he dared. He looked at his friends and shrugged. He could tell they wanted no further part of this plan of theirs to make money. They saddled their horses and rode away leaving Arial alone, again.
She had kicked viciously at Tomas while trying to scoot backwards on the ground to get away from him. She saw that he and his friends left her and she stopped screaming. Relieved, she lay back down and sighed. Comprehension seeped slowly into her brain and she crawled towards a bush nearby and managed to hide underneath the shrubbery. After rebuttoning her blouse, she had no idea what to do next so she closed her eyes and slept.
When Arial woke up, she did not know how much time had passed and did not see the horse anywhere. She thanked whoever was in charge of the strange world she was now inhabiting that she was still alive. Crawling out from under the brush, she blinked at the harsh sunlight. She was incredibly thirsty and hunger gnawed at her insides. She searched around what was left of the campsite and found that the three scoundrels had left nothing for her.
"Not even a scrap of bread. That's just mean." Arial sighed. She rubbed her stomach as she wondered what to do next. "I should have listened to those elves; at least they had good food there in Rivendell." Arial looked at her wounded hand. She felt sorry for herself and tears began streaking her dirty face. She pinched her lips together.
Her situation was dire and she knew it. Until now, she had never considered herself helpless. Not truly helpless. Arial hung her head and cried. She felt bitterness well up inside of her and she cursed whatever gods occupied this world for their lack of compassion. She considered her plight and with heavy footsteps, she walked in the direction she knew that Bree laid. She considered the hasty retreat of the ruffians and knew that those types of desperate men would not have given up on taking her so easily unless there was a bigger threat to them close by. A threat to them that would hear her screams and come to investigate. Arial felt hope grow inside of her. As she picked up her pace, she began to sing softly to herself. Her eyes continuously scanned her surroundings, searching for any signs of life. As hopeful as she was, her luck had not been good up to this point. She knew she was to blame for the majority of her bad luck, but she still felt the need to blame others as well. She had merely reacted to Elrond trying to keep her against her will.
Arial stopped. Elrond had not been mean to her; she knew it in her heart of hearts, but she could not admit that fact.
She walked further along, not really paying attention to her whereabouts. The day faded into night and she still walked. Arial did not want to stop. She felt the need to keep moving. Every time she had stopped, something bad had happened or led to something bad happening to her. She felt hot, like she had a fever. Then she began to chill and knew she was sick. Rubbing her arms briskly, she stumbled on. The terrain began to change and she slipped and fell. Feeling to weak to get back up, Arial rolled under a bush and fell asleep.
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Saruman felt uneasy, and had felt that way for days. Something disturbed the continuum and it gnawed at him like a starving dog on a ham bone. He did not like the feeling; he did not understand what 'it' was or what 'it' meant. He shuffled his robes around causing the colors to shift again. The Dark Lord had not been pleased with the news of an army ten thousand strong in Rivendell and ordered Saruman to build one to match the elves.
Saruman was just returning from one of his many trips to the dark land. He hated going to that wasteland, bowing down before that cursed being, but what other choice had he? It was either join or face annihilation himself. And Sauron liked living, and he liked power. The Dark Lord had promised him continued power in the coming new world in an allegiance. Saruman smirked to himself. He was aware that the Dark Lord would suffer no other to share power with him, and knew the promise to be a lie the second he had heard it, but knew of no other way to buy time than to align himself with Sauron, if only temporary. Saruman felt that in time, he would discover the ring of power and destroy Sauron permanently.
But this new feeling, this rift in the continuum, Saruman could not decipher. He did not know the source, or the reason for the rift. He only knew that one existed. He traveled quietly, not wanting to be discovered by others traveling in the night.
Saruman wondered how he was going to build an army to match Elrond's. "Ten thousand strong, indeed!" Saruman doubted if there were that many elves left in the whole of Middle Earth, the elves were too busy fleeing to Valinor. He smirked at his last thought. "About time too! Meddlesome all righteous elves." He secretly hoped that Elrond and Galadriel were on the next boat. "Maybe they'll take that damned Thranduil with them." He shook his head. Of all the elves, Saruman hated those three the worst as they had forever been a thorn in his side. With them gone, the world of men would fall much more easily giving him access to the coveted library of Gondor. A gentle snoring interrupted his thoughts.
Saruman stopped and looked around him. He could hear a human, he could smell a human but he could not see a human. He whispered a spell and the tip of his staff glowed softly. "There you are." He bent over and spied the person. "A girl." He sucked air into his mouth between his teeth. "You, you are the rift."
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Author's note: The next update will be much quicker, I promise. Leave a review!