A/N: Welcome aboard to Bobadoo! Hope ya stick around mate. Enjoy the 5th enstallment guys
Merry, Pippin and myself were jogging along as best we could, trying to keep up with the Orcs, because whenever we lagged behind and Orc would attack us with a whip. As my stamina started to wane, I stumbled and an Orc behind me yelled and flicked his whip at my legs. It stung and smarted and I turned around angrily:
"Watch it Mister!" I cried, "If you want me to run, then there's no point in munching up my legs!"
"You'll have no legs left if you don't watch your self, maggot." He growled at me.
I turned around and resumed my run, but not without a mumble of 'stress' under my breath. It was getting ridiculous; non-one could run for this long! Tears of exhaustion and frustration streaked my cheeks, I was about to give up and collapse, when the Orc in the lead announced that we would stop for a while. I almost screamed with relief.
"My God, I swear I was about to collapse." I said to Merry. He didn't reply. None of the Hobbits spoke that much now. They just went to sleep, and then started running again, each time their faces withdrew and grew darker.
We settled ourselves on the ground and curled our cloaks around us to keep warm. I was covered in cold sweat and shivering. We lay silent and listened to the noises all around us. I looked to my left, and was surprised to see that we had camped near the skirts of a deep, dark forest. Hope stirred in me, if we could only get to the forest… But it was no use, Orcs were swarming all round and there was no way to break through their ranks. If only we could get to the forest…I shivered harder, racking my brain for information about where we were. We knew already, of course, that we were in Rohan, Land of the Horse Lords. I tried to visualize a map of where we were, and felt sure that we had journeyed almost directly across the plains of Rohan and now were on the skirts of Fangorn forest. My stomach curled, we were near Isengard. Hurry up guys, I thought. They've almost got us…Merry began to moan in his sleep, Pippin was lying motionless, light from the nearby fires dancing across his face. He looked peaceful, all cares and weariness temporarily erased from his face. Merry and Pippin had been so good to me, taken me with them and shared their food (and some of mine), and the last drop of hope that I had stored in my heart evaporated. It was over. We had come to the end, of all ends. I closed my eyes and wept quietly. No one was coming for me. Nicky, Aragorn, Gimli, and my Legolas; all too far away to save us. How was Nicky going to react when she saw my mangled body? I shuddered, and cried harder.
Out of the stillness of night, I heard cries. The Orcs were yelling about something, a great commotion was going on, and it was moving this way. The captain and some of his gruesome friends huddled some few feet away from us, and began a heated conversation.
"So the horse-fools have spotted us eh? Those meddlesome fools wont get far, I've got Chagrin located on the south of the Entwash. They won't get far." The Captain growled.
"Chagrin was killed by their men, he didn't make it back to camp to warn us in time." One of them told him.
"What? Blast their hides! They shall be made to pay." The Captain screeched.
"Ugluk, they will be on us within a day! We cannot defend ourselves if we don't call Shagrat's group back." One of them implied.
"Oglun! Fetch some of your men and go to the East lookout and bring back Shagrat and his miserable crew!" Ugluk ordered.
"Yes, sir!" And he left.
"Captain, shouldn't we be on the move?" One of the Orcs asked.
"No, we stay here and wait for Shagrat to join us, then we take out those ass-riding fools." Ugluk growled at him. "Come, we must prepare." And the Orcs hastened off.
Drip after drip of warm, sweet hope was returning to me. My body was tingling and I raised myself several inches off the ground, looking around. I saw Pippin lying next to me, his eyes wide open and staring. He noticed me looking at him and whispered:
"Did you hear all that?"
"Yup, every word. What do you think?" I asked.
"I think we might just have a chance." Pippin whispered.
"I'll tell Merry." I said, and turned over, sat up, and gently shook Merry awake.
"Are we going on again?" He asked miserably when he had woken up.
"No, but we've just found out something that might interest you highly-." And I told him all of what I had heard.
"So, Men from Rohan are coming to attack the Orcs?" He asked in a hushed voice.
"Yep, so they come, cause riot in the camp, and we slip off quietly into the forest without anyone knowing we're gone!" I explained happily.
"OK, sounds good. We just have to hope that none of the riders mistake us for Orcs." He said wearily.
Nicky was stumbling along in the dark, her legs moving instinctively up down, up down, up…With no end. Aragorn was as strong as ever on the outside, his grim face searching the night, with his hair trailing behind. Gimli was like Nicky, pushing himself to lift his foot, set it down, and push. His head was bowed, as if exhaustion was pulling him to the ground. And Legolas, my dear Legolas. The elven prince with his long golden hair and silver voice. Running with his light footsteps, always in front of the group, using his determination as fuel. They didn't know if they were catching up, all they knew is that they had to get to Merry, Pippin and myself before Saruman did. They had lost track of how many days and nights had passed since their hunt had started, but they kept going. Nicky was keeping her eyes peeled for a sign, the tiniest of clues that might help them in their search. And she found it. When a dark cloud had passed over the moon, its rays illuminated a shape on the ground.
"Wo! Hold up there guys I think I've found something here." She called to the group, who stopped immediately.
"What is it my Lady?" Aragorn asked.
"First of all, the name's Nicky. Second of all, I think there's a body over there." She pointed to the dark lump.
"Stay here." Aragorn ordered to them and marched off to the body. They watched him silently as he bent over the dead thing and pulled something out of it. He looked around for several minutes and then returned.
"The body was that of an Orc. He seemed to be a spy. He was shot some hours ago. I found this arrow in him, and it belongs to the Rohirrim of whose land we are now in. I also found horse prints in the soft ground near the Orc." He informed them.
"What does this mean?" Nicky asked him.
"It means that we may not be the only ones who are chasing these Orcs." Said Aragorn, with a note of hope in his voice. "I have been doing some calculating, and I do not think that we could get to the Orcs in time to save Merry, Pippin and Carmen. But if the Rohirrim are chasing them also, they may cross the river Entwash and cut off the Orcs from Isengard."
"So, they could be saved after all?" Nicky asked, not daring to believe her ears.
"We will see, we will see…" Aragorn whispered
Things were dark and quiet when the first attack of the Rohirrim came. The Orcs sounded a warning call and defenses were put up all over the camp. But the people of Rohan charged through and the attack was hot. The air was full of the sound of arrows whistling, swords clashing, and horses neighing madly as battle rage came over them.
"Come on!" I yelled over the sounds of the battle and pulled Merry and Pippin over. We scurried through the long grass, but could only crawl, as we were so weary. When we reached the safety of the trees, I collapsed on the ground and panted hard.
"I need some food." I mumbled. "I haven't had proper food in days."
"I have a few lembas left on me if you fancy." Merry told me quietly. "I managed to grab some before we got captured."
"You did?" I asked faintly.
"Yes, but I'm afraid it's all broken into crumbs, but I will grab what I can." And with his hands tied he rummaged in his pockets for his leftovers. He handed me a pile of crumbs that was all that was left of our lembas bread. I scoffed it down nonetheless.
"Come here and I'll undo the ropes on your hands." I told them both. They came forward and with my fingers and teeth I managed to free them both. They then undid my bounds and I sat there, rubbing my wrists to get the circulation going again. When I could finally feel my fingers, I undid my feet, which had only recently been tied.
"Come on, we've got to get into the forest." I told them and we flitted from shadow to shadow, away from the sounds of battle, despair, and death.
"There is a smoke in the air, and the red sun rises. Blood has been spilt this night." Legolas said, shielding his eyes with a long slender hand as he gazed into the distance. Aragorn was lying on the ground, his ear to the earth as if listening to what it had to say. His eyes were closed and Nicky wondered whether he had fallen asleep. Suddenly, he jumped to his feet, giving Nicky a fright.
"A host of men on horses are coming our way." Aragorn informed the group. "They are headed directly for us and there is no place for us to hide."
"I say we go a little from our track and hide as best we can until they've gone." Nicky said, voicing, as she always did, her opinion.
"But they may have news of our friends! We must speak to them!" Legolas cried out.
"I suggest that we sit and wait for their approach." Aragorn said, looking at each of them in turn,
"OK, but if they turn out to be murderous monsters with swords I'm afraid that I wont be able to resist an 'I told you so.'" Nicky said with a sigh, and settled herself down on the grass.
They seemed to be waiting for age upon age for the riders to appear. Aragorn and Legolas saw them before Gimli and Nicky, for they had better eyesight and hearing. The gentle galloping of the horses slowly reached them and tiny pinpricks appeared on the horizon. Nicky was growing apprehensive now. What if they hadn't heard about Carmen and Merry and Pippin? Maybe they had captured them and were taking them to their leader? Be reasonable Nicky, a voice said in her head, these people are the Rohirrim remember? They are in the movie. But we're not in the movie; we're in real life…She wished she had Carmen here to tell her what had happened in the book. She wished she had Carmen here full stop. She could tell that Legolas was missing her too. She sometimes caught him staring into space, singing softly of 'a lady white and fair, with flowing hair and magic voice…' whatever that meant.
Nicky buried her head in her knees; she wished these riders would hurry up and give her news, any news, some news. The thundering was getting louder and the baying of their horses was getting nearer. Then, like a wave, they rushed past the travelers, without even noticing them. The host was almost past when Aragorn stood up and yelled in a clear voice:
"Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?"
The riders checked their steeds with brilliant speed and skill and placed themselves in a circle around Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn and Nicky.
Nicky gulped, and raised her hands slowly in a sign of peace.
A tall rider clad in shining mail rode forward.
"What business does an elf, a man, a woman and a dwarf have in the Riddermark. Speak quickly!" He said in a stern voice.
"We are travelers, hunting a band of Urukhai across your plains. They have taken three of our friends captive."
"The Uruks are destroyed, we slaughtered them in the night." The captain said. "What are your names?" He looked at us through narrowed eyes.
"Give me your name horse master, and I shall give you mine." Gimli said stoutly, putting his little legs apart.
The captain got off his horse, and strode towards Gimli, stopping just in front of him.
"I would cut off your head, dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground."
Legolas acted in a flash. He had an arrow fitted to his bow and was aiming it at the captain before anyone could blink.
"You would die before your stroke fell!" Legolas snarled at him
"Guys, Guys! Calm down all right?" Nicky muttered out of the corner of her mouth.
"Please, Legolas." Aragorn muttered, and stepped between Legolas and the Captain of the Rohirrim. "My name is Aragorn, son of Arathorn, this is Legolas of the Woodland Realm. We have Gimli, son of Gloin, and Nicky of the Realm of, er… New Zealand." Aragorn finished, giving Nicky a sideways glance.
"New Zealand? I have never heard of such a place." The captain said.
"And what is your name?" Nicky asked him, rather rudely. As are the ways of Nicky.
The captain lifted his head; "My name is Eomer, son of Eomund, Captain of the Mark." He said.
"Do you have any news of our friends Captain?" Nicky asked him eagerly.
"Did you see the Hobbits? And the Lady Carmen?" Gimli joined in.
"The two Hobbits would be small, only children to your eyes." Aragorn stepped forward.
Legolas stared hopefully into the Captains eyes, "And of Lady Carmen, a fair woman, with long hair."
"Woman? She's only 16." Nicky said incredulously.
Legolas glanced over at her, "Yes, a woman."
The Captain looked remorsefully at the travellers; "We left none alive."
Everyone was shocked, their search had been in vain…
Eomer felt sympathy towards the travellers; they had obviously struggled in great toil to help their friends.
Eomer gave a whistle, "Hasufel! Arod!" Two handsome young horses came trotting up at his call, "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters."
He walked away and mounted his horse, taking his spear from a man next to him, "Look for your friends, but do not trust to hope, it has forsaken these parts." He looked over his shoulder.
"Thankyou Eomer. Send greetings to your King." Aragorn said, bowing low. The others followed his example.
"We ride north!" And the Rohirrim charged off in a rush of hooves.
Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Nicky stood looking at the horses, then glanced at the rising smoke in the distance, screened by the darkness of Fangorn Forest.
"Well, there's no use in us just standing here," She jumped onto the back of Hasufel and cried; "Away my fellow cucumbers!" They all looked at her queerly.
"What is a cucumber?" Gimli asked. Nicky laughed.
"Never mind, let's just go."
Aragorn joined Nicky on Hasufel, Legolas and Gimli on Arod. With the sun climbing high over them, they started their treck towards the gloom of Fangorn.
I was breathing hard, running just ahead of Merry and Pippin when we heard a heart-stopping crash. The low grunting threats of an Orc were just behind us. Pippin gave a gasp and I clapped a hand over his mouth. The Orc had stopped moving now and I knew with all my heart that it had heard us. Orcs, with many other traits, have extremely sharp hearing.
"Follow me!" I mouthed at them, but I wasn't sure they had seen me in the dark. I started to creep quietly off, hearing Merry and Pippin breathing sharply behind me. I skittered over to a large tree. I pressed myself close to it, willing it to swallow me into its strong, safe bark. Merry and Pippin were squashing up against me, trying to make themselves as small as possible.
"Come out! Or I'll get you, you little rats!" The Orc shrieked just behind a clump of bushes in front of us.
"The trees'!" Merry hissed at us, indicating the leafy skyscraper beside us. Merry and Pippin started scrambling up this giant plant, with me waiting slightly impatiently for them to hurry up, bouncing nervously on the balls of my feet and staring over my shoulder at the noise getting increasingly nearer.
"Ah, stuff it." I muttered, and ran wildly to the next tree and tore feverishly up it. I got up a fair way, then stopped, Merry had just yelled, and next second, there was a thump on the ground. I gasped as my eyes fell upon Merry, lying at the base of the tree. The Orc, who was standing over Merry, holding a vicious looking knife, had just pulled him down.
"Merry!" Pippin cried in dismay. He then gave an odd yelp and fell backwards out of the tree. I watched in astonishment as a gnarled bough that looked for all the world like an arm, caught Pippin around the waist as he fell. The Orc above Merry raised his knife-
"Let's put a maggot hole in your belly." He snarled. Merry wasn't paying any attention to him, but staring over the Orcs shoulder at the tree that was raising its enormous rooted foot. A second later, the foot came crashing down upon the Orc, and, needless to say, you don't walk away from an incident like that.
"Merry! Run!" Pippin shouted from the clutches of the tree.
Merry got to his feet and attempted to scramble away, but was scooped up and the tree held them at arms length. The tree surveyed them thoughtfully, then spoke in an eerie, airlifting voice that seemed to come from the core of its body. It raised the hairs on my arms and sounded like a song.
"Little Orcses, Burarum," The tree said with a deep rumbling noise of disgust inside his deep throat.
"It's talking Merry, the tree is talking!" Pippin said incredulously to Merry.
"Don't talk to it! Don't encourage it!" Merry said with a frightened glance at the talking tree. The tree regarded them curiously.
"Tree! I am no tree! I am an Ent," The Ent said with his deep rumbling voice. "Treebeard, some call me."
The Ent turned around, and took one stride in the opposite direction they had come in. They were going deeper into the forest.
And I was stuck in the tree.
Part of me wanted to call out to Merry and Pippin, part of me wanted to stay in the tree forever, unnoticed by any living creature. Treebeards' voice was growing fainter and fainter as he strode away.
"Merry! Pippin!" I squeaked, thrusting out my arm as if I could reach them. Seven seconds later, Treebeard, Merry and Pippin were completely blocked from ear and sight. I was completely alone, stranded in Fangorn forest, stuck up a tree. I gave a nervous giggle and almost fell out of my tree when a strange animal gave a queer call nearby. How could Merry and Pippin have forgotten me? Maybe the appearance of a talking tree had driven me from their minds. And I would have liked to have met Treebeard…
OK Carmen, think…You've read the book for God's sake! OK, so Merry and Pippin are off with Treebeard, Aragorn, Nicky, Gimli and Legolas are searching for us and Gandalf…Gandalf! Gandalf should be here any minute! He's just finished beating up the Balrog and should be brought back to life by now, and he meets Aragorn and stuff here! I wondered how far away Aragorn was and how long he would take to get here. It would take three days at the least.
I sighed and started to climb down the tree, it was quite hard in the dark. When I reached the bottom, I peered cautiously through the gloom, and saw the suns' first rays creeping through a hole in the vast leafy canopy. So much had been going on that I had forgotten about how much time had past since our escape from the Orcs. I walked towards the suns' rays and found that the ground rose into a hill. The sunlight was dancing on the crown of it. It was still quite gloomy, but the light was somehow relaxing, and I sat on the very top, watching the sunlight grow stronger and the forest awakening from its' slumber.
I suddenly realised how tired I was, not just physically but emotionally too. Being driven like cattle by the Orcs, being separated from Nicky, losing Legolas…
I lay down and felt my body sinking into the strangely comfortable grass. I closed my eyes and rested for a while, not thinking of anything but how good it was to rest again. It felt like it had been a million years since I had slept in a proper bed; indeed, it felt like a million years since I had slept at all. Despite the situation, I was overcome by tiredness and felt my body slink into sleep, with the sunlight on my face.
I should have known it was too good to last.
It felt as if I had been asleep for only two minutes before I was being shaken awake. It took a while for the sleep to disappear out of my eyes until I could see properly and even then I wasn't sure if I was still dillusional. Standing over me, all dressed in white was Gandalf.
"Gandalf!" I said, feeling a little star-struck.
"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" Gandalf asked me, still griping my arms.
"Relax Gandalf. My name is Carmen and I come from a place called New Zealand."
He looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"It's on the planet Earth?" I suggested.
Still nothing.
"Anyway, I am stranded in Middle Earth and I have been travelling with the Company of the Ring for quite a while in which time I developed a crush on Legolas, learnt how to fight with a sword and was captured by a band of Orcs."
"Indeed?" He said, flabbergasted.
"I gather you have beaten the Balrog and become Gandalf the White?" I asked him.
"How do you know so much? And how did you come to Middle Earth? Surely you didn't come by the Sea?" God, that wizard can ask some questions.
I took a deep breath. "Well, it all started when I was walking along my favourite path when I came across some Orcs. But it wasn't just Orcs; the Fellowship was there too. The Orcs attacked me but the Company saved me. They then invited me to stay with them. I went and got my friend Nicky to say hello to them and when we returned we found that we had somehow travelled from New Zealand into Middle Earth. You see, Middle Earth looks a lot like New Zealand." I stopped there and let my words sink into Gandalfs' mind.
"Who is this Nicky girl you have spoken of?" He asked me eventually.
"Oh, she's my friend from up the road. She kind of accidentally landed herself with me into this trip. While she's here I'm gonna hook her up with an elf and show her round Middle Earth." I wasn't sure if this last piece of information was vital to Gandalf.
"How did you come to be here?" Gandalf asked me. He was now standing, so I got up too and we walked to a flat stone where we both sat down.
"Well, Merry, Pippin and myself were captured by a band of Orcs some…four days ago, I think it was. Boromir died trying to save us. Frodo and Sam have gone off by themselves to try and find Mount Doom. Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn and Nicky set out after Merry, Pippin and me and they should be here soon." I informed him.
"But where are Merry and Pippin now?" Gandalf asked, looking around.
"Oh! They went off with Treebeard." I said.
"Treebeard…" Gandalf breathed
"Or Fangorn, if you want his proper name." I said.
"Yes, yes I know Treebeard. He has been a friend of mine for some time." Gandalf told me, looking thoughtful.
"Aragorn and stuff should be here by tomorrow." I told Gandalf.
"Indeed? Well I do hope they hurry, I am quite restless to see them all." Gandalf said to me, leaning back on the stone.
A/N: There you go guys! Rate and review. You know the drill.