Woot woot! Yes everyone I'm back and finally about to get on with another chappy of my lovely story : and thank you to my 2 reviewers. As always I appreciate the reviews, but I don't appreciate the assholes that read this story and don't review at all. So there sticks tongue out
Disclaimer: Don't own LOTR or any of the characters from LOTR though I wish I did. It was all the brilliance of Mr. J.R.R. Tolkien
I absolutely hated these stupid people. Gandalf is walking headfirst into death. And what about me? I haven't been written into the script! I don't have special skills and considering at this point I had already figured out God hates me so much and isn't going to do a damn thing to save me! I was probably going to fall into a fiery pit or fall into some kind of hole in the ground in the cave, that is if I even make it past the Watcher. What if…maybe in this dimension I'll be the first to go! I felt sick to my stomach and Legolas gave me a strange look and shifted away.
"You don't look as if you feel well Lena," Legolas said.
"Oh no I'm fine," I said, still clutching my stomach. Legolas put a little more space between us, and then continued walking. I pulled my cloak around me tightly and shivered violently. We had been walking higher into Caradhras and the temperature had been dropping the higher we climbed. A small cry came from behind and everyone turned quickly. Gandalf gripped his staff and Legolas went for his arrow, but we all soon realized Frodo had only slipped. Aragorn helped him to his feet and brushed snow off of him.
"Are you all right?" Aragorn asked, his hand still on the hobbits shoulder, but Frodo didn't answer. Instead he put his hand to his neck. My heart grew heavy and I watched Borimir go for the ring lying in the snow.
"No!" I whispered. Legolas glanced at me and then realized what I was looking at. He once again put his hand behind his head, resting his fingers lightly on an arrow. Aragorn gripped the handle of his sword, but Borimir was oblivious. He only stared in wonder at the glistening gold ring in his palm.
"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing," He said softly. His eyes misted over and he reached out a gloved finger to touch it.
"Borimir!"
Borimir's head jerked up and he looked in alarm at Aragorn. Aragorn glared at him.
"Give the ring to Frodo," Aragorn whispered. Borimir stared at the ring, as if reluctant to hand it over, but he glanced at me, and I smirked triumphantly. He glared and walked purposefully over to Frodo.
"As you wish…I care not," he replied loudly, holding out the ring by its chain. The sunlight glinted off the golden surface as Frodo reached out and grabbed the ring. He quickly put it over his head and covered it with his hand. Borimir looked around, but the rest of the Company was still staring in shock. Well, except for me. I was actually close to laughing. I seriously had to resist the urge to point at him and yell, "Told you so!"
He tousled the hobbit's hair and continued walking, and the rest of the Company followed slowly. Aragorn's hand slid off the hilt of his sword, and Legolas took his hand down. Legolas and I lagged behind the group some ways.
"What you said at the Council…about Borimir…and the ring…it's true," he sighed sadly. He looked at me with clear blue eyes and I felt my heart melt.
Hey, I didn't really like him anymore in that way, but that didn't stop him from being incredibly sexy.
Legolas stared ahead before he continued. "I had heard of him somewhat before the Council. According to others, travelers from areas around Gondor, Borimir is a great man, loyal, and willing to do anything to help his people." I tried to think of how to answer him.
"Borimir is a good man. He wants to do the right thing. He thinks that by controlling the ring, he can save everyone. He doesn't understand that the ring corrupts you, makes you…" I trailed off, focusing on Frodo. The poor hobbit was bent over. It was getting increasingly windy and cloudy, but he never relinquished his grip on the ring hanging around his neck.
"Evil," I finished. Legolas and I looked hard at each other.
"You speak as if you know," he whispered.
"But I do," I replied simply, shrugging my shoulders, "I've told you. I know what's going to happen. I know what Frodo is suffering. The ring worked its charms on him a long time ago. He's too far gone, and no one can bring him back." Legolas long blonde hair fluttered as a gust of icy wind blew against us.
Yes. His hair is so long and perfect that it actually flutters, as stupid and girly as it sounds.
I pulled my warm hood over my head and we hurried to catch up with the Company. The air was freezing and the hobbits and I fell behind, spasms of cold violently shaking our bodies. We finally had top stop at a huge snow bank, and we waited while Legolas stepped lightly onto the bank and ran ahead to see where it ended. I fell and leaned against the mountainside with the hobbits. I felt so sleepy, and it wasn't really so cold anymore….
I was shaken awake by Legolas. He drew his cloak around me, and I looked around to see that Borimir had taken Pippin and Merry to him and shook them every once in a while to make sure they weren't sleeping. Aragorn was doing the same thing to Sam and Frodo. All four hobbits were deathly pale, and I could see form Legolas' face that I looked just as bad as the hobbits. I buried my face against Legolas, but I couldn't get warm, even as he rubbed my arms and back and pulled his cloak even tighter around me. Legolas grew even more concerned and tilted his head in confusion. He handed me off to Aragorn and climbed onto the snow bank, staring into the storm.
"There is a fell voice in the air," he shouted. Large rock rained down on us and we all pressed against the mountainside to avoid being hit.
"It's Saruman! He's trying to kill us with an avalanche!" I screamed.
"Gandalf she is right! We must turn back!" Aragorn agreed. Gandalf pressed forward into the bank.
"No!" he yelled. He lifted his staff and started yelling a bunch of gibberish (okay it wasn't gibberish, but I didn't understand it so it might as well have been) at the storm, but Saruman's voice overpowered him.
"Gandalf! We must get off this mountain! Make for the Gap of Rohan and take the west road to my city!" Borimir yelled over the wind. For once I agreed with him.
"We can't! The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard!" Aragorn yelled back.
"If we cannot pass of the mountain, let us go under it," Gimli suggested, grabbing Gandalf's arm, "let us go through the Mines of Moria." Gandalf's eyes glinted with a shadow of fear.
I raised my hand. "Uh if it counts for anything, I'll take my chances with Borimir's plan," I yelled. But I already knew what was going to happen. It seemed an eternity before Gandalf slowly looked at Frodo.
"Let the ring-bearer decide," Gandalf said.
"Don't let him decide! Hey I'm the one that knows the future! We should listen to me!" I screamed. The snow was whirling around my face and I shut my eyes against the stinging wind and huddled closer to Aragorn and the hobbits. Frodo gave me a dirty look and went indecisive. He probed my face with huge cerulean eyes and seemed to shrink smaller.
"We cannot stay here! It will be the death of the hobbits," yelled Borimir. The wind seemed to carry his voice and was lost among the roar of the wind. I covered my face with my hands and waited for the dreadful decision.
"We will go through the mines," Frodo finally relented. I felt him sag against my side and a rush of pity for him flowed through me. I put an arm around him and cuddled in closer against the harsh wind. Gandalf bowed his head and I saw his lips move, but the wind carried it away. Immediately Caradhras seemed to sense our defeat and the wind began to die down. Gandalf cast a long look at what would have been our road had Saruman not interfered, and then turned to us.
"We will go down the mountain where it is not as cold. The hobbits are still sick with cold, though, and Lena does not look so good either. Someone must stay awake and must wake them every 5 minutes or so to make sure they have not frozen to death," he told us. Legolas immediately volunteered to be the lookout. The hobbits couldn't walk, so each man took two hobbits on their backs. Gimli led Bill along since Sam couldn't walk, and I tried to walk, but I eventually felt too weak to go on, so Legolas carried me the rest of the way. : 3
So sue me. Sometimes being a damsel in distress can be a very good thing.
I have no idea how long it took to get down the mountain. When I opened my eyes it was still snowing and every now and then I felt a gust of wind, but we were definitely off. Legolas set me down and I crawled over to Gandalf, who had cleared a patch of snow and built up a fire. The hobbits were set down around the fire, and after we had been attended to, everyone else took a place around the fire. Legolas and Gimli were in another of their stupid arguments, but they were laughing so I took it as a good sign. Those two were getting loonier every second.
Yes I know. I'm on a quest to save Middle Earth and have a hottie elf waiting on me hand and foot, but they were the crazy ones. At least they belonged here.
"So where are we going now?" I asked.
"We will head south until we reach the Doors of Durin. That is where we shall find Moria," Gandalf said slowly. His gaze was faraway, as if he wasn't really there. After a moment he withdrew from the group and paced a few feet away, puffs of smoke billowing out of his pipe. No one followed since we all got the feeling he wanted to be alone, and after that no one spoke. Frodo glared at Borimir, his eyes like two blue slashes in his pale, peaked little face. His hand never left the ring dangling from his neck. Borimir saw this and tried to avoid looking at him by staring accusingly at me.
Accusingly at me? It wasn't my fault he's stupid! He shouldn't have touched the ring! Now everyone knows I'm right :
Pippin scooted closer to me and I leaned my head down to his.
"Why is Borimir staring at you like that?" he whispered into my ear. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Fuck if I know," I replied. Pip looked confused.
"I have no idea why he is staring at me like that," I whispered back, "On the count of three smile and wave. One, two, three!" Pippin and I both smiled and waved at Borimir at the same time. Borimir grew sulkier, as if he knew we were laughing at him, and grunted. Pippin gave me a grin, and then walked over to sit and talk with Borimir. I was irritated that Pippin was having a private chat with Borimir, but I sighed and decided that just because I didn't like Borimir didn't mean Pippin wasn't allowed to be friends with him. I turned to Merry.
"At least you haven't left me," I said brightly.
"Am I supposed to?" he asked.
"No!" I exclaimed, "I would get bored."
"Do you know what I wish I had more than anything right now?" he asked me.
"Uh…a blanket? A big warm one made out of feathers and bear furs?"
"No," he thought a moment, "Although that does sound nice. I was thinking about a nice steaming mug of ale." I envisioned myself wrapped in a giant furry blanket drinking warm ale and nearly cried thinking of all the warmth.
"Okay yeah that sounds amazing," I agreed, "The first thing when all of this is over, we're going out for a drink together." Merry nodded his head in agreement. Gandalf chose to walk over then.
"Everyone rest for now. We will move again as soon as the sun is up," he announced. Aragorn and Borimir walked over to Bill and started unloading blankets from the pony's back. Bill lay down and Aragorn spread the last blanket over him and a very small blanket loosely over the horse's muzzle so that he could still breathe without someone having to get up every few minutes and thaw out his nose. Blankets were distributed to everyone else and Legolas pulled his over to me. Since Legolas had volunteered to be the lookout, I felt safer knowing he was close to me.
And because he's a sexy beast. What? It's not like everyone doesn't know it. Who wouldn't feel safe having a blonde, arrow wielding god like Legolas standing over you while you sleep?
I was awoken once during the night by loud howling coming from all directions. My spine tingled and I felt around for Legolas, but couldn't find him. A blanket had been thrown over me, but when I tried to lift my head I heard Borimir's gruff voice whisper, "Don't look." There was more yelling and I heard Legolas's bow singing as he sent his arrows flying towards whatever was attacking us. Only minutes later, everything went silent and I threw the blanket off my head. All around me were the dead bodies of what looked like giant wolves. Legolas was pulling arrows from the carcasses and Gimli, Borimir, and Aragorn were wiping off their weapons. I watched in silence as Gimli, Legolas, and the two men dragged the bodies into a pile about 10 feet away and Gandalf built up a fresh fire. The only other person awake besides us was Frodo who had crawled closer to me when he heard the wolves attacking.
"Wargs," he quietly exclaimed. We looked at eachother and I was struck by how pretty his eyes were. Even in the dark, his round blue eyes seemed to glow from an inside light. I smiled and ruffled his dark curls, and we silently scooted closer to the fire and huddled together until we fell asleep.
When we woke again the fire had gone out and I was freezing. Legolas seemed unfazed by the cold weather and even went so far as to offer his cloak to me, but I told him that if he didn't wear the cloak I would kill him before cold would. We all ate a quick breakfast and packed up our things. I was still unbelievably cold, but I could walk without the blanket now that the wind had stopped and the snow was getting lighter, so I wrapped my blanket around Sam. He had given Frodo the entire blanket that they were supposed to be sharing. He said that since Frodo had a heavier burden to carry with him and was in more danger of becoming ill than he was, Frodo deserved the whole blanket. Sam thanked me graciously, and I ran ahead to catch up to Legolas, who was telling Gimli about Mirkwood.
"It is simply wonderful. There is soft music always in the air, and the clear river outside of the palace glitters and reflects a most splendid world of greens and blues and browns. And the trees are always blooming of small green leaves and the tiniest pink blossoms. When this is over, I will take you there, and you will never again wish for the sight of dark tunnels and ugly, cold rocks," Legolas was reminiscing. Gimli chuckled.
"Such mighty talk for an elfling who is supposedly so modest. The elves are not the only ones with fair cities and decadent halls. In the days of old, many creatures and men of great importance came to glimpse the very caverns that you are to enter soon," Gimli scolded. Legolas grinned, properly reprimanded, and put an arm around my shoulders. I pushed a blonde curl out of my face and eagerly urged Gimli to continue to tell us about Moria in the old days. He went on to describe the glittering halls, and the continuous dancing and the smells of great feasts that were prepared every night. He told us of the fire lit dwarf courts and the gleaming marble floors. And then he went on describe…
"Mithril! Never was there a finer or more valuable thing ever made. The color of silver and even more precious than gold, yet it was light like the wind, and indestructible. It took only the strongest handcrafted tools the dwarves had to cut it small enough to trade it. That is how the dwarves of old made their fortune," Gimli lectured. His voice was gruff and low, but his pride in the works of his ancestors was obvious.
"Yes," Gandalf spoke up, "I seem to remember one of the dwarf lords giving Bilbo a mail made of Mithril." Gimli was in awe.
"A coat of mail! Made of Mithril! Gandalf that is a fine thing indeed. The hobbit that carried that would be wearing the wealth of a king," he exclaimed.
"I have often told Bilbo that he had the price of the shire stowed away in the closet," Gandalf mused. He chuckled at the look of outrage on Gimli's face.
"A thing as fine as Mithril should not be put away in a closet like some worthless trinket. If only I could see it. I have not seen Mithril in so long a time," he said sadly.
"Why not?" Pippin inquired. Gimli thought hard.
"The dwarves were chased out of Moria. Something deep was brought forth from the darkest, deepest caverns of the earth, an evil thing it was," Gimli explained.
"Balrog," I offered.
"Yes…a Balrog. That was it. But even after the chaos that ensued died down, the orcs had taken over and we were never again able to reclaim Moria." I smiled at Frodo, who was fingering the hem of his shirt. Frodo looked startled when he saw me watching him, but I made a motion as if to zip my lips, and continued talking with Legolas and Gimli. It was another hour or so before Gandalf announced to us that we had reached the giant wall thingy.
No I don't have any idea what the name of the giant wall thingy is. The only thing I was interested in was the nasty black lake.
Gandalf was tapping along the wall with his staff, so I asked what he was looking for.
"Dwarf doors are invisible when closed," Gimli explained.
"Oh okay. So if you knock on one it's going to make it appear?" I questioned. Legolas smiled when Gimli rolled his eyes and helped Gandalf with the tapping.
"Yes Lena, Gimli is quite right. Even their own masters cannot find them, if the secrets are forgotten," Gandalf called from a few feet away.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Legolas muttered. Gimli shot him a dirty look and continued tapping, but Legolas ignored him. Finally Gandalf stopped tapping when he approached a spot between two scraggly dead trees. He waited for a while, just looking at the stars, and laughed when the clouds moved aside to reveal a full moon.
"Ithildin," he laughed, "Mirrors only starlight and moonlight." We all gasped as the outline of a beautiful silver arch supported by a large column on either side of the archway appeared on the rock before us. There was a large star in the middle of the doorway, and the columns were entangled with what looked like silvery twisting vines. There was curlicue writing along the top of the arch, which I guessed was Elvish.
"Okay. And it says?" I asked sarcastically. Gandalf glared at me. I know he was kind of the wrong person to take out my anger on, but the hobbits were too sweet and innocent, the men and the elf were too hot, and I had just started getting friendly with Gimli. Let's just say that Gandalf was the lucky winner by process of elimination.
"It reads, 'The Doors of Durin- Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter'," Gandalf stated. Frodo turned two huge blue eyes up to look at the wizard.
"What does it mean Gandalf?" Merry asked.
"Well obviously it means that if you are a friend, speak the password and the doors will open," Gandalf stood back and yelled something in Elvish at the door but nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing happened. Again he waved his staff wildly at the door and yelled again, but the door didn't budge.
"Nothing is happening," Pippin said.
"I realize that Pippin," Gandalf sighed.
"So what are you going to do?" Pippin asked cheerfully. Gandalf glared at him.
""Knock your head against these doors, Peregrin Took! And if that does not shatter them, and I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will try to find the opening words," Gandalf yelled. Pippin bowed his head and he and Merry wandered over to the lake. Gandalf once again started yelling a bunch of gibberish at the doors, but the only one really watching him anymore was Frodo. It was getting embarrassing watching him, so I decided to climb up on a small rock and see how long I could balance on it on one foot. Sam was saying a tearful good bye to Bill.
"Moria is no place for a pony, Sam, even one so brave as Bill," Aragorn said consolingly, patting Sam on the shoulder and walking away. Sam hung his head and sobbed quietly, stopping every once in a while to blow his nose on a piece of cloth he had in his pocket.
"Good-bye, Bill," Sam said quietly. The pony trotted off around a corner, and Sam turned around to see me watching him. His face turned bright red, but I smiled and nodded to show him that it was okay. He went off behind a rock to be alone for a bit and I continued concentrating on my balancing game. I glanced behind me. Gandalf was deep in thought and talking quietly with Frodo, and I sighed, knowing that this would probably take awhile. Someone poked me in the back, and I lost my balance and stumbled, ending up with my butt on the cold muddy ground.
"Oh great," I moaned, "as if these pants haven't been through enough." I glared at Legolas, who laughed and helped me back on my feet.
"The things humans will do to amuse themselves are quite entertaining," he grinned, his ice blue eyes brightening. I glared harder and he laughed even harder.
"Careful. You might injure yourself if you try to think so hard," he said. I swiped at his arm but he moved back at the last second with the grace and speed only an elf has. I stooped to pick up a flat stone to chuck at him, but he was behind me and pinned both arms at my sides.
"My butt is still wet and muddy so I would be careful if I were you," I warned. I leaned into him and he jumped back. I nearly fell when I saw him wiping at a mud stain right on his crotch. I thought I was going to die laughing and I had to lean against a large rock to keep myself from falling when he gave me the death glare. It only made me laugh harder, and for a second I forgot all about Gandalf and Mordor and the ring. Soon I was wiping tears from my eyes.
"This will never come out," Legolas moaned, looking down. Aragorn came over to investigate and howled with laughter when he saw Legolas still furiously wiping at the front of his tights. Aragorn and I finally calmed down and Legolas walked up to me.
"What now?" he said, gesturing toward his frontal region. I giggled.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm putting on my jeans over this," I said. To his disbelief, I took out my jeans and slipped them on over my tights. Legolas lunged at me but I dodged him and hopped up onto a boulder. He quickly followed me up and tackled me on the rock. He pinned my arms at either side of my head and leaned over me.
"Lle lava?" he asked, smiling smugly. I stuck out my tongue and he pressed harder against my wrist. I let out a small yelp of pain.
"Amin lava!" I squealed and he jumped back looking pleased with himself. I started to continue, but a loud rumbling was heard over from where Gandalf and Frodo were, and everyone turned to look as the silver lined door swung outward. Legolas jumped lightly off the rock and helped me down, and we all continued into the cave. Borimir, Aragorn, Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Gimli were watching the water. There was a rippling running towards the shore where we were standing, and the two men hustled everyone inside the doors. We stepped into a shadowy chamber, and I tripped over the something. I remembered the movie, and I suddenly grew nauseous at the crunching sounds that were heard under everyone's feet. I moaned out loud a little, and Gimli was telling Legolas about the hospitality of the dwarves, but he wasn't listening. Instead he was trying to calm me down.
"Oh my God, oh my God get me out of here. I'm going to puke I swear to God," I whispered, nearly crying as I kicked aside a pile of bones at my feet and I stepped on even more. Gandalf blew on the top of his staff, and everyone stared in disgust at the bones and corpses strewn among the ground.
"This is no mine," Borimir whispered, "It's a tomb."
"Nooo!" Gimli yelled as he saw the bodies of dwarves lying on the floor of the mine. He sobbed and backed away towards the doorway.
"Goblins!" Legolas yelled, throwing down an arrow he had been inspecting and drew one of his own. His face was contorted in disgust as he tried to avoid stepping on the bones and bodies, and Borimir and Aragorn had drawn their swords.
"Make for the Gap of Rohan," Borimir cried. Everyone started running for the doors and I didn't know what to do. Suddenly it became clear though. I didn't want to stay here in the dark with the dead, but the Watcher was out there.
"No!" I screamed. I tried to grab for Frodo and pull him back inside, but a long, slimy tentacle darted out of the water and wrapped around Frodo's ankle, dragging him back into the water. Frodo clawed into the ground and Borimir and Aragorn rushed after him. Sam was trying to hack away at the tentacle with his small sword and calling for Aragorn.
"Help!" screamed a terrified Frodo, as the tentacle dangled him high above the water. The hobbits were calling Frodo's name and Borimir and Aragorn waded into the water, chopping at more tentacles surfacing from the inky blackness.
"Strider," screamed Frodo as a tentacle began wrapping itself around his face. Legolas ran to the shore of the lake, shooting at the tentacle. A huge purplish slimy head suddenly rose out of the water. Instead of a mouth, the creature had a gaping hole set by many sharp fangs. Frodo screamed and struggled against the tentacle as he was lowered closer to the mouth, but Aragorn sliced at the tentacle holding him with a new burst of strength, and Frodo fell into Borimir's arms. Aragorn ran out of the water as the thing screeched and flailed its tentacles wildly. Borimir followed, clutching Frodo tightly against him. Legolas shoved me, hard, to the doorway and I ran inside, hustling the rest of the hobbits with me.
"Into the mines," cried Aragorn. The beast uncoiled a large tentacle, snaking after Borimir and Frodo.
"Shoot it, Legolas!" screamed Aragorn. Legolas took aim and managed to shoot the Watcher in the eye. It screeched again and sent more tentacles out of the water, but Legolas had already sprinted in the cave. We all watched in horror as the pulsating arms wrapped around the doorway and brought it in. There was a loud rumbling and we all coughed as the debrief settled and flew around our faces. When we opened our eyes, the doorway was gone. I sighed and we turned to face the horrors to come.
We were trapped in Moria.