A/N Thank you to my beta Nieriel Raina, all mistakes are my own and not hers.
Chapter 7: A Nice Day for a Swim
In fact the subjects of the king mostly lived and hunted in the open woods, and had houses or huts on the ground and in the branches…..
----J.R.R. Tolkien, Flies and Spiders, The Hobbit--
Bird song woke Grace the next morning. Yawning, she arched her back extending her arms far above her head, easing her muscles which had stiffened during sleep. She tilted her neck from side to side, popping the creaks out. Today would be one of rest; she was clean, and at the moment, she was warm and fairly comfortable. Lifting her head, she glanced around the camp. The fire had died down and was nothing more than a few smoldering embers. Everyone was still asleep. The sun had not yet risen, and the sky was the faint gray that announced dawn was near. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she stood up. No one moved. As she looked around, she saw that Legolas, Aragorn, and Gandalf were missing from the camp.
Grace decided to walk back to the lake where she bathed the night before. She wouldn't mind washing her face and rinsing her mouth out, and she would kill for a toothbrush. It seemed she remembered reading something in a history class about people using some kind of twigs to clean their teeth before toothbrushes were invented; maybe she would try that. Leaving the camp behind, Grace wandered down to the lake. It really was lovely. Standing there looking at the mist covered lake, Grace felt a sense of peace settle on her, and then an idea began to form in her mind. No one had seen her leave, and no one had followed her. She could just keep going, and surely, she would. run into some kind of civilization: a highway or a road, eventually.
Glancing around the lake, she realized that the trees were just too dense for her to make her way around to the other side without difficulty. The thought of putting that lake between her and her captors was very appealing. Turning back to the lake she made up her mind. The body of water was not that large; she would swim to the other shore. She had spent endless summers working as a lifeguard. It was a great summer job, paid well, was a lot of fun, and most importantly, it made her a very strong swimmer. She should be able to swim this distance easily. If she started right now the mist would soon swallow any trace of her. There would be no tracks for them to follow. She regretted having to leave her bag with her phone in it behind, but this was just too good an opportunity to pass up. Making a sudden decision, she waded into the water. She realized after a few strokes she was going to have to lose the heavy hiking boots she was wearing; fortunately, she hadn't tied them when she slipped them on to leave the camp. She didn't know how easy it would be to walk in these woods without something on her feet, but she would cross that bridge later, for now she just wanted to concentrate on reaching the other side, and freedom.
Legolas and Aragorn entered camp. They had taken the last watch of the night and returned looking forward to a hearty breakfast. The others were just beginning to stir. Sam was tending the fire, building it back up, so he could cook over it. Legolas glanced around, and then turned to Sam. "Where is Grace?" he asked sharply.
"I suppose she is still a sleep. I just got up myself."
Legolas stalked to where the cloak Boromir loaned Grace lay on the ground. "She is not here. Did you see her leave camp?"
Sam shook his head, "I didn't hear or notice anything, Master Elf. I thought everyone was still sleeping. Maybe she went down to the lake; she seems to take great stock in getting clean."
Legolas turned to Aragorn. "We should find her; she does not realize the danger that she could be in, and I do not think she yet understands how treacherous these lands can be."
Aragorn glanced over at him. "Go on to the lake. I will rouse Boromir and Gimli; they can lend their aid in helping us search for her." Passing by Legolas, he laid a hand on his shoulder. "Do not worry so. She simply may have gone to the water to get clean as Sam said."
Legolas nodded and walked from the camp. Finding her trail was not difficult, and, he followed it to the lake. There at the water's edge, it ended, and he looked out over the mist covered lake. Tilting his head he listened, he could hear in the distance sounds of someone moving through the water. Turning he faced Aragorn, Boromir and Gimli as they came through the trees His voice was strained as he told them "She is swimming across the lake.".
"She will reach the other side before we can break through the trees and brush to reach her," Aragorn replied. "We may very well lose her among the trees."
."Do not worry I will return with her," and swinging himself into a nearby tree, Legolas started the journey around the lake, moving with stealth, through the tree tops.
When Grace began to believe she would never reach the opposite shore, her feet finally found the bottom, and she waded out of the water, and swiftly blended into the tree line. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the mist on the lake was just starting to rise, but she could see no evidence of anyone following her. After she moved a few feet into the forest, she stopped for a moment to catch her breath. The swim was longer than she thought it would be, and it left her more winded than expected. Looking down at her dripping clothes and bare feet, she grimaced. This was going to be a very uncomfortable walk.
Squaring her shoulders, she gave one last glance behind her before starting forward, and bounced smack into a very solid chest. She staggered back a bit before strong arms reached out to grab her shoulders. She stared up at him. How had he found her so quickly? How had he appeared as though from thin air? She should have heard him coming! She shivered as he looked at her with enigmatic eyes. He didn't look angry, but then again, he didn't look friendly either. He was simply just there, in her way, and it did not look as though he planned on moving
Finally, Legolas stepped back. "And exactly where did you think you were going?"
"It seemed like a nice day for a swim," she shrugged.
"Indeed." Glancing down at her bare feet, he asked quietly, "And just where are your shoes?"
"Uhmm…….. Well, they are in the lake. They got a little heavy and…" she trailed off.
Placing a long slender finger beneath her chin, he lifted her face and looked into her eyes. "Little one, how exactly have you managed to survive for so long on your own?" he asked softly.
"You sound just like my brothers," she grumbled.
"Oh, but I am not your brother," and the tone in his voice sent a shiver down her spine. "We are going to have to return to camp, and you will need to change out of those wet things." His eyes fell her to her bare feet, and slowly moved up her body, lingering and obviously noting how the wet garments molded themselves to her form. The look in his eyes made her tremble.
She wrapped her arms defensively around herself. "How did you manage to find be so fast? I didn't hear you, and with the brush being so thick, I should have."
"That is because I did not come through the brush or even across the land, and we will return the same way I came."
She gave him a puzzled look. Legolas once again reached out and tilted her chin up, so he could look into her eyes. "Grace" he said, his tone very serious, "you must do exactly what I tell you. If you do not, you could cause both of us grave injury."
She sighed and nodded. She wasn't getting away from them today, and after this, she had a feeling they would keep a much closer eye on her.
He stepped closer to her. "Put your arms around my neck." She glanced up at him in confusion. "I mean you no harm, but you will need to hang on tightly." When she did not do as he instructed, he lifted her arms and placed them around him. "Tighter," he said, clasping one arm around her waist as he reached up with the other to grasp a tree limb, swinging them both into the tree.
She needed no further encouragement. She clung as tightly as she could, risking a peek down as he climbed higher into the tree tops, she felt her stomach lurch. She never had liked heights. She got shaky just thinking about being this high up. Grace buried her face into his neck where it met his shoulder and hung on for dear life. She heard him give a soft chuckle, and then he was off running through the trees. Screwing her eyes tightly shut, she tried not to think about how far down the ground was. This went on for several minutes, and then it stopped. Cautiously, she raised her head. They were still high in the tops of the trees, but he had paused on a sturdy limb. She could feel his eyes on her as she looked up at him. "I thought we should stop, so you could take a breath. I began to think you had decided to stop breathing all together." She looked down and clutched at him harder. He laughed and pulled her more closely to his body. "Don't worry, little one, I have you. I won't let you fall."
Looking over his shoulder, her eyes widened, and she breathed, "What is that?"
His eyes followed her gaze to land on a majestic sight, a high, jagged peak covered in snow and ice. "The mountain peak Caradhras, where the Redhorn Gate lies. It is part of a chain called the Misty Mountains, which runs for hundreds of miles north to south. We have been traveling west of them since you joined us. The trees have no doubt hidden it from your sight."
"That's not possible! There are no peaks that high in the Appalachians. They are a chain of eroding mountains. They hold no peaks that high or rugged. It is not possible," she whispered again.
She trembled against him, and he tightened his hold. "I do not know these Appalachians that you speak of - the only mountains here are these, and you are correct, Caradhras is rugged and cruel. It is a dangerous pass to maneuver. I hope that it will not be necessary for us to travel that path. I think Mithrandir is considering going south, possibly through the Gap of Rohan." Legolas cupped her chin in his hand and looked down at her, "Are you ready to go on?" She nodded, and once again buried her face in his shoulder as he continued his trek through the trees.
She didn't lift her head again until she felt her feet back on solid ground. She looked up and found Aragorn, Boromir and Gimli regarding her curiously. They did not seem angry with her; their expressions were more puzzled and concerned than upset. Legolas gave her a gentle push forward. "Go on back to the camp with them. I will try to find your shoes, and perhaps, we can dry them out before we continue our journey tomorrow." Silently she followed the other three back to the camp.
The others all turned to look up as the small group entered the clearing. Sam was preparing breakfast. Without saying a word, she picked up her dry clothes and took them to change. When she came back, she settled herself down on the cloak she used to sleep in. She had some major thinking to do. Her glimpse of that mountain peak had shaken her to her very core. She was no longer in the Appalachians, in fact, she had no idea where she was, and it frightened her to death. There were too many unexplained things she had pushed to the side and ignored. Grace knew a time of reckoning had arrived. She needed to focus all of her energy on solving this puzzle.
A/N I love and treasure reviews, please let me know what you think of this tale.