A/N- Sorry I took so long! I had to take the SAT and the ACT. Finger crossed I did well! Anyways, on we go chapter three. Here it comes. Get ready!
Ps. Review please:) all of the cool kids are doing it.
Chapter 3.
Boromir hurriedly led the way back to the camp site at the river's edge, his rapid pace revealing his distress, with Laurel following closely at his heels. When the pair arrived, Boromir immediately began rummaging through the remaining supplies. Laurel just stood for a moment, surveying the camp. It seemed as though most of the packs and supplies were still there. It was obvious that when the elf, dwarf, and man were last at the site, the three had left in a hurry. Various items were strewn about as if haphazardly tossed aside while two of the three searched for a few necessary things. The third must have busied himself putting out the fire with a bowl of stew maybe, but had been careless and missed a corner. A small section still smoldered. The bowl was then dropped and now rested upturned upon the ash. The three then hastily departed, or at least Laurel did not perceive any evidence suggesting otherwise.
"It looks as though they took very little with them," she heard Boromir say as he finished gathering items into two small packs.
"They must have wanted to travel light," she replied unsurprised.
"Indeed. So must we. Here." He handed her some balled up clothes. She took them from him, puzzled.
"What are these?" He stood up, slinging one pack over his shoulder and holding the other in his opposite hand.
"Those are some of Legolas' clothes as he is the closest to your size. Hurry and put them on so that we may depart. Time is of the essence now." Pleased, she waited for Boromir to turn around then quickly slid into the pants and green tunic. They were in fairly good condition though the knees of the pants seemed a little worn. The tunic was a soft fabric and displayed some strange embroidery on the sleeves, vines and leaves in silver thread. Legolas might have been just a tad over dressed for this outing. She rolled her eyes. Typical elf. The clothes fit for the most part, though they were a little loose. Legolas must be slightly larger than herself. Anything was better than that cloak though, she decided. How can any one piece of clothing be so heavy? She snatched the second pack from Boromir and the two promptly sped off after the trio, sure to be miles behind them by now.
They made it out of the forest fairly quickly, and were greeted by the vast plains of Rohan; she had never seen anything like it before. How incredible to see something new, something fresh after such monotony for so long! The forest was beautiful, sure. She loved the forest. She was not challenging that, but these fields... they were new and breathtaking. They spanned outward like a golden ocean, not that she had ever seen an ocean for herself either, with wind-made waves and ripples. Yes, the forest was plenty fine and nice but these fields had a different air about them. They were open and inviting. They warmed her.
"What are you doing? Come on!" Boromir yelled from in front of her, bringing her from her thoughts. How had he gotten so far ahead?
"Sorry! Coming!" She sped back up to join him again.
Boromir proved an able, if slow, tracker. Though he always found the path, it sometimes took him… quite a while. Laurel consistently spotted the trail before him. Having lived in the wilderness for so long, it was easy for her, almost second nature, to spot anything out of place, any unnatural changes to the land—a broken twig, a crushed plant, a slight impression of a footprint in the dirt. They all screamed out to her, alerting her that someone or something had been there. At first, she said nothing. She was not very sure of herself and she did not want to hurt his pride if she could avoid it, but soon it became apparent that she would have to speak up if the two of them ever wanted to get anywhere, let alone catch up with the trio.
Boromir had lost the trail once more and presently was searching for it. He seemed to be having a difficult time of it…..well, she decided, it was now or never.
"Forgive me, Boromir, but I believe I have spotted the trail over here." She pointed to an area several paces to the left of where Boromir was currently searching. He turned and looked up at her, a condescending smile appearing on his face. This was going to test her patience.
"No, Laurel, I am fairly certain the trail continues over here but thank you." He then turned and proceeded down his trail. She took a deep breath. She would not lose her temper.
"Oh Boromir..." He stopped and turned to look at her once more. His eyes questioned her: what now? "Please, just humor me for a moment. Will you take a look over here?" He smiled again.
"Of course, but after this we really must continue on. We are about to lose the light." She took another deeper deep breath. If she could just stay calm, surely he would see she was right.
"See. Look here." She kneeled down and pointed to a spot on the ground. "Do you see that indention in the ground there? It looks to me like a partial foot print. The shape suggests a large boot. I was thinking it could perhaps be from the dwarf." She stood and looked over his shoulder as he gazed down intently at the print for a moment. The corners of his mouth turned down into a slight frown. He then stood and shook his head.
"No, that my lady is a hoof print. Come now let's go." A hoof print? A hoof print he says! Well, she would not allow him to run off blindly in the wrong direction. She stayed firmly rooted, refusing to move from her position near the print. She was done playing the respectful, obedient maiden for now.
"Are you blind? I'm sorry but that is no hoof print. The shape is all wrong. It has to be from one of your friends," she stated firmly. He looked at her in disbelief, but his disbelief quickly shifted to annoyance.
"Please Laurel; I believe we should defer to my judgment in this matter I—"
"Why?" she jumped in, not quite shouting but certainly not speaking quietly anymore. "Because you are a man? Because you are a soldier?" Let me tell you something, sir. I lived in the forest for centuries before you were born, I think I can identify a footprint in the grass, thank you very much!" Boromir looked taken aback. He clearly did not expect her to question his judgment let alone lose her temper.
"Yes I—I'm sure you can. I just do not…" Arms outstretched, she pleaded with him.
"Do not what? I promise you this is the trail. Can you not just trust me?" A strange look appeared in his eyes at that. They narrowed slightly, and peered down at her, seemingly thinking hard about something. Before she could figure out what, though, he looked away. When he turned back, his eyes had returned to normal.
"Very well then. I will trust you. Perhaps I am so used to commanding that I have forgotten how to except help. I apologize, Lady Laurel. I would not want my pride to get in the way of our goal. Then he smiled at her, a sweet, apologetic smile, and her anger melted away. She felt a little foolish, forgiving his stubbornness so easily. But he had apologized had he not? And though she doubted the truthfulness of his words, his expression proclaimed sincere regret. She did not smile back at him though. She could not let him think she was just another female, easily led by a charming…Charming? She had not meant that. It was just an expression. She did not find him charming in the least.
"Yes, well—thank you," she replied not quite knowing how to respond to his concession. "We better get a move on now. You are right. We are losing the night." They traveled in silence for a long while after that.
Boromir glanced at Laurel out of the corner of his eye. He felt foolish for denying her. She had clearly been right but he just could not find it in him to trust her. Why was she so eager to help him find the way? What did she want with his friends? When she had stopped him, he had assumed she wanted to mislead him, send him off the path, but perhaps he had jumped to conclusions. Her true plan must be much more complex. She was a very good liar too. She looked so sincere in her desire to help. Her sincerity even touched her eyes. He had met plenty of brilliant liars in his time but there was always something in the eyes if you looked closely enough, something not quite right. Well, he might as well not dwell on it. It was not important for him to figure out all of her devilish schemes right at this moment. If she planned to help him find his friends quickly, then that was fine with him. Perhaps he should say something to her now, assure her he was not upset about the argument. If he kept up this silent treatment too long, she was likely to suspect his misgivings about her.
"Laurel, how are—are you alright?" Her head snapped up from her searching to look at him. She was clearly surprised he had spoken. What? Was he not permitted to be nice?
"Oh—um—yes. I am—I am quite fine, thank you." She sputtered nervously. She paused before continuing. "I am sorry. I—the growing darkness is making it very difficult for me to see the trail now. Do you—do you not think it best to make camp for the night? I fear if we continue on, we might stray." Strange that she was so confident before and so timid now. Was she afraid he would snap at her? He sighed inwardly. He was not about to trust her, but there was something in him that did not want her to fear him. He preferred her fiery temper to this hesitance. He sighed outwardly now.
"Yes, I believe that would be wise, and better to settle into a defensible position then to walk into a fight in the dark." They marched on a little farther before he decided on an acceptable stopping point. They set up camp in silence, just a couple sleeping mats under the stars. They could not risk a fire in such an open area. Enemies could too easily spot it.
Boromir watched the stars for a time before falling asleep. He was worried. In spite of their efforts, he and Laurel were moving too slow. Maybe tracking Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli was not the wisest path, but he did not know what else to do. Perhaps some clarity would arrive with the rising sun. Maybe tomorrow would clear away the brush and reveal a better road for him to take. He could only hope.