A/N: Here is the next chapter and Happy Holidays everyone!
The Plan
"I have to go if we want to find Merry and Pippin, why don't you understand?"
"Amara, we do understand, but I will not have you running around in the dark."
"Aragorn, I won't be running around in the dark. I know exactly where they're at.'
"It is out of the question."
"Legolas," Amara barked.
"I'm afraid the elf is quite right," Gimli said.
The four of them sat around the fire after much persuasion to Amara. In a flash, she had her things packed and ready to go before she had a chance to really explain what was going on. Legolas had threw away the row that they had been having to try and figure out this new crisis. He had followed her around the camp as she gathered up her pack, trying to piece together sense from her ramblings. One minute they had been having a heated argument and the next Amara bursted out with a cryptic message about 'them' coming for her.
As soon as she began packing her things she gained the attention of everyone. Her nervous and jittery ways could not be taken lightly anymore after the tragic events that had occured.
"I'm an empath, it's what Aule wants me to do," Amara complained, annoyed at the fact that they were waisting time.
"You are not thinking this through. Say we let you go," Aragorn began to explain to his sister sitting across from him. "And you reach the orcs. Amara, you are outnumbered, they will capture you and you've fallen into the enemy's hands."
Amara stared into the fire. Aragorn was making sense, but her problem could not delay them all. Had she rememembered the story right, Merry and Pippin would be fine having escaped their captors but what if because of her, the tapestry of fate had changed? If anything at all happened to those two hobbits, she'd be completly at fault. Amara rubbed her hands over her face feeling fatigur set in.
"Well what do you suggest?"
Aragorn didn't say anything. Amara looked at Legolas who sat to her right and then to Gimli who was situated to her left. Neither of them appeared like they were going to be forthcoming with any solutions. The problem had snuck up on them like a predator to its prey in the dark. There wasn't enough time to assess the problem properly.
"Alright then, nobody has any ideas whatsoever so I'm going." She stood and turned in the right direction that she sensed the evil coming in. She fully intended to put herself in harm's way so that this could all move forward. Legolas reached up and took her hand, pulling her back into the crouching position. "You can't walk into this blindly," he said with fiercness in his eyes. It did not matter to him that she could sense impending doom and that it was tearing at her soul right now. To him, what mattered was keeping her alive.
He refused to go through what he had been through before. Legolas only wished that she would realize that she was putting herself in unnecessary danger. There was always another way. Amara crossed her arms feeling like she was the only one trying to take action. Every part of her felt jittery and eager to do something. Of course she understood why they were making a big deal out of things.
"I'm still waiting for some answers people."
Gimli must've gotten fed up with Amara's attitude because he said, "Do you have any solutions to this problem that you have brought upon us?"
Amara got back on her feet an angry spark ignited in her. Both Aragorn and Legolas recognized the signs of a heated woman.
"Amara," Aragorn spoke in a warning tone.
Having seen Amara become angry and emotional before, Legolas watched her with caution.
"Look dwarf boy, its not like I asked for this crap okay, so stuff it."
Gimli stood up with a cenical smile. "The lady has words, excuses even. It's not like I asked for this," he mimicked.
Amara bit her lip, thinking of all the things she could do to Gimli's beard.
"Stop blamming the Valar for what has happened to you."
At that, Amara took one of her knives from her belt and waved it threateningly at Gimli. That was when Legolas stood and grabbed Amara's arm that held the knife. Though it was very rude and much too frank, Gimli did speak some truth that Legolas understood. He would never admit that toAmara.
"Watch it if you want all that hair still on your face in the morning."
"Enought!" Aragorn shouted looking between the two of them. It was inapt to be arguing at a time like this. Amara took a deep breath and relaxed. Legolas, sesning the hostility draining from her, released her arm.
"This is not the time to neither point fingers nor to turn against each other." Aragorn sighed. "Now Amara, how far along are the orcs?"
Amara's eyes went heavenward, trying to decipher how far along the orcs were. "I'd say that...they'd probably be here by morning." Never before did Amara think she'd ever see Aragorn's eyes bug out.
"Now do you see why I'm like this," she asked.
Aragorn paced in front of the fire, his left arm tucked under his right elbow and his hand rubbed his chin. The three of them watched as Aragorn paced and thought. Now that no one was arguing, nightly sounds could be heard, uneffected by the events that were taking place. Standing there, Amara could feel how sleepy she was. Aule had given her elven qualities, but she thought elves could go for days without sleep. Perhaps these things came gradually. She made a mental note to ask Legolas at a more appropriate time.
"There is only a few more hours until sunrise," Legolas whispered.
Amara nodded taking note.
"I've got it," Aragorn stopped pacing and faced them once more.
"Well, make with it Aragorn, we haven't got all night," Gimli fussed.
"I am most certain that they are aware of what you are capable of."
"Yeah, so what?" Big deal that they knew she was an empath. Amara thought this while crossing her arms.
"They will expect you to come to them, but if we were to send someone in your stead we will have the element of surprise."
Amara looked up at Legolas questioningly. She would have shot Gimli the same look but she was still pissed at him. "Umm, Aragorn, they're orcs, meaining they're not that bright."
"You are forgetting one thing. They take orders from Saurmon."
He was right. Saurmon would have looked at every aspect in this thing.
"Alright then, who will go?" Legolas sounded eager to move along. Gimli raised his axe. He was bent on sinking his axe into the flesh of the enemy. Aragorn nodded to the dwarf. Amara rasied her hand eagerly despite what the plan was.
"I could lead Gimli to them faster while you guys go on to find Merry and Pippin. We could meet back up." Despite her fatigue she showed enthusiasm.
"Amara that is not the plan," said Aragorn.
"Could we have a moment," Legolas dragged Amara away from the fire without reginition from Aragorn or Gimli.
"What's your deal," Amara asked. Legolas was poised between many factors; being understanding, patient, angry but right now Amara was just being ridiculous.
"I will tell you what is my deal ," He seethed recalling her strange language from his time on Earth. "You are being completly unreasonable. Aragorn has come up with a plan to keep you out of harm's way. Can you not see that this is for your well being?"
"But-"
"I understand that you do not want to sit back and do nothing while someone else goes fighting your battle, but more than anything you are an asset."
"I'm a-"
"Yes, an asset to either side. Do you not see it? Let Sauromon get to you and he will use you as a pawn in his evil plan." Legolas was speaking rapidly and every now and then he glanced back to where Aragorn and Gimli stood waiting patiently.
"But I-"
"Do you wish to save Middle Earth?" He did not wait for her to answer. "Of course you do. So you will stay here and I will go with Gimli."
Amara furrowed her brow. What was this, gang up on the empath day?
"What makes you think you can tell me what to do?"
"I don't think I can tell you what to do at all."
Thinking that she had finally gained a small but there upper hand, she smirked a bit.
"Because you are the most beautiful individual that I've known. I can however make you stay here. So you will stay and help Aragorn find the hobbits because they are important. By the Valar if I so as have to tie you to a tree I will do so."
There was a dangerous look to Legolas. His voice had been calm and it was unnerving. His whole persona had transformed from passive to commanding. It was most frightening. This was the attitude Legoals had reserved for when he had to complete certain princly duities in Mirkwood. His eyes had turned a horrible mirky color and his mouth was set in a frown. Audibly, Amara thought she gulped. All of a sudden she felt small and unimportant under his penetrating glare. The air around the two of them was tense and restricting.
In the seconds that he spent staring Amara down he came to realize that what he was doing was not right. He had looked into her eyes, those cerulan eyes and saw shock and pain where there that shouldn't have been. He hadn't meant to be so forceful. He only wanted her to be safe. To let her fall into the hands of darkness again would be folly.
"Amara I apologize-" He began but Amara cut him off.
"No, you're right. I should stay here. I should ap-apologize for being so stupid."
"We have not the time to speak on this, but you are not stupid. You only desire to help. Promise me though, that you will stay here and help the best that you can."
Amara nodded, a brief but there smile creeping onto her face. A smile though was not going to impress the elf. He said her name in a warning tone while smiling himself.
"Okay, okay I promise."
"Promise to what?"
"I promise," Amara said rolling her eyes. "To stay here with Aragorn and help find Merry and Pippin."
"Good." Legolas patted her cheek effectionately. He turned and began walking in the direction that the venemous orcs were in. Gimli scrambled to catch up with Legolas' great strides all while shouting his curiosity in a booming voice.
For a minute Amara stood there and watched them. She glanced at Aragorn and spotted him staring at her. There was an inquisitive look on his face. She began to shrug her shoulders and put on a serious face when a thought struck her greater than a lightening bolt.
The orcs were going to figure out that Legolas and Gimli were coming for them.
Math calculations zoomed through her head and were performed. From the point where Legolas and Gimli walked to the estimated point where the orcs were got translated into a mathematical formula. Her brain worked its magic and performed as a calculator.
"Wait!"
She rushed forward in the direction of the two, more seriousness in her than before. With this bit of information the plan was deeply flawed.
"What is it," Aragorn inquired.
"Wait," she called.
At the sound of Amara's voice both GImli and Legolas turned back.
"You can't go yet. They will know that you are coming."
"What!" Amara ignored Gimli. "Just trust me. Don't ask me how I know but I know. They'll latch onto your scent when you get about two miles closer to them."
"So what are we supposed to do," Legolas asked looking to Aragorn.
Yet again, they were all huddled around the fire trying to come up with a plausabile tactic.
This was where her area of expertise was needed. There problem had nothing to do with trying to stick a dagger into an orc and who would do it. This was a complication that she could solve. She was going to work this out herself. A milliion ideas crossed her mind but none of them would work because they all caused for being somewhere that was not in the middle of nowhere. In thought she moved her retainer in and out of her mouth. They could jump in a lake and obsorb the mirky water smell, but looking around there was no lake to jump in, of course.
Had she had known this was going to happen in the beginning she would have brought a bottle of perfume or something.
'God, what can solve this,' she thought.
Amara looked down at the dirt by the fire and it hit her.
'Mud.'
"Boy am I so stupid," she declared to everyone. "And Legolas don't say I'm not because I should have thought of this like minutes ago."
Aragorn saw that Amara had a solution to their problem. He saw her look down at the ground and like a sibling connection he knew what she thinking.
"The dirt," he said, everything forming in his head. "Everyone give me your water."
"Exactly!" Amara smiled at her brother.
Confused, Gimli took his supply of water. He mumbled something along the lines of how he could not see how this was going to make them go undetected. "Dirt and water," he muttered unbeleivingly.
Amara set about gathering dirt by the fire, digging franticaclly in the earth as if searching for gold. Once a rather large pile of dirt was collected Aragorn instructed for them all to pour their water over it.
"Do you care to explain the idea that the two of you share," Legolas asked while pouring on his share of water onto the mound of dirt.
"The dirt," Aragorn began. "Will form into mud and mask the scent of an elf and the scent of a dwarf."
"So the two of you will just smell like earth," Amara clarified. She mixed up the water and dirt until it formed a thick pasty mud. This had to be one of the best ideas she had come up with since she entered Middle Earth. Once everything was done, she stood and attempted to get access mud from her hands.
"Let me get this straight," Gimli said. he did not enjoy the idea of having to smather mud on himself at all. "We are suppose to cover ourselves with mud? Aragorn this is ridculous."
"Ridiculous as it seems we haven't much time," Legolas said.
Aragorn took Amara by the arm and began to lead her away from the fire. "Come, let us go for a stroll."
At first she did not understand it, why Aragorn all of a sudden wanted to go for a stroll. It was freezing when stepping away from the fire.
"It's cold. I'd much rather stay by the fire." Amara began to pull away from her brother but his grip was consistent.
"We need to leave them be Amara."
It was then that she finally caught what he was hinting at. She didn't think it was such a big deal. So what they had to put mud in places that might make her blush. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen a guy in the nude. They didn't even have to go as far as putting mud down south. Just enough to get the orcs off their backs. Amara attempted to take a glimpse behind her and Aragorn but her brother jerked her forward.
"Hey Legolas, you need any help with that mud," she snickered.
The image of herself getting to rub mud all over a hot elven prince made her smile like a mad man. She imagined things that were very innapropriate for the time being. Aragorn saw her wide smile and frowned. He knew if he were to jump inside that head of hers he'd find nothing to his liking and only images that would without a doubt make him uncomfortable. He was glad when Legolas had told her that he was fine.
Of course, he had not understood what his sister was hinting at. Aragorn lightly slapped her on the arm and muttered something about her hormones.
Barely moments later, the two were covered in mud. With Legolas, one could barely detect the mud on him as he was careful in conciling it underneath his clothing. Gimili, on the other hand, had mud creeping up his sleeves and the neckline of his shirt. Amara would have bursted out laughing had not the severity of things really started kicking into gear. Soon after mud was applied, Legolas and Gimli set off. Before the elf had left he gave Amaraa grin.
She knew this would be a mini adventure wrapped into a big adventure and who would have enjoyed that better than Legolas? To be brutally honest, the only adventure Amara liked were either in books, video games or television. Never in her life did she want to live one. Once, Gimili and Legolas were no more than a speck, Aragorn set about putting out the fire and packing his things up. Amara looked at him.
"What are you doing?"
"We have to get moving before Merry and Pippin's trail grows colder."
Amara stifled a yawn and gethered up her already packed items. She thought she'd atleast get to have a couple of minutes of shut eye. No arguments came from her mouth though, seeing as she was eager to get things moving once more. She knew they wouldn't actually find Merry and Pippin, but they couldn't be stuck in one spot. Sh'ed only reveal the things that were grave and to her this was not as grave of a thing. True, it did bug and claw at her the fact that things might change because of her, but she constantly reminded herself that she couldn't let that fact rule over her.
Once everything was packed they continued forward in silence. The sun was just beginning to mark its place in the sky. Birds had begun to sing just hours before that. Amara hadn't been alone with Aragorn in ages and from the corner of her eye she studied him. Of course, he had to be taller than her. To Amara, he was stronger than she'd ever be and his stride was confident where hers had lacked for so many years.
"Hey Aragorn, do you want to be king?"
Aragorn looked at her. He wondered why she would ask him a question like that at a time like this. He pretended to think for a minute as they continued forward. Amara waited patiently while listening to the sound of her own footsteps.
"It is not that I do not want to be king," came his answer after a while. "I just do not wish to be like those who came before me or us rather, corrupted and with no interest in the people."
"Well, you'll be differen't obviously, should you choose to be the king. You know we both have the same problem."
"How so?"
"We both are afraid how people will percieve us should we bring out who we truly are. But Aragorn trust me when I say this, you won't be like all of the other kings."
Amara loved to see that they weren't too different from each other when they were put under the microscope. It would have been super great had they grown up together.
Out of the blue Aragorn said to her, "I see that Legolas really loves you."
Why did Aragorn have to point that out? She scratched the back of her head and tried to think of other topics to discuss. She looked at the sky and admired at how blue it was beginning to get.
"You should have seen how he was when you were...well dead. No one thought he would live to see future days."
She had not imagined that Legolas would have been that way. Yeah, he would have been sad, might have even shed a tear but if what Aragorn said was true, which she had no reason to doubt, that would have to mean...
"No way."
That meant that...
"Get outta town," she snorted, trying to supress laughter.
"May I ask," Aragorn laughed with a large grin. "When the wedding will be?"
She pushed Aragorn and crossed her arms. Their moment of light chatter was interrupted when Amara sensed something. Aragorn went a bit ridged and he pulled her off to the side and behind some boulders.
"Do you hear that," he asked her.
Amara did not have to hear anything to know that a large group was coming their way. After a minute Aragorn revealed himself and Amara followed after him. The group of horse riders quickly spotted them and circled around them, their banner flying high and proud in the wind.
"Riders of Rohan, what news from the Mark?" Aragorn's brotherly persona erased and formed into that of a leaders. He was on an important quest as anyone could see.
Amara felt intimadated by all the men on horses and stuck close to Aragorn, all the while trying to appear as if she didn't care that they had weapons and were on horses that stood more than two feet off the ground.
"What business does a man and," the leader of them all looked Amara up and down. "A lady have in Riddermark? Speak quickly!"
"I am Aragorn son of Arathorn and this is Amara daughter of Arathorn. We are friends of Rohan and of Théoden, your king."
Amara thought it would have been much easier to just say that she was his sister, but who was she to tell him what to do?"
"Théoden no longer recognises friend from foe." The man removed the helmet from his head and revealed his identity ."Not even his own kin."
"Aww, sorry to hear that," Amara feigned empathy but was trying to move things along. She knew that everything was going to be alright. "Listen, have you seen two hobbits. They look like little people with big hairy feet."
Aragorn glared at her. Éomer only looked at her with a kindness that he would not have spared at this turn in his life. He had jumped from his steed to talk to them more personally. He knew that she couldn't have been on the side of evil. There was something in her that shown too brightly to be brought down in that direction.
"Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over these lands. My company are those loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished. The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked. And everywhere his spies slip past our nets."
'Gandalf,' Amara thought.
"We are no spies. We track a party of Uruk-hai westward across the plain. They've taken two of our friends captive."
"The Uruks are destroyed. We slaughtered them during the night," Éomer spoke with no feeling.
"But what about the hobbits? You didn't see them did you?"
Again he faced her. "I am sorry lady, but we left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them."
The thought of Merry and Pippin really being dead because of her crossed her mind like passing over hot coals. No one said a word for a few seconds and Amara did not dare look at Aragorn. A good hug would have been appropriate and daring to look at Éomer he looked as if he would be willing to give her one. It kind of creeped her out. Éomer turned and let out a loud whistle. Two horses one chestnut brown, the other white galloped up.
"Hasufel! Arod!" He stroked the white one as they came closer to him. "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell."
Éomer moved his company out. They were on their way to battling more of the enemy. Amara watched them go off. She rumbed her temple not knowing what to do. Should they continue on even though Legolas and Gimili were still behind them fighting off orcs on their tail? The white horse, Arod nudged her a little and she felt even more creeped out.
The emotions rolling off of it were friendly enough, but even now she was still a city girl. The only things she had ridden that was close to a horse was a pony at the petting zoo when she was six.
"What are we going to do? Are we going to wait for Legolas and Gimili to come back or continue forward?" Oh she hoped he said that they would wait. Amara side stepped the horse feeling very uncomfortable around it. She could not ride such a beast by herself.
Aragorn could have cursed. The outlook of Merry and Pippin being alive was very slim and he knew that. "Amara can you at all sense them?" He ignored her question for a minute, trying to think of their next move.
"Um," Amara concentrated for a minute trying to sense something, anything." After a bit she shook her head.
"We move toward where the enemy was burned." Aragorn strolled off in the direction where Éomer had pointed out.
Aragorn sifted through the stinking pile. Amara stood off to the side breathing from her mouth. Just to stand there made her want to vomit. A wave of nausa hit her and she turned away from the scene. Why couldn't she sensed them, she should have been able to if they were alive. Oh how it aggravated her!
Quickly she turned back around when her brother let out a yell of fustration and kicked a helmet. In his right hand was a small belt.
"Aragorn."
He stood up, his head staring down at the ground.
A flash of emotion surged through her as she tried once more to feel out Merry and Pippin. It could not have been Aragorn's for he was feeling a bit of defeat. For a moment she thought it had been Gimili and Legolas coming back but it couldn't have been. She couldn't feel Legolas' emotions and she didn't imagine that Gimili would feel awed about the travel to catch up with them. And just as fast as it had revealed itself it was gone to her.
"Aragorn!" She wanted to tell him of what she'd experienced but he waved a hand at her. He got on his knees, tracing something with his hand.
"A hobbit lay here, and the other. They crawled."
Amara watched Aragorn follow the tracks, amazed at the whole thing. It was like watching an episode of some crime show just when they got to the good part.
Aragorn held up a fraction of rope. "Their hands were bound. Their bonds were cut."
"Aragorn!"
An almost annoyed looked passed on the ranger's face as he stopped to look up at his sister. "What is it?"
Ignoring the tone in his voice she revealed that she could sense them once more. "Aragorn, they are in the forest, Fangorn forest."
