***Hello everyone! I would like to apologize for this story being so long on hiatus and I hope you all will forgive me! :( If I knew how popular the story actually had gotten I would have actually continued updating! I would like to deeply thank everyone who reviewed, favorited, and/or followed this story, you guys are definitely what inspired me again and caused me to start writing this again! Again I hope you can all forgive me and this story can shoot off again, please review for me? Even if it's too yell at me I will accept it because I deserve as much! Also I'm sorry if Aria or any character seems odd in this chapter at all! I'm still trying to get back into Aria's character and trying to remember all my ideas for this story! Happy Reading!(:***
I suddenly shot my eyes opened and did not know how long I passed out for. I tried to take in a gasp of breath but I was only met with a mouthful of snow. I then figured I wasn't out for very long and I was still trapped in the snow. I could feel rocks digging painfully into my front side and guessed I had been trapped between snow and the rock wall. I tried to move my arms and legs but could not, I only succeeded in pushing the rocks even farther into my front side. I closed my eyes tightly as I tried to scream, not wanting to believe this would be the way I would die.
"Aria!" I heard suddenly and paused for a moment, not sure what I heard as I was beginning to feel a bit dizzy. "Aria!" I heard again, only this time louder. Suddenly I felt one of my hands free; I began to try and wiggle it but my hand only fell limp.
"Legolas she is over here!" I heard the same voice and smiled when I learned it was Aragorn who had found me. I wasn't sure how much longer it was before I finally felt someone touch my hair. Soon my head was uncovered and my eyes were barely opened. Finally they moved enough snow to pull me out and I couldn't hold on much longer.
"Sister!" I heard but it sounded so far away. "Sister you must breathe!" I tried to take in a gasp of air but felt my airway clogged. I choked and coughed a bit as I tried again.
"Legolas she must have gotten water in throat." I heard another voice say worriedly. Suddenly there was a push to my chest and it felt like it was almost as if someone pushed life back into me. I quickly sat up and began to cough out snow which had by now melted into water. I started taking deep breaths of air, choking slightly here or there.
"Oh thank Valar!" I heard Legolas say and he hugged me tightly.
"Brother, I'm fine." I choked out and Legolas immediately shushed me. Someone picked me up and I immediately looked up to see Boromir was holding me.
"We must get off the mountain!" Boromir said urgently as he gripped me tighter, wrapping his cloak around me. "Make for the gap of Rohan and take the West road to my city!"
"The gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard!" Aragorn yelled ferociously and I furrowed my eyebrows. I looked over at Aragorn to see him glaring harshly at Boromir, this could not simply be over which path to take, can it?
"We cannot pass over the mountain. Let us go under it. Let us go through the mines of Moria." Gimli immediately suggested after numerous other times. Gandalf looked concerned and I was too cold to make any comment as I was shivering fiercely by now.
"Let the ring bearer decide." Gandalf said gravely and I shook harshly again.
"It will be the death of the hobbits and I doubt Aria can take much more of this either!" Boromir yelled and I immediately thought of how weak I was being; I did not need to be carried.
"Frodo?" Gandalf asked once more and we all looked to Frodo.
"We will go through the mines." Frodo said and Gandalf nods.
"So be it." Gandalf said, more grave than before, if possible.
As soon as we began to move again I began to try and shakily get out of Boromir's arms. I did not wish to be carried because no one else needed to be carried. I feared as if they would consider me weak because I was a woman and would drop me off at the next available location, possibly Lothlorien.
"What are you doing Aria?" Boromir asked as I began to move out of his arms again.
"Let me down." I said, my voice sounding weak and shaky.
"No Aria, you are not strong enough to trudge through the snow." Boromir said, not even glancing down at me.
"I am fine, I do not need to be carried! Now let me down!" I tried to yell out and began to struggle more harshly. I saw my brother begin to make his way over to us and I continued to struggle, knowing my brother would try to carry me.
"Is there a problem?" Legolas asked, eyeing us warily, I could tell he did not trust Boromir.
"She does not want to be carried but she is not strong enough to walk through the snow." Boromir said as I paused to look at Aragorn heading this way before I began to scowl.
"Perhaps I should carry her now?" Aragorn asked as I continued to scowl, crossing my arms. Boromir nodded slowly and handed me to Aragorn, though glaring slightly at him. Aragorn began to walk again as my scowl grew deeper.
"What is wrong?" Aragorn asked, watching the group in front of us and I rolled my eyes.
"Decided to get over your foul mood, have you?" I asked and glared at him as he sighed.
"Please tell me what is wrong." I sighed and looked at the group in front of us as well.
"I fear everyone make think me weak and want to make me stay at the next city we run into." I grumbled as I begin to look at my hands.
"I will not let them." Aragorn said finally with a sigh and I looked up at him.
"You want to as well." I observed through chattering teeth and Aragorn did not look at me.
"I wish you did not choose to go at all on this journey, but I will not stop you from what you want." I nodded slowly and smiled.
We quietly followed Gandalf along the shore of a dark lake and it was night now. The snow was now gone and was replaced by greasy green stones since we were at the bottom of the mountain. As we entered a large cave like entrance I looked at Aragorn.
"I think I will be fine to walk now." I say simply, I wasn't freezing any longer and my legs were falling asleep. Aragorn nodded and set me on the ground; I smiled before reaching up and placing a light kiss on his cheek. "Thank you Aragorn." I whispered before following the rest of the group.
"Are you well sister?" Legolas came up next to me and asked, I nodded slowly.
"Yes I should be fine now, I feel much better." I said and Legolas glanced at me.
"I did not like Boromir holding you." He stated quietly and I sighed.
"It was nothing Legolas, why are you troubled?"
"I do not trust him Aria, I see the way he looks at the ring, the way he watches Frodo." I watched as Legolas' eyes swiped towards Boromir and then looked back at me.
"He is only man Legolas and he is young. I expected him to be weak, but I believe he will find his way as should you Legolas. There are only so many of us on this journey, we cannot fight each other or we lose all hope." I glared at Legolas before swiftly walking to Gandalf who was standing at a wall. He placed his hand on the wall and I watched curiously as light lit up the wall like veins.
"The walls of Moria!" Gimli bellowed in awe and I smiled at his excitement.
"Itidin, it mirrors only starlight and moonlight." Gandalf murmured, I watched as the moon rose over the mountains and out of the clouds. The vein like lights grew stronger and created a brightly lit door which I stared at in awe.
"It reads, 'The door of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter.'" Gandalf read the line of words at the top of the door as everyone observed the door.
"What do you suppose that means?" Merry asked.
"It's quite simple. If you are a friend, speak the password and the doors will open!" Gandalf said confidently and raised his arms. "Annon edhellen, edro hi ammen!" We all watched quietly as we waited for the door to open. Gandalf sighed as we soon guessed that that was indeed not the password.
We all were not sure what to do as we waited for Gandalf to try and discover the password to the door. I sat near the cave entrance where it was the brightest and watched the sky. I heard everyone behind me, murmuring almost silently to each other.
"Why are you all the way over here?" I heard Aragorn ask as he sat down next to me.
"Are you jealous of Boromir?" I asked in return as I continued to stare at the sky. As we made the journey back down the mountain to Moria I thought long and hard about Aragorn's behavior on the mountain. I put two and two together after my discussion, as a light way to put it, with Legolas.
"Why would you ask that?" Aragorn asked and I sighed.
"I've had my suspicions. Aragorn, I do not care for Boromir in that way, I barely know the man. I just believe that Boromir is lost at the moment and kindness goes a long way." Aragorn and I remained quiet for a little while longer before Aragorn decided to speak again.
"I am sorry. I do not believe that you had feelings for Boromir. I'm not sure why I was jealous." Aragorn admitted, I looked at him and smiled before grabbing his hand.
"I am yours Aragorn; do not fear someone taking me away from you." I said and squeezed his hand reassuringly. He sighed and looked at me.
"I now only fear Saruman and his men taking you from me." He said softly and I sighed, I wished that I could swear to him that I would not die but both of us knew I could not.
"I know, it is what I fear as well." Suddenly we both heard a loud splash and I jumped. We both looked back and saw Merry and Pippin throwing rocks into the water. Aragorn jumped up and jogged over to them as I walked towards Legolas, wary of the water.
"Do not disturb the water." Aragorn said as he caught Pippin's arm.
"I do not like this lake." I said to Legolas as I stopped next to him.
"Yes, something evil dwells inside." He murmured as we both observed the dark, murky water. I noticed a small ripple in the water that was not from a rock and took a step forward. I noticed Aragorn place a hand on his sword. It was then we heard a rumble and we all turned around to see the door was opening. I was not relieved though, I had an ominous feeling about the dark entrance to the cave. It was like leaving one evil and walking right into the next. Still, we entered the cave anyway.
"So, master elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the dwarves; roaring fires, malt beer, red meat off the bone. This, my friend, is the home of my cousin, Balin, and they call it a mine!" I smiled widely as Gimli snorted. "A mine!"
I gasped as Gandalf's staff suddenly lit up the entry way. We were surrounded by skeletons and almost every one of them had an arrow embedded in them. I began to step backwards to leave the cave when I slightly stumbled on a skeleton behind me.
"This is no mine! It is a tomb!" Boromir cried out in disgust as I shivered from the thought.
"Oh no!" Gimli wailed, shocked by the feeling of loss. Legolas pulled an arrow out of one of the small skeletons.
"Goblins!" He spat out and threw the arrow away harshly. I immediately pulled out my sword as did most of the others as we began to slowly leave the cave.
"We make for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here. Get out!" Boromir growled and then we suddenly heard a scream. I quickly turned being more towards the back. I saw Frodo getting pulled out of the entrance as the other hobbits try the cut off the tentacle that held him by the ankle.
"Frodo!" I cried out and began to run towards him.
"Aria!" I heard my brother cry out but I ignored him, I swore to Frodo to protect him and no one would stop me. I quickly sever the tentacle and catch Frodo, beginning to pull him away from the beast as Boromir and Aragorn start cutting the other tentacles. Suddenly twenty more tentacles, it seems, shot out from the water. One tentacle pushes me forward harshly and I grunted as I dropped Frodo. I fell forward into the shallow end of the water and felt a tentacle grab me by the ankle. I felt it pull me back towards the water and I was out of reach of my sword.
I quickly flip around and try in vain to get the tentacle to let go of my ankle. Suddenly in the middle of the lake the water starts to bubble fiercely. I gasp loudly as a giant body comes out of the water and began to try getting out faster. I made a grunt of frustration as I began to give up hope. I jumped as a sword came down and cut the tentacle.
"Aragorn!" I cried out as he picked me up, along with my sword, and ran into the cave entrance. We quickly covered our heads as the beast made the entrance cave in, the rocks falling all around us.
I sighed slightly as Aragorn let me down and we were surrounded by darkness. It was silent now and I couldn't help but feel slightly nervous since being in here could be just as bad as being out there. I knew that my brother was uncomfortable as well since he was a forest elf and did not like the dark or small, cramped spaces. Suddenly light began to glow from Gandalf's staff and I let a small sigh of relief now that we could see better.
"We have but one choice; we must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard, there are older and fouler things that the Orcs in the deep places of the world." Gandalf said and I sighed again but this time out of frustration.
"That was what I was afraid you might say," I muttered to myself and felt Aragorn place a hand on my shoulder.
We had been walking for a while now and I rolled my eyes as I noticed that both Aragorn and Legolas were still walking on either side of me.
"Don't either of have even the slightest want to go bother Gandalf on where we're going?" I asked in slight exasperation and both of them shook their heads. I grunted slightly and crossed my arms, ever since we entered the cave both of the refused to leave my side and it was starting to get on my nerves.
"I can handle myself you know," I continued and I knew Legolas was rolling his eyes.
"That is not why we are walking with you," he said shortly and I sighed before looking over Aragorn.
"You know, you two should perhaps make more friends than just me. In fact, I'm not truly a friend; I am just your companion by default." I said with a raised eyebrow and Aragorn turned to me with a smirk.
"Is that so?" He asked and I nodded.
"Yes, Legolas is my brother so I have to be his friend and I've known you since I was a child." I said and he chuckled.
"Quietly now, it's a four day journey to the other side, let us hope our presence will go unnoticed." Gandalf said quietly and I huffed slightly before crossing my arms.
"You know, I think you were right when you said that our horses fit us because they are like us." Legolas said with an amused smile and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Are you insinuating that I'm stubborn and unruly?" I asked in disbelief and Legolas merely widened his own smile before turning to face forward again. I scoffed and crossed my arms more tightly across my chest.
"I said quietly!" Gandalf chastened us and I sighed before dropping my arms to my side, following the rest of the group in silence.
As we continued to walk I began to let my eyes wander. I noticed the dirty walls as we went up a steep staircase and there were more dwarf corpses. There was also writing on the walls with what looked like blood and I shuddered slightly at how deadly the air felt around us. I heard a noise, like a small rock tumbling off the edge, and I jumped with a gasp. I grabbed Aragorn's hand by accident and I blushed when I realized he was looking at me.
"Jumpy sister?" Legolas asked with a smirk and I glared at him.
"Hush you!" I whispered loudly and they both began to chuckle when I blushed deeper. I was not one of those girls who got scared so easily. Suddenly we came to a stop and I tried to look ahead to see why we had not moved.
"I have no memory of this place," I heard Gandalf say quietly and I frowned slightly when I noticed that we were in front of three pathways.
It had been a few minutes before we decided we should take a rest while Gandalf tried to remember the way we should go. I sighed as I leaned my back against a rock and I closed my eyes as I breathed in deeply. I felt a hand touch my face and I opened my eyes with a light smile on my face, knowing it was Aragorn.
"Are you well?" He asked and I nodded slowly.
"Yes, the air around here is so…deadly and sinister, it makes me uneasy is all." I said with a small shiver, I tried to convince myself it was because the cold rock started to touch my skin.
"I will not let anything happen to you." He said and a small smile formed on my face as I placed one of my hands on his face.
"Do not worry about me, we both know I can take care of myself. I would not be able to live if I knew you died because you were distracted by trying to protect me." I said and Aragorn placed his hand on top of mine.
"Do not worry about me either," he said and I nodded with a sigh.
"Yes, easier said than done, is it not?" I asked and he chuckled lamely with a small nod. I frowned slightly when I noticed Gimli was moping about the area, looking around with sad eyes and sighing every once in a while.
"Poor Gimli, no one deserves this." I said with a sigh and Aragorn glanced at him.
"He will heal in time, unfortunately now is not the time to dwell on such matters, we are not out of dangerous waters yet." He said and I nodded.
"I know, you are right, I just cannot help but feel pity for Gimli. I know how it feels to find out you have lost a great mass of your people, or I at least somewhat know." I said with another sigh and look at the ground, reminding myself of the mystery that surrounds me.
"We will destroy this ring and we will find out about your family and your past Aria." Aragorn said and I looked up to see determination in his eyes. I smiled slightly and reached up, placing at chaste kiss on his lips.
"Thank you," I said and Aragorn nodded before standing and heading over to where Legolas stood. I closed my eyes once more and settled into a short sleep.
"Ah, that's it, that's the way!" I was startled awake by the relieved voice since I slept very lightly. I slowly stood and stretched slightly as the Hobbits scrambled to Gandalf.
"He's remembered!" Merry said in a relieved tone and I smiled slightly before heading over to where Aragorn and Legolas still stood.
"No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down there." Gandalf said with a small smirk and tapped his nose when he saw Merry's shocked face. "If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose!" He then began to walk towards the far right tunnel and I smiled as we began to walk at the tail of the group once more.
After a few moments I began to feel the air was lighter and I knew we were in a more open space. I smiled a bit, happy to be in a less stuffy place even though we were still in the cave.
"Let me risk a little more light," Gandalf said quietly and I smiled more widely as I saw the huge archways and the beautiful designs on the walls.
"Behold the great realm and Dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf!" Gandalf said and I heard the Hobbits gasp at the beauty. They were not used to this form of beauty since they were so used to the peaceful beauty of the shire. I ignored everyone as the Hobbits admired and complimented the beautiful walls on this part of Moria.
"How are you fairing brother?" I asked quietly and looked towards Legolas. I knew he was very uncomfortable in this cave since we lived in and around the woods. He and our kin did not do as well in dark, cramped places as others.
"I am fine," he said shortly and I sighed but smiled slightly, remembering my own behavior on the mountain.
"We will be out soon Legolas," was all I managed to get out before I heard a loud cry and we both looked over to see Gimli run off into a room.
"Gimli!" I heard Gandalf call out and we all quickly made our way into the room that Gimli ran into. When I walked into the room I saw Gimli kneeling in front of a tomb and sobbing slightly.
"No, no! Oh no!" He moaned out as he wrapped his arms as best as he could on the top of the tomb. I frowned and tried to comfort him by placed a hand on his back.
"I am sorry Gimli." I said quietly as he continued to sob slightly.
"Here lies Balin, son of Fudin, Lord of Moria." Gandalf said with a grim sigh which only made Gimli choke out another sob as I squeezed his shoulder. "He is dead then. It is as I feared." It was then that Gandalf noticed an old ripped up book and carefully picked it up. I felt someone softly grab my hand and pull me back closer to the doors. I noticed it was Legolas who pulled me near him and Aragorn. He was looked uneasily and worriedly at Aragorn which only caused me to worry.
"We must move on, we cannot linger." He whispered to us urgently and I bit my lip slightly.
"I trust Gandalf Legolas, if he does not feel the need that we must move on so quickly then I feel that it is okay." I said and grabbed Legolas' hand again. "You may just naturally feel more uneasy Legolas, it is only normal for you." I said and Legolas sighed, I knew he was slightly frustrated with me.
Suddenly there was a loud crashing noise and I gasped loudly, not prepared for any noise. I quickly looked around and saw Pippin standing next to well. He was gripping Gandalf's staff and hat very tightly with his eyes squeezed shut. We all stood very tense and rigid as the noise finally slowed to a stop. No one breathed nor did they move as we all waited in complete silence to see what we had awoken. I belief a slight sigh of relief as Gandalf angrily marches towards Pippin.
"Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!" He growled out angrily and snatched his things from Pippin's hands. I noticed Pippin's guilty face and slightly teary eyes.
"Don't be so harsh Gandalf." I chided slightly and Gandalf didn't even glance at me.
"Hush you!" He growled out and that was when we all heard it. It was the low rolling of drums and I sucked in my breath.
"Oh no," I whispered.