ASHLEY
With a gasp, I pull myself over the ledge and onto my stomach next to Pippin. This is the real reason Gandy dragged me along, to do his dirty work! Above us is the beacon of Gondor and a few feet away are two guards that would just love to kill us if it meant things would get more interesting. Perching on my knees, I look over at Pip and begin to concentrate and lift him up a few feet, hoping like hell that I don't lose focus and drop him. Slowly, I raise him until he can grab to oil to pour on the wood and light it with the torch before quickly bringing him back down. Pip and I start our descent as the two guards jump to their feet.
The climb down is made harder by the fact that I have only enough upper arm strength needed to open a stubborn jar of pickles, and that's only when someone says that I can't. The tower type building that the beacon was set up on was tall and the rock jutted out at random angles, sometimes helpful and sometimes hindering. By the time my feet touched the ground again, my arms felt like jelly and were shaking terribly.
"I'm never doing that again," I grumble to Pippin, who nods in agreement.
"Neither am I," he concurs," they can find a new Hobbit for that." Haldir jogs over to us, hurrying us away towards the citadel so that we can't be seen as the idjits that lit the beacon without the steward's permission. I mean, we were, but we don't need anyone else to think so just yet. "Where's Gandalf?"
"Watching to see if the other beacons have been lit," Haldir answers in a hushed voice as we pass through one of the alleys, keeping both Pip and me close to him as his sense of protection kicks in full force. "Denethor's guards are still outside our rooms so Ashley will have to levitate everyone through the window and hope they have not gone inside to look through our belongings." I swallow past the lump in my throat, feeling nervous and excited at the same time, that same feeling I got just before the battle in Moria. Breathing heavily, we stop outside Pippin's room, where I slowly raise him up to his balcony ledge and I concentrate on him until I know he's stable. Next, Haldir and I rush to the room we share and I lift us both onto our own balcony before my strength fails and we drop onto the hard, marble floor.
"I feel like death," I groan softly, curling up on my side and letting Haldir pick me up easily. The fact that he did it without any sound of protest gave my self-esteem a boost, but I would rather be pigging out right about now than aching so badly. Haldir lays me down on the lush bed with my head in his lap. "This is so much worse than a hangover."
"Just rest for a few minutes and you'll be fine, Mel." He pushes some of my tangled hair off my face and behind my ear, placing a kiss on the very tip of my nose. "Denethor wishes us to see him later tonight, but I do not trust him."
"You just kissed my nose." I giggle, looking up at him with a smile.
"Hmm, yes I did." He smiles back, shifting slightly to put another kiss on both of my eyelids, and then my lips. It wasn't possessive or bruising, it was a simple kiss that meant he loved me. "And now it's time for you to sleep." I nod, eyes already closed as sleep swept me away to a dream of epic proportions. It had something to do with Haldir and a beach, and something else about a giant piece of cherry pie, and a talking pickle. Yeah, I loved that dream, especially the part with the pie. I love me some pie.
KHARL
The ringing of a bell jerks me out of blissful sleep, the harsh sunlight stabbing my eyes and making my headache that much worse. I shouldn't have gotten drunk last night, but it had been so long since I had a taste of alcohol that I couldn't resist. "The beacons of Minas Tirith," Aragorn shouts as he runs into the hall," the beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!" Théoden looks up, startled at the Ranger's sudden appearance. I just collapse back on the floor with a grunt.
"Then Rohan will answer," the King answers," muster the Rohirrim!" Fucking fantastic, going into battle with a hangover. I stand up slowly and stumble to my room, pulling on clean clothing, chain mail, and all those other fixings you need to kill someone. The courtyard outside is filled with soldiers and women wishing their men well and a safe return. I had no one to see me off since Ash was in Minas Tirith with Gandy and her elf, my ex hates my guts, and my newest girlfriend is probably sleeping with my brother right now.
I mount a borrowed horse of a soldier that's out of commission and ride with the others. This day wasn't gonna get better anytime soon, I think with a sour look, fighting not to get sick. At least the night before was pretty cool, what little I could remember.
"Horsemen," Gimli huffs behind Leggy in the saddle. "I wish I could muster a legion of dwarves, fully armed and filthy.
"Your kinsman may have no need to ride to war," Legolas replies," I fear war already marches on their own land." After a rousing speech from Éomer, we ride off in one large group of warriors and women, a few people branching off to gather more from other settlements and lead them to where we'll be going. Dunharrow, what kind of weird name is that for a rendezvous spot?