Two chapters in one night-yay me! BTW, do you think my chapters are a bit too long? If so, please tell me because they're a lot longer than the chapters of my other story...
Chapter Seventeen
"Where is Ello?" Gandalf asked the leiveia. Jam put his hand over Harvey's mouth. Harvey looked up at him and purposely took Isaac's trembling hand.
"Do not blame them, Gandalf." Aragorn strode into the room and put his hands on Jam's shoulders. "I caught them sneaking out; she has gone to see Frodo. She thinks that if Frodo and Sam believe that everyone here is alright they will be able to focus more. I let her go."
Gandalf put his head in his hands.
"She is very resourceful, Gandalf, she knows what she is doing. It may even be good for Frodo, less chance of distraction, something new and something good..."
Jam listened in silence. Isaac sniffed and Gel picked him up and held him close.
"S'okay, man. Ello can look after herself. You remember that bully in Marina?" Gel murmured.
Jam and Harvey collapsed into fits of laughter. Legolas looked at Gel questioningly.
Gel grinned. "Some six foot hunk twice the size of her tried to rob her. She was twelve years old, and he was on the floor in about six seconds, her heel in his face." Gel's voice cracked and he and Isaac joined their brothers laughing. Harvey straightened his face.
"He looked like this-" Harvey twisted his features to a look of shock that made him look like a clown. Then everyone joined in the boys' laughter; Gimli chuckling loudly, Legolas chortling quietly, Aragorn smiling, Gandalf shaking his head, the hobbits shaking with laughter.
Later that evening Jam and Gel got out of bed for a quick look around in case Ello came back early. Legolas and Aragorn were talking quietly. But everyone else was asleep.
Pippin tossed and turned. Eventually he gave in and got up.
"Pippin!" hissed Merry. "What are you doing?"
"I just want to look!" Pippin whispered back, scampering towards Gandalf. He stepped back quickly at Gandalf's open eyes. But when he waved his hand over Gandalf's face, Gandalf was asleep, clutching a bundle of blankets Pippin recognised as the ball he had picked up earlier. Pippin removed the ball from Gandalf's arms quickly replacing it with a jar.
"Pippin!" Merry hissed angrily.
"I just want to look at it. I only want to look!" Pippin pleaded, and ignoring Merry he placed his hands on the smooth surface of the beautiful blue ball.
Immediately Pippin began to shake violently. He cried out and fell to the floor clutching the ball as his body went into spasms.
"Pippin!" Merry cried, walking Isaac who took one look at Pippin and gave a bloodcurdling scream.
Outside Jam and Gel froze simultaneously. "Isaac," Gel whispered, horror dawning on his face as another cry, Harvey, pierced the air. They flew back to the room where everyone slept and burst in seconds after Aragorn. It was sheer panic; Pippin was rolling around on the floor, Gandalf looked shocked and the twins were crying.
Aragorn leapt down and wrenched the ball of Pippin, who lay on the floor motionlessly, and Aragorn began to shake.
"What would Ello do...?" Gel whispered desperately. He placed his body in front of the twins who were huddled in a corner, obstructing their view. Harvey was snowy white and Isaac buried his face in Gel's top.
Gandalf threw a blanket over the ball and Aragorn shook his head firmly.
Gandalf stood over Pippin. "Fool of a Took!" Pippin refused to meet Gandalf's eyes. "Look at me! What did you see?"
"There...there was a voice. It asked me my name. I didn't answer. There was a white tree...it was dead."
Gandalf looked thoughtful, and then he turned back to Pippin. "What did you tell him of Frodo and the ring?"
"Come, hobbitses, come quickly. See, stairs! We go up, up, up the stairs." Sméagol gestured to a giant stair case on the other side of a wide road.
Ello's gaze drifted up to the evil looking fortress up the road and she shivered. "C'mon, we don't want to hang around here for long."
With a graceful look both ways, and a careful moment of thought Ello stood up and scampered nimbly across the road, closely followed by Sam and Sméagol. But Frodo lingered on the middle of the road, the ring, was yearning, pulling him toward the castle.
"Mr. Frodo!" Sam hissed desperately, and Sméagol and Ello whipped around. Ello watched with dismay as Frodo began to saunter towards the fortress. "Frodo, NO!" Sam cried as he and Sméagol pulled on Frodo's arms.
Ello shuddered as her body gave her a vision; in less than two minutes an army would be walking right up where they were. As she juddered back to the present she realised that there was no time. Sam and Sméagol were winning; but slowly.
"Frodo! Please," she cried and Frodo hesitated. "Frodo, please, I'm scared. You're scaring me."
Surprisingly Frodo succumbed and allowed himself to be pulled behind a semicircular ring of rocks, protecting them from almost any view.
Ello slammed against a wall, under and outcrop breathing heavily. The hobbits and Sméagol joined her in seconds. Frodo faced her, his eyes full of pain.
"I scared you? I'm sorry." He whispered and she smiled weakly.
"It's this place. It, I don't think it likes me. I'm so afraid." Ello's eyes dropped to the floor in shame. Frodo put his hand on her arm.
"We'll be okay." He whispered, as Sam let out a soft groan from Frodo's other side.
Ello didn't have to look to know that the hundreds of troops were flowing from the fortress gates. She could feel it, their species were natural enemies, and the very presence of them was enough to terrify her without her even having a choice. In a swift rush of winds a Nazgúl flew powerfully into view. As the mount screeched Ello clamped bit down hard on her lip, and automatically she curled into a ball, her hands grasping her arms, drawing blood where her beautiful long nails pierced her skin.
"Mr. Frodo, do something, she's going to hurt herself." Sam's concerned whisper was barely audible but Frodo nodded, he was going to already. He gently met Ello's eyes. They were filled with a fear so young and innocent it burned Frodo's heart. He softly prised her hand from her leg. Her hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of his shirt. Frodo calmly slid his arms around her trembling shoulders in a comforting embrace. She clutched at Frodo's cloak, keeping him close, and Frodo murmured softly in her ear.
"It's not over, he can't see us. You'll be fine. I promise. It's okay." Frodo shot a frantic glance over at Sam. "What's wrong with her?" he mouthed.
Sam motioned for him to be quiet. Frodo began to rock back and forward softly. The army trudged by, some orcs grumbling incessantly. But Ello's terror deepened when they listened in...
"...an' they have leiveia! According to Gor the little female's real feisty. I can't wait to sink my teeth into that one..."
"Nah, she's mine...I wanna cook her alive!"
Ello whimpered quietly and Frodo's arms tightened. "It's going to be alright Ello. We won't let them near you."
Ello buried her face into Frodo's shirt and waited for the terrifying nightmare to stop.
"A fool, perhaps, but an honest one. Pippin told Sauron nothing of Frodo. However, we happened to have a strike of luck. Sauron will strike next at Minas Tirith. We must be ready. I will ride for Gondor." Gandalf declared, "Peregrin, come with me."
Obediently Pippin tottered after Gandalf, Merry in pursuit. Gel looked down at Isaac, who hadn't let go of his jacket and was still crying.
"Isaac, c'mon, let me take you for a walk." Gel murmured, lifting Isaac onto his hip. "Is that okay?" Théoden nodded.
"Why did you have to look?" Merry demanded of Pippin
"I'm sorry, Merry. I just wanted to look at it." Pippin mumbled.
"Why do you always have to look?" Merry ranted
"I won't do it again."
"Don't you understand? Sauron thinks that you have the ring. You're going with Gandalf." Merry looked at the floor.
"But you're coming with me, aren't you?" Pippin asked with a sudden tremor in his voice.
Merry looked at Pippin and shook his head.
Pippin looked aghast.
Gandalf sat Pippin on the back of Shadowfax behind himself.
"Here. Something for the road." Merry handed Pippin a small package.
"The last of the pipe weed," murmured Pippin in slight confusion.
"I know you ran out. You smoke too much, Pip." Merry's voice quivered.
"But we'll see each other soon, won't we?" Pippin cried.
"I don't know, Pip." Merry's voice cracked and tears sprung to his eyes. "I don't know!"
"Merry!" Pippin cried as Shadowfax galloped off.
Merry ran up to the top tower.
"Merry!" Aragorn, Jam and Harvey followed him.
"He always followed me. Even before we were tweens. I used to get him into the worst kind of trouble. But I was always there to get him out again. Now he's gone." Merry looked at the floor. Aragorn put a hand on Merry's shoulder and Harvey tugged at Merry's sleeve.
"Harv," Jam warned.
"I get Isaac into trouble all the time and P-" Harvey cut off as Jam's hand clamped over his mouth.
Aragorn looked at Merry kindly. "If there is one thing that I have learned about hobbits, it is that they are the most hardy folk.
After what seemed like an age the sea of marching boots faded. Ello's tensed body collapsed with shaky breaths.
"See, it was alright. I told you."
Ello shot a half hearted glare at Frodo and he laughed, releasing her from his arms.
"Thank you." She mumbled.
"Anytime."
Ello laughed. "You two are talking more and more like me."
"I s'pose we are!" Sam said teasingly
"Hurry, hurry, no time!" Sméagol urged.
Ello looked reproachfully at the long stair case and shrugged. She scampered up the first couple of stairs with no problem.
Frodo followed quickly and Sam cam last, as Sméagol scampered in front of Ello.
Soon it was dark. "I have to go." Ello whispered as they reached a ledge.
"What!" Sam exclaimed.
"I only had eighteen hours. They'll think something's wrong. I'm sorry. I want to help but you saw me back there. It's just..." with a sigh she pulled down her sleeve revealing to long scars of her torn flesh from the orc bite. "Orcs hate me. They've scared me in particular since one tried to eat my arm, though I bit him first. See, one bite from me, bye, bye orc, but one bite from them, all I get is agony. I'm so sorry Frodo. I can't do it." She choked back a sob. "And now I have to go. Here." She handed Frodo the chain with the ring from around her neck "I don't need it anymore. Good luck." She embraced Sam first, and then Frodo and she looked back to the hobbits miserable faces from the path that enclosed around her, transporting her back to relative safety.
"Ello!"
As soon as Ello stepped out of the wall she heard Harvey's terrified wails. The only way of telling who it was, was the volume. Isaac was never that loud.
"Harvey?" She called in confusion.
There was a small choking sound and Harvey came hurtling towards her out of nowhere. He pounded into her with a force that took her breath away.
"Harvey," she started to complain, but then she heard the sobs. Harvey almost never cried; if there was a twin with tears in their eyes it was Isaac, but there was no scratch on the boy's face. Ello knelt down peeled his arms from around her waist, keeping him at arm's length and looked Harvey in the eye.
"Harv, what's wrong?" she murmured. "You never cry. That's Isaac."
Harvey cried harder. "He's gone." He sobbed.
"What? Who?" Ello's brow furrowed in confusion
"Isaac. Gel took him for a walk four hours ago. They haven't come back. And Pippin picked up a scary ball and now he and Gandalf are gone t- t- too!" Harvey sobbed and Ello held him close.
"It'll be okay."
"I'm scared. I want to go home." Harvey wept.
"I know, I know. But we will be okay here. I promise. I won't let them hurt you. Or Isaac." Ello stood up, Harvey still clinging to her with all his might. She shifted him slightly to allow her to walk, and ambled up to Théoden's hall, where it seemed a shouting match seemed to be going on.
"You have to let us go and look for them!" Jam was shouting at King Théoden.
"Whoa, whoa, Jam, what's going on?" Ello cried.
"Ello!" Jam strode over and grasped her arm. "Gel and Isaac are missing and he won't let us go and find them!"
"It's too dangerous, we don't know what happened. I am sorry, and I will organise for some scouts to look for them-"
"There's no time!" Jam growled, and he leapt out of a window and hit the ground 10 meters below.
"Jam!" Ello cried angrily. Then she turned to Éowyn. "Will you watch Harv for me please? I have to stop Jam from being an idiot."
Éowyn smiled and took Harvey's hand.
Ello leapt after her brother and Théoden sighed.
"Jam, come back you idiot!" Ello caught up with her brother easily.
"Ello, something happened. I don't know what but- hang on I can smell them!" Sure enough the smell of the two young leiveia was fresh, but there was no sign of them.
Ello and Jam pushed their legs faster. Suddenly Ello tripped over something and fell over. Jam stopped after a few meters and turned around. Ello sniffed, and her eyes widened. She strained her ears and heard two, no three, sets of breathing.
"Ello?" Ello signalled at Jam not to move.
"Isaac? Isaac, are you there." Jam cried ludicrously, but the third set of breathing got quicker.
"Leave me alone! Go away! Please, don't hurt me! I don't know who you are!" a small voice whispered.
Jam's eyes widened and Ello put her hand towards the ground. Suddenly she stopped as if she could go no further
"You do know me Isaac. It's me, it's Ello, I promise. Where are you?"
"E-Ello?" the form of a small body flickered on the ground
"That's right. You're okay now. I'll look after you; no one is going to hurt you now." Slowly, as Ello spoke smooth, comforting words, Isaac flickered into view. Ello made a noise that one might make after a punch to the stomach; every inch of Isaac's tiny body was covered in bruises. There were scratches all down his arms and four gashes down his cheeks that were seeping blood.
"Master," Sméagol hissed to Frodo, "the fat one will take it."
"What?" Frodo looked at Sméagol as if he had said that there were daisies growing out of Mount Doom.
"The fat hobbit wants the precious. He will ask you for it. You will see." Sméagol whispered. Frodo shook his head and shuffled towards the sleeping Sam, but Gollum had placed a seed of doubt in Frodo's mind. One that could not be easily shaken.
"Isaac, what happened, who did this to you? Oh, baby." Ello scooped him into her arms and held him tight, and there were tears in every eye. Jam bent down and carefully stroked Isaac's hair.
"The bad guys."
"Baby, where's Gel?" Ello murmured.
Isaac sobbed harder as one of his hands unclasped and another image came into view; a body, with a metre long sword sticking out of its chest.
Ello threw her head back and all let all of her pain and grief out in one long, unearthly scream.