Nightmare
Strider and Legolas had been surrounded by throng of orcs when Natasha had been tackled and forced from their protection. Cutting down every orc within reach, they searched the chaos for any sign of her.
Roar of pain rose above the din of battle and the forest began to brighten. The battle slowed to a halt as all the orcs turned to stare in fear at their leader as he held a struggling and screaming Natasha. The two elves watched, frozen, as Natasha glowed and the orc holding her burned to dust before a wave of light washed out and over all those around. Each orc the wave touched dissolved into a cloud of black dust, blown away on a roaring wind from nowhere. But when it came to Strider and Legolas, it enveloped them in a warm embrace, healing their injuries, and continued on until all the orcs had either fled or been destroyed.
The wave of light retreated back to its source, the forest darkening once again, encompassing Natasha in a soft glow as she lay tightly curled on the ground. A moment passed and glow faded and Natasha's body went slack as she lost consciousness. Strider and Legolas sprang across the now empty battle field to her side, checking her for injuries and attempted to wake her.
"Legolas, lead the way. You know it better." Strider said, lifting Natasha over his shoulder and taking off after his companion.
They traveled quickly, in spite of the rain, leaping nimbly over fallen logs and outstretched roots until finally they came to the ranger station they'd been making for all along, well away from the battlefield. The small cave was shielded by the edge of a waterfall, and leafy vines further obscured the entrance. A tunnel lead quite a good distance into the side of the hill, and all within was warm and dry.
Strider lay Natasha on an bed of furs, feeling her head for a fever but found none. He watched her eyelids flutter with hope of her awakening, only for it to be dashed as she began tossing her head from side to side, muttering and moaning incoherently.
She was lost in a world of no escape. All around her, people were screaming in pain. She felt it, heard it from within herself and from the others. Whips cracked and acid burned. The others' voices raised along with her own in a never-ending scream of agony. Images flooded her mind, too fast for her to get more than a glimpse of them, sending her mind in a spiral as she tumbled down, to where she could only guess. She struggled against her bonds, trying to escape, fire licking at her legs and belly, slowly consuming her. She choked on smoke rising from her own flesh and struggled all the harder.
Suddenly, a light penetrated the darkness, bright and full of hope, and she could hear a voice calling her name, begging something of her. The bonds holding her fell away, and the screams faded into the ether of dreams, as she was pulled steadily upwards towards the light.
"Natasha wake up! Wake up." Legolas cried, shaking her shoulder.
Legolas and Strider had just settled in for the night when Natasha had started screaming in her sleep. They had rushed to her side and had been trying to wake her ever since, but without success. Just as they were about to give up hope of ever awakening her, Natasha bolted up with a final scream of pain, searching the area with unfocused eyes. She bolted upright, screaming in pain. Unfocused eyes searched the area and without thinking, Legolas and Strider wrapped their arms around her, pulling her against them as she thrashed about, weakly calling for help. Tears ran unchecked down her face and she buried her head in Strider's shoulder as sobs wracked her slim frame.
Strider and Legolas held her tightly between them as she slowly calmed down and began to shiver violently. Drawing a blanket over all three of them, they slid closer to her, rubbing her back and soothing her in Elvish. Her hold on Strider's shirt loosened, her body relaxing as she fell into an exhausted sleep. Strider and Legolas remained awake only a while longer to assure she slept in peace before their own exhaustion caught up with them and they joined her in the world of dreams.
Hours later...
Natasha awoke cozy and warm, and surrounded by the most delicious scent she'd ever smelled. Eyes closed, she smiled and tried to burrow deeper into her blankets, dreading when Nigel would come and boot her out of bed to face the day. She didn't want to get up, it was way too cold, her pillow smelled sooo good and she was comfortable. Suddenly, her pillow rose considerably before settling back down into its normal rhythm once more. Her eyes shot open but instantly regretted it. Ohhh! Did her head ache! Like a million little jack hammers were pummeling away in her brain.
She waited for what seemed like an eternity, before daring to open her eyes again and stared at Strider's chest. At least she was pretty sure it was Strider's chest. The color of the tunic was right.
'What happened?' she wondered, absently running her fingers over the soft fabric, and hoping that he was truly asleep.
His heart beat steadily beneath her ear, strong and healthy, a lulling cadence enticing her back to sleep. His scent, however, was driving her nuts. IT sent sparks flying up and down her spine, tendrils of desire settling…Well needless to say, she liked it very much. And the other scent that the wind occasionally sent by her nose was also very appealing.
Strider shifted in his sleep, pulling her closer to him and resting his cheek on top of her head, sighed and slid into a deeper sleep.
'So Strider's there. That must mean that Legolas is...' Natasha thought, turning her head slightly to look around, and finding the golden elf laying behind her, his arm thrown over her waist and she nearly jumped out of her skin when he shifted his leg and found her to be entwined with his.
'Looks like you're trapped, girl.' she thought to herself, and then smiled. 'Oh well, there are worse places to be trapped.'
Legolas shifted again, murmuring in his sleep and pressing himself even closer to Natasha. 'Someone's having a good dream.' she thought with a chuckle.
She carefully edged away but only succeeded in pressing closer to Strider.
'Wonder what it's about…' she wondered idly. 'Probably Strider, if the looks they've been giving each other is anything to go by. Must be nice to have someone to dream about, and kiss in the morning.'
Sighing, she snuggled down between them dreading when Strider would make them get up and end this. As though at the bidding of some spiteful higher being, Strider's arm disappeared and he stretched, yawning widely. His eyes opened and he smiled at her, sitting up.
"Good morning, my…sorry…Natasha. How are you feeling this morning?" he asked, genuine concern shining from the gray depths of his eyes.
"A little confused. How did we…um…get like this?" she blushed.
Strider chuckled at her sudden embarrassment and went to build up the fire. Behind her, Legolas too stretched and the warmth that had surrounded her disappeared. Hiding her disappointment, Natasha sat up and began finger-combing her hair, unsure where her pack had gotten to.
"You woke up screaming." Legolas explained gently. "We held you until you fell asleep. You were shivering so we just pulled the blanket over all of us and kept you warm."
"Oh." was all she said, looking away, a blush creeping onto her face.
"There's no shame in a nightmare, Natasha." Legolas soothed, folding the blanket.
Natasha didn't say anything, suddenly finding the forest floor fascinating beyond recall. She wasn't ashamed of the nightmare, more like the feeling of hope that welled up inside her. Though what she had hoped his answer to be, she couldn't tell, but it embarrassed her nonetheless.
They broke camp and quickly found the trail they'd left the previous night. Natasha was silent throughout the morning and neither Strider nor Legolas seemed to mind, they were quietly discussing something in their native tongue. Around midday, they stopped by a small pool and ate a light lunch. Washing the grime off her face, Natasha felt refreshed and ready to go. But Strider and Legolas made no move to continue.
"Hey guys, we going to get moving or what?"
"Or what." Strider rolled onto his side and rested his head on Legolas' shoulder.
Flopping down beside them, she stared at his back, waiting for him to continue but a soft snore was the only response.
"What about getting there by sunset?"
"Don't worry, Natasha. We will get there in plenty of time." Legolas settled himself. "A patrol came by the camp this morning while you were still sleeping, and are sending horses for us. Rest while you can."
Natasha tried but only ended up staring up at the canopy aimlessly. Legolas studied her under lowered lids and his heart went out to her. She didn't seem to remember the nightmare, which was all for the best, in his opinion. The fear he had felt coming from her in the nightmare's grip had almost been palpable; he'd almost been able to see what it was that frightened her. He could have linked his mind to hers and helped her escape its grip but it would have been a severe breach of trust. He couldn't bring himself to damage their blossoming friendship.
Natasha felt his eyes on her and shifted uncomfortably.
"Legolas, what exactly happened last night?" she sighed.
"You had a nightmare, just like Strider said."
"No I mean before that. What happened when those creatures attacked? How did we escape?"
"Ah, that is what has bothered you." Legolas shifted, careful not to dislodge the sleeping Strider. "We were attacked yes. You are the reason we escaped unharmed. You destroyed them."
"I killed them?"
"Yes." Legolas nodded.
Natasha stared at him uneasily for a moment.
"I'm not strong enough. Surely you or Strider…"
"For what you did, one does not need to be strong enough. It was magic. I felt it rise up within you. It burst out, killed the orcs and we escaped."
Natasha slumped back against the tree. This could not be happening. Not again. Tears threatened to fa, but she quickly hid her face from Legolas, who sat studying her, waiting to see what her response would be. Her mind a whirlwind of fear, without thinking, she quickly stood up, and ran.
Tree limbs whipped at her, cutting her face. But she didn't care. Fear was all she knew. She had to get away. Strider and Legolas called for her to stop but she put on more speed, tuning out their voices. They'd only take her to this world's equivalent of a scientist and leave her there. She wasn't going to be anyone's guinea pig! She wasn't going to be put in some sort of zoo for freaks like her and poked and prodded the rest of her life and then dissected when she died. She…tripped over a root.
"Damn it!" she sobbed, wiping her scraped hands and covered her face.
Strider and Legolas came up behind her and knelt at her side. She started and backed away, fear shining in her eyes, but Strider took hold of her arm and prevented her from going further. She struggled to get free, her fear rising. And then everything exploded. Fire burst outward from her, engulfing them and everything around them. But as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished, rushing back into her with amazing speed, leaving no evidence of it ever occurring. No one had been hurt and Natasha slumped to the side.
"Oh gods." she moaned.
Legolas went to take her into his arms but she recoiled desperately.
"Don't touch me! I…I might…No!" she cried as Strider caught her round the waist and held her tightly.
Try as she might, she couldn't escape. Her tears fell unheeded and her struggles weakened until she fell to her knees. Legolas moved to her other side and she suddenly felt safe. The two elves murmured to her, caressing her hair and back.
"Hush now. You're safe. It's over." Strider stroked her hair.
"You didn't hurt us, Natasha." Legolas whispered, rubbing her back and looked around. "And look, you didn't kill anything else either."
"But next time you may not be so lucky."
"Perhaps. But hopefully we'll get to the palace without another attack and Gandalf can help you." Strider replied after a moment's thought.
"Get home?" she asked confused. "How can I take this back there! I barely managed to control it then, but it' gotten worse."
"Shhh. I'm sure it won't happen ag…this has happened before?" Legolas asked, looking down at her.
"Yes." she whispered into Strider's neck. "When I was much younger. I burned down the house. My brother was the only one to see it. He never told our parents, they thought it was an electrical fire..."
When she didn't continue, Legolas let it go. They led her back to their packs, murmuring in their native tongue. Strider settled back against the tree, pulling her down to lean on his chest. Legolas retrieved a blanket and settled behind her, drawing it around the three of them.
"Why is this happening?" Natasha whimpered, shaking her head.
"I don't know. Perhaps Gandalf will." Strider soothed.
Legolas squeezed her shoulder in sympathy, rubbing her arm soothingly. Natasha cried herself out and quickly fell into an exhausted sleep. No nightmares bothered her. Strider and Legolas remained awake, curled protectively around their new friend. That was how the page found them when he rode up with the horses.