Chapter 2
Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are sat in the sun when Lord Elrond and I approach. They seem unfazed as we join them. I stare at the greenery, listening to their idle chatter, while I try to collect myself. A break in the conversation draws my attention back and eventually Lord Elrond speaks again.
"I'm afraid we've not shared the whole truth with you, forgive me." He starts, catching everyone's attention. Aragorn's brow furrows: I assume he's trying to figure out what Lord Elrond is doing. We weren't forth coming with information about myself when I was introduced to Aragorn's friends.
"I think it'd be best if you head straight to Gandalf. Who knows how long it shall take him to return here. We need his help." Lord Elrond changes track and cryptically addresses Aragorn. That he doesn't add ' finding me a way home' doesn't slip my attention.
"He'll have a way for me to get home?" I prompt hopefully.
"You don't know your way home lass?" Gimli questions. I look to Lord Elrond unsure of how much I should say. His mouth tightens in a straight line while he considers.
"I fear Delilah is not from Middle-Earth." Legolas' response to Lord Elrond's confession is subtle, but I notice as he looks from Lord Elrond in concealed shock, then at me in suspicion, and finally at Aragorn in what I assume is concern. "I have not found a way to return you to your home. Gandalf may have answers that I do not."
"I don't know the way to… Gondor? That's where you said he currently is, right?" I ask, though I'd much rather stay in this lovely place.
"Don't fret lass, my people live near there. I can take ya'." Gimli offers freely. Legolas looks to Gimli like the red head's just put him in a difficult position. Clearly, they were travelling together, and clearly, he doesn't trust me yet. Gimli either ignores or doesn't notice this as he turns to Legolas excitedly. "It's been a while since we've been down that way, it could be an adventure." Legolas considers Gimli for a moment before giving him a tight nod.
"And what of you?" Legolas asks Aragorn. His face is unreadable and for a moment I think he's going to leave me to travel with these two people I barley know. Not that I know him well either but at least he got me here safely. Then the side of his mouth turns up in a smirk.
"It has been some time since we've had an adventure." He says as if its some kind of inside joke. "Arwen can rule in my absence. Excuse me while I prepare word to be sent to her." He says getting up. Legolas smiles and Gimli throws his fist in the air in celebration.
"There is still much daylight, you should not delay." Lord Elrond says. Gimli and Legolas get up and follow the path Aragorn just took while I follow Lord Elrond back to the room I've been sleeping in.
"You are in good hands, they are all great and skilled, honorable men. You will be safe." I must have a worried expression on my face. Lord Elrond brings a pack to where I'm standing next to the bed. "Take this, it will provide you some comforts on your journey." He tucks a few of the clothes I've borrowed in the bag. "You can trust Gandalf with your story, along with Legolas and Gimli, should you choose to do so. They are no strangers to the gravity of secret or the unthinkable." He picks up Arwen's riding outfit and hands it to me. "While you are welcome to wear your current dress, I think you'll find the pants of Arwen's riding dress provide better travel protection."
"Thank you." I say taking the outfit.
"Change. I will be in the hall when you are finished." I nod and watch as he closes the door behind himself. I quickly slide off my current dress and fold it on the edge of bed, then I slip on the pieces Arwen lent me. I take in the room one last time and gather myself with a resolute exhale before meeting Lord Elrond in the hall.
Lord Elrond guides us out to where another elf is waiting with the horses. Beregond is also there already on his horse. Gimli and Legolas mount a white horse while I am helped onto Aragorn's brown one. When I look up, Legolas is giving me an unreadable expression that feels kind of threatening. I try not to focus on it. There's a light shift as Aragorn joins me atop the horse. The men say goodbye and just like that we're off again.
We take the same path out of Rivendell that we took on our way in. The ride is quiet, and I spend time trying to enjoy the beautiful, not polluted, scenery. It's not quite peaceful thought as Legolas and Gimli ride behind us and I get the distinct feeling it's so Legolas can keep an eye on me. I mentally roll my eyes at the thought of all my 115lbs being able to do anything substantially harmful to a strong man like Aragorn. When we come to a fork in the road, we stop.
"Ensure Arwen receives my letter in good time." Aragorn instructs.
"Of course, my king." Beregond nods, then takes off toward the right. We watch as he disappears and then continue to the left path. While I still get the feeling I'm being watched, the overall mood seems more open now. The men make some small talk before we speed up for the afternoon.
Aragorn explains the last town for a while was a few hours back, so we're headed to a spot a little further ahead that can provide us some shelter for the night. He's also hopeful that tomorrow night we'll be able to stay at an inn. We ride until the sun hovers just above the tree line.
Aragorn and Gimli tie the horses to nearby trees while Legolas disappears into the small forest. I stand awkwardly and a few moments later he returns with an armful of wood which Aragorn uses to create a small fire. The three men sit and make themselves comfortable. I have no idea what I should do while this all seems so normal to them.
"Aragorn is keepin' first watch lass, set out ya' roll and get comfortable." Gimli's gruff voice calls out to me. I nod and do as he says, grateful for some kind of guidance. They've left a space just big enough for me to set up between Aragorn and Gimli in range of the warmth of the fire. It's still to early to sleep so I sit on the bedroll Lord Elrond gave me and nibble on the corner of some bread. I must be stressed as it doesn't take much to fill me up. I wrap the bread and put it back in my pack.
"So tell us about ya'self lassie. What're ya' doin' so far from home?" Gimli breaks the silence. Aragorn glances at me, waiting to see how much I'll say. I'm not comfortable sharing everything yet but I also want Aragorn to be able to speak freely with his friends.
"I'm not entirely sure. I passed out and when I came to I was here. Well, not here. I don't know where I was, Aragorn's guards found me and brought me to him." I word vomit nervously.
"Lord Elrond mentioned you are not from Middle-Earth. Where do you hail from?" I'm surprised to hear Legolas address me. I glance nervously at Aragorn, but his face holds no influence. You can trust them. Lord Elrond's voice echoes in my mind.
"A place called Earth. No Middle, just Earth." I say simply. No one knows what to say and it falls quiet again. "So how do a human, an elf, and a…"
"Dwarf." Gimli supplies proudly. I smile back at him.
"And a dwarf, know each other?" I break the silence sometime later. They share a fond look with each other. I listen to a somewhat vague story about an unnamed quest. They focus mainly on the people… er hobbits, as they recall the journey. Once the sun falls below the horizon I move to lay in my roll, on my side, facing the fire. I fall asleep listening to their stories of competitions settled by one point and nights of drinking games.
We wake early the next morning and I'm surprisingly well rested. I roll and pack my stuff while Aragorn and Legolas retrieve the horses, and Gimli destroys the evidence of our campfire. Once everyone's ready, we get back on the road. The day is quiet and uneventful, thought I don't have the same intense feeling of being watched by Legolas that I had the previous day.
Aragorn's predictions are correct, and we make it to an inn by nightfall. They only have one room available, but it turns out to be fine as it had 4 single beds in it. We waste no time getting comfortable and letting sleep claim us. Sometime in the early morning I briefly wake to turn over in my bed. Legolas is sitting relaxed against the headboard and staring at me from his bed beside mine. I push myself upright so I'm facing him. We study each other for a moment before his eyes flicker to Aragorn. My gaze follows before returning to the worried, beautiful, blond haired elf.
"I would never hurt him you know. Even if I wanted to I couldn't." This piques his interest. "I don't know how to use a sword… or an axe. I've never even had to hold either. There's no use for those where I'm from." He doesn't seem convinced. Or maybe he's worried about something else. "I'd never come between him and Arwen either." I get the slight insight to his shock before it's masked again. I give a small smile. "They seemed perfect for each other when I was in Arnor." I continue in a whisper. It doesn't appear he's going to say anything, so I lay back down and close my eyes.
"Mathon ú nidrhû." I hear him say quietly in a language I don't understand. Too tired, I let it go and drift into a dreamless sleep.
We take advantage of the food and amenities the inn has to offer before preparing to leave again. Aragorn and Legolas went to settle the tab, so I venture out to find Gimli near the horses.
"Shall I find you a box?" I say jokingly as he struggles to pull himself up onto their horse. He looks at me seriously and for a second I think I've offended him. He points a finger at me, smiles, then starts laughing. Relief floods through me and I start laughing along with him.
"Now, get over here lassie and help me up." I give him a disbelieving look but try to help him anyway. To my surprise, we manage to get him atop the horse just before Aragorn and Legolas make their way out to meet us. They're laughing good naturedly with each other and it makes me miss my friends back home.
Legolas steps between me and Gimli and mounts the horse, breaking the moment of closeness Gimli and I shared. I step back and stroke the stone in my palm for comfort before heading over to Aragorn's horse. Once we're out of the village and back on the road Aragorn speaks to me.
"Do not take it personal. Legolas is protective of those he holds dear. You are new and unfamiliar to him, he will come around."
"I figured it was something like that. Though I mean you all no harm, I just… want to get home I guess." I say even though I'm not sure that's the truth.
"You will." Aragorn says before we fall silent again.
A few days into our journey the trail we're following leads through some mountains. We stop before we reach them and instead follow along the side of the mountains. There's nothing but open space and the occasional big rocky area or tree around us.
"I will keep first watch tonight." Legolas offers. Aragorn and Gimli put up no fight and fall asleep quickly. I have trouble falling asleep though, I don't like feeling ostracized because Legolas doesn't know me enough to feel comfortable. I roll to my back and stare up at the stars. There are millions of them here, and they're so clear. It's astounding. I look over to where Legolas is keeping watch. His back is to us as he faces the open landscape, occasionally looking up to the stars as well.
"You cannot sleep." He states. I sit up, still facing him.
"No." We're quiet for a moment before I decide to get up and join him. He doesn't turn to watch me, but I can tell he's listening to my movements. I sit down beside him and study his features. "Do they have meaning?" He finally turns to look at me.
"I'm unsure to which you refer."
"Your braids. Your hair is always styled like that." He studies me before answering.
"Yes. While it is practical for battle, it also denotes my station."
"Station? But Lord Elrond's an elf and his hair wasn't in braids." I say confused.
"Lord Elrond is a lord and does not witness battle much anymore." I nod, absorbing the information.
"Is it rude of me to request you braid something in my hair? If it's uncouth you don't have to. They just look so nice and I'm not really good at braiding hair, so I never get to do anything nice with mine." He stands, stopping my nervous explanation. I think he's about to leave but instead he moves behind me and kneels. I sit still as his fingers work quickly and effortlessly.
"Your hair holds many colours." I nod.
"I dye it. I had it done just before I ended up here."
"You colour your hair? Why would you do such a thing?"
"Yes, it's popular where I am from." I answer a bit defensively.
"I meant no offense. I am merely curious." He says a bit softer.
"There're many reasons, I guess. For style, out of boredom, for me it's because I don't like my natural hair colour. It's a light strawberry blonde but the red isn't very defined, so I dye it brown and enhance the red with red highlights." I explain even though the concept of highlights is probably foreign to him. I feel him lay my hair over my shoulder so I can see it. It's beautiful, in one long fishtail braid similar to his smaller ones. The tie reaches just below my breast and then another 3 or so inches of wavy hair are left unbraided.
"And what of your ears? There are jewels through them." He asks returning to his spot next to me. I finger the 3 studs that line each of my lobes and look over to meet his gaze.
"Earrings. Just decorations, no meanings."
"They are alluring." I flush at the compliment. "Was it not painful?"
"Thank you, and only for a moment. These are some of the least painful places to get piercings though."
"Where else would one get such piercings?" He asks with surprise and hesitation at the unfamiliar word. I flush deeper thinking of some of the more extreme places I've heard of people getting them.
"Anywhere really. The nose is another common place, and the belly button." I say talking with my hands and pointing to myself. He nods thoughtfully and we both look back out over the still lands. "Why do you guys have to take turns keeping watch anyway?" A troubled look shadows his beautiful features.
"These lands were not always so peaceful. Not long ago they were poisoned with darkness and littered with evil." I look at him alarmed. "Do not be frightened. Our fellowship spent many nights defeating the darkness and ridding the evil creatures."
"The quest you guys were talking about the other night?" I inquire.
"Aye. A very powerful dark being forged an artifact, a ring, which caused many a problem. We made it to Mordor and disposed of it. All had been well since." I subconsciously rub the stone in my hand. I cover my mouth as a yawn escapes me. "You are tired, you should be resting."
"You're right." I yawn again. "Goodnight Legolas." I make my way back to my bedroll and fall asleep quickly.
No one seems to be in a rush when I wake the next morning. They seem content to take it slow this morning as we sit in a circle eating. I can tell I take everyone by surprise when I speak.
"I think I should learn how to fight." Legolas' words from last night keep replaying in my mind and make me uneasy. "Please." I try again, looking between Aragorn and Gimli.
"Of course lassie, I'll teach ya' the way of the Axe!" Gimli says enthusiastically. Aragorn gives a doubtful side eye.
"It will be too heavy. She should start with a sword." He says getting up and retrieving one of his smaller swords. I stand and follow him while Legolas moves away, I assume to keep watch while we're busy.
Aragorn walks me through the proper stances and how to hold the sword securely. We go through a few simple moves, they're easy enough to do in practice. He has me repeat them multiple times each before suggesting we spar.
Sparring is another story entirely. Time after time he quickly knocks the sword from my grasp. I pick up the sword from the ground again with defeat. I'm going to get through at least one round without dropping this stupid thing. I take a breath, get back into the stance Aragorn showed me, holding the sword in front of me. Aragorn makes the first move, stepping toward me. I watch as he raises his sword, and then lift mine to block his downward swing. The swords make a clanging noise as they connect. I step to the side and let them sing as they slide against each other back to our sides.
I charge forward, aiming for the piece of his chest armour he listed as a safe space for me to aim. I almost get him when he side steps and kicks a leg out from under me. I fall my back with a thud, and he wastes no time pointing the tip of his sword to the underside of my chin. I sigh and close my eyes.
"This is hopeless." I say and move to sit up. Aragorn retreats, his sword staying just out of reach of injuring me the whole way up. I bring my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them. To the side Legolas is scanning the surroundings. His bow catches my attention and I briefly wish I had one of my own. At least I've used one of those before.
"Legolas, perhaps she should try a bow." My eyes snap to Gimli who is grinning, looking between the two of us. Legolas gives him an annoyed look but makes his way over to me regardless. I stand to meet him.
"Have you ever used one of these before?" He asks taking his bow from its sling and caresses the wood. It's a beautifully crafted bow and suddenly I'm feeling a lot of pressure. He is probably a master archer if their tales of the last few days are anything to go by.
"Yes, but I wouldn't say I'm a professional, a novice really." I say nervously.
He places the bow in my left hand, it burns slightly but I put it off to some kind of elven magic. Next an arrow is placed in my right hand. I look up to him and he nods once. I look around and face the only tree close to us. When I look back all 3 pairs of eyes are on me. No pressure. I turn back and the wind blows around a few tendrils of hair that have fallen out of Legolas' braid while I slept. I lift the bow in front of me and notch the arrow. The string grows taut as I pull back. I take a moment to aim, then let go. The arrow arcs through the air and lands just past the right side of the tree. My shoulders sag and I let out a breath of disappointment.
"It was not a bad shot." Legolas says coming to stand beside me. "You have the distance; the aim was just slightly off." He hands me another arrow. "May I?" Unsure what he's asking but to nervous to ask for clarification, I nod.
He places his hands on my hips and twists me slightly. I raise the bow and notch the arrow. His hands grasp my shoulders and gently push down, urging me to relax them slightly. When I do, he turns them a tad toward the wind.
"Now try." He instructs. I release the arrow and watch as it soars toward the tree. It embeds with a thunk and I straighten. It lands exactly in the centre.
"I did it." I whisper in disbelief. "I did it!" I repeat again in excitement, arms raising in a cheer. I spin around and flinch as Legolas just nearly ducks out of the way of being hit with his own bow. I pull my arms back into myself. "Oops, sorry." I say sheepishly. An amused smile pulls at his face. Seeing him smile at me does funny things to me. Flustered, I push the bow back at him and turn to retrieve his arrows.
Gimli is standing close by and gives me a teasing look as I pass him. I give him what I hope is a hard intimidating look in return. He bursts out laughing and all I can do is shake my head at him.
I go for the arrow in the grass first, pulling it up with ease and cleaning the dirt off it. The arrow in the tree doesn't come out as easily, however. I grab it with both hands and press a foot against the tree to give myself extra leverage. I grunt with the effort of trying to pull it out. Legolas appears beside me trying to keep a straight face. I step back and he pulls the arrow out easily with one hand. We stare at each other for a moment and that small, amused smirk finally cracks his face.
The moment I feel heat rise to my cheeks I turn and start to quickly walk away. What the hell is wrong with me, I'm supposed to be going home to Dick soon. Home to Dick. My footsteps falter and I stop in my tracks. I have Dick waiting for me, I can't be crushing on someone else. But do I really want to go back to him?
"Delilah?" I hear Legolas approach. I straighten and continue walking away. Gimli shows a negative emotion for the first time since I've met him. He looks to Legolas, then to me, with concern.
"We should continue." I say without looking directly at anyone as I pass. I grab my bag on the way and head for Aragorn's horse.
No one questions me and we're on the road again in record time, though, the feeling of Legolas watching me has returned. The next few days pass much the same. It's easy to keep a distance between us since we've stuck to our riding partners, and we're usually riding too quick for conversation anyway. At night we eat and then I lay down, leaving the guys to talk to each other while I pretend to sleep until it finally claims me.
Tonight is no different. I lay for a while with my eyes closed, listening to them recant old adventures together. Tonight, it's Gimli who does most of the talking and it's his laughter that lulls me to sleep.
There's a prick under my chin. It's cold against my throat. My eyes follow the blade up to Aragorn. He's looking down at me with a snarl on his face. My brows furrow in confusion and panic. He pushes the blade so the tip is just breaking my skin. A warm drop trails down the side of my throat. The cold that follows as it dries is an odd sensation. He doesn't remove the blade and I panic thinking he may push it further. Lord Elrond said I could trust them.
He aggressively pulls away and wipes my blood on the grass beside me. I look at it in horror then watch as he leaves, my breathing heavy. I sit up and gently wipe at my throat. My fingers pull back and are stained dark red, almost black. Not the colour of healthy human blood. My throat feels tight as I whip my head around, searching. It's the campsite I fell asleep in but it feels different, shadowy.
Legolas sits by himself near the campfire. He pats the spot next to him invitingly. I scramble over to him. I don't care if I'm going home to Dick, he's not here right now and I need the comfort after what just happened. One of Legolas' arms wrap around my shoulders, pulling me into his side, and the other hand comes up gently to turn my face toward him. The same small smirk from earlier graces his face and I feel the butterflies start up again in my stomach.
I try to turn away, but his hand holds me firmly in place. Slowly his smirk lengthens and turns sinister. It keeps growing and morphing until it's turned into something ugly and terrifying. Horrified, I struggle to get away. I slip form his grip during my struggle and fall back away from him. He doesn't follow me, but I scramble to my feet and step back, keeping my eyes on him the whole time. His lips have grown chapped and bloody and his teeth are long and yellow and pointed. A wave of panic washes over me again and I turn and run.
"Gimli, something is wrong with Aragorn and Legolas." I call as he comes into view. I fall to my knees in front of him to be closer to his height. I pull back when I see his eyes. They're still his but there's a black smoke swirling around in them. I move to stand and run but he takes hold of my left wrist. I try to pull away harder, but a pair of arms wrap around me from behind. Legolas' green sleeves firmly keep me in place. I don't stop struggling though as Gimli tries to remove my hand piece.
"No!" The talking around the campfire stops as I bring my left hand to my chest and cradle it. Three sets of eyes land on me. "Sorry, bad dream."
"Another one?" Legolas' smooth voice asks. His face has returned to normal, and I just nod in response.
"I'm sorry to interrupt. I'm just going to try and go back to sleep." I turn to my other side, facing away from the fire, and do my best to fall into a dreamless sleep.
"Would you like to practice sparring?" Aragorn asks me after I've rolled up my bedroll. He has a sword in each hand, in his right is the sword from my dream. I swallow involuntarily and bring my fingers up to stroke my throat. I can't take my eyes away from the tip where my blood was.
"Delilah?" I step back and shake my head.
"No thank you." Cautiously, so as not to startle me, he sheathes his swords. I can feel my face relax, the tension it previously held leaving.
"Shall we continue then?" I nod and make my way back to our horse.
For the first time in a couple days, we get to sleep in an inn. It is only one room again, but I've gotten use to sleeping in close proximity to these men. My dream has shaken me, and I don't completely trust them anymore like Lord Elrond said I could, but I don't have much of a choice if I want to make it to Gondor to speak to Gandalf. I excuse myself, claiming I need more sleep. No one protests as I'm sure the bags under my eyes from repeated nightmares are enough to tell them I'm tired.
I briefly hear the men enter the room much later but that's the only time I wake up until morning. I'm up before they are, but I can't lay in bed anymore, so I go out to see the horses. I spend time just petting and talking to them. I'm by Legolas and Gimli's horse, who I learned is named Arod, when I feel Legolas stand behind me.
"Would you like to ride with me today?" Flashbacks of my dream and green clad arms wrapped rightly around me steals my breath for a moment. The stone in my palm grows warm. I turn to him and search his face. I don't know what I'm searching for, but I'm saved from answering his question when Aragorn and Gimli join us.
"We should go, we're no more than a few nights away." Aragorn informs us, mostly me, as he grabs my pack and attaches it to our horse, Roheryn. I move past Legolas and mount the horse with Aragorn's help.
I try to ignore Legolas' disappointed face as we set off once again. The terrain has changed since we left Rivendell. The full tall trees have turned into fewer, shorter, pointed ones. Our background has changed as well, into beautiful snow topped mountains. Everything in this world is gorgeous, but I can tell we're getting closer to our destination.
Tonight's campfire is out in the open, only covered by a blanket of stars. I stay awake as long as I can trying to avoid another nightmare. The men, as always, are up late talking quietly so as not to disturb me. Reluctantly, when the moon is right above us, I let sleep claim me.
Or at least I think I do. The moon is in the exact same spot above us. I sit up but no one takes notice. Strange. I look around and see myself still laying in my bedroll. An unnerving whispering sound starts but none of the guys have stopped their conversation or seemed to notice. It sounds like the whispering is coming from my right.
'Comeee.' I stand up and check to see if anyone is paying attention to me yet. Nothing has changed. I leave myself laying there and follow the sounds. I walk for a while before I stop and look around again.
The campsite is nowhere to be seen and the land has turned sickly. The grass is dry and crispy, trees are leafless, and the air is cold. Sudden wind whips my loose hair around. The whispering grows overbearing, and I throw my hands up to cover my ears.
I squint, trying to focus, as a gathering of smoke swirls around in front of me. I cry out as the stone in my palm and the metal of my jewelry grow hot. I pull my hands away from my ears to look at them. The inside of the cat's eye looks like it's on fire. An inhuman sound comes from ahead of me and I look up to see the swirling black smoke is now on fire too. I'm entranced by it. It calls me to follow it.
"Delilah." I'm shaken from my trance by Legolas who's kneeling in front of me. My eyes flicker between his frantically before I pull myself close and hide my face against his chest. One of his hands come to cradle the back of my head and I grasp his tunic in my hands.
"Ah!" I cry out in pain and immediately let go. I pull back to look at my hand. The stone is no longer on fire, and I try to lift it up to look underneath it. The stone and chains have left burn marks on my palm. Legolas grabs my hand and I watch as he inspects it, then looks at me, then looks at the others in concern. "What? What is it?" I ask panicking. "What just happened to me?" Legolas sits back on his heels while Aragorn leans forward.
"You should tell us, what were you dreaming of?" The stone heats again, just as I'm about to answer, almost as if to give me a warning.
"Here." Legolas reaches into his pack and pulls out a piece of silvery material. He rips a small piece off of the edge and folds it a few times. "It will not cover all of the metal, and it is not much, but it should help." He tucks the material underneath the stone. "What did you dream?"
"I…" I start answering, and this time I can't feel the stone heat. The metal around it is warm though, but it's not unbearable. "I was in this campsite, except… I wasn't. I could walk around and see you all, and myself, but no one could see me." Legolas returns to his spot on the other side of the fire to listen to my dream.
"There were whispers, calling to me. And I followed them. They brought me to… to…" I shake my head at a loss for words. "A shadow of some sort, except it was made of swirling black smoke." I look at my palm. "When I got close my jewelry started burning." I look back up. "When I looked up again it was fire mixed with smoke. Then you woke me." I finish.
"May I see?" Gimli extends his hand to me.
"You're not going to try and take it?" I ask unsure, and I can see Aragorn and Legolas share a look from the corner of my eye.
"No lassie." I extend my palm to him. "Aragorn." He says in a grave tone. Aragorn makes his way over to look too. His brows furrow when he sees the stone. He brings a hand to rub at his jaw, then silently makes his way back over to his spot.
"It cannot be." He says quietly to himself before looking up to Legolas. "I'm sure we destroyed it."
"The stone, it looks so similar to Sauron's' eye." Gimli confirms.
"Come morning, we ride for Gondor and we do not stop." Aragorn decides.
"Can ya' take it off for now lassie?"
"No." I say turning my wrist to expose the inside edge where a tiny screw holds it together. "I need a special tool to unlock it." There's silence.
"Hopefully the elven cloth will help then, until another solution can be found." Legolas comes to my side and moves my wrist from view. "Sleep, I will take watch."
None of us sleep well, and at first light we are riding again. This time I agree to ride with Legolas, too emotionally exhausted to deny the moment of comfort he can bring, when my mind is not being plagued by my nightmares. We ride all day, all night, and midway into the morning, when a structure finally comes into view.
"Gondor." Legolas says from behind me. Hope surges in my chest and we make the last of the journey into the city.
"You'd never be able to tell this was destroyed. It's wonderful." I say to no one in particular.
"It could use some more trees, but yes, a worthy city indeed." Legolas responds anyway and I smile. "Surely Gandalf will have some answers for us." Legolas hops down and extends a hand to me to help me down as well. I thank him as Aragorn and Gimli join us on the ground.
"My old friends!" a deep jolly voice rings out. Legolas looks up while Aragorn and Gimli turn. An old man in a white cloak and pointed hat stands with his arms outstretched. Gimli runs forward first and hugs the older man.
Aragorn steps forward and the two clasp hands in greeting. It's clear to see they care about each other with the smile they share. Legolas moves from my side and clasps the man on the shoulder, a gesture he reciprocates with the same fond smile he gave Aragorn.
"And who is this?" His attention finally turns to me.
"I'm Delilah, Sir." I smile and bow to the man who holds so manys respect.
"I'm afraid we do not come on a friendly visit. Our appearance may be more dire than Lord Elrond's initial message." Aragorn says wasting no time. The man, Gandalf's, demeanor changes almost instantly.
"Well, come on then, make haste." He says ushering us to a room where we can have some privacy. "So, what news do you have, out with it." No one knows what to say for a moment. We spent all that time journeying here but never planned what to say when we got here.
Notes:
Mathon ú nidrhû – I sense no lie (I feel no ill intent)