"I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you." —Paul Coelho, The Alchemist
Chapter 18
During the day they rode. Amber, who was not accustomed to the continuous rocking motion of a horse beneath her, and not needing to steer as Legolas spoke to the horse to give him directions, found herself falling into sleep, head lolling to the side as she slumped back into the elf. He held her, wrapping his body around her to keep her atop Arod. He knew that the healing had taken a toll on her body, despite him having carried her, he could not have been as comfortable a steed as the broad back of a horse.
They stopped twice, Aragorn dismounting and scouting the ground for sign of any path leading from the orc trail. Much of the ground was confused with hoofprints from the Rohirrim, but he was sure that no tracks lead away from the group.
They finally came to the edge of the forest of Fangorn. Near the border of trees was a mound of carcasses with armour and broken weapons, ashes still smoking. They saw also a hillock of freshly turned earth crowned with spears, marking the slain men of Rohan.
The four dismounted to search for clues, Amber gently shaken awake by Legolas, who waited for her to rouse before letting her slide off the horse's back, assisting her down as she seemed still slow from sleep. When on the ground Amber looked around, stepping cautiously, still groggy from her nap. The burning smell of flesh confused all else, and she despaired for finding trace if the hobbits.
After searching a while, Gimli began to mourn but Legolas felt that all was not lost. They decided to stay until the light of morning so made camp under the eaves of the first trees, on the edge of the forest.
Gimli wished to light a fire so the companions discussed if this should be done. Finally they agreed to light a fire with only wood that was already littering the floor from the pile made by the men of Rohan to burn their foes.
Once the fire was lit, it appeared as if the tree above their heads stretched over it, warming it's chilled branches. Amber wondered at the sentience of the forest, which Aragorn spoke of with great caution. Legolas sat himself against the trunk of the tree and Amber found herself thinking longingly of the first night of their tracking the orcs, when the elf had sat beside her, offering her comfort and warmth while she slept.
Gimli kept the first watch while the others slept, Amber curled into a tight ball under her cloak, allowing the fire to warm her face while the rest of her was tucked inside its folds. Suddenly, she awoke to a movement from near at hand, and Aragorn crying out, "Well, father, what can we do for you? Come and be warm if you're cold!"
Amber shot upright, crouching in a defensive fashion and looking around for whomever he spoke to. There was a dark figure by the edge of a tree, wearing a wide brimmed hat and clutching a staff. Just as soon as she had seen it, the figure was gone, and Legolas was calling out in despair "The horses! The horses!"
The beasts had gone, pulled from their pickets which had held them near to the camp. The four looked about them, wary and confused. They heard a sound of horse speech far away from them. Amber's brow furrowed, "Strange. They are greeting an old friend, though I do not recognise his name."
The others looked at her, surprised. "Well, they're gone. We can't find them or catch them" said Aragorn. He supposed that they would continue on foot, as they had come most of their way hither. Gimli suggested that the figure they had seen was the wizard Saruman. This did not comfort the others, and they fell reluctantly back to sleep, now with the ranger keeping watch.
When she awoke, Amber found that dawn touched the sky and Aragorn already was searching the ground nearby, continuing his search for any sign made by the hobbits. Legolas was watching her, eyes soft with some emotion she could not guess at. He smiled tenderly when their eyes met, and once again Amber felt the current of energy thrum through her body, as often did when they either touched or looked long at one another. They rose, Amber joining Aragorn's search while the elf roused Gimli from his snoring.
They searched a while, in ever widening circles until, finally, Aragorn called out "Here at last we find news!"
The others ran to him, where he held out a golden leaf. Amber recognised the familiar wrappings of the elven waybread which the others ate. "Here is a mallorn leaf of Lorien. There are small crumbs on it and a few more crumbs on the grass. And see!" Aragorn gestured to the left, "There are some pieces of cut cord lying nearby"
Amber looked to see the clues he had found, marvelling at the stout little creatures who had clearly broken free, likely amid battle, and stopped for a meal before fleeing. The faces of her three companions looked a mix of relief and bemusement at the strange clues. They discussed the possible events and tried to guess at which way the hobbits had gone next.
Aragorn read the tracks in the ground carefully, and surmised that the hobbits had been carried to that spot, where a horseman had risen down their captor and killed him. Then the hobbits had cut their bonds on the fallen orc blade before eating their fill and crawling to the forest, where he guessed they now were. Amber felt the back of her neck prickle, feeling the magic of the place where they now were to venture in search of their friends. Only Legolas seemed glad, loving trees fondly, and having too long been away from forests.
Legolas seemed to feel the intent of the trees, saying that there was no evil close at hand, but a watchfulness. The trees did not trust the travellers, and so they decided to tread carefully, disturbing as little as possible. Legolas touched his hand to a trunk at the edge and spoke of the ancient forest "It's old, very old. So old that I feel almost young again, as I have not since I journeyed with you children" he glanced at Amber, and in his eyes she saw a depth that made her breath stall, so much past time she saw reflected in his eyes, as if they were a mirror of his long life. "It's old and full of memory. I could have been happy here, if I'd come in days of peace"
"I daresay you could!" replied Gimli, who clearly felt much less comfortable in the border of the ancient forest. Amber watched the elf, seeing his longing, and wondering where he would truly be happy. If she were to follow him, as she now knew she must, lest her heart shatter, where would they live? She did not think such a forest could be her home, though if a home it was to him, then she knew she would find her peace there.
They began inwards, Amber's mind still full of the unclear future, whatever may become of them if they won this war, and how they would live, if he still wished to remain by her side.
They followed Aragorn, who tracked what marks he could see in the earth, and so finally came to the bank of a stream where two clear sets of hobbit footprints were fresh in the mud. Their hearts glad, they walked on until they found a path raising higher. Legolas wished to see what he could spot from the peak of a tall ledge and so they approached. Aragorn found more hobbit tracks, while Legolas described their path from his vantage.
"Look!" He suddenly said, pointing further down the slope on which they stood below him.
"Look at what?" asked Gimli, squinting in that direction. Amber dropped into a defensive crouch, smelling an intruder.
"There in the trees!" cried Legolas, jumping down from the high place to join the others, stepping in front of Amber, something she had noticed him doing increasingly when danger was near at hand. She had not time to ponder the meaning of this, as just then she spotted the bent figure of an old man moving in the area where the elf had been pointing. Aragorn hushed them and all drew their weapons, readying for an attack.
Gimli suddenly urged Legolas to loose his drawn arrow, but the elf hesitated, unsure. Aragorn bade them wait, and just then, the old man seemed to speed up, moving towards them with surprising agility. They stayed, as if magic was laid upon them, keeping them still. The old man spoke, "Well met, my friends". Something in the voice tickled at Amber's memory, but nothing was forthcoming.
"I wish to speak to you" the stranger continued, "Will you come down or should I come up?"
"Now!" cried Gimli, wishing again for the elf to let his arrow fly. The stranger shook his head, chiding the dwarf and telling Legolas to put away his weapon. Amber watched from behind him as his fingers let go of the arrow and it fell to the earth. A low growl escaped her, not for the stranger, as she felt no malice from him, but for the sorcery that had made the elf bend to his will.
"There is no need to defend him from me, though I daresay you would from any, lady Beorning" said the amused voice of the old man, "I mean him, nor any of you, harm"
She found herself raising from her crouch at his words, stepping forward to beside the elf, mouth opening in a silent question. The stranger bid Aragorn and Gimli put away their weapons, which they did so, equally compelled. The old man then strode up the bank to join them, greeting them again and wondering at their strange party and purpose in the forest.
Aragorn questioned him, wanting to know to whom they spoke before revealing anything. The old man laughed, a chill running through Amber's spine at the sound, though telling her what, she could not tell, for it was not fear. "You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits, I believe" spoke the stranger, when none of them had answered him. He told them that the hobbits had indeed been in that spot, two days hence.
He then went to sit on a nearby rock, and as he sat, they saw a flash of white robes.
"Saruman!" snarled Gimli, reaching for his axe and demanding he tell them what he had done with the hobbits.
The old man stood swiftly, jumping onto a large rock and revealing his white robes entirely, which dazzled them, the man and Dwarf dropping their weapons and Legolas crying out, "Mithrandir, Mithrandir!"
"Well met I say to you again Legolas" said the old man, now clad only in brilliant white robes,having thrown his hat and outer cloak aside. His white hair just as bright, and a kindly, familiar face now visible.
"Gandalf!" said Aragorn in wonder, and Amber found her heart light with joy at seeing the face of the wizard who had begun their long journey with them, and whom they had thought lost in the depths of Moria.
The wizard seemed surprised to hear his own name, as if he had not heard it in a long time; stepping down from the rock and wrapping the grey cloak once again about his shoulders. He said that they were met at the turn of the tide, and the others rejoiced to see he that they had thought never to see again.
Gimli remarked on the Wizard's white attire, and he told them that he was now as Saruman should have been, having passed through fire and deep water to become as they saw him now.
They spoke more, learning that the hobbits were now with the ents, the ancient tree-herders of the forest who had set themselves against the evil that now dwelt in Isengard. They told Gandalf that Sam and Frodo had taken the path to Mordor, and the wizard seemed glad to know that Frodo had his companion with him. They spoke of their journey hence, and the fall of Boromir. Gandalf was grave but not surprised at this news.
They learned much of the enemy's plans, which Gandalf had learned, and the that the most dangerous servants of the enemy, the nazgul, now had winged beasts. Upon telling him of the spectre they had seen the previous evening, they learned that this had not been their friend, and must have indeed been Saruman. Legolas asked of the ents, clearly astonished and delighted to hear that they still walked in the woods.
They heard the strange and dark tale of the wizard's battle with the Balrog, and his deliverance back to the waking world to fulfil his purpose. He told how he had been found by the great eagle, Gwaihir, who had born him to Lothlorien where he had been clothed in white and given messages for them all from the Lady Galadriel.
Each message seemed to be a riddle. To Aragorn he passed a message for his path to come; for Legolas was a message of warning, that ever he heard the cry of gulls on the sea, his heart would no longer wish to dwell in the forests of Middle Earth, and he would wish to take the voyage to the undying lands. On hearing this, Amber felt again the fear of their future, and of what life they could make together with so many uncertainties. She felt his sorrow at the message, and laid a hand on his arm. The wizard smiled at the sight and spoke his message for her. "Do not fear what time may bring, for time shall reunite you with your future kin".
Amber's eyebrows drew together in confusion, and while she pondered this, the wizard delivered the last message for Gimli, something about cutting the right tree. The dwarf seemed delighted to have received a message from the fair lady, and Amber found herself envious of his easy acceptance of the cryptic words.
Then Gandalf told them that they would not join the hobbits yet. For now, he asked them to accompany him in going to Edoras, the hall of the horse Lords, where he perceived that they were most needed.
Resolved to again follow their leader and guide, who had passed seemingly from death to guide them again, they rose, and followed him through the trees until at last they came to the edge of Fangorn.