Disclaimer: See Chapter 2
Note to readers: Many, many apologies for the delay in putting up the next chapter. Unfortunately my book, which is being edited, needed some re-writes and those had to come first in priority. It also took me a while to get the muse jump-started since he had been inactive for some time and his battery had gone flat! In addition I have been over to South Africa to visit my family and only just got back.
Oops spot the deliberate error in the chapter number. Now corrected. My apologies.
Chapter 28 – The best laid plans of mice and men
"Where love rules, there is no will to power;
and where power predominates, there love is lacking.
The one is the shadow of the other."
- Carl Jung
The camp of Ereinion Gil-galad
"There's a lot you're not saying to me isn't there?"
Kim was standing within the circle of Gary's arms. In spite of the fact that they had no access to hot water, showers or toiletries, a warm spicy fragrance, redolent of cinnamon cookies, emanated from his skin. It made her feel both sleepy and aroused at the same time. As usual she felt as foul and as smelly as one of the orc things that always seemed to be jumping out of the bushes at them.
There was an amused glint in Gary's dark blue eyes. "Such as?"
He arched an eyebrow at her, then laughed and kissed the top of her head when she looked down at his chest in embarrassment. Kim could feel the blush rising from the tips of her toes to the top of her head
For his part, Gary was finding it hard to push his desire for her into the background, yet he knew he had to. Now filled with both the wisdom of eternity and immortality and fortified with the knowledge and technology of the modern world, he knew that to fulfil those desires could bring problems in the shape of a pregnancy. This was something he also wanted eventually, but certainly not in their current circumstances.
Even more worrying was the sure and certain knowledge that as time drew on, he and his other self, Eonwe, were becoming harder to separate. The line between them as individuals was beginning to blur. Gary and Olorin in the form of the Chief had discussed this unsettling state of affairs but could come up with no solution other than to retrieve the modern weaponry now apparently on its way to Morgoth and return them post haste to the woods of Nan Tathren, preferably before Gary and Eonwe became one and the same person.
To this end Gary certainly was keeping much to himself and there was indeed a lot he couldn't say to Kim.
To his intense relief Kim didn't press the point. Instead she leaned her head on Gary's chest and inhaled the spicy, delicious scent of him. "It doesn't matter." She whispered. "I suppose you're just trying to protect me."
Gary rested his cheek on her hair. "Are you angry with me for doing that?"
She shook her head. "No. It's rather nice really. Nobody's ever wanted to do that before. But you could tell me why Chief's gone off with those others."
Gary tipped her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. "We need the two weapons we have to be operable." He said gently. "For that we need ammunition. The Elven smith Celebrimbor is more than capable of creating this, but we need a forge and the raw materials. Chief Knowles has a lot of knowledge about weapons and ammunition so he's gone along to advise Celebrimbor and come up with a substitute for the modern version of the charge used to propel a round. There is a forge about two day's ride from here and it's often frequented by the Naugrim apparently who have access to raw materials."
"Naugrim?" She frowned and her nose wrinkled slightly. "What the hell is a Naugrim?"
Gary chuckled. "Not a 'what', more of a 'whom'. Naugrim is the name for the race of Dwarves in Middle-earth."
She heaved a sigh. "This whole thing is getting more like Grimm's fairy tales by the second."
For a moment Gary's mind went blank. The reference to Grimm found no source of knowledge in his memory whatsoever and he frowned deeply. "Grimm's fairy tales?"
She looked up at him and saw the blankness. A furrow of worry appeared between her eyebrows. "Yes, you know. Like Hansel and Gretel, The Little Match Boy?" When she saw no enlightenment in those dark blue eyes, the furrow deepened. "Surely you must have read fairy tales when you were little, or your mother did?"
Eonwe stared at her uncomprehendingly. Why was he suddenly here in the middle of the woods, with her in his arms? And what was she talking about? "I…I don't remember my mother." He answered huskily trying to gain some time. "I do not know these fairy tales you speak of."
In that moment he knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that somehow his persona and Gary's had joined temporarily. He also knew that time was running out, perhaps faster than they had anticipated and that this joining of the two personas was likely to happen more and more as time wore on until the point came when Gary would cease to exist altogether.
It was extremely disconcerting to have this mortal woman so close to him and what was even more disconcerting was to experience the level of arousal he was feeling. It wasn't that it was an unpleasant sensation, in fact quite the contrary, but like Gary he knew that to carry it through to an inevitable conclusion was not a good idea and the more she snuggled closer, the harder the desire was to control.
Instead he forced himself to search deeper to find whatever of Gary's memories were there. To his relief he managed to latch on to some of the childhood memories imprinted onto his modern self by Iluvator. At the same time Kim draw away slightly.
"What on earth is wrong with you?" She asked suspiciously. "Everyone's heard of Grimm's fairy tales and Hansel and Gretel. Are you feeling okay?"
Eonwe gave her one of the devastating smiles he usually used to charm everyone around him. "I'm sorry." Ever mindful of not arousing her suspicions unnecessarily, he struggled manfully with the modern idiom of speech. "I was never one for fairy tales, even as a child. My interests were more…er…fighting and…stuff." He groaned inwardly. Stuff? What in the name of the Valar was 'stuff'?
He was vastly relieved when her expression lightened and then very alarmed when she slid her arms back around his waist and pressed herself to him. "Oh, I see. I suppose you must have always wanted to be a soldier."
Eonwe tightened his arms around her, closed his eyes and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Ever since my first memory." He murmured, sending up a prayer to Iluvator for assistance at the same time. Well it wasn't exactly a lie. He had known he was destined to be a mighty warrior from the first moment he had sprung from the music of the Ainur.
"That's really nice." She looked up at him. A small but inviting smile curved her full mouth and he was mesmerised by it. Irresistible force met immoveable object and for the first time in a very long time Eonwe, Maia and Herald of Manwe gave way to the inevitable.
His lips met hers in a very long and most enjoyable kiss and all discussion between them ended.
The tent of Eonwe, camp of the Host of the Valar
"A penny for your thoughts." Tulcas' soft tones jerked him back to full consciousness of his surroundings.
"What? Where…" Eonwe stared around the tent. His mouth was dry and his heart was beating ten to the dozen.
"Where are you?" Tulcas smiled at him. He poured a goblet of the rich purple wine made from grapes that grew on the lower slopes of Taniquetl and handed it to the confused Maia. "I was just about to ask you the same question."
His gaze dropped downwards and Eonwe followed it. To his horror he realised that he was naked and a thin sheen of sweat covered his skin. "Oh no." He groaned as a very recent memory assailed him and fell back on the furs covering his cot.
"Oh no? That does not sound very reassuring." Tulcas said lightly. He picked up a linen towel and tossed it to Eonwe. "Better get dressed. There is a large party of Orcs and other creatures headed our way. I will return in a moment."
He left the tent and Eonwe could hear him bellowing orders to all and sundry. He sat up with a sigh and forced himself to look under the fur covering his nether regions. The sight he had hoped he wouldn't see was there in all of its glory. What on earth had come over him? He had done the very thing he knew he shouldn't have done.
Nice one. Gary's dry tones sounded clear in his mind. There I was managing to resist her charms very efficiently. I go out of my mind for two seconds and you're in there like a flash, bonking like a couple of rabbits.
Eonwe felt himself blush all over. "I did not intend that to happen." He said out loud before he could stop himself.
"You did not intend what to happen?" Tulcas' soft tones interrupted from the doorway. "What exactly is it that you have done Eonwe?"
The Herald hung his head as Gary's spectral laughter echoed at the back of his consciousness. "I think I just did a very silly thing." He admitted as he threw the furs aside, slid off the cot and began to towel himself down.
"So it would seem." Tulcas said dryly noting the rapidly subsiding erection. He opened the tent flap and gestured to the Vanyarin Elf who normally assisted Eonwe to don his armour that he would do the honours this time.
Eonwe pulled on a soft linen tunic and leggings. "It is beginning Tulcas. I was there, inside him, and I could not resist it."
Tulcas held out the soft leather jerkin that Eonwe wore under his mail. "Or her apparently." He remarked.
Eonwe hesitated slightly. He shrugged into the jerkin and then began to lace it up. "Or her." He admitted.
"So all the bawdy songs sung in the taverns about Eonwe the virgin are no longer true?" The Vala asked slyly.
"What songs? They don't…" Eonwe gazed at Tulcas in horror and embarrassment. "Do they?" His voice was filled with chagrin.
The Vala's lips twitched uncontrollably. "Well… I have heard one or two little ditties." He burst into rich laughter. "I am sorry Eonwe, I was going to try to keep it going a little longer, but the expression on your face is beyond price. "Perhaps I was joking about the virgin part." He lifted his thumb and forefinger. "Just a teeny little bit."
Eonwe stood quietly as Tulcas lifted the mail over his head. When it settled on his shoulders it felt heavier than usual, as though he had just taken the entire weight of Middle-earth upon him. He looked up through a fringe of dark lashes at the golden-haired Vala.
"What if…"
Tulcas picked up the sword belt and handed it to him. "What if you have gotten her with child?" He asked bluntly.
Eonwe grimaced. "Yes."
"Then we have a problem do we not?"
"Is there no way of telling sooner rather than later?"
It occurred to Tulcas that Eonwe sounded like a hopeful little boy. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well…I don't know. Pregnancy test or something. Anything."
"What in the name of Mandos is a pregnancy test?"
Eonwe yanked the belt around his waist and yelped as it cinched too tightly. "Ouch, dammit, too bloody tight. A pregnancy testing kit is something you buy in shops like Boots the Chemist. You test the urine and if the colour changes then the woman is pregnant."
Tulcas saw a change in the Maia's mode of speech and expression and his eyes narrowed slightly. "How very ingenious. Where do you suggest we get this 'pregnancy testing kit' from?"
Gary looked up at the Vala in consternation. He picked up the goblet of wine that Tulcas had poured earlier and drained it to the last drop. "Oh bugger."
"My thoughts precisely." Tulcas said evenly.
The camp of Ereinion Gil-galad
Blissfully unaware of the body-hopping going on between her lover and his alter ego, Kim snuggled down in the warm blankets that had passed for their bed of passion. Gary had got up to relieve himself a couple of minutes earlier and still hadn't returned, but the blankets smelled deliciously of both of them and she felt an exultant glow spread over the whole of her body. It had been worth waiting for and the sense of completeness was wonderful. All around her she could hear the camp settling down for the night and she closed her eyes drowsily.
Rion watched with growing unease as Gary/Eonwe proceeded to make love to Kim. He heard the mortal woman's soft cries of pleasure and the Maia's passionate responses and frowned. Deep inside he knew that what he was doing was wrong and intrusive, but he couldn't stop himself. It is not as though either of them are aware of me. He argued to himself.
As if the wish were father to the thought, Gary paused briefly in his lovemaking. His head turned and Rion felt a thrill of panic, as it seemed that the Maia was looking directly at him. He froze on the spot and averted his gaze to the forest floor. Never had the ground received such a thorough examination as it did then.
Only when the sounds resumed did he venture to look up and he only did that briefly to make sure that he had not been spotted by anyone else. Usually Elves make no sound unless they wish to and Rion was no exception, yet as he silently rose to his feet, he was aware of the sensation of being watched and the hair rose up on the back of his neck.
He glanced nervously around him, but could see no one other than the Elven guards that Lord Glorfindel had posted around the camp perimeter and the archers that Lord Celeborn had ordered among the treetops.
Rion ventured yet another quick glance at the couple just in time to witness the fulfilment of the act. He shrank into the shadows in embarrassment as Gary lay still on top of Kim, head turned very slightly towards the spot where Rion had concealed himself. His eyes were closed but as Rion watched they slowly opened and he stared directly at the young Elf and smiled.
A high tree-ringed knoll just above the camp of Ereinion Gil-galad
Thadak watched the events unfolding before him with a keen interest and growing lust. He had desired the human female since the beginning and although his attention had since been on survival, he had not lost that desire. The desire to see her again and the fact that both orc and Elf stood in his direct path had drawn him away from the protection of the farmhouse and back to the army of the Elven King. He crouched now, at the top of a small hillock watching as the camp was set up. He had easily picked out the woman and her Maia consort as they stood embracing each other.
As the hated Maia disrobed her, revealing deliciously smooth pale breasts and thighs Thadak had nearly been overcome. He watched enviously as they coupled, all the time imagining what he would do to her if he could get her alone. In his thoughts he could almost feel the silky skin under his large hands. He knew she would be deathly afraid once he was poised to enter her, but somehow the thought of that fear only increased his lust.
She can be yours.
The voice insinuated itself into his mind and his hand stopped its stroking motions.
The woman can still be yours. Bring her and the weapons to me at Thangorodrim and I will give her to you, but only if she is unspoiled when she reaches here.
I do not understand Thadak thought dumbly to himself. The Maia scum will follow her and bring his armies with him.
For a moment there was silence, then a chuckle evil and cold enough to freeze the marrow in anyone's bones sounded in his head. Indeed he will and I, Sauron, will be waiting for him.
Sauron? Thadak was now very confused. Why did the Lieutenant of Morgoth wish to face the Maia Eonwe from the west in battle? Surely Morgoth had other plans.
That is not your concern. The voice continued smoothly. All I need from you is the weapons and the woman. Her presence will ensure that the cursed armies of the Valar will be here on a ground and at a time of our choosing. Not theirs. Make your decision now. Will you bring them, or must I send another to do this?
Thadak grovelled on the ground before his unseen master. No Lord, I will do it. I will not touch a hair on her head.
Another brief period of silence followed, then the voice spoke once more. Good. Speak to no one of this. I will cast a mist about the army of Gil-galad when they move out tomorrow and she will become separated from the main body. Take her then and move to the east as swiftly as you can. The armies of the Valar are being drawn out of the forest as we speak and your path to the east will be unhindered. Once through the forest, you must head in a northerly direction towards Thangorodrim once more. You must be swift however; time is of the essence and if Gil-galad reaches you before you reach Thangorodrim, retribution will follow and I will be unable to aid you.
Thadak did not lift his head from the dirt. Yes Lord. It shall be as you command.
No answer was forthcoming and Thadak understood that the attention of Sauron was now elsewhere. He got to his feel warily and glanced around him to see if he had been spotted by the accursed Elven warriors, but all was silent in the camp below. The woman was now alone in her blankets and the Maia was nowhere to be seen, however Thadak did see that he was not the only one to witness the pleasuring of the human female by her Maia lover. One of the Elves, a youngling by the look of him, had also been watching.
Even as Thadak observed Rion's presence, the Elf stood up silently and then looked sharply around him, as if aware that he was being watched. Thadak instantly moved back into the shadow of the trees and remained there, unmoving, until the Elf stealthily crept away, back to his own campfire.