Chapter Seven
The Fellowship had long since changed their path to head toward the Redhorn pass. Since then, the weather had grown steadily worse. The sky seemed to be continually dark, now, almost as though they walked through a land without distinctions of night or day, only a never-ending twilight. It seemed as though no one spoke as they walked onward, for none dared disturb the animals that they heard. Howls seemed to follow them, periodically sounding from amongst the trees. Everyone but the hobbits recognized the sounds for what they were: scouts for a pack of wargs following them closely.
Before long, the once distant peak of the pass they planned to traverse loomed above them. Its snow seemed to threaten them with a freezing death should they dare to attempt the dangerous trek through the high pass where the weather was, at best, unpredictable.
The day before they reached this pinnacle of height, Legolas walked with Gandalf for some time. The two were talking, though no one else within the group could tell.
"Who is she?" the elf asked, breaking the silence that had been days in the making.
"Hmm?" the wizard asked quietly.
"The woman in Rivendell, who is she?" Legolas asked, clarifying.
Gandalf sighed. Truthfully, he had been trying desperately to keep her out of his thoughts. There was a chance that she was following them, more than a chance a distinct possibility. That was one think he would not wish on her. At the same time, he knew that that was almost exactly what he had been asking her to do the entire month that they were in Rivendell. However, he noticed the slight difference. He only wanted her to go with the Ring if she would be near him, where he could watch out for her. With her following, he had no idea if she was safe.
"Anariel," he said after a second. He could not tell the elf who she truly was. He simply couldn't.
"Ah," Legolas said, as if he'd already heard the name before. But that was impossible, wasn't it?
"Have you heard of her before?" Gandalf asked. He had to make sure, even if it was impossible.
"Aragorn let the name slip once," the elf said, almost as though it hardly mattered.
"What did he say?" the Istari asked instantly. After all, he was, and would always be, very protective of her.
"Only that you had asked her something," Legolas answered. His tone was cautious, almost as though...Oh no. This wasn't happening. This couldn't happen. She had to remain a secret, or he would know.
"You two seemed close," the elf continued hesitantly. He could sense that this was a delicate issue, though he did not know how close to the Istari's heart it truly lay.
"We are," Gandalf said, though his conscience screamed at him for revealing so much.
Legolas nodded and said only two more words before fading farther back in the line: 'Cherish her.'
Under his breath, Gandalf replied, "I intend to."
ooooooooooooooooooo
The following day, the very same group trudged miserably through deep snow as they attempted to get past the mighty Caradhras pass. Behind them, they left a large trench in the snow, which made them quite easy to follow for Anariel.
As she trudged through the snow, one single sound rose above the roaring wind. A deep, masculine, familiar voice chanted, "Cuiva nwalca Carnirasse; nai yarvaxea rasselya!"
Moments later, she recognized it. Curumo.
Instantly, Anariel began to chant, drawing upon her power to pacify the mountain. "Losto, Caradhras! Sedho! Hodo! Nuitho i 'ruith!"
Up ahead on the path, an elf heard the sounds of the two voices and called, "There is a fell voice on the air! And a feminine one!"
"It's Saruman!" Gandalf called, though he was thinking something else entirely. Ilmare! What are you doing here?
Suddenly, giant slabs of rock broke away from the mountain side, falling right toward them. All nine of them hurled themselves toward the cliff face to avoid being struck by the boulders.
Seconds later, Aragorn shouted to be heard over the storm, "He's trying to bring down the mountain! Gandalf, we must turn back!"
"No!" Gandalf returned fervently. They could not go the other route! Determined, Gandalf stepped back out onto the ledge and began to chant the exact same chant that he heard Anariel chanting, all the while hoping that their combined power would sway the mountain to peace.
Through this all, Saruman continued to command the Redhorn mountain, "Cuiva nwalca, Carnirasse; Nai yarvaxea rasselya; taltuva notto-carinnar!"
With that command, lightning struck the summit of the mountain, sending another avalanche toward the nine people below. They were fortunate in that this avalanche was mainly composed of snow and ice rather than rock. Just before the snow and ice hit them, Legolas pulled Gandalf away from the edge, where he would have fallen to his doom. As it was, the Fellowship was covered completely in snow.
Seconds later, they emerged from beneath the blanket of white. Almost immediately, Boromir shouted, "We must get off the mountain! Make for the Gap of Rohan and take the west road to my city!"
"The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard!" Aragorn shouted in return.
"If we cannot pass over the mountain, let us go under it. Let us go through the mines of Moria," Gimli suggested.
Instantly, Gandalf dreaded that option. Anariel would not follow them in there, and without her help, they would have to hope that they could sneak past the Balrog unnoticed. "Let the Ring-bearer decide," he said gravely.
Frodo stood there, unable to voice a decision one way or the other.
"We cannot stay here! This will be the death of the Hobbits!" Boromir yelled. Merry and Pippin clung to him. Both were close to frostbite.
"We will go through the mines," Frodo said with very little determination in his voice. All he wanted, was for them all to be out of the cold, the winds, and the snow.
ooooooooooooo
Anariel had not continued to follow the Fellowship since Saruman had tried to stop them. Due to the nature of the spell, they would likely have stopped to avoid further danger. More than likely, they were now discussing their options. In other words, most of probably wanted to turn back right about now. If she had gauged them rightly when she had seen them, most, if not all, of them would want to turn back.
Even as she thought these things, she heard the crunching of snow underfoot. They had turned back Quickly, she pressed herself into the cliff face, melding into the rock. Almost as soon as she was hidden, the first of the group came around the corner. She waited in silence as one by one they trudged past. Soon, they were past, but then, she heard one of the people stop.
The seconds ticked by as Anariel held her breath, hoping she would not be discovered. The crunching of snow signalled that whoever it was suspected she was there. They were coming toward her.
They stopped right in front of her. "Come out," he said.
In that instant, Anariel was relieved beyond belief. She stepped out of the cliff face and said, "I never could hide from you."
The wizard's eyes never left her, but they were wide and slightly shocked. "What?" Anariel asked.
"Your cloak," he said, pointing at the cliff face.
"Oh, I always forget it," she said, reaching into the cliff face with one hand. A second later, she pulled her hand back out, cloak in hand, and quickly put it on.
"When did you leave?" Gandalf asked. He knew it would do no good to ask why she did anything. Her reasons were always obscure.
"Dusk. The same day that you left," she said bluntly.
"It is good to know you're near," the wizard said, stepping toward her.
Anariel smiled and stepped forward to hug him tightly. "Which way are you going?" she asked.
Gandalf stiffened at the question. Hesitantly, he said, "Moria."
Immediately, Anariel pulled away and said, "I cannot follow you there."
Gandalf could only nod. He had expected as much. "I will meet you on the other side. How will you go past the Cithaeglir?"
"Caradhras will cooperate if I am the only one," she said confidently.
"Wait for us," he said, smiling at her. With that, he hurried after the Fellowship.