Chapter Five: I Hate Falling
Everything was silent and cold, Naomi's teeth chattering as she used her numb hands to hold onto cold rock. She heard the shuffling of snow and the coughing and spluttering of the Fellowship above her, and was slightly relieved.
"Is everyone alright?"
"I'm okay,"
"Not hurt,"
"T'was just a wee bit of snow!" A sort of roll call sounded with everyone stating their condition.
"Here's Bill!" She heard Sam call out and after a few split seconds of silence Boromir called out.
"Where is Lady Naomi!?" She opened her mouth to call out, but let out a screech instead when her fingers slipped a little, the sharp rock was cutting into her hands and with them coated in sweat and blood it made it harder to grip the cliff face.
'Oh shit oh shit oh shit ooooooooh shiiiiiit...' Naomi thought to herself as she screwed here eyes shut.
"Naomi!? Naomi where are you!?" A voice called above the howling wind.
"A-Aragorn! AH!" She slipped a little more.
"Where are you!?"
"D-Down here!" Naomi's teeth were chattering so badly she was unsure if he heard her, until three faces appeared above her.
"Good gods! Hold on Lady Naomi!" Boromir called as Aragorn tried reaching down for her, Boromir and Legolas each gripping his leg's to prevent him from toppling off the mountain.
"Oh nooooo! I was going to let go of the cliff face and fall to my fucking doom!" Naomi wailed sarcastically, forcefully making herself stare at Legolas and not look down. For below her were the clouds and mist of the mountain, what lay underneath she did not particularly wish to know.
"Pass me your hand!" Aragorn said reaching out as far as he could, but there was still a good 10 inches between their hands.
"I-I c-can't! AH!" she screamed a little when her fingers slipped yet again, she started hyperventilating when she realized that all that was left of her grip was the end of her fingers.
"ARAGORN! HELP ME!" She cried, desperatly throwing one of her hands out with a choked sob tearing through her throat when she felt a large hand wrap around her wrist.
"Give me your other hand!" The ranger called, and Naomi obliged.
"We'll pull you up now!" Boromir called encouragingly, and slowly she was lifted up. When she was close enough, Legolas reach out a hand and gripped her right bicep, Boromir her left, and the three men hauled her back over. Naomi went flying forward and crashed into Aragorn's chest as he sat up, her chest heaving and her entire being shaking from fear and the cold. Words were being muttered into her ears and hands were rubbing her back as she let out shaky breaths.
"Naomi get you have to get up or well freeze," Aragorn said standing and pulling her up with him, only for her to wobble on jelly like legs. Sam, Frodo, Merry and Pippin crowded around her legs, trying to warm her and themselves.
"Gandalf we must get off the mountain! Make for the Gap of Rohan and take the west road to my city!" Boromir cried to Gandalf, who still stood at the front of the line, looking wise but tired.
"The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard!" Aragorn debated hastily.
" If we cannot pass over the mountain, let us go under it! Let us go through the Mines of Moria," Gimli belted out, his accent heavy over the snow. Gandalf paused for a moment, as if remembering something horrid.
"Let the Ring-bearer decide," he said finally. Frodo looked up startled before turning to Sam confused.
"We cannot stay here! This will be the death of the Hobbits!" Boromir roared over the blizzard. Frodo remained silent, his eye brows furrowed.
"Frodo?" Gandalf called out to the little Hobbit, who took another look around his comrades, then looked up to Naomi. Naomi was still shaking badly and felt like she was going to throw up, but put on a crooked grin, that was more like a grimace than anything encouraging.
"We will go through the Mines," Frodo said hesitantly, Gandalf closed his eyes and sighed.
"So be it,"
Naomi unconsciously let out shaky sigh before Aragorn raised her face to his.
"You will be alright now," he said giving her a final hug before letting go of her and reaching for Frodo and Sam. Boromir picked up Merry and Pippin, Gandalf made his way to the back (or rather now the front) of the line with Bill and Gimli patted Naomi on the back to make her move next to him, and on the opposite side of the cliff edge. Legolas walked in front of her, but kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't going to pass out on the spot. Naomi's hands were still shaking and bleeding, but her need to get off the mountain was more important than halting the Fellowship again for bandages, so instead she crossed her arms and shoved her hands under her breasts for warmth (and to hide them from elf eyes) and trudged onwards, relieved to be heading away from what could have been her death.
"We shall rest here for the night," Gandalf said as they entered a small cave at the base of the mountain. Naomi, Pippin and Merry all sigh out in absolute relief. As soon as they were all in they set to work, setting up bed rolls, making sure Bill was happy and making a fire for food and warmth. Boromir unloaded branches from under a canvas on Bill's back and Aragorn made a sort of clothes line between two large boulders.
"Take off your cloaks and hang them, they shall dry faster and you shall be warmer," He told the Hobbits and Naomi. Each stood and undid their coverings, before handing them to Aragorn to hang. Naomi took longer than the others, her hands were stiff, numb and bloody. Not to mention she was still trembling slightly. Finally finished with the buckle she handed her cloak to Aragorn before turning back to face the camp fire. An emphatic gasp came from Sam and he dropped his pans and utensils in a loud clatter, startling Pippin half to death.
"Good graces what's wrong?" Boromir asked looking to a distressed Samwise, who raised a chubby finger to point at Naomi. Everyone looked to her and there was suddenly a mild uproar. Boromir was grabbing a medical pack, Legolas was by her side in an instant and Aragorn was directing Legolas to lower her to her bed roll. Naomi was utterly confused, until she looked down at herself. Blood was smothered all down the front of her tunic and she panic for a moment, then realized what caused it all and laughed a little.
"It will be alright," Legolas reassured her, mistaking her laugh for a cry.
"No no, it's fine! It's not my chest that's bleeding, it was my hands," She said holding her hands out for inspection, and nearly screamed when she saw them herself in the light.
"Oh dear sweet baby jesus," Naomi muttered as Legolas helped her sit down on a flat rock. Her hands were swollen and jagged cuts ran across her palms and fingers. Large purple bruises also covered her hands in spots and ran around her wrists in rings from where Aragorn had gripped them.
"Despite what it appears to be, it is not all that bad," Legolas said gently turning her hands over and lightly kissing them. Naomi flushed as Aragorn kneeled where Legolas had been.
"Boromir, could you fetch me some ice please?" The ranger asked as Boromir set down a pack filled with healing supplies.
"Of course," Boromir looked to Naomi for a moment before turning around and walking to the mouth of the cave.
"AH!" Naomi let out a yelp and snatched her hand away from Aragorn as he gently prodded her palm.
"What the hell was that for?" She snapped glaring at him from under her fringe.
"My lady, if there are any broken bones we may have trouble," He said holding out his hand for hers. Naomi bit her lip before sighing in defeat and handing of her hands. After inspecting them throughly Aragorn told her to rest them in the ice Boromir had collected in one of Sam's saucepans. Then came the humility of being fed by someone else, and for some reason fate decided that it should be Legolas to do it.
'Stupid, stupid, stupid! stop being such a twat and chew and swallow! DON'T CHOKE! You idiot!' Naomi mentally berated herself as she coughed, Legolas gently patting her on the back.
"Sorry, went down the wrong hole," Naomi said grinning embarrassed.
"You have more than one throat?" Legolas asked confused, with wide blue eyes. Naomi couldn't help but laugh before trying to answer.
"Ah no, it's an expression used in my old...world...," Naomi trailed off, looking to the ground, before quickly looking back up to him and attempting a grin.
"Forgive me, I have caused you sadness," Legolas said nodding his head before standing and walking back to the fire to place down the empty bowl (they had to make soup because Naomi's hands were occupying saucepan and the only other thing to use was Sam's little cauldron) and then he made his way to the mouth of the cave to keep watch.
Naomi sighed heavily before pulling her almost numb hands out of the ice and clenching them slowly.
"What troubles you, my lady?" a little voice asked. Naomi looked up to see Frodo standing next to her. Naomi frowned slightly before looking back at her hands.
"My hands are hurting and my butt is numb...or the other way around, i'm not quite sure," Naomi said debating the manner of her comfort. Frodo chuckled slightly before sitting next to her.
"I meant, what troubles your mind,"
"Do elves...not like the human race?" Naomi asked quietly, clenching and unclenching her hands.
"It is not that, I think that perhaps sometimes they find humans to be interesting people,"
"Oh so they only like people 'sometimes' or when they feel like it?" Naomi said slightly bitterly, her eyes unconsciously finding the back of the only Elf around.
"They choose who they do and do not like, like everyone does, it is just that they have more time to choose,"
"But humans do not, don't you think they would accept an offer when it was made by one who lives not nearly a third of their life span?" She asked looking to Frodo, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She had found that no matter how hard she tried ever since she had shielded Legolas' ears from the Crebain's screeching, the elf had been different to her. More formal and less talkative.
"If you think about it, in a way, it is sad for the elves to have to watch human comrades die so soon before them. That is usually why they stick to their own kind," Frodo said looking back sympathetically. Understanding, guilt and slight confusion swamped her, and her chest became tighter.
"I see...," Naomi looked down to her hands again, her throat tightening with each breath and her eyes burning with tears.
"Elves only fall into love once, I am told. They find their soulmate and live together forever," Frodo said placing a light hand on Naomi's knee as her head snapped up to meet his, her eyes blurred over for a moment before she blinked and a few tears ran down her cheeks.
"I'm not afraid of heights even though I was even more scared than anyone else would have been today, do you know why that is?" Naomi asked whipping her eyes and nose with the back of her hand. It was sort of a rhetorical question and when Frodo gave no reply she spoke again, six times softer and seven times more fragile.
"Because I hate falling," She said closing her eyes tight as more tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I fear it so badly," A little hiccup escaped her throat and she felt Frodo squeeze her knee.
"Everybody fears something, whether or not you let that stop you from living your life is another matter entirely," He said softly as he stood and walked around to kneeling in front of her.
"The best thing about falling, is knowing that there is someone there to catch you," He said smiling, his blue eyes filled with an emotion that only Frodo could have.
"I dunno...I'm a bit heavy," Naomi said chuckling as she wrapped her arms around the hobbit's shoulders and embracing him tightly.
"Thank you, Frodo,"
"What are friends for?"
"MERRY! That was MY apple!"
"Your name wasn't on it Pip!"
Tadaaaa, chapter 5! (I'm on a roll XD) Review if you wanna make me smile.