IMPORTANT!

Yes. I do realize that I marked the last chapter as chapter 12 when it was actually meant to be chapter 13….or did I? Ah well whatever :)

Chapter 14: A Corner With No Way Out

Very slowly Tess opened her eyes.

Her stomach felt hollow and her mouth was dry, the back of her throat burning as she breathed in. For a second she couldn't remember anything and so she was utterly confused when all she could see was her hair. With a slight moan she tried to move and found that her hands were tied tightly behind her back, her shoulders painfully stiff.

"Hey fellas! Girl is wakin' up!" A gruff voice laughed under her and she realized what had happened…what was happening. She had been captured by Uruk-hai and was currently hanging over one's shoulder. Another behind the one carrying her grabbed her chin and hoisted up her head to look at her, the movement making her grit her teeth and growl in pain.

"Welcome back, sweetheart," She was face to face with the foul creature, its rancid breath rolling across her face and making her gag.

"Such a pity ya man can't rescue you, now that he's DEAD!" Boromir's face flashed across her mind as the monsters around her burst out laughing. With a final squeeze of her chin the Uruk-hai let go of her face and she dropped he head back down. It moved on and suddenly they all started running again, something about someone tracking them.

'Aragorn!' She dared to hope that the Ranger was yet alive.

'Speaking of alive, where's Naomi? And Merry and Pippin?' carefully and slowly she raised her head up a little to see through the long curtain of her hair. She had to strain her eyes, but she could indeed see Merry's bright strawberry blonde hair in the crowd of black, and there next to him on another Uruk-hai was Pippin's head of brown curls. Desperately she looked for Naomi, but all she found was the red handled Elven swords of her friend's in the large hand of a particularly fat creature. With a sigh she looked back to Pippin and managed to catch his eye as he spat out the broach from his cloak. With a final glace Tess lowered her head and drifted painfully back into unconsciousness.

It wasn't until nightfall that she woke again, her neck sore and her shoulders even more so. All running stopped suddenly as the monsters breathed heavily, some even sitting down.

"We're not goin' no further…until we've had a breather!" An orc that had joined the group of Uruk-hai spoke, for everyone it seemed as the rest of them nodded in agreement.

"Get a fire going!" The lead Uruk-hai shouted and the monsters happily set about to chopping down branches from the forest they had stopped next to. Tess rose up slightly and found Merry and Pippin whispering to each other on the ground and soon she was dumped heavily next to them, the wind rushing from her lungs as her body met the ground.

"Tess! Are you alright?" Pippin asked shuffling closer to her.

"I. Will. Be." She growled through gritted teeth as she pulled a dagger out of her boot, in only a few seconds cutting through the ties on her hands and legs before standing unsteadily and jumped at the nearest Orc. Just as she was raising her dagger however the beast swung its fist and it connected with her face, her bottom lip splitting from the rusty armor on its knuckles as pain burst across the side of her face. Dazed and out of sorts the dagger slipped from her grasp, just as the creature lashed out again and threw an uppercut put to her ribs. The creatures around her laughed at her attempt of escape, the leader telling them to detain her. Tess watched from the ground as two Uruk-hai's beat a thick, vertical and relatively straight looking branch into the ground until it didn't move when they shook it. It took her a second but she figured out it was meant for her when the two Uruk's grabbed her arms and dragged her to it hooking her arms around the tall branch before tying her arms again. As soon as they let go of her arms she fell to her knees, still coughing and trying to breathe right. Wisps of the conversation reached her ears, and she tried to concentrate on that to keep herself from going under again.

"Starvin'! We ain't-nothin'-stinkin'-ays!"

"Why-ave some-meat?" Another whiny voice piped up, this time it was an orc with ghastly pale green skin, his mouth dripping as he looked down at Merry and Pippin. Her sight was fading in and out as she watched the commotion, trying hard as she could to stay awake.

"What-bout -They-fresh," argument broke out, though about what she didn't know, as Merry and Pippin were pulled to their legs. Things clicked and Tess realized they wanted to eat Merry and Pippin. Tess saw an orc raising his blade over the Hobbits' heads before the others closed in around and Tess could no longer see her friends. The sound of blade slicing through skin was loud and she paled when she saw a head fly. She opened and closed her mouth, trying to scream but her muscles were still tight around her lungs and all she got out was gasps.

"Looks like meat is back on the menu boys!" The orcs and Uruk-hai all surged forwards and bellowed happily, trying to get a piece of Hobbit. Parts of insides went flying and Tess threw up, gagging even though there was nothing to come out. After she'd finished she was left gasping, her breaths short and shallow as she tried to suck in air.

'Can't breathe! …Can't breathe!' Loud sounds invaded her fading mind, the sound of panic and horses. Forcing herself to breathe through her nose slowly she looked up, and to her surprise indeed saw horses charging in from the shadows and attacking the Orcs and Uruks. Unsteadily she pushed against the branch and stood, trying to make sense of the horrific pandemonium.

"The female! KILL THE FEMALE!" All at once, any and every orc and Uruk started to make their way towards her. The slimy faces of Orcs shone in the firelight, while the great, hulking masses or Uruk-hai cut the light out completely and cast shadows over the ground as they ran for her. Two horses veered off in her direction, obviously realizing that she was the female and were coming to protect her, but an Uruk was already in front of Tess hoisting her up by the front of her shirt so high that she was pulled up off the branch and into open air.

"If the Master Saruman cannot have you, then none other will!" With her hands bound behind her back, all she had was her tingling feet that dangled at least a meter from the ground. With a loud cry to Uruk raised its weapon, and with a raucous scream Tess' eyes rolled into the back of her head.

/\\

As the sun slowly rose, one of three hunters stopped running, his blonde hair stained pink in from the morning sun.

"A red sun rises," He said softly, before turning and continuing his run.

"Blood has been spilled this night," It was a statement that he fully believed and with all his heart Legolas prayed that it was not Naomi's, or any of their captured friends for that matter. Hardly anything was said between Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas, all of them instead choosing to be with their own thoughts as they ran across the plains of Rohan. It was dawn of their fifth day; the three were slowly gaining on their enemy having only rested a handful of times. When was close to midday the sound of horses made Aragorn look up from his tracking. Motioning with his hand he called Legolas and Gimli to follow him and they hid in an outcropping of rock. Aragorn had just pulled Gimli down beside him when a large number of horses rode passed, their Riders wearing cloaks of forest green large metal spears at their sides. Before they went too far Aragorn strode into view and called out to them.

"Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?" The leader of the group raised his spear and with speed and skill the group wheeled around before charging back to the three Hunters now in the open. The three were soon circled by the Riders upon their horses, the circle growing tighter and tighter until they stopped and dropped down their spears so that Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn were trapped in a sharp, pointed inner circle. To show they meant no harm Aragorn raised both hands, dropping them when the Leader of Éored, as it was called, came forward.

"What business does an Elf, a Man and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark?" He barked, and when he got no immediate answer he told them to speak quicker. Gimli puffed out his chest and planted his feet firmly apart.

"Give me your, horse-master, and I shall give you mine," The Rider was not impressed and dismounted, Aragorn sensing where this was going placed a hand on a smug Gimli's shoulder as the Rider walked up to them.

"I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground,"

"You would die before your stroke fell!" Legolas cried, pulling an arrow back in his bow and aiming it for the Rider's face. The other Riders around disapproved of this and the spears were suddenly much closer to Legolas' head. It was Aragorn who had the mind to stop the feud and stepped in-between the two, pushing Legolas' bow down.

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn," The Ranger started, knowing they weren't going to get much done quickly if they made enemies of these Riders.

"This is Gimli, son of Glóin, and Legolas of the Woodland Realm, we are friends of Rohan and of Théoden, your King," He reasoned, after a moment of silence the Rider in front of him spoke, taking off his helmet as he did.

"Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe…not even his own kin," The spears of the Riders raised at the gesture of the Rider taking of his helmet, showing that he believed no harm would come to him from these three strangers.

"I am Éomer son of Éomund, and am called the Third Marshal of the Riddermark," The Rider told them, before continuing where he had left off.

"Saruman has poisoned the mind of the King and claimed Lordship over these lands, my company are those loyal to Rohan and for that we are banished," Éomer said gesturing to the Riders around him, as Aragorn's eyebrows fell over his eyes and wrinkled his forehead with concern.

"The White Wizard is cunning," Éomer continued, suspicion evident on his face as he looked hard at the three companions.

"He walks here and there, they say, as an old man hooded and cloaked, and everywhere his spies slip past our nets,"

"We are no spies," Aragorn said drawing the Third Marshal's attention back, having decided it was safe to tell the Rider their purpose of being in Rohan.

"We track a party of Uruk-hai Westward across the plain, they have taken some of our friends captive," At this confession Eomer's face hardened, trying to decide whether this man was tell the truth or not.

"The Uruks are destroyed, we slaughtered them in the night," He asked, gauging their reactions.

"But there were two Hobbits, did you see two Hobbits with them?" Gimli asked desperately, Aragorn backed up his statement by telling Éomer what Hobbits looked like.

"We left none alive, we piled the carcasses and burned them," Éomer told them, gesturing over his shoulder at the smoke rising up in the distance. Aragorn silently looked down, Gimli spluttering as the Ranger placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Two women also traveled with us and were taken, were neither of them seen?" Legolas' grasp on his emotions was slipping. He had held onto it all the while they were running with the hope that their kidnapped friends would still be alive. With the news of the Uruk's dead he was panicked. Éomer however was pleased that the travelers had asked after women, it proved their story about being in Rohan. With a loud whistle he called out two names.

"Hasufel! Arod!" He turned back to the three companions with a grim smile.

"We saw no sign of Hobbits, but we did find this woman," The circle of Riders parted and two horses walked into the inner circle. Perched up on the chestnut horse's back was Tess.

Shock and surprise lit her face as the circle opened for her, and her heart nearly leapt out her chest when she saw the astonished faces of her three friends.

"Aragorn! Gimli! Legolas!" Her cry was a rasp, her throat scratchy and sore, but for the first time in a long time a smile was on her face. She swung her leg around to slide off when Hasufel began to move, the unexpected motion startling Tess as she fell off the horse into a heap on the ground. Aragorn went to go forward, but Éomer's drawn out sigh told him this had most likely happened before.

"Aragorn!" Tess scrambled to her feet, not caring for her stiff body as she ran forward and jumped at the Ranger, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck. He wobbled slightly before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her back just as tightly.

"You are alive!" The Elvish voice filled her ears and Tess released Aragorn to turn her death grip to Legolas.

"Don't sound so friggen surprised," She muttered burring her face in his chest.

"We were almost too late to save her, the Uruk's had realized they could not win against us and aimed to kill her when two of my men saved her," Éomer was watching Tess carefully, she hadn't said much except her name, thank you and sorry since she'd regained consciousness after the ambush against the Uruk-hai. The horse-lord found he didn't have the heart to further question the grieved woman, though hearing of three of her other traveling companions still missing and most likely dead explained a lot.

"Gárulf and Héoweld gave their lives for me," she said softly as she let go of her Elf friend, her mirth disappearing as she relived the horrors of waking to find two dead men slumped on top of her. Turning to the white and chestnut horses she sighed.

"Hasufel and Arod were their horses," At the mention of their names the two horses walked forward and Tess reached up to Hasufel's saddle to touch something that made Legolas' heart clench. It was Naomi's Elvish swords.

Something stirred in Éomer's heart as he watched Tess' face fall once again and he gently took the reins of both horses, handing Arod's to Legolas and Hasufel's to Tess.

"May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters," With a last look around the group he replaced his helmet and walked back to his own horse, Firefoot.

"Éomer!" At the call of his name he turned and saw Tess nod her head to him, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Thank you," The horse-lord nodded his head to her and mounted Firefoot.

"You may look across Rohan for your friends…but do not trust to hope, it has forsaken these lands," With a cry of which direction they would go Éomer set off, the rest of the Éored following after in a thunder of hooves. When the Riders were almost indistinguishable against the rocky outcrops Tess turned to the group and took a breath in to speak, a sob coming out before her words. After several unsuccessfully attempts at telling them what happened to dear Pippin and Merry she gave up, the hideous words just not coming out her mouth.

The deep sobs shook her body as she turned to Hasufel and took down Naomi's swords.

"Th-They didn't find Naomi…only her swords…I-I don't know what happened t-to her-!" Aragorn pulled the despairing woman to his chest, her grip on her best friend's swords so tight that her knuckles were white and her hands cramped. Legolas stoked Arod gently and quietly, trying to get some grounding against the bad news. Gimli meanwhile was muttering curses in different languages at the Uruk-hai and their maker.

/\\

Tess sat behind Aragorn on Hasufel, her side of her face pressed against his back as tears rolled down her cheeks silently. They had decided to go to, or in Tess' case back, to where the Uruks were slaughtered in order to gain some incite as to where they could go next. Tess had just stood by silently, unable to tell them what had happened to the Hobbits. The closer they got to the pile of burning monsters, the more tears slipped from her eyes and the harder she gripped Aragorn's sides. They were less than twenty meters away when the wind shifted and the smell of burnt flesh met their noses. Aragorn dismounted along with Gimli and Legolas who had ridden Arod, and the three of them surveyed the area. Gimli was picking at the pile of charcoaled bodies, Aragorn fiddling with an arrow. Tess sat in the saddle with her stomach churning, looking at the terror in broad daylight. She had hoped that she would never have to return to this place, so many bad memories she had tried to forget entered her mind again.

Gimli gave a sudden gasp and pulled something out of the pile before turning to his companions.

"It's one of their wee belts," He whispered holding up the flattened, burnt sheath.

Legolas spoke soft prayers in Elvish while Aragorn kicked an Orc helmet and cried out in many different emotions before falling to his knees with his head hanging.

"We failed them," Gimli muttered loud enough that even Tess could hear, and all that did was make her sob again. Aragorn sighed and placed his hand on the ground.

"A Hobbit lay here…and the other," He said moving some grass to show the others the invisible, to all but Aragorn, marks in the earth. Tess wiped her eyes and listened as Aragorn started following whatever he had found.

"They crawled…their hands were bound," he translated for them, moving along the ground crouched low. Tess frowned and dismounted when the three males disappeared to the other side of the carcasses, stepping carefully around where Aragorn had shuffled incase she accidently ruined some yet unseen tracks.

"Their bonds were cut!" Everyone could feel their hearts pumping, hope burning once again inside them as Aragorn continued to move, always with his head facing the ground.

"They ran over here…they were followed," Aragorn's monologue made no sense to Tess, they couldn't have run anywhere! They had been…eaten. But in a desperate attempt to believe they had somehow survived she followed, heart pounding harder and harder with each step.

"The tracks lead away from the battle!" The Ranger's voice was strong and confident as he started to run to follow the tracks. Until he reached the edge of the trees, where he stopped and looked up.

"Into Fangorn Forest,"

"Fangorn? What madness drove them in there?" Gimli commented as they all looked up and the ominous and dark trees. Tess had to admit she never really noticed the forest before, and didn't see whatever the three males saw now, she was too excited.

"W-What are we waiting for! Let's go!" As soon as she took a step for the forest she was yanked back by her collar by Gimli, the height difference (which in fact wasn't that large with Gimli at four foot four and Tess at five foot three) meaning that instead of just going back Tess went down as well.

"Oof!" Gimli muttered an apology as he helped her back to her feet.

"The sun will be setting in an hour or so, we will wait for morning before we venture into Fangorn," Aragorn said going to where Hasufel and Arod still stood, taking them up wind with him so that they may all make camp without have to breathe in the smell of death so strongly. Tess followed him, albeit more clumsy than he because she wasn't concentrating on where she was going.

"Dude it's a bunch of freakin' trees! There is a chance that Merry and Pippin are alive and you want to wait! They could be injured! Y-You said that someone was following them! They could-," It was Legolas who placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her.

"We want to see them safe just as you do, but the Fangorn Forest is old and many mysteries are founded around it," Legolas gave her shoulder a final squeeze before going and standing next to Aragorn, who was sitting down with his pipe while Gimli collected bits of wood from the ground for a fire. Tess stiffly looked from one member to the other before crying out in anger and stamping her foot like a child, fists balled at her side. Muttering things about unreliable men she stalked to Hasufel, pulling down Naomi's swords and strapping them to her waist.

"…What are you doing?" Aragorn asked, watching her carefully as she grabbed a pouch and filled it with bandages and a square of Lembas.

"What, do you THINK I'm doing?" She asked through gritted teeth as she attached the pouch to her hip before walking back to where Aragorn had seen the trail lead into Fangorn.

"If you guys won't search until morning that's fine, but I'm going now!" And with that she turned to enter the forest when Aragorn leapt to his feet.

"You cannot go in there alone! Fangorn is perilous, especially at night!"

"So come with me!" Tess yelled, placing her hands on her hips and looking at him. Aragorn paused; he was smart enough to know that he was being driven into a corner…a corner with no way out. Tess knew it would only take a little bit more pushing and they'd be searching for the Hobbits.

"Aragorn...before I fell unconscious I saw something, something I don't ever want to have to relive," She had to swallow before she could continue, the image of what she thought she had seen still too fresh in her mind.

"U-Until you followed the tracks I thought…I-I thought that Merry and P-Pippin…that the Orcs…," Her throat kept closing up as she tried to talk, trying to stop the words as if that would make them less believable. Images reeled through her mind like a fuzzy movie, making her stop trying all together. Legolas and Gimli were standing next to each other behind Aragorn who was walking closer to hear as Tess' voice faded to drop to a whisper.

"What did you see?" Legolas asked gently, it startled Tess enough that she came back from the gory film in her mind and answered in a rush.

"I thought I saw the orcs eat Merry and Pippin!" The three males started at this, but Tess didn't stop now that she was on a roll.

"They tied me to a post and the last I saw of them was when an Orc had a blade above them! Then those filthy murderers blocked my view a-and then they started eating and I just thought-," Through some strange will power she made her tears stay in her eyes, and she instead focused on the fact that Aragorn had seen Hobbit tracks leading away from what would have been their death.

"If there is a chance that they are alive…," Desperately she searched Aragorn's eyes for a sign that he would search. The defeated sigh was her answer and they all knew what it meant.

/\\

The four friends walked quickly and quietly behind Aragorn as he followed the Hobbit tracks. Tess tried to see what the Ranger did, but all she found was dirt and moss and moss and more moss. In fact almost everything was covered in moss. That is except some of the leaves. According to Gimli that goopy dark liquid was Orc blood, and Tess never wanted to relive the experience of him scraping some off and tasting it just to be sure.

"These are strange tracks," Aragorn said bending down to observe the large print in the soil, so large and distinguished that even Tess could see them. Gimli was at the back of the line, axe in hand as he looked about himself.

"The air is so close in here," He mutters were caught by Tess' ears and she paused to see what he meant. After a few moments she realized what Gimli was talking of. The air was heavy and filled with moisture, but instead of freaking her out the woman found it calmed her.

"This forest is old…very old, full of memory…and anger," Legolas spoke looking about himself in wonder, although his features were still clearly dismayed. Suddenly a loud groaning noise resonated around them, making Gimli raise his axe. Aragorn and Tess looked above their heads, trying to follow where the sound was coming from to no avail.

"The trees are speaking to each other!" Legolas said looking around in ever growing concern.

"What are they saying?" Tess muttered moving closer to Legolas as Aragorn told Gimli to lower his axe.

"I would not know…I do not speak tree," Tess almost brought her hand to her forehead. Legolas moved on to explain how the Elves had first awoken the trees and taught them how to speak. Tess tuned out however, something drawing her away from the three males and to the right. As she walked further away their voices faded and every time she turned her head she always missed whatever had been in the corner of her eye. She was tempted to call out but something made her keep her mouth shut. She could hear faint words, soft as the mist surrounding her.

'Wait…mist?' Tess turned around and saw nothing but smoky white.

"Aragorn? Legolas? …Gimli?" Her voice echoed as if it was simply bouncing off the walls around her. Swallowing her panic she walked forward, then backwards, and then to the left. But every which way she went all there was was the constant white veil around her, blocking even the trees from her sight.

"Ooooh shit! Now I've done it!" Unexplainable tears welled in her eyes and she cried in frustration, sitting down on the one rock she could see before balling her hands into fists in her hair.

"Nothing is going right!" She yelled, the words bouncing back at her again. Part of the mist seemed to separate from the mass around her and it softly caressed her face; calming her and making her look up. With no surprise she heard the voice again, clearly and understandably this time though still a gentle whisper.

Nothing was ever meant to be easy…else there would be no fun

"Tears are no fun to shed, especially when it is over lost friends," Tess retaliated a tear rolling down her cheek.

Then we will shed no more tears…for unless we cannot see them in our heart they are not lost

An old verse came to Tess' mind from a movie she had once seen and as she brushed away the tears she choked it out.

"If it wasn't meant to be this…it'd be something else,"

I will hide you…be at peace and rid yourself of your grief

At first only a few tears dropped but soon she was sobbing loudly, with no fear that someone would hear her and bother her with questions.

Author's babbling:

Tadaaaaa! And that be chapter 14 XD

I know I know, there was a pathic amount of Éomer/Tess action, but I found that it was just not right to have Tess flirting when Naomi's gone missing and she thought Pippin and Merry were eaten alive. I promise it will get more interesting later on!

Anyways, Reviews and faves make me smiiiiiiile!

Lots of love

AxM

BY THE WAAAAAYYY! I need your help! I need you to tell me what you want!

Do you want more action? Does the story need more romance (well romance in general at the minute)? Is it going to fast? Too slow? I would like to hear you guys' opinion as to what this story needs…if it needs anything at all? Tell me what you want pleeeease! xxx