Meanwhile, Kadira, Layla, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were walking over the plains of grass to the west of the river.
"These are the plains of Rohan, the home of the horse lords," Aragorn said solemnly from his position at the front.
Layla looked at Kadira and they both shrugged. They didn't know much about the different people in Middle Earth, despite having nightly lectures from Aragorn and Gimli. Not Legolas, though – he spent most of the time by himself, not talking to anyone.
Three days had passed since the Fellowship had split up, and the five had been travelling westwards ever since, following the clear orc-trail in front of them.
"We're getting closer to them," Aragorn continued, peering out towards the horizon. "They seem to be going towards... Isengard."
Again, Layla and Kadira exchanged uncomprehending looks. Gimli noticed and explained. "Isengard is the home of Saruman the White – a wizard."
"But aren't wizards good, like Gandalf?" asked Layla.
"It seems that Saruman is using his powers for evil." Said Gimli grimly.
The five continued on in silence for a while.
"Look!" Layla gasped, pointing to a spot on the ground by the orc path. She ran over to it and picked up a small brooch, one of the ones that Galadriel had given to them.
"One of them must have taken it off!" said Kadira happily, "They knew that we would come after them, so they left it here to tell us that they were alive!"
Aragorn nodded. "We have no time to lose, then."
The five redoubled their efforts and began to run along the path.
A few hours later they took a rest, and Aragorn began to look around.
"Shh!" Aragorn hissed, his ear pressed to the ground. He stood up and pointed to a group of rocks near them. "There are horses coming, we must hide."
The five scrambled to conceal themselves, and Kadira found herself next to Legolas.
"Legolas," she began, but he frowned at her.
"What?" he snapped.
She glared back at him. "You haven't said a word since we left the river! Is this about Fayre?"
"No," he said, but she could tell that he was lying.
"Legolas," she said softly, "we're worried about her too. She's our friend as well as your sister, and I wish that we could have gone with her too. But Merry and Pippin and Saige need us more, and Fayre can take care of herself."
"I know that..." he muttered.
"Legolas!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him around, staring into his eyes. "It's not your fault."
He stared back into her shining grey eyes and they stayed that way until they heard horses riding up the side of the hill. She quickly let go of him and looked away, blushing.
The riders came over the hill, but when they were halfway down the other side, Aragorn stepped out behind the rocks and said loudly "What news from the north, riders of Rohan?"
Layla, Kadira, Legolas and Gimli stepped out from behind the rocks as well, and went over the Aragorn. The riders quickly turned around and formed a circle around the five, pointing spears at them. One of the riders said, "And what business does an elf, a dwarf, a man, and two girls have in Rohan?"
"My name is Aragorn, and we are hunting orcs that took our friends." Aragorn pointed at the orc path.
The rider looked down at him with a frown. "We came across those orcs last night – we killed them all."
Layla gasped. "But our friends were with them! There were three of them, two smaller hobbits and one girl like us!"
The rider looked grim. "We did not see them anywhere. I am sorry."
Kadira put her arm around Layla and blinked back tears. "You must have missed them," she said, more confidently than she felt.
He looked doubtful, but then he whistled and some of the riders brought four horses forwards. "I understand that you will wish to see for yourselves. Take these horses, then."
"Thank you," Layla said softly, and the rider nodded and gestured to the others. As one, the riders turned and rode off, heading east.
Kadira looked at the horses that they had been left. "I haven't ridden a horse before..." she said unhappily.
"I have," Layla said, getting into the saddle of a light brown horse. "Don't worry, it's not too hard."
Aragorn added, "These horses are from Rohan; it will be easy for you to learn."
The five mounted their horses, with Gimli riding with Legolas, and they began to ride along the orc path. They started slowly at first to give Kadira time to learn how to ride, but a few hours later they were galloping over the plains of Rohan.
They soon came across the end of the path; there was a huge bonfire that was still smouldering by the edge of the forest. The five quickly dismounted and began to look around.
"Look!" said Kadira, pointing to some dead orcs that lay some distance away from the bonfire.
"What is it?" Layla asked, going over to her.
"They're burned," Kadira responded. "Not stabbed or shot or wounded, they've been burned to death!"
"Saige!" Layla gasped. "So they must have been here, but what happened to them?"
"Well, there's only one way that they could have gone – into the forest."
The five remounted their horses and headed into the forest. The sun was setting, and it was dim and creepy inside the forest.
"This forest is Fangorn," Legolas murmured to Kadira, as they rode alongside each other. "It's old, very old."
"Dangerous?" she whispered, her eyes darting from shadow to shadow.
"Not exactly, though some dangerous things live in it."
They rode on in silence for some time, then Aragorn called for them to stop. "We can't go any further tonight, it's too hard to see. We'll start again in the morning."
They set up camp by a tree, and settled down to sleep.
The next morning they mounted up and resumed their ride through the forest.
Sometime around midday, Legolas rode up beside Aragorn. "We're being watched." He said in a low voice.
Aragorn nodded and the five began to ride closer together.
"Who is it?" Kadira asked.
Legolas glanced behind them. "I do not know, but whoever it is, they're getting closer."
"Saruman," Aragorn said softly, and put his hand on the hilt of his sword. "We must attack him quickly, so he is surprised."
The five wheeled their horses around, and charged back through the forest. They saw a man dressed in white, but before they could attack him their horses stopped suddenly and the man began to glow.
The five fumbled for their weapons but then Layla looked back up at the man and recognised him.
"Gandalf!" she shouted.
"Gandalf?" Kadira exclaimed. "How...?"
Gandalf smiled at the five. "It is a long story, and one which will take a long time to tell. We can talk on the way to Edoras, the home of the King of Rohan."
"But what about Saige and Merry and Pippin?" Layla asked. "We need to find them!"
"They are safe, do not worry," Gandalf replied. "But they have a different path to take. We must be off."
Gandalf whistled and a beautiful white horse trotted out of the forest towards him. The six quickly rode out of Fangorn forest and across the plains of Rohan towards Edoras.
Gimli rode with Gandalf, so Legolas and Kadira rode side by side.
"Kadira," Legolas said quietly. "I never got to apologise to her."
Kadira turned to look at him. "Oh, Legolas, don't think like that. She didn't go off with them because she was annoyed with you – you're family, and she knows that you love her." Legolas gave her a small smile and she continued. "We'll see her again, soon, and everything will be fine." Kadira tried to look confident again, even though she had her doubts.
Legolas nodded, and the six continued on their journey to Edoras.
A/N: I'm so so sorry about the wait! School's back and things are kind of busy... BUT THE STORY WILL GO ON!