Here we go with another chapter. Maybe if I have more time I'll update the stories and fix the spelling of Sauron and Rivendell, though when I tend to type too fast I tend to misspell a few things. I will fix that soon I promise.
Shout out to BlondeFanatic who is following!
Anyway, here we go with the next chapter where things get even more crazy. Also, I've obviously changed some things to fit better with this story.
Legolas ran on, not daring to turn and look behind him. He was beyond terrified of the beast. Its darkness was threatening to swallow him and he could feel it. All the while the Ring was whispering strangely soothing things into his ears, and he wished it would just stop. But he ran on, heeding the wizard's warning. He came at last to the edge of some stairs with a rather large jump, and he could hear the others still running up to him. He knew that he had to help the others to get out, even if he did not escape, which he felt was becoming more and more close to the fact. So quickly he leaped across the gap and turned back to the others. They called out to him, warning him against turning to face the creature, but he kept his eyes planted firmly on their dark shapes, even though he winced and trembled at the sound of the Balrog's angry snarl. He put his bow away.
"Gandalf," he called, his voice sounding somewhat weak.
The wizard immediately understood and leaped across the gap into the elf's arms. Legolas may have been trembling and freezing, feeling very sick suddenly, but he wasn't going to let his friends fall. He kept his footing easily and released the wizard, turning to face the others. Gandalf backed up to make room, nodding for them to come across. Arrows from orcs began to fly at them, and some of them came fairly close to their feet, but the elf was unafraid of the arrows, for in their fear the orcs were becoming bad shots, and none came close enough to give him any pause.
Boromir grabbed Merry and Pippin and leaped across as well, trusting the elf to catch him. The elf quickly reached out and steadied the man, who frowned upon feeling how much the elf was trembling, but set the two hobbits down. Legolas turned back in time to see that Aragorn had grabbed Sam by his pack and tossed him across the gap into Boromir's waiting arms, and then turned to Gimli. The dwarf indignantly informed the man that nobody was going to toss him, and then leaped. He came up a little too short, and would have slipped and fallen if the elf hadn't leaped forward and grabbed him by the beard. Obviously it hurt, but the dwarf was unharmed and survived to tell another tale. Legolas looked up as a huge rock came crashing down, and Aragorn and Frodo managed to scurry out of the way just in time. They turned back and found the gap far too wide to jump across.
The Balrog again snarled and pushed hard to try and free a space big enough for its enormous body to fit through the door that was already quite large. The elf shuddered at the sound, and the wizard carefully blocked his view of the creature with his shoulders so he would not directly see the creature, hoping to help him escape unscathed. Another rock fell from the ceiling and crashed into the stair case behind the man and the hobbit, and the rock beneath them began to give way and rock freely. However when the Fellowship feared for them, Aragorn took charge of their destiny, telling the hobbit to lean forward. They did, and the huge rock came slowly and steadily towards them. Legolas prepared himself, and the two of them jumped. Aragorn crashed painfully into the elf's chest but Legolas caught him, and Frodo leaped forward to be caught by Boromir.
With great relief the Fellowship turned and ran onwards, hearing the huge rock crash down towards the ground far below. They ran on, and the elf felt a little better in knowing that his friends had a much better chance of escape now. They ran on towards the bridge, with the wizard trailing behind them. They carefully crossed the bridge towards the other side, making sure not to fall on the narrow bridge. The wizard paused in the middle, turning to face the Balrog, and the creature came crashing forward at last. Frodo called out in terror for the wizard, and the elf began to turn around to look on instinct. But Aragorn quickly grabbed his friend and clapped his hand tightly over the elf's eyes and holding him to his chest so that he wouldn't look. The elf didn't fight the man.
He heard as the others gasped in horror at the creature before them, fearing suddenly for the wizard but being terrified of the huge demon. They all turned to look at the elf, scared that he would be looking at the creature and finding himself faced by too much darkness. But the man was carefully keeping the elf from looking at the creature, and though he visibly trembled he didn't try to pull away. They felt very relieved that the elf wasn't looking at the creature. A giant whip and sword was held within the creatures hands as he roared at Gandalf, a sound like crackling fire. The wizard however snarled back.
"You cannot pass," the wizard cried.
The creature snarled at the wizard's impudence and stepped forward, pressing one great foot onto the bridge. The rest of the Fellowship backed away a little, terrified, and the elf grew more nervous. But the wizard snarled and refused to let it pass. The Fellowship watched in alarm, wondering what on earth the wizard was doing.
"Go back to the shadow," the wizard snarled in a commanding voice. The Balrog menacingly snapped its whip in the air, and the wizard raised his staff and sword together over his head. "You shall not pass!"
With a crack it connected to the stone beneath him, sending a small shock wave of light. The creature snarled and ran towards the wizard. But the stone cracked under his weight and the Balrog suddenly with a roar fell into the giant chasm beneath the bridge. Aragorn released the elf, and he looked up towards Gandalf. But the Balrog wasn't going down without a fight. As the wizard turned away the great whip cracked. Legolas gave out a cry of warning as the whip wrapped around the wizard's ankle and pulled him overboard. The wizard looked up at them, but he saw that the orcs were now trying to kill them with more vigor, and he knew that they would have to leave.
"Fly you fools," he told them, then let go before anyone could jump forward to catch him.
They simply stared a moment, unable to believe that their guide and main source of strength had fallen towards certain death. Then the hobbits gave out cries of disbelief and tried to run forward, only to be stopped by Boromir who was too quick for them. He lifted the two hobbits, and luckily the other two, loyal little beings, followed. Legolas and Gimli turned and ran away as well, and Aragorn soon followed when he was called by Boromir. They all escaped to the sunlight, which now seemed much too bright and cheerful when they had lost so much within the mines. Legolas stopped by the doorway, breathing heavily. His heart was heavy, and though the Ring had stopped whispering to him, he felt sick and freezing still. He had helped his friends escape, but only most of them.
The hobbits mourned and the dwarf and Gondorian watched them with pity. Aragorn however instantly sprang forward.
"Legolas get them up," he cried. The elf could not bring himself to move from the door however.
"For pity's sake," Boromir cried. "Give them a moment!"
"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs," the man cried, and seeing that the elf was unwell called for Gimli to help him. "Frodo!"
The man and the dwarf went off after Frodo, and the other three hobbits were crying but standing on their feet. Boromir turned and looked at the elf. There was great sadness in his heart, and suddenly he felt angry for no reason. He lashed out at the elf.
"Why did you not go save him?" Boromir demanded. "You were fast enough! Why did you not catch him before he fell?"
The man of course did not mean what he had said, but he felt bitter and angry over losing the wizard, whom he had only just begun to know. He turned away from the elf in anger, starting to walk away. Legolas felt a great burden on his heart, and his grief over losing Gandalf only doubled. The man's words had wounded him deeply, because he had been wondering the same thing. Only now, hearing it spoken out loud was too much to bear for the elf's already shattered heart. The Balrog's darkness had proved too much for him after all. With a gasp he fell to the ground.
Boromir had heard a gasp like that only once before. Once when he had been training, the man who had been training him had saved the son of the steward from certain death by taking an arrow that had been meant for him. It was a gasp of someone who was dying and had accepted that fate, but could not remain silent because of the pain. It froze the Gondorian's blood, and he turned in horror to find the elf on the ground with his eyes closed, shuddering badly. Quickly the man ran over and as gently as he could lifted the elf's thin frame off of the ground, surprised at how light he was. Immediately as he touched the elf, he felt that he was ice cold and growing noticeably colder still. He was trembling badly, though no sound left his lips and it was quite obvious that he had fallen unconscious. Even though the man had no idea what was going on, he understood that something was not right with the elf, and he feared for him.
"Aragorn," Boromir cried.
The terror in his voice made the rest of the Fellowship turn to see what was wrong, and they all gasped in horror to see the elf in the man's arms. Instantly Aragorn sprang forward and ran towards his friend, fearing the worst. As he knelt down and touched the elf's forehead, his fears were instantly founded, and he felt all color drain from his face. The last of his hope was suddenly shattered. The dwarf and the hobbits quickly ran over as well, looking at the elf.
"What's wrong?" Gimli gasped. "What's going on?" For a moment, Aragorn was silent, unable to bring himself to tell them that they had lost two to the mines.
"The Balrog's darkness was too great for him," the Ranger said. "He is passing into the realm of the Wraiths. Soon he will become a Wraith."
For a moment, the Fellowship was frozen in yet more horror, unable to believe it. The looked down at the elf, and suddenly they feared for him. They remembered what he had said, to kill him before he became a Wraith. But after everything they had been through together and everything they had survived they couldn't do it. They couldn't bring themselves to lose another to the mines. It seemed wrong that the fair elf should die here, when they had seen him smile only once before. They grew determined suddenly, and they looked up. Even Boromir who had not liked the elf at first, could not abandon him to this fate.
"Is there no other way?" Frodo asked. "Aragorn, can we not save him?"
The Ranger paused, and looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected that at all. He looked around at the eyes of the rest of the Fellowship, puffy and red eyes from their grief, but determined to not lose their friend to the darkness that already surrounded him if there was any hope that they could save him. He thought a moment, and they waited nervously.
"One," he said at last. "Though I do not know if he will survive the journey. It is two days from here, but we can try. We must take him to Lothlorien, to Gladriel and Celeborn, the Lord and Lady there. They are wise old elves, and full of light. If anyone can restore him from the Wraith realm, it is them. But the chance is slim, very slim. He might not make the journey and even then they might have to kill him rather than let him become a Wraith."
"We must try it," Frodo insisted. "If we have any hope of saving him then we must try. We cannot lose him as well. Not now."
The Ranger nodded to the hobbit, showing him that he understood. Then he stood and motioned for the others to follow him. Boromir quickly picked the elf up, slipping him onto his back and sliding his arms over his legs, leaning forward slightly so the elf's head was on his shoulder and he would not fall from his perch. Gimli threw a blanket from his bedroll over the elf as an afterthought, and then they both turned and followed the Ranger and the hobbits as they ran onwards.
As he ran onwards, Boromir began to understand how the elf could walk atop the snow and leap such long distances, because he hardly felt his weight on his back at all. He followed the Fellowship easily as they ran. The Fellowship pressed on though they felt fatigued and were hurting all over. They knew that they could not waist a second of the elf's precious time. He had little. They went as quickly as they dared, seeking to escape the mines and bring the elf closer to where he had a hope, even if only a small one, of surviving.
They ran on long after they probably should have, thinking only of trying to save their friend. At last though, the Ranger knew they had to stop for the night and told them to get some sleep long after the sun went down. No one was really willing to stop and get some sleep. They feared that the elf would either be dead or trying to kill them when they were asleep, and they wanted neither because one would be torture for the elf and the other they did not want to think about. Either way they would lose the elf and that was the last thing they wanted now. But the Ranger assured them that he knew the elf well, and he would most likely still be there when they awoke. They all set out their bedrolls and settled into and exhausted but uneasy sleep, and all of them wrapped their blankets around the elf in hopes that it would help him somehow.
When morning came they got ready early and ignored their growling stomachs, hoping to reach the forest. They found that Aragorn had been right, and that the elf was indeed still there. He was still pitifully cold and silently suffering, but the extra warmth seemed to have done him some good. He wasn't so pale or cold anymore. Boromir lifted the elf again and they packed up. Soon they were off and running again to take the elf into the woods of Lothlorien, hoping to get him there in time to save him.
By noon the forest had come into view, and the elf's condition had worsened again. They ran on though into the trees and kept running. Lothlorien was a beautiful place, full of wonderful bird song and trees, but none of the Fellowship took in the beauty now. They kept glancing fearfully back at the elf, fearing that they would not see him awaken again. None of them spoke, but Aragorn led them fearlessly forward.
Suddenly they pulled up as from out of the trees came elves, surrounding them with arrows trained on their heads. One stepped forward, and Aragorn leaped forward towards him, speaking to him quickly in elvish. The others managed to gather enough information to tell that the elf's name was Haldir. The elf looked grave when Aragorn told him of what happened and turned to look at Legolas. The elf's face paled when he saw the Prince of Mirkwood, but he acted quickly, whistling and calling out a name.
From out of the trees came a fine white horse. The others stared at the horse, for few of them had seen an elven horse so fair. It was sturdy and built for both stamina and speed. The fine and intelligent face of the horse surveyed them all with interest. He worse some sort of harness that was used to keep the elves from falling off his back, for they forced no bits or saddles on their steeds, and they listened to words rather than the harsh turn of reigns.
Something else was said between the man and the elf, and then Aragorn walked over to Boromir. He carefully took Legolas and walked over to the horse. While any other beast would have run screaming in terror from the elf that was part Wraith and part elf, the horse only paused a moment, before, to the astonishment of the Fellowship, turning the other way and offering his back. Aragorn laid the elf gently on the horses back as Haldir patted the horse's face and gave him a command. The horse sprang away quickly and the Fellowship watched helplessly as it carried their friend away into the trees and disappeared with no other rider. Seeing their worry, the elf explained.
"He will drop no one that I command him to carry," he said. "Do not fear for Legolas, for these borders are well protected and he needs to be taken with all speed to Lady Galadriel." he looked them all over a moment, then motioned for the elves to put down their weapons. They obeyed and he turned to them. "We can promise nothing, but the Lady will do what she can for him. He may die this night. He is very weak. But come, she is waiting."
And with that the elf turned and led them into the woods of Lothlorien. Their hearts went out to their elf friend, and they wished him luck on the hard journey he had ahead of him.
I know you're all going to hate me for this cliff hanger, but there you go. Another chapter tonight. I hope you guys are enjoying the story, because it's really fun to write! Anyway, leave a comment below telling me what you think of the story so far. That horse was inspired by the horse described in the book that saved Frodo from the Ring Wraiths as he ran towards Rivendell.
I was listening to the Lord of the Rings soundtrack and inspired to create this chapter. Who knew music could be so powerful right? xD