On the second day of running Kali felt like she was dying slowly from the inside, she hurt; she was hungry, and all of a sudden very tired. When they stopped that night to rest for two hours to allow Aragorn and Gimli to sleep, she collapsed to the ground and let her venom seep out of her mouth and onto the dry grass. Aragorn was really tired, but he could tell that something was wrong with the young girl; her eyes were dull even though it was dark, her skin was paler than normal, she was actually tired for once, and her venom was now dripping out of the corner of her mouth frequently. "Kali, I think you need to eat something…" Kali didn't respond from her place on the ground.
Gimli nodded and drifted off to sleep, "Aye lass, try and eat this lamnas bread, it's no good really…"
"I can't digest solids Gimli…" her voice strained weakly. But Gimli was already snoring away propped up next to a boulder in the grass.
Legolas knelt down next to her, "The nearest animal is probably miles away, you need blood more now, so don't be afraid… if we say you can. We trust you," She didn't respond, her eyes were closed and her breathing even.
"Is she asleep?" Aragorn asked from next to Legolas. The elf watched her placid face with a keen eye,
"No." he reached out and gently tugged a strand of her long brown hair, "Please just bite one of us," I hate seeing you like this… his mind pleaded silently. Her eyes flickered open and she sat up, looking Legolas in the eyes. She coughed up a little venom and glared weakly at him,
"No, I have too much venom coming out, you would die."
Aragorn took out his knife, "Then we will just slit a little cut and you can drink it without having to pierce our skin."
"No! Don't do that… I'll just…" she trailed off, starting to slump forward.
Legolas caught her and sent a panicked look to Aragorn who didn't understand what was going on either. Then her arms were around Legolas' neck and her lips on his throat, he shivered and tensed waiting for her fangs to tear into his neck. But they were gentle; he barley even felt it, it actually felt good in a way that made him feel more alive. He felt all his blood rushing to that one part of his neck and his entire body buzzed with the sensation, he smiled and brought her closer. Aragorn thought it strange that the Elf appeared to be enjoying this, but he didn't question why. This was love; he had seen it many times before. Even though they both probably didn't realize it yet, they were meant for each other. Sooner than they both expected Kali let go and blushed.
"I'm sorry, I was as gentle as I could be… did it hurt?"
Legolas smiled softly, "No, I feel fine, see?" he drew his hair back from his neck, "It's healing already."
Kali breathed a sigh of relief and hugged him, "I'm so glad!"
The next night it seemed almost hopeless, the orcs had marched nonstop to Isengaurd and they didn't seem to be stopping. And they had picked up the pace after they sensed the company getting closer and so it was more running for the Fellowship as they followed behind their prey. Gimli and Kali brought up the rear as Aragorn and Legolas tracked in the front.
"You seem to be all smiles today; did you try the lamnas bread?"
"Hmmm? Oh, yes, right, that's nice…"
Gimli stared at her strangely; she usually didn't speak in one-syllable sentences or space out when someone was talking to her. Oh well, that ludicrous elf-bread must have done it to her…
That night when Aragorn and Gimli caught up on their sleep, Legolas took the watch again, having slept while running that day. He sang an ancient elvish song that reminded him of his home as he watched the stars.
"That was beautiful." Kali breathed when he had finished. He turned around and saw that she was lying down on the grass not that far away from the other two. He felt pleased that she had appreciated his song but he wanted to do more to make her smile,
"Would you like me to sing you a lullaby that my mother used to sing to me?"
"Yes please,"
And so he began to sing the song that he always went to sleep to as a child. When he finished all was quiet. Kali's soft, even breathing told him that she had fallen asleep. He curiously watched her as she slept; her arm was tucked under her head like a pillow, the cute noise she made when she puffed out air through her mouth, he smiled lovingly and brushed some hair off her face.
"Good night, Kali."
Kali woke the next morning to see Aragorn grinning, "Good morning, I thought you said you didn't sleep!" She smiled shyly and looked down at the ground,
"But the night sounds were so beautiful they lulled me to sleep."
Gimli snorted and rolled his eyes, "I hope you don't mean the elf's singing, it is the most terrible, alarming, and irritating sound that I know!" Kali was about to argue when Legolas turned to them with an expression of regret,
"A red sun rises, blood has been spilled this night." he informed his companions dispiritedly.
Kali reached over and took his hand and squeezed it lightly, "It wasn't Merry or Pippin, I can feel it. Do not be troubled," Legolas took comfort in her hope, and he felt deep within him that if he failed to rescue the Hobbits alive, he had somehow failed the quest. But he still had hope as the company moved on, and soon after a little ways of running they saw a group of riders in the distance. Aragorn and the others hid using their cloaks given to them by the elves; and it seemed to work because the riders didn't look twice as they rode past.
Aragorn stood up once they had passed and shouted, "Riders of Rohan! What news from The Mark?" They wheeled around and surrounded the now-visible Fellowship. Spears were lowered and a barrier of spikes kept any of them from escaping.
"What business do an elf, a man, and a dwarf have in the Riddermark?"
Gimli looked up at the man and jeered, "You give me your name Horse master, and I'll give ya mine,"
"I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it didn't stand just a little from the ground." Faster than any of the humans could blink, Legolas had his arrow pointed at the Rider,
"You would die before your stroke fell!" He declared, fiercely glaring at the Rider. A muffled cry of alarm came from behind the elf.
"Is that a woman? Men, raise your spears!" they did so and the rider could now clearly see that there indeed was a girl, garbed in form-fitting men's clothing, clinging to the elf and hiding behind him. "There is no need to be afraid, unless you are Sarumon in disguise. They say he walks in the form of an old man, setting loose spies to slip past our nets." The Rider glared through his helmet at them suspiciously, Aragorn tried to keep the peace,
"We are not spies for Sarumon. One of our companions was a friend to your king in dark times,"
"The King does not recognize friend from foe," The Rider took off his helmet, "Not even his own kin," Aragorn recognized him to be the nephew of the King and bowed his head. Legolas lowered his bow and Gimli shuffled his feet nervously.
Aragorn saw his chance and asked Eomir, "We are tracking a group of orcs, they have taken two of our companions hostage, have you seen them?" Surprise and then sadness registered on Eomir's face,
"We had a run-in with a band of orcs last night, we piled and burned their corpses over there," he pointed to some smoke off in the distance.
"There were two young Hobbits, did you see them?!" Gimli asked hurriedly.
"They would have been small, only children to your eyes," Aragorn added. But Eomir just looked melancholy,
"We left none alive." A small whimper came from the girl, Eomir felt ashamed at his hard words. "Here," he whistled and two horses were brought forward. "May you meet better fates than their former masters." Then he put his helmet back on and called to the Riders, "We ride north!" And then they left, galloping away. When they were gone Kali relaxed some; horses had scared her ever since she was four, she had nearly gotten killed by one by being in the way. But two horses just stood there, staring at her; she squeaked a little and continued to hide behind Legolas.
Aragorn frowned at her, "Are you afraid of horses?" Kali nodded fearfully.
Gimli nodded in agreement, "Aye! I would rather run alongside of one than ride it!"
Legolas looked down at him, "Is that because you would fall off?"
Gimli glared at him, "No!"
Aragorn went up to the darker one and brought her forward, "See? She won't hurt you… go on and touch her nose," Kali reached out timidly and wasn't surprised when the horse reared back and tried to hit her. Legolas pulled her back and kept her close to him, one arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist. Aragorn calmed his horse down and murmured to it softly in elvish as it calmed down. Kali was shaking badly and terrified to the core of getting on something that wanted to kill her, but she was soothed by Legolas' whispers of elvish in her ear and she forgot her fright.
Gimli and the other horse stood there watching the two getting quieted with soothing tones in another language, "Bah! Let's just get her on the horse already!" Aragorn led his horse over to her once more, but neither one flinched away, and Aragorn mounted and slowly went closer,
"Legolas, put her here behind me," he said, breaking the spell for just a second. Legolas nodded and lifted her up easily and set her behind Aragorn on the horse, and then he quickly mounted the other one and grabbed Gimli and put him on the horse behind himself. Gimli roared in fury at being picked up and man-handled, but couldn't protest for long because Legolas urged the horse into a gallop and the Fellowship took off towards the rising plume of smoke.
When they got there the horse Aragorn and Kali rode nearly kicked her off, but Aragorn restrained her and let Kali get off a soon as possible. It was a gruesome sight, orc heads on spears and some mangled bodies left strewn about glistened with dried black blood. Gimli sifted through the burnt pile with his axe and found something. He turned to the others, "It's one of their wee belts," he said, voice going thin. Legolas felt shame at having failed two of his companions; he said a prayer for their souls in elvish then grew silent. Aragorn stood up and kicked an orc helmet with a yell of anger. Kali watched her disheartened friends, she felt bed that they did not know that Merry and Pippin were still alive, so she waited for someone to say something. But no one did, a heavy silence hung over the group like a cloud.
"They aren't dead," Kali said, breaking the silence. They all looked at her in disbelief. "They could have escaped and gone into that forest! And hypothetically been rescued by a tree herder and theoretically met up with Gandalf…"
Aragorn looked at her like she was crazy, "Kali, maybe you need to sleep, are you feeling well?"
Kali felt like screaming, she didn't know how Aragorn would figure out that the Hobbits weren't dead, but he obviously didn't either. She sat down heavily on the ground and sighed, then felt that she was sitting on something, she pulled it out from under her; a cut rope, "Hey, Aragorn!" she called, they all looked towards her. She held up the rope, "You think they could have escaped?"