Chapter 7: Lothlórien
The Fellowship finally exited the dreaded mountain, all of them exhausted and horrified at what had just occurred. All the Hobbits were sobbing uncontrollably; they knew Gandalf the best. Gimli was about to run back into the mountain, ready to slaughter every Orc in his path, but Boromir held him back as tears streamed down his own face. Ahsoka, crying too, sat with Sam and hugged him, trying to reassure that it was going to be okay.
Legolas was going through the five stages of grief, it seemed, for the first time in his life. He could not believe that the famous wizard, the one who seemed to live forever, was dead. Rex was accustomed to death, but he was in mourning as well. He removed his helmet in respect and saluted. "Rest in peace, Gandalf," he said softly.
The only ones who seemed stoically calm were Aragorn, though grief was shown in spades, and Obi-Wan, who successfully hid his emotions. True, he did not know Gandalf as well as Anakin, but he did consider him a very good friend. Speaking of Anakin…
Aragorn and Obi-Wan placed Anakin down carefully on the smoothest rock formation they could find. He was bleeding profusely from the wound, so there wasn't much time.
"I will remove the arrow," Obi-Wan offered. "I can pull it out without leaving anything behind."
Aragorn nodded. "Make haste. We must move quickly."
The Jedi turned to Anakin sadly. "This is going to hurt."
"Just do it," he replied, holding himself incredibly still.
Tapping into the Force, he felt for the arrow and began to telekinetically pull it out. He ignored Anakin's cries of pain and concentrated, carefully pulling it out. The arrow impacted the wrong side of his chest, thank the Force, but Obi-Wan had to make sure not to damage Anakin any more than he already was.
After what seemed like an eternity, the arrow was successfully removed. Anakin panted heavily since it did a toll on him.
"How are you feeling, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked, examining the arrow.
"Horrible," he answered. "I can't believe he's gone, Obi-Wan. He's done so much for me ever since I met him. He…knew of my troubles and understood like no one has ever done."
His former master nodded. "He will rest in peace now, knowing that you will survive. Fortunately, the arrow wasn't poisoned."
Aragorn wrapped a piece of cloth around Anakin's wound. "Keep it pressed down at all times, or you will bleed to death."
Anakin nodded and used the Force the push the cloth down as hard as he could.
"Legolas, Boromir, Gimli, get them up!" Aragorn commanded. "By nightfall, these hills will be swarming with Orcs. We must reach the woods of Lothlórien. Rex, I need you to help carry Anakin. He is in no position to move."
"Yes, sir!" the captain responded, rushing to his aide.
"Come on, Sam," Ahsoka said, getting to her feet. "We need to go."
The Hobbit nodded, getting to his feet.
"Frodo?" Aragorn called, realizing he was missing. He spotted the Hobbit wandering away from the group.
"FRODO!" he yelled.
Frodo turned around, pure grief and sadness carved on his face. His mentor, his friend, forever gone.
Sadly, the Fellowship gathered together and trailed down the mountainside, Aragorn in the lead. Before they crossed the river, they took time to clean out Anakin's wound with the water so he wouldn't get infected. Quickly as they could, they all dashed to the woods of Lothlórien to seek refuge.
"How's Anakin holding up?" Aragorn asked.
"I'm fine," the young Jedi answered. "Although, I have to say that getting my arm cut off wasn't nearly as painful as this."
Ahsoka stopped in her tracks. "Master Obi-Wan, Master Anakin, I sense something…odd about this forest."
"They say that a great sorceress lives in these woods," Gimli whispered. "Stay close, young Hobbits."
"A sorceress?" Rex asked. "What do you mean?"
"An Elf-witch," the Dwarf explained, "of terrible power. All who look upon her fall under her spell and are never seen again."
"If she's anything like the Dathomir witches, we are in trouble," she mused.
"Be at peace, O Chosen One!"
Anakin felt and heard someone breaking into his mind. He was about to raise his mental shields, but the voice called to him again.
"I mean you know harm!"
"Then get out of my head, whoever you are!" he thought savagely.
"Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked.
They saw Frodo looking around, frightened.
"Are you hearing voices, too?" Anakin asked.
The Hobbit nodded.
Gimli grinned. "Well, here's one Dwarf she won't ensnare so easily. I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox."
At that moment, Elves appeared out of the forest at aimed their arrows at the Fellowship. Rex pulled out his blasters and aimed it at the Elves. Legolas did the same with his bow. Yet, the Jedi didn't pull out their weapons and remained stoically calm.
One of the Elves, the leader apparently, stepped up and said, "The Dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark."
Gimli shot him a withering glare.
Aragorn, however, smiled. "Haldir." He embraced his old friend.
"It has been far too long, Aragorn, son of Arathorn," Haldir replied, smiling, but then he narrowed his eyes at Ahsoka. "And what kind of creature are you supposed to be?"
"The kind that will cut you into pieces if you call me a creature again," she snarled.
Many of the arrows turned to face her.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Obi-Wan advised, raising his hands in neutrality. "We are merely seeking refuge and help. My friend, Anakin, was shot by an arrow. We've removed the arrow and cleaned the wound, but what we need is medicine."
The head Elf raised his hand, signaling the other Elves to lower their weapons.
"Then time is of the essence. Follow us."
The Fellowship followed the Elves deeper into the forest for a couple of hours. As the sun set, it seemed like they were in a different place. Lanterns were spread all over the place, giving the environment a look of dark blue. They climbed up a tree into an outpost that had healers waiting for them. Haldir quickly told them what had happened in Elvish and Anakin was taking away by these Elves to be healed.
Legolas put his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Your friend is in good hands, Master Jedi. You can scatter those worries to the winds."
You would make a fine Jedi. The Jedi thought to himself.
"Mae govannen, Legolas Thranduilion." (Welcome Legolas, son of Thranduil) Haldir said.
"Govannas vîn gwennen le, Haldir o Lórien." (Our Fellowship stands in your debt, Haldir of Lórien) the Elf replied.
"So much for the legendary courtesy of the Elves," Gimli grumbled. "Speak words we can all understand!"
Haldir turned to him with a sneer on his face. "We have not had dealings with the Dwarves since the Dark Days."
"And you know what this Dwarf says to that?" he asked. "Ishkhaqwi ai durugnul!" (I spit upon your grave!)
Aragorn whirled around and grasped the Dwarf's arm fiercely. "That was not so courteous."
Haldir walked passed them until his eyes met Frodo. His expression changed to fear and outrage.
"You bring great evil with you," he announced. "You can go no further."
Aragorn took Haldir aside and began arguing with him in Elvish. From the looks of the conversation, Obi-Wan guessed that Aragorn was trying to convince Haldir for refuge and to pass, but Haldir was holding his ground.
"Why don't you say something, O Great Negotiator?" Ahsoka joked.
"We do not know the customs of the Elves, young one," he answered. "I dare not insult him, though if Anakin were here, he would have skipped the negotiation and gone straight to the fighting stage."
"Your friend is reckless, but brave," Boromir stated.
"You could not be more right, Captain," Rex replied. "I remember a time when we were trying to liberate a city and General Skywalker felt it wise to leap off a building that was hundreds of feet in the air."
The Fellowship stared at him in awe. To think that the brash Jedi would be foolhardy enough to pull a stunt like that was beyond them. Even Pippin felt relieved that someone was far more foolish than he was.
"I do fear for his safety," Legolas admitted. "He is blessed that the arrow was not poisoned."
"Anakin will survive," Obi-Wan said. "He's been through far worse than an arrow piercing through his chest, though you would have to ask him about it. It is not my
place to tell."
At that moment, Haldir approached them, a disgruntled look on his face. "You will follow me."
"And Master Skywalker?" Ahsoka asked.
"His wounds have not been fully healed. We will carry him to our city."
Two Elves brought Anakin out on a makeshift stretcher of sorts. Without his tunic, the Fellowship couldn't believe how strong he looked. The bandages that were covering his wound were surprisingly not stained in blood. Obi-Wan expected Anakin to make sarcastic comments, but his former Padawan was passed out.
The Fellowship followed Haldir out of the outpost towards whatever city there were going towards. Most of them remained in silence, mostly out of grief, but Boromir was trying to comfort Frodo, who was more downcast than the rest of the Fellowship.
"Gandalf's death was not in vain," the captain of Gondor stated, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Nor would he have wanted you to give up. You carry a heavy burden, Frodo. Don't carry the weight of the dead."
When they reached the top of the hill they were trudging on, the Fellowship stood back in awe of the city. It was another forest, but the trees were as tall as a mountain. The Jedi, reaching out with Force, sensed a network of cities and people living in that forest mountain.
"Caras Galadhon!" Haldir exclaimed with pride. "The heart of Elvendom on Earth. Realm of the Lord Celeborn and of Galadriel, Lady of Light."
"I swear he made that name up," Ahsoka muttered.
"What is strange to you is commonplace for us, Lady Tano," the Elf stated.
Ahsoka slapped her forehead in annoyance. She forgot that Elves have sensitive hearing.
The first thing Anakin noticed when he woke up was that he was lying in one of the most comfortable beds in the history of beds. He thought he was home with Padmé, but some things didn't add up. For starters, he was moving. In his memory, beds weren't mobile. Then, he realized he was still in Middle-Earth. The bed turned out to be a stretcher that was being carried by two Elves.
He looked at his surroundings and noticed gigantic trees that seemed to have stairs and cities attached to them, sort of like Kashyyyk. The Wookiees would have been jealous at how majestic this place was compared to their huts.
"Welcome back to the living, Anakin!" Obi-Wan said, noticing that his friend was awake.
"How long have I been out?" he asked, massaging his sore head.
"Only a couple of hours."
The Jedi tried to sit up, but the injury prevented him from such actions.
"Try to control yourself, Jedi," one of the Elves said. "Wounds such as yours do not heal easily."
Anakin was about to protest, but he decided against it. Since this civilization was far behind in…everything, he would have to be patient (not his strong suit) during his healing process.
The Fellowship finally arrived at what seemed like the throne room of the city. Coming down the stairs holding hands were two majestic Elves. Both wore white robes,
but the female Elf seemed to be illuminating stronger than any Elf ever encountered. Obviously, the lady was Galadriel and the other Elf Celeborn.
The Hobbits stared with open mouths at the beauty of Galadriel. Gimli was right; she seemed to entrance them. Anakin, however, was cautious. He didn't sense the dark side, but he felt the need to be cautious.
Obi-Wan and Aragorn politely bowed as the two approached them.
"The enemy knows you have entered here," Celeborn warned. "What hope you had in secrecy is now gone. Twelve there are here, but thirteen there were set out from Rivendell. Tell me, where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with him. I can no longer see him from afar."
"Gandalf the Grey did not pass the borders of this land," Galadriel answered, her voice barely above a whisper. "He has fallen into Shadow."
Legolas decided to speak up. "He was taken by both Shadow and flame. A Balrog of Morgoth. For we went needlessly into the net of Moria."
Gimli bowed his head in shame.
"He already feels horrible for it," Anakin snarled. "You don't need to rub it in."
"What is he rubbing in?" Boromir asked, unsure of the expression.
"He shouldn't continue bringing it up," Obi-Wan translated.
"Regardless," Galadriel interrupted, "needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life. We do not yet know his full purpose." She turned her gaze to Gimli. "Do not let the great emptiness of Khazad-dûm fill your heart, Gimli son of Glóin. For the world has grown full of peril, and in all lands, love is now mingled with grief." Her gaze now fixed on Boromir, who, after a few seconds, broke down in tears.
"What now becomes of this Fellowship?" Celeborn asked. "Without Gandalf, hope is lost."
"Would Gandalf want us to quit?" Ahsoka asked, slightly angry. "He sacrificed his life for us, and if we quit now, it would have all been in vain!"
"Easy, Snips!" Anakin said through his Force-link. "Remember, these are the lords of this city."
Galadriel, however, smiled. "You are wise beyond your years, young Togruta. Brash, but wise. However, the quest now stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true. The coming of these Sky Warriors was a surprise to all. Banded together, they will succeed. Break apart…" She turned to Anakin. "…and hope is lost."
"You have many challenges ahead of you, O Chosen One," she said. "Heed the wise words of Gandalf the Grey. They will aide you in the future."
Anakin looked at her, wondering if she could see he future. Part of what annoyed him about people who see the future always give hints as to what is to come instead of just telling them.
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight, you will sleep."
"Thank you, Milady," Obi-Wan replied with another bow. "We are most grateful for your hospitality."
As the Fellowship departed, Anakin was conflicted. True, this seemed like a safe haven, but there was something off about Galadriel. His first thoughts were that she was a cleverly disguised Sith and times, and other times, a warm caring soul.
"You still doubt where I stand, Anakin Skywalker."
Anakin rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Is this speaking in minds a common occurrence among you Elves?"
She chuckled. "Let me prove that I mean you no harm. Tonight, I will summon you. Feel free to bring your sword of light if you feel the need. I would convince you to leave it behind, but you feel safe with it."
"Let me guess: come alone."
"Whether you bring your companions or approach me alone is up to you, but know this: do not let your fears control your decisions, for what is revealed tonight will change everything." She severed the link before Anakin could respond.
I'M ALIVE! This story is too. Sorry for the long wait. I'm not a fan of this chapter. But, over 1000 views makes me smile.
Anakin's reactions to Galadriel were mine. I didn't trust her at first, plus, those close-up stares gave me the creeps.
You can probably guess what will happen in the next chapter, so I won't be stating the obvious.
Some things will start happening differently and as I progress, you will see hints of things to come that will, hopefully, surprise you. Review, no flames, VOTE! See you next time.