Thanks for reading everyone. Also, in response to a guest review, I try to update several times a week, but it really depends on how much I like the story. So far, I really love this story, so you might get, like three posting in a day on a weekend day, and like one posting during the school week. Idk, just depends on how long my day is... Enjoy!
Sapphire:
After eating our meager breakfast we set off again. A whole uneventful day passed. No one really spoke except to grunt out "We stop here," and "Keep up,"
That night, we arrived at the foot of Caradhras. And what did you know, there wasn't even a path. Just snow as far as the eye could see. We curled up in our bedrolls, knowing we were going to be cold for a very long time after this endeavor.
The next morning dawn cold and crisp, and a light snowfall had blanket our camp in white powder. I opened my eyes and found tiny ice crystal lining my nose and eyes, and when I sat up to see if anyone else was up yet, a thin sheet of ice cracked and slid off of my covers. I shivered, dreading just standing up, but I forced myself to remove the covers. Then, I had an idea. Why hadn't the fellowship just wrapped their blankets around themselves for extra warmth? I mean, they were certainly not clothed appropriately for cold weather, and a blanket was just another layer. So instead of getting out of my blankets, I just wrapped them both around me. They were thin, but they were better than nothing.
You see, our bedrolls were just two blankets. That was it. No padding, no nothing. My back was already sore just from two nights.
I trudged over to where Aragorn was tending a small fire. Apparently being a Ranger meant you could make fires not smoke, because this one was not letting off anything. Of course, it also provided about as much warmth as a few blankets. You couldn't exactly cook anything on it.
Everyone was huddled around the flickering pathetic flames, trying to keep warm. They looked up when I trudged over wrapped in my bedroll.
"Why are you wrapped in your bedroll, my Lady?" asked Legolas. The elf didn't have a single goose-bump and appeared to be perfectly warm.
"Because I'm cold...You probably wouldn't know what that is though..." I grumbled, shifting my blankets around to cover my legs better.
Everyone laughed when all of the hobbits ran to get their blankets as well.
"Brrrrr!" said Pippin, shaking like a leaf. All four huddled up in a mish-mosh of blankets and curly haired heads.
"I think...it is a good idea..." muttered Boromir, shuffling off all stiff legged to go get his blanket as well. Aragorn followed suit, and the two men looked very strange all wrapped up in blankets, waddling around like demented penguins. I had to hold in a laugh when Gimli grunted, "I'll not be walking with a bedroll wrapped round me, thank you very much!"
Legolas didn't speak, his gaze slipping from tree to tree, looking for any unusual signs. I sighed sadly. Legolas would never pay attention to someone like me... I was a human girl, not to mention I was a muscle bound freak. My crazy dreams about Legolas falling in love with me were just that...crazy dreams...
After eating another meager breakfast, we were on our way up the mountain. Soon enough, we were pushing through mounds of snow and fighting intense winds. Darn it Sarumon, you jerk face!
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Frodo take a tumble, and a flash of gold against the snow. Aragorn ran after the rolling, screaming hobbit and managed to stop him from going any further, but Frodo was not who I was worried about right now.
"Where's the Ring?!" cried Frodo, and everyone's eyes turned to Boromir. I saw Boromir look down at the ground, and start to lean over, and I made a split-second decision.
"Agh!" I screeched, pretending to hit a soft part, and tripping carefully over my own feet, I sent myself rolling straight into Boromir. With a thump, I hit the man, who gave a startled cry as he started rolling along with me. We ended up in a tangled heap near Aragorn and Frodo.
"Get off of me!" grunted Boromir, rolling me off of his stomach.
What nobody realized I had done intentionally, was grab at the snow and end up with a handful of powder, and also the Ring.
"Where did the Ring go?!" cried Frodo in anguish, and I stood, brushing the snow from my hair, and handed Frodo the ring on its chain, half embedded in a snowball.
"Here you go," I said with a smile, ruffling the hobbit's hair much more affectionately than Boromir did in the movie. Frodo gaped back up at me, then smiled a little. I winked and turned to Boromir, who was brushing the snow off his clothes while staring confusedly at the Ring, and then questioningly at me. I think I even saw a bit of relief, but it might have just been my imagination.
Then we were marching again, through the snow, snow, and more snow... Oh, Joy...
Since I was expecting it, I figured I would hear Sarumon's chanting first, but Legolas apparently had better ears than I thought. He paused, listening to the howling winds, and cried, "There is a fell voice on the wind!
Gandalf cursed and yelled back, "It is Sarumon!"
I remembered to pull close to the cliff wall as soon as he said that, and I was glad I did, because a millisecond later, boulders and tons of snow came crashing down the mountain. We managed to dodge everything, and Gandalf cried out as a bolt of lightning hit the highest peak, "He is trying to bring down the mountain!"
"We must turn back!" cried Aragorn. "No!" Gandalf bellowed, and started chanting a counter-curse.
I flattened against the cliff face again, just in time too. A humongous rock hit the small ledge above us and glanced off, triggering a miniature avalanche to be dumped on us.
Snow filled my nose, ears, and mouth, and I tried to hold my breath for as long as I could. Then, a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the mound of snow.
"Thanks!" I gasped, as Aragorn moved on to the next person buried in the snow.
"If we stay any longer, the hobbits will die!" said Boromir. "We must turn back!"
"And where will we go?!" asked Legolas exasperatedly.
"There is...another path we might attempt..." said Gandalf slowly.
"The Mines of Moria..." muttered Aragorn darkly.
"Yes! My cousin Balin will give us a royal welcome!" grunted Gimli happily. I sighed inwardly, knowing his cousin Balin was not going to be giving anyone a royal welcome, since he was dead.
"We should make for the Gap of Rohan!" cried Boromir.
"No! That path leads us too close to Isengard!" yelled Gandalf, trying to be heard over the howling winds.
"I will not go into the mines unless everyone but me will!" stuttered Boromir anxiously. Fear and anger were written clearly on his face. He did NOT want to go into the mines.
"Let the Ringbearer decide!" Gandalf yelled back. Every eye turned to Frodo, and the poor hobbit stuttered nervously, "I uh..."
Frodo took a deep breath, gulped and said courageously, "We will go through the mines."
"So be it..." said Gandalf darkly, and we were off, going down the mountain as quickly as we could.
Apparently that wasn't quickly enough for the mountain, because the wind kept pounding snow onto us, just as fiercely as before.
"Enough, enough! We are departing as quickly as we may!" cried Gimli angrily. The wind died down, and the snow stopped falling. The sun came out, and pretty soon, we were back to where we had camped, exhausted and defeated.
I groaned, turned back toward the mountain, and proceeded to flip it off. I grinned, hoping Sarumon had seen that in his Palintir. Well, even if he did, he wouldn't know what it meant...But I did, and that was enough for me.
We pretty much passed out after that. It was time to brave the long dark of Moria... Gee, I couldn't wait!