New chapter baby! WOOP WOOP!
Sapphire:
"Alright, we have to find us some NOT-DEAD hobbits now. Let's ride!" I yelled happily.
"Come Gimli, don't be afraid," Legolas chuckled, trying to get the dwarf up onto the horse.
"I'm not riding a..."
"Ah-ah-ah!" I chided, "I seem to recall you claiming that riding a horse would be better than all the endless running... Now it's time for you to find out if you were right!"
"I don't suppose you know how to..." Aragorn commented from in the saddle while I petted the beautiful chocolate horse we were given.
"You're a beauty Hasufel..." I whispered. Hasufel snorted and I scratched him behind his velvety ears.
"Lady Sapphire," Aragorn said, attempting to get my attention.
"Please just call me Sapphire!" I complained.
"Sapphire, do you need assistance getting atop Hasufel?"
I snorted, "No. Hey Legolas? Wanna race? First to the stinky dead orc pile wins!"
Legolas got a gleam in his eyes that made Gimli mutter, "Oh no..."
I leapt up in front of Aragorn and took the reins.
"I suggest you hold on," I told him. With a whinny, Hasufel took off. Arod was just as fast, but unfortunately, he was lugging a dwarf.
So, naturally, I won. I rewarded Hasufel with a thorough ear scratching. Legolas pouted atop his white stallion and Aragorn glared at me as he demounted.
Legolas hopped off Arod and shook my hand, "Well met. You are a excellent rider."
"Thanks!" I grinned, blushing ever so slightly. Oh gods, hope he didn't notice that...
Gimli looked like he was about to hurl. He tried to jump off Arod and fell over. He rolled down the hill and came to a stop at Legolas' feet. Legolas looked amused and then slightly worried that the dwarf was going to vomit on his boots.
And Arod, the poor horse...
Let's just say that the horse was not having a good day.
We could smell the burnt orc long before we saw it. Now that we were here, I gagged and pinched my finger over my nose.
"Oh gods, that is foul!" I whined, and the others grimaced in agreement.
"Okay, Aragorn. See that helmet?" I pointed at the lone helmet that had rolled away from the pile of burnt carcasses. The same one that Aragorn kicked in the movie. By the way, did you know that during the filming of the movie, Orlando Bloom cracked a rib and Viggo Mortenson broke his toe. They wanted Viggo to kick the helmet more in the direction of the camera. He tried three times, and each time was better. But the fourth time, he aimed it perfectly at the camera, and also gave out this realistic howl of pain and sunk to his knees. They were extremely impressed with how heartfelt it sounded. They didn't realize until afterwards that he had broken his toe kicking the helmet and that he had used his pain to fuel the emotional cry. They used that take in the movie.
So, whenever you're watching the Lord of the Rings, you can tell your friends, "Viggo literally just broke his toe kicking that helmet."
Anyway, Aragorn walked over to the helmet and looked at it, "Yes, why?"
"That's where the trail starts," I explained. Aragorn nodded and bent down to search the ground for clues.
"You are correct. A hobbit lay here...and the other...they crawled... Did the story in your world tell you all this?" Aragorn asked.
"Well, actually most everything that has happened so far is from the movie."
"And what is a movie?" Aragorn asked.
"It's like a play, but its...well...you see, my world has technolo...uh... My world is further in the future. Like I said before, we have things that would seem like magic to you, but they're not. I'm not into learning the details of how the stuff works, so I couldn't explain how it's not magic to you, you'll just have to take my word for it. A movie is when someone uses something called a camera to record people acting out a book or story. Then, you can take this movie and put it in something called a television, which is like a metal box with a flat glass window on the front, and the television will show you the play again as many times as you want."
Eyebrows went up, but Legolas was the only one who commented.
"I would very much like to witness one of these 'movies'"
"Uh... sorry, maybe later I can show you my phone..."
"Their bonds were cut..." Aragorn muttered to himself, "...They ran over here. They were followed."
I stared in amazement at the Ranger. I swear, he knew exactly who was there, how long ago they were there, and what direction they were heading by one bent blade of grass (WARNING:EXAGGERATION) But still, that guy was good...
"The tracks lead away from the battle...into Fangorn forest..."
Gimli looked horrified, "What madness drove them in there?!"
"UH...I don't know, maybe the massive battle behind them?!" I rolled my eyes.
Legolas laughed like tinkling bells and I found myself smiling dazedly at him. Luckily, he didn't notice. Wow, he even laughed gorgeously. I giggled, and shook my head, "I feel like a freaking Mary Sue over here. I must be going crazy."
"You feel like a Mary Sue?" Gimli grunted, "Who or what is a Mary Sue?"
"Ahhh...nothing..." I muttered, my cheeks burning, hopefully just on the inside. I certainly hoped I wasn't blushing. Geez, maybe I was a Mary Sue...
That sucks.
We headed into Fangorn forest, and I realized that Gimli was right in the movie. The air was very close in here.
Gimli licked orc blood off his finger and spat it out, "Orc blood,"
"Why'd you taste it then?" I sniggered.
Gimli just grunted in response, something I found he did a lot.
"These are strange tracks," Aragorn commented.
"Uh-huh. That's cause they were made by Ent feet," I said.
"Ents? Shepherds of the Forest? But I thought they..." Legolas trailed off.
"The air is so close in here," Gimli complained.
"This forest is old," Legolas noted, "Very old. Full of memory..." Legolas paused, thinking.
"...and Anger!" Legolas added with wide eyes.
The trees groaned and Gimli raised his axe. The trees proceeded to groan some more.
"The trees are speaking to each other," Legolas whispered.
"Gimli, I'd put down that axe if I were you. Trees are very sensitive when it comes to deforestation," I warned.
"The Forest Nation?" Gimli asked. "Since when do trees have a nation?"
"No! Deforestation! Cutting down trees."
"Oh." Gimli said, lowering his axe embarrassedly.
"They have feelings my friend. The Elves began it. Waking up the trees, teaching them to speak." Legolas explained.
"So, what Legolas is saying, is that if we get murdered by trees, we can feel free to blame the elves," I teased.
Legolas gave me a funny look and Gimli snorted, "Talking trees. What do trees have to talk about? Except the consistency of squirrel droppings?"
"Hear, hear!" I agreed.
Legolas suddenly tensed and I remembered what came next. I felt kind of bad about not telling them earlier, but I figured, Gandalf had wanted to surprise them anyway. Otherwise he would have just walked out of the trees and been like, "Hi guys, I'm magically back from the dead! Isn't it great?!"
He wouldn't have hidden himself with magic and done the whole: "I might or might not be Saruman." thing.
"Aragorn, nad no ennas!" the elf hissed. I didn't know much Elvish, but if I remembered correctly from the movie, he was saying, "Something's out there."
"Man cenich?" Aragorn whispered back. That was either, "What is it?" or "What do you see?" I wasn't entirely sure...
"The White Wizard approaches."
"Do not let him speak, he will put a spell on us," Aragorn warned as he silently slid his sword out of his scabbard, "We must be quick."
One breath later, we all whirled around to see an intense light. Gandalf the White was in the house.
Gimli threw an axe, and it shattered. Legolas fired an arrow, which shared the same fate. Aragorn dropped his sword as it burns with heat. I found myself having to shield my eyes from the blinding white light.
"Hi Gandalf," I said casually.
The others looked at me like I was crazy, but then the light died down and they saw that it was Gandalf.
"It cannot be..." Aragorn murmured, "Sapphire, why did you not tell us?!"
"Well, I figured he wanted to surprise you," I shrugged, "Besides, you told me not to divulge what I know."
"Forgive me, I mistook you for Saruman," Legolas cried, bowing down to Gandalf.
"I am Saruman. Or rather, Saruman as he should have been."
"You fell..." Aragorn whispered.
"Through fire, and water. In the lowest dungeon, on the highest peak I fought him, the Balrog of Morgoth. Until at last I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside. Darkness took me and I strayed out of thought and time. The stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as a life age on the earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again. I've been sent back until my task is done," Gandalf gave his little speech.
"Gandalf..."Aragorn said, still in shock, but tears of joy in his eyes.
"Gandalf?" the wizard asked, as if he had forgotten his own name, "Yes, that was what they used to call me..."
Aragorn nodded and Gandalf smiled, "Gandalf the Grey. That was my name."
"Gandalf," Gimli grinned, relieved beyond words.
" I am Gandalf the White, and I come back to you now at the turn of the tide."
I smiled, "I'm liking the sound of that. So, I'm guessing you already know my story..."
"Yes, Sapphire Snitch, I know your story. And I must say, learning about your world gave me quite the headache."
I grinned as the others looked at Gandalf, hearing the absolute confirmation that I was from another world.
Legolas shook his head incredulously, "So, Gandalf has seen a 'movie'?"
"Indeed I have! I found Harry Potter rather entertaining, I must say. I particularly liked the Headmaster of the wizard school. He and I share the same wonderful sense of humor."
I started laughing hysterically, and couldn't stop for a good five minutes.
"A hairy potter? Why would a hairy...oh confound it all!" Gimli cried.
That made me laugh even harder.
"Alright, alright," I gasped, "We better get going..."
"Gandalf, the halflings have been taken," Aragorn started but was cut off.
"Yes, yes, they passed this way just a day ago. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?"
"Not exactly..." Legolas muttered to himself and I raised an eyebrow. Was Legolas getting some sass?
I was such a bad influence.
Heehee...