Chapter V: Rescue At Sea

Frodo sat upon the boulders strewn at the entrance of the cave, watching the raging storm in awe. Something out there struck his heart with horror - and it wasn't the massive crashing waves, the rain that fell like hail, the booming thunder, or the lightning.

It was the nearby ship that was being tossed around, as though in sport. He'd watched one of its main sails fall to the deck like a tapestry that had been poorly nailed to a wall. Suddenly, he noticed a figure teetering over its edge. His eyes immediately focused in and widened in shock as it jumped into the tumultuous waters below.

He immediately dove off the rock he was perched on and slipped beneath the water's surface, quickly swimming towards the fallen figure. As he got closer, he spotted flashes of fiery red hair as the lightning continued to strike and light up the water and blackened sky. His heart leapt in his bare chest as he rapidly swam to the drowning figure. Could it be her?

The next lightning bolt confirmed his sinking suspicions as it illuminated the victim's face. He was quick to gather her unconscious form into his arms before taking one last look at the wrecked ship before him. It was now barely within his sight - and what brief glimpses he did get were obscured by monstrous waves within seconds. He swam and ferried the girl he'd seen drink from the Fire Falls days before back to the cave, where he hoped that they would both be safe from the remainder of Mother Nature's wrath.

...

Frodo watched the sky go from black to indigo, and then fade to a pale grey before even considering leaving the cave. The maiden in his arms hadn't even stirred since he pulled her out of the water. He tightened his hold on her, pressing her to his bosom in hopes of keeping her warm. He looked down at her and nervously bit his lower lip as he brushed a few fiery red strands of hair from her face. He hesitantly rested his fingers against her neck. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a faint, gentle pulse beneath his fingertips.

He looked out once more and saw a few rays of sunlight break through the silver veil that covered the heavens. The storm had passed. He gathered her up and slipped out of the cave, into the now calm waters. He swam her over to the shore and gently laid her down on the still cool, damp sand.

She still hadn't awakened. For a moment, he simply gazed at her, wondering what color her eyes were, how her smile would look like up close...

He tucked away some stray strands of her hair again. This time, he indulged himself to let his hand rest on her face, his thumb lightly stroking her cheek. Her red hair was a bright, stark contrast to the muted shade of the sand. Only a few moments had passed before he began to softly sing to her, his voice as timid as it was when he was in front of the castle. In a few more moments, his voice grew stronger, and the song began to resemble one of the many he'd heard from the elves of Middle Earth. He watched her eyelids flutter open before his wordless song was cut off by the sound of a woman calling from a not so long distance:

"Merida!"

Frodo gasped, immediately shifting his gaze to the direction of the sudden call. He could see a woman on a horse riding straight for the shore, followed by a large, burly man who was also astride his. His hair and beard were the same fiery shade of red as the maiden he had just saved. The woman bore a slight figure with fair skin, not unlike that of the girl lying before him. Her dark brown braid fell easily to her knees and was streaked by a single, thin silver stripe. He took one last look at the girl who had only awakened minutes before and swiftly slipped back into the waves, watching the man and the woman rush to her and get her back on her feet from a safe distance under the shade of a nearby boulder.

...

Merida heard the hauntingly familiar sound of a beautiful male voice. A shape darkened by the bright sun and the blurriness of awakening greeted her once she opened her eyes. Upon her vision slightly sharpening, she could see that the shape was the figure of a man looking down upon her. His hair hung in dark ringlets around his chiseled face. As far as she could tell, he wore no clothes, though she could only see him from the waist up at the most.

She could feel his fingers lightly brushing her face before suddenly hearing the sound of neighing horses. The man quickly looked up in the direction of the neighs before before he glanced over his shoulder and vanished.

The next thing she knew, her parents were rushing over to her side. Her mother was quick to lift her up to a seated position. The skirts of both of their dresses were covered in sand.

Merida coughed out whatever was left in her from her near drowning before her parents helped her to her feet.

"Merida! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, mother."

"Where've you been? We thought we lost you!" her father exclaimed.

"I was taken by these men - I don't know why they wanted me, but one of them was muttering something about the lords -"

"What?! When I find who's responsible for this, I'll snap their necks like dry twigs!"

"Fergus!"

"What?"

"We need to keep the peace between the clans. Merida's about to be betrothed to one of the lords' sons."

Merida looked off at the water, not wanting to hear about her upcoming betrothal. For a moment, she thought she could see the man with the ringlets peeking from behind a boulder past the shoreline.

"Merida...?"

"Yes, mother?"

"What are you looking at?" she asked softly.

"Nothing," Merida responded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's nothing. I was just watching the waves."

...

Frodo watched the three of them walk off the shore and towards the great castle in the distance. He didn't move from his hiding place until he knew that they couldn't see him. When that moment came, he swam to another rock and perched himself on top of it in order to get a better view, where he watched the family go until they were no longer in sight.

Merida... So that's her name...