Disclaimer: Nothing of Tolkien belongs to me.
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Sierra was walking in the middle of the line, behind Boromir and in front of Frodo. Her arms, as well as the rest of the company's, were loaded with fire wood due to the few bushes and trees located on the mountain. A precaution suggested by Boromir who has frequently travelled though the snowy passes. After Sierra's brief meeting with Frodo, she had successfully convinced him why she would wish to tag along. She had not discussed the matter with the rest of the company and asked Frodo to keep her secret. Gandalf was initially opposed to the idea, but Aragorn and Boromir said that it would be safer for her to journey with them than alone and if Frodo feels it important for her to travel along, they could not see any fault with the idea.
As they marched on they encountered that the winding and climbing road had in many places almost disappeared, and was blocked with many fallen stones. Sierra was determined to keep up with the group of men even though her arms and legs were begging her to stop and take a rest. It felt like the pile of wood had turned into a stack of lead and that the weight was growing with each step she took up the slopes.
The night grew deadly dark under the heavy mass of the clouds and a vicious wind whirled around the rocks, howling as it passed through narrow gaps and sharp edges. The company was silent as they travelled on, every single one busy with their own dark thoughts.
By midnight they had climbed to the knees of the mountains. The narrow path now wound up into a steep slope. On their left-hand side the top of Caradhras loomed over them, casting their path into shadow and on the right was a gulf of darkness where the land fell suddenly into a deep ravine.
The darkness felt blinding and Sierra blinked a couple of times to make sure that her eyes were indeed open. She was aware than there was a steep drop to her right, but she could not see its depth, only a black void. Sierra was not afraid of heights, but loathed the darkness. How she wished for the moon could break through the clouds. She desired to see something other than black and grey. A bit of colour or a ray of light would be welcoming.
Something soft then brushed her cheek and Sierra turned her head slightly upwards towards the dark sky. Faint snowflakes were falling, slightly illuminated against the black mass. It might not have been what she hoped for, but the little white flecks was a comfort to her weary heart, even despite the cold she knew they would later bring.
The company did not stop, even when the snow started falling fast, filling all the air, and swirling into everyone's eyes.
At some point Legolas passed Sierra, his golden hair slightly glowing like the snow. He walked fast and did not seem to be weary by the burden of the fire wood or the snow. He marched right up to the dark bent shapes of Gandalf and Aragorn. Sierra could not divert her eyes from the elf and for the first time in her life she was comforted by the sight of one. "Only because of his glow" she scolded herself.
Sierra could hear Sam mumble something behind Frodo about how this was even worse than the Fell Winter of 1311. She did not however pay much attention to him and rather walked a bit faster to get closer to elf and his natural light.
As Sierra approached the group in front of her, Gandalf suddenly halted; snow was thick on his hood and shoulders. "This is what I feared," he said. "What do you say now, Aragorn?"
"That I feared it too," Aragorn answered, "but less than other things. I knew the risk of snow, though it seldom falls heavily so far south, save high up in the mountains. But we are not high yet; we are still far down, where the paths are usually open all the winter."
Gimli and Boromir mentioned that the snow might be the cause of the enemy and Sierra frowned at their words. She did not know of any enemy that could control the weather, but then again she was in Middle- Earth. Anything was possible here.
As the group was busy talking, Sierra noticed that the wind was starting to die down and that the snow slackened until it almost ceased.
"Look" she interrupted them "The weather is changing, I think it might be safe to continue again" The group looked up towards the sky and also noticed the change.
"Ah a bit of luck" Gimli said relieved and nodded satisfied.
With that the company set off again, climbing the steady slope of the mountain. But they had not gone more than a furlong when the storm returned with fresh fury.
The wind whistled and the snow became a blinding blizzard. Sierra stumbled and pieces of wood fell from their position in her arms to the ground.
"Great" she mumbled and bent down to retrieve them. It was harder said that done since her arms were so stiff from the cold and the weight. She tried balancing the wood on her one arm while trying to snatch up the fallen pieces with her free hand. She only managed to pick up two pieces when everything toppled out of her arms and landed in the snow.
Before Sierra could restart the pyramid on her arm, a slender hand appeared in front of her. Sierra looked to her side and saw Legolas bent beside her, picking up her fallen firewood and neatly piling it onto his already large stack.
"No, no I can manage" she said and started picking up the pieces faster. She did not want to be seen as weak and she also did not want help from the elf.
"I do not mind" he replied and continued with increasing is pile "You had too much wood to begin with. See, not even the dwarf carries as much kindle as you do"
Legolas said that as Gimli passed them and the dwarf was not very pleased with is words. He muttered something in his own language and glared at the elf as he passed him. Sierra looked over to his stack and noticed that he was indeed carrying less, but that his kindle looked more like logs compared to her sticks.
"He is carrying a heavier load that I do" she defended the dwarf and smiled when she hear a soft "Aye" coming from the dwarf in front.
Legolas shrugged and stood up with his load. He waited until Sierra was also back on her feet before continuing at a slow pace, hoping to stay near the woman. He could see that she was nearing the point of extreme exhaustion, but too proud to mention it to any of them.
Sierra was walking a few feet behind the elf, conflicted with the desires to be closer to his glow, but also to place has much distance between them as possible. She looked down towards the leftover kindle she was carrying and noticed that Legolas has taken more than half her load. She scowled at her weakness, especially that she showed it in front of the elf. How easy a target he thinks she must be!
They trekked for another hour until the company came to a sudden stop, as if they had come to an agreement without any words being spoken. There was an eerie noise carried upon the wind, like a shrill laughter or a mad cackle.
Stones began to fall from the mountain-side, narrowly passing over their heads, or crashing on the path beside them. Sierra let out a shriek as a rock came crashing near her feet, sending piece of stone, dirt and snow into the air.
"We cannot go further tonight," said Boromir. "Let those call it the wind that will; there are fell voices on the air; and these stones are aimed at us."
"Aimed at us?" Sierra wondered out loud "Who would be aiming such large rocks at us?" She looked up to the dark sky where the mountain was, squinting to see if she could spot giants hurling rocks at them.
"Saruman? Sauron? who knows, but it matters little who is the enemy, if we cannot beat off his attack" said Gandalf.
"Gandalf is right. We cannot fend off this attack, it is best if we take shelter for the night"
Pippin's arm was draped around Merry, leaning on him for support. Both the Hobbits were shivering madly from the cold and Sierra's heart went out to them. Sam was clutching the rains of Bill the pony and even the little horse looked frozen from the cold.
"Is it too much to ask for a little bit of heat tonight?" She asked softly, but Gandalf shook his head at her words.
The company huddled together to stay as warm as possible. Sierra was sitting tightly against Boromir and Aragorn, with Pippin and Frodo sitting slightly in front of her. The rest of the company she could not see.
Sierra felt her head growing thick and her eyes weary and she felt herself sinking fast into a cold and hazy dream.
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"Wake up!"
Someone was shaking her violently and Sierra slowly opened her eyes to see Aragorn's face near her own. A smile of relief crossed his features as he spoke "We thought we lost you there for a moment, My Lady"
Sierra frowned. Lost her? How? She was there the whole time?
Aragron noticed her confused looked and tried to clarify "You fell into a deep sleep, My Lady. One we could not wake you from for almost an hour. The cold must have made you numb we had to take some steps to get you warm again"
"Here, drink this" Gandalf handed her a flask "Just a mouthful. It is very powerful and special"
Sierra moved to reach for the flask, but noticed that her body, including her hands were tightly wrapped in a blanket or a cloak, she could not tell what the material was. A warm body was pressed against her back and Sierra's heart nearly stopped when she discovered this.
"…take some steps to get you warm again" The words of Aragorn sounded in her head again. In front of her stood Gandalf and Aragorn, with Boromir looming in the back.
She doubted that it was one of the Hobbits or Gimli behind her. Sierra looked down and saw Legolas' arms wrapped around her, one of his hands lifted to take the flask from Gandalf.
"What the…?" Sierra asked confused and tried to wiggle lose from the tight hold.
"Sit still" Legolas said softly behind her, his hot breath tickling her hear. Sierra shivered, but obeyed the elf and went rigid instead.
Aragorn and Gandalf stood to leave and went to assist Boromir with Hobbits.
"I'm going to move away from you now – will you be able to stay upright?" he asked and placed the palm of his one hand against her back, gently supporting her as he slowly moved away from her.
Sierra immediately felt the loss of heat as the elf moved and the warm cocoon she was wrapped in slowly released its hold of her. Legolas moved around and came to kneel in front of her. His hair was floating in the wind and his face was graced by a soft smile. Sierra noticed that he wore no cloak or covering around him and then looked down to the blanked draped around her. His cloak!
"Oh!" She made to remove the cloak, but the elf stilled her actions.
"Nay, you need it more than I do. Here" Legolas handed her the flask he took from Gandalf. "It is called miruvor, it will warm you and give you a little strength"
Sierra took the flask, too weary and cold to care if it might be poisoned and took a sip. As soon as Sierra swallowed a little of the warm and fragrant liquor she felt a new strength of heart, and the heavy drowsiness left her limbs.
"Thank you" she whispered and gave the flask back to the elf.
Legolas offered his hand for support as Sierra tried to stand up, but she ignored him and rose by herself. She has accepted enough aid from him already and it was time to put some distance between them.
Sierra removed the cloak, regretting the decision as the cold engulfed her again, but refused to keep it any longer than she already did.
"Thank you" she said again and held out the grey cloak to him. Legolas took it reluctantly, but accepted it with a nod of his head, acknowledging her thanks.
"Come" he said and turned into the direction of the rest of the group "I believe they are trying to light a fire"
And indeed they were. As they reached the group, Sierra saw Boromir bent over a neatly stacked pile of wood, trying to ignite it with a flint.
After a few failed attempts, Boromir gave up the task and Gimli took his place. The dwarf tried close to ten times, but did not fare any better than Boromir did. Not even the skills of the elf could strike a flame to the dead wood.
As Legolas was still busy trying, Sierra moved over to her pack and removed a small piece of white firelighters and her box of heavy duty matches.
"Gimli!" Sierra called and waved to the dwarf to come closer. "Could you please get that large rock over there for me and place it about two feet away from the wall?"
Gimli did as she said without question, but curiosity was written all over his face.
Sierra walked over to Pippin and Merry "Help me gather a few pieces of these left over wood"
They helped her pick up some of the smaller pieces and Sierra stacked her own fire-pit between the wall and the stone. She concealed the piece of firelighter under the stack and then moved to retrieve the matches from her pocket, but kept it hidden in her hand. The two Hobbits and the dwarf looked expectantly at her, but Sierra didn't want them to witness the lightning of the matches.
"I need more wood and another rock" she asked and was pleased when she saw the three of them leave. Sierra turned her back towards the group, facing the wall and knelt in front of the kindle. She quickly struck a match and tried to light the firelighter. She failed on the first attempt, but was elated when the white piece flamed on the second try.
"Quickly! I need some dry bark!" she shouted and soon the company rushed to her side at the sight of the flame underneath the small tepee shaped kindle.
"How did you do that?!" Pippin exclaimed, his face lit up with joy upon seeing the now blazing flames.
Sierra shrugged "I'm out in the wild most of the time. It is important to know how to make a fire"
Gandalf frowned down at her, but remained silent. His gaze was unsettling and Sierra diverted her eyes from him and looked towards the dancing flames instead.
The company quickly gathered around the blaze, hands outstretched for warmth. The wood burned fast; and all round them the snow hissed and started to melt. Sierra perched herself on a small rock, trying to keep dry and warm, but it was no use since the snow still kept on falling and the wind still kept on howling.
There was little talk amongst them, even Bill was quite as he stood behind the company. The only one that attempted conversation was Legolas.
Sierra looked over to the elf and notice that he did not look weary or cold like the rest of the company did. In fact he looked very relaxed and well rested. A smile played at his lips as he watched the flames, the glow highlighting his beautiful features. His hair was clean and smooth even while it was being tossed in the wind. Sierra rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Stupid, elf genes" she thought.
The night is getting old," said Aragorn. "The dawn is not far off."
"If any dawn can pierce these clouds," said Gimli.
"We cannot tread any further in this snow; it is getting worse by the hour. If we continue up the mountain, the ground will swallow the hobbits and the woman" Boromir exclaimed and rubbed his hands together.
"I'm sure Gandalf can manage a flame on his staff. He could go before us with a bright flare, he might melt a path for you and the Hobbits" Legolas jested, but Gandalf was not in the mood for silliness.
.
"If Elves could fly over mountains, they might fetch the Sun to save us," answered Gandalf sourly.
"No time for bickering. We need to decide if we continue or leave this dreaded mountain pass. But heeds my warning! There are more dangerous roads than this once, so choose carefully." Aragorn interrupted.
"I say the ring b… I say Frodo must decide" Gandalf said, correcting himself in the presence of Sierra. She smiled, but did not say anything. Gandalf was not aware that she knew about the ring yet.
Frodo looked uneasily at each companions face before answering "I say we leave the mountain"
There were a couple of cheers and soon everybody got ready to trek down the mountain again.
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"Legolas, how is it possible for you to be able to walk on snow?" Merry asked as he, along with the rest of the company, ploughed through the snow. His sandy blonde hair hung limp and occasionally drooped into his eyes. Sierra made a mental note to ask if the Hobbit would like a haircut once they are off the mountain. She was quite skilled at cutting men's hair since she did it frequently for her uncle, brother and Julien.
The elf was walking lightly on top of the snow, his boots hardly making a print in the soft white surface. He was walking next to Merry and Pippin, with Sierra dragging behind them.
"I have asked the snow permission to walk on it" he answered looking down at the Hobbit.
"Asked permission?" Pippin said doubtfully "So if I ask the snow to walk on it, I will be able to do so like you?"
"You must ask kindly" Legolas nodded and smiled.
Before Merry or Pippin could respond, a ball of snow hit the back of Legolas' head. Pieces of frost flew through the air, some clinging to hair of the elf.
"Ai!" Legolas exclaimed startled and the sudden impact.
"Serves you right" Sierra said as the elf turned to face behind him "Can't you see how cold they are? Stop telling them nonsense about asking the snow permission" she was angry that the elf was making fun of the Hobbit "Or I will throw you with another snowball"
"I was merely - " he began, but Sierra cut him off.
"Go do something useful and stop making the rest of us feel like ploughmen" she waved her hand in a dismissive manner. She was so tired and moody that the guard in front of her mouth has left his post.
Legolas inclined his head, a trait Sierra started to notice, and smiled "Very well, I am off to go and find the sun for the Lady and the Hobbits"
With that he turned and leaped across the snow, passed Aragron and Gandalf and vanished around the corner of the mountain.
"Stupid elf" Sierra muttered.
A soft laughter drifted over the wind and for a moment it suspiciously sounded like the elf.
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