Disclaimer : I owe nothing related to Tolkien's work.
Hi! Thanks for all the reviews. I wanted to send each one of you a personal thank you message, but unfortunately haven't had the time yet. However, I do appreciate each and every single one of them!
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It was late the afternoon when the company finally reached the bottom of the Mountain. Sierra's legs have passed their threshold for pain and were now completely numb. She imagined herself to look like one of the Zombies from the movies her brother so loved to watch. He always enjoyed the scarier parts of life. Sierra's heart ached from missing him.
The rest of the company did not look any better than she felt and she was somewhat relieved by that. Being the only woman in the group, she felt it necessary to not show them any weakness.
By nightfall they have decided to make camp again. They took shelter at the bottom of a small hill near the path they travelled before. Sierra did not wait for the rest to settle down. She immediately went to lay on the ground, not even bothering about unrolling her bedroll, and fell asleep.
Unfortunately, her sleep was plagued by old nightmares. She dreamed of fire and smoke, scorched flesh and death. She dreamed of pain and terror, tortured screams of loved ones. She dreamed of the dragon and her brother.
Sierra wake with a start, her body was damp with sweat, despite the cool night. The smell of smoke lingered in the air and for a moment Sierra thought she was back in Lake Town until she saw the small fire near her and the company sleeping soundly around it. Her scar was burning from the memory and she cradled the upper part of her arm with her left hand. She waited until the pain subsided and took a deep breath to calm herself. The fire was burning low and made quite a bit of smoke. It mulled around the sleeping forms, changing its direction every couple of seconds.
Sierra lifted a strand of her hair to her noise and smelled it. As she expected, the smoke has settled into her hair and Sierra wrinkled her nose in disgust. It has been a while since she had the opportunity to take a bath. The streams were too cold to bathe in and she had to make do with washing with a washcloth. She also did not have the luxury in changing her clothes. Not that she had that many sets to begin with.
She looked around the campsite and spotted Boromir sitting on a rock with his back to her.
Sierra quietly walked up to him, trying not to wake the others.
"Hello, Boromir" she said and went to sit next him. The glade was quiet, except for the occasional groan of a tree as the wind moved its heavy branches.
"My, Lady" he greeted back "Difficulty sleeping?" Boromir had a knife and a piece of wood in his hands. He was busy whittling a small horse from the timber. The outline of the head was clearly visible, but the back of the horse fade into the form of the un-shapely wood.
"Yes, one would think being this tired sleep would come easily" She replied "May I see that?" Sierra pointed to the little carving.
Boromir handed her the sculpture "You were quite exhausted when we sat up camp. You did not even stay awake for the council meeting we had" he whispered.
"I was not aware there was a meeting to be held. Besides, I'm sure you did not need my input anyway - I am just a tag along" The wood around the head area was smooth and well treated and Sierra traced her finger along the surface "You are very good at this. I'm sure it would be beautiful when finished"
Boromir smiled and took the little unfinished horse back. "Thank you, My Lady. It is but a pastime when on watch" His modest answer amused her, but she did not comment on it.
"Please, call me Sierra. I do not quite enjoy being called My Lady all the time. I feel like a character in a Jane Austen novel" She said and cringed at the mention of an author not of this world. She will have to be careful among these people, she did not want any uncomfortable questions she was unable to answer.
"I'm not familiar with that novelist, but if you wish to be called upon your first name, I will do so" he said and then added as an afterthought "Sierra"
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, listening to the wind in the trees. If Sierra closed her eyes she could almost imagine the whispering of the leaves to sound like the voices or the sound of a fairly tame ocean.
"So what did you discuss in the meeting?" she asked after a while. If she planned on travelling with them, she might need to familiarise herself with their planning.
"Our next course of route. We have not decided yet, but there was some possibilities mentioned" Boromir mumbled, clearly not liking the 'possibilities' that was stated. He placed the blade of the knife against the wood and dragged it along the edge. A soft wood curl formed at the front, growing bigger until it dropped to the ground.
"What routs would that be?" Sierra watched as he was busy carving the back of the horse.
"The North-South road through the Fords or…Moria"
Moria? Was that not close to where her portal was located? She did not see a path anywhere close to there that crossed the mountain. Then again, she was not looking for it. The man did not look like discussing the routs any further, so Sierra decided not to press.
"Boromir, is there perhaps a stream nearby?" She asked; the need to be clean still a pressing matter on her mind.
"There is a very shallow stream just yonder that rock" he said and pointed with the knife to a dark mass ahead of them "We passed it when we came down from the mountain"
"Fantastic, I'll be back in a couple of minutes" Sierra said and quickly retrieve her satchel and set off to the crick behind the rock; thankful that it was out of view.
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The creek was indeed very shallow and Sierra had a difficult time bathing herself. She had to take her canteen and pour the water over her head to be able to wash her hair. She shivered as she emptied another container onto her head to wash away the last remains of the foamy shampoo. The berry scented wash made her smile and she felt better that she did in weeks. After washing and drying herself to the best of her abilities, she proceeded with brushing her teeth. How people could live without a toothbrush was beyond her, but she was thankful she had her little luxury items, including her toothbrush, shampoo, razors, roll-on, perfume and clean clothes. Oh and her sweets. She just hoped they lasted until she could return home.
Sierra dressed in a clean grey, long-sleeved thermal shirt, underwear and socks, but she had to put on her dirty pants, jersey and cloak again. She tried to spray her scarf and mittens with perfume, but the smell of smoke still lingered on it. She quickly rolled up the dirty clothes and placed them in a zip lock back before inserting it into her satchel. After braiding her damp hair and checking that she did not leave anything about, Sierra went back to the camp site.
As she walked from behind the rock and into view of the camp, she could no longer see the frame of Boromir sitting there. "He must have taken patrol around camp to ensure safety" she thought, but as she neared the camp, something else caught her eye. A long lean shadow stood just outside the glowing circle of the fire. The frame stood like a statue, tall and watchful. Sierra knew it to be the elf, but he must have had his hood drawn up, because Sierra could not see his golden hair.
Despite have being in the proximity of Legolas a few times, she could not help it when her heart started hammering in her chest. Out of fear or nervousness, she was not sure. However, Legolas seemed different compared to the other elves. She was not sure if he was acting or if he was in fact genuinely a good elf.
"Ha! A good elf, never encountered that before!" she scoffed. But then again, he has never done anything to harm her. 'Maybe Legolas is a cast-away-elf. Maybe they have shunned him from the forest, because he was good. He looked differed than the dark haired elves from that realm. Well, except for the King of course" she thought. Sierra quivered when the image of King Thranduil entered her mind. His cold blue eyes that regarded her with such hatred.
"Good evening"
Sierra looked up to the hooded figure of Legolas now standing before her. His face was partly in shadow, but she could still see the well-defined angles of his jaw line and the perfect curve of his mouth. Sierra shook the image of the King's frozen eyes from her mind and addressed the elf before her.
"Evening, Legolas" she replied "Where is Boromir?"
Without answering Legolas turned and pointed to the fire. Sierra saw Boromir laying on the ground next to one of the Hobbits. The steady rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was already asleep. "Did she really take that long in washing up?" she wondered quietly.
"I guess you are on second watch then" Sierra said and glanced at the elf. His proximity still made her uneasy, but at least not like it did in the beginning.
"No, Boromir was the second watch, but since slumber eluded me, I offered taking his place" Legolas did not mention that he only offered to take the watch when Sierra went bathing. He felt uneasy letting her go unescorted in the middle of the night. Boromir is a fine warrior, but he would not detect her being in danger until it was too late. With his keen elven ears, Legolas was able to maintain a good distance from her, but still able to offer the necessary protection.
"Oh" she was not sure what else to comment on it. She suppose it was nice of him to offer in taking watch, but if she remembered correctly elves did not need as much rest as humans did, so she suppose it was just fair that he took more shifts that the rest did.
"Sleep evades you as well?" he enquired. He already knew the answer since he witness her moaning and wriggling in her sleep until the point the nightmares shook her awake.
Sierra nodded and shrugged. There was an awkward silence between them and Sierra pressed her lips together and avoided eye contact with the elf. What was she supposed to say to him? A civilised conversation with an elf was new to her.
Legolas regarded her for a moment. Her hair was clean and a fresh fruity scent clung to her. She looked better than she did before she went to sleep earlier. Sierra stood there, not sure what to do with herself. Legolas sensed her discomfort and quickly sought out a topic of conversation "You had nothing to eat when we sat up camp, come there is some leftover food"
"No, it is fine. I have some food left as well" She did have some left over dried meat and fruit. She gave a small uneasy smile to Legolas "So umm…I'm just going to sit by the fire" She quickly stepped away before he could say something else, but as she walked away she could not help hear the little frustrated sigh that escaped his lips.
At the fire she went to sit in the spot where she previously slept in. As quietly as possible, she rummaged through her bag and retrieved two packets of dried meat and one packet of fruit, only realising now how hungry she was. As she sat and nibbled at the little fruit bites, she could not help looking over to where the elf sat in the dark. His back was bent as he cradled his chin in both hands, his elbows resting on his knees.
Sierra could not help feeling guilty. Legolas was just being friendly, as hard as it was to believe. Perhaps elves were just like people, you get the foul cruel ones and the then the good-hearted ones. Perhaps she had only met the unkind ones in Mirkwood. Was Legolas even from Mirkwood? Maybe he was from Rivendell. The elves form Rivendell seemed wonderful as described by the Hobbits. No, no, he was from Mirkwood, she remembered Gandalf introducing him as from that realm. So maybe he was a cast-out like she thought previously? Sierra shook her head, confused at what to make of the elf.
She mimicked the elf and rested her chin in the palm of her hand and regarded Legolas from where she sat. After studying him for a while, Sierra made up her mind to try and be friendlier towards him.
Starting now.
Legolas heard her soft footsteps approaching, but did not turn to face her. She probably forgot something at the creek and was going to retrieve it. Legolas could not understand what he did to make her so afraid of him. He might have understood if she was wary being the only female in the group of men, but she seemed so at ease with the rest of the men. He picked up a little pebble and cast it into the darkness. Legolas was so used to being liked, that he did not know how to deal with this situation. Maybe she was from one of the towns that had superstitious talks about his race. He could hardly blame her for that.
"Legolas?"
The elf, startled at being addressed by her, turned around so quickly that the hood on his head flew off and his golden hair whipped in the action.
Sierra's eyes went wide "Umm, did you not hear me coming? I thought elves had superior hearing" she asked, clearly surprised at his shocked response. Maybe he was an out-cast because he was like a… a…defective elf?
"No…I mean yes…I mean…" Legolas took a deep breath to collect himself and then smiled "Would you like to sit down?"
'Definitely a defective elf' Sierra thought.
"I thought you would like to have something to eat" Sierra sat down next to Legolas, but still kept a good distance between them. 'Small steps at a time' she mentally instructed. Sierra removed the plastic wrapping beforehand and enfolded the dried meat in a clean cloth. She extended the cloth to the elf, the meat facing upwards.
"Len hannon" Legolas accepted a piece even though he was not hungry. He was so delighted at her attempt to being friendly that he could not help the idiotic grin spreading across his face.
"Does that mean thank you?" she asked and Legolas nodded. Sierra took a slice as well. The meat was spiced with BBQ spice and dried coriander, one of Sierra's favourite flavours. She happily chewed on the meat and stared out into the night. She was probably going to regret not sleeping when they march on again tomorrow, but at the moment she just enjoyed the quietness.
"What meat is this?" Legolas asked looking strangely at the piece in his hands. His brow was furrowed as he concentrated on pin pointing the origin.
"Beef. Don't you like it?"
"No, it is good, very good, but I've never tasted beef like this before" He popped the rest of the dried meat in his mouth. Sierra offered another piece and he gladly accepted "Must be some exceptional cattle"
"It's not really the beef that is special, it is the way you spice and dry it" she clarified. 'What a strange topic' Sierra thought. Never would she have thought to have a civilized conversation with an elf about dried meat.
"Did you prepare this?" he asked and waved the stick in the air before taking another bite.
"No, it was bought…ummm at a market" More like a supermarket, but that was not a topic she wished to discuss. Sierra smiled at the thought of Legolas or any of them in a supermarket. They would either slash the weird objects with their swords or eat everything in sight. The Hobbits would definitely eat everything. 'I wonder what Legolas would do if I give him one of my sweets?' she thought, but did not actually feel like sharing them. They were too few to begin with. Maybe when she went home after the ordeal, she could return and bring them some of the delightful treats the modern world has to offer.
"One day you must take me to this market" Legolas said, still happy about the delightful taste of his dried beef. He would go to this market and buy the technique and recipe from the butcher and take it to Merhindel, one of the cooks in the castle. Legolas favoured her since she offered him treats when he was little and sometimes still do when he went to the kitchen. Merhindel had a bit of a rivalry regarding the preparation of meat with one of the other cooks and this piece of dried delight will surely settle the score. Legolas smiled at the thought.
"I'm not sure that would - " Sierra did not finish her sentence, for just then a howl ripped through the night; menacing and fierce. Legolas sprang to his feet so fast, that Sierra did not even see the movement. His body was rigid and taught, his head cocked to the one side listening. His jaw was clenched and she could see the little bulge at the side where he clenched on his teeth. In a flash of an instant the gentle elf turned into a something deadly.
"Wake the others. Danger has come" he instructed in a low, urgent whisper and loosened the bow from his back. Sierra nodded, not trusting her voice.
She rushed to the sleeping forms next to the fire and went to wake Aragorn first. She placed her hands on his shoulders and shook "Aragron, you have to wake. Wolves!" she cried. Aragorn jumped to his feet awake and looked down to the still crouching figure of Sierra. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Gandalf.
"That is no mere wolf, Child. That is the howl of wargs" The old man sat up and pulled his hat back on "Alert the others!"
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Thanks for reading.