Disclaimer: I owe nothing related to Tolkien's work.
I'm watching the Hobbit Desolation of Smaug tomorrow! Eeeeeppppp Have anyone of you watched it yet?
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As the rays of dawn came, Aragron and Legolas set out to where the dead bodies of the wolves were discarded. Sierra watched them as they disappeared behind the trees at the ridge of the hill. Why they would want to go and see the dead wolves was beyond her. Sierra looked down to her tightly bandaged arm and shook her head. Middle-Earth was very unkind to her right arm.
"How are you feeling this morning, dear?" Gandalf ask to her side. He was cradling a cup in his hands, steam rising over the brim.
"I'm well, thank you" she replied "My arm is throbbing a bit, but otherwise I have nothing to complain about"
She smiled and hoped the old man would not question her about her arm further. In truth, her wound felt like it was being pounded on with a very large hammer. The pain killers have stopped working sometime between falling asleep and waking up. It ached and cramped with every movement, but she did not want him to know. Gandalf was initially opposed to her coming along; she did not want him to start thinking down that rout again.
She refrained from taking another dose of painkillers since the medicine made her drowsy. She doubted that they would stay another night upon the hill and she could not risk walking to Moria in a befuddled state.
"Boromir told me that our next course of rout is through Moria?" she asked and Gandalf nodded while taking a sip from the steaming cup.
"How far is it from here?" she burned to have a look at her map, but avoid from doing so. A printed and laminated map would raise some unwanted questions. Sierra was certain that Moria was the place near her portal. She rolled her eyes at the thought; travelling in circles.
"There was a door south-west of Caradhras, some fifteen miles as the crow flies, and maybe twenty as the wolf runs," answered Gandalf grimly.
'As the wolf run - faster than a human…or an elf' Sierra scowled at the mention of a wolf, did that heed as a warning that they should be on their way? What was taking Aragron and Legolas so long anyway?
As if the ranger and the elf heard her thought, they suddenly appeared behind the line of trees where they previously disappeared from.
The two walked over to where Sierra and Gandalf sat – a solemn expression on their faces.
"My Lady" Aragorn greeted as he reached them "Slept well?"
"Yes, thank you" She smiled at him and fleetingly glanced to where to elf stood. His face was expressionless, but Sierra could see something brewing in his stormy eyes. Sierra recognised it as questions and she had a sinking feeling that she knew what it was about…
She quickly diverted her gaze back to the ranger. "So have you found anything unusual about the wolves?" She still wondered why they wanted to go and inspected the dead beasts.
"Indeed" Aragron turned to address Gandalf "There were no signs of the bodies - only the arrows of Legolas were found, with no blood or dents on it"
"It is then as I feared, they were no ordinary wolves hunting for food" Gandalf said and made to stand, the joints of his knees popping at the sudden movement. "We need to move and quickly!
They gathered the others and just before departing Gandalf announced "We must reach the doors before sunset or I fear we shall not reach them at all. It is not far, but our path may be winding"
"There it lies" he said, pointing away south-eastwards to where the mountains' sides fell sheer into the shadows at their feet. In the distance was a line of bare cliffs, and in their midst, taller than the rest, was one great grey wall.
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As the company marched on, with Gandalf and Gimli at the front, Sierra managed to unroll her map within her satchel and glanced at it a couple of time as they walked on. As she expected, the portal was indeed near Moria, but the way there was unfamiliar to her. She looked back at the map and noticed a fine black winding line named 'Sirannon'.
She frowned and looked up at their surroundings "Where is the river?" she asked aloud, but to no-one in particular. If they were indeed heading to Moria, there should have been a river close by.
"I do not think that a river is nearby. All that I can see are red rocks and dust" Frodo answered miserably.
"Strange, I thought the river Sirannon was somewhere nearby" Sierra shrugged, her map might be outdated.
"I believe you are correct, there was a river here once, but it must have run dry" Gandalf answered ahead of them. "How come you know of this?"
Sierra bit her lip and looked at the horizon. "Umm, my uncle travelled here before and mentioned a long river flowing between the red rocks. I thought this might have been the place" she lied.
"Hmph" was the only response Gandalf gave. Sierra grimaced. She will have to be more cautious around him. He was a very perceptive old man.
The pale sun passed over the mid-point of the sky, the first section of the day has passed, and they were still nowhere near the grey wall they saw on the hill-top. Though the path was not difficult to tread, the bleak and barren country made them disheartened. There were no sign of life, no birds in the sky or wind to move the stiff air. Sierra could no longer take the silence of their austere surroundings and started to hum softly. Sierra did not sing, but she often hummed when she felt bored, lonely or frightened.
"Is that a song from your village?" Sam asked her when she finished with the tune.
"Yes" she nodded. Technically it was not from her village, but it was from her world.
"Does it have words?" he asked again.
"Yes, it has lyrics, but I do not quite feel like singing it now" she replied truthfully. She could not imagine singing such a beautiful song in such a dreadful place.
"Understandable, but perhaps sometime in the future?" his voice hopeful with the idea. Sierra looked down at the Hobbit, his face smudged and red dust in his curly light hair. Her heart went out to him, to all of the Hobbits, she has never considered how much of a difficult trek this must be for them. She smiled at Sam "Perhaps…"
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Suddenly Gimli, who had pressed on ahead, called back to them. He was standing on a mound and pointing to the right. As the company reached him they saw below them a deep and narrow channel. A small trickle of water flowed among the brown and red stones. To the side of the little stream was a broken path that wound its way among the ruined walls and paving-stones of the ancient highroad.
"Ah! Here it is at last!" Gandalf said "Looks like this is all that's left of the river Sirannon, Sierra" he smiled at her and then shrugged "What has happened to the water, I cannot guess; it used to be swift and noisy"
Sierra craned her neck to an area beyond the channel and the stream, her thoughts occupied with sometime more important to what happened to a river. In the distant over a flat terrain past the cliff, she could faintly see the outlines of the smooth mountain surface to where her portal was located. She looked back down to the channel and the path and saw it led into the other direction. She let out a small breath of relief. She did not wish them to stumble upon the doors and somehow get transported to her world. The chaos that that would cause is something she did not wish to experience.
"What are you looking at" the gentle voice of Legolas asked beside her. Sierra did not notice him standing next to her until he spoke.
"Nothing, just looking at the view" she tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
"It is an abysmal sight, is it not?" he asked and Sierra had to agree. She enjoyed the sights of green plants, grass and trees; the colourful specks of flowers and flowing rivers. Not the continued scenery of rocks and stones in mottled colours of brown red and orange. She guessed the elf was feeling the same way. He must miss his homeland, even if it was a horrible place.
"Yes, it is so… lifeless" she watched as the elf nodded to her statement.
"Do you miss Mirkwood?" she was not sure why she asked the question. In all reality, she did not want to hear anything about the dreadful place and its inhabitants, but she wanted to know if Legolas was indeed some sort of cast away. It would make her feel better about him.
He was silent for a moment before answering "I miss some parts of it, yes"
Sierra lifted a brow in confusion. It was a very vague answer. She wanted to ask more, but Gandalf gave the command for everyone to start moving again.
"The sun sinks below the horizon. Soon the channel and its path will lay in darkness. We have to reach the doors before then. Come, let us make haste!"
Sierra rolled her eyes. She knew their circumstances were dangerous, but sometime Gandalf could sound so painfully dramatic.
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After they made their way down and followed the path next to the brook, they came across stone steps that led up between two precipice walls. When they reached the top they saw that they could go no further and the reason for the drying up of the river was revealed.
Behind them the sinking sun filled the cool western sky with glimmering gold. Before them stretched a dark still lake. Neither sky nor sunset was reflected on its sullen, black surface.
The Sirannon River had been dammed in between the walls of the cliffs and dead rotten bark of Holly trees. Sierra shivered at the ominous sight.
"I see no way across" she said and looked to the others. Some of the Hobbits shook their heads, but all remained silent except for Gimli.
"I say we walk to the edge of the lake and test the water" he started walking before anyone could object.
When they came to the northernmost corner of the lake they found a narrow creek.
It was green and stagnant, no ripple or tremor touched its surface. Gimli strode forward undeterred, and found that the water was shallow, no more than knee-deep at the edge.
Behind him they walked in file, until only Legolas, Boromir and Sierra was left on the bank.
"My boots are not high enough to prevent the water from spilling in. I am not going to wet my clothes threading through these foul water" she said in disgust.
"I can carry you across the lake" Boromir offered and Sierra looked at him appalled. 'Of course he would offer something gentlemanly like that' she thought.
"No, no, please. I do not like being carried" she bent down and started removing her boots and socks. After that she began rolling up the legs of her pants. She was thankful that the hairs on her leg were still faint and hardly visible.
"Umm, Lady Sierra" Boromir sounded uncomfortable "I do not believe that what you are doing is proper"
Sierra looked up at him and saw him glance away, not looking at her or her exposed legs. Behind him Legolas was watching her, a very amused smile on his lips. She could not help the little chuckle that escaped her at the sight of the two different facial expressions.
"It's just legs, Boromir" she laughed and proceeded with securing the rolled up material over her knees "Surly you have seen legs before"
A deep blush crept over his face and he cleared his throat while nodding "Yes, of course"
"Come, we must not delay further, the others wait" Legolas said, his voice laced with laughter, but did not comment on Boromir's discomfort or Sierra's unusual ways.
Boromir nodded and strode into the water, the green water rippled around his boots. Sierra placed her bare feet in the creek and shivered as the cold water engulfed her naked limbs. Under the weedy pools were slimy and greasy stones, making it difficult for them to walk on.
Slowly the three of them made their way across the creek. On one occasion, Sierra nearly lost her footing, but a strong lean hand clamped around her left elbow, securing her balance.
"Thank you" Sierra said to the elf "If you keep on doing this I will forever be in your debt"
"Do what?" Legolas asked confused.
"Rescuing me, helping me, saving the woman…" She replied and gave another grimace as her foot touched something slick. 'At least the place did not smell' she thankfully thought.
"I would hardly count preventing you from slipping into shallow water as saving" Legolas answered, not sure why she would comment on such a thing. Did she actually think that he would demand repayment for just being helpful?
"If I fall, I would get wet and catch a cold…" she trailed off. "I'm not sure if elves are familiar with how quickly mortals could get sick"
Sierra received no answer and she turned around to look at the elf walking behind her. Legolas was not looking at her, but at something far away in the distance, a hard expression on his face.
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As they crossed the creek the company walked for another mile southwards until they came upon Holly trees. Stumps and dead boughs were rotting in the shallows, the remains it seemed of old thickets, or of a hedge that had once lined the road across the drowned valley.
But close under the cliff there stood, still strong and living, two tall trees, larger than any trees that Sierra has ever seen or imagined.
They towered overhead, stiff, dark, and silent, throwing deep night-shadows about their feet, standing like sentinel pillars at the end of the road.
"Well, here we are at last!" Gandalf said "Here the Elven-way from Hollin ended. Holly was the token of that land, and they planted it here to mark the end of their domain; for the West-door was made chiefly for their use in their traffic with the Lords of Moria. Those were happier days, when there was still close friendship at times between folk of different race, even between Dwarves and Elves"
"It was not the fault of the Dwarves that the friendship waned" Gimli said, quickly defending his people.
"I have not heard that it was the fault of the Elves" Legolas countered still in a sour mood since crossing the river. Sierra tried conversing with him twice since, but he merely nodded or shook his when he had to answer.
"I have heard both" Gandalf said angrily and marched over to the darkened shadow of the Holly trees. Clearly not in the mood to witness a bantering between the two.
Legolas and Gimli still glowered at each other; none willing to admit to any faults of their race's pasts.
Sierra didn't even know that there was a time when there were a friendship between the dwarves and the elves. She always thought they hated each other. Didn't Thranduil declare a war against Thorin? Sierra frowned, did that war even took place? She left before that time.
"Gimli, can I ask you a question?" she hesitantly asked. Gandalf was busy in the background talking to the others about the hidden door.
"Sure, lass" the dwarf replied and turned his gaze away from Legolas'.
"Umm…did the war ever take place?" at his confused look she explained "I mean the war between Thorin and Thranduil?"
Both Gimli and Legolas were startled by her odd question, Legolas more so at the mention of his father's name than anything else. He was not aware that she knew of him.
"No, lass. The goblins and orcs prevented that" Gimli answered and rolled a piece of his beard between two fingers "Surely; you must be familiar with the Battle of the Five Armies?"
Sierra was not. She left Middle-Earth a day after the destruction of Lake Town, but she nodded in agreement anyway "Um, yes. I was just not aware that that happened in the same time period"
"You were not even born then, do not worry about that, little one" the dwarf patted her back "Well, let me see if I can help that old man with the door". Sierra watched as Gimli joined Gandalf at the stone wall. She could not see a door or any markings of it in the wall, but she did not doubt that it existed.
She turned to face Legolas who was standing as still as a marble statue, looking strangely at her. One of his brows was lifted; a small frown creased his forehead and his head was slightly tilted to the one side. His gaze was intent, like he could will the answers to his questions out of her.
"What?" Sierra asked after a while, a bit unnerved by his regard. Legolas was having too many emotions for her in one day to keep up with.
"How old are you?" he asked bluntly, but his gaze softens a bit. In the background, Sierra heard Sam wail upon leaving Bill behind. The thought never occurred to her, but she supposes that the poor beast would not be able to join them wherever they were heading.
"I am twenty-five, why?" she replied the elf's question truthfully. 'What a random question' she thought.
He nodded at her answer, but seemed unsatisfied "And you are from Lake Town, yes?"
Sierra did not like where this questioning was going.
"I said I have been there before" she answered carefully. Sierra had a feeling that the elf was starting to put the puzzle pieces together and she could not let that happen. How would she explain being at a place sixty years ago when she was only twenty-five?
The last rays of the sun were banished and the silvery moon crept over the peaks of the cliffs. Sierra looked towards where the others were and saw the faint silver lines of a door on the grey wall. She smiled at the sight. She hoped that they would enter before the wolves return.
"Oh, I see" Legolas said, breaking her thought "I always get confused about the location of Lake Town, there are so many small settlements on the borders of Mirkwood. Where is Lake Town situated again?"
Sierra knew Legolas would not forget something like that, but she suspected that he thought she might be lying about having been there. She smiled and answered politely, but with confidence.
"Lake Town is located on the west side of the lake, north of the mouth of the Forest River. It is sheltered in a calm bay of a rock promontory"
A vast smile suddenly spread over the face of the elf. His eyes literally shone at her answer. He bore the expression of one that solved a great riddle.
Sierra shook her head in disbelief; this elf was starting to give her whiplash with the frequent changing of his moods.
"Edro, edro!"
Distracted, Sierra looked past Legolas to where Gandalf was shouting and hitting the door with his staff.
"What is he doing?" She asked, momentarily forgetting the strange encounter between her and the elf.
Legolas turned around to look at the scene. "He is trying to open the door. He has been trying for a while now, but to no success."
"Oh, I thought he was here before" Sierra said confused. "Should he not know how to enter the place?"
"Indeed, he was here before, but places never stay the same" he turned to face her again and a mysterious smile played on his lips "Places changes over time, Sierra. They hardly every stay the same. Some places even move from its original location…"
The hairs on the back of Sierra's neck stood upright and a cold feeling washed over her. She had a sinking feeling that Legolas was not referring to Gandalf's presence here before, but rather to how Lake Town has changed…or perhaps moved.
"Mellon!" Sierra heard Gandalf call again. His voice was followed by the sound of stones grinding together, but she did not look over to where to doors were opening. Her eyes were rooted on the face of the smiling elf.
Legolas took a couple of step forward and bent down to whisper in Sierra's ear "I think you are older that twenty-five" his hot breath tickled the skin behind her ear, but she did not move.
He leaned even closer until his nose was almost touching her earshell "I think you were there when Smaug attacked the town" he traced the upper part of her right arm where the burned spirals were, carefully avoiding the fresh wounds of the wolf's bite marks.
Sierra jerked at his touch, suddenly released form his spell. She placed both her palms against his chest and shoved him hard.
Then everything happened at once...
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Hi
Apologies for the long wait. We had major issues with our internet connection since Monday and last week was just too bust for me to upload... Sorry…
Just a quick note….Legolas was not being malicious or threatening towards Sierra. He was just glad to solve the mystery about her burn mark….and the possibility that she might be immortal…
Anywhooo….thanks for the reviews! I love them! Please do not stop!
Until next time!
Love
Andrea