Hello to whom ever is reading this,
Thank you for continuing with this story and making it past the second chapter. I can guarantee that this chapter is more story related.
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Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Only my own character(s) and plot twists.
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"Get away from the blade, Pippin... on your toes... good, very good... I want you to react, not think." Boromir said as their swords rang loudly. I sit on a rock, watching him give Merry and Pippin fighting lessons.
I had no issues stopping for a rest on this beautiful rocky hill lined with green and brown shrubs and bushes. The area was littered with large white stones that glistened in the light. Sam is cooking something by the fire and Gimli is having a discussion with Gandalf about the path we're taking. Speaking of which, I still don't know where we're going.
Gimli storms off angrily away from Gandalf leaving an opening in the wizards schedule. Now's my chance. I get up and head over to the wizard.
"Hello, Tamber." He greets with a smile. I frown at the use of my name. "What can I do for you?"
"Where are we heading?" I asked politely. Gandalf's smile fades.
"We make for the Gap of Rohan and if we are lucky, we will still be able to slip by unnoticed and continue heading east. After that, we go to Mordor." Mumbling my thanks, I find a place to sit near the ongoing sword training.
Mordor. Why would we go be going there? You would think that Mordor would be the last place we would want to head, especially with the stories I've heard about a war starting. People around say much that contrasts but, the one thing they have all noticed and agreed on is that something is going to change, and not for the better.
Lost in thoughts, a shadow moves over me, succeding in grabbing my attention. I look up at the Ranger standing in front holding his sword out. An very small grin is on his face.
"Care to practice?" He says.
"Is that a challenge?" As I whisper my response, his face lights up with a smile and I can't help but grin as well.
"That depends if you are good with your weapons." I can see the teasing in his eyes. "Or if I have to teach you."
That does it. I get up from the rock, take the bow off of my back and draw my dagger. He takes a step back, knowing that he's got me wrapped up in his little game.
To be honest, I'm kind of nervous about fighting against him. My method of fighting usually bypasses the entire fight goes straight to the kill. This is different though. I actually have to work my way close enough so that I'm in range. That and not kill him on instinct if he gives me an opening.
We both a stand directly across from each other, close to the halflings who have stopped wrestling with Boromir and started watching us. I get into place with my dagger out in front of me and my legs apart. Aragorn swings his sword around once and stands in a similar form.
"Watch closely. You might learn something." Boromir advised to his trainees.
"Who do you think is going to win, Pip? My bets on Aragorn." Merry says to Pippin.
"Really? In that case, my bets on Tamber." Pippin replies and then pauses for a moment. "What exactly are we betting?"
Merry looks at him and they both make eye contact. "Lunch." They say in unison with a nod. They turn back to us and cross they're arms at the same time.
Staring back at Aragorn I wait for him to start.
"Lets get started. You first, my lady."
"I'm far from being a lady." I mumble with annoyance and take a step forward. I slash my dagger up at him. Aragorn blocks my attack with his own sword but, exposes his chest at the same time. Before he can change his current position, I step to the side and whip my dagger out front. Stopping it an inch from his heart. I grin with delight.
"See there Merry, Tamber won." Pippin exclaims with a 'matter-of-fact' tone.
"No, no, no you have it all wrong. You see, Aragorn would never let that happen in a real fight." Merry counters. Then I realize what Strider is doing. He's testing me! He purposely exposed himself seeing if I would get the clue and I played right along. Damn it! Why am I so blind sometimes?!
Aragorn stops and looks down at me with a smile. "Very good. Now let's do this again. This time, I'll start." I go back to my original spot. Yes. Let's do this again.
He starts by thrusting his sword forward. The added length of the sword barely missing me as I side step. He begins swinging his sword with intense precision I block the blows coming to close. Our blades clanging as they meet each other. I can tell that he's forcing me to take a very defensive approach but I also get a few shots in every now and again. I find it amusing that I tend to aim most of my shots at either his throat or his heart. Force of habit I guess.
Strider takes another step forward and his strike is aimed down at my stomach. I quickly spin out of the way as I feel the sharp edge graze my hand. He looked like he was going to apologize when he saw the small trickle of blood running down. Taking advantage of his pause, I swing my blade so that it lightly hits his shoulder. I know it hit its mark since he places his hand on his new wound. He focuses back on me.
"Now we're even." I say with a grin while ducking under his sword. He steps back as I purposely break the rhythm. To my surprise, he doesn't miss a beat. Shooting my weapon out, I once again aim for his upper body. He blocks with incredible speed, following through with a counter that I barely manage to stop. His blade is close to my neck. Too close. Our weapons lock as the Ranger presses on with a sudden burst of strength. Forcing me to use both hands, I take a step closer to my blade to keep myself less open to another attack. Fighting against his raw power, I know I'm not going to last long. I look over at him, trying to spot a point of weakness. And then I see it. His chest, again. Wrapped up in pushing my weapon down Aragorn doesn't seem to notice his own flaw. Or, he thinks I won't notice. Now's my chance.
I use all the strength I can spare to kick him solidly in the chest. Strider, being that damn bastard who's too good at combat, catches my sudden movement and manages to dodge most of the blow. Unfortunately, I forget that my dagger was locked onto his sword and I watch as it unwillingly flies out of my grip as he maneuvers his own weapon to gain the upper hand. Seriously?! It lands a few feet away from me and I quickly dash to retrieve it but, a figure steps directly in my path and points his sword straight at my throat. I freeze in place.
"I win." Aragorn says.
"Not so fast!" Pippin cuts in. "Tamber, catch!" Out of the corner of my eye, something metallic flies my way. It's a sword. Catching it by its grip, I squeeze the my hand once to get a feel of it. The weapon is very familiar to me and I freeze as I remember how I studied. Practicing with my father in the forest. Trading a few rare herbs for a book on swordsmanship. Finding and reading every resource known to me on using a sword. More practice in the blacksmiths building whenever I had the chance. Threatening my mother with a blade similar. Fighting to protect my town from the outsiders. My first time stealing, a weapon I needed to escape the people.
"Shadow?" I snap out of my thoughts to see Aragorn watching me with a concerned expression and in his ready position. I give a quick nod to show that I'm okay. Shaking my head slightly to get rid of the memories.
I analyze the weapon. The length is okay, longer than what I learned with. Also, more time has passed than I would have liked since I have used the weapon. Swords are convenient for fighting, daggers are convenient for murder. I steal a glance at Pippin but, it's Boromir that catches my attention when I notice his weapon is missing from his hilt. This is his sword.
"No fair!" Shouts Merry but, I can tell from the look in his eyes that he wants this duel to last longer.
I hold out the new weapon in front of me and we both start fencing again. Aragorn is being elegant and graceful with his weapon and while I'm not as good as I used to be, most of my actions are precise enough to pass. Old diagrams from the book swirl through my mind, literally reading out passages of maneuvers in my mind to counter, block and attack my skilled opponent. Aragorn is no longer taking it as easy on me as he did in the beginning.
"Your fighting style is mainly that of the Lindon region. Although, it has more of a roughness to it rather than elegance." Aragorn observed. I cocked an eyebrow up as I thought to myself. The main book I looked at did say something about Lindon or elves... Never really paid attention to the introduction.
"And your's is unorthodox." I mutter back.
"What is that?" Sam asks worryingly. We both lower our swords, stopping our fight as the fellowship turns its attention to a dark moving patch in the sky.
"Nothing," Gimli answers. "it's just a wisp of a cloud."
Boromir squints. "It's moving fast... against the wind." I feel my body tense up. What ever it is, it can't be good.
"Crebain from Dunland!" I sense the urgency in Legolas's shout.
Aragorn is the first to fully realize the situation."Hide!"
Everyone is quick to spring into action, attempting to clean up the camp with no trace before the Crebain fly overhead.
I need two things. Bow and dagger. I start with the closest. I sprint towards my dagger, picking it up from the ground with my free hand and placing it on my belt as I sprint towards where I left my bow.
Sam dumps water on the fire and scrambles to a hiding spot. I look up and spotting no one, I realize that everyone has already found a place to hide. Damn. The birds fly closer with incredible speed as I frantically search for somewhere to camouflage myself.
Out of instinct and almost without thinking, I slide underneath a small dying shrub to my right. I force myself onto the ground and curl my limbs closer to my body. Silently, I hope that the little shrub has enough leafs to conceal, not only me but, the weapons I carry as well. I breath shallower, and wait.
Through a large section of uncovered branches, I spot Aragorn holding onto Frodo and hiding under a large boulder. The Ranger looks at me and then my hiding spot, eyes wide when he sees what I found as cover. Turning my attention away from him, I find Boromir in a large bush with Merry and Pippin. Boromir glances at me, his face going very slightly pale, silencing the two hobbits when they notice the predicament I'm in as well. I can't say that I'm confident in the spot that I've chosen, but my experience tells me that I should be fine if a little luck is on my side.
The sound of foul crows litter the air as the flock passes over us. I focus on Aragorn once again and he places a finger to his lips, silently telling me to keep quiet. No need to tell me that. I stay still completely still. This time holding my breath and waiting as the excruciating seconds pass by. I can hear my heart beating loudly in my chest and I think to myself that I've never been found when trying to hide, so I should be okay.
With one last cry from the birds, I watch as they circle back towards the south. Crawling out of the bush and brushing the dead leafs off of myself, a hand roughly grabs the front of my small tunic and clenching it in his fist, jerks me up onto my feet. I stand but, the hand stays grasped. I follow the arm up and find myself facing a raging Boromir. I don't move a muscle.
"You stupid girl! You could've gotten not only yourself killed but, everyone around you! Do you not realize that?" He grips the cloth of my shirt even tighter and violently pulls it towards himself. I grab his wrist to stop him from dragging me closer. I'm not afraid of him but, I don't like what he's doing either.
"Are you even listening to me?" Boromir yells. I turn and look at him again, silence on my mind. Before anything else can happen, a gloved hand intercepts as it finds its place on Boromir's shoulder. Boromir's hold lessens and I watch as Aragorn calmly steps in.
"Boromir, let her go." Boromir continues to glare at me until, with one final yank (for good measure I assume) he releases his hold.
Straightening my tunic out and dusting off my trousers, I pass it off as nothing. Aragorn walks in front of me and places both of his hands gently on my shoulders.
"Are you alright?" He asks kindly. I nod, shrugging off his touch.
Aragorn continues."What you did was foolish. You are lucky you weren't caught but next time, be more careful." I answer with another nod and walk past him over to Merry and Pippin.
Bending down to meet them at eye level, I hold out Boromir's sword. "Can please you give this back to Boromir for me?" I ask sincerely.
Pippin takes the sword from my hands. "Yes, I can." I make my way over to the bush and grab my bow, fastening it to my back.
"Spies of Saruman. The passage South is being watched. We must take the pass of Caradhras!" Gandalf says with a booming voice.
Now treading through the blanket of blinding snow that almost reaches my knees, I hug my cloak tighter. The cold still finding a way to seep through my skin. Gandalf and Legolas lead our group and I watch in envy as the elf lightly walks on top of the white fluff. I stay at the back of the group which unfortunately where Aragorn likes to stay as well. Boromir walks with Merry and Pippin, helping them along the way. Every one is silent and the feeling is grim.
Suddenly, I hear a small yelp and spot Frodo uncontrollably tumbling down towards us in a flurry of snow. Quickly, I move into his path, catch him before he can plummet any further and lift him to his feet. The frantic hobbit searchs within his tunic, trying to find something. That is when notice Boromir is holding a small chain with a gold ring attached, staring at it but, something is wrong with his gaze. It's as if he's captived by the ring.
"Boromir?" The Ranger asks worryingly. I don't fail to notice the hand on the hilt of his sword.
"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing. Such a little thing."Boromir's voice is filled with darkness and mystery but, not a moment later, a sharp ache starts creeping into my right arm. I mask my emotions, not wanting to show the increasing sting where my numbers lie.
"Boromir, give the ring to Frodo." Aragorn spoke quietly.
The pain crept past the digits and spread further along my arm. It almost feels like someone has a blade and is casually cutting it into my skin. Wrapping my other hand around my arm, I hold it tightly as if to try and stop the spreading.
Boromir keeps staring at the ring with eerie smile across his face. The pain stops abruptly as Boromir breaks free from his trance. He walks over to Frodo, placing the ring in his hand.
"As you wish. I care not." He ruffles Frodo's hair in a kind gesture but, his previous actions still trouble me. Aragorn releases his weapon and continues on with everyone else. I stand still, thinking about what just happened. That must be the One ring. That's the only reason we would be heading to Mordor but, what the hell just happened? I need to find out more about those numbers.
Hurrying, I catch up to Aragorn and walk slowly beside him. I'll look at my wrist later to inspect the damange. I don't want to risk anyone accidentally catching a glimpse of the black print.
Thank you for reading another chapter.
I hope you have enjoyed my writing so far. Makes me glad that some people are reading it.
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Thanks for reading. I hope to see you in the next chapter.
~Nighthief