Chapter 18.
You guys are killing me with this Kristy thing. I really want her to be with Legolas, dangit! I shouldn't have asked! D:
But I did. Because you guys are my readers, and I love you. :)
I've taken into consideration all of your opinions, and I've been absolutely dying over it all day. Seriously, these characters are my dream peoples! And let me tell you this: Kristy was WAY cuter with Legolas than Eomer in my dreams!
... But still, I've got to keep an open mind. And just so you know, I absolutely will not let my favorite female character end up with Legolas. I'm a big fan of the elf, but no. I just couldn't do it. But allow me to ask one question that might help me out a bit.
Why are half of you so against Legolas? Way back when, I had this poll as to who my next character should end up with, and everyone wanted Legolas! Now when I finally break out of my comfort zone to write such a story everyone's rooting for Eomer! It's confusing. But I still really appreciate all of the input from you guys. Even if I'm letting myself get way too torn with this pairing, it means tons that you guys are helping me out. :)
But one last thing. If I did end up pairing Kristy with Legolas, how mad would you be? Because Kristy's not the main character, really, and whether she ends up with Legolas or Eomer, it's not going to be a big deal or some crazy union or anything. I'm focusing on Sophie and Collin as the main characters. They're the ones closest to my heart.
Sorry for the long note! This stuff's just kind of important.
And even if this first part of the chapter ticks you off, just keep reading until the end. I promise it'll all be okay. :)
I don't own Lord of the Rings.
(Sophie)
Collin looked all around us for some easy way to escape. I was no runner; there was no way that I could get away without Collin carrying me, and that would only slow him down. There was no way that he was going to leave me behind, either. If one of us goes down, then so does the other. Finally, Collin came to a conclusion.
With one swift movement, he picked me up and tossed me onto the back of Gandalf's horse. He pulled out his sword and sliced the ropes that kept the horse tied to the wagon, and after he slung his camera bag over his back, he climbed onto the horse behind me. By now, the orcs were only feet away from us, and Collin quickly urged the horse forward.
He was too late.
Although the horse did take off running, it took off without me. One of the orcs had grabbed hold of my skirt, and when our horse began its sprint, I was pulled down and I fell face-first into the dirt.
"Sophie!" I could hear Collin's panicked shouts over the cruel laughter and loud footsteps as they rushed me.
Silently, I prayed that Collin would leave me. He wouldn't be able to take on all of these orcs alone. Please, leave me.
A tall, greasy orc picked me up roughly by the back of my collar, and lifted me into the air so that our eyes met. I'd heard plenty of horror stories about orcs from refugees in Edoras. These creatures will go from village to village, burning everything in sight and killing anything that moved. They will butcher children, torture men, and rape the women. This was in no way going to be a pleasant death.
The orcs sneered at me as they circled around. The one holding me up threw me back to the ground and held his sword to my neck, just daring me to try and fight. Rain started pouring down on us, and as the orcs prepared to throw themselves at me, my entire life flew before my eyes.
My life was never simple, but I was still ridiculously blessed. Yes, my father beat me, yes, he was a terrible drunk that deserved to be locked up in prison for the rest of his miserable life, but asides from my home life, God gave me the most amazing and beautiful life. Ever since I was little, I was surrounded by three of the most amazing people I've ever met. Collin, Kristy, and James; Collin, especially. He always knew how to cheer me up, and there was never a dull moment with him. For as long as I can remember, he's done absolutely everything he can for me. No one knew that I got beat by my father, they all simply assumed that I was this terribly clumsy nerd (which I was, and still am). My mom didn't know, either, because she and my dad got a divorce when I was little. I only saw my dad on the weekends, so, as you can see, it's not like I was this terribly unfortunate child with no hope whatsoever.
It just so happened that one weekend was a very bad weekend for my dad. He'd gotten fired, and came home and took it out on me. Plain and simple. There was no secret agenda, no pent-up hate for me, he was just a dumb drunk. Still, if it wasn't for Collin, that dumb drunk would have killed me that night, instead of these orcs ready to have their fun with me, now.
I really hope that Collin ran away...
The head orc stood above me, laughing at the fear that was evident in my eyes. But he wasn't laughing for long.
A long, metal sword protruded from his stomach, and the orc looked down, stunned. With a gurgle, black blood spilled from his lips, and he fell to the ground. The orcs looked up to the offending warrior, swords at the ready. It was Collin.
He grabbed my hand and hauled me back up, all the while fighting off various orcs. "Run, Sophie!" He quickly helped me onto the horse and smacked with the flat of his blade, causing it to panic and run off, carrying me with it.
"Collin!" The last I saw of my best friend was him being surrounded by a hand full of orcs.
Trees passed me by in a blur, and I could hear the distant sounds of metal clashing together, even above the loud roar of the horse's hooves. Isengard quickly melted away between the tall trees that now surrounded me, and pretty soon signs of civilization disappeared. My horse kept running and running until sundown, and it had finally stopped raining. We had finally slowed down and stopped in a small clearing, and the day's events still hadn't quite settled with me until that moment. All that I could see was Collin's horrified face as he was surrounded by more orcs than he could handle. I know that he's good with a sword, but he'd never fought in a real battle before, and when he finally gets the opportunity, he's alone, and outnumbered.
And it's my fault. He gave himself up to save my life.
And what good am I to this world? What do I have to offer? There's absolutely no way that I'll make it to Rivendell alone; there are probably worse creatures than orcs creeping around in this forest, and I'm defenseless.
Collin would have had a chance, though. But I'm afraid that he'll die for nothing.
I rolled off of the horse and fell to the ground. I looked around my dark surroundings with tear-filled eyes. Everything was silent. You couldn't even see the stars in the sky above. I was alone.
Gandalf's horse nudged me with his muzzle, and I looked up to the tall beast to a surprise.
Collin's camera bag was firmly secured onto the horse with a scrap of rope. Slowly, I stood, and began to search through the oversized bag. Inside I found everything that Collin owned, including his journal, but I could not bring myself to read it. He'd gone through ridiculous measures to prevent me from reading this journal, and I wasn't about to let all of that work go to waste. His camera sat at the bottom, and above it was the small food stash that Collin kept for long trips, and his water pouch sat in the corner. Even in the panic that we'd experienced back at Isengard, Collin still managed to put this little survival pack together for me. It's almost like he knew that something would happen.
Carefully, I lifted the camera out of the bag and turned it on. The first bit of footage was of Collin sparring with Theodred the morning we left Edoras, and my mind quickly turned the image into Collin battling a group of orcs. I fell to the ground, and the hot tears finally began to spill from my eyes. There was no Gandalf to give me words of wisdom, no Strider to protect me, and no Kristy to comfort me. Collin was gone, and I was deserted in the middle of a dark and dreary forest with no survival skills whatsoever. I'd never been so crushed in my life; it's like the whole world came crashing down on me. I was reduced to a sad, pathetic girl, curled up on the forest floor, crying useless tears until I fell asleep to the sounds of distant thunder.
(Kristy)
Good old Bree.
I was finally dressed in my own clothes, because being dry didn't really matter anymore. The rain was pouring down on us, and even the hobbits were soaked to the skin. We maneuvered through Bree on the muddy streets, trying to find the Prancing Pony through the thick sheets of falling rain. Luckily, I'd been to Bree on previous journeys, or we would have been wandering around in the cold rain for hours.
As the hobbits spoke to the innkeeper, I fancied myself with a seat at an empty table by the fire in an attempt to get warm. I was definitely going to die from pneumonia by the time we got to Rivendell.
Suddenly, a dry cloak was wrapped about my shoulders, and a familiar voice brought a smile to my face.
"Fancy seeing you here, milady." Aragorn sat down next to me, facing the fire. "Did you bring them?"
Aragorn's cool and all, but the man didn't play around with casual chatter (unless he's with Collin, of course). He likes to get straight to business.
"Yeah, they're here." I turned my head slightly to view the hobbits, who were in a huddle by the entrance. "Want me to get them for you?"
Aragorn shook his head. "Let's see if Gandalf makes it, first. We'll give him an hour." Without another word, he stood and went back to a seat in the shadows. Man, I have such cool friends.
The hobbits approached me, then, shivering and rubbing their hands together for some warmth.
"Gandalf's not here." Frodo declared, although it was quite obvious. That wizard stands out; not many people have pointy hats.
I shrugged. "It's cool. Hey, Pippin! Go get me some ale!"
The hobbits looked at me, stunned.
"I thought that you did not drink, Kristy?" Frodo eyed me suspiciously.
"Yeah, well, when you live with elves for a few years, you quickly realize that all they ever drink is alchohol."
Sam's eyes lit up. "You lived with elves?"
Merry looked at me fondly as he backed away, towards the bar. "And I thought that you couldn't be more perfect."
Pippin just looked plain excited. "That's all they drink? That's amazing!"
Well, he's just gonna pee himself when he finds out that he gets to enjoy the fine wines of Rivendell, soon.
I caught Aragorn giving me a disapproving look from his spot in the corner, and I subtly stuck my tongue out at him. I shouldn't be judged for this! When you've done nothing but live with elves and hobbits for six years, their alcoholism kind of rubs off.
The hour passed by slowly, and Sam was growing suspicious of Aragorn. That man obviously doesn't know that it's rude to stare. Pippin was off at the bar, drinking his liver into oblivion, and Merry was firmly glued to my side, as always. Our ginger chubb (Sam) moved in to whisper to Frodo.
"That man over there's been staring at us ever since we got here..."
Oh no! Aragorn will be heartbroken if he realizes that he's not as sneaky as he thinks he is.
So I quickly blurted out whatever came to mind first. "Wow, Sam. A little self-absorbed, there?" The ginger hobbit's jaw dropped, and he tried to mutter protests, but I overpowered him. "Goodness, Sam. I'm sure the man's got bettter things to do than look at you."
Sam blushed and looked back down to the table, dropping the subject.
Awhh... Now I feel bad...
Oh well, I'll make it up to him, later, by teaching him how to bake cakes. I hate upsetting that one, he's so sweet.
Suddenly, Pippin's loud voice broke through the air of the noisy bar.
"Baggins? I know a Baggins!"
Well, poop.
The next thing you know, Pippin was rambling off his whole life story to the men at the bar, explaining his family relation to the Baggins family in great detail. Frodo kind of flipped out, and he jumped up to silence Pippin. Well, that didn't turn out too well, because he slipped and fell flat on his back. The last thing I saw was a flicker of gold light, and Frodo was gone.
Huh.
Aragorn flew up instantly, and ran to the sight of the disappearance. When Frodo finally reappeared, the ranger swiftly drug him up the steps to the guest rooms, leaving a bewildered room of confused, drunk men behind them.
Sam, always the brave one, rallied his troops (Merry and Pippin), and charged after his kidnapped friend. They were wielding candlesticks and bar stools.
It was a beautiful sight.
The environment of the bar was even less admirable now that all of the drunks were rambling on about witchcraft, so I quietly made my way up the stairs, trying to avoid as much attention as possible.
If Aragorn hurts those poor little hobbits I'm gonna kill him.
(Sophie)
Gandalf's horse (let's just call it Benny) woke me up the next morning by sniffing loudly in my ear. I opened my sore eyes, praying that it was all a dream, but when I found myself all alone in that clearing, fresh tears threatened to spill from my eyes. But tears wouldn't bring him back.
I couldn't bring myself to eat, so I decided to save the food for a time when I'll really need it. With a heavy heart, I began to get Benny ready to ride, which was relatively hard, considering the fact that he didn't have a saddle. After numerous attempts at climbing up that tall creature, I gave up. There was no way I could climb him, and he certainly wasn't too concerned with helping me.
It looks like I'll have to walk.
After checking the sun's position, I began to head north, towards Rivendell. If I don't get killed by wandering orcs first, I'll certainly die of starvation if I don't find the city. I've got no idea whatsoever where I'm going.
The forest was dark and creepy, even in the daylight. I felt like at any moment, a monster would come out and grab me. There was absolutely no signs of civilization; I couldn't even find any woodland creatures. It was just me, and Benny.
After about an hour of walking, I heard movement other than my own. Distant sounds of twigs snapping and rustling bushes caused me to turn back, but nothing was there. The sounds grew closer and closer, and I could feel my heart beat faster and faster.
"Hello?"
Great idea, Sophie. Just let the whole world know you're there. What is this, a cheesy horror movie?
Whoever was there, they were right on top of me, now. Within seconds, a figure ran out of the bushes and stopped dead in its tracks upon seeing me.
"Collin?" My eyes were wide. How could it be?
A short look of relief flashed across his face before he collapsed to the ground.
"Collin!" I rushed to him. He was a complete wreck. There was a big gash in his left arm, covered with dried blood and dirt. He was drenched in sweat, and covered in various cuts and bruises. His faux-hawk was fallen and down in his face. With the way he was breathing and shaking, I guessed that he had been running all day.
He opened his eyes and looked up at me with tired eyes. In an instant, he was sitting up, holding me in a tight embrace. His breathing was still hard, even after a few minutes, and it was then that I realized that he was crying. Collin. Crying. That's the kind of thing you never see. Ever. Tears were streaming down his face as he rocked me back and forth.
"Thank you, God... Thank you, God..." He whispered over and over again. Tears were falling from my eyes from a mixture of joy and the complete shock at seeing my friend in such a state.
"How are you alive?" I couldn't let go of him. I was afraid that if I did he would disappear.
From the looks of it, it seems like he didn't want to let go, either. "I don't know..." He was covered in orc blood, so I assumed that he'd butched them all. "I just remember them going after you. I killed as many as I could, but some got away. I had to find you, first... I couldn't let them hurt you, I couldn't leave you alone..." Collin held me tighter. "Thank God I found you..." Suddenly, he pulled away and quickly searched our surroundings. "We've got to go."
I shook my head. "There's no way you're in any shape to go anywhere."
"There are still orcs out there. I don't know if they followed me or not, but we've got to leave." He stood and hauled me onto Benny the horse. With a deep breath, he weakly climbed up behind me.
"Collin..." I turned my head back to see my friend. "Thank you..."
He smiled tiredly. "I told you I would never leave you."