- - CALINA - -
The remaining days in the Galadhrim were swift in passing. With the birds once again blessing them with their early morning songs, the Fellowship found themselves standing on the banks of the river, preparing to depart the Elvish haven and return to their quest.
But as they stood on the banks, the air about them was somber. The company was missing its wizard and Elf Prince, and a Marchwarden of Lórien was now standing among them. Truthfully, none of the Fellowship had opposed Galadriel's assignment in having Haldir accompany them on the remainder of their journey. His help would be much needed after the loss of Gandalf, and now Legolas. But each of them ached knowing that they had lost another one of their company.
Calina had, by far, been the most off-put at the Prince's departure. While she still easily could laugh and smile among the company of the Fellowship, when left alone to no one but her thoughts, her mind would wander and fill with sorrow, her heart always falling back to the Prince who had departed.
While she took what everyone had said about not blaming herself for the Legolas's absence to heart—for they all had resolutely agreed that his leaving was something beyond her control and there was no reason she should dare blame herself for it—Calina still found that her heart continued to throb painfully about the issue.
"For you, Pure One." Lady Galadriel was suddenly before her. Calina blinked stiffly, leaving the mirrored world behind her eyes.
Galadriel was directly before her. Their blue eyes met, "'Pure One', my Lady?" Calina questioned.
"A befitting name," the Lady smiled kindly, "for one whose heart shines so brightly."
"I'm not worthy of such a title." Calina replied, dipping her head.
The Elf-Witch's expression was soft, "I must contest." Those present couldn't help but feel their lips turn upwards at the positive endearment towards their friend. The Lady continued, the conversation now private between their minds. 'Your heart is still heavy at Legolas's departure. But do not sorrow. He will return.'
'But he was so defeated. I'm not sure anything will change his mind.' Calina's eyes began to grow hot with tears that threatened to spill as she reminisced.
Galadriel brought gentle hands up to Calina's chin as the younger hastily made a move to keep her tears at bay. 'A mind is not so difficult to change. Speak what it favors, and it will sway.'
'What do you mean?'
A ripple of mischief overtook the Lady's eyes. "All in time." With a blink, that ripple had vanished, leaving nothing more than cool blue pools in their wake. Galadriel continued, "For now, I will give you this: a Bow of the Galadhrim. Its aim will never waiver." The Lady stepped back, her hands coming to present a bow and quiver to Calina, "may it protect you and your company for the remainder of your journey."
Calina carefully took the gift, slinging the loaded quiver over her shoulder and taking the intricately carved bow into her hands. Her eyes roved the silvery wood, admiring the vine-like tendrils and exquisite detail. The bowstring itself even seemed to be made of Elf hair, for it glistened a fair gold in the early morning sunlight.
"Thank you." Calina said breathlessly, her eyes wide at having received such a marvelous gift.
'It would do you well to tell them of your new memories.' Galadriel's voice returned.
'I know…' Calina answered timidly.
'You are afraid. But dare to have faith in others as they have had faith in you.'
Galadriel then turned her attention to the entire Fellowship. "My these gifts provide you aid on the remainder of your quest, and your journey filled with fortune. Now, the boats await. Let us hope the enemy is still far off." With these last words of parting, the Fellowship climbed into the boats and were soon drifting along the river, leaving the safety of Lórien far behind for the dangers of the outside world.
.
To the surprise of all, their travels down the river were uneventful. They chatted amongst their boat members, Calina having found herself with Haldir and Gimli for the journey. Despite their journey along the river – to which all of them were certain the enemy would stumble upon them – nothing stirred against them. Before long, night gave way to day, and come late one afternoon the Fellowship had beached their little white boats along the shore at the top of a colossal waterfall.
They hastily clambered out of the boats, each stretching their muscles that ached for having been cramped for so long. As they did, Aragorn proclaimed they would set up camp for the time being, and depart to the other side of the river later that evening.
"Can't we just leave now?" Pippin inquired, looking across the river to the opposite shore.
Aragorn answered, "Those shores are patrolled by orcs. We shall wait for the cover of darkness."
The Half-ling kicked a stone. "Well, I'll go gather some firewood then, seeing as how there's not much else to do." The Half-ling then began to trek into the forest.
Calina began to walk after him, "Pippin, wait!" The Half-ling stopped as she came up to him, "It's dangerous to go alone."
"So you'll be joining me then?" He inquired. She nodded, to which Pippin puffed his chest up, and extended his arm to her, assuming an air of gentlemanly grace. "Then let us be off, my Lady." Calina giggled at yet another one of his never-ending attempts at humor. She played along and took his arm as they began to head out.
As they strode off, a voice called out to them. "Keep a wary eye out at all times!"
"Yes, Boromir!" Calina hollered back listlessly.
"And don't wander too far!" He called again.
"We won't!" Her words harbored a tinge of exasperation, and she could hear him trying to shout more words at her, but fortunately they were out of earshot.
.
"He worries about you a lot doesn't he?" Pippin said as they continued in their walk, their feet crunching on the leaves around them.
"You have no idea."
"Family's good for that." Pippen said, breaking their linked arms to pick up a fallen branch.
They continued to chat as they filtered about the forest in their quest for firewood. As they walked, they exchanged tales of their families' and loved one's, happy to reminisce on pleasant memories with one another. Before long, the piles of wood in their arms grew large. "I suppose this'll do." Pippen said, shuffling his armful of branches.
Calina nodded, her arms also loaded with firewood as well. "We seem to have gone uphill." Her eyes scanned around before finally coming to a stop, "I can see the river from here. Let's go to it, and walk back to the others from there."
"Righty-o!" Pippin said gaily, beginning to walk down the slope towards the river.
They had not gone 20 paces before Calina halted them in their tracks. "Wait."
Pippin turned to her, clearly puzzled. He could see that her gaze was fixated on something farther off between the trees below them.
"Something's wrong." She said gravely. Then, with much haste but quiet care, she knelt down and deposited her firewood before beginning to creep down the hill. As she dodged her way around, her eyes never strayed from their place between the trees.
Pippin hastily dropped his own firewood and scampered after her. "Calina! What's wrong?" He asked after finally coming to stand behind her as she crouched at the base of a large tree.
"We are not alone." She gestured down the slope towards a mass of running figures. They were abhorrent humanoid creatures with ghastly features.
Pippin's eyes turned to horrified saucers, "Uruk-hai."
A thick paste had overcome Calina's mouth as she watched them jog along. They moved like ants, relentless in their quest that had been given to them by their master. Calina grimaced, "They'll have the others entirely surrounded in minutes."
"Then we must warn them!" Pippin urged, beginning to run down the slope again.
Calina went after him instantly, quickly grabbing him by the arm and pulling him behind another tree. "We'd be cut to pieces before we even got halfway back to camp." She declared.
"Then what do we do?" The Half-ling stressed. His eyes suddenly shot over to Calina as she continued to peer down at their enemy. "Shadow walk! Warn the others that way."
Her eyes snapped down to him in surprise at the suggestion. But her gaze was quick to turn fearful. "But Galadriel's spell might have made it so I can't even do it."
"Her spell was different, you said so yourself."
"But what if it breaks?"
"What choice do we have? You said so yourself, we can't fight our way back and we're outnumbered. It's our only option." He then took one of her hands and held it within his own and gave it an encouraging squeeze, "I have faith in you. You won't break the spell."
She looked at his little hands as they held hers—which, together, didn't seem so small—and she let out a quick but determined sigh. "You're right. I need to at least try."
"You can do it. I know you can." Pippin said, offering her a comforting smile as their hands fell apart.
With these last words of encouragement, she took a breath, closed her eyes and vanished into the shadow of the tree. Not even the breeze seemed to have noticed her disappearance, but upon her leaving, Pippin's eyes instantly snapped back towards their campsite as he anxiously awaited Calina's return.
.
'That wasn't nearly as catastrophic as I thought it would be.' Calina thought. Though her head was pounding a little, the spell held strong. She assessed her surroundings. She had reappeared on the border between the woods and the shore, and the rest of the Fellowship was only paces away. With haste, she stepped from the shadows and went to them.
"Calina!" Boromir spoke. "Where is Pippin?"
"He's safe," she started quickly, "but I came to warn you: there's a band of Uruk-hai coming. They'll be here in minutes." Upon her words, the others reflexively began to ready themselves for battle.
"How did you get here without them noticing?" Haldir asked as he slung his quiver over his shoulder.
"I had to shadow walk." She replied bluntly.
To her words, all of her comrades shot her a look of great worry. "But the spell—" Boromir began.
She held her palms up in assurance, "It disagreed with the jump, but it holds strong. It was the only way to warn you."
"Do not make a habit of it." Aragorn added.
"I have no intention to." Her gaze then picked back to the dark woods. "I need to get back to Pippin."
She began to stride towards the nearest shadow. But a hand gripped her wrist and stopped her before she could vanish. It was Boromir. "Be safe." He said earnestly.
Calina looked at him and smiled, gripping his arm in return, "I will." Her eyes then shot back across all of the Fellowship, "You all be safe as well!"
Aragorn rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. "We will see you when the fighting ends." He concluded before drawing his sword. The ground around them began to stir. All eyes snapped towards the now suffocating shade of the trees as the ground began to rumble ominously. The Uruk-hai were almost upon them.
"I must go." With that, Calina vanished into the shade of the tree.
.
"I knew you'd be able to do it!" Pippin cried triumphantly as she reappeared. By some miracle, the Hobbit hadn't wandered from the tree in which she'd left him.
Despite the undeniable throb that was coursing through her skull again, she grinned back at him. "They've been warned." The ache lasted a bit longer this time, but not by much. When it finally reduced to something more manageable, Calina focused her eyes back towards the camp she'd just departed. Her face was resolute, "There will be no escaping this battle."
"Well if that's the case, we'd best join them." Pippin said, grasping at the small blade at his side.
She smiled determinedly down at him, quickly coming to nock an arrow in her bow. "Indeed we should. But let's give them a surprise attack, shall we?"
Calina then rose and took a deep breath, recalling Galadriel's words to her before they had departed. They echoed distinctly across her mind as she held her bow at the ready. "Trust the magic," She had said. And so she would.
Then, curiously enough, something sparked within her. It was a magic that she had no recollection of ever wielding, yet it felt so familiar. It did not feel entirely the same as the other magics she had previously displayed either. It was warm like a fluttering bird and despite its lightness, was overwhelmingly powerful. She could sense that it was pure light, practically holy. It began to seep through her, trickling to every corner of her being.
As she stood there with her arrow heavily infused with light magic, a rush of knowledge returned to her: protective barriers, sacred arrows, spells of purification. More and more of these long forgotten powers continued to rise like vanishing islands out of the once vacant sea of her mind. It was a revelation like none she had experienced thus far.
She then let out a breath, and let her arrow fly.
The instant her finger released the arrow it erupted with a pale lilac colored light and shot at dangerous speeds towards their enemy. The Uruk-hai that had been in the path of the arrow had been reduced to a pale pink dust which was now floating carelessly among the breeze.
They both blinked, jaws hanging open and eyes riddled with astonishment. Pippin broke his stare first. "So much for subtlety." He teased.
Calina puffed out a cheek at his response. "They'd have found us eventually!" She tried to defend before leaping around the tree and beginning to run down the hill.
She fired arrow after arrow, further reducing their enemy to dust. But she was suddenly down to one arrow and the distance between them and the Uruk-hai had since closed, and they quickly found themselves in the midst of close-quarter combat.
But it was upon a commanding holler of a particularly brutish looking Uruk-hai the Calina felt her blood turn cold. "Seize them! Seize the woman and the Half-ling!"
Calina's eyes turned wide before whipping around to find Pippin. He had not wandered far, perhaps twenty paces or so and was holding his own fairly well. But he too had heard the order for their seizure. Neither of them had the time to wonder why. For an instant, their eyes locked and they scrambled to be nearer to one another in better efforts of defending themselves.
With Pippin at her side, Calina slammed her sword into the dirt and clapped her hands in front of her chest as if in prayer and a dome of similar colored light appeared around them. Any Uruk-hai that were already in the dome were instantly vaporized, but those from beyond it continued to rush them. However, when they hit the barrier, each let out an agonized cry before disintegrating like the others.
Pippin couldn't help but feel awestruck from inside the protective barrier. "Since when could you do this?!" He exclaimed, clearly amazed.
"I just remembered a few moments ago, when I shot the first arrow." She answered, not moving from her concentrated pose. Unfortunately, their enemy was relentless, choosing to strike at her barrier with their swords and cleavers, and sending arrows into it as well.
A sheen of sweat had quickly begun to form on Calina's brow at the exertion. "What're we going to do? You can't keep this up forever." Pippin said worriedly.
Calina thought quickly, "Can you see the river from here?" She asked.
The Half-ling searched off in the distance for a moment. "Yes!"
"Good. I'm going to expand the barrier. It'll fry more of these jerks, and hopefully they'll be confused enough that we can make a break for the river."
"Right!"
"Okay. We move on three. One…two…" both of them tensed, "THREE!" The barrier then doubled in size and as Calina predicted, those who were too close were reduced to ash, and the rest of the Uruk-hai were too disoriented to realize that their quarry was making a break for it.
As they ran, leaves flew out from under their feet as they rushed down the slope in a frenzy. Neither of them dared look back for fear of seeing their enemy fast on their heels. So instead, they moved like the wind down the hillside. They did not stop until they reached the riverside.
They came to a momentary halt, both panting from having run so aggressively. By some stroke of luck, their enemy seemed to have lost track of them, for no one had followed them down the hill. In the distance, they could still hear shouts and the ringing of metal against metal as the fight carried on elsewhere. But for the moment, they were out of harm's way.
Calina pointed down the bank. "The boats!" The pair then began to hastily make their way down the shore, keeping to the tree line and moving carefully so as to not be seen. They were soon upon the beached little crafts, hovering only for a moment before ducking low behind a large thorny shrub to develop their next plan of action.
"What do we do now?" Pippin asked, hand on the hilt of his sword.
Calina glanced back into the trees. "I can see the Uruk-hai, but none of them look like they're coming our way."She observed. She looked back to him, "We need to find the others."
"You could jump again," Pippin suggested.
"No," she responded instantly, "I'm not leaving you behind, and I don't want to push my luck. I don't know exactly where everyone is either, so jumping wouldn't do us any good. And after that stunt with the barrier, my magic is getting drained. We have to find another way."
Before they could come to any other sort of solution, they both heard a familiar voice yelling across the air. It was Sam. "Run, Mister Frodo! Go!"
The voice of Merry broke out as well, "Yeah, we'll hold them off for ya!"
Without warning, Frodo burst through the trees, nearly running Calina and Pippin clear over in the process. He stumbled and fell, but instantly tore himself up from the rocky shore and went to one of the little boats, beginning to heave it back into the water with all his might.
"We need to help him!" Pippin said instinctively, beginning to rise.
Calina quickly pulled him back down. "Wait!" She drew her last arrow and nocked it. "We will show these jerks the real meaning of surprise." Upon her words, she stood and let the arrow tear through the air and watched as it purified all of the orcs that had been so closely tailing Merry and Sam. The unsuspecting Half-lings looked up for a moment in shock at the surprise aid they'd received. Upon seeing Calina and Pippin step into view, they couldn't help but smile in relief.
"Run!" Calina yelled.
They all scrambled towards her and only when all four of the Hobbits were on the shore did she turn her back on their enemy. Pippin had already gone to help Frodo with the boat and they had managed to get it into the water. Frodo was already perched in the little craft, and Pippin was keeping it from drifting away.
"Sam, go with Frodo. We'll stand guard on the shore while you escape." Calina urged.
"But we can't just leave you here!" Frodo objected, making a move to jump out of the boat.
She looked at Frodo and Sam and forced them to sit back down, clasping either of their shoulders, "No one is going to die! I'll make sure of that. Remember the promise you made with Gandalf, Sam. And both of you: have faith in each other, and let it be your guide through any dark times you may face. Now, go!" With these final words she, Merry, and Pippin shoved the little white boat as hard as they could off the shore and into the water. The pair drifted for a moment before Sam found the oars and together, Frodo and Sam began to row towards the opposite shore.
Calina looked back up into the woods and drew her sword. As she did, the two Merry and Pippin swiftly pulled out their own blades. They stood their ground with newfound courage. "Whatever happens, we cannot let them reach Frodo and Sam." Calina proclaimed.
"Right!" Merry and Pippin replied in unison.
The ground shook. Leaves began to flutter off the trees. "Remember what you've learned boys!" Calina yelled. It was in that instant their enemy broke through the tree line. Their battle had begun.
There was the clash of swords and unrelenting war cries. The same guttural voice from before had spoken out again, still hiding in the trees, "Seize them! Take the woman and the Half-lings!" The instant these words roared across the open air, Merry and Pippin were engulfed in a wave of every Uruk-hai in sight.
'No!' Calina thought, coming to charge the last remains of her magic into her open palms. She rushed the crowd of Uruk-hai and orcs, a pale purple glow emanating brightly from her hands as she quite literally plowed her way forward, reducing all those in her path to dust as she went. Hardly an instant had passed before she found herself at the center of the ring. But whatever hole in their forces she had made was swiftly refilled, which left the trio completely surrounded.
Strangely, though, none of them advanced. They all stood, weapons at the ready, but not near enough to land a blow. For an instant, a strange hush fell over them all.
But the sound of a whizzing arrow caused Calina to duck to one side. It soared past, barely missing her shoulder. It then planted itself in the skull of an unsuspecting orc who let out an agonized squeal before toppling over. Their enemy danced around them at the event, but still, they did not advance.
As a trio, they were rapidly running out of options. They were now entirely surrounded and all near exhaustion. 'These brutes are still close enough,' Calina thought. She clapped her hands together in front of her chest again and cast out another protective barrier which, as before, instantly killed off any of their enemies who stood too close. Every inch of her was screaming at the overexertion, begging to stop, but she would not give in. Calina squeezed her eyes shut tightly in focus, gritting her teeth in one last blast of power before the barrier finally flickered and died.
Calina stood panting as she tried to keep from collapsing. There was now an odd silence about her ears. She was indisputably drained of all energies, both magical and physical. Her eyes, while open, were momentarily fogged. She blinked hard, and as her vision cleared, Merry and Pippin were grinning up at her and nearly bouncing. Her last attack must have worked, and apparently very well considering her comrades' reactions.
Her eyes then flicked up between her raven black bangs and towards the opposite shore. Frodo and Sam had made it to the other side, and were now smashing their fists in the air with joy. She couldn't help but grin as she looked at them. In that one moment, there was hope. Hope that everything would be all right and that they somehow stood a fighting chance against the dark forces that so relentlessly hunted them.
The silence had dissipated, and she could now hear all of them shouting joyously at their victory. Her grin widened as she came to stand.
But it was in that instant that another sound invaded her ears: it was that of an arrow whizzing it through the air. This time, she was not quick enough to avoid it. She then felt herself lurching forward, sucking in a harsh breath as she fought to remain standing as an arrow embedded itself in her shoulder. The Hobbits abruptly ceased their victory cries, their eyes turning wide. For a moment, she forgot to breathe, and all she could hear was the soft trickling of the river.
She dropped to her knees in efforts to not fully collapse as her lingering adrenaline began to fade away. Her consciousness was also slipping. She could vaguely register that two sets of small hands had grasped onto her. Although muffled murmurs were passing through her ears, she could not fully understand what was being said. Darkness was beginning to creep at the corners of her eyes.
But as suddenly as the hands were there, they vanished. It was within that instant that a voice finally managed to bring her back to the world. It was Pippin.
"Calina, PLEASE! HELP!" He cried, tears pouring from his very words. She visibly jolted, her head snapping up in time to see two Uruk-hai dragging a now unconscious Merry and struggling Pippin away from her. Pippin was still close enough that she could see the terror that had welled up in his eyes.
She somehow managed to speak. "I'm sorry Pippin." Her voice had shattered, tears beginning to fall from her own eyes before she finally toppled forward, utterly spent. Pippin's anguished scream was the last thing she heard before her world once again fell silent.
For a moment she laid there, her mind hazy and eyes half lidded. Her eyes looked out across the river. She could see as Frodo struggled to return to the boat, but Sam worked to pull him away. 'No.' She thought weakly. 'Please, don't come back. Flee while you have the chance.'
She then saw that there was a moment's struggle between them. Sam had grasped Frodo hard by the shoulders and they both stilled. Then, to her insurmountable relief, they cast one last glance across the river before turning and disappearing into the forest.
Calina let out a breath, her vision further darkening as exhaustion and pain continued to claim her. As it did, she could vaguely hear the sound of heavy footfalls moving towards her across the pebbled ground. She could not bring herself to turn her head or struggle as she felt herself being gruffly lifted and slung over a reeking shoulder.
She felt a tear fall from her eye, her heart aching. 'Please forgive me, Merry, Pippin...' She felt herself slipping further into unconsciousness. 'I was unable to protect you.' All sound then ceased, and her world grew dark as she slipped entirely into the black oblivion.