A New Place, A New Love
Author's Note: We will be getting into more of the battle sequences soon, and I can't wait to write about it. Covid has kinda put things on hold, but I will try to update as I can. Hope you are all still liking the course of the story and how it is woven into the LotR plot. Enjoy :)
Disclaimer:Still don't own anything
Chapter 14
Minerva was not really focusing on much as she guided her horse to follow those in front of her. Aragorn and Legolas were ahead of everyone, and as much as she knew that Aragorn wanted to talk to her, she hung back to make sure it wasn't possible. As they continued to ride on into the early evening, Minerva tried to keep her mind off of the past. There were so many things that had happened in her lifetime that she wished she could forget, but the memories just seemed to haunt her every waking moment now.
As they made camp for the night, Minerva placed herself just on the outskirts of everything, close enough to know if something was wrong and just far enough to keep people away. She watched as Aragorn and the others settled down for the night around the fire, so she decided to slip away. Lucky for her, her animagus form was small enough to accomplish just that. With practiced ease, she was soon running away in the body of a small feline, hoping to find a quiet place to clear her head. She wanted to think about happier times, and soon thoughts of Gandalf were swirling through her head.
Gandalf had made sure that she was comfortable at the table before he began to serve them their food. She still could not believe the sights around her and the beauty of the elves' home. Everything was so elegant, and she knew she was going to sleep like a baby tonight after everything that had happened. The food was delicious, and she was truly surprised that anything could rival the house elves work, and yet here she was indulging in fine wine, food and conversation.
"I know you told me you were a teacher where you are from, but you said you had experienced worse endeavors than what just happened…can the children really be that difficult?" Gandalf chuckled as he pictured the foolish things children could do to those around them.
"Some of them can be truly imaginative in the ways they get into trouble," Minerva said lightly, "I have been on the receiving end of many pranks and late night shenanigans, I will have you know."
Gandalf laughed as he stood up and helped her out of her chair and helped her to the sitting room. Minerva sat in a comfortable leather chair across from him and smiled.
"And those pranks were enough to drain you of your magic and make you collapse?" There was still some levity in his voice, but there was an air of seriousness in his claim.
"No," she said softly, "but wars will do that."
"Does it happen every time you use that much magic?" He asked, wondering if this journey would be more dangerous for her than he thought.
"No, but I have not had to traverse long stretches of uneven land with so little sleep in a great many years," she supplied.
"I will have to have a word with Aragorn about taking it easy," he said, "I am an old man after all."
Minerva rolled her eyes while smiling at the adorable man in front of her.
"It was also a complicated piece of magic that I had no business using."
"Why is that?"
Minerva sighed and leaned back into her chair to get comfortable, "Well, I've only ever used it once before and I was a lot younger then. It is a difficult spell to master because the enchantment wants to take control. The flames have a mind of their own, and if you submit to their control, they will burn endlessly and ruthlessly. Trying to maintain that much control while being tired was not the brightest idea I have ever had."
"From what Aragorn said, you were a sight to behold," Gandalf held out his hand for her to take, and she did, "And I know you would give your everything to protect those around you."
"I am never one to back down," she smiled gently.
"I need you to promise that you won't do that again though," he was serious, but the way he said it, she knew it was coming from a place of love.
"I can only promise you that I will try to take it easy," she took his hand again and held his gaze, "but I will do whatever it takes to keep you all safe."
"That is a very noble thing to do, Minerva, but if you are protecting all of us, who is protecting you?"
"I am not sure if you have noticed this yet Mr. Gandalf the Grey," she laughed as he shook his head at her use of his name, "but I am a force to be reckoned with when I want to be."
He chuckled as he watched her eyes flash with mirth, "I have noticed that, however, I hope you have noticed that you have people here that care for you and would gladly protect you as fiercely as you protect them."
"I have noticed that," she swallowed, "but I do not want them to suffer because they were trying to protect me."
At that moment, Gandalf understood just what this woman had gone through. War was one thing, but sacrifice was another. The fact that she was scared of what would happen to those that helped her told Gandalf that collapsing after using a significant amount of magic was not the worst thing she had experienced.
He thought about asking her more questions. He wanted to know more about her, what her world was like, what she liked, what she had been through, and how he could help, but he knew that was enough for tonight.
He stood up from his chair and offered her his hand, "May I show you something almost as enchanting as you?"
The smile and blush that took over her face was more than enough to make Gandalf fall even more in love with this amazing woman. She took his hand and he took her to the nearby window that over looked the kingdom that was lit up just enough by the moon and lanterns to create a peaceful and serene landscape.
"It is breathtaking!" Minerva could not help but gasp as she took in everything under the night sky.
"This is my favorite part of this room," Gandalf said sheepishly, "it is the reason I requested this room years ago. I got a peek while walking the halls, and knew I could escape the world and any of its troubles from this spot."
"It definitely has that effect," she smiled and gently leaned her head against his shoulder, "I could stay here forever."
Minerva was exhausted from the day and soon, with memories and thoughts of Gandalf running through her mind, she curled up in her animagus form and fell asleep in a nearby tree. She slept soundly that night, hoping against hope that she would be able to protect those around her and see Gandalf again soon.
The next morning, Aragorn and Legolas were the first to be up and walking around. They both scouted out the campsite and soon realized that they were missing one of their own.
"Where is Minerva?" Legolas asked as he looked over the group again."I am pretty sure I saw a feline sneaking away last night," Aragorn pointed towards the woods, "I watched her go this way."
The pair walked towards the woods until they came to the first few trees.
"I believe we have found her," Legolas said.
"Where?" Aragorn asked, looking around trying to spot whatever his friend did.
Aragorn turned to Legolas when he didn't answer the question to see the elf pointing up to a large branch of a nearby tree. There, curled up into a ball, on a branch that was high enough to look over their entire company, was Minerva as a cat.
"Do you want to wake her?" Aragorn asked Legolas.
"I am not sure I would make it out of that tree alive if I did," Legolas laughed as he looked at the grin on his friend's face.
"To be fair, neither of you would make it very far," Minerva's voice startled both of them.
They looked behind them and there she was, no longer a cat, and she was trying very hard to hold back hysterical laughter at the sight of the two frightened men. They both glanced up at the tree and back down to Minerva./
"How-" Aragorn stuttered as he watched Minerva's smile grow.
"Cats have great agility and are very quiet," she said simply as she turned and started walking back towards the group.
Aragorn and Legolas were quick to regain their senses and caught up with the witch.
"Did Gimli's snoring drive you away?" Aragorn asked, knowing that wasn't the reason but hoping she would give him the real one.
"I left while you were all still eating," she admitted, "I needed a quiet space and some perspective."
"Is everything alright?" Legolas asked, as they slowed their pace to prolong the short walk back to camp.
"That is not an easy question to answer," she said lightly, "I have been through a lot, as you all have I am sure, and sometimes it is not easy. The past haunts you in ways you aren't always sure how to handle, and every now and then I find that finding a quiet place to reflect on happier times helps. Plus…I sometimes get lost in the sensation and the memories and it is difficult for me to separate the present from the memories, and when magic is tied to emotions like that…it can be dangerous."
"Being alone when you are trying to cope with the demons from the past can also be dangerous, Minerva," Aragorn said softly.
She nodded but did not say much. It is true that having someone with her helped with the more intense panic attacks, but she was still unsure how it was going to happen now that they were separated and there was another war to focus on.
They watched over the camp as people slowly began to wake and the sun rose above the land. People began to fix breakfast, saddle their horses and pack up their belongings, and for that single moment, everything seemed peaceful. The three companions made their way into camp and packed up their things for the day.
Soon they were riding off towards their destination, and Minerva let the warmth from the sun seep into her veins to help bring a little comfort. As they rode, she smiled at the antics of Gimli and Legolas. They fought like siblings and it made her laugh. She had to maintain a modicum of respect while working as a teacher, which meant she couldn't show just how amusing she found their actions, but now she was free to enjoy the little things. That was how she got through her panic attacks, by embracing the little things.
As they approached a ridge, their scouts rode ahead and Minerva watches as Aragorn runs ahead as well, but takes his time. Legolas was busy scouting from lookout points as they went. Suddenly there is screaming coming from the ridge, and Minerva watched as Legolas sprung into action. Aragorn ran to the top of the ridge and Minerva rode towards him with Théoden and Gimli not far behind.
Aragorn was running back down the hill as they approach, "What is going on?" Minerva asked.
"What do you see?" Théoden also questioned.
"Warg! We are under attack!" Aragorn yelled as he rushed to his horse.
"All riders to the front!" Théoden commanded as they prepared to fight.
Minerva prepared herself for a fight as Théoden gave orders for the women and children to push on to Helm's Deep. There was chaos as the people fled and the soldiers on horses charged forward. She watched as warg riders crested over the ridge and she braced to fight again. As the first few warriors from both armies collided, she could not help the panic that set in. She had to push through. She could not freeze right now.
Seeing a warg come at her from the side, she acted quickly.
"Alarte Ascendare," she flicked her wand and watched as her targets flew high into the air and landed on several other warg riders.
She caught sight of Gimli under a pile of bodies and quickly casted a quick "Anapneo" to vanish the bodies atop him. She drew her sword and continued to ride through the mess of bodies all fighting to survive. Her sword work was always great but on the back of a horse, it was not ideal. She thought about getting out of the saddle, but without the high ground, she would loose her vantage point.
A large orc ran towards her, and before it could even blink she had it reduced to pieces with a well placed Confringo, which normally didn't obliterate the target, but she had enough adrenaline and fear running through her body to give it a little extra power.
She rode gracefully across the battlefield, throwing out hexes, curses, and enchantments every chance she could. Several of them were non-lethal as she could not run the risk of hitting one of the good guys. She was making good work of those around her as she charged on.
In the background, she could see Aragorn struggling to break free from a runaway Warg, but as she tried to get closer to him, more and more enemies blocked her path. Pointing her wand in front of her, Minvera focused on clearing a path that would not harm anyone in case it was one of her own.
"Aqua Eructo!" She held her wand steady as a jet of water sprung from her wand and pushed everyone and everything out of her path.
She rode off towards Aragorn, trying to reach him before the warg reached the edge of the ridge, "Arresto Momentum."
The spell clipped the warg and slowed it down, but it did not do enough to slow down Aragorn, who was already headed over the cliff.
"Aragorn!" She screamed as she rode faster towards the edge where his body had just disappeared.
Legolas and Gimli were soon behind her as they looked over the ledge and into the water where their friend just fell.
"He is gone," Théoden's voice was heard behind them, "We need to get to Helm's Deep."
"But Aragorn-" Gimli interjected, but was cut off./
"He has fallen and if we were to wait here, we would be found again and slaughtered."
Gimli and Legolas took one last look at the river below and slowly turned back to look at the soldiers.
"You two go," Minerva said, "make sure they are protected. I will go down and look for him. My spell should have helped slow him enough to stop any damage, but he is still at risk of freezing and drowning."
"We will go with you," Legolas stated./
"No, you two need to make sure they get to Helm's Deep. I will be able to get down quickly in my animagus form and I will take Brego to carry us out when I locate him. We will meet you there."
"How are you going to take a horse with you?" Gimli asked dumbfounded as he took in the size of the horse and the shear cliff behind him.
"Like that," Legolas said with surprise in his voice, and it made Gimli turn around quickly to see a neck harness of sorts where the horse once stood
"It's called a collar, and that his how I will be taking him down."
Minerva quickly transformed and squeezed into the collar. Soon she was headed off down the ridge and slowly making her way down to the bottom. Hopefully her spell broke his fall enough to cause little to no damage. /
This is just the way to avoid stress, Minerva. Trying not to fall off of slick rocks as you scale a cliff that is far too high up. This is going to be interesting.
TBC….
