Athëa - Queen of the Savages

The Jump

Running through the narrow corridors of Moria, Gandalf led the fellowship towards the other side of the mountain, hoping his memory of the direction didn't deceive him.

"Gandalf! The hobbits can't keep up with your fast pace!", Legolas called as he reached the wizard in the front.

Gandalf stopped and turned around, to see Athëa trying to push the frightened hobbits to run faster, far behind him.

He let Aragorn and Boromir take the lead of the party. Gimli was right on the heels of the two men, trying his best not to fall to far behind, heaving for breath.

"Hurry little hobbits! Letting the balrog catch us is not an option!" Gandalf stopped and looked down the narrow halls from where they were coming. The Balrog was nowhere to be seen, but he could still feel its presence.

Boromir let a torch light his way through the dark corridors, which didn't let him see further than a couple of meters in front of him. Because of this he didn't see the bottomless pit emerging in front of him before the very last moment, and when he finally stopped he was almost tipping over the edge. He struggled finding his balance, as he panickly watched his torch plummet through the eternal fall. The second before he fell to his certain death, Legolas ran to Boromir's aid, gripping his collar and pulling him back. They tripped and landed on the rocky floor behind them.

"Come on you two! There is no time for a nap now!", Athëa yelled, as she and the hobbits passed the two lying on the stone floor.

She was following Aragorn, who was already running down the first steps of the long staircase, at the other end of the great stairwell.

Boromir shared a displeased look with Legolas, as he helped him back to his feet.

"As the queen commands", he said under his breath, as they followed the others to the stairs.

"I heard th...", Athëa was interrupted by a loud roar that sent thundering shivers through the mountain walls, like a great earthquake.

An enormous bolder fell from the high ceiling, and crashed trough the stairs right in front of the fellowship, making them unable to go any further.

"No!", Gandalf gasped in disbelief and despair. The Balrog was right on their heels, and now their only chance of escape was taken from them.

His shoulders sank, before he felt the rush of the ellon running past him, to jump to the other side.

"Come on, Gandalf!", Legolas said encouraging the wizard from the other side.

Gandalf took Sam in his arms and made the jump over the gap. Aragorn was just about to pick Gimli up and throw him, but was met with an angry look from the dwarf.

"Nobody tosses a dwarf!", Gimli said sternly.

Aragorn backed away from the dwarf with his hands raised. And so he decided that it would be safer to pick up Frodo and throw him instead.

After Frodo landed safely in Gandalf's arms, Gimli jumped and barely landed on the other side, as he started falling backwards. Legolas plunged forward and grabbed the first part of Gimli he could.

"Not the beard!", Gimli yelped as Legolas pulled him back to safety.

Boromir took Pippin and Merry under his arms, and jumped with both of them, but their weight was too much for the broken staircase to bare. All three of them made it to the other side, but five of the stairs fell off in the impact, making the jump even longer for the two companions still left on the other side.

Goblins had found their way to the stairwell, and were now firing arrows at the fellowship from holes in the walls.

Athëa reached for the bow on her back and started firing back at the goblins. She hit with every release and saw the goblins one after one fall to their death, only to be replaced by another waiting behind them.

"Aragorn!?", she yelled releasing another arrow, waiting for his command.

But Aragorn did not know what to do. The gap was too far for any of them to make the jump, and with the Balrog closing in on them, going back was not an option.

He looked down at the fellowship in front of him. "Go!", he said as the last hope left his eyes. "You can't wait for us any longer!"

"We are not going to leave you here", Legolas replied, looking pleadingly at his friend on the other side.

"We have to!", Gandalf ordered. "If we don't, we are all doomed." He pushed the others to make them go down the stairs, but just like the rest of the fellowship his heart was breaking at the thought of leaving Aragorn and Athëa behind.

Athëa reached for another bow, only to find that she had run out. She turned to meet the eyes of the ellon, who was running down the stairs to salvation with the rest of the fellowship. Her heart sank. She heard him yelling her name, but she didn't reply. There was nothing for her and Aragorn to do now, other than buying the others some time.

Legolas took one last look up at Aragorn and Athëa, before he followed the others through the doorway at the foot of the stairs.

If only he hadn't jumped, he would still be with them. He would still be with her.

"I love you", he whispered, knowing in his heart that the words were true.

But Athëa did not hear him.

"I guess it is just you and me now", she said turning to Aragorn with a sad smile on her face.

"Well, my friend", he replied."If I have to die now, it's not so bad to be going in blazing glory, fighting a fiery devil side by side with a savage like you", Aragorn said, laying a hand on Athëa's shoulder.

Arrows where flying around them, and they could hear the growl of the Balrog closing in on them.

"It has been an honor getting to know you, Aragorn, King of Men", she said bowing her head slightly.

The wall behind them came thundering down, and through the dust and rubble came the Balrog, like a fiery giant.

Aragorn and Athëa could feel the heat on their skin as they turned to face their enemy. They both took out their swords, now standing ready to fight. Not to win, but to hold their stance as long as they could, to let their companions get as much of a head start as possible.

Aragorn lifted his sword, ready to attack, and started running forward. But he didn't get far, before the Balrog took out its fiery whip and slashed at Aragorn's feet, making him fall to the ground.

Athëa ran to his aid, trying to get him up, but it was obvious that he had hurt his leg too badly. Blood was gushing out from his torn pant leg. She grabbed the man, and together they rolled out of harms way, just in time, as the Balrog lashed its whip at them once more. And that was when Athëa saw it, a possible salvation.

She rapidly dragged Aragorn to the edge of the stairs and looked into his eyes.

"Do you trust me?", she said, putting one arm under his for support.

"I do", he replied questioningly as they got to their feet.

"Then hang on tightly, friend. Because this is definitely not well thought through", she said sarcastically winking at him.

The balrog whipped its fiery lash once again as Athëa jumped off the ledge with Aragorn clinging to her side.

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Sooo what do you think? Quite a different ending to a very well known scene. But I hope you enjoyed it 🤞🤞

Thanks for reading and until next time:

We'll always have Middle Earth

- nindeanin