Sword and Arrow

Chapter 10

Beruthiel shivered and pulled her hood further over her head as they trudged through the knee-deep snow. They had not yet reached the Pass of Caradhras, but it was already cold and snowing. No more walking around shirtless for the Fellowship, and certainly no bathing in streams. Though most of them were frozen by now.

Beruthiel and Aragorn led the way, walking shoulder-to-shoulder. Behind them walked Boromir with the four hobbits, of which Sam led Bill the Pony, then Gandalf and Gimli, and finally Legolas who walked along the top of the snow, standing two or three feet higher than everyone and constantly smirking down on the rest of the Fellowship.

"We should take a short break," Beruthiel panted, looking up at the sky. It was dark, even though it would be around midday now. Soft flakes of snow fell from the sky, dusting her head and shoulders. "We're going into deeper snow soon." She looked up at the peak of Caradhras rising up ahead. "We'll need our energy."

Aragorn nodded, letting out a long breath. He looked around. "Let's stop for ten minutes," he ordered. "Then we keep going." He glanced up at the mountain as well. "We should at least get to the base by tonight."

Gimli collapsed on the ground, sticking his axe in the ground and sitting on a large rock jutting out from the snow. The hobbits looked around for some shelter to get out from the snow, but there was none — they'd left the last forests behind days ago. Their problem was solved when Boromir came up behind them and held his cloak up to the sides so it was over their heads.

Beruthiel smiled a little as she looked at them. "They're sweet together," she murmured. "He's like — he's like a father to them but also a brother."

"I know," Aragorn said. He fondly glanced at Boromir and the four hobbits. They were laughing about something, even Frodo, who was usually suspicious of Boromir.

"He has a crush on you, you know," she said, glancing up at her friend with a smirk.

"He— he what," Aragorn said with a confused face. "He likes me? How do you know?"

"Aragorn, my best friend is gay, I think I can spot when a man has a crush on a man." Aragorn raised his eyebrows. "Come on. He acts exactly like you act when you have a crush."

"I act in a specific way when I have a crush?" Aragorn asked with a quick glance at Boromir.

Beruthiel looked at him. "Yes. You do. You act all awkward, you avoid eye contact, but you also look at them when they're not looking..."

Aragorn sighed. "Fine, maybe I do. But that doesn't mean that he has— "

"Yes. He. Does."

Aragorn rolled his eyes. "If you say so."

"And don't think that I haven't noticed you flirting with him," she reminded him.

"I do not— "

"Yes. You. Do."

"Fine."

Beruthiel patted his arm. "Your secret is safe with me," she said with a grin. "I won't tell anyone."

"My— my secret," Aragorn said, trying to keep a straight face. "What secret?"

She gave him a look that said she knew everything. Aragorn sighed and looked away.

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Now the Fellowship stared down the mountain that reared its head before them. Caradhras loomed tall and foreboding out of the clouds that had settled low over the foothills. "We'll be entering the deeper snow soon," Beruthiel said uneasily. "Caradhras is a strange mountain — its snow is deeper once you cross a certain point. That point is just ahead." She nodded to the land in front of them, pointing with her chin. "The depth varies from year to year, and from time of the year too, so I can't tell if it's shallow enough to pass through, or if we'll have to take another path."