Women in the Fellowship

Eglaneth

As I fight, I hear a yell that could only have come from Elemmire. I turn to look at her, to see if she needs help. What I find wrenches out my heart and throws it into an eternal abyss.

I can only watch as my sister pushes Frodo out of the way of the cave troll's mallet, only to be thrown across the room and into a wall. She doesn't move, and I don't know if she is alive.

"El!" Frodo and I scream. An orc laughs at the sight of Elemmire. An animalistic shriek rings around the room as I strike it down. The rest of the battle is a blur. All i can feel a burning sense of anger, and yet, a feeling of numbness and helplessness. Another look at Elemmire's lifeless body causes another shriek. Merry and Pippin have climbed onto the troll. In my rage, I make my way up to its hip and bury my sword into it, causing it to let out a yell of anguish. Legolas takes this opportunity to shoot it in the mouth and the troll falls to the ground, dead. I rush to Elemmire's side, where, everyone else is. Frodo and I are in hysterics and tears run down Amaya's cheeks.

Aragorn puts two fingers to her wrist. "She is alive." He says. I look up hopefully. Sure enough, Elemmire is barely breathing, but alive. Right now, we should just be glad for that.

Aragorn takes Elemmire and carries her over his shoulder. We hear orcs all around as we leave the room.We cannot linger.

We are soon surrounded, and have no choice but to fight. But I can feel something else. Something far greater than the orcs- something so much more dangerous. As if to confirm my thoughts, there is a rumble and a fiery light at the end of the hallway. The orcs scatter.

"What is this new devilry?" Asks Boromir.

Gandalf concentrates and then responds.

"A balrog- a demon of the ancient world. RUN!"

Fear registers on everyone's faces as we run to the door across from the hallway. We run up a flight of steps, and it ends abruptly.

Gandalf looks at Aragorn.

"Lead them on." He says. Aragorn looks confused, but I think I know what he means.

"Do as I say! Swords are no more use here!"

Aragorn sighs in submission and we run across the stairs, tossing the hobbits and leaping the gap.

The stairs are crumbling, and Aragorn, who is still carrying Elemmire, and Frodo are still on them.

"Lean forward!" I yell. They do do and the stairs tip over towards us. They are caught by Legolas and Boromir.

Over the bridge! Fly!" Gandalf yells at us.

I can hear the Balrog as we run away.

Yet as we run, I have the growing sense of unease. The Balrog does not even attempt to attack us. Something is distracting it. I stop and turn around, and to my absolute horror, Gandalf has stayed behind to face the Balrog. The rest of the fellowship has noticed that I stopped and are watching Gandalf along with me. We cannot move for fear of our wise friend.

"You cannot pass! I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Calmer of Another! Dark Fire shall not avail you, Flame of Udun!"

The Balrog steps forth and brings his sword down on Gandalf. Frodo and Amaya scream for him. Quickly thinking, I use magic to shatter its sword as it is about to hit Gandalf. It then draws a flaming whip.

"You shall not pass!" Gandalf roars. In a flash of light, the section of the bridge that holds the Balrog collapses, taking the demon with it. Relief fills our hearts, but it only makes what happens next a thousand times worse.

The Balrog's fiery whip wraps around Gandalf's ankle, pulling the wizard down with it into the abyss.

The hobbit's, Amaya's, and my screams echo throughout the cavern. I am glad Elemmire was not awake to see this.

Gandalf has grabbed onto the edge. "Fly, you fools." He says as he lets go of the ledge.

We stay there in the shock of the moment. Somehow though, I come back to my senses.

"We need to move. He is gone, but do not let it be in vain." I tell them, barely getting myself to go into a hovering run. They follow.

We soon find ourselves out of the mine and realize what just happened. Gandalf was dead. His voice silenced, his comfort no longer with us. Aragorn places Elemmire down. She is still unconscious, her breathing shallow. She is in obvious pain, even in her sleeping state. I could Lose them both today. Two of the few people who cared about me. Tears fall silently down my eyes, but all I want is to drop to the ground and scream until everything was gone.

Amaya is in Legolas' arms for comfort. Merry and Pippin are crying, and Merry tries to tell Pippin that everything will be alright. Everyone else stands alone, and only Legolas, Gimili and Aragorn do not cry. I can feel their sorrow, though. I kneel by Elemmire to see how she is injured.

I find that most of her ribs are broken. If left untreated, these can be very dangerous. The only thing I can do now is bandage it, and thankfully, I can hold the bandages. Elemmire moans painfully. My tears never stop coming.

When I finish bandaging Elemmire, I go as far from the fellowship as I can without worrying them. The only thing I want now is to be alone. I can't stand their sorrow, or Elemmire's state. Was there anything I could do to help either of them?

Just as I think this, Aragorn says.

"Legolas, get them up."

This disturbs Boromir.

"Just give them a moment, for pity's sake!" He exclaims through his own grief. I would have agreed with him had I not known Aragorn's reason for trying to get us moving.

"No, he's right. We need to move. By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs." I say. This gets everyone moving. The only one who does not need to be told by us is Frodo, who is taking this situation harder than I am. We start on our journey to Lothlorien.

The trip is long and silent. I still feel ultimate sadness, and I am still crying. Yet, I feel more calm now. I am no longer numb, but rather, I feel as if I am eternally falling. I know Gandalf wouldn't want me to grieve, but, like El, Arwen, their mother, and lord Elrond, he was always there, especially when I needed him most. And I know we must be strong if this quest is to succeed. I am nowmainly worried for El, whose breath may be quickening, but Im not so sure.

After a long while traveling l, I can see the woods of Lorien. But something else makes me happy. Elemmire's eyes fluttering open. Aragorn, who is carrying her and notices this, sets her down into a sitting position very lightly and Frodo rushes to her side, attacking her with a passionate yet gentle kiss. I am crying once more, but this time, they are tears of joy.