Aravan {A Lord of the Rings Story}

F•O•U•R

Hey everyone! Sorry it's taken so long to get this up. I have been moving and cleaning my entire house for the past week and it's just been insanely hectic. We finally finished on Wednesday, but I had to wait for the WiFi to be set up at my new house, so I had to wait even longer to upload. Thank you for your patience!

This one's for Urvelniel, for being such a huge help! She came up with the dwarf names and the main drive for the chapter, so give her a big round of applause! :)

F•O•U•R

Blue and Artanis ran as fast as their feet would carry them, stumbling and slipping on rocks, but never losing their footing completely.

‘We must keep going until we can no longer see Tharbad,’ Blue panted. ‘We have to be as far away as we possibly can.’

Artanis nodded, breathing heavily. Her heart pounded, not only because she was running but also because she was terrified. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the Black Riders were still there, following them. When Blue had told her the story of the Ring back in Bree, she had never imagined that they would actually see the servants of Sauron. Her blood still felt cold from the encounter as it ran through her veins.

‘In here,’ Blue suddenly said, grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her to the side. Artanis’s foot slipped and she flew forward into Blue, causing them both to go tumbling. Artanis hit her head on something hard, and she groaned. Blue continued to scuttle backwards, his hand still gripping her wrist. Artanis whimpered, terror flooding through her.

‘Shh,’ Blue cooed, ceasing in his movement and holding her close. ‘We’ll be safe here for now. We just need to be very, very quiet. Can you do that for me?’

Artanis swallowed her upcoming sobs and nodded. Blue nodded back. They sat there for a very long time, keeping their breathing as low as they could and refusing to budge an inch for fear that any movement might make a sound. Artanis eventually fell asleep in Blue’s arms, exhausted from the running and the fright of the evening. Blue however, could not sleep. He kept his eyes trained on the road, almost not even daring to blink.

When morning came, Blue roused Artanis. He explained that they needed to move on, and she sleepily nodded and stood up. They began to move alongside the road once more. Artanis felt weary and sad; she wasn’t ready to leave Tharbad so soon. She had come to think of the place as home; the only home she had ever known. But in her heart, she knew that she wouldn’t actually have a home until she knew who she really was. She had to remind herself that she was not Artanis; that was just her title. No, she was the sleeping girl in the woods who was to be taken to Lothlórien. She had to remind herself that Blue wasn’t really Blue either. In fact, she wasn’t sure she would ever know who he really was. But she was content with him being Blue. She wasn’t, however, content with being Artanis. She had an unavoidable longing to know her true identity.

The two traveled along the road far past the setting of the sun on that day. Artanis, although tired, did not question Blue. She understood that they were traveling, and despite their fatigue, they must continue onward. But she did wonder how long the traveling would take.

‘Blue,’ she said, ‘where are we going?’

‘Dunland,’ he replied.

‘How much further is Dunland?’

‘I am not sure at this point.’

Artanis sighed. ‘Okay.’

Blue turned. ‘I know you’re tired, my girl, but we cannot stop now.’