Mistress of the Fellowship (LOTR)

*8* First Fight

Elrond was right about Ryker always watching but not being seen. On the wind at times Legolas could catch a brief scent in which belonged to her but even his superior elf vision could not place her. Her footsteps were silent without leaving any evidence but it was almost 25 days after they had left Rivendell that she seemed to just appear in camp.

It was not yet dark but the travelers were settling down for the night when she appeared out of the shadows holding a hawk on her forearm.

Legolas and Aragorn stood and looked at her and she looked at both of them from under her hood before stating, “Extinguish that fire now.”

Aragorn took a step forward and she stood straighter and he noticed that in the hand opposite the hawk she held her dagger. “You are not the one to give orders.”

“I am the one keeping the Crebain from Dunland from returning! I have been setting camps up away from you to keep them moving away from you. Something in the wind has caused them to redirect paths and they are coming this way. I do not care whether you live or die ranger, what I care about is that ring being destroyed. I do not like to waste words so whenever I say something know that it is in the best interest of middle earth and not you, you dismal man.”

“Now its time you and I got something straight girl!” and with that Aragorn took a step forward and before he could gasp her blade was at his throat and the hawk moved to her shoulder but then to everyone’s surprise there was a blade against her throat.

“Tell me, how does it feel to be at the receiving end of a blade?” hissed Legolas.

She smiled and replied, “Receiving you say?” and suddenly Celegorn, the hawk, was flapping in Legolas’s face causing him to lose concentration for a moment before the hawk went into the sky but in that moment she had drawn her sword and had it exactly the same place as when they were in Rivendell.

“You were saying?” she asked dryly before she sheathed the weapons and dagger and said, “Hide now!”

Legolas heard the faint flapping at a distance and rushed over and extinguished the fire and buried it in lots of dirt as the hobbits, wizard, men, and woman hid just before the evil birds passed over. An hour later Ryker told them they could come out and she scowled at Aragorn and Legolas as she saw they still clung to the topic as before.

“Since you won’t listen to me I challenge you all to a fight so we can end this foolishness!” and with that she began removing her weapons.