When Fate Strikes

Chapter 7

Chapter7 -

We've been running for the rest of the day, urging our weary feet on and on. We are almost at Lothlórien and I am glad, it means that we may relax in comfort and safety for a night. It is odd that I've never been here before. Many warriors have made the journey to and from Lothlórien carrying messages between Lady Galadriel and Lord Elrond, yet I was never chosen.

Pippin and Merry slow to a walk as we cross through an icy mountain stream. I grin at their shocked expressions once they discover how cold the water is.

"Look!" Cried Merry as he pointed out towards the woods. The poor Hobbits hadn't been able to see Lothlórien yet, as they were too short to see over certain rocks and bushes standing in the way. Aragorn stops his sprinting momentarily to gaze at the woods. I thought that Aragorn would've been more affected by Gandalf's death. They were good friends, certainly more than I ever was.

*****

The sun is low in the sky by the time we make it to the forest. By now Eryn and I are literally dragging the Hobbits along as they moan and complain. I'm getting more and more irritable at my aching feet and grumbling stomach, but I'm trying to be optimistic for Merry and Pip.

"Thank goodness we are here!" Pippin loudly exclaims, "I thought my legs were going to simply drop right off!"

"Oh Pip, please try and refrain from exaggerating." Said Merry, although a smile had lit up his face. Aragorn's pace had slowed from a fast run to a brisk walk as we entered the fringes of the forest. I, for one, definitely feel safer here. At home; are the words I would use. It seems as if I belong here, and yet I have not yet visited these woods.

The trees are all tall, with branches up high. Moss grows on the ground in patches, and surround the bottoms of the trees, sometimes climbing high up them. There is something beautiful and light about this place, however magical disturbance seems to linger. We walk into the forest, zig zagging through the boughs of the trees. I notice that leaves of red and orange colour are dropping down on us, as I have to reach up and remove them from my hair every five minutes. Gimli seems on edge.

"Stay close young Hobbits." He urges, "They say that a great sorceress lives in these woods. An Elf witch of terrible power. All who look upon her fall under her spell and are never seen again." He whispers.

"Ireth." A whispering voice echoes near my head. I stop. It is a voice.

"Ireth." There it is again. I didn't imagine it. I stop Eryn.

"Did you hear that?" I ask. He shakes his head and frowns.

"Hear what?" He asks.

"Ireth, you come to us." The voice whispers.

"That!" I say. He looks at me as if I'm crazy. I stop in my tracks and block everyone else out, focussing solely on the voice.

"Welcome to your birth place," My birth place? We are not in Mirkwood!

"Welcome, Ireth - daughter of Lostariel and Alagos." Lostariel and Alagos?

"The prophecy is fulfilled, Jewel of the Elves." Then, it was gone. The voice inside my head had disappeared. I didn't hear it go, as such, but more like I felt it leave my presence. My knees buckled and I fell. An arm flew down and scooped me up just before I hit the ground.

"Ireth!" Eryn's voice was flustered, as if he had been calling my name for a while. I met his eyes with mine, concern gripped every corner of them. I shake my head and look past Eryn, seeing the worried faces of Pippin and Merry, everyone else standing behind them. Frodo was pale, perhaps he heard it too.