The Quest

The Quest: Chapter 7

The remainder of the fellowship ran out of the mines, blinded by the sun. Alannah crumpled onto the rocks and wept, cradling her broken arm as she mourned the man that looked after her as a father would. The hobbits also sat crying on the rocks, their hearts soft and heartbroken as well. Legolas looked at Alannah as he stood frozen, unable to process his own shock. The sight of everyone broken and sobbing was enough to make Legolas consider taking Alannah and leave the fellowship, setting out for his home in the Woodland Realm.

"Legolas." Aragorn called out. "Get them up." He ordered. Legolas looked to his friend and back to the whimpering forms that lay sprawled out across the rocks. He pushed tears from his cheeks as he walked to Alannah, grasping her hand to gently pull her up. Alannah yanked herself away from him and glared into his eyes. Her green eyes pierced angrily into his, warning him to step away from her.

Boromir looked at Alannah's pitiful state and at the rest of the sorrowful group.

"Give them a moment for pity's sake!" Boromir exclaimed desperately. For a moment, he put away all the negative emotions he had felt along the journey about the ring and Alannah as he also felt the grief of losing Gandalf. Aragorn's face looked pained as he pointed in all directions surrounding them.

"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs!" He warned. "We must reach the woods of Lothlorien." He announced as he sheathed his sword. He once again ordered Legolas, Boromir and Gimli to pull the sobbing hobbits and devastated Alannah to their feet.

Legolas knelt beside Alannah and once again grasped her arm. "On your feet, meleth nin." He tried to sound as soft as he could without sacrificing urgency. Tears continued to stream down her face as he began to pull her up to stand.

She allowed him to help her to her feet and hold her for a moment in his arms before pulling away without as much as a glance in his direction. He watched her walk away from him with her shoulder slumped and carrying her broken arm close to her chest, following Aragorn down the side of the mountain towards the woods.

The remainder of the fellowship stayed close to each other as they made their way down the mountain and through the grassy hills. There were only a couple more miles before they would reach Lothlorien, in hopes of being offered some type of protection within the woods. Everyone remained silent except for the hobbits occasional sniffling and whimpers of pain as Alannah made sure she stayed towards the front of the group. Legolas made every attempt to stay near her, even at one point offering to carry her but she refused. He could sense her anger rolling off of her in waves and it was all directed towards him.

An hour passed before they reached the edge of the woods of Lothlorien and Aragorn warned them to enter cautiously. The autumn leaves fluttered lightly to the ground as they entered, only seeming to slow and cease the deeper they walked. Gimli seemed to be the most fearful about the forest, speaking of an elf witch that resided there as he held his axe up defensively. Legolas wasn't as fearful as much as he was just unaware of what to expect as he stayed close to Alannah, grateful that she wasn't putting more distance between them. He knew she was angry at him for pulling her away from Gandalf as he clung to the bridge, but Legolas knew there was no way he could have been saved in time. His priority shifted to making sure that she got out of the mine alive. It also did not help that he didn't give her a moment to mourn before he pulled her to her feet outside, but also, he needed to keep her safe.

Without warning, the fellowship came face to face with arrows drawn at them. Alannah stood behind Legolas who had already quickly pulled his bow, aiming at the elves that stood before them. She was beginning to feel herself grow weak and unable to unsheathe her sword as the pain in her arm grew. She did not feel threatened by them as they looked at each member of the fellowship, even when the head elf's eyes lingered on her for a moment longer before passing to the next person. After a moment, everyone lowered their weapons and they followed them to what looked to be an outpost up high in the trees. When they arrived night had fallen, Haldir, the leader of the elven guards, addressed Legolas by name. Alannah did not understand all that was spoken aside from his name but the language seemed familiar to her as if she had heard it in a dream.