The Elven Gates [CONTINUING!!]

Chapter Six

"If you are my mother, then you should understand my urgency with this quest. Lady Galadriel, Lord Elrond and Gandalf the Grey don't just randomly call people out to join them in Council. I fear this might be serious."

"If it is so serious then why draw my innocent, may I add incoherent, daughter into it? As if you have life-saving insight to change the world with."

"27," Anoron spat.

Ugh, another failed attempt to get my mother to let me continue my journey.

"Ithilsarnie," Anoron tried, "maybe you cannot see what this means to her. I have heard of her great passion for adventure since we have begun traveling together. You should let her go."

"That's another problem I have with you two," my mom glared at him and back at me, "you shared a room, and didn't ask me!"

"Mom."

"That's it, I'm leaving." Anoron just jumped out of the wagon, and stood there in the road waving back at us. "Well aren't you coming Rhoe?"

I took one look at my mother, and jumped.

The only bad thing was that both of our horses, Umbár and Narwa, where attached to Ithilsarnie's wagon. So whilst I distracted her, Anoron freed the horses and I epically mounted Narwa as they rode off into the darkening horizon.

"Sorry about... all that." It was hard for me to apologize to someone I didn't know all that well and actually hadn't done anything to, but seeing his spirits lifting was worth it.

"Maybe once we get to Rivendell things will become more... normal," he nodded towards Ithilsarnie's still wagon, "I don't usually get kidnapped by strange elf women in the middle of a night in a safe village." He stifled a chuckle at his own joke, which I obviously didn't pick up on.

We both urged our horses into a canter. It was almost again nightfall and we had no time to waste if we wanted to reach Imladris promptly.

One of the most disappointing things I learned about Anoron is that he has absolutely no experience camping. I myself was not a pro like my father, but at least I had been camping back in Fall Creek a few times before.

He utterly failed at finding a good spot.

He utterly failed at collecting firewood.

He utterly failed at starting a fire.

He utterly failed at making a shelter.

He utterly failed at sleeping on the ground.

If it wasn't for me, I hate to brag, but he wouldn't have lasted a minute without screaming about every noise and scaring himself up a tree. The manly elf I met on the boat that helped with everything and was a complete gentleman was long gone. All that was left was the skeleton of his shadow. Without a spine, may I add.

So most of the night was spent me coaxing him to not light his hair on fire as it would not keep bears, wolfs, and orcs away. The second I mentioned orcs he got all freaked out but it knocked the senses back into him. Anoron started talking about how he might accidentally catch the shelter on fire or lead orcs straight to us. I was the one who had to bring to his attention that he might burn his head off.

"Oh yeah, that too. Well, night! Quel du!" Good night! I translated to myself. It still fascinated me why this elf spoke in both Elvish and Common Speech to me. It's not like the Elven Tongue was hard for me to understand, but if he knew I could speak both, why keep switching?

Ugh, fangirl problems.

"Quel kaima, tenna' tul're." Good night, until tomorrow. I heard his breathing slow and steady itself, he was sleeping, and I should sleep too.

The morning sun was blinding and a dull ache spread throughout my head as I blinked against it. I heard the familiar sound of trotting hooves and the bumpy gait of Narwa.

"Where are we?" I asked sleepily, I was still only half awake, and not exactly registering everything.

'Horse movement (sleeeeeep) horse sounds, (sleeeep?) can't move (sleep.) On a horse? (Sleeeep).'

I seriously couldn't think straight with all these thoughts of sleep in my head.

"Almost to Rivendell." Anoron turned around enough to pat me on the shoulder.

I sat up, wanting to take a look around, when I noticed a sharp pain in my side. Looking down, I found the culprit- a stab wound. I was draped over the back of Umbár, which is why the ride was so bumpy, and that made it hard to see much, especially when there is no other option for movement.

"I got stabbed?" My speech came out more slurred and mumbly than I expected it to. I finally got Anoron to hoist me up into a sitting positon, and I noticed an outline of me on Umbár's hide.

"That's cool."

"What?" Anoron looked over his shoulder to what I was talking about, "RHOEVIEN THAT IS YOUR BLOOD THAT IS SO NOT COOL." He immediately jumped off of the horse and pulled me down.

"Left side." I assumed he was looking for wherever I was stabbed. "Oh yeah," I remembered, "How was I stabbed anyway?"

"Orcs. They got us in the night." He was obsessing about dressing the wound. I couldn't see the expressions on his face.

"Please tell me you didn't light your hair on fire!"

He smirked.

"Amin na il-orqu. N'uma naur." I am not an Orc (stupid person). No fire. I was instantly relieved.

"I don't remember anything."

"You blacked out."

"No way, really!" The sarcasm was strong in my voice.

"Oh, here's this back." Anoron grabbed something from his pocket and handed it to me. It was my dagger, with dried Orc blood included.

"Sorry that I didn't get a chance to clean it. We were in a small rush."

It had been a few hours of tromping along the trail, on Umbár's back since Anoron wouldn't let me walk since discovering my wound, and I started to notice grey must surrounding us. I tapped his back, hoping he too would realize we were being enveloped in thick fog.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"Do you even know where we're going? How can you see anything?" I asked, a bit annoyed. He just shook his head playfully and muttered something that sounded like 'I will never understand this she-elf'.

"Antolle ulua sulrim." Much wind pours from your mouth. I said this bitterly, hoping he understood that I heard him.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about Rhoe, the sky is perfectly clear, I can see our path until it goes over the next hill." He looked back at me, draped over the back of his horse. I could see true concern deep in his blue eyes. What was going on?

"I don't know what's happening," I weakly mumbled, "I can't see more than a foot in front of me, the fog is so thick..." I trailed off because I was too fatigued to speak, sudden deep weariness came over me.