The Elven Gates [CONTINUING!!]

Chapter Eleven

For the rest of the late afternoon we watched the sky lazily and nobody really engaged in conversation. Everyone was grateful for this extra time to rest and no one objected. I saw Boromir playing with the hobbits, teaching them how to wield a blade properly. Aragorn was shouting small corrections from a rock where he was contentedly smoking his pipe.

'It's so cute, him and the hobbits,' I thought, 'why does he have to die?'

Meanwhile Gandalf was sharpening Glamdring with a rock, and I was swinging my elvish blades around. Legolas was looking off into the distance, furrowing his brow every so often and calling strange elvish phrases back and forth to Aragorn.

"Your random elvish isn't helping my mood," Aragorn snapped. He had been grumpy and mad ever since us elves were holding hands. What's the big deal? Really?

"Gandalf," Frodo said worriedly, "What's that strange thing in the air?"

"Oh nothing laddie, just a wisp of cloud," Gimli replied, waving it off and returning to contentedly smashing things with his axe.

"It's dark for a cloud," Legolas added.

"And moving fast for against the wind," I said.

"Hide!" Aragorn screamed.

"Crebain from Dunland!" Legolas yelled quickly. This started everybody moving.

The young hobbits were quickly picked up by Boromir and pulled under a bush. Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, and Gandalf were also hiding in some nearby shrubbery. I felt something grab my cloak.

"Rhoe hide!" Legolas whisper-yelled in my face, snapping me out of my daze. He yanked me under a small scrubby tree.

I started to say something but me put his hand over my mouth.

'At least I can breathe.'

Once the birds were surely gone, the Fellowship began creeping out from beneath the bushes. But one lone Crebain had dropped back behind the group, catching us off guard as we got out of our hiding places.

"Spies of Sauruman," Gandalf muttered, "Rhoevien! Shoot it!" I grabbed my bow and knocked an arrow in time to see Legolas doing the same. I fired and the arrow landed perfectly on its mark, killing the bird instantly and sending it to the ground with a soft thud.

"Sauruman must now know of our whereabouts, it is not safe to travel here any longer." Aragorn seemed even more annoyed now that we had a run-in with a wizards spies.

"Sleep well tonight," Gandalf looked around at the group, "We will continue on foot tomorrow. Set the horses loose, the mountains are no place for pink horses. Any further spies will quickly spot them and give us away.'' He looked straight at an embarrassed Boromir.

"Can the white horses stay?" Legolas asked, "They will be hard to see and can help carry the hobbits."

"Very well." The wizard nodded and returned to the spot where he had been sharpening his sword.

I walked over to my horse and stroked his mane, untangling it with my fingers.

"Losse," I heard from behind me.

It was Legolas, and he too was looking at my horse.

"Snow white,'' he said, "I just thought it was a fitting name, if you don't have one for him already."

"Here you go Losse," I said to my horse, giving him an apple from my satchel. Legolas smiled.

The sun was slowly setting and Boromir had decided that it was safe enough to have a fire. The hobbits rejoiced at the opportunity to cook an actual meal, and pots, pans, and heaps of food quickly appeared from their bags.

"We cannot risk a fire," Aragorn said sternly as the halflings failed at sparking a fire, "It will easily alert the enemy to our whereabouts!"

"The hobbits are hungry! Can you not allow is a little rest and warmth?" Boromir argued.

Legolas and I were watching from the top of a large rock that jutted out of the clump of boulders.

"No halfling is going to give up their food," I mumbled unconsciously. I could imagine the hobbits taking Boromir back to the Shire and officially naming him 'The Keeper of the Food' and having all the inhabitants of Hobbiton bow with respect. I laughed a little at the thought and a slight smile spread across my lips.

"Fine, but remember how you used all of your tinder and firewood now once were on Caradhras!" Aragorn stalked back to a little clearing and lay down his bedroll, slumping down and looking glumly at the joyful hobbits searing bacon over the small fire.

"All done!" Pippin exclaimed a few minutes later, holding out a pan stuffed to the brim with bacon and sausage, "Who wants some?" Everyone jumped up and ran for the food, each getting a small plate or bowl and cramming as much in as they could.

"We'll be sleeping well tonight!" Gimli admired the sausage before him and began gnawing on it.

"Aren't you going to have some?" Pippin asked, and I shook my head no. He seemed insulted, so I explained.

"I don't really eat meat, I was a vegetarian back in the Earthean Realm and I guess it just doesn't agree much with the elvish digestive system." He laughed a little bit and Legolas punched me lightly on the arm, I returned a much less-light punch.

"I was going to offer you some lembas," he said, rubbing his hurt arm, "but I think you just made sure that wouldn't happen." He reached into his bag and gave me a piece anyway.

I took it gratefully and nibbled the corner. Back before I had come to Middle Earth, I had tried to make lembas bread just for the fangirl heck-of-it. This was so much better, but no kidding! It was the real thing! It was like a soft cracker and kindof chewy, and it was sweet but still savory. Basically it was so amazing I just sat there in awe and stared at the piece of elvish waybread in my hand.

Legolas noticed my strange lembas trance.

"Uhm, are you okay?" he asked.

"Oh! Yeah! I'm amazing! This is just! Well I don't mean I'm amazing, like there's definitely other people out there too that are amazing, like you, but not like you're like the best person like I don't like you like that er, uhm, oh that was rude I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry!" I stumbled over my words and rushed them, could he tell I was nervous?

'Why are you nervous?' I thought, 'there's no need why in the world would you be nervous! What's going on!'

"It is no problem," he patted me on the back and collected the remaining lembas, "It's wonderful, isn't it?" I thought he was talking about the bread, but he motioned to the constellations being unveiled in the evening sky. I had never really gotten a chance to admire the stars for their patterns.

"Do you know any constellations?" Aragorn sat down beside us on the boulder.

"No," I replied, "Well, actually I think that one is Orion, because of the belt and stuff. And that one is the Big Dipper because the bear comes off of it."

"And it looks like a spoon," Aragorn added.

"Well there's that too."

"We should all get some rest!" Gimli grunted as he struggled to lie down, "Your astronomy talk has my brain swimming loops in my head!"

Legolas nodded to the dwarf.

"Gimli is right, we will have a difficult hike tomorrow, good night!" Aragorn followed him back to where the Fellowship had spread their bedrolls out by the dying fire.

"Quel du," Good night, I mumbled as I situated myself and rolled up in blankets.

The next few days would be hard and strenuous, and it was in my best interests to rested up.