Infinity Ring (Legolas Love Story)

34. The Palantir

I looked around the room from the eagle's eyes; everything was sharp and vivid.

It was my male companions' sleeping quarter in Edoras. They weren't as lucky as me since I got my own room to myself. Perks of being a woman here in Middle Earth.

Gimli was snoring loudly while everyone else slept peacefully, except for Aragorn who just walked out of the room silently, careful not to wake the others while he disappeared.

My eyes followed him out. He looked out to the mountain view, under the slightly reddish night sky. He pulled out his pipe.

A hooded figure stood a few feet away ahead from him, staring intently to the distant. Aragorn walked up beside him.

"The stars are veiled," said Legolas in a soft but ominous voice, worry laced his voice. "Something stirs in the east. A sleepless malice."

Legolas and Aragorn turned their heads to look at each other; troubled glances were shared between them.

"The eye of the enemy is moving."

Then I saw Pippin back in the sleeping quarter, tossed and turned for a while, opening his troubled eyes for a moment before closing it again, trying to sleep, only to open them again. Eventually, the hobbit got up from his bed.

He walked past Merry who lifted his head and asked him in alarm. "What are you doing?"

Pippin turned, startled and looked at his best friend. He didn't answer. He went back to walk towards Gandalf's sleeping form, shocked to find the wizard's eyes staring at him as he snored lightly.

"Pippin!" whispered Merry.

Pippin ignored him and waved his hands in front of Gandalf's face, finding the old man sleeping.

"Pippin?" whispered Merry again, this time he looked more alarmed than before.

Pippin took a bundle of fabric from Gandalf's hand and replaced its place with an empty vase.

"Pippin! What, are you mad?" 

"I just want to look at it! Just one more time," answered Pippin as he opened the bundle and found the Palantir, the seeing stone.

"Put it back!" hissed Merry in hushed voice.

Pippin stared at the Palantir as if in a trance, a small smile crept up his face as he touched the stone.

The stone started to shine brighter as if enflamed. The naive hobbit frowned.

Now I was seeing through Pippin's eyes. I saw the eye of Sauron staring back at me, growling voice was heard from the eye. It was pure evil. Then it made an eerie, dragged breathing sound.

"I see you... Who are you?"

Pippin remained silent. Then a flash of images came; a view of a burning white tree that I knew to be in the courtyard of Minas Tirith, the capital city of Gondor.

Sauron started to chant in Black Speech; the sound horrible and disgusting. Pain was all I felt and I forgot everything else. 

Now I saw what happened back through the eagle's eyes. A horrible, evil figure stood tall in front of Pippin– it was Sauron's fea (spirit) . He spoke and hurt Pippin. 

Pippin's fea dimmed as I saw him screamed in agony and pain. Then Sauron lifted his hand and slashed through Pippin.

The poor hobbit let out an agonized scream for the last time as complete darkness overcame his fea. I was pulled back to the sleeping quarter.