Another Life

Chapter 9 - Moria, and the darkness.

Gandalf continued to lead us, for days, down the freezing slopes, down the barren hills, and through different forests alongside the Mountains. At least this time it wasn't all uphill, it was a nice mix, and I was sure my body was starting to cope better with all this activity. It really didn't have much choice.

And as we walked, I found myself better and better friends with everyone. It was funny how extreme situations like this just made it ...easy. Aragorn, although he seemed distant at first, was closer now, more friendly, and I noticed he liked to treat me the same way he treated the hobbits- like some kind of father slash brother. Which was fine by me. Gimli was the same.

Boromir, on the other hand, was starting to behave funny everytime I crawled into bed. He'd give Legolas this look, this dark look, and I didn't know what the fuck to make of it. And Legolas, continued to 'sleep' beside me, even though he was sitting from dusk to dawn. It helped me sleep, it made the nightmares less frequent and less powerful, but I still wasn't sure why he kept doing it. It bugged me. I was seriously attracted to him now, even finding msyelf staring at his lips as he sat there, and half of me just wanted to tell him to back off now. It'd be easier.

And he'd started with the 'you're an Elf' thing again. I wasn't sure why. Hadn't the past three weeks of trudging along, like a beached whale, huffing and puffing like the men, while he danced along on his tiptoes as if he didn't feel a single ache or pain from hiking... hadn't that proven to him that I wasn't an Elf?

It frustrated me and worried me. I was confused. One part of me was sure Peter Pan was a story, that I wasn't an Elf, but the other part of me just wasn't quite sure. What if I was an Elf? What if that had really been my story/ How could I be so sure, when I couldn't even be sure of my own name, when I had very little of my own life remembered?

When he'd tell me about things, he'd finger that leaf necklace, eyes distant, like he was seeing something I wasn't.

“The Wall of Moria!” Gimli's soft awed voice cut into my troubled thoughts, as I wandered behind him, and only now did I stare up at the great thing in front of me. Were we going to Moria? Huh. I was confused for a moment. Or was ...it Mordor? That was probably the right now. It was very unlikely we'd get all the way to this Mordor place without being attacked once. They'd made this clear over the past week, more or less dragging me onto my feet for training, even though I just wanted to go straight to sleep.

I stared up now, staring at this great cliff of stone, the tops of it so high that it was lost in cloud and mist. I had to admit. I was impressed. If there was something inside, it was well hidden, and probably a pretty safe place to be. Cool. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. The evening had started to darken pretty well now, which probably made it more impressive again, and cold of night started to create frost and dampness on the rocks once more.

“Let's find the door.” Gandalf moved forward, up the slope, and along a fairly even surface beside the 'wall'.

We walked for some time, as Gandalf and Gimli both tapped the stone, searching for something. I went to ask but Pippin beat me to it.

“What are you looking for? What does the door look like?”

“Dwarf doors are invisible when closed.” Gimli explained, as he knocked the tip of his axe again, leaning against it.

Gandalf called, “Yes, Gimli, their own masters cannot find them, if their secrets are forgotten.”

I heard Legolas say softly from in front of me, “Why doesn't that surprise me?”

Gimli grumbled something beside me, meeting my eyes, and I didn't comment. Those two were still at their weird standoff. I wasn't going to get involved.