Bring Me With Her

Too Many Times

Darkness. It was all she could remember. She had no memory, no conscience, she could hardly even remember her own name. The young woman could feel a certain amount of pressure coming from somewhere. It was lower than her nose, where she was breathing air...her jaw. It was her teeth, clenching together. If she had teeth, and a jaw, and a nose, then she must also have eyes. Then she could feel it, her retinas moving beneath her eyelids. They felt heavy...but she had to discover what was beyond this darkness. With a swift command from her mind, her eyes blinked open.

Her eyes didn't open all the way, but she could manage to see light. Talia. She was Talia. Her last name was Russo. She was from Wichita Falls, Texas. She had a brother named Jimmy and a mother named Tatianna. She had a handsome Dwarf, Thorin. The last thing she remembered...was dying. Well...Talia couldn't exactly tell if she was dead. She really couldn't feel much...but her eyes still wouldn't open all the way, no matter how much she tried. She felt what could only be described as a cloud of exhaustion surrounding her body.

That was when the pain started making an appearance. Her shoulder was horribly sore, and her right hand was on fire. Talia couldn't be dead! There was no way death could be this painful. But before she could panic, Talia remembered how she just discovered that she had eyes, and teeth, and a jaw, and a nose. That meant she also had a voice.

With a big breath, Talia let out the loudest moan she could. That was when she also discovered that she had ears. She wasn't nearly as loud as she had hoped, but she didn't panic. The young woman heard another voice not long after.

"Is she..." Talia didn't recognize the voice, which brought her to wonder...where was she now? The last thing she remembered before blacking out, she was on Mount Doom. She and Thorin were the only people in sight. What the heck was going on? Perhaps she was dead after all?

"Tell the lads." came another voice. Now that one, she did recognize. But she couldn't quite place it. It was right there, on the edge of her brain. But she just couldn't put it together. However, Talia found that she wouldn't need to. His face came into the small picture of the world she could see through. "Talia, little lass." Dwalin smiled down at her.

Talia had to blink. Was she really seeing this? Was Dwalin really right there beside her? The young woman couldn't believe it. She never thought she would see her Dwarves again, she still had a hard time telling herself this was real. Before she could open her mouth, she was interrupted by another familiar voice. "Talisa." The young woman turned her eyes and let out what was more or less of a weak squeal.

Gandalf. What? How? HOW? she kept thinking. She...she saw him fall. Back in Moria, she saw it with her own eyes. How could even a Wizard like him survive it? How long had he been back? And...why was he all in white? He looked so...different. Even his hair and beard were white. What happened to the grey? What happened to his pointy hat? Talia liked that pointy hat! The young woman mentally slapped herself. Who cares about the hat? Gandalf was alive. And it felt like a whole world of guilt was lifted from Talia's shoulders.

The young woman tried to say something, but everything that came out was just a bunch of choking noises. Her breathing began to pick up, and her body was shaking, trying in every way she could to communicate. Talia could feel her eyes watering, her frustration becoming evident. "Easy now." the warrior Dwarf told her, and Talia relaxed at the feel of his hand resting on her shoulder. "You're in Gondor, Talia. You're safe now...and so is Thorin. You're both safe." he assured her.

She exhaled sharply at that. Talia had almost forgotten about Thorin and the side wound he had obtained. But hearing this news...her lungs were constricting at the shock. All she could do was breathe deeply. She was alive. Thorin was alive. They were both going to live.