Eternally Bond

Fangorn Forest

14. Fangorn Forest

Merry ran first through the woods, Pippin close behind him and Arwen brought up the rear.

The darkness of the night obscured Merry's vision slightly, and he had to be watchful not to trip over any of the plentiful long roots that lay all across the forest floor. The hobbit feared that even though they had managed to get away from their dangerous captors, they had only run into the darkness that existed in this strange forest. Merry sensed the anger and fear in the growing trees and he remembered vividly the tales he had heard as a wee hobbit of the tree-herders. If the stories were true he only hoped that no tree had a desire to hurt him, Pippin or Arwen.

A creaking noise was heard in the distance among the trees and Merry heard Pippin's frightful voice behind him, "What was that noise? I heard it earlier too, what is it?"

"I believe it is the Ents," Arwen breathed and urged the two hobbits to move swifter still. Though they had come a far distance from the field, she still wanted to cover more ground before she felt safe.

"Ents?" Pippin asked.

"Tree herders," Merry filled in. A part of him found the idea of Ents, or tree-herders, to be an interesting notion, but another part of him told him that such notions were best saved for a safer time. Now he must only concentrate on his own labored breathing and on the fact that his head felt like it would crack open where he had been hurt before.

The trio ran through low bushes and ducked under branches while always attempting to listen for any hunters on their trail.

Merry ran into a clearing among the giant trees and stopped. Pippin crashed into him but the two managed to regain their balance before toppling over. The elf came to a halt beside them, too, and all three looked in the direction they had just come from. All the sounds of the forest suddenly silenced around them as if in waiting of something to come.

"Are we safe?" Merry whispered to Arwen.

The elf maiden was silent as she tried to sense anything. Eventually she turned back to the hobbits, grasped their small hands and began to run through the foliage once more.

"Hurry!" she whispered and willed their steps to increase in speed.

"What is it? What is wrong?" Pippin asked with fear evident in his voice as he stumbled after her.

"There are Uruks on our trail," she explained shortly. "Come now, let's cover more ground before we rest."

They ran for over an hour more, until the moon was at its highest peak, before finally stopping to a much needed break. The hobbits fell exhausted to the forest floor and Arwen leaned against a tree by their side. There was a seldom seen grimace of pain across her fair features, which did not go unnoticed by the hobbits.

"How is your wound?" asked Merry, under the light of the pale moon he could see fresh blood gleam on her back.

"Better," Arwen said. "Or at least it would be if they hadn't kept ripping it open every time it stopped bleeding. It still stings, but it is nothing to worry about."

Merry shot up from the ground just after she had finished talking for further away he could make out two shadows moving their way, brutally disturbing the forest as they did. The two Uruks growled loudly and Merry recognized one of them as the leader of the Uruk pack, the same which had given him his nasty wound. He gulped and pointed out their enemies with a shaking hand, while a feeble plan formed in his head. He pointed to a robust tree not far away and with Arwen and Pippin, ran behind it to get some needed cover.

"You cannot hide from me!" the Uruk-leader called loudly into the night.

Merry closed his eyes tight. He was unsure if this meant that the Uruk had already seen them, too. If so, there seemed to be nowhere they could run now. He so desperately wished for this chase to be over, for he longed to feel safe again if even just for a moment.