Wildest Storms | Love of Royals: Book III

XII: Forest's Heart

By the morning, Orophin has gone—to warn the other Lothlórien elves of the wandering orcs, Haldir tells us as we prepare to leave. He also speaks of a strange, gangly creature that was skulking around beneath the Hobbits' talan during the night. A wave of guilt washes through me at this, as that description can only belong to the creature Gollum, who would not be here if it weren't for me.

We set out through the forest under a pale winter sun, guided by Haldir and Rúmil—not that Glorfindel seems to need guidance, as he walks confidently along the path while paying the both of them little attention. Most of us are quiet, save for a few groggy grumbles from the dwarf and a couple of the Hobbits. The dark-haired one by the name of Frodo doesn't complain; he merely gazes out through the trees as though utterly enraptured by them, and watches the babbling torrents of the Celebrant flow along beside us. The path we follow is pockmarked by the wide footprints of orcs, but no one comments on it, not even Merry or Pippin.

I begin to wonder if we will ever cross the Celebrant or if we will follow it for hours, but soon enough Haldir halts by the bank and gives a low whistle. On cue, another blond ellon appears from between the trees on the opposite bank. Haldir tosses a coil of grey rope across the river, and the other ellon catches it effortlessly and ties it to a tree.

'Celebrant is already a strong stream here, as you see,' Haldir says. 'It runs both swift and deep, and is very cold. We do not set foot in it so far north unless we must.'

The Limlight had been excruciatingly cold to cross, so I can only imagine how bad this one is.

'But in these days of watchfulness, we do not make bridges.  This is how we cross—follow me.' Haldir fastens his end of the rope to a tree beside him, then effortlessly demonstrates how one should walk across it to the opposite bank, and back again.  I can feel the hobbits and dwarf looking at him in bemused fear.

'I can walk this path,' Legolas says, before glancing sidelong at the shorter members of the Fellowship. 'But the others have not this skill. Must they swim?'

I fail to stifle my snort, earning myself glares from Legolas, Haldir, and Glorfindel. Haldir is still glaring as he explains how two more ropes will be fastened above the foot-rope for us to hold onto, tossing them to the ellon on the opposite bank without even needing to look. 

Once the bridge is secured, I slip to the front of the company with Telamír in tow, and cross swiftly without holding onto the two extra ropes. Tel does exactly the same—plus a wink at Haldir's friend, which he ignores. Alëaren is next, nudged on only by Legolas, and she politely holds the middle rope just to show Haldir that his efforts were not entirely wasted. Glorfindel waits at the back with Legolas and Aragorn. Any orcs who dare attack the company from the rear will be in for a nasty surprise. 

Gimli crosses with some degree of difficulty, his wide feet wobbling on the slender ropes. Merry and Frodo are both a little faster, though nothing impressive. Pippin crosses almost as fast as Alëaren, holding on with only one hand, which only makes the final hobbit look infinitely worse. Sam inches along the ropes with a movement I can describe only as a shuffle, excruciating to watch, his stubby fingers clutching until his knuckles turn white. Tel and I stifle laughter, and if looks could kill, Legolas would have sent both of us to our graves. The last to cross are the remaining ellons and Aragorn, the latter's fairly competent rope crossing put to shame by the assured grace of Glorfindel, Legolas, Haldir and Rúmil. 

The entertainment is not nearly over for us, apparently. As we pass deeper into the forest and over the hill of Cerin Amroth, we are among the select few who are not blindfolded. Haldir insists Gimli wears a blindfold; Aragorn tries to suggest all the Fellowship join the dwarf in his punishment, but Legolas is having none of it. Aragorn wins, and my brother begrudgingly dons a blindfold, but not before Glorfindel, Telamír and I have made it very clear how amusing this is to us. Only Alëaren seems to feel at all sorry for Legolas.