The Elven Gates [CONTINUING!!]

Chapter Seventeen

"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs, we must reach the woods of Lothlorien."

"Let us go, we've had our time to grieve." Frodo pulled on the sleeves of his shirt and headed towards the forest to the East.

"Frodo, Frodo," I pulled him into a hug, which was awkward since I was suddenly so tall and he, so short, "I will not rush you. Your grief does not end with the passing of a few sunsets."

It was quiet after that, we headed for Caras Galadhon with weary feet.

Well, it ended up being too quiet for my liking. I started humming "They're Taking The Hobbits To Isengard", but I ended up belting it out anyway. This was definitely a mistake, because Legolas asked if it was some sort of Earthean Mourning Song. Apparently some of the Rohirric songs had a similar feel.

"No, it's just a boredom song. Some people find it quite silly." I tried to get him uninterested. What if him knowing about the hobbits messed up the storyline too much? What if it ended with Sauron not being defeated?

"Can you teach it to me?" Well, that was the end of my tolerance for puppy dog eyes.

After about an hour, the entire remaining Fellowship seemed quite annoyed with us.

"When the beat drops, you say 'the hobbits' four times and then 'to Isengard' twice," I corrected Legolas, "Yes yes, to the beat though. Try tapping your foot or clapping your hands."

"THEYRE TAKING THE HOBBITS TO ISE-"

"PLEASE SHUT UP!" Boromir was not amused when Legolas and I broke into hysterical laughter.

I heard a rustle in the branches above us, and noticed a handful of leaves fluttering on a nearby tree. A small chirp sounded from the spot, and, in a flash of brown and black, something leapt to an adjacent branch. I tapped Boromir on the shoulder and shot him a questioning look.

"What was that?" I whispered to him.

"I do not know. If the crebain tracked us through Moria, we will most definitely not be safe in Lothlorien. No matter what Aragorn's orders were."

"But how would they follow us through the mines?" I asked.

"They may have seen us going through the Doors of Durin and waited at the exit. We were all caught up in other matters and may have not seen them." He shrugged slightly and carried on, and didn't seem at all phased that evil spies were watching our every move. 

The sun toppled down through the branches above and landed in scattered dappled splotches on the forest floor. For a moment, all that could be heard was the quiet breathing of the Fellowship and the padding of our feet. Frodo opened his mouth as if to say something, but I motioned for him not to speak. I pointed to the tree to his right, where the hawk-like silhouette that was following us could be seen in the branches.

"There are spies everywhere, be careful what you say and do." 

His hand went instinctively to the ring hanging from his neck, but I grabbed it before he could give any information away.

"We must limit what they see." He nodded in understanding and returned his hand to his side. As we were walking, I became suddenly aware of what I probably looked like. I hadn't bathed in almost a month, and hadn't had a good night's sleep in at least a few weeks. I most likely looked, and smelled, disgusting.

"Whispers of an Elven Sorceress travel around my city. They say she dwells in the land of Lothlorien, protected by the highest of dark elvish magic." Boromir crept up on Gimli, who was quite uncomfortable, trying to scare him. The dwarf brushed him off his shoulder and kept walking.