The Fellowship's Mascot

Chapter 40: Humor and Heartache

"Well said," Halbarad said, bowing his head slightly. Everyone on the top deck sat in silence for several moments to gather their thoughts and think of another topic of discussion. And not for the first time in her life, Amber thanked her ADHD squirrel brain for its random intrusive thoughts.

"What do you think the ghosts did for all those years in that mountain? Archery tournaments? Sparring? The Undead Olympics?  Maybe some of them took up knitting? And judging by that skull avalanche, was that mountain just completely hollow and filled with skeletons? And the amount of skulls! That had to have been like millions of people! And how did they get there if they are all dead?" Amber had a word vomit of all the thoughts racing through her head. The men all looked at her as if she had grown another head. "Oh.. and Boromir."

"Yes?" the man asked cautiously.

"I totally wanted to use your shield as a sled and go tobogganing down Caradhras," Amber admitted. She almost sounded like she was going to cry when she said, "I never got that opportunity and I'm still sad we had to leave it behind." They all laughed at the absurdity of her thoughts.

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Amber was snuggled into a blanket, pressed against Boromir's leg as he sat talking quietly about their plan of attack upon reaching the battle. She was sound asleep now, but had not been earlier when she'd tried to curl up in her bedroll. Without a fire nearby, she was cold. So, she had dragged a blanket over near the Men and elves and tiredly flopped down next to him. She whined as she had struggled with the blanket and Boromir took pity on her and helped her cover up. If she could have she would have purred in thanks as she drifted off. As it was Boromir hadn't been able to decipher what she had mumbled, but assumed it was gratitude.

Amber's dream started out pleasant enough. She was standing under a canopy with picnic tables sitting under it . A 6 foot white folding table stood off to the side, laden down with her favorite pot luck foods her family always brought for their summer holiday dinners. Everyone was talking and laughing, enjoying the foods while catching up on each other's lives. Homesickness came upon her in a huge wave and her eyes welled with tears.

"Amber?" she heard her mom's voice. She looked to the end of one of the tables and saw her mom sitting in her chair, leaning on the end of the table as she talked to her grandma. "You ok?"

"Yeah," she said, shaking herself. "I just got some dust in my eyes." She rubbed them to be more convincing. The dream felt so real, but she had never been able to interact with her dreams when they were this real. Usually, if it was a vivid dream, she was a spectator and didn't participate.

"That's ok, your grandma and I were just discussing how well you did," her mom said.

"With what?" Amber asked, genuinely confused.

"With everything, of course," her mom said, as if Amber was supposed to know what she meant. Amber was still confused, but didn't say anything else, thinking the dream people had limited speech or something. "And with all that you've done and been through lately, you're doing exactly what you need to keep you on track." This was entirely too vague for her mom. The woman was usually more direct when she talked. This made Amber sure this was some kind of message.

As soon this thought passed through her head the dream began to fade. Amber reached out for the fading image but blackness soon enclosed her. The darkness scared her and she hugged herself. She was suddenly, floating over a battle field, looking down as the Rohirrim broke the lines of Mordor. Legolas surfing down the oliphant's trunk as it collapsed. Éomer finding  Éowyn's lifeless body on the battle field, next to the remains of his uncle.