We reach the base of the mountains when it is already well into the night, the stars our only light source. Every step I take is beginning to feel like its own battle, and the ground is beginning to look as appealing to me now as a large feather bed would in a normal situation.
"We should rest here for the night." Raenor calls to the others, looking back at me worriedly.
By now I am trailing relatively far behind the others; I have only now just realized how large of a gap has formed. I glance up and meet Raenor's gaze sheepishly.
"Thank you." I mouth to him.
He smiles in response, and comes to sit by me when we stop.
"This is all so strange." I say to Raenor out of the blue.
"What do you mean?" he asks.
"This." I reply, gesturing to everything around me. "It is all so alien to me. Almost nothing grows up in the North, and the things that do are tough and bland. On this side of the mountain everything looks so full of life; it is most beautiful."
"I agree with you; it is beautiful here."
Everything is so new and foreign to me; I feel like a child with such little knowledge of things.
A bird's call from close behind where I sit startles me; even the animals sound different on this side of the mountains.
"I think I am just going to go to sleep now." I state, my eyes already closing.
"You are not hungry?" Raenor asks.
I shake my head no. "Just very tired."
"Well in that case, sweet dreams, Princess." he says softly, and leaves me in peace.
I lie down on the strangely warm ground, and immediately sleep pulls me into its embrace. The last thought I have confuses me slightly though; how had Raenor known I was a princess? Legolas had not called me "Princess Arra" since we met up with the rest of the traveling party.
I shake the thought out of my mind. Legolas probably told them at some point in the journey. I am just overthinking this whole thing from lack of sleep.
With that I drift off into a deep sleep.
My head feels funny as I open my eyes to the morning sun. My surroundings are strange; it's warm with no trace of snow at all, and strangely I have no memory of entering this clearing. Mountains rise around me in all directions, looming over and casting a foreboding air on everything in this small clearing of a valley despite the cheerful light and warmth.
My thoughts soon move to a horrible pain in my skull though, which is beginning to feel like I have just been clubbed over the head. The pain grows increasingly intense, spreading from just centering in my head to all over my body. I double over on the soft grass, clutching at my head and willing for the pain to cease, but it continues on. The fiery touch on my skin grows increasingly intense with every passing moment, making me feel like I am being burned alive.
The once pleasant sun has become unbearably bright, causing me to shut my eyes quickly. The pain is making it feel like my skull is going to split in two, but I find that I cannot move at all now; I have become rooted to the spot. I try in vain to call out for someone to help me, but the cry is not even able to escape my sealed lips. It would be a moot point anyways, seeing as I appear to be alone in this valley.
But then suddenly, I do see someone else. This person wear a black robe, concealing their whole body. I am not even able to make out the person's face under the hood, but that may just be from the pain that is beginning to make my vision blur.
I feel myself sway slightly from my crouched position; the first movement I have been able to make. It does not appear to be of my own accord though because I am unable to stop myself as I topple over, landing painfully on my left arm and side.
The stranger is very close to me now, and I watch him approach as my brain tries to piece together how it is possible for this person to have moved from the other end of the clearing to here so quickly. I do not get far; my thoughts are slow and muddled.
As soon as the stranger comes near me the pain stops, but I am still unable to move. I struggle against whatever holds me nonetheless; it feels like invisible ropes tie my limbs together.
This stranger bends down, and I realize with horror that the reason I could not see this person's face was because there is none. This is no man; it is the Witch King of Angmar. Unable to move, I brace myself as best I can. He reaches out an armor-clad hand and runs it across my cheek in what would normally be thought of as a sweet, romantic gesture; now it just makes me want to shy away from his touch and then run him through with a sword.
When the Witch King removes his hand, I am able to freely move again.
"What do you want?" I ask warily, trying to keep the quivering from my voice.
"You. I wish for you to join me." he utters. His voice seems to echo off the sides of the valley even though he speaks at the same volume as me.
"I do not want to help you." I firmly say. "You are a monster."
"You will join me, or you will die, along with everyone that you care for in this world." he snarls.
My thoughts move fleetingly to Legolas, and to Raenor, Meldir, and even Seron. Would he hurt them, and what of Father? He knows how to break me, but the Witch King cannot know he has frightened me; I refuse to let him win.
"Never." I spit back at him, gaining confidence with every passing moment.
"I will be waiting for you, Princess." he growls. "You will join me eventually. You will see that it is the right choice; the only choice."
"Then it is not much of a choice, is it?" I think to myself.
Suddenly, quicker than my eyes are able to follow, something sharp is stabbed into my shoulder, right below the collarbone. The Witch King laughs darkly, and disappears completely. The fire that had originally tortured me is returning with a vengeance, but instead of being spread all over my body from my head, it seems to be focused just in my shoulder. I manage not to scream out, but only just.
I turn my head to look at the wound and see that black lines are already stretching away from its center; the blade must have been poisoned. My eyesight begins to blur again, but I am able to make out the blade that must have stabbed me lying only a mere foot or two from where I lie on the ground.
"No." I whisper out loud as the blackness begins to take me.
I had been stabbed by the Witch King's morgul blade.
This is how the Witch King looked when Arra saw him------>
I'd love to hear any comments you have about this story so far. What do you think of Arra's nightmare? Comment/vote/fan me. Thanks!
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Northern Secrets (A Legolas/ LOTR novel)
FanfictionLeaving the North has given Arra the taste of adventure that she had always dreamed of, but she's beginning to find out that it all comes at a steep price. Arra fights to save everyone around her, but who can she trust?
