Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Misty Mountains

Chapter 9

"The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On you who travel with him no oath nor bond is laid, to go further than you will."

It was finally the day that we were to set off on our journey. We were all gathered under the stone arch. Lord Elrond and some of the elves stood in front of us. I stood in the back next to Gandalf. Aragorn stood slightly in front of me. Nicole, Legolas, Boromir, and Gimli were in front of me but to my right. Merry and Pippin were in front of them. Sam stood next to the pony, that he named Bill, in front of Aragorn. Frodo stood in the very front.

"Farewell. Hold to your purpose. May the blessings of Elves and Men and all free folk go with you." Lord Elrond opened his arms and I bow my head while placing my hand on my heart.

"The Fellowship awaits the Ring-bearer." Gandalf announces.

Frodo turns slowly and begins to walk. Gandalf stays close behind, followed by Gimli, then Boromir, then Pippin and Merry. Legolas and Nicole walk passed me, Nicole smiling reassuringly at me as we walked passed. Same leads the pony behind them. I turn to leave, but I notice Aragorn still standing in his place.

I go up to him and place a hand gently on his shoulder. "They will be alright. We will see them again."

Aragorn looks at me then nods and goes to rejoin the party. I go to turn but look at Arwen. She smiles and nods her head as if reassuring and reminding me of the promise we made. I nod back and then turn to hurry back up the path.

We travelled for days. Each night, the hobbits would ask to learn more about fighting. Nicole and Legolas would demonstrate some which would leave the hobbits dazed.

"Are you alright?" I asked them, smiling as I took a bite of the food that Sam prepared.

"They look like their dancing." Sam said in awe.

"My father once said, 'Two warriors are meant to be when their swords dance together.' Then he and my mother would go to the practice field. Nicole and I would always go watch them." I commented.

"We were always in awe of how their swords danced." Nicole said walking over to me and taking a seat next to me. Legolas followed and sat next to her.

"You always swore that you would duel every single warrior until you found the one." I chuckled. "It didn't matter if it was a human, a dwarf, an elf, man, woman. You were obsessed."

Nicole chuckled and nudged me softly. "That I was. The day I found who was not a good one, I will admit. It was probably the last thing on my mind." I smiled softly and she leaned into Legolas more.

"What happened?" Frodo asked.

"We received word that our kingdom had fallen. Myrna's parents were lost in the battle." Nicole said softly. "Rest, little ones. We have another long day tomorrow."

"You two should sleep as well." I heard Legolas murmur. "We will wake you just before dawn."

I nod and lay down. I spend the next few minutes looking at the stars and I smile as two shine bright enough to touch.

---

"Myrna." I hear Aragorn whisper.

I immediately open my eyes and nod at Aragorn. "Get some sleep."

Aragorn nods and walks over to his bedroll.

"You haven't sparred with him." Nicole comments while cleaning her knives. "Why?"

"Yes I have." My eyes trained in front of me. "And you know why."

"That was decades ago." Nicole sighed. "When will you accept who you were born to be?"

I stiffen and ignore the question. A little while later, the sky began to lighten and I smiled as I saw the outline of the Misty Mountains.

'Far over the Misty Mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old.
We must away, ere break of day.
To claim our long forgotten gold.'

I sang quietly, not wanting to wake anyone up.

'The pines were roaring in the height.
The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread
The trees like torches blazed with light.'

Nicole sang along. I looked over at her to see her looking at one of her throwing knives. She looked up at me and smiled sadly.

'The mountain smoked beneath the moon;
The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled their hall to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.'

'Far over the misty mountains grim.
To dungeons deep and caverns dim.
We must away, ere break of day,
To win our harps and gold from him.'

I grew silent as the sun crept to peek out from behind the peaks.

"Bilbo used to sing that song, whenever he thought that I couldn't hear him." I looked to see Frodo sitting up. As I looked away, I noticed that everyone was sitting up and looking at us. "How do you know the song?"

I just started packing my things.

"We were there, in the Shire and at Bilbo's house." I heard Nicole whisper. "We jointed the Company of Thorin Oakenshield and they sang this song in the sitting room of Bag End."

I just stayed silent and gently picked up my sword. I felt hands on my shoulders and turned to see Pippin on one side and Merry on the other.

"On Bilbo's 111th birthday party, Merry and I snuck into Gandalf's firework cart and took this giant firework." Pippin started telling me. I raised my eyebrow, curious as to where this was going.

"We went inside a tent and Pippin here decided to light it. It blew straight up into the sky taking the tent with it and Pippin screamed like a little girl." Merry said as Pippin blushed.

I let out a chuckle and stood up. "That must have been a sight to see. Thank you for making me feel better." I told them. "We should get ready to move."

They nodded and smiled, most likely pleased that they cheered me up. As they walked back to their pack, I tied my sword to my belt and but my bow and arrows on my back.

"We must hold this course west of the Misty Mountains for forty days. If our luck holds, the Gap of Rohan will still be open to us. From there our road turns east to Mordor." Gandalf told us as we started on our way.

I urged Pippin and Merry to get in the middle with Sam Frodo.

"Sleep well?" I ask Aragorn as we fell into step at the end of the group.

"Yes, thank you." He gave me a look of surprise. "Did you sleep well?"

"No." I said bluntly. "I haven't had a restful sleep in decades."

"Why?" Aragorn gave me a curious look that shifted to a concerned look.

"That is none of your concern." I tell him before moving up to walk beside Nicole.

And the Ring is in motion! I really hope you are enjoying this. I am enjoying writing it and that is what matters right? I mean, you guys enjoying it is my number one priority but yeah.

Anyway, now you guys have a bit more insight on Myrna and Nicole's background :)

Until next time!

~M