For Greater Things (An LOTR Fanfiction)

chapter 14

Voices sang through the air as I made my way back to the tents. I couldn't help but to think about what Galadriel had told me. If Sauron captures me, he will make me his puppet; his weapon. I will kill everything that I hold dear to me; my home, friends, family - everything that I love will be destroyed, and I will become the dark lord's queen. By now, I could see the white tents sitting among the trees. The Fellowship quietly sat together. I stood back and watched them as they listened to the Elves singing Gandalf's lament. The Hobbits sat huddled together as they quietly cried, Gimli laid on his cot still sleeping, Aragorn and Boromir sat against separate trees, and Legolas stood in the middle of the clearing looking up towards the sky as he mourned with the voices. He too, like me, and bathed and changed. He now wore a silver tunic and breeches and had washed all the grime from his body. I find it funny how Man thinks we are not able to get dirty at all. Unfortunately we are very capable of getting dirty; we just are capable of smelling bad. I stepped into the small clearing, going everyone's attention.

"Andriel." Legolas walked towards me and placed his hand on my arm. "You are tired. Get some rest. We are staying here for a week of much needed rest."

I smiled at his concern. "I'm fine for now, Legolas." I glanced towards the Hobbits and pulled him over to the furthest tree. "How are the Hobbits?"

"Tired and grieving. This journey has been hard on them."

I nodded my head in agreement and stared at them. Legolas shifted almost nervously beside me and he looked around.

"Would you like to go for a walk with me?"

I smiled and took his offered arm as we walked into the peaceful trees. We walked on in silence; not really wanting to break the peaceful silence between us. After awhile, we came to a small pond with an equally small waterfall trickling down into it from the rocks. I let go of arm and walked to the waters edge; sitting on a nearby rock. He followed me and sat beside me. His nearness made me feel restless and my cheeks burned with embarrassment. We continued on in silence; not really needing to speak to tell each other the grief we were feeling at that time. I had been putting off my grief ever since it happened, and it seemed as if my body was finally relaxing enough to realize just what it was trying not to feel. My breath grew ragged and my hands shook as I fought the urge to just break down into tears. It was as if he sensed my distress, for he turned towards me and wrapped his arms around me, cradling me to himself. I broke; allowing the tears to surface and spill down my cheeks as I sobbed and clutched onto him as if my life depended on it. The whole time he said nothing. Just held me and ran his hand through my hair in a soothing motion. After a few moments, I was able to calm down and catch my breath. He pushed me away slightly in stood. I watched in confusion as he pulled a piece of cloth from his pocket and wetted it in the pond. Wringing out the excess water, he turned back and knelt down in front of me.

"What are you doing?" I croaked out.

He said nothing still as he took the cloth and gently wiped the tears from my face and eyes. He then proceeded to wipe the rest of my face before he sat back down next to me and pulled me against his side with his arm around my shoulders. His tenderness and the way he seemed to genuinely care about me confused me, to say the least. No one, other than the Lady and Gandalf had ever shown me that kind of care before. But in a way, it almost felt different, as if he wasn't caring for me the way a parent or brother would. It felt strangely intimate. It felt good to be taken care of by him. Something that I, as an independent woman, would never have expected to feel.

"Thank you," I whispered.

I felt him lean his cheek down onto my head. "You're welcome."

"How did you know?"

"How did I know what?"

"That I needed to be away from everyone else to cry?"

He sighed and straightened up to look at me. "People that are strong minded do not like to show strong emotions to a crowd. They have to keep it inside of themselves until they can be away from other people."

"Are you that way? Is that how you knew exactly what I needed?"

He looked away and slightly shook his head. "Not me, exactly. My father is very strong willed."

"I see." From the way he was acting I could guess that perhaps his father never showed much emotion around Legolas. Affection from his father was probably something he hadn't experienced much of. That was something I could relate with. Though I had Gandalf growing up, I had no memory of my real parents. I too, wished for the feeling of a father's love. "It is getting late. We should go back."

He nodded his head, still looking straight ahead as if living a memory of another time. We walked back in silence and separated to our own tents to rest from our long journey.

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"What is a little thing like you doing here?" An old man stood in the doorway of a cabin in a burnt down village. This seemed to be the only building not burning or burnt already. When he walked into the open doorway, he noticed a small child clinging onto a dead Elleth as she stared into space. A few Orcs littered the ground around them, obviously killed by the Ellon laying not far from the child and Elleth.

"What horrors have you been forced to see?" He mumbled to himself. Walking further in, he bent down in front of the child. He waved his hand in front of motionless child's face, trying to gain her attention. She sat just as still as when we had found her. Sighing, he patted her face slightly with his hand, eliciting no reaction. He gazed around at the wreckage. Noticing a sword hilt sticking out from under the Ellon's body, he reached over and pulled. Out slid a short sword, or one of usually two daggers. Holding onto the found blade, he glanced around to try to find the other. His gaze stopped, once again, on the child to see her clutching the other dagger in her hand. He carefully started to pry her fingers loose from the blade so she wouldn't accidentally injure herself, when she suddenly started thrashing around and screaming.

"No! No! Leave me alone! Please, don't take my Nanneth! Please!"

She punched and scratched and kicked with all her might, trying desperately to fight off what she thought was an attacker. The old man finally grabbed her hands and stopped her from hitting him, only to start trying to dodge her kicks instead.

"It's alright. Listen, no one's going to hurt you, little one. No one's going to hurt you." He kept talking to her quietly until she settled down. He held her as he breathed hard from fighting off her attacks.

She was so young to have to go through something like this. He held her, rocking her to sleep as she sat as still as a statue in his lap. Once she had fallen asleep, he laid her down on a bed and laid a blanket over her. He took this time to bury the bodies in the cabin, disposing of any sign of the violence that had occurred there. Several hours later, she woke up to see the man sitting next to her bed, holding a glass of water.

"Who are you?" She asked quietly.

"My name is Gandalf, little one," he replied with a kind smile, "What, may I ask, is your name?"

The little girl laid in the bed and stared at him for a few minutes before finally answering.

"Andriel."

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Hello, wonderful people!! Sorry about the little accident about the accidental post of the draft of this chapter a couple days ago, but here is the finished update. :) I know it's a little shorter that I usually do, but the last chapter was a little longer than normal so I thought I could make this one a little shorter. Please vote, comment, or tell others about my story! Till next chapter,

Toodles!!