The Girl and the Orc - (A Middle Earth Story)

Back Home?

       I stood, my arms dangling over the edge of the ship. I had been standing there since we left the island. It had been two hours now. Bogwater went to go do something, I don't know what. I thought Havish had pulled him to the side to talk to the Orc, but I wasn't sure. My own thoughts overtook the rest of the world.

     Lorsan was dead. Other Elves and Pirates were dead too. And it was all my fault.

      I should have done something, anything. There could have been some way to stop that from happening. We shouldn't have split up. I should have paid more attention to where everyone was going. Instead I was too busy trying to get some stupid fruit.
     None of this should have happened.

     I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders. A hand began to brush some strands of hairs away from my eyes. I looked up. Bogwater.
     He didn't say anything at first. He just studied my face carefully. A worried look had taken over his eyes.
      I looked away, staring back out to the sea. How could something be so violent, yet so peaceful? The waters hit the ship, spraying sea foam. Oceans were such a paradox. They were raging yet calm. They were beautiful yet terrifying. They were murderous yet friendly.
      "Are you going to be alright?" Bogwater finally broke the silence.

       I sighed, "I don't know."

      "It's not your fault, you know."
      I gave a forced laugh, "Yes. It is."
      Bogwater shook his head, "No. It's not."
       I frowned. He really bugged me sometimes. Why couldn't he just accept that I should have done something to stop this from happening? Why was he trying to make me feel better when we both we know that this whole thing could have been avoided in some way?
      Bogwater grabbed me by my shoulders and forced me to face him, "I'm telling you. There was nothing you could have done to stop it. Lorsan made the decision to drink from that fountain. They all did. You didn't force them too."
      A sob escaped from my lips, "I just wish I could have done something."
      He pulled me into a tight embrace, "I know but there was nothing you could have done to stop it. You are just one person. You can't put the whole world on your shoulders like this. You could have gotten yourself killed trying to fix everyone else's mistakes. At some point they have to be responsible for their own actions."
I wiped some tears off of my face, "I'm sorry I'm such a baby."
"You aren't a baby. You're just so compassionate. I know it was hard for you to watch that."
Rain nodded, "It was awful."
Bogwater placed a kiss on the top of her head, "I know."
Havish came seemingly out of nowhere.
"What do we do now?" the old man questioned, "We're running out of food and supplies."
Rain sighed sadly, "We left some supplies on the island in our hurry."
Bogwater scratched his chin, "How much food do we have?"
"Enough for a week and a half," Havish answered.
"How long does it take to get to Rivendell?" questioned Rain, pulling back from Bogwater's arms.
"At this rate, not soon enough."
"Can we ration it?" Rain suggested, "Just long enough to get back to Rivendell."
"With stricter rations it would last a a little longer than a week," Havish shrugged.
"You think we can make it?" questioned Bogwater.
"I don't know," Havish shrugged again, "All we can do is try."
I shuffled my feet, "Let's do it!"
Bogwater laughed, "You goof."
I stuck my tongue out at him.

Time for us to go home.