Mistress of the Fellowship (LOTR)

~*~Book 2 Lady of the Tower~*~ * 21 * Fare Thee Well

Merry turned to Pippin with little hope and much worry in his eyes and opened his mouth to speak but nothing would escape. There was no escape from these Uruk Hai and Orcs. There was to be pain and suffering until their last breath exited their wee bodies but for Ryker, the mistress of the fellowship, there was only one path she was taking and there was to be no redirecting. She was tumbling down the path of death and with each moment it brought her closer to the end.

Here and there it seemed as though she would mumble something but all the hobbits could make out was the something ending with mare. Was she speaking of a horse? Was she delusional? A mare made no sense.

The Uruks and orcs wasted no time in traveling and being bound to the fiends was a torture of its own. They took only a moment rest and before they knew it they were on the move again.

There was no possible way Ryker could make it for death was clearly breathing down her neck but suddenly Pippin perked up as a ray of hope penetrated his heart. He had the moss! Merry had the silver shavings of the silver aspen. Knowing this Pippin bowed his head a prayed whole heartedly and never so passionate until they came to one of their short breaks in which Pippin snatched the silver aspen from Merry nodded and desperately looked for a white lily. Would luck be on their side?

It seemed luck was not there for all that lay underfoot was crushed grass and mud. With heavy hearts they were once again taken away.

A soft breeze blew diluting the stench of the beasts and for a moment Pippin was taken aback to a better time. A time of joy in the place he called home. He was basking in the sunshine and enjoying a summer's breeze and the careless cares of a hobbit.

*~*~* Three days and Ryker was still alive... barely. She no longer opened her eyes to look upon the hobbits and give them reassurance of her presence rather they would only see her chest take a harsh deep breath every so often. Her skin was white as snow and her face seemed to be sunken in.

There was no hope of finding a white lily. None could grow here.

At nightfall the pack of Uruk Hai and orcs stopped for the night and Pippin crawled to Merry who was clearly without hope but Merry seemed to wake up and jerked the silver aspen and moss from Pippin's pocket. The moss was dry enough and he rapidly mixed them together and grabbed three white and blue petaled flowers in which were called evening blossoms and Merry slapped it onto Ryker's wound.

The gesture was not subtle and should have made the woman warrior at least flinch but there was no response... They stared at her but her body remained motionless. Merry put his ear to her chest and seemed to lay there for a few moments before two soft sobs escaped.

"She is dead." He declared while looking down upon her.

Pippin stared at her clearly in shock as a tear streamed down his cheek before he bowed his head and wept in his hands.

Their time for moaning was cut short as they were tossed away from her as the leader spoke to a couple other Uruk Hai. They spoke a language the hobbits did not know and even if they did, the pain in their hearts at this time would not have allowed them to hear.

An argument soon broke out between the Uruks and orcs with Merry and Pippin right in the middle of things and before anyone knew it they were being attacked by men on horses.

In this time they knew they had lost their mistress forever.

Escape was all they could do and knew that if Ryker was still with them she would be giving them orders to do such things.

A time to grieve was yet to come but for now the needed to think like Ryker in order to survive.

"Fare thee well milady." Merry whispered under his breath as he and Pippin rushed toward their hope of freedom.