Eternally Bond

Lothlórien

8. Lothlórien

On the rocky hills the fellowship stopped, overcome by their grief. Gandalf had just gone from the realm of the living. The wizard was dead. Their leader and friend had succumbed to a bitter faith. They wept for him, trying to come to terms with their sadness.

Gimli suddenly turned towards the entrance once more, shouting, "I'll kill Durin's bane with my bare hands!"

Boromir moved to stop the dwarf. As he held his arm around the struggling dwarf's shoulder he whispered, "He's gone, Gimli."

Gimli stopped struggling for a second and calmed down. Legolas watched them with a frown; he was unsure how to react. He had seen death before but this was different, without Gandalf to lead them, he feared they were lost.

Not far from him Merry sat, crying silently. Across his lap lay a devastated Pippin who was weeping loudly. Sam breathed heavily before sinking down onto a rock, he held his head in his hands as tears brimmed his eyes and his shoulders shook with silent sobs.

Further away Arwen stood on a cliff watching as Frodo walked aimlessly away from them. Tears spilled from her own eyes as she tried to grasp the situation and her heart was weighed down with sympathy for the hobbit who seemed so very lost.

The only one able to control his emotions at present was Aragorn, who knew he had to take control and get them to re-group. Gandalf had asked him to lead them on, he would not disappoint his friend. He needed to move them somewhere safe before they could deal with recent events.

"Legolas," he called and the elf distantly turned to watch him. "Get them up."

The elf nodded, brushed away his tears and went over to Merry and Pippin to try to get them to stand.

Boromir turned from Gimli and glared at Aragorn. "Give them a moment for pity's sake!"

"We have no time to weep now. By nighttime these hills will be swarming with orcs! We must move to the safety and cover of the woods of Lothlórien."

Arwen stopped listening to his words as her breathing grew more unstable and more tears streamed down her face. She wished Gandalf had not fallen beyond her senses. They still needed him. Especially so Frodo. She watched as he continued to walk away from them. He already sought privacy from the others, it if was because he wished to be by himself or because he felt like he was now alone, Arwen did not know. Either way, the last words the wizard had spoke to her echoed in her head, but she remained clueless as to their meaning.

She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and turned her head sideways to watch Aragorn who'd moved to stand by her side.

"Come, Arwen," he said and she nodded slowly.

Arwen could see tears glistening in his eyes as well but still he smiled down at her.

He was happy that she was safe, but just to be sure he looked her once over. His gaze stopped on her torso where he could see a long, narrow rip in her leather tunic. He moved his hand to it and heard Arwen inhale lightly. He looked into her eyes and saw both sorrow and confusion in them.

"We will be alright, Arwen. We will be safe," Aragorn promised, and added to himself, "You will be safe."

His eyes once more sought out the tear in her tunic and his heart constricted painfully in his chest, he could see how close he had been to losing his beloved as well. If it had not been for the chain mail armor they would have been mourning her death as well. He cleared his clogged throat and cleared his mind from such sorrowed thoughts; he needed to keep his focus if he were to lead them away from danger.