With a secret mission to marry an elf, Wynne must join Legolas' and Elvenking Thranduil's new quest as a horsekeeper. She begins an adventurous journey, encountering orcs and monsters, friendly uruk-hai, a lady dwarf and many Fellowship heroes - but...
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~ Wynne has a terrifying experience but thankfully Legolas has fought a lake monster before. ~
41. Fighting a Lake Monster
Wynne pounded and thrashed, trying to get whatever it was to loosen its grip on her leg, but the more she fought, the tighter it clenched until she felt like her calf might snap.
Ever down they went, where the water was piercing cold and the darkness impenetrable. Chilled to the bone and starting to panic she pulled at the thing frantically, but it was smooth and slippery, impossible to get a grip on with her numbing fingers.
The downward movement stopped and Wynne hit a body of sorts, big and firm. Bracing herself against that, she kicked with her free foot at the thing trapping her leg, employing all the force she could muster.
Pain surged through her other foot; the surface underneath apparently had sharp edges (teeth?). There was no helping it so she kicked again and again, but the thing wouldn't budge.
Her lungs burned. She desperately needed air, and soon!
She tried to drag her stuck leg against the sharpness below, feeling her skin break and hoping it would hurt the thing as well. This seemed to do the trick. Finally it loosened a little, enough for Wynne to slip away and with a last kick push off and surge upward.
High above was a faint lightness, but so far away, too far. She swam and swam, all the time expecting the thing to catch her again. Her heart pounded and bright flashes sparkled in the edges of her vision. She couldn't hold her breath much longer.
Exerting every last ounce of strength, she covered the final yard and broke the surface, gasping for air.
The sky had cleared and the moon was out. Now for the first time she could see the thing – or things, rather – that had caught her, vague shadows against the moonlight. What was it?
It was huge, with one central body and many snake-like tentacles that waved in the air and stirred the water, like they were searching, maybe trying to find her again. In the center was a round mouth, and the sharp parts indeed seemed to be teeth, a clutter of them, silvery and pointed like a basket of knives.
There was someone else in the lake too, struggling with the creature, fighting it.
Legolas! He was injured, he should not wrestle a lake monster!
But there was no time to see how he managed for a tentacle shot toward her, its many suction cups open and ready to attach themselves. No wonder it had been hard to get off!
She threw herself backwards until she hit rock. The shore was steep here and she scrabbled in vain across the slick surface, unable to climb it.
But there! A darkness beside her, a crack in the stone wall. She followed the cliff until she reached the hollow part and crawled in, kicking the tentacle when it brushed against her foot.
