Emerin POV~
Gandalf was speaking with Frodo, but I didn't pay attention. I couldn't stop thinking about what Legolas had said. Perhaps he felt that I was starting to get over-protective. I should give him more space.
"Ah!" Gandalf exclaimed, "It's that way."
I quickly stood up and stood beside Aragorn,
"He's remembered!" Merry also began to stand up,
"No. But the air doesn't smell so foul down here. If in doubt Meriadoc, always follow your nose." Gandalf led the way, and we all followed.
I made a point to not be too close to Legolas, not wanting to bother him. As we made our way into a cavernous space, Gandalf began to speak once more,
"Let me risk a little more light," His staff's light brightened, revealing the vast space of architecture. Everyone stared in awe, "Behold, the great realm and Dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf."
"there's an eye opener, no mistake," Sam wore an amazed look on his face, I myself was quite impressed. We came across a door to a room, and I watched as Gimli sprinted towards it. We all followed him, and then I heard his cries of sorrow,
"Gimli!" Gandalf warned,
"No! No! Oh no," He kneeled in front of a large coffin. We had all entered the room, and I felt a pang of sadness while watching Gimli's saddened face,
"Her lies Balin... Son of Fundin, Lord of Moria," Gandalf read what was written on the coffin. I remembered Balin. He was one of the Dwarves who we had taken prisoner 70 years ago. A member of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield, "He is dead then." Gandalf removed his hat, "It is as I feared."
Gimli continued to cry. Gandalf walked towards another skeleton that was holding a book, and removed the book from its arms, handing his hat and staff to Pippin. He opened the book and began to skim through it,
"We must move on. We cannot linger." Legolas spoke my mind,
"They have taken the bridge and the second hall. We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums... Drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out. They are coming." Gandalf looked up from the book after reading the cryptic message in the log. I looked over to see Pippin touching a skeleton. Before I could say anything, the skeleton fell down the well, creating a loud ruckus. Gandalf head snapped to look at Pippin,
"Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity." Gandalf snatched his things out of Pippins hands.
All of a sudden, I heard drums. Everyone looked around. Frodo unsheathed his sword to reveal that it was glowing blue,
"Frodo!" Sam looked at him,
"Orcs!" Legolas went to help Boromir shut the gate. An arrow wizzed past Boromir, nearly hitting him,
"Get back! Stay close to Gandalf." Aragorn ordered the Hobbits. He and Boromir shut the doors and used an axe to bar the doors. I notched an arrow, and took aim, preparing to shoot,
"They have a cave troll!" Boromir seemed frustrated, as were we. Legolas stood beside me and readied his bow as well. The Orcs were at the door and were trying to break it down.,
"Let them come! There is one Dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!" Gimli stood up and readied his axe. The door splintered, and as soon as he saw an opening, Legolas shot an arrow, killing an orc. Finally the door broke down completely, and orcs and goblins flowed in. I began to shoot them, one by one, striking them down. I drew my sword, and began slicing through the orcs. Blood splattered all over my clothes as I killed more and more of these foul creatures. I stopped when I saw a monstrous cave troll stumble in. It was huge. Legolas shot at it, but it did not die. I continued to kill goblins, trying to advance towards the troll to kill it. I got preoccupied, and let it out of my sight for a few moments. I heard a few cries, and assumed someone got hurt. I saw Frodo, with a contorted face of pain. I saw the stake that had been plunged into his body. Lastly I saw the ugly troll. I ran towards it as fast as I could. I jumped up on a rock and pushed myself off from there, landing on the troll. I dug my sword through it's back, but was unsuccessful in killing it. It grabbed me by my foot and dangled me in front of it for a moment. My bow and quiver slides off of me while I was upside down, leaving me with my two daggers that were strapped to my thighs. I swung myself up and grabbed one of my daggers, digging it into the trolls arm. When it let go, I scrambled back up were I yanked my sword out of its back, and dug it into its head. It began to stumble forwards then backwards, and finally fell. Dead. I ran over and grabbed my bow and quiver, sliding them back on and tightening the straps. Next I sprinted to where everyone was soon surrounding Frodo.
"Frodo!" I cried, but when Aragorn lifted him up, I realized that he was still breathing. No blood was on his white shirt. I furrowed my brow,
"He's alive!" Sam was relived,
"I'm alright, I'm not hurt." Frodo reassured us,
"You should be dead. That spear would've skewered a wild boar." Aragorn looked at him in disbelief,
"I think there's more to this hobbit than meets the eye." Gandalf walked towards Frodo. Frodo opened his shirt, and I noticed a silver chain mail under it,
"Mithril!" Gimli looked at the hobbit in awe, "You are full of surprises master Baggins."
I heard a screeching noise come from outside,
"To the Bridge of Khazad-Dum!" Gandalf instructed us. We all ran out of the room, and faced the thousands of Goblins that surrounded us. They were all around us. I noticed that even more were above us. I kept running for my life, I do not think I had ever run this fast before. Wrong. I thought to myself. I had. Once before, when I was running to save Legolas from the pale orc. I nodded the memory away, concentrating on the present. We had been completely ambushed. All of a sudden, a low, horrific growl emerged from far away. The Goblins that were surrounding us ran in fear. What could be so terrifying, that the orcs would go running,
"What is this new Devilry?" Boromir whispered,
"A Balrog." Gandalf answered. Fear shot through me. A Balrog. One of the few things that Elves truly feared, "A demon of the ancient world." I looked to see the same fear that I felt, in Legolas' expression, "This foe is beyond any of you. Run!"
...
Legolas POV~
"A Balrog." I felt a wave of panic and fear engulf me. A Balrog had once slain one of the Elves most renowned warriors, Glorfindel, "A demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you." I glanced over at Emerin, who seemed to be shifting her gaze away from me, "Run!" Gandalf cried. I couldn't help but quickly grab Emerin's hand, and bolted after Aragorn. Emerin seemed surprised at my sudden gesture. I would not allow anything to happen to her. Not while I still drew breath. We all ran frantically towards a cavernous area, with many stairs and bridges. As we ran, Boromir nearly fell to his death, but Aragorn quickly grabbed him, pulling him back,
"Lead them on Aragorn," I heard Gandalf tell Aragorn, "the Bridge is near..." Aragorn seemed to be considering what Gandalf was telling him, "Do as I say!" Gandalf pushed Aragorn away from him, leaving Aragorn bewildered, "Swords are of no more use here."
We all began to quickly but carefully make our way through the countless stairs and bridges. We came to a point where there was a chunk of the stairs missing. I quickly wrapped my arm around Emerins waist, and before she could protest, I lifted her up and jumped across. When I got to the other side, I set her down, looking away from her frustrated expression, "Gandalf!" I urged him to jump. He jumped across and I grabbed his arm to help him steady himself. Goblins began to shoot at us. Emerin quickly shot at it, hitting it right in the head, killing it. Next, Boromir grabbed Pippin and Merry, and jumped across. Aragorn quickly tossed Sam over and I caught him. He went to grab Gimli, but the Dwarf had to much pride,
"Nobody tosses a Dwarf." He quickly snapped. He jumped across, and nearly fell, but I was able to grab his beard and pull him up, "Not the beard!" He screamed.
The steps beneath Frodo and Aragorn began to crumble. The had to step back. The piece of stairs that they were on, began to fall forwards. They quickly jumped to our side, and barely made it. We all continued to run. At last, we were near the bridge,
"Over the bridge!" Gandalf commanded, "Fly!"
We all ran past him and made our way across the narrow bridge. Gandalf suddenly stopped, and faced the Balrog. What happened next, was too painful to express
....
I was dragging Emerin out of the mines. Gandalf had fallen. I couldn't believe it. I watched as the hobbits, Gimli, and Boromir weeped, most of them sinking to the ground. I looked at Emerin, who just stared into nothing, to shocked to react,
"Legolas, Emerin. Get them up." Aragorn said softly. The both of us went to get the hobbits and Gimli onto there feet, when Boromir retorted,
"Give them a moment for pity's sake!"
"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with Orcs!" Aragorn responded quickly. What he said next I did not pay attention to. I was busy trying to comfort the hobbits as I helped them to their feet. We made our way quickly trying to reach the woods of Lothloreian.
It was nearly nightfall by the time we were in the deep woods,
"Stay close, young Hobbits!" Gimli ushered the Hobbits to come close, "They say a great sorceress lives in these woods. An Elf witch... of terrible power. All who look upon her, fall under her spell." I thought of Lady Galadriel. She was one of the fairest beings in Middle-Earth. Few were able to come close to her beauty. To me, only one other could be more fair then the Lady of Light. Emerin. I thought of her enchanting beauty. I remember staring at her when I had first laid eyes on her. She had just recently joined the guard. My father had taken to favoring her, and had invited her to one of the Feasts. She had been sitting beside my Father, he had insisted upon it...
~Flashback~
I had just sat down at the table, sitting beside me Ada, to his left,
"Emerin!" He called out. who is Emerin? I thought to myself. I noticed my father motioning for a small elleth to sit beside him on his right side. She held her head down, and I was unable to get a good look at her at first. When she sat down, she straightened herself, sitting like a queen would on her thrown. She radiated confidence,
"Thank you for allowing me to attend this feast, King Thranduil." She said, her voice clear and strong. Her eyes then landed on me, and a sudden look of panic broke through her calm expression, but she maintained it so fast, that no other person noticed, "My prince," she quickly stood up, bowed, and sat back down. Now I got a good look at her face. Her skin was as pale and flawless as fresh snow, that had just fallen. I light shade of pink lightly showed on her cheeks. Her lips were nearly red, but she did not seem to be wearing any of the oils that I had seen many elleths used to make their lips seem more colored. Her eyes were nearly golden, glowing in the candle-light. Her dark, thick eyelashes curled upwards, enhancing her eyes. Her hair flowed down to her waist. It was a light brown, but had some strands that were nearly blonde. She was small, but the way she held herself up made her seem bigger than some of the other elves at the table, who were known to be tall. She was wearing a red dress that matched the leaves of autumn that surrounded us. I felt as if I had been struck in the head. I quickly snapped out of my thoughts,
"Please, call me Legolas,"
Both she, and my Father gave me an odd look,
"Very well," She said.
The rest of that night, we rarely spoke. My father continued to speak of her skill and how she would rise through the rankings quickly,
"And you are only how old?" He asked,
"I have recently turned 310, my King," She looked very proud of herself,
"You have only been a part of the guard for 8 years!" My father exclaimed, "You have advanced much quicker than I have ever seen. Your parent s would be astonished, and very proud." He smiled at her.
A flash of sadness broke through, but she quickly pulled herself up, "I would hope so. I wish to be as strong as them."
"Do not fret. I have a very strong feeling that you will grow to be one of the most renowned warriors of your time." My father's expression was full of truth.
After we had finished eating, many Elves stood up to dance. I noticed Emerin seem to shy away from the dance floor. I stood up and walked over to her,
"May I have this dance?" I asked her hopefully,
"Of course..." She seemed to think something over, "Legolas."
I smiled at the fact that she had called me by my name like I had asked. I put my arms on her waist, and she put her's on my shoulders. We began to dance to the music. I don't know why she had seemed nervous to dance, for she was quite skilled. Every step she took was graceful, and delicate. The way she moved was entrancing.
After that dance, she had retired to her room, and I did not see her for a very long time...
~End of Flashback~
Gimli had been speaking, and all of a sudden, I was pulled out of my thoughts when we were surrounded by arrows pointed at us. I pulled out my own, pointing it at those in front of us,
"The Dwarf breathed so loud, we could have shot him in the dark." An elf, that I now recognized as Haldir, said.
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I know, long chapter. I really want to start to add more flashbacks so that we can know more about Legolas and Emerins past. I hope you guys like it. PLEASE vote, comment, and follow.
Thanks,
-Jackie