His eyes turned to the distance were a cloud of dark smoke rose to the sky.
"Dead?"
"I am sorry." said the horseman.
Y/n's hand clung to the sleeve of the elf in grief. The blond stranger turned and whistled using his fingers before calling: "Hasufel! Arod!"
Two steeds moved to the middle of the circle and the man gently and lovingly pet their noses. One was white and one a reddish brown.
"May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell." he said before putting his helmet back on and returning to his own horse.
"Look for your friends. But do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands." then he turned to his men. "We ride north!"
With that the riders disappeared leaving the disheartened hunters behind.
They wasted no time and quickly mounted the horses. Gimli sat behind Legolas on Arod and y/n behind Aragorn on Hasufel, since they wanted to balance out the weight to not put too much strain on the horses. Legolas would have liked to ride with y/n but Gimli had become a friend as well so he didn't mind as much.
They rode quickly to the smoldering pile in the distance. When they reached it y/n was the first to dismount the horse, before it had come to a full stop. Her feet crashed heavily onto the ground and sending a wave of pain through her body that she ignored, too fuled by adrenalin to care. She rushed to the still warm and smoking mountain of orcs and circled it prodding at the orc bodies with her sheathed sword. Every time she thought that she saw a tuft of strawberry-blond hair or a piece of the familiar green elven fabric, her heart skipped a beat. Gimli joined her and did the same with his axe. After a while he leaned forward and pulled something out from between the corpses.
"Its one of their wee belts." he spoke mournfully. The head of Legolas dropped as he muttered his condolences in elvish while y/n's hand sank into her hair tearing at it as tears sprung to her eyes.
Aragorn kicked a lone helmet still sitting on the ground and let out an anguished scream as he sunk to his knees, staying on the ground with his head hung low.
"We failed them." whispered the dwarf and y/n turned her head away from the smoldering pile of corpses. She couldnt bare to look at it. The smell made her stomach turn and the heat on her skin made her want to rip it off so it could burn alongside her fallen friends.
Close to her Aragorn was inspecting the ground having found something that made new hope rise in his heart.
"A Hobbit lay here. And the other." he said softly and y/n looked at him from the corner of her eyes.
"They crawled." he continued following a faint trail. Y/n turned her head more to him but did not move much too afraid that she might obstruct the trails.
Legolas and Gimli moved behind him to look down at the tracks he was following, with interest.
"Their hands were bound." Aragorn picked up a cut rope inspecting its edge.
"Their bonds were cut." Y/n held her breath praying to the goddess that the hobbits were alive. He kept following the tracks starting to move faster as he further analyzed the situation.
"They ran over here. They were followed." suspense was rising, would they yet be able to find them?
"The tracks lead away from the battle... into Fangorn Forest."
"Fangorn? What madness drove them in there?" said Gimli. As the three mustered the forest suspiciously.
"Well then what are we waiting for?" yelled y/n already moving towards the dark trees.
"There is treachery hiding in these woods!" warned Aragorn and y/n whipped around her hair hitting her cheek roughly. A storm was brewing in her eyes as she stood fiercely before the men. Then her voice bellowed over the field like thunder in a tone that they had not yet heard of her. It made them stand at attention with tense backs as their stomach suddenly sank to their knees.
"Treachery that Merry and Pippin have to face alone! Avast! Yer slack-jawed, gutless, Land rats!" the men flinched and seemed to shrink into themselves.
"Yer will move yer duck-kneed legs in these bloomin' woods or I'm gonna knot yer legs together and drag the lot of you down to Davy Jones locker meself! Savvy?!" she yelled absolutely enraged.
She has had enough off the embarrassment of failure, inadequacy and knowledge that the two small hobbits who she had grown to like were in danger despite her promise to keep them save. Her chest was heaving which made her ribs hurt as she stomped towards the woods. The three man stared at the woman wide eyed and frightened.
"Gutless!?" said Gimli and looked to his friends.
"Land rats?" questioned Aragorn.
"She had said that she was once a captain." said Legolas and jogged forward to catch up to her as she had already reached the first trees.
The forest was dark and looming and had the pirate not been seething she might have been frightened but like this she was just following Aragorn and Legolas who led the way by reading the tracks. After a while Gimli had spotted something on a nearby leaf. A black substance was sticking to them and falling down in heavy drops. The dwarf reached out his hand and stuck his finger into the strange liquid and brought it to his lips, then quickly spitting it back out again.
"Orc blood." he muttered and sent a knowing gaze to Aragorn who was inspecting the ground closely.
"These are strange tracks." he whispered to himself. Gimli wasnt quite listening though as he instead looked around the trees slowly sinking into himself.
"The air is so close in here." mumbled he under his breath. Legolas who seemed to feel it as well turned his head to him to explain a little.
"This forest is old. Very old. Full of memory...and anger." As if to agree low groans erupted from the trees and echoed from the woods.
Frightened Gimli rose his axe pulling it closer to himself.
"The trees are speaking to each other." continued the elf.
"What's it matter. I too am full of memories and anger. Dont gotta make it everyone elses problems. S'called repression." grumbled the pirate.
Gimli was still waving his axe about, looking for foes but was stopped by Aragorn who called his name like a parent chastising their child.
"Lower your axe." spoke the Ranger slowly. The dwarf surrendered and lowered his weapon.
"They have feelings, my friend. The Elves began it. Waking up the trees, teaching them to speak." came the soft voice of Legolas.
"Talking trees. What do trees have to talk about? Except the consistency of squirrel droppings." puffed out the upset dwarf. And y/n agreed though she kept her thoughts to herself as to not upset her elven friend.
Suddenly Legolas took off running forward.
"Aragorn, nad nâ ennas!" (Something is out there.) he then called back and Aragorn ran forward to catch up with him.
"Man cenich?" (What do you see?) asked Aragorn. Legolas inspected the forest further before answering.
"The White Wizard approaches."
A shudder went down the pirates spine and the hunters huddled closer together.
"Do not let him speak. He will put a spell on us." warned Aragorn and pulled his sword, the others also readied their weapons.
"We must be quick."
They all lunged forward but a bright light erupted and threw the hunters back. Gimlis axe shattered, the arrow of Legolas was deflected and Aragorn dropped his sword as the hilt had started to glow red hot. Y/n didnt even have the opportunity to brand her sword before she stumbled back, shielding her eyes from the searing light.
"You are tracking the footsteps of two young Hobbits." said the wizard, his voice familiar.
"Where are they?" demanded Aragorn loudly.
"They passed this way the day before yesterday. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?" continued the strange man.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" yelled Aragorn.
Slowly the bright light shrunk down and y/n could open her eyes again. There before them stood a man dressed in all white robes with long white hair and beard. Friendly blue eyes twinkled under bushy brows.
"It cannot be."
Legolas sunk to his knees.
"Forgive me. I mistook you for Saruman."
Gimli joined the elf and bowed down before the wizard.
"He might be, you can start to hallucinate when youre deprived of sleep." added y/n and Gandalf looked at her with his shining eyes and a bemused smile.
"I am Saruman. Or rather, Saruman as he should have been." said he.
"You fell." spoke Aragorn in disbelief.
"Through fire and water." the old wizard told how he fought the Balrock for days before beating him but still succumbing to darkness and wandering in until he awoke once more.
"I've been sent back... until my task is done."
"Gandalf." breathed Aragorn.
"Gandalf? Yes." the wizard smiled. "That's what they used to call me. Gandalf the Grey. That was my name."
"Gandalf." Now it was Gimli who called the name in joy.
"I am Gandalf the White. And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide."
~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~
Bit of an emotional outbreak huh?
~1586 words