Amber watched the water flow past the ship from the poop deck. She never thought she'd ever sail on a ship, let alone actually be on the poop deck of one. She chuckled at her thoughts and sighed.
"What is so funny?" Halbarad asked, as he climbed up to where Aragorn captained the ship and the others milled about. There wasn't much to do with so many hands, even the ghostly ones, on deck. They had at least a day and a half journey up the river, before they needed to be ready for battle.
"I never thought I'd be on a poop deck, let alone a ship," Amber replied.
"Truly?" he asked curiously. "Your kind do not sail?"
"Well... I live in the middle of the continent and I'm content to not travel far. So, I have never been on a ship or boat of any kind... Other than a canoe or row boat. I have gone fishing on a lake," Amber answered.
"And that caught you as funny?" the man questioned.
"Despite my age, even though I'm sure I'm still years younger than you, I have immature thoughts sometimes. Like the child who laughs when dad or uncle fart. I was giggly at the thought that I'm standing on the POOP deck," Amber said, mirth still in her voice.
"Have we not told you, Halbarad. Lady Amber is the same creature that covered Lord Boromir with honey and feathers," Elrohir stated from where he stood with Legolas, whatever conversation they had dissipated in favor of this one.
"Ná. She is also the one that knocked Lord Glorfindel on his backside," Elladan added, chuckling. Amber was amazed she could tell the difference between the two still, but it was like her mind had registered the minute details of their mannerisms in her mind.
"You jest! This is the creature that Lord Glorfindel praises so highly?!" The man looked at her in awe. "My lady, I offer my service to you for that reason alone!"
"The lass has a champion in every place we have passed through. Do you think she needs another?" Gimli asked with a chuckle.
"I do not!" Amber said indignantly at the same time Halbarad asked "Truly?!"
"Oh, aye!" the dwarf confirmed.
"Lord Glorfindel in Rivendell. Lord Haldir in Lothlorien, I believe his brothers as well. Figueroa of Rohan, possibly the Lord Éomer. The Warg from Isengard. And Lord Boromir of Gondor," Aragorn listed off in a teasing manner.
"Hey! I won't deny Figueroa! But Éomer?!" Amber questioned. "I swear that man hates me!" Aragorn just looked at her with skepticism. Amber looked back with confusion.
"Well, she wouldn't be able to deny the young Rohan lad anyway. All of the Rohirrim heard the lad propose marriage," Gimli laughed. "And she shot him down."
"He's- What? Like ten?!" Amber argued. "If I took all marriage proposals seriously, I'd be married or at least betrothed to my 5 year old nephew. It's a childish infatuation and possibly hero worship. Geez Gimli, I'm not a cradle robber." They all laughed, good-naturedly at her predicament.
"I believe you are wrong about Lord Éomer," Legolas stated, catching her attention. "From what I could tell, the Man has a great deal of respect for you."
"Maybe," Amber permitted quietly. She stewed on it for a few moments. "I've always made fast friends and I care greatly for each and every one. At some point they grow to mean more, the more I talk to them and we do activities together... they become like family. I don't have a lot of that... The family I'm related to by blood has distanced themselves to almost strangers, because of them having some disagreement with the other. So, when I decide I want to befriend someone, I jump in with my whole heart, because I don't want to lose that connection. To me all of my friends and family are equal in my heart, to lose one would hurt just as painfully as the other." Amber took a deep breath to help her stave off the tears that gathered in her eyes.
"Well said," Halbarad said, bowing his head slightly. Everyone on the top deck sat in silence for several moments to gather their thoughts and think of another topic of discussion. And not for the first time in her life, Amber thanked her ADHD squirrel brain for its random intrusive thoughts.
"What do you think the ghosts did for all those years in that mountain? Archery tournaments? Sparring? The Undead Olympics? Maybe some of them took up knitting? And judging by that skull avalanche, was that mountain just completely hollow and filled with skeletons? And the amount of skulls! That had to have been like millions of people! And how did they get there if they are all dead?" Amber had a word vomit of all the thoughts racing through her head. The men all looked at her as if she had grown another head. "Oh.. and Boromir."
"Yes?" the man asked cautiously.
"I totally wanted to use your shield as a sled and go tobogganing down Caradhras," Amber admitted. She almost sounded like she was going to cry when she said, "I never got that opportunity and I'm still sad we had to leave it behind." They all laughed at the absurdity of her thoughts.
************************************
Amber was snuggled into a blanket, pressed against Boromir's leg as he sat talking quietly about their plan of attack upon reaching the battle. She was sound asleep now, but had not been earlier when she'd tried to curl up in her bedroll. Without a fire nearby, she was cold. So, she had dragged a blanket over near the Men and elves and tiredly flopped down next to him. She whined as she had struggled with the blanket and Boromir took pity on her and helped her cover up. If she could have she would have purred in thanks as she drifted off. As it was Boromir hadn't been able to decipher what she had mumbled, but assumed it was gratitude.
Amber's dream started out pleasant enough. She was standing under a canopy with picnic tables sitting under it . A 6 foot white folding table stood off to the side, laden down with her favorite pot luck foods her family always brought for their summer holiday dinners. Everyone was talking and laughing, enjoying the foods while catching up on each other's lives. Homesickness came upon her in a huge wave and her eyes welled with tears.
"Amber?" she heard her mom's voice. She looked to the end of one of the tables and saw her mom sitting in her chair, leaning on the end of the table as she talked to her grandma. "You ok?"
"Yeah," she said, shaking herself. "I just got some dust in my eyes." She rubbed them to be more convincing. The dream felt so real, but she had never been able to interact with her dreams when they were this real. Usually, if it was a vivid dream, she was a spectator and didn't participate.
"That's ok, your grandma and I were just discussing how well you did," her mom said.
"With what?" Amber asked, genuinely confused.
"With everything, of course," her mom said, as if Amber was supposed to know what she meant. Amber was still confused, but didn't say anything else, thinking the dream people had limited speech or something. "And with all that you've done and been through lately, you're doing exactly what you need to keep you on track." This was entirely too vague for her mom. The woman was usually more direct when she talked. This made Amber sure this was some kind of message.
As soon this thought passed through her head the dream began to fade. Amber reached out for the fading image but blackness soon enclosed her. The darkness scared her and she hugged herself. She was suddenly, floating over a battle field, looking down as the Rohirrim broke the lines of Mordor. Legolas surfing down the oliphant's trunk as it collapsed. Éomer finding Éowyn's lifeless body on the battle field, next to the remains of his uncle.
Aragorn reassuring Pippin that Merry would wake, and talking to Éomer. Legolas and Gimli meeting him near the gates, with concerned looks on their faces.
"Where is Amber?" Aragorn voice came as if from far away. When Legolas replied though it was like finding the right position on a radio dial.
"No one has seen her," Legolas voiced his concern. "We were going to go out and look for her."
"I will join you, this is not like her," Aragorn said. "And if she is lost in the city, eventually someone will see her or she will find her way to us."
Some time passed and she heard Aragorn's voice whisper, "NO!" He rushed over to a small figure. Legolas's head whipped around as he saw Aragorn focus on a specific spot and he came rushing forward with Gimli sprinting behind. Aragorn gently lifted a body covered in black fur, pierced by the arrow of an orc. The blue marking that once graced her body were now purple as whatever light the Valar had gifted her with was no longer sustained by her fading soul.
"We must get her to the healing hall quickly!" Aragorn said. He could barely see her side rise with breath and her heartbeat was almost nonexistent . They ran as fast as they could back to the city, not removing the arrow because it was currently the only thing keeping her alive.
"Ara.....g," her weak voice choked out. Aragorn came forward to her side, the rest of the Fellowship that was there or wasn't injured surrounded her cot in the infirmary. They had been told by the healer that they believe the arrow pierced her heart and it was only a matter of time. They had offered her pain meds, but since they would make her sleep the rest of her life away she had stopped them. She had to be able to speak despite the excruciating pain. "H-"
"You should not waste your energy, your other friends will be here soon to pay their respects," Aragorn soothed.
Amber writhed. "Nnno. I-I have t-to...."
"What is it?" Aragorn ask, trying to placate her and willing the others to hurry.
"H-" she huffed. "Hal-"
"Halbarad?" Aragorn asked.
Amber's head barely nodded, someone else might have missed it. "W-" her voice was so faint and she swallowed audibly. "W-Whe...re?"
"We have sent for him, he was helping Elladan and Elrohir heal the wounded. We sent messengers to them they should be here to see you soon," Aragorn assured.
"G-good," her voice quaked as a shiver of pain spasmed through her body. The non-corporeal human version was trying to see the whole scene through her tears, it was depressing and horrifying to watch one's self die in a dream. "O-rc...." she breathed heavily with the effort to explain. "B-B...h-hind..."
"Stop! You need to reserve your strength," Aragorn said gently, as he heard her struggle to catch her breath.
She coughed and blood spurted out, before she swallowed heavily. Her body struggled to get the words out, despite Aragorn's instructions, almost as if on autopilot and delirious. Pippin sobbed, clutching a kerchief in his hand and biting it as tears streamed down his face, but he couldn't turn away from the morbid scene of his friend's last minutes. Boromir offered the hobbit a hand on the shoulder, but masked his grief with a stoic face. He struggled though. Gimli had lost the battle with his tears, they streamed down his face , but he uttered no sound. Legolas bowed his head and squeezed Gimli's shoulder for comfort, as much for Gimli as it was for himself.
Elrohir and Elladan burst through the doorway and stood in shock at the scene before them. Halbarad was a couple seconds behind and he was tailed by Gandalf and Éomer. They were in shock, so they were unable to express any emotion.
"F...f-fam...il..y," Amber heaved. "L..L......Lo...ve.........Y-y...y..." Her breath expelled from her body in a gentle sigh, but nothing came back in. The elves in the room heard as her heart ceased and they bowed their heads in respect.
However, the dream wasn't over as the human Amber sobbed. The scenes started flowing in reverse and quickly gained speed like rewinding a tape. Soon, she saw herself in a familiar scene of traveling the hidden stair into Mordor with Minas Ithil glowing in a poisonous, eerie green light in the background.
She was suddenly pulled awake by someone shaking her shoulder. Tears still streaming down her face as she came to the waking world in her Umbreon body.
"Are you alright, Miss Amber?" Boromir asked. "You were sobbing in your sleep, though you did start to calm down after a bit."
"The Valar sent me a vision..." she started but paused to catch up with her racing thoughts. "More of a warning really. If I don't do as they wish, it could mean my death.
At the mention of the Valar, the group had brought their attention to Amber, but when she mentioned the possibility of her Death they were all laser focused on her. Aragorn came over to where she was still sitting beside Boromir and crouched down so she didn't have to strain her neck, concern written all over his face.
"Before we reach the dock at Harlond, I must depart the ships. A few miles down so we don't draw suspicion. Our paths will diverge there," Amber instructed.
A/N: Sorry if the choice of song in the chapter theme is triggering. I was feeling quite down during the holidays, to the point where I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to finish my writing for NaNoWriMo. I barely skimmed by. I had hoped that I would be able to finish this story completely before the end of the year, but I was not in a good place mentally. I made it through with the help of a friend and things are looking so much brighter.
A couple weeks into the new year, after the Strep, I got a job and things are starting to look up. It's not for the position I was hoping for, but it's something and I enjoy it. Sorry I haven't updated in a couple weeks, but I was focused on getting things set up for my job, so i forgot to. That is, until I got a lovely review from Magnolia780, begging me not to stop this fic. Things got a little dark and sad in this chapter, but it will get better.