That morning was brighter than before. But the air was chill again; already the wind was turning back towards the east. For two more nights, we marched on, climbing steadily but slowly as the road wound up into the hills, and the mountains towered up, nearer and nearer. On the third morning Caradhras rose before us, a mighty peak, tipped with snow like silver, but with naked sides, dull red as if stained with blood.
"We're going to climb that?" I held my hand over my eyes to block the sun.
"It'll be much more difficult to walk around." Said Gandalf. "So, yes, Lady Rosa. Have you ever climbed a mountain before?"
"No, not that I can remember... Does a ski lift count?" I asked, but once I did I pressed my lips closed.
"What's a... ski lift?" Legolas asked.
"Um..." I thought for a minute about what I should say, "it is one of the many contraptions that inventors built where I come from."
"How does it work?" Pippin looked at me.
"Well, on the bottom of a mountain, is a set of gears that spin, making a rope move up the mountain to another set of gears and the whole thing goes in a circle," I explained. "Then this box, that carries people goes up with the rope. It makes it way easier to come and go."
Everyone looked at each other with curious glances. I breathed out. 'Fool of a Riana.'
"Now, no time to lose," said Gandalf abruptly, "Let's get on with the journey."
We set out again with good speed at first, but soon our way became steep and difficult. The twisting and climbing road had in many places almost disappeared, and was blocked with many fallen stones(twice I had almost fallen flat on my face.) The night grew dark under great clouds. A bitter wind swirled among the rocks. By midnight we had climbed to the knees of the great mountains. The narrow path now wound under a sheer wall of cliffs to the left, above which the grim flanks of Caradhras towered up invisible in the gloom; on the right was a gulf of darkness where the land fell suddenly into a deep ravine.
Oh joy, I sure do hope I don't fall!
With our backs to the wall of the mountain we laboriously climbed the sharp slope, the dim outlines of Aragorn and Gandalf were hardly in sight.
"I don't like this all," Sam grumbled just behind me.
"No one does, Sam. But it'll be over soon, not to worry." I attempted to cheer him up. When honestly, I'm scared of heights myself. I felt like my back was pressed to the mountain more than the others and every step I thought would be my last.
"Rosa, are you alright?" Pippin seemed to notice my anxiety.
"I'm okay, don't worry about me," I replied.
"Strider," Sam called for Aragorn. "Rosa doesn't look too good."
"I said I'm okay, you didn't need to tell him." I swallowed air down my dry throat.
Aragorn didn't seem to hear him, the wind was taking Sam's voice away.
"Rosa, drink some water," I heard Legolas. "And take a deep breath."
My shaking hand reached into my duffle bag where I kept my water bag and slowly lifted the opening to my lips, drank a few gulps then put it back in the bag. I then took a deep breath and again moved forward.
After another few meters Gandalf halted, the snow thick on his shoulders and already three feet deep at the top of his boots. "This is what I feared." He said.
"Do you think it's a contrivance from the enemy?" Boromir asked. Gandalf shook his head. And we kept moving. Pippin and Merry slowly trudged in front of me. Being tall made it extremely irritating, if I could, I would pass them.
"That's it," I said, bending down and picking up their small bodies, each of them resting on both my hips. Their little arms wrapped around my neck.
Then we halted suddenly as if we had come to an agreement without any words being spoken. The wind gave eerie noises in the darkness around us. It may have been only a trick of the wind in the cracks and gullies of the rocky wall, but the sounds were those of shrill cries and wild howls of laughter. Stones began to fall from the mountain-side, whistling over our heads, or crashing on the path beside us. Every now and again we heard a dull rumble, as a great boulder rolled down from hidden heights above.
"We cannot go any further!" Boromir cried.
"But what can we do?" cried Pippin miserably.
"Either stop where we are or go back," said Gandalf. "It is no good going on. Only a little higher, if I remember rightly, this path leaves the cliff and runs into a wide shallow trough at the bottom of a long hard slope. We should have no shelter there from snow, or stones, or anything else."
"And it is no good going back while the storm holds," said Aragorn. "We have passed no place on the way up that offered more shelter than this cliff- wall we are under now."
We now gathered together as close to the cliff as we could. It faced southwards, and near the bottom, it leaned out a little so that we hoped it would give us some protection from the north wind and from the falling stones. But blasts swirled around us from every side, and the snow flowed down in ever denser clouds.
We huddled together with their backs to the wall. Bill the pony stood patiently but dejectedly in front of the hobbits, and screened them a little; but before long the drifting snow was above his hocks, and it went on mounting. If they had had no larger companions the hobbits would soon have been entirely buried.
My eyes closed for what seemed like a minute, but what was actually like fifteen. I glance over at the hobbits and watched Boromir hoist Frodo out of a nest of snow.
"This will be the death of them, Gandalf." Said Boromir.
"No, it won't." Gandalf took out a silver bottle. "Elrond gave me this, it will warm them up and give them enough strength to move on." He handed the bottle to Sam who took a sip, then passed it on to Frodo who also took a sip. Once they all did, their faces lit up with energy.
"Would it hurt to make a fire, Gandalf?" I asked.
"You may make a fire if you can." Gandalf nodded. "I doubt there are many eyes watching."
I looked at Boromir who nodded in agreement. He had brought kindling and wood in his pack, we flattened out the snow and set the wood down. I got out my flint and steel and attempted to start a fire, when failed I handed it to Boromir who also tried. It even passed the skill of Legolas and Gimli to start a fire. Finally, Gandalf grumbled and pointed his staff towards the wood, mumbled a few words, and instantly green and blue flames burst from the wood. The halflings huddled towards the flames once they caught sight of it.
I watched Frodo gaze wearily at the flakes still falling out of the dark to be revealed white for a moment in the light of the dying fire. Then suddenly, sleep was beginning to creep over me again, I became aware that the wind had indeed fallen, and the flakes were becoming larger and fewer. Very slowly a dim light began to grow. At last, the snow stopped altogether. I sat up and looked around. Sadly there was no sun, just a cloud-filled sky.
"Where's the sun?" Pippin asked.
"The clouds are still heavy with snow Pippin, see? It'll be long before we see it again." I answered.
"We shall be on our way, long have we sat in the same place." Said Gandalf.
"Because of our waiting our path is covered with snow," I said.
"The strongest of us must seek a way!" Suggested Boromir.
"Then let us force a path together you and me!" Said Aragorn.
Aragorn was the tallest out of all of us, but Boromir, a little less in height, was broader and heavier in build. He led the way, and Aragorn followed him. Slowly they moved off and were soon toiling heavily. In places, the snow was chest high, and often Boromir seemed to be swimming or burrowing with his great arms rather than walking.
I noticed a smile on Legolas' face as he watched them.
"What?" I nudged him.
"Rather than to choose to plow, I choose feather over rock." He answered.
"Why speak in riddles when you can just tell me?" I said.
"Elves are light-footed." And with that, he hopped on top of the snow, not even sinking. He walked ahead of Boromir and Aragorn, not even making a footprint.
"Go find the Sun. And when you do, come right back." Said Gandalf.
"Of course I'll come back. It is improper to leave your companions." Legolas turned towards us.
"Go!" I shooed him off. He smiled at me, turned away, and left. I looked back at the plowers, who weren't making a lot of progress. The two of them began grumbling to each other.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"The ice got hard over here, it's taking quite a bit of time to breakthrough," Boromir replied. I walked up to them and pushed past Aragorn to the front.
"Where I come from, winters were pretty brutal." I poked at the ice. "One time," I laughed remembering a winter back home. "We had an ice storm and the roads were all covered in ice so no one could use their car- carriages so we had to walk everywhere. Multiple times I watched people slip flat on their bottoms." I heard Pippin laugh behind us. I turned towards the rest of the company.
"Gimli, how strong is your axe?" I asked.
"Crafted by the finest Blacksmith of Dwarves. This friend of mine is very strong, lassie." He answered.
"May I use it?" I asked. Gimli glanced at his weapon and hesitantly handed it to Boromir who handed it to me. "Thank you." I turned the axe around and poked at the ice with the handle. Then turned it around and jabbed the sharp point above the blade into the ice, causing a couple of cracks to spread.
"Hand this back to Gimli." I handed the axe back behind me and started kicking the bed of ice. Then I realized I was the only one doing that. I turned back towards Boromir and Aragorn. "A little help, please?" The two men stepped forward and joined in on kicking the ice. Soon enough the ice broke away and I left the two men to their plowing.
An hour, maybe, went by, though it seemed far longer, and then at last I saw Legolas coming back. At the same time, Boromir and Aragorn reappeared round the bend far behind him and came laboring up the slope. "Welcome home!" I yelled jokingly.
"Well," cried Legolas as he ran up, "I have not brought the Sun. She is walking in the blue fields of the South, and a little wreath of snow on this Redhorn hillock troubles her not at all. But I have brought back a gleam of good hope for those who are doomed to go on feet. There is the greatest wind- the drift of all just beyond the turn, and there our Strong Men were almost buried. They despaired until I returned and told them that the drift was a little wider than a wall. And on the other side, the snow suddenly grows less, while further down it is no more than a white coverlet to cool a hobbit's toes."
"Well, how are we supposed to get through?!" Cried Pippin, speaking for the hobbits.
"Boromir and I could carry you," I said, looking at the man. He nodded and stepped forward to pick up Pippin. I hoisted Merry up to my waist along with Frodo. Boromir held Sam. Being small they weren't very heavy, well, maybe Sam was a bit heavier than the rest. We continued on our way, following Legolas' trail.
It had been two days and my legs ached. I could tell everyone was chilled to the bone and hungry; my head was dizzy as I thought of the long and painful march downhill. Black specks swam before my eyes. I rubbed them, but the black specks remained. In the distance below us but still, high above the lower foothills, dark dots were circling in the air.
"The birds again!" said Aragorn, pointing down.
"That cannot be helped now," said Gandalf. "Whether they are good or evil, or have nothing to do with us at all, we must go down at once. Not even on the knees of Caradhras will we wait for another night-fall!"
A cold wind flowed down behind us as we turned our backs on the Redhorn Gate, and stumbled wearily down the slope. Caradhras had defeated us.
A/N: Sorry for the long update guys. A lot of stuff has been happening so.. I'm a little behind. See ya!