"Frodo, Sam, you must leave me," you croaked as you clutched your middle, your blood seeping through your fingers.
Sam tried to steady you against a rock as your small group came to a stop by a marshy river. "Hush now, (y/n), we can rest for a moment now, here." He gestured to a clearing where the long grass moved with small creatures. "I'm sure I can catch something to cook."
You couldn't help but grin at his attempts to ease you. "Use my dagger. It will fare you far more than the rocks you have been using the last few hunts." You let out a hiss of breath through your teeth as you let yourself lean back on the rock.
Sam nodded. "Right. Right. I'm off."
Frodo came up next to you and sat down, sighing heavily. You looked over at him through laden eyes. He looked horrid, you not looking any better. Your eyed flickered to the Gollum creature as he pittled about, making odd noises, his smell reaching you and making you sick to your stomach. You coughed, drawing Frodo's attention.
The young ring bearer turned to you, his weakness sheading into worry as he took in your bleeding wound. "We need to change the bandage," his voice was low but the concern was still there.
You gave him a smile that felt more like a wince. "A gruesome business to be sure." You groaned as you sat up a bit, pointing to one of the packs Sam left behind as he went hunting. "Toss me that sack. How are you with blood?"
Frodo didn't answer as he grabbed what you needed, his movements slow. He reached for your wound but you stopped him, laughing weakly.
"Don't trouble yourself Frodo, I jest. Rest a moment as Sam fetches dinner."
Frodo looked at you a moment before nodding, his lack of persistence worrying you slightly. "I do not think we will ever get a proper dinner."
"Keep hope, Frodo. You never know what we will stumble across. Or do you wish to eat that Elvish bread for the remainder of this journey?" You looked at him only to see his head leaning back and his eyes closed.
It was time to see to that injury of yours. You hissed and bit back a groan as you pulled back your shirt enough to see the gaping wound on your side. It looked far worse than you had thought it would be. Black and blue covered the area around it twice as large as the stab wound itself. Thick blood trickled out with each breath you took. You were accustomed to the constant pain but the movements caused new levels of pain to wash over you, your vision blurring. You were quite sure the sword used to stab you was lined with some sort of poison.
You paid very little heed to what was going on around you as you tried to keep from passing out. By the time you had cleaned the wound as best you could and had it wrapped in fresher bandages you were covered with a thin layer of sweat and your hands were shaking. You closed your eyes a moment and leaned your head back, hoping to regain what strength you could to help the Hobbits along.
Had you not rushed after them and ignored their pleas for you to return back to Aragorn and the others, you would not have gotten hurt. then again, the Hobbits would not have been alive. the small group of Uruk-hai came out of nowhere and were determined not to fail. However, they did not know you would be there to stop them.
You knew not how long you laid still, the festering pain made it difficult to fall into any sleep. At one point you sturred at Gollum's annoying voice but quickly settled again. Your body ached, your head pounded, and your ears rang, but something smelled...good.
Blinking, you turned your head to see Sam sitting in front of a pot, stirring some sort of stew as Gollum wallowed in frustration, bounding about and spitting. Frodo looked a bit more himself as if the smell of real food alone filled him. You tried to sit up but your vision grew blurred and your head spun.
Sam noticed and stood, making his way over to you. "How are you feeling Miss Ranger?"
Had you been feeling even slightly better you would have laughed at his name for you that he just refused to drop. Instead, you leaned back again, your eyes closing.
"It smells wonderful, Sam."
The gardener knelt next to you and pointed to your side. "It's bleeding through again. Are you sure you don't want me to stitch it up?"
You waved a weak hand. "No. It would be best if I just cauterized it. No fear of it tearing."
Sam nodded then stood, looking around. "Where is Mr. Frodo? Mr. Frodo?!"
You let out a groan. "He probably followed the call of the birds. Go on and retrieve him. I shall guard the soup."
The sound of padding feet told you Sam had left to get Frodo, the both of you knew very well you couldn't fight off a blade of grass if you had to.
It was quiet for a time, a slight breeze working up enough gust to move the few hairs around your face that came loose of your braid.
Suddenly there was a startling shout, your name slightly muffled through the trees. Despite the considerable amount of pain you were in, you sat up and grabbed your daggers, your eyes wide and ears intent, sensing for the Hobbits.
Leaving the pot to fend for itself, you got to your feet with far more ease than you initially thought possible. You ignored the blood running down your side as you inched in the direction you heard Sam walk to just a few moments before.
Through the trees, you could see movement. Cloaked men were holding Sam and Frodo with ease. A dead man lay on the edge of a dropoff, his Easterling clothing giving you pause. Frodo was speaking to one of the cloaked men holding a rather large bow, his back to you making it impossible to see if he was friend or foe.
Not eager to wait to find out and take a chance that he would harm the Hobbits, you gripped your daggers and raced forward as quietly as possible. With one swift motion and gritting your teeth against the pain screaming at you to lay down, you reached your arms around the cloaked figure, pointing a dagger at their back as the other wrapped around their neck, the second blade moving against the beat of his carotid artery.
"Harm a hair on their head and I will bleed you where you stand." You were pleased to not hear a bit of weariness or pain in your voice.
The cloaked man raised his hands slowly, though he did not seem to mean it. "I have over three dozen men hidden in the trees, their arrows trained on you. I am merely doing my duty."
You scoffed, your eyes blinking back the tunnel vision that threatened to take over. "Ironic seeing as how we too are just going about our business, doing our duty."
With speed you had no way of tracking, the hooded man turned and easily disarmed you, pushing you against a tree with a single shove, your bluff found out. "You have something I need. I will not fail to retrieve it. Not when it's within my grasp."
You narrowed your eyes as you looked up into his hood. You were grateful for your fatigue to keep you from giving away your surprise. He was handsome, to be sure, with red hair, striking, yet sad blue eyes, and a very familiar crest upon his chest. He was Gondorian. A fellow ranger.
You opened your mouth to answer but instead out came a cough accompanied by blood. You sagged forward, noticing the ranger step forward to help you but you just glared at him.
"She is unwell! We would do well to help each other. She needs medical attention," Sam's voice broke through the growing hum that filled your head and ears.
You wiped your mouth and sat up, clutching the tree for support. "You would be making a grave mistake to do otherwise. Let them go." You looked into the ranger's eyes, seeing a man full of conflict tinged with concern.
The ranger shook his head. "Your loyalty is commendable but I must fulfill this task. They come with me to Gondor."
You let your body sag, your energy leaving you with each labored breath you took. "Please," you all but cried, "they are on a sacred errand and must complete it. They must-" you coughed again but felt on the ground this time.
Sam cried out your name as hands found you, your body racked with caughs and the ground turned red with your dripping blood from both your mouth as well as your wound. A strong aroma of forest, leather, and a hint of peppermint enveloped you as your body hesitantly leaned into a warm embrace, keeping you from choking on your blood.
You looked up and saw Sam and Frodo calling for you, their voices falling on deaf ears. You blinked then looked up at the ranger who was now holding you, his brows pinched in slight concern.
"Do not fight me. You will make it worse." He turned his head and said something to one of his other rangers, words suddenly not making any sense to you.
You tried to keep your eyes open but it was getting increasingly hard to do so. The last thing you saw was Sam and Frodo being taken away, their heads covered in sackcloth. You looked up at the ranger one last time, your mouth opening enough for you to croak out one word.
"Bastard."
Then you slumped into his arms, your consciousness no longer strong enough to hang on. Your life and the life of the Hobbits now laid in the blue-eyed ranger's hands. Quite literally.
~~~~~~~
Faramir leaned against the archway of the small room where you were resting in, your fitful sleep filling the quiet room. Sam came to stand a distance from Faramir but close enough to see you, Frodo close behind, both of their hands bound.
"She saved us from an ambush," Sam spoke quietly, not wanting to wake you.
Faramir raised a brow as he looked at the hobbit out of the corner of his eye. "Alone?"
Sam nodded, the muffled sounds of the other rangers in the waterfall cave hideout milling about, echoing off the damp walls. "Fifteen to twenty against one. We didn't know she was injured until just a day before you took us."
Faramir looked back to you, his arms crossed, one hand pressed to his chin. "That changes nothing. I applaud her bravery and because of that, you and your friend are alive. Alive for me to take to my father."
Sam closed his eyes and shook his head. "You can't mean that. You don't know what that...that thing does to a man. What trouble it brings."
Faramir didn't head the "gardener's" words. Instead, he raised his hand for the nearest ranger to draw near, leaning in to whisper to him. "We leave as soon as the rain lets up."
The ranger nodded, then looked at you sleeping. "What of the woman? We won't make good time carting her with us."
Faramir nodded. "Leave that to me."
~~~~~
You could feel yourself come in and out of consciousness, your body refusing to obey you mental please for it to move about. You groaned as your body swayed side to side. You were being transported somewhere, that much you knew for certain. The area smelled of odorous men and damp forest.
Coming in and out of consciousness, you could saw branches pass, clouds blink in and out, and the quiet murmur of a few voices. A few times you could see Frodo and Sam, your arm weakly lifting to reach out to them. But each time you were stopped by the same ranger from before, the one with the sad eyes.
He would gently tuck your hand back into the stretcher like carrier, whispering to you about resting and that they will be fine. But you didn't believe it unless you were able to see them for yourself. Something deep down told you that they weren't going to be fine.
After what felt like weeks of being sequestered to your cot, being dragged and rocked about over hilly lands, the ranger led his men to what looked to be a rundown city split into two halves by a long, cold looking river.
You sat up with a grunt, biting down your pain as you blinked back what blur that tried to keep you from making sense of your surroundings.
"Osgiliath," you whispered under your breath.
The ranger stood next to you and turned, his eyes full of warmth as he nodded, a sad smile pulling at his lips. "You know her?"
You winced as you shifted slightly to look back at the ranger. "Yes. I was to be sent here before my group was attacked. I never got to see her."
The ranger nodded, turning back to the broken city. "Welcome. To what's left of her at least. We will rest here and make for Gondor."
"Wait, I-" you called out but stopped when the men carrying your cot moved, making you cry out in pain. It was too much and you blacked out, the sound of Sam calling your name the last thing you heard.
Part 2 next cuz I totally forgot how long this scene was and I've already gotten this far so might as well finish it haha