The sun had not yet climbed to its highest peak as the Fellowship rested upon a stone mountain overlooking a valley of stone and tree, wisps of fog and cloud pouring from the mountain like my breath from my lips on the iciest of winters.
The sky was drab and grey, and large sharp rocks protruded from the ground like the knives and arrowheads on the remnants of a battlefield.
I stood upon a ledge, looking down at Boromir, who was in the midst of teaching Merry and Pippin on how to use their swords, their clash of metal ringing throughout the valley. As much as I didn't want to admit it, it was certainly kind of Boromir to do this, as there would yet be many times when an extra pair of swords would serve us well.
A slight breeze rippled through my clothes, and I wrapped my cloak tighter around my body.
"Move your feet," advised my brother, his pipe in his mouth.
I quietly watched over them, listening as their radiant laughter rang out into the morning air.
As I peered out far over the valley, Sam approached me.
"Sausages, m'lady?"
I sent him a small smile.
"No, thank you." I kindly refused. "But I'm sure Aldion wouldn't mind having one."
Sam glanced at Aldion, who stared intently at the plate of meat, his tongue hanging from his mouth. Sam just chuckled, before tossing the wolfhound a sausage. Aldion instantly caught the piece of meat in his jaws, before padding away in satisfaction.
Sam sent me a nod before going to offer more people sausages.
I shot a glance at Frodo. The small hobbit tasked with such a monumental responsibility.
He held so much mirth in his eyes as he watched his companions fight. The knowledge that this journey could suck it all out like a leech plagued my mind.
For even from here, I could sense the swirling darkness, spiraling out from the forsaken tower like a tendril of pure icy evil, seeking to constrict the life out of all that is living.
But there was something else. And it was nearing us by the second.
Shouldering my bow and quiver, I approached Aldion. His ears were perked, sniffing the air as if he too could sense something...off.
"No dirweg (be watchful)." I whispered to him.
His fur bristled, a small growl reverberating from his throat.
I sprang upon the large rock that Legolas was perched on, overlooking the valley before us, his eyes surveying the land like a hawk.
"Do you feel that?" He questioned, his eyes never straying from ahead.
I nodded.
"It is as if the sun grew colder." I confirmed. "Something is coming."
Sam joined me, peering at what seemed to be a dark shape in the sky.
"What is that?" He asked.
Indeed, I thought as I narrowed my eyes, peering out at the dark mass in the sky. Something was definitely wrong with that cloud.
Gimli squinted.
"Nothing, it's just a whiff of cloud." He dismissed.
I would have agreed with Gimli if it weren't for the fact that within the "cloud", I could make out small shapes.
"It's moving fast...against the wind." observed Boromir, as he too frowned.
My senses told me to run, to hide, and what Legolas said next only confirmed it.
"Crebain from Dunland!"
Panic ensued as Aragorn urged everyone to hide.
Hastily, Sam put out the fire, and I scooped up my belongings, before grabbing Pippin and Merry and yanking them behind a rock outcropping, shielding them from harm's way.
The other members of the fellowship scrambled to find a place to hide, and Aldion concealed himself underneath a surprisingly large enough bush, his black hue making him seem all but a shadow.
The crebain passed over us, a swarm of birds black as the heart of Sauron himself, cawing and cackling like a swarm of winged demons.
For a second, it was as if the sun herself had been blocked out. I wrapped my arms tightly around the hobbits as they clutched their ears, trying to ease their fear as the crebain continued to circle the hill, their loud caws piercing our ears. I prayed to the Valar that we would not be discovered.
After what seemed like eternity, their dreaded screeching faded as they flew back southwards.
One by one, we emerged from our hiding places.
"Spies of Saruman?" I exclaimed, turning to Gandalf. " I thought he was head of the council."
Gandalf's face darkened.
"Saruman has strayed from the light; he has chosen darkness and sided with the enemy."
My eyes widened as the implications of his words sunk in. The most powerful of the Istari had turned. Our list of allies were growing thin.
Gandalf's expression was grave.
"The passage south is being watched. We must take the Pass of Caradhras."
-
I longed for the return to the dry lands we once tread on. For wherever I looked, I could only see white.
Legolas walked ahead of me, his feet barely making a dent on the snow as he walked on top, not a hair out of place.
I, on the other hand, looked like I had fallen into a ditch, my raven hair sticking to my face, covered in ice and snow, clothes clutching onto my body like a second skin. Being an elf, I didn't feel as cold, and I too walked on the surface of the snow, and yet I looked nowhere near as pristine as Legolas.
I huffed in annoyance, my breath clouding in the cold air before me like smoke from a dragon.
Aldion was ploughing through the snow, his jet-black fur in stark contrast to the blinding snow around him, black in a sea of white. Upon his back, he bore Frodo, whom I had given up my seat for.
My eyes began to linger on my feet, with nothing drawing their attention, my ears honing in on the crunching of snow beneath our feet.
Suddenly, I heard a grunt. Turning around, I saw that the young hobbit had fallen off Aldion's back, tumbling down the slope until Aragorn caught him. Gandalf and Legolas in front of me stopped at the commotion.
Suddenly, there was a tug in my mind, like a small voice whispering fell words. It was then that I noticed the glint of cold metal lying upon a heap of snow.
The Ring.
I reached out my hand with the intent of returning it, but before I could, the Ring had already found its way into the hands of Boromir, the chain entwined around his finger.
Immediately, my fingers grazed the hilt of my sword.
Did I want to kill him?
No.
But I knew what had to be done just to keep the Ring out of his hands. If he used the Ring, he would crumble, and the world would fall with him.
"Boromir," I called, my voice carried down by the wind, "Give Frodo the Ring!"
It was as if my words fell upon deaf ears, and his eyes stayed stuck to the Ring, as if in a trance. The tension was thick in the air, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my brother mirror my actions, his fingers resting on his sword.
"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing...such a little thing" Boromir mused, studying the ring like the ancient artefact it was, completely mesmerised. He raised his hand, fingers about to touch the ring.
Frodo anxiously watched, unable to do much.
"Boromir!" yelled Aragorn, a sense of urgency in his tone.
Aldion released an audible growl and Boromir immediately froze. I spoke slowly.
"Give the Ring back to Frodo."
As if shaken from the trance, Boromir walked over to Frodo, holding out the ring. Hastily, the hobbit snatched the ring back in one swift motion, and I let out a breath I did not know I was holding.
"As you wish, I care not," Boromir chuckled, before seeing the stern unsmiling face of my brother. He laughed, half-heartedly ruffling the hair of the very unamused Frodo, before continuing to trudge on.
I met the eyes of Aragorn, giving him a knowing look, as if to say I expected this, before walking ahead.
"What happened?" asked Legolas as I walked by his side.
"Weakness of yet another man," I replied with scorn.
The blonde elf's lips curled at the corners.
We all knew about Isildur, and how he refused to destroy the Ring. Why Elrond didn't just push him into the fire was beyond me.
Just kidding. Maybe.
Like that, we continued to trudge in silence up the steep mountain slope.
The snow grew thicker and deeper, and soon Aragorn and Boromir were thigh deep in snow. The snow swirled around us, enveloping us in a flurry of white, the winds so strong we risked getting blown away.
Aldion was pushing Merry and Pippin, supporting them as they trudged up the slope.
To our left was a steep rock face, slick with ice and jagged rocks. To our right, the path dropped into a deep chasm. I preferred not to think about what would happen if we were to make one misstep.
Legolas and I made our way to the front of the line, our feet making light footprints behind us. Through the howling winds, my ears picked up a voice echoing through the blizzard.
"Cuiva nwalca Carnirasse; nai yarvaxea rasselya!"
(Wake up cruel Redhorn! May your horn be bloodstained!)
"There is a fell voice in the air!" yelled Legolas.
A loud crack resounded through the air, and giant chunks of ice and stone dislodged from the top of the cliff face. A large chunk of ice hurtled towards me at an alarming speed. Before I could dodge it, it struck my left shoulder, sending spasms of pain down my arm. I guess that was just my unlucky shoulder.
"It's Saruman!" Gandalf shouted.
Of course it was, I thought internally, gritting my teeth and pushing against the wind, wrapping my cloak tighter around my body.
This was nothing like the soft fluffy blanket that covered my homeland once a year.
This was a storm fueled by pure malice.
Aragorn was struggling to shield Frodo from the bitter cold.
"He's trying to bring down the mountain!" he yelled over the roaring wind and falling boulders. "Gandalf! We must turn back!"
"No!" Gandalf still continued to object. "Losto Caradhras, sedho, hodo, nuitho i 'ruith! (Sleep, Caradhras, be still, lie still, hold your wrath!)"
But it was to no avail. The storm continued to rage on.
There was a flash of bright white light followed by an ear-splitting crack from above us. As I glanced up, my eyes widened.
"Watch out!" I screamed as an avalanche of snow flowed down the slope, enveloping everything in its path.
Grabbing Merry, I shoved him against the side of the slope, hoping to shield him from the brunt of the avalanche, which was pouring down on us like a tidal wave, pushing anything in its way off the cliff. Everything went dark as I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing myself for the worst.
When I opened my eyes, everything was white. I struggled to move, completely enveloped by thick crystalline white snow. Panic set in my heart as I struggled to get free, disorientated, trying to dig with my hands, struggling to differentiate between up and down.
The claustrophobia set in as I frantically tried to escape being buried alive.
I felt the pressure above my head lessen, before something grabbed my arm. I emerged from the snow gasping for air and sputtering as Aldion wagged his tail to see his friend. Grabbing his fur, I pulled him into an embrace, feeling his warming breath on my back as he panted.
"Edraith te (save them)" I instructed as we pulled apart.
The wolfhound seemed to nod, before joining me in my search for the others, my hands quickly becoming numb in the burning cold of the snow.
Aldion used his sense of smell to locate the others, before digging, scooping out snow with his large paws. Somewhere behind me, Legolas appeared on the surface, clambering out of the snow.
"You okay?" I asked
The blonde elf just nodded in response.
One by one, Legolas, Aldion and I dug out each member of the Fellowship. Last to emerge was Gimli, who growled and sputtered as Aldion dragged him out of the snow.
There was no way to know which direction to go, our vision hidden by the white that swirled so densely. I could feel the snow make its way in my clothes, taking away the little warmth that I had conserved.
"We must get off the mountain!" Boromir hollered over the roar of the storm, "Make for the Gap of Rohan and take the west road to my city!"
I shook my head, although I severely doubted anyone could see it.
"The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isenguard," I responded.
"If we cannot pass over the mountain, let us go under it!" Gimli shouted, his beard now icy with snow. "Let us go through the Mines of Moria!"
Gandalf's expression was stone-cold.
"Let the Ring-Bearer decide."
All eyes fell upon the small, seemingly insignificant hobbit, who's choice could very well change the course of our fellowship. Did that make him any less insignificant?
The storm was worsening by the second, the dark clouds blocking out almost all light, the cold seeping into my veins like venom. It didn't matter that I was an elf, I would still die up here without shelter and warmth.
"We cannot stay here!" shouted Boromir, Merry and Pippin almost frozen in his arms, "This will be the death of the hobbits!"
Gandalf looked expectantly at Frodo, and I could see the wheels of his mind desperately turning behind his eyes as everyone awaited his response.
"Frodo?"
"We will go through the mines".
As our fates were set, a sense of trepidation passed over my heart.
"So be it."