Chapter 9: Vision of Fears
Two days ago, they ran out of food, the last droplets of water soon following. Nobody tries to talk anymore - a waste of energy. Gailien knows that they should have been out of the forest by now – they have been following the path. But there has been no sign of the trees beginning to end.
Dehydration is beginning to settle in, a pounding headache near her temple and lips so chapped they are bleeding. She knows that she is feeling the effects of hunger and thirst more than anybody (besides Bilbo) but they are more susceptible to the effects of the forest in turn. She can't help but wonder how long she'll last before her legs give way. Maybe another few days without water. And she isn't the only person to know that fact.
Her head sways with her feet, blinking slowly as the forest seems to tip from side to side in front of her eyes. Her stomach feels sick from all the movement – or perhaps from the hunger.
Thorin had not mentioned anything about that night and Gailien isn't sure if he doesn't remember or if he is furious with her. She hasn't talked to him since.
But as her body tips to the side to balance against the non-existent waves, her mind is tugged away from the present and into a vision. Her feet stop trying to move but already leaning far to over, she falls to the ground, barely missing a large root with her head.
Bofur is the Dwarf walking behind her and slowly comes to a stop. "T...Thorin!" he exclaims, trying to breathe when there seems to be no air. Thorin stops, turning – also slightly swaying. Bofur points down at the girl, closing his eyes to concentrate on his words. "Ga...Gailien...she's..." Bofur can't even finish his statement but it is enough for Thorin and he strides back through the now waiting standing company. He blinks away the dizziness.
Gailien lies against the ground between two roots, one side of her face planted in the dirt, the other covered by the hair that has been falling from her ponytail for the last three days. Thorin kneels next to her, Kili also walks forward and kneeling next to his uncle.
Thorin brushes the hair out of the way, revealing her open, blank eyes staring straight ahead at the root.
"She's just having a vision, right?" Kili asks Thorin.
Thorin eyes her for any other thing that may be causing this but there is nothing to suggest anything but a vision. "She's fine. We just have to wait for her to come back."
Gailien is trapped in her vision. She and the Dwarves are still in the forest of Mirkwood and the ground is still swaying, though much more intensely. The image isn't still either; it flickers, shifting and changing. Gailien is crying out towards the Dwarves as they leave her behind, her foot trapped under a root.
Her fingers claw desperately at the root, trying to pull it away from her ankle but the root, as though it is alive, tightens its hold, climbing up her calf. She screams, reaching out for the Dwarves who pay her voice no heed.
Then her trousers begin to feel wet and her head snaps down. Water slowly trickles over the ground as though a new stream is forming. And it keeps coming. And coming. Until it reaches her waist as the entire forest begins to flood with a never-ending source of water.
Searching her waist for her weapons to hack at the root, there is nothing. Tugging and kicking are futile as the water softens her blows to the plant which is even older than her. The water rises, passing over her chest.
Her eyes dart around, trying to find something -anything – that she can use to free herself. The shouts of the Dwarves are now audible as the water starts rising to their necks and they begin to tilt their heads up.
Gailien wails, grasping at her leg, pulling so hard that her hip feels like it no longer belongs to her body. Her lungs gasp for her last breathes as the water rises over her chin and then finally over her mouth and nose.
The cries of the Dwarves quieten under the water.
Thorin and Kili, along with the rest of the company are waiting for Gailien to come back around. He contemplates just carrying her, but he doesn't trust his own feet to keep himself up let alone the both of them.
"She's going red," Kili mutters, leaning forward. Thorin's eyes narrow, watching her still face. Kili is right – her face is becoming a deep shade of red. This has never happened before, at least to his knowledge. And Kili is typically around her when she is in this state so if he is concerned, then something must be wrong.
His eyes dart over her, trying to find a wound. He feels her forehead any abnormal heat but if anything, she is too cold. Then he watches her chest. And there is no rise.
"She's not breathing," he realises quickly. His hands grip her shoulders, pulling her over to lie on her back and he shakes them, gripping tight. "Gailien!" She just stares at the canopy of the forest with those blank eyes.
"Wh-what's happening?" Kili questions, his mouth hanging open as his hands are held out in front of him, not knowing what to do. "Gailien!" Fili and Bilbo run over, hearing the younger Dwarf's distress. "Hey! Wake up!" He tugs at her upper arms, squeezing them hard.
Gailien watches the forest becomes fully submerged underwater, even the tallest trees being covered. She begins to run out of breath, the last bubbles escaping her mouth. She is trapped on the floor of the ocean forest.
A figure slowly sinks down in front of her, lifelessly. Their short hair floating around their head, arms and legs being controlled by the water. Gailien watches as they sink down, taking in their expressionless face. Their closed eyes and partially opened mouth that has no bubbles passing through.
Her mouth opens in a silent scream as Kili's dead body drifts past her.
With every last piece of energy, she has she kicks at the root giving her everything to try and reach him. The Dwarf who reminds her so much of the brother that she couldn't save, dying the same way that he did. That twinkle of mischief in his eye, the want to impress, his loyalty to family.
Dwalin grabs her blouse, pulling her off the ground and before anybody can question him, he pulls his other arm back, bringing it down on her cheek, hard enough to leave a mark. Gailien's eyes snap open, accompanied by a large gasp for the breath her lungs so desperately cry out for. Dwalin slowly lets go of her, letting her regain her senses.
The surrounding group lets out short breathes from the built tension as Gailien continues to breathe heavily, feverishly looking around. Then her gaze steadies on the young prince on her right. Launching forward, her arms wrap around his neck, burying her head into the crook.
Kili doesn't move out of shock for a few moments but slowly his arms encase the woman that clings to him as though her life is truly depending on it. "Thui- nin mellon," Kili whispers into her ear, using Elvish for its soothing flow. He looks up to Thorin with a perplexed expression. Thorin, Fili, Bilbo, and Dwalin stay crouched, watching with wide eyes as Kili tries to calm the woman down.
Thorin is the first to move, sliding forward. He places a soft hand on her back, leaning closer to speak to her. "Gailien. What did you see?"
Gailien shakes her head, not lifting it from the prince's shoulder. "It wasn't real," she says as loudly as she can. "What I saw wasn't real." The only grip she feels she now has on reality is the fact that Kili is completely dry, not even his hair is damp.
Thorin nods slowly. She already warned him that the forest could mess with her foresight. Gailien exhales slowly, knowing that they need to keep moving. She releases Kili, leaning back so her hands rest against the side of his face instead. Kili watches her silently, searching her eyes. He's safe. Alive.
She bows her head, letting her arms drop. "Let's keep moving," she mumbles, exhausted. The group silently agree, standing; none daring to push her for more information. Kili helps her to her feet, still feeling mighty concerned about the last few minutes.
Her cheek stings – no doubt a flaming red ad her fingers gently brush over it. "Thanks, Dwalin," she says to the warrior Dwarf as he overtakes her.
"I'd like to say anytime," he huffs, "but I don't enjoy laying my hand on a woman."
"Trust me, this one was appreciated."
Her eyes can't help but watch the ground, her hand clinging to the back of Kili's jacket to guide her as she waits for the water to start trickling in. She runs her hand through her hair and sure enough, it is still dry. Any roots she passes over, her feet climb high over. And her swords are still in place.
Not real.
Feeling cowardly, she drops her hand from Kili's clothes, holding it tightly by her side instead. She knows that it is not real, there is nothing to fear and she shouldn't be acting like a scared child. She is nearly half a millennium old.
Kili frowns, turning his head ever so slightly to look at her but Gailien's head and eyes are set forward, her shoulders squared back. Everybody knows that whatever she saw has shaken her, and if is being honest, her reaction has frightened him as well. Frightened him as to what the forest can do to him and the company.
Then Gailien's pace speeds up, leaving Kili behind as she marches up towards the front of the company, passing Dwalin and Thorin and starts leading the company herself, only speaking words of instruction.
"Is she alright?" Fili asks quietly, replacing her spot.
"I don't know, Fil."
Xx
Brave. Strong. Lithe. Elf.
She can't stop her head from turning back slightly, just enough to peek at the company, but her feet keep walking, leading the company. She should never have left the lead – she knows this forest better than anybody here. She should be the brave one, the one telling the others not to worry, the one helping them reach their goal.
Not to mention she is bar far the eldest, over double the eldest of the Dwarves. Her experience should make her the wisest, but she is anything but. Her emotions are not an important part of the quest. Their survival is and she cannot let them fail because she is cowering in a corner.
Once everything is over, then she can laugh, cry, fill her heart with everything that has built up. Even if that 'over' is just getting to the other side of Mirkwood.
The forest continues to try and unsettle her mind – making things move, twist and at one point, a child's cry echoes in the distance, but nothing will ever compare to the vision she saw. Her eyes and ears are open, but she doesn't trust them for a second. As she had warned them.
They haven't any food, and if she cannot lead them out of here, Bilbo will be the first to fall and her shortly after. Even though running into the Elves is probably the thing she would like to do least, if they are a hunting pack then it is possible they could send Bilbo or herself to steal food when they sleep. Or beg.
And then there are the spiders. Four hundred years ago, there were barely any – a few scattering the edges of the forest. But there is no mistaking that the forest has grown darker and the spiders have likely begun to thrive.
Her ears pick up the sound of something dropping into water and her head snaps sharply up. Her legs begin walking faster, into a light jog as the sound becomes closer with each step.
They won't be able to drink the water or bath but if she is right, then it is a bearing of their location and a spark of hope that they are still moving forward.
"Gailien!" Thorin calls. "What is it?"
Gailien slows to a stop, looking down at the water with both a small smile and a wince.
"The Enchanted River."