Wild Monster

by Matthew Harrington

  "He is a dwarf, I am an elf. Hostility has existed between our people for centuries." Legolas answered matter-of-factly, making Anoreth roll her eyes and laugh, which surprised him once again.

  "What does that have to do with anything?" Ann asked bluntly and turned to look at Legolas, the kindness in her eyes softening her words. "We are all fighting for the same thing on this quest. To save Middle-Earth. To save us all. Shouldn't you both try to be the better of your kin and attempt to get along?" Anoreth reasoned, shrugging gently when Legolas turned to fix her with a very surprised expression. A blush began to rise in her cheeks the longer that Legolas stared at her, worrying that perhaps she had crossed a line. She was relieved when a smile spread across his lips.

  "You're right. This is no time for hostility among allies." Legolas spoke and rewarded Ann with a smile. Ann bit her lip and nodded, looking away from the elf and busying herself with trying to find the doors on the stone wall.

  "Now let's see. Ithildin.." Gandalf reached to the wall and instantly webs of intricate, ancient silvery designs began to gleam softly beneath his hand. "It mirrors only starlight... and moonlight." Up above them the clouds cleared away to reveal the brilliant moon, as if Gandalf himself had asked them to fade. The silver designs grew even brighter when the clouds drifted away from the light and, soon, an outline of a grand door made itself known, formed of two columns beneath an arch with a shimmering star in the center. Carved into the arch were words in a language unknown to most. Gandalf gestured to the riddle with his staff and read aloud.

  "It reads 'The Doors of Durin- Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter'."

  "What do you suppose that means?" Merry asked innocently.

  "Oh, its quite simple. If you are a friend, you speak the password, and the doors will open." Gandalf sounded almost cheerful as he spoke then moved to press the head of his staff into the star on the gleaming carved doors. "Annon Edhellen, edro hi ammen!" Silence followed. "Fennas Nogothrim, lasto beth lammen." Once again: silence. The doors remained shut.

  "Nothings happening." Pippin said unhelpfully, earning an annoyed glare from the frustrated wizard as he proceeded to press against the doors in an attempt to force them open. Saeleth tried not to giggle as she watched the grey haired wizard grow more and more aggravated.

  "I once knew every spell in all the tongues of Elves, Men, and Orc." He grunted quietly.

  "What are you going to do then." Pippin asked, Ann grimaced gently when the wizard whirled on the half-ling.

  "Knock your head against these doors, Peregrin Took, and if that does not shatter them, and I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will try to find the opening words!"

  And that was that.

  Time passed, Gandalf continued to mutter an array of words in multiple languages and everyone else eventually drifted off to sit on the ground near the water or lean against the trees flanking the gleaming doors. The sisters sat together just behind Gandalf, Elle smiling softly as she continued to watch the wizard wearily mutter password after password with no success.

  "You think we should tell them?" Ann asked quietly, it was getting a little... agonizing, watching Gandalf stand before the doors with his staff raised high, chanting in several languages. Mae, who had decided to take the time to do some meditating, smiled and opened her eyes to look at their old friend with amusement. She pretended to think for a second before decidedly shaking her head.

  "Nah." She said and watched on as the wizard finally threw down his staff and hat, then plopped onto a rock beside Frodo. A resigned look on his face. "This is Frodo's time to shine." She added with a soft smile. Her smile, however, fell when she heard the sound of water splashing from behind her, turning around she felt herself frown further as she watched Aragorn warn Pippin to not disturb the water.

  "Oh no." Ann groaned quietly when a small wave formed in the water, this one unprovoked by any thrown rocks. She knew what was coming and she was not looking forward to it at all.

  "It's a riddle." Frodo realized, standing and stepping closer to the door and read it aloud. "Speak 'friend' and enter. What's the elvish word for friend?" He asked Gandalf.

  "Mellon." The doors rumbled deeply and then proceeded to creak open. Gandalf laughed happily and stood grabbing his staff and hat, everyone else immediately began to follow him inside. Ann kept off to a side, it was too dark for her to see the skeletons but she tried her hardest not to step on any as she continued forward using the wall as a guide.

  "Soon you Elves will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves! Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone. This, my friend, is the home of my cousin, Balin." Gimli spoke with immense pride as he stomped forward, meanwhile Gandalf lifted his hand to the crystal upon his staff and blew on it gently.

  "Lumos." Elle couldn't resist. The light grew from within the crystal at the same moment Elle spoke the word, causing both Mae and Ann to giggle softly.

  That would be the last laugh any of them would utter for a long while.

  "And they call it a mine. A mine!" Gandalf moved his hand from the crystal and soon their surrounding were revealed to them all.

  "This is no mine. It's a tomb." Boromir spoke quietly.

  Rotten corpses were strewn across the room, against the walls and thrown across the steps ahead of them. Ann gasped in shock as her eyes took in the horror around them. The sisters had seen this scene many times in the films... but to see them yourself was far much more gruesome. Ann staggered back from the bodies and nearly screamed when she felt something bump into her back, whirling around her eyes widened in horror as she found herself facing yet another corpse dangling from the ceiling with a chain wrapped around it's throat... It was not the only one...

  "No... no. NO!" Gimili cried painfully, forcing Ann to look away from the body and back to where her sisters were holding onto the frightened hobbits. But that was not all she saw...

  "Frodo! Watch out!" Ann rushed forward but the tentacle wrapped itself around Frodo's leg and pulled.

  "Frodo!" Sam shouted and instantly made to run after him, but Ann grabbed onto the hobbit and held him back, struggling to keep him, Merry, and Pip away from the danger.

  Both Saeleth and Maethien drew out their weapons and rushed at the tentacle before Aragorn and the rest could move, calling out Frodo's name as they slashed. Ann stood firmly in front of the hobbits with her curved sword and shield drawn and ready to protect her little friends, her eyes focused on the battle in front of her. Elle grabbed onto Frodo's arms and pulled with all her strength, ensuing a sort of tug of war between herself and the monster in the lake. Thinking fast, Mae shouted for Elle to hold on to Frodo and raised her sword high above the tentacle, she then brought it down heavily and slashed off the monster's tentacle.

  "Inside! Hurry!" Mae shouted and pushed them toward the entrance but the arms came back with a vengeance. Ann watched in horror as her sisters were flung away brutally by the monster, Mae crashing into one of the large trees by the entrance and Elle being thrown against one of the doors. Frodo shouted for help as he was taken once again by the monster and lifted high into the air above the water.

  "Stay inside!" Ann ordered sternly and rushed forward with Aragorn and the rest, she slashed at the many arms in an attempt to get it to release Frodo, all the while screaming out to her sisters to get up. The hobbits rushed to the two elves and began to shake them in an attempt to wake them up, their wide worried eyes darting from the monster to the sister's repeatedly as they shook and shouted.

  Mae was the first to awake, she looked at the worried look on her friends faces and quickly tried to shake away her spinning vision. Mae staggered to her feet and fought away the dizziness, forcing herself to focus on the battle only feet away from her. From the water, the monster's head rose from the darkness, with it's dark eyes trained on Frodo as it opened it's mouth to reveal rows and rows of razor sharp teeth.

  "Legolas! The eyes!" Boromir shouted as he brought his sword down onto a tentacle. Legolas ins
tantly shot out an arrow and hit his target, the monster screeched and roared in pain and immediately began to shrink back into the safety of the water.

  "Frodo!" Aragorn called out and made to slash at the tentacle that still held the hobbit, but, before he could, another struck him hard and sent him barreling into the rocks by the lake. The monster dived back into the water, taking Frodo with him, the hobbit's shouts for help getting sharply cut off as he was taken into the deep.

  "No!" Mae screamed and ran to the water ignoring the calls of everyone telling her to stop. The only thing Mae could think of was saving Frodo, and with that Mae dove into the water and searched frantically for the hobbit. The water was dark, she could just barely see Frodo's small form being dragged deeper into the lake. She swam after him, pushing herself hard and swimming as fast as she could, reaching out to Frodo as he reached out for her.

  Come on Frodo! Don't leave us.

  Mae gripped onto Frodo's hand and pulled herself closer to the hobbit, wrapping one arm around him she brought out her sword with her free hand and stabbed the tentacle holding onto Frodo furiously. Even in the water, Mae heard the eerie screech of the monster, dark liquid spilling from the wounds. With no time to lose Mae grabbed onto Frodo and made for the surface, but was stopped when the angry monster wrapped its tentacle around her ankle.

  Damn you, you giant ugly squid! I'm gonna chop off every one of those tentacles and feed them to you myself!

  Despite her dire situation, Mae's thoughts were more angry than afraid as she immediately shoved Frodo as hard as she could toward the surface, then turned to face the tentacle, holding her sword in both of her hands she began to slash and stab as hard as she could. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold her breath, she could feel her lungs aching for breath as she fought hard to free herself, her movements beginning to feel heavy, her lungs straining for air.

  No, no, no! I can't die! I won't die!

  Suddenly, Mae felt an arm wrap tight around her waist and another sword glinted beside hers.

  Ann and Elle stood knee deep in the water, scanning the water frantically for their sister, they dug their hands into the water in a desperate attempt to find them, see them, touch them! Anything!

  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Aragorn resurfaced, holding onto Mae firmly with one arm both of their swords still drawn and gripped tightly in their dominant hands.

  "Oh thank you!" Ann whispered gratefully as she rushed forward to help the warriors out of the water, she then screamed when the creature burst from the water behind them.

  "Why don't you die!" Mae tried to scream but she was a tad busy breathing as much air into her lungs as she could while still swimming for her life. The creature slapped at the water, causing a large wave to throw them all to the bank.

  "Into the mines!" Gandalf roared. Everyone rose to their feet and ran, Aragorn still holding firmly onto Mae as they rushed into the mines not daring to look back when the sound of falling stones thundered behind them.

  Labored breathing. That was the only thing that could be heard in the pitch black. The passage had collapsed, leaving them all trapped in the darkness and dangers of Moria. No one spoke for a long moment, everyone still trying to catch their breath.

  "We now have but one choice." Light spilled from Gandalf's staff, illuminating the passage for everyone. "We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things then Orcs in the deep places of the world." The wizard spoke gravely as he began to lead the way into the mines.

  It was then that Mae realized that she had been clutching onto Aragorn's cloak and that Aragorn realized he'd been gripping onto Mae's waist. The two looked at each other, their faces merely inches apart, the chests rising and falling heavily.

  "Um, thank you Aragorn... for helping me." Mae spoke first, the words breaking the figurative spell between them. They released their holds on each other and stepped away, their eyes no longer on one other but on anything other than each other.

  "There is no need to thank me, Mae. I would not have let the beast take you." Mae felt a warmth at his words. Unsure about what to think of that warmth she simply smiled softly and glanced at him quickly, meeting his eyes briefly, before looking at the ground once again, tucking her soaking hair behind her ear.

  "Quietly now. It's a four day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed." Gandalf murmured as he led the way.

  Aww, I love them!

  As always, I very much enjoy hearing from all of you! Feedback is always welcome, so is constructive criticism! I really want to take time to thank all of you that have Favorited and Followed this story! You cant imagine how much it means to me to know you enjoyed my story and want to keep reading more! Thank you so much guys! If there are any mistakes or anything like that in the chapter please let me know and I really hope you all enjoyed the chapter!

  Angel897

  Thank you so much for your comments and for coming back to read my story every time!

  Unicorn682006

  Thank you for reading this story despite it being an Aragorn/OC fic!

  briarleaves

  Gotta tell you I reread your comment when Im having some trouble updating, how can I disappoint the teddycats?!

  Alice Starlight

  Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

  Kyouki no kitsune

  Thanks for those quotes! I like reading quotes and poems that remind me of LotR, they give me a push to keep writing.

  Marauderzoe

  No! Thank YOU! Thanks for reading, Im so glad you liked it and that you like the girls! You cant imagine how much a struggle with those three so thank you so much for putting my mind at ease about them!

  Artful Artifice

  As always, i could not have done a lot of this without your help! Thank you so much for helping me with my story and giving me many much needed pushes to keep writing and thank you so much for all of your feedback and suggestions, you should know that I truly take all of your suggestions into consideration. Guren glassui!

  Horrifying.

  Eithahawn looked at the white book on the table. That was their contract. It might as well have been a box full of shackles. Inside it, on the first page, was a drawing of this girl as a small child, and one of each birthday afterward. It was stunning – how fast they grew. They raced through life like water down from the mountains coursed through the Forest River during spring melt. Terrible. Shocking. Marvelous. Nothing excused the treatment she was seeing. She was still just a girl. Still an Erusen – a being cut from the music of the gods. She should still choose. But he knew he couldn't make a ruling on this matter without the Lake Township Council. That was per their agreement.

  He shut his long eyes, horrified by this.

  Eithahawn knew he would press them.

  He would press them for her freedom.

  His blue-green eyes opened on her. If he were the Elfking he would be the final authority on all things in the Kingdom, but – happily – he was not. But King Thranduil would not stand by, surely? Still, when his King was not around… sometimes it fell to Eithahawn to be creative.

  He spoke quietly. "If I burn this hideous book of theirs, girl," he rested his long hand on the white dove-cover, "would you then be free?"

  'Lord Eithahawn', came a voice in his thoughts, and he straightened and turned to the sudden approach of Farathel, one of the older elves of the Court Guard. She loped into the room, and, from behind her came an overflow of armed elves, glinting with steel. The section on the walls spilled forward like a single thought and circled around him.

  Eithahawn glanced at them, "Farathel, what is this? Is… has this to do with Our Guests?" He was the sort who resorted to euphemism rather than be impolite about an event, particularly before the Long Lake humans, who might not understand. Was this because of the Emissaries? He also turned to the human girl who was swept aside by the rush of armour, "She does not leave!" The girl looked panicked.

  Th
e great blue-stone gates, inlaid with a pattern of Mother of Pearl on the inside, eased shut. Likewise bars cranked up from the floors and threaded together with bars from apses along the walls. All of this was driven by water-pressure. Much of the inner-workings of the Halls were based on natural forces and the Elfking's creativity, giving a lie to the idea that invention was the province of the Noldor. It seemed to be more likely training, practice, and the preoccupation of a restless mind always striving for better. And it could again be because of the Emissaries that the Great Gates were shut now.

  "Give me answer," he told Farathel and her green eyes glanced over the humans pressing to the wall in an atmosphere of panic.

  The slender elf-woman was grave, "Kingdom's-seneschal, it must be shown."

  His brain leapt from Thranduil to Legolas in a sudden chain of worries. "Lead on."

  "Do not fear!" she announced to them. "Men of Long Lake, you will shelter in the Guest Halls."

  "Put them under guard, for their safety," Eithahawn directed. He had a vague sense that the few unaccompanied women here might feel somewhat exposed in close quarters with grown men, some of whom were not of the best quality – he could lately attest to that. But it wasn't something he could put into words. Just a feeling.

  Farathel fell in line with the humans. "Follow me, Men of Lake Township."

  It was frustrating, the barriers in the language. The few women of the Township seemed at a loss as to what to do, but that was all Eithahawn had time to see before he was swept into the inner Halls, and the doors that parted him from the throne of his King shut tight behind him. He went down the stairs in the center of a section, and was ushered into his King's War Room.

  Dorondir, soaking from the evening rain, stood panting in the middle of the great wood and stone room. He was smeared with blood and stank of Orc. At his feet he had laid a bundled man – that much was clear from the figure of him – wrapped in one of Thranduil's new travel cloaks.

  It was at moments like this that Eithahawn misplaced the fact he was the son of Auron, Sindar general and friend of Thranduil, and Sileth, a fearsome Silvan archer. He had known them only up until his seventh year. When they'd died in succession, and his brothers with them, he'd been raised in what was known as the Inner Halls – the home of the King. So when he saw Dorondir with his grave face, and the man prone on the floor, in all honesty, the moan that came out of his throat wasn't quite elvish. It sounded like the injury of a beast. He took two quick steps and flung himself down by the body on the floor, then threw back the cloak and… he found hair so dark that it was almost black.