Wild Monster

by Matthew Harrington

  Saeleth raced forward, Gadriel neighing proudly as she followed after her allies, watching closely as the Uruks fled to the forest. It was then that she remembered that the trees were more than likely to be awake by then, and they had a bone to pick with the ghastly army that was hurrying into the forest for cover.

  "Keep away from the trees!" Saeleth bellowed as she raced to keep the riders of Rohan from following after the Uruks.

  "Stay out of the forest!" Elle was more than a little surprised to see Eomer racing at her side, calling out a warning to his soldiers as well. Every single soldier stopped and watched as the Uruks disappeared into the forest... moments later, the sounds of screeching Uruk-Hai pierced the air as the tops of the trees began to move and descend upon the army of beasts.

  That was the last thing Maethien saw before the blackness took her and she tumbled off of Artanis and onto the ground with a dull thud.

  "Mae?" Saeleth turned to her side, her blood running cold when she realized her sister was no longer beside her. "Mae?!" She shouted, a little louder, drawing the attention of the army of men.

  "Oh, Valar, please no." She whispered, panic rising up her throat as she whirled around wildly, searching for her sister. Ignoring the looks of concern she was getting from the men at her sides.

  "Sae-" Eomer, who had moved to stand at her side, attempted to speak, but he was quickly cut off by her cries, the look in her wild eyes silencing him.

  "Maethien! Answer me! Dammit. Aragorn!" The ranger found Elle among the crowd and froze when he saw her frantic state. "Aragorn, I can't find, Mae! Where is my sister?!"

  "Maethien!" Aragorn immediately bellowed, his heart hammering in his chest as he searched among the living for the elleth, he prayed to the Valar that he did not have to look among the dead.

  "Mae!" Gimli called out.

  "Maethien!" Legolas joined in, his keen eyes searching the battle field.

  "Where is the balrog slayer?! Find her!" Theoden called out. Men began to search, turning lifeless bodies over to look upon their faces. Artanis, smart girl, called out to them all, rearing up high to be noticed. Aragorn saw the body she was standing over, and felt his insides twist.

  "No." He whispered, then took of at run, dropping to his knees and pulling her limp body up to his chest. "Mae! Mae, wake up." Aragorn whispered, he couldn't even begin to explain how relived he was to find that she still breathed... though she was fading.

  "Is she..." Gimli could not bring himself to say the word.

  "Mae!" Saeleth cried out as she dropped to her knees beside Aragorn, reaching out to take her sisters hands into hers. An enchantment! Yes, she could call forth an enchantment... Elle gripped her sisters hands, then slowly began to cry as she realized that she had not yet recovered her own power.

  "I cant..." Elle whispered, shaking her head. "I don't have anything left to give. Mae!" Elle sobbed as she lowered herself to her sister's chest and cried. "Mae, please don't leave me. Please." She begged.

  "Gandalf! Gandalf help her please!" The white wizard came swiftly, kneeling down beside the elleth and placing a hand over her face, murmuring softly. Saeleth watched on quietly, tears streaming from her eyes as she prayed vehemently for Maethien to be okay. Everything was silent for a long moment... then suddenly Maethien gasped in a sharp breath and her eyes flew open.

  "Mae!" Everyone called out, relief coloring their tones.

  "Aragorn." She breathed, weakly, tears rising to her eyes as she looked up into the face of the man she'd come to love so dearly. "Aragorn."

  "Shh, I'm here. You're safe now, Mae. Your safe." He whispered, lifting her gently to settle her head against his shoulder. "Sleep now." He said gently. Maethien breathed in a soft, content sigh and closed her eyes, a small smile pulling at her lips.

  "Elle..." Maethien called out weakly, Saeleth quickly stepped closer to her sister.

  "I'm here, Mae. I'm right here." Saeleth watched as her sister opened her eyes, struggling against the weight of her drooping eyelids as she looked at her, light humor in her eyes.

  "Wait- till I can defend myself... before you... kill me." Saeleth felt herself smile as she watched her sister drift off into sleep. Aragorn lifted Maethien gently up into his arms, following after Gandalf as he directed him to a bed where he could heal her further. Her body was a mess of burns, claw marks, and bruises.

  "What in the name of the Valar happened?!" Gandalf demanded, his eyes finding the claw marks that wrapped around her arms.

  "She fought off a balrog alone." Legolas said quietly. "It was the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed."

  Saeleth whispered to her sister in elvish as she smoothed back her honey colored hair from her face gently, tears slowly falling from her eyes.

  "She'll be alright, Saeleth." Gandalf said, gazing down upon Mae's sleeping face. "Your sister is strong and she has the Valar to help her find the light."

  Osgiliath had once been a beautiful place, with gleaming white stones forming the homes and manors of the outer city. Sculptures that had once stood high and proud among the paths were now missing limbs, stained by blood and dirt, or broken to bits with nothing left to show. The once silvery white stones no longer gleamed their vibrant hue for they were stained by the blood of it's fallen warriors. Only the ruins of collapsed buildings and the bodies of fallen men remained... It was a terrible sight to behold.

  "Stay close." Anoreth whispered, though her hands were bound behind her, Ann somehow managed to keep the hobbits and Gollum right in front of her, guiding them forward while Faramir's men walked at their sides, watching them. They had tried to take Frodo from her once... and they had learned quickly that the elleth breathed a mighty fire when her friends were taken from her sight. They did not try again.

  "Watch out!" Moving fast to her left, Ann guided the hobbits away from the falling stones that landed in the lake of Osgiliath, urging them to keep up with Faramir and his men.

  "Faramir!" A man, whom Ann suspected was the current general in charge, came toward the Captain. "The orcs have taken the eastern shore. Their numbers are too great... By nightfall we will be overrun."

  "Frodo?" Turning away from the grim soldiers, Anoreth looked to Frodo, worry on her face as the hobbit stumbled.

  "His eye is almost upon me," Frodo whispered in fear, his eyes wide with panic. "It's calling to him." Anoreth wished, for the hundredth time, that she wasn't bound. They had taken from her what she treasured the most, her hands... her healing hands, the very hands that Frodo needed in that moment. The very hands that needed to touch the pendant around her neck to check on her sisters.

  "You'll be alright, Mr Frodo. I promise." Sam whispered to him.

  "Take them to my father." Anoreth glared at the smug looking Captain as she and the hobbits were pushed forward. "Tell him Faramir sends a mighty gift. A weapon that will change our fortune in this war."

  "A weapon that will seal your fates in this war." Anoreth snarled as she was shoved into the arm of a warrior. "You send your people to their deaths, Faramir." Ann was getting awfully tired of snarling and snapping at him, and at everyone around her for that matter. It was true that Anoreth was a rather emotional woman, she did not bother to hide that fact, but never in her life had she been so... so angry. Not a moment passed in which Ann wasn't snarling at Faramir or his men... it was making her question whether or not she was truly meant to honor her role as the Healer.

  "Do you want to know what happened to Boromir?!" Angry, and fighting for the lives of his friends, Sam shouted after the Captain, prompting him to turn back to them. "You want to know why your brother died?! He tried to take the Ring from Frodo! After swearing an oath to protect him, he tried to kill him! The Ring drove your brother mad!" Anoreth could feel the warring emotions rise within the Captain of Gondor as he stared down at Sam, no words leaving his lips as he stared.

  "Watch out!" Everyone looked to the sky as a giant boulder collided with a high tower. In that exact moment, as the stones of the tower rained upon the s
crambling men, Anoreth felt the darkness arrive. Chill after chill ran down the elleth's spine, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, her blood ran cold... she had no doubt that the darkness had come for Frodo.

  "They're here." Anoreth looked down to Frodo, her dear friend consumed with the icy darkness that Sauron's minions brought with them. "They've come."

  "Oh, no."

  "NAZGUL!"

  Anoreth didn't waste a second, she moved at the exact moment the horrid screech pierced the air, shoving Frodo, Sam, and Gollum away from the men. She said nothing as Faramir grabbed onto Frodo and pulled him along with her, guiding the hobbits to stone pavilion where they would be better protected. At the very least, it would keep Frodo out of the Nazgul's line of sight.

  "Stay here." Faramir said urgently, as he shoved the hobbits into the shadowed corner. "Keep out of sight." When the man grabbed onto the elleth's arm, she immediately resisted his push, standing her ground and facing the Captain of Gondor defiantly.

  "Release me." Ann said, refusing to look away from the man's eyes. He immediately shook his head.

  "Out of the question." Anoreth was especially sensitive to the emotions of those around her... and she was surprised to find that Faramir, though he did not trust her very much, wasn't refusing her request solely because he did not trust her... but, in part, also because he did not wish to see a woman in the thick of war. Silly, Captain.

  "You saw what I did with your injured archer." Ann refused to budge, putting her foot down and looking at Faramir directly. "I can do far more then that. I can do far more than any Ring Sauron shoves under your nose. Faramir," Anoreth, stepped closer to the man, pleading with him to see the truth in her words, the sincerity in her eyes. "Let me help you." She emphasized each word, never breaking her gaze away from the man.

  Faramir hesitated, saying nothing and doing nothing for a fearful few seconds, struggling with his inflicting thoughts. Then, finally, he gripped her shoulders and turned her around so that he could cut her loose himself, Anoreth felt an immense wave of relief consume her, a smile, a genuinely bright smile, gracing her lips as she turned to look at the man again.

  "Thank you." She whispered, as the Captain handed her her trusty sword and shield. Then she did something that would bloom the first bud of true trust within the troubled Captain of Gondor, she grabbed onto Faramir's front and yanked him toward her, lifting her shield arm at the same moment to wrap it around the surprised man. A barrage of rocks rained over them, all of them hitting Anoreth's shield as she held Faramir in her arms... she had protected Captain Faramir of Gondor.

  Once Anoreth was sure that the stones were finished falling, she released Faramir and turned to look at Frodo and Sam. "Stay here, stay safe. Sam keep Frodo out of sight." She whispered her orders to them then turned to walk into the battle just as the Nazgul flew over her. A surge of overwhelming exhilaration fueled through Anoreth's body, her heart swelled with rapture, her limbs quivered with anticipation, her hands squeezed her mighty sword and shield as she walked into war.

  "Oh, it feels good to be free." She breathed blissfully as her incredible power shrouded her body in a golden firelight that men everywhere could see, she breathed in the air as if she had been locked in a dark hole for years.

  "Target sighted at one 'o' clock!"Anoreth bellowed out to the archers above her on the wall. "Do not fear this beast, for he does not know the true strength of men!" Soldier's everywhere roared with appreciation, the battle cries fueling their waning courage.

  "Let's kill this beast! Full hurl!" Her order was answered immediately, archers everywhere hurled a volley of arrows at the beast and it's dark rider. Ann smiled as arrows pierced the flying beast, provoking it's anger. The winged demon screeched from the pain and made to retaliate, wings flared a gale at the archers, the force of the impacting wind knocking men off their feet. As men hurried to stand their ground, the beast lunged at the building above, using it's talon-ed claws to destroy the weakened building, stones of all shapes hurled down over the archers.

  "Debris! Watch out!" Anoreth shouted as she raised her shield above her seconds before the stone rained over her like hail. Gritting her teeth as the winged demon flew over head, snatching a group of archers and hurling them to the ground.

  "Dammit!" Anoreth cursed as she swung her shield onto her back and moved her sword from her right hand to grip it in her left, with her right hand free she extended her palm and called to her the fire she knew resided within her. She was Anoreth, the Healer, the Light, and fire was her domain. The marking on her right arm gleamed a powerful white fire, and the flames raced to circle her arm down to her wrist where Ann closed her hand around the flames, holding them in her palm. The fire grew, stretching further until the brilliant white flames had formed into a long and powerful whip of blazing white fire. With a flick of her wrist the white flames turned a destructive red.

  "Miss Ann!" Sam cried out and Anoreth whipped around to see Frodo standing alone, the fell beast reaching out to him.

  "I don't think so." Anoreth's right hand whipped out, the red whip of fire lashing out toward the beast and wrapping around the winged demon's long neck. Screeches of pain pierced the air as she beast recoiled away from Frodo, trying desperately to free himself from the fire wrapped around it's throat. Sam reached Frodo then, grabbing his hands and tearing his finger from the Ring as they both fell backward and tumbled away... away from the screeching beast.

  Anoreth, sure that the hobbits were out of the line of fire, gripped her whip tight with both hands and gave a mighty pull, bellowing out with the effort as she forced the beast to crash into the wall below it, forcing it to plow it's rider into the falling stones. But still it fought back, screeching and thrashing wildly with it's incredible, black wings, the rider pulled on the reigns sharply, making the winged beast fly back sharply... pulling Anoeth along with them as well. Ann felt as if her arm could have been ripped right out of their sockets, she screamed, but her scream quickly turned into a roar as she fought back against the beast. The heat of her flames intensified, though she could only feel warmth, everyone else could feel an intense heat like they had never felt before. The winged creature screeched from the agony, the rider bellowing out in rage and pain as it struggled to put distance between himself and the flames rapped around his mount's neck.

  "Archers!" Struggling against the beast's pull, Ann turned just enough to see Faramir with a line of archers, every single one of them holding a notched arrow. Upon the Captains command, the archers released a volley of arrows upon the restrained beast, piercing it's scaly skin, injuring it further.

  "Took you long enough!" Anoreth shouted out to the surprised soldier with a wicked smile on her lips. Weak from it's inflicted injuries, The beast's struggled began to fade and Ann moved fast to take advantage of her opportunity. Pulling a spear out from where it had been lodged on the wall, Ann flipped it in her left hand while her right hand heaved the beat toward her.

  "For Frodo!" She bellowed, and launched the spear at the beast, it sailed through the air and split into the beasts chest, causing it to screech in agony as it lost it's battle against the men and mighty elleth. The rider struggled to control the dead beast, roaring angrily as it tugged the reigns to the east, but it was no use. Anoreth released her hold on the beast, the fire whip disappearing in an instant. The elleth watched as the beast hurled toward the ground fast... right toward her... Perhaps it had not been the best idea to kill the beast while she pulled on the whip in her direction... Ha. Note to self?

  "Uh-oh." Anoreth ran, moving as fast as her elvish limbs allowed her to escape what was surly going to be a very painful crash landing. The blast of the collision shook the ground beneath her, stones flew in every direction, forcing Ann to dive for cover. She rolled down a flight of stone stairs painfully, crying out in pain as she landed at the bottom of the stairs in a heap.

  "Ow. Owie. Ouch. Ow. OW!" Ann's voice strengthened with every complaint she uttered, grimacing as she tried to sit
up, her limps aching from the roll down the stone stairs.

  "Miss Ann! Are you hurt?" Opening her eyes, Anoreth realized that she had fallen right onto Frodo and Sam's hide out.

  "Oh, just a little bruised. Nothing to worry about. Ouchie!" Anoreth winced as she pushed herself up against a wall right beside Frodo, leaning against it heavily, clutching her arm, fairly sure that she might have fractured something.

  "I can't do this anymore." Frodo murmured suddenly, his voice weak, his expression weary from the strain of the darkness over his head. His chest rising and falling heavily from the pressure of the Ring, his breathing short and stressed. Anoreth looked to her dear friend and reached out with her good hand to grip his little hand in hers, wielding her healing magic and channeling it through their hands so that she could ease his heavy burden. Even if just a little.

  "I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are." Sam, dear, brave same, was on the verge of tears as he stood, looking out into the battle around them. His beautiful blue eyes looking into something that neither Frodo or Anoreth could see. "It's like in the great stories. Mr Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could they end happy?" Anoreth breathed a low chuckle, nodding her head slowly to Sam's wise words.

  "How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?" Anoreth felt tears roll down her cheeks as Frodo leaned into her. "But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come and when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr Frodo, I do understand. I know now." Anoreth smiled and squeezed Frodo's hand as she looked at Sam.