A Cold Heart Warmed: Part IX
by Pharassero
-----
Kalay woke early the next morning and checked her supplies before
mounting the horse and galloping off to find her friends. It was a
long boring morning with no signs of her catching up to them. She
had just reached the borders of Rohan and stopped for a drink when
she saw many riders in the distance. They caught sight of her
shortly after and a few of them raised their bows and readied their
arrows. Her horse fidgeted under her, but she kept him steady
enough to hail them in peace. Their leader rode out with a small
company and surrounded her with spears drawn. "It is a sad day
indeed when so many men consider one woman a threat." she told them
boldly. A few of them snickered, but were quickly silenced by their
captain with a stern look. "These are dangerous times lady, why do
you ride alone and without apparent fear. Orcs have been about this
countryside of late." The captain looked her up and down, eyeing
her weapons carefully before looking her in the eye again. "As you
have seen, I am well armed. If you have seen orcs about, perhaps
you have seen also my companions." They had put away there weapons
and relaxed a little seeing she was alone, they didn't consider her
too much of a threat. "Companions you say, you've lost your
friends? Not many travel through these lands except we and the orcs
that sneak in." She pushed her short hair back up and over her ever
so slightly pointed ears and noticed the captain give a start. She
smiled at his surprise and asked, "Never seen a half-elf before, and
no I didn't lose my companions. We had to seperate temporarily and
I am merely tracking them back down. Have you seen a Ranger with
two unusual companions with him of late?" The captain eyed her
again, while he thought about the last group they had met and loaned
their horses to. "Yes lady, we have come across a Ranger with two
odd companions with him. a day and a half ago. We lent them horses
so they will not be easy to catch up with even if you are on
horseback your self." She edged her horse closer to his until they
were almost touching, "Then I thank you sir, and I must be on my way
if I am to have a chance." The captain widened the gap enough for
her to pass, but grabbed her forearm as she did so, "Be careful
young lady, and goodspeed." She nodded her head in thanks and gave
her heels to the horse, speeding him in the direction of Fangorn.
The captain wheeled his horse and was about to warn her against
going there when he realised she was already out of earshot.
She entered the woods only minutes later and came upon the sight of
the great burning. Orc bones and ashes lay all about, along with a
ring of spears. She hurried past that dreadful place and down by
the river. Hopping off the horse she knelt and examined the muddy
bank, she was lucky in finding the tracks she was looking for. She
hopped back on the horse and set him at a trot, she had considered
calling out then thought better of it. Who knew what else was in
these woods listning.
Hours passed with her getting on and off the horse to check the
signs on the ground. She found the spot where they had camped then
night before, they were almost a full day ahead of her. She noticed
that they were on foot after they left the campsite and wondered how
they had lost their mounts.
She kept a close eye on the signs after that, so close in fact that
she would have ridden right by the hill they were standing on had
the voices not distracted her. She looked up and could just make
out the back of a figure clothed in white. "Saruman" she hissed
silently to herself. She could barely hear her friends, so she
dismounted quietly and snuck up the hill behind the figure. She had
drawn her sword and was about to drive it through the wizards back
when a very familiar voice said, "Dear girl, what do you think you
are doing? Put that thing away, I am not your enemy." Her sword
clattered to the ground as she staggered back and almost fell over
in shock. By the time she had recovered both her sword and her
composure, the old wizard had turned to face her. "Gandalf!
But...how can this be?" she managed to stammer after a few
moments. She climbed further up the hill and went to stand with her
friends who seemed pleased at her safe return. Legolas held back
his desire to swing her up in his arms in a welcoming embrace and
instead placed an arm around her shoulders and squeezed tightly.
Aragorn clapped her on the back and Gimli on her leg, it being the
place he could reach easiest without being rude. Gandalf waited
patiently for them to finnishe their welcome and then cleared his
throat, "I was just telling of my adventures when you came up the
hill." He finished his tale, and they all still had a great many
questions. He anwered those that he could until the sun began
setting low in the sky. "We should make camp. Our young friends
will be safe enough for tonight and tommorow we will pick up their
trail." Aragorn said. "Kalay and I can scout for firewood," Legolas
offered, grinning over at her.
They made their way quickly down the hill and out of sight. Kalay
was just begining to pick up small sticks when Legolas grasped her
arm to get her attention and then embraced her hard enough to pop
her back. "I did so miss you these past few days," he told her
while she was still tight in his grasp. "I'm very glad someone
missed me.....but could you please let me breathe?" she gasped out
while smiling at him. He quickly released her and ran an awkward
hand through his hair, blushing. She giggled at his embarassment,
and put a hand on his chest, "I have missed you too." He placed his
hand over hers and drew close to her, putting his other hand on her
cheek. He bent down and gently placed his lips on her cheek as he
slid his hand down her face and around behind her neck. Her hand
slid down his chest and around to his back, while she put the other
one behind his neck. He was about to kiss her full on the lips when
he heard a voice clearing behind them. They had been so wrapped up
in each other they had forgotten about the firewood and Gimli had
snuck up behind them.
They both turned blushing to see Gimli standing a few feet behind
them grinning from ear to ear, or so it seemed through all the
hair. They both cleared their throat and looked at him with red
faces. "Well, I see you two really missed each other." They made
an attempt to stutter out a reply, but Gimli only held his hand up
smiling. "Don't bother giving me excuses. I don't need'em or
want'em. I just came down to see what was taking the firewood so
long." They all laughed and began gathering dead branches together.
It didn't take the three of them long to gather enough wood to last
them through the night. Once they returned to camp they made a fire
and Kalay shared her provisions with them. After the meal, Aragorn
had a few questions concerning Boromir's well being, so she relayed
her tale to them. When she was done and all questions for the night
had been answered they drew lots for the watch. Since her watch
wasn't until later she settled into a comfortable position and
closed her eyes listning to the nightsounds around her.
Legolas' watch was first so he took up a position just outside of
the firelight. He glanced back at Kalay's quiet form several times
before it was time for his watch to be over. He woke Gimli before
settling down beside Kalay and drifting off into his own dreamworld.
| Part X |
| Index |