A Secret Untold: Part XIII
by: Thalisirwen
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It had almost ripped my heart out to leave Rivendell, for I loved it almost
as much as my own home. But I could not stay there with Aragorn and Arwen as
they were; it was too much for my heart to take.
So I had left, unnoticed except for the stable hand and the gatekeeper, not
expecting to return.
A few hours out of Rivendell, I heard rustling in the bushes ahead of me.
Slowing my horse I listened harder, trying to hear voices, footsteps,
anything that would tell me what was ahead. Rough voices argued, and feet
trampled the ground. I looked around for somewhere to hide; the voices did
not sound friendly. But there was nowhere.
I gripped my bow and fitted an arrow, pointing it in the direction the voices
were coming from.
Orcs. I shudder at the sight of them, revolting creatures. When they saw me
they stopped and rose their weapons. An orc took a step forward, a menacing
look upon its face.
"One step closer and you'll be dead," I warned.
"You'll be dead before your arrow leaves the bow," mocked the orc, stepping
towards me. I fired. The arrow embedded itself in the orcs chest and it
looked at me with an evil glint in its eye before slowly toppling forward. As
it fell towards me, if reached out a hand and wrapped its foul fingers around
my leg, pulling me with it. I tried to stay on my mount, but alas had nothing
to hold onto. I fell to the ground with a thud, next to the dead orc. The
other orcs stood around jeering and laughing. They were getting closer.
Grabbing another arrow I fired, reloading the bow before the last arrow had
met its target. I felled orcs quickly, disposing at least half the group
within a small time. But now I was surrounded. They stood around me, jeering,
but not daring to come closer. Their weapons glinted evilly in the moonlight,
their black blades like venomous snakes ready to bite. If I shot at one,
others from behind me would attack. The orcs knew I would shoot if but one
stepped any closer, so did not move.
We had reached a stalemate, but I knew that only by miracle would I get out
of this alive. There were too many of them.
Oh why had I left Rivendell? I cursed myself for had I stayed I would not be
in this situation. If I had not gone to Rivendell altogether, if I had stayed
in Mirkwood, I would not be here. If I had told Aragorn about my feelings
long ago, I would surely have been banished from Rivendell and made an
outcast, but I would not be here. Yet maybe I deserved death for these
thoughts that ran through my mind, and the feelings for the ranger that I hid
in my heart. Maybe I am cursed to die this way, unhappy, lonely, and in pain,
pain of the heart, body, and soul.
If only I could see Aragorn one more time, I would tell him everything, I
would tell him! I knew that now. Strange how clearly thoughts become when so
close to death.
The orcs looked more menacing. Soon they would move; and I could not hold
them off forever.
In my mind I pictured the handsome man I had grown to love.
Goodbye Aragorn.
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