All Shall Fade (LOTR-Wattys 2014)

All Shall Fade - Chapter 6 - Just a Bad Dream (LOTR)

All Shall Fade

Chapter 6

Just a Bad Dream

Five sunrises after I first encountered Strider and the Hobbits, I found myself walking across a wide ford. The water was shallow, and only just covered the toes of my boots. Some of the cool water leaked in, but I’d learnt to ignore trivial things like that over the past few days. I looked up and saw Strider walking a few metres ahead of me, carefully picking his way around the deeper pools in the river. He turned back and frowned.

“Hurry, we’re close.” He called back, frowning at something over my shoulder. I turned and laughed as I saw Sam trying to coax an unwilling Bill into the water. The little pony kept backing away from the water’s edge as the Hobbit futilely pulled at his reins.

“Bill!” I called, whistling as I took an apple out of my pocket. The pony’s ears pricked and he stared at me. I bit into the apple and waved it above my head as I chewed. He didn’t need much more persuading and started trotting towards me, dragging Sam with him as I laughed. They were soon at my side and I bit a chunk out of the apple before offering it to Bill. “Good boy.” I smiled as he happily munched and followed me through the water.

“So bribery’s the way to go then?” Sam mumbled.

“I prefer to see it as compromise.” I smirked, patting the pony’s head before tossing my apple core away and increasing my pace to follow Strider. He had stopped midway across and started walking as I reached his side. He didn’t say anything; in fact, he hadn’t said much since my second night with the group. I thought he’d have been a bit friendlier after my chilling encounter with the Black Breath, but he'd just reverted back to his old self. I was beginning to think that he was a little bipolar. Suddenly, my foot slipped and one of my legs was plunged knee-deep in a pool. Strider reached out and grabbed my arm before the rest of my body could follow and pulled me out. “Thanks.” I sighed, shaking my leg to try and dislodge some water. He only grunted in reply and walked on. I definitely preferred friendly Strider to Grumpy Strider.

Despite the fact that the pain in my arm had slowly been increasing since Strider began to delay the effects, I was feeling light-hearted today. We were almost at Rivendell, I could contact Toby and Claire, and they could come and pick me up, and then we could all go home! Well, come to think of it, Claire should have been back in London by now. I hoped she hadn’t stayed behind because she was worried about me. I wondered if they’d sent out search parties or anything. I had been gone for pretty much a week after all… Flip, a week? It didn’t seem that long. “We should all keep in contact when I go home.” I said cheerfully as we left the ford behind us and entered a pleasant, airy forest. “We can be pen pals! How awesome is that? I haven’t had a pen pal since I was a kid…” I rambled on as we walked, and I could almost hear Strider rolling his eyes. Jeez… Did I irritate him that much? Ok, no lolcat e-cards for him then. I’d need to send Frodo a get-well soon message too…

I frowned as I thought of Frodo. For the past few days I’d just assumed that he’d be alright… But what if he wasn’t? I shuddered at the thought of him being caught by those Black Riders… But Strider had assured me that if they found him, we’d know. I asked him how, but he hadn’t answered. Everyone seemed a little secretive when I brought up the subject of Frodo…

I shrugged it off. Whatever it was, it probably didn’t concern me, and therefore I should find it important. Ishouldn’t… But that didn’t mean that was the case… Damn my persistent curiosity.

“How much further?” Pippin whined from the back of the group.

“It’s just up ahead.” Strider answered solemnly. I frowned, if we were getting close to a town, shouldn’t we have come across a road or something by now? I was about to mention it, when the trees suddenly gave way to a small beaten path. Well, it wasn’t a road, but it was the most civilized thing I’d seen since the Weathertop ruin – and that hadn’t been all that civilized… What with all the stabbing going on. I sighed and stuffed my hands into my pockets as Strider began following the track. I could tell that we were pretty close by the way his pace increased, although I found it odd that I couldn’t hear any people or traffic. We walked along the path for some time, before the trees around us began to thin, and suddenly a large stone arch loomed up ahead of us. “We’re here.” Strider declared, marching forward and passing beneath the arch. I frowned as I warily followed him. The place seemed like a ghost town to me, and I was a little hesitant about going in – after already encountering what had appeared to be undead beings this week, I wasn’t in a hurry to make any similar acquaintances. I allowed Merry, Pippin, Sam and Bill to pass ahead of my before I followed. I heard them gasp as they passed through the archway and as I set foot on the other side, my jaw dropped in awe. I’ve died and gone to heaven. No joke. I stared in silent wonder at the place that stood before me. Beautiful, pale buildings gracefully wound around trees and other natural features, like waterfalls and cliff-faces, their walls made up of intertwined vine-like structures, and decorated with intricate swirls that reminded me of Celtic mythology. Sunlight danced and glistened off every surface and I felt like I couldn’t take it all in at once. It was only when I blinked and stopped focusing on the landscape and buildings that I noticed the people. They silently glided through the trees and walkways in small groups, dressed in long robes and dresses made of rich materials, and they were all insanely beautiful. I suddenly felt extremely inferior and took a step back as a group approached us and exchanged a few quiet words with Strider. I stared back at the buildings, frowning as I realised that this wasn’t a town. It looked more like some fancy-pants spa reserved only for the rich and beautiful. A lot like Hollister or Abercrombie and Fitch I supposed… Only not a clothes shop and not one person had a fake American accent. I stood there, feeling extremely out of place with my muddy, plain clothes, dirty skin, and matted hair. I also had a strong suspicion that I was the only ginger in the place. Strider turned back to us and waved us over to him. I smiled nervously at the group of strangers as Strider nudged the Hobbits over to them and they lead them away.