All Shall Fade (LOTR-Wattys 2014)

All Shall Fade - Chapter 41 - Don't Say Goodbye

All Shall Fade

Chapter 41

Don’t Say Goodbye

I clambered up onto the deck of the nearest ship and lay on my side, spluttering. It had been further than I’d thought, and I’d inhaled a fair bit of water. As I sat up, I sighed and started wringing out my wet hair as I heard the clumping sound of Aragorn's boots on the wooden deck as he walked towards me. He was followed by Legolas and Gimli, who went and stood at the bow of the ship as Aragorn’s hand appeared in front of my face and I took it, allowing him to pull me to my feet. I smiled at him as I laced my fingers through his as we began walking slowly up to the bow. I cast a glance up at the large sails above us as they filled with a wind that had appeared from nowhere – but I thought I detected a faint greenish glow around the sails. There was something a little unnerving about a fleet of ships being sailed by ghosts.

“How far to Gondor?” I asked softly, looking at the stretch of river that snaked out ahead of us.

“We have already passed into the realm of Gondor.” Aragorn corrected me, “We sail through the night, and hopefully reach Minas Tirith by dawn.”

“I see.” I murmured, hoping that we weren’t too late to save the city.

“The Rohirrim will reach them before us,” Legolas stated, “That will buy us some time.”

“Not as much as we need.” Aragorn sighed, and I squeezed his hand gently.

“We’ll make it.” I assured him with a tone of confidence that I seemed to have just plucked out of thin air.

“Well,” Gimli grunted after a few moments, “If we can’t help how fast we get there I may as well get some sleep.”

“Recovering your strength, Master Dwarf?” I teased as he walked away.

“You’ll be the death of me lass.” He muttered with a good-natured smile before finding a secluded corner on the far side of the deck and settling down to sleep. I smiled and let my hand slip out of Aragorn’s as I turned and walked away.

“Where are you going?” He asked, causing me to turn back and look at him.

“Exploring.” I grinned, “When’s the next time I’m going to be on a real pirate ship?” Aragorn just smiled as I walked across the wooden boards, trailing my hand across the rail and then catching the rigging that stretched from the rail to the top of the mast, slipping above the triangular sails. I smirked and climbed up onto the rail, keeping a tight hold of the ladder-like rope structure as I found my balance and began climbing. I must have been about halfway up when I looked down and – seeing how high up I was – chickened out. I clung to the braided rope with my fingertips as I tried to make my way back down to a reasonable height, before spotting Aragorn standing below me and staring up at my antics.

“What are you doing?”

“Climbing.” I huffed, looping my arms through the ropes and locking myself in position.

“Be careful.”

I raised an eyebrow and slid back down so I was standing on the narrow rail. “I’m always careful.” I kept a deliberately ‘careful’ hold on the rigging as he approached me and held out his hand. I took it and jumped down to the safety of the deck as he looked around. “Where’s Legolas?” I asked, feeling him rest his hand on the small of my back.

“Sleeping.” He murmured as I turned to him.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“I don’t think I could sleep.” He smiled weakly and began to guide me at a slow walk back to the bow of the ship as the sun began to lower towards the horizon. When we reached it I leant on the rail and looked down at the water that rushed beneath us. “You should take some rest.” Aragorn said softly, leaning in close to my ear as I looked up and shook my head.