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Description
The soft whisk of water being pushed by an ore as the boats floated through the water was the only sound you could hear. You were leaving Lothlorien, going for your next destination. You held nothing but your bags.

You glanced at a figure standing at the shore, between the trees. Galadriel. She raised a hand up, looking down at Frodo. Her eyes found their way to everyone of the company, and finally to you. You will learn to not be so bitter once you’ve let go. Trust in your companions. Her voice was silky, but you wanted to tear the threads apart.

You stayed silent, watching the water flow past the stem. You despised how right she was. Your boats had made it out into a larger body of water, flowing calming. You were surrounded by large walls of rocks, trees and bushes growing in, leaning over as if they would fall and drown one day.

A sigh escaped your lips as you eyed the others. You had been paddling for hours now. You were now enclosed by forests; miles and miles of woods. It made you smile. A small ahem caught your attention as your eyes met with Pippin. A smirk was on his face.

Your lips curled into a Cheshire smirk as he pointed to your ore. You slowly started to paddle towards his boat, Boromir maneuvering through the waters, Merry sitting with him. “Hop on.” You hissed lowly. Just as Pippin jumped surreptitiously, your boat catapulted you both straight into the river.
Just as you and Pippin resurfaced, laughter erupted through your mouths. Boromir, Merry, Sam and Frodo started to laugh, amused at you both. Aragorn and Legolas stared at you both sternly. “You’re going to draw unnecessary attention.” Aragorn whispered.

You nodded and hoisted Pippin up into your boat. It took you quite a few tries to climb in yourself, but once you finally did, you groaned at how soggy your clothing was. “That was quite a holler, Pippin. Next time, perhaps we should attempt not going overboard.” You giggled.

You continued to paddle till your clothing was near dry. Your head whipped to the side, for your ears detected a noise far off in the distance. You, Legolas, and Aragorn all exchanged glances. What unsettled the gentleness of the air?

“The Argonath.” Aragorn sighed. There were two large statues, based at the edges of the water flow. They stood tall and beautiful. “Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old. My kin.” He muttered. You silently agreed.

A sudden pang of anxiety and fear caused you to lean over, gripping your stomach in surprise. The secret you had managed to block out since the journey started resurfaced. “Lady (Y/n)?” Pippin asked. When you looked up, everyone was glancing at you in concern. “I am fine.” You reassured. “Motion sickness, I suppose.” You lied.

“We are nearing the Sutcrofts of Rohan, yes?” You asked, looking towards Aragorn. “Will we… seek rest there?” You choked out. Aragorn glanced at you before looking up at the sky, nodding wearily. “We will see what we can do at Walstow.” You had to pinch your thigh to keep you from whimpering.

Finally you made it to land and dragged the boats onto the sand. You sighed, looking off towards the distance. “It’s quite a walk, but we will make it before nightfall.” Aragorn piped up. He attempted to help Gimli out of the boat, but the Dwarf scowled at him.

You looked at Aragorn, playing a straight face as you forced yourself to nod. Pippin looked up at you, narrowing his eyes. You just started to walk towards Walstow, keeping your head high. You knew exactly how to get there.

Legolas took notice of how you nervously darted your eyes, and how often your hands shook. He gently escorted you away from the group, studying you before daring to talk. “Something bothers you, my lady.” He whispered.

You looked deep into his blue eyes, finding yourself mesmerized. For a moment, you forgot about your fears and nerves. His finger gingerly lingered above your jaw, running down your cheek bone. He pulled a strand of black hair behind your pointy ears with a soft sigh.

You shook your head, looking down at your feet. “I fear I cannot tell you, Legolas.” His fingers cupped your chin, softly forcing you to look at him. “Why is that? I care for you, after all.” Legolas whispered. Butterflies rapidly spun in your stomach, making you feel twice as sick. Yet, this was a good sick. “I thank you for caring, but this is quite too personal…You’ll understand soon.”

Spinning around on your heels, you ignored the pleas in your chest to turn back and walked back to the company. Legolas slowly followed, watching you walk in interest. He was all the more curious about you and your life, but he had respect for your personal space.

The sickness in your stomach continued, choking you, causing a small bead of sweat to drip down your temple. You were walking with the Fellowship through a valley, and you could see the stream that curled around Walstow.

You found yourself pushing past your friends, your footsteps hurrying. The sun was slowly setting, but you felt a disturbance. Nothing ever went well in Middle-Earth, it seemed to you. “(Y/n)!” Gimli and Aragorn called as you started to run. No, no. Something is wrong!

Without another glance the Fellowship followed after you; but you ran faster. You pounced over a fallen down tree, bolting through a forest. At the sight of smoke, and the smell of charcoal, you ran faster, pulling at your hamstrings in the process.

You continuously whispered pleas of hope under your breath, pushing past low tree branches. “(Y/n)!” You heard them continue to call. A jump over a boulder and you were out of their sight for the time being.

Once you were out of the tree lines, you froze, staring at Walstow; or what remained. The buildings had been burned down, small fires still ignited. The animals were all slaughtered, and the crops stomped on. The worst of all was the heads of multiple corpses on branches sharpened and fastened into the ground.

“What would you want with a human town that w…?” Gimli started to trail off with a small oh. The Fellowship broke through the tree line, staring at the ruins. You fell to your knees, hands curling into fists as you held back choking tears.

A small tear slid down your cheek and dripped into the Earth as you whispered, “Orcs... Orcs did this…” You got up on shaky legs, kicking a rock in a fit of furry. Aragorn narrowed his eyes, “(Y/n). Why are you so distraught?” He questioned.

You paused, looking at him as the tears started to gently cascade down your face. “I was raised here.” You whispered bitterly. “My parents died in battle not long after I was born. They were frequent travelers. The kind people of Walstow took me in…”

“It would explain why I am not as graceful as an Elf; for I wasn’t raised by them.” You smiled softly and scoffed, rubbing your shoulder. “Walstow is where I was raised, but it is not my home. I lie where nowhere else dares.” You cast your eyes up at the darkening sky in silence.

Everyone gave you sympathetic looks as you looked upon the severed heads, trying not to fall to your knees once again. This time, however, Legolas caught you, bringing him to his knees. He cradled you close as you broke, gripping his tunic as you cried into his chest.

Boromir put his hands on Pippin’s shoulders, looking down as everyone mourned slightly. Gimli looked down, muttering a low, “Everyone is losing their homes.” Frodo glanced up at him with a small wince, thinking about The Shire.

After a few heart beats you pulled away, rubbing the tears away. You weren’t going to cry anymore. You weren’t going to show just how emotionally breaking this was. Legolas helped you stand up on shaky legs. “Thank you, Legolas.” You whispered.

He nodded to you as you sighed, looking at Aragorn. “There is nothing left for us here. Let us go back to the boats and camp there.” Night had already fallen, and you feared that the Orcs that burned down Walstow were still around.

“You’re right, (Y/n). We must move with caution.” He declared, gesturing for everyone to move. Boromir and Gimli patted your shoulders, and Pippin cast you a defeated glance. You forced a soft smile, looking at your feet. Legolas never left your side that night.

Description
The soft whisk of water being pushed by an ore as the boats floated through the water was the only sound you could hear. You were leaving Lothlorien, going for your next destination. You held nothing but your bags.

You glanced at a figure standing at the shore, between the trees. Galadriel. She raised a hand up, looking down at Frodo. Her eyes found their way to everyone of the company, and finally to you. You will learn to not be so bitter once you’ve let go. Trust in your companions. Her voice was silky, but you wanted to tear the threads apart.

You stayed silent, watching the water flow past the stem. You despised how right she was. Your boats had made it out into a larger body of water, flowing calming. You were surrounded by large walls of rocks, trees and bushes growing in, leaning over as if they would fall and drown one day.

A sigh escaped your lips as you eyed the others. You had been paddling for hours now. You were now enclosed by forests; miles and miles of woods. It made you smile. A small ahem caught your attention as your eyes met with Pippin. A smirk was on his face.

Your lips curled into a Cheshire smirk as he pointed to your ore. You slowly started to paddle towards his boat, Boromir maneuvering through the waters, Merry sitting with him. “Hop on.” You hissed lowly. Just as Pippin jumped surreptitiously, your boat catapulted you both straight into the river.
Just as you and Pippin resurfaced, laughter erupted through your mouths. Boromir, Merry, Sam and Frodo started to laugh, amused at you both. Aragorn and Legolas stared at you both sternly. “You’re going to draw unnecessary attention.” Aragorn whispered.

You nodded and hoisted Pippin up into your boat. It took you quite a few tries to climb in yourself, but once you finally did, you groaned at how soggy your clothing was. “That was quite a holler, Pippin. Next time, perhaps we should attempt not going overboard.” You giggled.

You continued to paddle till your clothing was near dry. Your head whipped to the side, for your ears detected a noise far off in the distance. You, Legolas, and Aragorn all exchanged glances. What unsettled the gentleness of the air?

“The Argonath.” Aragorn sighed. There were two large statues, based at the edges of the water flow. They stood tall and beautiful. “Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old. My kin.” He muttered. You silently agreed.

A sudden pang of anxiety and fear caused you to lean over, gripping your stomach in surprise. The secret you had managed to block out since the journey started resurfaced. “Lady (Y/n)?” Pippin asked. When you looked up, everyone was glancing at you in concern. “I am fine.” You reassured. “Motion sickness, I suppose.” You lied.

“We are nearing the Sutcrofts of Rohan, yes?” You asked, looking towards Aragorn. “Will we… seek rest there?” You choked out. Aragorn glanced at you before looking up at the sky, nodding wearily. “We will see what we can do at Walstow.” You had to pinch your thigh to keep you from whimpering.

Finally you made it to land and dragged the boats onto the sand. You sighed, looking off towards the distance. “It’s quite a walk, but we will make it before nightfall.” Aragorn piped up. He attempted to help Gimli out of the boat, but the Dwarf scowled at him.

You looked at Aragorn, playing a straight face as you forced yourself to nod. Pippin looked up at you, narrowing his eyes. You just started to walk towards Walstow, keeping your head high. You knew exactly how to get there.

Legolas took notice of how you nervously darted your eyes, and how often your hands shook. He gently escorted you away from the group, studying you before daring to talk. “Something bothers you, my lady.” He whispered.

You looked deep into his blue eyes, finding yourself mesmerized. For a moment, you forgot about your fears and nerves. His finger gingerly lingered above your jaw, running down your cheek bone. He pulled a strand of black hair behind your pointy ears with a soft sigh.

You shook your head, looking down at your feet. “I fear I cannot tell you, Legolas.” His fingers cupped your chin, softly forcing you to look at him. “Why is that? I care for you, after all.” Legolas whispered. Butterflies rapidly spun in your stomach, making you feel twice as sick. Yet, this was a good sick. “I thank you for caring, but this is quite too personal…You’ll understand soon.”

Spinning around on your heels, you ignored the pleas in your chest to turn back and walked back to the company. Legolas slowly followed, watching you walk in interest. He was all the more curious about you and your life, but he had respect for your personal space.

The sickness in your stomach continued, choking you, causing a small bead of sweat to drip down your temple. You were walking with the Fellowship through a valley, and you could see the stream that curled around Walstow.

You found yourself pushing past your friends, your footsteps hurrying. The sun was slowly setting, but you felt a disturbance. Nothing ever went well in Middle-Earth, it seemed to you. “(Y/n)!” Gimli and Aragorn called as you started to run. No, no. Something is wrong!

Without another glance the Fellowship followed after you; but you ran faster. You pounced over a fallen down tree, bolting through a forest. At the sight of smoke, and the smell of charcoal, you ran faster, pulling at your hamstrings in the process.

You continuously whispered pleas of hope under your breath, pushing past low tree branches. “(Y/n)!” You heard them continue to call. A jump over a boulder and you were out of their sight for the time being.

Once you were out of the tree lines, you froze, staring at Walstow; or what remained. The buildings had been burned down, small fires still ignited. The animals were all slaughtered, and the crops stomped on. The worst of all was the heads of multiple corpses on branches sharpened and fastened into the ground.

“What would you want with a human town that w…?” Gimli started to trail off with a small oh. The Fellowship broke through the tree line, staring at the ruins. You fell to your knees, hands curling into fists as you held back choking tears.

A small tear slid down your cheek and dripped into the Earth as you whispered, “Orcs... Orcs did this…” You got up on shaky legs, kicking a rock in a fit of furry. Aragorn narrowed his eyes, “(Y/n). Why are you so distraught?” He questioned.

You paused, looking at him as the tears started to gently cascade down your face. “I was raised here.” You whispered bitterly. “My parents died in battle not long after I was born. They were frequent travelers. The kind people of Walstow took me in…”

“It would explain why I am not as graceful as an Elf; for I wasn’t raised by them.” You smiled softly and scoffed, rubbing your shoulder. “Walstow is where I was raised, but it is not my home. I lie where nowhere else dares.” You cast your eyes up at the darkening sky in silence.

Everyone gave you sympathetic looks as you looked upon the severed heads, trying not to fall to your knees once again. This time, however, Legolas caught you, bringing him to his knees. He cradled you close as you broke, gripping his tunic as you cried into his chest.

Boromir put his hands on Pippin’s shoulders, looking down as everyone mourned slightly. Gimli looked down, muttering a low, “Everyone is losing their homes.” Frodo glanced up at him with a small wince, thinking about The Shire.

After a few heart beats you pulled away, rubbing the tears away. You weren’t going to cry anymore. You weren’t going to show just how emotionally breaking this was. Legolas helped you stand up on shaky legs. “Thank you, Legolas.” You whispered.

He nodded to you as you sighed, looking at Aragorn. “There is nothing left for us here. Let us go back to the boats and camp there.” Night had already fallen, and you feared that the Orcs that burned down Walstow were still around.

“You’re right, (Y/n). We must move with caution.” He declared, gesturing for everyone to move. Boromir and Gimli patted your shoulders, and Pippin cast you a defeated glance. You forced a soft smile, looking at your feet. Legolas never left your side that night.