The Rising Darkness (A LotR Fanfiction): Part One: Fellowship of the Ring

Chapter 4: Archet

Finally! After a long time of dealing with school and almost permanent writer's block, I, Falornel Leafwalker, have finally found the strength to write the next chapter of this story! Yay! Above is a pic of Leoferad and Ferdel (or at least how I somewhat see them as looking like) I made on Rinmaru Games' Mega anime couples creator. Big thanks to them!

Leoferad's POV

I had limped back inside and begun to settle painfully back down on the bedroll when I heard the men approaching. Not wanting to say anything, I looked away as they entered the cave. I heard footsteps come closer and someone kneel down next to me.

"I'm not talking to you, Ferdel." I heard him sigh.

"I never asked you to." Before I could protest, strong arms heaved me up bridal style, forcing my head to lean against Ferdel's broad chest. I struggled for a few seconds before giving up as Ferdel tightened his already tight grip even tighter. I looked over at Strider looking for some back up, but found none as he smirked and chuckled.

Now if I hadn't been injured about 4 and a half feet off the ground in this situation, Strider and Ferdel would've probably both have had a black eye by then, so instead I reverted to questions.

"Why can't I walk?"

"You're injured."

"But it's just my arm!" I saw Strider roll his eyes and walk closer to us as we headed out into the woods.

"You were bruised and bleeding when I found you, and you had been in that cell for who knows how long-"

"About 4 days." I was lying, I had been in that vile place for just under a week, and shivered the memory. Ferdel, sensing this, held me seemingly closer and tighter than before, as if to try and drive it away. The air around us grew tense and awkward, so I decided to change the subject.

"Where are we going?" Ferdel, still holding me very tightly, sighed.

"Archet, it's a little under a day's walk from here."

"Archet? I think that was where I was staying before.." I trailed off into thought. That was the village I had left Darren in before heading out on my last lead. I wondered if he was okay seeing as I had been gone for about a week.

While I was thinking this, I felt unconsciousness tugging at me once again. I fought it, afraid that I'll have another nightmare, but I soon lost, lulled by Ferdel's heartbeat and his and Strider's voice talking in a low tone. I'm not sure what they were talking about, but my dreams claimed me before I could try and listen.

Ferdel's POV

Strider and I talked about nothing in particular for a while as we walked through Chetwood towards the small smoke tendrils that marked Archet's location, until I felt Leoferad finally relax, her breathing even and calm and stopped. Strider noticed as well and stopped walking, motioning to me to set her down and take a break. I did as I was told, careful to make sure she wasn't lying on her injured shoulder, then walked over to where Strider had sat down and lit his pipe.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes, watching the smoke rings from Strider's pipe rise through the trees until they hit a branch or leaf. I looked over at Leoferad's sleeping form and the distressed look on her face as she apparently had a nightmare. I roughly stood up and walked over to her, her body shaking from fear, and gently picked her up again. I walked back to Strider and sat down, with Leo leaning against me as she slept fitfully.

"We should get going, Archet is very near." I looked up, pulled from my reverie by Strider standing up. He looked down at me, and then his gaze shifted to Leo's sleeping form. It was then that I noticed how long the shadows were growing

"Wake her up." I hesitated, but did as I was asked and gently shook Leoferad awake. She shot up and I jumped back before her knife could graze me. Her eyes widened and she dropped the knife, probably fearing that she had hurt me.

"Did I-" She started, but I cut her off by gently picking up the knife she dropped and holding it back out to her.

"No, let's get moving." I picked Leo back up as soon as she had sheathed the knife and continued to follow Strider.

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(Strider's POV)
We reached Archet around dusk and got into the town before they closed the gates for the night. Leo had asked to be put down as soon as we got near the town and, once we were inside, immediately began limping in the direction of The Sleepy Badger, the local inn and tavern. Ferdel and I helped her keep her balance since she was still not fully healed and was having a little trouble walking. We stopped at the infirmary before it closed so I could buy some new bandages for Ferdel's side before finally heading to the Badger

(Leoferad's POV)

As soon as we entered the tavern we were met by the stench of men and beer that was almost the same strength as the Prancing Pony in Bree, though it was less known. I immediately asked the bartender if my brother was still in the tavern, and got a firm nod towards the stairway, where Darren was standing, his mouth gaping open in shock and his eyes watering from relief and surprise.