The Girl and the Orc - (A Middle Earth Story)

Snow, Snow, and More Snow

        A pirate had died.

       The cold and the fever had taken over and without being able to find food he grew weaker and weaker. Colder and colder. He was the first to die.
      There were more too.
      Several pirates had given up, and their souls left their bodies to find a better place. They were buried at sea, the sea they loved, the sea that killed them.
     Rain was worried that Bogwater would be next. He had grown incoherent. He mumbled and flinched in his sleep. He was in pain, mentally, spiritually, and physically. 
     Rain sat on the edge of the bed, taking a cloth and dabbing the sweat away from her friend's forehead. That's all she could do. Sometimes she would tell him stories like the night before, and they seemed to calm him at first, but now he was completely out of it. There was nothing she could do and it broke her heart. The girl sighed and got up, going over to her corner.
      Bogwater started to mumble in his sleep again. He began to spasm uncontrollably. "Ra-ain! Ra-ain! Where are y-you? Don't leave... don't leave..."
     Rain rushed back over to him, "Bog?"
      He spasmed again, "Don't leave."
      Rain took his hand in hers, her other hand she used to stroke the side of his cheek. "It's okay, it's okay. I'm here."
      He immediately calmed down, a deep sigh escaped his lips. "I love you, Rain."
      "I love you too," the girl smiled, placing a kiss on one of his fingers.
       A brief smile spread on his face, only to fade as he fell back into a deep sleep.
      Havish came into the room, flurries of snow flew in as he struggled to shut the door against the strong wind. He finally managed to shut the door, and he began to shake the snow off of him.
      "How's it going?" Rain questioned, "Are we getting close to Rivendell?"
       Havish sighed, sitting down on a lone stool, "We got off track."
       Rain felt her heart drop to her stomach, "What do you mean?"
       "We should have been there by now, but the storm got us a bit off track. I got us heading in the right direction now, but I'm not sure how long it will take before we get to Rivendell."
      Rain felt tears well up in her eyes, "We're dying out here, Havish. Just look at Bog."
     "I know," Havish rubbed his face in his hands, "I know."
      Rain looked back at her Uruk friend. She laid down next to him, her head next to his. If Bog died she would never forgive herself.
      Havish got up and patted the girl's shoulder before going up to his own bunk. It killed him that there was nothing he could do. He just wanted them to be happy, but the whole world seemed to be against them.
      Rain traced patterns on his chest, she couldn't help the tears that fell from her face. She was such a baby, but it hurt her so much that her friends were suffering and dying. There was noting she could do, and that killed her.
Havish sighed in his bed, hearing the girl's soft crying. He fell asleep while praying to any god that would listen to him. Praying they would survive this miserable journey.