Rise (Lord of the Rings)

23 - The Window of Opportunity

I was saddened when I learned that we were leaving the woods this morning. We weren't traveling by foot, but rather, by boats. Lovely, more water.

The woods of Lothlórien were really breathtaking in the morning. The sun was just rising, which gave some light to the peaceful forest we had sheltered in. It reminded me of Rivendell, in a way. I wouldn't mind coming back to live here, only if those who lived here didn't have a problem with me staying.

We were at the mouth of a rather wide river. Three boats awaited us. Before we assigned anyone to a boat, we tossed in what supplies we still managed to carry with us. Since there was an even number of us, we were able to fit three to a boat. There was a Hobbit to each of them. Aragorn took Sam and Frodo in his, Boromir took Merry and Pippin, which left me with Gimli and Legolas. Everyone got in the boats fine, minus me. I didn't care if I was assured that the waters were safe—I hated water, and I had a fear of drowning.

I could tell my anxiety near water bothered some of the Fellowship, particularly Boromir and Gimli. Aragorn and the rest of the Hobbits knew how I had been around water the first time; Legolas most likely just had a lot of patience in him.

I was stuck in the middle between Gimli and Legolas, which made me feel a little bit better. Legolas was in charge of steering the boat.

The river looked calm; it was rarely disturbed unless you counted the Fellowship's oars as we paddled along the river. The sound of the water running below the boats was rather calming. I found myself closing my eyes, trying to ignore the motion sickness creeping up on me.

Nobody struck up any conversation whatsoever while the Fellowship slowly waddled along the river. I liked the peace and quiet. There hadn't been many danger-free moments for us lately. For quite some time we were surrounded by enemies and death.

A noise in the distance snapped me out of my tranquil state of mind. I looked to both sides, trying to figure out where the noise came from. My heart sprinted slightly, but I tamed it easily. I was probably hearing things. There was no way Orcs were coming after us; they could only travel at night.

When I heard the same noise a second time, I began to worry.

"Is something following us?" I whispered.

"I doubt it, lass. Don't worry yourself," Gimli told me.

The longer the boats glided down the river, the longer my butt became sore from sitting so long. I wanted to stand up, but I knew that wasn't a wise thing to do in a boat. I tried shifting to make myself more comfortable, all while trying not to rock the boat—not that my weight would really make a difference.

I gaped in wonder when the Fellowship came across two massive statues almost as tall as the Balrog had been in the Mines of Moria. I shuddered, recalling the foul beast that stole Gandalf's life. I kept that horrible memory down, making sure it didn't resurface.

I focused on the statues. They looked to be very old but not weathered. The statues weren't identical, but they had similarities.

It was amazing what the world outside the Shire had to offer.

A growing roaring noise up ahead made me look. We were heading towards a waterfall. I swallowed. Then I realized our boat was gliding slightly to the right, to a piece of shore. How stupid of me to think that the Fellowship would be foolish enough to follow a river, even down a waterfall, when there was the chance that the fall would injure or kill some of us!

We docked our boats a good distance away from the waterfall. I was more than happy to jump out of the boat, though I nearly injured myself doing so—my feet almost caught the top of the boat when I hopped out. The water felt cold, eating at my feet as I trudged onto land.