Rise (Lord of the Rings)

27 - In Pursuit

Time seemed to blend the days together, making them become one endless day. In reality, this was our fourth day in search of the Uruk-hai—they had a name besides my name that I deemed them ("super-Orcs"). The past three days and nights we hadn't caught sight of our prey, but we were slowly gaining on them. However, I didn't see how we were as close to them as we were with our setbacks. We rarely stopped to rest, and when we did, it was for a very brief moment. It was as if none of us believed in eating either, for we hadn't had any food for days. The only thing that kept us going was the occasional water we gulped down, not to mention the motivation for tracking the monsters. I would not be surprised if I was merely bones by the end of this hunt since I was sure I was losing weight.

The four of us—Aragorn (the former Ranger/heir to the throne of Gondor), Gimli (the Dwarf), Legolas (the Elf), and I (the Hobbit of the Shire)—were not going to give up so easily in our hunt. Aside from destroying the Uruk-hai, we had another goal set in mind: to rescue Merry and Pippin, two of my fellow Hobbits. The Uruk-hai had snatched them days ago after the monsters had found us and attacked. That bloody mess left the Fellowship split up and one member dead.

Thankfully, the weather was merciful. It was bad enough we rested little and hadn't eaten for a while; we didn't need unbearable weather on top of it.

Aragorn still led the hunt as he had four days ago. He and Legolas were still going strong, having mastered the ability of building stamina and endurance whereas Gimli and I had a hard time keeping up with the Elf and Man. I was barely keeping ahead of Gimli.

The terrain we were currently overcoming had very little level ground. Aragorn and Legolas were ahead—naturally—while Gimli and I struggled to battle the rocks that got in our way. The nape of my neck was soaked with sweat as was my face. My legs pulled me along, though they should have collapsed so many times before now.

Up ahead, I saw Aragorn pressing his ear to a rock, no doubt tuning in his tracking skills. If he could pick up the Uruks' heavy footfalls just by listening to the ground, that took serious concentration.

Legolas came back to retrieve me, being patient. I respected the Elf. He had endless patience, and he was skilled with a bow. Just the thought of being able to wield a bow and arrow as he did made me want to try the skill. I even considered asking him to teach me. However, I needed a bow that fit me first. Even before that, I needed the Elf to accept my proposal of him offering to teach me archery.

"Their pace has quickened," Aragorn called over his shoulder. "They must have caught our scent. Hurry!" He barreled on ahead, leaving the rest of us to catch up to him.

"That's all we've been doing for four days, hurrying," I huffed to Legolas. "How long do you think it'll be before we can properly rest?"

"Sadly, I cannot tell you, because I don't know," Legolas murmured. I stopped, bending over. "Do you need help?"

"No, I can manage." I waved him away. "Go on and catch Aragorn, I'll wait for Gimli."

"That could take ages," he teased. "I have a better idea."

I yipped as I was swiftly thrown over Legolas' shoulder. It was as if I was nothing to the Elf. He started after Aragorn at a brisk jog, leaving me to bounce on his shoulder. Why was it that whenever I had almost no energy, the automatic thing to do was throw me over someone's shoulder and carry me that way?

"Come on, Gimli!" I called, cupping my hands to my mouth to project my voice.

Farther down the slope we were hiking, I saw the Dwarf grumbling to himself. I smiled at him. Sometimes the he amused me when he didn't intend to. There were at least a few moments of comic relief on this hunt.

"Are you comfortable, Marlena?" Legolas asked me.

"As comfortable as I can be," I reported, keeping my head away from the ends of the arrows bobbing in front of my face. The last thing I wanted—or needed—was to get poked by one or smacked in the face. "You don't have to do this, I can walk just fine."

"That's the problem. If you just walk, we will lose you. We're getting too close to afford slowing down."

"So you're saying that if I lagged behind, none of you would come back for me?"

"It is possible if we were that close to the Uruk-hai, yes," Legolas whispered gravely.

I gulped, suddenly appreciative of the Elf carrying me as extra weight.

* * *

The terrain gradually became less rocky and resembled a desert, minus the heat and the animals. Legolas still had me over his shoulder, never once showing signs of discomfort that I could pick up on.

I had no good view during the ride, all I could see was Gimli struggling to keep up. I sighed, looking up to the bright sky. I wished that the Uruk-hai hadn't found us back in that forest, that they hadn't murdered Boromir and stole Merry and Pippin from the Fellowship. I wondered how different things would have been if none of those things had come to pass.

It was a shock to see Legolas had passed Aragorn. He slowed to a stop, and I noticed Aragorn had found something. I tried to see what he held in his hand as he knelt on the ground, but Legolas turned to face Aragorn, making me face the opposite way.

"Can I be set down now?" I asked Legolas. "It's not that I don't mind the ride, it's been a while since I've been on my feet."

"As you wish." Legolas maneuvered me off his shoulder. I stumbled a half-step before regaining my balance.

I scooted to Aragorn; he was practically my height if not a few inches taller when on one knee. I looked curiously into his hand. There, sitting in his palm, was some sort of leaf pin.

"What is this exactly?" I wondered aloud.

"You have seen it before," Aragorn told me. "Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall."

From what I assumed, he was saying that either Merry or Pippin dropped it. Did they lose it on accident, or intentionally?

I felt Legolas looking over me, staring at Aragorn's discovery. I looked behind Aragorn to not see Gimli at all.

"You're saying that one of them threw this on the ground for us to find?" I concluded. Aragorn nodded.

"They may yet be alive," Legolas mused.

This leaf pin fueled my motivation just a bit more. One of the boys had to have been alive to have left the leaf behind. There was no way an Uruk-hai would just rip it off of them and throw it to the ground. "How far behind are we?" I asked Aragorn.

"They're less than a day ahead of us." He rose to his feet and trotted off once again.

This routine was becoming dull very fast. It was all run, sometimes stop, and then run again without any food or proper rest. We needed a break in the rut, like catching up with the monsters and freeing Merry and Pippin. That would certainly liven things up.

"Do you want me to carry you again?" Legolas' voice startled me.

"Oh, you don't have to. I can manage," I assured him. "But if I look like I am about ready to pass out, feel free to do so."

A few echoed grunts caught my attention. Gimli, from a distance, was finally within my line of vision. He'd just rolled down a small hill and was staggering to his feet. I snickered.

"Come, Gimli!" Legolas shouted. "We're gaining on them!"

Feeling relieved that Gimli was gradually catching up to the rest of us; I looked ahead only to find Legolas had disappeared. I hadn't even heard him run. Elves seemed to have a natural talent for stealth—you never knew they were right behind you until they spoke, nor would you ever realize they left you until you turned to them, only to find them gone.

Realizing the longer I stood still, the bigger the gap between Legolas, Aragorn, and me grew, I forced my legs to do what they had been doing for four days: endure.