Rise (Lord of the Rings)

29 - Our Worst Fear

Dawn was rising once again. We had gotten another early start thanks to Aragorn. Also, like the day before, Legolas had me over his shoulder. I was half-awake due to slightly bouncing against the Elf's shoulder. It wasn't a pleasant feeling—after a while, my torso felt like it would bruise.

Instead of the usual sunrise, the colors were different on this day. They looked more beautiful than an ordinary sunrise. The clouds were given a reddish-pink hue to them, a different sight. Legolas must've noticed the sky's color, because we stopped abruptly. He whirled around to face the sunrise, leaving me to look at Aragorn from over the Elf's shoulder.

"Any reason as to why I am facing this way?" I asked over my shoulder.

"A red sun rises," Legolas said. "Blood has been spilled this night."

My heart skipped a beat. I looked at Aragorn, he stared back at me. Was he just as worried as I was by Legolas' assumption/prediction? Even though I shouldn't have taken the Elf's words seriously, I did.

Though I should have assumed that blood spilled could be anybody's, two names came to mind. A lump formed in my throat, making it difficult for me to swallow.

As the morning went on, Legolas eventually let me down. My mind was swimming with paranoia, anger, and guilt. If I had any more emotions wandering through me, I would surely explode.

At times, I enclosed a hand around the hilt of the sword swaying at my hip. It was a possible giveaway to how I was feeling on the inside, but if any of the boys noticed, they never spoke up about it. I was paranoid by the fact that Merry and Pippin could possibly be dead by now, and angered and feeling guilty by the fact that, had I not suggested we go find Frodo and Boromir back in that forest, Merry and Pippin would have been with us and not in the hands of those disgusting beasts.

I knew I could speak for Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and myself when I said that, if our worst fears came true, we would have failed those two and never feel like ourselves ever again. Then again, it didn't seem as though we felt like our old selves right now. At least, I didn't. Being outside the Shire's borders had changed me, and I could proudly say that it was for the better.

We four hiked up a small incline. Before us and close to us lay more rock formations.

Aragorn suddenly halted; the rest of us did the same. Standing still, I felt a faint tremble in the ground underneath my feet. Something was on the move. The weather wasn't the cause of the ground quivering—if it was, the ground would have shook violently.

Aragorn darted within the cover of the huge rocks. He beckoned the rest of us to join him. Trusting Aragorn's judgment, Legolas, Gimli, and I staggered to join the former Ranger. In addition to the ground's movement, I could hear faint thunder growing closer. I looked to the sky—no dark clouds, so, again, it wasn't the weather's doing.

The thunder was so close that I contemplated covering my ears. Flashes of brown and gray passed our cover. I realized then that the thunder was actually horse hooves beating on the earth floor, guided by their riders. I had to assume these riders were from Rohan, as that was the territory we were traveling through.

There were at least hundreds of riders atop powerful steeds, all carrying long, pointed spears. They were all armored, fit for battle. Had they just come from a fight?

Judging by how clean they looked, I was sure they hadn't.

A rider or two carried a flag with a galloping stallion on a solid color background, a sun was perched in the upper right corner.