~Andrea's Point of View~
Aragorn is a good kisser, I think to myself with a small giggle. "Goodnight," Aragorn tells me
softly, brushing some of my blonde hair off of my face and behind my ear. "Good night," Aragorn
tells me softly, placing a brief kiss on my forehead. I smile up at him before snuggling down into
my bedroll and falling into a deep and needed slumber.
I wake to a sharp kick to my thigh; delivered by a very grumpy looking Ashley. "What the hell do
you want," I ask through clenched teeth—my glare threatening to freeze water. There had better
be a good, and I mean good, reason for her waking me up so early; like we're about to be
trampled by Wargs or something.
"Get up," she growls, pulling on my arm. I push her away from me with a snarl, pulling my pillow
closer to me. "Come on, jackass, not all of us have Aragorn to snuggle with so you have no
excuse to be cranky." I slowly rise to my feet, stretching and sighing as my back pops.
"I'm sure Legolas wouldn't have minded your company." She turns around and glares at me,
hands balled into fists and her face flushed a dark, tomato red.
"I haven't had a Mountain Dew since we got here; do not press your luck." She turns back
around and storms away, grumbling something under her breath about stupid people and 'what
kind of back-ass-wards world don't have no Mountain Dew?' Yeah, this is going to be one of
those days to avoid the auburn mass of destruction.
"Is she always so cheery," Aragorn asks with a smile. Hey, it's too early for manly-man to be
freaking sarcastic!
Maybe. I jump at Ashley's familiar voice, looking around to find her.
Ashley, where are you hiding at and why is Aragorn lookin' at me funky?
Wait ... can you hear me? At my affirmative thought she continues, Andi, I thought the maybe.
"What was that all about," Aragorn asks, not noticing my little freak out session; brows furrowed
in confusion.
"N-nothing." He raises an eyebrow and shakes his head disbelievingly.
"What is wrong with Ashley?"
"She's not a morning person."
"Oh, is that all?"
"Ah, well, where we come from she had this stuff she drank and it woke her up and made her
hyper." Before Aragorn could say anything we hear Ashley screaming. Aragorn and I pull out our
swords and run to where Ashley is hanging upside down from a rope by her feet and holding
onto two backpacks. "Ashley what'd you do?"
"Um … Not much … I found stuff—the blue bag is yours and the purple one is mine." She pauses
a moment, face taking on a thoughtful look. "I don't know whose rope this is." I roll my eyes,
helping Aragorn and Leggy get her down and then steady her. "We may survive this after all; my
bag had books, my iPod, my Walter P22 with the appropriate ammo, and some pop. Yours has
some of your books, your phone, and, um, makeup; boy, the forces at be sure know your ass." I
snatch the dark blue, plaid bag out of her hands and look through it; proud to find the makeup I
almost couldn't live without.
"Ladies," Gandalf states," time for us to depart."
~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~TWO HOURS LATER~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~
I never thought I could hate cold and snow so much, but this trip has proven me wrong. "You've
been thinking that since we started climbing, please, for the love of God, shut up," Ash yells over
the howl of the wind, voice shaky. Well, stop listening to my damn thoughts! "Then stop thinking
so loud!" I glare at the back of her head, arms wrapped around me as meager protection from
the cold; the piles of snow came to around my belly button and more was still falling from the
sky. Jeez, I should've just stayed at my house all those days ago; I could be curled up in my
chair right now, watching reruns of Criminal Minds and eating cookies or something! I stumble
from some hidden rock, Aragorn quickly reaching out to steady me while using the other to hold
onto a Hobbit.
Up ahead I can barely make out Legolas; paused as if listening to something I can't hear. "I hear
a fell voice on the air," he calls out urgently.
"It's Saruman," Gandalf shouts. Son of a bitch, why can't he interfere later? Rocks from the
mountain above us begin to rain down in an avalanche that could easily kill any one of us. "He's
trying to bring down the mountain!" No shit, really, I couldn't tell, I think sarcastically with a roll
of my raises his staff and begins to chant in a different language while Saruman begins to chant
louder and the rest of us can actually hear him now just in time for lightening to strike the
mountain and start a large avalanche that covers all of us in layers of suffocating snow.
Blindly, I start to try and dig my way out of the snow, oxygen beginning to diminish in my
panic. I can't die like this, God, please let me live a while longer, I pray silently, feeling as
though I would never get out. A hand pulls me up and over so that I was on my stomach,
pounding on my back and forcing snow out of my throat for me to breathe. "You okay," Kharl
asks breathlessly. I nod, coughing and looking around at the others.
"We must get off the mountain," Boromir shouts, holding tightly to Pippin and Merry," it will be
the death of the Hobbits! We can make for the Gap of Rohan!"
"That would take us too close to Isengard," Aragorn shouts back, looking around for someone
almost desperately while holding onto Sam.
"Let the Ring-bearer decide," Gandalf states with a worried look in his eyes as he glances over at
my shivering form; gripping his staff tighter in his hand and giving me a look that seemed to beg
me to choose the right way.
Remembering a little bit of this part I instantly say," Moria, we'll go through Moria." Gandalf nods
solemnly and we start back down the mountain; more carefully this time. Back down the stupid
mountain we go. Wait. Why isn't Ashley bothering me? I look over my shoulder and see Legolas
carrying her; Ashley's eyes are closed and she isn't putting up any sort of struggle—she's been
knocked unconscious.
"Is she okay," I ask Kharl.
"She'll be fine," he nods, holding onto my arms to keep me steady.
I walk near the front of the group with Gandalf, every now and again glancing over at Aragorn
with a slight smile. "I haven't had much time to ask," Gandalf starts softly, looking down at me,"
how have you been feeling under the Ring's darkness?" Gandalf stops and holds onto my wrist to
stop me as well.
"It hasn't been too bad, I guess; could be way worse."
"Andrea, I want you to know that you should always trust your instincts and not very many other
people; even those in the fellowship." I stare at him with a deadpan look for a few minutes,
wishing more than anything that I could just smack his forehead with his staff. Boromir passes
us and Gandalf's eyes trail after him as if Boromir was the prime suspect in a murder case.
"You got it, Gandy," I say, giving the wizard a mock salute and jogging to catch up with Pip and
Merry. Looks like I just came up with a good nickname for Gandalf, I think smugly, an extra skip
in my step.
"The Walls of Moria!" I glance over at Gimli's wonder struck face with annoyance. It was hard
enough to teach the Hobbits how to play hopscotch without the Dwarf yelling and distracting
them! Grumbling under my breath, I turn back to the Hobbits only to see the cavern wall; the
Hobbits had already lost interest and began bombarding Boromir with questions about what
quests he's been on. With a sigh, I plop down on a large rock—there was nothing to do now that
I'd lost the Hobbits and the person I argue with got herself knocked out. "Dwarf doors are
invisible when closed."
"Yes, their own masters cannot find them if their secrets are forgotten," Gandalf nods in
approval.
"Why doesn't that surprise me," Legolas quips. A weird noise somewhere between a groan and a
growl escapes Ashley as she shakes her head slightly.
"Shut up Elf-boy," Ashley grumbles. "Some people like to hear themselves sleep."
"You mean think," Kharl asks with amusement in his voice as he looks over at his sister and I get
to my feet.
"Nope, I was having an awesome dream and he interrupted it." With an annoyed sigh, she
punches Leggy in the throat (something she's always wanted to try) and lands on her butt on the
rocky ground. "Son of a bitch, I think I broke my booty," she whines, rubbing said body part as
she slowly gets back on her feet. "I'm not gonna sit right for a week."
"Don't be such a baby," I smirk. My foot slips off the rock I had it on and into the murky water of
the large lake beside me. "Ew," I groan, shaking my foot in an attempt to get the moss and dirty
water off. Ash snorts as she comes to stand next to me, dark eyes laughing as though
saying now who's the baby? The cavern we're in brightens slightly as the clouds that had been in
front of the moon move away. On the wall, silver designs begin to appear in the shape of a
grand door with writing over the top of it.
"It reads," Gandalf says before anyone could ask," the door of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak,
friend, and enter."
"I wonder how long it'll take 'em to figure out it's mellon," Ash whispers to me in a sneaky tone."
"How do you know," I ask, eyebrows scrunching together. She is the last person I would ask to
solve an important riddle because she sucks at them as bad as she sucks at speaking in front of
a crowd of people.
"Kharl told me; he's the master of riddles." Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that. "Besides, I studied
Elvish in college." I give her a look, my eyebrow raised. "Yeah, I couldn't believe they had that
class either, but I wasn't about to pass it up." She still looked a bit peeved from waking up in the
Elf's arms and Gandy yelling at Pippin seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back. With
her hands clenched into fists, she storms over to where Gandy is standing.
"Listen, old man, just because you're too stupid to figure out the password doesn't mean you can
go and yell at Pippin! Next time you'll b the one on the ground holding his throat!" She turns to
the door. "Mellon!" The door opens and everyone stares at her, shocked—except for me and
Kharl, of course; we know not to poke the bear with a stick too often.
"She has a temper," Kharl says by way of answer, shrugging," blame the Irish in 'er." I nod and
follow everyone inside, a small, satisfied smile on my face. Ash standing up for herself is rare,
but when it happens and she loses her temper I like to think I taught her everything
"Soon you'll know the hospitality of the Dwarves," Gimli says proudly, trying to forget what had
just happened, "Roaring fires, malt beer, and ripe meat off the bone! This is my cousin, Balin's
home. They call it a mine."
"This is no mine," says Boromir, looking down in disgust," This is a tomb." Curious, I follow his
gaze and meet…
"Zombies," Ash yells, pulling a Scooby-Doo and jumping into Aragorn's arms.
"They're skeletons, dipshit."