Nuts in Middle Earth by TRMJ and Elf+Nut
Disclaimer: LOTR was created by JRR Tolkien, and all the characters and names you recognize belong to him.
Debora and Claudia are just two internet girls having some fun with their favorite characters. Not copyright infringement was intended. This was made just for fun. And yes, we ARE nuts, so don't bother emailing us just to tell us that.
Reviews are ALWAYS welcome! :) Debora (Brazilian Nut) and Claudia (ElfNut)
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed us so far!
______________ Nuts in Middle Earth Chapter 4__________________
Debora and Boromir turned around towards the howling that came nearer and nearer, Boromir wielding his sword as Debora's hand went automatically to the lightsaber at her belt.
Legolas was awake and was waking the rest.
All heard the howling and, putting the hobbits in the middle, they stood in a circle, with their backs to the fire.
For a moment Debora and Claudia looked at each other, a bit in awe of the adventure and a bit afraid for having to prove themselves in the face of danger. Both smiled and then turned to face the dark shadows approaching.
Big black wolves emerged from the darkness, with angry red eyes and huge white fangs, snarling at them.
The circle drew closer, and as the first wolf leaped towards Gimli, it fell to the side with an arrow from the elf's bow through its head. The next one attacked Claudia, and fell cut through with a swift slashing from a purple lightsaberblade.
When the rest of the pack attacked, the fellowship became a maze of swords, arrows, lightsabers and axes, trying to keep the beasts away from the hobbits who stood by the fire. As the last wolves ran away, howling this time in fear, the fellowship took a moment to asses the damage done to them: apart from a few scratches, none.
Debora's look wandered from to another of those standing in front of her, and ended in Claudia's face, who looked scared, but was grinning from ear to ear. Their faces were lit with looks of triumph, for they had proved their worth to the others.
Legolas was smiling also, the same as Aragorn and Gimli. Boromir was looking in a strange way from Debora to Claudia and back to Debora, who held his gaze. These two women were a surprise, more so as their journey continued.
There were still some hours until dawn, so everybody tried to go back to sleep.
Claudia walked over to Debora, gave her a hug and caressed her back, as she told her to take over the blanket she had been sleeping in. It was time for Legolas and her to take their watch.
As Debora tried to sleep, she tried to think of what was to come. Tonight, she and Claudia had proved themselves to the rest of the Fellowship, amazingly enough even to her. She had never been a warrior, and she had handled herself really nice when in battle. Probably that surviving instinct she had heard about. When she was almost drifting to sleep, she heard someone whispering into her ear, "Good dreams, Gondor Girl. You were quite a warrior tonight." She slept with a smile on her lips.
Legolas sat on the same place where Boromir and Debora had sat for their watch and observed Claudia as she approached the place slowly, as if wary of him. She seemed to be a nice person, being motherly to the hobbits and trying to approach and help everyone.
Claudia also proved to be steadfast on her opinions and ready to fight to prove her opinion or support her friend. She was specially tender and partial to her companion Debora. But when she was around him ... he could not really sense what was wrong. He could almost feel this "force" both women talked about flowing through both of them.
But Claudia, who had a friendly word for everyone on the fellowship, went silent when he approached or started stuttering and walked away. There was so much he wanted to know!
About the Force and her and the place she came from. Legolas sighed.He was going to be very careful and cunning to approach this woman.
Claudia felt herself blush again when she felt his eyes on her. This was ridiculous!!!
She was a grown, mature woman, with a husband and two children and she could handle a gorgeous elf.... or couldn't she?
There she was, standing in the dark with the most amazing creature alive and she felt like ... crying. She sat down next to Legolas, thinking of her family and wondering if she was ever to see them again. The elf sensed the change of mood in the woman. And as she sat down, he reached for her hand. She just sat there, letting Legolas hold her hand, as big tears ran down her face.
"What ails you, Claudia? Why are you crying? Is there something I can do for you? Please let me help you." She wiped the tears away, but since she knew she would feel better after crying, she didn't stop. But there was this sweet elf by her side, who had met her just a day ago and wanted to help or just make her feel better. So she just told him, "There, where I come from, I left loved ones behind ... and I don't know if I will see them again. That is what makes me sad. And I don't want to bother you with my problems. But thank you, Legolas, for worrying."
He felt like holding her, but didn't dare. So he just kept on holding her hand.
"I understand you miss your loved ones, Claudia, but don't give in to grief and pain. It kills all the beautiful feelings you have inside and I can tell you are full of love for those you care for. Cry your sorrow out of your heart, my friend."
Claudia looked up into the elf's beautiful face (hey, he even looked like Orlando Bloom!) and smiled, cherishing his kind words to her heart.
Legolas didn't say anything more, but begun chanting very softly in elvish. Claudia did not understand the words but understood his intention, as she just leaned back and stared into the darkness surrounding them. She missed her family but even if she never made it back to earth, they would have her love forever. This elf had the touch. She felt much better now.
Sometime passed, and soon Gimli and Aragorn rendered Claudia and Legolas.
By dawn, the Fellowship was once again walking, now towards their new destination: Moria.
But they were unusually quiet. The hobbits were starving, Gandalf was preoccupied by what awaited him at Moria, Aragorn was worried about Gandalf closed face, and Gimli was the only one talking about his cousin Balin and the beauty of Moria.
Legolas was quiet, pondering the conversation he had had last night with Claudia, who was still saddened by the thought her family back on earth.
Debora, despite her appearance, had her brain boiling with thoughts spinning around each other. About the previous night...about the first night she spent at Middle-Earth...about Amon-Hen looming ahead of them. To summarize, she was thinking, mostly, about Boromir.
And Boromir was thinking about Debora. Not that she knew about it. It would have surely surprised her if she did. Boromir, man of Gondor, the Steward's heir, was for the first time in his life, confused because of a woman. He had had his fair share of women in his life.
True, none of them had been very respectable women, and he thought that maybe that had something to do with his confusion. But he had never been this confused and mystified by a woman. For the first time in his life, he had been forced not only to listen to a woman, but also ponder what she had said to him. Not even his mother had made such a strong impression upon him, since she had died when he was a very young boy, and he only had blurred images to remember her by.
But all that Debora had said to him the previous night kept repeating itself in his head, making him even forget the little voice that had been nagging at the back of his mind since they had left Rivendell. The voice that told him he had to get the One Ring, because that was his people's only hope. However, every time he caught a glimpse of Debora's hair or body, which happened quite a lot, since she was walking only a little distance in front of him, he remembered how she had felt against his body. The taste of her mouth. The sweetness of her lips. The deep pools that were her brown eyes, where he could lose himself. He saw her faith in him and trust in him being a better man. Those feelings were new to him and gave him both a sense of elation and a sense of fright, of not being able to measure up to her expectations. Along with those feelings, he also couldn't understand another new feeling inside him. One that made his heart beat faster whenever she was close.
Meanwhile, Debora was worried about her previous actions. She was not an "easy woman", by all means, no, but she had acted like a... she didn't want even to think about it. She was even more afraid of imagining what Boromir thought about her. 'He probably thinks I'm just another diversion for him,' she thought, sadly.
And so, the Fellowship went on, finally arriving at Moria by nightfall. By the time they reached the gate to the mines Moria, the mood was dark. The place was beyond menacing, a real nightmare. Even though they were at the shore of a lake, the water was dark and dead still, as if nothing could ever live in it. There were some meager-branched bushes and a dead tree next to the carved gate.
While Gandalf tried to open the gate, Sam unloaded the pony and set it free. Aragorn stood at his side and patted his shoulder as he saw his sad face. "Moria is no place for a pony, Sam, not even a brave one like Bill."
Merry and Pippin sat down next to Gimli, who was still rambling about the great welcome his cousin Balin would give the Fellowship and about the banquet they would have inside the dwarven city.
Debora and Boromir sat next to another, close, but not even looking at each other.
Frodo sat next to Gandalf, trying to help him to find the magic words that would open the gate.
Legolas was uneasy. There was no life in this place. As he felt despair creeping into his sensitive soul, he felt Claudia's hand on his shoulder, and looked up into her smiling face.
"I am done with my daily dose of self-pity and grief, Legolas." She said. "But you certainly look as if you could need to cheer up a bit."
Legolas showed her a little smile. She was very right, and he felt the warmth of her hand on his shoulder almost as it was radiating through his clothes. This woman was certainly a good companion to have around, like a ray of sunshine in the dark place. As he was watching her, she sat next to him and started searching through the pockets of her leather jacket. After emptying her pockets from many interesting items he hadn't seen ever before, she pulled a little bag with colorful drawings on it.
"Yep, this is what we all need now," she said almost to herself. " DEEEEEB !!!! I have what we need, look here, hun: M & M's !!!!"
Claudia started the round giving a few of the tiny chocolate drops to all, starting with Merry and Pippin, then Gandalf, Frodo, Gimli, Debora, Boromir, Aragorn and Sam, and returning with the last of the bag to Legolas.
"This is something I personally love to eat when I get depressed ... a gift from the gods ... chocolate!!!" she said, as she gave the last M&M's to the elf. There weren't any left for her, but she thought 'What the hell, I need a diet anyway!!'
Gandalf tried the chocolate bits with care. "I missed this, I must say. Thank you, Claudia!"
Frodo was surprised, but finished enjoying his share before turning to the wizard.
"You knew of this strange food, Gandalf? Do you know where Debora and Claudia come from?" Gandalf looked a bit put out by that, and muttered, "I shouldn't have said that," which caused Debora to giggle uncontrollably. That earned her an amused look from Claudia, a furious look from Gandalf, and curious looks from the rest of the Fellowship.
"Ah, Hagrid always cracks me up..." Debora sighed, wiping a tear from her eye.
Frodo turned to Gandalf again, "Gandalf?"
"Frodo, I told you they came from afar to help you in your quest. Of course I know where they came from! Just as well as they do." Pippin, who had quickly eaten his M&Ms and was now trying to steal Gimli's, said, "I'd surely like to meet their homeland. They have interesting food."
At that, Merry nodded, "Yeah, I have to agree with Pippin. For the first time, he actually had an intelligent idea!" That earned a few laughs from the rest of the Fellowship.
Gandalf started once again to stare at Moria's gates, trying to decipher the inscription. Debora looked at Claudia and Legolas, quietly talking to each other, trying to keep her mind away from the answer to that simple riddle imprinted in the rock.
Gandalf had told them not to change the course of things, and she wasn't about to help the annoying old man. She was actually beginning to believe that Gandalf wasn't the old wise man everybody believed him to be. Well, everybody outside of Middle Earth, that is. She glanced cautiously at Boromir, only to find him staring back at her. She blushed.
"Yeah, Pippin actually had a great idea. It would be nice to go to your homeland. The people from there are certainly," he looked past her for a moment, "intriguing, at least. Maybe if I got to know your people and your culture, I'd be able to understand you better and figure out if you are indeed a witch or not."
"I'm no witch," Debora said, cautiously.
Boromir focused on her face again. "Well, you've certainly put me under your spell, so you seem like a witch to me." Debora swallowed. The look he was giving her...
"Mellon," said Gandalf, ordering the Gates of Moria to open themselves before the Fellowship, and breaking the spell Boromir had Debora under. She glanced over her shoulder.
The water of the lake behind them was bubbling gently. 'Great,' she thought, 'Claudia and I HAD to be drooling our heads off at Legolas and Boromir, didn't we?'
Claudia had also noticed the movement in the lake. "Everyone, into the mine, now."
As the Fellowship ran into the mine, Debora and Claudia walked behind them, lightsabers lit, backwards, not taking her eyes off the surface of the lake. They turned as they heard Gimli's outcry as he found the ground of the mine covered with dwarf corpses.
"This is no mine, it's a tomb" said Boromir. The smell was foul and the sight hideous.
For a moment, both women forgot the danger in the waters and unconsciously retreated to the entrance of the mine. A long dark tentacle shot out of the lake past them and caught Frodo by the waist, lifting him high up and talking him towards the big mouth that opened in the middle of the lake. Debora and Claudia yelled for help as they ran into the shallow part of the water slashing towards the tentacles that were grabbing and hitting after them. Legolas shot arrow after arrow into the lake monster. Aragorn, under the cover of Debora's and Claudia's strokes, slashed the tentacle holding Frodo, and as Frodo fell, Boromir caught him.
"Into the mine, run, now!!!" screamed Debora. All ran inside, and as the monster followed them, the entrance of the mine collapsed, burying the creature but also closing their only way out. Gandalf lit the light in his staff, and Debora and Claudia still held her lightsabers to lighten the darkness surrounding them, until Boromir and Aragorn were able to light a fire and some torches.
"Are you injured, Frodo?" Claudia sat next to the hobbit and tenderly brushed some locks away that fell on the pale face. The hobbits reminded her of children, even though she knew they were adults. Frodo managed a tired smile.
"I am well, thank you, Claudia. But I could use a bit more of that marvelous food you shared with us before..."
Debora reached inside her pocket and drew her last three M&M's. She gave them to Frodo.
Gandalf was leading the group inside the dark passages of Moria. From time to time he seemed to lose orientation, but he kept going. When he sat down for a rest, Claudia and Debora sat next to him, apart from the Fellowship.
Claudia said," Gandalf, you know we know what is going to happen, right? can't we at least spare them some of the grief and pain of thinking you are dead?"
Debora added." Not that we aren't worried about your holiday with the Balrog, but they are going to suffer, and you know it."
Gandalf smiled at both sadly. "You are both kindhearted and brave. I do not regret having brought you here. But remember, you cannot change the events. It might be lethal to the course of the story."
Debora wanted to argue, but Claudia put a hand on her arm as she reflected. "But you forget, dear Mithrandir, that we have already changed it by only being here. So what is your smart answer to that?"
Gandalf suddenly got up, without answering them. "Hah! It's down this path," and headed to the leftmost path.
Merry started to ask, "How do you..." but he was cut short by Debora, who said, "When in doubt, follow your nose, Merry. But I'm sure all hobbits already follow that rule, right? Especially when your stomach is concerned..."
Claudia, sensing Debora's bitterness, got hold of her friend's arm and pulled her after Gandalf and the others. They continued to move deeper and deeper into Moria.
A while after, they reached a enormous hall, where there were no walls in sight, and the pillars that hold the ceiling went as high as the eye could see. To their right, they saw a ray of sunlight. The Fellowship ran towards it, but Debora and Claudia remained behind. They knew what was expecting them on the other side of the door, so they were not sure that they wanted to cross it.
Gimli's cries reached their ears before they finally entered the chamber.
Debora approached the grave and touched the engravings on Balin's grave with her fingers. He had been the only dwarf who had befriended Bilbo during his adventures, and so, one of her favorite characters from The Hobbit. It was sad to actually see his grave, even though she already knew he had died.
Gandalf started reading a very old book they had retrieved from one of the corpses.
Debora was still thinking about Balin and Bilbo, though, and only snapped out of her reverie when she heard Gandalf saying, "They are coming." She shuddered. What was coming next was most definitely not going to be pretty.
For the first time since arriving at Middle-Earth, she felt like homesickness. "I wish I was back home," she muttered, only loud enough for Gandalf to hear. He laughed curtly and said, "And what makes you think you two are ever going back?"
Debora jerked her head up, catching a strange light in Gandalf's eyes. Before either of them could say anything, though, the inevitable came. Pippin dropped the skeleton in armor into the hole next to him.
Soon, drums followed the noise.
**********
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