| Upon a Copper Battlefield: Morning dawned, sunlight streaming down into the Midgewater Marshes in misty shafts. All around the Marshes were a sickly green and gray, full of death and rot, and Pippin, just about hysterical, quickly roused the group the moment his shift was over. Jei sat up instantly, coming fully awake, and she grimaced as pain exploded behind her eyes. She lifted a weary hand to the back of her head and gently massaged the lump there, feeling the clot and scab of dried blood where she had been whacked. Pippin was hurrying about, calling to the group as he packed up their things, urging them to awaken quickly and leave even more so. Jei glanced down at the backpack she had been sleeping upon and frowned quizzically. She didn’t remember laying her head down upon it but then again, strange things happened when she slept. She lifted her head and looked at her group, counting Gimli who was grumbling but rising nonetheless, Merry who mumbled in his sleep and merely rolled over, and Pippin who seemed just about ready to fling himself at Merry to awaken him once and for all. “Merry! Up! Now!” Jei looked for Legolas, eyes widening anxiously. Where was he? Where had he gone and how long had he gone for? Why wasn’t he back- Beside her Legolas dropped down from the tree, landing almost silently and Jei jumped, caught off guard. He smiled at her teasingly and she exhaled, returning the smile. “I was worried,” she explained to him as he bent down and lifted his pack. “I didn’t know where you had gone.” “From what my eyes have discovered we are not being trailed but the Marshes do not give me much to work with,” he said and he was speaking to the group in its entirety. “The mist hangs heavily and we have far yet to go. We should be off.” “No breakfast?” Merry demanded. “Perhaps you should kill me where I stand.” “T’would be my honor, Master Meriadoc but we have not the time nor the stomach for such a deed,” Legolas said dismissively, and he slung his pack upon Arod, murmuring to the horse when he rose a bit. Gimli looked toward the hobbits. “Perhaps a bite as we walk but nothing that will slow us. The flies will do away with me at this rate.” He swatted at the buzzing insects all about as if to further prove his point. And with that the group set off once more, trudging through the murky grayness of the Marshes. The walk through the Marshes would take all day, Pippin and Merry explained, and Jei’s heart sank with the news. A long day full of muddy wetness and Neekerbreekers, as the hobbits called them. And they laughed together as if it were a big joke but one that only they understood and Jei did not question it although she had a vague suspicion it had to do with the fact that the strange creatures all about the Marshes made strange little neek-breek noises. She shook off the thought and plodded along hopelessly, feeling her chain about her neck tighten as if it were a living entity. How much longer until they even saw signs of drawing close to Mordor? It felt as if years were passing and yet she had not made headway in any direction. And with her, her company, just as crestfallen but with a firm purpose. She lifted her head to gaze up at the sunlight squeezing in and casting a glow on the misty fog of the Marshes and she prayed that they soon left the unbearable terrain behind once and for all. One day there had been enough to last her all the lifetimes allowed her. All of them. Not long passed noon they began to see the muddy land fall away and little by little the ground beneath their feet became firm once more, dry and grassy. The mist lifted away gently and, much to the hobbits’ relief, the flies were soon left behind in their home of gray darkness. Moving quickly now they saw a line of hills lying to the east and one hill stood apart from the rest, standing tall and proud. “Weathertop! Weathertop!” Pippin cried excitedly and he turned to look over his shoulder at the group, pointing. Jei lifted her head to look and beside her Legolas smiled in what could only be read as relief. Gimli exhaled impatiently and he gestured, his hand on the hilt of his axe. “Then let’s be moving. I wish to sleep at the summit by nightfall!” “Nightfall?” Merry asked incredulously. “Not at all possible. Weathertop is still about a day’s distance. Tomorrow morning if we are lucky.” “And not suffering from hunger pangs,” Pippin groaned as his stomach made a small indignant sound. “Perhaps if we let the horses rest and then rode toward Weathertop?” Jei suggested, glancing at Legolas and Gimli. “We would be there by nightfall just as Master Gimli wishes.” Legolas glanced at Gimli to see what he had to say in answer to that but Gimli merely looked the other way, arms crossing over his chest. He then looked at Jei who had a brow arched haughtily at the dwarf. “I think a rest is needed just for a meal. I believe Masters Pippin and Merry have missed…five meals by now?” he called over to the hobbits. “Three, you are quite welcome!” Merry called back crossly. “Of course,” Legolas returned smoothly and he came to a complete stop, halting the entire group in the process. Without another word he began to unsaddle Arod, removing the pack from the horse and allowing him to wander free. Jei turned on her heel and did the same to Stormrider, clicking at her for the mare to follow Arod. Gimli exhaled loudly, stretching, and tossed himself upon the ground lazily with a sigh. “A meal then, at last?” Pippin asked, dragging back the pony, Merry doubling back as well. “For a little while,” Jei murmured. And she looked at Gimli with a rather mischievous smile. “Then we ride.” “I will not ride! I refuse to ride!” Gimli let the group know quite loudly, although he only argued with Legolas. Pippin and Merry stood anxiously not far from the two old friends, looking worriedly at each other and then back at the dwarf who shook with anger. Jei smiled to herself cheerfully as she reloaded Stormrider with gentle, murmured words. “Yes, Stormy, the poor little dwarf will not ride and do you know what that means? Of course you do. It means we will be free of him, once and-“ “My friend, you will ride with me and I will not fail you,” Legolas said in his comforting voice and Jei cursed it once again. His voice worked wonders with even the coldest of hearts. No doubt soon enough he would have Gimli riding and perhaps even enjoying it. She slowed a bit wondering what kind of effect it would have on a poor innocent young woman. “We have ridden before, have we not?” the elf was still saying. “It will be as old times, you and I. As if Aragorn rode by our side still, into battle.” As old times. Jei rolled her eyes although she faced Stormrider still. What did it matter? If the dwarf did not wish to ride then it was fine by her. He could stay in this wilderness and rot away from lack of food for all she really cared, so long as she got her way and they went. In fact, if he so wished she would happily have tied him to a tree and left him, anything to prohibit him from riding. Let the Black Riders come for him and rot his flesh from the inside out with their bony, undead hands, anything, just to not have to see his face day in and day out and always be seen as an enemy. Perhaps if they came for her again she could hand over the dwarf to save herself. And a moment later she stopped completely, blinking. Where had that entire train of thought come from? She lifted a hand slowly, reluctantly, to her neck, fearful of what she would encounter there although she knew what she would find. Her chain, an ever cumbersome burden around her neck and upon her shoulders. And, although it was not new to her, she felt it blazing against her palm, aware that the ornament hanging along her back was a searing hot pain. She straightened her shoulders, intent on ignoring the heat and suppressing it. It would do her little good now. She turned to face the group and called across to the dwarf. “If you wish, we can continue to walk,” she said, petting Stormrider, who grew impatient the longer they hesitated. “Weathertop does not lie far and we can just as easily walk as ride.” Gimli and Legolas both looked at her and Legolas’ delicate expression was one of elfin mischief as he cast a sideways glance at the dwarf. Gimli beside him threw her a sneer, chest puffing outward in sudden outrage. “I will not have a girl like you tell me what I can and can not do! We will ride then to Weathertop! And the last to reach the summit will have the first watch!” And with that he marched over to Arod, hand on the hilt of his axe, stopping only to cast Legolas a quick frown as if to ask, ‘Why are you not here yet?’ Jei nodded inwardly, satisfied, and laying a hand once more on the chain carefully she drew close to Stormrider and mounted the mare. “To Weathertop, then!” she cried, setting the hobbits in motion and scrambling for their pony. “And as Master Gimli decreed. The last to reach will have the first watch!” Legolas lifted his head, his hair floating about his shoulders as he rode. Gimli held on to him from behind with the force of a death grip and he had a strange and terrible urge to laugh freely but he did not for he did not wish to offend his friend. Arod rode as proudly as he had in his early days and he showed no sign of weariness though he had been galloping now for quite some time. To his left he heard Stormrider, also riding with remarkable ease and he knew that the mare did not gallop so much as trot, so as not to leave the hobbits behind. Turning his head he caught a quick glance of Jei, her hood thrown down and her black hair flying about her face with every step of the horse beneath her. Her eyes were narrowed against the wind that swept passed her face and she hunched low against Stormrider, as if embracing him lovingly. He gazed at her for a moment for she was suddenly beautiful, riding skillfully. And again he wondered if there was elven blood in her for even as she radiated a warrior’s grace she seemed innocently elfin as well. After a thoughtful moment he looked passed her to the hobbits who rode several yards behind. And no wonder for they seemed to be arguing amongst themselves, Merry swatting at Pippin while trying to maintain control of the pony. “Forward if you will, Legolas! I do not wish to be a stain upon the grass should I fall off!” Gimli shouted to be heard over the pounding of hooves. “Indeed, my friend, but I fear that in moving forward we leave much behind!” Legolas exclaimed loudly. He faced forward once more, drawing close to Arod as he rode. From behind Merry called to them and Gimli looked back to hear what he was shouting. “Make for the hills to the left! Strider showed us a path at their feet that will wind toward Weathertop from the North! It will keep us far more concealed than the obvious path we take now!” the hobbit cried. Jei corrected her path, now leading as the entire group changed direction slightly. She lifted her head a bit as Legolas drew closer to her and, doing so, caught sight of several dark forms in the air. Her eyes narrowed as she stared, trying to make sense of the forms but they were much too far away for her eyes to see. She turned her head toward Legolas and gestured and as he looked toward her she pointed to the sky, brow furrowed. He lifted his head, eyes searching the sky and he seemed to focus upon the black figures in the evening light. Jei did not have to see his reaction to know that the creatures in the sky were not friendly. He lowered his head once more, looking at her with a pensive expression. “They are not to be trusted,” was all he said though. She nodded although she could have figured that herself. “The sooner we make it to Weathertop, the better,” she called to him and she glanced over her shoulder to make sure that the hobbits kept up. She did not wish to leave them behind and especially not with evening upon them. Soon enough the night would fall and she did not trust the darkness as she once had. But as she raised her eyes to the sky once more she thought the sunset brilliant, its red rays and golden light sweeping across the land they rode and bathing them in a copper glow. From the hills, as they drew closer still, came a small stream, one that led back the way they had come and for that Jei found herself blessed. Their water skins had been running low without hope of finding a means with which to refill them but across the water’s tender surface the sun was reflected and she felt that if they could push on for a little bit longer they would have all the time in the world later on to drink to their hearts’ desire. But for the moment they needed to push on, head for the foot of the hills. Legolas looked back once more toward Merry and Pippin, ever wary, and he slowed a bit upon Arod, eyes studying the land they were slowly leaving behind. In the bitter redness of the sunset he thought he saw black shadows but he wondered momentarily if perhaps he was weary or lacking of water. But at a second, prolonged glance there were the shadows yet again and he realized they drew near, riding faster that any normal horse could have carried them. He was almost inclined to believe them kin to Shadowfax, so quickly they galloped. Three shadows in all, and the three of them stood tall upon their coal black steeds, slowly coming into focus the closer they came. In no time at all they would be upon Merry and Pippin and the hobbits would not even be aware of them, so caught up in their playful tussle they were. “Gimli, take Arod!” Legolas ordered and without giving the dwarf time to question him he lifted both hands away from the horse, straightening in his seat. The dwarf made a small, desperate sound but did as he was commanded, leaning around the elf to try to control the horse. Jei looked over at them, eyes widening when Legolas pulled forth his bow and anchored an arrow to the elf hair. She craned her neck to see his target and only then became aware that the Black Riders were nearly upon them. She turned in her seat, looking toward the hobbits. “Pippin! Merry!” she shouted fearfully. And as she slowed for them a large black shape loomed up before her, darkness on wings. She did not even have a moment to understand what was happening. Something struck her head on, one strong attack, and she was flung off her horse roughly, sent to the ground. She landed hard on her knee and rolled, caught off balance and aching from the impact. Legolas fired one arrow, unaffected by the gallop of Arod, and to his side he caught a quick glimpse of the Black Rider upon the large winged creature. He had come from the sky, unmonitored, the moment all the attention had been cast on the Black Riders tailing them. The elf’s arrow punched through one Ringwraith, knocking him cleanly off his horse and Legolas turned his attention to the other, fitting another arrow to his bow. Behind him Gimli was shouting something incoherently and he ignored his friend for the moment, aiming with the second arrow. Jei rose swiftly, nearly faltering as her knee gave way, and she ducked as the Ringwraith on the winged creature swiped at her once more. Her knee was not supporting her and she feared it would hinder her more than it had so far. The Ringwraith came again but he carried no sword for her and she grimaced, wishing to escape the hand that attempted to subdue her. With a pained wince she lifted her hand and drew Ivory from her sheath, Ebony following. And clenching her jaw she flung herself at the Black Rider, swords bared. Gimli pulled the horse to a stop at last, bringing the animal about, and Legolas fired the second arrow firmly. His aim was off, however, and he cursed under his breath as the arrow grazed another of the Ringwraiths. The first one to fall was rising, left behind by his comrades, and he pulled the arrowhead from his body, flinging it aside and returning to his impatient steed. “What will it take to destroy them once and for all?” Legolas questioned quietly. And from several feet to his side he suddenly heard the clang of metal and he whirled on the horse, not understanding. Jei recoiled from a slice by the Ringwraith’s sword, staggering backward. The creature was strong. She felt it in the way Ivory trembled under his sword when their blades connected. But Ivory and been molten and shaped by the very best and she would be damned before she let the sword fail. Ebony was the stronger of the two against the black creature and, as if beckoning to it, the Black Rider went for the hand holding the dark sword, black-gloved fingers suddenly wrapping around her wrist in a hard, cold grip. A frown crossed her face as she instantly tried to pull back but then, lips parting, a cry was torn from her as the Black Rider yanked roughly. She was hauled right off her feet as the Ringwraith pulled back on the winged creature he rode, lifting higher into the air. Merry and Pippin finally joined Legolas and Gimli, Pippin casting a worried look over his shoulder at the approaching Ringwraiths and Merry frowning toward Jei. Legolas had an identical frown on his face as he lifted his arrow toward the hovering creature, the same question running through his own mind as well. Why will he not kill her..? Jei cried out, more than a little angered when the Ringwraith heaved her up easily and slung her upon the back of his winged carrier. She fell hard on the creature’s back, grasping on for dear life as she saw the ground several feet below. Legolas was aiming upward but she saw that now he hesitated and she understood why. Any attack to injure the beast she rode would bring them down roughly. She could very well break something on the fall to the ground. She grimaced as the Ringwraith wrapped one hand around the back of her neck, leaning into her, and from under the hood came the low hiss of a voice, one dark tone upon another making it difficult to understand exactly what kind of voice he had. A strange language was issued from the creature’s form and Jei hesitated for a moment, frowning down at Legolas but not seeing him as he continued to aim. She recognized the language the Ringwraith hissed although she was sure she had never studied the language. The voice rolled about her head, bringing more strange tones to life in her memory and it was a dark vision that threatened to burst into being. She felt the fear that it brought and the sudden icy hot urge to destroy, and for a moment her vision blackened and she was blind, lost in the ever burgeoning murderous rage. She closed her eyes to it, not wishing to see and not wishing to feel the strange dreamy sensation of hot blood on her fingers, not even if it meant unlocking a hidden memory. Not at that expense. Down below, Legolas’ lips parted, his bow dropping a bit. For a moment it seemed as if Jei’s irises had flooded black in color but she suddenly closed them, grimacing, and when next she opened her eyes they were still blue. But she was furious. With a clench to her jaw she opened her eyes, feeling the bitter rage for more of that warm blood, fingers slipping across its surface. It came with the anger, the same anger she had felt when she had lost patience with Gimli. But she did not wish for it to control her, she would not let it control her. She lifted her head, flinging her hair from her face and looking up at the Black Rider, rage shimmering in her dark eyes. “You will not have me,” she whispered and she suddenly lifted Ivory, swinging wildly. The blade of the white sword easily took off the Ringwraith’s arm, the one holding her from behind, and with a wild shriek the creature no longer held her. Without a moment wasted nor a thought given she adjusted her grip on Ebony, grasping it so that the blade was pressed against her forearm, and she swung blindly. The swipe tore the Ringwraith’s head from his body but before she managed to get a better look at what lay below the black hood she found herself falling, slipping right off the winged creature. Instinctively she stabbed with Ivory, the blade piercing the body of the winged creature, and the beast issued a monstrous roar, instantly flailing. Jei swallowed, hanging on only by the one sword and she cast a quick glance down below, not wanting to see how far down the ground waited. She encountered the rest of the group under attack by the remaining Black Riders, Legolas casting wary glances up at her from where he sat still upon Arod, cautiously firing his arrows. A moment later the winged creature twisted sideways and her blade slid free, covered in slimy black blood. A cry caught in her throat as she plummeted and she landed upon her sore knee, toppling to the ground with a pained gasp. Casting a grimacing look up she saw the winged creature take off, carrying nothing more than a black robe on its back. She breathed to calm her racing heart and then fell limply for a moment’s rest, chest heaving. Pippin dug through Jei’s bag, searching with sweaty hands. “Where is it? Where is it?” Pippin!” Legolas whirled toward the hobbit and Pippin raised his head in time to see the elf aim at him with his bow. His jaw fell open in disbelief but the arrow flew passed his ear with a sharp breath of air, stabbing into a Black Rider that had crept up behind him. The Ringwraith fell away, black-gloved hand reaching up toward the arrow end protruding from his shoulder. Pippin instantly backed up, dragging Jei’s pack with him, still digging through it frantically. Gimli dropped off Arod’s back, throwing himself into the fray with a hearty cry. “Careful!” Merry shouted and he ducked away from another of the Black Riders, wary of the weapons they swung. Pippin pulled forth Jei’s crossbow with a triumphant “Ah-hah!” and whirled to face the Ringwraith just as the Black Rider rose up directly before him. The hobbit paled in sudden fear, staring up at the creature, mouth open. From up close they were even darker, blacker somehow, and with them came a sudden rush of icy air, of all things dead and gone. His skin froze, goose bumps rising, and he stiffened painfully, feeling as if one wrong move would break him in half. “Pippin!” Merry shouted, taking a step toward the other hobbit. The Ringwraith raised his sword with one easy gesture, bringing it down gracefully. Pippin closed his eyes, clenching down and preparing for the death strike that would carry him away from the battle. Instead there was a clang of metal upon metal and as he opened his eyes he saw Jei before him, both of her swords raised in an x, blocking the Ringwraith’s own sharp sword above her head. She looked over her shoulder toward him quickly. “The bolts! Get the crossbow bolts and help Gimli. Aim for the head!” she ordered sharply, thrusting the Ringwraith back and off her. The creature came again and she whirled, her foot sneaking passed his sword hand and effectively shoving him back once more. Legolas turned away from her, satisfied that for the moment she would be all right. Aim for the head then. He shut one eye and lifted his longbow, aiming for the last Ringwraith that loomed before Merry. The hobbit was doing a wonderful job of dodging the Ringwraith but he would tire easily. He tired even then, Legolas could see it in the way he moved. He released the arrow, lifting his gaze to follow its route and holding in the urge to cheer when it struck the Ringwraith where his face would have been under the black hood. The twisted creature sailed off his horse without a sound, falling with a hard thump to the ground. Jei cried out around clenched teeth as the Ringwraith’s blade grazed her arm, slicing open her skin and a moment later his foot swiped her feet out from under her, sending her to the ground roughly. Her head cracked against the dirt and she winced as one sword flew from her grasp, skittering across the ground and coming to a stop several feet away. Her breath was expelled painfully, bright lights exploding before her eyes. The bump from earlier flooded with fresh blood and she felt it as she raised her free hand to the knot. The creature rose up before her, turning his blade down to run her through. A single crossbow bolt was released and it struck the Ringwraith in the shoulder, below the collar. Jei's vision cleared for a moment and she stared as the creature staggered back a step. Without waiting she instantly rolled onto her side, encountering Pippin who stood trembling in fear behind her, clutching the crossbow with a white-knuckled grip. “Here, Pippin!” she ordered, plunging her remaining sword, Ivory, into the ground and taking the crossbow from him. Leveling another bolt, she instantly lifted the bow to aim. And as the Black Rider rose up once more she shot off the bolt, catching the creature in the face. He shrieked and the vision was absolutely comical, a large black man staggering with an arrow peeking out from the darkness under the hood. Jei hesitated, uncertain whether to shoot off another but even as she raised the bow once more the black robe suddenly deflated, floating and settling emptily upon the ground. She stared at the cloth warily, crossbow bolt at the ready but after several moments of merely waiting she slowly convinced herself it would not be rising again. One Black Rider remained, facing off against Gimli, Merry behind the Ringwraith. Legolas crouched beside Jei, asking wordlessly if she was all right and she nodded with a grimace, settling on her rear and lifting her hand back to her head. "The face," she said to him, flashing Pippin a grateful look as he knelt to help her stand once more. The elf rose as well, taking the crossbow from her. It was a heavy crossbow, and the bolts seemed deadly enough to kill someone with a strike, even a miscalculated one. He set aside his own longbow and lifted the crossbow, aiming quickly. Gimli beat him to it. Merry hopped forward from behind the Ringwraith, careful to avoid stabbing the creature directly and, in dodging the hobbit's attack the Black Rider floated sideways. Gimli swung his axe, releasing it, and the thick blade became embedded in the creature's chest, tossing him backwards onto the ground as Merry quickly dove out of the way. The Black Rider fell sharply, writhing under the heavy blade, and Gimli backed away, hesitating. He looked torn between finishing the job and standing away for someone else to do it and Jei applauded his decision. It would not be necessary to care for another wounded. Legolas strode over to the Black Rider and lifted the crossbow once more against his shoulder, aiming from two feet away. The creature shrieked at him, flailing, and the elf lifted his foot, stepping upon the Ringwraith's neck to hold him against the ground. And with barely another hesitation he fired the crossbow, striking it down wordlessly. The creature jumped with one last high-pitched scream before settling limply. Legolas lowered the crossbow with a frown and quickly backed away when the robe under his foot suddenly melted, collapsing in upon itself. The group stared at it in silence, Gimli looking about to see nothing but impatient black steeds and empty black robes along the ground. "Are they gone, now? At last?" Pippin asked fearfully, supporting Jei around the waist. Jei shook her head, grimacing. "No. We only managed to slow them down. There will be more coming after us soon enough." She released Pippin, taking hold of Ivory's hilt and pulling the sword from the ground. Limping, she went over to Ebony, who had been flung aside, and lifted her as well, returning both swords to their sheaths. And finally she merely dropped to the ground, exhaling wearily. Merry did the same where he stood several feet away, curls bouncing upon his head. "Well, I do believe I'm hungry," he said with a solemn nod. Legolas smiled faintly, Gimli falling into step with him as they turned away from the empty black robe and looked about. The battle had taken no more than ten minutes of their time and the sunset was just about over, the sky darkening to purple blue night. "Perhaps we shan't be arriving at Weathertop tonight after all," the elf murmured, looking toward the hills. Gimli made a small noise that sounded like a "Hrumph!" and he strode over to Arod who stood forgotten off to the side. "I disagree. We will reach Weathertop even if we must ride all night. I will sleep at the summit tonight! And I will not take the first watch!" Jei looked at the dwarf with lifted eyebrows before throwing a pleading expression toward Legolas. The elf smiled at her and shrugged slightly, following the dwarf and Jei, with a helpless wail, fell flat on her back wearily. But after a moment she rose as well, smiling inwardly. At the very least she had a firm group and a set purpose. Perhaps this quest to Mordor would work out after all. She quickly rethought her position though when she realized that in her absentmindedness her group had already set out without her. "Well, the very least you could do is wait!" |
| All images and works done/altered by ShiNoFuriko and TasogareBan. Please do not steal and always give credit to where it is due. |