Chapter 5 in which Sarah reunites with her companions...
You're probably asking..did she drink it?
As much as I wanted to, something stopped me....
More like..just as I was about to chug the whole bottle down, I heard a noise. A loud noise.
A noise that sounded like a scream.
And I knew, what with the majority of the dwarves being asleep, it couldn't be good.
Someone was in trouble.
My best guess was, the spiders had finally found their prey.
I stuffed the bottle in my hoodie's pathetic pocket, and took off towards where the noise was coming from.
I only hoped to be fast enough and catch the incident at it's beginning stage.
The only person close enough for this to be happening to was little Ori.
Rest assured, if anything happened to the little guy, I would have my vengeance.
~
It didn't take me long before I tracked down where the noise was coming from.
I was expecting giant spiders, or even maybe a company of elves, but nope.
It was my four fabulous kidnappers!
I couldn't believe it; they actually found me! =D
Or, well, at least came close to it.
I was at first ecstatic to finally see them again . . . I really was . . . but something wasn't right.
Before I went right along to greet them, I hid and watched from behind some bushes, analyzing the situation. Indeed, I was right. Ori was involved.
The only problem was that it was my very four villainous companions that were responsible for making him scream. They were currently right on him. Like, RIGHT on him. Like the Joker was putting his knife upto his mouth and was no doubt gonna kill him!
nope nope nope nope nope
I wasn't gonna sit back and allow that, forget it.
I wasted no time. Without even taking a second breath, I leaped right out of the bushes and ran full force towards the group like a speeding bullet.
I--I wasn't thinking. I couldn't think. Nothing could stop me!
I was fire! I was wind! I could not be tamed!!
I just kept going and going and going and going, and wHAT THE HECK WAS I DOING?!?!!!!?!?Z??!?!?!KSKJQSJOIIUG7HBJB;:J>?
Before I knew it, my body came into very violent contact with his.
We're talking full-blown collision course.
And we ground-pounded right to the...ground... Joker being knocked right off of poor Ori.
The dwarf yelped from the sudden act of hostility.
Oh gosh, did my body hurt.
And to be honest, I was quite tired of being in pain, so I quickly shrugged it off as best as I could.
I staggered to my feet, sore and coughing. But it didn't last long.
I was up and recovered, shaking my head of dizziness.. but upon seeing my companion..I came to the realization that he had recovered long before me, and was now giving me the most horrid look imaginable.
One hand was curled into a fist..the other was still holding the knife.
I gulped; my face went cold.
On one hand, what I did made me feel pretty amazing.
For doing something so bold, so daring, so dangerous and wild...I mean, wow!
The power I felt!
. . . . then it hit me. . . like a ton of bricks. . . . I just tackled the Joker.
I slowly got back up all the way..realizing what foul dark and complete obscene idiot mistake I just made,
I couldn't take my eyes off him. After all, he was the Joker.
"What the *beep*?"
I took a deep breath.
He was bigger than me.
And more dangerous.
And scarier.
And smarter.
....well....
"Sarah!" Ori exclaimed, quickly trying to get up. "Run! These men are mad!!"
"--Ori, I got this."
I looked back at the clown, but just as I did, he lunged at me.
I quickly jumped back at this, when the other three abruptly grabbed him by the arms and stopped him in his tracks. Heeeeeee looked ticked.
"Oy! Clown!" Master protested. "Control yourself."
"That's right, no one touches her but me."
I rolled my eyes at this...I swear, Jim...
"Calm down, she didn't mean it."
"Actually....I did."
They all gave me a somewhat surprised glance..or, rather, quizzical.
I wanted to scream in agony from the look I was receiving from Mister J.
If looks could kill, I would've died.
I sucked in all the oxygen I could and let out all the fear and unnerve left in me through an exhale.
"Demens--" "I tackled him on purpose. Darn straight. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. We had a deal."
"You have no idea who you're dealing with." "I don't care! You're not pulling this crap when I'm around! As long as I am on the same planet, you do what I say."
I got up close.
"And if you try to pull a stunt like this again, I will do everything in my possible power to make you suffer."
Master stepped back a minute and chuckled. "..You?"
He continued to chuckle, glancing away for a brief second. "You don't have it in you."
"Oh, really?" I shot back in a mocking tone.
"I've spent my entire life watching you psychos, seeing the way you torture, seeing the way you kill, how you handled things. . and I've picked up a few tricks along the way. Believe me, I know how to hurt someone when I need to. You act like you know me, but it's only been what--a day? Two?? No one learns hardly anything about a person in that time, unless they're very lucky. You barely know a thing about me, so you especially haven't seen that side of me."
Even closer.
"You kidnapped me..stole me from my world because of what I am. We both need eachother--you need me for your vengeance and I need you for your T.A.R.D.I.S.. But that's it. We're not friends; you're not my captors and I'm not your prisoner. We're solely business partners and that's where it stops."
There was no more I needed to say to the three.
I gave the Master one final look before moving on to the Joker.
I got up even closer to him and whispered as crisply as possible.
"Do not try anything like this again, unless I say so."
I slightly rose my eyebrows sarcastically as I waited for a response.
"K?"
Joker's breathing was heavy and I could tell he was gritting his teeth.
I waited--either for him to say something or to make a move. Or both.
Like slice my throat with the switchblade he was still holding.
But nah...he just...grinned.
Grinned real wide. The anger left his face, but not his contentment with me.
His mouth was cheery and playful..but his eyes told a different tale.
One where I got scars of my own.
They were wide with craze, those two white marbles of his.
I was understandably unsettled.
Remember..he smiles when he kills people, yeah..
"Sure... that's fine." He shifted a little and tapped his feet.
Then without warning, he leaned in realllllll close, with the most prominent demonic grin you will ever see on a human being, ever. "That.." "Is completely..." he slightly whispered. "..Fine."
. . . . . . . . . . . .
WHY WAS I GETTING THE SINKING FEELING THAT EVERYTHING WAS INDEED NOT FINE?!?!?!?!!!!
He backed away before he could fully see the panic in my eyes.
That man was becoming less and less enjoyable by the minute, I wanted to cry.
But the whole purpose of me coming along, aside from visiting other worlds, was so they wouldn't kill me.
So regardless of the Joker's silent death threats, I needed to remain strong and keep my guard up.
I came that far, I wasn't about to let a clown ruin it for me.
I didn't care how menacing and murderous he was..... no seriously, I needed to be careful.
Ori struggled up, breaking the awkward silence and our long glances at one another.
I just about forgotten him in the intensity of the moment.
He unexpectedly ran in my direction, grabbed my arm in the process, and tried to flee the scene with me in tow, but my lack of cooperation (in other words, I just stood there) caused the poor shortie to fall to the ground, trying to drag me along. I shook my head to fight off the urge to laugh.
He quickly recovered and tried to tug me away from the others. "Quickly, miss Sarah! Run!"
He struggled, heaving and hawing.
"Come, come, come! These men are--are--" "My companions."
He abruptly stopped and looked up at me, pitifully.
I made a smile through my nervousness to try to cheery him up.
"These are the men I'm traveling with...and my place is here..with them..at least for now."
He gave the four a rather hateful, disgusted glance.
"They're monsters." "I know. They are. But--" I sighed.
"..They're my responsibility. And they're my only ride out of here."
Ori shook his head and gently took hold of my arm.
"You can come with us." "...I'm sorry...this....this isn't my home...I can't stay."
I gave the others a glare before taking Ori and going to the side to talk in private.
They came a little closer to listen in, the scoundrels.
"I appreciate everything you guys have done for me. I would love to stick around, but it's not my place. Actually..I need to leave as soon as I can. I'm sorry. I'm truly so sorry...but if you knew...well, you'd understand." He sniffed like a child and looked down with saddened eyes and I felt guilt.
"...I'll go back to get my stuff..and..well..then I'll go."
"But-"
"And Ori...you need to forget about me. Forget you ever knew me.
And you need to tell the others to do the same." "But miss Sarah!"
"It's important. And don't you dare try to go after me. I mean it."
Poor Ori. He looked so sad and heartbroken, ugh, I felt terrible.
He looked at me with huge, watery eyes. "Will I never see you again??"
I looked away; there was no way I could either lie or tell the truth. Therefore, I didn't say anything.
I pat his shoulder. "Just...go back to camp. I'll be there soon."
He was reluctant. I knew it was hard for him, but he handled the situation better than I thought he would.
He nodded his head in agreement, then started back to camp, giving the others yet another disapproving glare. They, in the mean time, looked like they wanted to kill him even more than they originally intended.
I turned and faced them. They did the same.
I cocked my head to the side. "So..did you even bother to look for me?"
"What do you think we've been doing all this time?"
"Harassing guys shorter than you are."
Master scoffed and looked away. "You're too sentimental."
"Noted for the next time someone tries to kill you..maybe I'll just sit back and watch it play out."
"Not in you." "I dunno, I've always been into justice, maybe you'll be getting what you deserve."
His eyes slowly returned to me.
I swear, I detected a hint of hurt in there, somewhere, over what I had said.
I felt...a little bad for saying it..but, you know.
They are villains. And villains do bad things.
My situation was difficult.
I wanted to pretend we were this merry crew of travelers, having an epic, care-free adventure to new and amazing worlds. And I could fully put my trust and utter faith in them; to have my back, to save my life.
But I wasn't even sure of that...they weren't glamorous princes in shining armor, ready to save the princess. They were the ones who attacked the castle and snatched her up.
I really cared about them, though.
Which prevented me from hating their guts and ditching them effect of immediately to search for the T.A.R.D.I.S. myself, letting Middle-Earth kill them off.
No matter what I wanted from them, the truth remained, these weren't the good guys.
Heck, if they were, I'd be all over them. I would be squeezing the life out've of them upon our reunion.
We'd be the best of pals. I loved their personalities, and I knew we could be a really epic team;
but they weren't on the right side.
After what they just tried to do, I couldn't bring myself to be happy or joke with them.
I got a knock on the head. What happened gave me a realization..a remembrance of who they were.
What they did.
I couldn't trust them. In the short amount of time that they were separated from me, they immediately fell back to their nature. As long as they thought for themselves, no one was safe. Not even me.
There was nothing to say...so I backed up. "Let's--go."
Slowly turning, I caught a glance of the Joker.
And well...he had been staring me down like a vulture the entire time we had been reunited.
- - -
I kept my distance as they followed me. We each were rather quiet, which was definitely a first.
I really didn't have much to say to them...I mean, really, what CAN you say?
Villainy aside, I said some pretty hurtful things. Like threatening to kill them.
Would I actually do it? Pft..probably. Most likely. If they drove me that crazy.
Very easy thing to do.
But right now, our gleeful little traveling party was on edge with one another.
Our current civilized status wasn't gonna last long.
"How much further is it?"
Ah, a little nice to hear from good old Bane.
"Just--" I inspected the landscape as we walked.
"A little.." I did a quick 360. "-Further."
"How much further? We've got to get a move on."
"Patience, my dear Timelord. We're almost there, I promise."
"And what can we expect to find there?"
"Nothing. Cuz once we get close enough, you four are waiting behind while I go to retrieve my things."
"Speaking of, did you actually go off on your own, unarmed??"
"Of course not, you troll." I made a sudden halt and swung around, flashing the blade on my side.
"I'm not stupid."
I turned back and proceeded on. "I was just taking a short stroll through the woods, after......reasons."
"...How do we know you're not gonna take your chance and leave us as soon as you're in the camp?"
"Because I had every chance in the world to book it to Lake Town when we were separated. But I didn't.
I was waiting for you. In fact, that was one of the prime reasons I went out on my own, in hopes I'd stumble across you."
I looked behind me. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to keep my distance.
Maybe I SHOULD keep close..I would indeed have to keep those boys in line.
Huh...and that means I would have to do service with a smile.
I backed up in my tracks like a car in reverse, until I was side-by-side with Moriarty.
I forced myself to look straight at him and grin wide.
"Hi there."
His eyes moved in on my location. "Hiiii...."
"You're looking well today." "....thank you..."
He looked a little weirded out by my sudden transfer of emotions. I didn't blame him.
"...you look..nice..."
He looked me up and down. "...and dirty."
"Thanks, so do you."
He inspected himself.
"Your westwood is flawed, I'm afraid."
He looked disgusted.
"I suppose once we get to the T.A.R.D.I.S., we'll need a change of 'garb'."
"...The T.A.R.D.I.S. does have a showering system, right?" I glared at the Master.
"I mean, it does have a swimming pool, so.."
"Of course. And if it needs to be modified by any means, we are capable of making those upgrades."
"What kind of upgrades?"
"Well, we'll get to that once we actually find the *beep* thing, won't we?"
I sighed. "I hope it also has a bedroom, cuz I ain't traveling with you hooligans with no sleep, nope."
"I haven't looked, but we could always design one for you, I suppose. Just don't go overboard."
"I'm a simple girl, Harry." I rose my hands up. "All I need is a bed."
Jim shot his head at this and was about to open his mouth, when I prodded him hard in the shoulder.
"Do not take that out of context."
I shook my head in disapproval. "I am 19 years old, man. You are such a creep."
"You're legal."
I reached in and quickly twisted his ear; he squealed in pain. Joker cackled.
Master suddenly came to a halt and swung around, facing the Irishman.
"Let's be clear." The Timelord said as he got in his face.
"The girl did not come on this voyage just for you to jump at her at every chance you get. She certainly didn't come to be harassed and used for your sick little human pleasures. You will not touch her, in any means.
If you do, I will kill you myself."
But Jim seemed unimpressed by the threat. He cocked his head to the side like a little puppy.
"Do I detect a hint of jealousy, somewhere in there??" "Shut up! Don't be mad!!"
"I am." "Well then stop showing it."
Moriarty narrowed his eyes, changing his cheery tune into something much darker.
"I don't like being told what to do. We agreed to work with eachother to get what we want--not let you bark orders like you were our leader. I am my own man, spaceboy. Don't forget that."
This was rather amusing. The Master didn't budge in anger. He just smirked.
This was followed by a brief, uneasy stare between the two.
They wanted to kill eachother, I knew it. Master would have no trouble...
Jim, however, didn't necessarily like getting his hands dirty.
I turned my head from the scene and examined the area. It looked relatively familiar.
"Wait here a second.." I walked ahead of them. "Bane, don't let them kill eachother."
". . . So you're her loyal watchdog now, eh??"
Joker amused me.
"Don't run off too far." Jim, you be quiet.
I hurried ahead and stopped at a tree to look at the front.
There was the camp. As expected, the dwarves were sleeping.
Ori was the only one awake, sitting up, cradling his own legs. He looked around, pitifully, waiting for me.
I felt so evil for doing this to him. But...I came to the decision. I should wait.
I didn't want him to see me again...I didn't want any of them to see me again.
They needed to be found by the spiders and captured by the elves.
They needed to go to Lake Town and defeat Smaug--well, at least allow the chance for Bard to do it.
Everything needed to take it's natural course and I was interfering with it.
There was no Sarah Demens in this story. There wasn't a Sarah Demens in any of the stories.
If I stayed away from them from then on, the forest magic would take it's tole and they would probably wind up just thinking of me as either a hallucination or just a tricksy elf trying to lead them astray.
I bit my lip, waiting a few more minutes.
Soon, he started to get tired, and kept yawning. My opportunity was coming.
Sure enough, Ori's exhaustion was too great and he fell back and crashed almost immediately.
I smirked; instantly, I leaped into the minefield of sleeping dwarves and hopscotched in accordance until I got to my rock. There laid my belongings and Bilbo's blanket.
"How lovely.." I whispered. "An actual easy situation."
I picked up my items and strapped them on; I didn't wanna lose the medicine again, so while I was at it, I took it from my jacket pocket and zipped up my...zipper..then tucked in my shirt and all, finally dropping the medicine down my hoodie's neck hole.
It stopped at my waist. There. A good place to put it until I could find myself a pack of some sort.
There was more than one serving, so I knew I would not be finishing it in one go.
I turned and brought the blanket with me..Bilbo was all curled up, wrapped in a spare blanket, sleeping soundlessly. I smirked at how tiny he was, then laid the rag beside him.
"Thanks, old boy.." I said in a whisper.
There, I made my way to Kili and Fili. The two turned about their heads and shifted repeatedly.
I suddenly frowned. An overwhelming amount of grief overcame me...I remembered....they were going to die. And I had every chance to stop it, and save them.
And here I was, leaving them.
As much as I wanted to change the way things played out...I had to. It was for the best.
I leaned in and touched Fili's shoulder in respect..then went and gently kissed Kili on the forehead.
"...I'm sorry." I whispered as quietly as I could.
I got back up, gave the party a final study..then clocked it out of there.
~ ~ ~
I was frustrated with myself for leaving..honestly, what was wrong with me?! ugghhh..
But as I walked, I noticed that something was wrong....again.
I froze. The boys were gone.
Son of a skjksjksjwljsklwjkjkldjlkwjilueiuifhjkshjkdhjsw
"Guys?" I said once and looked all around.
Please don't tell me.
I took a few steps forward and pivoted around.
"Guys?" I now said in a whisper.
But as I turned back around, I suddenly heard an awful sound.
I stopped. An orc call.
"Scrap."
I could see silhouettes emerging from the trees.
My heart stopped and my breathing ceased as I froze like a statue.
I tried to run, but I couldn't move.
TOO SOON.
Then I had a heart attack and about died when a hand suddenly clamped over my mouth and I was grabbed from behind. I protested a little on the way before I was dragged...... ok, CARRIED, to a group of bushes to a group of men. Joker, Master and Moriarty all looked in accordance when Bane let me go.
I punched Jim in the shoulder because he was there.
"What was that for?!" He painfully whispered.
"I dunno, I just felt like it! I'm not about to hit Bane!"
I leaned in closer to the bushes to inspect the orc-y scene.
"What are they doing here?! They're not supposed to be here yet!"
"Perhaps it's a result of you altering the dwarves' timeline."
I shot Master a glance. "MY altering?! If you hadn't have-"
"Quiet, they're growing closer.." Bane touched my shoulder from behind. "We need to move."
no no no
"We can't. The dwarves will be discovered." "Boohoo."
I didn't dare use violence on the Joker. "I'm not letting them get killed because of me!"
They all shared glances at one another on my account.
"...I have to distract them somehow." "How? Flapping your arms around like a chicken?!"
"I--If I have to!!"
shhhheeeeeaaaaaaaaattthhhhh
My heart stopped again.
All the boys looked behind us; I gulped and slowly did the same.
A disturbingly ugly orc stood over us, pointing his gnarly looking blade, with a grimace on his face.
It sneered and spat. "LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS!"
I looked down at my own blades, then at the boys.
Should I? Or shouldn't I?
"....I have a better idea..." I looked up at him. "How about you lay down your's?"
Quicker than expected, I unsheathed my sword, lunged towards him, knocked his arm out of the way which sent his blade flying, then with a quick whirl of my body, I sucked in my breath and drove my blade straight into him. He squealed in pain as the weapon did it's work, then finally, I removed it from him and stepped back as his body fell. I let out my held breath, which proved harder than expected.
What....did I just DO?
I repeatedly blinked as reality kicked in.
He was.......dead.
I looked at his wound, then back at his face, then at my hand.
I killed him.
The others were silent. I felt them all look at me.
You know how in movies, whenever a character makes their first kill..they freak out, feel guilt, wind up instantly regretting what they had done?
Well, that was bogus. I felt nothing.
I kept blinking, unable to take my eyes off him.
I couldn't believe what I just did. Not that it was a bad thing; he was an orc, he was gonna kill us.
But it's just...wow....I actually....killed something.
Other than a bug.
That was....unexpected.. to say the least.
I finally worked staring at him out've me, so my eyes moved back to the boys.
They now were unable to take their eyes off me.
"....Oh yeah, sure, WE'RE not allowed to kill anyone, but you can go all savage on whatever you like!"
I swallowed, then ran the sword along my hoodie to clean it, finally sheathing it and letting out another breath.
They all looked at the corpse, then back at me.
Joker narrowed his eyes. "How did you...learn to do that?"
I paused for a moment to recollect my thoughts...then shrugged my shoulders.
"--My dad taught me."
Their interest seemed piqued.
I looked ahead-----of course.
"We've got company."
They all shot their heads behind them and started to stand a little.
"It came from over there!" One orc yelled to his comrades.
I waved for the others to stay down and quickly moved my butt to behind a tree, where I watched as the orcs got closer to the bushes.
Bane grabbed the arm of the dead orc and pulled him closer to the four, so that the body was out've sight when the orc pack grew nearer.
I yet again unsheathed my sword- but slowly and quietly- then flagged for the others to do the same.
They nodded and did so.
There, I started to move around the tree, as the orcs got even closer to the bushes, so that I could work my way to behind them. I took a long, deep breath.
Was I really about to do this again?
I tried to make a few regular, easy breaths before making the plunge, but I just wound up hyperventilating.
get it together, Demens, get it together.
I leaned back against the tree and tried my best to control my lungs, shutting my eyes.
I sucked a bunch of air in.
1 . . . I let it out.
2 . . . I opened my eyes.
3
I spun my body around, readying my sword, then ran behind the disgusting creatures;
at once, I held my sword high into the air, then came down into one of them, straight through their back.
It shrieked in my ear, deafening me.
"NOW!" I called, just as the rest of the pack turned at once, snarling at my presence.
On cue, the others sprung from the bushes, swords in hand, where they plunged their weapons into the remaining pack members, in one quick easy motion.
They all screeched and roared at the ambush's outcome, until the last one defeatedly crashed to the ground and the air fell silent and empty.
I sighed. I could breathe again.
"That was..." Master looked at me. "..That wasn't too bad of a plan, Demens."
I squinted. "Whatta ya talking about, 'wasn't too bad'?! It worked, didn't it?!"
He looked away.
"...Whatta we do with the bodies?" Jim wondered aloud.
"Burn 'em."
"I do hope you're joking." I worried.
"Always, with a smile on my face." He licked his scars as a gesture.
I crinkled my eyebrows; something was wrong with him.
"We need to hurry, there might be more."
"I agree. They could have possibly only been scouts.."
"Are they?" Master looked to me. I looked back.
"How should I know?! I haven't seen these guys before!"
"I thought you read the books and saw the movies."
"That doesn't mean I know EVERYbody!!"
"How can you call yourself our queen, then?!"
I rolled my eyes, "Get over it. Let's just go."
Another orc call.
We all jolted and spun around in the direction of the noise.
"Scrap!" "Should we stay or should we go?!"
I stared ahead in nervous anticipation, when my arm was violently tugged.
"SARAH!"
I looked. It was Jim. I blinked. "You're asking me?!"
"You know the land, you call the shots!"
I was speechless. I looked back ahead, as the orc sounds became clearer.
"I--" What the heck?! All this sudden confusion! "We--"
Son of a cadbury!
My eyes widened as a whole squadron of orcs--we're talking 20 or more--came thundering out from the trees. My jaw dropped. They saw us.
"Ohhhhhh, no, we're running!" The Master yelled.
I finally reacted, and, well-- "NO! I don't run away from a fight!" I just began to charge..
"That's going to change!"
I was grabbed by my hoodie's hood and pulled away, swung around and dragged along for the ride.
The orcs...well, yeah. They were after us.
- - -
"THIS IS NOT THE WAY THIS SHOULD'VE BEEN HANDLED."
Yep, we were running. The orcs weren't too pleased about us dispatching their own.
I continuously kept shooting my head behind me as we ran.
We were going so fast, I wasn't able to have a breather.
I looked back at the others, just in time to avoid a cursed tree that was out to get me. >8(
"Come on!" Master yelled at me. "Don't need a reminder, thank you!"
"Where the bloody *beep* are we going?!" "Straight!" "What?!" "Just keep going!"
"So we're just gonna keep running?!" "What else can we do?!"
"Come up with a better plan!"
The orcs were so far beyond ticked-- they were running faster than speeding bullets.
And my tiny shortie legs were only so long. Ugggghhhhh, give up the fight already!
You would've killed them yourself, anyway!
"Let's lose 'em!" Joker called over the wind. "They're too close!"
"Hogwash! Speed it up!"
Before I knew it, I was booking it ahead of the boys.
Soon enough, they too picked up the pace...and we were getting far enough ahead of our new enemies.
Far enough to at least make a quick turn into a small shaded spot of trees to get a pause so we could catch our breath. I turned my head to the others, who were huffing and heaving as much as I was.
"Whatta we do?" one questioned. "We...got to.. lose them."
hm? The sudden sound of...something. Loud. I cocked my head.
"Wait.." I turned it at the noise. "......that's it."
I lunged. "C'mon!"
They didn't bother protesting. They immediately followed.
We ran with everything we had, like the wind; but despite of this, the orcs still easily picked our trail back up and were soon chasing us again, catching up fast.
It took us under five minutes to get to our destination.
I was ahead of the others when I saw it-- I pushed hard up to a point, then skidded to a halt as I stared down. The others slid next to me, and we all were looking at the same thing, out of breath.
The river. Still speeding at an alarming rate and utterly dangerous.
The Master shot his head at me, in shock. "THIS is your PLAN?!"
"You've got any better ideas?!" I shot back.
He was so not pleased. And neither were the others. But they knew I was right.
They all gave me unhappy glances; regardless, we all backed up, preparing ourselves.
I shot my head behind me; the orcs were coming like a pack of blood hounds.
Oh, the panic. I spun my head back. "We gotta go, NOW!"
"Oh, god!!"
I took a few speedy deep breaths, then lunged forward like a freight train, Master right behind me, straight for the raging river.
"Please don't screw with us!!"
I begged the forest, seconds before plunging into the icy, treacherous, watery death trap.
Water engulfed me and filled my lungs as I went under.
I dared to look around--very hard, btw--and witnessed the others catapulting in near me.
All were accounted for..that's when I noticed the current was beginning to move us at a speedy pace.
I struggled to get back up to the surface.
Once I did, I gasped like a fish and quickly looked behind me while I still could-- the orc pack was screaming at us with their horrible looking faces, shaking their weapons and fists..no doubt cussing us out in black speech. I laughed a little. This was just like before, except now I was being carried off alongside my villainous companions as opposed to on my own...and halp, im drowning.
I started to go under again, when a hand reached in behind me and pulled me up.
That's when I realized the others had resurfaced; my rescuer happened to be Bane.
The other three located the orcs' location and grinned at me.
It worked! We were escaping the bloody orcs-- not only that, but the forest's trickery was ceasing-- it was carrying us the right way. And it was taking us to Lake Town.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lake Town, indeed. We made our way to the outer limits of the forest, then the actual end, thank God.
Finally, we were past this part of the chapter. There wasn't much we could do except try to keep afloat.
A few of us briefly went under a few times, but did eventually find our way back to the surface.
The trip ended rather sooner than I expected, however.
Before we could prepare properly, the water sped up rather dramatically and our company was pushed to a hard right. Like that, we were shoved violently to shallow water.
We coughed and wheezed, crawling like infants until we reached a rocky shore.
Literally, the ground was covered with tiny rocks. But I didn't care what the condition was.
We were out of the cursed forest and were heading to a better place, baby.
That was enough of nature's magic for me, thank you.
I needed a little bit of man-made inventions, such as a BED, and ROOF OVER MY HEAD...
and pizza. Lots of pizza.
I crashed and hugged the ground, as did the others.....well, at least did half of that set of actions.
We sounded like a school of fish with asthma.
I just needed a few minutes to recover, then I'd be fine.
But as I caught a glance of the thing above me, I became much more motivated by something far more interesting than breathing.
Dazzled, I slowly stepped forward, staring at the beauty before me; I grinned from ear to ear.
The Lonely Mountain.
The sun shined perfectly amongst the clear blue sky; the view of the Lonely Mountain was close, but still so far away...and it could stay that way, mind you.
I had angry elves and bloodthirsty orcs on my tail, I had no interest in adding a greedy dragon.
But yeah..everything I was now seeing was just...a real refreshment from the garbage from before.
I couldn't believe that after all I had went through, everything still seemed so surreal.
I wondered if I would ever stop feeling that way.
But seeing what I was seeing..gosh, the water wasn't the only thing that was breathtaking.
The boys finally caught their breath again and began standing up in a slow stagger.
The Master stumbled over next to me, wiping his face of water.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" I asked him. He first looked at me, then at the view.
After a moment, he scoffed. "Not that impressive."
I was unamused with his poor taste. I eyeballed him with disapproval as I turned.
"Well, that may be true for you, but for me, it's a real improvement from trees."
He irked me, so I pushed past him when I noticed Bane was having a little trouble getting up.
Joker and Jim had fully recovered and were now alongside the Master, looking about.
But Bane was still on the rocks, sitting on all fours, his head bowed to the ground.
I hurried to him and bent down, "Bane!" I laid a hand on his shoulder. "You alright?"
He took a second or two to look up at me.
I noticed his breathing sounded a little too rough and now I knew. One of the tubes on his mask came out once again. "Ah.." I took hold of the mask. "Hold on."
click click
"-There."
His breathing at once became more controlled. A moment later, he crawled back up to his feet; as did I.
"..Thank you."
Well then! That was a much quicker response than before. I think we were developing an improvement.
I nodded, "You're welcome."
~ ~ ~
Not long after, we all five left from that spot and began hurrying towards the other side of the shore.
I was leading the way, as usual.
"Lake Town shouldn't be far from here! Those orcs won't let us go so easily, so we have to find a way across the water, cuz I refuse to swim there......
We need to find something we can use as a boat."
I spotted something....and gave a rather sarcastic grin. "Like an actual boat!"
They all caught on and we ran full speed ahead to the beauty.
"Ohhh, are you a sight for sore eyes!"
I kissed the edge and ran aboard, hugging whatever part I could wrap my arms around.
"Right!" I drummed the wonderful invention of man and started to search around for the gears to get it going.
Jim slowly approached the side of it, as the others immediately went to work with me, trying to figure out how it worked, ".....what's the point of it?"
"To ride it. Across the water. To places. It is the boat's way, Jim."
He briefly glared at me.
"I mean, how are we even supposed to work it? Look at it..."
"Yeah, sorry it doesn't have a motor. I know, I'm a little surprised myself, but, we are in near-ancient times, so..." I found the ore type thing, despite the boat having a sail....I guess it was for back up.
"--We'll have to make due."
Jim shook his head as he came closer to the boat. At me.
"You talk soooo freely around us...if you weren't so important to our plans, I would soo--"
He leaned in, cocking his head. "--have my fun with you."
I glared up at him.
"Well, knowing you, you don't let anything get in your way of a good time...so what's stopping you?"
He tightened and shifted his jaw. "...good question."
Great...now Joker wasn't the only one wanting to kill me.
I really needed to learn to keep my big mouth shut.
Though to be fair, I wasn't afraid of any of them, so...pfft.
I went back to work--when I realized.
"Wait a minute-" I ran off the deck and studied the side of it a little harder.
"This is Bard's boat!" "Who?"
"Bard!" I swung around and scanned about the area.
"--And if Bard's boat is here, that means so is Bard."
Master got off the boat and walked around me.
"What are you talking about, who is Bard?"
"He's--a fisherman?...bowman....of sorts. He's a bargeman." I kept looking.
"How do you know that's his boat?"
"I recognize it.. I saw it."
"Oh, you saw it, good. But how do you know this is the movie version? This all could be from the book."
He pointed. "That could be someone else's boat."
"It isn't. It's Bard's. I remember it. And we are in the movie version."
"How do you know for SURE?"
I swung around.
"Because Legolas was around, but he never had an important role in the book, only the film. Tauriel wasn't an original Tolkien character; I mean, she was a random elf who was given a name, and importance, not that hard to accept--but she was only an original character created for the movie.......and, Fili and Kili are both supposed to have golden hair. But Kili has dark hair."
I sniffed.
"....and because all the characters look like the actors, so......we're in the film universe."
He looked a little convinced.
I waddled past him, "Bard!" Still no sign. "BARD!!"
"Hey!" Master grabbed my arm.
"Are you mad?! He'll know where we are! Let's just take the boat and go!"
I gave him a displeased glance. "I'm not stranding him, he's a good guy."
"How do you know?!"
"Because I watched the movie, you idiot."
I jerked my arm out from his grasp and started to wander again. "Bard!"
"Even if he is, you really think he'll let us just come along?" "Of course he will.."
I stopped to give him a glare. "...Well, at least me, probably not you guys."
"What does that even--"
"He's a family man, he's just trying to provide for them, ok?
He's a really good person, so I'm sure he'll help us."
He scoffed, "Ah...family man...wife, a home, kids...how convenient."
"Don't be prejudice...and he doesn't have a wife...she died."
He blinked. "....oh...."
Then his expression changed, into one of pure utter stupid insinuation, so I automatically knew whatever he was gonna say was eye-roll worthy.
"I see...he has no wife...he'd take you, not us...you think he'll take a shine to you, eh??"
I made a face at him, "Get real, I'm like...his daughter's age."
He tilted his head. "Daughter?" "He has two...and a son."
"--huh--you must know a lot about him."
I sighed and stomped back to him. "Look--" I kept looking behind him.
"--if we can get a ride to Lake Town, we can seek shelter there, and once we get a little rest, we can began searching for the T.A.R.D.I.S.. I'm sure it's probably there...
you told it to go to a safe place, and right now, that's one of the safest."
I pushed past him. "Ugh, where is he?!"
The Master looked to the river. "..Shouldn't the dwarves be here by now?"
"HA, trust me...that's gonna take awhile."
No sign of him in the trees..in the water...ugh.
I flapped my arms, "Oh for God's sake, WHAT! Did he get eaten by a bear?!"
I paused. "...Oh dear god, I hope Beorn isn't around here."
"Now we have to worry about bloody bears?!" He tossed his head in the air.
I sighed, frustratedly. "...dang it...we don't have any money here..no shillings."
"So?"
"So, the only way the dwarves made a deal with him was because they gave him a payment."
Master looked confused. "I thought you said he was good."
"He is!" "Then he's a rather shifty fellow, isn't he?"
"Ugh, I told you, he needs to provide for his family. Besides, for all he knew, they could've been criminals!" "Dwarves?"
"Stop being prejudice!" "STOP telling ME what to DO!"
He got up in my face, unexpectedly.
"The Irish waste is right, you do talk to us a bit too freely. Least you forget, I have killed people smaller and younger than you. Maybe it's time I taught you just a little bit of respect."
I chuckled. At the Master. I wanted to die, apparently.
"Go ahead--I'm not afraid of you, no matter what you think."
He then grabbed my arms, tightly- "Maybe it's time we changed that."
My smirk turned into something a bit more serious.
"--I'm not like Lucy. Who you could so very easily control and intimidate into submission."
I once again jerked my arm out of his grasp for the second time.
"I'm not like any of you four's victims, who cower in fear and let you get away with practically everything. You'll learn very quick that I am different. Just as different as the people you fight so hard against.
You saw what I did to the orc, without any hesitation.. and he was a villain...like you."
I walked around him, back towards the boat.
"Keep in mind, I've also made full-grown bullies cry to the ground with a mere single punch to the stomach....so...watch how you treat me."
I could feel his intense stare, even from behind me.
But he was the least important thing to be fretting about at the moment..I needed to find Bard.
I turned--but movement from the large bushes caught my eye.
"Bard!" I yelled with a wave.
He ducked..I could see he had his bow pointing towards us.
"Bard! It's--it's me--from a---time---you know..."
"Go away...I don't know you."
"Please, Bard, we need your help!" "With what?" "Your boat; we need a ride."
"To where?" "To Lake Town."
"...I don't know you there..and I know everyone. You don't belong."
"Bard, please. We really, desperately need your help."
Bard
He suddenly came out from the bushes, towards me--
his weapon was lowered, but he still seemed very edgy.
"Please, go..I don't want any trouble." He walked to his boat.
"And we won't give it; we just need a hitchhike to town so we can find what we're looking for and then I promise, we'll leave and be out of your hair!"
He shooed the boys from the boat as he walked aboard. They scattered back to me.
"What exactly do you do, Bard?" Jim questioned.
"I'm a bargeman..I take the barrels full of wine, and other supplies..shipments meant for Lake Town..besides that, I do what I can."
"Wine?" Joker grinned, looking to the rest of us. "Now we're talking."
I made an unimpressed face, raising an eyebrow. I looked back at Bard, but said nothing.
"...What is it you are looking for?" He turned.
I jumped. "Oh! It's--well, it's--it's--" I tried to describe as best as I could.
"It's a--" I was unsuccessful.
"It's a box...like a big box..and it's..it's blue.." I paused and cut my eyes at him.
"..You do know what blue is, right?" He was unimpressed.
"Ok, just checking...annnddd...it's..it's big..but not too big...it's..it's like your boat! It's a ship..but it's not a ship..and it's...small..and it's shaped like--"
Just as I was getting rather creative in describing it with my hands, I looked to Bard and realized.
"...You haven't..seen it?"
He said nothing, just narrowed his eyes.
"...Oh..." I slowly nodded my head and tensed up, sheepishly. "...kaaayyy..."
"...A ship?"
I nodded. Finally. He seemed a little convinced...at least of that part.
"How did you come to lose it?"
"Well, you know ships, if you don't hold them down, they just fly. And our's got away from us..and we think it might've gotten held up in your town, so.."
I shrugged.
"..Look, I promise we're harmless--enough--I mean, we're not..I'm not a criminal, I really do mean well. And we won't hurt anyone, we just wanna find it and go-"
"You seem rather wet."
"Yes." I inspected my clothes. "We are...becaussseee.."
I glanced at the trees.
"----ooofff the orcs."
I had his attention now. "Orcs?"
I slightly smirked, which I tried to hide. I nodded.
"Yeah...they attacked us and then chased us..we had no choice but to jump in the water and ride the current here. But now we have no way across to civilization.."
He seemed a little sold..a little.
"How do you know my name?"
Crap. "Um...because...I.."
"Just lie." Joker growled at me in a whisper.
I casted him a glare. I don't lie, dude! That's your deal.
I blinked. "...Look...I just know. I know we look and sound weird--strange--and for good reason.
If I told you even a fraction about us, you just wouldn't understand. I swear, we're not here to start trouble. Just please..don't ask us any more questions."
I wasn't expecting anything to work anymore. We would have to find another way.
"Alright."
My heart leaped. "Really?!"
He nodded and approached me. "I'll take you.."
He glanced, suspiciously, at the others.
"But if these men are what I think they are, I prefer you get off my boat immediately. I don't want any trouble." "Cross my heart - - - we can't pay you.."
"That's fine." Bard went back on the boat and started fixing it up, giving me a brief cut of the eyes.
"I didn't think you would."
~ ~ ~
We were off in a matter of minutes.
Bard was a quiet dude. I sat next to him, while Bane sat by himself behind us, with Master, Moriarty and Joker sitting at our front. The ride was a lot more silent and awkward than I had intended.
I just sat there, twiddling my thumbs, as Bard checked the ropes and what not.
There really wasn't much to talk about.
"--So describe it again."
I glanced up at him. He glanced down at me.
"Your ship." "Oh--it's, uh..." "Not with words. Show me."
I blinked and looked away. I'm not really the best artist...
"On what?" He directed my attention to the wood.
I looked back up at him, just as he turned his head to the others.
"You have blades..perhaps one of you men can do the honors."
I then pulled my knife out from my side, making him raise both his eyebrows, and instantly began carving into the wood the shape of our missing transportation.
He looked to the others at my having my own knife and they looked amused.
After a few minutes, I was done. I cut my eyes up at him as he studied it.
"..you really haven't seen it?" He slowly shook his head.
I looked down. "...okay..."
"..But I might be able to help you find it."
He gave the carving another glance. "It's rather small for a ship."
"Yes, well..it's a lot more spacious than you think.."
More awkward silence.
I curled my lips back and tapped my lap.
"..So how many kids you got?" "Three." "Ah.." this was awkward.
"...Me, I'm the youngest..back home."
...oh...
"Um, the youngest sibling...of my..siblings..not of my..people."
I was so frustrated with words..why couldn't I use them correctly?
"Speaking of which, Demens, how many do you have?"
Wow, Joker, that was surprising. "People?" "Siblings." "4."
He looked away again.
"Plus my in-laws..my sister, she's got a good guy she's with right now..and he's British."
"That explains why you're so attracted to foreigners."
"Hey now, I'm attracted to whoever I feel, not just foreigners. And that was way before she even met him."
"Yes, we know...dark-haired, mysterious, handsome bad boys that you relate to."
Jim smirked.
"...Sounds about right."
Joker leaned in. "How 'bout you, Barb?" "Bard." "You got yourself a woman?"
I shot my head at him. Son of a---????!!
Bard was disquieted. He finished the ropes and stood up straight. "...no."
There, he went back to the boat controls and guided it along, to avoid hitting obstacles.
I stared the Joker down, who was grinning wide at his own extremely low comment, wondering in what ways would I be able to easily make him scream. I reaaalllyy wanted to hurt him in that moment.
I sighed and looked away.
Master leaned in after watching me for a while, "What's that?"
I looked at him for a brief second, before turning my attention to the small, odd-shaped lump poking out in my hoodie. "Ah...about that...I've been wanting to tell you guys...I'm pregnant."
I humorously held my stomach. "-And it's finally starting to show."
I gave them a glance; him and Jim were both growing wide-eyed, their mouths hanging open.
They resembled fish; I couldn't let this disturbing image continue.
"kidding."
I unzipped my hoodie and reached in to grab the bottle; I pulled it out.
"It's my medicine. The one Tauriel gave me."
Master studied it for a minute. "..Why haven't you taken it yet?"
I looked down at it and made a lopsided frown.
"I've tried. But every chance I get, I get interrupted. I'll have another go when we get to town."
"Why not now?" "Are you kidding? I don't want anything on my stomach on this thing. I'll hurl."
I put it away again.
"...have you had any further headaches?" Bane said.
"Plenty." "Ahem, I think he means your attacks." "....a few."
"hm...well, we can't let you keep having these migraines from Hell..not while we need you.
So you drink that the first chance you get. Am I clear?"
I rose an eyebrow at him. Giving me orders--ha!
..but yes, sir, I will.
"No argument there."
More silence.
"Keep your heads down." We all looked to Bard.
"We're approaching the toll gate." "Toll gate?" Jim questioned.
"Where one collects fees from someone who wants to enter somewhere."
He shot his head at me. I looked away. "Oh.."
Me and my big mouth strikes again.
"This is supposed to be a poor people town."
"Why are you being charged for entering your own home?"
"Not exactly...but you have the Master to thank for the gate itself."
"What?!"
I busted out laughing. "Oh my gosh, I forgot! I'm dying!"
Master looked at me with such confusion, "What?!"
"You and him would probably get along rather well, actually!"
I was so joking.
"Heads down. Stay quiet."
I, at least, did what I was told.
The boat ceased and I heard a man greet the bowman.
"Good evening, Bard!" There was a pause. "Anndd who all do you have with you?"
My eyes tried to look, but I caught myself in time.
"Survivors of an orc attack." "Orcs?! All the way up here??"
"Aye. I'm bringing them here for sanctuary."
"Good thing. We'll keep our eyes open. You go ahead on in."
"Thank you, as always."
And we were moving again. Success!
. . .
I heard something. A vibration..but it wasn't continuous. It was every two seconds.
I felt it all over..I turned around to face the town. The vibration was coming from there.
"..It's here.." "What's here?" "The T.A.R.D.I.S.. I feel it."
"You feel it?" "I just do, ok? Don't doubt my skills, bro, you don't even know."
Bard made a few adjustments to make the path to town straight-forward.
Soon, we were docking.
We were finally here.
We arrived in Lake Town.
As much as I wanted to, something stopped me....
More like..just as I was about to chug the whole bottle down, I heard a noise. A loud noise.
A noise that sounded like a scream.
And I knew, what with the majority of the dwarves being asleep, it couldn't be good.
Someone was in trouble.
My best guess was, the spiders had finally found their prey.
I stuffed the bottle in my hoodie's pathetic pocket, and took off towards where the noise was coming from.
I only hoped to be fast enough and catch the incident at it's beginning stage.
The only person close enough for this to be happening to was little Ori.
Rest assured, if anything happened to the little guy, I would have my vengeance.
~
It didn't take me long before I tracked down where the noise was coming from.
I was expecting giant spiders, or even maybe a company of elves, but nope.
It was my four fabulous kidnappers!
I couldn't believe it; they actually found me! =D
Or, well, at least came close to it.
I was at first ecstatic to finally see them again . . . I really was . . . but something wasn't right.
Before I went right along to greet them, I hid and watched from behind some bushes, analyzing the situation. Indeed, I was right. Ori was involved.
The only problem was that it was my very four villainous companions that were responsible for making him scream. They were currently right on him. Like, RIGHT on him. Like the Joker was putting his knife upto his mouth and was no doubt gonna kill him!
nope nope nope nope nope
I wasn't gonna sit back and allow that, forget it.
I wasted no time. Without even taking a second breath, I leaped right out of the bushes and ran full force towards the group like a speeding bullet.
I--I wasn't thinking. I couldn't think. Nothing could stop me!
I was fire! I was wind! I could not be tamed!!
I just kept going and going and going and going, and wHAT THE HECK WAS I DOING?!?!!!!?!?Z??!?!?!KSKJQSJOIIUG7HBJB;:J>?
Before I knew it, my body came into very violent contact with his.
We're talking full-blown collision course.
And we ground-pounded right to the...ground... Joker being knocked right off of poor Ori.
The dwarf yelped from the sudden act of hostility.
Oh gosh, did my body hurt.
And to be honest, I was quite tired of being in pain, so I quickly shrugged it off as best as I could.
I staggered to my feet, sore and coughing. But it didn't last long.
I was up and recovered, shaking my head of dizziness.. but upon seeing my companion..I came to the realization that he had recovered long before me, and was now giving me the most horrid look imaginable.
One hand was curled into a fist..the other was still holding the knife.
I gulped; my face went cold.
On one hand, what I did made me feel pretty amazing.
For doing something so bold, so daring, so dangerous and wild...I mean, wow!
The power I felt!
. . . . then it hit me. . . like a ton of bricks. . . . I just tackled the Joker.
I slowly got back up all the way..realizing what foul dark and complete obscene idiot mistake I just made,
I couldn't take my eyes off him. After all, he was the Joker.
"What the *beep*?"
I took a deep breath.
He was bigger than me.
And more dangerous.
And scarier.
And smarter.
....well....
"Sarah!" Ori exclaimed, quickly trying to get up. "Run! These men are mad!!"
"--Ori, I got this."
I looked back at the clown, but just as I did, he lunged at me.
I quickly jumped back at this, when the other three abruptly grabbed him by the arms and stopped him in his tracks. Heeeeeee looked ticked.
"Oy! Clown!" Master protested. "Control yourself."
"That's right, no one touches her but me."
I rolled my eyes at this...I swear, Jim...
"Calm down, she didn't mean it."
"Actually....I did."
They all gave me a somewhat surprised glance..or, rather, quizzical.
I wanted to scream in agony from the look I was receiving from Mister J.
If looks could kill, I would've died.
I sucked in all the oxygen I could and let out all the fear and unnerve left in me through an exhale.
"Demens--" "I tackled him on purpose. Darn straight. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. We had a deal."
"You have no idea who you're dealing with." "I don't care! You're not pulling this crap when I'm around! As long as I am on the same planet, you do what I say."
I got up close.
"And if you try to pull a stunt like this again, I will do everything in my possible power to make you suffer."
Master stepped back a minute and chuckled. "..You?"
He continued to chuckle, glancing away for a brief second. "You don't have it in you."
"Oh, really?" I shot back in a mocking tone.
"I've spent my entire life watching you psychos, seeing the way you torture, seeing the way you kill, how you handled things. . and I've picked up a few tricks along the way. Believe me, I know how to hurt someone when I need to. You act like you know me, but it's only been what--a day? Two?? No one learns hardly anything about a person in that time, unless they're very lucky. You barely know a thing about me, so you especially haven't seen that side of me."
Even closer.
"You kidnapped me..stole me from my world because of what I am. We both need eachother--you need me for your vengeance and I need you for your T.A.R.D.I.S.. But that's it. We're not friends; you're not my captors and I'm not your prisoner. We're solely business partners and that's where it stops."
There was no more I needed to say to the three.
I gave the Master one final look before moving on to the Joker.
I got up even closer to him and whispered as crisply as possible.
"Do not try anything like this again, unless I say so."
I slightly rose my eyebrows sarcastically as I waited for a response.
"K?"
Joker's breathing was heavy and I could tell he was gritting his teeth.
I waited--either for him to say something or to make a move. Or both.
Like slice my throat with the switchblade he was still holding.
But nah...he just...grinned.
Grinned real wide. The anger left his face, but not his contentment with me.
His mouth was cheery and playful..but his eyes told a different tale.
One where I got scars of my own.
They were wide with craze, those two white marbles of his.
I was understandably unsettled.
Remember..he smiles when he kills people, yeah..
"Sure... that's fine." He shifted a little and tapped his feet.
Then without warning, he leaned in realllllll close, with the most prominent demonic grin you will ever see on a human being, ever. "That.." "Is completely..." he slightly whispered. "..Fine."
. . . . . . . . . . . .
WHY WAS I GETTING THE SINKING FEELING THAT EVERYTHING WAS INDEED NOT FINE?!?!?!?!!!!
He backed away before he could fully see the panic in my eyes.
That man was becoming less and less enjoyable by the minute, I wanted to cry.
But the whole purpose of me coming along, aside from visiting other worlds, was so they wouldn't kill me.
So regardless of the Joker's silent death threats, I needed to remain strong and keep my guard up.
I came that far, I wasn't about to let a clown ruin it for me.
I didn't care how menacing and murderous he was..... no seriously, I needed to be careful.
Ori struggled up, breaking the awkward silence and our long glances at one another.
I just about forgotten him in the intensity of the moment.
He unexpectedly ran in my direction, grabbed my arm in the process, and tried to flee the scene with me in tow, but my lack of cooperation (in other words, I just stood there) caused the poor shortie to fall to the ground, trying to drag me along. I shook my head to fight off the urge to laugh.
He quickly recovered and tried to tug me away from the others. "Quickly, miss Sarah! Run!"
He struggled, heaving and hawing.
"Come, come, come! These men are--are--" "My companions."
He abruptly stopped and looked up at me, pitifully.
I made a smile through my nervousness to try to cheery him up.
"These are the men I'm traveling with...and my place is here..with them..at least for now."
He gave the four a rather hateful, disgusted glance.
"They're monsters." "I know. They are. But--" I sighed.
"..They're my responsibility. And they're my only ride out of here."
Ori shook his head and gently took hold of my arm.
"You can come with us." "...I'm sorry...this....this isn't my home...I can't stay."
I gave the others a glare before taking Ori and going to the side to talk in private.
They came a little closer to listen in, the scoundrels.
"I appreciate everything you guys have done for me. I would love to stick around, but it's not my place. Actually..I need to leave as soon as I can. I'm sorry. I'm truly so sorry...but if you knew...well, you'd understand." He sniffed like a child and looked down with saddened eyes and I felt guilt.
"...I'll go back to get my stuff..and..well..then I'll go."
"But-"
"And Ori...you need to forget about me. Forget you ever knew me.
And you need to tell the others to do the same." "But miss Sarah!"
"It's important. And don't you dare try to go after me. I mean it."
Poor Ori. He looked so sad and heartbroken, ugh, I felt terrible.
He looked at me with huge, watery eyes. "Will I never see you again??"
I looked away; there was no way I could either lie or tell the truth. Therefore, I didn't say anything.
I pat his shoulder. "Just...go back to camp. I'll be there soon."
He was reluctant. I knew it was hard for him, but he handled the situation better than I thought he would.
He nodded his head in agreement, then started back to camp, giving the others yet another disapproving glare. They, in the mean time, looked like they wanted to kill him even more than they originally intended.
I turned and faced them. They did the same.
I cocked my head to the side. "So..did you even bother to look for me?"
"What do you think we've been doing all this time?"
"Harassing guys shorter than you are."
Master scoffed and looked away. "You're too sentimental."
"Noted for the next time someone tries to kill you..maybe I'll just sit back and watch it play out."
"Not in you." "I dunno, I've always been into justice, maybe you'll be getting what you deserve."
His eyes slowly returned to me.
I swear, I detected a hint of hurt in there, somewhere, over what I had said.
I felt...a little bad for saying it..but, you know.
They are villains. And villains do bad things.
My situation was difficult.
I wanted to pretend we were this merry crew of travelers, having an epic, care-free adventure to new and amazing worlds. And I could fully put my trust and utter faith in them; to have my back, to save my life.
But I wasn't even sure of that...they weren't glamorous princes in shining armor, ready to save the princess. They were the ones who attacked the castle and snatched her up.
I really cared about them, though.
Which prevented me from hating their guts and ditching them effect of immediately to search for the T.A.R.D.I.S. myself, letting Middle-Earth kill them off.
No matter what I wanted from them, the truth remained, these weren't the good guys.
Heck, if they were, I'd be all over them. I would be squeezing the life out've of them upon our reunion.
We'd be the best of pals. I loved their personalities, and I knew we could be a really epic team;
but they weren't on the right side.
After what they just tried to do, I couldn't bring myself to be happy or joke with them.
I got a knock on the head. What happened gave me a realization..a remembrance of who they were.
What they did.
I couldn't trust them. In the short amount of time that they were separated from me, they immediately fell back to their nature. As long as they thought for themselves, no one was safe. Not even me.
There was nothing to say...so I backed up. "Let's--go."
Slowly turning, I caught a glance of the Joker.
And well...he had been staring me down like a vulture the entire time we had been reunited.
- - -
I kept my distance as they followed me. We each were rather quiet, which was definitely a first.
I really didn't have much to say to them...I mean, really, what CAN you say?
Villainy aside, I said some pretty hurtful things. Like threatening to kill them.
Would I actually do it? Pft..probably. Most likely. If they drove me that crazy.
Very easy thing to do.
But right now, our gleeful little traveling party was on edge with one another.
Our current civilized status wasn't gonna last long.
"How much further is it?"
Ah, a little nice to hear from good old Bane.
"Just--" I inspected the landscape as we walked.
"A little.." I did a quick 360. "-Further."
"How much further? We've got to get a move on."
"Patience, my dear Timelord. We're almost there, I promise."
"And what can we expect to find there?"
"Nothing. Cuz once we get close enough, you four are waiting behind while I go to retrieve my things."
"Speaking of, did you actually go off on your own, unarmed??"
"Of course not, you troll." I made a sudden halt and swung around, flashing the blade on my side.
"I'm not stupid."
I turned back and proceeded on. "I was just taking a short stroll through the woods, after......reasons."
"...How do we know you're not gonna take your chance and leave us as soon as you're in the camp?"
"Because I had every chance in the world to book it to Lake Town when we were separated. But I didn't.
I was waiting for you. In fact, that was one of the prime reasons I went out on my own, in hopes I'd stumble across you."
I looked behind me. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to keep my distance.
Maybe I SHOULD keep close..I would indeed have to keep those boys in line.
Huh...and that means I would have to do service with a smile.
I backed up in my tracks like a car in reverse, until I was side-by-side with Moriarty.
I forced myself to look straight at him and grin wide.
"Hi there."
His eyes moved in on my location. "Hiiii...."
"You're looking well today." "....thank you..."
He looked a little weirded out by my sudden transfer of emotions. I didn't blame him.
"...you look..nice..."
He looked me up and down. "...and dirty."
"Thanks, so do you."
He inspected himself.
"Your westwood is flawed, I'm afraid."
He looked disgusted.
"I suppose once we get to the T.A.R.D.I.S., we'll need a change of 'garb'."
"...The T.A.R.D.I.S. does have a showering system, right?" I glared at the Master.
"I mean, it does have a swimming pool, so.."
"Of course. And if it needs to be modified by any means, we are capable of making those upgrades."
"What kind of upgrades?"
"Well, we'll get to that once we actually find the *beep* thing, won't we?"
I sighed. "I hope it also has a bedroom, cuz I ain't traveling with you hooligans with no sleep, nope."
"I haven't looked, but we could always design one for you, I suppose. Just don't go overboard."
"I'm a simple girl, Harry." I rose my hands up. "All I need is a bed."
Jim shot his head at this and was about to open his mouth, when I prodded him hard in the shoulder.
"Do not take that out of context."
I shook my head in disapproval. "I am 19 years old, man. You are such a creep."
"You're legal."
I reached in and quickly twisted his ear; he squealed in pain. Joker cackled.
Master suddenly came to a halt and swung around, facing the Irishman.
"Let's be clear." The Timelord said as he got in his face.
"The girl did not come on this voyage just for you to jump at her at every chance you get. She certainly didn't come to be harassed and used for your sick little human pleasures. You will not touch her, in any means.
If you do, I will kill you myself."
But Jim seemed unimpressed by the threat. He cocked his head to the side like a little puppy.
"Do I detect a hint of jealousy, somewhere in there??" "Shut up! Don't be mad!!"
"I am." "Well then stop showing it."
Moriarty narrowed his eyes, changing his cheery tune into something much darker.
"I don't like being told what to do. We agreed to work with eachother to get what we want--not let you bark orders like you were our leader. I am my own man, spaceboy. Don't forget that."
This was rather amusing. The Master didn't budge in anger. He just smirked.
This was followed by a brief, uneasy stare between the two.
They wanted to kill eachother, I knew it. Master would have no trouble...
Jim, however, didn't necessarily like getting his hands dirty.
I turned my head from the scene and examined the area. It looked relatively familiar.
"Wait here a second.." I walked ahead of them. "Bane, don't let them kill eachother."
". . . So you're her loyal watchdog now, eh??"
Joker amused me.
"Don't run off too far." Jim, you be quiet.
I hurried ahead and stopped at a tree to look at the front.
There was the camp. As expected, the dwarves were sleeping.
Ori was the only one awake, sitting up, cradling his own legs. He looked around, pitifully, waiting for me.
I felt so evil for doing this to him. But...I came to the decision. I should wait.
I didn't want him to see me again...I didn't want any of them to see me again.
They needed to be found by the spiders and captured by the elves.
They needed to go to Lake Town and defeat Smaug--well, at least allow the chance for Bard to do it.
Everything needed to take it's natural course and I was interfering with it.
There was no Sarah Demens in this story. There wasn't a Sarah Demens in any of the stories.
If I stayed away from them from then on, the forest magic would take it's tole and they would probably wind up just thinking of me as either a hallucination or just a tricksy elf trying to lead them astray.
I bit my lip, waiting a few more minutes.
Soon, he started to get tired, and kept yawning. My opportunity was coming.
Sure enough, Ori's exhaustion was too great and he fell back and crashed almost immediately.
I smirked; instantly, I leaped into the minefield of sleeping dwarves and hopscotched in accordance until I got to my rock. There laid my belongings and Bilbo's blanket.
"How lovely.." I whispered. "An actual easy situation."
I picked up my items and strapped them on; I didn't wanna lose the medicine again, so while I was at it, I took it from my jacket pocket and zipped up my...zipper..then tucked in my shirt and all, finally dropping the medicine down my hoodie's neck hole.
It stopped at my waist. There. A good place to put it until I could find myself a pack of some sort.
There was more than one serving, so I knew I would not be finishing it in one go.
I turned and brought the blanket with me..Bilbo was all curled up, wrapped in a spare blanket, sleeping soundlessly. I smirked at how tiny he was, then laid the rag beside him.
"Thanks, old boy.." I said in a whisper.
There, I made my way to Kili and Fili. The two turned about their heads and shifted repeatedly.
I suddenly frowned. An overwhelming amount of grief overcame me...I remembered....they were going to die. And I had every chance to stop it, and save them.
And here I was, leaving them.
As much as I wanted to change the way things played out...I had to. It was for the best.
I leaned in and touched Fili's shoulder in respect..then went and gently kissed Kili on the forehead.
"...I'm sorry." I whispered as quietly as I could.
I got back up, gave the party a final study..then clocked it out of there.
~ ~ ~
I was frustrated with myself for leaving..honestly, what was wrong with me?! ugghhh..
But as I walked, I noticed that something was wrong....again.
I froze. The boys were gone.
Son of a skjksjksjwljsklwjkjkldjlkwjilueiuifhjkshjkdhjsw
"Guys?" I said once and looked all around.
Please don't tell me.
I took a few steps forward and pivoted around.
"Guys?" I now said in a whisper.
But as I turned back around, I suddenly heard an awful sound.
I stopped. An orc call.
"Scrap."
I could see silhouettes emerging from the trees.
My heart stopped and my breathing ceased as I froze like a statue.
I tried to run, but I couldn't move.
TOO SOON.
Then I had a heart attack and about died when a hand suddenly clamped over my mouth and I was grabbed from behind. I protested a little on the way before I was dragged...... ok, CARRIED, to a group of bushes to a group of men. Joker, Master and Moriarty all looked in accordance when Bane let me go.
I punched Jim in the shoulder because he was there.
"What was that for?!" He painfully whispered.
"I dunno, I just felt like it! I'm not about to hit Bane!"
I leaned in closer to the bushes to inspect the orc-y scene.
"What are they doing here?! They're not supposed to be here yet!"
"Perhaps it's a result of you altering the dwarves' timeline."
I shot Master a glance. "MY altering?! If you hadn't have-"
"Quiet, they're growing closer.." Bane touched my shoulder from behind. "We need to move."
no no no
"We can't. The dwarves will be discovered." "Boohoo."
I didn't dare use violence on the Joker. "I'm not letting them get killed because of me!"
They all shared glances at one another on my account.
"...I have to distract them somehow." "How? Flapping your arms around like a chicken?!"
"I--If I have to!!"
shhhheeeeeaaaaaaaaattthhhhh
My heart stopped again.
All the boys looked behind us; I gulped and slowly did the same.
A disturbingly ugly orc stood over us, pointing his gnarly looking blade, with a grimace on his face.
It sneered and spat. "LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS!"
I looked down at my own blades, then at the boys.
Should I? Or shouldn't I?
"....I have a better idea..." I looked up at him. "How about you lay down your's?"
Quicker than expected, I unsheathed my sword, lunged towards him, knocked his arm out of the way which sent his blade flying, then with a quick whirl of my body, I sucked in my breath and drove my blade straight into him. He squealed in pain as the weapon did it's work, then finally, I removed it from him and stepped back as his body fell. I let out my held breath, which proved harder than expected.
What....did I just DO?
I repeatedly blinked as reality kicked in.
He was.......dead.
I looked at his wound, then back at his face, then at my hand.
I killed him.
The others were silent. I felt them all look at me.
You know how in movies, whenever a character makes their first kill..they freak out, feel guilt, wind up instantly regretting what they had done?
Well, that was bogus. I felt nothing.
I kept blinking, unable to take my eyes off him.
I couldn't believe what I just did. Not that it was a bad thing; he was an orc, he was gonna kill us.
But it's just...wow....I actually....killed something.
Other than a bug.
That was....unexpected.. to say the least.
I finally worked staring at him out've me, so my eyes moved back to the boys.
They now were unable to take their eyes off me.
"....Oh yeah, sure, WE'RE not allowed to kill anyone, but you can go all savage on whatever you like!"
I swallowed, then ran the sword along my hoodie to clean it, finally sheathing it and letting out another breath.
They all looked at the corpse, then back at me.
Joker narrowed his eyes. "How did you...learn to do that?"
I paused for a moment to recollect my thoughts...then shrugged my shoulders.
"--My dad taught me."
Their interest seemed piqued.
I looked ahead-----of course.
"We've got company."
They all shot their heads behind them and started to stand a little.
"It came from over there!" One orc yelled to his comrades.
I waved for the others to stay down and quickly moved my butt to behind a tree, where I watched as the orcs got closer to the bushes.
Bane grabbed the arm of the dead orc and pulled him closer to the four, so that the body was out've sight when the orc pack grew nearer.
I yet again unsheathed my sword- but slowly and quietly- then flagged for the others to do the same.
They nodded and did so.
There, I started to move around the tree, as the orcs got even closer to the bushes, so that I could work my way to behind them. I took a long, deep breath.
Was I really about to do this again?
I tried to make a few regular, easy breaths before making the plunge, but I just wound up hyperventilating.
get it together, Demens, get it together.
I leaned back against the tree and tried my best to control my lungs, shutting my eyes.
I sucked a bunch of air in.
1 . . . I let it out.
2 . . . I opened my eyes.
3
I spun my body around, readying my sword, then ran behind the disgusting creatures;
at once, I held my sword high into the air, then came down into one of them, straight through their back.
It shrieked in my ear, deafening me.
"NOW!" I called, just as the rest of the pack turned at once, snarling at my presence.
On cue, the others sprung from the bushes, swords in hand, where they plunged their weapons into the remaining pack members, in one quick easy motion.
They all screeched and roared at the ambush's outcome, until the last one defeatedly crashed to the ground and the air fell silent and empty.
I sighed. I could breathe again.
"That was..." Master looked at me. "..That wasn't too bad of a plan, Demens."
I squinted. "Whatta ya talking about, 'wasn't too bad'?! It worked, didn't it?!"
He looked away.
"...Whatta we do with the bodies?" Jim wondered aloud.
"Burn 'em."
"I do hope you're joking." I worried.
"Always, with a smile on my face." He licked his scars as a gesture.
I crinkled my eyebrows; something was wrong with him.
"We need to hurry, there might be more."
"I agree. They could have possibly only been scouts.."
"Are they?" Master looked to me. I looked back.
"How should I know?! I haven't seen these guys before!"
"I thought you read the books and saw the movies."
"That doesn't mean I know EVERYbody!!"
"How can you call yourself our queen, then?!"
I rolled my eyes, "Get over it. Let's just go."
Another orc call.
We all jolted and spun around in the direction of the noise.
"Scrap!" "Should we stay or should we go?!"
I stared ahead in nervous anticipation, when my arm was violently tugged.
"SARAH!"
I looked. It was Jim. I blinked. "You're asking me?!"
"You know the land, you call the shots!"
I was speechless. I looked back ahead, as the orc sounds became clearer.
"I--" What the heck?! All this sudden confusion! "We--"
Son of a cadbury!
My eyes widened as a whole squadron of orcs--we're talking 20 or more--came thundering out from the trees. My jaw dropped. They saw us.
"Ohhhhhh, no, we're running!" The Master yelled.
I finally reacted, and, well-- "NO! I don't run away from a fight!" I just began to charge..
"That's going to change!"
I was grabbed by my hoodie's hood and pulled away, swung around and dragged along for the ride.
The orcs...well, yeah. They were after us.
- - -
"THIS IS NOT THE WAY THIS SHOULD'VE BEEN HANDLED."
Yep, we were running. The orcs weren't too pleased about us dispatching their own.
I continuously kept shooting my head behind me as we ran.
We were going so fast, I wasn't able to have a breather.
I looked back at the others, just in time to avoid a cursed tree that was out to get me. >8(
"Come on!" Master yelled at me. "Don't need a reminder, thank you!"
"Where the bloody *beep* are we going?!" "Straight!" "What?!" "Just keep going!"
"So we're just gonna keep running?!" "What else can we do?!"
"Come up with a better plan!"
The orcs were so far beyond ticked-- they were running faster than speeding bullets.
And my tiny shortie legs were only so long. Ugggghhhhh, give up the fight already!
You would've killed them yourself, anyway!
"Let's lose 'em!" Joker called over the wind. "They're too close!"
"Hogwash! Speed it up!"
Before I knew it, I was booking it ahead of the boys.
Soon enough, they too picked up the pace...and we were getting far enough ahead of our new enemies.
Far enough to at least make a quick turn into a small shaded spot of trees to get a pause so we could catch our breath. I turned my head to the others, who were huffing and heaving as much as I was.
"Whatta we do?" one questioned. "We...got to.. lose them."
hm? The sudden sound of...something. Loud. I cocked my head.
"Wait.." I turned it at the noise. "......that's it."
I lunged. "C'mon!"
They didn't bother protesting. They immediately followed.
We ran with everything we had, like the wind; but despite of this, the orcs still easily picked our trail back up and were soon chasing us again, catching up fast.
It took us under five minutes to get to our destination.
I was ahead of the others when I saw it-- I pushed hard up to a point, then skidded to a halt as I stared down. The others slid next to me, and we all were looking at the same thing, out of breath.
The river. Still speeding at an alarming rate and utterly dangerous.
The Master shot his head at me, in shock. "THIS is your PLAN?!"
"You've got any better ideas?!" I shot back.
He was so not pleased. And neither were the others. But they knew I was right.
They all gave me unhappy glances; regardless, we all backed up, preparing ourselves.
I shot my head behind me; the orcs were coming like a pack of blood hounds.
Oh, the panic. I spun my head back. "We gotta go, NOW!"
"Oh, god!!"
I took a few speedy deep breaths, then lunged forward like a freight train, Master right behind me, straight for the raging river.
"Please don't screw with us!!"
I begged the forest, seconds before plunging into the icy, treacherous, watery death trap.
Water engulfed me and filled my lungs as I went under.
I dared to look around--very hard, btw--and witnessed the others catapulting in near me.
All were accounted for..that's when I noticed the current was beginning to move us at a speedy pace.
I struggled to get back up to the surface.
Once I did, I gasped like a fish and quickly looked behind me while I still could-- the orc pack was screaming at us with their horrible looking faces, shaking their weapons and fists..no doubt cussing us out in black speech. I laughed a little. This was just like before, except now I was being carried off alongside my villainous companions as opposed to on my own...and halp, im drowning.
I started to go under again, when a hand reached in behind me and pulled me up.
That's when I realized the others had resurfaced; my rescuer happened to be Bane.
The other three located the orcs' location and grinned at me.
It worked! We were escaping the bloody orcs-- not only that, but the forest's trickery was ceasing-- it was carrying us the right way. And it was taking us to Lake Town.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lake Town, indeed. We made our way to the outer limits of the forest, then the actual end, thank God.
Finally, we were past this part of the chapter. There wasn't much we could do except try to keep afloat.
A few of us briefly went under a few times, but did eventually find our way back to the surface.
The trip ended rather sooner than I expected, however.
Before we could prepare properly, the water sped up rather dramatically and our company was pushed to a hard right. Like that, we were shoved violently to shallow water.
We coughed and wheezed, crawling like infants until we reached a rocky shore.
Literally, the ground was covered with tiny rocks. But I didn't care what the condition was.
We were out of the cursed forest and were heading to a better place, baby.
That was enough of nature's magic for me, thank you.
I needed a little bit of man-made inventions, such as a BED, and ROOF OVER MY HEAD...
and pizza. Lots of pizza.
I crashed and hugged the ground, as did the others.....well, at least did half of that set of actions.
We sounded like a school of fish with asthma.
I just needed a few minutes to recover, then I'd be fine.
But as I caught a glance of the thing above me, I became much more motivated by something far more interesting than breathing.
Dazzled, I slowly stepped forward, staring at the beauty before me; I grinned from ear to ear.
The Lonely Mountain.
The sun shined perfectly amongst the clear blue sky; the view of the Lonely Mountain was close, but still so far away...and it could stay that way, mind you.
I had angry elves and bloodthirsty orcs on my tail, I had no interest in adding a greedy dragon.
But yeah..everything I was now seeing was just...a real refreshment from the garbage from before.
I couldn't believe that after all I had went through, everything still seemed so surreal.
I wondered if I would ever stop feeling that way.
But seeing what I was seeing..gosh, the water wasn't the only thing that was breathtaking.
The boys finally caught their breath again and began standing up in a slow stagger.
The Master stumbled over next to me, wiping his face of water.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" I asked him. He first looked at me, then at the view.
After a moment, he scoffed. "Not that impressive."
I was unamused with his poor taste. I eyeballed him with disapproval as I turned.
"Well, that may be true for you, but for me, it's a real improvement from trees."
He irked me, so I pushed past him when I noticed Bane was having a little trouble getting up.
Joker and Jim had fully recovered and were now alongside the Master, looking about.
But Bane was still on the rocks, sitting on all fours, his head bowed to the ground.
I hurried to him and bent down, "Bane!" I laid a hand on his shoulder. "You alright?"
He took a second or two to look up at me.
I noticed his breathing sounded a little too rough and now I knew. One of the tubes on his mask came out once again. "Ah.." I took hold of the mask. "Hold on."
click click
"-There."
His breathing at once became more controlled. A moment later, he crawled back up to his feet; as did I.
"..Thank you."
Well then! That was a much quicker response than before. I think we were developing an improvement.
I nodded, "You're welcome."
~ ~ ~
Not long after, we all five left from that spot and began hurrying towards the other side of the shore.
I was leading the way, as usual.
"Lake Town shouldn't be far from here! Those orcs won't let us go so easily, so we have to find a way across the water, cuz I refuse to swim there......
We need to find something we can use as a boat."
I spotted something....and gave a rather sarcastic grin. "Like an actual boat!"
They all caught on and we ran full speed ahead to the beauty.
"Ohhh, are you a sight for sore eyes!"
I kissed the edge and ran aboard, hugging whatever part I could wrap my arms around.
"Right!" I drummed the wonderful invention of man and started to search around for the gears to get it going.
Jim slowly approached the side of it, as the others immediately went to work with me, trying to figure out how it worked, ".....what's the point of it?"
"To ride it. Across the water. To places. It is the boat's way, Jim."
He briefly glared at me.
"I mean, how are we even supposed to work it? Look at it..."
"Yeah, sorry it doesn't have a motor. I know, I'm a little surprised myself, but, we are in near-ancient times, so..." I found the ore type thing, despite the boat having a sail....I guess it was for back up.
"--We'll have to make due."
Jim shook his head as he came closer to the boat. At me.
"You talk soooo freely around us...if you weren't so important to our plans, I would soo--"
He leaned in, cocking his head. "--have my fun with you."
I glared up at him.
"Well, knowing you, you don't let anything get in your way of a good time...so what's stopping you?"
He tightened and shifted his jaw. "...good question."
Great...now Joker wasn't the only one wanting to kill me.
I really needed to learn to keep my big mouth shut.
Though to be fair, I wasn't afraid of any of them, so...pfft.
I went back to work--when I realized.
"Wait a minute-" I ran off the deck and studied the side of it a little harder.
"This is Bard's boat!" "Who?"
"Bard!" I swung around and scanned about the area.
"--And if Bard's boat is here, that means so is Bard."
Master got off the boat and walked around me.
"What are you talking about, who is Bard?"
"He's--a fisherman?...bowman....of sorts. He's a bargeman." I kept looking.
"How do you know that's his boat?"
"I recognize it.. I saw it."
"Oh, you saw it, good. But how do you know this is the movie version? This all could be from the book."
He pointed. "That could be someone else's boat."
"It isn't. It's Bard's. I remember it. And we are in the movie version."
"How do you know for SURE?"
I swung around.
"Because Legolas was around, but he never had an important role in the book, only the film. Tauriel wasn't an original Tolkien character; I mean, she was a random elf who was given a name, and importance, not that hard to accept--but she was only an original character created for the movie.......and, Fili and Kili are both supposed to have golden hair. But Kili has dark hair."
I sniffed.
"....and because all the characters look like the actors, so......we're in the film universe."
He looked a little convinced.
I waddled past him, "Bard!" Still no sign. "BARD!!"
"Hey!" Master grabbed my arm.
"Are you mad?! He'll know where we are! Let's just take the boat and go!"
I gave him a displeased glance. "I'm not stranding him, he's a good guy."
"How do you know?!"
"Because I watched the movie, you idiot."
I jerked my arm out from his grasp and started to wander again. "Bard!"
"Even if he is, you really think he'll let us just come along?" "Of course he will.."
I stopped to give him a glare. "...Well, at least me, probably not you guys."
"What does that even--"
"He's a family man, he's just trying to provide for them, ok?
He's a really good person, so I'm sure he'll help us."
He scoffed, "Ah...family man...wife, a home, kids...how convenient."
"Don't be prejudice...and he doesn't have a wife...she died."
He blinked. "....oh...."
Then his expression changed, into one of pure utter stupid insinuation, so I automatically knew whatever he was gonna say was eye-roll worthy.
"I see...he has no wife...he'd take you, not us...you think he'll take a shine to you, eh??"
I made a face at him, "Get real, I'm like...his daughter's age."
He tilted his head. "Daughter?" "He has two...and a son."
"--huh--you must know a lot about him."
I sighed and stomped back to him. "Look--" I kept looking behind him.
"--if we can get a ride to Lake Town, we can seek shelter there, and once we get a little rest, we can began searching for the T.A.R.D.I.S.. I'm sure it's probably there...
you told it to go to a safe place, and right now, that's one of the safest."
I pushed past him. "Ugh, where is he?!"
The Master looked to the river. "..Shouldn't the dwarves be here by now?"
"HA, trust me...that's gonna take awhile."
No sign of him in the trees..in the water...ugh.
I flapped my arms, "Oh for God's sake, WHAT! Did he get eaten by a bear?!"
I paused. "...Oh dear god, I hope Beorn isn't around here."
"Now we have to worry about bloody bears?!" He tossed his head in the air.
I sighed, frustratedly. "...dang it...we don't have any money here..no shillings."
"So?"
"So, the only way the dwarves made a deal with him was because they gave him a payment."
Master looked confused. "I thought you said he was good."
"He is!" "Then he's a rather shifty fellow, isn't he?"
"Ugh, I told you, he needs to provide for his family. Besides, for all he knew, they could've been criminals!" "Dwarves?"
"Stop being prejudice!" "STOP telling ME what to DO!"
He got up in my face, unexpectedly.
"The Irish waste is right, you do talk to us a bit too freely. Least you forget, I have killed people smaller and younger than you. Maybe it's time I taught you just a little bit of respect."
I chuckled. At the Master. I wanted to die, apparently.
"Go ahead--I'm not afraid of you, no matter what you think."
He then grabbed my arms, tightly- "Maybe it's time we changed that."
My smirk turned into something a bit more serious.
"--I'm not like Lucy. Who you could so very easily control and intimidate into submission."
I once again jerked my arm out of his grasp for the second time.
"I'm not like any of you four's victims, who cower in fear and let you get away with practically everything. You'll learn very quick that I am different. Just as different as the people you fight so hard against.
You saw what I did to the orc, without any hesitation.. and he was a villain...like you."
I walked around him, back towards the boat.
"Keep in mind, I've also made full-grown bullies cry to the ground with a mere single punch to the stomach....so...watch how you treat me."
I could feel his intense stare, even from behind me.
But he was the least important thing to be fretting about at the moment..I needed to find Bard.
I turned--but movement from the large bushes caught my eye.
"Bard!" I yelled with a wave.
He ducked..I could see he had his bow pointing towards us.
"Bard! It's--it's me--from a---time---you know..."
"Go away...I don't know you."
"Please, Bard, we need your help!" "With what?" "Your boat; we need a ride."
"To where?" "To Lake Town."
"...I don't know you there..and I know everyone. You don't belong."
"Bard, please. We really, desperately need your help."
Bard
He suddenly came out from the bushes, towards me--
his weapon was lowered, but he still seemed very edgy.
"Please, go..I don't want any trouble." He walked to his boat.
"And we won't give it; we just need a hitchhike to town so we can find what we're looking for and then I promise, we'll leave and be out of your hair!"
He shooed the boys from the boat as he walked aboard. They scattered back to me.
"What exactly do you do, Bard?" Jim questioned.
"I'm a bargeman..I take the barrels full of wine, and other supplies..shipments meant for Lake Town..besides that, I do what I can."
"Wine?" Joker grinned, looking to the rest of us. "Now we're talking."
I made an unimpressed face, raising an eyebrow. I looked back at Bard, but said nothing.
"...What is it you are looking for?" He turned.
I jumped. "Oh! It's--well, it's--it's--" I tried to describe as best as I could.
"It's a--" I was unsuccessful.
"It's a box...like a big box..and it's..it's blue.." I paused and cut my eyes at him.
"..You do know what blue is, right?" He was unimpressed.
"Ok, just checking...annnddd...it's..it's big..but not too big...it's..it's like your boat! It's a ship..but it's not a ship..and it's...small..and it's shaped like--"
Just as I was getting rather creative in describing it with my hands, I looked to Bard and realized.
"...You haven't..seen it?"
He said nothing, just narrowed his eyes.
"...Oh..." I slowly nodded my head and tensed up, sheepishly. "...kaaayyy..."
"...A ship?"
I nodded. Finally. He seemed a little convinced...at least of that part.
"How did you come to lose it?"
"Well, you know ships, if you don't hold them down, they just fly. And our's got away from us..and we think it might've gotten held up in your town, so.."
I shrugged.
"..Look, I promise we're harmless--enough--I mean, we're not..I'm not a criminal, I really do mean well. And we won't hurt anyone, we just wanna find it and go-"
"You seem rather wet."
"Yes." I inspected my clothes. "We are...becaussseee.."
I glanced at the trees.
"----ooofff the orcs."
I had his attention now. "Orcs?"
I slightly smirked, which I tried to hide. I nodded.
"Yeah...they attacked us and then chased us..we had no choice but to jump in the water and ride the current here. But now we have no way across to civilization.."
He seemed a little sold..a little.
"How do you know my name?"
Crap. "Um...because...I.."
"Just lie." Joker growled at me in a whisper.
I casted him a glare. I don't lie, dude! That's your deal.
I blinked. "...Look...I just know. I know we look and sound weird--strange--and for good reason.
If I told you even a fraction about us, you just wouldn't understand. I swear, we're not here to start trouble. Just please..don't ask us any more questions."
I wasn't expecting anything to work anymore. We would have to find another way.
"Alright."
My heart leaped. "Really?!"
He nodded and approached me. "I'll take you.."
He glanced, suspiciously, at the others.
"But if these men are what I think they are, I prefer you get off my boat immediately. I don't want any trouble." "Cross my heart - - - we can't pay you.."
"That's fine." Bard went back on the boat and started fixing it up, giving me a brief cut of the eyes.
"I didn't think you would."
~ ~ ~
We were off in a matter of minutes.
Bard was a quiet dude. I sat next to him, while Bane sat by himself behind us, with Master, Moriarty and Joker sitting at our front. The ride was a lot more silent and awkward than I had intended.
I just sat there, twiddling my thumbs, as Bard checked the ropes and what not.
There really wasn't much to talk about.
"--So describe it again."
I glanced up at him. He glanced down at me.
"Your ship." "Oh--it's, uh..." "Not with words. Show me."
I blinked and looked away. I'm not really the best artist...
"On what?" He directed my attention to the wood.
I looked back up at him, just as he turned his head to the others.
"You have blades..perhaps one of you men can do the honors."
I then pulled my knife out from my side, making him raise both his eyebrows, and instantly began carving into the wood the shape of our missing transportation.
He looked to the others at my having my own knife and they looked amused.
After a few minutes, I was done. I cut my eyes up at him as he studied it.
"..you really haven't seen it?" He slowly shook his head.
I looked down. "...okay..."
"..But I might be able to help you find it."
He gave the carving another glance. "It's rather small for a ship."
"Yes, well..it's a lot more spacious than you think.."
More awkward silence.
I curled my lips back and tapped my lap.
"..So how many kids you got?" "Three." "Ah.." this was awkward.
"...Me, I'm the youngest..back home."
...oh...
"Um, the youngest sibling...of my..siblings..not of my..people."
I was so frustrated with words..why couldn't I use them correctly?
"Speaking of which, Demens, how many do you have?"
Wow, Joker, that was surprising. "People?" "Siblings." "4."
He looked away again.
"Plus my in-laws..my sister, she's got a good guy she's with right now..and he's British."
"That explains why you're so attracted to foreigners."
"Hey now, I'm attracted to whoever I feel, not just foreigners. And that was way before she even met him."
"Yes, we know...dark-haired, mysterious, handsome bad boys that you relate to."
Jim smirked.
"...Sounds about right."
Joker leaned in. "How 'bout you, Barb?" "Bard." "You got yourself a woman?"
I shot my head at him. Son of a---????!!
Bard was disquieted. He finished the ropes and stood up straight. "...no."
There, he went back to the boat controls and guided it along, to avoid hitting obstacles.
I stared the Joker down, who was grinning wide at his own extremely low comment, wondering in what ways would I be able to easily make him scream. I reaaalllyy wanted to hurt him in that moment.
I sighed and looked away.
Master leaned in after watching me for a while, "What's that?"
I looked at him for a brief second, before turning my attention to the small, odd-shaped lump poking out in my hoodie. "Ah...about that...I've been wanting to tell you guys...I'm pregnant."
I humorously held my stomach. "-And it's finally starting to show."
I gave them a glance; him and Jim were both growing wide-eyed, their mouths hanging open.
They resembled fish; I couldn't let this disturbing image continue.
"kidding."
I unzipped my hoodie and reached in to grab the bottle; I pulled it out.
"It's my medicine. The one Tauriel gave me."
Master studied it for a minute. "..Why haven't you taken it yet?"
I looked down at it and made a lopsided frown.
"I've tried. But every chance I get, I get interrupted. I'll have another go when we get to town."
"Why not now?" "Are you kidding? I don't want anything on my stomach on this thing. I'll hurl."
I put it away again.
"...have you had any further headaches?" Bane said.
"Plenty." "Ahem, I think he means your attacks." "....a few."
"hm...well, we can't let you keep having these migraines from Hell..not while we need you.
So you drink that the first chance you get. Am I clear?"
I rose an eyebrow at him. Giving me orders--ha!
..but yes, sir, I will.
"No argument there."
More silence.
"Keep your heads down." We all looked to Bard.
"We're approaching the toll gate." "Toll gate?" Jim questioned.
"Where one collects fees from someone who wants to enter somewhere."
He shot his head at me. I looked away. "Oh.."
Me and my big mouth strikes again.
"This is supposed to be a poor people town."
"Why are you being charged for entering your own home?"
"Not exactly...but you have the Master to thank for the gate itself."
"What?!"
I busted out laughing. "Oh my gosh, I forgot! I'm dying!"
Master looked at me with such confusion, "What?!"
"You and him would probably get along rather well, actually!"
I was so joking.
"Heads down. Stay quiet."
I, at least, did what I was told.
The boat ceased and I heard a man greet the bowman.
"Good evening, Bard!" There was a pause. "Anndd who all do you have with you?"
My eyes tried to look, but I caught myself in time.
"Survivors of an orc attack." "Orcs?! All the way up here??"
"Aye. I'm bringing them here for sanctuary."
"Good thing. We'll keep our eyes open. You go ahead on in."
"Thank you, as always."
And we were moving again. Success!
. . .
I heard something. A vibration..but it wasn't continuous. It was every two seconds.
I felt it all over..I turned around to face the town. The vibration was coming from there.
"..It's here.." "What's here?" "The T.A.R.D.I.S.. I feel it."
"You feel it?" "I just do, ok? Don't doubt my skills, bro, you don't even know."
Bard made a few adjustments to make the path to town straight-forward.
Soon, we were docking.
We were finally here.
We arrived in Lake Town.
Orc fight! Bard the bowman! This part was super exciting! Nice job!
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