3. Chapter Three: A New Way of Transport (1/2)
~all of a sudden, i spotted a horse across the road, a beautiful, snowy white horse with ankles the color of the night and eyes as blue as the sky. it hurried across the road and sniffed me, then it grasped the front of my shirt and threw me on its back! i cried out as the horse reared and began running quickly out of the forest, i hung on to it's mane for dear life itself! the horse ran at a pace that the fastest elf couldn't achieve! trees and bushes and rocks and animals where nothing but blurs on a
own landscape and all i could hear was the horse's labored
eathing.
within the hour, the horse had taken me out of trollshaws and we were now closing in on river
uinen (also known as loudwater). the horse stopped at the rushing river and the weight of my pack (and gravity) yanked me down from the horse's back and i fell on my back, groaning as i felt something sharp stab my side. sluggishly, i unraveled my arms and crawled to the water's edge, the water was crystal clear and out of it my reflection shone perfectly, like a mirror. i cringed at my appearance, my hair was splattered with mud and dirt and leaves, my clothes were stained with water, sweat and soil and my hands were caked in goodness knows what! only in this time of peace did i realize how starving i was!
my stomach roared and bellowed as i stood in the river, letting the warm water rush over my toes and feet. the horse walked into the water and bumped me, the map in it's mouth, i thanked it and opened the map up; we were only a little ways from rivendell! my, we might see elves about now! i smiled as i thought of meeting elrond and asking about my great-great-uncle bilbo, or just meeting an elf! that's when the anxiety began to kick in.
i was so far away from home! far from my mother, till, or anyone else, and i certainly had no idea of where my best friend was! oh, bugger! now, the horse nudged me again and i spotted something i had only read and been told about.
an orc.
this orc was light green and its face was distorted to the point where i couldn't discern where its eyes were! the orc wore some type of
own hide as trousers and carried an iron shield, many swords, and much food; my stomach screamed again at seeing the delicacies on the orc's back.
the orc glanced up from whatever it was preying upon on the ground and we locked eyes for a moment. my
eath was stuck in my throat and my entire body trembled, my jaw quivered, and my fingers and toes both went icy cold.
i thought i even felt my heart stop!
the orc came forwards, out of the limited trees, and stepped up to the bank of the river.
i was paralyzed, i was paralyzed out of fear and shock; the orc came ever closer, only when the orc stepped into the warm water of the
uinen river did i snap out of this deadly paralysis. i jumped back and the orc growled, i hurried out of the river and the snowy white horse ran before me, rearing up on its hind legs and kicking the orc in the head with its hooves. the orc fell to the ground, growling curses in another tongue, and i ran.
i ran across the river and i ran through fields, i had no concept of where i was or where i was going; for, i had forgotten my pack at the river's edge. i ran until dusk came and i could no longer see my hand in front of my face! the air was chill and crisp, despite the warm temperatures during the day, and the grass crunched under my feet as i rubbed my arms in desperate attempts to keep warm. i had taken off my cloak in order to stand in the river, i didn't want it to get wet. a good load that did me!
a good load running did me!
then i took one more step forwards and slammed into something, hard. i rubbed my aching forehead before sticking my arms out and feeling the object. whatever i hit, it was big and it was stone. i sighed and found the underside of whatever it was, i crawled underneath and curled up into a ball, closing my eyes and preparing myself for a long, sleepless night.
~trolls!
i slept under trolls!
they were the very same trolls my great-great-uncle bilbo turned to stone!