"Easy for you to say," Brerwyn said, looking down dejectedly. "You're a boy." She sighed quietly. "You don't have all these expectations that you can't escape from, no matter how much you might like to." She paused for a moment. "Yes, I sing. I sing all the time--it's when I'm happiest. And I would like nothing more than to travel and sing for the rest of my life. But she won't let me, of course," she added, her voice growing bitter. "No, it's to be a lady-in-waiting to Lady Eowyn--who I do like, it's not as if she would be a harsh mistress or anything--and then marriage and babies, just like her. I'm not even sure I want to have any of those things, but I don't have a choice, it seems."

Brerwyn shook her head. "But it doesn't matter. We're supposed to be happy tonight, aren't we? Especially us kids. So, you sing too? Are you any good? Go on, show me." She put her hands on her hips, as if she was challenging him.

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"Oh, um, okay." Colin looked out over the crowds again, desperately trying to keep his mind from wandering. He shifted his crutch, trying to buy for time. It wasn't that he didn't want to sing, he just didn't know if Berwyn was joking or not. She seemed truthful. But back in his old town, the kids had asked him to sing even when they knew it would get him in trouble, and they would run to his mum and tell on him. But he was in Edoras now. And especially on this night, like Berwyn said, it was a time to have fun. To forget the cares and troubles of the world for a time, however brief it was. Colin opened his mouth, starting to sing.

"Land of bear and land of eagle
Land that gave us birth and blessing
Land that called us ever homewards
We will go home across the mountains
We will go home, we will go home
We will go home across the mountains
We will go home, we will go home
We will go home across the mountains

Land of freedom land of heroes
Land that gave us hope and memories
Hear our singing hear our longing
We will go home across the mountains
We will go home, we will go home
We will go home across the mountains
We will go home, we will go home
We will go home across the mountains. . ."

He trailed off, glancing at Berwyn to see what she would say.

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Brerwyn listened with interest as Colin began to sing. It was a tune that she had heard maybe once or twice before, but had never truly studied. He had a nice voice, clear and resonant, and after a while, Brerwyn started to sing with him, harmonizing on the chorus. She grinned at him when he stopped, clapping her hands. "I can't see why you said no one likes to hear you," she said. "You're quite good. Or were you just pretending to be modest?"

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"Thanks," he said to Berwyn, but looked down at the ground as she asked why the others didn't want to hear him sing. "They didn't want to hear anything from a cripple like me," he said finally. "People ignored me, most of the time, but when I made the mistake of singing for them, it just gave them an opportunity for them to make fun of me and everything. My aunt and uncle blamed me for my cousin's death, because I was there when the Uruk-hai attacked us. That's how I got this," he added, gesturing to his lame leg. "They were bitter because I had escaped, and my cousin had died. And then they didn't want anything to do with me after that, always commenting on my leg and how I was such a disappointment to them."

Colin looked up at Berwyn. "It sounds as if your mum did sort of the same. . ."

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"I'm sorry," Brerwyn said softly, looking down at the ground. Colin had been through much, it seemed, more than she herself could ever begin to imagine. Brerwyn was suddenly struck by just how lucky she was that her entire family had come through the Battle of Helm's Deep alive.

At the mention of her mother, however, Brerwyn's amber eyes hardened, becoming bitter. "That's exactly what she does," she said softly. "I'm the only girl, so all her stupid expectations fall on me. Become lady-in-waiting to Eowyn, or to Eomer's wife once he marries. Catch the eye of some nobleman who won't care about me in the slightest, settle down and have a brood of children who I can then push into court as well. And to what? Have them be dragged off to battle like my brothers were? What's the point? But I can't tell her that, she'll go off saying that maidens like me should be seen and not heard and my singing is a disgrace to the family and so on. I'm not sure she even listens to me anymore." Her shoulders sagged a little, her flame of determination growing dimmer. "Or maybe it's not the singing. Maybe it's everything else, the fact that I'm not the daughter she imagined she'd have."

Brerwyn gave a sigh. "Maybe someday I'll just run away from here and try to prove her wrong."

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"I ran away," Colin said. "I mean, as best I could. And. . .I did meet a few, who I've been traveling with. That's who I came to Edoras with, two elves, two hobbits, a dwarf and a man. But I don't know what I'll do after this. . .I suppose I'll stay with them, I guess."

He looked at Berwyn. "Maybe you could come with us. To wherever we're going."

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[This is a really cute storyline right now for Brerwyn and Colin! I'm gonna get to this, I promise. Haha.]

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Brerwyn's eyes widened. Elves? Hobbits? How had Colin come to know them? In plain terms, he was a nobody, just like she herself was. How had he found himself in the company of such peoples of Middle-earth that Brerwyn had only heard about in stories?

"My mother would never let me," she answered immediately, looking down. "And your friends...would they? Let me come with, I mean? Are they...what are they like?"

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Frodo was pulled out of his dream world, when he had heard Sam speak to him and Arabella. He cleared his throat and smiled a little more to her, before looking over his shoulder to Sam. He nodded a bit and took a deep breath. "Indeed. That's probably the best idea." He said softly and then took Arabella's hand, walking with her to find the best place to set up camp for themselves, after having a long day of walking behind them.

Frodo and Sam were fast asleep beside Arabella, amidst scrubby bushes near a stagnant pool. Smeagol laid nearby, muttering in his sleep, "Too risky, too risky. The thieves! They stole it from us. Kill them... Kill them... Kill them both!" Smeagol then woke suddenly, shaking, his face drenched in sweat; eyes wide in horror. "No!" He exclaimed, before his counterpart Gollum spoke back in a hissed whisper, "Shhh! Quiet!" Smeagol's features suddenly transformed into the malevolent face of Gollum. "Mustn't wake them, mustn't ruin it now!" Gollum spoke in a low voice. Smeagol cast a quick glance over his shoulder to the sleeping figures of the three Hobbit friends, as he clambered off his rock... Silently sidling towards the edge of a stagnant pool.

"They knows, they knows, they suspects us." Smeagol said softly to Gollum. Smeagol stared into the murky depths of the water. The surface rippled, as the face of Gollum appeared as Smeagol's
reflection. "What is it saying, my Precious, my love? Is Smeagol losing his nerve?" Gollum asked Smeagol, tauntingly. "No! Not! Never!! Smeagol hates nasty Hobbitses! Smeagol wants to see them - dead!" He exclaimed in utter frustration to Gollum. "And we will... Smeagol did it once..." Gollum said in a sly voice, before continuing, "... He can do it again..."

Smeagol, at that moment, then remembered when he choked Deagol; his once good friend. His fingers being locked tight around his throat. "It's ours - Ours!" Gollum exclaimed. "We must get the Precious. We must get it back." Smeagol said in a low voice, with a big of a glare. "Patience, patience, my love. First we must lead them to her." Gollum spoke comfortingly to Smeagol. "We lead them to the windy stairs." Smeagol added softly and looked over his reflection, seeing Gollum there. "Yes, the stairs... And then?" Gollum agreed, prompting Smeagol to go on. "Up, up, up, up the stairs we go... Until we come to... The Tunnel!" Smeagol exclaimed in naughty excitement.

Gollum then started to quiet the both of them down. "And when they go in, there's no coming out. She's always hungry, she always needs to feed. She must eat, all She gets is filthy Orcses." Gollum added softly. "And they doesn't taste very nice, does they, Precious?" Smeagol asked Gollum softly. "No... Not very nice at all, my love. She hungers for sweeter meats..." Gollum said in a sinister voice.

While this was going on, Sam slowly flickered his eyes open; hearing some of the conversation being held between Gollum and Smeagol. ""Hobbit meat." And when She throws away the bones and the empty clothes, then we will find it..." Gollum finished. "And take it for Me!" Smeagol said happily. Gollum glared a bit to Smeagol. "For us..." He corrected. "Yes, we, we meant for us..." Smeagol said quickly, nodding his head before letting out a choking cough. In a sly voice, Gollum spoke again, "The Precious will be ours once the Hobbitses are dead!"

Sam's image then mirrored in the water as he smacked Gollum on the head with his pot. "You treacherous little toad!" He yelled at Gollum. He then dropped the pot and flung himself on top of Gollum. Gollum screamed almost instantly; his arms and legs flailing wildly. Gollum then started crying, "No! Not! Help! Master!" He cried while yelling a bit loudly. Frodo staggered over to Sam tiredly and pulled him off Gollum. "No, Sam! Leave him alone!" Frodo exclaimed to his friend. Gollum was now huddled on the ground; whimpering and sobbing. "I heard it from his own mouth he means to murder us!" Sam yelled, fuming at the whole situation. "Never! Smeagol wouldn't hurt a fly! He's a horrid, fat Hobbit who hates Smeagol and who makes up nasty lies!" Smeagol yelled out, curled up into a ball. Sam made for Smeagol again angrily with a look of murderous rage. "You miserable little maggot! I'll stove your head in!" Sam yelled loudly, getting ready to punch him hard in the head. Frodo then grabbed Sam's arm. "Sam..." He said softly, staring at his friend. "Call me a liar! You're a liar!" Sam yelled at Gollum, angrily.

"Sam! If you scare him off, we're lost." Frodo said softly to Sam, taking a deep breath. Sam then pulled away from Frodo. "I don't care! I can't do it, Mr Frodo. I won't wait around for him to kill us!" He yelled to Frodo and looked to him, completely upset. "I'm not sending him away." Frodo whispered harshly to his best friend.

Sam stared at Frodo at a loss for words, for a moment. "You don't see it, do you? He's a villain!" Sam exclaimed and shook his head in disbelief. "We can't do this by ourselves, Sam. Not without a guide. I need you on my side." Frodo spoke in a softer voice, to calm Sam. In hearing this, Sam's face softened. "I'm on your side, Mr. Frodo." Sam said, a little taken aback. Frodo nodded and smiled a little. "I know, Sam, I know. You must trust me." He said in a whisper, before beckoning to Gollum. "Come, Smeagol." He added.

Gollum turned slowly, staring at Sam through hooded, hate-filled eyes and smiled.

-------

(I'll write for Amara when you write your reply for Legolas, Ari. )

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Arabella watched the exchange between Sam and Frodo, feeling powerless. She still wasn't sure how she felt about Gollum at this point. So far, he had been true to his word...but how long would that remain the case? She had been fast asleep during the creature's tirade that Sam had apparently heard...she wanted so desperately to trust Smeagol, to help bring him back into the light after all of his years of torment by the Ring. Frodo seemed to think it was possible, and him Arabella trusted above all others.

She just wasn't sure if he was right.

Arabella's eyes narrowed as Frodo and Gollum passed her, and she looked over at Sam almost helplessly. "Frodo..." she murmured, following him. "Are you sure about this?"

-------------

Legolas nodded, his sharp eyes scanning the horizon for anything out of the ordinary. "I do," he answered softly, not looking at her. "As if something were watching us."

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"I. . .I would have to ask them," Colin said, looking out over the crowd once more. He didn't see Legolas or Amara anywhere. "And they're nice, to me I guess. But Legolas, one of the elves, is a bit. . .distant. Sometimes. It'd be a lot better having you there, so there'd be someone to talk to most of the time. . ." He trailed off, blushing. "Um, I mean. . ."

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"Makes sense though, doesn't it?" Brerwyn asked. "About the elf being distant. I mean, I haven't ever met an elf, but in the old stories they're always off doing heroic deeds and saving Middle-earth and such. They're so...perfect, I suppose. Not really perfect, but not exactly warm either. Just sort of...unapproachable. Is that about right?"

Brerwyn looked down at her feet when she saw Colin blush. "No, that's all right. I...I know what you mean. You know, it's strange, really, but sometimes I just feel...trapped here. Not just in my family, but here in Edoras. With no one who understands how much I just want to run away--to fly away and never look back. But I...well, I wouldn't want to do it alone, in any case."

Almost shyly, her eyes darted back to Colin's face. "Will you ask them if I can come with?" she asked.

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That was the question he had been waiting for, and Colin's face lit up in a grin. "Yeah! I. . .I just have to find them. I should probably ask Aragorn, or Legolas, because they're the ones leading us. . .though I don't know where we'll end up. I overheard Legolas say something about Mordor, but I don't think we're going there. I hope not, at least."

He raised his head, looking over the crowd. Colin didn't see Legolas, Amara, or Aragorn. "I don't see them. . .maybe we should look outside."

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Frodo took a shaky breath as he listened to Arabella speak to him softly. He looked up to her tiredly and nodded slowly. "Yes... I'm positive. He's the only person that can get us to where we need to go. No one else." He said softly and bit his lower lip, before looking ahead again.

Later on that day, Frodo, Arabella and Sam clambered into a small gully beside a rough-hewn road. Gollum carefully peered over the lip of the gully with them. Minas Morgul, a massive dead city, set upon a rocky knee at the head of the morgul valley. Corrupt and loathesome, it glowed with a sickly luminous light - like a corpse candle. Two huge, bestial stone statues guarded the bridge that led to the city. "The Dead City, very nasty place, full of... Enemies." Gollum whispered softly. Gollum, Frodo, Sam and Arabella hurried from their cover, scampering in the shadows toward Minas Morgul. "Quick! Quick! They will see, they will see." Gollum added in a harsh whisper. Frodo looked up at the hideous statues with a strange look on his face. His senses started reeling. "Come away, come away. Look! We have found it." Gollum added quickly. Frodo, Arabella and Sam looked aghast at the sight of a narrow, near-vertical staircase, cut into the rock-face, directly in front of the Minas Morgul gates.

Following the stairs higher and higher up the sheer western side of the Morgul Valley - to the High Peaks of the razor-like Mountains of Mordor. "The secret stairs... Climb!" Gollum added. Suddenly, Frodo staggered across the road, as if some
force, other than his own will, was at work. He lurched toward the bridge toward Minas Morgul. "No, Mr. Frodo!" Sam exclaimed to Frodo. "Not that way!" Gollum said desperately. Sam ran after Frodo, catching him in his arms as he stumbled. "What's it doing?" Gollum added, not knowing what was happening. "No!" Sam yelled. Sam and Gollum pulled Frodo from the bridge. "They're calling me!" Frodo said to the both of them, being completely disoriented. Frodo then fell to the ground.

At that moment, the ground quivered. And a great rumbling noise rolled across the ground and echoed in the mountains. The cold, dull Morgul Valley was suddenly violent and fierce, as up-rushing flames sprung from Mount Doom. Minas Morgul answered: A flare of livid lightening, forks of blue flame sprung up from the tower into the sullen cloud.

-------

Amara nodded in agreement to what Legolas said and then rested her hand on his arm lightly, looking over Edoras slowly. "Let us go inside, my love. We need our sleep for our travels." She said softly and then looked up to him, looking over the side of his face. She squeezed his arm a bit with her hand and then turned around and walked inside again, heading for the rooms that they would all be sleeping in.

Walking upstairs, she made it into the room and then slowly laid down on the floor. She laid on her side and then curled up into a ball, closing her eyes slowly.

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(Amara, I am convinced you watch the LotR movies every chance you get, the lines are so down pat. So, does this mean that Colin will ask you if Berwyn can come in the morning? Should we skip time for us?)

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(Bahahaha. You know I do!!! And if I can't do that, then I try and look up some stuff online for the script. I like to be right on. And yeah, Colin can speak to Amara right then. Skipping time for you and Berwyn is all up to you!)

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