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THE FELLOWSHIP CLAMBER THROUGH ROCK AND SNOW AS THEY WALK THE PASS OF CARADHRAS, Frodo slips on some shale and as he scrambles to his feet, the Ring falls on the ground. Boromir reaches to pick it up by the chain gaining everyone's attention, his eyes focused purely on the cursed Ring causing Maristela to tense up from beside Sam and Attica. The Ring dangles before his eyes which seem to grow in stature, as if absorbing its power. Aragorn warily approaches Boromir who is currenly motionless staring at the Ring, as if transfixed by its presence.

"Boromir?" Aragorn called cautiously. "It is strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing... such a little thing," Boromir says in a trance. "Boromir... give the Ring to Frodo," Aragorn spoke quietly with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Boromir suddenly snaps out of his trance and hands the Ring back to Frodo, "As you wish. I care not." Boromir smiles at Frodo, ruffling his hair before turning to walk with the others, his eyes locking with Maristela who had raised a brow. "I am okay," Boromir assured her as he walked passed her.

Maristela watched as he caught up to Merry and Pippin immediately starting a conversation with them about his life in Gondor, the two listening intently to his story. "Men are weak of the mind," Legolas spoke from where he stepped up next to her. "Elves have always doubted Men but you will be surprised by their will to fight the darkness," Maristela replied as she turned her head to Aragorn who was helping Frodo through the snow. "You have a lot of faith in Men," Legolas said as they continued walking. "I do. There are good and bad sides of everyone, Legolas. But Men are balanced in it while others like Dwarves or Elves tipped the scales to one side more than the other. So yes, I have faith in Men," Maristela said with a soft smile.

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The Fellowship are struggling through a blinding blizzard, up towards the Pass of Caradhras with Attica walking ahead of them to clear the snow for the Hobbits who are being assisted by Aragorn, Boromir and Gandalf while Gimli himself pushed through himself. Legolas and Maristela walk atop the snow due to their light steps, a trait Elves were blessed with allowing them to be more agile in battle. However, Maristela stops in place hearing a strange whisper in the wind, she turned her head to Legolas who had stopped as well. "There is a fell voice in the air," Legolas informed everyone.

"It's Saruman," Gandalf spoke before turning to Maristela who closed her eyes and began whispering her own ancient chant. The blizzard slowed and soon the voice of Saruman faded out and Maristela took some steady breaths before a new voice echoed, pain shot through Maristela's body causing her to scream out alerting the others. "Ma!" Aragorn shouted as Saruman's fell voice returned reigniting the blizzard, Legolas moved forward quickly and pulled Maristela back into his chest as Gandalf moved forward, "Losto Caradhras, sedho, hodo, nuitho I ruith (Sleep Caradhras, be still, lie still, hold your wrath)." Legolas notices the pained expression on Maristela's face, brushing his fingers lightly across her cheek.

A distance away, Saruman stands on the summit of Orthanc as he chanted his spell, the darker voice taunting Maristela who focused on blocking out the necromancers words. Clouds are flowing from all directions converging on the distant mountains in a stormy Malestrom. As Saruman's voice strengthens, rolling past the Fellowship like thunder, Maristela's eyes begin to glow silver as she whispers an ancient language under her breath that sent a wave of magic back at the necromancer causing him to go silent. Lightning crackled before exploding on the mountainside above them alerting Attica who immediately moved to protect the Hobbits.

Frodo looked up in horror as a huge snow avalanche thundered down towards them, the Fellowship threw themselves against the cliff face as snow crashes onto the narrow ledge with Legolas and Maristela pulling Gandalf to safety as Attica stood tall against the snow for the hobbits to hide beneath him. Within moments, the pass is blocked and the Fellowship is enveloped in snow. Boromir and Aragorn worked together to free the hobbits, Aragorn praising Attica for protecting the hobbits from the snow. Maristela looked up to see Legolas shielding her from the snow, he looked down at her to make sure she was okay.

"We must get off the mountain!" Boromir shouted to the others, "Make for the gap of Rohan and take the West road to my city." Maristela sighed knowing that way was too open for them, they couldn't risk an ambush or being in perfect sight of Saruman or Sauron. "The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard," Aragorn reminds the Man of Gondor. "We cannot pass over the mountain. Let us go under it. Let us go through the mines of Moria," Gimli suggested gaining Maristela's full attention from escaping the snow, she turned her head to her father and noticed the look of contemplation.

"Let the ringbearer decide," Gandalf announced causing everyone to turn their eyes to Frodo, the weight of the decision weighing heavily upon him as Boromir tried to keep Pippin and Merry warm from the cold. "Frodo?" Gandalf questioned gaining Frodo's gaze. "We will go through the mines," Frodo exclaimed with a determined yet shaky tone. Gimli grinned as Gandalf slowly nodded but Legolas noticed the slight fear that flashed through Maristela's eyes, she wasn't keen on the Mines of Moria knowing what lies deep within the caverns; She could only pray to the Valar that they would all make it out alive.

As the group made their way off of the side of the cliff with Gandalf leading the way as the hobbits sat upon Attica's back, Maristela couldn't help but feel anxious. Legolas took notice of Maristela's shaky hands, uncertain if it was because she was cold, he moved closer to her and readjusted her cloak to help the warmth comfort her. "Are you okay?" Legolas asked her softly. "I will be. I just have a bad feeling about the path of Moria," Maristela answered him honestly, looking into his blue eyes with a soft smile. "I'll not let anything harm you," Legolas promised. "I appreciate that, Legolas," Maristela replied before moving ahead to Aragorn, Legolas watching her fondly.

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⊱ ──── {⋆ 🌌 ⋆} ──── ⊰

Rosemary Speaks

I want to apologise for both the wait for a new chapter and the short length of this one. I spent time saving this story to Docs out of fear of losing my book or account due to wattpad removing fanfiction due to their FAQ rules.

Should this book ever disappear, just know that I will republish it to AO3 (RuffieRoseStories).
Follow -ruffieroseoriginals just in case I lose this account.

The next chapter will be longer, I promise!!

Hope to see you in the next chapter!