Lavender Hill Inn ::UPDATED NOVEMBER 2010::

[Lenne Linwe]

Amara smiled more to Martin and then watched as he spoke with Laurina shortly, saying his goodbye to her. She sighed happily, when she pulled him into a hug, instead of fully accepting his handshake. She then leaned down and hugged Laurina back, as well. "Thank you so much... You will always be welcome at the inn." She said to Laurina softly.

She then looked over to Martin and nodded once to him. "Are you ready?" She asked him, before adjusted the cloak he had allowed her to borrow previously.

[Martin the Warrior]

Looking back at the humble house of Laurina, Martin sighed, "As ready as I could possibly be. I do wish we could have stayed longer, but it's time to continue." He placed the book inside one of the bags Laurina had given them. "Let's go, before I change my mind official blessing or no offical blessing."

[Lenne Linwe]

Amara nodded to Martin and then smiled a little, before clicking her tongue to Baran, telling her that it was time to go. She held onto the hair on the horse's mane lightly and then sighed happily, looking around slowly, while Baran slowly started walking forward and out of the town.

She looked over to Martin and nibbled on her lower lip, watching him closely. "Are you okay, dear Martin?" She asked him softly, not wanting him to be sad.

[Martin the Warrior]

"I'm fine, it's just, I thought choosing to leave would be easier, than you know..." Martin said feeling a little sad at leaving, he looked over his shoulder once more at Amara. It made him feel a little bit better, "I hope this is the right way, it's been so long. As far as I remember if we follow this path we're currently on, we'll arrive at nightfall at the ford. We'll probably have to spend the night on this side and cross over in the morning. Even when crossing we'll have to be careful, the stones there can be treacherous on the horse's feet. If it founders (the word for if a horse trips) one of them could be left quite lame, and that would never do." He hadn't meant to go so in depth with the plan but it did make him feel better to talk about it.

[Lenne Linwe]

Lenne listened to all that Martin said to her about their plan and nodded slowly, fully comprehending all of it. She sighed a bit and continued following him with her horse, silently. She looked around the town and saw elves staring at them, while slowly backing away; as if they had some type of sickness. She bit her lower lip and looked away, a bit upset. "Us elves are supposed to stick together... Not shun each other." She said to Martin and sighed deeply. She didn't know why they were acting so terrible to the two of them, but she did know that they needed to get out of there quickly.

[Martin the Warrior]

Martin sighed along with Amara, and the two rode in silence for a while. To Martin at least the silence was deafening, so he began to sing.

Whispers of night,
Pale at your memory.
Shadows of light,
Make me so sorry.

I miss you and your beauty,
I follow and go on my duty.
Goodbye my love, I miss you dearly.
Goodbye my love, your memory so clearly.
I miss you so much more every time we part,
Goodbye my love, why did we part?
Goodbye my love, oh how I miss thee.

Grasping at straws trying to find you,
Gasping at the thought of not able to.
Guessing at why you left me so soon,
Tell me why, I beg your boon.

I miss you and your beauty,
I follow and go on my duty.
Goodbye my love, I miss you dearly.
Goodbye my love, your memory so clearly.
I miss you so much more every time we part,
Goodbye my love, why did we part?
Goodbye my love, oh how I miss thee.

Whispers of night,
Pale at your memory.
Shadows of light,
Make me so sorry.
Sunset falls and I still miss you,
Where are you now, please tell me true.

"That's the Song of the Sunset. I try to sing it, or play, or at the very least think of it once a day. I guess it could be taken as a song to another lady, but really it's sort of my own private eulogy to my parents."

[Lenne Linwe]

As Amara rode on behind Martin in silence, she suddenly heard him start to sing. She always loved when he burst into song, randomly. It made her feel a bit more alive. She smiled and stared ahead, fully enjoying the lyrics and meaning behind them. She bobbed her head slightly to the melody and then nibbled on her lower lip, while gently running her hand along her horse's neck, calmly.

Once Martin was finished singing, she heard what he said and nodded to him. "It was a beautiful song... I only wish that I knew more songs. My father did not like to sing. It was my mother who taught me the songs that I remember. But... She was not around for very long." She said softly to Martin and continued staring ahead, not really knowing if she should even bother to show any emotion. Losing her mother was something that she coped with a long time ago.

[Martin the Warrior]

They rode on in silence, but not for long. Martin started feel that he could not stay sad while birds were singing and the sunlight in amongst the trees. He turned to her and said, "Who cares what the elves back there think. It's a lovely day and I refuse to be sad. So from this point forward I shall say who cares what a bunch of..." He then stopped himself from saying something that would be considered impolite. "I mean, ahem, I wonder if Laurina packed anything good for lunch. I feel like I could eat a horse, no offense Baran or Mithroch."

[Lenne Linwe]

Amara laughed a bit at what Martin said and nodded to him. "Good... I like you much more when you're happy. Like when I met you at the inn..." She said to him and sighed happily, slowing down her horse, so that she could see what was in the bag.

Nibbling on her lower lip, she looked up to him curiously. "Martin... I've been curious on something for a while now... Have you ever been in love?" She asked him, sounding quite interested to hear the answer that would escape from his lips.

[Martin the Warrior]

Martin thought carefully of the few opportunities his life had afforded a chance for love and the answered truthfully. "Yes, I've been in love with you since the day we met at the end. Sure I had a few crushes, but they never would have worked. Why?" he smiled boyishly at her, "Have you?"

[Lenne Linwe]

Amara sucked in a large amount of air, when she heard Martin's response to her question. She never imagined that he would love her. She swallowed hard and stared more at him, feeling her heart flutter more than ever. She even had butterflies in her stomach. "Because... I've fallen in love with you too... I just was scared of getting hurt. This is my first time loving someone after all. And the first time ever feeling it." She said softly, sounding a bit nervous. She made sure her horse stopped completely and then slowly looked down to her lap, feeling a battle of emotions run through her body.

[Martin the Warrior]

Martin could hear nothing but his heart pounding, he never imagined that this was how it would come out. But here it was, and more of through other senses he could tell she had stopped. He turned Mithroch around to face her and urged him a little closer to her until they were side by side. Before he even realised what had happened he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. He immediately leaned back and said, "Sorry you look so beautiful right now, it just happened."

[Lenne Linwe]

Where Martin's lips had settled for a few seconds, she felt her skin burned up beneath it. She cleared her throat, trying not to look too stupid in front of him. She looked up to him again and let her eyes run over his face, lovingly. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder..." She said softly and then gently reached down and took his hand in her own. She held onto it tightly and then looked down, seeing their hands together, which made her smile a little.

[Martin the Warrior]

Martin looked deeply into Amara's eyes he didn't want the moment to end, he, knew in his heart that this was his true love. He'd do anything for her, he'd go searching for one of the Silmaril gems. That made him think of Beren and Luthien, had they felt the same way? He was almost sure of it.

The moment would have lasted longer if Mithroch hadn't all of a sudden gotten spooked by something and had almost tossed him off. "Whoa Mithroch, whoa!" Whatever it was had not spooked Baran.

[Lenne Linwe]

Amara jumped a bit, when Mithroch was spooked and she definitely hadn't been expecting that from him. She swallowed hard and watched Martin closely, smiling a little. She then sat up straight, with her ears perking up. "We need to get off of the path... Now." She whispered to him, as her eyes widened slightly. She rested her hands on both sides of Baran's neck, getting ready to just run out of there as fast as the beautiful horse could go.

Something was coming. Something evil. Something deadly. She bit her lower lip and looked more nervous to Martin. She didn't want anything to happen to him.

[Martin the Warrior]

Martin gritted his teeth and tried to bring back some control over Mithroch, "C'mon Mith, calm down," He tried to exude calmness hoping it would help a little. If he'd been paying attention, he might have seen what was coming upon him. The horse was not calming, that's when with a final buck, he hit his head on the road and blanked out.

He could feel something evil all around him, but he could not open his eyes. What was this unknown terror?

[Lenne Linwe]

Amara saw all that happened and gasped, as she saw Martin fall to the ground, unconscience. She swallowed hard and quickly got off of Baran, getting to Martin. "Martin... Please, wake up." She whispered to him and then felt a sharp pain in her back, which made her gasp in pain. She looked down and saw an arrow sticking out of it. She bit her lower lip hard and then ripped it out, throwing it aside. She carefully stood up and turned around, seeing an orc there, with two others along side it. She stood protectively in front of Martin, as Baran and Mithroch started getting out of control.

Amara was in a lot of pain, but she would stand her ground to keep Martin safe. She got out her knives and then glared a bit at them, motioning for them to come forward with her hand. They growled and ran straight for her, so she headed toward them as well, ready for battle.

[Martin the Warrior]

The light faded in and out, one minute falling the next minute rising again. The final thing he saw before regaining conscience again was of an Elven Lady dressed all in white, she looked alot like Amara. She said, "Awake young warrior, my daughter needs you."

Then as if nothing had happened he jumped to his feet and said, "Ohtar en alata! Has come for you, Mandos will be glad to recieve you back from the wretched pools you came from." He could not would not leave Amara to face this by himself. "I've not come all this way to be stopped by you." He pulled out his sword and stood beside Amara, under his breath he said, "How long have I been out?"

[Lenne Linwe]

Just as Amara was about to fight the Orcs, she heard Martin from behind her. She was a little shocked that he was conscience now, as were the Orcs themselves. She heard all he said and even what he whispered, all while wincing in pain. "Not even ten minutes." She whispered back to him and then looked toward the Orcs again; Middle Earth's ugliest creatures.

She held onto her knives tightly and then started twirling them in her hands, before they growled loudly at Martin and herself. They then ran forward, with swords in their hands. She clenched her jaw and then started attacking them the best that she could, with a wound.

[Martin the Warrior]

Martin pushed his way forward until he was so close that he could smell the rancid breath from the Orc's mouth. "Did something crawl into your mouth and die, or do you smell this good all the time?" With that he pushed back and swung out catching him deep in the leg.

"Wot, do ewe mean I've got stink'n breath, ewe should smell yours it's 'orrible." The Orc called out jeeringly.

[Lenne Linwe]

Amara swung her two knives various times at the two Orcs that were fighting her. She was giving this fight everything she had and the pain of her wound on her back felt like it was getting ten times worse than before. She killed off one Orc and then stared at the other, while panting. "You look just like your mother did, right before we killed her!" The Orc hissed at her and it made her gasp. Suddenly, she was filled with rage and she kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him to the ground. She then stood above him and pushed the knife deep into his chest, killing him. "That was for my mother..." She hissed angrily and tried catching her breath.

Slowly starting to feel dizzy and cold, Amara backed away slowly and leaned against a nearby tree. She could feel her blood trickling down her back and soaking her shirt and pants. Her vision was becoming blurred and the sounds around her were echoing. She then lost conscienceness and fell to the ground, starting to lie in a pool of her own blood.

[Martin the Warrior]

Martin saw Amara fall to the ground, in an extreme fit of rage, killed off the Orc he was fighting yelling out, "That's for my mother, that's for my father, and this is for AMARA!" With that last stroke the last Orc was killed. He ran over, he knew she was in shock, he went over to Baran, and took a small tinder box. Quickly he made a small fire, which he built into a bigger fire. Then he took his cloak off and wrapped her up in it.

He went over, and burried the bodies of the Orcs, he wanted no evidence of the battle left by the time she awoke. Once that was done, he saw the small hole of that the arrow had made in her arm. He sewed it up and made a makeshift sling out of a clean handkerchief, and awaited for to reawaken. That was when he noticed the headache from his fall earlier.

[Lenne Linwe]

It seemed like hours had passed... Even days, since Amara had awoken from her unconscience state. She slowly opened her eyes, seeing that it was now dark outside. She suddenly felt a pain shoot through her arm and realized that she had a sling on. But, she was also wrapped in Martin's cloak. The smell of her own blood singed her nostrils, making her feel nauseated.

Slowly sitting up, she looked around while blinking to focus her eyesight. "Martin?" She asked, sounding a bit scared. She had felt so close to death, when she had passed out, but now she was feeling a little better. She swallowed hard and then rested her good hand on her forehead.

[Martin the Warrior]

Martin's heart leapt for joy when he heard Amara. He immediately rushed over and said, "Thank goodness you're alright, I thought I had lost you for awhile there." He then tucked his cloak tighter around her, "I don't think I could have stood it to loose you." He then handed her a canteen of water and said, "Here drink up."

[Lenne Linwe]

Amara smiled weakly to Martin as she listened to what he said and then saw the canteen that he was passing to her, so that she wouldn't get dehydrated. She swallowed hard and then took it from him, drinking some of the liquid that was inside of it. She licked her lips a bit and then looked over his face. "I do not know what I would've done if I were unable to see your face and hear your voice one last time." She whispered softly to him and swallowed hard.

Just thinking about being apart from Martin for all eternity worried Amara out, immensely. She was in love with him and falling more and more in love with him by the minute.

[Martin the Warrior]

"Just before I came to I saw someone, she looked like she could be your mother. She told me you were in danger." Martin looked around at the surrounding trees, "We'll camp here for the night I guess, or do you think we should move more under the trees. I don't think any more Orc's will come this way for awhile, I wonder what they were doing this far in to begin with." He then smiled at her, and hoped that none of the fear of further Orc's would scare her.

[Lenne Linwe]

Once Martin mentioned what he did, all of the memories started flooding back to her. She swallowed hard and bit her lower lip; her face full of frustration and anguish. "Martin... The Orc that I had killed... He murdered my mother." She whispered, feeling her anger become rekindled. She took a shaky breath and felt tears reach her eyes, out of frustration.

Staying in her spot, she wrapped the cloak tighter around herself, wincing at the pain emitting from her arm. She was so close to her breaking point.

[Martin the Warrior]

Martin wrapped his arm carefully around her, in such away to not touch her arm in a sling and said, "Shhh... he's dead now, and he won't be hurting any one, any more. Besides, I'd never trust one, they'll say anything to get to you." He wasn't sure if this was entirely sure, but he wanted to make her feel better. "I still wonder where the elven hunter's are, they're supposed to guard right up to the ford. Even though we might not see them, there supposed to protect travellers, my has the World changed, and not all together for good."

[Lenne Linwe]

Amara leaned against Martin with a deep sigh and then closed her eyes tightly, as she started to feel a little more calmed. She knew that she would always feel more secure in his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and swallowed hard, trying her hardest not to cry. She hated the Orc, just for the fact that he had mentioned her mother and she had never hated anything before. It was a shock to her.

Listening to the words come from Martin's mouth, Amara nodded in agreement with him. "The world definitely is changing. But, there is nothing that we can do about, dear Martin. We just have to accept that it is and move on. Maybe, someday, we can change some things... But, not at the present time." She said to him softly and slowly looked up to him.

[Martin the Warrior]

Martin shivered out of terror, as he thought of his own parent's they had been killed near there. And knowing that the same fate had probably occured with Amara, didn't help. He thought of the reason they had come this far. He remembered his wish with the white stag. He looked at Amara, and not for the first or the last time on there trip thought about how he knew she was meant for him.