Chapter Eleven, The Creature of the Dark Lake

They had been traveling for hours with no rest, for they were hoping they would reach Moria before it became too dark, and we're starting to lose hope when they heard Gimli gasp from up ahead. "The Walls...of Moria." He says pointing towards the large black rock walls ahead. "Dwarf doors are invisible when closed." Gimli told them as they made their way to the rather grand looking Mine, as he bangs his ax on the wall as he looked for the door.

"Yes, Gimli, their own masters cannot find them if their secrets are forgotten." Gandalf agreed as he continued to lead them to what he thought was the entrance into the Mine. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" Legolas said disdainfully.
"Legolas!" Evelina reprimanded as she elbowed him in his side, looking at him in disappointment as Gimli glared at Legolas and growled under his breath.

Evelina not paying much attention to where she was going as she felt like she was coming down with a fever or something, slipped off the bank, her right foot ending up in the icy water. Gasping Evelina quickly pulled her foot out of the water only to see Frodo had done the same. No matter how bad she felt she wasn't going to mention it to anyone, they had other things to worry about. Especially the bad feeling she was getting from this place.

"Well, let's see." Gandalf mumbled to himself as he ran his hand over one particular part of the wall. "Ithildin," he said in wonder as he stared at the mark just about noticeable on the wall. "It mirrors only starlight and moonlight." Gandalf continued, his voice barely above a whisper as he turned to look at the cloudy sky, only for the clouds to part showing a Full Moon.

The moonlight shone on the wall revealing a hidden door just where the mark was, Evelina gasped at the beauty of it, it looked like silver was woven into the wall creasing the marvellous markings that stood before them. "It reads," Gandalf said pointing to the Elvish words above the door. "'The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria, speak friend, and enter.'"
"What do you think that means?" Merry asked curiously.

"It's quite simple. If you are a friend, you say the password and the doors will open." Gandalf told them before he put his staff against a small star in the middle of the door and proceeded to chant spells in hope the doors will open. "Nothing happened!" Pippin exclaimed disappointed, though he still watched in rapture as Gandalf tried another spell. "What're you going to do now then?" Pippin asked just as curious as Merry, as Gandalf now tried pushing the doors, but like the spells that was also in vain.

"Knock your head against these doors Peregrin Took," Gandalf snapped angrily. "And if that doesn't shatter them and I'm allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will try to open these doors."
"Gandalf!" Evelina shouted appalled by the old Wizards treatment of Pippin especially when he ignored Pippin's hurt look, but just like a few hours ago he ignored her as he turned back towards the fours mumbling to himself about how he once knew all the spells in the languages of Elves, Men and Orcs.

"Don't mind Gandalf ind-nîn." Legolas said as he wrapped his arms around her waist kissing her on the cheek. "He's just frustrated that he can't open the doors."
"That maybe. But, he has no right to treat Pippin in such a way." Evelina argued with a frown on her face. Legolas was glad that Evelina had her back to him so she couldn't see the smile spreading across his face as he kissed her cheek again, he frowned when he felt the heat coming off of her. "Ind-nîn, are you alright? You feel incredibly hot?" Legolas said as he placed a hand to her forehead.

Groaning internally Evelina rested her head against Legolas's chest, she'd hoped that she could hold off them finding out, but it seemed her luck had started to work against her especially as Aragorn came rushing over to them a worrier look upon his face. He only paused on his way to them to give the bags he'd unloaded from Bill to Boromir. "Evelina, Meleth-nîn, are you alright?" Aragorn asked, his words tumbling out in a rush due to his worry.

"I'm fine, I think I'm coming down with a cold or something. It's nothing to worry about." Evelina said smiling in reassurance to her mates. Oh how wrong she was. Aragorn and Legolas looked at her dubiously for a few moments before they nodded, they would let it go for now. "Here, wear this." Aragorn said in a no argument tone of voice as he handed her his cloak off of his own back. "I don't want to hear it Eve. We love you and we don't want anything to happen to you and we don't want you to get sick as we won't be able to treat you in the Mines." Sighing in defeat Evelina tied Aragorn's cloak over her own, but she did kiss both of them in the lips in gratitude and snuggled into them.

They were brought out of their own little world suddenly when they heard a rather large splash and saw Merry was throwing drones into the dark water. "Don't disturb the water." Neville said firmly as he catches Merry's arm as he went to throw another one. Evelina frowned as she saw the water was moving faster and fir longer than what it should, and she knew for definite that there was something within the water's depths. Evelina turned from the creepy water to see if Gandalf had made any progress, only to see him sitting on a rock besides Frodo, a look of defeat a and frustration on his face.

Shaking her head at him for just giving up like that, she decided to at least try to see if she can open the doors. 'Hopefully before whatever that creature in the land is, decides to make an appearance.' She thought as she made her way closer to the doors so she could get a better look at the writing upon the doors. "It's a riddle." Evelina said softly to herself. "It's a riddle." Evelina said loudly this time so everyone could hear her.
"What's that Lassie?" Gimli asked confused.

"The words above the door is a riddle, the answer is right in front of us. They are written in Ancient Sindrin and say, 'Speak friend and enter.' So if my guess is right at only have to say the Elvish word for friend: Mellon." Evelina said with a grin as the doors swung open as if someone from inside had pushed them open. "Well done, young Evelina." Gandalf praised as he stood up placing his hat on his head. "I wouldn't never of guessed that. Quite foolish of me really as usually it's the obvious things that are the passwords, but then again their not so obvious as everyone over looks them." Gandalf rambled to himself.

"Well almost everyone." Gandalf amended as he looked back at Evelina who had moved to the back of the group behind the Hobbits as they stepped inside the Mine, Gandalf lighting up his staff and Neville casting the Lumos charm. "Soon Master Elf you'll be receiving the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves; malt beer, roaring fires and ripe meat of the bone. This Mine if the home of my cousin Balin and they call it a Mine, a Mine." Gimli scoffed at the idea of his cousin's home being anything less. You could see the excitement just rolling off of him it was that intense as he was finally getting to see his family after such a long time.

"This is no mine." Boromir said staring at the numerous skeletons of Dwarves, Orcs and Goblins littered all over the place, as the light of the fire from the torch in his hand along with Gandalf's and Neville's spells lit up the Entrance Hall. "It's a tomb." He continued. Evelina grabbed Pippin's arm stopping him from tripping over a skeleton of Gimli's relatives as said Dwarf cried out in anguish as he ran over to one disintegrating Dwarf skeleton that leaned against the wall. Legolas leaned down and pulled out an arrow out of one of the Dwarf skeleton's chest.

"Goblins!" He gasped in disgust as he threw away the arrow as if it had burnt him and pulled out his own bow and notched an arrow in as Aragorn, Neville and Boromir pulled out their swords, while a spell was already forming on the lips of Evelina and Neville. "We should have never have come here." Boromir said as he looked around him for any signs of an attack. "We make for the Gap of Rohan. Now get out of here. Get Out!" He shouted as Evelina and the Hobbits backed out of the door the rest of the Fellowship slowing following.

Evelina and Frodo yelled in shock as a slimy tentacle-that had crept out of the water without their noticing- wrapped around their ankles pulling them towards the water. "Sectumsempra!" Evelina shouted pointing her hand at the tentacles as Sam called for Aragorn, hacking at another tentacle that came towards Frodo. Evelina seeing the creature rise from the water as six legs shot out of the the water, she pushed all four Hobbits back out of the way with a small blast of magic, but was too late to save herself as a tentacle struck out like a viper, wrapping around her once more and the next thing she knew she was being dangled upside down above the creature's sharp pointy teeth.

She heard the others shout her band as she tried to angle herself so she could cut off the tentacle holding her while keeping an eye in the mouth of the beast and how far away it was from her. She shot another curse at a tentacle that was coming towards the top half of her body when she heard Aragorn shout, "We're coming Eve hold on!" Just as an arrow bedded itself in the eye of the beast, but instead of letting get go like the Fellowship had hoped it only made it angry flinging Evelina around as he growled and flailed around in anger and agony, Evelina screamed as was flung around she was getting lower and lower towards that mouth and she was also finishing it hard to concentrate as the blood rushed to her head. Shaking her head in hopes of clearing the fogginess from her brain, she aimed at the tentacle as she'd finally got a clear shot but as she was about to cast the spell she screamed and closed her eyes as she felt herself falling through the air.

Instead of coming to a rather painful end she felt the familiar muscular arms and chest of Aragorn. "I've got you Meleth-nîn. I've got you." Aragorn whispered reverently as he pressed his lips quickly to her forehead as he made his way out of the lake. She opened her eyes to see Neville in front of them rushing out of the water while shooting spells behind them at the beast while Boromir was behind them cutting off limbs with his sword and using his weight to help them out of the lake. "Legolas!" Boromir shouted when it got too close only for an arrow to fly over them.

Evelina saw the look of pure hatred upon Legolas's face as he shot arrow after arrow at the beast, she was glad she'd placed a spell on his and Aragorn's arrow sheath so they would never run out of arrows, it was the same spell that herself, Neville and Luna all had on their sheaths. "Quick into the Mines! Into the Mines!" Gandalf shouted once they'd made it on to the bank for the creature was still after them. Aragorn and Boromir had just made it into the Mines, Evelina still in Aragorn's arms, when the creature grabbed the doors and ripped them off to get to them but only succeed in causing a cave in, hurling them into darkness.

End of chap 11!

Translations:

*Elvish: ind-nîn. English: my heart.
*Elvish: meleth-nîn. English: my love.