An Ode for Cruelty

Legolas had little time to worry for Faelwen. He could only hoped that she was hidden safely. In only a few seconds, bright white light began to flood their surroundings. In usual Dwarvish impatience, Gimli charged out, throwing his axe at the enemy he had little chance of seeing. It was easily knocked aside, embedded in a tree. Legolas took his turn to step out, firing his arrow directly toward the source of the light only to see it knocked breezily out of the air. Aragorn had followed close behind him, sword in hand. Legolas turned quickly toward him though as he heard the uncommon sound of a pained hiss. Aragorn's sword lay by his feet, glowing red from heat. Half his mind still lingered on Faelwen, why had she not assisted their attack; even if it had proved futile? Where had she gone? The light grew brigther and the three tried desperately to shield their eyes.
None of the group had paid any mind to the groaning movement in the trees. After all, they'd been groaning and grumbling since they entered the wood. However with this last, light groan, a dark shadow dropped soundlessly to the ground. It twirled itself in the shadiest areas the trees would offer, drawing ever-closer to the glowing light that shrouded the White Wizard. As it reached him, a mottled purple hand became visible, tightly clutching a dagger by the Wizard's throat.
The Wizard seemed not to care that this fell hand held a blade so close. Instead he spoke, his voice both familiar and foreign, "You are tracking the footsteps of two young Hobbits."
A velvet voice hissed lowly, loud enough for all to hear, "Where are they, curunir?" (Wizard)
He continued to speak confidently, "They passed this way the day before yesterday. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?"
Aragorn spoke quietly, gradually allowing panic and adrenalin to fill his voice, "Who are you? Show Yourself!"

The blinding light around the figure began to fade. The grotesque hand close by the Wizard's neck fell away and seemingly faded into nothing. Amazement quickly flooded the features of the three men, no longer fearing for their lives. Legolas dropped to his knee in a low bow, Gimli soon followed him.
Aragorn continued to stand, his mouth gaping out words like a breathless fish, "It cannot be. You fell."
Finally he too, sank to his knee, only for Gandalf to turn away from him. Behind him, knelt Faelwen, her pale hand loosely holding the dagger that had been so close to their dear friends throat. Legolas looked at her, asking questions with his eyes. He was afforded no answers.
Gandlaf spoke, a hypnotic note to his tone, "Through fire and water. From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought with the Balrog of Morgoth," His eyes bore into Faelwen's, the two, again sharing an unspoken and heated conversation, "Until, at last, I threw down my enemy, and smote his ruin upon the mountainside."
Her eyes tore away from his, glaring harshly at the ground as he continued on, "Darkness took me. And I strayed out of thought and time.Stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as a life age of the Earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again. I've been sent back, until my task is done."
Faelwen's eyes bore into the ground with such menace that it could've burst into flame. It was as if Gandalf was purposely describing something to bother her; to anger her. Yet nobody but Legolas seemed to notice.
Aragorn walked slowly toward his old friend, his voice soft, "Gandalf."
Gandalf seemed to snap back into the slight lunacy of his former self, "Gandalf? Yes. That's what they used to call me; Gandalf the Grey. That was my name," He spoke with the demeanor of a happy and wise old man, "I, am Gandalf the White," his voice turned serious, "And I come back to you now, at the the turn of the tide."

The four ran after Gandalf through the Forest. Legolas eye was trained closely on Faelwen, her brow still furrowed, her eye still brimming with anger. His on the other hand, still overflowed with unanswered questions, all directed at her. Aragorn and Gimli paid close attention to the newly robed Wizard, and even closer attention to their footing. The two found it difficult, with their lack of magic, or Elvish grace, to keep up the same brisk pace without tripping on the many gnarled and twisted roots and plants that stuck through the dirt.
Gandalf spoke, nearly shouting, as he rushed them along, to another edge of Fangorn, "One stage of your journey is over. Another begins. War has come to Rohan. We must ride to Edoras with all speed."
Gandalf wouldn't say another word as they traversed the craggy Forest floor, evidently feeling his words had expressed how dire the situation was. Aragorn too, barely spoke, instead, spending his time pondering all meanings to the Wizard's first two sentences.
Legolas drew himself close to the pale and pink Elf-maiden as they jogged evenly across the even ground, "Man presta le, Nibin?" (What troubles you, Petty[a name for troublesome Elflings])
Faelwen's brow softened slightly, "Im al'treneri. Ha al'le caul." (I'll not tell. It's not your burden.)
Legolas looked closely at the woman's eyes, until she glanced back up at him, catching her pale pink irises with his crystalline blue, "A ha al'baur na le." (And it need not be yours)
Faelwen gave him a tight lipped smile and gently reached between them, holding his hand softly in her snow white fingers, "But for now, it must be."

They kept running, all five in silence, through the dense underbrush of Fangorn Forest. The Dwarf's heavy breathing was the only sound to permeate the invisible shield they had created from the outside world. The Elves ran hand in hand, their silence speaking the volumes that their words never could. They shared their sorrow and fears for the world; for their friends. They shared their misery, their pain. Beyond anything else, they shared warmth. A warmth that neither knew the other held until the moment their fingers locked together. And yet, before they knew it, the shrouded din of the Forest was broken, giving way to the sunlight of the Rohirrim plains. To the pain of both, their hands fell apart.