Middle Earth's Last Hope

Someone shook her and Vaeri slapped their hand away, cuddling back into her bed roll. She heard a light laugh, opening her eyes a crack she saw Legolas smiling down at her. “Is it already time to go?” Vaeri mumbled closing her eyes again.
Legolas poked her nose, “Yes, so get up.” He chuckled kissing her cheek.
“Fine,” Vaeri said opening her eyes, “But only because I can’t resist your demands.” Vaeri smiled coyly at him, grabbing his shirt. Her lips hovered over his, she opened her eyes and could see that he wanted her to kiss him. So she did, on his nose. “That’s for poking my nose.” Vaeri said smiling. Legolas laughed grabbing her hand and pulling Vaeri to her feet.
The fellowship quickly packed their bags and headed on their way to the Mines of Moria, “We will reach the Mines of Moria by sun down.” Gandalf said matter-of-factly.
They had traveled for a few hours the sun high in the sky when Gimli turned around to talk to Vaeri, “We will be feasting when we get to the Moria, Balin will treat us like royalty. Just wait and see!”
“It seems that you have been to Moria before?” Legolas asked.
Gimli sent him a hard look before continuing, “My father went on a journey with him to the Lonely Mountain and defeated Smaug. Well they didn’t actually kill Smaug, Bard did. The bowman he shot a black arrow into the devil’s only week spot.”
“Ah yes, I remember that day.” Vaeri said sadly remembering being in the town as it burned. “I was there, the people screaming as they were burned by the dragon’s breath. The orcs attacking, killing anything that stood in their way of killing the King Under the Mountain.”
“You were there?” Legolas asked surprised by the news.
“Yes,” Vaeri said simply trying to remove the images of the burning town from her mind.
“Did you ever meet my father?” Gimli asked curiously.
Vaeri laughed, “I knew your father. We even fought together.”
Gimli scoffed, “My father hated elves! He wouldn’t been scene fighting next to one!” He exclaimed.
“And here we are now…” Vaeri said raising an eyebrow laughed. Gimli let out a rough laugh, “Touché.”
“Good one,” Legolas whispered in Vaeri’s ear and she just laughed. The company didn’t converse much. The day passed by slowly, Vaeri concentrated on the ground making sure not to trip on any roots or rocks.
“You’re staring at the ground like it will be your death,” Legolas said smirking at Vaeri.
“It will be,” Vaeri mumbled as she almost fell face first into a puddle of mud. Legolas laughed.
“You’re an elf, aren’t you suppose to have awesome balance.” Gimli asked curiously to Vaeri.
“Well whenever I’m taking a long journey, I’m always concentrating on the ground especially when no one is talking.” Vaeri said, “Well now that you’ve mentioned it, whenever I concentrate on the ground I end up tripping. So I’m going to concentrate on something else.”
“Like afternoon tea?” Pippin asked coming up besides Vaeri.
“You read my mind,” Vaeri said, sliding one of the straps on her shoulder so she could look through it. She grabbed the biscuits wrapped in leaves and one of canteens. “Here you go!” She said tossing a biscuit to Pippin he caught the biscuit and ate it hungrily. “Wash it down with this,” Vaeri said handing Pippin the canteen as she took a bite of the flaky buttery deliciousness.
“You wouldn't happen to have another biscuit?” Gimli asked looking at the good in their hands. Vaeri split hers in half, tossing a piece to Gimli. He grunted his thanks.
“This is really good tea!” Pippin said staring at the canteen.
“Let me try,” Gimli said snatching the tea from Pippin’s hands. He took a swig and his eyes popped at the taste, “It is good.” Gimli said tossing it back to Vaeri.
She took a sip enjoying the crisp taste, offering it then to Legolas. He took a hesitant sip at first before taking a huge drink. He handed it back to Vaeri, “When did you make that? It is delicious.”
“I made it before we left Rivendell,” Vaeri said taking another sip and finishing her biscuit. The sun was beginning to set, “We should be reaching Moria soon.” They came across a large lake and a long stair case carved into the wall of the cliff that led down to the shore.
“The Gates to Moria are down by the shore,” Gandalf called out to the company.
“Where?” Sam asked not seeing any gates.
“Dwarven gates are hidden in the sides of the mountain,” Gimli told Sam. The path down the stairway was slow as to not go tumbling down. By the time they reached the gates, the sudden was hiding under the horizon and the moon shone down, casting it’s light across the surface of the water.
“Ah, here we are!” Gandalf said looking happily at the doorway that had begun to glow in the moonlight, Gandalf bellowed the elven words written around the doorway. Nothing happened. He muttered the words again pacing back and forth speaking words of different tongues that Vaeri didn't know. An hour passed the company resting on the larger rocks, staring at the black water of the lake. Mary and Pippin sat near the shore tossing rocks into the water, trying to skip them.
From the corner of her eye, Vaeri swore she saw the water move against the light breeze. Mary was about to throw in another rock, when she grabbed his hand. “Don’t disturb the water…in fact get away from the edge.” Aragorn and Boromir gathered behind her, staring at the water moving.
“What does it say?” Frodo asked Gandalf.
“It says speak friend and enter.” Gandalf said sitting on his rock, looking annoyed at the puzzle that stumped him.
“What’s the elvish word for friend?” Frodo asked.
“Mellon,” Gandalf said and Vaeri heard the sound of something slowly creaking open. She turned to see the doorway had finally opened. The water moved against the wind this time closer to the shore, “Everyone into the keep, I don’t trust the look of the water.”
They rushed into the mine, going completely blind from the darkness. Gandalf muttered a few words before the clear stone in the middle of his staff, casted light along the dark walls. Vaeri gasped.
“This isn’t a mine!” Boromir exclaimed in shock, “It’s a tomb!” A hundred or so skeletons of dwarves laid around the entrance to the mine. Leaning down she grabbed one of the arrows from a skeleton, showing it to Legolas.
“Goblins,” He spat as Vaeri threw it to the ground in disgust. Frodo had been the last to enter the mine and he slowly backed as he saw the horror around him and Gimli’s sobs.
“No!” Gimli sobbed, “This can’t be right!”
“We should have never have come here!” Boromir shouted, “We head to Rohan…”
Frodo screamed, a tentacle had wrapped around his ankle pulling him to the shore. Vaeri was the first to react running and grabbing his hand trying to pull him back. Another tentacle lashed out, throwing her against a stone. She groaned as she pulled out her bow, aiming for the tentacle holding Frodo.
A creature popped its contoured face out of the water, another tentacle wrapping around Vaeri’s ankle dragging her toward the water. She pulled out her dagger quickly cutting the squirming thing off. The rest of the company came out, Legolas shooting another arrow at the tentacle holding Frodo. Frodo feel into the water with a splash, Aragorn ran in dragging Frodo out of the water away from the creature.
“INTO THE KEEP!” Gandalf shouted ushering the fellowship into Moria. The creature followed them, pulling its body onto the shore, it’s tentacles lashing out blindly trying to find it’s next target.
“Legolas!” Boromir shouted the creature catching up on the Aragorn, Boromir and Frodo. He shot an arrow into its eye and it thrashed about. But in it’s haste it brought the walls down upon itself. The company was incompletely darkness until Gandalf shown his light. “So be it.”