Chapter Two

~*~From the Ashes, Reborn: Part Two~*~

She followed along behind the man in white, Gandalf, trusting that he knew where she was to go and what she was to do. A mission is what she had, that much was clear. But what exactly that mission was to be she wasn’t sure. There was a great evil in this land, she could feel it in the ground beneath her feet, in the air that she was forced to breathe. The very trees shuddered and shook with the evil that was being bred deep within the earth. It made her sick to her stomach. It was this that she had to defeat, she knew that much. But what or where it was she had no earthly idea.

“Where are we going?”

The wizard turned to glance over his shoulder before continuing on his grueling pace through the forest. She envied the nifty walking staff he was carrying. Perhaps they could pick up one for her if there was to be much more of this walking stuff.

“We have some people to meet up with.”

“Ah.”

She frowned when there was no further explanation, continuing to follow him. There was a groaning in the distance, as if some great thing was creaking and moaning under so much weight or pressure. It was the sound she would imagine trees making if trees could move or talk. It was an earthy groaning sound.

And she sorta liked it.

Her brain wandered as they continued to walk, traipsing through a forest unlike any she had ever seen before in its size. Of course, she had just been born that morning if she wanted to get technical about things, and so she had little to base her comparison on other than memories of the life that her other self had led.

“They approach.”

She stopped in her tracks, nearly running into the wizard in front of her, who had stopped without so much as a word of warning. Casting him a glare, she crossed her arms, looking for the entire world like a petulant child; eyebrow raised in question. But Mister White Robe didn’t feel like sharing with her who ‘they’ were and why ‘they’ were approaching. Or even why she should care about any of this. If it had anything to do with her purpose in this land she was at a loss – the wizard was intent on keeping his mouth shut as far as she could tell.

Through the noises of the forest she heard someone whisper something about a ‘white wizard’, which she assumed was Gandalf since he was dressed in the snazzy white robes. But, for some reason, they did not seem happy about seeing this ‘white wizard’. Perhaps these weren’t friends they were waiting for, but enemies to be ambushed and then vanquished.

It would be so much simpler if Gandalf had just said something. As it stood she didn’t know whether to prepare to be introduced or to ready a spell to defend herself.

“Now!”

She jumped at the shout, wincing as the shield Gandalf held around himself and her sparkled, his staff flashing as it deflected arrows. She growled, taking a step forward to deal with these thugs once and for all.

But Gandalf held up an arm, stopping her forward motion, his eyes still fixed upon the three that stood down below.

“Who are you?”

The shout came towards them and she sighed. Did these people not even know who Gandalf was? Were they just randomly attacking people for no good reason? At once she wasn’t entirely sure that she was on the right side of things.

And then the glowing shield that Gandalf had put up dissipated and she could see the strangers clearly. A dark haired man, very rugged looking; a blonde haired man with pointy ears; and a shorter man.

So – a human, an elf, and a dwarf; her brain connected the dots in logical fashion. At least, she hoped that was the logic of this place. For a world she was supposed to have created, she really could remember very little of what actually lived within it. And things would have changed since the Creation, of course. Races evolve, the land changes. She was more of a stranger here than they were, for all that her other self had been the one to mold the very mountains of the realm.

She hoped no one was counting on her to have an internal map of this place in her head; because she most definitely did not. The Powers were generous with the knowledge they had allowed her for this mission, but not that generous. She was not all-powerful nor all-knowing – and did not desire to be either of the two, despite how silly she felt waiting for someone to explain her own mission to her.

“Gandalf?” The dark haired man was asking. Apparently he hadn’t gotten the memo about the meeting. Maybe that was why they were all so confused looking, lack of communication. Willow just knew it was Gandalf’s fault, too. He was a little too tight-lipped and mysterious for her tastes.

She sighed, rolling her eyes, and let them make their re-acquaintance with each other, hoping that this didn’t take too much longer. She had a holy mission to fulfill, a destiny to right the wrongs that her other self had inflicted by saving this world from imminent destruction.

“This is the Lady Willow. . . she will be joining us on our quest.”

The red head raised an eyebrow again, flashing the three men a hesitant smile. How she hated being put on the spot like that. The least he could have done would be get her attention before introducing her – instead of just springing it out of the blue when she quite obviously wasn’t paying attention!

“Nice to meet you guys.” She nodded pleasantly at the three of them.

The dark haired man didn’t look too thrilled to see her and the second he opened his mouth she knew he was about to upset her.

“Gandalf – surely where we are going is no place for a woman. She will be injured or –“

Willow laughed, a deep sound that made her entire body vibrate with the pleasure of it. She took a step forward to better look down at the man that had spoken, finding that Gandalf had backed off to one side to allow her to make her own introductions. And a glorious introduction it was to be, if this were any indication.

“A woman?” She snorted, hardly able to contain her amusement. “You don’t want me going with you because I’m a woman?”

He was eyeing her now as though she were very odd indeed, and perhaps that was how she seemed to them. She was from a world they had never known, one where women were not treated as delicate little things to be hidden away at the first sign of danger.

“Yes, my lady. This is a dangerous mission and –“

She drew herself up to her full height, her amusement fading to the background. He wanted to picture her as a weak, frail creature? Then she’d damn well give him something else to consider.

“Do you have any idea who you speak to?”

That brought him up short, and the rasping chuckle coming from Gandalf was enough to spur her on.

“You are the Lady Willow.” The dwarf was speaking now. “If you wish to come with us, my lady, I will not be the one to argue with you. Dwarven women are just as stout fighters as the men.”

“Thank you, Sir Dwarf.” Willow murmured, giving him a reassuring smile.

“Aye, Elven women are fighters as well. I have no quarrel with thee.”

“Good, Master Elf.” She smirked, throwing her attention back to the man that stood there, casting mutinous glares at his companions.

“And so I return to you, *Sir*,” she snarled, a touch impatiently. “Do you have any idea who I am?”

He sighed, shaking his head; hands held up in a gesture of defeat.

“No, my lady. I do not know. However I have the feeling that I have made a grievous error in placing myself on your bad side and I do ask your forgiveness.”

Willow chuckled, stepping down from the mound she was standing on to come alongside the dark haired man.

“Apology accepted. However, remember this moment well when all is known about who I am. . .And know that my temper is swift and my mission is just as relevant, if not more so, than yours is. Now, with that said – I did not catch your names.”

He smiled and she felt a stirring in the pit of her stomach. Handsome didn’t quite explain what he was in her eyes. He was rugged and striking. The lines and planes of his face were sharp and defined. His hair was shoulder length, slightly curled, and hung in his face at times, affording him a mysteriousness that he otherwise might have lacked. His eyes were dark and definitely earned the description of ‘piercing’. And, while the elf that stood next to him was a beauty to behold, this human male was the more handsome of the two.

And he made her stomach get all churn-y.

She felt the corners of her mouth lift in a half-smile.

“Allow me to introduce you, then. That is Gimli, son of Gloin. Legolas of the Mirkwood Elves. And I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn.”

Her smile went from half to full.

“You guys are really proud of your daddies, huh?” She snickered to herself, shrugging apologetically at the look of confusion on his face. It seemed like he had been expecting something when he had introduced himself, an acknowledgement of something, perhaps? But he was no one to her, as were his companions. They were all just another name to be placed in her memory, stored away for later times. If there was a significance to who they were she was sure she would figure it out eventually, though she would not be looking to the stuffy wizard for that enlightenment. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all – I think.” Turning back to Gandalf, she raised an eyebrow. “I’m happy to meet them, right? You weren’t really clear on that.”

“Yes, Willow. They are friends.”

She snorted, throwing the one known as Aragorn a smirk; her earlier displeasure with his views on women in the battlefield still grating on her nerves.

“We’ll have to see about that part.”

~*~End Part Two~*~