A/N 1: For any fellow die-hard fans, this isn't going to be word for word of both book or movie though I'm attempting to make it follow both. It's kinda hard to try to remember lines from a movie you haven't seen in months while following its book counterpart.

Chapter 7

~ The Bridge of Khazad-dûm ~

They raced out of the chamber but Sam, who was rapidly losing blood, began to lag behind. With the clear part of her mind, she forced herself to make a bandage on the run to bind her injury. They had reached the far side of the hall when something rumbled on the other end.

"A Balrog!" wailed Legolas.

"Durin's Bane," Gimli whispered.

"Run! This foe is beyond any of you!" said Gandalf.

Boromir was in the lead, pelting down some stairs when he suddenly stopped short and waved his arms like he was off balance. Legolas raced ahead and wrapped an arm around the man's chest and leaned backward, successfully keeping Boromir from falling to a very sudden death.

Aragorn paused like he wanted to go back but Gandalf quickly came into view. "Aragorn, lead them on," the old wizard ordered. When Aragorn showed no sign of listening, Gandalf grabbed his shoulder and gave him a shove. "Do as I say!" If she hadn't been in so much pain and so afraid, Sam probably would have laughed at the ruffled expression on Aragorn's face.

Despite any misgivings he might have, Aragorn obeyed Gandalf and led them down a staircase to their left. They came upon a section where the Balrog's shakings caused staircase to fall away. Legolas easily jumped across. "Gandalf!" he called. Gandalf followed as did Boromir with Merry and Pippin.

Sam looked at the gap uncomprehendingly as Samwise was tossed across. Aragorn reached for Gimli, who stopped him. "Nobody tosses a dwarf!" He leapt across the chasm and would have fallen if Legolas hadn't snaked a hand forward and caught the Dwarf's beard. "Ah! Not the beard!" he cried as he was hauled to safety.

Sam stumbled forward dangerously close to the gap as yet another shake hit the area. Aragorn unintentionally grabbed her bad arm and she cried in pain. She went limp in a near faint, so he held her close with one arm and steadied Frodo with the other.

During this time, a huge slab of rock had crashed down, taking the top part of their stairs with it. Sam held Aragorn tightly when she felt the rock start to shift. After what seemed like forever, Aragorn's voice drifted through her fog. "Lean forward!" The rock began to rapidly fall in some direction before jarring to a stop. She and Aragorn were caught by Legolas (Sam could tell this only from the long, white-blonde hair).

Aragorn stooped as if to pick her up. "No, no," she muttered. "I can walk. I just need you to help me." He slung her left arm (the good arm) around his shoulders and put his arm around her waist. With his support, she was able to move somewhat effectively. "It hurts," she murmured.

"Are you sure you don't wish for me to carry you?" Aragorn asked.

"No," Sam responded. "It helps me stay awake. I can't sleep. Might not wake up."

That was her last coherent sentence before all she was able to concentrate on was not falling and staying awake. At one point, she was aware of Aragorn shifting to walk sideways but then he just stopped. He wouldn't let her sink to the ground. "Gdamove," she whispered. "Cntslp." Oh, how she so desperately wanted to sleep.

There was a lot of roaring and someone yelling. It resembled a high pitched cry. Probably a hobbit, she thought. Rock cracked, sounding very close to gunshots. Sam had to go for cover. She couldn't stand there and let the enemy take her. She struggled feebly in Aragorn's arms as he drug her off. Then she was aware of bright light. In her mind, she was in the desert, trying to run from Iranians, who were chasing her and yelling curses in their language. "Fly you fools!" they shouted to her. She didn't understand why the enemy was telling her to run.

"Get them up!"

"Get them up, Kaufmann!" screeched Sergeant Lee.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Sam shouted back. "Come on team. Get up! We can't let the other teams beat us. We're stronger."

"Yeah," gasped her friend, Jen. "But we got less stamina."

"I don't care how you move, just don't sit," Sam ordered. "You can walk, but we can't come in last.

"Kaufmann..." Lee said threateningly.

"I'm trying, sir," cried Sam.

Something was wrong. Everything was familiar: her boot camp, the competition her team had won. Why were they just sitting around if they were supposed to win?

"The wind was in his flowing hair,

The foam about him shone;

Afar they saw him strong and fair

Go riding like a swan.

Sam looked around in confusion. Who was singing? Her nine teammates shifted into nine haggard people she recognized but could not place. The old, grey one began to fade and the singing continued:

But from the West has come no word,

And on the Hither Shore

No tidings Elven-folk have heard

Of Amroth ever more.

"Water," she gasped, returning to wakefulness. The singing still wasn't gone but the melody was from a nearby river. No one heard her so she struggled stiffly into a sitting position, using her left arm. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was in a beautiful forest. The surrounding trees did not have leaves of yellow, red, or orange, but were a gentle golden hue.

Legolas was the first to see her. "Lady," he said.

Her eyes focused confused on his face. "Where...?" She swallowed. "Water, please."

Aragorn, who was nearest, placed a flask against her lips. "Don't drink-"

"Fast," she finished. "I'm dehydrated, not retarded." She took slow sips until she was full. One problem taken care of, she took stock of injuries. Mostly it was just bruises that covered every inch of her body. The most major injury was her arm, which was bound and pleasantly painless. None of her clothes appeared to be messed with; for this she was grateful because it meant that no one had felt intrusive enough to check her body for injury. The only other thing she could complain about was a throbbing head. In dismay, she noticed her pack and weapons missing. "Where are we? Where did you put my weapons?"

"We, Belegwen,have reached the woods of Lothlórien and are presently by the Nimrodel," answered Legolas. "As for your weapons...your larger noisemaker fell into the chasm. The little one was still in its sheath. Your knife is still in your pack and your sword..." He shook his head in amazement. "Where did you find it?"

"I found it on the floor of the chamber," Sam answered, puzzled. At the moment, all hostility was forgotten. "The sheath was under a pile of bodies. Why?"

"Your sword is very magnificent," Aragorn said. "It has a very high value, and, knowing what it is, it's no wonder you found it so easy to wield."

"That still doesn't tell me much," Sam protested.

"Indeed it should," Aragorn retorted.

"Your sword is made of mithril," Legolas said quietly. "The hilt is made of silver and diamond. The sheath is simple silver-cast gold. It would have been very difficult to forge. I have to wonder why the dwarves had a sword in that particular room, especially since they so favor their axes."

"But I get to keep it, right?" Sam asked. "My M-16 was gone even before it fell and my pistol is almost out of clips. Except for my knife, I won't have anything."

"We had no intention of making you relinquish your weapon," Aragorn said. "But, do you think you are able enough to walk?"

"Yeah. Uh, two more questions," Sam said. "What does belegwen mean?"

"Belegwen literally means mighty or strong maiden," Legolas answered. "We have seen greater men than you fall to so much bloodloss."

"And," Sam swallowed, glancing around, "what happened to Gandalf?"

The two exchanged an uneasy glance.

"He fell into the Shadow," Legolas replied.

"I may vaguely remember that," Sam whispered. Then remembering her delusional stupor, she choked, "Did have any, like, final words or anything?" Despite her misgivings about the elderly man, Sam was still surprisingly upset by his death.

"He told us to go, fly," Legolas answered sadly. Aragorn walked over to the others.

"'Fly you fools,'" Sam whispered. She had thought he was an enemy. He was about to die for them and she repaid him by trying to get away from him. Talk about gratitude, she admonished herself.

"Come, Belegwen," Legolas said, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. She winced as he hit a bruise. He offered his hand and she pulled herself up. "We must continue."

"Yeah, yeah," groaned Sam. She strapped her new sword around her waist and, with Legolas's help, managed to keep up with the others.

A/N 2: All of my Elvish words are accurate. The names anyway, so if anyone wants to look it up,Belegwenreally does mean "mighty/strong maiden."

A/N Edit 2012: As of right now—and probably forever—this is the point at which Sam's journey ends. Keep this story in your alerts; you never know, I may actually continue with it. At this point, however, it seems unlikely. I'm sorry, but thank you all so very much for reading all the same. Panda cookies for all. As many as you want.

R&R