The Red Maiden, Part Fourteen
The Red Maiden
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, as none of the content is my original work. The characters are created by Stephen King and J.R.R. Tolkien. The content belongs to MGM and Screen Gems, as the 2013 film remake of Carrie was directed by Kimberly Pierce and produced by Kevin Misher, and additional production is through MGM, Screen Gems, and Misher films as well as distributed by Sony Pictures releasing.
Hot Waters
The words that the stranger told her gave Carrie a lot to ponder to herself. Could her part in this quest not be over yet? Even if it is doomed to fail? At this point, she didn’t care for the elves’ or anyone’s approval. She was going to help the dwarves reclaim their homeland and slay a dragon-like she was brought here to do. Carrie almost thought about going to Elrond and giving her a piece of her mind, as if that would convince him otherwise of letting everyone go. But she decided against it as soon as Thorin gave the silent order to sneak out of Rivendell.
Carrie at this point did not hesitate to leave with him and the rest of the company. A part of her began to worry for Gandalf but knew the longer she lingered in Rivendell the chance of them being caught increased. If Carrie knew Gandalf any better, this is what he would have wanted anyway. They were able to leave by the time it started to get close to dawn. She noticed Bilbo was lingering behind to catch one last look at Rivendell before Thorin ordered Bilbo to keep up with them.
Thoughts about the stranger still circled around her head, leaving her nights to be restless as she barely got any sleep. On one of her restless nights, she managed to catch Bilbo staring out in the opposite direction they came from. It was as if he were torn to leave the entire company and head back to Rivendell. Carrie could not blame Bilbo in the slightest, as she knew the moment they stepped out of Rivendell there have been high tensions between Thorin and Bilbo. Thorin became more hostile toward Bilbo with verbal assaults and unnecessary anger toward Bilbo. No matter what Bilbo did, he would earn spiteful insults from Thorin.
It would become a nonstop cycle over the next few days, as Carrie had no clue why Thorin was targeting Bilbo like this. Things began to take a turn for the worst as they ascended up a rocky mountain, unknowingly becoming innocent bystanders in a rock giant battle. The rain cascaded among the company as Bilbo had to do everything in his power to keep from falling. Every single time Bilbo would begin to fall Carrie would use her powers to save him. This somehow angered Thorin as Bofur remarked how they almost lost their burglar. This earned Bilbo yet another verbal assault how they have lost Bilbo ever since they left home, how he has no place among the members of the company.
At this point, Carrie had enough of being witness to Thorin’s verbal assaults as they approached a cave nearby. She used her telekinesis to slam Thorin against the wall and keep him there. “What did he ever do to you?! Bilbo has done nothing but be a valuable help to reclaim your homeland! You should be grateful he even risked his neck, sacrificed his home, just so he can put up with your stubborn sorry self. I better not hear a peep out of you the rest of the night!” Carrie yelled in his face as she let go of Thorin.
Thorin appeared shell-shocked that Carrie would dare stand up to him like that. But it soon was replaced by a look of genuine hatred, the same type of look he gave Gandalf when he mentioned going to Rivendell and the elves. It was enough for Carrie’s eyes to fill up with tears of sadness and anger as she stormed out of the cave to put space between both of them. She didn’t dare go back inside the cave for a solid ten minutes before she snuck back inside ready to apologize to Thorin for humiliating him in front of the company. Thorin however wanted nothing to do with Carrie as his back was toward her.
Carrie would be lucky if Thorin would so much as look her way by the time they even dared reach the mountain. She was about to lay down and go to sleep when she noticed Bilbo was quietly gathering his stuff to sneak away. Carrie quietly went up to Bilbo with a look of concern on her face. “Bilbo?” she softly said as she hoped he wasn’t about to do what she thinks it is.
Bilbo sighed as he began to shake his head, not letting go of the stuff that he held in his hand. “I can’t stay here Carrie, you heard what Thorin said. I don’t belong with the company, I don’t know what I was thinking to leave Bag End” he said as Carrie started to hold his hand as if pleading him to not leave.
“Bilbo… You belong with me, even if Thorin doesn’t think you’re meant to be with the company. You’re the only true friend that has understood me more than words can say,” Carrie said in a pleading tone as she lightly squeezed Bilbo’s hand. Bilbo sighed as he withdrew his hand a little and gave a small smile.
“I know. But I can’t have you risking your neck and reputation with Thorin for me. I know he’s been very dear to your heart and a good friend to you. You have more of a chance of worth in the company than I do. You’re the red maiden after all,” he said as tears filled Carrie’s eyes which made her hug him close.
“Then I wish you all the best Bilbo Baggins,” Carrie softly said with a sniff, the tears rolling down her face at the prospect of losing one of the only friends that truly understood her. Carrie then noticed Bilbo’s sword glowing blue, and had a confused expression on her face. Her telekinetic senses then went haywire as Thorin and the rest of the company started to notice the ground giving way under them. It didn’t take long before everyone fell into the dark abyss, Carrie screaming as she hit the floor hard.
What happened next was something she would see in a horror movie as tiny goblin-like creatures raced toward everyone. Carrie tried to fight them off with her telekinesis, but there were too many of those creatures to do much without hurting the rest of the company. The crowd of Goblins soon overcame her as she was truly helpless to do anything as they began shoving her down a long pathway. “Let me go!” she cried out as she tried to struggle their clutches, doing everything she could to fight them off.
Before Carrie knew what hit her she was shoved in front of the entire group in front of a large goblin creature. He coughed as he glared at every single member of the company as he demanded to know who dared cross his threshold. “Dwarves your malevolence,” a goblin replied as the larger Goblin then rested his eyes on Carrie, and a smirk was seen on his face as he chuckled.
“Well well well… If it isn’t the infamous Red Maiden. And here this witch turns out to be another pretty face. Bind her! Make sure she doesn’t try anything!” the large Goblin said as the Goblins were already on her and managed to bind her hands before she could so much as use her powers. She struggled as they bound her hands behind her back, and kept a hold on her no matter how much she struggled.
“Wait! Leave her alone!” Thorin’s voice called out. Carrie could see Thorin come out from among the group. Laughter was heard from the larger goblin as he gave a mocking bow. The other goblins begin to laugh among themselves as well while Carrie is helpless to do anything. Carrie was desperately trying to think of a way to save everyone from this sticky mess. She began to use her telekinetic senses to try and loosen the bindings around her wrists. Carrie frantically looked at each of the members of the company, trying to determine the best course of action.
While the larger goblin was too busy mocking Thorin, she focused on loosening the bindings little by little. Carrie was listening to the goblin drone on and on how Thorin will never be king under the mountain, as she saw a messenger being sent to the one called the pale orc. When the larger Goblin started to search everyone for weapons, attempting to bind the others and Thorin, Carrie was able to break free of the bindings. She fought the goblins with the sword they stupidly didn’t think of searching herself for. She dodged the club-like scepter the Goblin was holding but managed to lose her footing near the edge of the underground cliff.
Carrie was close to falling when she felt a hand grab her wrist, and she looked up to see Thorin trying to pull her up. “Hang in there Carrie, I got you!” Thorin yelled in desperation as Carrie tried to use her telekinetic powers to help herself. But seeing as the goblins were now fighting each member of the company, even attempting to bind everyone once more, it was getting more difficult to use her energy as she was starting to slip through Thorin’s grasp. Carrie saw one of the goblins get ready to stab Thorin, she widened her eyes as she had to make the difficult choice. She used what was left of her telekinetic strength to wave her free hand, causing the small sword to stab the Goblin as the creature and Thorin were thrown back.
“No! Carrie!” she heard Thorin yell as she wasn’t able to stop herself from falling at a rapid pace. Carrie tried to use her telekinesis to break the fall, or at least allow herself to land on some point of surface within the rocks below. She managed to hit her head hard on the downward slope of the rocks and was immediately knocked out cold by the time she reached the bottom. The last thought she had before she blacked out was of the company, of Thorin, and of Bilbo hoping to dear God her friends manage to escape even where she had failed.
**If you or someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, has experienced severe depression, or has experienced a PTSD episode call the national suicide prevention lifeline (1-800-273-8255), text CONNECT or HOME to the crisis text line at 741741, or call 911**
