Disclaimer: Everything apart from the OFC belongs to Tolkien.

A Twist of Fate

The sun had set over Cirith Thoronath and the others were resting, battered and weary, when he came and took me quietly by the hand. We crept back down the pass, pausing only when far enough away not to be overheard.

As he turned to me, the desire in his eyes flickering in the dimness, I suddenly remembered where we were and felt self-conscious, lest he should discern my bedraggled state. I reached up to my hair, letting my fingers be my mirror and reveal what was awry, but he stopped me and took my face in his hands, running his thumb down my nose and smiling at me indulgently. I could not help but smile back at my foolishness, and the oppression of that dreadful place receded just a little into the night.

Tenderly, he pulled me to him, and my arms found their old abode around his neck. Even after all the horror we had suffered, I felt that nothing could harm me when he held me thus.

"Do you still believe?" I whispered against his throat. For a moment, he hesitated, and fear rushed upon me then, for all my hope rested with him.

"I do," he finally replied, breaking our stillness by running his hand down to the small of my back. "The Curse is fulfilled, but we have endured." I felt him gathering up my skirts. His lips meandered across my ear and down my neck. "We will follow Sirion, perhaps all the way to the sea." His fingers skipped across the bare skin of my thigh and I shivered. "And from there it is but a step over the waters to the West." At last, he lifted me up, taking my weight, cradling me away from the hard rock face at my back. "One day, we shall return."

And, as we moved together, as he hushed my cries with his kisses and pressed his forehead to mine in release, I believed it too. But that was yesterday...

Note: This story was written for Robinka at her request. Thank you for being a wonderful friend.