If I owned I would be a very happy little furrball :3
The road was long as they rode towards the Black Gate. The hearts of men heavy and hopeless, no light at the end of the road they were treading on, and the constant watching from the Nazgúl were heavy in their minds. They left the greens of North Ithilien, now less than six thousands strong after many left to fend off the enemies in Cair Andros, and advanced through the empty and dead road leading to the Black Gate. Little talk were made at all, even counsel from Gandalf of their road were brief, and if any it were whispers of the night to the ears of Man. Legoals, Elladan and Elrohir spoke only together of what they saw and heard around them, for as Elves they saw more and further than anyone and their ears picked up even the sightliest of movement around them. Aragorn took counsel in whispers of what they saw and heard when they stopped at night, the heart of Man is strong but easily wavered in doubt, he said. Upon the eve of the fourth day from their parting of the Cross-roads something strange happened. The leading company, consisting of Aragorn and Gandalf and the remaining of the Fellowship of the Ring, excluding the still injured Meriadoc who were at the time healing in the House of Healing in Minas Thirith, were debating on where to halt before the night overtook them. Shadowfax suddenly stood rigid and still as stone with his ears erect as if he were listening for something only he could hear. Then the Elves of the company suddenly did the same and soon the companies halted and waited for their reactions. Gandalf could feel his trusted companion clutch his muscles seconds before Shadowfax neighed loud and clear into the brewing night. The sound bounced off the stones in the area and grew in strength until it was almost unbearable to the ears, then it died down and everything became eerie quiet again. The silence stretched on, seconds turned to minutes, and then there were an answer; a nigh as loud as Shadowfax's, but further away. The lord of the Mearas shook his head with a snort before he scraped with his hoof in the dusty ground impatiently. Aragorn turned to his Elven companions wondering.
"It is faint but the sound of hoofs on dry ground is unmistakable," answered Elrohir, son of Elrond.
"How many?" asked Gandalf urgently.
"Only one," murmured Legolas as if in deep thought.
"One? Either they're making fools out of us or they are the fools," grumbled Gimli from behind Legolas.
"Nay, my friend, no fool is the Dark Lord and he strives not to prove us so. Nay, this seem to be none of the foul beasts of Mordor," said Legolas with a shake of his head.
"I agree, too light are the hoofs of this horse to be one of Mordor's, too swift they are closing in," said Elrohir as he listened once again with his eyes closed.
"And the reaction of Shadowfax does say otherwise, he would not welcome one from the Dark Lands," agreed Gandalf and stroke the mane of Shadowfax.
"It is drawing near," called Elladan, twin of Elrohir and son of Elrond of Rivendell, and they fell quiet as they waited.
Shadowfax continued to grow impatient as they waited but stayed put nevertheless. Soon even the weak ears of Man could hear the neighing of another horse in the distance and they grew restless as they prepared for an assault. Aragorn raised a hand to calm them and yet again the companies fell quiet in a pressing silence that threatened to crush those of weaker minds. With a final loud neigh a magnificent night-black horse appeared on top of a stony hill in front of them, a single rider upon its back. The rider bore a cloak that flowed with the faint breeze and a hood so deep it concealed the face. They were hard to spot in the waining light and it took Pippin an extra second to spot them.
"Elladan," said Elrohir under his breath carefully.
"I know," came the answer from his brother with a curt nod and the unknown rider descended the hill towards them. "Aragorn, this is not an enemy."
"I do not doubt you, however I wonder how you can be so sure," said Aragorn as he turned to his right to look at his old foster brother.
"I believe father told you months ago of his attempt to contact old friends," Elladan waited until both Aragorn and Gandalf nodded, "this is the fastest rider among them."
"Then, by all means, go meet him," cried Gandalf and the glance Elladan and Elrohir exchanged went unnoticed as they rode forward.
It took merely a few minutes for the Elven twins to reach the rider, exchange greetings and return to the leading company with the rider between them. Only once they came closer did they notice that they were speaking in the Elven tongue.
"Lord Aragorn, heir of Isildur, and the leader of this assault against the Dark Lord," introduced Elladan and Aragorn bowed his head in respect before Elladan continued. "This is one of the leaders of our kin in the eastern lands, fastest rider of us all, Lady Calyn."
The rider, thought to be male, tossed back the deep hood and with a bowed head she gave a greeting in the Elven fashion. The she-elf raised her head and a soft smile graced her lips as she studied the shocked faces of the males before her. She did not have as dark hair as the twins, she had a much lighter shade of dusk, but her eyes were as gray as theirs. Her hair was tightly braided and thrown over her right shoulder to keep it out of the way, her pointed ears completely visible behind the few strands of hair framing her flawless face. She, as every elf, seemed ageless and fair beyond any Man and the few soldiers of Gondor, so unused to the sight of Elves found it impossible not to be entranced.
"We received Lord Elrond's letter not long ago, yet we have taken his words to heart and gone to aid you in your battle against the darkness in these lands," she said, her voice hoarse from the dry air around them and lack of necessary liquid.
"Forgive our rudeness, milady, but we did not expect anyone out here, even less for our aid," said Aragorn.
"It is understandable, but here I am, I was sent to give you the word of our coming, they are still a day's march away from the Black Gate and I take it that the Black Gate is your aim as you are out here."
"Indeed it is, the battle of Minas Tirith is already over," said Gandalf.
"That is unfortunate, my father wished to reach here in time to aid you in that specific battle, but as it is we might as well do more good in this coming one," she said with a sigh.
"Forgive my straightforwardness, milady, but how many do you bring?" asked Gandalf.
"Three thousand is marching hither as we speak," she answered and a small hope grew in their minds, three thousand more were two more than they had originally planned and an even better decoy to catch Sauron's attention.
"We are not to stop yet, Calyn, you look drained - will you last any longer?" asked Elladan as Aragorn excused himself to speak with Gandalf and the other captains.
"I have ridden for four days straight, to keep ahead of the others, and I am afraid that neither I nor Nightwing will last much longer," she answered with a sigh and patted said horse.
"Nightwing will do fine for a little longer, he is stronger than you give him credit for," said Elrohir as he studied the horse's eyes.
"You, on the other hand, will not," said Elladan and handed her a water bottle before he, quick as a snake, placed his arm around her waist and pulled her over to his own horse.
"Elladan!" she exclaimed in surprise and the twins grinned briefly at each other.
"Just drink and rest for now," said Elladan and pulled the hood over her head again and she nodded with a sigh.
The horse, Nightwing, snorted with relief before he trotted over to where Shadowfax were and stroke their mules together in a friendly way. Some seemed surprised by the action but neither of the Elves or Gandalf hardly raised a brow at them.
"What are their relation, if I may ask?" spoke Legolas for the first time and gave a greeting in the Elven fashion, which she returned before she answered.
"Nightwing originates from Rohan, he is one of the many brothers of Shadowfax actually," she answered and glanced fondly at the black horse.
The Elves spoke for a while of their own matters, leaving Gimli confused as he not spoke Elvish other than a few words, before Aragorn signalled for the companies to continue. From time to time someone would dare a glance at the she-elf now resting in Elladan's arms and in the beginning they would see a pair of bright gray eyes looking back; while later a peaceful expression of a sleeping elf would greet them.
The sun had not yet risen the next day as the companies were called to march again but nonetheless they obliged and were on the move in less than an hour. At the front the leading company were not only focused on what to come but also on the lone horse faithfully walking beside Gandalf and the still sleeping elf in Elladan's arms. They had failed in their tries to awake her in the morning and so they had no choice but to let her ride with Elladan again. Nightwing seemed untroubled by the fact that his mistress would not wake and, if it was not for the fact that she was very much alive, they would have been worried she would never wake again.
"She will wake when she is recovered," assured the Elven twins when they were asked and they took the twins words for it.
However, when she did not wake as the sun closed in on its highest peak even the twins began to shift uncomfortably. On more than one occasion Elladan had tried to rouse her but had only received a sigh in return and he soon gave up. It was a few hours later that the Black Gate became visible to the Elves of the company and, as if called by the mere presence of the gate, Calyn awoke with a twitch.
"Elladan," she breathed as she blinked the images of her dreams from her mind and looked up into said elf's face.
"We are nearing the Black Gate, we have tried to wake you a long time," said Elrohir from beside them when his brother did not answer.
"Elrohir, how long have I slept?" she asked quickly.
"Almost eleven hours," he answered.
"Then I must hurry," she murmured and straightened up, to this Elladan tightened his arm around her waist to keep her from sliding off the horse. She called for Nightwing and a second later he was beside her and with the grace only achieved by an elf she slid over onto the black horse's back.
"Ride carefully but swiftly," whispered Elladan against the hand he still held prisoned and gave it a lingering kiss before he slowly let it go. With a curt nod she turned away and Nightwing sprung away from the companies with a speed only matched by Shadowfax.
"Brother of the King, indeed," murmured Gandalf and Shadowfax neighed once before Nightwing and his rider were gone as fast as they had come.
The companies from Minas Tirith marched the final hours to the Black Gate in silence - there were nothing to say. The sun was scorching hot in the deserted land but as they came close to the gate that changed. Above them grew a black cloud that let little light shine through and the darkness underneath gave the armies of Mordor a chance to walk to battle without problem. They were not far from the gate when a dull sound of marching feet could be heard. Not long after the promised army of the Eastern Elves came over the hills and joined their own. Their mail was bright, as well as their blades, and barely a sound were made as their orderly lines merged with those coming from Minas Tirith. Three riders stood out at the front, Calyn to the left, to the right sat a blond elf proudly on a white horse, and in the middle sat a tall elf with dark hair and and gray eyes and golden mail.
"Elessar, meet my father, Thoyn, king of the Eastern Elves," said Calyn as they exchanged greetings, "and Zaanis, the second-in-command and heir of the crown."
"We met when you were just a child, Elessar, but I remember you well," said her father with a laugh that died quickly.
"I am afraid I do not as I was too young," said Aragorn before he introduced everyone else.
It took another two hours to reach the Black Gate and even if the battle was drawing near more conversation than the previous journey was made. The men took great honour in the fact that not only the heir of Isildur were now going to war with them but also the Elves, a king among them nonetheless. But those part of the leading company were more busy with the new addition to the army.
"It is unusual for a future king and queen to go to war together, is it not?" asked Legolas during the travel of the last stage of the long journey.
"Oh no, we are not... not in such a way," said Calyn with an awkward cough.
"But if your father is the king, then surely you are the original heir of the crown?" asked Gimli a tad baffled.
"Originally, yes... it is complicated as of how everything turned out, but I am not to be the future queen and leader of the Eastern Elves," she answered with a soft smile before she glanced away.
"Stop your questions, Prince Legolas, they are not of the gentle kind - come here and I will answer them," said Thoyn and waved him over and nodded to his daughter once she gave him a grateful look. "Zaanis was to be her husband, it had been decided so at birth, but as she grew older it did not evolve in the way we had hoped. They did not go well together when young and when she travelled west she learned things she could not have in our lands."
"I beg your pardon, lord, but may I ask what kinds of things?" asked Gimli with a bow of his head.
"Things such as feelings of the heart," he chuckled deeply.
"You mean love?" asked Legolas slowly.
"If you watch closely you will see what I mean. As for Zaanis, when the engagement were broken they began to tolerate each other, and today they complement each other in terms of fighting. I might even go as far as say that they are friends, but that is all hush-hush," he said and winked at them before he turned a head and continued his conversation with Aragorn.
"I am beginning to wonder if all kings of Elves are playful," mumbled Legolas under his breath as his own father came in thought, but opted to ignore that thought and study Calyn instead.
It did not take long for Legolas to see what the Elven king had meant, if one knew what to look for it was glaringly obvious, and as he caught the eye of Elrohir he was given a knowing smirk. All the brief joyful thoughts and conversations died out as they drew near the Black Gate, in a silence not known to be made by Men they lined up in front of the gate, and there all was dead. Knowing that they all might die in the battle to come became obvious if one cared to look in the eyes of those standing in front of the door to the enemy's land. Line after line they stood like statues, watching the humongous gate in front of them, and feeling the darkness pressing down on them. Here the last stand of Middle-Earth was to take place, here lives would end, here bonds were to be broken, and here everything began.
Calyn - "Faith Bringer"
Thoyn - "Truth Bringer"
Zaanis - "Royal Dawn"
Calyn's mom's name is Shaonna if anyone cares, which means "Sun Keeper" according the page I used to come up with Elven names ;)