A/N: Woohoo! Time to begin "The Two Towers!" :D In this section of the story, expect to see more angst than normal. Íverin goes through a lot in the second movie. A LOT. And one other thing: for those of you who are reading faithfully, please leave a review on this chapter telling me what you think is going to happen! I'm curious to know what you guys think! (To make this first scene even more epic, search "The Two Towers Soundtrack 01 Foundations of Stone" on Youtube, and play the first video as you read. It fits the first scene perfectly!)

Disclaimer: Strawberries are red, Frodo's eyes are blue. I own nothing but Íverin...and I'm a horrible rhymer.

Darkness. That is how it began.

I was walking on...nothing, at first. Just blackness. And then, from seemingly nowhere, an old, worn dirt road, straight as an arrow, formed beneath my feet. It was not one that was familiar to me, but somehow my feet felt comfortable walking on it. I knew not where I was walking, or when I would stop. All I knew was to place one foot in front of the other, and keep going.

Suddenly, the path split. One road led off to my right, and the other to my left. On my right, a great forest emerged out of the shadow, the trees standing proud and tall. But I did not feel warmth and happiness radiating from these trees as I normally would have. Instead, I felt...danger. Like there was some kind of evil blanket covering the forest, blocking out the warm sunlight.

On my left, a great grassy plain appeared, with large mountains in the distance. As I looked at the plains longer, I saw that in the mountains, there was a large city, made completely of marble, with seven massive tiers. I felt like I knew that place from somewhere, but I did not know where. The forest I did not recognize at all.

I stopped walking and looked back at the trees, and screamed. They were burning. Out of nowhere, a great fire had descended onto the woods, and the trees burst into flame, the heat spreading fast. I wanted to run into them and help, but then I looked back at the city in the mountains, and screamed again. Black things swarmed the city, and fire also had appeared in certain areas of the city. Tall towers rolled on wheels toward it, pushed by giant trolls. I heard the bloodcurdling screams of women and children-children-as they were slain. My heart cried out, and an insane will to fight these monsters overcame me. Suddenly, I heard screams from the woods as well, and when I turned back, my heart stopped.

What I saw was absolutely horrifying. Elves were running through the trees, also being attacked by the black monsters. But it was not that that scared me. What scared me was that Legolas was in the middle of it all, by himself, trying desperately to fight off a great winged beast, with one of Sauron's Ringwraiths on top. He was badly cut and bruised, and did not look like he could hold out much longer.

But the people in the city were also dying, and thought I did not know them, I still felt the same agonizing will to help them as I did for Legolas.

I screamed again, now crying. My heart was torn in two. I knew I only had enough time to save one. Sinking to my knees, I shouted, "Why must I choose? Why do you make me choose?"

And then, everything disappeared in a puff of smoke, as if blown away by some unseen wind. I cried anyway. I heard a menacing, evil voice echoing in my head. "You cannot save them, Íverin. You know that. They will both die. All that you love will perish. Face the truth." The voice cackled, and then faded from my mind. I was left to sit on nothing, the utter blackness consuming me. "STOP!" I screamed. "STOP IT! LET ME SAVE THEM! SAVE THEM BOTH!"

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"Íverin!"

I shot up from my blankets, which did little to comfort me against the cold air and hard rock beneath me. It had all been a dream, but...it had felt so real. I looked up to see Aragorn standing over me. "We must go. It is already dawn, and the Uruk-Hai got a head start." He walked away.

I sighed and rose from my spot on the ground where I had slept that night. The sun was peeking over the grassy horizon, littered with rocks. As I rolled my blankets up and put them away, I dropped my pack, sending a few of my things spilling out onto the ground. I reached for them, but not before another slender hand reached out to help me. Looking up, I saw Legolas grab some of the lembas that had come out and place it back in my bag after setting it upright.

"Thank you," I said.

"Not a problem." After we finished picking up, he asked me, "Did you sleep well?"

I shook my head. "I do not think that is possible now. I'm so worried about Merry and Pippin."

He smiled a reassuring smile. "So am I. But the Uruk-Hai have not even come close to reaching their destination, I think. So for now, at least, they should be safe to some degree."

I was about to say something back, when Aragorn called us from up ahead. "Their pace has quickened! They must have caught our scent. Hurry!" Legolas and I took off running after the Ranger.

"Come, Gimli!" Legolas called over his shoulder. "We are gaining on them!"

I glanced behind us to see Gimli, panting, come plodding up the hill we had just left. I chuckled, feeling sorry for him, but I was almost in the same condition. We had been running for three days without much rest. My legs and feet ached from all the traveling, and my boots were wearing thin. I hoped that we would find the poor hobbits soon.

As we ran, I gazed at Legolas, seeing him beaten as he had been in my nightmare. Why had he been there? Was he representing the Elves as a race?

A while later, I almost crashed into Aragorn, who had stopped. He bent over and pulled up something from the earth. I peered over his shoulder to see an elven brooch from their cloaks in his hand.

"Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall," he said.

Legolas also stopped. "They may yet be alive!"

"They're less than a day ahead of us." With that, he took off again.

For half a day we ran, only pausing when we needed to. The entire time, I was silent, lost in thought, as I often was of late. Gimli's words about Legolas constantly rang in my ears, as if he had just spoken them. Many times I found myself glancing over at him, and a few times I could've sworn I caught him looking my way as well.

Later in the afternoon, we came to the peak of a large hill with some boulders nearby. Aragorn suddenly stopped, and the rest of us stopped with him. The landscape did not seem much different than before to me, but Aragorn seemed pleased about something. "Where are we?" I asked.

"Rohan," he replied, "the land of the horse-lords." He then frowned. "Evil has come to these lands. They are in the midst of a dark era."

Legolas jumped up on top of a rock, and I stepped up beside him.

"Íverin! Legolas! What do your elf-eyes see?" I watched as a black blur moved steadily across the land.

"The Uruk-Hai have turned northeast!" I shouted.

Legolas looked at me with worry, then said to Aragorn, "They are taking the hobbits to Isengard!"

My face fell. "Saruman," I breathed. Jumping down from the rock, I started running again. "Come on! We cannot let them reach Orthanc!" The others followed me, and soon Aragorn was back in front, leading us across the plains.

Onward we pressed, traveling through Rohan with great speed, my eyes ever tracking the black blur of the Uruk-Hai. At last we stopped, staying in a makeshift cave made by three small boulders for the night.

As I laid my blankets down, Legolas came up beside me and made his bed as well. My stomach growled loudly, and he looked up at me, stifling a laugh. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes," I admitted sheepishly, "very." I dug through my pack, hoping to find a strip of meat, but saw nothing save for lembas bread and a handful of dried berries. I frowned.

"Something wrong?" Legolas asked.

I looked up. "Oh, I've just run out of meat, is all."

He quickly reached for his own supplies and handed me a chunk of beef. "Here. You may have the rest of mine."

"Oh Legolas, no! If this is all you have left-"

"Please, I insist." He looked me right in the eyes. "I do not want you to starve."

I stared back at him for a moment before finally giving in. "All right." I quietly chewed my supper, finished it off with a drink of water from my flask, and laid down to sleep. I looked over at Legolas one last time before I dozed off. Was that a sign?

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The next morning, I awoke to Legolas gently shaking my shoulder. He smiled. "Good morning, Íverin."

I yawned. "Hello, Legolas." Rising, I grabbed my flask and took a drink. "Are we to leave yet?"

"Not right now," he said, "but I wanted you to see this." He grabbed my hand and pulled me out from our small shelter. As soon as I stepped out, I stopped and stared at the beautiful blood-red sunrise before me.

"Wow...that is quite a sight." I smiled.

He smiled back. "I thought you would like it. It is too bad that it is a sign of war."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in my country, when a red sun rises, it is a sign that blood has been spilt the past night."

I tensed. "Merry and Pippin...do you think?..."

"I do not know," he said. "It is likely that this is because of others not a part of our quest. But the sunrise is beautiful either way."

"That is true indeed." I turned my head to see Aragorn standing in the cave's entryway. It was not until then that I realized we were still holding hands. I pulled away and stepped towards my cousin. "I am sorry, Aragorn. Did we wake you?"

He nodded. "But do not worry. It is a good thing that you did, for we must move on again. We are close to the Uruks now; we must not let them escape."

I smiled and slipped back inside the cave, gathering up my things and praying that I had not been blushing when Aragorn caught us outside.

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For the whole morning we ran, traveling far and wide across the plains. Suddenly, at the peak of a hill, I stopped and grabbed Aragorn's arm. "Do you hear that?"

He nodded and motioned for the four of us to hide amongst a mass of rocks. A great rumbling could be heard, like a large company moving across the land. As we waited, a mass of horsemen stormed past us, all of the men wielding spears. Great metal armor they wore, complete with helmets bearing long strands of pale hair flowing freely in the breeze. A few carried shields, and all of them had bows and full quivers. Eventually they passed out hiding spot.

Only then did Aragorn run out, and the rest of us followed. "Riders of Rohan!" he cried, "What news from the north?"

The head of the riders jerked his spear to the left, and they circled around, coming towards us at full speed. My hand instinctively went to my bow, but Aragorn stopped me. "Wait!" he hissed. "They are friends."

But they did not appear it. Within moments they had us surrounded, and pointed their spears at us threateningly. Aragorn put up his hands as a sign of peace, but I stood firm between him and Legolas. I would not trust them until I had solid proof that they were on our side.

One of them, who I presumed to be the leader, rode forward to us. His eyes were cold and unforgiving. "What business does two Elves, a Man, and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark? Speak quickly!"

"Why must you know?" I replied just as harshly. I would not respect him unless he respected me. "Our business is our own."

He glared at me. "Is it so wrong to be cautious of strangers?"

"No," I said, "but it would be an easier task if you changed the tone of your voice."

The man's dark eyes burned into me, but I did not flinch. "Pray tell, what are your names?"

Now Gimli stepped in. "Give me your name, horse master, and I shall give ya mine."

The leader had had enough. He dismounted his horse and walked up to Gimli, seething. "I would cut off your head, dwarf," he sneered, "if it stood but a little higher from the ground."

Before I could blink, Legolas whipped out his bow and aimed an arrow at the man's throat. "You would die before your stroke fell!" The rest of the riders tensed, pushing their spears in more.

Aragorn reached out and pushed the elf's arm down. "Forgive my companions, Éomer son of Éomund. I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, this is Gimli son of Glóin, Legolas of the Woodland Realm, and Íverin of Rivendell." He gestured to each of us in turn, and I met Éomer's irritated gaze with a glare of my own. "We are friends of Rohan, and of Théoden, your king."

Éomer sighed. "Théoden no longer recognizes friend from foe. Not even his own kin," he said, removing his helmet. At last I was able to see his face clearly. He had wavy, dirty blonde hair that fell to his shoulders, dark brown eyes, and he was also tall, as tall as Aragorn.

I frowned. "I have heard many a good thing about your king. What has overcome him?"

"It is all because of Saruman," Éomer said. "He has poisoned the mind of the king and claimed lordship over these lands. My company and I are those loyal to Rohan, and for that, we are banished."

"Have you not tried to defeat Saruman, then? Save your country?"

Éomer laughed bitterly. "That is easier said than done, Íverin. Especially with less than three hundred men on your side." He looked at all of us. "The White Wizard is cunning. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man hooded and cloaked." His gaze lingered on Aragorn the longest. "And everywhere his spies slip past our nets."

"We are no spies," Aragorn said. "We track a party of Uruk-Hai, westward across the plain. They have taken two of our friends captive."

"The Uruks are destroyed; we slaughtered them during the night."

"B-but there were two hobbits!" Gimli stuttered. "Did ya see two hobbits with 'em?"

"They would be small, only children to your eyes," Aragorn added. I looked around at all the horsemen, but I saw no sign of them. My pulse quickened.

Éomer's expression looked grave. "We left none alive. We piled the carcasses and burned them." He pointed away to the north.

"D...dead?" Gimli choked out.

"I am sorry," Éomer said quietly.

Anger rose in my chest. "You can't be serious. How could you be so careless?" I cried.

"Again, I apologize. They escaped our sight somehow."He let out a shrill whistle. "Hasufel! Arod!" Two horses came forth, one a beautiful tan, the other a bright white. Éomer handed the reins to Aragorn. "May these horses bear you to better fortune than their former masters. Farewell." He jumped back on his horse and replaced his helmet. "Look for your friends, but do not trust to hope. It has forsaken these lands. We ride north!" he shouted, and the horsemen rode swiftly away, leaving the four of us alone once more.