Into The Shadow

By The Last Evenstar

A/N: Thank you so much to my wonderful reviewers! Due to the lengthiness of this Author's Note, I've added responses at the end of the chapter rather than the beginning, so you don't have to schmuck all the was through them before getting to the story.

First of all, I know I promised I would update sooner than this, but I had a major case of writer's block, and I think I lost half my reviewers anyway. So I'm very sorry, and I'll try to be quicker!

Secondly, I know this chapter is a bit short, but I'm trying! And I don't usually do this, but it seemed appropriate, so the lyrics quoted at the end of the chapter belong to Shania Twain.

This chapter is dedicated to Sadie (B-witched83uk) and her boyfriend, Jason. I'm afraid they sort of got into a fight because of something (or a few things) that I said accidentally, and Sadie, I'm dreadfully sorry! May you both remember that love is so strong you should never fight about something a dumb teenager said on the internet, and never let your girlfriend get eaten by a fell beast. Or a gerbil.

Chapter Twelve: Awakening

There had been only darkness, only sorrow, until for a brief moment light had shone again. Now he was back, plunging into the oblivion of night, the depths of his despair greater and more painful than ever before.

"I love you!" she had cried, and then her eyes had gone glassy and blank with fear, or heartbreak, or simply the Shadow that took hold of her and dragged her into the clutches of the enemy.

His feet had run after her with a will of their own, and his body had collapsed against the heavy Gate, pounding until his raw hands were bleeding freely. But there was no pain, no wound, that could ever hurt him so much as her sacrifice.

"Do you think I'll be happy?" he had screamed at the iron doors, mad with blood loss and pure hysteria. "Do you think you saved me? You didn't save me! You gave me over to a life of misery and madness!

"Look at me!" he had wailed, falling on his knees to the blood-ridden dirt. "Do I seem a King to you? No, I am a man mad with sorrow and strife, and ever shall I remain if you sentence me to this cruel fate!"

The Gate had remained cold and unmoving. The black walls were as a prison, an iron cage trapping his lady love until one day he would come forth to save her.

Except there would be no rescue. No young wandered would stray into the lair of the dragon, rescue his maiden fair, then take her hand and claim together the throne of the Lost Realms.

There was no escape.

~~~~~~~

There was no escape.

She was trapped deep in the heart of the Shadow, banished to a cold prison of her own sorrow.

"Do you truly love me?" she had asked him once. "Enough to sail the oceans, climb the mountains, and slay the foulest beast?"

He had looked back at her with all the idealism and false confidence of one who had yet to understand the meaning of his words. "Anything for you, fair Lady. For but one token of your esteem I would raise arms against Melkor himself, I would with no regrets stand in all my confidence against a dreaded Balrog, I would –"

She had pressed a finger to his lips. "Tire me not with tales, Estel, for I ask from you none of these things. Dragons and knights are a picture of romance, but I would have you give naught your life, nay your freedom and health, but only your love. Say but that you love me and my life will be complete."

She remembered the last time she had seen him, the final glimpse of the man she had given her life to, heart and soul. The last words she had heard from him.

Aragorn did not ride alone against all the armies of Mordor to save her. But he loved her, plainly but surely, and for that, she would die content.

~~~~~~~

Elrond Half-Elven sat alone in the gardens of the Last Homely House. Summer turned to fall, and still he sat there, as the leaves of green turned to gold, which faded into brown and fell at last, strewn about among the lawns at the mercy of a current they could not defy.

The colors were vibrant, but Rivendell lost its beauty when the Evenstar walked no longer beneath the trees of the wood. It was not laughter than rang throughout the peaceful glades, but the cruel howl of the whistling wind, destined forever to sing alone.

A layer of dust coated the west corridor, save for the footprints of a lonely father that graced its halls each day. Every memory was left untouched; a fragile tableau preserved in a world of fear and motion.

No candlelight was ever seen in the West gate. Elrond waited every night in the darkness, but no phantom returned to grace the hidden edifice.

No more was there singing or rejoicing to be heard. Rivendell, too, was a casualty of Arwen's sacrifice.

In early winter they brought Estel back, escorted by a number of Lórien Elves. The once-so-vibrant young man had a haggard, haunted look that Elrond felt in his very heart. He spoke not a word to anyone, only retired to his chambers and stayed there, immobile, for many long months.

Elrond found on his desk soon after the man's arrival two carefully wrapped parcels, containing the shards of Narsil in one and the Ring of Barahir in the other. Picking up the Ring and examining it, Elrond saw what he had not before. Two serpents were intertwined still, but no longer did a light shine in the green stone.

All had fallen into Shadow.

~~~~~~~

As Aragorn lay awake, each and every night, he remembered something his mother had told him long ago.

"Then bitter will my days be, and I will walk in the wild alone," he had told her, heavy of heart and mind.

"That will indeed be your fate," she had responded, but in her eyes he had seen a light of uncertainty.

He looked then at his mother with new respect, and remembered how she, after the death of the man she loved, had taken him up and gone forth to Rivendell alone. "How do you find the strength, Naneth? How do live each day without the pain tearing you apart?"

She had looked at him with sadness in her eye, and relayed then a counsel he would never have imagined true. "Estel, my son, it hurts only when I breathe. Each day I imagine stopping, holding my breath until the pain goes away. But I remember that to heal a heart must first be broken." She paused, a tear hovering about her eye. "Thy dreams only die when you are dreaming, my son. The pain remains, but only as you breathe."

And Aragorn, alone now in the cold abyss of the world, began to understand.

"It only hurts when I breathe,

REVIEWER RESPONSES:

ME132 – You ARE insatiable, aren't you? Three new chapters, and all I get is "MORE MORE MORE!", no "Good job Jenny" or heaven forbid a "Nice chapter!". Haha, just kidding! Hopefully you got to all those Orcs in your backyard, but if not, you could just have Maranwe take care of them. Or Aragorn. *runs out to backyards, checking for Aragorn* (Morgul) rats.

b-witched83uk – Oh God Sadie, you're so nice, and I'm so dumb. I hope everything worked out okay. Thank you for the advice! I was about ready to give up. Honestly, the world is TRULY conspiring against me . . .

Ciel-Undomiel - Thank you so much for all your sweet reviews! And watching LotR a million times in row is never a bad thing. Never!

Kekelina - Hey, it's you again! I missed your reviews! Thank you so much for the compliment. Powerful writing . . . wow. Thanks!

eeeeek - No, it wasn't my new method of asking for reviews, it was me getting writers' block! I'm sorry I kept you waiting!

Alasse Vanriel Calmacil - Poor Elladan indeed. Sometimes all the angst I put them through makes me feel a little guilty. Thanks for the review!

mata - Thank you so much! I'm glad that SOMEONE loves it! You have no idea how good that is to hear!

EbonyBeach - I'm glad you were able to catch up on it, and even more glad that you like it! Sorry it took me so long to update!

galadriel evenstar - Oh, no! You're confused? I was afraid that was going to happen . . . if you haven't given up on this story by now, Arwen is a prisoner in Mordor and Aragorn has been rescued. I hope it's not too bad.

The Converted - Yay Melkor! Evil Dark Lord of the Randomness! Haha, Kay would kill you if you called her a girly-girl. Hey, maybe she's reading this . . . And the fell beast did have seatbelts, but the Ringwraith was a blatant violator of traffic laws. It's because he's the traffic officer. I've gotten pulled over numerous times. And I have no idea why he didn't go for Haldir. I would have.

Terreis - You don't know how good your compliments make me feel! I'm glad you could "see" it - that means I've accomplished my goal as a writer! And you have a VERY powerful comedic gift - I can't wait for your next update!

Thanks SO much to Strider's Girl, strawberri-kiwi, Ashley, juliet's rose, Cerridwen-Evereven, and anyone I missed!

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All right, please tell me the truth. Is the story getting boring? I think so. But I've never abandoned a project to date, so I'm counting on your feedback to help me with the rest of this thing.