Somehow We Still Carry On
Fight not to fair, not to fall
"Sir? King Théoden awaits you, my Lord." A soldier informed Aragorn.
A strange silence filled the air as Aragorn entered the tent to reveal not Théoden but lord Elrond of Rivendell. He was dressed in a dark cloak with his silver crown being the only recognisable asset.
"My Lord, Elrond'' Aragorn bowed
"I come on behalf of one whom I is dying. She will not long survive the evil that now spreads from Mordor. The light of the Evenstar is failing. As Sauron's power grows, her strength wanes. Arwen's life is now tied to the fate of the Ring. The shadow is upon us, Aragorn. The end has come." Elrond explained irritably.
"It will not be our end but His." Aragorn said firmly.
"You ride to war but not to victory. Sauron's armies march on Minas Tirith as you know, but in secret He sends another force, which will attack, from the river. A fleet of Corsair ships sails from the South. They'll be in the city in two days. You're outnumbered, Aragorn. You need more men''
"I will have more men, I mean to summon the ghosts that dwell in the mountain"
" So I have foreseen, that will not end well for you without this" Elrond revealed a long silver sword with a black hilt.
"Andúril . . . Flame of the West. Forged from the shards of Narsil." Elrond studied the sword and handed it to Aragorn.
"The man who can wield the power of this sword, can summon to him an army more deadly than any that walks this earth. Put aside the ranger. Become who you were born to be. Take the Dimholt road, Ónen i-Estel Edain" (I gave Hope to the Dúnedain.) Elrond stood to exit the tent but was stopped by Aragorn's hand.
"Ú-chebin Estel anim"(I have kept no hope for myself.) he released his grip on Elrond and watched as the Elven lord disappeared into the darkness.
"Why are you doing this? The war lies to the East; you cannot leave on the eve of battle! You cannot abandon the men'' Éowyn pleaded as Aragorn saddled Brego and prepared to travel to the path of the dead.
Éowyn knew nothing of the plan he had devised.
"Éowyn…'' Aragorn pleaded, growing impatient.
'We need you here."
''Why have you come? ''he asked while strapping on his weapons.
"Do you not know?'' Éowyn felt her cheeks blush and turned her face slightly.
"It is but a shadow and a thought that you love. I cannot give you what you seek"
Aragorn said harshly and mounted his horse. Éowyn felt as if she had been stabbed multiple times as she stood motionless on the spot where he had left her.
A dark presence cloaked the white city of Minas Tirith while an army of Uruk-Hai formed outside the city walls. At the entrance a chestnut gelding dragged an unconscious man outside the wooden gates that blocked their entry.
"Open the gates, quick" A soldier of Gondor commanded.
At the highest level of the city Denethor the steward of Gondor paced the rooftop in hysterics as news of his last remaining son falling in battle reached his ears.
"Faramir? Say not that he has fallen." The king pleaded to his soldier as a wounded Faramir was carried and set down on the stone ground.
"My sons are spent. My line has ended" He cried.
A hobbit knelt down next to the body of Faramir and felt for any signs of life.
"He's still alive my lord" Pippin announced while the steward rambled like a mad man.
"My line has ended!'
"My lord, he just needs some medicine" Pippin grew impatient as the steward continued with his hysterics.
"Rohan has deserted us. Théoden has betrayed me. Abandon your posts! Flee! Flee for you lives!''
Just then Gandalf appeared before him and gave him a mighty whack with his staff knocking Denethor out instantaneously.
"Prepare for battle. Pull them in! To the wall! Defend the wall! Return to your posts! Send these foul beasts into the abyss! Gondor fights back''
Gandalf took charge and bounded down the steps toward the lower levels of Minas Tirith.
A whoosh of wind smacked the hunter in the face as the creature with jagged teeth and razor sharp claws circled Blade while she stood with her sword drawn, unfazed by the Nazgûl that sat upon the beast.
"You will die" The familiar husky voice called from upon the fell beast.
"As will you" Blade said strongly preparing herself as the Witch-king dismounted his beast.
Its mace dragged heavily behind leaving deep dints in the solid ground while its sword blazed orange and caught alight.
"I have already killed you, my dark magic courses through your veins and soon it will consume you" The Nazgûl stepped heavily on the once cobblestone path and raised his hand sending a mist of neon green toward Blade.
It hit her almost instantaneously sending her body violently to the stone floor. Her wrist bounced off the hard surface forcing her to released her sword and watched as it slid out of her reach. She quickly rolled to her side and outstretched her hand to grasp her weapon but a weight on her wrist caused her to grunt in agony as the Witch-king stomped his armoured boots heavier on her arm.
"You have no power against me Hunter"
"I am the only one with power against you" Blade hissed as she flicked her other hand and the Nazgûl was pushed back. Grabbing her sword she leaped off the ground and sheathed her weapon.
The eye holes that had been cut out of the Witch-king's spiked helmet glowed a bright green which matched her black as the two sent waves of power clashing together.
"It has already started to consume you, soon you will be what you despise" The Nazgûl retorted in it's muffled voice as the green began to defeat the black.
The fight was draining her fiercely and she would not be able to hold him for much longer. The black was almost unnoticeable and the green wave was pushing her back.
With her last feat of strength Blade let out a war cry and used all her will power to focus on her enemy. Slowly the green began to retreat back and the black gained specks of purple.
"No!" The witch-king shouted with surprise before he was thrown backwards as an explosion of purple and green ripped through the ruined city. Blade flew back in the opposite direction and smacked her head hard on a stone pillar before it collapsed on her body.
The hunter lay motionless under the rubble of stone as blood seeped out of her head wound.
The Rohirrim soldiers gathered together on Duharrow, preparing to ride into the battle. Éomer walked briskly toward Firefoot, placing his helmet by his side. The morning was yet to reveal the warmth of the sun that hung low in the sky. It was early, barely light. He was almost sure his eyes were deceived by the black shadow that appeared beyond the morning fog and stumbled into his eye sight.
"Blade?", He asked with surprise to the figure clutching her arm.
"Where is Aragorn?", She asked impatiently, emerging from the fog as a bloodied mess.
"He took the Dimholt road", Éomer spoke with concern, catching her arm as she briskly walked past him toward the thin opening into the mountain. He was sure he was the last person she had wanted to run into, he could tell by the look on her face.
"Blade, you are injured. Aragorn did not go alone", He comforted, glancing toward the crimson liquid that stained her forehead. She halted next to him begrudgingly, his grip on her arm would not allow her to pass. She wasn't sure she wanted to.
"Osgiliath is overrun, Minas Tirith is under attack", Blade spoke weakly, feeling faint from the cut the ached on her skull. She worried for Aragorn, the dead would not be swayed so easily.
"And we will move out with haste but you will be no use to us dead.", He spoke among the whistling wind, letting go of her arm.
"Not dead", She spoke with a wince of pain, leaning heavily on Firefoot. Éomer wondered how long she would ignore the fact that she was on the verge of passing out.
"Blade", He reasoned with her, holding out his arm for aid, she took it with hesitance. The black clad woman walked slowly with her arm around his shoulder and his hand on her waist. He sat her down slowly on a tree stump.
"It is imperative that you live", Éomer repeated the words she had spoken to him a few days prior. She knew what he was suggesting, he wasn't wrong to do so, healing herself was the only choice in returning to the battle field. The hunter breathed out a few foreign words and winced at the tightening on her wounds. A purple wisp of colour swirled in her eyes for only a moment before they faded back to her emerald orbs. He could tell it hurt her but she barely showed it.
"Did you find the Witch king?", Éomer asked in a hushed voice, crouching in front of her. He wondered how she got so bloodied. He watched her eyes dart around the hilltop, her hands met the sheath for her sword and she sighed.
"Yes", She replied distractedly, holding her palm outward. He wondered if she had hit her head harder than he first assumed. It took only a moment for her black sword to appear in her grasp. He stared at her with a raised eyebrow, her power worried him.
"You mustn't use your ability so openly, the soldiers are scared enough as it is", Éomer spoke in a hushed tone. Blade glanced around the camp, the soldiers were much to busy to care for what she was or wasn't doing.
"Your 'Men' should care only that I am on your side. Do not try to change that", Blade responded sharply, knowing he was the one who resented her power not his soldiers. He opened his mouth to speak but shut it again moments later, meeting her eyes while she stood.
"The Witch King?", Éomer pried, changing the unpleasant conversation, surprising her with his compromise. He didn't take pride in allowing her to have the last word.
"He fears that I will be the one to end him, He knows now that I can", Blade remembered waking up under the rubble of Osgiliath, seeing that the Witch King had fled.
"Blade, what news from Minas Tirith?", The king of Rohan appeared beside his nephew, dressed in his silver and gold armour.
"It is overrun", Éomer answered before she could.
"You do not have enough men to charge into battle against Sauron's army.", The hunter observed softly, glancing over the cliff top to the soldiers that numbered too few.
"You need not worry Blade, we do not ride for victory, we ride for our people", The greying king spoke with little hope in his eyes before being called away.
Blade watched the King walk away to his tent while his Rohirrim soldiers packed and saddled the horses, shouting commands at each other. They were scared, she could hear it in their voices, see it in their eyes. They should not have been subjected to die under the wrath of Sauron's minions. Éomer met her eyes once more, the expression on her face was one he had seen before, but not from her, from Éowyn. She pitied the soldiers.
"Wipe the blood from your face, you look fearful", He spoke, handing her a cloth from his saddle bag that he had dampened with water. She smirked at his attempt at humour, graciously taking the cloth, wiping away the red stain. In the distance she saw something, a sight that would break his heart to see.
"Do not get trapped in the center of the battlefield, stick to the outsides and thin them out from there. Goodluck, Rohan", The hunter spoke softly, handing him back the cloth before disappearing from his sight. He heard something in her voice that he hadn't witnessed before, she was concerned for him.
"You will not meet another woman like Blade in your lifetime", The King appeared next to his Nephew who still watched the spot where the Hunter had been.
"I imagine I wont", The Third Marshal agreed, surprising the older man.
"She isn't 'The Hunter' you seek, the one who left you as you were", The King continued, making eye contact with Éomer who glanced away from the blue eyed man with defeat.
"I Know", He breathed out, throwing away the bloodied cloth she had returned to him.
"Even if she knew who did...", Théoden lost his train of thought and shook his head to rid his mind of such thoughts. The Third Marshal had a feeling he knew more than he had let on.
"You've warmed to her and her to you. Make your moments count", The King concluded, trying to erase the suspicion of his last statement.
"If Sauron's army doesn't cause my end, I will take your advice because surely Blade will", Éomer responded with sarcasm dripping from his words.
"You will either win her wrath or her love. Don't let your pride decide".
"Your brother will not be so forgiving for what you are trying to do", Blade's voice made the shield maiden jump as she strapped on her armour.
"I will not stand by and watch the people I love die", Éowyn reasoned harshly as the hunter approached her.
"I am not your brother", The hunter lightly smacked away Éowyn's hand and buckled the armour correctly for the woman.
"Why are you helping me?", Éowyn asked lightly while Blade tucked the woman's hair under her clothing.
"Because I was you", Blade spoke lightly, handing her a small but sharp dagger.
"Remember what I told you, be quick, be smart and swing your sword with everything you have", The hunter reminded the woman before disappearing.