Recap: Edmund and Sam are lost in Fangorn. Peter and Frodo are about to get overtaken by Orcs and Gandalf is retrieving the Ents. Legolas and Gimli are going to gather their people and Susan and Arwen are still stuck in prison. Merry and Pippin have just escaped and are running to tell Aragorn about their enemy. Aragorn is inspecting his armory and such. Lucy just found out that Eowyn has seen her brothers. Rabadash is trying to find out more about Lord Adrinnd.

There is no Lucy in this chapter because she was giving me blasted writer's block. I decided it was best to post this chapter and catch up with her later so I wouldn't keep you waiting.

Wow! Two months between updates is a record! Lol. Thanks for the reviews!

Revealed Enemy

"The Great Narnian Woodsmen," Sam quoted, spitting the words out as he spat. "The woodsmen that got us lost."

Edmund sat on a rotting log, thinking hard. "Be quiet. I'm trying to think." He demanded.

"Obviously," Sam sat down, discouraged and a bit frightened.

Listening intently, Edmund couldn't hear anything but the trees rustling in the wind. Everything had seemed to go wrong since he had gotten to Middle Earth. He couldn't fight the hopelessness that crept into his mind.

"Did you hear that?" Sam questioned, cocking his head.

"What?" Edmund snapped out of his thoughts.

"It sounded like a horse." He replied.

The powerful sound of a steed thundered towards them out of the dark wood. Two men in dark cloaks rode into view. They rode on giant horses that were pale colored.

"What do we have here?" The taller man of the two dismounted, studying Sam and Edmund. His light brown hair was cropped short and he had a strong face.

"It appears to be a few travelers." The second one stated, his dark eyes searching for any hint of enmity. "Who are you? And where are you trying to get to?"

"We are from a distant land." Edmund guarded his information to the best of his abilities. "Who, gentlemen, are you? What do you seek?"

"I am Jaris." The taller one stepped forward. "This is Gerald." He motioned to his friend. "We are traveling east to the realm of Gondor."

"Gondor?" Edmund's eyebrows shot up. "What is your business there?"

"With all due respect, sir, that is none of your business." Jaris said with a slight edge in his tone. "What are you doing in Fangorn?"

"We're lost." Sam spoke up. Edmund shot him a warning look.

"Are you?" Gerald's interest was peaked.

"Do you know the way out?" Edmund inquired carefully.

Jaris laughed. "Would you like to join us?"

Sam jumped at the chance. "Yes, anything to get out of this horrid forest."

"Sam." Edmund said cautiously.

"Come on Edmund, what harm could come to us?" Sam challenged.

"Lots," Edmund muttered under his breath.

"Well, hop aboard." Jaris invited.

Sam jumped on behind Gerald and after a moment of hesitation, Edmund vaulted behind Jaris. He was suspicious of his new friends, but didn't want to stay in Fangorn alone. He pushed the dark thoughts to the back of his mind and soon forgot about them.

They rode hard the rest of the day and camped on the open plains of Rohan that night. Edmund saw smoke rising in the distance and wondered if there was a fire or another camp close by. Jaris and Gerald were jolly fellows, but Edmund had a feeling they were masking something.

The men fried food over the campfire and dished some up for Sam and Edmund. The Narnian king refused politely, saying he wasn't hungry. On the other hand, Sam ate hardily.

Over the next couple of days, Edmund ate nothing and only drank what he needed. They rode extremely hard as they neared Gondor's border. He wasn't sure where they were going, but he was interested to find out, if a bit wary.

That night Sam snored softly next to Edmund as he stared out into the empty plains that were lit by a faint starry sky. His conscience wouldn't let him rest. For some strange reason his warning meter had spiked.

"Are they asleep?" Gerald's voice whispered from the other side of the snapping fire.

"I'm sure of it." He spoke in a low tone. "I tainted the food and drink with sleeping powder, remember?"

"Edmund only drank a bit. Are you sure he is asleep?" Gerald said nervously.

Jaris chuckled. "Even if he is awake, he won't be able to resist us." He growled.

The hair on Edmund's neck stood on end. A tingle of fear ran down his spine, causing his adrenaline to start coursing through his body. Slowly, he moved his hand in front of him and rested it on the cool hilt of his sword.

"Won't Lord Adrinnd be pleased when he finds out that we've captured one of Narnia's kings!" Gerald exclaimed, sounding pleased.

How did he know I was the king of Narnia? Edmund thought, trying to keep his breathing steady.

"Shut up, fool!" Jaris growled again. "We must first make our plans."

"We already have." Gerald whined. "Dispose of the miserable hobbit and take the king to Adrinnd."

"No," Jaris bellowed fiercely. "We are not taking him to Adrinnd. We are going to force him to reveal all of the plans they have made and then we are going to have him take us to Aragorn himself."

"Oh, I see." Gerald's voice seemed to grow deeper.

Where have I heard a voice like that? Edmund probed his memory for the answer and came up empty.

"Change and dispatch of the hobbit," Jaris commanded.

A shadow passed over Edmund's still form. He lifted his eyelids and couldn't believe what he saw.

"Sam!" He rolled over, tripping his enemy. "Sam!" He shook him by the shoulders. "Get up!" Sam didn't stir. Edmund turned to Jaris. "So that's what you are; werewolves and traitors of Narnia."

Gerald, who had turned into his wolf form, pounced upon the king, extending his claws. Howling, he clawed the back of Edmund's shoulder.

Yelping, Edmund delivered a blow that cut Gerald in two. Quickly sheathing his sword, he put Sam on his back and sprinted towards the horses that rested a few paces away. Bridling the first steed, he placed Sam on the horse's back and jumped on.

Jaris screeched and perused on the other horse. Edmund had no idea how to get to Minas Tirith, but he knew he had to get away from the beast. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Jaris ten strides behind him.

Pushing the stallion to his limits, Edmund held Sam's body close to his own so he wouldn't fall off. "Show me Aslan, show me where to go." He prayed breathlessly. He felt his horse's gait change.

Pounding over the rocky ground, the Narnian king rode for miles. He was an excellent rider, but even after a few hours, his knees and legs started to weaken. Sam slept, still intoxicated by the sleeping powder.

They had crossed over into Gondor long ago. Edmund searched the skies to get his sense of direction, but the stars were unfamiliar and he failed to guide himself. Something on the ground to his left caught his gaze.

A faint sliver line illuminated the grass. It stretched out before him and disappeared into a forest. Immediately, he changed course, hoping this sign was from Aslan. He turned sharply, following the path. Looking up, he wondered if the path was some kind of illusion from the moon. The nighttime lantern didn't hang in the sky.

Weaving in and out of the trees, Edmund hoped it would shake off his enemy. Unfortunately, his foe pursued, gaining a couple of strides on them. Edmund could feel his own exhaustion begin to come over him as well as the horse's muscles straining to hold out in the gallop.

"Aslan," he whispered, "Preserve us. Help us. Give us the strength to hold out."

His horse slowed his speed, lathered in sweat. No matter how hard Edmund urged him, the steed changed his gait into a canter. Pulling out his sword, he prepared for a fight as they crested a hill. The horse halted suddenly, too tired to go on.

Edmund saw a great city looming black not more than a mile away. His hopes soared. With his enemy almost on top of him, Edmund hit the horse on the flank with the flat of his blade.

The weary steed jumped into action with the last ounce of strength he had. They flew down the hill, gaining speed as they reached the plains. Jaris had almost overtaken them.

"Open the gates!" Edmund screamed hoarsely, not knowing whether this city would be friend or foe. He kept bellowing until he was upon the gates.

When he was five strides away from the massive gate, it creaked open. Jaris had leapt off his horse and chased them in his werewolf form. He was snapping at the terrified horse's heels as he ran through the gates.

Jaris pounced on Edmund as they reached the entry. Edmund fell with the werewolf's claws in his shoulders. Sam fell off the horse and awoke and the steed collapsed and died from utter exhaustion.

Edmund struggled with Jaris and delivered a hard blow to the beast's face. He felt the werewolf go limp. Jaris fell away from the Narnian king, dead, an arrow protruding from his chest.

Turning, Edmund saw a tall figure standing behind him. He sheathed his sword. "Thanks."

"Come with me." The knight gripped his upper arm tightly. Another knight sprang forward with a coil of rope. He bound Edmund's wrists and they led him towards the citadel.

"Edmund!" Sam cried, springing to his feet.

Legolas and Gimli were nearing Fangorn when they saw the Orcs. The Gondor sentries that had accompanied them pulled their horses to a halt.

"What do you make of that, Legolas?" One of them asked.

"It appears to be more work of this unknown enemy." He replied.

"It looks like a contest to me." Gimli commented.

Legolas swept his bow off his back. "We must go and help whoever is in trouble." He spurred Arod to a swift gallop.

Firing several arrows, Legolas pulled his horse to a stop. Gimli stumbled off, drawing on of his throwing axes. "Let the contest begin!" He cheered.

Peter clenched his eyes shut, awaiting the death blow. It never came. He heard his opponent grunt and heard a soft thud. Peter's eyes shot open and he saw his enemy lying next to him, two arrows protruding from his back.

"Stay back Frodo!" He called, losing his sword from the tree.

He ran at and fell the first orc. Frodo dismounted and drew his short sword. Soon, he was beside Peter, fighting for his life.

"Frodo, what are you doing? I told you to stay back!" Peter dismantled another opponent's head.

"You can't do this alone." Frodo engaged another orc.

Peter turned his attention to the battle at hand. Through the mass of orcs, he saw four figures slaying the beasts. The orcs numbers were large, but lacked skill. Within a few minutes, most of them lay dead. Finally, the skirmish dwindled and eventually subsided.

The four figures approached Peter and Frodo. Peter could see that three were men and another was a dwarf, or so he guessed. He pushed Frodo behind him, setting an apprehensive look on his face.

"Gentlemen," he called as they approached. "What is your business?"

"Who are you, lad?" The dwarf spoke.

"I am Peter." He answered. "Who are you and what is your business?" He said tensely.

Frodo peeked out from behind Peter. "Legolas! Gimli!" He exclaimed, running towards his friends.

"Frodo," Peter followed. "You know these people?"

"Yes, they are very good friends of mine." He smiled. "Peter, meet Legolas and Gimli. Legolas and Gimli, meet Peter, friend of Middle Earth, and High King of Narnia."

"Narnia?" Legolas took Peter's hand that he had offered.

"Yes," he searched the Elf's face. "You have heard that name before."

"Yes, from a young lady that I met." Legolas said.

"Who was the young lady?" Peter inquired.

"She was Queen Susan." Legolas replied softly.

Peter's eyes grew wide. "You've seen Susan? Where? When?"

"Not a week ago, I met her before she and Queen Arwen were kidnapped." He put his blades back in place. "She stayed in Gondor for a time."

"Would you take me there?" He asked quietly.

Legolas looked at Gimli. "What should we do?"

"Let's take them to Aragorn. The guards can gather our people." Gimli suggested. "Do you have horses?"

"Yes," Peter spotted his steed a few yards away. "They are over there."

Within a few moments, the guards had split and the four turned towards Minas Tirith. They rode until sunset and pitched camp.

Aragorn sat at the dinner table, alone. He was weary from the day's bustle, but he had seemed to lose his appetite. His fingers lingered over the lip of his flagon as he pondered his predicament.

Staring into the flames of a candle that sat before him, he thought about his beloved that he had married not a year ago. "Why do we have to have more problems?" He asked himself quietly, speaking to the empty room.

A loud bang shattered the peaceful silence that had enveloped Gondor's king. A sentry ran into the room, carrying something in his hand.

"Milord, I apologize for the interruption, but a new development has occurred." He gasped, marching towards Aragorn.

"What has gone amiss?" The king asked, standing.

"Someone shot one of the guards, killing him."

"Is there an uprising?" Aragorn pressed.

"That's the strange thing. No one knows where the arrow came from." The guard said. "The arrow bore a message." He lifted the shaft into the light. The tip of it glistened crimson in the soft candle glow.

"Another one of Susan's arrows," Aragorn muttered to himself.

"Pardon, milord?" The guard looked confused.

"What was the message?" Aragorn inquired.

"Here, read it." The guard produced a small piece of parchment.

"Hand over the kingdom of Gondor and the land of Narnia, or we will crush your armies and kill your queens." Aragorn whispered. "So now they want to control Narnia."

"Sir, what should we do?"

Aragorn was about to reply, when the door slammed. Merry and Pippin ran in breathless. They ran to the king with terrified expressions.

"Merry! Pippin!" Aragorn exclaimed. "Where have you been the last couple of days?"

"In a dungeon," Pippin shuttered, trying to shut out the horrible memory.

"Dungeon?"

"Yes," Merry nodded. "They have a large army and big Oliphaunts! We saw Susan and Arwen! They are all right, but I don't know how long that will last–"

"What are you talking about, Merry?" Aragorn placed his hand on the hobbit's shoulder.

Merry took a deep breath. "Pippin and I found a secret passage in the council room a couple days ago. We explored it and someone came up from behind and captured us. The next thing we knew we woke up and were in a cell. Susan and Arwen were there. We escaped a few days later using our Elven cloaks. When we escaped we found Oliphaunts! They were big and scary!"

"How are the ladies?" Aragorn asked.

"Well, they aren't exactly living in the lap of luxury, but other than being a bit hungry, I'd say they are doing fine." Pippin piped up.

"Tell me what you found out." Aragorn motioned them to sit at the table and eat.

After eating every last crumb on the table, Merry and Pippin told Aragorn everything they had found out. They told him of the secret passages and of their enemies.

"Southrons," Aragorn whispered to himself.

"What did you say?" Pippin asked, gnawing on a chicken bone.

Aragorn looked at his companions and at his guard. "Come with me." He ordered.

Before they could stand, the door burst open a third time. Another sentry stormed in, a dark haired prisoner in tow. Another solider and a small figure came in behind them.

"Milord, we have found an unwanted guest in our beloved city." The guard pushed the dark haired boy forward into the light.

Prince Araakk stalked back and forth in front of his father. Lord Adrinnd, sitting on his throne, tapped his fingers on the arm rest. His dark eyes gleamed with fury at his son.

"How could you have let those two young rascals to escape?" He roared. "You are a disgrace to my name!"

"Father," Araakk used a calm voice, knowing he was at the mercy of his father's anger. "How could I stop an invisible foe?"

"What do you mean?" Adrinnd's voice lowered.

"Susan and Arwen said they were wearing Elven cloaks and you know how impossible it is to identify someone wearing those blasted capes!" Araakk paced even faster.

"What else did the brats say?" Adrinnd demanded.

"It was easy to make Arwen talk, but Susan; she was like a stone wall." He admitted. "She didn't say anything."

Adrinnd grunted his disapproval. "What about the new threat?"

"I dispatched that this evening."

"And the soldiers?"

"They left yesterday."

"Good." Adrinnd tapped his fingers together. "Within the week, we will crush these fiends."

I examined the bruise on Arwen's cheek closely. It looked painful, but nothing seemed broken or out of place on her face.

"How are you feeling?" I asked gently.

"Sore," she winced. "And you?"

"I'm fine." I reassured her.

"Are you sure? They delivered that blow to your side with a lot of speed." She replied.

"I'm sure it will take a few days to heal, but it's not like I have anywhere to go or anything to do." I said. "Those brutes sure are brutal."

"Yes," she nodded, grimacing again. "I'm sorry that I gave them information."

"That's okay. You didn't give them anything useful or important." I tried to comfort her.

"That's true." She sighed. Smiling at me, she stated. "Thanks."

Suddenly, someone appeared in the doorway. "I'm sure you want to know about your weakling friends." Araakk appeared.

What has he done this time? I wondered. "What are you talking about?" I stayed defensive.

"Your friends, you know, Legolas and Gimli." He said bluntly.

"What did you do to them?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Oh nothing, at least, not yet," a wicked smile crossed his face. "They will soon be dead thanks to your friend Aragorn."

"What's going on?" Arwen's eyes grew wide.

"Ignore him," I instructed. "Don't you see? He's trying to bluff us." At least…I hope.

"You can say what you like, but that still won't save them from death." He laughed, turning on his heel and striding back down the hall.

"Wait!" Arwen called, but the fiend was gone. She slouched against the wall. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know." I leaned on her shoulder. "We need Aslan's help."