Chapter Twenty One.

It was sometime later when Corlia dared to leave the shadows. By now most of the people had either passed out in the Great Hall or retired to their beds. Corlia could sense something amiss, she could thank the beast's senses for that, so she remained in her form to keep her eye on things. Once or twice she had returned to Legolas and Aragorn, staying nearby for a few minutes before departing from them. Corlia couldn't lie, she was on edge, she was sure the other two picked up on her behaviour straight away.

A threatening darkness was creeping closer, she and Legolas could sense it, but one second it was to the East and the next it was within the walls of Edoras. Corlia leapt out of her skin, as did Aragorn when Legolas voiced this, and all three of them headed in the direction of the darkness. They ran with speed through the corridors, Legolas opening the door where the source was coming from. Pippin's strangled cries entered Corlia's ears and she was frozen in fear, realising what he held – the plantir… By now Merry had awoken Gandalf but before the wizard could gain control over the situation Aragorn had seized the round orb, a sour look over his features as he fell back in shock, the orb rolling out of his grasp. Before Corlia could comprehend that the orb was rolling in her direction Gandalf had thrown a blanket over it, his angered movements pulling Corlia back into reality.

"Fool of a Took!" Gandalf angrily yelled, turning to face Pippin. The poor hobbit was scared out of his wits, his form trembling as he bit back tears.

"Gandalf! Forgive me!" Pippin managed to cry out but the aged wizard took a hold of his collar, looking him deep in the eye.

"Look at me! What did you see?" Gandalf demanded making everyone edge away from his angered tone. Pippin explained in detail what had happened; of how he saw Minas Tirith in flames and how he didn't speak of Frodo and his quest. After his words Gandalf looked down at him in fear, releasing him as he turned to face the others. He went to part his lips but Pippin spoke again.

"He knows of her… of Corlia" Pippin told him making the wizard turn to look down at him once more. Instead of Pippin looking at Gandalf he was now looking at Corlia with a pained expression. Corlia uneasily shifted her weight, the unwanted attention making her shrink away in discomfort.

"She was there, the overgrown wolf running across the plains… she was alone as she raced away from Minas Tirith into the darkness" Pippin continued on and everyone looked at Corlia besides Gandalf who continued to look at the hobbit. Corlia's remained still, unable to move and escape the room.

"I could hear the cries of men and horses dying… she was running, running to them I think but something was making it a hard task" Pippin spoke making everyone look back at him.

"What was it?" Gandalf pushed, wanting the answer but Pippin trembled at the thought.

"A dark figure upon a fell beast, the same one that stabbed Frodo… it seemed distracted though, as if it looked for something else" Pippin answered and Corlia slunk back, guarding the worry in her eyes. She knew of who he spoke of; the Witch King – leader of the Black Riders. With a dramatic turn Gandalf left Pippin's side, picking up the plantir as he muttered a 'come' to Corlia, the beast shiftily following Gandalf as they both left the room. The remaining people in the room could only look at each other in worry, some trying to put the pieces together.

Corlia jogged alongside Gandalf's haste walk, the overgrown wolf uneasily shrinking closer to the aged wizard every time a citizen of Rohan entered the corridor, their eyes immediately falling onto her. Gandalf headed straight to her room and entered without a word, Corlia having nothing else to do besides follow him in. As Gandalf shut the door behind her Corlia transformed, blindly looking around the room before Gandalf spoke.

"They'll have to be warned, Shadowfax is the fastest steed I have ever known… we should reach them in time to start preparing the defences" Gandalf explained.

"We?" Corlia repeated.

"Yes Pippin and I will go" Gandalf responded and before Corlia could question why Pippin would be joining him the wizard continued.

"Sauron thinks that Pippin carries the One Ring" Gandalf quietly said making Corlia tense.

"Is Minas Tirith strong enough to withstand them..?" Corlia asked, not traveling to the place for quite some time, and Gandalf sadly sighed.

"No, they are not… I will speak with King Théoden about aiding them" Gandalf slowly said and Corlia roughly did the maths of how many people could be there if the King agrees to Gandalf's request.

"We are still greatly outnumbered though… I believe that Sauron will gather all his forces and send them in one great wave. He will ensure that he does not lose this battle… the mention of the Witch King proves this" Corlia told him, her brows furrowing in concern. She could feel Gandalf's eyes fall onto her, as if trying to figure something out.

"Lord Elrond and Galadriel have foreseen this" Gandalf murmured and at the mention of Galadriel's name Corlia's eyes snapped open, openly glaring before regaining her self control.

"I believe one of them will guide Aragorn" Gandalf continued on and Corlia frowned, confused on what he meant. She decided not to press on this though, if Gandalf wanted to share that information then he would have… perhaps he didn't know himself. She closed her eyes again, trying to think of allies that could help them. The elves had made their final stand at Helms Deep, some parting from this land while others remained behind to struggle defending against their homes. She knew the elves of Mirkwood were among them, Legolas had mentioned it some time back. The Rangers of the North were in a similar situation, fighting against waves of orcs and goblins to protect what remained there – there wasn't many of them left from what she remembered Aragorn saying. At the thought of Legolas and Aragorn she thought of Gimli and the dwarves; as prideful as they were they too were struggling. The Lonely Mountain, along with Mirkwood, was probably getting a lot more trouble than they could handle due to being located near Mordor. Corlia shook her head, asking Gandalf why he wished to speak with her alone.

"You are to travel with Pippin and I and go to Osgiliath to warn them of an attack. They are Gondor's last defence before the White City. They must hold for as long as possible" Gandalf said and Corlia could feel a shiver crawl down her spine… Osgiliath was the front line on the battlefield. As if sensing her feelings Gandalf's hand fell onto the skin-changers shoulder.

"We need you Corlia, we need the War Hero back" Gandalf said and Corlia flinched at the name, as if burnt by it.

"I cannot return to that life Gandalf" she whispered as she stepped out of his grasp, regretting her words as she wished she could take them back.

"You never left it in the first place" Gandalf reasoned.

"I know of your travels, although you think of them as nothing you continued to fight against the evil that invades Middle Earth. You are bound to war until the One Ring is destroyed… You cannot escape it" Gandalf continued on in a stronger voice and Corlia defensively glared to the direction of the voice, not wanting to accept his words even if they were true.

That was the reason why she searched for them in the first place. No matter how hard she tried she was drawn to war like a moth is drawn to light. She had heard news from Elrond of the discovery of the One Ring… Oh how she wished she could avoid it. Deep down she knew that with the destruction of the One Ring peace would flourish throughout the land. In helping with the destruction of it she would gain what she wanted… freedom.

"If the ring falls in the hands of Sauron all free folk will wish for death" Gandalf lowly said, as if expecting this kind of reaction from her, and Corlia's trail of thoughts were broken.

"He intends to enslave all of Middle Earth for his own bidding, building vile creations and destroying all good in this world" the wizard continued making the woman tilt her head downwards, closing her eyes at the darkening words. She knew all this already, it was why she fought against him in the first place, she wanted to protect those she cherished. She clenched her fists; they had fallen in war years ago and there was nothing she could do about it… What would she fight for now? Freedom? Revenge? Images of Haldir and men who had fallen in the Battle of Helm's Deep flashed through her mind but also the remainders of the fellowship were there. They weren't just another person to her, they were her friends. They had defended her as much as she had defended them… At this her mind became clearer, as if switching back to her old thought process from years ago when she thought alongside Gil-galad. Yes; she would fight for all those reasons and more. Was it worth the risk of death though? She frowned at that but couldn't see why not.

"I'll do it."

My deepest apologies for such a long wait, I've been having issues with the internet and been unable to upload as I first intended. It's still not completely fixed at the moment but will hopefully upload a few chapters now in advance.