Temperance Chapter 21:

The fellowship had returned to Minas Tirith after the encounter with Sauron and Senia's sacrifice. When news got out that Sauron was dead his forces scattered to the wind and the Nazgul where nowhere to be seen. Frodo had taken the ring from Sauron's corpse and they had destroyed it properly throwing it into the fires of Mt. Doom as was Senia's last wish. They had succeeded in their goal of killing Sauron but somehow it didn't seem worth what was sacrificed to get there. They all sat around a large table in the dining hall of Minas Tirith's citadel.

Pippin sat plate full of untouched food as he thought back to that night in Edoras when he foolishly picked up the Palantire. When he touched the stone he had been taken to a different place it was a black place and the only thing he could see before him was the giant flaming eye that was Sauron. When Pippin didn't answer Sauron's questions the evil lord began to hurt Pippin. It was like his body had been engulfed in flame. It was the most intense pain he had felt but soon vanished as the world around him changed. It became a room of stone that was black but had definition and before him holding on to the palantire standing across from him was a woman. She was terrifying and had the mark of Sauron sewed to her dress. What struck Pippin the most was the jet black hair and red eyes. She looked like all the descriptions he had heard of Sauron when he had been in his fair form. Deceivingly beautiful and terrible at the same time. Was this some trick of Sauron's? Then she spoke

"I'm so sorry Pippin, I am so sorry that he hurt you." It was Senia's voice. He knew she had been taken by Sarumon but he never imagined she would end up in Mordor with Sauron.

He said her name questioningly without realizing it. How did she look so different, surely having part of Sauron's soul wouldn't change her appearance? No this was the work of some sorcery. Pippin watched helpless to let go of the palantire and let that vision of Mordor go as Sauron advanced on Senia. The Lord of Mordor had steam rolling off his skin and a glare that froze Pippin's blood directed at Senia. When he struck her she fell letting go of the palantire and the world vanished. Pippin was able to drop the ball now and he did so with haste.

"What was that? The palanitre had the great eye in it then it turned white. Pippin?" Merry asked relaying what the rest of the fellowship had seen while Pippin saw that room in Mordor. He looked around at the group shaking; it was Gandalf who forced him to respond.

"Pippin what did you see?"

"Senia, he has her with him in Mordor. She stopped him from hurting me."

"What?" Gandalf said with a shocked gasp.

Legolas sat slightly apart from the fellowship remembering when they had gone after Merry, Pippin and Senia. They had assumed that the orcs were all part of one group so they followed the trail of the large group that had attacked. They had fallen behind due to Boromir's injuries but the man refused to rest. He kept saying that Senia went to save him and that he could not let her stay with the orcs. Legolas felt slightly responsible for Senia being taken, if he had gotten there faster, if he had been a better fighter, if he had known where she was. Maybe just maybe he would have been able to save her. Because of the delay they tracked the orcs down to find a pile of burnt bodies. Aragorn had been able to locate signs of Merry and Pippin fleeing into Fangorn forest but there was no sign whatsoever of Senia. Legolas recalled that they had torn that pile of corpses apart checking each one to be sure that Senia was not among them.

Boromir's outward signs of anguish mirrored the sorrow that Legolas felt at not finding any sign of Senia. Regardless of her rejection he still loved her and worked desperately to convince himself that it was the love one felt to a sibling. He was forced to bear the pain at her loss in silence. Even as they searched for Merry and Pippin in the forest he had some inexplicable hope that they would also find Senia. When they ran into Gandalf it was more than a little disappointment for Legolas.

"Where is Senia?" Gandalf asked looking at the four of them after they told him that Frodo and Sam had gone on alone.

"We haven't been able to find her since she was taken." Gandalf gave a heavy sigh; they all knew what she was now so there was no hiding the truth of the matter. She was as important as the ring in this war. They could have crippled Sauron again by killing her but they had agreed that felt more like senseless murder when there was another option. They could only hope that she would be able to escape from the orcs that had her; they all knew it was unlikely though.

Aragorn sat with a cup of wine in hand, he had wanted to honor Senia for the selfless act she performed in taking her own life to kill Sauron. He thought back to when they were all together in Lothlorien as Celeborn and Galadriel told them about Senia and her hidden past.

"She is more than some random girl; she was summoned here by a great power. Somehow they knew where to find her and pulled her from the world she had been living and brought her here. The girl has a fragment of Sauron's soul within her much like the ring." Galadriel spoke and was followed up by Celeborn.

"Gandalf knew this, yet kept the implications from you. If you were to kill the girl you would severely weaken Sauron thus gaining more time to destroy the ring."

"That is not an option; after all she has gone through with us I refuse to believe that she is part of Sauron." Boromir said defensively. Celeborn looked at him but said nothing as Galadriel spoke again.

"The girl's individual soul has fused with the fragment of Sauron. Even if you wished to save the girl she would die when the ring was destroyed. She is bound to the ring's fate the same as Sauron, to save her you would abandon your quest. There is no way to avoid this cruel fate."

"Regardless of whether you kill the girl or not, do not inform her of these things. We do not want to risk her betraying the fellowship to save her own life." Celeborn said and they all nodded in agreement. Even if they did not believe that Senia would betray them it was better to not burden her with the fact that she was aiding in her own death. They had decided to let her live though and enjoy what time she did have left.

After Senia was taken Aragorn often wondered if they chose the crueler of two paths; she was suffering unknown terrors. He carried the guilt of not being able to find her; he claimed to be the best tracker in the world yet could not find her. In Edoras when he learned that she had ended up in Mordor and was at the mercy of Sauron his guilt only increased.

Frodo was absently stabbing at some mashed potatoes on his plate as he considered recent events. Senia had folded under interrogation there was no other explanation to how the Nazgul suddenly zoned in on his location. Frodo thought he hated Senia for telling Sauron, after all it ended up in the death of a dear friend who they would never be able to give a proper burial to. Barad-Dur was not what Frodo had imagined to be either. It was far more elegant and castle like than the stinking pits he originally thought, He never told Senia but she fit in the that place, her new appearance matched the look of Barad-Dur. It was a strange frightening beauty that she had become, when Frodo looked at her he could only see Sauron. Though that was the intent the dark lord had when he changed her appearance. Frodo wasn't sure when or why but at some point Senia had come to wearing a crown. When he was brought before Sauron he truly expected to die, and did not recognize Senia as she stood next to the throne.

He hardly recognized her when she begged Sauron to let him live. The only things about her that he did recognize was her scar and her voice. Though it took convincing for him to believe she was actually Senia. Then she went on to have a room built in Barad-Dur for him. She watched over him and protected him while at risk herself. Frodo assumed it was mostly from guilt that she did these things but still. She risked herself to ask Sauron for a room to be built for him. She had somehow gotten him apples a food that he had nearly forgotten the taste of. Then she sang him to sleep. In that short time she had devoted herself to looking out for him completely. Finally she was able to set him free of Sauron's hold. It was only after Senia's sacrifice that Frodo realized what the crown was. It was the price of his freedom she had to agree to give herself completely to Sauron. Even in the end she was weighted down by her guilt and desperately trying to redeem herself.

Frodo remembered his horror when he saw Senia kill herself. She didn't do it because she was giving up or because she wanted to die. No Frodo was quite sure that Senia wanted to live. She did it because she somehow figured out that her death would also mean Sauron's death. It was a selfless act and made Frodo realize that he did not hate her for breaking in interrogation. He couldn't begin to imagine what she suffered while prisoner to Sauron. She had been desperate to redeem herself; Frodo only wished that he could tell her that she didn't have to go so far. He wished that he had been able to tell Senia that she had redeemed herself while watching over him at Barad-Dur.

Ulgruk sat in the camp. Durring the attack on Isengard he took his troop along with any other that wanted to leave and hid them in the forest. The old man was dead now scouts had found out that much. It had been and unstable time after the old man died many of the orcs wanted to move to Mordor and serve directly for the eye. Ulgruk had been able to convince them that going to Mordor was a bad idea. After all if they went to Mordor they would be put under the command of lesser orcs.

They as Uruks were too proud to allow that. Ulgruk was waiting though; he had sold most all of them on the idea of setting up an Uruk society in the mountains away from humans. The only reason they were still camped out in the forest was because not all of them were sold on the idea while the eye was still in power.

A scout came running in and headed straight towards Ulgruk. It was one of the scouts that he sent out to keep tabs on the war while they main group remained hidden. Ulgruk was now in charge of ten troops having nearly 15000 uruks under his command. His original troop had taken it upon themselves to keep the others in order.

"Ulgruk, Mordor has fallen, the eye is dead." The scout said between gasps of air. Many of the Uruks began talking amongst themselves; none of them actually expected the eye to be dead. They all turned their attention to Ulgruk who standing said.

"Very well we are heading to the mountains. If any of you do not wish to work and create an orc society then leave now." Ulgruk turned and started walking towards the Misty Mountains; there were very few towns and villages in those mountains. Ulgruk's goal was not the assimilate the uruks with humans but to prove to humans that orcs were a legitimate people and had their own culture. The only trouble was that the uruks had only ever exsisted for war and had no real culture. It was starting from scratch and Ulgruk was prepared to put in the effort to create a society and culture for his kind.

"Lead them into the mountains to the valley we found the obsidian in. I will meet with you in a few days there is someone I must meet with before I join you. Have them start constructing a town, do not let then set the forest on fire those woods will supply us for the first few months."

"So you are going to that cabin again? You realize that if they are found helping us they will be killed."

"I am going to speak with them nothing more. There is hardly any risk to them should I go to talk. I agree though it was far too risky to ask for then to get supplies for us." Thalruk looked at Ulgruk critically and said.

"You are far too fond of human society. You wear their armor and carry their weapons." Ulgruk covered the little knife that hung on his belt with his hand. It was the same blade that the woman had used to try and escape from them. It was an ingenious contraption as the blade folded into the hilt when not in use. It was the reason that he had not recognized the item as a weapon, it was made with good steel too which only improved its value.

"I use quality items Thalruk, we will learn how to make weapons and armor that is superior to the human craft and then I will wear our own armor."

"Just remember that we are not doing this to be like humans. We are seeking our own culture."

"Thalruk do not be worried about that, there is no way we could imitate the humans we are far too different from them."

"I do not want you to be your own ruin."

"My friend I have faith in this endeavor."

The funeral was a large event. Aragorn had the event set up so that the entire city was part of the funeral. He wanted to make sure that his people knew what Senia had given up for their sake. He led the precession through the city; the entire fellowship was taking part. They carried her body through the city on a stretcher, and took her to the burial chambers that the kings of old rested. Her body had been prepared for the long sleep of death, her wound was sewn closed and she was dressed in white. Though they could not remove the changes that were done to her appearance they removed all other traces of her time in Mordor. The dress with Sauron's emblem and the crown he had made her wear were burned. While the dress was destroyed the crown inexplicably remained untouched. So it was put in the treasury of Minas Tirith.

The event was not long winded no one could find appropriate words to say. It was known throughout Gondor that Senia had given her life to save the whole of middle earth. Though the people expected Aragorn to give some sort of memorial speech he did not. He would not try to explain who Senia was and what she had given up for their sake.

They placed her body into the stone coffin and the lid was slid over it. The writing read 'Lady Senia, the Temperance of Sauron. Sacrificed her life for the safety and preservation of Middle Earth.' When the stone was in place most everyone left, save for Boromir. He stood next to the grave in the mausoleum, his hand rested on the lid as he stood vigil.

Aragorn made his way to the mausoleum the next day around noon when he could not find Boromir. As Aragorn expected Boromir was still standing next to the stone coffin.

"You can't stay here forever Boromir. You cannot carry the weight of the dead."

"She never got to say it, she was finally ready to express her feeling and she died before she could say it."

"What was she trying to say?" Aragorn asked he had not heard Senia's last words; he had to keep the army calm in the sudden panic from Sauron's forces.

"She was trying to say 'I love you' but she died before she said it." Boromir dropped his head and his shoulders shook as his emotions broke free and he cried for the first time since her death. Aragorn put his hand on Boromir's shoulder before saying.

"Do you remember what she told you when you were shot down at the riverside?"

"Live for tomorrow." Boromir said with a sigh.

"You should follow those words; I do not think she would want you lingering over her grave." With that Aragorn left Boromir. Soon he too left her grave, he could not bring her back but at least he could honor her every day, living by those words.

Two weeks later…

Boromir walked through the halls of the citadel in Minas Tirith, he was a lord under Aragorn's rule. Though Aragorn had changed his name to Elessar after his coronation.

"Hello Lord Boromir." A noble lady said with a smile on her face. Her light brown hair and brown eyes something that would be considered beautiful. She had with her two other ladies who both were blushing under Boromir's gaze. He nodded to them continuing on; he had to get these documents to Elessar after all it was his duty.

"He is so cold; before he went to the elves he at least smiled and talked to us." Boromir overheard one of the women say as he walked away from them. True before he joined the fellowship he was a sort of ladies' man in Gondor. Women had often vied for his attention as he was the most eligible bachelor in the city. Back then though he was heir to stewardship of Gondor, effectively he had been in line to be king. He had to be honest with himself, he was happy that the rule of Gondor no longer rested upon his shoulders. He was not sure he could handle such a role anymore. He just didn't feel like entertaining the ladies of Gondor anymore with meaningless flirtation. The sorrow of Senia's passing was still too near.

Boromir walked into Elessar's study documents in hand.

"Here you are." Boromir said his tone even and lifeless. Elessar looked at Boromir and said.

"It has been two weeks, have you visited her grave since then?"

"I have not; I cannot wallow in my sorrow."

"Visiting her grave is not wallowing in sorrow Boromir. You can't pretend like she never existed. Why not go and visit her grave?"

"Is that an order?" Elessar stood and put his hand on Boromir's shoulder.

"It is a suggestion from a friend." Boromir nodded and said.

"Thank you, Aragorn." Elessar smiled and said.

"Glad to see you still think of me as a friend." With that Boromir left heading for Senia's grave.

As Boromir got to the mausoleum he noticed that the door was ajar. Boromir pushed the door open and walked towards Senia's grave. He turned the corner and froze in horror.

"Who the hell… Damn it!" Boromir turned and ran from the mausoleum back towards the citadel. A group of nobles had to jump out of his way as he sprinted through the hallway. He rounded a corner and burst into Elessar's study. Elessar was sitting with Arwen; they had been talking but stopped when Boromir burst in.

"She is gone! Someone stole her body!" Elessar looked up shocked.

"What?"

Within moments Elessar, Boromir, and several guards were at Senia's grave. The stone lid was lying on the ground broken into three large pieces. The coffin bedding was still intact the only thing that was missing was the sheet that was used to cover the body.

"Impossible…"Elessar said in horror that someone had been able to get to the moseuleum and steal Senia's body without being detected. Elessar's face hardened into a deep set frown and he said to Boromir.

"I will find whoever did this and they will pay."

A figure covered in an old brown cloak with the hood up walked hunched over carrying a limp woman piggy back style. She was covered with a thin white cloth that was partly see-through. Her black hair could be seen through the cloth. He had finally found her body, there was still hope. If there was still time that is. It had taken far longer to infiltrate the city than he expected. He finally succeeded in recovering her though; he just had to get to a secure location now.

( Stick around if you want to find out what happens next the story is not yet done!)