Chapter 25

"For Frodo"

Aragorn turned away from his friends running towards the enemy before them. They all followed their leader, Merry and Pippin reacting quickly however were caught up in a matter of seconds. Legolas fired arrows when he ran, as did Arquenniel.

They soon lost each other as they impacted with the troops of Mordor. Arquenniel drew her knives and started slashing in all directions trying her best to avoid getting caught by one of Sauron's servants. She saw another blonde head fighting a few metres from her. It was clear that Legolas was a skilled fighter as she saw the orcs dropping one by one around him.

Legolas was in a trance. Instinct helped him dispatch the enemy quickly and efficiently. He felt Gimli close as the dwarf let out a roar. Legolas almost couldn't believe he was still counting. This was unlike the other battles. The only reason they fought was to be a distraction, not to win.

They were beginning to tire as the battle drew on longer. The men were falling as the enemy overwhelmed them. Arquenniel felt a sense of desperation build within her as she watched another man who could be no more than twenty years old get struck down. She was fighting on all sides. The orcs could tell who the best fighters were and had a great desire to strike them down. Although they made it difficult, Aragorn fought valiantly as the other men tried to follow his example, the two elves skilfully fought their way through the crowd and Gimli was surprisingly agile remaining unscathed. Gandalf swung his staff taking down five orcs in his path when he heard an ear piercing screech.

"Nazgul" he whispered in horror.

He watched the beast fly towards him when a little moth flew by his face. Relief flooded through him as he realised what this meant.

"The eagles! The eagles are coming!" Pippi joyfully screamed

The eagles appeared and engaged the foul beasts. However it was too late for Arquenniel. As soon as the Nazgul appeared she felt it. The burning in her throat, as if the Witch-King had struck her again. She tried to fight it but the pain was too much and her vision blurred.

Legolas snapped out of his trance when he heard a familiar scream that made his whole body tense. He tried to find her but there were orcs everywhere. His elven hearing tried to find her but the screaming had stopped and he knew that she must be dead. He was about to run and find her when is attention is turned to a particularly large troll picking a fight with the future King of Gondor. Legolas watched in horror as the troll seemed to have the upper hand. He runs as fast as he can to his friend. Gondor needs and king and he couldn't loose his best friend. As he cleared a path before him the Nazgul shrieked and started to flying towards Mount Doom. Dread filled through all of the remaining forces as they realised that Frodo and Sam must be there.

Arquenniel woke up when a strong hand started shaking her shoulder. As she came to she realised she was lying flat on her back with an orc half on top of her. An axe shaped hole was in the creatures head.

"This is no time to be napping Lassie!"

Gimli screamed as he stood next to her shielding her from the blows of the orcs. She had her hand to her throat but didn't feel the pain anymore. Rolling to her front she got on her knees and searched for her knives that were laying close by. As soon as she reunited with her knives the fog cleared and she was back disposing the enemy. Helping Gimli deal with the forces he was trying to keep away from her.

Legolas pushed through every orc he sees trying to reach Aragorn but time was running out. Aragorn was pinned beneath the trolls foot and was struggling to breath. In an act of survival Aragorn pulled out his dagger and planted it in the creatures foot. As the creature howled in agony and pulled away the battle was interrupted as a deafening groan and screech came from inside Mordor. All of the fighting came to a halt and everyones attention turned to the now crumbling Eye of Sauron.

Arquenniel and Gimli stood close as the orcs began to flee around them. They had travelled quite a distance from the rest of the army. Arquenniel looked to see why they were running from Mordor when she started to feel the ground crumble beneath her.

"Gimli run!"

She grabbed the dwarfs arm as she ran as fast as her legs could take her. Gimli was grumbling but was running as fast as possible. They kept running until the ground fell below them.

"No! Gimli!"

Arquenniel has managed to reach the ground that was still standing but Gimli dangled of the ledge with an orc grabbing at his foot. She gritted her teeth as she tried to pull the dwarf up but she did not feel strong enough.

"Arquenniel you're slipping! Let go"

xxx

Legolas walked over the fallen bodies of soldiers of both Rohan and Gondor towards his friend.

"Aragorn"

He turned to see Legolas looking unscathed.

"I thought I'd lost you for a minute"

Aragorn smiled back and gripped Legolas' shoulder.

"No my friend. We won"

Aragorn looked around and could see Gandalf standing strong and the hobbits cheering in victory.

"Arquenniel and Gimli?"

Legolas' gaze fell "I saw Niel fall, I do not know of Gimli"

"I am sorry, mellon nin"

They looked at each other until and unsettling rumbling and blast came from the mountain. It has erupted with Frodo and Sam still there.

"No"

Aragorn whispered in horror but Legolas did not say anything. He could hear a familiar voice.

"What do you hear?" Aragorn questioned when he noticed his fiends distracted face.

"Arquenniel" Legolas began sprinting towards the sound.

xxx

Arquenniel would rather fall in with Gimli than let him fall alone.

"You stupid elf, so self righteous u'll get yourself killed!"

"Shut up Gimli! urghh .. Help! Help us!"

Arquenniel could feel herself slide along the rough ground as the weight was becoming too much. She looked into her friends eyes as they accepted their fate. Just when she started falling she felt a strong pair of arms around her mid-section.

"I've got you, Aragorn help!" Legolas shouted.

Arquenniel felt another pair of arms around her as Legolas let go and aimed downward at the orc hitting it straight between the eyes making it fall into the depths. Suddenly the weight was not so much as they all pulled up Gimli and landed in a heap. After some moments of silence Gimli spoke.

"Never mention this to anyone!"

They chuckled as they rose the their feet. Legolas gripped onto Arquenniel.

"I am fine Legolas, I just need some sleep" she joked

"I saw you go down. What happened?"

"The Nazgul brought back … memories. It is over now. Where has Gandalf gone?"

They turned around to see Gandalf with the eagles flying towards mount doom.

"He's going to get our hobbits"