Chapter 53

Legolas reached for another arrow and shot it at the next orc. He had no idea where the rest of the fellowship was, but he couldn't find them at the moment. The elf had to fight for his own life. The screams and sounds of the battle sounded too loud in his ears and were very uncomfortable. The prince was surrounded by orcs, which was why he had to go into close combat. So he drew his two swords and sank one deep into an orc's body, while he severed another's head from the other. The handsome warrior knew, however, that they couldn't go on like this forever. They had to reach this cursed mountain and destroy the ring to have hope. Because they all knew they couldn't win this fight unless Sauron was destroyed.

So the archer knocked down another orc and took the short moment to look around. He spotted Gimli for a moment, but then the Mirkwood elf was attacked again and he had to concentrate on the fight again. Legolas was dodging an attacker with a skillful turn, killing him when he heard someone call his name. Boromir! The elf quickly glanced in the direction from which the call had come. The prince was relieved to see that the fellowship was together. So the archer cleared his way and fought alongside his friends towards the mountain. It was really more difficult than expected and the handsome warrior knew that they had to hurry because they didn't have much time left and they were getting tired. "We almost did it!", Gandalf called and Legolas looked up. A huge, steep mountain opened up in front of them and the elf had the feeling that he had never felt such darkness.

Eventually, they managed to get out of the battle and the prince reached for his bow again in case anyone should follow them. "Come on! Quick!", Aragorn called and ran, the fellowship after. It was a steep, rocky road up and they could only hope that the elves and humans would somehow manage to distract the orcs. The higher they climbed, the more the darkness strained the archer's soul. Breathing became harder and he felt very uncomfortable.

"Legolas, are you all right?", Aragorn finally asked worried and the beautiful warrior realized that he had to see how bad he was feeling.

"Yes, I'm fine. There's just a lot of darkness here." The king gave him another concerned look but then nodded.

Finally, they reached the entrance to the inside of the mountain and Gandalf went ahead. Legolas tried not to show the restlessness he felt. Then he noticed that he wasn't the only one who was restless. Frodo seemed to be fighting himself, which worried the prince. If the ring took possession of the little creature, everything would be lost. The ring had to be destroyed, otherwise, Middle Earth would belong to Sauron and the dark. The elf stepped forward and put a hand reassuringly on the hobbit's shoulder. The latter looked up a bit irritated and the archer could see the inner struggle in the eyes of the ring bearer, which he was carrying out within himself.

"Stay strong," the beautiful warrior whispered, hoping that Frodo would be able to withstand the darkness and not let it into his heart. They entered a large cave and a path led to the very front. Among them was only fire that would destroy the ring. The fellowship stopped and Gandalf pointed to the ledge.

"Frodo." An uncertain look hit them and Legolas' heart filled with fear. Now it was a matter of whether the little hobbit had won the fight against darkness. The little creature stepped forward until it was at the top of the ledge, but he didn't throw the ring inside. A dark premonition spread across the prince. Please do not.

"Go on, Frodo! Throw him in!", Merry called demanding.

At that moment the hobbit turned to face them, a strange sparkle in his eyes. "No."