They were woken by Sam who stumbled over them. Legolas silently thanked Serena's foresight to get dressed, else they would have been found naked. While they followed the path that led them even further into the mountain, Legolas kept on hearing the words Serena had whispered in his ears. 'When I am with you, I feel as if I have found a piece of heaven I can keep.'

"They are coming…" Gandalf read those words and it sounded like a terrible prophecy. Legolas' ears heard it first. Drum, drum, drum… and then everybody heard it. "They are coming…" Frodo said his voice fearful. "Shut the doors !" Boromir almost got hit by the orc's arrows but with the help of Aragorn he managed to close the huge gate, giving them some time to prepare for the battle. Boromir cast a worried glance at the fragile woman in their midst, it was not the place for a female to be. "You better hide somewhere." His words were harsh but his eyes betrayed the concern and Serena smiled. "There's no place to hide and I will not run away like a child." When she said this a long forgotten memory flashed in her mind. It had been after a contest, she had performed terrible and the only thing she had wanted had been to hide in her room. Marco had come into her room and looked at her. 'We have to go to the press conference.' 'I can't, I don't want to see anyone.' He had taken her into his arms and kissed her softly. 'Love, we can't hide and we can't run away. We owe this our fans and our supporters.'

With a start she came back into reality and saw that Gandalf was staring at her. She cast him a quick smile and unsheated her sword. 'I guess I surprised him.' She had indeed taken the old wizard by surprise as he had expected her to follow Boromir's order. And he was not convinced if it was a sensible for her to stay and fight.

Then there was no time left to think but to fight. The orcs came storming through the door and with them came the cave troll, that Boromir had seen. It was a fierce battle and Serena didn't have time to wonder how easy she fought. They ran through the huge hall and suddenly they were surrounded by orcs. Instinctively Serena reached out for Legolas who took her hand for a second. He felt desperate himself, not wanting to die just now, where he had finally found somebody to love. His love and admiration had only grown through the fight, being scared to death at first he had realized that Serena was not only defending herself but as well Frodo and he suddenly had felt proud. Proud that such a special person could love him.

The orcs suddenly fled and hard steps could be heard. "A balrog, run!" Gandalf's cry woke them all and they started to run towards the bridge. The closer they came to the small stone path over the abyss the faster they ran. Serena silently thanked Dimitri for the hundrest time for the hard cardial practise he had put her through. She managed to get over the bridge without to many problems and then watched in horror as Aragorn and Frodo were trapped on the other side and Gandalf battled with the balrog. "No" she screamed when the old man who had become a friend and father to her fell into the fire. Not realizing what she was doing she walked closer to the cliff and was jerked back by Aragorn. "We have to get out here or he died for nothing." Unable to say anything Serena followed the warrior who led them up the stairs into the sun. Only that there was no sun, they came from one battle to another for a group of orcs had waited for them at the exit and the companions were greeted by arrows and swords.

Legolas fought a fierce battle and when he saw two orcs approaching he reached for another arrow to take out the closer one. However his hand found nothing. His quiver was empty. The orcs saw that their prey had no weapon at hand they lifted their bows and arrows. Legolas saw it all like in slow motion, the orcs lifting their bows, her laughter and Serena's scream. "Legolas!"

Without thinking she leapet forward and through herself between the orcs and the man she loved. Two arrows hit her in her chest and shoulder, she stumbled and fell. Not caring whether the orcs were still there Legolas knelt next to her and struggled to remove the arrows.

Serena's breathing was slow and painfull. She had her eyes closed, her head resting in Legolas lap. Afraid to touch her he whispered her name and she looked at him. Her broken eyes made him cry, she tried to lift a hand to touch his cheek but couldn't. Gathering all her strength she started to say something but her words were almost inaudible. "Thank you for loving me…" A shudder went through her body and she went limp.

"Serena, no you cannot go! Do not leave me!" Legolas desperately pressed her lifeless body against his chest, tears running down his face, anguish in his voice.

"Serena, please wake up please….Serena"

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What do you think, how will it continue? Will she live?.

Wait and see…