Aragorn reached the entrance of the tunnel and stared out across the barren land of Mordor, his heart heavy. He gazed down at the sleeping girl in his arms, wondering his it was Savina Septulinar of the Dark Lord in disguise. Time would tell.
Sighing, he turned to the MoonElf who was walking next to him, "where is your mountain?"
The MoonElf was about to answer, but then his gaze swept from Aragorn's tired face to something beyond the entrance of the tunnel. He muttered what sounded like a curse in MoonElf and drew his sword, shouting something to his fellow MoonElves, who roared and drew their swords, rushing toward the entrance of the tunnel.
Aragorn clutched Savina tightly, fearing she would be ripped from his arms by the mass of MoonElves rushing past him. He looked over their heads and sighed tiredly.
Nearly a thousand Orcs were closing over the recently barren land, Aragorn wondered what foul holes they had crawled up from. They were armed to the teeth and furious, which made them a dangerous opponent.
Aragorn was about to set Savina down against the side of the tunnel when her eyes opened.
Legolas, who was nearby, gasped and rushed over. He gazed down into Savina's eyes, which were wide in confusion. "Savina?" He hesitantly touched her face.
She touched his hand gently, then realized she was being carried and flushed, struggling to stand on her own.
Aragorn set her on her feet and both he and Legolas stepped back and stared at her.
Her black eyes flickered on the battle raging just a few feet away, then turned to them and narrowed.
Legolas sucked in his breath sharply.
Her eyes turned on him, large and dark and sad, "what happened after I…?"
Aragorn pulled her backward by her cloak, out of danger, noticing with dismay that the MoonElves and few humans who were fighting were being driven back into the tunnel.
Savina tripped over a stray rock and struggled to regain her balance, she leaned heavily against the wall, looking tired and grief ridden.
Legolas leaned toward Aragorn, "do you think it's really her?"
"Of course it's her."
Aragorn and Legolas whirled and caught sight of a zombie standing directly behind them, his dark eyes focused on Savina, he glanced at them, then continued, "were she the Dark Lord, even drained of power, I would be obligated to obey her and feel the chains about my wrists because Sauron brought me back to…" a sad sort of sneer appeared on his face, "life." He was silent for a moment, then continued, "I feel no such compulsion. It is she, I am sure of it."
Savina didn't seem to hear any of this; she was watching the battle with dismay, her eyes wide. All at once the grief-ridden look disappeared from her face to be replaced by one of determination, she drew her sword and staggered into the battle, her legs barely strong enough to hold her.
Legolas grabbed the back of her cloak and dragged her back, "where are you going?"
Savina twisted, trying to free herself, "these are my people, and I will fight with them until the death." She snatched her cloak from his grasp and rushed into the battle, helping the other MoonElves try to drive the Orcs back.
It was hopeless, anyone could see.
There were nearly two thousand Orcs now, and they just kept coming.
With a cry, the first MoonElf blood was shed; the first silver-haired MoonElf crumpled to his knees and clutched his bleeding stomach.
Then another fell.
And another.
Savina stood over one of the fallen MoonElves, her face streaked with sweat and tears, looking tiny compared to the particularly large Orc bearing down on her. She parried his blow and pushed him back, but he was stronger and better balanced than she thought and her own sword sliced into her arm.
Legolas stood paralyzed for a moment, watching dark blood flow from the five-inch long slice in her arm and run down her elbow.
Savina herself ignored it and bore the pain with bravery. She held the arm tightly against the front of her black dress and fought with her right hand only. With a throaty grunt, she drove Raliayatau into the Orc's stomach and wrenched it out sideways, nearly cutting him in half. She pushed him back against the others behind him and grabbed the fallen MoonElf by the back of his tunic, dragging him out of harm's way.
She noticed Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin standing in the back and shouted to them, "take care of anyone you see fall!"
Frodo fell to his knees, trying to figure out where the MoonElf was injured.
Savina turned back to the battle just in time to see an arrow thunk into the forehead of an Orc about to do away with her. She gave Legolas a grateful glance and rushed back into the battle.
More MoonElves fell around her. She heard a young voice to her left cry out and turned to see the Dungeon Master's son trying to defend his father, who was on his knees, one of his hands mutilated beyond recognition.
HighLord Naheka rushed to help the young man, his heart heavy. Looking around, he noticed that many of the dead and fallen were not Orcs. This was a battle that depended on numbers, and numbers they did not have. He chopped furiously at the Orc attacking Trey and the Dungeon Master.
He fought valiantly, and was completely focused, but still, his mind was elsewhere. His mind was on old battles, battles he'd fought on the back of his Dragon companion, Nightfire. He could still remember the feel of the blood-red scales and the electric warmth that flowed from the Dragon whenever Naheka had ridden him.
To associate with a Dragon was extremely rare in Middle Earth, but to have the trust and love and loyalty of a Dragon was unheard of. And yet, Naheka had had it, at one time.
Nightfire had bonded himself so closely to Naheka, a bond that only an immortal creature like a Dragon can make, that he had been able to sense when Naheka was in trouble or in pain.
But that was years ago. Naheka had left the Dragon without saying goodbye, never again would he feel the glorious sensation of flying on Dragon-back far above the land, dipping and diving, him and the Dragon as one. Never again.
The Orc, who was much bigger than Naheka, raised his arm and knocked Naheka backward, jolting the breath from his lungs. Smiling its horrible smile, it stood over him, it's sword raised.
Savina grabbed another MoonElf, one who had not yet fallen, and dragged them backward, "we cannot will this battle, we are being slaughtered!"
The MoonElf, a young man with soft dark eyes and feathery hair nodded, wiping blood off of his forehead and trying to catch his breath, "I know, but there is nowhere to go!"
Legolas, who was nearby, turned and shouted at them, "why not go back into the volcano? We can find another way out!"
The MoonElf nodded and cupped his hands to his mouth, shouting something in MoonElf that Savina knew to be "retreat!"
So they retreated, dragging their dead and wounded with them and the Orcs following hungrily at their heels.
They had only gotten a little ways down the tunnel when the MoonElf who had called the retreat stopped and cried out, pointing down the tunnel.
From the light cast by the fire in the heart of Mount Doom, they could make out the shadows of nearly one hundred Orcs making their way toward them.
Savina cried out in despair and drew her sword, "they are not that many! We will break through them!"
It was a hopeless plan, but they had no choice with the thousand Orcs following at their heels.
They ran through the tunnel, watching the shadows that stretched far from those casting them grow closer.
Suddenly Legolas skidded to a halt and squinted ahead, grabbing Savina by the arm, "what the…are they…?"
The shadows hadn't belonged to Orcs after all, they belonged to a large group of silver and black haired MoonElves. Savina spotted Rayvin standing at the front, resplendent in her mother's armor, and rushed to meet her.
The MoonElves who had been slaves of the Dark Lord embraced their friends and families, tears in their eyes and fresh hope in their hearts.
Nor saw the Orcs starting to come through the tunnel and drew his sword, ordering his troops, "attack them, we can manage them as they come through the tunnel!" Most of the MoonElves turned to assault the Orcs, but many knelt to help the injured and hold the hands of those who would not live to see the next day.
Rayvin did not rush to the battle, but regarded Savina coldly for a moment, "you ran away from us when we would have helped you…"
Savina slowed down a little, and hesitated, her smile fading, "I couldn't let you sacrifice your people for my hopeless quest."
Rayvin cast a look in the direction of the high backed wooden chair, where the body of the former MoonElf king still sat, "not so hopeless as you thought, it seems." She gazed at Savina for a moment, "it was you who defeated him, wasn't it. You are the heroine." It was more of a flat statement than a bitter question.
"It was I who dealt him his death blow," Savina sobered completely and knelt down in front of the body of the MoonElf, which was bent foreword in the chair. She lowered her head, "but I did no heroic act this day. I very nearly turned to darkness but a young woman," Savina glanced at Rayvin, "a MoonElf named Olivia gave her life."
"I knew Olivia," Rayvin said sadly, "she was my childhood friend."
"She died as a martyr of good," Savina touched the hand of her father, feeling the coldness and stiffness of his skeletal hand beneath her fingers. Suddenly she remembered something and stood up, whirling to face Rayvin, "I almost forgot to tell you, we are cousins, though I did not know it when I first met you."
Rayvin's jaw dropped, "you are the daughter?" She put her hand over her heart, "how near you almost came to…" she shook away the dark thoughts and took Savina in her arms, "my cousin."
Savina stiffened at first, unaccustomed to the action, then felt Rayvin's tears of joy upon her cheek and softened and hugged Rayvin back. She could see the battle raging over Rayvin's shoulder and cried tears of her own to see the Orcs falling quickly and turning to retreat. She could feel Rayvin's heart beneath her armor, the heart of her cousin, the heart of a fellow MoonElf.
Rayvin pulled away suddenly and rushed to join the troops in battling the last of the Orcs back.
Cried arose from the tunnel, "they are running back this way! Something's at the other end of the tunnel! Look at them, they're insane!"
Sure enough, Orcs were running back toward them, screaming their heads off and being cut down quickly by MoonElf swords.
Suddenly tired, Savina sat down and put her chin in her hands. She had only been sitting for a few moments when a pair of tiny boots appeared before her and she found herself looking up into the brilliant blue eyes of Frodo Baggins.
Frodo gazed down at her in the way only a hobbit can, then bent quickly and kissed her on the forehead, "today you saved Middle Earth."
Smiling weakly, she shook her head, "I did very little, ring bearer, it was you who saved Middle Earth."
Frodo nodded and looked down at his hands, which were shaking and covered in blood.
Reaching up, Savina rested her hand on his curly brown hair and smiled at him, "you're a remarkable little creature, Frodo."
He laughed, a sound that seemed to bring a ray of sunshine into Mount Doom, "I've been told that before."
Savina was about to reply, but triumphant cried from the entrance of the tunnel drew her attention and she stood up quickly, trying to see what was going on.
At first all she could see was a mass of black uniforms, silver armor, and silver and black hair, then Rayvin emerged, her face flushed and excited.
Smiling, Rayvin drew her sword, making the glorious sound that only a sword being slid from a metal sheath can make, and raised it into the air, "today Middle Earth is free!"
Thunderous cheering echoed in the cavern, louder and stronger than the Dark Lord had been able to manage.
Dragon HighLord Naheka was staring skyward, through the hole in the top of Mount Doom.
One by one, the MoonElves followed his gaze and their cheers died in their throats.
As a giant shadow slid over them, a terrible silence fell.