Chapter 7 part 2 - The Rescue
A/N - This is the penultimate chapter (a final two-parter after this one), all disclaimers and things previously mentioned apply : )
Elise watched Sauron as he rode beside her. He was deep in his own world. She could tell that seeing that his spell was working had excited him. She assumed he was probably enjoying listening to the Orcs mocking the pitiful creature in his captivity - her. So caught up in his thoughts was he, that he only noticed the Wizard, Dwarf, two humans and an Elf when it was far too late to mount an attack on them.
Legolas and the others formed a crescent shaped line behind the convoy of Orcs and drew their weapons. Gandalf stepped forward in front of Sauron.
"So Sauron, what will it take for you to give up on this pipe dream of yours? Do you not realise that the people of Middle Earth will not be enslaved? That we will fight to the death for our freedom any and every time it is threatened?" Gandalf stood before Sauron, his white robes shining far too brightly in the dimming light of dusk.
"Legolas!" Cried Elise, tears of relief streaked down her face. She struggled to break free of her bonds, but was grabbed by a nearby Orc for her troubles.
"Quiet filthy human," spat Sauron. He turned around on his horse, grabbed a nearby Orc's bow and shot his now redundant spy bird dead. As Anneau fell to the ground, he regained his composure.
"Your lofty ideals will be your doom Gandalf!" he hissed. "Soon, nothing will stand in the way of my plans to rule all the races of this land." It was time to reveal his hand. Smiling, he called to the Orc general. "Send the signal."
The biggest, ugliest creature of them all reached down to take something out of his saddlebag. It was a large metallic horn. He took a deep breath and blew it with all his might, filling the air with an ear-piercing screech. The horrible sound echoed across the valley. It was closely followed by cheering from the Orcs that flanked Elise.
Sauron did nothing but stare at Gandalf and wait. Gandalf did nothing but return his stare. Everyone else began to murmur in trepidation. Darkness was falling all around them. The air was thick with tension; even the breeze seemed to die down. Everything was still and quiet.
"Look!" cried Boromir. The panic was clearly etched in his rugged features. His exclamation was amplified in the dead calm of the stand off. The others turned to the find the source of Boromir's alarm. Everyone, except Gandalf and Sauron, as they were still locked in each other's contemptuous gaze.
"Oh God!" Whispered Elise, she had just seen the reason for Boromir's terror. A huge army had amassed across the far side of the valley. Their appearance was faceless as they were too far away to be seen clearly, only the silhouette of their armour clad bodies and the flickering light of their torches were visible in the far distance. The dying embers of the sun's last rays cast the sky in an eerie magenta glow. The thousand strong troop were moving steadily forward, marching through everything in their path.
Sauron sneered, drawing himself up high on his horse. "What say your lofty ideals now?"
Gandalf turned to Legolas who was unperturbed by the imminent invasion. He delved into one of his robe's numerous folds and handed him a tiny package, which Legolas took and fixed to one of his arrows. He passed the arrow and small bundle through the flame of a nearby torch and notched it to his bow. Drawing the bow as deeply as he could, he let it fly high into the sky at no particular target. The arrow exploded sending hundreds of miniature golden sparks in all directions. Elise's own voice joined the collective gasp as the beautiful flower shape twinkled in the night sky.
Another gasp was let out as another huge band of men eventually appeared on the hills opposite Sauron's forces. This army seemed to glow, Elise thought, so bright was their armour and weapons.
"My ideals say WAR!" Cried Gandalf. Raising his staff high, he made a sweeping motion in front of him. The result was an energy beam that physically pushed Sauron and the Orcs off their mounts. The fallen Orcs were clearly shaken by the sudden attack, Legolas used their state of confusion to quickly reach Elise, who was still bound to her horse and once again upside down. He unsheathed a small sword and sliced through the ropes, releasing her from the horse and dragged her back to his companions.
Sauron knelt on the ground raking his bony hands in the earth, his face set in a mask of determination. He muttered a spell, finishing with a spray of earth directed at the Wizard. The earth turned into brilliant flashes of light that dazzled everyone for several minutes. When they regained their sight, Sauron and the Orcs were only small shapes retreating to the Black Tower.
Once the Dark Lord was out of eyeshot, Legolas turned to face Elise.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, taking in her dishevelled appearance.
"No, no, I'm ok, I'm fine." What she really wanted to do was throw her arms around this magnificent being, ignore this war and have him carry her off into the sunset. Quickly snapping out of that daydream she gave her stoic answer instead. Elise's paralysis was now reduced to mild numbness, she could stand on her feet now but she doubted that she would be any more than a hindrance in the battle that was brewing. Legolas frowned as he thought of their next move. Aragorn saw this and seized his chance.
"Legolas, I am much learned in the strategy of war. Boromir and I will remain here and help defeat the Orc army." He knelt at Elise's feet. "The others will go with you. Legolas, you take care of our secret weapon." He kissed the back of Elise's hand and stood up to face the group. With his head held high and his hair caught in the mild night breeze, he looked like a noble and proud king of men. "We will destroy Sauron and his evil empire, we will restore this great land to beauty once again, I hereby give my sword and my life to this cause."
The Company stood in silence entranced by his passionate speech, then one by one, they lifted their weapons, Gimli raised his heavy axe and placed it across his chest, Legolas unsheathed two small swords, Boromir held his own broadsword aloft and Gandalf took up his staff.
This was all a bit too much for Elise. They were facing a battle to the death. She knew the odds of these men surviving were extremely small. Yet all their hopes and dreams seemed to be pinned on her. Her mind swam with all her fears. 'What can I do? And if I can do something, how would I know what to do and when to do it?' Gimli and Gandalf started to make their way towards the tower, leaving Boromir and Aragorn behind. Legolas took hold of Elise's hand and followed. 'Whatever the hell it is I can do,'she thought,' it had bloody better be good.'
A/N - This is the penultimate chapter (a final two-parter after this one), all disclaimers and things previously mentioned apply : )
Elise watched Sauron as he rode beside her. He was deep in his own world. She could tell that seeing that his spell was working had excited him. She assumed he was probably enjoying listening to the Orcs mocking the pitiful creature in his captivity - her. So caught up in his thoughts was he, that he only noticed the Wizard, Dwarf, two humans and an Elf when it was far too late to mount an attack on them.
Legolas and the others formed a crescent shaped line behind the convoy of Orcs and drew their weapons. Gandalf stepped forward in front of Sauron.
"So Sauron, what will it take for you to give up on this pipe dream of yours? Do you not realise that the people of Middle Earth will not be enslaved? That we will fight to the death for our freedom any and every time it is threatened?" Gandalf stood before Sauron, his white robes shining far too brightly in the dimming light of dusk.
"Legolas!" Cried Elise, tears of relief streaked down her face. She struggled to break free of her bonds, but was grabbed by a nearby Orc for her troubles.
"Quiet filthy human," spat Sauron. He turned around on his horse, grabbed a nearby Orc's bow and shot his now redundant spy bird dead. As Anneau fell to the ground, he regained his composure.
"Your lofty ideals will be your doom Gandalf!" he hissed. "Soon, nothing will stand in the way of my plans to rule all the races of this land." It was time to reveal his hand. Smiling, he called to the Orc general. "Send the signal."
The biggest, ugliest creature of them all reached down to take something out of his saddlebag. It was a large metallic horn. He took a deep breath and blew it with all his might, filling the air with an ear-piercing screech. The horrible sound echoed across the valley. It was closely followed by cheering from the Orcs that flanked Elise.
Sauron did nothing but stare at Gandalf and wait. Gandalf did nothing but return his stare. Everyone else began to murmur in trepidation. Darkness was falling all around them. The air was thick with tension; even the breeze seemed to die down. Everything was still and quiet.
"Look!" cried Boromir. The panic was clearly etched in his rugged features. His exclamation was amplified in the dead calm of the stand off. The others turned to the find the source of Boromir's alarm. Everyone, except Gandalf and Sauron, as they were still locked in each other's contemptuous gaze.
"Oh God!" Whispered Elise, she had just seen the reason for Boromir's terror. A huge army had amassed across the far side of the valley. Their appearance was faceless as they were too far away to be seen clearly, only the silhouette of their armour clad bodies and the flickering light of their torches were visible in the far distance. The dying embers of the sun's last rays cast the sky in an eerie magenta glow. The thousand strong troop were moving steadily forward, marching through everything in their path.
Sauron sneered, drawing himself up high on his horse. "What say your lofty ideals now?"
Gandalf turned to Legolas who was unperturbed by the imminent invasion. He delved into one of his robe's numerous folds and handed him a tiny package, which Legolas took and fixed to one of his arrows. He passed the arrow and small bundle through the flame of a nearby torch and notched it to his bow. Drawing the bow as deeply as he could, he let it fly high into the sky at no particular target. The arrow exploded sending hundreds of miniature golden sparks in all directions. Elise's own voice joined the collective gasp as the beautiful flower shape twinkled in the night sky.
Another gasp was let out as another huge band of men eventually appeared on the hills opposite Sauron's forces. This army seemed to glow, Elise thought, so bright was their armour and weapons.
"My ideals say WAR!" Cried Gandalf. Raising his staff high, he made a sweeping motion in front of him. The result was an energy beam that physically pushed Sauron and the Orcs off their mounts. The fallen Orcs were clearly shaken by the sudden attack, Legolas used their state of confusion to quickly reach Elise, who was still bound to her horse and once again upside down. He unsheathed a small sword and sliced through the ropes, releasing her from the horse and dragged her back to his companions.
Sauron knelt on the ground raking his bony hands in the earth, his face set in a mask of determination. He muttered a spell, finishing with a spray of earth directed at the Wizard. The earth turned into brilliant flashes of light that dazzled everyone for several minutes. When they regained their sight, Sauron and the Orcs were only small shapes retreating to the Black Tower.
Once the Dark Lord was out of eyeshot, Legolas turned to face Elise.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, taking in her dishevelled appearance.
"No, no, I'm ok, I'm fine." What she really wanted to do was throw her arms around this magnificent being, ignore this war and have him carry her off into the sunset. Quickly snapping out of that daydream she gave her stoic answer instead. Elise's paralysis was now reduced to mild numbness, she could stand on her feet now but she doubted that she would be any more than a hindrance in the battle that was brewing. Legolas frowned as he thought of their next move. Aragorn saw this and seized his chance.
"Legolas, I am much learned in the strategy of war. Boromir and I will remain here and help defeat the Orc army." He knelt at Elise's feet. "The others will go with you. Legolas, you take care of our secret weapon." He kissed the back of Elise's hand and stood up to face the group. With his head held high and his hair caught in the mild night breeze, he looked like a noble and proud king of men. "We will destroy Sauron and his evil empire, we will restore this great land to beauty once again, I hereby give my sword and my life to this cause."
The Company stood in silence entranced by his passionate speech, then one by one, they lifted their weapons, Gimli raised his heavy axe and placed it across his chest, Legolas unsheathed two small swords, Boromir held his own broadsword aloft and Gandalf took up his staff.
This was all a bit too much for Elise. They were facing a battle to the death. She knew the odds of these men surviving were extremely small. Yet all their hopes and dreams seemed to be pinned on her. Her mind swam with all her fears. 'What can I do? And if I can do something, how would I know what to do and when to do it?' Gimli and Gandalf started to make their way towards the tower, leaving Boromir and Aragorn behind. Legolas took hold of Elise's hand and followed. 'Whatever the hell it is I can do,'she thought,' it had bloody better be good.'