Isilme

She was so tired.

It just did not end. For thousands of years, she had lived here, roamed the forests and never once had much dealings with her own kin.

Her father, had he seen the injustice he was to make upon her when he had made that agreement with the mortal?

Mortal? Was she beginning to despise them?

She shook her head. Gil-Galad was or had been a wise lord, a king of their people. She remembered him with much fondness in her heart.

He would not have chosen her had he thought she was not up to the task.

She pushed back a raven lock. And smoothed her brow tiredly.

Elves rarely felt the need to sleep, but lately it seemed to invite her. She walked amongst the fallen debris of her city.

The sister of her crown. And wandered over to the peaceful solitude that only one hall gave.

No one ever went there.

She sat on a chair eyeing the temporary throne that had been built there. She had never sat in it, and did not want to. It was not hers by blood and she was not so arrogant to take what was so freely offered.

Or was she?

Faramir, what was she to do with him?

There was a undying attraction there, but no mortal/immortal relationship had ever worked. The elf always died in the end.

No fairytale there.

But she loved him. To death and beyond.

She would enslave herself to him without question, much as arwen did to Aragorn. She threw the cup against the wall.

Its crash echoing against the wall of the entombed hall.

Aragorn how had he come into her mind? - no she must think of faramir, her captain.

"Isilme?" she sighed - again, she recognized that voice. She turned towards it.

"I wish for a moment alone captain". She said softly.

"I understand but the nazgul have begun their attack in earnest". He said striding up to her. She swung her gaze to his, and the ice cold blue of her eyes met his.

"then fight them captain, with elven arrows, I have them in store in the cellar, nazgul are impure, elvish weapons can destroy them". She told him.

His gaze was hard on her.

"are you punishing me for being so truthful earlier? Therefore punishing our people?" he asked softly.

"do not flatter yourself captain, other things apart from the welfare of gondor has been preying on my mind, go and organize the groups, I will be there shortly". She ordered him.

He took a step back. Why was she so cold? He opened his mouth to say something else but she held up her hand.

"please captain do as I ask". Before she turned her head away, he noticed tears in her eyes.

She swung her gaze back as she heard him close the door behind him. Then she let the tears fall.

The emptiness in her heart, the space that Haldir had once occupied.

"Haldir". The pain in her chest was recognizable now. She searched her mind for his.

"I will miss our battles in the moonlight". He told her in a mind link.

"explain to me melamin, I am here".

"I am dying".

Silence.

No.

She knelt on the floor and bent her head to the coldness of the ground.

"legolas". She cried out his name.

"I am coming". Was the faraway reply.

She stood up and walked out of the hall. A new resolve in her heart.

Haldir had died for something that was not a task meant for him. The elves were sacrificing themselves for the sake of mortality. He could have gone to the Undying Lands, but the need of his rank, the lure, the - order of his queen, made his death inexcusable.

She took her bow and quiver of arrows and took up a position on the wall, directly above the attacking nazgul. Why there?

In one moment, she saw the reason. The Halflings had taken shelter in the alcove and the nazgul felt the pull of the ring.

She fired her shot.

The nazgul screamed in pain. At this thing that was protruding out of its back. It burned. It burned like a hot coal pushed into its body.

The creature swung up and flew straight to Isilme. Its rider directing it to her.

She stood her ground.

The creature stopped mid air and just seemed to float in front of her. Facing her, challenging her.

She lowered her bow. And calmly returned the gaze.

"your kind, have polluted this earth enough, is it not time you returned to a place of peace?, or has greed completely taken control of your mind?" she asked.

"I am the witch king she- elf, no one commands me".

"he does, you are a slave to his will, you were once a friend to my kin, you were sorely missed".

The witch king did nothing, just stared at her.

Finally he spoke.

"what is your name she - elf, so I can engrave your name in baradur in your blood?". He asked taunting her.

She smiled dangerously.

"my name is Isilme, queen of gondor, daughter of Gil-Galad, king of the Noldorian Elves, do you think you can remember all that while you sleep in hell?" she asked courteously.

With that she raised her bow and aimed and fired, and hit the nazgul witch king directly in the centre of his face, or where his face would be if only she could see it had it not been for the hood.

It screamed. And it erupted in flames.

The creature turned and flew away looping in the air trying to unload its burning cargo. To which it did.

The witch king falling to the earth burning, no savior in sight.