A/N) Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I thought nobody was reading this, so I decided to halt it for a while and begin another story on the life of Aragorn. But when I received more reviews I wrote more. I will get the next chapter up soon. - Strider's Girl.
Lord Of The Rings
Flight Of The Nazgûl
Chapter Four
Poisoned Heart
"Aragorn!"
Gandalf the White summoned his magic and sent a curse towards the Nazgûl. The Nazgûl fell back as the spell hit it. The sword it held was still wedged in Aragorn's chest. The sword fell clumsily to the side. Without the sword being held by the Nazgûl, Aragorn sunk to the ground.
All around the battle raged on. The Rohan soldiers were now forcing the attacking Orcs back from the direction from whence they came. With the Rohan soldiers in pursuit, Legolas and Gimli ran to their friends side. Legolas gripped Aragorn by the arm and gently turned him onto his back.
Blood completely stained the man's shirt. Gandalf bent down beside Aragorn and gently looked at the wound. Even without looking themselves, the elf and dwarf knew that the man's wounds were grievous. Gandalf muttered something. He looked at Legolas and Gimli.
"This is grievous," he said. "Aragorn's heart has been pierced by the Nazgûl blade. Already poison is working round him, pulling him into the grip of the enemy."
"Isn't there anything we can do?" Gimli asked.
"I'm afraid not, Master Dwarf." Gandalf answered. "Unless…" he trailed off.
"Unless…what?"
Gandalf pursed his lips. "There is a way that can save him. The sword pierced the edge of his heart and so the Nazgûl do not have full control over him yet. It will be sometime before they will. We have little time, but it may be enough."
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Gandalf worked hard for more then a day trying to save Aragorn's life. The others waited patiently, waiting for news from Gandalf. He had been given the King's chamber to work in. Legolas and Gimli helped the villages rebuild there homes and spent time with Éowyn. From the talks they shared with her, the two discovered that she cared deeply for the Ranger.
In the midst of this, Théoden returned and was told of the attack. Merry and Pippin grieved for their friend. While they were talking, Gandalf appeared from the Golden Hall and stopped in front of Legolas and Gimli. He greeted the two hobbits and told them what he had done.
"I have managed to remove the sword from Aragorn. I was able to remove while it was trying to bury deep into him. If it had reached a certain point then Aragorn would've been lost to us. For now he is save, but the threat still remains. Poison still spreads around him. I can do nothing to stop this. It's up to him to fight it. Moving Aragorn will cause the poison to kill him. No one must go near him, unless by my leave. If any of you would like assistance then I will give it you, but you'll find me in the chamber of the king."
Gandalf left them. Legolas was the first to speak up. "Terrible this is. Without Aragorn, the future of Middle-Earth is doomed, unless the Ring-bearer succeeds in his quest."
"I wonder where Frodo is?" Merry said.
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It was at this time that Frodo was near to Mount Doom. He and Sam stood on a path that would take them into the very fires of Mount Doom. Frodo looked high up and he shuddered. Sam wrapped his arms round his master.
"Don't worry, master. We're nearly at the end of our adventure." Sam said.
Frodo nodded, but inside he was crying. "I know, Sam. It's doing it what worries me."
Sam looked out into the distance, beyond the edges of Mordor. He cast his gaze over the fields. "I wander what master Merry and Pippin are doing? And Legolas and Gimli and Strider."
"I'm sure they are safe. They didn't have to follow me on this hopeless quest, though I wish Gandalf was here to protect us." Frodo said. "Things would've been so much easier."
"I know." Sam answered. "Come on. Let's continue this."
So Frodo took Sam's hand and led him up the path with his burden. And to their death.
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Aragorn thrived in his sleep, crying out names, waving his hands about. Sitting by his side was Gandalf, Legolas and Gimli. In the last few days, Aragorn's condition had worsened and the poison was fighting and destroying cells around his body. Gandalf now saw no hope as Aragorn continued to fade.
Suddenly Gandalf stood up. "I've got it! Keep an eye on him!" he said and went out. A day passed and Gandalf did not return. Legolas and Gimli became extremely worried. Then Aragorn stirred for the first time since being struck. Apart from being weak, Aragorn was looking to be fighting the poison. Though in fact he was not.
When he had fallen back into darkness, Gandalf returned with an Elf healer. He explained he had rode with his horse Shadowfax to Lothlórien, where the Elves of Rivendell were. He had brought back a trained healer, who in turn would heal Aragorn. Gandalf explained that Shadowfax had ran his swiftest and had arrived at Lothlórien, the night he had left. He had quickly explained the situation to Elrond, who sent one of the Elves to come with him. Elrond and his daughter had left Rivendell, several hours after Rivendell to ride to Rohan and help heal Aragorn.
Gandalf explained that with the help of Arwen, they would be able to save Aragorn from the darkness he was being drawn into. Arwen's love for Aragorn would be able to save him. All they needed to do was to keep Aragorn in the land of light and not fall into the darkness that the Nazgûl had sent tearing around inside him.
The elf healer managed through skill and luck to bring Aragorn away from the darkness, but he said if Arwen and Elrond didn't arrive soon then Aragorn would slip away from them.
Gandalf posted Merry and Pippin to watch for the two elves. At sunset, Merry came rushing in, claiming that they were there. Gandalf greeted Elrond and Arwen. He led them to Aragorn, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed of Théoden King.
Arwen was admitted into the chamber and seeing her loved one in pain, she bent low and stoked his forehead. In her soft voice, she muttered in his ear:
"Come back, my love. Your deeds are not yet done. Come back, my love."
And behold! Aragorn stirred.
TBC
A bit rubbish, but I lost the thread, while writing this chapter.