The Light Within
Chapter Eight
He could see the towers looming ahead of him. The black, jagged rooftops pierced the air like knives. The dust blew around his feet, and as Aragorn walked straight through the black gate, it appeared strange to him how little Kilyut there were; the land was deserted and a strange, eerie silence settled upon the earth. Absent-mindedly his hand felt in his pocket for the light of Eärendil, to check that it was not broken. Aragorn kept his eyes straight ahead, to focus his mind on the task that lay before of him; it scared him that he was going to have to kill Leg-Morlas and that his love lay in the hands of his most hated enemy and beloved friend.
The tower, on closer inspection, was titanic. The stone door held marks from the battle that had taken place between the two lords of Mordor, the battle that had changed everything, the battle that had cost Aragorn his wife. A hatred so strong bubbled up to his surface, causing him so fall against the giant structure. He stood there for a minute or so, trying to calm himself down; it would do him no good to charge into the tower, sword drawn, and get himself killed.
Suddenly, a voice from above halted him in his tracks. It was the voice of one whom he had never expected to see alive again; Arwen.
"Calm down, my love." She whispered and floated down from the beam like a feather. She gently stroked his cheek and smiled. "You have come for me?"
Aragorn looked at her warily, he had no way of knowing if this were a trap.
"They said you had changed, that you had been taken, by him." He drew away from her touch. "How do I know this is not some sort of diversion?" he asked.
She smiled and stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I have missed you so much. You see, I am his prisoner, not his willing guest. Please, he is torturing my brothers, you must save them." Aragorn looked at her.
"You are strong, why could you not save them yourself?" A flash of anger flew across Arwen's face but Aragorn failed to notice.
"Because I am bound to this wing, I cannot leave it. Please, my love, you must hurry." Aragorn held her closer.
"I will do anything I possibly can to help you and your family." He replied. "Which way to his chamber?"
"Left, along the corridor, there is a green door at the end that leads into a courtyard. Cross it and you will find a red door, this is where they are."
Aragorn took her hand in his and squeezed it tight. "I love you." He said before turning and running down the hall. Arwen's face remained grim until Aragorn had shut the green door behind him. She smiled as the first chink of metal clashing signalled that the trap had been activated.