AN: Here are another battle scene guys though it won't be that long (hopefully). Along with this would be the end of the battle of Dol Guldur. Hope you'll like it…
Umm… just a little input. In the end, try listening to the song of Final Fantasy X in the scene where Tidus and Yuna were in the lake. It sort of make the atmosphere better. Well, enjoy…
Chapter 21: Battle Under The Shade Of Mirkwood
Firiel looked back at the tower of Dol Guldur, looming in the horizon. The tower that had given her so many memories, so many pains. The memories haunted her. Such memories that would stay with her forever. She sighed and looked away. She examined her sword to distract herself. The sword was given to her from the elves and she had abandoned the blade that she found in one of the orc.
She held the guard of the sword and, facing the tip to the ground, she pushed it firmly. The sword bent at the slightest and she shook her head. It was a very nice sword for many but not for her. Too rigid, she thought but there was truly nothing that she could do. The sword being in her possession was luck in itself.
Er-Galadh smiled as he saw Firiel examining the sword. He walked towards her and wound his arm around her. She looked up at him and smiled. "Do you like the sword?" he asked, taking the sword from her and traced his finger down the blade. "It's just like you, you know. Beautifully intricate. You are beautiful yet deadly. Your soul tempered in the fire of the forge and just like it you both came out finer that ever."
"Hmm… I'll take that as a compliment," she spoke, a hint of smile on her face.
Er-Galadh raised his eyebrows. "You don't really like the sword?"
"Not…really," she said truthfully. "But then again, the sword I like would be hard to come by."
"Hmm, a picky costumer." Firiel laughed in agreement. An elf came to them to tell of their departure. Telling him that they are ready, they went to the rest of the company and resumed their journey.
Lord Elrond led the company but she did not argue figuring that he should know the way after all. Following him, she realised that she has somehow ended up in the middle of the company. It seemed that Elrond sought to protect her and she was thankful for it. Travelling with the elves reminded her how fast their journey was with the company of wood-elves. Travelling with Er-Galadh had been slow mainly because of the interruptions along the way.
Abruptly, the company stopped as an elf shouted behind her. "Orcs behind!" She turned around, her sword in her hand. Firstly, she could saw nothing but she could hear the footsteps. The elves hold their ground, ready for the attack. The elves behind her readied their arrow while those before her took out their sword. Her eyes wandered around, looking at Er-Galadh. She found him, standing a little way behind her; his bow was raised with an arrow placed within. Behind him, the trees ended. How close they were on leaving this accursed place.
Reaching to the back of her mind, she tried to grasp the old and forgotten skill that she had once possessed. She closed her eyes to concentrate more. Slowly, the darkness around her started to glow red. She nearly leapt up in happiness. She still could use it. Slowly, she started to search darkness. She searched endlessly and she found it. A group of them. Her heart nearly stopped in dismay. There were many of them. She observed the darkness carefully. It started to part. She waited suspiciously. Something was amiss. The orc sought to surround them. She could not risk it.
"Move back," she ordered, knowing that the trees would be to the orcs' advantage. Through the elves, she could see Elrond looking at her, considering her suggestion. "My Lord, if we stay here the orcs would gain more advantage than if we fight in the open. The end of the wood is behind us. Let us go out first, my Lord, hence forcing them to abandon whatever plan they had in mind."
She waited worriedly as Elrond thought over her suggestion. He nodded in agreement after a while. "Uma mani arwen Firiel quene. Bela n'alaquel!" *Do what lady Firiel said. Move back!*
Firiel watched the elves moved anxiously. "You can sense them, can you not?" a voice whispered next to her. She turned around and saw Elrond on her side. She nodded. "Radagast told me about you," he spoke. Her eyes widened in shock. "Do not worry. I bear no grudge against you. I could not have done any better in your position."
"But I could, my Lord," she said, her voice full of regret. "I could." Seeing that the rest of the elves had left the place, she ran after them, leaving Elrond in confusion.
The rest of the elves left the wood. No sooner than that did an arrow started to fall amongst them. One of them passed through her ears. A slight move will ensure her death. "Keep running," she screamed as she saw an elf fell beside her. She wanted to run towards it but saw the arrow sticking in the back of his head. Too late, she thought and kept running away from the wood.
The rain of arrows lessened after a while until none could reach them. She turned around, her eyes pierced through the leaves that protected Mirkwood and saw the orcs. They snarled dangerously, not wanting to let them go so easily but they knew that should they came after the elves, their life might as well be the price. Thinking that it would be better for them not to do anything yet, they stayed in the wood, daring the company to come closer.
But the company did not. Their destination laid in the wood no more. Running towards the plain, Firiel caught up with Er-Galadh once more. He was holding his arm. Firiel looked at his injured arm. There was no arrow in it. Perhaps the arrow passed through it, she thought. He noticed her presence beside him and turned around. Her eyes asked of his condition silently. He smiled, showing her that he was fine and resumed with the journey.
Soon enough they reached the encampment. Placed in the middle of the plain, it was not the best of place but seeing that the orcs were afraid to leave their base it was sufficient enough. Her eyes wandered around as she tried to find her master, Radagast. It was hard to find him in the middle of a rather big company.
She had not find him when Lord Elrond already asked for her attendance. She followed the messenger elf towards a tent and went inside. Elrond was there, along with Saruman, Gandalf, and amongst them was the man she sought. She went to the man clad in brown and bowed before him before returning to the company.
Gandalf looked at her and smiled. "I think it is time you reveal yourself, Firiel."
Firiel frowned in uncertainty when she realised that her hood was drawn. Nodding once, she lowered the hood, revealing her scarred face.
"Truly amongst us, it is only you who have not seen her face, Mithrandir," Radagast spoke and then turned to her. "I see you have acquired a new scar."
Firiel smiled and said, "Aye. It seemed that unfortunate events followed me wherever I go but I believe that I had not been summoned for a mere conversation."
"You are very perceptive, Firiel," Saruman said, his voice was serious. "We have received your message on the withdrawal of Sauron and his servants. We have called you for you are the one who posses most knowledge with these orcs."
"You sought to destroy Dol Guldur?" she asked. Her voice was as cold as ice.
"Do you agree?" Gandalf asked.
"No one sane enough would agree to your plan." She sounded like she was commenting on the weather.
Elrond stare at her, appalled. Radagast warned her silently with his gaze. Looking at Saruman, she could tell that it was his plan to do this. She understood what Radagast tried to warn her and she nodded slightly to inform him of it. But it was Gandalf that first broke the silence. "Explain yourself, apprentice of Radagast."
His voice carried no anger or resentment, only slight amusement and perhaps great relief. Looking around the company, she spoke, "The master of the tower has gone. Our main task was, and still is, to stop Sauron and rid of him forever from Middle-earth. Now, it is obvious that we cannot do so. To destroy the tower will cost us many forces and for what? The orcs are at their best defending their home and they know of our presence. To even try to enter the tower is a suicide mission. There is little chance that it will succeed and if it does, the cost will not be cheap."
The tent grew silent at the end of her speech. Her words rang true in their mind yet they could not risk Sauron using the tower again. Radagast expressed this to her. She listened to him meticulously, her mind reeling with ideas. She nodded every now and then, understanding their fears perhaps better than any of them. The evilness of the place had once lived and nestled inside of her and she knew what it was capable of doing.
In the end, she said, "The decision is in your hands. I am merely your servant, here to do your will. Whatever your decision will be, I will help it to the best of my ability. I can tell you where most of the orcs should be positioned and what is best to attack them but even then, I cannot guaranty a victory especially because our strength does not lay under the trees and theirs are."
"But we must try," Elrond decided. "At least try. If we fail than we will not continue with this anymore."
Everyone in the room looked at him. A different expression marked their faces but in the end they all agreed to his proposal. Firiel told them all she knew about the defence in Dol Guldur and before long, their plan was made, but it seemed that the orcs had made up their mind faster than this company.
It was already dark when an elf stormed inside the tent. "My Lord, the orcs are heading towards us with their full force."
"Prepare yourself," Elrond ordered. "If it is fight they want then it is what they will get."
The company parted. As soon as they leave the tent, Firiel ran away as fast as possible. Only one thing was in her mind. She must find Er-Galadh, if only to make sure that he was all right. The orcs were close. She could not find him. Instead, she found an arrow flying towards her. She jumped aside in surprise, just in time to evade the attack.
Turning around, she saw the orc that shot her arrow and she ran towards it with a snarl that contested even those of orcs. The orcs lowered its bow and fitted an arrow but before he could do anything else his bow was dropped to the ground as it cried in agony. The orc was clutching its arm. Blood flowed readily from it. It heard footsteps coming towards it. Looking up, it saw the person it sought to kill before a sword went through its neck.
Firiel did not looked up from the orc as she pulled out her sword and made a wide arc. Blood spluttered at her face but she did not need to look up as the body of another orc fell before her. She ran forward, facing another enemy.
One by one the orcs collapsed before her yet something was amiss and she knew it. These orcs were too easy to defeat. It was as though they were trying to lose. Looking up, she saw that she was very near with the wood. The first tree loomed above her dangerously. Suddenly realising the orcs' tactic, she cried, "Bela n'alaquel!" as she ran back towards the plain, trying to inform every elves without warning the orcs that their plan was discovered. Soon enough she found that she was right. Bows sang as rain of arrows started to fall thickly. The orcs turned around and started to fought back as many more orcs started to charged forward from the wood, trying to finish the unguarded elves.
Firiel ran back, avoiding the arrows and the assault from the orcs as elves fell around her. She watched, powerless as an arrow fell from the sky and killed an elf beside her. A sword headed towards her unexpectedly in the corner of her eyes. She turned around and found that she was surrounded by orcs. The only way out was behind her, towards the wood, the trap. Taking her chance, she started to ran back to where she came from. This was my home, she told herself. Home…
Running back, she saw another elf heading the same way beside her. She risked it and turned her head the slightest to see the elf beside her. Silver hair flown in the air, the hair which scent she knew so well. "Er-Galadh!" she exclaimed and Er-Galadh looked back at her.
He ran closer to her. At least now they were not alone. They ran in the winding path of the woods. The trees proved to be to their advantage as it break the arrows path from reaching them. Making sure that they had lost the orcs, Er-Galadh climbed up a tree, followed closely by Firiel. There, Er-Galadh shot the orcs that came nearby while bidding their time.
Midnight already passed and dawn was nearing when the battle sound ceased and silent evade the wood once more. The two went down, thankful that they were still alive. Looking around they saw bodies lying everywhere, mostly elves. Blood was everywhere, red against green. They stopped every now and then, hoping that there were someone that they could help but they were too late. Most of the elves died an instant death. Reaching the wood was, like Firiel had said, a suicide mission. The orc won this battle, for now.
The two looked around, walking silently when, suddenly, Fi sensed an orc in the corner of her mind. Turning back, she saw the orc was aiming at them. Yet it did not realised that anything was amiss. It was concentrating only at Er-Galadh. Realising this, Firiel moved behind him, shielding his body with hers and cast a spell though she knew that it was too late. The spell makes it through and killed the orcs but the arrow was released from its bow, missing its intended target. But it hit an enemy nevertheless.
Er-Galadh turned around as he heard a cry behind him to see Firiel falling to the ground. He caught her falling body. She saw him and forced a smile while trying to hold the pain.
He saw the arrow in her chest. She was clutching at it. "Hold on, Firiel. I will search for help."
Firiel shook her head, her breathing was shallow as though every breath brought pain upon her. "Too late… Er-Galadh… I can't…"
He laid her to the ground, careful not to cause her more pain. Tear rolled on his face as he realised that she was right. It was too late. The arrow pierced one of her lung but he refused to give up. "No, Firiel. You've been through worse. You can get through this."
He stood up, ready to leave to find help but Firiel grabbed his arm. "Don't… leave… Be with me… until…"
"No, don't say that."
Firiel laughed sarcastically. A laugh that died shortly as it was interrupted by a cough. Her face showed a person who knew death was so near, it doesn't fear it anymore. "I don't care. For me… death is… my salvation." Smiling slightly, she coughed again. She choked and blood spilled from her mouth but she forced herself and said, "Don't give up… living…because of this…you promise? Alfirin… She needs… you. Take care… of her. Promise?"
Er-Galadh knew that she could not survive. Tearfully, he nodded before bending down and kissed her for the last time.
She responded feebly, her body shook convulsively in his arm. Firiel moaned, as she started to coughed and choked uncontrollably. Her eyes were shut and her hand gripped his tightly as she tried to suppressed the pain in her body. She writhed in agony when her eyes opened unexpectedly. "Kill me!" she cried before coughing out another blood. "End this pain, Er-Galadh. Please, end it. I cannot stand it anymore."
Er-Galadh looked at her, unable to do what she bid him to do. How could he end her life? The person that he loved? He closed his eyes, hoping that it was only a nightmare.
Firiel saw that he would not do it. She called his name feverishly in the midst of the coughing, urging him to help end the pain. Her hand gripped harder, producing blood and tears streaming down her face. She moved uncontrollably, hoping that the more pain she produce would fastened her death.
He felt her nail dug into his skin. The pain confirmed that this was real. He looked at her. She could not handle the pain anymore, he knew. He submitted to fate. Presenting her soul to Mandos, he kissed the top of her head and her shaking stopped. "Namarie, melamin. Amin mela lle," he whispered, and yanked free the arrow that was embedded deeply on her chest. She stiffened in his hand as the arrow passed through her flesh once more before she became completely limp in his arm. Taking a breath, she exhaled, "Thank you." And with that the dark orbs shone no more.
The sun crept up to the horizon, penetrating the eternal darkness, ending the battle. A hope for another day. But for Er-Galadh, the sun set with her leave. There was no more morning, no more hope. For him, there was no tomorrow.
