@Lisseyelen aka Lady V : Great plot there, Mellon! (I love it when Frodo go insane!)
@namarie2legolas : I promise not to kill him but will do the other things you ask me to do. (grins evilly)
@sirithiliel : Thank you, and happy belated birthday to you too.
@Kayo & Lucy : Yes, you both got that right. It's the calm before the storm syndrome. (Kayo, I think Faramir is too hot for Eowyn too!!)
@MorotheWolfGod : More? Here's more!
@szhismine : Err…are you equipped with climbing gear before scaling that cliff, mellon? Get ready, then. Here come some traumatic scenes from 'Cliffhanger' and 'Vertical Limit'!!!!
@layla146 : Yes! Those are the familiar lines from the trailer. I'm watching it everyday now, waiting breathlessly for the real thing to come out!!!
@Alkvingiel : I want Legolas or Orli or Legolas or Orli!! Please! Please! Oh, just send it to my e-mail address!!!
@Fire Breathing Ferret : Me? Nicer? Dream on, girl! The day I turn 'nicer' is when Legolas sail to Valinor…or maybe not. I can always torture him there! Ha! Ha! Ha! O-oh! My PC is sucking me into the screen. HELP!!!! (now that's wild!)
@AbbiCat14 : Nice to have you back too!
@Menthol : Worried no more. Adromir the evil author is back with terrible cliffies!
@feanen : I know you don't like cliffies. That's why I keep giving you more!
*******************************
Two days later, the army of the West was all assembled on the Pelennor Field, all seven thousand of them that consisted of men from Perlargir, warriors of Gondor, riders from Rohan, rangers of the North, knights from Dol Amroth, and the archers from Mirkwood that had accompanied their crown prince in the battle of Helm's Deep.
Everyone was restless, pricked by exhilaration for battle and apprehension of probable death. The thousands of horses were fidgeting, hot mist coming out of their nostrils as they snorted and neighed. Banners and standards of every kingdom and region flapped wildly in the wind. Swords and spears clanked against shields and armor. The sun was already high upon their heads. They were about to march.
Éomer turned to Legolas and saw the elf looking intently up at the sky. "What are you staring at, elf?"
Legolas lowered his gaze and patted Arod's neck when the white stallion moved about agitatedly, as if sensing his master's uneasiness. "The sea gulls," Legolas briefly answered.
Gimli frowned behind him. "Why are they so fascinating to you?"
The elf shrugged. "Because I've never seen them before I came here. And I have this odd feeling that I won't see them again."
Gimli and Éomer exchanged questioning looks at their friend's words. Commander Jaden stared sharply at the Mirkwood crown prince, while Elladan and Elrohir looked at each other in growing concern. But they didn't press Legolas any further as Aragorn and Gandalf had just arrived to join them at the head of the procession.
At last the trumpets rang and they began to move. Troop by troop and company by company, they wheeled and went eastward…to Mordor.
And long after they had passed out of sight down the great road, Éowyn still stood there at the parapet on the great gate to the city. She touched her cheek where her brother had placed his kiss just that morning before he bade her farewell, while inside her heart she prayed hard that Éomer would return to her safe and sound.
The man who stood beside her saw the turmoil emotion on her face. He draped a comforting arm around her back. "He will return, my lady," Faramir said.
"He better be, or I'll go out there and drag him back with me," she replied. "I don't want to be left alone."
"You won't be alone. I've promised your brother to look after you."
Éowyn looked up and gave him a small smile. Nothing more were said after that as they turned around and headed back into the city.
*************************
"COME FORTH!!" Aragorn's voice loudly echoed. "Come forth, you evil miscreants of Sauron! Show yourself!"
The rest of the army of the West waited in anticipation for any response from within the Black Gate, fully prepared to accept the impending clash.
It was the sixth day since they left Minas Tirith. After riding through Osgiliath and the Crossroads, they finally came into the desolation that lay before the great rampart of Cirith Gorgor. The vast iron door was firmly closed. Upon the battlement, nothing could be seen. All was silent yet watchful. They knew that their foe lurked somewhere around them, staring back at them with cold-blooded eyes.
Then, the silence was suddenly broken. There came a deafening sound of rolling drums and the braying of horns. The door of the Black Gate was thrown open in a deafening clang and a lone rider clad in black from head to toe finally appeared. Gandalf nudged forward his ride, Shadowfax, to meet him.
"I'm the Mouth of Sauron," the black-clad figure announced. "Do you come here to die, or shall we propose to you your unconditional surrender without shedding any blood?"
The wizard's face was grim as he replied. "Surrender we will not. We come here to destroy you."
The Mouth of Sauron straightened up, his eyes glinting through the opening of his black mask. "Very well. Your funeral." He turned his mount around and headed back towards the gate.
Aragorn glanced behind him towards his companions. "Get ready. They will come."
They nodded back at him and tensed in wait.
It was not long after when the drums and horns sounded again. This time, they came along with hordes of Sauron's army pouring through the gate of Morannon. All about the hills, the hosts of Mordor raged, swarming down towards the army of the West. They recklessly sprang forward, bellowing as they came. Like a storm they broke upon the line of men and elves, beating upon their helms and heads, growling for blood and flesh. The orcs and goblins kept pouring out of every nook and crevice of the surrounding hills, advancing towards them with insane hunger and twisted gluttony.
Sauron had taken the proffered bait.
When the first assault crashed into them, the army of the West was more than ready. Swords and spears were raised high, arrows were notched to bows and swiftly released, cries and shouts of valor merged with the sound of thunderous hoof beat pummeling the earth. It was a complete frightening madness, but they would not retreat from this nor they had the opportunity to turn back.
This was their last chance to save Middle Earth. Keep Sauron occupied, while the Ring was on its way to be destroyed.
**********************
Running his blade against a goblin's throat, Legolas growled and kicked the body aside. But a sudden shrill in the air made him look up.
"Nazguls!!" The men around him were shouting as the witch kings on winged beasts bore straight down upon them.
The elf instantly straightened up and shouted in warnings at his men-at-arms. "Keep your position! Do not falter! Jaden, tell our archers to shoot in volley!"
"Aye, my lord!" Commander Jaden firmly replied, already turning to the Mirkwood warriors to relay the prince's orders.
Legolas looked around him and couldn't stop feeling terrible fear. He found himself floundering in a vicious sea of red and black. The enemy was too many, ten times their own size. It was confirmed then. They all had come here to die.
The ferocious battle had been going on for many hours. Hundreds upon hundreds, the warriors from the West had fallen to their death. The once dry and barren ground was now damp and muddied with blood. This was not simply a war. This was a massacre.
Gimli and Éomer had disappeared in the melee, while Gandalf was starkly visible in his white garb among the dark-clothed enemies. Several yards away, Aragorn had also abandoned his mount and fought along side his elven brothers near the rampart. Seeing the burning fireballs raining from the catapults on the parapet above, Legolas rushed towards the Gondor king, slashing and ripping with his twin blades in maddening fury at the foe that dared to be in his way.
"Estel! Keep clear of the wall!" Legolas yelled, his arms spread wide to stab one blade through a goblin's eyes and a troll's groin with the other. Another fireball hit the ground near them even as he spoke. Aragorn nodded and gestured to Elladan and Elrohir to back away.
Legolas pivoted when another foul creature leaped at him. He swung his blades in powerful arch and severed the creature's neck.
And that's when disaster struck.
"Legolas!!!" Aragorn suddenly cried out in warning. Legolas looked up and could only stare in terror at the burning missile headed straight for him with lightning speed. He started to jump to get away but it was already too late. The prince howled in pain when it hit him fully in the face.
TBC….
Erk!!! Cliffiee!!
I can already see the spears, axes, swords and arrows coming straight at me!
The only word I can say right now is…errr…parley?