Hey people! I know that some of you are mad that didn't update last night, but my parents freaked after they discovered my chapter files on our computer, and are having issues with understanding exactly what I am doing with them. Anyway, what this means for you guys is that I can't update so regularly anymore, mostly when they aren't around. I will try to keep the updates close together though
By the way, I absolutely loved ROTK!! I still think the Two Towers is the best, but this one had me crying at the end, and *giggle, blush* during Billy's song. Anyway for this next chapter, all you need to know is that it is happening simultaneously with the last one. Hurrah for the end of the Trilogy!
Disclaimer: None of these ideas belong to me, only Tolkien, I feel sad.
Running From a Shadow
Sam, Legolas, and Gimli shuffled nervously over the blackened earth of the Great City. All of the other slaves had gone to bed in the shelters made from scrap metal that littered the far north side of Sauron's city. The three were following a group of Orcs who said they were taking them to an agent of the Lord. None of them were prepared for what they found inside after the black spiked doors creaked open.
"Merry!" Three voices cried out simultaneously as they rushed towards their friend. He was lying on the floor, his hair matted, blood flowing freely from a cut on his forehead. On hearing his name, he weakly opened his eyes and looked up into Legolas's concerned face.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me." He looked close to death, and those last words brought tears to his friends' eyes. Then, a change came over him suddenly as his eyes rolled back into his head and he began to shake violently. When his eyes opened again, they were bloodshot, empty, and cold as stone.
"Get away from me," he hissed as he stood up and recoiled.
"Merry, it's us, it's Sam and" Sam fought to hold his tears back as his friend paced the room in a circle around the three. He could not bear to see Merry in this state; half dead one minute, and seemingly possessed by Sauron himself the next. Merry seemed distant yet hostile and his eyes flicked about quickly, seeing everything at once.
"It has come to my master's attention, that four slaves escaped a camp about a thousand miles northward just yesterday. You know of them from The Time Before. A maiden, a man, a hobbit, and a wizard. You wouldn't know anything about this, would you?" The three stared at him open-mouthed. One thought stuck in all of their minds. Some of them are still alive. But the next minute, Legolas's face fell once more. He sent out a silent message to Sam. "He knows about our connection, he knows we remember The Time Before. He knows everything." A high, cruel laugh cut through the air, hardly suiting for the small hobbit who uttered it. Everyone shuddered, that is, except for Gimli, who had still not broken the barrier in his mind that prevented him from remembering.
When silence engulfed them, Merry spoke again, this time impatiently.
"What do you know of this occurrence? My master seeks the last pieces of The Alliance formed at Rivendell by Elrond and Gandalf the Grey. Speak, or consequences will follow." With these words, two Orcs burst through the doors dragging an unconscious Faramir and a struggling Arwen.
"Don't give in!" She screamed. "Whatever they do to me, do not tell him anything!"
"Sauron!" bellowed Sam as he finally found his voice again. "You have no business with us! We know nothing of the escape of these slaves, and we will know no more no matter how much you torture us."
"My master disagrees. He believes watching the elf suffer will loosen your tongues." With that, he hit the still sobbing Arwen over the head and she fell limply to the floor. "Tie her to the tower." The Orcs carried her out of the room and left Faramir lying on the floor. Legolas trembled with rage.
"Where are you taking her?" Without a word, Merry turned on his heel and strode towards a large black window that was heavily bolted, and flung it open. He stepped out onto the balcony, followed by Sam and Legolas. They stood silently as they looked out upon every individual of every race left from The Time Before. The vast crowd stretched for miles in every direction. But when Merry spoke, they could all hear him.
"Slaves of the Great City, I call you here so you may fully understand that the age of Sauron has begun. You all do not understand his power, yet. So here is just a taste of it. This is what happens to anyone who dares to attempt escape." With horror, Sam looked into the center of the throng and saw what was unmistakably a wooden tower surrounded by a huge pile of wood. The tower itself extended far up, almost brushing the sky, which had grown dark and was now swirling with clouds and lightening. And there was a figure tied to the top of the structure, a limp body, just becoming conscious.
"Arwen!" They screamed just as an Orc set a blazing torch to the heap of wood.
**********
The forest was like none she could remember. Now Eowyn understood the reason for the movement she had seen on the horizon. The trees magically sprang up, venturing out past the border of where the forest met the wasteland. And then, just as suddenly, they would shrink, die, and decay. She watched this with amazement for a few minutes before Gandalf urged them on.
"That is a battle being fought between the evil of Sauron that has consumed all else in this world, and the ancient magic of the elves. Every time one side makes an advance, the other counters just as strongly. As long as there are elves living here, it shall continue, neither side gaining any ground. We are in luck, there must be someone still alive in Rivendell." Aragorn once again brushed Gandalf's hope of finding survivors away as a feeble dream. Undeterred, the wizard moved them along.
"The deeper we get into the forest, the safer we shall be this night." They walked on, Aragorn as silent as ever, Eowyn walking beside him like a neglected shadow. Finally, Pippin expressed his exhaustion by dramatically tumbling into a clearing and landing flat on his face. Only when Gandalf ran to see if he was alright did they realize he was sound asleep.
"We shall sleep here for the night." He obviously wanted to move on, but they could do nothing to rouse Pippin. After they had set up camp (which only involved unrolling blankets stolen from the slave's quarters at the last camp), Eowyn walked over to where Aragorn was sitting apart from the rest. The firelight cast a glow on his face, which only now seemed old and sunken. No one spoke for a while, and Eowyn sat down and leaned her back against a tree.
"You loved her." It was more of a statement than a question, but he responded after many long minutes.
"I did, once. So much has happened since I last said goodbye. So much has happened." He turned to face her, and when he saw her staring at the ground, he gently raised her chin until she would look at him.
"Yet when she died, I found I still loved her, and a piece of my heart fell away. It is being filled again, though." She shifted her gaze uncomfortably; his eyes seemed to read her soul. Feeling awkward and out of place, she stood up to leave. He did not stop her. Good. Yet a piece inside of her wanted him to reach out and grasp her hand, keep her from turning away. Deep in her heart, she knew he only needed a replacement for the elf. He had no feelings for her. She walked back to her blankets, her eyes full, but no matter how hard she tried, the tears would not leave her eyes. She crawled onto the heap and fell into a deep slumber.
Aragorn sat for a while longer, then stood up and came to where Gandalf was sitting by the fire. He glanced over at the sleeping form of Eowyn before settling himself on the opposite side of the fire.
"Think hard before you say anything to her. She does not need her heart broken by you for a second time." Gandalf's words were kind, but Aragorn was not swayed.
"I do not need to take romantic advice from an old man."
**********
Sam tried to sleep, tried to get the image of flames consuming the body of Arwen Evenstar, but he could not do it. His bedclothes lay on the floor as he tossed and turned in the night, trying to think of something, anything, else. Just as he was about to drift off, he felt a presence in his mind. It was faint, but it was still there. He opened his mind to Legolas.
"How can you talk to me? You are hundreds of shelters away."
"Ah, my friend, you underestimate me. What did you think I was doing all those months I would not talk to you? Mindspeak takes a long time to master." Sam smiled inwardly.
"Did you notice?"
"Yes, Merry was wearing the ring. This would explain why Sauron still cannot take physical form. He is stronger with the ring so close, strong enough to take over all of Middle Earth. But I do not think he can reunite with the ring until all of the Alliance are dead."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean all of us who worked to protect the ring. We did not fall to its power like Frodo. Our will tainted the ring, don't you see? It is still dark, still powerful, but whatever force held us together through our quest is feared by Sauron. He fears love. He cannot take the ring, though he can use it through another."
"Merry!"
"Yes, Merry is being possessed by it. It will eventually break him. But we cannot give up. As long as even one of us live, Sauron cannot use the ring. We should try to complete Frodo's quest, but not until we have found whoever is left."
"We must hold the Fellowship together. We must not fail."
**********
At dawn's first light, the foursome set out again towards the elven city. None of them knew the way exactly, it was more of a feeling. This path felt lighter, freer. Aragorn cut through the thickest parts of the undergrowth with his sword, which, amazingly, he had managed to keep hidden from the Orc captain all the time he had been a slave. After seven hours of endless walking, Gandalf called a halt.
"Go collect firewood. This place is colder than I remember it to be. Then again, that is probably thanks to Sauron." Pippin, Eowyn, and Aragorn set out to gather dry tinder while Gandalf busied himself with whittling a long white branch. Eowyn once again found herself drawn towards Aragorn, who did not seem to mind her company. She had just collected enough wood to be returning to camp, when she tripped over a root and fell down a small hill. She picked up speed, rolling over and over until finally, she hit a grouping of rocks, hard. Crying out in pain, she realized just how fast she had been tumbling down the ravine. She couldn't move due to a sharp pain in her ribs. Her wrist had been slashed by a sharp rock, and a deep cut oozed blood over the silver-white rocks. Aragorn came sliding down the edge of the ravine after her, only he did so on his feet. Rushing over, he quickly surveyed the damage. With a horror, she realized he was lifting up her shirt.
"Get away from me." She tried to strike him, but the pain this brought upon her was too much. She collapsed back against the rocks, breathing hard. Each intake of air felt like knives plunging into her lungs.
"With my lady's permission, I will check if any ribs are broken?" his tone accepted no argument, so she gave none.
"I will have to carry you back to camp where I can give you better care. Three of you ribs are broken and you are losing blood quickly." She started to protest, but her merely picked her up in his arms and set off. He was being very gentle, but even the smallest movement sent her into torment. When they finally arrived back, Pippin had a strong fire going. Gandalf knelt beside her.
"Broken ribs, not good, not good." He muttered. "Let us hope they will not puncture your lungs. For now, you will need to lie as still as possible, and we will construct a sling to carry you the rest of the way to Rivendell." He turned to Aragorn. "Our need lies with the hope that there are elves left I this forest. We cannot heal her alone." To Eowyn, "Get some rest."
She could not fall asleep due to the pain she felt throughout her body. Besides her ribs, she had collected many other bruises, scratches, and scrapes from her fall. Aragorn sat beside her, tearing strips of cloth so he could bind her wrist. When he was done, he made as if to stand, but Eowyn reached out weakly and grabbed his hand.
"Please stay with me awhile." He sat down again.
"You were lying so still, I thought I had lost you back there."
"I can usually take care of myself."
"Try to get some sleep," he said softly as he tucked her blankets around her. He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently. She closed her eyes and felt warmth wash over her. He then sat beside her and stroked her head. She was asleep within seconds.
