Anarrima's sword was busy as it hewed the heads off of all the foes that she came across, although there was very little time to use her bow and arrows. She counted as each time the point of her daggers found their mark. Beside her she kept a close eye on the small hobbits, just to make sure they were safe from getting trampled on at the moment. Ana could hear the loud grunts of Gimli a short ways off, then a different number shouted to Legolas... who himself was quite busy with his own fight. The Nazgul screeched above head and swooped down over the soldiers.

But suddenly the crowd of orcs that surrounded her and the Gondorien soldiers fighting at her side ceased their onslaught upon them, and parted as if someone were walking through. Before Anarrima he stood, dark and hideous. She wanted to cry out in fear, but no words escaped her throat... she couldn't move, could breath and just stood staring at him. Legolas turned when the orcs stopped their fight and saw him standing before Ana... Daedeloth. He was dressed all in black and his dark hair was pulled back in the fashion of the elves. His eyes flashed blood red as his hand reached for her.

"Anarrima... he calls for you." His voice sounded hoarse and he no longer held the light of the Eldar as he once did. She could feel her head pound as Sauron took hold of her mind once more, but this time much stronger than ever before.

Ana's silver eyes flashed with the fire of the Moriquendi and held her dagger out in defiance. Her breathing became heavy and her chest ached, but she lifted her gaze to Daedeloth and smiled. "I have given myself to someone else."

Daedeloth unsheathed his sword as his face twisted in anger and lunged at Ana. She blocked his blow with her dagger, but the force knocked her to the ground. Her dagger shattered into hundreds of pieces and the hilt landed inches from her hand. Legolas yelled out in alarm and notched an arrow to his bow and shot, the arrow hit Daedeloth flush in the heart. But the Moriquendi pulled the arrow from his chest and laughed mockingly. He snapped the arrow in two like a twig and threw it off to the side.

"Now this looks very familiar," he said turning his attention back to Ana, still lying on the ground helpless. She looked up at him puzzled as he held his sword out, prepared to take her to the Dark Lord like he had promised. "This was the same way I killed your mother. You know..." he began and gave an evil grin, "you have her eyes."

Anarrima's blood boiled over in rage. Her mother was... killed? By her father. He lied when he said she died just before she left for Mirkwood, he murdered her. Looking past Daedeloth she could still see Sauron's eye looking on and grabbing a hold of her mind. She reached back slowly to unsheathe her other dagger but Daedeloth stepped on her wrist to prevent her. He reached down and ripped the necklace off her and threw it to the ground in anger.

"You fool," he spat out at her. "You had the chance to become a queen of this Middle-earth! But now that you have refused our Lord Sauron... you must die like the ungrateful daughter you are!"

"But you indeed are blind, dear father." Anarrima began coldly. She knew she needed to keep Sauron's gaze still occupied from the mountain, Frodo still had the chance to cross Mordor unhindered. Everything around them still remained silent and Legoas could do nothing but watch. "What you don't see atar [father]... I am a Queen. My heart belongs only to a Prince I have known almost my whole life, and there is no force on this earth, not even Sauron himself... that can change the way I feel for him."

Daedeloth snarled with hate and held his sword up to deliver the final blow, but suddenly Sauron's eye was turned to the mountain of fire and all the enemy forces seemed bewildered at the change. His eye became startled and lost all coherency as Mount Doom spewed and smoked. The large trolls and the legions of orcs fled from the battlefield as they all watched in amazement as the tower of Barad-Dur began to crumble and fall to the ground. Distracted from Anarrima, Daedeloth watched in horror as he beheld the great tower falling from the Mordor skyline and Sauron's eye extinguished as it toppled to the ground. Anarrima got up quickly as the ground began to quake and collapse under the feet of the orcs.

Daedeloth dropped his sword as the ground began to disappear. In one last struggle for his life Daedeloth pulled his dagger out and drove it into Ana's side out of desperation. Everything around her went deathly quiet. She heard nothing... not the screams of the defeated orcs... not the triumphant cheers of the soldiers... not the desperate attempts of her companion to get to her. Blood poured from her wound and onto her hands. Legolas ran through the fleeing foes, pushing, shoving and killing as he desperately fought to get to her. She dropped to her knees as her father fell into the dark chasm before the Black Gates... screaming his forgiveness to her as he disappeard into the black below. The bloody dagger fell to the ground next to her shattered one.

Legolas got to Ana, dropped his bow to the ground and knelt to her side as everyone around them cheered Frodo's name in victory. The quest was successful; the hobbits had destroyed the cursed Ring at last. Then they noticed the red stain on the side of Ana's tunic as the elf picked her up into his arms and rushed her through the crowd. "We need to get her to Minas Tirith." Legolas yelled to Aragorn with Ana limp in his arms.

As the battlefield cleared and Pippin wiped the tears from his eyes he noticed something glitter upon the ground. It was the necklace. He picked it up slowly and held it in his hands. He thought back to when he first saw Anarrima in Lothlorien, and how sad she seemed. "Why did someone like her deserve a life like this?" He thought as he followed the soldiers back to the white city and tucked the necklace in his pocket.

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Anarrima lay in the Healer's room of Minas Tirith, all the Fellowship at her side. Legolas held her hand, which was now ice cold and the wound on her side still unable to be healed. They were told that her wound was mortal, and that nothing could be done for her. In her eyes he could see her resignation, and his eyes rimmed with tears. She told her own father, that she had given herself to him. Why was she always so stubborn? He knew why she was... she learned from him. He prayed that she would just fight, fight just this last time and not give in to the shadows. He couldn't live life without her by his side, not after she had become a part of it.

Anarrima opened her eyes slowly, their shine now faded and their once silver mirth was replaced with grey shadows. She was slipping. She could hear the cry of the gulls on the crashing shores and she could see the light growing in the West. Legolas looked at her with tears in his eyes and smiled softly. He knew in his heart she was letting go, and there was nothing he could do to bring her back. Ana smiled back faintly and whispered to him.

"Do not cry for me, dear Prince. My pain is gone... you have saved me. I can hear the gulls crying, crying for me and calling me home."

Legolas held her hands tighter within his and his eyes pleaded with her. "Please don't leave me Ana. Do not leave me here alone." He cried and caressed her cold, pale cheeks. Her pointed ears were covered by her dark tresses the overflowed over the pillow and the white sheets the covered were stained crimson and covered her to her waist. But with each word she spoke to him, her breaths became fainter and fainter. Legolas' voice began to fade from her ears and her glow slowly disappeared.

"Let me go home... let me be free."

"Then I will follow you," he said in defiance and held her gaze, but she closed her eyes and her tears fell to the soft pillow.

"You still have much to do here Prince," she smiled. "Aragorn needs you, Gimli needs you... Middle-earth needs you. Do not grieve for me Legolas. Be happy and smile for me."

"Then," Legolas tried to regain his voice and steady himself, then smiled through his tears," then wait for me on the white shores."

Anarrima nodded and took her last breath and closed her eyes, to see no more. The Fellowship bowed in respect as Legolas buried his head into her hands and sobbed. Pippin slowly stepped forward and placed a soft hand on the elf form in the bed... and took the necklace and laid it on her chest and bowed his head again.

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Outside in the great courtyard of Minas Tirith, Aragorn Elessar was crowned the King of Condor and wedded Arwen Uncomely to become his Queen. Anarrima had been honored as a hero among all those in Middle-earth. She was honored not as a Moriquendi, not as a Ranger... but as a friend and a companion. Beside the White Tree was a black stone in her memory with the words "Look for me when the stars shine bright" engraved in elvish. One by one all of the Fellowship in turn laid flowers before her grave and prayed to the Valar that they would someday see her again.

As dusk fell Legolas made his journey back to Mirkwood alone after Aragorn's Coronation. He did grieve in the death of his companion, his lover... but he remembered her face as she passed into the world of Arnor. For as long as he could remember, she was always haunted by something he couldn't fight. But when she took her last breath, she looked happy and unburdened and it was then that she truly was beautiful. The Child of Light sailed over the seas, never to see Middle-earth again.

On his way to the palace he passed by the great Anduin. He stopped near the bank and stood looking out over the still water. He could hear the wind through the trees and the leaves of the trees fall into the river. He then pulled out of the pocket of his tunic Ana's necklace with the ring. It glittered in the sun as he placed it in the water and watched its broken reflection. Then out over the hills a horse appeared and trotted toward him. Suddenly he recognized the steed... Dimrost! Dimrost had returned. Legolas grabbed hold of her reins when she stopped before him, then untied the harness and let it drop to the ground. "Be gone and go with her." He whispered after her as she disappeared over the hills. With a smile on his face he continued out into the forest, back home to Mirkwood.