CHAPTER 31 : Shattered

Pippin gasped in horror as Denethor went plunging over the edge, falling to his death, burning even as he fell. Gandalf looked on, his expression a mixture of sadness and relief. "So passes Denethor, son of Ecthelion." Then he turned his attention to Faramir. "He needs to go to the Houses of Healing," he said. He called the guards over, and ordered them to bring the feverish captain to the Houses of Healing, where he would be given medicine and care.

Alban set Liana down on the ground once they reached the hall. "You will be safe here, in the Steward's hall," he told her. "Now, go and look for your mother and grandmother. I'm sure they're in here somewhere, and they must be really worried for you."

Liana held on to his hand. "What about you? You're bleeding."

Alban barked a laugh and ruffled her hair. "I'm still needed in the lower levels. Someone has to keep the Orcs from marching all the way up to this hall, don't you think? Don't worry, I'll be fine. Tell your mother that too." He turned, and left, hurrying back down, his sword already drawn.

Liana turned and went to search for her mother and grandmother. Oh, Mother will definitely make me pay for this, she thought to herself. But I hope that Pippin is all right. She began to push her way through the terrified throng of people, looking for her mother's familiar red hair. She finally spotted her grandmother, sitting in a corner, stunned with fear.

"Liana!" Her grandmother held out her arms to her, and Liana ran into them, hugging her grandmother tightly.

"I'm sorry, Grandma… I wanted to get Pippin to come to safety with us…"

"Where is your mother? She went to look for you."

Liana pulled back in shock. "Mother didn't find me. Alban brought me back. I thought that she would be here with you!"

Éowyn plunged her sword into the crown of the Witch-king, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream. Flung off her feet, Éowyn fell unconscious near her uncle's battered body, and the darkness came over her. But the Witch-king was defeated.

Aislin's mother held on to Liana, rocking the child back and forth as she had done for Aislin, a long time ago. Aislin had not returned, and fear was beginning to consume her heart. Where could she possibly be? Please, let her be hiding from all the fighting, please, let her be safe! Her mind was divided between her husband and her daughter, but it was Aislin that she feared for more. Aislin was unarmed, and surely she would not know that Liana was already safe.

"The armies of Mordor are retreating! Something is fighting them back, something I've never seen before!"

The cry echoed in the hall. The man who had dared to venture out to look over the battlefields was standing before everyone, a scared smile on his face. "I think we're saved!"

"Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness," she whispered into Liana's hair. "It'll be over soon, Liana, don't you worry. Then we will find Aislin, and everything will be all right. I promise."

Liana nodded, trying to hold back her tears. Such a brave, brave girl.

The battle was over. The armies of Mordor had withdrawn, at least for now. Alban leaned against a pillar, exhausted by the long hours of fighting. But at least he had made it through. So many good men lost, he thought to himself. So many women widowed, children orphaned, families, dreams, shattered.

Slowly, and painfully, he turned and walked up the steps, making his way up to the Steward's hall. He wanted to check on Aislin and Liana. Captain Faramir was hurt, and could not check on them himself, and Alban felt that he owed his Captain to check up on the two.

He did not need to climb all the way to the top. Liana and her grandmother were hurrying down the stairs. Aislin was nowhere to be seen. As soon as Liana set her eyes on Alban, she began running down the steps towards him. "Alban! Alban! Have you seen my mother? Have you seen my mother? She wasn't in the hall!"

Alban stood stunned as Liana and her grandmother told him everything they knew. Aislin, missing? It can't be! "All right, don't worry, we will find her. Check the houses, perhaps she would be hiding in one of them. The Orcs were in many of the houses, but perhaps they missed some, or didn't search them carefully. She must be in one of them."

With that, he left them, running back down to the level where he had found Liana. His exhaustion seemed to have disappeared. This was a woman that Boromir had loved, and that Faramir held in very high regard. That was enough for any soldier to respect. Yet Alban had known her better than other soldiers, being good friends with both Boromir and Faramir. She had been kind to him; always making him smile, and she had just tended to his wound not long ago. There was so much that he owed her. He had sworn to fight to protect her, and now she was missing.

He checked every house painstakingly, unsure of whether he was hoping that she would be there. His heart wrenched whenever he saw the dead bodies of people who had been so ruthlessly killed. So much death, so many people crying… But still he could not find Aislin.

He stepped into another house, wrecked and in a chaotic mess, just like every other house raided by the Orcs. He was beginning to lose hope of finding her, but a flash of red caught his eye. He stepped closer, looking under the corpse of the Orc. Then he pushed the Orc aside roughly, and his breath caught. He had found her.

Tears began to sting Liana's eyes as Alban walked up the steps towards them, her mother's lifeless form in his arms. Tears were running down his cheeks, but he hardly seemed to notice. He set Aislin down in front of them, kneeling on the steps.

Aislin's face was pale, but a slight smile lingered on her face, as if she had found something, or someone that she had been looking for, after a long search. Her plain dark blue dress was stained with blood, the wound clearly showing. It was a sight that would have horrified any eight-year-old, but Liana felt no horror as she knelt down next to her mother's body. Cautiously she touched the cold face, and the tears began to fall.