Into the Shadow
By The Last Evenstar
A/N: Here it is, your super-quick update! And no lengthy author's note this time!
Thank you, wonderful reviewers, for reviewing!
Tammy - Sorry, no action this chapter. But don't worry, there is more to come!
Kath - Thank you for agreeing with me. I'm glad you like the story!
Courtney - Glad Yoo finally got the time to review! Heehee, I love twists!
Kekelina - I'm glad you don't think Arwen's turning into a Sue! As for the italics, I use Microsoft Word and save as html format. If yours is different, or you can't do that, email me and I'd be glad to help.
mata - Go Fighting Arwen! I totally agree with you. Thanks for your support!
The Converted - Mmm. I don't really know what you're talking about (happens a lot) but any naked Dunadan is fine with me. *sings* Misty Mountain hop . . .
galadriel evenstar - Don't worry, he'll be back . . . eventually.
Cerridwen-Evereven - Thanks! I had hoped that everyone would enjoy that.
b-witched83uk - Thanks. I always thought the whole story of Celebrian was so sad. And I love the twins, bless their hearts. And there's more Aragorn here . . .
ME132 - Go out and kill all the Orcs you can find. Even the ones in your backyard.
Journey Update: Crossing the Misty Mountains
Chapter Six: Evenstar Falling
Arwen sat alone by the fire. Farther away a sentry kept watch, but everyone else was asleep.
For the past few days she had traveled numbly, afraid even to speak for fear that she might let it slip. She trembled on the verge of sleep, afraid to submit to whatever horror awaited her.
A trap. Well, she didn't care if it was a trap. She was going to save him anyway.
So why did she feel so helpless?
She knew she should tell them. They had a right to know what they were getting into. But if I do, they'll turn around and go back, she thought miserably. And I need them. I need them to save him.
But if it is a trap, they'll all die.
She pulled her cloak tight around her shoulders. Either way, someone she loved was going to be lost. Exactly how far was she willing to go?
Anywhere, she realized, even if it means going on all alone. For Estel, I would walk right through the Black Gate and demand to speak to the Dark Lord.
Because I know that he would do the same for me.
She could remember, in the back of her mind, a happier time, where life was love and goodness. She could hear softly, as if someone whispered them in her ear, a man speaking to her, telling her that for them, he would do anything.
"And I would do anything for you, Estel," she had whispered, savoring the delicious warmth of his arms around her. "You know that."
She had never thought that she would have to make good on her promise.
~~~~~~~
Elrohir gazed at his sister, worry and concern playing across his face. Did she sleep at all last night? he wondered. Or did she stay awake by the fire again?
Arwen hadn't slept for three nights, and that worried him. What worried him more was that they hadn't been attacked in that amount of time either. There had been one last attempt, right after Arwen had woken, pale and shaking and muttering about traps, and then the enemy had appeared to give up.
Couldn't they find us? he mused. We're still on the same road. If they know where we'll be coming . . .
He shuddered. But how do they know where we'll be coming? He had puzzled for days, and was still no closer to an answer.
"The vagaries of the Shadow are yet unknown," said a voice behind him. He whirled around to see Glorfindel, smiling wryly.
"You read my mind," he muttered. "Or rather, my worries."
The Elf lord sighed. "I doubt there is anyone riding with us who does not have their mind on it. It's a terrifying thought for even the most experienced warriors."
For the first time Elrohir noticed a trace of fear in his old mentor's eyes. He gulped. "What frightens the Balrog Slayer is dire indeed. Why do you continue, if there is so much doubt?"
The golden-haired Elf smiled fondly. "Elfling, you are young yet, for all your wisdom. Tell me, why do you continue pursuit of the Orcs, so great and innumerable?"
Elrohir's fist was clenched tight. "Revenge," he admitted. "Revenge for what they did to my mother."
Glorfindel, noting the tremor in his voice, did not press the matter further, only gave him a knowing look and rode on, leaving the son of Elrond alone with his thoughts.
~~~~~~~
He did not know where he was, only where he had been. He did not know who he was, only who he had been. He knew nothing anymore, for there was nothing in his life but the great darkness, and the omnipresence of the Shadow.
It was bringing him down; he knew that. Each day he would fall, further and further, until there was nothing left in him but void. A fate befit for a king, he thought bitterly. As the Kings of Old I shall be; an empty wraith, devoid of all knowing.
And that was not so terrible. After the suffering, it seemed a welcome relief. No, what haunted him was the thought that he would bring her down with him.
He knew she would be the last thing he forgot. The last sweet memory he was allowed to retain before the Shadow took him completely. He knew that the memory of dances in the midnight rain, and kisses that taste like honey, but sweeter, would be the last to go. And it was simply because they were his world.
Now he wished fervently that it had never happened. That he had never met her, walking in the woods; that she had never captured his heart so many years ago. He wished like never before that they had never met again in Lothlórien, brought together, as it seemed, by the omniscient forces of destiny. He wished that he had never taken her hand in his, soft and trembling, and whispered, "Amin mela lle, Undómiel vanima."
But he had. And because of it, she would fall alongside him. It would take her too, that had been its plan all along. To HIM Aragorn was no King, just a lonely ranger who had strayed too far into Shadow.
At first he had been immune to it. The pain, the torture, it was nothing to him. He knew, in his very heart of hearts, that rescue would come.
And then he learned that sometimes your very heart of hearts can be wrong.
~~~~~~~
Mountains rose in the distance, and Arwen shivered. It was not the cold that she feared, for Elves are immune to it. No, it was the mountains, the imposing barriers of stone that frightened her, for she saw with some inner eye what awaited her on the other side, and it was evil.
Pure evil.
My Estel, she thought desperately, let it be worthwhile. Let my quest not be folly. Give me the chance to save you.
"Arwen?" Elladan looked over at her with questioning eyes. "Mani naa i rashwe, seler-ai? [What is the trouble, little sister?]"
She gazed straight ahead. "Naa n'rashwe, Elladan."
He frowned. "I know when you are keeping something from me, Arwen."
She looked over at him, and blinked. But before she could say a word, darkness had settled over her again, and she shut her mouth. "N'rashwe. Everything's fine, teler nin."
It has to be, she added silently. It has to be.