A/N: Thanks to the following reviewers –

Slowness: I am impatient as well trust me. Thanks for the review. Keep them coming. Hope you'll read my next story. It's about Haldir. I have the idea of a plot in my head. It is all waiting to be written down. Hope you'll review that as well.

Anya7: the trick to have good pen names, though all of them are unique in a way, is to be innovative and creative and wacky to a degree. But what the heck? Have a nice time at college. And oh yeah, I almost forgot, thanks for reviewing.

Disclaimer: Nope! Not me.

The Prophecy

Chapter 16 (The end nears)

"And so he decides to come and challenge me. But the problem is he will never return back to warn the others not to interfere with my affairs." Nwalme laughed at her reflection.

"Feeling confident already?"

Nwalme turned back to see Luinil smirked at the sorceress. Nwalme smiled dangerously as she asked,

"And what does that imply?"

Luinil felt her eyes wander to the door. "Your final battle is not with him. Let him be."

Nwalme felt her heart stop. Did this elleth know her true mission? "What do you mean?"

Luinil turned back to stare disinterestedly at Nwalme. "It would be with the Valar. Do you possibly think they would go without a fight?" Luinil gazed at Nwalme intently. Nwalme felt her heart unclench itself.

"Oh – that's right. You are right." She placed a tight hand over her sword, which hung from her waist.

"You want me to fight them?" Luinil stated more than asked. Nwalme smiled a little more at this.

"Oh. Sure. But I don't think that would ever be needed." Luinil quirked an eyebrow.

" So confident!" Luinil laughed. Nwalme turned to glare at her but chose to ignore the last comment.

"I shall have you kill him." She muttered.

Gandalf held his staff before him. "The path ahead is treacherous. The fort of Gorga is strong and contains ancient magic. It would be wise to stick to our path." The rest nodded in understanding. Silme clutched Amrûn's reins tightly in her hand as she cast a worried look behind her at Legolas. He smiled reassuringly as they set into the valley where Nwalme dwelt.

Darkness seemed to cover everything in that vale. Things ancient and dead seemed to be strewn onto the floor of the valley. Dread and fear seemed interlinked with the valley. The foreboding lights of the valley seemed sinister.

"Why aren't they attacking – yet?" Aragorn asked confused. Just as he spoke, he felt himself getting pulled down from his mount. Aragorn looked down to see a rotten hand pulling his boots. Just then many other pairs of hands burst from the ground. Legolas shot an arrow at the hand pulling him down. But they seemed oblivious to it.

"They wont let go! It must be Nwalme's game. We shall have to play." Silme yelled ahead of him. Gandalf smiled wryly as he whispered something into Shadowfax's ears. The horse neighed. Then with speed surpassing any horse on Middle Earth, the hand lost balance for a while as it let go of Gandalf's boots. Gandalf rode away as fast as he could. He then turned back and caught Silme's eyes. She raised an eyebrow in question. Gandalf merely smiled as he nodded his head.

"Amrûn, rima ten'ta." (Amrûn, run for it.) She whispered to her steed. She then gently nudged his flanks. For the second time in their journey, Amrûn spread his black wings as he pushed off the ground with such force that he crushed a second pair of hands that had tried to stabilize the horse to the ground. As soon as she was air borne, she maneuvered Amrûn towards Legolas.

"Push hard, Legolas. You don't want to be stuck here while Mithrandir and I enjoy what lies inside? And you too Aragorn." Both of them exchanged worried and confused looks but nudged their horses to move faster. To their amazement, they found themselves free in a matter of minutes.

"Their defense is strong Mithrandir?" Aragorn asked, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

"Oh yes they are! Believe me they are! Do not believe what you eyes tell you. I have warned you of this before. Let us hurry and tarry not long." Silme nudged Amrûn and he flew straight ahead. Gandalf smiled at Legolas who scowled.

"It is better this way. We shall know if danger approaches. Keep your bow ready Legolas."

"Send your battalion. Let Karnil keep the lead. And if she falls, then I shall have to bring myself into battle. Though my child, Luinil shall ride with me. Wont you?" she turned to face the elleth before her. Luinil glared at the orc before her. She then turned to Nwalme.

"You call yourself the proper owner of Valinor, yet you call aid from these disgusting creatures? And what will five people do against an entire army?"

"Makes it even more interesting doesn't it?"

Luinil scoffed as she turned her back towards Nwalme.

"What use is it to try and change fate? You know you will not win Nwalme."

Nwalme felt her blood drain from her face. She caught Luinil and turned her around. "What do you mean?"

"You are evil and detestable to the last bit. They come here for me I know. I know deep down in my heart that he whose arrival you do not accept with open arms, is my kin. But how I cannot explain. But I shall not fight him."

"Oh yes you will! Now you shall array yourself in your finest armour and fight that very same man who you think is your kin. But I must say, Karnil will kill them all before they even try to reach inside. So, you shall be spared the fight."

Luinil smiled a little as she moved towards her room. But just as she was about to leave she turned towards her captor.

"Amin feuya ten' lle, Nwalme." (You disgust me, Nwalme.) She left the room just in time to miss the death glare that Nwalme sent her way.

"I see torches up ahead." Legolas narrowed his eyes. "They are an army of them out there." Silme was hovering above them. She looked down and caught his eye. Was that hope in her eyes or the prospect of no hope at all?

She landed quite near him and turned to gaze at him. "We are outnumbered." Legolas stated.

Aragorn seemed unperturbed. "We did it before. We can do it again."

"That was because Nwalme wanted us to win. Ai Elbereth! We have a proper situation before us now! The halls of Vala are so far away. Yet we cannot give up hope." She sighed as she gently pressed his forearm as she turned to look at the light that drew nearer. She then whispered so that only Legolas could hear what she was saying.

"Looks like I shall get my wish." Legolas looked up abruptly. He shook his head as he caught her hand in his.

"The fates have decided, melamin. This war shall end the torment but many lives shall be sacrificed."

"Not yours. If sacrifice is to be made, then it shall be that of the orcs. Stay firm in your resolve to live, Silme. My father will love you." He gently placed a gentle kiss on her hand as he took his bow out and removed an arrow from his quiver. Silme smiled at the elf beside her. She removed her bow as well, which glowed black in the moonlight. She readied her bow for attack. Aragorn held his sword firm in his hand.

"For Luinil." He said. Gimli looked at the king surprised, as did everyone else. "Who is that?" he questioned.

"I don't know. But she calls for me." He whispered as he held his sword high in his hand for all for the approaching party to see the flame of the west.

Gandalf smiled as though something had been explained to him. He turned to Aragorn, "Your daughter calls you, Aragorn. She is the star of Luinil."

The clash between the orcs and their party was great. Silme seemed to come to the aid of any person who needed it from her side. Amrûn soared high above the battle. But even with the grace of her horse, they couldn't take over the orcs. Silme plunged Eledhwen into an orc when she felt her heart stop. Legolas was fighting an orc with his knife when another hit him on the head with a blunt club. He fell down unconscious with surprise registered well in his face as he felt his world go black.

"Noro lim, Amrûn. Noro lim!" She kicked her horse to speed up in his direction. The orcs would take an unfair advantage over his helpless state. Just as an orc was bringing down his axe onto his head, she let fly an arrow from her bow. It hit the orc straight behind his head. She then swept down onto the others, forcing them to fall behind. In the light of the confusion that followed, she hoisted Legolas onto Amrûn's back. Arod, his trusty horse neighed once before running off away from the battle, causing Gimli to jump at the last moment.

"Come to me, my darlings! I have a score to settle for knocking my friend down! Bring it on, you mindless duffers!" he roared as he plunged his axe into an orc behind him. He then turned and spotted the blunt club. He hacked it down with his axe as he growled at the dead orc,

"Oh no you don't!"

Silme meanwhile was relieved. She hoisted Legolas more surely onto her steed's back. He was not as light as he moved. She then turned to her horse, who looked fierce and angry at their foes below.

"Hannon lle, mellon amin." She gave Amrûn a gentle pat by his shoulder as she maneuvered him back towards Gandalf who was killing the most orcs at that time.

"Mithrandir! We need aid! We are losing." She yelled as she held Legolas firmly in her grip lest he fall. Gandalf looked up as he blasted another group of orcs away.

"This is but a small group of fifty orcs or so, Silme."

Silme nodded grimly as she said with tension clearly visible in her voice.

"Yes they are fifty now, but fifty hundred more approach us, as we fight here. Even you can't defeat such an army Mithrandir! We need aid."

"But who will come?"  Gandalf was also tensed. Silme turned to look at the fort before her. He was right. Who will come? Tears fell down from her eyes as she looked at Legolas behind her who leaned onto her for support. Who will come? The question ringed in her mind. No one.

"The princess of Edona is alone. She needs help." Luinil stated as she stared at the fight that was going outside the fortress. She then turned to the sky where the great sickle of the Valar glowed brightly.

"Will none come to the aid of my crusaders? Will none save my Ada?" tears slipped from her blue eyes as she closed her eyes in pain and sadness. Will no one come?

Isilya was patrolling the borders. She gazed at the sky towards the great sickle of the Valar. It glowed brightly. But the light it emitted was ominous, as though a warning sounded from Valinor. From the halls of Varda. Isilya felt her heart agitate. Was something wrong with Silme and her mission? She knew how her feet took her when her mind was not thinking, but she found herself before the queen of the elves of Edona.

"Your majesty, the stars-"

"Silme needs our help." The queen finished for her. Isilya looked up abruptly to see the queen smile grimly. She then turned towards Isilya, who bowed her head down,

"Take your best riders. Take with you mounts like Amrûn and save them. It will but take you a few hours if you fly towards her in haste. Go."

Isilya bowed lower and got up to go out of the halls when Vala stopped her.

"Isilya, come to me for a moment." It was not an order. It was a plea. Isilya turned to look at the queen. She was regal, yes. But her eyes held sorrow beyond recall. As Isilya approached the queen, Vala gently caught her hand,

"She is my child. My daughter's blood. I cannot sacrifice her as well. Please save her. For me." Her grey eyes looked sad and foreboding. Isilya couldn't draw her own gaze from those eyes, which mirrored her won. The same color and the same fear. She nodded a little, trusting herself not to speak. Vala released her hold on Isilya's wrist and placed her head onto her left hand as she sighed a little.

"Here is a woman who has almost lost every relation and yet she stands. May your time in Valinor and in Edona be true and long, my queen. I shall not fail you." 

She hoped she wasn't late. She couldn't be. She then moved out of the halls towards the stable. As she opened the doors, two hundred winged horses greeted her with their neighs.

"Yaaraerea, Lye nuquernuva sen e dagor" (Ancient ones, we will defeat them in battle.) she roared. The horse neighed again as though they understood what she implied. She smiled as she stepped back out of the stables.

"Hannon lle, mellonea amin." (Thank you, my friends.) She then moved towards the armory. They would have to leave immediately. The night was still young and the Valar knew for how long the crusaders from the west would stand against a possible army of orcs.

"May the Valar protect your path, Silme!" she sighed as she gathered the warriors for battle.

Tada! Okay, the next chapter is the last and final chapter. So, if you like my story, please review. If you don't like my story please review. And if you seriously can't decide if you like my story or not, then please review. What ever you don't do, do one thing. Review my story.

Ja!

- Anarya of Lorien