Disclaimer: I will own lotr when J.R.R. Tolkien himself gives the © to me...but for now it remains © of J.R.R. Tolkien, New Line Cinema, Peter Jackson (and I believe the rest of the me if I'm wrong).(do I have to keep putting these bloody things up?)

A/N: Okay, every1...I know that that last chapter was totally and unreasonably short. Hope ya'll find this length better! and thx to...

charmedobsessi12: ya I know it was short...sigh...wow, you guessed my idea, lol!

Dinlandau's Lover: hiya! Well, I'm glad you like it but I have an author's request: could you not use that word, please? I don't mind a couple 'slang' words, but that one is on the 'out' list. No hard feelings. Hope you keep reading!

myri: kewl, u guessed wut I was gonna do, too! Wow! U guyz r so smart!

CrazyCruzet212: I know, he can be such a blonde sometimes, like u said, lol! I know, I was hoping it'd be longer too...

Insane Elven Rock Baby: lol. Well, I'm afraid that I won't be able to do too much Legolas for a few chapters, but I'll try to fit him in, k? (lol, thx for the happy b-day! -) Oh, yeah, thx for correction....::smiles shyly::

loveroflegolas: k! here ya go!

lexi: no offense taken I know it was short.

Lunawolf: thx, yes I know, v. short...::sigh:: but this is slightly longer...

Dimonah Tralon: yaaay! Two new ppl who like my story!

The Black Ships were taken over by the Dead easily...Gwyn could see what an advantage they would be in the upcoming battle. Nevertheless, she held Gimli's view of them...they had no honor in life, and now they have none in death. As they sailed, as quickly as possible, Gwyn whispered to Gimli, 'Do you trust them?'

Gimli scoffed. 'Not at all, lassie.'

Gwyn nodded. 'I'm not too sure about them. If given a higher reward than my father offered them, they would turn on us in a second.' She suddenly felt a blade across her throat...it was a green blade, ghost-like in appearance. Her whole body tensed as she realized it was the King of the Dead.

Gimli raised his axe, but the King took no heed of this action.

'Check your words before you speak,' the King growled.

'I'll check my words when I please,' Gwyn retorted, even though she knew she shouldn't have.

The King growled again and began to increase the pressure on her neck.

'I would be careful if I were you,' she said coldly. 'You know not whom you threaten.'

'I threaten a mere child.'

'Mere child though I might be, I am the daughter of the Heir of Isildur,' Gwyn said in a deathly calm voice. She felt the pressure on her throat lessen a great deal, then the blade was removed completely.

'Because of your heritage I will let you go unharmed,' the King stated. 'But if ill words of us are heard from you again...there will be punishment.'

Gwyn stared hard at him, maintaining a calm aura, yet inside, she was trembling with fear of what could have happened to her. The King of the Dead sheathed his sword and walked away. Gwyn sighed in relief.

'I'd be careful if I were you, lassie,' Gimli said quietly.

Aragorn had just seen what happened. He quickly strode towards her and whispered, 'Are you mad? Do you know what could have happened to you?'

Gwyn rolled her eyes. 'Yes, Father, I am aware.'

'You'd have been lucky just to lose your head!'

'Well, what do you propose I do?' she asked angrily.

Aragorn remained calm. 'Please, Gwyn,' he said softly. 'Just watch what you say about and around them. Their tolerance is not high.'

Gwyn cocked her head very slightly as she debated how to respond to that. Remembering her resolve, she nodded her head and said, 'If you wish.'

Aragorn looked immensely relieved that she did not argue. He squeezed her shoulder and walked off.

'Are you trying to get yourself killed?' a voice asked, sounding exasperated, but worried. It was Legolas.

'Please, Legolas,' Gwyn said, groaning. 'I've already had this from my father; I don't need it from you, too.'

Legolas gave her a small smile, which she returned.

'I promise I'll be careful what I say, alright?'

'Thank you,' Legolas said, his face clearing of the worry it had shown. As they looked into each other's eyes, they knew that they wanted to kiss, but it would be foolish to kiss in front of Aragorn.

Gimli was looking back and forth between the two of them, comprehension dawning on his face. 'Oh,' he said, taking a little bit of a step away from them. 'I see.'

Gwyn looked at him quickly, and nearly burst out laughing, but controlled herself. She put a finger to her lips and jerked her head ever so slightly towards her father. Gimli himself looked like he was trying desperately not to laugh as he nodded his head in understanding.

Gwyn and Legolas settled for squeezing each other's hands while Aragorn's back was turned.

Gwyn rested her elbows on the side of the ship with a thoughtful expression. Aragorn came up beside her. 'Thank you,' he said softly.

'For what?' Gwyn inquired.

'For not arguing with me.'

'Oh,' Gwyn said. 'You're welcome.'

They stood in silence for several minutes. 'Are you afraid?' Gwyn asked very quietly.

Her father looked at her quizzically. 'Yes,' he said, still a little puzzled. 'Are you?'

She did not speak at first. 'Yes,' she admitted finally, in an ashamed tone. Her body muscles tensed and she began to shake a little.

'There's nothing wrong with fear,' Aragorn consoled her.

'I don't want to be afraid of anything,' Gwyn said, gripping the edge of the ship so tightly that her knuckles turned white. 'But I am.'

'You will find your courage when the time comes,' Aragorn said, placing his hand over hers.

'It is not courage that I lack,' Gwyn told him. 'It is faith.' She sighed as she looked out into the river. 'I wish we could be back home again. I wish we had never come on this journey. But then...I have learned many things in just this year...things I never would have learned if we had not gone on this quest.'

'Like what?' Aragorn asked.

But Gwyn just shook her head. 'It is not the right time to speak of this,' she said.

'It's never the wrong time to say 'I love you'!' her mind screamed at her.

'Well this is!' she retorted.

'And how do you know that?'

'Oh, come on! We're heading into war!'

'Exactly! What if he dies in the battle? What if—'

'His battle skills are too high, he won't die!'

'You can't guarantee that! What if he does die in battle? How would you feel if you never got a chance to tell him?'

'Awful,' she admitted reluctantly.

'Precisely! So tell him!'

'Oh, be quiet!' she ordered her mind.

Aragorn nodded. Gwyn was so deep in thought that she did not notice him walk away.

'Why does this keep happening?' she wondered. 'Why can't I just tell him that I love him?' She drew in her breath sharply and snapped out of her reverie as she caught her first glimpse of the Pelennor Fields. 'Father!' she called.

Aragorn looked up and immediately saw the reason for her call. 'Gimli! Legolas! Gwyn!' he said. 'Draw your weapons!'

Gwyn set her jaw and drew her sword as the others drew out their own weapons. As they pulled up to the land, they heard an orc shout, 'Late as usual, pirate scum! There's knife work here that needs doing. Come on, ya sea rats! Get off your ships!'

Gwyn smirked. She knew who they were expecting... Aragorn nodded to them all, signaling to jump of the ship. Gwyn placed her hand that was not holding her sword on the edge and swung her legs over, landing gracefully and sturdily on the ground.

The orcs stared, but regained their composure enough to sneer, 'Only four? Against all of us? Take 'em down, boys!'

Almost as if on cue, the Dead Army appeared behind Aragorn, Gwyn, Legolas, and Gimli, amounting to more than five hundred soldiers.

The orcs were struck speechless.

With great war cries, they charged upon the orcs, the Dead easily conquering their foes. Gwyn powerfully, but with a lazy air, hacked off an orc's head. She sensed something approaching from behind, and quickly turned, swinging her sword in a wide circle. An ugly head tumbled off an ugly body, then fell to the ground, its weapons falling with it. There was not much fighting for them to do, because the Dead were managing that.

But suddenly, she felt a hard, sharp rap on her head, a pain in her side...then she passed out.

lol, sorry, ya'll...cliffy...ne way, I hope that length was better! Next one should b even longer!

Hey, ya'll will not BELIEVE what my older bro (TannerMM3) got me for my b-day...! See if you can guess! -

Here's a hint: It has to do with my favorite Lord of the Rings character and actor...and it's NOT Legolas...

Luv alwayz,

lilz