**Dante's Inferno**
Before the gates the battle raged. Orcs and Trolls and evil men were clamoring from all sides. The captains were floundering in a great sea of crashing arms. Aragorn stood upon the hill beneath his banner, silent and stern, as if lost in thought. Gandalf stood with him, but turned from the battle to the northern sky.
"The Eagles are coming," Gandalf shouted and then turned back to the gates and shouted again, "The Eagles are coming!"
The hosts of Mordor looked to the sky and marveled at this strange new foe. As the eagles approached, the Nazgul fled beyond the gates with the eagles giving chase. At that moment, all the hosts of Mordor trembled as if a great cry had gone up from the black Tower. They trembled and their laughter failed and their limbs shook with fear.
Then the captains cried aloud as the momentum of the battle shifted in their favor, filling them with new hope. As the army of the west fought with renewed vigor, driving the enemy back, Gandalf raised his hands and said,
"Stand and wait! Stand, men of the west! This is the hour of Doom!"
Even as he spoke, the ground shook beneath them, and a great cloud of fire and darkness rose high above the distant mountains and the black tower. The towers of the teeth teetered and fell and the gate and wall crashed down. From far away there was a distant rumble, and a groaning from deep within the earth.
Gandalf was about to speak when they saw a great white light rise up and pierce the evil clouds, and the darkness vanished. Screaming could be heard faintly in the distance, and then all was silent.
"The realm of Sauron is ended!" Gandalf said. "The Ring bearer has fulfilled his quest!"
Then the enemies from the land of Mordor scattered like dust in the wind. Some fell upon their swords and others just ran mindlessly to and fro searching for a hole to hide in, but all fled. Gandalf left the matters of battle to Aragorn and called to Gwaihir, the windlord. The eagle descended with two of his brothers and Gandalf spoke to him.
"There are two in great peril within Mordor," Gandalf said. "If you are willing, I should like to retrieve them."
"I would bear you wherever you choose even if you were made of stone my friend," Gwaihir said. He carried Gandalf toward Mt. Doom with his brothers following.
*****
Miranda reigned in her grief and forced herself to deal with her present situation. She was draped across the Black rider's saddle like a sack of potatoes, and he was nearing his destination. Up ahead was a narrow passage between the hills that led into a hidden canyon. There were decayed and broken bodies in piles along the walls, and it smelled of death. The rider halted and tossed Miranda on the ground. He dismounted and kicked her.
"Never argue with a Seer," he repeated Gandalf's words angrily. "Your brave words seem foolish now that I have killed your little elf."
"You can't know that he is dead," Miranda insisted as she got to her feet. She had to cling to hope, she didn't know how badly he was hurt.
"They will all be dead soon," he taunted, "Including your precious little King."
"We shall see," Miranda said confidently. Now was the time to be strong, for her friends, and especially for Haldir.
"Where is the Ring, woman?" he asked. "I will not ask nicely again."
"I thought all you wraiths could sense the presence of the Ring," Miranda said lightly. "It is very close."
He roared with rage, "I am no mindless wraith! I am a Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-Dur, and answer directly to Sauron himself."
"And you despise him," Miranda said quietly as she started circling him carefully.
"He is a relic," the rider said, "Dependent wholly on the trinket he desires. I am the future. Join with me, for the power within you could be great with the right instruction. I would be most generous to the finder of the Ring." His voice was soothing and pleasant. He was trying a new approach, but he offered only empty promises.
Miranda smiled for in her mind she could see Frodo approaching the entrance to Mt. Doom. But the rider thought she was considering it so he continued, "You would rule as queen beside me, and I would give you whatever you desired."
Miranda closed her eyes and she could see Frodo scuffling with Gollum on a cliff above the churning lava of Mt. Doom. Gollum bit Frodo's finger off, wresting the ring from him. She looked at the rider before her again and sneered coldly.
"Your Ring is beyond any reach, Lieutenant of the Tower," she said as she backed away. She unpinned her brooch and cast aside her cloak. The earth suddenly shuddered and quaked and there was an eerie rumble in the far hills toward Mt. Doom.
The rider looked at her in horror. "What evil deed is this? What have you done?"
"I have done nothing, but others have," Miranda said as she unbuttoned her coat and tossed it aside to gain access to her sword. She unsheathed her sword and the black rider cursed as the ground shook again even more violently than before.
"This ruins everything!" he growled. "You will die for this injustice!" He threw off his cloak and tossed down his helm. He drew his sword and turned to face her and she gasped.
He looked like her father, only younger and strong. He wore black armor, and in his eyes burned with an evil fire. His face twisted with rage and he growled.
Miranda's heart raced and in her mind she repeated over and over; not my father! Not my father! Just his likeness! He is not my father!
He swung the first blow, but she blocked it and sidestepped. She spun around and kicked the back of his knee, knocking him down. Her eyes began to glow with a white light, and she backed away and laughed.
"You don't do much of your own fighting, do you?" she jeered.
He sprang back to his feet and swung his sword wildly, but the fire in his eyes was but a flicker. Miranda easily deflected his attack and she could see that he was faltering. He seemed lost and confused so Miranda played a hunch.
"Israfel?" she asked as she backed away.
He halted and looked at her. His face softened briefly and he said, "I know that name."
"Sauron is destroyed along with his Ring," she said as the glow faded from her eyes. "You are free."
Then his face went pale, and he looked at her in disbelief as he dropped to his knees. "No, I will never be free," he said weakly. "I am cursed now, a slave to his will. If you would be merciful, then slay me."
Miranda furrowed her brow and she looked at him in shock, "NO!" She could have done it five minutes ago, but now she was face to face with her father, and he was returning to his senses.
He looked at her angrily now, and then he said, "You are the new carrier of light for my own was extinguished long ago. I am not the man I was! Kill me now, before it is too late."
"You are my father," she insisted. "Don't ask me to do this."
He looked at her with a tear in his eye even as his demeanor grew fierce again. "The Dark Lord is not gone yet. Within me is enough power to sustain him. It must end here."
Above them a great black cloud had formed and was descending. The spirit of Sauron was searching for his last hope. Israfel was right, it had to end. She stepped back and waited as the cloud surrounded them. Israfel was engulfed in flames and his face twisted wickedly. Miranda steeled herself against the overwhelming evil before her and raised her sword. A piercing white light burst forth from her and she shouted, "It is over!" She swung her sword and severed his head from his body in one swift stroke. The cloud vanished with a great rumble as the head and toppled to the ground and the body slumped over in a heap.
Miranda started to cry. "Father!" she screamed as her light filled the canyon and all the sky above it, driving back the darkness that had covered the land of Mordor.
The ground around her shook violently and split open into several fissures. She screamed again in anguish and frustration as she fell to the ground. She looked at the body across the fissure and could not believe what she had done. She had killed her own father.
The earth groaned and there was a great explosion from the volcano. Miranda looked up and could see the plume of ash and smoke rising against the blue sky. She was suddenly aware of her own peril. She grabbed her cloak and pinned it on and ran to the passage that led out of the canyon. Her eyes burned from the fumes and ash that now rained down. There was a pause in the quakes, so she took the opportunity to cut a piece of cloth from her shirt hem and tie it around her face. Her lungs burned, and she choked, but the makeshift scarf helped a little. If she was to have any chance, she had to get out of here before the passageway collapsed. She finally came out of the narrow channel and the valley before her was in utter chaos. Above her she saw three Eagles flying away from Mt. Doom carrying passengers.
"Gandalf, Sam and Frodo," she whispered. "Well at least they are safe, though Frodo will never be the same again." She found herself alone in the middle of hell, and it was choking and burning the life out of her. She was overcome with despair.
"The war is over, and I will never have my peace," she said as she wandered down the hill. "Haldir is probably dead; Israfel is dead by my own hand… I am alone." She stopped and looked around in disbelief at her final end. It was like some grisly scene from Dante's Inferno. The creatures of the land were running around in madness. She stood there holding her sword like a security blanket at her side. But she could not bring herself to surrender yet, so she walked. She turned back toward the gates pressed on. It seemed like hours that she traveled, and still she could not see the gates. Days of hunger, and the choking heat and ash were just too much and finally her body gave out. She collapsed and fell into peaceful oblivion. Her small form was almost invisible beneath her gray cloak that blended with the rocky terrain and the ash that fell like snow. Her last thoughts were of Haldir; perhaps she would die now, and see him again in some happy afterlife.
*****
The battle was over now, and Gandalf had gone after the Hobbits, but no one had gone after Miranda. Elladan and Elrohir had carried Haldir to safety, but now that the enemy had fled, Elladan went to Aragorn.
"I'm going after Miranda," he said matter-of-factly.
Aragorn looked at him and knew he shouldn't argue. "She may be hard to find," he said. "She may not be alive," he added quietly.
Elladan frowned, "She lives, and Haldir is barely hanging on. I do not wish to be the one to tell him she is lost, do you?"
"Take an extra horse for her, and whatever men you may need," Aragorn said.
Elladan nodded and gathered six of the Rangers and Tempest in less than ten minutes. He waved to his brother and said, "Take care of Haldir; I will bring Miranda back safely, I promise."
Haldir heard his promise and looked at Elrohir. "If she yet lives," he said sadly.
"She lives," Elrohir insisted. "He will find her."
Haldir gave a nod but the pain stilled him. The wounds from an arrow in the shoulder, one in the thigh and one only inches from his heart were throbbing. He finally passed out from the pain and the loss of blood.
As Elrohir watched Elladan and the Rangers ride past the ruined gates, he said, "Rest me friend. My brother will return with your love."