By the Light of the Moon

Disclaimer I do not own any of Tolkien's creations. I only own SOME of the storyline and the characters I made up. This takes place during The Two Towers and Return of the King.

Author's Note: YAY! I finally updated! ::Snoopy dance:: There will be a few more chapters, but I'm just warning everyone that this story will be coming to a close soon. ::sniffle:: It's taking me so long to complete it, but it's so much fun.

I thank ALL of my faithful reviewers who have stuck with me through all of this delaying. School has been very hectic lately, so I hope you all can forgive me. Anyway...onto the next chapter!

Chapter 24: The Black Gate

As the Black Gates of Mordor came into view, a chill seemed to run through the bodies of then men, elves, wizards, and dwarves that came to fight. They were tall and jagged, like the dark heart of Sauron himself, which was only an eye of fire. Anyone who even glanced at it could feel the violence, torment, and suffering that lay behind it. It was all controlled by anger. A malice that could make the blood run cold and freeze, yet burn in the flames of hell.

Mariah gripped the reigns tighter on the brown horse she was riding and occasionally glanced over at Legolas, who had Gimli sitting right behind him. Aragorn was riding a black horse out in front, dressed in his kingly armor, with a calm, but intense look plastered upon his face. It hadn't changed since they had left Minas Tirith. As Mariah looked over at Gandalf, who had Pippin sitting in front of him on Shadowfax, she could feel a stronger tension from him. It seemed he was stressing about the battle too. Merry was riding with Eomer, and a battalion of five hundred soldiers from Rohan and Gondor rode behind them.

Five hundred men...that was it! How were they going to win this battle? There were ten thousand orcs waiting for them on the other side, and two little hobbits were sneaking by them. This was going to be one of the most terrifying battles yet...with the Great Eye watching them.

Mariah slowly brought her horse to a halt and patted its neck as Legolas rode up next to her and placed his hand over hers. She looked at him and smiled briefly before noticing that Aragorn, Gandalf, Eomer, and a soldier carrying a flag were riding up to the gate. She and Legolas followed suit, riding up together rather quickly. When they caught up to the rest of them, there was a quick silence before Aragorn finally spoke. "Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth! May justice be done upon him!" Mariah had her own translation for that...get out here and fight you bastard.

She gazed straight up at the huge black gates and felt her heartbeat quicken. It felt as if it would fall out of her chest, but she tried to relax anyway. Her gaze drifted to Eomer, who was staring around nervously and then she noticed that the hobbits were getting antsy. It looked like they wanted to get this over with too. Mariah even wondered why she wanted to fight in the first place. What was she...crazy?

A loud bang suddenly swept over the gate and everyone looked at them as they slowly began to open. Aragorn turned his horse slightly to the side, but kept himself facing the gate as he saw the orcs begin to march toward them. "Pull back! Pull back!" he ordered. You didn't have to tell them again. Mariah turned her horse around immediately and cantered back to the front of the army, her heart pounding harder now. When she faced Mordor once again, she noticed that her companions were all beside her and Aragorn had lifted his sword into the air. When she glanced back at the men, she saw the terror in their eyes and noticed them take a few steps back. She didn't blame them in the least.

"Hold your ground! Hold your ground!" Aragorn shouted, catching the attention of everyone there, "Sons of Gondor...of Rohan...my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me!" He began to have his horse pace back and forth across the front line as he continued to speak. "A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends, and break all bonds of fellowship...but it is not this day! An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of men comes crashing down...but it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, men of the west!"

Aragorn lifted his sword higher into the air at the end of his speech, which moved everyone else to lift their weapons. Mariah even took out her Elven sword and held it high. He had spoken with such pride and motivations that it would make anyone want to fight. How could anyone say no to that?

Everyone who was on horseback quickly dismounted and looked ahead at the army that was walking toward them and starting to form a circle around them. It was terrifying, but they all had to hold their ground. Pippin and Merry both unsheathed their weapons and let out deep breaths before daring to look upon the orcs that were forming a large circle around the group. Mariah brought her sword in front of her and glared at the light of the Great Eye, which was staring in her direction. It narrowed its large pupil at her and then relaxed. She knew it was observing everyone, and it scared her to think what was about to happen.

"Never thought I'd die fighting side by side with an elf," Gimli said as he gestured up at Legolas, who was standing beside him.

"What about side by side with a friend?" the elf asked as he looked down at the dwarf beside him.

"Aye, I could do that," Gimli replied with a slight smile. Mariah had been standing on the other side of Legolas and smiled as well at the dwarf's words. It was amusing to her how they could act like they hate one another, but be the best of friends in the end. She looked up at Legolas and then back ahead to find the Great Eye staring at Aragorn intensely.

"Aragorn..." The Eye was calling the King of Gondor and everyone watched as the former ranger took a step toward the open battlefield. "Elessar..." it spoke again. It seemed as if the world went silent in the next moment as Aragorn lowered his sword to his side gracefully and turned to face his allies.

"For Frodo," he said calmly before spinning on his heel and charging full-out at the army before him. Merry and Pippin were the next to scream and run. It was quite a sight...two little hobbits running into battle before the men. Almost instantly after that, the rest of the army charged into battle at full speed. Gandalf, Legolas, and Mariah led the way, outrunning Gimli and the hobbits.

There were loud shouts of "Charge" and "Death" at every turn as the armies of Rohan and Gondor collided with Mordor's orcs. Legolas fired off an arrow and then flipped out his white knives, slashing anything he came across. Mariah stood behind him, protecting his back and decapitating her enemies with her large blade. These surprisingly were much harder for her to kill than the Uruk-hai she faced at Helms Deep.

She swung her sword widely around, making sure that her friends were surviving as well. Her eyes were drawn to the dwarf fighting in front of her. He would just take these monsters out from their knees and then slaughter them. It was both dangerous and amusing to her. Still, something felt incredibly strange and wrong. It was like she could feel something inside her trying to escape.

After what seemed like forever, Mariah heard a loud screech and looked up to the sky. There were those dreaded Nazgul swooping in for an attack. "Damn," she muttered as she kicked another orc back and slashed its head off. Her eyes then caught a glimpse of Gandalf, who was perfectly calm and looking up at the sky. When she followed his gaze, there were humongous eagles attacking the demon creatures.

"Eagles! The eagles are coming!" Pippin shouted over the screams of death and small victory.

At the same moment, Aragorn was facing his own problems. A troll was swinging his sword around and the future king was blocking every blow possible. It was a struggle for him, but he was a strong man. In his heart he knew that this was a pinnacle moment of his life...gaining back the life owed to him.

Legolas and Gimli, of course, we fighting with the same grace as they always had, barely even a scratch on their armor. Wasn't surprising though, since they were skilled warriors.

Mariah abruptly glanced over her shoulder and saw Aragorn struggling to defeat the troll, who was roaring and growling as loud as possible. The monster soon knocked him to the ground and placed his foot upon him, roaring in a fury unknown to any man. "ARAGORN!" Legolas and Mariah both shouted at once as they both ran toward him. However, Legolas was now blocked by more orcs and couldn't reach his friend. "I've got him, Legolas!" Mariah screamed as she morphed into her werewolf form and charged at the troll.

"Mariah, don't!" she heard the elf scream and stupidly, she turned her head and looked at him as she had leapt into mid-air. There it was! The fear in his eyes she had seen through Denethor's Palantir. It wasn't a fear of her, but a fear of something worse. In the next second, she knew what it was as a sharp pain shot through her abdomen. When she looked down, she saw that the troll had embedded its sword through her and was slowly pulling her down to his level. Her golden eyes looked upon the elf's once more and then she saw darkness.

Aragorn stabbed his knife into the troll's foot as he saw Mariah fall down by his side, blood quickly pouring from her and turning her pale. The troll suddenly pulled his sword from the girl's body and went to strike Aragorn, but then a loud screech echoed overhead and he ran off.

Everyone quickly looked up at the tower of Barad-Dur to see a bright light burning stronger from the Eye. There were loud screams and then the tower began to fall to pieces. Smoke and debris emerged almost instantly as it toppled onto its side, the Great Eye evaporating and creating a large energy force that pushed the entire enemy down. A huge rumble erupted from the ground and soon enough the black gate tumbled down with the orcs into what looked like a canyon.

Merry, Pippin, and Gimli all shouted in triumph for Frodo's victory while the rest of the Fellowship looked on in calm, revelling in this great moment. It was not until Mount Doom exploded further and more lava spewed from the top and created more fire, which the Fellowship silenced. Tears began to flow down the hobbits' faces, fearing that they would never again see Frodo and Sam, who had been there from the very beginning.

Legolas stood tall and then looked to Aragorn, who had also gotten to his feet, and smiled slightly. The ranger nodded his head and then the elf found his eyes travelling down. He then saw a light blue robe lying on the ground behind the ranger and darted over. What he saw ripped a hole through his heart as he dropped to his knees beside the body. There was Mariah, lying in the dirt with blood covering her, staining her skin and clothes. "Mariah," he whispered as he gazed at her in her wolf form and stroked her cheek. There was no response from the girl as Legolas lifted her onto his lap and gazed at her lifeless face. "Please...you can't die on me," he said as he kissed her forehead softly.

"Legolas, she's dead," Aragorn stated as he sat down next to his companion. The elf immediately looked at the king and even through the masked emotions, he felt tears breaking through.

"She can't be dead, Aragorn. Only silver can kill her."

"Legolas, you have to understand that-"

"NO!" he screamed abruptly. Aragorn scooted back a few feet in shock of the elf's temper and stood to his feet. "You always encouraged me to love her, Aragorn! You and Haldir told me to tell her how I felt. I did tell her. You were there!"

"I know, but-"

"No! She has to be alive! I love her and she knows it! She loves me too! She has to..."

"She never confronted you with it though," Gandalf said he stepped forward, "Did she ever speak those same words to you." The elf remained silent and looked down at Mariah sadly.

"I will love her forever. I don't care if she lies within the ground. Our love for each other is like the wind on the water. It will always be there."

Suddenly, a dark cloud formed over the entire battlefield, causing the rest of the army to whisper amongst themselves in fear. The hobbits both huddled next to Gandalf and looked around nervously while Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli all stared at one another. Abruptly, a loud crack of thunder and lighting shot down from the sky and struck Mariah, causing Legolas to jump back from shock, even though he was not harmed. Then, a bright light with a silver mist swirled down from the clouds, landing gently over the young woman. Gandalf looked up at the sky and smiled, for he knew of what was to happen while no one else did. Aragorn simply stared silently with Legolas and Haldir now at his side.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Mariah screamed as her eyes shot open and her back arched both in her wolf form. Legolas went to run for her, but Aragorn pulled him back by the arm and to the ground. Everyone gazed in awe as she morphed back to normal and a black image of a wolf silhouette emerged from her body and floated up to the clouds, diminishing with a soft howl.

Just as soon as it had appeared, the cloud vanished as well, bringing out the sun. Legolas' eyes had travelled up to the sky, but they were again drawn back to Mariah's body, which was still rigid. The elf quickly detangled himself from Aragorn's arms and ran to the girl's side, pulling her into his lap once more. He placed his hand over the wound in her stomach, but to his surprise it was healed. There was no sign of blood loss even on her clothing. It was as if she had never been wounded. "Let's get the lass back to safety," Gimli yelled as he gripped his axe tighter.

"You all head back to Minas Tirith and tend to the wounds of our allies," Gandalf ordered, "I must retrieve Frodo and Sam."