Disclaimer: Not Yet.
Eowyn watched Frodo sitting on the ground. He had been staring at the general direction of Mordor with incredible sorrow in his eyes. She wanted to protect him and fight along side her people but Eomer had been very strict in his decision to leave her here. Merry came running over with a piece of apple in his mouth and stood upon a large rock, he cocked his head to the right and looked hard at the horizon. Two small dots were moving towards them, very slowly.
Haldir looked up, they had finally reached Dunharrow, and Ellie was quickly recovering. She had become more distant in the way she spoke to him. In a sense, she had accepted him as a friend, and no more. A good friend, but no more. It upset him to see that she wasn't interested but he loved her. Ellie looked up and stopped.
"Haldir, I see Merry." Haldir stopped and looked up.
"Yes, indeed he is standing upon a jut of land. Let us make haste, Frodo awaits."
Aragorn looked ahead of him, soon they would reach the Pelannor Fields, but not soon enough. He kicked his horse into a sprint and looked over his shoulder at Legolas. His face was stoic, and he seemed too be looking far ahead. His expression was that of pain, but the elf said nothing.
We must make haste! Come Frodo, it is time we entered Mordor." Ellie mounted the horse given to her by Eowyn and pulled Frodo in front of her. Haldir mounted as well and stood staring at the distant mount doom. Merry stood near his horse and looked up expectantly.
"I am sorry Master Meriadoc, but this is not your path." Haldir leaned down and patted the hobbit on the head. Ellie turned around and frowned. Indeed, Merry should stay here.
"No!" Haldir and Ellie looked at the enraged hobbit, "I want to fight too!! Why can't I defend the people I love? Why am I not counted amongst the warriors!?" Ellie turned her horse and stared towards Mordor.
-Melamin? - Her mind called
Yes Arwen amin? Came the answer.
-May your aim be trueâ-
Elainor, I love you
-I love you too-
She turned to face the hobbit, and looked at Frodo. –He deserves to fight. Has he not come all this way for that one purpose?- She led her horse to Haldir, and looked at him. He dismounted and started to walk away from her. She put Frodo on the ground and ran after Haldir.
"NNOO!!!" he screamed when she grabbed his arm.
"Haldir, you must," she whispered.
"Why do you do this to me? Why of all elleths in middle earth, and Valinor, must I fall in love with you? Why? Ellie, why do you pain me so? I swore to protect you, but you refuse me. Why?" Ellie cocked her head to the side.
"Haldir," she urged, "I have not done you pain of which you speak. Mellon nen, I have already promised my heart to another. I do not wish to upset you, but Merry does not deserve to be left out. "
"Ellie"
"No, this isn't about you, and this isn't about me or Legolas. Haldir, we are riding to our deaths. Do you not see? Why leave Merry behind, to die under Sauron once he has reclaimed his throne? Would it not be better o ride and die in battle and feel no more pain? Too, has he not seen his family and friends die before him? Too, has he not bleed for Frodo, cried for Gandalf? Does he not have the blessings of Men, Elves, Valar, and free peoples alike? Haldir" she put her hand on his cheek, which for elves is a sign of more than companionship and love, "You will take Merry to Pelannor, and I will go with Frodo, I will protect him." She bowed her head dutifully and he turned his face from her and shut his eyes.
"And so you have decreed that the light be taken from my eyes, Undomiel." He said.
"I am no Undomiel, dear friend." She turned from him and they both mounted their steeds. Ellie took up Frodo, and Haldir took up Merry. No one noticed that Eowyn had disappeared. No one noticed that they last horse in the stable was gone, no one would know.
Ellie and Haldir took one last look at each other before they rode off.
Riders of Rohan!! Arise! Arise!! Spears shall be shaken! Shields shall be splintered! A sword day! A red day! Ere the sun rises! Ride now! Ride now! Ride!! Ride for ruin, and the world's ending! Ride to glory and honor! Take the field, ride in the name of your great king Theoden, and his son Theodred! Ride Now!! Ride to Death!" Eomer looked at his men, "DEATH!!" The chant rang loud as they charged the Fields of Pelannor.
Eowyn, dressed as a soldier, joined the front of the formation and screamed. Haldir unsheathed his sword while covering the distance between him and the army in a few short gallops. Merry pulled out his sword and held it high above his head. "DEATH!!!"
Haldir rode into battle with the cry on his lips and Nazgul descended upon the field and took the city.
Stupid, filthy, nassssssssssty hobbitses, and Elfses!" Gollum had just finished climbing the jut of land to Dunharrow when he horses had descended again. He turned on his heels and took of after the ring bearer.
Ellie?" Frodo called from the stairs. The elf did not answer. She stood with her sword held before her, looking into the dark tunnel. "Ellie?" came the call again. She couldn't hear him, she was entrenched in her own thoughts. She had noticed the night before that something was tracking them. Also, sometime in the middle of the night she had lost her connection with Legolas. Before she could sense him, they could talk, but that connection was ended abruptly, and sadly, very quickly. She couldn't feel Haldir, so she was that more edgy. Earlier she and Frodo had stopped by a lake to refill their water skins and Ellie stooped down to wash her face. She had noticed that her eyes had changed their color from Blue-Green to Black. Just like in Helms Deep. She had made it a point to travel by water so she could check her eyes every few hours, and the black continued to grow.
-The power of the Ring is growing- She thought to herself –It has been calling to me since Imladris, and I have ignored it well. It seems the closer we come to Mordor its cries become more desperateâI need to protect Frodo, not be a threat to the quest. But bad blood runs in you Elainor. You can use the ring, and make things the way you want them to beâ No, no, that is crazy talk. What if Frodo realized the change of eyesâwould he know? I need to protect himâ- She turned to look for her ward. She walked over to the steep stairs and pulled him up. As he readjusted his pants the ring showed through his shirt and Ellie raised her sword and fixed the hobbit with a hard glare. She shook her head and turned to look down on Minas Morgul. Her armed hand twitched with the urge to spill blood.
Frodo walked over to Ellie and put his hand in hers. She stiffened and her eyes focused after a long time on a point far from them. She watched in horror as the Tower of Echthelion was ripped apart in the talons of the Nazgul hovering around it. She turned around and looked at the hobbit. "Frodo," she said, not looking at him, but at the tunnel, "Sleep now, I will wake you when the time comes."
Legolas watched the sea gulls fly around the bay. He was reminded of his soon to be lover, and he smiled. Then his attention turned to his companions. He notched his bow, and followed Aragorn's quick stride into the battle of Pelannor.
Legolas perched on a rock and started firing arrows without pause. "17!! 18!! 19!! 20!!" he counted as the Orcs, Wargs and Goblins fell. Across from him Gimli laughed heartily as everything in his way met his axe, "12!! 13!! 14!!"
Not far off Anduril glittered with the blood of the Orcs Aragorn had slain. As he looked across the field he could see, fallen soldiers and orcs together. Farther down the Rohirrim had already made it into the middle of the field. Then it happened a flood of eerie green engulfed the field, and started a massacre. Legolas dropped his arrow and watched as the field was cleared. Aragorn took two steps over to get a better view, and Gimli held his axe above his head in victory.
Stand your ground!!" Gandalf yelled at the scrambling soldiers of Gondor. They were clearly out numbered, but hope had arrived. Galadriel had told him, Haldir and the Rohirrim had arrived and that Aragorn would be here shortly too.
Orcs had already flooded the lower level of the city and killed what was down there. Faramir and his men had retreated and recomposed themselves on the second level by rearming. Archers stood on the gates of the second level firing arrows, as Faramir manned the catapults. The war was raging on two fronts. Gondor had to protect herself from inside, and she did not have enough men to send out to protect the fields.
Soon into the battle the first 6 levels of the white city were taken and men were fleeing for their lives. Denethor, up in the main halls on the last level was threatening to kill any one if they stepped into the halls.
He ran behind the throne and crouched to the ground and pushed a small door open. He ducked his head and walked into the now open door on the wall. As he stepped in the door swung closed. He walked briskly to down the corridor into a large black marble room. The whole room was black and empty except for one black marble stand in the center of the dark. On top of the stand was a snow white sheet, and through the sheet a large bump in the form of the orb showed.
Denethor walked to the sheet and pulled it lovingly off the orb and stared at the black orb in front of him. The orb started to glow orange and a voice came out of it.
"Now that you see the might of Mordor, do you wish to join with me?" Denethor looked away from the orb and at his hands. –It has been many years since these hands have protected Gondor. If I side with Sauron, I will spare Gondor the worst. No, I would be casting her into the eternal flames of Sauron's hands. - "What say you son of Echthelion?" Denethor sighed and turned his eyes from his hands into the orb. In it he saw himself ruling side by side with the Dark Lord. The Ring of Power was on his finger, but his smile looked arkward. He lifted the sheet and placed it back on the orb shaking his head. Suddenly the sheet burst into flames and a voice rang through the corridor. "No one turns away from me and lives!!!"
Flames sprang out of the marble walls and soon Denethor was running towards the exit, behind the throne. As he reached the walls he clawed at the door as flames leapt on to his back. He could smell his burning flesh as his fingers dug into the crevice of the door. He screamed in pain.
Frodo," the elf said as she leaned down to shake the hobbit. He awoke to find it still night time. He was momentarily startled when a hooded figure woke him, and his hand went straight for his neck, but then he noticed the Leaf of Lorien on the figure's cloak and relaxed. Ellie had pulled her hood on her head a while before he had awakened Frodo in fear of looking at her eyes again. She unsheathed her sword ad stood in front of the tunnel waiting for the little hobbit to follow her. When he was inside she unhooded herself, and let her inner light shine. Only this time inside of it being a pure white light, it was a dark deep gloomy orange. She shook her head and put her hand in the hobbit's hand. She led him through the dark tunnel in silence while thinking about how hard it was to conceal her transformation. –Saruman raised to in the ways of the Dark Lord. As you come closer to the place you spent your childhood in, you become part of it. Did you think you killed me? Did you think you could escape the power and might of Sauron? You are bound to him, just as your father promised, he calls for you now. If you do not answer, he will make you answer- Ellie shook her head hard, it was very quiet but she could hear something. Suddenly a hiss came from behind them. Lothamin had emitted enough light to guide them through the tunnel but it could not reveal all that was in the shadows. Another sound came, but it was this time a different voice. "Elainorâ I could give you everything you wantâ Everything you desire. You could rule Middle Earth. Elainor take it. No one will know, they'll be dead. You know you want it. Elainor"
She turned around just in time to catch something slink into the darkness behind the hobbit. "Frodo," she said, "I want you to do something for me. Do you see this sword," she pulled out a larger dagger that would be a fit sword for a hobbit and handed it to him, "See it? If something attacks us, I want you to run that way, and drag this sword on the ground so if we get separated I can again find you, little one. Frodo took the dagger and placed its sharp tip on the ground, and unsheathed Sting.
They both nodded and held each other's hands as they continued into the darkness. Far off in the cave they could here water dripping, and occasionally they would hear heavy breathing and feet pattering on the stone floor. Cobwebs, and sticky traps lay everywhere, and when one was caught the other would help them, without any spoken words. Frodo cut his leg on something and fell to the ground. Ellie stopped to pick him up and as she reached around his waist the ring called to her and she found herself reaching for his shirt instead, she snapped away for a moment and regained her mind. She sat by his leg and with the light from her sword and the dagger she had given Frodo, she mended his leg. Frodo sat in silence listening to his breathing, his companion's breathing and the hissing noise that had been following them from before they entered the caves.
"Nasssssssssssty Hobbitses!!!!!!!!!!!!" came the war cry before suddenly both swords that emitted light were sent flying down an unseen passage. The unseen attacker screeched and jumped on to Ellie's back and sunk his teeth into her neck. She screamed. From the floor Frodo could see two big yellow bulbous eyes, darting around maniacally, from side to side, while Ellie's muffled cry rang out. Suddenly the attacker fixed his eyes on Frodo as he turned to run in the direction of the two swords and was caught in mid step by the unseen horror.
Frodo hit the ground face first and the beast grabbed his ankle and swung him around so that he lay on his back. Frodo cried out for his companion. She was on the ground searching for a weapon to use against the attacker, and she had a feeling she knew who it was. The beast jumped on Frodo's chest and breathed his horrible breath onto his face. Frodo yelped as the rotten stench of raw fish and sour eggs filled his nostrils. He cried out again.
"Itsss ours!! Give it back to ussssssss!! Gollum, Gollum." Nimble fingers started undoing Frodo's shirt (wow, sounds like a sex scene!) and reaching in for the ring. Frodo cried out and grabbed the ring before the long clammy fingers reached it. Suddenly teeth sank into Frodo's shoulder and he screamed out loud.
Ellie was feeling the ground for the swords as she was increasingly panicking and begging the valar to will Frodo NOT to put on thee ring. The blackness that filled her eyes earlier began to grow quickly dimming her own vision. She started yelling at Frodo, and the echoes in the cave prevented both companions to understand each other. Ellie yelled louder as she brought her nose to the dirty ground to look for the swords that were no longer luminating.
"FRODO!! DO NOT PUT THE RING ON!!" she screamed, "FRODO, NOO!!!"
Frodo was struggling to push the teeth out of his shoulder and trying to hold onto the ring as the clammy hands fought him. Ellie's hand cold metal and she picked it up. She knew it was a goblin sword, but she kept her grip firm. She felt around her and tried to recognize the passages she walked through. Frodo's voice was getting closer. Finally her eyes failed hr and she slammed into the wall of the passage. She sighed in frustration and gritted her teeth. Then a thought occurred to her. She got on her hands and knees and closed her eyes tightly. She blocked out the voice of the hobbit, which was now in severe pain. –The Ring will call to me- She sat in silence for a few minutes and then heard the call. She started crawling as fast as she could to the voice and finally came to the brawl. She stood up and with her eyes closed grabbed the creature from his lions and threw it across the passage.
"FRODO BAGGINS," she boomed "DO NOT PUT THE RING ON!!" Frodo nodded unaware that Ellie could not see him. She was stunned by a blow the head from behind. The creature crawled up her side and bit her cheek. She swung the sword around her head but missed. She found herself pinned to the ground as the creature moved his teeth to her neck again. She began choking her lungs stressing for oxygen. Frodo picked up the dropped sword and swung into the air. He was kicked hard in the chest and sent to the nearest wall. The sword dropped and he was attacked again. This time the hands closed around the chain on his neck. Frodo screamed as he grabbed the hands.
A/N: sorry this is taking so long. I am writing this between classes. Love you guys. This is an important chapter. A lot of promises are made here, and we see that Ellie is being called Elainor a lot, again.