Chapter Two: Arguing
Disclaimer: Nope.
Seven years later…
Lady Galadriel was not happy. Haldir and his two brothers tried to break the bad news slowly, but Galadriel wanted to know everything straightforwardly.
"How many?" she asked.
"My lady, we do not have—"
"How many, Haldir!?"
"Over three times more."
"How could he possibly… He didn't have enough time…"
"He is simply too powerful," Rúmil said. "It would be foolish to fight him."
Galadriel was silent for a moment. "They must know about this. Would you find Lord Celeborn, Lord Gil-galad, and King Elendil, and tell them that I wish to speak with them?"
"Of course, my lady," Orophin said. "Will you stay in here?"
"Yes."
The brothers left with a small bow to find the lord.
"This is becoming ridiculous!"
"It took you this long to figure that out?"
Alphiel smiled. "No… but they have been gone for seven years. Seven years! How can you possibly fight a war for seven years!? There are only so many orcs you can kill…"
"You would be surprised."
"But seven years…"
"At least you've spent those seven years at home. Alphiel…?"
"Yes, Lindir?"
"Although the battle may be over soon, I think the war is going to be much longer."
Galadriel looked around the table, wondering how long it would take to make a decision. There were twelve people total: Gil-galad, Erestor, Glorfindel, Elrond, Celeborn, Celebrían, Elendil, Isildur, Haldir, Orophin, Rúmil, and herself. Everyone looked exhausted… and why shouldn't they? They had been fight, whether at the battlefield or at home, for seven years.
Once everyone was seated, Galadriel spoke. "I have been informed that Sauron's army is much larger than we expected. There is little hope of winning against him."
"Although it is the leader's decision whether or not his army fights, we must either fight together or there will be no hope," Celeborn said, telling everyone that they all must agree.
"King Elendil, what do you think?" Galadriel asked.
"I think we should fight. We have a strong army and strong soldiers."
"What if we lose the army? There is no hope of victory," Rúmil said.
"Although I know we cannot win, we must fight or surrender," Gil-galad pointed out.
"If we lose the battle, nothing will stop Sauron. He would be free to take anything he wishes."
"Which is everything," Celebrían mused.
"That is why we must wait until our army is stronger," Glorfindel said.
"Every minute we wait, we're giving Sauron more time to build an army," Celeborn argued. "We must act quickly."
"But with caution," Orophin said. "We cannot hope to win if we rush unprepared to battle."
"We will always be unprepared," Galadriel said quietly.
"The risk is too high," Erestor said.
"If we win, the war will be over," Celebrían said.
"If we lose, our lives will be over," Glorfindel commented dryly.
"But wouldn't you rather take a risk, and then be home safe?" Celebrían asked.
"Or dead."
"Yes, Lord Glorfindel, you could lose your life. But at least the fight would be over."
"For how long?" Glorfindel shot back.
"As I reminded you before, it is the sole duty of the commander to decide. King Elendil, what will your army do?" Celeborn asked. Galadriel was glad her husband was trying to find a solution as fast as possible. Arguing was pointless now.
"We will fight."
"And you, Gil-galad?"
"We will fight."
"As will we," Haldir said, nodding. "If this is your decision?"
"Yes." Galadriel said firmly. "If anyone chooses to disagree, please speak now."
"I do not like this at all," Glorfindel said slowly to Gil-galad. "But you are my lord and I will follow your command."
"We've all done stupid things," Erestor said. "One more couldn't hurt."
Glorfindel was not in the mood. "You don't know what you are doing."
Celeborn dismissed everyone before anyone could argue with Glorfindel, and they went their separate ways to prepare for what would come.
Author's Notes and Responses:
Piratica: Thank you! This is during the second age, right before Isildur takes the Ring. The plot is… err… COMING! I'm really bad at writing prologues, so I'm apologizing in advance! Thank you for reading!
Navaer Lalaith: This actually takes place right before the third age. I'm sorry for not making that clear. Thanks for reading!
Mr. Random: Thank you! I've changed the plot around a bit (and believe me, it won't be the only time!!). My knowledge of Middle Earth is… not that great! Thank you!
Avalon Estel: Thank you! Yes, it is sad. I think I'm just going to skip that part and make Gil-galad live. Tolkien fanatics start yelling Errr… maybe not! The secret of Glorfy's brush will be revealed… as soon as I come up with it!! Thank you for your wonderful stories! blushes and does little Gollum happy danceYou made my day! My week, actually! That was so sweet of you! I'm glad my mom likes ffnet too! Thank you again!
The next chapter will be much shorter, and SHOULD be up soon. Yes, I can JUST picture you rolling your eyes now because you know that won't happen. It'll be up... well, we'll get to that later. ;) Seriously, tomorrow I have the day off, so I'll work on it then and then next weekend. I'm sorry my updates are so slow!!
Have a great day!
Malara :)