Aragorn sat astride his mare and glanced over his shoulder to where Legolas and Eldairon spoke quietly. The soldiers were in place down on the first and second tier and another group of soldiers waited near them to accompany the king out of the city. The rest of the small group of soldiers would wait behind the gates for when the Corsairs would be trapped.

Aragorn tightened the strap of the quiver strapped to his body and rotated his shoulders. Eldarion was garbed in loose fitting soldier clothes but bared the White Tree of Gondor upon his chest. Andruil hung at his hip and his hand was constantly resting on the pommel as he talked to Legolas and Gimli. Aragorn glanced up to the sky and narrowed his eyes at a hawk that soared overhead. The Valar had not spoken to him lately in his sleep and he was torn between what to do. He knew something would probably go wrong; it would be inevitable. He just didn't know what.

Several of Eldarion's advisors stood near him speaking quietly among themselves as Aragorn's eyes trailed over all of them. Most were dressed in battle gear and would stay with the reserve of soldiers if they were needed. Some were captains in the army so they stayed with their soldiers more towards the front lines with their king. Aragorn's eyes sought out Dervarin and found him speaking with another soldier. The young man had easily slipped onto Aragorn's bad side along with a few other people. 'Annoying little upstart' he thought as Eldarion mounted his horse.

"We ride!" he yelled and everyone mounted their horses.

Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli flanked Eldarion as they rode down the street with soldiers behind them on horseback. They could hear the sounds of the Corsair army before they reached the first tier. Glancing up to the top of the buildings, Aragorn could see the soldiers ready with bows and large bundles of arrows. Sighing, he hoped that they had enough and their aim was good. Eldarion signaled for them to open the doors and he rode through them and stopped to wait for all the soldiers to come through. Aragorn's eyes slowly moved over the line of Corsairs that faced them. Turning in his saddle, Eldarion looked up the street to see Alcarohtarë standing tall with her bow tightly gripped in her hand. Her quiver full of arrows peaked over her shoulder and she was dressed as a warrioress and the commander. She was the commander under her brother and when he was out of the city, she was in charge. Their father's leadership had been passed onto all his children and they used it as an art. She nodded slightly to him before he turned back to face the Corsairs. He trusted his sister and knew she would do whatever it took to keep their kingdom safe.

Eldarion motioned for the army to move forward as he watched for any signs that the Corsairs would launch an attack. When they got closer, Eldarion saw that the back line of Corsairs were ready with arrows.

"Arrows!" he yelled, just as the bows came up and the arrows were released.

Everyone brought up their shields to block the arrows as the Corsairs charged. A few men fell from the arrows as Eldarion cast aside his shield and withdrew Andruil from its sheath. The two armies clashed amid a mix of war cries. Gimli was soon off Arod to battle with his axe as Legolas used his bow as long as possible. Aragorn stayed near Eldarion and watched his son's back as he fought the Corsairs. Forty minutes into the battle, Eldarion whistled sharply to signal everyone to retreat to the city. They slowly moved and pretended to weaken as the soldiers moved back to the city. Aragorn whipped his hair out of his eyes and looked around the battle field. He yelled for the soldiers to fall back as he blocked a blow from a Corsair and stabbed the human. He was in the last group of soldiers to reenter the city and knew something was wrong immediately upon stepping over the threshold. Legolas ran towards him as Aragorn reached for the other elf.

"What is wrong?"

"The gates are closed to the second tier. There is a battle on the other side of the gate. It must be the work of the mole," Legolas said and ran on.

Aragorn's mind froze for a moment before he looked around to all the soldiers.

"Everyone into the buildings and ready their bows! Fire at will upon any Corsairs! When the buildings are too filled, hide in the alley ways! We shall fight them in our own streets!" Aragorn yelled and motioned for the soldiers to part.

He ran up the street, looking for Eldarion but only saw soldiers. Reaching out, he grabbed a soldier's arm and stopped the man.

"Where is Eldarion?" he asked loudly.

When he saw the confusion on the soldier's face, he changed the question.

"Where is the king?"

The soldier pointed towards the main gates into the city. Swearing loudly, Aragorn sprinted back down the street and past the hidden soldiers. Rounding the corner and running into the courtyard, he came across a battle between Gondorian soldiers and Corsarian soldiers. He saw Eldarion, Legolas and Gimli in the middle of the fray. Several soldiers were trying to close the main doors but it looked like the mechanism that would normally make it easier was broken and they had to close it by hand. Eldarion was among several soldiers leaning their weight into the heavy doors trying to close them. Wielding one of his hunting knives, Aragorn ran through the fray ducking and dodging swords to reach the doors. Just before reaching the doors, he watched as Eldarion was thrown back from an arrow that struck him in the right shoulder and threw him to the ground. Aragorn reached the door and leaned against it as it slowly closed a bit more.

"Order a retreat!" he directed Eldarion as the young man shook his head to clear the stars and press a hand to the wound.

"No, we can-"

"Do it!" Aragorn growled as his eyes flashed angrily.

Eldarion stared at him for a moment before yelling for a retreat. Gimli escorted Eldarion up the street as Aragorn, Legolas and a few others stayed behind to buy as much time as they could. Bodies littered the ground as they held the door shut against the pressing Corsair army.

"On my count…we all let go and run," Aragorn panted as he looked to all of them.

"I believe I was wrong in…thinking you were a…spy," Legolas grunted as he glanced to Aragorn.

"It must be hard to admit…you were wrong."

"Let us not speak…of it."

"Fine by me. Two, one, run!" Aragorn yelled and pushed away from the door.

The heavy doors swung open as the Corsairs rushed in and after the retreating figures. Rounding the corner, Aragorn came face to face with arrows from the Gondor army as he slid to a stop. He dove to the ground with everyone else as the Corsairs rounded the corner at a run. The first few rows of Corsairs fell from the arrows as Aragorn rolled onto his back and avoided falling bodies. Standing, he pulled out his second hunting knife and faced the advancing Corsairs. Legolas stood by his side ready with his own knives to meet the humans head on. Arrows rained from overhead as Aragorn parried a blow and lashed out with his knives. The Corsairs started to retreat as the sun started to set and everyone gave chase. Reaching the large doors leading out of the city, Aragorn looked out and felt like sobbing in relief. Charging across the fields was the Rohirrim, some two thousand strong. Gondor soldiers surged past him to attack the Corsairs from behind as the Rohan riders attacked from the front.

Aragorn leaned forward and rested his hands on his knees. He saw feet suddenly appear next to him and he turned his head to look at Legolas. The elf was bleeding from a cut above his left eye and the blood trickled down the side of his face but other than that he was unharmed. Aragorn had multiple bruises and scrapes but no injuries oozing blood. Legolas rested a hand on his shoulder before Aragorn slowly straightened up. A few soldiers were lighting the lanterns along the street to cast light upon the streets. Aragorn and Legolas bowed as King Elfwine rode up and slipped off his horse.

"King Elfwine, your timing is perfect," Legolas said and grasped the fellow warrior's forearms.

"Lord Legolas, a long time it has been. We were already on our way to visit when we saw the beacons."

"It is lucky for us you were. King Eldarion is inside the city somewhere with Gimli."

Aragorn was silent as they moved into the city and he hurried past them to get to the gates. He found Eldarion at the gates looking for a way to bypass the gates. Someone had removed the arrow and hastily bound the wound but blood still trickled from under the cloth. Aragorn looked up to the imposing wall and gates before looking to the sides of the street.

"Legolas! Come!" he called and quickly ran up to the roof of the building closest to the wall.

Standing on the edge of the roof, Aragorn looked over the distance to the wall from the roof. Legolas was soon standing next to him also looking at the distance.

"Think we can make it?" he glanced over to look at Aragorn.

"If we help each other."

Legolas laced his fingers together as Aragorn moved back several feet. Taking a deep breath, Aragorn sprinted across the roof and stepped into Legolas' grasp. He felt himself be propelled through the cool night air as he eyed his landing. His feet landed lightly atop the wall as he reached out to steady himself. Turning back to Legolas, he watched as the elf sprinted across the roof and leapt towards the wall. Reaching out, Aragorn grabbed Legolas' outstretched hand and pulled him atop the wall. Getting down on the other side was easier as they leaped down to the ground amid dead bodies.

"Valar," Legolas breathed softly as he took in the mixture of Corsair and Gondor soldiers.

"Help me with this," Aragorn called as he struggled to lift the beam from across the heavy doors.

The two of them pressed their shoulders under the beam and slowly lifted before dropping the beam to the ground. Leaving the soldiers to push open the doors, Legolas and Aragorn searched through the bodies for any still living. Night was falling quickly and storm clouds rumbled loudly above. Legolas knelt beside a soldier that still took breath as the human grasped the elf's tunic.

"It was…Dervarin and another…they took the princess," he gasped in pain as Legolas looked around for Eldarion.

Eldarion and Gimli hurried over as Legolas told them what the soldier had said. Aragorn stood a few feet away but he heard everything that the soldier had said. Darkness descended over his eyes as anger and hatred filled his senses. Clenching his fists he walked to Eldarion and stood by his side.

"They are probably still in the city, my king. Send soldiers to guard all secret passages and start a search party. Legolas, Gimli, stay with Eldairon. Dervarin will try and get to him and use Alcarohtarë as leverage," Aragorn said as rain started to fall heavily.

He turned and started to walk deeper into the city.

"Renatus! Where are you going?" Legolas called as Aragorn continued to walk.

"To find my daughter and kill the bastards who dare hurt my family," he muttered and broke into a jog.

Aragorn searched for the trail but the rain had succeeded to wash it all away. Scaling up a building, he crouched on the edge and looked across the city. The rain still fell heavily as Aragorn leapt from building to building. Moving up to the next tier, he stopped for a moment before carefully sniffing at the air. As well as the scent of rain was the faint scent of blood. Earlier he had heard faint sounds of a battle but thunder and rain had masked the sounds.

Following the scent as it got stronger, he dropped to the street and held his hunting knives ready. Rounding a corner slowly, he glanced at the dead bodies and looked for anyone he recognized. Seeing ebony hair and a fair figure amid the bodies, Aragorn dropped to his knees and gently rolled the body. Alcarohtarë cried out softly as Aragorn pressed his hands over the wounds to slow the bleeding. The woman's eyes fluttered before opening slowly and looking to the elf above her.

"Ada," she murmured as Aragorn moved a hand to shield her eyes from the rain.

"Yes, I am here, my daughter," Aragorn soothed softly and looked to the wound.

It was a simple stab wound but it was deep. He pressed the corner of Alcarohtarë's cloak to the wound and softly soothed his daughter. Sparkling tears trailed from her eyes as she bit her bottom lip.

"I am sorry, daddy," she murmured suddenly to catch Aragorn's attention.

"Sorry for what, baby?"

"I tried; I tried so…hard to fight them to…make you proud of me…I tried so hard for you," she whimpered and cried out in pain.

"Oh, baby, I am already so proud of you. You are a beautiful, courageous, young woman that any father would be proud of," he soothed and gently caressed her bloody cheek.

"I love you, Ada…I love you and…I love Nana and I love…Eldarion," she murmured and gasped as her eyes widened.

"What is it?"

"He had him…Dervarin has Eldarion…and Legolas. They came across…us. Gimli is somewhere…he tried to stop them…but there were too many," she whispered as Aragorn heard footsteps running towards his direction.

He yelled for help and turned back to Alcarohtarë. The wound had stopped leaking blood and her pulse was strong and steady. He had no worries about the wound. Gondor soldiers rounded the corner as Aragorn frantically waved them over.

"Rest, my daughter, I will find your brother and that errant Mirkwood elf. I will find you again in the healing ward," Aragorn said softly and kissed Alcarohtarë's forehead.

He quickly informed the soldiers of the wound and everything else they needed to know. Doing that, he stood and pushed back his wet hair before running off into the night. Something seemed to be leading him as he climbed up to the rooftops once again. His elven eyes pierced the shadows as he ran and he soon heard heavy footsteps and harsh breathing of several men. Aragorn's eyes narrowed as he looked down from a roof and saw a small cluster of corsair soldiers pushing along two captives. Growling slightly, he slowly crept along the roofs before dropping silently to the ground. He could feel the power of the Valar flowing through his body and knew this was the time to end it. A flash of lightning temporarily blinded the humans and Aragorn took that opportunity to sprint across the small street and slit the throat of one of the soldiers. By the time everyone's eyes had adjusted, Aragorn was once again hidden in the shadows and a corpse was on the ground.

"Who is there?" Dervarin called above the pounding rain.

Another lightning flash provided cover for Aragorn to kill two more soldiers. There were only three soldiers left as well as Dervarin and another well dressed figure that gripped Legolas' upper arm. One of the soldiers started to run and a knife was hurled through the rain with deadly accuracy to bury in the human's back. After the next flash of lightning, the knife was gone from the body and another soldier was dead. Dervarin spun in a circle, looking for the attacker but only saw the products in the form of dead bodies.

Legolas also watched for the attacker but even his elven eyes could not follow the path. The pain from his dislocated shoulder was making it hard to concentrate but he knew that he should remain still. Looking to Eldarion, Legolas shook his head slightly to say not to move. He gasped though when the remaining soldier kicked Eldarion in the back of the knees and sent him to his knees. His sword was placed under the king's neck to tilt it up slightly too hopefully save himself from death. At the next lightning flash, Eldarion felt a slight tremor go through the blade and looked up to Legolas' shocked eyes. Something fell beside Eldarion and the blade disappeared as he looked to his side. A muted cry escaped his lips when he saw the decapitated head lying in a small puddle of rain water with shock frozen on the face.

"Dervarin," a soft voice taunted from the shadows.

The torches along the street suddenly burst into flames and illuminated Renatus crouching in a window. His gray eyes glinted dangerously as he gazed at Dervarin and his accomplice with an unblinking gaze. His eyes flitted over Legolas and Eldarion to check that they were not harmed to badly before his gaze locked onto Dervarin again.

"You have been a bad servant of your king, Dervarin. And now you must pay," Aragorn commented and narrowed his eyes at the man.

(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)

Well, here is the second to last chapter of this story. Sadly I have to say that this story is coming to an end. I do have the final chapter all done and am just waiting to post this one and then about a week later I will put up the final one and put in readers' responses. So, I apologize for taking long with this one. Well, it was not that long but anyway. Review for me and I will put up the final chapter soon.

Linuvial Greenleaf- I am glad that your brother liked the snake scene. I still can not believe that I actually wrote that. I was in a severely warped mood when I typed that out on my laptop. Hope you liked Chapter Twelve.

Eve West- Thank you very much for the compliment. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the revelation scene. I thought it sounded really good when I scribbled the plot down.

Beling- That scene with the light was actually a rewrite I had to do because the first thing I wrote would have led up to Aragorn having to reveal himself and I did not want that there so I had to delete some stuff and come up with something else. So I did the light thing which I thought was just hilarious. That is what I would be doing.

I was going more for Legolas is shocked and it takes him a while to come to terms with everything. That and he realizes that Aragorn is there for only a short time and he did not to waste that time yelling at his friend. The next chapter probably needs a tissue warning; this chapter needs a small one. You are seriously making me blush over here. Enjoy!

Wolf Jade- Well, I never would have guessed. Would you take 'Spades' as a male or female? I would take it as male but that is me. Well, I am glad that your bf enjoyed the chapter/story. I can not believe that this story is almost finished. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Dha-Gal- I still want to hear the story about chicken fingers. Sounds like a good story that is told over a few beers. Heehee. Beware of the chicken fingers!

Sielge- Thank you for the compliment! Enjoy!

tHe InSaNe OnE- I did not disregard your review. You reviewed Chapter Eight and that was the last I heard from you until Chapter Ten. If you did review for a chapter then I would put it in the reviewer responses. But oh well, hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Hiei-Rulez- I will have to remember that quote. I really like it; I am a horse fanatic. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Deana- Wow, you sat down and read all ten chapters? I admire you. My arse would be hurting so bad by the end of that. Heehee.

Neoinean- Surprisingly, neither of them got gravely wounded; just a little scraped. I had to decide what I wanted the twins to do; if I should have them there or have them gone. I had to make a decision.

Nietta- You are really making me blush over here. I can not handle compliments about my writing very good. Linuvial compliments me all the time and I just can not handle it that well. Not sure why but oh well.

Grumpy- Enjoy!

Elvendancer- Well, I would like it to be a bit more fun. But I am only twenty-one; I am still a kid myself at heart. My kitty is taking over the house; she sleeps with my Mum during the week because it is so cold outside. Hope you liked this chapter.

Viviana- Heehee, those two just can not compromise with each other.

Elven Kitten- Hope you liked this chapter. The next one will be even better.

Horsiegurl- HE FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT! Cheers for everyone! Heehee.

KeshieShimmer- Well thank you very much for the compliment. I am glad that you enjoyed that chapter so much. That moment probably would have been one of those 'suspicions' that he had. I very rarely do that on the highway but that idea slammed into me and I just could not let it rumble around my head and possibly lose it.

Aleeza- I thought that part was amusing when I thought of it. I would be playing with the glow a lot but that is me and I just find elves all around amusing.