Renamira tried to keep her head up as she walked. But inside, she was struggling. Something weird was happening to her. She could hear multiple voices inside her head, and it hurt. But she knew that any signs of lagging or weariness would bring suspicion, and she couldn't afford that. But as she went, she struggled to balance the voices.

Where are you, child of Denethor?

My daughter, where are you?

Child, where are you?

Stop, I am here!

I need you to be here.

I need you to be here.

I need you to keep going.

What, I don't understand!

I need you to help me conquer the world.

I need you to help me escape your father.

I need you to keep running.

Stop, leave me alone!

chants in black speech

sings in the speech of Gondor

shouts in the tongue of the orcs

STOP!

Then the voices ceased, and Renamira was given just a little peace. She had no idea what had just happened, nor what would happen in the next few days. She kept walking, trying desperately to figure out who the voices belonged to, and what they were trying to say. Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice yelling, "Alright, make camp you maggots! And get some shut eye! NOW!" She set her things down, set up camp, and fell asleep.

Esgalia reached down to the floor to pick up something she had dropped. She was packing, preparing for the journey to the mountains. The situation had not changed. She still had to do this. And she was not excited about it. As she packed, she thought of her daughter, the one that Denethor had killed 21 years ago. Or, at least, he had made her get rid of her. Sometimes, Esgalia liked to believe that her daughter had never died, that she was here right now, helping her. Then Esgalia started to weep, and as she wept, she thought, "My daughter, where are you? I need you to be here. I need you to help me escape your father." Then to ease her pain, she began to sing, in her native tongue of course. The song was just an old Gondorian folk song, but it held great meaning for her, because the song she had sang to her child that final day was to the tune of this song. Singing it made her cry some more, but she found it comforting, and continued her packing.

The next morning, Esgalia woke to find that the day was beautiful. The sun had just risen, and the sunrise was something Esgalia found very comforting. She needed comfort, especially today, for today was the day that she left for the mountains. But something felt strange in her this morning. She had this strange feeling that leaving would make her miss something great. Unsure, she went on her way. But as she continued to get ready to go, the feeling kept coming back. So, she decided to stay. She wasn't sure how, but she was going to. Finally, she came up with a plan. She found another woman, a friend of hers, and asked her to lead the exodus. "Just don't tell anyone that I'm not there," she said. The woman agreed. So, Esgalia hid in her home until the next day, after the trains of people had left. She was satisfied. Denethor would not win this time.

Renamira woke up in semi-good spirits. She had almost completely forgotten about the voices the night before, and she had not dreamed the dream again. So, she was more than willing to continue on again today. That day, the orcs passed the Black Gate of Mordor, and Renamira realized that she was looking on the world outside. It was beautiful. And she wanted to stay there forever.

The days seemed to pass slowly for Esgalia. She spent most of her time in her small house, avoiding Denethor and his men. Of course, this was difficult, for she lived very close to his home. Yet, somehow, she had escaped his knowledge. But things were very boring for her, especially because just about everyone else in the city had a job to do. Finally, she decided to find something that she could do, so that she might help her city and her country.

Esgalia lived on the sixth level of Minas Tirith, which also happened to be the level where the Houses of Healing were located. She had the brilliant idea that she might be able to aid the healers, even though she had never healed anyone before. She walked to the Houses of Healing, and went inside. Ioreth, the lead healer, questioned her, asking her why she had come, and had she ever healed anyone. Finally, Ioreth gave Esgalia a position in the Houses of Healing. She was assigned to aid the recovering people, not to heal them. But at least she felt like she was doing something.

Meanwhile, Denethor was sitting in his tower, and gazing. Gazing not only down at his city, but also at his palantir, his only friend in the cruel world. Of course, he knew not that Sauron sought to destroy with this. But, however, Sauron lacked the one thing he needed to really torment Denethor: the guilt of seeing his daughter in the hands of the enemy. Denethor would surely have crumbled, had he seen her.