An- Hey all! I hope y'all had a great holiday and all that good stuff. So, as you all might be noticing…the story is almost over…it should be finished soon! LOL! We've only been working on this project (this and the first story) for like three years now…lol…yes…it's been awhile…lol. Tanyway, I'll shut up and let y'all read! Enjoy!

Chapter 44

Niori stood in the grand throne room of Minas Tirith, looking around in some awe. This room was so much grander, so much more…regal that the one in Rohan. It was so beautiful, that while she gazed around it, she almost forgot why she was even standing there.

Gandalf had called them all to the throne room to discuss what their next step was. Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Eomer and herself (Carla was getting her arm set and Jane had not yet awoken) were all present.

" Frodo has passed beyond my sight," Gandalf spoke, breaking Niori out of her thoughts, "…The darkness is deepening…"

That's defiantly not good, Niori thought, her heart wrenching at the thought of Erin.

" If Sauron had the ring, we would know," Aragorn told him, " if he had the ring he would have destroyed us by now,"

" It is only a matter of time…" Gandalf replied softly, his voice saddened and hopeless.

" No! They'll get through! Erin and Sam and Frodo, they'll destroy the damn ring! They will!" Niori cried desperately, not allowing for all of the others' hopelessness to bring her down.

Everyone in the room and turned and looked at Niori with pity filled eyes. Niori felt tears coming to her eyes. She turned away from them, unwilling to be pitied because of her hope.

No! she cried, Erin won't die! Her and Frodo and Sam would destroy the ring and save Middle-Earth!

" Sauron has suffered a defeat yes…but," Gandalf continued, taking his eyes off Niori with a shake of his head, " behind the walls of Mordor the enemy is re-grouping,"

" Well then let them rot!" Gimli cried from his position sitting down on the old chair of the steward, " What does it matter to us as long as they are on the opposite side of the gate?!"

" Because ten thousand Orcs now stand between Frodo and Mount Doom," Gandalf told them softly.

" Oh my God," Niori gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. How…how could Frodo, Erin and Sam possibly get through all those Orcs? They would be killed…

" I've sent them to their death," Gandalf whispered.

" No…there's still hope for Frodo," Aragorn spoke suddenly, looking at them carefully, " He needs time and safe passage across the plains of Gorgoroth to Mount Doom…we can give him that time,"

" But how can we do that Aragorn?" Niori asked, " It's not like we can wave a magic wand around and the Orcs disappear,"

Aragorn gave Niori a glare before he continued, " We draw out Sauron's armies and empty his lands. To do this we gather our full strength at the Black Gate,"

Everyone looked at Aragorn like he had grown two heads.

" He's crazy…" Niori spoke, her voice disbelieving that is was ARAGORN who had suggested this!

" We cannot achieve victory through strength of arms," Eomer told Aragorn, looking at him seriously, " our forces would be destroyed by Sauron's"

" Not for ourselves," Aragorn told them softly, " but we can give Frodo his chance to reach mount doom and keep Sauron's eye fixed upon us! Keep him blinded to all else that moves,"

" A diversion," Legolas spoke, his voice full of understanding, " you want to create a diversion,"

" Sauron will suspect a trap, he will not take the bait…" Gandalf started to speak, but Niori cut him off.

" Screw that, of course he will! The armies of men have already beat his ass twice and he wants them dead and gone! He'll take any damn chance to get rid of us…he's obviously desperate by now!"

Before anyone else could speak, the doors of the throne room swung open with a bang. They all turned to see Carla standing in the door, her arm in a sling and her face alight and eyes wide with excitement.

" Carla-" Eomer started, but Carla was too excited to wait to speak.

" Niori!" She cried, " It's Jane! She's starting to wake up!"

l.l.l.l.l.l..l.l.ll.l.l.

…the rushes of cold and angry voices were retreating; in Jane's dream, she could now see faint lights and bright colors, and it gave her a feeling of hope…they were moving away…the dark clouds that had fogged her vision for what felt like an eternity were backing away to be replaced by anxious voices. A man's voice was saying something…her name...wait- she knew that voice-

"Aragorn!" cried Jane, her eyes flying open to meet her friends' extremely relieved expressions; Niori was very white and beaming, and Carla was grinning. Both were standing over Aragorn, who was kneeling by Jane's bedside holding a bowl of some strong-smelling liquid.

"Oh My God…" Niori was the one who spoke first ;coming over to Jane's bedside and hugging her gingerly, as to not hurt her bandaged arm. She seemed to be so happy that she was in some state of shock. "I think I speak for all of us when I say I'm so glad you're not dead!"

"My God, Niori, I'm glad I'm not dead!" laughed Jane, giving Niori and Carla a one-armed hug each. "And I'm glad neither of you are dead either." Then, carefully disentangling herself from Carla's hug, she turned to the other occupants of the room; Aragorn and Gandalf.

"Lord Aragorn , thank-you for saving my life. " Jane said sincerely, smiling at him, tears glistening in her eyes. "I know you'll make a fantastic King."

Aragorn smiled back and took her pale hand (the one that wasn't on the injured arm) and placed in his own. Saying nothing, he looked into her eyes and inclined his head to show his thanks. He then released her hand, and proceeded to walk into the next room.

Gandalf smiled at Jane before following the Ranger. "It's good to have you back, Jane. Even if you were a bit of a pain." And he left, finally (in Carla's opinion) letting the girls reunite at last.

Once the door had shut behind him, Carla and Niori jumped on the bed and looked expectantly at Jane, but she could see that behind their happiness there was a sense of dread that she couldn't understand

"So, what happened to you?" Carla inquired, smirking slightly and crossing her legs.

Niori grinned at her cousin, but her grin looking somewhat forced. "Start exactly when we separated in Edoras. What happened? Meet any guys? Are they hot? Did you get laid-?"

"No- I can honestly say I didn't," spoke Jane, shaking her head and smiling. But quite a bit happened between now and then…and it'll take me FOREVER to tell it all!"

Carla and Niori looked at each other solemnly and then Jane knew something was wrong.

" What's wrong guys?" she asked, not understanding why her two friends were acting like someone had died or something….

" Jane…." Carla started, but didn't know how to continue so she looked to Niori for help.

" Umm…well, Aragorn and the others have devised a plan to help Frodo and them get through Mordor, and well…" Niori looked to Carla, who gave a slight nod, " that means, well…the remaining forces are riding to the black gate,"

Jane stared at her two friends for a few minutes, taking a long time to register what they had said. Why…they had just survived a huge battle…and now they were planning to ride off to another one.

" When do we leave?" Jane asked finally, swinging her legs over the cot and preparing to get up.

" You don't Jane…" Niori told her softly, shifting her eyes to the ground, " There's no way you're healthy enough to go to another battle…you just woke up and all…"

" You're joking right…" Jane stuttered, not even understanding what her friends were telling her.

" Nope," Carla told her, " You're staying here…and we're riding to the black gate,"

Before Jane could say anything else, a guard who, appearing very uncomfortable said Niori and Carla's presence was requested if they were indeed riding to the black gate.

The three girls hugged each other, and then without saying a word, Niori and Carla left…and Jane watched them go with tears in her eyes, wondering if she would ever see them alive again…

l.l.l.l.l.l.l.l.l.l.

Niori placed a handful of new arrows into her quiver and tucked a small dagger into her boot. She sat alone in the armories of Minas Tirith, replenishing her weapons for the upcoming battle. Soon, they would all be riding to the Black Gate of Mordor.

Just thinking about their destination made a lump of fear settle in her stomach. It was as though a cold hand was clenched around her heart. Mordor…the darkest and most evil place in all of Middle-Earth. Surely only death awaited them at the Black Gate…At least Jane would be safe here in Minas Tirith…at least, unless the ring wasn't ever destroyed…then no one would be safe, no matter where they were.

" Don't go Niori," a soft voice came from the doorway.

Niori turned around to find Legolas standing in the doorway, looking at her with an expression somewhere between sorrow and worry.

" Don't go," the Elf repeated, stepping into the room, looking at her with pleading eyes, " Stay where it's safe, stay here with Jane. Don't ride out with us,"

" Legolas," Niori replied softly, stepping closer to him, " you know I can't, I won't do that…"

" Why?!" Legolas looked at her sharply, storm clouds starting to brew in his clear eyes, " This isn't your war! You shouldn't have to risk your life for it! You've already risked your life too many times for a place that isn't even your home! You shouldn't have to fight for it!"

" But this is my war," Niori replied calmly, " at least it is now. Everyone seems to forget that Erin's somewhere in Mordor. You're right…Middle-Earth isn't my home, but in truth, that's not really what I fight for. I want Middle-Earth to be free of Sauron, but do you want to know the REAL reason I fight? It's Erin, and it's Jane and Carla, and…and you. I fight for the people I love, so that they can survive this hell. At the Black Gate, I'm going to fight for Erin. Erin and her baby, who at this moment are risking everything to save us all,"

Legolas looked at her, his expression unreadable. " I don't want you to be hurt Niori. How much luck do you think you have left? You've almost died once already…and this battle has our worst odds yet. The chances that any who march to the Black Gate surviving are very slim…and to lose you would be a fate worse than death…"

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Niori leaned up and brought her lips to Legolas's. Legolas wrapped his arms around her small waist and pulled her closer to him. They could have stayed like this forever, if it hadn't been for the gentle knock at the armory door.

Legolas and Niori broke apart, and turned to find Aragorn gazing at the two from the open doorway.

" It's time," he told them simply, a hint of amusement in his eyes as he regarded the two.

Legolas nodded to his friend, and without saying a word, took hold of Niori's hand and the two walked from the room.

An- Well, there you go…better late than never! LOL! I hope you enjoyed the chapter…and I can assure you that the next one is long, it may be out in about two weeks…see, we have exams next week, and yeah…nough said! And, it also has parts of all three girls! So, it'll be a Niori/Carla, Jane and Erin chapter! LOL! Have fun