AN: This story will only make sense if you've read my other fan-fic. I just wanted to see how much of a bad-ass Ella could be. Sometimes it just feels so good to be so bad. It starts fairly early in 'The Return of the King', and from there, it completely rewrites LOTR history.
Songs from Christina Aguilera's 'Stripped' and Evanescence were the inspiration for this story.
(I'm OK)
"It hurt me to see the pain across my mother's face, every time my father's fist would put her in her place."
Ella saw the woman from before, screaming and crying as Sauron's guards held her back. She saw a man forced to his knees, as a Sauron, in a fair, human form he'd had many centuries before, heated a sword on a forge. The sword was rested on the man's bare chest, causing him to cry out in pain, before the sword was slowly forced towards his heart, giving him a torturously slow death.
The woman sunk to her knees, tears streaming down her face as the man died. Ella recognised the pain she felt from when she saved Haldir, she'd been feeling this man's wounds. The guards left the woman sobbing on the floor, and exited the room, leaving her alone with their master. She crawled towards the man, touching his face lovingly, and Sauron watched, a silent snarl curling his lip. The woman pulled a locket from the clutches of the man's hand; she'd given it to him to give him courage before they were caught.
She hurriedly tied the locket – Ella's locket! – Back around her neck before Sauron grabbed her from behind and ruthlessly shoved her into the pool of the man's blood. As though Ella weren't already distressed enough, she saw the Dark Lord of the Rings rape her mother before her own eyes.
Back in the room, the others couldn't tear the Palantir from her fingers. She could barely hear them crying her name as red marks appeared on her throat, and she felt as though she were choking. Her eyesight returned to normal, but Sauron still had a hold of her. She felt herself being lifted up by her throat as her feet hung inches from the floor. The others desperately tried to pull her back down again.
"You monster." She gasped to the Palantir. "That was my mother!" she raged.
"She deserved it. You belong to me, and will either serve me willingly or in chains." The others heard Sauron say. Sauron sent her images of her leading his armies to bloody victory, the daughter who would make her father proud, or of her languishing in a dark cell, given to any of Sauron's generals that desired her.
Ella's mind lingered on the images of her being a great war leader, given power and control.
Sauron released her. The Palantir quieted and Gandalf was then able to take it from her and wrap it up again. He'd already seen to Pippin, who was uneasy and shaken, but otherwise fine.
Ella sank into Legolas' waiting arms, and he comforted her while she knelt on her bedding, kissing her head and whispering to her. They both recognised the scene from their vision in Lothlorien.
Ella woke from her memory of events that had happened over a year ago. It was the time when the seeds of evil had first been sown into her mind. She untangled herself from the general's arms who lay at her side, and walked, still unclothed, to the window in her tower. She looked down at the blackened land that seemed to spread right to the horizon. It wasn't her father's land quite yet, Aragorn and his Fellowship had escaped their clutches, and were hiding in the wilderness somewhere. Most of the Elves had abandoned Middle Earth for the Grey Havens, but the men remained, either rebels in hiding, part of Sauron's forces or as reluctant slaves.
(Get mine, Get yours) "I want your body, not your heart."
Ella returned to the bed. She sat down on the black satin sheets next to Mattson, her latest preference. He'd lasted almost two months, longer than all of the other men she'd discarded since joining her father's side. This one had imagination, and held her interest, which is why she still allowed him to think he had some sort of claim to her. She pulled her clothes on, smiling as Mattson murmured "Sharon."
It had been her father's idea to change her name. 'Ella' seemed too sweet for the vicious and ruthless war-queen she had become. It also enforced the knowledge of whose daughter she was. She had grown in power, and was much more of a sorceress. She'd always held herself back before, for fear of hurting someone with her uncontrolled power. After she stopped caring, she had used it much more often. She learned to control it along the way, but that had come with practice, and many people had been hurt in the meantime.
(Fighter) "Makes me that much stronger"
She commanded her troops with an iron will, and they were the best of Sauron's forces. Being cruel came naturally to her, ever since her 'friends' had rejected her. At first she'd hidden her identity from them, but she decided to trust them with her secret. Horrified, they had driven her away as a traitor. Later, after getting over the shock of it, they came to their senses and realised that she'd been one of them, and had cared about them, but it was too late. Ella had already turned elsewhere for comfort, and her father immediately took her in and won her over.
Sharon sat at her dresser, brushing her hair and pulling it back into a silver, emerald-studded clip. She then darkened her eyes with black eyeliner and coloured her eyelids silver. Her mouth was then painted black as well. Her trademark colours; black, green and silver. Then she pulled on her boots and started strapping on weapons.
Mattson had woken by this point and lay there, propped up on one elbow, smiling playfully at her. Her eyes briefly ran over his well muscled frame – another reason she'd kept him for so long. Out of Sauron's human forces, Mattson was by far the most attractive. He was powerful himself, a dominant man on the field and off. He kept in shape by wrestling with one of his inferiors every now and then, usually damaging the poor soldier severely.
It was a sport that Sharon herself had also come to enjoy, though she challenged herself by fighting with Orcs and even the impressive Uruk Hai in a special arena. She rarely came close to losing a fight, and if she thought she was going to lose then she'd just blast her opponent with magic. So far, after dozens of fights, she'd only done that twice. Once with a troll she'd almost beaten that had started biting. The second when an Uruk Hai cheated by having a companion sneak up on her to try to beat her. That was Sharon's first rule: One on One. The second was: no weapons. Third: No biting or clawing. Other than that, anything goes.
She wasn't worried about getting hurt. None of Sauron's minions were allowed to kill her, or even to touch her without her permission outside the arena. At first she'd allowed minions the chance to kill her, and she was so good that none of them could. Her father soon put a stop to that, just in case. If her body was damaged in a fight, she'd just seize a nearby subordinate and kiss him, sucking his health into her body. She'd learned how to make her gift work both ways, and so she was never out of action for long. She hardly felt pain any more, her mind had become so disciplined.
She declined Mattson's offer of another 'exotic wrestle' in the bed before starting the day - the man never seemed to want to stop! She grabbed her long black cloak and left the room to walk down the hall and down a stairway. She exited her tower – The Black Rose – and mounted her warhorse that was left outside. The first time she'd left it there, an orc had tried to use it for fresh meat. Sharon had arrived soon after the horse had kicked him away, and promptly disembowelled him, letting him suffer for hours before taking off his head and mounting it on a pike next to her horse's stable; a clear warning. No one dared touch her horse after that.
She travelled to Barad-Dur, and climbed the tower. There, she entered a room marked with a fiery eye on a door. "Good morning father." She said. The figure at the desk turned. It was a man – Sharon and Saruman had managed to use the Ruling Ring to bring Sauron back into a complete human form.
"Good morning Sharon." Sauron replied. He was tall, dark and sinisterly handsome, much like he had been when he'd fathered Sharon.
"Who do I annihilate today?" Sharon asked. Her father snickered at her eagerness.
"No one. You scheduled yourself an arena fight today, or did you forget?"
"I thought you wanted me to have another look for rebels instead?"
"General Mattson is covering it for today. You have your fun today and relieve him tomorrow."
"I always have fun with what I do, father." She said with a grin.
In a cave in the wild, the remaining Fellowship debated their next move.
Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Faramir, Gimli, Éomer, Haldir and Legolas sat around a table where a map of Middle Earth was placed, with giant crosses through Rohan and Minas Tirith, as both had fallen to the trio of Sauron, Saruman and Sharon. The long-abandoned Rivendell had been overrun with Orcs, but Mirkwood and the Dwarven realms had so far been left untouched.
Eowyn and Théoden had reportedly died in the battle for Minas Tirith. Sharon had so wanted to grieve for her former friend when she'd heard the news, but forced herself not to when she remembered that Eowyn and her family had also turned on her. Her allegiance was to Sauron now. He was all she had left.
Frodo and Sam, due to Sharon's information, had been captured on their way to Mount Doom. In a moment of mercy, Sharon allowed them to flee, much to the displeasure of her father. That was a long time before, and Sharon's heart had hardened since. The Hobbits had left the Shire to seek refuge with the Dwarves, who readily took in the natural burrowers.
Aragorn's company were running out of ideas. They had repeatedly attacked Sauron's forces, losing good men each time. Out of fight or flee, they had repeatedly failed the first option and had nowhere to run for the time being. They certainly weren't going to give up and submit to Sauron's rule.
"What about across the Sea?" Legolas suggested. "If we can't fight anymore, why not start anew?"
"The Valar would not accept all of our refugees into the Grey Havens." Gandalf said.
"No, Ella once told me that she spent much of her childhood across the sea, on other continents. Middle Earth and Valinor are not the only land masses on this planet. We could go to the places that we have no maps for." Legolas said.
"Ella is dead." Aragorn said bitterly. Earlier they'd decided to forget about their former companion, so that they could face the evil person that wore her face. "You must remember, if we find ourselves in a position to kill Sharon, we must take it. She is too much of an asset to Sauron to let past feelings get in the way."
"If we'd thought of her as Ella in the first place, and not as Sauron's daughter, she would still be one of us." Legolas protested.
"Legolas," Gimli cautioned. "This is an old issue. Aragorn is right. We all miss her, and regret what we did, but Ella died the day she left us."
"She didn't leave." Legolas said, angry. "We forced her away. If she is dead then WE murdered her, when we betrayed her." He stormed out of the cave to take a walk, to cool down.
(Dirrty) "Gonna get rowdy, gonna get a little unruly"
Not many of Sauron's creatures were eager to fight with Sharon anymore. They knew that either she'd be too good for them or she'd use her magic and win anyway. She didn't kill them though, otherwise she'd never get any opponents and she'd be weakening her own side. Today was going to be a special event though. She had allowed a change in the rules. She would have two opponents, one an Uruk Hai, and the other a captured rebel. Sharon was going to make the rebel and Uruk Hai work on the same team. If they could subdue her for thirty seconds, they'd win. This meant that she'd have to be unconscious for that long. As an incentive for the rebel to fight, if Sharon was taken out and the rebel then defeated the Uruk, they could have their freedom. The Uruk would get a promotion for defeating Sharon and then the rebel, whom he would then own. It had never been mentioned to the rebel that Sharon had never lost.
Sharon was at the arena in her dressing room, changing into her battle clothes. Many of Sauron's human fighters came to watch, so the battles were as much an exhibition of her body as an exercise. She wore a dark green, tight-fitting tank top with one leather strap and one dragon-scale shoulder plate. Her taut midriff was left bare, as were her arms, apart from her silvery wrist-guards. Tight, black breeches covered her legs, and her black, calf-length boots completed the look. She only wore her hair partly up, just to keep it out of her face. Anyone stupid enough to grab her hair would quickly find their fingers scorched as a result of Sharon's anger. She also wore a silver choker and dark-green, fingerless leather gloves.
She opened the door that led directly into the arena, made of bars and steel mesh, and listened to the spectators yell in excitement. She usually tried to give them a good show. The arena was more crowded than usual, as rumours had spread that Sharon was breaking her own rules, and was going to have a two on one fight, and if the team won they'd then fight each other. She walked down the walled passageway, which were several metres high and above that were bars, where spectators could look down from. It opened out into the circular arena. Across from her entrance was a cage built into the wall. The cages had two doors. One which led to the dungeons of the arena, and the one that opened directly into the arena.
Too high to reach from the ground were torches, all around the arena wall, so that battles could take place at night, and so that the darkened atmosphere of Mordor wouldn't hinder Sharon. The floor beneath the fighters was sandy, which was much better to land on than gravel or packed dirt. The walls were made of yellow brick, so that as much light as possible was reflected from the torches, but not enough to be blinding. Above the wall, metal bars stretched to the ceiling to separate the audience from the fighting area.
Sharon stood a few metres from her entrance, and raised a fist in the air to acknowledge her viewers. She watched as the bars were raised on the cage on the other side of the arena. The rebel was pushed forward onto her knees by the Uruk she was meant to be fighting alongside. Sharon immediately recognised her as female due to her long blonde hair and the scanty outfit she'd been given to fight in. Sharon was slightly disappointed, she'd been hoping that the human and orc would be a great challenge, and she assumed she'd quickly be able to take out the woman before concentrating on the Uruk, which weren't too difficult for her to beat.
The woman got up defiantly. She tore a strip from her skirt to tie her hair back. Sharon narrowed her eyes a little, for the blonde looked familiar. Someone blew a horn, and, predictably, the Uruk ran straight for her. Sharon strode forward calmly as he approached. As he got to her, she ducked his swing, put her back into his chest and flipped him over with his own momentum. She kicked him in the head before he landed and stepped away from him quickly, to make sure that she was never caught between him and the woman. She kept the Uruk in sight by sidestepping towards the woman.
The blonde was taking her time, seeming to analyse every step Sharon took, not letting herself make stupid mistakes by rushing into battle. The two half-circled each other, and Sharon's eyes widened in recognition. It couldn't be – Eowyn?
"Hey!" Sharon yelled out as the slightly disoriented Uruk got up to attack the wrong woman. Eowyn sidestepped him and kicked him on the head. The Uruk stumbled forward, then visibly shook his head in an effort to clear it. His gaze focussed on Sharon, and he started marching towards her again. Sharon crouched a little in a defensive stance. Eowyn jumped on his back and wrapped her arm around his throat. He bucked and twisted trying to get her off, and even rolled over on his back. Eowyn winced in pain, but she hung on.
The Uruk lost consciousness, and Sharon watched, her arms folded and a calculating expression on her face. She was still angry at Eowyn, but for old times sake she wanted to get her out of Mordor. Eowyn did not deserve to die from torture or for entertainment. She should have the right to die on the battlefield. Sharon couldn't just let her go, she'd have a riot on her hands, and her father wouldn't be too happy either.
"Perhaps you didn't realise that you were supposed to fight me?" Sharon said loudly, so that all of the spectators could hear. "But since you seem to like fighting Uruks, and have denied me the same opportunity today, I'm going to make you a deal." Eowyn rolled the Uruk off of her and stood, listening.
(Can't hold us down) "What do we do girls, shout out loud. Let 'em know we're gonna stand our ground"
"Two on Two!" She yelled, holding two fingers up on both hands, and the crowd cheered. "You and me." she said more quietly to Eowyn. "One more time, we will fight side by side. You don't have to defeat me to get your freedom, but two Uruks must fall before you do."
"She belongs to the Uruk that subdues her, as is normal with slaves." She addressed the spectators. "If both of the Uruks are defeated while she stands, she's free to fight another day." The crowd was satisfied with this, they'd get to see the two women fight some more. Eowyn nodded, not having much choice in the matter. She knew she couldn't take Sharon, but she could take an Uruk, especially if Sharon was on her side.
"Stand forward, for a chance to prove your worth to Mordor!" Sharon yelled, and picked out two opponents, making sure that she couldn't be accused of picking weak ones. They entered the arena through a hidden side door, which could only be opened from the outside.
The horn was blown as soon as the Uruks entered. These two didn't rush it like the other one had. They spread out and circled, trying to catch the girls in-between them. Without a word Sharon and Eowyn stood back to back, both remembering the training they had done together when younger. As the Uruks approached, it was almost beautiful the way the women went through the moves from their training patterns, executing each attack with precision, accuracy and without any trace of emotion. Sharon eased off on her Uruk just a little, kicking him away to prolong the battle, as her viewers wouldn't be happy if it ended too quickly.
She and Eowyn were side to side, and their Uruks got up and approached them again.
"Double jump kick?" Eowyn asked.
"You read my mind." Sharon agreed.
They both leapt forward as the Uruks got close and kicked them in the faces simultaneously, a move which excited the crowd. Eowyn finished hers off by pulling it's head down as she brought her knee up to its face, then elbowing the back of its neck so that it dropped to the ground, unconscious. Sharon used one of the crowd's favourite moves. She jumped onto the Uruk's shoulders, locking her legs around its neck, then practically bent over backwards until her hands touched the ground, and flipped the Uruk over her, flipping off her hands onto her feet as the Uruk hit the wall with a thud before landing on the ground behind her.
The Uruk from the first fight staggered to its feet. Sharon jumped up, spun in the air and kicked it in the face. As it stumbled back, Eowyn got behind it, crouched and kicked it's legs out from under it, and elbowed it in the face. Both women stood in the centre of the arena as the crowd went wild, loving it.
"Come." Sharon said after a minute, leading Eowyn back to her dressing room.
"Hurry up and get changed." She said, throwing Eowyn a pair of pants, a shirt, boots and an old brown cloak. "I have to get you out before my father finds out I actually granted you freedom." Sharon pulled the curtain across the barred door, and locked the other door that led to a tavern in the arena.
She turned to Eowyn. "I owe you nothing. Our past means nothing to me barring me granting you this last chance. Don't expect anything from me again." She warned.
"A year ago I'd have apologised for turning on you." Eowyn said over her shoulder. "But over the past few months I realised that Aragorn's words were true. Ella died a long time ago. If a part of Ella is still in there, tell her I'm sorry, and that she's missed."
"Don't mention his name." Sharon snapped, ignoring the comment about who she used to be. "For one, if it were known that you knew him, you'd be tortured, set loose and then followed. For another, Sharon hates Isildur's heir." She sighed. "Sometimes I wish one of your force's attacks would win, and you'd beat me."
"You want to die?" Eowyn asked.
"My father has accepted me, unlike some people, but I don't fit in here. Last year, if I thought Ara… Strider's forces would have taken me back, I'd have gone. But I've changed too much. I can't go back, and I'm getting sick of killing women and children. Men who fight back, I can handle, but… why do you think I have these battles in the arena, so that I can fight something that deserves to die."
"I think a part of you is still in there. The Sharon I've been told about wouldn't think like that." Eowyn said.
"You keep that to yourself." Sharon snapped. "Now come on, before I change my mind."
Sharon personally escorted Eowyn to the gates of Mordor, knowing that she would have been hassled on her way out if Sharon hadn't gone with her. Sharon only stayed at the gates long enough to make sure Eowyn wasn't followed, then threw a blast of energy to land behind the retreating woman, making her run. She withdrew to her tower to compose herself, as Éowyn's comments had gotten to her. She was surprised that she had revealed so much to her, but, sitting there talking had felt so much like their conversations as young girls. Sharon couldn't help but just blurt out what was on her mind.
In the bed, Sharon felt an arm snake around her stomach, and a voice whispering in her ear. She woke, realising that it was not Legolas who was holding her, but Mattson. Sometimes she still dreamt about the elf. Luckily, she didn't talk in her sleep.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I said, I've got a surprise for you. Come with me."
Sharon quickly threw on some clothes, and allowed Mattson to take her hand and lead her down to the dungeon. He put a hand over her eyes before he led her inside, whispering "Guess who?"
"It's not a blonde woman is it? I didn't expect to see her for a while yet."
"No." he said, letting her see. She blinked for a moment to let her eyes get accustomed to the darkness.
"General Mattson, Lord Sauron wishes to see you." A guard said.
Sharon could make out a huddled form in the darkness.
"All right. He's yours, my love." Mattson said to Sharon. "Have some fun with him to keep you busy while I'm gone." Mattson kissed her before hastening away to Barad Dur.
Sharon could see that the figure was chained to the wall, so she opened the door, locking it behind her, and left the key out of the figure's reach. She stepped forward, trying to see if she knew this person, or if he was just some random rebel that she was meant to torture. He got up to look her straight in the eyes, and Ella almost surfaced from the depths of Sharon's heart. It was Legolas.
(Infatuation) "Steals my heart when he takes my hand"
She forced herself to keep her breathing even and her face expressionless, but Legolas had noticed her tense up when she recognised him. 'She's still in there somewhere.' He thought.
"How have you been?" he asked, as though he were a guest rather than a prisoner.
"Oh, you know. A slaughter here, a siege there, the usual. You?" She said, regaining her self-control.
"I've been better." He smiled. He didn't care why he was there, he was looking at her eyes and Ella was peeking through, despite Sharon's restraint. "Who was he?" he asked, meaning Mattson.
"One of Sauron's generals, Mattson, who is completely infatuated with me." She said, searching his face for a sign that it upset him. She caught a flicker of pain, but that was it.
"Why haven't you caught us yet?" he asked bluntly.
"Whatever do you mean? You have been caught." Sharon said coyly, "You're mine." She pushed him back against the wall. "You heard Mattson. I'm meant to have some fun with you."
"Your visions. You could have found us ages ago." Legolas said, trying not to let her actions provoke him.
Sharon stepped back a little, letting him go.
"The visions forsook me, just like you did, when I realised who I was." She said. "When I stopped controlling my magic, when I used it for evil, I stopped getting the visions."
"I'm sorry." He lowered his head. "Every day since I have blamed myself for letting you go. From the depths of my heart, I am sorry."
"You're the second person today who has told me that. What makes you think that I have a heart anymore? It was broken a long time ago." Sharon said bitterly.
"I tried to find you." Legolas said. "It was too late when I found out where you were. But even when I turned my back on you, my heart still belonged to you. It still does."
"Shut up." Sharon snapped. She grabbed his throat, her face close to his. "Shut up! You mean nothing to me. I have my father, and I have Mattson now. I can't love you anymore."
"I don't believe that." Legolas said, looking deep into her eyes. Sharon felt her defences weaken.
"Sh-" she was cut off as he kissed her. For a split second she was too shocked to do anything about it, but then she pulled away by pushing off his chest. She stepped back and covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to cry in her confusion and renewed heartache. She walked over to the door, her back to him so he wouldn't see her face.
Behind her, Legolas removed the chains that he'd managed to loosen in secret.
He stalked towards her like a predator, silently and quickly. He pinned her arms to her side and covered her mouth so she couldn't cry out. "Come back with me." he pleaded as she tried to yell. "Don't stay here. No one cares about you here, they just like how you win battles for them. One day you will be useless to them and they will discard you. We care about you. I care about you. I'll never let you go again." She struggled a little, but his grip was unyielding. "Come back with me." he whispered softly, kissing away her tears. "Come back with me." He kept repeating soothingly, loosening his grip on her face a little as she calmed down. He let her turn around to face him.
"I missed you too." She whispered, kissing him. He let her arms go to hold her waist, and she put her arms over his shoulders. He pinned her against the locked door with his body, so that if she was trying to trick him she couldn't get away. He wasn't going to let her go until he'd gotten her out of Mordor, whether she was at his side or slung over his shoulder.
Her fingers worked their way towards his neck, and she quickly rendered him unconscious so that she could get away. She pushed him off of her as he dropped, but she didn't let his head hit the ground. Her emotions were at odds with each other as she dragged him back over to the chains to replace them. At the last moment she decided not to tighten them, and left the cell.
Mattson met her as she was coming out of the dungeons. "Have fun, my sweet?" he asked, gathering her in his arms to kiss her.
"Of course, dearest. Why, he had so much fun that he's lying unconscious on the floor now." She said with obviously feigned innocence.
"Damn. And I missed it? I was hoping to watch you go for it. You can be very inventive with pain when you put your mind to it." He said, leading her back up to their room.
"Oh, there was pain, I assure you." She said. 'Most of it was emotional pain.' She thought.
Sharon was usually quite spirited after causing someone's torment, so Mattson often brought her captives to play with. That night she made sure she played the part of a fervent lover perfectly, and Mattson didn't suspect a thing. That day, Mattson left to continue searching for rebels, so Legolas was left alone. Sharon deliberately avoided the cell for the time being. She was still way too confused to face him yet, and she had no idea what she was going to do with him. That night, Mattson hadn't come back yet, and Sharon slept alone.
(Bring me to life)
"Wake me up inside. Call my name and save me from the dark. Save me from the nothing I've become."
"Come back with me." She heard again in her dreams, a whisper so soft and tender that she felt an ache when it stopped. She saw two of herself. One was dressed in her battle clothes, the other was unmistakably Ella, in her green tunic and elvish cloak.
"You love him." Ella said.
"They'll hurt you again." Sharon argued.
"They will forgive you." Said Ella. "Being cruel has never felt right to you. Go back to the real you."
"I'm the real you." Said Sharon.
Ella pulled out her old pendant, the one that had belonged to her mother. Her face changed into that of her mother, and Sharon shrank away, afraid of both the woman and the pendant.
"You are my daughter, not Sauron's." she said.
"But he raped you." The sleeping Sharon thought. "He is my only family now. The only one I have in all of Middle Earth to turn to."
"Did it never occur to you that the man you saw murdered by Sauron might have already fathered you before he was executed? He told me once that if we had a daughter he would call her Elara." her mother said. Sharon was baffled.
"What?"
"I loved him. Just as Legolas loves you. (Legolas loves you)" Those three words kept echoing in her mind as her mother continued. "He is more family to you than Sauron could ever be. He never stopped loving you, even though he found it hard to show it when he thought you were going to be like Sauron. You proved him right then, now prove him right for continuing to love you."
"Come back with me." Sharon heard again, and woke.
(Hello) "Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping"
She lit a lamp, walked over to her dresser and opened the bottom drawer. Various torture items were scattered in the drawer, but underneath them was a hidden compartment. She lifted it to pull out her mother's pendant, which she'd kept hidden since coming to live at Mordor. "They'll hurt you." She whispered to herself. 'But he loves me.' her heart cried. Her mind was made up. Whether she went with him or not, she couldn't leave Legolas down in the dungeons. She changed, grabbed her cloak and a spare cloak and hid some daggers on her person before hurrying downstairs.
He wasn't very well guarded, because they were in the middle of Mordor after all. He wouldn't have gotten very far. The guard didn't question her as she passed him with a collection of sharp implements. The guard grinned, wishing he could watch, but Sharon's tortures were usually private events.
Legolas looked up as she opened the door, and stood when he saw it was her. He slipped his wrists out of the chains and knocked the weapons out of her hands when she got close to him. He grabbed her again and kissed her hard, then grabbed a dagger to put to her throat as he twisted her around to face the front. "Not a word." He said. "Don't make me drag you out of here unconscious. You had your chance to come willingly. Now I will take you by force"
"I came down here to get you out." She hissed at him.
"Don't try to trick me again." He said, moving her towards the door.
"I swear it. Look." She held her pendant up as far as his restraining arms would allow.
"What does your mother's pendant have to do with anything?" he asked, slowing down to listen.
"You won't believe me, but I dreamt my mother was telling me to forgive you, that you loved me and… that I'm not necessarily Sauron's child. I think it was a vision."
"You're right. I don't believe you."
"Before you knew I was lying when you looked into my eyes, look again." She pleaded. She couldn't let him take her out like this, he'd be shot down before he got two metres.
He hesitated, then put the knife in his belt. He turned her around, keeping her hands firmly held by her sides. She looked up at him with unveiled adoration once more. "I forgive you." She whispered. "You've got to let me help you." She said.
He frowned, looking for any hint of untruth. He found none. He only found her. "Ella?" he whispered. She kissed him, not caring that he still hadn't let go of her arms. She hadn't stopped loving him either, but she'd been so hurt that she'd closed off her heart, not letting herself believe that she still cared.
She opened her heart again, and she felt her ability to See return. Legolas saw her mother, and heard what she'd said. "Legolas loves you. He is more family to you than Sauron could ever be. He never stopped loving you, even though he found it hard to show it when he thought you were going to be like Sauron. You proved him right then, now prove him right for continuing to love you."
Legolas let her go. It was Ella, not Sharon who stood beside him, and she told him so.
"You were going to get me out?" he asked.
"I was. I still am. If you drag me out with a dagger to my throat you'll be shot down, and some of them are bad shots, so I'd probably get hit too."
"What were you going to suggest?"
Legolas covered himself with the cloak. Ella had loosely shackled his hands and led him out by them.
"I'm bored." Was the only reply the guard got when he questioned her. She helped Legolas mount a horse, then mounted her own and led him out, with hoods down so as to attract as little attention as possible. Going out of the gates was out of the question, so she led him to the secret passage. She released Legolas when they were out of sight of the orc villages, and then they ran for it, not knowing when Mattson was meant to be back. They left the horses behind as they entered the tunnels.
She had long since killed Shelob when she helped Sam and Frodo escape, so she had no fear of the spider. Ella used some magic to create a light as they sliced their way through old spider webs. She extinguished the light when she got near Minas Morgul, in case of troops being trained there, and she didn't want to be caught. She would be tortured and Legolas would almost certainly be killed. She had a brief thought of Mattson doing to her what Sauron had done to her mother and doing to Legolas what Sauron had done to her …father?
(Taking over me) "You saw me mourning my love for you and touched my hand"
After the stairs, her hand was held in an iron grip, as Ella was pulled along at Legolas' side. They didn't look back. As she ran, Ella was having second thoughts. Her companions had thrown her out before when she hadn't done anything. Now she had become the monster they had feared her to be. She had taken human life. She had led her troops to massacre even peaceful villages. She had let her heart, mind and body become tainted.
The journey took a few days. The first stream they came to, Ella washed her face of all the makeup that had become symbolistic of Sharon. The first night, Ella felt sure that they would have been pursued, but they had avoided all of Sauron's normal patrols. Ella slept leaning against Legolas, who had only let her go when he had to. The next morning he was a little less possessive, after she'd convinced him that she wasn't going to run. What she did was quite convincing… AN: I am NOT going to write a lovemaking scene – use your own imagination.
Afterwards, Ella found herself comparing him to Mattson. Both were strong, brave and handsome. Where Mattson was rough and demanding, Legolas was gentle and generous. Where Mattson was unscrupulous, Legolas was honourable. Mattson thought he owned her, but Legolas truly loved her.
'I made the right choice.' She thought to herself. She had felt empty for the past year, and now, after just one night she felt complete. They continued making their way towards Henneth Annûn, which was where Faramir had hidden behind the waterfall, and now the rebels had based themselves there. They spent the journey hurrying and hiding, as well as being affectionate with each other in the quiet moments.
They were drawing close when they were rapidly surrounded. Éomer had led a group of rangers to find Legolas when he hadn't come back.
"Identify yourselves." Éomer demanded. Legolas removed his hood and the rangers relaxed their holds on their bows.
"Where have you been?" Éomer asked, relieved. "And who is that with you?"
"I went to see an old friend." Legolas said guardedly. He squeezed Ella's hand for courage. "She is on our side again." He said as Ella slowly removed her hood. The archers that recognised her immediately raised their bows again.
"Sharon!" Éomer gasped, and the remaining archers raised their bows also. "How could you lead her here?" he demanded of Legolas.
"Sharon is gone." Ella said. "I am sorry it took so long for me to realise who I truly am."
"Silence!" Éomer demanded. "Get Aragorn and Gandalf now!" he said to the closest ranger.
"You will wait here until this can be sorted out." Éomer addressed Ella and Legolas. He drew his sword and used it to separate the two.
"Wait, no!" Legolas said, and a few of the rangers aimed at him. A couple of them grabbed Ella and tied her to a tree, searching for and removing her weapons. Her stomach plummeted, as this wasn't going well at all. It was just as she'd feared.
"Do you realise what you have done?" Éomer asked Legolas.
"What I should have done the day she left." Legolas replied.
"If you had gone to get her then, we might have been able to welcome her back. She has changed, Legolas." Éomer argued. "Now don't do anything stupid until Aragorn gets here."
"I knew I shouldn't have come back" Ella murmured sadly to herself.
"She is on our side." Legolas protested. "She is one of us."
"That is for Aragorn and Gandalf to decide." Éomer said. "Now shut up."
Ella thought her hands were going to fall off by the time Aragorn and Gandalf arrived. One look in their direction and she almost would have preferred losing her hands than facing them after all that she'd done. She closed her eyes and lowered her head, waiting to be judged.
"Legolas. Good to see you're alright." Aragorn said. "What is going on, the ranger didn't really explain."
"Why is there a woman tied to a tree?" Gandalf asked, and Aragorn saw her too. "And why is Legolas being aimed at?" Ella raised her head and both men gasped in surprise.
"You caught Sharon?" Aragorn asked.
"Ella and I came here to seek sanctuary." Legolas said before Éomer could interrupt. "She left because she thought she wasn't wanted. I brought her back to prove that isn't so."
"Can you assure me that this isn't just a trap? That Sh… Ella really does want to come back?" Aragorn asked, glancing from Ella to Legolas.
"We shared a vision. I saw her intentions with my own eyes." Legolas said.
They were too far away from Ella for her to hear what was being said, but she doubted it was good.
"I can test if her heart truly lies with us. If she genuinely seeks it, she should be allowed to earn her redemption." Gandalf said, drawing a triangle in the dirt with the point of his staff. He drew another one to make a six pointed star. He had always supported Legolas, and hadn't wanted Ella to be driven away. Unfortunately, he had been absent when she had made her revelation, and couldn't help her. "Cut her down and bring her here." He said to Éomer.
Éomer had always been the person most against her, and Ella's eyes widened when she saw him walk towards her with sword raised. 'They're going to kill me for what I've done! Maybe I deserve it, but I don't want to die, not now. I only just found out that Legolas still loves me.' She had been fidgeting while waiting for Aragorn, and when she pulled at her ropes she found that she could pull her wrists from them.
When Éomer was a few steps away, she pulled free and ran for it, his instinctive swing missing her by a centimetre. She heard the pursuit behind her and didn't look back. It sounded as though the whole forest were on her trail, and she wondered how they had never been caught yet, with all the noise they made.
"Don't shoot her!" she heard Legolas cry. She didn't hear Aragorn repeat that same command.
Gandalf hadn't gone after her. He sighed as the others pursued her, hoping she could be brought back without injury, either to herself or her captors. He walked over to the tree to pick up the rope, in case they had to quickly conceal their presence from Sauron's patrols. He saw Ella's pendant, and recognised it for what it was.
"Ah." He said to himself. "This will do quite nicely." He took it to his triangles and set it on top of his staff, concentrating and muttering. He was soon shown enough to convince him that Sharon was indeed gone forever. He even discovered the possibility that Ella wasn't Sauron's daughter. He opened his eyes and whistled for Shadowfax.
Ella was doing her best to lose them, but in her haste she was leaving tracks as clear as day. She came to a river and didn't hesitate jumping into it. She swam across and with the current, trying to get as far away as possible. Too late, she realised that the current was pulling her too fast. Too late, she saw the rapids she was heading towards, and the waterfall she was going to fall over. The current pulled her under, just as the others approached.
"I don't see her."
"Why did she run if she truly wants to join with us?" Éomer asked.
"She probably thought you were going to kill her!" Legolas turned on him angrily. Aragorn wisely stepped between them.
"Lets just find her for now and ask questions later." He said. "Go." He ordered.
(Going under) "Blurring and stirring the truth and the lies. I'm going under, drowning in you."
Downriver, a poor farmer had pulled an unconscious girl from the river, and was trying to revive her. She finally spluttered a little. "Come on." The farmer said. "I'd better get you indoors before we get caught outside after curfew by Sauron's soldiers."
"Who?" Ella asked, before passing out.
Ella woke in a comfortable bed in a hut, where the farmer, his wife and his young daughter lived.
"Oh, you're awake now. How are you feeling?" A kindly woman asked, putting a damp cloth to Ella's head.
"Uh, I think I'm all right. My head hurts a little though."
"You survived a fall down a waterfall. You're lucky that it only hurts a little." The woman said. "My name is Brianna. My husband is Nathan, he found you. Who are you?"
"I, I don't remember." Ella concentrated, but she could only remember a voice saying 'He told me once that if we had a daughter he would call her Elara' "I think my name is Elara." She said.
"Don't worry about it." Brianna said. "You'll probably remember in no time."
"Mama, is she awake yet?" A little girl yelled. Ella winced a little at the high pitch.
"Shh, Anna. Yes, she's awake." Brianna said, lifting the girl up to see. "This is Elara. Elara, this is my daughter Anna." Ella smiled, for she was quite cute. She had brown hair and gorgeous brown eyes, like her mother.
"I'm pleased to meet you, Anna." Ella said nicely, holding out a hand for the girl to take.
Anna grinned and took it, giggling. Ella tried to get up out of the bed, but Brianna made her lie back down.
"Uh, uh. You rest for now. When that headache goes away you can get up. Anna, you make sure she stays there until I get her something to eat." She said half-seriously to her daughter. Anna, happy to be given an important task, jumped up on the bed to sit on Ella's feet.
Ella laughed at Anna's strict expression as she said, "You have to wait here." Then she leaned close and whispered. "Why are you supposed to stay in bed?"
"Well, I guess I'm sick." Ella tried to explain.
"With what?"
"I can't remember who I am, or where I live, or any of the people I knew." Ella was trying to explain amnesia.
"Can't you even remember your mama, or if you've got brothers or sisters? I want a sister." As four-year olds do, Anna's mind frequently wandered off topic.
"I think I remember someone's voice, but I don't know if she was my mother, and I don't remember what she looked like."
"If you can't remember your mama, or your family, then you could be my sister until you do."
"OK, then." Ella smiled. She was surprised when Anna crawled up to give her a hug. This girl hardly knew her, but she had so much love inside her, she was willing to make a lost stranger a part of the family.
"We'll look after you." Anna said maturely.
"Sharon is gone." Gandalf said to the others. "Ella didn't want to be her in the first place, but when we rejected her she felt she had no choice. When she realised that she had a choice, she decided to come back, and to get rid of Sharon for good. She wants to make up for what she's done." They were back in the cave, having convened together after finding no trace of Ella. "If we accept her, we'll have removed one of Sauron's greatest commanders and have gained a powerful one of our own. We'll have made up for our wrong, and she'll have the chance to do the same."
"But would she turn against her father?" Éomer asked.
"She's not so sure that Sauron is her father anymore." Legolas said. Gandalf nodded in confirmation. "And even if he is, she won't stand by him. She hasn't got it in her to be cruel anymore. She's gotten to the point where she just can't fool herself any longer. She wants to return to the family that raised her, not the one that fathered her in an act of cruelty."
"Are you talking about Ella?" a voice from the entrance of the cave said.
"Eowyn!" her brother cried, rushing over to hug her. "Where have you been?" he asked.
"In Sharon's arena." She said.
"And you escaped?" Faramir said incredulously.
"She let me go." Eowyn said. "Sharon is weakening, she told me that she only wants to fight things that deserve to die, like orcs. That's why she uses the arena. Her conscience is bothering her. If Ella were completely gone then she wouldn't have let me go, or told me any of that."
"She did come back, with me." Legolas said.
"Really, then where is she?" Eowyn said, looking around for her old friend.
"She thought we were going to kill her, and she ran from us." Aragorn said. "Now we cannot find her."
"We've chased her away again." Legolas said sadly.
(Keep on singing my song) "I woke up this morning with a smile on my face, and nobody's gonna bring me down today. Every step I take… it's towards a better day. So now I find my peace of mind just living one day at a time. "
"Anna, come back. We're meant to stay in sight of the field." Ella called to the girl. After working hard with Anna's parents, Nathan had given Ella the afternoon off to watch and play with Anna.
Ella had been chasing Anna, when the girl had run into the forest.
She had momentarily lost sight of Anna, when she felt someone watching her.
"Now where could Anna be?" she said playfully, knowing full well that Anna was in one of the trees.
She saw a leg hanging down from a branch out of the corner of her eye. She went to stand directly under it, still pretending not to see Anna to play along with her game.
She could still feel someone watching her, and she now knew that it wasn't Anna.
She looked up and said, "Come on. We've got to get back." She was slightly worried, but pretended not to notice the presence of a stranger, hoping they'd leave her and Anna alone.
"Oh, you found me." Anna sounded disappointed.
"It's not safe in the woods." Ella said. "We've got to go." She held her arms up, as Anna was only a couple of metres above her.
Suddenly Anna screamed as an axe was thrown into the branch she was sitting on, making it break. The girl was swung out as the branch broke, and Ella dove to catch her as she dropped. She caught Anna and rolled as she hit the ground, back on her feet with both of them uninjured in a short moment. She wondered where she'd learnt to do that and clutched Anna closer as a small mounted company approached. A ruthless looking man leading them grinned.
"I'd thought that was you, Sharon." Mattson said.
"Who? I don't know that name. Who are you?" Ella asked.
"Don't play games. You realise the penalty for betraying Sauron can be severe. The only reason we weren't ordered to kill you on sight is because I made a request."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You were essentially mine before, and now your father has allowed it to be literal, slave. So, why have you hidden here, and where is that elf you ran off with? Did he and the rebels turn on you again, did they try to execute you for what you've done?" he said cruelly.
"She doesn't remember anything, leave her alone. She's got amerneesha." Anna said. Ella shushed her and kept her held close, slowly backing away from this obviously dangerous man, fear evident in her eyes.
The woman Mattson knew would never have shown fear, whether Sharon or Ella, and he realised that she was telling the truth. He grinned, deciding to have a little fun.
He had realised that Ella would be defenceless if she had no idea who she was. She wouldn't remember how to fight, or even that she was a courageous and formerly heroic person. With no memory of her past deeds, she was as innocent as a young girl, and Mattson loved to torment innocents.
He dismounted, and signalled for his men to do the same. Ella turned to run but with a child in her arms he quickly caught her, enjoying every moment of her terror. She screamed when Anna was torn from her arms, and Mattson handed the girl to one of his men. The child kicked and screamed, but quieted to a small sob when the man slapped her.
Ella struggled, pleading with them to let Anna go, and not to hurt her, which only made the men enjoy her suffering more. Mattson held her still by wrapping an arm around her slender body, pinning both of her arms to it, and using his other hand to grab her hair and pull her head back. He dragged her over towards a stream, his men following with Anna.
"Now, every time you so much as think of disobeying me, someone like your precious friend here will suffer for it. You will suffer also, but with your sickeningly sweet nature right now, I'm sure that their pain will hurt you more, and be much more effective."
"Please don't hurt her. I'll do anything. Please, anything, just let her go! I promise I won't struggle or fight back, if you just let her go." Ella pleaded, tears in her eyes, clearly offering everything, including her body to this man in an effort to protect Anna.
Mattson sneered at her offer. "Oh, but I prefer it when you struggle." He said nastily, squeezing her waist a little tighter, and releasing her hair to run a hand down her front, making her tremble. "But perhaps we will let her go." His tone of voice was unconvincing, and Ella looked on in distress as Mattson nodded to the man holding Anna.
The soldier swung Anna back before heaving her into the air over the river. The girl screamed in terror, and Ella knew that she couldn't swim.
"No!" Ella cried as Anna's head slipped under.
Mattson held onto the frantically struggling woman until she bit him, hard enough to break the skin. As soon as she was free she dove into the water, swimming quickly to Anna's side, holding the now unconscious girl's head above the water as she paddled with the current to get them as far away from the soldiers as possible. One of the soldiers jumped in after her, but in his armour he didn't get far. His comrades weren't brainless enough to follow.
The current wasn't as strong in this part of the river, and as soon as Ella felt that she was far enough she swam to the side and pulled Anna out, recognising the area and running to a hidden cave on the other side of the river that Anna had shown her before. She lifted the girl in after her and replaced the wild plant growth that had obscured the entrance.
She started to panic when she saw that Anna wasn't breathing, and lay her straight. She tilted Anna's mouth up and attempted to breathe life into her. It worked better than she expected, and Anna's eyes opened immediately as Ella's gift revived her. As she hadn't been dying, Ella remained conscious, but she grew dizzy and stopped breathing for a moment, before her vision clouded to show her a memory. She saw herself kiss a dying Elf, whose wounds then healed.
She came back to earth in the arms of a frightened girl. She immediately held Anna close, pulling her onto her lap, and whispered comfortingly to her. "Thank you for saving me." Anna whispered when she'd calmed down.
"I'd die before I let anyone hurt you." Ella said, meaning every word. "After all, what are sisters for?"
"Strider!" Eowyn said as she hurried towards Aragorn's table in the inn. In case of spies, his name wasn't mentioned, but only those loyal to him knew that Aragorn was also known as Strider.
She sat beside him to whisper. "I just spoke to a man who has travelled from the next village, who passed on some recent news, which I think you'll find interesting."
"What is it?" asked Faramir, the only other one with them. To avoid attention they had kept their group small, and with only humans. Gandalf was too well known, and elves or dwarves were a rarity nowadays, since they had fled to either the Undying Lands or their mountains. Some of Aragorn's forces had remained at the main hideout behind the waterfall, and some had travelled to other rebel dens to help widen the search for Ella.
"About two weeks ago, a girl was pulled downstream from the same river that we lost Ella's trail at, by a farmer living in that village. She woke with amnesia, and was described as young with long dark hair and fair skin. She's been living with the farmer's family since, and so far no one has known who she is."
"Then let's go find out if it is her." Faramir said.
"Legolas will be upset if we leave him behind." Eowyn warned. "Besides, if it is Ella and she gets her memory back, he's the only one out of us that she really trusts."
"We'll get him and some of the others, then we ride." Aragorn decided.
"Where have you been?" Brianna cried when Ella carried a tired Anna through the door of the hut. "Nathan is out looking for you both."
Brianna caught them both in a big hug. "We were attacked by soldiers." Ella explained. "I hid and waited until dark to make sure they wouldn't find us."
"They threw me in the river, mama, and they were going to hurt Elara too." Anna said, clinging to her mother. "But she fought and when she got away she jumped into the river to save me."
"The leader said that he knew me." Ella said worriedly. "How could I know someone so cruel? He said that he owned me, and that he would hurt me and anyone who means something to me. He said that there were others trying to hurt me too. He will be looking for me, so I can't stay here."
"Where could you go?" Brianna asked, putting a protesting Anna to bed, and the girl soon fell asleep.
"Anywhere but here. He must have realised that I have been staying in this village, and he will find me. You must hide Anna too, or he might try to hurt her again."
"It sounds like Mattson, he's the general who has been searching this area for rebels lately."
"Who is he?"
"One of Sauron's top soldiers, second only to Sharon."
"I've heard Sharon's name mentioned with so much fear by these villagers. Who is she?"
"A heartless warrior who is rumoured to be as deadly as she is beautiful, and Mattson is her current lover. Out of Sauron's entire army, she is the most feared. More dangerous than a troll, and many times as cruel. She brought Sauron back to human form, and is the main reason that the rebels lost the war. From what I've heard, she used to be on our side, but she betrayed the rebels, or they betrayed her, or both, I've heard a few versions of the story, but basically they want to destroy each other now."
Ella sat down quietly. Mattson had called her Sharon. Had she betrayed him? Had she betrayed the rebels? If she was Sharon, then both sides were hunting her. One was seeking to enslave her and hurt those she now loved, the other sought to kill her, for revenge and to prevent her from hurting those she now loved. She couldn't imagine herself being cruel, but she could have been a completely different person when she had her memory. Ella hated herself, the person she'd been. She had to leave, before either side found her.
"Do you have somewhere safe to hide Anna until Mattson forgets about her?" she asked.
"Nathan knows someone who knows a rebel. We can take her into hiding with them. We could take you too, we'd be glad to have you, as would Anna."
"No." Ella said quickly. "I, I have a feeling that Mattson could track me if he wanted. I mustn't lead him back to Anna or the rebels. Take her tomorrow, and no later. I will leave tonight. I remember how to hide myself, and I know how to navigate woods, even if I don't remember why I know. I think I used to be a fighter or a ranger. I'll be better off than you will be if you're caught."
Without another word Ella quickly changed into the clothes she'd been found in, which she knew were much more suitable to run and hide in than a dress and flimsy shoes. She covered herself with her cloak and tied her hair back, pulling her hood up to cover her face. She left before Brianna could protest.
"Thank Nathan for his hospitality, I won't forget you. Tell Anna I love her, and that I left to save her." Were the last words Brianna heard before Ella firmly closed the door behind her. When Brianna opened it and stepped outside, Ella had managed to lose herself in the village. A few minutes later, she had lost herself in the forest she had emerged from only fifteen minutes before.
Ella spent the night in a tree, which had seemed the safest place to be when she was being hunted. She hooked her belt to a broken limb in case she fell when she slept, though she felt mysteriously confident with her balance. She had the feeling that she had slept in a tree before.
She woke in the early hours of the morning to the sound of voices.
"I don't know why we're concentrating our efforts on finding a murderess. Good troops being wasted on this one task. If you ask me we should just kill Sharon on sight and be done with it rather than capture her to bring back to Aragorn and Gandalf." Ella pressed her back hard to the tree, hoping the small group of men wouldn't see her. She had heard enough to know that they were rebels, and she guessed that many of them were looking for her. They were approaching from the other side of the tree behind her, a few metres to the right, so they wouldn't pass beneath her. They would see her if they looked up and left as they passed, though. She hoped that her dark-coloured clothes would be enough to hide her, and she held as still as possible. She slowly unhooked her belt from the tree in case she had to run.
"If you don't mind, perhaps you should just concentrate on following orders and finding her." Another voice interrupted. They were passing into Ella's sight, and she saw that it was an elf who had spoken.
"Oh, I apologise master Legolas. I uh, I didn't realise you were close enough to hear me. But I am entitled to my opinion, though." The grizzled man defended his thoughts as he looked back at the elf approaching from the rear of the group.
'where is that elf you ran off with? Did he and the rebels turn on you again, did they try to execute you for what you've done?' Ella remembered Mattson's words.
"Try being further away from an elf if you want to speak without him hearing." Legolas cautioned. "And don't voice your opinions too loudly either, our scouts have placed Mattson near these woods as well, he's probably looking for Sharon too…" He broke off as he looked over to see Ella in the tree.
'Oh, shit!' she thought, and immediately scrambled down as a yell went up from the group when they saw her too. Legolas led the pursuit, outrunning the rest of the men.
Ella was approaching a gully as Legolas caught up to her. He grabbed her as she crested it, making her scream and fall down it, with him falling with her.
At the bottom she struggled, but she was pinned beneath him. He looked down in confusion at her fear-stricken face. "Don't you remember me?" he asked quietly.
"No." she sobbed. "I don't remember anything I've done, and whatever it was, I'm sorry. Please don't kill me. Please, just let me go." She begged.
"I won't hurt you." He promised, and pulled her to her feet, though he did not let go of her wrists. She tried to run again as the other men approached, but Legolas drew her back and held her close.
"She's going to bring General Mattson down on us." One of the soldiers complained as Ella struggled and cried out in protest. Legolas nodded, giving them permission to gag her and tie her hands behind her back.
"Oww, bitch." One of them said as she kicked him in the shins. He raised a hand to hit her and Legolas grabbed it and pulled Ella out of range.
"Do not lay a hand on her." He said angrily. "We're going back to the village, Aragorn said he'd meet us there tonight." He pulled her back up the hill to where one of the men had waited with his horse. With the help of one of the others he sat her on the animal, then got up behind her, ignoring her struggles and muffled whimpering as he held her firmly, one hand around her waist and the other on the reins. "You." He said to the soldier who'd tried to strike Ella. "See if you can find one of the other groups before then."
Legolas sent another person ahead when they approached the village, who reported that they could hide in one of the huts that had been abandoned recently. Covered in cloaks, Legolas discreetly forced Ella back into the same house that she had left yesterday in an effort to avoid being caught, while one of the men stabled the horse at the inn, where they would meet with Aragorn that night.
Ella became frightened of their intentions when she was dropped on the bed, but Legolas merely tied one of her feet to the posts and left her there, promising death to any who touched her, despite the fact that they were his own men. He turned back to her and knelt by the bed where she had gotten herself to a sitting position. "Nobody is going to hurt you, I promise. I'll help you get your memory back, Ella."
"Hmm?" Ella said through the gag.
"If you promise not to be loud, I'll take that gag off." He offered. "I'm sure you don't want to be caught by Mattson, if you've heard about who he is." Ella shuddered a little, then slowly nodded her head.
He pulled the cloth down to rest on her neck, then pulled a chair forward to sit opposite her. "Do you remember anything?" he asked.
"A, a voice, telling me that someone wanted to call me Elara." She answered, trying to figure out the man before of her.
"Why did you run if you don't remember who we are?" he asked.
"Mattson found me yesterday, and told me who I was. He said that I was Sharon, and that I had betrayed him, and that the rebels wanted me dead."
"No. Not anymore, anyway." Legolas assured her. "We were friends long before we were enemies, and recently you decided to rejoin us, that is why Mattson was after you. Some of the rebels don't understand what you've gone through, but none of them are allowed to hurt you. How did you get away from Mattson?"
"I was looking after a little girl, when he came along and caught us both. He knew who I was and said that I was his, and to make sure I would obey him he made me watch as they threw the girl into the river."
"I'm sorry."
"She's alright. I bit him and when he let go I jumped in after her. In their armour they couldn't follow us. I sent her family away in case Mattson came after them, and then I hid in the forest. I guess I didn't hide well enough." She paused. "Um, so, who are you? I know that you know me, and Mattson said that I had run off with an elf, was that you?"
"Yes. My name is Legolas. To me you will always be Ella, for that is the name you had before you called yourself Sharon. Oh, and this is yours." He said, pulling out her pendant and placing it around her neck.
"I don't recognise it, but thank you." Ella said. "I, I don't feel as though I could have done the things that I've been told about. Just thinking about hurting people makes me feel sick inside. How could I have betrayed the rebels to ally myself with someone like Mattson?"
"You didn't betray us. We turned our backs on you, and when we did, you turned to Sauron. By the time we had realised our mistake, it was too late. You had become our enemy."
"Then why am I not now?" Ella couldn't understand.
"Because I believed that beneath the cold exterior, the real you was in there somewhere. I came to find you, and found that I was right. You still cared. It's true, inside you didn't like hurting innocent people, but you felt you had no other choice. I showed you that wasn't true, so that is why you came back with me."
"How did I end up in that river, before I got the amnesia."
"The other rebels hadn't yet established whether you were being truthful, or whether to let you come back or not, and one of our men approached you with a sword raised. You probably thought we were going to execute you, and you ran for it. We lost your trail at the river, and later found out that you'd been rescued by a farmer."
"Was I going to be allowed to rejoin you?"
"Yes. If you hadn't, I would have left with you."
"Some of the rebels still want me dead for what I've done, and after hearing the stories, I can't really blame them. I was a monster." Ella looked despondent.
"Don't worry. You are much more of an asset to us on our side than not. They'll realise this, and you'll be given your chance to make up for the past. And until you remember how to defend yourself, don't worry. I'd die before I let anyone hurt you."
Ella smiled a little. "That's what I said to Anna, the little girl that was thrown into the river. So, what happens now?"
"We wait until nightfall. I'll go talk to Aragorn, and we'll get you into hiding."
"Mattson would still be hunting me, wouldn't he?"
"Yes. That's why we dragged you back here so forcefully. If we'd left you out there to be caught by him, you'd have suffered much worse." His eyes seemed to be pleading forgiveness.
"I believe that. I'm sorry for being so troublesome, I thought you were going to hurt me."
"I guess we'll just have to win back your trust then."
"It's Ok. If you were going to hurt me, you'd have done it by now. I trust you."
"All right. Then can I trust you to stay here until I get back?" He asked.
"Well, I can't really go anywhere, can I?" she said, lightly tugging on the rope tying her foot to the bed.
Legolas stood, and untied both it and the one binding her hands.
"Thank you." She said after a moment of surprise at his confidence in her. "You can trust me, Legolas."
"I know." He replied.
Later, as nightfall approached, Legolas left to wait for Aragorn at the inn, leaving Ella with the promise that he would be back as soon as he could. She was confined to the hut with a few men that Legolas trusted to follow his orders to protect her. She didn't talk to them, she just sat on the bed, peeking through a shuttered window. Though she still couldn't remember Legolas, his touch had felt familiar. She had realised that she meant something to him, from the way he looked at her and was so adamant about protecting her. She suspected that she had also loved him too. She hoped her memory would return soon.
The soldiers kept quiet, and the fire low, to avoid visitors thinking that somebody was home. Ella huddled in her cloak, keeping herself warm. She was the only one looking outside, so she was the only one that saw the soldiers bearing the banner of Sauron approach the inn. She looked over at the table, where Legolas had left his bow and arrows, as they were too conspicuous to be taken into the inn. She recognised Mattson, in his black armour and red cape, and began to tremble with fear. She got up from the bed and stepped over the resting bodies. The only one that was awake had his back to her, warming his hands by the low fire. She took the weapons and climbed out the window.
She didn't remember how to use them but she wanted to take them to Legolas, despite the fact that she knew he had his knives. She realised that she had promised to stay in the hut, but she wanted to help him. She also felt safer with him than with his men, even though there were more of them and they'd been ordered to keep her safe. Mattson's men were all looking in the direction of the inn as they dismounted, so Ella ran from hut to hut to try and get around the back where the stables were, and where she was sure that there would be a back entrance.
Inside the inn, Legolas had just finished explaining the situation to Aragorn, Eowyn and Faramir as Mattson walked in. They briefly glanced up before pulling their hoods even lower over their faces and reaching for their weapons under the table.
"Is there anything our humble inn can do for you, General Mattson." The barman stuttered, evidently afraid.
"For two weeks a girl has been living in this village." Mattson addressed all of the inn's patrons. "She was pulled from the river with amnesia, and anyone who knows where she is now should speak up. Information will be rewarded, silence shall be punished!"
"Uh, she's been living with Nathan and Brianna, the farmers." A weaselly looking man spoke up. "I'd be happy to lead you to their home, for a price of course." He held out his hand. Mattson chopped it off before stabbing him in the chest, making the group tense and the women in the inn scream in alarm.
"Silence." Mattson yelled. "Payment on delivery of the girl, not before. Do we have any volunteers to take us to the home, or are we going to have to start killing until we find someone smart enough to cooperate."
His soldiers spread out to surround the tables. As a couple got close enough, Aragorn's group stood and struck, quickly felling the soldiers and turning to face Mattson defensively. He recognised Legolas. "I remember you. Sharon was meant to torture you but instead she ran away with you." He said angrily.
"No one kills the elf but me." he ordered his men, and patrons started running from the inn as the fighting began. Despite their orders, soldiers still tried to fight Legolas as he made his way towards Mattson, who stood by the door, sword in hand and glaring menacingly.
Suddenly Mattson was knocked inwards as the door thumped into him. Ella had recognised and untied Legolas' horse, riding it towards the front. Hearing Mattson's voice, she had encouraged it to rear up and flail it's hooves. She rode in past an enraged Mattson, and she threw Legolas' bow and arrows to him, somehow knowing that he fought the best with them.
As Legolas caught the weapons, Mattson reached up to pull Ella from the horse's back. He held her in front of him as a shield, and held his sword across her throat. He grinned cruelly, and pulled Ella outside as Legolas pushed past his horse to follow. He drew his bow, but could not shoot at Mattson for fear of hitting Ella, and both men knew this. Mattson pulled her towards the stables where his own horse was. He pushed the stable doors open with his back, still holding Ella close. He knew he was cornering himself, but he knew that none of Legolas' friends had followed them out, and suspected that with the elf trying to protect Ella, he would have the upper hand.
"Drop the bow in the trough." He ordered when Legolas was inside. "Or she dies and you get to watch."
Reluctantly, Legolas complied. Mattson smiled and threw Ella aside into an empty stall, not regarding her as a threat. He raised his sword in front of him and Legolas did the same with one of his long Elven knives.
Ella climbed over the stall walls towards Legolas, and Mattson was annoyed when he saw her getting away. He'd expected her to just lie there helplessly. As Legolas pushed her away towards the doors and out of range of Mattson, the general struck, catching Legolas in the stomach.
"No!" Ella screamed, grabbing Legolas' arm as he fell. She remembered her vision of Haldir, and leant over to kiss him on the mouth, trying to heal him. Mattson grabbed her waist and pulled her away as she started to regain her memories, and the General didn't notice her white eyes or slightly bloody stomach. He'd only ever seen her steal life from others, he didn't know that she could also give it. His back was to the elf as he struggled to his feet, trying to shake off the effects of Ella's gift before they got away.
Legolas ran out of the stables only in time to see the general riding off for Mordor, Ella across the saddle in front of him. The others had been victorious in the inn due to the arrival of Legolas' men when they'd heard the commotion. They joined him, looking in the same direction to see why he looked so heartbroken.
Ella was back, and could have gotten off the horse at any time, but she pretended to still be scared. Mattson was going to take her straight to Sauron, and she was going to redeem herself by bringing the war to an end.
Mattson rode his horse to near exhaustion, only stopping at Barad-Dur, where he left it to collapse as he dragged Ella up the tower, who struggled pathetically and cried. Before the door to her Sauron's study, he paused, grinning cruelly at her pain. As she hoped he would, he kissed her. She twisted her arms out of his grip and grabbed the back of his head, holding him to her. Mattson then suffered a similar fate to some of the soldiers had when Sharon had been injured. She drew his life into herself, not stopping at the point she usually did. She kept going until Mattson's heart stopped.
"Kiss of death." She whispered as she let him sink to the floor. She picked up his sword and held it behind her back as she knocked on the door. She felt energised and refreshed, Mattson's strength singing in her veins.
When Sauron called her inside, Ella plastered a fake smile on her face for him to see.
"Good morning father. I'm back." Sauron looked up, surprised. He'd been told that she had betrayed them. He walked towards her in astonishment. He reached towards her and Ella struck quickly, slicing the Ring from his hand, much the same as Isildur had done thousands of years before. She grabbed the ring as it fell, running from the room and down the stairs, stopping only long enough to grab Mattson's crossbow from his horse when she reached the bottom. She whistled for her own warhorse, which wasn't too far off.
She rode past orcs and goblins which grabbed at her in an attempt to stop her. She hacked at any who got too close with Mattson's sword, and when she was clear for a moment she used a loose piece of thread to tie the Ring to the bolt, so that she couldn't be tempted to keep it. When she was close enough to Mount Doom, she rode far enough up the mountain to get a clear shot, and shot the ring through the doorway, over the precipice and into the lava below.
She turned her horse away, and raced towards the gates, knowing about the eruption that would follow. When other creatures realised that Sauron was dead, they forgot about trying to stop her and ran for their lives. Ella rode down any that got in her way as Mount Doom roared and Barad Dur crumbled. She passed the gates as an Uruk jumped down from them to pull her from her horse. She fought him off and ran as the crumbling ground caught up with her.
(Beautiful) "Don't you bring me down today."
Aragorn had gathered all of his forces for one last attempt at bringing down Sauron. Legolas had told them about the secret passage, and they were going to try a surprise attack, hoping to get to Sauron and the Ring before too many of his forces got in the way. They were outside of Angmar, which had been deserted since Eowyn had killed it's master. They felt the volcano's fury as the Ring disintegrated into nothingness. The ground shook, and Angmar began to crumble.
Aragorn's forces retreated, and the company rode to the gates of Mordor, which no longer existed, as they had been pulled into a giant crevasse. The lava flowing from the mountain dribbled down into the crevasse, but the company was safe where they were. Those that had known Ella, however, worried for her safety.
"We're too late." Aragorn said.
"She did this." Legolas said without doubt. "Ella managed to destroy Sauron. I'd wondered why I felt her memories return, but she didn't fight Mattson. She could have killed him then when he thought she was helpless. But she let him bring her here."
"Where is she?" asked Eowyn. There was nothing but a sea of lava in Mordor, and when they looked around, all they saw was a warhorse wandering around near the crevasse.
Legolas recognised it from when Ella had smuggled him out of Mordor, and rode towards the horse. He dismounted and calmed it, wondering where it's rider was.
Boromir blew the horn of Gondor, so that if she was nearby she would know they were there.
Legolas heard coughing from over the edge and looked down to see Ella sitting on an outcropping above the lava, pressed flat to the wall to avoid falling, and just out of reach. A second slower and she wouldn't have made it. The steam was making her eyes water, and it was difficult to breathe, but other than that she was unhurt. "Ella!" he said, overwhelmed with joy at seeing her alive. "Help me get her out!" He called to the others. Immediately he was surrounded by their friends, and they tied a rope around his waist and to the horse's saddle, with many soldiers in between to help haul them up. Legolas leant over the edge to reach her, and held her tight when he was close enough to grab her.
"Lift!" Aragorn commanded when he saw that Legolas had hold of her.
They were pulled back over the edge in a few seconds, and many hands pulled them both out of harm's way. For a few seconds the two didn't let go of each other, then they allowed themselves to be helped to their feet. Ella was congratulated and hugged by those who were now her friends again.
She realised ho much of a hole it had left in her heart when she left them, and was glad to have it filled again.
When the last friend released her, she returned to Legolas' waiting arms, where she felt she had always belonged.