A/N: LOL, Celtic, I finished writing A Journey Ended. I've got all 11 chapters uploaded onto FanFiction. I finished A Bond Broken and A Journey Ended together. I was waiting for your review so I just typed up every single chapter. :D
Chapter 2: The Palantir and the Dark City
Estellia stood beside Legolas in the Golden Hall. Theoden stood before the crowded hall, a goblet held in his hand.
"Tonight, we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country." Theoden lifted his goblet. "Hail the victorious dead."
"Hail." Everyone drank from their goblet or tankard.
Barely fifteen minutes later, Merry and Pippin were standing on a table singing and dancing.
Oh you can search far and wide,
You can drink the whole town dry,
But you'll never find a beer so brown
As the one we drink in our home town!
You can keep your fancy ales,
You can drink them by the flagon,
But the only brew for the brave and true,
Comes from the Green Dragon!
The crowd laughed and cheered as Merry and Pippin toasted each other then downed their mugs. Sam sat nearby, shaking his head.
"Thank you, I win!" Merry called out.
Estellia stood outside in the dark; she wore a dark cloak with the hood raised. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Legolas looking down at her also wearing a cloak.
"The stars are veiled," she whispered as Aragorn joined them.
"Something stirs in the east." Legolas glanced to Aragorn. "A sleepless mass."
Estellia sighed and leaned against Legolas as he wrapped his arms around her. "The Eye of the enemy is moving."
The three of them for silent for many minutes when Estellia suddenly ran for the Golden Hall.
"He is here!" she called over her shoulder.
She ran over to Pippin, but Aragorn beat her and took the palantir from the Took's hands. Aragorn stepped away and fell to his knees as he was overtaken by its power, and Estellia pulled it from him and threw it from her while Legolas caught his friend. Gandalf threw his cloak on the scorching stone then turned to the hobbit.
"Fool of a Took!" he roared before realizing the hobbit lay unmoving.
Pippin's eyes were open, staring into nothingness. Estellia covered her mouth with her hands, and Legolas moved to her side and gripped her shoulder. Gandalf shoved Merry and Sam aside as he knelt by Pippin's side. The wizard took the hobbit's hand then set his other hand on the Pippin's forehead. He muttered something under his breath, and Pippin suddenly blinked his eyes. He gasped and looked around frantically.
"Look at me," Gandalf commanded.
Pippin trembled as he looked at the white wizard. "Gandalf…forgive me." He looked away.
"Look at me!" Gandalf ordered again. Pippin hesitantly turned back to the wizard. "What did you see?"
"A tree," he whispered. "There was a white tree…in a courtyard of stone… It was dead!" He took a shuddering breath. "The city was burning."
"Minas Tirith? Is that what you saw?"
"I saw…I saw HIM! I could hear his voice in my head."
"And what did you tell him? Speak!"
"H-he asked me my name; I didn't answer."
"What did you tell him about Frodo and the Ring?"
Pippin stared at the wizard, but didn't speak.
Gollum crouched low as he crossed the road leading to a dark city. Valia and Frodo followed quickly after him.
"The Dead City," Gollum whispered. "Very nasty place. Full of…enemies."
Valia shuddered. "My father's most loyal servants live there."
Gollum scampers across the road. "Quick! Quick! They will see. They will see!"
Valia and Frodo followed, but she stopped and stared at the dark city for a moment as though transfixed.
"Come away! Come away!" Gollum hissed.
Frodo looked back and took her hand. She looked up at him and followed. They looked up to where Gollum was pointing.
"Look, look, we've found it: the way into Mordor! The secret stair." Gollum urged the hobbits forward. "Climb!"
Frodo and Valia moved toward the stairs, but Valia stopped and turned back to the dark city. Frodo ran after her as she staggered toward it and grabbed her around the middle.
"No, Valia, don't," he whispered.
"Not that way!" Gollum cried. "What's it doing, huh?"
"No, they're calling me." Valia attempted to struggle from Frodo, her hand outreached toward the city.
The ground began to shake, and she stumbled back into Frodo's arms. They ran to the cover of the rocks, falling to the ground as the ground continued to shake. Valia screamed and covered her ears as a loud, screaming sound filled the air. The sound died away, and they glanced over the rocks as the Witch-king flew onto a pinnacle of the city. He let out a screech, and both of them covered their ears and ducked down behind the rocks. A striking pain hit Valia's shoulder, and her arms fell weakly to their sides.
"I can feel his blade," she whispered.
Frodo held her in his arms, pulling her close. Valia sobbed into his shoulder, crying out as the Witch-king shrieked louder. The iron gates swung open, and a great army marched out. As the army moved away, the Witch-king flew over them with one last cry. Valia lay in Frodo's arms, trembling and sobbing.
"Hurry, hobbits." Gollum tugged on Frodo's cloak. "We climb! We must climb!"
"We need to let her rest," Frodo argued.
"I'm all right," she murmured. "I will be all right."
She stood with Frodo's help, swaying slightly on her feet. Slowly, carefully, she made her way up the stairs with Frodo behind her.
A/N: Okay, we all know what happened to Pippin so I don't think I need to tell you what happened to him. :D Especially because I don't plan to.