Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. Do we really have to go through this every single time?

Summary: See previous chapters.

Chapter Three

Eldarion's Point of View

I am the eldest child of King Elessar and Queen Arwen. I am the Crown Prince of the re-unified kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor. I do not panic.

My mantra is also failing spectacularly to make me feel any better or any less confused about the situation.

Well, the good thing about what is happening at present is that Queen Natasha is no longer in shock and is doing a good job at keeping up appearances. That is to say: no one has figured out that she is perfectly aware of whom everyone is and has a general idea of what is going on.

The bad thing is that none of the rest of us knows much of what all the strange things in this world are. The healers have apparently decided that the time Queen Natasha spent in her 'coma' resulted in minor brain damage. She has been using that to get people to explain what things are and how they work so we have a better idea of what is going on.

Current events are taking their toll on everyone, however.

It is obvious that the Queen of Rohan feels the presence of her family quite keenly. She had thought never to see them again, and to have them back in her life so suddenly… well, never mind. We are still having trouble communicating with Natasha directly without giving something away, Bella is handling her family's reappearance even worse than her mother/cousin is, the rest of our group is just plain confused, and to make things even more interesting, the Queen's ex-suitor is very persistent and we are running out of ideas to get rid of him.

I wonder what is happening back in our world. I have not yet told the other children, especially my siblings, but I had a dream of back home. I suppose I could have passed it off as homesickness if the dream had been a pleasant one, but it was not. I saw all of Middle Earth in chaos and turmoil, even the Shire, which has always remained largely undisturbed, if you do not count Saruman's trickery. I saw my mother, Queen Arwen, weeping, or with fear in her eyes. I saw my father, struggling against an unseen opponent. I saw the races of Middle Earth trying to fight a terrible fate that I could not see, could not name, and attempting to flee as, one by one, they failed to do so.

Queen Natasha held me when I woke screaming, rocking me as she would one of her own. Her gentle voice prompted me to tell her of my dream. I hoped that she would say that it was only a dream, but I knew that it was probably more and I knew that she would not lie to me about what she thought if I asked her opinion.

I asked, and she told me that she thought it could be one of two things. Either it was just a vivid dream; or I had inherited the gift/curse of foresight, which seems to run in the family.

Personally, I was hoping for the former.

We were released from the House of Healing ('Hospital', Queen Natasha called it) the next day. It had taken a certain amount of persuasion on the Lady of Rohan's part, but she had convinced her family to let us stay together.

It appeared that the house her family usually lived in did not have enough beds for all of us, so we were put in something called a 'van' – sort of a horseless carriage – and set off for a 'holiday house', which I assumed was something like the summer palace back home. Queen Natasha's family also said that being around familiar objects might help to refresh her memory.

Since the Queen seems to remember every detail, even if she doesn't show it, it is sort of a moot point, but whatever makes them happy.

Meanwhile, I am wondering how long she is going to be able to maintain the façade of everything being fine.

It seems that waking from a fourteen-year coma is big news amongst the population, so Princess Bella and Queen Natasha are being hounded by the 'media', a group of people who seem to think they have the right to intrude on other peoples private business, stick their noses where they don't belong, then literally tell their findings, true or made up, to the world. The good thing about all of it was watching the Queen of Rohan intimidate them and subtly threaten dire consequences if any of them added their own spin to lie about any of the things she said. While she usually prefers more gentle means to convince people to do what she wants, that does not mean that Queen Natasha will not resort to more 'forceful persuasion' if she has to. It can be quite entertaining to watch.

Even so, it is obvious that current events are beginning to wear her down. She is having to maintain the image of memory loss, put up with this 'media', fend off her ex-suitor, hide what she is feeling from her family and try to figure out a way to get back home.

We all want to help with getting back home, but the fact is: Bella was four when she arrived in Middle Earth, and barely remembers anything from that time. Natasha was eighteen, and remembers part of it, but is having trouble communicating with us without blowing our cover.

Over all impression: things do not look good.

3rd person Point of View

A ruined tower in a forest, back in Middle Earth…

Two hooded figures stood on opposite sides of a pedestal, upon which rested a round black orb slightly smaller than a rock melon. Both were chanting in a harsh, almost evil, language.

Slowly, the air around them began to shimmer. One by one, others began to appear out of the shimmer. Though they varied in size and species, all seemed exceptionally beautiful and skilled, the epitome of perfection.

The taller of the two hooded ones spoke. "The hour of our victory is at hand. Middle Earth is defenceless against your power! Serve me well, for if you succeed, you will have any that your heart may desire!"

The room resounded with cheers and roars of assent as the hundreds of newcomers began to plot a battle that no man, elf, dwarf or hobbit could combat.

In a corner, a dark-haired figure remained silent. She had the feeling that she was not supposed to be here. Was this how the other had once felt? She could only hope that the love borne for Rohan's Queen would hold against this power. How had the other survived? What would she have done?

The Study of the Lord of the Riddermark, Edoras, several days later…

There was a hurried knock on the door of King Eomer's study. Seconds later, a very traumatized-looking elf stumbled in, eyes wide. He rushed over to where Legolas sat and handed him a piece of parchment.

The Prince of Mirkwood scanned the letter, then passed it to Gandalf, letting out a descriptive curse in Sindarin as he did so. Those who understood the language appeared shocked at the elf's choice of words, but then gave serious thought to expanding on them as they, too, saw the message.

The elf messenger finally managed to speak. "The result has been devastating, my Lords. The warriors of Middle Earth are powerless to stop them. They have found a way to have all those warriors who have managed to oppose them branded as traitors and such."

Eowyn, the White Lady of Rohan and Princess of Ithilien, narrowed her eyes, copied by Queen Arwen of Gondor. "Then we will have to find some other way to defeat them. Nothing is invulnerable."

Boromir, son of the Steward Denethor, gave his sister-in-law a look. "Easy for you to say! Where is Natasha when we need her? She was always good at coming up with sneaky ideas." He flinched at the glare sent in his direction by the Lord of Rohan.

Arwen of Gondor rolled her eyes. "What do you expect? Boys rely on brute strength to solve problems. Girls are usually more subtle, and Natasha is the eldest of three!"

Eomer shot all of them a 'shut-up-now-or-else' look. "If we could get back to the topic. Lothlorien and Imladris are being over-run, long-lost family members and unknown childhood companions of the Mirkwood royal family are appearing right, left and centre in Eryn Lasgalan, these horrific creatures are moving in swarms to Gondor, Rohan and the Shire and the males are helpless against them! Could we start trying to find a solution instead of bickering?"

The messenger looked pensive. "It was foretold that the Lord of the Nazgul could not be killed by any man living. It was Lady Eowyn who brought him down. Could we not employ the same tactic now?"

Eowyn looked thoughtful. "I know that most of the female population would ride through fire if she asked them, so it might just work."

They set to work again, this time with a sense of urgency.

And all the while, a peril greater than Sauron and Morgorth together, marched against the Kingdoms of the West.

To Be Continued

A/N – Chapter Three done, sorry for the wait.

Anyone feel like a guess as to what is happening now? (Evil Grin)

Anyway, review and tell me what you think.

Thanks to everyone,

Nathalia.