CHAPTER NINE

Journey in the Dark

"We were so careful…"

No one was entirely sure of how long they had been walking for judging the passage of time was hard to figure when they were forever surrounded by darkness. For most of their journey, the company remained silent, each quietly fearful of whatever foes they might encounter should their passing be discovered.

Over time, Eina had become latched to her brother's side. "Are you sure you are alright?" Boromir asked quietly. He had his sister at one arm, and a flaming torch in the other. "You did almost just drown Eina…"

She was quick to squelch his worries, "Yes, yes, I'm fine. I'm just a bit wet, that's all." She suddenly twitched at the sound of a stone as it was kicked by one of the Hobbit's ahead of them.

Her newfound skittishness didn't go unnoticed by her fellows. "You, out of all of us, should find no fear while traveling in darkness." Aragorn commented, having already seen her jump at least a dozen times, his torch illuminating his face from behind them. While her jumpy behavior was, admittedly, mildly entertaining, he could not help but be curious as well. "What troubles you?" He inquired as they walked on.

Her jaw tightened at his observation, "My eyes are not what they used to be, thanks to Gandalf." Eina brought her free hand up, rubbing it across her eyes as if by doing so she would somehow solve her current predicament.

"What do you mean?" The ranger asked, a brow shooting up on his forehead.

"She can no longer see in the dark." Boromir answered, noting his sister move closer to him yet again at the sound a scuffling boot.

Upon catching herself flinch, Eina growled in frustration, "I cannot stand being so blind."

"Now you see as the rest of us always do." Legolas chimed in quietly. "Forever seeing things in the light and never the dark."

"Speaking of light," Aragorn gestured ahead of them, "look there." The Fellowship then stepped into a great cavern that seemed to glow from around them. Gandalf rested a hand on a silver vein in the stone.

"The wealth in Moria was not in gold, or jewels…" The Wizard then tilted his staff down towards the pit beside them, "But Mithril." The light from his staff then brightened, allowing them to see further into the mine below.

At its immaculate depth, the pit seemed to go on for what appeared to be forever, only disappearing when the light from Gandalf's staff could illuminate it no further. The scaffolding down into the pit seemed just as endless, old and disused as it disappeared into the mineshafts far below. All eyes were in awe of the sight. Merry stood transfixed, beginning to lean farther over the gaping hole. Pippin brought a hand up across his friend's chest, knocking him from his stupor.

Gandalf then lifted his staff back upwards and began to walk again, "Bilbo had a shirt of Mithril rings that Thorin gave him."

"Oh, that was a kingly gift." Gimili said full heartedly.

"Yes!" Gandalf answered, "I never told him, but its worth was far greater than the value of the Shire." From amongst the group, Frodo looked up, his eyes now showing surprise at this new information. However, the half-ling said nothing as they pressed on. They then departed from the Mithril mine, and soon came out in a very open cavern, where, at the farther end, was an extremely steep stairway.

Gandalf lead them to the stairs. "Keep steady hands and feet," He muttered, beginning the long climb first, "If you fall from these stairs, there will be no getting back up." Tentatively, the rest of the Fellowship followed. For what seemed ages, they climbed, none of them daring to look down in fear of being consumed by vertigo. So silently, they moved their way upward until everyone had made it to the top of the stairs.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief having made it past the stairs in one piece. From the top of the imposing steps, Eina looked back down as she followed up behind everyone, "Stairs," she scoffed, "More like a cliff face." Some of her comrades chuckled, beginning to follow after Gandalf yet again now that they were safely on level ground.

But their travels came to a swift halt when they came to the meeting of three tunnels. Gandalf looked between the trio of pathways. "I have no memory of this place." He muttered. The Wizard then sat down, in hopes of jogging his memory of the correct path.

Eina took up post on the ground beside the Hobbits, listening to them quietly chatter to one another about their hunger. After a few minutes, she couldn't help but noticing a peculiar sensation; it was a faint prickling of the hairs on the back of her neck, a sensation she new common when someone was staring at her. Craning her head around, Eina hoped to see just whose eyes were boring into the back of her skull, but she saw nothing through the darkness, huffing.

Her behavior was once again noticed, "Is something the matter Eina?" Merry asked, having momentarily halted his conversation about an excellent strand of pipe weed he'd been having with his fellows.

"I feel as if we are being watched." Her eyes bore into the darkness, searching. After a moment, she let out a defeated sigh, "But for all I know, my paranoia once again getting the best of me."

To everyone's surprise, Gandalf interjected calmly, "It is Gollum."

"Gollum?" Frodo asked, his neck craning down to see the creature in question slinking his way after them. The others turned their attention toward the Wizard, whom now happened to be smoking from his pipe.

In between a puff of smoke, Gandalf answered, "He's been following us for three days."

"He escaped the dungeons of Barad-Dûr!" Frodo asked, astonished.

A dark look passed over Gandalf's face. "Escaped." His eyes trailed down to Gollum, whose gnarled hands continued to pry their way upwards, "Or let loose?"

Eina felt her eyes narrow in the direction of their new stalker, and she found herself wandering off a ways, her eyes looking for Gollum down below.

"You are troubled." Eina did not turn to look at the Prince as he came up behind her.

"No." Her eyes scoured the cracked mines below, "Just curious." For a moment, the pair of them stood in silence as they both looked down into the darkness beneath them.

"You are an interesting one." The Prince commented.

"As are you."

"Says the wielder of mysterious, untapped magical powers."

She couldn't help but let out a curt laugh, "You've got me there, Princey." Her eyes then turned somber, still searching the darkness, "I just wish these powers weren't so ambiguous. I mean, what use are they if I cannot use them?"

"You will learn how to, in time."

Eina hummed in affirmation. "One can only hope." She said.

"There is always hope."

At his words, Eina felt her eyes drawn the Prince. But before she had the chance to continue their conversation, a voice broke out from behind them. The pair then turned, seeing Gandalf having risen from his seat with a smile lining his face. Eina grinned herself, turning and beginning to walk back towards the group, "Gandalf must have remembered the way." With their path revealed, the Fellowship then continued on their way, descending into the darkness of the tunnel farthest to the right.

After a moment of walking, Gandalf spoke again, "Now, let me risk a bit more light." The Wizard's safe continued to grow even brighter, illuminating the colossal sight before them. "Behold; the great realm and Dwarf-city of Dwarrowdelf."

All eyes couldn't help but turn wide at the site before them; rows upon rows of impressively massive stone pillars towered above them towards a ceiling that could not even be revealed by the new light from Gandalf's staff. The hall seemed endless as Gandalf began to lead them on.

"There's an eye opener, no mistake." Sam murmured, earning faint nods from his companions as they toiled along.

"I must admittedly give the Dwarfs credit for such a magnificent feat; this is truly remarkable." Eina said. Gimili couldn't help but smirk, puffing up his chest at her compliment.

She then caught Legolas speak to her in a hushed voice, "Careful now. Keep throwing around compliments like that, and Gimili's head will be sure to burst." Eina laughed quietly, continuing to walk along with Legolas at her side, continuing to make jokes at Gimili's new (and rather amusing) behavior.

But then, for whatever reason, Gimili sprinted off under a nearby archway, a single stream of light tumbling into the mysterious room from the outer world. "Gimili!" Gandalf called after him. But the Dwarf did not listen as he disappeared into the moonlit romm. Not wanting to lose one of their comrades, the Fellowship followed after him.

This new, and much smaller space was just as littered with corpses as the rest of the Mine. However, there was an oddity to the place, for a tomb sat in the middle of the room. It soon became apparent that this was the source of Gimili's grief as he kneeled, crying before the stone coffin.

Gandalf stood in front of the tomb. His voice was wary, more hope slipping out of his voice with every word, "Here lies Balin…son of Fundin…Lord of Moria" Gandalf lowered his hat, "He is dead then."

The Wizard turned to the rest of the on lookers, his expression grave. "It is as I feared." Gimili continued to weep, but none of them had the heart to tell him to be quiet. Gandalf then handed his staff and hat to Pippin before striding over to one of the half-rotted corpses, seeing a large bound book in its grasp. He retrieved the volume and began to page through it, obviously searching for something.

Eina stood beside Pippin, both of them taking up post near a dried up well. Eina watched a short exchange between the ranger and the Prince. "We must move on. We cannot linger." The humor that Legolas had been harboring in his voice only moments ago had all but vanished. The Prince's words were urgent, and Eina suddenly felt a horrible sense of foreboding. And this feeling did not disappear as Gandalf began to read from the last pages of the tattered book.

"'They have taken the bridge and the second hall. We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums; drums in the deep.'" The Wizard paused as he turned the page. "'We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out. They are coming.'"

Gandalf's narration had caused a knot to develop in Eina's stomach, and her mouth had suddenly gone unbearably dry; whatever it was that the Dwarfs had awoken within the mine, it had obviously been the end of them. She glanced over to Pippin who had been nervously backing ever closer to the well behind them, his elbow just on the verge knocking a chained bucket into the dried pit.

In haste, Eina grabbed him, causing the half-ling to halt before he sent the old bucket crashing down into the well. He looked confused for a moment but she nodded towards the bucket, which earned a small, 'ah' from him in recognition. Pippin then moved forward and farther away from the imposing trouble.

Gandalf carried on, setting the book down, "Let us carry on, and quickly now. We have nearly reached the other side." He then retrieved his possessions from Pippin, "Let us hope that our presence shall continue to go unnoticed." Gandalf then walked back out of the room, the others beginning to follow after him. Eina pulled Pippin along by the shoulder, steering him far away from the well and out the door.

As they walked out, she stuttered in her steps for a moment, noticing that two of their company had yet to join them. Legolas remained behind, and to both Pippin's and Eina's surprise, the Elf put a hand on Gimili's shoulder, trying to comfort grieving Dwarf. Their axe barring fellow let out one last loud sniffle before returning to his feet. Gimili then wiped his eyes feverishly, glancing up to Legolas and to their surprise, nodded once before making his way out of the chamber.

Eina and Pippin said nothing as Gimili walked past, a few tears still clinging to his vermillion beard. Legolas followed behind him, to which Eina commented, "That was very kind of you."

"Yes," Pippin added, watching Gimili walk off. The Hobbit spoke before he could stop himself, "But I thought that Dwarves and Elves hated each other?" Eina dropped a look of scolding towards the half-ling, whose face was already sinking for having realized the implications of his words; it was no secret that the relationship between Dwarves and Elves was forever laden with tension. However, to bring it up openly in front of one of the two arguing parties never ended well; one side would ruthlessly degrade and insult the other, so the topic, when in the presence of either party, was avoided at all costs.

But to Pippin's words, Legolas's face remained passive, "Greif is not something that is restricted to a single race, for all creatures feel hurt when the lose one they love. Once this fact is realized, such feelings of animosity begin to fade away." To his words, all of their eyes traveled to their sole Dwarf companion, their hearts going out to him for his loss. Without speaking, the trio then began to walk on, momentarily lost to their thoughts as they continued to venture through the mines.

Eina let her mind begin to wander to a darker place where she was without those who loved her, trying to imagine what Gimili must be feeling. But upon feeling tears begin to prick at her eyes, she shook her head, banishing such thoughts from her mind.

In further efforts to distract her thoughts, she looked up, her eyes finally seeing what was around her. They were descending an immaculate stone stairway with endless black trenches on either side. Eina made sure to stay very close to the center of the walk, not at all keen on the idea of falling endlessly into the gaping black hole on either side of her. But the stone walk was already crumbing, and as they walked, more pieces of it gave way beneath them, at first tumbling but then falling silently to their final resting place in the black chasm below. With careful footing, the Fellowship passed the crumbling stairway and entered another large chamber.

More pillars rose above them like a dark forest, casting a feeling of animosity down their spines. Eina stepped up to Legolas, "Just how much farther until we reach the other side?" She whispered to him, her eyes darting through the shadows.

"Not far. Gandalf said we should be crossing the Bridge of Khazd-dûm quite soon." Somewhere in the shadows around them, a stone tumbled along the ground and Eina jumped, her shoulder bumping into the Prince. Legolas couldn't help but let a smile slip at her skittishness. "The dark truly frightens you now, doesn't it?"

Her opaque blue eyes looked up to him. "It's not the dark I'm afraid of," Her eyes scoured the shadows all around them, "It's what lies behind it that I cannot see the scares me. Darkness and shadows were once my friends, a place where I could seek refuge and comfort. But now they are a new danger," she sighed deeply, "and a suffocating danger at that."

And it was then, as her eyes once against trailed over the darkness, that from the corner of her eyes, she saw something. At first she thought it was a mere trick of light. However, there was a problem to her theory. For one, the only light being provided was coming from Gandalf's staff, and it was in no way lighting the dark corridor she was now staring down.

Secondly, this was a new light altogether; it was entirely different in comparison to the white light coming from Gandalf's staff. It was even different than the light of day. This light, as Eina stared at it, was a humble orange glow, barely a speck against the darkness. Almost like a tiny flame.

So in a moment of haste, she grabbed on to Legolas's sleeve, bringing him to an immediate halt. "Eina, what's—" Her hand flew up and she pointed towards the mysterious light, which was now steadily growing in size. The duo watched as the light grew, the source of the light still hiding far behind the corner. But knots suddenly began to grow in their stomachs. The light, once a speck at ground level, had risen endlessly towards the ceiling, and continued to burn ever brighter as it grew.

It was only when the burning light reached the ceiling did they feel the first tremor. The ground rumbled beneath them, as if the very mountain itself had awoken. It was faint, but then, like a steady pulse, came again. The dusty ground was suddenly brought to life with trembling stones as they shivered at the continual beat.

"Legolas! Eina!" The duo was knocked from their trance, immediately looking towards the voice that had called them. Gandalf was staring at them hard, his lips pulled into a fine line. The rest of their company had come to a halt for the tremors now loud enough for all of them to hear. Eyes were slowly turning wide as the rumbling continued. The light that was once so painfully small was now illuminating the entire corridor and spilling out into the main chamber in which they stood.

To their further horror, a guttural roar echoed across the walls of the mine. Despite the suggested warmth that would come from the amber light, the sound that followed was chilling. It was as if someone had given brimstone a voice with a tongue made of hellfire.

Eina gulped, glancing over to the Elf beside her; the look of fear in his eyes caused her stomach to drop even further. She never saw the Elf Prince show such fear before. To have him look so afraid was dangerously unsettling.

Boromir then dared to pose a question, "What is this new devilry?"

For a moment, Gandalf was silent, his eyes closed deep in concentration. His eyes then opened, his expression grave, "A Balroq – a demon of the ancient world." The light was steadily intensifying, the rumbling becoming ever louder. "This foe is beyond any of you. Run!"

And so they ran, hearts pounding as they rushed to escape the demon that was now trailing after them. As they sprinted through the mines, Eina belted out a question, "I do not understand!" She hollered as they passed under another stone archway. "How could it have possibly discovered of our presence? We were so careful."

"Who cares!" Gimili yelled back to her, the group still running down yet another corridor, "What matters is getting us all out of here alive! Because I, for one, do not wish to be burned to death!" Eina glared at the Dwarf for an instant, but admittedly knew that he was right. And so, she bit her tongue as they skidded their way out of the corridor and down a flight of steps, each of them fast on each others heals as they ran. As they rounded another corner, the flight of steps ended abruptly in a bought of missing steps. Eina's heart nearly froze as saw her brother, in the lead, nearly falling into the dark chasm that stretched out endlessly beneath him.

But Legolas, in his swiftness, pulled Boromir back, saving him from the similar fate of the torch he'd been holding as it tumbled down into the darkness. It was then that she remembered to breathe as she heard Gandalf and Aragorn approaching her from behind.

"Lead them on Aragorn!" Gandalf urged, "The bridge is near!" As they ran on, a large cavern spread out before them, yet another seemingly impossible gap dropping down into it. But as imposing as the gap was, as they gazed across the gap, they could see a bridge connecting to two sides. They way out had finally appeared.

Aragorn moved back by Gandalf, a hand at his sword. However, the Wizard pushed the ranger away, "Do as I say!" Gandalf yelled. A mixture of hurt and confusion passed over Aragorn's face. The Balroq roared from behind them once again. "Swords are of no more use here." Gandalf ensured, his eyes hard. Aragorn, through not entirely sure of Gandalf's decision, ran to the front of the group, beginning to lead them on down a slight of massive stairs towards the bridge.

Eina made a move to follow him, but a hand on her shoulder caused her to stop. Placing both of his hands on her shoulders, Gandalf began to speak very quickly, "My dear, I have a task for you if you are willing to rise up to it."

Without question Eina nodded, her eyes wide but focused. Gandalf pursed his lips, their eyes now locked in a stare. "You have the power to defeat this beast."

"But how—"

"Your magic. It is far stronger than you know."

"But what can I do?"

"Follow me and no matter what happens, do as I say. Can you do this for me?" Gandalf's eyes were hard. Another rumble echoed around them.

She nodded, and he did the same. "Now." He squeezed of her shoulders for an instant, "Let us fly!" They then parted, Gandalf running down the steps to follow the rest of the company with Eina right on his heels.

While she was surprised, and albeit somewhat confused at Gandalf's request, she wasn't going to say no. She would do anything to be of help to the company, no matter the cost. And so, she kept close to the Wizard, waiting for his commands.

And so they descend, with the roars of the Balroq becoming louder and more frequent as they continued to fly down the steps. They had nearly reached the bridge when the stairs suddenly came to an end, a large piece of the stairway having already crumbled into the underworld below.

Legolas was the first to make the leap, coming to land with remarkable ease on the other side. The beast roared yet again, this time it's cry causing the underground foundation to splinter, sending heaving boulders into the depths below. Legolas turned back to his comrades, "Gandalf!" He gestured, to which the Wizard followed suit and landed on the other side.

Eina, whose hand had suddenly found itself locked with Frodo's, suddenly yanked the half-ling into her as an arrow whizzed passed. Her eyes shot upwards, "Goblins!" She yelled, quickly drawing her own bow and aimed it at one of the foul creatures.

She let her arrow fly, and to everyone's astonishment, it let off a translucent pink glow as it soared through the air before lodging itself deep in between the eyes of the offending goblin. But the instant the arrow hit its mark, the light exploded even further, and the goblin was reduced to a pile of dust.

In the midst of the chaos, for an instant, all eyes of the Fellowship turned towards their only female companion as they gaped at her while she gawked at the space that had once been her offender. She gulped, "Well then." Eina then notched a second arrow, and then another, the same thing happening to any goblin who was unfortunate enough to have been caught in the path of her arrows.

From the corner of her eye, she watched Boromir leap across the gap with Merry and Pippin. Legolas had momentarily joined her in the shoot off; Goblins were dropping like flies around them as the duo fired their deadly accurate arsenal upon their enemies. Seeing a break in the rain of arrows, Aragorn threw Sam over the gap into Boromir's arms to keep him from falling. The ranger made a move towards Gimili, but the Dwarf shot up his hand.

"Nobody tosses a Dwarf!" Gimili proclaimed.

"Then jump already!" Eina retorted, firing off yet another arrow.

The Dwarf huffed before making the leapt over the chasm. But his jump was not enough to get him safely to the other side. His feet scuffed the stone, and he began to tumble backwards. Reflexively, Legolas shot out a hand and grabbed onto the closest thing he could, being Gimili's vermillion beard.

"Not the beard!" Gimili hollered. But with a tug, the Dwarf was pulled up onto the stairway to safety.

The Balroq could still be heard approaching from the other hall as the stone mine continued to collapse around them. The demon's echo lets loose yet another gigantic rock from the ceiling. The boulder smashed through the steps behind the three remaining members of the company, leaving them trapped on the segment of stairs. To everyone's further horror, the stairs begin to shift, having been completely severed from its foundation. Eina nearly dropped her bow as she, along with Aragorn and Frodo, began to wobble in efforts to keep from falling.

"Steady!" Aragorn implored, "Hang on!"

"To what, might I ask?" Eina yelled sarcastically. Had the situation not been so dire, Aragorn would have rolled his eyes at her and Frodo would have laughed. But that was not the case.

"Come on!" Legolas yelled, gesturing them to leap across the gap.

"Lean forward!" Aragorn commanded. The trio shifted their weight forward, and the stairs begin to tip with them across the divide, soon crashing into the steps where the rest of their companions were waiting. As the stairways slammed together the last three members of the Fellowship were flung onto the safe portion of the stairs. Boromir helped Eina regain her footing, Legolas had caught Frodo, and Sam and Pippin helped Aragorn back to his feet. With everyone safely on the other side and back on their feet, the Fellowship continued to run down the still crumbling stairs and onto a narrow walkway.

For the moment, Gandalf was in the lead, Eina once again hot on his heels. The bridge was just paces away, and with a sharp left turn they finally made it to the bridge. But while their route to freedom was to one side, to the other was another vast corridor, which was being overcome with a wall of fire; the Balroq had finally caught up to them.

Gandalf stopped just before the bridge, letting the rest of the Fellowship run past, "Over the bridge! Fly!" Eina, in efforts to obey her previous orders, had stopped at the Wizard's side. She brought a hand up to her face, trying to shroud it from the wall of flame beside them. Gandalf turned to face the massive fire, the flames beginning to twist and turn with dangerous life behind.

A dark shadow then pushed through the flames as the Balroq finally revealed its true form. Upon seeing the beast, Eina was sure her heart had stopped. From the curling flames, great ash-black horns wrapped around the beast's head, and she was met with a pair of white-fire eyes that glared down at them with an intensity that was as hot as flames.

"Ready your bow from the far side of the bridge and wait for my signal!" Gandalf suddenly yelled, unmoving as he glared just as heatedly back up at the beast.

With a split second glance being her only hesitation, Eina then bolted away from the waves of flame and heat. She couldn't help but notice how remarkably narrow the bridge was, her eyes looking down to her feet to ensure that her footing was steady as she ran.

As she passed over the bridge, Eina stopped as ordered, turning back around just in time to see the demon let out a guttural roar of rippling heat. As the Balroq roared, Eina reflexively notched an arrow, waiting for her next command.

Finally, Gandalf turned and began to run across the bridge. Eina nearly sighed, thinking he would cross the bridge and they would fight the beast together. However, the Wizard stopped halfway, turning back to face the beast as it chased after him. A black cloven foot burst into flame as it stepped forward. She could feel the bridge quiver as the monster took another step forward, the quake rocking through her entire body as she stood, waiting.

Gandalf was now the only thing standing between her and the Balroq. This was a fact she was grateful for. From so close, the creature's skin gave off the impression of burning embers and its newly revealed claws looked like razor sharp brimstone. This demon, in Eina's honest opinion, was utterly and completely terrifying. She would've gulped had her throat not be so parched.

"You cannot pass!" Gandalf suddenly bellowed.

From the safer side of the gap, a voice shouted out. "Gandalf, Eina!" She knew the voice to be Frodo's but she dared not turn her eyes away from the beast, it's body erupting in a burst of raw flaming power. Eina remained motionless, her body practically aching as she waited for Gandalf to signal her to let her arrow fly. It was then, to her further horror, the Balroq summoned a flaming sword. Things were looking far from promising for them.

And yet, Gandalf still did not flinch, even as a pair of smoky black wings burst from the demon's back. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor…" Gandalf's voice grew louder as he spoke. The Balroq raised its sword, preparing to strike at Gandalf, "Go back to the Shadow." The Wizard commanded. With its flaming sword still raised, the beast let out another grumbling roar, its black mouth now gaping wide open.

"Fire!" Gandalf yelled. But the word had hardly left his mouth before Eina had motioned to let her arrow fly. True to its mark, the arrow erupted with a bright light as it left her hand, letting off a loud 'crack' as it implanted itself in the back of the beast's throat; a flawless shot, sent deep into the beasts gaping maw.

Instantly, the Balroq buckled to its knees, the sword vanishing before it had even fallen halfway. It brought its clawed hands to its throat, this time letting out a far more agonized cry. Eina nearly smiled; Gandalf's plan had worked. She could faintly register the sound of the rest of their company cheering them on from behind them; they had won.

But then the unthinkable happened. The beast, in its painful rage, looked up, its piercing white eyes hunting soley for whomever had lodged the arrow in its throat. With remarkable speed, the beast stood, retracting its hands from its throat and conjuring up a flaming whip, cracking it straight towards Eina before she even had the chance to blink.

All she could register was the feeling of complete and utter pain as she felt the whip wrap itself around her right leg, tugging her down to the ground with a forceful tug. She let out a cry of agony as she fell, slamming hard into the stone ground. As she fell, she couldn't help but look over her fate; rather pathetic, falling to her death into a pitch black chasm all because she hadn't reacted quick enough…

But in the split second this thought took to cross her mind, Eina felt the whip release her. Despite the newfound pain erupting from her leg and the ringing in her ears, Eina dragged herself away from the gap. Her teeth were clenched furiously as she pulled herself back to her feet, tears stinging her eyes as she looked back out to her Wizard companion.

She turned just in time to see Gandalf let out a furious yell, "YOU – SHALL NOT – PASS!" The Wizard then drove his staff into the stone bridge, a blue light erupting from it as Gandalf called upon its power. Still daring, the Balroq stepped forward onto the bridge.

To everyone's astonishment, the bridge collapsed from beneath the demon, sending it plunging into the deep chasm below. Eina let out a tiny breath of relief. She then took a careful step forward, beginning to move out towards Gandalf in hopes of helping him off the broken bridge.

But her nerves were pushed to their limits for the flaming whip reappeared and wrapped itself around the Wizard's ankle, yanking him off his feet and pulling him over the edge of the broken bridge. She watched horrorstruck as Gandalf clung to the crumbling edge of the bridge. But it was clear that his grip was slipping.

"GANDALF!" Eina screamed, panic clear in both her voice and eyes. Adrenaline was pouring through her as she sprinted back out across the bridge. In a rush, she fell to her stomach at the edge of the bridge, her hands tightly gripping Gandalf's forearms. But he still continued to slip further, his own grip on her arms beginning to fail.

She began to sputter, clearly panicked, "Hold on, just hold on—"

"Eina—" The Wizard spoke carefully.

She only continued to babble, "They'll come and help us—"

"Eina—"

"—They will, they—"

"Let me go." Gandalf inturrpted. His words instantly silenced her, Eina's grey-blue eyes turning wide, tears still streaming down her cheeks. She let out a sudden gasp, her grip faltering for an instant as an arrow embedded itself in her shoulder as she laid their unprotected. But still, her grip on Gandalf's arms held.

Although her eyes were squeezed shut in both anguish and dread, her eyes were still pouring with tears. She muttered back to him, "No. I will not let you fall." She lifted her head, meeting his eyes in a deadest stare.

To her surprise, and confusion, Gandalf shut his eyes and let out a deep sigh. His eyes then reopened, looking straight at her as he spoke. "I'm sorry." He said dolefully.

Her grip on his forearms only tightened. "Why?" Eina inquired.

"For this." Without a seconds delay, a flash of blue light burst from Gandalf's hands, sending a white-hot burning sensation across Eina's forearms where Gandalf had tried to hold on. But the pain proved to be too much and on instinct, she let go. The instant her hands were free, the agony in her forearms vanished, along with the Wizard as he fell into the darkness of the mines.

In the seconds that passed, Eina simply laid there, watching Gandalf drop further and further into the depths of the chasm. A deafening numbness then overtook her. Eina felt no pain as she watched him completely disappear into the swallowing darkness beneath the shattered bridge. Everything was suddenly silent as she stared down, unable to process anything.

It was only when someone physically pulled her up did she even begin to register her surroundings. Apparently, someone had managed to get her off the edge of the bridge. But whoever they were, they decided that she needed to be carried out of the mines for whatever reason. Perhaps it was because she'd been moving so slowly. Or had she been moving at all? Eina could not bring herself to even attempt to find answers to these questions. So instead, she remained numb to the world around her, still deeply locked in her state of shock as she was hauled out of the crumbling mines. Everything was still ringing in her ears; it was becoming rather annoying. She suddenly was forced to blink very hard as the brightness of day greeted her eyes. Upon blinking, she let her eyes wander.

They were outside of the mines, that much was certain. Eina found herself seated on the ground, someone else's arm still on her shoulder; she vaguely wondered whose it was. But when she looked up, she was startled to see the blaring blue eyes of Frodo glaring down at her.

It was as if in that instant she had returned to herself and took the brute of Frodo's screams. "WHY DID YOU LET HIM FALL? HOW—HOW COULD YOU?!" All eyes had turned towards Frodo, whose devastated rage was directed solely on Eina. She could see his blue eyes were shinning with a waterfall of tears that he struggled to keep at bay.

However, her reply was just a frantic, "HE MADE ME! HE DID SOMETHING, I DON'T KNOW, HE—HE BURNED ME! He made me do it—" She let out a cracked sob, pulling her arms to her chest as if by doing so would somehow restrict the endless pain she was feeling in both her heart and body. "I couldn't hold on…" Frodo then turned away, ashamed at his outburst. But tears continued to shine in his eyes as he walked off, too tormented to speak any further.

For an instant, all was silent as tears streaked their way down Eina's cheeks, clearing away any dust and grime with their salty tracks. "Let me see." A voice said softly. She instantly knew the voice belonged to Legolas. She felt his hand drop from her shoulder and gently pull her hands away from her chest so he could inspect her wounded forearms.

The Prince felt his jaw clench; the flesh was indeed scorched, going from her wrists nearly all the way to her elbows. The worst of the damage being where Gandalf had struggled to hold onto her, just as she did to him. Many layers of skin were missing, and the entire burn was ashen grey, almost black in parts, looking like the cracked like the floor of a desert that had not seen water in many centuries.

In all honesty, Legolas was amazed that she was still alive, let alone conscious after having received such extensive injuries. She had already not noticed him remove the arrow from her shoulder, and he was beginning to worry if she would eventually loose consciousness once the rush of battle had drained away. Thus, his expression was a mixture of perplexity and something more somber as he continued to notice the other large burn mark that wrapped its way around the majority of Eina's right leg. That wound alone should have done her in, and yet here she remained. Legolas couldn't help but wonder…

But it was then that the Elf noticed something. His eyes returned to the wounds on his comrade's arms, only to see the flesh beginning to melt back together. He watched, now awestruck, as the wound had visibly shrunk by half within a span of seconds.

This miraculous healing did not go unnoticed by Eina, "No…" She whispered, the single word splintering woefully is it fell from her cracked lips. Legolas looked up, seeing Eina's face once again drenched in repulsion as she watched the wounds disappear.

Eina's voice then turned frantic and she began to thrash about, "Stop, stop, STOP HEALING!" Legolas managed to pull her into him, trying to pull her from her state of obvious panic. For a few seconds, she attempted to break out of his hold, desperate, but already knowing that the once flaking skin had already been repaired, she could feel it. The pain in her leg had simmered to a dull ache, her forearms a hollow throb, and the wound in her shoulder had entirely vanished. She had, quite literally, healed herself in a span of seconds.

Eina gave up her panicked thrashing, knowing there was no use in fighting the healing factor any longer as it finally began to slow and eventually stop, leaving nothing but a few scars behind in memory of the once grave wounds that had been there not moments before. She then simply let herself crumble into the Prince as he held her. She covered her face with her hands, tears continuing to stream from her eyes as they dripped between her fingers.

As she sobbed, a gruff voice spoke out, "Seeing as how no one else is going so come out and say it, I will," Gimili dared to suggest. She glanced over to him, tears still flowing freely from her eyes, "You're relapsing lass." Eina barked out another sob, her face vanishing in her hands.

"I believe she is already aware of that Gimili." Legolas defended firmly, his arms still managing to comfort his female companion in their protective embrace.

Boromir spoke up, deadest, "We need to find someone who can undo this."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Gimili argued, a tinge of hopelessness in his voice as he sat. "The one who put that blasted spell on her is gone." He spat out the last word remorsefully. "And without that spell…" Gimili's voice drifted off as well, not wanting to speak of the horrors that they all knew were now sure to come.

Aragorn tightened one of his wrist guards, "There is a way." His words earned looks from the others, and they all turned to him. Aragorn uttered a single word. "Lothlórien."

To no ones surprise, Gimili was the first to object, "Are you out of your mind? That's the home of the Elf-Witch!"

Boromir cut in, "And what choice do we have?" Silence was his only answer. He carried on, "It's settled then." Boromir moved to stand before Aragorn, his face set in determination, "Lead the way."

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Moving right along! Certainly not my best, but I'm to the point with this story that something is better than nothing; I'm cutting to the chase with this one. The next chapter will have more answers… and more plot twists. Heh. What's to come is going to be very… interesting. So many secrets, so little time… heh-heh.

Reviews make me happy, and are a large reason as to why I haven't completely abandoned this story, so please leave a review.

Until later.