Two chapters in one month. I was thinking about holding onto this until February and then thought I should just post it now. It's amazing that this is almost done, but there is still so much more to write. I already have a scene written for the next chapter and hope to keep the momentum going. So enough of my blabbering on. Enjoy the chapter and please review it.
When morning came, Ricky couldn't find Gandalf. She had woken up later than she had planned to the sound of the maidservant knocking on the door. After rushing to get dressed and to eat something, she had run around the citadel, asking people if they had seen Gandalf at all. Instead of finding Gandalf, she found Pippin.
"What's wrong?" Pippin asked when he saw her.
Ricky bent down to speak quietly to him. "I found Boromir."
Pippin's face lit up. "He's alive?"
Ricky nodded. "Yeah. Denethor's keeping him drugged for some reason. I can't find Gandalf to tell him."
The faint sound of running footsteps echoed through the corridor followed by the distant shout of a soldier. "Lord Faramir has returned! Tell Lord Denethor his son has returned and he is wounded!"
Ricky and Pippin looked at each other before running for the courtyard. They ended up following Denethor out to the courtyard. Several soldiers lowered the stretcher with Faramir's body on the ground.
"Faramir!" Denethor called. He bent over the stretcher. "Faramir."
"They were outnumbered," a soldier reported. "None survived."
Denethor staggered away across the courtyard. "My son is dead," he whimpered. "My line has ended."
Ricky and Pippin ran over to Faramir. Ricky saw the two arrows broken off in his right shoulder and side. She felt for a pulse. At the same time, Pippin put his hand on Faramir's brow.
"He's alive!" Pippin gasped.
Ricky didn't need to find a pulse to agree. After all, dead bodies didn't run fevers.
"The House of Stewards has failed!" Denethor lamented.
"He needs medicine, my lord!" Pippin called out urgently.
"My line has ended!" yelled Denethor.
"My lord!" Pippin tried again.
Ricky heard chanting. It sounded like a stadium full of people when she was several blocks away and could hear it faintly. She couldn't make out what it was saying, only the chanters kept repeating the same syllable over and over. This was followed by the sound of crashing and people in the lower levels screaming.
"Abandon your posts!" Denethor screamed, panicked.
Everyone looked at him, shocked.
"What?" yelled Ricky in outrage.
Pippin watched her jump up and run at Denethor.
"Flee! Flee for your lives!" Denethor shouted.
"Hey, coward!"
Denethor turned around only to get Ricky's knee planted between his legs. He doubled over in pain.
"Whadiya know? He does have balls," Ricky sneered. She followed it up with a hard slap to his face.
A white staff came down on Denethor's back and sent him to the ground. Ricky turned to find Gandalf beside her, looking disgusted at Denethor. She raised a brow at him.
"Prepare for battle!" Gandalf yelled, taking charge.
Ricky looked over the wall saw the approaching Orc army. The field below looked to be covered with thousands of black ants. Among them she could make out catapults that were already throwing boulders at the city, siege towers that could reach over the city's lowest wall, and beings larger than the orcs sprinkled in between the ranks.
She ran back to Pippin. "Come on!" she said, grabbing his arm and running to the citadel.
"What about Faramir?" cried Pippin.
"Let the healer take care of him!" Ricky answered.
They ran passed a soldier. Ricky grabbed his arm. "Hey, you got anythin's small enough that'll fit him?"
The soldier looked down at Pippin. "I think there may be something in the armory. Come!"
"Go with him," Ricky ordered Pippin.
"What about you?" Pippin asked.
"I got all that I need in my room," she replied before running off and leaving Pippin with the soldier.
Ricky burst into her room and stripped off her dress. She was quick to put on her dark clothes, shoving her hair under her knit hat and putting on her goggles. She strapped her daggers to her waist and started for the door. She took two steps out into the hallway before changing direction and running for the steward's living quarters.
She found the door to Boromir's room open and the healer standing over him, cup in hand. Ricky drew one of her daggers and came up behind the healer. She held the dagger to his throat.
"That cup better be full," she growled.
The healer held his hands up. Ricky plucked the cup from his hand and found it empty. She threw it across the room.
"Move," she commanded.
She pulled the healer away from Boromir. Once they were a few steps back, Ricky spun them around and shoved the healer away.
"How 'bout you go help the brother that needs help," she snapped. "And if I catch you in here again, yo' gonna wish you went against Denethor's orders. Now get out!"
Her scream scared the healer so badly he tripped over himself as he fled the room. Ricky followed him out at a brisk pace before breaking into a run to find Gandalf.
Minas Tirith was in chaos. The Orcs catapults were destroying the lower rings. Meanwhile, the soldiers of Minas Tirith were launching pieces of buildings destroyed by the Orcs back at them. On the battlements, archers fired their arrows at the approaching army.
Ricky searched the battlements for Gandalf. She ran passed a catapult and slid to a stop, looking out at the Orc army, specifically the siege towers.
"Hey!" she shouted to the soldiers manning the catapult.
One of the soldiers looked at her. "Get out of here, boy!"
"How good is yo' aim with that?" she yelled.
The soldier gave her a puzzled look.
She pointed at a siege tower far below. "Can you hit that?"
The soldier turned his attention to what Ricky was pointing at.
"Take out the towers and they can't get in!" Ricky yelled over her shoulder as she ran off to resume her search.
She found Gandalf on the battlements of the lowest ring commanding the soldiers there.
"Gandalf!" she called.
He turned around. "Erica Weiss, you are of no use here!"
"Then where do you need me?" she asked, determined to fight.
Gandalf hesitated. "Get all those who cannot fight out of the lower levels! Take them to safety!"
"Right!" Ricky ran back the way she came.
There was a piercing shriek that made everyone cover their ears. Soldiers dove for shelter as the nine Nazgûl on their Fellbeasts flew overhead. They swooped down and snatched up soldiers, dropping them to their deaths and demolished parts of buildings. Anyone below had to dodge falling masonry. People cried out in pain and fear at the sounds of the shrieks.
Ricky had her ears covered and was leaning up against a wall, her teeth gritted in pain. She let out a defiant yell and threw her hands down. This got the attention of several soldiers. They watched in amazement as the strangely dressed teenager refused to be intimidated by the enemy. And if a teenager could find the courage to stand and fight, so could the grown men.
She reached the lower level and started banging on doors.
"Is anybody in there? Hello?" she yelled. "You gotta move to the upper levels! Let's go!"
Ricky didn't wait for a response as she ran to the next door and repeated the process. This time a terrified woman opened the door.
"You need to get out," Ricky told her. "Get up to the upper levels."
"But," the woman started to say.
"But what?" Ricky asked.
"The catapults."
"If you stay here, yo' gonna have more than catapults to worry about," said Ricky.
There was a heavy thunk behind Ricky and the woman let out a scream. Ricky whirled around with her dagger up to defend, but found she didn't need to. Laying in the street was the body of an Orc that had fallen from the wall. Ricky looked up at the wall and saw the soldiers fighting the Orcs that were coming from the tall siege towers.
"Fuckin' hell!" Ricky swore. She turned back to the woman. "Go! Take anybody you can wit' you!"
Ricky ran to the next door. "Get to da upper levels!" she shouted, banging on the door and not waiting for a reply to go to the next door.
Frodo was beginning to regret the decisions he made. He had hoped Sam would try to cooperate with Gollum as he was their guide and only chance of getting to Mordor, but Sam still constantly antagonized Gollum. It finally came to a head when the lembas bread was gone and Gollum accused Sam of eating it all. Frodo hadn't believed Gollum, but had to keep Sam from trying to kill him once again. Sam wanted Gollum gone, saying that he was turning Frodo against him. Sam had tried to smooth things over and offered to carry the Ring for Frodo for a time. Gollum accused Sam of wanting to take the Ring for himself. It was then something snapped in Frodo. He told Sam that Gollum wasn't the problem, but Sam himself was and told him he couldn't help him and it was best that Sam went home. Sam had been heartbroken and had turned away in tears at Frodo's eerily calm tone. Now Frodo was alone with Gollum standing outside of a tunnel after climbing the stairs of Cirith Ungol.
"What is this place?" Frodo asked, exhausted from the long climb.
Gollum perched on a nearby rock. "Master must go inside the tunnel."
Frodo looked at the darkness warily. "Now that I'm here, I don't think I want to."
"It's the only way," said Gollum. "Go in, or go back."
Frodo continued to stare into the darkness. "I can't go back."
Gollum led the way with Frodo following behind.
Once inside the tunnel, Frodo almost gagged at how horribly it smelled. "What's that smell?"
"Orcses filth!" Gollum answered. "Orcses come in here sometimes."
Frodo felt like Gollum was lying.
People lie. They lie all the time. Ricky's words whispered in the back of his head.
The tunnel smelled more like death and decay. Frodo had smelled it before back in the Mines of Moria, but then it hadn't been this potent.
They continued on through the tunnel. Frodo had to feel his way through the dark and follow the sound of Gollum's scampering. There were a few shafts of light coming through the ceiling, but the light did little to illuminate the tunnel.
"Hurry!" Gollum called.
Frodo stumbled tiredly after Gollum.
"This way," Gollum's voice came from the dark.
"Sméagol!" Frodo called, having lost sight of Gollum completely.
"Over here."
Frodo tried to follow the voice, but he slipped. He put his hand out to steady himself, but reached in something sticky. He quickly pulled his hand away and found white threads stuck to his hand.
"It's sticky! What is it?" Frodo cried, disgusted.
"You will see," said Gollum from somewhere in the tunnel. "Oh, yes. You will see."
Frodo froze. He could not see Gollum nor could he hear his scampering.
"Sméagol," he called nervously. "Sméagol!"
There was no answer. This put Frodo more on edge.
"Sméagol!" he tried one more time, panicked.
When he got no response, he realized that Gollum had abandoned him. The next thought that went through is mind was how he made the wrong judgement call when it came to Gollum and that Sam had been right about him all along.
"Sam," he whispered, wishing he was with him.
Frodo took a step and felt something under his feet that wasn't rock. He looked down and could just make out bones in the dim light of the tunnel. Horrified, he looked up and around and noticed the things hanging from the ceiling. There were bones and bodies of animals wrapped up in webbing, swinging in the slight breeze.
Frodo sprinted away in panic, tripping over bones and feeling his way through the dark. He stumbled and fell. The sticky webbing clung to him. He panted, unable to move, stuck in the dark. It was then he heard a voice, like a distant memory.
I give you the light of Eärendil, our most beloved star. May it be a light for you in dark places, when all other lights go out.
Frodo fumbled around in the pocket of his jacket for the small glass phial Galadriel gave him.
"Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!" he chanted strongly.
The phial flickered and gave off a bright silver light like starlight.
A loud hissing sound came from behind him. Frodo turned around and saw a gigantic spider filling up the tunnel. He jumped up and held the phial. The black spider rushed forward, but reared up at the light, showing its pale underbelly. It struck out blindly with its legs, not liking the bright light. Frodo backed away in a hurry, but tripped. The giant spider rushed him again, but Frodo put the light up again. When Frodo tried to get away again, he fell back once more and the spider pounced. Frodo drew his sword and slashed at one of the legs. Frodo got up and ran, the spider right behind him.
He fell down a hole into another tunnel. The hole was too small for the spider to follow yet it still tried to reach him with its legs. Frodo continued to run for his life, seeing a light ahead of him. He didn't get far before he ran into a great cobweb, getting himself sufficiently stuck. The phial of starlight fell to the ground. Frodo turned back and saw the other unfortunate victims wrapped up in the webbing.
"Naughty little fly," Gollum sang from the darkness, the hissing of the spider accompanying it. "Why does it cry?"
Gollum popped up on the other side of the cobweb in malicious glee. "Caught in a web. Soon you'll be . . . eaten!"
Frodo slashed wildly with his sword to cut himself free.
Gollum watched in disbelief as Frodo hacked away at the webbing. Disbelief soon turned to fear as the giant spider appeared behind Frodo. Gollum crawled back before fleeing.
"No," Frodo said desperately, hearing the spider. "No!"
He got himself free, but his sword got caught in the cobweb. He ran, leaving it behind.
Frodo tumbled out the tunnel exit and onto cold rock. He was covered in webbing and drenched in sweat. He barely had a moment to breathe before Gollum jumped on him. He slammed Frodo against the rock.
"Got away did it, Precious? Not this time, not this time!" Gollum snarled. He grabbed for the Ring.
"No!" yelled Frodo.
Then Frodo remembered something else, something that happened one night during a spar between Legolas and Ricky. Ricky was down, but had still won the spar by kicking Legolas in the knee.
Frodo pulled back his foot and kicked Gollum right in the knee, causing his leg to bend wrong. Gollum let out a yell and threw Frodo up against the wall. Frodo retaliated and tackled Gollum to the ground. He put his hands around his throat.
"It wasn't us!" Gollum cried out. "It wasn't us! Sméagol wouldn't hurt master."
Frodo squeezed his fingers tighter around Gollum's throat.
"Sméagol promised!" he choked. "You must believe us. It was the Precious! The Precious made us do it!"
Frodo had a sudden moment of clarity and realized what he was doing. He quickly released Gollum and staggered back to lean up against the rock wall.
Gollum cowered back, coughing and sputtering.
"I have to destroy it, Sméagol," Frodo told him, his voice shaking. "I have to destroy it for both our sakes."
Gollum stared at Frodo in disbelief. His expression morphed into fury and he lunged for Frodo with a snarl. They both tumbled to the ground, dangerously close to the edge of a precipice. They struggled for a moment before Gollum went tumbling over the edge and into the ravine.
Frodo got to his feet and staggered into the wall. He held himself up for a moment to catch his breath. He let go of the wall and took one step. Frodo then dropped to the ground.
The ground felt different. There was grass, leaves, and dirt, not the rock path he had been standing on a moment ago. It was also much brighter. Frodo looked up to see he was in a forest. In front of him was Lady Galadriel, dressed in white.
This task was appointed to you, Frodo of the Shire, she said in his mind, stepping closer. If you do not find a way, no one will.
She stooped down and held out her hand to Frodo.
Frodo looked at the hand, then at Galadriel. He took her hand. Galadriel smiled and pulled Frodo up.
Frodo shot to his feet and found himself back on the rocky path. With newfound determination, he began walking towards his goal.
"The Ring is evil. I am good," he said to himself. "The Ring is evil. I am good."
Night had come to Minas Tirith and the battle still raged. Ricky ran up the road to the fourth level, keeping close to the buildings and out of the way of the soldiers. Behind her were several women and children. Ricky stumbled and fell to her knees. Her lungs burned from exertion and the smoke from the fires burning all around. She picked herself up, one of the women helping her.
"I'm okay," Ricky gasped. "Keep goin'."
She had been leading those who couldn't fight to the upper levels. At first she had started moving people to the second level from the first, but then saw what was coming. The Orcs and Trolls had pushed up a giant battering ram in the shape of a wolf with fire burning in its maul up to the gate. She was taking everyone up to the fourth level as it seemed not as many boulders from the Orcs' catapults made it up there.
Once in the fourth level, Ricky leaned up against a wall.
"Here."
Ricky turned to see a woman holding a bucket and ladle.
"Drink," the woman encouraged.
Ricky took the ladle and drank. "T'ank you."
Another woman brought her a loaf of bread. "It is the least we can do."
Ricky took another drink. "I can't get you up any further," she told them, taking the bread. "Hopefully you'll be safe up here."
She scarfed down the bread and got another drink. Ricky straightened up and began to walk away.
"Where are you going?" a civilian called.
Ricky looked over her shoulder. "I'm seein' what else I can do." With that, she gathered her strength and started to run.
She ran up onto the wall and looked down. The first level had been breached and the Orcs and Trolls were pouring in. Outside of the city were hundreds of torches amongst the thousands of Orcs. Ricky felt sick looking at the hordes.
"Aragorn, you bettah get here soon," said Ricky.
Frodo staggered along the Pass of Cirith Ungol. The Ring was heavy around his neck, slowing him down and making it harder for Frodo to move with each step. Through the pass, he could see Barad-dûr, Sauron's eye on top looking all around. Frodo hurried behind a rock and peered around. He crept around and began to climb the stairs.
The sound of rocks falling startled Frodo. He whirled around and saw no one behind him. Frodo turned back around only to be stung by the giant spider. His eyes went wide and he foamed at the mouth.
The spider watched as he went limp, quickly picking him up and wrapping the Hobbit in webbing. A bright light caught its attention and it looked up from its prey.
Sam was standing with Frodo's sword in one hand and the shining phial in the other.
"Let him go, you filth!" he spat.
The spider hissed and dropped Frodo.
"You will not touch him again!" Sam promised. He moved forward, the light held out in his hand. "Come on and finish it!"
Sam slashed at the spider's face. The spider shrieked and struck out with its legs and tried to bite Sam. Sam cut at the legs. The spider kicked him back and he dropped the phial. The spider kicked the phial away. It then charged Sam, pushing him back against the rock wall. Sam dropped the sword and grabbed the mandibles to keep the spider from biting him. The spider continued to push back and up, shoving Sam up the rock wall. Sam lifted himself up and kicked the spider in the face. He tried to climb away, but the spider grabbed him by the pack. Sam tumbled over the spider's back to the ground. He picked up Frodo's sword and held it up.
The spider crawled around on the walls, watching Sam. It jumped down and charged. Sam stepped back and put the sword out, cutting one of the spider's eyes. The spider writhed in pain, striking out blindly while holding at its face. Sam ran up to it and tried to slash it again. It caught the sword in its mandibles and the two wrestled for the sword. The spider pulled the sword out of Sam's and threw it away. It then kicked Sam away. Sam hit the dirt next to the sword. He reached for it, but it was just out of his reach. The spider came up and put a leg on the sword. Sam turned over in time to see its stinger pull back. He rolled out of the way and the stinger went into the ground. The spider tried stinging him a few more times, but failed. Sam manage to roll back over to where the sword was. He picked it up and shoved into the spider's abdomen.
The spider shrieked in pain. Sam grabbed the phial and held it up. The light drove the spider back, Sam yelling at it as well. The spider slunk off into a dark tunnel and fled.
Sam ran over to Frodo.
"Mr. Frodo!" He tore at the webbing at Frodo's face and found him deathly pale, his eyes open. "Oh, no! Frodo! Mr. Frodo! Wake up!"
But Frodo didn't move.
"Wake up," Sam desperately whispered. "Don't leave me here alone. Don't go where I can't follow. Wake up!"
Frodo's eyes just stared into nothingness.
"Not asleep," Sam whispered, defeated. "Dead."
He held Frodo and began to cry softly.
Sam was interrupted from his mourning by the stomping of feet and rattling of armor. He looked ahead at where the sound was coming from.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Frodo," he said. Sam reached around Frodo's neck and found the chain with the Ring. He took it off and shoved it into his pocket. He then left Frodo and hid in a crevice.
A group of Orcs came walking down the stairs where Frodo lay.
"What's this?" one Orc asked, seeing the body. "Looks like Old Shelob's been having a bit of fun!"
"Killed another one, has she?" a second Orc asked.
The first Orc leaned down and poked Frodo. "No. This fellow ain't dead."
Sam was shocked. "Not dead?" he whispered to himself.
"She jabs him with her stinger and they go as limp as a boned fish," the first Orc went on excitedly. "Then she has her way with them. That's how she likes to feed – fresh blood. Get him to the tower!"
The Orcs picked up Frodo and carried him off.
"Samwise, you fool!" Sam scolded himself.
"This fellow will be awake in a few hours," said the first Orc. "Then he'll wish he'd never been born."
The Orcs laughed as they walked up the steep stairs.
Ricky was running along the top of the wall of the fourth level. Behind her were several pre-teen boys she managed to recruit. All of them were carrying baskets.
"Set up here!" Ricky ordered them, stopping near the gate.
The group began unpacking their baskets. They had flasks of oil, empty wine bottles, and rags.
"Be careful fillin' them," Ricky said as they began to fill the empty bottles with oil. She carefully soaked some of the rags in oil and stuffed them in the bottles as stoppers.
"What are you doing?" a soldier demanded.
"Gettin' you some extra firepower," Ricky answered. "If the Orcs make it up here, drop em' over the side and light 'em up."
"Do you believe they will?" the soldier asked.
"They already are in the city," said Ricky.
"The city is lost," the solider breathed.
Ricky was on her feet and in his face in an instant. "No, it's not. We keep fightin'. We just have to hold out until Rohan gets here."
"Rohan? What makes you think they'll come?" asked the soldier.
"Because my friends wouldn't leave me here to die," Ricky answered.
"Gandalf! Gandalf! Ricky!"
Ricky looked back at the fourth level, hearing Pippin's desperate shouts.
"Gandalf!"
"Pippin!" Ricky shouted back.
She saw the Hobbit amongst the running soldiers. He was dressed in armor with the black surcoat with the White Tree of Gondor. He had found armor that fit him.
"Take over," she told the oldest boy.
Instead of finding a set of stairs to go down, Ricky jumped off the wall and onto a house roof. She allowed herself to slide down. She caught the edge of the roof to stop herself before letting herself drop to the ground. She landed in a heap.
Pippin ran up to her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up. "Ricky, are you all right?"
"I'm okay," she answered, ignoring the throb in her knee.
"Denethor's lost his mind!" Pippin told her. "He's going to burn Boromir and Faramir alive!"
Ricky's mouth dropped open in horror. "Find Gandalf. Tell him exactly dat. Go! Go!" She gave him a shove in the direction of the lower levels.
Pippin ran through the fourth gate.
Ricky ran in the direction of the citadel.
The sun rose as she ran. She made it up to the citadel's level when she heard the sound of hooves coming up behind her. She turned around to the tunnel she just ran through to see Shadowfax galloping up behind her with Gandalf and Pippin.
"Ricky!" Gandalf yelled in warning.
Something large hit the ground behind her. Ricky whirled around to see a Fellbeast with a Nazgûl astride it.
Shadowfax got in front of her, Gandalf holding his staff up.
"Go back to the abyss!" he ordered the Nazgûl. "Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your master!"
"Do you not know death when you see it, old man?" rasped the Nazgûl.
Pippin screamed in fear.
Ricky took a step back in terror. She wanted to turn and run from the monster, but she stopped. Instead, she dropped into a crouch and drew her daggers.
"This is my hour!" The Nazgûl drew his sword and raised it in the air. The blade caught fire and the Fellbeast screeched.
Gandalf's staff exploded, knocking him and Pippin off Shadowfax. The spooked Mearas reared, but stayed where he was for the most part.
Pippin backed himself against the wall. "Gandalf!"
The Fellbeast roared at Gandalf, forcing him to the ground. Pippin drew his sword and charged with a yell. The Fellbeast turned to him and roared. Pippin froze in his tracks in terror. Ricky put herself between the Fellbeast and Pippin.
"You have failed," the Nazgûl told Gandalf. "The world of Men will fall." He raised his sword to strike again.
A war horn blew in the distance. The Nazgûl stopped and turned in the direction of the sound. It took one more look at Gandalf before flying off.
Ricky whirled around to Pippin and dropped her daggers. "Are you okay?" She put her hands on Pippin's shoulders. The Hobbit was dazed. She gave him a shake. "Pippin!"
He looked at her and blinked. "Ricky," he quivered.
"You're okay, Pippin," she assured.
Ricky got up and stumbled over to Gandalf. She helped him to his feet. "Come on, Gandalf."
They continued to hear the war horns sound.
"Come, Ricky! Pippin!" Gandalf got back on Shadowfax, pulling Pippin up and Ricky jumping on behind.
Pippin directed Gandalf back to the tombs that lay behind the citadel in the mountain. Shadowfax didn't slow down as they reached the metal doors of the tombs. Instead, the horse reared up and kicked the doors open.
In the middle of tomb was a stone table surrounded by bundles of wood. On top, Denethor stood covered in oil, Faramir and Boromir lying at his feet. Four soldiers stood around with torches ready to light the wood.
"Stay this madness!" Gandalf shouted.
The soldiers were terrified of Gandalf and froze.
Denethor snatched a torch from one of the soldiers. "You may triumph in the field of battle for a day, but against the power that has risen in the East, there is no victory!" He threw the torch down on the pyre.
"You fuckin' psycho!" shouted Ricky.
Gandalf grabbed a spear from a guard at the door and galloped Shadowfax forward. He struck Denethor off the pyre with the spear.
Ricky and Pippin jumped off Shadowfax and onto the burning pyre.
"Roll 'em off!" Ricky yelled at him.
Pippin used all his strength to roll Faramir off the pyre. Both of them fell on the floor in a heap. Some of Faramir's clothes had caught fire and Pippin furiously began beating them out.
Ricky shoved Boromir in the same direction. When she rolled him off, she tumbled with him. Pippin was quick to try to pull Faramir out of the way, but Boromir and Ricky still landed on his arm. Boromir was also on fire. Ricky yanked off her shirt, her goggles and hat flying off in the process. She beat out and smothered the flames burning Boromir.
Denethor sat up. "No!" he shouted. He got up and grabbed Pippin. "You will not take my sons from me!"
Ricky jumped to her feet. She stepped and twisted, bringing her leg high. She cleared Pippin's head and kicked Denethor in the chest. Denethor released Pippin and fell back on the pyre.
Denethor looked at his sons on the floor. Faramir's eyes flicked open briefly.
"Faramir," he whispered.
The oil on his clothes caught fire and Denethor was soon engulfed in flames. He cried out in pain as he burned and jumped off the pyre and ran through the chamber screaming.
"So passes Denethor, son of Ecthelion," Gandalf said grimly as Denethor tried to escape the fire by running outside.
Ricky leaned over Boromir. "Come on, Pretty Boy, wake up."
Pippin knelt next to Faramir as he moaned and stirred. "He needs medicine! His fever is terrible!"
"Get them to a healer!" Gandalf ordered the shocked soldiers.
"Come on, Boromir!" Ricky yelled.
Boromir began to open his eyes.
"There you are, Pretty Boy," she said.
"Ricky?" he whispered.
Ricky smiled. "Hey. You're okay. It's okay now."
"Ricky! Pippin!" Gandalf called.
They looked up at him.
"There's nothing more you can do for them," Gandalf told them. "We are needed elsewhere."
Ricky looked down at Boromir. "We'll be back," she promised.
She hurried to gather her belongings and got back up on Shadowfax with Gandalf and Pippin. They rode through the courtyard again to get back to the battle. As they passed by the White Tree, Ricky noticed something. She thought she was seeing things at first. She turned around to look again. There was a single white flower blooming on a branch.
"Aragorn," she whispered.
The soldiers had been forced back to the sixth level. The gate had been barricaded shut and soldiers stood in front of it with spears, ready to fight. On the other side, a Troll was trying to break it down.
Ricky was searching for anything she could use to fight back against the hordes on the other side of the wall. They could all die here, but she was going to take as many Orcs with her as she could.
One of the boys she had recruited ran up to her. "We tried our best. We did just as you told us to do. The Orcs were too many and we did not have enough bottles."
"What happened to the others?" she asked.
"Some made it here, but I saw some others try to hide on the fourth level." The boy looked at her with tear-filled eyes. "They are dead, aren't they?"
"I don't know," said Ricky.
"We are going to die, too," he added.
"Help's comin'," she told him. "They're comin'."
The boy sniffed.
"Hey, don't cry," Ricky told him. "There's nothin' you can do right now. Go with the other women and children. Go."
The boy ran off.
The Nazgûl flew overhead.
Ricky found Gandalf and Pippin sitting on some steps near the gate. She sat down next to Gandalf.
"I didn't think it would end this way," Pippin said quietly.
"End?" Gandalf asked. "No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take."
Pippin and Ricky listened to him as he remembered.
"The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass . . . and then you see it . . ."
"What, Gandalf?" Pippin asked. "See what?"
"White shores," he said. "And beyond . . . a far green country under a swift sunrise."
"Well, that isn't so bad," Pippin said quietly.
"No," said Gandalf gently. "No, it isn't."
The gate shuddered under the force of another blow.
Gandalf reached out and touched Ricky's hand. Ricky looked down at it for a moment. She then turned her hand over and took Gandalf's. Ricky then reached over with her other hand and took Pippin's.
"We'll make it," said Ricky, trying to convince herself rather than them. She held their hands tighter.
They weren't sure how long they were sitting there together listening to the Troll pound on the gate when the sound evolved into screaming. The Orcs and Trolls were shouting in fear and pain. Then it was quiet.
They waited for what was to come next. They could still hear faint screaming from below them. Several tense moments went by.
The soldiers at the gate let out yells and broke ranks, parting to reveal the door. A green vapor in the height and shape of a man stood. It looked to be holding a mace and the face was rotted away.
Gandalf jumped to his feet with his sword in hand.
"Holy shit!" hissed Ricky, realizing she was looking at a ghost.
The ghost looked at Gandalf before stepping back through the closed gate.
Pippin jumped up and looked over the wall. "Gandalf! Look!"
They ran over and looked down. There was a green fog on the fields below and all throughout the lower levels of Minas Tirith. The hordes of Orcs, Trolls, and Oliphants were being decimated by it with little effort.
Ricky looked at Gandalf. "Aragorn?"
Gandalf looked back. "Aragorn. Come." He walked away from the wall.
Ricky and Pippin were quick to follow.
"What the hell has he been doin'?" Ricky asked, not really expecting an answer.
"It seems he summoned the cursed army of the dead, those who answer only to the true king of Gondor," Gandalf answered.
Ricky looked incredulously at Gandalf. "Yeah, sure. Curses, ghosts, cool. Makes perfect friggin' sense. What next?"
It was all over by the time they walked out of Minas Tirith. The field was littered with corpses and blood from both sides.
Ricky saw Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli in front of the green fog. She broke into a jog, all she could manage at this point. As she got closer, she could see each individual ghost standing shoulder to shoulder. The ghost directly in front of Aragorn wore a crown and seemed to be the leader.
"Release us," the ghost king demanded in a whispery voice.
"Bad idea," Gimli said quietly. "Very handy in a tight spot, these lads – despite the fact they're dead!"
"You gave us your word," the ghost said to Aragorn.
"I hold your oath fulfilled," said Aragorn. "Go. Be at peace."
The ghost king smiled.
A strong wind came and the ghost army turned to dust and was blown away.
Aragorn turned to Gandalf. Gandalf bowed his head to Aragorn.
Then began the task of finding the wounded. Ricky walked among the dead, leaning down to check for pulses.
"No!"
Éomer was running across the battlefield, shouting. He dropped to his knees and picked up a body.
It took a moment for Ricky to recognize the person. It was Éowyn! She had dressed herself as a soldier and had fought. And it looked like it had cost her. Ricky walked over to them. Éomer was sobbing, rocking the body of his sister. Ricky noticed Théoden's body trapped under his horse next to them. She reached down at Éowyn's exposed neck. Ricky's eyes widened.
"She's alive," she announced.
Éomer continued to sob.
"Éomer, she's alive!" Ricky shouted.
Aragorn ran over to them. He checked for a pulse as well and her breathing. "Éomer, we must get her into the city quickly."
Éomer nodded, stunned to hear his sister was alive. He picked her up and carried her towards the city gates.
Ricky looked around the battlefield. She saw Pippin staring at her. In his hands was an Elvish cloak.
"Merry," she whispered. She looked around in the nearby vicinity for a small form.
Pippin and Ricky searched for Merry for hours amongst the dead. Ricky suspected the worst looking at the Oliphants. If Merry was under one of those, he was a goner. They looked for his small form and large bare feet. As the day wore on, Ricky began to think they wouldn't find him before sundown. Suddenly, Pippin stopped in his tracks.
"Merry?"
Ricky turned to him and then in the direction he was looking. There was an Oliphant body lying on its side along with several human bodies. Out from under one of the bodies was a bare foot.
Pippin ran over, Ricky following him. The two of them shoved a body over to find Merry underneath it.
"Merry, it's me. It's Pippin."
"I knew you'd find me," Merry said groggily. He was disoriented. "Are you going to leave me?"
"No, Merry," said Pippin. "I'm going to look after you."
"You can look after him in the city," said Ricky. "Can you move, Merry?"
Merry moved his hands and feet. "A little."
"Come on, then." Ricky picked Merry up and shifted him to her back. She began to walk back to the city, Pippin following beside her.
And so ends the Battle of Pelennor Fields. Let me know your opinion of the chapter on the review board.