Hello again! Another longish chapter for you again! I'm getting better now aren't I?

Just a quick warning.. remember I said you might be needing tissues? This is why.

Under the growing sun the few thousand men left of the West marched from Minas Tirith, eastward for Mordor, led by Aragorn adorned in the king's armour. Beside him rode Gandalf proud upon Shadowfax, with Legolas, Gimli, Éomer, Merry and Pippin each upon steed of their own. Elanor rode behind them in line with her fellow rangers, Edain to her left and Elrohir and Elladan to her right. They stared ahead towards the dark cloud that hovered over Mount Doom, growing ever larger as they approached. Her heart was beating madly yet Elanor felt surprisingly calm. They rode forward without words, each man contemplating what lay ahead. Above them the Nazgûl soared following their every move, hidden in the clouds to all save those of elvish blood. And though they did not stoop to attack their foes and were silent, their threat and dread still hung about them.

And so time wore of and by midday they reached the edge of the living lands and they passed into the desolation that lay before the gates and it was, with less than six thousand men that the Captains of the West came at last to the Black Gates. Aragorn spurred his horse forward and separated from the main group who had slowed to stop. Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli and Éomer followed him and they rode to the shadow of the Black Gates. The two iron doors, set in a large stone arch, were fast closed. Above them, the Nazgûl hovered and gathered upon the battlements, watching like vultures. Aragorn sat proudly upon his horse and raised his voice out over the battlements.

"Come forth!" he cried. "Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth! Let justice be done upon him!"

There was a long silence and no cry came as answer. Some of the men looked about them suspiciously as if waiting for some trick. Then, from behind the gates, came a low rumbling, like thunder. Great drums beat heavily so they shook the very earth beneath them. With a heavy clang the doors of the Black Gate opened and a single dark rider approached them. A tall and evil shape, mounted upon a hideous black beast, covered in dark armour. The rider was robed in black and wore a dark helm. He was no Ringwraith but still his single presence drove a shiver of dread through Elanor. He bore a single banner, black but bearing the red eye of Mordor. He halted a few paces before Aragorn and looked down at him and laughed. Elanor heard him speak and his words were cruel and mocking and brought pain to her ears. She saw the messenger turn to Gandalf and give him something. The item shone briefly in the light, a shirt of some kind and she heard the hobbits cry out only to be silenced by the wizard.

It was then Aragorn rode forward with sword held high and struck the head of the messenger clean from its shoulders. Suddenly the Evil Eye of Mordor swung its gaze towards them and the great drums took up their beat once more and fire flared. The doors of Mordor swung themselves wide and out of them streamed a great army. Aragorn gave a cry and rode back, away from the host of Mordor. Dust rose as from the ground as Orcs spilled out around them, surrounding them, trapping them in a sea of enemies. Elanor looked around her, many of the men staring bewildered. The soldiers were starting to loose heart. Their banners waved, trumpets sounded and the sun which now hung high above them was sullied by the blackness of Mordor and gleamed a sullen red. Then Aragorn called to them, his voice cutting clear across the din and rage;

"Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of Men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the Age of Men comes crashing down. But it is not this day. This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!"

The men stared at him, their hearts renewed and they drew their swords. Then it began.

The first wave crashed upon them mercilessly. The orcs, hindered slightly by the broken ground poured arrows high into their defences. The men charged forward with sword and spear. But then, through the orcs, there came a company of hill trolls. Elanor gasped loudly as the great beasts lumbered towards them. She had never seen one before but had heard many a tale from Gandalf. Taller and wider then men, with fists like boulders and clad in mesh of horny hide. Some bore heavy hammers, other spears and tore into the Men of Gondor like a storm, scattered both Men and Orc.

Elanor froze as one of the creatures lumbered towards Aragorn but the ranger was too involved in battle to notice the beast raising its metal tipped spear to strike at the man. Elanor yelled as the troll brought the spear down but her voice was drowned by the noise. Suddenly Edain leapt from nowhere to appear at Aragorns side and deflected the spear with the flat of his sword. The troll stumbled backwards and roared in surprise. Angered and confused, it raised its fist and pounded at the ground, missing Edain by only a few inches. Aragorn turned and let out a cry of surprise as he narrowly dodged the beat of a giant fist. The two men fought against their colossal opponent when Aragorn was caught off guard and knocked from his feet. Edain turned as Aragorn was flung a few feet away, dropping his guard for a mere moment. The ranger bellowed in pain as the troll lunged and drove its spear forward, piercing the man through his armour.

Elanor could only look on in pure horror as the blade plunged deep into the Edain's chest, lifting the man clean from the ground. Aragorn pulled himself up from the ground and dashed forward bringing his sword down on the trolls arm, cutting at its flesh. The creature howled and dropped its spear. For a terrifying moment everything around her stopped as the weapon fell to the ground, Edain still impaled upon it. Elanor screamed and lunged forward, racing towards the fallen ranger. The war raged on around her but Elanor did not see it. All her thoughts were focus on Edain. She weaved through the mass of men and orcs, barely noticing the arrows that flew past her head, imbedded themselves into the body of an orc that had charged towards her.

When she reached them, Elanor dropped to her knees beside Edain grabbing at his hands and face. She trembled as she touched him, his pale growing pale. Edain was barely conscious, his eyes rolled beneath heavily lidded eyes. Aragorn cried out to her as the enemy still came upon them but Elanor could not care. Her hands felt slick as Edains blood seeped through his armour and she felt him slipping away from her. "No." She whispered frantically over and over, as if her words might breathe some life back into him. Desperately she prayed to any being that would listen, trying hard to cling to the faintest glimmer of hope that she could bring him back, just like before.

Edain breathing began to slow and his eyes opened slowly and focused on her face. The older man smiled weakly and raised a bloodied hand to her face. It was so cold, Elanor flinched. Tears pricked her eyes and she drew a shuddering breath, as Edains hand slipped from her face, his eyes closed and he died.

Elanor sat froze in shock, tears sliding silently down her dirt stained cheeks. She blinked once, twice. Someone was calling to her but she couldn't hear their words. She stared about her blankly when someone grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Get up, Elanor." He said harshly, "Up!"

The ranger turned to stare at Aragorn and he pulled her roughly to her feet, thrusting a sword into her hand. Elanor looked down at the blade and then in front of her just as a group of orcs moved to surround them. Legolas and Gimli had fought their way to them but Elanor had not noticed them. She swallowed and her jaw clenched. The ranger tightened her grip on her sword and moved forward. Her body felt numb as she moved her sword with practiced ease, going through the motions without thinking. With every hit and clash of sword Elanor grew angrier. She swung her blade in a high arch, hewing an enemy head clean from its neck.

Rage flooded her blood and her heart quickened as she flung herself into the black army, cleaving limbs from bodies and screaming in anguish, ignoring the pain that tore through her shoulder. She rolled her blade wildly, not caring where it hit; only that she inflicted as much pain as she felt at that moment. She drove her sword through the chest of an enemy warrior; its roar had not died, before she had moved onto the next. She fought on at a frightening pace until none were left standing. From somewhere a loud horn sounded and a cry flew up.

"The Eagles are coming! The Eagles are coming!"

Elanor glanced to the sky with disbelief as mighty birds flew across the sky. Swiftly they bore down upon the Nazgûl tearing them from the sky. The remainder turned and fled, vanishing into Mordors shadow. A sudden, deafening cry came from the Dark Tower and the earth shook beneath their feet. A great thundering darkness shot high into the sky, flickering with fire and flame. The ground groaned and quaked and above them the great towers of Mordor tottered and swayed and fell to rubble. The black gates were hurled to ruin and from deep within the Mountain came a thunderous rumble, a roaring echo of noise. Then they very tip of the mountain exploded in a shower of fire and a great dark cloud rose high into the sky, like a huge shape of shadow. It stretched out towards them, looming over until a great wind took it and it was blown away, raining nothing but ash upon them and then hush fell. From somewhere behind her Elanor heard a cry;

"The realm of Sauron has ended!"

The enemies of Mordor trembled as the power of Sauron was lost to them, scattered like the ash in the air. So the creatures of Sauron ran mindlessly, fleeing in every which way. Some chose to cast themselves into the fire that flowed from the mountain top rather than face their enemy's sword while others fled eastward or threw their weapons down and begged for mercy.

Elanor stood bewildered amongst the bodies of her enemies and sobbed, sword falling from her hand. She drew a ragged breathe and collapsed to the ground. Legolas knelt beside her and drew her to him, holding her while she wept. Aragorn watched them silently before moving over to the body of his fallen friend. Elanor sobbed uncontrollably as Legolas whispered softly to her. He lifted her face to meet his and Elanor gasped.

"Talin." Elanor said quietly. The young ranger stood behind Legolas staring down at the body of his father. Silently he stepped up to the body and knelt down beside it. He reached out and touched his fathers shoulder. Talin shook Edains shoulder, trying to rouse him. Elanor looked on distressed as Talin continued to shake his father. Shakily she crawled over to him.

"Talin." She said softly, pulling at his arm. Talin shook her off and ignored her, now using both hands to push Edains body.

"Stop it, Talin." Elanor cried, pulling him back away from Edain. "He's gone! He's gone…" As the words left her mouth the realisation hit her and she clasped a hand to her mouth and the tears came once more. Talin stopped moving and looked at her when he finally broke down. The pair clung to each other as the others stood around them in a silence.

Elanor sat stared sightlessly ahead of her, dried tears streaking her face. The water of the bath had long since cooled but still she remained, unmoving from the place the maids had left her once they washed the ash from her skin. Her hands were clutched together, red and raw where no amount of scrubbing would remove the blood from her hands. Her body shivered involuntarily as the scenes of battle played out before her eyes. All she could see was Edain, his body lying broken upon the ground and she cried anew.

And there she stayed until, upon the King's orders after hearing no word from her, her door was forced and it was Legolas found her. He gasped softly when he saw her and lifted her naked body from the blackened water. Gently he lowered her into the bed and covered her with blankets, holding her close so that her body might gain some warmth from his. He called her name over and over but she gave no reply and he could only hold her as she began to weep again. Legolas caught her chin and tilted her face towards him but her eyes remained downcast. Slowly he kissed her cheeks and then just below her eyes and with each one her sobs grew quieter till he kissed her mouth. Still she gave no response and a fear crept over Legolas that she might be lost to him.

But slowly her mouth began to move against his. Her eyes fluttered open and she gazed at him, whispering his name. Legolas sighed with relief and grasped her to him tightly, elation flooding him when she clung back. He spoke softly to her in elvish, letting the sound of his voice calm her. Slowly her body, tired and cold, slipped into sleep. In the city below them he could hear the celebrations as the announcements were made but their jubilation would only bring small comfort to the woman in his arms. Not only had she lost Edain but two of her kinsmen still remained lost. While Talin, Isil and Mannen had returned with them, Rammel and Adan had yet to be found.

Legolas lay her down and pulled the covers up around her when a soft knock at the door drew his attention and it swung open slowly to reveal Elrohir and Aragorn stood at the doorway, their faces tired and full of concern.

"How does she fair?" Elrohir asked quietly, looking down at her. Legolas shook his head softly and stroked her hair.

"She does not speak. I found her sat as still as stone long after the water had turned cold. How does her kinsmen?"

Aragorn sighed gently. "Talin? He is as well as to be expected and Rammel has been found safe. His injuries are being cared for."

"That will surely bring her some relief."

"Edain was very dear to her, as he was to all of us." Aragorn walked over to them and placed a hand on her head. "He will be laid to rest tomorrow with the past kings of Gondor."

"I will tell her when she wakes."

Aragorn smiled and nodded holding Legolas' shoulder briefly before leaving the room. Elrohir stayed with him, sitting down beside Elanors sleeping form.

"You have protected her." The high elf spoke. "Kept her safe when I could not, for that you have my gratitude."

Legolas bowed politely as Elrohir continued. "You will make a fine king." He said, smiling at Legolas. "And husband."

"My Lord?" Legolas replied with surprise. "We have not even discussed…"

"I know. But I give you my blessing, if it is what she wants."

Legolas stared as Elrohir chuckled softly. He pressed a kiss to Elanors brow and stood up, leaving the lovers alone.

Eep.. Now I kinda know how J.K Rowling felt after book 5..

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