EDIT: just editing a few mistakes :D

Chapter 26: It comes down to this

Dúniel clung tightly to her beloved Haradrim's hand as they walked slowly through the city towards the Pelannor. She was barely aware of her family around them, ignored the murmurs and quiet insults the people they passed whispered to each other. Arash couldn't ignore them so easily, glaring every time he heard the words 'traitor' or 'King's new pet'.

After far too long, they left Minas Tirith and headed towards a small wooden coliseum five hundred meters from the walls. Aragorn wanted no blood to be spilt near his city. Dúniel gasped when she saw the shackled Mazid within the wooden barrier, surrounded by guards and smirking triumphantly. Arash raised his head proudly and walked without hesitation through the entrance, which closed once the royal family and the guards that had followed them were inside.

"Arash, we need to speak to you for a moment." Kahlen said, gesturing for the young man to join himself and Aragorn out of earshot.

Arash reluctantly released Dúniel's hand and followed them to the other side of the arena. Dúniel shook and swallowed hard, trying hard to be strong for her love. Arwen gently wrapped her arm around her daughters shoulders.

"Have hope, my dear." She said quietly.

Dúniel nodded slowly. She believed that Arash could fight, and win, but...
But that horrible little voice that had her convinced that no one would ever want her had been haunting her for the past few hours, casting up visions of every single scenario that could happen, all of them ending with Arash dying. She hated herself for not being able to have faith that something in her life might actually continue to go right. Arash returned with the two older men, looking very thoughtful.

"Arash?" Dúniel whispered.

Arash looked up, surprised to see her before him, and smiled sadly.

"It will start soon." He said quietly.

"Come, dears, let's go sit down, shall we?" Arwen said, hustling her remaining children away to give them some privacy.

Dúniel smiled thankfully as Arwen took her husband by the arm and tugged him along, Kahlen following with an amused smile. Arash and Dúniel stood before each other, struggling to find words to say. Finally, Dúniel rushed forward and kissed him hard, and smiled when he kissed her back with a passion he'd only ever given to her. Dúniel drew away and buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing quietly as he held her tightly.

"I love you so much." She whispered."If you let him win, if you die, I'll kill you." Arash kissed her hair longingly.

"I love you, my beautiful princess." He said quietly. "No matter what happens, don't ever forget that." After a long moment, he reluctantly drew back and kissed her one last time. Dúniel clung to his hand once more, not willing to release him.

"Arash..."

"It's alright, Dúniel. Let me go." She shook her head as he moved away, but let his fingers slip from hers. She felt terribly ill from worry, but swallowed hard and hurried to sit beside her brother, who took her hand gently.

"You look very pale, Dúniel." Eldarion said quietly. "Don't worry, Ada won't let him die." Dúniel didn't answer, but tightened her grip on his hand. She watched as Mazid was unlocked and handed his blade.

Arash took a deep breath to try and steady his nerves.

"This time, I will win." He told himself, drawing his sword and stepping towards Mazid, who smirked at the young man.

"Such a heartwarming performance." Mazid said in their native tongue. "So you did make her your whore."

"Do not call her that!" Arash snarled, tightening his grip on the hilt of his blade. Mazid laughed scornfully.

"And you kept it secret from me too! I am impressed. Clearly I taught you well. But it won't matter in the end. You are nothing but an orphaned gutter trash, born to a whore. A dead whore."

"Do not speak of my mother that way." Arash said, and attacked. He slashed forward angrily, and Mazid moved quickly to block and hold the move.

"She was my whore, I'll speak about her as I please." Mazid snarled. Shock grew in Arash's eyes.

"What?" Mazid laughed, and pulled back suddenly, surprising the young man.

Arash managed to pull back in time to avoid losing an arm, but not so fast as to avoid getting a nasty slash across his chest. Arash heard Dúniel cry out in horror, and tried to ignore it.

"Yes, my boy. She was mine. She sold herself to me to pay for you. Did you never wonder why I picked you up off the street? You, of all the other trash? She owed me."

"You killed her." Arash said, holding his bleeding chest. Mazid grinned.

"Ah yes, I did. And it was worth it. I still remember her screams-" Arash roared with fury and attacked, letting his anger get the better of him. He cut ruthlessly forward, barely aware of Mazid easily deflecting the blows.

"Ada, please, stop this!" Dúniel cried, not daring to take her eyes off the fight. "He's going to get himself killed!"

"Mazid hasn't done anything serious yet. I can't interfere." He said helplessly.

Arash finally managed to get past Mazid's guard, cutting his sword arm. Mazid didn't seem to feel the injury as he grabbed hold of Arash and stabbed his blade through Arash's thigh. Arash cried out in pain as Dúniel stood and tried to run to him, but was held back by her brother. The guards shifted slightly as Mazid withdrew the red blade and threw the young man aside, opening a cut on his side.

Arash managed to keep hold of his sword, trying hard to ignore the immense pain he was in. He was lucky - the sword had missed his artery, but his leg was still bleeding heavily. Arash gritted his teeth and managed to stand, his injured leg held out to the side painfully. Mazid laughed.

"You can't beat me you stupid boy. I have won. Now you will have to face my crimes, my punishment."

"I won't let you hurt these people." Arash cried, and darted forward with surprising speed, cutting Mazid's sword arm once more.

Mazid kicked his injured leg from under the Harad, laughing as he writhed in pain. He kicked the sword out of reach and stood over Arash.

"I'd like to see you stop me." He said, grinning.

He didn't notice Eldarion nodding to his father, who started to signal the guards. Dúniel finally managed to free herself from her brother's grip and raced to Arash as Mazid raised his sword.

Dúniel shoved the man away, breathing hard, and stood between him and Arash.

"Dúniel, get away from there!" Aragorn yelled, vaulting the fence with his son.

"Enough." Dúniel said angrily. "You've proved whatever you wanted to prove, now leave him!"

Mazid shook his head.

"You're more shameful than I realised." He said, looking down at Arash. "You're going to let your whore fight for you?"

"She's in better shape than I am." Arash said weakly.

Dúniel turned as the guards moved forward, and knelt down over Arash, holding him tightly. Mazid sneered and glanced around him, at the guards and King closing in on him, and realised he's been fooled.

"Fine then. If this is how it is to be, then I'll just kill two birds with one stone."

He moved quickly, raising his sword and aiming it at Dúniel's back. Arash noticed and twisted violently, putting his body between his love and the blade, and closed his eyes, waiting for the pain. There was a brief thunk, then the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. Arash released Dúniel hesitantly, and they turned to see Mazid on the ground beside them, a dagger in his throat. Kahlen appeared suddenly and retrieved it, cleaned the blade on the dead man's shirt and handing it to Aragorn.

"A good throw, Tar-Elessar." He said quietly. Dúniel stared up at her father in shock.

"Ada...thank you." She whispered. Aragorn smiled slightly.

The pain finally become too much for Arash, and he blacked out. Dúniel felt Arash collapse in her arms.

"Arash!" Dúniel cried, shaking him gently.

"Get this young man to the Houses, quickly!" Aragorn said.

Eldarion walked into the Houses of Healing to find his sister sleeping in a chair beside the unconscious Harad. Three days had passed, and Arash had shown no signs of waking. The guards that had come with Mazid had been executed, and Kahlen had left for Harad in the dead of night soon after. Dúniel hadn't moved from her lover's side since he'd been brought up to the Houses. Eldarion walked over and gently shook his sister.

"Arash?" She murmured, waking.

"No, it's just me." Her brother said quietly, grabbing a chair and sitting beside her. Dúniel couldn't stop the disappointment in her eyes, but smiled and rested her head on his shoulder tiredly."Dúniel, go into the next room and get some sleep. You're making yourself ill."

"No. I won't leave until he wakes." She said determindly. Eldarion sighed heavily.

"How's his leg?"

"Glíriel's sure that they've saved it, but even if they have, he'll have a limp for the rest of his life." Dúniel said quietly.

"At least he's alive."

"I know. His other wounds healed up fine." She sat up and rubbed her sore neck. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be organising your wedding? It is at the end of the month." Eldarion shrugged and looked rejected.

"Taenwen and Nana kicked me out because they wanted to start getting the wedding dress sorted." Dúniel smiled slightly.

"Don't worry, Eldarion. They'll need you eventually." Her brother gave her a look that clearly said he doubted it. They both turned when Arash groaned and shifted slightly.

"Arash!" Dúniel whispered, sliding from her chair to kneel beside his bed and stroking his hair from his face. He groaned again, but didn't stir. Dúniel started to cry.

"Dúniel, come here." Eldarion said, pulling her back into the chair and holding her tightly. "That's a good sign. He may wake soon."

"I just want him back." she whispered.

Everything is blurry. Why? Arash thought as he opened his eyes.

He then realised he was looking through his eyelashes, and blinked. The room slowly came into focus. So did the pain from his leg. He glanced around to find Dúniel sitting in a chair beside him, fast asleep. He reached over and gently touched her hand.

"Eldarion, leave me..." She mumbled.

"Alright then." Arash said quietly. Dúniel was instantly awake and staring at Arash.

"You're awake!" She cried happily, and threw herself forward, sliding her arms under him and holding him tightly, wailing happy tears."You're back."Arash held her gently, feeling too weak to return the pressure, but just enjoying being able to touch her once more.

"How long?" He asked once she'd calmed down and pulled back, now kneeling beside him.

"Five days now." She said, kissing his fingers. He traced the bags under her eyes.

"And you've been here all that time?" He asked. "You look very ill."

"I'm fine, I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping well."

"You looked pretty out of it when I woke." She smiled tightly.

"At least Mazid is dead." Dúniel said quietly. Arash sighed.

"I couldn't even beat him for you."

"You let your anger get the better of you. You should've known better!" She scolded. "But I heard what he said...I can understand why you were so reckless."

"Forgive me. If I'd won, we might've been able to marry." Dúniel's eyes widened.

"I'm going to go talk to Ada soon." She said angrily. "I'll make him see reason." She leaned over and kissed him gently."I love you."

"And I you." He said, stroking her cheek gently. He hesitated a moment, but knew he had to know. "Dúniel?"

"Mmm?"

"Am I going to lose my leg?" She shook her head.

"No, but you will have a limp, and it may hurt for a long time. But I'll help you with that. I'll help keep the pain at bay."

"You've just let my imagination run wild, Dúniel. For shame." He said in mock annoyance.

Dúniel looked shocked for a moment, then laughed happily and kissed him again.

"I'm so glad you're back."

"Ah, he's finally awake." They turned to see Aragorn standing in the doorway, looking slightly amused. Dúniel went red, but stood determindly.

"Ada, he asked me to marry him. I want to be his wife. Please, don't send him away because Mazid won." Aragorn put a hand on his daughter's shoulder and squeezed gently.

"Let me speak to him for a moment, my dear. Please." Dúniel narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but nodded and left the room reluctantly. Aragorn walked to the window and looked outside.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"I've been better, but I'm alive." Arash said honestly. Aragorn nodded.

"You know, when I taught my son to fight, I gave him some advice - no matter what the situation is, whether it is a friendly fight or a war, control your emotions. Go into battle in anger, leave it on your shield." Aragorn turned and frowned at the young man. "Eldarion told me what Mazid said about your mother, and I can understand your anger, but you almost got yourself killed. You're just lucky Mazid never knew my children can speak Haradric."

"I know that. It's just...for so long I wanted to avenge her, and I couldn't even put up a decent fight when I found out who it was."

"Mazid was very good. You have talent too, Arash, but he had experience and age, and a clear head. I trust you will learn from this."

"I'll have the limp to remind me." Arash said bitterly. Aragorn smiled slightly.

"I seem to remember telling you that if you won, we'd talk of my daughter. Do you no longer wish for my blessings?"

"I lost. I don't expect you to allow a foreigner and a failure to marry your daughter. She deserves better." He answered, looking away. He heard Aragorn sit on the chair Dúniel had been sleeping in.

"Arash, when Dúniel put herself between you and Mazid, that was one of the most terrifying moment of my life. I almost lost her once before, and to think that I could lose her again...you put your body between his sword and her. You tried to sacrifice yourself to stop Mazid killing her, even though he would've killed both of you with that blow. No, Arash, you are no failure. You are a brave young man, and you are willing to die for Dúniel. Nobody really cares that you are a foreigner. I think she has chosen very well." Arash looked at the king, stunned.

"What are you saying?" Aragorn suddenly smiled broadly.

"I would be honoured to give you my blessing, to have you as my son, and allow you to take my daughter from me." Arash couldn't believe his ears, and continued to stare.

"Thank you." He managed. Aragorn sat back, a serious look on his face.

"But if you are to become a Prince of Gondor, there is something I must tell you. If, Valar forbid, after I am gone and anything happened to Eldarion and Taenwen before they produce an heir, Dúniel is next in line. My people will not accept a man from Harad as their King."

"Oh good." Arash said, breathing out in relief. Aragorn seemed surprised.

"You have no desire to be King?"

"No! I was born on the streets! I have no place being a ruler! If...if it came down to it, I would have Dúniel be Queen, and I would stay her prince, or even give the title to Miniual. I don't want it, nor is it mine to try and claim." Aragorn smiled again.

"I'm glad you feel this way. You are wiser than I realised. I knew I liked you for a reason." Aragorn stood suddenly and offered his hand to Arash, who took it quickly and shook it firmly. "I'll let you tell Dúniel the good news. I shall announce your engagement this evening, and I think we can have you married a month or so after Eldarion. If that's alright with you."

"That's fine with me." Arash said.

Aragorn raised his eyebrow slightly, then nodded and left the room. Dúniel soon entered to see Arash hiding his face in his hands.

"Arash?" She croaked, hurrying over and taking his hands. "What's wrong?"

She blinked when she heard him laugh, and pulled his hands away to see him laughing hard, wincing as his chest and side wounds stretched.

"Dúniel...we're getting married!" He managed.

Dúniel stared, then shrieked happily and hugged her new fiance tightly. Finally, after all the horrible chaos they had been through, individually and together, finally they could have a life of happiness as one.

THIS IS NOT THE END! see he didn't die ;P there is 1 more chapter left :cries: it might not be that long...its the epilogue. so yes, thanks for R&R, thanks for putting up with delays, because i don't know how long it will take for the next part to be put up (hopefully not long) wish me luck for my exams next week! enjoy :D