Part 3
"Estel, that plan is crazy! It will never work."
"Do you have a better one?" the man asked. "There is no other way to escape. We have to try. Besides, we have nothing to lose."
Nothing to lose, the elf thought. Yes, it was true that they were in the middle of Mordor, without any chance to get out. He wanted to believe that it couldn't get any worse. But this was another lesson he had learned from his friendship with Aragorn. It could always get worse. Much worse. Somehow, this man had the talent to get into trouble. The elf smiled slightly, realizing that he had the same talent. Yes, it was always interesting when they were together…
"There are so many things that could go wrong," Legolas reminded. "For example, he may decide that he wants to see me. What should we do then?"
"Now is not the time to worry about this. Trust me."
The elf wasn't satisfied, but didn't have much of a choice. "Alright then, I thrust you. But what should I tell him?"
"Don't worry about that. Let me do the talking."
"You do the talking? In case you haven't noticed, you can barely talk. And barely stand. I really don't see how we are going to fool him."
"I said, trust me." Aragorn smiled, took the elven bow and quiver in his left hand, and went out of the room. Legolas sighed and followed.
Gandalf woke up before sunrise and went out of the tent. Now he knew what to do. He knew how to make Sauron open the Black Gate and send his forces. But it wouldn't be an easy task. He would need all of his willpower to do it, and he wasn't even sure of the success. He just had to wait for the morning…
Someone was knocking on the door. In the middle of the night. The Mouth of Sauron was irritated. These mindless orcs could never make a decision without asking him. He couldn't wait to get out of here. He hoped that Sauron would send him to Isengard after Saruman's failure, but his Lord had not made the decision yet. He though he had pleased him by bringing the human, but it seemed that this wasn't enough. What else did he need to do to please him?
An orc entered the room and bowed slightly.
"What is it?" the dark man asked impatiently.
"There are two Haradrim men who want to see you, my Lord," the orc replied.
"See me? On what business?"
"They didn't say. But they said that they needed to talk to you and that it was important."
Sauron's Messenger wasn't pleased at all. It seemed that everyone could talk to him about anything at any time. He had to do something about this, impose some control.
"Let them come," he finally said, "And, for their sake, I hope it is really important."
The two men entered the room. One of them took a step forward and bowed respectfully.
"My Lord, I am happy to tell you that we are bringing good news."
Legolas watched his friend with fascination. Aragorn was perfectly imitating the heavy Haradrim accent of the Common tongue. His voice was unrecognizable and the weakness in it completely gone.
"I'll decide if the news is good." The Mouth of Sauron glared at the man.
"Forgive me, my Lord. Of course you will." Aragorn paused. Obviously, the first impression he made wasn't good enough. This might turn out to be harder than he thought. "I believe you would like to know that we have captured one of the elves that accompanied the wizard."
The dark creature was incredulous, "And you call this good news! Someone has managed to enter Mordor, to pass unnoticed by the guards! And now I have to report it to Sauron! Could you, please, explain me what is exactly 'good' about this?"
"The little Halfling also got into Mordor, and Master wasn't displeased about that. His capture served a good purpose," Aragorn reminded.
"The Halfling didn't get into Mordor; he was found unconscious near Shelob's lair and brought here."
For a second both man and elf stared at the Mouth of Sauron. This was new to them. Of course, they had no way of knowing how Frodo had managed to get into Mordor, and, apparently, the task had not been an easy one. Legolas first overcame the shock of this new information.
"This doesn't make any difference," the elf stated, trying to make his voice sound hoarse. "We were able to trade the Halfling spy, and trade him well. We could do the same with the elf."
"Trade the elf?" the Mouth of Sauron seemed to be considering the idea.
"Yes, my Lord." Aragorn brought forward Legolas' bow and quiver. "We have his weapons. Let us go and show them to the wizard, and demand anything you wish for."
That was what Aragorn hoped to achieve. Sauron's Messenger had to send Legolas and him out to trade the elf. Then they would be free. Of course, he didn't even hope that the dark man would send only the two of them. There would be other men and orcs, maybe even the Messenger himself. But there was an entire army outside; the orcs could easily be killed. That would be against all negotiation rules, but not many rules were followed in this war. Besides, Legolas had told him that Sauron hadn't actually returned Frodo, so they would not be the first ones to break the rules.
"And what could we trade him for? We already got what my Master wanted."
Legolas quickly realized what the Messenger's weakness was. He was greedy, he desired power. He was determined to please Sauron and be rewarded. They had to use this weakness.
"Maybe our Lord will be pleased if you brought him a wizard." The elf suggested. It didn't really matter what they requested, they weren't going to get it anyway. They just had to be sent on this mission…
The dark man seemed to like the idea, but shook his head in doubt. "No, they would never trade the wizard for that elf."
"We cannot know for sure. They traded Isildur's heir for a Halfling," Aragorn reminded.
The Mouth of Sauron was thinking for a moment. "I still wonder how that elf came here. I'll go and see him. Maybe he can answer."
Legolas felt his heart sink, but managed to reply, "There is no need, my Lord. We questioned him already. He has come through the Cirith Ungol path."
"Oh, he has passed by Shelob? Impressive. Anyway, I would talk to him. Take me to him." He ordered.
Legolas shot his friend an I-told-you glance. Now is not the time to worry about this, the man had said. Well, maybe now was the time to worry about this.
To the elf's shock, Aragorn didn't seem worried at all. "Certainly, my Lord. Follow me." He bowed again to the Messenger and went out of the room. Legolas just shook his head in disbelief and followed.
They had reached the door of the cell where Aragorn had been kept. The ranger opened the door. "This is where the elf is."
The Mouth of Sauron entered and froze in shock. The floor was covered with the bodies of orcs and men. Before he could do anything, however, he was stabbed with a dagger in his back, which pierced his heart. Aragorn let the body drop to the floor.
"Nicely handled, my friend." Legolas glanced dispassionately at the body. "But I wished you have told me about this part of your plan."
"I wish I knew about this part of my plan," the ranger smiled and dropped heavily on the floor. He rested his back on the wall and closed his eyes. The effort to hide his weakness had completely drained him.
The elf sat in front of him and pulled the man forward, so that his head finally rested on Legolas's shoulder. He gently wrapped his arms around his friend's shoulders, careful of his injuries, and whispered softly, "Rest, Estel. You are exhausted."
"No," Aragorn tried to protest. "We have to get out of here."
"I'm sorry you plan didn't work, mellon-nîn."
"What do you mean it didn't work?" The man smiled cryptically. "It is just beginning."
Gandalf was standing on Shadowfax' back in front of the Black Gate. Elrohir and Éomer were on his left, and Elladan and Gimli were mounted on one horse on his right.
"Sauron, come out!" the wizard demanded. There was no reply. Gandalf took a deep breath and continued. "I have something that you might be interested in. I have the One Ring."
Suddenly, the Istar felt a burning gaze penetrate him. He was stripped of all his protections and his bare soul was exposed to this stare. He knew that Sauron was searching through him, trying to find the truth. The Maia tried to close his heart before the Enemy had found what he was looking for. He concentrated all of his willpower to push the gaze back.
Sauron was worried. The wizard didn't give in that easily. He couldn't look right through him. Could he really have the Ring?
Are you telling the truth? Gandalf could hear the Dark Lord's voice in his head.
Yes, I am. I have the One Ring. Sauron heard the Istar's thoughts, but didn't know if they were coming from his heart. The wizard's heart was closed to him.
Why should I believe you, Olórin? Sauron used Gandalf's Maiar name. Why would you tell me that you have the Ring?
Because I want to fight with you, and you don't want to meet me in battle. I have come to destroy you, Sauron! Gandalf was feeling exhausted. He knew he couldn't stand this much longer. It was a battle of wills between him and Sauron. They were both Maiar, but Sauron was more powerful, and Gandalf knew it.
Destroy me? With this army? Olórin, you know very well what forces I have and that you cannot stand against them.
Not if I have the Ring. This gives me advantage.
You know you cannot use it!
Maybe I know something you don't.
If you have it, show it to me!
So that you know where it is? I have the Ring, Sauron, but it is hidden. And I know very well how to use it.
Fear was taking hold of Sauron's mind. Maybe the wizard really had the Ring. But he could never use it. Sauron was certain of that. Could the Istar be such a fool? He couldn't take any chances. He had to find out. And, who knows, maybe luck was on his side today. If Gandalf really had the Ring and planned to use it, then he would certainly fail. The Ring would hear his Master's call, especially now, when it was so close to him.
The Black Gate opened.
The orc captain raised his head, as two men approached him. Men annoyed him immensely. He didn't see why Sauron had to keep them at all.
"We come with orders from the Mouth of Sauron," one of them stated. "One of the wizard's companions, an elf, has been captured. We are going to be sent to negotiate with the wizard."
The orc gave them an amused glance. "When did you receive these orders?"
"This morning," Aragorn replied, scared by the weakness he heard in his own voice. He pushed aside the dizziness that came to him due to his numerous injuries and exhaustion. There was something in the orc's voice he did not like. "Why?"
"Haven't you heard? The Gate is open. Master is fighting with the wizard. Almost everyone is sent. I was left behind to guard the prisoners. I just wonder where you were hiding, so that you weren't sent?" the orc looked at them searchingly.
Aragorn tried to answer, but suddenly he felt the world spin around at alarming speed. He fell to the floor before the shocked elf could catch him.
The ranger rose slowly and met the orc's questioning gaze.
"Are you injured?"
"Yes, he is," Legolas replied quickly. "He was injured while we were trying to capture the elf. That one put up quite a fight. Killed a lot of our men. That elf is quite a warrior, I truly admired his skills."
The orc shoot Legolas a disapproving look. "Those filthy elves… I bet one of my orcs could take twenty of them at once. Of course, you are men and probably have some difficulties," the orc grinned.
"Great idea, my friend," Aragorn smiled weakly when they went out of the room. "To express admiration of the battle skills of a 'filthy elf'."
"Well, it was certainly better than your idea to collapse in the middle of the conversation," Legolas glanced worriedly at the ranger. "We can't go on until you get some rest, mellon-nîn."
Aragorn just shook his head. "It has begun," he said thoughtfully. "The battle. I didn't expect that now."
"Me neither," Legolas agreed. "Sauron didn't seem interested in us at all after you were gone. I wonder what Mithrandir has done to get his attention. Anyway, he has succeeded. The pass is now free and Frodo can complete his task."
"So it has been in vain then," Estel met the elf's questioning look and added, "your coming here."
"What do you mean?"
"In spite of everything, Frodo will be given the chance to destroy the Ring. It seems that he didn't need me at all. My presence was not required for the mission's success. There was no need for you to come and save me."
"Aragorn, I can't believe that! Did you think I came to save Frodo's mission? Did you think I came to save Middle-earth?" The elf looked incredulously at the human. "I came to save you."
Aragorn held his friend's gaze for a moment. "I know, mellon-nîn. I know." He leaned forward until their foreheads touched and his hands wrapped behind the elf's head. They stayed like that for some time.
"Hannon le," the man whispered.
"What is it, Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked worriedly as his master stopped abruptly.
Frodo turned his pale and tense face to his loyal servant. Sam's heart leapt with joy. Trouble and exhaustion could be seen on this face, but he also saw something else. Something he hadn't seen in a long time. A smile.
"He is not looking for me anymore, Sam. He left me alone. His gaze turned somewhere else."
"We need to get out of here before they find out that I am missing," Aragorn said. "They'll easily find out that the clothes from two of the bodies are taken and will start checking all strangers."
"They won't be looking for two. They don't know that I'm here."
"They will see that the orcs were slain by arrows. The wounds are unmistakable. Besides, I already told that orc that you are captured."
"Do you think anyone will come to the room soon? Did they know you were there?"
"I don't know. This was not the cell I was supposed to be in," the ranger paused, trying to recollect the events. "I escaped, and when they found me, I was thrown into a random cell. I think it's quite possible that everyone who knew I was there was in the room when you came and is now dead."
An anguished scream came from one of the cells. The orcs who were left to guard the dungeons were still torturing their prisoners. Aragorn stared at the door. "I wish we could save them all."
The elf looked fondly at his friend. He would be such a good king. If only they could get out of here… "I know. But we can't. Besides, it will be of no use if the lands fall into darkness. The only way we can truly help them is to get out of here and win this war."
Sauron was greatly troubled and didn't know why. A memory couldn't get out of his consciousness, a memory that had never stopped tormenting him during his long years of immaterial existence. But now it was getting stronger and stronger, giving him no rest. The picture was clear in his mind and he remembered all the details as if it had happened yesterday. A young Gondorian took his father's broken sword and cut his finger. He lost almost all his power on that day. Sauron was nearly destroyed by a mere human. And now his heir was alive and so close to him. The Dark Lord didn't know why he was so worried, the Númenorean was a prisoner, perhaps already dead. This fear was definitely irrational. And yet…
Unable to bear this any longer, Sauron diverted his gaze from the battle. He let his look go to the dungeons, penetrating walls and doors. What he saw drove him into panic.
The man was not there. Many of his servants lay slain in a room. His Messenger was also dead. That fool. He should have known…
About half of his forces were already out to meet the army of Men. That was enough for now. He couldn't spare any more. All the rest would go in search of the fugitive. This Man had to be found. The Black Gate closed.
Legolas looked back to check on his friend, and in alarm observed that Aragorn had stopped a few paces behind.
"I need to rest, my friend. I'm sorry." The man sat down.
Legolas was worried. He knew that the ranger wouldn't show any weakness, unless it was too hard to hide it. "Of course," he replied softly. "We can stay as much as you need."
"No we can't. We'll never get far at this pace," the despair in his voice scared the elf. "I'm slowing you down."
"There is nothing you could do about this."
The man sadly shook his head. "We can't both get out of here. You must go, Legolas! Then at least one of us has the chance to be saved."
The elf stared at him in disbelief, "Do you think I came all the way here just to leave you? Don't ask this of me. I can never do it."
Aragorn was about to protest, but saw the determination in his friend's eyes. He felt both gratefulness and regret. If Legolas was going to stay with him, then the least he could do was not slow him down. He raised and slowly made a few steps.
But suddenly he froze, a look of pure horror on his face.
"Aragorn, what is it?" The elf shook his friend gently as he got no response. "Estel?"
He felt as if his soul was standing bare in front of a burning gaze. The gaze entered his mind and his heart, looking through all his thoughts, all his memories, all his fears, discovering everything about him and his past.
"Estel?!"
"He saw me," the man muttered.
Gandalf watched in terror as the Black Gate closed. Something happen, something attracted Sauron's attention. What could it be? Could he have seen the Ring-bearer? In any case, their mission failed. About half of the orcs remained in Mordor.
But still a great part of the army was outside. Gandalf realized that they were probably five or six thousand. They were too many for their small army. The wizard knew that a man was worth several orcs, and not because of battle skills. The men were fighting together, fighting for each other, protecting each other. This was their greatest strength. And the orcs were fighting alone. They would never help if one of their own was wounded, or his life was threatened. Yes, men had something orcs didn't, something that gave them a great advantage. Love and loyalty. But Gandalf knew that this wouldn't be enough.
The wizard took out his long sword Glamdring. "Stay close to me," he whispered to Pippin and rode forward. Soon they were surrounded by orcs. Gandalf looked around to see how his friends were faring. Éomer slit and orc's throat with his sword. Gimli was striking with his axe on the heads of his attackers, knocking them down. The twins were fighting back to back, each holding a pair of long elven blades. After long centuries of fighting together, the brothers were acting in complete accord. The blades were cutting through their enemies in graceful arcs. They were a beautiful and horrific sight.
"Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen…" suddenly Gimli stopped. What was he doing? It had become a natural instinct for him to count the fallen enemies, so that he could compare the number with Legolas. But his friend was not there. Maybe he would never see the elf again. What was the point of counting?
Gimli pushed away the despair. Maybe Legolas was somewhere in Mordor, fighting with orcs, and maybe he was counting them to brag about it to the dwarf when he came back. Yes, they would surely meet again. And Gimli had to be prepared for this meeting. "Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen…"
Gandalf allowed himself a soft sigh of relief. His companions were doing well. But he knew that wouldn't last long. The orcs were too many. They were all going to die.
"He sees me, Legolas. He knows that it is me. I cannot hide anymore."
"Then we must go at once!" The elf tensed as his sharp hearing detected hundreds, no, thousands, of orc feet, running at their direction.
"Don't you understand? We have nowhere to go. He saw me. He knows where I am." Aragorn paused and looked at the sad blue eyes fixed upon him. "There is no hope for me, Legolas, but you can still escape."
"I told you I can't do this."
"Listen to me. You cannot save me. You must leave, my friend," the man's voice was pleading. "Please, Legolas. Go!"
"I will go," the elf held his friend's arm. "But not without you."
Legolas ran into the darkness, dragging the ranger behind him.
The man and the elf just ran without stopping. They threw away the Haradrim helms and gloves as their identities were known now, and they were only a burden to them in the Mordor heat. But the orcs were quickly gaining on them. Even Aragorn could hear them now. That made him run even faster in spite of the pain. His friend had chosen to stay with him, and that placed a great weight on his heart. They mustn't be captured.
Soon the orcs came into view. A volley of arrows flew past the two fugitives, miraculously not hitting them. Legolas turned back and fired a dozen arrows in their pursuers and went on running. Aragorn stopped in horror as an arrow passed by his neck, almost hitting him. Suddenly the elf stumbled forward. To his great dismay, the ranger realized that this was caused by an arrow that hit his friend in the left shoulder. He immediately ran to Legolas.
"I'm alright," the elf tried to dissipate his friend's fears. "It's just a scratch." He reached back to take the arrow out.
"Don't," Aragorn warned. "We can't bandage the wound right now. If the arrow is out, you'll lose blood more quickly. Wait!" He took out a knife and carefully cut half of the arrow's tail. "That way it won't move that much. We need to find a safe place and take it out." He looked worriedly at the arrow. He hoped it was not poisonous, but there was no way to deal with this right know.
The arrows continued to fly around them. There was nowhere to hide in the barren Mordor land. They had to zigzag, so that they wouldn't be such an easy target, but this additionally slowed them down. The orc army would soon be upon them.
"That way," Aragorn quickly grabbed the elf's arm and ran towards the edge of a cliff. "We must jump."
Legolas looked down. The cliff was quite deep. The jump would be risky even if they were in perfect shape, and now his shoulder was hurting and his friend's injuries were quite serious. "We won't survive this jump," he said darkly.
I might not survive it, in fact I'm almost sure I won't, but you will, my friend. And I won't see you die, Aragorn thought. "We will survive it. Trust me." The man said and jumped.
Legolas looked down in dismay. This crazy human will the death of me, he thought before he jumped.
Legolas bent his knees to reduce the impact force, but this didn't help a lot. Bright spots danced in front of his eyes. He felt as if the arrow in his shoulder had gone deeper. Pain went through his entire body. I'll kill that human! I hope we both survive this, so that I can kill him…
He turned around and froze as he saw his friend's body, lying face down on the ground.
"Estel!" he ran as quickly as he could. "Estel, no!" Legolas gently lifted the man's head. The eyelids slowly lifted and two dilated gray eyes looked at him.
"I told you … we … we would survive this jump," Aragorn whispered.
"I know I could trust you," Legolas managed to say in spite of the tears of relief, threatening to overwhelm him. "They are coming… We must go."
The orcs had already reached the edge of the cliff, but seemed hesitant to jump. It was truly deep. They went back, heading to a path that safely led to the bottom.
Aragorn slowly rose on his feet. They had gained some time and could not afford to lose it. They ran on.
Suddenly they stopped. There was another orc army in front of them. The first one was coming from behind. They were surrounded and had nowhere to escape.
Aragorn took out his sword. "So this is it then. We die here." Surprised, he looked at his friend. His eyes were sad, but there was a slight smile on his lips. "What are you smiling about?"
"It's just that I was sure it could always get worse," the elf said softly and looked at his friend's face. He was certain that this was the last time he could look at it. Then he turned to face their enemies.
Legolas was firing hundreds of arrows in the orc army, but it didn't make any difference. The orcs were numerous. Soon they were upon them. Aragorn fought fiercely, killing orc after orc, but he felt that his strength was failing him. He couldn't hold on much longer. He tried to stay close to Legolas, but they were soon separated. He fought, desperately trying to get back to the elf.
Legolas fell on his knees with a soft cry of pain as two arrows struck his left leg at the same time. An orc came from behind and forcefully hit his head with the back of an axe. The prince fell forward.
Aragorn watched in horror his friend fall, unable to get to him on time. This was really the end. For a moment he thought about Frodo, but there was no way the Ring-bearer could succeed. So many orcs had remained in Mordor, and they would soon return to the valley around Mount Doom, blocking the hobbit's way. This was the first time in Estel's life when he completely lost all hope.
A fierce blow on his head was the last thing he felt.
To be continued …
Isn't that a nice place to end the chapter:) Don't worry, mellyn-nîn, Chapter 4 is coming in a week!
Many thanks to those who reviewed Chapter 2!!! As I told you, this is my first story and I have no idea if it's good or not, so I really care what you think.
Special thanks to Sarah for pointing out to me that the singular of Istari is Istar. I've read all of the books translated, so I sometimes have problems with the terminology. Please don't hesitate to tell me if I write something stupid :)
See you in Chapter 4!
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