Searching for Acceptance

by E4me100

To many, she was a traitor, banished from her own home. To some, she was a friend, a loyal companion willing to sacrifice everything for the safety of Middle-Earth. And to one, she was more than mere words could describe. 10th Walker. LegolasXOC

7. The Fall of Gandalf

A/N: I really need to stop obsessing over this story so much. O_O Ah, well. Chapter 7! Cheers! *clinks glass*

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing except for Íverin. She's MINE. My own...my precious...:D

My eyes popped open, and I felt a small hand shake me by the shoulders. I rolled over and looked up into the eyes of Sam. "Sorry to wake you, Íverin. But Gandalf says we must be goin'."

"He's remembered!" Merry said happily. I rose and folded up my blankets.

"No," said Gandalf, "but the air doesn't smell so foul down here. If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose."

I finished packing my things, and we headed off down a flight of stairs. Sam walked with me. "Íverin," he asked, "is this place...are we safe here?"

I shook my head. "No, we are not." Sam frowned. "But something tells me that we will make it out of here alive."

Sam sighed. "These caves are beautiful, but...they're just so dark and scary lookin'." Glancing behind him to make sure Gimli wouldn't hear him, he said, "I wouldn't want to spend my days here."

"Sam." I said quietly. He looked up. "Do not despair. You are not alone here, remember that. It is our job to protect each other. And I guarantee you that none of us will give up on that promise easily. You will be safe with us." I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"Thank you, Íverin. That makes me feel a lot better."

I nodded. "Not a problem."

We continued on for several more hours, trekking through the darkness, until at last we came to a very wide set stairs. Upon reaching the top, Gandalf smiled. "I think I can let off a bit more light here."

I looked up at my surroundings and gasped. My mouth hung open in awe, my eyes taking in every detail.

"Well there's an eye opener, and no mistake," Sam said softly.

The room we were in was...magnificent. And that was a huge understatement. Pillars of stone, hundreds, possibly thousands of feet high, stretched down and out as far as you could see. Delicate patterns were carved into them. The whole thing was a Dwarven masterpiece.

"Behold!" said Gandalf. "The Dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf."

As we walked on, I could not take my eyes off the astounding scenery. I gently nudged Gimli. "This place...did the Dwarves make this?"

He nodded. "Yes! It was the pride and glory of Durin's folk, back in the day. But now it is all but forgotten."

"But still beautiful," I whispered. "I have never seen anything like this." All of the Company was astounded at the wondrous work of the Dwarves. "Never again will I look upon the Dwarves as I once did."

Beside me, Legolas nodded. "It is breathtakingly beautiful."

Suddenly, Gimli gave a shout and took off running.

"Gimli!" Gandalf cried out.

I finally tore my attention from the Dwarrowdelf to see my friend running towards a half-open door not too far to the right. I ran after him, and the rest of the Fellowship followed suit. Gimli knelt by a long, table-like thing, with a look of utter sorrow upon his face. A small window of light shone directly on it."No...no!"

Gandalf walked over to the head of the stone slab and read the runes expertly carved into the top. "Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria." Gimli let out a sob. "He is dead, then. It is as I feared." I bowed by head and mourned for his loss.

After a moment of silence for Balin, I looked up and took in my surroundings. There really wasn't much else in the room, save for dozens of corpses scattered across the floor. A few thick stone pillars were to the right, and a stone well was set near that corner of the room.

Gandalf handed Pippin his hat and staff, and reached down, prying the hands of a dead dwarf away from an old book.

"We must move on," I heard Legolas whisper from behind me. "We cannot linger."

Gandalf opened the book to some of its last pages. Dirt and dust fell out, and a few of the worn pages crumbled. "They have taken the bridge, and the second hall," he read. "We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes...drums, drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow lurks in the dark. We cannot get out...they are coming."

Out of nowhere there came a sharp crash, then a bang, and all eyes looked to Pippin, sitting on the edge of a well, as he knocked the head of a Dwarf skeleton down the well. After that, the entire skeleton fell, and then a long chain, and finally, a bucket, all with a loud clash, clatter, and bang. Pippin cringed.

All was silent for a moment, and I let out a breath I had not realized I had been holding.

Gandalf slammed the book shut. "Fool of a Took!" he said sharply. Yanking back his staff and hat, he said, "Throw yourself in next time, and rid us of your stupidity!" Pippin looked down in shame.

Boom.

My head snapped up. I prayed I was hearing things, but the look on everyone else's faces told me I was not.

Boom.

Gandalf's eyes went wide. I looked warily at the book.

Boom, boom. Doom-doom-doom-doom.

The drumbeats got faster, and from far off, I heard a blood-curdling screech.

"Frodo..." I looked up to see Frodo's blade growing bright blue.

Suddenly, the jeering and howling of our enemies echoed throughout the caverns. "Orcs!" Legolas said.

Immediately Boromir ran to the doors. Not two second later, there was a pair of sharp thunks, and he jerked back. I heard the deep roar of another beast. He looked at me. "They have a cave troll."

Aragorn and Legolas tossed axes and other things to Boromir, who proceeded to barricade the doorway as best he could. The four hobbits stood together, and I moved back beside Gandalf, drawing my bow. Then the Men stepped back, swords ready.

And not a moment too soon. Orcs began to ram the door, crashing and banging against it. The barricade bought us some time, but the doors were still weak. Legolas stood beside be, ready to shoot.

Gimli growled and stood atop Balin's coffin. "Let them come! There is one Dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!"

An Orc's weapon broke through the wood, and then another. We waited a moment, and then Legolas shot. The screech of the Orc he had hit rung in my ears. A moment later, I fired, and killed another one. Legolas drew back one more arrow...

With a crash, the Orcs finally broke down the door, swarming in. I quickly put my bow away and whipped out my sword, charging into battle without hesitation. The first Orc I saw, I stabbed it right in the stomach. The next one connected blades with me, but I kicked him and cut off his arm. Two more rushed up to me, and I landed a hard punch to one's jaw, then brought my sword down on both of them. A deep groan sounded behind me, and I looked up to see an Orc leading a cave troll into the room. I rushed up to the Orc and cut off his head from behind, then stabbed the troll in the foot. He grunted in pain and grabbed my arm, causing me to drop my sword. I screamed as I was lifted up into the air. Someone shouted my name, but I couldn't tell who.

The troll held me next to his face, and grinned evilly at me. I swung my body at him, swiftly kicking him with both feet in his left eye. He reached up at it in pain, and I took this opportunity to rip the slightly curved dagger from my belt and stabbed him in the face. Ripping my knife out, I smiled as black blood trickled down the side of his face. But my smile disappeared as the troll tightened his grip on my arm. I bit my lip hard, but did not cry out.

Suddenly, there was a shout from below. I looked down to see Aragorn and Sam slashing the troll's feet and legs, trying to bring it down. The troll groaned but did not move. I winced again, and tried to get in another good kick.

Out of nowhere, an arrow suddenly shot out and embedded itself in the side of the troll's head. Then another hit its face, and another. I saw Legolas out of the corner of my eye, standing atop a fallen stone pillar, and shooting.

Looking down at Aragorn and Sam again, I noticed the chain was still dangling from around the troll's neck. An idea came to me. "Aragorn!" I shouted. "Use the chain!" I stabbed the troll again with my knife, this time in the hand. His grip lessened, but he still did not let go.

Upon hearing me, Aragorn nodded and grabbed the chain, giving it a good yank. "Legolas!" Instantly, the Elf came down to help him. I ripped of my dagger and stabbed his hand again, just as they pulled hard on the chain. The troll stumbled, and he dropped me. I landed safely in Legolas's arms.

"Thanks," I said. He merely nodded.

I quickly looked around. The Orc's numbers were decreasing rapidly, but that troll was still causing trouble. It swung its hand at Gimli, knocking him off the coffin and breaking it open. I jumped out of the way and found my sword. Working quickly, I began to kill more Orcs again.

I heard the crack of metal against stone, and glanced over my shoulder to see Legolas standing by the pillars as the troll whipped its chain at him. He ducked once, then twice, and then the third time, got the chain wrapped around the pillar. He swiftly ran up the chain, climbed onto the troll's head, and shot an arrow directly into his head. The troll stumbled around a bit, and Legolas jumped down off his back, landing on his feet next to me.

I cracked a smile. "Impressive," I said, as I stabbed another Orc right in its black, twisted heart.

Legolas smiled back. "Not as impressive as you with the chain." He whipped out his knives and began slashing through the enemies with me.

Aragorn's cry filled the room. "Frodo!" I looked up at him and followed his gaze to the pillars Legolas had just been on. Frodo had been cut off from Merry and Pippin, and was playing hide-and seek with the troll behind a pillar. I sliced another Orc down the back and tried to make my way to him, but the Orcs were swarming around Legolas and I. I punched another Orc directly in the nose, knocking him out, and kicked another.

"Aragorn! Aragorn!" came Frodo's frightened cry. I watched and fought as my cousin charged over to the troll, who had Frodo my the leg. Frodo cut him with his own blade, but Aragorn jumped in with a large spear, and wedged it into the troll's upper left chest. He drove it in harder, and harder.

My view was cut off as another Orc came at me, and I pushed him out of they way, but he wouldn't leave me alone. I heard Aragorn cry out, and a bang, but I couldn't see what had happened. I stabbed the Orc in the shoulder, and then slit his throat with a knife.

When I finally looked back, I gasped. Aragorn lay unconscious on the ground, and the troll had Frodo pinned in a corner. I screamed as the troll pulled back his own spear and drove it right into Frodo's chest. "FRODO!" I shouted. I kicked the nearest Orc out of the way and ran towards the troll, my main focus now on killing him. Merry and Pippin had jumped onto his back, and had gotten a few good stabs in, but the troll picked Merry up and dangled him around in the air before throwing him down. I managed to catch him and set him on his feet, then climbed up the broken rubble around me and jumped on myself. I shot one, two, three arrows into his back, and drove my sword deep into him as well. I pulled my sword back out, but the troll lurched backwards, sending me to the ground. Pippin had managed to stay on somehow. I managed to slit the beast's hand on my way down, landing hard on my back.

The troll looked at my cut on his hand, and threw his head back to roar. At that moment, Legolas shot an arrow deep into his neck. The troll stopped, groaned and stumbled for a long while, and finally died. He fell to the ground with a massive thud, sending Pippin flying. I easily caught him in my arms.

Aragorn had woken up, ran over to Frodo, and the rest of us followed. He lay facedown on the ground, the spear protruding from his chest, unmoving.

"No..." Aragorn said softly. He reached out and pulled him up.

By some miracle, Frodo coughed, and began to breathe heavily. "I'm alright. I'm not hurt!"

My jaw dropped. "But...how?"

"That spear would've skewered a wild boar!" Aragorn exclaimed.

Gandalf raised a bushy eyebrow. "I think there's more to this hobbit than meets the eye."

Frodo reached down and opened his shirt, revealing a shining coat of golden chain mail underneath.

"Mithril..."Gimli whispered.

"Never have I thought that a hobbit would bear such a treasure," I smiled.

"You are full of suprises, Master Baggins," Gimli agreed.

Suddenly, I heard another faint Orc-cry. "We must go. More are coming."

Gandalf nodded. "To the Bridge of Khazad-Dûm."

I lifted Frodo to his feet, and took off running after the rest of the Fellowship, falling in line behind Legolas. The howls of more Orcs echoed through the Dwarrowdelf, and Orcs began to crawl out from cracks in the floors, walls, even the ceiling. Thousands of them, scurrying everywhere, swarming down the pillars. I willed myself to run faster, but it was hopeless. Within moments, we were surrounded. Orcs sneered at us from all sides. I drew my sword and scowled back, ready to fight. Legolas gave me a confident smile, and reached for his twin white-handled knives.

And then, from the very bowels of the mines, there came an unearthly growl. The Orcs stopped taunting us and looked towards the end of one of the pillar hallways.

Another growl. Fiery, reddish-orange light steadily grew from the opening at the end. The Orcs screeched in horror and ran away, disappearing back into shadow. Gimli laughed, but my eyes never moved from the orange light. The ground vibrated beneath my feet.

"What is this new devilry?" asked Boromir.

Gandalf closed his eyes. "A Balrog. A demon of the ancient world."

I looked up at Legolas. At the word 'demon,' I saw something I had never seen before: a look of fear on his face. Terror in his bright blue eyes.

My own heartbeat quickened. If Legolas was scared, this was serious. He was never scared.

"This foe is beyond any of you," Gandalf said. "Run!"

I obeyed. We ran down the now clear pathways at full speed, sprinting like mad past the pillars.

Suddenly the ground disappeared. Boromir stumbled and would have fallen, had Legolas not grabbed him. I put a hand on his shoulder as he pulled the Man back up. He still had a look of horror on his face.

"Lead them on, Aragorn!" Gandalf cried. He pointed away to the east. "The bridge is near!"

I looked over. The room we were in was essentially just a series of stone paths, towering over a bottomless pit of shadow. A thin bridge was suspended over a deep gorge.

Looking back, I saw the old wizard push Aragorn to the side as he tried to unsheath his blade. "Do as I say! Swords are no more use here!"

With that in mind, I flew down the stone path, charging down the stairs. All of a sudden, I jerked to a stop. The Company was at a standstill, for there was a gap in the stair way.

Legolas jumped across without hesitation. He motioned for the wizard to come next. "Gandalf!" He jumped over. Aragorn and I tossed over Merry, Pippin, and Sam, but when I reached for Gimli, he held up a hand to stop me.

"Nobody tosses a dwarf!" With a cry of triumph, he leapt across but just barely made it to the edge. As he slipped, Legolas shot a hand out, grabbing his beard. "Not the beard!" Gimli groaned, but was pulled to safety nonetheless. Then Boromir crossed over.

I tensed, ready to jump, but just as I made to go across, the stone beneath my feet cracked and fell away. I jerked back up the stairway and clung to my cousin and Frodo. The gap was now impossibly large. There was no way that even I could make it across. I looked at the rest of the Fellowship, and could tell that they were thinking the same thing.

And then the Balrog growled again, slamming into the ceiling above us. A small hail of rocks and dirt came down on us, and I coughed, trying to clear the air with my gloved hands. The Balrog roared again, and this time, a huge chunk of the ceiling came crashing down behind us, breaking away the section of rock behind us, too. My heart beat pounded in my hears. The stair way began to shift under us, and we wobbled from side to side.

"Lean forward!" Aragorn shouted. I did so.

The pillar of stone shifted again, and began to fall towards the others. Legolas had his arms wide open, ready to catch us. We landed hard against the rest of the stairs with a crash, and the momentum threw me at them Gandalf caught me. "Thank you," I said, and we all started running again. I looked over my shoulder to see the stairway collapse behind me, falling into ruin.

We emerged onto a level submerged in fire. Bright flames licked the walls, and sweat instantly formed on my brow. I kept running, but stopped when I heard the loud roar of a great beast. I turned around.

My eyes widened. What loomed over Gandalf, who still stood amongst the flame, was the most dragon-like, terrifying thing I had ever seen. It looked like it had walked out of the fires of hell itself. It appeared to be at least fifty stories high, and made out of shadow. The Balrog was on fire himself, with two great horns on his head, and a sword of fire in his hand. Piercing white eyes stared down at Gandalf, and it roared ferociously.

"Gandalf!" I screamed. A hand grabbed my shoulder, pulling me away. Aragorn and I ran into the next room and began to cross the bridge.

Just as we made it across with everyone else, I heard another roar. Gandalf was running, too, but the Balrog was right on his tail. To my suprise, he stopped and turned to face the enemy in the center of the bridge. "You cannot pass!"

"Gandalf!" Frodo cried.

The Balrog burst into new flame, and colossal black wings stretched from its back. But Gandalf did not back down. The light of his staff grew, and he drew his sword. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Arnor. The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udun!"

His opponent brought forth his sword of fire, and slammed it against Gandalf's staff. Aragorn tried to run and help him, but stopped short. We all watched in fear.

The Balrog's sword of flame exploded, and Gandalf swayed a little, but remained in place. His enemy roared in anger.

"Go back to the shadow!" Gandalf said. The Balrog snorted and stomped his great foot down upon the bridge. From the darkness, there was a loud crack and burst of light, and a flaming whip emerged.

"YOU...SHALL NOT...PASS!" Gandalf shouted. With all his strength, he raised his staff, and struck it hard against the stone. Another burst of light and a crack, but when the smoke cleared, it looked like nothing had happened. I stiffened. Was this the end of Gandalf the Grey?

The Balrog leapt forward to attack him, and I screamed. But just as the monster of fire pounced, the Bridge gave out, and everything past Gandalf's feet crumbled into the darkness below. The Balrog gave a deafening roar as he fell, and I covered my ears and looked away.

Suddenly, I heard one last crack of his whip, and Frodo's screams. I looked back up to see Gandalf just barely hanging onto the edge of the broken bridge. He tried to pull himself up, but could not. My heart caught in my throat. "G-Gandalf?"

He groaned, and with his body dangling over the edge, arms shaking, he cast one last look at us, catching my eye. "Fly, you fools!" he said.

And then he was gone.

Time seemed to stand still, broken only by Frodo's screams. "NOOOO!"
I felt like I couldn't breathe. "No...no! Gandalf!" By some miracle, my feet found the will to run, and I tore my eyes away from the scene. I charged up the steps, his fall replaying over and over in my mind. Tears already blurred my vison as I stumbled, second to last in line, with Aragorn right behind me.

Finally, we emerged from the mines, and I felt Aragorn brush past me, running ahead. Tears flowed freely down my face now, and I blindly ran after my cousin, no more than a dark blur in the distance, seeking his comfort.

I tripped once, then twice, and suddenly a green mass stepped in front of me. I crashed into it, and a pair of strong arms wrapped around me, holding me close. I buried my face in his shoulder, soaking the soft fabric with tears, but I didn't care. Gandalf was gone. The grandfatherly figure that had advised and supported me all my life was gone. Dead.

It wasn't until then that the person holding me spoke. "Shhh..." he said softly, "You will be alright. You will be alright."

I recognized the voice instantly. "L...Legolas..." I said. My entire body shook with sobs, and I was amazed that he wasn't breaking down as well. That was what I needed. Reassurance. A solid rock to stand on in my moment of weakness. "He...he is gone!" I cried.

"Shhh..." he said again. "Breathe."

I exhaled, wrapping my arms around him. "I...I..." I broke down into sobs again. "Legolas..."

Suddenly, I heard Aragorn's voice. "Get them up. We must go."

"Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" came Boromir's rebuttal.

"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with Orcs," Aragorn replied. "We must reach the woods of Lothlórien. Come Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, get them up!"

Legolas sighed and let go of me. He looked at me with a saddened expression for a moment, and gave my shoulder one last squeeze. "I am sorry," he said, and walked away.