ANDREA

"It must be getting near teatime," Sam comments as we walk along the path behind Gollum. My feet felt as though they would fall off at any minute and my stomach thought my throat had been cut, and he's talking about tea? "Leastways, it would be in decent places where there is still teatime." Gollum pauses and turns to face Sam with a creepy smile.

"We're not in decent places," he reminds the Hobbit, his voice sounding harsher than usual. Sure, that might have been from almost being strangled, but I had a feeling that it was mainly Sméagol trying to freak Sammy out.

"Keep moving," I order, not wanting to break up another fight. The last thing I need right now is for Gollum to pull out a handmade shiv and stab Sam, because then I'd have to kill Gollum and I'd be hopelessly lost in the place. I wasn't even sure where here was, surrounded on my left and right by dead trees that barely reached my waist and the trampled grass under my feet that was a dark yellow as it died.

As we came out of the woods, I find a large stone statue that might have been of a great ruler a long time ago. Not it was in the middle of wasting away, covered in lichen and a stone from the ground taking the place of its head, covered in a rusted cage. A few feet further on, I find the head of the statue, thick leaves growing over it and a crown of flowers around its head.

"Andi, look at this." I turn and follow Sam's gaze towards the head again, the sunlight spilling through the trees lighting up its stone face and making the white flowers look golden. "The king has got a crown again."

"So it does," I return with a smile. My thoughts turned to Aragorn again, wondering where he was or if he was even still alive. The last update I'd gotten from Ashley was just after some battle or another and I've been worried ever since. Was he somewhere sort of safe or were all of my friends dead like I would soon be?

With those thoughts bouncing around in my head, I begin to walk again with Sammy falling into step beside me. No matter what, at least I still had my Sam.

ASHLEY

Haldir and I enter Pippin's room, hand in hand and even managing smiles despite what we knew was coming. I wince when I see the tiny uniform of the royal guard laid out on the bed, not able to imagine Pippin being in a real war, not wanting to. He was just so small and I couldn't stand to picture him fight humans. The Hobbit and Gandalf are out on the balcony, looking out on the quiet city.

"It's so quiet," Pip remarks, moving to my side as Haldir and I join them.

"It's the deep breath before the plunge," Gandalf says.

"I don't want to be in a battle, but waiting on the edge of one I can't escape is even worse. Is there any hope, Gandalf, for Andrea and Sam?"

"If I know Andi," I tell him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders," which I like to think I do, she and Sam are already most of the way there and arguing over who's gonna eat what when they get back." Pippin looks up at me with a smile and I pat his shoulder comfortingly. "She's even more stubborn than I am, Pip, and she won't back down until all is well again." All our eyes are drawn towards the fire colored skies above Mordor as thunder booms, the warning sound before a storm.

"Our enemy is almost ready," Gandalf says grimly," his full strength gathered; not only Orcs, but men as well. Legions of Haradrim from the south, mercenaries from the coast. All will answer Mordor's call. This will be the end of Gondor as we know it. Here the hammer stroke will fall the hardest. If the river is taken, if the garrison at Osgiliath falls, the last defense of this city will be gone."

"But we have the White Wizard, that's got to count for something," Pippin says hopefully, looking up at Gandy. The wizard says nothing, looking as though he hadn't even heard the Hobbit. "Gandalf?" Haldir pulls me close when he notices me shivering in the chilly evening air, placing a kiss on top of my head.

"Sauron has yet to release his deadliest servant, the one who will lead Mordor's armies into battle. The one they say no living man can kill. The Witch-king of Angmar." He looks at Pippin now with an expression that matched his tone. "You've met him before, he stabbed Frodo on Weathertop." I let out a shaky breath, wrapping my arms around Haldir's waist and resting my cheek on his firm chest. "He is the Lord of the Nazgûl, the greatest of the nine. And Minas Morgul is his lair."

A column of bright light shoots into the air from the center of Mordor, a deafening sound like the screaming of a tornado accompanying it and making Haldir cover his sensitive ears quickly. I rise on my tiptoes and cover his hands with mine, wanting to help him in any way I could while he ground his teeth in pain.

"We come to it at last," Gandalf states. "The great battle of our time. The board is set and the pieces are moving."

ANDREA

Sam and I join Sméagol in a gully beside a badly constructed road, Sméagol peering over the edge to see the city across the way. It glows with a strange light that makes me shy away, the twin statues on either side of the bridge that leads to the city are huge and menacing, obviously meant to be a do not enter sign and working perfectly. "The Dead City," Sméagol tells us," very nasty place, full of enemies." As quickly as we were able, we scramble over the side and into the shadows towards Minas Morgul. "Quick! Quick, they will see, they will see!" I stare up at the statues and the second I do I feel trapped inside a tilt-a-whirl. The world begins to spin and nausea hits me, almost making me double over as the breath feels stolen from my lungs. "Come away, we have found it!" I forcefully drag my eyes away from Minas Morgul to the narrow staircase Sméagol expects us to climb. It was practically straight up with almost no slope, like a ladder or those steps in Moria. "The way into Mordor… The secret stairs."

That weird feeling hits me again like it did back in Osgiliath when I attacked Sam, my feet start moving forward towards the Dead City and there was naught I could do about it. "No, Andi," Sam shouts.

"Not that way!" Sam and Sméagol catch up to me, each grabbing an arm and pulling me backwards.

"They want me," I say in a dreamy voice, eyes locked on the place I want to get to. The world spins again, making me stumble and fall. That's when I realize that the world really was moving, another earthquake was happening. Twin flames shoot up into the sky, one from Mordor and the other from Minas Morgul. Sam and Sméagol help me to my feet and usher me to the stairs, moving fast and practically dragging me.

Control comes back to me then, and I join the others behind some rocks, hands over my ears to muffle the deafening screech. When the sound ceases, I raise my head up until I can see and what I see makes my blood run cold: The With-king riding his Fell-beast above Minas Morgul, settling on the battlements. The gate opens and a massive army marches out, a seemingly unending mass of Orcs passing close to our hiding place.

"Come, Hobbits," Sméagol whispers," we climb. We must climb!" Hurriedly, Sam and I follow Sméagol up the stairs, trying not to look down for fear of falling or of spotting the army. The stairs are slick under my feet and hands, the strain of climbing making me realize just how weak I'd become. "Up the stairs we go, and then we go into the tunnel, yes we do." I roll my eyes, moving ahead of Gollum and continuing to climb until I realize no one is following.

"No more slinker," Sam was saying in a threatening tone I'd never heard him use before, the blade of his dagger pressed tightly against Gollum's neck," no more stinker. You're gone, got it? I'm watching you." I smile a little as Sammy begins to climb again, glad that he could protect himself yet sad that the sweet Hobbit I had known was now capable of murder.

"What was that," I ask with amusement coloring my tone."

"Just clearing some things up is all."

"I'm proud of you, Sammy."