The siblings looked at her wrists a moment before Elrohir wrapped them in salve soaked bandages. The burns were bad, as if she had stuck her hands in the campfire and held them there. But if that were the case, it would have been her hands burned as well and they were completely unharmed.

"He is getting stronger." Eleryna said. "I don't know how much longer I can fight him."

"We're almost to Mordor."

"But what if he is right and a part of his soul is in me, trying to turn me into a vessel for him?" Elrohir looked directly into her eyes and she could see his conviction. The fire in his eyes was so much different from the fire she fought every night it seemed.

"Would you rather me kill you now and make father's vision come true? He saw that both you and Arwen had died. Arwen has lived. So have you, so far. But if you feel that you cannot contain what is in you or fight it out, then I will kill you now and put you out of your misery."

"And what would that accomplish?" She snapped. "He's alienated me from the rest of my family, save you. Now you are saying that you would rather kill me. If you kill me, he can still use me."

"But you are saying that you cannot fight him any longer." Elrohir said, keeping a firm hold on her hands. "You are saying that you would rather give in than fight him until you have killed him, even if that means you going with him. But if you would rather die than fight, then I will do it for you." The two of them sat where they were, staring hard at the other. Neither willing to give in. What was the point of everything? The war was supposed to be over and here she was still fighting, fighting her own brother. Sauron had made it personal and she would have to end it herself. She never should have brought Elrohir into this. He had been after her since the day she was born because of who she was. "What is your choice, Eleryna?"

"Go home, Elrohir. I never should have brought you into this. This is not your fight." She pulled her arms from his grip and stood.

"The hell it's not." He responded as he got to his feet and grabbed her shoulders. "You came to me. You are my sister. This bastard wants to use you to gain form and to be able to make an army that even the elves would have a difficult time fighting. I will fight him even if it means my death."

"You cannot fight him!" Eleryna said. "You can't fight what you can't see."

"He is in here." He tapped her head, hard. "I am here." I jabbed her chest, above her heart. "Fight with your heart, with me. When we get to Mordor, you are going to sleep. We'll make a broth and put you to sleep so you can face him, once and for all. I won't bring you out of it. You'll have to wake up yourself. Let's go."

"Ro,"

"No, Ryna. We are not discussing this anymore. Let's go."

Haldir watched from the rocks for any movement. They had decided to stay out of sight until Eleryna was seen. Gandalf was in his gray rags so as not to frighten her when she did arrive. They needed her to trust them when she arrived. Gandalf had said the best thing would be for Haldir to stay hidden while the wizard was talking to her. She didn't trust him and might attack if she saw someone she didn't trust. It was frustrating and Legolas had yet to show back up either. There was nothing they could do about their situation now except wait.

The elf looked towards the dark lands. He had tried forgetting them for the past year. Tried forgetting how close to death he got. It wasn't something he was eager to relive. He didn't want to be anywhere near this place of death. But Eleryna was going to come here soon enough and his first duty was to her, her protection. This fell into that category. She was in danger from Sauron who, as Gandalf had explained, tried to control her through the Ring and when that failed, tried to possess her much as he had done with Boromir. Except this time, it was worse. She was fighting against him and he would punish her for it.

Movement near the base of the mountains caught his attention. He looked closely. It was Eleryna and Elrohir. They were discussing how to cross the cavern now filled with molten fire. He had been afraid of this. Afraid that she would want to go into the lands themselves to face her demon. He couldn't let her. He got up and walked over to Gandalf.

"I know." The Wizard said. "You shouldn't come along, but you will anyway. We might as well. Maybe she'll think you are safe to be around when she sees me in these rags."

"If she sees you." Haldir said. "She hasn't seen another wizard since the incident in Minas Tirith. And you have not made yourself available."

"Regardless, we have to keep them for going into Mordor and learn their plan. Perhaps it will work from the gate." Gandalf began walking towards the siblings and Haldir followed, not liking Gandalf's plan to put their lives in Eleryna's sanity. Gandalf purposely kicked a rock and its echo caused Eleryna and Elrohir to turn sharply, weapons drawn. Elrohir relaxed when he saw that it was them. Eleryna, however, kept her blades at the ready. "We are friends. I am Gandalf. You know me, Princess Eleryna. This is Haldir. He is your guardian when you are within the borders of Lothlórien, the place you are set to inherit from your grandmother."

"I know who he is." Eleryna said. "He and my husband did not believe me about Sauron's war."

"It was something they didn't understand." Gandalf said. "They do now. Your husband is looking for you, tracking you, while we came to wait for you here. I take it you have figured out Sauron's master plan."

"He is torturing her mind into believing that everyone is against her. He has elected to hid himself from all, even the most powerful." Elrohir said. Eleryna scowled at him, but put her knives away. The wizard and elf saw the bandages on her wrist.

"What happened?" Haldir demanded and Eleryna reached for a blade.

"Sauron has been attacking her in her sleep." Elrohir said quickly. "This last time, he proved to have enough power to prove that he is real and not a figment of her imagination."

"How long has this been happening?" Gandalf asked, concerned.

"Months." Eleryna answered. "Since we visited Dol Guldur. I have tried to fight him off."

"I see." Gandalf said. Haldir could tell that this was not what the wizard was hoping to hear and feared it at the same it. "What is your plan?"

"I go to sleep and I don't wake until either he kills me or I kill him. He has been getting into my memories of the war. I figured since I faced him here that I should do it again." Eleryna looked hard at Gandalf and narrowed her eyes. "Do you mean to trick me?" She asked dangerously. Haldir placed a hand on his blade. "You fell and came back. I remember that much. You are no longer a gray, Gandalf."

"No, I am white. However," Gandalf explained slowly, "when you were rescued, you believed that I was Sauron. I did not want to trigger a trap he may have set against me in which you would try to kill me again." Eleryna looked at her wrists and nodded.

"If that is the case, you shouldn't be here. Just in case."

"I promised your father that I would see you safely through this. I mean to keep that promise. We should get you comfortable."

"They have a cave troll." Boromir muttered. Legolas and Eleryna tossed axes to the Men so they could wedge the door shut. Gimli climbed onto the tomb with a growl.

"Let them come. There is still one Dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath." Eleryna took a deep breath, glad she had healed her ankle a few nights before. Legolas began shooting arrows. He got two off before the doors burst in and the Orcs poured into the room. She jumped into the battle, decapitating Orcs as she danced among them. Then she heard the chain and saw the troll. She danced away from it, but it followed.

"So, we are still in Moria." Sauron's voice laughed. "You can't control where we meet, Eleryna."

The troll yanked and Boromir went flying across the room, landing on a ledge for a moment before rolling off. Aragorn threw his dagger to kill an Orc that was about to kill the man. The troll destroyed the tomb of Balin before wildly swinging its hammer. Then it started swinging the chain around and Eleryna saw that it was aimed for Legolas who was on the ledge. The chain wrapped around a pillar and Legolas was able to walk up it and shoot two arrows into the troll's head before jumping off. The troll turned on her again.

"Better move." Sauron laughed. She ignored him as she strung her bow and shot at it, only making it angrier. She dove beneath it to avoid being cornered. Then Aragorn was attacking it while she tried to get to her feet. He was thrown against the wall and she was cornered again. "That had to hurt." The troll now had a spear in his hand. She dove beneath it again as it drove the spear towards her. The tip of the spear grazed her side, the side opposite her orc wound. Then everyone converged on the troll. Legolas shot an arrow into the beast's open mouth and finally killed it. She let Legolas help her to her feet. He blocked her from view as he pulled up her shirt and examined the wound. He pulled a dirty shirt from her pack and wrapped it around the wound as best he could.

"What do you want from me?" Eleryna hissed as she turned to face her enemy as the others began running. Sauron only smirked and followed them and she followed him, not wanting him to alter something.

Eleryna breathed heavily, the wound in her side taking its toll on her strength. They hadn't gone far when they were surrounded. Then a roar came from behind them. The orcs and goblins shrieked before running. Eleryna looked behind them.

"What is this new devilry?" Boromir asked in a hushed whisper. No one answered.

Eleryna kept hold of one knife as Gandalf spoke. "A Balrog. A demon of an ancient world." Her eyes widened in horror and a glance at Legolas told her that he felt the same. "This foe is beyond any of you. Run!" They sprinted down the hall and to stairs where Boromir nearly fell, being saved by Aragorn once again. "Do as I say!" Gandalf suddenly shouted. "Swords are no more use here." They ran again until a break in the stairs stopped them. Legolas jumped first, followed by Gandalf. Orcs and goblins began shooting at them. Legolas shot back as Boromir jumped next, part of the stair breaking at his jump. Aragorn turned to toss Gimli across.

"Nobody tosses a Dwarf." Gimli said and jumped only to barely make the stair. Legolas reached out and grabbed his beard to keep him from falling. "Not the beard!" More of the stair broke away and she and Aragorn were forced to move up, she trying to hold the hasty bandage in place. Behind them, a large rock broke the stair, making their section unsteady. They adjusted their weight to make it move and fell towards the others and jumped as the two pieces hit each other. Legolas caught Aragorn while Boromir caught Eleryna. Then they were running again and soon made it to the bridge.

"Over the bridge! Fly!" Gandalf called until he was the last one. Then the Balrog appeared. Eleryna was the last to make it across. She turned and noticed Gandalf had not followed her and was stopped in the middle of the bridge. "You cannot pass!"

"Gandalf!" She called. The Balrog looked at her and she saw Sauron floating above it, pointing at her. The Balrog's sword was put away and Gandalf forgotten. Moria was beginning to fall away, except for the bridge. Gandalf was shouting something at her as she raced forward to stand by him, Legolas no longer holding her back. The Balrog reached for her as the last remnants of Moria fell away as Gandalf fell into the abyss below.

Final battle is next. Thanks for reading and please review.