Her wrists burned as she drew her knives and flipped them over her wrists. The scar on her side ached as she looked at Sauron and the Balrog. They were no longer in Moria. The memory had already left there. Now they were back in Mordor. Behind her was the gate if her view of the mountain was anything to judge by. The Balrog and Sauron were standing on the road between the tower and the mountain. It was all rebuilt. She had been right. She had never won and now he had transported her back to where he had begun his torture. This is where it began and this is where it would end. She had walked here with Elrohir. Now, she was inside the gate while he and Haldir and Gandalf were left outside. He had taken her without their realizing it.
The Balrog drew his sword again and she heard Sauron tell it not to hurt her too badly, that he needed her alive. This was it. She needed to end this now and then she could go back to her family and her responsibilities.
"Are you so much of a coward that you cannot face me yourself?" She called to the Dark Lord. "You fought me before and won. What makes you scared of me now?"
Sauron didn't answer and only laughed. It didn't make any sense to her right now. And it didn't matter either. As Sauron laughed, the Balrog attacked her and she needed to jump out of the way. The Balrog's sword made a gouge in the ground. It was too large to attack it head on like she would have done with any other opponent. The large beast had killed Gandalf, taken him with it to the abyss. Only Lord Glorfindel had ever defeated one of these and he had died doing it. The Valar had allowed him to return to Middle Earth though. The same couldn't be said for her. If she died while killing the creature, Sauron would get her body and she would have died for nothing.
She had to catch her breath as she landed hard on her back as she realized that was what Sauron was hoping for. He wanted her to die so he could take her body much like he had done with Boromir. But he was in for a surprise if he thought that she would go down easily.
"I am the daughter of Lord Elrond and Lady Celebrían. I am the granddaughter of Lady Galadriel of Lothlórien, the Lady of the Golden Wood. Their strength runs through my veins. I. Will. NOT. Lose." She got up with a yell and charged Sauron.
Elrohir dug through Eleryna's bag, looking for the phial. She was starting to toss and turn. At one point, she gasped as if she had landed on her back. Gandalf said that she was fighting. If that was the case, then she needed help. He pulled out the phial with a shout of triumph and rushed over to his sister. Haldir looked at him.
"She is burning with a fever." He said.
"I know. But there is nothing that can be done about that. She is fighting him and he is using fire against her. This is what has been happening since Mirkwood." Elrohir explained. "Right now, all we can do is try to give her whatever strength we can muster." He forced the phial into his sister's hand. She clutched it tightly and light shone from it as she continued to toss and turn. Her fever burned hotter. Gandalf muttered words with a hand over her brow, but it did not ease her distress. She cried out and blood trickled down her face from her temple. Elrohir suddenly felt helpless. He said he would help her through this and all he could do was sit and try to keep her alive in this world while she fought her enemy in another. He had forced her from her family and her allies. Elrohir had been the only one to stay by her side like a loyal brother, like a protective brother. Elladan had thought he was protecting her by trying to bring her out of her delusion. Everyone had thought along those same lines and it had turned her against them.
Someone shouted from the hill above them and the two elves and wizard turned to look. It was Legolas. He was riding hard down the side of the hill. His hair was in tangles around his head and he looked as if he hadn't slept in days, trying to reach them. The last Gandalf had said they'd seen him had been when they were in Rohan and he got a message from his father about the two of them. He jumped off the horse and kneeled next to his wife. To his brother-in-law, he looked starved and he didn't see a pack and his weapons were barely hanging onto the saddle of the nearly dead horse.
"I'm too late." He breathed and fell to the ground next to her. Gandalf knelt next to the exhausted elf and they spoke in hushed whispers while Haldir dug some leftover food out of his supplies. Elrohir focused on his sister, placing a cool cloth on her forehead. It seemed to dry almost instantly. Legolas's eyes locked onto the phial in Eleryna's right hand. He dug into his pocket and pulled out two rings and sat up. "It's the last thing that I needed to do. We agreed we wouldn't bind ourselves this way unless we felt we were ready for it. Father had them ready for the entire time we've been married. I took them to be blessed by Lady Galadriel. I wanted to give Eleryna hers before she went into this final battle." With help, Legolas moved over to Eleryna's left side. "But maybe, even now, it will bring her the strength she needs to survive." He placed the ring on her finger, ignoring the heat coming from her skin.
"Maybe, it will bring her the strength she needs to survive." Legolas's voice echoed in her head as she blocked the blade. Sauron had called off the Balrog when it had nearly killed her several times during their fight. Not to mention that she had also been taunting him the entire time. As she held Sauron's blade back, she saw a thin, silver band appear on the ring finger of her left hand. She knew what it was. Legolas had shown it to her once before, when they had agreed that if they ever felt love for each other, they would wear the rings his parents had given each other. She had agreed to that since her mother's ring had gone with her across the ocean. It meant that he had shown up outside Mordor. It also told her that it was only her mind that was in Mordor. Her body was still lying on the ground outside the gates. If she died and Sauron won, there were several people who could kill her body before Sauron could use it. That gave her hope and comfort that she wasn't alone.
She pushed back against Sauron and pushed him away. Her chest began hurting as the scar stretched. The last time she had fought this man, she had nearly died and he had nearly had her then to. He did have her. She had been locked in the tower just yards from them. Elrohir had pulled her from it and taken her back to Minas Tirith where she had woken to find herself surrounded by her friends and family. Sauron had tormented her mind ever since, turning her from them. No more. No more would he have the chance to try to take her from those she loved and that loved her.
She flipped her knives over her hands again, ignoring the pain and noticing the phial hanging from her wrist. Her grandmother had given that to her when she had passed through Lórien during the war. It was meant to be a light in dark places. It had gotten her through many dark times during the war. Elrohir must have found it in her bag. She had never taken it out and it had been with her when she left to hunt for Sauron.
Sauron attacked her again and she blocked his attack. She needed to find a way to kill him for good. It would be the only way that she would have peace. She pushed him back and followed, finally attacking him. He gave up ground and she moved closer cautiously. She was not going to be fooled into a false sense of dominance. He was a dark wizard. He had created the ring everyone says she destroyed. She didn't see it on his finger now. Maybe she did destroy it. He had taken Boromir's body. It had been her duty to protect him and she had left him for the taking. She should have waited until he woke. Then he would have been safe. So much that she hadn't been able to do. She should have been able to save most of the ones who had died in the war. Forefront on her mind were her kin that had perished in Helm's Deep because of her. Because of Sauron and Saruman and their evil. She was determined to end that now.
Sauron turned and fled into the mountain. She followed him. It was all too familiar. She was back in Mordor and she was running into the mountain. She found Sauron next to the canyon. Below them, the liquid fire flowed. The heat was almost overbearing. It was the same fire that had been plaguing her since she had been pulled from the tower. It was Sauron. His heat. His fire. It was a fire that she was supposed to perish in. It is the same fire the Hobbit would have perished in had he tried to carry the Ring.
"Here we are again," Sauron said, his voice echoing in the large chamber. Eleryna said nothing. "Last time you brought me my Ring and threw it into the fire and destroyed it. It would have destroyed me as well if you hadn't taken the Ring upon your shoulders. Your willingness to take a part of me onto your shoulders gave me the opening I needed to get you and work on you. You nearly walking into Minas Morgul was me trying to get you there. You nearly let me have you. If it hadn't been for that Man, I would have had you. Did you realize that?"
His voice was like honey in her ears and she needed to keep him out of it. But he was right. She had nearly let herself be controlled into walking into Minas Morgul and giving up. If it hadn't been for Boromir, she would have. He was right, he had nearly had her then and he was trying to succeed now. He had always tried to get her so he could have her loyalty. So many had given their very lives to keep her protected even though she had been fighting as well. She wasn't going to let him win.
She flipped her knives and ran at him, muttering her battle cry as she did so. He turned and blocked her attack. Her scar throbbed more as did the others that had been poisoned. They exchanged blows back and forth, dancing their deadly dance around the small area. The clang of metal on metal echoed in the large cavern and in her ears. Neither talked now. Now, it was a fight for life and death. One of them was going to wake up with her power and body and the other would be dead, never to have another chance at life again. The metal continued to echo.
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