The four elves watched, helpless, as another line was carved into Eleryna's skin. It wasn't deep. The wounds had stopped being deep a while ago and were bandaged. Her skin still burned and she still lay unconscious. Elrohir sat next to her, guarding her from the other two elves. They had wanted to wake her, to stop this madness and he refused to let them. Legolas hadn't put up much of a fight as he was still trying to recover from his race to get to her before she went into this final battle. They knew Sauron's strength had increased since she had left Lothlórien to find the dark lord. The burns on her wrists were evidence of that, as were the scars she was accumulating as she lay on the hard ground. At least that was what the elves thought. The wizard had a different theory that he hoped and prayed was wrong.

Gandalf knew, had been told by Elrond, that Eleryna had been hunted her entire life because of the strength and power within her, the same strength and power her grandmother carried. It was this shared ability that helped Galadriel choose her youngest grandchild as the one to inherit the Golden Wood when she sailed. It was safe to say that she had mostly been hunted by Sauron as he hid in the shadows and waited for his Ring to be returned to him. Eleryna had taken that Ring upon her own shoulders, willingly. She knew she would have to fight against Sauron since the moment she put it around her neck. It was the only way she knew she could be sure that it was destroyed, if she did it herself. That must have opened a door that would have allowed Sauron to try to work his will on her and on those around her. She had been his target from the beginning. To have one of the strongest beings in Middle Earth at his side, Sauron would have been unstoppable. Now, Sauron was a part of her, had made her his new Ring and vessel. He had failed to place his malice within her, but he had put the core of himself there, and his will. That was what Eleryna was fighting. She wasn't fighting for control of her own body; she was fighting to assert her own will in her mind.

Elrohir looked at the Wizard, his eyes betraying his calm mask. The youngest son of Elrond knew what was happening to his sister. He knew that Eleryna was fighting for control. But he didn't know that Sauron was now an integral part of Eleryna. She would be fighting him for the rest of her days.

She held her blade in front of her as Sauron pressed down on it. She had had to block out everything else around her, including the voices of those that loved her outside. Their fighting had been distracting, something she would address when she finally ended this fight with the shade before her. But she feared she was losing. He had barely touched her, yet she was more wounded and weaker because of it. Every time she made to wound him, the blade would pass through him and the wound would become hers. She couldn't understand it. It didn't make any sense to her and she couldn't afford to try to figure it out right now. She pushed Sauron back and he moved backward, laughing. She didn't go after him. She was tired. She wanted to stop. But she couldn't. She had to win or risk Sauron running around with her body and power.

"What's wrong, Elfling?" He taunted. Eleryna looked at him. "Don't tell me you've given up, not after the fight you've been able to put up so far." He laughed. Eleryna held her knife like a sword. She had lost the other one in Mount Doom, before he had brought them here, to what looked like the ruins of Gondor. "You understand now, don't you?" He said, sitting on a crumbling wall. "You know that I am more a part of you than you previously thought. Your taking the Ring upon your shoulders opened a door to me that had been locked for decades. It opened a door that allowed me to insert my will into another living being. You destroyed the Ring before I could move my malice, but the core of me, my will and what I want, that is all here. That is what you see before you. And you cannot get rid of me. Every wound you have been inflicting upon me, you've been inflicting upon yourself. You have been fighting the darkest part of you, a part that I strengthened when you placed the Ring around your neck on that cold winter's night a year ago."

"No," Eleryna panted. "You're wrong. I'll drive you from this world!" She rushed him. He blocked her attack and threw her to the ground like she was nothing more than a rag doll. She struggled to get back to her feet and could only pull herself to a kneel.

"How can you drive me from this world if you can't even hold your ground against me while I am sitting on a crumbling wall?" Eleryna pulled herself to her feet, using her long knife to steady her. blood flowed from her wounds, making a puddle at her feet.

"If I die, I am taking you with me."

"Then slice your throat now and be done with it. As you can see, I am unharmed. You have received every wound you have sought to inflict upon me." Sauron got to his feet and approached her and threw her to the ground again. She pulled herself to her feet. "I'll make you a deal, Elfling. Submit to me and my will. Finish the work I started, and I will ensure that you are comfortable for the rest of our days."

"You can go to hell." She spat. Her body shook as she stood, facing him. His words made sense to her. She had learned a long time ago that there was a darkness within every being that walked Middle Earth, even her. She knew that by taking the Ring, she would be opening herself up to that darkness. All the injuries, Sauron had become the darkest part of her. But she refused to let him win. Even if he was the darkest part of her now, she had controlled it her entire life, she would continue to do so. She began moving her lips rapidly as Sauron grabbed the back of her neck and forced her to look up at him.

"There is no use in trying to gain power from that phial." He sneered. "You are losing your life quicker than anyone can save it. Except for me."

"I'll take my chances." She whispered. "Gilthoniel A Elbereth!" She shouted. The phial in her hand burned as bright light shot from it and engulfed the two of them.

Centuries Later:

The elves on the docks looked at the new comers in awe. Many had believed they wouldn't come. She walked down the plank first, her white scars visible in the light from the setting sun. Aside from those scars, the two of them looked almost identical except he looked quite older than her. Siblings. She walked with a limp and her eyes betrayed a wisdom beyond her age, beyond the ages of Valinor's oldest residents. To those closest to her, that could look directly into her gray-blue eyes, they could see a simmering anger that didn't seem to belong to the she-elf before them.

A blonde, blue eyed elf pushed his away through the gathered crowd and pulled her into a tight hug that she returned with equal tightness. His tears fell onto her head. He had feared the worst when he had left her behind to sail. He had been called to the sea and not even his love for her could hold him past Aragorn's death. He let her go enough to be able to look into her eyes and see the darkness there, still caged in his cell of light magic. He wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her and her brother through the crowd and to the city beyond. She rested her head on his shoulder as they walked. Elves they passed bowed their heads in respect to her, and to him. They ignored them as Legolas guided his wife to his home that he shared with the dwarf whom had been granted extended life upon Valinor. Waiting for them in the great hall was her family and the wizard and dwarf. She left her husband to hug each of them, including her mother who had survived the poison. Her father had the hardest time letting her go.

Finally, she turned to her grandmother who was still as fair as the day she had left Middle Earth with the Hobbits and the wizard. She held her granddaughter tightly before holding her at arm's length and looking into her eyes and into her soul.

"Just because you have come to Valinor, Eleryna, does not mean that you can grow lax in your guardianship." Galadriel said. "Until you have been called to Mandos, you must guard the darkness within you lest you allow it to wreck havoc upon us again."

"I understand, Grandmother." Eleryna said. To her family, she sounded much wiser than when they had left her on the beach in the Gray Havens. "I know that I have to keep Sauron locked away and every day, it is a battle not to just let myself fade." She smiled and it reached her eyes, something that had not happened for many, many years. Galadriel smiled and hugged her granddaughter again. Legolas took her from her family and held her tight against him, not wanting to let her go.

Eleryna looked at her family, gathered, for the first time in her life, all in one place. Her brothers were teasing each other as they always did. Her mother and father were standing next to each other, happier than ever. The same for Galadriel and Celeborn. Haldir and Gandalf were laughing at the twins as they picked on each other and on Gimli who had joined in the celebrations. The only one missing was Arwen, the only one of them who had chosen to live a mortal life with the man she loved. Eleryna had gone to see her nephew before she sailed and had given him the blessing of their family. She was confident that the world was in good hands as long as he did not stray and follow the darkness within him, that was within all of them.

And so ends Eleryna's tales. I had done this fic because I had been curious about the aftermath of the war. Frodo goes back to his life the best he can in the books and in the movies and so I had wanted to see what would happen to my character being stronger in magic and being as important as she is. Thank you for coming on this journey with me.

One last time for this fic:

Thank you fore reading and please review.