88 reviews! Oh my goodness! Thank you all so much, I never thought I would have even 30 reviews on one of my stories! You guys are amazing. I dedicate this chapter to all of you

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.

Chapter 10:

Legolas's POV:

They had gathered in the hall again, all the tables having been cleared away. Legolas was holding onto Estrella's arm as to guide her for she could not see. Her eyes had had almost all the colour drained from them and to someone standing close to her it was obvious that she was blind. Legolas was worried about what Sauron had done to her. Being blind was bad enough but he had probably done something to her mind as well. She hadn't spoken a word since she told them that she could not see.

"What did you see Pippin?" Gandalf was asking the poor Hobbit.

"A tree," Pippin told them, though the memory seemed to bring him pain. "There was a white tree in a courtyard of stone. It was dead." A look of realization passed over Gandalf's features. "The city was burning."

"Minas Tirith? Is that what you saw?" Gandalf asked.

"I saw," Pippin seemed scared out of his wits. "I saw him!" Aragorn and Legolas exchanged worried glances. "I could hear his voice in my head."

"And what did you tell him?" Gandalf's tone was urgent. "Speak!"

"He asked me my name," Pippin whispered. "I didn't answer. He hurt me."

"What did you tell him about Frodo and the Ring?" Gandalf asked, remembering too late that Estrella was there as well and she was not supposed to know about the quest. Pippin gazed at him.

"Nothing." Gandalf sighed in relief.

"There is no lie in Pippin's eyes," He announced. "A fool; but an honest fool he remains." He then turned to Estrella, knowing that Aragorn would never reveal something to the Enemy. "What did you see?" he asked Estrella. She turned her head in the direction of his voice.

"There was nothing at first." She said. "Only darkness. Then there was a giant eye made of flame that did not blink. It stared at me and a powerful voice spoke to me in my head. He asked me who I was. I didn't say anything. He asked me where I come from. I, again, didn't respond. He wanted to know why he had not seen me before. He asked me if I knew you all." She waved her hand around, indicating that she was speaking about the company. "I said no. He showed me images...images of you al l being tortured. He burned them into my mind but I held my ground. After that he tried a new method, he showed me what I wanted most in the world," for whatever reason she blushed when she said that. "and he said that I could have that if I just cooperated. I lied and said that that was not what I wanted. He became frustrated and he burned my hands and I still did not tell him anything. He asked me about a ring and I told him I knew nothing of it. He attempted to hurt me more, to look into my mind but for whatever reason he could not. Realizing that I pushed him away with my mind until the ball exploded. The last thing I saw was the eye and after that everything was dark. I could hear voices though; your voices but I realized that I could no longer see. That's it. That's the whole story."

Everyone stared at her in wonder. She had resisted temptation and torture to save people she barely knew. Her mind alone had been stronger than Sauron's. Even the minds of elves wouldn't have been able to do what she had done. They would've withstood torture but they wouldn't have been able to push him out completely. They would've been able to keep him at bay but not gotten rid of him entirely.

"I promise that this is the truth," Estrella said, probably assuming that their silence was because they doubted her.

"I believe her," Legolas quickly added, not sure why he felt the need to say that but knowing that he did. Aragorn looked at him a bit oddly but he nodded.

"So do I."

"As do I," Eomer said. He had joined them in the hall, along with the King. Legolas felt that odd sort of resentment rising again but he pushed it down.

"So do we!" Pippin added, referring to Merry and himself. Estrella smiled at the sound of his voice.

"Calm down all of you."Gandalf said. "I believe her as well." Legolas felt relief settle over him and he found himself gripping Estrella's arm tighter. He immediately loosened his hold on her. "We have been strangely fortunate. Pippin saw in the planatir a glimpse of the Enemy's plan and Estrella made it so that no one would ever feel the urge to hold it again." A small smile graced Gandalf's lips before he became serious once more. "Sauron moves to strike the city of Minas Tirith. His defeat at Helm's Deep showed our enemy one thing. He knows the heir of Elendil has come forth. Men are not as weak as he supposed. There is courage still, strength enough perhaps to challenge him. Sauron fears this. He will not risk the peoples of Middle Earth uniting under one banner. He will raze Minas Tirith to the ground before he sees a king return to the throne of men. If the beacons of Gondor are lit, Rohan must be ready for war."

"Tell me, why should we ride to the aid of those who did not come to ours?" Theoden asked. "What do we owe Gondor?" To everyone's surprise, it was Estrella who answered. She looked angry as she turned on him.

"Because if you do not you are giving him exactly what he wants!" she said. "I may have no idea what's happening but I've seen this enemy of yours and he will not hesitate to destroy you all! You need to work together! That is the only way you will win this war!" Theoden looked taken aback by the way she addressed him.

"What would you know of war? What would a girl who cannot even remember her own name, know about the pain that comes with it?" Theoden asked. "You know nothing of suffering. You would have us charge blindly ahead to a massacre."

"You insolent man!" She spat. "It is you who doesn't know anything. I may be blind but I can see more clearly than you. It will be a massacre whether you ride to war with Gondor or not! You can either die here, a coward or there, a brave man; your choice. Staying here results in certain death, going to Gondor's aid gives you a chance." Legolas stared at her, unable to do much else. Was she aware that she was speaking to a king in that manner? "As for suffering and pain, well I've had my fair share of that. I may never have gone to war but in some ways what I've been through is worse. At least you can die quickly in war. At least you know it was for a cause. It's not tortuous. It doesn't eat you up inside like the pain I've experienced."

"You've been through worse than war?" Theoden laughed. "Oh yes, a woman such as yourself has probably suffered in ways we can't possibly even imagine, us foolish males." He said sarcastically.

"At least women don't try to rape men!" she shouted. The room became deathly quiet and Theoden had a look of shock on his face. She laughed spitefully. "That's the sort of suffering I've experienced. That's what happened a few hours ago. I went outside and a man forced himself upon me. Luckily Legolas managed to stop him before he did anything too vile but that didn't stop old memories from resurfacing. The experience itself would've been easy to move on from if my uncle hadn't done the same thing to me as a child, only worse." Everyone could only stare in horror as she spoke. Legolas's mind was working a mile a minute. What sort of foul man would force himself upon a child? His own niece! It made him feel sick. "So no, I don't have the same sort of pain you do. No, I haven't been in a real battle but sometimes, a battle inside is harder to deal with. Do you have any idea what it's like to be completely helpless? There was nothing I could do to stop him. Nothing. I couldn't tell anyone either because who would they believe? The adult or the child? Instead I suffered in silence for years as he did what he wanted to me. I only recently escaped from him but I never really escaped. It's always in the back of my mind. It's always going to haunt me, make me feel worthless, eat me from the inside out. I'm always going to have to live with the fear that someone will do it again. I'm always going to be scared of men his age and I'll never be able to defend myself should the situation arise again like it did last night, because I'll be too busy panicking. You've never felt anything like that before. Maybe I've never seen war but don't pretend that I haven't had my own problems that have ruined me. Don't tell me that I don't know what pain is." After a moment of silence Theoden spoke, his voice sounding small.

"If the beacons are lit, we will ride to Gondor's aid."

Love it? Hate it? PLEASE REVIEW! Tell me what you think! Reviews mean more chapters for all you wonderful people. Virtual chocolate to anyone who can guess the thing she wants most in the world correctly.

Thanks!

~Liliana